Care packages sent here....

One more thing... if you want to send anything to me this is how to send...


label and send to


niki zborower
c/o Hillary K Reese
DOH 4504
147-29 182nd st
Springfield Gardens, Ny 11413


(718)553-8740

All packages will be routed through here and then on to me.
any shipping charges I will take care of.
And if anyone is interested in giving to a good cause... I am in desparate need of good tint brushes(like a dozen), like the ones we use at Who Does Your Hair Salon, as well as capes and robes and color keys. (there is only one distributer out here and he had two tint brushes... both crap. We are down to two or three capes in the salon and 6 gowns. I will happily pay back any expenses... but I can't have the stuff sent by a company. There are strange import/export laws here that apply to retailers but not to care packages sent by friends and family. I think it has something to with payoffs and such. Otherwise, just a bit of home is always welcome.
kiss kiss

In the land of Good 'n' Plenty

So, I have been here almost three weeks, and according to all of the people I have met I have done more in the short time I have been here than most do in the first six months.

(they don't know me very well.....lol) So, last night I was invited to a party at the embassy with the marines here.... there weren't a lot of people there as most have left for the holiday, but it was fun. I met some great new friends and had a really nice time. The embassy is a pretty neat looking place. I didn't take any pics there though, as I wasn't sure if I should.

Then that same night my friend Mattie picked me up and took me to a yacht party that his friend was hosting. NICE BOAT!!!! Four bed four bath... Here I am in the middle east eating lobster and lamb and drinking a veeery expensive bottle of champagne, which, by the way, here in the Mid East is 3x the cost. One glass of Moet....$75 usd!

Today.....it HAILED!!! Of all things! We had a freak storm this afternoon and it poured down buckets for hours. Then there were hail stones falling from the sky! That is something that I never imagined I would see here. I took pics of the sky but all you see are clouds... (my camera didn't capture the rain...ugh) but even clouds out here are hard to come by.

So, there I was a few short weeks ago, ridding myself of most of my worldly possessions so that I could become freer, live life more fully with less and be more mobile. And let's face it, I had no place to really store all that stuff anyway... lol

I figured I was moving to a land where spirituality (in what ever form they see it here) is prevelant. That living lightly was the way to go....and here I find myself in the land of PLENTY... plenty of malls, plenty of shopping, plenty of fast food joints, plenty of big, fancy cars, plenty of yachts, plenty of people wearing plenty of diamonds, plenty of women veying for attention with their Gucci and Prada and plenty of men showing off their houses and cars and....YACHTS, and Bentlys....

Ahhh the irony.

So much for living light.....lol

I went to a club the other night called The Pearl.. there they have this deadly, and I mean DEADLY drink called, aptly, the Lambourghini. I have know idea what they put in it, but it glows. And then they light it aflame and you have to suck it through the straw before the flame reaches the glass you are drinking from or you will inhale fire. (the drink itself is flammable, as are the straws as attested by the fact that i was too slow and my straw began to melt AS I WAS DRINKING)

Pics are attached ... it is a tower of flaming booze.

So, I am now officially a resident of Doha, with all the privledges that brings... like free medical andd......and..... er... ummm....oh, no taxes.

yeah

Ok, it's late and I am going to sleep. Enjoy the pics and thank you everyone who sends me little notes and emails attached to these blogs. They make me feel good and keep me linked to the real world.

All in all, it's good to be here, having this adventure, meeting the people I am meeting and gaining new knowledge about myself.

And there are plenty of things here... plenty of entertainment options and plenty of reasons to have taken this adventure on.

miss you all.

This is the Middle East???

So, if anyone had told me a few months ago that Fri night I would be getting into a large SUV with my new friend Alan, a very, very large, intimidating looking British bloke, on our way to a Benny Benassi (very well known Italian DJ fellow) tent rave in the Middle East, singing Dolly Parton songs at the top of our lungs, I would have said they were out of their minds, or at least on some form of hulucongenic drug. For reasons, not the very least of which, are that I really don't like raves. The only reason I have ever gone to one is because Len likes the music. Personally, I don't get it... it all sounds like one very long, very annoying, synthesized noisey "song"....

But, lo and behold, that is exactly what I did fri. night. And I have to say...I loved every min of it. This guy actually has songs that sound different from one another... and the vibe was amazing!!! And all drug free. In this country there is zero and I mean zero tolerance of drugs. So, in a venue where there are usually tons of zoned out, stoned out and generally whacked out people, there were just a bunch of folk, from all over the globe, coming together to enjoy dance and sound and reverie. There was alcohol...and alot of it... but funnily enough, there were no fights, no drunk people throwing up in corners or bathrooms, no xrated displays....(but def some very skimpy clothes...and lots of touching and sensuality). No one getting hassled and no one getting tossed out. Tons of smiles, lots of fun, great music, and a very open environment to meet new people and make new friends. In fact there was a whole group that converged on Alan and I... shared their drinks and have kept in touch... go figure!

I have pics and vids for proof... even vid of the Dolly Parton sing along, but that will be in the next installment.

Now... let's see what lessons I have learned so far... I have learned that in my mid thirties I have lost some of my adventurousness. I find I have been keeping myself enclosed in a westerized bubble here in the Middle East and haven't yet felt comfortable enough to explore the culture. I am starting to learn a little about the customs and take in visually the way the people here live, but it's interesting. There are sooo many diffent ethnic cultures that create Qatar that I have a hard time figuring out what is culturally native and what has been tainted by all of the other ethnicities. Also, it's interesting, the varied customs among just the different Muslim sects from other cultures. The Qataries have a very specific style of dress... black for women, white for men. Some women cover their faces, some do not. Most cover their hair. That's what I've got so far. There are other Muslim nationalities here as well. The style of dress is different as well as the amount of coverage required. I'm interested in learning more about these differences and what they mean. Anyone have any knowledge??

I am hoping to really get more invested in the cultures outside of my westernized view... when I was younger, living in Nepal I coulnd't stand having to be kept with my fellow Americans... apart from the locals and would sneak off every chance I got to immerse myself in the culture, the smells and the diversity.

Here, I am finding myself a bit reluctant to let go of what I know to be comfortable and familiar...and it seems I am not the only one. As I have said before... it kinda feels like Long Island only beiger. Or anyplace, USA or Europe... We have all come in and created smaller versions of our lives at home that I really don't see much of what might have been an interesting culture, other than the museums and mosques.

Well, ok... off to jet skiing now... Oh... this moring I went with a lovely Aussie lady who took me to QAWS the local animal shelter, where I think I am going to volunteer a few hours a week after work. The have camels and donkeys and a BULL(he is soooo sweet... love to be scratched on the neck) and tons of dogs, cats and...er... hedgehogs... and one baby falcon.

I will have pics next time I go there. It is nice to see one of our western customs is taking hold here, in a land where there is no regard whatever for animals other than falcons and the Sheiks' horses. I know they need more funding so I'm thinking about starting up a drive... if anyone wants to help please let me know, thank you.

In the land of sand and....dairy queen.....

Well...I'm here!!!!Got in Sun night about midnight...The plane ride was easy...got alot of sleep, good leg room. But I remember feeling a sense of panic begin to build as I landed in Bahrain....I'm on a German aircraft with a German pilot speaking to me in both German and Arabic... neither of which are terribly beautiful languages to the ear.....(no offense)
and I thought...WHAT THE F@$#%&^K AM I DOING????
Then, we land...off the plane I go... and I see a sea of.... indians???? yup... it was like being in little nepal...or some parts of Brooklyn...lol
my hosts are no where to be found and the panic builds again...and then running through the doors of the airport comes Hillary.....looking like she felt terrible that I was standing there about to cry.....
Sweetest people I have ever met in Doha...(ok, so they were the first people I ever met in Doha, but they are sweet non the less...)
In the car, off to my new abode... very nice abode I might add. It is a villa, which here means basically big house, which he has renovated to accomodate a few apts. Mine is the downstairs. (see pics in post below) It's quite large and comfortable. I just need a few more pieces of furniture...oh wait, part of this was to downsize.... learn to live with less...(more on that in a later post)
The oddest feature about my apt is that the shower is in......the kitchen. It seems as the house was built with the shower upstairs, as most good houses are, and when this was sectioned off to be my apt, a shower was needed. Obviously. And the best place to put it was near the hot water source and that would be... in the kitchen. So, if you are visiting me, and want to eat a nice bfast, I suggest you eat in the living room...or you may be getting more than you bargained for when I step out of the shower getting ready for work...lol
In fact that's what I have to do now. Yesterday was my first day of work... hit the ground running.
Out of the airport into the car... to new apt..drop off bags, goto dinner and a local fast food shwarma joint,(but there is a DQ here as well as Fudruckers, McD's, Hardy's and Potatas, just to name a few of the crap food joints we have decided to grace the rest of the world with...) then to Rydges to the Aussie bar for a lungful of ciggy smoke and a beer then off to bed. Next day picked up and whisked to lunch at a french joint, then to the mall for some grocery shopping (carfours) and some essentials... all of a sudden it's midnight... home to bed... to roll around until 8 am...then up and off to work. First day of work I had 13 clients... it was 10 am then next thing I know it's 7pm...off to meet a Welsh lady about renting some horses for the year...( at $250 a month it's a deal!!!), to the souk for icecream and a walkabout...then bed.
And that, ladies and gents, has been the sum of my adventures thus far....
Today I have 14 people scheduled for work, and I am feeling a bit goggled by it.
I have an amazing assistant named Nasreen. She's from Lebanon. Has great hair and a fantastic attitude and is so incredibly helpful. My job here is to train her for her own chair and then get another assistant. Build the business, and basically dazzle the clients.
Fingers crossed I can accomplish that last bit... if yesterday was any indication of how working here is going to be, I can say that I will be the busiest that I have been in my life...it seems they are in desparate need of some good hair dressing here... and at Glow, between myself, Hillary and Nesreen...I think they will find what they are looking for.
Ok, off to work.
Next installment I will be asking the question....."Are the lights here that ominus, creepy yellow color on pupose, or is it just the dust"

I'm leaving on a jet plane

Ok guys...here it is... a few hours until I head off for the great unknown. Very strange day today. I'm spending it with two of the most beloved people in my life. I feel like I should be more freaked out than I am... but then again I feel like I'm just sort of numb. I don't know how I am going to be once I get to the airport, say goodbye to Len and Karen and sit at the gate....alone.
I have made a point of not being alone much these past few weeks... between going home to Az, going to Ohio...my car is an official Ohio resident now, by the way... and basically seeing everyone I can for the goodbyes... as often as I can...lol
I have packed with the intention of being gone at least a year, maybe longer.. .but yet I have only two suitcases and a carry on. Feels strange that I once had so much stuff, and thought that I needed all of that stuff to get by and can now safely say that with my two 80lb pieces of luggage, I have wayyyy too much stuff... lol
I have cleaned house, cleaned my emotional closest, and am looking forward to what this new opening can offer me. I only hope that I can learn whatever it is I'm supposed to learn from this new adventure. And I hope that those of you reading this blog will learn something as well.
I have a new phone number .... it is 011 974 687 0376
you can still call the old number, but it wont ring through. I am going to use the old number as an answering machine and will pick up the messages every few days. Also don't forget the SKYPE... I am nikizcolorz on SKYPE. It's so easy to use, even Karen has it on her computer....
lololol

I land Sun night at 10pm their time which is about 2 in the afternoon here. I will update this blog on Mon...and I start work on Tue.
Thank you again for all of your support, friendship and love.

new address....

Sahat al-Taawon street Villa #37
Fareej Kulaib area
Doha, Qatar

that's it... sounds very foreign and strange.. but as of next sun that is going to be my new address.

I just got back from Az seeing my family, introducing Len to my mom and my sister's kids and a few friends.

I have pics of the trip and will add them when I get them on the computer.

Don't have much to say other than tomorrow morning early I am driving to Ohio to drop off the car and back in NY by wed... then off to Doha Sat.

I'm attaching pics of the new home...I hope you can all come and visit.

damn, I suck

ok ok... I know I said I would have pics posted, but, I am in Az and don't have the computer with the pics on it with me... I'll get it done, I promise.
So, I'm in Az to visit with the family..and Len has come with me. I really am glad that he is finally getting a chance to share my life with me... only took 7 years... lol
It's strange being here now. Knowing that after next week I won't really know when I am coming home again. Could be a month, a year, three... who knows. I don't know if the reality of the not knowing has hit me yet. All I know is that I am trying, every day, to appreciate everyone in my life.
I think, no matter what, even if I turn right around and get back on a plane for home after two days, this decision is going to be a good one for who I am hoping to be. Who I am but haven't discovered yet.
And I hope to bring you all along with me for the ride.
Ok... enough for now. Gotta go back outside into the sun with Len.
By the way...any thoughts on the new president? On the election? Surprised?
My only thoughts about it at the moment is... how is this going to affect my quality of life in the area I am choosing to move to.