It's Sunday night and I am being a major bum. Exhausted from the weekend and since I forgot my gym stuf to go to pump with Liana, I decided to hit the grocery store, make dinner and relax instead! I also have phone dates with my sister and Julie and wanted to blog so it all worked out well. A plus was that as soon as I came home from the store and started pasta, the Italian job came on....its like being in Italy right?! Ha.
Okay so last week.......
Sunday I was very sore from Saturday's pump workout so was happy for a day off the gym. Liana and I were a mess at work....moaning every time we had to get up...walking very slow...it was great. Liana and I had planned on going to the rugby game but had been procrastinators about getting tickets and were just gonna buy them there. It worked out perfectly as a coworker had free tickets in the premium seating. Early bird gets the worm my a**! So for whatever reason we dressed almost identical that day. Both in black pencil skirts with black/white pinstripe button downs. We also both rocked flip flops to the game. We got some grub/wine, walked around for a bit and then went up the grandstand to sit but the only open seats left would have required climbing over a lot of dudes so we decided it was not the best option. Instead we stood at the top of the stairs and pretended we were ticket takers. We had a number of ppl fooled....all fumbling around for their tickets. Ha. We also met this charming man, I mean douchebag who needed help text dumping his India fling. Love that a 50 year old man is asking advice from us on what to text this chick he brought to rugby and immediately wanted to get rid of. Poor girl...she seemed nice. Anyway, we got bored and it was cold so left as soon as it was over.
Monday I hit body attack with Liana after work and it was a riot. We were in the back (thank god). I don't know how many of you have done this workout, but its essentially an hour cardio class but its a bit strange. I did it once in DC at Golds before coming over to AD but I did it solo so the weird parts I just sort of went with. Well this time I was with Liana and we laugh enough in normal situations, but add ridiculous kicking and jumping around and you've got a recipe for disaster. I was in the back, doubled over, barely breathing, laughing hysterically on a number of ocassions. If only I could post a picture of Liana rockin the moves with spirit fingers and very exaggerated cheerleader faces. Then she tells me to stop laughing. Ha. I made it through the class although during the squat track I thought I might die as I was still very sore from Pump. After we showered and went to get our nails done (very convenient that there is a salon in the gym!)
So last weekend a package I was waiting for containing medication showed up....sans the medication. Customs confiscated it and I freaked out a bit. Had no prescription, and assumed they wouldn't give it to me. It didn't help when an Emirati guy I work with pretty much told me I had no hope with it. So I had my doctor fax me a script, and I showed up at the post office Tuesday morning ready for a fight with them. They didn't say a freaking word. Just took the paper, brought me my stuff and I left. Why on earth couldn't they have just not confiscated it instead of making me waste all that time?! When I walked out Liana goes you know what that is? White girl power. Ha. Essentially in the Middle East if you are a white female you can do whatever you want. Needless to say, Emirati guy was shocked. Anyway...worked..hit gym....nothing exciting.
Wednesday was uneventful. Work, gym again, and then packed for Bahrain.
Thursday was a pretty quick day at work. Did the usual long lunch at Jones the Robber (I mean Grocer) with Liana and then dipped out at 6. Came home to finish packing and got ready to head out. Alice got a cab at her place, picked me up and then we went for Liana who was facebooking about a panic attack and drinking wine instead of actually getting ready to go! So we finally get to the airport and started causing trouble immediately. Nah, its usually not our fault. Ha. So we're in line to get our boarding passes and this guy pulls the "Are you Russian" line. Umm...first of all, who are you talking to? You've got an English, an Australian and an American girl.....which one exactly looks Russian. So he says Liana....ummm...no. Then he was like..well wait...you too (to me) and then claims he's seen me at this one hotel thats known for Russian hookers before. Wow, that makes a girl feel special doesn't it?! So then we just turned our backs to his weird a**. Got to duty free, found the vodka sample guy again although this time it sucked. The flavor of the week was this Coffee and Smoked Almond mix (or something similar to that). It was weird, but I mean it was free alcohol so of course we had some. Alice bought some wine in duty free and then we went to our gate. So we're standing in line but noone is boarding the busses and its getting to be departure time so now we're all annoyed cuz they hadn't said anything. Oh..then this guy standing there was listening to our conversation and laughing so we start talking to him....DC based but originally Texas....so he said something about being a fan of the Cowboys (meaning Dallas) and Liana starts pulling her, I don't know anything about America so I will play dumb and make them fall in love routine. So she turns it into him being a fan of cowboys...like he cheers them on as they walk down the street in their cowboy hats and boots. Lol. After frustrating the hell out of him for about 5 minutes he made some comment that essentially proved her magic had worked and he had fallen for her charm.
Anyway...so finally they start to board...only to 3 minutes later decide something is wrong with the plane and tell us all to sit down. So we decide we'll pop open the wine and get our own party started. Except then they decided that miraculously, the plane was fine and we did board. So we had seats all in the aisles in 2 rows so we could all chat....which in hindsight wasn't the best idea as we were exposed to the flight attendents. So Alice starts pouring wine for us all and one of the nice FA sees and is like..just so you know you can't do that but just don't let them see. So we continue..and then I get busted. B*tchy FA is all....do you have a bottle of wine..nope..I sure don't but she might. Sorry Alice. Ha. So she gives me a lecture about drinking wine bought at duty free. I'm like okay then, can I buy some wine from you? We didn't get the best service after this and they confiscated our wine. Liana meanwhile is sitting directly across the aisle from me and hides hers. Then she proceeds to sew her shirt for the night. What a homemaker!
So we get to Bahrain, much later than we were supposed to and get to the hotel. We chose a different one this time which turned out to be a fairly poor idea although it did have its perks. Like the orange juice they gave us when we checked in. Screwdrivers anyone?! We all get ready and head out since at this point its midnight and sh*t only stays open until 2. Went to Dublins and started drinking quite fast to make up for the frustration with delays, etc. The music when we first walked in was less than impressive, but it picked up. They even played our favorite song, Katie Spencer. Everyone else thinks this song is about Barbara Streisand...so we let them think so but we all know it's Katie's song. Alice and Liana were adamant all night about not taking shots but then we ended up doing jager bombs (my first ever!) with this Irish guy Liana and I had met the last time and who was convinced she was married to an Emirati guy. They both decided that bombs were not shots so it was okay. Whatever makes you feel better ladies!!! Anyway..then we met up with this guy that Liana had met the last time and had kept in touch with and went to a house party after Dublins closed. We all decided we should do more of these in Abu Dhabi....no one ever stays in but sometimes its much more fun. Right after we got there we started playing Kings which turned out (for me) to be the worst idea of all time. The last time I blacked out from drinking was quite a while ago (I'm usually one of the only ones to remember full nights and have to fill everyone else in....oh how the tables turned). I blame it all on the waterfall portion of the game. Liana and Alice thought it would be fun to take pics of me in a state of complete drunkness and I kid you not, they captured the funniest, worst picture I have ever taken in my entire life. Alice was like..Cristina you are soooo photogenic...I've never seen a bad picture of you....oh until this one. Just thinking about it makes me bust out laughing, its that bad. Thankfully I can't post pics on this blog. Ha. Anyway....we had a great time and then went back to the ghetto, I mean the Ramada and passed out. The bed was the hardest bed I've ever been in, ever. And we only had one. Although even with the three of us, there was plenty of room!
Friday morning we went to Ric's so Alice could experience the wonder of breakfast all day. Then there were naps (we really were gonna go shopping this time...but all of us were pretty hungover the whole day). I was thinking I wasn't going to have that much fun that night but I rallied! Around 5 we went to this French cafe..had some grub, coffee, etc (it was really chilly out) and just chilled. Then we went back to hotel, took another nap (but first, Liana wanted to capture us all sleeping in the same bed so she did a self portrait, with her foot!!!). Then we got up and got ready. The girls had met some young guys the night before so we joked that we were all gonna do our 23 y/o look Russian hooker look. I think Alice pulled it off best with her barbie make up (and she's blond so it works). We had dinner at the Meat Co. which was pretty good (but not as good as Zoe's from the last trip), had a drink upstairs and then headed to Havana's (I know what you're thinking, this sounds an awful lot like the last trip! Why mess up a good thing?). No really they were having a Mardi Gras party and Liana wanted to work her DJ moves so we figured it was a win win. Had some drinks, watched Liana gather beads, danced, watched Liana rock the DJ booth...hda some more drinks...watched Liana win the bead contest (like there was another possibility!!!!!). Good times had by all.
Saturday was nap, food, nap, airport. We got there at 5 for our 6 flight which was delayed 2 hours. AWESOME. Etihad really dropped the ball this trip. We had some dinner, spent as much time as possible in duty free, played with a crappy magic 8 ball, and then parked it until our flight. I had picked seats in a similar configuration as our trip over but apparently they got the memo that we were trouble and placed us all in a row in the very last row of the plane. Love sitting in the toilet. It really wasn't bad but just annoying, why let me pick seats if you are gonna change them. Alice had to work, Liana jammed, and I passed out. On the way home in the cab I had a slight incident. We started talking about my lack of memory of Thursday night again and the infamous photo and I had a mouth full of water. I knew it was either swallow it and likely die or spit it out....so I chose to spit it out all over my lap....cept half of it went down my throat anyway so now I'm wet and choking. It was pretty bad. But still pretty funny. Liana said she'd have given me CPR if needed, thanks girl.
Sucked we got home 2.5 hours later than expected but still got home by 11:30pm so it wasn't the end of the world.
I feel like there was other funny stuff to include but I'm drawing a blank. Alice is going on the wagon for 4 weeks, Liana is going half on the wagon and I'm the only one who is honest enough to say that its impossible. Ha. As I sit here and drink my wine and blog.
In other news....the brilliant coordinators of our high school reunion have decided that mid July really means the last weekend in July which is the same weekend that we're hitting Miami for Julie's bachelorette with 7 members of our class (7 awesome members!). We spent all this time working around mid July to get screwed anyway. Oh well....I'm pretty sure a long weekend in Miami with this crowd will be 1,000 times more fun than a HS reunion with kids running around.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Insert Title Here _________ (Sorry I got nothing this week!)
It's Saturday night and I'm trying to get back on blogging schedule. Plus its procrastination for going to sleep which I am brilliant at.
Lets see.....this week was not all that exciting...although it's possible that I laughed more than I ever have for numerous reasons.
1. Texts From Last Night. If you have not been to this website, you are missing out on quite possibly, the greatest thing ever. It has provided endless entertainment for me and makes me feel like a really good person.
2. Liana. I think I am in love with this girl. We have some of the most ridiculous, hysterical conversations and do a very good job of entertaining ourselves...at work, at bars, anywhere. This past week we have decided that we're both quitting the tax world and starting a new venture. We've thrown around some ideas which we of course think are brilliant but probably won't support our lifestyle. At any rate, we're working on it, will let you all know when we've come up with a plan so you can be investors.
3. 8 year old birthday parties at bars. So Thursday after work was last day drinks for Alice at the One to One hotel. Alice is finally done at client X and going back to her law firm in Abu Dhabi until end of April. We are excited about this as client X works this girl to death and she has missed out on some fun stuff becuase of work. Now that she's going back to her law firm, she will have a more normal life and more time for fun with us! She is going to be legal council for Li and I's new business. She said she was gonna quit and join us, but I said no, we'll most def. need a lawyer to keep us out of trouble! Anyway...I got off track. So Liana and I show up first, cuz we're slackers and couldn't wait to bust loose of work on Thursday. The legal group was all waiting on who else...Alice. So they showed up a bit later. We started boozing nice and early, ate some delicious greasy bar food and started asking questions about all of the kids here. When I went to the bathroom there was this whole kids party going on. Trampoline, balloons, kids butterflies painted on their faces. Some of the balloons were quite inappropriate as well. Sword my a**. I am pretty sure a little girl was walking around with a umm...you know in her mouth. Not sure why she was putting a balloon in her mouth but thats besides the point. The music too...oh god...the music was awful. It was like crappy elevator music, with kids running around like lunatics as we're trying to get drunk. When the organizer showed up we were like nice choice idiot. Anyway....then the music finally changed to some normal stuff which became awkward when the little kids were out on the dance floor jammin to it. I realize that this does not sound funny, but the whole experience was a riot. That and my 5 cosmos and tequilla shot probably helped things along.
(All my blogs usually go in day format...this started differently..but now I need to continue with this night so bare with me)
Liana and I had originally said we were calling it an early night but then Alice was like...are you in for the long haul? Um....yep. I'm easily influenced and it was her night so....gotta do what you gotta do. Liana said she wanted to go home and change. Alice and I were smart and wore semi cute outfits to work so we could just go out after. Liana was in a full suit. I was like, are you coming back? Yes yes yes..of course. BS. So everyone decided they were going to Club Eight and we agreed to join them. Alice had to stop at a 50th birthday party first so her and I went there and told Liana to meet us at Eight. Villa party was cool...catered, champagne was flowing, I was told I had a nice accent (score...I think everyone else's rock and mine sucks so this was fun to hear). We stayed about 45 minutes and then headed over to Eight where there was a magnum of goose on the table. Liana passed out on her couch. At this point we were pretty drunk. Alice was smart and only had soft drinks. I was semi smart and only had one drink and two shots. The rest of the crew decided they were going to Allure (the 6am club) and her and I were like NFW, we're out. So I drop her off and come home and have a mild (major) panic attack as I couldn't find my computer or recall where it was. I was literally in the middle of my room, hands on my head going think Cristina, think. After a few minutes of this I realized it was in Liana's car from when we drove to One to One. Crisis averted and I passed out.
I woke up feeling like death. Liana was nice enough to pass on her sinus infection to me this week so I couldn't tell if I was had a hangover headache or if it was the sinus infection, pretty sure it was both. We had tickets to Toast SANZA (essentially a wine fest) and that was the last thing I wanted to do but rallied. Alice did not. Ha. She kept saying she'd meet us there. Have you noticed anything about my friends? Yes, they are all big liars. Lol. So Liana, her friend Rob and I went and it was a nice day. The wind was insane, blowing down tents left and right, but we found a nice spot on the grass, drank wine and listened to the music. We had 3 glasses before we realized that getting up everytime we finished one sucked and then just started getting bottles...3 bottles later and I was toast. Came home at 7pm and passed out for awhihle..then woke up and couldn't sleep. TFLN kept me entertained though. I had a major urge to make mac n cheese at 1am since I never ate dinner but decided that was not going to help my getting in shape goal so opted out.
I got up today, cleaned up my place, sent laundry out, etc. Then I went to the pool where I was informed by the attendant that it was cold and I may not want to go up there. Umm..okay. So I'm like I'll take my chances, its supposed to be beautiful out and yeah, it was at least 70 deg and sunny. She was out of her mind. I stayed up there for about 3 hours and now look like a raccoon. I guess one weekend out of the sun killed my ability to handle it! Although to be fair, I did have a good amount from the day before. Ideally it looks better tomorrow. Then I went and met Liana at her gym (yay for avoiding my creepy guy..more on that in a second) to do body pump. So my cab driver was a moron and had no idea where this place was. Abu Dhabi Health & Fitness please. What? Repeat. What? Where is it? I don't freaking know, you are the driver. So I knew it was past work from prior discussions with Liana so I'm like head this way while I frantically bb'd her. He was very confused at what I was saying so I'm like..you know..the gym...where you run and stuff. Oh...Abu Dhabi Gyms Club. NO. It's called Abu Dhabi Health & Fitness. So he starts calling ppl to ask and keeps calling it the Gyms Club. Ugh. I wanted to punch him in the face. Lol. So I get there, late, thinking it was too late for BP but of course nothing in AD starts on time so I was okay. I also am learning mad skills from Liana so instead of paying, I just waltzed in like I owned the place, and score, free workout! It was pretty much the same class I used to do with Tanya in Maryland but it's been 3 months so I'm pretty sure tomorrow is going to be painful but its all good, I needed a good a** kicking. We did 20 minutes of cardio after and called it a day.
So creepy gym guy. I went on Wednesday to my gym and he was there but didn't come in the actual gym the whole time, just sat at the desk. So when I come out he goes..."Cristina...your jumproping in there, it makes my neck hurt." I was like WOW. What do I even say to that? Pretty sure that borders on sexual harassment and I wish he would stop speaking to me or looking at me...or living.
Anyway...what else. I had a client dinner on Tuesday night at the Yacht Club which was delicous and ended by 10 so I was happy about that. I had some Prawn Tempura that was to die for.
I think that about sums up the week. Oh...Helena and Martha finally booked their tickets so I will have visitors in April...woohooo!
Alice is in London until Monday and then starts back at her law firm on Tuesday and then the three of us are off to Bahrain on Thursday. We were supposed to go skiing in Lebanon but with all the craziness that is going on, we decided that Bahrain was safer and Alice missed out last time so is owed a trip!
Oh one more thing (sorry to do this to you all back home but....) the weather in DC the past week was awful. Snow, sleet, hail...etc etc. 6 hour commutes. No power for days. Oh how I love being in the Middle East and missing all of it. Pretty sure my new plan is to be a snowbird, except instead of Florida in the winter, its going to be Abu Dhabi. Ha. Wonder if I can get work to agree to that.
Night all :)
Lets see.....this week was not all that exciting...although it's possible that I laughed more than I ever have for numerous reasons.
1. Texts From Last Night. If you have not been to this website, you are missing out on quite possibly, the greatest thing ever. It has provided endless entertainment for me and makes me feel like a really good person.
2. Liana. I think I am in love with this girl. We have some of the most ridiculous, hysterical conversations and do a very good job of entertaining ourselves...at work, at bars, anywhere. This past week we have decided that we're both quitting the tax world and starting a new venture. We've thrown around some ideas which we of course think are brilliant but probably won't support our lifestyle. At any rate, we're working on it, will let you all know when we've come up with a plan so you can be investors.
3. 8 year old birthday parties at bars. So Thursday after work was last day drinks for Alice at the One to One hotel. Alice is finally done at client X and going back to her law firm in Abu Dhabi until end of April. We are excited about this as client X works this girl to death and she has missed out on some fun stuff becuase of work. Now that she's going back to her law firm, she will have a more normal life and more time for fun with us! She is going to be legal council for Li and I's new business. She said she was gonna quit and join us, but I said no, we'll most def. need a lawyer to keep us out of trouble! Anyway...I got off track. So Liana and I show up first, cuz we're slackers and couldn't wait to bust loose of work on Thursday. The legal group was all waiting on who else...Alice. So they showed up a bit later. We started boozing nice and early, ate some delicious greasy bar food and started asking questions about all of the kids here. When I went to the bathroom there was this whole kids party going on. Trampoline, balloons, kids butterflies painted on their faces. Some of the balloons were quite inappropriate as well. Sword my a**. I am pretty sure a little girl was walking around with a umm...you know in her mouth. Not sure why she was putting a balloon in her mouth but thats besides the point. The music too...oh god...the music was awful. It was like crappy elevator music, with kids running around like lunatics as we're trying to get drunk. When the organizer showed up we were like nice choice idiot. Anyway....then the music finally changed to some normal stuff which became awkward when the little kids were out on the dance floor jammin to it. I realize that this does not sound funny, but the whole experience was a riot. That and my 5 cosmos and tequilla shot probably helped things along.
(All my blogs usually go in day format...this started differently..but now I need to continue with this night so bare with me)
Liana and I had originally said we were calling it an early night but then Alice was like...are you in for the long haul? Um....yep. I'm easily influenced and it was her night so....gotta do what you gotta do. Liana said she wanted to go home and change. Alice and I were smart and wore semi cute outfits to work so we could just go out after. Liana was in a full suit. I was like, are you coming back? Yes yes yes..of course. BS. So everyone decided they were going to Club Eight and we agreed to join them. Alice had to stop at a 50th birthday party first so her and I went there and told Liana to meet us at Eight. Villa party was cool...catered, champagne was flowing, I was told I had a nice accent (score...I think everyone else's rock and mine sucks so this was fun to hear). We stayed about 45 minutes and then headed over to Eight where there was a magnum of goose on the table. Liana passed out on her couch. At this point we were pretty drunk. Alice was smart and only had soft drinks. I was semi smart and only had one drink and two shots. The rest of the crew decided they were going to Allure (the 6am club) and her and I were like NFW, we're out. So I drop her off and come home and have a mild (major) panic attack as I couldn't find my computer or recall where it was. I was literally in the middle of my room, hands on my head going think Cristina, think. After a few minutes of this I realized it was in Liana's car from when we drove to One to One. Crisis averted and I passed out.
I woke up feeling like death. Liana was nice enough to pass on her sinus infection to me this week so I couldn't tell if I was had a hangover headache or if it was the sinus infection, pretty sure it was both. We had tickets to Toast SANZA (essentially a wine fest) and that was the last thing I wanted to do but rallied. Alice did not. Ha. She kept saying she'd meet us there. Have you noticed anything about my friends? Yes, they are all big liars. Lol. So Liana, her friend Rob and I went and it was a nice day. The wind was insane, blowing down tents left and right, but we found a nice spot on the grass, drank wine and listened to the music. We had 3 glasses before we realized that getting up everytime we finished one sucked and then just started getting bottles...3 bottles later and I was toast. Came home at 7pm and passed out for awhihle..then woke up and couldn't sleep. TFLN kept me entertained though. I had a major urge to make mac n cheese at 1am since I never ate dinner but decided that was not going to help my getting in shape goal so opted out.
I got up today, cleaned up my place, sent laundry out, etc. Then I went to the pool where I was informed by the attendant that it was cold and I may not want to go up there. Umm..okay. So I'm like I'll take my chances, its supposed to be beautiful out and yeah, it was at least 70 deg and sunny. She was out of her mind. I stayed up there for about 3 hours and now look like a raccoon. I guess one weekend out of the sun killed my ability to handle it! Although to be fair, I did have a good amount from the day before. Ideally it looks better tomorrow. Then I went and met Liana at her gym (yay for avoiding my creepy guy..more on that in a second) to do body pump. So my cab driver was a moron and had no idea where this place was. Abu Dhabi Health & Fitness please. What? Repeat. What? Where is it? I don't freaking know, you are the driver. So I knew it was past work from prior discussions with Liana so I'm like head this way while I frantically bb'd her. He was very confused at what I was saying so I'm like..you know..the gym...where you run and stuff. Oh...Abu Dhabi Gyms Club. NO. It's called Abu Dhabi Health & Fitness. So he starts calling ppl to ask and keeps calling it the Gyms Club. Ugh. I wanted to punch him in the face. Lol. So I get there, late, thinking it was too late for BP but of course nothing in AD starts on time so I was okay. I also am learning mad skills from Liana so instead of paying, I just waltzed in like I owned the place, and score, free workout! It was pretty much the same class I used to do with Tanya in Maryland but it's been 3 months so I'm pretty sure tomorrow is going to be painful but its all good, I needed a good a** kicking. We did 20 minutes of cardio after and called it a day.
So creepy gym guy. I went on Wednesday to my gym and he was there but didn't come in the actual gym the whole time, just sat at the desk. So when I come out he goes..."Cristina...your jumproping in there, it makes my neck hurt." I was like WOW. What do I even say to that? Pretty sure that borders on sexual harassment and I wish he would stop speaking to me or looking at me...or living.
Anyway...what else. I had a client dinner on Tuesday night at the Yacht Club which was delicous and ended by 10 so I was happy about that. I had some Prawn Tempura that was to die for.
I think that about sums up the week. Oh...Helena and Martha finally booked their tickets so I will have visitors in April...woohooo!
Alice is in London until Monday and then starts back at her law firm on Tuesday and then the three of us are off to Bahrain on Thursday. We were supposed to go skiing in Lebanon but with all the craziness that is going on, we decided that Bahrain was safer and Alice missed out last time so is owed a trip!
Oh one more thing (sorry to do this to you all back home but....) the weather in DC the past week was awful. Snow, sleet, hail...etc etc. 6 hour commutes. No power for days. Oh how I love being in the Middle East and missing all of it. Pretty sure my new plan is to be a snowbird, except instead of Florida in the winter, its going to be Abu Dhabi. Ha. Wonder if I can get work to agree to that.
Night all :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Liana and Cristina Take Bahrain!
Aghhhh...another Sunday....another fabulous week to look back on. Well weekend...the week was pretty lame. I have been doing a much better job at being responsible and not going out during the week so the only outing was dinner with Oliver on Monday night. Had a great steak which was way overdue....heard all about his new flat in Dubai (so jealous!!!!)and then had one drink at Trader Vics and was home and in bed in record time!
So Liana and I had been planning to hit Bahrain for the weekend with Alice and Alisa but everyone (other than Liana) was up in the air until the last minute as A & A didn't know if they'd have to work and I hadn't received my passport back yet. I got word it was done on Wednesday so we booked our trip for Thursday after work. Alice and Alisa both ended up with work committments on Friday and couldn't come (sad :( ) but Liana and I went.
Thursday at work was great....we did a long lunch with Alice and then left "early" to get ready. We are both slackers and needed to pack and stuff. Our flight was at 9:40 so we got a cab to the airport and made it early so what did we do? Found free booze. Ha. You have to walk through duty free to get to the gates and Liana was like lets go find the sample guy. Brilliant. Absolut had a little bar set up so we roll up and start sampling what they had. Vodka/Cran, Vodka/Apple, Vodka/Orange, Vodka/Cran Apple, etc etc. The guy loved us and didn't seem to mind us drinking all his vodka. Ha. For his sake we did buy a bottle to take with us so he did good. So at this point we're a little buzzed and just laughing about dumb sh*t. Then we get on plane and there are like 20 ppl total. Of course Liana and I are window/middle of one row but we figure we're good so she takes aisle and me window. Then this big woman rolls up and says shes the aisle so she sits down and we're like ugh..this is gonna suck. So then clearly no one else is getting on the plane and the aisle right across from us is open (with noone in the middle)....any normal person would get their a** up and move..doesnt she want more room too? But no...things in the UAE are never normal. So the exit row in front of us is wide open so we move...score..more leg room, middle open....then we debated whether it was safe to have drunk girls sitting in the exit row. Liana's argument was that the pictures on the seats showing the directions didnt look like her, she was clearly missing the sideburns. Lol. You really prob had to be there.
Anyway...very short flight, hour and 10 minutes of which Liana passed out and I tried but coudln't. We get to Bahrain and get through immigration which was pretty easy. It's 5BD to get a tourist visa which is like 50 dirhams which is like $14. Let me tell you how difficult this became as we were drinking. Converting BD to Dirham to Dollars to figure out how much stuff costs....at the end I just sort of hoped we weren't getting terribly ripped off! We get to hotel, check in and get ready for our first night out.
We went to an Irish bar...which touted itself as "Clubbing Reinvented". I'd agree with that. Had the chill atmosphere of an Irish Pub with great music....1/2 DJ and 1/2 live band. Lots of Ammericans in Bahrain...some of the military guys looked like they were 18!!! We had some drinks, did some dancing, made fun of a girl wearing a one legged pant suit. No joke, she had on these "short pants" so one leg was full length and the other was shorts. And with flats. It was not attractive, but somehow she had scored the best looking guy in the bar. Next time I'm wearing my pair. Ha! Anyway, we drank far too much and decided that taking shots was also a good idea so Friday morning was a bit rough. Oh one other thing...we met this Irish guy...I tell him I'm an accountant (I never learn to make up something better) and Liana tells him she teaches religion in Abu Dhabi. He believed her. He also believed her when she told him she was the 3rd wife of an Emirati guy and that she used to be a hooker. Liana has this effect on men. Anyways...he finally starts to see holes in her ridicilous story and then goes to me, I bet you aren't an accountant either. Um yes, I wouldn't make up something as boring as that. So he's like prove it...umm....yeah how do you want me to do that?! Oh also...this guy was wearing a mu-mu (how do you spell that?). Liana kept pointing him out and we had a good laugh, we decided both of us could have fit in the shirt with him still in it. Biggest polo shirt I've ever seen. And then he turned out to be the DJ.
So Friday morning we came to and leanred something fabulous...that Bahrain has a Ric's Kountry Kitchen. Liana knows about this fine establishment from Qatar but had no idea Bahrain had one. We roll over there at like 1pm for "breakfast". Had one of the best omelettes of my life with hash browns, yum. Then we went back to hotel and took long naps until it was time to start over. Unfortunately Bahrain was too cold for the pool and for the first weekend day since returning, I did not get to sunbathe. Sad day. Anyhow.....we got up and got ready and went to Zoe's for dinner (Liana had been here years ago and her recommendation did not fail). Food/wine was fab. Then we went to a sweet club called Havana's. You'd think it would have a Cuban flair right? Wrong. Hip hop club and Liana was in heaven. So much so that she decided to play DJ for part of the night. Ha. I wish I had a picture of her, one headphone on, one hand in the air, rocking the ATL symbol. Ha. She was also given a nice lesson in American culture over the weekend (again..lots of Americans here). She learned some new phrases like, "off the chain" and "thats wassup" and "tribe". Lol. Okay so the last one isn't a phrase and you really had to be there. This one sweet young kid was all in a tizzy after a discussion with us. It went something like this. Liana "You know Flo-rida". Him "You mean Florida". Liana "No, Flo-rida". Him "ummm, yeah, I'm from Florida". Lol. Then I ask, "oh your from S. Florida, do you know Pit Bull". Him "yeah the dogs". Me, "no, Pitbull the musician". Him "yeah Pitbulls are cool dogs". I think we may have stopped talking to him at this point. Ha.
We were smarter and laid off the shots so Saturday morning was easier than Friday. Went back to none other than Ric's for a repeat of day 1. Well I had the exact same thing (cuz thats my style), Liana got a death by omelette. Then we went to hotel, convinced them to let us check out at 4 so we could lounge around until our flight. Flight kinda sucked....we forgot to check in online so we ended up with middle seats apart on a completely full flight. Guy next to her was snoring, guy next to me was quite large and kept letting out the loudest sighs. I am very spoiled now with Business class so going coach sucked and we had to wait forever at Immigration and then of course we pick the one line with a million issues (I actually warned her on the way not to let me pick lines as I'm ALWAYS wrong). That may be the only time I admit to being wrong. Ha. The guy working was in no hurry, and then he had a guy go through with tons of issues which required working guy to get up and leave his post for a few minutes at a time (and was not moving with a purpose). By the time we got through and got home we were both pretty beat, but was nice to be home by 9:30 and have some time to settle in before heading back to work on Sunday am.
We meant to go shopping, get massages, and relax at the pool but well, none of that happened. Next time! Since Alice missed this trip, we're gonna plan another one. We were meant to go skiing in Lebanon in 2 weeks but with the crap going on right now, we've all decided (as well as our parents) that this is not a good idea for the time being and may hit Bahrain again. I still have BD that I need to spend as well. Lol.
There are not a lot of pics from this trip cuz I suck. My camera was full the first night and didn't have the energy to go through and delete stuff (as I realized it was full at the bar). The second night my flash was all messed up and by the time I figured it out, it was pretty much over. Liana's realized hers was dead when we got on plane. What a combo right?
It's Monday morning now..I never got around to finishing this last night..had some major laundry issues and a phone date with one of my girls back in the states. I ended up way too late but feel decent today. Liana also took me to Lulu's (grocery store) after work last night...I'd never been. It was HUGE and had sooo much American stuff. I found Apple Jax and Honeycomb, woohooo. I was so excited that I finally found something other than Golden Grahams that I ignored the fact that they were over $8 a box. I could prob have it shipped over here cheaper! Oh and I went to the gym..had a great workout...my gym creep wasn't there. Last week, he decided it would be fun to try and have a conversation with me while I swam laps in the pool, right, this does not work you moron. I can't hear you and am in no position to respond. Then he made a comment about how it was like a private pool since I was the only one up there...yeah...except for YOU who's bugging the sh*t out of me. The swim was nice though, my knees have been really messed up so running everyday is no longer an option. Earlier in my workout I was power walking and he comes over to the treadmill and goes..."where ya going". "What"? "You're walking like you have some place to be". Umm...its called power walking. I can't run cuz my knees are jacked so I'm trying to get the best workout in possible. Please go bother someone else. Please.
Okay I think thats it.....this week should be fairly quiet, have a client dinner tomorrow but thats it til Friday. We are going to Toast SANZA and then ideally back to the pool on Saturday! I feel like my tan is fading already.
So Liana and I had been planning to hit Bahrain for the weekend with Alice and Alisa but everyone (other than Liana) was up in the air until the last minute as A & A didn't know if they'd have to work and I hadn't received my passport back yet. I got word it was done on Wednesday so we booked our trip for Thursday after work. Alice and Alisa both ended up with work committments on Friday and couldn't come (sad :( ) but Liana and I went.
Thursday at work was great....we did a long lunch with Alice and then left "early" to get ready. We are both slackers and needed to pack and stuff. Our flight was at 9:40 so we got a cab to the airport and made it early so what did we do? Found free booze. Ha. You have to walk through duty free to get to the gates and Liana was like lets go find the sample guy. Brilliant. Absolut had a little bar set up so we roll up and start sampling what they had. Vodka/Cran, Vodka/Apple, Vodka/Orange, Vodka/Cran Apple, etc etc. The guy loved us and didn't seem to mind us drinking all his vodka. Ha. For his sake we did buy a bottle to take with us so he did good. So at this point we're a little buzzed and just laughing about dumb sh*t. Then we get on plane and there are like 20 ppl total. Of course Liana and I are window/middle of one row but we figure we're good so she takes aisle and me window. Then this big woman rolls up and says shes the aisle so she sits down and we're like ugh..this is gonna suck. So then clearly no one else is getting on the plane and the aisle right across from us is open (with noone in the middle)....any normal person would get their a** up and move..doesnt she want more room too? But no...things in the UAE are never normal. So the exit row in front of us is wide open so we move...score..more leg room, middle open....then we debated whether it was safe to have drunk girls sitting in the exit row. Liana's argument was that the pictures on the seats showing the directions didnt look like her, she was clearly missing the sideburns. Lol. You really prob had to be there.
Anyway...very short flight, hour and 10 minutes of which Liana passed out and I tried but coudln't. We get to Bahrain and get through immigration which was pretty easy. It's 5BD to get a tourist visa which is like 50 dirhams which is like $14. Let me tell you how difficult this became as we were drinking. Converting BD to Dirham to Dollars to figure out how much stuff costs....at the end I just sort of hoped we weren't getting terribly ripped off! We get to hotel, check in and get ready for our first night out.
We went to an Irish bar...which touted itself as "Clubbing Reinvented". I'd agree with that. Had the chill atmosphere of an Irish Pub with great music....1/2 DJ and 1/2 live band. Lots of Ammericans in Bahrain...some of the military guys looked like they were 18!!! We had some drinks, did some dancing, made fun of a girl wearing a one legged pant suit. No joke, she had on these "short pants" so one leg was full length and the other was shorts. And with flats. It was not attractive, but somehow she had scored the best looking guy in the bar. Next time I'm wearing my pair. Ha! Anyway, we drank far too much and decided that taking shots was also a good idea so Friday morning was a bit rough. Oh one other thing...we met this Irish guy...I tell him I'm an accountant (I never learn to make up something better) and Liana tells him she teaches religion in Abu Dhabi. He believed her. He also believed her when she told him she was the 3rd wife of an Emirati guy and that she used to be a hooker. Liana has this effect on men. Anyways...he finally starts to see holes in her ridicilous story and then goes to me, I bet you aren't an accountant either. Um yes, I wouldn't make up something as boring as that. So he's like prove it...umm....yeah how do you want me to do that?! Oh also...this guy was wearing a mu-mu (how do you spell that?). Liana kept pointing him out and we had a good laugh, we decided both of us could have fit in the shirt with him still in it. Biggest polo shirt I've ever seen. And then he turned out to be the DJ.
So Friday morning we came to and leanred something fabulous...that Bahrain has a Ric's Kountry Kitchen. Liana knows about this fine establishment from Qatar but had no idea Bahrain had one. We roll over there at like 1pm for "breakfast". Had one of the best omelettes of my life with hash browns, yum. Then we went back to hotel and took long naps until it was time to start over. Unfortunately Bahrain was too cold for the pool and for the first weekend day since returning, I did not get to sunbathe. Sad day. Anyhow.....we got up and got ready and went to Zoe's for dinner (Liana had been here years ago and her recommendation did not fail). Food/wine was fab. Then we went to a sweet club called Havana's. You'd think it would have a Cuban flair right? Wrong. Hip hop club and Liana was in heaven. So much so that she decided to play DJ for part of the night. Ha. I wish I had a picture of her, one headphone on, one hand in the air, rocking the ATL symbol. Ha. She was also given a nice lesson in American culture over the weekend (again..lots of Americans here). She learned some new phrases like, "off the chain" and "thats wassup" and "tribe". Lol. Okay so the last one isn't a phrase and you really had to be there. This one sweet young kid was all in a tizzy after a discussion with us. It went something like this. Liana "You know Flo-rida". Him "You mean Florida". Liana "No, Flo-rida". Him "ummm, yeah, I'm from Florida". Lol. Then I ask, "oh your from S. Florida, do you know Pit Bull". Him "yeah the dogs". Me, "no, Pitbull the musician". Him "yeah Pitbulls are cool dogs". I think we may have stopped talking to him at this point. Ha.
We were smarter and laid off the shots so Saturday morning was easier than Friday. Went back to none other than Ric's for a repeat of day 1. Well I had the exact same thing (cuz thats my style), Liana got a death by omelette. Then we went to hotel, convinced them to let us check out at 4 so we could lounge around until our flight. Flight kinda sucked....we forgot to check in online so we ended up with middle seats apart on a completely full flight. Guy next to her was snoring, guy next to me was quite large and kept letting out the loudest sighs. I am very spoiled now with Business class so going coach sucked and we had to wait forever at Immigration and then of course we pick the one line with a million issues (I actually warned her on the way not to let me pick lines as I'm ALWAYS wrong). That may be the only time I admit to being wrong. Ha. The guy working was in no hurry, and then he had a guy go through with tons of issues which required working guy to get up and leave his post for a few minutes at a time (and was not moving with a purpose). By the time we got through and got home we were both pretty beat, but was nice to be home by 9:30 and have some time to settle in before heading back to work on Sunday am.
We meant to go shopping, get massages, and relax at the pool but well, none of that happened. Next time! Since Alice missed this trip, we're gonna plan another one. We were meant to go skiing in Lebanon in 2 weeks but with the crap going on right now, we've all decided (as well as our parents) that this is not a good idea for the time being and may hit Bahrain again. I still have BD that I need to spend as well. Lol.
There are not a lot of pics from this trip cuz I suck. My camera was full the first night and didn't have the energy to go through and delete stuff (as I realized it was full at the bar). The second night my flash was all messed up and by the time I figured it out, it was pretty much over. Liana's realized hers was dead when we got on plane. What a combo right?
It's Monday morning now..I never got around to finishing this last night..had some major laundry issues and a phone date with one of my girls back in the states. I ended up way too late but feel decent today. Liana also took me to Lulu's (grocery store) after work last night...I'd never been. It was HUGE and had sooo much American stuff. I found Apple Jax and Honeycomb, woohooo. I was so excited that I finally found something other than Golden Grahams that I ignored the fact that they were over $8 a box. I could prob have it shipped over here cheaper! Oh and I went to the gym..had a great workout...my gym creep wasn't there. Last week, he decided it would be fun to try and have a conversation with me while I swam laps in the pool, right, this does not work you moron. I can't hear you and am in no position to respond. Then he made a comment about how it was like a private pool since I was the only one up there...yeah...except for YOU who's bugging the sh*t out of me. The swim was nice though, my knees have been really messed up so running everyday is no longer an option. Earlier in my workout I was power walking and he comes over to the treadmill and goes..."where ya going". "What"? "You're walking like you have some place to be". Umm...its called power walking. I can't run cuz my knees are jacked so I'm trying to get the best workout in possible. Please go bother someone else. Please.
Okay I think thats it.....this week should be fairly quiet, have a client dinner tomorrow but thats it til Friday. We are going to Toast SANZA and then ideally back to the pool on Saturday! I feel like my tan is fading already.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Alice’s Birthday Week
I apologize for the delayed posting…..I’m starting to slack and I promise to be better. Every Saturday night turned to an occasional Monday post and now has become Tuesday. I gotta rein it in now before the delays gets out of control!
This week was fairly quiet, with the exception of Alice’s birthday celebrations!!!! Without her you all would have a big bunch of nothing to read. Ha!
So last Monday night a bunch of us (Alice is popular!) went to dinner at the Fairmont to celebrate her actual bday. It was a buffet (much easier for 20ish ppl) and I found something phenomenal at the dessert section….candy!!!! Gummy worms, gummy cherries, gummy bears, gummy palm trees, gummy fish, etc etc. I shoved an entire bowl full of gummy goodness into my mouth and could barely move when we finished! Ppl were shocked at my ability to eat so much candy (for those of you who know me well, this would have been no surprise!). Dinner was good and then they brought out a cake for her (her 4th of the day!) and then ppl started to disperse. 5 of us troopers went to a shisha bar for awhile, smoked shisha and were endlessly entertained by Liana’s ability to suck the helium out of the birthday balloons and sing us songs (yes we brought the balloons with us….Liana gave us a preview at dinner and we were not letting these go to waste!). Alice gave it her best shot and immediately declared (in a chipmunk voice) “it’s not working!”. Ha….it surely was. Thankfully we all decided to be smart professionals and go home at a decent time instead of having a raging night.
Tuesday I was supposed to meet Dean/Oliver after their client dinner but I went home after work to nap and when I woke up at 10:30 and hadn’t heard anything, I decided I was being smart (2 nights in a row, I know you are all impressed!) and calling it a night. I woke up to lots of messages about 10:45ish….was quite glad I missed them cuz it would have been a mission to get ready and go out and I was clearly exhausted (slept from 8ish til 6:30am!!)
Wednesday I got up early and ran again (2 in one week, who am I?!) as Wednesdays generally end up late nights out and I wanted to get a workout in. Well this Wednesday night was my first chill one since like November so I went home and hit the gym instead.
Thursday morning I had to get up super early to go to Dubai for medical testing for my residence visa. They took blood and gave me a nice bruise on my right arm (I’m right handed…the rest of the day sort of sucked since I was in a suit and it hurt to move my arm at all!!!). That night was our belated team dinner so we went home to change after work and then went over to the Shangi-La for Chinese food. It was delicious! The plan was to meet Alice out afterwards for her bday night take 2 (she had dinner with some other friends and then we were all gonna go to Rock Bottom) but it ended up being a bust. She was tired after her dinner and so were we (plus Liana has been sick as a dog so not in the mood for much of anything). In bed by 1am on my Friday night….was great!
Friday I spent day at pool, hit the gym, started a new book and otherwise chilled out. Alice and I went to the Yacht Club for dinner at 9 which was nice. Sat outside, had some delicious cocktails and food. What she wanted they had some issue with so that was a bummer considering it was her birthday take 3. Lol. Apparently there was some technical difficulty in the kitchen so they couldn’t make any pasta. We pondered this for awhile and eventually decided they must make their own pasta and someone broke the pasta machine?! I got a call at like 11pm from someone who was using me as a reference so of course after 3 watermelon martinis I had nothing but good things to say! I asked if we could do it on Monday since 1. I was at dinner and 2. It was 11pm but they wanted to get it done. The diff work week/time difference can be really annoying sometimes.
Anyway after dinner we went over to the Emirates Palace to Etoiles to meet some other folks and the night really began. We danced, drank, took shots and goofed off until about 3am when one guy had the bright idea to go to Allure on Yas island (this is not a down the street type of trip..its kind of a mission). Anyway….I’m easily influenced and it was Alice’s birthday so why not right? 5 of us went….4 in back of cab, 1 in front. It was quite possibly the funniest/most uncomfortable cab rides of all time. It started off Anwar on left window, then me, then Alice, then Berkin on right window. Sebo was smart and sat up front. Alice should have chosen this option. Ha. So anyway….I’ve hung out with this crowd before, Alice has not. So Berkin goes in super aggressive mode as he’s decided he loves Alice and we made it about a mile down the road before I had to switch spots with her. This sort of helped….no..not it didn’t, it just put me in the middle of it!!! So I’m like “Berkin sit down, simmer down, chill out” figuring he was terrifying Alice who is so nice and not wanting him to be all over her. He would listen for about 30 seconds before deciding I didn’t exist and she really wanted him. Lol. The best part was about half way through the trip when Berkin realized Alice was not who he thought she was. Ha. They had met (for real) last summer and she remembered but he clearly didn’t. He did think he had met her before at some point, but the girl he thought she was, clearly she wasn’t. So then he was like oh I’m so so so so sorry..but then…but I still love you! Ha. Anyway….so we roll up to Allure which is open til 6am around 3:30am. The guys at the door proceed to tell us that the doors close at 2:30am. Oh yes, this makes sense. You are open til 6 but close the doors 3.5 hours before? You are lucky anyone even makes the trip out to Yas to come to your club, don’t start being pricks. At this point its kinda cold and Alice and I have to pee. Oh…and when we got out of the cab, she looked beyond traumatized and I apologized profusely and told her to just go home if she wanted. She considered it, but being a trooper and having never been to Allure, decided to stay for a drink. Once we finally got in (the guys pulled some stirrings or something cuz the other ppl in line weren’t getting in!) we had a great time. Music was good, we got a bottle of goose and they were walking around handing out pizza. Ha. The venue is really nice (sucks its not on the island, as in Abu Dhabi island) and we had a great time. Alice checked out about 5am and the rest of us around 6am. I got to watch the sun rise which was pretty cool but then I was ready to crash.
Saturday was mostly useless after Friday night’s nonsense. I went and met Alice at the beach club for a couple hours and devoured a club sandwich and fries and then we got manicures and I went home. I was relieved to hear she really did have a great time and was up to do it again so we’ll just call this her initiation night as now she’ll be prepared! I should have hit the grocery store, and the gym, and done laundry, but I laid in bed and did a whole lot of nothing for the rest of the day. It was glorious.
Sunday I hit the gym after work and then yesterday I got up and ran since I was having dinner with Oliver. We went to one of our usual spots and had our usual (French Onion Soup and Filet). I was craving a steak, it’s been weeks and with all my working out, my body needed some red meat. Then we went to Trader Vics where I really only had one mai tai this time as I learned my lesson from our last one drink at TV which turned into lots which turned into me being a drunken mess on a work night!
Gonna hit the gym after work tonight and maybe get some laundry done.
We’re supposed to be doing a girls trip to Bahrain this weekend but it’s up in the air until I find out if my residence visa is finished in time and if Alice has to work on Friday. Ideally we’ll have it all sorted tomorrow as we’ll head off on Thursday. Excited to see some of the region!!!
This week was fairly quiet, with the exception of Alice’s birthday celebrations!!!! Without her you all would have a big bunch of nothing to read. Ha!
So last Monday night a bunch of us (Alice is popular!) went to dinner at the Fairmont to celebrate her actual bday. It was a buffet (much easier for 20ish ppl) and I found something phenomenal at the dessert section….candy!!!! Gummy worms, gummy cherries, gummy bears, gummy palm trees, gummy fish, etc etc. I shoved an entire bowl full of gummy goodness into my mouth and could barely move when we finished! Ppl were shocked at my ability to eat so much candy (for those of you who know me well, this would have been no surprise!). Dinner was good and then they brought out a cake for her (her 4th of the day!) and then ppl started to disperse. 5 of us troopers went to a shisha bar for awhile, smoked shisha and were endlessly entertained by Liana’s ability to suck the helium out of the birthday balloons and sing us songs (yes we brought the balloons with us….Liana gave us a preview at dinner and we were not letting these go to waste!). Alice gave it her best shot and immediately declared (in a chipmunk voice) “it’s not working!”. Ha….it surely was. Thankfully we all decided to be smart professionals and go home at a decent time instead of having a raging night.
Tuesday I was supposed to meet Dean/Oliver after their client dinner but I went home after work to nap and when I woke up at 10:30 and hadn’t heard anything, I decided I was being smart (2 nights in a row, I know you are all impressed!) and calling it a night. I woke up to lots of messages about 10:45ish….was quite glad I missed them cuz it would have been a mission to get ready and go out and I was clearly exhausted (slept from 8ish til 6:30am!!)
Wednesday I got up early and ran again (2 in one week, who am I?!) as Wednesdays generally end up late nights out and I wanted to get a workout in. Well this Wednesday night was my first chill one since like November so I went home and hit the gym instead.
Thursday morning I had to get up super early to go to Dubai for medical testing for my residence visa. They took blood and gave me a nice bruise on my right arm (I’m right handed…the rest of the day sort of sucked since I was in a suit and it hurt to move my arm at all!!!). That night was our belated team dinner so we went home to change after work and then went over to the Shangi-La for Chinese food. It was delicious! The plan was to meet Alice out afterwards for her bday night take 2 (she had dinner with some other friends and then we were all gonna go to Rock Bottom) but it ended up being a bust. She was tired after her dinner and so were we (plus Liana has been sick as a dog so not in the mood for much of anything). In bed by 1am on my Friday night….was great!
Friday I spent day at pool, hit the gym, started a new book and otherwise chilled out. Alice and I went to the Yacht Club for dinner at 9 which was nice. Sat outside, had some delicious cocktails and food. What she wanted they had some issue with so that was a bummer considering it was her birthday take 3. Lol. Apparently there was some technical difficulty in the kitchen so they couldn’t make any pasta. We pondered this for awhile and eventually decided they must make their own pasta and someone broke the pasta machine?! I got a call at like 11pm from someone who was using me as a reference so of course after 3 watermelon martinis I had nothing but good things to say! I asked if we could do it on Monday since 1. I was at dinner and 2. It was 11pm but they wanted to get it done. The diff work week/time difference can be really annoying sometimes.
Anyway after dinner we went over to the Emirates Palace to Etoiles to meet some other folks and the night really began. We danced, drank, took shots and goofed off until about 3am when one guy had the bright idea to go to Allure on Yas island (this is not a down the street type of trip..its kind of a mission). Anyway….I’m easily influenced and it was Alice’s birthday so why not right? 5 of us went….4 in back of cab, 1 in front. It was quite possibly the funniest/most uncomfortable cab rides of all time. It started off Anwar on left window, then me, then Alice, then Berkin on right window. Sebo was smart and sat up front. Alice should have chosen this option. Ha. So anyway….I’ve hung out with this crowd before, Alice has not. So Berkin goes in super aggressive mode as he’s decided he loves Alice and we made it about a mile down the road before I had to switch spots with her. This sort of helped….no..not it didn’t, it just put me in the middle of it!!! So I’m like “Berkin sit down, simmer down, chill out” figuring he was terrifying Alice who is so nice and not wanting him to be all over her. He would listen for about 30 seconds before deciding I didn’t exist and she really wanted him. Lol. The best part was about half way through the trip when Berkin realized Alice was not who he thought she was. Ha. They had met (for real) last summer and she remembered but he clearly didn’t. He did think he had met her before at some point, but the girl he thought she was, clearly she wasn’t. So then he was like oh I’m so so so so sorry..but then…but I still love you! Ha. Anyway….so we roll up to Allure which is open til 6am around 3:30am. The guys at the door proceed to tell us that the doors close at 2:30am. Oh yes, this makes sense. You are open til 6 but close the doors 3.5 hours before? You are lucky anyone even makes the trip out to Yas to come to your club, don’t start being pricks. At this point its kinda cold and Alice and I have to pee. Oh…and when we got out of the cab, she looked beyond traumatized and I apologized profusely and told her to just go home if she wanted. She considered it, but being a trooper and having never been to Allure, decided to stay for a drink. Once we finally got in (the guys pulled some stirrings or something cuz the other ppl in line weren’t getting in!) we had a great time. Music was good, we got a bottle of goose and they were walking around handing out pizza. Ha. The venue is really nice (sucks its not on the island, as in Abu Dhabi island) and we had a great time. Alice checked out about 5am and the rest of us around 6am. I got to watch the sun rise which was pretty cool but then I was ready to crash.
Saturday was mostly useless after Friday night’s nonsense. I went and met Alice at the beach club for a couple hours and devoured a club sandwich and fries and then we got manicures and I went home. I was relieved to hear she really did have a great time and was up to do it again so we’ll just call this her initiation night as now she’ll be prepared! I should have hit the grocery store, and the gym, and done laundry, but I laid in bed and did a whole lot of nothing for the rest of the day. It was glorious.
Sunday I hit the gym after work and then yesterday I got up and ran since I was having dinner with Oliver. We went to one of our usual spots and had our usual (French Onion Soup and Filet). I was craving a steak, it’s been weeks and with all my working out, my body needed some red meat. Then we went to Trader Vics where I really only had one mai tai this time as I learned my lesson from our last one drink at TV which turned into lots which turned into me being a drunken mess on a work night!
Gonna hit the gym after work tonight and maybe get some laundry done.
We’re supposed to be doing a girls trip to Bahrain this weekend but it’s up in the air until I find out if my residence visa is finished in time and if Alice has to work on Friday. Ideally we’ll have it all sorted tomorrow as we’ll head off on Thursday. Excited to see some of the region!!!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Back to life in AD!
Greetings and Happy New Year!!!! I have been back in Abu Dhabi for a full week now so owe you all an update.
I flew back Sunday evening from DC to Chicago and Chicago to AD. Yes it is out of the way, but sitting on a plane being pampered is better than sitting at JFK for a 5 hour layover so I've gotten smart about it. Break was good.....it was a lot of traveling (DC for 1.5 days, Tampa for 4.5, DC for 6, New Orleans for 2.5, DC for 1.5) so it seemed quite short but it was good to be home and see everyone. I did not enjoy the cold at all however and am very thankful to be back in the warmth!
I landed Monday night and had to deal with a bunch of visa crap before getting through, grabbing bags and heading "home". I was back at work first thing Tuesday morning to loads of emails for events (so much for a peaceful start to the year!!!).
So Tuesday night I hit the gym and finished unpacking, organizing.
Wednesday was going away drinks for Aden (a legal secondee who's time was up). So after work went to Belgian Beer Cafe at the Intercontinental for drinks and then I went with another friend to Oceans to meet Liana and her ex boss where they had dinner. My last 3 Wed nights in AD have all turned out the same, at Sax, so of course this is where we went. Ended up having way too many drinks and staying out too late so Thursday was rough at work. Thankfully it was the last day of the week.
Thursday I took Oliver out for his 27th (ha!) birthday. We went to Pearls & Caviar at the Shangri-La hotel which was supposed to be awesome. It mostly lived up to this, great view, great lobster, terrible lobster bisque, nicely decorated. From dinner we went to Club Eight which I'd heard loads about but never been since its a little off island. Liana met us there and a bunch of other ppl I've been hanging out with. Many many many vodkas and shots later, we left to go to the Fairmont. So one of the guys in the group has a lambourghini and they were like, who is going to ride with so and so and I was immediately like MEEEEEEEEEEE. So I fulfilled a personal goal which I thought was never actually going to happen. White, red leather interior, sweet. It wasn't far, but it was a ride. Ha. Then we went to the fairmont and got grub cuz everyone was starving and continued to drink. Needless to say, I did not sleep much and for some reason woke up early as crap Friday and could not go back to sleep.
Spent Friday by the pool, did some work and then planned on a couple hour nap. I had no plans Friday night but figured I'd get groceries, hit the gym, watch a movie or something. I fell asleep at 5pm and woke up at 9:45am on Saturday morning. Oops! It was an amazing night of sleep that was much needed and I'm glad I did cuz I had a super productive Saturday. Got up and met Alice to get a pedi, then we spent the day at the pool at Beach Club (she lives at Beach Rotana so we're gonna make it a weekly thing!). She left and I hit the gym, then got groceries and then went back home. Showered, goofed off and then the boss was back in town so I went and met 4 co-workers for dinner which was supposed to start at 9 and be a fairly early night except that it went til 12:45am. Not the way to start the week!
Sunday (yesterday) I went to work, then had a great workout last night, made pasta, did laundry, etc. This morning I got up and ran a couple miles as I have an event tonight and I need to start balancing all these nights out with working out. I was very proud of myself for getting in at least a short workout on a day which I would normally do nothing cuz of going out.
So tonight is Alice's birthday..wohoooo!!!! I am at the office (my real job office) right now waiting for her to get home so I can go have bubbly and we can get ready. Then its off to the Fairmont for dinner and then who knows....I don't predict my nights here....I just plan for them to be late!!!
Oh..and Hillary Clinton was at my AD employer today. No idea what shes doing but she was in the lobby and then went for lunch at Jones which is where we go quite regularly.
What else from week 1.....My tan is starting to come back after a full weekend at pool and my body is slimming down to where it was before the holidays so all good things.
Thursday night will be our belated tax team xmas dinner and then a bigger Alice bday celebration...and then Friday Alice and I are going to go do a tour of the Grand Mosque. Finally doing something touristy!!! In other news....Liana and I are in the process of planning lots of trips. On the radar is: weekend in Bahrain (possibly for next weekend), Doha, Beirut, London, Muscat and Dubai for my bday. Usher will be in town March 10th and since my bday is the following Tuesday we'll likely go for the weekend, see Usher, go skydiving and maybe hit Ski Dubai. I brought back all my ski stuff minus the skis so I'm prepared for whatever may come!
The next 16 weeks are going to fly by but I plan on jam packing them with fun things so look for (hopefully) exciting posts!
I flew back Sunday evening from DC to Chicago and Chicago to AD. Yes it is out of the way, but sitting on a plane being pampered is better than sitting at JFK for a 5 hour layover so I've gotten smart about it. Break was good.....it was a lot of traveling (DC for 1.5 days, Tampa for 4.5, DC for 6, New Orleans for 2.5, DC for 1.5) so it seemed quite short but it was good to be home and see everyone. I did not enjoy the cold at all however and am very thankful to be back in the warmth!
I landed Monday night and had to deal with a bunch of visa crap before getting through, grabbing bags and heading "home". I was back at work first thing Tuesday morning to loads of emails for events (so much for a peaceful start to the year!!!).
So Tuesday night I hit the gym and finished unpacking, organizing.
Wednesday was going away drinks for Aden (a legal secondee who's time was up). So after work went to Belgian Beer Cafe at the Intercontinental for drinks and then I went with another friend to Oceans to meet Liana and her ex boss where they had dinner. My last 3 Wed nights in AD have all turned out the same, at Sax, so of course this is where we went. Ended up having way too many drinks and staying out too late so Thursday was rough at work. Thankfully it was the last day of the week.
Thursday I took Oliver out for his 27th (ha!) birthday. We went to Pearls & Caviar at the Shangri-La hotel which was supposed to be awesome. It mostly lived up to this, great view, great lobster, terrible lobster bisque, nicely decorated. From dinner we went to Club Eight which I'd heard loads about but never been since its a little off island. Liana met us there and a bunch of other ppl I've been hanging out with. Many many many vodkas and shots later, we left to go to the Fairmont. So one of the guys in the group has a lambourghini and they were like, who is going to ride with so and so and I was immediately like MEEEEEEEEEEE. So I fulfilled a personal goal which I thought was never actually going to happen. White, red leather interior, sweet. It wasn't far, but it was a ride. Ha. Then we went to the fairmont and got grub cuz everyone was starving and continued to drink. Needless to say, I did not sleep much and for some reason woke up early as crap Friday and could not go back to sleep.
Spent Friday by the pool, did some work and then planned on a couple hour nap. I had no plans Friday night but figured I'd get groceries, hit the gym, watch a movie or something. I fell asleep at 5pm and woke up at 9:45am on Saturday morning. Oops! It was an amazing night of sleep that was much needed and I'm glad I did cuz I had a super productive Saturday. Got up and met Alice to get a pedi, then we spent the day at the pool at Beach Club (she lives at Beach Rotana so we're gonna make it a weekly thing!). She left and I hit the gym, then got groceries and then went back home. Showered, goofed off and then the boss was back in town so I went and met 4 co-workers for dinner which was supposed to start at 9 and be a fairly early night except that it went til 12:45am. Not the way to start the week!
Sunday (yesterday) I went to work, then had a great workout last night, made pasta, did laundry, etc. This morning I got up and ran a couple miles as I have an event tonight and I need to start balancing all these nights out with working out. I was very proud of myself for getting in at least a short workout on a day which I would normally do nothing cuz of going out.
So tonight is Alice's birthday..wohoooo!!!! I am at the office (my real job office) right now waiting for her to get home so I can go have bubbly and we can get ready. Then its off to the Fairmont for dinner and then who knows....I don't predict my nights here....I just plan for them to be late!!!
Oh..and Hillary Clinton was at my AD employer today. No idea what shes doing but she was in the lobby and then went for lunch at Jones which is where we go quite regularly.
What else from week 1.....My tan is starting to come back after a full weekend at pool and my body is slimming down to where it was before the holidays so all good things.
Thursday night will be our belated tax team xmas dinner and then a bigger Alice bday celebration...and then Friday Alice and I are going to go do a tour of the Grand Mosque. Finally doing something touristy!!! In other news....Liana and I are in the process of planning lots of trips. On the radar is: weekend in Bahrain (possibly for next weekend), Doha, Beirut, London, Muscat and Dubai for my bday. Usher will be in town March 10th and since my bday is the following Tuesday we'll likely go for the weekend, see Usher, go skydiving and maybe hit Ski Dubai. I brought back all my ski stuff minus the skis so I'm prepared for whatever may come!
The next 16 weeks are going to fly by but I plan on jam packing them with fun things so look for (hopefully) exciting posts!
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