http://www.sdangit.com Ramblings of a Chinese-American living in the Simcity of the Middle East... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:50:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One month into the new job! Work is going great. Lots of new responsibilities. So many things to learn. We have over 1700 employees in my business unit so tons of people to meet and to get to know. I've learned more Tagalog, Hindi, and Arabic ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/07/salamat.html There is nothing like a big bowl of hearty stew in the cold of winter. And just because I'm in Dubai doesn't mean it doesn't get cold! Even though it is 40°C (104°F) outside every day, it is 22°C (71.5°F) in my apartment and we don't even have the A/C ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/07/la-ham-saloona.html Last night, while waiting on the queue to get into Club 400 at the Fairmont, a man standing next to me asked, "How much?" "How much what?" I asked back, thinking he was inquiring about the cover charge for the club. "How much?" he asked again and pointed at me. It ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/07/im-not-a-prostitute-chump.html Eating out in Dubai can be expensive. A lot of great restaurants are located within hotels and DB and I seem to frequent the same ones over and over again. But to get to really know Dubai, I think it's also important to visit the more modest establishments and the ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/07/eating-100-dhs.html As per this post, the first dish in my latest cooking project is: Rice with Chicken in the Bottom (De-jaj ta-ha-tah). This was my first attempt at an Arabic recipe. It is from Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari's "The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook." I will not be re-printing ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/06/rice-chicken-bottom.html Today was day 7 of the new job but the first day that I was actually (physically) in my office. Can you believe the last 6 days were spent in Orientation classes? Holy moly - I am so orientation-ed out! Now I have to deal with getting a workstation, email ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/06/finding-the-time-to-blog.html   Previously, I had talked about wanting to learn how to cook up some Middle Eastern dishes due to the ease of obtaining the necessary ingredients here and also to learn more about the local culture. After some Googling, I have found a collection of online recipes from Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari. ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/06/cooking-local.html   A non-food related TT this week! 9 months after quitting my job in New York, getting married to the BF of 5 years, relocating to Dubai, and taking the time to explore a new country, I am just about to say goodbye to the life of leisure and embark on a ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/06/tt7-things-ill-miss.html Only 4 days of unemployment left! I decided to reward myself with a fancy dinner at Al Muntaha in the Burj in honor of having finally landed a job. DB and I went last night and this time we did indeed valet the car to avoid the horror of the ... http://www.sdangit.com/2008/06/celebrating-at-the-burj.html Just a quick post to say that this past Wednesday (1.5 weeks after I received my offer letter) I received my employment contract and am now due to start work on Monday, June 15th - WOOHOO!!! http://www.sdangit.com/2008/06/soon-to-be-an-ex-jumeirah-jane.html