hello again

it's amazing to see how many unfinished blog posts have been written in the last year. quite a bit has happened since my return from Dubai. I left for what was presumed to be a short while. Upon returning I realized that there was so much more happening in my life state-side to justify another long trek abroad (for the time being). to all my followers, friends and family who continue to check in from time to time, I am sorry to have left you hanging! I pressed pause on the blog thing for a while without making any announcements since it didn't seem necessary. needless to say, I'd like to close the srini of arabia chapter (for now). Thank you for all of your love and support throughout this amazing journey!

perhaps another deterrent in my blogosphere adventures was the sudden malfunctioning of my camera. Without pictures, the incentive to continue posting has been minimal.

I'll leave you with a video that has continued to feed the bug of travel that lives deep within....
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=260593&id=578570569&l=91349d97a6

atlantis

very cool. wish i could have seen this live!

masha'alla

I remember a while back going on a rant of sorts about Dubai possessing the largest (fill in blank). It's no surprise that today they announced holding the new Guinness World Record for having the largest Acrylic Panel. I can only hope that a country on such a brilliant and fast track to being the biggest and best at everything will soon announce their cure for cancer/AIDS/world hunger/turrets syndrome...

read more about the Dubai Mall here

si se puede

It blows my mind from having been home for just a few short weeks how politically inspired and driven we are as Americans. Considering that the UAE is more or less a benevolent monarchy where citizens and expats alike keep their minds free of partisan views of any kind, the bright side of our circus-like political culture is getting to create art like this. Regardless of your political bias, I felt the above was worth sharing.

home

Well, good news is that I am home safely. The trip back was quite a journey but I managed to get here in one piece. I neglected to recount tales of my last few days in Dubai since the last couple weeks have been rather consumed by goodbyes and lots of running around. I took many pictures so I'll be sharing those soon, but the good news is that i transitioned out of my last role peacefully despite concerns over labor laws and legal restrictions against expats. I have another opportunity in place that will be taking effect soon but firm dates are not yet set in stone. I will keep updates on here since there is always news to report about Dubai and life in general.
Namely, the day after I left an earthquake rocked Iran which took effect in Dubai! In fact the building that I will be working in was evacuated today around 3 PM where people were likely stuck outside and subject to the afternoon heat, many of them on empty bellies during Ramadan. no fun. Fortunately everyone I know is alive and well, but I cant imagine how scary it must have been working on the Burj Dubai during such a quake. This is a view from the 150th floor taken by my friend Matt who's been working on the tower for 2 1/2 years.

HopFest!

Something I've been looking forward to since before I'd even arrived in Dubai was the Irish Village Hopfest. The Village is a popular place we often venture to after work for a frothy pint of Stella. Their annual beer festival showcases beers from all over the world with 120 varieties. This turned out to be quite the 3-day event, although I only made it to Thursday night after work since the presumably sun-soaked 3 hour wait on Friday (4 PM, mind you) did not seem worth the wait with breweries and the Wegman's beer room creeping up on the horizon in just a few weeks.

To say the least, I'm glad I attended, albeit for even just one day. Aside from the amusement of tasting hops as they were meant to be tasted, the live irish band, authentic saw dust shavings at our feet, and lively crowd, actually finding black snot (sorry, gross) in my kleenex the next day pretty much summed up the kind of night we had...

gray area

My reluctance to post over the last week or so can be partly blamed on the somewhat discrepant legal "system" here, particularly as it relates to expats and their labor rights. Basically, there are lots of loop holes that people face when they leave a company and try to switch over to a new position or simply need to leave. As of July 31st, some new laws were put into effect that complicated the legal "understanding" of the labor law even more. Complications are usually more the employer's fault versus the Ministry's fault, which makes everyone's case different.

My situation: I'm officially finished with my current employer as of the end of the month (woohoo!). Mind you, the experience has been incredible and the friendships I've made and bridges I built were well worth the sacrifices I made along the way, etc etc. In the end, however, as most people quickly find when they arrive to the UAE, there are so many opportunities to grow in this market and usually your first working experience here is a stepping stone to assimilate to the culture, get to know the place, scratch below the surface, and move into something more fulfilling.

As lovely as this sounds and complies to the normal progression of a growing professional in the US, things don't really play out as easily on my side of the pond.
Namely:
1. When you switch jobs here, you are immediately subject to a 6 month or one year labor ban. This means that you can enter the country as a tourist, but you are prohibited from legally acquiring a work visa for the ban period.

2. Upon cancellation of your work visa, you have 30 days to leave the country. Upon returning, you resume tourist status and are limited (as of July) to a 30 day stay

3. You can get around the so-called "ban" by requesting a Non Objection Certificate (NOC) from your current employer to transfer your visa status to a new sponsor, but the chances of this happening are slim.

4. The only way to jump into a new job with no "ban" limitation and no "NOC" in hand involves getting sponsorship from a company located in one of the "free zones" which operate under their own employment and labor contracts (Jebel Ali Zone, Dubai Airport Zone, Dubai Media City Zone, etc).

Let's just say that I'll never take that delightful 2-week notice period for granted if I'm back home and feel like jumping jobs in a week's time.

Trying to understand how this whole process works takes a bit longer than swallowing 4 bullet points. Here's what's been "auto-filling" my web browser for the past couple weeks. Consistent with the UAE culture in general, you can't really get a straight answer even if you ask for one point blank. There's no black and white, yes or no, underlined and written on paper definition no matter how hard you look...
Official UAE Labor Law
Ask the Law
Legal Q&A

who let the dogs out

"The head of Riyadh’s religious police recently complained to city fathers that the “phenomenon” of dog-walking was “becoming more and more acceptable”.

Not only that, added Othman al Othman, it is “being taken advantage of by some young men in a way that conflicts with the rules and regulations of Islam”.

The young men, it seems, were “using cats and dogs to make passes at women and pester families”, Mr Othman told Al Hayat newspaper." - The National, August 10

Come on, really? Maybe our dearest Othman the Othman knows a little too much about the subtle effectiveness of dog walking. He is a clever one...

I do bag my own groceries...

bosphoral fun

Stories to follow this photo diary of my adventures in Turkey. Istanbul, may I note, is highly underrated and I could not have envisioned a more splendid place. See for yourself...

Istanbul

constantinople

I've neglected to recount tales of fairy book wedding adventures, fried eggs, a new house mate, and the most recent developments that have turned into a 7:45 AM departure tomorrow to Istanbul! I am very excited to see Turkey. I've always wanted to visit but wasn't quite sure when I'd get a chance. I'll be going for work but staying the long weekend for fun. Today marks a very special holiday on the Islamic calendar that I will share more details about when I return. Just wanted to share the update and promise to post pictures and stories when I return.

To recap on the last 10 days or so:

I attended a very traditional UAE wedding that lasted about 3 days. Pictures to follow, but here's a peek at the stage that the bride hangs out on the entire night before her husband arrives around midnight to claim her and sweep her away...
It reached over 125 degrees outside on Saturday and I was bored so here's how I killed time - note that this picture was taken on our courtyard patio 30 minutes after the eggs were cracked.

Moments later this guy angry fellow crashed into the side of my house. I have now claimed it as my pet. If you know anything about helmeted guineafowls besides what's on the internet, feel free to share. I'm still trying to decide on a name...

these bastards

By visiting These Bastards you waive your right to petition its creators for return of the time you will inevitably squander reading their bullshit invective."From the maker of WitSL comes a new breed of broken, lowbrow news with perhaps a splash or two of whiskey and gin in between keystrokes... Consider this the delicious "cigarette break" of my recently dwindling appetite for (American) political commentary.

now would be a good time to insert tongue firmly in cheek before they do

too cool for a lame blog post title

In 2006 I went to Seattle for the first time and had a chance to check out Bumbershoot, which was an awesome lineup of musicians from all over the country, including one of my favorites who ended up headlining the last night, Zero7. I looked for footage of that performance soon after but all I could find were a few amateur clips including this one during the show when some random guy got up on stage and started dancing with Sia. I figured it was part of her Somersault line dancing routine, but apparently I was mistaken...


Our friend on stage was up to much bigger things than a simple 30 seconds of fame


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

if you like pina coladas...

Although The Sun may put out some wildly outrageous and over exaggerated news, it can sure tell a hell of a story.

Stealing headlines for the last week has been a story about two British expats that had a little too much fun at Friday brunch and ended up getting caught during a late night romp on the shores of the Jumeirah beach. The story has gotten pretty ugly and they could be facing up to 6 years in jail if convicted.

Let me add that Friday brunch is nothing like Sunday brunch in New York. Although people often plan ahead, organize friends, call and make reservations, this is no eggs benedict and pancake with whipped cream affair - Friday brunch involves a hefty down payment of usually around $40 to $100 of all you can eat and drink deliciousness. The higher end of the bargain can land you in a 5 start hotel with pink champagne, bottomless pitchers of mojitos, sangria, and more, with everything you would ever want to wrap your tastebuds around from Belgian waffles, whose roomy squares can accommodate the meatiest pieces of lobster and filet mignon, and unlimited fat belly tuna sushi picked fresh from the hotels private aquarium... Let's just say it's tasty but very dangerous if you don't plan your drinks right.

We had our own little brunch at Double Decker on Friday, which may not have been as fancy, but the rowdy UK expats made up for the lack of quality entertainment, as you'll soon be able to understand after clicking on the photo below for the full "michelle palmer" saga:

Team America

Team America

So maybe we missed out on face painting, and sunny parades, marching bands, baton throwers, sparklers, and red white and blue rice crispy treats, but we still managed to pull together some festive colors, potato salad, (pork!) ribs, and neil young.

hands off!

One of the most difficult things about transitioning into Middle Eastern culture was learning how to draw the line at a hand shake. Coming from a family that expresses itself through physical affection, you can imagine how disturbed I was after learning that kissing, "inappropriate" hugging, and spooning on the beach in the UAE can land you in jail or even get you deported. In fact, two women were arrested a few weeks ago for cuddling on the beach! I've always loved this picture, but if it had been taken in Sharjah, there would have been police officers waiting in the wings to handuff that filthy sailor and send him away!

Here's an article from The National with the latest updates on the government's "crackdown".

i pity the fool!

My good friend Paul is a journalist with Dubai's "free" paper that publishes sensational news and can be found just about everywhere in the UAE. Today he did a story covering the latest rumors that "A-team" is going to be filming in Dubai. I really enjoyed this, although you kind of need to have lived or visited the city to get all the tongue in cheek references made. If you aren't smiling the whole way through, consider it another reason to come and visit! Click on Mr. T to read the full article.

yondergrrrl

Early to bed, early to rise today. Not sure if it was the excitement of lady liberty's much anticipated and celebrated birthday or just the need for a good night's sleep. I've spent the morning catching up on emails, lacing up for a nice run, and in just a few moments I'll be preparing my mom's famous corn bread recipe and a tray of brownies for the 4th of July bash we are throwing. Thinking of other staple goodies, I'm going to head to the store in search of ranch dip and ruffled chips, doritos, and rice crispies.

I've been enjoying the likes of Yonderboi, The Dining Rooms, and classic Samba music from my youth. Yonderboi's Shallow and Profound album is a fabulous twist of low-fi, acid jazz with a dose of Edit Piaf-esque vocals and Hungarian flare. I've shared it with a few friends who've enjoyed it as well. Click on his picture below for a listen...

ole, ole ole ole...

You would not believe how wired this city is at the moment. viva espana! off I go to watch the euro 2008 finals...

free fallin'

All this talk of Umm Al Quwain reminded me to post footage of our 10,000 ft jump in December when Mike was in town. Nothing beats a bird's eye view of the Persian Gulf at sunset...