killing time in the sandpit

My next layover isn't until the 14th of this month, so my days until then are spent working exhausting turnaround flights, or lazing around Dubai on days off. Days off in Dubai generally pass by uneventfully. On an ambitious day, I'll clean my apartment, attempting to rid it of the mass amounts of dust that accumulate within 24 hours. Oh the joys of living in the desert.

Recently, I've found motivation lost months ago, and finally made my way to the gym. At home I was so dedicated... I attended crazy boot camp inspired fitness classes several times a week, and rarely missed a day of working out. I have no excuse for my lack of exercise since moving Dubai. My apartment building is equipped with a pool, gym, steam room, and sauna, all of which I've been too lazy to take advantage of. While I'm not overly concerned about my weight or fitness level, I'd still like to be in the habit. I eat a lot of bad food, and a bit of cardio makes it seem much more acceptable. This week for the first time, I hopped on the treadmill. I was running like the wind, breaking a sweat, thinking that I was doing great, until I looked down at the time... 4 minutes, 27 seconds. Apparently I have a long way to go before I get used to the habit of daily workouts. I fought past the exhaustion and managed to stay on the treadmill for 30 whole minutes before giving up and going to lie by the pool. Today, I ventured upstairs to face the evil machine once again. I'm slowly but surely getting back into the routine, in preparation for a layover in Italy later this month. I intend to spend the entire 24 hours indulging in pizza, pasta and gelato.

I'd reached the point of extreme boredem today, and cleaning my mess of a room didn't sound at all appealing. I hopped on a crew bus to headquarters, where I caught a taxi to the mall for much cheaper than the ride would have been from home. I spent hours wandering the shops... picking up things that I'd like to own, and putting them back on the shelves as soon as I looked at the price tags. I treated myself to a huge cup of frozen yogurt, topped with amazing fresh fruits. How can something so delicious be healthy? I wandered into an athletic store, leaving with a yoga mat and 2 tiny little free weights. It's the effort that counts. After I'd seen all of the mall that I could handle, it was off to get lost in my most favorite place... Ikea! There I was, alone in the giant store, with a shopping cart and all of the time in the world. This could be dangerous. I spent forever wandering the showrooms, planning out my apartment and future home, some day when I actually have a permanent-ish residence. I contemplated a giant fuzzy carpet, a variety of kitchen products, and the same beautiful bookshelf that proudly sat in my bedroom at home. I was about to head to the checkouts, with a couple of pillows and candles, when I realized my need for the chocolate brown pillow cases that I'd decided against only minutes earlier. When I first arrived, I decided to go for a new color scheme... completely different than home. I bought all sorts of red and black decor, only to decide shortly after that I missed my blue and brown room at home. I've slowly been phasing out the red and replacing it with my beloved blue and brown. I left my cart near the checkouts and raced to the pillow section, where I picked up the pillow cases and headed for the exits. I was distraught to find that my shopping cart was nowhere to be found! The smart girl inside of me said "This is a sign that you should not be spending your money. Just leave." Of course, the stubborn reckless girl inside of me grabbed another cart and headed back through the crowds of people to pick up every single item that was in my original cart. I happily paid for my purchases, grabbed some dinner, and caught a taxi home.

Sitting in my apartment at night consists of one thing... battling the internet (which cuts out approximately once every 5 minutes) to chat online with Ryan. Long distance relationships are tough, but possible. I miss him a lot these days, but that has remained fairly consistent since our tearful goodbye in December. His 10 day visit was great, but I'm greedy and I want more time together. I'm looking forward to my vacation time in the next few months, when I'll finally get the chance to go home and see not only my amazing boyfriend, but my mom, my brothers, my friends... and my puppy! I'm also quite devastated that I'm missing Tim Horton's "Roll Up the Rim" this year. I was going to win the car!!

One more day off, and then it's off to Chennai, India. Oh how I despise India flight. The passengers bring more carry on luggage than they are capable of carrying (come on, CARRY ON... Not drag and expect me to lift into the overhead bins!) and demand whiskey for the duration of the flight. It could be worse... I could still have a 9-5 office job. Ick.