Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in Abu Dhabi: Shisha, selfies, Ferrari World & just a little bit of camel rap

I am pretty amped about the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis concert at Du Forum on Yas Island tonight. I anticipate my friend and I will be the oldest women in attendance, but you know what? We're still gonna pop some tags (not that I am really sure what that means, but I know it will be awesome).

Macklemore landed in the UAE this week for his show and has made some pretty fun posts to his 4.5 million Instagram followers, including this fun mini Abu Dhabi rap. Will we hear it at the concert, I wonder? My favourite photo is this one, captioned "the language of selfie is universal".

Judging from the pics shot by some of the people in his group, the trip has also involved the typical: desert safaris, a mosque the Burjs (Khalifa and Al Arab) and old Dubai, too.

A couple of other things:

• Here's a cool interview with Ryan Lewis, conducted by The National's Saeed Saeed.

Overheard in the newsroom: Editor's conversation edition

Editor A: My back was too sore.
Editor B: From lunging?
Editor A: No from lying down for too long on the couch.

Today in things I never thought I would say

"You didn't tell me there would be chocolate furniture there!"

One headline, so many questions

Star Wars in Abu Dhabi: It really does look like Episode VII is shooting in the desert

When you hear that one of the world's most popular yet top-secret film franchises has moved its fictional planet to the desert in your backyard, you want to find it. You search, but the desert is big. You ask, but no one wants to say anything. And then one day, a brilliant photographer from The National is out dune bashing and sees what she sees: looks like part of an escape hatch from Tatooine, doesn't it?

Press release of the week: Lionel Richie at Dubai International Airport, from Think Events

The first line (I almost spit out my coffee when I read it at 7am): Lionel says "Hello" Dubai as he lands at 1 am this morning into Dubai terminal 3. Also, it's so rare to get something useful like this in the UAE. Usually I would expect to see something like this a few days after his concert, which is tomorrow night at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre.

NO DANDRUFF!! World's best casting call from Bareface on Twitter

Overheard in the office: Saturday night fever edition

"It's the most polite mean thing I've ever heard."

Today in tiny sandwiches: White and Brown bread edition

You guys! It's the best treatment ever!

I walk by this sign every day in my building and it always cracks me up. Don't explain what the treatment is, just use the word "CRYSTAL", charge a ton and declare it a winner of historical proportions.

I am probably just jealous that the spa in my building is only for gents.

Examining the expat: 20 signs you've lived in the UAE a long time

...you only stop to take pictures of the funny things you see about one-third of the time now

...people eating with spoons and forks makes perfect sense

...when you finally understand something after a period of confusion, you nod and say "ahhh, okokokokok" 

So, A Canadian in Abu Dhabi has been pretty busy lately and here's why...

...and by the way, it's hard to keep a blog going for six years! But I really love doing it, and I haven't lost my sense of wonder at the UAE, so I am again vowing to step it up. There are a lot of faithful readers of this space and I am grateful to each and every one of you. It's also a pretty great record of my time here and a valuable research tool for the book I hope to finish one day.

One of the reasons I've been out of touch is that I've been focusing on building the web over The National's features section, which you can find here and here. We also now have four really cool blogs going strong, fed by a team of talented, funny, in-touch writers, and I suggest you check them all out for an inside scoop on all the best and coolest things happening in the UAE: Bites, Scene&Heard, All Dressed Up and The Art Blog.

I've been doing my part to fuel them too. If you want to check out my posts, here are some links:

•The one where I try Abu Dhabi's first CrossFit gym.

•The one where I spaz out about the UAE finally having a good place to get yoga clothes.

•And these three, where I obsess about Zuma Abu Dhabi's desserts, Namakin Lime Juice and a place to drink kopi luwak in Dubai.

Here's to 6 years for A Canadian in Abu Dhabi: Happy Anniversary to me!

I arrived on a boiling hot morning - April 2, 2008 - and this blog and a crazy new life was born. To celebrate this mind-boggling milestone, I present to you the occasion of meeting my first camel at the Al Dhafra Camel Festival. A lot's happened since then (I carry nicer purses, for example, although I still can't seem to grow out my hair) but I still try - and usually fail - to cozy up to any camel I come across.