Note to friends and family reading this: \240I may share content in this journal that is not for public consumption. Please don’t share it with anyone else. Thanks for your understanding.

The adventure began like this...

Today was supposed to be a “normal” workday. Except, after much conversation and anticipation, I’ve realized I’m going to relocate to Abu Dhabi in the next month for a few years to take a position as the new Creative Director for the $1.6 billion, brand new, state-of-the-art, world class SeaWorld Abu Dhabi theme park!!

So today is not “normal” at all...

It started at Christmas while we were on vacation in Mexico, when I got an email from one of their senior guys that I’ve worked with in the past, letting me know he had an “opportunity” he’d like to discuss with me. \240(This is code for having a problem he thinks I might be able to fix)

You know how, with things like these, it mostly has to do with timing? \240Well, this was one of those. If he had asked me two years ago, I would have told him no straight away. But Ben is going to be a Junior in college this coming fall, and Izzi will be a Freshman. Merrill and I had already been talking about the potential of selling our Edmonds house when Izzi is settled in college, and moving up to Orcas. Ben is more than ready to live on his own, and once Izzi gets established, and realizes she can get a dog, she’ll probably forget she even has parents! \240The kids are sad that I’ll be gone for long stretches, but both happy they can come visit the place that has more Ferraris per capita than anywhere else in the world!

This makes the decision easier, but not easy. First, the position would need to challenge me, and advance my career. CHECK. Second, it needed to pencil out financially to offset the sacrifice we’d make as a family. (Who says you can’t buy love?). CHECK. Third, and most importantly, I needed the total support and commitment from Merrill that she would be willing to make the sacrifices to make this work. The burden of dealing with everything at home falls on her shoulders. We both will be working ridiculously hard, just in very different ways. After we discussed all of this, and I asked her if she was ok with it, she said “When do you leave?” \240I’m not quite sure how to take that... :). Last box...CHECK!

So I’m awaiting my final contract from SeaWorld, and putting together lists, spreadsheets, and doing research on the myriad of things one might need to know prior to landing in a country that leads the world in oil production, currently has the tallest building in the world,

Ok...it’s official!! \240I’ve been approved, or “appointed” in their words. (It makes me feel like a knight of the round table. Lol!)

Now that the negotiation (and waiting!) is over the real work begins. Unfortunately, it comes with some not fun tasks: \240Having to tell 3 clients I can’t continue working on their projects. As a matter fact, I’m on a plane as I write this, and will meet my friend, Eric, in San Diego, for (unbeknownst to Eric) my last site visit to the San Diego Children’s Zoo. I’ve been managing the construction of more than $5m of fake rock work for Eric’s company, Cemrock. It’s going to be \240fantastic when it’s finished, and I’m sorry I won’t be able to see it through to the end. (Which is fortunately only 2 or 3 months from now). But more than the project itself, I will miss working with Eric and his team. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve enjoyed every moment. I’m just not looking forward to breaking the news, because he’s had a hard year, and this will add complexity to that. But he’ll go through the right emotions (I hope): \240Shock, annoyance, and then begrudging acceptance. Followed by dishing me a lot of shit, because he will be happy for me. Plus, dishing shit is how guys tell each other they love them.

I’ve also been doing some operational consulting for a design firm in Seattle, in which I have become close with the entire team, and good friends with the owner, Gary. I never intended for this to be long term, so it’s good timing to separate, as the bird is ready to be pushed out of the nest. But I do worry about them, because after I leave, they won’t have someone that will slay the white elephants, and aggressively push them to make the right decisions, to help lead them in the direction they want to go. I will always be available to Gary as a friend, as I really hope they succeed. But they’re in a precarious position, so I worry about their future. \240I really believe in Gary, and I wish him well.

Ironically, I’ve already been working on SWAD in a minor capacity, as the Technical Director for the Producer of two shows- a dolphin show, and a sea lion/otter show. And should I have stayed on, I would have ended up in AD for a few months anyway to oversee the installation of the lighting, audiovisual (A/V), and special effects (FX). \240But half of this team I had worked with on past projects with SeaWorld, and I have loved working with them. And even though I will miss them dearly, it’s likely I will actually see a few of them onsite in AD. They will be sad to see me go, but equally happy that I will be on the other end of the project, as an advocate for their efforts.

Once these conversations are had, I can then focus my attention on actually getting packed and ready to go- which will be soon! \240I was targeting February 8th, my boss is targeting February 1st. So I have somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks to get ready. Gulp!!

Before I end this entry, I need to put down in words how I feel, and at its base level I feel grateful. The theme park industry, of which much of my work has come from, has been utterly CRUSHED by the pandemic. Theme parks around the globe were shut down, and not long ago reopened to dramatically reduced capacity. They are hemorrhaging cash, so no one, at least the big 3 (Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld) are investing in new, individual attractions, let alone a ground up new theme park. \240For this opportunity to come up at this time, when the industry is struggling to survive, and many people I know are either under utilized, or flat out beating the bushes looking for work...well...I am blessed, a phenomenal liar, or lucky. I don’t know what I’ve done to be so fortunate. But no matter what, I am grateful. And I am not taking this for granted.

Well, \240it’s done. I told all three clients about my new gig. Fortunately, there was no drama, and everyone seemed sincerely happy for me. And, as predicting, here were Eric’s exact words: \240“I’m really happy for you! \240And fuck you!”

Besides my upcoming goodbye to my family and close friends, this was the most emotionally difficult, so I’m glad it’s over. Now comes the buying, packing, and prepping to go. Next week will be filled with a bunch of calls to transition my existing projects into other hands, as well as starting to immerse myself in the details of SWAD.

Roughly 2-1/2 weeks until departure.

Preparing for this trip has me preparing in strange ways. \240One of the things I need to do is get a VPN on all my devices. It’s really weird to think I’ll be living in a place that doesn’t allow FaceTime. I can’t imagine a better way to stay connected with friends and family, and the only way to do so, is ensure they don’t know I’m doing it.

Plus, the only way you can stream Netflix and Amazon, is with a VPN. If I didn’t have a VPN, how would I watch Sons Of Anarchy for the 8th time?

I also have to get an iPhone with dual SIM cards. (First world problems). I will keep my existing number on one sim, and get a local number once I’m in AD on the other.

Plus, I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for 20 years-I don’t have a lot of desert-dwelling clothes. \240Thank goodness for REI and Ex-Officio.

My head hurts. This week is all about transitioning my projects to others, and immersing myself in SWAD. Oh, and concurrently gathering my stuff, getting ready to go. The only drawback (so far) of working on a project in AD, is the time difference. They are literally on the opposite side of the world, which means our 9 am (PST), is 9 pm their time. Which makes for a lot of early calls in Seattle. Like 4 and 5 am. Yuck!

But I’ve gotten a lot done in the past few days: Booked my trip to Dubai; learned it’s better to quarantine in Dubai, as I won’t be stuck inside with a tracking wristband the whole time like I would have been if I had gone straight to AD; found out there’s a bunch of things in Dubai I need to go see that are related to the project; got my international drivers license, bought a bunch of clothes and accessories that will make life more comfortable in sweltering weather.

And last but not least, brought the boat to a dealer to be sold. I feel like I’ve sold one of my children to a total stranger. I need a hug!! \240Lol. Except no one can give me one-damn Covid!

I started my deep dive into the project. I’ve seen a lot of really cool attractions in my career, so I have a very jaded opinion about what is amazing, and what isn’t. SWAD definitely falls in the amazing category!! \240Unfortunately, I’m unable to share any images. But I can say that SeaWorld is going back to it’s roots: \240They are making the animals the stars of the show. This is awesome for a variety of reasons, but most importantly, because it separates them from all of the competition. Anyone can have roller coasters and such, but most don’t have up close interactions with amazing animals that allow for that emotional bond with nature. This bond initiates curiosity, which leads to passion, and ultimately, hopefully, action in regards to conservation.

Only SeaWorld has these tools at their disposal (I know, poor choice of words), and they are using them wonderfully.

This past weekend has been about doing a preliminary test pack, to see if I’m missing anything significant (nope!) and saying goodbye to all my close friends. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to see everyone, but time is short.

Today, I’m off to Orlando to spend a few days with the US based SWAD team. It’s important to bond with those I’ve not worked with before, because they will not be onsite to be involved in the daily decisions, and we need to have a foundation of trust before I go. Many of these people are long time SeaWorld employees-more than 20 years of employment, so there’s often an attitude of “stranger danger” that I’ll need to overcome. But I’ve been successful with this on past SeaWorld projects, so I’m confident I’ll quickly earn their trust. It just takes a lot of effort. \240Part of my time will be \240visiting SeaWorld’s new Animal Care Center in Tampa, which will be interesting, but not the real reason I’m going. \240I’m going because it’s important I spend 3 hours in a car with the SeaWorld Zoological Director so we can bond. This park is all about the animals, so zoological plays a giant role, and we need to be aligned.

I’ll also be on-boarded with HR, getting my new SeaWorld badge, email, laptop, etc.

I also will get introduced to the senior leadership team, which likely means I’ll meet the CEO, and a number of the board members, if not the chairman. \240A little daunting, but they are humans after all... :)

I get back from Orlando on Thursday, and then have 4 days left until the trip, diving deeply into all the documents for the project. Needless to say, the amount of information I need to get familiar with on a $1.6 billion dollar project is a little overwhelming.

This past week was both amazing, and exhausting. I flew to Orlando to meet with the US based SWAD team, to meet a few people I hadn’t worked with before, and dig deeper into all facets of the project. I also got my laptop, badges, and a bit of SeaWorld swag.

The day before I leave...

• I got back my COVID PCR test: \240NEGATIVE! \240All systems go!! \240
• Merrill and I went through the numbers so I know what my housing budget is.
• My boss called me and reminded me to bring bandannas. He’s also bald, and our heads sweat a LOT under a hard hat. \240He also asked if I was “one of those anti-vaccine types”, to which I informed him that “No, I’m not- I’m a big believer in modern medicine.” \240He was glad to hear that, because it became a recent requirement that anyone on our jobsite has to get the Covid-19 vaccine. So a few days after I get to Abu Dhabi, I just need to go to the clinic, wait about an hour, and will walk out with my first vaccination shot. Apparently, if Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan \240decides that everyone living in his emirate should get vaccinated, he just raises the price per barrel of crude to pay for it to happen. \240My family thanks you Sheikh!!

Well, well, Emirates has a lounge at SeaTac after all! \240I like the way this trip is starting.

So...bizarre...I was trying to figure out: \240Do we fly east, or do we fly west? \240I had gone to the Emirates website, but couldn’t figure it out. \240It took a little internet sleuthing, because this route is brand new. Both both directions were WRONG. \240We go north!! \240We fly over Canada, then the northwest passage, over Greenland, over Eastern Europe, squeak between Iran and Iraq (I think, unless we have to go around, and then down the Arabian Gulf, past Abu Dhabi, landing 14 hours, and 35 minutes later in Dubai. Amazing!!

(This route is actually from San Francisco, but close enough)

Ok. I’m in Dubai. The trip went smoothly, no catastrophes, which is all you can hope for.

\240Two interesting things happened:

First, on my way to my hotel, we passed a different hotel called “The Two Seasons”. Does that mean it’s half the quality and price of a Four Seasons hotel?

Then, in the first two minutes of talking to my driver, he asked of I was a Democrat or a Republican. I was very surprised by this, but apparently I had the right answer.

So I check into my hotel, and while I’m waiting, the bellman asks me if I like our new (US) President. I was even more surprised by this, because it was less than ten minutes earlier that I was being asked a similar question, but again, I apparently had the right answer.

It really struck me how closely the whole world was watching us.

Thank you Mass family. It’s 3:30 am in Dubai. Room service is not an option. I can’t sleep, and I’m famished. Your venison jerky just saved my life.

PS- customs wanted to confiscate the jerky. I wouldn’t let them.

My first day of “work”. Went to the Dubai Marina Mall and got my local cell#: \240054 354 2161. Country code 971 in case you want to give me a jingle. ;)

Then I realized that the only thing I’d eaten in almost 24 hours was that world famous venison jerky from the Masses. I found a cafe at the mall, and had breakfast.

Then I went on my first work field trip, to the Atlantis resort. The Atlantis is a luxury hotel resort located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah (a man made island shaped like a palm tree) on the coast of Dubai. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis. It has a water park, and an aquarium called The Lost Chambers.

First things first: \240This is not cream. It’s yogurt. Not for coffee. \240

I’ve seen a lot of cool things in my life, but today has left me in absolute awe. All my senses were overwhelmed. From the ridiculously amazing architecture, to all the different smells of incense and spices, to the textures and colors of people, product, and the environment...every turn I took there was a new surprise waiting.

And speaking of turns...you know in the movies, when there’s a chase scene of sorts in some middle eastern village, with no street signs, small cobbled alleyways that lead you deeper and deeper into a labyrinth? \240That’s the gold and spice souk, and I had a BLAST getting lost!! \240(Over, and over, and over!!)

So I was pretty excited about today’s trip because it felt so...exotic. And it did not disappoint. Souks are basically outdoor markets, with hundreds of small shops, each displaying their wares in front of their stalls. This sign describes one of the souks it up pretty well (there are many souks, each focusing on a different type of merchandise):

RED ALERT! \240RED ALERT! \240I FOUND REAL BACON!

Ahhh...the simple things in life.

I forgot to include this from my trip to the Dubai Mall. There is a pair of giant water features flanking the mall exit, with sculptures of divers. Mesmerizing, and quite beautiful. Unfortunately, Journo is not cooperating with video, so stills will have to suffice.

Yesterday I went to Dubai Green Planet, which is a cross between a zoo and a giant terrarium. I got a tour by the GM, who so from Florida, so it was great to hear a familiar accent! One of the coolest things about it, is that all the birds, most lizards, lemurs, sloths, and a few other docile animals are not in any enclosure. They roam freely throughout the entire facility. I could have touched a sloth, but I wasn’t fast enough.

Two words \240about taxis and navigation in Dubai: \240Fast. Lost.

You’d think all these hot exotic cars would be the fastes cars on the road, right? \240WRONG. Taxi drivers seem to take to heart “time is money” and seem \240intent on getting you to your destination as fast as humanly possible. It’s a matter of their pride, not my life. No joke, I think I’ve been in the neighborhood of 100 mph in a few taxis. This becomes especially prevalent when we realize the “address” provided is not correct. So once you figure it the correct destination (you hope), he doubles down on the gas pedal.

Which leads me to the subject of addresses: \240There aren’t any. At least not how we understand them. They mostly find places by either the building name, which makes it difficult when there are 50 different “Emaar” buildings nearby, or by the name of the Block, or area of the city. For example, I had to go to a meeting at a vendor facility \240earlier this week. Their “address” is 17, 21 Street, Al Quoz Industrial Area 4. So the taxi driver found Al Quoz Area 4. (After going to Area 1 by accident), but many of the streets in industrial areas are poorly signed, or have no signs at all so there’s lots of stopping to ask, and hand waving. And even though we were looking for warehouse 17, most buildings don’t have signs with the numbers on it. \240Like most people would normally expect. Another example is my hotel. The “address” is “Jumeirah Living Marina Gate”. That’s it. \240“Marina Living” the brand, and “Living Gate” the name of the area the building is located in. So I’m learning it requires extra patience, extra time, and extra research to make sure you’re heading in the right direction. Also, I’ve learned that although cab drivers have mobile phones (android), the \240GPS they \240use is not nearly as good as Apple Maps \240 So what I’ve found that works well, is to map it out before I leave, and have it teed up in case the cabbie doesn’t have a clue. Then I just hand him my phone.

A few amusing things I’ve seen lately.

Of COURSE this is Happiness street!!

Yesterday was my first disappointment. \240I guess not everything here can be ridiculously amazing, and over the top. I went to the Dubai Dolphinarium, at “Children’s City”. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it ended up being horrible in almost all ways. The only redeeming factor is that the water was clean, and the dolphins looked to be in good health. But the building was worn, the seats were in disrepair, the audio and announcer were both poor quality, and the video stank. It was literally a cheap carnival show with dolphins. But I was there to see what the competition is doing, so. Guess I’m glad they’re doing it poorly?

Today was the polar opposite of yesterday,@# I spent a half day at the Dubai Safari Park. It’s about an hour from downtown Dubai, and was definitely worth the drive. It’s a combination of “walkabouts”, and driving safari. When you get on the trains for the driving safari, the neat part is that you have no obstructions between you and the animals- no fence, no moat, no barriers at all Of course, the only animals on this part of the safari are the ones that can’t kill you, but still, it’s super cool to be 10 feet (sorry...3.3 meters) from an oryx.

One other note about taxis: \240if you’re going to multiple locations, and you like your taxi driver-keep him for the day! \240He’ll give you his mobile number, and you can call him when you need to go somewhere. And he’ll wait for you (at no charge) if you’re just going to pick something up, or like in my case, picking up a new pair of steel toed boots at a Red Wing store in Al Quoz Industrial Area 3!! \240Seriously, there is almost nothing you can’t find here that is in the US.

Yet again, another amazing feast of all the senses: \240Dubai Global Village. It’s kind of a cross between Disney Epcot, and a flea market. It consists of a giant ring of decorative, dimensional facades, with each major country represented as you walk around the “world”. It’s kind of gaudy, but not in an offensive way. The outside of the ring for each country is all food stalls, and the inside of the ring is merchandise. \240There were also “floating” restaurants in the middle, between the rings. I was scared to go to Iraq and Iran. I’m not sure why, but in hindsight, I should have-when would I ever get that chance?? \240I’ll wait for Merrill and the kids and then we’ll go together. ;). I’m sure it looks kind of sad during the day, but at night it was pretty cool.

My last full day in Dubai before I head to Abu Dhabi. (And I CAN go, because I got my negative PCR test result today. And jaysus, they shoved that cotton swab so far up my skull, I think they tickled my brain!!).

I met the GM of our park for lunch, and then headed off to Dubai Parks and Resorts. \240Plagiarizing Wikipedia: \240Dubai Parks and Resorts is the Middle East’s largest integrated leisure and theme park destination located on Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Spread over 25 million square feet, it features more than 100 rides and attractions, and consists of three theme parks: Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and Legoland Dubai, and one water park: Legoland Water Park. It also encompasses Riverland Dubai, a themed retail and dining destination, as well as the Polynesian-themed family resort, Lapita Hotel Dubai.

It’s important for me to understand the competition, including what they do well, and not so well. From what I saw, most of it is average. Bollywood is strange, only bacause I’m not Indian. Legoland would be fantastic, if I was 7, EXCEPT the building in which they built famous buildings and monuments of the Middle East entirely of Legos!!! \240 It was ridiculous!! \240The lego duilding of Burj Khalifa is about 50’ tall!! \240(Part of the reason I went was to go on their submarine ride, of which the idea is pretty awesome, but the execution is lacking.) \240Motiongate was the best, mostly because they have awesome IP (Shrek, How to Train a Dragon, etc), and what they lacked in volume of attractions, they made up for with quality.

By the way, they take COVID very seriously here. $750 USD fine for not wear a mask.

Today I leave Dubai, and head to Abu Dhabi. \240It’s inadequate to just call Dubai “amazing”, but I now understand why there are so many expats living here. Kind people, crazy cool architecture-mixed with ancient history, culture galore, beautiful water and beaches, great food everywhere, and all operating with English as the common language. I’m grateful for the short time I’ve been here.

It will be interesting to see how Abu Dhabi compares.

Holy crap, what a week. \240I don’t even know where to begin. So much has happened, it feels like I’ve been here a month. \240

My drive down from Dubai was uneventful, although it’s always a bit concerting when you get to a border crossing where police want to see your papers, which, in this case, was my passport, and negative PCR test. But no problems, and away we go... \240I arrived at my hotel, got checked in with no problems, and 10 minutes later, my boss, John, picks me up to take me on a driving tour of the area, and to pick up a few things for the dinner we’re having at his “apartment” later. In my first hour, John had a few errands to run, including to the Ace Hardware (seriously), and it had everything you would expect, and more. \240Then we headed to his “apartment” for dinner, with some other folks from the design team. Here’s John’s “apartment”:

Hooray for me! \240I’m deemed “Fit” by the Abu Dhabi Health Department! \240This is the second to last step to getting my Emirates ID. The last step is “biometrics “, which consists of fingerprinting, and placing a tracking device under the skin of my arm.

Kidding!

Man. \240I was doing so well with staying up to date on this journal. Then I got to Abu Dhabi and work actually began, thus my inability to post, just due to time constraints. \240The reason is this: \240Seaworld is the IP holder on the project. Most of my team is in Orlando. \240They are 9 hours behind me. So what that means is that most meetings with them occur at night, my time. But I also want to be on the jobsite early before it gets too hot. So 12 hour days is the norm. And by the time I get back to my hotel, I can’t say that posting to a journal is at the top of my list.

So I won’t get into a lot of detail, but the past few weeks a few things have happened:

• completed my health exam, which is basically a medical assembly line that includes checking your skin, a blood test, and an X-ray
• Got my biometrics complete, which is a photo, fingerprints, and a tracking device inserted under the skin of my left forearm. (Kidding)
• Received my residency visa, which is the last step in getting my Emirates ID, which is the golden key to normalcy here
• Received approval to get a credit card ( the equivalent of breaking into Fort Knox with a spoon)
• Been to a shopping mall more times than I ever have in my entire life combined. (No exaggeration)
• Used up all of my international mobile minutes on my phone. Twice.
• Got health insurance. They cover 100% of everything, except dental and optical which is 80%.
• Toured Ferrari World and Warner Bros theme parks. (Pics to follow)
• Made a badass pot of jambalaya cuz I needed some comfort food
• Killed two bottles of gin in a month. (Don’t tell Merrill). It’s hot here. Just sayin.
• heard the race cars from the F1 track. For 3 days straight. (Although I honestly don’t get tired of it. Yet. )
• Rented an apartment
• Made the largest furniture order of my life from ikea
• got my day 8 COVID PCR test. (Negative)
• Found out my brother had a blood clot in his kidney. He’s fine, but it was scary for everyone.
• Found out Izzi was killed in her “senior assassins“ game
• decided I would get a refresh on my PADI dive certification, as it would be very helpful for my work
• Penciling out some field trips to wadis, mountains, and amazing sand dunes, all research related to the project.
• Finished an entire bottle of wine while writing this.

I’ve been in a hotel for a month now. It’ll be really nice to be in my own place which, even though it’s not “home”, I know I’ll be there for a while, and I can start to get back a little bit of “normal”.

This past week has been all about getting my apartment furnished, and getting my utilities turned on. Furnishings? \240Thank you Mr. IKEA.

Utilities? \240Not so good. The internet service provider, Etisalat, needed my fingerprint to order internet. For real.

So I’ve been in my apartment for 5 days without air conditioning. And it was 102 degrees one of those days.

More on that later. But now I need to head to IKEA to pick up my curtains that needs to be hemmed. I’ve never actually said that before in my life. And I believe dinner will be IKEA meatballs. Such is life without the fam around. :(

I don’t know where to begin...this place, this project, the process, the bureaucracy, the beauty, the dust, the sun, the cab drivers, the mall, the banks, the police app, the hurdles and the accomplishments.

Every day brings surprise and awe in every facet of my life here. \240It is both incredible, and draining all at once. \240I’m ready for the awe to taper a little so my mind can rest.

Plus, I never knew curtains and a bath mat could bring me so much joy!

This week I have continued to get in my groove at work, finding my voice, becoming more comfortable in my role. There is a lot that is familiar. There is even more that’s not, but that’s where the fear and fun lies, right??

On the personal side of things, there is nothing really familiar. I thought when I signed my lease, and moved in a week ago, I was done, and the utilities would be a no brainer to get turned on. Not quite. The lease doesn’t really mean jack, even though it looks all official:

It’s been a busy past few weeks. \240I got a car, most of my air conditioning, some balcony furniture, and a few area rugs. I’m also managing to find some time for some fun things, like golf, and “dune bashing”. (More on that later)

Leasing a car was interesting. When the financial crisis hit the gulf region in 2008, thousands of expats fled the country, leaving their vehicles at the airport. The debt ended up in the hands of the leasing companies and dealerships. To prevent this from happening again, anyone that leases or finances a car has to put down a3 month deposit, provide post-dated checks for all of the payments, AND provide one undated check for the full value of the vehicle, in case you skip town.

It seems like months since I last posted an update, but it’s only been two weeks!

Two weekends ago I went on my first dive in Abi Dhabi waters with our Corporate Director of Zoological, Rob. He’s a dive master, so I felt I was in good hands for my first open water dive in over 20 years!

The first dive was supposed to be on an artificial reef, but we never actually made it to the reef, as there was a very strong current that was dragging the anchor. We got to the bottom, but only saw sand.

The second dive was much better, although visibility wasn’t great, but there was little current. We dove on a barge, and it was covered with all kinds of fish, including some big fish called “sweet lips” that I had never seen before.

This was the first time I had been in a boat, and swam in the sea since I’ve been here. \240It was a great day!

Wow. Time here moves astonishingly fast. \240I can’t believe it’s been an entire month since I’ve posted. Work has been silly hectic, and I’ve found myself settled enough to start going on my own adventures…

Of course, being surrounded by water with fish in it (supposedly), I had to find a tackle shop and get some gear. Funny enough, the owner of Barracuda Marine, Majed, graduated from UW, and majored in jazz studies. What a small world.

So…I went fishing out in the middle of nowhere this past weekend. The equipment we ended up needing was: 3 fisherman, 1 Nissan “Desert Safari” Patrol with 4 wheel drive, cell phones (thankfully charged!), 2 Ford F-150 Raptors, 2 Raptor drivers that are experienced at pulling people out of the desert, 4 tow straps, 1 winch with 12,000 lb capacity, 4 traction pads, 6 shovels, 5 additional hours of trying to get unstuck, and a much needed shower after. I think these photos will tell the rest of the story…

So I went home for 2 weeks for “vacation”. \240It was awesome to see the family, and it was chock full of great things: \240Izzi’s graduation and 18th birthday, Ben coming home from Chicago, Fathers Day, hanging out with Merrill on the deck, and seeing friends (sorry I couldn’t get to you all!).

• In addition to this was the fact we decided to put our house up for sale. The original intent was to list it once Izzi was in school. But the market is so hot right now, we thought we should take advantage while we could, so we accelerated the timetable a few months, which resulted in a crazy 2 weeks of helping Merrill, who has been carrying the entire load of coordinating getting the house ready, plus all the other aspects of our lives. I am blessed with her amazing drive and determination. So in the past weeks the house has gotten:
• A new roof
• Painted exterior
• Painted interior (parts)
• Old lawn cut out and new sod installed
• A new garage door
• Sealed deck
• A myriad of smaller repairs that needed to be addressed with a 20+ year old house

And of course massive cleaning and staging, while we were all living there, which I don’t recommend with two teenagers. (Izzi gets a break, as mixed into this she had rhinoplasty surgery to help her breathing)

The biggest effort of all was purging through 20 years of crap. It’s amazing how much one collects over the years. We rented a storage unit, that consisted of three staging zones: \240One for Ben for his apartment at WWU in the fall, one for Orcas, and one for things to come back to the house for the summer, as we’re making the sale contingent upon Izzi and Merrill staying until Izzi goes to college.

In addition to the stuff in storage, there were two “D” piles: \240Donate, and Dump, which both required dozens of trips.

It listed yesterday and will have tours over the weekend, (just in case you’re in the market 😉). Here are some shots from the listing. \240It looks awesome, but it doesn’t even look like our house anymore.

The first thing I noticed when I walked outside from the Seattle airport was the CLEAR, BLUE sky. The second thing was the smell of the fresh, cool air.

I got back to Abu Dhabi on Thursday, and it ain’t clear, \240it ain’t blue, and it ain’t cool…

A friend of mine I work with, Mark, told me that one of the guys on his team owns a boat. What’s better than owning a boat? \240Having a friend that owns a boat! \240So Mark introduced me to Alex Boshoff, who is from the country of Namibia. I have to admit, I had no idea where that was, so I had to do some homework:

Last week I was on holiday, so I planned two adventures, the first being my first Abu Dhabi fishing charter, and the second, a dive trip on the east coast of the UAE.

We’ve had a curfew imposed for the holiday, because the last holiday resulted in a jump in COVID cases, so no one could leave their homes between midnight and 5 am, unless they had permit to do so, or an emergency. So my fishing trip, which was supposed to start at 5, didn’t start until 6. \240I went with 2 other guys from work, and we had a ton of fun catching queen fish. To catch them, you look for birds on the surface, and a”boil”, which is bait and predator fish on the surface, then cast into the boil. They were really strong fish, so it was a gas. We did this for a few hours, then went bottom fishing, which was somewhat boring, and ridiculously hot. The boat crew had made some ceviche with one of the queen fish which was delish. \240The charter left from the al Mina marina, which is on the corniche, so we have to pass the downtown skyline on our way out. It was a lovely morning.

I was super excited about my next holiday adventure was going on a dive trip to al aqah, which is a little beach resort 40 minutes north of Fujairah, on the east coast of the UAE, on the Gulf of Oman.

How HOT is it in Abu Dhabi?

• When cars get their gas (petrol) tanks filled up, everyone leaves the engine running
• For the past month, \240I’ve had to bring a change of clothes to work every day. This includes shirt, pants, underwear, bandanna, mask, and socks. Yes, sweat freely and annoyingly flows down your body and soaks your socks.
• For the first time, this \240week I actually went through every pair of pants that I own.
• In the entire country, no outdoor labor is allowed from noon to 3 pm.
• We have shower rooms in our office.
• There are water stations throughout the jobsite, that have fresh, cooled water.
• We all carry collapsible camp cups in our safety vests for drinking from the water stations.
• Currently, my air conditioning is on in my car, full blast, and only full blast, whenever I’m in it, morning, noon, or night.
• Actual Temperature vs “feels like” are very different.
• Weird, but when I walk out of my building every morning, I can tell how humid it is by rubbing my fingertips together.
• They sell insulated grocery bags everywhere \240 How else would you get ice cream home safely?
• This is the only place I’ve been where the coffee in my travel cup actually gets hotter after I leave the house.
• I came in one day after being onsite for a few hours, and literally poured sweat out of my hard hat into the trash can.
• The roof on the building is almost complete, but no AC for a few more months. And you can tell where the hundreds of fans are in the building, because the laborers are constantly standing in front of them.
• One of the Marine biologists I work with, has affectionately named his white Toyota Land Cruiser the “Desert Beluga”. It has a refrigerated center console/armrest. Needless to say I’m extremely envious.
• Your glasses after you leave an air conditioned space and go outside

I had an amazing experience this past week:

Historically, the UAE has not had a stellar reputation with their treatment of workers. Over the past 10 years is has gotten better, but there’s still a long way to go. Part of Seaworld’s contract with Miral, the developer of the project, (and their contractors) is a very strict, and humane Worker Welfare program. It requires 3 full meals a day, no overcrowded housing (with air conditioning), clean, chilled drinking water, and many other requirements. It’s our job to make sure these requirements are being met, so we periodically have to check to make sure the workers are being treated properly. Workers also are encouraged to send in anonymous complaints if any of the food is not meeting their expectations. (This is difficult, because different regions/cultures like their bread made a certain way, but making bread in the way they do in Pakistan, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc, just isn’t practical)

I coordinated a visit to the Jobsite cafeteria, one of 6 giant, air conditioned tents scattered around the project, for me and a few of my colleagues to go sample the food the workers have for lunch. They picked us up in a small bus, and drove us to the cafeteria. We got in line, in which we picked up a box, about the size of a pizza box, but thicker, and much heavier.

Last weeks dive trip, from left to right: Tres Clarke (our park Vet), Mike Price (marine biologist), Casey Clarke (Tres’ wife, orca trainer, and trained dolphins to hunt mines for the US Navy), Rob Yordi (Corp Director of Zoological), yours truly, and John McGarrigle (lead lighting designer).the dude in the back right was our dive master.

Holy moly so much has happened since my last entry, most importantly: \240MERRILL IS HERE!!!! \240MERRILL IS HERE!!!!MERRILL IS HERE!!!!

She arrived on October 8th in Dubai. In the weeks leading up to her trip we were both a little worried that something would prevent her ability to enter the UAE: \240The US not being on the “green list”, her paperwork, vaccinations, a friend/family emergency, or al hosn app not working. Or worse, getting COVID.

But the stars aligned, and she arrived tired, but happy to join me on the adventure. Here’s our first picture together in the UAE at the Dubai airport

In November, with the exception of our trip to Dubai, Merrill had been spending the majority of her time around Yas island, and she was itching to explore somewhere new. I had been diving with some friends in Fujairah, which is one of the other emirates, but on the east coast of the UAE, on the Gulf of Oman. It was about a 3 hour drive, I knew how to get there, and where to stay, so we went over the National Day long holiday weekend. (The 50th anniversary of the UAE becoming a country. Weird to think I’m older than a country. Lol). So off we went. We went snorkeling, and I got a chance to do some hook dragging off some rocks. We hung out on the beach, ate good food, saw a belly dancer show, read books, and relaxed, collecting our energy in preparation for the kid/Christmas chaos heading our way

Speaking of National Day, they do their fireworks BIG here. So we had fireworks every night for almost a week. They set barges out in the canal, so we had front row seats from our balcony.

I had to take a trip to Cardiff, Wales in early December, to review the work of one of our vendors. It was my first time out of the airport in the UK, and after experiencing the Abu Dhabi weather for the past 10 months, the rain, wind, and clouds of Cardiff were joyfully appreciated! \240I had my first real pint, saw my first castle, and attempted to interpret the Welsh language.

Izzi arrived in Abu Dhabi a week earlier than anticipated, due to some winter break “misunderstandings”, so we happily rescheduled her flight. The bonus was that she made it here just in time to go with me to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is the last race of the Formula 1 season. I have always been an F1 fan, and it’s been on my bucket list to see a race. So when I found out I could see the Yas Marina Circuit from the balcony of my apartment, I bought 2 tickets, assuming Merrill woul join me. I ended up taking Merrill to one of the practices earlier in the week, so she could get a sense, but racing isn’t her bag, and Izzi was TOTALLY STOKED.

Speaking of stoked, this race had shaped up to be one for the history books, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen tied in points for the Championship, which meant the champ would be determined in Abu Dhabi.

Not only was the champ decided in Abu Dhabi, it was decided RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR SEATS as Verstappen passed Hamilton, sparks a flyin, in a very controversial finish. It. Was. Awesome!

Merrill and I had decided the kids are not getting “stuff” for Christmas-just experiences. And my gift to myself, as an experience, was to pick up the kids from the airport in a hot car. They’re everywhere here, and many places rent them, so I made arrangements to rent this Maserati Grancabrio for one day:

I took the last 2 weeks of December off for holiday festivities with the fam. Dubai, the beach, spice souk, the Dubai Mall and fountains, riding in Aston Martins at the track, brunch, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and a desert safari with dune bashing! \240And now we’re all exhausted, and ready for the kids to go back to school. Lol!

I swear this adventure, and especially my project, is operating in its own time warp. I am stunned to think 2 months have already passed since the kids were here for Christmas! \240Since then Merrill and I have been in recuperation mode, enjoying our quiet Al Bandar community. But this was short lived, as Merrill’s birthday was at the end of January, and she wanted to explore the Al seef/ Al fahidi area of Dubai. This is the more historic side of Dubai creek, opposite of the gold and spice souks. We stayed in a hotel that is made up of 22 renovated historic Emirati villas (homes) turned into hotel rooms. But it is surrounded by cafes, restaurants and shops so we spent a few days exploring the area. (I did learn, oddly enough, that if you are a resident of the UAE, and you want to buy booze in Dubai, you need a permit, but not if you’re a tourist. \240But you don’t a permit in Abu Dhabi, which is kinda weird.) \240Al seef was a ton of fun, including getting lost in all the cobbled alleyways.

A gal from work, Megha Menta, is from India. She recommended Hitchki, for the best chaat in the UAE. (Chaat is Indian street food). It was extraordinary in all ways.

It got hot.

Merrill went home.

😂

But I am now also home for a much needed break. I flew home on August 5th, which ended up being literally a 24 hour effort from the time I left my apartment in Abu Dhabi, to the Kenmore air flights from SeaTac to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, and finally to Eastsound. But that’s the price to pay for living in this amazing place. It’s really nice to have clean fresh air, green trees, clear blue sky, and mountains again-quite the contrast from Abu Dhabi.

The first few weeks were focused on catching up with family and friends. Then I moved Ben into his new apartment, and then drove to Sacramento with izzi to get her settled into her first apartment. All went smoothly, and this last week is just me and my girl at Perch. I leave this Saturday the 27th, to finish strong on the project. It looks like we will be opening in late spring of next year, but this has been a continually moving target, so who knows…

Regardless of when it opens, it will likely be the most challenging, reward, scary and fun project I’ll ever work on. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!” I feel “Stonga like bull!” \240 I’m grateful to be involved, and who knows what the next adventure might be…

Here’s a photo dump from the past few months:

The last dinner before Merrill left in May.

Back home, Part Deux:

Journo wouldn’t let me add more images to the previous entry, so this is a continuation:

Yes, I know…I haven’t posted in forever. But that’s what happens when one is working hard and playing hard. The photo dump below will attest to that. Trincomalee-Sri Lanka, Muscat-Oman, kids and Christmas, and Fronheiser’s visiting Abu Dhabi were the highlights…

Every day I have learned something new and have seen something amazing!

Family and friends…the journey will soon be over. My project - the first international theme park for Seaworld here in in Abu Dhabi, will open on May 23rd, 2023. \240I will stay through opening, until the end of June, and then Merrill and I will be returning to the US on June 28th. I am grateful for the trust Seaworld had in me to take on such an enormous effort, and I hope I at least met their expectations. I know you’re never supposed to say “never”, so I won’t. But I’m not sure I could ever be involved in a more complicated project than this one. It is truly a “mega project” that will make international headlines for quite some time. Or message to guests is that We are all connected to the One Ocean, and the One Ocean connects all of us. We tell this story in ridiculously immersive themed environments , inviting guests to explore the One Ocean in Polar, Tropical, Abu Dhabi, Coastal, and Endless realms. \240Yes, it’s a theme park with rides. But it’s also part zoo, part science center, part research, rescue, and rehabilitation center, part planetarium, part…well…I kind of lack words to describe it. You’ll have to come visit yourself! \240But it also has the worlds largest aquarium (Endless Ocean, which I have been SCUBA diving in for the past 6 months), with some of the largest acrylic viewing windows ever produced. It will have the worlds largest LED screen that is 360 degrees. It will have a parkwide interactive game, the SEA Guardian games. But the heroes of our story are the animals: \240Sea lions, seals, otters, walrus, puffins, dolphins, penguins, all kinds of sharks and rays, dugongs, sea turtles, flamingos, a variety of birds, and an uncountable species of fish and other animals. It will be, without a doubt, breathtaking.

Speaking of being out of breath…

I am a mixed bag of emotions. I love living in Abu Dhabi, and have had the time of my life exploring the UAE, and the surrounding region. \240I have made many lifelong friendships with people from places like India, Pakistan, Romania, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria the UK, Italy, the Philippines, Australia, and even Namibia! I will miss these hardworking, talenting, amazing people the most. But home is home. I haven’t seen one of Izzi’s track meets in person. I haven’t had a legal beer with Ben since he turned 21. \240Although I don’t mind the sun and heat of the Middle East, I miss the cool weather and fresh air of the PNW. I miss tall trees. I miss fishing. I miss my friends. I miss fishing with my friends. \240I haven’t met Merrill’s grandbabies yet. And I haven’t seen any of my amazing nieces or nephews in far too long.

So what’s next? \240First, I need to chill. We’ll be getting home just before the Fourth of July, and all I want is blackberry tart, bbq ribs (pork, of course!), and ice cold beer from Orcas Island Brewery. And I’m going fishing in Alaska for the first time in August. I have also been in conversations with some new clients that should lead to something exciting, and likely closer to home. More on that later 😉 In the meantime, Merrill and I will get settled on Orcas as our permanent residence, and plan for our future there. And last, but not least, below is a photo dump of some fun we’ve had since my last post, including a Sting concert, a visit from Merrill’s sister, then Merrill’s brother and his son, Samuel, a visit to Mexico with my parents, \240and a trip to Musandam, Oman, where we went on a cruise through the “fjords of the Middle East” at the straight of Hormuz.

I’m grateful for your support and continued friendship during this epic adventure, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting, and catching up with all of you.