To Board or Not To Board...now that's a silly question!

You KNOW I couldn't just go snowboarding once. I mean really...I lugged all this gear to the desert so I'd better use it, right?! This time I had company...well, company in a couple ways.

First, the Canadian had never snowboarded and wanted to give it a try. Funny isn't it? It's okay, go ahead and laugh...his instructor sure did! But in Canada's defense, he played hockey and if you're from the Northern climes you know that if you're in one snow/winter sport there's really no time to be in any of the others...okay, now you can resume the laughing.

Second, apparently I also flew half way around the world to suck. On my second run of the night a ski patrol guy, Toofic, (no, I'm not making up that name) came up to me and asked, very respectfully, if I would mind receiving a couple of pointers on my technique. (Now here's where the girls have to be a bit careful, cuz sometimes a "pointer" could be something totally different!) Uh...okay...sure, what's up?

Let the 1 1/2 hour private snowboarding lesson by a Lebanese snow pro begin! (Yes Doug...I said Lebanese and your joke still isn't funny.) We did alignment drills, speed drills, and do it "really wrong" so you almost die drills until my time ran out on the electronic card. THEN, he just had me bypass the ropes and get directly on the lift so we could keep going. Just one more thing...just one more thing...wow...guess I needed more work than I thought!

All in all, it was an amazing lesson and I WAS boarding faster and more confidently than I ever have and doing jumps I wouldn't have tried an hour before. So, a big thanks to Ski Dubai for teaching the Canadian and Coloradan a thing or two about snow sports!

Forbidden

This is what you see when you try to access a site that is deemed "unacceptable" by those who govern that kind of thing here. I had no idea that trying to log onto a doggy daycare website would be so scandalous!

Actually, it turned out to be the #2 reason...the server wasn't available. Sheesh, now I'm boring again, what a disappointment.

Another Machine

We stumbled upon another "machine" here. This one has to be seen in action to be believed.

Enjoy a little potty humor brought to you by the fine people of Dubai...sorry for the sideways shooting. ;-) Thanks to Doug, if you want a right-side up version, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cnj1JQI27U

My Sepia Day

I went out looking around took a few (hundred) pictures...what a shocker, huh? This is what the world looked like through my eyes.

* I went down an alley and thought the Mosque tower looked cool from down in between the buildings.
* The doorway is an average one for going into public buildings, but I love the detail.
* Everyone in the apartment areas hang their laundry right out their windows to dry, it's quite a site to see the entire side of a building covered in all kinds of people's clothes.
* I saw these mops just resting on a stairway as I walked by, and they reminded me of the Magician's Apprentice from Fantasia...I expected to see Mickey Mouse running to catch them at any moment.
* Windtowers are used here to get cool air into the homes. The wind hits these towers and it gets funnelled down a few stories and into the house. Very interesting engineering.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I liked taking them!

Happy 4th of July!

July 4th is a date on every calendar, but in the U.S. it's the anniversary of our nation's birth. In the UAE, it's just another Friday and I miss my holiday.

The day friends and family get together, go fishing, eat BBQ, and watch explosions of color in the sky. Ohhhh...ahhhh...look, that one's shaped like a palm tree!

To all that read this little diary, know that I am thinking of you always, but especially today.

1 4 3

Best.Day.Ever...on a dune buggy

In the office this week the Canadian says to me, “How do you feel about going on a desert safari called Dune Bashing?” HAHAHAHAHA…Silly boy…

If you’re near a desert…any desert…and they have dune buggies, not Range Rovers, not Quad Runners, but dune buggies; you MUST do it! Forget about letting some tour guide do all the driving and hog all the fun. Take the wheel, give it some gas and forget there’s even a brake!

There’s no feeling that compares to zooming along the top of a 100 ft dune at 40 mph then looking WAY down and going for the drop-in over the edge.

All of a sudden you’re on 2 wheels instead of 4, your ass is in the air, and you’re thanking Allah for the 4 point harness and helmet. WOO HOO - Now that’s what I call fun!

Before I talk more about my super awesome day, I have to take a moment and thank 181. I am deeply appreciative for all the sand vs. mud tutorials, teaching me about rear steering, and all the track lessons in general because…not only did I know how to find my lines, but I always gave it WAY more gas than I wanted and made every jump. In fact, toward the end of our 2 hour tour, I had to keep reminding myself that this was NOT a track and I was NOT supposed to pass the leader!

As with all activities that require a helmet, we had a safety talk…
Rule #1: Here’s the gas pedal, here’s the brake pedal. That thing in front of you, that's the steering wheel. Use them.
Rule #2: No matter how much fun you’re having, keep your mouth shut. It’ll fill with sand as soon as you clear the first jump and you’ll be chewing rocks the rest of the day.
Rule #3: If you get stuck or hit something, wait for the support vehicle.
Rule #4: Don’t hit the camels…or the goats.

Are we all clear on the rules? Good, but don’t worry, this stuff hardly ever happens.

Here are some of the play-by-play highlights:

After about 10 minutes of warm-up driving, we hit our first big drop. As I was flying over a blind drop-off I squealed with delight…wrong move…I was in BLATANT violation of Rule #2. They were right, that sand gets in the darnedest places.

The Canadian lost his line, fishtailed for a bit, hit a couple bushes and had to be towed back onto safe ground, but he soon caught up with us so it was all good. (Rule #3, check!)

Next, we popped over a dune jump to find…you guessed it…CAMELS! There were 7 to 10 of them, right there in the middle of friggin’ nowhere and right on the path.

In fact, they took great exception to us thinking it was our path and started huffing and grunting at us. We followed them for a bit and then our leader passed the herd. I was next and made it past 4 of them with 3 to go, but then I heard a big bellow and the bull I just passed started to charge me. That’s right, I got camel blocked! So, I raced alongside him for a bit and chose another line off the path to get around them. (Rule #4, harder than I thought!)

When we all pulled back into the garage our guide paid me the highest honor he could by saying, with both thumbs up, in his cute Indian accent, “You were ROCKIN’ it out there Miss Taunya, not like a girl at all!”

So, at the end of the day here’s my advice. Dune bashing, don’t ask how much it’ll cost, how hot it’ll be, or how long the drive is, just sign up and do it. It’ll be your best day!

Note: If you’re so inclined, I highly recommend the guys at Desert Rangers for all your adventure needs. http://www.chooseyourevent.com/profile.asp?cid=1029

Do you remember 3rd grade Metrics?

Because I DON'T! Let's review, I DON'T DO MATH. At All.Never.Ever...Get it?

As a filthy, non-metric American I am completely handicapped in pretty much the entire rest of the world. The Italian, Aussie, and Canadian all know what's going on and I'm always in the dark. Every time I ask a question related to the temperature, distance, or weight I'm thwarted at the Metric Moat...and believe me, beyond here there be Dragons, Matey!

So, I predict that unless I repeat 3rd grade with Mrs. Jones - which won't be happening, just ask my mom about THAT one, it's really good; Metrics, along with the Dollar to Dirham conversion rate (currently 3.48) is going to be my undoing.

For example:
How hot is 47 Degrees Celcius?
How far is 70 Kilometers?
How heavy is 53 Kilograms?

For my education and now yours, let's take a stroll down Metric Lane, shall we?

Here's what "the book" says...
The metric system is used worldwide in international trade and in science.

The metric system, which is based on a system of 10, is simple. All metric units are changed like this. To change to a larger or smaller unit, you simply multiply or divide by a multiple of 10. It's easy! (SHA! RIGHT! What...pause for dramatic effect...Ever!)

The other system, the English system, is difficult to use because it's hard to convert from one unit to another.
(Uh-huh, sure...except it's the only one I know. Miles, feet, inches, pounds, fahrenheit, I get it!)

Temperature - Temperature measures the average speed of molecules in a body of matter by measuring how fast molecules are moving around in an object. The faster the molecules are moving, the hotter the object is. The slower the molecules are moving, the colder the object is.
(Okay, seriously, I probably "knew" that at one time and I'll bet my 7 year old buddy, J-man, coulda told me this, but I think the actual definition of temperature left me when all those weak brain cells died after my first kegger. But...there's more!)
Most countries measure in Celsius but the United States of America is one of the few countries to measure in Fahrenheit. The red liquid in thermometers is usually alcohol because mercury, which was used in the past, is a dangerous subtance.
(Wait...quick question for my Mom...So let me get this straight...we WEREN'T supposed to wipe up that dropped thermometer mercury with a paper towel? And again, just to clarify, I WASN'T supposed to rub it in my brother's face? Just checkin'...Okay, please continue oh great Metric Guru.)
Temperature is a measurement that is important for knowing how materials or life will respond.
47 Celcius = 117 degrees Fahrenheit (That's the current temperature here.)

Length - The meter is the standard unit and portions of that are in tens.
1 meter = 3.28083 feet
1 kilometer = 1.60934885 km (70 km is how far I drive to work every day.)

Mass - When you record mass the unit you use is grams. A medium sized leaf is about 1 gram, a potato chip 2 grams. A larger unit of mass is a kilogram. A kilogram is about the mass of a medium sized text book. You need a balance to find mass.
(Cool - I also need a good work/life balance - my HR Director even said s0 - to find life long happiness, so once I find that I think I'll be able to see how much things weigh. NICE!)
1 pound = 0.4536176 kg (Don't you worry about what 53 kilograms is! It's good enough that I know.)

Gee, that helped, didn't it? And I thought this metric thing was gonna be hard. Pardon me while I go look for something to soothe the pounding in my head.

Special Geek Note: In case you forget any of the valuable information I've given you today, just go here for all your Metric conversion needs: http://library.thinkquest.org/3804/

I'll just go back to jumping off stuff and taking pictures of funny signs now, thanks.