slacking off with too much to tell

Matt: Yes, it's been a very long time, I'm sorry. I really have been extremely busy with work and play.

The end of April saw an amazing trip to Nepal with Lenny, Barry, Rebecca, Annalisa and Matt. It was great, hiking, paragliding, cycling, caving, camping, white water rafting, kayaking. Really enjoyed the whole experience, even with the political uprising, tension, beatings and everywhere being forcibly closed by the Maoist.

Photo Selection here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=432068&id=600455211&l=eaafd58e5a

Since coming back there has been even more fun and games. I got older for one, but my birthday seemed to last almost a week, so thanks to all my wonderful friends who made it a lot of fun.

During that time I did a multitude of activities: InDoor Skydiving, Standup Paddle Boarding, Wakeboarding, Skyride climbing, Social gatherings. All a lot of fun.

I'm pretty sure you're all bored of the 'Look what I did now' style blog, so I'll plan to find more interesting things to write about.

Ciao 4 Niao

Can I help?

Matt: As I wandered through a mall today, hence forth known as 'the Mall', I passed a member of the Mall staff, a smily fellow, bedecked with black, Mall branded atire which bore the slogan "Can I help you?" emblazoned across it in sunburst yellow. Now I'm sure the wearer wasn't really concerned about his own ability to actually provide help, so it must be others that are unsure of his capacity. But why these 'others', be them Mall management, marketers, branding gurus or designers, thought that I might be able to answer this question baffles me. Perhaps the question wasn't directed at me personally, perhaps there was someone in the Mall, at the same time as me, that is better qualified to answer this almost rhetorical banana coloured query.

Living in the UAE we are accustom to living in a cultural and ethnic mixing pot, where, to be fair to most, English may not be the majority's first language. Are we then remiss to accept grammatical faux pas such as the above example without even a stopping to consider it?

Don't get me wrong, I'm no spelling or grammar Nazi, I make mistakes, A LOT! I'm just curious as to whether we should pass comment, correct or ignore? Or has the situation gotten so bad that most of us native English speakers don't even notice some of these errors anymore, have we come to accept and even use them ourselves?

I think the Can/May error is extremely common in everyday speech now, what other errors can you find that are overlooked in the English language these days? Or even simple errors or bad English, I'm not asking you to regurgitate the writings of Lynne Truss here, I'm just interested to find some classic advertising/marketing cock-ups.

Don't even get me started on text messaging and chat abbreviations and I wonder how many of you will just pick me up on my errors? Save yourself the time - you'll be hours finding them all :)

As for the question as it should, correctly, be written "May I help you?", shouldn't that come with about 16 pages of legal terms defining what The Mall considers that it's staff should and should not, can and cannot, may and may not actually help with? What's to stop me walking up to the poor, unsuspecting fellow and asking him to help me ram-raid the jewelers on the ground level in section C? Do you think my branded mall helper is armed with the correct response to such a request?

Hmmmm....

So what's been happening?

Matt: Since we last spoke, We got a team together and entered the Wadi Bih relay again this year. It's the 3rd time I've run the race and it's always an entertaining day. Scott and Lucy we out of action this year so we dragged in the Irish (Ciaran and Abbie - to be sure *cringe, sorry!*). They seemed to really enjoy the day thankfully.

The boys, Lenny, Ciaran and I, all camped out on Dibba beach the night before the race. The girls, Kelly and Abbie, decided the 2 hour drive at 6am was much more preferable. We all set off from the start-line at around 8am, ran up the mountain to 1,000 metres above sea level and then back down for a total of 72km and concluded the run at around 2pm - where we were presented with medals and a much needed buffet lunch. Exhausting but fun. The vibe is very relaxed and all the other teams scream encouragement at you when you're running.

All in all a great day :)

Ciaran runs in the blistering heat.. trooper!

Beach Olympics

Matt: I got roped into (pardon the pun, see pic above) joining Nail, Syma and Friends for a day of competitive fun at the Duplays Beach Olympics last weekend.

It was a great day out on the beach, playing all manner of games against 32 other teams of 8. We managed to win all 4 tug-of-war games, weren't quite as successful at Volley Ball, Dodge Ball, but we very respectable. I can't believe how exhausting pulling on a rope can be. Was shattered.

Ultimately a good cause

Matt: The teams were gathered, it would be a showdown like no other, well kinda similar to last years tournament but that's not the point, the field was set, the warring factions drawn (read friendly players), the battle was ready to rage on through the scorching heat. Yes, we gathered at the American School of Dubai for another Ultimate Frisbee Charity Tournament, the third of it's kind. DUCE as it's now fondly known, Dubai Ultimate Charity Event

We raised a total of $10,500 for the charities - Schools in remote parts of India.

It's a really fun day, with people coming from all over the place to join in, we had teams from Saudi joining us this year.

A word from the organisers:
"The DUCE Tournament provided exciting examples of teamwork and athleticism, all in the spirit of friendly competition. We had raffle prizes, a BBQ and our Room to Read Café served up some treats in a nice quiet atmosphere. Certainly, if you could make it there was something for you to enjoy. Of course, we cannot organize these events without the support and donation of valuable time by our faculty and parents. DUCE was no exception and on what was a very busy weekend for our community, people came out and showed their support. For this we are very grateful."

Exploration

Matt: We went exploring - Jon and I took ourselves off into the unknown last weekend to see if we could create some new hikes, well one at least. We scouted the terrain in the Twain region on google earth and set off.

After nearly 2 hours of driving, and winding down some rugged tracks, we found ourselves at a large dam spanning the base of a wide wadi, the Twain Dam, so we did the courteous thing and drove up it and parked the car. Crossed the dam and set off to get to the top of the nearest peak.

It proved to be a pretty tough climb, with no path and a few false summits. But we eventually saw something that became our goal, a large billowing UAE flag a few kilometres away and a few hundred metres above us.

The terrain was reasonable flat, and crisscrossed with track where clearly quarrying companies had been prospecting for new sites. We climbed a steep track up towards the flag, it was surprisingly steeper than it appeared from a distance. "Oh the burn" cried Lenny, while I was concentrating on my funny walk to prevent an already large blister from getting worse, Stupidly decided to wear thick woolen sock and a pair of boots that I don't normally hike it. Idiot!

We made it and it gave us an impressive view of the wadis below, where there was a hugh amount of quarrying going on. It also afforded us a view of other potential areas to explore. After a spot of lunch we made our way back to the car.



We made it..



A game of CTF anyone?

UAECC Meet

Matt: This year a slightly new team are entering the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Sean and Paul are still at the core, but they are joined by Fransua and Darren.

I met with the boys yesterday to see how things are progressing and make some plans. We're launching a new website to be more interactive and interesting. I'll let you know when it's ready for general consumption.

The efforts of the team went down so well last year and the money raising is already going amazingly. We have a few points to action and a lot more effort is required. Please give your moral support and help raise awareness of the guys. Every little helps and they are really having to work so hard for this, it's inspiring.

www.uaecharitychallenge.com - It's not fully ready yet, but looks good so far.

Gulf News Fun Drive

Matt: I'm just back from the Gulf News Fun Drive, a moderately tame event where 750 cars convoy through the desert for 200 Kms. It was great fun, in the most part. Kelly was reporting and so we had to get stories of interest from some of the participants. We also had Megan and Asraf onboard, photographer and videographer. It was entertaining seeing the bedlam that can be caused by inexperienced desert drivers and sheer numbers.


Some aspects were somewhat dangerous and frightening to witness. We kept clear of the carnage, pardon the most, as best we could. It was great to get the new toy out in the dunes though. More on that later :)

Off to Annalisa's 30th Birthday now, Happy Birthday kiddo.

As aye.

Fight in Dubai

Matt: There is a new game in development based in Dubai after a series of catastrophic sandstorms lay waste to the place. This could make a for a very interesting setting, the developer, 2K Games, are adding sand physics to the game as a new play mechanic, this could also prove interesting.

Have a look at this preview over on Gamespot:

Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person shooter that tells the story of Captain Walker, the leader of an elite military outfit known as Delta Force. Walker is sent to the heart of the once-wealthy Dubai, which has been ravaged by vicious sandstorms, leaving the city in ruins.

Wave

Matt: Been looking into Google Wave, interesting bit of kit and has great potential. But will it overtake the social networks? It looks simple, but will probably be viewed as a bit confusing and techie for most people. Plus it's new and considered 'change' we're none to good at dealing with change.

Check out the demonstration of the early product that is Google Wave. Let me know your thoughts.

Christmas Past

Matt: The financial ghost of Christmas past still haunt me. This Christmas just gone was different, in a very good way (if not a little costly). My entire family, the Wilson Clan and their spouses and children flew to Dubai to spend Christmas with their number one son, Me.

What an awesome Christmas and one I know I will not forget in a hurry and I hope the same goes for the family. We got up to all the touristy delights that Dubai has to offer. From playing in the snow in Ski Dubai, to a luxurious visit to the Burj Al Arab.

Enjoy the pics: Click Me

Having to show people, especially loved one, your surroundings and the joys of where you live certainly make you see things with fresh eyes again. We often take so many things for granted - look what is just outside you door and think when was the last time you really appreciated it? Having the family here reminded me how diverse and interesting Dubai actually is, it's too easy to criticise Dubai for many things, but look at all the different nationalities that you encounter living in peace and relative safety, daily. Have you ever been to a music concert and looked across the crowd here in Dubai? It's a sea of multi-national harmony (Pardon the pun), you're stood shoulder-to-shoulder with people from every walk of life and every nationality, all there to enjoy a shared appreciation of music and peacefully.

Look around you and appreciate what you have, be it people, environment, luxuries, health.. really be grateful and make the most of it - just for one day stop wanting the next best thing and look at what you've already got - you're rich if you actually take a minute to stop and think about it.

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2010.

A cyclic month

Matt: Dubai is perfect, well at least when it comes to the weather at the moment. There has been a lot of negative press about Dubai of late - the World press once positioned Dubai as this utopian play ground of Expats and gold paved streets, it was with envious eyes that most viewed the place, where people could make fast money and live the high life. So it's easy for them to turn on Dubai when things go a little dour.

The reality is that most of us living here are hard working folks just like the rest of you. We enjoy the weather and benefit of the tax free living, but it's all relative, half the time we pay more for our every day items than in the UK, food, clothes, entertainment, rent (Ouch)...

Now the latest news, is Dubai World has defaulted on it's debt, ok so a few banks share prices plummet as do stocks of various Dubai based companies, Dubai World is not Dubai or a reflection of the entire UAE. We are all still working hard, saving hard, making the most of things. It's not like the country has ground to a halt and no one is spending money. We're still in the middle of a world wide recession, of course people tighten their belts and are more cautious until they are told other wise. But most of us remain unaffected and get on with it, people are still at war, people are still starving, people are still abused, people are still disabled, get over yourselves you may have lost a small percentage of your wealth, but a much larger percentage of the world is still without clean drinking water.

Steps down..

So onto less heated debates. The Cyclic month - I grew a beard, all round my face and then sculpted it into a ridiculous Mo for Movember. Kelly hated it but hey it's for a good cause, raising awareness and money for testicular cancer.

Next I swam around the Burj Al Arab, the iconic Dubai hotel in a 1km swim for MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières). This may not seem much to you, but I'm a terrible swimmer and it was really hard work for me. Kelly swam it in an impressive 12:00 minutes, I was lagging somewhat at 15:30..

Next Lenny and myself decided to get the kayaks wet. At the start of November we took them for a nice paddle around the mangroves of Um Al Qwain. We planned out a route that took us in a cyclic route of about 20km and planned to camp on one of the islands just over half way. We were fully loaded, the front and back holds of the kayak rammed with camping gear and I even had a desk bag clipped to the rear of my kayak. To say we were sitting low in the water is an understatement.

The tide was extremely low and when we reach the base of the mangroves we had to portage the kayak a considerable way, through very muddy shallow water, with hugh blue crabs to avoid, frisky little bugger too. This lost us a good hour which meant we had to readdress our camping options as we were unlikely to make the appointed island before dark. So I scouted a few islands and found an ideal campsite. We collected wood, cooked over an open fire and bedded down under the stars. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep.

This past weekend we decided to circumnavigate the Palm Jumierah, which was great, hard work in the open sea but we took our time and completed the 19k route in under three hours. Pretty satisfying. Now we know what's in store we can push it a bit harder next time.




Kelly, Scott, Cath, Lenny and Milo 'n Budd (The dogs) also went camping this weekend, we picked a off-road desert spot well away from the usual camping and dune bashing areas of the UAE's deserts. It was really good. A little exploration in the dunes to find a suitable spot , setting up camp and then the boys went to explore and have fun off-roading - we did a big loop through the dunes, luckily I marked the campsite on the GPS as finding it again would have been extremely tricky - it was hard enough finding an accessible route even with the GPS.

Now Christmas is fast approaching.. and the Family arrive on the 21st - all 9 of them - eeeek! Can't wait really.

Asian Adventure

Well I've just installed a little widget on my Mac to make it easier to post so I'm testing it out.

I'm in Singapore, it's a great city, very clean, people are polite and it's well organised, basically what Dubai aspires to I imagine.

Cooling off

Matt: Finally the weather is starting to cool down a little, it's gonna be adventure time very soon. I may have neglected to mention that I bought myself a Kayak eventually, been thinking about it for ages, convinced Lenny to get one too - the boys and their toys. We've got some good use out of them so far with a few trips to Abu Dhabi, in the around Dubai and the Mangroves around Um al Qwain too.

We bought touring Kayaks, so that we can stow gear in the front and read compartment and head off on multi-day tours. Really looking forward to being able to plan a few trips now the weather is cooler.

We've haven't been completely idle since the weathers been hot, there have been Dive trips, Wakeboarding and as I said Kayaking. But now it's time to get back in shape and start hiking, camping, dune bashing, kayaking, climbing and anything else we can think of doing. Might even try a few runs (I hate running)..I'm sure Kelly will whip my ass into shape with the running thing, she's like a machine when it comes to running. Kick my ass every time.

I have also decided to start drawing and painting more - it's been so long since I've done anything and I never was much good to start with. I present exhibit A: This was done completely digitally in photoshop, from sketch to painting. I know it's not great, the eyes are all wrong and the dimension of the anatomy a bit off, but it's a start. I need serious practice. It was mostly a study for technique - ho hum.

Exhibit A

Ushering in the summer

Matt: Summer is officially upon us here in the UAE. What does this mean exactly? Nope.. not lazy days relaxing on the college lawn, picnics, walks by the river and the occasional camping trip. It's kinda like winter in the UK, without the darkness, you don't stay outside for any longer than you have to, if you do you end up soaked, you stop having BBQ's, the beach is out.. The temperature soars here during the summer between 40 and 50 degrees C, with extremely high humidity. It's strength sapping, sweat inducing, claustrophobic heat. But are we bitter, are we downhearted? No.. in fact most expats up and leave for the summer, so things get a little quiet round here.

I escaped for a brief period, went back to the UK for the wedding of the year! My great friends Lenny and Megg (John and Morwenna) got hitched in Devon on the 13th June. It was a really fantastic weekend affair. The ceremony was in a lovely old church, circa 15th century, the reception in Morwenna family home grounds - a beautiful country house set in sprawling grounds, mid Devon.



Awww aren't they cute..

My Ushering duties were duly performed (the suit fitted.. phew) and the day went without a hitch - well maybe one, but that was supposed to happen ;)