Just a normal day at the office

The hotel hosts an annual Dickens lunch... they asked me in my first week if I'd dress up- I didn't want to say no since I was new...it was fun though- we sold 50/50 tix.

Brrrrrr...

I wasn't sure if anyone still reads this, but Kristina mentioned the other day that I hadn't updated for a while, so that's one person....... maybe there are others, who knows!?

So I've been back in BC for just over 3 weeks and so far things are going well! I really like my job and I've already found an apartment- it's tiny, but I like the neighbourhood and it's really close to the hotel-it also has a gym which is great! I've been sort sick since I moved in last week, but as soon as I feel a little better I'm going to try to make it a daily routine. Although I am happy to be back, I do miss lots of things about the UAE (and a few about Cairo, but not many!)- friends obviously, cheap mani-pedis but most of all, the sunshine!! it is SOOOOOOO cold here! It might even snow this weekend- it's terrible! Just re-inforcing the fact that I am not designed to live anywhere that gets below zero...

So speaking of Kristina- it was great to catch up with her and Cole, as well as Adam, who is no longer a baby, but a little boy- but the most exciting part was meeting little Allyson Elizabeth for the first time. She's a very calm baby (unlike her brother was!!!)- I held her for ages and she didn't say a word! I can't wait to watch her grow up with her brother! Congratulations Cole and Kristina!!

Okay, my new favourite show, GLEE, is on, so I should go! Hope you're all doing well!

xoxo C

it's raining, it's pouring....

Wow, so a lot has changed in just a week! New continent, new country, new city, new job! One of the things I'm not so happy about is the new weather- man is it ever cold and wet here! I really miss the sunshine!



I'm currently looking for a home which seems to be a daunting task but hopefully I'll find something soon Meanwhile, here's a pic of Mike and his 'stach he's growing for movember (oh and a GIGANTIC canadian flag)

Hope you're all well! xoxo C

In Cairo again

So I landed in Cairo on Tuesday night- never something I'm super happy about, but it was okay this time as I'm only here for two days. I think most of you know, but I'm not sure if the news has reached all of my "fans"- I'm on my way back to BC for a job in Vancouver. It's cold here, at least 10 degrees cooler than the UAE and it's still in the mid 20s- I don't know how I'm going to survive in the single digits in Canada..ugh!

Although I'm never thrilled about being in Cairo, It has been great catching up with my cairo friends- a running friend picked me up at the airport, I'm staying with Ryan and Esther and Matt is just a few streets away. Yesterday I stopped by the hotel to finalize some stuff and it was great to see it in operation- everything looks fabulous and it was nice to see some of my old team-mates again. Things about cairo I did not miss: the pollution (I already have sore throat), the traffic (took me an hour to go 10K last night), the smell, garbage everywhere, street animals both living and dead, being started at... just to name a few..

Last night we went to see some sufi dancing at the local community centre.. they weren't true sufis or whirling dervishes (the ones who spin themselves into a spiritually enlightened trance) because at one point they turned into a horse, but it was neat to see nonetheless...

Tomorrow morning I get on the plane for BC- can't wait to see you when I get there!

Here are some pics of the dancing...

xoxo C

A few more pics...

The hotel

I can upload pics again- here are a few of the hotel.


The hotel from the outside


View from the Elevators- the creek and Sheikh Zayed's mosque in the background


Hotel lobby by day


...And by night (it changes colour!)



Frankie's (italian restaurant) patio

Bootylicious

Soo I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that F1 was coming to Abu Dhabi, welllll it's here!

For just $800 you too could see the race as well as the nightly concerts by Beyonce, Jamiroquai, Kings of Leon and Aerosmith. Obviously I did NOT purchase a pass, but managed to acquire a free ticket to the Beyonce show last night. I am not a huge fan and wasn't expecting it to be that great, but it was fantastic! Not only did it turn out that I actually knew all the songs from the radio, but she is an amazingly entertaining and energetic performer. The "cool" (25C) night, outdoor venue and great company made it even more fun.

She played some of her older hits (Bootylicious, Crazy in Love etc) some newer ones like Halo, Irreplaceable and Put a Ring on It and even covered a few songs- Sarah Maclachlan's Angel and randomly, Alanis Morrisette's You Oughta Know... At the end she did a tribute to Michael Jackson and sang happy birthday to everyone who came on their bday. All in all an unexpectly great evening! xoxo C

Still Alive...

I know I know, I am the worst blogger EVER...

I have an excuse though- opening a hotel is TIRING- we are working at least 12 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week.. Also the internet in the hotel I'm staying at (ours) is not fast enough to upload pictures and I usually don't have enough energy to write much...

Anyway, I'm still in Abu Dhabi- where I've been since getting back from Kenya- it's great here, everyone is so nice and the city is SUCH a change from cairo, everything here is clean, there are parks, and fountains and things put there just because they look nice-- that would NEVER happen in cairo. I've even been driving lately- I have rented a car and have been driving all over the place- which I might add is not for the faint of heart- my first time driving in 8 months and I'm getting passed going 140km/hr-- people here drive soooooo fast, it's unreal.

Speaking of fast driving, excitement is building as the final race of the F1 season is happening here on Yas Island, (specially built for the event) in a couple of weeks...there are going to be lots of free events and concerts-- not sure if I'll have time to enjoy any of them, but hopefully...

Okay that's about all I have to report at the moment, I hope you're all doing well and one of these days I'll make it to somewhere with faster wifi and post some pics, the hotel looks amazing.

xoxo C

Taking a break during pre-opening...

Sounds like we're not getting Eid off since the hotel is opening in a few days, so we have to find other ways to amuse ourselves... Toyota jumping in the office..almost as good as going to bangkok!

Crazy americans....

playing in the sand...

Pictures, in order: the Sri Lankans teaching me some cricket chants; post Iftar (when you break fast at sundown during ramadan) playstation @ Ali's; Ollie (an awesome British guy who works in HR) and me watching the game; my hat blowing away; and our hotel team playing the Shangri-La in a desert cricket match! All in all a fun day off. back to work tomorrow.

Hope you're all doing well! xoxo C

Istanbul (not Constantinople)

This weekend I was traveling again but for fun not for work! Istanbul is a great city- totally not what I expected at all. The weather was perfect about 30C the whole time. We saw lots of the sights and had some great food too. Definitely worth a visit if you have the time- I'll definitely go back!

The pics, in order, are: me and the bosphorous; inside the blue mosque; Hagia Sofia; me and the bosphorous again; and finally....milky dessserts (check out the ingredients of the first one...mmmm chicken..)

Hope you're all doing well. xoxo C

Safari!

I think the pictures speak for themselves- arguably the most amazing 24 hours of my life! You HAVE to go! Video to follow. xoxo C

More Nairobi

Interviews have been going well here- I think we'll be able to bring back lots of fantastic colleagues for the hotel. Too bad we didn't just come here first and skip stupid Syria!

One funny thing-- we always ask the candidates why they want to join the company and why they want to go to the UAE and I've had about 10 of them so far, tell me "because I want to expose myself". I think they mean expose themselves to other cultures or to working in a 5* hotel or something but it is all I can do to keep a straight face!

Although we're enjoying the interviews, it's hard not to hope today goes quickly because tomorrow we fly to the Masai Mara for our SAFARI!!!!!!!

Kelly and I have been cracking up every morning at breakfast because we see whole groups of people in matching safari suits heading off- the suits look so silly and they are really expensive in the gift shop too! I've been trying to google what the purpose of these outfits is to see if we need to get one, and it seems that colours other than beige, khaki and brown make you "conspicuous" to the wildlife. I'm not sure if that means they will be scared ad run away, or that we will be dinner... In any case, if necessary I'm sure we can rent the appropriate gear.

Okay gotta get ready for our last day of interviews. Here are a few pics from dinner a couple of nights ago... just like last year, it feels like all we do is eat! I love life on the road but will also be happy to get back to my usual dinners of cereal soon. Okay, hope you're all doing well. xoxo C

We're from Nairobi and we're on the best team...

We do the Watusi, we're seven feet tall! The cannibals may eat us but they'll never beat us, cause we're from Nairobi and we're on the ball!

Does anyone else know that song? We used to sing it over and over and over at camp and it's all I think of when someone mentions the name of the city.

So, even though we had sort of a nasty introduction to Kenya (rough landing where even a flight attendant puked!) it has bee a great experience so far. We are staying at one of our own hotels so have been loving all the amenities- especially the gym- I went twice today!! That's the problem with these trips, all the recruiters expect you to go out with them every night- and eat eat eat! Tonight we went to an all you can eat meat restaurant called CARNIVORE! They have all sorts of meat on swords and they come round and carve it onto your plate. I tried ostrich and crocodile for the first time- the ostrich was great, but I can't say I'm a fan of croc- sort of fishy and chewy all at the same time- not a good combination.

All the people we interviewed today were fabulous- kenyans have such amazing smiles and such great attitudes. I tried to ask around to see if there were any long distance runners I could get some tips from but apparently those ones don't need to work in hotels since they are all kajillionaires from winning races all over the world.. Oh well.

Okay I should get to bed, but hope you're all doing well! xoxo C