YES.... WE SHALL

One more day left and 2009 will be over, it is not just another year gone by, but the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. We are at the dawn of another decade and another year, 2010.

2009 has been a bad year for a lot of people, a year of uncertainty for most of us. A year that brought the best and the worst in all of us including corporate bodies. Companies that had to let go people, some acted generously with good end of service benefits, help in trying to find work and assisted in visa arrangements. Others acted pettily not only with people that were let go but also with people that stayed to run their business.

2010 is a year of recovery on all aspects. The global economy is said to be improving and green shoots may turn into fledgling branches. More importantly it is a year of recovery for each and every one of us.

We need to look forward to a better tomorrow, to a tomorrow that we help shape and not lie down and hope for the best. The future is not in our control but we can help make it better for ourselves and those around us, family, friends and strangers. We have to be proactive and forthcoming and if something does not work or someone wants to be petty and obstructive, just move on and leave them behind. Yes, move on, way outside our comfort zone.

It is no more Yes We Can...... it is Yes We Shall

Wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous 2010, Live Long and Prosperous

They WON

Well the TSA has imposed new draconian measures, this time not on ground but on board.

1. Passengers must remain in seats beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
2. Passenger access to carry-on baggage is prohibited beginning 1 hour prior to arrival
at destination.
3. Disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone,
internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems)
prior to boarding and during all phases of flight.
4. While over U.S. airspace, flight crew may not make any announcement to passengers
concerning flight path or position over cities or landmarks.
5. Passengers may not have any blankets, pillows, or personal belongings on the lap
beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.

It is rumored that these measures will be removed by year end. Knowing the TSA it probably will take longer. Is this the TSA deflecting attention from its failure. I mean the guy's father told the USA Embassy in Lagos, his son is up to no good.

I am all for security screening on ground, no matter how stringent or thorough or how long it takes. They are designed to make us feel safe when we board an aircraft.

Now the TSA wants the travelling public to sit still in what amounts to sensory deprivation, mass solitary confinement in a flying tube at 40,000 ft. for 8 to 12 hours. Why not just ground all flights and save us all the trouble. So we will all travel to Mexico or Canada and drive into the USA.

The day the TSA has instated these measures they have acknowledged that the war was lost, THEY HAVE WON.

Flying American

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2010

This last week has been weird and exciting. For the first time in 20 years I have decided to fly with a USA Legacy carrier on an international flight (Last time was 1990 from JFK to LAX with TWA).

I flew American Airlines (AA) from Dubai to Detroit.

Well, the first flight was DXB to LHR a code share with their One World Partner British Airways (BA), I suppose we all know about their Flight Attendants' call for a strike over the Christmas/New Year season and the ensuing drama. I fly with BA several times a year, but that was different. The crew were very professional, courteous, poker face, fake smiles and cool, well more like cold, lucky it was a night flight and I slept.

Then came AA, now I am used to American Eagle Flights between Chicago and Detroit, commuter aircraft, very short and very informal. AA at LHR were friendly, my boarding passes issued and sent on my way to their Admiral's Club. I liked their lounge in LHR the layout was nice, much better than BA's T5 lounges. The one in Chicago was great but other than a voucher for a free bottle of water everything else is chargeable.

Now AA must have a great profiling software for additional security screening. In the last 8 months I got profiled twice for extra screening, I suppose a Jordanian, residing in the USA traveling back and forth to Dubai does raise some concerns to somebody in AA, so you get a bunch of SSSS typed on your boarding pass. In Detroit the TSA made sure I understood that it was "my airline requested extra screening", in LHR the security personnel told me SSSS was for special, I actually laughed. I don't mind it.

I love travelling in B777, it is a great aircraft and the Business seat on AA is so complicated, they have a video clip on how to use it, pretty cool. The entertainment system is not as extensive as BA's just a few movies, but I loved their Audio especially the Classical Music.

The food was not bad, imaginative and tasty (Chicken on a bed of couscous with tomato sauce, not bad for a Legacy Airline) and the chocolate ice cream was divine, I was impressed.

The crew was professional and aloof. The Purser told us not to leave our designated zones, congregate around toilets and not to approach the galleys and she meant it. WOW.... very clinical almost surgical, of course the Captain's announcement to us that if we see something unusual, it is probably unusual and tell your FA.

All in all, it was a great Atlantic crossing, surprisingly

GLORIA

It is Christmas Eve and my friends in UAE and Jordan must be getting down to some serious get togethers, while us in the western hemisphere are still running around doing last minute shopping (between bouts of jet lag napping).

So, what did you get for Christmas? Were you good, must be or Santa would not visit. It is nice to get presents, makes us feel good and appreciated.

Well Christmas is about giving? right? Sure, it is about giving to family and friends, giving love and friendship. It is about getting together (physically or virtually, does not matter) with family, friends and acquaintances and showing them you care.

It is about being kind, being forgiving and willing to start all over again. Yes, about telling people that all is good, forgiven and forgotten.

It is about living to that angelic hymn "Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Glory be to God on high and in earth peace,and goodwill towards men)"

Yesss, Goodwill towards men (and women), life is too short, so Merry Christmas

Reflections

End of the year, a time for reflection. A time of remembrance of loved ones, those who are with us or far away and those who have left us but their memory and love remains in our heart.

It is a time to take stock of our actions and/or inactions of the previous 12 months. A time for looking inward and really have a hard and honest look at our inner selves. Are we proud of what we have achieved? Are we proud of the person we have become? Can we look ourselves in the eye every morning and like what we see? No deception, no self delusion but the real us.

Time, to chart our path for the future or try to write down our wish lists. Resolutions are made only to be discarded in a few weeks. However deep down we know what we want or think we know the path to follow. A mixture of hope, apprehension, uncertainty, fear and confusion. And, if we are lucky we have someone special to share with.

Ahh, that special time of the year where hope and happiness coexist side by side with apprehension and sadness.

May the LORD bless you and all your family and friends and keep you healthy, wealthy and above all loving and happy.