0805172100 I have the job, however there is no job.

I went for another interview at the Marriott this week. They called on Monday and said that the manager was in Hong Kong for two days and could I drop in and see them. I was introduced to some of the people at the office and we discussed what the job entailed. Travel. Travel as far west as India, as far east as Hawaii, as far south as New Zealand and as far north as Japan. The interview was going well until we started talking about references. This is a bit of a problem for me in the same way the the atom bomb was a bit of a problem for Japan. I explained that Telstra has a policy of not giving references by managers and all I could show them was my "peer reviews" that say in a dry and technical way that I have fulfilled my duties according to the standards of my job description. There is no mention of character or attitude. The next event could not have been staged if we tried. The Vice President of Marriot Hotels in the Asia Pacific region, who also happens to be my home teacher, stuck his head in the office and said "David! I thought it was you, how are you? Good to see you." He shook my hand and slapped my shoulder. There was a short explaination of where I met the Vice President of the company - at boy scouts, our kids are in the same boy scout troop. There was no need to say anything after that. My new manger just looked at me as it to say "Well that about covers it for the references."

The interview covered three important questions:

1 - Do I like to travel? Yes. One of the managers said that she travelled in and out of Kuala Lumper airport so often and so regularly that she could recognise the aeroplanes going to New York. I told them a few short stories about how I love to travel - even on an army cargo plane. They asked about speaking foreign languages and I had a short conversation in Cantonese with one of the managers. She said that all she has learned in Mandarin are a few essential words: left, right, straight ahead, rice, coke.

2 - Do I like to eat foreign food? Yes. I told them how I go to restaraunts and order by the numbers and eat whatever in is put in front of me. As a result I have eaten things that westerners regard as by-products. Apparently someone quit because they could not handle eating in other countries any more. The poor woman had to live on biscuits and coke whenever she travelled. Sometimes I get chicken's feet. I mean that litteraly, the good people at the Chinese restaraunt serve me the severed and deep-fried feet of dead chickens.

3 - Can I navigate in a foreign city? Yes. I demonstrated this by pulling a map and compass from my bag and explained that this behaviour is a bit "boy scouty" but it works. There are a few things more frustrating than getting lost in a strange city. Getting lost on holiday is not so bad - it can lead to an exciting adventure. Getting lost on business is not acceptable - time is money and promises must be kept. The good people at the Marriott seemed to like this attitude. They appologised for the late notice for the intervew to which I replied that I would not be much of a project manager if I could not arrange an interview with two days notice, especially if that interview that was in my best interest. I went on to say that it has been my experience that most of of project management is done on short notice.

"You definitely, definitely have the job." they said - the thing is there is no job. There isn't a position available just yet. I did not apply for an advertised position, however they are expanding their department all the time and they mentioned a starting date in June, maybe.

The next day I went to work at the Chinese Catholic Girl's school in Wong Tai Sin and the lovely kind principal nun, Sister Maria, asked me if it was good news for me and bad news for them. Apparently they like me. I told her that I have no starting date and no contract. Later, Sister Maria sent me some lunch. They are putting on a little concert featuring all the English songs that I have taught them. Thank you Peter Combe.

We had some of Alex's friends ( and our friends ) over from Australia for a few days. I asked them if they would like to come to the Chinese Catholic Girl's school for one of the English classes. The girls, both Australian and Chinese, had a great time. The grade six kids were a bit shy to start with but they practiced their English with some strange questions.

The grade-one kids loved to see them.

Today, Carolyn, Alex and I went on a long walk over three mountains. Carolyn was a bit tired and Alex was still full of youthful energy. Here is a another picture taken by another traveller who offered to take a picture for us. It was a kind Philipino woman who was walking with her middle-aged white fat bald husband. To take this photo for us, she took a welcome break from washing his back with a moist towelette.

References:

Here is a link to the photos -

http://www.olps.edu.hk/index_frame.htm

http://www.olps.edu.hk/photos/australianfriend/index.html

Peter Combe

http://www.petercombe.com/