Hello from across the world!

I made it to Dubai. Still can’t quite believe it. Manchester feels like million years ago. A a lot has happened this week. My sister made it to Spain to meet up with her tinder boy, my friend joined her bumble friend in Dubai and all seems to be going very well. Also my Mexican penpal might be joining me in UAE and I at a risk of sounding cheesy I am still going to say it. I feel lovey vibes all around. Honestly this is an incredible feeling considering what this year has brought to us.

I am still counting my blessings every day, 119 days to be exact. My longest run of the gratitude journal and I that alone feels like a positive achievement. OK I am feeling a bit giddy so I will stop before I make you all puke.. Life is good here and I am sending you all my love and strength to persevere whatever you might be. There is always a light at the end of a tunnel. And as one of my audiobooks said: “it doesn’t matter how long the room has been dark, when you flip the switch it is filled with light”

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Monday. Moving and packing day. Flat closer to the centre of Manchester with big windows. Ah how nice to be out of the basement. Went for the pilates class in the evening and ended up on few video calls later on. So much love and happiness around I feel soft and cuddly inside. Happiest holidays to you all!

Tuesday. So I have been sitting and timing scripts at home today. That has been a success. I am liking my new temporary home. Especially the windows and the bath which I intend to use tonight to soak in. So few sweet and unexpected  things happened today. First one, this 1st AD I have worked with on Chernobyl got in touch with me about potential job shooting in Dubai, Romania and South Africa. I don’t know that guy very well, mostly by reputation as we were on different blocks, but honestly I just felt so flattered and grateful that he even thought of me after all those years. So thank you for that David! OK, another thanks go to Tony, the editor of the current show I am working on. He also has just sent me an email to “express admiration” towards my work, as he put it. I have never met the person, we only exchange emails and more like me forwarding those emails with documents and kinda it. It’s just so so nice to hear something back from this void of sent emails. If you remember few weeks ago I was feeling really down about my work performance, so yea, today it’s all been fixed. Thanks to all the kind words. So, if you take away anything by reading this, I hope you see that you have the power to get someone out of their misery, just by saying something kind. DO IT! Love! Night!

Wednesday. Getting ready for the trip. Early morning driving lesson, followed by mani and pedi appointment into the last pilates class. Busy day overall and I spent good part of the night packing, well repacking more like it and chatting to my Mexican friend. Yes we talk again and he might be joining me and my friends in Dubai for the new year. That would be one spontaneous adventure that’s for sure. I am counting my blessings every day for the life I have, honestly.

Thursday. Merry Christmas Eve to you all form my hotel room in Dubai. Yes I made it! Still cannot believe it yet. Apart of the need to wear masks and the Covid test on arrival I’d say the whole flying experience seemed just like before. Ah good old days… My plane neighbours were very nice, so we ended up chatting for a good majority of the flight, then I did some work and had a little nap. 7 hours literally flew by. Had a bit of a delay trying to leave the airport and get to my hotel, but I succeeded in the end. The time difference with the uk is 4 hours, so even though it feels like few hours after midnight it is a Christmas morning already. No Santa for me this year, but as Cherr famously said “mom, I am a rich man”, I feel that I could adapt that to “mom, I am Santa”. Anyway on this rather strange note I am off to bed! Magic and love to you all!

Friday. Day 1 in Dubai. Moved from my airport hotel to the one where my friend is staying. Got negative Covid test result and pretty much relaxed for most day, as I was so tired. Dubai is not as warm as I thought it was going to be, so having some issues with the clothes I brought with me. Oh well. In the evening we went out to the Christmas dinner with my friends friends and it felt like one of the nights out in London when I was in my 20s. I don’t mean getting wasted here by the way. It’s just Dubai has so much influence from the UK, everything is very British from the music to the food menu and general vibe I get. It’s probably very personal to me, because I spent a good part of my 20s working in bars in London so in a way I grew up in that culture and now I am getting a major flashbacks.

Saturday. Day 2 in Dubai. After the night out and trying to adjust to the new hours after the flight we did not have a lot of the morning daylight. We lounged a bit by the pool and after that I went to buy something to wear at the decent length. To be honest I have seen women here wear all sorts of outfits, long and short, sleeves and full on sleeves. From the little research I have done, I thought it will be really strict, but in practice it’s actually a lot like at home in Europe. There are certain things which one should not do in public, like PDA, but in reality, how often grown up people really do that? 

Sunday. Day 3. Finally went to do some exploring with my friend. We took a very clean and modern metro to the old town and did a bit of strolling through the Golden market. It was something else, the golden jewellery they are selling there. I was a bit too shy to take photos as I thought that it might give an excuse to the shopkeeper to try and lure us in or charges us. I probably should not have felt it, but my past travelling experience taught me to be cautious. To be honest so far Dubai seems incredibly safe and with zero haggling on streets, which you might get else where in the world. After the market we took a little ferry boat to another part of the old town, which was actually fake old, if that makes sense. As the buildings seemed to be freshly built in the old Arabic style, pretty interesting and bizarre. Also everything is super clean and English! In the evening we went to the mall and I got myself a dress for the New Years and a leather jacket which I was hunting for for almost a year since my previous one took its last breath after many many years of wear and tear. Anyway I feel like I’m settling in finally and that makes me happy.

Highlights:

  • Dubai! This is all I can think about right now. Cannot believe I will be spending New Years with my best girlfriends here, never have I ever thought it would be possible, especially this year.
  • Nice and comfortable flight.
  • My mama and my sister, our video chats are something so special.
  • My sisters trip to Spain. I am so happy for her and seeing her smile warms my heart. I am blessed with my sister that’s for sure.
  • Girlfriends!
  • I am dreaming again! After almost 2 nights of darkness they are back!

Cheers with a glass full of real and true meaning of the elephant!