The art of coffee

I always have been a coffee lover from as far as I can remember...
The smell of it brewing, the little cream a real barista can produce on my espresso, the cardamome flavoured turkish coffee...mmmmmmmmm

I judge an italian restaurant not my its fresh tomatoes or its pasta, but by the end of the meal espresso...when you have the perfect one, it completes the whole meal and you leave satisfied with the taste still in your mouth...(Fadi will complain of bad breath...:) and only real italians know how to make perfect espressi.

Yesterday Mohammed, the goffer man at our office, taught me how to make the perfect turkish coffee...I loved watching him! some might say he's very slow (i.e. my boss) but the way he stirred the coffee slowly, almost with love in his hand, just made it taste that much better!

I don't know how people can drink instant coffee!

I love my job...most days ...

I'm either ultra-lazy or ultra-productive, there's no in between with me, when talking about work.
I love my new job and the experiences i'm gaining, i love running around all day and the feeling of complete exhaustion at night.

I usually spend my day correcting drawings, renderings, controlling the informations and the employees,attending meetings, but there are some surprises like today, i get to spend my WHOLE day shopping for high-end furniture for a Sheik's villa...now that's what i'm talking about!

I love the fact that my boss has full faith in me, as she is away on vacation, for the running of her business. 2 weeks of mistakes could kill her office, so being trusted is alot of pressure...BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!

maybe it's time i can ask for a raise :)

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

if I could only describe this place with one word it would be: WOW!!!!

we've been to Omani cities a few times by car, some are only 1h30 away from Dubai and already the environment is totally different, but Muscat is a whole other story...

So this was our 2nd try to get to this place, our 1st being last week, when Fadi mixed up the flight schedule and we arrived at 6h30pm for our flight that had left at 6h30 am...

After a 45 minutes plane ride, you arrive to the most beautiful place I have ever been to...There are trees, flowers, grass, ocean, mountains, the birds make the best sounds ever, the air is crisp and clean, the heat isn't unbearable, the people are very nice even if they are quite traditionnal.

Their costumes are different only in the turban/hat they wear. They have these colorful scarves knotted on their heads, not the typical white and red squares you see everywhere else. They are simple, mostly fishermen. (Omani fish and seafood are the best of the Middle East...)

We stayed at the Al Bustan Palace, and it is just breathtaking...thanks Andre for all those IGH cards! :) the water of the ocean is clear, the sand is fine and hot...why did we leave!

We went to the Souk on friday afternoon,(after prayer time, when the city livens up) in this maze of little streets, the smells of spices and frankincense (smelled like church) made the experience so much more particular, and we would get lost and end up in different areas...textile souk, gold souk, spice souk...Iwas trying to buy saffron, this very expensive spice, and they all keep them hidden...we don't know if it's because it's illegal or expensive...the guy we bought it off from had this hole-in-the-wall spice store where his grandpa (a very fat, mean-looking man) was sitting. He was the one dealing with the money. And they had this old (130 years old) contraptions they used for weighing spices and lemons....we even got a history lesson...
Fadi left with a Disdasha (look out, here comes the arab man), i got a traditionnal housewife dress and a few gorgeous scarves!Love the souk!

We then walked around the Corniche, trying to spot dolphins (that area is known for dolphins), we walked up this old staircase leading us to a fort, but we had to back down because the stones kept crumbling down...

I could write all day about this place, and still wouldn't be able to describe it truthfully, to it's fullest...you just have to come see for yourself!

we were both sad to leave that place, but thankfully flights are cheap, and a short distance away...

Have i ever said how glad i am to be in the Middle East? Who gets to see all these places?

the new "it" thing

you can own your very own chinese iphone for half the cost of the real thing.. a philippino lady comes in once a month with the chinese versions of the latest electronic, and if you are lucky they last longer than 3 days...

so everyone in my office has an "iphone" and are in a competition for the coolest ring tone...after 2 weeks of alien sounds and the latest lady gaga hit, we now have the sound of a guy p*ssing and flushing the toilet...greatttttttt...

i love my 2006 motorola pebble, even if it dies on me after a 5 minute conversation...ring tone: real sound of a real phone DRING DRING!!!!!!!!

July 5th 2010

it is the week of freedom and celebration...first came Quebec's day, then Canada's day, then 4th of July, and today is Fadi's birthday AND the day i became a legal resident in the UAE...

how can I explain the weight that has lifted from our shoulders? no more hush-hushing, no more illegal worker comments with allusions to mexicans, no more possibilities of ending up in jail and facing deportation...

today is a great day!

even thinking that I will eventually have to go through this again when we move to a different country doesn't put a damper on my parade :)

oh happy dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!