Dubai diary

Hallo dearest JE!
I'm trying to get back with Croatian again since I've realized that a nice
and caring man beats an asshole in a Range Rover.

I'm going for my medical exam for the residency visa. After 14 months in
Dubai, I will become a resident... just in time when I'm starting to plan my
escape from Dubai...
**
My thoughts are always with you,
Much love Cecilia :)

**
Dubai Diary 29 March 2008

Dubai brings out the best in you
I'm prohibited from telling my neighbor / date to go f*** himself since he's
a client of ours. I mean, that just takes the fun out of dating! Not to
mention that I can't even key his Range Rover. There are security cameras
covering every square centimeter of our premises.

Friendships
The kind of family-relationships I built in New York, I will never find
here. Yes, I'm talking of most of you readers!

Leaving Dubai
I have my mind set on leaving Dubai in the next 12-18 months. This wanna-be
city is bullshit. Or like my dad says: Dubai is at best a suburb to New
York.

However, I would NEVER leave Dubai NOW. I'm living in a gorgeous 2.5 bedroom

• 2 bath. I have a room which I never use, I have my Mitsubishi Galant which
  has really grown on me, and I'm in a take-no-prisoner war with my shady,
  Middle Eastern ex. What more could a New York-city girl with a Jewish MBA
  ask for in the Middle East???

Lifethreating
When I woke up I saw a lot of smoke at a distance (sometimes it's really
useful to live on 21st floor with unobstructed view). Since lifethreating
events are commonplace in Dubai, I paid it no particular attention.

Turned out 80+ warehouses exploded, there was toxic gas in the air so the
area had to be evacuated, many injured... Just another day in the office.

Swedish Consulate in Abu Dhabi
Halfway there I realized I had forgotten my passport. I had to turn around
to get it. The consulate reluctantly admitted to that I was a citizen and
will give me my new passport in ten days.

I managed to kill a small bird with my windshield. Oh stop! Freaken bird
attacked my car like something out of Hitchcock's "The Birds"!

I wanted to get a feel for Abu Dhabi, our wealthy capitol. You can feel it's
been around for longer than Dubai, ie more than three years. It is more of a
city: people are rude and stressed (they see I have a Dubai car-plate so
they know I'm from the poorer city), traffic is bad, and things are old (-er
than three years).

When I returned to Dubai and fought traffic to get into the Marina, I
realized that traffic is far worse in Dubai. I'm just so used to the
crazyass-way people drive here.

Horse race
Brings back memories. Last year I went because everyone said it was such
GREAT event. I thought it would be like the Mercedes-Benz horse polo in the
Hamptons. It was at best a display of drunk, white-trash Brits in ridiculous
hats.

..so I left the race and went on my first date with my ex... we all know
what a hit that turned out to be for a year...

I decided not to go to the race this year, but am having some remorse. I
will be the only one in Dubai who's not there.

Summer's on...
Without further ado, the temperature rose to +32 C / 90 F and some nice
humidity lurking in the air. Can't wait for bloody summer...

Miscellaneous
Making good use of the elliptical in the gym. The Croation always complained
about me being too fat. The next boyfriend won't think so.

Arabs vs. Persians
Went out with an Iranian girl, her husband and her brother. Good advice: Do
not call an Iranian for an Arab... I made that fatal mistake and was
lectured on Iranian history for the better part of the evening.

All joking aside, I was blown away with their knowledge of their country's
history. I don't even know who's the current primeminister in Sweden...
Speaking of which, what party rules in Sweden...?

Dubai World Cup
Decided to go to horserace in the 11th hour because my Russian girlfriend
asked me to join her, her British boyfriend and their British friends. I
didn't think it could get worse than last year, but it could.
Took 45 min to drive out there because 55,000 ouf of Dubai's 100,000 (people
in my social group) were there. Then it took 45 min to go by shuttle to the
event due to many unnecessary U-turns out in the desert.
Then I had to stand in line for 45 min.
Then I had to wait for my friends for 1.5 hrs because they forgot to pick up
their tickets at the box office.
Then I had severe problems finding my car in the unlit parking, which really
is a sand parking out in the desert.
It was just as I remembered it: too many drunk, bottom of the barrel Brits.
I did manage to get 3 of them to sing "cecilia" on the shuttle back, though.

Next year I will not go - really.

I made the fatal mistake of telling the Brits that England and Great Britain
is the same. I did not hear the end of it...

Growing up
A very smart lady (you know who you are) told me this after I first moved
here, but it took this long to come naturally to me: I have to focus on my
happiness, NOT material things or guys.

After spending time with good people, I realized that I can't let my
happiness depend on whether a man calls me. I have to pay attention to my
life.

Cheers! (isn't that a British expression? Have I become British?)

Cecilia Steen
Dubai Mobile +971 █ ███ ████

Dearest Jeffrey,
I hope all is well. As always, my life is up and down, but is life every
perfect or calm?
My diary is below.

Big kisses,
Cecilia

Report #70: New job, new friends

Every morning I open my bedroom window so I can get some fresh construction
dust in mixed up with some healthy humidity.

MAC

I spent the entire day with the Hong Kong client: meetings, sightseeing and
dinner and drinks. He was awfully quiet so to make conversation I told him
about the cheap hookers I've seen on the construction site. That only made
him more quiet. I thought I was telling a good story…

JOBS

I got an offer from another investment bank without trying.

They're offering me:

[image: *] 6 months guaranteed employment

[image: *] 35% salary increase

My current boss is evil in its purest form so this offer came was very
well-timed. He will yell, scream, curse at me, call me names, throw papers
back in my face. The resemblence to Hitler is uncanny.

DUST

I decided to sweep my balcony since I haven't done so since I moved in. When
I collected the dust, I realized it wasn't sand, but construction dust. I
felt like I was in some sci fi movie.

BOREDOM DEFINED

Some kids drove by one of the surveillance cameras on Sheikh Zayed Road to
see when the camera stopped reacting to speeding. If you go at night the
camera will flash. Apparently the camera stopped flashing for speeds above
220 km/hr…

SAND

We're having some sort of sand-dust-in-the-air. It's very strange at night
when it's dark and incredibly sandy in the air. During the day it's
fog-like.

BYE BYE PARTY

A friend is leaving Dubai to move to Cambodia to open up an investment bank.
Our lives in Dubai feel so average in comparison. Wow… when you think Dubai
is blazé…

Got another email from yet another friend who is leaving Dubai. Going back
to London after a year.

SINGLE IN DUBAI

Everyone who lives in Dubai hates it. It's extra hard being single because
then you have to do everything yourself: wash, clean (or supervise your maid
which actually is more work), do grocery shopping, run errands, AND hide
those dark circles under your eyes in the evening so you can go out and
party in the vain hope you'll meet the One, which of course you never will
since this is Dubai.

So we single people dutifully work and party hard. We enjoy neither, but
that's what we're supposed to do here.

I have to admit, I've been out a lot since the Croatian left me, and I have
met a lot of nice girls and boys. I'm starting to find a good network of
people.
The Croatian still checks in to make sure I'm alive, though. Something you
can't take for granted in Dubai.

I MISS NEW YORK, but i'm here, so put on a smile, your best party-dress and
go out there and party!

Be well,

--
Cecilia Steen
Dubai Mobile +971 ██ ███ ████