Overheard in the newsroom: Klout one-upping is a thing now edition

Okay, we'll have a little Klout-off.

Except he hasn't worn shoes in 20 years.

Is it today? What are you, like 21 or something?

Chiva Som: Ommmmmmmmm

The view from my balcony. By the way, when you live in Abu Dhabi,  weather is not an issue when you travel. Rain? Welcome.

I just returned from a glorious week at the health resort Chiva Som in Hua Hin, Thailand, and am about five times the woman I was when I left. I am still grappling with the fact that I even went to a spa in the first place; it's not the kind of travelling I usually like to do.

Yoga at the Top, Burj Khalifa: Now THAT was a Friday morning

Yoga at the Top of the Burj Khalifa. The blue mat is mine.

So I completely scrapped my weekend plans when I heard my friends were going to do this yesterday: a 7.30am yoga class on the observation deck of the tallest building in the world, courtesy of Fitness First.

Um, yes, I am in.

And The Mountains Echoed: Anyone else notice that in Khaled Hosseini's world, women are ageing badly, misshapen or horribly disfigured?

Maybe it's because I recently turned 43, or maybe it's because last month I read Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, and liked it, but my enjoyment of Khaled Hosseini's popular third book, And The Mountains Echoed (now number two on the New York Times' Best Seller list), was paired with an undercurrent of discomfort - then irritation. By the end I was angry.

Overheard in the newsroom: Thursday edition

All I'm going to do today is feel pity for people who don't have more life awareness. 

I was just thinking I'd have a nap on the way home, but then I realised I'm driving. 

Istanbul - now that's a boozy city.

Editor A: I never really got Mr Wobbles.

Editor B: What didn't you get? He was not that complex a character. 

I love my Dad: A Top 10 list for Father's Day

Obviously I can't be in Canada to celebrate Father's Day with my very awesome dad Larry. So I sent him this list. He's the best.

In 2009 on a desert safari. Because you have to. 

Top Ten reasons I love my Fasha, on Fasha's Day

Wheeler's in Dubai and baby corn as a drink garnish: Discuss

I hate baby corn. It is the porridge of vegetables; it is the vegetable equivalent of the blandest, dryest most boring person you know. The only high point in its history is that film scene, when Jim Carrey chewed through a piece of baby corn as if it is a regular-sized cob. Hilarious, always.

And so, when the bartenders talked my friend into ordering this beverage (after the jump) at Wheeler's recently, I almost fell off my chair when I saw how it was garnished.

Today in Groupon: UAE Groupon writers are better than any product or service they are trying to sell

They are all gems but today's is really stellar:

Appearing comfortable in your body can help project a professional image more easily than sewing a three-piece suit out of business cards or replacing your head with a briefcase. Finesse your façade with this Groupon: get up to 6 sessions of full body relaxing massage starting from AED 75 at Emirates Inspiration Beauty Center.

Overheard in the newsroom: Super special holiday Thursday edition

I think Idris Elba would be a good choice for the next James Bond.

Editor A: I want to buy some new shoes.
Editor B: Me too, and I know where they are and how much they cost.

She took something away from me that day.

I hate self-service

The internet is just pages and pages of peril and porn.

This is fish by the way, it's going to smell

DIY Vampire Facial! That would be Google bait gold...

They all look the same, guys with dirty beards