Home Hunting Dubai - Finale!

The time has come for us to pack up and move! Our sea shipment arrived and cleared customs much faster than we expected, so this past week has been a whirlwind of trying to get everything ready. This is what the last 7 days have been like.

01 November (Last Wednesday) - We collect the keys to our amazing apartment - we were able to come to agreement with the landlord and rent our first choice property! The apartment is NOT READY! The landlord hadn't completed the repairs and the apartment was still filthy - it was so bad that the landlord's agent asked the electrician to help her clean! What we thought would be an hour handover of keys turned into a 4-hour ordeal waiting for repairs to be completed and cleaning crews to show up. We had hoped for a relaxing weekend in Dubai (we even booked a hotel on the beach!) but that was not the case. I should have known better!

Baby L looking super tiny and super cute in the hotel crib

The Doubletree welcomed us with delicious cookies!

We were upgraded from a balcony suite to a 2-BR suite. Totally unnecessary since we didn't have time to enjoy it, but still nice!

02 November - a quick stroll around the Marina area, then back to the apartment to make sure the cleaning crew and maintenance crews show up. They claimed everything would be done in an hour. 3 hours after they showed up, they were still working - we needed to head back to Abu Dhabi so G could get some schoolwork done, so we had to leave. We hadn't released the 5% agency fees to the Landlord's agent, so essentially that is the only leverage we have to get the work done.

03 November - Astros won the World Series! We watched the final inning after G cooked breakfast. Also we had our first (and probably last) brunch in Abu Dhabi! It was my co-worker's birthday, and we wanted to celebrate with them. If you haven't travelled to the UAE, the thing you have to understand about brunch is that it's essentially when all the expats drink excessively and gorge themselves on buffets while the locals are at mosque for their holy day of obligation. It can be painful if you don't pace yourself. 

All you can eat seafood!

My co-worker (nicknamed JJJ) on the left and G on the right. 2 gingers...dangerous.

04 November - our shipment arrives in port! We'd been tracking the vessel, and it arrived on schedule. However it is also Saturday so nobody is around to actually confirm its arrival for us. I wanted to purchase some local art and I'd been procrastinating so we finally met with an artist whose work I just loved. For anyone interested in beautiful artistic calligraphy from the area, I recommend http://www.pannataheer.com.

We purchased one of the calligraphy pieces on the lower right. Hard to see, but we'll post photos once its hanging in our apartment!

05 November - We got confirmation that our cargo container is in the port, and they think it'll clear customs in 2 days! Exciting!

06 November - G has to drive to Dubai to accept delivery of our refrigerator. He also confirms that all the repair work is complete and the apartment was mostly cleaned. Thuzar from housekeeping came to visit Baby L and I - she is on her annual leave, but she just loves Baby L!! And Baby L loves her - so we were both happy to have a visitor for a few hours!

07 November - Confirmed! Our shipment has cleared customs and will be delivered the next day! Frantic packing ensues as tonight is the last night G will spend in Abu Dhabi. I also make the mistake of taking Baby L to Ikea to buy blackout shades during rush hour. Ikea's website said the Dubai store didn't have any in stock, and you really NEED blackout curtains in this country, so it had to be done! She cried the whole ride there and the whole ride back, but she was wide eyed and curious while we were actually in the store. Go figure.

08 November (today) - G gets up super early to meet the movers and accept our shipment at our apartment in Dubai! Of course, nothing is easy - they brought a truck that was too tall to get into our parking garage, so they have to wait to move everything to a smaller truck. Then they load everything onto the freight elevator, only to discover the freight elevator is blocked by scaffolding on our floor due to maintenance work. Those poor movers definitely earned their wages today. G is spending the night setting up the bedroom, and will get up early to help me move out of Abu Dhabi tomorrow. It seem straightforward to have the movers do everything, but I'm a little obsessive about "getting ready" for movers. I spent most of the day organizing stuff so that all the baby stuff is together and all the electronics are together, etc. Plus laundry, and sorting out what belongs to the hotel vs what belongs to us...it was a long day.

#1 priority - A bed to sleep in!!

The view from our apartment at night!

09 November (tomorrow) - Movers are coming to pack up our belongings in Abu Dhabi and taking them to Dubai...and our bedroom will already be set up, so tomorrow night will be our first night as a family in our new home!!!

Also - I start work on Sunday, so blogging will likely slow down significantly. Or maybe not, who knows? Either way, I'm super sad to leave my little munchkin at home, and at the same time, ready to get my brain back into gear!