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I am doing well back in the US but as a 4 year resident of the UAE, I am still interested and feel qualified to comment on the expat life in the UAE. Sometimes I miss mytime there and there were some good things about it.

Ramadan starts in the UAE in a few weeks and I wish all my Muslim friends Ramadan Mubarak.

I will have to admit I will not miss sneaking cigarettes, lunch, water, and other delights behind curtains during daylight during this Holy Time. Ramadan was always inconvenient for us Westerners but we were always thankful we were afforded a "Plan B".

Muslims fasted during the day but at night there was feasting and festivities. One of the most dangerous times to drive during Ramadan was near sunset when thousands of dehydrated and hungry Muslims were hauling ass home at sunset where food and drink awaited. One did not want to get in their way!

How Ironic...

I got this in an email the other day from ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center) for an upcoming event in the UAE capitol city.

Bring the Kids!

 Geez, I guess I could have saved all the trouble and expense of actually moving to Las Vegas and experienced "Sin City" in my old stomping grounds of Abu Dhabi.....sans the scantily clad dancing girls, booze, gambling, colorful language and debauchery of the original Rat Pack of course. Frank, Dean and Sammy, we miss you!

Its interesting that this show is featured as Las Vegas style entertainment doesn't seem congruous to the morality of this Islamic country and I'll wager the show is "Sanitized for Your Protection". However, the music from that era is good and if the performers can succeed in parroting the sound, banter and mannerisms of the original guys, it could be an entertaining night.

What's next for ADNEC.......The "Ladyboys of Bangkok" revue"???

Reflections of Re-Entry

OK, I have bashed the UAE for some things such as internet censorship, Sharia Law, telecommunications monopoly, banking and labor abuses and being a "Plastic Banana" country. The place sucked me dry after awhile. Now it is time to reflect on my thoughts of my own country after being away for over 3 years.

First of all, the US is very expensive. Food and ordinary items that used to cost 2X+ what I remember. What used to be an in and out at a grocery store for $50 now cost more than $100. Not only that, there are bills in my mailbox everyday from people and organizations that want money. Setting up a new household over here costs an exhorbitant amount of money considering deposits, leases, auto registration, utilities, taxes, etc. Everyone has their hands out and wherever I leak, someone has a bucket.

Second, there are retail outlets everywhere for anything one could want or hope for, acres (or hectares) of strip malls that sell everything from hamburgers to massages to bankruptcy lawyers. It is quite overwhelming but convenient, maybe too convenient. After the financial bubble burst, there are a lot of broke folks here and the last thing they need are more temptations.

Crime in the US is an assumed risk but I consider that as the price to pay for a free society. It was safe in the UAE but I am one of the last ones that seem to refuse to trade security for freedom.

That being said, driving in the murderous motoring maelstrom on the UAE roads just might entail more risks than the US crime rate would. 

Although the US is not perfect, it is still home to me and theoretically I have a say in the operation of my governmental representatives. In Abu Dhabi, I was a guest that could thrown out on my head just for flipping the "bird" to someone. That type of  stress in addition to the "saving face" culture where nobody can seem to lose wore me down to where everyday seemed an excercise in frustration. I can finally call someone an ASSHOLE and not be arrested for committing a crime against the State..

Anyway, no place is perfect. I enjoyed living in Abu Dhabi for awhile but it was not "home".I knew I had to come back to America someday. I was only a guest that could be evicted at anytime for any reason.

I am now settled in Las Vegas, Nevada, arguably one of the most exciting cities in the world and diametrically opposite of the faux venues in the UAE. Gambling, alcohol and debauchery are openly encouraged in "Sin City." and folks seem just as happy here as they are in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I guess that is because gambling, alcohol and prostitution are equally available in both places but those activities are not advertised as much in the UAE..

Even though I am living back in the US for now, I will continue this blog as people are curious and interested in working in the sandpit. I will continue to give advice to those wannabes. I have lived there and have lots of hints and advice.

I am building a new blog, lasvegasdispatches.com. to chronicle the good and the bad of the world's "Sin City". It will be up and running in a couple of weeks.

Thanks to the friends I met overseas. I appreciate you as the adventurers you all are. It takes big balls to do what we did and kudos to those who still live and thrive over in the Sandpit. I am glad I did it but I wouldn't do it again. Best Regards to my buddies and readers I left behind and I hope our paths will cross again. I will never forget you all!

Seeya,
Ace




  

More "Adios Abu Dhabi"

I had a comment on my last post that said I was being "negative and bitter". Ok, maybe I was kind of tough on the UAE, after all, I lived and worked there for 3 1/2 years. Everything I said has passed through most expatriot's mind at one time or another. Maybe I got carried away by my new found freedom of speech and like a degenerate wino, I drank deeply from that bottle.

To be fair, the things I liked about the UAE are:

It is a very safe place, I could walk anywhere, anytime without fear of personal harm

Being of a Western persuasion, I received special service and attention, not that I consider that right but it just happened. I guess it was assumed I was of some importance.

Good infrastructure, at least in the cities. Roads were the best anywhere on Earth. The drivers are another story.

English spoken everywhere. After all it is the language of money and petroleum. No need to learn Arabic.

The Winter weather! Perfect Miami Beach style climate.

The things that bothered me about the UAE:

To me everything seemed "plastic banana", AKA fake. For example, The roads into the city from the airport are lined by nice date palm trees and lavish landscaping that extended perhaps 20 meters off each side of the road and then the natural landscape of the ubiquitous ugly beige sand began. The greenery is a facade to fool arrivals that this is a verdant country

Expatriot employee rights do not exist. Terms and conditions can be changed at any time. Unions are illegal and I won't even get into the Labor Camp abuse issues. Also, expatriots cannot ever become citizens and can be deported for the slightest of misdeeds.

No freedom of speech. I personally know of a popular local publication that was almost shut down because one of the contributing writers mentioned the body of water between the UAE and Iran as the Persian Gulf rather than the officially mandated UAE version, the Arabian Gulf. The editor was directed to remove all previously distrtibuted copies of the magazine and was threatened with a shutdown by the UAE government.

The Summer weather, 120F is excessive. Folks just stayed inside. The sky stayed a depressing light brown during June-Sept. Many people became alcoholics during this time.

Owing money is a criminal offence. Many dusty cars in airport parking garages due to this. People are forced to leave the country rather than being given the opportunity to pay back debts from abroad.

Sharia law insures expats will not get a fair shake in court.

Also, do not fall for the trap that Dubai is. With all the glitz and glamor, you are in a still in a Middle Eastern country and you do not want to run afoul of "rules" you may not even be aware of.

For example, prostitution  is prohibited but rampant in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The government and police turn a blind eye, but if you do something else for which you get caught, you are in a lot of trouble as the Ho charge will be added.

The UAE is trying and doing a good job for just being 35 years old, but the country is young and some things are going to be weird until lessons are learned. Again, there seems to be a huge inferiority complex and a real yearning to join/be considered a1st word country. The facades are in place but there is a long way to go before they are accepted as a leading global country and that bothers them.

The UAE has oil and money but it takes more than that to be a world player, more than shiny buildings and palm trees next to the road. I see the yearning to be accepted as an influential world power but the execution is ersatz and weak.

I am back in the US and there is a huge mess here as well but at least I can discuss it at will and theoretically my government says I have some self-determination....we shall see!











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Adios, Abi Dhabi!

After I arrived at JFK and went through US Customs and Immigrations, I went outside the terminal into the unseasonably warm weather in New York. I was eager to to contact my family and friends but immedeately found out that my domestic mobile carrier (Verizon) had cancelled my account for some reason. My Visa card proved to be inactive too.

So there I was without communications and USD$. I had a pocket full of UAE Dirhams and was lucky to find a booth to change them to the current coin of the realm. I was happy to finally be back in my home country but was unhappy that things had degraded to the point where the basic services one would expect were no longer available to me partly due to my absence from the domestic US mainstream banking and communication system for almost 3 1/2 years.

That afternoon, despite my problems I felt a huge comfort to finally be back in the US. I was home for good. I got on the hotel phone and solved most of my recent problems with the credit cards and phone. The next day I flew down to the Southeast to see Family and Friends. I went from JFK to Birmingham, Alabama to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, then back to Birmingham, then to Las Vegas, Nevada, then to Phoenix, Arizona, then to Tucson, Arizona, back to Phoenix and then Las Vegas. I was fortunate to get a good job in the meantime. I now currently reside in a suburb of Las Vegas and am cool with that.

My exit from Abu Dhabi was not so good. To start with, I had to give a 2 MONTH FUKKING NOTICE to my employer! I am sure that is designed to hobble any chance with a future employer. Then, I had a 32 point checklist to complete before I was cleared to leave the country. One of which was a letter from the bank stating I owed no money. If I did owe, I would not be allowed to leave the country and would end up in a shitty UAE jail just because I bought an X-Box on the credit card and was late on a payment. Don't do that, beware!!! That didn't happen to me but it could happen to anyone. Sharia Law rules over in the UAE and as an expatriate, you just ain't gonna win.

I was given 30 days to get out of the country. The employer took my passport, health cards and ID days after my resignation so I was not free to go anywhere When you arrive in the UAE, they take care of everything, when you leave they are much less helpful. I spent the entire month of January trying to get the official stamps and clearances to get out of the country. The stress made me sick and I couldn't even keep a soda cracker down.

I found out I would not get my passport returned until my day of departure, which I was concerned about. All went well at the airport and I relaxed as the aircraft's wheels left the ground.

To those that fantasize about living in the Middle East, think again. My pay wasn't that good and you are owned by the employer without any rights whatsoever. Contracts are changed by employers at whim You get rear-ended at a traffic light by an Emirati and you will be charged for backing into him/her.

I have more to say, and I will, but I cannot recommend living in the UAE unless you are part of an organization with a fat US government contract.

The Arab, Pakistani and/or Indian way of doing business is disgusting. Telling the truth is looked upon as a sign of weakness. Shake hands and count your fingers!

The traffic is deadly, customer service is non-existant, rude people are common and there are no street addresses. Hell, they won't even transport you in an ambulance if the paramedics think Allah has willed you to die.

The internet is censored in the UAE, just like China and North Korea so it is refreshing to tell the truth from the USA without using a VPN or face prison time. I have an opinion that ANY country that restricts the internet has something to hide or doesn't trust its citizens with unfettered access to the rest of the world. The UAE is fucked up in that way. The media is similarly controlle.

I discovered that the UAE ( especially Abu Dhabi & Dubai) are constructs of a very insecure patriachal group of Sheikhs who are desperate to earn respect from the Western world. They are way behind and are trying to play "catch-up". They also play the "my dick is bigger than yours" game. Arab men seem very insecure. There is plenty of evidence of a national inferiority complex despite the vast wealth.

Sure, the shiny facades, big buildings and the vulgar displays of wealth may impress the trailer trash, but the truth is that these folks are but 35 years from living in desert tents, washing their eating utensils in camel urine and wiping their asses with their left hand.  Don't be fooled, if you scratch a little beneath the surface, the 15th century is still alive and well in the UAE!

I saw many lives ruined over there, mine included, almost!

If you can, stay in the US, EU or Australia. Those places are not perfect by any means but are far better than most of the rest of the world.

Your freedom and life may depend on it. Life in the UAE was nice in a lot of ways, but one wrong move and you can be in a very bad situation. You can be imprisoned for merely flipping the bird or insulting someone.

I am going to start a new blog about Las Vegas. This is my new home. It is an exciting city and there is a lot to talk about so stay tuned and I will provide a link in a few days. Life continues!

Shearing the Sheep

For the last 3+ years I have lived in a relatively insulated area of the world and I have had the unique opportunity to see Western culture and specifically the USA from the outside. Most in America have never heard of Abu Dhabi and assume it is some place in Africa due to the exotic sounding name, they know of Dubai, though. The 2 cities are but 50 miles apart. The UAE is a benevolent monarchy which in the most part takes care of its residents and citizens. Things are not perfect here but this area seemed to largely escape the degree of economic carnage that befell the rest of the world.
 
As you know I have recently decided to return to my homeland and I fear I will not be so happy about some things happening there. I consider the bank bailouts on the taxpayers' dime a travesty which will haunt middle class Americans for generations to come. Uncounted trillions of dollars literally evaporated overnight and it will take decades to recover.

It has affected me personally as I own real estate and have investments that have losses in the tens of thousands of dollars in value. The economic crisis was a huge "pump and dump" by the international bankers. I am pissed off as I did not get a government bailout because I am not "too big to fail" so I have to just take it in the shorts, I guess.

The international banks (Goldman Sachs, et al) made out like bandits with the cooperation of the US government and the Federal Reserve which is just another private bank. They all caused the problem which is reverberating worldwide, yet the whole situation remains opaque and the same players remain in power within the US government and Wall Street. They should be in prison as it seems the whole scheme was orchestrated years ago with the lobbying away of financial rules and safeguards that allowed certain toxic financial instruments to be created for the sole purpose of wealth transfer.

When this house of cards collapsed, the players were inexplicably rewarded with an unprecedented bounty of public funds from the federal government instead of well deserved sanctions. Common sense would dictate letting these private banking organizations rot on the vine from their irresponsible actions, instead they were given a "mulligan" at taxpayers' expense. This suggests a much too cozy of a relationship between the robber-barons of Wall Street and the US government that has the responsibility of regulating them.

Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and even France are facing financial meltdowns and the bankers are at the ready to step in and "help" these beleaguered economies by buying assets for pennies on the dollar. It seems to be all about the money. Trace the new leaders of Greece and Italy and you will find they have backgrounds with the same international banking organizations. As always, follow the money

I am not a tin foil hat wearing guy but I can put 2+2 together. You do not have to agree with me but the puzzle pieces are self-evident. Everyone should be a critical thinker and question authority.

Below are some thought provoking videos I found. The first 2 are from the prophetic movie Network (1976) and one from critical thinker, social analyst and part-time comedian, George Carlin.

Now maybe the lord/serf relationship was the natural order of things at one time, world history has many examples of this, but I am uncomfortable with the status quo and would think humanity would have matured and grown away from this unequal and unfair arrangement. I am an individual with unalienable rights and freedoms but recent events undermine my confidence and respect for my elected officials who I trusted to protect my best interests.

To me it seems my (and others') governing bodies dropped the ball and have allowed outside influences to steer public policy. The "get out of jail free" card was given to the international economic manipulators and many of these scoundrels hold high positions in the US government to this day. The Golden Rule is in effect, those that have the gold, rules.

What to do? There is no easy answer. The types of people that have a burning desire for elective government offices also have traits that tend toward weakness and selling-out their constituencies at the whiff of a greenback. Us regular folks are expected to look the other way and take the inevitable hit to the pocketbook or personal rights and freedoms.

We have an uphill battle to equalize things against the elite power brokers but there are some bright spots. The internet is the big player here as it offers the exchange of information at the grass roots level and bypasses the mainstream media who is also influenced by money and power and do not want to upset the handlers. The internet offers an alternative to the communal Kool-Aide.

Another victory was the exposure of "climate change" for the scam that it was. Most of the proponents were not actual scientists (Al Gore for one) but were knee-deep in the politics and finance of trying to scare the bejesus out of us regular people. As always, the endgame was more money and power for the elite. That was called Cap and Trade and Carbon Credits. Mr. Gore is actually a principle of the Chicago Climate Exchange
which is a clearinghouse and speculator of carbon credits when he is not trying to rape hotel maids.  I have a funny feeling his involvement in the CCE is not entirely altruistic and he stood a lot to gain by promoting his junk science.Thankfully, the Chicken Little "sky is falling" climate change horse is in its last twitches.

Bottom line is that we have the ultimate advantage in numbers but we all should think critically, put the pieces of the puzzle together, connect the dots, hold our elected officials accountable, ask questions when things don't pass the "sniff test" and as always......follow the damn money!

I Am Outta Here

I finally did it. I pulled the trigger and resigned my post last week. I will be leaving Abu Dhabi at the end of the year. I did not take the decision lightly. I have had a good run here and many adventures and good stories resulted. At this point I do not know where I will end up so it seems I am taking yet another jump into the abyss.As they say, "a rolling stone gathers no moss".

I had to leave here sometime anyway, I am just a guest here so I thought now is a good time as any. I am not getting any younger and it seems US employers have a problem with considering citizens living overseas for job opportunities. I realize I have to be back on home soil to further my career. 

I will continue this blog no matter what because I like doing it. The name may change depending on where I end up. I have some things to reveal that I can't as long as I live here so stay tuned.

As always I appreciate my followers, I do it all for you. I consider it a privilege and honor that you spend some time out your day to read my scribblings. I promise to continue to be creative and entertaining for you. More stories to come!