"You know how I know you're gay? Cuz you like Coldplay."

Yes, yes, I like Coldplay...all my headbanger metal head friends always make fun of me when I say I like Coldplay. Whatever...a couple weeks ago I got the chance to go see Coldplay live in Abu Dhabi. The U.A.E. is made up of seven Emirates...Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaima, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, and Abu Dhabi, which is the capital. The drive from Dubai to Abu Dhabi is a little over an hour and this was the first time since I've landed in Dubai that I left it at all. It was nice to get a change of scenery. Compared to the fast paced city atmosphere of Dubai, Abu Dhabi is a little more relaxed. A lot more family friendly...more trees, grass, and places to walk. I was told the late president of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was a lover of the enviornment. He made sure there were plenty of parks filled with trees and grass and actually fined anyone who cut down a tree. People were incouraged to plant gardens of their own and spread the enviornmental awareness. You can definitely feel that in Abu Dhabi.

The streets also are a little easier to navigate in Abu Dhabi, at least in the parts that we drove through. It seems to be a grid system...like Manhattan. In Dubai the roads are a little more sporadic, and by sporadic I mean retarded.

The concert was an outdoor one. With the Emirates Palace hotel in the background. All weekend long the weather being predicted was rain, rain, rain. All day it was fine...cloudy, but no rain. When we arrived at the ampitheater it started to pour. I did not have any kind of rain protecting device (a.k.a. an umbrella) a friend I was with had an extra hat. One of those Gilligan hats...I don't know what they're called, here's a pic...

Obviously, I got wet.

Fortunately it stopped raining and we went and got our spot in front of the stage. Mercury Rev was the opener, and they sounded great, even though I'm not a big fan. Then Coldplay took the stage and literally 2 mins later it POURED. Now...this was my first experience of serious rain in the U.A.E. and I have never experienced rain like this. The rain drops were the size of basket balls. One drop drenched my entire head. It was insane! And they were heavy...I felt like I was being pelted with gummy bears.

Here's the opening of the show, we had a really good view. We were on the lawn in front of the stage with an excellent view of the band, they were amazing...it was quite surreal actually. At one point in front of me Coldplay is playing behind me is an ampitheater filled with people, and off to our right is this giant emerates palace hotel. I thought to myself...there's going to be a day when the words "I saw Coldplay in the middle the pouring rain and flashing lightning in Abu Dhabi" will come out of my mouth. It's not too often that you get to say something like that.

Even Coldplay brings on the "Lasers"

You can really see the rain here. At this point it's really coming down. And you can see the lightning was flashing in the sky every few minutes. You can't see us but Chad and I are chiming in. Chris Martin is actually a really funny guy. He kept breaking off into rain themed songs like "Singing in the Rain," right in the middle of Coldplay tunes.

Here are some great snapshots...such an awesome show...

I got really hungry at one point, so I got an ice cream, and as you can see, the fact that I look like a complete tool has completely escaped me.

The stage setup was pretty cool, they had these two giant screens flanking the stage...her's a close up of Chris Martin.

It was definitely a memorable night that was a lot of fun. Here's a photo of all of us from work who went. You can see how wet we are, and this is actually before Coldplay went on. Afterwards we were completely drenched.

A shopaholic's paradise

I've been here in Dubai now for 2 months and I've learned one very important fact...Dubai knows how to shop. There are a plethora of malls here...out door malls, in door malls, malls with aquariums, malls with indoor ski slopes, malls with ice rinks, malls with movie theaters, malls that are one floor and 2 miles long, malls that are 10 floors and take up numerous city blocks, malls with rivers surrounding them, malls with sand surrounding them, outlet malls, designer malls, foreign product malls, domestic product malls...I could go on forever. I haven't even scratched the surface of all the malls here. I've been to quite a few but I keep discovering more. This post is about the ones that I've seen and to see if I can give you an idea of HOW intense shopping is to Dubai. People come from all over the world for the Dubai shopping festivals that happen a few times a year, because the prices drop so dramatically. It's kind of strange. Some things are ridiculously expensive and others things you would think should be ridiculously expensive are super cheap. Take designer brand clothes for example. You can get Armani, Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton and any other european hard to spell and even harder to pronounce brand for a very cheap price, but a flat screen LCD TV costs an arm and a leg. An iPhone costs 3500 Dirham here, that's roughly $800 bucks! In the states I can get an iPhone for $200 bucks. It's very strange. You can get high quality hand made furniture for pennies (I saw a 3 seater couch/2 seater couch/and single chair combo set made of cashmere for about $1000 dollars but a pair of Rayban sunglasses cost more. I don't get it. OK, let's go shopping...





This is outside the Mall of the Emirates...one of the biggest malls in Dubai. It's the one with indoor ski slope, called Ski Dubai. That's that big grey ramp looking thing in the background.

Charity and prostitution go hand in hand?

A couple weeks ago, I volunteered my time to help sort clothes that were going to be shipped to orphans in Afghanistan. It was organized by my friend Natalie at work. She collects as much clothes as she can and stores them in a friend's office that he doesn't use. The office is a really tiny room located in an old ratty building in old Dubai. The office is so tiny and Natalie has so much donated clothes that there was no room for us in it. We had to sort the clothes in the hallway outside the office. The office door also happened to be across the hall from this other apartment. And literally every 2 mins a different woman would walk out the door of this apartment and take the stairs or the elevator down and come back with a man. Or a different man would do the same on his own, either by stairs or elevator and knock on the apartment door, to be answered by a woman. The way we were located was exactly in the way...right in front of both the elevator door and the stairs.

We were wondering what was going on in there that so many different men kept coming and going, then Natalie tells us..."Don't mind those guys, they're just going to the brothel." Yes...I said brothel. There must have been 20-30 different men that came and went in the span of 1 hour. It was insane. And every time one of the women walked through she would curse in Arabic about how we were being rude and disruptive. WE WERE BEING RUDE AND DISRUPTIVE TO THE BROTHEL. Here's the video...watch as Simone, James and I sort through clothes and people keep walking between us and Simone can't stop laughing.

How dare we sort clothes for Afghani orphans and disrupt the business of the brothel!

Gotta love gramatical errors.

Man, am I sucking with these updates or what? Way too much time between updates...I am sorry...I truly am. Constant running around over here. Biggest update...I got my apartment! Yes, I officially have my fatty boom batty crib. I'll put pics and vids up soon. In the mean time I drove by it last night and snapped a quick pic. This should tide you over until there's more pics.

I know it's a little blurry. Sorry, I was driving. It's the one with the yellow lights.

In the mean time, I have to furnish it. Every single inch of it...over 800 square feet. I have to buy stuff I haven't had to buy in a while...stuff I never even think of. Like...spoons. I can't remember the last time I had to buy spoons. So far, every place I've lived already had spoons there. Most likely because I was living with someone who had already provided the spoons. Or curtains...I don't think I've ever bought curtains! A bathroom mat...where do I get a bathroom mat? Anyway, I'm looking at the classifieds online trying to find some deals and I came across this...



I'm not sure if that headline means the same thing in Dubai as it does in the states, but I think I'll pass on this one.

Dubai = SWEET RIDE DUDE!!

Sorry for the delay in updates...just been so busy with a lot of stuff that I haven't had a chance to put up any new blogs. I officially started hosting the morning show about 2 weeks ago and it's been a lot of work. Just getting used to the formatics and technical aspects of the equipment and programs used out here has been pretty challenging. Also just being on air here is different from what I've been doing for the past 11 years in radio, it's been a bit of an adjustment. Thankfully each day behind the board and mic gets easier and I'm getting more comfortable! And when I'm not working, I'm looking for an apartment...I've seen at least 50 by now...no seriously, I'm not exaggerating.

So this update is all about the rides in Dubai...with a country of people with a lot of money, there's no shortage in fancy cars...here's a few of the rides I've come across.

Coming out of one of the malls and what do I find just sitting there in the parking lot...a beautiful white lambo...Lamborghini in layman's terms. In NYC I see one of these every couple months...MAYBE. In Dubai, I see one at least every other day...in a multitude of colors...like skittles! I've seen white (pictured above), lime green (very ugly), black (sweet!) and red (of course).

I was driving in my car and this mazarati passed by me, thought I'd snap a pic. This is another car I see a lot of...beautiful.



This was outside the RTA (road transportation authority, their version of the DMV) Cherry red Porsche 911.

I'm not sure what model this Mercedes is, but I couldn't help but think, as I was walking by it, this must be that new 2009 Mercedes "BADASSmobile" I keep hearing about.



And it wouldn't be Dubai if I didn't post a pic of a cherry red Ferrari on here. See a lot of these too. I was leaving work and this was parked in the executive lot...ooohhhh, excuse me Mr. Executive. Please pardon me as I walk around your gadjillion dollar car so I can get into my 2007 Toyota Carolla! Did I mention it's silver...and it's got power windows. That's right! I said POWER windows.


Obviously this isn't a fancy car...this is a Dubai Taxi (or what I've come to call "unintelligible, learn a new language, figure your own way of getting there, might die on the way and pay for it transport pods") Just thought you'd like to see what the cabs here look like.

I see a lot more cars like lotus' and Audi's. Also Hummers and Land Rovers are a dime a dozen. But those aren't exactly exotic.

OK, back to work...I promise I'll be more on top of updating this bad boy. Next blog??? "apartment shopping"

Exploring Dubai Part 1

Got a chance to explore a little bit as I was looking for an apartment. Like any city Dubai has a lot of neighborhoods...each with its pros and cons. Each person I've talked to has their favorite area according to their personal preferences...noise, amenities, distance to shops/restaurants, traffic, etc... So far the area that I like the most is called Jumeriah Beach, which is in the Dubai Marina. It also just so happens to be the most expensive part of Dubai! There are many reason for this... it's right by the beach, it's one of the few places in Dubai that isn't under construction, shops/restaurants/supermarkets and other convenient places are all within walking distance. That last part is a big deal because you need a car to get anywhere in Dubai. You can't simply walk to the store, you have to get in your car and drive there. That's one of the biggest things I miss about NYC, just getting out and walking anywhere. That and the subway...oh how I miss you NYC MTA. I can't believe I just sad that, because there were plenty of times back at home where I cursed the MTA, but today...I miss you MTA. Here's a couple videos of Dubai Marina and Jumeriah Beach.

This is literally in the middle of the Dubai Marina, I just saw an apartment overlooking this marina. It was very nice a.k.a. way too expensive.

This is down at Jumeriah Beach. The beach is on the outside of the residence facing north...it's actually the persian gulf. And straight across the gulf is Iran and Iraq. Right before the beach is shops, restaurants, hotels, a really beautiful walk that goes up and down the coast. The tan buildings you see are Jumeriah Beach Residence...they make up 36 buildings right on the beach...very beautiful. Can I just point out that it's February and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt at the beach!

This is my friend Simone's apartment which is in those tan buildings you saw in the last video, called Jumeriah Beach Residences. This is a quick tour of her and her roomate's place.

The hunt continues for the apartment...more to come.

Out and about in Dubai

Rounding about 15 days here in Dubai and I just got my first taste of outdoor activity. The government of Dubai flew about 7 or 8 Palestinian children from Gaza. All these children are victims of the fighting over there. They've all been seriously injured...whether it be sever burns, loss of a limb, or being orphaned. The Dubai government paid for these children to come spend some time in here and receive medical attention...all of the children who's injuries included amputation were fitted with prosthetic limbs at no charge to them. It was a really great event. Being that I spoke Arabic, they asked me and another host (handling the English duties) from Virgin Radio to MC the event. Here are some photos and a video of Safa Park.

Safa Park is a large park in the middle of Dubai. Kind of like Central Park, but I don't think it's nearly as big.



Two guys in red are trainers from fitness O2, who organized an obstacle course for the kids (and will hopefully get my ass back into shape) Ali is another host from Virgin Radio on the left and I (in my pasty white splendor) am on the right. Outfits where provided by the charity so leave the snide comments to yourself!

This little kid was hysterical. Watch him dance to the music. Very odd, but I couldn't stop laughing.





They also had cookie painting for the kids. Here, Virgin Radio's Simone displays her crafty cookie artwork..."V" for virgin.




There's always construction in Dubai...these towers are currently in the process of being finished.