What a year it has been! Started the year out selling food to restaurants in rural Illinois, finished it up selling food to restaurants half way around the world in the United Arab Emirates.
I am fighting a horrible cold. I went to the pharmacy at the mall. The pharmacist here can give you whatever prescription you need. So, I told the man I had a chest cold he gave me some liquid potion to drink 3 times a day until the cough goes away. Please know that if I am found dead, it was not suicide...lol.
I am having a little bit of a steak problem with a major customer. So, last night I spoke on the phone with My old boss from Buckhead Beef for a half an hour. As most of you are aware, my departure from Buckhead was ugly and I left some scorched earth with my resignation and subsequent letter I sent to corporate. I will give my old boss credit, he was cordial, and we agreed what was in the past should stay that way...how the world turns, I invited him to come to the Gulf Food show (big show here in February) and I hope he takes me up on the invite....
All my amigo's are on vacation, Bob is due back Jan. 2nd, and Richard is due back Jan. 6th from the states. Kelly is in Sri Lanka celebrating New Years, and Georges, Karim and Rami have all gone home to Lebanon. Ceren is headed to Turkey...I guess I am the last one standing...
New Years Eve here there is a Big fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, so I am planning on getting spectacular pictures and posting them on Facebook shortly after midnight Dubai time (9 hours difference).
Fred is coming in 3 weeks, I am really looking forward to his stay, you should look forward to my first guest blogger....My parents will be here in mid February, they will be celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary in Dubai. I plan on taking them up in the worlds tallest building to celebrate on valentines day! I have another friend that may come in April...time seems to fly by here....maybe with a steady stream of visitors I will be home before you know it....
Offering a job to another old SYSCO co-worker this week, if it works out that will be 3 former SYSCO marketing Associates I will have hired. That will be 3 new sales reps starting in January. We finished out the month of December right at 5.5 million in sales, the second best month in Transmed history (last month best ever 6.1). I think January will be somewhere in between those two...
Fashion TV is having a big Dubai New Years celebration here...I don't know if that is televised just here or will be on back in the states, maybe interesting to check and see if you get fashion TV on your local cable.
From the interesting how its different here department, you don't have credit scores. If you bounce a check you go to jail. They base all credit on income. So I got a nice credit card with no fees based on my direct deposit to the bank. The funny part, Richard was denied a credit card. It seems that since Richard is 62, he was denied credit. A lawsuit in America, just how they do business here.
Same thing with resumes and interviews....You have a picture on the resume and religion questions and child rearing questions are fair game. As is age...They put a huge emphasis on where you went to college....
Oh well, gotta call Fred and sell my car...
Here's to a prosperous and healthy 2011!
Happy New Year!
John
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve 2010....
Merry Christmas to all! I think spending Christmas here is making me appreciate things back in the states more than ever. The holiday have been good so far, and I have a nice evening planned. Yesterday at work, my department hosted a traditional Christmas meal. Richard baked 4 Butterball "Toms" (close to 100 pounds of turkey), we had Christmas Cakes from Paul Restaurant (They looked awesome-gone before I got a taste) side dishes from two famous Lebanese restaurants...I really liked the green beans with pearl onions,and the mashed potato's. The turkeys were prepared perfectly and the luncheon (fed around 100 employees) went awesome. It was a very nice gesture that our Muslim Company Manager had this celebration with us. He was gracious and more than once told me to spare no expense to make sure that it was a "5 star" experience for our employees. There were more Muslims and Hindu's than Christians at the luncheon and they were all kind and wished us a Merry Christmas with warm smiles and handshakes... The whole experience was new to many, but the funniest moment for me is when "Rapu" (an Indonesian cleaning lad that reports to Sham) said (in broken English) that he had never seen such "big chickens"...I told him we raised them that way in America...chuckles filled the room...(by the way - it was the first time he had eaten turkey, and he liked it!)
I hosted a Christmas party at my 8 Boulevard apartment last night. It was good having the team together in a relaxed social setting. I did get some nice gifts, a new tie, an Eagles music video, nice bottle of red wine and some chocolate candy. Lal broke out his Cuban cigars (they are legal here) and my patio became a smokey place for fellowship with the balmy weather.
Work is going well, sales are strong (trying for a second record sales month in a row) but we still have too many operational issues. The new pay plan that I have implemented (with Bob's blessing) has made our Account Executives more career minded, and for the most part they are thriving. I am especially proud of Kelly, she is Canadian and is a natural "relationship Manager". I would find it hard to believe that she has ever had an enemy in her life. She is on a roll with her life and it is very rewarding for me to see her career blossom. Another Rep that is doing really well is Joseph. He is Indian and has been somewhat passed over in his career. He is very bright, and now believes what he is being told by management. The work ethics appear to be strong for the whole group. Most of them are very young (Magy youngest at 24, Ceren is 23, Kelly 26) but are very professional in their approach to their jobs.
Richard and I went to church this morning. The service was about the birth of Christ (right down the road in Bethlehem) and I am so happy that I am back in a church. It is surreal that I can worship freely in this land, and feel blessed and revitalised in my beliefs. I had a nice swim at the pool this afternoon, and I am invited to the credit manager's home for Christmas Eve dinner. Tomorrow I am spending the morning at the office (customer service is working along with the warehouse)so an appearance by me in support will be appreciated, besides Sham has to work, what would Christmas be without Shammy?
This blog and those of you that read it and follow my travels are very therapeutic for me. I feel blessed to have so many friends and people that care about me in my life. Thank you for the prayers and well wishes, and Merry Christmas to all of you!
John
I hosted a Christmas party at my 8 Boulevard apartment last night. It was good having the team together in a relaxed social setting. I did get some nice gifts, a new tie, an Eagles music video, nice bottle of red wine and some chocolate candy. Lal broke out his Cuban cigars (they are legal here) and my patio became a smokey place for fellowship with the balmy weather.
Work is going well, sales are strong (trying for a second record sales month in a row) but we still have too many operational issues. The new pay plan that I have implemented (with Bob's blessing) has made our Account Executives more career minded, and for the most part they are thriving. I am especially proud of Kelly, she is Canadian and is a natural "relationship Manager". I would find it hard to believe that she has ever had an enemy in her life. She is on a roll with her life and it is very rewarding for me to see her career blossom. Another Rep that is doing really well is Joseph. He is Indian and has been somewhat passed over in his career. He is very bright, and now believes what he is being told by management. The work ethics appear to be strong for the whole group. Most of them are very young (Magy youngest at 24, Ceren is 23, Kelly 26) but are very professional in their approach to their jobs.
Richard and I went to church this morning. The service was about the birth of Christ (right down the road in Bethlehem) and I am so happy that I am back in a church. It is surreal that I can worship freely in this land, and feel blessed and revitalised in my beliefs. I had a nice swim at the pool this afternoon, and I am invited to the credit manager's home for Christmas Eve dinner. Tomorrow I am spending the morning at the office (customer service is working along with the warehouse)so an appearance by me in support will be appreciated, besides Sham has to work, what would Christmas be without Shammy?
This blog and those of you that read it and follow my travels are very therapeutic for me. I feel blessed to have so many friends and people that care about me in my life. Thank you for the prayers and well wishes, and Merry Christmas to all of you!
John
Friday, December 17, 2010
Christmas is upon us...
I just got back from a nice swim in our apartment pool. It is 80 degrees and sunny today, gotta love the weather in the winter...I watch Fox news a lot, so I have been keeping up with the states early winter...So far, I do not miss the snow.
Speaking of winter, I finally had to turn on my hot water heater. As you may recall, the water is warm due to the combination of being pulled from the warm waters of the Arabian Sea (there are desalinization plants along the coast)and the heat from the pipes going through the sand of the desert. The water was still luke warm, but took several minutes to reach that status. I probably will turn it off in March, we will see.
Work has been tough this week, some logistic issues trying to bring products in from the states...The quality of condiments is so much better when it is manufactured in the U.S. Heinz has a plant in Egypt, and they should be embarrassed by the quality of the products manufactured there compared to the high quality of good ole American product.
I did hire the young lady (Ceren) from Turkey. She will start in January. I am excited about her drive, she is a fitness freak that was the captain of her college Basketball team (Go Ankara Turkey...Bears?!) and her new teammates will like her. Juan also joins the team in January. He worked for SYSCO Atlanta and was a pilot in the Colombian Air Force. Should be disciplined and ready to go...
I have budgeted to hire three additional reps in the next 6 months, so any of my previous sales people from the states that need a job, I am doing my best to improve the economy of America, and at the same time hit my goal of doubling sales next year.
Bob left for the states Wednesday evening, and Richard leaves next Friday. I am having a "holiday" party for our sales team in my apartment next Thursday. The company manager has asked Richard and I to arrange a Christmas lunch for the office on Thursday afternoon. A very nice gesture considering he is a Muslim and the company is very Middle Eastern. Richard wants to cook 4 Butterball turkeys (big 24 pound Toms) and make stuffing and gravy to give them a feel for our culture.(if I could only have a Christmas spiral sliced honey glazed ham-sigh) I will certainly let you know how it goes...
I still have not been able to register my status (and give them my phone number) at the American embassy. Tuesday I am going to Abu Dhabi and hopefully get in (I have tried twice - who new it would be so difficult).
Try and stay warm in the good ole USA, I will be having warm thoughts about you...
Merry Christmas,
John
Speaking of winter, I finally had to turn on my hot water heater. As you may recall, the water is warm due to the combination of being pulled from the warm waters of the Arabian Sea (there are desalinization plants along the coast)and the heat from the pipes going through the sand of the desert. The water was still luke warm, but took several minutes to reach that status. I probably will turn it off in March, we will see.
Work has been tough this week, some logistic issues trying to bring products in from the states...The quality of condiments is so much better when it is manufactured in the U.S. Heinz has a plant in Egypt, and they should be embarrassed by the quality of the products manufactured there compared to the high quality of good ole American product.
I did hire the young lady (Ceren) from Turkey. She will start in January. I am excited about her drive, she is a fitness freak that was the captain of her college Basketball team (Go Ankara Turkey...Bears?!) and her new teammates will like her. Juan also joins the team in January. He worked for SYSCO Atlanta and was a pilot in the Colombian Air Force. Should be disciplined and ready to go...
I have budgeted to hire three additional reps in the next 6 months, so any of my previous sales people from the states that need a job, I am doing my best to improve the economy of America, and at the same time hit my goal of doubling sales next year.
Bob left for the states Wednesday evening, and Richard leaves next Friday. I am having a "holiday" party for our sales team in my apartment next Thursday. The company manager has asked Richard and I to arrange a Christmas lunch for the office on Thursday afternoon. A very nice gesture considering he is a Muslim and the company is very Middle Eastern. Richard wants to cook 4 Butterball turkeys (big 24 pound Toms) and make stuffing and gravy to give them a feel for our culture.(if I could only have a Christmas spiral sliced honey glazed ham-sigh) I will certainly let you know how it goes...
I still have not been able to register my status (and give them my phone number) at the American embassy. Tuesday I am going to Abu Dhabi and hopefully get in (I have tried twice - who new it would be so difficult).
Try and stay warm in the good ole USA, I will be having warm thoughts about you...
Merry Christmas,
John
Friday, December 10, 2010
A Shamsudine update and my encounter with the Omani army....
If only I could make these things up....Let's start with America's new sweetheart Shamsudine. As you may recall, Shammy is the office boy/General Manager's helper from Bangladesh that works in my office. He has the nicest disposition, he always is very friendly and we have become friends. If I don't come into the office (because I am in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain or working the street with one of our reps) Shams will come find me to ask about my day and to find out where I was. My good friend Dan Scott (became friends in law school) was kind enough to send a birthday present to me in Dubai (finally got here on December 1st, more than a month after Dan mailed it) Shammy was like a kid on Christmas morning with this package from America. There is no mail delivery in the UAE, what few bills or mail you get, comes to your employers post office box (Transmed Overseas, PO box 1604, Dubai, UAE)....So I come back from lunch and there is Shammy waiting with the receptionist in the lobby...He can't wait to see what is in the package....So I took a look at it and said something to the effect that it is a present from a friend of mine (Dan had called on my birthday and told me he wanted to mail me a gift)...Well Shammy with glee in his voice says can we open it??? I said sure and before you could blink he's got scissors tearing into my package...It took me by surprise, but I was enjoying Shammy's joy! In the package was a Major League Baseball Johnny Bench Jersey (an awesome gift-thanks again Danno)...Well as nice a gift it was to me, Shammy was so disappointed...He was like an 8 year old on Christmas morning that opened up the present and found socks in the package, major disappointment...
Well after my fun exchange with him I decided it would be fun to give Shammy a gift from me, soooo I asked Shammy if I could take him to lunch for Christmas...it became a mini adventure in itself. Shammy is a devout Muslim, but told me he would except my "Christmas" invite. So we planned our lunch. We left the office headed to the Dubai Mall (Shammy told me he loves fried fish- so what's better than fish and chips at Social House). Now I knew Shammy rode his bicycle to work everyday, what I didn't know was that he does not ride in cars often. Shammy got car sick on our 15 minute drive, it was comical as he asked me how mad I would be if he threw up in my car...he cranked up the AC and we made it to the mall without leaving any residue in my car...(Thank God for small miracles). Shammy had never seen the free water show at the mall (check out the photos on my facebook) he loved it...We enjoyed our fish and chips...I bought him some roasted nuts and headed back to the office...I experienced the true spirit of Christmas...the giving...what a great time...
One of my strategic moves to get hit our sales goals was to move one of my favorite Account Executives to Al Ain. He is a chef from Lebanon (the country not my High school alma mater)-His name is Elie Nader. Well Bob and I decided we would take the trip to Al Ain to canvass its potential and check out the country of Oman which is bordering the Emirate of Abu Dhabi where the city of Al Ain is. The hour and a half drive to Al Ain goes through the desert. We must have seen over a hundred camels, some wild wandering in the desert next to the highway, others in the Camel farms where camels are sold...(for food, transportation and racing- no I have not eaten Camel yet, nor do I intend to)...Al Ain is a beautiful traditional Arab city of nearly 400,000 residents. (bout the size of Memphis TN). There is a lot of business opportunity there. We went up on the Mountain of Jabel Hafeet, where the hotel Mercure (beautiful property) lies at the top...from the summit you can see for miles, and the mountain itself serves as part of the border with The Islamic Republic of Oman. Well brilliant me, talked Bob into crossing the border with me.
After paying the exit fees for the UAE and then going through the Oman immigration border crossing and paying the appropriate fees there, we head into Oman....We drove straight into the desert and after driving for 45 minutes and seeing nothing except sand dunes and palm trees, we stopped at a petrol station to find out we were not headed to the part of Oman where the tourist visit. Turn around and then head across a different road towards civilization. It is getting late in the afternoon and we pass virtually no one for an hour (We are traveling at speeds approaching 180 Kms per hour) on the remote 4 lane highway. The road became two lanes and as I come around a bend, we run into an Oman Military check point. There were jeeps on both sides of the roads with mounted machine guns manned with military personnel. It reminded me of the old series "Rat Patrol". In the road were about a half dozen soldiers stopping us to check our "credentials". They asked us what we were doing there as they checked our Id's (I don't know why they might think 2 Americans driving through remote Oman in a leased car from the United Arab Emirates saying we are just looking around might be suspicious.) They actually let us pass after a couple of minutes, and I didn't get nervous until Bob snapped a picture of the one of the jeeps as we exited the traffic stop area.
A few minutes down the road we finally arrived in the border town of Buraimi, Oman. It was crowded with cars. Darkness had descended, we asked for directions to Dubai and was told we were over 3 hours away and given directions to where we could cross the border. After waiting to cross in heavy traffic, we were denied entry because we were at an "Arab only" checkpoint. So we drove a half hour to another crossing area. We had to go through immigration, and then through another military checkpoint. The officer there had my passport, and in a deep broken English voice said "where are you from"? I said the United States...He said "Where are you from" again...I said St Louis....then he said in an animated voice, that he had once been to Ohio...lol, he wanted to make conversation...we finally made it across the border and I arrived safe and sound back in lovely Dubai at about 9:30pm...what a long day...
Bob is leaving for the states next Wednesday, and Richard is headed home on December 24th. It will be interesting spending Christmas here in Dubai. Christmas Day is a normal business day here...I plan on working...
Sorry my blog was delayed, I will try and do better....
Thanks for the nice comment Susan, and you and all the rest of American friends will be in my thoughts...
John
Well after my fun exchange with him I decided it would be fun to give Shammy a gift from me, soooo I asked Shammy if I could take him to lunch for Christmas...it became a mini adventure in itself. Shammy is a devout Muslim, but told me he would except my "Christmas" invite. So we planned our lunch. We left the office headed to the Dubai Mall (Shammy told me he loves fried fish- so what's better than fish and chips at Social House). Now I knew Shammy rode his bicycle to work everyday, what I didn't know was that he does not ride in cars often. Shammy got car sick on our 15 minute drive, it was comical as he asked me how mad I would be if he threw up in my car...he cranked up the AC and we made it to the mall without leaving any residue in my car...(Thank God for small miracles). Shammy had never seen the free water show at the mall (check out the photos on my facebook) he loved it...We enjoyed our fish and chips...I bought him some roasted nuts and headed back to the office...I experienced the true spirit of Christmas...the giving...what a great time...
One of my strategic moves to get hit our sales goals was to move one of my favorite Account Executives to Al Ain. He is a chef from Lebanon (the country not my High school alma mater)-His name is Elie Nader. Well Bob and I decided we would take the trip to Al Ain to canvass its potential and check out the country of Oman which is bordering the Emirate of Abu Dhabi where the city of Al Ain is. The hour and a half drive to Al Ain goes through the desert. We must have seen over a hundred camels, some wild wandering in the desert next to the highway, others in the Camel farms where camels are sold...(for food, transportation and racing- no I have not eaten Camel yet, nor do I intend to)...Al Ain is a beautiful traditional Arab city of nearly 400,000 residents. (bout the size of Memphis TN). There is a lot of business opportunity there. We went up on the Mountain of Jabel Hafeet, where the hotel Mercure (beautiful property) lies at the top...from the summit you can see for miles, and the mountain itself serves as part of the border with The Islamic Republic of Oman. Well brilliant me, talked Bob into crossing the border with me.
After paying the exit fees for the UAE and then going through the Oman immigration border crossing and paying the appropriate fees there, we head into Oman....We drove straight into the desert and after driving for 45 minutes and seeing nothing except sand dunes and palm trees, we stopped at a petrol station to find out we were not headed to the part of Oman where the tourist visit. Turn around and then head across a different road towards civilization. It is getting late in the afternoon and we pass virtually no one for an hour (We are traveling at speeds approaching 180 Kms per hour) on the remote 4 lane highway. The road became two lanes and as I come around a bend, we run into an Oman Military check point. There were jeeps on both sides of the roads with mounted machine guns manned with military personnel. It reminded me of the old series "Rat Patrol". In the road were about a half dozen soldiers stopping us to check our "credentials". They asked us what we were doing there as they checked our Id's (I don't know why they might think 2 Americans driving through remote Oman in a leased car from the United Arab Emirates saying we are just looking around might be suspicious.) They actually let us pass after a couple of minutes, and I didn't get nervous until Bob snapped a picture of the one of the jeeps as we exited the traffic stop area.
A few minutes down the road we finally arrived in the border town of Buraimi, Oman. It was crowded with cars. Darkness had descended, we asked for directions to Dubai and was told we were over 3 hours away and given directions to where we could cross the border. After waiting to cross in heavy traffic, we were denied entry because we were at an "Arab only" checkpoint. So we drove a half hour to another crossing area. We had to go through immigration, and then through another military checkpoint. The officer there had my passport, and in a deep broken English voice said "where are you from"? I said the United States...He said "Where are you from" again...I said St Louis....then he said in an animated voice, that he had once been to Ohio...lol, he wanted to make conversation...we finally made it across the border and I arrived safe and sound back in lovely Dubai at about 9:30pm...what a long day...
Bob is leaving for the states next Wednesday, and Richard is headed home on December 24th. It will be interesting spending Christmas here in Dubai. Christmas Day is a normal business day here...I plan on working...
Sorry my blog was delayed, I will try and do better....
Thanks for the nice comment Susan, and you and all the rest of American friends will be in my thoughts...
John
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Butterball Turkeys and George W. Bush!
Thursday, December 2nd is National Day in the UAE. 39 years ago, seven small countries joined together to form the United Arab Emirates. A couple of other countries almost joined (Oman and Qatar) but in the end they stayed independent. I could drive to Oman in about and hour and a half, and I plan on visiting there soon.They are a very strategic ally of the United States and have a large US Military presence.
So what does Butterball & Pres. Bush have in common? (no Yvonne- Barney Frank may have had sex with one of them) that's right, they are part of the Middle East urban legends. I have heard from more than one of my new friends that George Bush ordered 911 attacks to cause problems in the Middle East, that he was having breakfast with a very wealthy Jewish business man in Virginia, that flew the President back to Washington on a private jet after the attack. Now, when I said that President Bush was reading children's books to elementary kids in Florida, I might as well told my co-workers a story about the Easter bunny. And yes, it is a "fact" here that there were no Jewish people killed in the 911 attacks. They all knew....
On the same urban legend level, one of my sales reps, did a Butterball turkey presentation in front of me. He told about how only the Butterball brand turkey removed the ligaments from the legs so the turkey will hold its shape while cooking, and how the Butterball turkey is hand basted and injected with butter. Sounds absolutely Divine. Sadly, both Butterball "facts" are also myths. Butterball has about a 20% share of the US market. The plant where the turkeys were originally processed is an old butter factory. Thus the name, "Butterball". Fear not, there really is one advantage, genetics. The turkeys have been bred by butterball to have larger than normal breast...not a bad feature at all.
Thursday is a holiday, but alas, I am going into the office in the morning, and I am interviewing two candidates for jobs. I interviewed an interesting Turkish lady today...May offer her a position....
Final sales numbers in for November....just past 6 million, a new record over a million more than the previous record. I'm hanging in....
One last thing, a couple of you have emailed me saying you thought I was "down". Please don't mistake my loneliness for sadness. I miss America and my friends. That being said, I feel very appreciated here, Bob is happy with me, my employees are enthusiastic about me being their leader....and I am setting myself up financially for life (hopefully). Come see me or drop me a note...that would put a smile on my face.
Have a great day,
John
So what does Butterball & Pres. Bush have in common? (no Yvonne- Barney Frank may have had sex with one of them) that's right, they are part of the Middle East urban legends. I have heard from more than one of my new friends that George Bush ordered 911 attacks to cause problems in the Middle East, that he was having breakfast with a very wealthy Jewish business man in Virginia, that flew the President back to Washington on a private jet after the attack. Now, when I said that President Bush was reading children's books to elementary kids in Florida, I might as well told my co-workers a story about the Easter bunny. And yes, it is a "fact" here that there were no Jewish people killed in the 911 attacks. They all knew....
On the same urban legend level, one of my sales reps, did a Butterball turkey presentation in front of me. He told about how only the Butterball brand turkey removed the ligaments from the legs so the turkey will hold its shape while cooking, and how the Butterball turkey is hand basted and injected with butter. Sounds absolutely Divine. Sadly, both Butterball "facts" are also myths. Butterball has about a 20% share of the US market. The plant where the turkeys were originally processed is an old butter factory. Thus the name, "Butterball". Fear not, there really is one advantage, genetics. The turkeys have been bred by butterball to have larger than normal breast...not a bad feature at all.
Thursday is a holiday, but alas, I am going into the office in the morning, and I am interviewing two candidates for jobs. I interviewed an interesting Turkish lady today...May offer her a position....
Final sales numbers in for November....just past 6 million, a new record over a million more than the previous record. I'm hanging in....
One last thing, a couple of you have emailed me saying you thought I was "down". Please don't mistake my loneliness for sadness. I miss America and my friends. That being said, I feel very appreciated here, Bob is happy with me, my employees are enthusiastic about me being their leader....and I am setting myself up financially for life (hopefully). Come see me or drop me a note...that would put a smile on my face.
Have a great day,
John
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