A&A&B in Rome

Gold Vending Machine Revisited

So if you remember, a few months back we were all excited because Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi had gold bar vending machines. Finally i could get my solid gold bars like i get my sprite and kit kats. It was about bloody time. Well we got sidetracked and didn't make it to Abu Dhabi until today. So we started our day with a tour of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, which is like an ordinary mosque, just really big and covered in gold. Then we went to Emirates Palace hotel, which is like a normal hotel, just really big and covered in gold. Annie bought gold bar from the vending machine! In a few weeks we'll be living in London again and wont get to use diamond plated gold toothpicks to pick our teeth anymore. (Back to $3 pizzas off goodge street). Heres a shot of Annie feeding the ridiculous piece of machinery some money (also known in these parts as toilet paper).

I think I should start amassing a horde. You know, sort of like Scrooge McDuck. Giant piles of gold and jewels that I can roll around on and sleep on. Heres sort of how I see myself when I grow up...

Ha ha ha, I know dragons aren't real, I was just joking. Seriously though, you so much as look at my gold funny and I will eat all your livestock and raze your village to the ground with fiery doom.

A&A in Borneo

Happy Birthday Annie D

Actually, Annie's birthday was almost a month ago, but I have not posted until now as we were away in Indonesia and Borneo. We had cake! Annie requested ice cream cake, which is appropriate in Dubai because it is almost 5200 degrees outside (nearly the surface temperature of the sun). So i went on a quest for ice cream cake, and seeing as its dubai, i wanted diamond studded gold ice cream cake covered in diamonds and gold with solid gold diamonds. They were sold out of diamond flavoured ice-cream, but i did find these badass gourmet ice-cream cakes from French bakery. A bit engaging getting them back to the villa . . . I wasn't jokingabout the temperature. French bakery has a system going though. They essentially made giant portable freezers for each cake. I cooked dinner as well, blue cheese grilled rump steaks. There were 7 of us, it was an international affair. Each of us from a different country, myself American, Annie Canadian, Iain British, Lou Kiwi, Gleb Latvian, Chrystelle French, and OlfGerman. And nobody bombed anyone! I suppose Gleb did make us drink Balsam, which as far as I'm concerned should be considered a hostile act between nations. Its best redeeming feature is that it makes all other alcohol taste better in comparison. Still, nobody died, and there was cake, which in my book makes for glorious success!

A&A in Bali

World Cup Round of 16

Group rounds in South Africa are over. Heres how we fared on the Davidson bracket . . .

Annie and I tied for teams going through with 10/16 each. Not bad considering our knowledge of international football . . . which is admittedly much better than our knowledge of local football. I don't even know the names of any Dubai teams, but I sure know how to celebrate! Drive like a maniac and redefine the laws of physics in a cosmologically and philosophically impossible automobile collision. I placed 8/10 of my teams correctly in my round of 16, and Annie 5/10 of hers. We will have to reassess the finals and repost . . .

Aaron Winners:

Argentina, Ghana, Brazil, Germany, England, Netherlands, Chile, Spain, Japan, South Korea

Aaron Losers:

Slovenia, Italy, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Cote D'ivoire

Annie Winners:

Argentina, Ghana, Brazil, Germany, England, Netherlands, Chile, Spain, USA, Mexico

Annie Losers:

France, Nigeria, New Zealand, Italy, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire

Shame about New Zealand really . . . They have such lovely fish and chips there. But wait!! whats this?! At last minute, Kim Jung Il joins the North Korea team and scores 300 points in every game! Even the ones he wasnt in. Great Leader did it again!! North Korea wins the world cup for the 12th time in a row! (note: footage missing)

Anime A&A

I made Anime A&A. Look like us? I have a power level of nearly 10,000, and Annie can do Kamehameha times 7. I spared Annie the sailer outfit. My top 10 anime series so far in order of favoritism . . .

1. Samurai Champloo

2. Furi Kuri

3. Cowboy Bebop

4. Avatar Last Airbender (not proper anime, but great nonetheless)

5. Afro Samurai

6. Last Exile

7. Full Metal Alchemist

8. Ghost in the shell (Stand alone complex)

9. DragonBall Z (its horrible. really horrible. but an old guilty pleasure nonetheless.)

10. Voltron (loved by good, feared by evil)

Monkey Koi Fish

I was in Kansas last week, and Annie, my brother Avery, and I took a day trip to Omaha. Now, I knew there would be monkeys in Omaha as they make up about 43% of the population of the American midwest. . . . and I know that Koi fish stop in Nebraska as they fly South for the winter (wait. is that right?) . . . but I wasn't expecting monkey Koi fish combo! It might be the greatest phenomenon I've seen in the midwest since that time I got caught in a tornado and ended up surrounded by high pitched singing midgets. They had this whole routine. Its like they rehearsed before I got there. Also, I might have killed someone with my house. Thats right, my house. Thats how we roll when we're in Kansas. Dont mess with us. Here are some photos of the Omaha-ian awesomeness.

Working conditions . . .

Normally I avoid fast food, saving it for the airport or long car rides. I've always known that fast food was evil (except chick-fil-a obviously, which, for those of you with any love for mythology will know, was carried up to Mt. Olympus by doves as a divine exhalation of the planet and eaten by the gods as ambrosia), but if there was any doubt, please examine this hot sauce packet I received from the taco bell here in Dubai the other day . . .

Photos not the best . . . taken with my mobile. Package reads "Help! I can't tell where I am. It's dark and I can hear laughing." I like to think this employee, lets call him Alphonso, at least has some fond memories of sunlight. Taco Bell hot sauce: Cayanne, chipotle peppers, garlic, olive oil, exasperated yearning, dehydrogenated panic, paprika, and red no.2. I got some more hot sauce to try and decipher the location of the tacobell dungeonarium, but they only said things like 'a taco a day keeps the immigration police away'. Sorry Alphonso,

i've failed you.

Guess what my country has that yours doesn't . . .

Thats right! Gold Bar Vending machines! Its brilliant, you go to the machine, insert some spare thousands you found while looking for change under your car seat, and out pops solid gold bars. I found that alot of places here in Dubai still don't actually take gold bars in exchange for goods. No problem though, I found they are still pretty useful to use as weights to help anchor my private floating island. (I used to just fill sacks with the solid embodiment of practicality and good judgement, and then tie them underneath . . . but the gold is so much shinier!) The sparkling makes everything better, except vampires. vampires should not sparkle.

My island isnt pictured here. It sank sadly . . . too many gold bars . . .

Virtual Visit to A&A's Flat

Have you been to Dubai? Probably not! Instead, let me show you where we have lived for the last three years...

View from our windows on the 41st floor. Overlooking Satwa, Jumeriah 1, Al Diyafah Street and the Persian Gulf. You can see the World Islands at the end if you squint.

Outside our front door. A busy section of Sheikh Zayed Road. See the Emirates Towers, the Burj Khalifa, three of WSPs former offices and the new Metro. We live in the Blue Tower.

I shot this clip as part of a "Walk in Our Shoes" iReport on cnn.com. They ended up using my feet in the final product.

I'd show you around our flat but Aaron says we have to clean up first.

Koali gets around

The first post of the new blog! Its just like the last blog, but with half the calories and 100% extra existence! I am still experimenting with adding posts, so in an attempt to explore a bit of the gambit of multimedia posting extravagance, I present a few photos and a home movie of our longest rent paying tenant. His name is Koali and he doesn't do much. He tags along on some travels and gets up to mischief when no-ones in the flat. He doesn't go out much because Dubai is usually too hot for him. Below is an old video of Koali stealing mint leaves from the fridge. I wasn't sure where all my herbs were going so I set up a camera to spy on the place when we were at work. I think he thought they were Eucalyptus leaves.

Here is some assorted Koali pics from some of his travels: New Zealand, Sweden, Hongkong . . . Koali gets around . . . like a record