Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Look Back at 2009

I thought I would celebrate the New Year by looking back at 2009. It is amazing to think that this time last year I was an object of ridicule and now I am an icon.


JANUARY - This is when I was flattened, and became Flat Stanley, and the OTN team first found out that I existed. At the time no-one knew how famous I would become.




FEBRUARY I went to RMOUG and then had my first ever holiday. I was treated pretty badly, but had a fantastic time and am looking forward to going again this year. Here you can see me with Jeremiah Wilton.

MARCH - I went to Sweden and then Israel and here you can see me enjoying the thereputic qualities of the dead sea.



APRIL - I went to Dubai and here you can see me with Debra and Basheer in the Burj Al Arab where we had a great (but very expensive) brunch.

MAY - Here I am at Collaborate with 'IO' the 2nd of the two 'romantic encounters' I have had this year. The other was in NZ.

June 2009 was the ODTUG conference in Monterey and this is where I really moved from an object of ridicule to an icon. This video by Eddie Awad is our way in the ACE program of saying thanks to OTN.



JULY - I actually had a holiday all on my own, I went deep into the cupboard at Dan Norris' home and slept, needed all my energy for diving in AUGUST, here with Moans Nogood.



SEPTEMBER - This was the month I travelled across 'the pond' as an unaccompanied minor and then had trips with Debra and other Apps ACES Karen Brownfield in N Ireland and Sue Shaw in Amsterdam.



OCTOBER was OOW, and here I am with my very own Director's chair. I also finally got my own credentials on OTN and I gave a small piece of my heart for Justin.

NOVEMBER ended as UKOUG started and here I am with my great fan Dan Morgan and Bryn Lewellyn at the ACE Dinner in Birmingham.

Which brings us to DECEMBER and this wrap up of the year and looking forward to 2010 my first outing is to Denmark in January where I hope to spend a bit of time visiting the Oak Table, then it is the user group get together in Redwood, and a great list of conferences where I hope to continue to be a great mascot for the ACE program of which I am very proud.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May Be Time to Sack Debra

Debra has looked after me well, but it may be time to sack her.

When she is attending an event or conference and has the time to look after me I have a great time and lots of photos are taken, and the fun we get up to!

But when she is busy, I get dragged along, stay inside my bag and don't enjoy myself as much as is possible. So from now on Debra needs to give me up for UKOUG and probably OOW as well.

This year at Oracle Open World I did have my chair, which was then shipped to UKOUG but not even used. I slept in the same hotel as Obama and she never even wrote about it!


At UKOUG, things looked up, Debra mentioned me in her main blog, I went to a great ACE dinner and I got to meet Tom Kyte, but none of it got into my blog.

I was so upset for myself, but mainly for my fans who hang on my every word, so next time Debra is 'busy' I will make sure one of my other friends, Dan Norris or Dan Morgan look after me, make sure I have a good time and write about it!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Debra has been so busy and it is beginning to annoy me that she has not caught up with my blog, but I have managed to pull her away from the Christmas Fayre for long enough to say Merry Christmas to you all.

Santa was good to me and gave me a ticket to Redwood in January so I will be able to meet up with some friends again.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

"I can't believe Stanley is Here"

I have said before Stanley is welcome wherever 2 or more Oracle users come together, so obviously I will be at UKOUG this coming week, more than 2000 excited people in the ICC at Birmingham.

Debra and I arrived today and we are in our hotel getting ready. Debra has many meetings tomorrow before the ACE Dinner which I always look forward to. Last year however I needed a bath after my trip to Finland and Denmark, so although Mogens bought me I was unable to get out of my bag.


But this post is about last night. Debra stayed with her sister in Gloucester and this morning when packing, her brother in law Chris realised that Stanley was in his house. He was so in awe and shouted out"I can't believe Stanley is Here". This is a special fan, Chris is a Finance Manager in a large government department and more importantly an Oracle EBS user.

Chris will be so 'stoked' to appear on my blog, but to be fair I was more interested in their dog, Tilly. I like animals they are more like me.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Vote for my friend



Meet Miss Molly. She is my friend and lives in Denver with John and Peggy King.



Miss Molly and I go way back, and I want you as my friend to vote for Miss Molly in the Hallmark Dog Photo contest – you can check it out at this link she is kinda cute.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Sharing a hotel with the President


When OOW finished, I made my way to the hotel, only to find myself stopped from entering the road by a policeman.The entire street was closed and people were held behind a barrier. Eventually we were told that Obama was staying in our hotel and that we could not get in until he had arrived and was safely inside.


My friend Basheer Khan (who looks after my brother 'Khanley'), was also held behind the barrier and he had a plane to catch but his luggage was in the hotel! Eventually a policeman came to check if we had a valid reason for being in the hotel and then made everyone put their bags on the road and a dog then sniffed them all. I have to thank Debra for leaving me inside her bag, if I had been pulled out and investigated by a dog it would have been the final indignity.




About an hour after we arrived we were allowed back into the hotel, escorted by a policeman one by one. Well it was a little bit of excitment and I dont think there are many world leaders who can say they have stayed in the same hotel as 'Stanley'.

Then the next morning I had a breakfast date with Dan Norris and Robyn Sands but found myself, locked in! We could not leave the hotel until the President have left, Debra stood up against a window to watch the cortege get ready to leave. There were ambulances, a bomb squad, many dark vans with mirrors to match the sunglasses everyone was wearing, blacked out limos, all very impressive and led away by the original guy from CHiPs.

Meeting my Fans

I have a lot of fans and sometimes I simply don't get time to see them all. At OOW I missed seeing Sean Tucker from Team Oracle, this is a man I admire not only is he famous for his flying skills but he takes time out to spend with his fans, he is 'down to earth' .... well when he is not 'up in the air' something I aspire to be.



So when I missed the chance of catching up with him at OOW, I was still feeling poorly after my operation (see previous post) Sean took time out to donate a signed cap to me. Then to make sure he knew how he felt about me he allowed Steve Romeo to make this little video. It is a bit dark but if you turn it up loud you can hear Sean talk about me, The great Stanley.

A Belated Happy Birthday

Before Oracle Open World got going we had the ACE party, it was fantastic and even better we got to celebrate the birthday of our beloved leader Justin Kestelyn . Lillian and Vikky arranged the best birthday cake ever with a fantastic picture of him in icing. But what do I as a simple vest give a man such as this?

My friends Mogens and Dan thought I should do something very special and give him something that means a lot to me. They came up with the idea of making a T Shirt that actually included a bit of me. I love Justin a lot but giving him part of me is possibly a bit too much. The idea was that I would supply the ACE for Justin's T Shirt.

But then I thought about it, people give kidneys to the ones they love and so I could do the same. I went through the 'live donor operation' and was glad that during OOW I could sit on my special chair and take things easy. Debra carried out the operation and was quite gentle, her stitching was very neat and if you and I become special friends I may one day show you my scar.

Big Apology from Stanley


I went to Oracle open World expecting to blog everyday, when I get together with my friends I normally get involved in a few escapades but this time I was so busy. I had to be there for my fans, I had my chair in the OTN lounge and I had stickers and cards to give out. I saw so many people wearing the 'I love Stanley' stickers.

I did have my own unconference session, it was a small crowd but I enjoyed it, the chance to talk about me, the ACE program and OTN.

I got to show off some holiday snaps and reminise about all the places I have been in the last year. Denmark, Finland, Sweden, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Israel etc. I have had such a great time.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

STANLEY, you naughty boy

apologies, my session is at 1pm but if you get there early, come by the OTN lounge and drink coffee and hang out with the cool people

Monday, October 12, 2009

Who am I?


If you are visiting this because you picked up a card in the OTN lounge at Oracle Open World, welcome. I am Stanley mascot of the Oracle ACE Program.

Come along to the unconference tomorrow at 12 midday and I will tell you all about myself. Have your photo taken and we will get some up on the website. If you have your own photo taken with Stanley load it on my facebook site.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Finally Joined Facebook

I have now added to my social network and joined facebook

Join Me on 'Oracle Community'


Visit Oracle Community

I have so many friends but one who has supported me from very early on is Eddie Awad creator of 'Oracle Community' I am now a member and I want all my friends to join me there

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Original ACE Director

Not only am I the original ACE Director but I am also acknowledged officially.

I am so pleased and when you check out my entry look around at all my friends the other ACEs.




If you are at OOW please look out for me I will be in the OTN area all week, come by, have your photo taken with me and get one of my business cards.

Getting ready to see my friends again!

Yesterday I huddled up in my bag in Debra’s suitcase - I do wish she would let me ride in the aircraft cabin but at least she remembered to bring me (that was meant for you Dan). We are on our way to Oracle Open World 2009 in San Francisco, but first there is an ACE Director meeting at HQ.

There is no real reunion planned this time but I do hope some of my siblings turn up. I also have some real exciting things planned so look out for me in the OTN lounge. No pictures on this posting but I am expecting a lot to be taken this week.

Stanley in Amsterdam (with Sue)

Just the following weekend I got to go to Amsterdam. Anything goes in Amsterdam and this had been planned for a long time, I was really excited. Sue Shaw is an Apps ACE (JDE) who is also the new President of Quest was working in Amsterdam and she and Debra had this really cool weekend planned.


We stayed in the Hilton in a room opposite where Yoko and John had their 'Bed In'.

People often ask Debra why she and Dan started the whole Stanley thing, well really it is just a way of creating excuses. Debra used it to persuade her insurance company to by her new glasses,and I used it as my alibi for the great ‘Apple Robbery’ but Sue is the ACE of excuses. She has a weekend in Amsterdam and is frightened that if she talks about Stanley too much her husband will get suspicious, so actually the entire ‘Stanley’ story was made up as an elaborate cover for a great weekend away. To keep the pretence up we had to take lots and lots of photos of the very important me.



I have heard lots about what goes on in Amsterdam and was expecting a ’spliffing good time’. We did drink a lot but not too much, once Debra fell down some stairs in an Amsterdam 'Coffee Shop' (see me on THE stairs in photo below), and I didn't want to end up meeting Amsterdam Police!





In Amsterdam anything goes (as I already said) and it is the best place ever to people watch so no-one seemed surprised that centre of each photo was me, a red Vest. I had my photo taken on a boat - lots of canals in Amsterdam, and made friends with a very quiet boy who stood very still and never spoke. Debra said his name was statue.

Why was I in the Post?

Debra was really lucky she got to test Fusion Apps at the end of august and even better when she arrived at Redwood our guest writer Beth Norris realised that both Debra and therefore Stanley could meet up with Dan who was also going to HQ that week.

So I persuaded Debra to go off to SFO and meet Dan, problem is she went to the wrong place although she insists Dan came out of the wrong place and we all had a very touching reunion. In the film ‘Love Actually’ the airport reunions always bring smiles to people, but whenever I am at an airport reunion I only get stares, have these people never seen a Vest before???

Anyway back to the story…. I had a great week at HQ and met up with old friends like Basheer Khan and made great new friends with people like David Haimes. I can’t tell you who else I met Debra keeps going on about something called an NDA (never Divulge Anything)! Anyway to cut the story short read about my diving trip with Dan and Mogens in my recent blog

However Debra only let Dan take me because she thought I would not have another outing before OOW but when she got home she realised she would have two ACE weekends before OOW. Debra was meeting up with Sue Shaw and Karen Brownfield who are new ACEs but members of the Product Development Committee Debra chairs so know me well already.

So Debra was a bit annoyed, no Stanley and the chance for two holidays for him. Then Dan came to the rescue, he said he could get me back to Debra. What he didn’t say was I would have the indignity of being quashed into a US Postal Service bag and have to travel half way around the world in the dark. I can tell you I didn’t much like it but at least it gave me an alibi.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

It wasn't me Gov!

I thought the ACE community loved me now, I thought we were all now friends but then I read on Twitter the viscous rumour that I could be a criminal.

@markrittman I recognize that jacket! At 1:52, is this an ACE Director (or even Stanley?) robbing an Apple store earlier in the week? http://bit.ly/h07Ks



IT WASN'T ME - PLEASE BELIEVE ME


In fact I have the perfect alabi. I was in transit and here is my US Postal Service Tracking Print out to prove it. Why was I in a parcel? Next posting will explain why.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Stanley's dive vacation

As I've been working very hard and non-stop since leaving my homeland Vietnam, Debra and Dan finally relented and allowed me to go on vacation. It just so happened that Dan was headed on a scuba vacation (surprise!) with my friend Mogens. It was a live aboard trip which means that you board a boat from land and then spend the entire trip on the boat where your only priorities are eating, sleeping, diving, and occasionally having one drink (after finishing diving for the day, of course).

My adventure continued on this trip. I did go on several dives and Dan snapped a few pictures of me meeting some new friends. First, Mogens wanted to have (another) picture taken with me (who doesn't really?).

I got to meet a great looking barracuda who didn't look very friendly, but also didn't seem the least bit interested in me (which is unusual--most other beings are very interested in me).


There was one part of the trip that made me a little uncomfortable, but no one else seemed to mind much. That was when my new friend Anne made her 300th dive somewhere in the middle of the trip. To celebrate, my friends took their scuba gear and me on a "special" dive. They didn't take anything else ifyouknowwhatImean. It was all good fun and I served as a witness and also as a rash guard for Mogens on this "special" dive. Luckily, the water was warm, so I didn't get cold and my friends enjoyed "hanging out" too.It was very strange, but other than Dan and Mogens, most of the people on the boat didn't really have much interest in meeting me or having photos taken with me. I guess sometimes it's nice not to be a celebrity and enjoy just blending in with the rest of the crowd.

Of course, in their endless pursuit to cause me some pain on every trip, there was an incident where I took a little good-natured abuse. See for yourself.


I didn't go on every dive, but if I did, I would have been glad not to have any pants since I would have peed them when Dan caught this video.

I'm very excited about my trip to OOW09 coming up in about a month. I recently spent a few days in a very small space and traveled all the way back to my friend Debra in Belfast, so I'll have to share some of that experience soon.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Stanley saves the day

You may remember how I played a hand in Debra losing her glasses in Monterey. Well she got a new pair and her travel insurance should have covered them so no real harm done.

I don't know how it works elsewhere but in the UK, any reason not to pay up is normally explored. To be fair Debra's insurance (from the UK's biggest supermarket) are normally very good, and I am sure they had a laugh as she explained the old pair was not really lost just flushed down the toilet.

They didn't even flinch at the story but did say she needed to prove she owed the original pair. Unfortunately Debra didn't have the original receipt and had purchased them in Singapore. She emailed the optician but didn't get a response. I thick she should have emailed my friend and fellow ACE Director Tanel Poder in Singaporeto pop round and sought them out.

Debra instead spoke to the insurance company and they did say that as a last resort they would accept a before and after photo showing the 2 pairs of glasses. Debra knew she had these from Monterey and then thought, no need, just send the link to my posting which explains the whole story, has both photos and is time stamped.

Who can argue with Stanley? The cheque arrived just a few days later.

I haven't gone away

Is it really not since Monterey that I have spoken to you? I really am sorry. I would like to say I have been too busy but actually I have not got up to much. Just hanging around in Debra's study (office for those of you in US).

I have signed up to do a session at the Oracle Open World Unconference which I am very excited about, but do you think people will be interested in 'Who is Stanley?', please let others know so we get a good crowd.

I have also been back to HQ, Debra went there, something to do with Fusion Apps and as I hadn't signed an NDA I was not allowed out of the bag, I did sulk but no-one really cared.

However a big surprise was that Dan was also in HQ the same week delivering internal training so we got to catch up. Debra and I have finally forgiven him for missing the diving in Iceland and the diving in Monterey made up for it, but I do miss Mogens. But after leaving HQ Dan was off to Florida diving again with Mogens so I was dispatched off to that adventure. I don't want to spoil the surprise as I think Dan will post a very funny blog soon, but I can say I got 'close' to Mogens.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Hanging Around in Monterey Part II



I have become quite a fan of Fisherman's Wharf, I think it is something to do with the smell, I do feel really at home there. SO I decided to have a few photos taken to remind me.



As you can see the weather was just beautiful and I had to be careful not to get too much sun, although being from Vietnam I do have some genetic protection.



Debra then decided to walk back the hotel along the beach and was surprised to see that the Monterey Police are still trying to track down the car responsible for my accident last weekend.





Quite a few rules in Monterey but nothing that stops me the world famous ACE Vest from hanging out, doing whatever I want, when I want with friends. Goodbye ODTUG till next year and hope to catch up with a lot of you at Open World.

Hanging Around in Monterey Part I

Once everyone, or almost everyone had left ODTUG I stayed on for a few days to enjoy the sunshine. The first visit was with some Aussie ACE Directors, Chris Muir - 2009 Oracle ACE of the Year, Richard Foote and Marcel Kratochvil (of Foreign Key Fame)on a whale watching boat. We did see humped back whales, but the most memorable thing will be the marine biologist with the worst high pitched laugh ever!

I also discovered that Hump Backed Whales smell disgusting but I can't pass comment on that as I have my own personal hygiene issues.


Then the next day I went for a ride on the Monterey Trolley Bus and the tradition of hanging me was repeated. I don't find I now it is done out of love but not every other passenger understood. The ride was quite enjoyable up from Fisherman's Wharf down to the Aquarium (where I visited last week)in Cannery Row and then back again.




Back at the wharf Debra decided to take her third boat trip of the week, the dive boat, the whale boat and now a glass bottomed boat. It was good I got to see some of the seals, sea lions and sea otters close up, but I think I like the Pelicans best.


There is nothing better than the open sea as long as you haven't eaten, I am proud to say I have never been sea sick, although I have been witnessed others, from both sea sickness and simple drunkenness. But after my near disaster in the swimming pool I will not pass comment.




On return to the wharf I looked out over the marina and thought 'Life does not get better than this. I am a very happy Vest.