New Year, New Pad

Happy New Year! Hope all of your resolutions aregoing well. My 2013 resolution was to give up chocolate, cold turkey style.Nutella, Reese’s (cups, trees, and bunnies), and chocolate chips, all a part of my past! It went well, cravings were relatively low, until 12:35 A.M. January 1^st,when some jerk paraded down to economy class and presented all of us stewardesses with celebratory Godiva Chocolates. Here’s to 2014!

It’s safe to say 2013 was not my most exciting new years to date. As my watch struck midnight, I was decked out in the old beige uniform and a pair of disposable gloves, flying approximately 30,000 feet above northern Africa, crouched down in the airplane lavatory, and wiping remnants of someone else’s urine off the discolored toilet seat. Seriously, do I know how to party, or what?

I decided what better way to kick off a new year than with a new apartment! Actually, I decided it was time for a new apartment about eight months ago, the accommodations department didn’t agree with me until last week. My housing (including electricity and water) is provided completely free,so I’m really not in the position to complain. My former apartment was a nice place. It was in the downtown area of Dubai, conveniently located right next to the metro and, by one of my favorite places in this world, Starbucks. One of the downfalls to the former apartment was that I lived on the 43^rd floor, and none of the windows opened. I missed being able to have fresh air,and I could never quite get passed the time I was my bedroom, wearing nothing but my underwear, and a Filipino window washer gave me a friendly wave. It was creepy to say the least.

The biggest reason I wanted to move is so that I could live with one of my friends. My former roommates were very polite, but just informing people that the inhabitants of my apartment were American, Chinese,and Ethiopian sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. The three of us all stayed in our rooms when we were there together and there was no shared living space. Even though I don’t forsee myself staying in the UAE for anextended amount of time, I still want my apartment to feel like a home.

Last week my friend Maggie and I were notified of an available, two bedroom apartment in a building that formally only housed first officers, however, due to an increase in staff, they were opening up 16 apartments. We toured the new place, and both loved it! It’s still very close to a metro stop, has an awesome gym and pool, a nearby park with a padded running track, and a great roof top view that includes both the sea and the snowy slopes of Ski Dubai!

 
We moved in several days ago, and I think we’ve both enjoyed having someone to share meals with, run ideas by, and most importantly, knowing that if one of us croaked another human being would inevitably notice in a timely manner (a fear we both shared living in our former apartments). The new place is also located close to a mosque, complete with a soundsystem that notifies me of the five different call to prayer times throughout the day. If you can’t beat em, join em! However, I don’t know any Muslim prayers off the top of my head, so I am now taking suggestions of alternative things I could do five times daily. Push ups every time I hear it? The Macherana? Hammer time?Perhaps, even more productive, my own prayers? I will report back!

Hope you all have a great 2013!

“Life is about experiencing all the things you find interesting and fascinating. Just get out there and experience as much as you can. Participate in life!” –Louie Zamperini

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My Bedroom...Representin' White Hall

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