This weekend, my only outing was to Waitrose.
That sounds like the start of a bad Instagram poem, but it's real life.
If you'd told me two months ago that this would be my one trip out of my apartment, I wouldn't have believed you. But staying at home is where we're at, and we all know it's the right thing to do.
My senses, dulled from a week of seeing nought but my flat, were overloaded by the fluoro-lit sights of the supermarket.
Just to paint a picture for you, he was wearing wraparound Oakleys, had tribal tattoos that he clearly had no familial connection to and was flicking his cigarette ash out of the window too
I maniacally nodded at people, cracking a smize to try to make friendliness clear from a face-covered distance. How do you keep at two metres length within the tight confines of an aisle? You don't really, which is why I found myself reversing out of these tight shopping tunnels before I could swipe at starches, settling for whatever I could get in a quiet corner.
Some fellow shoppers were annoying: there was the person who moved all of the peanut butters aside so that he could get the one in the back.
You wanted your jar untouched, but then pawed the rest in the process? Top move.
But, despite that dark spot, the communal effort being made to keep everyone safe was buoying. The shoppers were mostly respectful and polite, moving their trolleys around as if they were reverse magnets, the opposite of bumper cars.
And the team behind the counters and those packing the shelves, who I’ve gotten to know over the years, were still so friendly, despite the fact that their workplace has been transformed overnight. They have to wear masks from day to night and be around people all day in a world in which we’re told not to, so that I can continue to eat the foods I love. I will never forget that.
But then my faith in humanity took a serious turn as I walked into the carpark and a man drove past in his Mustang, flung his arm out of the car window, and ripped off his blue plastic glove, throwing it onto the road.
Just to paint a picture for you, he was wearing wraparound Oakleys, had tribal tattoos that he clearly had no familial connection to and was flicking his cigarette ash out of the window. My guess is he's the type who likes to @ female journalists who show opinions online, and has a penchant for cutting people off and then road raging at them as if they're the one in the wrong.
I'm extrapolating and projecting, I know.
Really? I exclaimed after he tossed his floppy glove on the ground, my face mask concealing my incredulity. Although, even if my outrage had been visible, I doubt he would have noticed: it's unlikely his EQ is off the charts.
But, if by a small sliver of chance, he reads this, I want him to consider this: what did you think was going to happen to your glove?
You wore the glove as a prophylactic for yourself, but then threw it out into the world for someone else to pick up?
Sure, that person will likely be wearing gloves themselves, but they're out cleaning the streets you're driving down in a strange and changing world. Life's tough for many people right now, and the last thing they likely need in their day is to find your dirty old blue plastic glove.
The environment hardly needs that down a drain either.
I understand that my reaction, and the fact I'm still thinking about that act four days later, is irrational. But then we're all a bit irrational these days.
We've lost jobs, money, lives and freedom (temporarily): no number of streaming yoga classes can make me feel better about these things.
Yesterday, I broke a glass pepper grinder by plonking it down on my kitchen counter too hard in a strange moment of frustration. Why was I angry? Because of a cluttered kitchen cupboard.
And yes, I know it's not about the cupboard.
I then had to clean peppercorns and broken glass off the floor and counters, later laughing with my husband about my pepper-temper-tantrum.
But you know what the difference between me and Mr Glove is? I had the decency to mess up my own house. I didn't flick my frustration onto the street and make it somebody else's problem.
I was the one who had to get on all fours and find shards of glass in the corners of my kitchen. And the clean-up turned into a humbling reminder to stop taking myself so seriously.
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
SUZUME
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
THREE
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'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
