In Ottawa - Here, There, or Everywhere?

One thing has become very clear to me after this particular trip, and my subsequent return flight to Ottawa.
Sometimes, the only way we can decide where we truly want to be, is by being somewhere else.
For the last three years, I have been torn between what seem like opposite ends of the earth.
The U.A.E, where I spent my childhood and most of my teenage years, or Ottawa, where I went to university, completed my undergrad, and got to experience things not everyone is lucky enough to have a chance to experience.
My first job was in Ottawa, (never mind that it was a terrible experience and probably did a fair amount of psychological damage).
Similarly, my first internship was in Dubai, a much better experience, even though I probably should have had more to do.
Ottawa has always been about a lot of firsts, good and bad, and for the first time I realized, that the same is going to be true about Dubai, if I choose to make that my home.
I'm not entirely sure why it took me years to be able to decide where I want to stay put, at least for a good chunk of time now.
This trip made me realize that I'm tired of being a ping pong ball. 
I don't want to just up and leave every few months.
I don't want to feel like I belong in two different places with totally different lifestyles all the time.
I don't want to pack, unpack, and have to get used to just having arrived in another place every few months.
But most of all, I don't want to feel that I don't really belong anywhere anymore, even though I have two places to call home.
So which am I going to leave, and which will I embrace?
I'd tell you now, but that would take the fun out of it.
All in due time, I assure you. Till then, keep guessing, and keep reading!
xOxOxO

To Ottawa - The end of a hectic month

My one month here is up, and it's time to pack my bags (once again) already.
I'm leaving for Ottawa tomorrow, and I can honestly say the day has come too soon.
The past month has been mainly about furniture hunting, shopping, eating out, and a bit of sightseeing and socializing (as much as was possible with the time left after all those other activities).
It has been a short but mostly fun trip, with hardly any time for blogging or writing.
I do have two articles lined up though, and maybe even a few blog posts about my experiences during my short (but far from uneventful) trip. 
Anecdotes about moving, and Desi families, as well as their politics often make for an interesting read.
That'll all have to wait though, because I have two suitcases to start stuffing things into.
You'll get to hear from me from the other side of the ocean now. 
Till then, 
xOxOxO

Ottawa to Dubai - In Dubai

I know I've been missing in action for a while now.

Just like I do every few months, I had to catch a flight to Dubai on the 17th of last month.

My parents plan on moving to Dubai for good sometime next year when our villa there is completed. At the moment though, we live in its neighboring emirate, Sharjah, because that's where my dad works.

Contrary to what most might think, I haven't been blogging because I've hardly had time to sit down and write since I've gotten here, and it's not because of my extremely lazy-to-the-point-of-being-debilitating nature.

My mom, dad, and myself have been busy going around doing all sorts of things because we just moved into our own place here in Sharjah.

Because it's a new place, and because we didn't bring a single item of furniture (as well as other household things) from our old place, it's like starting all over again.

It's a lot of fun, no doubt.

But it's also very tiring, time consuming, energy sapping, and downright frustrating at times.

We got most of our furniture custom made, according to what we had in mind for each of our rooms.

I picked out the theme and colours for my room, as well as my sister's, who is still in Ottawa, and couldn't be bothered to tell me what it was that she wanted done to her room.

Not to brag, but our rooms turned out pretty neat, so all those hours spent figuring out every little detail with the interior designers finally paid off.

I'll be back, with more details of what I've been up to here.

Till then, take care,

xOxOxO