Ever get so bogged down with too many details that you don’t know which way is up? That’s about where I am at right now. It is like 99% job related. And it is making it hard for me to just slow my mind down and think about what I want to say.
I’m definitely an 8-to-5-plus wage slave now, a role I haven’t held in, um, ever. This job is far more demanding than any I’ve had in the past. Everything from taking work home at night right down to the requirement for professional dress. Did I ever wear anything “professional” at Kalamazoo College? Or even Rush? There’s no shortage of shopping options here though. I’ve already availed myself of the Mall of the Emirates H&M, which is priced similarly to the US.
My week has involved mostly campus tours, meeting all the senior administration, trying to get the framework for a university-wide records management system in place. Oh yeah, the first week! Never mind the settling in to a new home/foreign city/totally different way of life/whatever. Never mind the seriously mindboggling bureaucratic processes. Like how people keep moving boxes in and out of my work area (the same ones–not archival material by the way), and bringing me cube furniture pieces, taking them away, and just now showing up with a whole bunch of desk pieces and cabinets. What is going on??? Nobody really seems to know. Whatever. Oh and have I mentioned that although this is the archives there is no shelving. Just a big room.
I got a driving licence though. It’s good for ten years. But you have to have proof of three months’ salary before you can buy a car, so we’re just going with Rodney’s rented car for now. Public transportation is not good and although taxis are cheap, getting them to find our apartment is a hassle, and it would cost much more getting to work that way.
Today we’re getting our first taste of a sand storm (minor so far), and it’s becoming a bit warmer every day. Around lunchtime it’s probably close to 90 degrees in the sun, but by afternoon it’s back to a comfortable 75 or so and evenings are still in the 50s. We’ve been warned to test our A/C before it gets really hot. Being the first in our building means many things have never been used before, and if it’s over 100 we certainly don’t want to wait two weeks for that to be repaired.
Maeve has a new friend named Ava who lives four floors above us. She is from Nova Scotia and her birthday is only a month after Maeve’s. Her father is a reference librarian. We’re also looking at an all-girls American school for Maeve that is nearby, for preschool this fall. It is probably twice as much as the Kazoo School at home, but children’s tuition is one of the perks of my job.
On the weekend… Sharjah Discovery Centre with all sorts of stuff to do. Also buying a TV and braving the main post office to pick up some packages. If you want to send anything to me, leave a comment because it’s quite an ordeal getting it delivered directly to us.