Thursday, June 30, 2005
Dedication
This blog is also dedicated to the two women in my life, my two best friends: Chris Carney and Martha Weeks.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Background: Why MSF?
During my last few years at the cafe, I gave a lot of thought as to what to do afterwards. Basic considerations included:
- No more "working for myself". Once was enough.
- More travel.
- A job where I can learn new things all the time.
- I need to earn a living, but I can live modestly.
- A job where I can help to make the world a better place, at my own level.
I've had a lot of luck in my life, and I would like to help those less fortunate than me to have a better life. I decided to explore the humanitarian relief or development fields.
After selling the bar in July, 2004 (and a couple of vacation trips), I decided to dive back into the basics of inventory control, thinking that I would best fit into the logistics part of a relief organization. I ordered a couple of books from Amazon and dug in for a couple of months. Then I put my resumé in order, worked on a couple of cover letters, and did some internet research on ONGs in relief and development.
In January, 2005, just before one last vacation trip to Egypt, I applied to several ONGs. They are not extremely rapid in their responses, but most said no because I had neither experience in humanitarian work, nor studies in social sciences. Peace Corps, however, proposed a development position in business counseling for small start-ups in french-speaking Africa. And Médecins Sans Frontières proposed a logistics/admin position in relief work.
Peace Corps is a great operation, but several things attracted me to MSF. It has an excellent reputation for useful, efficient work in the field. It is independent of any government, religious or industry influence (80% of its funds come from private sources). They go where they feel they are needed, do what they think is necessary, and WITNESS to the world what is going on. And from the people I met during the interview process, they don't take themselves TOO seriously, like some of the ONGs I talked with. I also feel that I can learn a lot more new skills in this job than the others.
So I'm ready. I have a huge document that I'm reading for the moment which explains the organization and philosophy of MSF. I had some routine surgery done, and am getting my life in order so that I can leave for 6 months to a year without too much hassle. And I am scheduled for a one-week couse entitled "Preparation for departure - logisticiens" at the end of July in Bordeaux, France.
I have no idea where they will propose that I go. But I'm excited. I don't intend to go for only one mission. If all goes well, I hope to do this until I can't move anymore. This means that I will need to decide where to have a "base" between missions, but I'm not there yet. We'll see how the first mission goes.
- No more "working for myself". Once was enough.
- More travel.
- A job where I can learn new things all the time.
- I need to earn a living, but I can live modestly.
- A job where I can help to make the world a better place, at my own level.
I've had a lot of luck in my life, and I would like to help those less fortunate than me to have a better life. I decided to explore the humanitarian relief or development fields.
After selling the bar in July, 2004 (and a couple of vacation trips), I decided to dive back into the basics of inventory control, thinking that I would best fit into the logistics part of a relief organization. I ordered a couple of books from Amazon and dug in for a couple of months. Then I put my resumé in order, worked on a couple of cover letters, and did some internet research on ONGs in relief and development.
In January, 2005, just before one last vacation trip to Egypt, I applied to several ONGs. They are not extremely rapid in their responses, but most said no because I had neither experience in humanitarian work, nor studies in social sciences. Peace Corps, however, proposed a development position in business counseling for small start-ups in french-speaking Africa. And Médecins Sans Frontières proposed a logistics/admin position in relief work.
Peace Corps is a great operation, but several things attracted me to MSF. It has an excellent reputation for useful, efficient work in the field. It is independent of any government, religious or industry influence (80% of its funds come from private sources). They go where they feel they are needed, do what they think is necessary, and WITNESS to the world what is going on. And from the people I met during the interview process, they don't take themselves TOO seriously, like some of the ONGs I talked with. I also feel that I can learn a lot more new skills in this job than the others.
So I'm ready. I have a huge document that I'm reading for the moment which explains the organization and philosophy of MSF. I had some routine surgery done, and am getting my life in order so that I can leave for 6 months to a year without too much hassle. And I am scheduled for a one-week couse entitled "Preparation for departure - logisticiens" at the end of July in Bordeaux, France.
I have no idea where they will propose that I go. But I'm excited. I don't intend to go for only one mission. If all goes well, I hope to do this until I can't move anymore. This means that I will need to decide where to have a "base" between missions, but I'm not there yet. We'll see how the first mission goes.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Background: Tonton?
You will notice that the title of this blog is "Tonton Ed at MSF". MSF is obviously Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders). Ed is me. Why Tonton?
Tonton is a familiar, informal term in french for "uncle". So this is partially a tribute to my nephews and nieces in Indiana.
It is also a tribute to some of my customers from the bar in France, who have become like family to me.
Tonton is a familiar, informal term in french for "uncle". So this is partially a tribute to my nephews and nieces in Indiana.
It is also a tribute to some of my customers from the bar in France, who have become like family to me.
Background: Family
I am single. I had one long relationship, but that's another story.
I tend not to stay in touch with people, and unfortunately, this remains true with my family. My mother died many years ago, and my father passed away in 2002. Both parents were from eastern Tennessee, and most of my uncles, aunts, and cousins are still there.
I have two brothers in southern Indiana. We don't see each other very much, but they have been very good to me. I participated in the wedding of one while moving between Germany and France, and missed the wedding of the other because of the start-up of the bar in France. Both of them are doing very well for themselves, and I am blessed with two great sisters-in-law.
Between the two brothers, I have five nephews and nieces. I hardly know them, but they seem like really good kids. It's my fault that I don't know them; I never get back to see them. I am making an effort to be more involved, but I'm not good at this.
I tend not to stay in touch with people, and unfortunately, this remains true with my family. My mother died many years ago, and my father passed away in 2002. Both parents were from eastern Tennessee, and most of my uncles, aunts, and cousins are still there.
I have two brothers in southern Indiana. We don't see each other very much, but they have been very good to me. I participated in the wedding of one while moving between Germany and France, and missed the wedding of the other because of the start-up of the bar in France. Both of them are doing very well for themselves, and I am blessed with two great sisters-in-law.
Between the two brothers, I have five nephews and nieces. I hardly know them, but they seem like really good kids. It's my fault that I don't know them; I never get back to see them. I am making an effort to be more involved, but I'm not good at this.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Background: Cafe Francais Bar Americain
At 34 years old, I decided that if I ever wanted to see what it was like to work for myself, I had better get moving. The idea of owning a bar had been trotting around my head for a few years. In Lyon, I met someone who had the same idea, so we went into partnership. After several possible purchases fell through, we finally found something in April, 1999. It was a bankrupted restaurant / bar in Aix-les-Bains (Savoie) France. We bought it in an auction, renovated it and opened "Cafe Francais Bar Americain", no longer a restaurant, in July, 1989.
We came up to speed pretty quickly, because the young crowd in this town of 25,000 people really liked our Happy Hour! Over the 15 years that we operated the bar, the regular customer base shifted around some, but we still had a solid core who were with us from the beginning until the end. It was 90% a local group, from 16 years old (legal in France for beer and wine) to 80 years old, with the biggest part between 20 and 30 years old. I really appreciated most of them. There were, of course, a few whom I would rather not have known. A lot of our customers are still very good friends. I'm happy to say that more than a few couples formed in our establishment, and more than a few marriages occurred.
We were definitely a "beer" bar. We sold 15,000 litres (about 3,750 gallons) of draft beer a year. For a place that only has 28 seats inside and 20 outside during the summer, that's not bad. We also sold a lot of white wine, bottled beer, coffee, and "pastis"(the REAL French aperitif). We did sandwiches and ice cream, too.
The thing that I missed was travel. Running a bar is not too difficult, but it takes up a lot of time. We were open 13 hours a day, six days a week. Add to that the time for the accounting, trips to the bank, purchasing, cleaning and maintenance. We ran the place by ourselves; just the two of us. And we couldn't really close very often. In 15 years we had two weeks of vacation. (We did close for holidays, however.) With all of that, my travel was very restricted.
What did I gain out of my time here? I learned how to run my own business. I also learned patience, accounting, purchasing, listening skills (the major asset needed for ALL barmen), maintenance skills, crisis management (including staying financial viable, crowd control and how to deal with vandalism), and how to work in a partnership.
I also gained an unacceptable alcohol level. And I stagnated some, too. After a couple of years, you learn very little in this activity.
We sold the cafe in July, 2004, to a couple of former customers! They have now changed the orientation towards a rum bar. They seem to be very happy in their endeavor.
We came up to speed pretty quickly, because the young crowd in this town of 25,000 people really liked our Happy Hour! Over the 15 years that we operated the bar, the regular customer base shifted around some, but we still had a solid core who were with us from the beginning until the end. It was 90% a local group, from 16 years old (legal in France for beer and wine) to 80 years old, with the biggest part between 20 and 30 years old. I really appreciated most of them. There were, of course, a few whom I would rather not have known. A lot of our customers are still very good friends. I'm happy to say that more than a few couples formed in our establishment, and more than a few marriages occurred.
We were definitely a "beer" bar. We sold 15,000 litres (about 3,750 gallons) of draft beer a year. For a place that only has 28 seats inside and 20 outside during the summer, that's not bad. We also sold a lot of white wine, bottled beer, coffee, and "pastis"(the REAL French aperitif). We did sandwiches and ice cream, too.
The thing that I missed was travel. Running a bar is not too difficult, but it takes up a lot of time. We were open 13 hours a day, six days a week. Add to that the time for the accounting, trips to the bank, purchasing, cleaning and maintenance. We ran the place by ourselves; just the two of us. And we couldn't really close very often. In 15 years we had two weeks of vacation. (We did close for holidays, however.) With all of that, my travel was very restricted.
What did I gain out of my time here? I learned how to run my own business. I also learned patience, accounting, purchasing, listening skills (the major asset needed for ALL barmen), maintenance skills, crisis management (including staying financial viable, crowd control and how to deal with vandalism), and how to work in a partnership.
I also gained an unacceptable alcohol level. And I stagnated some, too. After a couple of years, you learn very little in this activity.
We sold the cafe in July, 2004, to a couple of former customers! They have now changed the orientation towards a rum bar. They seem to be very happy in their endeavor.
Background: Hewlett-Packard
After Purdue, I made the big move to California with Hewlett-Packard. I started there in 1979 in a sales support group at the Cupertino factory. A lot of us who started there together became very good friends. A few of them are still my best friends. After a year, I was invited into the international sales support subgroup. Wow! Not only did I have the best boss I ever had, I boogied. One month out of three, I was out of the country. Another year, and I became head of this group, then the same function with sales support for a couple of U.S. regions. The U.S. regions were politically more important, but not as much fun as international. In February, 1984, I transferred to HP in Boeblingen, Germany. One and a half years later, I transferred again to l'Isle d'Abeau, France. I stayed in HP France three years, but in three different jobs. I left HP in 1988 to work for myself.
I probably learned more at HP than during me studies at Purdue: public speaking, teaching skills, multitasking, implementing quality control, preparing a business plan, managing a group of people, conflict negotiation, adaptation to new environments, foreign languages, and much, much more. I was always learning something!
The best thing about HP was the people. At the time, computer sales were booming, and we each had a lot to do. There were seriously motived, intelligent and FUN people. A few of them are rather pissed off that I don't stay in contact, but I am very bad about that. Besides the people, HP is (was?) a very human-oriented company. And the salary wasn't bad, either.
I probably learned more at HP than during me studies at Purdue: public speaking, teaching skills, multitasking, implementing quality control, preparing a business plan, managing a group of people, conflict negotiation, adaptation to new environments, foreign languages, and much, much more. I was always learning something!
The best thing about HP was the people. At the time, computer sales were booming, and we each had a lot to do. There were seriously motived, intelligent and FUN people. A few of them are rather pissed off that I don't stay in contact, but I am very bad about that. Besides the people, HP is (was?) a very human-oriented company. And the salary wasn't bad, either.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Background: Purdue
I spent seven years at Purdue. The first five were for a BS in Industrial Engineering (in 1977), including 5 semesters of co-op work with Miles Laboratories. My last two years were in Krannert School of Business for an MS in Management (in 1979), specializing in financial management. During my first year, I even participated in the Purdue band, playing trumpet.
I paid my way through school, primarily with my salary on the co-op program with Miles Laboratories. I also worked in the Purdue library, worked on a proposition for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (on which computers they should by for their research sites), taught a course for beginning engineers called "Enough Fortran", and was a counselor in the Fowler Courts dormitory.
Going to Purdue exposed me to people from outside southern Indiana. That was an eye-opener! I also gained my independence, since Dad decided early-on to stop paying for my studies. It's probably the best thing he ever did for me. And I gained confidence in myself.
I also started my travel bug during this epoque. In the summer of 1977, five of us who were counselors at Fowler together took at 5-week "Eurorail" trip to Europe. It was a blast, although looking back, I'm ashamed at how "American" I was. (Why isn't it like at home? Why do they think they are so good? Why can't they all be like us?)
I alsso ALMOST began my humanitairian work at that time. I interviewed with the Peace Corps, and they wanted me! But Hewlett-Packard made me an offer that I couldn't refuse, and I'm glad that I didn't.
I paid my way through school, primarily with my salary on the co-op program with Miles Laboratories. I also worked in the Purdue library, worked on a proposition for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (on which computers they should by for their research sites), taught a course for beginning engineers called "Enough Fortran", and was a counselor in the Fowler Courts dormitory.
Going to Purdue exposed me to people from outside southern Indiana. That was an eye-opener! I also gained my independence, since Dad decided early-on to stop paying for my studies. It's probably the best thing he ever did for me. And I gained confidence in myself.
I also started my travel bug during this epoque. In the summer of 1977, five of us who were counselors at Fowler together took at 5-week "Eurorail" trip to Europe. It was a blast, although looking back, I'm ashamed at how "American" I was. (Why isn't it like at home? Why do they think they are so good? Why can't they all be like us?)
I alsso ALMOST began my humanitairian work at that time. I interviewed with the Peace Corps, and they wanted me! But Hewlett-Packard made me an offer that I couldn't refuse, and I'm glad that I didn't.
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