This post is 2 weeks too late, but certain unfortunate circumstances occupied all my time.. Oh well, enjoy a little glimpse of the casual city:

The South Bank

The best, & I mean THE BEST burger ever.. & they have gluten-free options too! If you’re in Australia, you MUSSST go try Grill’d..

@ The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMa)

& guess who was featured: RON MUECK! (the above is a self sculpture by himself)

Very realistic

Baby girl sculpture..

Old women..

Another favorite piece by Michael Parekowhai.. A seal sculpture carrying a real piano..

Gold coast from top..

Wheel of Brisbane

& B is also for Back in Abu Dhabi.. =)

My offline world, on the other hand, has been action-packed & I’m loving it! Never been this social before.. Seeing more people than ever.. Work also has been both rewarding & exciting.. & ofcourse, not to mention my annual birthday gift to myself: a trip somewhere my heart longs for.. This time, it was beautiful New York again. *flying hearts*

Why haven’t I been updating? Lets see:

1) First, & foremost, I enjoyed keeping alot of people on suspense.. Especially those silent stalkers. Suddenly I am off their radar they had to step out of the darkness & actually communicate with me to find out if I am alive or not! *mwahahaha*

2) The longer I wait, the more comfortable it seems to be offline & remembering how enjoyable life is pre-internet

3) There are people offline occupying my precious time – whether family, friends & simple special someones.. =)

& so, here I am, in my office with my florescently-covered Mac updating you guys and saying: I.AM.ALIVE

I am flying away again very soon, & I doubt I will update before that.. so until we meet again, I will leave with a few captured favorites from MoMa, New York <3

From the minute the staff welcome you to the “Burj Dubai”.. to the receipt we received that had Burj Dubai written on it.. To all the poems, descriptions, writings on the wall.. There was not a single ‘mention’ that this building is called anything other than Burj Dubai.

I know that there is $o much to be done in renaming everything & I know it is just a matter of time.

Nonetheless, if you are living in the UAE, you cannot NOT visit the tallest buidling in the world

Tunnel that starts your journey into the Burj..

The Hymenocallis flower that inspired the design of the Burj

Even though we were ‘at the top’ on the 124th floor, you can still see that there is much more of the Burj going up.. I think its a total of 164 floors?

This is so cool.. you must try it!

Going down =)

Like I said, you have no excuse not to visit the tallest building in the world when it is in your own country! & for those who fear heights- it isnt as bad, you could still enjoy the experience without the phobia

On the same subject, check below Ellen calling the tallest building in the world lol:

For more information, check The National’s article..

I still happened to have the special eclipse shades from the August 99 eclipse we witnessed while we were in Europe one summer.. Even got a certificate for that lol Never imagined it would be used again till today =D

I first tried to shoot the eclipse normally, but it wouldn’t show..

Then I tried putting the shades over the lens.. & tadaaaaaa:

=D

Sub7an Allah..

Until next update.. x

Ok, here goes: New year, new us & new resolutions.. Everyone seems to kick start their new year with energy and determination.. jotting down all their resolutions.. making promises to do things.. hoping that the year ahead brings much more of everything.. especially of things they couldn’t achieve in the past year..

& yes.. its cliche

Yet, I think why not? Why not be optimistic about the future, why not write down that to-do list and why not try to achieve it? At least its worth the thought..

So here are MY resolutions, which will go through a mid year audit: (lol)

1) UPDATE more often (this is dedicated to all of you out there.. & esp to Fatam, asmS and e7saas)

2) Travel to.. (or you know what, I will not mention details so nobody jinxes this.. When it happens, I’ll post photos lol)

3) BE healthier – life is already short, why make it even shorter =/

4) Memorize jzo2 3amma.. (at least use Um Younes’ threats to motivate me) lol *already halfway anyway*

5) Clear up my room(s)

6) Staff up (with guys.. COMPETENT ones) & clear up the false reputation that I only employ women (sho asawee if all the ladies that apply are more competent)

7) Have at least three gatherings this year (aim for 3 & hope to exceed)

8 ) Cook more.. & learn at least one new traditional dish

9) Take more photographs

10) Reply to all the pending emails & send all the promised photos to everyone I shot =/ <– this sounds easy but its not.. you have no idea

& so thats it! Lets see how this year goes.. I’m hoping for the best =)

What are YOUR new year resolutions? Have you written your list yet?

& I’m offline again.. =p

p.s. excuse the photos – out of awwwl the days when I carry my camera 24/7 in my bag- I forgot it that day & used my mobile instead =/

All the rumors, the email forwards & BB messages of how PACKED the metro is & that you would no way be able to get on it easily were FALSE..

True, it took us forever (15 mins) to get our tickets/cards because of the queue.. but the minute you step inside, its not crowded at all.. Infact it was one of the least crowded stations I’ve ever been to inside..

The gold cards (first class) were not expensive at all.. I think we paid around 20AED each? I think that is too low & maybe they should consider raising the price a bit..

On the metro itself, I found it was one of the slowest I’ve been to – Maybe this is just the starting phase or maybe all the metros/subs I’ve been to were much MUCH faster in general? However, inside, it was exceptionally clean & not smelly at all (lol, yes it matters very much!)

I also noticed that people who are in the other cabins can get into the gold card cabins easily once inside the metro (which was confusing) and vise versa?

On our way to DIFC, the ride was pleasant; we easily found seats & it was not as crowded as I expected. On the way back, however, the nasty metro lady supervisor (yes, thats what Im calling her) demanded we stand in the aisles & no where the ‘holly baggage area’ which was completely empty.. I got so annoyed with her attitude we just got off the metro & decided to wait for the other one. She snapped at us that it will only take 3 minutes till the next one – we ended up waiting for 10 mins instead..

It was worth the wait for the next one.. Everyone was very polite, they got off their seats & offered them to us & we enjoyed watching the sunset from the tip of the metro as we were slowly (yes slowly) heading back to the MoE..

I am not sure if there is an easier way of getting your cards, but once you get past the queuing phase, you are sure going to experience an interesting ride. I also want to add that they did such a great job with how clean & beautiful the stations are & the quality food & beverage outlets & retail offered in them.. =)

To sum it up: Very impressive service, especially that this is the first in the UAE – Great job Dubai!

You cannot be living in the UAE & not try the Dubai Metro at least once.. So hurry & get your tickets/cards fast!

It was a super fast Remdhaan, passed so quickly, its as if it started yesterday! Although work was a lil heavy, but everyday was such a bliss.. family, friends, dish exchanges, cooking & lots of spirituality.. Allah yitqabal inshallah

What’s next? Its an action-packed rest of the year for me! Every single month, every single week, already my schedule is filled with events! Can’t wait to go through it awwwl & also can’t wait to give myself a treat-ful break when its all over =)

So, what are your post Ramdhaan plans? A fils for your thoughts..

Enough about me.. I meant to post earlier, but lets blame the overwhelming Remthan days for now.. I had the honor to receive copies of an exciting new book out there: Sewar Al Thahab

Its a comic book, manga style, of an Emarati boy and his adventure with a falconry competition.. I’ve read through most of it so far & it is quite intriguing, as if you are watching the cartoons come to life infront of your very eyes.. I liked it even more, because its spoken from the imagination of a UAE National.. & it makes us proud to see more UAE talents out there showing what they got to the world.. =)

So far its sold exclusively in Kinokuniya Bookstore in Dubai Mall until 15th of September, so hurry & be the first to receive copies of this exciting book. You can also support them through their Facebook group..

Good luck to Qais & his team.. to the best always! =)

EDIT: Video of the Gold Ring sculpture in the making:

Loud applause for the makers of the clip, who are also running a big campaign on encouraging Positive Arabic Media! =)

Enjoy & please share:

9a7 lsanek ya Mohamed bin Futais.. couldn’t have been said any better than this!

p.s. Thanks Lady M

ياهل العقول الواعيه والرشيدهـ
المنكر الي عمنا يبغي انكار

بإسم الضمير اقولها في قصيدهـ
يكفي خراب بيوت وافكار وديار