saturday > friday

FRIDAY
wasn't so hot. we slept in, went shopping, couldn't get a hold of majid, then we tried to go out to dinner at a place i found in the lonely planet for dubai, called the olive house.

to the left <- is a picture of the famous clock tower that we passed, it is one of the oldest landmarks in dubai.
so ram took us onto sheik zayed road (it is a famous one with lots of skyscrapers, including the tallest building in the world) but he had a little bit of trouble getting off of the main way to the restaurant. haider and i were frustrated because we had made a reservation ... and then we get to the place and the building is kind of falling apart, the food is so so, and the service is the worst. still we cant find majid (nobody has voicemail here) so we come back to city centre and go to the cinema. the ac is broken *** news flash we are watching some sort of MTV award show and they are giving and award to adam sandler and the tv here just censored tom cruise when he said the word "hanukkah" crazzzzzzzzy*** so the only movie still showing was prom night, which was the worst horror movie i've ever seen. the only plus side was that two of the detectives from the movie were stringer bell and ziggy from the WIRE.

SATURDAY
we were supposed to wake up at 7 am to go yachting with the al futtaim's - we got no call, so we slept in and then got some room service. we're starting to run out of groceries ... hopefully we get another infusion soon ... i was reading my book revolutionary road "an evocative portrayal of the opulent desolation of the American suburbs. Frank and April Wheeler, a bright, beautiful, and talented couple who have lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner" when finally majid calls to go out to the yacht. so he picks us up in his tricked out lexus (the al futtaims take brand loyalty seriously ... what would the consumer think if the CEO didn't use his own product?) and we go out to an isolated yacht club and drive down a gravel road to small marina.

let me take you on a brief tour of the THUNDER





all aboard!














maybe you want a snack? how about some turkish delight?




or maybe a quick nap in one of the kids' bedrooms (2 and 3 beds each) or maybe this guest bedroom?
but why settle when you can crash in the master bedroom ...
check out my fbook for more pictures, but it's a pretty nice (88ft) air-conditioned yacht.
we didn't go out into the sea, we just stayed in the marina ... first things first we took out the racing jet skis. first i took a ride with majid and then i went for myself. these things moved fast and they were so easy to use, like no problem. after we played around on those for awhile (hamad sprayed me in the face pretty good) we went back to the boat. then we jumped off of the top deck into the marina, maybe 30-40 ft? everyone else took a turn, and i didn't want to be a wallflower so i leapt. the fall wasn't so bad, but as soon as my head went under hot, salty water rushed into my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. it tasted like ... burning. i coughed my way back onto the boat and then we tied some of the inner tubes onto the jets. hamad took me out and spun me around for half an hour. he is a master rider and was spinning me in circles, bouncing me through his wake, and somehow slapping the rope into the water to splash onto me. i did my best and held on tight ... and he wasn't able to flip me for some time. once i got tired i yelled to him that enough is enough and told him to bring me back. "hamad" i yelled "don't flip me". thumbs up from him, so he revved the engine, took a sharp 90 degree turn and sent me flying out the the tube. water. burning. i popped back up to the surface (yes we were wearing life jackets) and he was saying "sorry" but couldn't stop smiling. he got me pretty good.
the boys kept tubing (haider couldn't get enough) and i read my book. once the sun set (it was a spectacular sight, as you might expect) we sat down and haider started to teach us bridge. it was just a beginner's version, but a lot of the rules were like euchre, so i caught on alright. it was me & majid playing against haider & cheeto (the head of the filipino crew that takes care of the boat). soo the yacht was amazing (flat screen tv, dvds, full fridge, at least half a dozen bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, jacuzzi, a mini crane for loading ski jets, tanning area, kitchen, plus a second set of everything for the crew's chambers). we are gonna try to go out again next weekend. majid says there is an island 1.5 hours away, and if we can we are gonna go on an overnight adventure!
tomorrow we are at DFC again, will be glad to have that done with. and then i think we move onto trading enterprises (jeep, volvo, honda, chrysler, dodge) for the rest of the week. cars? not my favorite, but i guess i'll have to wait and see what's in store for us.