People Please...

Quit asking me where I'm getting my make-up and hair done from and where we're going on the honeymoon... None o your beeswax :P!

T-7

Party in the house... everyone's happy, smiling, singing, dancing, cracking jokes and I'm just sad...

I still see Mr. F at work every day but it's kinda awkward now... lol. He's acting all shy and avoiding me... haha

My last few single days playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUbpGmR1-QM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayjdai7erwY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-5yNbp6b0&feature=related

T-16 days... Inshalah

Alhamdulilah, things are ok so far... Hopefully hopefully, inshalah, the next three weeks will go smoothly without anyone suffering nervous breakdowns (and specially not my mom).

My closets are full and I have barely any space to move around in my room thanks to all the boxes piled up...and I really hope people don't give me random wedding presents.

Mr. F is in Amsterdam while poor ol' Gaia is still at work.... grrr.

So, I still don't feel like I'm actually getting married... I mean, my mom still drops me off to work every day :) and I haven't made real food since 2008... All my aunties are super-excited... they've all bought new outfits for each event... it's cute and funny at the same time (it's like, they're re-living their own weddings) :)

My siblings are dancing to Lady Gaga at the Mehndi :O and my mom and khala picked Dancing Queen :O...

Traditional desi in-laws from Punjab may get a shock...!

Last day in Dubai

We got up bright and early (8:30am) and headed to Dubai Mall (I think I know the way to Dubai from Abu Dhabi better than say... the way to Jinnah Terminal, Karachi from my house :P).

I LOVE DUBAI MALL!!! Saw the Burj Khalifa, took lots of pictures and met up with my Princeton roomie who happened to be in Dubai :) (she's a jet-setter consultant, so I was lucky she happened to be in town that weekend). May, Il, Rana and I went to Bloomingdales and got our make-up done by the saleswomen) and took more pictures (we're girly girls when we're all together :)) and then I had Cinnabon (they really need to open a franchise in Pakistan).

Spent the night at Alex's apartment (Al-Ghoslan at the Greens...) and the next day (Sunday morning), I took a taxi to terminal 3.

Meanwhile, mommy dearest had called to let me know that a cyclone was brewing in Karachi and there could be delays. Anyway, I checked in, got my boarding pass and headed towards dutyfree. Flight delayed to 11:00am... no worries, I thought, I don't have to be back at work till Monday and continued browsing through the shops.

Finally boarded the plane. I had a window seat (thanks daddy) blocked by two young men. After exchanging a few awkward glances, we realized we'd been in the same school until O'Levels and then proceeded to exchange our entire life histories. One of them owns a gold shop in Saddar and the other guy was on his way back after completing his undergrad from Australia. He amused me with his experiences managing a gas station in Australia :P

I watched "How to Train Your Dragon" and an hour and a half later, we were in Karachi, the landing gear was down and I could see patches of green and pools of water (courtesy, Cyclone Phet).

But... THE PLANE DIDN'T LAND and we basically swooped really low and circled back up into the air... Our Pakistani brethren had already gotten up to get their luggage from the racks and sat down back in their seats. 15 minutes later, the captain announced that we were heading BACK TO DUBAI because it was too dangerous to land... I mean, :O :O :O?

So, another hour and a half later, we were basically back in Dubai (no food on the flight and the passengers were getting cranky). I felt particularly sorry for the people who had come from Toronto and London and basically waited 2 days for a connecting flight to Karachi... becharay.

Back at the airport, I surfed the internet, spent my last $200 on almonds and chocolate for Mr. F and perfume for mommy. They gave us food at Burger King but I didn't have an appetite... (like, I wanna go home already!). Finally, the flight departed at 11:30pm and I landed in Karachi around 1:20am... So, 3 flights in a day and lots of fatigue... but my ceramic flower pots from IKEA survived the trip :)

Day 2

Spent the whole day in Abu Dhabi visiting my Masdar colleagues and enjoying the city I called home for 9 months :). So, Masdar City is finally ready and people will actually be living there starting July 2010.

Spent the afternoon at Marina Mall, splurged on ceramic flower pots at IKEA and hand-carried them all the way to Karachi :P. And I got really sweet ice-trays (a pink one for my sister and a green one for my brother) so they'll remember me each time they put ice cubes in their drinks. Also went to Madinat Zayed for old times' sake and bought perfume for daddy and Mr. F.

We dined at a Vietnamese restaurant (sweet potato pancakes and glass noodles with peanut sauce) and headed back to the villa to chat.

I realized that the date palms lining the roads in Abu Dhabi had grown since I'd been away... time flies!

Abu Dhabi/Dubai Trip Part Dieux

Spent Wednesday night at Il's house in Khalifa city (yayyy for electricity and airconditioning :D). I know I sound like a fob but really, after 10 months in Karachi with frequent power breakdowns and water issues, the developed world is like... wow! LOL.

We ate Il's delicious date, banana and walnut cake and watched How I Met Your Mother. Then, we headed to Festival City. I think we were going at 130 miles/hour when there was a hissing noise and the car wobbled... headed to the side of the road and 5 minutes later, a shurta showed up with a big grin on his face. We followed him to a gas station, got the tire fixed and headed towards Mall of the Emirates instead of going all the way to Festival City.

We had lunch at Al-Hallab... great food and pretty reasonable (the fettoush is good). Then, started hard-core pre-wedding shopping (except I ended up mostly buying gifts for my family :)). It amazes me how comfortable I am with a Moroccan, a Palestinian, an Egyptian and a Lebanese girl but I can barely relate to most Pakistan females :O.

We bought lingerie and sleep wear except, I know I'm going to feel super, super awkward wearing it :P (any tips for getting rid of stretch marks and cellulite in 3 weeks?).

Bachelorette Trip to Abu Dhabi/Dubai

It was absolutely FABULOUS!!! And I love my mommy and daddy to bits (best gift EVER) :)

I'd been fantasizing about it for a while but I never thought I'd actually be able to go... My awesome dad had already applied for a visa and booked my ticket. On Wednesday, I got a call telling me to be at the airport for the 10:00pm flight. I went home from work at 6:30pm, showered and started packing with baby sister to help me... (she remembered my toothbrush and dollars for the trip... what will I do without her :S ?)

Mr. F came to say goodbye and then I was off... Independent Gaia on her way to the airport after 10 months... hurrah!

An hour and 45 minutes later, I was in Dubai. Went through the iris scan, bought an Etisalat Ahlan package and walked out to find Il, May and Ra waiting for me... *tears of joy* kodak moment...

So there we were, the four of us cruising down Sheikh Zayed Road at 1:30am, listening to George Michael on the way to Abu Dhabi...