I Should Have Known Better

There is nothing much going on in life worth writing about, but I thought I would share this funny story. Maybe some of you will learn something, the rest I hope just get a good laugh. 

No stranger to dogs and the mischief they manage to get into, I should have known better than to believe this sweet abandon puppy was any different. Being halfway across the world may mean people react to dogs differently, but the dogs are the same.

Bintee was abandoned in the park across the street from my building. I had jokingly talked about taking in the numerous stray dogs you can find here in the UAE, but I never really thought about it seriously until her. Much friendlier than most of the "wild" dogs I had seen, there was something different about her. Turns out she just wanted someone to take care of her and a chance to get out of the grueling heat. I was okay being "used", because as I said, she was extremely sweet and well mannered.

I was baking muffins to help release some of the stress of the exams. The plan was to bring them to my students the morning of their exam. The were made, looked good, tasted good, and were sitting on the counter. Being the god person that I am, one good deed is not good enough . . . I went to help out with online college work. I locked Bintee in the living room. Nothing there for her to get into trouble. However, when I came back things were not the way I expected.

Sure she was in the living room when I entered, but I soon realized that she did not stay there the whole time. After learning how to open the sliding doors, she went through the rest of the apartment getting into trouble. In the bedroom  trash was on the floor. Then there was the kitchen. Seemed fine at first glance, but then I noticed the empty muffin tin on the floor. It was full when I left. My little saluki mix at 6 blueberry muffins, wrapper and all.

As I said in the beginning I am not stranger to dogs, puppies in particular. Back in the states, I have a dog with  a bottomless stomach who will eat anything he is able to get ahold of. I now know better to not let the sweet exterior make me leave my guard down. She may look small, but she is tall enough to reach the counters and that is the important thing to remember. Guess the short time without a dog put me out of practice. Amazing the little adjustments we don't even realize we make when we get a dog. However, even when I am ready to throw them out on the street to get some peace. . . in reality they are worth all the fuss; at least most of time. 

The End is Near, but Not Close Enough

As usual the end of the school year is seeming to take longer than the rest of the year combined. Whether it is utter exhaustion, rising heat, or anticipation of trips abroad, the time seems to have slowed to a crawl. What adds to this frustration is an unnecessary month of time add to the school calendar after the students have left.

Most of the changes to the ADEC curriculum and policies have come from Western practices. However, one thing that they have come up with all on there own to torture us with, is a month  spent stuck at school once it is officially out. We all hope that they will let us out earlier, but in the end we have already bought the plane tickets home and would be stuck in the blistering heat of the UAE in July either way.

It isn't just the sheer amount of time that seems ridiculous to me, but the fact that it is the peek of summer in this part of the world. It is the time where shoes melt on the sidewalk, and power grids are dangerous close to shutdown. None of us has been told what the month will be used for, but considering the staff is already brain dead and we still have a few weeks left, anything done during this time would not be productive. We all know this and yet . . . as we have been told thus far--"You are expected to work until July 13th."

I know that I should try to find a bright side in all of this, and hope for the best in the end . . . that isn't working. I read messages of friends already done with their school years and I look at my calendar and wonder why I am still working my butt off. I know that in the end I will survive this. It will somehow make me stronger or some mumbo-jumbo like that, but for now I am just going to whine a little bit to help get me through each day and hope that times moves just a little quicker.