I've been thinking about the words "quality of life" a lot lately - it's a phrase I hear used a lot when people (especially Western expats) are talking about why you should/shouldn't live in Dubai. I thought about it on Friday, when I spent the day lounging by my pool and getting a ridiculous tan at a time of year when everyone in the States and Europe is pulling out their wool coats and slogging through autumn rain on their way to the subway; I thought about it both mornings this weekend, when I went for balmy 75 F runs on a newly paved trail (paved running trails in Dubai - shoo?!) that stretches several miles along white sand beaches that border the sparkling blue Gulf.
But I also thought about it on Thursday night, when I drove to pick Al up from work at 5 PM to go to a 6 PM yoga class about 2 miles away from her office and at 6:20 PM we were still sitting in traffic, 400 meters away from where we had been 80 minutes ago; I thought about it this morning driving to work when I not only got run out of the fast lane by a brights-flashing, Emirati-driven Benz, but had to swerve sharply to the right as I moved lanes because the driver swung into my space to teach me a lesson about not getting over sooner. (Let it be noted that I was going well over 160 kmph when this happened, which I think is at least 90 mph.)
So that's the question: what do you highlight when you're talking about quality of life in a place, the things you love or the things that fill you with rage? I guess every city has its ups and downs on that subject, but in Dubai they're so extreme that when you're entrenched in the goods, they seem to completely outweigh the bads ("but I am lounging in my infinity-edge rooftop pool, and next week it is Thanksgiving!"), and when you're wrapped up in the bads, it seems like there could never possibly be any redeeming qualities to the place (75 F November sun aside).
So. I guess it depends which mood you catch me in - as with many things. ;-)
That's really all I have to update on, not much else is new - work is work, and things have been quiet lately with R in Canada and M & J both having parents in town to visit (ahem, Schmom and Dad). So I'm enjoying the simple pleasure of an evening that entailed working late, running, Bikram, and now an avocado milkshake and "Sleepless in Seattle" (on a Lebanese satellite channel, go figure) in my bed. Which, really, kind of makes me sound like I'm a functional adult and not the monkey I've been for the past 4 months... don't worry, I'm sure it won't last long.
