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IN ENGLISH |
EN ESPAÑOL |
EM PORTUGUÊS |
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seize the day. |
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I am frantically packing my bags at the moment (well, not really since I am sitting here in front of this laptop) in preparation for a five-day trip to one of the world's largest cities - Tokyo! The reason for the trip is to attend the wedding of my good friend Matt Petchsy, whom I met while studying at Schulich in Toronto and who now works alongside me in the charming (in its own eccentric way) city of Abu Dhabi. Matt - am looking forward to seeing you on what I would call your 'home turf'. Jerry and Makoto - you too! Let's go for beers! |
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Back from Paris a couple of days ago and just wanted to post a link to a selection of the photos I took during my two-day visit to the city! |
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Am sitting in my flat here in Abu Dhabi, waiting for the limousine pickup from Etihad Airways to take me to the airport. I'm flying to Paris for the weekend and first class too! My mother is in Paris for a 10-day trip to visit museums and art galleries in the city. She asked why I don't just fly up for a visit and meet her at the halfway point between Canada and the Middle East. So logical of course :) I booked a trip using my Etihad miles (only 501 dirhams out of pocket) and here I go. Off to Paris for the first time to hang out with my mom for the weekend! |
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Off to India for the first time. Will be there for the next eight days, starting off in Mumbai, finding a way to get to the state of Goa to meet my friends Julian Brosch and Evan Clark, then finding a hotel room to stay at while we ring in the New Year on the beautiful and famed party beaches of Goa. No hotels, no transportation booked during my trip to India, this during a time of year when everything is famously considered to be overpriced and overbooked. Wondering if I might have to hitchhike it to Goa or take a suite of chicken buses, one after the other, all the way down the coast south of Mumbai. I met my buddy Julian Brosch way back in 1998 when we were both working at Club Med Turkoise, in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He was my roommate for a couple of months and we haven't reunited since the summer of 1999 - Jules did we see each other after that crazy night with the Vermont folks? the photo above shows Julian seated in the middle and myself third from the right (without a shirt on, as usual). the photo was taken in front of our block of flats at Turkoise. will try to update again from India... we'll see how easily this works from an internet cafe... it's been a long time since i traveled and updated my site. |
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- a movie I've been meaning to see for a while ... couple of reasons being that it's similar in it's genre to "Crash" (the movie about culture clashes in modern-day Los Angeles which I liked very much) and also that it's got Gael Garcia Bernal in it (the actor from Amores Perros, Y Tú Mamá También, and The Motorcycle Diaries, in all of which I enjoyed his acting performance). Babel follows three stories in parallel which are linked together... the first is the story of an American couple that is travelling through Morocco, the second is the story of the couple's two children who are whisked off to Mexico by their nanny, and the third is the story of a deaf Japanese girl who is dealing with her mother's death... The two key themes I observed in this movie were 1) the language / cultural differences between the characters in each of the three stories and how this impacted on the development of the storyline and 2) the situations of "aloneness" that the key characters in each story find themselves in partly as a result of the language / cultural barriers but also as they face their respective challenges... Also liked how the movie morphed Latin culture with Arab culture with Asian culture... these are really the three worlds I find myself in these days... all at the same time.... the review at this site is worth reading: Babel (2006) cheers |
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
UPDATE ON HOUSEGUESTS
The cockroaches still haven't returned... :)
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
HOUSEGUESTS
About a year ago I was experiencing my first Abu Dhabi summer, just getting into the swing of the late nights and tight deadlines of the investment banking world, and smoking a lot of shisha whenever I could on the weekends and such. At the time I was also still settling into my new apartment on the corner of Najda and Electra Street, in the Green House Centre Building. I hadn't yet bought the bookcase or the computer desk. I hadn't yet unpacked most of my boxes of personal effects from Canada. I hadn't yet put up my flags of Ireland, Canada, California and Colombia. I hadn't yet placed photos on my walls or my souvenirs from my travels. My place wasn't yet 'lived-in'. But what I did have were houseguests. They arrived one by one and didn't even knock. They didn't even use the front door. Sometimes they would already be there when I arrived home. Cockroaches. They had a nest somewhere behind my oven / stove (yes - the famous one with the glass cover that exploded in my face) and seemed quite comfortable in my not-yet-very-lived-in flat on the 17th floor. They scurried about to and fro, with little attention paid to me, looking for I don't know what (since I never found them in my food), over the countertops, underneath the fridge, over the gas burners of the stove, and sometimes even venturing down the hallway into my living room and even my bathroom. Thankfully I never discovered one in my bedroom. I could have handled having cockroaches for a week or so but more than that would have been too much. I was tormented by memories of a 2 inch long / 1 inch thick cockroach on the ceiling of the flat of one of my GO colleagues from Club Med Turkoise in 1998. I've never forgotten that, and I never, ever want to see a cockroach that size again. How do you kill something like that without actually hearing it die? CRUNCH. Yuck. So, I was worried that these cockroaches would find my home comfortable enough to make a living, rear their young and settle in for the long haul. I purchased some Raid and some baited traps and set them about my kitchen, believing that to be where they were originating from. Whenever I saw one, I'd grab my trusty can of Raid and spray it and wait and watch while it died in front of my eyes. Picking it up was never fun so I left it for the housekeeping team that comes by once every second day. I'm sure they didn't appreciate that! Despite the Raid and the traps, they stuck around, resilient little fuckers! They overstayed their welcome. Well into Ramadan they stayed and right up until my trip to Greece in end of October. But then, all of a sudden, upon my return and coinciding with the explosion of my stove, they didn't come back. They just.... disappeared? For the first week or so, I was cautious moving things around the kitchen, sure that one of the beady eye little beasts would be hiding behind the toaster, or the microwave. But a few more weeks passed and I became more certain that they'd left, for the time being at least. I figured that with the arrival of the winter season and much cooler temperatures, they would migrate to the outdoors. I remained fearful they would be back with the return of summer this year. But they haven't returned. We are now well into the summer season here in Abu Dhabi and I haven't seen a single one. I can't think of a good reason for why they wouldn't have come back... except that perhaps the dead bodies of a few of their cousins are decomposing inside the nest they built in my kitchen. Or perhaps my place is much more lived in now and my turf is firmly marked (see photos before and after). Adíos cucarachas!
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
ABU DHABI ANECDOTE
If you live in Abu Dhabi, you'd better get used to dealing with the poor service or quality of consumer goods/services sold around town. On an almost daily basis I find myself scratching my head or muttering under my breath due to some poor experience in a taxi, restaurant or retail store. On the first two floors of my building there is a kind of general store that will sell almost anything you can think of at rock-bottom prices. It's called the Green House Centre and I'd compare it to a miniature version of Wal-Mart (btw there are no Wal-Marts here in the UAE) except that you shouldn't expect the life of whatever you're buying to last more than a couple of weeks at most. Against my better judgement I went to the Green House Centre last night looking to buy some light bulbs to outfit a floor lamp I'd purchased earlier in the day. I figured - how could they screw up a light bulb? It's a pretty common and uncomplicated good, they're bound to have what I'd need. Since I expected to find half a dozen sets of light bulbs of all shapes and sizes, I carefully inspected the lamp to make sure I knew what size, voltage and type of bulb to buy. Arriving at the store, I asked the first dude I saw how to get to the light bulb section. Anticipating misinformation, I stopped and asked two other guys on the way. You learn to be pre-emptive when shopping in Abu Dhabi. Picking through the pile of bulbs on the shop, I still wasn't quite if what I'd be buying would fit the socket, but since they were only 1 dirham fifty fils each (half a Canadian dollar), I picked up four and hoped for the best. Back upstairs in my flat, I excitedly unpacked a light bulb and tried it in the lamp... I carefully plugged in the lamp, made sure the switch was flipped, and then depressed the button on the lamp. Voilá! Nothing. Scratching my head, I unscrewed the light bulb and tried it one of the other sockets. Still nothing. Muttering under my breath, I shook the light bulb near my ear and much to my non-surprise, heard the broken filament rattling around inside the bulb. What luck! I tossed the light bulb aside and pulled another out and tried it in the socket. Still didn't work. Fearful of the worst, yet not quite believing it could be possible, I shook Bulb #2 next to my ear and heard, you guessed it, a broken filament. Shaking Bulbs #3 and #4 produced the same result. I thought about going back to the store and requesting a refund. I thought of the importance in trying to teach them a lesson about quality control and the importance of care in packing and transporting. I'd be doing my small part in helping to make an ''emerging market" more competitive, after all... But on second thought, they probably would just put the broken bulbs back on the shelf and sell them to the next unsuspecting expatriate. I guess the whole adventure of being a consumer in Abu Dhabi is part of the flavour of being here, part of its charm. Masalama (good bye) for now.
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WHAT IS RYANROWE.COM?
... I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE ANYMORE ...
in case you've been wondering why I haven't posted in ages... ... trying to find my muse again... my inspiration... i stare at the screen and my mind draws a blank... the ideas in my head i can't put into words... the desire to post on my site is there, as strong as it ever was... the experience and adventures are still happening yet for some reason i am no longer able to tell the stories... sometimes i feel restless, sometimes i feel lost ... what do i do? what's happened?
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
GREETINGS FROM MOTHER RUSSIA
As I flew into Russia and touched down at Doomedovo International Airport, I was surprised to see that the surrounding area was largely forested and only sparsely populated. I think the airport must be quite a distance from the city centre. I'm here in Moscow for three nights and four days with three guys from my company's London office. The objective of our trip is solely to explore the nightlife of Moscow and perhaps enjoy a little cultural fare on the side - wink wink, nudge nudge ;) My first impressions of Russia formed while on the plane through three different brief experiences. As we took off from Dubai, a gentleman on the plane had a mickey of scotch in his bag and poured a drink for his wife and himself. He'd apparently purchased it at the Dubai Duty Free (either one of, or THE world's largest duty free shopping mall in the world). Then as we touched down in Russia a number of people erupted into applause even before the wheels had hit the runway which I found to be quite strange. Usually people clap after you land, not before! Maybe they are happy to be returning home? Finally as we taxied to the terminal and the pilot announced that we were to remain seated and buckled up until the plane had finally arrived, a few guys got up and started walking around, brushing off the crew's repeated requests to sit down...! So my first impressions are that these people carefree, fun-loving and passionate people - which leads me into telling you about my next Moscovian (does that work?) adventure. In the baggage claim area my jaw dropped at the sheer amount of women walking around in short shorts, hot pants, halter tops and mini-skirts. It must be the recent advent of the summer season here in Russia that is causing so many women to dress so provocatively... the same thing happens in Montreal and Toronto towards early to mid-May. In any case it's hard to pay attention to anything else but the sexy, gorgeous Russian women walking around ... everywhere! My buddies, we'll call them Vladi G, Jamie C and Mishkel M, are touching down in a few minutes, and I am waiting for them in a restaurant outside the 'nothing to declare, declare' gates, having some salted squid and Baltika Export beer. I thought I was going to get calamari but this salted squid stuff seems to be sun-dried, smoked and cured, or something... very interesting flavour. Wish I could somehow share that with you via this medium... the sights and smells and sounds of travel. I hope that the next 72 hours yield many more interesting adventures to tell you about... ;)
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
I'm cooking samosas for the first time at home. They are chicken samosas prepared in a halal manner. So, first of all, what's a samosa? For those of you who don't know (since many of you might - this food has gained a following in Western countries in recent years) - it's a traditional dish or snack from Asia that is popular here because of the large community of foreign workers from countries like Bangladesh and India. It's sold in a lot of the little street-side fried food restaurants (yeah, those that would never pass a food inspection agency visit). They can be made with chicken, vegetables or minced meat. Don't think that last one would be served in India though where the cow is a sacred animal. The serving suggestion for my samosas reads:
As you can see from the photo above - I've used ketchup. Only because I don't have any chutney. Let this post on my website serve as a reminder to buy some! And what's halal? Halal is an Arabic word meaning permissible in English. When used as a reference to food, it means food that is prepared in a manner consistent with the guidelines of the religion of Islam. Islam is a subject I am meaning to delve deeper into (when I have time). The religion requires that animals slaughtered for human consumption be killed in a manner that is deemed to be humane / ethical. The method, known as dhabiha, involves severing an animal's neck to allow the blood to flow cleanly out of the body. My understanding is that the animal also cannot known know it is about to be killed so the cutting is done from behind. The concept of halal appears similar to that of kosher from Judaism. There's my two cents on Abu Dhabi culture for today - need to head back to work for the long night ahead!
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
Thought I'd share with you what I had for dinner tonight - isn't that exciting? I thought you might be interested in what a hungry banker eats after a day at the office (you can roll your eyes now - the truth is I can't think of something better to write on my website tonight). I haven't really adapted my eating habits much; I am eating similar foods to what I was in Canada just that I can afford to eat more of it and of better quality. So to satisfy my spoiled diet - the answer is - a lot of imported foods!
Main Course:
Salad:
Snack:
Interestingly my palate has become a little more sophisticated (note potato salad and feta cheese which I used to hate eating)... and also have learned to properly cook a steak on a stove. Dad - I've got to show you a thing or two on this one! Anyway, as you can see my diet is also rich in calories. That might explain the 25lbs of barriga I've put on since September 2004. If I weren't heading back to work after this post, I'd be having a beer too. ;)
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
FEELS ALL RIGHT
I've just finished my first really late night in weeks and it feels kind of good. Over the last couple of months it's been a bit slow on my desk and I'd started to feel lethargic and bored. I began to worry that I'd fallen out of step with the work hard, play hard culture of investment banking (and what I'd generally been accustomed to even prior to this job). But tonight, working until 3am, I felt a little more energised, like the blood was starting to circulate again... it helped that one of the managers gave me a pat on the back ... that's worth its weight in gold to me ...
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HAVE YOU SEIZED A DAY LATELY?
BE EXTRAORDINARY
Dear visitors to ryanrowe.com, The following quote is from a scene in the movie Dead Poet's Society, one of my all-time favourite flicks for the compelling message it delivers on living life to the fullest and following your dreams. Mr. Keating, the maverick English teacher in a prestigious all-boy prep school, is teaching his students to seize the day. In the scene, he shows them a black and white photo of an old cohort of students from long ago....
If you are a long-time visitor to this website or even someone fresh off the boat ... if you find yourself intrigued by the site's message, I urge you to go and watch this movie ... do write and tell me your thoughts ... i love hearing from everyone.
cheers from the middle east BE EXTRAORDINARY.
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY
FIVE DOLLAR COFFEE AND PORT
My sister Corinne and her family (husband and two kids) are visiting me in the UAE for a couple of weeks. Tonight ended up being a drinking night since I've taken this Wednesday and Thursday off to take them to Dubai for some sight-seeing. The five of us started off at Chichi's with 5 dirham (C$1.50) margaritas and the night ended with Corinne and I having a nice chat over a glass of port at the Emirates Palace. One coffee, two glasses (small) of Taylor Fladgate - total damage - 582 dirhams (C$175)!!!!! craziness. but we stole a pen so makes it all worth it.
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
MY CELL IN CAIRNS
Now back in Cairns after an overnight trip on a live-board dive vessel out to the Great Barrier Reef. Over a period of 31 hours, I managed to get in five dives out of a possible seven. Rented an underwater-capable digital camera for $100 for a 24 hour period and managed to squeeze out 90 photos out of which roughly half probably won't look all that great. We'll see. Lesson learned - learn how to use an underwater digital camera before renting one! Lost my Oz flip-flops on the boat too, so had to buy another pair. Better to buy them here than in Abu Dhabi - it's impossible to find Size 13/14 footwear in the Middle East! BTW it was quite funny that I arrived in Cairns on Saturday night... it took me only a few minutes to realise it was St. Patrick's Day ... so went out to the Rhinobar and had a couple of Guinness. My party team in Montreal - miss you guys!!! Now staying at the International Backpackers Hostel, Room #104 with single-size bed, linen, ceiling fan, wall mirror and broken air-conditioning unit all included for the low price of AUD 34.00 and a AUD 20.00 key deposit. That price also gets me a Meal Voucher at the Rattle N Hum Bar and Grill next door - but only valid between 5pm and 6:45pm. I wonder if the owner is a fan of U2. Ideally would like to find a laundromat to dump some of my dirty clothes in before flying back to Dubai tomorrow. Have just about run out of clean clothes (saving my last pair of clean boxers for the flight home). At 7pm, plan to have a beer with my scuba instructor Ray Cho, and after that, well, who knows what the night will hold. Chowder for now!
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
DOH!
Had my mobile phone stolen from me early Saturday morning. All my phone numbers were saved to the phone (instead of the SIM card) and so I've lost contact info for individuals with whom I have no other way of getting in touch with. I've also lost a number of text messages with sentimental value. Anyway - it could be worse - I still have my wallet, my passport and my sand-filled camera. Also was planning to replace the phone as it kept dropping calls... (the Motorola Razr V3) ;-) By the way, reflecting on March 14th article - "Off to Australia again", I figured I was getting back to basics by backpacking it instead of suitcasing it. But the irony is that I brought a mobile phone, a digital camera and my Dell laptop with me on this trip. And I'm flying to Cairns when I would normally do such a trip by bus to conserve funds and see everything in between. A long shot from basic I suppose.
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
RIP MY DEAR DIGITAL CAMERA
My Canon Ixus 80 is out of commission after it was doused with sand on Kurrawa Beach here in Gold Coast. I'm more bothered by the fact that I've lost potential photo opps during my first trip for pleasure in Australia... I'll probably just get a disposable for the next few days (as well as an underwater disposable for my planned diving excursions)...
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
OFF TO AUSTRALIA AGAIN
Headed to Gold Coast, Australia for a three-day, two-night annual conference being held by my company. Staying at a swanky hotel and looking forward to some good times! After the conference ends I plan to head up to Northern Queensland (Cairns) and go scuba-diving on the Great Barrier Reef for two-three days. Hostel stay for me it'll be... which begs the question - since this is a half work / half vacation trip - how should I pack my bags?
Option 1
Option 2 hmmm... I think I need to get back to basics. Will go Option 1 (backpacker style) and show my colours (and my Canadian flags).... may not be as comfortable or as easy access (and my clothes will get wrinkled) but what the hell, it'll make for some fun times after so long and help break the routine!! seize the day - yay! 2am in the morn and i'm sitting here writing shit like this on my website when I should be packing... my taxi to Dubai is coming to pick me up at 4:30am... yikes!!! no sleep tonight... hope to get some shut-eye on the flight through to Brisbane otherwise i'll be knackered on Thursday... will crash out on the beach I reckon. chowder. ahh yes... my OZ mobile should you wish to contact me is +61 410 368 421.
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
DOHA FIRST CLASS
Doha seems to be a pretty cool
city. Weather's a bit cooler than Abu Dhabi is these days, it's got a more
modern air about it, and there seems to be an air of unflaunted
sophistication among the people here. Hoping to come back and visit
for a weekend sometime soon - a mate
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
Off to Doha, Qatar at 5am for a mid-morning meeting. Travelling first class on Qatar Airways (apparently one of the world's top-rated airlines) - this will be a new experience for me! Unfortunately will only be a short trip - probably back in Abu Dhabi by late afternoon / early evening. See map above - note how my city is spelled Abu Zaby - that's the Roman alphabet spelling for the Arabic version of Abu Dhabi. Doha, Qatar appears to be spelled as Ad-Dawhah. As I endeavour to learn more about the Middle East, Arab culture, language, religion, etc - making a note to self on rr.com to check out this website at a later date - Arabic words and the Roman alphabet. By the way - Heidi - thanks for your note on Facebook - I am working for a multinational investment bank in the area of infrastructure finance. Will try to get back to you soon!
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A TRIBUTE TO FRIENDS
Alain Mokbel and I have been friends for about 6 or 7 years now (mate, do you remember when it was that we met for the first time?)) and although we never hung out on a day-to-day basis or even a week-to-week basis, our friendship grew with the passage of time as we exchanged thoughts and stories on working out, website design, women, our careers and life goals. In August of last year Alain told me about his upcoming wedding to Elisa Navarro Ponce, planned to take place in Mexico City, on March 3rd, 2007. Unfortunately, I was unable to get out of Abu Dhabi to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime moment with him. I really wish I could be there right now buddy... but I'm sure he had fun without me! ;) Alain - Congratulations on getting married to a beautiful Latin woman! A word of advice which you probably have already figured out! Take good care of these sweet creatures and never upset them - they are deadly when angry! Since Alain is a long-time visitor to ryanrowe.com, I thought he might get a kick out of me using this space to pay tribute to him on this very special occasion ... but since I don't have a photo of the two of you together (or even a good one of Elisa) can you please send me one cabrón??? I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon bro. Un abrazo fuerte. P.S. You may have noticed in the text above that I speak to Alain and speak of Alain - that's a ryanrowe.com ism. You're not going crazy - neither am I. nyuk.
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
REFRESHING MY SCUBA
SKILLS
I took a scuba diving review course on Saturday in preparation for my upcoming trip to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia on March 14th and future diving plans for sites around the Arabian Gulf. Thanks to my new diving buddy Tarun and instructor Felix for a great time! Here are the photos (posted using Google's Picasa utility)... Themaker, what do you think?
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF AM I HAPPY?
Working crazy hours, making lots of money, always under pressure, little to no free time, living to work not _working_ _to_ _live_. Am I happy..? Yes. I'm struggling but I am happy. I love the challenge to my mindset. In fact it has helped me to really discover what is important to me. I feel alive. And for the moment that's what counts. I'll enjoy the ride and see where it takes me. LIFE IS ABOUT THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION.
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RYANROWE RETHINKING
I think a great way of moving
people to action is to start something yourself and then urge people to join
along with you.
Maybe not much, but at the
very least I have helped to increase awareness that recycling facilities do
exist in this town, where previously everyone wondered whether they did or
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
A G_A_Y MAN'S EXPERIENCE
IN DUBAI
Check this out... until now I've only heard rumours of such things happening. Here's one man's account of how he was deported from the UAE for being g_a_y. I'm not spelling out the word in full so as to avoid having my site filtered / banned by the UAE proxy server. The previous article about not getting into Tiesto mentioned CID - the same CID referenced here... crazy!
You can also read the post here.
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
They wouldn't let us into the Tiesto show last night at the Lodge nightclub in Dubai ... because I was wearing sandals and open-toed shoes are not allowed for men (but they are for women). Sheesh -- my toes are not that ugly! Seriously though, the bouncers at the door cited local laws and regular visits from Dubai Police Department's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for not letting me in. Otherwise, they said, there would have been no problem at all. Anyhow, we sold our tickets to some dudes at the door and Maya and I went to Barasti bar instead ... and we had a fantastic time!! If life hands you lemons, make lemonade! Maya and I have made a pact that when Tiesto returns to the Middle East, wherever he is (within reason) we'll go and see him. As far as we know he was last in the region when he played in Beirut in November. As for my colleague, he worked late and ended up bailing out altogether...
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
TONIGHT -
DJ TIËSTO IN DUBAI
Going to see Tiesto tonight ... with a colleague from the office and Maya Farhat, a mate of mine from the Schulich IMBA. I've been listening to Tiesto for a few years now but have never seen him play live ...
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
FOODS I MISS
Can't seem to get these at Spinney's or the Abu Dhabi Coop... may need to start shopping somewhere else!
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
PHOTOS OF DUBAI
A selection of views captured on a recent overnight business trip to Dubai.
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LIFE OF A WORKING STIFF
ENDURING THE SLEEPLESS
NIGHTS
Money is not the prize; the experience of learning and the knowledge it yields is.
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HAVE YOU SEIZED A DAY LATELY?
Lines from the movie |
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WHAT IS RYANROWE.COM? YEEHA RYANROWE.COM!
My visitor stats are on the rise again! I am averaging 66 visitors a day compared with lows of 40-50 six months ago. At one time I was getting 120 + visitors a day - but this was when I was sending out regular email updates in 2002 / 2003 during my soultrip through latin america. With updates on my site increasing and the allure of being in an exotic foreign land, I think people are again intrigued by what I'm up to or maybe everyone's laughing at the insane little meanderings I have been posting of late! <hoping people will also start to use the dreamcatcher again> Statistics here:
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HAVE YOU SEIZED A DAY LATELY? STAY IN SASKATOON
Alain Having thought some more about the challenge that is facing you ... I think the best way to "seize the day" is to enjoy the discomfort, revel in it, drink it up, learn from it, feed on it ... stay there until you can bear it no longer ... and then stay a little longer. WHATEVER DOESN'T KILL YOU ... ONLY MAKES YOU STRONGER.
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EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
SOUNDS FAMILIAR ...
Here is an excerpt of text on "The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh". Thanks Haj.
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JUST FINISHED WATCHING "BABEL" ...
Drink:
CONGRATS,
ALAIN MOKBEL & ELISA NAVARRO FLORES!
