... and what a 'Stan it will be, if it happens!
Plans are still up in the air but I might, might, might be going to Afghanistan this weekend. E is at the Afghan consulate right now with both our passports trying to get us visas, and only when/if those are procured will we start booking flights and packing hijabs (in my case, not his).
I know, right? But we know a guy in Kabul (met him through some mutual friends when he was visiting Dubai) - 30something Afghan-American who grew up in Brooklyn, went to Cornell, and now works for some UN agency in Afghanistan - and he's invited us to come as his guests, so I feel pretty kind of okay about it. Plus it's a 2.5-hour flight and we'd go for, like, 36 hours.
Crazy is in the eye of the beholder, I think.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Germany Tomorrow!
Tomorrow afternoon I'm off to Munich for final rounds with A Nameless Schmancy Consultancy. Please, whatever it is you do for good vibes (praying, happy thinking, finger-crossing, butt-clenching) do it for me on Thursday from 8 AM - 3 PM European Daylight Time, as I really really really want this job.
(To avoid confusion - yes, it's for a position in Dubai - it just worked out with scheduling that it was easier for me to do the last interview in Europe - I may have been pissed about the chick who hit my car yesterday, but it'll take a lot more than cr@zy b!tches to make me disenchanted with the desert.)
Despite my best efforts to find a cheap/convenient way to meet up with friends in Bonn/London/Avignon, it's peak travel season on the continent and as such, I'm forgoing the weekend in Europe and heading straight back to DXB after the interview - so for those keeping track, that's 6.5 hours to Munich, 25 hours on the ground in Deutschland, and 6.5 hours back to Camelville.
There aren't enough trashy magazines in the world. Auf wiedersehen!
(To avoid confusion - yes, it's for a position in Dubai - it just worked out with scheduling that it was easier for me to do the last interview in Europe - I may have been pissed about the chick who hit my car yesterday, but it'll take a lot more than cr@zy b!tches to make me disenchanted with the desert.)
Despite my best efforts to find a cheap/convenient way to meet up with friends in Bonn/London/Avignon, it's peak travel season on the continent and as such, I'm forgoing the weekend in Europe and heading straight back to DXB after the interview - so for those keeping track, that's 6.5 hours to Munich, 25 hours on the ground in Deutschland, and 6.5 hours back to Camelville.
There aren't enough trashy magazines in the world. Auf wiedersehen!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Reprehensible
I got hit-and-run in traffic this morning. By a local woman. In a white Range Rover Sport Supercharged. With the license plate "480" (in other words - the plate was more expensive than the car, and that ain't a cheap car).
The best part was she totally did it intentionally - I had been trying to get her to let me over earlier, and this made her mad for some reason (she actually rolled down the window and was yelling at me in Arabic), and then we ended up next to each other in traffic a couple minutes later. When the light changed, I had more space to move forward than she did, which she didn't like, so she cut the wheel about 90 degrees and gunned forward to try and hop over into my lane ahead of me, but missed, and hit my bumper instead. And then floored it through the next light and disappeared into traffic.
Luckily, my car is fine, and although I heard the terrible terrible "crunch" I can only find a tiny scratch on my bumper, so she must have borne the brunt of the damage. But honestly. What is wrong with people?!
Needless to say, an event like this dredges up a lot of emotions about living in a place that's ruled by a privileged minority who's completely above the law... but then again, it's their country, and I'm a guest here, and I'm here by choice, and if I don't like it I can leave. And I guess - although it offers little consolation - that's the way I need to look at it.
So... viva Dubai. Grrrr.
The best part was she totally did it intentionally - I had been trying to get her to let me over earlier, and this made her mad for some reason (she actually rolled down the window and was yelling at me in Arabic), and then we ended up next to each other in traffic a couple minutes later. When the light changed, I had more space to move forward than she did, which she didn't like, so she cut the wheel about 90 degrees and gunned forward to try and hop over into my lane ahead of me, but missed, and hit my bumper instead. And then floored it through the next light and disappeared into traffic.
Luckily, my car is fine, and although I heard the terrible terrible "crunch" I can only find a tiny scratch on my bumper, so she must have borne the brunt of the damage. But honestly. What is wrong with people?!
Needless to say, an event like this dredges up a lot of emotions about living in a place that's ruled by a privileged minority who's completely above the law... but then again, it's their country, and I'm a guest here, and I'm here by choice, and if I don't like it I can leave. And I guess - although it offers little consolation - that's the way I need to look at it.
So... viva Dubai. Grrrr.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Just Three American 20somethings, Having Dinner Together at their Flat in Dubai
While dining together this evening (E and I sharing pasta, D eating his customary Sunday night post-swim practice Big Mac), we had the following conversation about a new housemaid I'm interviewing on Wednesday:
E: I hate how none of our maids ever take initiative. If I leave a water glass by my bed, take it to the kitchen! If I put a pile of trash in the corner, throw it out! If I strew DVDs all over the floor, put them in a pile!
Me: I know... I think maybe they just don't feel empowered.
E: Well empower them, please!
Once again... where, with whom, and in what situation do I live? ;)
E: I hate how none of our maids ever take initiative. If I leave a water glass by my bed, take it to the kitchen! If I put a pile of trash in the corner, throw it out! If I strew DVDs all over the floor, put them in a pile!
Me: I know... I think maybe they just don't feel empowered.
E: Well empower them, please!
Once again... where, with whom, and in what situation do I live? ;)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Plan of Action
Find a tattoo parlor in Dubai that is willing to tattoo the complete text of The Rules (or alternately, Why Men Love Bitches) in a highly visible place on my body.
Go to champagne brunch and lick my wounds.
Not necessarily in that order.
Go to champagne brunch and lick my wounds.
Not necessarily in that order.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
With Apologies to Ernest Thayer
Oh! Somewhere in this desert land the sun is shining bright,
The oud is playing somewhere,
and somewhere camels bite;
And somewhere sheikhs are laughing,
and somewhere housemaids shout
But there is no joy in Sandville - the mourning was ruled out.
:( At work today - no mourning period. $he!kh N@sser, we barely knew ye...
The oud is playing somewhere,
and somewhere camels bite;
And somewhere sheikhs are laughing,
and somewhere housemaids shout
But there is no joy in Sandville - the mourning was ruled out.
:( At work today - no mourning period. $he!kh N@sser, we barely knew ye...
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Death of a $he!kh
No sooner do I get back to Dubai last night, stay up until 3 AM unpacking all my stuff, roll in to the office exhausted and jetlagged at 8 AM, and sit down at my desk to start sorting through emails, then I hear that a Kind of a Big Deal $he!kh was killed in a helicopter crash last night and there's a chance we may have the next three days off work as part of the official mourning period.
It's always an adventure out here, I tell you. At any rate, the news and speculation have rendered today useless to the point of farce, harkening back to the will-we-or-won't-we anticipation over Bush Day back in January. Who says you have to lose those butterflies in your stomach about the possibility of a snow day when you grow up and moved to the desert?
For those who are interested, the match-up is as follows: the $he!kh in question did not have any formal government role and was more affiliated with Abu Dhabi than Dubai (two points in the "con" column for us getting a mourning period) BUT was the son of $he!kh Z@yed, founder of the UAE, and the brother of $he!kh Kh@l!f@, current president of the UAE (two points in the "pro" column). So it's going to be a horse race!
And with that, I'm back to obsessively reloading the GulfNews.com home page and sending out a further barrage of "Have you heard anything yet?!?!??!" SMS.
Only in Dubai...
It's always an adventure out here, I tell you. At any rate, the news and speculation have rendered today useless to the point of farce, harkening back to the will-we-or-won't-we anticipation over Bush Day back in January. Who says you have to lose those butterflies in your stomach about the possibility of a snow day when you grow up and moved to the desert?
For those who are interested, the match-up is as follows: the $he!kh in question did not have any formal government role and was more affiliated with Abu Dhabi than Dubai (two points in the "con" column for us getting a mourning period) BUT was the son of $he!kh Z@yed, founder of the UAE, and the brother of $he!kh Kh@l!f@, current president of the UAE (two points in the "pro" column). So it's going to be a horse race!
And with that, I'm back to obsessively reloading the GulfNews.com home page and sending out a further barrage of "Have you heard anything yet?!?!??!" SMS.
Only in Dubai...
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