Archive for January 11th, 2010

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Who’s idea was this?

January 11, 2010

bathroom sink with black marble counterSomeone thought that black marble was a cool idea for a bathroom sink counter. Clearly, this person had a maid who could spend her days cleaning it. They probably didn’t have two cats who insist on getting up on the counter to drink.

In addition to making footprints all over the counter, Oliver likes to put his paw in the water bowl and fling water drops all over the mirror. I spent Friday thoroughly cleaning two bathrooms. Had to take a picture so I can look back and remember how nice it looked for a few minutes.

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Saturday Tweetup

January 11, 2010

people having dinner at Al Baghdadi Restaurant, Al Muteena, DubaiSaturday we met with our Twitter friends at one of our favorite restaurants – Al Baghdadi on Al Muteena Street. The very first time Daddybird and I ate at this restaurant, my purse was stolen. You can read the detailed account of that experience here.
Anyway, back to the Tweetup. There were 26 people, according to my count, not all pictured here. They are a marvelous group of people from a wide range of countries, ages, professions, etc.  people having dinner at Al Baghdadi Restaurant, Al Muteena, DubaiRami showed up late, but that’s the beauty of a tweetup. People come and go as they please or their schedule allows.
people having dinner at Al Baghdadi Restaurant, Al Muteena, DubaiNow a word about Twitter. It seems that my friends and acquaintances back home haven’t figured out what to do with Twitter. They prefer Facebook. For me, Facebook is fine for keeping in touch with people you met and made friends with “in the flesh.” I have never made a new friend through Facebook. For me, the beauty of Twitter is making new friends. We are having an atypical expat experience because of this. We would never have met these people through “normal channels.” I once described Twitter as: “like being in a room full of people who are all talking, but you can hear and understand what everyone is saying and join or ignore any conversation.” This got “retweeted” a few times, so there may be some truth in it. The people (mostly stupid journalists) who say they aren’t interested in Twitter because they don’t care what other people had for lunch, really don’t comprehend what is happening in Twitter. There was a study that randomly sampled tweets and determined that 40% is “pointless babble.” This study was deeply flawed, because you can’t pull tweets out of context without turning them into pointless babble. Twitter is a conversation.
man wearing a coatWhy did I take a picture of this bystander who was not part of our group? Because he’s wearing a leather coat over his kandura BECAUSE IT’S SO COLD! The low that night was 63F. Since the people back home are complaining about rain, wind and sometimes snow, the thought that people think Dubai is cold is amusing to me.

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Litterbugs

January 11, 2010

Ikea parking lot, litteredThis is the Ikea parking lot late at night after a hard days commerce. People are really lazy litterbugs. Can’t even get it in the garbage can that is just a few feet away.
Ikea parking lot, littered

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More Signs

January 11, 2010

Interglobe Travel and Tourism sign“Yes, I’d like to purchase a ticket to another globe, please.”
Aria Gents SaloonThis is a little place I like to call the Brad Pitt Saloon.
Lovely Baby Trading signLovely Baby Trading – that speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
Slow Down Rent a Car signThis, too, speaks for itself.
Too Too Mobile Phone signDubai has more active cell phone accounts than its population, so maybe this sign is right.
Top Man Saloon signA brief word about “saloon” – We see both “saloon” and “salon,” occasionally “spa,” but never barber shop, beauty shop or beauty parlor. Apparently, “parlor” would be a serious no-no. We are amused by “saloon” as any American will have a vision of an Old West tavern, complete with poker playing cowboys and an upright piano. Saloon is the term used by (East) Indians. There are gents saloons and ladies saloons. You can frequently see into the gents saloons, but ladies saloons/salons always have opaque windows, usually with large pictures of women and their hairdos. This covering of the windows is due to the Muslim custom of covering the hair. You can’t get it shampooed or cut with a sheyla/hajab on. Also, there would probably be problems with crowds of men standing and staring in the windows. I never cease to be amazed by the blatant staring that goes on. East Girl Saloon sign
Garb Laundry signLast, but not least, Garb Laundry. Notice the woman carrying an umbrella. It is very common, especially for Asians, to carry an umbrella as protection against the sun. In fact, here’s a store near the Gold Souk that sells nothing but umbrellas.store that sells nothing but umbrellas