Well My Mother and Michael have been trekking about everyday, cramming in as many of the sites of the UAE they can. We leave for a Desert Safari with Nick and Hayley in a little over an hour, they head home to the United States in about 30 hours....Without further ado, from the Hamilton Taft class of 1979, here is my brother, Michael D. Bruck, with the third guest blog....
"Well, well quite the adventure so far and tonight we Safari, tomorrow we visit the White Mosque, then home to the USA. As John mentioned we have trekked and Metro'd and even took a few cabs all over Dubai, even did the Creek in a Dhow all very enjoyable.
MALLS- Dubai has malls as you may know, we have visited them all, and covered some of most of them logging about 6 miles a day just in the Malls alone. and yes you could fit the Mall of America into any one of the a few times, these are MALLS in Dubai! My favorite shopping and cultural experience I must say was a visit to the Souks by the Creek, this the oldest part of Dubai, is full of Markets that are built row upon row clustered together so that as you walk down between the buildings all you can see for the entire block are spices, then utensils, then gold, then the fish market, another gold market and more textiles, quite an amazing day combing through all these markets hearing many languages, watching and participating in the bartering to buy souvenirs and gifts for friends and family in the US.
COWORKERS- Another wonderful aspect of coming to see my brother was actually getting to meet some of the people he works with here in Dubai, and writes about weekly. Nick, who was gracious enough to let me stay at his Apt, (so I did not have to sleep on a air mattress in John's living room) Has been a font of information and let me know about some of the local customs and particulars of the population. I have also met Hayley, a New York native, who escorted us to dinner and to the Global Village, Kelly a Canadian, with a penchant for Lebanese food, that she used to order us an exquisite meal, also Elie and Sonia, who have lived here many years and we were able to have a grand discussion on the merits of Dubai, and how it has grown over the years.
GROWTH- As I said Elie and I discussed what changes he has seen in his years here and he shared stories of getting lost in the desert and the military outposts they actually left from and returned to. Mom having been hear last March, only 10 short months ago also pointed to changes that have occurred in that short time, John has a new and very nice apt, out in the desert, away from the hustle of Dubai Mall. Speaking of the Dubai Mall the tallest building in the world, is co-located there, so we of course visited the tower and went to the observation deck, having been to the Sears Tower, jumped out of airplanes etc, it was still an amazing sight to be able to stand, not at the top but close to it and see over the horizon a bit.
ODD Things- OK now then, things to live by.... Water cost money, tea refills are free, so drink tea, when you visit. The METRO is clean, not just trash free, but shiny clean, worked on by a team at every stop, and by a crew that actually rides the Metro and they clean as they go, with me living in DC, well let's just say it is pretty amazing to see such a high state of cleanliness, this is not even mentioning the conductor less trains that are on time and move without failure from stop to stop, that's another thing the DC Metro can not dream of doing.
Actually while everything gets dusty everyday (the also have crews that clean buildings, sidewalks, streets and everything else that sits still) the UAE is the cleanest country I have ever visited. Traffic, well i do not understand why there are not more Formula 1 drivers from this area, the speed limits are pretty high and with highways 12 and 14 lanes wide, they (including my brother) have plenty of space to move freely from lane to lane or from 5 lanes over anyone time, I sometimes have forgotten to look out and around at the desert, because the ride is just interesting, maneuvering in around and about traffic all at a tremendous pace.
DINING- John has taken us to dinner every night, Kelly as I said before ordered the Lebanese cuisine it was an excellent dinner, we have also had American food for dinner enjoying the restaurants that John's company sells to. Mom and I well lunch being on our own decided to eat more of the local fare and we have enjoyed everything from Indian to Street Food to Fresh seafood from that day's catch.
Well we are about to head out on the safari, so I will go. It has been a great time and I have appreciated my brothers and the UAE's hospitality."
Well another guest blogger has left his mark, I think they have both enjoyed their visit. Rumor has it that I am getting Internet and cable on Sunday!!!!
Catch up with you soon....
Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Crash, Crash, Bang-Bang!
Mom and Mike have arrived, the apartment was ready for them - just no cable, Internet or house phone. They got in after dark, we settled in, had a great day shopping today....now we are at Nick's for dinner (Hayley joined us) Spaghetti and American meat sauce....yummy.
One of our employees that I have not mentioned much is Magy. She is a 24 year old manager from Lebanon. She loves to drive very fast, and gets a kick out of making me nervous with her aggressive driving...well her BBM picture has changed today....there is now a picture of wrecked BMW convertible there...I trust she is fine, the car...not so fine....update soon.
On Wednesday night we went out to celebrate our record month for December...instead of just dinner - we decided to go bowling and buffeting. We had a great time, then had a contest. I was fortunate enough to be on Team India with Muzzy, Kumail and Vineet....we won! So now I have movie tickets as part of the winning booty! (In the championship contest I didn't break a 100 - Vinny the Pooh carried us to victory. Georges may have stole the show with his antics and very bad bowling prowess.
We are having a good sales month, once again rolling towards 100% growth, but probably won't have a record month. so probably no party in February. Steve is happy with our sales team. I would love to add a couple of sales reps. We are making an offer to a Syrian gal (Gina) on Monday, hopefully she will accept and start shortly. Its so busy with the approaching trade show (Mid Feb) and trying to get settled into my new place, so next week I will ask my older brother Mike to blog....Guest blog number 3 coming soon...sorry for the shortness - We are watching American Idol and I am late with the blog,,,,sorry....See you in a couple of weeks....
One of our employees that I have not mentioned much is Magy. She is a 24 year old manager from Lebanon. She loves to drive very fast, and gets a kick out of making me nervous with her aggressive driving...well her BBM picture has changed today....there is now a picture of wrecked BMW convertible there...I trust she is fine, the car...not so fine....update soon.
On Wednesday night we went out to celebrate our record month for December...instead of just dinner - we decided to go bowling and buffeting. We had a great time, then had a contest. I was fortunate enough to be on Team India with Muzzy, Kumail and Vineet....we won! So now I have movie tickets as part of the winning booty! (In the championship contest I didn't break a 100 - Vinny the Pooh carried us to victory. Georges may have stole the show with his antics and very bad bowling prowess.
We are having a good sales month, once again rolling towards 100% growth, but probably won't have a record month. so probably no party in February. Steve is happy with our sales team. I would love to add a couple of sales reps. We are making an offer to a Syrian gal (Gina) on Monday, hopefully she will accept and start shortly. Its so busy with the approaching trade show (Mid Feb) and trying to get settled into my new place, so next week I will ask my older brother Mike to blog....Guest blog number 3 coming soon...sorry for the shortness - We are watching American Idol and I am late with the blog,,,,sorry....See you in a couple of weeks....
Friday, January 13, 2012
Mayor of Sandoval Gardens...
One week from today my mother and brother will be waking up to a new day in Dubai. I am looking forward to the visit and distraction. They are timing it just right for me to be settled in my apartment. This Monday, my new furniture is being delivered, and according to my property management people, new residents start moving in today. I was the first and only resident for a few days, and one gentlemen from South Africa moved in at New Years. So for the last two weeks it's just been the two of us. I elected myself mayor, and won in a landslide...lol. In all seriousness, the grounds are done and beautiful, I really like my new pad...now if I can just get my cable and Internet hooked up.
I had to drive over to Nick's this morning to use the Internet (wouldn't want people to miss the blog) and in whats becoming a Friday morning tradition, I stopped at McDonalds for the "big Breakfast". Here in the UAE, they don't eat biscuits, so you get an English Muffin, a small jar of Strawberry preserves, scrambled eggs, and a beef sausage patty.(all for 14 Dirhams - $4) I don't know where they get the animal that is somewhat related to a cow to make the sausage, but it's McAwful. I have been meaning to blog about it for weeks. American fast food chains are plentiful here, some have gotten it right, some have not. McDonald's is in the middle of the pack. Skake Shack is by far the best fast food hamburger place, but also the most expensive. A double cheeseburger, fries and large soda is 52 dirhams ($14). It is still so good it's worth splurging on occasionally. the other good fast food places are Hardee's, Wendy's, Popeyes, and KFC. McDonalds is in between and the real losers are Subway and Burger King.
Speaking of food we are sailing towards another record month. January is the second slowest month for business and yet we are right on target for 11.4 million in sales. I give full credit to the Account Exec's and Muzzy. Steve is moving cautiously in making changes, but the good news for me is that he has shown no desire to make major changes in sales. He is allowing me to promote Kelly, she so deserves it. We are right now knee deep in preparing for the Gulf Food Show. So much of it was planned and executed by Bob last year, I really had washed my hands of it, now I am smack dab in the middle of it.
Hayley, Nick and I had dinner last night at the Holiday Inn Al Barsha's "Golden Buddah" Thai Restaurant. Hayley is still heartbroken over a breakup she had with a crazy boyfriend from the region. He stalked her for a little while, I have tried to shelter her from her fears....we had a great time, as Nick and Hayley enjoyed my bantering with our two servers (E E and Shylene). E E is from Miramar and has an Indian boyfriend and she is so fun to tease, while Shylene is a Filipina that we did our best to explain what a "sissy boy" was too her...I laughed so hard that I strained my vocal chords....it was nice to enjoy ourselves and get away from work for an evening.
Nick and I need to go grab some lunch and reserve the bowling ally for our record month celebration next week (for December).
Have a great weekend....
I had to drive over to Nick's this morning to use the Internet (wouldn't want people to miss the blog) and in whats becoming a Friday morning tradition, I stopped at McDonalds for the "big Breakfast". Here in the UAE, they don't eat biscuits, so you get an English Muffin, a small jar of Strawberry preserves, scrambled eggs, and a beef sausage patty.(all for 14 Dirhams - $4) I don't know where they get the animal that is somewhat related to a cow to make the sausage, but it's McAwful. I have been meaning to blog about it for weeks. American fast food chains are plentiful here, some have gotten it right, some have not. McDonald's is in the middle of the pack. Skake Shack is by far the best fast food hamburger place, but also the most expensive. A double cheeseburger, fries and large soda is 52 dirhams ($14). It is still so good it's worth splurging on occasionally. the other good fast food places are Hardee's, Wendy's, Popeyes, and KFC. McDonalds is in between and the real losers are Subway and Burger King.
Speaking of food we are sailing towards another record month. January is the second slowest month for business and yet we are right on target for 11.4 million in sales. I give full credit to the Account Exec's and Muzzy. Steve is moving cautiously in making changes, but the good news for me is that he has shown no desire to make major changes in sales. He is allowing me to promote Kelly, she so deserves it. We are right now knee deep in preparing for the Gulf Food Show. So much of it was planned and executed by Bob last year, I really had washed my hands of it, now I am smack dab in the middle of it.
Hayley, Nick and I had dinner last night at the Holiday Inn Al Barsha's "Golden Buddah" Thai Restaurant. Hayley is still heartbroken over a breakup she had with a crazy boyfriend from the region. He stalked her for a little while, I have tried to shelter her from her fears....we had a great time, as Nick and Hayley enjoyed my bantering with our two servers (E E and Shylene). E E is from Miramar and has an Indian boyfriend and she is so fun to tease, while Shylene is a Filipina that we did our best to explain what a "sissy boy" was too her...I laughed so hard that I strained my vocal chords....it was nice to enjoy ourselves and get away from work for an evening.
Nick and I need to go grab some lunch and reserve the bowling ally for our record month celebration next week (for December).
Have a great weekend....
Friday, January 6, 2012
Bob's White Blackberry...Instramental in Vinny's death dodge!
Well another American is escaping Dubai, Mimi and Nick are on the way to the Abu Dhabi Airport right now. Mimi wanted to go home to her kids and the country that she loves...If only she was still a resident...lol, yes Mimi wondered out loud to Nick and I about not being a "resident" of America anymore since she had a UAE resident Visa....Nick laughed so hard that he turned red. So please Homeland Security - be nice to Nick's wife, as she sneaks back into the US...
The white blackberry saga...I don't think I have told this story, but if I have, please bear with me. When Bob and I first arrived here in July of 2010, we had to go to the phone store and pick up a couple of Blackberry's. Well I picked out a nice traditional males black model, and Bob had to be different and picked out a white one. I immediately started making fun of him and his "cute" phone, and asked him if Sandy knew about his feminine side..lol, well when we got back to the office the IT department took our phones to load our contacts and set up our email. Yes, you guessed it - they got our phones mixed up I ended up with the white one, while Bob got my black one. Bob spent the next several months endlessly teasing me about my alternative lifestyle phone. Well this past spring, I found a way to save money by signing up with a better phone plan. The best part of my new plan? I got a new Blackberry for signing a one year contract. I now had two phones. At about the same time, I hired a young Indian Account Executive named Vineet Varma (really funny to hear Muzzy try and say his name - Wineet Warma...lol - Muzzy doesn't pronounce V's). My boy Vinny happened to need a new phone. Well to make a long story a little shorter, Vinny and I struck a deal for my (Bob's!) pretty little white phone.
He used that phone all this past year, enduring teasing from Nick and I, well all good fun must come to an end. This past New Years weekend - Vinny decided to join some of his fellow country men on a long weekend in Goa, India.
Well unfortunately, Vinny was riding along late at night on New Years Eve, his friend was in no shape to drive, sadly fell asleep at the wheel. Well they had a very bad accident (nobody died), as they were in this bad accident, a local Goa'n ran up to the "totaled" car, and asked Vinny if he was "alright"? Vineet, said yes, and the young hooligan grabbed Vineet's white phone from his hand and took off. Vinny was phone jacked by a Goa'n thug as he lay recovering on the asphalt from his accident. Somehow, it seems very funny that some criminal in Goa, India is now being poked fun as a "pansy" criminal...all because Bob wanted to be different and have a white phone, that he never once used...
I spent New Years eve alone, No Rodz, few friends want a third wheel on the ultimate date night. I left my apartment (I am still the only resident - very peaceful) and drove to a bridge in the center of the fireworks viewing. I could see the Burj Al Arab (Big sailboat hotel), Burj Khalifa, and the Dubai Marina Beach fireworks (for those of you keeping score at home, the best ones looked to be at the Burj Al Arab). It was sadder than most holiday's, but that of course is understandable. 2011 was filled with some sad happenings, as I watched my American Colleagues get asked to leave one by one. First Kawa, then Richard, than Lal,and finally Bob. The good news is, the rest of us appear to be very secure in their positions. Nick is settling into his new Managers position, while Juan continues to blaze trails in Abu Dhabi with some of the best growth numbers on the team. Hayley is fitting in well as our newest hire and both my new Manager Steve, and the bigger boss Hani have been very supportive of me and my teams accomplishments. 2012 should be a banner year!
We had another record month with over 11.3 million in sales and a growth of 103% over December of 2010. We are celebrating with a party at Outback, to be followed by bowling...this could be interesting..lol.
My mom and brother arrive two weeks from now, hopefully they will do some things that are bloggable....
Have a great weekend, I will try to finish unpacking at my 98 room mansion (since I am the only one living there I can pretend)....
John
The white blackberry saga...I don't think I have told this story, but if I have, please bear with me. When Bob and I first arrived here in July of 2010, we had to go to the phone store and pick up a couple of Blackberry's. Well I picked out a nice traditional males black model, and Bob had to be different and picked out a white one. I immediately started making fun of him and his "cute" phone, and asked him if Sandy knew about his feminine side..lol, well when we got back to the office the IT department took our phones to load our contacts and set up our email. Yes, you guessed it - they got our phones mixed up I ended up with the white one, while Bob got my black one. Bob spent the next several months endlessly teasing me about my alternative lifestyle phone. Well this past spring, I found a way to save money by signing up with a better phone plan. The best part of my new plan? I got a new Blackberry for signing a one year contract. I now had two phones. At about the same time, I hired a young Indian Account Executive named Vineet Varma (really funny to hear Muzzy try and say his name - Wineet Warma...lol - Muzzy doesn't pronounce V's). My boy Vinny happened to need a new phone. Well to make a long story a little shorter, Vinny and I struck a deal for my (Bob's!) pretty little white phone.
He used that phone all this past year, enduring teasing from Nick and I, well all good fun must come to an end. This past New Years weekend - Vinny decided to join some of his fellow country men on a long weekend in Goa, India.
Well unfortunately, Vinny was riding along late at night on New Years Eve, his friend was in no shape to drive, sadly fell asleep at the wheel. Well they had a very bad accident (nobody died), as they were in this bad accident, a local Goa'n ran up to the "totaled" car, and asked Vinny if he was "alright"? Vineet, said yes, and the young hooligan grabbed Vineet's white phone from his hand and took off. Vinny was phone jacked by a Goa'n thug as he lay recovering on the asphalt from his accident. Somehow, it seems very funny that some criminal in Goa, India is now being poked fun as a "pansy" criminal...all because Bob wanted to be different and have a white phone, that he never once used...
I spent New Years eve alone, No Rodz, few friends want a third wheel on the ultimate date night. I left my apartment (I am still the only resident - very peaceful) and drove to a bridge in the center of the fireworks viewing. I could see the Burj Al Arab (Big sailboat hotel), Burj Khalifa, and the Dubai Marina Beach fireworks (for those of you keeping score at home, the best ones looked to be at the Burj Al Arab). It was sadder than most holiday's, but that of course is understandable. 2011 was filled with some sad happenings, as I watched my American Colleagues get asked to leave one by one. First Kawa, then Richard, than Lal,and finally Bob. The good news is, the rest of us appear to be very secure in their positions. Nick is settling into his new Managers position, while Juan continues to blaze trails in Abu Dhabi with some of the best growth numbers on the team. Hayley is fitting in well as our newest hire and both my new Manager Steve, and the bigger boss Hani have been very supportive of me and my teams accomplishments. 2012 should be a banner year!
We had another record month with over 11.3 million in sales and a growth of 103% over December of 2010. We are celebrating with a party at Outback, to be followed by bowling...this could be interesting..lol.
My mom and brother arrive two weeks from now, hopefully they will do some things that are bloggable....
Have a great weekend, I will try to finish unpacking at my 98 room mansion (since I am the only one living there I can pretend)....
John
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)