Stranger in a Strange land.

It was a long flight that did not seem to end. we boarded the Emirates flight at 2 am. It was quite an adventure to find each seat to have its own LCD screen; there were a whole list of movies to choose from, and in case that was not enough, we could choose TV shows; and even if that, too, wasn't enough, we could choose to view what's in front of the plane by virtue of a camera mounted just under the nose of the plane. We could also choose a camera that showed what the plane was flying over.
We had arranged for a taxi to meet us there. So when we saw Someone holding a piece of paper with our names on it, we were pleasantly Surprised.
He took us out of the building through a labyrinth of tunnels, up the lift and into the covered parking lot. We were a little bemused when we raised he could not remember Where he parked the car.It wasn't as funny when he opened the boot of the or and there was a broken tail light assembly that took Some of the boot space.
Things started to get somewhat scarier when his GPS said "left" and he turned right. l guess he noticed my concern because he turned to me to say that he new a shorter way. He wasn't threatening in any way, in fact he was a rather sweet old man, who had retired and chosen to spend his retired days in England.
He took the route off the motorway, and that look us off the regular, dour paths. It took us through the quaint neighborhoods and provided us a chance to see British humor in action. l couldn't resist taking pictures of some of the shops, So that meant quite a bit of the gems l missed.

Its End of Year!

Its end of year again and there's so much to do and so little time.
as always, this time of year we take off and stay off work, screen phone numbers, dont check e-mails and stuff like that. Its a good way to recharge, and its pretty much something to look forward to. Over the year, when things get rough, thinking of the year end break always provides the little extra push we need to get stuff done, and now that the end of year is here, its time to really have fun.
So,.. friends, if you call and you find no answer, please understand. During this period the phone is more camera than anything. e-mails will not be replied to and smses may not reach me.
Over the next 2 weeks, its time to reward my family for their patience and understanding for the late nights at the office, the missed dinners, the missed parties; the sudden change in plans because something came up and the lazy weekends without me because i'm at the office clearing up work.
For all that they put up with, I intend to make this weeks theirs, because the only reason i can put so much into work is because they let me. So I'm gonna put in so much into being with them and make this the best 2 weeks in their lives.
Well, where am I going? It wouldnt be fair to say, because I never tell them what goes on at the office. So too bad guys. Perhaps i'll put it up in facebook.
Have a safe and merry christmas, and have a happy new year!

"I'm having Fish tonight!.."

My family a monster of a fish (a patin) that my kids call Krepek. Having grown to 8 inches, he had already outgrown his 2 foot tank. We bought a 4 foot tank for him and and his buddy bandaraya, but he looked pretty lonely going round and round in a big empty tank. One day, we went out to the store and bought a couple of 2 inch jelawats and a couple more 2 inch patins. The store owner said, that it was safe to have these unless our patin was more than a foot long. Well, we fell for it. To be sure, my son googled care of the patin and found the recipe for making good patin dishes.
the six of them lived happily in the tank until one morning we found one of the tiny patins missing. My son then told us during the night he found Krepek extremely agitated, splashing around in the tank. I guess, he proved his carnivorous streak then. The remaining Patin, Keropok, was now fond of gathering the plants together into a clump and floating within them all night. We wondered if it were nesting instincts . He would float there quietly, just a bit of his snout on the surface, following the flow of the current in the tank; many times we thought that maybe he's dead, and we'd stick our finger on his snout and find him shooting off into the depths of the tank.
Well, about two nights ago, my son told me again, he heard the water splash, except this time, he saw the carnage. He saw Krepek chase the poor thing, catch up with him, and...
Well,.. we really thought that they'd learn to live together, like the store keeper said. Then again, these are carnivores, and when the moment comes, the call of the wild can be too strong to resist.