One am in the morning and it's 99 degrees...It can't be legal

August in the UAE, and yes it's easy to obsess about the weather. I turned my hot water heater off at the beginning of July, and yet my shower still fogs up my bathroom mirror from the desert warmed water. The heat saps the energy out of you and taxes the air conditioning of your car as it struggles to keep you cool. My apologies for droning on and on about the heat, as I am aware of the brutal summer that has plagued the states this year, trust me it could be worse.
I did something this week that I haven't done since I was 12 or 13 years old. The "western" radio station here is 104.4 Virgin Radio Dubai. I think I have shared that it's very much a top 40 American music station, with even an afternoon show that has Ryan Seacrest. Well, to make a long story short (don't say it) on the evening drive home from work, the host is a DJ named Brent Black an American that moved from LA to Dubai five years ago to host the "afternoon drive" show. Every afternoon he plays a silly contest where the callers call in and guess the secret road that he is thinking about in the UAE. You hear numerous people (mostly Indian Ex Pats) call in and guess the roads that they are driving on until someone guesses the right road to win some prize. I always listen and want to guess Hessa Street (Close to my apartment- definitely one of the bigger secondary roads in Dubai). Well this has gone on for several months, and on Wednesday evening the guesses went on and on. Well, you guessed it, I finally called in, got through on the first try (like I said has been over 35 years since I called into a radio contest or even tried to) and yes, the "secret Road" was Hessa Street. I was the big winner...lol, I won an IFTAR dinner for two at the Grand Habtour (very nice 5 star hotel on the beach). Kelly heard it on the radio (said I had a "good radio voice"- little does she know...) well, it was also Kelly's birthday on Wednesday (28 Great years) so I of course invited her to enjoy my prize with me...I will let you know all about it later on...
I have been cooking at home more during Ramadan. I had some of my favorites this week, including one of my all time favorites, the delicious patty melt. I had to go and pick up some fresh white sandwich bread at Spinney's. I will admit, it's been a boring week in the evenings after work in the sweltering heat, I have been hiding in my apartment. Hayley is in the US, so no real "meal" buddies to go out with - so yes home made meals are the norm during Ramadan. Well, I got this loaf of bread to make one patty melt and I thought "what else could I make for dinner the next night to use some of this bread up"....I looked up and saw the "forbidden room" in the grocery store....Yes, I spied the "Pork Room" dead ahead.

As I have shared in the past, there are a few of these "special" rooms tucked away in grocery stores that cater to Ex-Pats. It is against the law for Muslims to enter the room - sorry Muzzy :-(
It reminds me of your local video store, where they have a "special room" in the back for the adult videos...lol...well, I found what I needed...center cut Oscar Meyer black label bacon. I had the best "BLT" sandwiches with Miracle whip light mayo....yummy! It reminded me of my bachelor days cooking for my self on a Sunday afternoon in the states!
Speaking of food, my adventure at Barakat with my office boy Karim and his continuing struggles to please me. Every morning, without fail - Karim steps into my doorway and utters the same word in very broken English...."Apples?"...Now, I continue to tell him "no", then he painfully goes through his other one word requests, hoping for some sign of affirmation from me..."Tea?' - no thank you, "juice?" - no thank you Karim..."Coffee?" - no , I am ok I don't need anything...."you no need?" yes I am fine..."Yes? Apple's?" no thank you....then he stands in my doorway looking sad, until I dismiss him as nice as possible....it reminds me of watching tv with my parents, no matter how many times you watch reruns of "CSI" it always ends the same...disappointment. Mahesh, Barakat's facility manager whose office is down the hall, pulled me aside and again shared with me that Karim is worried for his job, because he can't please me with a snack (I guess not getting the fat boss to accept food would be disappointing) - So, I made a plan...On Tuesday when he came to my office and asked..."apples?"...I said Karim . please come here. I then printed on a piece of paper the following words...."Orange, grapes, strawberries, pineapple" - I explained very slowly that if he offered me (remember, my office is located in the farmer's market) those fruits I would accept. He understood, and said he'd be back....20 minutes later he shows up with a full plate of fruit....

 He was very apologetic, because he could not find pineapple....He is definitely a good kid...I spent 10 minutes trying to explain smaller portions, not much luck...lol. The fruit was very good, and yes I ate my share before I gave it to the sales team.
I have started giving product and sells training at our Saturday Sales meetings....It's interesting to say the least. Sadly, the most exciting thing about this weeks blog is that it's Muzzy, Kelly and Fred's birthday. Three great friends, all born within 24 hours of each other (give or take 20 years...lol)...I will try and have something interesting happen around me this week...I promise....