A dose of a UAEian

I'm short, love reading and I'm very curious...quiet & talkative when I'm around people I'm used to. Love massages, relaxation, spas, name it! This blog is mainly to note down anything that is significant to me

Monday, December 20, 2010

You may not know who you are… but you have made a difference in my life.

You were probably that stranger on the street that gave me a kind word, or a random person online that gave me the much needed comfort I was seeking. You were probably in a group when I needed to be surrounded.
You are probably now a good friend of mine, a colleague, an acquaintance or you are a person I’ve never even met - yet.

You were just what I needed at that point in my life.

You probably don’t know how you’ve made a difference, you probably don’t even know me, or even remember me but I do.
And I am forever grateful our paths have crossed before, and maybe they would cross again sometime in the future, maybe this time for me to make a difference in your life, or maybe for you to influence mine once again.


Thank you.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Life is too short not to love your job...right?

Right. I'm bored of my job. Tired of it... the more the days pass, the more I'm convinced that I need to change my job. ASAP. When I think of tomorrow, I dread going to work. I have the typical 9to5 job...I don't know how or when such strong dislike of my work has emerged...I'm surprised at myself!

...and I am confused. So if I don't like this job then what DO I like? I'm looking into myself to see what exactly is it that I want to do. I'm even thinking of a career change but everything is so vague at the moment.

Looking back though, I knew it. I knew while I was in college that majoring in accounts wasn't what I really liked.. and I just went ahead with it. Now nearly after 4 years in the field I want out - or I want different. Whatever it is I want a change for now. What scares me is that what if I get something worse than what I have now. What if my current job is better than the next one?

I know the only way of finding out is to try.

Apparently there are many out there like me.. all you need to do is google 'changing careers' and read their experiences. There's a lot of tips online, and guidance but they all say the same thing. A thorough self-assessment needs to be done about what I want instead. It isn't easy but it's definitely possible.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Waka waka...This is Africa!

I had an AWESOME holiday! I Thoroughly enjoyed myself. I went for my friend's wedding in Tanga, Tanzania and it was beautiful. The weather's beautiful, the people are so friendly, the food is soooo tasty... it was pure bliss! The music, the dancing, the FUN! The fun... oh I had so much fun!

Life is quite laid back over there, and time doesn't seem to move as fast... I can't speak enough about the weather though... a huge change from the heat over here.

The wedding was amazing...I have to tell you about the "baykoko". This is an african beat where women dance to it by moving their hips in a slow sensual way... and they get all hyper and lie on the floor dancing to it! It's something I've never seen before but trust me. All those who saw it there for the first time with me, will never forget it for sure! Baykoko has certainly inspired people in funny ways after that!

My trip was lovely all in all.. made new friends, shared experiences, and realized once again, 'what a small world'. There's always a connection somewhere. I could be talking to someone over the phone in a totally different country, not knowing I'd meet this person one day, and under what circumstances. It doesn't seize to amaze me. I believe everything does happen for a reason. Each person that we encounter in our day to day life has a purpose, a reason why they said what they said, or why we met them in the first place. It's just that we don't know the reason yet. We'll only be able to connect the dots later in life, and sometimes we would never see how the dots can even be connected, it's just hidden wisdom. And we have to accept that... It's the beauty of life isn't it?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Hot hot HOT!

This summer is killing me...

The heat is unbelievable. I've been having headaches, and unexplainable body aches. Oh and insomnia. For a while I just couldn't sleep. I really don't get it. Stress levels are high I must admit. Everyone's on leave or sick! At the office I was fortunate enough for one colleague to go on leave and the other to get chicken pox just the next day! Great timings. I have to do the work of three.

Guests. Come weekend and Hello guests! Especially since it's summer time many of my younger cousins come over to spend time with us, add on random guests who drop by, add on guests who've come for a holiday, add on our normal friday gathering and add on transit visitors. You can imagine the rest. It was a fiasco.

The best part is: The leave days my colleague took are perfect. For him. I'll be wasting my leave days to adjust to his! I'm a tad bit annoyed... but the actual positive thing about all this, or this whole post is that I'm going on holiday.

Yes. I. Am.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Hello people!

I haven't been writing recently, and I've hardly been online. The reason being, I must admit, is that I now have a BB - I got it for my birthday, and ever since, my interest and frequent use of the internet has subsided!

This has proved to be a good thing btw... I have been so busy these past two months, having a blackberry just helped being in touch with people, and be on the move. It made me realise how much time I used to waste browsing the net...not that I don't love to write here or keep in touch and participate in forums, but to be fixed in front of a laptop is an opportunity lost where I can be elsewhere meeting and having real experiences.

As for the wedding season; I've attended so many since, and still going on. So much to write about it, but it's best that I don't, considering how close the people are to me.

We're already in the 3rd month of the year! I don't really know why I'm counting down or couting to, or why I'm freaked out about it, but yeah, 9 more months to go! Hope this year so far is going well for you as it is for me.

xxx

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Wedding Season: Wedding 1

Groom: Local
Bride: Iranian/Sudanese

Day One: The Milcha party
Groom’s side of the party. The bride wore a green dress. I didn’t attend, sorry can't give input on this night!

Day Two: Reception (the Iranian way!)

The hall was well decorated, simple and elegant, the stage didn’t ‘shock me’ as most arab weddings do with a long runway and over the top decorations. This was very classy. Each table centerpiece had a fishbowl with fishes and fresh flowers on top. It was a mixed wedding, not a ladies event that is common to arabs.

I arrived at 9 pm, the party hadn’t started yet. The dance floor was empty, guests were still coming in. Little did I know that nothing actually starts until the bride and groom arrive! On the right side of the stage was a live band. It was a bit annoying as they had just started setting up, testing the mic. At first I thought it was a Yemeni band, as they played the Arabian oud, however I was surprised to find it was an Iranian band. Old men dressed in the traditional arab kandoora and 3igal. Apparently, they are arab Iranians. From an area in Iran that are arabs and thus the music is very Arabic. I was also told these people are called 3eeyam.

Anyway, just after the band got settled the bride and groom entered with a song played by the band. They looked spectacular together, the bride in a beautiful white gown and the groom looking handsome in a black suit. As they reached the dance floor they greeted their families. As Arabian beats subsided and the crowd went back to their seats, the groom asked for ‘their song’ to be played.

The best part – they slow danced, only for the song to be remixed into a hip song, the bride and groom acted surprised at first, and then were grooving to it with moves in unison with each other! It was fantastic! Again the music was changed back to slow dance then back again to upbeat tunes like the old hit ‘staying alive’ and then Michael jackson! Someone from the crowd passed him a black hat to complete the “MJ” look as he danced in a circle around the bride. It was a beautiful performance and the crowd was cheering, surprised at the turn of events!!

It's great to see the bride ang groom enjoying themselves. It IS their wedding afterall, innit? *sigh* I wish I can dance freely at my wedding. They even had a table set out for them at the bottom of the stage where they opened the ‘buffet’. They got to EAT. And ENJOY.

Day 3. Ragees al 3aroos ( Sudanse seduction!)

It is the bridal dance as called by the sudanese. An old tradition where the bride dances in front of a group of people (men and women in the past) but recently it is only limited to women, and the groom. It is to showcase the bride’s physique, and to show to the groom’s family the beauty of the bride. I was dumbstruck, it was amazing. The bride was wearing a seductive outfit and danced sensually to a live singing by a woman, and people from the crowd singing the chorus. There are different traditional ‘dances’ that the bride danced to. Another event of this dance is the bride would pretend to fall in one of the dances, uknown which to the groom , and the he is supposed to ‘catch’ her. You can imagine the uproar when he missed catching her the first time! The second time round he did catch her and the groom’s family is the one to shout louder this time.
The whole point of this night is to watch the bride. It was quite an event, and the dancing moves and outfit were to the likes of beyonce! The dancing was better though, moves to seduce and entice, it made egyptian belly dancing look bland in comparison. It sure kept us the audience mesmerised, it somehow made me imagine the olden days, where the arabian men would sit around and watch beatiful girls dance with silk covering half of their face with their slow moves. It was simply amazing!

Never knew the sudanse got down like that, I won’t be surprised to hear different nationalities marrying sudanese women! Although it’s not so common nowadays, it depends on whether the bride wants to do it. I think they should learn, but for the life of me I can’t imagine myself infront of a crowd! Kudos to the sudanese! Sexiness!