Ok, I give up. This will be one of those Saturdays that I won’t be posting for the photo hunt. The theme is a little difficult for me and I have searched high and low through my photo albums yet couldn’t find one photo that speaks “support” in it.

Moving on, I’m at work again. Oh I hate Saturdays, but if you have been reading my blog for a while, you’ve probably known that.

This morning started quite crazy. I overslept! Shopping on a Friday night is such a bad idea when you’re in Dubai. We went out last night to buy souvenirs for friends we’ll meet with during our vacation next month. On Fridays, when it’s holy day in this Muslim country, most shops only open at 4 pm. Big department stores do open from 9 am but the souvenir shop we went to only opened at 4 in the afternoon.

Battling the shopping rush - there were sooooo many people buying souvenirs as summer time is exodus time in the UAE. Expat families go back home to escape being roasted alive from the hot summer sun. Traffic was so heavy in the parking areas and in the streets, we were home at half before midnight!

With the headache I am having today (I don’t do well without enough sleep) I swear I’ll never go out on a Friday night again!

Are We There Yet, Mom? has tagged me with a fun meme where I tell you something, Quirky or Boring about me, that you haven’t read about before.

Haven’t read before? Oh, that would be difficult since I have posted memes almost every Friday here so I think you all know me so well now.

First, here are the rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged me.

2) Mention the rules.

3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.

4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.

5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

*****

Here are things that make me quirky yet boring (?)

1. I sleep with two pillows. Can’t sleep with only the one under my head. I need something to cuddle, prop my feet up or simply to wrestle with into the night.

2. I can’t sleep if it’s not pitch black. This explains why I can’t sleep properly on planes and trains.

3. I can live without makeup but not without a lip balm. That’s the bare necessity in my hand bag.

4. I am highly dangerous and possibly lethal on some days of the month. Beware.

5. I can’t stay awake beyond 11 pm and can’t sleep beyond 7 am.

6. I wish to retire “temporarily” from work - around 6 months to one year. Just stay at home and be a Stepford wife!

*****

So it’s that time of the month (see #4) so I’m lethal and will be tagging new commenters Eaton, Amy, Adria, Betty, Peter Plum and Vered!

On Thursdays, I only work until 1:30 pm but this is my most hectic day of the week (most times). Here are 13 things I’ll do today:

1. Wake up and prepare breakfast.

2. Go to work.

3. Work. Work. Work. 

4. Go out of the office at 1:30.

5. Call the doctor for appointment for my mother who not feeling well.

6. Drive home, beating the terrible Thursday afternoon Dubai traffic and unbelievable afternoon heat.

7. Take Pristine to the clinic for follow-up checkup.

8. Go home and put her to sleep for her afternoon nap.

9. (While she is sleeping, request my mother to watch her) Go to the gym.

10. Go home and prepare dinner.

11. Let Pristine have her dinner.

12. Get dressed up and wait to be picked up by hubby.

13. Go out for our 5th wedding anniversary dinner date! - After a long and tiring day, I’ll try not land face down on my dinner plate!

How’s your Thursday today?

Yay! We had an uninterrupted sleep last night. A first for this week! Since the asthma attacks started last Friday, I have not been sleeping well, constantly awakened by my daughter but I won’t complain - if it’s hard for me, how much harder for her?

She’s feeling a lot better but we’ll still take her to the clinic for the nebulizer because the doctor doesn’t want us to buy yet, saying her asthma might be temporary and we might just waste our money. Hmmm but at least we’re going to the clinic only at night, after our work so we don’t need to be MIA from the office at noon time like the previous days.

Here’s hoping that tonight will be peaceful as well. I am looking like a panda already with these dark circles under my eyes and believe me, it’s not cute.

Thanks to all who expressed concern over my family’s recent health issues. I appreciate all the warm wishes and suggestions. I suddenly felt having a bunch of friends physically near listening to my woes.

*****

We love Dubai. I love my work here and unlike when we were living in Japan, my husband is enjoying the zero overtime work culture that’s giving him more time to spend with his family. Our darling daughter is immensely enjoying school, learning and loving a new language she adapted so quickly and making so many friends. I am also thankful of the relaxed immigration rules (at least more relaxed than that of Japan’s) that allowed my mom to live with us.  

We love the sunshine (although sometimes miss the rain), the beautiful beaches and the friendly people around. Life is not perfect here (I don’t want to start with the discomforts) but we are happy and contented. Though we don’t intend to live here forever, I have to be honest, the fast paced life is a little maddening - we planned to be here for three to five years or at least until Pristine completes basic education (grade school).

Now, we are faced whether the span of three to five years should be shortened because of our daughter’s health. After this month, we will be spending a month outside the country. It will be a crucial element in deciding whether to stay or leave permanently because I’ll find out whether she will still have asthma attacks outside of the UAE or just limited to when we are in Dubai.

Despite the heavy heart I have right now, I am still hoping that Pristine’s asthma is temporary and that she’ll not be bothered by it again if we continue to live here.

* She has no history of asthma before and was perfectly ok during our first summer here last year so I am not sure what triggered the asthma attacks now. *

We had an emergency situation yesterday in the early hours of the morning. We rushed our girl to the hospital due to a sudden, out of the blue, where did that come from sort of asthma attack that troubles me to no end.

The doctor told me many Dubai residents, as soon as they landed here, are suffering from asthma and other lung problems due to the pollution brought about by construction (the city is basically under construction) and allergens such as molds and mildew that thrive in unseen places because of the abnormally high humidity (up to more than 90% on some days in the peak of summer!) in this country during summer.

The doctor’s diagnosis: the whole place is making my daughter sick. (Last year she was ok, though)

Bluntly I asked, “Should we leave?”

…and without batting an eyelash, the good doctor replied curtly, “That’s actually not a bad advice I can give you (in case the asthma worsens).”

Remember my desperation to win an iPod over the radio and my frustration of not winning it? News flash: I did not stop attempting. Friends told me to buy, quit listening to the radio endlessly and just tip my wallet over for an iPod. I wanted it badly so why the charade?

So I promised myself this was my last attempt and did not even bother to listen to the draw that night. The next day, someone called me and told me I won the iPod from the previous night’s draw!! Holly molly, I almost screamed! Well, I did. A little. Then I was breathless. Who knew!!??

I claimed my prize today - an iPod….shuffle (2GB)…but I have no complaints! It’s free and I even got $100 worth of gift vouchers to Virgin Megastore! Oooh la la!

This week’s theme: Pointed

I wouldn’t dare go near an oryx with pointed horns! Photo taken in the desert, just outside of the city of Dubai (near Al Maha Desert Resort).

Contrary to the earlier terrorist warnings issued by the embassies of the United States and UK that something might happen on the 4th of July here in the Middle East, including the UAE, as of this writing (Friday night), everything is normal and peaceful.

Thank God.

Friday morning is as serene as ever with most people still sleeping even at 8 am. The day went on uneventful. Dubai and the rest of the UAE is enjoying peace despite being in the Middle East. I am glad it stayed that way today.

Happy Independence Day to all my bloggy friends celebrating the 4th of July!

1. Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.

2. Most Gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don’t find out til too late that he’s been playing with two queens all along.

3. Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.

4. Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.

5. The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.

6. The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

7. Build a man a fire, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.

8. Taxation is just a sophisticated way of demanding money with menaces.

9. In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.

10. It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It’s called living.

11. The intelligence of the creature known as a crowd, is the square root of the number of people in it.

12. The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head.

13. Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind!!!!!