Death of a legend

It was quite a shock for me when I opened the Yahoo! page this morning and the headline was that MJ is dead. Initially I thought there was a catch and this was yet another antic of the singer. Like most people my age, I grew up listening to his music and this truly is ver grim news for all fans like myself and the music world in general. To me, as to millions around the world, he remains one of the best singers in all history. I was one of those crazy fans of MJ who danced to his music, memorized all lyrics and practiced the moonwalk whenever wearing shoes a wee bit slippery. The man's talent as a singer, director, beat boxer and composer made him a multi-faceted genius.

This is a very sad day for music.

Yes - to spending

So I went out today and actually spent shit loads on a cell phone I have been in love with. This is not the best time for such indulgences what with the recession and salary cut but Lovely wife had a point in saying "just do it". It was sort of a gift from me to myself to beat the recession, if you will! The guilt I feel now is very strong but it's good to have support from Lovely Wife who was happy to see me finally buy the thing I had been reading about on the web for six months. Electronic addiction is a disease, I tell you.

In other news, I have been going out quite a lot lately after a long lapse. It's good, the couple of drinks, a session of "weekend smoking" and jostling around with people ina club or bar watching a game. We split nights now; when lovely wife has an engagement with her friends, I stay with our lovely daughter. She is now just about 4.5 months and a beautiful little lady who loves making spi bubbles. She has started teething ALREADY and is kind of fussy as her second tooth breaks through the gum. Starting her on solids is a challenge but we are persistent!

No

I recently siad no to a very good opportunity in AUH; the reasons were very valid so don't blame me. The money was pretty extravagant and I had to think two weeks before finally saying no. Now that I have said it, I am not looking forward to the next paycheck with the salary cut still in place! BTW did I mention that the salary cut is valid until March next year?

Pakistan against the Taliban

I am really happy to see that the Pakistani authorities put their foot down and decided to eradicate the Taliban. The price will be high and the going extremely tough; the recent blasts in Lahore and Peshawar have made that much clear. But what is it that makes a single man, let alone a nation such monsters that they relish in beheading, lashing and mutilating innocent people. The Taliban are not human and I would be happy to see every single one of them dead. The world has far too many problems by way of poverty and malnutrition. The last thing developing economies need is a reign of terror imposed by unkempt, uncivilized and heartless young men with no lives. That is exactly what the Taliban are and it brings them orgasmic joy to terrorize innocent people by committing atrocities which we cannot bring our selves to even read about. Pakistan needs to stop the influx of these monsters from Afghanistan, where they breed in their disgusting, incestuous habitat. It is painful to even think what the future holds for civilians in Afghanistan it self...

Emiratis steer away from cab-driving jobs

This is sad but kudos to the Sharjah authorities for being persistent about it. They are convinced that they have to change the indigenous mind set and that this is a good example. The prospective employees said that they prefer being unemployed than taking on such menial jobs. This is only possible in the Gulf! The indigenous population refuses to do low-paying jobs; so what is the example that they are following for sustainable, long-term development? More importantly what kind of example is this for the very young Emiratis?

Leads...

I am exploring a couple of leads to find other opportunities before I lose my mind in this place. Not the best time to look for alternatives in the investment banking industry but trust me, it is happening all around us. People are switching jobs, even if they feel that job security may be compromised as a new recruit in this environment. Let's see...

It's the simple things

We went to Ibne  Battuta Mall today, just to retrieve Lovely Wife's wallet, which she dropped in China Court but was handed by the finder to the security folks. Being book worms, we headed in to Borders and after selecting our reading list for the immediate future, ventured to the stationary section. Now, we're two of those strange people, who even at 29, have an artistic, whimsical and childish fascination for stationary. My goodness, does Borders have some good stuff or what! We did not spend a lot on it (because we're trying to be careful what with the salary cut) however those thirty odd minutes tha we spent drooling over that beautiful stationary were some of the happiest of our lives. Our daughter slept in her stroller and we were marvelling at the beauty of this pen, that mug or that notebook. It was a wonderfully "happy" time and will forever put a smile on our faces, even if we go back there to buy a heap of that beautiful collection of instruments. It completely overshadows the AED 800 we spent on shopping during the previous visit which was yesterday (Yeah, I know, we're TRYING to be lean... not good at it)

I know, we're VERY crazy.