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

Birds of Wheatley, Ontario

Hairy Woodpecker

My brother lives in an amazing little birding town called Wheatley, Ontario. It is also home to the world's largest freshwater fishing port, or so says the sign on the way into town.

Anyhoo, we went for a walk one day in the provincial park that borders his backyard, then sat on his back deck, crushing beers, eating fried perch and snapping pics of cool birds. Now THAT was a good day.

Northern Flickers



Great Crested Flycatchers

Cedar Waxwing

Baltimore Oriole

Arabian Blights

The beach directly behind our hotel/home is very, very nice. It is well manicured and decked out with chaise lounges, umbrellas and waiters. But if you take a short stroll to either end of the beach, wade into the sea and walk around the fence that marks perimeter of the hotel property, you encounter a depressing shitfest.

Note the large flame/oil refinery/plastics plant in the background. Some of the boys and me have had bonfires on this beach. There is plenty of driftwood to burn once the random sneakers, piss jugs and other trash is cleared away. Gross.

Big dead fish


Dead sea turtle
(its shell was about the size of a car tire)


Dead Socotra Cormorant


Dead dolphin

Honeymooned and fortified by home before coming back to the Sand Pit

B and me at Peggy's cove, Nova Scotia.

We also visited P.E.I. and spent the last few days catching up with friends in Toronto. It was a great honeymoon and a swell six weeks and I feel fortified by family, friends, food and drink. We are now ready to spend our second and final year in the Sand Pit. We arrived back at the ol' Beach Hotel/Home two days ago and are back into the full-on swing of it.

I will spend this year dreaming about next year, which I hope takes us to Halifax. We love that city. B will obtain her Canadian permanent residency. Then we'll find jobs and be living there by this time next year. Yes, that is what we will do.

In front of the Anne of Green Gables house, on the north shore of P.E.I. I couldn't be bothered to read the books but I watched a couple episodes of the old CBC series when we got home. Not bad. There were lots of Korean people at the Gables house. Also, P.E. Islanders are ridiculously friendly.

In Charlottetown, asking Sir John A. Macdonald whether it was true that he once puked during a debate becuase he was so wasted.

A big gnarly thunderhead rolling over my folks place in southern Ontario. God, I've missed precipitation.

We had a big ol' summer cookout at my parents farm for the folks that couldn't make it to the wedding down in A'merca. We ordered a giant Subway sandwich. It was awesome. We also played quoits, a type of homemade ring-toss game. The rings were made from pieces of old hydraulic hose and the posts were fashioned from rebar. I see many quoits filled afternoons in my distant future.

East Coast and insanely good eats from the sea

Pelee Island Birds

After the wedding and subsequent libations in Chicago, we retreated back to good ol' Canada for the rest of our vacation, and more libations. We stayed with my folks in southern Ontario and vistied Pelee Island for the day. AWESOME place for birds. We checked out the Pelee Island Winery, grilled some meat and drained three bottles of dry riesling. Libations!

Wild Turkeys

Great Egret
The very same majestic frog-hunter that graced the label of the wine bottle that we thrice drained earlier in the day. Coincidence? I think not.



Tree Swallow

American Gold Finches

Gettin' Hitched

I haven't posted anything in a while due to the fact that I recently got hitched. Man, weddings are a lot of work. That said, it was quite a barn burner. We tied the knot church style and then walked across the street to B's old high school (where she was once prom queen).
We hired a rockin' five piece band from Chicago, served hearty food and poured the finest kegged beer Wisconsin had to offer. We had a fine mix of Canadian/Jeju/Abu Dhabi friends and family in attendance and it was the greatest night of my life.

The custodian put up this sign 3 days before the big day. There was no turning back at that point.

Hot weather birdz

Graceful Prinia

For the past few days the thermometer has been flirting with 50 degrees Celcius. It is not a dry heat. It is very much a wet heat. The Arabian Gulf is too hot to comfortably swim in. All spring migrants are long gone and only a few hard-core birds remain here for the hot season. In other news, only 3 more days till the vast green beauty of CANADA! Thinking of venturing out east this summer for a Halifax honeymoon.

Bar-tailed Godwit

My camera was acting up due to the insane heat and humidity of this place. This species holds the record for the longest non-stop flight of any bird. One of these guys went non-stop from New Zealand to China. Bad. Ass. Bird.



Common Terns