TOO MUCH TO WRITE, TOO LITTLE TIME

i haven't been writing for so long that i don't even know how to start. it has been a busy week definitely... my work here turns out to be quite demanding. luckily i have set my expectations very low about the possiblity of me loving my job here. but i have to say that it is not that bad at least i have ok colleagues to work with. and that's really important.

a lot of things happened during the past week that i think is worth writing about here. so i'm gonna try and condense everything in just one entry

SO HE'S NOT REALLY ONE OF US

after staying with my new roomate for about a week, i can safely conclude that he's not a plu (i wanted to say normal, but i don't think i call call him that... hahah). after frequent mentions of fasha sandha, observing his dress sense (hehehe), listening to his obnoxious guy jokes and observing the way he oogles at the local girls (which is pretty much the way i oogle at the local guys - eheh) - it's confirmed. he's not special.

MEDICAL EXAM

before your work permit is approved, you need to go through a medical exam. i had mine last wednesday. did some x ray , urine test , blood test - the usual thing. but somehow it didn't quite feel so usual this time around. perhaps it was the first time that i was taking an blood (read: HIV) test after i have engaged in some 'extra-curricular activities'. now although i am pretty sure with the knowledge that i have on AIDS, it is not possible for me to get it, i felt a bit worried. and call me crazy but it seems like my boss knew that i was a bit 'naughty' last year.. he kept on saying things like "you're sure that you don't have anything that you shouldn't have ah..." and end it with a very sly grin. he didn't say it once - he said it like 5 times. isk orang tua tu...

but anyway the test went ok. and i got my health card today - yay!

RAIN IN UAE

it rained in UAE 3 days ago. by malaysian standards - it was a mild rain. but since it's the uae - it made the newspaper headline. they had photos of school kids going to school with umbrellas on the front page. and get this - 430 something minor accidents were reported in the city because of the drizzle! (uae people should be banned from driving in malaysia). the radio deejays talked about the rain for hours and played songs like 'it's raining men' to celebrate the occasion.

my colleague said that she's been in uae for about a year and that was the first time it rained here. no wonder...

DEJA VU

i remember barely a year ago when i moved to subang it took me a while to buy stuff to make my apartment look like a home. bit by bit, i was buying things to complete it. it took me a few months. and now a few months after that, i find myself doing the same thing again. it's not fun ok - it sucks. yesterday, i got someone to fix the curtains and bought carpet for my room and a tv (i didn't watch tv for 3 whole weeks - i have to say that i'm quite impressed with myself). and there are still a few things that i need to buy before i can really call it a home (a tv cabinet is one of them, now my tv sits on the floor). i seriously hope that i have the will to stay here a bit longer. with all the capital expenditure that i'm spending - it will not be wise to go back only after a year. but i still can't imgaine myself staying here for 2-3 years.. halp....

NEW ROOMMATE REPORT

work is tough here. but i'll get back to that later.

now let's talk about my new roommate.. he has arrived. he may not be ANYTHING that i hoped for, but i have a good feeling that we can click. at least he's funny - in a self-depreciating kind of way (which is MY kind of funny too). and that's important. i don't quite know wheter he's one of US or not just yet - but i still feel that the possiblity is there due to the following reasons:

1. he's a self-proclaimed dancer - ok, we were having dinner with another female colleague and he asked her "so what do you during your freetime?" and she replied " oh.. i read, i play the organ, i dance" and he was quick to interject "really? i love to dance too!" erkk.. that's like a very plu thing to say right? i wouldn't say anything like that because it might pecah the lobang. so it's either he is a man EXTREMELY secured in his manhood or he is a plu who had a 'pecah lobang' moment. i have yet to find out.

2. in my previous entry, i hoped that he can cook, good at d.i.y (don't get any ideas crashboombang!) and a tech junkie. he said that he cooks - but mostly sardines and nuggets. well that's just about my level of expertise.. sigh. and today (believe it or not) he confessed that he is terrible when it comes to d.i.y and tech stuff. and i did not even ask him! sounds a bit TOO familiar now...

but there are also things that has made me think that he could actually be normal. for one, he used the phrase "check out the babes" more than twice within the last 24 hours. but i can't tell ... cos i do that too sometimes (just to throw off any radar that was on me at that time)

well, i'm not going to spend my night thinking whether he is or isn't cos really i don't care. i'm not atttracted to him (which is a big relief!) he's ok looking ... but just not interested (not like he'd be interested in me if he turns out to be one of us)

ok - my work. it sucks. it sucks mostly because i have hitler jr as my boss. he's a dictator. and since he has managed to entice me to move a few thousand kilomtres away from home - i have nowhere to run. and he's aware of that. and he's using it to his advantage. actually it's not so bad la.. he's not evil or anything. but he's a bit of a dictator. it's either his way or the highway. i guess for now it's going to be his way. not quite ready for the highway just yet. it's left-hand drive here... it's tough.

i'm not a big fan of the food here... have never had a liking for indian food. or middle eastern food. that's why i've been eating almost everything with my thai chilli sauce since i'm here. my roasted chicken my take-away burgers, even my take-away briyanis. and there's less than half a bottle left. how will i eat once it's finished? now that's a worrying thought that might keep me awake at night.. ;P

ANTICIPATION...

it's been hard trying to update this blog of mine... cos whenver i'm online.. there'll be friends who are on ym... and naturally i would want to chat with them (cos here i don't really talk to anyone but my boss... what joy *sigh*) which leaves very little time to do my updates. plus, since my office pc is not ready yet (i'm not even sure if they have sent the PO out to purchase it even).. i need to resort to the cyber cafes here... and i don't think i can write very well in public spaces.. (heheh.. good excuse eh?)

anyway for the past 2 nights i've been dreaming about the same thing - my new roomate. you see, i'll be sharing my apartment with another guy (who will also be my colleague) soon. he will be arriving tomorrow. at this point of time, all i know is that he's malay, 29 and not married (i'm hoping that he's a you-know-what...cos looking at his background - i think there's a possibility... heheh). to me how this guy is will have a significant effect on my life here. if i can click with him, i think my life here would be much more bearable. but if i CAN'T, it's going to be hell for me. the thing is, throughout my life, i have noticed that i don't really click with a lot of people.. especially guys. a certain type of malay guys. i don't really have time to explain further on this .. let's just say that i hope he doesn't fall into that category...

tomorrow will be the moment of truth. i'll be meeting him approximately at 5.30 pm (GMT +4). BEST-CASE SCENARIO : he's a hot-looking plu who's a master at cooking, d.i.y. stuff, electronicsand gadgets and he's funny and nice
WORST-CASE SCENARIO : he's obnoxious, sloppy, can't cook to save his life, does not even know how to hang a photo up on the wall (in other words - another me)

please don't let him be another me... please don't let him be another me....

FUN FACTS

it's been almost a week since i first arrived in uae... there are some things which turned out to be EXACTLY what i thought they would be but there are other things which are not quite what i anticipated them to be (to say the least)

i don't really have a lot of time to gather and arrange my thoughts properly... i'm a bit tired and i need to retire quite early today (since i have to leave home at 6.15 tomorrow) but i thought that i should just update my blog a bit. so i'm just gonna do everything in point form. so here goes...

- i have not seen a single camel since i came here
- it is so fun to be able to live 2 minute's walk away from your office (there are residential apartments tucked between the office buildings but they're not that expensive like the high-end aprtments in klcc.. so you pay very little premium to live in the city)
- it is also fun to have a nice office - my company has its own tower and it's facing a huge lake. it's quite picturesque. and the office has this very canggih electricity conserving thingy that the lights will only be on if there's someone in the area. cool!! (obviously - pak arab semua ni have too much money). oh - and i have laether chairs and rosewood table for my workstation (double cool!)
- it is NOT fun when they still don't have a computer for you (neither lap top nor desktop)... and you don't know when you're finally getting it (yes currently i have to SHARE a laptop with my colleague)
- it is also NOT fun that that their KFC tastes like crap, that they don't have milo 3-in-1 (the normal one sucks and cost a bomb) they only have tomato sauce at fast food joints and tabasco (nasib baik i brought my life thai chilli sauce)
- it is DEFINITELY not fun that you can't access myspace or pic-link (don't even try the ones with the g-word)
- it doesn't help that some of the arab men here are cute (ARGGHHH) and dresses like g** boys (even though i think they're not)
- it's not so much fun that the water you use at home feels weird (it's a bit sticky)
- it is also a hard fact to swallow that they don't have ikan keli here....
- everytime you get in a car... you pray that you will have a safe journey. i thought malaysian drivers are bad... but the ppl here give the word reckless a whole new definition.
- taxi drivers here rarely speak english but they still want to carry a conversation in urdu with you even though you have made it explicitly clear to them that you don't speak it
- i still have problems deciding which way to look when i cross the road because of the left-hand driving
- handphones here are CHEAP (uh-oh... are orders coming in already? ;P)
- i can find marrybrown here.... here

that's enough fascinating facts for a day i think. it's 11 pm and i need to go back to sleep... take care everyone!