Plodding on in turgid fashion

Last night 2027, total 16265. Actually this is approximate, because I sometimes skim through a previous chapter (to check what a character has actually said or done) and I find myself changing stuff. Usually in horror at the drivel I had written. Excerpt:

"But you like it here?"

Mark hadn't really considered recently, if ever, whether he really liked Dubai. Relatives back home always what Dubai was like, and constantly inquired as to his safety, as though the United Arab Emirates was situated next to a nuclear armaments factory in the West Bank. But never whether he liked Dubai. His instinct was to say yes, as it was the polite, positive response, but he thought for a few moments.

"I like certain aspects of it," he said. "But overall, perhaps no. I feel that it's safe for my children, but they can't play outside for much of the year, and I worry that my wife gets bored."