update shmupdate
TGIF - even if I have to go to work today for a few hours.
Yes, work. You heard correctly. I have found a job. Or, more appropriately, a job has found me. A little over a month ago I met up for drinks with an American gal I met through a meet-up website. We were doing the usual "getting to know you" dance and discussing our backgrounds, how we came to be living in the UAE, our jobs (or lack there of) etc. When I mentioned that I was in the process of looking for a job she asked me if I liked kids and then said that I should come work for her company. She forwarded me the contact info for the HR manager and I merrily sent along my resume thinking that nothing would really come of it because I have ZERO experience working with children, let alone special needs kids.
BAM!
One month later and I'm having my first full week of my set work schedule. I am currently employed as a Junior ABA Therapist working with children with autism and other learning delays. The center is affiliated with CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disorders), an American company. This means that not only have I found a rewarding and challenging job to occupy my time here but I have also stumbled upon a possible career change.
WHAT?
I went out for drinks with an American gal and now I have a new path in life? How randomly things happen.
On another note, my friend Stacy is visiting us from the States. YAY! She didn't get in until very late last night/early this morning. So - we went to bed around 4:30AM - wow, I had almost been up for 24 hours. I got up around 10AM and have been interwebbing since looking for a good deal on a long term rental car or a short term lease. I love my job but it is damn inconvenient to get to/from without my own transportation. The mass transit in Dubai is actually really lovely. The metro is cheap and clean and goes straight through the city. Unfortunately I live 15 minutes walking from the nearest metro stop and that's going to become pretty ugly when it gets hot. I also have a home session out in the Arabian Ranches section of Dubizzle which is in the middle of nowhere and requires cabbing it. This means that I'd be spending about 1440 AED on cabs to get to that one kid's session ALONE each month. I think a rental car would end up being around 1500-1600 AED each month so I figure it's worth the extra 200 AED (around 54 USD) because I usually end up getting lazy and cab to work at least one extra day a week anyway (which costs about 140AED) and it also means that if I want to go anywhere during the month aside from work, I'll already have a means to do it.
YAY car!
anyway. I should probably start getting ready for work.
Yes, work. You heard correctly. I have found a job. Or, more appropriately, a job has found me. A little over a month ago I met up for drinks with an American gal I met through a meet-up website. We were doing the usual "getting to know you" dance and discussing our backgrounds, how we came to be living in the UAE, our jobs (or lack there of) etc. When I mentioned that I was in the process of looking for a job she asked me if I liked kids and then said that I should come work for her company. She forwarded me the contact info for the HR manager and I merrily sent along my resume thinking that nothing would really come of it because I have ZERO experience working with children, let alone special needs kids.
BAM!
One month later and I'm having my first full week of my set work schedule. I am currently employed as a Junior ABA Therapist working with children with autism and other learning delays. The center is affiliated with CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disorders), an American company. This means that not only have I found a rewarding and challenging job to occupy my time here but I have also stumbled upon a possible career change.
WHAT?
I went out for drinks with an American gal and now I have a new path in life? How randomly things happen.
On another note, my friend Stacy is visiting us from the States. YAY! She didn't get in until very late last night/early this morning. So - we went to bed around 4:30AM - wow, I had almost been up for 24 hours. I got up around 10AM and have been interwebbing since looking for a good deal on a long term rental car or a short term lease. I love my job but it is damn inconvenient to get to/from without my own transportation. The mass transit in Dubai is actually really lovely. The metro is cheap and clean and goes straight through the city. Unfortunately I live 15 minutes walking from the nearest metro stop and that's going to become pretty ugly when it gets hot. I also have a home session out in the Arabian Ranches section of Dubizzle which is in the middle of nowhere and requires cabbing it. This means that I'd be spending about 1440 AED on cabs to get to that one kid's session ALONE each month. I think a rental car would end up being around 1500-1600 AED each month so I figure it's worth the extra 200 AED (around 54 USD) because I usually end up getting lazy and cab to work at least one extra day a week anyway (which costs about 140AED) and it also means that if I want to go anywhere during the month aside from work, I'll already have a means to do it.
YAY car!
anyway. I should probably start getting ready for work.