I Miss My Purse

My purse was stolen at a Circle K the week before Memorial Day.  That purse was perfect: a black Liz Claiborne number, with an adjustable cross-body strap and exactly enough room for my Nook.

I do own an actual Nook bag, but look how it clashes with my black Marilyn shirt!

Since you asked (you did, didn't you?) here's how it happened:
I was pumping gas, set my purse down on the trunk lid, and then knelt down to check the air pressure in my tires.  When I stood up, it was gone. People have asked me who was around and could have taken it.  Well, there were people at all the pumps around me and there was an employee emptying the trash can. 

When it happened, I was a wreck.  I absolutely didn't know what to do. I called my phone from the gas station, but it was already turned off.  The manager said that the security cameras weren't operating that day. Since he hadn't actually checked before he said that, it leads me to believe that either they never work or the employees are known to steal things.  I did not call the police.  It's not as if they would have found it, plus, I sort of hate being around cops. Nothing good ever comes of it for me.  I did try and call my husband, but he was at work and didn't answer.  So I did the next logical thing: I drove in a panic to his office and stood in the lobby until his meeting was over.

OK, that wasn't logical, but I did it anyway.

Honestly, there wasn't really anything to be done.  The phone that was in the purse was turned off immediately, so my "Where's my iPhone?" app on my iPad was no use.  I used the info from Dan's credit cards to cancel all of mine (we share everything except for one card I keep just so I'm still a USAA member).  Sprint put a security block on my phone, hopefully making it harder for the thief to resell it. 

One day I'll catch it on Craigslist

There were only a few irreplaceable things in there.

One: The iPhone cover my friend Amber had just given me a few days prior. Nothing fancy, but I wouldn't have had a cover for it all had it not been for her generosity.

She didn't want my phone to end up the Apple version of her boyfriend's

Two:  $60 in cash.  Probably more than many people carry nowadays, but still not very much.

Three:  A purple leather wallet with an elephant painted on it.  The elephant was added on our vacation to Thailand.

Cost me a whole dollar!

Four:  My Abu Dhabi driver's license.  This is the thing that I miss the most and will never ever be getting back.  I cannot foresee a time in my life when I will be living in Abu Dhabi again.  Honestly, it's hard for me to foresee a time when I won't be living in Arizona any more. 

Maybe when we retire to Disney's Celebration Village

So I will never ever ever be getting back together with my overseas driver's license.  Not unless some good Samaritan comes across my wallet in a gutter somewhere and mails it back to me.  This isn't outside the realm of possibility: I left my I.D. at a bar in New Orleans and more than six months later an envelope came from someone working at the bar I left it in. It was actually a surprise to me when it came, not that someone had been kind enough to send it, but because I hadn't even realized it was missing.

Thank you, Random Citizen!

See, here's something you might not know about me: I'm a loser.  Not in the "I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me way," but in that I lose things all the time.  I'm so accustomed to misplacing things that I keep a complete spare set of keys and an extra copy of my driver's license at all times.  My tendency to misplace or forget things is probably why when I do remember something (there's laundry in the dryer or the trash needs to be taken out) I have to take care of it right away or the thought will run around my brain, literally raising my blood pressure and causing me anxiety.

Better quote myself here: They make pills for that.

So, my purse was stolen.  Immediately afterwards I was a wreck and freaked out.  Then I cancelled all my cards, bought a new phone, and felt better.  Now, I feel only a sense of melancholy about it.  I loved that purse that my mother-in-law bought me at JC Penny.  I loved my wallet, and I loved my UAE driver's license.  All things I won't get back. My consolation is that the yellow leather purse my sister gave me gets lots of compliments,

And my iPad fits perfectly!

my passport has a visa sticker in it, similar to my driver's license, and that I hadn't just gone to the bank and had more cash on me.

So farewell Liz Claiborne purse.

We'll always have the Arabian Village.

Saying Goodbye Forever!!!

Tonight is the our last night in Abu Dhabi.

This morning I walked in a fog to the grocery store, to buy medicine you can't get over the counter in the US, and spices.

A literal fog, not the brain kind.

We've visited our favorite restaurants, had drinks with our friends who are left here, our visas are officially cancelled, and everything is packed.

After a grueling game of "Will it fit?"

I've said goodbye to several people here, and they always seem to be a little sad to be leaving.  There's a melancholy associated with leaving this place. I don't seem to have that. 

Although I will miss this.

Instead, I've been in kind of suspended animation, just waiting.  There's only ten hours left to wait until it's time to leave for the airport.  I guess I could sleep some of those hours, but I wouldn't want to spoil sleep-appetite before the flight. I keep trying to look ahead at what I'll be doing when I'm back home, but there's only so much planning one can do, and there are some things one shouldn't buy over the internet.

"FOR SALE, GOOD CONDITION!!"

So this is my last post from Abu Dhabi.  I'll still keep blogging, and since we're going back to Arizona I don't even have to change the name.  If we were going to North Dakota or Colorado, I'd have had to change it to "It's F*cking Freezing!" and that doesn't have the fun double entendre, and Cole Porter never wrote that song. 

Nope, doesn't make me want to sing.  OK, maybe a little bit of White Christmas, but that's it, I swear.

Hot Pockets: The Final Countdown

OK, now that everyone has hair-band Europe's greatest (only) song stuck in your head, it's time to reveal that this post is about how I am acting in my last few weeks in Abu Dhabi. Dan and I will be back in our little house in Phoenix on March 16, just in time for St. Patrick's Day and the tail end of Cadbury Creme Egg season. In these last few weeks, Dan and are melancholy about all the things we've come to know and love...

Nah, we have effectively clocked out of the real world and are already living in Phoenix through the power of the Internet. Dan has ordered a car, we have phones and carriers picked out, and I know exactly what I'm going to buy my first trip to the grocery store (seeded rye bread and sliced ham).

Contrast that to my purchases today. Instead of making a list and buying practical things we could eat, I bought pretty much whatever sounded good and that won't be available in the States. Thus, in no particular order:
Coke (with real sugar)
Flavoured water "A hint of mint and lemon" (also with real sugar)
A hollow chocolate egg with two Cadbury Creme Eggs inside, imported from the UK)
Baked cheese crackers from Australia
Berries and Cherries Muesli
Cherry Passion Fruit Tic Tacs
Fresh sliced pineapple (no extra charge for the slicing)
Frubes (Yogurt tubes with Otter pop-tyle characters)

Not Pictured: Minced beef, ground while I watched

I also bought a sari, because I'd been thinking about for a while so I figured what the hell, and went to the cheap department store and bought one. I could have taken it home today, but the blouse has to be custom-made to fit my sizable chest. 

"Those girls couldn't drown."

It will be done next Wednesday (Inshallah). I did not pay in advance.

Have I started packing?  Nah, I've still got time.

Holiday Re-Cap

I know, I know, it's the second week of January, everyone is back at work, and everyone is tired of hearing about the holidays.  Well, too bad.  This is a holiday post.

Deal with it

Although I've said many times there is no Christmas in Abu Dhabi, that's not true.  Not at all.  Christmas is so ubiquitous here, you can't go to a shopping mall without seeing a tree and a holiday display.  Santa Claus and Mrs. Santarina visited my little mall (a slight cultural difference there).  There were penguins in parachutes and an elven village in what I would consider one of more "local" malls.  Everyone likes Christmas.  It's by no means a national holiday (after all, Islam may recognize Jesus as a wise man, but Mohammad never said to celebrate his birthday), but it's still everywhere.  That's because Christmas isn't really about Christ anymore.  Instead it's a celebration of family, gift-giving, and the victory of the consumer culture.  That's why there's Christmas here in Abu Dhabi, because people love a reason to shop.  I have no real proof of it, but I would suspect that there's a December celebration involving trees and presents in Saudi Arabia too. 

We had a quiet and enjoyable Christmas with friends, and Dan went back to work the next day.  I earnestly tried to drink myself into the migraine I could feel coming on (after all, if no one else was going to drink that chianti, I had to), but was unsuccessful at that time.


New Year's Eve was a different story.  It was not quiet at all.  We went to a black light party on top of the Aloft Hotel next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).  We booked a room so we could enjoy the evening and then not have to fight traffic or search for a cab. 

Honestly, I did not expect to have as good a time as I did.  Usually when Dan and I go to clubs by ourselves we end up dancing for a bit, then sitting around and staring at each other for a couple of hours.  This was different.  The club has an indoor dance floor and an outdoor lounge area.

With a splendid view of the ADNEC building

That, along with the free-flowing drinks included with admission contributed to a wonderful evening.  So wonderful, that Dan was still intoxicated when it was time to check-out the next morning. 

And that never happens.  I'm the drinker in this family Dan!

And that migraine I tried to drink myself into on Christmas?  It showed up on New Year's Day.  But it was still one of the best evenings Dan and I have had together in years.  Thanks, Relax@12 for having an awesome deal.  There were no fireworks, but we got quite a bit of that at Disneyworld, and I promised Dan if we're still stuck here next year, we'll go to see the show in Dubai at the Burj Khalifa. 

Or we could just watch them on TV...

I'll deal with the crowds, but he's not allowed to lose me; that's a standard rule when we go anywhere, ever.  Don't lose me, and if I wander off, look for the nearest shiny thing.  Here in Abu Dhabi, it's probably a Swarovski crystal display.  Once, it was this:

But can you really blame me?

Abu Dhabi Dunebillies

Forty-one years ago the UAE wasn't even a country.  It was just a little part of the Arabian peninusula with family tribes.  Then they found oil, and Mohammed bin Zayed, who must have been a helluva negotiator, decided they should be their own country.  I would have thought Saudi Arabia would have had something to say about that, but I guess they looked at their own oil fields and shrugged.  Thus, the UAE was born.  Maybe Saudi didn't think they'd do anything with this tiny little country on the coast, but then they built this:

Burj Khalifa at night

and this:

Chandelieriest Chandelier in the World (Crystal Category)

and all this:

Even the beach is an award-winning construction

Now they are pretty much the only place in the Middle East you might want to go on vacation. 

Even Kim Kardashian Kthinks Kso!

But lets go back to the beginning.  When the tribes first got rich, they were living out in the red dunes, tending herds of camels, picking dates, and making rosewater.  Then... OIL!  And what do you do when you strike oil?

You move to the coast!

Unlike the Clampetts, when the tribes decided to go back to the dunes from whence they came and honor their heritage, they did it in style, building an amazing resort deep in the desert.  First-class accommodations, exceptional service, "authentic" arabian experiences, and all self-contained. That's where Dan and I went to celebrate our first anniversary where we didn't have to feel guilty about spending too much money (Abu Dhabi has been good to us): Qasr Al Sarab*

Every room has a view of the sunset.  Every room.  Dan and I had the cheapest room in the place, and it was still the most amazing hotel room I've ever been in.  When you arrive (since there's no where else to go), valets swarm your car, taking your luggage, and offering water and cold towels.  Then you're whisked into the foyer to relax with a glass of "welcome beverage," which I later learned was camel milk and dates.  I didn't care for it, but Dan loved it.  Guess I need to start keeping camels for fresh milk.  It was a little overwhelming for me, but I guess when you're building a resort to honor your heritage you want it to be amazing.

And profitable

There's a part of the property reserved in perpetuity and kept always ready in case any of the sheiks want to drop in.  You'll know they are there if there's an extra helicopter sitting around.  There's always one on hand in case of a medical emergency.  This place is in the middle of nowhere.

There are approximately 100 miles of this between you and a hospital

We took a sunrise dune walk (because I'm crazy and plan things like that).  It was a bit much for me, a sunset ride, a late night, sleeping in a new bed, then getting up at 5am, but it was worth it to be the only two people on the outing.  Our guide was great.  He took us to see the gazelle (wild, but they put out food and salt licks so they hang around), and pointed out the tracks of the animals that inhabit the desert: gerbils, scorpions, lizards (no snakes, fortunately).  He also told us about a visit he had from a sheik who was showing an American guest around.  The Sheik wanted to go dune bashing and thought that the guide wasn't driving fast enough, even though the American was obviously uncomfortable.  The Sheik demanded his own vehicle, and the guide refused, as it was against the rules and he would lose his job.  The Sheik responded "This is my vehicle, this is my hotel!"  He still didn't get another SUV.

Employee: 1, Sheik: 0

I love this story so much, because I do like to think that rich people are spoiled, entitled jerks, and even though that's may not always be the case, at least I know now that sometimes it is. 

It was a wonderful weekend, all the photos are up on Facebook now, and now I have a good idea what to do when I find some Texas Tea or win the lottery:  Remember my roots with a ridonculous hotel.

Camels NOT optional

*Pronounced kay-sir all sah-rab, and said with the same emphasis and sing-song intonation as Que Sera Sera.

Love isn't blind, it's boring

Community is one of the best shows on TV right now.  It's witty, quick-paced, and hilarious, but it's not very popular, and I think it's poor showing in the ratings has to do with it playing on NBC opposite The Big Bang Theory.  If I'm watching TV with Dan, we're watching Community, if we're watching TV with our family, we're watching The Big Bang Theory.  I believe this situation is a common one.  Dan doesn't care for The Big Bang Theory, but I love mindless entertainment, so I watch it, and saw this little scene that inspired me to write this:

Bernadette and Amy, you are completely wrong.  Love can be "boring," you just don't know it yet because you're in the honeymoon phase of your relationships.  It can take years (and Penny and Leonard have been on and off for four years) to get to the boring part of a relationship.  That doesn't make it a bad relationship.  No, my heart doesn't pound and my loins do not catch on fire every time Dan walks in the room.  Just doesn't happen.  It's impossible for that to happen after being together for 10 years (in the event of such a happening, please see your doctor).  If all your relationship is about passion, then you are in for a HUGE shock when things calm down.  And they will. 

Dan and I are boring.  We're completely in love with each other, we're on the same page about all the important things in life (religion, politics, kids), and we like most of the same things.  Our taste in food is completely different, but we deal with that.  Now if he didn't like Disney movies....

We do some amazing things a few times a year, have a lot fun together, but on a day to day basis, we are boring.  Which leads me to Part II of this blog entry: What we did this weekend.

Literally:  Friday is the Islamic Sabbath

If I haven't mentioned it before, weekends in Abu Dhabi are Friday/Saturday.  On Saturday, we did absolutely nothing.  I read a book, Dan played video games, and we ate junk food.  I scrambled some eggs for dinner, and that's it.  Oh, I also did a load of laundry in my horrible washing machine.  It was boring, and it was fine.  The most exciting thing we did this weekend: We ate at a new restaurant in the mall we go to all the time.

Every restaurant gives you moist towelettes.

Red Star bills itself as an Asian-American Bistro.  The menu consists of food items that are either American OR Chinese, but despite the fancy description, there is no fusion.

Unless you count getting a side of stir-fried veggies with your country fried chicken.

The decor mimics an Applebee's, and the walls are covered in pieces of charming Americana and photos of famous Chinese-Americans (Red Stars!).

Not fooling anyone, John Cho. You're best known for "Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle.

This restaurant must be targeted at people who have never been to either to China or to the US.  It was ridiculous, and I loved it.  There was a statue of Elvis in the window, and the TVs were showing the Arizona State football game and Catwoman (both great Asian-American traditions!).  I traded seats with Dan so he could watch the football game, even though then I didn't have a good people watching seat (because that's part of loving someone: courtesy). 

Doesn't sound very exciting, does it?  But it was pretty fun for us.  You have to take pleasure in the boring-sounding things you do as well as the exciting things.  Sometimes you have to do boring things because you love someone.  I have to wander around electronic stores while Dan looks at every video game available, and he has to linger outside the women's dressing room when I try on clothes so he can tell me if it looks good or not.  That's love.  Sometimes it's boring, but it's also pretty great. 

And you can wear theme costumes!

Penny, stay with Leonard.  The Big Bang Theory is already starting to get stale, you don't need to throw in the standard sitcom troupe of a will-they-or-won't-they relationship. 

Because then you'll just be "Friends"

Rage Against the Machine

I am, at best, an indifferent housekeeper; at worst I am a terrible slob.  I sweep the floors every few days because the crumbs and dust and loose hairs on the tile floor get ridiculous, but I never do a super job.  I've lived in this apartment for over a year and a half and I've only ever mopped the kitchen and the bathroom.  I hate mopping, it's a man's job.  I did buy a mop this weekend, because I have good intentions about mopping the whole apartment sometime soon. 

OKAYWIFE brand.  Makes a contented family!

One thing I do keep up on is the laundry.  I'm very touchy about having clean clothes and I like to make Dan's life easier by keeping his clothes folded and neat so he doesn't have to play the puzzle game "Match the Black Dress Socks" every morning (it takes him long enough to get ready as it is).  So I do laundry.  A lot.  And I despise my washing machine. 

It's not just a washing machine, it's a washer/dryer combo.  "But that sounds great! You don't have to switch over the laundry, you just let it go and come back when it's done!"  You're right, hypothetical person, that does sounds great.  But that's not how it works.  Well, that's kind of how it works, but there are a few things about the machine that make it obnoxious to work with.

Excuse my while I freshen my drink.  I hate this machine so much it's driven me to drink.

First, the door locks on the machine while the cycle is in progress.  This makes sense.  You don't want to open the door while it's full of water and get water all over your floor or have a child sucked into it's spinning, or whatever.  Unfortunately, it doesn't unlock when the cycle is over.  It only automatically unlocks after a dry cycle  after it's done it's 4 hour "Wrinkle Reduce" cool down or you restart the cycle and pause it and wait 5-10 minutes while I scream "Gimme my freaking clothes!" at it.

Smug bastard.

Second, it takes forever to dry something.  Literally, forever.  I have put clothes in there to dry for 5 hours and I still had to hang them up to dry when they came out.  Here's the estimated cycle time for three regular size bath towels:

That 3 hours and 25 minutes is just an estimate, mind you.  It'll definitely take longer than that to run all the way.  I usually stop it during the last ten minutes and hang the stuff up to dry.  Some people hang dry all of their clothes here.  To that I say "Bah!" because that can take days.

I don't have a balcony, and even if I did, it would be against the rules of the apartment and the municipality to line dry my clothes out there (gotta keep the buildings looking nice for the sandlot outside my window!).  So I would have to hang them up inside my glacially cool apartment, in a country where the humidity is so high water routinely condenses on my windows or my sunglasses when I walk outside. So foregoing the dry cycle completely is out.

Third, and worst, is the condenser that you have to empty after every load.  See, the dryer doesn't have an outside vent so it works on some voodoo magic (or science) which requires water use on the outside of the drum during the dry cycle.  That water gets collected in the bottom of the washer and after every load you have to empty it.  This is what it looks like:

That's what all the towels are for.

So I hate my washing machine.  And I will never ever forgive it for being so horrible.

LG Washer/Dryer Combo:  Consider yourself on notice.

I'm too sexy for this country...

So today isn't a good day.  It's not a bad day, there's nothing really horrible about, but I'm not feeling too well (migraine/cold/medicine change combination), and I had to go to the grocery store, because that's where food comes from. 

They deliver everything else here, even Burger King, but I have to go buy my own apples.

So not feeling very well, I just kind of threw on some clothes (jeans and a gray v-neck t-shirt), ran a brush through my hair enough to get it into a pony tail held up with my most elegant scrunchie (maroon velour with satin edging and gold polka dots).  It's these days, when I put the least amount of effort into how I look that I seem to attract the most male attention.

I did my grocery shopping, then headed to Baskin-Robbin's for ice cream.  You can't trust ice cream from the grocery store freezer case.  There's a very good chance that it's spoiled or melted and refrozen or past the expiration date.  So ice cream is always take-away from the 31-derful world.  Today, as I was dragging my groceries through the mall in my wheeled bag (What? You think I carry all that stuff home?), I ended up walking next to a pair of gentlemen in Arab dress.  The kind of gentlemen who usually ignore me and go about their business.  This time, however, we were both headed for the same place and ended up doing that polite dance of "oh, you first, no you."  This lead to a deeper conversation, or at least what counts as deep in such a transient country as this.  Where are you from, what do you do, etc.  The man talking to me was from Tunisia and had gone to school at the University of Arizona. 

Which makes us biter rivals, as I am an Arizona State Alumna

It also makes it easy to banter and spend a few minutes in conversation.  He insisted on paying for my ice cream, to help bridge the gap between Wildcats and Sun Devils.  So I sat and talked to him for a few minutes.  I did this because I felt kind of obligated because he had bought me something.  This is a problematic mindset, that a woman owes something to a man, and it might have gotten me into trouble on occasion.  It might have even got me in trouble on this occasion as well.  Sal is a consultant, and our conversation was about him wanting me to market myself well and get a job, so I could be independent and "fly on my own."  I've met this type before.  The older man who wants to mentor you and talks big.  I smile and nod, and don't believe a word of it.  It's just like one of those internet ads claiming you can make hundreds of dollars per hour.  But he gave me his card and told me to call at anytime, day or night.  

He said he would be the genie in the lamp for me.

He said he'd like to meet my husband, if only to ask for my hand.  I told him I wouldn't convert for him, and he said that it wasn't necessary.  When I left because my ice cream was melting, he kissed my hand. I believe his Emirati companion was shocked, although I don't know whether it was because I was so friendly (or brazen for talking to a strange man), or because his companion was so obviously flirting with a married woman.  Maybe both.  He didn't talk too much.

He also had adult braces.

I did make the mistake of giving Sal my number.  I hope he never calls.  There is no possible way he could actually get me a job here, nor do I think I'd really want one.  I think he only wants me to "fly on my own" so that I might fly into his arms.  I've encountered that before too:  men who mistake my friendliness for flirtation and think I'd be happy to be their paramour.  My husband is laid back, likes me to do my own thing, and doesn't get jealous when I talk to other men.  That does not mean I'm available.  But I will let you buy me ice cream.

My Local News: True Grit Edition

I read a lot of internet, mostly for my own amusement.  I will glance at CNN's homepage every day or so, but mostly I read snarky blogs that link to the news and I watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, you know, so I'm informed, but not that informed.  I almost never watch TV news, even though half of my English language channels are news broadcasts (Fox, CNN International, Bloomberg, BBC News, and Al Jazeera).  When I do watch TV news, I usually choose Al Jazeera.  Al Jazeera is pretty depressing though, which makes me think they are actually covering important happenings.  There is no "Cute Puppy of the Day" or "Happy Birthday Octogenarians!" on Al Jazeera.  You will see graphic photos and video of beheadings or bomb-devastated cities, which is why I don't watch it very often.

Don't think about that.  Look at the baby pandas instead.

As for getting the local news, I usually catch the short news segments on the radio (so at least now I know metered parking spaces charge from 8am-Midnight), the good talk about town can be found on that local forum I don't post at anymore, and the local papers have websites.  Usually the stories covered by The National or Gulf News are as hard hitting as this one:

Abu Dhabi Hotels on track for guest target

or

Global woes stay abroad as UAE's economy powers on

Both of these stories seem to me to be, at the very least, exaggerations.  But hey, the UAE is just looking at the world through rose colored glasses, right?  You can find real information out there can't you?

You Shall Not Pass

Along with things that are illegal in the UAE (Skype, Atheism, pornography), anything that might be considered insulting to Islam or that the government just plain doesn't want you to see is blocked.

Wait, Sabrina, did you say Skype is illegal in the UAE? 

That's right, reader.  VOIP programs (i.e. phone calls over the internet) are illegal here.  So is using a VPN or proxy server in order to get around these blocks.  Not that the UAE will acknowledge that they are censoring anything. 

There's this little gem I just saw today (might be especially interesting for you, Sister):
Why are Fifty Shades of Grey sequels being pulled from UAE shelves?
The article, in case you don't care to read it, says that although the book hasn't been banned, the government hasn't given permission for it to be sold either.  The UAE is desperate to be seen by outsiders as a liberal country and wants people to come here and spend money, but they want to appear to their citizens that they are still an Islamic Republic that does not condone such things are naughty books.

Also banned

That was a bit of a tangent from what I originally intended to write (please forgive me, someone seems to have stabbed an ice pick into my eye).  The local new websites seem to have taken a dark turn.  No longer is the front page filled with stories about happy children going back to newly built schools, athletes who are making the country proud, or hard-hitting stories about new recycling initiatives.  Now we're getting some gritty stuff.  Stuff I wouldn't expect to even be acknowledged by the official media, especially after the website was shut down for a couple weeks following an expose on female genital mutilation in the UAE they published almost two years ago. 

Only one in 10 sex attacks against women in UAE reported to police
This information does not surprise me a bit.  That this information is published?  That's pretty surprising.  The article doesn't urge more women to come forward, however.  That would be a little unfair, considering a woman who has been raped has committed a crime herself (adultery or fornication outside of marriage) and would most likely face jail herself.  My personal plan if I get sexually assaulted:  Get to the airport and get out of here as fast as I can. 

Bad blood from prison days blamed for UAE gang's attack on two men
I knew that prison conditions here must be unimaginably horrible, I did not know that the UAE had gangs.  I have trouble even envisioning a local gang. 

I'm sure it doesn't look like this.

Hunt for killer after woman found stabbed in abandoned car in UAE
Wow.  There are dozens of abandoned cars around here.  I wonder if they all have bodies in the trunk.

Or the car just gets so dirty, people give up cleaning it, and buy a new one.

Feel free to peruse the rest of the news at your leisure, or don't.  Just know that it's darker and scarier than it was a month ago. 

And for my grandma: A link to the real estate ads.  Just divide the price by 4 to get a general idea of what it costs for a place here per year.  This search is for places similar to what Dan and I have.