The Card's in the Post...Oh Really!?

My reaction to the bill. Minus tie and dodgy hair.

You probably know by now that Dubai has no postal system. Ridiculous, I agree. 

If you're in the UK, you CAN still send things here, if you're prepared to go to the post office and pay a little extra for an air mail stamp. 

Or, you could of course courier something, if you really wanted to. 

No one ever uses this option. 

In fact, it's rare to get any post at all. 

I have a few friends who do send me mini parcels on a regular basis, and when they arrive, they are like GOLD. The office boy chirpily brings them to my desk like one of the wise men clutching precious Frankincense. Honestly, it's THAT big an occasion when a parcel arrives from the mystical 'U.K'.

If you're in Dubai and want to send anything to the UK, the post office is a bit of a waste of time. There's a very good chance it will never get there. This means that in order to sort birthdays, Christmases, and general gifts, you have to use a courier.

I use the office UPS service. It's easier, quicker, no hassle of trekking to an office or a mall. I have to pay for it, it's not a freebie. Each month a finance bod brings me my bill, I sign it off, and it's deducted from my pay packet.

Want to know what this month's bill was? Really? Ok then:

• 200 GBP.
• TWO HUNDRED UK POUNDS
• $280

Whichever currency you write it in, that's a whole lot of dosh in my opinion.

I didn't feel like I'd sent a lot of things...a letter, a few packs of wedding photos, a couple of gifts. But wowser! Call me tight,but that bill made me flinch.

Here's the thing: I want to stay in touch with my lovely friends and family. I don't want to be the kind of person who gives to receive. But it's hard not to feel like things are a little one sided when you see the black and white evidence of the effort you make to stay connected, and compare it to the number of birthday, Christmas and wedding cards you've received over a five year period. Which barely make it into double digits.

What are your thoughts, Dubai chums and overseas ex-pats? How do you correspond with the UK? Rely on Moonpig? Never send gifts or parcels? Or bite the bullet and cough up, like I've been doing? Would love to hear your thoughts.

The Big, the Fabulous 4 - OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

A very dear friend of mine turns 40 this week. We met when we were in our twenties, hard at the PR coal face, regularly clocking in 12-14 hour days (hang on, why hasn't that changed?!) dreaming up crazy PR stunts...we were the very epitome of work hard, play hard. In our agency gang the dreaded communal carpark 'walk of shame' was a regular occurrence - it was no surprise to see someone turn up sheepishly at their desks in yesterday's or last night's clothes.

Our regular Friday night happy hour in the bar under our office (think Ally McBeal but less annoying) also meant that it was no surprise to find yourself on a dancefloor, at 3am, still dressed in your work suit. 

They were heady, heady days.

As lives and jobs changed, our friendship didn't. We might not have been crying in  the work toilets or throwing up in the carpark together (mainly stress, sometimes hangovers) but we were always joined together spiritually.

It seems inconceivable that said friend is turning 40 - aside from looking fabulous and easily ten years younger than her birth certificate, it also seems like just 5 minutes ago that we were muntering our way around the Miami Winter Music Conference, throwing ourselves onto dance floors, gatecrashing pool parties and dj booths with abandon.

And yet that was ten years ago. 

I still have a few years (honest!) before I reach the same milestone, but it has made me a little reflective nonetheless. I'd like to think that with the advent of fabulous skincare (most of which I've been taking advantage of since my teens - thanks mum!) and some good genes, the ageing process shouldn't be too horrendous. But there's no escaping that inside, I still feel like the footloose and fancy free crazy twenty-something I once was. 

The beauty of living in Dubai, is that you can indulge that on quite a regular basis. It feels like a young person's city and is abuzz with social misbehaving every night of the week, should you wish to partake (we do!).

So there seems only real way to avoid any 40th birthday malaise: make sure you celebrate it in my fair city! You're welcome any time, Birthday Bird xxx

Munters til we die!

Another Year of Fabulosity

Me, this birthday weekend?

It's my birthday tomorrow.  Eek!  After this one I'm counting backwards.  Cannot believe that it's my FOURTH birthday in Dubai.

I don't think I blogged about my first one (there wasn't much of note to write about. I'd only been in Dubai a week.)

My second birthday is here. Favourite quote: "I have a great job, lovely home, and exciting travel plans. But most importantly, I'm lucky enough to be blessed with a group of gorgeous friends who make me laugh til I cry pretty much every day."

My third is here.  Favourite quote: "Dinner and drinks with my lovely friends closely followed by mayhem at the weekend."  I'd moved into the new pad just a few days before the day.

Yes I know, this is lazy blogging, but a) I'm extremely busy this week, and b) I do think that this is part of the joy of a blog: being able to nip back to a point in time, significant or not, and see how you were feeling and what you were up to.

The main theme has been that each birthday and year has seen me happier and more in love with Dubai.  A constant is that I'm truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.  Thank you desert and UK families for filling my life with laughter and very deep joy.  Now where did I put that number for the one stitch facelift doctor?!

Grey Hair

Please let me look this fabulous at 60..

I’ve just spent three days with some of the most impressive people that I’ve ever worked with. Senior people from around the world with huge amounts of experience and brains so smart they give you a headache.  We were sharing the issues we’d been facing with a client, when one practice head summed up her major stumbling block.  “The problem is,” she announced, “They’re all just kids.  They know nothing.  There’s no-one older than 26 or 27 in the client team.  They think they know it all, but they don’t know anything.”

As I hurtle towards my next birthday, it has been crossing my mind that I’m getting older.  I’d like to think I’m in pretty good shape for my age, I regularly get mistaken for younger, and body-wise, I’m as thin as I was ten years ago.  (Perhaps not as firm, but we can’t have it all AND work 12 hour days.)

So hearing this disparaging verdict on those in their twenties made me feel so much better.  Yes, I don’t have the trampoline face of a 26 year old (although that can change with a quick trip to Dr Ahmed!), but I have something far more valuable.  Experience, knowledge and wisdom.  Next time a 25 year old tries to tell me how much they know about business, I’ll cast my mind back to that conversation…..

Hey Shorty, It's Your Birthday

Can you believe I'm about to spend my third, yes third birthday in Dubai...? No, neither can I!  This year it falls on a weekday, so I'm not sure what the MO is as yet.  A very swish bar is offering some sort of free drink/free food/free MAC cosmetics type event - what's not to love?!   Otherwise it will be dinner and drinks with my lovely friends closely followed by mayhem at the weekend.

Tinie Tempah is here on Thursday night - do not even ask me what sort of music genre he falls under...but I'm all over it.  And then of course there's the football on Friday.  I say this as if I'm some sort of afficionado.  Just don't tell anyone that I spent the first England game curled up on the sofa watching Gossip Girl Season 3, eh?  I'm sorry, but Chuck Bass or a load of over-paid petulant children kicking a ball, badly, round a pitch for 90 minutes.....? No contest.

What a Year!

I’m reading Chris Evans’s autobiography at the moment, and he prefaces each chapter with a Top Ten. And given that we’re nearing the end of a decade, it’s not a bad way to summarise the year.

Here’s mine for 2009...and I have to say - it wasn't easy just picking 10 highlights.  It's been an interesting year.  Started with a bit of a bump and then turned into nothing short of awesome.  I'm already very excited for 2010...

10. Bingo. No, really. For one short month we discovered, and loved, bingo. The fact that this was combined with half price wine and food was just a happy coincidence. Bingo, we miss you.
9. Ramadan. I actually got to work slightly shorter hours this year which meant much more time for socializing, and the gym. And Ramadan does of course, mean Iftars…
8. Chi. It has to be the world’s cheesiest club, but I’ve had more hilarious nights out here than I care to admit. Having the lovely Harris just a hop skip and a jump away in Oman has meant many many lost weekends in there. Thank god my mum isn’t on Facebook to see the photographic evidence.
7. Sri Lanka. One of the most gorgeous places in the world. Private villa on the beach, with chef, yoga teacher and houseboys attending to my every whim. I don’t need complete luxury like this, honestly, I’m actually very easily pleased…..
6. Saturday Sundowners. It’s a tradition as old as time itself…well if you live in a sundrenched country I guess. Before gearing up for a hard week at work there’s nothing like sinking your toes into the sand/propping up a bar watching the sun set, in a sun dress and shades.
5. Beach Club. A Friday ritual. We spend a great deal of time comparing notes on which is our favourite, but really, there’s not much in it. Luxurious sun-loungers, delicious food, wine on tap, oh, and sun, sea and blue skies. Throw in great company and a stack of celebrity magazines, and you have the perfect recipe for lazy day off. However hard the week has been, and they can be tough, it’s hard to say stressed when floating in the sea looking back at the insane and beautiful skyline of Dubai.
4. Beirut. If the Sun had written a headline to describe that trip, it would have to be: Busty Blonde Brit Babes Cause Bedlam. A hilarious riotous adventure from start to finish. If I’m having a bad day a sneaky peep at the photos cheers me right up. And normally results in loud guffawing.
3. Family – in Dubai and the UK…The Dubai Family. It’s been said before, but really, I’m blessed to have found some really wonderful friends here…you all know who you are….The UK Family. Laydeeeees! And some gents….You’re out of sight but never out of mind. Your emails, texts and phone calls make me laugh, cry and miss you even more. You’re always welcome here for visits…
2. Safari. The most amazing trip, ever. Animals, scenery, people, company. Bliss.
1. Christmas. Spending time with the people that you love, in a place that you love…what’s not to love?!

Another year....?

On the eve of my (ahem) 25th birthday, it's a time for reflection about the year past, and what lies ahead. Tosh - I'm not feeling remotely morbid about my impending ageing at all!
It's been one amazing year. Last birthday I didn't know a soul here having just landed and spent my day muntering around having lunch and spa-ing. (I cottoned on pretty early that this was going to be a favourite past time here.) Fast forward a year and I have a great job, lovely home, and exciting travel plans. But most importantly, I'm lucky enough to be blessed with a group of gorgeous friends who make me laugh til I cry pretty much every day.
The only blot on the landscape? The equally gorgeous friends and family who I left in the UK.
You all know who you are. Thanks to everyone for making the last twelve months such an amazing experience. I'll be celebrating with you all, in many different ways, in the next few months. Nothing like dragging out a celebration I say. Maggie Doyle had at least 12 celebrations for her fortieth. Not that I'm turning 40, mind. Honest!