Heart beats head... Vienna it is!

So much to write and so little time... lots has happened in the last couple weeks. I went to Portugal, I was planning on uploading some pictures, but since my computer crashed last night and I lost everything, that will never happen. Ugh. I'm choosing to ignore that for now. Backing up? What does that mean? I'm so mad at myself I could scream.

Let's see the short version of Portugal trip, flew in, went down to the Algarve. It was a crazy drive, it was pouring down rain, kind of dark and the windshield wipers didn't work. Reminded me a bit of driving in my old civic in the gorge with all the crazy truck drivers. We stayed in a great place in Lagos, which is this really cute, cobblestone, lit up for Christmas type of place. I kept saying, oh, it's so cute, it reminds me of Europe. Oh, right, I'm in Europe. We did our own personal wine tour, which basically went a little like this... let's get a glass of wine and a little snack at a bunch of places, aren't we responsible to be eating too? That happened one time, the first place. The second place didn't have nachos, so we gave up on the idea entirely and had two or three drinks before we moved on to martinis. Hilarious. The marathon was great. I was a bit disappointed with my time, it was 5 minutes from my goal time, but I "should" be happy because I have had bronchitis forever and was still getting over it. We went to a few different small towns around Lisbon, walked around, it was cold and beautiful! I also loved being able to just be outside and walk, even though it was cold. I spent the last day in Lisbon at this mall, shocking, trying to buy stuff for Everest base camp. Which, by the way, I'm totally not prepared for.

While all this was going on, I was also interviewing via skype for two different middle school counseling positions. One at an awesome school in Beijing and one at a school in Vienna. I don't know nearly as much about the school in Vienna, but after lots of debate and stressing out and endless conversations with patient friends and family, I decided to take the position in Vienna. I am so excited to be moving to Europe next year! It was my original goal, but I didn't think I would be able to find a school in Europe that paid enough to live comfortably and still travel, but I think I did... we'll see! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! In addition to being really happy about having a new job, I also am leaving for Everest Base Camp in three days, I can't believe it's here! I am so looking forward to it, but feel completely unprepared. I've been online trying to figure out exactly what to bring, and what type of insurance to buy and if I can or can't get Diamox there... it seems like I should be more organized, but it's just so hard! It seems like every night last week there was something really fun going on that I didn't want to miss out on... same thing this week, holiday get togethers, work Christmas party, (which for once an event not at Double Decker...), just lots of really fun stuff, but too much! We have one more day of school left and then we're on break. I keep hearing about all the snow and everything at home and really wish I was there! Next year... although... the Christmas markets look pretty amazing in Vienna!

Thanksgiving 2008, Dubai Style

There are times when pictures just say it all...

Girl's night at Oscar's Wine Bar...









Becky, Kate, Robin, Susan and I enjoyed free tastes, which of course led to three bottles and then we had to get one more quick glass before we headed off to Barasti to meet some friends who had just played in a beach volleyball game.










Good thing we went all the way to Barasti to meet our friends; we went straight to the lounge chairs, just like usual.













Kate is really thinking hard about, you know, life.










What is going on there....?











Kate and I before we decided shots were the best possible option. Or wait, was opening two bottles of wine when we got home the best option?

Rugby 7's... I had no idea what to it was going to be like, so in typical Dubai style, I expected nothing. It was way better than that! About 50+ of us loaded onto two school buses at 8:30 in the morning and headed out to the new Rugby stadium. We watched some Rugby, drank a bit, talked a lot, ate all kinds of terrible food and the night ended with random dancing...




















Go team DAA... Dale, Shane and Clive ready for the day...










Clive, Kim and I just getting started.













Jenny and Steph ready for the day!










Who says the photo doesn't count if you ask for it?







































Another rough day...










That's right, we're here to watch rugby.










One of the guys I work with played on one of the Dubai teams.










Becky and I watching another guy from work playing.













What is it with Jacob's Creek in Dubai?











April and Jenny, somehow day turned into night.










Jenny, Heather and I relaxing on the hill...













Apparently, we still do that...













Sad, check out how awful the stands look.













Grant, dancing the night away. Wait, what about the game?










And that's how the night ended...

Movin on up...

Well, I'm still not better and breathing is still fairly uncomfortable, but on Thursday I decided I was not sick anymore. Not because I actually felt better, but because I was BORED. On Tuesday it was a girlfriend of mines birthday, so I went down to her place for a wine and cheese party. I wasn't drinking and I wasn't running and we were sitting there talking and she looked at me funny and said something like you're not drinking wine, you're not running, I mean, what are you doing? Seriously though, it's making me crazy. On Wednesday we had our last soccer game of the season, we won 8 or 9 to 1 and we ended the season undefeated. It was great because it meant we move up to the next division. Oddly, if I were to pick the thing I would miss the most about Dubai, it would likely be soccer. Where ever I go, I really hope there is a team I can play on, but I can't imagine the people will be nearly as great. We got these bright new uniforms and a new name, how can I leave? We start again in February or March. We had our end of the season get together this weekend it was really fun. Shockingly enough, it was at Barasti. It was perfect though, we met at around 4:00 and I ended up staying till 11 or so. We just sat outside on these big loungy chairish/bedish things and ate and drank and talked for hours. By the end of the night I was making sweeping generalizations about certain careers and making huge stereotypes that weren't necessarily nice and think I may have said a bit too much and am debating if I should be making some apology phone calls. Before that, we somehow started talking about life goals and I decided it was perfectly acceptable to steal other peoples... I'm now thinking the seven summits are on my list. Speaking of lists, I actually have a notebook of about a zillion things I want to do and I brought it to work today so I could add/edit/etc. and make a plan for getting some of those things done. I also hadn't looked at it for a while and was able to cross some things off. Kate helped me break down the list into some smaller, manageable and achievable goals that I can do right now, so, I need to make a cheesecake, do a pull up and practice tennis. We'll see if any of those things happen this year. The rest of the weekend was actually awesome too. Both days I was outside, the weather is perfect. I went to an outdoor market, out to lunch, a tennis match, the Irish Village, ran errands and didn't get lost, not one time...all in all a very normal weekend. It's almost like I could live here...

Kim, Syma, Jesse and I at the Aviation Club

Here comes the rain again...

Yesterday was hilarious... the rain came back. But first, I'm still feeling awful; I went into work on Thursday because I had to get up for my first ever Skype interview anyways. Which, I think, went ok. Not great, but probably good enough. It was weird to see them and try to talk to them, do you look at the camera? Look at them on the screen? It's hard to feel professional while sitting on the floor in front of my computer. Well, anyways, I made it through the day at work, stayed in for most of the weekend. I went to the beach for a few hours and thought it was cold, later while talking to my mom I realized it was probably at least in the 80's, but apparently that's cold now. 

Ok, back to Saturday (yesterday), I ran errands all morning and then a friend called and asked if I wanted to go to lunch. A few of us ended up going to this beach bar and grill at my favorite hotel. It was going great, then out of nowhere, we started watching this cloud of sand start rolling in, it started getting a little windy, some people started moving in and we were just sort of sitting there watching, talking about it, next thing I know one umbrella goes flying, then in a matter of seconds, chaos... umbrellas started going everywhere, our entire table lifted up and dumped all of the coffee and desert all over me. I was thrown off my chair and somehow landed on this umbrella stand, or maybe the umbrella itself. I don't really remember. Then I sort of pulled myself up off the ground and started looking around, a friend of mine was yelling at me to "just go, go, go!" And I sort of looked blankly at him and then looked back out at the water and around for a second and then realized the three of us, a few other tables, and the waiters were pretty much the only ones still standing there. It was hilarious. We were in no real danger, but you definitely don't want to be around me in time of crisis, I pretty much froze. The thing I was most disappointed about, besides the random bruising from the dishes, table and all that, was that I thought my white pants were ruined, but don't worry, it all came out. We woke up to flooded streets this morning, but we still had school. Sad. I will say, the way they get rid of standing water is ridiculous. It's not just at school, but all over Duabi. They get out there with no shoes on and sweep the water towards a low point where it can collect, then there are guys standing there with buckets and they fill up the buckets and then throw the water. I'll really miss this place...

Bronchitis, again.

I've been out of work most of the week. Which is great because most of the time I feel useless while I am there and like I'm about to be screamed at about something that is either completely ridiculous, or something that I had nothing to do with. It basically contributes to my probably undiagnosed anxiety disorder. Well, not really, but whatever. I finally went in to the doctor this morning and after her asking me about a zillion times if I was pregnant or smoked, she finally had me take an x-ray to confirm that I have bronchitis. Really? They have to do that.

On a brighter note... my search file is activated, a few schools have contacted me and I've contacted a few that I'm interested in. I also have my first interview tomorrow morning. It's for one of the schools I'd love to work for, but I'm not sure about the location. I also expressed interest in a school in Zurich and one in Prague, although, the one in Prague is only possible openings. I was also contacted by ISB, one of the schools I interviewed with last time. It's exciting and nerve wrecking all at once. I really wish I could just fast forward to see where I'm going to end up. The idea of going home is actually pretty appealing too...

We'll see. For now, I'd just like this whole bronchitis thing to hurry up and be over because I am tired. Tired of being tired. And, I need to be getting ready for the marathon, it's soon!

Brunch, Barasti, Blue Bar, Bed.

Went to the first Brunch of the year. It was, well, what brunches here normally are! Very fun. This time it was great, it was just 5 girls, we had great wine, good food and I'm sure lively and entertaining conversations... I've been feeling sick for just about ever, had a really hard run in the morning, just over 22 miles, then collapsed into bed and had to give myself a pep talk about going to brunch. I was telling myself that once I got there it was going to be so fun and on and on, when really, all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed. It was great though. I was impressed that we managed to make it all the way into the evening and meet up with some non-brunch goers at the Blue Bar, where one of our friends was playing in the band. I saw one girl, Kate, get up and leave and thought it looked like a great option, so I did the same thing. I managed to convince Arz, the restaurant in my building, to let me in and begged them to serve me whatever they could come up with. Fortunately I eat there 5 times a week as it is, so they gave me my usual and I stayed and ate it there while they were cleaning up. The next day I got up nice and early, ran some errands, went grocery shopping at The Safestway, where I proceeded to spend a zillion dollars on imported American foods, such as Butterscotch chips for only $12 a bag. So necessary. I thought I would sit down on my couch, enjoy my $13 cottage cheese and watch Sex in the City. Next thing I know, I wake up and it's 5:30pm. I had slept for over 5 hours, I never sleep during the day. I called in sick to soccer and am only at work today because I have to do the ITBS testing. I already told my boss that I will be leaving the second testing is over tomorrow and I won't be in on Tuesday. It's ridiculous, I've been sick for about a month, but am in complete denial. Hopefully a couple of days off and I'll feel better... For now, back to work. No fun.

You know you've been in the Middle East too long when...

Forward e-mails are so annoying, yet sometimes we just have to do it... Someone passed this along, I condensed it down to my favorites...

• You need a sweater when it's 40 degrees Celsius
• Your idea of housework is leaving a list for the houseboy
• You believe that speed limits are only advisory
• You believe that the definition of a nanosecond is the time interval between the time the light turns green and the time that the guy behind you begins to blow his horn
• You expect all stores to stay open till midnight
• You understand that 'wadi bashing' isn't a criminal act
• You make left turns from the far right lane
• You think it perfectly normal to have a picnic in the middle of a round-about at 11pm
• You never say Saturday instead of Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday anymore
• You accept that there is no point in asking why you are not allowed to do something
• You carry 12 passport size photos around with you just in case
• Phrases like 'potato peeler', 'dish washer', 'coffee maker' and 'fly swatter' are no longer household items but are actually job titles
• You start to say 'Insha'allah' when you actually mean 'No f**king chance!'
• Problem with your car AC or horn is more serious to you than a problem with the brakes

And... that's my life. Week was busy, as they all are, of course work, random... Big boss resigned on Thursday, can't figure out what I do all day, but nothing ever gets done and then I became obsessive about the bulletin board. Weekend was good, went over to some friends for dinner on Thursday, got heat stroke (self diagnosed via the internet) during this crazy training run on this island out near Abu Dhabi, went to a really fun birthday dinner for Halloween, where at one point I said something along the lines of..."I used to have shoes on." I'm just so responsible. Spent half of Saturday driving all over town trying to go to breakfast, then soccer. Same old thing really. Now, another week... a few of us girls are going to a Champagne tasting tomorrow night and then an election party... I'm crossing my fingers!