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To the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

Posted on March 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

On my last day in Dubai, I was able to go to the top of the tallest building in the world, , , the Burj Khalifa. It is something I’ve wanted to do in previous trips but it just never worked out.

This trip I made it happen.

What made it special is that I was able to do this sightseeing experience with one of the managers from my IT Manager Institute. Majed Al-Rukhaimi attended with two other managers from his company. They live in three different cities in Saudi Arabia. It was great to meet and work with them and being able to see the top of the Burj Khalifa with Majed made it much more fun.

The building itself is remarkable and stunning in the city skyline. The Burj Khalifa at 125 stories simply towers above all others, , , makes 50-story buildings look relatively small.

The Burj Khalifa also sits in a great tourist area, , , next to the Dubai Mall, the largest indoor mall in the world where they happen to have the largest indoor aquarium in the world.

Every night the grounds are filled with people who are there for shopping, dining, or to see the spectacular water show.

To say there is a lot to see and do in Dubai is an understatement, , , it remains one of my favorite cities to visit.

Here are a few photos from this year’s trip:

In the waiting area about to go to the top, , , the trip starts in the Dubai Mall

Majed takes a photo of the World Record Statistics display

A view of our destination inside the walk area on our way to the elevators

At the top you are literally above the clouds

A view from the top, , , notice the reflection in the building

The Burj Khalifa towers above all others, even the 40-story building below.
Dubai Mall is on the left

Majed (reflection) gets a shot of me at one of the documented historical areas

Majed Al-Rukhaimi from Saudi Arabia, , , that’s me in the reflection

A spectacular view from outside the Dubai Mall

So tall, it’s hard to get the whole building in your camera lens

The water falls inside Dubai Mall

A perspective of how the Burj Khalifa towers above the city skyline

The water show at night at Dubai Mall

I have at least one more trip planned for Dubai this year and look forward to my next visit. When I get my golf game in shape, I plan to play golf in Dubai on a trip. In one of my earlier visits was able to attend the Al Jumeirah World Golf Championship tournament which was a fun day.

One of the nice things about Dubai is that it is very safe and taxi cabs are everywhere making getting around very easy. The people in UAE know how to treat their visitors.

On the road again

Posted on March 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

Snow and travel have been a bit of a struggle for me lately. Last December I was stranded in the Amsterdam airport for 2 days on my way back from Tanzania.Yesterday as we pull into the Toronto, Canada airport an hour late, , , it was snowing hard. The good news is that my connecting flight was delayed so I had plenty of time to make it, , , plenty of time.

My flight to London, Ontario was held up for two hours due to the snow conditions. I finally reached my destination, but I must say I was getting a bit nervous hearing flight after flight getting cancelled over the PA system.

Today’s class was great. unusual in the sense that we started on a Thursday so I may have to check my calendar every morning to know what day it is. We will meet Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and next Monday. Will be here for 6 nights.

Right now, I’m sitting in the bar lounge and just finished off a nice meal and kicking back a bt after the first day. Decided to create an ITLever Blog post so at least it looks like I’m doing something productive to those around me, , , and I guess I actually am.

The first day of a class is always the toughest, , , primarily because I have to get accustomed to standing up all day to present the material. Each day gets easier as I get used to the routine.

This class is great, , , they all know one another being from the same organization so there is some jabbing going on already, , , some of it is even directed my way.

I may need to warn them, , , I’m a skilled professional when it comes to jabbing others. Click on the photo above to see what I mean. The downside of being an “adept jabber” is that when you dish it out, you need to expect to get a lot of it back, , , all in good fun, though.

I love this aspect of working with people. Being able to have fun with one another while working as IT managers is one of the best parts of the job. I no longer manage an IT organization so it is the part I probably miss the most from not working in a bigger company, , , the camaraderie you have with the people around you.

One of the things I point out in the IT Manager Institute class is a discussion about the personality tendencies of IT people. My reasearch shows that over 70% in IT are introverted, , , that basically means most of us are shy. I certainly fit into this elite group of people even though most don’t believe it when I tell them I’m a very shy person. It’s true.

In years past, there is no way I would venture to the bar lounge and have dinner alone. It was too uncomfortable. As I get older, I actually enjoy being where other people are, , , not to socialize with them mind you, , , but to be in an area where there are things going on as opposed to being secluded in my hotel room.

In class, I become much more social and outgoing just like I did when working as an IT manager and CIO. Changing who you are all day tires you out so when I went back to the room I called my wife and talked for a while and then took a quick 20-minute nap, , , something that happens after the first day of almost every class. It’s necessary to re-energize my batteries.

That’s something to ponder yourself. If after work you find yourself quickly falling asleep when you get home and sit down for the evening, , , it could be because you are changing who you truly are at work. It takes a lot of energy to be outgoing and social all day when that’s not who you truly are as a person.

For years, I was doing this unconsciously. It wasn’t until 1990 when I learned about work behavior profiles and personality types that I started to understand this. What I learned in using some tools for 8 years awakened me to things I never knew before, , , much of it was a better understanding of myself. My wife already knew these things intuitively, but it took me a very long time to understand.

London, Ontario is very pretty, albeit very, very white with snow right now. WOW, , , it’s almost April and snow is everywhere. Two days ago it was 82 degrees in Columbia, Tennessee where we live.

It’s great that I don’t have to go outside since we are holding the class in the hotel where I’m staying, , , I like the 1-minute commute.

Day-2 is tomorrow and a day where I give all my students a little surprise. I hope they like it.