birthday celebration Archives - Undefined Declarations

Turning 35: A Birthday Iftar Celebration and Some Reflections

This year, my friends and I chose a Peruvian restaurant for our Birthday Iftar celebration. My friend’s husband’s birthday is on the 16th of July. My birthday falls on the 15th of the same month. So we’ve been doing a one day celebration with our groups of friends for the past two years.

Tesoro is a fine dining Peruvian concept located at the new Taj Hotel Dubai. The place has a very eclectic and modern feel to it. It’s also very spacious with a huge terrace overlooking the Burj Khalifah.

Thankfully, everyone had a great time and loved the tasty creations by the Chefs at Tesoro.

So, another year has passed. I’m 35, single and still looking for a suitable job or paid internship in Dubai.

I’m grateful for the good friends that I have in this magical city, and those who shared my special day with me.

I’m also blessed for being able to constantly learn new things and new ways to develop and grow – both professionally and personally.

I’m thankful for the experiences that I had and that I continue to have. Like doing random activities, meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures, and discovering something new along the way.

What’s my plan for future days?

Honestly, I think it’s time for me to be more self-involved and self-centered. Nothing can be more disappointing to a diva than investing time and energy into projects or people and not getting similar vibes in return.

Some people like to put their self-interests first, set their own rules, and then expect others to entertain them. Well, I can publicly declare that I’m not Mother Teresa and that I never will be!

When I give someone my time, it’s because I genuinely want to. But I also have realistic expectations to be treated in the same way!

Basically, it’s now time for me to focus more on my career and personal life. I need to eventually land a full-time role that I enjoy doing. I also need to find a loving and supportive partner.

As for this blog – a project that has been so exciting to work on, and very close to my heart. It was an honest representation of my life, my struggles, my dreams and aspirations.

The time for this website to end is getting near. But I have plans to start another blog with a different niche. You can stay updated with my news and new blog news by following me on social media:

Facebook Page

Twitter

Instagram: nadaalghowainim

Update: New Blog is now Live!

Here’s the link for my new blog:

Saudi Diva Blog

I’m very active on Twitter and Instagram these days. So make sure to follow me to stay in touch with my news.

Being 35 and single means that I have the strength and independence to make significant life decisions.

It also makes for a good time to reflect on those life decisions and possibly rethink my priorities.

Love,

The Rebellious Saudi Diva XXX

A dual Birthday Celebration with genuine Dubai people

Bonus Track to listen to while working or reading this post!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6B8btpBWNo

Personal Post: My 34th B-Day!

I have to admit something: originally, this post was going to be yet another rant about being single! This time, with my 34th Birthday celebration party in the background. But something happened that made me change my mind about how to write this post…

Well, I have received countless e-mails, Facebook messages, what’s app chat messages, blog comments and face-to-face conversations opposing and disagreeing my constant whining about being single!

The most recent one being a comment on my Where is He?! post – where I talk about how I feel about the subject – that I saw as soon as I logged in to my account to write this post! Obviously this is a clear sign that I shouldn’t be talking about this topic anymore! What all the comments, e-mails, messages and in-person conversations have in common is this: They all support being single, that it’s better than being with the wrong person, that you can still be in a relationship and feel like the loneliest person on earth, and that happiness is not guaranteed with a partner or a lover…

OK, I think that with that said, the content of this post cannot be centered (or even mention) the topic of being single…I’ll leave that for another future post though…when all these comments have cooled down a bit 😛

Moving on to the main topic of this post: My 34th Birthday…I’m a Cancerian….I turned 34 on July 15. Yes, proud to be a ’90s chick….I still believe that those were the best years of my life…I grew up in the simple days of “Full House”, “90210” and “Saved by the Bell”…before technology and social media took over our lives….I used to play video games with Atari. Boulder Dash (the game), Super Mario and Sonic the HedgeHog were my idols 🙂

I could go on and on about my ’80s and ’90s childhood and teen years…but this is not what this post is about…This post is a way to say Thank you to all of the friends who joined in the celebration of my Birthday, to everyone who took some time off of their busy schedule to sit at our Iftar table – it was Ramadan after all…A month of rejoice, and reconnecting with old friends who you don’t get the chance to see as much as you would like throughout the year.

This post is a celebration of life, of genuine and meaningful connections, of the great people who are in our lives for a reason, of all the wonderful times that we shared together and will continue to share….

In the end, whether we are single or in a meaningful relationship, the most important element is to be at peace and content with ourselves. Because no external source or even the most loving partner can bring you eternal happiness or inner peace…

How many of you agree to this?

I am signing off before I get too spiritual (actually, that’s just me copying what everyone else keeps telling me) :p

Next year, I would love to celebrate my Birthday in another country….Let’s see what the future holds….

Love,

The Rebellious Saudi Diva XXX

Not An Ordinary Day in Town!

It was one of those days when almost nothing seems to be going right. I was tired, but I had to attend “Design Days Dubai”; an exhibition on interior decor and art pieces held annually. It was the last day of the event, so I decided to go and create a blog post about it. Not realizing that what happened during my day of casual and random incidents was far more interesting than the exhibition itself! And that’s what made me get excited about writing this post on a Friday night. When most of my friends are chilling at home and asking about my plans for the evening.

First, we had trouble getting to Emaar Boulevard in Downtown Dubai, where the event was being held. Until this moment I can’t comprehend how the sign that says “Emaar Boulevard” has disappeared from the face of the earth! I always used to see that sign when I wanted to go to The Pavillion, Downtown Dubai, and so didn’t think it would be a big deal to find the location for our design event. Sadly I was wrong, that sign was no where to bee found last night. And we spent an entire hour or more trying to get to the Boulevard! And even when we finally found our way there, there was no clear sign as to where the exhibition was! Apart from some street light banners and ads, there was no sign of a crowd or an event in the area! After my emotion-packed day, I went up to a security guard in a neon vest and asked: “where is Design Days? we’ve been looking for it since a long time!” As if it was his fault that the event was hidden and tricky to get to 🙂

When we finally made our way into the exhibition tent, we took a quick round at the stands and snapped some pictures of some cool design pieces. before heading out for our next “unpredicted” adventure. Our next stop was a birthday party celebration at a new chic patisserie in Souq Al Bahaar, next to Dubai Mall. Since we were already in Downtown Dubai, you would think that finding Souq Al Bahaar should be a piece of cake, right? Well, you were wrong. I still can’t understand that either! Dubai Mall is like the second home to most people who live in Dubai, or at least their second home when they have visitors in town. So whenever my dad is visiting, we would spend a lot of time at malls and Dubai Mall and Souq Al Bahaar are no exception. But last night, for some reason, I was disoriented and could not make out how to walk to Souq Al Bahaar from the Burj steps (OK, it was my first time at the steps honestly, but still). So as me and my buddy were trying to find our way to the birthday place, we see a guy riding a buggy-bike! yes, it was a facility for the area, and we asked the guy to give us a ride to Souq Al Bahaar! For your information, it wasn’t for free (it cost us 25 Dirhams). But it was so much fun! the weather was fabulous for a bike ride, we got so much attention from tourists and residents, and most importantly, we made it to the birthday party! (two hours late, but we made it!).

The cafe where we met our friends and birthday girl had a relaxed and elegant vibe to it. The outdoor area has a great view of the Burj Khalifah, and the weather was perfect for sitting outside.

I guess it’s always fun to do something spontaneous every once in a while. Even if it’s just a simple buggy ride in Downtown Dubai 🙂