A Dog's Life!

Slim is growing and filling out at 14 months and is currently blue – literally! While I have been to South Africa recently, the boys thought it would be fun to dye him blue. They talked about this a few weeks ago, but I always tune out their nonsense. Guess my response “whatever” was mis-understood as an OK to go ahead and give my puppy a new punk look.

No wonder Slim is developing a bit of an attitude, thinking he is the Alpha male of the Ault household. The way Aidan and Hunter treat him, he is acting just like the youngest brother on “Malcolm in the Middle”. Every time the boys near the kitchen cabinet where the dogfood and treats are kept, Slim goes completely bonkers, jumping up and snapping at their arms. It looks absolutely hysterically funny.
We get such a laugh out of this charade - Slim takes his food protection very serious.

I am convinced Slim thinks his real name is “Leave-It” – because that’s what I repeatedly yell when we walk around the Marina. His little nose is into anything…garbage, cigarette butts, construction debris; you name it he has to check it out for any edible value. So I sound like a broken record….leave it, leave it, LEAVE IT!!! He’s learning slowly but surely though he still eats the flowers and leaves off our plants.

The jumping has me worried. No doubt he could make it over the balcony railing if he took a running leap. So I’m relieved that we are moving to a house in a few weeks.

Our lease is up – can’t hardly believe it’s been a full year. This time around it is not as difficult to find a place, thanks to the recession. So I didn’t have to threaten Aric with my trip to Africa and the possibility of getting food poison again, in order for him to find us a place. After several viewings of various apartments in the Marina, and with the knowledge of Aidan leaving in June, we decided we don’t really need a large luxurious penthouse. True, that causes the “cool factor” to go way down but we like that we save money on rent. As a result, we have decided on a villa in one of the neighbourhoods closer to the school. The area is called The Lakes, because of several man-made lakes between the housing compounds. The boys can walk to school and that in itself eliminates roundtrips for me every day. Slim gets to pee on real grass! He can walk around the lakes and chase the ducks. The villa is owned by a Danish couple who are returning to Denmark. How perfect is that….we scored a couple of Ikea bookshelves in the deal. Moving day is around the 28th of November when Mutti (Pia’s mom) arrives to help pack all our stuff. We should be well settled, in time for Christmas!

There is such a thing as a free lunch….sometimes!

If someone asks you to test out a new hotel, overnight, with all the amenities, brunch, cocktail hour and dinner – for free – don’t hesitate! Go ahead and play guinea pig!
When else can you get away from the kids and all the daily stress?

Aric and I were invited to “test drive” the new MediaOne hotel in Media City, a new hip, funky and modern concept of business and leisure stay. All we had to do in return was to evaluate everything and provide honest feedback. Where can I sign up to be a professional tester? We checked in around noon and were welcomed with a wicked Margarita and a brunch which more than satisfied our hunger. After two or three of the aforementioned wicked Margaritas we slept off the buzz by the pool.

Later we tested the bed, TV and shower just to make sure it all indeed worked to perfection. Surrounded by a very tasteful décor in lime, turquoise and pink nuances, I was sold on this hip funky place!

Early evening brought a Wine and Cheese happy hour where we mingled with all the other guinea pigs. Then off to dinner which had a huge variety of international cuisine available. Can’t think of when we were last spoiled this much for free!

We gave the place 10 out of 10, two thumbs up and returned home fully rested and re-energized!

Globe Trotters

Where do the kids get it from? OK, can’t really say that we have raised two boys who are growing up with the "American Dream" of a white picket fence, front porch and an Oak tree with a swing. Instead we are blessed with global nomads and citizens of the world, who have a Vampire’s thirst of Acqua Della Vita (uhm....Water of Life... for those not versed in Italian).

Aidan is right now planning his gap year, which will kick off in June after graduation, with a class trip to Bangkok and Koh Samui, Thailand; followed by a trek through Australia, New Zealand, and possibly one or two other countries like Vietnam and Korea. Along the way we hope that he will engage in community projects and part time jobs.

Aric and he are busy planning the trip. Once he returns to civilization he will embark on University of Arizona for a major in Industrial Design. That’s the plan and he is sticking to it…apparently.

Hunter has told us that with Aidan’s exit from Dubai, he is less than interested in staying here for his last two years of IB / high school. Hunter wants to get in touch with his Danish roots and attend a high school in Copenhagen, which teaches the IB diploma program in English. There are two or three options and is conditioned upon him living in a boarding school. We are fully aware that his idea of studying in Denmark entails living with his best friend Jonathan in an apartment somewhere in Copenhagen, but that just doesn’t reflect in Aric’s and my vision of separating from parents. That aint how we roll! So we have laid a few quid pro quos on him. I’m frantically communicating with several Danish counsellors to see if Hunter can in fact get in to the school and boarding programs.

If all this comes to fruition, we will have to take up Yoga or golf; because boy will we have END (empty nest disorder) with too much time on our hands. I’m considering starting up a Mothers Who Can’t Face Their Boys Leaving Home - support group. It will either require numerous boxes of tissues or a Martini Mixer kit; I haven’t decided what emotional reaction I might experience. The boys have left their [big] foot prints in the Arabian sand and at minimum they take a bucketful of experience and memories with them on their path of life.

Sweet Sixteen

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Work is getting in my way of keeping a diary of our life. I'm very behind and trying to catch up.

Hunter’s sweet 16 came (October 19) and went without the anticipated trouble we feared would happen as he walks in his brother’s footsteps. Without going into too much embarrassing detail – let’s just say that Aidan’s most recent “gathering” of friends, ended with him passed out in his bathtub. Apparently his friends and Hunter placed him there to keep him safe. Then they proceeded to go out for the night and left me sleeping without telling me any of this was going on. Aric himself was out with work friends so no one was the wiser that in Aidan’s pursuit of winning a shots game with his friend Laila, failed miserably since he has no real tolerance of alcohol. Yelling at Hunter did us no good – his comeback was that he had “made sure to turn Aidan’s head to the side, in case he would get sick – at least he knew how to handle drunks”! This is no way excused either brother of wrong doing and grounding for a looong time seemed the only right consequence.. Aidan for mis-managing his own party and thinking he could stand up straight after an undisclosed amount of vodka shots and Hunter for leaving a brother in need! Nobody gets left behind!! [Insert BIG sigh here] …. Ah the world of raising teen boys.

So, in preparation of Hunter’s birthday I read him the riot act and warned that under NO circumstances would there be ANY alcohol at the apartment or the pool. They could have chips and soda (what a horrid thing to do to a 16 year old boy who wants to impress his mates). Well, Hunter had arranged for a stretch Lincoln Navigator limo for 3 hours of touring Dubai with 15 boys and girls and of course the boys had also set up a rendezvous with “Dennis the booze man”. I suppose this met the conditions of “no booze at the apartment” and Hunter wasted no time taking advantage of the loophole.

Unfortunately for them, Dennis showed up 30 minutes before the tour ended so they had very little time to consume a few beers and Smirnoff Ice….so they left all the liquor behind in the limo (I write this in great agony as booze is a scarce commodity in Dubai, but I kept a straight face when Hunter told me, so as to signal that a rule was a rule!! But I was kicking myself for having said NO ALCOHOL IN THE APARTMENT). The group came up fairly sober and in a great mood. The birthday was a success and Hunter passed into manhood with no devastating consequences.

Is there a "Mother of the Year" award??

..........

If so, I really think deserve it.

Dodging cranes and bulldozers and even the odd, deep excavation hole in the road, does not bother me. But walking the 500 meter long path from the school parking lot to the front entrance, in 4- inch heels and short skirt, to hand in a piece of (oh so important) paper Aidan forgot at home - that takes the cake! We not talking just enhancing the sidewalk; the entire road is pulled up and in fact there is no sidewalk so one has to weave around traffic cones and cars. It's like an obstacle race which could have been avoided, had they not locked the lower school gates after 8am. Forced to go all the way around to the other side nearly cost me a broken ankle or at best, a broken heel off my Paul Smith shoes!

The whole family has resorted to carrying a black and a brown tube of instant shoe polish. We also keep one in the car. We can't get enough of this paste...I have cronic sand between my toes and forget about putting lotion on my legs - either Slim licks it off (he is addicted to lotion) or the sand gets stuck on my legs like flies on a sticky gluey gooey strip hanging in a dingy drug store!

There just is no way to avoid the sand or the eternal construction in this place. What's a gal to do?

Good Luck Jonathan!

Imagine what the world would have been like today, if the Africans had welcomed the European and Arab explorers [read exploiters] with open arms and told them: "Come and exploit our resources, oil, minerals, land, food, spices but please in return, invest in our infra structure and transfer your skills and knowledge to our people !

Africa may actually have been a United States of power, wealth and intellect beyond our imagination. As history goes, we know that wasn't the case. Nobody was asked to invest, contribute or give back to the country they ripped for their own selfish greed.

Three hundred years later I am sat in a hotel conference room, listening to the ministers of Nigeria, making their case for investments and development, of how governments, companies and people can make money if they decide to become part of the growth of the country, which promises to be one of the 20 top economies in by 2020. Having traveled to Lagos and seen the poverty, the thirdworld devastation, the unclean water, the corruption and general chaos, it is hard to understand why anyone would invest there when there are so many other places to put your scarce money.

Could there be another agenda such as search for fertile lands? The Emirates and Saudi import 100% of their food goods from elsewhere - not hard to guess that if they invest in agricultural land in Nigeria, they can dictate import prices of food grown there.

The excellence Vice President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, (looking very spiffy in his popstar hat and bling), made a compelling case for the cause - but I am not convinced that the money will start flowing or that knowledge will be left behind for the Nigerians to help themselves.

Good luck Jonathan!

A Perfect Prefect!

We no longer know our kids! I'm beginning to think that Hunter really was adopted (and I would know!)

Coming back to Dubai and starting our second year, has been a complete 360 degree turn from last year, which was a little more filled with trips to see the Dean of Students and the Principals office. Hunter announced he was going to run for Student Council and Class President. NICE!

A future politician in the family, that's a first. He should probably have taken better notes from "Napoleon Dynamite" - his favorite movie, and had buttons with "VOTE FOR HUNTER" made up; after Eid he told me that he didn't get elected. In fact he wasn't sure anyone even voted for him. He was genuinely surprised that this was the case. I asked what his platform was and how he ran his campaign. HUH?? "What's a platform - a step for me to look taller? - and don't only US presidents run a campaign?" Sigh!! - Only Hunter would have enough confidence to believe that students would vote for him because he is Hunter Ault.

After a 15 minute mini lesson on campaigns and voting fraud...I think he got it. Told me that it was a "stupid popularity contest" (welcome to the world of politics). He was pretty cool about not winning and instead signed up for volleyball - a less political game.

Aidan, on the other hand, has not only been selected to represent Dubai International Academy at the Model United Nations conference in Singapore in November, to argue how to eradicate child prostitution (he got Portugal as his country), but also surprised himself and us, when he was chosen to be a prefect. The school has never had prefects before and this year they selected 20 out of 70 students across the senior school, to be role models and peer leaders.

We aren't completely sure these two boys are ours...or at least the same boys who left Dubai in July and came back in September, completely changed! One can only hope they continue on the path to responsibility and moral high ground (unlike their parents).