got up this morning and headed to jumeirah mosque. its the only mosque in UAE that allows non-muslims to enter, although i did have to cover my head. awesome pictures to come, i promise. the mosque works in conjunction with a group called sheikh mohammed center for cultural understanding to offer tours and Q&A for dumb tourists like me. it was fantastic - it wasn’t a sales pitch for converting to islam, and our guide was super approachable. FYI, she wears wide leg jeans under her abaya, and if she’s in a rush, just wears her PJs under that thing to work.

after that i headed to lime tree cafe, which is somewhere i’ve read about in numerous guide books, so figured it must be good. upon arrival, i noted 4 ferraris parked in the front, all lined up. luckily, the place wasn’t as pretentious as its patrons’ vehicles. it was quite fantastic. if ever in dubai, do not miss lime tree. between the tgi friday’s and the illinois medical center on jumeirah beach road. i wish i were kidding.

next, i found about a solid 3/4 mile of walkable street in dubai! although it was 95 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, i had to take advantage of this. it was a welcoming neighborhood, lots of shops, and i’m really tired of going to and fro in a cab. the downside of this walkable area: divided road. so, all the shops i saw on the other side of the street were inaccessible unless i wanted to walk 1/2 mile back to cross the street. lame! not lame: AIR CONDITIONED BUS STOPS. whenever i got hot, i’d stop in one of these suckers. it was like a fridge inside. take note, chicago!

stopped at a european style mall called mercato. i wasn’t sure what “european style mall” meant in the guide books. turns out, its another epcot-ish mall. i kind of feel like i don’t really need to go to europe now. dubai europe is probably better anyway, right?

after chilling out a bit i had a fantastic cab ride to umm al suqeim beach. my drive was pakistani (coming to find out many long time residents are…) and was fantastic. when he found i was visiting, he gave me his phone number and said to call him if i needed anything: a ride, advice on where to go, where to eat, anything at all.

i hate the beach, but today, i loved the beach. the sun was heading down, so it wasn’t disturbingly hot and i couldn’t feel the cancer growing in my skin. but the view - oh, the view. a panorma, picture it: a mosque to the left, then a big touristy hotel, then in the distance the skyscrapers of internet/media city and the marina, then burj al arab, then WAY off in the distance the outline of a palace, then (wait for it….) a sailboat, and the setting sun. added bonus: one of the mosque calls to prayer is just before sunset, so that was the background noise. are you kidding me?

from there, off to taste of dubai. i have a new celebrity chef crush, so rick bayless and tom douglas better watch out. suzanne husseini is working her way to my #1 favorite chef. i’ll share more later, but she confirmed my suspicion: there are no emirati restaurants here. luckily, her cooking demo (complete with samples) was authentic emirati food - rice with dates, pomegranate, citrus, cilantro, and tons of seasonings, fish - it was one of the finest things i’ve ever tasted. overall, taste of dubai was awesome. the weather was fabulous (if you went at night) the restaurants were great, and it wasn’t very crowded. i never was past 3rd in line.

last but not least: the evening ended with one more example of UAE awesomeness. so when i bought my ticket for taste of dubai they asked for a phone number. i don’t have my dubai number memorized, so i got out a card i’ve been carrying in my wallet with the number on it and gave it to the guy so he could put it into their system. on my way out (about 3.5 hrs later) i’m just about to exit and someone yells for me at the ticket counter. i walk over, and its the guy i bought my ticket from and he goes “you left this card with me, i thought you might want it back”. seriously? stuff like that really happens? not where i live, but apparently it does here…

so, a full 8 days on the ground in dubai. work has been great. getting to do a lot of stuff that i’ve missed doing. uber-geeky stuff, but stuff i like none the less. the client is great, and i think we’re making a ton of progress.

i’ve been searching for the quintessential “dubai” things to do, with very little luck. i know a majority of the city is new and has grown really quickly, but its also been here forEVER - there should be something left from that, right? i’ve slowly been venturing into different parts of town searching for something that seemed authentic. (have i mentioned the absolutely absurd number of johnny rockets here?)

not far from my hotel, i found bateel cafe, where i had an arabic coffee that tasted like cardamom and came with a fig on the side and a zatar croissant (its a spice, and it was mixed with sumac and sesame seeds) YUM! can’t wait to show you the picture. i felt like i was on to something.

today (its my weekend day) i decided to go to the dubai museum, which is in bur dubai, right on the “creek” that runs right through the center of the city. the museum was neat (aside from the life sized animatronic market area, which was fairly dark and thus i couldn’t tell which robed figures were real and which were robots. i about crapped my pants 5 times or more when something i thought was fake started walking) the museum is in one of the oldest buildings in the area which was very cool. outside, this flock of borderline aggressive birds were flying maybe 4 feet above my head. definitely not an event i’ll forget anytime soon.

once done there (wait, did i mention the admission price? 3dhs =$0.81usd) , i went outside and walked around the block - this part of town has a completely different vibe than where i’ve been so far. as in: rather than being one of many people not wearing traditional attire, i was one of the only people not wearing traditional attire. you could also hear the prayer calls from the mosques (instead of hearing them over the loudspeaker in the mall). yes! real dubai!

i wasn’t far from the souqs (traditional markets) so i decided to give it a shot. it was super busy, people were everywhere and everyone wanted your attention. about the third store in was really well lit, there were other girls inside and it had stuff i wanted to look at, so i ducked in. after a quick haggle, i made a purchase. being by myself, i wasn’t too sure i wanted to go any further into the market, so i asked the lady i made the purchase from if there was anywhere good to eat nearby. she says “come with me” and takes me 3 stores further into the souq, introduces me to the owner of the restaurant, and i’ve got a table overlooking the creek next to the port where all the abras dock. it was awesome. have i mentioned i love the people here?

by the time i’m done eating (best hummus, EVER - fantastically flavored kebabs, but cooked to a crisp) its dark outside, and i have to make my way past 6 stores to get out of this palce. not too hard right? i walk out, and realize, i am now the ONLY girl. there is not another woman to be seen anywhere and my reflective skin tone probably isn’t helping me blend in much. the people who aren’t outright staring at me are forcibly trying to sell me there wares. yikes. time to bail, and fast. luckily, in the most unwalkable city in the world, a cab is never more than 10 seconds away. (that’s a true story, i’ve never waited for a cab here.) and there ends my authentic dubai experience, i’ve returned to the cool springs of dubai for the evening, and a very small part of me is ok with that, because, really, i didn’t want to buy an “i heart dubai” tshirt from the men at the market anyway.

hello and happy sunday. sunday is a work day here (fri/sat are weekends) so now, in addition to feeling weird that i’m shopping while kara is sleeping (so no texts to report damage) i’m also working on a sunday that feels like a monday. come thursday though, you’re the suckers.

so far, i really love the people here. i met one guy, at work, who has been here 25 years. he was SO nice and helpful, even offered to drive me to the place to get my SIM card for my phone. told me all the spots i should hit, and genuinely wanted to make sure i left dubai loving it.

today, in line at the coffee shop, the older lady in front of me couldn’t figure out what to order. she turned around to ask me what i was getting and subsequently we started chatting. she’s from pakistan, but has lived here for 35 years and prior to that lived in houston. she loves it in the summer here because its empty and easier to drive around. she also took interest in making sure that i enjoyed my time in dubai.

the girl at the coffee shop asked how long i’d be here, and if i’d be stopping by regularly (2 more stamps to a free drink!) i told her yes, and she immediately introduced herself and said she’d see me around.

dubai is a big city, but the people have a way of making it seem so quaint.

and with that, i must go find dinner (which likely means going to another mall), do some work, and go to bed.

PS. i have a sneaking suspicion that the coffee drink i’ve been ordering is 80% cream. maybe that’s why its so good? perhaps to be healthy, next time i’ll go with whole milk, you know - just to lighten it up a bit.

- this is the most un-walkable city in the world. it has to be. my walkers’ rights are being violated in every possible way and i’m angry about it (but not angry enough to slap a car like i would in chicago)
- i can officially identify ferraris in a split second. before i see them. from the sound of the engine. i’m pretty good at car identification, and my hotel balcony, which i have been spending a lot of time on, faces the main drag here in dubai; there are all kinds of cars going by, so i’m getting extra practice. on my way to the mall i heard one coming from behind me and thought “here comes a ferrari”. i was right. i know brian felt a wave of pride as he slept.
- as it turns out, peugeot makes something else besides pepper mills. man, i couldn’t even afford the pepper mills.
- dubai is a great city to go to if you have to travel alone. seriously. i was a skeptic, i thought “what in the world am i doing?” more than once as i prepped for this trip. but really, i couldn’t feel halfway around the world but close to home anywhere else, i don’t think. if you like people watching and/or shopping, this is absolutely the place to be.
- that being said, i’m working my way into the “real” dubai (the less touristy stuff, if there even is such a thing; we shall see). this weekend: shopping. starting with the most western malls and moving to the least western malls. next weekend: tour a mosque, go to the dubai museum, visit the real souqs (markets). maybe go on a dune tour. gotta ease myself into this, right?
zack morris-style time out: i just heard a ferrari go by outside
- thus far, everything seems like epcot center to me. there’s a mall with 6 courts, each designed after a different part of the world that ibn battuta explored. it was breathtaking, but still, epcot-ish. the souq i went to today was also some incredible architecture, but its new, too. i’m going to try to hit the bastakiya area, which is more established, and has some actual history behind many of the buildings.
- they absolutely do not use addresses here. you need to know what mall is nearby to get anywhere in a cab. there aren’t even street names in many cases. google maps is no help, my hotel isn’t even in the right spot on google maps. and don’t try a tour book, one attraction i was looking at in a book said something along the lines of: “near marina walk, behind the shoe store” as the location.

when in dubai:
- visit ibn battutta mall - your jaw will drop
- visit “the walk”: its essentially the same as santa monica’s promenade. its the only walkable place. but don’t’ try to cross the street.
- watch the sun set on the persian gulf
- go to souq madinat. its touristy, but very cool stuff and while there’s a little pressure to buy from shop keepers, i’m sure its not nearly as much as at the real souqs.
- don’t eat at cafe tche tche. one of the most disappointing restaurant meals of my life, actually.
- cafe nero (there’s one in marina mall) makes a DELICIOUS blended drink called a frappelatte. ice+milk+espresso. sounds like a starbucks frappacinno, but isn’t icy at all and is creamy like coffee flavored milk. i’m already a regular. they know my order and give me extra stamps. 3 more stamps and i get a free one!
- bring a video camera and comfy shoes. i wish i had both. there’s just so much that i don’t think my current camera gear will cut it (maybe i need a fisheye?!) i neglected to bring my comfy shoes because of space issues, and thinking that i wouldn’t be walking much. i don’t walk to get anywhere, but when your destination is a mall with 1200 shops, you end up walking a lot.
-mcdonald’s mcarabia kofta value meal. you must eat it.

sing the title of this post. its more fun that way.

a few items to note:

- the screen in the back of the seats on international flights that lets you play games = genius. i didn’t crack a book or get out my own dvds the entire 20 hours. reading is so overrated, anyway. pssht.
- i hate the way french sounds (my flights are all on air france). i also hate how the annoucements are 5 mins long in french, but when they finally say it in english, its like “ladies and gentleman, fasten your seatbelts.” i know they’re saying more than that to the french people. what gives? also, making a 5 min announcement in french, then yelling at me about a seatbelt before you say it in english = not legit. other than that, love air france. free food and drinks. i like it.
- charles de galle airport - what the heck? same 5 stores over and over again and the worst latte in the history of the world. come on, paris.
- the alps: this is the most fantastic thing i’ve ever seen in my life, and that was from the airplane. awe inspiring.
- getting an entire row to yourself on a 6hr flight = fantastic.
- flying over the persian gulf - woah. even though it was dark, i stared out the window the entire time. so many oil rigs…just crazy.
- dubai airport - as crowded as can be, even on a tuesday night at midnight. relatively easy to get through customs/security etc. the shopping at the airport tops most malls in chicago. i plan to arrive way early for my flight out.
- the hotel: holy crap. its an apartement. 1BR/1.5BA, a super awesome kitchen, washer/dryer, separate tub/shower, and a patio, which i am currently utilizing.
- flickr - unfortunately, banned in UAE. i’m shooting in raw, so that makes it tough for me to share pics from here without the right software. will try to work on a hack/fix for that, because i saw the most incredible fog this morning…

more to come…

unbelievably excited about this, which is directly outside the office i’ll be working at. YUM!

in random career news, i’m going to dubai. that’s right, i told my boss i needed a challenge and that’s what he came back with - let’s find the pastiest, most freckeled person at work and ship her off to the middle east. it will be my first trip outside of the us/canada. might as well jump in with both feet, right?

anyway, i’m thinking about starting a twitter account to document my travels. i’m trying to decide if that might be one of the few non-annoying uses of twitter. nobody cares (nor should they care) what i do in my day to day life, but there’s more of a possibility of me doing something interesting or seeing something cool in dubai, right? plus, due to the time difference, i will be virtually dead to the people i IM every day, so this might be a fun way to keep up.

in other awesome news a. i went to seattle this week and ate the tasty burger below and b. my dog (the new, less smart one) ate an entire bottle of glucosamine pills (for dogs) tonight and is puking everywhere. awesome, indeed.

been a while. 2 months, to be exact. here’s the run down:

1. great shows: i got to see the get up kids do a 10 year reunion show, and david bazan came to chicago and played at a spectacular new venue.

2. we went to nashville and i ran another half marathon. it got warm and my legs felt horrible for the last 3 miles, but i cut 17 minutes off my previous time and finished in 2:13. was a good day.

3. we got another dog. she’s a corgi mix, so stocky and really short. she is getting into the routine a little more every day - i think hershey is a great influence.

4. made my first ever thanksgiving dinner - turkey with a spice rub, chipotle cornbread stuffing, sweet potatos au gratin with leeks and glazed carrots. success!

5. i’m super excited to have some time off work. this year has been grueling at times, but in a good kind of way. hoping next year is a little more laid back - first trip already on the calendar - santa monica in january. i like it.

6. early bday present - 88 key weighted keyboard. i got this on friday and have probably spent at least 8 hours playing since then. its really the first time i’ve played since 1998, so needless to say, some brushing up is in order.

now if you’ll excuse me, i have 10 years of missed hanon exercises to make up for.

girl 1: so my health insurance is all messed up
girl 2: why? what happened?
girl 1: i don’t know. well i do know. HR kept sending me meeting invites about our cafeteria plan
girl 2: yeah? what does that have to do with anything?
girl 1: exactly. i was like “so we have a new cafeteria system for lunch. i’ll figure it out, i don’t need to go to the meeting”, so i didn’t go to any of the 3 meetings they scheduled. well it turns out, that was the meeting where they talked about our benefits.

confession: i was at the saucer last night in nashville. a song was sung. that song was the growing pains theme song. i’m pleading the 5th on whether or not dc talk was involved.