- I swear, every freaking time I log into my blog it shows up in Arabic.
- There are flies around my desk. I need to find a way to kill them. Killing all the flies.
- I saw some advertising for some lady teaching Arabic classes. Her English was terrible. That means her Arabic must be good. Right?
- I ate leg of lamb last night, in front of a live tabla and sitar jam session. I was in music heaven.
- Where are my cousins? How come you S.A.N's aren't commenting.
- PS - I opened up my blog so that non-gmail users can post now, so now you don't have an excuse.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Arabic must be good
Sunday, January 27, 2008
History was made
I can honestly say that this has been the best week of food I have ever had in my life.
I went to a thai place, and I made the mistake of asking them to make it extra spicy. Holy smokes, themz fightin' wurdz. They brought in a large bowl o' rice, and it was literally on fire. I consumed this dish with utmost delight, although my mouth was ablaze. I wish I had consumed the house Merlot - a non-alcoholic beverage, which was sold out. How unfortunate. $10.
Yesterday, Dustin and I had to go shopping. We had to spend our budget (which I shall not mention here) to furnish out apartment with items, the soft kind (towels, bedsheets, rugs, bathroom things, etc). We shopped from 10.30am until 11.00pm. No, that is not a type-o, we literally shopped for over 12 hours straight.
For years, I have been mocked by the swine-infested "Ikea meatballs." I have heard wondrous things about them, yet they have never fancied my tongue. History was made yesterday.
"Hello sir!"
"Very good sir!"
"Are these halal?"
"Yes sir, halal sir!"
"Hooray! I would like some. Are they good?"
"Very good sir!"
Excellent. They -were- excellent. I ate every last one. Thyoop. (Just say the word while you're breathing in, you'll understand)
I then went to the Emirates Marina Mall. This is right next to the indoor ski resort they have here. You can watch people riding down tires while you eat your food. We went to a Lebanese place. There was a dish there called "Khoush Khash," which is probably the inspiration for the "Kholkhalash" stand that Homer eats at while his car has a boot on it. I didnt order it, for fear of having to use the restroom, and ordered the mixed grill. Beef and Chicken Skewers - quite possibly the best chicken I have ever eaten, with Beef and Chicken Kabob, and a lamb chop on the side. All for a whopping $9. So wild, my son.
Then I went to the grocery store. I dont know what it is about this place, but there are so many people here, its amazing. Imagine wal-mart, on a friday night, in Texas, times 10. That's not even an exaggeration. Seriously. More on the people themselves here, later.
Surprising that I talk about food so much. I guess most everything else is boring. Lets do some quick bullets!
I went to a thai place, and I made the mistake of asking them to make it extra spicy. Holy smokes, themz fightin' wurdz. They brought in a large bowl o' rice, and it was literally on fire. I consumed this dish with utmost delight, although my mouth was ablaze. I wish I had consumed the house Merlot - a non-alcoholic beverage, which was sold out. How unfortunate. $10.
Yesterday, Dustin and I had to go shopping. We had to spend our budget (which I shall not mention here) to furnish out apartment with items, the soft kind (towels, bedsheets, rugs, bathroom things, etc). We shopped from 10.30am until 11.00pm. No, that is not a type-o, we literally shopped for over 12 hours straight.
For years, I have been mocked by the swine-infested "Ikea meatballs." I have heard wondrous things about them, yet they have never fancied my tongue. History was made yesterday.
"Hello sir!"
"Very good sir!"
"Are these halal?"
"Yes sir, halal sir!"
"Hooray! I would like some. Are they good?"
"Very good sir!"
Excellent. They -were- excellent. I ate every last one. Thyoop. (Just say the word while you're breathing in, you'll understand)
I then went to the Emirates Marina Mall. This is right next to the indoor ski resort they have here. You can watch people riding down tires while you eat your food. We went to a Lebanese place. There was a dish there called "Khoush Khash," which is probably the inspiration for the "Kholkhalash" stand that Homer eats at while his car has a boot on it. I didnt order it, for fear of having to use the restroom, and ordered the mixed grill. Beef and Chicken Skewers - quite possibly the best chicken I have ever eaten, with Beef and Chicken Kabob, and a lamb chop on the side. All for a whopping $9. So wild, my son.
Then I went to the grocery store. I dont know what it is about this place, but there are so many people here, its amazing. Imagine wal-mart, on a friday night, in Texas, times 10. That's not even an exaggeration. Seriously. More on the people themselves here, later.
Surprising that I talk about food so much. I guess most everything else is boring. Lets do some quick bullets!
- I have moved into my new home
- I dont know my address yet
- I dont have internet yet
- I love my apartment
- I have a balcony looking into the marina
- Please send me things to put on my wall, lonely they are
- I dont know my address yet!
- Please come visit me!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
What a bonanza!
So it turns out that my mobile device is actually pretty freaking AWESOME.
GET THIS.
INCOMING CALLS.
INCOMING TEXTS.
FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
ARE FREE!!!
What a bonanza! Here is my number: 050 9704198
I don't know where the + needs to go or anything, but Sarah knows for sure. Can you please post my number how it is in your cell phone in my comments? Haha thanks! I just asked you to do something via blog.
So, guys, if you find any way to text (hallmark, tmobile, skype) or call (skype), please feel free to do so! My phone is so lonely these days. But hark! Not for long! Wasoo
GET THIS.
INCOMING CALLS.
INCOMING TEXTS.
FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
ARE FREE!!!
What a bonanza! Here is my number: 050 9704198
I don't know where the + needs to go or anything, but Sarah knows for sure. Can you please post my number how it is in your cell phone in my comments? Haha thanks! I just asked you to do something via blog.
So, guys, if you find any way to text (hallmark, tmobile, skype) or call (skype), please feel free to do so! My phone is so lonely these days. But hark! Not for long! Wasoo
Thanks to everyone
Ah, yes, I forgot to mention, I got my luggage. All is well! Thanks to everyone that helped me. There was a very nice hijabi that helped me acquire my luggage. I would really like to sue American Airlines.
Tandoori Chicken Jai Gunny Laboh
I just had the best Tandoori Chicken I have ever had in my life! The meal started out with some "Paapar" (I dont know what anyone else calls them) and some raitha, spicy sauwce, and chili paste. Usually the paapar are stale and have a congealed oil residue on them...but these were fresh and delicious. I have 3 of them, me thinks. Then out came the Tandoori...holy smokes it was so delicious. It even have with a "garnish" and I even ate all of that because the flawor was so wonderous. In addition to that, I got some buttered naan. Some of the best I have ever had.
The concept of "mocktails" is wonderful here. Ever wish that when you were in the states, you could have all the pleasures of drinking fruity alcoholic beverages without the guilt of being sinful? Well, now you can be sinful without the guilt! No alcohol is served in any restaurants, but they have tons and tons of wonderful "drinks" that can satisfy your pallete. It forces them to get creative and do amazing things.
I think I am moving tomorrow, right now I have been staying in the Emirates Marina Suite but they sold out here, so we are moving across the Marina I believe. Samars' family is coming into town on Thursday, it will be nice to see them for sure! I keep imagining her dad as Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.
Seriously though, there is no reason to ever get fat in the states. Come over here, then get fat, because its 100% justified.
Tandoori Chicken Jai Gunny Laboh...
The concept of "mocktails" is wonderful here. Ever wish that when you were in the states, you could have all the pleasures of drinking fruity alcoholic beverages without the guilt of being sinful? Well, now you can be sinful without the guilt! No alcohol is served in any restaurants, but they have tons and tons of wonderful "drinks" that can satisfy your pallete. It forces them to get creative and do amazing things.
I think I am moving tomorrow, right now I have been staying in the Emirates Marina Suite but they sold out here, so we are moving across the Marina I believe. Samars' family is coming into town on Thursday, it will be nice to see them for sure! I keep imagining her dad as Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.
Seriously though, there is no reason to ever get fat in the states. Come over here, then get fat, because its 100% justified.
Tandoori Chicken Jai Gunny Laboh...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Lump of Mayo
Its 6.45 in the morning. This is the most I have slept since I got here, its nice but I feel groggy. Man I really like that word.
Things are really great from there, aside from my communication, as well as a few other elements:
Mobile Telephone - Its expensive to really call anywhere. No more 5,000 text message months :( Sorry guys.
Internetki - Its quite slow/inoperable here because of the massive construction. I think that highly interferes with the signal, and they arent big on wifi yet, I think most people traditionally use the cables.
Luggage - My luggage basically doesnt exist. I really hope it shows up because I left some ochem stuff in there, and even my Bose speakers. Pathetic, hm. I have had to go to the mall 3 out of 4 days I have been here to purchase clothes. It sounds exciting! But its annoying and tiresome. However, there is nothing more important than having clean underwear, and I make that an extreme priority. This is too much information.
Its very rare that I can go to a country an not be able to speak any of the language. When I was in Austria I spoke german, and within a couple of days I could at least speak some Greek, but its amazing how I cant speak any Arabic at all. I wish so badly that I could just speak it fluently, but I cant even say excuse me, or order a beer with a toasted pork sandwich with a side of interest in Arabic. Im just like the other ex-pats here. But this will soon change! Mark my words (or as my mom says, mock my vurds), I will learn this language.
The food here is unbelievable. The concept for "fast-food" doesnt really exist (cheap and fast). I went to the Ibn Battuta Mall again yesterday and ordered some Iranian food, it was quite delicious, but it took forever for it to come out because they make it fresh and it was around $10 for a decent plate (notsocheap and slow).
I asked the guy for some yogurt, because I love putting yogurt on anything, and he gladly obliged. I was thirsty so I used it as my beverage of lubrication for my meal and I gulped a huge spoonful. I gagged several times. Apparently, yogurt can be replaced with a mayonnaise and garlic mixture that highly resembles its cultured friend. I can still feel the lump of mayo in my side.
Overall, this is a wonderful place. The downtown area resembles machine city from the matrix, driving around is insane because there are no street addresses (with few exit numbers).
I visited the Palm Jebel Ali yesterday to see the progress of the construction. More on that and work related items later.
No pictures for now, its too slow to upload it here, but I will link images from Picasa later on to tasty-fy my blog. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Things are really great from there, aside from my communication, as well as a few other elements:
Mobile Telephone - Its expensive to really call anywhere. No more 5,000 text message months :( Sorry guys.
Internetki - Its quite slow/inoperable here because of the massive construction. I think that highly interferes with the signal, and they arent big on wifi yet, I think most people traditionally use the cables.
Luggage - My luggage basically doesnt exist. I really hope it shows up because I left some ochem stuff in there, and even my Bose speakers. Pathetic, hm. I have had to go to the mall 3 out of 4 days I have been here to purchase clothes. It sounds exciting! But its annoying and tiresome. However, there is nothing more important than having clean underwear, and I make that an extreme priority. This is too much information.
Its very rare that I can go to a country an not be able to speak any of the language. When I was in Austria I spoke german, and within a couple of days I could at least speak some Greek, but its amazing how I cant speak any Arabic at all. I wish so badly that I could just speak it fluently, but I cant even say excuse me, or order a beer with a toasted pork sandwich with a side of interest in Arabic. Im just like the other ex-pats here. But this will soon change! Mark my words (or as my mom says, mock my vurds), I will learn this language.
The food here is unbelievable. The concept for "fast-food" doesnt really exist (cheap and fast). I went to the Ibn Battuta Mall again yesterday and ordered some Iranian food, it was quite delicious, but it took forever for it to come out because they make it fresh and it was around $10 for a decent plate (notsocheap and slow).
I asked the guy for some yogurt, because I love putting yogurt on anything, and he gladly obliged. I was thirsty so I used it as my beverage of lubrication for my meal and I gulped a huge spoonful. I gagged several times. Apparently, yogurt can be replaced with a mayonnaise and garlic mixture that highly resembles its cultured friend. I can still feel the lump of mayo in my side.
Overall, this is a wonderful place. The downtown area resembles machine city from the matrix, driving around is insane because there are no street addresses (with few exit numbers).
I visited the Palm Jebel Ali yesterday to see the progress of the construction. More on that and work related items later.
No pictures for now, its too slow to upload it here, but I will link images from Picasa later on to tasty-fy my blog. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The first of many
The past 72 hours have been some of the most insane hours of my life. Saying goodbye to so many people in such a short amount of time can be quite strenous. Not to mention the debacle of packing for X months and fitting it into overstuffed suitcases that you have to sit on before you can close them.
I said goodbye to my parents and went through security. I undressed myself. "Bag Check!" said the overweight and underqualified 40-year old groggy woman. Out comes a bald man to inspect my baggage.
I started working at kroger when I was 15 years old, my very first job. It provided me motivation from the ripe young age to work hard and do well in school so that I would never have to come back here. One of my very first managers was Mr. Nelson. He was really nice to me and my family (we all worked there) and one time he fixed our tire. What a sweet man.
8 years later I find myself face to face with my tire-changing manager, now inspecting my suitcase for contraband.
"Mr. Nelson!" I said!
He looked at me, quite offended and somewhat excited. He then reached for my boarding pass and remembered who I was.
I found it to be quite ironic that the day I leave for dubai I encounter my previous manager from my first job, from 8 years ago, as a TSA Head Deputy (Prefect). He was just as bald as he used to be.
Our trip started with a 6 hour delay in Chicago, as usual. Strange that for the past three months I have been so glad to stay away from that vaccuum of time, only to be reunited with my old foe as I leave the states. The excuse? "Too much fuel." I kid you not.
I then got into a tussle with another overweight man because I said the word "excuse me" because I had 25 minutes to travel across the world to get to my plane. The conflict ended with a rear naked choke followed by a triangle, just for geometry's sake. He was a S.A.N.
I am now sitting in the Amman (strikers) airport sitting next to my buddy Dusto. Some of these people smell really bad.
Thanks to all of you who visited, called, emailed, and messaged me before I left country. I appreciate all the kind words and notions.
I will be flying into Dubai, soon. Very soon. The only way I know that people read this is if you leave a comment. I enjoy comments very much.
I said goodbye to my parents and went through security. I undressed myself. "Bag Check!" said the overweight and underqualified 40-year old groggy woman. Out comes a bald man to inspect my baggage.
I started working at kroger when I was 15 years old, my very first job. It provided me motivation from the ripe young age to work hard and do well in school so that I would never have to come back here. One of my very first managers was Mr. Nelson. He was really nice to me and my family (we all worked there) and one time he fixed our tire. What a sweet man.
8 years later I find myself face to face with my tire-changing manager, now inspecting my suitcase for contraband.
"Mr. Nelson!" I said!
He looked at me, quite offended and somewhat excited. He then reached for my boarding pass and remembered who I was.
I found it to be quite ironic that the day I leave for dubai I encounter my previous manager from my first job, from 8 years ago, as a TSA Head Deputy (Prefect). He was just as bald as he used to be.
Our trip started with a 6 hour delay in Chicago, as usual. Strange that for the past three months I have been so glad to stay away from that vaccuum of time, only to be reunited with my old foe as I leave the states. The excuse? "Too much fuel." I kid you not.
I then got into a tussle with another overweight man because I said the word "excuse me" because I had 25 minutes to travel across the world to get to my plane. The conflict ended with a rear naked choke followed by a triangle, just for geometry's sake. He was a S.A.N.
I am now sitting in the Amman (strikers) airport sitting next to my buddy Dusto. Some of these people smell really bad.
Thanks to all of you who visited, called, emailed, and messaged me before I left country. I appreciate all the kind words and notions.
I will be flying into Dubai, soon. Very soon. The only way I know that people read this is if you leave a comment. I enjoy comments very much.
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