Hi everyone,
I thought I’d write about a few things I find interesting that have been going on at work. Ford Motor Indonesia has only been around for about 4 years, and everyone in my department of about 10 people (including finance, accounting, and purchasing) is relatively young. Most of the staff joined Ford with a few years of work experience at another international company in Jakarta. Everyone in the department is Indonesian, about half men and half women, and they come from a variety of different cities and cultures. Reflecting the national averages, most of the staff is Muslim, and there is at least one Hindu and one other Christian person.
I have had two people in my department tell me they had been considering quitting, but I think I have talked them out of it, for the time being. Ford Motor Indonesia is growing, and so is the workload, so some people are feeling stressed and over-worked. I have had a couple of interviews with candidates for an accounting supervisor position. In one interview I had last week I could tell the guy I was interviewing was really nervous. He graduated from the one of the best universities in Jakarta and has worked for a Big 5 accounting firm for about 3 years. After I asked him the normal interview questions, I asked him if he had any questions for me – about the job, the position, the company, etc. He stared at his hands for a few minutes (what seemed like an eternity), then I saw a spark in his eye as he thought of a question. He turned to me and said “How old are you?” I was dumbfounded, shocked, and amused at the same time. I really tried to maintain my composure. I answered him in the form of an age range and ended the interview. We decided not to hire him (not just for the age question, though).
Ford Motor Indonesia is primarily a marketing, sales, and service company (we do not manufacture any vehicles here). We often buy promotional materials and small gifts to give out to potential customers (hats, note pads, pencils, shirts, etc.). They often pass out samples to each employee, as well. They just had some new promotional items made for the introduction of the Ford Focus here in the fall, and they handed them out at the last all-employee meeting. Imagine my surprise when they handed me my very own black, long-sleeved turtle neck Ford Focus sweater. Yes, we live just a few degrees south of the equator on a tropical island that is mostly jungle. I’m not sure who approved ordering black turtle neck sweaters (granted, they are very thin sweaters), but I am positive that my sweater is going to stay in the closet until I return to Michigan.
Well, we are driving (or shall I say riding in) a new car. We inherited a Volvo XC-90 from a Volvo employee in our office who was just transferred to Kuala Lumpur. It is a nice vehicle. The boys are having fun figuring out how everything works in it. And Mom, it is dark blue.
This week Cartim (our driver) informed Heidi that it was taking Kandar (our gardener) two full days to cut the grass…by hand. So Heidi went to the store and bought a lawn mower for him, the non-electric type. I’m sure it will only take him a few hours now instead of a few days.
On my way to work every day I take the highway, and there are homes about 50 feet from the road on one of the exit ramps. This week I saw a red mattress sitting on the ground in between the road and the houses, and a couple of days this week I saw a guy sleeping there. This was about 7:00 in the morning and there was a lot of traffic. I’m not sure how he slept, but it looked like he had been sleeping there all night.
You may have known that Indonesia is a right-hand drive market, which means that the driver sits on the right side of the vehicle, and that traffic goes down the left side of the road. Well, did you know that hallways and stairways are also right-hand drive? I cannot tell you how many times I have approached someone in the hallway and started to go to the right side to get out of the way, and we end up with one of those awkward almost-running-into-each-other moments.
Many of you know that Luke loves to play chess. We have often noticed our house help playing chess outside in the garage (during one of their union-mandated breaks, I’m sure). So a couple of days this week when Luke couldn’t find anyone in the family to play chess with him, he went to the garage to play chess with Cartim and Ajis. Apparently they are pretty impressed with his chess skills (the next Garry Kasparov, perhaps?).
Heidi and I went shopping for a microwave this week at Carrefour (a large hypermarket where we do a lot of shopping – and no, this ain’t no Super Target). As we looked at the different models, all we were hoping for was a microwave with a “Popcorn” button. Unfortunately, most models only had a “Chicken Teriyaki,” “Porridge,” or “Steamed Fish” button – not much use for us. Luckily, we finally found one with a “Popcorn” button.
Heidi took the three boys into the international school this week for their official interviews / evaluations. When I came home from work that day, Nash said he cannot wait for August 11th, which is the first day of school. They (and Heidi) are really excited and ready for it.
Adios,
Creed (and Heidi)
