Tyra TV

Have you ever seen Tyra Bank's talk show on One TV on weekday mornings? I have happened to catch it on a couple of occasions (just because there's nothing else on TV at that time), and it sucks....it's really bad!

First of all, what qualifies a supermodel to become a talk show host? Just because she was a judge on "America's next top model" does not qualify her to become a talk show host!

Secondly, every single episode I have seen so far (and I have seen about 4 or 5) talks about modelling. On one episode, she went on a hunt for the next big thing in modelling. On another episode, she interviews supermodel Twiggy. On yet another one, she had Heidi Klum and another bunch of supermodels sharing their beauty secrets. It's all about modelling! Does she not know about anything unrelated to modelling?

And finally, I just hate the way she walks when the show starts....she walks onto the stage as if she is on a catwalk strutting her stuff...Tyra, it's a talk show not a fashion show! Plus she always has to, at one point in every episode, show her audience how models pose for a photo shoot....So annooooooooooying....

I'm gonna stop watching...really :)

Tomorrow is off....

....yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Woohooo!

Dirty car

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was stopped by a cop and he told me that I had to wash my car. Well here's the full story:

Dubai Police are finally doing something about the traffic and driving woes, and there are a bunch of unmarked police cars roaming the city in search of offenders.

At the Internet City entrance off of Sheikh Zayed Road, there have been 2 police motorcycles all week, stopping random cars and giving fines to those who cut the line. They asked me to pull over one morning (I had not done anything wrong....I am a law-abiding citizen), and asked for my license and registration. I gave the 2 documents to the cop who checked them and then said ok fine you can go.

But then he runs his finger on my car and says "oh and wash your car because it's very dirty". I smile and say "yes but it rained two days ago and it dirtied my car". He looks at me and says very seriously "I am not joking, you can get a fine".

I got pissed off! (after I drove off of course)

For one, my car is usually clean. I get it washed every weekend (my wonderful father takes his car and mine to the carwash every Friday morning....I love my dad....). But I had not washed it last weekend because I stayed in Dubai (and my father is in Abu Dhabi), and I was too lazy to take it myself. Also, it did, in fact, rain a couple of days before the cop stopped me, and rain in the UAE does nothing but sprinkle a layer of dust on everything.

Also, I work from 9AM to 8PM on a slow day. And usually, by the time I leave work, I just want to go home, or hang out with my friends. So, tell me, when am I supposed to wash my car?

Oh, and this weekend, I did wash my car on Friday morning. And last night, it rained again, just a teeny weeny little bit.

Just enough to dirty my car all over again.

365 days

A year ago today, I was heading towards a new adventure. I was on my way from Montreal to Dubai, this time for good. Yes, it's been a year, and it feels like it was only yesterday.

Where have the days gone? The year has gone by in a blur.

I vaguely remember my last week in Montreal:

Boxes, boxes and more boxes. The invaluable help of my dear friend Chazoo, without whom I could never have gotten my appartment cleared out in time.

Farewell drinks at GoGo lounge (I miss that place) with people I had known for several years, and others I had known for just a few months.

A lunch with my dear colleagues whom I had grown extremely attached to. I miss chit-chatting and laughing with them.

A week spent at my best friend Ned's place (because I had sold everything, including my bed). Her family is my second family. I remember how she and my other good friend Jones dropped me off at the airport, and how it still hadn't hit me that I was leaving for good. I could not cry. I didn't realise that I was leaving after 10 years in Monty. But then, when I was all alone, waiting for my flight to board, I decided to open up the card Ned had given me. And then I couldn't stop. The tears kept flowing. I just wanted to go back in time. Go back to my old life. Go back to my lovely apartment on De la Montagne. Go back to hug my poor cat Shrimpie, who was now in the unfamiliar yet loving home of my dear friend H.

But I couldn't. It was too late. A chapter had ended. A whole book had ended. A new story was about to begin. New place. New friends. New job. New car. New furniture. New roads. New apartment.

New life.

What's this ad for?

Have any of you come across this ad lately? Actually it's a series of ads that form a teaser campaign. A few days ago, I saw one that said "We are gathered here today" and shows a wider shot of the same veiled woman.

This one says "Until death do us part". The woman is holding what looks like red flowers, and the whole setting is dark and gloomy, with a cloudy sky and a moon behind the woman.

A colleague thinks it might be an awareness campaign for something like dangerous driving or some other cause. I'm not sure. Do any of you have any idea?




Update: I got my answer this morning. It's a play called "Blood Wedding", written by famed Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. I think having teaser ads for a play is pretty stupid. I thought it was something much more interesting (and much more important), and finding out it's a play is such a let-down.

Me, myself and I

My sister tagged me (sort of), with a post entitled "Me, myself and I", so here goes (and let me tell you, it ain't easy!):

I am not: sure where home is
I love: shoes
I hate: stupidity
I fear: getting hurt (and driving in Dubai...but that's another story)
I hope: to be able to have my dad walk me down the aisle one day
I hear: the constant humming noise coming from my fridge
I crave: affection
I regret: being too serious
I cry: in public sometimes, alone most of the time
I care: way too much
I always: read before going to bed
I feel alone: when I see a happy couple
I listen: to music in my car
I hide: my true feelings
I drive: a dirty car (well, today it's really dirty, and I got stopped by a cop who checked my license and registration and scolded me for having a dirty car)
I dance: salsa sometimes
I write: lots and lots of e-mails in a day (and practically every day on my blog)
I act: very badly when I try to pretend I enjoy talking to someone I really can't stand
I miss: sitting around the kitchen table to have dinner with my family when I am away from them
I learn: something new every day
I feel: shy when I am around people I don't know
I know: I am going to turn this post into an official tag
I sleep: too late (and wake up tired)
I wonder: why my family's so messed up sometimes
I want: to be happy
I worry: about losing the ones I love
I have: to make an effort to meet new people
I fight: for ideas I believe in
I need: to buy bar stools
I am: beginning to get annoyed by this post (it's so hard!)
I think: I need to start going to yoga classes again

So, this has officially become a new tag, and I am tagging the following 3 people:
- NZM
- Mar
- Keefieboy

Emirates Palace

I finally visited Emirates Palace a couple of weeks ago. I am in Abu Dhabi almost every weekend, but I still had not had the chance to visit the hotel, so I was happy to finally get the chance to see what everyone was talking about.

The outside of the hotel is absolutely breathtaking. Like something out of a fairy tale. Once you pass the gates, you enter an absolutely humongous garden with palm trees all over, which makes you feel like you are somewhere foreign and exotic.

The inside of the hotel is the definition of opulence and wealth. Everything is golden. Gold, gold, and more gold, everywhere you go. Obviously it's impressive (and pricey), but it's definitely not my kind of style. I much prefer the boutique hotels designed by Ian Schrager/Philippe Starck for example. Check them out, they are absolutely breathtaking!

Anyway I took a couple of pictures. Unfortunately it was nightime, and the outside pictures did not turn out so great.

Blog Stats - March 2006

The month of March saw yet another increase in the number of unique visitors that came to my blog: 4,259 visitors, compared to 2,681 in March. The number of hits has reached a cumulative total of more than 6,800 compared to 4,300 a month ago.

I am hoping to be able to keep this up...So keep visiting :)

No payphones?

Are there any payphones in this country? I never thought of this until this weekend. A friend was visiting from out of town, and she was supposed to call me at one point during the day. Her Canadian cell phone did not work here, so logically, she searched for a payphone. She was at Mall of the Emirates and could not find a single one! So she had to go into a shop and ask the shopkeeper if she could use the phone, which, luckily, he was nice enough to let her do.

Come to think of it, I have never seen a single payphone here. Do they exist? Or is it simply assumed that everyone has a cell phone, so no need for payphones?

Every Tom, Dick and Harry owns a cell phone. Even 8 year old kids own cell phones. But what happens if you are a tourist here and need to call your friend at the hotel? Or what if your mobile phone runs out of battery and you really need to call someone to let them know where you are? Then what?

In fact I remember one time, when I was on my way back from Montreal to Abu Dhabi, and the plane could not land in A-D because it was too foggy. So we ended up landing in Dubai and taking buses to A-D. As soon as we landed I went on a desperate search for a payphone so I could call my dad to let him know about the delay. And although I did find a phone, I could not use it because it required a calling card. There was no way I could simply insert a Dirham in a payphone and call. I did not have the time to look for a place that sold calling cards as I was about to miss the bus, so I ended up asking an airport employee if I could make a call from his mobile, which he let me do.

Although payphones may not be as needed as in some Western countries, I still think it's important to have some available everywhere. And, if anything, I'd just like to see what a UAE payphone looks like!

No longer 6Days?

Could it be that 7Days is actually going to be published 7 days a week from now on? In the past, despite being called 7Days, the newspaper was only published 6 days a week, with Saturday being the "day off".

This morning, as I walked through the lobby of my building, I find some copies lying around, so I grab one thinking they were leftovers from yesterday. And, surprise! It is actually today's paper!

I don't know if this is an exception.

Anyway, if you happen to come across a 7Days today, check it out, if only for all the Virgin ads that are in there. They've basically painted the whole newspaper red! (I did not see any other advertiser in there, so it's a Virgin-dedicated 7Days). Every single page has at least one (if not more than one) ad for Virgin. And they are quite tongue in cheek, very much in line with what Virgin has done in the past.

There's a bit of arrogance: "We heard Dubai does everything bigger and better, so do we", a dash of creativity: "The world's smallest crossword.....Something to keep you occupied while you check in", new vocabulary: "Jetiquette", there's the Virgin horoscope, then there's a cheeky retort to Harvey Nichol's "Forget London" ads, with a full page simply stating "Don't forget London", there's a "Virgin Sudoku", and even a "Movies this month on Virgin Atlantic" section next to the Cinema listing.

And of course, there is a spelling mistake (it wouldn't be 7Days without a spelling mistake now would it?). One of the Virgin ads claims "The Freedom Menu let's you eat whenever you please".

All in all, very catchy and very impressive. Oh, and I love Richard Branson :)