Sep 1, 2014

Stuck in Dubai

Okay, so we're not exactly stuck as bad as this guy, or this guy, and yes, it's not exactly a bad place to be stuck, but we're still stuck. We're living in The Address hotel at the Dubai Marina for at least another month. It's a pretty nice hotel with good food and free drinks in the lounge every night, but it's still a hotel. We're dying for a real fridge, a comfortable couch, and to see the rest of our belongings. Most of mine are either in Erbil already or on a shrink-wrapped pallet in the Allied warehouse in Doha waiting to be sent to Erbil. Heather's are in a container on the Maersk Detroit, currently west of the Azores making its way across the Atlantic to the US. We've hit the Dubai Mall a few times to buy clothes for work and for working out, though I'm fully prepared for another dive trip should the opportunity arise.

The worst part, really, is not knowing when we'll be moving somewhere else. We're heading back to the US for a vacation and business trip at the end of the month, but everything after that is still up in the air. The company has given no indication as to when they'll make a decision about sending people back to Erbil, sending us to Houston, or keeping us here. All depends on how calm the situation around Erbil remains and the continued effectiveness of the ongoing US air strikes. In the meantime, we'll be here in Dubai, working out of a hotel conference room. Bleh.

On a totally unrelated topic, does anyone reading this know anything about buying watches online? I've got a few I'm interested in from Jaeger-LeCoultre. They're much cheaper online, but I'm a little leery of the after-sale service and warranty work should anything go wrong, as compared to buying from a retail store you can walk into and deal with directly. Anyone have any experience or helpful advice?