Back to work...

Figured a shorter update was in order, rather than waiting too long, generating a ridiculously long webpage...

There's always something new and surprising around every corner, even after six months.

Work

There have been a couple of interesting learnings this past week. First, every single morning I walk through security and the dudes swipe a metal detector wand over my bag and my lunch. Sometimes it's a close detailed survey, sometime it's a general wave of the wand from 5 feet away. Regardless of an alarm or not, they acknowledge my presence with a nod and I walk on. I'm yet to determine what they're looking for...

Second, with all the travel, I ended up with a wicked sore throat and fever (exacerbated by an air conditioning break-down in my flat during +35C weather), luckily it only lasted a day. However, I discovered that we have a doctor on the third floor of the corporate office building - you go in to get checked out, rather than going to a walk-in clinic (basic checks...they indicated they can't diagnose liver failure and perform a transplant at the corporate office. I asked. For a friend, who might be having a few more drinks after work lately than he has in the past). In any case, they determine what you need for antibiotics or whatever, and send you back to your office...calling you a couple hours later when your prescription is delivered to the office. So I guess it's OK to get sick here...just don't get REALLY sick.

And third learning, they take their "seals" seriously. This was on a Russian firm's audit report on our annual report - the unbreakable binding seal!

Hobby

Last weekend, I took a trip to Almaty at the foot of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains of the Tian Shan mountain range in southern Kazakhstan. 

The purpose - motorcycle training! Was a great couple days starting out at 6 am at Sokol Race Track, an hour north of Almaty, with Denis the Kazakh superbike racing champ. 

Albeit a hot couple of days...

After strict safety and basic training on day 1, we were doing laps on the kart course in no time. He'd trail me for a few laps, stop for pointers and advice, then I'd follow his lead for a few laps. End result, knee on the ground cornering by the end of it, with confidence to ride...only starting on a 250, but still fun. 

Now I have to learn how to walk again - after about 12 hours riding and generally steering with my legs, it appears I have evidence I've never used the rectus femoris muscles in my quads...stairs and sitting down are a significant challenge.

At the track, I also discovered an explanation for a previous point of confusion. From a restaurant in Nur-Sultan...ummm why are such instructions needed, exactly?

And at the track...ohhh, I see now.

Learning the roads rules

I don't plan to venture into traffic much - reserve the biking for trips out of town or into the mountains, but still went window shopping at the Ducati store. 

And for a drive...

Kim replied to my "what about this one?" questions with a picture of an Alpha Romero in our garage under the heading "prime day deals".

When it comes to road rules, I've picked up on some basic Kazakh audio and visual driving signals.

The horn: the car horn is an extremely diverse communication tool in the Kazakh repertoire, applicable in a variety of situations. Sometimes, it's an expression of anger, like it is in the rest of the world, but it's much more nuanced here. Sure, it can say "get the f*%k out of my way", but it can also act as an early warning, with "watch the f*%k out". Sometimes, it's "yes", sometimes it's "no", sometimes it's "you're an asshole", but many times, it seems to be "you're an asshole, but whatever". It can mean "Hey pedestrian, I'm not slowing down and I might run you the f*%k down", or it can be "Hey pedestrian, I'm coming in hot, so if you're going to cross, do it quickly". 

The Hazard light: Also extremely diverse, with numerous meanings:

- similar to a horn, it can mean "I'm coming in hot behind you, get the f*%k outta the way". At times, this is combined with a horn, making me feel like I'm in a car with a husband rushing his pregnant wife to the hospital (when all I'm really doing is going to Karaoke).

- Hazards might mean "I felt like pulling over in a driving lane. Might be waiting to pick someone up. Might be checking Google maps or texting. Whatever. I'm parked, you're moving, watch out." Interestingly, like paper covering rock, hazards avert the application of a "get the f*%k out of my way" horn, and it's never used if hazards are on.

- Hazards can also be a combination of "I'm going to cut you off/I'm currently cutting you off/I've cut you off". Again, an opposing horn is not wasted by the victim during this hazard signal maneuver. "That asshat just cut me...ohhhh wait, his hazards are on, never mind, it's cool". 

- In the rare event that a person has been LET into a lane without the use of a horn or hazards, the hazards are then applied as a brief "thank-you".

Food

It's always about the good food here. Here's a menu from Almaty - it was awesome. Full page pictures of every item with professional-looking food photography, and the menu was 1" thick. At Turtles Pizza...no copyright issues there...

Filed under "things you've never cared enough to think about", after just over six months here. I've consumed 100 pots of coffee: The box of coffee filters I bought when I purchased my coffee maker just ran empty...

Back at home, everyone is settling into summer...while I work to figure out when the next trip home can be worked into the corporate schedule...