Saturday, February 20, 2010

Countdown to The Arrival

The building next to us is finally getting its windows cleaned.  It's been one year since ours were last done.  The little platform that the cleaners used has been rusting outside so I guess these simple repairs take time around here.  Maybe we shouldn't complain as a friend of ours says his building's windows have not been cleaned since he moved in almost three years ago.

On Tuesday we attended a fancy dinner reception that honored America's President's Day.  It was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and we saw many diplomats and army/navy brass.  I met a librarian from the State Department here and he kindly put me on his mailing list.

On Friday morning I and a friend walked in the annual Terry Fox Run.  It took place along the Corniche and it was nice to be outside walking.  I used sunscreen and wore a long brimmed Tilley hat but one part of my neck still got sunburned.    

Darcy is nearing the end of Week 30 of the pregnancy.   Only 10 weeks to go before The Arrival.  We finished reading a couple of baby names books and we're now looking at each others' lists.  We only wrote down a couple of names that were the same but it should be fun trying to narrow down the list of boy and girl first and middle names.  Of course this is based on the assumption that the name will fit the baby after s/he is born. It will have to have a name before we can do all the paperwork and leave the hospital.

Ten million dirhams on a camel 'not very unusual'

Internet domain first for UAE

New clear street signs by 2012 - this is long overdue.  Our building's biggest tenant (Standard Chartered Bank) just moved out so using that landmark for getting taxis may not work anymore. 

Historic footage of Sheikh Zayed found

Dubai's Unwritten Social Contact - interesting article considering this is written by an Emirati.

Alleged Assassins Caught on Tape - this bizarre story of international intrigue reads like a made for Hollywood movie








Saturday, February 06, 2010

What's New

It's been a stormy weekend but it's nice to see dark clouds in the sky.  However, our windows that I cleaned after the last big storm are now muddy again.  Our building's windows haven't been cleaned in almost a year now.  A friend of ours says that his building's windows have never been cleaned since he moved in 2.5 years ago.  Alberta's Premier paid a visit to Abu Dhabi recently and signed some bilateral agreements.  He also participated on a panel in Abu Dhabi's annual World Future Energy Summit

There have been a few stories about the city's plans to expand paid parking.  The new zones are getting closer to us and we're nervous about having to pay when there is little guarantee that we'll be able to find a spot.  Unfortunately parking in the city is still very difficult but we're able to find parking close to our building.  Apparently there are massive problems with Abu Dhabi's nascent recycling programAnother article
talks about upgrading an existing recycling depot.  We've been recycling plastic, paper, cardboard and aluminum for about a year now.  There's a small place we drive and unload our stuff but we wonder what happens to it after we sort out the contents.  Many of the big dumpsters have poor laborers sifting through the garbage and neatly sorting out the plastic and cardboard.  But is it all for naught?

Dates for the the 2010 Red Bull Air Race  were just confirmed for next month.  Makes one wonder how organizers could plan it here.  We've seen it a few times before as it's close to our building.  However, we're still too far away to see the planes up close. 

Darcy is near the end of Week 28 of her pregnancy.  A friend gave us their baby crib which they had got from someone else.  He helped me put it together so the baby room is starting to take shape now.  Guess we need to buy a mobile for it.   We're still reading baby name books and our lists of boy and girl names are slowly growing.  We'll have to compare them and narrow them down to a few.   We're also hoping that it doesn't take too long for all the baby's paperwork to be processed after its born.  It must have a passport, residency visa and a health insurance card before we can leave the country.  Hope for the best and plan for the worst I guess .  We'll have to be careful with picking our departure date to fly home for the summer after the birth!