Today is the last day before Ramadan begins. The whole month of September is officially the muslim holy month, and hence begins the one-month fast that our muslim friends will be going through. That would mean being tactful and trying not to eat, drink or smoke in front of them. Working hours will be cut to half everyday..so.

Spent the last weekend out with a couple of friends. No clubs would be operating during the month so understandably, everyone was trying to cram in the last weekend of clubbing before Ramadan begins. Glad to have made a few more friends and I cant believe i found another skydiving partner amongst that group.... Also learned about a clay shooting site near Abu Dhabi. Thats the next emirate, about an hour and a half's drive away. Cannot wait. Last time i joined a gun club was in Australia with my dad. Have been officially challeneged by one of the boys in the group so Im all fired up. Yesyes, pun intended. I'll show him who's gonna kick whose ass.
Why do guys think intimidation works on girls? If anything, its the last thing u oughta do...it just makes us wanna humiliate u more.

Also might be planning a short road trip to Oman for diving next weekend with Kacy and Aida. Thats about 3 hours drive away. Got to know aida a bit more over the weekend and I cant believe what a riot she is. Never laughed so much in my life BEFORE entering a club. She's from germany, kacy's from texas. Roger's from Pakistan. Simone's from italy. Nael from Palestine. Eli- lebanon, Dan - UK.Its an interesting mix. Just to hear the different perspectives on so many issues is something I really enjoy.
Apparently my complaints about the lack in scenery was not quite justified. Found out from both kacy/aida that there are quite a few scenic mountains/beaches if I only took the time to drive there. Well...lets hope that'll happen next week. I love love the water....... but only from far. Or on the surface at least. Cant remember when it started but I seem to have gotten a phobia of being too deep underwater. Blame the imagination.

Meanwhile, I've finally purchased a ticket to paris/italy for the end of september for a short break. I couldnt decide where to go initially..Paris, brussels, amsterdam, italy, greece. I just knew I needed that change in landscape, and well...it was to catch up with Marco in our post-letsbefriends stage. Alot of my friends think its not a good idea to stay so close, but frankly, I really cant imagine why not. Like I said, he's still someone i care alot for.
In any case, Paris has been on my list for ages..and im so so excited.......DISNEYLAND! My first experience of it in LA at the age of 10 was by far, the best memory ive kept by me all through these years. 10 years later in 2001, I went to the florida one with my parents, and as much as I enjoyed their company, it just wasnt the same without having my two brothers who were willing to go on all the rides with me..
So. This time, ive decided im gonna be dragging both my ass and marco's to eurodisney for a day. He hates rollercoasters so this should be fun.
And yes, of course, all the other landmarks ive been dying to visit. Louvre here I come..Cannot wait to take more photos. I love travelling with Marco. Thats one thing I love about spending time with him. Its always nice to have someone who understands the silence, more so than the words. We're contemplating taking a short drive to tuscany after paris. Love it. LOVE IT.

A buddy of mine's visiting next month in Oct.. Eddi. Havent seen him in months so that should be fun.Hes been my art/musicals buddy for the longest time. No let's not even begin to stereotype. Eddi is very much the hetrosexual male (VERY much so) and bares an uncanny resemblance to Barack Obama. Ah yes. Madonna's visitng dubai in Oct. Friend of mine just got THE position at "x", an event organizing firm in dubai. Its owned by the Sheikh, so understandably, that means all major events fall under its umbrella. What that means is he's entitled to many free tickets firsthand. What that means also, as he's mentioned to me, is that I have an incentive to be very nice to him. I hate him. Im still sore about missing out on Bon Jovi in June.

Speaking of which, my mum's also visiting. She tells me my dad's worried (although he doesnt say it) and has been asking her to stay with me to find out how im doing. Why cant asian parents speak up more about their feelings. Honestly. Where's Dr Phil when you actually DO need him. Anyhow, it'll be nice for her to be around for that month. Ive chalked up so many places I wanna take her to for dinners.

Just read finished Catch-22. Finally - cant believe it took me so long to pick the book up. It was much funnier than I expected.

Am officially addicted to Cinnabon. Giant sticky buns of cinnamon heaven. I would wear them in my hair if I could. Am stoked to find out the franchise is owned by one of my friends. I foresee a 10kg gain very soon.

So two main issues solved - Bank account, salary issues.
Good.
The last week has been a real busy one. Ever since Marco arrived, I've been going out almost every night after work for dinners. Have also been on a shopping spree since discounts are everywhere this time of the year in Dubai. Since its summer and too hot for people to visit Dubai, the sales are the only way to entice people not to leave for the holidays. It's worked for me.
Went on the dubai hop-on-hop-off tour over the weekend to get a good overview of the city. Really glad I did it cos Ive found a few gems to take really good shots. Will most probably revisit the place soon.
The 'Dubai Documentary' is still being put together. Still havent quite found out how to work my camcorder yet..hopefully I'll be able to do so soon. It's gonna be my "weekend" project.

Today I helped set up an interview meeting for Marco - will see how that goes.
We've spoken quite a bit since he got here and I'm glad we managed to talk things out a bit. Its a strange yet beautiful story as to how we met. Then again, I've always had weird experiences in life. My brother still complains that I cant seem to meet guys through "normal" circumstances. I have no idea what that means.
Through our time together I've probably had some of the best memories to date..and its weird that I would suggest the friendship route despite all that. Its not an easy decision when nothing seems to be particularly wrong. I guess it came to a point where I felt that us being friends was a better path then us being anything more.
Nevertheless, I had a real honest discussion with him as to why he wants to move/work in Dubai. Having understood that it would be a personal challenge for him to work overseas and that he's ready for it, I was more than happy to do anything I could do to help. Personally I hope he finds a way to work here. He's too dear a person to 'lose' should he return to italy. Not often you meet someone who you can establish a clear connection with, so... it would be nice to have him around.

Went to watch Mama Mia over the weekend and my my..how can anyone not love Merryl Streep. One of the most attractive women Ive ever seen on screen...and so effortlessly charismatic. And Greece. Definitely gonna revisit the place soon. Have to decide though...next on my travel list would be Boston/New York (Its a long overdue visit), Paris or back to Venice. Or Tuscany. Always wanted to go to the Southern part of Italy.

Spoke to Kacy and Im glad to announce I've found my skydiving partner. Will probably do it one of these weekends. Another thing on my list to conquer. Good stuff.

Since my last update I have now developed a rather nice golden tan, and my long hair is now officially red.

I am missing something or someone but Im not quite sure what or who.

The boyfriend and I have a long distance relationship. He's in Italy, and me in Dubai. We've managed to catch up twice this year, and the third being in 2 weeks time when he flies to stay with me for a couple of weeks. Everyone says long distance relationships have a very low success rate due to many factors. Lack of trust and physical proximity being the top two.
So far we're trying to build up the first by the daily conversations through all the mediums we have today, i.e. MSN, Emailing via blackberry, webcam, telephone calls. The latter, obviously, isnt quite possible to achieve.
Friends have warned me about guys in general when it comes to them "needing" that physical aspect much more than the female counterparts, and more so, warned me about the "italian stallion" factor.

Italian stallion. That always makes me laugh.

" Long distance....and he's eye-taliiiaan?.....Riiiiight." is the most common reaction I get.

Recently, these two factors caused a few major quarrels. Its been so tiring.

Having since moved to Dubai, its understood that my circle of friends have been small. Guy colleagues have been taking me out for dinners and drinks, which I firmly claim that its purely due to them understanding my plight of not knowing many people, and not knowing many places at this juncture. Im hardly the girl who puts in effort into looking prim and proper so Im pretty sure other possilibities can be ruled out. Im no tee-hee-hee girl, if you know what I mean.
And quite simply, guy colleagues cos they're the ones who offered, and the females haven't. Im hardly the sort who likes going out alot, so if I can stay at home I will..but if an offer comes up to go out, I appreciate the gesture. And well, he thinks differently. He likes the idea that Im making friends, but he's not quite keen on the fact that some of these dinners have been one on one.
Fair enough I told him, and promised that in the future, there would be at least 3 people at these dinners/drinks.

Being also the sort to not hide anything and being extremely open about discussing things, I have also told him of other guy friends who have somehow crossed the line of friendship and have openly told me they liked me. Now for whatever reasons they do, I really dont know, and I dont need to know, so let's leave it as them liking goofy girls.
So anyway, Im the sort who doesnt see the awkwardness in these situations. Even if it was in the reverse situation of me liking them (if I were single). If anything, I always believe that platonic relationships are possible..and even in such a situation, after explaining why we have to remain within the lines of friendship, I can go straight pass the awkwardness and revert back to friend mode. And I would LIKE to think, that in general, most guys can too. In fact, I dont classify it as a gender issue, but more so being mature enough to look at the matter with a dose of understanding and pragmatism.

In his situation, Ive learned more clearly now that in the european culture, sex and 'fun' is a very open concept to them. Its not to me. We've all tried things when we were younger..and I have tried many things, and I am quite clear of which of these things Im not quite fond of.
The big argument was over how a 'fun' friend of his is still in the picture and worse, when I found out it was him who wanted the relationship with her, and she just wanted the physical aspect of it. And how she still continues to keep in contact with him, because apparently its a perfectly normal concept to be in a relationship yet still have fun outside. And oh, apparently there are a few more ardent fans of my boyfriend.
He suggested me knowing her, which I accepted..only to find "past" photos of fun moments on her facebook profiles.

Zoinks.

This was when he explained he too, has tried things and he too is aware of what he likes and doesnt like. Having fun isnt it.

So apparently we're on the same page.

For me, when I give my trust, I give it 100%. I dont question, I dont worry. I much prefer that approach, even if there's a risk of the trust being abused. In fact, i'd rather get 'hurt' then to have this feeling of not trusting completely. Its wonderful when you find someone who can appreciate this 'gift' of trust you bestow upon them. Gift because we all know trust isnt easily given, and when it is, appreciate it. Treasure it. Many times mine wasnt, and for me, its not a matter of crying over being a victim, but just saying ok, you dont want it, thats fine..im sure there's someone else who does. I dont even get angry. How can you get angry at someone for not saying yes to a gift you want to give? If they dont want it, you just take it back. Ive been told I can lack emotion when it comes to these things. Its hardly the case. I get hurt. We all get hurt. Its a matter of how you want to move on in life.
However, as a result of this complete trust, sometimes it can be perceived as a lack of jealousy...which is good in many ways Im sure, but borders precariously on it being 'not caring'.

Now, the main issue being. If you want that trust, be open like me in discussing these things. I much prefer the 'Tell all' approach to the " You can ask anything" approach. Having to find out that the "friend" who has been constantly msging was in fact "X" or "Y" is hardly the way to have me just kick back my heels. Its perfectly fine for him to keep in contact with them cos I would like to think he knows how to say no, and its flattering that so many of them would like to be with him, but I guess my approach is different. I can tell him these things without blinking an eye and even joke about it because I expect him to trust me. He finds it better to be quiet about these things because he doesnt want me to get upset.

Its hard to win in these situations.

Anyway, Marco's coming over to look at the job opportunities in Dubai. He wants to move here to be with me hopefully by October and staying for as long as I am here, despite the original plan of me going over in the future. Like I said, Italy is hardly the place to work and save, and Im just doing my groundwork now to prepare for that situation. Or even Plan C of Melbourne, when doing my Masters full-time and not having work for a year, savings have to be accumulated now. And for now, Dubai is the place for that. At this point, I am grateful that he's taking this plunge for me to 'not lose me' as he puts it.
Im quite interested to see what's gonna happen to us in the next few months. Seems like its gonna be the 'Make or Break' stage...
How sexciting.