Kaplan in a nutshell

It's hard to explain just what it was like to work at Kaplan, but this nugget from a friend sums it up well:

"Last week I was yelled at for not attending a meeting I was not invited to."

Coming home!

It is Monday morning... I am tired of feeling sorry for myself so I am being proactive and coming home.

You can track the flight here:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ETD151/history/20120326/0545Z/OMAA/KORD

It is the direct from Abu Dhabi to Chicago flight that I like.  It's insanely long - 14 hours - but the good news is that is no layover in Europe to wake you up.  I plan to take ambien and sleep most of the trip away.

I am on an American Airlines flight into CR that will arrive at 10:40.  I think my roommates are picking me.  Hitchhiking at that time of night would not be fun.

Feeling sorry for myself

I have a former student/friend that I worked hard to get into the trip to Canada.  On the trip a woman jilts him and goes off the scale crazy - so crazy we had to keep him away from the conference and tried to send him home early.

This was the same guy who was supposed to be the tour guide for Ann and me in Egypt.  Long story short Ann and Mohamed went to Egypt.  I did not and I had to eat my ticket (zero refund for the package deal of airplane ticket plus hotel).

I decided to go to Paris to visit a friend.  Under a package deal I booked the flight plus six nights hotel for just under $2000 - a really good deal.  They ran my credit card and I headed off to the local bookstore to buy travel books for Paris.

A few hours later I received a call that said they couldn't confirm the hotel - or any hotel - so they had to cancel.

I wanted to go to Paris because it would be something new.  Since I've been screwed out of Egypt Paris would have been a nice consolation.

I may end up going to Nepal or I might just stay here.

*****
I have never had a friend do to me what Mohamed did to me.  He ruined the trip to Canada for several people, including me.  Egypt was something I was looking forward to for a long time.  I know he had periods of emotional instability in the past and I've had to walk him back from jumping off the crazy cliff a couple of times. While there is a likely underlying mental illness I've reached the point where I just don't care.

Fake Nike ad

I certainly mean no offense by this... but it really does capture the Type B attitude of the culture.

No joy in my world

What's worse than realizing you can't travel to Egypt because the friend you wanted as a tour guide went crazy?  It's having the friend go crazy and then be told that your package trip is non-refundable.

It's been a tough week.  I normally teach with a lot of energy but this week I had none.  It's easy to pass this off as jet lag but really the problem is a sense of betrayal.

Tonight I had friends over for fudge.  I bought a ridiculous amount of fudge when I was in Canada and tonight I shared it.  Of the group here about a half-dozen have been to Egypt before and they all said, "Go.  You can hire guides from the hotels.  Just go."

So I guess I will.

The future is hard to know in advance

Pretty much nothing on the trip to Canada went according to plan.  In the end I lost a close friend because he decided that getting revenge on another person was more valuable than our friendship.  That has made me incredibly sad.  This is the same person I was going to Egypt with next week.  Now my Egypt plans are cancelled and I will most likely be returning to Nepal.

I am completely gobsmacked at the series of events of the past week.  My former close friend is on a warpath that - if he continues - could destroy several people's lives, including me.  Anyone can say something nasty in the heat of the moment but what's playing out here over days is cold and calculating.  I could have never predicted things could get this bad and I have no idea how much worse they will get.

Even if the matter dies here I mourn the loss of a good friend.  Given his actions - and the lack of remorse for how much pain he's caused - I have to step away.

Sad. Sad. Sad.

Return to the Emirates

Vancouver to Frankfurt:

http://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/DLH493/history/20120316/2320Z/CYVR/EDDF

Frankfurt to Dubai:


Hmm... Flight aware stopped working. It is flight 630 on Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Dubai.

Quote of the day

As we passed by some guys fixing an escalator one my students said, "That's the first time I've ever seen a white man working."

Worst trip ever?

1980.

My family went on vacation to Texas and for two weeks before the trip I cried and cried because I had a premonition my dog (and only friend) would die.  Sure enough, he was struck by lightning.

*****
This trip has been stressful.  I can't go into it but my repeated thought has been, "I wish I had never heard of this and had never volunteered."  Part of my coming on this trip was with the plan that I would take over and do this next year wherever the next conference meets.  I'd have to say that has about a 5% chance.

Canada trip

Canada trip is two trips - Dubai to Frankfurt, Germany:

http://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/DLH631

And then Frankfurt to Vancouver:

http://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/DLH492

Offering food for others

Tonight I caught up with my friend Abdul Karim.  He ordered the drink whose name I dare not say on the blog (see the picture).

I told him he should be proud.  Besides my sister there are not many people I would be willing to buy a Pepsi.


We ate at a restaurant I don't usually go to and we accidentally ordered way too much food.  When we were done (and still had half of the food left) he offered the excess to the guys at the next table and they happily accepted.  I wonder why this is not more common around the world.

Canada/Egypt

On Thursday I will be travelling with a colleague/friend and 19 students to Vancouver, Canada. I am more excited about this than I probably should be considering I've been to Canada before (but never the west).

This trip is for the Model United Nations.  I've spent many hours working with students to prepare for the trip and I honestly can't believe it is finally becoming a reality.

I will return to the UAE a week later -  spend five nights in my bed - and then head to Egypt.  I am off the scales excited about this trip.  Egypt!  The pyramids, Nile... Two weeks in Egypt?  It's almost hard to believe that it could be true.

And, oh, today is the four year anniversary of Susan firing me... easily the best day of my life.

Andrew Breitbart

I am troubled that Andrew Breitbart is dead.  He was a total piece of shit but the guy is my age so I don't like hearing he died.

*****
Speaking of death.... I did not buy the 60" TV.  My numbers came in better but not spectacularly better.  Will I live to a ripe old age? Not likely.  Will I live past tomorrow?  Yeah, I think so, but then again so did Andrew Breitbart.

Pan flute

Tonight I had a good massage - a rare treat in the land where they often charge a lot and give really bad massages.

During the massage the music in the background was all pan flute, which I find nauseating.

I don't know if it is worse for me because I know the music behind the pan flute or if it would be worse if I had never heard the music before.  A song early on was "Feelings" followed shortly after by "Groovy kind of love". Again, no words, only pan flute.

By the time they were on the third pan flute Bryan Adams song I realized I have to bring my own music for any future massages.