An Adventure with IKEA - Parts 1-5

We decided to make our 2nd bedroom into an office/reading/craft room and needed to buy a desk. At home, we invested in a nice desk from Techline that we both really love, however, paying that kind of money for a desk we'll have for only 3 years wasn't practical, so we did what all budget conscious furniture shoppers do ... went to IKEA. There's one IKEA currently in Abu Dhabi in the Marina Mall and a second store is opening in just a few weeks on Yas Island. I think Dubai has 2 IKEAs in the city. For the most part, it's exactly the same store - this one a little smaller because it's in a mall, but the same stuff displayed in the same way ...

Part 1: We found a desk we liked that is part of the Gallant series so you can choose the pieces you want and essentially build your own unit. We picked out what we wanted and had the order put together. Then we saw some rugs and other smaller furniture and thought we might be able to add up to the free delivery & assembly minimum. For those of you who haven't shopped at IKEA, everything comes in pieces and you have to assemble it at home - not hard to do, just time consuming. We couldn't decide on the rugs (primarily because we hadn't measured the rooms yet) so decided to wait on the desk and come back when we thought we might make the 2500 dhiram minimum for free delivery.

Part 2: We measured our rooms and realized even the largest of the IKEA rugs wouldn't be big enough, so decided to buy the desk after all and forego the free delivery. We rushed to IKEA after Brian finished work and again put in our order ... only to find out it wouldn't be ready for pickup for 3 more days. (sigh)

Part 3: Back to IKEA to pick up the desk. (By the way, this was after the call the day before telling us that they forgot to load it on the truck, so it would be available  a day late.) Got to the pick up area, got the desk pieces and off to the car. As we were walking out to the car, a man asked if we needed any help. We said no and thanked him and proceeded to our car. When we were starting to load the car, a younger man was hanging around. Come to find out, the other gentleman sent his son over to help us anyway! Unfortunately, he couldn't help us though BECAUSE THE DESKTOP WAS TOO BIG TO FIT IN THE CAR! Ugh! Yes, our cute little car is great for the crazy parking lots here, but not so good when you're trying to buy furniture for your apartment and save paying the delivery fee. We loaded in what did fit and put the main desk surface back into the cart to trek back into the store. Now we didn't know what to do. Taxi? yes, if we could find one of the van taxis (of course there wasn't one in sight). Have IKEA deliver after all? We were standing near the taxis hopeful when another man approached us and asked if we needed a taxi. We explained the situation and he said he had a Land Cruiser and could take us for 175 dhiram. We said, no, that was too much, we knew IKEA could deliver it for less. He came down to 100, but we still decided we'd be better off having IKEA deliver. (In hindsight, I think we should have taken him up on his offer, but this sincere, honest, friendliness is still so new to us that we don't quite trust it.) IKEA agreed to deliver the desk top for ... 100 dhiram on Saturday at 11:30am.

Part 4: Saturday, 11:30am, no IKEA truck. I gave them another 30 minutes and then called customer service. After about 30 minutes of searching for my record, I was informed the delivery was scheduled for Sunday, not Saturday. (sigh) I had Saturday clearly written on my delivery paperwork and both Brian and I heard Saturday, but oh well.
The good news is that on Sunday, they called me around 10:45 and the piece was delivered by 11:15. And, they had no trouble finding us! All was good ... or so I thought.
I had assembled the rest of the desk the day before, so it took no time at all to attach the desk top. I tipped it up and bam! the front right leg collapsed. Okay, no problem, I must have forgotten to tighten it. ... Nope, the threads were stripped and the leg broken. (sigh)

Part 5: Brian ended up taking the leg back and had his own adventure. First, they thought they had one in the backroom stock. Nope. Then they tried to suggest that they could order one and we could pick it up in a few days. Brian suggested he could take a leg from one of the floor models. They were hesitant, but he was persistent and went with the employee up to the floor to get a leg. Before they could hesitate more, he grabbed one of the desks and started to flip it over to exchange the leg. What could they do but help him? :) Success! He got the leg, we finished assembling the desk and finally have something in the office.

We're thinking next time we might just spring for the delivery and assembly service. :)

Al Ain Classics Festival 2011

The second part of our Al Ain adventure this past weekend was a symphony concert at the Al Jahili Fort. The concert series is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and is offered under the patronage of HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. (side note - can you imagine little kids learning to write their names over here? And I thought Hollfelder was difficult! :) This is the 11th annual festival and is a series of concerts offered in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. This night's performance was Russian Classics and included Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov and the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. The Al Jahili Fort is an outdoor venue and they spiffed it up for the performances - carpet covering the sand floors of the entire fort, covered chairs for the patrons and an amazing stage for the orchestra - the sound was incredible, especially for an outdoor venue. Tickets were only 100AED ($27) which is amazing. The patronage for the arts is fabulous here in Abu Dhabi and makes it very affordable to see things like this.

Like most music performances of this nature, no photography or recording was allowed, but I did capture a few pictures before the concert began to give you a look at the Fort and stage.

A view of the entrance. You can see the red carpet on the sand and that not everyone follows the dress code here. Those skirts are pretty short for UAE conservative standards.

We were in the general admission seats maybe about halfway back. You can see the sound panels .

Another view with more of the inside of the fort. Notice they also had big screens and would zoom in on the soloists and specific musicians throughout the performance. It wasn't a problem not to be in the front rows. 

This is from our seats looking back to the entrance. That whole area is carpet (not just the red area, but the tan color as well). Can't even imagine how much carpet they must have brought in or how they hauled it, or how they'll clean it!

For those of you who aren't aware, the 1812 Overture (remember the Lone Ranger theme music?) calls for cannons to go off during the final movement. Because this was a fort, we were really hoping for the real thing, but no luck. Then, we started to think that through a bit ... cannons going off ... in the Middle East ... given some of the recent events in the region ... hmmmm, maybe it was better to have just bass drums. ;)

Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort

Yesterday, we trekked out to Al Ain, which is about 2 hours from Abu Dhabi. One of our adventures there was a visit to the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort (aka zoo). The park is pretty large and seeks to "showcase the biodiversity that exists in the world's deserts with a vivid demonstration that sustainable desert living is entirely possible" (that from their website). The zoo also focuses on endangered species and has been internationally recognized for its success in breeding desert antelopes. The project is in conjunction with the San Diego zoo. It's a really nice zoo - not quite San Diego, but a really well maintained place with a very diverse collection of animals. And the entrance fee is only 15 dhiram (less than $5)! We were there for about 2.5 hours and I would say we saw a little over 1/2 of the zoo. In addition, we caught a bird show, which was pretty interesting. One of their recent acquisitions are 2 white siberian tigers, which are white colored with blue eyes and pretty rare. Here are a few photos from the trip.

A few things I could do without

Earlier in the week, I posted my 10 favorite things about Abu Dhabi, and I'm sure some of you were thinking, "okay, but what about the flip side?" Well yes, there are a few things I'm still getting used to, but am happy to report that the dislike list is much shorter. Here are a few things that come to mind.

1. Sand Storms
Walking along, enjoying the breeze and all of a sudden it picks up and smacks you with a bunch of sand and grit. (It's really a pain when you're wearing lip gloss! :) These 'storms' and the heat are two reasons I decided to stop the plan to grow my hair out and cut it short again. I think it's the season - sounds about right that when we'll most need the wind (i.e. 120 degrees) it will die down. All the blowing sand makes our patio pretty dirty too, not to mention all of it that gets in the house whether you have the windows open or not. Let's just say I do a lot of dusting and sweeping.

2. The lack of mid-range stores
Oh, what I wouldn't give for a Target and a Kohl's right now. It seems like everything is either Wal-Mart quality and price or Chanel Designer quality and price. A good middle of the road would be much appreciated.

3. Construction and resulting dust & noise
There is truly construction everywhere! And as a result, lots of noise (thank goodness they don't start until 7am!) and of course, more dust and grit. The other annoyance it creates is having to walk around or through it all the time. For example, today I got off the bus in basically a sand pit (in my new shoes no less) and had to tramp through to the other side of the street where the sidewalk was complete. Sand in your shoes is even worse than sand in your lip gloss!

4. The lack of a dryer
I'm trying, but this is going to take some serious getting used to. Scratchy socks and towels are my top complaints resulting from no dryer. We may have to figure out a way to make this work. And yes, I know this one really sounds like whining, but your clothes and towels really are a lot softer out of the dryer.

I honestly think that's about it. I'll probably think of a few others, but the fact that I really had to think hard to come up with a list at all is a pretty good sign, I think.

And a few other tidbits just to keep you updated:

• I had my third interview with the transportation company today and was there for almost 4 hours! I'm feeling pretty positive at this point, but who knows, there could be 5 other candidates doing the same thing. It would be a very challenging job as they are trying to revamp the entire culture from ground zero, but it would be an interesting challenge and something to be really proud of when progress is made.
• Brian got home a bit earlier than usual and took me to Marks & Spencer to pick up my new suit (I know, he's a keeper!) so I didn't have the wear the same outfit to today's interview! :)
• Progress is being made on the pool, BBQ and gym areas. The BBQ area/kid play area looks almost complete and they've installed some picnic tables. The pool now has sun chairs with umbrellas and a lifeguard chair (no lifeguard yet though). The gym looks the same (no equipment) but I'm hopeful. :)

Today's Adventures - Wednesday, March 2, 2011

I started out this morning attending the Abu Dhabi Ladies' Coffee Club meeting down on the Corniche. This group meets every Wednesday at 10am and it's just what it sounds like, a group of ladies who get together for coffee. It's not exactly my thing, but frankly, I needed something to do today and I needed to interact with some live people. (Between his hours here and keeping up with the time zone difference with the states, Brian works mostly all the time.) And, it's always good for learning about Abu Dhabi. Today, I found out about a department store called Marks & Spencer (British), which was a good find.

After coffee, I set out to find my hairdresser as I had an appointment at 1:00pm. I knew the general area and armed with my bus route map and good walking shoes, I found it with only one phone call to the salon  for more precise directions ... not too bad! ;) Glamour salon is run by a couple of British hairstylists and it's a pretty nice place. Haircuts, like everything else, are either really cheap (and as such probably performed by a girl who learned to cut hair by watching a friend, who learned to cut hair by watching another friend ...) or really pricey (like Glamour). So I'll be paying more for my haircuts than back in the states, but in the words of the L'Oreal commercials, "I'm worth it". ;) The good news is that Mary Ann did a nice job with my hair and gave me something a little new, which is always fun.

While getting my haircut, I got a call back from Al Ghazal and have a third and potentially final job interview tomorrow!! (Guess that means I must have passed my personality test! ;) Tomorrow's interview will be with the HR Manager (who I think I would report to) and the Director of the whole Corporate HR group.

Next up was lunch so I stopped into a Lebanese bakery and purchased a cheese sandwich thingy (and no, that's not the Arabic term for it, but I can never remember the name). These sandwiches are awesome! Imagine a fresh from the oven flatbread with melted cheese on it folded in half like a sandwich (mmmmmm) AND only 5 dhiram (which is about $1.30). If you like Lebanese food, lunch is very cheap here. Fast food, however, is pretty expensive (a Big Mac meal costs 19 dhiram ... um, so I've heard anyway ;)

After some lunch, I went in search of the Marks & Spencer department store to see if I could find a decent business suit without having to spend a fortune. The business dress code here is much more formal than back at TDS and I'm still waiting for the clothes I shipped here from home, so my one suit is getting a workout with all these interviews. I was really hoping to find something new to wear tomorrow. And, the great news is that I did - a nice dark grey pants suit, in my size, and only around $143. Great! Only I didn't have enough cash on me so had to find an ATM. No problem, they are everywhere. Except the ATM wouldn't complete my transaction ... something about my card being expired?? ... And sure enough, the expiration date on our ATM cards is 02/11!!!!!! So, my suit is now on hold until Friday and hopefully, I can get Brian to stop working long enough to make a trip to the bank and get me some more cash. And ooohhh is he gonna rub it in that he's my sugar daddy, which I will put up with only if he buys me the suit. The trip wasn't a total bust, though, as I did have enough money to buy a nice new pair of shoes that will go nicely with my existing suit (and the new one assuming I eventually have money to buy it). Hmmm, maybe with the new shoes they won't notice I'm wearing the same suit for the 3rd time? :)

After all that excitement, it was time to head home. I had taken a different bus route here so had to figure out how to cross to the other side of the street (harder than you would imagine), then catch 34 partway home, then get off and catch 56 the rest of the way. About a block down, I was able to cross the street (the blocks are long and this is truly not a pedestrian city - not only are the crosswalks only located at major intersections, but between them is a fence running down the center of the middle island, so even if you were brave enough (aka crazy) to try and cross without a light, you'd be stuck in the median (unless you know how to leap tall fences). Very safe, but annoying when your feet hurt after a day of fruitless shopping. The bus ride home was relatively uneventful, and I realized that I've started to adapt because I got a little annoyed upon seeing a group of men sitting in the ladies only section of the bus when I got on. Not to worry though, they moved back when they saw me and all was again well in my little Arabic world.