The start of 09...

Well the start of 09 has come and gone, there have been some interesting things that have gone on already and some not so interesting things. I am here to talk about both and see if stay with me on this one.


New Years eve in Dubai was cancelled...well the party was. The Sheik in his infinite wisdom decided to show solidarity with Palestine by having a somber tone to the night. Now I have no issue with this for the most part....the most part. I cannot change his mind so I will not rant much about this, BUT the Islamic New Year that happened days before was open for business. No somber mood, people could dance, use fireworks and the rest as much as they pleased....So I have heard the total loss by businesses on the night was in the 10s of millions of AED as most gave a refund for some expensive tickets that night. Looking back it was fairly comical that a ruler of a city can make that decision the day before New Years and no one can challenge it at all. It is a very western city indeed!!


The good news about the big party being cancelled is that I went home early from the "party" and got a good night’s sleep for the next day. George and I decided to play in a golf tournament at Al Hamra Golf Club, the New Years Day Stable ford Open. It was a handicapped tournament where I entered the tournament with a 16. I felt good in the morning, we got there with time to warm up properly and putt around, and the greens were fast that day. It was a shotgun start and we started on the 4th hole par 3. I was very balanced throughout the round of golf; I stayed calm and really made an effort to have a slow steady swing. I only missed one fairway on the day and hit 13 greens in regulation. I played very well and had no idea that I was even in contention of winning the tournament until the last hole where the guy that was keeping my score told me that the score I had I was able to win the tournament. He also did this when I was 210 yards out of the green on a par 5, I laid up and then pushed the ball into the water by the green. (of course) I still was able to get off the hole with a double bogey and shot a 41 (stable ford) it was a net -6 under par. I came off the golf course and looked at the leader board and I was beating the next guy by 7 points. I was pumped, we showered got a bite to eat and waited to see if anyone could be me. As most of you know I did win the golf tournament and received a trophy and was told I would be in several golf magazines for February I will let people know if they are available in Canada. It was a great feeling to win the first tournament I entered; I owe the win to my golf instructor Richard at the Four Seasons here in Dubai. So watch out all when I get back to Canada I will be looking to lighten a few pockets!

Other than that it has been business as usual, I have been reffing a bit of rugby, working a lot and trying to get to the gym. I have decided to stay in Dubai for at least one more year, I am excited about it and will be moving into a Physical Education position in the school, I have also applied to become the Curriculum leader for IT and PE so wish me luck that I can get that too.

There is a lot coming up in the next while, The school play is coming up, I am building the set for that (of course it has turned into a monster and is way more work then I have expected it to be). The Rugby World Cup is here in a month in the beginning of March, it will be an amazing event 24 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams it will be the first where both men’s and women’s events held at the same time.

Well that is about all that has been going on for the last little while. I hope everyone is well and my thoughts are with PJ, Lynn and their family.

Curtis