Day 61 - First night

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Last night was the first night in my new apartment! I was so excited. I still took the shuttle from work to the Metro, but I stopped at Mall of the Emirates. I had carried a bunch of things to work with me today in my Fugro briefcase (a previous christmas bonus/gift), but I needed to get some things while I was in the area.

I went to Home Centre, which I think I'll just continue to frequent since they have some nice stuff for good prices. I was not quite as ready to buy as I thought though. I looked at kitchen stuff, which I really was not overly impressed with. And I could not decide on the colors I wanted for the towels (kitchen and baths). I wound up buying ice cube trays, a sauce pan, a frying pan, a cupcake tin, and some basic drinking glasses. With my briefcase, purse and big bags, it was not my favorite commute home, but it was to my NEW home!

I took everything up, tore the stinky sheets I had previously bought off my bed and threw them into the washer with some fabric softener. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to work the thing; then I remembered that Jamie had flipped a switch in her place, so I flipped all the switches I could find and the last one turned on the washing machine. One turned on the stove. One turned on the oven. And I think the other one was the water heater.

After I made sure that my washing machine would not flood the place, I went to meet my coworker and his wife, and my new friend Kim, at a nearby Irish Pub for dinner. Apparently, this is THE place to be in JLT. Again, I got a nice salmon dinner with spinach and leeks (YUM) and unintentionally another huge beer. These things are as big as my head!!! Sharnell - are you hungry? 😊

There is a Carrefour's market near my hotel, but I had passed a Spinney's on the way to McG's, so I decided to give it a try on the way home. I did like it this market. I was able to buy some basics: laundry detergent, dish soap, sponges, toilet paper, bread, milk, strawberries, granola bars, and a couple other little things. It is a little far, but not a terrible walk. However, my shoulders are really hurting today!

When I got home, I started to unpack, very very slowly. I tried to find the setting on my washer for the sheets to dry them, but I wound up washing them again. Meanwhile, I continued unpacking and cleaning off my dusty counter. Angel was right - I ran the water for a while, but it didn't become hot until I moved it to the cold setting! Weird... I did not want to put anything in the cabinets until I properly cleaned them and possibly put some contact paper down as well. I then tried again to find the drying setting on the washing machine and wound up washing the sheets for a third time. Well, I guess they're clean now! I decided to give it up for tonight and ask Jamie when she came over the next night. I was just gonna sleep in her bed tonight.

I took my first shower, after having washed all the dead bugs down the drain and turned the setting to "cold" for a nice hot shower. 😊 Angel said this was typical during the summer - I forget why... Fortunately, today should be a nice easy day at work. The bosses are gone, my killer reports are done - all I really have to do is keep up with my ongoing projects at a more normal pace. These projects are close to completion with field and lab results, so I wanted to get a head start on the report writing. I also need to make sure that all the bills I left back in the states are wrapped up because it seems like I have had a few charges to my account that were supposed to be CLOSED.

Tomorrow, I should have some photos for you all. Hopefully, tonight I can cook my first meal.

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Comments

[Sharnell]

Luckily there were no delicious pictures of amazing food this time! But fish does sound really good right now. I wish you could just have a helmet cam and stream all of the cool things you are doing, seeing, and eating! Always happy to hear you are making friends and enjoying your new place.