Generosity and rain

Last night I went to the electrical shop just down the road to see if I could get a certain connection.  I failed, but the trip was certainly worth it.  The centre I went to was the more expensive one which has  a lot of fancy clothes shops especially, but I had heard previously there was a Spinney’s there also – a supermarket which is popular, although overpriced compared its competitors.  I had never seen the supermarket in my travels, but on this particular trip I saw one of their shopping trolley so I figure I’d walk a bit further to see if I could find it.  As soon as I got to the end of the street, and looked around the corner there it was in huge green fluoro lights.  I can’t believe I was so close, yet not ever seeing it before.  I had very nearly walked there quite a few times previously.

The good thing about Spinney’s and a few other supermarkets is that they have a noticeboard, which is handy as I’m currently looking to buy a car.

There were also plenty of other shops that would have been useful a while ago if I had known it was all there.  There was a kids entertainment place which we may utilise one of these days.

When I returned home I was a bit chuffed at my discovery, but that was nothing.  Our night time doorman had a bit of a grin on his face, and as I approached I noticed he was fidgeting through a stack of envelopes. With a big beaming smile he said this is for you Ryan.  It was an invitation to his wedding in India.  I think it was a bit tongue in cheek, but he proceeded to tell me about all the details, and how good India is to go to for quite a period of time I think he would like us to attend.  Unfortunately it’s too short notice, and probably not the ideal time to visit.  He also told me that he doesn’t give them to anyone, just his friends which was a nice touch. The pile of envelopes was quite high, so I figure he’s friends with just about everyone in our apartment.

This hasn’t been our first invitation to India, or Sri Lanka. Quite a few of the guys I work with have been very welcoming, and have offered to show me around their respective countries, and that they would love to show me around.  I’ll definitely take them up on the offer one day. One guy also made a deal with me to show me around if I take him to a cricket test match in Australia one day – which I obviously agreed to.

Thought I’d also mention, tonight it has been raining quite a lot. It’s rained so much that the road has flooded (probably 10 cm of “flooding”).  It’s been interesting to see the drivers reacting to water on the road, like it’s a deadly creek crossing. Actually the flooded road doesn’t necessarily indicate lots of rain as generally there hasn’t been much thinking or design for the effects of rain, as it’s not traditionally an issue.  With the effects of climate change, perhaps they should begin thinking. I mean, a couple of days before I arrived here it actually snowed in Ras Al Khaimer – a neighbouring Emirate.