ah, the adrenaline...

today has been - and actually still is - a day like the old days: tight deadlines, rushing from meeting to the desk, briefing people, junk food and caffeine to stay alert. and a presentation due in ten hours and still being worked on. so why do i like it? 'cause i'm an adrenaline junkie. that's why...

perfect day.

friday is sunday and saturday is saturday. at least here in the gulf. but this week, my friday was my saturday and my saturday was my sunday. which gave me half a day off yesterday (making it a saturday) and a complete day off work today (= sunday).

and boy did i have a swell time. after breakfast i went to my first golf lesson, which was made possible by a co-sponsorship unbeknownst to the donors: my meltern and veltern (or marents and farents). while i have to thank my veltern for those beautiful clubs, i have to thank my meltern for the funding of the lessons. thanks to both! and after that, i went to the fitness club and had a day in the gym and at the pool, in the sun, listening to my ipod. after a quick shopping spree at the marina mall (books, polo shirt, fragrance-free body lotion), i'm now at what i call my temporary home. and with cheese and crackers and a bottle of water, i'll finish this day. so, regardless whether saturdays are the new sundays (or fridays): it's been a perfect day.

if you're grounded, start digging.

of all places in the world i have been to, i never came as close to being without gas than over here. i almost happened TWICE while commuting between abu dhabi and dubai in the last week. why i couldn't seem to find a gas station, or somehow could't get to it, is beyond me. esp. here, where 8% of the global oil reserves are right under your wheels.

deserted and desertified

i hübsch angerüscht myself this morning for a new biz meeting - even had a tie with me, just in case - only to learn on my way to the car that the meeting had been postponed. that's not uncommon in this area, but at least it distracted me enough not to notice the haze outside. so i deserted my apartment with, being bündnisgrün after all, the a/c off and the windows open.

upon return, i found my apartment desertified: sand dust en la cama, lo mismo en el living, everything was covered in beige. actually quite fitting with the predominant colour scheme here, but still...

nota bene: a/c not only keeps the heat out, but also sand storms.

happiness is rising.

sonne, funktionierende waschmaschine, frisches obst, freundliche menschen, eine gute, feste matratze: it doesn't take that much to make me happy.

ubiquitous hanky queens.

this country has a kleenex fetish. you'll find those boxes not only in the bathroom or at the bedside – where you'd expect them –, but also on desks, restaurant and boardroom tables. and we're not talking occasionally: always. everywhere. If there's a table, there's a box. and the fun thing about it: the favourite brand is called queenex.