Married life: Keys to successful marriage



I never thought of myself as the marrying type.I never fantasised about the pouffy white wedding dress, I never had a preference on what the menu did and did not contain and I never tried to catch the bouquet at weddings. In fact, I was the one conveniently "in the bathroom" whenever it was time for the bouquet toss. Forging a career, seeking fame and fortune, seeing the world, buying shoes - those were my interests. It never occurred to me that I could have both: a full and satisfying life hand-in-hand with a wonderful marriage.

Arts&life Married life

Arts&life deputy editor Hala Khalaf's humourous and sometimes poignant weekly column on the blessings and pitfalls of married life.

Some of my past sentiments regarding weddings and my indifference to them came in handy: an elaborate, colour-co-ordinated wedding for some 160 guests came together in under three weeks, and the wedding dress was found after approximately 27 minutes of shopping. Certainly, I suffered my fair share of "bridezilla" meltdowns, but it was always because I could hardly wait to get to the part that comes after the wedding and the honeymoon. I was surprisingly eager to embark on my adventure of marriage, and not stiff with anxiety as I had always thought I would be should the day ever come.

Why? Because I am one of those lucky few who got to marry their absolute best friend. That, I believe, is the key to a successful marriage. It may seem presumptuous of me, this claim to be an expert on marriage after just a few months as a newlywed, but my unwavering optimism, coupled with the fact that I am happier than I ever thought possible, are both contributing factors towards the confidence behind my words.

More than a romance, more than an adventure, more than a relationship, yet certainly all these things, marriage is a partnership; a meeting of minds that truly just get one another. Mr T gets me. He knows when an ice cream is the only solution to all my problems. He understands my irritability when I come home after a long day at work, and gives me those 10 minutes to snarl and sulk until I feel calm again. He is willing to listen when I ramble on for 30 minutes on the changes and developments behind Scarlett O'Hara's character in Gone with the Wind, and then does his research the next day before e-mailing me his opinion on her motivations. He downloads the e-book version of a novel I just can't seem to find in a single bookstore without me ever mentioning my futile search.

He gets my quirks and annoyances and fears and secret joys, he records them and memorises them and uses them to prove to me that I have found the perfect companion for this adventure we call life, and it's the most incredible feeling in the world to get to share the adventure with someone who just wants to make you happy, because that is his source of joy. And you get that, because you are right smack in the middle of the same boat.

So really, I'm a lucky girl, despite the burn scars on hands from learning to cook, moments of post-nuptial depression following an overly-hyped wedding and wider hips from way too much caramel popcorn consumed at way too many movie theatres - a favourite pastime of Mr T's and mine. Look at it this way. Out of more than a billion men in this world, I found the one who always remembers to keep the toilet seat down. In fact, thanks to him, I'm never going to understand the generalisation I have heard all my life about forgetful men and errant toilet seats and irritated women.

This is what winning the lottery must feel like.

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Match info

Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')

West Ham United 0

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

THE BIO

Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren

Favourite travel destination: Switzerland

Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum

Teams

Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi

Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag

Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC

Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC

Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes

Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat