Mo Amer, Emirati hospitality, a crazy-good sandwich

I had the best Friday night: a spa afternoon at The Hilton Yas Bay – their spa might not be the fanciest in the world, but it has what you need, and that's amazing therapists. 

Then I went over to The Lighthouse at Yas Bay Friday evening, where I snacked on some olives and had a few Negronis with a friend before heading to the Mo Amer comedy show at Etihad Arena. 

Yas Bay is a great place to hang out in Abu Dhabi. Beautiful overlooking the water, almost any kind of restaurant you could want, and a really fun vibe. I am excited because The Craft is opening a new pub out there too. (I sound like I go out all the time – I don't! I used to though, so I sometimes imagine that I do. When I do, I like to make it count)

When my friend went to the washroom, I could see an Emirati man at the next table being delivered a sandwich. I had been curious about the sandwich – it's not something I would order, but it was a collaboration with a food blogger and it did look delicious. So I asked if that was the collab sandwich and he said yes, the waiter had convinced him to order it. Then he asked the waiter to take the plate back to the kitchen and cut off a piece for me! I was mortified and delighted, and I just let it happen. While the serve was doing that, the Emirati and spoke about dining alone. I said I do it frequently and have zero problems with it. He called it his "quality time". And in a few minutes I had a mini sandwich and a few French fries to snack on. My only regret is that the man had put his earbuds in when I called over to say thank you, and  I gobbled up the sandwich and then got engrossed in conversation, and when I remembered I still hadn't thanked him again, he was gone. 

Living in Abu Dhabi has given me so many opportunities to see great Arab comics over the years, I'm really grateful for it. And Mo Amer, who is Palestinian and lives in Texas, and has two seasons of a show based on his life on Netflix that I am now curious to see, is a master. Not only was he hilarious, but he was gentle and kind – my fave kind of comic. He also had quite a few openers and one of them was Ali Khalefa, who is from Nazareth and has reportedly credited with helping pioneer the local standup comedy scene there. Although he performs in Arabic and English, one of this opening jokes was that he didn't really speak English – that if he memorized his show and joked that if anyone interrupted him, he would have to start from the beginning.  You can see him with Amer in the 2019 Netflix standup series Comedians of the World. 

I wish more people would take the time to watch Arab and Muslim comics at work. Not only would they learn so, so, so much about this part of the world, I think they'd realize how much we have in common. 

Okay then, I'll write about Abu Dhabi again

 I have been busy doing many other things. Blogging seemed quaint, outdated. 

And then I noticed how much traffic I've been getting – and that's without posting since 2019!

I'm still Canadian, I still live here, and I still love it. 

Even with The Situation – as my friends and I have taken to calling it – looming all around. 

You certainly wouldn't know it. I took a lovely stroll in my local park this morning, barefoot. Sunday was that first day. The one where there was a whiff of cool in the air. The day you know summer is truly over, and things are about to get really nice. 

If you are moving to Abu Dhabi or thinking of moving, let me know your questions and I'll answer them. 

This city is almost unrecognizable since the last time I posted on this blog. 

Yet it feels more like home than ever. 

How to be a happy expat

Because a cloud wall makes you want to take a selfie. 

After 10 years living in the UAE, some of that time happy, some miserable and the rest just about everything in between, I finally feel qualified to write this piece.

The answer to the question "How to be a happy expat"?

That time when home feels more strange than away

Me and my dad, Larry, on his birthday. 

There are a million great things that have come into my life ever since I left Canada for the UAE more than 10 years ago – a trip I thought might last a year or two, tops.

I've been aware that the experience has altered me totally and completely for most of the time to varying degrees. (I often liken those first few months to having my personality disintegrate, and then the rest of the year as me rebuilding it into something I could vaguely recognise. It's something else, leaving one life and building a whole other one for yourself.)

I feel like Avengers: Infinity War is getting enough press but Burj Khalifa

Tadweer is recycling in Abu Dhabi: Be still my heart!

Me recycling for the first time in years.

Two days ago I saw two men putting what looked to be recyclables into a dumpster just like the one above, in the parking lot outside the Park Rotana, and I thought, hmmm. Then I spotted two of the same bin outside my apartment and literally, my heart soared.

I still don't know anything about the bins, other than that they are there and I am happy about it, but believe me, I'm looking into it.

I want to lose my heavy baggage next trip with this $1,000 Travelmate robot suitcase

Wouldn't it be fun to walk through the airport with one of these "fully autonomous" Travelmate suitcases, which cost US$1,000 (Dh3,672) and come with a removable four-hour battery that can also be used to recharge any mobile device. There is also a fingerprint lock system, a built-in scale and a GPS to locate it if the absolute worst happens and your flight lands at 3am at Abu Dhabi International Airport and your suitcase is MIA and you have to line up at that little kiosk when you are so tired you can barely see. 

Of course I have also begun to envision scenarios where this robotic suitcase turns on you and refuses to stop at Duty Free, or some similar, or you run out of juice and it just refuses to move, like those petulant three-year-olds I always see slowly killing their parents at airport security. And I question: is it really fully autonomous? If that were true, couldn't it just flat out refuse to make the trip with you, or start spitting your clothes out as soon as you laid them in while packing? I shall never know. My trusty Victorianox looks set to last forever. 

The Travelmate was one of the exhibitors at the inaugural Amaze Expo 2018, which featured an array of high-end lifestyle products at the Dubai International Financial Centre's The Gate and wrapped over the weekend. 

Travelmate was one of the exhibitors at the Amaze Expo 2018