Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai General Chat

Well, I just got back from food shopping. I avoid doing this on a Friday and Saturday, but I had no choice - had to do it today. Obviously there are way more people shopping and I couldn't help to notice something that I noticed for sometime now, but just saw a bit more of it today.

I'm generally in my own little world thinking about what I need to buy so not really aware of people per se, but there are just some things you are forced to notice, such as:

when there is a group standing around and it is difficult to pass and although it is clear that they are obstructing the "path" they stand there planted like trees. They can see you can't get past and don't move until you say "excuse me" through gritted teeth, and then reluctantly they move.

people checking out the contents of your shopping trolley.

people leaving their trolly dead center in a path to walk away and go look for the item they want to purchase. I generally give the trolley a shove and send it further along and out of the way.

it takes a group of anywhere from 3 to 6 to buy a bag of rice.

men of a certain nationality love to go into the aisle where there are women's bras and panties and "fondle" them - the bras and panties that is, I don't know about themself.

and the latest:

When it comes to mixed marriages I couldn't care less who marries who. But, in the past I had noticed that the females of a certain nationality seem to carry this attitude with them when they are out with the husband/boyfriend. Last week while shopping I had stopped and stood a moment to get my bearings and while thinking this couple walked towards me, the woman being very pregnant. As I was thinking about what I needed and not "looking" at her, just aware of her, she pulled this face and started rubbing her belly as she came towards me. Looking me dead in the eye with this face of shear defiance, almost daring. I didn't give it much thought and went back to my "thinking" . Pushed off and went about my business. I hit another aisle a few minutes later and noticed the couple again. I noticed from the side view that she was doing the same thing and walking towards another woman. OK. Then at the check out the couple were a few lanes over and there she was - doing it again to another woman. Then it dawned on me!!! Me and the other two women were white!!!! Her look seemed to say: Yeah, I got a white man, and yeah this is his baby, so what's your problem??? It reminded me that I have seen these girls with white husbands, which range from about their age to men old enough to be their daddy, or maybe even their granddaddy, do have a tendancy to give you a smug stare.

Then while driving home, I stopped in the far left lane for a red light and I was looking to the far right at something. Next to me was a white car. I guess the driver could have thought I was looking at them, which wasn't the case. I noticed the window go down so I glanced over and here was another one of those girls taking her sunglasses off and eyeballing me. I thought she was going to say: Yeah, I drive a PBW, what about it ?

Clearly alot of insecurity with these girls.

I would love going the home shopping/delivery route if it were possible, but I like to see what I buy.

Bora Bora wrote:when there is a group standing around and it is difficult to pass and although it is clear that they are obstructing the "path" they stand there planted like trees. They can see you can't get past and don't move until you say "excuse me" through gritted teeth, and then reluctantly they move.

Yeah, those passive aggressive people, or people who are not aware what goes on around them. May I add another irritation in the supermarket: people who only realize they have to pay after all their shopping is scanned and have to look for their wallet for minutes. What did they think after standing in line and seeing their groceries over the belt. That it would be for free today because they are so special??
I also see that in some countries it gets more customary to immediately put their trolley in line and then start shopping. WTH?

I work in quite a small market town which attracks a lot of holiday makers. The pavements and roads are quite narrow. I tend not to venture out in the summer as you can walk behind holiday makers who just stop dead on the pavement to pull their socks up or something and if you haven't got your wits about you, you can fall right over them! At best you have to step out onto the road to avoid them and risk being run over by a go faster tractor with trailer driven by some spotty youth with a mobile phone stuck to his ear who has missed the sign saying vehicles over 40 tons should not be driven over BM.
Retired people also have a habit of reminising in the middle of the pavements too, I find.
I also object to those pushchairs made for twins that sit them side by side and totally block the aisles of shops, nor do I like those pushcahirs which have 3 wheels which resemble a vehicle made to transport retards. Who would want to go 'off road' with a pushchair?

How was my day? So far, expensive.
I took Beth to the local BMW garage and bought her, her very first car. A Mini One. two years old with 17,000 miles on the clock and silver in colour.
There was a 'special' offer on this weekend and they had knocked £500 off the price. The salesman swore they were losing money on this car at this price and there was absolutely no way on Gods earth he could do anythink more for me. (yeah, right!)
Beth was over the moon with it but I didn't like the wheels so invested it 4 new alloys and some mud flaps but I drew the line at the shiny bit of pipe I wanted to make the exhaust look nice. They wanted £65.00 for that. I shall be consulting ebay later today.
The engine cuts out when you stop at the lights and starts up again when you put it into gear. The salesman assured me that this was not a fault and it was meant to do it. Now the only thing left is for Beth to learn to drive.

I also fluttered my eyelashes and got one of the mechanics to look at my X3 which still misses in second. He put it on the computer and lifted the bonnet and took all these plug things out and put them back in. The computer showed no faults with the engine and when he shut the bonnet one of the catches decided to seize up and it took him 10 minutes and half a can of WD40 to unseize it. That made him late finishing as they knock off at 12.30. Oooops LOL

I've been recovering from Sandance last night. Great gig, The Script were brill but I am seriously considering giving up the grog.

OH, these times are hard,
Yeah there making us crazy, Don't give up on me baby

Worked all day from 8am till gone 10pm - knackered and shattered. Doing nowt no but watching some Grey's,

My day turned out to be well good

Man City beat Newcatle 3-1 and we are now 5 points ahead in the table. City are cooking on gas!

Went to see Lee Nelson in concert last night, he's a comedian from South London, then dined care of a drive thro MacDonalds. Ate the chips and binned the burger.

Off to work on a Sunday for a few hours and I don't even get paid overtime! Now that's dedication Then home to make roast pork, with extra crispy crackling, apple sauce, roast potatoes and veg and rice, how it was meant to be served, pudding Oh and a couple of glasses of chardonnay!

Now that's what I call a good weekend

Laters!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhGrIoxvGSk&feature=fvst

A good day.
On my way back from work (yes, I work sometimes! It can be fun especially on a weekend) I admired the snow covered countryside and the beauty of nature. I decided to buy some groceries in a Supermarket. You can park for a short period by the kerbside. I saw a vacant parking slot with a SUV beside it with its Left side indicator on. I pulled up behind expecting it to drive off any second as the road was clear. To my surprise, it backed into the parking spot that I was waiting to get into!
"Woman driver" I thought to myself.
As I drove past it, I turned and looked inside. I was right once again for the hundredth time!
So, on the whole not a bad day, and the Chivas waiting for me at home!

Been a few months since I posted last. I slept till 11am...drank coffee and chilled out poolside till about 2pm. I then went and hit the driving range and shot nine, came home, got back in the pool and read the paper. Made the Mrs. dinner before she went off to work, had a nap, watched some TV and about to call it a night.

Will be doing the same tomorrow if anyone is in the 'hood? Life is good!

dubaidog wrote:Been a few months since I posted last. I slept till 11am...drank coffee and chilled out poolside till about 2pm. I then went and hit the driving range and shot nine, came home, got back in the pool and read the paper. Made the Mrs. dinner before she went off to work, had a nap, watched some TV and about to call it a night.

Will be doing the same tomorrow if anyone is in the 'hood? Life is good!

Clearly you are doing something right! Enjoy man, I am sure you deserved it.

dubaidog wrote:Been a few months since I posted last. I slept till 11am...drank coffee and chilled out poolside till about 2pm. I then went and hit the driving range and shot nine, came home, got back in the pool and read the paper. Made the Mrs. dinner before she went off to work, had a nap, watched some TV and about to call it a night.

Will be doing the same tomorrow if anyone is in the 'hood? Life is good!

What does 'shot nine' mean?

dubaidog wrote:Been a few months since I posted last. I slept till 11am...drank coffee and chilled out poolside till about 2pm. I then went and hit the driving range and shot nine, came home, got back in the pool and read the paper. Made the Mrs. dinner before she went off to work, had a nap, watched some TV and about to call it a night.

Will be doing the same tomorrow if anyone is in the 'hood? Life is good!

Gutted, no Rock Band buddies to play with til the early hours

Bit of a hectic day for me. Took moggy No.1 to the vets to have most of his teeth out, he now only has two remaining but at least they meet so he can sort of chew, he is now affectionately known as GumGum. Puppy was at the vets too having an exam and deciding how we're going to extricate his crown jewels as they're retained due to a birth defect - he's not going to be happy next week! And a cone head to boot. Did some work, then actually went to work, before having to leave early to pick up one of my oldest and best mates from the airport - yay.

-- Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:32 am --

Bethsmum wrote:

dubaidog wrote:Been a few months since I posted last. I slept till 11am...drank coffee and chilled out poolside till about 2pm. I then went and hit the driving range and shot nine, came home, got back in the pool and read the paper. Made the Mrs. dinner before she went off to work, had a nap, watched some TV and about to call it a night.

Will be doing the same tomorrow if anyone is in the 'hood? Life is good!

What does 'shot nine' mean?

Half a round BM. A round of golf is 18 holes, so shooting 9 is half a round.

Chocoholic wrote:Half a round BM. A round of golf is 18 holes, so shooting 9 is half a round.

Oh I see. Thanks Chocs. I only know about football. Golf always seems like a game for old men, to me. I can't think of it as a sport. I never think of rowing as a sport either, for some odd reason.
Random!

Can't say I am a huge fan of Golf, but there are 3 courses in the neighbourhood and the Father-in-Law is an avid golfer so I figured why not? Good way to kill an afternoon and have a couple of beers along the way in the sunshine!

dubaidog wrote:Can't say I am a huge fan of Golf, but there are 3 courses in the neighbourhood and the Father-in-Law is an avid golfer so I figured why not? Good way to kill an afternoon and have a couple of beers along the way in the sunshine!

And keep in with the Father-In-Law! Good move. Is he rich?

Walked around a Mall in Yiwu for most of the day, the place is about 6 times bigger than M.of E. row upon row of shops all selling the same thing and the amazing thing is we didn't see a single person purchase anything all day long.

I have a formal wedding to go to next month so I started dress shopping today. Went into one of the larger department stores and I need some direction as to where to find the dresses.

Me: Can you tell me where the evening gowns are?

Salesgirl: For women???

Me: Yes, for women.

Oh dear, that's kinda tragic.

Just the usual of work and entertaining a friend whilst she's in town.

Well thankfully not a bit like Yesterday, that was Frustrating, whenever I deal with the Authorities in Dubai, it’s frustrating and there are more Authorities in Dubai than you can shake a shaky stick at!

Frustrate; To prevent a plan or attempted action from progressing, succeeding, being fulfilled or to cause someone to feel upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change something or achieve a specific goal.

And that pretty much sums it up really, aggravate, discourage, irritate or annoy just don’t carry the definition and full meaning of Frustrate do they? I’m not going to bore you all with the sordid details, as I’m pretty sure you’ve all been there at some point, whether attempting to find the relevant Government offices, incorrectly indicated on their own website and un-contactable through a disconnected Tel No, or dealing with a Government Agency Customer Services Representative (Grand title isn’t it? They should shorten it to ‘Consultant’ as they have done in the Estate Agency businesses, I’m sure it would convey a higher level of professionalism ) who knows no more about the processes of the services they are attempting, and paid rather handsomely to provide, than a blind man would stand a chance of being led from a burning building by another blind man.

So I eventually got home, wound up tighter than a kettle drum and feeling stitched up like a kipper, reflecting on the day’s events and deciding how I could avoid being placed in these situations ever again, as I do every time it happens, then I found I couldn’t decide whether to calm my frayed nerves with a large glass of Cameron Brig, my favourite Scotch or a bottle of Bishops Finger… so I had both, and then suddenly, I was at peace with the world once again.

Just back home from a few fantastic days in New York.
The last day was a really good day.
Got up and walked down Madison Avenue to the UGG Store where I had to queue to get in. I don't normally queue for anything if I can help it and certainly wouldn't line up to get into a shop but made an exeption to buy Beth some new Ugg boots for Christmas. I didn't realise there were so many varieties. I don't know about a recession, people were buying 4 and 5 pairs and the cheapest were about $200 a pair!
After parting with some cash I needed coffee so went to the Plaza Hotel on Central Park, just a stones throw away where I had coffee from a real silver coffee pot and some Danish pastries.
I liked the flags hanging outside this hotel, there was the Fairmont flag, the Plaza flag, the Stars and Stripes, that Canadian thing and the biggest and best Israeli flag in all it's glory. Nice one
Walked back along 5th Avenue. The shop windows were magnififcent, all done up for the holiday season. The Cartier store was wrapped like a Christmas gift.
I have to say this for the yanks, they make a big effort and it was all lovely.
Ended up with a liquid lunch at the bar of the Waldorf Asoria, drinking Chardonnay at the bar and watching the rich people eat.
Had a break later in the afternoon and headed to the Bull and Bear steakhouse in the Waldorf to have dinner before a show. Had the nicest Filet Mignon with a peppercorn sauce and buttery mash, oh, and a G&T to wash it down with. Delllllicious!
Flagged down a taxi and headed for the Majestic Theatre to watch Phantom of The Opera.
I wasn't asleep for the first bit, I was just resting my eyes but the second half was very enjoyable
Came out and headed down to the East Village to what is supposed to be the best bar in the world. The address was 113 Marks Place and it took me 10 goes on redial to get through to make a reservation that afternoon.
The taxi driver let us out outside a dingy hot dog place which had the address 113 Marks Place. This can't be it, thinks BM but decided to venture in and ask directions. There was a wierd looking lady taking orders for hot dogs and she had the reddest lipstick I had ever seen.
She pointed to a phone booth in the corner.
I went over and read the sign. You had to pick the phone up and dial 1. Suddenly the back of the booth opened and some other strange looking woman asked if we had a reservation. She let us in and I had to breathe in to get through the booth.
Wierd.
She showed us to our table. The place reminded me of some illegal drinking den. There were no windows and it only seated around 35 max.
It's famous for it's cocktails and I spent quite a bit of time watching the two bar men. I chose a gin based cocktail that was pink. All the cocktails were $15. I wondered about trying the bacon infused bourbon one but decided to stick with what I knew at $15 dollars a go.
I needed the toilet, or the washroom as they say in America Land. I was directed to a door which slid open and reminded me of our caravan toilet when we used to go camping in Germany.
I sat down and nearly ended up on the floor as the toilet didn't appear to be secured to the floor.
Wierd.
After $90 worth of cocktails we asked if we could leave and were chucked out into the hot dog shop where we ordered hot dogs. It made a change from a kebab.
I'm not sure who votes for these places. It was worth a look but I prefered sitting at the bar in the Waldorf and without the fear of breaking my kneck when I needed the loo.

All in all a bloody good day.

BM,

Did I tell you NYC is one of my favorite cities?... we have a pad there.

Are you talking about 'clrif dogs'?...not the best bar but allegedly the best weiner...one of my brother's friends (and former college roomate) owns the place!...as often said in the big apple...'not for every one'.

I'll be there next week...the city I mean.

Welcome back BM!!! Happy to hear you had an enjoyable time. Yes, us Yanks do it up for Christmas.

So pray tell, what else did you buy? Did you swing by Tiffany's and pick up a piece of bling bling???

Slight correction: It's St. Mark's Place. One must visit a dingy bar while in NYC and the village does have plenty of those.

Ambassador wrote:BM,

Did I tell you NYC is one of my favorite cities?... we have a pad there.

Are you talking about 'clrif dogs'?...not the best bar but allegedly the best weiner...one of my brother's friends (and former college roomate) owns the place!...as often said in the big apple...'not for every one'.

I'll be there next week...the city I mean.

No you didn't tell me that Ambassador, NYC is also one of my favourites. It was hectic, I can tell you, and expensive. I'm not that keen on the tipping culture either. Half the time the change wasn't brought back as it was anticipated that it would be the tip. Damn cheek, if you ask me. I was also asked in the Ugg shop if I would like to donate my change of $4.95 to a homeless charity.
Yes, I was talking about Clif Dogs, a bit of a dingy spot. I think you should tell your brother's friend to give it a lick of paint. The hot dog was very good though and I was mesmirised by the man on the next table who was the spitting double of Alice Cooper.
I'm jealous of your impending trip Ambassador, I hope you have a great time. We did that hop on hop off bus tour which took us around the districts of Manhattan. I did a lot of time wondering 'Who Lives in A Place Like This?' Maybe I was looking at your pad!

-- Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:17 pm --

Bora Bora wrote:Welcome back BM!!! Happy to hear you had an enjoyable time. Yes, us Yanks do it up for Christmas.

So pray tell, what else did you buy? Did you swing by Tiffany's and pick up a piece of bling bling???

Slight correction: It's St. Mark's Place. One must visit a dingy bar while in NYC and the village does have plenty of those.

I'm not sure whether you make more of Thanksgiving or Christmas, Bora. I was wished Happy Holidays every where I went. I didn't like to ask which holiday they meant!
Yes, I visited Tiffany's. It has to be my favourite place But no, no bling bling for BM To be honest I was too frightened to ask the price as nothing was priced. You know what they say, if you need to ask the price you can't afford it.

Thank you for correcting me, it was indeed St Marks Place. I had to look back to see what I had called it.
I think I'm a bit jetlagged to be honest. I'm not usually one for blaming jetlag but my head isn't on straight today. It can't be the alcohol as I haven't touched a drop for 48 hours. Maybe it's withdrawl

Ah well back to work, where the talk is of the strike yesterday. I was dreading my transfer through Heathrow as they aren't the fastest lot, but I was pleasantly surprised as the stike at Border control didn't have the slightest impact on arrivals. My work mates were not on the picket lines but Christmas shopping. I don't agree with strikes and me pointing out that they weren't getting paid whilst doing their Christmas shopping didn't seem to go down that well.
The news to day is that they are calling for the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson who said on National TV, last night, that all strikers should be shot in front of their families. LOL, I love Clarkson.