harrumph

well, i’m back.

in lieu of the impending engagement, i realized that perhaps the only option left open to me was to leave the country at the earliest opportunity, and so i did. i spent an idyllic week in dubai and aqaba, jordan, staying in beatiful hotels and waking up in the morning to views like this:

for those of you who doubt the massive proportions of my olfactory organ, here’s some definitive proof, courtesy of jumeirah beach, dubai:

and here’s some more proof, from the dubai creek:

i call that one “just because we work for the world bank doesn’t mean we’re not badass”.

the highlight of the trip for me was the last evening, when i spent several hours on the beach at aqaba, smoking some quality sheesha and listening to live arabic music, while the sea was illuminated by the bursts of light from the distant lighthouse. sadly, there are no pictures of this orgasmic experience.

of course, it wasn’t all just fun and games. there was a lot of this:

but there was also a plethora of splendid food, which goes a long way to explaining the smiles on everyone’s faces here:

i also learned a very important lesson. all jordanian women, without exception, are hot. exceedingly, almost excessively, hot.

screw this arranged marriage shit. guess who’s moving to jordan?