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
Friday, December 17, 2010
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
Friday, November 26, 2010
Black Friday....
Thanksgiving in Dubai was reflective for me... I will say that it was a little lonely, and not very traditional (I had to explain what Thanksgiving was to my curious Middle East friends numerous times) Thursday. I will say that when I reflected upon what I had to be thankful, that it is clear that I have so much to be thankful for.
I am sure Christmas will be tougher...Bob is going home in mid December, and Richard is leaving Christmas Eve...My new church is having several special services...There are no Christmas lights or Santa Clauses. I did see that the Hallmark in Dubai Mall had Christmas cards...
I enjoyed a nice fish and chip dinner at the Social House for my Thanksgiving feast. I was excited because the Cowboys/Saints game was gonna be live on tv at 1 am here. Sooo, I got settled in, decent game, but when Roy Williams fumbled the game away at 5 am....well this Cowboy fan didn't get to sleep very fast even though I was exhausted. I was almost late for picking Richard up for church. Bob and Sandy joined us....I think this church is definitely a keeper.
We had a management retreat(picnic in the park) at work this week. I really like our management team...I have in my plan to add five sales people. The search is on. I interviewed a candidate from the Romania this week. I liked her, we'll see if I make an offer....
The weather is absolutely beautiful. Low 80's without a cloud in the sky. I hope to get time to swim tomorrow. Sandy flys back to Atlanta tomorrow night. Bob and I are going to try and go to the Dubai golf classic on Sunday.
Fred is coming in January, my parents in February...so things will get interesting as I do some of the tourist things with them....I especially can't wait to go up in the Burj Khalifa...
Sorry if I bored you to tears this time, I will try and remember the interesting things that I do this week...
Love Ya!
John
I am sure Christmas will be tougher...Bob is going home in mid December, and Richard is leaving Christmas Eve...My new church is having several special services...There are no Christmas lights or Santa Clauses. I did see that the Hallmark in Dubai Mall had Christmas cards...
I enjoyed a nice fish and chip dinner at the Social House for my Thanksgiving feast. I was excited because the Cowboys/Saints game was gonna be live on tv at 1 am here. Sooo, I got settled in, decent game, but when Roy Williams fumbled the game away at 5 am....well this Cowboy fan didn't get to sleep very fast even though I was exhausted. I was almost late for picking Richard up for church. Bob and Sandy joined us....I think this church is definitely a keeper.
We had a management retreat(picnic in the park) at work this week. I really like our management team...I have in my plan to add five sales people. The search is on. I interviewed a candidate from the Romania this week. I liked her, we'll see if I make an offer....
The weather is absolutely beautiful. Low 80's without a cloud in the sky. I hope to get time to swim tomorrow. Sandy flys back to Atlanta tomorrow night. Bob and I are going to try and go to the Dubai golf classic on Sunday.
Fred is coming in January, my parents in February...so things will get interesting as I do some of the tourist things with them....I especially can't wait to go up in the Burj Khalifa...
Sorry if I bored you to tears this time, I will try and remember the interesting things that I do this week...
Love Ya!
John
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday is really Sunday, so how bout church..
It was suppose to be a week of holiday with the 3 day "EID" celebration, but I ended up in the office working full day's two of the three "off" days. It can be a little overwhelming at times. Sandy is here visiting Bob, and Richard is trying to settle in and I am trying not to get arrested for strangling the credit manager. Our receivables are out of wack, so the credit manager is doing his job... I could use a line from the Obama administration about inheriting a "mess" , but that would make me a little hypocritical...got to get it under control with better business practices...
I have been spending a lot of time with Richard helping him to settle into life in Dubai and at the job. He is missing being busy at home with his "honeydew" list to knock out. Maybe I will put him to work at my apartment...lol..
He has been joining me at the office as I put in the hours, I am so thankful he is here. He has been wanting me to go to see the movie "Secretariat" at the theatre. I have absolutely no desire to see the triple crown story. He thinks it would inspire me....I was inspired to just say no...So, to make myself feel less guilty, I agreed to go to the movies on our one off day. We agreed on the movie "Unstoppable". It stars Denzel Washington and is based on a true story about a runaway train...It was the first time I had seen a movie in quite sometime. I would give it two thumbs up, I really enjoyed it. The ticket was 30 dirhams ($7), or you could spend 125 Durhams for special seating, or you could rent a suite to keep your entire Burka clan out of site. The experience was the same as in the states, theatre seating with great sound. The movie had Arabic subtitles, but you don't even notice them.
Richard is a devoted church goer, and the other thing he asked me to do was to join him at church. So this morning I picked him up(he doesn't have his papers completed yet, so he can't drive) and accompanied him to church. The service was held in a nice hotel in "Media City" (15 minutes from my apartment). The church is Interdenominational and is called "Fellowship of the Emirates." Now, I have not been active in a home church in a while, and I don't know what exactly inspired me, but I can't remember being so moved at a service. It was just a normal contemporary service, with good music and a nice minister (service was about dying, and living life to the fullest) but at one point I actually had a tear run down my cheek. I am not sure if it was my loneliness, the absence of church(God has never left me) in my life, or just the realization that I am a Christian in a very Muslim part of the world...I was almost embarrassingly moved...I hope that I find myself back there next Friday morning. Richard has told me that he wants to continuing to minister to people
even though he is here, and is convinced that God has him here for a reason...I wonder if part of Gods plan for Richard may be me...
Big week ahead, The Abu Dhabi Food show is this week, and I have a million projects that I need to accomplish. I need to hire some more sales reps. I am offering a job to another American (from SYSCO Atlanta) next week. Have a great weekend in America....I am off to have dinner at Social House in Dubai Mall (great fish and chips)...
Keep me in your thoughts - (and prayers :-)
John
I have been spending a lot of time with Richard helping him to settle into life in Dubai and at the job. He is missing being busy at home with his "honeydew" list to knock out. Maybe I will put him to work at my apartment...lol..
He has been joining me at the office as I put in the hours, I am so thankful he is here. He has been wanting me to go to see the movie "Secretariat" at the theatre. I have absolutely no desire to see the triple crown story. He thinks it would inspire me....I was inspired to just say no...So, to make myself feel less guilty, I agreed to go to the movies on our one off day. We agreed on the movie "Unstoppable". It stars Denzel Washington and is based on a true story about a runaway train...It was the first time I had seen a movie in quite sometime. I would give it two thumbs up, I really enjoyed it. The ticket was 30 dirhams ($7), or you could spend 125 Durhams for special seating, or you could rent a suite to keep your entire Burka clan out of site. The experience was the same as in the states, theatre seating with great sound. The movie had Arabic subtitles, but you don't even notice them.
Richard is a devoted church goer, and the other thing he asked me to do was to join him at church. So this morning I picked him up(he doesn't have his papers completed yet, so he can't drive) and accompanied him to church. The service was held in a nice hotel in "Media City" (15 minutes from my apartment). The church is Interdenominational and is called "Fellowship of the Emirates." Now, I have not been active in a home church in a while, and I don't know what exactly inspired me, but I can't remember being so moved at a service. It was just a normal contemporary service, with good music and a nice minister (service was about dying, and living life to the fullest) but at one point I actually had a tear run down my cheek. I am not sure if it was my loneliness, the absence of church(God has never left me) in my life, or just the realization that I am a Christian in a very Muslim part of the world...I was almost embarrassingly moved...I hope that I find myself back there next Friday morning. Richard has told me that he wants to continuing to minister to people
even though he is here, and is convinced that God has him here for a reason...I wonder if part of Gods plan for Richard may be me...
Big week ahead, The Abu Dhabi Food show is this week, and I have a million projects that I need to accomplish. I need to hire some more sales reps. I am offering a job to another American (from SYSCO Atlanta) next week. Have a great weekend in America....I am off to have dinner at Social House in Dubai Mall (great fish and chips)...
Keep me in your thoughts - (and prayers :-)
John
Monday, November 15, 2010
Rainy Days and Mondays.....
It rained today in Dubai...Now it didn't pour, it wasn't exactly a heavy rain...ok we had a heavy drizzle. I was on the 9th floor at work, and I stood at the window and watched the rain for the 10 minutes it lasted...still no chance of rain on the forecast....the weathermen here are as talented as the weather forecasters in the US.
Bob and my boss Hani hosted an EID party at his house on the outskirts of Dubai last night. His house is an exclusive neighborhood and the yard was plush...He had a band, and it was catered with traditional Lebanese food. I actually had a very good time. The highlight of the evening was when they wore little Fez caps (yes there is a picture of me on facebook) and we were dancing (yes the Lebanese gals drug me out in front to dance)...it was fun, clapping and kicking up a storm....
I am off tomorrow for this Eid holiday. From what I understand, it is the day the Muslim people offer a sacrifice (goat or another small critter) to Allah. If they can afford it they travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. I can truly say they walk the talk....
Still having a great sales month, I got permission to add to our sales force. Now the question is who to hire....we have some SYSCO guys from the states that want to come here...I need to figure it out...
I am worn out, time to go to bed, I stayed up to listen to the Cowboys game on the Internet. (it ended at 4 am)....
So farewell for now and goodnight....
John
Bob and my boss Hani hosted an EID party at his house on the outskirts of Dubai last night. His house is an exclusive neighborhood and the yard was plush...He had a band, and it was catered with traditional Lebanese food. I actually had a very good time. The highlight of the evening was when they wore little Fez caps (yes there is a picture of me on facebook) and we were dancing (yes the Lebanese gals drug me out in front to dance)...it was fun, clapping and kicking up a storm....
I am off tomorrow for this Eid holiday. From what I understand, it is the day the Muslim people offer a sacrifice (goat or another small critter) to Allah. If they can afford it they travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. I can truly say they walk the talk....
Still having a great sales month, I got permission to add to our sales force. Now the question is who to hire....we have some SYSCO guys from the states that want to come here...I need to figure it out...
I am worn out, time to go to bed, I stayed up to listen to the Cowboys game on the Internet. (it ended at 4 am)....
So farewell for now and goodnight....
John
Friday, November 12, 2010
Sleepy Friday....
It's Friday (Muslim church day) in the UAE, and I took a big snooze today. I was up and about early, laid back down for a quick nap around 10 am, I awoke from my short nap at 4 pm...lol, who knows how I will sleep tonight.
I have been working loads of hours, I haven't felt that well, so my body just revolted. It's almost 9 pm here and I feel like I am ready to start the day!
I had dinner at Scoozi at the Dubai Mall. The mall has been packed lately, but I fought the crowd for one of my favorite UAE dinners, Shrimp pizza.
Next weeks 3 day EID celebration, has been moved to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So, I am going to put in a few hours tomorrow, than work a normal Sunday, off for 3 days (ok, I am sure I will go in and work partial days) work on Thursday, then another weekend! I think the Muslims may be onto something during all of these holidays (of course when I am working on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am sure I will remember why I don't like these holidays better).
Dominik is off visiting his girlfriend (the real one) in Vienna, Sandy is here visiting Bob, so I am truly batching it for a few days. Richard is settling in. The next few weeks will be difficult for him as he gets his paperwork in order and looks for a car and an apartment. I haven't had a lot of time to share with him. We went and got our photo's taken for our new official Emirates ID card this week. Had lunch afterwords, he is extremely lonely. I miss my friends and family, I can only imagine what its like to leave a wife and children behind. He seemed to be in a little better spirits later in the week after skyping with his wife Mary. I am going to pick him up in the morning take him to work for a few hours than maybe out for a buddy lunch. He is going to take a huge workload off of my shoulders, and he is such a quality man, that there is nothing but positives for me that he is here.
I have put the sales force (with Bob's blessing) on a commission plan. They are set to get there first checks at the end of this month, and one of them is going to get a check that is 6 or 7 times bigger than his old incentive checks. They have responded to this "American" style compensation well. Our first month on commissions we set a new record month of 4.5 million Durhams. This month we are headed towards 9 million. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we can keep up the torrid growth.
I am sure I'll check in sooner rather than later with all of the approaching days off, time to go watch the Survivor episode that I taped last night.
Bye for now,
John
I have been working loads of hours, I haven't felt that well, so my body just revolted. It's almost 9 pm here and I feel like I am ready to start the day!
I had dinner at Scoozi at the Dubai Mall. The mall has been packed lately, but I fought the crowd for one of my favorite UAE dinners, Shrimp pizza.
Next weeks 3 day EID celebration, has been moved to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So, I am going to put in a few hours tomorrow, than work a normal Sunday, off for 3 days (ok, I am sure I will go in and work partial days) work on Thursday, then another weekend! I think the Muslims may be onto something during all of these holidays (of course when I am working on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am sure I will remember why I don't like these holidays better).
Dominik is off visiting his girlfriend (the real one) in Vienna, Sandy is here visiting Bob, so I am truly batching it for a few days. Richard is settling in. The next few weeks will be difficult for him as he gets his paperwork in order and looks for a car and an apartment. I haven't had a lot of time to share with him. We went and got our photo's taken for our new official Emirates ID card this week. Had lunch afterwords, he is extremely lonely. I miss my friends and family, I can only imagine what its like to leave a wife and children behind. He seemed to be in a little better spirits later in the week after skyping with his wife Mary. I am going to pick him up in the morning take him to work for a few hours than maybe out for a buddy lunch. He is going to take a huge workload off of my shoulders, and he is such a quality man, that there is nothing but positives for me that he is here.
I have put the sales force (with Bob's blessing) on a commission plan. They are set to get there first checks at the end of this month, and one of them is going to get a check that is 6 or 7 times bigger than his old incentive checks. They have responded to this "American" style compensation well. Our first month on commissions we set a new record month of 4.5 million Durhams. This month we are headed towards 9 million. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we can keep up the torrid growth.
I am sure I'll check in sooner rather than later with all of the approaching days off, time to go watch the Survivor episode that I taped last night.
Bye for now,
John
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)