The Blackberry Age
Isn’t it amazing how in this day and age of Blackberries, blogging on the go and being wired 24-7, some people have just discovered Skype?!
Today, in a momentous event, my dinosaur colleague finally had to give in to technology and download Skype. All simply because another colleague in the UK was getting really tired of having to pay huge international phone bills and threatened to stop picking up his calls! So, he was finally dragged, kicking and screaming, into The Blackberry Age!
Best of all, I had to download it for him, guide him through setting up his account and teach him how to use it and now he’s pleased as punch and is trying to add everyone on so that he can call them on his funky new mic and headphones! *rolls eyes* Maybe I’d better not introduce the concept of PC Security Cameras for his home so he can keep an eye on his daughter or maid! No prizes for guessing what he’ll probably be doing all day! 
Dubai - Where Anything is Possible!
I used to hear what a wonderful place Dubai was, from the magnificent Burj Al-Arab, their amazing summer sales to their amazing million dollar raffles where, if you were lucky, could be making your way home with a Rolls Royce! It was a place I’d always wanted to visit but never got a chance to until our last Middle Eastern trip which included a really brief 12 hour stopover in Dubai for a meeting.
If there is any city in the world where the streets seem to be paved with gold, this is it. From the airport, there’s a constant reminder that you’re actually in the middle of a desert as the huge 6-lane roads are flanked with a monotonous scenery of sand and small shrubs. However, when we hit the main city area, it really took my breath away. It is a city with one of the most unique architecture in the world, filled with skyscrapers and display of wealth everywhere. They’re currently constructing the Burj Dubai which is scheduled to be the highest building in the world, leaving our Twin Towers far away in its wake.
Construction is the name of the game here and everywhere you turn are buildings, half finished buildings and beginnings of buildings! Nothing of the desert left at all!
We had a hotel room to rest in for a while which was attached to the new Mall of the Emirates, and just for you May, finally, a photo I got of the Burj from the hotel room!
Don’t blink, Grasshopper, or you might just miss it! 
We had lunch in the hotel and what I saw totally amazed me - the world’s largest indoor ski resort with a 5 ski runs up to 400m and temperatures between -1°c to -2°c…all right in the middle of a desert! So while out there it was sweltering 40°c weather, inside were people bundled up in thick ski jackets and snow suits, having a ball of a time skiing, tobaggoning, building snowmen and having snow fights!
Chair lifts to take you up the ski run…INDOORS!
Ski down up to 400m of ski runs…INDOORS!
No more need to head to Europe for your next ski vacation or Winter Wonderland scene, just come over to Dubai for all year round fun of snow and skiing!
Isn’t this the perfect winter scene…INDOORS!
It’s totally surreal! I couldn’t get my head around it at all! Apparently they were in the midst of further constructing a new city which when completed will be totally surrounded by aquariums and fish, just like an underwater world! I think what Bro said was true - when you live out in a desert for too long, you start getting a little strange! 
It was a very brief trip but a truly amazing one. Where else in the world would you find snow mountains and sea fish right in the middle of a desert? Only in Dubai where just about anything seems possible! Someday, I’ll be back for the shopping!
Annual Leave
I just took stock of my annual leave and *gasp* I still have 3 to 4 unused leave balance from…2006! :O Which means I have not even touched a day of my current year entitlement! This is really surprising for someone who dreaded coming out into the working world because it meant that I no longer had long 3 months of idyllic summer holidays but a measly 21 days of annual leave. I tend to be a bit of a hoarder and I guess this has even showed up in my hoarding of my leave
I’m a bit funny when it comes to leave. I wouldn’t, if I could, take leave to just sit at home twiddling my thumbs. There’s no way, either, I’ll ever be like a casino mad friend who actually used to take leave just to play online casino on his computer. He told me he found online gambling easy because he didn’t have to drive up all the way up the hills to the casino, jostle with all the crowds and could play in his oldest tee if he so wished! No need for any dress code that the casino implements! Plus, he could use his other funds in online bank accounts such as Paypal which passes through the Government’s scrutiny! But that isn’t me!
For me, leave is about holidays, flying off somewhere exciting and exploring new sights and sounds. I guess my travel towards the second half of the year left me little time to plan for a holiday of my own. And unfortunately, things have gotten tremendously busy now that I’m not sure if any leave would be approved 
Sigh…what should I do?! Maybe I should just carry it forward over to the following year. Who knows, it might come in handy if some opportunities arise
Feed the Hungry
This is really cool. Play this word game and for every word you get right, 5 grains of rice gets donated to the United Nations World Food Programme to help to feed the hungry in the rest of the world. Just click on the picture to get started.
I’ve donated 4,000 so far So get playing and improve your vocabulary too!
*This is a community message brought to you by the letter P and E*
