101 Things To Do During a Dust Storm May 17, 2007
Posted by jewaira in Kuwait, Life, Links.trackback
Since late last night, we have had dust everywhere. Harder to Breathe.
What do people in Kuwait do during these freaky dust storms?
1. Stay indoors. If you are lucky to have aluminum window shutters, close them to minimize the fine dust in the air that creeps in.
2. Or, go out and take some amazing photographs
3. Go out driving armed with some inspirational music in your car
4. Settle down with a good book
5. Spend some quality family time playing cards or fun board games (Chess, Cluedo, Monopoly)
6. Study, kids!
7. It is the time to plan for a smaller house that can be easily cleaned and maintained. The thick dust everywhere gives you incentive
8. It is the time to invent a Miracle Dustbuster, a dust sucker. No more wasting of billions of gallons precious water washing away the dust. You would think by now something would be invented to combat the effects of the dust in Kuwait.
9. Visit family and friends. Men always go to diwaniyyah come rain or come dust. No stopping the Man.
10. Driving home tonight I saw a man walking swinging a cane, wearing sunglasses. It was eerie in the orange light of the dust storm.
11. I also saw a Bangladeshi man standing by the road with a tiny calico kitten at his feet.
12. Think about how many songs there are with the word DUST in the title. Sing them.
13. Go swimming in the sea. Come out of the water and feel the blowing sand sting your wet thighs. Dive underwater and feel how calm everything is compared to up there.
14. Do turn on headlights when you drive but do NOT use emergency flasher unless you are stopped safely on the right side of the road. How many times do people have to be told?
15. This is my fantasy: to be in the middle of the desert, with no one in sight. Wrap a red chmaqq around my face and walk naked in the dust.
16. Remind myself how blessed we are to have good central airconditiong.
17. Remind ourselves how lucky we are to have electrical power. Imagine being in the middle of this duststorm with no water, electricity, or cooling! YIKES!
18. Sleep through the whole thing.
19. When the dust settles, make Dust Angels
20. Go for a massage at Spa Time
Not 101, I know. But list can be expanded.
I went with #18
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Good for you..
Jewaira
No.6 should definitely not be in there!
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Why not? It is the ideal time to study..
Jewaira
You must be joking!

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I never joke
You’ve probably never been in a dust storm. But what would you do? Take care remember there are young uns reading
Jewaira
Never been in dust storms but I’ve been in cyclones.
Are you trying to censor me?
When are you gonna expand the list?
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So what things do you do during a cyclone? That’s interesting to me.
Expand the list whenever I get more ideas.
Jewaira
It was one hell of day! I was driving like a demon and enjoying it for some reason, there is a nice feeling to that unknown in front of me!
It felt like a scene from the mummy!
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Yes, it is a strange kind of feeling…to enjoy the dust (but not if you have to clean it up!)
Jewaira
Stay indoors and relax. Studying during cyclones is just not possible I find. Not with the sound of the howling wind. Can’t really go out coz of the really bad weather and people don’t dare to drive around because once the cyclone hits class 3 (the 2nd worse class rating), insurance companies don’t cover any damage you may incur while driving around. Used to love cyclones when I was younger before I realised that a few people actually lost their homes and possessions during some really bad ones.
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Cyclones are worse than dust storms but some like these are scary!
Sandstorm moving in iraq
Iraq Dust Storm
Jewaira
LOL at #15 ;p
My fantasy is to do it in the sea, which isn’t so difficult to do hehe
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Wonderful idea! And in a duststorm that would be splendidly wild! Wear goggles to protect your eyes.
Jewaira
Is this the reason , you said in your previous post that you want to go away for some time
DO u have a war era bunker.
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Nope!
Jewaira
15. This is my fantasy: to be in the middle of the desert, with no one in sight. Wrap a red chmaqq around my face and walk naked in the dust. AND SAY WELCOME MY DEAR MICROBES AND DUST MITES, MY BODY IS YOUR NEW HOME YOU SHALL NEVER LEAVE!
I don’t know why people hate dust storms, they are as sexy as fog ! ;/P
my list:
1- sleeep extra hours, no one will notice if its morning or night.
2- cuddle in bed, no one will notice if its dust allergies or wasting of time
3- be late of class or don’t attend “i have allergies from dust, i couldn’t breath” -it happened alot-
4- walk around the house bare foot so you can have a long bath without any disturbance
5- create some new designs to draw on your friends cars tomorrow.
6- My fantasy : Sleep 24 hours … i still didn’t do it.. i don’t know when i will be able to
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I have never been able to sleep for 24 hours either! I don’t know how some people do it!
Yesterday the dust & fog were just amazing by the sea. I wish I could have painted the scenes!
Jewaira
loooooool i woke up at 10 am , checked the weather from the window then i got back to bed hug my hubby telling him that we r not going anywere so get back to sleep
Sleepyheads!
Jewaira
“Dust in the Wind” by Kansas…. I remember our older cousins all came back from the States playing this song non-stop. It drove me nuts until I eventually accepted it
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Beautiful song Zaydoun. I guess you can kill any song by overplaying it
“I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment’s gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, In curiosity
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind
Don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won’t another minute buy
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, Everything is dust in the wind”
Jewaira
21. Read or view the play: Women of the Dust (1992)
22. Watch: Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash
Yeah that’s pretty scary.
“This is my fantasy: to be in the middle of the desert, with no one in sight. Wrap a red chmaqq around my face and walk naked in the dust.”
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! A thousand little needles sandblasting your skin, along with those mites and sand fleas! Ouch!
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Dear IntlXpatr
Just think of it as organic spa treatment by mother nature.
Cheers
Jewaira
Hmm, don’t they give out warning off any possible dust storms?
Sometimes the weather forecast is correct
But warnings, no. Anyway, I have never seen any dust storms like the ones on YouTube. Maybe those happen in wide open desert areas.
Jewaira
23. Purgatory’s suggestion : Link in comment #4 on the post Is it Lethal?
There was an interesting account of a crazy dust storm we had in 2003 on QHate.com one of the first blogs in Kuwait
1. Wednesday, March 12, 2003
REALLY REALLY freaky dust storm!!!!
2. Thursday, March 13, 2003
Freaky Dust Storm Pictures
Is it me or did you get rid of my comment?
Probably you I did not see any comment other than the ones above
Jewaira
Must be coz I remember typing something don’t remember if I did click on the say it! button or not.
Anyway, I was saying that there is no comment #57 on the Is it lethal post.
Have you been googling for midlife crisis stuff?
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Thanks PseudoRandom I appreciate your attention to detail. Corrected it.
No haven’t been googling midlife crisis/ I was surfing YouTube and the title on the post grabbed me: it was something like Women love back hair on men
Jewaira
Do they? I think it’s a middle-aged woman thing.
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That’s hilarious. You’re very witty these days Pseudo Random!
Jewaira
Thank you that’s a nice compliment.
Whenever it’s dust-storming outside me and my mates break into a frenzy of dynamic meditation. I tell you it’s chicken soup for the weather beaten soul!
I can’t quite picture a frenzy of meditation. It doesn’t sound relaxing enough!
Jewaira
ouch.
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Need a bandage darling? You sound like E.T.
Jewaira
Nevermind.
SPA TIME!!!
You need a dust buster eh? have you not heard of a leaf blower?
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/lawn_and_garden/leaf-blowers/index.html
I’m sure it works on sand just as good if not better than leaves!
I remember reading a book that had a section about sand movement in Africa, I believe it starts in SA and works up the west coast then across NA towards the Middle East, where it goes from there I can’t recall……….
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I know about leaf blowers but wouldn’t they just blow the dust all over the place?
Jewaira
4 June 2007
After the storm, my mine cleared.
And a high wind arose and blew the tropics north.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
running quartz crystals through a blender.
sand through your engines.
bubbles in your bays.
estuaries reaching out toward forbidden seas…
sand through your eyes.
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5 June 2007
Calm as baby’s breath
as peaceful as the storm’s eye
Clouds spread and drawn with rough strokes of stratospheric winds
a warm and windy tropical day.
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7 June 2007
Black water at dusk.
Lighting on the horizon.
Warm winds coming in across the darkening waters.
A flash of white wings as an egret takes flight.
And Thunder like God clearing his throat.
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8 June 2007
Morning star in the still of the clear, dark waters.
a sky as clear eyed as a young girl.
bruised and tattered storm remnants limp off in the gathering light.