Is it silly season in Zimbabwe and Malaysia?
Mugabe has clearly gone completey mad - I really want to know what he does to the people who appear on TV to be supporting him rather deliriously.
...and I am quite amazed that Anwar has been accused of sodomy again!! This has to be a joke surely! Will he be accused of sodomy in 2018 also? Lets hope that his accusors have the decency to specify an apartment unit that had actually been built when asked to confirm where the dastardly deed took place.
I really do despair!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Mugabe - What a Star!
i'm still in a hotel! but i've moved to a new 3 star place very close to work. and they've got free wireless internet so i'm more inclined to blog even though i dislike the laptop keyboard. here's some on-liners...
i'm super busy at work. the days fly by. most days i have no time to do anything i intended to until things go quiet at 5pm.
i start at 7am, and will be working 6am-4pm in july and august in an effort to fit in better with adjusted working hours on site to suit the 12.30-3pm ban on outside work due to heat.
i am really enjoying my job - i have complete responsibility for everything, with a reasonably small amount of direction/guidance from the project director.
the weather is heating up - its noticeably hotter and more humid these days.
i'm managing one run per week at the moment and i think i've put on a wee bit of weight, but not much.
our house is just abut ready. jackie and lucas arrive in 7 hours or so - so from tomorrow we'll be choosing furnitureand getting it delivered. i'm quite looking forward to buying a tv and joining the lcd tv generation.
there's loads of european influence here compared to malaysia, such as products in the shops, and vehicles. i even saw an eddie stobart truck the other day!
i had a snowboarding lesson last week. i fell over once but apart from that had a successful session, and will definitely have more lessons. i am gobsmacked that they plan to build another ski "dome" that wil make the current one look small!
i had a frustrating visit to a petrol station on friday. i waited for ages (there are very few petrol stations) and then they refused to fill me up as my fuel cap was on the "wrong" side even though the hose would reach. i then decided to reverse in but that was also "prohibited". i was puzzled about that! another strange thing - you can't use credit cards to pay for petrol.
more soon!
i'm super busy at work. the days fly by. most days i have no time to do anything i intended to until things go quiet at 5pm.
i start at 7am, and will be working 6am-4pm in july and august in an effort to fit in better with adjusted working hours on site to suit the 12.30-3pm ban on outside work due to heat.
i am really enjoying my job - i have complete responsibility for everything, with a reasonably small amount of direction/guidance from the project director.
the weather is heating up - its noticeably hotter and more humid these days.
i'm managing one run per week at the moment and i think i've put on a wee bit of weight, but not much.
our house is just abut ready. jackie and lucas arrive in 7 hours or so - so from tomorrow we'll be choosing furnitureand getting it delivered. i'm quite looking forward to buying a tv and joining the lcd tv generation.
there's loads of european influence here compared to malaysia, such as products in the shops, and vehicles. i even saw an eddie stobart truck the other day!
i had a snowboarding lesson last week. i fell over once but apart from that had a successful session, and will definitely have more lessons. i am gobsmacked that they plan to build another ski "dome" that wil make the current one look small!
i had a frustrating visit to a petrol station on friday. i waited for ages (there are very few petrol stations) and then they refused to fill me up as my fuel cap was on the "wrong" side even though the hose would reach. i then decided to reverse in but that was also "prohibited". i was puzzled about that! another strange thing - you can't use credit cards to pay for petrol.
more soon!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Dubai Diary
hi folks!
just a quickie again - i'll have www access in my office from sunday so will hopefully do some more posts.
been at work a week now and will be very busy i think. i am the project manager for 15km of new sewers and irrigation for Jumeirah Golf Estates - loads of outrageously expensive villas around a Greg Norman golf course. another amazing dubai project - google it and see what its all about. Aishwarya Rai just bought a house there.
in 1 hour or so i'll be off for my first run (or exercise of any kind) for nearly three weeks. gym or a nearby park - i dont know yet.
we have been super lucky so far - my company only had one house available for us and it is better than i expected - in The Lakes - a gated community with pools, play areas etc... its a 3 bed house with a garden. will be able to have bbq's when its cooler (next 2-3 months wil be high-40's celcius!!).
also mega-lucky was that we managed to get Lucas into Dubai British School - 2km from the house.
some interesting things about dubai -
driving on the right (1st time ever for me)
free parking in malls, with a system to indicate where spaces are
its dusty - visibility sometimes 2-3km only
cars and petrol is very cheap
loadsa expats
british DJ's on the radio - they even play The Smiths!
i've never seen so many Hummers, Range Rover's, 4WD's
our housing area feels like a factory for caucasian mums with toddlers and 4WD's
sun rises at 5-5.30am, sets at 7.30pm
traffic is very bad
my day off is friday
many stunning arab women - many very glamorous, some very skimpily-dressed!
men dress very well
internet is censored
only 20% locals live here!
i work with indians, belgians, dutch, scottish, iraqi, egyptians, aussies, french....
blogspot page here is in arabic text - difficult to login!
ttfn
more on sunday.
just a quickie again - i'll have www access in my office from sunday so will hopefully do some more posts.
been at work a week now and will be very busy i think. i am the project manager for 15km of new sewers and irrigation for Jumeirah Golf Estates - loads of outrageously expensive villas around a Greg Norman golf course. another amazing dubai project - google it and see what its all about. Aishwarya Rai just bought a house there.
in 1 hour or so i'll be off for my first run (or exercise of any kind) for nearly three weeks. gym or a nearby park - i dont know yet.
we have been super lucky so far - my company only had one house available for us and it is better than i expected - in The Lakes - a gated community with pools, play areas etc... its a 3 bed house with a garden. will be able to have bbq's when its cooler (next 2-3 months wil be high-40's celcius!!).
also mega-lucky was that we managed to get Lucas into Dubai British School - 2km from the house.
some interesting things about dubai -
driving on the right (1st time ever for me)
free parking in malls, with a system to indicate where spaces are
its dusty - visibility sometimes 2-3km only
cars and petrol is very cheap
loadsa expats
british DJ's on the radio - they even play The Smiths!
i've never seen so many Hummers, Range Rover's, 4WD's
our housing area feels like a factory for caucasian mums with toddlers and 4WD's
sun rises at 5-5.30am, sets at 7.30pm
traffic is very bad
my day off is friday
many stunning arab women - many very glamorous, some very skimpily-dressed!
men dress very well
internet is censored
only 20% locals live here!
i work with indians, belgians, dutch, scottish, iraqi, egyptians, aussies, french....
blogspot page here is in arabic text - difficult to login!
ttfn
more on sunday.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Greetings from Dubai
Hi folks. As I'm living in a hotel that charges AED18 (about RM16) for 20mins internet access, blogging has taken a back seat to more critical www activities. But somehow the www is working for free at the moment so i've time for a post!
Spent a fortune on taxis the first few days getting around - looking at schools etc... but got a car on Wednesday so I've got some cheaper transport here. Driving on the right was a new experience for me - so far so good. Still keep reaching the wrong way for the seat-belt, handbrake and gears though!
The sun is up at 5.30am every day, and its 40 degrees-ish (30 minimum). It's already Malaysia-hot by 8am!
Haven't ventured out for a run yet, but have checked out the cost of bikes!
I'm starting work in earnest tomorrow - wish me luck. More sewers for me for another 18months!
Looks like we'll live in a nice 3 bedroom villa (house = villa here) in a development called The Lakes, quite close to the 7-star Burj Al-Arab hotel and the Palm Jumeirah. Also close to Ski Dubai and the 2 schools for Lucas that we'll be applying to on Sunday.
Spent a fortune on taxis the first few days getting around - looking at schools etc... but got a car on Wednesday so I've got some cheaper transport here. Driving on the right was a new experience for me - so far so good. Still keep reaching the wrong way for the seat-belt, handbrake and gears though!
The sun is up at 5.30am every day, and its 40 degrees-ish (30 minimum). It's already Malaysia-hot by 8am!
Haven't ventured out for a run yet, but have checked out the cost of bikes!
I'm starting work in earnest tomorrow - wish me luck. More sewers for me for another 18months!
Looks like we'll live in a nice 3 bedroom villa (house = villa here) in a development called The Lakes, quite close to the 7-star Burj Al-Arab hotel and the Palm Jumeirah. Also close to Ski Dubai and the 2 schools for Lucas that we'll be applying to on Sunday.
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