Waiting to explode

For those of you wanting to see "the bump":
(Randy called me a dromedary!)


39-week picture


Emphasizing bump

Summer Trip to Fujairah

On Monday, 16 June, Christine and I took a mini-vacation (our only trip this summer!) to Fujairah, the only one of the seven Emirates that we had not visited. The drive was long and hot, with temperatures rising steadily throughout the week, but we survived the trek across the scorching desert and into, over, and through the Al Hajar Mountains to the east coast of the United Arab Emirates. We stayed at the five-star Rotana Resort, located on the Indian Ocean, where we swam in the refreshing water and relaxed on the beach. We had some pretty good food there too. Since it's the off-season (summer is too hot here), there weren't many people around, which was very nice indeed. Two days later, though, we were back in the chaos of our capital city, Abu Dhabi. And yes, we're still waiting for Anastasia's arrival.


Friendly warning at the Rotana Beach


Note the Al Hajar Mountains in background


Christine (and Anastasia) at 38 weeks


Randy enjoying 120*F


Immature dates

One Last Trip Before Things Change

We are headed for Fujairah Monday. Fujairah is on the east coast of the UAE, between the Hajar mountains and the Indian Ocean. We'll be staying at the Fujairah Rotana Resort and Spa (the rates drop considerably in the hot summer months, which is our off-season). The four-star hotel is not in the city of Fujairah (it's in Aqa'a, on the coastal road between Fujairah and Dibba), but it is in the Emirate of Fujairah. This is the only one of the seven Emirates that we haven't visited yet.

We'll be gone for two days...just two days of exploring wadis and swimming in the Gulf of Oman and relaxing on the beach and trying to keep cool as the temperatures close in on 120*F. It's a two-and-a-half hour drive northeast of Abu Dhabi...

Hillary

I see that Hillary Clinton is set to concede, finally. The funny thing is that she lost the Democratic primary, but she still gets all the attention. I'm sure it's just as she wanted...Now she's the most powerful, prominent woman in America (move over, Oprah!). She HAS to be thinking about 2012...But what about this sense of entitlement? During the race, she AND her husband (don't you EVER say it was just Hillary because he has been involved too!) pushed and pushed in such a way that they sounded as if they believed they were entitled to the nomination. They even made demeaning comments toward African-Americans, who once were the Clintons' best supporters. Will her race for the White House alter Americans' opinions about the previous Clinton administration?

More Politics (By Randy)

Is she or isn't she conceding soon?

That seems to be the question this week. Of course, many Democrats want Hillary Clinton to concede already--to "unite" the party, whatever that means (after all, when was either major political party truly "united"?). However, many Clintonites (including quite a few feminists who now have a good point of contention--more on that in a moment) want her to hold out, but for what?

What is Hillary's plan now? Honestly, we've known for a while that she can't win this, not this election season...not unless Barack Obama has one massive misstep, and that is highly, highly unlikely at this point. He has survived Reverend Wright and ridiculous allegations against his patriotism and of his "true" religion. So is Hillary Clinton staying in this race to hurt him enough that McCain will be elected, thus giving her a shot at the White House in 2012? It seems very possible at this point. If not 2012, she at least wants to remain viable for 2016, but like most liberals, can she wait that long?

Why does Hillary Clinton still have the winning touch in some states/territories? White, lower-to-middle class blue-collar workers certainly are part of the equation, as are many feminists. I cannot remember, unfortunately, who it was, but I do recall one black female congresswoman (not that ultra-liberal and possible criminal Braun from Illinois) saying that she had encountered more sexism than racism in Congress, that a black man had much more power and clout than a woman of any race in politics. Perhaps she is right?

Finally, in my last truly politically-incorrect statement of the day, wouldn't it be great if Hillary came out and said, "Why can't a white woman get justice against a black man? This is OJ Simpson all over again!"???

Oh, one other item: Why doesn't anyone mention that Congress' approval rating is actually LOWER than the president's rating?