...but here happened quite a lot ;-)

we are nearly settled down, finetuning needs to take place, but that's all and yes it's still cool. it's not highflying cool but it's enjoyable and could be really worse.

what i find a bit difficult from time to time is the big gap between social groups. you see very poor and hardworking people besides very rich and not always respectful people.. but that's dubai and if we would start to worry about these things, we could get really in trouble. because once you start you could not stop anymore.

summer is coming closer and it's getting really hot these days, 46°C during the day is common and i question myself, how it will be once the real summer is here (June/July/August)...

jan is travelling quite a lot at the moment and i try to find my own way and mindset in this new surrounding. it's not always easy and it forces me to think about some cornerstones, which were important for me in the past and new cornerstones i have to put in place with this new surrounding. very intersting but also challenging and not always very comfortable...

tomorrow we will be kids again and going to visit the http://www.wildwadi.com that will be fun and we are very much looking forward to. i have to share as well the following link with you as it really enlightens your day http://www.unf-unf.de/show.php?did=401

so enjoy it like we do and take care...

... of marriage ;-) and we are happy and enjoying life!

after being inhouse allday yesterday - jan was working from home - we decided to go for a walk to the community center of arabian ranches. it was not too hot in the evening around 9 pm and so we went on talking about the day. after 25 minutes very relaxed walking we were there and wondered how far it might be... so this morning, when driving jan to work i checked the Kilometerzähler and it was 2.4 km. i was surprised - but now we know why our legs were tired this morning :-) not that it was a real distance but the heat makes everything a little bit more intense...

... and it is fantastic after more than 5 weeks without home (2 weeks being on a boat in the maldives and more than 3 weeks in the hotel in dubai afterwards).

our house is fabulous, spacious and cosy and we had already 2 very good nights in our own bed. what a difference this is.

internet and telephone are active - tv as well, we saw already sundays forumla one here - and we are really settling down. talking about connection: our skype names are our names in small letters (janhxxxx, nicolehxxxx).

nic's visa is still not delivered, but should be here hopefully tomorrow and jan is already registered as hard working guy ;-)

we wish you a fab day and keep you update about what's going on here in dubai

we arrived safely in dubai on sunday, april 16th, 2006 early in the morning after 2 weeks of holiday on a safariboat on the maldives - indeed our honeymoon.

since then, we were so productive, things went well and everything fits - so far. we are still staying in the le meridien mina seyahi (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=1895). it is a very nice and relaxing hotel but believe it or not, during the last 10 days, we have been to the beach only one afternoon and twice for 2 hours. we are not here for holiday ;-)

our villa in arabian ranches is waiting for us since march 25th, but as our container is still somewhere on the way to dubai, it is likely, that we will not move in before may 8th. we will see - each and single day earlier would be great!!!!!

we could write stories about the new daily life here, but we will start with this regularly once we are settled in our new home...

welcome to our world!!!

WHEN YOU CHECK OUT OF A HOTEL THAT USES THE CREDIT-CARD-TYPE ROOM KEY, THE CLERK OFTEN WILL ASK IF YOU HAVE YOUR KEY(S)TO TURN IN...
OR THERE IS A BOX OR SLOT ON THE RECEPTION COUNTER IN WHICH TO PUT THEM. THIS IS GOOD FOR THE HOTEL BECAUSE THEY SAVE MONEY BY RE-USING THOSE CARDS. BUT, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR YOU, AS REVEALED BELOW.

FROM THE CALIFORNIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS ASSIGNED TO DETECT NEW THREATS TO PERSONAL SECURITY ISSUES, DISCOVERED WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION IS EMBEDDED IN THE CREDIT CARD TYPE HOTEL ROOM KEYS USED THROUGHOUT THE INDUSTRY.
ALTHOUGH ROOM KEYS DIFFER FROM HOTEL TO HOTEL,A KEY OBTAINED FROM A WELL KNOWN HOTEL CHAIN THAT WAS BEING USED FOR A REGIONAL IDENTITY THEFT PRESENTATION WAS FOUND TO CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

A.. CUSTOMERS (YOUR) NAME
B.. CUSTOMERS PARTIAL HOME ADDRESS
C.. HOTEL ROOM NUMBER
D.. CHECK IN AND CHECK OUT DATE
E.. CUSTOMER'S (YOUR) CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND EXPIRATION DATE!

WHEN YOU TURN THEM IN TO THE FRONT DESK YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS THERE FOR ANY EMPLOYEE TO ACCESS BY SIMPLY SCANNING THE CARD IN THE HOTEL SCANNER. AN EMPLOYEE CAN TAKE A HAND FULL OF CARDS HOME AND USING A
SCANNING DEVICE, ACCESS THE INFORMATION ONTO A LAPTOP COMPUTER AND GO SHOPPING AT YOUR EXPENSE.

SIMPLY PUT, HOTELS DO NOT ERASE THE INFORMATION ON THESE CARDS UNTIL AN EMPLOYEE RE-ISSUES THE CARD TO THE NEXT HOTEL GUEST. AT THAT TIME, THE NEW GUEST'S INFORMATION IS ELECTRONICALLY "OVERWRITTEN" ON THE CARD AND THE PREVIOUS GUEST'S INFORMATION IS ERASED IN THE OVERWRITING PROCESS.
BUT UNTIL THE CARD IS REWRITTEN FOR THE NEXT GUEST, IT USUALLY IS KEPT IN A DRAWER AT THE FRONT DESK WITH YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

THE BOTTOM LINE I:
KEEP THE CARDS, TAKE THEM HOME WITH YOU.
NEVER LEAVE THEM BEHIND IN THE ROOM OR ROOM WASTEBASKET, AND NEVER TURN THEM IN TO THE FRONT DESK WHEN YOU CHECK OUT OF A ROOM.
THEY WILL NOT CHARGE YOU FOR THE CARD (IT'S ILLEGAL) AND YOU'LL BE SURE YOU ARE NOT LEAVING A LOT OF VALUABLE PERSONAL
INFORMATION ON IT THAT COULD BE EASILY LIFTED OFF WITH ANY SIMPLE SCANNING DEVICE CARD READER.
FOR THE SAME REASON, IF YOU ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT AND DISCOVER YOU STILL HAVE THE CARD KEY IN YOUR POCKET, DO NOT TOSS IT IN AN AIRPORT TRASH BASKET. TAKE IT HOME AND DESTROY IT BY CUTTING IT UP, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION STRIP!
INFORMATION COURTESY OF: PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT - SEND TO ANYONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP!

... in two days, we are just arriving on the airport in zurich, waiting for our flight out of switzerland.

so far, everything is okay as it can be. loads of work and our nerves are quite stressed - but we are nearly done and that's great :-)
the movers are doing a great job, but still we have to have an eye on everything besides doing all the administrational stuff, we have to deal with in the last moment...

but we are a good team and so much looking forward to our new home. our greatest wish at the moment is time... might sound strange, but we put so much action in the last month, that we are aiming for a rest.

for the next two weeks we will be off the net cruising through the maldives with an old wooden maldive boat and scubadiving all day long ;-) from April 16th we are back on land - in dubai. it will be our one way ticket into holiday!

... in 4 days from now.

the movers will start tomorrow to pack everything in sea and airfreight and storage goods.

we are so much looking forward to flying out on saturday to the maldives, but on the other hand we would need 10 more days to prepare everything. we are tired!!!!

... on my first visit ever was phantastic! spent a lot of time driving around trying to find my way and getting an idea of the place we are about to move to...

we just arrived back in ch this morning and after spending the day in the office i'm terribly tired, so that i will follow up with details tomorrow. only this: we found already our new home in arabian ranches - a corner 3 bedroomhouse with garden.

...

... all around - it was phantastic!!!!

we spent the weekend in kempten (germany) and on sunday it started snowing in a deep grey day. also the way back was not really appealing, nice driving but grey.
but guess what, today it was the most beautiful blue sky with a shining sun, spreading her light over the snowy nature. after work i very much enjoyed my running in the winter forest - slippy but simply beautiful...

by the way: we are starting to get our things packed and sorted and the plane leaves on saturday april 1st - no joke!

... by the end of march!

appartment is cancelled, my job will be today - and then one detail after the other has to be taken care off. it will be an exciting time and we are looking forward to.

now that we are mr. & mrs. honestly nothing but everything changed. we both are very happy, enjoying this new period in our lives.