May 05, 2004
Conversions
So our new apartment in Kuwait is supposed to be 126 square meters. Now, what is that exactly in feet?
The Rocky Mountain Moggers Conversion Site is one of the better I have seen, and it shows that our 126 square meters equals 1400 square feet.
May 04, 2004
Where I've been
Busy like a bee. My wife has been much better about updating her weblog, with pictures of our recent trip to Wisconsin and more.
We're leaving for Kuwait on June 14th or thereabouts. Looks like we'll be living in a large 3-bedroom apartment in a new complex, with a swimming pool and underground parking garage. Ahhh, government largesse...
February 27, 2004
My Kuwait reading list
I've got a bit of reading to do. Here's what I'm starting with:
The Oil Economy of Kuwait (1980), Dr. Y.S.F. Al-Sabah
The Rape of Kuwait (1991), Jean P. Sasson
Change and Development in the Gulf (1999), Abbas Abdelkarim
Kuwait: Recovery and Security After the Gulf War (1997), Anthony H. Cordesman
The Role of Industrial and Development Finance Institutions in the GCC States: Dimensions and Policies (2002), A. Abdulrazzaq, K. Naser, P. Sadler
Kuwait 1950-1965: Britain, the Al-Sabah, and Oil (1999), Simon C. Smith
Kuwait Country Report (February 2004), The Economist Intelligence Unit
Kuwait Country Profile 2003, The Economist Intelligence Unit
U.S. Mission to Kuwait: Mission Performance Plan 2004
February 18, 2004
And the winner is...
That's the flag of Kuwait, where Denise and I will be headed for the next two years. We'll leave sometime in April or May, after some basic job training here in Virginia.
February 17, 2004
Pick a flag
We'll find out later today where we're going. The flags pictured in the earlier post are as follows, from left to right and down the page:
Algeria, Kuwait, Cameroon, Togo, Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Philippines, Greece, Poland, South Korea, Serbia, Bangladesh, Russia, Mongolia, Papau New Guinea, Mozambique.
February 14, 2004
Pick Your Flag
We'll find out Tuesday where we're ending up for the next couple of years. At a "Flag Day" ceremony, they will pull a flag out of a box, let us guess what country it is, and then announce who's going there. Here are the flags from the countries on our specific bid list. You'll have to guess where they are...
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February 11, 2004
January 22, 2004
The List
My wife was good enough to put our list up on her blog, so I'll just copy it here. This is our final bid list, being handed in this morning, in order of preference. The month listed is when we would leave, if there's no month listed then it would be whenever I have the language needed. The future is wide open...
1. Algiers, Algeria - October
2. Algiers, Algeria - September
3. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - November
4. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - October
5. Kuwait City, Kuwait - April
6. Yaounde, Cameroon - November
7. Lome, Togo - September
8. Djibouti, Djibouti - June
9. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - September
10. Niamey, Niger - August
11.Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - May
12. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - September
13. Manila, Philippines - May
14. Athens, Greece
15. Warsaw, Poland
16. Seoul, South Korea - August
17. Seoul, South Korea - December
18. Pristina, Serbia - September
19. Pristina, Serbia - August
20. Minsk, Belarus - February ‘05
21. Dhaka, Bangladesh - August
22. Moscow, Russia - August
23. Ulannbaatar, Mongolia - June
24. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea - August
25. Maputo, Mozambique
January 03, 2004
Virginia
We're in Fairfax now, staying with some friends, until we move into our new apartment on the 10th. We're moving into the Courtland Towers, a large high-rise in Arlington. We'll probably stay there a few months, then maybe look for cheaper digs when the per diem goes down.
December 29, 2003
Moving on up...
So the movers just came and got our stuff. Very professional, inventory and everything. Now we're sitting in our empty apartment, staring at the walls.
I made a big batch of chili the other day, so we would have something to eat these last few days. But then we let the movers take the microwave and all of our pots and pans. I'm not sure why we did that. I suppose we could eat the chili cold, but that's not very fun.
We'll probably spend New Year's Eve in Brooklyn, then head down to DC on the 1st. Denise has to work on Friday at her new job in DC. We'll be staying with our friends, Emet and Monica, for a week or so until we move into our apartment in Arlington. They have a dog, so I'll be spending that time playing with the dog, playing my guitar and watching TV. Life is hard.
December 11, 2003
Spies like us
Turns out they'll be issuing us all offical Maxwell Smart Shoe Phones.
December 05, 2003
Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes...
Well folks, the big news is that Denise and I will be moving down to DC soon, and I will start a new job in January.
The company that I've worked for the past three years, FIND/SVP, has been very good to me and it's been an incredible pleasure to work there. I have never worked with a smarter bunch of people in my life, and every day was a learning experience. If this opportunity had not come along, I probably would have stuck with this company for quite a while.
August 01, 2003
My Current Reading List
Secrets of State: The State Department and the Struggle Over U.S. Foreign Policy by Barry Rubin
Witness to History, 1929 - 1969 by Charles Bohlen
Inside a U.S. Embassy: How the Foreign Service Worls for America by AFSA, edited by Shawn Dorman
The Evolution of Diplomacy by Harold Nicolson
The Art of Diplomacy by Francois de Callieres
Memoirs, 1925 - 1950 by George F. Kennan
Memoirs, 1950 - 1963 by George F. Kennan
Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
First Line of Defense: Ambassadors, Embassies and American Interests Abroad edited by Robert V. Keeley