Ramadan Day1

Today is the first day of Ramadan here in the Gulf. It marks the shortened work day- we only have to work 6 hour days with no salary loss to anyone working in an Islamic Country, and the no eating or drinking from dawn to sunset. Somehow all this equated to no traffic-?? It was nice though driving from my apartment to the office in less than 30 minutes this morning. I also went to the mall and that is where I took this picture. It was such a tranquil moment in the busiest mall, taken up in the "fashion corridor". Those things that look like falling water are actually white butterfly cutouts that hang down to the main level- very pretty.
The malls are DEC'd out in all kinds of Ramadan Decorations. It really is just like Christmas. Stores all use the same colors: Gold, Hunter Green, Royal Blue, Dark Purple and Silver. The store windows are all done up with different Islamic looks- even my stores went with dark purple banners, and Silver stars and Crescent Moons. It was very odd to be walking through the busiest mall in the world and not have any restaurants or coffee shops open. I mean NOTHING- the Starbucks were empty- no food in the displays, gates down at all the places, dark inside. As I was at Mall of Emirates tonight it was nearing Sunset and you could see workers inside getting ready for the explosion of people that would soon be arriving.
I do have to say I couldn't make it all day. It was hot! It was 45 out this morning at 10am! I'm not cut out for all this heat and starving myself. Usually I can put up a good "starve-out" when I'm angry or depressed or working too much- but today I could not find it in me and succumbed to a bottle of water and granola bars (yes that was plural- and yes it was the whole box). I literally had to drive home, get in the elevator, go up to the top floor, into my apartment, close the shades, and sit in the dark at 2pm to eat my box of granola bars, then leave and continue on with my day! :-) It felt so dirty!!!!! I can just see myself on the security camera walking in to my place with the box of granola bars; long pause on the tape- me leaving 25 minutes later----- with no box of granola bars. lol. The security gaurds were probably like "that's disgusting- we know what you just did!" :-)

Ahhh, well we'll see how I do tomorrow!