My winter holidays have started, and they have been OK till now. I got average results (around the upper seventies, lower eighties) so my vacation has not been completely amazing but good enough- it could've been worse.
There are different scenarios that affect my vacations, for example your exam results, if your exam is after the exams etc; Usually a 'good' vacation scenario would be:
- You've just started a term and the exams are far away
- Your exams are over and the results come right after it (this way the marks don't affect the vacation. This can be both good and bad)
The worst vacation scenarios I've experienced are
- Your term just finished before the holidays and your exams start right after them
- Your exams just ended before the vacations and your report card was pretty ugly
In my experience I think the latter scenario is the worst ever. Of course, the best vacations would be that your exams ended and you got the most amazing marks. I've experienced such vacations too and they're like heaven.
So a lot depends on whether you do well in your studies or not. During the exams and before I always think about when the exams will get over, and I'll be free. But then the exams do get over and the results come and then... all my plans ruined! I guess many students my age find themselves in the same predicament (unless you're one of those super-nerds with an incomprehensible capacity for work).
So, my advice is, study hard, work hard before the exams, 'cuz the fruits of your labor will be much enjoyed during the holdays that follow. Yeah, I know, I sound like a grumbling old parent, but well, it is true!
Labels: exams, holidays, vacations, winter, winters
Yeah, I know, that's I nice picture of those lovely air-conditioned taxis that take us everywhere, are always there when we need them and have the most cheerful drivers ever.
NOT!
Today morning, I missed the bus. So like how I had done a couple of months ago, I took some money and went down to hail a cab. It was a disaster.
Firstly, hardly any taxis came. I waved at the first taxi that came. The guy looked straight at my face, nodded, and happily drove pass. Second guy made a hand gesture like saying “Wait” and drove past again. The third guy determinedly looked straight at the road and continued driving, though I’m sure he must have seen me waving. By then the other parents at the bus-stop were giving me amused looks. I tried to change my position. The fourth taxi came after a long time. He too glanced at me and drove past. I was sure all of these four taxis were completely unoccupied.
Can anyone tell me why at 7:00 am in the morning no taxi wants to stop for me? I could have given them a good fare too, my school was near the 2nd Interchange on SZR. The taxi scene in Dubai is really, really dismal. Four empty taxis and none stopped for me. In the end I had to just give up and skip school.
I just feel really sorry for those who have to use taxis everyday to go to work...
First there were supermarkets- reasonably sized indoor markets selling enough stuff to survive. It never got crowded here, and shopping was easy. The trolley was easy to push and you could never get lost. Then they got hypermarkets- and its never been the same since.
Yesterday I went with my mother to buy stuff from Carrefour (Deira City Center). By the end of it I was so exhausted I decided to write about it.
On Fridays at 8:30pm going to Carrefour City Center is like suicide. There must have been something like a thousand people in the store. I just managed to get the last trolley, a very dirty one which kept moving towards the left. Already it was nearly impossible to push a trolley through the crowd. With a broken trolley it was nightmare. Add to that the way my mother ran off in different directions and I thought whether I would survive the ordeal. The place was soooooo crowded. It was like as if the whole town was buying stuff from the same store.
I think people push their trolleys in Dubai in nearly the same way as they drive. Whenever a gap would appear in the crowd I would hurriedly push my trolley through. By the time I was halfway through the crowd some idiot from the other side would drive his trolley straight at mine, as if expecting me back out all the way through the crowd. When his trolley was right in front of mine, he would make a huge ‘tutting’ sound and reluctantly back out and let me go. Also none of these mad drivers made eye-contact with me, they always stared at my trolley.
After about two hours we finally managed to reach the cash counters. Paying up at the cash counter is another adventure. This includes finding a reasonably short queue, finding space to station your trolley, and not blowing up when those lousy barcode readers stop working. Luckily my father joined us and I ran away to sit down somewhere outside and rest my aching feet.
Now before this I would usually give my mobile to my mom and walk around the mall with my father, who had another mobile. After one hour we would call up my mom and ask her where she was, and then get her. However, this arrangement was very faulty because:
- She could not hear the mobile ring and/or
- She could not feel the mobile vibrate and/or
- She just couldn’t figure out how to use the damn thing
In my case I had all these three problems. So we would eventually end up searching for my mom in the sea of humanity which collects in the grocery section of Carrefour. This would take almost half-an-hour and at the end of it both of us (my father and I) would be near fainting-point.
Carrefour needs some serious improvements. The biggest one right now would be to increase amount of space. There is simply no room whatsoever for the trolleys and the queues at cash counters. They also need more cash counters and they seriously need to get some decent, clean trolleys.
Well other than that the day went OK. I bought some really good Nike running shoes for just Dh. 100 from Sun and Sand Sports. Finally it rained today… now I need to get back to searching for that jacket I bought last year. Weird how I always lose them…
