I must admit, I missed Dubai just a little

isnt she beautiful?

Our amazing Canadian Adventure is over. We are back in the sands, and life has slowed back to a normal pace, just in case the radio-silence wasn't enough of an indication. Back to our thankfully un-ransacked little apartment and the relentless heat of the Middle East. The first thing Kate did was wash a bunch of clothes and go for a very long, very hot shower. Fair enough. The first thing on my agenda was making sure that the server was still running, and getting everything else in our place back online. Aside from a bit of mold here and there, it was as if we never left.

It was nice to sleep in our own bed again, with our own pillows, and not have to worry about packing up all our stuff before checkout the next morning. It's also great that I don't need to check the weather forecast when I'm in Dubai, ever. Canada was a huge amount of fun, but the slower, more predictable pace of our regular lives here in Dubai has made a welcome return for now.

But I'm not just writing here for the sake of writing. There is still some stuff to report. The big news is that I (finally) have a job here in Dubai. I'm working at the British Embassy down by the Creek, doing my best to help keep the network running smoothly. It's a fun job thanks to the Embassy being like it's own separate universe, walled off from the rest of the Middle East. There are loads of facilities there, like a pool, tennis courts, gym, and even a fully stocked (self serve) clubhouse and bar! Safe to say that I much prefer working at the Embassy over my last job at Limetree Cafe. Not much else to cover on the job front. I'm getting things done, and making lists of more things that need to be done after that, and that's about it.

The downside of having a job (other than not being able to sleep in every day) is that my office is at the exact opposite end of Dubai to Kate's office, so we suddenly have a need for two vehicles. We already had a rubbishy little rental car; a Mitsubishi Lancer that sounds like a lawnmower and weighs about the same too. So after about a week back in the country we did some shopping and came home with a shiny new(ish) Nissan Altima. Lovely to drive, and just as safe as one of the standard 4x4 behemoths driven (badly) by 99% of people in this town. If I ever end up owning a Hummer, just punch me right in the face. No one needs a vehicle the size of a pool room.

isnt she beautiful?

So now we have two cars, and can travel to our respective workplaces as needed. Seems fine, but creates a new problem - our apartment only has one car space allocated to it. So we need to find a new place to live where we can park our cars without causing problems. Stay tuned to see if we manage to sort out that little dilemma. No firm answer just yet.

Other than the new job and the new car, Kate and I have been catching up with all our Dubai-based buddies, and seeing how the long summer treated them. Everyone seems to have made it through unscathed, and it's great to see them all again. The next big thing on our calendar will be our quick trip to Sydney in November for my brother Damien's wedding to Renee. Can't wait to see everyone back home after so long.

And that probably brings this blog up to speed with where we are now. Stay tuned for updates on our living situation as it changes, and a bunch of pics of the upcoming wedding.

Till then!
//Brendan