March 26, 2012
I walked out in the middle of a class...kettlebells killed me.
I wanted to throw up and my stomach was hurting all over the place. I told the instructor I can't anymore, apologized,
and left. He said it's great that I made it to class and tried my best. It's his way of saying, "goodbye, you sore loser".
The Hunger Games was pretty amazing. I never read the book, but who needs to read a book these days because they
end up making a movie. My colleague said the movie was very true to the book. I think I am going to buy
the three books and start reading them.
March 23, 2012
Queena and I left a bit early on our "Friday". Instead of napping, I decided to
take a hot bubble bath. I can't remember the last time I did this. Instead of getting dressed after the bath, I put on a
bathrobe and read the paper. Sometimes taking a break and not rushing from point a to point b puts you into perspective.
We made our way to AUH. We walked to the wrong terminal because we didn't check the departure gate information
upon arriving at the airport. The flight to Bahrain took about an hour. Thank God we were not on the flight to Doha.
The passenger queue was a mess. I did not want to fly with those folks. While on the plane, each passenger gets a vegetarian or chicken
sandwich and a water bottle. Why would they even serve food on an hour flight? I didn't mind at all. They literally shoved us
food and went back ten minutes later to pick up our trash. Tray tables up please, we are descending...
We asked the flight attendant for white wine. She said it is a short flight and will get us the wine
if she has time. She came back running from business class with two glasses of white wine. It was very sweet of her.
We arrived on the ground and walked through immigration together. For your visa, you can pay in dinars, USD, or dirhams. I think they
also take euros. Angel and Hermann picked us up. We went straight to dinner at this Japanese place. The sushi was
amazing. It reminded me of New Orleans sushi. The rice had the right tanginess and everything was flavorful. After dinner,
we went upstairs for drinks while euro/arabic house music was on full blast. We made it home just in time for bed.
I slept like a baby.
March 20, 2012
Debby may not come after all. Queena and I are going through the
test steps like there's no tomorrow. Let's see what the boss has to say about our work. If Debby stays in New York,
I can take over her Sama apartment instead of staying at Cristal. Although I enjoy the service here at Cristal, it is still
a bit out of the way because I need to walk to work. I'll miss the full time service staff. However, I won't miss the
morning prayer calls. At least with Sama, I can barely hear the prayer calls. Mike, good chatting with you and Vuong.
You guys need to move to a nudist colony or something. That's just nasty. Perhaps opening one in Vietnam?
I bet you'll get beaucoup business. Apparently, the twins fought over a toy that Di Chang got for them. Di Chang
bought them each their own toy...exactly alike by the way. They decided to fight over one instead of
playing with their own. Hilarious! Addison was upset he didn't get anything from Di Chang. His birthday is coming
up though. Instead of venturing out of the hood, we grabbed dinner upstairs. I went straight for the all you can eat
sushi. Instead of ordering a bucket of ice for the room, I asked to "take away" two glasses of ice. I am trying to save
the environment by not wasting a whole bucket of ice. We are off to bowling tonight. It's us against IT. I had no idea
IT is super big. Phong is not so young after all. I'm barely one year ahead of you, bud! Joel, you suck for having your
chat open and not respond. Get out of the covers and man up. Here, it's take away instead of to go. It's the lift instead
of the fancy elevator. It's mum instead of mam.
March 19, 2012
Happy Birthday, Carter and Carson! I wish I was there to help you blow
out your six (3 for each) candles!
March 18, 2012
Perhaps I should ask to change my room so that I am not facing a mosque.
A colleague told me that the first prayer call will eventually start at 3AM when it comes time for Ramadan, which takes
place later this summer. When I came here
a couple weeks ago, the first prayer call was on full blast at 5:20AM. This morning, it came on at 5:04AM. I may ask for
another room. We got back from Dubai yesterday. Queena's friends from Bahrain met us in Dubai. Instead of doing brunch
at Mall of the Emirates, we went to this fake souk overlooking the Burj Al Arab. I ordered a pina colada with my breakfast.
The sun may be beaming on us, but when you get in the shade, it's quite cool. Mary met us after brunch. We managed to
figure out what do with the room situation. I had biscuits from Red Lobster for the first time. They are extremely good.
I think they are even better than Popeye's biscuits. Peter and I got to see the water show while the girls went on their safari.
We all made it back to the hotel around the same time. The bar in our hotel turned out to be "gay night". It was hilarious seeing
gays gather in Dubai because homosexuality is illegal in the UAE. We left the gay bar and headed to Media City to go dancing at Rock Bottom.
Too many snapshots later, we ended the night at the hotel bar for one last dance before retiring to our rooms. I think Queena
and I were the last ones to wake up. Everyone was already downstairs finishing up breakfast or done with walking around.
It was off to Dubai Mall where I caught up on the news. We visited my friend in the Gold Souk. My Afghan friend remembers me from
last year. Instead of getting a commission for sending him business, he gives me a small hat but my big head is too big.
Don't face all of your passengers when riding a bus. The seats cannot even recline. After some alone time, Queena and I
ate dinner downstairs in the lobby. The salmon sandwich and fries were surprisingly good. I was in bed by 8:30PM and slept
a good 8 hours for the first time in a very long time. We woke up early to use the gym only to find out that they open
an hour later due to spring break. We went back to the hotel and used the gym upstairs. It was not so bad. I think I'll use
the hotel gym from now on. It is very convenient. Plus, it has a sauna and steam room. I snacked on a gala apple and
a protein shake instead of a full-on breakfast. I am feeling Filipino spaghetti tonight at Khalidiyah Mall. TD, I'll let you know
if it's still good!
March 8, 2012
Hooray for the weekend!
March 7, 2012
It is certainly difficult trying to get this sleep thing squared away. Luckily, I have
been getting at least 6 hours of sleep every night. I get really tired around 9PM and fall asleep. I usually wake up around 4AM
or 5AM depending on whether the call to prayer wakes me up. We found a Subway in the office building. I ordered
the seafood sensation 6-inch. It tasted almost like home. Sushi at the Hilton Hotel was good. The price was on par with
New York's price. The quality was not so bad either. The table included a buzzer where you can call on the waitress. The
first time I pressed it, she came immediately. After that, no one showed up. In my last attempt, I pressed the buzzer several
times. The server came running to our table. Why bother have a device and tell us to use it when they can't even follow
through on their end? I don't think it was demanding of us to want our check. We waited for awhile. Anyways, service
employees are pretty much Filipinos. They are very nice and respectful. It must suck to be away from your friends and
family for a long time. Precious, why did you get a new number? Do you have a case of the stalker? The twins were too busy to talk to
me the other day. They sat on the dining table as if it's a big ole playground. They didn't see me, but can hear me.
Somehow my Skype is not working properly. We laugh way too much here. We are off to Al Ain this weekend thanks to
Denver for hooking us up with a good deal. We cancelled Al Ain Rotana and decided to do a day trip instead.
March 4, 2012
Apparently, the call to prayer will be my alarm clock for the next couple of
months. It woke me up this morning at 5:22AM. I couldn't go back to sleep. I ended up running to the gym.
March 1, 2012
It is time...for you to lip sync...for YOUR LIFE. Good luck and don't eff it up.