You know you've been driving a piece of shit car for the past month when you get behind the wheel of your new glorified Tinkertoy rental and it feels like a sports car... such power! Such exhilaration! Such ability to hit 120 kms/hour in under 5 minutes! Anyhoo, I've decided not to buy a car quite yet and to keep renting for another month, partially because I haven't really had time to shop and partially because I keep getting distracted by shiny things every time I try and firm up what I'm looking for. (You tell me: French car - Bad Idea or Best Idea Ever?)
Wow. Who would've thought I would ever care about cars. Next thing you know, I'll be caring about... something else that was never even remotely a part of my life before I up and moved to Krazyland.
So what else have I been up to... oh, you know, the usual. Thursday morning before moving into my new flat I shot a TV commercial that will air on Tapesh, the #1 global Persian-language satellite channel. Wha wha? Lest anyone think I'm embarking on a second career as a cross-cultural television star, I should concede that it was a spot for the real estate company where E works and that I was awarded my star turn in the role of "British Receptionist" mostly because I was - ehrm - the only white female that anyone who works at the firm knew. Apparently it's easier to sell Dubai property to the Iranian diaspora by depicting a fictional white receptionist than actual Indian woman who is the receptionist? The whole experience was somewhat surreal and involved having my makeup done by a krazy Turkish-Iranian woman from Tabriz who is apparently a famous talk show host/producer and was full of helpful acting instructions ("Now, vhen you say 'Good morning, how can I help you?' I vant you to geeve me a very lovely smile and some small and gentle laughter at the end, can you do dat?"). Anyhow, if you have satellite TV and/or live in an area with lots o' Persians, keep an eye out for my mad acting skillz.
Friday was devoted to brunch and beauty maintence with M&J at "Pretty Lady Salon" in Satwa (the Filipino neighborhood), where I got a hair cut, blowout, and mani-pedi all for USD $47. Oh Dubai... land of dichotomies. On Saturday I got an elaborate mate preparation lesson from New Argentinian Flatmate J, piling another culture onto the United Colours of Benetton campaign that is life here. Now I'm headed back to the flat to celebrate E's return from a 48-hour, 14,000-mile trip back to New York... oh, the things we do for love. Adios!
