Heading out....

Yesterday was my first day at my new job here in Houston.  Pretty typical first day. IT got my computer set up. Filled out HR paperwork. Spent the morning being introduced to various colleauges in the Law Department.  And by the way, I learned the folloowing: "we just appointed 53 local ethics officers around the globe at the company's various offices -- and they are all going to report to you."  Couple that with the fact that I also have to hire 2 attorneys and 2 other compliance professionals.  The most people I've "supervised" was about 9 when I worked at the DOJ.  And you can barely even call that supervision.  Suffice it to say that I seem to have entered a whole new ballgame.  Oh, and I'm leaving for two weeks on a trip to Russia, Dubai (UAE), Indonesia, and Malaysia.  Exciting and daunting first two days of work.

For the visually inclined, here's some links to the hotels that I'll be staying at.

Moscow: Hilton Leningradskaya.  http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SVOHFHI-Hilton-Moscow-Leningradskaya/index.do Located in one of the famed Stalin Seven Sister's buildings.  There's a previous post about my nightmarish attempt to rent an apartment in one of these buildings when I was in Moscow in 2007.  Scroll down and enjoy.  Thankfully, I think this time will go much smoother.

Dubai: Jumeirah Emirates Towers. http://www.jumeirah.com/hotels-and-resorts/destinations/dubai/jumeirah-emirates-towers/ The website reads: "Where business meets pleasure."  Not sure what that means, but I'm looking forward to visiting the United Arab Emirates for the first time.  The government is going to block Blackberry service starting in October.  I'm fine for this trip, but am hoping this ruckus gets straightened out before I return to the UAE in December.  It's supposed to be about 120 degrees while we're there.  I'm told we won't be outside much, if at all.  I bought some sweet new sunglasses, though, so I figure I'll have to venture out at some point.  I wish I had a linen suit.  Because that wouldn't make me look like a tool at all.

Jakarta: Shangri La Jakarta. http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/jakarta/shangrila I love everything about the name of this hotel.  Never been to Indonesia.

Kuala Lumpur: Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur. http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/ Never been here, either.  My knowledge of KL stems soley from bad Sean Connery movies.  Looking forward to seeing the Petroas Towers, world's tallest building until 2004.  Still currently the world's largets towers.  See, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Towers

My flight leaves Houston at 5:40 pm today.  We fly direct to Moscow.  11 hours 20 minute flight. On Saturday, we fly from Moscow to Dubai. 5 hour flight. On Tuesday (August 10), we fly from Dubai to Jarkata. 8 hours 40 minute flight.  On Thursday (August 12) we fly from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur (2 hour flight).  We start the return trip to Houston on Sunday August 15, catching a 55 minute flight to Singapore.  From there, it's just a short 16 hour and 25 jaunt to LAX in Los Angeles, where we have a 6 hour layover to Sunday August 16, before a 3 hour flight from LAX to Houston.  I will be officially circumnavigating the globe on the trip -- and fully expect the mileage will allow me to reach some sort of elite status for frequent flier purposes.  Thankfully, unlike my last job, I get to keep my own frequent flier miles.

So it begins. Assuming I can get some semblance of wireless internet service I'll be making more blog posts from the road.

Comments

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[Kelly Hall]

This sounds awesome, Jeff! Thanks for posting where you are headed. What an interesting cultural journey!

[Jennifer S U]

Be careful with the "business meets pleasure" part. :-)

[Connie Spalding]

Safe travels Jeff..we will be thinking of you all the time. Everything looks so interesting and I am sure you will enjoy it, learn alot, and be very tired by August 16th. Thanks for posting so much ahead of time about the trip, as we will be able to keep "sort of" an itinerary of where you will be. What an experience for you...good luck with everything. Love, Mom and Dad

[Molly]

Happy trails, my friend!