Bad Hair Day

Today I finally bit the bullet got my hair done here in Dubai.

While there are salons (or "saloons" as they call them here) on every corner, it's actually quite expensive to go to (what I've read is) a reputable place. But with temperatures relentlessly climbing, I knew I had to do something with the frizzy, brassy mop I've been sporting. Three months of unemployment and the associated perk of sitting at the pool every day was great for my tan but apparently took its toll on my hair. Also, my roots are slowly getting gray but as I'm still coming to grips with that fact, I don't want to say anymore about it.

Anyway, evidently "the Rachel" from Friends circa 1995 has finally made its way out east. My hair is also very dark, but I was told I'll only have to wait four weeks until it looks "fab." Still, I talked the stylist out of ombre coloring, which she said would be great because I "already have the roots" and that it will only be on trend for "three more months so I'd better do it now." Good sales pitch, I told her, but seeing as I'm old enough to have some gray hair, I'd prefer something that will be in style for a little longer than 90 days, thank you.

So thankfully, my hair doesn't look like this:

But it does look a little bit like this:


Then she recommended I come back every 6-8 weeks, but unless I want half my monthly salary supporting this woman and her family, I'll have to negotiate my hair needs.

In other news, Rob and I were thrilled to wake up this morning to find out that everyone is now safe from those lunatics in Boston. It's so tough to hear these things from far away, worrying about the people I love there. But I always knew it was a fabulous city with fabulous people, and this tragedy just confirms that.

"Soaked in Sepia Tones"

Last weekend, we experienced our very first sand storm, a phenomenon of nature about which I wish I was still blissfully ignorant. Much like my first experience with ice storms in Missouri, I learned very quickly that they are not just the things of legend. They exist and they'll ruin your day. In related news, my suspicions are confirmed that California is pretty much the best place in the whole world.

Never did I see anything like this on even one brochure or website about Dubai before we moved here. Speaking of marketing, "soaked in sepia tones" was taken from a story about the storm on Emirates 24/7. Sounds so romantic, right?

Anyway, it already looked pretty nasty out in the morning, so Rob and I took a trip to the Mall of the Emirates, a massive shopping mall not too far from us (and home to the infamous indoor ski hill!) I'm not typically a mall girl, and I can think of many, many things I'd rather do with my precious weekend, but malls are air conditioned and sand-free and where people spend their time for the better part of the hotter months.

Here's a shot from our front row seat in the metro (which incidentally is the very best place to sit if you have to take public transportation.) It was 97 degrees when this photo was taken.


We left the mall with lighter pocketbooks, but with a pair of cute shoes (mine) and a new orange dress (also mine.) See? There's always a silver lining, even during freakish weather. When we'd spent enough money (read: Rob telling me not to buy anything else), the wind was really blowing hard so we found a bar to duck into for a cold beer and some soccer.

We made our way home via metro and bus on a pretty grueling trip, from which I think I still have sand in my eyes and teeth. Then we did the one thing we do best: we ate spicy Indian food until our mouths were on fire. Every time the restaurant door opened, menus, napkins, small children--pretty much anything that wasn't glued down, would go flying around because of the wind.

We got home just in time to watch the rain, thunder, and lightning from our apartment, which continued into the next day. I guess it goes without saying that by the time I arrived to work the next morning after my commute, I was looking like an extra on the Thriller video shoot.

May we never see another one of these again, but if if we do, may there be sales at the shopping center.