abu dhabi sunshine

life, times...and opinions from Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 29, 2007

They are called private for a reason...

(Excerpt from Gulf News article about women undergoing surgery to restore their virginity).

"The law in the UAE and most GCC countries does not define such practices as a crime. However, the UAE Supreme Court has set a law that prohibits touching the female's private parts in any way except with permission of the woman's guardian such as the father or husband."

What I do with my private parts is my business. Period.


Friday, January 26, 2007

"Summer lovin', had me a blast....Summer lovin', happened so fast..."

Nothing like a summer romance to leave you feeling nostalgic for a while, lingering on every little detail of every kiss, every look and every word. And that lingering goodbye, where you wish it could all just last a little longer...It'll all make a girl feel 15 again and give her those butterflies everyone seems to be after.
Halfway during my summer trip to Greece, I had my unexpected "Summer Lovin'" moment. He was French, not-so-tall, dark and oh so handsome, but I didn't tick right away. As we hung out drinking Bacardi breezers under the stars with the group that first night, I even thought 'nah, this guy isn't for me,' for no particular reason. But there were a couple of looks that tipped me off to the fact that he may be into me.

The second night, as we had more drinks under the stars at a bar in Milos, it was clear he was going after me, and our conversation flowed as we flirted back and forth, and our hands 'accidentally' touched over 300 times.

The next two days flew by as my Frenchie and I got to know each other a little better. And then there was the inevitable goodbye in Athens, after a long overnight ferry trip to the mainland. It was brief and cute...nothing over the top, with a customary and polite 'let's keep in touch.'

We emailed back and forth when I came back to Abu Dhabi and he went back to Barcelona, and the words on the screen just flowed. Virtually, we clicked unbelievably...I laughed and blushed as I read his words. Very cheesy!

I never thought I'd see him again until he started talking of visiting me here. When that didn't work out, I suggested we meet up in Europe somewhere. Since I had planned to visit a friend in Geneva, this was going to be our meeting point....a far cry from the perfect sun and sea of the Greek islands.

And so on my previously mentionned mini-break, I reconnected with my Frenchie from Greece. I was so nervous that it would be awkward, and truth be told, I almost wanted to cancel the whole thing. We had met when I was relaxed, tan, thinner, and it was summer...everyone is happy in the summer! Now he would see me pale, stressed, rounder...I didn't know if I was ready to lose the summer's magic.

We met up and said hello as if we'd left each other the day before. There were the inevitably awkward first few moments, but from then on, we clicked the way we did through our emails, and it turned out the couple-hating Frenchie with the mysterious air is quite a softie. He was all around cute, and even made my still heart skip a beat when he told me "You're part of my life now...you moved me."

The goodbye stung once again; I of course wanted it all to last a little longer, as I'm sure he did too. But it was what it was, and we're now back to our lives. And in my post-holiday blues, I'm left asking myself the questions millions of girls ask themselves.

Am I building up this fling in my head, making it more ideal than it really is, because we are away from each other? Maybe this could be something great, and we're just letting it slip by? Maybe maybe maybe...who knows.

Meanwhile, Frenchie has slightly restored my faith in fun, interesting and slightly unconventional men, and for that I'm grateful. I needed to be looked at the way he looked at me, I needed to be spoken to the way he spoke to me, I needed to laugh the way he made me laugh....without all the relationship drama.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Post mini-break

So, instead of dealing with the fact that I am bored shitless of Abu Dhabi and my job like a big girl should, I just took a vacation!

YAY!

I flew to my beloved land of cows, Switzerland, to visit a friend I haven't seen in a couple of years, and just to generally get some well-deserved R&R. My friend and her husband live right across the border in France (little town called Bon en Chablais), in the country! Their lovely little home was so warm and cosy I did not leave it for the first three days, during which I gorged myself with cheese, coldcuts, wine and chocolate!

It also helped that they own the most vocal cat in the world, Max. I swear, I could have conversations with him for hours! The night before I left, he just barged into the bathroom while I was taking a wee and just sat there miawing at me....a little unnerving, but very cute!
All in all, the trip was extremely relaxing and a nice change of scenery. Geneva can be quite dead in the winter, but it didn't seem to bother me one bit. I'm feeling the post-holiday blues now for more than one reason, which I may (or may not) tell you all about soon ;)

And just because, here's a picture of my favourite part of flying :)

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Lines of time...

I’m thinking that it’s a momentous and unnerving event the day a girl buys her first anti-wrinkle cream. Girl? What am I saying…woman. Buying an expensive and possibly useless age-defying cream is one more step taken into that much sought-after womanhood. I’ve often wondered what makes a woman, well, a woman. Boobs? Check. Hips? Check. Boyfriends? Check. Broken heart? Check. Job? Check. Wrinkles? Not quite check.

Enter New Year’s Eve, this one night where everyone is supposed to have a great time and look their best. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those ‘new-year’s-is-so-overrated’ cynics; I was partying it up, holding my liquor like a woman should, dancing with everyone in the room and making out with a crush. All was well in my world and 2007 seemed to be settling in quite nicely. That was until the age thing came up.

I’m 26, loud and proud, and have looked 26 for the past 10 years or so. I got in to clubs at 14, bought alcohol and cigarettes freely, and have never ever been ID-ed. Finally, I thought I was settling into my look, my skin, my face. But BAM: on new year’s eve, a new friend told me I looked 5 years older than my youthful 29 year old sister (sorry DS!).

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Yes I almost didn’t recover. I have no problem looking older than my age, but having someone think I was over 30 was a bit of a reality check. The stresses of my young life have definitely begun to show on my face, and so the sun had barely dawned on the second day of the new year that I was already out looking for anything that would keep my face together.

And right when I lay my hand on the little jar filled with genetically engineered and scientifically enhanced hope, I felt old. Not like a woman….just old.