A new blog...

Erm,,, Once again there is this looong abscence between my posts. But for good reason.

Im opening a new blog with an intresting twist. Check back here :-)

the update

Havent posted 4 about 2 weeks...

Ill fix that:

2 issues really need to be brought up in this post:

1- The wafi heist... EVERYONE is talking about it. According to Lt. Dahi Khalfan, investigators arrived within three minutes. Bullshit.

Im sorry Dahi, but that was stupid, unprofessional, and an intresting window into your world given that you talk to the media like that. It took more than 20 minutes. But you better thank God they didnt reach in time: Why do you respond to a robbery with automatic machine guns by sending cops holding 9mm pistols? Im dissappointed. (NOTE: Ive heard some of the robbers have already been caught)

But I dont really blame you, what with the tongue- lashing Shkh Mohamed Bin Rashid doled out to the ministers yesterday, my second point...

Praise is needed, where praise is deserved, and Shkh Mohamed surely deserves it. He took the ministers one by one, and started burning them for their weaknesses in their respective departments, and RIGHTLY so. Hes brought up a visit to the courts in Dubai... And pointed out the incompetency he saw. Then he brought up the lack of an updated pool of medical knowledge, and then the education curriclum, and the dire need for it to be changed. He pointed out some of the biggest problems I have been screaming about on this blog, and threw them back at the ministers.

All of this, in front of all the other sheikhs. I wouldve brought popcorn.

Maroon 5 - makes you wonder

A little annoying

Ok, one thing that seriously annoys me.

To be black isnt very good here in the UAE. There I said it. Rascism is rampant.

So its like OMG if you called someone black or '7al in arabic. So ppl resort to calling there local friends asmar: tanned... When they are black!

Screw that, just let us get that messed up thought about ppl of color from our minds, and that way we can call people who are black... black!.

Within Temptation - What have you done

The fair pt. 2

After the experience at the Sharjah career fair, I had hoped to see improvement at the Dubai fair, which was many many times larger than any career fair that had taken place thus far.

It was bitter.

Let me give you a little story:

I went to Procter and Gamble playing the role of obnoxious, rascist local in search of an internship ( I was actually there to test their mettle)

Two ppl at the stand: an eygptian lady, making herself out to be a local, and a half - local girl who was far too sparkly to be at a career fair. (NOTE: This isnt word for word, but rather a summary of the juicy bits)

Me: What makes you better than unilever?

Them: We are #1! (with a smile)

Me: So how many locals do you have working there?

Them: not many... but Sparkle girl is local. But shes an intern.

Me: (To sparkle girl) Yourean intern... Doesnt count, Im wondering about employees.

Me ---> I kept this attitude up, much to eygpt girl's chagrine... I could almost pinpoint the moment she went defensive. Sparkle girl to her credit stayed cool.

Me: So if I were to have an internship with you guys, what will I go through?

Eygpt: Well first we would have to see how you qualify, then we would see.

Me: Well the thing is, I was already accepted for an internship by you people last summer... I passed your exam, along with 15 other guys... You never got back to us.

Eygpt: oh yeah,,, In June.

Me ---> At this point I chose to stay silent than to verbally chop her to pieces, and gave her my resume.

Her: Oh yeah, I remember you

Me ---> Still holding my tongue.

Her: ok then, just send me an email with your phone number, and details...

Me: ( in absolute shock at her stupidity) I just gave you my resume.

Her ---> excuse about having so many resumes that she would forget our pleasant conversation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much of the career fair was spent in this fashion, but there was a shining moment: At Unilever, the "#2", I was downright rude with the lady there, and she didnt flinch. Her behaviour was quite simply top - notch, with my rascist questions being answered with tactfulness and a smile ( I wont post the conversation, email me for more on that)

Only 3 other things need to be mentioned, the competition between the etisalat and Du stands was apparent. In my opinion, Du won since Etisalat tried throwing its weight around by having some of the khaleej cup players at the stand, while Du had good old-fashioned quality workers at its stand.

General Electric also did well under a grilling by me, despite only having ONE person at the stand (compared to the 8 at ABN - AMRO)

Nakheel had a tiny hole - in - the wall stand, especially considering emaar came out full force. And the design of that stand, and all the other next to it (including Jebel Ali freezone @ Gulfpearl) was terrible do to the flimsy plastic - panel floors with what I believed was broken glass under them... It was downright freaky walking there.

So... Thats my review of the fair... Disappointing overall despite the bright spots.

Stone Sour - 30/30 150

internships,,, my spin

Today I visited the career show in the Republic of Shaja (aka city of Sharjah) looking for a one or two month internship ...

Lame,.,. Every stand had between 5 - 10 girls and 1 - 2 guys... Now the what I want to know is why are there so many people in each stand?

Highly unprofessional.

The guy at Barclays was shocked that my english was better than his, the guy at Finance house didnt know that buying futures is against sharia, and the girl at Dubai Bank was hitting on me and my friend.

Highly unprofessional

Hopefully the one in Dubai is better...

Massive attack - I want you

Are we losing our culture?

After reading a comment by UaeBlondie (see the last post), I decided to elaborate on this topic. Now I have always been of the opinion that Dubai is losing sight due to the influx of expats.

Now dont get me wrong, expats built the country with us, and deserve to be appreciated and respected. But with the expansion of Dxb and the UAE in general, both economically and socially, we are heading to an intresting situation.

I believe the the ideology behind the influx of foreigners is for our economic gain (pretty much the only reason I can see so far). Arguably, this great increase in foreigners is wanted and needed by our country so we could get richer? Proof of this is in the words of Sheikh Mohamed, ruler of Dubai: "If the cart is politics and the horse is the economy then we have to put the horse before the cart and not the other way around."

If our economy, being the will of the people, is leading our polotics, then at face value that seems great right?
NO its not, because the collective will of the people in the nation is changing with the increase in foreigners who have their own requirements and wants.

Our economy will lead our politics,,, But it will no longer represent the original inhabitants of this place. We will be rich, but we wont be together.

It is grim, but prove me it isnt so.

Creed - is this the end

Land, mans trophy of sand

For all those expats out there...

How do you think locals get those chunks of free land you keep hearing about? Well, they apply for it at a government program obviously. But What you probably didnt hear about was the gruelling process to get the said land. Ive heard stories of people waiting years to get their land (which incidentally usually comes with some start-up money to get things going, if you want).

So recently Im sitting with family and they are talking about land in Warqa... Government built homes for sale to the average local. Shaikh Mohamed apparently has commisioned homes to be built and sold to locals at fairly cheap prices. This is intresting, cause locals can either wait years for their land, Or buy this one... Depends on their patience I suppose.

But I hope this doesnt mean a gradual phasing out of the free land.

Nickelback - If everyone cared

Not again...

Internet is messed up... and half the people on the links are vacationing or inactive :-).

AD style

Visting AD today was a majestic experience (Aka Adinamorato) ... Its sooo different there.

Calmer, Quiter, Bigger roads... If I had enough money, I would split my time between dxb and Ad.

In 10 years time, mark my words, AD will be the place to relax. The projects underway now such as a branch of the Iconic Louvre Museum, The Zayed Mosque, The Ferrari City, along with other cultural and business attractions will make Abu Dhabi the place where the rich of Dubai, go to relax after a long week of work... Good job AD.

PS dont forget the upcoming F1 race there :-)

Chris Daughtry - Its not over

We won?!

O M G

O M G

O M G

We won the gulf cup

I had lost all faith, and I mean all faith in our team, but after tonight, Im going to start watching again.

I can hear the cars from my house, its crazy at the parade... See you there :-)

Daft Punk - Veridi quo

The monopoly of etisalat

Deceptive business practices? Is this what we are paying for?

Welcome sultan, to the world of blogging, and good job shedding light on etisalat

Sex Pence None the richer - kiss me

Understanding your limits

Local guys have this thing,,, They have an issue with what personal space is.
Ever see 2 locals holding hands? Chances are they arent homosexual, but rather 2 very hetrosexual individuals who think its fine to be that close to each other...

BUT, the lines are a bit odd when it comes to personal belongings. If one guy told his friend that his watch was nice, in certain circles the friend would offer him the watch as a gift, in others a simple "thank you" would suffice.

So where do you cross the line?

I say it depends on the person, how close you are, and how fast you can say sorry.

(Cold - When angels fly away)

Days of the chequered flag

Dubai autodrome has an intresting experience for those who think they can race. There is a Karting circuit in the coumpound, with Karts boasting top speeds of approximately 100 km/hr.

But dont try this if you have a penchant for spinning out of control, like me :-)

(worst lap was 4:15 seconds... compared to a best time of 0:59 seconds)

Guano Apes - Open your eyes

Brand me

Brand names...

Now as is evident by the shops in Mall of the emirates and other mega-malls, most big brands are here... But what about the niche brands?

Cars like the track-aimed Caterham 7 arent sold here? And What about Krispy Kreme, the donut specialists (Dunkin Donuts is NOT aimed at selling donuts, but rather breakfast and coffee in the US)? How about fashion? Tons of brands not here yet. Note that while phat farm is here, Sean Combs, the arguably better designer, hast opened here yet.

I think we are heading in the right direction though, theyll be here eventually :-)

Twarres - She couldnt laugh

Starbucks

After finally have a great meal (with equally great service) If Dubai is supposed to be gearing itself towards a service-based economy, as is touted in the newspapers, then surely customer service here shouldve taken a turn for the better, right?

Apparently not... How many restaurants can you name with truly good service?

Ive only had it at a number of them, and even the expensive ones came up lacking...

So i challenge you, the reader, can you name more good restaurants than bad ones?