Raw man-saucers

So I ran the Abu Dhabi half marathon last weekend and my nips are still a little raw. The band-aids I put on them apparently slid off or disintegrated. But I didn't feel too sorry for myself because I saw one dude that had streaks of blood trailing down his white shirt. His man-tits must have ground right off, an affliction apparently known as 'runners' eleven,' you know, 'cause the blood streaks look like the number 11 on the front of your t-shirt. Ouch.
Anyhoo, this is a pic of me and the guy that won the race. He finished in 1:05. And (get this!) he's only 16 years old! This kid was so super freaky fast that they hadn't even put out the water stations on the course yet and he was already blazing by.

Say what you will about running, but it was quite a satisfying feeling crossing that finish line.

It's two days later and I'm sore as hell. But it's a good sore. I think I'll sign up for the Dubai race in January.

Beach clean-up & BBQ

Yesterday a group of us pitched in and picked up a TON of trash on the beach behind the hotel. It was a good deed and the beach was noticeably neater afterward. Then we had a big ol' BBQ at the ol' sand golf club. Save the turtles. Eat the lambs.

Side note: My buddy picked up a big flat piece of faded blue styrofoam and found one of these badboys underneath. Yowza.

Abu Dhabi Half Marathon & Rugby Sevens Tourney

I picked up a sweet new pair of Asics. I'm gonna use them to run like a startled zebra in the Abu Dhabi half marathon next weekend. After the race I'm gonna eat a steak and drink Guinness for carbs. I'm terrified of nipple chaffing.

Me and B are going to the Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament next month. Apparently it's quite a piss-up. It's also UAE National Day (and my birthday). Ululululululululululu!!!
It's called 'sevens' because the halves are only 7 minutes long. Fast-paced, pint-swilling, cauliflower ear-making rowdiness.

Check out the vegetables on this bloke.

Gonna be sweet.

Halloween in the Sand Pit

A couple weeks ago we went to a grandiose Halloween party at the Palms Atlantis hotel in Dubai. The party was on the beach, beers were $10, and the DJ failed to spin compulsory tracks, Monster Mash and Werewolves of London. It was pretty friggin' sweet though. Holmsy and Em morphed into the Sun and Earth respectively. There was a $2000 prize for best costume. I imagine it went to one of the thonged throngs of 'sexy' vampires, 'sexy' nurses or 'sexy' pirates in attendance. God bless Halloween.

Me and B were a human clothesline. It was a challenge walking around a crowded beach in this get up.


Don't act like you've never done it.

Muscat Love

Exactly one year ago, if a wild-eyed old man (à la Doc Brown) approached me on the street in Toronto and fortold that in a year's time I would be working in the middle east and taking a nice little road trip to the Sultanate of Oman, I would have kicked wildly at his groin and continued my disgruntled daily search for a reasonably priced shawarma.

Turns out that crazy old man was right. Long story short, I quit my job and next thing you know B and me were celebrating the Islamic holiday of Eid Al Adha by taking a roadie to Muscat, Oman with our good friends Holmsy and Em.

Muscat is chalk-full of ancient fortified walls and bright white mosques. It is the gateway to the Arabian Gulf. A hospitable, humble, quaint even, old city compared to its neighbour, UAE.

We liked it.

Good peeps, Holmsy and Em.

Fortified old earthen forts and colourful new houses of worship.
Juxtaposed yo.

Birds of Muscat

Blue Rock Thrush

Grey Heron

Striated Heron

Purple Sunbird

House Crows