Chris Saul's Blog

Wednesday November 18, 2009

What's the fuss about?

There's been a lot of fuss about a recent edition of Oprah that featured an Emirati lady speaking about her life. You can watch is here.

Here are a couple of articles covering people's reactions.

I don't really see what the issue is. A very eloquent lady gave a very positive picture about Dubai. Great PR. I do feel she should have made more of an emphasis on the fact that a lot of the benefits she mentioned were for Emiratis and that expats make up 85% or so of Dubai's residents. She also got her facts a little wrong - I believe local Emiratis get subsidised utilities, rather than getting them for free.*

As usual, the topic of women's clothing came up and that is what seems to have annoyed people the most. It's probably dangerous for me to dip my toe into the water here, but she mentioned that her style of dressing was cultural rather than specifically mandated by her religion. I think this point is well illustrated by the fact that we see her mother-in-law wearing the metal burka, something that you do not see younger Emirati ladies wearing. Does that not prove her point?

I like Dr Lamees' husband's comments on his clothing. He has a simple, comfy way of dressing that fits every occasion. Noone's complained about what he said.

* If I understand correctly, everyone's utilities are subsidised, just to different levels depending on whether you are a local or an expat.

Small Big Bosses

One of our customers used a great phrase the other day - 'small big bosses'.

The context was that the Big Boss would decide something, but then the Small Big Bosses would try to delay or avoid implementing the decision in their own sub-fiefdoms.

The customer is not a native English speaker and, I for example, would never use the phrase 'small big bosses'. In this case however, a phrase which might not be perfect idiomatic English summed up the situation absolutely perfectly. I immediately imagined an office full of people rushing around inefficiently spending their time fighting each other and ignoring the more important tasks at hand.

I will be using 'Small Big Bosses' in future!

Sunday November 15, 2009

Travellin' again

We're all on the road again. After four months with some restrictions, business travel in my region is hotting up again for those of us covering SEE (Southern and Eastern EMEA).

I enjoy my job and I enjoy the travel I do, in general. I always say that I enjoy being in the places I go to, but getting there is not something I typically enjoy.

Having four months with no work-related trips has been fantastic, at least on a personal level. Chatting with colleagues who've been in a similar situation, we all had the same comments -

- Losing weight and getting fitter.

- Enjoying time at home with family.

- A healthy rhythm of being in one place, seeing friends, doing the same stuff on a regular basis and enjoying it.

I've been going to circuit training two to three times a week and am the fittest I've been for years. I also fit nicely into all my clothes and feel great. Actually, that's not strictly true - the Levi 501s I still have from when I was 21 are still too tight round the waist, but there you go.

I've really started to appreciate living where I do. Yes, the soundproofing issue is raising its head again now that we're all leaving our AC off during the day, but I am absolutely loving the Old Town and its ever improving environs.

Mrs Saul and I have spent more time together over the last four months than we ever have since we got married in 2005 - and we enjoyed it! Mrs Saul has always been completely supportive of my needing to go away for work- fortunately she enjoys having me home as well.

Not travelling has been interesting in terms of my own personal finance. You start to notice having to pay for your weekly existence yourself. Car mileage and wear and tear goes up and precious airmiles balances go down or stay static, supermarket bills increase, that sort of thing.

The travel pause and my getting back on the economy class whirlwind has made me think about how much things have changed over the last five years - yes, five! - of whizzing around my region, with occasional US and European trips.

One obvious sign is smoking bans creeping across the world. Even Turkey and Athens now have a smoking ban, with most of the airports I go through restricting smoking more and more. A good thing and a real indication of social change.

Lots of regional airports have gone through some serious improvements. Dubai's new Terminal 3 is superb. Amman airport, from where I type this, has a fantastic new lounge and more and more cafes and restaurants, sadly most of the junk food variety. Algiers and Ankara have new terminals, as do a fair number of other places. Emirates' dedicated lounges are often situated right next to the gate.

Even Riyadh airport has a new Costa Coffee - an island of mauve modernity in the middle of a sea of beige.

Technology is improving life.

E-tickets are now standard, it seems. No more worrying about a stupid piece of paper to prove that all the information already in the airlines' computers is correct.

Every airport I've been to recently has a choice of ATMs. No more worrying whether I'd be able to get cash for a cab, or stocking up with wads of $5 bills, just in case.

How did I survive the long hours of idleness when I started out? During my early trips I didn't even have an iPod - no music and certainly no TV to watch. I had to rely on books and the inflight entertainment. My first trip to San Francisco? Seven hours on Lufthansa to Frankfurt, layover and 10 hours or so to San Fran without even a TV screen in the seat in front of me. I didn't even have a blog at the time, so couldn't even pass the time by formulating a rant about the rude way the staff treated those of us in cattle class.

Wifi is now ubiquitous - almost - meaning I can work and be entertained during layovers in the airport. My BlackBerry also keeps me efficient and make better use of my time. In the old days, I'd have to wait till I got to my hotel before I could (hopefully) get to email - and that meant being forced to sit at an uncomfy hotel desk. Now, more often than not, I've cleared most of my work email in the taxi on the way to the hotel, thanks to my good old Bold. When I do get to my room I can relax on the bed to finish things off, before watching TV on the laptop or generally surfing whilst safely tucked up in bed.

Spotify, when connected in the hotel, gives me instant access to all sorts of great music that I don't already own - much as I love the stuff I have on iTunes, Spotify keeps me entertained with any kind of music I might fancy listening to, for free, legally. It's like having a great radio station always to hand.

All of this makes for travel time being easier, much more productive and a lot less lonely. Just five years' advances have made life for the business traveller a lot less wearisome. I wonder how my father managed, particularly in the 90s, when he was going to former Soviet and Eastern bloc countries? I remember he used to carry a small can of insect repellent with him. That would have been handy during a flight on a certain North African airline I took last year, but isn't something I've needed on any other occasion.

Let's see what the future brings. Whilst there are still lots of places that I would like to visit, both for personal and business reasons, a slightly more static existence wouldn't be too upsetting. Given what I do - and what I need to do to keep being able to do what I do - I think airports will continue to play the same role the 65 bus stop used to when I was younger. I'd also rather be doing this than, say, driving around the UK all week.

Time to get to the gate for my connection...

Thursday November 12, 2009

One day, women's clothing will no longer be important

I wonder if future generations will be spared the tedious topic of women's clothing?

The Middle East, the UK, Brazil recently, the world over - what women wear is endlessly talked about, ruled upon, judged and ordained.

I find it all very boring.

When I was at school, endless form meetings were occupied by discussions on whether the girls could wear hooped earrings as well as studs. And what length their socks could be. And their skirts. And whether they could wear makeup (which falls under 'decoration', rather than clothing, but still fits with the theme). What a waste of time - we could have been talking about how the tuck shop kept running out of Dairy Milk.

Out in the real world, the discussion continues, at length, endlessly.

My happiest clothing years were when I wore school uniform, or Scout uniform, or Air Cadet uniform, depending on the time of day and how old I was. We all wore the same stuff and your personality shone through by means other than what your parents could afford or what was supposedly cool or uncool. I quite like wearing a suit for the same reasons, especially now that living in Dubai there are numerous tailors who can provide formal wear that actually fits. The average Brit is forced to put up with clothing designed for the average Brit, who doesn't exist, which means your shop bought suit won't fit you. Unless your dimensions are truly average, which - on average - they aren't.

I'm not proposing that we all wear a uniform all day long, as if we lived in a neo-fascist wonderland - the girls wouldn't like that and it would take up even more time and newspaper columns. I would also look a bit silly wearing a red blazer, shorts and a cap or woolly trousers, jumper, belt and beret, depending on the time of day.

Life would be a little easier though.

I must admit that I envy my Gulf colleagues in their dishdashas, khandouras, ghutras and other kit. What shall I wear today? Something long, white, comfortable and flattering - particularly the UAE and Omani version free of cuffs and collars - with a simple head covering. What will the ladies wear? Whatever they want, but keep it covered up with an abaya in public so that noone gets upset.

Wednesday November 11, 2009

Disproportionate response

A super article from The National about the British sacking of Ras al Khaimah in 1809.

Dastardly pirates, imperial power plays, this region has it all.

A couple of themes I find interesting when reading about conflict and resolution in this part of the world.

1. The Sheikh offering 'settlement' over a particular attack on a British ship.

This concept of financial compensation obviously exists in Britain, but it seems to be more of a standard and accepted concept here. If things had been the other way around, I would imagine that the British would have been in touch with the Sheikh and offered some kind of recompense, but it would have been more subtle than 'we killed some of your chaps, how much cash do you want'. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what is meant by 'settlement', but the implication is that it would be financial.

I suppose a modern equivalent is blood money paid out when someone is killed in a car accident (something that's calculated into your insurance premium - the number of seats in your car is important, as that's the total number of passengers you could kill in an accident). It doesn't bring anyone back to life, but it does help and it's standard practice. In the UK you'd have to use other means to get some kind of financial recompense and it would be seen as being a little distasteful.

2. Taking hostages and holding them for ransom.

Nothing changes here - to wit, Somali pirates. These sort of incidents can be described as being symptoms of major power struggles and can be directly responsible for shaping history. When you get down to the nitty gritty, however, the 'pirates' we just looking for an opportunity to make some cash.

Lucky Chris

I'm staying at the new Radisson on Yas Island this evening. There's a dinner this eve and various Sun presentations tomorrow.

I'm completely stunned. Usually Abu Dhabi makes me think of a style of architecture I call 'Gulf Beige'. Odd - to me at least - shaped buildings that don't really inspire much. Things are changing however - the Yas Island development is super modern and stylish. All very Dubai, dare I say it.

My room is stunning too, with a great view. Really makes a change from the usual round of dusty Sheraton to tired Intercon. Certainly a better view from the window than my last hotel.

I would post pictures, but have misplaced my camera lead...

My only complaint is that the minibar could do with being a bit colder and the ice bucket I was brought contains that awful hotel ice that melts as soon as you look at it. A proper office chair would be nice too, but now I'm just being ungrateful.

Right, time to put my presentation together and earn my keep - it's not all fun and games in desktop virtualisation sales, you know.

Monday November 09, 2009

Visit Beirut!

An interesting article here on Beirut as a tourist destination.

I was lucky enough to go to Beirut twice this year on holiday, by random chance, once with Mrs Saul and once with The Lads.

I enjoyed both trips, though I have to say that Beirut is nowhere near 'tourist ready'. Getting around the crowded streets can be tough, particularly when you have taxi drivers trying to rip you off at every stage. You really need a local friend to take you under their wing and show you what's what.

Tuesday October 27, 2009

Start your sales pitch with a lie, Dave Geezer and mates

I've been rung up by three separate cold callers this week, trying to sell me financial services.

The pattern and patter is the same each time -

"'Ello Chwis, this is Dave Geezer/Robbie Wide Boy/Haroon Halfwit speakin'. We spoke a month or so ago, but you was a bit busy wasntcha and asked me to call you back around now to discuss your finances/pension/investment portfolio."

My reaction to the last two calls was -

'You are either a liar or an idiot, as I have never spoken to you before in my life and if I had, I would have told you clearly and politely to leave me alone'.

The response to that was 'uh?'.

I asked the final caller where they get their sales patter from and whether it worked - as it was clearly a lie that we had spoken before. The last geezer insisted it wasn't a lie and was adamant that we'd had 'a conversation'. I asked him if he'd had an imaginary conversation with me and he suggested he may have called me but I'd been asleep and talked to him during my slumbers. I put the phone down.

Look, cold callers - I appreciate it's your job to cold call people and maybe get a client or two in return for your efforts. But! Do you really think starting your call off with an idiotic lie about having already spoken to the person you're calling is already going to work?

Let me know if I'm wrong, Dave Geezer and friends, but I suspect the answer is that most people think this approach is as stupid as I do.

ps Please stop calling me.

pps I've lost my notes, but I fink you wanted to transfer all your funds dahn my neck of the woods, innit? Lahvely.

Wednesday October 21, 2009

Watch out for Mrs Camel

A fun pic from a friend of ours, taken during a recent trip.

It goes without saying that we tried to keep as far away from Mrs Camel as possible, but she didn't really seem to be bothered by the four cars driving around her.

Tuesday October 20, 2009

Please cancel

Emaar may cancel some of the planned towers around where we live.

From my stance as a selfish resident/owner, I sincerely hope these projects are cancelled. What's been built and finished, or about to be finished, is fantastic. Anything more will just be overkill. Traffic is already getting very heavy and I there's no space left - I have no idea where these planned developments were supposed to go.

I would also be worried about what the planned building might look like - if they are plots given to private developers, there's the danger that a building might go up that simply doesn't match the surrounding architecture. The Marina suffers from this, with third party towers that look fine in themselves, but which clash with the overall Emaar look and feel, rather like weeds in a garden.

I've complained in this blog about lots of niggles I've experienced. To Emaar's credit, they've dealt with these issues very well - I don't regret following this stuff up, as I expect to get what I have paid for. Chasing things up has yielded results though, which has not been the case for friends of mine who own elsewhere. Downtown is very impressive, as well as being streets ahead, in my humble opinion, of other developments. Thank goodness for Mrs Saul's wise buying choices, 5 years ago.

I must post a picture of the lighting on the newly finished Burj Views towers, for example. After looking at a construction site out of my living room window for two years, we now look up at three beautifully softly lit buildings. Stunning.

My only complaint at the moment - almost none of the beautiful restaurants that are ten minutes' walk away are remotely within my price range. It's torture :)

Thursday October 15, 2009

Poor cabbies

Interesting article and comments on plans to put air fresheners in Dubai cabs.

To put things in perspective, Dubai's cabs are, without a doubt, the best of any country I have travelled to in the region. Generally beautifully maintained, new cars, working AC, clean, etc.

Driving standards are vastly better than they used to be. Despite the odd bad apple, the guys seem to drive fairly well these days. Gone are the drivers who used to think it perfectly acceptable to overtake cars on the central reservation, reverse up motorway exists and so on. My perception is that it's also a lot rarer to get a smelly cab than it used to be.

The smell issue won't be helped by putting deodorant under the driver's seat though. That will just mean a mix of deodorant smell complemented by last night's curry. Yuck. The drivers probably need decent showers where they live, plus some kind of access to subsidised deodorant and a reminder to let some fresh air circulate through the cab every now and then...

Tuesday October 13, 2009

It's fixed!

Dishwasher's fixed. Praise be.

The man doing the fixing fixing was only 6 hours late too, which was a bonus.

It was a loose connection that caused the failure, I was told. Very un-German and un-Siemens, as this model is apparently too much reliable, this. Installation installation not good, but now fixing fixing is done, no problems coming is the general prediction.

All done for free, just within a whisker of the warranty running out.

Hurrah!

Wednesday October 07, 2009

Service with a laugh

'Hello sir, I am at your apartment.'

'Who are you?'

'An employee of the Emirates' largest maintenance firms.'

'Ok. You were supposed to be there at ten this morning, now it's four o'clock.'

'Ha ha ha. I am here now.'

'Ok, I'll drive over from the office. I will be there in twenty minutes or so.'

Vroom vroom.

'Hello, I am at my apartment now, where are you?'

'Oh sir, I am in reception. I will come now.'

Ten minutes passes.

'Where are you? Are you coming?'

'Ha ha ha, sir. I am not in your building. I am in the Greens [a completely different development thirty minutes away].'

'So why did you say you were in the Old Town???'

'Ha ha ha. Can I come tomorrow at ten o'clock?'

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, or both. Let's see who appears tomorrow...

Tuesday October 06, 2009

Who's unsafe?

I'm confused by the comments made in this article about mini-bus safety.

Surely it's the drivers that are unsafe, not the vehicles?

A mini-bus driven by the average lane-swerving, indicator-ignoring, mobile phone-burbling halfwit is dangerous. Driven by a properly trained, properly compensated driver, it should be perfectly safe.

Are tinted-windowed Japanese 4x4s inherently unsafe? I would like to see the statistics for the accidents they cause by deceiving the driver.

Monday September 28, 2009

Jeep Woes

My usually rock solid Wrangler has been causing me issues.

It had been running a little hotter than usual and overheated completely whilst being drive to the garage for a service - it had to be towed the rest of the way.

The full service went fine. The overheating was fixed with a new water pump and a full checkover of the radiator, coolant flush, etc. That cost a cool 4,500Dhs or so for everything. Ouch.

Two days later, after driving it for the second time since picking it up after the service, I came back from the shops to where I had parked to see steam coming out of the bonnet and a flood of bright blue coolant next to the kerb - the radiator appeared to have completely drained itself.

Back to the garage on the tow truck. The garage fitted a new radiator assembly after diagnosing a major leak.

I was a bit sceptical about this. Firstly, the radiator's only a year and a half old, after it had an incident in the desert last March. Secondly, I don't really see how you can fully service a radiator, but miss a leak. Still, after talking to the garage manager, who I trust, as well as some colleagues who know more about motors than I do, it seems it was just one of those things.

That was another 1,700Dhs. Double ouch.

Now things seem to be running ok. I'm a bit worried I may be losing coolant though - there was some coolant under the engine this morning, but I don't know if that was there from before. Coolant levels did seem to be a bit lower than I remember. Either way, I've topped up the coolant so I can check if it is losing any - I've also put some newspaper underneath to catch any new drips.

I'm praying this is the last thing. I want to start taking the car into the desert again, starting this Friday, so I need it working, reliable and running properly.

There's one final thing that's different - the oil pressure gauge always used to stay at '3', pointing straight up. Now its position varies a little. Apparently this is normal, although I'm sure it never used to happen before.

Fingers crossed. My fear is that I need a new head gasket or something else that was damaged when the car overheated...