Superficial Joy

Sooooo...  I have not been the best driver in my life, even if you remove fainting at the wheel (see this post for details on that). I've had my fair share of accidents and traffic tickets, but the entire first year I was here I didn't get any tickets! Let me back up. Speed is monitored by numerous merciless radar cameras like this one: photo from https://www.drivearabia.com/news/2013/01/31/abu-dhabi-gets-15-new-radars-uae/ As an aside, the speed limits used to be 20 kph over the posted limit, and it is still like that in Dubai. Yes, you read that correctly. So when the sign said 60 kph, you could actually go 80 and the radar was set to 81. On the way to Dubai (an hour-and-a-half up the road) the speed limit is 140 kph. And so the signs used to say 120 but you were just supposed to know  that you could drive 140. On Sunday, August 12 of 2018 the speed "buffer" was eliminated.  So now when you drive to Dubai, which is in a different Emirate and thus subject ...

So this happened on the way to work Wednesday morning. Everyone is okay. Part 1 I awoke really tired, but I did go out to dinner last night and late some yummy bread, which often wears me out the next day.  Before I left for school my stomach didn't feel good but it passed by the time I was ready to go, so off I went. about 2 stoplights away from my apartment building when I started feeling nauseous again. This time it was accompanied with sort of an overwhelming feeling of ick. I got kinda hot but the big thing is that my vision started to get funky. I realized I should go home and started praying that I'd make it. I did a U-turn and my vision field of vision started to get smaller and smaller. I remember praying again that I make it back to my building... The next thing I know I'm calm and feel like I'm sleeping in my bed. Then I remember I am supposed to be driving to work so something must be wrong. I smelled gun powder. When I came to and looked up, ...

Happy New Year!! I have sent out Christmas cards every year for about 15 years, but this year it didn't happen. I hate doing this, but at least it gets a card out until next year!  There were not a lot of posts once I changed schools, so here  is a little glimpse of what I've been doing this year. Thank you all for being a wonderful support system to me on this grand adventure!  I could never have done it without you!

The Run that Just About Killed Me ...was in July. The Ragnar Trail Relay in Tahoe. We have an 8 member team. The race is 3 legs and each person runs all 3 legs, which are roughly 3, 6.5 and 7 miles. For a total of 16ish miles, for those of you counting. I ran 6 miles once all last school year. And about 10 shorter-than-that runs the rest of the year. This is the condition in which I arrived in Tahoe to "travel" my 3 legs. Leg 1. I asked for the hardest one first. See how I am still alive? Smiling, even? Do not be deceived. I am hurting. It is like 85 degrees and dry and I have not run at all and I am barely hanging on. Our camp. The gray tent is where I spent about 3 hours after leg 1 trying not to die. At the suggestion of a teammate I drank water with electrolytes in it but felt nauseous and overwhelmingly icky.  I contemplated not running my next leg. The only consolation was that the hardest run in the hottest part of the day was over. Let 2...

I turned in my form on Tuesday of last week (which is now 3 weeks ago). It's official: I'm staying in Abu Dhabi for another year! The debate has been going on for months. In fact, I came back this year expecting to stay just a year. That's why I'm not coming home for Christmas vacation--so I can maximize travel time before I leave the Middle East. But the second year has been massively, fantastically, astronomically better than the first. The very first day back was better than any given day that first semester of last year (with the exception of the day I flew home): I knew how to get home I knew where I was going I knew how to talk to the taxi driver My rental car was all set up for 10 a.m. that morning When my apartment wasn't clean, I immediately email school, who immediately took action and within hours had my apartment restored to cleanliness The culture shock had worn off The wall of humid heat when I got off the plane didn't surprise me  ...

It has been forever since I posted!  I have run myself so ragged that I have no time for anything. My dear friend. But more on that later. I just wanted to quickly update: I am alive I am well I am considering staying another year Last weekend I took a trip to visit a friend from Boise on her birthday. It was amazing!!! I am exercising consistently (as opposed to 6 times last year. Ragnar team, I wouldn't die if we ran now) Work is busy and stressful but still good. I am taking Arabic classes. A friend and I are visiting Ukraine the end of November. I won't be home for the holidays but am going to travel instead. (suggestions welcome) I miss you all! I love you all! the Sea of Galilee Another view of the Sea of Galilee Do you need a saint? My dear friend This is at a gas station!  Seriously! The Mediterranean. We had the birthday part at the building behind me. The beach near Ceasaria. A run to the beach near C...

My second first day of school in the UAE is done. It could not have been more different than last year. In fact, the week I have been back has been massively different. What a difference a year makes!  First day, looking VERY teacher-y Last year at this time I was in a constant state of hyper vigilance. I was in absolute shock at being in the Middle East; I was overwhelmed by all the work there was to do; constantly afraid, I was on the defensive and irrationally felt like people (like taxi drivers, sales clerks, random people walking along the street) were out to get me. Everything here takes forever and requires a tremendous amount of patience to work through, and I met all of those obstacles with fear masked as anger, irritation and entitlement. I was restless and dis-easy down at the core of my soul. I couldn't sleep and to quote Cher from Clueless , I had an overwhelming sense of ickiness. Few times in my life have I had such an awful feeling that something...