Greetings from the Persian Gulf. The most obvious observation to make about this place is probably, “Wow! It’s hot here!”
I hope you’ll forgive me for being banal. I’ve been in the Emirates, Oman, and Qatar before, but not usually in July. I’d say I’m hardcore and have been going for 10-mile runs in the heat, but that would be exaggerating by at least 6 miles.
My thanks to Haider, a self-described “Kuwaiti non-conformist,” for showing me around Kuwait City over the past couple of days. Today is Haider’s 27th birthday, and also the day he is resigning from a university job to strike out on his own. I admire his courage and determination.
Writing Contest – New Entry Deadline of July 18
I started writing an update on my first completed continent (South America), but I decided to tie it into a longer article about the whole trip. That article should be done next week.
For now, this is a short update to say that I’ve decided to extend the entry deadline for the Unconventional Writing Contest one week. The reason is because I’m still traveling and won’t be able to do much review until I get back, and a bunch of people have asked for more time. I know, I’m a sucker, but we won’t extend it any further.
Here are all the details. Remember if you have problems with the long email address to submit to (blame Google, not me), you can also share your entry through Google Docs with the account “aonc.contest@gmail.com.”
There is no advantage or disadvantage to entering now versus earlier – my Supreme Court justices will review all the entries at one time. Give us all a couple of weeks after the deadline to announce the results and award all the fortune and fame. This will also allow contestants who are especially motivated to begin preparing for the paparazzi, People magazine photo shoots, etc.
Any questions? If so, post them in the original article so we can keep everything with that project in one place.
Later today I’ll head towards Saudi Arabia, and on to Asia a couple of days later. Wish me luck with my meeting at the Immigration Office of Riyadh airport, somewhere around 4pm local time Thursday.
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Kuwait City Image by Ikarus
So I have to step up and make it a good one.
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