Relaxing on Friday...

It's Friday here and it's the weekend. Darcy is out at a long play rehearsal today so I'm happily browsing the web on our Mac laptop. I'm currently listening to Florida 's National Public Radio radio station online. I've not missed not having cable television as I can get a fair amount of news, sports and entertainment online. It would be great if NHL games were available online to view.

Weather has been very humid here for the last few days. At night condensation forms on the windows outside and during the day the evaporated water leaves a mucky mess. So it's difficult to see outside. Living on an island means that's often windy so that prevents window cleaners from doing their job on the highrise buildings.

We finally got our UAE driver's licenses yesterday. We were denied the first time because Canadian citizens need to have Arabic translations of their local driver's licenses stamped by the Canadian Embassy. But it was tense for a moment yesterday as the government workers were confused by our Alberta licenses being called Operator's License and not using the more standard Driver's License term. Then there was confusion about our newly revamped Alberta driver's licenses not matching what was pictured in their book of Canadian provincial licenses. We explained that our licenses were newly issued with a re-worked design.

I have now passed my three month employment probation but I've not yet received official word from Human Resources. So I can't yet start the paperwork for purchasing a car. We're in no hurry as we've grown accustomed to not owning a car. I've not owned a car in six months. Renting cars is about as expensive as in North America. But it's difficult to rent for a day or two and the companies prefer people that rent them for a month. It works out to not being too much cheaper than car payments for owning a new car.

We need to start thinking about where we want to visit on our next vacation. I have asked for a week off at the end of October and the end of Ramadan. We'll probably vist Liwa (desert oasis), Al Ain and the northern Emirates and maybe northern Oman. I've been Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for a few days. I got a referral from a colleague and the place is in close walking distance from our apartment. The lady performs a massage, accupuncture and cupping. It's provide some relief but my problems with my left ulnar nerve and sciatica like symptons will not go away quickly. But I will continue to get treatments and the $30 dollar fee for an hour treatment is a heck of a deal!