hazy but not lazy days

Summer is almost upon us and yet it doesn't quite feel like it. The skies have been very hazy for over one week and the humidity has been very low. But that's resulted in a lot of dust and sand in the air. So I've been battling a cold for ten days but I should be able to resume exercising on Sunday. Luckily Darcy's strong immune system has kept her from getting sick like me.
Many faculty at my work have left town for summer vacation so the library will be a bit quieter. Most of our friends have left town too. But I still have a lot of projects to work on including creating a Facebook profile for the library. Two new librarians start work on Sunday so that will ease everyone's workload a bit.
Darcy and I went to the Emirates Palace on Friday to see the Picasso Exhibit. It is the second exhibit that has been sponsored by Arts Abu Dhabi. The venue is terrific, world class exhibits and (for the moment) they're free of charge. I don't think this could be duplicated in many places around the world. We spent about 2.54 hours looking at the interesting art. Some of his workds were obviously pretty far out. The bronze goat statue had a bit too much detail from a certain are for my taste! We bought the official exhibit catalogue to add to our home library.
Below is the weekend update of what's going on in our neck of the woods. As always some stories underline the lack of infrastructure and regulations here. Shamal will be replaced by summer
UAE residents say system needed to locate places in emirates
This is a fun story.Emirati superhero goes globalThe superhero's website is here.
Rats nibble at UAE history
District cooling strains supply
Waste water to provide workers’ comfort at home
Rural and suburban census begins
Chat between drunk men sparked terror warning
The Captain's Cafe that is mentioned in this article is very close to us.The shisha brotherhood
We enjoyed reading this story about how people end up living where they do. Our careers have taken us to far away places!Why 'Where' Is More Important than 'Who' or 'What'
Our weekend routine continues with going to Marina Mall to relax at Caribou Coffee and then grocery shop at Carrefour. Ila aliqa!

A post for Troy and Jennifer in Cincinnati: job hunting in the UAE

(Post edited for name correction--Jennifer, please accept my most abject apologies for the error! How embarrassing...ds)

Hi Troy and Jennifer,

I just saw your comment on our last blog post. I clicked through to your profile, but I couldn't see an email address there for you, so since you indicated that we could reply to you by blog posting I'm writing here.

It took us just about a year for my husband to find a job in the UAE, so we understand your frustration. Hiring processes here are very slow and bureaucratic. But it can be done.

The tendency here is towards very strict, literal interpretations of language. Be as specific in your employment profiles/job applications as possible. If the job asks for experience in Microsoft Word, and your application/profile says you are experienced with word processing software, HR may screen you out because you didn't mention the specific program instead of contacting you and clarifying your skills. If the paperwork requires a non-objection letter/certificate, and your documentation does not specifically use the words "NON OBJECTION", it will be rejected.

Also be prepared to do a lot of follow-up and, if necessary, re-applying. Your information will not automatically be kept on file, and you will often not get clarifications or updates unless you ask. In keeping with the point above, ask lots of very specific questions even if you think they are obvious or "stupid"--you wouldn't believe the things you won't get told if you don't ask.

Job turnover is pretty high just about everywhere, because the normal contract length is three years. So again, patience and perserverance is probably the best strategy.

You didn't say much about your personal experience, and you probably wouldn't want that kind of discussion posted up on the internet anyway, so if you'd like to continue the conversation feel free to email me at dsharman (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks for reading our blog--we're glad you enjoy it!

--Darcy

Music From The Middle of Nowhere

BCC world service played a series called Music from the Middle of Nowhere a couple of weeks ago. It's hosted by k. d. lang, and it is much more than the "discussion of her musical influences" the online description suggests, delving into the history and music of the Canadian Prairies. I caught most of the first segment, which covered Alberta, on the way to the grocery store, and found it so fascinating I had to sit in the hot car in the parking lot until it was over. The BBC has finally posted more than a brief description of the series on its website; I hope you can listen to the episode and enjoy it as much as I did

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We also found an interesting site called Meebo, which allows you to aggregate all your chat/instant messenger accounts into one place. No more logging into multiple IM programs at once--this is all in one place AND it's webbased so you don't need to download yet more software! Michael and I have signed up and are trying it out.

We had our Eid holiday from Thursday to Monday, which was a relief. We are both feeling more than a little burned out right now. We didn't do much more than go on a picnic on the Corniche and hang out at home working our way through Michael's newly-completed collection of Director's Edition Star Trek movies. It was certainly nice to relax and not have to go anywhere, or even change out of our pajamas if we didn't feel like it!

Life continues to be challenging on the job front for both of us. I have been seconded from my secondment, if that is even possible, and am now answering phones and handling VIP event RSVPs for the Festival of Thinkers that starts next week. Feeling a little squished as I try to essentially do three jobs in the space of one. I keep on telling myself that it won't be much longer, but every time i do that something else comes up! Hopefully things will settle down relatively soon...

Well, I suppose it is about time I stopped relying on Michael to update the blog and write a post myself. I know it's been a long time...I've been busy at work and tired/distracted at home but I know that's not really all that great of an excuse. Just means more catching up to do later!

Ramadan has started, and this is the first time I'm working during Ramadan, which is interesting. We have reduced hours during the month, so we work 6 hours a day instead of 8 (well, 9 with unpaid lunch break time). No food or drink can be at our desks, of course, and there is a closed-off staff break room upstairs where we have to go to drink water or have coffee or lunch. There is one non-Muslim in our office who observes the fast. I have not tried it, though I will admit every year I think about it. I am reading the Quran this year, though. Ramadan is the time of year when Muslims are supposed to (re) read the Quran and Quran recitals take place in the mosques every night (especially around Laylat al Qadr, the night in the latter part of the month when the Quran was revealed to Mohammed). I have been meaning to read the copy my brother bought me a few years ago anyway, so this is as good a time as any to do it.

I am quite overworked right now, as I am working two jobs. My regular job at HCT Learning Resource Services, which brings new responsibilities and changes all the time, and which I really like, and my new part-time pinch-hitting assignment at HCT Abu Dhabi Women's College, which just lost all their librarians and many of their paraprofessional staff. Unfortunately it is the start of term, and Libraries are responsible for textbook distribution. On top of this our system has just instituted an entirely new online system for textbook ordering, distribution, and issuance. Double-whammy: not only do I have to get books for over 2600 students distributed to teachers who all really really think they needed them yesterday, I have to learn a new system, educate them on the new system, and deal with all the problems incurred by their insistence on fudging orders and fixing books "the way they've always done it before". Guess what people...if the way you did it before was appropriate and actually worked, we wouldn't have had to implement a new system with hyperaccountability! And you have to work with it whether you "like" it or not. Sigh. Work has just got a whooooolllle lot more frustrating. I have discovered anew my gratefulness for my permanent, central services, job.

Michael may have mentioned that I was going to a bellydance class before we went on our summer vacation. I have decided not to go back to the class this fall. The class is at too elementary a level, the students are not serious at all about learning to dance, and the teacher is, to be honest, not all that great a dancer OR a teacher. I did get something out of it for the time I was there, even if nothing but a structure to actually get me started dancing again and a space to refine some technique. However, especially given the fact the studio has moved and is now farther than walking distance from my house, it's just not worth it for me. If I am going to take classes here, I'd also rather take from an actual Middle Eastern dancer instead of one from Calgary!

So I got a couple of new technique/drilling videos over the summer and now I'm back to my old problem--getting the energy and discipline to practice regularly on my own instead of just sitting thinking about dancing, reading online about dancing, watching video of other dancers, etc. This is always my sticking point with any project; I'm much better at thinking than actually doing.

My boss at work is a yogini and used to be a yoga teacher. She's started up a small class for people at work, so I am going to that. We are practicing in her house right now, but after Ramadan we will have access to the Assembly Hall at work. Her style is more restorative and introspective than Iyengar style, which is what I practiced before. However, given how long it's been since I've actually practiced regularly it's at a good level for me right now.

Finally, I'll share the website of a popular made-in-the-UAE animated show, FREEJ. The first series of these 15-minute shorts just came out on video. I bought them a couple of weeks ago and we started watching them this week. The show is about a group of widowed Emirati women who live in Dubai's old town. It's pretty cute :) Our DVDs have subtitles but unfortunately the clips on the site don't! You can get a bit of a taste of it anyway, though. I love their traditional dress right down to the old-fashioned henna on their hands!

Update!

Well, not long after I wrote my last blog post, I got an email from the HCT asking me if I could start work Monday. So, I guess I have the job! I still don't know much about it, and I'm feeling nervous and a little out of my depth at the moment, but I just keep telling myself that they know they are getting someone with no experience and that I will pick things up and do fine.

Now I need to go clothes shopping! And fast! I got rid of most of my old worn-out work clothes before we moved and have not done much clothes shopping since we got here. Plus I will have to adjust to working again...it seems so strange but I've been unemployed for almost a year now. 2006 as a whole went by so fast it seems a blur.

More news next week on how things go.

Post holiday

Sorry it's taken so long for me to upload our Christmas photos and post them...they are on my flickr account now so you can take a look at what our Christmas was like by clicking here!

We are slowly getting back to normal after the holiday season. We ended up quite busy through the holidays with Christmas and New Year parties, so after all the eating and drinking and socializing it's time to get back to a more moderate routine! We are going to take our Christmas tree down this weekend. Late to have it up still, I know, but with few of the regular "holiday season" markers--weather, street decorations, and so forth--we feel like we just put it up!

I have spent a lot of the post-Christmas time taking care of pets and plants for people who are currently on vacation. Some better behaved than others! My friend Rachel's tomcat is a real hellion and is even learning how to open doors himself, so that one has been quite a "challenge". My Arabic conversation class has also started up again, so I am in the middle of learning how to say "hello, how are you" and count to 20. I have also started doing the exercises in the Henna Page's Index of henna pattern elements in an attempt to improve both my skills and my atttempts at creating original patterns. It would be nice to get proficient enough that I could do henna as a part time independent business someday.

I have also had a few developments on the job front. I met some people at the Higher Colleges of Technology Library this week, and actually ended up in an impromptu interview due to their critical need for new staff. The job is in Acquisitions, Cataloguing, and Technical Services. I really have little to no practical experience in those areas but it sounds like they are looking for a willingness to jump in and learn the job as much as prior experience, so I think my chances there are good if our previously planned vacations for this year don't get in the way (the contract is a temporary one for six months, so I'm not sure what the vacation rules are like). I also met the Dean at the Zayed University library this week, and while they don't have a specific opening right now, she encouraged me to send in a resume for their files in case of future vacancies. I would really ideally prefer something part time, but if I don't start working soon I will have a lot of difficulty getting back into the field, so I am starting to feel like in the short term at least I should take what I can get. Especially if, as in the case of the HCT job, it will provide me with a lot of new skills and experience I would be unlikely to acquire elsewhere!