We clean up the used outdoor furniture we bought and move it out to the balcony where it rightfully belongs, and it looks great! There's a nice view of two buildings that look like the Chrysler building but we still don't know their names.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Nice View
We clean up the used outdoor furniture we bought and move it out to the balcony where it rightfully belongs, and it looks great! There's a nice view of two buildings that look like the Chrysler building but we still don't know their names.
Delivery Day
Furniture arrives at our front door. The wonders of buying new stuff! It's great to have someplace to sit down.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Settling In
The bloom is off the rose, or should I say the date palm? You could say that our apartment's location on the Palm island makes us the dates.
Neal seems to just conk out in the evening after work (probably from lack of sleep and stress). I'm sleeping very well and feeling pretty energized but it is lonely with no friends nearby yet. The people who work here at our building are incredibly friendly and helpful--even helping me bring packages upstairs. I've been leaving Neal's business card around with notes and questions for our neighbors and while I have yet to meet them they have been quick to respond with suggestions. Everything is pick up and delivery here like laundry, water, even meals. I hope we can get a maid soon, which should be very inexpensive, but a lot of them want full time, live in jobs, which I can't really fathom--three days a week is what our neighbor has which seems like a lot to me.
My search for cheap nice furniture has taken me all over the world! I've seen lines ranging from Natuzzi and Ligne Roset (way too expensive) to Ethan Allen (if you can wait several months) and Lazy Boy (I didn't come all this way to buy that!) plus all kinds of stuff from India, Pakistan, Spain, Portugal, China, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Australia with more than enough fancy UK and garish Arabic styles. It's been fairly entertaining for me but Neal is tiring of this process and ready to buy whatever we are looking at at the moment, so I am also trying to bring some logic and sanity to bear.
We decided to go as simple and cheap as possible on the big ticket items and spice it up with nice small things that could come home with us. The practically new used items we bought have worked out well: Janet and Hack were here to help me get our amazingly big and heavy master bed (exotic Indian) and yesterday I got a like-new Natuzzi recliner (modern Italian) for Neal (see photo). So now when I look at new things I'm already thinking about reselling them when we leave! We also have to get blinds which are expensive and ordinarily I wouldn't bother with but here they are considered a necessity for privacy and sleeping in. Ikea and Ace Hardware have come in handy for miscellaneous items. I've had to get out of the malls since they're so expensive and been forced to learn my way around by driving through all kinds of industrial sites to find the other stores and warehouses, many of which I just stumble upon. I still found myself in two malls today, returning our broken espresso machine (for the third time) and getting cash at an ATM (also got my car washed in the parking lot for $5!).
Needless to say, the overall style of the apartment will have to be eclectic, but we're drawing the line at royal Arabian--no way we can pull that off! We may not get any more bedroom furniture for awhile so give us a little notice if you want to visit. They are not fussy about the rules for balconies and the like in our building, but whatever's on the balcony gets covered in dust in no time. Our parking lot is a zoo--we have 2 reserved spots but it's dog eat dog and people steal spots with impunity. It's probably related to the crazy driver problem.
We hope to see some sights outside of Dubai for a change of pace this weekend when we aren't waiting for furniture to be delivered. I've been spending my spare time puzzling over the appliances, none of which resemble their American counterparts, and hoping for a maid to mysteriously appear.
Neal seems to just conk out in the evening after work (probably from lack of sleep and stress). I'm sleeping very well and feeling pretty energized but it is lonely with no friends nearby yet. The people who work here at our building are incredibly friendly and helpful--even helping me bring packages upstairs. I've been leaving Neal's business card around with notes and questions for our neighbors and while I have yet to meet them they have been quick to respond with suggestions. Everything is pick up and delivery here like laundry, water, even meals. I hope we can get a maid soon, which should be very inexpensive, but a lot of them want full time, live in jobs, which I can't really fathom--three days a week is what our neighbor has which seems like a lot to me.
My search for cheap nice furniture has taken me all over the world! I've seen lines ranging from Natuzzi and Ligne Roset (way too expensive) to Ethan Allen (if you can wait several months) and Lazy Boy (I didn't come all this way to buy that!) plus all kinds of stuff from India, Pakistan, Spain, Portugal, China, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Australia with more than enough fancy UK and garish Arabic styles. It's been fairly entertaining for me but Neal is tiring of this process and ready to buy whatever we are looking at at the moment, so I am also trying to bring some logic and sanity to bear.
We decided to go as simple and cheap as possible on the big ticket items and spice it up with nice small things that could come home with us. The practically new used items we bought have worked out well: Janet and Hack were here to help me get our amazingly big and heavy master bed (exotic Indian) and yesterday I got a like-new Natuzzi recliner (modern Italian) for Neal (see photo). So now when I look at new things I'm already thinking about reselling them when we leave! We also have to get blinds which are expensive and ordinarily I wouldn't bother with but here they are considered a necessity for privacy and sleeping in. Ikea and Ace Hardware have come in handy for miscellaneous items. I've had to get out of the malls since they're so expensive and been forced to learn my way around by driving through all kinds of industrial sites to find the other stores and warehouses, many of which I just stumble upon. I still found myself in two malls today, returning our broken espresso machine (for the third time) and getting cash at an ATM (also got my car washed in the parking lot for $5!).
Needless to say, the overall style of the apartment will have to be eclectic, but we're drawing the line at royal Arabian--no way we can pull that off! We may not get any more bedroom furniture for awhile so give us a little notice if you want to visit. They are not fussy about the rules for balconies and the like in our building, but whatever's on the balcony gets covered in dust in no time. Our parking lot is a zoo--we have 2 reserved spots but it's dog eat dog and people steal spots with impunity. It's probably related to the crazy driver problem.
We hope to see some sights outside of Dubai for a change of pace this weekend when we aren't waiting for furniture to be delivered. I've been spending my spare time puzzling over the appliances, none of which resemble their American counterparts, and hoping for a maid to mysteriously appear.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
How's the Water?
Neal is enjoying our big pool. He can swim off the beach or kayak out there too. I think the jellyfish are gone now but I haven't gone out there to check. Something about taking an elevator down to the fake beach--just doesn't call to me like the beach at Tybee. I haven't made use of the pool or health club yet myself--getting in shape an increasingly and alarmingly low priority for me.Monday, October 26, 2009
Something's Missing Here
There is no culture here, which is a bummer. (Mall art, nice as some of it is, doesn't count.) I was very spoiled in Pittsburgh. It's hard to find a newspaper stand or a post office. I still haven't mailed any postcards, which I usually do when I get to a new place.
Neal has his hands full trying to get the office going in the right direction. Definitely not in his comfort zone and he feels all the pressure. I have my work cut out for me just trying to keep him sane, so it's a good thing that I am in a fairly relaxed state. I can't imagine being here with kids--that would definitely put me over the edge. Even a pet would be tough--there's NO place to walk. A kitty might be okay but it would have to stay indoors all the time and just think what it would do to nice curtains! I don't think they even allow pets on the Palm since I haven't seen any.
Random fact: men outnumber women by a large ratio, at least 4-1.
Neal has his hands full trying to get the office going in the right direction. Definitely not in his comfort zone and he feels all the pressure. I have my work cut out for me just trying to keep him sane, so it's a good thing that I am in a fairly relaxed state. I can't imagine being here with kids--that would definitely put me over the edge. Even a pet would be tough--there's NO place to walk. A kitty might be okay but it would have to stay indoors all the time and just think what it would do to nice curtains! I don't think they even allow pets on the Palm since I haven't seen any.
Random fact: men outnumber women by a large ratio, at least 4-1.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
S.N.A.F.U.
Frustrations continue, like getting stuck in big traffic jams going the wrong way. It took four tries and Neal getting really mad over the phone for the cable guy to show up, but the TV and internet are working well (my laptop, sadly, is not). I got to watch Conan O'Brien last night. Mysteries (why no David Letterman?) also abound.
Communication snafus and lousy service seem to be the norm here. People are pretty nice and even apologetic when they are being incompetent but that doesn't really help. Drivers are another story, as there are an alarming number of dangerous maniacs and/or thrillseekers on the road, which makes driving a real test of survival skills. Perhaps a Survivor: Dubai is in the works? It was fun seeing The Great Race take a trip to our old Burj Dubai neighborhood.
Our ride is a nice big made-in-the-USA Ford Explorer. Filling it up, which we seem to do a lot, costs less than $25. We're hoping to upgrade to a newer model soon but planning to keep it as a rental. I can't bear the thought of trying to deal with car breakdowns here.
Check out this clip of common accidents in Dubai:
Communication snafus and lousy service seem to be the norm here. People are pretty nice and even apologetic when they are being incompetent but that doesn't really help. Drivers are another story, as there are an alarming number of dangerous maniacs and/or thrillseekers on the road, which makes driving a real test of survival skills. Perhaps a Survivor: Dubai is in the works? It was fun seeing The Great Race take a trip to our old Burj Dubai neighborhood.
Our ride is a nice big made-in-the-USA Ford Explorer. Filling it up, which we seem to do a lot, costs less than $25. We're hoping to upgrade to a newer model soon but planning to keep it as a rental. I can't bear the thought of trying to deal with car breakdowns here.
Check out this clip of common accidents in Dubai:
FedEx Delivers, Sort Of
Sending boxes from USA to Dubai via FedEx worked out pretty well--they delivered to my front door--but it took two more days than expected to clear customs and I unexpectedly had to pay duty (about $50). Without thinking about it I had stated a value of $500. The FedEx guy tells me that if I label it personal effects with a value below $300, it's duty free. Not sure if it avoids customs though--they probably still check no matter what you declare, you would think.
I'm told Dubai has retained its own customs separate from Abu Dhabi and the rest of the UAE--vestige of being separate countries, lucrative operation, may explain some of the questionable activities you hear rumors of here. I also hear that Dubai does a booming billion-dollar business in the sale of duty free items at the airport, which many arriving passengers take advantage of, especially for the purchase of alcohol.
I'm told Dubai has retained its own customs separate from Abu Dhabi and the rest of the UAE--vestige of being separate countries, lucrative operation, may explain some of the questionable activities you hear rumors of here. I also hear that Dubai does a booming billion-dollar business in the sale of duty free items at the airport, which many arriving passengers take advantage of, especially for the purchase of alcohol.
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