I hope everyone is surviving the winter of '11 back in the states, I am enjoying my first one here in the UAE. This winter just warmed up here with the arrival of Fred. Fred arrived in a winter rainstorm (go figure), but he chased away my winter blues. I have had a great week with him here so far. Well it's time for the new tradition...Guest Blogger! So, from the King College class of 1985...Here is Fred Staley....
For six months John tells me that it never rains in Dubai, so what do I find when I come out of the airport? It is raining so hard the parking garage is leaking on my head. Then the first big event he has planned is a MATH TEST! He has bet everyone in Dubai that I will score higher on the test than he and his boss combined. How am I supposed to know how many steps the American dog takes before the middle eastern train hits it? Although John and Bob scored a combined score over 100% making it impossible for me to score higher, I did get the highest score of the three making me the smartest kid in this particular class. Some vacation. It really has been fun so far this week. The HSBC Golf Championship was great fun. We were following Mickelson around with about 25 other people. At times he was so close I could have made suggestion for which club to hit. Martin Kaymer, who won the tournament almost hit us with his golf ball on 18. Today we went to Ferrari World, the world's largest indoor amusement park. It really needs more thrill rides, but was still great fun. The roller coaster is the fastest in the world, zero to 240 km/hr (150mph) in less than five seconds. It was probably the most intense ride I had ever been on, until the drive back to Dubai on the Abu Dhabi hwy in rush hour with John at the wheel. Bumper to bumper, 140 KPH, six cars wide on a freeway with four lanes. At least the roller coaster had a lap bar for safety. Well I guess that is enough for one blog. I will let John's mom tell you about the restaurants, malls and other more docile sites when she guest blogs in a couple of weeks. See you back in the states, I will miss 75 degree winter days, but I can't wait to see them again next year...By for now...
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away!!!!
Seven Months of bone dry weather, and the day that Fred is due to arrive, it's a ground soaker....The weather is suppose to clear up tomorrow, so Fred should get to enjoy plenty of UAE sunshine. It will be my first week to get to be a tourist in Dubai. The roads are extremely slick, as the intersections around the Dubai mall are granite.
Planning on going to the Abu Dhabi golf tournament on Sunday. Phil Mickelson, Padrig Harrington and many of the worlds top golfers are playing in it. Probably going up in the Burj Khalifa on Monday. One day in Al Ain and generally just enjoying my best friends company. I will have Fred be a guest blogger (hopefully a fun tradition to begin) while he is here.
We had an extremely tough week at work, morale is down. The out of stock situation, and mediocre performance of some support staff is taking its toll. Getting the attitudes turned around is job one. We are extremely short staffed in the sales team, but help is on the way. Juan and Ceren start the first week of February and Nick should start the second week of the month.
On the interview front, one of the things we do with Account Executive interviewees is make them take a "problem solving" aptitude test. You know the ones, if a train is traveling from the North at 28 KHM's per hour and a stray American puppy is walking south along the tracks at 2 khms per hour, and it is the middle of Ramadan and its 44 degrees C, how many steps will the Infidel American puppy take before the Arab train splatters it, and what temperature will the meat be when the buzzards enjoy a feast of American Cuisine? Well, I made a bet with Human resources that Bob and I would together score less on the test than Fred by himself. I have 3 copies of the test sealed in an envelope...So Saturday, we will take the test...we will see...
Bob, Richard, Karim and I got invited to a reception at the United States Ambassadors home in Abu Dhabi this past week. There were a lot of different American dishes. Ambassador Richard Olson was polite, security was tight, and his home was beautiful. He was appointed in 2007 by President Bush and his assignment is up this summer. He was gracious and we enjoyed ourselves.
Bob and I went to the opening of a new concept (ChopSticks) at Dubai Mall today. It is reasonably priced and "yummy". There are several new restaurants opening in the next few months including Pot Belly, Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Now if I could just get Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, and Chick Fil A I would be satisfied.
Fred's plane lands in 4 hours, and I have a few things I need to do before he gets here, so hopefully you will enjoy your week as much as I will surely enjoy mine. Look for a "Fred" blog, coming here very soon...
John
Planning on going to the Abu Dhabi golf tournament on Sunday. Phil Mickelson, Padrig Harrington and many of the worlds top golfers are playing in it. Probably going up in the Burj Khalifa on Monday. One day in Al Ain and generally just enjoying my best friends company. I will have Fred be a guest blogger (hopefully a fun tradition to begin) while he is here.
We had an extremely tough week at work, morale is down. The out of stock situation, and mediocre performance of some support staff is taking its toll. Getting the attitudes turned around is job one. We are extremely short staffed in the sales team, but help is on the way. Juan and Ceren start the first week of February and Nick should start the second week of the month.
On the interview front, one of the things we do with Account Executive interviewees is make them take a "problem solving" aptitude test. You know the ones, if a train is traveling from the North at 28 KHM's per hour and a stray American puppy is walking south along the tracks at 2 khms per hour, and it is the middle of Ramadan and its 44 degrees C, how many steps will the Infidel American puppy take before the Arab train splatters it, and what temperature will the meat be when the buzzards enjoy a feast of American Cuisine? Well, I made a bet with Human resources that Bob and I would together score less on the test than Fred by himself. I have 3 copies of the test sealed in an envelope...So Saturday, we will take the test...we will see...
Bob, Richard, Karim and I got invited to a reception at the United States Ambassadors home in Abu Dhabi this past week. There were a lot of different American dishes. Ambassador Richard Olson was polite, security was tight, and his home was beautiful. He was appointed in 2007 by President Bush and his assignment is up this summer. He was gracious and we enjoyed ourselves.
Bob and I went to the opening of a new concept (ChopSticks) at Dubai Mall today. It is reasonably priced and "yummy". There are several new restaurants opening in the next few months including Pot Belly, Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Now if I could just get Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, and Chick Fil A I would be satisfied.
Fred's plane lands in 4 hours, and I have a few things I need to do before he gets here, so hopefully you will enjoy your week as much as I will surely enjoy mine. Look for a "Fred" blog, coming here very soon...
John
Friday, January 14, 2011
Silly people, Crix are for kids...
Good Friday to all of you, just gonna ramble through various things today, hopefully will be worth your reading time...
I went to church and PFChangs afterward (love the heaping bowl of Egg Drop Soup) with Bob and Richard this morning, it was good to have the gang of Americano's back together again. Tonight, dinner at Napaletano's followed by Bob and I watching HBO's Boardwalk (about half way through the season here) and then a busy schedule at work begins anew tomorrow.
I finally made it into the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi (please hold your applause til the end of the blog)...it was amazingly tight security. After getting through, I met with a very nice American clerk that sorta chuckled at me and said all I needed to do was register on line @ travel.state.gov then I would be registered here and begin to receive email warnings and alerts from our government and be on their telephone hot list in case of emergency. Just so its somewhere written down and can be accessed the Embassy's phone number is +971-2-414-2200....
This Sunday Evening, Bob, Richard and I have been invited to a dinner at the Ambassador's residence in Abu Dhabi...It's a coat and Tie affair...should be neat! I am planning on spending the day in Al Ain on Tuesday. It will be my first visit there since I relocated Elie N.there in my bold plan...In other work news for those keeping score, I have asked one of our Account Exec's to find a new Career, it just wasn't working, he took it very well...and I have 4 Reps that will be joining the team around Feb 1st. Ceren (from Turkey), Nasser (from Lebanon-the country), Nick (from Tampa), and Juan (from Columbia via SYSCO Atlanta).
Have you ever heard of "Crix" cheese snacks? Well, I was looking for a healthier snack to have to munch on, so they have these little packs of baked cheese snacks called Crix. I thought it was worth a try, well the verdict is in...smells like feet. Yes, once you get past the smell not so bad, but unless it's Petit, freshly washed and attached to a 5'4" body(or so) don't like the feet near the mouth. I will make sure that I save some for Fred next week (yes-he arrives in a week) and my parents next month...Not finger foods, but toe snacks for everyone!
Still haven't had any major rain or sand storms. Went through another sprinkle that I did not turn my wipers on for, but it did make the car dirty...On clear days the skyline is spectacular.
Where is OBamacare when you need it? Part of my promotion last fall, was an upgrade of my insurance. Well, it was suppose to take effect by now, I had to turn my old card and wait the three days to get my new card. Well, now 6 days later no card and no insurance...sigh...I am hoping it gets straightened out by Sunday.
Where am I the safest? If there is an "event" here in the Middle East, I admit that I am a little nervous about that (like the 2012 Mayan Calendar ending-lol)...but as far as day to day safety, I hate to share with you that I am so much safer than any of you reading this. As I watch Fox news every day here, I see the crime and strife back in the states (from Arizona murders to St. Louis crime/murder capital) and I can tell you there is so little major crime here. I have never felt safer in my life. For the record, the most in danger I felt was 1986 in grad school in Washington DC....Sorry for the brevity, and thanks for the messages!
Have a great weekend, I will check in sometime before Fred arrives on the 21st.
John
I went to church and PFChangs afterward (love the heaping bowl of Egg Drop Soup) with Bob and Richard this morning, it was good to have the gang of Americano's back together again. Tonight, dinner at Napaletano's followed by Bob and I watching HBO's Boardwalk (about half way through the season here) and then a busy schedule at work begins anew tomorrow.
I finally made it into the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi (please hold your applause til the end of the blog)...it was amazingly tight security. After getting through, I met with a very nice American clerk that sorta chuckled at me and said all I needed to do was register on line @ travel.state.gov then I would be registered here and begin to receive email warnings and alerts from our government and be on their telephone hot list in case of emergency. Just so its somewhere written down and can be accessed the Embassy's phone number is +971-2-414-2200....
This Sunday Evening, Bob, Richard and I have been invited to a dinner at the Ambassador's residence in Abu Dhabi...It's a coat and Tie affair...should be neat! I am planning on spending the day in Al Ain on Tuesday. It will be my first visit there since I relocated Elie N.there in my bold plan...In other work news for those keeping score, I have asked one of our Account Exec's to find a new Career, it just wasn't working, he took it very well...and I have 4 Reps that will be joining the team around Feb 1st. Ceren (from Turkey), Nasser (from Lebanon-the country), Nick (from Tampa), and Juan (from Columbia via SYSCO Atlanta).
Have you ever heard of "Crix" cheese snacks? Well, I was looking for a healthier snack to have to munch on, so they have these little packs of baked cheese snacks called Crix. I thought it was worth a try, well the verdict is in...smells like feet. Yes, once you get past the smell not so bad, but unless it's Petit, freshly washed and attached to a 5'4" body(or so) don't like the feet near the mouth. I will make sure that I save some for Fred next week (yes-he arrives in a week) and my parents next month...Not finger foods, but toe snacks for everyone!
Still haven't had any major rain or sand storms. Went through another sprinkle that I did not turn my wipers on for, but it did make the car dirty...On clear days the skyline is spectacular.
Where is OBamacare when you need it? Part of my promotion last fall, was an upgrade of my insurance. Well, it was suppose to take effect by now, I had to turn my old card and wait the three days to get my new card. Well, now 6 days later no card and no insurance...sigh...I am hoping it gets straightened out by Sunday.
Where am I the safest? If there is an "event" here in the Middle East, I admit that I am a little nervous about that (like the 2012 Mayan Calendar ending-lol)...but as far as day to day safety, I hate to share with you that I am so much safer than any of you reading this. As I watch Fox news every day here, I see the crime and strife back in the states (from Arizona murders to St. Louis crime/murder capital) and I can tell you there is so little major crime here. I have never felt safer in my life. For the record, the most in danger I felt was 1986 in grad school in Washington DC....Sorry for the brevity, and thanks for the messages!
Have a great weekend, I will check in sometime before Fred arrives on the 21st.
John
Friday, January 7, 2011
Stairs, oh how I hate the stairs...
Last week the fire alarms were sounding when I pulled into my basement parking space at 8 Boulevard Walk. Being impatient and formerly athletic, I decided to hike the stairs to my 6th floor apartment. I think the water boarders had it easier. I thought maybe it was the cold that I still had not shaken or maybe I was just coincidentally having a heart attack...all I know is that I fought the stairs, and the stairs won...So, this morning, I get back from my trip out amongst the Bedouins and I am riding the elevator up to my apartment, and suddenly as I reach the 5th floor, my lift slowly stops, and reverses course to the ground floor. Yes, another fire alarm...now this time I only have to climb 7 floors (M plus 1-6)...Yes I did better, but now I am wondering if this is a plot to get me back into the gym...The Lord works in mysterious ways...I just hope he knows its a felony to pull a false fire alarm...
Bob got back to Dubai last weekend, and Richard returns tonight and Karim returns Sunday, no longer will I be the last manager standing. We are suffering through dramatic price increases with our commodity food items that we are trying to provide to our customers. With our strong growth in the last couple of months, we are also having stocking issues. It takes up to 90 days to order, and have it shipped from America clear customs then have the municipality inspect it. So right now, we are out of Ketchup, Mayo, Hot dogs, ground beef, Veal chops...sigh...Hard to sell without inventory. I have a challenge keeping the Account Exec's upbeat with inventory issues and a 40% price increase in some of our commodity items.
I am traveling back to Oman on Tuesday, to tour it with one of our sales reps. Hopefully, he will agree to relocate and we can start shipping that area. I signed off on the job offer for a former co worker in the states, if all things work out his first day will be Feb. 1st. That should also be the first day of my new Turkish Account Executive. Juan, the former SYSCO MA from Atlanta, that I am placing at Yaz Island will start a couple of days before that. Bob has a third interview with another young lady from the US. Hopefully we will continue to grow in sales as I reshape the sales force.
The weather is very pleasant here during the winter. In the daytime it is in the upper 70's and at night upper 50's. In the forecast, there is generally a 10% chance of rain everyday in January, but so far I have experienced only two brief showers since my arrival. I was driving through one of them, and I didn't even turn my wipers on. The other one lasted about 10 minutes and within a half an hour there was no evidence that it even had rained.
Fred arrives in the UAE two weeks from today. I am looking forward to taking a few days off while he is here to do some of the "touristy" things. Especially excited about going up in the 160 story high Burj Khalifa. Look forward to some interesting (perhaps interesting) photos on Facebook.
Speaking of fun here in the UAE, my mother's Christmas package arrived at work this week. She had included a package wrapped in Santa Claus paper for Shamsudine. As you may recall from my previous ramblings, Shams had been so excited about my last package, so once again curiosity killed the cat, and Shammy was waiting for me package in hand. So, I had him open up the box, and inside there were two packages - one addressed to me, and one labeled to Shams from Santa. Shams was so excited. He says..."wow" and he looks at it and says "who is this from?" So I of course, said Santa...Shams has no idea who Santa is. So I try and explain (who knew?) Christmas and Santa...failing miserably, so Shams figures it out...Santa is my mothers name...Well, he sorta got it right. So, Mom if Shams calls you Misses Santa when you meet him, just smile. Oh, yes Shams loved his blue shirt. He was busy showing it around the office. It definitely is the season for giving. I will post pictures of Sham's visit from Santa today.
Hope your week is as rewarding as Shammies....
John
Bob got back to Dubai last weekend, and Richard returns tonight and Karim returns Sunday, no longer will I be the last manager standing. We are suffering through dramatic price increases with our commodity food items that we are trying to provide to our customers. With our strong growth in the last couple of months, we are also having stocking issues. It takes up to 90 days to order, and have it shipped from America clear customs then have the municipality inspect it. So right now, we are out of Ketchup, Mayo, Hot dogs, ground beef, Veal chops...sigh...Hard to sell without inventory. I have a challenge keeping the Account Exec's upbeat with inventory issues and a 40% price increase in some of our commodity items.
I am traveling back to Oman on Tuesday, to tour it with one of our sales reps. Hopefully, he will agree to relocate and we can start shipping that area. I signed off on the job offer for a former co worker in the states, if all things work out his first day will be Feb. 1st. That should also be the first day of my new Turkish Account Executive. Juan, the former SYSCO MA from Atlanta, that I am placing at Yaz Island will start a couple of days before that. Bob has a third interview with another young lady from the US. Hopefully we will continue to grow in sales as I reshape the sales force.
The weather is very pleasant here during the winter. In the daytime it is in the upper 70's and at night upper 50's. In the forecast, there is generally a 10% chance of rain everyday in January, but so far I have experienced only two brief showers since my arrival. I was driving through one of them, and I didn't even turn my wipers on. The other one lasted about 10 minutes and within a half an hour there was no evidence that it even had rained.
Fred arrives in the UAE two weeks from today. I am looking forward to taking a few days off while he is here to do some of the "touristy" things. Especially excited about going up in the 160 story high Burj Khalifa. Look forward to some interesting (perhaps interesting) photos on Facebook.
Speaking of fun here in the UAE, my mother's Christmas package arrived at work this week. She had included a package wrapped in Santa Claus paper for Shamsudine. As you may recall from my previous ramblings, Shams had been so excited about my last package, so once again curiosity killed the cat, and Shammy was waiting for me package in hand. So, I had him open up the box, and inside there were two packages - one addressed to me, and one labeled to Shams from Santa. Shams was so excited. He says..."wow" and he looks at it and says "who is this from?" So I of course, said Santa...Shams has no idea who Santa is. So I try and explain (who knew?) Christmas and Santa...failing miserably, so Shams figures it out...Santa is my mothers name...Well, he sorta got it right. So, Mom if Shams calls you Misses Santa when you meet him, just smile. Oh, yes Shams loved his blue shirt. He was busy showing it around the office. It definitely is the season for giving. I will post pictures of Sham's visit from Santa today.
Hope your week is as rewarding as Shammies....
John
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Years Resolutions....
Welcoming in 2011 in style in Dubai. Last night I got to see an unbelievable fireworks show from my apartment pool. The UAE has decided to try and make Dubai a destination spot for new Years Celebrations with an evening filled with special fire and water shows at the base of the 160 floor high Burj Khalifa. I posted pictures of the unbelievable show they put on at midnight, with rockets shooting off virtually every floor it was breathtaking.
I neglected to fill you in on my Christmas celebration with the Lebanese Christian family that opened their home to me on Christmas eve. Elie Saber (our Transmed credit manager) and his family (wife, son and daughter) had me over to their home on the 24th. They had a beautiful tree piled high with presents underneath. I would have thought I was in Lebanon, Virginia except for the 77 degree weather and the food. They served a traditional Lebanese spread, Beef sausages, Kibba (raw lamb/beef) chicken and rice, Hummus (ground chick peas) and several other Middle Eastern foods. (I missed my Christmas Ham this year) They had several family members (aunts, uncles, grandmas, and kids friends) over also and we dined at about 10:30pm (something they do here...I was so tired) and then they passed out the presents and opened them at midnight...I even got a scarf from them...it was very nice, and made the holiday seem somewhat normal....
The holidays are over, back to work in the morning. I need to go to Abu Dhabi, and for the fourth time I am going to attempt to get into the American Embassy...you will know if I am successful.
I am always thinking as I see and experience things here that "I need to blog about this" and sadly I forget most of the things that I amuse myself with...but this morning in the shower, it struck me funny about the attempt at making English the language of choice here, and how some things get lost in translation. My head & shoulders (I know you were wondering where the shower came into play) that I use here is labeled for use with "greasy" hair...lol, sorta the same as oily hair. I have "prawn cocktail sauce" flavored pringles on my shelf. There is a beautiful new "jiffy Lube oil" kind of store next to my local petrol station and across the top it says "Tyre" repair here...Lays chips has a ketchup flavored chip here....I will try and write these funnies down as I see them, and just maybe I will remember to share them...
I watched all of the bad weather last week, snow in the south and then the tornado's in St. Louis, I guess the blah sunny and clear every day weather here has its pluses...
Happy New Year to all of you, I appreciate the notes so much...
Your friend,
John
I neglected to fill you in on my Christmas celebration with the Lebanese Christian family that opened their home to me on Christmas eve. Elie Saber (our Transmed credit manager) and his family (wife, son and daughter) had me over to their home on the 24th. They had a beautiful tree piled high with presents underneath. I would have thought I was in Lebanon, Virginia except for the 77 degree weather and the food. They served a traditional Lebanese spread, Beef sausages, Kibba (raw lamb/beef) chicken and rice, Hummus (ground chick peas) and several other Middle Eastern foods. (I missed my Christmas Ham this year) They had several family members (aunts, uncles, grandmas, and kids friends) over also and we dined at about 10:30pm (something they do here...I was so tired) and then they passed out the presents and opened them at midnight...I even got a scarf from them...it was very nice, and made the holiday seem somewhat normal....
The holidays are over, back to work in the morning. I need to go to Abu Dhabi, and for the fourth time I am going to attempt to get into the American Embassy...you will know if I am successful.
I am always thinking as I see and experience things here that "I need to blog about this" and sadly I forget most of the things that I amuse myself with...but this morning in the shower, it struck me funny about the attempt at making English the language of choice here, and how some things get lost in translation. My head & shoulders (I know you were wondering where the shower came into play) that I use here is labeled for use with "greasy" hair...lol, sorta the same as oily hair. I have "prawn cocktail sauce" flavored pringles on my shelf. There is a beautiful new "jiffy Lube oil" kind of store next to my local petrol station and across the top it says "Tyre" repair here...Lays chips has a ketchup flavored chip here....I will try and write these funnies down as I see them, and just maybe I will remember to share them...
I watched all of the bad weather last week, snow in the south and then the tornado's in St. Louis, I guess the blah sunny and clear every day weather here has its pluses...
Happy New Year to all of you, I appreciate the notes so much...
Your friend,
John
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