Howdy y’all,

Dubai, U.A.E. 25 August 2006.

I have just arrived in Dubai a few days before my brother Chris in order to get working on getting my visa for our very first trip to Russia!

Chris had already gotten his visa in the states so outside of the time I need to spend in the Russian Consulate to get my visa knocked out, I have some time to dick around in Dubai and get some exploring done and play with my new Canon DSLR.

I had not discovered the Nihal Hotel yet which is now my favorite hotel in Dubai being a block from my favorite Chinese Restaurant in Dubai right off of Al Riqqa road.

The Nihal Hotel also has an Indian Dance Club on the second floor, I find myself there most nights.

That first night I did some exploring and decided to hit up a bar attached to my hotel.

I walked in and this cute girl touched me as I walked by, this was unusual for me and I liked it.

A few minutes after being there she came up to me and started talking to me.

She was cute as fuck, tiny… Giggity.

Now, I am not dumb and I knew why she was there.

This was an absolutely new experience for me and I was having a moral dilemma about the situation.

Never met a pro before.

Needless to say for those who know me, I shot her down with so much force she started to cry.

So, later when we got up to my room without the bar lights on her, she still looked REALLY good.

I thought you knew me… Geez.

She was hot and willing to touch me inappropriately.

That night, I conquered AFRICA!

Let me say right here that this is not my favorite method in the world to pick up girls and would much rather meet someone who likes me for me but I routinely go years without getting laid so step down off your high horse you fucking person who apparently doesn’t have issues with not being attractive. Fuck you.

For the record, I am currently racing toward 3 years. Needless to say, I am very much ready to get the fuck up out of this Sexual Prison. (it is funny that Ludacris “Roll Out” is playing as I write this).

Also, a buddy I went to Thailand with once told me that I am a good dude, I am probably a better companion than some cockbag who gets off being an asshole to or hurting girls. That always stuck with me. I don’t really think he thinks much of me but he was awesome and though that trip was the only time we hung out, he helped me out a lot and I hope to see him again one day.

I do not remember her name anymore but she was a pretty cool girl from Eritrea.

She was maybe 5’ and just a perfect body.

I would have spent the whole time there with her, she was fun and funny and cuddled with me after but I talked myself into feeling guilty and that I was an asshole for accepting her services and worrying about some non-existent girl in my life would think.

I am a fucking head case.

One thing about getting older… fuck you and what you think.

It may have been this trip or my next one to Dubai that I also picked up an Ethiopian lass.

She was thicker and wasn’t as funny but she was cute and seemed like a very nice girl.

She did not look like what I have some to expect when I hear Ethiopian, my boy Billy would have been all about this girl..

The shit I care about in my ladies of the night.

Back off the tangent.

So Chris gets in town after me being there three or four days alone and our first night we decide to go to the York Club.

The York club was always fun to hang out at because the pros would come at you in throngs. Chris and I, being generally friendly guys and people who do not treat women as objects would be popular with the pros but we also became friends with the waitresses who became protective over us and would run off any girls we did not ask to come talk to us.

The waitresses were cute too, I wish I would have tried to take one or two out on a date.

Well, this night at the York Club we arrived pretty early and a band was setting up to play.

It was a cover band comprised of 4 Filipinos and 4 Filipinas.

They were called Rock Spiders

The guys played and sang a little and the girls sang and though you could tell English was not their first language, they were pretty good.

When they took a break, I asked them if I could take some pictures of them because, of course, I had my camera with me.

Chris ended up getting a headache throughout the show because he isn’t big on loud rock music, so he went back to the hotel but I wanted to stay and get some pics with these guys.

I do not drink terribly often but I have a fairly high tolerance to alcohol or I used to, I haven’t drunk enough to find out for quite a long time.

The way I start a night drinking is to order a Long Island Iced Tea.

I drink my first one in one drink and immediately order a second one if it is good or I order a screwdriver if it is bad.

The Long Islands at the York club were fucking horrible.

So, Screwdrivers it was.

I don’t let myself drink too much and after a few, I usually just switch to orange juice.

Well, after Chris left, I decided it was time to switch to OJ and told the waitress that I just wanted orange juice for the rest of the night.

The waitress tells me “Orange Juice 20 Dirham, Orange Juice with vodka 22 Dirham.”
The Dirham is almost the same now as it was then… So OJ was about $5.40 and with Vodka was about $6

I told her to keep adding vodka.

I sat through the whole set drinking screw drivers and I wasn’t even really buzzed.

The set finished up and I am trying to find them to get pictures with them.

I thought I would get some pics in the lobby with them and go home.

This was not their plan.

One of the guys comes and gets me and we get in the elevator.

I arrive in their green room in the hotel to cool down and eat and drink after the show.

All four girls are at one table looking cute and all the guys are at another table.

All of them are eating and they give me a plate and tell me to dig in.

I did not expect this much kindness and it was awesome.

So I sat down and ate what I think was Chinese food with them.

They are all drinking this green drink and I ask them what it is.

They tell me that it is some concoction of 9 wines and beer and they call it frog beer. They have pitchers and pitchers of it

I hate beer but I have been drinking vodka all night, it is pretty much all they have in this room and as it turned out it wasn’t bad.

I sat there in Dubai, drinking frog beer with the Rock Spiders.

It was great, we took a bunch of pictures and hung out.

Lots of good conversation talking about the band, the tour, the Philippines, music, The states.

I was feeling pretty good.

Then we decided to go get more food!

Never been out this late in Dubai, I have no idea what is open.

My friends knew.

The Iranian place.

I had never had Iranian food and though I know I had something, technically I can still say I have never had Iranian food because it was at this point that parts of the night are missing, like the Iranian food.

I remember being at the Iranian place and us being loud and happy.

I remember having some food in front of me

I remember the guys dropping me off at my hotel.

I remember getting in bed.

Nothing else.

This was the first time I got drunk.

3 months into my 26^th year and it was the only time I have ever been drunk, ever, before or since.

I woke up the next day, went to get in the shower and I had a new black bracelet on my wrist.

My homeboys gave me a gift along with sharing food with me, getting me drunk and buying more food for me.

I wore that bracelet for a few years, it broke on my birthday in 2010, the day I turned 30.

I miss those guys and the email address I got is some girl, who is one of the girls in the picture above, refuses to admit that she was in the band and will not get me in contact with the rest of the band.

Makes me sad.

I may have only been drunk once but I had a good time.

And I was not hung over the next morning.

What is your superpower?

This song is sung by a band called Bondo, not Flogging Molly but this one had the lyrics so I posted it.