Yeah, That's Why I Lived There

I heard this new Jay-Z song at a store yesterday, and abso-freakin'-lutely loved it.



It reminded me of all the reasons why I wanted to live in New York. And despite the fact that I consider New York an "abusive lover" that treats its inhabitants poorly, I often think about running back for more NYC experiences.

I miss New York, and I am a little sad that I am not making a stop there while on vacation. I am going to London, though. So besides "London Calling" what other London songs can I listen to for that trip?

*sorry about the skips in the sound. I can only assume someone was editing swears.

Help me, Tim!

I am getting some plans squared away for my upcoming vacation. I hear I get to see a baseball game, and hang in Arizona for a few days, but word on the street is that I am going to the dentist as well.

While trying to decide what to wear today, I thought of another super-cool vacation fun idea, and need some help getting it all situated:

Can someone please call Tim Gunn or Clinton and Stacey about getting me a new wardrobe? Most of my clothing items have a slight curry odor to them (thanks to the delicious Pakistani food made daily in my apartment). And I may or may not have a pair of pants whose backside has been bleached out by my toxic sweat. It is quite possible that I still wear said trousers in public because, really, I don' t have much to choose from.

It would be very entertaining for their viewers to watch me parade around in the grossest clothes known to man. With frizzy hair.

It's really no wonder the Emirati women give me weird looks.

Heaven Help Them

One of the things I like best about church is that we all have a responsibility (a calling, as we call it). I am most particularly glad that I have a responsibility because it means that once a week I don't have to be at work for three/four hours. (It has been a looong time since I have had a day off, but who's counting?) In Beirut I was in charge of teaching the kid's Sunday School lessons, here in Dubai I get to teach the adults their Sunday...er Friday School lesson. This is an assignment I've had before, and I really love it.

The last time I taught, however, it was in front of a group of twenty-somethings with pretty similar educational backgrounds and interests. For the most part. Here, I teach people of varying ages, educations, and ethnic backgrounds. While I still get the point across for each gospel doctrine, I am not sure my teaching method works the best.

To best describe my delivery, I would say that I come from the Lorelei Gilmore School of Teaching. If you've never seen an episode of Gilmore Girls, it may be hard to imagine what this means. Let me 'splain. In the course of a Sunday School lesson, I will talk really fast, go off on a few random tangents, tell self-depricating stories, and add in a few well-timed hair tosses to get the male population's attention.

And let's not forget the pop culture references. It is quite possible I may have compared the priesthood to Harry Potter or Superman. And I may have compared and contrasted the death of Joseph Smith to Noel Gallagher's departure from Oasis.

It can be a little like this:

How else would you expect me to teach?

Falling Perfectly

Today is the first day of September, and although the first day of fall is still twenty days away, one can't help but feel a little bit of autumn magic when the calendar finally reaches this month. Leave are eager to change colors, the air eases off the heat, and the sun hits the earth at just the right angle for a perfect autumn glow. I love this time of year. Well, I love this time of year when I live in a place that has this particular season. I hear Dubai does get cooler by the end of the month, but it's still beach weather year-round so I have a feeling I am going to truly miss the fall.

Fortunately the gods of autumn have smiled on me and I get to spend my annual vacation relishing the change of weather in some of my favorite places. While I have no set plans per se, (well except for the getting on and off airplanes part) here is a sampling of what I would like to have happen:

Hug kids, toddlers and babies...perhaps a few teenagers if they's allow it, tease a grandmother, eat crisp apples and warm cinnamon doughnuts, watch fish fly, and hear ferries' horns. I want to see mountain passes with a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees. I will run with Wild Things and catch up with network programming. I am going to laugh, reminisce, and pine away for a warmer wardrobe. I have a date to wrap myself in my green coat and don a scarf. And when the weather gets even colder I will drive on the other side of the road, visit a neighborhood chippy and devise a plot to return for a more permanent vacation.

And generally having the best 27 days ever.

It all begins on October 1st.