blah blah blah abu dhabi

I was going to try to update this on a daily basis but I'm actually not sure what to write about.  Abu Dhabi seems to be such a city of contradictions that I can't get my head around it.  It's kind of like Vegas without the gambling- all luxury and service and money and every hotel/restaurant/attraction trying to one up everyone else and constant construction.  Anything that sits for too long is quickly covered by a layer of dust.  And the weather is hot and hazy.

But, as with every place, the wealth is only one layer of the city.  In the centre of the city are high rises, each apartment housing 3 or 4 families.  The streets overflow with parked cars squashed wherever there is room- many of the building were not built with parking lots...   Apparently in a few years these buildings will all be demolished and rebuilt as luxury apartments and hotels.  Abu Dhabi island is being redesigned as an island of elites.  The question remains- if the workers are priced out of the city... who's going to do the work?  And who is going to live in all these new apartments being built.  Everyone I talk to asks those same questions.

OK... enough of my rambling... what have I been doing?  Working, relaxing by the pool, and seeing a bit of the city, mostly.  ("they come out at night... mostly..."- that's for anyone who's seen Aliens.)  On Monday night, the head of operations at Takatof was heading out to the Emirates Palace Hotel (google it, it's amazing) to do a site visit so he invited me along.  There was an exhibition on the Guggenheim opening that night and Takatof had volunteers helping out.  I don't think I've ever been around so many rich people in my life.  It was a little unsettling.  The crown prince (!) of the UAE was even there.  The hotel is "7 star" and is built to look like an Arabian palace.  It's all marble and gold with pillars and arches and tiles and well, look it up.  The exhibition, itself, was pretty amazing- they had shipped over some of the masterpieces from the Guggenheim.  Cezanne, Klee, Pollack, etc.

Then my host gave me a driving tour of Abu Dhabi-- past the high walls of the major palaces, through the markets, around the inner city high rises, and of course, by the many, famous malls.  The blocks here are super long with little streets in between and little rhyme or reason to the numbers.  It's not exactly a pedestrian friendly city so I was grateful for the driving tour.  It's really the best way to see things.

And then yesterday, I spent doing work at the hotel and crashed at around 7pm for a 12 hour sleep.  I think the jetlag/ exhaustion from flying had finally caught up.  This morning I went for a walk along the Corniche (the walking/biking area by the water).  I was a little underwhelmed.  I was sweating like no other, the water is flat and kinda unexciting and there's so much construction going on that you can't really appreciate the beauty that is there.  Or maybe I'm just spoiled from living in Australia.  I don't think any beach will ever be able to compete again.

This evening I head out on a desert safari...

I'm finally remembering to bring my camera and take pictures.  I'll post them when I get back.

Love, Tamara

travelling tamara travels again!

Hello All,
Greetings from Abu Dhabi.  I think at this point, I can safely announce that I made it without it all disappearing.  The flight over on Etihad was a breeze.  There was no one in the seat next to me, which meant that (1) I had a window seat to look out over Australia as we flew over the continent (2) I didn't have to climb over anyone to go to the bathroom- the number 1 reason why aisle seats are important on 14 hour flights and (3) if I crunched up my body in exactly the right way I could "stretch" out while I slept.  Flying over Australia was definitely the highlight.  After spending a semester at uni looking at maps of the Sydney Basin, it was wild to see it all play out below me.  The city became suburbs that went on and on, then planned subdivisions and rural areas appeared, and then the undulating Blue Mountains took over.  They were incredible- this ongoing wavy field of blue/green bush.  And then they ended and the next time I looked out of the window the ground was pink and red and there was nothing. It was insane.  I took pictures but forgot to bring the cord to hook my camera up to the computer so can't post them.

The only downside to the flight was that I hadn't gotten my act together to buy snacks for the plane and as even the smell of airplane food makes me want to retch (let alone eating it), I was quite hungry by the time I arrived.

But arrive I did, my bag was already off the carousel and waiting for me, and when I got through customs there was someone there to pick me up and take me to my hotel (I was a little worried that this wasn't going to happen and I was going to need to take a cab with no money on me to a hotel where I knew the name but not the address-- on a side note, i have since found out that there are no addresses in abu dhabi so that wouldn't actually have been a problem), and when I got to the hotel my colleague from work had left me a package of food.  I was beyond grateful.

You can see the hotel I'm staying at here.  Be jealous.  A free robe and a king size bed and I'm sold.  Today, consisted of sleeping in, lounging about the hotel, walking to the mall (to get there you turn left by one construction site, pass 3 other constructions site, turn right at the row of villas, walk all the way to the main street, avoid the rubble, and look out for the big tall glassy building, also under construction), and meeting up with work colleagues to start planning the details of the training.  I'm also thinking through where I want to go and what I want to see over the next week.  I looove work trips.  I just wish some of you were here with me!

I'll try to keep the updates fairly frequent while I'm here.

Lots of love,
Tamara

a poem for amelia about waiting for a visa to qatar

tentatively titled: I'm going to get quite fat if this keeps up...

i'm waiting to hear about visas
in the meantime i'm eating two pizzas
if this takes any longer
i'll look down and ponder
if my waistline can handle some cheese-uhs.

i'm waiting to hear about visas
it's been two months, three days, and a seizure
i'm going quite batty
i think i'll get a new tatty
what else do you do when you're waiting a few and you're quickly
approaching a geezer?

i'm waiting to hear about visas
london's the inside of a freezer
it's cold and it's damp
and i feel like a tramp
and i wish i was heading to tropical bedding and summertime weather at
the drop of a feather instead of here waiting and feeling like hating
the government being a teaser.

or not....

i think i need to stop telling people i'm going to abu dhabi.  every time i say something the trip gets cancelled or postponed.  Looks like I'm going on Saturday or Sunday but I won't believe it until I'm on the plane.

abu whatta?

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com

with thanks to Trevor for the link

See ya, folks.  I'm off to Abu Dhabi for two weeks.  My 2 year old cousin Miri think I'm making it up, but in a few hours I'll be on my way.  I'm looking forward to meeting my colleagues, working with students, and seeing a new country.  AND, I'll hopefully be heading over to Qatar for two days to see my cousin, Amelia, who will (hopefully) be moving there this week.  She's got an awesome gig playing music for rich people at a villa on a private island.  Yea, that kind of life.  (http://www.ameliarobinson.co.uk/home.html)  

Today, I hand in my last paper and then the summer will really begin.

Lots of love, Tamara

heartbreak

I've been inspired by this entry on darcy's blog to write one one of my own.

Yesterday, Maine voted to repeal same sex marriage.  Because of the time difference, I didn't have to stay up late to watch the votes trickle in.  Instead, I sat at the library trying to write a paper and hitting "refresh" over and over again on the Keep Maine Equality webpage.  By late afternoon I had a blasting headache and my heart hurt.

Somehow, for some reason, we think that by empowering others, we have to give up some of our own power.  Somehow, for some reason, we think that by extending rights to other people, we lose our own rights.  I am sickened by the ways that people feed off of fear and spread hatred in the name of religion.

Darcy posted these three videos, and they're also my favo(u)rites so I thought I'd share them as well.  They make me laugh and give me hope that love and commonsense will prevail.  Thank you to everyone who worked hard on the No on 1 campaign, who voted with their hearts, and who continue to keep up the fight.

Love, Tamara

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black

i think i'll be a baker when i grow up!

from this...

to this....

to this!

Apparently I can bake after all.  I love Halloween.

(and a big thank you to Julie and Lucie for helping
with the baking and the party;

you made it all a breeze!)

jacarandas and terraces: spring in sydney

view from Trumper Park, on a rainy spring day.  one of my favorite spots in sydney.  especially when the jacarandas are in bloom.

veggies!!

I think I finally got the photo thing working....  Anyway, here's an update on the garden:

i

looking good, eh?

I'm not really sure when to pick the zucchini.  Any tips?

Love, Tamara

for darcy....

and for Steph, too.  I think you two might be the only ones left reading my blog.  Anyway, Darcy asked that I be better at updating because apparently talking to me once a day online isn't enough to really get a feel for my life.  hehe.

So here I am sailing on the Harbour...
Actually, not.  With the new photo editer, I can't upload photos and write at the same time and it takes forever (like a good 15 minutes) for me to upload photos onto blogger.  Steph, do you know any blogger tricks that will allow me to keep writing while the uploader does it's thing?

For now, you'll just have to see my photos on facebook or wait until I upload them to flickr.  Sorry.

The story is that last Saturday I decided to do some in-depth experiential research for my paper on Plum Creek and Moosehead Lake, so I took some friends up on the offer of going sailing on the Harbour.  Beautiful day + warm weather = perfect research setting.  We left from Greenwich, sailed under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House, and over to Watsons Bay for a swim and a bbq.  mmmm kangaroo meat mmmm.  We got back to Greenwich in time for me to find out that some asshole with no imagination or driving skills had decided that I parked him in and called the cops.  In the process he freaked out my cousins whose car I had borrowed and who thought that I had gotten kidnapped and was lying tied up in my apartment while the criminal made up off with the car.  All was put right in the end when the cops came, saw the car, and decided that the guy was just an idiot.  By the time I got back, my cousins were laughing about the whole thing and the guy was more bitter than ever.  Let's just say it was an interesting end to the day.

Today's my last day of uni for the year- although, I still have quite a few assignments to hand in.  A big celebration will be in order when this is all over.  For now, I'm off to the library.

Love you!!

Tamara