Imagine this. I'm in my new apartment. Sipping steaming hot coffee. Sitting on pillows still wrapped in plastic. Facing a blank wall. The windows are open. A light breeze is blowing the curtains to and fro, ever so lightly. The smell of new permeates the place. You know, like the smell of new shoes or a baby doll unwrapped out of the plastic for the first time. I love that smell.
I left my fully furnished, very comfortable hotel room to be here so that I can take advantage of my new WIRELESS Internet. Thank God for it!
Forget the Ferrari, I'm totally and completely in love with my wireless router. Yes. My WIRELESS ROUTER. Never, ever have I appreciated a piece of equipment so much. The speed is extraordinary. It's just he and I. Yep. It's a guy. No one else sharing the air space or whatever space the router uses. No one interfering with me and my online quest to read the news, catch up on the latest celebrity gossip, download pictures of Zadie, or sharing my thoughts with you. Not since I closed up my home in Sacramento, have I experienced the utter joy of a stress-free online experience. The adage, "You don't miss the water til the well runs dry," is so apropo. Folks, let me encourage you to enjoy your router. Take care of him or her. Appreciate all that he or she does for you. You'll be glad you did.
The curtains are up. It's amazing how just that little addition has changed the feel of the place. It's no longer cold and sterile. I's becoming warm and homey.
The foreman who took care of this for me, is running a racket. I know. He knows I know, but he's the guy who can get things done. So, I'm OK with it. He had me to pay him for the work, although two other guys actually did it. He then, would pay them. I'm thinking I could have hired them directly, but I can tell, I need to have a good relationship with this guy, to ensure that my time here is pleasant and productive. Besides, otherwise, he's a nice guy.
I know what you're thinking. She has gone over there and lost her moral compass. Yeah. Yeah. I know. That may be true, but I learned long ago, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, as long as the Romans are not doing anything illegal or totally immoral. A little bit immoral is OK.
Someone is on the way to hook up my combo wash/dryer unit. It was supposed to happen late yesterday, but I was OK with the delay. By the end of the day, I was totally exhausted.
There's a store called the Al Ain Co-Op Society about two blocks from here. It's much bigger and nicer than I imagined and the prices are comparable to the big chain stores. I'll have to go there in a minute. I think I forgot to use deodorant this morning. I share this not to gross you out, but to share how much I appreciate deodorant, too. One of the men who hung the curtains was ripe. Really ripe. I wanted so much to loan him one of my bathrooms to shower and put on new clothes and deodorant, but I didn't want to offend him. I'm not sure if this is a culture thing, or just a hygiene thing, but it's common to have your sense of smell under attack with fierce body odor.
There is so much yet to explore in this area. I accidentally went to the border of Oman again. Explained I was lost, and was able to make a u-turn to get back in the UAE. I'm anxious to see all that is out there, both in the UAE and Oman, but I want to have my home in order first. Once that's done, then I'll hit the road again.
Yesterday I shared pictures of the outside of the apartment complex, but didn't mentioned anything in the post. It's located in a residential area, with stores and malls about two miles away. The government is renting out a whole wing for the ADEC staff, so I'm pretty sure everyone around me is a teacher or administrator. I lived in my last place in Sacramento for ten years, not knowing who my neighbors were, and I was very OK with that. I'm hoping for the same anonymity here. My closet neighbor, down the hall from me, is the young homesick teacher I made reference to in an earlier post. She shared that she likes hanging out, like she did in college, which she just graduated from yesterday. I reminded her I could be her momma, and I never was the hanging out type. I shared that I'm a lone ranger and like it like that. I think she got the message that she should continue to be on the lookout for someone else to hang with. It definitely won't be me.
I know. That sounds harsh. As I shared earlier, I believe folks cross your path for a reason, but I don't think the Good Lord sent me over here to babysit grown folks. Help them to grown in independence, yes. Babysit, no.
I've never been so proud of a place before. Everything that is in here, or will be in here, is a reflection of me. Just me. My other places had remnants of married life, family life. Things we'd bought together when I was married. Things we had for the boys. This is just a reflection of me, for me. It can be as girly or masculine as I want it to be. It's totally my decision. I don't have to confer or compromise with anyone else. I like that. A lot. Could be why I'm still alone, huh?
Anyway, I know I've gone on and on about nothing really, but I've had a great time doing it. Reading these is probably like talking to a long-winded person . . . after a while you just tune them out and check in with a nod or grunt every now and then. With this, you can check out the topic, see how long-winded I am today, and simply skip most of it and scroll down to the end. I promise. I'm not mad at you. I'm just glad you're checking in at all.
Until next time . . .
I left my fully furnished, very comfortable hotel room to be here so that I can take advantage of my new WIRELESS Internet. Thank God for it!
Forget the Ferrari, I'm totally and completely in love with my wireless router. Yes. My WIRELESS ROUTER. Never, ever have I appreciated a piece of equipment so much. The speed is extraordinary. It's just he and I. Yep. It's a guy. No one else sharing the air space or whatever space the router uses. No one interfering with me and my online quest to read the news, catch up on the latest celebrity gossip, download pictures of Zadie, or sharing my thoughts with you. Not since I closed up my home in Sacramento, have I experienced the utter joy of a stress-free online experience. The adage, "You don't miss the water til the well runs dry," is so apropo. Folks, let me encourage you to enjoy your router. Take care of him or her. Appreciate all that he or she does for you. You'll be glad you did.
The curtains are up. It's amazing how just that little addition has changed the feel of the place. It's no longer cold and sterile. I's becoming warm and homey.
The foreman who took care of this for me, is running a racket. I know. He knows I know, but he's the guy who can get things done. So, I'm OK with it. He had me to pay him for the work, although two other guys actually did it. He then, would pay them. I'm thinking I could have hired them directly, but I can tell, I need to have a good relationship with this guy, to ensure that my time here is pleasant and productive. Besides, otherwise, he's a nice guy.
I know what you're thinking. She has gone over there and lost her moral compass. Yeah. Yeah. I know. That may be true, but I learned long ago, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, as long as the Romans are not doing anything illegal or totally immoral. A little bit immoral is OK.
Someone is on the way to hook up my combo wash/dryer unit. It was supposed to happen late yesterday, but I was OK with the delay. By the end of the day, I was totally exhausted.
There's a store called the Al Ain Co-Op Society about two blocks from here. It's much bigger and nicer than I imagined and the prices are comparable to the big chain stores. I'll have to go there in a minute. I think I forgot to use deodorant this morning. I share this not to gross you out, but to share how much I appreciate deodorant, too. One of the men who hung the curtains was ripe. Really ripe. I wanted so much to loan him one of my bathrooms to shower and put on new clothes and deodorant, but I didn't want to offend him. I'm not sure if this is a culture thing, or just a hygiene thing, but it's common to have your sense of smell under attack with fierce body odor.
There is so much yet to explore in this area. I accidentally went to the border of Oman again. Explained I was lost, and was able to make a u-turn to get back in the UAE. I'm anxious to see all that is out there, both in the UAE and Oman, but I want to have my home in order first. Once that's done, then I'll hit the road again.
Yesterday I shared pictures of the outside of the apartment complex, but didn't mentioned anything in the post. It's located in a residential area, with stores and malls about two miles away. The government is renting out a whole wing for the ADEC staff, so I'm pretty sure everyone around me is a teacher or administrator. I lived in my last place in Sacramento for ten years, not knowing who my neighbors were, and I was very OK with that. I'm hoping for the same anonymity here. My closet neighbor, down the hall from me, is the young homesick teacher I made reference to in an earlier post. She shared that she likes hanging out, like she did in college, which she just graduated from yesterday. I reminded her I could be her momma, and I never was the hanging out type. I shared that I'm a lone ranger and like it like that. I think she got the message that she should continue to be on the lookout for someone else to hang with. It definitely won't be me.
I know. That sounds harsh. As I shared earlier, I believe folks cross your path for a reason, but I don't think the Good Lord sent me over here to babysit grown folks. Help them to grown in independence, yes. Babysit, no.
I've never been so proud of a place before. Everything that is in here, or will be in here, is a reflection of me. Just me. My other places had remnants of married life, family life. Things we'd bought together when I was married. Things we had for the boys. This is just a reflection of me, for me. It can be as girly or masculine as I want it to be. It's totally my decision. I don't have to confer or compromise with anyone else. I like that. A lot. Could be why I'm still alone, huh?
Anyway, I know I've gone on and on about nothing really, but I've had a great time doing it. Reading these is probably like talking to a long-winded person . . . after a while you just tune them out and check in with a nod or grunt every now and then. With this, you can check out the topic, see how long-winded I am today, and simply skip most of it and scroll down to the end. I promise. I'm not mad at you. I'm just glad you're checking in at all.
Until next time . . .
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