Dubai

Now that things have settled down, I’ll share my thoughts on Dubai. First off, it doesn’t feel like the Middle East. Very little of Dubai isn’t western influenced. In the US we have signs in English with maybe Spanish writing underneath it. In Dubai signs are in English with Arabic written underneath. Since English is the language of business I assumed there would be a lot of English translations. Instead it was all Arabic translations (at least what I witnessed). The buildings would be at home in the US. I guess I assumed from the pictures that you’d have these skyscrapers surrounded by buildings you see on TV or the movies of Iraq, Iran or Lebanon. Really wasn’t the case. There was some but you can tell there was effort made to appeal to Europeans. In fact the few areas I saw that looked like traditional/Hollywood/news portrayed Arab villages were more for tourism than function. It was like the medieval festivals they have in the US. You get to experience life from a different period and while you’re here, please shop. That is how these areas felt.

I was very comfortable walking around at anytime during the day or night. In fact, I feel less safe here in Kansas City than I did in Dubai. Not only is the crime rate very low, but when I walked around, I saw more of a reflection of a home than a foreign nation. I’m really not sure I ever met an Emirate. I met several Arabs from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but no locals. At the hotel everyone was European or Indian. At night when we ate it was the same thing. In some ways, that was a little disappointing.

UAE is a country that doesn’t cut corners. The drive between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is about an hour and a half long. Between the interstates was a constant row of flowers and plants. Every couple of miles there was also a water fountain or a way to get water. This area is completely sand. They are irrigating the desert for miles so that the major interstate between the two largest cities in the UAE looks nice. In Dubai I couldn’t find a skyscraper that looked the same (except for things like their version of the twin towers and such). The malls have a lot of similar stores to the malls in the US. However, most malls in the US have a design or them, but nothing compared to Dubai. They have more of the Vegas feel to them than a traditional mall. Everything has details and nothing is plain. In one mall they have different sections that represent different parts of the world. They actually brought in artists from those areas to make it authentic. They really don’t seem to worry about expense. The show is that important.

I know several of you asked me about dress codes and what people wear. Islamic women wear some type of head scarf. There are a variety of names I’ve yet to understand but different scarves mean different things. Most do not have the full face coverage, only head and neck. Some only reveal their eyes. Men either were dress clothes or regional wardrobe that identifies their origin. Men are not required to wear any type of clothing like women. As for the non-Islamic, we basically can wear anything we want as long as it is not too revealing or improper. I was told women need to cover their shoulders, but in the malls I saw several wearing tank tops. I think a level of modesty is advised but nobody would need to buy different clothes to visit. Again, it is very western in appearance and the shops highlight that fact.

When it comes to places to live, the team in Dubai was nice enough to take me around to a couple areas. I think our focus will be on the Marina area (which includes internet city where Cerner is located) or the Palm Island. Traffic is really bad so I want to be as close to work as possible. Plus, there are a lot of shops and restaurants in that area. These areas are close to the beaches, easy access to the interstate and around some amazing hotels. The convenience of it all would be nice. Hence, we’ll most likely live an apartment or high-rise condo. Is it greedy of me to want an ocean view?


A couple of intersting links I've included below.

http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Athletics/10224628.html

This is an article about Dubai's desire to host the 2012 olypmics


http://www.burjdubai.com/

home link to the Burj Dubai, worlds tallest building (yes, it's on sand)


http://www.skidxb.com/English/default.aspx

about ski dubai, with facts about how they make snow indoors


http://www.dubai-architecture.info/DUB-GAL1.htm

Dubai is nuts, well, at least according to this person


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/25/duibai.tower/index.html?iref=newssearch

article about Dubai building rotating towers



if all this happens, it will be pretty amazing

When it rains it pours

I returned to KC from Dubai on Friday the 20th. My flight out of Chicago was late so I actually ended up arriving on Saturday morning. I spent 29 hours on the plane or in airports. Next time, I am definitely flying direct. There is a Delta flight from Atlanta and an Emirates flight from Houston, both that go directly to Dubai. Not only will we save time, it should be easier with a child.

It was very nice to sleep in my own bed. I really felt the jetlag this time and really didn't have an appetite. Mom and Dad drove out on Saturday to see us and the baby’s room. I just really struggled through the day and when we went out that night, I barely ate. As the day kept going, I figured something was wrong. The pain in my abdominal region was just too acute to be jetlag. We finally went to the emergency room at 10:30 Saturday night. I was admitted to the hospital around midnight.

Initially they thought I had kidney stones. They ran ultrasound on Sunday and determined I had no stones. They looked at my kidneys, liver, gallbladder and pancreases. Nothing looked abnormal. Next, they figured I some type of infection or they thought maybe my gallbladder wasn't functioning properly. So on Monday I had an EGD and a PIPIDA scan. The EGD showed that my allergies were actually closing my esophagus. Plus, my esophagus has more of a slinky look to it. The PIPIDA scan revealed my gallbladder is only operating at 8% its capacity. So not only was I having problems swallowing food, I wasn't digesting it. After reviewing the results with us on Tuesday, we made our decision; I’d have surgery to remove my gallbladder and take medication to help with my allergies. So at 10:15 today, I had my surgery.

I feel pretty good right now. They made four little incisions in my abdomen. I’m not in a ton of pain, but I’m definitely sore. I’m starting to wonder how long I’ve had this problem. They allowed me to have some ice cream tonight and I haven’t had any problems. For the last few years, ice cream would cause me pain and in extreme cases, force me to lie down. Weeks before my trip to Dubai I thought I was nervous or anxious because of all my abdominal cramps. Maybe it was something else. Regardless, I’m glad this chapter is over and I’m ready to get out of the hospital. I’m hoping tomorrow is the magic day.

Busy couple of days

What a hectic week this has been... I don't mean that in a bad way, but rather it's been very busy and I've met a lot of people. In fact I thought I'd have more time to write about the trip, but I haven't had the free moments I expected. I guess I'll need to do a summary once I'm back in the states. For now, below are a few key highlights:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Zayed_Mosque

On Wednesday we visited Abu Dhabi to me the rest of the team and visit with a client. While there we took a tour of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. What an incredible experience. They've been building it for about 10 years and not only is the size of the place impressive, but hand work is amazing. All the flowers on the 1600 pillars or so are not painted but rather rare stones cut and placed into the marble. The marble on the floor is actually imported marble that is naturally cool (and you could physically feel the difference on the it vs off it). It is obvious they don't do things halfway here. I really want to see Notre Dame in Paris now. I have a slides for anyone interested in more photos.


We ate at the Marina Seafood, Jumeirah Beach Hotel on Wednesday. It was about a 5min walk from the beach along a pier to the restaurant that was basically sitting in the gulf. We had a great view of the city and the Burj al-Arab Hotel. The seafood was great. Jen would probably be shocked that I had tuna sashimi (ok, I'm predictable) They have a roof top bar that I bet is a blast in the winter. It was a very pleasant evening despite the dust storm. In fact, I tried taking a picture of the Burj al-Arab and the dust particles reflected back the light. It's a wild picture.

I got a tour of the new Cerner office space. It'll be done by the time I start. It will really add to our presence in this region. I'm excited. Should also help with recruiting. The team in place is very eager to put their stamp on the region as well as Cerner. I think we have a big opportunity to make a difference. I'm ready to start now. Until then, I'll have to enjoy my 25 hrs in the air or in airports tomorrow.

And one last thing.. traffic is going to suck. Way too many buildings and not enough roads. The place is growing faster than the infrastructure. It is an exciting time, but there will definitely be some friction as they learn to be a city.

Surprisingly, I feel great

Despite being 9 hrs ahead, I feel great. A was able to catch a 2 hour nap on the flight from Chicago to London as well another couple of hours from London to Dubai. When we got in last night and finally made it to our hotel, I was plenty tired and able to sleep most of the night.

Total travel time was almost 25 hours with about 15 of that in the air. (coming home, we'll be against the gulf stream so air time will be closer to 20 hrs.) I'm not sure if it would have been better to take a direct flight from NY or have the stop in London. It was nice to walk around Heathrow for 3 hours to wake up and eat, but the direct flight would have been quicker. I mostly watched movies, listened to my ipod and talked with the global controller who came along for this trip. I'm not sure why, but I struggled reading on this flight. Normally, I finish a book on these trips. I guess I was excited about the visit.

When we got to Dubai, we had a fairly long walk to immigration. We walked by a bunch of people waiting for work Visa's. The line for people from India and Pakistan was enormous. Immigration wasn't too bad. A couple of questions about where I came from, where I was staying and what I was doing and we were done. Got my luggage, called home and then took a shuttle service to the hotel. On the shuttle we got a fresh cool wash cloth and water. After all that time on the airplane, the wash cloth was the perfect perk. In addition to being soaked in water, there was some added lemon to the cloth. I immediately felt 10 times better after using it.

The Hotel is very nice. They brought us juice and candies while we were checking in. The rooms are great. Big bathrooms, plenty of closet space and nice firm beds. I also had a plate of fruit (bananas, pears, peaches, plums and grapes) and chocolates waiting for me in the room. The amazing thing to me is our corporate preferred hotels were more expensive than this place. One weird quirk was you had to use your room card to turn on most of the lights. If your card wasn't in the "light holder", you couldn't work most of the lights. I also noticed the rooms didn't have an iron so I had to dry-clean some of my clothes. As for the service, it has been terrific. Either everyone is happy to see other people or they're very well trained. Regardless, they make you feel very comfortable. In fact it feels more like a resort than a hotel.

This morning, we took a taxi to the office. I think we'll walk on the way home. The hotel is literally 2 blocks away. I didn't know it was that close. There is so much construction in Dubai. A local told us they'll be done in 2012 with the final look of Dubai. I found it amazing that Dubai is putting in a rail system. This is an oil country and they're already preparing for the future. When you look around, you realize the AEU is pretty forward thinking. I really think Jen and I are going to enjoy this place.

Later today I'm going to get a tour by the person I'm replacing. I hope to have some great pictures to share. So far, I've been impressed.

Darin arrives in Dubai

Well, I dropped Darin off at the Kansas City Airport on Saturday, June 14 for his 2:25pm(CST) flight. He just called me at 2:15pm (CST), which is 11:15pm in Dubai to let me know that he had just arrived. He said it was a long flight, he had a few naps. I look forward to hear more about his trip.

Off to Dubai

In less than 24 hrs I'll be flying to Dubai via Chicago and London for the week. A nice 20 hr flight plus layovers before I reach my final destination on Sunday. I've been on 8 hr flights before, but this will be the first series of flight that will consume a whole day. I'm hope there are some good movies on the flight to take my mind off sitting the whole time. There is only so much walking around you can do on a flight.

I'll be taking a lot of pictures after work. This will be my first chance to really "feel" Dubai. I'm staying at the Le Meridien ( http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1895 ) all week. It is very close to the one of the areas Jen and I are thinking about living. A friend will be taking me around town and showing me the sights one night next week as well. I should have a decent feel for the town, where we'd want to live and with all the meetings next week, a good feel for the office. So far, I've been impressed with the team. Hopefully, I'll have a lot more to share.

Prenatal Imaging

Jen and I recently visited the Prenatal Imaging Center to get 3-D pictures of our future baby. I've never seen anything like it before and a week later, I'm still amazed at the quality of the pictures. We were able to count toes, fingers, see her open her eyes, suck on her fist and watch her move around. She's definitely a tumbler. Some of our favorite pictures are included in this post. Oh, and she already has hair. We saw that as well..

(sleeps just like her mom)

(Looks like mom has been listening to too much Quiet Riot.)

Beginner

Well Darin gave me a tutorial on how to post to the blog, so here is my first time to post. Darin will be heading to Dubai on Saturday, June 14 for a week long business trip. His flight will be about 20 hours. He previewed the weather forecast and its a balmy 104 degrees. We'll have to get used to that weather. We look forward to updating you on all of the changes prior to and after our move.

simple... yes

So far, we have just scratched the surface of this blog and really haven't done much more than the basics. Part of that is because the basics seem fine but mostly, life is busy. The main goal is to communicate what is going on in our lives as we leave the country. Even if it's simple, we'll obtain that goal.

It is now official

Jen and I will be moving to Dubai this fall. Cerner has offered me a great opportunity as the Director of Operations for the Middle East and Africa regions. After quite a bit of reflections, Jen and I decided it was too good to pass up. We are also excited about the opportunity to live in another part of the world and experience a brand new culture. Jen is especially excited about the warm weather. She's always said it can't be too hot, so we'll see. It can get into the 120's with 80%+ humidity. I suppose we'll get use to it, but I know I'll love the winters in the 80's.


Professionally, I'm looking forward to the new challenges. It will be the first time I move out of finance and into operations. I've always supported operations and helped guide the business, but I've never been the person with the ultimate decision. I'll be reporting to a General Manager who wants me to run the day to day activities and assist with new sales. It is an area of the world with a lot of potential.

Personally, we'll be living in one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It's a very western city despite being in the middle east. We'll be next to the
Persian Gulf so we'll have plenty of opportunity to spend time at the beach. There is an indoor ski slope (yes, they build an indoor mountain to ski), huge malls, great golf (the Dubai classic in Feb is in, well, Dubai), and tons of restaurants and entertainment. They have the worlds only 7 star Hotel and are creating more tourist traps each year.

I'll be traveling to Dubai on the 14th of June and returning on the 20th. I'm sure I'll learn a lot more about the city and what it has to offer. Below is one of the many great slide shows we've found on Dubai. Hopefully, they'll give you new insight into what Dubai has to offer.

http://www.globosapiens.net/gloriajames/slide-show-impressive-dubai-1228.html

http://money.aol.com/special/amazing-dubai-building-photos

http://www.slideshare.net/stephiemc/dubai-34404/