Category Archives: Life - Page 10

Gadget Review: The Pebble SmartWatch

Posted by on October 22, 2013 No comments

Pebble (P365-275)I recently became very intrigued by a new gadget.  While I am not normally a watch type person, I have tried to wear a watch on many occasions.  Way back when I had a Goofy watch that I got in Disneyland and it was great.  Very low profile, fit my personality, light, and easy to read. (except that it ran backwards…it was…goofy).  I have not been able to find a good light watch since then, and my poor old Goofy watch has broken beyond repair.

I tried to use the iPod Nano as a watch, and things started out great.  It wasn’t super huge (much bigger that I had wanted, but manageable) and it had some great features: different watch faces, music, storage, step tracking.  But…..  I had to charge the thing nearly every night.  This meant that there was a good chance I would forget it on the charger when I left, or it would just go dead on my arm.  Also, having to connect it to my PC every time I wanted to switch things up on it or sync the steps was kind of a pain.

We are now in an era of the SmartWatch.  With Samsung and Sony being the heavy hitters, it would almost appear like everyone has decided to build a smartwatch.  The underdog in this battle?  The Pebble.  The Pebble started as a kick-starter and was met with a huge amount of support.  The idea is simple. An e-ink screen and low power Bluetooth connection to display info from your phone.  Be it notifications, e-mails texts, or incoming calls.  The benefit?  Instant access to your information, long battery life, less interaction with your phone.  All through an open source development.

Like I said, intrigued.

After watching the information develop for this watch, I finally pulled the trigger and picked one up.  It was $150 at Best Buy, and when you think about it, a good watch can cost WAY more than that.  I was not disappointed either.  Out of the box it was very easy to set up (Install the app on my Droid) and within a few seconds I was transferring watch faces to it.  There are a lot of apps that add functionality available via the market, but I almost wish that the main Pebble folks would incorporate some of these functions into the native app.

I have now been using it for roughly 2 weeks and here is my typical usage of it:

  • Notify My Android: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • Facebook: Pebble native
  • Twitter: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • Work E-mail: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • G-mail: Pebble native
  • Outlook: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • Pandora Music control (skip, pause) Pebble native
  • Weather: Glance for pebble
  • SMS replies (stock pre-generated): Glance for pebble
  • Phone control: Pebble ringer (I wish Pebble native would do this)

ht_allerta_pebble_smartwatch_dm_120418_wblogSo far, I have been amazed.  The battery life of the e-ink display, even with the back-light active on shake (which is a cool feature) lasted 7 days.  I was expecting about 3-5.  There are a number of things you can do to extend this, like disabling the back-light, powering off the device when you aren’t wearing it, etc. Since I have started using it, I noticed that I don’t tend to look at my phone near as often too.  If I am sitting at work, my phone is now on silent and I get notified on my pebble.  if it’s something I need to respond to (e-mail, twitter, etc.) I just use my desktop.  If I am out and about, I can either use a quick reply, or just use the pebble as an informative and reply back when I can.  This means that my battery on the phone lasts longer as well since I am not turning on the screen.

Now, it’s not without it’s faults.  Because of it being open source, and everyone developing apps that do cool things for it, I now have about 6 pebble related apps installed on my phone.  These are things that could be rolled into a single app.  While the shake back-light is cool, it also causes the light to go off when it’s not needed. i.e. clapping at a concert.  (I know I can disable it). Picture messages don’t notify either, which is just strange.  I have heard that the iOS integration is not as good as Android.  So your mileage may vary.  There is a much better open source community on the Android side of the house.

Overall I have been very impressed with it as a supplemental device.  I haven’t even tested the fact that it’s waterproof as well.  I have heard that many of the competing watches have yet to match the Pebble in battery life, which was the primary selling point for me.

If you see me around, feel free to ask me about it, I will gladly show it off.

An open letter to my friends about DragonCon

Posted by on October 9, 2013 No comments

DragonCon 2011 SundayI am going to say some things about DragonCon that a lot of my friends may disagree with, but they are things that I think and feel.

You remember the first time you went to DragonCon?  The size of the convention outweighed anything you had ever seen.  The costumes were amazing, the friends you made there lasted forever.  The wonder and awe of it all was so much to take in that you ended up talking about it for months on end after it was done.  You came home and told all your friends about this magical place where you had so much fun.

The next time you went, it was still a blast, but you started to see a bit more of the tarnish.  The room rates were a bit more than the year before.  You got to hang out with friends, but a few of them were stuck in a line for a panel. You really wanted to pick up something at this booth in the dealers room, but it was a bit crowded each time you tried, and by the time you got in, it was sold out.  But you still had a blast, and maybe the next few weeks after the con, you talked about it and went over your pictures.

Then, a few years of going down the road, more and more tarnish appears.  Rooms sell out instantly. errors plague the system.  Hotels handle the convention badly because it doesn’t matter, they still get their money.  DudeBros invade the system because it’s an endless fountain of cheap rooms and entertainment for them.

I love DragonCon, but only as a memory.  That first, second, even the third versions in my head are what I love.

Our Boat! - (P365-42)Now. I have been to other big events.  PAXEast and JoCoCruiseCrazy.  Both are amazing events.  I met amazing people at them, and I had experiences that rank up there with what I felt at that first DragonCon.  When I got back from them, I wanted to do the same thing that I (and many others) had done after DragonCon which was spread the word.  What I was met with was statements like “It’s not DragonCon” or “We are already spending our vacation at DragonCon”

No, they aren’t DragonCon.  I won’t say they are better or worse than DragonCon.  They are just something else.  It’s something new.  A chance to feel that magic and wonder again.  To try something different.

I am not going to say that I won’t go back to DragonCon again.  I would like to again.  I had fun, despite the issues that surround it.  But I am also going to try out other things.  I would love to visit San Diego Comic Con, even though I have heard bad stories about them as well.  There is Baltimore comic Con, NY comic con, Megacon, PAX Prime, etc.

Please don’t take this as a rant to get everyone to stop going to DragonCon, or even as an advertisement for any other convention.  I realize that the cruise may be to expensive, or Video games aren’t your thing, or you don’t like comics.  What I am saying is that there are LOTS of great events that offer up much the same experience that DragonCon does.

I know that we all have lots of friends that we like to meet up with at DragonCon, but remember how you met those friends.  Think of the new friends that are waiting at a new event.  All your DragonCon friends won’t desert you just for trying something new.

I would encourage everyone to try something new.  You never know, you may like it!

Gainfully Employed

Posted by on October 7, 2013 No comments

Green (P365-279)After 3 ½ months of searching during one of the worst times for a govt. contractor to be searching for a job, I finally landed a position!  Sarah also started a new job as well.  It’s been a super stressful few months and I am really glad for the emotional support of my friends and family during that time.  But hey, that’s done and I have joined the productive society again!  I am now working in a local (to Northern VA) hosting company doing Tier 3 Windows support.  Should be interesting getting back down in the support weeds.  Who knows, it may lead to a whole new variety of twitter jokes.

Sadly, this does bring an end to my series of “Cover Letter” jokes.  please feel free to go back and see the hilarity that ensues when you try and add the wrong things to cover letters.

Pebble (P365-275)In the month since I went to shoot the LADEE launch, quite a few things have happened.  One of the reasons I haven’t written much since then is primarily due to the crappy depression that accompanies something like unemployment.  (That and the lack of sleep, irritability, feeling of worthlessness….you get the picture)  So lets see if I can shotgun these out.

We started doing a Webcomic over at RetroNickRadio!!  It’s really cool and you should go read it.

I went to shoot some Roller Derby!

Two Words….Midget Wrestling. (yeah, that happened)

Sarah and I celebrated our return to work with a trip to Universal Studios.

We got to attend a great concert by Wil Wheaton Vs. Paul and Storm

And finally, two of our super awesome friends were finally allowed to be married in Maryland so we went to wish them well.

The next month should prove interesting as I adjust to a new work schedule (read that as “Actually working again, and not in my Pajamas”)

Shooting the LADEE Launch (The 10 Second Lesson)

Posted by on September 8, 2013 1 comment

LADEE ProbeI grew up as a space nerd.  One of my fondest memories as a kid was pouring over a book that my parents got me that covered the history of space exploration.  I think I probably destroyed it from reading it so often and yet even today I can recall the diagrams and photos and articles from it.  I was extremely sad when I heard that the shuttle was being retired because I was just entering the age and time that I could actually make it down to see it get launched.

So when I heard that there was a launch that was taking a probe to the moon, and it was happening in Virginia, I was excited.  Not, “Hey, there is a launch happening in VA” excited.  No, this was 10 year old SNES kid “HOLY CARP THEY ARE SHOOTING A ROCKET AT THE MOON FROM MY BACK YARD” excited.  Needless to say, I told Sarah we were going to see it.  (Thankfully, she is as much of a nerd as I am and there was no question about our attendance)

Rocket GardenWallops Island Flight Facility is on the very coast of VA.  The good news is that it’s only 130 miles from my house.  The bad news is that because of the roads, it’s driving 205 miles.  The plan was to leave early on Friday morning and spend the day down there getting ready for the launch.  Well, best laid plans…. Sarah ended up with an interview at noon, and I have a phone interview that popped up at 1:30pm.  So we couldn’t leave until around 4pm.  This got us there at around 8:30pm (Launch was slated for 11:30pm).  Well, parking sucked.

 

islandSarah dropped me off at a small pier on the causeway to Chincoteague island and attempted to park, but found nothing so she went to the Marina on the island (a good 20min drive from me) to watch the launch.  The location I was at was perfect, right across from the launch pad, hardly any light pollution, and not a huge crowd.  Sarah was MUCH close to the launch pad (6 miles to my 8), but it was crowded with families, and not as much place to set up to shoot.  (from what I understand, her view was amazing, just got great for what I was doing).

Back to the idea that I was going to take pictures of the launch.  This is something I had never done before. It was a nighttime launch, so I knew it was going to be bright, but not how bright.  Do I track it?  Do I take various shots as it goes up?  Do I do a long exposure?  Why hadn’t I looked this up?!?  I had NO CLUE WHAT I WAS DOING!!!  Yeah, these were all thoughts that went through my head while I was there.  I defaulted to my instincts and shot what I knew.  Did some Long Exposure of the facility and the stars.  I figured that I would just have to be quick and snap the pics as they came.  Needless to say I learned a LOT, very fast.

When shooting a launch here is what I picked up:

  • Rule #1: Launches happen VERY FAST.  Be prepared
  • Rule #2: They are VERY BRIGHT.  I was still 8 miles from the launch pad and it lit up the whole area.
  • Rule #3: Relating to rule #1, You get 1 shot at it.  It’s not like they will do another launch in 2 min.
  • Rule #4: Take a few shots, then put down the camera and admire the fact that we are launching something into space!

When the launch happened, I adjusted, fired, adjusted, fired, followed, fired, followed, fired, and then done.  I had no idea what I got.  The screen on my D600 only gave me a small hint.  I watched the rocket as it arced across the sky, watched the different stages and marveled at it’s glory.  Only after it had become a tiny speck did I feel the anxiety of “Did I get a good picture?”

I posted to Facebook and Twitter that the launch was amazing and that I hope I got a good shot.  Then all the various responses came in of “Missed the launch, can’t wait to see your pics” and “I know you got a good one, can’t wait!”  Oh god, the pressure was on now.  I know it sounds silly, but I was seriously worried.  I checked the photos transferred to my iPad while I waited for Sarah to make the traffic crazy drive back to pick me up.  The pictures were just ok, but it was dark, and the iPad screen is only so good.  Plus, I couldn’t do the level of processing to really reveal the picture behind the picture.  Did I mess up my first launch?

Sarah picked me up and we found some sleazy motel to crash in and I think I drifted off at around 2am.  The next day we spent exploring Chincoteague Island.  I didn’t get back to my PC to process until late Saturday.

I spent probably a good 2 hours working on 5 pictures.  3 Rocket shots and 2 star field shots.  The good news is…. I am happy with them.  The better news is, I know what I can do to improve for the next time.

Also, I need to stop being so hard on myself.

Enjoy:
LADEE Launch

LADEE Launch

LADEE Launch

Bang Zoom! (P365-249)

LADEE Launch

Making Comics

Posted by on September 6, 2013 No comments

Making Comics (P365-247)

I think I should wait till I have about 20 or so strips under my belt before I decide to call myself a Webcomic author, but yeah, I am making comics now.  It started a while back when I was relating to Nick that we should have a webcomic for the RetroNick site.  I had some great ideas for some strips that involved us, the hosts, but since I couldn’t draw (and he can, amazingly) we could team up.

Well, the problem with that is that Nick is extremely busy.  Also, drawing takes a lot of time.  So I gave up on the idea until the other day when I thought about just doing them in Photo form.  I had seen Joel Watson of http://hijinksensue.com/ so them on occasion and they looked pretty straight forward.  So I wrote up some quick jokes, talked to the guys and suddenly…BOOM, RnR comics was born.

As of this posting, there are only 2 active.  I have 4 nearly finished, waiting on some info and extra photos, and another 2 in script form.  This process makes me both envious and NON envious of some of the webcomic authors I follow who can actually draw.  I know they put a TON of effort into drawing each strip as well as coming up with new material each week/day/etc.  On the flip side, drawing some of the panels would make the limit of “what can I pull off in the real world” a little easier.  (Example, I probably couldn’t pull off a picture of me and the guys in a theater watching a movie)

So keep an eye over at the RetroNick site and look for the new comics on Tues and Thurs!

 

The joys of Unemployment

Posted by on August 20, 2013 No comments

Chillin (P365-224)The emotional roller coaster that is Job Hunting is still ongoing.  Some weeks are great with lots of phone calls and emails back and forth.  Then there are the weeks where everything is in motion and all I can do is wait.  Various interviews, both in person and on the phone, where I get to be the subject of “Stump the dummy”.

It’s kind of exhausting.

The best part about it is the comedy that it generates.  I have gotten pings from jobs that are nowhere near what I have listed on my resume.  Things like Insurance salesman, car salesman, iOS Developer, and then there is this guy:

“Your resume was selected because it includes words or phrases that indicate these qualifications.  In order to continue expanding the sales force, I am conducting preliminary interview meetings for top-level candidates to fill these business-to-business sales positions”

When I asked him what the job description was:

“Thanks for sending me your information (Which I didn’t). I’d love to work out a time for us to meet and go over our position. I cover and hire for all of Northern Virginia, but my office is in Fredericksburg, which is where I conduct interviews only.”

Again, I asked him for a job description and how it fits my resume (which he claimed he had).

“The person I am hiring will be responsible for making personal visits to owners of companies in order to continue or improve upon their existing benefits. This is not a door to door sales position.  I will be happy to explain further and answer any of your questions in person if you choose to meet with me.”

After pressing the 3rd time for an actual job description, I haven’t heard from him since.  I was seriously very o_O afterwards.  Good chance I would have probably gotten raped down in Fredericksburg.

So the search continues.  If you follow me on twitter, you may have seen some of my various “Cover letter” jokes.  These will continue until I find a job!  (And they may get worse so you should pray that I find a job soon!)  The plus side to all of this is that I was thinking of rolling the whole experience into a routine and trying out one of the open mic nights.

In the meantime, I am taking things slow.  Reviewing the jobs I am applying for and making the most of the time off.

Creativity Vs. The Blahs….Ready, Fight!

Posted by on August 2, 2013 No comments

HalfsiesSo I think the biggest difficulty I am having with this whole “Not having a job” thing (aside from the “finding a job” thing) is what to do with my spare time.  You see, I have a lot of it now.

viagra soft tabs canada

 My left brain is all “Man, I have so many things lined up for us!” where my right brain is more like “Things suck, you suck, this situation sucks!”  The downside to this is that it would seem that lately, the right side is winning.  This doesn’t stop ol’ lefty from giving it the good college try.

Everything from story ideas to crafting projects to outdoor projects have been flowing through the noggin, but then they hit that right side firewall and somehow aren’t making it through the filter.  Instead, right side is cracking the whip with “Search for more jobs, provide..PROVIDE…PROOOOVVVIIIDDDEEEE!!

I try and explain to herr rightenheimer that things are going ok.  We have 5 possible leads as well as a billion and a half resumes out in the wild.  We have enough in savings to take care of things for a long while, we can afford to take this time off and pick the right job in the right place.

Unfortunately, he’s not listening.  So I sot down to write and I make a blog post about arguing with myself instead.  (That counts, right?)

Anyone want to come over and punch the right side of my head?

Officially Unemployed!

Posted by on July 15, 2013 No comments

Interview Time! (P365-191)And just like that, I have officially become a burden on society. Didn’t realize it was that easy. So July 12th was my last day on record at my previous job, and as if yet I have had no offers from any of the 50 places I have submitted to. I do have one hopeful that I feel the interview went well, but we’ll see.  (If you have any leads, please feel free to e-mail me!

Fear not, Sarah and I have enough socked away to sustain us for quite some time. So, in the meantime I am catching up on my photography and writing (thus this post) and looking into other things to keep me busy. I am not going to fool myself into thinking that I am some future great novelist or think that my Photography can sustain me. Mostly it’s just things to occupy my mind so I don’t go crazy.

In other news, I broke my toe! Yeah, great segway right? On the 4th of July I became a statistic by going into the emergency room with a non-firework related injury! What happened? Well, after our little BBQ and meet and greet, when everyone else had left (except James, who got to witness this delightful event) I went to get an ice cream out of the freezer. On the way back to the family room I was walking down the stairs and slipped. My left foot shot straight into the metal railing and I fell the rest of the way down the stairs.

After screaming in pain for a good 5 minutes, I finally got around to asking Andrew to remove the sock on my left foot. I took a picture of the result, but to save your stomachs, I have decided to use this artist’s rendition of what my foot looked like. As you can see, I tried to make it a little happier. The actual foot looked much, much worse.

Mah Toe

After screaming in disgust for a good 5 minutes, everyone else in the room decided that a trip to the emergency room was in order.

Fun fact about me. In stressful situations, I use humor as a defense mechanism. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed. On the way out to the car, I made sure that Sarah grabbed my phone and my iPad (so I have them) but totally forgot about things like, my insurance card, my shoes (at least 1 of them) etc. I needed my phone because I totally needed to post a picture to Facebook and twitter, right!?

When we arrived at the hospital, we didn’t see the normal patient entrance to the emergency room, only the ambulance entrance. I rolled down the back seat window and asked one of the paramedics “Where do I go for this?” with my foot outside the window. He happily pointed us in the right direction.

Thankfully the emergency room was fairly empty and we didn’t have to wait for hours on end to be seen. The whole staff was great and dealt with my “current state” with a smile. I got dosed up on morphine and the doctor straightened out my toe (to much screaming from me).

If you are really interested in what it looked like, the x-ray can be seen here. (warning, it’s not pretty)

That’s been my July so far! My project 365 is still going strong. I think it’s really helped me work on some of techniques, as well as getting over my fear of taking pictures of other people. Turns out that the average person doesn’t mind an artistic picture taken of them!

Here is a link to my Flickr page with all of the latest pics on it!

The hits keep on hitting (The recap post)

Posted by on June 25, 2013 No comments

Objects in Mirror (P365-163)I would really like to start this post with something like “The nightmare is over” based on my last post, but I don’t think it would work out that well.  You see, we managed to escape Kuwait!  Yeah, I know, that part sounds great, but the circumstances in which we left make for a much worse story.  Sure there is the usual parts about my passport being stolen and going through all hell to get a new one re-issued.  The problem, of course, is that the process for getting my work visa so that I can continue to do my job there was already started using my old passport.  If I have a new passport number, that process had to start over again.  This meant that it would be that much harder for me to get on base to do my job.  This is just how Kuwait works.  It’s stupid and corrupt and they seriously need an overhaul of their government processes.  (I can say that now that I am safely in the U.S.)

The other problem we experienced was with our team.  Sarah and I were both working on this project, her as a tech writer and me as an engineer.  With all of my issues with getting on Base, Sarah was tasked with driving some of the folks who were in the middle of the visa process and couldn’t drive (yet another f’d up thing).  This meant that most of her day was spent on base working in the data center with a bunch of guys.  Now, we all know how guys usually talk, and for the most part it’s not too bad or usually very tolerable.  Sarah is also pretty thick skinned and can dish it out as much as the next guy.  But there happened to be one individual who took Misogyny to the next level.  Lots of comments about women in the workplace, can’t trust something that bleeds, etc..  This got to be a bit much and it was VERY obvious that Sarah was uncomfortable around him.

We mentioned it to a few folks in an effort to have someone maybe mention to him to stop being a douche.  No one did.  Finally, after some more comments, I urged her to send an e-mail to our boss back in the states and put it in writing.  The response that we got back was about on par, mentioning that an e-mail would go out and they would ask people to behave themselves.

What happened was completely different.

The e-mail went out all right, saying that someone from the company would be coming out to do a sensitivity training and that folks would be coming in on their day off, charging a code to the company, to attend.

The team started freaking out.  They instantly jumped on the defensive.  Some of them remembered that we mentioned the one individual so they knew what was going on and who was involved.  The next morning, what we thought was going to be the typical morning meeting was dead silence and awkwardness.  When the meeting was over, I went upstairs and Sarah went to drive folks in.  Only they had gathered up in a group and were discussing something in private.  When Sarah asked if they were leaving the comment “We need to prove this isn’t a hostile environment” was made and the group, sans the accused, went to a different car and drove off.  This left Sarah to drive in the guy she accused……alone.

Trapped in a car for an hour, he spurted out a half-hearted apology that was more of a “I’m sorry that you got mad” as opposed to the “I’m sorry for what I did” and then tossed it back in her face saying she should have said something to him and that it was her fault.

Upon arriving at the base, feeling sick and stressed, Sarah came back to the apartment and we made the decision to head home.  I was only a few days away from getting my Passport back and she needed hers back from our sponsor.  The next few days were pretty rough.  We had told the bosses what happened and they seemed ok with us heading out.  The team, seeing me as an extension of this “issue” shut me out.  I could hardly talk to any of them and had to funnel everything through our team lead, who actually was the nicest of the bunch and helped us out.  It was very clear that we were being shunned.

Here is where things get (more) wacky.  We spoke to our bosses back in the states.  We knew that contract work can be tough and that the company can only put so many people on any given contract.  They mentioned that there may not be something for us, but there was some things in the hopper that could become available.  Even better, as we got closer to returning, we were told that there was another Data center move down in NC that we would be working on.

Things looked ok, we were leaving the hostile environment, we still had work, and we felt much better.

Then we got home.

Surprise! (P365-125)Turns out the NC move got delayed and we went into a meeting with one of the company bosses.  They were giving us a 30 day employment window but they had no work for us.  While there were two contracts that could be won soon, they didn’t have any guarantee, so our expected termination date was July 12th.  Originally, they explained that they really expected to win these contracts within the next two weeks and that we should “Keep checking our e-mail” to hear word, but that we didn’t need to come into the office and we may want to start looking.

I took it as it was presented and was hopeful for upcoming work.  Then I got home to find that my work e-mail had been disabled.  The next morning, the termination letter was in my g-mail inbox (still reading July 12th).  This sounded a lot less like “Wait and see” and a whole lot like “You need to leave”.

I mentioned to them that it was kind of fishy that we were asked to leave so soon after filing a complaint against someone.  The response was that we were warned that there may not be work, and that we came back voluntarily.  I hardly call escaping such a hostile environment as a volunteer move.

So here we are now.  I am looking for new work, as it seems that even if the company does win something, I doubt my phone will ring.  We managed to stock a lot away in savings so we are fine until something comes along, which hopefully will be soon.

I have had a lot of people tell me that I need to “Lawyer up” and get all I can out of this.  To be honest.  I just want to move on.  We both do.  We are home and safe, no one was hurt (much), and we just want to move on with our lives.  The folks that work in the company aren’t bad people, they are just doing what makes the most business sense.  The folks on the team have to live with the type of people they are.  It’s not worth to effort to cause trouble and burn bridges.

So, anyone know of a place that’s hiring?

An American Nightmare in Kuwait

Posted by on May 21, 2013 No comments

This isn’t exactly how I wanted to approach my next post on the site, but things being what they are, this is where I am now.  I am pretty sure that there is a list of horrible things that can happen to a world traveler while visiting another country.  Towards the top are things like Killed, Sold into slavery, imprisoned, etc.  But somewhere, probably pretty low on the list, is Loose Your Passport and Wallet.  While I hope to avoid any of the upper parts of that list, sadly, I can check that one off.

Yup, I lost my passport.

So what happened was that Sarah and I went to the Avenues Mall to get a desk and chair for her to use for her work.  We had just purchased the chair at Office Depot, I used my bank card out of my wallet there, and we headed out towards the Ikea, where we parked.  We loaded the chair into the car and went back in to see about a desk at Ikea.  I reached back and felt that my wallet was gone.  Panic mode sets in and I instantly start re-tracing every step.  I scour the car and go back and forth to Office Depot.  Nothing

Well shit.

I head to lost and found and file a claim and they said they would call me.  At this point my brain is a mix of “Can’t Handle this” and “FIX ALL THE THINGS!” I spoke with my boss and explained what happened and at this point it was a “Wait and see” thing.

The next day we went back to the Avenues to speak with the Police officer in the office there.  One of my co-workers passed on a website for the Kuwait Embassy stating that we need to get After checking in with Lost and found once more, and with Office Depot, we went to the Kuwait Police office in the Avenues Mall.  Where we were instructed that the officer would not be in until 4 pm.

So we waited.

At 4 pm on the nose we spoke with the officer who worked with the CCTV team to see if they could locate it.  He also informed me that I could not get a report done there, but needed to go to another police station.  There is a different police station, near Avenues Mall, that could help us, but I should speak with the Chief there, and he wouldn’t be in until the next morning at 9 am   So we left our phone info with the CCTV folks and headed back to our apartment.  Later that night we did get a call, but they said they couldn’t see anything fall out or look bad.

Que up this morning!

We left around 8:30 am to visit the police station near Avenues.  One of the things I have learned here is that there really are no street addresses or markers.  If you want to know where something is, it’s “Over there” or “Near that other thing”.  The instructions I got for the location of this station were about as good.  I checked 3 buildings in the area and finally found the police station.  I approached the desk and said “I am a US Citizen and I have lost my passport, I need to file a report”.  All 4 of the officers behind the counter looked at each other, and then at me, then one said, in perfect English  “You should speak with the captain” and then they went back to chatting among themselves.  The Captain they pointed to was talking to someone else, so I waited.  When he was ready I explained my situation.  He stated that this wasn’t the right place but that I had to go somewhere else.  I told him that I was instructed to come here and talk to the chief.  So we did!  He led me into the Chief’s office, which was very large and extravagant, and talked with the boss for a bit before both of them said “Not here. Over there” and pointed out the window.

I whipped out my handy Android phone with Google Maps on satellite view and said “Where?”  They poked around on it and eventually narrowed down the area I needed to get to.  So I left police station #2

Arriving at Police station/building/area #3 I found an office where I was told again “Not here, over there” with vigorous pointing. This led me through stations/buildings #4 and #5 where I finally found a nice man that offered to take me over to building #6 which is where I needed to go.  He was a local Civilian, BTW.  He drove me over to an office that, in no way resembled a police station, or anywhere you would file a report as such, but they at least sounded like they knew what they were talking about and were able to look up my passport to see if the number was used recently.  They printed out some sheets, all in Arabic  and said I needed to take them to the Airport to get a stamp and an approval.  This was the closest I have gotten to an actual process so I said “Sure!” and we left for the airport.  To aid in finding which office in the airport (because the directions were as expected) they wrote down in Arabic  the office I needed to go to, so when I got there, I could just show that to someone and they would direct me.

map

Next stop, Airport!  I walked into the main part of the airport and found a police officer.  I showed him my handy placard that stated where I needed to go (which I am pretty sure just said “Hey, show this dumb american where the approval office is”) and he said…..wait for it….. “Not here. Over there!”  He didn’t even point, he just motioned at an area that pretty much covers the whole airport, and then walked away.  Thankfully I found another clerk that was able to point me in the right direction.

At this station, I explained my whole spiel “Blah Blah, Dumb american, lost wallet, etc”  The guy looks at me and asks for my passport.

…

…

I just looked at him and stated again, “I don’t have it, it’s lost, that’s what I need you for” and pointed at the photocopy of my passport.  To which he replied (and I really wish I were kidding) “No, no copy, old passport”  I just stared at him again.  “I don’t HAVE my passport, it’s gone, I need YOU to give me a report so I can get a new one!”  After a few strange looks back and forth, he punched some keys on his Apple IIE computer on his desk and printed out another sheet, all in Arabic  then wrote some stuff on the first sheet I gave him and said “Take that back to them” and dismissed me.

Whatever, it seemed like progress.

Sarah and I grabbed a quick bite to eat in the airport and then whisked ourselves back to Office #6 to continue this “process”.

When I got back, I handed them the new papers and they went about typing in their system and then told me that I had two civil ID numbers in their system and they couldn’t do anything for me.  If I wanted to I could fill out a Lost Passport report and then come back with 4 passport photos and they would process me.  Either way, I should go.

What?!?!


It was at this point that I figured I would contact my Sponsor here in Kuwait and have them get involved.  Most contractors have sponsors here that kind of “grease the skids” and handle a lot of the Kuwaiti side of paperwork and such here.  I tried my darnedest to do things the right way and follow all the appointed rules and was met at roadblocks for each one.

Thankfully my sponsor figured out what needed to be done and has set the wheels in motion to get the process done.  Unfortunately, that process is going to take time.  I may not get my beloved police report until Sunday, after a number of hoops have been jumped through.

In case you were wondering, I also contacted the emergency number at the US Embassy and was greeted with a lovely automated system where every option was “E-mail us”.  Who uses e-mail in an emergency?!?!

So that’s where I am.  Stranded but working in a country that claims to love us but wants in no way to help your average person.  I am going through the motions while still trying to get some actual work done over here, so don’t worry too much.  I know I am not the first person this has ever happened to.

I posted to twitter earlier, but I can’t emphasize it enough.  I have never, ever, met a police officer (or force) that was so rude, dismissive, and non-helpful as what I was introduced to today.  Not a single officer genuinely wanted to aid me in getting this process done and gave me the attitude that I was only taking up their time that could be spent doing anything else.