Cruise Control into 2012

It was the big moment we had waited for! The very special invite from Paramount and Tom Cruise, as promised last year, was sitting in my inbox and it was glowing I tell you!

December 14, Lorraine, Peter, Aric, Hannah and I went to the IMAX theatre in the mall and lined up with all the other extras who so expectantly came to get a glimpse, not of Tom, but of themselves ;-)

Halfway through the seat grabbing action movie, there it was...so fast that if you didn't know who to look for you missed it. Lorraine and I in the background for 3.8 seconds....oh what a glorious moment to have made it on the big screen in a major Hollywood flick!! Robin (who we now all hate!) has at least 8 seconds of face time. She has now moved back to Canada in fear of other extras retaliating and egging her house! Pinkie, who we all hated from day one (as she placed herself behind Tom in every goddang scene - come on lady - REALLY??) was barely on for 1 sec (and she was out of focus). Of course now I am going to get the DVD and really start nit-picking through the scenes of the Billionaires Ball, to see if I am in fact elsewhere in the scenes. To spend 3 days filing 10 minutes of the movie now seems over the top. Wonder why it took so long to get that kiss right?!?!

Life moves on with many prospects of upcoming extra jobs, but this writer has to prioritize. Started a Master's Degree in Social Psychology early December. One can never have too many degrees or too much knowledge. My MBA served me well in moving up the ladder and earnings. This degree will see me slide back down into the social gutter where all the good stuff is waiting to be questioned. As a Social Psychologist you get to ask all kinds of questions - like why do we scratch an itch? Why do people go for plastic surgery? Or my favorite one: Why do beer ads always have women in them? I can't wait to ask, ask, ask. Aidan and I are in a friendly competition for straight A's (I have them...he got 4 A's and a B this semester) :)

My Cisco life as we knew it, is over. After a painful and drawn out divorce, battling over who gets the stock and who gets the options...and whose fault was it anyway? we settled out of court with an amicable amount of $$. I promptly placed the funds in my offshore, tax sheltered, secret, far-away lair, for a rainy day. Now I shop less fashion, dye my hair with L'Oreal Creme Colour which saves me 650 dirhams every 6 months. I've decided to go natural...meaning chestnut brown (who knew after all these years that it was truly my real color?) And we eat home more often than out. I think I can do this belt tightening no problem.

What comes around goes around and with that I have been told the VPs who were being major a-holes, have been moved and fired respectively. My boss was demoted and hates life...what more can I want? I've decided to start my own consulting company, focusing on coaching, leadership development and youth programs. It should kick off in January, once I obtain the right trade license from the government. I'm taking odd projects until then - one is with GEMS (the leading private school system in Dubai) and UNESCO, to create a plan for training 10,000 school principals in Ghana, Kenya and India. I've domne round one and it is now down to UNESCO to do the next step - which may be hindered by funds cut from US, due to the Palestine becoming member state. Why can't politics keep out of philanthropics?

This year 2011, was odd and wonderful in every aspect. We travelled far to see Aidan and we are fortunate he is with us in Dubai for Christmas and New Years. Courtney and he broke up December 20...good timing! No further details available but I daresay we are pleased (as I'm sure are her parents). The boy is gungho about getting back into the dating game and is now all of a sudden aware of the many coed beauties on campus!

Slim and Sammie have been getting closer and now play all the time. It was such a great rescue animal and we are glad we have her, though she is cheeky! She is now so agile she can jump up on anything so we have to make sure things are put away in the kitchen (at night).

New Years eve brings us on the golfcourse on Yas Island, with Peter and Lorraine and then a late lunch/early dinner, before Cold Play concert on Marina Island in Abu Dhabi. VIP tickets for free, who can say no to that? It should be a nice ending to a quirky year.

Peace to all!

From Camel to Lexus 570 in 6.5 seconds

Her lips were hanging down in a sloppy frown and her hump was large, full and round! Her ears were long and sharp, not like Spock's, but rather more like a hairy Pyramid. The feet were large, flat and round!

Looking like that, it is quite amazing she beat out everyone else in the beauty pageant, but there you go! Shows you just how far a man is willing to go for his pride and joy. Entering her into a beauty competition was a huge risk!

Rams Almnhali probably didn't think that he would leave his house with a camel and return home with a Lexus. But that is just what happened when she took 1st place in the Al Ghayathi Camel Festival for pure-bred camels only!

update on my Lost Dutchman Trail.....sad news

For those of you who read my blog post a few days ago - tonight I see news that a small plane crashed between Mesa and Apache Junction - in the Superstition Mountains...they are rocks beautiful but lethal...it's a very sad story as 6 people are feared dead, 3 of them children.
I am shocked to read that this is where I hiked just a couple of months ago!!


http://news.yahoo.com/plane-6-aboard-crashes-east-phoenix-050229329.html

Two new Ault family members

My father-in-law calls me a refuge. I suppose that's better than being a refugee!?

I have a big heart, and I cannot stand seeing animals suffer. We recently welcomed Sammie, aka Sam Henry, aka Meever [pron. meeoar or something like that] aka Slinky, a small 7 wk old kitten I found at a gas station on the way to the Ranch. She looks like a slab of marble and is very cheeky! In 4 weeks she has doubled her size and weight and she is taking on Slim without fear! They have a love/hate/tease/chase/snuggle relationship and it makes for great entertainment!

Lola has also gone from adopted to full fledged Ault ownership. The Ranch gifted her to me in September (thank you Mark and Carrie :) and she has gained weight and nearly stopped her cribbing or wind sucking. I was told she was a former endurance race horse, but I can't make that fit, as she is an excellent dressage horse and show jumper. So you may see me in the London Olympics 2012 ;-) Or maybe just hacking around in the sand dunes!

What's next for the Aults? A goldfish?

Can I have the car keys, mom?

Well, I now have someone to run errands for me! I realized it today, when I was cooking and needed more mushrooms. Hunter passed his driving test the second time around....which is pretty standard here! The first driving test was a month ago and he failed within 5 minutes of starting the car! Apparently he didn't swerve enough around a pot-hole so the instructor grabbed the wheel and yelled at him in Arabic...clever!

Everyone fails the first time here, so the Sheikh can make money on the additional training lessons needed, in order to sign up for the test again! It's a conspiracy I'm convinced!

Getting Hunter's license is another hurdle because his father is being difficult. We paid around 4200 dirhams for the classes, incl driving & theory, test, book and an hour in a simulator. Except they never scheduled Hunter for the simulator. He has been practicing around the small roads in our neighborhood so the kid can drive, but he should get what he paid for. Aric asked for the 100 dirhams (simulator cost = $35) as a principle. They have been completely ignorant of this. So Aric said fine, I won't pay for the extra classes (440 dirhams) until you credit the 100. 'Oh but Sir, you have to pay for the simulator, it is part of the whole deal' ! Aric: 'Look-it - if you go to a supermarket and buy groceries, then walk out without them, do you still pay? Or if you drive through a gas station without filling up, do you pay for gas?' I paid for a product and service and didn't get it, so I want my money back for the part I didn't get' ..... the Saga continues and Hunter is without his license!

I cannot believe I have neglected my faithful readers for so long! Let me get this off my chest: not working regularly since February, because some VP figured he didn't need my team; then battling a big corporate entity for another three months, with lawyers slinging legal mud back and forth - sort of took it out of me! Drained is putting it lightly!!

But I prevailed and it is now all behind me! I went to Tempe to see Aidan for 5 days during parents weekend; it was fantastic. We went to the ASU game vs Oregon and ASU won big! Aidan had a lot of homework, he loves school now and truly cherishes his Industrial Design classes, even though it is demanding - but he says it is "his kind of learning" and I think he has come into his own.

So, when he studied, I went to explore. Apache Junction is not far from Tempe and there were mountains and nature which called my name. Hiking alone, under the noon sun, with no water and nobody else on the trail, is not recommended! The temp reached 102 and here I was just diddle daddling along looking at all the tall cactus (or is it cacti?) in any event, I soon realized that I could have ended up having a movie named after me, just like the guy in "127 hours". Imagine seeing a movie called "2.4 miles" about a woman who gets lost on a remote trail called "Lost Dutchman's Trail" - in the Superstitious Mountains? Leave it to the Dutch to get lost a hundred years ago... I mean the trail was signposted pretty well!

When I saw remains and bones from birds and small reptiles, I figured that was it for me....I had stumbled across a giant prehistoric predator who grabs small children on field trips. It was like a scene from "Picnic at Hanging Rock" - the sheer silence broken only by a whistling wind rushing through the rocks....it gave me goosebumps in the hot sun! I managed to drag myself back to the empty parking lot where my rental wreck was baking in the heat. If I had ever earned a cold beer it was now!
Earlier, down the road a ways, I had passed Goldmine City (how original) and they had a genuine saloon, with flapping doors just like a true western flick. How out of place can you be in a tank top, mini skirt and gym shoes? - I was hiking for crying out loud...well every Stetson hat turned and watched me and the bar got real quiet, you could hear a pin drop into a spittoon! Not even a spur jingled! I played it cool and said "howdy, can a thirsty gal get a cold beer?" in my best Arizonian twang. No sooner had I sat down when Madison Taylor introduced herself. And then the rest of the crowd joined in....Sam, Richard, Lonnie....well I be....within 30 minutes I was invited to get on one of Richard's Quarter horses and off we went, with Madison too, on a 2-hour hack in the dry river wash! Try riding western style in a mini skirt!!

During the last 15 minutes we galloped pretty long and fast and one of my reins dropped, (western style reins aren't connected - they are long leather straps on each side of the horse, connected only to the bit) so I stopped and reached down the horse's neck and head, to pick it back up; only as I leaned down, the horse's head came up and we head butted each other hard -I got a huge gash in my forehead. Unreal! Blood everywhere. Richard took his water bottle and poured the content all over my face and then tied a bandana around my head. That supported me for the rest of the ride back to the saloon, where we butterfly'ed it. I drove off to the emergency room, and got silicone glued up. Aidan laughed and we went out for sushi....it was a cracker of a day and I've made some great new friends!

Meet Asma and Fatma

Asma sleeps until noon every day and is a housewife. Fatma is up early and works 8-5 at a local women's college. Asma has the driver and nanny take her son to daycare. Fatma drops her kids off herself. Asma has tea with girlfriends every night and stays up until 1 or 2am in the morning. Fatma does homework with her children every evening, while her husband cares for his sick father, who lives with them. She complains that she has no time to herself!

Asma's husband works for the Government and his hours are 9-2. After work he spends the afternoon with Asma. Fatma has to go and visit her father (who is a widower) at least once a day and so does every sibling...she has 9 brothers and sisters.

Asma is Pakistani / US and married to an Emirati - she wears regular clothes. Fatma is local Emirati and wears the Abaya.

Both are wonderful women but so different. I met Asma at the American Women's Association general meeting and Fatma at the Coaching Course, I just attended this past weekend. Getting the insight into the lives of local women is rare and wonderful. I'm so curious for knowledge and cultural info and now that I have more time on my hands, I'm taking every opportunity to get to know my surroundings.

Since my last blog, I have taken ownership of Lola, so I ride much more. Such a treat! Look for more updates soon -- I'm off to the US this evening to see Aidan in Arizona and friends in Chicago. I got a 10-year entry visa, so I'm hoping my detainment in immigration will be avoided!

Ciao dear readers...

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the nerdiest of them all?

The iPad has invaded our lives. I gave Aric one for our anniversary (I got golf clubs) and it was never my intention to touch that Pad at all. Three months and several cool applications later I'm hooked on the damn thing!

My idol Tom Cruise and Katie just told in an interview that their secret to a happy marriage is Scrabble. I'm scrabbling and scrabbling everyday against the CPU and against Aric. In a 150 point game I win 8 out of 10 times....in a classic long game, I don't do as well. But it's amazing how many new words I'm learning (can you tell I'm unemployed at the moment??)

There is also a cross word puzzle app and yoga routines! Who knew that a little flat pad could offer so much in life? Since I fell of Lola last Monday (serious equestrian equipment malfunction and some pilot error) and have been nursing a horrendous bruised Sacroiliac, I've become Scrabble Queen.

Hunter may be our 'uber-nerd' though. He just spent two weeks in Johannesburg at the Maharishi Institute. (Our friend Taddy is the founder of the Free University there and they use Transcendental Meditation as a basis for 'learning in a traumatic environment'). We attended Taddy and Annie's African wedding ceremony and after we left Johannesburg, Hunter wrote me a mail from his iPod:

"Hey mom vicki invited me to do this introduction to the transcendental meditation, the technique they use in the institute, and just told me what it was all about and everything, and basically selling me on her and richards 4 day course... And im sold, you really had to be there to not think im doing some hari krishna thing. Either way it seems like a good opportunity for a cool experience if not life changing thing, so i wanna try it... And the catch of course is that its R1800... Thats about it, and ofcourse i love you no matter what your answer."


Classic Hunter....As it turns out, we forked out the 1800 Rand because how can you not invest in your kids' future - and he is now meditating twice a day while humming a secret mantra! He and the other two interns at the school cooked noodles & noodles together and discussed how much money there is to be made in Charity! It just moves around and gets written off in tax deductions ;-) I think my son is on to something there!

In the spirit of giving, Aric decided to 'donate' our camera (with 125 safari and wedding pics) to some poor South African who has a lowly airport baggage handling job...unfortunately it was not a voluntary donation, but that's life in a country where the have's and have not's are so far apart. At least I can now upgrade to a nerdier Canon camera! Luckily Aric had taken a few shots with his small handy, so we have a few memories!

Hunter got great feedback from the Institute though! Apparently he fixed all their IT issues and also showed them how to download movies (!!) as well as upgraded all their applications. It has resulted in Hunter now looking at a career in IT management (God help him - we've poisoned his system with Cisco juice) - and is looking at a Bachelor's Degree from Copenhagen Business School in IT administration. How nerdy can you get??

Meanwhile, I've grown tired of all the Cisco Circus acts and have instead filed a labor dispute with the Dubai Free Zone and local labor dept. They notified our general manager who now has three days to respond and resolve the issue, or it gets forwarded to Dubai courts. After months of stalemate, I've concluded that corporate people are crooks, that the more bad and unethical things you do and the more people you mistreat, the higher up in the organization you move...I've also learned that HR must be the most incompetent people.

Unfortunately my situation has bled over into Aric's work and he has missed an opportunity to be rewarded the highest achievement award at Cisco: The Chairman's Club, and a trip to Hawaii. He did get the Sales Champion Award and was ranked no. 1 in region; alas they decided to send number two, which was a bit curious. I can only speculate that they thought it would be bad for business and their execs to be confronted with a 'postal wife' on Maui! I haven't had the urge to visit the 50th state anyways!

Life goes on and this week it will go a little faster and smoother once I sever my ties with the company where I had a good 12-year run.

Slim has lost his manhood and is doing well after he has less testosterone in his system!

I think that just about sums up the Ault sandbox updates.