pearlpat

I don't know that I have really ever shared the depths of my love for pearls. Well I love pearls. I always have and there is no doubt in my mind that I always will. I was born in June after all. Pearl is also the name of my 6 and 3/4 year old iMacG5 desktop computer. Think about where technology was nearly 7years ago, and you will realize that the old lady name really suits the ole gal.

She is a trooper. It was not long after I moved to NYC when she really started to have some hardships. I took her into the big city to see if someone could help, and it was then that I was first given the grave news. She was irreparable. Terminal illness was taking over her motherboard. I won't bore you with the details, but after that I took her home to her fold out table she was calling her desk space at the time, and she worked hard. She has lived in 3 apartments in Brooklyn, traveled via Uhaul up there, and the faithful UPS safely got her back home to Texas. She has been treated and mistreated by my PCusing parents while I was overseas. Here she is living it up at the kitchen built in desk, hanging on by a life line, taking it one day at a time.

I thought it was all over last Thursday. She turned off at her own will. I was out of the room, I thought she had given up, taken her last breath in the cyber world. So of course I made her an appointment. We went today to the genius bar. My father joined for moral support and to make sure he really understood the ins and outs of her apple illness. Could we have done something different so that it didn't turn out this way?

Well of course like the fighter she is, she proved to the genius all she needs is a little TLC and a car ride adventure every now and then. She powered right up and here we are now. Pearl has been through a lot, seen a lot of emails, read a lot of facebook status updates, typed a lot of papers, and applied for many a job, been the DJ for more dance parties than she would ever admit to, and she knows just how important she is to me. She is back in the game. What a relief.

I ran....

haha. Just kidding. I ran into a blog follower today, and I have been spurred on to get back to writing. Not for any reason in particular honestly, but just because I think this hiatus has lasted long enough.

Well there is no way to make up for lost time, but that is almost unnecessary honestly. The thing I have enjoyed most about being home is picking up with friends right where we left off, like no time had gone by at all. I have seen many dear friends and family, and it is so good to be refreshed by deep life long friendships.

So here I am living it up in Dallas, Texas. I am living at home. Some might claim this is the biggest adventure I have seen yet. Living with Laurie and Hunter is in no way boring. I have really great parents, and I think we have a pretty great time together. They are wonderful and make living here in East Dallas not too shabby. It could be described as the land flowing with Diet Coke and Dove Dark. Who would turn that down?

In other news, since my mom has gone back to work I will be honest, there have been a few days I have actually been bored. Bored. Isn't that sad. I feel like being bored is one of the worst feelings. Not to be negative on my first post back, I am just saying once all the glam of being home is over the reality obviously sets in and I am coping with that now.

It's midnight in Dubai, the temperature is 97F, things must really be cooling off there. I read on Facebook the AC went out at the villa last night. Its back on now, but I can imagine that was slightly miserable.

on hiatus

the end.

mopping

We spend a good deal of time mopping floors here at the villa. We have white kitchen floors which is the primary problem. We also have all marble floors throughout the common areas in the house. That includes the entryway, stairway, upstairs landing, living room, dining room, and a couple of small hallways. Then there are the 3 downstairs bathrooms as well that are tiled. So lets just say 60% of this house is tiled.

We have to mop this silly white kitchen floor on average 3.7 times per week. We want it to stay clean so badly, but with two small kids and the rest of the general traffic we get it is impossible for that floor to stay clean for more than an hour and a half. We have all just learned to bear the look of the dirt/sand ridden floor. It is apart of our kitchen's character at this point.

We also mop the rest of the floors once a week. This is approximately a two hour process. We sweep, dust, and mop, and it is no small weekly task. We have bought 4 mops for the villa since we have been here. Two just got straight worn out, one was just not functional, and the fourth and current mop-- industrial strength/ professional grade.

I have always had a thing for sweeping floors. I love getting it perfectly swept so that there is no hair, crumbs, any remnant of dust or particles left on the floor. So even though that is quite tedious being that we live in the sandpit, I don't really mind that part of the process. I think what gets to me is that in other places where I have lived I could get away with just sweeping the floors and that making a big enough difference, that potentially the floor didn't have to be mopped 3.7 times per week. I might have even been able to get away with .67 times per week. But our task does not end at sweeping crumbs off the floor. No. It continues to getting the bucket, making a hot soapy water solution, mopping, mopping, mopping more, dumping water, cleaning bucket, bleaching mop (weekly) etc... Really it is quite remarkable that this week I think I might have slid by without having to mop so far. Alas I know my time will come--just kidding I mopped the bathrooms yesterday. How quickly I forget and it all runs together.

Here is the thing. This post is not about complaining. Honestly it is about perspective. A few weeks ago I started to get a little sick and tired of sweeping and mopping the floors. I would say that it is the thing above all other redundant routines we have that really gets to me. I know that I have never mopped or swept so much in my life and I know this is all too much detail on the nitty gritty of my mundane life, however there is a lesson to be learned. As I was getting sick of mopping a few weeks ago I was reading Ecclesiastes, and being reminded that we are to enjoy our work and life in general. The fact that I was bored of mopping is nothing new, but mopping the floor is not the end of it. It is all about perspective. I am here not on my own or for my own satisfaction. My life is not even my own to be whining about. I am to be joyful in each day of life that is given to me b/c it is a gift. I don't deserve to have someone mop those floors for me. I came here to serve to give my life for a cause that is far greater than myself.

Daves sermon this past week was a sweet reminder of that. Katie and Brian and I were apart of many who got a shout out from the pulpit about coming here to serve their family. He also was talking about how in our lives we are supposed to do everything with purpose and intentionality. Because it was so personal it was a perfect reminder for me to stay strong in my time here in the position I have been placed to be faithful to serve with an attitude of thanksgiving.

We went to the mosque in Abu Dhabi

i guess i didn't know exactly what to do with my hands

since i was in an abaya. confusing.

there are two sally's in this picture. FYI.

The First Step

is admitting you have a problem. Right?

Well, I haven't written in so long, because I have been living in denial. People here in Dubai probably can see it plainly that I have a problem, but people have been gracious enough to let me work through things and wait til I am ready to let go and admit the issue at hand. So I come today to confess that indeed I have a problem. I do. Before I just jump right in and say it out loud give me a moment to explain myself.

Have you ever wished that you could be like Charlie Brown. Always know what you were going to where the next day. Don't even have to think about it. People say, "Hey Charlie, what you gonna wear to the party?" Charlie Brown says, "Eh, I'm Charlie Brown, you know I'll be there in my yellow shirt with the black zig zags on it."

Well a while ago I decided that if I were going to be a cartoon character my uniform would be a white v-neck tshirt and jeans. At the time I wore a few white tee shirts every now and then. I had other shirts I wore as well. Black, red, pink polka dots, etc... Well now this is where the problem is, for some reason all those other shirts have disappeared, and I now only own one colored shirt. And I don't even know what color it is. Part of me thinks its orange, another part says its red. It isn't salmon. Maybe it is melon. I am not really sure. It isn't pink. I guess it is something between red and orange, but lighter than both of those deep colors. Anyway.

I own thirteen white shirts. I wear them everyday. Except that one special day every once and a while when I wear my shirt that has color on it. This is isn't a joke. This is a serious problem. I am literally in a fashion rut over here. I don't know what to do with myself. Everyday I wake up and I don't even think about what I am going to wear. I wear the same thing over and over again. They get dirty, they get washed, they get stained, they get cleaned. It is cyclical and it is disconcerting. I am admitting I have a problem. But I don't know that I am ready to change.

I feel so disciplined lately

I am not one for self motivation or discipline. It has just never really been my thing. I like to do things with people. I like people to do things with me. Isn't life more fun that way. I know that is how I usually seem to function more effectively. If I have someone cleaning with me, I am more likely to keep on task. If I know someone else is doing the same thing I am doing, then I am more prone to have a little more motivation to do things better and faster. Maybe its healthy competition, maybe its prideful "have to be best" mentality, maybe its many hands make light work...who knows, but what I do know is that I usually appreciate someone holding my hand to make things happen. When I moved to New York someone was right there with me helping me make decisions, save money, be prayerful. Same thing for Dubai. I mean obviously there is a streak of independence in me or I would probably still be living at home, but sometimes I feel like I am one of those codependent people. Latch on and not let go until I am forced out in to the deep waters.

Well I would say that in the last couple of weeks (trying not to be proud of this as to fall off the horse tomorrow) I have been genuinely self motivated out of a heart to seek and honor someone bigger than myself. I have been waking up early to seek Him, and work out too, and be ready for my day. Obviously with my schedule these days it is much more flexible and feasible since I don't have to be ready until 9:30, and even then I can drink coffee and such after that point. So I am not waking up before daylight or anything, but it is still nice to not be lounging in bed til 9am to be sort of pulling myself together to play with kids or clean some house.

Plus it is so amazing how when a few small things in life really make the world of difference in attitude and energy. I am on the up swing right now, and it is nice to be here. It has been too long since I have felt on top of things, and with the right motivation of heart. It is the h.lySp!rit for sure working with in me. Hello I am thankful.

In other news, Petunia still has no buds, and I have been giving her plant food. :( This saddens me.

2% chance of rain

the cute little troopers

The Furs planned a day trip to go on a dhow boat trip up on the tip of Oman. When we got there the company told us that it was too windy and there were no boat trips going out. So we didn't end up going on the boat, but we still got to enjoy this beautiful drive and eat lunch on the beach in cool windy weather. Then we had to pack up our when the 2% chance of rain that Gloria had heard about came to fruition. We made a run for it, and made it out the mountains without torrential down pour. We ended the day with Mexican food, which was a great way to close out the roadtrip.

6 weeks in photos

tourists taking pictures of the Atlantis


obligatory shot inside the Atlantis Hotel


right here in the Dubai


random shopkeeper and textiles


the abras that people use as public transportation to cross the creek everyday


random craziness that went on at the new mall by our house


my friend Kate came to visit us!


the indoor ski slope and winter wonderland


i call this "light pole, mosque, burj"

i filed an extension

I emailed my father to see if he got my taxes in and if he had to forge my name. This was his response.

YEEEEAAAASSZZZZ MIIIZZZZ PATTERSON WE HERE AT HHIIPPTAX SERVICES WERE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SITUATION WITH OUT SAID OUTSIDE THE LAW ACTIONS AS YOU HAVE SUGGESTED....WE HERE AT HHIIPPTAX SERVICES ACTUALLY COINED THE PHRASE......"WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO KNOW PEOPLE"
AND AS DUSTIN HOFFMAN SAID IN THE GREEAT MOVIE "THE MARATHON MAN" ......."IT'S SAFE"......BUT ACTUALLY HE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.....HE JUST AGREED AND SAID IT WAS SAFE BECAUSE SOME OLD NAZI WAR CRIMINAL WAS DRILLING ON HIS TEETH WITHOUT ANY ANESTHETIC...PRETTY PAINFUL I SUPPOSE.....HOWEVER WE HERE AT HHIIPPTAX SERVICES ACTUALLY KNOW THAT IT IS SAFE....THEREFORE YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT THE PEOPLE WE KNOW WHO ACTUALLY KNOW PEOPLE ASSURED US IMPLICITLY THAT INDEED IT IS SAFE AND THEREFORE WE WILL BE ADDING THE EXTREME COST OF THIS SPECIAL SITUATION TO YOUR LIFELONG "TAB"...WE WILL SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE C-O-L-L-E-C-T......OR...IF THERE IS RESISTANCE IN THIS MATTER WE KNOW OTHER PEOPLE WHO WOULD PUT US IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE WHO COULD AND WOULD DIRECT US TO MORE CLANDESTINE PEOPLE WHO COULD COLLECT SAID "TAB".......

YOURS TRULY
THE PERSON....WHO IS ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE INITIAL....PEOPLE WHO KNOW

I've got friends in dry places, where the sand blows and the sun chases my blues away...i'll be ok

I have been racking my brain lately to think of real life things to blog about. It just came to me something very important that you probably haven't gathered about my life here.

Did you know that I have great friends here? Really. In my short time here I have accumulated some valuable friendships. I know I have told you that I have met people from all over, and that there is some great diversity among the people we know, but did you realize those people are genuinely my friends? (i mean i think they are)

There is this one couple Nigel and Kristen who have gone above and beyond to make Katie and me feel connected and welcomed.


Kristen and Nigel the social instigators, so there is always a plan for people our age to get together socialize, eat, congregate, and enjoy each others company. True community in my opinion. We get quality time with quality people. I enjoy that as you can imagine.

Then there are some great families who we have gotten to spend time with who have been so generous by welcoming us into their homes. We have been swimming in their pools, eaten dinner with their families, been taken out to breakfast, invested in, prayed for, and been given a sense of home by their hospitality. It is so nice to see families living in this city making an impact on the lives around them. I am thankful for that.

Basically I always feel like our social calendar is completely packed. This is such a blessing because I had no idea what to expect in this realm of life. I thought maybe I was going to feel isolated from people my age or single friends. It is great to be around people across the spectrum in this regard. Families young and old and in the middle, young singles, older singles, married couples, married couples with newborns, people from all different cultural back grounds, people with all different job experiences, really just a little bit of everything. And these people are my friends.

I will have to get some more pictures with friends here, so I can show you these fine people. I guess the jist of this is to let you know that life here is fun and full of life. Not mundane, not boring, not solitary. It is enjoyable and we laugh alot. I need that being here away from people who make me laugh a lot and comforts that make me feel loved and appreciated. This too has become a community of people who are a vivid source of those things as well. Ahh exhale in a sigh of relief.

A Rose named Petunia

Aliza gave Katie and me a small potted indoor rose bush. I know it seems impossible, but I have photo proof. So when we received this beauty she was in full bloom happy as a lark or petunia hence the name. So after forgetting to water her the first two-ish days she came to the forefront of room responsibilities. We open our curtains for her every morning, and never forget to water her. However, even with our TLC the blooms have since shriveled, died, and fallen off. We thought that there was no hope for her, but I know for sure she is still growing green leaves just no blooms. I am trying to be patient and let nature take its course, but we don't really have time to be wasting honestly. So I need your help. I have no green thumb. What should I do for sad Petunia. We have been playing her music about roses, but it was a short list. We just want the best for our sweet source of CO2. We are open to suggestions.

oh yaya

Living with a 3 year old will keep you laughing. Aliza, who I pretty much always call Yaya, is a pretty smart cookie. She picks up on a good deal of the adult humor and sarcasm that frequently surfaces in this household. There are 5 adults here all the time and always others roaming in and out as well. We have a good time no doubt.

We are working on getting Norah to say our names and she is walking. Yaya is also picking up on most of the things that we tell Norah all the time. For example "can you say sally?, say sally, sssssally, you say it."

The other morning when I was playing with the girls Yaya said to me, "Miss Sally can you say 'Alishya'?" She is going through a phase where she is starting to not like Yaya as much. She wants to be called Aliza now. I just thought it was so funny that she was testing my language proficiency to rid me of using 'Yaya'.

She also knows how to spell her name, but she always spells it out L-C-A. I say "A-L-I-Z-A" she says, "yes, L-C-A." But in the bathtub one night a few weeks ago, she told Gloria, "Miss Sally says 'A-L-I-Z-A.'" She gets it but not.

Last night Katie and I were out of the house, but Gloria told us this when we got back.

She was feeding Aliza and Norah dinner. When she put the food down in front of Yaya, she out of the norm hit Gloria's hand and said No.
Gloria said, "You don't hit your mommy like that Aliza,"
Yaya said, "that wasn't a hit"
Glo "oh really? was that a love pat?"
Yaya, replies "No it was a sallypat."

Yep that's my name don't wear it out.

She is also a very sweet girl. When I was getting her out of her car seat the other morning at the sunrise service and she was half asleep she said to me, "Miss Sally is gonna cuddle me." So cute. We did cuddle for a while til she was awake and saw fun friends to play with.

She is a funky fresh kid. We have fun.

sandy sunrise celebration

How to play hide and go seek

with an imaginary friend:

First you have to have a near by three year old with an imaginary friend. Step one could be a hindrance for most people. However I live with a three year old, so she is near by most of the time. And the good news is that Yaya has an imaginary friend named Fern.

Next you have to find out how big the imaginary friend is, in this case, Fern is a little less than a foot tall.

Tell the three year old that you are going to help the imaginary friend find a really good hiding place, and then they will get to find their awesome small invisible friend.

Whisper something to the imaginary friend (of course you have to use your imagination).

Then help the three year old count to ten with their eyes closed. Be sure to yell, "Ready or not here I come!" The three year old will at this point look in their favorite hiding spot, and assume they found their imaginary friend. You will have to promptly correct them and give some clues. Remind said three year old that they just hid in that spot and their imaginary friend is in a new secret hiding place.

If the three year old really doesn't get the spot you whispered to the imaginary friend, it would be a good decision to allow the three year old to win the game sooner than later. So if you have to move the imaginary friend with your imagination super powers then that would probably be a better experience for the three year old. We wouldn't want to really lose the small invisible friend yet anyway, and no need to purposefully frustrate small children.

Always get overly excited when three year old finds their friend again. It will work like a charm and kill at least 15-20 minutes while doing dishes in the kitchen.

This is my life, not too shabby.

I may be a princess,

but this is probably as close to royalty as I'll ever get.

His Highness is on the right in the blue, and the prince is in gray on the left

not your typical fish face

You may have seen this link on my facebook page. That is Gloria's account from the Dubai fish market from this past weekend. If you don't want to click on that here is my perspective on what happened.

First, Gloria asks Kate and me if either of us have any dirhams- the single coins here. As soon as she asked that I knew she wanted me to pay one of these guys to hold one of their fish for a photo op. Well I was fresh out of dirhams, but not out of luck. Some generous fisherman said we could hold one of their fish and even gave us plastic baggies so we didn't get our hands goopy. I could do that.


notice misterman in the background laughing

Then this guy decides he wants to be apart of the action and comes over to see what kind of scene he can cause with the white people that came to town.



Well a ruckus he did cause with in me when he asked ME to hold that 15ish pound foul fish with my BARE hand. Oh no he dit'ent



Living with a nearly three year old, often we talk about princesses. One of the characteristics of a princess is bravery. Well I am not shy about being a princess, so I had to step up to the plate and show YaYa how a princess can be brave.



I held that fish.


And what an experience it was. Sick!

complex

First of all, I am going to begin working on my technical writing skills. I think it would be advantageous to consider writing with some accuracy of punctuation and sentence structure. Please help me by editing my posts if there are major errors I am overlooking. I know the capitalization will throw some of you off, and others (Kathryn) will be ever so thankful.

I decided over the past few weeks that I believe it is about time for me to jump into the teaching scene. Therefore, I must get my teaching certificate finalized finally. I tested when I graduated, so the only step missing in the process is getting my fingerprints done, and paying the certification fee. So since I have been on a "get 'er done" kick I decided I would attempt to get my finger prints done here this past week while a friend was here, and then they could travel safely back to the USA in the suitcase instead of traveling via airmail. And so the story begins....

Brian so kindly was willing to help me this week to try to get the process rolling. Time got the best of us, so we didn't start out on this adventure until the later afternoon. So we went to the small police station near our house, and they said they could not do it and sent us to a larger station not too far away. We go in, stand in line for a bit, and were told I need to get two passport pictures taken in order to get fingerprinted. So we get directions, get confused, get more directions, cross busy street, get more directions, find a place!, printer broken, get more directions, and then we find the place we want to be. A nice little shop, kind of a small-town Wolf camera. We tell the man what we need, and he told us to wait in the small studio type room. We were fine waiting inside, because we had been driving with no A/C, and traipsing around trying to figure out where to go for some time. So we sat and waited, and eventually he came in and took my picture. Of course it was a comical situation, and I am a happy person, so I smiled. The mister laughed and thought maybe he should try to take another one, so he did. Brian and the guy both laughed at me. Fine.

So a few minutes later the man had me come over and look at my photo on the computer screen. He hardly speaks English might I add at this late point in the story, so I am looking at it and it looks fine to me. I am not too worried about this picture that is for some file with my fingerprints. However, the man behind the camera took his job far more seriously than I could have ever wanted. As I am standing over his shoulder looking at the computer screen, I see the arrow being moved by the mouse making sweeping movements right underneath my eyes. This man was photoshopping underneath my eyes. He was blending and removing my dark circles underneath my eyes. This happened right as I was standing there. There is no mistake. He airbrushed me! He too was taken aback by my ever so present dark circles that are "always like this and not just because of lack of sleep." I know it is hard to believe, but I tell you the truth that even in the slums of Dubai the man that took my picture for the police department noticed the impurities on my face.

Well that is the gist of the story, alas it is not the end. So the guy prints me far more than the two I needed, and he so generously saved it to a disk and gave it to me for safe keeping and future reference. I got my pictures, and we headed back to the police department. We got back in line, and when it was our turn Brian spoke for me and told them my business. They asked for my passport, and saw my visa, and said they could not help me. Because I am just a visitor, they are unable to process the request. So that was the end of it. All that madness to get the photos, and nothing to show for it...of course I do still have the picture on a disk to share with you.

i'm bossy

we went to an abaya fashion show. here's what we saw.

the not so much abaya


the pretty in pink abaya


the kimono abaya


the futuristic hot pants abaya


the fla fla abaya


the end


what we heard was the title of this post. they played a hip hop song called i'm bossy. the lyrics are all to ironic for the setting.

you may not know this about my current life, so here are some random facts

1.we live really really close to the airport. i am going to put an * in this blog every time one flys over head to give you an idea.

2.we don't put toilet paper down the toilet. it goes in the trash can next to the toilet. seems very third world. it isn't like that everywhere....for some reason it is at our house however. our toilets also don't flush with the * push of a handle either. it is more like a pump. like one, two, three, then flush. another random piece of bathroom information is that all but the three small bathrooms have a bidet in them. not utilized by many in this household* however still ever present in our world. there is one other interesting aspect to the U A E bathrooms, however you must venture here to encounter that fully.

3.we have funny chandeliers in every room of the house. they are gaudy and * slightly odd. but it adds a nice flare to the princess room.

I know i just missed an airplane or two, b/c i tune them out so easily at this point.

4.*i am reading a bunch of books right now. ** i am not usually one to be nursing numerous books at one time, * however right now i have various books that i am reading morning, noon, and night. it is nice to have different things to think about and talk about in various settings. i like it.


5.i have made two necessary purchases since being here.

*

6.in every room/bathroom there is a light switch that controls the water heater, and a switch that controls every outlet, and a switch for the stove/oven. there are light switches every where. is is probably a toss up between* whether there are more light bulbs or switches in this house. there must be literally hundreds of both.

7.we have feral cats. sick. they prowl around our yard like they own the place, and if the trash ever gets left out then they are the first ones to get to it, the antagonize katie by meowing constantly * outside our kitchen door or window. they come in packs, and they mate in the presence of young children. they are obnoxious and they deserve to be hurt. dr. washam plans on taking care of this, and has taken necessary steps to do so. one step including purchasing an airsoft gun in a border town. it just shoots little plastic beebees. no harm no foul. *however YaYa says the cats need to die, and this probably is a response to her mother telling her a story about a cat named garbage that happens to live at our house. we have pictures of garbage, and reference the cat often. it is like an imaginary pet monster* that lives here.

8.we have roundabouts. katie and i started driving a couple of weeks ago. we haven't killed anyone yet. so far so good. there are lots of crazy drivers around here as with most foreign driving experiences. the most challenging thing to get used to here are the roundabouts. they are everywhere here. its like they have replaced all stoplights/intersections with roundabouts. oh no need for a stop sign just put in a roundabout instead. yes it makes perfect sense. oh wait no. alas it is the reality. so these roundabouts are pretty brutal. amber gave us lessons. - don't hesitate, and the inside has the right of way. easy enough.*

i am always thinking of all these random things that happen here or that have become "normal" now, and thinking on i need to put that on my blog. this was my attempt to share some of those things with yall.

i woke up in the desert

we were talking a few weeks ago (me, katie, and gloria) about being here in the desert. i am finding it is an interesting place to be and live. there are so many metaphorical relationships to be drawn from being here, and a common thing i like to say is the title of this post. it is kinda like i don't really know how i got here or why. the last thing i remember is dreaming of living near my family and staying put for a while, and the next thing i know.... i woke up in the desert. not just any desert, but on the edge of the Arabian desert.

i started reading a book in hopes to plan my life. i know extreme, but necessary. basically in the first chapter of this book it talks about how in b.bl.lical times we see people get a plan and then they would have to wait before they could make something happen with that plan. usually in the desert. for example, moses, and paul. "Why give a man a vision and then send him to the desert?" the book mentions that time that passes between getting a plan and actually acting on it can feel like being in the desert- there is a small chance that the guy who actually wrote this book has ever spent a good amount of time in the desert, so what he thinks this period of time might literally feel like i believe is very metaphorical for him. however that is only slightly besides the point. anyway. he goes on to say, "The desert always feels like a complete waste of time. It is only when we are able to look back that our desert experiences make sense."

Well I don't really know what any of this means relating to me personally. it is kind of ironic however, that i am literally in the desert currently. i don't feel like this is a waste of time, but i also don't know what my purpose of being here will amount to be by the end of it. there are days when i don't mind the distance, but then other days when it sets in, and i realize that a) i am half way around the world, and b) i am half way around the world in the desert.

inside the loop

so i don't know where you are reading this from. no matter what city state or country, i have to say today is really for all readers to changed, encouraged, or challenged by. there is a term in dallas tx- "inside the loop" which refers to the area of Dallas that resides with in the loop that loop 635 makes. the loop is also called LBJ referring to the late president Lyndon Baines Johnson the 36th president of the United States.

well let me give you some back ground information as to what i am really getting at today. the thing is i have a pet peeve. i would say that i absolutely hate it when people say they are from dallas when they are really from plano, frisco, garland, lewisville, rockwall, rowlett, irving, arlington, carrollton, mesquite, richardson, addison...must i go on? the thing is they aren't from dallas. these people (i won't mention any names) haven't ever lived IN dallas, and yet people claim it as their home every day. the reason this truly gets under my skin is because my birthplace, my roots, my hometown, is Dallas Texas. yes shockingly my zip code, area code, and actual address are all DALLAS.

well this topic came up here in the dubai, b/c brian who lives with me tries to tell people that he is from dallas. the thing is now that i am here i have to keep it real and set him straight and enlighten people that the truth is brian is a liar and he is from plano. wah waaugh. in doing so the specifications as to what part of dallas i am from have come up and brian recognizes that i am indeed from inside the loop. yes i am. its all i have known. i am not ashamed by any means.

well that isn't the saddest part of the story. now brian feels like he has to scorn me incessantly blaming any and all circumstances regarding me on the sheer fact that i was raised inside the loop. it goes something like this. sitting drinking coffee in the morning i say, "i don't think you are going to be very willing to let me or katie drive the jeep." he says, "you haven't asked, but it doesn't drive as easy as the pajero, much less as easy as cars from inside the loop"....little does dr.washam know what my first car was. ha. i have driven far more challenging cars than some '96 jeep, i.e. '65 chevy suburban with no powersteering at 17-take that. and that is just one of many cars i have conquered. its not like i am a parkie or something. and this is just one of the instances that my the location of my upbringing has been used against me, basically brian views the locale of my youth as a true character flaw.

all this to say. i have heard the phrase inside the loop far too often for being so far outside the loop at this point in time. all i am saying is would it be so hard for people to say i am from the dallas metroplex. or i am from a suburb of dallas. or i grew up 30 minutes north of dallas. i mean really the options are endless. and the outcome is more specific without having to lie. this is something i hope all people will take into consideration when stating their place of origin. take it and run with it and thank me later for bringing you of a life built on lies to the rest of the world.

sorry this had nothing to do with what is going on with me in the dubai.

Raul the camel

it's every where you want to go.

- gas to and from Deira City Center for chu.ch........ $2.50 USD
- classic polka dot silky shirt from Gap circa 2003........ $19.99 USD
- celebratory Starbucks beverages for me and Gloria..........$12.00 USD
- holding the pastor's snoring, one-year-old baby
during the first service of Redeemer....... priceless


she fell asleep minutes later. too bad that wasn't documented.

diversity.

have i told yall that this place is more diverse than NYC? i mean i have met people from california, south carolina, dc, tennesee, kentucky, amarillo, pennsylvania, houston, et cetera.

ok so you think that doesnt sound too diverse. i understand. how about some south africans, a few aussies, some brits, indians- (dot not feather), someone from papa new guinea, a sri lankan, and a local emirate. ok so its not like there are people here representing every single country in the world or anything, but the thing is that i have never in my life been around so many people that i might as well call friends who are not american. ok ok ok . i realize i have never lived outside the US, but give me a break. i thought i would come over here, and be around a bunch of people who were working here from the US. i mean sadly mistaken i am not sure of, but mistaken none the less.

it does make much more sense that all these people from countries at least on this side of the world would be living here. this is basically the NYC on the eastern hemisphere. as far as i can tell so far. lots of people come here to work and live. it is an exciting place to be, and it is pretty fun to live here. there are somethings that aren't quite like a well oiled machine, but with time possibly. or not, possibly- under the cultural circumstances.

so one of the guys who is on staff for the ch.rch was in our kitchen the other morning as we were talking about coffee over coffee, he says this, " I think the only reason white people drink coffee is because they all secretly want to be black." i think it is funny that an indian guy would make that comment. everybody gotta be hatin' on the white people. but lets be honest here- i could use a little color in my life.

for new yorkers appreciation.

or cupcake connoisseurs who know what magnolia is. b/c with a brand new bloomingdale's in the dubai mall- the biggest mall in the world- comes a wonderful entity.

day in the life

it is 66* and we are sleeping with the windows open tonight. love it.

hello. this blog post is here to serve the general public by informing them of what my life in dubai really equates to at this current point in time.

daily cast:
Dave- head of house. head of new ch.rch.
Gloria- madam of house. married to dave.
YaYa- 2.75 yr old girl.
Norah- 3days away from 1yr old baby girl.
Katie- partner in crime. master of the kitchen.
and
Dr. Washam- not really a doctor. grounds keeper kind of. dave's PA.
so five adults and 2 little children all on the second floor of the villa.

sunday is like monday here in the UAE and things that happen on sunday in the US happen on friday here. it is slightly confusing at times, but we are getting used to it slowly. so the week starts on sundays, katie and i have off til 4pm. then we make dinner. then we have a family meeting. then we really start on mondays. grocery day, yaya has preschool in the am, we also give kids naps, we clean the villa, we plan meals, we make lists, and we cross things off lists. there are always people at the villa for meetings, or dinner engagements or pop-ins. we have thus far had about 5 dinner parties of various sizes since we have been in the villa. katie and i do the cooking and prepping for house guests. we set tables, mop floors, iron placemats, empty dishwashers, fold hand towels, make lattes, make cookies, bathe children, swish potties. we do it all. we all work together that is for sure. everyone is busy, and it is amazing that with 5 adults working more than 40 hours/week/person there is still always something more to do.

then we have weekends!!!!!!!!!!!!! we get off on thursday about 1pm and have thursday night off. then we are also off all day saturday. so far here are somethings we have done during our free time.
1) internet at other people's houses.
2) global village- ebcot meets county fair...but worse.
3) dinner with people outside of the villa.
4) shopping for watches. i bought a watch.
5) going to the desert.

6) going to renew our visa.
7) going to dinner on the creek.
8) riding an abra- a boat with no ledges or railings, to cross the creek. i didn't even scream when two boats almost ran into each other and i was on one of the boats.
9) going to the gold souk-market.
10) walking to uptown mirdiff (the mockingbird station of our hood)
11) doing yoga in our room. once.
12) experiencing heritage village. a place where locals go to see how their grandparents used to survive.
13) eating a much craved burger.
14) doing calculations of dirhams to dollars.
15) considering mastering the public transit.

that should do it. there are more things that we have seen and done, and more details of some of the above items. there is only so much i can say however to open up the window to my current world. in truth there are many aspects that you will never even begin to understand, and many other things i wouldn't dare try to muster up enough strength to explain. overall life here is good. adjusting well, and way over jetlag. it is so odd to me that i am here going to bed, and my friends on gchat haven't even left for lunch. but i guess that is what happens when you live half way around the world....

i'll leave you with this.

burj update.

it was alright. i mean i tend to set myself up with great expectations only to be let down, i don't know when i will master the art of low expectations and then being delightfully surprised. so i mean i am sure yall wouldn't have been disappointed in the seven star hotel, because you probably wouldn't have expected it to be tremendously more amazing than say...the plaza hotel or something so lowly as such. anyway this is my over all description of the burj al arab. have you ever been to that Grand Lux restaurant near the Galleria in Dallas? It is the upscale version of Cheesecake Factory? Well it is slightly gaudy, with high ceilings, overdone light fixtures and high-backed chairs. it is pretty. but too much, not very classy per se. more garish than anything. and so this is what i have chosen to use as my pictoral relation to the burj. i mean there are neat things about it, each floor is a different color when you look up, and it creates a spectrum in the blue, green, yellow range. there are themes through out related to earth wind and fire. there is lots of gold and red. there are expensive diamonds and other beautiful jewels to look at. we went to the top to look out over the palm. that was neat, but we couldn't get very far to see much other than from the glass elevator. we had no view in the salon, and i was hugely disappointed by that. but i am over the disappointment, i am just glad we got to go.

highlights: checking burj al arab off my list, taking picture with bell hop in "cultural dress", looking through the extravagant menu books, taking lexus "cab" home back to the burbs.

pictures/proof


sheikh sheikh sheikh.


awkward.


me and the burj

ps the mani/pedi was mediocre and that story is for another day. they just better be glad they at least offered me coffee.