Absolute Franksy-ness

The hardest part of getting knocked off that horse is the getting back on

2012-03-03T17:45:00.001+04:00

"Portrait of a Mid-Life Crisis"

It's been a few weeks and I wish I could say that those weeks were uneventful. However, such has not been the case. There have been changes in my job and a visit to the emergency room for me. There have been Karate advancements all around and the kids have been working hard at school.

I have a small confession to make. For the last few months I have been hiding the fact that I've been doing Karate. It was something I always wanted to do and after watching the kids have so much fun with it over the last year, I finally drummed up the courage to give it a go. Things went pretty smoothly for the first few months. After a brutal introduction, I began to show a little progress and I was pretty happy with myself when I earned my yellow belt (for those keeping score, that puts me on par with James). I wanted to move up a couple of more levels before I let people know what I was doing. I'm a little cagey when it comes to trying new things and letting other people know. Any new announced endeavour that's not accomplished is fodder for mockery. But after a fateful class, a slight fracture to my elbow and seven stitches above my left eye, I couldn't keep that secret anymore. I didn't earn the injury in any real exciting fashion. Basically I did a jump, kick, and landed with a little less stability than I would have liked, relying too much on a brick wall and my head to help me regain my balance. Let the mocking begin.

Science is everywhere

The Great Volvo Ocean Race Comes to Abu Dhabi

Yes, I did manage to get one of those balls on that floating green.

The kids all seem well. We've had a bit of a cold spell here over the past couple of weeks which basically means it was mildly uncomfortable going out in shorts and a t-shirt after dark. However, some of the residents here have bundled up like they're on the ski slopes. It's an interesting sight to pass someone in a dish-dash (those long white robes the men wear) wearing a winter coat and scarf and earmuffs to keep the cold out.

It's time to go back to Karate, but I'm finding it a little difficult to regain the lost momentum. Before the incident, I had never missed a day. There were a lot of days I felt too tired or sore to go, but I went because I enjoyed it and felt myself improving bit by bit, but I've lost some of my flexibility and forgotten my combos and a good chunk of my kata. I've not been active enough in my life to have any experience with these kinds of setbacks; however, I don't think I have much choice when it comes to renewing my commitments. I can't handle the disappointed look my kids give me when I tell them I'm not up to it. Those looks are positively withering.

In other news: I don't know if the cockroaches are getting worse or if they're just getting more comfortable with us. Most times, the kids take them in stride. There's very little screaming and helpless hopping around. They've become so commonplace that they barely elicit a reaction anymore. Lucy and Miranda aren't big on actually squashing the little intruders, but they don't bother to let them be a bother. Julie's no fan of their presence, the kitchen's small enough without having to share the limited cupboard space, but most days she's able to shrug them off too. We've all come to terms with the fact that cockroaches are simply a consequence of the climate. If you're talking to someone who's lived here and they haven't had any experiences with cockroaches, it's only because the cockroaches weren't comfortable enough to come out in the day. They're there.They're everywhere and the sooner you come to terms with that fact, the happier you'll be.

When you're in a foreign country on a three year contract, it's hard to fully commit to the place (especially when you have to share it with so many six legged friends). You find yourself buying things to make do instead of buying things you really want. Why invest in furniture that you're going to have to get rid of in the near future?

Having bought a household of things we really don't like that much makes it seem a little frivolous to want to replace things that are perfectly serviceable even if they are ugly and uncoordinated. I am no fan of stuff, but I do believe that if you are going to be weighed down by possessions, they should be possessions you actually enjoy. We need to be practical and make provision for the future, but even more important than our plans for tomorrow is living fully in the moment. I don't know how much longer we're going to be here but I do know that I want to do a better job of making the now just a little more pleasant.

We're all tired and looking forward to having a week off with Grandpa and Grandma at the end of the month. We just got word that they're visas came through, so it's pretty much a done deal. We've been doing our best to prepare them for their middle east experience. We'll see soon enough how well we've done at that.

Christmas Snapshots

2012-01-05T10:23:00.001+04:00

Nothing says Christmas like Santa Yoda!

Christmas was low key in the best of ways. There were a few presents in the morning and some skyping with family. In the evening we shared dinner with some friends of ours. The focus was where it needed to be. Miranda summed things up best when she said that her favourite part of Christmas was watching other people open up the gifts she had made for them.

Lucy's Hand Knitted gifts were a huge hit this year.

See.

I know Christmas is supposed to be cold and snowy.
For some reason, I don't miss that part.

A few days after Christmas, my brother Mike and his wife Christy treated us to a day at the Atlantis Water Park in Dubai. It was a great day and the kids had a ton of fun. However, I do have to admit that it was a little on the chilly side whenever the sun ducked behind the clouds. The kids didn't seem to notice unless they left the water, and they rarely left the water.

On New Years Eve day, we spent a great day at the beach with some friends and were treated to a pretty spectacular air show by the UAE Air Force. Abu Dhabi in one of the destinations for the Volvo Challenge, a round the world yachting race and there's lots going on. We even heard Coldplay across the bay doing a soundcheck.

Coldplay played just down the street on New Years Eve. It's one of the few modern bands that I actually follow, and the idea of seeing a world class concert on New Year's Eve was, I have to admit, a little tempting. However, as the day approached, I became more and more ambivalent. I liked the idea of the concert and the story it would be, but I didn't relish the crowds, chaos or the sonic pounding my eardrums would undoubtedly receive. In short, I felt too old to go. I know I wouldn't have been the oldest person there by a long shot. There are many people here who are much older than me going to great lengths and expense to fit in with the under thirty set who would've jumped at the chance to sing along with the band, but I simply wasn't up to it. Even the idea of it wearied me.

This week we visited the Emirates Zoo, not far outside of Abu Dhabi. Not a huge Zoo, but as you can see from the pictures, you can get pretty intimate with some of the residents.

Camels do not make good backgrounds for group shots.

Seventeen Years!

2011-12-20T07:31:00.001+04:00

I know what we were feeling, but what were we thinking?

On December 16th Julie and I celebrated our seventeenth anniversary. Truth be told, it wasn't much of a celebration; dinner at a Mexican restaurant and some last minute Christmas shopping. It was nice to spend time together and to not feel the need to prove our love to one another with extravagant gifts or overwrought overtures of love and devotion. There's real comfort in not depending grand gestures to make a case for your love like a lawyer in front of a skeptical jury.

There is no special significance to a seventeenth anniversary, but I wanted to write a little about my wife and why I married her. Now, it didn't hurt things that she was incredibly talented and drop dead gorgeous and had a sense of humour evolved enough to keep up with my machine gun repartee, but the reason I asked her to marry me was that when I was with her I wanted to be better than I was. It really was that simple. I aspired a little higher and something of her faith in other people rubbed off on me. In her company I was less cynical, less jaded and more like the kind of people I admired and wanted to emulate. There was no coercion on her part, only unconditional love, and I learned from her that nothing is more empowering than to feel loved without reservation. Her love has given me the freedom to fail (again and again and again) without fear of recrimination or condemnation. I am still a work in progress. There's a long ways left for me to go, but even though there have been moments of tedium and stagnation, there has been progress.

I feel indebted to her for every hug my children give me and every smile they share. I am a far from perfect father and despite everything I do they still embrace who I am. Julie does not hide or excuse my faults, but rather she contextualizes them. She helps them to see the efforts I am making instead of focusing on my stumbles or neglect. And because they trust her, they believe me to be what I am trying to be.

Her goodness and love of life and beauty are most reflected in the countenances of our children. There is a rich diversity of personalities in our family, and yet generosity and love of people and life are traits our children all hold in common. She has been willing to go without so that our children could have what they needed (she has been less willing to go without so I could have what I wanted, but I see that as a good thing). Because she is incapable of playing the martyr, our children have seen her sacrifices for the acts of love that they are, and they have worked to emulate that love to one another and to those outside of our family.

Over the last seventeen years, my goals have been simple: make her laugh from time to time and keep things interesting. Though she may no longer be laughing at the punchlines of my jokes, she still finds some humour in my delivery or maybe she gets a kick out of the fact that I still think I can get a laugh with some of jokes I tell. I never set conditions for why she laughed, only that she laughed. And as far a as keeping things interesting, well, we live in downtown Abu Dhabi. I don't know how things could be more interesting.

She has embraced each new adventure with faith and optimism. To say that our life hasn't gone exactly as planned would be a bit of an understatement. In any given moment, so many of our decisions have seemed random or chaotic, but when taken as a whole, there is a clear pattern of opportunity and growth in our family. We like who we are and we would not be the same with some of the stress and chaos and change. Her willingness to embrace that change has shown us how to grow from our challenges instead of surrendering to them.

Our marriage is not without its moments of long-suffering, miscommunications, and outright disagreements, but even in those moments, there is the confidence that we're no more than a good night's sleep (or maybe two) away from a resolution. It's true that there have been days that have been long and difficult and we have had more than our share of uncertainty and doubt, but as we inevitably come together to face whatever challenge lies before us, we find that between us we've got mettle enough to take on whatever comes our way.

Fortunately, she's always smiled enough
for the both of us.

Life in Abu Dhabi. A little bit of green and a whole lot of glass, steel
and concrete.

Impossible Missions (Dec 8-15)

2011-12-18T07:28:00.001+04:00

I can’t be exactly sure, but things feel a lot moreChristmasy this go around. It seems like I hear more music of a holiday varietyand am seeing a lot more red and green themed decorations. It could be that Iwas so overwhelmed with life last year that I simply didn’t get a chance tostep back and enjoy the time. Well, we’ve gotten pretty used to life here inAbu Dhabi which makes it a lot easier to savor those moments of Christmascheer. The kids have been dutifully counting down with the help of their StarWars advent calendar and Christmas tunes are on pretty heavy rotation on theiPod. Even the weather’s feeling a little cool which adds to the ambiance (andwhen I say cool, what I really mean is absolutely perfect).

Of course we had the ward Christmas party this week. Lucydid a bang-up job as the narrator and Miranda played Mary with a touchingserenity. James was a cow of utmost bovinity. There were lots of carols, somegreat food and many good friends.

As part of the school break, the kids started a daily twoweek early morning regimen of Karate classes (thanks Grandpa and Grandma Frank). We’re notquite sure if this gift was primarily for the Kids or Julie, but everyone seemsto be enjoying it. With all of the recent advancements, James has become quitedetermined to earn his yellow belt. He has been practicing lots and, if I dosay so myself, his form is quite impressive.

This week, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol opened in theUAE. Being an action junkie and huge fan of the director, I, of course, draggedJulie to see it opening day. Julie made it quite clear to me that I couldn’tcount it as an anniversary event though. It was a tremendous movie, one of thebest shot and paced action movies that I’ve seen for some time, and the footagein Dubai was a lot of fun.

Hey, we've been there! Well not exactly there, but
we've definitely been in the general vicinity.

I remember watching the original Ghostbusters at the Oxfordtheatre in Halifax when it first opened, and there was a line said by the RickMoranis character to the effect of, “I’ve got some fresh Nova Scotia lobster inthe kitchen.” At the mention of Nova Scotia, the audience went wild. Ourexistence was being acknowledged by a Hollywood blockbuster and it felt great.But it was really a passing reference and the cheers soon subsided and we wereable to enjoy the rest of the film without any difficulty.

Well, in Mission Impossible, Dubai gets more than a passingreference. From the moment Tom Cruise said the word “Dubai” until they left theUAE 40 minutes later, the crowd was cheering and clapping non-stop. I wondered how they could follow the movie with all of the noise, and then I realized I was one of the few members of the audience who was dependent on the soundtrack to get plot details. For almost everyone else, they had the Arabic subtitles to get them through. Now, once they left Dubai, I thought things might calm down a bit, and if they had gone to almost any country in the world, it might have happened, but the exigencies of the plot necessitated they go to Mumbai. Have I mentioned the how many people from India live here? Well, there were alot of Indians in the audience too, so the cheering continued basically untilthe end credits. It was basically the most horrible movie watching experienceof my life, but one I’m kinda glad I had.

In keeping with the season, the kids built Gingerbread houses (sans Gingerbread)

Who needs gingerbread with trimmings like these?

A little bit of Patriotism

2011-12-10T07:29:00.001+04:00

Liam got new nunchucks.

Well, if I've learned anything from this entire blogging experience, it's that whining in a public forum works! My last post was laced with self-pity and self-doubt because of the dearth of comments over the last few months, and voila, a veritable plethora of responses. Most of them seemed to mock me, but even a bad review means that someone's read what you've written!

An art project at the local gallery. Because we all needed poster sized prints of our heads.

The big event of the last couple of weeks was National Day. For those of you not closely following the news of the region, the UAE celebrated its 40th birthday with parades, and fireworks and displays of all sorts. Being the 40th, festivities were spread over three days instead of the usual one. It's hard to describe the fervour and pride the people here feel in their country. There's really nothing like it. Try imagining the 4th of July combined with New Years Day, with a dash of Halloween mixed in and then multiply the intensity of it by a factor of ten and you get a sense of the energy that pervades the air.

To celebrate we donned our red, white, green and black and strolled the streets. We also travelled out to Sadyaat Island to visit the UAE pavillion they had brought back from the World Expo in China last year. It was a great portrait of the country's history and culture all housed in a pretty incredible building. Then off to the light show at the Grand Mosque.

The gallery at night.

So begins the party.

Yes, that is a video projector mounted to the roof of that SUV.

32611

As you can see, pretty spectacular.

Miranda tested for her green belt this week which proved to be a great excuse for a date for Julie and I (amazing how those things slip by with everything else going on). We were also able to attend a Christmas recital for Liam yesterday. It was gratifying to see the level of some of the players at his music institute. We feel very fortunate to live so close to such a quality institution. Carolyn, his teacher in Nova Scotia, is about as irreplaceable as they come, and although we haven't been able to replicate that music experience, we have found a teacher that's able to push Liam and Lucy to both excel in their playing.

A little picnic before the recital. Sometimes I don't know what world or time we're living in.

I'm always so happy when I actually get into one of these shots.

It was a little windy.

On the Vulnerability of the Blogging Experience

2011-11-26T07:29:00.001+04:00

A different perspective of Abu Dhabi

You can see our building from here. Really.

This is what rain looks like here. It doesn't last long.

It’s been a few weeks since I last contributed to this blog. I have to admit to a certain funk that overcame me after that last few posts went commentless. It kind of makes me feel like no one’s bothering to read about our adventures. I don’t know if it’s possible to find anyone more insecure than a blogger whose only traffic is self-generated by page refreshes checking for comments. And even that traffic has diminished as I’ve all but given up on the hope of an audience. However, last week, Julie got a brief note from a friend of our who said she was up late into the night catching up no all that we were doing, and I realized that even an audience of one is still an audience. I’ve got a fair bit to catch up on, so if you feel the need to skim, I’ll understand.

Every two years the college hosts a major event called the Festival of Thinkers. They bring major figures in various fields from all over the world to meet together and give presentations on their work. Roaming the streets of Abu Dhabi during these few days are leaders of industry, pioneers in education, founders of international charities, astronauts and Nobel laureates. For the most part, the event had little impact on my day to day activities in the classroom, but on one day I was able to volunteer to escort a group of ‘Thinkers’ to Sharjah where they sat on a panel to discuss the causes and consequences of global poverty. These people came from diverse backgrounds but each charity they worked in was born out of a common desire to make a lasting impact. The drive to Sharjah was a little over two hours and during that time I was privileged to speak with and listen to these people. One man worked to help exploited and trafficked children in Vietnam, another co-founded a charity to help blind children in Tibet and India. There was a woman who established a tele-conferencing mentorship program for orphans in South Africa and a woman who worked to get kids off the street in Chicago.

The stories I heard were such a contrast to the opulence we experience on an almost daily basis. I was reminded of how much of my current station and success is the product of something as arbitrary as my passport. My educational, vocational and social opportunities were all made possible not by how hard I’ve worked or any particular talents I might possess, but by the fact that I was born in Canada. A few years ago, we Canadians were extremely inconvenienced by the fact that to get into the US we actually had to procure a passport. The Americans weren’t asking us for visas, they weren’t asking us to make travel arrangements to visit their country months or even weeks ahead. As long as we had a valid passport we could visit their country (as well as a host of others around the world) whenever the whim struck us.

It is easy to take for granted what we have or even lose sight of our wealth. Surrounded by the gold and Ferraris and five star hotels, sometimes I’m tempted to dwell on what I don’t have, yet we are so rich. I feel like there’s so much more I could and should be doing with what we have. The least I could do is link to these charities. So much of their discussions revolved around fundraising and the difficulties in this financial climate of securing the resources necessary to continue the work they’re doing. So if you’re looking for a worthy cause to support this Christmas, you could do a whole lot worse than any of these charities.

http://www.kidsofftheblock.bbnow.org/

http://www.streetkidsinvietnam.com/

http://www.braillewithoutborders.org/ENGLISH/index.html

www.infinitefamily.org/

Work continues to go well. I am sometimes overwhelmed by the opportunities to learn new things and grow in new ways. I recently finished a short course in Photoshop that was being offered on my lunch break for the last few weeks, and though I’m far from an expert, I did get some of the basics down and learned the all important lesson that if you want to do good work it’s going to take a lot of time and attention to detail.

Karate continues to play a pretty significant role in our daily lives. Liam and Lucy recently tested for their purple and blue belts respectively (Miranda is, with a little practice, only a few weeks away from a test herself). Both Liam and Lucy passed with solid grades. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how they’ve been pushed to excel in this and the confidence it’s given them. These accomplishments are not easily won and they deserve some recognition for it.

Miranda checking out the new dojo

Miranda with her personal instructor

Well we’ve secured a new Lego Advent Calendar, the decorations are up and the playlists on our iPods are all holiday themed. Last year, it felt like Christmas kind of snuck up on us and caught us a little unawares. This year, Julie has made it priority #1 to experience a little holiday cheer every day in the coming month. Setting up the tree on Thanksgiving put us off to a good start. We live in a good sized apartment, but it’s still an apartment, so we’ll keep it fairly simple on the gift side of things. But the toys under the tree have such little to do with holiday cheer that they’ll not be missed that much.

Speaking of toys, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but most Legos here are prohibitively expensive which is why we used one of our precious check in baggage allotment to ship a rubbermaid bin full of the stuff. However, we have been able to get our Lego fix with mini figures. I really shouldn’t be getting so much joy from such tiny toys, but, as Julie will tell you, there are still a number of areas in my life where I could stand to do a little more maturing. I'm just glad that I’ve got four good excuses to expand our collection.

And some pictures from our very eventful day yesterday:

A picnic at Safa Park in Dubai

Dubai from the park.

Getting lost in the maze!

No this way!

Are you sure I can get there from here?

We found the way out!

At the walk for hope on Yas Island. This is where the city hosts the F1 Race.

Miranda trying not to smile.

The sign says 1 KM left to go (four km behind us).

She can be a little sassy when she wants to.

Where did October go?

2011-10-28T19:04:00.000+04:00

The view from the rooftop pool of our health club.

We still find ourselves saddled with more than a few items of furniture that we don't particularly care for, but we have much of what we need. A few weeks ago I was up early on a Saturday morning and was passed by at least a dozen buses filled with workers being brought into the city to work construction or clean the streets and park in the hot sun. They have very few possessions and most live in pretty crowded conditions. Being confronted with a population that has so little can really make you feel bad about whinging (Great Word! it's how the Brits and Aussies talk about complaining) in the slightest. We're making do, but in reality we're more than making do, we're thriving.

I have to admit that the part of town we live in has just the right amount of bustle--not so much as to overwhelm, but just enough to enliven. Every now and again we toy with the idea of making our break from the city in order to approximate a suburban lifestyle, but the pull of all the amenities, conveniences and activities is just a little too strong.

This is basically Liam minus the green skin and shell.

Karate and Kobudo continues to go well. James is really enjoying it, and the fact that they keep letting him come back is a testament to the patience and kindness of the senseis. For the past few months, there was a sign at our dojo indicating that they were looking for a new location. The building they were in is pretty old for the city, maybe twenty five or thirty years old, and it's slated to come down so as to make room for something new. We were a little worried that the dojo might be moved more than a short walk away which would put the onus on me to get them to their lessons, but it turns out the location they found was in our very building. The kids are excited and I'm relieved. Speaking of Karate, Liam recently tested and passed his green stripe belt in kobudo. Basically what that means is that he is getting quite good with nun-chucks and the bo staff, and that he's now allowed to play with marshall arts daggers called sais (for those who aren't sure what sais are, they're the weapon favoured by the teenage mutant ninja turtle Rafael). They are fortunately a blunted instrument, but they're pretty heavy and every time he starts twirling them about I fear a little for his toes. It's pretty cool to watch him. If he wasn't enjoying it so much, I might worry that I was trying to relive my childhood through his.

The new play sets at one of our favourite parks.

It can be very tiring.

I've written about the Corniche before, a long strip of waterfront with beautiful beaches, fountains, and a fantastic bike and walking path. It's about a fifteen minute walk from our apartment and is one of my favourite things about Abu Dhabi. On Thursday we participated in the 1st Annual Walk for Hope. It was great to get out with the family. James was hoping for more of a race, but the rest of us were more than happy about the forced saunter, and the weather was, as always in late October, absolutely perfect.

It has been a few weeks since my last post and we have been busy. It's just hard to identify what we've been busy at. Work continues to be both interesting and challenging for me. I am finding that I'm both becoming more efficient and feeling like I'm actually getting less done. I don't think that it's supposed to work like that.

I've been reading a lot more education related books and feeling more excited by my profession than I have in a long while. Like with most jobs, it's easy to get into a bit of a rut and to become so focused on the day to day that you never get a chance to step back and look at the big picture. These books have forced me to look at some specific things I am doing in the classroom and forcing me to evaluate the effectiveness of certain teaching habits I've held for a very long time. I'm not a bad teacher, in fact there are some things I do quite well. It's just that the things I've always been confident about as a teacher may not actually be the things that matter in the long run.

For anyone looking to justify hours and hours of video game playing, you might want to read Jane McGonigall's Reality is Broken. It turns out that all that during all that time I spent saving virtual worlds I was actually developing certain skills and habits that could help me save the real one. She's a little optimistic about the hopes and dreams of your typical World of Warcraft player, but she makes some interesting points about why we play games and how we might apply the reward systems built into the best games into real life scenarios. It's another book that's got me thinking about how I can better motivate and support the students I work with. And it turns the many hours I spent playing Portal and Super Mario into training for better world citizenship.

Masdar City, Wendy's, Avatar and Apple

2011-10-08T10:42:00.003+04:00

A relatively unremarkable past few weeks. It's been good to get back into the routine of work. I've been enjoying working with my students and colleagues. I like teaching. It can be immensely satisfying when done well; however, it is an occupation that continues to daunt me. Years ago, when I was going to school, I worked at a mail order company specializing in Smokey Bear merchandise (www.smokeybeargifts.com/). I had a few responsibilities, but my main job consisted of the timely packaging of stuffed bears into the perfect box. After a few years of it, I have to admit to a certain level of skill. In fact, I feel like I was a pinnacle of packing perfection. When I was in the zone, I could look at an order and know, without question, the perfect box and just the right amount of packing material. I was as good as a man could be at that job. I doubt I will ever enjoy that feeling as a teacher. Every day I feel like I'm learning new ways to teach, and that there is always room for improvement. It's a profession that keeps me humble (to a certain degree) and for that I should be grateful.

A couple of weeks ago, we had an honest to goodness outing (owning a vehicle allows you to do stuff like that). We went to Masdar City, located not far from the Abu Dhabi airport. It's an ambitious project in the heart of the desert. Designed to be a model of sustainability and green technology, it has the potential to revolutionize our approach to building and sustaining viable living accomadations over the next few decades. I was taken with the architecture and design of the place; the kids loved the driverless electric cars. You might think it a little ironic to find green initiatives in the heart of an oil rich nation, but there is a real vision and desire here to use the wealth of this nation to create a lasting legacy.

We also went to the first Wendy's in Abu Dhabi. Now that I can get a spicy chicken sandwich here, I don't know why I'd ever leave.

James turned five last week. He's owed a belated birthday party with friends (Miranda too for that matter), but I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well as far as cake and presents were concerned.

It's a volcano!

As a family, we just finished working our way through Avatar:The Last Airbender, a cartoon series the kids had watched a couple of times through already but wanted me to watch. It's been a little tradition of ours to watch an episode before the kids march off to karate. I had heard good things about it, but I never would have anticipated enjoying it as much as I did. The humour was genuine and I laughed out load often, but there was also some real emotional depth that I didn't anticipate. By the end of the series, I was fully invested in all of the characters and their respective journeys. Definitely one of the most satisfying things I've seen in a while. It's available on Netflix streaming and even if you don't have kids, I'd recommend it. Warning, you might be tempted to watch the live action version by M. Night Shaymalan. Don't.

Also, I thought I'd link to a commencement address that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford a couple of years ago. Obviously, there's been a lot written about him and his genius, and I don't really have much to add. When I learned that he had passed away, I was much sadder than would have expected. I've been a fan of Apple products for a very long time, and after some effort, I've converted pretty much everyone in the house to them, but I was sad for more that not having him at the head of one of my favourite companies. I was sad because a person who had an actual, tangible impact on my life and the way that I do many things is no longer with us. It would be hard to measure or quantify his impact. Obviously, he changed the way we consume media, and he was directly responsible for some of my favourite movies of all time. Even as I look at some of the pictures of Masdar City, it's hard not to see the Apple influence. The speech below is worth your fifteen minutes if you haven't seen it before.

We're still...

2011-09-17T00:09:00.001+04:00

It's been a long week, made longer by a work conference in Dubai on Saturday. I was pretty impressed with myself, making it there without a single wrong turn along the way. I think about myself a year ago and I think about myself now, and there's nothing like experience to fuel one's confidence. When we first arrived I was terrified by the prospect of driving around the city because of the craziness of other drivers and not knowing where anything was. The drivers haven't gotten any less crazy, but I can find my way to Ikea without a map and there's no small comfort in that.

Photo booth, the real reason we needed a new Mac

Recently I bought a new computer. It's a sleek and shiny new iMac, a beautiful thing really, but purchasing it wasn't nearly as fun as it should be. It's hard to enjoy replacing things you never wanted to replace in the first place.

Karate is in full swing. James is now a proud member of the dojo and has been enjoying himself immensely. Having the karate club so close has been a godsend for us. With homeschooling, it can be very easy to go days without leaving the apartment. Once the water cools a bit, the parks and beaches will be an option for us, but for the time being if we want to get out, it means we choose one of the many malls nearby and wander its air conditioned corridors while trying to resist the pull of the surrounding sales. With Karate, they get out of the house two nights a week, get some great exercise and have someone other than their mother or father telling them what to do. There is no downside.

The heat and foreigners of cultures and languages in this place tend to foster isolation. It's very easy to get so wrapped up in the cares and concerns of one's life that you become oblivious to the wants and needs of those outside your very tight circle. It takes more effort to think outside yourself and serve others because those opportunities for service are less apparent. So, it was with some satisfaction that we received a call from some friends earlier this week at 12:30 in the morning. When you receive calls at 12:30 AM it's for one of two reasons: either the person on the other end has woefully misjudged the time difference or there's an honest to goodness emergency. Our friends had just been evacuated from their apartment because of a small fire and they needed a place for their family of six to spend the night. Within 20 minutes we had couches, cushions and sleeping bags ready to receive them. It felt really good to see a need and then be able to fulfill it. It is a real blessing to be able to serve. I'm not happy for the stress and panic our friends experienced, but I can't help but be a little grateful for it. By the way, there was no damage to their apartment and they were back into their own digs by late morning.

And, on a final note, Julie and I just finished reading Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Baumeister and Tierney. I bought it on a whim after reading a review of it in the New York Times (the irony of this is not lost on me). The book reviews, in a very accessible way, a host of studies that have been done on our ability to resist temptation and the effects of stress and decision making on our overall willpower. If you have every done anything stupid and not been able to understand why you did it, then this may be the book for you. It's forced me to think not so much about some of the decisions I've made as much as conditions and circumstances surrounding those decisions.

Rediscovering Home

2011-09-02T07:32:00.001+04:00

When did Abu Dhabi become home? There were things I really loved about our trip to Nova Scotia, but the whole time we were there, it felt like we were visiting. For obvious reasons, we weren’t able to build much of a routine into our travels. It was an adventure, but extended adventures can be a little wearing.

Perhaps the trauma of losing my computer and other stuff, heightened the impact of coming off the plane. I have to admit, that I wasn’t looking forward to the sauna like weather conditions, but stepping out of the airport into the warm night air was like being wrapped in a warm blanket

We arrived during the last week of the holy month of Ramadan which adds another dimension to life in Abu Dhabi. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sun up to sun down every day which means that there are no restaurants open during the day, and although you can buy groceries, you can really only consume those foods in the privacy of your own home. There’s a general feeling of lethargy and fatigue because people are staying up late into the evening breaking their fast with family and friends and then they usually get up extra early to eat before the sun.

The nice thing about Ramadan is that businesses tend to be open until very late at night. Because Julie’s cell phone was our main contact number, it was pretty important that we get the number transferred to a new phone as soon as possible. Lucky for me the offices of the phone company were open from 9:30 PM until 1:00, so after we got our bags up to our apartment, I was able to take care getting the number switched over to a new sim card and pick up a new phone at a nearby department store. One anxiety assuaged. It many not have been a big deal, but at the time, I took whatever comfort I could get.

It took us about a week to get somewhat readjusted to the time change. Our internal clocks seemed more resistant to change than last year, but fortunately there weren’t too many demands on our time. My work day was considerably abbreviated for Ramadan, and the kids were all done with school. The nights were a little too late for all and James in particular struggled with change. Is there a greater test of love than the four year old trying to wake up everyone in the house at three am because he doesn’t want to be alone?

After a week back at work, we were given another week off for Eid. Again, it’s a little difficult to get into the swing of things, but we made the most of our week by hanging out at the apartment and by visiting some of the beautiful air conditioned malls of the region. A new mall opened about ten minutes away from us while we were gone. Like most malls, it was quite big and rather easy to get lost in. What set this mall apart was the fact that it’s home to the region’s first Wendy’s. Now, we didn’t get to try Wendy’s because it was closed for the end of Ramadan while we were there, but it is a comfort to know that their spicy chicken sandwich is so nearby.

Last Wednesday we ventured up to Dubai for the day. I was a little nervous about the trip because I felt like I knew so little about the city. Even though we had visited Dubai a few times last year, we hadn’t spent any time actually exploring the city, and, of course, I wasn’t driving. We made it through without much difficulty. I have to admit that the most difficult aspect of driving around Dubai was navigating the parking stations of the Dubai Mall. It was Julie who compared driving around the mall to trying to find the right terminal at a major airport. It was that huge.

I am a man who prides himself on his sense of direction, but I have never felt more lost in an enclosed space as I did in that mall. Huge doesn’t even begin to describe it. Our motivation in going there was the Dubai Aquarium which is practically in the center of the mall. It alone was worth the trip. Their is a tunnel that runs through aquarium and it was amazing to be so close to so many exotic fish, and then, above the actual aquarium there was a small zoo that we all enjoyed.

On the way back to our car we were seduced into Sega Republic by the offer of a free ride. To call Sega Republic an arcade, really doesn’t do it justice. In addition to all of the video games, there were some pretty impressive rides. We opted for the Spin Gear which reminded me a little of Space Mountain only with a lot more spinning. Miranda was a little nervous about the roller coaster, but she found the courage to go on (I don’t know if we really gave her a choice). She did scream as we spun about, but so did the rest of us.

The Dubai Mall Waterfall (I could only fit a small bit of it into the frame).

It’ll be back to work for all of us pretty soon, and I think we’re all looking forward to the routine. I never thought it would be possible to have too much time off, but I’m seriously rethinking that idea.

Why Nova Scotia?

2011-08-26T15:13:00.000+04:00

When Julie and I finished up our first year in Abu Dhabi, we had the opportunity to go practically anywhere in the world. We're next door to a host of Asian countries; Africa's not that far; and there's so many European countries we'd love to visit while on this side of the world. It would have been easier and cheaper to visit almost any part of the world other than Nova Scotia. So, why spend all that time and money (especially when the US Dollar is taking such a beating) going someplace we'd already been? It had only been a year, why not push back the visit to Canada just a little more and do something new? These are good questions.

There's really only one answer.

We visited Nova Scotia for the people. While we were there we had some great visits with friends and family and that was a great comfort to us. In many cases it felt like we had never left, and had we not had a departure date looming over us, it would have been easy to pick up right where we left off.

No doubt, the highlight of the whole experience was Miranda's baptism on August 14th. It's always nice to go out on a high note, and I don't know how we could have left on any note higher. There were so many people who came to share in the experience and we were grateful for the love we felt and the desire to share

This is the point in the blog where I would post some of the great pictures we took during our last few days in Nova Scotia. There were pictures with grandparents and friends. We had some great shots from the last day of swimming lessons and, of course, Miranda's baptism. But we lost those pictures along with the camera and computer. It could have been worse. I might not have kept the blog and we would have lost everything. Things could always be worse. But ultimately, we didn't go for the pictures, and the relationships we renewed and strengthened will endure longer than any souvenir we might have brought back. Sure, the trip ended up costing us a lot more than we had planned, but it was still worth it.

Miranda at the Temple on her special day. Eight years old already.

The kids with Grandma, Grandpa and Miley on the morning of our departure. I was able to find enough of a
break in the tears to get this one.

Some thoughts on loss

2011-08-21T10:44:00.000+04:00

For those of you who are Facebook friends, you’ve already learned about my loss (side note, facebook is a great place to go if you’re looking for instant comfort from a fairly large group of people also, on facebook you only have to recount your painful experience once and move on). If you haven’t been frequenting the Facebook, let me quote my entry:

Sitting in Chicago O'Hare wondering if I should mourn the loss of all my electronics collectively or individually. Oh MacBook pro, there was still so much I had wanted to do with you. iPad, I should have done more than play Angry Birds on you. I know that now. Canon, a summer with you wasn't enough and Kindle, even though you will be replaced, it wll never be the same.

How do I articulate this experience in a way that conveys the genuine pain and sense of betrayal I’ve felt as losing some pretty valuable nifty gadgets. I’ve never had anything major stolen from me in my life. I lost a couple of cheap in-dash stereos while we were living in Arizona, but apart from that, we’ve never had a break-in, never been mugged, nor have we every been the victims of identity theft or Internet fraud. When you go through life insulated from some of the seedier elements of civilization, it’s pretty easy to have a generally favorable view of one’s fellow man. I’ve always said that most people are good, that most people, when given an opportunity to do the right thing, will do it. It’s harder to maintain that perspective when confronted with the minority who don’t do the right thing, but, you know, I still believe it, in part because of how people have treated me upon learning of my loss, but mostly I still believe it because I want to believe it.

We discovered the loss while we were standing around the parking lot of the car rental place. Needless to say, I panicked. In that moment of realization, I believed that what I had lost was irreplaceable. I was overwhelmed by both the financial and emotional cost and I have to say I didn’t take it well. My wife said that she’s seen me angry (plenty of times), and she’s seen me sullen (plenty of times too), but she had never seen me feeling so helpless and distraught before. I’m sorry my kids had to see it happen; however, I think there are some advantages to seeing one’s dad as human.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing to find yourself in a situation beyond your control. It teaches you humility, and it teaches you to rely on others. The guy in front of me looked like the smartphone kind of guy and I asked him if he could look up the number to the hotel and let me call. He wasn’t having any luck finding it. Unasked, the lady behind me started to do the same and offered me her phone while I called. There are good people out there, and I believe most people want to help if they can. Comfort can be found in the company of strangers.

I called the hotel and told them that my bag had been left in the parking lot. They went and looked around for it, but there was nothing to be found. All of it was gone.

The Inventory of my bag as far as I can remember:

Canon S95 and my very cool gorilla tripod

Ipad and the spiffy new Ipad Keyboard I had just bought the day before.

MacBook Pro

Ipod Nano

Kindle

Nook

A couple of memory cards

Julie’s Cell Phone

A Moleskine Notebook with a couple of really good story ideas (I think I can remember them all)

Luggage scale

Thor: The Mighty Avenger Volumes 1 and 2 (I was pretty happy to find both of those at Borders during their closing out sale. In some ways I’m most ticked off at losing those. I was really looking forward to reading them on the plane. It’s kind of funny the things we fixate on.)

Fortunately we still had our little Ipod touch and the Boston Airport offered free Internet access, so we were able to change some key password details and hopefully circumvent any future issues with identity theft or financial risk. Most importantly, all of our cash and travel documents—passports and birth certificates were safely tucked away in my nifty travel wallet. It took a lot of reflection and no small amount of prayer, but In the end, I don’t feel like I lost anything I couldn’t afford to lose.

I can’t imagine how tempting it might have been for someone to discover such a treasure trove in one place. I’m not angry with the person who took it. I don’t know their situation, nor do I know their intentions. I do feel a certain amount of pity for the person who is in such a place where they either feel they need to steal or their hearts have become so hardened by choice and circumstance that they feel no remorse over the pain or discomfort they might cause another. A heart hardened to the suffering of others is a heart hardened to everything. Empathy is necessary to feel love for others and to feel the love others have for you. At the end of the day, I can replace what’s been lost, but that person who took it will have a much more difficult time recovering from the loss in their life.

Let me be clear, as much as I lament the replacement cost of those things, what irks me more is the loss of some very dear pictures, especially the pictures we took at Miranda’s baptism. Most of the other stuff on the computer was backed up, and sure it’ll be a pain to go through all of my accounts to change passwords and protect my identity, but even that is, at most, an inconvenience.

We will be getting a new computer soon, an iMac instead of an MacBook this time—much more difficult to lose or leave behind, and eventually we may replace the iPad or get one of those nifty new MacBook Airs, but that won’t be for some time yet. As far as the camera’s concerned, I’m really glad that we bought it, but my Nikon SLR still works pretty well and I can’t say I see the need to get a new point and shoot anytime soon. The Kindle will be missed, but we’ve got a few dozen books lying around the apartment and, even though I had pretty much turned my back on paper, it’s really the story that matters most. No doubt I’ll get a new Kindle some time down the road, but for now, it’s far from a need.

We’ve already replaced Julie’s phone and getting her phone number back couldn’t have been easier

So, in the end, no big deal, right? Well, yes and no. Even though I’ve come to terms with the stuff that was lost, I believe that the experience of losing it could, potentially, be life changing. In some ways it feels kind of silly and trivial to talk about this as a life changing experience, but I think it could radically alter the course of my life, but only if I choose to let it. As I’ve said, it would be an easy thing to replace all the items I lost on that day. It’s not that I’m flush with cash, but I’ve got enough saved up that we could find a way to make it work. I had done a back-up just before we left for Nova Scotia, so apart from the pictures I had taken while we were away, we’ve got most of that stuff at our disposal. I can’t help but be grateful that I had been so diligent about blogging while we were away because most of the key pictures we had taken are safely stored on the Internet (However, I am sad that the photo of me and my mutton chops will only be seen by the people in possession of my computer). Any moment can be a life changing moment if you choose to let it change you, and that’s what I’m doing. I am choosing to have this loss refocus my efforts in the areas that matter most to me. My facebook entry was a little tongue and cheek like a facebook posting needs to be, but it was pretty clear to me that I had used most of those gadgets as diversions instead of what I said I needed them for.

It’s like people who say they subscribe to cable for the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, but spend most of their time watching reality celebrity shows on E!. I told myself and everyone else that I needed these things for my writing, but ultimately I used the technology to while away the hours watching useless youtube clips or endlessly searching for any details I could find about the new Avengers movie coming out next summer. The iPad was a toy for me (as it is for most) and I wasted more time browsing the Internet casually or flinging Angry Birds at thieving pigs. I was not making the most of the tool within my possession. I was not making the most of my time. I have been living beneath my potential.

An early member of our church said, “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility….It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to require.”

I’m sure he was referring to greater tragedies than what I’ve suffered, but I still take comfort from the sentiment. The key for me in this moment of minor crisis is to make the lessons learned more valuable than the stuff that was lost. It will take some time and effort, but I believe I can use this experience to enrich my life and the lives of those around me, it’s just up to me to figure out how.

Monday to Friday--Trying to ignore the sound of that ticking clock

2011-08-20T23:50:00.000+04:00

This last week was full with filling our luggage. We had left behind a fair bit of stuff and worked at trying to fit it all into our luggage. The problem with going so long without certain items is that one comes to realize how little one actually needs or wants them. So, it was with no shortage of ambivalence that I stuffed duffle bags with books and DVDs that may or may not get read in the coming years. Oh well. One thing that we left behind towards which there is absolutely no ambivalence is our lego collection. Collection may be a little imprecise when talking about a thirty pound bin of odds and ends, but Legos are not cheap in Abu Dhabi and our children have lamented more than once over the past year about not having the perfect piece for one of their constructions.

Monday night I went out to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes with a couple of friends of mine. I had to leave Liam behind because he still had some school to finish up with.I really wanted to take him along, but abandoning him was the responsible thing. Sometimes being a Dad is no fun at all.

Liam really pulled out all the stops, Julie too, to finish up with his schooling for the year. He pulled an all nighter on Thursday (Julie did too) and was finally able to really enjoy his summer starting Friday.

Did I delegate lulling James to sleep to Grandma? Yup.

Not a lot of sun for swim lessons, but lot's of fun!

Do I look homeless? That's what Liam says.

Thursday morning was spent tutoring Dad in a few computer related areas. Thursday afternoon was more packing and swim lessons. Thursday night we went down to the Hamachi Steakhouse for a great Japanese dinner (and show). It was Miranda's birthday dinner and we were all glad that Grandma and Grandpa invited us along for the celebrations.

Friday was a full one. More packing in the morning. Then Julie and I had a great visit with our friends Rory, Sarah, Gail and Joe. The basic theme of the afternoon was, "Things aren't perfect in Abu Dhabi, but it is pretty great. Please come back with us." Not sure how well we sold the experience, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

While we were lunching, Grandma, Lucy, Miranda and James were off to www.themonkeyshow.ca, a new favourite place in Halifax. We discovered it just before we left and as you can see from the pictures below, the kids were pretty happy we happened upon it. Grandma put her sewing expertise to work for James, but Lucy and Miranda pretty much constructed their sock monkeys from scratch.

My, what pretty eyes you have.

It was a rush to get to the pool for swim lessons, but we made it. It was a pretty novel experience Friday because the sun actually made an appearance.

James' newfound bravery around water is a little disconcerting.

I thought we were going to take it easy for the last couple of weeks

2011-08-08T23:09:00.000+04:00

Julie and the kids were able to spend some time visiting with her good friend Beth. I spent some time on computer tutor duty with Dad. He's got a list of things he'd like to be able to do, and I actually think I may be able to help him with that. Liam is down to the wire with home school. Tennis lessons had to be missed, but Liam was very understanding. I've been really impressed with what he's been able to accomplish this summer. Now, we just need to figure out how generate those levels of productivity during the actual school year.

Julie spent two nights with the Pillings children. The parents were away and had asked us to check in on them. James was happy to have a sleepover with his friend Chaim and Liam enjoyed his time with his friend Mason. After spending some time visitng and playing games both evenings, I opted out of spending the night for some solitude and uninterrupted reading time back at my Dad's. It's a little selfish, I know, but Julie's forgiven me already, I think.

Saturday morning we spent at the temple and then we rushed over with Dad and Ellen to see Shakespeare by the Sea's "Robin Hood." If you've got a chance to see it, you've really got to go. I've enjoyed all of their productions, but this one was the most polished family show that I've seen them do. It didn't hurt to watch the show on one of the few good weather days we've experienced since coming to Nova Scotia. I actually had to put sunblock on, a first for this summer.

Intermission

Who's that pretty lady?

Saturday night we went with Dad, Ellen and Jessica to MacAskill's for dinner. A trip to Nova Scoia wouldn't be complete without at least one visit to the restaurant. The food was great, and it was nice to have a little bit of grown up time. It's the little things you appreciate like being able to have an entire conversation without having to explain the meaning of a single word or idiom.

Yup, I need a haircut.

Sunday started early and didn't stop until well after sundown. At church we're still getting the "Are you guys still here?" looks. It's like people are hanging on to their goodbyes and can't wait to get them over with. The afternoon was spent at the Pinsents. You might think that taking four kids over to a house with even more kids might result in an incredible level of chaos, but after we ate, all the children vanished and were not heard from until it was time to go. It might be a little unsettling if the peace and quiet were not so well appreciated.

In the evening, Dad had Ruth and Murray Wright for dinner. We've always enjoyed their company and the love they've shown our children. We had a great visit over a fantastic meal. We were also treated to quite the humming bird display.

One of our guests for dinner.

By the time the Wrights left, we were pretty much done for the day, but we had invited the Glanfields over so I could continue my Settlers of Catan winning streak. The dice were not in my favor. Grandma joined in for her first Settlers game and soundly cleaned up.

Lucy being told she can't play.

Us playing. Wait! How did Lucy get there?

I like to think that we've done a pretty good job at visiting with friends and family. Sure, we'd like to spend more time with people, but I am a firm believer in the George Constanza principle of "Leave them wanting more." There were a few times when I felt like we were verging on the point of overstaying our welcome, but for the most part we've spent just enough time with people to remind them about all the things they like about us without bringing up some of our less than desirable traits.

Whales and Weather

2011-08-05T02:19:00.000+04:00

The weekend was recuperative. We were able to get our bearings. Jessica came with us to Cowboys and Aliens, a movie experience that was perfectly summed up by its title. I had a great time (I will never see it again), and Julie was looking for a little more camp. It did take itself very seriously, but that's one of the things I liked about it. Jessica came back for a second night so that we could all be up early for the Natal Day race Monday morning. We had a good visit and broke out her copy of Blockus 3D which, I'm sad to say, tested our balancing skills more than our ability to strategize. Stick with the classic and you'll do just fine.

Monday morning was race day. Now the plan was to register for the Natal Day race right after we arrived and then train for a month leading up to it. Julie did OK with getting out and running. I, on the other hand, went for a total of three short runs which could hardly be labelled as training. Lucy had two practice runs and Liam went for one (though he has been playing tennis quite regularly).

We're all winners (see the medals!)

The Bay of Fundy. Don't mind those clouds.

James on the Ferry to Long Island (second shortest Ferry ride)

"Yes, James, we're still going on the boat."

The problem with registering early for a race like that is that everyone can see that you've registered. Even though I know the whole world isn't looking at my name and wondering if I'm really going to go through with it, it feels that way (just like it feels that the whole world might very well be reading my blog even though intellectually I know I have a readership that I could comfortable count on one hand). So the world-- that's a lot of pressure to do something you're not really ready for.

It was only two miles, but two miles for someone as out of shape as I felt was a little daunting. I had one goal: not to be last. It wasn't much of a goal, but after seeing some of the participants, it felt achievable. I wasn't last, but I was a far cry from first. http://www.atlanticchip.ca/events/results-show.php?result=1338 I am happy to say that I wasn't incapacitated by the run and I feel like I've got a sense of what I want to shoot for down the line in terms of speed and distance. The best part of the race was the fact that Jessica and Grandma were there along with us. You really can go further and faster if you feel like you're not alone.

The rest of the day was spent avoiding weather forecasts and packing for our gettaway with Grandma and Grandpa. After swimming lessons, we drove down to Digby. After spending nearly twenty hours in the car late last week, I have to say that our kids did very well with the trip.

Tuesday morning we were greeted with thunder and lightening, but the captain of the whale cruise we had booked assured us that we would be going out that afternoon. So after a brief driving tour of Digby (a brief tour is really all you need), we made the long drive down Digby neck looking for breaks in the clouds the whole way there. It's funny the things you cling to when faced with the inevitable. We then took the ferry to Long Island and drove the length of it. The storm was getting worse, and by the time we had made it to the dock, the tour had been pushed back an hour. No problem, we'll just have lunch at the restaurant on the shore, only the cook hasn't shown up because of the weather. Not a good sign. So we drive back to the other side of the island to see about some food, still clinging to the hope of a whale cruise in the afternoon. It was not to be. James summed it up best when he said, "Nova Scotia winters are soggy!"

What do you mean there's no food?

I couldn't help but think as I watched the rain pour down and the lightening cascade along the horizon that it would make for a more interesting blog post than a sunny day at the park. Weather in Nova Scotia can be a bit of a mixed bag, but so far it hasn't really impeded what we've planned on doing. Time's starting to get a little short now and the need for the cooperation of the elements is a little more critical. Originally, we were going to try and go to Upper Clements Park, but we universally agreed that Whale Watching was the priority. My kids took the cancellation in stride.

Yes, it is four in the afternoon, and yes, everyone
is in pyjamas.

The storm broke later that evening which gave us just enough time to walk along the docks of Digby. After asking around, we learned that apart from walks along the dock and eating great seafood, there's not much to do in Digby. It was then that I became very grateful for my Netflix streaming account. We crowded around Grandma's computer with some pizza and watched Ramona and Beezus, a family film that was much better than it should have been. Highly recommended.

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After a good night's sleep we were off again down the Digby neck. There was no lightening, which was a good sign, but there wasn't a hint of blue sky either. I'm sure there was more than one prayer muttered along the way.

Before the cruise, we stopped off to see the famous balancing rock. There is a trail on Long Island that on a nice day would have been a bit of a walk. After the storms of the day before, however, it was an actual wilderness hike. The trail had become flooded at certain points which turned some of our party around, but Lucy forged on, and, as her Dad, I felt a bit of an obligation to follow. Grandpa, Liam, and Mom also took up the challenge. I will say that it was a trip worth the squishy feet we had to contended with the rest of the day.

Flooded!

Rasberries!

We then had a hurried lunch and were off to sea. Even though the skies were grey and the weather was worhty of winter coats, our aftenoon on the ocean was definitely one of the highlights of our summer. It's hard to find the words to describe what we saw. Even the pictures can't give you a sense of what it was like to be so close to such magnificent creatures.

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"People keep taking pictures of me because I'm cute, right?"

Liam at work!

We had a long drive home that was broken up by a visit to Swiss Chalet (yep, Sarah, you may be able to ship Dad down to Texas for a month, but the only way you'll ever get to enjoy that succulent chicken and ribs, not to mention those heavenly fries, is to actually come here and visit). Miley was very excited to see James when we came through the door and James had slept enough in the car to not feel the need to go straight to bed.

We were so glad to have gone, but being able to share the trip with Grandma and Grandpa made the experience better in every possible way. We are so grateful for all that they did to prepare for the trip and, more importantly, for the time we were able to spend with them.

A week of magnificent beauty of unremarkable tedium

2011-07-30T18:08:00.000+04:00

Is it possible for a vacation to last too long? We've gone through the euphoria of reunion with friends and family, and we're still a few weeks away from the sadness of parting. We're in limbo, and, like most Limbos it seems interminable. We're here but we're not and that's a funny place to be. Our day to day lives in Nova Scotia have almost become quotidian--lives fraught with all the drama of a typical facebook post (which is to say, not very much drama at all). Which is why it is possible to go almost a week without posting a thing. I could've gone even longer without checking in had our friends, the Glanfields, not shaken us out of our complacency with a whirlwind tour of Cape Breton's Cabot Trail.

But for those interested in the minutiae of our lives over the past week and a bit, here's a recap:

Friday we were able to spend a good part of the day with Grandma which included a trip to the mall and a sampling of the world famous Cow's ice cream down at historic properties.

Friday night, Liam and I took in Captain America (big surprise), and for a guy who prides himself on his sense of irony, I have to say it was really refreshing to watch a movie that was completely devoid of it. There are not enough movies about characters with conviction who are trying to do the right thing simply because it's the right thing. It's as if all our heroes need to be flawed so that we can relate to them. And though I understand the need to relate, it is sometimes nice, necessary even, to have an ideal to aspire to. Perhaps I'm reading more into the movie than I should, but watching it, I felt like I was watching a movie that had been made fifty years ago but with the technology of today. Like I said, it was refreshing and exactly what I was looking for in a movie called "Captain America."

Saturday was filled with some yard work (see what I mean?). Liam did get to command the John Deere which made the rest of us a bit jealous. We were rewarded for our labours with a great dinner at Wong's.

A typical ditch in my father's neighborhood

The ditch in front of my father's house. Can you see the difference?

Hauling rocks like a pro.

Sunday was church. I'm pretty sure they can't give me a calling without my records, but it's hard not to feel like I should be doing a little more. Nothing like Mormon guilt to colour a vacation. Julie and the girls had an honest to goodness sleepover at their friend Caroline's.

Monday was laundry day and then a great visit with Martin and Michelle MacLennan. I was trounced at both Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan (in my defence, it's been about a year since my last game of Catan). And even though I didn't win either game, we still had a great time together.

Tuesday hit us with the realization that time is growing short for us here. When we arrived, it felt like we had all the time in the world, and though I feel like we've really been using our time well, I'm starting to feel a little panicked about making the most of what we have left. We spent some time with Jessica this afternoon who was quick to point out her absence in any of my previous blog posts. I felt bad that I hadn't mentioned her when she came over a few weeks ago, but I was also extremely gratified by the fact that she'd been reading my blog.

Wednesday we hit the road with the Glanfields. We drove almost non-stop from Dartmouth to Cheticamp. There's not much that I can say about the drive that can't be said better with pictures.

Most beautiful place in the world? I'm sure we'll read about it on the blog.

The Franks and Glanfields just outside Cheticamp

This is Joel smiling.

I'm pretty sure the sign said, 10 and under.

Wednesday night, after putting the kids to bed, it was Catan again. I was feeling the need to redeem myself from the losses of a few nights before which led to some aggressive strategies on my part. I singled out my wife on more than one occasion with my armies, it wasn't personal, really, but had there been a couch to sleep on in our hotel room, I would have been on it.

James and Liam spent the night in Joel and Heidi's room. And though we didn't hear a peep, we later learned that James needed some comforting. Not sure if I would have had the necessary compassion at 2 in the morning. Thanks Heidi!

Thursday was a day driving along the Cabot Trail with occasional breaks for breathtaking views and short hikes. I had never visited the Cabot Trail. It's always been one of those things on my to do list that I never got around to doing, and, after talking with a number of people about our plans, I'm not the only Nova Scotian who's always been planning to do the trail but has never gotten around to it. If you've been on the fence about about it, it's time to get off. It was a stunning trip, again, pictures will do a much better job than I could do with my words.

Are we going to stop at every bend for a picture? Probably.

Exploring the Bog.

If you look really closely, you can see the world's shortest ferry ride at Englishtown.

Thursday night was Canada's best pizza at Napoli's in Sydney and then some picture in front of the world's largest violin. After then kids were in bed, the board games came out again. I really didn't have a choice. One victory at Catan might be ascribed to luck, if I was going to prove my inherent awesomeness at Settlers, I needed to win again. I'm sure you're dying to know who won. Alas, lest some accuse me of exploiting this blog to proclaim my awesome gaming skills, I must refrain from recording the victor of the game.

Yup, that's a big violin!

Sleeping arrangements!

Friday morning it was Fortress Louisburg, the largest restored fortress in North America. There was a lot of walking and some great interactions with the cast there. We only had to contend with the fog, for which we were very grateful.

Outside the barracks.

The turkey was a definite highlight.

A great "authentic" lunch at the fortress. The pea soup was divine.

Miranda upon learning of the presence of turnips in her meal.

The fortress prided itself on it's discipline.

It was at this point in the journey where James' legs stopped working.

The drive home was uneventful. Then there was sleep.

It's hard to play tourist in the place you grew up

2011-07-21T19:12:00.000+04:00

I give you Lucy on vacation. Except for the swing, it's pretty
much the same as Lucy the rest of the year.

I know my father enjoys having us around even if we do get in the way, but what he most enjoys is bedtime. No, it's not the family prayers or the hugs all around, it that moment when we get around to putting James to bed. He doesn't bask in the tender care with which we go through the pre-bed rituals. Instead, he savours that moment just after we've done all in our power to put James to sleep, when James creeps guiltily up the stairs. No matter how many times we put him down and he gets back up, I swear it never gets old for my dad. It's almost as if the two of them are in cahoots.

James at the park.

On Tuesday we hung out at some parks, and got on Liam's case about homework, again.

A moth outside my Dad's.
Sometimes you just have to post cool pictures of bugs.

A dragonfly we saw on a brief nature walk. Nature's everywhere around here.

Who is that guy holding James. He looks a little dodgy if you ask me.

Yesterday (Wednesday) my have been our first touristy day in Nova Scotia. We've been having a great time, but so much of our days have been filled with visiting friends and putting in the obligatory time at Costco that we haven't really gotten to be tourists in Nova Scotia (something we had been looking forward to all year). I could blame the weather for our lack of site seeing, but I'm only allowing myself one Nova Scotia weather rant, and I used that up with the last post.

The sun was shining, there wasn't a hint of grey in the skies and there was just enough of a breeze to make the weather seem perfect. We decided to seize the moment and head out to Peggy's Cove. The windy road out there always threatens motion sickness, but we made it just barely. We couldn't have asked for a better day to visit. The kids enjoyed the adventure of climbing the rocks and exploring. The only downside to the whole experience was their Dad forcing them to pose for pictures.

James and I helped my Dad finish a little shed that afternoon and then took it easy for the night because we needed a break after an hour and a half of something actually resembling work.

Also, I think I've passed the point where the effort of putting up with facial hair is greater than the effort it would take to shave said facial hair. I think it's time for the patchy, grey thing that's been discouraging my wife from kissing me to go. I hate to admit it, but I'll probably miss the attention. I'm a bit needy that way (why else would I put so much effort into my blog?). Maybe I'll add a poll...

Nova Scotia: A Break from all that Sunlight

2011-07-20T00:55:00.000+04:00

Are you tired of the sun? Do you long for a break from year round naturally bronzed skin? Overdosing on vitamin D? Have I got a vacation spot for you! I have to admit, the first couple of days of rain were novel and refreshing, but this wind and cloud and rain is a little much. I shouldn't have to wear a coat in the middle of July. It's a matter of principle for me. I've gone almost a year without any type of outer layers and it just feels wrong to be bundling up on my summer vacation. If we weren't having such a great time, the grey skies might actually have a chance of getting me down a little, but our time with friends and family has been more than enough to offset the less than ideal weather patterns of Atlantic Canada.

James and Yoda and I at The Monster Comic Lounge in Halifax.

We've had a few plans that have been interrupted by weather, which has taken some adjusting. In Abu Dhabi, you really don't factor the weather into any of your decisions. There's basically a zero percent chance of rain on any given day, so days at the beach are rarely interrupted by meteorological surprises. The first time I actually went on line to look up the weather in almost a year was when we were in London. Now that we're in Nova Scotia, I do it at least once a day, sometimes more.

Liam's gotten back into tennis since we've arrived. Funny how one of the selling points of Abu Dhabi was year round tennis and he hasn't played once all year. We'll have to find some way to remedy that. Lucy's been able to reconnect with a number of friends which has made it all worth it for her. Miranda and James have taken to my father's dog, Miley in a way that is both endearing and troubling for a Dad who has a strict no-pet policy.

Friday night, Julie was able to get together with her good friend Caroline while I held down the fort. On Saturday, Liam watched the kids in the morning so Julie and I could go to the temple. We had a great experience there. Saturday night, Dad and Ellen watched James and Miranda so the rest of us could go see Harry Potter. The Glanfields, Choos and Quists were there with us and we had a great time.

Saturday's soup: Chicken, Rice and Vegetable. Mmmmm!

Does it look like I'm on vacation? That's kind of what
I'm going for here.

Although I enjoyed the books and love what Rowling has done to inspire and entire generation of avid readers, I really believe that The Goblet of Fire was a turning point for the books and the movies. Book four is where the books became so popular that I think her editors gave up giving real feedback. It's also the point in the movie series where the movies became more engaging than the books. I remember watching as Cedric was killed by Voldemort and being surprised because I actually felt something. In the book, I was largely indifferent. The quality of the acting, screenwriting and direction, brought the characters to life in a way that the books never did. I was genuinely moved by the sense of loss that pervaded the final movie. It was easily the most emotionally satisfying movie of the summer (which, considering this summer's bounty, isn't saying much). Now if only they could figure a way to go back and film the first two movies in such a way as to make them watchable, I'd be one very happy camper.

Liam and Lucy from a couple of years ago when we went to
a special screening of The Half Blood Prince

Joel and Heidi came over after the movie for a game of Ticket to Ride. I probably should do a write up of one of the best boardgames I've ever played, but I'll have to save my boardgaming post for later on. It was a great time except for the fact that I didn't win. I suspect Joel's time with the Ticket to Ride app may have something to do with his crushing victory.

Sunday morning was church again where we were no longer novel (it's amazing how quickly the lustre is lost). In the afternoon, our friends Ethan and Joanne MacLennan had us over for dessert, dinner and a game in that order. Again, Ticket to Ride came out and again, a person that I had introduced to the game soundly trounced me. However, I made up for it during the rematch. It was a great visit for everyone. Their kids more or less line up with our kids age wise and when you've got a room full of children with active imaginations, it's surprisingly easy for them to find lots in common to talk about.

Fun and Games at the MacLennans

There's always time for a Teaparty.

Is everyone actually looking at the camera?

Monday we got on Liam's case about school. For some reason, the boy thinks he's on vacation. Luckily he didn't give us too much attitude. In the evening we had dinner with the missionaries and some friends from church. It's easy to take the missionaries for granted until you don't have them any more. We enjoyed their company and the spirit they brought with them.

Before we went to bed, we tried watching the Last Airbender on Netflix with the kids. It's a pretty horrible film in its own right, but if you watched any of the cartoon upon which it's based, it makes the movie that much worse. I don't understand how people can spend tens of millions of dollars developing a property without understanding what makes the property work in the first place. The only pleasure I took was listening to my kids guffaw at the stilted dialogue and wooden delivery. I may have made a lot of mistakes as a parent, but one area I did not let my kids down in was the ability to recognize cinematic mediocrity.

Soup

2011-07-15T01:38:00.000+04:00

One could choose to mark days by a checking them off a calendar, but I personally believe it an affront to vacations to look at calendars or clocks--even glancing at the sun to determine its position in the sky is a little dodgy when trying to bask in the nirvana of timelessness. Living with my father, though, makes one marker of the passage of time inescapable. I am, of course, talking about soup.

I believe the phrase you're looking for is "mouth watering."

If there is one constant in my father's household, it is the perpetual stovetop simmering of soups, chowders or spaghetti sauce (which is basically another kind of soup that is poured over noodles). For my father, the preparation of soup fulfils some very basic needs. At times he uses soup as a refuge from the stresses of day to day life; at times, wanting to make sure some of the ingredients in his fridge are put to good use, his approach is utilitarian; then there are those times when he uses soup as service. Sometimes it is difficult to know how to help those in need, but soup is always welcome and rarely inappropriate.

It's not that my father likes ice cream that much. It just that empty
ice cream containers make for such effective soup delivery mechanisms.

At my father's, a new soup means a new day, and a new soup means a new reason to get out of bed in the morning. We arrived to fish chowder, then there was a nice tomato soup with a bit of bite, then came the corn chowder and the beef vegetable with a tomato base, and after that there was clam chowder and today the spaghetti sauce is seductively simmering away.

Before we moved to Abu Dhabi, my father's soup was always an option. It's constant presence meant I took it for granted and that there were days when I foolishly didn't take my father up on his offer of soup, thinking that there would be soup when I wanted it. In the last week and a half, neither myself nor any member of my family could be accused of taking my father's soup for granted. We have availed ourselves of each bowl offered and even though we know that the more soup we consume, the less he has to give to the more needy and deserving, the guilt we feel is minimal at best.

What would soup be without a wide array of soup bowls?

The sun does come out in Nova Scotia

2011-07-15T00:19:00.000+04:00

James is really the only one pulling his weight around here.

Worries? What worries?

The days do get away from you

2011-07-13T16:49:00.000+04:00

Saturday was filled with some chores. Even on vacation, the laundry has to be folded. We also visited with JJ and Sheldon Choo for a great visit and haircuts (I abstained, believing that a haircut goes against the whole rugged vacation beard thing I've got going on).

Ahh, bonding over multi-player gaming.

Saturday night was pizza and donairs (finally) with Dad, Ellen, Mike, Christy, Brady and Mackenzie. The best part of the evening was watching our kids reconnect with their cousins. My brother felt the urgency of making the most of our vacation by taking in the sites and offered some great advice on how to maximize some of the deals here.

Add caption

My cousins went to Abu Dhabi and all I got was this T-Shirt!

Sunday: There were enough new faces at church to make us feel like we were visiting. People seemed genuinely happy to see us and many claimed to have missed us. Is it selfish and self-centered to enjoy being missed?

We do miss grandpa's cooking!

James' new best friend.

So calm. This is not the dog we remember.

After a great dinner of barbecued steaks, we were off to the our friends the Pinsents for game night in what was once our home. Game night was a weekly/bi-weekly tradition while we were living in Nova Scotia. Many Sunday evenings we would be a little more strict in enforcing bed-times and have friends come over for a round of Carcasonne, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, or Dominion. It was a great way to visit with people. The games were lots of fun and having a purpose to the visit often kept the conversation of devolving into a late night gossip session. Apart from family and friends, Game night is probably the thing I miss most about Nova Scotia. Yes, even more than Costco or Donairs. The Glanfields showed up to join in the festivities and, apart from the new coat of paint in the dining room, it felt as if we had never left. We essayed a new game, Snorta, that was more for the kids, but it was great fun to witness the chaos. The only thing that made the whole experience feel different than game night was that we were able to wrap things up before eleven.

Game night at the Pinsents!

Monday: I spent the morning and afternoon visiting with friends from work. There's been a real increase in the Saudi population of students, so the TESL Centre has added prayer rooms which made wandering the halls feel a little like Abu Dhabi (minus all the classroom gadgets and extensive support staff). Talking with people about our experiences in Abu Dhabi has really helped me appreciate what a great experience the year has been. After the first few months of novelty, we had settled into some nice routines with work, school and church and the adventure seemed, well, less adventurous. But when people start asking about our lives over there, that puts me into storytelling mode, and in storytelling mode, everything is an adventure.

While I was gallivanting about Halifax, the kids had a piano lesson with the world's best piano teacher and then spent a little time at the library.

We love our libraries!

Teenager expressions keep popping up on Liam's face.

Monday night was dinner with the Kirchner's. Again, it was like we had never left except for the fact that James was totally cool around their massive dog, Boomer. The last week hanging out with Miley has really raised James' confidence level around animals. It was another great dinner and visit. I've felt that we've done a pretty good job at making the most of our time here. In the week we've been here, we've accomplished just as much as we accomplished in that week in London only it's been of a more personal nature. Instead of seeing shows and sites, we've been reconnected with people and places.

Tuesday: The rain, glorious rain, kept us mostly housebound. Julie took the kids to another library for a bit (we do miss libraries) and then another trip to Costco (is the novelty wearing off so soon?). After dinner it was off to the movies.

While we were living here, going to the annual Pixar release with the whole family got to be a bit of a tradition. It was nice to get out together, but the only thing missing from the equation was the actual Pixar movie. Sure it had the logo at the beginning, but where was the wit? Where was the clever plotting? Where was the emotional payoff? The kids enjoyed it, but the first thing Lucy said to me after the movie was, "Do you think that will be the first pixar movie we don't own?" Even though there are layers to the better Pixar movies that the kids don't fully understand, they notice it when it's not there. And this is one movie that had absolutely nothing under it's very glossy exterior. It was a movie of interminable product placement and, no doubt, James will be adding a few of the cars to his collection before we leave Nova Scotia. Even the Toy Story short at the beginning of the movie felt like a crass exercise in keeping the brand alive to sell more merchandise. I'm disappointed, if you can't tell. For the last fifteen years, there has been one thing I could count on every year and that was excellence from Pixar and without that constant, I feel a little bit adrift. It wasn't a bad movie, it was just mediocre, but when you expect excellence, it makes mediocrity worse.

The exhaling portion of our journey

2011-07-10T21:18:00.000+04:00

There is an end to adrenaline, and I welcome it. Thursday I was able to sleep in until almost eight. Bliss.

Later in the morning we were able to visit a friend of the family, Murray Wright, who my father had tasked with overcoming a few family history roadblocks we had encountered. The only thing we knew about my great grandfather is that "We don't talk about him." In the absence of information, rumours and conjecture abounds. The most persistent rumour having to do with a bank robbery in texas. It was understood that names were changed in a hasty flight to Canada. It has always been a little frustrating when people would ask, "Where do the Franks hail from?" to not be able to go back past my great grandfather. It turns out there was a name change, it was Frank with a 'C' and the Francks came from Germany by way of Lunenburg. Muray was able to take us back to the 1600s which is great start and I'm anxious to see where we go from here.

The afternoon was spent at the beach with Ellen's work. The sun was shining and the helicopter flybys made things interesting.

James has a new best friend.

That night we went out to dinner together. I am no real fan of Canadian history, I find it alternatively tedious and shameful, and Canadian culture is little more than watered down British culture with some resented American thrown in. However, there are a few national institutions that are worthy of genuine praise and patronage and last night, we visited one of those institutions: Swiss Chalet. From the outside, it may just look like another mid-level chicken chain. And the menu doesn't exactly overwhelm one with the options, but the lack of selection is actually one of its virtues. And any restaurant where the kid's quarter chicken dinner is more appealing than the chicken nugget option has got to be doing something right.

On Friday we did a little bit of shopping and were able to visit with some friends. We had a great visit with the Pinsents, some good friends of ours who ended up buying our house from us after we left. When talking to us, Niccola kept saying things like, "We really love your house." I felt like I had to keep reminding her that our name isn't on the deed anymore. However, she did feel enough ownership of the place to say, "By the way, you're not getting this place back. This is our retirement home." It made us feel pretty good to see that it had gone to a family that love it as much as we loved it.

We made the rounds with just Miranda because Liam, Lucy and James were all doing their own thing with their own friends. If we aren't careful, I could see this being one of those separate vacations where everyone does their own thing. There are some advantages to time away after so much time so close together. Our good friend Joel came over for a visit in the evening, and then, for some reason (probably some whacked out sense of tradition) we took in a late show of Transformers. I just don't know if spectacular special effects and the prospect of giant robots pummelling one another is reason enough to see a movie. There was a time when it would have been everything I would want in a movie, but now I'm looking for things like character and plot. Maybe I am growing up after all.

In Canada, they use dollars, right?

2011-07-08T00:41:00.000+04:00

Not sure if I was comforted by the sight of the pilot washing
the window to our plane or disconcerted.

We flew into Boston without any real struggles other than having to sit through Oliver Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." (I really don't understand how you could make such a boring film about something as interesting as the financial crisis.)

Our luggage came through without a hitch, there was no problem in picking up the car and driving. The only complication we experienced was one I could never have anticipated not being an attorney specializing in US immigration law. It turns out that if you were born in America but have a Canadian passport, you cannot travel to America because they do not recognize your Canadianess. Our three older children were non-compliant with present immigration laws, and, as the immigration officer was giving them a stern warning, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed in my children. I've worked hard to raise them to be responsible, law abiding citizens, but here they were flouting international law as if they were somehow special. I promised the immigration officer that they would comply, but my kids didn't seem too concerned. What's a father to do? Would it be fair to threaten them with the prospect of American immigration prison? I want them to comply. I really do.

Our mini-van was waiting at Budget just like it was supposed to. It turns out that the Kia Sedona makes for a pretty smooth ride. I did make a wrong turn just out of Boston which took us through New Hampshire, a nice state and I was glad to visit, but as soon as we saw a Target I was off to buy a GPS unit to get me back on track. We had to do a little more shopping, of course, but we were soon on the road to Augusta where we had booked a hotel for the night.

It's the simple things that bring the greatest joys.

The next day was for driving, we did a little more shopping before really getting on the road, although I'm sure we could have found lots of great deals and much needed items, no one wanted to delay getting to Grandpa and Grandma's any more than they had to.

Living in a country where I have access to virtually anything money can buy has, surprisingly, made me a little less materialistic. Although I enjoyed our time in Target and the 4th of July sales at Old Navy were a bargain hunter's dream, the experiences didn't bring the same level of comfort that I remember experiencing a year ago. What I wanted was to get in and get out so that we could get back on the road. Even our time in Costco the following day felt a little underwhelming. Perhaps we had built it up so much that there was no way we could be anything but disappointed in it; however, our disappointment did little to discourage us from spending more than I wanted.

Yeah Canada! (We're much more tired than we look)

After a full day of driving, we pulled into Cole Harbour around ten o'clock. There was soup waiting for us, of course, and it really felt like no time had passed at all. Thanks to the miracle of Skype there was none of that awkward reacquainting stage that comes with long absences. Even Miley welcomed us without reservation.

James with his new best friend!

On Wednesday we got down to the business of tying up some loose ends. There were papers to review, a driver's license to renew and a Costco to visit.

Destined for the shredder.

It's a very difficult thing to sever oneself from a place completely. You can sell everything you own, close down all of your accounts and still you leave a presence long after you left. You leave trails wherever you go. I was incredibly blessed to have a man I trusted manage the unfinished business we left behind. Apart from selling our home and our vehicle, he sifted through mounds of mail, helped to resolve tax returns and numerous other issues. It really didn't hit me how much he had done until I saw the pile of paper he had been dutifully filing away for me over the past year. The fact that he wasn't all that excited about me taking the family to the other side of the world, made his help and support all the more meaningful. Knowing that my father was here managing so much on our behalf spared me more worry than I can express and really permitted us to throw ourselves into our new lives in Abu Dhabi without constantly looking over our shoulders to all the things in Nova Scotia we had left unresolved.

Some recovery required.

Lucy was able to reconnect with her friend Amelia and James was quite insistent that we visit Chaim as soon as possible. In both cases, it was as if no time passed at all. I believe that the best test of friendship is geography. It's not until you've spent some time away from those closest to you, do you come to understand that a relationship is built upon more than the convenience of proximity.

Day 6-'Going Out on a Whimper' or 'The Toll of Travel'

2011-07-05T15:23:00.000+04:00

It's the little things, like walking by Christie's that I'll miss.

We'll also miss the Lamborghini dealership (but we've got
one of those in Abu Dhabi)

Of course, what we'll miss most are Grandma and Grandpa!

Do you know that my mother didn't make fun of my facial hair once on this trip. What more evidence do you need
of a mother's love?

Well it was bound to happen. Kind of inevitable really. We actually had an uneventful day. Our morning was filled with packing. Afternoon was church (and apart from the accents, it was pretty much the same as church anywhere else in the world, and after Abu Dhabi, even the accents are starting to feel pretty familiar). We did a little more packing in the afternoon, visited some more with Mom and Mike and then off to the airport hotel. We had thought about trying to fit another museum in on the way to or from church, but it would have been cramming things in, and when you try to do too much you run the risk of spoiling what you've done before. There's a fine line between just the right amount of ice cream and a tummy ache.

So, I guess this is the point where I reflect on the first leg of our Summer of Franksyness.

First off, it would have been impossible to have the experience we had here without all that Mom and Mike did for us. Their generosity in relocating to a hotel so that we could stay in their home made the whole trip considerably more doable. We got to spend some great time with them. I only hope we weren't too much of a distraction from the work they're doing there. It was a lot of fun to sit back and watch how they interacted with the Young Single Adult Members, and to feel of the love they had as they talk about the many new people they've met since they've been there. We're grateful for what they are doing here and the example it is to us and our kids, and I'm grateful to have a better sense of what they're doing. I'll definitely be reading their weekly updates with a better sense of what is going on in this part of the world.

We would have liked James to have been a little healthier, and, at times, that pesky need for sleep did get in the way of a few things we might have added to our experience, but I honestly don't know how we could have done more or had a better trip. It was great to see this city and see how Lucy, Liam, Miranda and James adapted to such a new environment so quickly and effortlessly. It was just as great to be able to spend time with Mom and Mike learning about their mission and the work that they're doing here. We really felt like we were able to experience the best of all worlds while we were here.

I'm also grateful for the lessons I learned about anticipatory stress. Even though I had been to London once before, I had never been with four children. Before coming out here I experienced a great deal of anxiety and stress. Obviously, I was excited about the prospect of coming to one of my favorite cities in the world, but I worried about all of the logistic and practical issues of navigation and safety. It turns out I wasted a lot of energy worrying about problems that never came to pass.

I'm very big on the idea minimizing regrets. There was a saying that my Dad sent me on my mission that goes something like this: "When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did." I really feel like we were able to do so much that we can leave without any regrets even though there is so much more we would love to see and do. Another time perhaps, and if not, well that's alright too.

Day 5--Only the slightest hint of slowing down

2011-07-03T11:40:00.000+04:00

Liam and Lucy riding the tube like the pros they are. The insouciance is palpable.

In the morning, I took Liam, Lucy and Miranda to the British Museum. We went into the experience knowing that we'd only be able to see a fraction of the collection, but even with that knowledge, we still weren't prepared for how much was there and how little we would get to see. We limited ourselves to the Egyptian and Greek/Roman collections (and a statue from Easter Island) and even then we weren't able to see everything. Every nook, cranny and stairwell was stuffed with artifacts that would have centre pieces in nearly any other museum in the world. It was almost as if the place was littered with history. After a while, it's hard not to become a little numb to the significance and majesty of everything around you. I was pretty proud of myself that I only got lost a couple of times in navigating our way through the halls, but the nice thing about getting lost at The British Museum is that you always stumble into something interesting.

Now this is a lobby.

The Rosetta Stone

Toys!

The Elgin Marbles

Liam, Me and Socrates

We headed home to collect Julie and pass James off to Grandpa Mike for an afternoon of wonder. We're so grateful they were able to spend some time with James and allow us to go see yet another show (it's hard not to feel a little spoiled).

Before our show, the plan was to grab a quick bite to eat at the some place around the theatre. There weren't as many choices as I thought there would be and I ended up opting for the simplest and easiest--Burger King. We've had such great eating experiences that I felt a little guilty for giving into the temptation for All I can say for my burger is that it gratified without satisfying. Miranda and Julie made much better choices. However, one bland burger does not a London eating experience undo.

After our compromising lunch at Victoria Station, we crossed the street to see our final show of the trip, Wicked. As a family, we've been listening to the soundtrack to the show for nearly six years. It's got a fantastic score and it was great to finally be able to see how the songs fit together and what the heck was going on. The theatre and sets were fantastic and the performances were great. It definitely allowed us to go out on a theatrical high note. At the end of the show, the cast announced that we had just seen the 2000th performance of Wicked in London. There were balloons and there was much cheering.

We joined Mom and Mike for some pizza at a nice little Italian restaurant around the corner from their apartment, and then, the next block over, we were treated to some great gelato. In Abu Dhabi, if you go into an Italian restaurant, odds are your server speaks Tagalog or Chinese. In London the waiters at Italian Restaurants and the servers in Italian ice cream parlors all speak Italian. I have to say that it makes for a somewhat more authentic experience.

Onslow Gardens. Our home away from home.

We were home by eight, but it felt much later. Hard to believe there's only one more day left, but on the other hand, I'm not sure we could survive much more of this place. London gives generously, but it takes too.

Day 4--The Royal Treatment

2011-07-03T01:13:00.000+04:00

There was a civil servant strike today. Not sure what all the implications of that were. The tube was a little more crowded, I suppose, but for the most part we got around without many complications. Again it was a pretty laid back morning, the highlight of which was a picnic lunch with Mom and Mike in the gardens behind the house. How we will miss those gardens.

A Belated Thumbs Up for 'The 39 Steps.'

Then off to M&M world because everyone simply had to experience it. Apart from the aborted evacuation of the building (let me tell you when a fire alarm goes off at M&M world, the people there know how to organize and clear out the place in an incredibly efficient manner), we had a great experience. Miranda, Lucy and James enjoyed creating their custom coloured bags of M&Ms (did you know you could get them in silver and gold?), Liam found a T-shirt that he liked, and Julie picked out some M&M themed silicon trivets that spoke to her.

If you could judge a personality based on the M&Ms they would choose
this would be Miranda.

This is Lucy!

We then headed off to the London Eye for our afternoon appointment. Now the thing with booking an appointment for the London Eye is that you're not really booking a time to get on the ride, but rather you're booking a time to get into a long line to get on the ride. Understanding this, we gave ourselves plenty of wiggle room before. However, soon after we stepped into the line, a man with a clipboard approached us and asked if we'd like to be moved to the front of the line for a "capsule experience" that would entail us taking two trip around the circumference. Obviously I was a little suspicious. You've got to pay big bucks for the fast pass experience and two times around seemed too good to be true. It turned out there was a catch, but a relatively minor one at that. They were experimenting with some new interactive guides in one of the capsules and they wanted to see how people interacted with them. It was a pretty spectacular view and James was very appreciative of the opportunity it afforded him to sit down for an hour. There's a lot of things we've been doing over the past few days, but sitting down is not one of them.

We then passed by Trafalgar square to see some of the Canada day celebrations. It was quite the party, and, judging from the pavilions set up around the square, our national identity is pretty wrapped up in our hockey and our beer. Maybe that's why I've always struggled to fit in.

Canada Day at Trafalgar Square. The beer's to the right.

Dinner at Sophie's Steakhouse!

From Trafalgar Square we made our way to the Covent Garden area where Mom and Mike treated us to a great dinner and a performance of the Lion King. About seven or eight years ago, while we were living in Arizona, we bought tickets to a travelling company version of the show, so I wasn't all that excited to see the production again. I remember being impressed by many of the puppets, but I also remember being a little bored at different points in the show. It was a completely different experience seeing it here. The show didn't start until 7:30 and with the full day we had before, I honestly believed it would take a miracle to keep James awake through the show. Well, it turned out the show was the miracle (I'm sure the constant stream of sugar from Grandpa Mike's Tommy Tucker didn't hurt either). He didn't nod off once during the play, though as soon as it was over, he made it perfectly clear that his legs were no longer functioning and would I be so kind as to carry him just a little bit more. Note to self, 4 year olds aren't too big for strollers.

Is it only Day 3?

2011-07-01T11:35:00.001+04:00

Today started off a little more slowly. But by the afternoon, you never would have guessed anything was amiss yesterday. With the aid of a little medication, Lucy seemed to bounce back from her slump of the day before. James, as usual, was bounding with a surplus of energy. We hung around the apartment in the morning trying to get as organized as our suitcase existence permitted. It was a much needed breather.

I do need to write a little about where we're staying in London. 56 Onslow Gardens is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in the world. For the week, Mom and Mike volunteered their apartment (or flat) and have taken up residence in a nearby hotel. You might wonder how we've all squeezed in here. Obviously, six people in a 1 bedroom flat can feel a little tight, "James, get off me!" is a phrase that I think everyone has uttered (we understand our children's need for personal space, but we're trying to teach them how to say, "Leave me alone!" with as much love and affection as possible). But with the gardens out back (the best yard that you never have to mow), and all of London just outside the door, it actually feels quite spacious. We're so grateful for how they opened their home to us and its permitted us to have experiences as a family that we never could have imagined having even a year ago.

Present sleeping arrangements!

The South Kensignton tube is a five minute walk (8 minutes for James' legs). It's just far enough outside the city to get away from the chaos, but close enough to easily steal away for an evening of theatre. And with the Natural History, Science and Victoria Albert Museums a ten minute walk, it feels like we could stay here for weeks and still see and experience only a fraction of what's available. We couldn't have asked for better accommodations. Even the Lamborghini dealership on the corner is a touch of our Abu Dhabi home.

At lunch we went down to the Hyde Park chapel for one of their weekly lunch time concerts. It was a world class performance in a very intimate setting. Even James was more or less attentive for the duration of the recital. After the concert, we had a nice lunch at the Natural History Museum across the street and then Grandma Edwards and Grandpa Mike treated the kids to a Butterfly Garden experience which was incredible. The quantities and varieties of butterflies flittering about was overwhelming. The kids became quite adept at welcoming them onto their hands, their shirts and their heads.

Mom and Mike had mission duties to attend to, so we took in the Natural History Museum, or at least a couple of rooms of it. Of course, when given the choice of any room in the museum to visit, the kids picked the Creepy Crawly exhibit. We also were able to visit an impressive display on birds and we learned a lot about the different ways rocks are formed and shifted around. It felt like we walked around for a while, but there were whole wings and floors that we never even glimpsed. I know that we can't see everything, but it's hard not feel like we have to make the most of every moment here. But, alas, we do have to sleep and there's that eating thing we have to do too.

The Natural History Museum and Butterfly Experience

The Lobby of the Natural History Museum

Lucy with a lot of birds!

In the evening, Julie stayed home with Lucy, Miranda and James so that Liam and I were able to take in a play together. Liam's was so great to hold down the fort for us the night before, I really wanted to do something for him (and, selfishly, for me too). We watched a West End production of 'The 39 Steps' which was the perfect play for the two of us. There was a cast of four actors playing over a hundred characters through the course of the show. (http://www.love39steps.com/). Liam and I then got to meet some of the young adults Mom and Mike are working with. It was great to see them in their element.

Did I Blog Too Soon?

2011-06-30T10:57:00.000+04:00

The day started off with such promise. We were going to the London Eye to get a view of the city from above. It was the only thing Lucy really wanted to do and seemed like a nice, relaxing and recuperative activity for a family still recovering from a red eye flight and jet lag. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men.

First there were the tube delays. What started out as an adventure on the London Underground soon devolved into the tedium of waiting. I give this to the British, they are a people who know how to wait (as evidenced by their natural affinity for the queue)

The view of the Parliment Buildings and Big Ben roused us briefly, but it was not to last.

Then there was the disappointment of not going on the London Eye (we really should have booked on line). The lines, though well ordered, were a little excessive.

Are we there yet?

Followed by that there was the seemingly interminable walk to The Tate Modern.

There was this big green sofa at the National Theatre but there was no real joy.
It was an obligatory photo op.

Even the happy discovery of my new favourite fast food restaurant did little to lift the spirits of my children. http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/ The food was great. How can you not love a fast food restaurant where they don't even give you the option of fries as your side? Miranda and James had fish and Lucy and Liam both went for the Sweet potato falafel. Julie and I shared a great salad and meatball dish. I not sure if my rhapsodizing about the restaurant speaks to the quality of the experience or to the disappointments found throughout the rest of the day.

"This is art?"

And then there was modern art, which failed to do anything but confuse my children. I instantly fell in love with the space, but I could only push my kids so far before eventually abandoning the enterprise. At least I got to see some Picassos and a Lichtenstein.

The Millenium Bridge was just more walking and the sight of St. Pauls Cathedral lost some of its grandeur because it was so hard for some of the kids to lift their heads to take it all on.

Julie headed back to the apartment with Lucy, Miranda and James while Liam and I forged on. Our new mission, and it was nice to have a mission, was to procure tickets for Les Mis for Julie and I. Julie had never seen a production before and that was something that simply had to be rectified. Unfortunately, the sign on the box office door said the show was sold out (another lesson in the merits of advance booking), but I thought I should ask anyway. It turned out that the theatre had reserved a few seats for Wimbledon players in case they wanted to come, and those tickets had just opened up before we arrived.

It was fun to explore London with Liam for a bit in the afternoon. We got turned around and lost a couple of times while looking for the theatre. But getting lost in London for us meant we got to see Trafalgar Square, China Town, and, best of all, M&M World. By the time we came back to the apartment, Liam was riding the Tube like a pro and walking with the swagger of an experienced world traveller. I felt so proud.

"Look at me in Trafalgar Square. I don't get what the big deal is
but Dad says it's a pretty important place."

The people who work here really like their jobs.

After feeding the kids and getting them set up with a movie, Julie and I were off on our date (I must say there is something devastatingly romantic about attending a West End show with the love of your life). The show was fantastic. Great staging and phenomenal performances across the board. Liam really rose to the occasion holding down the fort, and we were really grateful to Mom and Mike for being on standby in case the kids needed anything. So I guess the day wasn't a complete disaster for Liam, Julie and I, which kind of makes me feel a little like a heel.

Today's lesson was that adrenaline will only carry you so far for so long even in London.

London--36 Hours, No Sleep and, surprisingly, No Tears!

2011-06-29T09:31:00.000+04:00

Lucy anticipating. I hope we didn't get her hopes up too high.

Our good friend Quin Seamons drove us out to the airport on Monday night at around 11:00 PM. I'd heard stories about the mass exodus of expats from Abu Dhabi at the commencement of summer and we didn't want to get left behind. Our fears, it would appear, were unfounded. I don't know if I've ever had a smoother airport experience in my life and that was with two airport security checks and an immigration officer. Even though our flight was full, we had no difficulty getting on early and becoming quite comfortable situated.

Bored waiting to board.

James at 12:30 "What's the big deal?"

There are times when Abu Dhabi has a small town feel, especially when you look around the plane and see that you're flying with two families that you know pretty well. We visited a little with one of my coworkers and with a family we knew from church, but it was mostly just nice to have some familiar faces around us.

The flight took off at 2:15 in the morning, and for most of its 7 hours, it was pretty uneventful. I struggled a bit with getting comfortable, but most everyone else seemed to be able to steal a little bit of sleep. Sure, there was a little bit of confusion with the airport taxi we had hired and the traffic was atrocious, but even with those minor bumps, we couldn't have asked for a smoother experiences.

After the grand tour of Mom and Mike's new digs and their accompanying garden, we packed up and headed to the Science Museum. It was a pretty remarkable facility, definitely too much to take in all at once, but what was most remarkable was how our kids just kept going and going and going. What I understood about the body and its limits was redefined this day.

Onslow Gardens. One forgets how one misses the little things, like the color green.

If we could somehow tap into James' energy source,
I truly believe we could halt our dependence on big oil and
save the environment too!

TV and Nintendo in London. We're giving our kids a true international experience.

The science museum.

I call this: "Liam, a study in blue."

Still standing (most of us that is)!

We ended with a great dinner at Nandos (peri peri sauce is my new favorite) with Mom and Mike. The food was good and the quantities able enough to sate my ravenous brood. Only James fell victim to the soporific qualities of roast chicken. He was eventually roused and conceded to walk home with minimal complaint. Before this, I was trying to get the kids to join me in a betting pool to see who would be the first to break down in tears from stress and fatigue (my money was, of course, on me) but no one was willing to take me up on it. Oh, did I mention that everyone but me and Lucy is sick with sore throats? And their still smiling until they have to swallow something. Best family ever!

Everyone say, "Sleep!"

What difference can ten months make?

2011-06-26T08:21:00.000+04:00

Every one's become much more fashionable.
Obviously the prevalence of Prada has rubbed off.

As we come to the end of our first stage of Middle Eastern living, I want to identify and catalogue the ways I've changed. The empirist in me likes clear and tangible data, goals that I've met, mountains I've conquered. This is one of the reasons I find I'm a little jealous of Liam, Lucy and Miranda and their adventures in Karate. At the very least they have their belt progressions to show for their efforts here. They came here as white belts and they'll go home as blue, green and yellow belts respectively.

Well, when I look at the last year, I feel that my life has consisted of many of the same routines I was experiencing in Nova Scotia. Sure there are a few differences in how the organization is run, but those changes have little real impact on my day to day interactions with the students. I get up, I put on a tie, I go to work and I teach English. I feel like I’ve made improvements as a teacher. I’m better at incorporating technology into the classroom which should come as no surprise to people who know me. And I’ve learned from some of the excellent teachers with whom I work. Sure, it's a little warm and there's a little bit of suspense every time you interact with someone not knowing how well they will understand you, but I'm basically living the same life I lived a year ago.

Watching the kids grow, makes me feel like I’ve been standing still the whole time. Even the way Julie and the kids have taken the challenges of a new culture and new lifestyle has made me feel downright slothful in how I’ve embraced the newness of the place. One of the greatest blessings of coming here was to learn how resilient and adaptable my family is. Whether it's the new language or culture, the new foods and smells, the adjustments to downtown apartment living, or the difficulties of being so far from friends and family, Julie and the kids have risen to each challenge in a manner that has humbled me. I feel like I'll be going back to Canada with a new family, but perhaps they're the same and this place has just given me an opportunity to see them more clearly. So maybe I have changed after all.

Anyone who visits needs to see Red Sea Antiques, that is if they can fit into the shop.

Lucy's green belt test.

Yes, my son now intimidates me.

We've got wheels!

2011-06-25T20:58:00.000+04:00

Well, we’ve gone as long as we could, but it was time to get a vehicle. That vehicle ended up being a Mercury Mountaineer, a beast of an SUV, and no friend to fossil fuels. I believe the word I used when talking about people who drove SUVs was 'unconscionable.' Now, the buses and cabs made getting around the city very doable, but not always pleasant. There were some drawbacks to being a car-less family of six in Abu Dhabi.

I will not miss those looks of pity as we walked away from church in search of a cab, nor will I miss the apologies people have made for not being able to squeeze the six of us into their vehicles.
I will not miss the sense of guilt I felt sitting in the front seat with ample leg room while my wife and four children squished into the back of a Nissan Altima.
I will not miss mentally having to calculate the weight of the groceries in my cart because I had to get everything from the cab to the apartment in one trip.

We're really looking forward to how having a vehicle will open up the rest of the country when we come back in the fall. There are so many places that we want to visit and experience. We're running out of blog fodder.

Some Karate Pics of Liam and Miranda

Some friends invited Liam and I out for a day on the ocean. It was a lot of fun, but we paid for it with sunburns (I could've sworn the sunblock said Waterproof).

Everyone needs a little boogie woogie injected into their day.

2011-06-22T11:11:00.000+04:00

Distractions and Diversions in Abu Dhabi

2011-06-21T08:10:00.000+04:00

It feels like months since I've posted any of our doings on here. On the one hand, life has felt like a pretty steady routine of work/schoolwork, church, and the occasional sitcom/reality TV show. Julie and I have gotten a little hooked on 30 Rock and, as a family, we're pretty invested in the outcome of "The Voice."

Summer movie time is in full swing in Abu Dhabi, and since in this heat the only place to find refuge other than your apartment is the mall, we've done our share of movie watching. The theatres here are pretty good and you get used to the Arabic subtitles pretty quickly. However, there definitely seems to be a different etiquette when it comes to movie watching in this part of the world. Based on the conversations that surround us and the almost compulsive amount of texting lighting up the theatre, one gets the impression that most people don't actually care about seeing the movie. It doesn't matter what's even playing. The lines at the ticket booths are slowed down by people who are still deciding what movie they want to see (I suspect more movies are chosen based on which seats are available than on reviews). Movies here are a different kind of escape. Growing up, movies were always a way for me to escape into a different world; here, the air conditioned theatres are escape enough, and the movies playing on the big screen are just an added bonus. Needless to say, big loud movies like Thor play really well here because they do a good job of covering up all the chatter, but the quieter films lose a little something. Julie and I really enjoyed Super 8 earlier this week, and nothing was lost in that fantastic train wreck, but it felt like I was the only one invested in all of the father/son scenes--perhaps that says more about me than Abu Dhabi.

One Line Summer Movie Reviews:
Thor: Thunderous! As expected. Great performances by all the leads. Swagger is not an easy thing to pull off, but kind of necessary for someone playing a Norse god.

X-Men: A lot better than the last couple of entries in the franchise, but that's not saying much. Again, the lead performance was great, I just found large chunks of it kind of tedious. I never thought I'd say this, but Hero training sequences are starting to wear thin.

Kung Fu Panda 2: Entertaining. Not as funny as the first, but, surprisingly, more touching, and we were able to find a theatre not showing it in 3-D. Hallelujah!

Super 8: Managed to recapture the vibe of stuff like The Goonies, The Explorers or Gremlins without feeling derivative. Easily the most enjoyable thing I've seen so far this summer.

It's not the Ferrari or the Lamborghini in our parking lot that's surprising; it's the Civic that's parked between them.

The Franksyness Wall of Art

2011-06-21T07:10:00.000+04:00

Put together the following post over a month ago but forgot to hit the publish button.

It's starting to get hot here which means if the fam doesn't get out early in the morning, they don't get out, unless it's to the air conditioned refuge of one of the many malls here. So, our kids have been making extra use of their time indoors to explore their artistic sides. It's been great fun to see their talents develop in this area and we thought we should share.

Just try to imagine these meticulously arranged upon a refrigerator door. I've been to the Louvre, and I've got to tell you, nothing beats the kitchen as an art gallery.

Miranda's works of art:

Liam's contribution to the show:

James' impressionistic streak on full display:

Lucy's likenesses:

Mother's day

2011-05-08T18:59:00.000+04:00

Beautiful

Versatile

And very popular.

What our kids love about their mom (notice the frequency of the word awesome) :

James: Everything makes her great. She gives me markers, I guess. She just helps me swim at the deep end, I guess.

Miranda: Mom is awesome because she works hard and is patient with everyone and is a good cook and is very kind and loving.

Lucy: Mom is awesome because she is a great cook and is very patient and is really nice and loving. She gives awesome hugs and is great at reading to us. She is great at snuggling and has a great sense of humor.

Liam: Some of the great things about Mom are that she works very hard for our whole family, cooking and cleaning for us, and she does it happily too. In fact, she always tries to have a positive attitude. She tries to help us with anything we need help with, and tries to help us to be happy ourselves. She is fun, encouraging(not to mention a great cook), and just plain awesome.

And me: I knew what I was getting when I asked Julie to marry me nearly seventeen years ago, mostly.

I knew that I was marrying one of the kindest, most generous, talented and prettiest girls on the planet, but I didn't fully understand what it would mean to be married to someone so kind, generous, talented and pretty. I didn't understand the responsibilities that come with marrying awesomeness. The simple truth about awesomeness is that, after long periods of close proximity, it can begin to appear common. So, even though I intellectually understand the awesomeness of my wife and the mother of my children, I don't always show this awareness through my words or actions. I take her for granted.

I knew what I was getting, but I didn't understand what it would mean for our family. I didn't see how her willingness and support would really make everything good in our lives possible. Her selflessness has been integral in offsetting my own selfish tendencies.

So, in the permanence of cyber-space, for all to see, let me acknowledge some truths, and in those less ideal moments where I become more concerned with being right than with being kind, I want to give her the ammunition she needs to end disagreements and come out on top in any argument. I could have bought her earings, but the following concessions I think will have more sentimental value.

Dear Julie,

If the Internet does go down and you need to hear this from my three dimensional self, at any point in any discussion for the rest of our marriage, I promise to read any or all of the following statements to you without the least bit of irony or sarcasm. It's the least you deserve. Happy mother's day.

I'm listening.

Sure, I'd love to do that.

I love it. It looks great.

How can I help?

Spend what you need to.

You are not ruining our children's lives.

You are smart, beatiful, funny and talents, and I'm sorry I don't tell you more often.

You're right, as always. I don't know what I was thinking. Oh, wait, I do know what I was thinking. I was thinking about myself. I wasn't thinking about you. I was thinking about what was easiest for me. I did not think about how this would affect you which was also selfish, and I know that if I had taken that advice you offered we wouldn't be in this situation. I will try to do better at listening to you and trusting you. I love you.

I've got nothing, but I'm going to post anyway

2011-05-06T19:04:00.000+04:00

So, I'm jumping back on the bandwagon. I'm committed to posting weekly, but I've got nothing other than slo-mo jello.

And there's this really cool time lapse video of Abu Dhabi.

Overall we're well. As we're getting to the end of the semester, it's getting hard not to count down the days until our summer adventures in London and Nova Scotia. It's not that we're itching to leave Abu Dhabi. We're feeling quite at home here. But we do miss friends and family and we're also a little nostalgic for the rain.

A little bit of enthusiasm to get you through the day

2011-05-02T22:10:00.000+04:00

We're back!

2011-04-29T16:02:00.001+04:00

An Abu Dhabi Sunset. It's the clouds that make it novel.

The Burj Al Arab

If you don't blog about it did it actually happen. Is a love untwittered a love worth having? Is it really possible to have many friends...on Facebook.

So many of our recent experiences have been filtered through the lens of, 'Is the blog worthy?' that I've felt like I've actually lost a bit of the experience in the questioning. It's Like the parent who can't enjoy their child's first steps because the battery on the video camera is dead. Obviously, I want to document our experiences here, but so often I find myself anticipating how I will right about an event while thing's still happening. Which, of course, takes me out of the event. I wonder if historians experience present catastrophes or revolutions in the same way.

Yup, that's me with some famous guy.
The things I do for this blog.

This would have looked so much better on the Nikon.

As a writer, I've always done this to a certain extant, filing away experiences and people to be used in stories at some future time, but it's worse with the blog. Maybe it's the pressure of not only having interesting anecdotes, but also having the photos to accompany them.

A couple of weeks ago we all went to a water park in Dubai with some good friends of ours. Obviously, I wasn't going to take my DSLR with me, but our little waterproof Fuji camera takes pretty lousy pictures especially when the light is delicate. So, even though we had a blast on the slides and in the wave pool, I didn't really feel like we got our money's worth because the pictures we came away with were less than ideal.

We had a few experiences where no camera was present, and the fact that we wouldn't be able to blog with photographic evidence of our joy and excited rendered the experience somewhat muted.

Miranda and Grace.

Julie on The Tantrum Alley at Wild Wadi.

On the other hand, A few weeks ago I met the French Spider-Man who's climbed some of the tallest buildings in the world. He was in Dubai to climb the Burj Khalifa and speak at a conference hosted by the college I work for. I really wasn't all that interested in him as a person, but I knew that if I got my picture with him, I have something to put up on the blog to prove that my life is indeed interesting and exciting over here in the Middle East.

Then there's the whole problem of instant information. In the Internet age where stories develop by the hour, I feel that if I don't digitally document as it happens, then I've missed the window of relevance. Who wants to read about something that happened a whole week ago. Even yesterday can feel like the distant past.

In the interest of record keeping I will list the events of significance that happened to us over the past month and a half since my last posting. In no particular order, the following has happened to us:

-Liam advanced from a white belt to orange in Kobudo.

-Miranda earned her yellow belt in Karate.

-Elder Holland visited our stake a few weeks ago and all the kids got to shake his hand and Liam was able to play the piano in a fireside.

-Our stake was split, and then, the next week our ward was split.

-Our house in Canada finally sold and we're grateful it went to a family who will appreciate its proximity to the temple.

-We've all read lots of books and watched our share of movies.

-They've installed parking meters in our block of the city and have been pretty strict about enforcing the no parking in the middle of the street rule (you might think this wouldn't have much of an impact on our lives, but it's made our nights so much quieter).

-The kids visited a great exhibition on Mesopotamia.

-There have a number a awesome beach visits where the kids saw some cool sculptures and Lucy saw dolphins on of her outings.

-Lest you think it's all fun, the kids have been working overtime to finish their schoolwork so we can make the most of our summer.

-Also, Liam wanted to make sure I blogged about Thor before everyone else got a chance to see it. It was great comic book fun, but our only option was to spend the extra coin and watch the thing in 3D. The 3D added absolutely nothing to the experience other than a dimmer picture and a headache. I never thought I could be discouraged from watching superhero movies on opening weekend, but I feel like Hollywood is pressuring me to delay gratification until the movies show up in 2D or on home video. I suppose I should be grateful for this. I'm saving money and learning an important lesson about happiness.

There you go. I'm going to try and get back into the rhythm of things regardless of whether or not anything interesting happens to us. If all else fails I can always spout my opinions on society and popular media because if anyone misses anything about me, it's my opinions.

Miranda and her friend Grace at
Grace's Baptim

James braving the twists and turns at Wild Wadi

James and his friend Hazel..

Lucy and Dad

2011-03-07T19:33:00.001+04:00

DSC_0035 a photo by franksyness on Flickr.

I love it when stuff happens!

2011-03-07T19:31:00.000+04:00

Before reading any further, check this out. This is from the www.orientalkarate.com Hall of Fame Page!

Congrats..! Congrats...! Congrats....!

We are proud to congratulate our student who acheived A GRADE during the grading test held on 25/02/2011 under the supervision of ALI MUHAMMED (KYOSHI)

Name	: Liam Isaac Frank
Roll No	: 14013
DOJO	: Khalidiya
Nationality	: Canadian
Promoted From	: 9-KYU To 7-KYU
Instructor	: Sensei Shakir, Sensei Fayad

Liam received his green belt in karate (a double promotion) and Lucy her yellow (a colour she much prefers over green she'll have you know).It's not that I'm boasting about my children. It's not that I take pride in the fact that my kid could could probably kick your kid's butt. It that something different happened this past week which gives me fodder for blog, and how I love fodder. My life has been consumed with work and with a couple of books I'm reading which ain't too exciting and Julie's been managing the routines of the household, which, as you might imagine, ain't too exciting. So that leaves us to live vicariously through our children, something I swore I'd never do. I mean, really, I had always planned on having a life sufficiently interesting to not have to depend on the accomplishments of my children. Alas, I must admit that my life has turned out to be considerably less interesting than planned. I think that's a mark of growing up, admitting how much you bore yourself.

Best Kids Ever!

2011-02-23T20:00:00.000+04:00

Lucy and Liam anticipating yet another cramped cab ride

When I was eleven or twelve, my Mom suggested that we might have to move from our home in Dartmouth to Halifax, a distance of about twenty kilometers (miles for my American readers). I remember how devastated I was at the prospect of leaving the neighborhood and friends that my life seemed to revolve around. As far as I was concerned, it was the end of the world. Ultimately we didn't make the move (and I'm pretty sure my whining factored into the decision).

You can imagine why I announced our possible move to the other side of the world with some trepidation. There was a lot to leave behind in order to come here. We all gave up family and friends to come here, but my kids willingly gave up the only life they really knew. And they gave it up willingly.

Yes, they do celebrate birthdays in Abu Dhabi

We exchanged a great home with a spacious yard for a three bedroom apartment and the constant din of city living. Lucy gave up many of her precious stuffed animals to come here, a sacrifice that I didn't fully appreciate until I blubbered my way through the last twenty minutes of Toy Story 3. Liam left a great young men's program. Miranda lost new friends that had just moved in across the street, and James gave up regular play dates with Chaim Pilling. Our existence here hasn't been complaint free, but none of my kids has complained about the big stuff. None of them has said that they wanted to give up and go back to Canada. They have all shown a resilience that I could have only hoped for at their age. They've taken it all in stride, the cramped cab rides, the constant barrage of foreign languages and smells, and the incessant sunlight (I guess that last thing isn't such a hardship).

Me playing around with shutter speed.

I often write about what my kids are doing, but I don't write enough about how absolutely amazing they are. So, just in case there's any question about where I stand on my kids, I think they are the bees knees and the cat's pyjamas all rolled up into one.

My kids are not shy about sharing their joy.

New on Franksyness!
We're going to start a new feature on the franksyness blog. Because I worry that I have not been giving the whole picture of our experience here, I'm going to turn over some of the blogging duties to Liam, Lucy and Miranda (not that I've told them yet). If you have any questions about our experiences here and you're looking for the real scoop, you can post a question in the comments section and either Liam or Lucy or Miranda will answer it (one of the nice things about homeschooling is that you can turn anything into homework).

Finding Home in a Land of Constant Distraction

2011-02-17T08:48:00.001+04:00

And there's a roller coaster inside this mall too!

I’ve posted pictures of the city skyline and the beaches just minutes from our apartment. What I haven’t written about is how much there is to do on any given weekend. It’s hard to convey just how much is going on in this city on any given day. This is a city that is serious about establishing itself as a world class destination. It’s like we’re faced with a constant barrage of once in a life time opportunities. It’s hard not to feel a little guilt for just wanting to sit at home on the weekend and watch a DVD or read a book.

A few weeks ago Julie and the kids attended a performance by yet another visiting world class orchestra. Liam was having some difficulty making up his mind as to whether or not he was going to go. For as much as I believe in the principle of free agency, as soon as he expressed his indifference, I promptly took the choice away from him. I believe the words I used were, “I don’t care whether you want to go or not. You are going to have this once in a lifetime experience. I don’t want to have to deal with the consequences of your regret.” In the end he was extremely grateful to have gone. And I only felt mind regret over the guilt trip I laid down on him.

Just last week, Eric Clapton was in town to play, Tony Hawk was also here along with some other famous X-athletes to put on an exhibition. We chose to visit a ship that was traveling around the world as an ambassador for literacy and other, less explicit messages. It basically functioned as a floating bookstore, and in the end, I would have preferred to see Tony Hawk, but hindsight’s always 20/20.

The problem with chasing down all of these opportunities is that it’s easy to lose the experience of actually being in a place. Even people who have been here for more than a decade don’t refer to Abu Dhabi as home. Home is always some other place. I’ve always tied to live with the philosophy that home is wherever my wife and kids were (and yes, I believed this before I saw the youtube video of the cute kid and here dad singing the song by The Magnetic Zeros). It’s hard not struggle with the feeling of being on a perpetual vacation that’s interrupted occasionally by work and utility bills, but we’re looking for more than the distractions vacation. We want to create real relationships. We want to learn about the cultures the surround us in more than superficial ways. We’re looking to create experiences that will change our lives. And an Eric Clapton concert, for as much fun as that would be, can only change a person’s life so much.

So few pictures of me.

She only fell down twice this time.

The question is, will you find the story of the rolled oats interesting?

2011-01-27T09:32:00.000+04:00

We do get quite the sunrises here!

Though many people may find it surprising, I actually don't find myself all that interesting. And posting details about the minutiae of my life, how I'm feeling on a particular day, whether I've actually done the laundry, or all the things I'm currently putting off, has always seemed like a digital plea for attention, so I try to avoid writing about the every day because Facebookitis takes up enough of people's time already. I want to keep people informed, but I'd also like these ramblings to be at least a little bit engaging. I could say that I haven't made an entry because I've been so busy and discombobulated with end of semester loose ends. That would not be true. I've actually been avoiding the blog because I haven't felt like I've had anything really interesting to write about. If wouldn't read it, why would I expect anyone else to want to read it. That would be rather narcissistic, even for me.

There needs to be something interesting happening in one's life, or one needs to find a way to make the tedious interesting (which can be an exhausting prospect). I genuinely believed that life in Abu Dhabi would be one adventure after another, but I just haven't felt very interesting of late until I noticed the stockpile of Quaker Rolled Oats gathering along the tops of our kitchen cupboards.

We live in a good sized apartment, but it is not an apartment conducive to food storage (the rats and cockroaches also tend to discourage one from keeping large quantities of perishable items on the premises). However, Julie has become preoccupied with acquiring large cylinders of Quaker Rolled Oats from a nearby grocery store. Already, you may be starting to ask yourself, How much do those Franks enjoy their rolled oats? It is true that rolled oats have been a staple of our diet since before coming to Abu Dhabi, but in the first four months that we were here, nary a rolled oat could be found, and, trust me, we looked.

To understand the life of the consumer in Abu Dhabi, you need to think of the last time you were in Costco and, while there, perhaps you saw a really good deal on a bulk bag of shredded coconut. You know that the bag will probably last you six months of macaroon madness, but at the end of that six months you have no guarantee of whether or not they'll have that coconut in stock at the end of six months, so you buy two, just in case. That's life here in a nutshell. It feels like you can get anything you want, but if you find something you really like (and it'll keep), you'd better stock up.

As for the state of the family in general, we've all been reading a lot, but listing the books I've been reading feels a little showy (or in the case of a few recent titles, a little embarrassing), and we've been watching a few movies, but if you're looking for something to watch, there are a lot websites on this here Internet that can help you choose. Obviously, if people have questions or interests about our lives, we're more than happy to answer them. Just post them in the comments section.

I guess if I could sum up my governing philosophy for this website, it would be thus: Posts will attempt to be interesting and engaging. Tedium available upon request.

People look happy, right?

Tis the Season, I guess

2011-01-01T08:20:00.001+04:00

Another week. As I wracked my brain trying to figure out what actually happened this week, I was drawing a complete blank, and then it occurred to me that Christmas was last Saturday. How could I have missed Christmas you might ask. Well, it turns out that it wasn't that hard even in the land of the world's most expensive Christmas tree. There was something relaxing about it being just like every other day, but there was a bit of loss as well. I've celebrated Christmas in the desert before, so I used to the warmth and the faded browns, but I've never celebrated it somewhere that it's not celebrated. Now, Christmas a holiday that's marketed here as well as its marketed anywhere--there are decorations in the shops and Christmas music playing over the mall speakers, and then there's the presence of all those Christmas trees. But there's a big difference between selling something and celebrating it. After presents and Cinnamon roles, there really wasn't much on the agenda. Liam and I decided to go watch Tron (very cool looking without a hint of depth). Walking down the street, I had to keep reminding myself that it was actually Christmas. People were going about their business like it was any other day, and I guess I was too.Next year, it'll be that much more difficult to conserve that spirit of the holidays, so I guess it'll be up to us to create that feeling if we really want it, but I don't know if having to take more personal responsibility for Christmas spirit is a bad thing.

James got a new star wars cartoon for Christmas.

Visitors!

2010-12-24T16:15:00.001+04:00

Just when I thought I was getting into a bit of a routine, they transfer me to a new campus and my mom comes for a visit. The last two weeks have been very full and exciting which also means that's it's been a little exhausting too, but sleep is such a small price to pay.

After missing one connection in London, they were able to get in around three in the morning. Having seen some of the travelers stranded for at Heathrow this past week, I can't help but feel that we dodged
a bullet there.

On Thursday night we all went to see Tangled at the theatre around the corner. It was a great film, as good as anything Disney's done even if it was in 3D (if that novelty doesn't wear off soon, my days as a patron of over priced theaters are numbered). I felt a little bad because I was kind of hoping that our first night out together would be a unique cultural experience. Little did I realize that
a full theater on a Thursday night qualifies as a cultural experience. It's hard to describe, but if I could use one word it would be 'heightened.' The talking was louder, the gasps from the audience were fuller, and the reactions bigger. Even the use of cell phones was one a much grander scale.

Friday was church and its accompanying echo. It was also the day where Mike learned about how we dry our clothes in this part of the world. It's a full day affair.

On Saturday, we took the big bus tour of Abu Dhabi. It was a great way to see the city and the accompanying narration filled in a few of the gaps in my knowledge of the city and the region. The highlight was definitely the little Bedouin village at the end. How can you beat the experience of watch James cling for dear life to the hump of a camel?

In the final couple of days with us, the crew went without me to tour the Grand Mosque. Mom said she felt like it was a privilege to be able to go through that building. Sunday night, I was trounced by my mother at Scrabble (I have since been practicing). Monday, everyone went without (again) to see what an eleven million dollar Christmas tree looks like. I guess it looks like most other fake massive Christmas only with solid gold watches and diamond necklaces hanging from its boughs.

For our last night together, Mom and Mike took us to Benihanas for the food and the show. For nearly the first hour we were the only ones in the restaurant. We were the center of the staff's attention which meant our glasses were never empty. It was a little unsettling to watch as strangers met every need of my children--from engineering manageable chopsticks to supplying festive headgear. My children wanted for nothing. The sight brought out more than a few of my insecurities as a parent. The food was great and the company was even better. Grandma and Grandpa definitely went out on a high note.

I guess I don't get to complain about my commute anymore

2010-12-10T07:44:00.001+04:00

I was transferred to the city campus this week to take over another instructor's classes. My students out at the Khalifa campus were sad to see me go, which, I have to admit, was a little gratifying. It was hard to leave them and many of my colleagues, but those extra twenty minutes I get to sleep in the morning were just too seductive to resist.

I've only had two teaching days at the city campus. It feels a little more sedate (carpet will do that to a place) and I do like the feeling of being in the middle of somewhere. There'll be a little bit of catch up to play this week, but I think the additional time I'll get to spend at home will make it all more than worth it.

Julie's been under the weather for the last three weeks and the echo in the apartment only makes her cough sound worse. She's been soldiering on and I've been trying to act supportive. Consequently we've been eating out more than normal this week which Julie feels a little guilty about (she shouldn't!). There's a little Chinese restaurant next to our building and it's always a good sign when the clientele are almost exclusively Asian. shwarmas have been on the menu more than once (they're practically a staple here) and we've visited the deli counter at one of the local grocery stores, which makes for a more exotic meal than you might think.

Below are some pictures from UAE national day. All that walking merited some ice cream which Lucy savored as only Lucy could.

After we came home from the festivities we watched "Prince of Persia." It was a fairly mediocre movie. It opened with the line, "A long time ago, in a land far away..."
"Hey," Lucy piped up, "it's not that far away."

Lest you think it's all perfection and paradise

2010-12-03T19:11:00.000+04:00

We've been here long enough that I think it's OK to admit what I miss without it becoming about homesickness. I miss my father’s spaghetti (and all that it implied), donairs and the bulk shopping experience of Costco; I miss a church a block away and a temple just a bit further. I miss the color green, and I even miss the rain. I miss the sense of personal space I enjoyed on public transportation and I mis how easy it is to find canned tomato sauce in North America. I miss having a yard, but I don't miss taking care of it (so that's kind of a wash). And there's something they don't tell you about marble flooring down at Home Depot: it amplifies tantrums.

After about three months, I’m able to sleep through the 5:00 am call to prayer, but it did take three months of restless sleep to get used to it. I've been able to mitigate a lot of my traffic and cab concerns by walking more, but that'll only last for as long as the weather holds out. Did I mention the parking yet? I'm sure I mentioned the parking.

Fruit Loops shouldn't look this anemic!

There are the obvious issues with new foods and new customs. People have a practically uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch my children’s hair. However, I do feel safer here, in the heart of downtown, than I have felt anywhere that I’ve lived before and there is something exciting about all of the languages and cultures that surround us, but it's not quite home yet.

The Two Abu Dhabis

2010-12-03T08:38:00.000+04:00

There are two kinds of experience the expat gets to have when they come to the middle east. You can have the walled in, resort like compound living where you're surrounded for the most part by other Westerners, there's usually a pool or two to lounge around, and if there's a Mosque around the corner, the calls to prayer aren't quite as insistent, or you could live like us, what I like to call the authentic experience, surrounded by a cacophony of sights, sounds and smells. It can be a little jarring, and not all of the sights or smells would be considered exotic. You also get cockroaches and rats with this package, but if given the choice between vacation and adventure, I'll always choose adventure, though it is nice to go on vacation every now and again, but that's what friends are for.

Lucy night swimming in our friends' pool.

The real Abu Dhabi, more or less.

Karate Lessons next door are one of the luxuries.

And now that a shoe outlet opened across the street, we really do have everything we could need within a city block, and what we don't have delivers. All of the conveniences of city living combined with all of that yard work that I no longer have to do (thanks Pillings for continuing to take care of that monstrosity of a lawn on Hardisty Court--that is a debt that will stay on the books into the enternities.), I don't know if I'm cut out to return to the subburbs. I've been spoiled.