The Power of Retail

So glad that September is racing by so quickly. It’s hard to belive that soon it will be October and the end of the year. One can already tell how the weather is changing here. It’s suddenly no longer so hot or humid, the sky is bluer and there’s less of a haze, the birds sound so chirpy again and the park sounds so appealing once more. We made an attempt to go after dinner one night last month, but it was so unbearable, that we ate an ice cream in the air conditioned restaurant at the park and came back home. This time we’re hoping we’ll be able to enjoy the weather again.

It’s getting to be a long hot summer already. It’s only June as yet, but it already seems like it’s going to be an endless summer. I can’t wait for November to come, so it becomes slightly cooler and more livable at least. I was out for a while yesterday afternoon, the worst time of the day, and came back to a bad headache that just didn’t want to go away. This heat just seems to sap all the energy out of me and I thought one would get used to it as one lived here for a while, but it really doesn’t get any better with time. In fact, it gets worse, as one gets impatient with it.

The credit card industry and all its related fields have really been hit quite bad since the economy went for a six! Support services such as credit report services however, are in high demand, although there is little that will really come from it. As the banks have cut back on lending, on credit cards, on any kinds of loans, there are fewer credit checks required, but as the number of defaulters is on the rise, they are seeing a larger number of requests on this front. According to some reports, the banks will soon open up lending again and authorising credit cards for consumers who still have good ratings.

I’m not a big fan of indoor pets, but a good friend who is mad about them recently took me along to go shopping for pet beds. I really wasn’t interested in going at all, but sometimes it is just easier to go along with the flow than say no, isn’t it! Well, it was quite a learning experience as I had no idea there was such a specialization for something as simple as pet beds. She eventually ordered from an online store as they had the best selection and prices, but the day turned out to be quite fun. Just goes to show, one should always keep an open mind.

The winter is superb short in this part of the world, but when it gets cold, it really does feel so cold. Well, compared to temperatures in the other parts of the world, it feels funny to say it’s cold here, but the wind is icy and blows right through you. Or at least it feels like it does! The houses are built to take the heat of the summer and have super high ceilings so using room heaters are no help at all. The best way is to layer ones clothing and spend time outdoors in the sun, which is still warm.

Even though we moved in here close to a year ago, we still haven’t finished buying things for the house. In a way it’s fun to spread out ones shopping, so one does not end up with everything from one store, but in others it seems like the work is endless. On recommendation by a friend, I checkout out these tv furniture items to see if they would work for us, and since going shopping online is so much easier than the real thing, it definitely seemed like a good idea. Just the thought of picking everything out in the comfort of ones home and having it delivered and installed without even having to go to 10 different shops in opposite corners of the city makes me smile!

Here’s another picture. This one was taken last month at Festival City. I quite like the place, even though the stores are not all that interesting, mostly repeated from other malls, and not all the stores are open as yet. The restaurants are good here and there are lots of cafes and hang out spots as well. Our old favorite Au Bon Pain will soon be opening there…or might have already opened in our absence.

Enjoy!

My beloved laptop has been undergoing a major overhaul for the past few weeks. There were several small irritants and problems that I had been facing for the past few months, which were not fixed the last time I had some time off from work. This time, I have lots of time, since I am on complete chutti and am only enjoying myself with a bit of surfing and blogging while I am here. The only thing that remains is a battery, that has been ordered and will be arriving shortly.

I’ve been taking lots of photographs lately and here is one that I clicked last week, when we were on our way back home, of the construction around the Business Bay area. No matter where you go in Dubai, you can spot the Burj Dubai, making it quite an icon, and it’s not even ready as yet. Just imagine how amazing and eye catching it will be once fully constructed. The funny thing is that even though it’s not complete, it has claimed the tag as the world’s tallest building, but there are several other even taller buildings being planned.

Updating my blog after a long time as I have been totally caught up in the wedding festivities which culminated with the Reception last night. I can’t believe that it’s all over already, since we’ve been planning and organizing everything for so long. I’ve taken tons and tons of pictures, but am not going to be posting any of them here, since it’s just too personal. Hope to get back to more regular postings here though.