Archive for May, 2011

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Apartment Hunting We Will Go

May 25, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Apartment hunting resumed Saturday, beginning with an American style breakfast (or as near as it comes here).

tea pot, cup and napkins

There is no denying the value of providing quality napkins and not being stingy with them.

The drive to Fujairah on the Sharjah/Kalba road is always nice. Only takes 1.5 hours and the scenery is varied and interesting.

sand dune with fence posts

The advice to not build on shifting sands is clearly illustrated here.

sign with grocery spelled grosery

We stopped at the ‘grosery’ to get some drinking water. It is that season when you must be drinking constantly. The humidity was high that day, so even more important.

truck loaded with hay bales

We saw a truck full of hay bales on the corniche and a bull headed somewhere important. It wasn’t Friday, so he wasn’t on his way to the bull butting contest.

large bull in a small Toyota truck

We did actually look at some apartments this time. The trick is to just find the security guard and ask him to show you any empty apartments.

large empty living room

We liked this one and it is in our price range. We will have to wait and see if there are still vacancies in mid-June.

food including kabab, hommus, kebbeh, falafel

We capped off the day with a nice dinner. Day well spent.

Posted in food, Fujairah | 2 Comments »

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Urban Bees

May 20, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

potted plant with a bee hive at its center

DaddyBird noticed these bees taking up residence in a potted plant just outside the entrance of our apartment.

close up of the bee hive

There isn’t that much follage in our neighborhood – a few potted plants, but not a lot of gardens or parks, so it is a little surprising to see “wildlife” in the heart of the city. These little fellows are making the best of the situation.

Posted in animals, flowers, plants | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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Space Age Architecture

May 13, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

futuristic apartment building

I’m pretty sure that the Jetsons live here. I expect to see their hover craft at any moment.

Posted in oddities | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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24 Hour Mirage, Beby

May 13, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

24 hour drive up ATM at a gas station

Yesterday morning the gas gauge was flashing, so this required a quick stop at an ATM near our apartment for cash followed by hope that we could make it to the first gas station on the route to work. We did make it and discovered the drive up, 24 hour ATM right there at the gas station. Good to know for the future.

van with "mirage security" written on it

Do you really want security that is a mirage? I think I might prefer Iron Fist Security or Safe and Sound Security or The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers to Mirage.

business sign - smart beby saloon

And for that perfect juvenile coiffure go to Smart Beby Saloon.

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Snappy Tom

May 12, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

I don’t think I’ve posted this picture before. If it’s a repeat, pardon me.

Our brand of kitty litter has an interesting mascot, Snappy Tom.

cartoon cat in a tux sitting on a toilet

If only our cats were such dapper dressers and so well trained.

cartoon cat in tux on toilet is now small image in corner of label

Recently, there’s been a change in labeling and Snappy Tom has been exiled to the bottom left corner of the label. I suspect that he will disappear altogether one day.

Posted in cats, oddities, products/ads | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Cultural Expressions

May 11, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Who would have thought that the “caution: children” signs on school buses would be a place for cultural expression?

sign on school bus showing children in traditional dress

I posted this picture before. My best guess it that this is an older sister and younger brother in Emirati dress. Since then, I’ve been watching for these signs on school buses and noticed that the silhouettes reflect the nationality or ethnicity of the school.

boy with headress, girl with bonnet

Again, I’m guessing, but these seem to be Pakistani children, a brother and younger sister.

brother and younger sister

This is a slight variation on the previous.

generic silhouettes of older children

The high school bus has generic figures, but they are clearly older.

two "caution: children" signs on a single bus

This one doubled up, just to be safe. The silhouettes seem to be generic Westerners.

Posted in culture, Dubai traffic, signs | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Time to Once Again Drive Safely

May 11, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

vehicle sign "am i drive safe if not please call"

You may remember that back in the fall of 2009 when we returned from summer travels we noticed that these “Am I Driving Safely” signs had begun to appear on commercial vehicles. Ever since we have been collecting the variations on a theme.

am i driving safely in both English and Arabic

Some are bilingual.

vehicle sign "I am driving safely if not please call"

Some don’t ask, just tell.

vehicle drive safely sign with an incomplete phone number

Good luck calling this number.

vehicle drive safely sign with tiny lettering

Some are so tiny that you have no hope of calling the number unless you are stopped at a light directly behind the vehicle.

lettering on vehicle stating "trained to drive safely"

Nice to know that this one was trained to drive safely.

How am I driving? Your suggestions are valued. Please call...

And, of course, our suggestions are valued.

Posted in Dubai traffic | 1 Comment »

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Ten Years Sneaks By

May 6, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

We have been married for 10 years, as of May 3rd. However, the day went by quietly without either of us realizing it was THE DAY. Oops!

We were out to dinner that night. We just didn’t realize we should be celebrating. We had dinner at an old favorite restaurant, Special Ostadi, with ten other people. For me, there were as many new acquaintances as old friends.

several people at table full of foood

DaddyBird says we don’t have any pictures of the food at Ostadi in the previous blog posts. Of course, he told me this when it was too late because the food had been consumed. So, you will have to be content with the tea.

two cups of tea and fresh mint

Posted in celebration, food, socialization | 1 Comment »

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Signs: Gas the Happy Way

May 6, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Time for some signs and sights.

large yellow sign apologizing for road construction inconveniences

Not sure why the Road and Transport Authority is in quotations.

car license plate taped onto the car

When life gives you lemons, make do as best you can, I guess.

natural gas canister delivery truck

There are many amusing natural gas company names. Here is Happy Way Gas Trading. Another favorite is Al Boom Gas. I don’t know if there is any delivery of gas via underground pipes (like in the States). I seriously doubt it. These delivery trucks are visible everywhere. So, anyone with a gas cook stove gets it delivered in canisters. I’m surprised that there aren’t more explosions and fires.

solar powered parking meter

These have begun to appear in our neighborhood on the street behind our apartment. These are solar powered parking payment machines. This means that the street parking will soon be more controlled, we hope. Parking in this area is chaotic including parking on the sidewalks. If you are wondering what it costs to park – 2 AED ($0.54) for one hour, 5 AED for two hours, 8 am to 9 pm Saturday through Thursday.

Posted in signs | 1 Comment »