Too many things to write about!

It has been a while since I wrote in here (other than my cats that I posted earlier today).  The long hours are not letting me have much free time.  I will try to remember everything that has happened.

1.  Don't use the ice cubes!!! 
I have been told that when you are out of the US don't drink the water unless you boil it for a few minutes before hand.  I have been doing that and have not really had a problem...until now.  Two nights ago it was so hot out that I got ice in my water at a restaruant.  Well...unless you are certain they use bottled water for their ice - don't get it!  Ugh...my only day off (not really because I still have to work form home) and I can't leave the house for more than 20 minutes!  I don't know what I am going to do when I have to go back to work tomorrow!  But one good thing that came out of it (no pun intended) - I used the b-day for the first time!  LOL

2.  Beach
Last Friday when my friends Nancy and Veronica were here I got to spend a little time with them.  Nancy and I went down to the beach last Friday.  The beaches themselves are beautiful - white sand, emerald blue warm water, nice setting.  The exprience of the beach was terrible and I won't be going  back to a public beach here ever again.  90% of the beach population was male - and they are just down there to get a glimpse of the handful of girls that actually wore bikkinnis.  The water was packed with only about 3 feet between people - and of course mostly men.  The only woman going in the water were covered from head to ankle...even some in jeans!  I decided to save my sanity and wear my pants in to the water.  I was still staired at since I have lighter skin, green eyes and my bikkinni top on.  Wearing my pants in the water was uncomfortable and weird.  Both Nancy and I decided to leave early since we were  both just so uncomfortable.  If I ever have time to go to the beach again I will get a membership at one of the resorts to use their more private beaches. 

3. Singing in the rain
On Thursday it rained.  It rarely rains here - usually about twice a year in the winter.  So this rain was a big deal.  It was a California rain though and not a Texas rain.  I barely got damp walking a half mile to work in it.  But it was nice to feel the few drops and to have some cloud cover.  It has been a month since I have seen a cloud.

My job is becoming more demanding and I am having issues with keeping time constraints.  If I don't receive all of the information to build a report I can't finish it on time - and then of course I get the nasty grams.  All I can do is simply apologise and state that I am still waiting on the information from others and that it will hopefully be here soon.  I seem to be doing a lot of apologizing.  It is also hard to fit it all in 80 hours a week.  I need more time, but I also need more rest.  I sure hope they get some more help.  I think all of us will be burned out soon.  In the mean time I keep trucking along.  My spirits and work ethic are high and I guess that is all that really matters right now.

That is all I can think of for now.  More to come!  Chow!

"MY" Cats

I finally have pictures of both the stray cats that I feed.  I am one of many that take care of them.  These pictures don't do justice to their true personalities.  Their names are (and this just what a few of us call them, not sure what the others have named them) are Jersey and Sissy.  One of the guys named Jersey because he said the poor cat is "hung like a Jersey bull".  He is quite endowed for a cat hahahaha.  Sissy got her name because I think she is Jersey's sister.

This is Sissy.   She has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.  You really can't tell in the picture, but they look like deep emeralds - and they almost glow they are so rich.  She also has the loudest meow I and talks non-stop.  As you can see here, she is talking to me.  If you look closely, she is missing all the teeth on the lower right side of her jaw.  I am not sure how it happened, but I can imagine she was probably kicked and abused.  She is very friendly, but still has a wild side to her and we can't pet her for very long.

This is Jersey.  He looks seriously mean but he is the sweetest of the two.  Jersey does not have a voice and he tries really hard to meow but only looks like he is hissing at you.  He is the one that had the mangled leg a few weeks ago.  You can see it in the picture a little, but this was taken after it started healing quite nicely.  With all of the nutrition he gets I am sure it boosted his immune system so he could heal better.  I am happy to say he is walking around now and is getting fat and sassy.  He is such a lover.  If he could, he would be touching me all day long or sitting in my lap just purring away.  When I am outside and don't pay attention to him (sometimes I have to do that otherwise he will follow me right in to the building or the subway) he will lay on my feet like he owns me.  I think he might have a home soon.  There is an Indian lady in the building that told one of the other guys that works for a different company that she would take him but she has a female cat and she can't afford to have them fixed.  He has kindly offered to pay for both cats to be fixed so she can take him in.  As for Sissy, we still need to find her a home.

Something strange about Dubai:  The people here HATE cats and dogs as pets.  They think they are filthy animals and the people that own them or touch them are just as worthless.  However, showing off how much money you have (or don't have) is very big here.  So, the ones that really want to show their wealth will buy exotic and endangered animals and then proudly display them for everyone to see - as their pets.  This is a very sad situation.  I have seen a black panther with is claws ripped out and his teeth filed down to nubs riding in the back of an Astin Martin.  One of the ladies that feeds the cats has seen a baby monkey forced to ride on the rear view mirror of a mercedes going down the freeway.  These people are cruel and heartless.  I really with the government here would crack down on such abuse.

"Thank you for being YOU"

Today was a slower day for me and I had a bit of down time.  I am very happy for this since I am getting the hang of it and getting more proficient.  Tonight I told one of the supervisors that I am ready to take on a bit more if they are ready to teach me.  I think that caught them by surprise since what I do is already a full time job.  But I am happy to pull my weight.

I am feeling much better too.  I think this cold is finally finding its way out of me.  Now I have a new problem.  I have been walking so much that I now have blisters on the balls of my feet.  I have never had a blister there before and it makes it difficult to walk.  Tomorrow I am wearing my flip flops in to the office to give my feet a rest.  You would think with all of this walking I would be losing weight.  NOPE!!!

Tonight when leaving the hotel office there was a very sickly stray cat out front looking for food.  My other two kitties are at the other office and this is the first time I have seen a cat at the hotel office.  Poor thing looks like he is on his last legs.  I feel sooooo terrible for these animals.  There was a man in a long robe standing outside watching me just look at the cat in pitty.  He kept smiling at me and it kind of startled me out but the streets were full of people so I knew he would be harmless whatever his intentions.  He then asked me if I was going to take the cat home.  I replied "no, but I wish I could".  I went back inside the hotel and went to the restaurant.  They gave me a napkin full of chicken and I took it outside for the cat.  The cat was already making its way down to the next building.  The man in the long robe ran after the cat and helped herd him back towards me.  The poor thing ate like he had not eaten in a week.  The whole time the man stood and just watched my interaction with the cat.  When I finally walked away to catch a taxi the man yelled after me and simply said "Thank you for being YOU! You have a kind heart!"

While I have never required any acceptance for my actions towards animals, it was nice to hear a complete stranger give thanks for just being me.  Others here look at me in disgust for even petting an animal - and here is the one compassionate soul on the street who cared for this cats well being as I did and acknowledged with a smile and a few words.  He could not have come at a better time.  It is amazing how such few words could have so much meaning to me and an impact that reminds me that I am doing the right thing and it is good.

Now I wonder about this elderly man in his robes.  Where he comes from, what religion he is.  It was obvious that he was not a native.  His robes were light blue and he did not wear a head dress.  He spoke good english and he was kindly spoken (not soft, but kind).  There are so many accents here that I am not sure exactly what nationality he is though I would presume it was India or close to India.

If I could go back I would have a conversation with him and find out about who he was.  This place has me scared to talk to anybody.  I think I need to start letting my guard down just a little bit.  Even yesterday a woman passing me by in the street dressed in their regular attire - head to toe black robes with black head scarf (though she did not have her face covered like some) - gave me a warm, wonderful big smile and nodded at me as if to say hello.  These little friendly gestures are making me a little more comfortable here.

It has been a wonderful two days.  I hope there are more to come.

of course, more pics

View from the roof of my apartment building at night.  It is midnight and the city is still in full swing.  Right next to our apartments they are building a high-rise and the workers are still hard at it.  I think they work around the clock.

I have read articles on the "slave" labor here.  I definitely see a the difference in class structure and it is disheartening.  I believe there is a high amount of human trafficing as well.  I don't even know what to say about it right now since I have never really experienced such a tragedy.

I have two stray male cats that I help take care of that hang around the office.  One of them has the prettiest eyes I have ever seen.  I hope to take pictures of them soon.  The other one doesn't have much of a voice and as of yesterday he has a mangled leg.  I am not sure what happened to him but he is in so much pain.  I tried to find a vet, but they are few and far between here.  I would have to wait until I get a car before I venture out to find them.  Otherwise I would have not hesitated to take him right away.  For now a bunch of us are feeding them very healthy food and trying to get them healthy.  I am very happy to see that I am not the only one caring for them.  This country is not a pet friendly country.  Most do not have pets and they consider them very disgusting animals.  If you pet one, the locals won't come near you thinking your are now dirty.

Vows

I have not mentioned it here since we don't have it set in stone yet, but Kirk and I are engaged (if you didn't  already know).  He has been asking me for months and I told him it would not be official until he asked my father first.  Well, a few weeks ago he finally got the courage and also the time (he works offshore and has a hard time getting reception) to call.  To my delight, he also called my mom to ask her permission as well. Now we are trying to plan our wedding with him offshore and me in Dubai.  A difficult thing to plan was just made 100 times harder by our work schedules/careers.

We have the blueprints to our wedding.  I am not sure if we should call it eloping though since there will be few, if any, guests.  We have decided to marry in Greece on my first R&R - end of July, beginning of August.   This last week we came up with the idea of renting a yacht off one of the islands and getting married on the bow of the boat.  After the ceramony there will be food and drinks (of course champagne).  The rest of the afternoon will be cruising around and finding great places to swim, snorkel and dive.  We hope that the few close friends and immediate family we invite can join us for a very relaxing and fun day.  But we know how expensive it may be so we are also happy to just enjoy the day by ourselves.

Both of us are getting a little frustrated that we can't spend more time planning and putting it together.  When Kirk gets back to shore, he will research a good travel agent to help with the plans.  Any suggestions?  Preferably in Houston?

It will all come together in the end I know.  I am just a little impatient and want things put together fast so that I don't have to worry about it anymore.  It will be a great day no matter what!

More Pics

This is the view from my balcony.  If you look really carefully, you can see the worlds tallest building.  No, that is not smog - that is actually the sand hanging in the humid air.  Very strange.

This is my living room.  

This is the kitchen.  The long cabinets on the right are actually the fridge and the freezer.  All the kitchens here seem to be made for short people.  I have to bend down to use the counter tops.

The bedroom.  Huge king size bed - again, just like the hotel, it is as hard as the floor.

The master bath.  There is a shower behind the door on the right.  The bathtub is long, but very skinny.  I still have not figured out the toilets yet.  I thought the one on the left was a b-day but I am not sure because if it was, then why is there a hose hanging on the wall between them?  It has its own running water faucet that is hot and cold water.

Now the hose thing just grosses me out.  They have them in all the public restrooms here too.  And of course there is poop all over them.  When someone uses them they spray all over the walls, toilet and floor.  It is so unsanitary.  I can't even imagine why anyone would even touch one!

Strange things in Dubai:  Every day the sirens blow several times a day.  On them is a man singing the call to prayer.  I was told that when there is a call to prayer, all muslims must stop what they are doing and kneel down to pray.  I hear the sirens at least 5 times a day and I have yet to see one single person praying.

They have hightened security in the subway, which I take everyday to the hotel.  They are being cautious after the bombings in Russia.  The subway is very nice and clean and there are police guards stationed all over the place so I feel very safe there.  One strange thing I found about the subway - the first car of the train is for "gold members".  Not sure how you become a gold member.  The second train is for woman and children only.  No men are allowed in it at all.  The rest of the train is for both men and woman.   I did not know this until today when I hopped on the train in the first car and got kicked off, so I went to the second car and watched as they kicked off all the men that didn't know it was woman only. 

It is almost 11 at night and I am going to head up to the roof for an evening swim.  It is such a nice night out.  Night all!

Pics

This was my hotel room that I stayed in the first week I got here.  It was nice, but the bed was as hard as the floor.

This is the view from the roof of the hotel.  They put all of the pools on the roof - I guess to save room.  

 View from my room.  

I must get ready for work now.  Hopefully I will be back on tonight to post the pics of the apartment.  

The Way It Is

This is a hard life.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like if I went to Afghanistan instead of Dubai.  At least here I have some sort of freedom and I can sleep in my apartment in silence instead of with 150 other woman.

So far I am enjoying my duties and I am learning more each day.  I have a very long way to go before I am sufficient though.  I thought I would be moving at a faster pace (work wise) than I am.  But I guess it will just take time to adjust and dig my heels in.  I have to bite my tongue a lot and just try to do my best.  However, there are a few things that I have to put my foot down on and I am not willing to budge.  Of course, I think that is making me look like a bad seed.  So let me tell you about me before I tell you about that.

For the last week I have not been physically feeling my best.  I have a case of the travelers sickness (won't go in to detail but I think my mom calls it Montazuma's revenge lol).  Three days ago I woke at 3:00 am with a closed throat.  I could barely breathe and I could talk even less.  Of course, I was required to go to work and I did not want to already start missing days.  I started off my 15 hour day popping pills and drinking hot tea.  Throughout the day it got a little better and I gained my voice back by mid morning.  Today is day three of the soar throat and while I feel like it is getting a little better, I started to cough up bloody phlem.  By this afternoon my legs and feet were so swollen I couldn't even see my ankles.  I am looking at them now and they have not changed.  So as you can imagine, I am not in the best mood or frame of mind to do any heavy thinking.  Tomorrow is my day off and I plan on sleeping it off.  Hopefully it will help.

**I had written a novel here but once I got it all out I decided that it best be left unsaid.  Can't vent my disagreements with work on an internet post.  I need to learn to pick my battles and hold my ground on the most important issues.


So tomorrow is definitely rest and relaxation.  I need the time to get my mind and body straight so I can go in smiling on Saturday ready to work my butt off.