Another 9 months fly by...
I am the world's worst blogger. And by "worst" I mean "least consistent" because I am certainly not the worst writer or least interesting person to do a blog :)
Right now I am on my way back to the US for the holidays. This is the first time that I have ever seriously thought about not going back after a holiday for no specific reason. There was a specific reason for not going back in my first tour, and as a result I did work on curtailing while I was on that vacation. But this time is different, because it is a vague sense of things not being quite right, but without the big red shiny sign that tells me exactly why I should not go back. My horoscope today basically told me I was going to feel this way, and that I might have to do something major to get myself back on track.
Hmmm...travel gives me too much time to think, I think.
Another day, another week, another month, another year
So many things to write about, so little time.
I had a fantastic first R&R. I went to visit my sister and her family in Tokyo for a few weeks. It was so nice to be back in Japan again, to speak Japanese again and to just walk around without having to worry about my security detail.
It was also amazing to spend time with my new nephew. Babies are so precious, so long as one can give them back to mom or dad when they start to cry or get fussy. I don't know when I will see him next, and so I took a lot of photos. Maybe some day he and I will get to pour over those photos and I can tell stories about our first adventures in travel together. Wandering in old neighborhoods of Tokyo, hiking and ropewaying around Hakone, playing with Cooper, watching him gnaw at his first solid food and having a baby fashion show. Those are good memories and make me tear up now just remembering them.
Happy 2010!
Another attempt to blog on a regular basis... I am going to try to set reasonable expectations for myself, and have decided that once a month is reasonable :)
I am in the midst of watching The Closer Season 3. Very interesting.
My friend Christy came to visit over New Years. We enjoyed lots of fun together, catching up on stories of the almost two years since we had seen each other. Christy introduced me to Castle, a fabulous TV series, that we enjoyed while we were on Muharram lockdown for two days. We also re-watched Lost in Austen, a TV series that brought us back to our Jamaica Queens book club fun. So many good memories!
Lahore- a glimpse of other people's Sundays
- A group of kids playing cricket in between the 10 train track lines, batter up! I wonder what happens when the train comes?
- A husband and wife shopping at hyperstar for the week, while the kids play and stare at me
- A carload of bearded men traveling quickly with many toots of the horn to some important destination
- A couple, possibly on a date, deciding what to order at McDonalds
- Horse and pony carts, loaded down with goods that need to make it from point A to point B. An inverse relationship between now much weight is being pulled and how much the pony or horse seems to weigh
- A grocery store clerk who pays me "coin change" in chocolate candies, because the store does not stock enough small coin change for their daily business
Unique experiences in Lahore
Last night I went to dinner on the roof top of a haveli (traditional Muslim mansion built a long time ago) at the edge of Lahore's Old Town. Many havelis, because of their height and location and old world elegance, have been converted into restaurants. There is one very famous haveli restaurant called CooCoo's Den. We decided to skip the more famous one in favor of one that we had heard about that had better food, better prices and a view equally fabulous. The friend who recommended this place was right- it was a great destination.
The experience started when we got out of the car in a narraow alley way and we were led into a wonderfully carved door at the base of a building. The foyer was quite plain, but we were greeted by a smiling woman who led us into a central staircase area. At the base of the winding marble stairs a marble, bubbling water feature gurgled and a fan sent air over the bubbling water to cool the area. The young woman led us up the winding, winding, winding, narrowingm narrowing, winding stairs. There was a small landing every 10-15 steps, and we could glimpse short carpeted chairs and cots in each of them. Maybe they are apartments for rent? Maybe they are private dining rooms?
We emerged on the roof of the haveli and if we had not already been out of breath from the ascent, we would have had our breathes taken away. As our eyes adjusted to the darkness, slowly out of the lights of the city emerged the hulks of buildings- a massive yet dainty mosque off to one side, other havelis which have been converted into restaurants and apartment buildings on the other side, the lights of the traffic darting through the narrow streets below, the evidence of people living, sleeping and working on the balconies of the surrounding areas, the hills covered with housing and the work of human existence. For one minute it was the most exotic location in the world, and we all just inspected it as if it were a bug on a microscope.
The food was equally fantastic. After we struggled to understand the menu, and failed, the waitress put us out of our misery and ordered for us. She made excellent choices, and we feasted on tandoori shrimp, spiced chicken, curried mutton, spare ribs, lime rice, nan and rice pudding. The only thing that could have made it better would ave been a bottle of wine. Next time we will have to remember to bring one along.
After we finished our meal, we wondered back to street level to catch our ride. However, the driver was delayed, and we were left standing around in the street waiting for the car, so we decided to wander around old town while we waited. The old town is an area we are not supposed to visit, especially after dark, so our security staff were not comfortable with us wandering around. The narrow street we walked down was a flurry of activity. The first building had two spangled salwars in its shabby glass showcase window. As we walked down the rode, we quickly became the center of a lot of attention, with the street occupants staring at us as much as we stared at them. One open building had some pool tables, with about 20-30 men and kids crowded around it. Another had a small television playing a Lollywood drama to another group of men and small kids. There were men getting shaved, men buying snacks at a small shop, men talking, men and boys walking along the street, men and boys on motorcycles...the one thing missing was the women. I was the only one I can remember being there.
By the time we were about half way down the street and one of our group members had almost leaned into an exposed eletrical connection, the security staff decided that we were in too much danger. So we turned around and went back to continue our wait in the ground floor of the restaurant. But that glimpse of the night life of old town will stay with me. I hope I have a chance to have that unqiue glimpse again.
The Sunday before Eid
It is sunday here in Lahore, and I thought I would take my first complete day away from the office and enjoy a bit of pampering. First stop on the agenda was the Avari Hotel, where I have eaten dinner before but not explored the shops or the beauty salon. For my first surprise of the day - the concierge broke the news to me that the beauty salon is not open on Sundays. Someone had recently mentioned that many stores were not open on Sundays, and the ones that were open did not open until noon, but somehow I assumed that this information would not apply to a hotel and its services. Guess I will have to wait for another day. So now while I wait for my car I will have a lazy breakfast.
BREAKING NEWS
The concierge just came and told me that the beauty salon is specially open today because of the eid holiday! I am in luck, and need to hurry there before the lazier Lahorites rise and come for pre-holiday pampering. I have a reasonably good excuse for not updating my blog recently- I still do not have internet at my home. Getting here during ramadan, the time when devout muslims are fasting during daylight hours, has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because there are iftar parties in the evening to break the fast and get to know people. A curse because every business has an excuse for low productivity of its employees. That is the excuse I have gotten from the internet provider. Eid happens this week Monday through Wednesday, and then we shall see what new excuse emerges :)
I have filled my days with getting to know the ins and outs of the consulate, hosting visitors from the embassy in Islamabad who want to know the same things as they also start their tours, and learning the talents and challenges of my staff and colleagues. I am happy to report there are more talents than challenges among my staff. I am in charge of the following functions, either through direct supervision or through chain of command - human resources, financial mgt, information managment, general services, facilities maintenance, commissary, travel, banking accommodation, tdy guest house mgt, phone system, mailroom and apo services and housing. I am also the backup consular officer. It is a busy work day. The consulate's staff is growing quickly in order to manage the increased project funding aid we are providing to pakistan. Each new American body here means more housing, transport, etc, and more local support staff, which means my little empire is exploding, as is our little consulate building built 20 years ago to hold 1/4 of the bodies in it now. My big project now is to figure out how to fit everyone here in an efficient workflow plan while searching for a new place to build a new facility. The building of the new facility is probably 5-7 years out, ruining my record of New Embassy Compounds in every tour.
Lahore is an amazing city. Population projections claim the city has about ten millions residents, and based on the traffic jams here, I can believe it! Everyone is friendly and smiling, even the 2 month old baby being held in his mother's lap on the back of dad's motorbike as all three whip through traffic together. Scenes like these are very common, but I am not fast enough with my camera to catch one...yet.My pedicure is going well. If only I could stop nibbling my nails enough to get a manicure too. A goal for my time here.
I have also given up diet coke. Week 1 of dropping to one per day is complete...this week I am down to none. My staff are lucky it is a holiday and that at the end of the week I will be in Islamabad for meetings. Hopefully the worst of my withdrawal will be over by then. The food here is really yummy. Lots of meat- lamb, beef, chicken, fish- not a good place to be a vegetarian. Also very spicy, even when they are trying to tone down for western tastebuds. My housekeeper-cook has been good about keeping my meals balanced with veggies and salads though. I also have a favorite restaurant called gunsmoke where the young waiters are dressed up texas style and slam things around. For a steak place it can't be beat here, especially the prices - about 12 dollars for a steak meal.
I really like my house. It is not the largest in the housing pool - and may actually be the smallest one- but I don't feel like - am rattling around in it. It has three bedrooms, each with attached bath, a kitchen, a living room, a dining room and a formal living room. It has lots and lots of closet space and storage - bliss! It took me until this last week to figure out how to get hot water out of the shower in the master bath though - user error not to know that knob directions might be reversed here! The shower unit itself is like climbing into a space shuttle, with jets possible from every direction. It looks like it will be fun for relaxing in the winter months when I will want to warm up.
The weather is now starting to cool from what can be described as a summer heat that was both hellish in its heat AND humidity. And I am told I missed the worst of it with my arrival in late august. I think timing of my home leave will be critical next year to strategically avoid the same.During one of the visits recently, we visited the closing of the border guard ceremony at Wagha. It is ceremonial, with both the Indian and Pakistani sides building a stadium and having cheerleaders on its side to outdo each other each day. A sight to behold - and I took some video which I hope to post on facebook soon. When I have internet :)
Gosh, my feet must be a mess, because he is still working away almost an hour later and still no polish to be seen. But my fingers are getting tired of blackberry pecking. So I set the blackberry aside for a while. The wonderful pedicure ended up being less than $10, including tip.
After the pedicure, Tim, a friend from the office, and I went to the Lahore Zoo. It was very quiet at the zoo, because everyone else was out preparing for the three day holiday. The zoo is better than one might expect, with some very natural habitat areas for some of the animals. The collection includes lions, tigers, camels, hippos, monkeys, chimps, elephants, zebras, giraffes, rhinos and many different kinds of birds.
Eid Mubarek!
A trip to Islamabad
I made my first trip to Islamabad and it was a very busy couple of days. I went mainly for a Management bonding day, but went a day early in order to meet people and get in some consultation time. It was really good to put faces with names and voices and to gather ideas within the management team for what we will all be trying to achieve this year. I felt very motivated by our great ideasm attitude and progress in just a simple day.
The city itself was really fun to see. Islamabad is a planned city, and was built in a perfect grid pattern. The grids are lettered and numbered, so that it is quite easy to drive from one point to another as long as one knows the letter and number of the starting point and destination.
Each grid block has a park and market area built into the planning, so each area has a reason to know neighbors and gather as a community. It really was well-planned and there is a lot of green space.
I am told that the city is quiet and quite sleepy, being mainly a place for bureaucrats and government and embassy people, but that might be just my speed. As I arrived about 10 pm, that did seem to be the case, as compared with the crazy traffic and throngs of people in Lahore. I was pleasantly surprised with Islamabad, perhaps I will have to bid on a job there someday.
Exploring Lahore Fort, Hyperstar and the markets
In the afternoon, Tim and I went on a tour of Lahore. Kenny was our driver and our first stop was the Lahore Fort. There we were met by a tour guide who showed us around to the various museums and buildings of the fort. The UN is doing a lot of restoration in the fort compound, but one can still imagine the extravagance that it would have been long ago for so many hundreds of years under the Moghuls and Singhs and Brits. Tim took a bunch of photos of the crew of Police bodyguards that followed around me. I look forward to seeing the photos, because it was surreal to have an entourage and be treated like a VIP.
The tour was hot, hot, hot. I have to remember to plan things for later in the day when the sun is lower and less warm. I am looking forward to the fall arriving. We got some water from a vendor and went next to the clothing market. It felt like being back in Nepal, all of the shalwar chemises sets in super bright colors and all of the wonderful fabrics. The first task was to find a shawl to wear over my black dress. I found one at the first shop- it was one long piece of cloth and had a leaf patterns that swirled many deep rich colors, including reds, blues and yellows. It was stunning and not terribly expensive at 1000 rupees ($12.50). The shop owner cut it in half, so that I actually ended up with two shawls, one of which I will probably have made into a shirt. The normal shalwar chemise set has three pieces, a top, a pair of pants and a shawl. The three pieces usually have similar colors and patterns, but are not identical. Usually one buys the fabric sets and then pays to have them cut and tailored to fit your body. They are incredibly comfortable, much like wearing pajamas to the office. Tim was a great companion, but was not the right person to help me choose shalwar sets that are appropriate for me. First, he is a boy, second he is a westerner. I will need to enlist one of the Pakistani women at the office to help me choose both a vendor and sets that are the correct quality and fabric. Despite the fact that I know that I need some local help, there were still two sets that I decided I had to have. Both have a base of dark blue, and are quite conservative. They are a silk or poly fabric that is light and flowy, which was always good for my body shape in Nepal. The market was overwhelming- an entire block of small shops, lots of people and overwhelming colors and textures. It will be fun to explore further in the future.
The first person we met at the shop was a nice kid who was visiting his uncle who had the shop. He is studying to be an astronaut, and seemed very smart and motivated. Tim exchanged contact info with him. Tim is such a nice person, always striking up conversations with everyone. I really appreciate his good humor and kindness. He is married, and his wife is back in San Antonio. She has kids who are grown.
Next we went in search of a table cloth for Tim. The astronaut guy suggested a location, and wrote it down for Tim. Kenny, our driver, did not really understand what the kid had written down, and took us to an amazing shop where they do sell table cloths and all kinds of high end housewares, but it was not the kind of place that Tim was looking for. After further consultation with the sales guy there, we think we finally figured out what the first guy had written down (maybe he was not so smart after all, because he did not transcribe the Urdu very well.)
Tim and I stopped at Hyperstar on our way home. Hyperstar is an amazing store. Because we were pressed for time I was unable to really spend time exploring, but it seemed to have everything I could ever need, including a cheese and cold cuts deli area, a bakery, and a meat counter. The second floor is like a Target, with everything from clothes to home improvement goods to electronics. I am going to need to stay away from there if I am going to manage to stay on a budget.
Lahore- a first few surreal experiences
I arrived in Lahore Pakistan more than a week ago, and the time has flown by already. I have had normal settling in experiences so far and also some surreal experiences.
Surreal KFC visit: One day in my first week here, I had a late night crazy long conference call and did not leave the office until 8 pm. I was hungry for dinner, and knew there was no food in the house I wanted for dinner. I asked the driver where we could stop to get dinner. He suggested KFC or McDonalds. I opted for KFC, thinking it was a bit better for me and would feel a bit more “home cooked”. Little did I know that the whole experience would be surreal. First of all, how often does one pull up into the KFC parking lot in a fully armored SUV with a driver? Second, everywhere we go we are followed by a police truck of bodyguards and they also roared into the parking lot. Third, two of those police guards followed me into the shop, guns raised for my protection. The look of the clerk behind the counter and the other patrons was classic “what on earth?” It did not make the service any faster though :) In the end I got a two piece chicken meal with French fries, a roll and seven up (no diet soda :). It smelled heavenly the rest of the ride home, and the chicken was a golden brown fried color. I took my first bite of the chicken, and it was a crunchy, fried delivery mechanism for spices. Completely unexpected spices…imagine the KFC spicy chicken of the US stores times three! It was delicious, but unexpected in its spice level. I liked it though, which is more than I can say for the French fries (like eating small pieces of cardboard) and the roll-like substance. Will I go back to KFC? Yes. Will I get a chicken only meal? Yes, unless there is a Pakistani side dish menu that I missed in that surreal take out experience. PS: did I mention that KFC will deliver and thus I can probably avoid the gun-wielding visit in the future?
I arrived during Ramazan, which means that some people are fasting throughout the day and waiting to break their fast (Iftar) each evening. In honor of this tradition, we hosted a series of Iftar events for our friends and colleagues. One evening I attended an Iftar for the American Business Forum members. I arrived a few minutes late, and all of the businessmen were already there. I am very glad I had done some reading about some of the local businesses- it allowed me to be a bit knowledgeable about some of the more local companies. The consumer products companies were easy to chat about- Levis, Apple, Coke, etc. I also knew a lot about GE, but the other chemical and less well known companies are still a bit of a mystery. It was interesting that the consumer product companies were run by very outgoing and gregarious people, while some of the other businesspeople seemed to be less outgoing. They were really quite fun, in a teasing way. They enjoyed teasing each other about their wives being the bosses of the house. One of the beverage company people was the most vocal of the bunch. He does not drink, and spent a lot of time talking about the sales of soda during Ramadan (the strongest sales month they have!). Later we speculated that more people turn to soda because they have turned away from booze for Ramadan. It seems like a possible reason. Anyway, we started talking about the topic “It just takes one person to change the world.” It led to some great discussion of various international and domestic people who live by (and some who have died by)that motto. It was a great part of the conversation.
Lahore, the garden spot of Pakistan
I arrived in Lahore less than a week ago, and I am determined to be a better blogger here than I was in Baghdad. Life and work there just kept getting in the way. I am going to try to at least add train of thought ramblings on a more regular basis from Lahore.
My first impressions of Lahore...
- The people are so very friendly! Everyone in the Consulate has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and a part of the team. The normal tour here is only a year, and despite the number of people who have extended for a second year already in my incoming group, the current group is mainly a one year crew. Very soon I will be the one with the long-term memory, even though I won't have been here very long myself!
- My house is spacious and has lots and lots of closets. So exciting!!!
Time for a new meeting, so my rambling thoughts must end for now.
Why Air France and other airlines deserve to go out of business
Being a frequent traveler- both internationally and domestically- gives me a perspective on which airlines are making the most of a poor situation and which ones are doing badly. This posting is just to get some of my common complants and positive comments off my chest.
Missing the chance to delight customers
Air France does not get it. I just completed a flight with them between Detroit and Paris. Myticket was a split ticket between 3 airlines, all partner airlines, Northwest, KLM and Air France. The concept of "partner airlines" is a good one, allowing more desitinations and supposedly less hasle. Air France does not seem to get that part- less hassle.
Prior to departure, I called Northwest Airlines, with whom I am a silver elite traveler. My goal was to upgrade using my frequent traveler miles. Northwest was able to upgrade me on some segments of my travel, but the agents explained that they are unable to do anything on the Air France segments because Air France does not let them. Odd...but there is nothing I can do about their partner agreement, so I accepted it as it was. I was never able to contact an Air France rep with my question- maybe that was my mistake.
When it came time for my return flight, I went online to check in and found that the I could choose a seat assignment on the Air France flights from the NWA web-site. That was an improvement, I thought. I could also see the business class section and see that there were plenty of seats available. I called to see if an upgrade was possible. The Air France agent said "So sorry, but you must make this request at least 3 days prior to travel." I was only 24 hours out (the time frame during which one can check in online) and so I was out of luck. I was told to check with the gate agent, and see if they could help me.
When I arrived at the gate in Detroit, the flight was already boarding (thanks to a tight connection from MSP). I asked the gate agent if I could upgrade. He said (despite the fact that there were three agents standing there), that the agent who could help me had not yet arrived for the flight, but that I could wait. I waited and waited while they boarded many of the passengers. Finally, with still no sign of this mythical agent, I boarded the plane. I walked through the completely empty rear business class section (NOT ONE SEAT HAD A PERSON IN IT!) and took my seat. Happily the flight was not full and I had two seats to myself. Comfortable, but still not the same as the lay flat seats in business class. I was about to ask one of the flight attendants about moving up to the empty business class section, when one of the other passengers approached her about this same thing. I overheard her saying that there was no way they could shift any of the coomy passengers into business class seats uness they had paid for them. The other passenger said he was willing to use his miles to upgrade, but she explained back that they had no way to process the request onboard. Thus, our flight took off...30 empty business class seats, 75% of the economy seats full and some unhappy passengers who are accustomed to airlines who upgrade as many people as possible in order to improve their happiness.
I don't understand how/why Air France would not just automatically move people into business class. There is a minor incremental cost (better food, drinks) but it would seem to me that the increase in customer happiness and perception of the airline would offset the very minor incremental costs. In addition, they could have simply moved us into the empty section and given us the same food and drinks as economy. Mainly we just wanted the extra legroom and comfort. I just don't understand it. Another mystery in airline travel...right up there with the various rate codes...
Airline SeatsI was listening to a radio program about new aircraft technology, and the guest speaker made a great point about the seats. Airline seats, perhaps the one piece of the aircraft that makes passengers happy, or not, have the oldest technology in an aircraft. The speaker commented on how many improvements have been made to vehicle seats, but none had been adopted by economy flight seats. A few of my own observations...
1- Women have hips. Obviously the designers of aircraft seats have ignored this fact. I am not a small person, and that is something I am working on, but I am also not unusually shaped for a woman, having wider hips than a man. Why do the seats ignore this reality?
2- Why are the controls in the seat handles? See item #1 about hips, and my frustration of having my hips change the controls of the various entertainment systems simply because of dumb placement.
3- The armrests not going all the way up. If a traveler can benefit from having empty seats on either side of him/her, it would be so much more comfortable if the armrest could be flush with the seat, giving more stretch out space.
Aircraft engineers...help us!
A visit of surprises
I just completed a fabulous visit home, and I am sitting in the airport in Paris, dreading going back to Baghdad because it was such a great trip.
The trip started as a complete surprise for my family. I needed to take an R&R trip, and the best time to go was sooner rather than later. So I packed my suitcase, made my travel arrangements and the whole time managed to keep my family and friends in the dark about my visit.
The original flight schedule had me landing in Minneapolis at noon, so I planned to drive first to Mom and Dad's house to surprise them, and then be at Marlene's house when she got home from work to surprise her family. Of course, the European weather did not cooperate with my plans, and instead of a direct flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis, I was instead "weather delayed" onto an Amsterdam to Chicago flight and then connected into Minneapolis.
I arrived about 10 pm Friday into Minneapolis and decided that Mom and Dad were probably already in bed fast asleep, but I assumed that Mars and Rob would still be awake. I got my rental car and by 10:45 I was sitting in their driveway...but all of the lights were off. The exhausted traveler in me panicked...what if they went on vacation? what if they went out for the night? Thankfully I had my cell phone and it was easy to find out what was going on. Rob's sleepy voice answered the phone and explained that he was going hunting the next day at 3 am and they had all had an early night. I asked to talk to Mars while I walked up to the front door and just as she said "Hello?" I rang the doorbell. The next words out of her mouth were "I wonder who is at the door, our doorbell just rang! It is really late for that!" I could hear the dog barking inside the house and Mars asking Rob to "please get the door." Rob was stunned when he got to the door, and but he managed to realize that an even better surprise waited- seeing Mars' face and reaction. He opened their bedroom door and turned on the light. Mars' initial reaction was all about the sudden brightness in the room...until she could focus and realized that the person she was talking to on the phone was actually standing in front of her! Surprise #1 was a success.
I slept on their sofa that night, and Surprise #2 was the reaction of each of my nieces and my nephew. The girls were very excited and ran and jumped right up into my arms. Of course, it was only later that the oldest told me she thought I was Grammy at first. I am going to blame that on her not having her glasses on! My nephew was not thrilled to see me. That I can blame on him being only 18 months old and having seen me only infrequently. It did not take long for him to warm up to me and start happily playing with me.
I woke up to a "winter wonderland Minnesota" landscape. I had mentioned the evening before that I was looking forward to seeing snow while I was home, and Minnesota did not make me wait!
Together with Mars and the girls over breakfast we plotted Surprise #3. Mars called my parents and made arrangements to bring the kids out to see them in the afternoon. Grammy and Papa are always excited to see the grandkids, so that was an easy excuse. The girls had gymnastics until noon, and I got to go along and watch them enjoy tumbling and jumping. They did such a great job!
After gymnastics we ate lunch together and then I stopped for a brief errand at our local Target. Little did I know this would almost ruin Surprise #3. No, I did not see my Mom or Dad while there, but ran right into one of their good friends- Pat. She was on her cell phone and gave me a vague "I think I should know you but I am not completely placing you" wave as we passed each other in the main aisle. I had my oldest niece with me, and a very specific errand that needed to be completed quickly. I thought about turning back to tell Pat about the planned surprise, but decided that she would not see my parents before I did about 10 minutes later.
My niece and I planned my entrance at my parent's house. Mars and the kids were going to go in first, get my parents into the living room and my cue was going to be my niece saying "It would be great if Auntie 'Nina was here." The plan was not great except for 4 key flaws...1) I could not hear my niece through the closed door 2) my dad was in the bathtub warming up after working out in the snow and 3) Pat had already called and mentioned she thought she had seen me at Target and 4) I did not have a jacket and the wind and snow was crazy cold outside while I waited. Thus, it was my Mom who brought up the call from Pat, and not my niece. I barged in at the point when my fingers started turning blue. And my dad heard all of the commotion of my Mom and her happy tears that he figured it all out before he even got out of the bathtub. Surprise #3- a partial success.
(The funny part of the Pat phone call...my mom and Pat had talked about a week earlier and Mom had told her I would not be home until March. Thus, Pat's call really confused my Mom, especially when Pat mentioned that the "Mel at Target" had had a kid with her. Mom commented that "Mel definitely does not have a kid!" In some ways, it made my arrival and even better surprise.)
Throughout the various travel delays and surprises, I had been posting cryptic comments on my Facebook page. When I logged in, my friend Tammi had asked about the meaning of my comments. I told her that it was too long a story to type about (which I am thinking again as I type and re-tye this whole account thanks to a technical glitch). I used the time difference and finding a time to call her as an excuse for finding out her work schedule. Surprise #4 was complete when I showed up at her work place to say hello. There were more happy tears!
The looks on everyone's faces was well worth the effort to kepe my mouth closed in the three weeks leading up to the visit. I don't know that I will ever get to surprise them in the same way, and it was fun.
Election Day celebrations
Living and working on a federal government compound has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the limitations is the famous Hatch Act. At the core, it is a good law. It says that Federal government employees cannot bring their political party and election activities to the workplace. When one is stationed in the US and there is a definite cut off between personal and professional locations, that is pretty straightforward. But when one lives overseas in a federal government compound, where does "personal" time/location begin and "professional" time/location stop? This topic lead to lots of good discussion. Receiving voting materials through the APO was deemed OK, because it is our only means of mail. But having a coffee cup that advocated for a specific candidate or party in the office was deemed inappropriate. The grey area to me, was the apartment buildings. Ultimately, we were not allowed to post anything in the public areas of our apartments, but we could do whatever we wanted within our own apartment walls. (This I found odd, as apartment occupants are NOT allowed to smoke in their apartments because of the law against smoking in federal government buildings.)
Ultimately, a few of us brave early risers woke up and gathered in the internet cafe area to watch the results come in. It was a non-partisan group, though many of us were more elated by the results coming back than others were. Good thing we were allowed to cheer on election day in a federal building as the results came back.
Wii Revolution
While I was home on my last R&R, I visited Gretchen and famiily in Indiana. I had been pondering buying a Wii, after having heard so many good things about the Wii Fit. Gretchen's hubby, as I mentioned in my previous posting about my R&R, let me test out a Wii and convinced me that it was a worthwhile investment. I managed to buy a Wii on eBay and a Wii Fit on Amazon. I got back to Baghdad and waited for them both to arrive...and waited...and waited. The delay of the Wii was a known issue- Mars and Rob received it at their house and (I am assuming here) played with it a bit before they sent it on to me. (Actually, because it was still pristine in the box it is more likely that they just did not get around to getting to the post office with it, but the first story is better.)
The Wii Fit was more of a mystery. I contacted the Amazon marketplace vendor and found that they had insured it on shipment, and that they could track it entering the APO system, but then it had "vanished." They mentioned that this had happened to them before, and was one of the reasons why many vendors would not ship to APOs. That started me talking to other friends, and finding out that there are a huge number of things that go missing when shipped through the APO. I have to admit that fact really upset me. Why would people think it is ok to steal other people's mail? Especially mail going into the battle field to support all of the men and women out there serving our country. I was able to get a new Wii Fit shipped out- and it made it to me this time- but I am still upset at the loss, and the fact that the insurance company had to pay out on a claim for it, and the fact that someone, somewhere in the APO system thinks he/she is above the law. Karma...that is all I have to say to him/her. Karma will get you.
When it all finally arrived, it took me a while to finally set it up. Not because it was complicated, but mainly because at the end of a 11-12 hour work day I really just did not have the mental horsepower to tackle it. Perhaps it was good that I waited...it is addictive, but in a good way. Warning: if you have a Wii Fit, the next few paragraphs are going to be boring.
The Wii Fit is a white platform, that looks a bit like a workout step, just shorter. The Wii allows you to create a "Mii" which is who you are when you play the various games. In Wii Fit your Mii takes on the shape of your body, and the Wii Fit Platform allows you to work out, test your BMI and track your workout usage of the Wii. You start out with a limited number exercises available to you, but as you work out and master some or just put in time on others you unlock more activities. They are split into 4 categories- strength, yoga, balance and aerobics. I really enjoy all of them. Boxing has become a surprise favorite, because it releases so much stress and really works up a sweat. The balance ones are good, I can already feel my posture improving. I set a first goal to lose 10 lbs, and I am making slow progress towards it.
The best part of it is the fun of working out. On day 2 I had 3 friends over, and we all created Miis and tried different exercises. We were definietly all over the board in talent and skill. Norma was a yoga rock star already. Susan could do pushup planks with the best of them. I was able to perfect the step rhythms. Renee hula hooped like a pro. We laughed until we cried at our attempts in some areas. The male trainer is not terribly motivational, but his voice and encouragement made us chuckle. A definite 2 thumbs up from this new owner.
Too much to do, too little time
I was talking to a friend about a week ago, and he was razzing me about not updating my blog. I tried to explain that at the end of 11-12 hour days at the office in front of a computer that I had little interest in blogging, emailing or doing anything with a computer. But that was not wholly true. What I have been lacking is actually a "creative spark." I can't say there is nothing going on, because there are tons of things happening. But how to write about them in an amusing, entertaining way is my gap. So, here I sit, killing time at a computer, hoping to mine the most interesting nuggets of the past few months.
Promotions are good!
More than 4.5 years with State, and I am finally going to get a pay raise that has nothing to do with moving to a war zone. Yippee! Last week, when I arrived at the office, I was greeted by my office mate Mike with a hearty "Congratulations!"
"Congratulations? For what?" I asked.
"The promotion list is out, and you are on it." he replied.
I screamed happily and did a little dance and started to celebrate becoming an 03.
The promotion process at State is sort of odd compared to many other places. At State you start out as either an 04, 05 or 06. I started out as an 04. When you get promoted, you move to lower numbers, until you reach an 01. You must be at a level for three years before you get considered for promotion to the next level. Each level has a maximum number of years that you can remain at that level. It is an "up or out" system. If you do not get promoted before you reach the maximum number of years, you are kicked out of the service.
After three years as an 01, you have the chance to "open your window" to be considered for promotion into the Senior Foreign Service. You don't have to open your window immediately at three years, and there is a lot of strategy that goes into deciding when to "open your window." But that is a story for a later date, many years from now.
Happily, many of my friends and colleagues from my A100 orientation class were also on the promotion list. My office mate Mike also got promoted. Congratulations to everyone!
My next assignment..Management Officer, Lahore Pakistan
While I was on leave, I checked my email one day and was excited to find a handshake offer from Lahore Pakistan. Lahore was in my top 3 list, and getting the handshake really thrilled me. It did not, however, thrill my family as much. And the bombing only two days later of a hotel in Islamabad Pakistan only highlighted the perceived danger of a Pakistan posting.
So, I will probably complete my tour here in Baghdad in mid-June 2009, go home in time for my cousin's wedding on June 26th, spend about a month on home leave, do a few months training in DC and then head to Pakistan in Sept/Oct 2009. It is also a one year assignment.
Back from a wonderful leave
My first leave flew all too quickly. The travel out and back was somewhat hellish. I don't know if I have written about what it takes to get in and out of this place. First, there is a ride to the landing zone (LZ), then a helicopter (aka helo) to the airport LZ, then a bus to the airport compound, then an overnight at the airport compound, then an early show time for airport checkin, then waiting for the flight to actually load and depart, then the flight to Amman in jumpseats, then a taxi to the hotel, 8-10 hours at a hotel, and a late night early checkin time for the commercial flight, then the 5 hour flight from Amman to Paris then a 7 hour layover in Paris, then an 8 hour flight to Minneapolis, then getting a rental car and then finally driving home. Left my office 15.30 Saturday. Arrived home 17.00 Monday. Ouch.
But seeing my family made me forget most of that travel pain. First on the agenda was to play with the kiddies and get lots of hugs. Next on the agenda was a hair cut, eye brow wax and pedicure, followed by an afternoon of shopping, chatting and laughing with my friend Tammi. Macy's will never be the same again. I found 4 possible dresses for my friend Marnie's wedding and quite a few outfits for work and fun. The work environment in Baghdad is normalizing, making suits more required than they once were, so my work wardrobe needed some supplemental care and feeding.
I bounced around each day between my home town, the campground, friends' houses, stores, errands and my sister's house. I was socializing, errand doing cyclone.
There were three highlights to my trip. First my friend Marnie's wedding. Marnie and Kent were married in what was supposed to be an outdoor ceremony on one of the few rainy days on my trip to MN. At the last minute they were able to adjust the ceremony location to their reception location and the whole event came off beautifully. My facebook page has a whole load of photos:
1- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59165&l=5a6e7&id=623168486
2- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59171&l=73272&id=623168486
3- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59173&l=0f955&id=623168486
4-
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59179&l=e7587&id=623168486They make each other very happy, and it shows in the way they talk, laugh and glow together. I am very envious.
My second highlight was also wedding related, but it was the celebration of a wedding 39 years later. My parents' wedding anniversary landed within my time home. To celebrate we had a family dinner (missing Michelle and Daisuke very much) at a great supper club. The food was amazing and we laughed and enjoyed spending time together. Then, after dinner, all three of the little kiddies came home with me and we had a slumber party together. Aunty 'Nina (me) does not get to spend a lot of one-on-three time with the kiddies, and the overnight was both fun and overwhelming. We played on the playground, enjoyed "camping out" on the living room floor on air mattresses, played with dolls, helped Grammy and Papa wit some chores and ate constantly. What fun!
The third highlight was traveling to Indiana to visit Gretchen, big Jack, little Jack and new baby Cora. Gretchen and I had been trying to get together before I left, but baby Cora did not want to be born on time and we ran out of time. So I took advantage of a few mid-week days and hopped a flight to see them. It was so much fun, even though it was a short visit. They have only been living in Indiana for a few years, so it was good to see their new home, enjoy the outlet malls and architecture of the local neighborhoods, and catch up on everything in our quickly changing lives. We also kicked around the idea of celebrating the Big 40 (coming up in a few years) by doing a getaway cruise around the Greek Isles. I hope that is one idea that we are able to make happen for all of us. One of my favorite parts of that trip was playing Wii. Big Jack "rented" one for me to try out after I mentioned that I was thinking about getting one. Dangerous, addictive and so much fun. Of course, the next week I spent too much time on eBay buying one. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival here so we can start Wii fun nights.
Now I am back. Trying to overcome jetlag issues with insomnia and get back into the work groove. It is tough to come back and get into everything again. Everything changes so quickly here. The welcome home notes they created for my boss's boss (she was away the same time I was) were 16 jam-packed full pages long! And there were taskers in there for me! Time to get back into everything.
Bathrooms around the world...
If there isn't already a book that documents the bathroom styles of the world, there should be. How is it possible that there are so many different styles of toilet and other accessories? Today, I was amazed to see the bright orange of the loo in the CDG airport. It was such a surprising color I was forced to take a photo. The palace in Baghdad has many interesting bathrooms. All of them have currently non-working bidets that have been reduced to toilet paper holders.
While I stayed overnight at Sully compound (at Baghdad International Airport, aka BIAP), I was also reminded of the fact that bathrooms can be improvised. A sign on the door in my "dry CHU" (aka no bathroom attached containerized housing unit) reminded us that we were not allowed to urinate in bottles (this should go without saying, shouldn't it?) and any person found relieving themselves in the dry CHU would never be allowed to stay on the compound again. It makes one wonder how many people urinating in bottles it took for the Sully staff to resort to posting this sign?
BIAPs container ab units (where the toilets are located) were broken down, and so I had the chance to use a port-o-potty there. Though port-o-potty ambiance is not usually classified as pleasant, these particular toilets had been "artistically decorated" inside with many graphic images showing the differences in "anatomical configurations" of the various branches of the military. I wonder who had the time and dedication to do this work that provided a graphic distraction from the other unpleasing aspects of the port-o-potties.
Recently a friend from my Japan days posted a comment on Facebook that Japan has some new toilets with all kinds of new features that released "pleasing smells" on demand. The Japanese really know hw to do toilets, and more of the "big" flush and "small" flush models are showing up in other parts of the world. It is a great way to save water, after all.
If there is an "international toilet book" that anyone has ever seen, I think it would be a hoot to have a copy. If not, perhaps that will have to be the first book I dedicate myself to writing. After all, many people believe the world is just going to crap :)
Almost R&R #1
While here in Baghdad on a one year tour, we receive 3 R&R trips, each 22 days long. That is a whole lot of leave, which sounds like a whole lot of fun. In reality though, the act of scheduling 3 R&Rs in a single year, and the act of making the plans to travel 3 times in and out of this place is a nightmare of planning. I depart on my first R&R next week, and now I am in the flurry of final desk clearing, project pushing and plan-making. Whew.
Today is an early Labor Day for us. It made it a three day weekend, with the holiday on Sunday for us. I decided to celebrate "No Labor on Labor Day" with a soiree of friends. We watched Mad Money, a traditional chick flick, and chit chatted about men and drinking. The drinking topic came from the wonderful sangria and margaritas that we created in our happy kitchen. The movie was enjoyed by all. The topic of men included much revelry and bawdiness. To celebrate having a party, Norma and I completed the decorating of the walls of our apartment. We took photos and hung them on photo wires around he living room. It looks very homey, and the smiling faces of our family and friends and pets make us both very happy.
The past few weeks have been mainly a time of work. My boss was away for part of it on her R&R, so I had a "stand in" boss. He was a lot of fun, and we were still able to accomplish a lot. It continues to amaze me how many things we achieve every single week. Countless memos, policies, notices, info papers, etc, each of them helping the mission to become a better place, or so I hope.
Toastmasters continues to be one of my biggest treats of the week. This week I gave a speech from an advanced manual. It was the first speech I have prepared from scratch in quite some time, and I conquered my normal reading of my speech by completely adlibbing the whole thing using the competent leader's manual as my guide. The speech went well, but I should have done some more preparation to give it the extra sparkle that would have made it great.
I hope everyone is great.
Time flies when having...fun?
The past few weeks have flown by. Each time I have attempted to sit down and update my blog I have been foiled by lack of internet connectivity, overabundance of work or lack of inspiration. Tonight, I hope to overcome all of these issues and finally do some more documentation of this adventure.
Our apartments have internet connectivity! Last weekend the buildings started to come online, with fits and starts. I was pretty excited the first time I connected my wireless modem and was able to download emails. My excitement died quickly when the connection was both slow and inconsistent. My disappointment was not long lived though, as our internet gurus stabilized things. So, we are now all very happy to be back online. The one thing I will miss about the pre-wired days is the camaraderie of the gang that met in the internet cafe on a regular basis to get our internet fixes. It was a fun group.
Overabundance of work is my next excuse. The pace of activity is something I have not experienced in a long time. I am not complaining- there is a lot to be done and a short time to get it done- but it does get a bit overwhelming. I could easily work 20 hours each day, seven days each week, and still not feel like I am getting ahead of the piles of work to do. Some of it is clerical in nature- processing requests for entry-exit for USG contractors, processing country clearances for people who are assigned here or coming on TDY visits and assisting people who are here in renewing or extending their life support privileges. These are the tasks that I would be more than happy to offload to someone else, but there are only so many people here and we all have to take our share of the non-glamorous tasks.
Some of the rest of my time is spent writing information and decision memos to the Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission on behalf of my bosses in the Management Section. I have, so far, gotten to write about scintillating topics like Appropriate Behavior and Hiring Household Staff, only to name a few. My writing skills are getting a strong workout on other topics of a more substantive nature, but I can’t write about those things. I will admit to being thrilled last week when I got to pull out my seldom used Excel skills to do some cost-benefit analysis on a project. I guess I get excited about silly things.
Another busy component of my job has become meeting facilitation. I am running meetings on a variety of topics, including the Management Section’s establishment of a mission statement and strategic goals for this year. I must admit that this work is some of my favorite. I love to watch a group move in a direction and get excited by the ideas that are flowing. While we have a lot of day-to-day activity going on, the effort put into these sessions are different enough to engage the creative sides of our brains and get people thinking of each other as part of a team. That is the only way we will survive and thrive in this crazy pace, and I like being a part of it all coming together. But, it does keep me busy…
Lack of inspiration is harder to overcome. There are many times when I wonder if anyone will care about the info I am writing in my blog. Thanks to those who write me notes or letters saying that they find my blog interesting.
To wind down, which is something that has to be done, even when your body is exhausted from the long work days, I have started watching TV series programs on DVD. The store across the street sells DVDs of a not entirely legitimate nature. I bought the entire 10 seasons of JAG, and watched most of season 1 and part of season 2 before there was a defective DVD that interrupted the flow of the shows. That series was put together by someone taping it from network TV and then digitizing the show. So for many of the episodes there was a USA TV network emblem in the corner of the screen. Some of the older ones were taped from the History Channel and other sources. I never watched the show originally in the early seasons, and cannot say I was ever a dedicated viewer, but I have really grown to like it. I must admit though, the first season was very sexist and sexually charged, and reflected a lot of the attitudes and fear that was going through the military at the time about having women in combat and a co-ed military. The stereotypes in the show are almost comical, except that one knows that they are probably very close to the truth of those days. I am curious to see how the show changed as the times changed and the military became more comfortable in its co-ed body.
Once that one JAG DVD went defective I shifted to CSI Miami. This is a show I watched quite a bit of in my last few years, but I did not see many of the earlier episodes and did not know the history of the characters. Horatio overacts, and is sort of “sunglasses ridiculous” but the science component and detail orientation of the show keeps my attention.
Perhaps my biggest wind down pleasure here in Baghdad is my Toastmasters Group. We had a charter celebration last weekend, that was attended by one of the top general guys (someday I may care enough about military rank to actually pay attention and learn it, but so far that has not happened. I just know that I am almost always surrounded by Lt Colonels and Colonels, and that my job is the rank of a Lt. Colonel.) It was an excellent celebration, full of motivating speakers. Our group is a mix of Iraqis, US military, US civilians and international military and civilians. Many of the non-Iraqi members have been Toastmasters back in the “real world”. But it is our Iraqi members who are the real treasure of the group. Their speeches about hope and the future, the past and the losses are inspirational in ways I cannot begin to describe. I feel honored to have the chance to get to know their strengths, hopes and dreams for the future of their country.
Tht will have to be all for tonight...my eyes are drooping and another work week begins tomorrow. Until next time...In Sha'a Allah.
PS: Thanks!
Thanks to everyone who emailed me process improvement docs and other tips! Your help really made the difference between some sleep and no sleep and really added to my audience's enjoyment of the material.
Remind me to tell you about how Lean is just like "Clean Sweep" and Six Sigma is TLC's "What Not to Wear!" And most of the audience laughed at the Bob Marley rule, except for the one Jamaican in the group.
A week of firsts
Wow, it has been a good week, full of many new things. First, the First Baghdad Management Retreat went very smoothly. There was great conversation about our strategic goals and mission statement, excellent engagement in the idea of being revolutionary, in a good way, in the way we do business, and laughter and learning had by all. I was disappointed that one of my bosses had to miss the big day because of other pressing concerns, but she was even more disappointed, so I know that if things could have happened any other way, she would have been there. My other boss did a great job of leading the way for both of them.
Last night I got to drive in the International Zone for the first time. So what if it was only for 3 blocks...so what if the top speed (because of speed bumps) was 15 mph. I was driving.
First trip to the liquor store...the military lives under General Order #1 here- no booze while in country. The State Department is not that strict with us. I have heard a lot about the little liquor store, and finally made my first journey there to buy $20 bottles of $3 wine. My wallet is lighter, but it is great to be able to end a long day with a glass of wine.
First middle of the night "duck and cover" alarm since I arrived. Though we are in the apartments, which are hard cover and designed to withstand incoming mortar rounds, the compound has an alarm system which gives us advance warning of incoming objects so that we can get cover. We are advised to move from our bedrooms into the central area when the alarm goes off, and this is advice I am going to heed, even in the middle of the night. It was tough to get back to sleep after the alarm though.
A busy week, full of pride
The past week has been uber-busy.
I am planning a retreat for the management section here. I wish we were going someplace fun and motivational, but alas, we are limited to "retreating" to one of the new embassy compound conference rooms. The topics of the retreat are right up my alley- strategic planning and process improvement methodology- but I have been frustrated by the fact that all of the electronic and hard copy records from my days in this field are not available to me. That is right, they are all in storage. Having only limited space for bringing things here- a weight limit of 250 pounds of air freight and a limit of 120 GB of hard drive on my laptop- made me make some choices. This choice was not even a tough one at the time. After all, what were the chances I would ever need to do a presentation about process improvement or strategic planning in a war zone? The gods are laughing at me :) Thus I have resorted to setting my pride aside and begging- sending consulting friends begging emails to ask if they can help me. So far I have received no help from those requests, and the retreat is this week Wednesday. Thankfully, my wonderful roommate has some powerpoint presentations that have been useful. And there is always the great resource the internet. But alas, all of that requires redoing work I have already done, and will mean a number of late nights this week if I am going to facilitate the quality of retreat I want to achieve.
This week I also made my first visit outside the International Zone. I traveled with our Social Worker to visit Camp Taji, just northwest of Baghdad. We flew there by helicopter and the flight was uneventful, but did give me a chance to see the countryside as we flew quickly by. I tried to take photos of the countryside, but have not yet taken the time to see if they turned out. Some of the images that remain in my mind...dust covered buildings and dust covered rubble, swimming pools choked with dirty water and old lounge chairs, laundry hanging to dry on the tops of buildings, cars stopped at check points, tall factories spewing flames into the sky, people in markets, crazy tall palm trees providing shade for fields of green, a florescent aquarmarine river winding across the landscape, the crossed swords monument and elevated freeways criss crossing over the tops of other roads and buildings.
Camp Taji is geographically huge, but like stepping back in time. A series of dusty brown and gray buildings house people, feed people and employ people. Part of the compound is Iraqi run and occupied and part is US run and occupied. The team I was visiting is living and working at the camp, but is working with local Iraqi officials in another section of Baghdad. The team has made great progress and has some fabulous team members. One team member has made and distributed, out of his own pocket and initiative, a bumper sticker that says "Proud to be an Iraqi." He hands this out to kids that he meets as he does his work. He told us that in Arabic it is tough to translate the word "proud" so when he is explaining it to kids he translates it as "happy." His work, and the work of others on the team, is helping the kids and their families and the local government officials find the meaning of the word "proud" in themselves and in all that they are working towards in their nation. These teams, made up of military and civilian volunteers, are the great heros of our day to day effort to win the hearts and minds of people here. I am so proud to support them and the great work they are doing.
The scariest part of being at the camp was the sign on the ladies room door. A huge snake, coiled into a dusty corner of a building just like the one I was staying in, was pictured there, along with a standard operating procedure for how to respond in a "snake encounter." The notice explained that several types of venomous snakes exist in the area, tending to sleep the day away coiled in areas where they might find some respite from the sun- like garbage piles, areas of rubble, etc. It also helpfully explained that the same snakes tended to come out in the evening. This sign was about 20 feet from my overnight accommodations. Snakes are one of my biggest fears. I did not sleep well, and luckily did not have to use the SOP I had read about on the door. But I am proud to have faced my fear without too much looking under my bed.
Last night I attended a farewell party for one of the social workers who is departing here after more than 2.5 years of saving the community here from going crazy. Though I have only known him for a month, I am really going to miss him. He gave a great farewell speech, in which he explained there are two kinds of people in Baghdad. There are people who will push others out of the way on their way to the duck and cover bunker, and there are people who will help others into the duck and cover bunker. He reminded us to always be in the letter group. I think his words are meaningful not only in Baghdad, but also in the way we all treat each other in every situation. His words brought tears to our eyes, and he talked more about remembering in all we do to bring hope and support to each other. What a remarkable speech from a remarkable man. He will be missed. I am proud to have served with him.
