osama i. al-dosary

My old hosting environment stopped working and with it so did my on-line web-album.

I’ve been meaning to rebuild web-album since I moved my blog to new hosting. But I keep putting  it off. I tried using the a web album, simply called Gallery, offered by my new hosting. But seemed complicated at the time and I never got it up and running.

During my recent vacation I had some time to play around and I tried the other two web-albums/photo gallery software that was provided by my hosting provider, which were Coppermine and 4images-something… Both seemed a bit unfriendly and not feature rich. So I decided to try Gallery again. It turned out easier that I originally thought.

I’ve uploaded two albums so far to try out. So far so good. So I will be uploading the others soon.

Please take a look here and send me your comments:

http://fakebucket.com/photos/ or

http://dosary.net/photos/

I’m currently on PTO. Which is short for Paid Time-Off, as the US corporate world calls it. I find the stages of  vacation very interesting and an emotional roller coaster.

First we have the wishing Stage, where I wish I could start PTO immediately. That happens a lot.

The frequency of that feeling varies, of course, and is proportional to my current work load. It can reach peak states where I’m pondering emailing my resignation, but quickly back-off mainly because it would be indecent not to give two weeks notice, and therefore couldn’t get instant gratification!

The Second Stage is when I decide to take some PTO days, but not sure when. This is a tough stage. I need to take some time and plan exactly what I want to do if I want my vacation to be memorable. But when you are very busy you can easily put off the planning part. Also if I want to plan an activity trip with friends (e.g. scuba diving), then the coordination with friends increases the complexity of getting a timely answer. For some people it is difficult committing to dates more than a month in advance, and for me, its the opposite. Where its difficult having a free calendar less than a month in advance. So I end up choosing  arbitrary dates and hoping for the best. Often it ends up with me spending a lot of time at home, just chillin. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Chillin ain’t bad. But you can’t help regret the lost opportunity to go diving with sharks off of Seychelles — if you catch my drift. I’m relieved a bit by the thought that I’ve saved money, and more importantly that I didn’t loose my PTO days. Keep in mind that often nothing happens after this Second Stage. As I can get stuck without a vacation target date or plan. Then the whole idea is lost and forgotten again. … Back to the First Stage.

The Third Stage, is when I finally come out with vacation dates and go about formally requesting those PTO days. We work in a very cross-functional organization so its important that immediate team members know about the vacation and don’t raise any flags. That is fine. The problem can arise with managers when they have thoughts on when, how long, or if I should ever take a vacation. (I’m not talking about any specific manager here. So if any of you guys are reading this, its not you! I love you! Keep up the great job and the raises coming!!) Its best that I try to be a very cold and calculating bastard about this subject. I’m a big softy for my “buddy” managers. Often I’m tricked into feeling guilty about “abandoning the team”, “dropping my responsibilities “, and “not having ownership”. I use the quotes because these terms have been used with me. What’s worse than the standard PHB mid-manager mind games,  is when I finally get my manager’s approval, then some nit-wit Account Manager requests my support during the dates I’ve planned my PTO. Guess what can happen then! Not always. But it has happened to me several times that I’ve canceled my PTO request. And two of those times I’ve had to cancel my travel plans, which included the complex friend travel coordination.

The Fourth Stage is the excitement and anticipation of being free of slavory. Part of this stage is trying to wrap up things so that little or no hand-over to colleagues is needed, and so that nothing needs to interrupt my PTO.

The Fifth Stage is when I start the vacation and try to orient myself to being a normal human being again. … Don’t look at your mobile email client. Damn it! I did it again. Every time I look at that thing I start stress out. … Oh my sweet Colon! I promise not to do it again. Please detract. … After several deep breadths it starts to ease and I can stand up again.

The Sixth Stage is when I have gotten the hang of it and convinced myself that its a basic human right to have a work-free vacation. Afterwards, I can ignore work phone calls with greater confidence and less guilt. Sometimes I find myself imagining an angry argument with the person whose call I’ve ignored. That’s not healthy either, but I haven’t learnt to overcome that yet. Baseless guilt is still very powerful. I find that a touch of anger can help combat guilt.

To make sure that nothing important is dropped, I use the out-of-office email feature and include a colleague’s contact in the auto-reply email asking for him to be contacted instead for business related matter. I typically buffer calls, or ignore them if I’m feeling fragile. I also include in the auto-reply message a comment about contacting me via SMS if its urgent. Of course, in our Middle Eastern version of this US-based company, everything is urgent! Yet nothing is, really. So I would often get these messages which I really can’t find it in my heart to respond to, even though I struggle about it. Some examples of these messages include:

• “Please call”, translated means: I’m too lazy and inconsiderate to write my question, so I’d rather bother you verbally.
• “Please call”, translated means: I forgot what you told me ten times, please tell me again for the eleventh time.
• “Please call”, translated means: I’d rather you verbally tell me what to do instead of looking at the documentation that you sent.
• “Please call”, translated means: I wasn’t paying attention to what you said last time we had a phone conversation. Lets talk again.
• “Please call”, translated means: You’ve answered my question by email, but your answer was too long and detailed. Please give me the Cliff Note’s/short and dumb version.
• “Urgent, Please call”, translated means: I’m too lazy and important to write my question, so it makes sense to bother you in a dramatic way when I feel like it.

Looking at what I just wrote, I can see that I’m more cynical than I expected.

Don’t get me wrong, although I  try not to respond to those types messages, I do respond to messages that explain what is needed.

The Seventh Stage is when realize I don’t have much time left and start to panic and feel regret of what I should’ve done but don’t have time to now.

The Eighth Stage is going back to work. Simply overwhelming. Especially, when I have a couple thousand emails to sort through. This time around I’m probably going to throw away all email I received during my PTO, and just deal with what’s new. This plan has its drawbacks, of course, but the alternative is very time consuming and will leave you behind, stressed and trying to catch up for another two weeks.

The second big challenge is remembering what I should be doing. I.e. keeping priorities in perspective, while colleagues and partners try to pull me into different rabbit holes.

Sometimes coming back to work can feel exciting if there is something new to look forward to. Such as a new job role or a new colleague who will off-load some of my work — hopefully giving my some time for independent human thought.

Another challenge of going back to work has to do with our Middle Eastern warm nature, which means a lot of people greeting me with hugs and kisses. Honestly, I enjoy it. Seeing a colleague I haven’t seen in a while can make my day. The only drawback is that it means a lot of interruptions for the first few days. Unfortunately, technology has not come up with a way to buffer kisses yet.

The Ninth stage is when things get back to normal work-liife. Which basically means that I’m really back at the First Stage again!

And the cycle continues.

A friend of mine was traveling to LA as part of larger trip he has planned for himself and his wife. When he told me that he was going to LA for tourism, my immediate response was “why? there not much there worth visiting”. But I agreed to email him a few pointers, and below is my original email. Let me know what you think or if there is anyway I can improve this guide: …

Before writing this I didn’t think that there was much to see in LA, by the time I got half way through this, I was amazed. I feel like visiting LA again.

Warning

I would like to warn you with following about Los Angeles so you don’t get shocked:

1) Parking is hell. Very difficult to find and very expensive. This is part of LA culture: If you are going to shopping centers they will usually have parking, but remember to read the signs. Parking can be 10$/hour. Often the parking is just for one free hour, also take the ticket that’s issued during entry into the parking area, you usually can validate your parking for an additional 2 to 3 hours. Validating parking can simply be a stamp by a store clerk or can be a little magnetic machine you stick the ticket in — always ask “where can I validate my parking?” Also there are some malls like Westfield where some parking exit lanes are fully automated, so if you are leaving and you haven’t validated your parking, then you will be stuck in the lane. You don’t want that to happen to you, read the signs carefully.

2) A lot of homeless people, they usually reek of alcohol and other non-pleasantries. Get used to seeing them around. Especially in city areas, and Venice beach.

3) Traffic can be very bad if you are caught during rush hours (so its good to include traffic in your plans.)

4) Don’t even think of public transportation. Buses are a mess, late and don’t go everywhere. Car rental is the only way to go.

Fast Food Must Eat

Before I get in to the details, I have to mention that there are two LA must visit fast food joints:

1) “In & Out” (Get the number 2, or 3)

2) Fat Burger (Get the King burger on the char, w/char grilled Onions)

Jack in the Box is also good. All these above three are good for drive through. There not the best restaurants for dining in — especially Fat Burger.

I will not forgive you if you come back and have not eaten from In & Out.

Beaches in General

If you would like to spend time at the beach in general, then the cleanest beaches are Redondo, Manhattan, Laguna and Zuma Beach. Santa Monica and Venice don’t have the cleanest beaches, but they are near other attractions. The Santa Monica area (especially 3rd St.) brings in people for the street shop/walk area and the vast amount of restaurants. Whereas Venice, the attraction there is the strange shops at the beach with its associated strange people. At my time, Venice beach had an amazing amount of homeless people, with a bit of thieves here and there. I’m sure its much better now.

Coastal Fun

Catalina Island

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Island,_California#Tourism_and_attractions

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.479563&lon=-118.437424&z=11&l=0&m=a&v=2

Paradise Cove, Malibu

This is the cove I mentioned to you, where I was the only one there. It looks like it haze become more popular, since my time.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q= restaurant&near=paradise+cove+malibu&ie= UTF8&ll=34.021755,-118.785145&spn= 0.013232,0.025427&z=16&om=1

It is worth a visit, at least to have a meal at the Beach Cafe.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.019577&lon=-118.786395&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2 (The houses are above the cliffs, so you don’t see them when you are in the cove)

Marina Del Ray

There are couple of nice parks there, and you might like seeing all the parked boats. From the satellite image it looks like the canal boats of Venice, Italy.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.976214&lon=-118.445234&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q= Burton+Chase+Park&near=marina+del+rey,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&ie= UTF8&ll=33.979141,-118.441876&spn=0.013754,0.025706&z= 16&om=1&layer=c&cbll=33.987657,-118.453055

Venice Beach

It right south of Santa Monica Beach and north of Marina Del Ray.

Venice beach has a walk way that is famous for it funky atmosphere and wired people. I don’t know if you would be comfortable with your wife there.

You can rent roller blades, two seater bikes, swim gear, bongs, weed and hookers

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.989675&lon=-118.476123&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2

Day trip to Santa Barbara

You can also a day drive up the coast on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). Have Breakfast in Malibu on your way to Santa Barbara. Spend half the day in Santa Barbara, then drive back and catch the Sunset at Malibu (maybe Zuma beach.) There is a lot of sandy coast, and very easy to get reasonable privacy. (So take a blanket with you, maybe even picnic on the beach.)

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.145908&lon=-118.954468&z=10&l=0&m=a&v=2

The best view of the sunset is facing West or South West — Keep the map in mind.

Recreation/Shopping Villages

(Shop, dine, coffee and/or watch movies)

3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica

3rd street is the most active, but the entire area is full of restraints and funky shops, and about 3 movie theaters.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= 3rd+St+Prom,+Santa+Monica,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&sll= 34.008985,-118.488193&sspn=0.027499,0.051413&ie=UTF8&cd=1&z=17&om=1

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.016349&lon=-118.496861&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2

Century City Westfield Mall (Remember to validate, ask where)

Its one of LA best malls. Also has a new movie theaters. This place used to be where all the Saudi tourist would gather during the day, but no longer after 911.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q=westfield+mall&near= century+city,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&ie= UTF8&cd=1&z=14&om=1

Beverly Center — Shopping Center (Remember to validate, ask where)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= beverly+center,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&sll= 34.07719,-118.373051&sspn=0.027477,0.051413&ie=UTF8&ll= 34.073884,-118.377299&spn=0.027478,0.051413&z=15&iwloc=addr&om=1

Westside Pavilion (Remember to validate, ask where)

This shopping center is near Westwood, and has a Barns&Noble books store. The area around the shopping center has some nice restaurants.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= westside+pavillion,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&ie=UTF8&ll= 34.040143,-118.426094&spn=0.027489,0.051413&z=15&om=1

The Grove (Shopping Center) at the Farmers Market

Another nice shopping village area to shop, dine and have coffee. It also has a large book store (B&N) and movie theater. Keep in mind that is location is not obvious from the outside.

http://www.farmersmarketla.com/newsandevents/index.asp

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q= shopping&near=gilmore+ln+and+farmers+market+pl,+Los+Angeles, +California,+United+States&layer=c&ie= UTF8&z=17&iwloc=A&om=1&cbll=34.073,-118.35958

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.072284&lon=-118.357859&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2

(Pasadena and Burbank are nice suburb cities (about 30 minutes away. I used to often visit on Saturdays.) Very nice to drive through, and have pretty village shopping areas.)

Pasadena

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q=restaurant&near= pasadena,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&ie=UTF8&cd= 1&ll=34.14723,-118.14422&spn=0.105698,0.20565&z=13&om=1

Burbank

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.185607&lon=-118.32593&z=14&l=0&m=a&v=2

(Town Center) http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.183619&lon=-118.312798&z=16&l=0&m=a&v=2

Other Very Important Interests

Beverly hills

You should definitely visit Rodeo Dr.. Do some Window Shopping, walk around and you can then stop at one of the many cafes in the area. Also remember to drive past the police station.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q=cafe&near= n+rodeo+dr.+and+dayton+way,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&ie= UTF8&ll=34.06782,-118.40159&spn=0.013225,0.025706&z=16&om=1

Hollywood Chinese Mann Theater

Take a look at the hand, food and face prints of some famous Hollywood movie actors.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2812879-mann_s_chinese_theatre_los_angeles-i

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= 6925+Hollywood+Boulevard,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&sll= 34.09833,-118.32583&sspn=0.01322,0.025706&ie=UTF8&ll=34.102322,-118.339673&spn= 0.013219,0.025706&z=16&om=1&layer=c&cbll=34.101542,-118.340935

La Brea Tar Pits

There is a museum and park. Nice for a two to three hour visit. There is also LACMA (LA County Museum, right near.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= la+brea+tar+pit,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&ie=UTF8&ll= 34.062615,-118.354822&spn=0.003306,0.006427&z=18&iwloc=A&om=1

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.063368&lon=-118.355858&z=19&l=0&m=a&v=2

Exposition Park

Right near USC (my school), it has several nice museums, a rose garden, IMAX theater and a Science Center.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.016518&lon=-118.286952&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= kinsey+dr+and+exposition+blvd,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&sll= 34.01529,-118.284763&sspn=0.006616,0.012853&layer=c&ie= UTF8&ll=34.015433,-118.284763&spn=0.006616,0.012853&z= 17&iwloc=addr&om=1&cbll=34.01436,-118.284741

Amusement parks

And of course you have you amusement parks: Universal Studios, MGM Studios, Disney. After visiting Universal Studios, you can visit Universal City walk http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.136518&lon=-118.353224&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2, where can also play games, dine, shop, etc.

Griffith Observatory

Nice drive up the mountain, and not too far. The best thing about it, is that it has a beautiful view of LA. So I would recommend going there near sunset, and get a view before and after sunset.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q= griffith+observatory,+Los+Angeles,+California,+United+States&sll= 34.140651,-118.277435&sspn=0.105706,0.20565&ie= UTF8&ll=34.119479,-118.30061&spn=0.105732,0.20565&z=13&iwloc=addr&om=1

LA Driving

Some good streets to do some cruising on are: Sunset Blvd (around West Hollywood), Santa Monica Blvd (all the way from Santa Monica to West Hollywood), Wilshire, PCH.

I would also recommend taking a drive through the sky-scrapers of Downtown LA (http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.050259&lon=-118.253253&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2).

LA Walking

There are a lot of nice places to walk, I don’t know where to start. I like to walk around UCLA campus, its very beautiful, you might like it too. You can park in Westwood Village, then walk north into UCLA, then come back into the Village for food and coffee.

Another nice area is in Santa Monica at the cliffs overlooking the beach and PCH.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q= restaurant&near=paradise+cove+malibu&ie= UTF8&om=1&ll=34.013983,-118.498063&spn= 0.013233,0.025706&z=16

There are also some good trails in Santa Monica Mountains.

One last thing, during the weekends, entertainment areas get much more crowded. So you might want to plan on visiting amusement parks and beaches during weekdays, and maybe during the weekends you can do more driving activities, since less cars are on the roads (especially Sundays.) There are some sights you can visit on the same day since they are near each other, like La Brea Tar Pits & The Grove/Farmers Market; Hollywood & Griffith Observatory; 3rd St. Promenade & Venice Beach; etc.