notes from a sandy country: Partying like it's 09?

Um, not yet, no. Have a cracking headache today, I suspect the lack of sleep caused by the most uncomfortable mattress in the world and the planes that start flying overhead at about 4am are the main culprits. However my Chinese doctor (yep, new years resolutions) informed me that I have to regulate my core temperature, so perhaps it has to do with that. Who bloody knows. I need to find a flat, that's all I know.

However, whilst not paying rent, I'm contemplating spending some cash on silly things I've always wanted to do but never got round to. Like playing polo. The chances of me ever actually using this skill are slim to none, but I think it would be fun, and it's exercise (which is a tick on the NYE Resolutions list) and it would mean I was DOING things, which is another tick. New Years Resolutions are all about writing a list with so many subplots and bullet points that you're bound to be able to tick things off no matter what, and then identifying activities that mean you can cover the list with a swathe of ticks in one fell swoop. This is a list in my head, by the way, I'm not quite sad enough to have written it out and stuck it to the fridge. Honest.

So, polo. Not sure about this plan. Mainly because it transpires I'd have to get myself to Arabian Ranches by 7am twice a week. However, perhaps that's a good thing too? It is a good idea. I just need to convince someone else to do it with me now.

NYE was very chilled in the end, went to a bbq at the pimp palace, minus all the pimps bar one, as they were all diving in Oman (terribly pimp-like, I know). Finished by 1am, was home by about 1.45am and was at another party by 2am. Well, you can't finish New Years Eve before at least 2, it's the rules. On Planet Peters. No real news or gossip, chatted to a woman who had worked with Sean Connery and many other famous types, and the guitars came out and we all sang as the evil fog rolled in over the swimming pool and enveloped the giant pimp-palace in it's cold damp grip. Seriously, I had my ski jacket out. Mental.

NY Day - I don't think I left the house. No, I did, I went for bacon to the Hotel, and came back with beetroot juices. Never let me go shopping hungover. They died EVERYTHING red, and gave me rather a shock. Too much information perhaps. On the 2nd, we went for brunch on the terrace up at the polo club by the Ranches (perhaps all this living on a polo club and frequenting them weekly is where the random desire to play comes from?) which was lovely but the flies were out in force. MzHesk coerced the waiter in to giving us an ashtray full of lit coals and ground coffee, balanced on the bottom of a wine bucket holder. It actually worked, which was great, though this then meant I had dead flies on my placemat. Not so good.

And finally we got to the 3rd - Mum's birthday. I'd bought her a bracelet, and booked us both in to fly on the Seawings seaplane from Jebel Ali. It was awesome - the plane looked rather small to start, but the pilot was excellent, the flight relatively smooth, and the weather (although it had been overcast all morning) cleared miraculously about half an hour before take off. She was delighted, and it was honestly one of the highlights of living here for me. Seeing somewhere from the air, no matter how well you know it, and how often you drive or walk it, gives you a whole new perspective. The scary thing is how much some of the developments do actually resemble what the developers launched... and how others, well, don't. At all. Jumeriah Islands & The Palm being two perfect examples. And I won't start ranting about Nakheel....

Anway - some pics taken on my little Nokia phone - came out ok I thought...