December, 2007

Should Dubai Be Child-Free?

Although I am sure this is present in most of the major cities worldwide, I think the difference in traffic is especially pronounced in Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman when the schools are off.
There is AT LEAST 70% reduction in traffic!

I usually wake up at 6:20 AM to find that the roads below are almost completely blocked (in my old studio, located only 2 KM away, I had to wake up at 5 AM). I leave the apartment at 7-something AM, cross the road, take my car (this maneuver removes 40 minutes driving alone for the u-turn) and head for Dubai Bypass Road, which makes the distance between my apartment and my nearest office a whopping 110 KM. If I have to go to the other office it will be a good 130 KM.

The second shortest road is Emirates Road which makes the trip 60 KM. Now that it is six lanes instead of three, it holds more traffic, but unfortunately to be able to take that road I would have to be awake at 5 AM and leave 15 minutes before 6 AM.

The shortest road to my office, 30 KM, well… I think I have to be awake at 4 AM to get to the office and avoid traffic. So on normal days I have to drive 110 KM on average to work if I want to wake up in human hours and not reach the office at 5 AM.

Now that the schools are off, the roads in the UAE are significantly less congested. In fact there is so much LESS traffic that the road below my house starts to get clogged only after 9 AM, which is a solid 3 hour offset from the normal days. Although I still can’t take the 30 KM road (I can but I don’t want to because it is a 2 hour drive), I can now take the 60 KM one and reach in 30 minutes instead of 1.5-2 hours on a normal day.

Should Dubai Be Child Free?
So the conclusion? Get rid of the kids. Dubai isn’t really a place for children anyway. The pollution is horrible, the city is highly industrialized and I honestly don’t see how kids are able to have fun other than malls – and you can only have so much fun in a mall as a child.

If I manage to survive in this city for longer, I don’t know if I will be able to have kids here. Sure, business is great if you know where to find work, and Dubai caters for a lot of tastes when it comes to lifestyles and nightlife (but it has a tendency to make you more materialistic and lets you lose yourself but that’s for another post).

I am sure my wife and myself will have lots of fun (again, depending on where we live and our jobs of course). But I don’t see myself having kids here, not when they should start going to schools anyway.

If you’re a parent living in Dubai, Sharjah or any place with a similar issue, please share your experiences with me.

Oddball of a World vol.7 – On Your Boss, Squirrels, Cell Phones, Clean Thieves, Lipstick and Godzilla

BAD BOSSES GET PROMOTED

According to studies, it appears that the only reason your boss gets promoted is because he/she/it makes your life miserable. No wonder behind every desk is either an asshole or a potential suicidal.

SQUIRRELS LOVE CHOCOLATE TOO

It seems a bit far fethced, but it looks like humans are not the only ones who would kill for a chocolate. Although this squirrel hasn’t killed anyone – yet – it gained notorious publicity for stealing Kinder from grocery shops at LEAST twice a day. Talk about a sweet tooth!

PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CELL PHONES

From now on ignore “turn off mobile” warning signs everywhere, as they have proved to be handy yet again in a hospital in Argentina, where doctors were able to carry out an operation during a blackout thanks to cellphone lights.

THE CLEAN THIEF

And you though I was a clean addict. This thief broke into a house, went straight to the toilet where he had sexual intercourse with cleaning detergents and the vacuum cleaner.

LOVING IN THE WRONG WAY

You love art, right? Try not to kiss a $2 million painting to show your affection – while wearing red lipstick.

MUST DESTROY GODZILLA

Since Japanese politicians have perfected everything in their beloved country, it is now time to tackle the real issues. Flying saucers and how they fly and the imminent Godzilla rampage.

Amazing Reviews for Bic Crystal Ballpoint Pen

Another title I never thought I would be writing.

It seems that there are a lot of other Moogles out there who review stuff, and by far some of the most hilarious reviews I have read in a long while go to the Bic Crystal Ballpoint Pen on Amazon (thanks to geeksaresexy for bringing it up).

Here are snippets of some reviews:

I was surprised when I started using it: it only could write at a resolution of 50 lines per page. I am sure others experienced in micrography can tweak the Bic Crystal to provide 100 lines per page, but this pen certainly is not high definition. If you want a true High Definition pen, I would suggest the Uniball 207 0.5 mm

All tests using this device as a stylus impressing Assyrian Standard Cuneiform Insignia Indentations (ASCII) on standard clay tablets were successful

When I was just beginning my journey across the great oceans and landed in California, this was the very pen I used to bribe the passport officials with

On the face of it this is a perfect product: economic, ergonomic, simple to use, and with an intuitive user interface. Advanced features of this product include:
- suitable for left- and right-handed people
- write in any font
- write in any language
- line art function
- hard to break nib

Because of the region differences, my imported pen will not work with region 1 8 1/2 x 11 inch letter-size paper – it only works on European (A4 and such) paper. Unfortunately the import duties on the pen itself cost quite a pretty penny, and I cannot afford to purchase appropriate-region paper to write on.

Go check the reviews now!

Two Seashells

Two Seashells

The lit moon, a topaz pendant in the sky.
And sparkled on the ocean below its dye.

The rising tide, swiftly addressed the shore.
And brought with it the currents from Amore.

The little seashell, carried away by time.
And sang a hollow melody out of rhyme.

The receptive shore, from home in distant lands.
And a sanctuary and grave in its sands.

The bigger seashell, slept sound in the sands’ womb.
And yet it was empty and felt like a tomb.

The Destiny’s threads, drawing two worlds by ends.
And a new future is weaved with cotton friends.

The two seashells, united under the warm carpet sky.
And together sang as the moon sparkled below its dye.

A topaz pendant
In the sky
Swiftly addressed
The shore.

Carried away by time from
Home in distant lands,
Slept sound in the
Sands’ womb.

Drawing two worlds by ends,
United under the warm carpet sky;

The lit moon,
The rising tide,
The little seashell,
The receptive shore,
The bigger seashell,
The Destiny’s threads.

The two seashells.

13 JUN 2005
live the illusion of memories or live in the forgotten?

 

My Friend Got KIDNAPPED

I never thought I would be writing such a title.

A friend of mine from college recently got a job in my company, and he was sent last week on a one-month mission to Saudi Arabia. I heard today that two days ago he went through this terrible ordeal.

He went out of a cab in an area close to the site where he was going to work, when a man approached him in a typical Saudi manner to ask him to go pray (as you should know, you HAVE to pray whether you like it or not – if you were caught on the street during prayer time and you are not in the mosque.. well there are special police for that). So my friend goes to pray with that guy in the mosque.

The guy tried to befriend my friend after the prayer – a normal form of socialization. He saw that my friend doesn’t have a car and told him that someone is coming (a friend of the guy) and he will be more than glad to drop him off wherever my friend wants. My friend agreed.

So the car arrives and my friend gets in. He got kidnapped.

They took him into the desert and beat him up, stole his mobile (and SIM card) as well as his wallet and anything else valuable on him. Thank God they didn’t rape him. They left him there and drove off.

My friend then got to his feet and walked a ways till he got onto some road where he got rescued by passers-by.

This is all the info we have for the moment – he is fine and actually had the courage to go back to work. We can’t call him now or contact him but our office there is assuring us he is OK. We don’t know whether or not they reported the incident to the police.

What the hell is the world coming to. And I was just reading this morning about the now-notorious case of the 15 year old being raped here in the UAE (it is now over and the two rapers got a 15 year sentence).

Moral of the story:
A – Never ride with strangers
B – Never go to Saudi

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