But there is always a silver lining or something to look forward to and here are a few of the things that have been keeping me going:

1.  The birth of my beautiful god daughter Imogen (photo below)

2.  The birth of Nikki's gorgeous daughter (Chloe Rose - no photo yet)

3.  I went to the Dubai World Cup (in the hosted Emirates Suite)

Other than that there really isn't much to say so I will let the photo's below speak for themselves.

So... it has been almost 5 months that I have been living in the sandbox and I have been suitably rubbish at keeping my blog updated for which I sincerely apologise!

Dubai, although interesting is a very different place compared to the one I used to come on holiday to, however I am lucky that I have a job and live in a lovely villa close to my office.

Robeya, who is a photographer has created a truly wonderful home and I'm very fortunate to be able to share it with her.  I have a lovely room with a balcony and en-suite bathroom.. see photo's below and there is a lovely pool which will be well used in the summer months!  

I have leased a vehicle because to be honest in the current climate who really wants to buy anything!  It's a Mitsubishi Lancer and is more than adequate for my needs.  To be honest, the ONLY requirement was... it had to have AIRCON!!!!

I would like to say a HUGE congratulations to my gorgeous Falguni Patel and her handsome fiance David Wheadon who are now officially engaged!  Dave... you must be so relieved NOT to have to deal with all our prods about when you're going to pop the question ;-)

Also to the O'Rourke "Fushes" who are back in the UK, I hope you both find work contracts soon and that the house sells!

Although I normally spend my weekends having manicures and pedicures, I have been to a couple of brunches, the most recent one with a Lisa whom I met through a friend of mine (although sadly she is heading back to the UK shortly).  However below is a photo of moi with Lisa, Duncan and Darren at the Rotana Brunch, where I managed to get my blackberry stolen (yes, most likely because I drank far too much... okay, yes, I said it). 

Well, that's about it for now!  We're moving into our new offices over the course of this week so I will be flat out with that and will be looking forward to the weekend which will most DEFINITELY involve a massage to soothe away the tension.

It was fantastic seeing all of you that made it to Rachel & Maury's wedding and I hope to see most of you in May which is when I'm hoping to pop back to the UK for a couple of days.

Lots of love

Darryn (Pixie)

I have been sorely remiss in updating my blog and I will be updating it properly with all the news and photo's of what has been happening since December but in the meantime I must tell you all that my Fush got married on Saturday 28 February 2009 and it was a magical day.  I was so honoured to be a part of such a special event.

Below are a few photo's of the happy couple on their wedding day (plus one of the gorgeous Falguni and my mum).

Friends flew out from far and wide to attend (Houston - USA, London - UK, Singapore, Dubai, etc).  There was drinking, dancing, laughing and of course I got a bit choked up at the end of my speech (but then it was my Fush that I was speaking about so it doesn't matter).

We danced and partied till the wee hours.  Sadly I did not last as well as some of the guests did as it was a whirlwind trip for me and I was a bit shattered from all the traveling.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE - RACHEL, MAURICE AND EVELYN!

May you have a lifetime of love, happiness and adventure.

Love

Darryn

My mum came over for Christmas which was a last minute surprise and a very welcome one at that as I have been terribly homesick for London.

I have officially moved into the new Villa which is lovely and I can start settling in.  It is much closer to my office (3 blocks away to be precise) so I should be able to have better work/life balance at least.

I have two months before I fly to South Africa for my Fushie's wedding (aka Rachel) and so desperately need to attack the gym in a BIG way!

No further news other than I sent through a new contact number (sorry for all the changes) by email a little while ago and that is my current mobile number in Dubai.  All the others before including my UK one are not working anymore.

I hope that you are all well my dear friends and that you had a wonderful Christmas and an amazing New Year!  

Here's wishing that all your hopes and dreams come true in 2009!

Lots of love

Darryn (Pixie) 

I have been working for Delta Parters for a week and am thoroughly enjoying my job!  The hours are LONG but the staff are friendly and the company itself is amazing!

I have ALSO found a villa to stay in and it is just 3 small blocks from my office so that means better quality of life for me because I don't have to get up at 5am in in the morning and I don't have the long drive in and out of work either.  

Lots of you (very sweet friends) have been asking for my postal address but unfortunately nothing is that simple over here.  The don't really deliver mail over here unless it's to a postbox which you can rent but ONLY once you have a residence permit and of course i don't have mine yet.  So to cut a long story short I don't have a mailing address at present but promise to email you all as soon as I have one.

Bye for now xxx

Just a quick blog update to let you all know that although it has taken me three LONG weeks to find a job... I have finally been made an offer and start work on Monday, 1 December 2008.

I will be working for Delta Partners Group who are a young, dynamic and innovative company specialising in the Telecoms sector.  Their 3 main areas of business focus are Private Equity, Corporate Finance and Consultancy.

Well, that's all for now but this is a MUCH happier Pixie signing off from Dubai!

Bye for now!

The photo on the left is of the Burj Al Arab Atrium which is the tallest Atrium in the world.  The photo above is of the staff at the Burj singing Happy Birthday to me which was rather embarrassing but also rather fun and the photo below is of my ultra chic birthday "cake".

That's all for now but watch this space because I may have some very good news soon!

My sincere apologies for being so remiss in updating my blog but things did not go particularly well towards the end of my trip with my luggage disappearing (never to be seen again) and the credit card fraud!

I arrived back in London and had to spend my time trying to see as many people as possible in a very short space of time as well as replenishing my wardrobe with some much needed essentials... like knickers ;-)  If I didn't get to see you, I'm terribly sorry!

I squeezed in some wonderful time with my god daughter Evie who is an absolute joy and am in awe of Rachel, Evie's mum as I don't think anyone (unless they have children) realise just how much hard work it is!

Before I knew it my taxi was arriving (6am yesterday morning) to whisk me off to the airport and another flight to Dubai!

So here I am, in my beautiful sunny room where Nikki and Adam (my good friends in Dubai) have been absolute gems in assisting me to get settled!  I have internet, printer and server connectivity and a Dubai mobile number which I will email to all of you in a separate email.  I can be contacted on that number from now on rather than my UK mobile number.

I promise to keep my blog updated so that you can keep track of how much job search is going (fingers crossed I will find something soon).

That's all for now!

Lots of love to all

Dx

It started off with my suitcase going missing!  I landed in Miami on Sunday, it is now Wednesday and they still haven't located my card!

I have also just found out that someone has been using my credit card!  So now I have to cancel my credit card and get it re-issued!  It is definitely time to come home!

Whomever thought that America was the land of milk and honey was sorely mistaken!

Give me good old England any day!

See you all soon (hopefully sooner rather than later)!

Love

Dx

This will be my last blog for a while as I don't know when I'll have wireless access again!

Tinsel town!  The land of the rich and famous!  It is a strange place!  I could love this place (if I had the money to support the good stuff)!  It's a vast city with one place merging into the next.  Universal Studios was fun and I went on most of the rides.  All very elaborate and lots of fun.

Next stop is to see some good friends (Chris and Larissa) in Houston and on Sunday I fly to Miami.  That's all for now.  Here are some typical LA photo's.

I'll be back in London for 1 week (1 - 9 November).  I hope to catch up with you all then.

Love

Dx

There are hotels in every size, shape and theme imaginable and every show you could possibly think of as well!

I went to the Grand Canyon which was very impressive and even managed to catch one of its inhabitants on camera (see below).

I tempted fate by gambling a little and at one stage was up $100 but then lost everything and more... 

I arrived in Los Angeles this morning so I will be heading out tomorrow to explore and will keep you updated with how things are going.

That's all for now folks

Dx

There are however beautiful places in the city as well as along the coast and the valley.  Below are a few photo's for your viewing pleasure.  The jellyfish are one of my favourites (sighted at Monterey Aquarium)

Next stop... VIVA LAS VEGAS!

That's all for now. Dx

Can you all believe that I have been gone for 7 months!?  I hope you're all enjoying the peace and quiet while I'm not there ;-)

Just a quick update to let you know that I am in the sunny state of California in San Francisco.  I have a couple of tours booked for the the next few days including a day trip down to Monterey, Carmel, 17 Mile Drive and Pebble Beach.

The Hawaiian Islands were absolutely fantastic and being on the same island as an erupting volcano was amazing.

Next stop.... VIVA LAS VEGAS!

Lots of love to everyone

Dx

I went on my first tour today, Pearl Harbour and Honolulu City!  It is a beautiful place.  Not much to tell but wanted to add a few photo's for your viewing pleasure.

Cheers for now

Dx

I have left one cold damp island for one hot humid once in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  I am on the Island of Oahu!  I arrived at 7am this morning to 26 degrees, sunshine and very helpful friendly shuttle driver. 

I made my way down to Waikiki and even managed to secure a local US sim card before the jetlag kicked in and the heat overwhelmed me.

Tomorrow morning early I embark on a Pearl Harbour and Honolulu City Tour and on Tuesday I go on an Island tour which will take me 120km's around the Island of Oahu, to the Pineapple plantations and even a short hop on the Pineapple express train.

On Wednesday morning it's a short flight to the "big island" of Hawaii to go on an Island tour of the Volcanic parks.

Thursday will hopefully find my lazing on Waikiki beach sipping Daiquiri's>

Friday I fly to San Francisco and begin my Mainland adventure!

Mahalo

Me xxx