February 2012
2 posts
Lebanese Guys Keep Calling Me a Redneck
Lebanese Guys: Something something you're a redneck.
Me: -__-
Lebanese Guys: Something something redneck redneck
Me: "LOOK, just because I'm AMERICAN doesn't mean I'm a redneck."
Lebanese Guys: *Muttering*
Me: "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! My neck is red from coloring my hair. Sorry, I thought you were calling me a hick."
Lebanese Guys: "Hick?"
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January 2012
11 posts
Instinct
The post I wrote the other day has led to some back and forth commenting on dogs in Dubai and I was reminded of something that happened a couple of weeks ago…
I was walking Beesly in the desert area across from where I live. Well, I was walking and she was off her leash chasing pieces of garbage that were rolling in the wind and generally frolicking around as dogs do.
I usually don’t see any...
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Cultural-Differences-Induced Hurt Feelings
I get stared at when I walk Beesly. Every time I walk Beesly. Most of the time I try to respect the different cultural views about dogs and be as understanding as I can that some people are going to dislike my dog. Some people are going to fear my dog. And some people are going to be disgusted by my dog.
Simon told me that he was walking Beesly the other day and when he walked out the door, a...
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2012 Accomplishment!
Last April I ordered myself 4 pairs of Havaianas online, then returned them because I was a doofus and ordered the wrong size. (Doofus??) While I was waiting on the refund I placed the order again (this time ordering the correct size) and asked some friends and some fellow Tumblrs (hi Gubbi and Michelle and also Lindsay even though I don’t think you ordered any Havaianas!) if they’d...
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Maintenance
Yesterday I called my apartment maintenance peeps because none of the lights in one bedroom were turning on.
I texted Simon about this bizarre problem and he reminded me that the day before was the day he decided we “needed” a dimmer switch in the living room and then “installed” or “wired” said dimmer switch… So maybe that was the problem?
It was the...
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I’m not sure if you and I have talked about the resemblance, but the resemblance has definitely been discussed…
No offense taken either- she acts like that retarded dog plenty!
The other day I watched her walk up to the cat, who was resting on the sofa. The cat immediately started smacking Beesly on the nose over and over again with her paw and Beesly just stood there and...
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The Dogs of Koh Samui
There are lots of “communal” dogs in Thailand. Many people chip in to take care of them and give them some love.
ESPECIALLY ME!
That there dog’s name is Nina and she understands a bit of English and a bit of Thai. She’s been Lord’s Bar’s dog for 8 years, and has seen quite a few changes in management in that time. She’s usually sleeping under the...
The Funniest Thing I Think I've Ever Thought Of
(The hilarity of this will differ depending on your sense of humor, BE WARNED!)
Simon and I just got back to our apartment from vacation a couple of hours ago and the first thing I want to tell the Internet about my trip was this great idea I think I had… but had too late.
So, really, it’s a bittersweet story.
Simon and I went on a 7am-5pm kayaking trip the other day. Everyone is...
December 2011
11 posts
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Merry Christmas!
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Camping
Simon and I went camping last weekend. We camped in the same place we’ve camped many times before. It’s easy to get to, which makes for a relaxed camping trip.
ONE TIME we went camping and I was driving my Ford Escape (cute, but not a 4x4) to this place we had never been that was listed in the UAE/Oman Off-Road book we have. Despite the name of the book, this was not supposed to be...
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Santa
The other day I read this IAMA (Q & A) with a department store Santa Claus. You can really tell he loves his job. Aw, aw, aw.
He also gives good advice for parents:
I thought I could give you guys a few helpful tips if you plan on taking kids to see Santa this holiday season:
1.) If you have kids that are scared at all, the worst thing you can do is build up pressure. One mistake a lot...
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Our Tree
This is “our” tree:
It lives in our “usual” camping place.
Last year, Simon carved our initials on that tree.
I had forgotten all about it, until we went back to the same spot to camp last weekend.
Yes, my idea of romance was acquired at a young age.
(I am sorry for condoning hurting a tree. Now that I’m blogging about it I feel less googley-eyed and more...
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Wantful
If you don’t know yet, Wantful is a site that asks you questions about a person you’re shopping for and then supposedly picks out gifts that are good for that specific person.
I tried it…
I guess I don’t know him that well because he turned 31 in May. Whoops.
This was the first thing they suggested for Simon. A chinoise ricer thing. How did they know that’s...
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November 2011
12 posts
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I had to go to a typing office today so I could type something and print it. It was just one page and not very many words worth of ink and they charged me 5aed ($1.36) for it.
I asked for a receipt because I like to be obnoxious about expensing everything I can because it’s satisfying to think of certain work people getting annoyed with my request to be reimbursed such a minuscule...
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Traditional Thanksgiving Awkwardness
I thought it would be fun if everyone in my office, and everyone who visited my office during the month of November, wrote down something they were thankful for and taped it to the “Wall of Thankfulness”.
Yep I should be a schoolteacher.
Some people didn’t seem to “take it seriously”, in my opinion, but to each his own and whatever whatever.
I’m at work...
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Dragon Mart Sucks.
Ok, not really. But out of 4000 shops, guess how many kitchen shops there are? Actually, that’s sort of difficult to answer. There were a few restaurant supply-ish shops that sold industrial dough mixers and cotton candy machines… but I only found ONE shop that sold things a home cook might use. And it was a very small shop. And I bought nothing there.
Really big metal spoons....
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Thanksgiving in Dubai
When my dad was teaching me how to use chopsticks he told me that kids in Asia might only use chopsticks and were really good at it even when they were just kids, like me! I remember my child brain being very impressed. I said, “Yeah, but it would be hard for them to learn to use a fork, just like it’s hard for me to use chopsticks!” My dad was like “Um, no. Anyone can...
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I'm planning my first-ever trip to Dragon Mart on...
Isn’t it amazing? 5 years in this country and I’ve never been! Yep, I’m sticking with “amazing”. It feels right.
This is Dragon Mart:
It’s almost 3/4 of a mile long! And has almost 4000 shops! So of course I need to do some research. I know myself. If I walk around in a crowded THAT all day and do not stumble across the kitchen supply stores…...
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More Adventures in Shopping at an Indian...
Yesterday I stopped by my local Indian grocery store on the way home from work. I’m making Thanksgiving dinner this Friday and, especially since Simon is out of town, I’ve set up a plan to pick up groceries after work everyday this week instead of being overwhelmed with a huge shopping trip on Thursday.
I gathered as many groceries as I could carry in one trip (like a dozen gigantic...
October 2011
12 posts
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Treat Yo Self
Last weekend, Simon DJ’d for a private party in the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza on Yas Island. That’s right, Simon sometimes moonlights as a DJ, and he’s really good at it! He really likes it when you ask him “Can you play that song that goes mmm-hmmm-hmm-ba-ba-ba-baaaaa-mmmm?”
TANGENT: When my Nan found out that her granddaughter’s new boyfriend was a...
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Ferraris and Friendship
Simon already blogged about this here. But there are two sides to every story, so…
As Simon said, we saw a whole lotta Ferraris last weekend. There must have been 20 or so parked outside the hotel where we lunched like the fancy people we are. Though you get used to seeing expensive luxury cars all the time in this country (like the Bentley that was parked outside the cheap Indian...
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Dune Bashing
For the first time ever, Simon has a 4x4 (4WD SUV). Obviously he wanted to take it out for a day of abuse.
Never mind that it’s a rental 4x4 and definitely had a few scrapes and dings by the end of the day.
Whoops.
It’s necessary to deflate your tires a bit when driving over sand dunes. It’s also necessary for your American-military-grade-tactical-pants-wearing English...
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September 2011
9 posts
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The anatomy of a trip to the closest (read:...
Dodge several oblivious lane-blockers to get to the “meats” section (which also sells olives).
Make a face at the annoyingly loud, crackly, Hindi music playing. Realize it’s so especially annoying because it’s playing through NOKIA CELL PHONE SPEAKERS.
The “butcher” looks at you and nods, annoyed, so you ask him for “1/2 kilo of mince beef”.
He...