It's Thursday and I'm blogging the first half off the week now for 2 reasons...1. there will be too much to write if I wait and 2. I won't have a computer. It's my last day at work here and feeling very strange that I wont be coming here ever again. After 8 months its become so familiar, I love what I do here and the group I work with and I'm going to miss it so much. I am taking away a ton of knowledge though so feel like I got out of this experience what I had hoped to (and much more!).
Okay fun stuff. I am exhausted and the best/worst of the week has yet to start! Maria being here has been awesome as we realized its actually been since last July when I saw her last and to have so much time to catch up has been great. Plus we've done some fun stuff and have more planned and I probably wouldn't have gotten around to a lot of it had she not come.
Sunday night I dragged her to bootcamp and I think she might have hated me slightly. It was her first full day in the UAE and she was not acclimated to the heat yet and Sunday ended up being one of the hotter days we've had so it was rough. She also hated the sand. However, she held her own and I was proud! Afterwards we hit Spinney's so she could stock up on some snacks since the only thing in my fridge ever is cheese and diet coke! We went home and got ready to go out for dinner which took forever since we were busy chatting and two chicks takes much longer than when its just me. We got to dinner pretty late (which has become the norm this week!) but it was all good. We went to Finz and I was telling her how its voted one of the most romanitc restaurants in AD and I've been there many times with girlfriends and co-workers....never with a date. Ha. We had some delicious food and wine and then hit up Trader Vics in the hotel for some of their lethal mai tais. Here Maria was first exposed to the obnoxiousness that is men in the UAE. This one guy introduced himself, told me way too much information in 2 minutes, then proceeded to tell us (Maria thinks it was aimed at her, I thought both of us) that we were essentially everything that is wrong with the world, blah blah blah blah blah Then he begged me to meet him at his hospital for coffee. How bout f-off?! We were home around 1ish as I was up half the night when she arrived and knew we had a big week.
Monday I went to work early as I was leaving early for our desert adventure and def. didn't want to get up when the alarm went off. I keep telling myself its just one more week to survive! I left work about 4 and went home for a quick change and then we left for the desert tour. It was amazing! We picked up 4 other Russian/Egyptian folks (2 couples) and headed off towards Al Ain which was like a 45 minute drive. It was soooooooooo hot when we left the hotel and I was a bit scared that it would be miserable but by the time we got to the desert it couldn't have been more perfect. The sand was cool, there was a breeze and the night was gorgeous. We started at a camel farm where we could go pet them. I wasn't quite sure what to do at first (do they bite?!) but we saw another girl all in there so went for it. No fingers lost! It was basically like petting a horse. So then we start taking photos and getting in close with them and I took my hair down (hers was already down). They LOVED our hair. It was hysterical. So we've got some funny pics of us being attacked by camels slobbering on us! After this we started the dune bashing. SO FUN! There were 3 vehicles in all and our driver was clearly the craziest....as were we so def egging him on. We spent about an hour doing this with 2 stops to take pics and watch the sunset. It was gorgeous. Maria and I were goofing around taking pics...running out into the dunes (which proved to be quite the work out!) and just enjoying where we were. The dune bashing the first 2 sets was a blast and we felt fine..by the 3rd I think we were all starting to feel a bit woozy so was glad when it ended. We stopped at a camp where we spent the next 2 or so hours. We did sand boarding (so fun and nothing broken!) and camel riding and then watched (and joined) the belly dancer and had a fabulous dinner. I felt kind of bad for the camel as the standing up/sitting down procses did not look easy or comfortable but then I also wasn't going to not do it so I just hoped it wasn't as bad as it looked! At the end they turned all the lights out and we just layed under the stars..a perfect end! It was nice as we were scheduled to get home at 11 but got home around 10:15 so had some time to unwind with a bottle of red before bed. I slept like an absolute baby, was wonderful. I've sort of let go of all the stress that I've had the last couple weeks and going with the, it will all work out mentality now and have not had one problem sleeping since Saturday night. So thankful as I'm not in bed for very long so if any of that time was spent trying to sleep I'd likely already be dead!
Tuesday was work and my final bootcamp session. Maria decided to pass, one was enough! It was a fun last class but I'm hurting now. We had to pair up for a bunch of stuff and as I was the odd woman out, ended up with the instructor. He def didn't take it easy on me and I'm hurting in some weird places. He also bruised my arms as he grabbed onto them so hard during this one thing and apparently thinks I have big hard manly arms. Note to self: don't do this again. Bootcamp has been one of my favorite things here and I am so sad its over. My body has changed and I love the results. I'm also in amazing shape, probably the best I've been in since high school. I'm hoping to find something as challenging and fun in Boston to keep this up! I went home pretty disgusting as it was hot again and we spent a lot of time on the ground in the sand and did a quick get ready as it was already kind of late and we had dinner/going out plans. I took her to Emirates Palace to Hakkasan which is an amazing Chinese restaurant. We didn't eat til around 11:30 which sucked as I was starving and hate eating that late, but the place we were going after wasn't going to get busy until after midnight anyway so it kind of worked out. Well all except for the Maria getting sick part. Dinner was good, my friend Anwar who has been dying to meet her came and they got on well. Afterward we hit up Etoiles (same hotel) for some drinks and dancing. It was ladies night so free drinks and Jill/Nisha met us there. It was a good time, did lots of dancing, but Maria started to feel sick pretty soon after dinner and ended up having a miserable 12 hours. She did her best to have a good time, especially when the hip hop was on, but I could tell she didn't feel great. We called it a night around 2:30 and I was in bed by 3:30 dreading my alarm going off!
Yesterday was work and then we did a Summer Nights kayak tour through the mangroves. It was awesome. We wanted to do the kayak tour on Sunday during day since we have one full day in AD together but they dont do it Sunday or Monday and then we found out about this night tour and jumped on it. We almost missed it, my fault, as my boss wasn't going to be in today so we were doing the goodbye thing at the end of the day. Traffic was awful and I was thinking there was no way we were going to make it. I literally jumped out of cab and started running to hotel when the traffic was clearly going to take longer than that, ran into room, changed with a quickness and ran back to cab stand. We were supposed to be there at 6:45 for the 7pm paddle and at 6:46 they were calling asking if we were coming. NOTHING in the UAE happens on time, but this week both the desert tour that I was rushing to and this both were spot on! So I'm like we're on our way, please wait for us....and thankfully I had printed off step by step directions cuz the cabbie had no idea where we were going and you couldn't see the launch point from the road. We made it with about 30 seconds to spare grabbed our paddles and life jackets and were ready to go. Some guy later asked if we were professionals..ha...I guess we looked natural on the kayaks and seeing that we showed up, grabbed our sh*t and asked no questions about what we were doing pointed him to this conclusion. The sun had basically set when we started but it was still light out for another 30 minutes or so. We paddled down the open water area for a bit before heading into the mangroves. It was fun to maneouver the sometimes very difficult areas and it was pitch black and you could just ear all the animals, etc making noise. Oh and this stupid British chick that I wished would tip over. She was soooooo loud and annoying and clearly hated what she was doing. DON'T SIGN UP TO KAYAK THEN!!! We eventually got way ahead of everyone and left the noise so that was nice. We had a great time and I think the night time tour was way better than the day would have been so it all worked out perfectly! It's been nice too as it stinks that I have to work but have actually been able to do a lot of the activiites she wanted to do with her since we can do some at night! She chills at pool or what not during day and then we do activities and go out....perfect for us both (well except that I have to work..would much rather be at pool with her as my tan is fading!!!!). We went home and did another quick change and set off for Yacht Club for dinner..its a great spot on the water, nice rest and it was ladies night so free drinks again. It would have been super cheap had I remembered my BOGO voucher but I always seem to forget them and didn't have the energy to go back up when we got in cab and I realized I forgot. I was starving at this point since it was already 10pm and just not in the mood to make the trip up. Laziness cost me about $30...agh well!
We sat outside...it was bordering on not tolerable but we managed and it was easier to talk out there anyway. We had a large amount of sparkling wine and talked about boys and love for 2 hours. I think we're going to have to cross that off the list of topics going forward since it produces nothing good! I had planned to take her to Sax since its great on Wed nights but she was just starting to feel better and I was struggling so we decided to make it an earlish night to be in better shape for this weekeend. I was in bed at 1am so managed more than 4 hours of sleep which was much needed.
We are headed to Yas later this afternoon to check in to our hotel for the night and then I plan to crash for a couple hours while Maria goes to some art event. She met with some people earlier in the week (work related) and ended up getting invited and it works out so I can chill for a bit. Doing a big dinner at Pearls & Caviar (she will have been to all the major hotels by the time she's done here..trying to show her as many diff places as possible!) and then back to Yas for my big AD farewell. Tomorrow we get up and stragith to Dubai for farewell brunch and should be pretty well shot by 8pm tomorrow. Ha.
Next post will be my last post of adventures.....I can't even believe it's almost over. So bittersweet.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Under the double digit mark....
Another week has come and gone and sadly this next one will be the last full one. Ugh I hate it. I was out to dinner with Liana and co on Friday and she started tearing up when people were asking what we were gonna do when I had to leave. I think its going to be another up and down kind of week, loads of fun events and Maria is here, but likely not much sleep and a lot of tears. Okay the last week I was a bit less of a loser….Liana kindly noted that I have become one after posting last week’s blog. I’m just trying to stay in shape, healthy and tan for my return and partying my a** off doesn’t fit in well with this plan.
Tuesday was a pretty frustrating day as my work laptop decided to stop working. I got the blue “screen of death” about 8 times before I realized it was doomed. I called IT and they essentially said they couldn’t fix it and to take it in to the office (my home office..right..how do you expect me to do that when I live in ABU DHABI?!) I figured they would fix it locally the next day so tried not to stress too much. Tuesday night I hit bootcamp for hell week arm day and it was so nice out (oddly enough, June has been cooler than May…or I’m just too used to the heat and the crazy work outs and neither both me much anymore!). I went home and was barely sweating, nice change though! I was able to sleep well again, score for 2 nights in a row!
Wednesday I dropped my laptop at office and then came to work. Got the fabulous news mid day that it was unfixable in the UAE. Awesome. Thankfully I’m going home soon but it has still made things a hell of a lot more challenging for me. I’m trying to sort out a move, where I want to live, etc etc etc and now have no laptop at home so am doing it all via blackberry. Very annoying. Also I have a ton of work stuff that I need to do before June 30th (our fiscal year end so a hard deadline for all this stuff) and if I get home on the 28th and have it fixed on the 29th that doesn’t give me much leeway. There are also a few things I need to do before the 30th so I emailed and HR and said HELP! They have yet to respond so I’m guessing they have no idea how to help me and I’m already getting hate emails about not doing what I need to be doing. I was feeling dead after work so skipped Circuit in favor of getting my nails done, eating candy and veggin out. After two crazy weeks of workouts, I figured I deserved it and I was able to get in bed pretty early and crash.
Surprisingly even after 3 decent nights of sleep I still felt like dying on Thursday. I think I’m just completely run down and stressed out and it sucks feeling that way. I didn’t bring my BC stuff so had to go home first and actually had 30 minutes to chill out before I went. I was laying in bed just wanting to sleep but dragged my a** up and to BC. It was a great workout and I’m really glad I went, it always makes me feel better. I was supposed to go get drinks with a girl from work but was just not in the mood so got in bed early and I’m glad as I knew the rest of the weekend would be long!
Friday I meant to get up and workout before brunch but decided against it after I woke up a million times in the morning from 4am onwards and resulted in not feeling that rested. I figured 3 workouts on hell week equates to 4 normal ones and while I’ve been trying to do 5…..I’ll take 4. Anyways….I got up and got ready and met Alice to head to brunch for her cousin’s birthday. I was sad to not be hitting the pool but I love Alice and she needed company plus we haven’t hung in awhile and she’s away this coming weekend so need to get in the time while I can. She had ordered a hotel car for 12:10..we went down about 12:14 and got in the car and OMG….it was like we walked into a sauna turned up as high as possible. We were both like holy sh*t!!! Turn the air on..whats wrong with you. His reasoning was that he was waiting for 40 minutes. 1. We booked the car for 12:10 and 2. Why are you sitting with no air on you lunatic! So then we get to Yas and Alice was so sure we were going to Crown Plaza so we go in and check the first brunch spot..no booking…so they are like there is another downstairs….this one had NO ONE in it..it was quite sad…I think the guy was very excited when we rolled up but then no booking there either. So then Alice is like, maybe I should check the email….yep, wrong hotel. Ha. So we walked to the right one and it was hot, but we survived. Brunch was excellent and I stuffed my face. I’ve been eating so good and healthy (ie: boring) so this was a nice break. Drank a load of sparkling wine as well.
Around 4 I left for Dubai, Alice couldn’t come with as she had to work..I wonder how many times I’ve written that in my blog. Alice, you should count..and then you should get a new job. Lol..jk…its just cuz you are so good at it. So got some crap news when I got in the cab (I’m not talking about it) which essentially had me bawling my eyes out the whole way to Dubai. My cabbie was very sweet and tried to console me, lol. So by the time I get to Dubai my head is killing me from drinking all afternoon and crying…Liana thought this could be fixed by drinking some more. Good lookin out girl! So we have a drink and then hit the mall near her place as I was in need of some new going out clothes. I hate shopping and the last time I forced myself to go try to find stuff, I found some great day stuff but no night stuff. Not this day! I walked into Bebe and 20 minutes later had 3 fab new dresses. I tried on a few others that looked nice but way too much color. I ended up with 2 black/whites and a grey…so typical Cristina! Because I love torture I looked them up online today and could have gotten them much cheaper in the states but I’m ignoring that and pretending I did well, ha. And now I have new stuff to wear for my last week..woohooo. Then we did a quick stop at the spa and walked back home. Liana has company visiting her…Bob…who we met back in March. He’s unfortunately kinda famous which made outings super annoying but Liana has been dealing with it for almost 2 weeks now so I really couldn’t complain about 2 days!!! We got ready and went to Ruth Chris for dinner and another of Liana’s friends and her 2 friends came too. They were mostly obnoxious about Bob being famous and I’m like can’t we just talk about normal stuff, leave the man alone! Dinner was phenomenal…I was in need of a good steak and you can’t go wrong with RC. Not too many ppl recognized him which was nice but the server made him sign a plate and I got a great pic of server, Bob, plate and Liana with her less than impressed face on (that’s even an understatement!). After dinner when I could barely move (note: I ate all afternoon at brunch..and then a massive dinner…I prob gained 10 lbs!) we went to the hip hop club in the same hotel. We had a nice VIP area which was good and I’m actually not sure anyone recognized him there so that was nice. We didn’t stay out too late….by 2am I was done and all agreed it had been enough. The music was good and had fun dancing but my head was throbbing at that point. When I went to bed it literally felt like I was laying on a brick instead of the pillow. I was thinking it must have just been a really sh*t pillow but then I realized there was nothing wrong with the pillow..it was my head! Bob hooked me up with some colorful pills the next morning…they def helped!
I woke up way too early on Saturday (this is usually Liana’s job!) and then couldn’t go back to sleep which was frustrating as h*ll. I knew I had a ton going on this next week and needed to be rested but my body is not doing a very good job of cooperating with me. Anyway..we hit JBR for breakfast and I was not even remotely hungry but felt like I should at least eat something so managed a half an omelet. Breakfast convo was…..interesting. Lol. Bob’s has lots of views on lots of things and often hard to follow. I adopted the just go with it mentality early on, I think that was a smart move. And then we decided to go have some good old childish fun at the waterpark!!! It’s been on my agenda for months but just didn’t ever get around to it. We didn’t get there til about 3 but it ended up being perfect as there weren’t many lines and the weather was perfect. Being at a waterpark with Bob was a riot. A ton of people recognized him and wanted photos..but even the ones that didn’t…he’s 6’4”, 350 pounds walking around in fairly small shorts. Liana and I were both like what is that?!?! Funny too..we went in to change and he did as well..we finished and come out and no Bob…so Liana gets the security guard to go in and rescue him from the mobs taking photos. The good thing about the waterpark was that for the most part when we were in the slide area, not too many people had waterproof cameras so couldn’t take pics!!! Bob was a big baby about all the slides.he was so scared, but he did them all with us and I think he had a great time. We also did this thing called the Rapids that is meant to be pretty tame..its essentially a lazy river with rapid like areas throwin in at regular intervals for a little fun. Well I failed rapids. Remind me NEVER to go white water rafting. I fell out of my tube twice, in the middle of the rapids, not fun. First time I half lost my bottoms, second time my top. I also have a nice scraped up hand from the bottom of the pool as I tried not to drown. It was pretty funny though cuz I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that couldn’t make it through the rapids in one piece. To be fair, it wasn’t my fault though. First time was Liana’s and second was some of Bob’s fans. After that I made sure that no one was in front or directly behind me when I went! After about 3 hours we had all had enough and Bob pulled a muscle in his leg goofing off in the lazy river so we called it a day. We got back to her place, said our goodbyes and I grabbed a cab back to Abu Dhabi.
Maria’s flight schedule got messed up due to strikes in France that affected a very small number of flights but hers was one. Instead of flying into AD at 10:30, she flew into Dubai at 11. I considered waiting for her so she wouldn’t have to cab solo but it was just going to be way too late. I got home, hit the coop for some essentials (ie: diet coke) and then organized, did laundry and passed out around 10. The sleep was a bit patchy until she arrived at 1:30 as there were lots of texts when she landed, when she got in cab, directions, etc. but at least I got some sleep. We stayed up til about 3:30 catching up and drinking wine…it was pretty surreal sitting on my balcony here talking to her in person!!! And then I got a few more hours of sleep before work. I don’t feel the best but don’t feel too bad either. I’m forcing her to come to boot camp with me tonight and then we’ll go out for dinner. I’ve informed the instructor to kick her b*tt for keeping me up!!!
Overall it was a good week, but I’m in such a weird place as the end is coming near and just not sure how I feel about it. A part of me is super excited to go home (although one of the big things is out of the equation so that sucks) but the other part is so sad to leave here. It’s like every day is a mixture of happy and sad and I hate feeling this way. I’m going to try to just make the most of the next 9 days and hopefully I will be at peace when I leave. Boston is stressing me out major too which is hard…trying to apartment hunt from afar, figure out movers, how much stuff I have..what I want to take, what I want to sell….when I’m going to find the time for any of it. I just want it all to magically fix itself….its possible right?!
We have loads of plans for week….Desert Tour tomorrow, Emirates Palace on Tuesday, Shooting on Wednesday, Farewell party in AD on Thursday, Farewell Brunch in Dubai on Friday, Fitness Challenge on Saturday, etc etc etc. Sucks I have to work but she will make good use of the days to see some stuff and chill out at the pool and then we’ll have the long weekend together so it will be fine. Next weeks blog should be jam packed and I might try to blog half way through to keep it readable. It will also mean my last blog will be #44 which is my favorite number so strategic as well. Ha.
Tuesday was a pretty frustrating day as my work laptop decided to stop working. I got the blue “screen of death” about 8 times before I realized it was doomed. I called IT and they essentially said they couldn’t fix it and to take it in to the office (my home office..right..how do you expect me to do that when I live in ABU DHABI?!) I figured they would fix it locally the next day so tried not to stress too much. Tuesday night I hit bootcamp for hell week arm day and it was so nice out (oddly enough, June has been cooler than May…or I’m just too used to the heat and the crazy work outs and neither both me much anymore!). I went home and was barely sweating, nice change though! I was able to sleep well again, score for 2 nights in a row!
Wednesday I dropped my laptop at office and then came to work. Got the fabulous news mid day that it was unfixable in the UAE. Awesome. Thankfully I’m going home soon but it has still made things a hell of a lot more challenging for me. I’m trying to sort out a move, where I want to live, etc etc etc and now have no laptop at home so am doing it all via blackberry. Very annoying. Also I have a ton of work stuff that I need to do before June 30th (our fiscal year end so a hard deadline for all this stuff) and if I get home on the 28th and have it fixed on the 29th that doesn’t give me much leeway. There are also a few things I need to do before the 30th so I emailed and HR and said HELP! They have yet to respond so I’m guessing they have no idea how to help me and I’m already getting hate emails about not doing what I need to be doing. I was feeling dead after work so skipped Circuit in favor of getting my nails done, eating candy and veggin out. After two crazy weeks of workouts, I figured I deserved it and I was able to get in bed pretty early and crash.
Surprisingly even after 3 decent nights of sleep I still felt like dying on Thursday. I think I’m just completely run down and stressed out and it sucks feeling that way. I didn’t bring my BC stuff so had to go home first and actually had 30 minutes to chill out before I went. I was laying in bed just wanting to sleep but dragged my a** up and to BC. It was a great workout and I’m really glad I went, it always makes me feel better. I was supposed to go get drinks with a girl from work but was just not in the mood so got in bed early and I’m glad as I knew the rest of the weekend would be long!
Friday I meant to get up and workout before brunch but decided against it after I woke up a million times in the morning from 4am onwards and resulted in not feeling that rested. I figured 3 workouts on hell week equates to 4 normal ones and while I’ve been trying to do 5…..I’ll take 4. Anyways….I got up and got ready and met Alice to head to brunch for her cousin’s birthday. I was sad to not be hitting the pool but I love Alice and she needed company plus we haven’t hung in awhile and she’s away this coming weekend so need to get in the time while I can. She had ordered a hotel car for 12:10..we went down about 12:14 and got in the car and OMG….it was like we walked into a sauna turned up as high as possible. We were both like holy sh*t!!! Turn the air on..whats wrong with you. His reasoning was that he was waiting for 40 minutes. 1. We booked the car for 12:10 and 2. Why are you sitting with no air on you lunatic! So then we get to Yas and Alice was so sure we were going to Crown Plaza so we go in and check the first brunch spot..no booking…so they are like there is another downstairs….this one had NO ONE in it..it was quite sad…I think the guy was very excited when we rolled up but then no booking there either. So then Alice is like, maybe I should check the email….yep, wrong hotel. Ha. So we walked to the right one and it was hot, but we survived. Brunch was excellent and I stuffed my face. I’ve been eating so good and healthy (ie: boring) so this was a nice break. Drank a load of sparkling wine as well.
Around 4 I left for Dubai, Alice couldn’t come with as she had to work..I wonder how many times I’ve written that in my blog. Alice, you should count..and then you should get a new job. Lol..jk…its just cuz you are so good at it. So got some crap news when I got in the cab (I’m not talking about it) which essentially had me bawling my eyes out the whole way to Dubai. My cabbie was very sweet and tried to console me, lol. So by the time I get to Dubai my head is killing me from drinking all afternoon and crying…Liana thought this could be fixed by drinking some more. Good lookin out girl! So we have a drink and then hit the mall near her place as I was in need of some new going out clothes. I hate shopping and the last time I forced myself to go try to find stuff, I found some great day stuff but no night stuff. Not this day! I walked into Bebe and 20 minutes later had 3 fab new dresses. I tried on a few others that looked nice but way too much color. I ended up with 2 black/whites and a grey…so typical Cristina! Because I love torture I looked them up online today and could have gotten them much cheaper in the states but I’m ignoring that and pretending I did well, ha. And now I have new stuff to wear for my last week..woohooo. Then we did a quick stop at the spa and walked back home. Liana has company visiting her…Bob…who we met back in March. He’s unfortunately kinda famous which made outings super annoying but Liana has been dealing with it for almost 2 weeks now so I really couldn’t complain about 2 days!!! We got ready and went to Ruth Chris for dinner and another of Liana’s friends and her 2 friends came too. They were mostly obnoxious about Bob being famous and I’m like can’t we just talk about normal stuff, leave the man alone! Dinner was phenomenal…I was in need of a good steak and you can’t go wrong with RC. Not too many ppl recognized him which was nice but the server made him sign a plate and I got a great pic of server, Bob, plate and Liana with her less than impressed face on (that’s even an understatement!). After dinner when I could barely move (note: I ate all afternoon at brunch..and then a massive dinner…I prob gained 10 lbs!) we went to the hip hop club in the same hotel. We had a nice VIP area which was good and I’m actually not sure anyone recognized him there so that was nice. We didn’t stay out too late….by 2am I was done and all agreed it had been enough. The music was good and had fun dancing but my head was throbbing at that point. When I went to bed it literally felt like I was laying on a brick instead of the pillow. I was thinking it must have just been a really sh*t pillow but then I realized there was nothing wrong with the pillow..it was my head! Bob hooked me up with some colorful pills the next morning…they def helped!
I woke up way too early on Saturday (this is usually Liana’s job!) and then couldn’t go back to sleep which was frustrating as h*ll. I knew I had a ton going on this next week and needed to be rested but my body is not doing a very good job of cooperating with me. Anyway..we hit JBR for breakfast and I was not even remotely hungry but felt like I should at least eat something so managed a half an omelet. Breakfast convo was…..interesting. Lol. Bob’s has lots of views on lots of things and often hard to follow. I adopted the just go with it mentality early on, I think that was a smart move. And then we decided to go have some good old childish fun at the waterpark!!! It’s been on my agenda for months but just didn’t ever get around to it. We didn’t get there til about 3 but it ended up being perfect as there weren’t many lines and the weather was perfect. Being at a waterpark with Bob was a riot. A ton of people recognized him and wanted photos..but even the ones that didn’t…he’s 6’4”, 350 pounds walking around in fairly small shorts. Liana and I were both like what is that?!?! Funny too..we went in to change and he did as well..we finished and come out and no Bob…so Liana gets the security guard to go in and rescue him from the mobs taking photos. The good thing about the waterpark was that for the most part when we were in the slide area, not too many people had waterproof cameras so couldn’t take pics!!! Bob was a big baby about all the slides.he was so scared, but he did them all with us and I think he had a great time. We also did this thing called the Rapids that is meant to be pretty tame..its essentially a lazy river with rapid like areas throwin in at regular intervals for a little fun. Well I failed rapids. Remind me NEVER to go white water rafting. I fell out of my tube twice, in the middle of the rapids, not fun. First time I half lost my bottoms, second time my top. I also have a nice scraped up hand from the bottom of the pool as I tried not to drown. It was pretty funny though cuz I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that couldn’t make it through the rapids in one piece. To be fair, it wasn’t my fault though. First time was Liana’s and second was some of Bob’s fans. After that I made sure that no one was in front or directly behind me when I went! After about 3 hours we had all had enough and Bob pulled a muscle in his leg goofing off in the lazy river so we called it a day. We got back to her place, said our goodbyes and I grabbed a cab back to Abu Dhabi.
Maria’s flight schedule got messed up due to strikes in France that affected a very small number of flights but hers was one. Instead of flying into AD at 10:30, she flew into Dubai at 11. I considered waiting for her so she wouldn’t have to cab solo but it was just going to be way too late. I got home, hit the coop for some essentials (ie: diet coke) and then organized, did laundry and passed out around 10. The sleep was a bit patchy until she arrived at 1:30 as there were lots of texts when she landed, when she got in cab, directions, etc. but at least I got some sleep. We stayed up til about 3:30 catching up and drinking wine…it was pretty surreal sitting on my balcony here talking to her in person!!! And then I got a few more hours of sleep before work. I don’t feel the best but don’t feel too bad either. I’m forcing her to come to boot camp with me tonight and then we’ll go out for dinner. I’ve informed the instructor to kick her b*tt for keeping me up!!!
Overall it was a good week, but I’m in such a weird place as the end is coming near and just not sure how I feel about it. A part of me is super excited to go home (although one of the big things is out of the equation so that sucks) but the other part is so sad to leave here. It’s like every day is a mixture of happy and sad and I hate feeling this way. I’m going to try to just make the most of the next 9 days and hopefully I will be at peace when I leave. Boston is stressing me out major too which is hard…trying to apartment hunt from afar, figure out movers, how much stuff I have..what I want to take, what I want to sell….when I’m going to find the time for any of it. I just want it all to magically fix itself….its possible right?!
We have loads of plans for week….Desert Tour tomorrow, Emirates Palace on Tuesday, Shooting on Wednesday, Farewell party in AD on Thursday, Farewell Brunch in Dubai on Friday, Fitness Challenge on Saturday, etc etc etc. Sucks I have to work but she will make good use of the days to see some stuff and chill out at the pool and then we’ll have the long weekend together so it will be fine. Next weeks blog should be jam packed and I might try to blog half way through to keep it readable. It will also mean my last blog will be #44 which is my favorite number so strategic as well. Ha.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A load of workouts and the beginning of the Farewells....
I’m late this week….sorry! I am officially under the two week mark and pretty stressed out. I have no idea how I’m getting all my stuff home, no idea where I’m moving to when I get home, or how I’m moving, or when. Lol. For a super planner like myself all this state of uncertainty is driving me crazy and has resulted in a severe lack of sleep the past few days so last night I just couldn’t write. I’m also feeling very torn emotionally…..half of me is dying to get home….the other half doesn’t want to leave. It’s a very weird place to be and I don’t like it! Oh and today my work computer decided to blow up. I got the blue screen of death about 8 times and was told by the Help desk that they can’t fix it. Awesome. So now I have to waste time going to the office to see if they can fix it as I have stuff I need to do on it! Okay…fun stuff….
Monday I hit beach yoga again and was sad to find out it was the last class since its getting too hot. Personally I think this is crap because bootcamp goes all summer and that’s a bit more strenuous than yoga! It was a pretty tough class since it was the last and a lot of the class had been coming for months. My arms certainly felt it the next day! I need to pick this back up regularly when I get home….it’s very relaxing, a good stretch and decent workout.
Tuesday was arm day at bootcamp which proved to be a problem since my arms were quite sore from yoga. Up until the last 2 weeks I never did any workouts on the days between bc for that reason exactly but I’m trying to push myself as hard as I can until I leave which means lots of soreness! It was really hot out on the beach..not a lot of breeze and I was a nasty sweaty mess. It’s bad when the sweat is dripping in your eyes and you can’t wipe it off cuz your shirt is full of sand!
Wednesday I did some cardio and then hit circuit class for the second time. The class cracks me up cuz the circuit part is great but the stuff between circuits that he makes us do is just weird. The ab part of the class is killer though…I’d like to think I have pretty strong abs and I could barely keep up! I went home had some dinner and then did some trip planning for Maria’s upcoming visit (in 4 DAYS!) and some bachelorette planning for Julie’s weekend in July. It’s going to be a fab 4 days and ideally we all survive it! Planning for it has been super fun though and its something I can do from afar which makes me feel like a useful bridesmaid.
Thursday we had a team away day at Yas Island again. We did this about a month ago and it was very useful to just get everyone away from their emails, phones, etc and focused on what I need them to focus on before I leave! We didn’t end up getting over there til 3 which sucked cuz we were doing lunch there and I was STARVING by then but I survived. We had also planned my farewell dinner for that night since it was the last Thursday we could all do it together but since we ate so late..when we went for dinner at 8pm no one was really hungry. So instead of eating we sat outside and had champagne (3 bottles for 3 of us) and sheesha. This plus no food made for one bad champagne headache/hangover the next morning!!! It was really nice to just relax with the team (it sounds so big..there are 3 of us!) and reflect on the whole experience. They also got me a really nice thank you gift…a silver Tiffany business card holder. I will try not to lose or ruin it since I have a habit of that! It was also my first day off the gym in 4 days and a much needed break since my body was hurting. I got home about 2am and passed out immediately.
Friday I woke up not feeling the best but at least I was able to sleep in. I went to Maya island with Jill (my bootcamp buddy) and her friends Neesha and Lia. They are all teachers from Canada. At Maya we met up with a bunch more that fit this description. As an American Tax person, I felt quite left out. HA! Essentially Maya island is a small island off the coast of AD with what appears to be a small resort and they throw this big pool party every Friday and it was free for ladies so we figured why not. It was fun for the day (and a nice change from laying out at the Rotana by myself!) but it was nothing really special. None of us were drinking (well I had a vodka to try to rid myself of the hangover!) but it was just kind of standing around in the pool talking. We only stayed a couple hours and then headed home to nap and prepare for a night out.
Its funny cuz Jill and I met last month at bc and clicked right away but just haven’t been able to connect outside of class as we both seem to be pretty busy. So today was Jill day and we all decided to hit 8. Oh also funny….it turns out she lives literally 2 buildings over from my old place…would have been nice to have met her 7 months ago!!!! I went home and did a nap and got ready and then went to her place for drinks. Neesha and Lia came over too and they entertained me with stories of other teachers, etc. Eight plays great music on Fridays so I was happy to go and it turned out about 4 other groups of people I know went so I was bouncing around all night talking to different people. Maybe the fact that I knew half the club is a sign its time to go??? My feet gave up around 3:30 and I went home and crashed. All in all..a great Friday!
Saturday I woke up feeling kind of blah from two booze fueled late nights but thankfully my only plans were to hit the pool! I got there around 2..had my usual club sandwich and fries delivered to help with recovery. I was laying there thinking, wth am I gonna do when I no longer have that in my life?!?!?! It’s going to be quite depressing so I better find some other fun things to do stat! I dragged my a** to the gym after the pool even though I wanted none of it…am trying to keep up with 5 days a week and this was #5. I ended up watching a movie so had a pretty good cardio workout and stayed a lot longer than I planned! I did a quick shower and then went to meet Alice at her place since we haven’t seen much of each other since Oman. We ordered room service in and had a nice little dinner and wine. I haven’t been doing naps on Saturdays so I sleep better but that ended up failing miserably. I got in bed at a decent time but didn’t fall asleep for hours. Not a good way to start the week.
Sunday I felt pretty dead all day and of course it was the start of boot camp hell week. The last time it was hell week I had red eyed in from London and gone straight to work so I was in about the same condition!! I ended up having a great workout anyway and figured sleep was going to come easy. Not so much. The last time I checked it was 4:10am. Talk about frustrating since I had been laying there for 6 hours at that point. When I woke up 3 hours later I wanted to die!!!
Somehow I made it through Monday although it was nice because we were doing a Treasury team “lunch”. We left the office at 2:30 and once I was away from my computer I felt a whole lot better. Went to an Indian restaurant..I wasn’t impressed but everyone else loved it. Thankfully I had eaten lunch at noon as I told them I can’t do this whole 3:30 lunch thing. I picked at a few things but its def not my scene. We went for drinks after which I decided was good as I sleep much better when I just pass out!!! I only had two martinis (watermelon, yum!) but went home around 7:30 feeling very relaxed. Got in bed at 8:30 and by 10:30 was out! YAY! A solid 9 hours was much needed.
Tonight is bc arms and then I’m hoping for another good night of sleep. Maria comes on Saturday and as it’s my last week, I’m pretty sure every night is going to be spent out so I need to be in tip top shape. I was feeling like I was getting sick yesterday but feel better today so hopefully it was just exhaustion and not actually getting sick. Gonna hit brunch with Alice on Friday and then head up to Dubai (she’s hoping to come..pending her work schedule) to see Liana! It sucks with her so close yet so far now. Was easier when she was just on holiday!!! We’re gonna do Dubai Friday night and then the Atlantis water park on Saturday so should be a good time. Then I will head back to AD and wait for Maria to arrive. And then next week is my last week. 8 months went by pretty d*mn fast although it also feels like I’ve lived here forever so it was enough time to really get settled. I’m trying not to think about the fact that I will not see these people again for a long time as it’s too sad. I have made some amazing friends here and not having them around will be a shock to my system!
Monday I hit beach yoga again and was sad to find out it was the last class since its getting too hot. Personally I think this is crap because bootcamp goes all summer and that’s a bit more strenuous than yoga! It was a pretty tough class since it was the last and a lot of the class had been coming for months. My arms certainly felt it the next day! I need to pick this back up regularly when I get home….it’s very relaxing, a good stretch and decent workout.
Tuesday was arm day at bootcamp which proved to be a problem since my arms were quite sore from yoga. Up until the last 2 weeks I never did any workouts on the days between bc for that reason exactly but I’m trying to push myself as hard as I can until I leave which means lots of soreness! It was really hot out on the beach..not a lot of breeze and I was a nasty sweaty mess. It’s bad when the sweat is dripping in your eyes and you can’t wipe it off cuz your shirt is full of sand!
Wednesday I did some cardio and then hit circuit class for the second time. The class cracks me up cuz the circuit part is great but the stuff between circuits that he makes us do is just weird. The ab part of the class is killer though…I’d like to think I have pretty strong abs and I could barely keep up! I went home had some dinner and then did some trip planning for Maria’s upcoming visit (in 4 DAYS!) and some bachelorette planning for Julie’s weekend in July. It’s going to be a fab 4 days and ideally we all survive it! Planning for it has been super fun though and its something I can do from afar which makes me feel like a useful bridesmaid.
Thursday we had a team away day at Yas Island again. We did this about a month ago and it was very useful to just get everyone away from their emails, phones, etc and focused on what I need them to focus on before I leave! We didn’t end up getting over there til 3 which sucked cuz we were doing lunch there and I was STARVING by then but I survived. We had also planned my farewell dinner for that night since it was the last Thursday we could all do it together but since we ate so late..when we went for dinner at 8pm no one was really hungry. So instead of eating we sat outside and had champagne (3 bottles for 3 of us) and sheesha. This plus no food made for one bad champagne headache/hangover the next morning!!! It was really nice to just relax with the team (it sounds so big..there are 3 of us!) and reflect on the whole experience. They also got me a really nice thank you gift…a silver Tiffany business card holder. I will try not to lose or ruin it since I have a habit of that! It was also my first day off the gym in 4 days and a much needed break since my body was hurting. I got home about 2am and passed out immediately.
Friday I woke up not feeling the best but at least I was able to sleep in. I went to Maya island with Jill (my bootcamp buddy) and her friends Neesha and Lia. They are all teachers from Canada. At Maya we met up with a bunch more that fit this description. As an American Tax person, I felt quite left out. HA! Essentially Maya island is a small island off the coast of AD with what appears to be a small resort and they throw this big pool party every Friday and it was free for ladies so we figured why not. It was fun for the day (and a nice change from laying out at the Rotana by myself!) but it was nothing really special. None of us were drinking (well I had a vodka to try to rid myself of the hangover!) but it was just kind of standing around in the pool talking. We only stayed a couple hours and then headed home to nap and prepare for a night out.
Its funny cuz Jill and I met last month at bc and clicked right away but just haven’t been able to connect outside of class as we both seem to be pretty busy. So today was Jill day and we all decided to hit 8. Oh also funny….it turns out she lives literally 2 buildings over from my old place…would have been nice to have met her 7 months ago!!!! I went home and did a nap and got ready and then went to her place for drinks. Neesha and Lia came over too and they entertained me with stories of other teachers, etc. Eight plays great music on Fridays so I was happy to go and it turned out about 4 other groups of people I know went so I was bouncing around all night talking to different people. Maybe the fact that I knew half the club is a sign its time to go??? My feet gave up around 3:30 and I went home and crashed. All in all..a great Friday!
Saturday I woke up feeling kind of blah from two booze fueled late nights but thankfully my only plans were to hit the pool! I got there around 2..had my usual club sandwich and fries delivered to help with recovery. I was laying there thinking, wth am I gonna do when I no longer have that in my life?!?!?! It’s going to be quite depressing so I better find some other fun things to do stat! I dragged my a** to the gym after the pool even though I wanted none of it…am trying to keep up with 5 days a week and this was #5. I ended up watching a movie so had a pretty good cardio workout and stayed a lot longer than I planned! I did a quick shower and then went to meet Alice at her place since we haven’t seen much of each other since Oman. We ordered room service in and had a nice little dinner and wine. I haven’t been doing naps on Saturdays so I sleep better but that ended up failing miserably. I got in bed at a decent time but didn’t fall asleep for hours. Not a good way to start the week.
Sunday I felt pretty dead all day and of course it was the start of boot camp hell week. The last time it was hell week I had red eyed in from London and gone straight to work so I was in about the same condition!! I ended up having a great workout anyway and figured sleep was going to come easy. Not so much. The last time I checked it was 4:10am. Talk about frustrating since I had been laying there for 6 hours at that point. When I woke up 3 hours later I wanted to die!!!
Somehow I made it through Monday although it was nice because we were doing a Treasury team “lunch”. We left the office at 2:30 and once I was away from my computer I felt a whole lot better. Went to an Indian restaurant..I wasn’t impressed but everyone else loved it. Thankfully I had eaten lunch at noon as I told them I can’t do this whole 3:30 lunch thing. I picked at a few things but its def not my scene. We went for drinks after which I decided was good as I sleep much better when I just pass out!!! I only had two martinis (watermelon, yum!) but went home around 7:30 feeling very relaxed. Got in bed at 8:30 and by 10:30 was out! YAY! A solid 9 hours was much needed.
Tonight is bc arms and then I’m hoping for another good night of sleep. Maria comes on Saturday and as it’s my last week, I’m pretty sure every night is going to be spent out so I need to be in tip top shape. I was feeling like I was getting sick yesterday but feel better today so hopefully it was just exhaustion and not actually getting sick. Gonna hit brunch with Alice on Friday and then head up to Dubai (she’s hoping to come..pending her work schedule) to see Liana! It sucks with her so close yet so far now. Was easier when she was just on holiday!!! We’re gonna do Dubai Friday night and then the Atlantis water park on Saturday so should be a good time. Then I will head back to AD and wait for Maria to arrive. And then next week is my last week. 8 months went by pretty d*mn fast although it also feels like I’ve lived here forever so it was enough time to really get settled. I’m trying not to think about the fact that I will not see these people again for a long time as it’s too sad. I have made some amazing friends here and not having them around will be a shock to my system!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Holy sh*t, it's June!
Can someone please tell me how it’s June already???? This year is flying by! I’m at the 3 week mark and unsure how to feel about it. On the one hand I’m really excited to go home as there are some people I miss like crazy…..but on the other, that means this adventure is over for good and makes me incredibly sad to think about. People keep asking me why I’m not staying, but this was never meant to be a permanent thing and I can honestly say that I will leave here after 8 months having gotten as much as humanly possible out of the experience and think that as much as I’ll miss it, that I’m ready to head home. And hey…its not going anywhere right???
Monday I was so tired all day cuz of sleeping so poorly on Sunday (trend for the week!). I took a night off from the gym, had a short call with my Mom and with Maria and then was asleep by 9:30 which was much needed.
Tuesday I felt a little more normal after a solid night of sleep. Hit BC after work and it was a rough workout! Usually the first "real" workout of the month is pretty easy for the recurring folks as he tries to show the new folks a lot of the basic things we do and the intensity is usually pretty low. Not this month. Not sure if he was trying to scare off the non serious folks since the class was so big or what but it was hardcore and I was a happy (boot)camper! Came home and did some much needed family catch up time! Talked to my brother, dad and mom…all in one night!!! My brother should be in Maine by now and my dad is headed back there soon. I can't wait to see my family in a few weeks! I saw my mom at X-mas but haven't seen my dad or brother since last July and we're way overdue. I slept like crap again which sucked but oh well…I don't know what my deal is lately, just can't sleep.
Wednesday I did yoga on the beach with Marisabel and it was awesome. I wish I had started this before. It's 6:30-8 so the first half hour you watch the sunset over the corniche and its gorgeous. I am terribly inflexible and have bad knees so have been told to do yoga…I started bikram before I came to AD but then slacked for 7 months. Anyway…was a pretty good workout, got some good stretching in and then left feeling very at peace. It would have been nice to go home and straight to bed but I had plans so couldn’t. Oh..Wednesday was also June 1st so my 7 month anniversary in AD. Crazy how fast the time has gone. Liana also came home from her latest travels to S. America so it was a big day. Liana came and picked me up at the BR and we went to Coopers for ladies night. This was my first time as its off island so I usually decline but Marisabel invited me so I accepted. She's from Boston so I've been getting pointers from her which is nice. The place was about 95% male and kind of annoying cuz people kept coming to talk to us and I just wanted to catch up with the girls. This one guy walked by and I guess heard me talking and was like…oh are you American. Yes why? So am I. Great, I guess that means we have to be friends right? I eventually got myself out of that but left Liana hanging with him and his friend. Ha, sorry girl. So then Liana is talking to this other guy and starts going down this very long path of Liana stories in which she has multiple ex-husbands, is in her late 30's, etc etc. It's so funny to watch guys buy this crap….especially when she tells them things like, the reason she gets married so much is that she just loves weddings and honeymoons. And the voice she does it in is so ditzy. It's great entertainment for me. Since it was ladies night we just boozed for free..and had about 10 diff ppl offer to buy us drinks..hahhahaha..oh yes, you are all so original seeing that they are free. We left around 1, I figured I don't sleep anyways so what does it matter if I'm out?!
Thursday I woke up insanely exhausted from the week and perpetual lack of sleep. I struggled at work….the clock just wasn't cooperating!!! Thursday BC is usually 2 sessions of just running and 2 actual workouts. Corey told us on Tuesday that it would be running so I decided to skip it and was just gonna go home early and run on my own in the air conditioning so didn't bring my stuff. Well then my friend Jill ending up going to the am session and Corey had lied…it was an actual workout so then I felt compelled to go even though I felt like dying. I got out early enough to get home and changed and then made my way over to the beach. I was glad I want, but even more glad to get home and in bed. I was out by 11:30 and slept til 11:30 the next morning…amazing!
Friday I woke up feeling refreshed and decided to hit the gym before the pool since it's so hot…2-5 is plenty of time at the pool. I had a great 4 mile run followed by some abs. Had a delicious omelet and then hit the pool for a few hours. I was laying there thinking, what on earth am I going to do when I leave and I can't do this every weekend???? It's going to be pretty depressing. I tried to take a short nap but more just laid there until it was time to get ready for date night with Liana. We hit Left Bank for dinner which was delicious and Liana had me cracking up….like I'm going to break the table because I keep slapping it with my hand cracking up. Her stories from S. America and Dubai are great. Oh..so at one point the server comes over and goes….some guy wants to buy you drinks..and we're like who? And he's pointing over to where the "real" tables are (we were more sitting in the bar) and we don't see anyone but were like..well whatever, we were going to get more drinks anyway so bring them on. Well then guy comes over and in not great English starts talking to us and I think he invited us over to where him and his friends were sitting. To this we declined. If you wanted to send us a drink, thanks, but we have no intention of talking to you (wow that sounds b*tchy huh?)….but I mean we were on a date..leave us alone. Lol. So then the server was like, do you want more drinks and we're like..umm..yes…and he says well they did a take back. Ha. A first for everything right? Then when we were leaving he tried to talk to us again! No thanks buddy. We went next door to Eight and got there fairly early but didn't want to sit at Left Bank anymore and the music was fab. Liana and I haven't had a night out in prob a month since she's been travelling so much. We had some other friends show up that I hadn't seen in awhile so that was nice as well. I drank a tad too much and by about 2am was done. Liana tried to claim that this was the 3rd time I'd ever been drunker than her but then she didn't remember some stuff that I did so I think I win! I just knew when I had had enough and glad that I put the brakes on when I did! There was this one guy she was eying at the bar all night who was solo and would walk around and show interest but would never talk to her so when we were getting in the cab he was outside and she started yelling something at him over and over….I cannot for the life of me remember and neither can she which is super annoying because it was hysterical. Liana stayed the night with me since she is now homeless in Abu Dhabi (she officially moved to Dubai the night before) and had me up wayyyy toooo early. This is typical of her.
When I knew I was not going to last trying to stay asleep with her around I figured I'd wake up and it was like 9am…def not enough sleep for me and my head was throbbing. She had to go meet a friend for breakfast though so I passed back out when she left and slept til about 1. Hit the pool….had a delicious club sandwich and fries (excellent hangover food) and baked for a couple hours. Hit the coop for some groceries and then went and had my nails done. I was going to attempt the gym but still felt pretty crappy and had been the last 4 days so decided against it. It was my best friends bridal shower back at home and I was super sad that I couldn't be there so I did some bachelorette party planning instead! I got in bed nice and early and then laid there for hours again. I haven't had this much trouble sleeping in months. Of course the longer I lay there, the more frustrated I get and then I am no closer to sleep than I was. Terrible cycle.
Yesterday went by super fast at work which was nice…I'm down to 14 days and lots of loose ends to tie up before I go. Hit BC after work and it was rough as we didn't do the beach….did most of the workout in the parking lot and it was so humid with no breeze. We did beep tests to start and I was the last girl standing so was proud of that although I don't think I did as good as I could have had it not been 1,000 deg. By the end of the workout I was DRENCHED in sweat. It looked like I had taken a shower. I suppose that’s how its going to be for the rest of the month so I mine as well get used to it. Got in bed early again and slept poorly yet again. Last time I looked at clock it was 2. And then I woke up at 6! Agghh. I am exhausted again. Hitting beach yoga after work and hoping that I can relax and go straight home and to bed as I hate feeling like a zombie.
So last week wasn't super exciting after reading that…lol…but I'm much more focused on getting in shape right now so unfortunately there isn't much to read about. This week will be more of the same and no real plans for this weekend. Liana is in Dubai and has a visitor coming so I prob wont see her although Alice will be back (she hit the desert last weekend with some other folks) so I'm sure there will be something going on. Ohhh..and Maria will be here in less than 2 weeks which is very exciting. I should prob spend part of this weekend started to pack as I don't even know if I have enough space for everything and if I'm shipping stuff home I want it done sooner rather than later since I'm moving when I get home.
Monday I was so tired all day cuz of sleeping so poorly on Sunday (trend for the week!). I took a night off from the gym, had a short call with my Mom and with Maria and then was asleep by 9:30 which was much needed.
Tuesday I felt a little more normal after a solid night of sleep. Hit BC after work and it was a rough workout! Usually the first "real" workout of the month is pretty easy for the recurring folks as he tries to show the new folks a lot of the basic things we do and the intensity is usually pretty low. Not this month. Not sure if he was trying to scare off the non serious folks since the class was so big or what but it was hardcore and I was a happy (boot)camper! Came home and did some much needed family catch up time! Talked to my brother, dad and mom…all in one night!!! My brother should be in Maine by now and my dad is headed back there soon. I can't wait to see my family in a few weeks! I saw my mom at X-mas but haven't seen my dad or brother since last July and we're way overdue. I slept like crap again which sucked but oh well…I don't know what my deal is lately, just can't sleep.
Wednesday I did yoga on the beach with Marisabel and it was awesome. I wish I had started this before. It's 6:30-8 so the first half hour you watch the sunset over the corniche and its gorgeous. I am terribly inflexible and have bad knees so have been told to do yoga…I started bikram before I came to AD but then slacked for 7 months. Anyway…was a pretty good workout, got some good stretching in and then left feeling very at peace. It would have been nice to go home and straight to bed but I had plans so couldn’t. Oh..Wednesday was also June 1st so my 7 month anniversary in AD. Crazy how fast the time has gone. Liana also came home from her latest travels to S. America so it was a big day. Liana came and picked me up at the BR and we went to Coopers for ladies night. This was my first time as its off island so I usually decline but Marisabel invited me so I accepted. She's from Boston so I've been getting pointers from her which is nice. The place was about 95% male and kind of annoying cuz people kept coming to talk to us and I just wanted to catch up with the girls. This one guy walked by and I guess heard me talking and was like…oh are you American. Yes why? So am I. Great, I guess that means we have to be friends right? I eventually got myself out of that but left Liana hanging with him and his friend. Ha, sorry girl. So then Liana is talking to this other guy and starts going down this very long path of Liana stories in which she has multiple ex-husbands, is in her late 30's, etc etc. It's so funny to watch guys buy this crap….especially when she tells them things like, the reason she gets married so much is that she just loves weddings and honeymoons. And the voice she does it in is so ditzy. It's great entertainment for me. Since it was ladies night we just boozed for free..and had about 10 diff ppl offer to buy us drinks..hahhahaha..oh yes, you are all so original seeing that they are free. We left around 1, I figured I don't sleep anyways so what does it matter if I'm out?!
Thursday I woke up insanely exhausted from the week and perpetual lack of sleep. I struggled at work….the clock just wasn't cooperating!!! Thursday BC is usually 2 sessions of just running and 2 actual workouts. Corey told us on Tuesday that it would be running so I decided to skip it and was just gonna go home early and run on my own in the air conditioning so didn't bring my stuff. Well then my friend Jill ending up going to the am session and Corey had lied…it was an actual workout so then I felt compelled to go even though I felt like dying. I got out early enough to get home and changed and then made my way over to the beach. I was glad I want, but even more glad to get home and in bed. I was out by 11:30 and slept til 11:30 the next morning…amazing!
Friday I woke up feeling refreshed and decided to hit the gym before the pool since it's so hot…2-5 is plenty of time at the pool. I had a great 4 mile run followed by some abs. Had a delicious omelet and then hit the pool for a few hours. I was laying there thinking, what on earth am I going to do when I leave and I can't do this every weekend???? It's going to be pretty depressing. I tried to take a short nap but more just laid there until it was time to get ready for date night with Liana. We hit Left Bank for dinner which was delicious and Liana had me cracking up….like I'm going to break the table because I keep slapping it with my hand cracking up. Her stories from S. America and Dubai are great. Oh..so at one point the server comes over and goes….some guy wants to buy you drinks..and we're like who? And he's pointing over to where the "real" tables are (we were more sitting in the bar) and we don't see anyone but were like..well whatever, we were going to get more drinks anyway so bring them on. Well then guy comes over and in not great English starts talking to us and I think he invited us over to where him and his friends were sitting. To this we declined. If you wanted to send us a drink, thanks, but we have no intention of talking to you (wow that sounds b*tchy huh?)….but I mean we were on a date..leave us alone. Lol. So then the server was like, do you want more drinks and we're like..umm..yes…and he says well they did a take back. Ha. A first for everything right? Then when we were leaving he tried to talk to us again! No thanks buddy. We went next door to Eight and got there fairly early but didn't want to sit at Left Bank anymore and the music was fab. Liana and I haven't had a night out in prob a month since she's been travelling so much. We had some other friends show up that I hadn't seen in awhile so that was nice as well. I drank a tad too much and by about 2am was done. Liana tried to claim that this was the 3rd time I'd ever been drunker than her but then she didn't remember some stuff that I did so I think I win! I just knew when I had had enough and glad that I put the brakes on when I did! There was this one guy she was eying at the bar all night who was solo and would walk around and show interest but would never talk to her so when we were getting in the cab he was outside and she started yelling something at him over and over….I cannot for the life of me remember and neither can she which is super annoying because it was hysterical. Liana stayed the night with me since she is now homeless in Abu Dhabi (she officially moved to Dubai the night before) and had me up wayyyy toooo early. This is typical of her.
When I knew I was not going to last trying to stay asleep with her around I figured I'd wake up and it was like 9am…def not enough sleep for me and my head was throbbing. She had to go meet a friend for breakfast though so I passed back out when she left and slept til about 1. Hit the pool….had a delicious club sandwich and fries (excellent hangover food) and baked for a couple hours. Hit the coop for some groceries and then went and had my nails done. I was going to attempt the gym but still felt pretty crappy and had been the last 4 days so decided against it. It was my best friends bridal shower back at home and I was super sad that I couldn't be there so I did some bachelorette party planning instead! I got in bed nice and early and then laid there for hours again. I haven't had this much trouble sleeping in months. Of course the longer I lay there, the more frustrated I get and then I am no closer to sleep than I was. Terrible cycle.
Yesterday went by super fast at work which was nice…I'm down to 14 days and lots of loose ends to tie up before I go. Hit BC after work and it was rough as we didn't do the beach….did most of the workout in the parking lot and it was so humid with no breeze. We did beep tests to start and I was the last girl standing so was proud of that although I don't think I did as good as I could have had it not been 1,000 deg. By the end of the workout I was DRENCHED in sweat. It looked like I had taken a shower. I suppose that’s how its going to be for the rest of the month so I mine as well get used to it. Got in bed early again and slept poorly yet again. Last time I looked at clock it was 2. And then I woke up at 6! Agghh. I am exhausted again. Hitting beach yoga after work and hoping that I can relax and go straight home and to bed as I hate feeling like a zombie.
So last week wasn't super exciting after reading that…lol…but I'm much more focused on getting in shape right now so unfortunately there isn't much to read about. This week will be more of the same and no real plans for this weekend. Liana is in Dubai and has a visitor coming so I prob wont see her although Alice will be back (she hit the desert last weekend with some other folks) so I'm sure there will be something going on. Ohhh..and Maria will be here in less than 2 weeks which is very exciting. I should prob spend part of this weekend started to pack as I don't even know if I have enough space for everything and if I'm shipping stuff home I want it done sooner rather than later since I'm moving when I get home.
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