Voting from abroad

Cost to UPS two letters to Detroit, Mich. from Abu Dhabi, UAE to beat voter registration abroad deadline: $74
Cost to USPS two absentee ballots from Detroit, Mich. to Canton, Mich: $.80
Cost to USPS those two absentee ballots from Canton, Mich. to Abu Dhabi: $36.09
Cost to send ballots back to the US from Abu Dhabi: $74

Two votes AGAINST John McCain/Sarah Palin in this year's presidential election: PRICELESS

Dubai drive-by

Driving through Dubai with a friend recently, I snapped these pictures through the passenger side window. It was a good excuse to play with the b&w setting on my semi-new camera.

Amusing thing of the week

Big value, low prices: Everyday I am amazed at how cheap most things cost. Don't get me wrong, some things are expensive but generally food and clothing are cheap. Ever time I go out to lunch I am blown away. Two days ago I went to an amazing Indian restaurant and ordered: Naan, mutter paneer, pineapple raita (!!!), rice and bottled water. All of that included all the sauces and an appetizer as well. The cost? $8 (That's in US dollars). With the cheap price is all the added tip and no sales tax.. meaning $8 was the whole price.

 

What are the cheap things?

A gallon of gas: About $0.47... yes cents. Apparently it went up by about $0.20 last year. 

A can of Coke: $0.30

A gallon of ice cream: $1.50

A pair of women's flats (shoes): Got a "Target-like" pair last week for about $5. 

An average cab ride: $1.50-$3 (includes tip)

A name-brand flat screen 36" LCD TV (includes delivery and installation): $700

Dry cleaning: Got about 25 items done (washed and pressed) for $10. 

An ice cream cone from McDonalds: $0.30

Monthly electric/water bills (rumored): Around $5

A 50 minute deep-tissue massage (includes full use of Spa facility that includes pools, beach, etc): $68 

Cellphones and minutes: $138 (included a super nice Nokia, SIM card and 40AED of talk time which I am still using.. you can buy just a cellphone here for $30). 

A yoga punch card (includes 10 classes that run one hour and 30 minutes each): $95

What is expensive?

Mailing a simple letter (light) to the U.S.: $12

Buying 4 items from the MAC makeup store: $150

Buying one hour of SLOW Internet: $5

Buying a pint of cold cider: $11 (Anything bought at a hotel has an added 16% for service/tourist fees. This is sad because all bars are located at hotels.)

Rent: $2000 

Amusing things of the week

I've decided to do one post every week that contains things that are currently amusing the HELL OUT OF ME. Things that are generally unique, different or weird ... and that may very well blow your mind. 

Here's this list:

No need to run to Starbuck's anymore: What do I mean? Well, we have a personal COFFEE BOY who brings us coffee directly to our desks, everyday, for free! I had my boss and co-workers explain it to me about three times. 

"So, I tell him how I like my coffee... and then it gets delivered?"

Righty-o. Delivery right to my desk in a golden tea cup resting on it's porcelain saucer. The Coffee Boy, with his serving tray and bow-tie, visits our area many times a day. It's still unbelievable to me. 

'What is that noise?': That "noise" I hear about five times a day is the daily call to prayer. Each mosque has it's own "guy" who sings the call to prayer at different planned times of the day. How do I hear it? Well, every mosque here is high tech and has a GIANT microphone/loudspeaker on the top of their building. The call is actually very beautiful and is sung. I'm just hoping my apartment isn't too close to a mosque.. the first daily call to prayer is around 5 a.m.

If I die here, it will be car related.: I will not be driving here. It is INSANE. People here are fucking crazy with their cars. There are accidents everywhere (some guy who worked for the paper died yesterday because he went the usual speed of 100mph in the rain). Everyone uses their horns (CONSTANTLY) and pedestrians look like moving targets. There are actually no hard set laws about killing or waiting for pedestrians. People try to generally avoid them, but if you hit one.. well.. they didn't move fast enough. I never thought i'd be wearing a seat belt in a taxi.

Should have brought my gear: There is a huge ice hockey league here. 

Cheaper than usual: There is a HUGE Ikea here. Like 10 times the size of normal ones AND it's cheaper than ones in the States. And get this, if you spend 2000 Dhirim (about $548 USD), they will delivery it and send "a crew of little Philippine men in blue shirts to assemble everything." (That's a direct quote from one of my co-workers.)