Dubai Life: Best Laid Plans B, C, and D

It's hard to believe that 2016 is almost over and that I've been in Dubai for over 6 months.  Several of you have asked for updates about my career/job situation and it's been so up/down/sideways that it's been 'meh' to talk about (i.e. not very interesting).  But tonight, I wish I had someone to drink wine and commiserate with so here's the whole story (mostly) in my favorite language.  

When we left Washington, we had a pretty good plan.  In a nutshell: Steve was going to take a fantastic job in an exotic city across the world, I would continue with my current career path remotely, we'd travel as much as we could, and build a sizable nest egg.  We spent 7 months meticulously planning and then leapt into the great unknown.

And for the first few months, it worked really well.  I started working from Dubai in May and we were slowly getting settled.  But in July my company/client was purchased by a large accounting firm, which for regulatory reasons meant I was suddenly out of a job.

But never fear, I would just get another one.  During our planing stages, we also laid out a Plan B, C, and D (I like to be very prepared).  So I leveraged my network in the US to drum up some more consulting work and I started applying to a LOT of jobs in Dubai.

And then we had another week-long holiday in the UAE, and we decided to go to Goa.

And while we were there, I realized waaaaaaay too late that I should have been submitting a CV instead of a resume to pretty much everyone.  

But when we came back from Goa, I got an interesting email from a friend about the possibility of a sweet job that was worth taking seriously. I aggressively pursued it, and along the way let myself get a little bit too optimistic.  But one month, 4 phone interviews, and about 50 emails later, the role/opening was absconded by another department.

And now I am this strange, nocturnal, housewife-in-waiting who keeps ridiculous graveyard hours to chat with prospective clients in the US, also tries to maintain day-time communications with people and companies in Dubai, and is writing her first a "Curriculum Vitae."

Eventually, something good will come through and all the effort and groundwork I'm putting in now will pay off.  I just have to be patient and try not to get too ahead of myself (the hardest part).

But in other news, I'm starting my open water/scuba diving certification too!