New friends

I'm not sure when the fear of meeting up with someone I've never met, disappeared. This week I had the pleasure of taking out Natasha, a Brazilian girl, who lives with my best friend from high school (Romy), in London. Never met her, she was over to see Dubai and go for some interviews to check if she wants to move here. A few emails later, and Bob's your uncle - I picked her up from where she was staying and went to Barasti Beach Bar.

Accompanied by another new friend, Tom, who is also over from London and is training me (see previous blog), and my boss Joe, we spoke absolute rubbish until at least midnight. Joe is helping her find a job, Tom and I went out with her again last night, I met her friend Mike who lives here, and who I will drink delicious beer with again - all in all, this going out with strangers is rather fun!

I keep saying this, but promise it's true this time - I start swimming training again on Sunday. I'm scared.

Training Day

So I started training on our product today. I have 5 days to learn a software that has taken 5 years to write the code for. Ouch. So much for deciding not to do IT as a career ;-) Luckily the guy training us is the guy that wrote the software, so he's brilliant, and really good at teaching.

I had an awesome weekend, if I discount the sporting results. What a shocker for the Boks, the Proteas and Arsenal. Moving swiftly along. Wakeboarding was great - I did my first 180 degree switch, and got it first time, and 3 times after that, which is apparently quite impressive!

On day 8 of Weigh-Less, and Day 14 of missing my best friend beer. And all is well...

Work and play

So I've been at my new job for a month now. It started really slowly, more because I didn't really know what to do, and am out of practice with the whole being able to do what I want thing, than because there was nothing to do. It's a 4 minute drive from my house, which is bliss, and I finish at 5pm. Yes, every day. No more waiting on other people to finish, ads to go off etc, I am literally home at 5.10pm every day.

This would be a prime opportunity to get some gym sessions under my belt, and still be on my couch eating dinner before I would normally even get home, but to be perfectly honest, the first few weeks consisted of an afternoon nap between 5 and 7pm, before dinner, rather than something energetic like gym ;-)

I had my first client presentation today - I was shitting myself. I didn't get much sleep, and as my boss Dom kindly pointed out, my hand shook the whole way through. Which is a little embarrassing. But it went amazingly well, and I am uber-confident that next week will be even better. Bring on the commission! I had to pay 55 000 dirhams rent up front last month and so am exceptionally broke. All donations welcome.

I will take some pics of the new office on Sunday to post up here.

Weekend plans rock - wakeboarding tomorrow morning, Hopfest tomorrow afternoon, Lunch on Saturday, then rugby on The Palm, then my mate Michael plays a gig in Bur Dubai Saturday night. For those of you concerned about the welfare of my liver - I haven't had a drink for 11 days, and am not planning on having one for a while... It's about time I took a break.

Later.

Let's try this again

So, it's been about 8 months since my last post, and I was apparently really crap at this blog thing before that anyway... I used to write once a month maybe, and then pack it full of news like a much-loved-by-all group email. I have been advised by my older (and much wiser) sister - who maintains her own blog for my delightful nephew, that this is not the way to do it. So, it all starts again here.

I am once again footloose and fancy free. The thing masquerading as a relationship, that I prophetically told everyone to wait for it to last 3 months before I would give out details, is over. Surprise. He wants to be friends. Surprise again. Oh well, a girl can never have too many friends I guess!

The problem seems to be my love of sport. And perhaps my love of beer. Altogether = tomboy. Even though I have purchased 6 (expensive) pairs of heels in the last 4 months, am wearing Dior (yes, Dior!) make-up every day, and have never been girlier, that curse of growing up South African where sport is a religion, a part of your personality, a love like that of travelling, has struck again.

Except it's not a curse. I couldn't be happier than when I am holding an ice cold beer, and yelling for the Boks. Or for Arsenal. Or for the Proteas. Or even for Holland now I have made myself an honorary Dutch football supporter ;-)

I will not change. I will just date a better class of man from now on. Watch this space.

Oh, and here are some pics of me wakeboarding on Sat - damn it hurt!