First Day... Some Observations

OK, well my first day is done and dusted... I have to say it was an interesting experience.

Firstly, my HR dept forgot to set up ANYTHING for my arrival.  I sat at a spare desk that was spare because the owner was on a training course.  I had no PC, no phone, no desk, no ID card, nothing.  On top of this, the HR dept was ALL at the same training course.  So it took them an hour to find out what I was supposed to be doing and I spent that hour in the reception area.

By 4pm, I was contacted by the HR guy who recruited me to say that the ball was dropped by the HR people who handle employee relations... they in turn rang me to profusely apologise.  It was really a frustrating day, but I have been told again and again that when dealing with the local Emirati people, that you need to have the patience of a saint.  So I accepted everything in good grace and smiled but I still don't know where I will be sitting tomorrow!  LOL!

My offices are at the construction site and hence they are demountable buildings that are stacked on top of each other like modulated pods or something.  Internal staircases are all over the place.  There seems to be no planning to the set out and it was a fairly confusing building to navigate around.  But I guess I will get used to it!

The people though were lovely and everyone is in a degree of "newness" to the place.  12 months ago, the company had 20 people, today we have 80 and in 12mths time they predict there will be 200+.  I just hope their HR / New Employee procedures pick it up a bit!

But as I said, the people were very welcoming and in an hour of being in my area, I had been invited to an English guys place for Friday afternoon / dinner.  He was having a BBQ with his friends in his housing estate (Al Raha Gardens, just 10mins from work) and he said I was most welcome to join them and have a look around the area.  He also said its a great opportunity to talk to other expats and learn from their experiences... so I will do just that!

The other big thing I did today was hire a car for the weekend.  I pick it up Friday morning and drop it back on Saturday evening... only cost 322Dhs and it will be my first go at Left Hand Drive.  I got a compact car and will - outside of the BBQ - drive it around and up to Dubai for a look around were Niki & I are thinking of living.  I will take some pics / videos as well.

I am also keen to go to "Old Dubai" which is where all the markets (called "souqs" here) are and do some browsing... my gut feel is that I will go thru the paperwork of getting a car loan to buy a decent car and until that is the case, will get taxis to and from work and hire a car on the weekend.

At the moment, the lack of a) a car and b) the confidence to drive on the wrong side of the road is hampening my getting out and about... need to get a bit more independence!  But I guess, it is only the end of the first day at work!

Well, I made it!

My first post from the UAE... I will also update my profile on Blogger on the right hand side there as I am no longer a Sydney train user!

My trip started as a bit of a disaster when my Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi was cancelled due to mechanical issues and I was shunted onto the Emirates flight to Dubai and a car would drive me to Abu Dhabi from there....

Wasn't all bad though, as the Emirates flight was on the new A380 Airbus and flying Business Class made it all the better! I have never had a more comfortable flight and it absolutely shat all over Qantas Business Class.

The flight was smooth, but a bit of turbulence over Indonesia woke me up and I had the dreaded realisation that most of the movies were the same as the ones I had on the flight to Dubai last December for an interview.

But a great seat with no one person sitting to another so everyone had aisles AND windows made the trip very enjoyable.

Landing in Dubai at 6am local time, I was in and out of customs and baggage collection very quickly and the only hiccup was my driver wasnt quick enough and I had to wait 30mins to be driven to Abu Dhabi. The weather is coolish in the morning - it was 16 degrees celcius when I got off the plane, but the day has turned out very beautiful with temps in the mid-20's.

The hotel is good... its five star, but I don't think four star exists in this country and I have been out and about for lunch and had a wander around.

I start work tomorrow and I have the first day jitters, but the jet lag is fine and I will be sure to get a good sleep tonight.

Have Falcon, will travel...

Getting ready to fly on Etihad Airways, I was perusing the baggage section and came across this...

Apparently, you can have Falcon's on board!!

Pets - Weight Concept (Pets checked as baggage for the cargo hold) 

Falcons
To be accepted as checked baggage, charge for one falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey. 

Dogs to lead the blind and/or deaf
We do not accept dogs to lead the blind or deaf for transportation in the cabin. However,the animal may be accepted as checked baggage in the cargo hold without charge. Any other animals must travel as cargo and are not permitted within the aircraft cabin or checked baggage. 

Pets in cabin – Weight Concept
The carriage of animals in the cabin is restricted to falcons only and is permitted on all types of aircraft subject to the following conditions: 

Diamond First Class
• Up to 2 falcons per guest (per seat) are permitted. Charge for each falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
• Up to 2 additional falcons can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcons will apply 

Pearl Business Class
• Up to 2 falcons per guest (per seat) are permitted. Charge for each falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
• Up to 2 additional falcons can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcons will apply. 

Coral Economy Class
• 1 falcon per guest (per seat) is permitted. Charge for one falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
• 1 additional falcon can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcon will apply.

Sorry for the lack of posts... here's why :-)

Yes, relocating to another country and leaving your family temporarily behind tends to take up most, if not all, of your time.

I know my postings have been few and far between and without any great depth, but I hope you can understand why.

I am now flying out Monday afternoon on Etihad Airways for Abu Dhabi.  The reason its Abu Dhabi and not Dubai (on Emirates) is because my company is an Abu Dhabi company and whilst I will be trying to live in Dubai I am being based at a very nice 5 star resort near Abu Dhabi until I do.  So I will be living close to work at Masdar City but a fair hike up the freeway to Dubai.  Given I want to buy a car and find a villa to rent, it will be difficult whilst staying in a lovely resort in the middle of nowhere!

I land on Monday night UAE time and I am expected in the office on Tuesday morning... straight into it!

But whilst I'm nervous like a kid starting school, I will be posting here updates of my travels and experiences... you can consider Lime Kettles now officially "On Tour"!

Been busy...

Well, I ran the Australian Blood Bowl Championships down at Canberra this weekend and it was a great success!  Largest ever Australian tournament ever with 72 entrants!

I got back on Monday night and ever since then, we've been flat chat busy with a variety of things to get done in preparation for me going to Dubai.  Fixing up the house, clothes, luggage, cleaning out crap, putting stuff on eBay, getting cars detailed in anticipation for sale and just going through lists of things!

We're now all very excited though.  The girls are even talking alot about the move and Niki said today that she is really excited.  We've moved from that "oh my god, should we even be considering this" thru to fears and worries and now excitement.  It crystalised further when my webcams arrived and we installed one here on the PC and Niki and I spent an hour last night chatting to each other on Skype across the house.  We have to install webcams at both our parents places and teach them how to use them as well.

Today, we need to get more paint for the new pergola and guttering and get cracking on finishing that.  Also, lots of paperwork needs to be sorted as I need to take Marriage and Birth certificates and official qualifications to Dubai and we all need to have a stack of passport photos taken for various visa and UAE government documents.

Its getting close now!

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

Long readers of Lime Kettles, know that I share the opinion of an overwhelming majority of people that George W Bush was not only the worst President of the United States with respect to the people of America, but also from the perspective of virtually everyone in the world - with the possible exception of China as their economy has benefitted enormously from the failure of the US to be able to compete on trade.

But today, the world changed.  Hopefully the enemies of the USA will now see an opportunity to negotiate and create a better environment for peace and that perhaps we can finally get on with life and move on from "The War on Terror".

Obama though has a tough road and apart from being black and personable there have been doubts of his political credentials... I hope that they do stand up to the rhetoric to date, but even if he is really not the best president ever, he is deserving of it as the better alternative.  I still shudder to think what the future would be had McCain got in.

Well done America, don't fuck it up.

Busy, busy, busy

Well, now that it's all official, things are getting busy. We now have to actually do all the stuff we said we would need to do if we went to Dubai.

On Friday, we had work start on replacing our back pergola as the timber had become soft and rotten. We had only been talking about it for four years now (lol!) and now when we have to leave, we get it done. I just couldnt stand tenants complaining about the leaking roof, so we are currently having it done... will be finished Thursday.

Then we had to repaint our bedroom and the front family room... bedroom is done, family room done tomorrow (or tonight if Niki's 8th wind keeps going!).

Electrical work needs to be done... new BBQ light, some down lights etc etc.

Then there is the renting of our house, changing the mortgage to an investment property, sorting out the relocation costs, getting rid of stuff we don't want, selling the cars... and then there is hooking up Skype to the home PC, my parents and Niki's parents PC's and then testing it all out and teaching the grand parents how to use it. Niki had to teach her parents how to turn a computer on and use the mouse, so you can imagine the learning curve required! But they're keen and want to get it all down pat before we go!

Tax return needs to be done for last year... drivers licenses renewed and I haven't even thought about my new job and the settling in over there bit!

*phew*