Skip to main content

Not having a plan can be the best plan of all


Since I've moved to Dubai, I have been working on becoming a more flexible person. Most of the time, I am a planner, an organizer, and a perfectionist; however, I am beginning to learn that sometimes not having a plan can be the best plan of all!

A few weeks ago, we found out we were set to have a 3-day weekend in June. Obviously, I wanted to take full advantage of this situation and go somewhere for a few days. I spoke with a few friends and it was decided that we would do something together. Paintballing, Jet skiing, Hiking, Road trip...lots of ideas came up. Unfortunately, the weekend came faster than expected, we hadn't planned anything and all the hotels around the UAE were booked up. I was truly upset, thinking I wasn't going to do anything fun on my last long weekend of the school year. Nevertheless, my one friend and I decided that we would go on a road trip together no matter what and we were going to have fun! 

Yesterday (June 6th), my friend came over and we decided that we were going to drive up to Snoopy Island in Fujairah. But wait, things did not turn out as expected. We did not find our way to Fujairah. We made it to Ras Al Khaimah instead for a short tour, before all of a sudden we found ourselves back in Dubai. We spent a whole 3 hours in the car, exploring, chatting, laughing and when we returned to Dubai, we decided to go to the beach. Though we did not make it to our destination, for me, this day was still a success because I finally got the opportunity to swim in the sea here in Dubai. We swam, ate dinner and swam some more in the darkness of the night. 

Since we never made it, we thought it would be a good idea for us to try to go to Snoopy Island again today (June 7th). Luckily, this time, a couple of our friends drove us there. The drive up to Fujairah was absolutely amazing. We got to drive through some rocky mountains, which for me, is always a great experience. I have to say, listening to old school songs made the trip that much more interesting too. Finally, once we made it to Snoopy Island, we swam and ate some dinner. We returned to Dubai in the evening and continued to have fun in the pool. 

So, all in all, this weekend turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I did a lot of swimming, which is great and I got in many many laughs, which is even better.

Next adventure...Rome in 3 weeks...Stay tuned... 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Locked in.

“ The successful warrior is the average (wo)man , with laser-like focus. ” Life’s been feeling a little dull lately, but there’s one thing keeping me fired up; the experience of a lifetime is just around the corner. In just four weeks, I’ll be heading to Chicago to compete in the Hyrox World Championships, and I’m locked in. For many competitive and athletic kids, the dream is to make it to the Olympics or stand on a world championship stage in their sport. While Hyrox may not be the Olympics, for me, this is kind of that moment. This is my ‘world stage’; I can’t wait to soak it all in and add it to the list of things I’m proud of. This idea sort of started on my 40th birthday this year. While most people celebrate with a party and cake or a getaway, I made a wild choice: I booked my place in the Hyrox World Championships with my doubles partner. Bold? Definitely. Crazy? Probably. Worth it? Without a doubt. The last time I pushed myself this hard was back in 2019 when I trained for a C...

In a World Full of Noise, Let’s Show Understanding

“Not everyone processes uncertainty the same way, and that’s okay.” The past few days have been unexpected. What started as a normal Saturday - coaching at the gym, breakfast with a friend, catching up on work with the TV on in the background - quickly changed when I heard a loud “boom” coming from outside my apartment. At first, many of us in the community assumed it came from one of the many nearby construction sites. But, within the next few hours, the loud sounds came again and again, and word spread that these were missiles and drones being intercepted in the sky. I’ve always felt safe here in the UAE, and believe it or not, to a certain extent, I still do. Like many other residents here, I have a lot of trust in the country I’ve chosen to call home for over 11 years. I’ve seen it overcome challenges in the past, such as COVID and floods, and I’ve witnessed how much the leadership cares for the residents, particularly over the last few days.  That said, it’s no secret that I a...

Momentum Reset

"Momentum doesn’t just return; you rebuild it, one choice at a time." Before summer began, I was feeling a little low. The tipping point came when I found out my HYROX competition partner’s visa had been denied, meaning we wouldn’t be able to compete at the HYROX World Championships in Chicago. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t the end of the world, but I was still pretty bummed. I thrive when I have a goal, something to work toward, and for nearly two months, I’d been all-in. That training gave me momentum, purpose and energy. When that goal disappeared, so did my drive. Suddenly, my energy shifted in the wrong direction. I slipped into autopilot, stuck in the routine of daily life, work, and thought patterns that were becoming more and more negative. Social media didn’t help. It felt like everyone else was out there doing so much, and I had nothing exciting happening. I would catch myself comparing and as my thoughts spiraled, my body started responding, and not in a good way. Th...