Becoming an adult...

...means having bills to pay. Because of this, I believe I am becoming an adult this week.

Between having a new job (I'm a cookie decorator at Corso's Cookies in Lakeland), needing to buy health insurance, buying a car, and needing to buy car insurance, all my wonderful saving that I've been busy with for the past 5 years has been successfully halved, and there is nothing I can do about it but relish in it.

I am really excited about the new job, and am so happy to be hired without prior professional experience as a baker/decorator. I'm hoping that this will open even more doors as time goes on, especially with how intricate their designs are, and how much the company is growing.

The car is a PT Cruiser. Picked her up this morning. For all you haters out there, all I can say is that I'm not driving a minivan anymore. So there.

I managed to have the fullest day possible without having adequate amount of food in my system as well. Because of work, my 8am bloodwork appointment was rescheduled for 3pm and with me needing to fast 12 hours beforehand, I pretty much ran on nothing from dinner until 3:30 this afternoon. From work I went to the lab where they had an issue with my appointment. Not unusual since I had to reschedule, but when the receptionist tried to tell me what happened and said," Well, it seems as though when you rescheduled, they went back a week and made your appointment for the 2nd. Today is the 9th, and since we can't go back in time, we just have to compensate for your being here now." I wasn't really sure whether to laugh at her witty sense of humor or question whether or not she knew exactly what she was saying since her tone was always sincere, so I just sat down and waited. From there, I ran a few errands, dropped the van off with my sister, and picked up the bruiser.

I've been really tired all day so I decided once again to skimp on my exercise regiment and instead eat chocolate and watch episodes of How I Met Your Mother while doing graphic design work for Hafner's. It's a good tradeoff, if you ask me.

Oh! And before I forget, I strongly urge you to check out my new side project with Vancouver filmmaker/composer CJ Wallis, Elective. I will be in the studio tomorrow finishing up vocal tracks for our first single, and we will be progressing as each of our main projects allow. He is wonderfully talented, and you can check out some of his film work here.

So, that's what tomorrow holds. A lot of new TSE news in the works, but once again I'm waiting to see how all of it pans out before parading it all over the wonderful world of internet. Work and studio. In the meantime, goodnight external hard drive, goodnight cell phone, goodnight ftp sites, goodnight laptop, goodnight awesome smelling candle, goodnight moon.

Ithaca Show!

Hey guys,

I'm completely aware of my lack of updates, but as I'm sure you can all understand things have been going at an incredible pace and I'm doing the best I can just to be cognizant of everything going on. I promise and update as soon as I can get get a breath in, but until then here is a flyer for our upcoming show in Ithaca with some of Jon's friends from college (and well, they've become friends of ours along the way, but still). Hope you can make it!!

Sorry bout that...

I know, I know. No blogging in a while. I'm sorry, it's just that since our miraculous return I feel as though every day is in fast-forward. So much cleaning to do, so much television to catch up on, so much new stuff in the works.

So basically, on the personal front, I have started a new 'side project' job with Pampered Chef (let me know if you want to host a cooking party!!), and have as well started looking around at bakeries around the area. With a few free months ahead of me I'm going to try and get in with the cooking world for as long as I can. Also I'll be working on the solo album and some other fun stuff that is in the works to be announced soonish.

On the band front, we're going into overdrive. The prime focus of the next few weeks is to finish up this album, and we have a few really sweet shows coming up in the mix. One of which is a really sweet private event on November 3rd (it's creepin up!). Apparently it is a private show that you can only win tickets through, so if I find out any info I will be sure to keep you all in the loop. We've got another one coming up in Fredonia on November 7th and a few more in the mix for later on in the coming month.

Oh, and more on the personal front. I am so stoked to be home for Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays, and I really love the fall in CNY, the colors are so amazing and I'm so glad I was able to catch a few more weeks of it. In an effort to try and figure out what I wanted to be for Halloween (I originally wanted so badly to be Lady Gaga a la MTV VMA's:


But decided I didn't have enough time to get it all together or sew it since I got home with only a week beforehand), I paroozed the Sunday paper and something in the target circular caught my eye. I pretty much immediately got in my car, and tada! My costume has been completed:

There is no need to judge me on the fact that it's a toddler costume. In fact, maybe I can make this work via the ridiculous 'sexy girl' costume cliche. So what if it's skin tight? So what if the feet land at my knees because it's a size 4T? With the grin I'll be wearing I don't think you'll notice. All you'll notice is that I have a T-Rex appendage sticking out of my stomach, and it's awesome.

Skipping ahead to Qatar

Alright, so I know I’m out of order now, but hey, I’ve got internet and so I’m going to take advantage of telling you exactly what we’ve been up to.

Basically we did a short day and a half with one show in Bahrain, flew to Kuwait and spent 5 days, 5 nights (4 shows) in Kuwait; all of which I will tell you about very, very shortly. We really had a great time while out there and met some seriously awesome people.

Today, however, we flew out of Kuwait and into Qatar. We really didn’t have any idea of what the country would be like, and probably knew the least about this place of everywhere else we’d been travelling. Flying in you could see a ton of man-made islands (the middle east loves doing stuff like that – the palm islands in dubai and their up and coming world islands), and then a pretty decent-sized city. We flew over ornate hotels and bright blue swimming pools that screamed “Spring break Doha!” to me. We landed at a quaint airport and were immediately greeted by Erica and Julie after visas, the baggage claim, and customs.

I will note that it’s pretty rad you don’t have to take out your laptop when you go through security, even though it does kind of suck that you end up going through security like 3 times at every airport. But whatever, we’ve been really fortunate to have made great time on both sides of departing/arriving at our locations with all the baggage since UAE and Djibouti.

So, we loaded up everything into a truck and SUV and headed to the base where we got ourselves some serious comfort food. Mind you it was then about 1pm and most of us didn’t have breakfast (every country we travelled to thusfar had a really great currency exchange against the USD except Kuwait. Basically for every $4, it was one Kuwaiti dollar. Shit sucks when you want to buy a bottle of juice and it costs you 6.50). Pizza, nachos, veggie lo mein and quesadillas abound, we then trekked to our new temporary homes (kind of like the CLUs in Djibouti, but instead inside of a giant warehouse-y kind of thing), and then were met by two other guys from the base who were going to show us around the city.

This was huge for us because we never really got to see a whole lot of a lot of the places we’ve been on this tour. Either because of where we were, or our show schedules, we’d really only been able to see Dubai and now Qatar. We drove into the gold souk I believe, and did some shopping. One thing I must say, and it’s absolutely terrible, is that I am noticing my overt Americanism to compare the ‘real’ country to Disney World. Epcot more specifically. But when you’re walking down a cobblestone road without any cars while concrete buildings with ornate lighting fixtures and sticks and camels and donkeys are scattered about, it kind of feels like it’s not real. It also doesn’t help that there are gift shops everywhere, but it’s really been crazy to be really, truly experiencing all of this.

We found a few (bunch) of things we liked (the currency is now 1USD = 3.65 of theirs), and then one of the guys took us to a restaurant that he had been to and knew the owner well. It was absolutely gorgeous, and the owner sat us all down and gave us Arabian coffee (not quite the coffee you’re used to), and kind of some guidelines on manners and how to eat/drink the coffee (you eat a date, then drink the coffee as it’s not very sweet at all). Then we went upstairs and ate outside on the roof of the restaurant. It was absolutely surreal. There was a giant mosque in the background, and we head the call to prayer while we were eating (the Muslim religion has a call to prayer at several points during the day). We ate hummus, spicy potatoes, and pita bread until we couldn’t any longer, and when we were finished the owner gave us the tour of the rest of the restaurant. If I ever come back out to Qatar, I know I’ll be going there again. There is just so much that is fascinating about that culture, and such great food… it’s unbelievable. I know I’m using those words a lot but give me a break, I’m in the middle east.

After dinner we did some last minute shopping and then went out to their mall. I know you’re probably thinking we’re nuts for going to a mall while we’re out here, but it’s actually been our tour guide’s ideas. The malls out here are very similar and yet very different from the ones in the US. Sure, there are your average stores (but a little more wealthy out here—you’ll see a lot of designers and high-end boutiques), but they tend to outdo themselves with extra things like ice rinks and elaborate designs to the structure. It’s really cool to get to see. We got some gelato (sup awesome food), then headed back to base. We grabbed some internet and called it a night. We have a show tomorrow (and also they have some Hollywood people here including one of the women on nip/tuck which made me think of my junior year of college and how my roommates made me get into that show until it became a slightly horrifying addiction, but I think they’ll be proud of me that I remember her and her character… just not her name or her character name). So who knows, maybe we’ll get to meet them. If not, we’ll probably head back downtown and eat some more awesome food. But we do have a busy day of meet and greets and we’re all really stoked to be here.

Sunday

So today we got up and met up with Erica and Julie and grabbed some lunch. Along with us being on base, there are also what is referred to as 'Ambassadors from Hollywood,' and they were doing a meet and greet at the dining hall; they were Kelly Carlson (from Nip/Tuck), Greg Germann (from a whole bunch of stuff), DeAnna Pappas (from The Bachelor), D.W. Moffett (Friday Night Lights), and Vanessa Branch (Oribt gum girl). It was pretty awesome seeing them all out here, and they told us they wouldn't be able to make it to the show but would stop over during our soundcheck.

After lunch we met the commander of the base, and got a tour of the strykers. Basically strykers are like tanks... and we got to ride in them. We pretty much went on a joyride in these things, and the people telling us about them and showing us around do a TON and are really incredible individuals. I have pictures, I just need to grab them from Taryn and Jess soon.

After that we had our soundcheck,grabbed some dinner, and here I am. Full of pesto pasta and pineapple juice, I'll be heading back to my bunk shortly to clean up and get ready for the show. I should note that while in Kuwait I developed some sort of cold/allergy thing that they refer to as the 'Kuwait Crud.' As disgusting as that sounds, it's just sort of an allergy attack to getting used to all the particles in the air, and I have been voiceless for almost 5 days. Here's to hoping tonight's a bit better. I feel fine, just sound like a man. Oh well. Tomorrow we are off to another base, playing a show, then heading to Saudi right afterwards. Going to be a busy day!

Day 9-13 (Photos soon!)

As expected, internet has been kind of intermittent throughout the tour so I'm probably going to have to update things a chunk at a time. I've been logging everything into a little notebook every evening so that I don't forget exactly what's been going on, and as I look back I'm finding that it's been a very good idea. So anyways, here you go:

Day 8 (Monday)- Djibouti

We got up at 6am to grab an early breakfast, and managed to catch the end of the
Vikings/Green Bay game (nothing like Monday night football on a Tuesday morning -- Go Vikings!!) and then met up with the people from the weapons and ammo department of the base at a shooting range in the middle of nowhere. There were 6 targets set up and surrounded by sand dunes, and with the assistance of someone for each of us, we were taught how to load, aim, and shoot both M-16s and 9mms. We each had our turn at a target and shot laying down on our stomachs and standing straight up. It was seriously an experience I never thought I would ever be able to do, and they let us keep the targets (I'm much better at the M-16 than the 9mm, but not really too great with either. I got one lucky shot dead center, way stoked on that). The people who work with the weapons are seriously incredible individuals, and the woman in charge could quite possibly be the strongest and most fierce and badass woman I have ever met.

From there we went to the flightline but found out our helicopter ride was canceled (bummed but understand-- we still got to watch it takeoff and tour another aircraft). Then we did some laundry (such and understated chore out here), got some food, and grabbed some internet for a bit before loading up and heading to the airport.

We sat on the bus for about 20 minutes before being told that our flight had been delayed from a 5pm departure to a 10pm departure (not good considering our connecting flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Bahrain left at 10pm), so we had to weigh some options. We waited on the bus for at least 4 hours, and after making a few phone calls to explore some possibilities, we decided upon taking the Ethiopian flight and being at the mercy of the airline to put us up to stay the night and catch the next flight to Bahrain (which was 24 hours later). Someone from the base agreed to go with us, too, to ensure that everything went well. Unfortunately that meant that we had to miss our first show, but luckily we were supposed to play that base twice so we're happy we still get to play there.

So now, fast-forward to landing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The airline set us up with a 4-star hotel, and we took the shuttle there shortly after landing. They managed to get all our musical equipment stored inside security so all we had to be responsible for was our personal luggage, which was a nice change. Upon landing at the MN international hotel, however, everything changed. We got our room assignments and headed up to our respective rooms. From there, we discovered a whole lot of creepy crawlies, dirty sheets, some sharpie artwork on end tables, even an electric plug to the hot water heater...in the shower. We all ended up back in the lobby with the same sentiment, and so Jess and the wonderful rep from the Djibouti base (Gizera is her name, but I don't know how to spell it! Either way she was a lifesaver!) tried to get ourselves a different hotel. However, it certainly didn't stop there. The staff were very rude, not refunding the rep's money (she paid in cash), and while they were calling up hotels from the front desk they were speaking another language and apparently lying to whomever they were speaking to, because the rep called them out on it and was getting quite upset. THEN a whole group of rowdy men with, like, 12 'ladies of the night,' came in and got into a rager with the other desk attendant. Meanwhile, the rest of us are all sitting in the lobby at 2:30am, freaking out inside. I personally thought we were going to shortly be witnesses to something ugly.

Ten minutes later I believe we gave up the fight to get a refund and the Hilton picked us up. As Aaron now says, "Every time I see a Hilton an angel gets their wings." It was wonderfulllll. And so we ordered some room service, took warm showers, and slept until 2pm the following day. And such ends one of the worst days in travel history. And don't really get me started on the flights to and from Ethiopia. I'm over it.

Day 9 (Tuesday) - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

We slept until 2pm and then went and ate at the hotel restaurant. It's always odd dealing with foreign currency that seems so much higher than the dollar. For example, my lunch cost 136 Bir. Sounds like a lot, right? Nope, roughly 11 bucks. Kind of rules except for the fact that I don't have a calculator on me since my phone doesn't work. After that we pretty much just hung out and then grabbed some more food before leaving for the airport at 7pm. Everything from there went pretty well (minus the accidental non-stamp from customs the first time through), and then we were off to Bahrain at 10pm.

Day 10 (Wednesday) - Ethiopia and Bahrain

Contrary to what one might think, itineraries on this tour have been anything but reliable. The one lesson we've learned thusfar is to pretty much not expect anything. That or expect absolutely everything. Neither one is really great though in terms of planning. Our itinerary told us we would be arriving in Bahrain at 3:30am, so expect our surprise when we landed 2 hours earlier. Our POC obviously wasn't there yet, and the police and customs were pretty less than thrilled at 8 people with 45 pieces of excess baggage just kind of lingering. Finally we had our rep come to the airport, and we loaded up all of our things and went straight to a military airport. We had on our itinerary that we’d be heading to a ship, but we really didn’t know too much more than that. When we arrived at the airport around 3am, we were told we would be taking off to a ship at approximately 9am that was out in the middle of the ocean. We had briefly talked about carrier ships and how cool it would be to see one (we thought we’d be visiting a docked ship), but we were actually going to be flying onto one. For those of you who don’t know a lot about carrier ships, basically they have a very short runway. In order for planes to land they have to catch a wire on the runway that will drag them to a very abrupt and short stop. On the flip side of things, taking off is quite the opposite. You are launched into a catapult type thing, with tons of hydraulics, and you are basically shot into the sky. We were lucky enough to experience both, but I’ll get to all that later.

We hung out at the airport until it was time to takeoff, where we were asked to put on life vests and helmets called cranials that came equipped with goggles. Usually they don’t fly too far, but we were going to be in the air for a few hours. We were given all of the safety briefing and a coin from one of the pilots, and then we were up in the air. When it came time to land, they made sure we had all our equipment on, our 4-point seatbelts VERY tight, and when they started waving their arms you knew to brace yourself. The landing goes by so fast you really don’t have time to process it. I was sitting in one of only 2 window seats, and I didn’t see a damn thing. All I saw was sky, then all I saw was pavement. It was surreal and absolutely amazing.

We were immediately ushered off of the ship and to a small room where we met the captain (wow, such an honor, and already!) and then were taken on a tour of the flight line. Basically we got to stand and watch as flights came and left the ship… it was absolutely stunning. They go from so fast to stopped… or from stopped to, well, you get it. It was nuts. We went from there to the flight deck where we met a few other people aboard the ship, and they let us know a little bit about what they do. It was seriously an awesome feeling from start to finish aboard the ship. We could all sense their genuine interest and excitement about having us with them, and it was awesome. They truly let us become a part of their busy days and important jobs, from making calls over the radio to meet and greets that night where we took a bunch of pictures and signed a lot of autographs. It was really a great feeling, and everyone was so hospitable and warm. Oh, and did we mention we had a funboss?! Yeah. Her name was Therese, and she ruled. Her and David and Jason and Leon, who also helped us out and kind of were our ‘family’ while we stayed on the ship, took us to dinner and showed us around. We pretty much passed out around 10, and with our bunks being directly under the flightline I think that should tell you just how tired we were J

Day 12 (Fri) Aboard the USS Nimitz

We woke up at 8am, had some breakfast, and then started the day with a tour of the weapons department. We got to meet the people who make them, people who repair them, and people who watch over them. All pretty heavy jobs, and they were all awesome at explaining everything to us civilians who may otherwise not understand all the abbreviations and going-ons of their job. From there it was naptime (I think the rocking of the ship had something to do with that), and then lunchtime. We went straight from there to the hangar, where the stage had been built for the show. We got all of our equipment set up, and then (you guessed it) naptober part 2. We visited the ship store and got to catch up on a few things, then we grabbed some diner and got back to the hangar in time for Captain’s Call. After he spoke we took the stage for what could have been one of the coolest shows we’ve ever played. Not many bands can say they played a hangar of a ship looking out over the ocean and having over 2000 amazing people singing and dancing along. I think this was one of the most humbling and important shows we’ve ever played, because when people make signs that have our lyrics on them, or know the words to songs… it reinforces why we’re all doing this. It’s for that single moment. And trust me, when it comes to audiences, we couldn’t ask for a better group of people to play to than the heroes of America who are on deployment.

We signed autographs/guitars/Xboxes/ipods/shirts/hats (yeah… holy crap you guys are awesome) for over 2 hours, ran to the heads (bathrooms in Navy-speak), and had someone play us a song. It was amazing. We did an interview with some of the staff, packed up, got some midnight ice cream (yes!!), and then passed out. What an amazing day.

Day 13 (Sat) Leaving the USS Nimitz for Bahrain

We woke up at 8:30am to some of the staff bringing us our laundry (can I get an amen?), then Funboss wakeup call at 9, then people coming to pick up our bags at 9:15 (I have never done less in terms of transit this whole trip… it was so unnecessary on their end but boy do we appreciate it). We grabbed a quick breakfast and then went to the LSO platform (no, not the LFO platform. Though Aaron and I sang “Summer Girls” the entire time anyway). Basically we got to stand at the front of the runway and watch as the planes came in along with the staff that kind of guides and watches over them if anything should go wrong. What a rush it is being up there with these massive (small in relation to other planes, but still, it’s a plane) things shooting out hot, hot air, blowing you around while the ocean comes at you from every angle without any land in sight. They even made an announcement on the ship thanking us while we were down there.

We then went up one last time to say goodbye to the Captain and his staff, and to thank him for having us aboard. We were given out certificates making us honorary hookers (something to do with airplanes, though I told him my parents would be proud nonetheless), photos of us and the captain and the ship when we first arrived, a cd full of photos that were taken while we were aboard, and other amazing goodies that they packed up for us. I have to tell you, never in my life have I felt more like a rock star. And you won’t hear me say that often, because we’re all really just a bunch of kids who have a dream to play music, and were given the amazing opportunity to share what we love with all of you.

We then packed back on all the cranial/goggle/lifevest equipment, and were given a safety briefing once again. This time things were a bit different though, and having watched the planes take off days beforehand I knew what was happening and I was both excited and kind of nervous at the same time… you go realllllly fast. So anyways, once they staff were waving their hands, I braced myself, and before I knew it we were really, really high in the air. Extreme roller coaster. 0-200 in like 3 seconds. Holy never forget that feeling ever.

Oh and P.S. I have a lot of sorting to do so hopefully once we arrive in Kuwait I'll be able to go through them all and put them up! :)

Day 3-8

Hey guys, long time no update. Sorry about that, but between keeping busy where we are and questionable internet access, I've been unable to get online for very long.

Basically for the first 4 days we were on a base in the Middle East where we spent a solid day and a half and had seriously the time of our lives. They showed us a demonstration in their K-9 unit, showed us around their flight line, and even got to be in a car on the runway going 200 km/hr underneath a plane while it landed. It was absolutely surreal, and seriously awesome. I'm quite certain it was one of the best experiences of my life. We met some really amazing people, and are already in touch with them post-leaving.

The show there went amazingly. We had a great crowd response, including someone who kept yelling for "More cowbell," and by our second set presented us with one signed by all the guys we spent the day with. Afterwards Jon and Aaron went back to a lounge with some of them and proudly can say that they kicked their asses in Halo... which is almost as sweet as watching 'Team America' with them, which we also did. We were really sad to leave, but on tours like this it's like we don't even have time to comprehend everything that's going on.

(mountainous Fujairah)

USO met us the day we left and drove us to Fujairah, where there is a small Navy base. We played at a classy/tacky hotel bar (that description pretty much fits the middle east in respect to their decor. over the top and yet in such bright colors it looks... less over the top). The show was a lot smaller as the base itself is smaller, but it was awesome for that exact reason. Being able to talk to everyone while we're playing is always a cool atmosphere, and they were a lot of fun (no alcohol restrictions will do that to you, I think). After we played a band by the name of 'Sugar Extract' took the stage when the night club opened. 3 skantily-clad women began singing such American hits as 'Single Ladies' and 'Umbrella' and you can bet your ass I have it on video. I just wish I had the means to edit it down (and the time), but once I do I'll post a few.

(Everyone on one of the boats)

The next day there the Navy took us out on their boats for a bit of a joy ride, which was pretty sweet. We had only met the guys briefly the night before at the show so it was fun to go out with them and spend an hour or so with them. We then drove to Dubai, stopping at a street market somewhere along the way and grabbing some goodies (the conversion of $ to Dirhams is 1:3.66, so we make out pretty well). We checked into our hotel, and decided to walk around. That lasted all of ten minutes though, as we had a bit of a 'Lost in Translation' moment, and the heat was pretty horrible. It's such a big city, and though we wanted to see more it just wasn't going to happen when I had a map in front of me and couldn't even identify where our hotel was when we were a block away. We went to the pool, showered and got dressed up a bit more than usual (with 100 degree weather and clothing restrictions usually being long pants and sleeves, I have learned to not really care what I look like when you leave because you start to sweat as soon as you leave buildings out here).

(Dubai not far from our hotel)

(how awesome is this money? it's got a goat on it!)

Ariel (USO volunteer and awesome dancer, as I found out from the Starlight Night Club) and her husband showed us around the Gold Souk, where we ate at this hole-in-the-wall tahli place that I really wouldn't have even wanted to walk past if they hadn't eaten there and told us it was safe. I'm a huge fan of learning about different cultures, but in an area where there is no potable drinking water and the streets are scattered with dogs, cats, and trash, I have learned to be picky. The place was great though, they served 4 small cups of different things (one had bananas, one had potatoes, one had lentils, and one was yellow... that's all I know), and kept giving you pita bread as you ate. It was all you can eat for 12D (about 3 bucks), and though it was spicier than hell, it was fantastic.

After that we went to the Dubai Mall, which is the biggest mall in the world and has an indoor ice rink, aquarium, water show bigger than that of the Bellagio... it's excessive to say the least, and not at all what you expect when you think of the Middle East. It is also located next to the tallest building in the world, so that was definitely a sight. We stayed for a bit then headed back for 3 hours of sleep before heading to the airport.

When we got there, a very interesting day began. We arrived at the Dubai airport 3 hours before our departure, and at the check-in gate we were told our excess baggage would cost $18,000 to get to Djibouti. This is by far more than we had budgeted for in our contract (an absurd to the nth degree), so we sat and waited for something to be sorted out. Finally something was (not entirely favorable but far less than the previous 18k), and we had to SPRINT through this airport to catch our next flight. It, just like the mall, was massive. And it looked like Disneyworld. And we had to go up an elevator, then down an escalator, then down a ramp to get to the gate. Make sense? Didn't think so.

We arrived in Ethiopia a few hours later, and let me tell you... it's weird. Really REALLY small airport, not really clean, and not a whole lot to do. We made the time pass as best we could, and then got on our Ethiopian Air flight to Djibouti, which was by far our most uncomfortable (Even though it was only an hour.. not looking forward to flying with them for 5 hours to Bahrain). When we finally arrived at the Djibouti airport (roughly the size of your average American home - very slight exaggeration), we were stuck outside, waiting to get into the building to get the relief of some air conditioning. When we finally got there, we walked in to discover that there wasn't any. To add to that, when we got to customs they wouldn't allow us in because we hadn't gotten a visa prior to arriving (we didn't know that hadn't been cleared up already), so we had to wait in line at the police office. Again another door, again more hopes of some ac, again being let down to discover it is just one more phase of stuffy. We had to pay out of pocket for the visas, then gather up all of our equipment from the only baggage claim they have there. The porters told us they would carry our things for $150 and wouldn't let us carry them ourselves. Finally they did and we met up with James, our guide for our visit, and we got everything loaded into a pickup truck and bus.

(this is how Djibouti looks when you drive the streets of it... no joke)

Already it's very easy to see the difference between UAE and Djibouti, and there is no gray area between the lowest of the low and highest of the high in wealth. There is trash strewn about everywhere, and unlike camels being treated as royalty almost in UAE (if you kill a camel you pay less than you would if you killed a human being), there are camels eating trash out of dumpsters on the side of the road. Dogs, cats, goats, you name it; they are the same as rats in NYC when you're here. We arrived at base not too long afterwards and were given a place to stay where we promptly showered and passed out.

(cheetah!)

The next day we met up with James for a few meetings and tours. The first was cancelled, but then we drove out to the cheetah refuge not far from the base. We got to see gazelles, hyenas, ostriches, turtles, and cheetahs that were either saved from poachers or people who thought they would make good pets. It was crazy to be in Africa seeing all these things, knowing that although it's very zoo-like in its appearance it's not far off from being a farm sanctuary somewhere in NY where you can see the goats and cows. After that James wanted to get some coffee, and I was pretty unsure of myself. Pretty much every time I eat from Dubai on I've felt like garbage, so eating somewhere in Djibouti really wasn't my idea of a good time. However, once we cleared a bridge in town it looked as though we crossed over from extreme poverty to Delray Beach, Florida. Exquisite buildings sat tall behind closed gates and flowering vines stretched from top to bottom. We had arrived at the 4-star hotel, the Kensington. It was absolutely stunning. You had to go through a guarded gate and security when you first arrived, but it honestly looked like a whole different world. It was crazy, and that caffeine was so necessary (I'm a coffee fiend; and I haven't gotten my adequate fix since I've been here).

After we returned we grabbed some lunch, had a bit of a break to use some internet, and then got ready for the show. We are doing 2 shows here, so we can (yay!) leave things set up. It went really well, and afterwards we met a bunch of great people, a few of which are from CNY. We also got the hook-up to go on a helicopter ride on Tuesday... so stoked.

Anyways, today we had our first tour get cancelled so I finally have some time to update with some pictures, sorry this is all so long. We depart Djibouti tomorrow for Bahrain. Again, no promises on the internet but I sure as hell hope the Ethiopian airlines flights are cleaner and nicer this time around. I stole a bunch of these pictures from Taryn, Jess' sister acting as manager on this tour, as my batteries are dead and she has a sweet camera :)

EDIT: We went out to visit the ammo shop, and got to do fun things like this:

Day 1-3

Just posting to let all you wonderful people know we have arrived in the Middle East, are where we need to be, and that things are going great! (minus the jetlag, that is). The trip took roughly 14 hours from start to finish, I got to see the London airport (what a tease), and we got all 40 pieces of baggage in Abu Dhabi (which, as I'm sure you must realize, is, like, amazing).

We settled in on base around 10pm (2pm Syracuse time, now referred to as 'st'), grabbed some food (because we were starving.. forgot to mention to the airplane that we have vegetarians and vegans on board, since a travel agent set it all up all I'd eaten was pretty much bread and juice and snack mix), and then got to bed. Sure enough, 3.5 hours later I'm wide awake and it's 3:30am. But somehow I managed to think were only 7 hours ahead, and are meeting with our host at 7:30am for breakfast so I got up at what I thought was 7, now turning out to be 6. Oh well, that's why I'm updating.

We have a full day of being de-briefed, being shown around, and doing some things I'm way stoked on telling you all about after we do them because I'm not really sure I know what it is we're doing (but I do know we're chasing down a plane on a runway in a Camero going like 100mph). We have a show at 8pm tonight (noon st) and another possibly at 1am (5pm st), though we'll see if we can handle that. With a two-hour set that would mean that once again I am up 24 hours straight, and well, me no likey.

Alright, it's about a quarter to seven here, really balmy (and I hate using that word so know I mean business about it) as I sit outside and watch the sun shoot a mean glare into my computer screen, so I'm going to get going. I'll update when I can, it's looking like we're leaving this base for Dubai tomorrow but we have solid internet here so hopefully I will be able to post some pictures before I leave.