Ramble On: November 2007

I've also finally managed to get to Cairo, which was fun. I love those big, crazy cities where you have to worry about getting run over by a taxi every time you try to cross the street (and even when you're minding your own business on the sidewalk). Very similar vibe to Shanghai and Bangkok, me thinks, where they're gonna rip you off with an inflated foreigner tax, but it's so damned cheap that it barely matters anyway (though it's all about the principle!).

Here's a link to my Egypt photos (and yes, I got to the pyramids, thank God):

Cairo

Also, I've managed to get healthy again after my run in at the hospital (dislocated ribs, sprained clavicle). The team is ramping up for the upcoming Dubai 7's Tournament scheduled for next week, and we've been getting the squads picked. I'm lucky enough to know that I'll be on one of the teams that we've registered, but am working hard to get myself on the firsts... steep learning curve though, switching from 15s to 7s, so we'll see how things go. Will definitely post pictures from the event soon though.

...the question on everyone’s mind has got to be (I know it’s been on mine): What the heck has Nick been up to lately??

Well, a lot. Haven’t you seen the pictures I’ve been posted regularly? They’re a pretty decent photojournal of what I’ve been keeping busy with. But, and I’ll be honest here, there’re still a few things missing.

Probably starting with my recent move to a new villa. As many of you may not know, housing here in Dubai basically sucks. The market is broken down in to three basic markets: really expensive, expensive, and dirt cheap. The problem with the first two is not really the fact that they’re expensive. The problem lies with the fact that you pay an arm and a leg for something that is just nothing special. I mean, fine, in NYC you’re robbed blind by the housing market in Manhattan, but at least you’re living in Manhattan, not in the middle of the desert, in the Middle East, in 45+ C degree heat.

Back to the point though, I was living in a villa with about 12 other people (it was a big villa (and villa here means house), with plenty of rooms and an ensuite bath). It really wasn’t that bad. But that said, Toni and Emmanuelle, along with Liz and Adam, and I all wanted to live together someplace else. We could pool our various resources a bit better and live a bit cheaper, but at least have a better overall quality of life. So, after probably about 3 solid weeks of keeping our eyes half open, Liz cam across a veritable steal: 130,000 AED per annum for a 3 bedroom villa in Umm Suqeim (prime real estate in the better part of town). After trying our best to jump on it, we were beaten by a wily, old British hag. Damn! So, we kept looking, and looking, and looking. To no avail. That is until the landlord of that villa we had lost called Liz back. He called her back you say!? Yes, he did. And not only did he call her back, but he wanted to know if we were still in interested (which we very much were). And the rest is history. But not before I spent a frantic week getting the 6 months of upfront rent ready to hand over (no, not cash, by check). As well as working with Ton, Em, Liz, and Adam to organize some appliances, get a few guys to help us with moving, among a few other things (like still having work every bloody day).

Fortunately, things all worked out. We moved in fairly easily, got the gas flowing, electricity, water, and sewage all set, and, most importantly, got ourselves some Wifi (can’t get by without internet these days, even in the land of Dubai with it’s shite websites and customer service). Along the way we also managed to pick up a little straggler whom we’ve (I mean Liz) named Mew (or Mewcifer, depending…), who’s just the cutest little kitten you’ve ever seen. We had to bottle feed her for the first week and half (how the heck did a 3 week old kitten get separated from its mommy?), which was probably only fun the first two times (newfound appreciation for breastfeeding mommies, though I’m sure having a baby is a little different).