Heading West

Coming your way USA

Hey Guys,

For the 1st time in his life this ageing British guy who lives in Dubai is heading to the USA. 3 days in Rhode Island and 2 days in Orlando. Having lived in Dubai for almost 9 years, I suspect Orlando might be the easier visit for me.
Not looking forward to US immigration. Although my passport is British, it has around 50 Middle East stamps in it and was issued on 11th September 2001.
I may have to bend over and hold my ankles at immigration :)
Having spent the 1st 42 years of my life in the UK and the last 9 in Dubai, the States should be an interesting trip,
Cheers,
Ian.

That’s quite an aggressive trip… Going into Rhode Island for you, might be chillie on the bones…

Does business take you there? Or is the trip a vacation?

I believe we Canucks need to have a passport to visit the USA, now… I have a number of relatives that live in the Northeastern States… and many musician/friends that live everywhere over there… We spend a lot of time chin-wagging on the the message boards…

Some of them Customs People take their jobs pretty seriously… and, they need to, I believe…

Bill…

Welcome to the US, Bruffie. Most of my UK friends who visit here find the experience to be reasonably stress free. Rhode Island and Orlando are about as atypical of the greater part of US as any two places you can find. Any chance that you will pass through Maryland?

T

Hi tspringer:
One of the trips I made down through your area, was in January… What year? I can’t remember… Anyway I was on the I-81 and I needed fuel… I think I was somewhere near Hagerstown… I took a ramp and and got off the highway… The day before there was a 10" - 12" snow storm… I know there was an awful pile of it… Wet-heavy stuff… They were still cleaning it up… The Backhoe operator and I had eye contact… He looked at my license plate and we both shook our heads…

Bill…

Quote (tspringer @ Jan. 06 2007,19:06)
Welcome to the US, Bruffie. Most of my UK friends who visit here find the experience to be reasonably stress free. Rhode Island and Orlando are about as atypical of the greater part of US as any two places you can find. Any chance that you will pass through Maryland?

T

Wish I knew where I was passing through ??? I arrive in Providence on Sunday night, have 2 days of meetings and corporate b*******. Then fly down to Orlando on Wednesday for 2 days of meetings there. Leave on Saturday morning from JFK to fly back to Dubai. Thanks for the stress free comment. I like the sound of that!

To answer your question Bill. Unfortunately it's business, I always managed to avoid it before, only because I didn't fancy the 13hr flight from Dubai to New York, but as I work for a US company, they finally decided I had to go.

I miss the old days working with Beefy Steve in a radio workshop in the UK. All we ever had to worry about was how to stretch 3 hours work out to fill an 8 hour day :) Ah! Good times......

In the “Old School” of working it was very important to learn from the old fellas where-and-how to “Hide”… In this day-and-age it’s almost impossible to “Hide” anymore. With GPS This and Wireless That… and strings on your E-Mail and all… It would be funny if you ended up in the Bronks, underneath the Subway Tracks… somewhere… I’ve done that before… I looked over my shoulder and saw the sign that said “Cross Town Throughway”… I knew exactly where I was… :O :laugh: I was 1100 miles from home…

Bill…

Quote (Bruffie @ Jan. 06 2007,12:25)
[
Wish I knew where I was passing through ??? I arrive in Providence on Sunday night, have 2 days of meetings and corporate b*******. Then fly down to Orlando on Wednesday for 2 days of meetings there. Leave on Saturday morning from JFK to fly back to Dubai.

It is pretty clear that you will not be passing through Maryland (where my family lives). I was trying to figure out how to offer to buy you a meal or put you up for the night if you were passing leisurely through our area – without it sounding too weird. I realized that it is more than a little awkward making such an offer to a person who knows me only via ocassional internet chatter. But I don’t have to figure that out now. Too bad though, I really enjoy the visits of my British friends, and I have always enjoyed your humor.

Orlando is a fairly interesting place. Keep one thing in mind though. If you want to sightsee, you MUST have a car. (Easy to rent.) In the US there is practically no public transportation outside of the very largest cities.

T
Quote (Bruffie @ Jan. 06 2007,09:33)
Not looking forward to US immigration...I may have to bend over and hold my ankles at immigration :)

Don't sweat it, in my long haired experience they're pretty nice guys. If you can answer their questions in a fairly coherent way you're OK :)

Gee I’m sorry I didn’t see this post sooner.

Tspringer - a fellow Marylander!! Hiya doin’ hon?

Woxnerw - That 10 -12 inches of snow was in 1996. I was in ICU on life support; acute exacerbated asthma attack. Went code blue twice.

Has anyone ever done a “where’s everybody from” on this board? We ought to have an “Ntrack Convention”.

Anyways, Bruffie I hope you have an easy time of it and ya’ll come back now, hear?

Well, Bruffie is from Alpha Centauri. That much we know. :D

Quote (mfl @ Jan. 14 2007,20:15)
Has anyone ever done a "where's everybody from" on this board?

Yeah, we did, but that was at least three board crashes ago. There was this 'form' with all kinds of personal info and it quickly turned into a rather entertaining read :)
Time for a new one?

Hi mfl:
Has it been that long ago? Where has the time gone? 1996… You know? you’re exactly right… That storm took those people by surprise… When I looked around I could tell that kind of weather is something they don’t contend, with… I was glad to get back out on the highway, and put the peddle down…

Bill…

Teryeah - yeah why not? what kind of info did the previous form ask for? I’d love to know where folks are from, age range, what style of music they’re into, and their field of expertise. And maybe a “are you willing to collaborate”. I’d love to see as many of us as possible get in on one song. a drummer, a guitarist, a writer, a vocalist, an engineer, a bass player, an arranger etc. etc.

Woxnerw - yup 1996, I’ll NEVER forget it. some dr. prescribed something for me that I should never have taken and brought on this near fatal asthma attack. I should have sued, but I was just grateful to be alive. Come to think of it, I still am :;):

Quote (TomS @ Jan. 15 2007,05:22)
Well, Bruffie is from Alpha Centauri. That much we know. :D

Well... when a lady in Providence asked me where I was from and I said I lived in Dubai,,, I might as well have said Alpha Centauri :p Having tried stating that Dubai was in the U.A.E and receiving the same blank look and a further question as to wether there was any well known country near it? I kind of wish I hadn't used Iran as the example.
At least she did say that I didn't look like an Arab, which was very observant of her considering my pale skin and blue eyes. I finally admitted that I was British and just lived on Alpha Centauri (sorry, in Dubai). Then she cheered up and said..." Oh yeah, Tony Blair and all that" Bless her :)
Still, had a lot of different experiences and a lot to reflect on from the trip.
Rhode Island seemed kinda nice!
Cheers!!
Quote (teryeah @ Jan. 15 2007,05:32)
Quote (mfl @ Jan. 14 2007,20:15)
Has anyone ever done a "where's everybody from" on this board?

Yeah, we did, but that was at least three board crashes ago. There was this 'form' with all kinds of personal info and it quickly turned into a rather entertaining read :)
Time for a new one?

Yeah! Nice idea :) Would be nice to know what location, background and musical influences we all have.

Quote (Bruffie @ Jan. 15 2007,08:19)
Quote (TomS @ Jan. 15 2007,05:22)
Well, Bruffie is from Alpha Centauri. That much we know. :D

Well… when a lady in Providence asked me where I was from and I said I lived in Dubai, I might as well have said Alpha Centauri :p Having tried stating that Dubai was in the U.A.E and receiving the same blank look and a further question as to wether there was any well known country near it? I kind of wish I hadn’t used Iran as the example.
At least she did say that I didn’t look like an Arab, which was very observant of her considering my pale skin and blue eyes. I finally admitted that I was British and just lived on Alpha Centauri (sorry, in Dubai). Then she cheered up and said…" Oh yeah, Tony Blair and all that" Bless her :)
Still, had a lot of different experiences and a lot to reflect on from the trip.
Rhode Island seemed kinda nice!
Cheers!!

Do people in Dubai know where Providence is?? In fact, I’m wondering how many people in America know.

How many people in the US know? It gets even worse than that. From Wikipedia:

<!–QuoteBegin>

Quote
The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is the smallest state by area, and it is also the state with the longest official name. Rhode (IPA: [rod]) Island was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule, signaling the start of the American Revolution. Rhode Islands was also the last state to ratify the United States Constitution.

The state’s common name, Rhode Island, actually refers only to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island. Some historians think that the name is derived from “Roodt Eylandt”, old Dutch for “red island”, given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island’s shore.[2] Other historians believe the name owes its origins to Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering nearby (present-day) Block Island named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes[3]. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead.

Despite most of the state being part of the mainland, the name Rhode Island leads some out-of-staters to mistakenly believe that the entire state is an island, sometimes confusing it with Long Island, New York, which is only about 100 miles southwest of Rhode Island across the Atlantic Ocean.[citation needed] Rhode Island is nicknamed “Little Rhody” traditionally but the state officially adopted the nickname “the Ocean State”.


So, “where is Rhode Island” is not exactly a question the answer to which is unambiguous. :D

Hi TomS:
That’s pretty rugged shores down in there… I crossed a series of highways and bridges that cross Rhode Island Sound. It’s nice to see/view… Too bad I didn’t have a camera. The inner bay is peppered with Military Ship Yards… On the North side of the Bay/Sound, borders the state of Massachusetts… The city on the State Line is Fall River… Some of the biggest Military Manufacturing on the East Coast of the USA goes on, in-and-around there… I’d say that their economy is totally dependant on the Military… Well…

Bill…

Quote (TomS @ Jan. 16 2007,14:27)
How many people in the US know? It gets even worse than that. From Wikipedia:

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is the smallest state by area, and it is also the state with the longest official name. Rhode (IPA: [rod]) Island was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule, signaling the start of the American Revolution. Rhode Islands was also the last state to ratify the United States Constitution.

The state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers only to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island. Some historians think that the name is derived from “Roodt Eylandt”, old Dutch for “red island”, given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore.[2] Other historians believe the name owes its origins to Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering nearby (present-day) Block Island named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes[3]. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead.

Despite most of the state being part of the mainland, the name Rhode Island leads some out-of-staters to mistakenly believe that the entire state is an island, sometimes confusing it with Long Island, New York, which is only about 100 miles southwest of Rhode Island across the Atlantic Ocean.[citation needed] Rhode Island is nicknamed “Little Rhody” traditionally but the state officially adopted the nickname “the Ocean State”.


So, "where is Rhode Island" is not exactly a question the answer to which is unambiguous. :D
So, the big question then is, is it better to ask if a particular city is in or on Rhode Island?? :p