Economic Crisis: A Day in the Life

6:05am: My alarm rings; I hit snooze.

6:15am: My alarm rings; I hit snooze.

6:25am: My alarm rings; I hit snooze ... but I wake up enough to remember that its Thursday, I must get up soon.

6:35am: My alarm rings; I hit snooze. But this time I actually do get out of bed.

8:19am: In my usual style, I am late. Parking is always gnarly at this time of day. I cruise by my favourite parking area next to Emirates Towers in hopes that there will still be space and low and behold, there is! Lots of space.

One of the silver linings of the recent downsizing of Dubai is this: when an employee's job is terminated in the UAE, so too is their residency. As companies down-size en masse, so too are employee's visas expiring and they must leave. The mass exodus of people means less cars and a noticeable easing of traffic and parking. A small relief for those of us who remain.

8:33am: The Design Manager walks through our department. He is dressed in black. The Production Manager (my boss) arrives also wearing his funeral best.

8:53am: An impromptu meeting for all the Production staff. As we make our way to the conference room, my Iraqi friend makes an insightful reference to the Tom Hanks movie, "The Green Mile" with one notable difference: our carpet is (or once was) burgundy. Though recently cleaned, it is visibly "mature" beyond its life expectancy but not likely to be replaced any time soon.

It would seem this week's rumour mill and my 'Black Thursday' theory are correct and as a group, we are confronted with the reality of it: we cannot escape the effects of the economic crisis. There will be changes. Expect lay-offs. LOTS of lay-offs. Half of the people in the room by the end of the day. For those who remain: salary reduction. Throughout the day, one by one, each individual can expect a letter from management and a private meeting which reveals their fate.

And so begins the wait.

9:17am: We return to our desks. My fellow Job Captain and I are quietly joking about the letter scenario, likening it to American Idol auditions: the contestants who get the axe leave dejected and humiliated; the winners emerge jumping and cheering and waving their paper in the air.

9:20am: I had a "take-away" Starbucks this morning so no cup to clean. I begin cleaning my desk, sorting, filing, purging. There are no guarantees but there is comfort in tying up loose ends.

9:31am: Since my scale grew legs several months ago, I frequently borrow one from my Lebanese friend. Yesterday he asked me a strange question: do we need to return the "goody bag" we all got when we were hired? Today he asks me if I want a kettle and a clothes iron ... he is downsizing, he says. Come on Dude, I say, you haven't even received your letter of truth yet so how do you know?! I find out later that he had advance notice as to what his letter would say.

10:42am: A long time employee is beckoned to the office. There is discussion. He returns to his desk and he appears calm and normal.

Since my stapler grew legs several months ago, I go to borrow his; we share a chuckle over the color ... hot pink! (apparently he is comfortable with his masculinity). It is only when he hands me the stapler along with a box of paperclips, post-it notes, a needle nose pliers (huh?) and the drawings he has been working on that I realize all is not well. But he is not fazed. He is busily cleaning his desk and explains that our Manager has probably found him an alternate position within the organization for which he is most grateful. I have no idea if I should accept the items from him, I have not yet received my letter of truth.

11:15am: My fellow Job Captain goes to the office. He leaves. He doesn't look happy.

12:21pm: An email from the Office Manger; there will be an office gathering in "the pit" at 4 o'clock. If one didn't know the situation, it would seem like a celebration. Rather strange.

1:23pm: Lunch. I rarely stop for lunch, opting instead to stay at my desk and continue working. But today I have my sandwich on the Terrace in the company of the other long faces from the office, some of which already know their fate. Ironically (or perhaps by design), the lone Production Department casualty from the previous Black Thursday stops by to say hello. He is well but his wife was recently laid off and they are now preparing to move back to India.

2:06pm: Return from lunch. Nothing much happening in our department. The wait continues. So does the cleaning.

2:13pm: In my bottom drawer, I discover a small bag of Inukshuk pins from my Yellowknife friend. I had forgotten about them! She gave them to me with the intent that I give them away as gifts and today seems like as good a day as any. I explain several times where the pins come from and what is an Inukshuk (and then repeat the word "Inukshuk"; I'm not even sure I pronounce it correctly but no one here knows any better). On an otherwise gloomy day, it brings a few smiles.

3:25pm: "I'm out" ... the message from my Engineer friend and Hong Kong travel companion.

3:29pm: My friend Sofia and I lament the loss of our Engineer friend. Sofia already knows she is safe. I am still waiting.

3:33pm: The draftsman who sits beside me comes to my desk. My scissors grew legs several months ago and I frequently borrow his. Seems he is now bequeathing them to me. I tell him that I am so sorry to hear that he is leaving but he replies that he is not sad. He understands the situation and was expecting it. He will be returning to the Philippines.

3:36pm: An incoming call from my colleague in Abu Dhabi. We are very close to the end of a lengthy and particularly arduous process with the Municipality; he has one more request to complete this, he will email the details in the next few days. Uh, I dunno, I say, you better send it today.

3:52pm: Seems the private meetings are running a bit longer than expected so to speed up the process, we are now facing the "letter squad" in groups. Four of us are summoned together, including my favourite draftsman. We are in the second category, we will be staying. A collective sigh of relief. A salary cut is the lesser of the two evils.

4:13pm: Hor d'erves and a speech from the CEO. It is gracious and apologetic. Samosas make a suitable comfort food.

4:54pm and onwards: a steady stream of good bye's, good luck's and keep in touch'es. No one is surprised but for some this will mean certain hardship. Some are already looking for other work, some will go home.

My Iraqi friend brought his camera for one last group photo. I am losing my favourite Arabic tutor. Just yesterday he taught me a new Arabic word, "KHattah!" ("shit!")

5:10pm: Another call from my colleague in Abu Dhabi. He has one more task for me. I inform him that I will indeed be back on Sunday and will complete it then. We chat for a few minutes, seems that in total, about 40 people were released. A sizable number for a company our size.

5:35pm: A few of the survivors linger in a dwindling group. My fellow Job Captain who had left earlier returns and enquires if I have moved into his office yet??? I say, no. I was eyeing it up a few months ago when, under much better circumstances, he was vacating. But not today.

5:50pm: I head home. Twas a long, crazy day. I am tired and going to sleep early.

Sunday will be a new normal around here.

The Wardrobe Watch

The rumour-mill is churning. Seems the big project that currently consumes most the office (and most of my free time lately!) is on shaky ground right now and another round of lay-offs is imminent (so says the rumour-mill). Black Thursday ... deja-vu all over again.

During the previous rounds of cuts, I was fairly confident that I held the immunity idol -- the projects I was associated with were strong. In fact, in the January carnage, our department let go of only one person. But things have changed. One project is all but wrapped up, others are officially and indefinitely on hold and this one is teetering on the edge. While I believe my name is not at the top of the list, there are no guarantees. I could very well get voted off the island. Or, if I'm lucky, I may be given a choice among a few other options, some of which are better than others. It will be an interesting week.

I have a theory as to why it has become known as "Black Thursday". The 'Thursday' part is obvious because ... well, these things usually happen on a Thursday (which, for those of you who are wondering, is the end of the work week here). The 'Black' part comes from observing the managers on these auspicious Thursdays: seems they reserve the same attire for lay-offs and funerals. Coincidence? Conspiracy? Company policy? I dunno. I just know that any morning I see my manager arrive wearing all black, I will go clean out my coffee cup ... just in case.

Going to Larnaca, Cyprus

Unlike Canada (especially Alberta), there are very few long weekends here (December 2008 was an exception more public holidays than working days!) As happens with all the Muslim holidays it seems, it was announced on very short notice that Saturday will be Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)'s birthday. For the private sector, this means Sunday is a public holiday.

PBUH = Peace Be Upon Him. This is a phrase used to refer to certain deceased people of significant importance (Wikipedia).

Since I have been working like a dog for what feels like an eternity and after speaking with a co-worker about her vacation to Thailand next week (can you say green with envy?!), I decided I need to have another travel adventure too.

So this weekend I am going to Larnaca, Cyprus. Why Larnaca you may ask? Or more importantly where is Larnaca??? Well, south of Turkey, west of Syria, north of Egypt, east of Greece. As for why? It is relatively cheap, it is relatively close geographically, it does not have complicated Visa requirements and it is (apparently) the best diving in the region! I'm there!!!

Fact Sheet:

Official Title: Republic of Cyprus

Capital: NicosiaPopulation (million): 0.79

Total Area: 9,250 km2

Currency: 1 CAN$ = 0.38 pound (CYP)(2008)

National Holiday: October 1, Independence Day (1960)

Language(s): Greek, Turkish, English

Government of Canada Travel Advisories website:

There is no Official Warning for this country

Most Canadian visitors to Cyprus do not experience problems. Exercise normal security precautions and ensure personal belongings, passports, and other travel documents are secure at all times.

Cyprus is an independent country that continues to be divided into two de facto autonomous areas and, contrary to United Nations resolutions, into two separate zones. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognized authority, exercises control only in the Greek Cypriot southern part of the island. The northern area operates under an autonomous Turkish Cypriot administration.

Exercise caution, as driving standards are poor. While modern highways link the major cities, rural and mountain roads are often narrow, winding, and poorly maintained. Enforcement of traffic laws and regulations is inconsistent. Running of traffic lights, speeding, and tailgating are common causes of accidents.


Canada Cyprus relations:

Canada and Cyprus enjoy close bilateral relations through our shared membership in the UN and many of its agencies, the OSCE, and the Commonwealth where the ongoing dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots is regularly discussed. Canada has been very active in seeking a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question since it first deployed troops as a major contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) when it was formed in 1964. Before the withdrawal of the Canadian contingent in 1993, over 50,000 Canadian soldiers served in UNFICYP, 28 of whom lost their lives while deployed.
Trade and Investment


Bilateral commercial relations with Cyprus remain relatively modest. Canada’s exports are mostly machinery, wood products and vegetables. Canadian imports from Cyprus are mostly ships and boats, machinery and edible fruits and nuts.

In the (Canadian) News: Dub-ya to Speak in Cowtown

The UAE newspapers carry a surprising amount of Canadian content ... news, events, hockey scores. I read in The Gulf News this afternoon that George W. Bush will be speaking in Calgary next month. I can't find the article on the GN website but a quick Google search turns up plenty of hits. Since all the news agencies seem to get their stories from the same place, here is a mash-up of what's out there (spelling mistakes and all!):

Bush to speak to Calgary audience

Former U.S. president George W. Bush will give one of his first speeches since leaving office to a Calgary audience next month.

"It's our understanding it's one of the first -- if not the first -- times he'll speak since leaving office," said Geoff Pradella, vice-president of public and government affairs at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, which is partnering in the event.

Organizers Andy McCreath and Christian Darbyshire said Bush will speak to an anticipated audience of 1,500 at a private event on March 17 at the Telus Convention Centre. Darbyshire declined to give details on how much tickets will cost, what Bush will speak about or whether the former president is being paid for his appearance. The same organizers reportedly paid former U.S. president Bill Clinton $150,000 for a March 2006 speech in Edmonton, and have hired Lance Armstrong and Colin Powell for other high-profile speaking engagements in the past.

Invitations to the event say Bush will share his thoughts "on eight momentous years in the Oval Office. "The former president will also speak about "the challenges facing the world in the 21st century." The American Chamber of Commerce in Canada whose goal is to promote Canada/U.S trade is all for Bush's decision to speak in Calgary, says its executive director Norman Leach; "When George Bush speaks here and it is the first one on his speaking tour, people around the world are going to note that Calgary is in those leagues of the Londons and New Yorks and Paris'."

Mount Royal College political scientist Duane Bratt predicts protests but also says there will be many willing to pay what are expected to be lofty ticket prices to hear Bush speak; "The draw that you get is the draw of the presidency, the draw of the office, I mean this is the guy who held the highest post in the world for eight years."

An appearance in Calgary is a good way for the former president to try "dipping his toe" in the public arena, said David Taras, a University of Calgary political science professor. "I think he's probably nervous about how he'll be received, and so Calgary's a safe place," he said, pointing out the city is very conservative and pro-American.

... news of the appearance was given a muted response from Alberta's premier. When Ed Stelmach was asked in a news conference yesterday what he thought of the former president's visit to Alberta, he didn't exactly call out the Welcome Wagon for Bush. "He's a free man," said Stelmach. "He can travel to any country he wants."

(Gotta love steady Eddie ... he calls 'em as he sees 'em!)

CTV
CBC
Canoe.ca
The Toronto Star
CHCA News
ViveleCanada.ca
CityTV

Some reader comments from around cyberspace:

So, the war criminal president is speaking before a private audiance of supportive Canadians. The public is not invited. Sounds like the same stuff he was doing when he was pres. It just seems more pathetic now. He needs to watch out for being arrested for war crimes and having shoes thrown at him. That's quite a leader we just had.

Bush is not coming to Canada to address Canadians, we want no part of him. Bush is coming to downtown Calgary to address the executives of American Oil Companies that have co-opted Canada's petroleum reserves through the corruption and take-over of our democratically elected government.The streets will be lined with citizens holding shoes. (GWB should be so lucky to see citizens only holding their shoes, it's the flying ones he's gotta be worried about!)

Not doing themselves any favours: Albertans have a bit of a reputation as rednecks. Having Bush speak in Calgary isn't going to go very far in dispelling that myth.

1500 invited? Wow! That's 3000 shoes!

Now do I wear my Adidas or Nike shoes? My Sorel boots would hurt more, but they might be hard to throw.

Forget about wearing sneakers, wear ice skates instead.

The former president will also speak about "the challenges facing the world in the 21st century." Does this fool not realise that these "challenges" are the Bush legacy to the world. I hope nobody tells this clown that cowboy boots are the preferred choice of footwear in Calgary.

Why would any one pay to see a chimp trying to speak? C'mon Canadians! something little heavier than a leather shoe this time please..how about a steel toe boot?

Will the Comedy Channel care it?

LOL Bush is going to "speak"? Funny, he couln't speak for 8 years! He couldn't even put a sentence together with verbs, nouns, etc. Did he all of a sudden learn a new trick? 'Spot, roll over", "Fido: sit up". "Rover: fetch". You might know he was going to speak to an Oil company! Go figure! I'm like the others here! Lock the border! Don't let him back in! He committed "war" crimes. He committed crimes against this country! :(

... please don't call george bush a no good dog. It gives all dogs a bad name and the dogs certainly don't deserve to be lumped in the same category as little george.

Who gives a rats fat butt if the former president comes to Alberta or Canada for that matter. He clearly had nothing but distaine for our country when he was president. I think we shoud make him feel as welcome as he made Canada feel. Honestly, I coudnt imagine that there are 1500 people that hard up for something to do with their evening! Might I suggest dinner and a movie!

I'm not a fan of "W" but admit, I would go see him just out of curiosity, kinda like driving by a car crash. My invitation to the private event was probably lost in the mail though. As an aside, I saw the movie "W" a month ago, kind of a bizarre movie -- part docu-drama, part parody -- I suggest waiting until it comes out on DVD ... or the discount bins at Walmart.

I like president George W. Bush. A lot. Always have. In spite of what the press reports and the late night comedians portray, he is fundamentally a decent man. President Bush is far smarter, more articulate and less ideological than his plentiful detractors scream, and, ultimately, he will be judged by history - not by vengeful Democrats, hate-filled Hollywood, envy filled Canadians, corrupt foreign governments, an imploding mainstream media or fleeting approval ratings. Most Canadians and Americans pay closer attention to American Idol than to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Intelligent independent critical thinking is absent. When peace and prosperity come to the Middle East, and it will, the President Obama and the Democrats and left wing media will attempt to claim it as their success. But history will judge Bush according to his Bush Doctrine and will judge him kindly. He will receive the credit for that success, and will receive the Nobel Peace prize circa 2030.

As far as I am concerned, former President Bush is always welcome here in Canada.

I put these last two in here because they were the only pro-Bush comments I read. Perhaps there will only be 2,996 shoes thrown his way.

So Dubya will "share his thoughts on eight years in office" Did he have any?

Yup, apparently he did! Read on:

MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
by George W Bush
I think we all agree, the past is over. This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertaintyand potential mental loses. Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?Will the highways of the internet become more few?

How many hands have I shaked? They misunderestimate me. I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity. I know that the human being and the fish can coexist. Families is where our nation finds hope, where ourwings take dream. Put food on your family! Knock down the tollbooth Vulcanize society! Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher!
(ha ha ... the spell/grammar checker had fun with that one!)

Maybe they ought to change the title of his debut speech as past-president. My suggestion: "Make the PILE higher."

Locked out: A Keyless Saga

About 2 weeks ago I called the Mitsubishi dealership for an appointment to have the Pajero serviced, which was long overdue. This morning was the day to take it in. After an hour and a half search all through Al Quoz, I finally found the damned place! By this time, work was already calling -- three missed calls and a "where are you?" SMS -- so I hurriedly filled out the service forms, handed over the keys and zipped off to join the work day already in progress. It was a relatively normal day but then a strange feeling as I was leaving to catch a taxi home: I gave away my vehicle key which, unfortunately, still has my apartment key attached! Doh! How was I going to get in???

Plan A: call the dealership, take a taxi there, get my key and then taxi home. Nope. Al Habtoor Motors closes at 1:30pm on Thursdays (and customer service as we know it is virtually non-existent here ... no after-hours number, no answering service, not even a "call back when we're open" recorded message!) And tomorrow is the weekend so they will not re-open until Saturday. Doh!

Plan B: Did I happen to stash a key outside my apartment? I remember thinking I should do that for exactly this kind of situation. But did I do it? I couldn't remember. I remember having a mental debate of the pros and cons of a stashed key; the pro being peace of mind, the con being security. Obviously security won out. Or I just never finished that thought. Either way, no stashed key.

I was starting to feel very drained. It was the end of a long, busy day. What if I can't get in? Where will I go? I could call someone and ask to crash on their couch ... but how embarrassing! Will I have to wander the streets of Dubai for the next 36 hours until the garage re-opens and I can get my key back? The mental picture that was emerging was not appealing.

Plan C: If all else fails, go to a hotel. Just need a bed to sleep. Wouldn't be the end of the world. I've often thought I would like to stay at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, maybe I could do that tonight? I hear it is very nice albeit a bit pricey! The same clothes for 36 more hours? Nah, go buy new ones, that's what credit cards are for! Heck, it could be like a mini vacation! Room Service, satellite TV, a beer from the mini-bar! Maybe this won't be so bad after all!

Plan D: There's a locksmith a few blocks from my building. Twenty minutes and 200 Dirhams later, I was home. I was kind of balking at the price but compared to Plan C, it was the more sensible solution.

As the locksmith was finishing up, the conversation went like this:

"Madam, we have 24-hour emergency service. I forgot my
business cards back at the shop. Perhaps I will bring you one."

"That's OK, I already have one. Maybe I should put it in my
wallet for next time (ha ha!)"

"Maybe you should put one of your spare keys in your
wallet."

Touché.

Random Pictures

I bought a video camera in October but have barely used it yet. On Saturday, one of my few days off in the last little while, I was gonna go to the Ras al Khor bird sancuary, something I have intended to do for a long time. I drive by the flocks of flamingos and hurons(?) everyday and I want to get some pictures. I got to the sanctuary only to discover that my battery was out of juice :-( Yes, I should probably just stick to being Rhonda's sherpa. Ras al Khor will have to be another time.

For still shots, this camera is surpisingly poor. I think I will end up buying a digital camera afterall. None the less, with battery charged, I took a few random shots on my way home tonight.




The new Dubai World Trade Center under construction across the street from Emirates Towers. I can see this from the window of our offices. When I arrived DWTC was just a big hole in the sand. All year they've been busily building building building ... hauling, piling, forming, pouring ... but its still pretty much only at ground level.







Everything here that is green is irrigated. If not irrigated, it quickly tuns brown. The grounds of Emirates Towers are very lush and green, it is a lovely area except when the sprinklers come on at night. They use "grey water" to irrigate and the smell is ... uh ... less than fresh.




The shopping center nearest International City is the Dragonmart. Also known as "China Mall". There doesn't seem to be a very big oriental population here but those that are here seem to congergate at the Dragonmart. The bottom left corner is a bit fountain with dragons spewing water.



This is Russia cluster in International City. I do not live in Russia cluster. All that water you see in front of the building? Not really water. More like sewage overflow and yes, it has flooded that whole side of the street. Suddenly grey water does not seem so bad!

Italy cluster. Home sweet home. Well, until my lease comes up in May anyway. One of the benefits of the economic bust and the exodus of ex-pats en masse is the supply and demand graph is ever so slighty tipped in favour of the tenant and the ridculous rents demanded by greedy landlords a year ago are ever so slightly less ridiculous now.

UPDATED: A Sign of the Times

One day I will figger out all the intricacies and nifty tricks of the blogosphere. There is a way to "backtrack" to another blog but at the moment, I don't have the time so I have to just plagiarize in my usual way.


Anyhow, here is the subject of this post:

I first heard about this on a radio interview with the Porsche owner, Andy, a Construction PM who was (obviously) looking for a new job here. He said the back of the car needed to be "redone" anyway so he wrote on it.

The photo was taken by "Seabee" and posted on his blog Life in Dubai. The media in the UK picked up on it and from there the photo and the story have circled the globe! "Seabee" called in during the radio interview and talked about why he took the photo. Kind of a sign of the times.

Losing your job here is a big deal. One must be "sponsored" in order to live here and for most of us, that is our employers. The employment laws are rather convoluted but as I understand it, when one loses their job, your Visa is cancelled and you have a one month grace period (maybe two if your employer is generous) to either find another job (or sponsor) or leave the country. Since employment prospects are rather grim now, many people are pretty much forced to pack up and go home.

**************************************

UPDATE: 28 February 09

The good news for Porsche-Guy (aka Andrew Blair) is that all the exposure around the photo of his car resulted in a new job. Someone called the number enquiring about the car and ended up hiring him. Nice to hear. The National newspaper.

The bad news for Porsche-Guy is because of all the exposure around the photo of his car, his driving record and outstanding fines came under scrutiny and the car was impounded! In Dubai, one can go to the Dubai Police website, type in a license plate number (not necessarily your own) and see all the dirty little secrets of that car's owner. Since the plate number was on the original photo, some bloggers with more free time than I have checked it out; seems he had 3,850 Dirhams ($1,336CDN) in unpaid fines.

Porsche-guy says he has been humbled by the experience (having to take taxis everywhere will do that to ya!), it has opened his eyes to the fragility of this place and alls well that ends well

Incidentally, I have 1,500 Dirhams ($520CDN) in fines. They opened up the new Za'abeel Road a while back and I was using that beautiful new 3-lane freeway everyday for a few weeks before I noticed that the speed limit is only 80kph. Dubai is more or less "tax-free" but they've got other ways of generating revenue.

The Jack-Ass in Court

Yesterday (or today if you are on that side of the planet) was the next court appearance in Calgary for my jack-ass ex-boyfriend. This was for the charges filed against him on my behalf from our "domestic incident" five and a half years ago.

When I attended court in November, the judge ordered him to attend anger management counselling and he was to reappear in court on February 20th. If he completed the counselling program at that time, the charges would be dropped; if he did not, the case would go to trial.

The good news from yesterday is that the charges were not dropped. Judging from the attitude of the Crown Prosecutor in November, I half expected that the whole thing would be dismissed whether he fulfilled his end of the deal or not. He has requested more time and the matter was adjourned until April 15th.

The bad news is he obviously has not had counselling yet. I don't know the reason for the adjournment but it is probable that the counselling services have a long waiting list. Or he is just so messed up that the counsellors are still trying to figger out what to do with him.

Or (my conspiracy theory) he is exploiting the system again. In the same way he hid from the law for 5 years so the charges would eventually fall off the books, he is applying the same stall tactics through the courts except that he now has a lawyer who's as slippery as they come.

I saw the inner workings of his psyche when we were together and I have no reason to believe there is anything different now. He has a deep down need to "get away with it" ... "it" being anything he can! Sneaking into movies, a free meal, excessive use store return/refund policies (buy it, use it, throw a loud and public tantrum if they will not take it back), use of people's things (computers, cameras, vehicles) without their knowledge and/or consent, driving without a licence, continuing to "play the field" ... the list goes on and on. Any means necessary to perpetuate his free ride is justified in his mind and that includes lies, bullying and physical force. Having seen first hand the lengths he went to to try and get out of the charges against him by another previous ex-girlfriend, I am happy to be out of the country and out of reach. Fortunately he did not succeed in weaselling his way out, he was convicted but then failed to complete his sentances. My fear is that he will get a counsellor who buys into his crap instead of digging for the truth and looking for a real solution to the "Rick" problem.

So its not over yet. And in the mean time he is still out there, probably looking for his next meal ticket.

On another note, a couple of people I know saw a psychic a few weeks ago and the predictions she gave have been eerily accurate so far! I am curious but at the same time, not sure I want to know. I called anyway; she is fully booked for the next few months. Coincidently, I have an appointment to see her in April just a few days before jack-ass ex-boyfriend's next court date. Since the courts and the 'system' are not too forthcoming with information, maybe she will tell me what's going on and how this is all going to end!!!

In The News: UAE to safeguard jobs of nationals

A new law came into effect this week regulating the termination of an Emirati national's employment. They can not be made redundant for "flimsy" reasons. Here is a mash up of clips and quotes from The Financial Times, The National and The Gulf News:

UAE to safeguard jobs of nationals

The United Arab Emirates labour ministry on Wednesday said it would regulate the dismissal of nationals working in the private sector, raising another level of protection around the local workforce as the ravages of the financial crisis cut deep into the Gulf state.

Issued by Saqr Gobash, labour minister, the order threatens to raise concerns among investors in the Arab world’s second-largest economy as the financial crisis forces companies to trim staff levels that ballooned during the six-year petrodollar boom.

Property and financial companies, especially in Dubai, have been shedding staff since the credit crunch triggered a real estate crash in the emirates. The gloom has spread to other previously vibrant sectors, such as tourism, with the recently opened Atlantis hotel cutting staff and Dubai hospitality giant Jumeirah planning redundancies.

Any company wanting to terminate the employment contract of a UAE national must be able to prove that the worker is inefficient or has violated labour laws:

• absenteeism


• arriving to work under the influence of alcohol (if most are Muslim, is this really a problem???)


• stealing from the company


• forging identity documents


• non-performance of basic duties. "The decision is to regulate the termination of Emiratis working in the private sector. It does not deprive the employer of the right to hold Emiratis accountable for their low-performance," said Bin Deemas.


• committing mistakes, which result in substantial material loss for the employer
  

The economic downturn will not be reason enough to make Emirati staff redundant. Even in cases where Emiratis underperform or their positions are scrapped in a general staff reduction, they must be retained in other roles.

Employers seeking to dismiss locals will have to apply to the labour ministry 30 days in advance of any termination order, Humaid bin Demas, acting director general of the labour ministry, said at the ministry’s Dubai office.

One human resources officer, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the move could affect the flexibility of employers and hurt Dubai’s competitiveness. Emiratis already have stronger employment rights than expatriate counterparts, and firing nationals is tricky, say employers.

A corporate headhunter, however, said the policy was a “knee-jerk reaction” by the Government that “could backfire”.

“I have lived in Middle East and Saudi Arabia for over 16 years. where they had passed policies like this that have led to a huge problems in the workforce,” said Jack Montgomery, an independent executive-recruitment consultant based in Dubai. “In Saudi you will find locals not hiring locals because when they do hire them they find it extremely difficult to shift them. “Companies would now avoid hiring Emiratis when once they looked for nationals as a matter of pride and as the face of the organisation.”

Mr Montgomery said companies with a large number Emirati employees – especially banks, where up to half the employees are Emiratis – would be affected the most. “Usually when companies are laying off people it means it is either folding the company or getting rid of those who underperform. So now, where would companies get the money to retrain Emirati staff that they can’t shift to another department? Especially in a time like this it would be difficult.”

The ministry passed the order after studying a proposal from a government body that promotes local employees in the private sector, which highlighted the case earlier this month of 20 nationals made redundant by local conglomerate Al Futtaim Group, which has extensive retail and real estate interests.

Al Futtaim Group had said they were terminated because the company was "restructured in light of the current global financial crisis." In reference to about 20 Emiratis who were made redundant last week by Al Futtaim Group, Mr bin Demas said: “It is our social responsibility to keep all Emiratis in work, and I would like to play down fears that people are losing their jobs because they are not and you can see that by the number of complaints we have had in the last year.” He said the Al Futtaim layoffs were the only cases of Emiratis losing their jobs for economic reasons.“Our concern is the concern of all Emiratis, all companies and expatriates and I would like to move and reassure everyone and calm down talks of hysteria.”

UAE nationals form a tiny proportion of the private sector workforce, preferring the more comfortable public sector, along with “quasi-governmental” companies, which, while nominally private, maintain close links to the government.

But some businessmen are worried the order will make it even harder to discipline and manage local staff. The ministry shrugged off such concerns. “How can 15,000 locals out of a 3m private sector workforce be such an issue?” said Mr bin Demas.

The onshore financial sector could be particularly affected, but not the Dubai International Financial Centre, which like other free zones is exempt from such labour legislation.

Under the existing Emiratisation quota system, banks have to recruit nationals at a rate of 4 per cent annually, and insurance companies at 5 per cent. Any commercial company that has more than 50 employees has to recruit UAE nationals at a rate of 2 per cent.

Feddah Lootah, acting director-general at the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia), said this decision will curb the practice of some companies to exploit the current global financial situation to escape from their Emiratisation responsibilities.

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. It is somewhat rooted in the "national pride" movement and no one can fault them for trying to protect their own in these shaky times; the EU and the US are talking protectionism too. This law covers 0.5% of the overall work force. Granted, most of the work force are foreigners and the law is intended to benefit the locals. However, it covers only that minority portion of UAE nationals in the private sector and further reduces the count by excluding those employed in the free-zones. It was the result of a complaint by 20 individuals (0.13% of those who are covered). Two of the big property developers Nakheel and Emaar (both "quasi-government" companies) are huge employers of Emiratis, their layoff announcements have been among the most shocking. I'm curious how many of those were Emiratis (who are not covered by this week's law.)


A very miniscule percentage of the overall workforce (0.0006%) have managed to get an entire law dedicated to their cause ... and this Mr bin Demas thinks this will not be a management problem how? Perhaps he is correct in that it is probably not HIS problem. Same guy also says he "would like to play down fears that people are losing their jobs because they are not". There's a LOT of sand in the UAE and his head is firmly buried under a big freakin' pile of it!

Bottom line is the squeaky wheels got greased and some of the big wigs got some mileage out of the media coverage.

In surfing around the net and reading some comments and forums, I was surprised to see the resentment of some locals towards the ex-pats telling all of us to go home and one actually used the word "invasion". There were also apologies from other locals for their country-men's rude attitude. I have personally experienced mostly kind hospitality from of the people here so long as you respect their culture and country (which I try to) and allow them to feel they are superior (OK, whatever).

In general (but by no means absolutely), Emiratis in the workforce are not thought to be the most productive and responsible of employees. They do their job but usually on their own time and terms. They seem to be rather unmotivated as a whole and the government is trying to implement initiatives to raise their level of education, their language skills (English and Arabic!) and their expertise in subjects that matter (Engineering, business) instead the soft sciences (art history, anthrology).

Interestingly, there is a difference between the "have" Emiratis and the "have not" Emiratis. I believe that in the Northern Emirates, many of the locals live a much lower standard than in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I have not spent much time there so can't really say.

When I first arrived here last year, the Emiratis were described to me as not being able (or willing) to do the menial jobs but not equiped to take over the high level executive-type jobs. Without the expats to wait tables, clean toilets, pump gas and do business here, there would be no modern Dubai. They like to enjoy the fruits of the "new" Dubai (as they should) but they also like to resent those of us here building it for them and with them. You can't really have it both ways.

There is a story about a man who sold hot dogs by the roadside.

There is a story about a man who sold hot dogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hot dogs. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more meat and got himself a bigger and a better stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his father.

Then something strange happened. The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?" The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad time." The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, and listened to the radio, he ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next day, the father cut down his order for the meat and buns, took down the sign and was no longer enthusiastic. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his hot dog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly. The father said to his son, "Son, you were right. We are in the middle of a recession. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."

Dragonfly

The last 2 weeks have been nothing short of insane at work. The two projects that I have always seem to collide, both needing a monumental, full-time effort to keep them on track. None the less, I had my head down, nose to the grindstone, slogging my way through towards the faint and distant light at the end of the tunnel. But then office politics blew up in my face and I felt defeated. I am too naive to play that game. I was ready to give up but my boss wouldn't let me; as any good manager needs to do from time to time, he read me the riot act (in a nice way but the message was clear), gave me a kick in the pants and slowly, painfully, kicking and screaming, dragged me out of my funk.

It is now the weekend, the most immediate fires are out and I am having a guilt-free, relaxing Friday off. My chirporactor (a Muslim) does not work on Fridays so I decided a massage would be the next best thing. I had a 1 hour session at Dragonfly Therapeutic Retreat. Not the cheapest place around, 1 hour cost 199Dhs ($67CDN) but ... WOW! ... it was worth every penny (or fil)! I had knots and kinks and aches up and down my neck and spine that I didn't even know were there! But I walked out feeling a million times better. Once I see my chiropractor tomorrow, I will be good as new and ready to take on the world once more.

According to the Dragonfly "service menu", they offer some other services that struck me as curious. Perhaps my naivity extends to the realm of spa treatments as well:

Full face waxing for women (includes forehead, eyebrows, cheeks, upper lip and chin): 60 Dhs ($20CDN) ... do people actually wax their forehead??? I guess some people have not evolved beyond the apes as much as others and may need this service, I dunno.

Buttocks waxing (for women): 40Dhs ($13CDN) ... are there a lot of women out there who need to wax their ass? (incidentally men's buttocks waxing costs the same, hardly seems fair!)

Brazilian wax: 75Dhs ($25CDN) ... no mention if general anesthetic is included.

Not Always So

This week was one of those kinds of weeks; the kind that you hope you never have to repeat. Ironically this week was Groundhog Day ... here's hoping that I don't wake up to find that I lived it all wrong and I have to live it over and over again until I get it right (as in the Bill Murray movie)!!! Ugh! I won't bore y'awl with the gritty details but suffice it to say that in the windshield/bug scenario, I felt like the bug more often than not.

When things are going badly, there are a couple of phrases that come to mind that usually bring it all back into perspective (along with an ounce or two of single malt scotch) ... forgive me if I have blogged about this before: First one, from Jewish wisdom folklore:

"This too shall pass" ... or if Zen Buddhism is more your thing, "Not always so".

Those phrases have similar meanings (in my mind anyway): When things go well, be humble and cherish it. Things will not always be that way. When things go badly, be humble and take heart. Things will get better.

Second one, from the oldest living person on record, Jeanne Louise Calment (February 21, 1875 to August 4, 1997):

"I took pleasure when I could. I acted clearly and morally and without regret. I'm very lucky."

Its the 'act clearly, morally and without regret' part that sticks with me. Hey, if it works for the woman who lived 122 years, it works for me! One has to think that she was onto something!

So what's the point of all this? Yeah, this week felt like a shit-storm. Yeah, I learned some lessons the hard way. Yeah, I probably could have done things better, differently, smarter. But I'm OK. I will always be OK. Somewhere down the road, there will be a repeat of this week; a different time, different place and different set of circumstances but the net result will be the same. Stay humble, stay true and know that things will change.

And when I'm 122 years old (insha'allah!) none of this will matter!

As an aside, I came across a few other Jeanne Louise Calment 'gems' in my Google search of her:

"I've been forgotten by our Good Lord"

"I've only got one wrinkle and I'm sitting on it" (Uh, I dunno 'bout that, I saw her photo. Perhaps with her dim vision she wasn't able to see the mirror. But none the less, it is witty coming from someone her age.)

"Wit doesn't make girls pretty." (like I said ...)

"Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life."

"Every age has its happiness and troubles."

"I never wear mascara; I laugh until I cry too often."

"I see badly, I hear badly, and I feel bad, but everything's fine." (I hear ya Jeanne! I feel the same way some days!)

"I'm interested in everthing but passionate about nothing."

My all time personal favorite:

"In life, one sometimes makes bad deals." Comments on the notary public, Andre-Francois Raffray, who purchased her apartment, promising to pay $500 per month until Jeanne died. He paid twice the market value for the apartment before dying in December of 1995. Statistically speaking, it was a good deal! Who woulda thunk she would out live everybody! He was probably taking advantage of a frail old lady so maybe it served him right.

And according to Wikipedia (my source for all things trivial):

She gave up smoking only five years before her death at the age of 117 years. Though she relapsed for a year, she finally gave up smoking at the age of 119 years (blindness made it difficult for her to light a cigarette, and she was reluctant to ask others for help).

So how was my day you ask?

Some days you're the windshield.
Some days you're the bug.

Black Thursday ... again.

Several Thursdays ago, we were bombed (not literally but the shrapnel was almost as real) ... our 'flagship' project was cancelled. A good number of people were working on that in the Dubai office as well as our sister office in Detroit. Sadly, word from the Detroit office last week was that many of their people were let go including one of the Architects that did a stint in Dubai in the summer.

Yesterday was not a happy day in the Dubai office, it was our turn to face the grim reaper. I haven't heard who all or how many but the grapevine says 15% to 20% across the board. The Design side of the office let go of 5 people, our side released only one (luckily) . I'm sure that next week will be grim as we start to notice other faces who are absent.

In The News: This is the frozen north ... of the UAE

Yes, you read that right: the words UAE and frozen in the same sentence. Having survived my first scorching hot (and I do mean HOT!) summer in the middle-east, it is quite an irony to now see sub-zero temperatures and snow for only the second time in recorded history in the northern Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah on the weekend.

This is the frozen north ... of the UAE
Anna Zacharias
Last Updated: January 25. 2009 5:59PM UAE / GMT

RAS AL KHAIMAH // Snow covered the Jebel Jais area for only the second time in recorded history yesterday.

So rare was the event that one lifelong resident said the local dialect had no word for it. According to the RAK Government, temperatures on Jebel Jais dropped to -3°C on Friday night. On Saturday, the area had reached 1°C.

Major Saeed Rashid al Yamahi, a helicopter pilot and the manager of the Air Wing of RAK Police, said the snow covered an area of five kilometres and was
10cm deep.

“The sight up there this morning was totally unbelievable, with the snow-capped
mountain and the entire area covered with fresh, dazzling white snow,” Major al Yamahi said.“The snowfall started at 3pm Friday, and heavy snowing began at 8pm and continued till midnight, covering the entire area in a thick blanket of snow. Much of the snow was still there even when we flew back from the mountain this afternoon. It is still freezing cold up there and there are chances that it might snow again tonight.”

Aisha al Hebsy, a woman in her 50s who has lived in the mountains near Jebel Jais all her life, said snowfall in the area was so unheard of the local dialect does not even have a word for it. Hail is known as bared, which literally translates as cold. “Twenty years ago we had lots of hail,” said Ms al Hebsy. “Last night was like this. At four in the morning we came out and the ground was white.”

Jebel Jais was dusted in snow on Dec 28, 2004, the first snowfall in living memory for Ras al Khaimah residents.

“I had flown there in 2004 when it snowed, but this time it was much bigger and the snowing lasted longer as well,” said Major al Yamahi.

At the base of the mountains, residents also reported severe hail on Friday night. “We had hail. Last night was very cold, but there can only be snow on Jebel Jais because it’s the tallest,” said Fatima al Ali, 30, a resident of a village beneath the mountains.

In Ras al Khaimah City, 25km from Jebel Jais, sheet lightning and thunder shook houses.

Main roads from Qusaidat to Nakheel were still badly flooded on Saturday, while temperatures at the RAK International Airport fluctuated between 10 and 22°C.

M Varghese, an observer at the RAK Airport Meteorological Office, told of the storms that hit the emirate on Friday night.

“We had thunderstorms with rain for more than 12 hours and we had around 18mm rain,” Mr Varghese said. “The rain, along with the cold easterly winds and
low-lying clouds, could have bought the temperatures further down on the mountains.”

Giorgio Alessio, a meteorologist at the Dubai meteorology office, said: “In thunderstorms, the rain comes down very rapidly from higher levels, and the rain that usually forms can reach the ground in some places as snow. In the next few days the weather regime is completely different and will return to normal for the season, with a maximum temperature of 23°C or 24°C.

“The night might cool down in the desert below 10°C. There is variability in the weather from year to year but it hasn’t shown a trend in getting colder or getting warmer.”

The RAK Government plans to transform the 1,740m Jebel Jais into the UAE’s first outdoor ski resort, using Australian technology that will allow tourists to ski in temperatures up to 35°C.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai also had heavy rain on Friday night.

Just the other day I was reading on Facebook about the snow back home, still quite a pile in Medicine Hat from what I hear and I was kinda thinking to myself that I kinda miss the snow (but not the minus 30 temperatures!) I guess the universe was listening!

A couple of articles and pictures from the Gulf News website:

Gulf News
Gulf News

Little Green Man From Mars?

An excerpt from a client's email last week; his comments on some project minutes:

Few remarks on your Report No. 10:
- In the attendance list e-mail addresses, please correct my name, is martin (not martian).

Ha ha!
Rule #1: Never ever mistake your client for a little green man from Mars!
Rule #2: See rule #1.

(I was not the author of those minutes by the way, I would never do such a thing).

Anniversary

"Up there where the grass grows lush and green"

Tomorrow will be 7 years since my Dad passed away. Hard to believe its been that long. He is still very much a part of our family through memories, photos, stories.

When my Mom visited Dubai, she said that she thought Dad would have loved Dubai. I kinda disagreed, I don't think he would have liked Dubai at all ... the traffic, the humidity, the unfamiliarity ... he was not a carefree, easy-going traveler as I recall from some of our family vacations as a kid. As we discussed it further, my Mom clarified her thought: Dad would be proud to see what each of us "girls" has accomplished career-wise, personally, independence, intelligence. He would be especially proud of his Grandchildren, we often lament that he is not here to see them grow and for them to know him personally. My nephew has definitely inherited "Grandpa Herb's" talent for inventing and building things!

Where ever he is, I hope he is watching and is indeed proud. Life is good for me and he is a big part of who I have become. For that I will always be grateful.

On this anniversary date, in his honour, I usually go to "coffee row" at Tim Hortons, wash my truck (which used to be his) and change my radio to the country music station. Since there's no TH's here (and Starbucks is not the same), my truck is back home (he is probably cringing that I now drive a Mitsubishi - blasphemy!) and country music is virtually non-existent here, I may have to change my tradition a little bit ... I wonder if I can find a Calgary Sun with some wuzzles???

The Comforts of Crazy Busy

When I arrived in Dubai last year to start my new job, the markets in the Gulf region and Dubai in particular, were nothing short of frenzied. My second project here was the concept design of a 5-tower residential project in Abu Dhabi. The first of the 5 towers to be launched, about 350 apartments, sold out in less than 30 minutes! That's more than 1 apartment per minute ... if ya took too long to fill out the paperwork, you were SOL!

Incidentally, that project is currently inching along towards construction and was recently plunked back in my lap after being breifly passed over to another colleague. Working on the concept design was a new and interesting experience for me but construction documents is where it's at! I'm excited to have it back in my portfolio cuz now we're getting down to the nuts and bolts of how to build the thing!

There is another, less benevolent reason that I am happy to have that project back.

Our office has thus far riden the econonic low-tide fairly steadily. Things were a bit hairy back in November though: in the 10 days I was away in Canada, the economic climate of Dubai did a complete about-face! I left behind an extremely hectic workload and returned to find my bread-and-butter projects were haulted. Fortunately, I had other projects to fill the void (I was a teensy bit relieved to have some breathing room!) But others in the office were not so lucky and there were some sad good byes just before Christmas.

December was a slow month, partially because of the economy, partially because there was an abundance of public and religious holidays with a few extra days tacked on to mourn the death of the Ruler of Umm Al Qwain. But come January, people returned from vacation, work resumed, things were settling back into a routine.

For a good portion of last year, we had one gargantuan sized project that's been chugging along towards construction. Ten towers on a single site, a big job that has consumed the lives of much of the office here and several of our sister offices around the world (apparently I was nominated to work on that one; I was flattered but I resisted. I don't yet have even one tower under my belt, let alone ten!) Throughout all the hoo-hah that is a way of life in Dubai, this project has been a steadying force, the ballast that keeps the ship sailing upright.

Unfortunately, the ship has hit rough waters. Yesterday morning the rumour mill was on fire and a short time later, it was announced that the gargantuan project has fallen victim of the credit crunch like so many others. This is very bad news. Where management has thus far taken a "wait and see" stance and lay-offs have been minimal, this is a fatal blow.

And the timing was not great either! Last night was our company annual (Christmas) dinner to celebrate a highly successful 2008 for NORR. We were hosted at the extravagant Atlantis Hotel, which is itself, a NORR masterpiece that was completed this fall and kicked off the festive season with a Grand Opening that was over the top, even by Dubai standards! However, our event last night was a subdued one (except for one rather entertaining solo dance performance by an over-indulgant Michael Jackson wanna-be) and was inauspiciously dubbed, "the last supper". No official word yet as to who will have the sorry task of cleaning off their desk come Sunday morning.

As a footnote to yesterday's bummer revelation, an email came through late in the day saying that another, smaller project also went south. My co-workers have not seen that one yet so if there were long faces yesterday, there will surely be more long faces and probably some tears next week.

I don't believe I am on the chopping block just yet, knock on wood! As I said, I am happy to be back on the 5-tower project (and, more importantly, they are happy to have me ... I think?!) not just because the experience looks good on my CV or that it is exactly the kind of work I like to do or even that I have an affinity for it being my first real project in Dubai. While most of my co-workers are mulling about, pondering the uncertainty of their futures, I have deadlines, emails, conference calls, meetings and stacks of drawings to be reviewed! If I was running my ass off, crazy busy during the height of the economic frenzy, I am even more crazy busy now that there is a "slow down" ... and there is a certain level of comfort in that.

Random Pictures

Some random pictures now that I finally got my new video camera and my laptop to play nice:

This is the normal view from my balcony:

This is the view from my balcony with 89% humidity!

Was down by Dubai Creek and the cultural area near Ruler's Court yesterday and it was a beautiful day:

Learning Arabic

assalaamu 9alay-kum (Peace be upon you)

kayf Haal-kum? (How are you?)

abaa ala9allam arabee insha’ allah bas Sa9abah (I want to learn Arabic, God willing, but it is difficult!)

I am taking a class at The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding to learn to speak Arabic. It cost 1250 dirhams (about $413CDN) for 18 weeks including the course material and teaches spoken Arabic of the Gulf region (specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia). It started in October so we are about half way through. It is Ladies only (presumably there is a Men only class at another time) and it doesn't teach any written Arabic with the exception of numbers, which I had already learned from reading licence plates. At some point when I feel more ambitious I will start to work on the written though, even just knowing numbers has come in handy. However, for now, if I can have a basic conversation with a native Arabic speaker and be understood, that will be success.

The Many Faces of Arabic

One of the challenges of learning Arabic is the MANY different variations of the same language. There’s standard/classical Arabic which is considered the mother tongue and (I’m told) this is the language of the Qur’an; it is understood by religious scholars and academics but almost no one else. Then there’s Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dialects which are common here ... Lebanese, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, et al. And then there's the North African varieties which are all somewhat different again. Even our geographically close neighbors in Saudi Arabia speak slightly differently than the Emiratis. From time to time, I will hear my Arabic-speaking co-workers switch mid-conversation to English so as to avoid mis-understandings or just to clarify what the other is saying. So when I enlist my Iraqi and Lebanese co-workers to help me with my weekly homework assignments, it is not always helpful since my Emirati teacher seems to (or just chooses to) understand only Emirati Arabic.

Wikipedia

As an aside in the category of things I did not know before I moved here: Iran is not an Arab country. They are Persians. The official first language of Iran is Farsi. Mistaking an Iranian for an Arab is a little like comparing a Canadian to an American.

The Romanization of Arabic

The other challenge in learning Arabic is that it is a very loose language when it comes to spelling and grammar. That is compounded by the fact that what I am learning is “transliterated” Arabic using the English alphabet and there seems to be a lot of latitude in the cross-over. An example: one of the first projects I worked on here (and still am!) is in an industrial area of Abu Dhabi called “Mussafah”. However, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi website spells it “Mussaffah”. When you drive into town, there are two signs along the highway within sight of each other, each with a different spelling and both different from what I was using. None are right or wrong, there are no set rules for the transcription process so me thinks they make it up as they go.

Fur Balls are Normal

The biggest challenge of all are the sounds used which have no equivalent in English unless you consider horking up a fur ball by an English-speaking person as English. Next, one must train the ear to distinguish which horking sound is the correct one as there are subtle differences:

9 … my course material defines this as “a strangling sound at the back of the throat”; think big fur ball.

kh … as in Scottish “loch”; a small furball

gh … like the ‘kh’ but in the back of the throat like a Parisian ‘r‘; small fur ball with a "roll" to it

dh … is a ‘th’ sound as in “this”

DH … is the same as the ‘dh’ sound except louder, thus the capital letters; think of thomeone thpitting with a lithp

H … a loud exhale; think of breathing in someone’s face, as in "does my breath smell bad ... HHHHHHH?"

"... blah blah blah ..."

There is an episode of the 'The Simpsons' where Bart is trying to train Santa's Little Helper (the family dog) to behave or he will be put to sleep; what the dog hears is ... blah blah blah blah sit blah blah blah blah lay down blah blah blah blah roll over.

I hear a lot of Arabic around and I feel a little like Santa's Little Helper ... blah blah blah blah Hello! blah blah blah blah God willing blah blah blah blah Thank you. The odd word pops out that I acutally understand which is kinda cool!

Hashish

In one of our classes recently, one student (a Chinese lady) was reciting a paragraph in Arabic that she had composed which talked about her family going to the park and having a pic-nic on the grass. She did not know the word for "grass". Turns out, the Arabic word for "grass" is "hashish". Once the Irish girl and I stopped laughing, we explained to our young Emirati teacher (and the others in the class who didn't get it) what hashish is in English. Not too sure what the Arabic word is for "marijuana".

"Let him buzz off"

Last week just before the New Year's break, the Manager of our Production Department was in a particularly jovial mood, full of piss n' vinegar in fact. Usually its me who's on the receiving end of his terrible jokes because he's known me for a long time and knows I probably won't get too overly offended. But on this day it was our Iraqi colleague who was in the humour-hot-seat.

Mohammed (the aforementioned Iraqi colleague) has been a very supportive and patient language tutor and most of what I know so far is because of his help. Since our boss has learned virtually no Arabic in the 8+ years that he's lived here and since he was totally asking for it and since I had just learned a new phrase the day before, I said to my Iraqi friend, "khalli walli". Those who were within ear shot who understood it cracked up immediately because in my very limited Arabic vocabulary, that phrase fit the situation perfectly ... the 'polite' translation of "khalli walli" is "Let him buzz off" or, loosely, "tell him to go to hell". Since I've known my boss for a long time too, I also know that I can say such things and get away with it. He couldn't have been too offended as later that day, he asked me to repeat the phrase so he could learn it and has since started using it himself.

shwaiy shwaiy (slowly slowly!)

So my progress in speaking Arabic is coming along. Any time I feel sorry for my poor English-speaking self trying to learn this crazy Arabic stuff, I need only think if my Chinese class-mate. She is learning a very difficult language via another language that is not her native tongue from a teacher whose English is limited and whose accent is hard to understand, even for me! She is doing very well though, better than I am actually!

In The News: Ruler of Umm Al Quwain passed away

Published: January 02, 2009, 14:42
Shaikh Khalifa mourns death of Ruler of Umm Al Quwain

Abu Dhabi: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan mourns the death of Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, His Highness Shaikh Rashid Bin Ahmad Al Mualla, who passed away Friday morning in London.

A week long state of mourning has been declared during which flag will fly at half mast, while all ministries and other government departments and institutions will close for three days beginning from Friday.

XPress
The Gulf News
Arabian Business

We are waiting to hear an announcement as to whether tomorrow (Sundays are work days here) is a day off for the private sector as well ... cuz there just haven't been enough days off in this country in the last month or so ('lill bit 'o sarcasm there: National Day was December 2, then there were 5 days off for the second Eid, Christmas, Islamic New Year and now Gregorian New Year, it is estimated that Goverment employees worked about 5 or 6 days in the last month).

Happy New Year ... is it 2009 aready?!

Happy New Year!!! Sending out best wishes to everyone for 2009.

New Year in Dubai was cancelled. On December 30, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai announced that New Years in Dubai would be rung in "with a sombre tone as a token of solidarity with the Palestinian people and with the Gaza Strip in particular." In case you hadn't heard, many people have died in the Palestinian Territories from attacks by the Israeli's.

Tourist hot spot Dubai has had all New Year celebrations cancelled by ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum over the attacks in Gaza.

Hotels were trying to rearrange their plans amid confusion over the extent of the order.

It calls for Dubai to mark the New Year "with a sombre tone as a token of solidarity" with the Palestinian people and with the Gaza Strip in particular.

The manager of the four-star Arabian Courtyard said there would be no music or dancing to ring in the New Year, although the hotel's restaurants and bars will stay open.

It was unclear if other hotels would follow suit. Most said they cannot yet comment on whether the ban will affect the city's champagne dinners and raucous bar bashes.

Organisers also said they did not know if a concert by pop star Shakira in Abu Dhabi will go ahead.

Some celebrations have also been cancelled in Jordan and Egypt in solidarity with Gaza.

Google
The Gulf News
Arabian Business

Alcohol, music, dancing, etc were all banned (at public functions anyway) and there was to be no countdown. Apparently there is a huge fireworks display every year which was also cancelled. Some of the bars and clubs still held their functions sans alcohol and music since they had sold tickets and brought in some big name celebrities but some cancelled them altogether. I believe the other emirates partied as usual.

I was invited out to a New Years house party with my boss. I was blasted with silly string, boo'd off the stage in guitar hero and forced to wear party hats "Madonna-style" (there's a whole 'nother side to my boss when he's away from the office!). We had a few drinks (which was allowed in a private residence), BBQ'd pork ribs (non-Muslim Canadian crowd) and did a count-down to the big moment with champagne. It was a nice time.

My NY Resolution is to keep the blog up to date!!! I know, I said that before and it didn't happen. My other NY resolution is to get to work on time every day. I know, I said that before too.

Happy Birthday to My Niece

Sending out a happy birthday wish to my special little niece back home. Well, maybe not so little anymore. Getting to be all growed up and she's a very smart cookie!

So Happy Birthday Karli! Wishing you a great day and sending you lots of love.

Excerpt From the Weather Network Website

Yesterday, as I was driving home from the mall after work, I had the sunroof open and I said to myself, "Self, winter is here and plus twenty is just a bit too chilly to have the roof open." Guess I shouldn't complain about the weather to any of you back home ...

WINTER STORM WARNING: City of Calgary
Issued at 4:28 AM MST FRIDAY 12 DECEMBER 2008

10 TO 15 CM OF SNOW WITH BLOWING SNOW TODAY AND TONIGHT. THIS IS A WARNING THAT DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS...LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.

AN INTENSE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHERN BC THIS MORNING WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD THROUGH MONTANA TONIGHT ... 10 TO 15 CM OF SNOW IS FORECAST ACROSS THE REGIONS ... UP TO 20 CM OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS... STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS OF 40 TO 60 KM/H ... DAYTIME HIGHS INTO THE MINUS TWENTIES FOR THE WEEKEND ... STRONG WINDS ... POOR VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW ... WINDS GUSTING TO 80 KM/H MAY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. AS THE TEMPERATURE PLUMETS AND WINDS PERSIST ON SATURDAY, WIND CHILL VALUES OF -35 TO -40 CAN BE EXPECTED.

Time to get out the balaclavas and the long johns!

Hong Kong for a few days

K, well, remember what I said about updating my blog this weekend??? Gonna have to reneg on that (sorry!) I got a better offer :-)

One of the Engineers that I work with called and is going to Hong Kong for 3 days since we have an extra long weekend here for the second Eid. He was looking for a travel buddy. Since I was sitting around doing basically nothing and kinda bored and there was one seat left on the plane, I decided to go too.

So the blog will have to wait a few more days.

My plane leaves in a few hours so I need to go pack now ... and go stick that needle in my eye :-(

Some Random Photos from the last few months

My Mom visited Dubai in October. When she wasn't busy hemming my pants or cleaning my apartment or shopping for gifts for the kids or scouring the city for a drain plug that fit my kitchen sink, we went to see some of the sights of Dubai.

Mom at the new Atlantis Resort Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah.

Mom and I went "dune bashing" on a Desert Safari. Don't worry, they provide the drivers!

Mom's henna tattoo.

Mom and I having brunch at Mercato Mall.

Mom at Jumeirah Beach in Dubai.

Flat Stanley at Jumeirah Beach in Dubai. Sadly, when you are a paper-and-jiffy-marker man, big waves from the sea are not your friend :-(

Shortly after my Mom went home, my Sweetie arrived for a 3 week visit. For the first week he was here (my birthday week!), we went to Jordan.

This is one of my favorites. Our first glimpse of the Dead Sea. Later, we went for a little dip in the sea ... or rather a "float".

Warning signs along the Dead Sea highway.

Sweetie and I at Mount Nebo in Jordan.

Petra was one of the highlights of Sweetie's visit. There he is ... lower right-hand corner, checking out the rocks.

One day while I was at work, Sweetie went to check out the Dubai Zoo. Yup, them turtles are doing exactly what it looks like ... haha!

My Sweetie is a silly silly shutterbug :-)

Return From my Hiatus

Hiatus

hi-a-tus [hahy-ey-tuhs]

–noun, plural -tus-es, -tus.

1. a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.
2. a missing part; gap or lacuna: Scholars attempted to account for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript.
3. any gap or opening.
4. Grammar, Prosody. the coming together, with or without break or slight pause, and without contraction, of two vowels in successive words or syllables, as in see easily.
5. Anatomy. a natural fissure, cleft, or foramen in a bone or other structure.
6. a Belgian crustcore band
7. A euphemism for unemployment

I know, it has been a VERY long time since I wrote anything meaningful here and I apologize. Rest assured that all is well and I was NOT abducted by aliens.

Unfortunately today is not the day that I will catch up on all the latest BUT next week I have 3 days off work for the second Eid and I PROMISE (cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye) I will catch up on everything that's been happening ... and there's a lot to report.

My Mom visited Dubai.

My Sweetie visited Dubai.

My Sweetie and I went to Jordan for 6 days.

I had a birthday ... hey, 40 is the new 20 ... at least that's what I'm telling myself!

I went to Canada.

I went to court for my Dumb-ass ex-boyfriend's charges.

I saw my family and friends.

I came back to Dubai.

The economy crashed and burned (hoping I am not about to use "hiatus" as per definition #7 above!)

Today's post is partly to test out my new toy. I bought a video camera before our trip to Jordan and have finally figgered out how to get the data off the camera and into some sort of usable format and onto blogger. Here's a trailer ... a short clip from our day at Petra:




Update: Grrrrr! It took two and half hours to upload this 34 second clip and seems there is no sound ... grrrr! There must be an easier way.

The gist of the video is this: we had very limited time at Petra; Sweetie decided a horse ride to the top would save some time. While I was trying to negotiate a less ridiculous price, Sweetie (bless his heart) forked over the cash.

Sweetie was given a lovely Bay mare which followed the guide leading it with calm, relaxed complacency. But I swear those scoundrels decided to get back at me by giving me the crankiest, most discontented creature they had! After groaning, grunting, fussing and complaining all they way up the mountain (and the horse was not very happy either!), the guide dumped us off seemingly in the middle of no-where and high-tailed it back down the mountain with horses in tow (presumably to gouge the next batch of unsuspecting tourists). I noticed that even the guide wasn't riding the horse that he gave to me ... @$$hole!

This clip is the beginning of the ride when I started to see that my horse was not going to be very cooperative. If there was sound, you would hear the panic setting in.