How I became a songwriter Part 1- It all started with a broken peugeot...

The poor car had been declining for a while. Two out of four of its windows didn't work, not ideal for a car that cruises the hot roads of Dubai. Then the A/C went, and was repaired, and broke again, and was repaired again. Then the engine's cooling system started to glitch leaving me stranded on the side of the highway hailing a friendly Pakistani tow truck driver. They have the most interesting cabs, by the way, and back stories! This one was a retired army man who splits a truck with his brother, where they each drive for 6 months in Dubai, while the other spends 6 months home with the families. The earn enough to comfortably support both families and deck out the tow cab with fake flowers, artificial turf, and trim the front window dangly metal beading. The inside of a towtruck feels more like a mardi gras float, but I digress. The little Peugeot's fan is repaired, and then glitches again, and soon the engine is making a deafening sound on every trip, so much so that I have long since given up listening to music on the ride to or from preschool. And then I'd had enough! "Let's just get a rental, this car is driving me crazy!" and so my lovely husband did. It was luxurious driving with an actual radio I could actually hear. Heaven, I tell you! As I was blissfully rolling along that February evening I heard a radio promotion for a gift card giveaway for the best valentine love message. "Whatsapp us a 1-minute greeting for your valentine and get a chance to win a 1000dhs Centerpoint gift card!"

You had me at the gift card. 

So the gears started turning. It would be the catchiest thing to just personalize an already lovey greeting, so that's what I did. I pulled over and parked for a few minutes so I could concentrate fully and messaged in this little rearrangement of a classic:

L- is for the laughs you give to me

O- your bank account because of me

V- is very very kind too everybody

E- eternity, the time I want you here with me 

and LOVE was made for you and me!

The next morning I was awakened by a call from a landline in Dubai and found myself on the radio with Heart 107's morning presenters asking me about my song, and who it was about, and how long we'd been together, and then finally congratulating me on winning the Centerpoint Gift Card. Wow! I was so excited! They told me someone would contact me about how to collect my prize and bid me farewell. What a happy yet surreal thing to win, and what I nice day I had that day. More would follow.

The very next day on my way to the movies, listening to my new favorite radio station, I heard for the first time a different promotion: the Mastercard Start Something Priceless promotion.  A few lucky winners would get the chance to sing at the upcoming Dubai Jazz Festival at the concert of Duran Duran, John Legend, or Ricky Martin. "Just WhatsApp a message of you singing a favorite song and YOU could be on stage at the Dubai Jazz Festival!"
GASP!
Oh my goodness! I had JUST won a contest for singing into my phone,  but now there was an even cooler opportunity! I checked the website, you can't enter more than one contest in a 6 month period. Oh, the humanity! How had I not heard this commercial before the last night of the contest and why, oh why had I sent in a song the day before? No, I couldn't regret that. My kids were due for new shoes and the gift card would be timely, so if I had to pick something cool for me or something necessary for my kids, obviously I would choose the same. But oh, how I ached to enter. It was the last night of the promotion, I had only about 10 minutes before I needed to be inside the mall to meet a friend for a movie, but I couldn't resist. I opened WhatsApp to the number I had saved the previous day and sang a verse and chorus of Ruthie B's "Lost Boy" and hit Send, followed by a message that I knew it probably would not count since I had just won something the day before but I couldn't resist.

The next weekday I got a phone call from the radio station...