Before Reema and I met in Athens, my life was centered around university life in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan and taking a number of summer jobs to gain some much needed practical experience, after of course, I did the "lawn cutting", filling and delivering CO2 tanks, paper delivery, shoe salesman, ditch digging and gas pumping route to get to university. The next summer, I spent working with General Motors AC Sparkplug Division in Flint, Michigan, even in 1976 it was the worst place to live in the states. The highlight of the summer was the gas tanker that flipped off of the I-75 interchange in the middle of Flint and exploded creating a fire ball 100 feet in diameter and 300 feet in the air. The job was a big waste of time (although seeing 1.1 million spark plugs a day being produced was interesting). For my boredom at work, General Motors made me a GM Scholar and paid my tuition for the year at U of M. I quickly realized that being a completely bored young engineer was not the way to go so I declined the scholarship after one year and also the opportunity to return to GM for further boredom.
The next summer I was lucky enough to spend it in Dubuque, Iowa working with John Deere Industrial Products Division designing a pretty slick quick release attachment for a loader bucket! Great fun along the Mississippi River and playing softball in the summer over the hill league.
Going back to my senior year at Michigan, I then got very busy in leadership and play since my grades were good enough to spend my time looking for a job. I joined or was admitted to all of the honor societies and also realized that politics was not for me. I was elected to the University of Michigan Student Assembly and lasted all of two meetings before I threw in the towel. Too much hot air for me.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
My Family
My family has lived through a wild roller coaster over the last 15 years and I am doing everything to keep them together and close. Zeina, now 22, has just graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Politics and International Relations from Warwick University in Coventry, England. We are so proud of her for overcoming the switch from the US system to the British system and in overcoming her severe medical problems that she experienced in her second year. Organized, conscientious and driven to help people and to make the world a better place. She is now at home in Virginia applying for graduate school in international relations or public policy so she can make a difference at an NGO, hopefully helping the poor souls of the West Bank and Gaza in Palestine, people who have not asked to be treated with racism or apartheid or house arrest. We would never put up with this in our own country or our own lives. Politics and special interests are the legalized corruption in the US system that has caused this. Let's hope for humanity that it will not continue in our lifetime.
Chris is now 20 and a junior at Vanderbilt University studying Economics. After his first year at Virginia Commonwealth University achieving a 4.0 GPA, he has continued with stellar marks at Vandy. He loves university, has some great roommates and a new chinchilla named Clark Gable. Chris also spends much of his free time trading on Etrade. He has given me more investment tips than I can count and is working on his portfolio and helping his mom and dad get closer to retirement. Hopefully, this summer, Chris will get a summer internship in New York or LA in the private equity or hedge fund business. This is where he belongs and we are so proud of him knowing what he wants so soon.
My dearest Reema is still the love of my life. For the last six months, she has been having a lot of problems with her health. She still hasn't been diagnosed but it looks like a neuropathy that is causing her great pain and fatigue. It is forcing her to leave her position with Fairfax County Cornerstones Program which is a dual diagnosis residential facility for severe psychological conditions coupled with substance abuse issues. She has been so successful there with so many successes with her patients that it is a shame that she must leave due to her health. She is also very close to getting her license to open her own clinic someday. She is truly the empathic and understanding one in our relationship and thank goodness that she rubbed off on the kids. Reema has put up with a lot in our lives together and with my career. Too many moves, too many late nights and too many stress filled trips and not enough vacations to the Greek Islands.
This introduction would not be complete without our dog, Cookie. Now nearly 8 years old, we got her at a shelter in Dubai in 1999, moved her to Athens, Greece for three years where she was the most active dog on the streets of Kifissia and now moved her to Virginia. A mix of Icelandic and Collie, she can sit but that is about it. She loves to jump and makes all our guests a bit concerned when she nearly jumps to their shoulders to get a doggie kiss.
Chris is now 20 and a junior at Vanderbilt University studying Economics. After his first year at Virginia Commonwealth University achieving a 4.0 GPA, he has continued with stellar marks at Vandy. He loves university, has some great roommates and a new chinchilla named Clark Gable. Chris also spends much of his free time trading on Etrade. He has given me more investment tips than I can count and is working on his portfolio and helping his mom and dad get closer to retirement. Hopefully, this summer, Chris will get a summer internship in New York or LA in the private equity or hedge fund business. This is where he belongs and we are so proud of him knowing what he wants so soon.
My dearest Reema is still the love of my life. For the last six months, she has been having a lot of problems with her health. She still hasn't been diagnosed but it looks like a neuropathy that is causing her great pain and fatigue. It is forcing her to leave her position with Fairfax County Cornerstones Program which is a dual diagnosis residential facility for severe psychological conditions coupled with substance abuse issues. She has been so successful there with so many successes with her patients that it is a shame that she must leave due to her health. She is also very close to getting her license to open her own clinic someday. She is truly the empathic and understanding one in our relationship and thank goodness that she rubbed off on the kids. Reema has put up with a lot in our lives together and with my career. Too many moves, too many late nights and too many stress filled trips and not enough vacations to the Greek Islands.
This introduction would not be complete without our dog, Cookie. Now nearly 8 years old, we got her at a shelter in Dubai in 1999, moved her to Athens, Greece for three years where she was the most active dog on the streets of Kifissia and now moved her to Virginia. A mix of Icelandic and Collie, she can sit but that is about it. She loves to jump and makes all our guests a bit concerned when she nearly jumps to their shoulders to get a doggie kiss.
Abu Dhabi
It's been six weeks since I have been back to Abu Dhabi since I have joined Makan Capital Group, SA as MD and CEO. It has been a whirlwind six weeks. Three trips to California, two to Riyadh, several to Dubai and Virginia, New York, Frankfurt and Amman thrown in for good measure. We are sitting on a great opportunity to build a tremendous investment institution with the strong support of His Highness Abdulaziz bin Fahad bin Abdullah Al Saud. Real Estate and Property Development regionally and then globally. Energy and Oil and Gas both regionally and globally, plus a broad range of other opportunistic ventures which are being presented to us on a daily and weekly basis. As we bring our team in place, it will be a fun and exciting ride.
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