Aftermath

I got six hours of sleep last night. :(

I had to wake early because I needed to get two things done, preferably before 8:30. The first involved visiting the branch of my bank to fill out a form (yes, sometimes you still have to do this in a "Smart" city). Thankfully, on a Friday, they open at 7:30 AM, so, as G's volunteering at a Garden centre got cancelled, she came with me.

We headed towards the Marina on SZR. It was unexpected to see abandoned vehicles and water ponds on the side of the road three days after the storm. Karama (where we live) is mostly dry now, with only a few areas still waiting for the water to evaporate.

The form took longer to fill than I anticipated. The lady helping me struggled with reading info on her screen or the sheet of paper she gave me a few weeks earlier. Once that was done, we headed to the Wasl Experience Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road. Driving North, the traffic was moving well. I was so glad we weren't on the other carriageway, which now had a long tailback!

Coming back to the "Experience Centre". Last night, the Security guard on duty for the Buildings knocked on the door to tell me that the lease for the car park bay had expired (on 18th April) and that I needed to renew it. I, of course, already knew this and had made several attempts to renew via the digital channel they suggested. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

Long story short, the guy insisted that I renew tomorrow even after acknowledging that we have had a chaotic week. I told him I would drop everything and go and get it done just as he wished. He said that the office on SZR would be open - so make sure you renew it tomorrow.

I arrived there at 8:20 AM only to learn that because of the disruption caused by the rain, everyone was working from home. I asked if they would renew my lease from home, but the guy didn't understand me. By this stage, I had had enough inefficiency to last me a month. We swung by the nearest Spinneys and came home so I could get to work.

We went out again in the afternoon, looking for Branston pickle! It is out of stock everywhere.

My blip shows the road that G would turn off the highway to drive towards her school. It is flooded and cordoned off. There are still cars on the roundabout and abandoned on the roads approaching it. Amazing.