Dubai report #99:It's hot

Hey all!

MORTIFYING INTERVIEW

My friend told me I had done the right thing: Never take no for an answer from HR. If you get no from HR, bypass them and go straight to the CEO so he can introduce you to the people who already rejected you. Then you put on your business suit and just show up a the office and say: "Hi, it's my first day at work, where do I sit?"

BANKRUPT

I'm also interviewing with a company that went bankrupt, fired everyone, was bought out. is being stied by former employees for non-payment of salaries, and now is rehiring.

Back to +40C (105 F) and 20% humidity. Starting to get warm.

OBEY CARDINAL RULES OF THE DESERT

After having endured listening to screaming from the neighbor next door for many nights, Sophie marched over there to stop some serious domestic violence. Not only did she ring the doorbell, she even forced her way into the apt when the husband opened to make sure the wife was OK. In accordance with Arab hospitality, they had to welcome us.

She broke an Arab cardinal rule: You don't EVER interfere in family business, let alone do you barge into someone's home. In Saudi you'll get shot for that.

Turned out it was the wife and her sister having fights.

Two Western ex-pat girls barging into an Arab home to stop domestic violence. Yeah, that's precious...

TAPE OF SHEIKH TORTURING COMMONER

Some guy had gone to the US Embassy with the tape and cried for help. This is of course preposterous. What would the powerless embassy do? If the US Ambassador voiced anything against the govt he would end up flogged in the desert. This is not a democracy. It's a dictatorship and we have absolutely no rights here. The guy didn't know that???

POLICE REPORT

Great success! After 2 police stations and 4 hours I managed to get a police report for 2 unnoticeable scratches on my rental car.

DUBAI

Construction companies are chartering planes to send their construction workers back.

KIDS

I hate them.

MISCELLANEOUS

Started listening to Arabic classes while at the gym, so now it's double-boring to go to the gym.

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Shockingly, the UAE will start reinforcing traffic rules. No speeding above 10 km / hr over the speeding limit. No driving on the shoulder of the road. Wow... the perks with living in this country are just getting fewer and fewer...

DEFENSE

Sheikhs will get high ranking defense and governmental positions purely based on that they are locals. One of the generals for the UAE airforce told my friend that the closest he's ever been to a plane was when he flew commercial to Bahrain.

+41C: humid or not humid, ifs freaken hot.

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES

When asked what I like to read I replied that I like to read about battered women in the Middle East. I didn't even stop there but went all the way by talking about a woman in jail in Iraq and how the book made very graphic descriptions of things I never needed to know about!

SHARIA COMPLIANT

When I asked for a visitors pass to Emirates Towers, I was kindly asked to put on my scarf before entering the building. I was then shown the Code of Decency! Excuse me, I was wearing a black business dress and very elegant looking if I might add.

As Abu Dhabi buys up more and more of wild-child Dubai, the more Dubai has to comply with their rules. Hence, I might as well move to Abu Dhabi....

OK, so life here sucks and that's the end of my report for this time.

Cheers!

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