Getting Ready for the Weekend

One often overlooked fact about the Middle East is that the work days and timings here are very different.  In the UAE specifically, work days are normally Saturdays thru Thursdays, but some companies will work Mondays thru Fridays because they’re customers abroad follow that schedule.  Most offices will have 5 days of work a week but those that have 6 days, such as Banks and the Government, will let you have a comp-off or compensation off day of your choice depending on the workload.  It depends on the department whether they want to have some sort of shifting for Saturday or to have people follow permanent schedules.  Other countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia sometimes follow a Saturday to Wednesday week.

I’m looking forward to test drivig the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited on Friday, and the Merc C180K on Saturday.  Hopefuly I’d have made a decision by Sunday.  I’m now using a rented Chevrolet Aveo which handles like a real schmuck.  Getting up to 60 KPH takes about a minute or so, and you’ll know you’re at that speed because it starts getting really wobbly.  It’s not so bad but the car I got is always having problems with the transmission.  In fact the other day I had a bit of a scare in the basement the Burjuman Shopping Center.  I was with the entire family and I had to turn the ignition several times before the car started.  I had to keep pumping the gas to maintain the RPM, and that’s quite difficult with an automatic.  I was afraid we’d stall in the middle of the street, which is not the safest thing to happen in the UAE - the country has one of the highest traffic-related deaths in the world.

It’s also getting a lot colder especially in the mornings.  It’s quite odd knowing we’re in the desert but it does get to a point where you really need to be properly insulated just to go out.  Right now it’s gets a little nippy once in a while but otherwise the weather is great.  I’ve already bought the kids their jackets some weeks back, and mine just this month.  I’m really looking forward to those really cold day when you can pile on the layers.

Here’re some pictures of the kids in their new attires: