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 “disc jockey” in Dubai (still have no idea how she heard that), she took it upon herself to email every Dubai radio “disc jockey” that she could find contact details for.  Again, I have no idea why she didn’t just ask me for his email address if she wanted to talk to him, but this way is much more funny.  After failing to find the correct DJ, she let me know that she had tried, and how she had tried.  I’m sure, like many people, she thought this country is so small that there are only a couple of DJ’s.  I still wonder if any of those radio DJ’s that she contacted (many wrote her back) ever told that story on the radio.  ”Some lady thinks I’m dating her granddaughter…”  

Anyway.  Simon was DJ’ing and as a perk, he got a free room at the Crowne Plaza for the night, so I came along and had a little “Treat Yo Self” day, like in Parks and Recreation.  Please listen to me and watch that show.

Pretty (free!) view from the room.

Lovely (free!) giant bathtub.

Not-so-great (but free!) window into the bathroom with blinds that can be closed and opened from the OUTSIDE.

Whyyyyyy???  

I watched some Italian version of Can’t Cook Won’t Cook (at least that’s what I think it was, I don’t understand Italian but have absolutely no problem watching their cooking shows anyway) and browsed the ol’ web for awhile.

Then I decided that if I was going to lounge around watching TV in the world’s most comfortable bed all day, I should do something productive first so I didn’t feel guilty for being a sloth.  So I went for a bike ride around Yas Island.

And I saw some pretty cool stuff. 

I was surprised to see a drinking fountain on the bike/running path.  I was even more surprised that it worked.  I naturally found it necessary to taste the water to judge how practical the drinking fountain actually was.

Verdict: Hot, gritty water with a chemical aftertaste.

I stuck with my CamelBak for the rest of the ride.  And also cursed it for not being large enough to hold dozens of Ikea items.

After my ride, I hit the steam room then got a manicure and pedicure.  Then I put on my ratty sweatpants and went down to the hotel bar to have a drink.  Apparently girls are welcome in bars even if they’re wearing sweatpants and no makeup and their hair is in a wet bun.  My little sister probably just threw up after reading that.

They had an Oktoberfest celebration going on in the hotel bar so I enjoyed my pint of Oktoberfest beer and watched the German band perform.  I even met some fellow Americans and realized that I no longer feel excited when I meet fellow Americans.  I wonder when that happened.

I think it’s important to spend some time alone like this.  Not in your house by yourself, but out places you do not frequent, around people you don’t know.  

Or as Ron Swanson would say, Crying is only okay in two places: funerals and the Grand Canyon. 

 Funnily enough, I couldn’t find an appropriate Ron Swanson quote.