{mis}Adventure #18 - Life in Dubai: The "Thunderstorm" Button and Second Floor Floods

[The below events occurred somewhere around the last week of November 2012]

In my blog post about (not so) universal appliance symbols, I might have mentioned something about a thunderstorm button on my microwave and I kind of just left it at that.  In this blog post I'll elaborate a bit more...

For your reference, this is the famed thunderstorm button:

How do I know this is the thunderstorm button?  Well, how else would you explain the uncharacteristic rains that ensues shortly after pressing the button with no reaction from the microwave?  Friends were over and we must've pushed the button several times in attempts to maker the doggone thing work...no luck.  Then the following day:  rain...downpours and cars fording highway lane rivers.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Shortly after creating this weather phenom, I received a frantic call from my employees about an office flood.  Wait, what?!  You see, this was perplexing because our offices are on the second story above a significantly large / tall warehouse.  Which, in my mind, equated to flooding in epic Noah's Ark proportions to have reached second story offices.  Oh, my!

I later learned that it wasn't a gargantuan flood afterall.  Instead, we were merely dealing with the construction approaches taken for buildings in a place that doesn't normally have deal with rain (read: the roof leaked and ceiling tiles collapsed letting 24+ hours of rain).  

We could've lost a lot of our paper documentation that day.  We'd been in the midst of a debate about digital storage space to for our electronic records and other discussions about the cost-benefit of plastic binders vs. paper folders.   Interestingly enough -- plastic binders saved the day and we quickly saw the merit in timely digital backups! 

All I could think of as it rained and these events unfolds was the chorus to the Albert Hammond song "It Never Rains in Southern California"...naturally replacing Southern California with the desert of Dubai.

*Seems it never rains in [the desert of Dubai]

Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before

It never rains in Dubai, but girl, don't they warn ya

It pours, man, it pours*

{CLOUD}: Although we'd like to think it *never* rains...

SILVER LINING: ...we often find that it *never* hurts little extra coverage -- you know: umbrella, plastic folders, digital back-ups, an ark -- just-in-case!

PS: To answer Mr. Hammond's query. No. They did not warn me that it pours...

{mis}Adventure #19 - Life in Dubai: The Skydiver & the Camel Whisperer

[These events transpired somewhere around the last week of December 2012]

So there I was completing one of the two handfuls of skydives over the desert in Dubai.

Now I'm the kid who has a big cheesy grin  mid air and can't stop thinking "this is friggin' AWESOME"!  The freefall is exhilarating, but it's the serenity of being under canopy and floating down to the earth's surface that I like the most.   

When you pull the cord to deploy your parachute, we are taught to count to three.  "One thousand...two thousand...three thousand"...and if all goes as it is supposed to, the parachute opens and you feel the tug of the harness on your body the wooshing sound of the air yields to the serenity of almost silence.  At that point, we are taught a little rhyme to check the state of the canopy.  "Is it there? Is it square? Can I steer?"  I seem to always be about 5 seconds delayed in doing this particular check because I get caught up in the moment ('though I've been told that the day that one of those three checks is failed, it will be apparent and I'll quickly go into the necessary emergency actions).  

On this particular jump, I was enjoying the scenery looking around as I made my approach to the drop zone and I notice some tracks...and - oh crap!  

*welp* 

There goes the soft grassy area of the LZ.  I sailed right over it and now needed to adjust my landing for the sand...yet again. My new approach path is just over those tracks I mentioned and when I land and stand up I see a few camels just chillin' in front of me. 

Now I don't know about you (and I don't know about camels), but in this situation I just decided to talk to the camels who are looking at me and likely to be thinking one of two things: 1) "WTHk, was that a HUMAN, flying from the sky...they DO that here?!" or 2) if these camels are regulars at the DZ, then they are used to seeing flying humans and are just ridiculing me while shaking their heads,  "there goes another noob skydiver...they just can't seem to land on the DZ, can they?"

As I stand there, gathering my 'chute, I start talking to the camels in the most consistent and soothing tone ever because, well, I don't want to get stampeded, spit on, or whatever it is that camels do when they feel threatened.  

Hey there camels.  I'm just your friendly neighborhood skydiver.  Yes, I know that the DZ is over there, but here I am.  Just collecting my 'chute sloooooooowlyyyyyy.  I'm not gonna make any sudden movements and I trust that if I don't, you won't either.  I'm just gathering up the last bits and I'm going to walk away....

{CLOUD}: Somedays we just can't help that we've overshot our landing area or comfort zone...
SILVER LINING: ...when that happens, enjoy the scenery and use the opportunity to hone or develop a new or seldom used skill.