Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Do you love the commute? Err...

The Goatmobile costs around Dh1.50 per kilometre to run. That includes everything spent to date, but does not allow for any money back when it’s traded in. It is assumed that there’ll be little if any residual value once I’ve finished abusing the vehicle on and off road. Perhaps I can get the odometer right around the clock and then sell it as low mileage but a bit tatty for 2004. More than a million kilometres. One careful caprine owner.

Perhaps the equivalent of a return trip to the Moon is starting to look faintly possible. As regular readers of this little corner of cyberspace will doubtless be aware, Muggins was made redundant a week or so ago, five days after bending over backwards to return from the UK, dodging airborne ash particles and generally cashing in favours with friends and family.

The boot up my jacksie happened on Thursday 29th April. I went into the office the following week to clear my desk, return the company laptop, deal with outstanding issues and leave my former boss with the world’s most comprehensive handover notes. So comprehensive were they that he did not find it necessary to ask any questions at all.

Later that same Thursday, one of my colleagues tried to give me some work to do and I apologised that as I no longer worked for the Firm, he would have to find one of the few remaining engineers to deal with his technical queries. The long story short is that my colleague passed my name and phone number to an employment agency on Thursday, the agent phoned me on Friday, I sent him my latest CV on Saturday, and on Wednesday 5th May I had an interview that was immediately followed by a job offer. I started the new job on Sunday 9th May, five working days after being told Sayonara, habibi.

Having been removed from the old sausage machine, this particular cog is now part of a different machine.

This proves that I have marketable skills; that there is demand for what I do. Unfortunately, my previous employer has clients who appear not to want those skills. More specifically, they want them but are unwilling to pay for them.

A further discussion of the new job brings me back to the subject of driving. I now work in Abu Dhabi, and am thus the latest applicant for the post of Driver who Incurs 1500km per Week at his Own Expense. Running the arithmetic reveals that renting a car and thrashing that into the ground would be marginally cheaper than running the Goatmobile, and there would be no inconvenience every seven weeks of getting the vehicle serviced. My motorbike would chew through a back tyre in typically one month because almost the entire journey is bolt upright on a motorway, and it would need to be serviced at the same time. Big bikes need a lot of servicing. However, a rented car would be a Yaris, Tiida or similar. Ugh. I’m on the horns of a trilemma. Bike; rented Yaris; Goatmobile.

Plus there are the added delights of navigating around the capital to find the elusive parking space. Roadworks on Salam Street are confusing and disruptive to bucolic yokels such as I: yesterday I was completely flummoxed and was unable to find my way out of the city via the new Yas Island highway. Twenty minutes after setting sail for home I was still within spitting distance of the office. This situation will, however, improve as I learn my way around Abu Dhabi.

Beloved Wife has agreed in principle that we should move house to somewhere closer to Abu Dhabi than the Crumbling Villa, yet within a sensible commute to her Dubai job. Assuming, of course, that we can find somewhere at a reasonable rent that is large enough for all our stuff.

Finally, as for EoD and Alexander’s suggestion of commiseratory or even celebratory drinkies, I should be at Dubai’s Oirish Village on Friday night after eightish. Dead easy to identify: I’m the one with the beard. And the horns. All welcome. RSVP in the comments.

]}:-{>

14 comments:

Rupert Neil Bumfrey said...

Congratulations on the new job.

hemlock said...

that should tell you how much people love goats...

congratulations! =)

a note on the rental.
a yaris/corolla would cost you about AED 2K-2.5K per month. the goat mobile would cost 10K/month (all in @ 300kms, 22 working days).

experience has taught us that ad-dxb commuters dont take kindly to smaller-ish cars on the highway.

renting a medium-sized car will give you some road presence and wouldnt break your pocket (as much as the goat-mobile would).
G'luck!

Jayne said...

Congratulations on the new job - I'm sure this has broken all UAE records for being dumped & then re-employed again!
The DXB-AUH run is a bugger & I wouldn't recommend you do it on the bike, despite its advantages of being able to weave in & out of traffic. A rental may be a better idea, to save the life of the Goatmobile.

Dave said...

Congratulations on the new job. Goats are definately in demand.

I know of several people (friends of friends) who have been in the same position as the goat having to make the DXB-AUH daily trek, one is even in the same industry as you.

They have all opted for the unlimited kms rent-a-yaris, but keep their truksters for the weekends. It is true though that most had to take sizeable pay cuts which influenced their decisions.

Mita said...

Mabrook Mr. Goat! I was so worried that one of my favourite blogs would disappear. Good luck on the commute. Have a friend that had the same dilemma and decided to take a small place in Adh and came over on weekends.

samuraisam said...

congrats!

Ian the Dog said...

I have a mate who owns a small mansion with innumerable bedrooms just off the Sweihan Rd, i.e. close enough to AUH to be useful, but not close enough to be ridiculously expensive. 4 nights a week down there might be cheaper and less stressful than the daily commute. Call me if this sounds interesting.

Oh - and congrats on the job!

Keef said...

¡Felicidades, Señor Cabra!

Alexander said...

Nice one, ya Goat!

Can't make Friday as weekending with memsahib, but if you're up for a swift sundowner in Satwa tonight, I'll be at Billy Blues! :)

hut said...

Congratulations! What agency was this? The one that sounds like the burger place?

I have two friends who commute to AD. They car-pool = half the cost and someone to while that fucking boring drive away with. Lots of people do that.

Seabee said...

An employment agency found you a job - and in double-quick time too? You're winding us up, that doesn't happen in what passes for the real world here!! Congrats on the job...however you really got it.

Grumpy Goat said...

TRN and Seabee...

It was Randstad MENA, although the guy who dealt with me has just left, presumably pocketing the commission and heading for the airport.

Anonymous said...

It's a bit too far to see you at the Oirish Village, but congratulations on the new job.

Eric & Ann from n.b. Doha

Martín said...

wow, since I don't read you as often as I could, I found your sayonara post and job relocation post within 5 minutes of each other. Man you got me hanging...

 

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