Back in the Saddle

Well I am back in DXB from a long awaited summer holiday in the USA. And while I fight the unforgivable homesickness that comes with a return to the states, I have decided to focus my thoughts elsewhere.

Johnson Arabia Dubai Creek Striders Half Marathon 2010 race date is Friday 10th December.

Who is with me? I start training next week, and after 2 hours of soccer practice last night in 95 degree heat and 70% humidity left me heaving on the field, as well as a lifetime of stage freight when it comes to running competitively, I have my work cut out for me....

Any takers?

Dubai Friends

Here is the a good portion of my Dubai crew. Lot's of different countries represented below. We were celebrating Basile's (guy in dead middle) birthday and the theme was blue & white.

What did you do this 4th of July?

I spent my 4th of July weekend, read the 2nd, at the US Consulate Party where I ate tons of yummy BBQ treats and sat by the pool. Yesterday I wore my USA pin to work with pride! Thankfully the time difference makes it so that I don't have think of what my fellow American friends are doing RIGHT AT THAT VERY MOMENT. Missing the 4th is a toughy!

Look ma, its over-easy!

Today it is 106 degrees in Dubai, but with the humidity, the real temp is 120. The Dubai stifling summer heat is sufficiently suppressing everything in its wake at this point. However, there are some tips that can help you go from absolutely miserable to only uncomfortable. Here are my tips for the week.

 

1. Walk don’t run!

You may think it is best to just high tail it from one place to another in order to lesson the amount of time you spend in the sun. Let me tell you, if you even do a brisk walk in this heat you start sweating uncontrollably and not be able to stop FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. Instead, try walking very smoothly without a lot of movement. Make sure you prepare yourself by getting out your keys or other necessary items before leaving the AC. That way you can lesson the amount of movements you have to make in the sun. Whatever you do, don’t start to speed up or wipe away any perspiration, which WILL happen, just continue with fluid continuous movements towards your destination.

2. Know your color wheel.
If you do sweat how bad will it show on your clothing? Read---light pink = disaster for work on the summer. Black? It may be hot, but at least other people won’t know that your back looks like someone took a super-soaker to it! White? Only if you are wearing a nude tank underneath. Must I go on?

3. Will it explode?
Did you know that after a certain heat point pretty much ANYTHING will explode? Water bottles will burst, perfume bottles crack in half, toothpaste shoot out like Old Faithful, IPODs crack on the sides…anything is possible. Do yourself a favor and take EVERYTHING out of your car before May.


Tata for now.

Where are you watching the USA/Algeria game tonight?

The sheer number of tents/bars/stadiums that have been built for the World Cup in Dubai is staggering! Tonight I will go to the Barasti Stadium--a giant soccer ball dome built on the beach in the marina.
 This mammoth tent reaches more than five storeys high. And with a capacity of 1,200 people, it’ll be plenty big enough to show the England game on the main screen and the US game on a small corner screen. That is what happens then the English expats outnumber you by 10X. The English pining for the US to lose, and of course the number of Arabs pulling for their only team in the Cup to win, means it should be a very interesting match.

(Got threw that entire post without ever saying futbol--whew!)

¡Ay, caramba!

Last year I was lucky enough to have two must-go-to weddings to attend in the states during the summer which ate up about 4 weeks of the monstracity we call June/July/August here. For months the "5 word weather of the day" on the radio includes adjectives that never stray far from: sandy, hazy, overcast, sweltering, record-setting (is that two?), humid, baking, blazing, blistering, boiling, broiling, burning...you catch my drift.

With little vaca in the horizon this summer, I am obsessed with checking the weeks weather. I don't know why...its hasn't been less than 100 in a month and won't be so until well past September. This week however, at night we get into the 80s! Hoorah!

Mon

109°F

86°F

Tue

109°F
87°F

Wed
109°F
87°F

Thu

107°F

84°F

Emirates Palace

Last weekend, for a belated mother's day gift, I took mom to Emirates Palace for some R&R. Our time kinda went like this: beach, pool, book, eat, nap, back in pool, eat, get lost in hotel, ride golf cart from one side to the other, eat, pool, sleep. Just perfect!

Oh yes mom, and that "penny pressing machine" we saw in the lobby, actually distributes gold bars, silly us!