Back with more . . .

It's been ages since I have last updated my blog! man! Sometimes I wonder if it was a mistake starting one in the first place given the fact that i'm quite busy. Since my promotion two months ago, i've been SUPER BUSY. I am at the office all the time. The last thing I see is the office and the first thing I see in the morning is the office! How frustrating?! Yet, i'm enjoying the challenge of starting things from scratch. I was asked to work on restructuring the company, creating my department, creating the Human Resources Manual, setting rules & procedures, work on the new compensation and benefits scheme, establish a performance management scheme, create values for the company and embed them into the company's culture! And on top of that my boss, the CEO, keeps giving me books to read as if the books that I've read throughout my college years and the degrees that I hold are not enough!

I started playing with books since KG, then all the way through school, Higher Diploma, Bachelors, Executive MBA and my Masters in Strategic HR Management which I have finished in December 2008, so basically i've been studying ALL MY FREAKIN' LIFE!!! No more books please! Do you know a way that helps me read the book fast, yet if he asks me questions about it I would be able to answer?? ya3ni magic lol . . . I hear he has other books for me to read!

One of the not-so-pretty things that comes with the territory of the new job is laying off people! I was to identify some of the people who should be laid off and I was the one to sit with them one-on-one and deliver the news! Thursday I had to inform a lady of her demotion and I had to deal with her trauma afterwards! It is so emotionally stressful! I guess in order to get something, you have to give up something, and with the new position that I was promoted to, comes new and not-so-cool job responsibilities!!!!

Regardless of how much stressful my new job is, the joys of life remain the same and I try to compensate the loss of leisure time during the week on the weekends. I will leave you with random pics.

Highlights of the week, the rain and meeting Princess Haya and Shaikha Aljaleela while shopping at Waitrose =)

Stay fabulous, always!

Only in . . .

Only in Dubai

instead of مكتب الموقع

+++++++++++++++++++++

Only in Sharjah

and YES, I was driving on the right side of the road !

Curry on !

My friend B and I went to this cool and cute place named "curry on" on Jumeira Beach Road and we fell in love with it!

It's a hip restaurant that serves oriental/asian cuisine with a nice ambiance and hip decorations and menus!

The food is served in style, especially the rice that is served in little heart shapes! It's not about presentation only, but quality and taste. The food is amazing.

I recommend this place to all fabulous people who would want to enjoy a delicious meal in a quiet and cute place. Your taste buds deserve it!

The Menu . . .

Starters . . .

Main Course . . .

Yummy *drooling*

Celebrations & Blessings !

The last two weeks have been a true blessing. We celebrated the National Day (37 years of unity) on December 2, 2008. The celebrations were all across the country. In streets, schools & universities, shopping malls, workplace, media. It was a true festival to celebrate the unity of the seven emirates who came together as one in 1971.

On the 8th of December, Muslims celebrated Eid Al Adha. You can feel the true spirit of Eid when you see your relatives whom you don't get to see that much, take the trouble of dressing up and visiting you with their children. It could be a bit tedious, especially when visitors are coming non-stop from morning till night, but it is all worth it =)

In between the two celebrations, the UAE was blessed with rainy days that lasted around 5 days, on and off. I love driving in the rain and listening to the sound of rain on the car. It is music to my ears. I was lucky enough to be driving around Dubai when it poured heavily that it was so difficult to see. Yet, I had a big stupid smile on my face all the way, and of course I didn't forget to take pictures =)

Voila !

Finally, I got "the call" . . . !

There's nothing better than seeing a familiar phone number on the screen of your mobile phone. A family member's number, a friend's number, a call for a certain job that you've been waiting for, a call informing you that you've won a prize, or a call informing you that the "Shoes" that you've ordered few months back have arrived! YESSSSSSSS!

When I first saw the shoes in the catalog, I loved the color, but it wasn't available and I was told that I have to order them. All the other colors were available except this one and the red one. Then came the revelation! I saw the pair in "Sex & The City" - The Movie, and they held a great significance and played an important role in the movie. Only then did I realize why it wasn't available and only then did I know that I made the right choice by ordering them and in that exact shade!

I went to the store as soon as I got the call and bought the uber lovely pair. Now I refer to them as "my precious" hissing it just like Golam from The Lord of the Rings. After my non-regrettable purchase, I had drinks with my friend. It is the "virgin version" of the Cosmopolitan drink! ek ek ek!

Voila !

Goodnight fabulous people . . .

Fabulous Tea Party !

My fabulous friend Rush hosted a tea party at Park Place on the 15th of November 2008 and invited fabulous people to the event including myself and my sisters *e7em e7em*

The event was a gathering for girls and an event to showcase the jewelry of a new and upcoming Turkish designer Mine Shehadeh. Her designs are inspired mostly from the Islamic culture with a hip and trendy twist to them. Simply Fabulous!


Welcome drinks in funky martini glasses (in the style of the famous Cosmopolitan drink from the Sex and the City show) were handed to us upon arrival. Introductions and mingling amongst the beautifully laid jewlery all around the place. Cupcakes, truffles, mini sandwiches and many other mouth-watering food were on the menu!

It was nice seeing girls around the room trying the different jewlery on, socializing, having fun and meeting the designer whose creativity was translated into those breath-taking designs.


To know more about the deisgner and her jewelry, pls visit her website http://www.markamoda.net/

I will leave you with pics from the party.


Fabulous people out there, ENJOY !

Stay Fabulous, always !

The Dubai Mall

Finally, The Dubai Mall opened to the public on November 4th after few delays in its official opening.

My sisters and I went on the 6th to see what's new with it and I honestly say I can't judge it as it is too early for me to do so. Only 500 shops are opened out of the 1200 shops, which is clear when you walk in the mall as it seems like a place for empty shops. The plan is to open shops in batches every month, i.e. 100 month or so per month.

The mall seemed empty, but the crowd was in two main areas: the acquarium and the food court. As for the acquarium, it reminded me so much of the one in Siam Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand. For Dhs. 15 you get to walk the what seemed like 2 meters only tunnel under the acquarium. It's quite interesting to see sharks and fish up close and personal. For Dhs. 50 you get to use the tunnel and visit the discovery center which is two storeys above the tunnel and it has different species of sea life. Loved the seals and the penguins !

The food court was so crowded and it had the same restaurants in any other mall, maybe few more, but it was so hard to tell due to the crowd and the fact that we were tired from walking such a distance in heels !

Hamleys of London has opened in the mall and I could see Jay Strongwater's shop is about to open. Galleries La Fayette is opening in the mall and Bloomingdale's due to open in early 2010.

When we walked outside the mall and we drove by it, we were fascinated by how big it was and we realized that we didn't get to see around 3 quarters of the place! It is that huge ! I understand now when they said it is the largest in the world.

So in order for me to judge it better, I need to visit it after few months wearing sneakers instead of heels (which is impossible of course)!

Take a look at some pics that i've taken at the Dubai Mall.

Ciao