Calling all Mad Men

The cast of The Real World, Tempe

Oh co-habitating.  I have lived with boys before.  In fact after I graduated college I lived with four guys, another girl, and a dog, we were the latest cast of the Real World Tempe.  My mom called it the animal house, the were certain poles in the living room, strange aromas lingering about.  My Dubai apartment, not like the animal house, not even a little.  Especially, after the maid comes.  Did I tell you we have a maid, well had, I suppose, there were some visa issues on her side so we are on to the next one.  But this maid worked for a little under 5 hours, cleaning our two bed room apartment, making beds, mopping floors, even washing windows, and guess how much cashoola we paid her (the going rate mind you!) $23.  Can you believe that?  I watched her work and thought, "girl you need to learn to negotiate better," after all she had braces and those are not cheap as all our parents know!  But the maid makes co-habitating a bit easier, but boys just really do not know what they are missing out on: dish towels for one.  I know it sounds trite, but poor mother earth was taking a bruising from the amount of paper towels used in our little kitchen.  Knives, that was another small investment.  These guys had a single knife in the kitchen.  It was a HUGE butchers knife, typical guy fashion, probably thinking the bigger the better.  But to slice an apple with that thing down right dangerous so we invested in a pairing knife or is it pearing?  I am not sure.  We also got a few rounds of what the boys call "smelly candles," from bath and body works, just to make it all feel like a nice little home.

Similar hair color, slightly different assets...

Speaking of home, living with these guys is a bit like playing house.  The most classic of pretend games growing up.  The other morning I had just finished emptying the dishwasher for the second time that day and I had gathered up the news papers literally strewn everywhere and put them in the trash and then tied off the bag.  As I was weaseling the bag out of the trash can Eric came running to my rescue (not necessary, but thanks?) and said confidently, "Baby, I will take out the trash, that's the mans job."  In my head I am thinking, calling all Mad Men, we are back to the traditional 1950s household roles, how cute (sort of).  It made me chuckle a bit appreciative that he was willing to pitch in, even if it was just to pitch the trash.

Moving to Dubai so far has been such a great experience.  Dubai and I are still in the honeymoon phases though and I am sure she will annoy me sooner or later.  I have a feeling the blistering heat might be a bit pestering, but we will work out our differences.  It was just such a big deal before I left that I was quitting my job and moving to the middle east.  Rarely but sometimes, it would come up that I was going to get to do the little stuff with E everyday, running to the market, going to dinner with friends, sitting at the table with our laptops, but looking back on the past three weeks that is the stuff that stands out more to me than the slight culture shock of Dubai.  I guess it just goes to show that it is more about the company that you keep than were you keep it.  

Grass is Greener

IKEA Dubai-Much to buy when moving in with
two bachelors....

Dubai has started to feel a bit like home, but we are lacking some major essentials in the house hold so today we went a little bit domestic.  And there is not a successful shopping trip with out a little baby meltdown, so I had my first temper tantrum.  Eric had his last time we went to the grocery store so I only figured it was appropriately my turn.  Nothing major but we hit up the grocery store, IKEA, and the plant store, I let my hunger go too long and WHAM I was officially hangry.  That is a combo of hungry and angry (because not enough sustenance and too little energy and patience).  I know that some of you out there know what I am talking about.  And I know for sure that my old assistants know what I am talking about from personal experience because whenever there was a major office mood swing they would always request that I went to lunch, immediately.  Once we took care of the hunger problem shopping was back to normal.  We even hit up the plant store, yepp we went that domestic.  It is a place I usually get bored at quite quickly, but we bought seeds to grow some veggies and anytime food is at the focus I am all in.  So now we have all these pots, dirt, and seeds and it occurrs to me that we have no idea how to garden, slight problem but I think we will do what we always do when we are clueless....google it.  Works every time.

I guess the big news of the week is that I got not one but two job offers.  I was really excited about this prospect and then in typical type A fashion began to worry that I was going to have to turn one down.  It is a little like breaking up with someone, the whole uncomfortable: it's not you but it's me...I have to focus on what is best for me now...etc.  So tomorrow I get to meet with both companies and make my big decision.  I am following in many ERACers steps as well as my lovely phoenix roommate and am going into the recruiting industry.  I feel its a good fit for people like me who really do not know what they want to do so now I will help others get the job of their dreams, everybody wins!  One of the companies is run by a lady from Dallas, a little American girl power never hurts,  so if all goes according to plan I will be gainfully employed after tomorrow and going to work on Tuesday!  A few downfalls though, now that I will officially be getting a paycheck I have to start pitching in on rent, no more wednesday fun days by the pool, and no more 3:00 pm workouts, oh goodness now I am 'grass is greener'ing it.  But really I am truly thankful and happy to get up in the morning and go to work, and take home a paycheck, and add to my bank account rather than watch it dwindle with all this amazing Dubai shopping.

Istanbul

We have some weekend trips coming up which I am really excited about.  The crew is off to Turkey next weekend and then scuba diving and snorkeling in Oman the weekend after that.  I am truly pumped to finally get to take part in all the travel opportunities that this part of the world has to offer. The trips also coincide nicely to renew my tourist visa.  When you come to Dubai you get 30 days on a travel visa and then you are officially an illegal.  And being an illegal in the middle east does not sound like too much of a party to me, so all I have to do is the leave the country, re-enter and viola I have another 30 days.  I will get sponsorship through my job eventually, but in the meantime its awful nice to have a reason to jet set to Turkey for the weekend, not that I need one.  Cheers!

Sunday not Always the Funday

My Wednesday Fun Day, as I
am unemployeed.

So I know one of the best phrases back in the states that brings joy to every 20 somethings ears is "Sunday Fun day."  This usually consists of some sort of afternoon activity outside, often BBQing, playing some sport, or just lounging by the pool.  This does not translate over here because Sunday, my friends, is very equivalent in fact identical to your Monday.  Everyone goes back to work a little grumbly and gets the week started.  A slight change, but something that has thrown me off my game a bit.  I just cannot grasp what day it is.  Although, if you must know my favorite day of the week has always been a nice little Thursday, which now in the UAE is even that much more enhanced as it carries the weight of a Friday!

Our Ferrari World Friends

We hit up Ferrari World yesterday.  On the way down we stopped at this roadside Indian restaurant.  Can I tell you a secret?  I do not think that I have ever really had Indian food.  I always heard people complain they do not like curry or the food is too spicy, but heck it was delicious.  I had chicken masala and ate with my hands for the second weekend in a row.  After our fine dinning, where I think we literally ordered about 7 different things, plenty of food for three and the total bill was less than $15, we all loaded back in the car and onwards towards land of ferraris.  They toted the fastest roller coaster in the world, but it was also quite short.  Much packed in a small punch I suppose.  I did not dare ride it although the boys strapped in and their reviews seemed fair.  We strolled around and partook in a few other attractions, hopelessly missed the acrobatic show due to the G-Force ride having a false fire alarm and called it a day.  I can say I am glad that I went but more than likely would not return.  It was a bit sparse, both in attractions and crowds.  If this was in the states it would have been packed, stroller to stroller, dads in high white sports socks directing their families to the next attraction,  but it was a pretty lackluster crowd. 

Can you tell it is a bit quite over here?  Just job searching and getting acclimated.  I hope you all enjoy your three day weekend, stretching out that fab Sunday Funday to a Memorial Weekend Monday (I know if I was in Phoenix I would probably be rocking tomorrow in an Enterprise Office and I am thankful that I am not doing that).  Stay tuned, we booked tickets for Turkey and arrive in less than two weeks!

Lovin' the Romance

Last night was the first night we had all three roommates together.  This is how the conversation went down:

J: So how many days have the two of you actually spent together in a row
E: Ummm, I think we counted and it was about 16.
J: So what are you guys going for now?
E: I think we should have a goal.
Me (in my head): eternity...
E: (writing on the white board) How about 19 days!  Short term goals are good.

This is a perfect example of A Hollywood Ending, me romanticizing every situation and envisioning Eric to do these grandiose statements of love and affection and then reality sets in, which usually is not romantic at all but funny!  Last year around my birthday I could not get a hold of my two best friends or Eric, so while I was driving home I started to get excited that they were all going to be on my doorstep to celebrate my birthday with me for the weekend.  All that was there was my trusty doggy Jack.  It is not that I have these ridiculous expectations just visions romantic hollywood endings.  As my old roommate always told Jack, "Your mama, she loves the romance."

Happy Monday!

Horizons

So many contradictions here.  It is preferable to be covered up at the shoulders and at the knees that I understand, but then you go out to these hotels and all bets are off.  And I mean really off.  I must say we went to a pool party this weekend that would rival any Vegas rehab (for those who do not know, those are out of control pool parties in Vegas, Spring Break for Adults to the extreme).  And Vegas does not have the back drop that Dubai so beautifully has on display.  It by all means was a fabulously fun afternoon and I got to meet all sorts of people from literally all over the world.  I have yet to master the guess my accent game, which really miffed a Frenchman off, but I should have realized when he was so put off that I had not a clue where his intoxicated mumbles originated from that he was indeed French.

We finished the warm weekend off on the total other side of the spectrum at Bu Qtair, a local fish hut.  And when I say hut what I really mean is trailer, because that is exactly what it is.  With plastic tables and stools all put together on the sandy front yard.  As E said, "they have a pretty low overhead here."  And that they do.  We walked into the trailer and up to the window where we found our selection of fish for the day.  It was already rolled in spices and ready to be pan seared.  And it was just like eating lobster, we got to pick out the exact fish we wanted to be fried up.  They throw it on a metal tray and away it went for preparation.  We headed back out to the front terrace, and when I say terrace I mean the dirt yard in front of the trailer, and we scanned the area for an open table.  It looked like it was going to be a pretty decent

As you can see the humidity is doing a
number on my hair!!

wait as happy dinners munched on fish, but that out of the corner of my eye there was a very small Sri Lankan man (do I know he was Sri Lankan? absolutely not but lets go with it!) with a white picnic table on his head and he was headed toward us.  He plopped the table town for us, threw down some green plastic stools, wiped it down, and we were ready for our fine dining.  We nibbled on some bread with curry sauce and about ten minutes later a man had his head poking out the side of the trailer window yelling Eric's name.  We motioned and dinner was served.  Armed with tissues and an orange soda for refreshment we dug into the fish and prawns, and I mean literally as we ate with our hands.  No forks here thank you very much.  The prawns were delicious all though I had to eat massive amounts of bread with them as my Iowan taste buds have flexed their spicy muscles a bit in Arizona, but it has not even begun to conquer any of these curries that this side of the world has to offer.  The fish was subtle not as spicy but amazingly fresh and flaky.  It really was some great food, and it was the perfect location, with the best company.  And there went my horizons expanding again.

Amazing Race is Afoot!

The Atlantis Hotel is in the center, the arch with the lights
on it.  Tres Jolie (I do not know how to get my letters to
have the appropriate french accents I appologize, oh well)!

Happy weekend to one and all!  Quick little post to get some pictures up.  We went to Happy Hour last night at a place called, "The Observatory."  It was on the 52nd floor of the Marriott and it overlooked The Palm.  I think that is probably one of the  most well known features of Dubai, the man made islands that from an ariel view one can see is in the shape of a palm, pretty self explanatory there!  It is really something to see, The Atlantis in the background.

Dan is the Amazing Racer on the left, me in the center, and
Joe.  They had just flown in from Turkey and are here
for the weekend.

I had some friends in town, well really friends of friends.  I had only met Joe once, but he said he was coming to Dubai and so I told him to look E and I up!  There is that travelers code you know, when someone is out on the road any tips, or connections, or anyway you can help you do.  It's a kinship of sorts.  I am a reality tv nut, like most Americans and I was so excited to meet Dan because he was on The Amazing Race.  (You will remember him from his infamous marching session in Russia I believe it was.)   Eric's mom and I love that show, she thinks E and I should do it.  But doesn't everyone want to do it?  Don't you watch it every week envisioning you and your race partner trying to decide which roadblock you would dominate and which you would pass off on your teammate?  Maybe that's just me, but I doubt it.  So anyways,  I was working to get all the inside tips from him, without being too incredibly annoying about it.  But as the night went on I think manners went out the window and I was just asking question after question.   But I believe a good time was had by all. 


Off to a beach party.  I will be sure to take some pictures.  I haven't the slightest what to wear.  That has been the trickiest thing here in Dubai.  It's supposed to be conservative but then there are so many exceptions.  I think the primary goal is to be  polite and of course respect the culture, but how do you dress that up and still have some panache?  All in good time I will figure it out, Inshalla...  

TGITh

Me getting ready for my first job interview.
I always feel you can tell better from a pic
than from a mirror how you look?
I know I am strange.

Oh the joys of job interviews.  Actually I kind of like them.  I feel like its a bit like a poker game, revealing your cards slowing trying to read the mind of the person across the table from you .  I had one very successful interview this week and one that really just isn't a fit.  But this week it wasn't only doing job interviews it was getting to the correct tower and then the correct elevator.  That's right everything around here is a tower and nothing has addresses (have I mentioned that already, weird right), luckily the architecture is so unique most people usually know the appropriate tower to direct you towards, but my taxi drivers are not most people.  Wouldn't one think that those driving all about the city all day long would know better than anyone else where to go?  I digress.  Anyways first interview went really great and I am considering working for the company I won't bore you with any details but one.  Ready?  The only reason I got the interview is because they were very familiar with Enterprise.  That's right!  So all of you out there washing those cars in suits, and dealing with those lovely Canadians take a breath and know that it is true, "Enterprise (does in fact) has an excellent training program."  There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not green!

A cool building, look closely at the one on
the left it is built like it is turning upward
not finished yet....

After I mastered this awesome interview I put my big girl pants on and decided to master the metro.  Doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but mind you I have been in this confusing city less than a week and I had to figure out 1) which direction on the metro do I need to go 2) where do I live?!  I was mostly successful, I chose the cheaper of the three tickets and that was wrong I went more than 1 zone (although I still am unsure how to decipher the exact amount of zones) and so I was "stuck" behind the gate in the metro system, the red X beeping at me, and my cheeks becoming the same hue.  So a man who worked there, was a lovely gentleman in a green military uniform, charged me whatever I owed and released me from the other side (he had a night stick on his belt as part of his uniform and he must have figured the red X was enough punishment as he spared me any public lashing).  See Grandma, they are nice over here!

Second job interview, just soooo not me.  It was for a concierge company that caters to the upper echelon, a very niche (pronounced neeesh) market of the upper crust, ages 25-35, so sorry if you are 36 nope, non entre s'il vous plait.  Within five seconds of me walking in to the interview everyone in this very open office had sized up what I was wearing, more specifically what trends and brands I was supporting.  I felt like I was on some E! reality show.  They peppered me with questions of my knowledge of luxury goods, how well traveled I was, how great I was at sucking up to super rich people, how much I love going to the most fab restaurant, and infamous clubs (if you know me, you know this is NOT me).  They also wanted to quiz me on their company, I had done some research enough but not enough to pass this test:

THEM: Do you know how many members we have?
ME: I do not know how many members you specifically have but I know the different levels of membership, there is the general...
THEM (interrupting): We look down on selling the general membership, we really do not do that here, very passe
ME: Okay, and then there is the dedicated membership level, and the elite.  So I do know that, but no I am sorry I do not know how many members you have in your club.  How many is it?
THEM: (Laughing) We cannot tell you that!  There are people that work for us that do not even know that.
ME: (Confused, ready to leave)

Yepp that is how it all went down.  At the end I asked directions to the metro, which is a five minute walk and literally 1/3 the price of a cab.  They looked at each other and struggled to point me in the right direction.  I guess the metro is passe as well.  My final question for them, which I just kept to myself, how do you afford lux goods and the most fabulous lifestyle on a salary of $38,000 a year?

Sunset from the balcony

So that's been my week!  Interesting, yeah?  (I put that one in there for you mom)  It is now the weekend!  TGITh.  I will work to take more pics, so far they have merely been taken by my phone but I promise I will get my grown up camera out.