The Rumors Are True... I Do Own a Camera

I am not very good at posting pictures. The internet here is a bit slow and it takes, I swear, a little less than a kajillion hours to post an image. But I had some time tonight (I'm in between books) and thought I'd post a few pictures. Maybe I can make it a goal to post just a few each night to get caught up.

First things first. Do you remember that story I posted about my neighbor who took his falcon for walks? He also takes the bird for rides in his car. It just so happened that he and I (plus the falcon) entered the building at the same time, and I just so happened to remember my camera. I asked if I could take a picture, and he agreed. He removed the hood from his bird and I tried to get a good shot. To be honest, the picture would have been better had the hood been kept on, because the bird of prey wouldn't keep her head still.

Pretty awesome, nonetheless.

You know how on many cheesy personals ads, people usually state that they like long walks on the beach? Well I took a long walk on the beach on Valentine's Day. Pretty cheesy, eh. Maybe it's a good thing I was by myself. The tide was low, and I was fortunate to come across a teeny little tide pool filled with shells, mollusks, and a few small crabs. It is pretty extraordinary to come across any type of sea life in Dubai due to the ecological mess caused by the Palm Island.

This is my favorite shot from my walk. I actually saw a couple of live starfish slightly imbedded in the sand. I tossed them both back into the Gulf and thought that perhaps I made a difference to it's life. hahaha.

This tiny crab didn't really like it that I picked him up. But he was so small, and it reminded me of the little crabs we would dig up at Kayak Point (in Washington).

There were indeed living creatures inside the shells.

No, I am not taking pictures of shirtless guys for kicks. My camera doesn't zoom as much as I would wish, but if you look closely you will note that he is sitting on a wooden horse-type thing. It turns out that he is a polo player, and a couple times a week he comes down here and takes practice shots on the beach.

On one of my days off, my friend Joey from Swaziland took me to lunch at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Her husband works for the Jumeirah hotel group, and thus she gets in to such cool places. We ate at an Italian place, and I had a pretty tasty pizza.

The hotel is shaped like a wave.

and had funky camels walking about. Or standing about, rather.

The restaurant had a view of some of the little boats parked in the marina. I am jesting about the small part. I believe the big one is owned by some wealthy Russian fellow.

We also had a great view of the famous 7-star hotel, the Burj Al Arab. It is supposed to look like a sail, but from some angles it looks like a giant cockroach.

So there you have it. Proof that I live here, and proof that I own a camera. Alert the press.