I work with a mysterious woman named Amna Alblooshi. She’s a graphic designer for Khalifa University and she  makes my written work look so good. I don’t know much about her other than she’s 28, single, and getting her master’s degree in Art History at the Sorbonne here in Abu Dhabi. She works all day at Khalifa,…

Who could possibly move to a virtually dry country — where alcohol is a sin (haram) — and find a way to drink themselves silly? A place where you have to skulk into a windowless nonchalant building on some side street and carry out your booze in a telling and shaming solid black plastic bag? A place where…

The  most exciting things about today were that we snorkeled in the morning and then watched a salamander square off with a spider during our late lunch.  Otherwise we just stared at the beauty around us as we drove around the island. I think this may be my 50th birthday present as well as Allan’s 70th. …