The color of my skin.

I slept in a bit today.  I do that after I teach classes.  I had a full day set up in the office.  I went over everything with Nader.  He’s under a lot of pressure with the banking crisis still.  The fact that we are doing so well at KSDi reassures him.  Deep down, I think he longs to quit his banking job and come work for us full time.  But he’s making far too much money at the Bank right now.  We are still about 12-18 months away from really being able to afford him. 

There is a lot of buzz being generated with my improv comedy contest “The Funniest Person in Bahrain.”  We are running it in conjunction with FACT magazine so that will give us really good press.  The first event is supposed to take place on May 19.  That’s going to be tight for me…because I may have to fly back to the U.S. for a legal hearing with my former employer.  That’s going to suck if I have to do that.  But It’s the principle of the thing Im fighting.  For the improv contest, I have selected 10 very talented and funny comic actors.  Some of them are from my class and some are professional comics.  We are going to do a live presentation like Who’s line is it anyway.  I’ll be the M.C./Drew Carey.  I think its going to be big because Bahrain has never done this type of thing before.  Its nice being a part of something that is groundbreaking.  I am doing a lot of “first” things on this island. I guess its good because I don’t know what should or shouldn’t be done…so I go ahead and do it.  Thus far, I’m having pretty good results.  April/May is turning out to be a couple of great months for us.  We are really busy.  We are also establishing ourselves as the “premiere” production company on the Island, especially in regards to the royal family. 

I got a call this morning on my way to work.  A sheikh wants to meet with me next week about doing a documentary on the history of shipping in Bahrain.  That could be a huge contract for us.  I met this sheikh two weeks ago and we hit it off.  Im very fortunate.  Khalifa and I were talking about perception and the color of skin.  It has taken him 50 years to be accepted by his own people for his merits.   He mentioned I had some of that same influence after six months because of the color of my skin and my American accent.  I still never realized Americans have accents…but we do.  I made it into the office and worked on the J.P. Cormier biography.  That was put on the shelf, as I was waiting for one J.P.s best friends to help me place the music in the biography.  It’s a full length biography, but I also interspersed JP’s concert footage with was fabulous to make a feature length concert film.  It’s pretty unique.  I think its going to be very very good.  I just have to add the B-roll now and its ready to go. 

We had two new clients come in for an already busy month.  We found out that the brilliant Graphic Artist/Computer Animator Manu can create 3D graphic for architectural drawings and layouts.  That is a huge weapon to have in our arsenal.  So overall I think the future is looking very very bright.  God is faithful. 

The church that I attend cannot meet in the school tomorrow for the regularly scheduled service.  There is some type of event there.  So they are dividing up the church in home groups.  Im hosting a group.  It will be interesting to see how many people show up for it.  

Making yet another person cry...

What a day.  I had breakfast in my favorite Mexican restaurant.  They had a new server there, that hadn’t worked before.  But he saw me…and said…”The usual sir?”  Wow…I don’t know if that recognition is a good or bad thing.  I am a creature of habit.  I got into the office and had a lot of work to do…So much so, that im a little intimidated by it all.  I just have to learn to balance being a General Manager and a filmmaker.  For years, all I did was make movies…as a writer-producer-director-editor.  One project would consume my professional life for weeks.  By focusing on one thing, I was able to produce excellent work.  I don’t have the luxury any longer.  In fact with my day to day commitments of running a company, I don’t think I have time to make many films at the present moment.  Instead I need to rely upon my very capable staff.  I have to keep them to a high standard to make sure that our product remains top of the line.  But that takes good communication…something at which I excel.  I have big documentary that I’ve been working on for the past few months.  The production is complete and now the post-production needs to get going.  I decided to hand that over to Guy, so I can manage the day to day operations of the company better.  I think that is more of a priority at this point in time.  If work continues to flow in the way it has been…I’m going to have to divert more and more projects that way as we expand.  As long as the quality stays the same…im fine with that.  It just further expands our influence.

Today we had another round of classes at St. Christopher.  I feel much more refreshed this time around.  The kids were very excited.  I was told by many mother’s that they were asking about the classes all week…like …Is it Wednesday yet, Is it Wednesday yet?  It makes me feel good that they are having fun.  Then something happened in the teens class that made me feel quite good.  I made someone else cry.  Let me explain.  I always espouse that 80% of communication is non-verbal.  So I try to encourage my students to use inflection and body language to act out their scene.  I have this game I play, called…Yes/No.  The only thing the one actor can say is Yes, the other actor only can say No.  It’s a pretty powerful game.  I went first to give a demonstration how it would work.  My word was “Yes.”  I really got into it…I did a quick sense memory of my failed marriage as my motivation.  So I kept saying Yes…at first forcefully, the desperately…then with a sense of resignation.  I must have said “Yes”  about 60 different ways in about 3:00.  When I got finished…there were two girls crying.  All I said was “Yes”  I guess it was pretty effective.  I never really considered myself a good actor before.  I am pretty honest with myself and my own abilities.  I always loved acting…but knew I couldn’t make a career out of it, that’s why I became a director.  But ever since my divorce…and the acute amount of pain that I endured…now…I’m a great actor…but only because of the pain.  Im able to channel it a productive manner now through my art.  I have a theory…that the most brilliant artists in the world…have been through some measure of extreme pain.  I think the pain refines who we are and it allows us to become one with our emotions.  The arts are also a good coping mechanism to deal with the pain.  So all in all…the girls’ tears made me feel pretty good about my performance.  To think that it came in such a simple exercise was awesome.  I know I will never be a professional actor for a full-time gig.  But having the ability to deliver a great performance makes me a better teacher, and that is what Im most concerned with.  If I can someday cast myself in a bit role in one of my movies…all the better.  

Johnny Appleseed

Are you guys getting sick of how tired I am?  I know I put myself under this sort of schedule, so Its my choice.  I really am trying to maximize my life here and sleep just seems to get in the way.  Its not like I waste much time of the day.  I don’t watch TV, and I only catch a movie once every two weeks.  I guess my to do list is getting so massive and since I teach twice a week now, I only have four other working days to get everything done.  I know, I know break out the violins.  Im not complaining at all.  Its just that I have to strike a balance when to get my stuff done as a writer-director-producer-editor, and when to get my stuff done as a GM, and when I need to get my stuff done as a publicist, and when to get my stuff done as a sales guy.  I know I’m wearing a lot of hats right now.  One project in particular is hanging over my head.  I think once I get that completed it will pave the way for me to be ultra efficient in all the other areas of my professional life. 

I had some amazing meetings today.  Its amazing how much favor I’m getting with friends and colleagues out here.  Im not really doing anything to deserve it.  Im just being me and people are somehow responding like I have done something very special.  I don’t mind that at all.  It goes to testify what Joel Osteen preached a year ago at Lakewood.  If you live your life right, God will pour out his blessings of favor upon you.  People will treat you right, they might now know why, but they will.  That is exactly what is happening to me, I’m covered in the favor of the Lord.  Its certainly a good place to be. 

I didn’t get hardly anything done today that I wanted to do.  Instead, I had three very important and powerful meetings.  Its all paving the way for the long term growth of the company.  The more the company grows, the more influence I’ll have to spread God’s influence throughout Bahrain and the world.  Because Im so passionate about my faith, I find it very easy to talk about my beliefs, my pain, and God’s faithfulness without being overbearing at all.  I just share my faith in a very simple and matter of fact way.  That tends to catch people off guard and I appreciate that. 

 Tanya and I had a meeting today.  In the car we had a long talk about religion.  She was complaining that one of her friends was telling her that Christ is the only way to get to heaven.  While that is true, Tanya was rather put off by the way the message was delivered.  I took a different approach to that.  Tanya sees my faith in action not words.  Like St. Francis of Assissi said, preach the gospel always when necessary use words.  I told Tanya, you have to be honest with yourself.  Examine different faiths, and find out what works best for you.  (Knowing full well that Christianity works the best, she has to figure out that for herself.)  With me I know that Christianity works perfect for me, with the amount of pain I have survived with my peace and joy in tact, that proves to me there is a God.  I went further.  I told her that I think the Bible is a good guideline for healthy living.  You take away the prospects of a Heaven and a Hell, and I still choose to life my life by the precepts of the Bible because that simply is the most mentally healthy way to live.  Tanya responded…now that makes a whole lot more sense to me.  Who knows what seeds I’ve planted with her?  I just feel like Im the Johnny Appleseed of Christian/positive living over here casting out seeds wherever I travel.  Its up to the Holy Spirit to harvest those seeds.  

Rotary Club

I am sooooo tired.  F1 and the parties this weekend is catching up to me in a big way.  I keep telling myself I need to get in bed early and I rarely do.  Today was an activity filled big day.  I got to work..I slept in a late a little.  But hey…im the GM and I made some amazing and very profitable contacts at the party last night.  Plus, I was only 30 minutes late.  We had an early morning meeting which got cancelled and that allowed me time to catch up with all the little things.  I have to get the little things done, because I have a couple of big projects in the pipeline. 

I interviewed Tanya’s father in law today for our Legacy video biography series.  His name is Franz.  He’s a really interesting man.  He was in Holland during the German occupation in World War II.  His father was arrested and sent to a concentration camp from which he never returned.  Its amazing how the scars of his youth when he was just five years old have haunted him for a lifetime.  It affects who he is today even 60 years past the event.  Franz is a delightful man.  But as he was recalling his youth as a child with his mother and father he constantly was welling up with tears.  Normally I want tears when I do this, but for some reason..i wanted him to fight back the tears.  Im not really sure why.  Perhaps because he was already so haunted by the Nazi’s I wanted him not to be defined by that experience anymore. 

 

After the interview I headed back to the office where everyone wanted to talk to me for five minutes and I didn’t have the time spare.  I was invited by friend Hamid to speak the Adilya Rotary Club.  I was honored that they asked me speak.  I spoke about “The Misperception of Arabs and the Middle East from the vantage point of the average American and the steps we need to take to rectify that problem.  It sound dynamic doesn’t it?  It was a fun speech.  I didn’t really prepare.  Everything was shooting from the hip.  Yet I tell the same stories over and over again to so many different people, I kind of have it down by rote now.  So I spoke for about 20 minutes in front of Bahraini’s and expats.  It was a lot of fun.  I really had the spiel down and they all seemed to respond to it well.  Afterwards they asked a lot of insightful questions.   It was an honor to be asked and an honor to share.  Afterwards they gave a really nice framed certificate of appreciation.  It was very cool.  I think I got a lot of good business leads out of it as well. 

I have soooo much work to do this week.  I have this big project looming over my head with a deadline.  I just have to get in and get it down.  But so many little day to day things keep getting in the way.  Its hard for me to stay properly motivated. 

Please continue to pray for my kids…X is back putting pressure on them again.  I feel so bad, but if I try to defend or protect it just creates resistance and more conflict for them.  So in that way Im really in a no-win situation.   I just am so sick and tired of the conflict.  Every two weeks…some molehill is created out of a mountain.  You’d think with me not communicating with her she’s run out of molehills after awhile.  If Im next door there’s problems, if Im a few states away there’s problems, if im half a world away there’s problems and everything is my fault according to her perception. 

Amazing Day and Night at F1

Wow…what an amazing amazing day it was.  It was the day of the Grand Prix.  It’s a work day (officially) but most of the island takes today and tomorrow off…tomorrow is to recover.  Its 1:30 am right now…on a work day, and I have an early morning meeting but im still on a buzz.  I got into the office and I pushed up our morning meeting to 10 am.  These meetings are very helpful with the morale of the company and communication as we grow.  Before I came on board, they never had meetings.  So this is a step in the right direction.  The benefits are being found with our increased efficiency and teamwork.  After the meeting I got a few things done, that had to get done then I was off to the race track.  It was packed.  There were so many people there.  Its certainly the event of the year as far as Bahrain is concerned.  I saw Richard Branson of Virgin Fame, which was kind of cool.  The world loves F1 racing almost as much soccer.  Yet it hasn’t made an impact in the U.S.  F1 internationally…comparatively speaking is bigger than Nascar in the South.  You can compare it to the Indy 500 with open wheel racing…but its not an oval track with only left turns.  Over the course of the weekend the event drew over 93,000 fans.  This is quite significant when you factor in the entire population of Bahrain being 700,000.  That’s quite an influx of people over the weekend.  There was so much energy and excitement. 

As far as the race goes…I didn’t really get it.  It was hard to follow the cars and see who was in first place after all the cars spread out.   It was cool hearing the cars roar around the track at 200 mph.  I had to wear earplugs…everybody did.  If you didn’t…your ears would just ache, it could actually be damaging.  Your body just shook as the cars screamed by you.  It was quite an experience.  There is a lot of science and precision that goes into racing.  It’s a mixture of sports, science and engineering.  I wasn’t an F1 fan before the race..and am not necessarily one now.  But I do have a better appreciation for it.

After the race I came home and worked out.  Then it was off to a pre-party at Mo’s place.  Mo is my good friend from earlier in the blog.  I havent’ been to a party of his in quite sometime.  He’s very well connected with Gulf Air and other social groups.  There were sooooo many beautiful girls there.  The way Gulf Air hires their flight attendants, they could easily get sued for discrimination in the U.S.  They hire young and beautiful attendants.  The cream of the crop all seemed to be at Mo’s party.  I guess I am getting a little popular.  I knew most everyone there and was absolutely comfortable in my own skin.  I didn’t drink again, but many of them did.  Then we were off to the main party.  It was the official Post-F1 wrap party.  This is the party of the year at the Coral Beach club on the water.  It was gigantic, there must have been 5000 people there all drinking and partying.  The drinking thing again didn’t interest me.  But we went to a private VIP area hosted by my new good friend Fadi.  Fadi is an extremely successful insurance man from Palestine.  He was very generous and made sure everyone in his party was well taken care of.  He asked me what I was drinking…the standard Diet Coke I told him.  Within moments there was a six pack of diet coke for me.  I could get very spoiled with this lifestyle.  The interesting thing about these clubs and parties I attend, there are always people I network with that become clients.  In addition to Fadi, I met two other guys that are probably going to use KSDi’s services.  Its just more examples of God’s favor with divine appointments.  I left the party at 1am and there were still people coming in.  I have to work tomorrow so I couldn’t stay too long.  But it seemed that party will go on for another 3-4 hours.  It was simply a great day.    

F1 and the Four Wives (Pics below)

What a great day and I still feel rested.  Last night I was trying to hit three parties and wound up only hitting one.  It was a good one.  It was at Aqua Fuego, which is owned by a guy that is becoming a close friend and a business associate.  We will be hosting our “Funniest Person in Bahrain/live Improv contest there.”  This was an invitation only event.  So I was hobnobbing with some pretty important people.  One guy in particular I spent most of the night talking to.  He is the owner of a production company that does some pretty exclusive work in Bahrain.  He’s very well financed.  So we hit it off and we’re going to try to get together in the coming weeks to see if we can come up with something to work on.  It was yet again another divine appointment.  I met a lot of different people at this particular party.  What was cool about it, most of them were my age in their 30’s and 40’s.  Most of my social network here are in their 20’s.  Its nice when I can talk to big kids my age.  I left the party at 12, midnight and had time to still go over to the other big exclusive party.  I had a media ticket since my crew was covering the event.   But I figured I’d pace myself.  So I came home chatted with a few dear friends and went to bed. 

I got up early the next day to go to the F1 qualifying races.  The big day is tomorrow.  But since the ticket was so expensive, I thought I should try to get my money’s worth out of it.  There was just a lot of spectacle at the race track.  Its really the biggest weekend of the year here in Bahrain.  There was so much to see.  I brought some work along with me.  Since I’m only working a ½ day tomorrow because Im going to the race, I felt compelled to work a little today.  For me its not about quantity of time worked, its quality.  I got a lot done in an hour.  But I had to leave the race early in order to go teach the acting classes.  I actually was so well prepared for classes they were great.  I had a lot of energy and the kids really learned a lot.  I was also jazzed up for the adults, but the problem was…most of them missed.  I guess I should have known to cancel the classes on an F1 weekend.  I had only 5 of the 15 come.  Oh well…everyone paid up front.  It was very valuable for the 5 since it was almost a private lesson.

Oh I forgot to tell you.  In Fuddrucker’s at lunch (A fuddrucker’s lunch before I teach is now kind of a ritual…they know me).  I saw a Muslim with four wives.  They were all in a booth with about three children.  They all were in abayas and veils.  They veils make it extremely complicated to eat as they have to place the food under the veil lift it up slightly with their other hand and eat.  Having multiple wives is not as common here as you’d think.  According to Sharia (Koran law) all wives must be treated equally.  Thus when you buy one a Fuddruckers hamburger you buy four.  Buy one a ring, buy four, buy one a house, buy four.  As you can see it can get expensive and problematic so most Muslims don’t bother.  Unless you are royalty and/or very rich you can’t afford it.  For the personal hassles…you’re on your own.  You know…Islam and Mormonism are very similar but that’s a blog for another day.  So this guy I saw eating with his wives must have been extremely wealthy.  All those people eating a simple lunch in Fuddruckers’ must have set him back at least $100.  Try doing that everyday twice a day. 

So I’ll cut this short again.  Im heading to the office early, moving up our staff meeting then heading to the race track for the big race.  Look for me on ESPN tomorrow.  And when you see the media outlets that mention Bahrain…you can tell everyone…hey I know someone that lives there…and he personally invited me to come for a vacation.  

Grand Prix tickets...woo-hoo!!!!

Im posting the blog a little bit early today.  Normally I do this as the last thing I do before I go to bed.  Thus some nights I find myself falling asleep in the middle of typing which is a bizarre thing indeed.  A lot has happened already and its still only 5:00 pm.  I woke up early to make it to church.  Afterwards Tanya invited with me her friends and family to the Dilmun Club for brunch.  The Dilmun club is like a country club without the golfing.  They have horse stables there which is kind of cool.  The brunch was fabulous, primarily because they had pork.  Now I didn’t eat that much pork in the U.S. but since its so hard to find here, I eat it every chance I get now.  Tanya’s friends were a nice dutch couple.  Aloes…I think his name is, is in the film industry.  He helps finance and distribute feature films.  He’s been doing this for 13 years.  He mainly focuses on the financial side and not necessarily the creative side.  Some of the films he worked on have been my favorites, including Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and sooo many more. Leon was another one.  He mainly has been working with foreign films and isn’t it convenient that I’m a foreign film aficionado.  This is another case where it can’t just be a coincidence that we were eating together.  It certainly is a divine appointment.  His wife was nice too.  She runs an advertising agency.  We talked about ways we can work together.  I am starting to establish several strategic alliances with different companies as we are expanding.  When we don’t have the financial flexibility to add staff en masse, its more efficient to slowly establish these partnerships.  They help us, we help them…its all about the barter.  There are so many long term benefits I’m putting together for the company, but still I have to focus on the short term as well.  Im starting to feel a tremendous amount of pressure as I try to grow the company into financial flexibility.  I look at it like this metaphor.  When I came on board, I felt like I was boarding a sinking ship.  We had an influx of capital from Nader to fix the ship.  So now we are buoyant and the winds are starting to pick up.  The forecast for good sailing weather is excellent.  We are just now starting to pick up positive momentum forward, but we’re not moving full ahead just yet.  One storm, or a drop in the wind could be perilous, but thus far…we are still sailing. 

My plans for the weekend got completely switched around.  But it was all in a good way.  I skipped some parties last night so I could come home and rest, and Im glad I did.  Tanya’s father in law offered me a ticket to the F1 Races this weekend.  I wasn’t planning on attending the races, just the after parties.  The parties are supposed to be amazing.  I wasn’t planning on attending the races because the tickets are so expensive.  The face value on this ticket $450 for the three day event.  So Im going to work it into my schedule so I’ll be able to attend.  Since I have to teach acting classes tomorrow afternoon, I can only go to the morning races.  That means I’m going to have to cut short my party attendance tonight.  Which will be difficult.  Im supposed to attend three different parties tonight.  Fortunately they are all in the same part of town, so I can make an appearance at all three.  But I have to get back by a certain hour so I can enjoy the racing and teach class tomorrow.  The main day is Sunday, which is a work day.  I’ll have to figure out how to work a little and still catch the main action.  It so helps that Im the boss.  It also helps that I work 80 hours a week generally and I can afford these forays periodically when they do occur.  As long as the company is making money, I have much more flexibility.  The Shaheen family trusts me, and I don’t take that trust lightly.  I’ll try to take pix of the race and post them by Monday.  

Homebody

Im exhausted…simply exhausted.  I just had no idea how mentally taxing the teaching thing really is.  When I was in California, I only taught one class a day and that took a lot out of me.  Then when I got to Bahrain, and I did three back to back to back…that took a lot out of me and I eventually compensated and adjusted to the new routine.  Part of my compensation was since the class was on Saturday, I slept in late, so I was well rested.  I also took a lot of time to mentally prepare.  So by the time the classes rolled around, I had plenty of energy.  But this past class yesterday…wow…  It really sapped me.  It was a great group.  We had 10 children, 10 teens, and 10 adults.  But the issue was the preparation.  We have had such a busy month in April.  Now busy is quite good, because im told July and August are dead months.  Since it is so hot here then, most everyone on the island leaves.  So in a way we are working hard so we can professionally hibernate.  I still enjoy what Im doing, but I just really have to focus on the tasks at hand and not let anything slip through the cracks.  Not only do I have my projects to do, but my day consists of 75% of unexpected management duties that must be adhered to so the rest of the staff can work.  That only leaves 25% of the time for me to finish my full time projects.  Now I’m not complaining, I just have to adjust accordingly.  A few of the headaches.  I had to reprimand an employee this week…almost made her cry.  That is so not in my nature.  Then I had two employees ask me for significant pay raises otherwise they threatened to leave.  Those aren’t pleasant experiences.  I pride myself on being a good and fair boss.  In fact, I think Im one of the best.  Im constantly affirming and giving perks, picking up the tab, giving them treats.  But for some that is not enough.  I know the economy is bad and everyone has their own unique set of financial needs, but in this recession as Im trying to keep the company afloat, it’s a bad time to make ultimatums.  We have so much potential in this company and we are really starting grow, but we are not out of the woods yet.  It looks good long term, but we have to work a bit to get there.  Im not sure what is going to happen with these two ultimatums these employees gave me.  I suspect one will stick with his…the other will back down.  I know my superior’s reaction.  I try to shield him from all of that.  Nader is very cut and dried.  He threatened last week that he sacked his best friend and brother…no one is untouchable.  I guess that includes me….but im not worried about my job security…I know my value. 

So after a event filled morning…I slept in and didn’t get to the office til 10.  By the time 3:00 rolled around I could feel my brain just kind of shut down.  It was a weird experience.  I was no longer being productive.  I hadn’t eaten yet so im sure that had something to do with it.  So I left the office a little bit early and went to the Bahrain Boat Show at Amwaj islands.  I saw all the models that I work with as they were working the event.  I also connected with Armand unexpectedly.  I wanted to go to the Boat show to see if I could buy a kayak.  They had an acrylic, plexiglass type of kayak that was completely see through.  I thought how cool would that be.  But it was big…a two person kayak.  I wanted a smaller one…I looked online and found a smaller fold up see through kayak that fits in a backpack.  I’m going to try to order it.  I just think it would be cool for an early morning kayak ride on the Persian Gulf for my exercise. 

After the boat show, I came back and slept.  Then a colleague of mine invited me to something he created called “Stand Up-Step Up.”  It was an arab version of Def Comedy Jam, with a lot of staged poetry.  I thought it was going to be hokey, but I wanted to go to support him.  We conduct our acting classes in his studio.  His name is Art Jones, he’s a pretty interesting guy.  In New York when he was just out of college in the 70’s he was part of a team that created School House Rock.  I thought that was a great TV show.  In fact, I couldn’t wait to have kids so I could watch that with them.  “She unpacked her adjectives…” “Lolly lolly lolly get your adverbs here” “Conjuction Junction…what’s your function…” “Interjection, for emotion, and excitement…”  and those are just off the top of my head.  I was actually quite surprised by the performance.  It was pretty good.  I enjoyed myself.  I was invited to go to a couple of clubs afterwards.  There are soooooo many parties this weekend.  But I was just too wiped out. Tomorrow is the big party night for me…I have to hit two big ones.   I don’t really like the clubs/party…but hopefully…I’ll be able to make it through.   

Almost busy

I pride myself on not being busy…ever.  Its not that I don’t have a lot of activity.  Its just that some people find their sense of purpose in being “busy”.  I have promised myself I would never do that.  Well if there ever was a day I was almost busy, this was certainly the day.  I had sooooo much activity.  It was non-stop from the moment I got up.  Its so much, Im worried if I got everything done.  There was added pressure because the classes at St. Christopher also started up today.  So I had an 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM day.  Because the acting classes are so mentally exhausting, it feels like an extra couple hours were tacked on at the end of that.  Keep in mind, I’m not complaining.  The acting classes were my choice.  I get a lot of fulfillment out of teaching them.  In a way, its my ministry.  Already, on the first day, I made a big impact.  That is so rewarding for me.  Its strange seeing how people react to the virtually the same stimuli.  I’m in a unique position to compare and contrast them against each other.  First I have the kids for two hours at 2:30.  Children generally don’t have any inhibitions, so naturally they are better actors.  They just need to be guided a bit.  When we get to the teens, the inhibitions and walls start to emerge but they aren’t overwhelming for them yet.  Then we have the real issues with the grown ups.  This is why the acting classes are so important for them.  Adults need therapy much more than children do for a purpose.  Its just something about being a grown up, we tend to lose our creativity, imagination and peace.  Maybe that’s why Christ loved children so much.  They have a magic that we big kids tend to lose as the years pile up on us. 

There was one such student in class today.  He was new at acting and very passionate about it.  We did a relaxation session and a sense memory technique.  These take a bout 20 minutes where it’s a guided mediation process for me.  The feelings that this evokes are amazingly intense.  After I bring the actors out of it, they wake up slowly like they had been asleep for hours, rather than just concentrating for a couple of minutes.  This Bahraini was confused when I brought him out.  He asked if I had hypnotized him, and I told him it was just guided meditation.  He did the rest.    This one guy was telling his vision he had in his head.  He was sitting inside in a nice house with nice furniture, next to a pretty girl that smelled good.  He didn’t have any feelings for the girl even though she was attractive.  Instead outside there were a couple of children playing and he longed to go outside and play…but he was stuck inside and he didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.  I asked him if I could have permission to interpret.  He agreed.  I told him that the house symbolized his parent’s and societies expectations of him.  Bahraini’s or Arabs aren’t encouraged to act.  They are supposed to live a certain way, marry with a pre-arranged marriage and live a comfortable life.  They are not supposed to rock the boat.    This is what was facing this guy.  Yet outside…the kids playing is what he longed for.  The kids symbolized his longing for drama and to be an actor.  It was shunned and unavailable by his society and that what he longed for.  So in his vision he was frustrated with unfulfilled desires.  I asked him if my interpretation was close, and he thought I was spot on.  That made me feel pretty good. 

I also pride myself on being stressed, but whenever I start up these acting classes there is always a little stress because I never know who is going to show up at the last minute.  I know stress doesn’t do a bit of good…and I let it get to me today.  We wound up having 10 children, 10 teens, and 10 adults.  Its not fantastic, but its not bad either.  Actually as far as managing and teaching, 10 is a lot easier to handle than 15.  So I need to count my blessings.

There is a lot of excitement on the island this weekend.  Its F1 where the international racing world descends.  There is a lot of money and glamour here this weekend and soooooo many parties.  I kind of feel “in the know” since I’ve been invited to so many.  I’m very humbled by all of it.  Im so sleep already with work, and it looks like I’ll be staying out late for a couple of nights.  Im looking forward to it…im just hoping I won’t crash.

OH!!!!!!! I almost forgot to tell you.  After I wrote my blog last night.  Max, my middle son called me.  We had an incredible conversation, we laughed, talked about visitation plans and just were what a dad and son should be.  I could tell he wanted to discuss some issues that were prompted by his mother, but somehow we got past the conflict.  He doesn’t want to fight anymore and neither do I.  The latest shenanigan she pulled was for my visitation in July. OK….after a prompting by the holy spirit…Im not going to go into details on this forum.  My hope and prayer is that someday X and I can get along because that ultimately is the best for the children.  That is what I desperately want.  

wiped out

I am wiped out.  I had such a busy day full of meetings.  It was mentally taxing and ultimately physically exhausting.  But it was all good.  Did my morning routine and was very busy with the day to day stuff of the office.  I have so many big projects I need to undertake as a writer-producer, but my GM day to day duties always seem to take away from that.  When I am creative I have to get into a flow.  If something interrupts that flow…im done for the day and I have to try it tomorrow.  Its strange thing as I try to engage the creativity of my brain.  I just can’t force myself.  I have to work up to it.  I know that makes me sound like a prima donna, but its just how the creative part of my brain works.  I often tell my students that you can train your brain when to be creative, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of consistency.  With me…I could probably train myself, but it would take me three weeks.  Its more efficient for me just to get into the flow and the mindset.  For example, for my documentary next week I have to cut, I’ll need to start fresh Sun. morning (first day of the week) and simply devote my morning to it.  Once I get it started, its much easier to complete.  The task of the journey of a thousand miles starting with the single step, is mine.  The issue is that first single step. 

 

I had a three hour meeting with Nader and Khalifa.  It was pretty intense but all good.  We finally signed the contract to sell the pictures to the Gallery.  Khalifa was protecting them like they were his children, and I can understand that.  He has been robbed before in the creative realm so that naturally makes him a little gun shy.  But he is trusting me by handing it over to me.  The Gallery is very excited about getting the images.  They are ready to mass market them.  It’s a great thing for KSDi.  We also talked a lot about other business.  It was nice conversing with the father and son.  Khalifa really enjoys and is proud of his children.  Its nice to see.  There is a genuine respect amongst all of us.  They like what Im doing with the company.  They are tough with me and have high expectations.  I think I respond to those expectations well. 

Had another meeting at 6 with Guy and Dinah, who was originally going to host the Acting School at her theater until the Government told her she could lose her nursery school license if she used her theater for another educational event.  It was a technicality and a power play.  But we are still really close.  It was nice to brainstorm with her.  She wants to start another filmmaking camp for her kids (she ran a camp last year).  She wants to talk about KSDi running it.  Before she used to fly directors down from the U.K.  to operate the camp.  But now that I’m here she can save the travel expense.  These classes are the sort of thing I taught in No. Ca last year. 

Finally and most importantly, my new friend Rosanna from the Ministry of Social Development arranged me to have a talk in front of representative from 15 different NGO’s (Bahrain’s version of a non-profit agency).  I showed them my projects and explained how they could have the same impact for their organization by investing in video.  Many of them had never considered making a video before this.  They were all very interested and excited.  It was a good contact to make. 

Im very tired and worn out…but I feel this sense of duty.  Keep in mind it’s a self-imposed sense of duty to post in this blog every night.  Like my exercise routine, im afraid if I miss a night I’ll miss two, then three.  So that’s why I keep going.  I don’t have internet in the building right now, so I’ll have to go to a coffee shop and access their wifi.  Before I came over the Lord spoke to my heart and wanted me to write a book.  I think my coping skills I’ve picked up over the last 3-4 years are pretty powerful.  I would like to share those skills with others, and that is why I write this blog, to encourage others to stay on the positive, no matter what.  I wonder if this blog will turn into a book?   I wonder if anyone will be interested in reading it?

What a day

What a day.  I had an early morning interview with a Sheikh.  He was part of the royal family.  It was about a documentary we are producing which he is the project lead.  Very interesting conversation.  He was a well spoken guy in English as he was educated in the U.S.  It was really a delightful interview..just a really nice guy, about my age, I think.  I had a full day so after the interview I rushed out to go to my next appointment.  As the elevator doors were closing, a secretary caught us and said I had another interview set up at 10:30…which was five minutes away.  I don’t remember scheduling that interview.  So I called my 11:00 appointment to tell her I’d be late and conducted the interview.  I don’t like to be late or make other people wait for me.  I have always felt, if someone is consistently late they are saying my time is more important than yours.  So I really am conscientious to not be late.  I don’t like being too early either, I try to space it out just right. 

So I had my meeting and it was great.  The person I met with who is a regular reader of this blog, doesn’t like her name mentioned.  So I’ll keep her anonymous.  She is just so sharp, and intelligent.  Everytime I’m with her she impresses me more and more.  She is a beautiful person inside and out.  A very good heart.  She is really helping us out at KSDi.  Next I had a chat with Tanya.  Tanya has been out of the office for two weeks.  She’s part time so she only works when her kids are in school.  Sometimes that is a bit of a challenge but she is very reliable to get all her work done.  Tanya is actually becoming one of my closest friends here.  So we had two weeks of catching up to do personally…and there is all the work we have to do as well.  The meeting went a little long.  How busy was I today…I didn’t have a chance to check my email for 8 hours.  I have a true addiction to email both for business and personal use.  So I ran off to my next event…which was kind of a cool one.  We had donated our services to something called the Bahrain Garden Show, which is a big deal here.  The Queen was holding an appreciation banquet for all the participants.  It was formal and held in the beautiful Gudabiya Palace.  As she was speaking, the butlers would come out and serve coffee, tea, appetizers.  The white glove wearing servers came out in unison, almost as if it were a ballet.  It was very distinguished and made me feel honored to be there.  They came out in two’s and served the crowd of about 100 in 60 seconds or so.  It must have been rehearsed.  It was too choreographically perfect.   Then afterwards the banquet was even better.  I felt as if I had five star treatment.  It made quite an impression on me. 

I was close to home after and didn’t want to fight through the traffic to work for 30 minutes then fight back through the traffic to come home.  So I worked from home the rest of the day.  It’s Grand Prix F1 week here in Bahrain.  The racing world focuses on us this weekend.  We have V.I.P. visitors coming from all over the world to catch this event.  It’s a very big deal socially and economically.  Thus there is a lot more traffic here than usual. 

To top off the day, we had our positive living small group.  I went and bought loads and loads of Chinese Food.  That is one of my contributions to the group.  I was worried when just Reji showed up…then Jennifer came 10 minutes later.  I was thinking…this is awkward…only three.  But soon we had another 6 more show up for a healthy group of 8.  Only three of those eight including myself were Christians.  So that is exactly who I want to target.  We talked about forgiveness and watched one of Joel Osteen’s/Lakewood’s video.  It sure helped spur some very healthy philosophical discussion.  Im not sure how the seeds that we planted will grow, that is up to the Holy Spirit to harvest them.  But still its nice having a small little group which is a fulfillment of the vision that God had put on my heart.  Im very thankful for Lakewood Church in providing me all the free material.  Its such a blessing.  Wow…what a day.  

Improv and other miscellany

It was a very nice day for me today.  I went into the office a little bit later.  I tend to do that the night after I teach an acting class.  I decided to go to breakfast at my favorite breakfast place.  Im a regular, so as soon as they see me they start making my favorite breakfast.  I haven’t had anything else there.  I’m such a creature of habit.  I do my daily Bible reading either in the morning at breakfast or during lunch.  After my reading I got out my to do list.  I have about 30 things swimming around in my brain that I had to get to in the next couple of days.  Normally that would provide a bit of apprehension.  But for some reason, when I put the pen to paper, I can forget it about it.  It’s a great stress reliever.  I check back throughout the week to check up on it to see if im on schedule and to add various points to the list. 

I did have a bit of discouraging news last night.  Julie, our Filipina photoshop artist, part time accountant, part time videographer, part time receptionist, full time sweet lady lost her mother last night.  So we had to arrange for her emergency flight back to the Philippines for a month.  With our other Filipina also gone, that leaves a hole.  Plus our IT guy, and regular blog reader, Reji is leaving for his month in May.  Its so challenging to keep the business running when there is usually one sometimes more of your permanent staff on a month’s holiday.  You can’t hire replacement workers as they are going to come back.  They also don’t have any temp agencies.  So you just have to juggle.  Thus far its been working for us. 

The staff had really been working hard.  So for our staff meeting I went and bought everyone KFC.  The Filipinos and Indians just love KFC.  It was a small token of my appreciation.  We had a nice time visiting.  It was a nice bonding experience.  Generally everyone likes each other in the office.  There is a real sense of pride and community to what we do.  We have some very talented people and I let them know that often.  They have all bought into my vision that we are the best production company in Bahrain (not much competition…admittedly) and soon we are going to be the best in the Middle East.  We are growing slowly but surely.  Its wonderful that we keep adding staff in the midst of the recession.  I just have to make sure we continue to grow. 

I had another meeting with a real sharp lounge/club owner.  He has one of the biggest clubs in Bahrain, but he’s trying to diversify and stress the lounge aspect.  So he approached me about doing an actor’s night.  So we are going to model it on the Friday Night Live—Improv show I did in No. Ca.  I have picked out 7 of my all star improv performers both from my class and other sources.  I still have to pick out three others, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.  We are titling it simply…”The Funniest Person in Bahrain.”  It will certainly be different as Bahrain had not experienced anything like this before.  This will make a little money, be a promotional opportunity for KSDi, but most importantly for my actors and audience, be a whole lot of fun.  The club owner was very enthusiastic about its potential.  My actors are also very excited to be involved.  It’s a win-win situation. 

I was a little down tonight.  Most of the ex-pats here are very very angry with the government.  The parliament passed a law where 3-star hotels or lower could no longer serve alcohol.   That shuts down a lot of the bars in Bahrain.  While it doesn’t really affect me alcohol-wise because I don’t drink, but for some of the other ex-pats especially the ones from the U.K. this is a national crisis.  The closures did include my favorite pub JJ’s.  What does this mean?  No longer will I have access to the best Fish and Chips in the Middle East, and perhaps even more tragically no more Quiz nights.  My compatriots (wow…did I just use that word?) and I were very upset.  It was the highlight of my week really.  Oh well..i guess I’ll have to find other ways to entertain myself.  That won’t be hard.  Actually having three hours free now…sounds nice.  I rarely have any down time…so when I get it…it is most welcome.  That is such a contrast to how I was when I first arrived.  I think that is both an answer to prayer and a sign that I’m where I’m exactly supposed to be…according to God’s plan.   Being where God wants you to be, is the only place you’ll find real peace.  I have peace and I have it abundantly.  

Acting breakthrough

What a nice day this turned out to be.  I slept in really late.  I worked on the blog for awhile and wound up talking to a friend late.  Im still on such a high from my Greece trip.  That is a lasting, I think lifelong memory for me.  So it was different sleeping in till 11 am.  I really didn’t sleep hardly at all when I was Greece and operating completely on Adrenalin.  So Im hoping I got caught up last night. 

The reason I only stayed 48 hours in Greece, is because I didn’t want to miss an acting class.  With our second session starting on the 22^nd of this month on Wednesday, Im not going to have many opportunities for little getaways like this for awhile.  I had been working the 6 day 70 hour thing.  So I thought the break was deserved.  But I did feel kind of bad for my staff.  They have been working 7 day weeks (some of them) and also 70-80 hours a week.  The difference is Im a spoiled westerner.  Most of them appreciate all the overtime they can get.  They are here to work and make money.  Im too locked into my 40 hour ideal m-f time frame.  That just isn’t realistic here for this season of my life.  The fortunate part for me is that I love love love what I do.  So I never really have to work.  Take today for instance with the acting class.  I’ve been working this 6 day for the past two months now.  It is very mentally straining as I have to be “on” for the entire day.  I teach three different Two hour classes, childrens, teens, and adults back to back to back.  Its quite taxing.  But since I really enjoy it, I don’t consider it to be work.  Im actually quite looking forward to going into the office tomorrow.  How strange is that to love your job that much?  Im glad im in the center of God’s will for my life.

OK…one of the main reasons why Im on such a bit of high right now is one of my students had a break-through tonight.  He’s an young arab, probably 24, with just not a lot of experience in the acting department, but he wants to try.  Ive seen a lot of good and bad actors in my day, and this guy starting out, had to be one of the absolute worst.  But he was so determined, so naïve really to his own ability.  I worked hard with him.  He did a monologue tonight from the Wizard of Oz, about courage…the one the Lion did…you remember.  It was perfect for him.  The first few times through he really struggled with the lines.  And he got flustered and wanted to give up.  Then I took him aside and I said, I want you to visualize your parents when you do this.  Because really, that is who he was talking to in trying to gain his courage.  So he went up there and all of a sudden, this bold, brazen character came out of his while he was yelling his scene.  It shocked everybody.  It was actually pretty decent.  When he finished, the entire class hooted and hollered for him.  Everyone was so proud.  It was raucous and a pretty emotional moment for him.  Character defining even.  Like he had overcome this big fear, this big weight holding him back.  He succeeded, be believed in himself.  That’s why I love teaching…for guys like this guy to achieve their full potential. 

After the class everyone went out to eat again.  There is such a sense of community building amongst the students its really great to see.  That’s what I want to see.  Its in moments like tonight, where Im reminded that I am really making a difference.  It just makes me want to do it more and more.  I’m blessed and fortunate to be a tool in these people’s lives.  Acting is great therapy.  Its also a great tool to help teach you how to maximize your true potential.  Im so glad that I do what I do…still.  I tell my students about what makes an actor successful?  What makes an actor successful, or any person in life successful is that they never ever ever ever give up.  I’ve been rejected and beaten down thousands of times (not an exaggeration), both emotionally and professionally.  I didn’t give up though at times family and friends urged me to.   My faith was not in them…it was in the calling that God had for my life.  If God be for us…then who can be against us… Was my motto for not giving up.  Its in nights like tonight…I see the fruits of my labor…and it feels great.  

Greece is the word...Its got groove...its got meaning...

(If you want to see pics of my trip, click the following link:)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117297&id=751722138&l=e17161e39a

Im on the plane right now flying back from my wonderful little break in Athens.  I’m so thankful to my gracious hosts Evi and Regina Varti.  (Evi is the one in my acting class and her sister Regina lives in Athens.)  It was simply wonderful.  I spent a lot of time with their family including Evi’s husband Spiro (A Gulf air pilot), and two children, as well as their parents.  Everyone was so gracious and hospitable.  I’m so thankful.  I think I saw a side of Greece that most tourists don’t get to see.  I did go through a few of the touristy things, but just walking around everywhere (we walked a lot) was so enlightening.  Now I’ve raved about how nice and beautiful I thought Greece is, but there are few downsides.  It has roughly 4 million people, roughly the size of Chicago, all jammed into about half the space of Chicago.  Its very very densely populated.  Thus the “Smart Car” the tiny little cute one, is the car of choice, as well as scooters.  The dense population is similar to Taiwan, only it seemed worse.  Houses were stacked on top of each other…actually I didn’t see any houses it was all just a series of apartment buildings and offices or so it seemed.  The streets were absolutely tiny, similar to the small alley ways of Bahrain.  One car, maybe can fit down some of these streets as long as there is no pedestrian walking down as well.  Thus with all these 5-7 story apartments with no parking structures whatsoever, parking is a real problem.  It was hard to do any urban planning when your urban plan was 3000 years ago where you needed a place to park your chariot, not your Hyundai.  So parking was a real issue..I know it might not seem like a big of a deal.  But you simply cannot park far away and walk to your car/apartment.  There just isn’t a place to park.  Regina told me stories of having sometimes to drive around for 1-2 hours just to find a parking spot.  By the time she got home she was in tears because of the frustration.  So America…appreciate your parking spaces. 

I didn’t get to see everything, but I feel like I saw just enough.  I’m not sure what I appreciated more, the sights or spending time with the Varti family.  Its trips/occasions like this that creates lifelong friends.  I felt very unchivalrous, Regina and Evi simply would not allow me to pay for everything.  It got to the point where I really insisted and If I would have paid it would have breached some sort of etiquette. I have always tried to be generous to others…in this circumstance I feel like the reaping and sowing thing was coming back to me.  They all made quite the impression as you can see. 

The Varti sisters are insistent that I come back in the Summer to Santorini, their summer home.  It won’t take much convincing.  Santorini is one of the Greek islands that is full of color and the water is simply crystal clear.  Maybe I can get back around August, when things in Bahrain slows down a bit.  I had such a fun time going through the souks yesterday.  I bought my kids a ton of really cool Greek Artifacts.  I spent a bunch of money on them.  I figure if they can’t be here to experience with me, at least I can send a little bit of my experience to them.  I have posted a bunch of pictures from my trip at the request of some of the readers.  They are below.  There are a couple pictures with Pigeons…that was a weird experience.  They have a parliament building where the guards are like the Beefeater guards in London or the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier in the U.S.  They just don’t move.  Its kind of an unwritten rule, if you live in or visit Athens, you have to get your picture next to one of the guards…so I did…along with hundreds of others that day.  It was weird.  But right outside the parliament building are hundreds of pigeons.  We bought some pigeon feed for a Euro, and in two seconds (literally) from opening the bag, they were all over me.  Talk about creepy.  I was starting to get weirded out and feeling like a statue when seven of them were on me at one time, including one perched on top of my head.  It was disturbing and pretty funny at the same time.  Im sure it wouldn’t have been a big deal if I hadn’t seek Hitchcock’s “The Birds” 

I didn’t get much sleep these past few days.  We stayed out sight seeing and going to cafes till 2 and 3 in the morning.  Apparently its normal in the summer for these cafes to stay open to 6 am.  Now there are clubs, but the outdoor cafes are different.  Much more subdued relaxed, classy and casual.  I took a couple of photos of these outdoor cafes. 

What impressed me about Greece, was that it was teaming with culture, history, and style.  Plus all the food that I ate was delicious.  I imagine that Greece is very similar to Italy, since its so close, an hour by airplane.  If I could close my eyes…I could probably convince myself I was in italy.  But that was just my opinion.  So even though I chose not to sleep as I wanted to maximize my 48 hours, I still feeling amazingly refreshed and rejuvenated.  Im getting back to Bahrain at 8 tonight Bahrain time.  I was invited to a club by the owner as he’s doing a special promotional event…I am probably going to go, but I don’t want to stay long.  I just want to sleep, recuperate from a great trip, and be mentally prepared for my acting classes tomorrow.  I truly am blessed by being here.  Wow…what a last 48 hours it has been.  

Greece Day Two

I apologize for the short blog yesterday.  But I didn’t want to blow my routine of daily writing.  I had only seven minutes of power left on the computer, so I barely got in on time.  I’ll write more at length about my spectacular trip tomorrow.  I only have 48 hours to enjoy this fabulous culture and the people, so I don’t want to spend too much time writing in the blog about it. 

I love this country and its people.  Im staying with the family of one of my acting students and they have been absolutely wonderful to me.  They forewarned me about their family…Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding…and you have this family.  Very kind and gracious.    They won’t let me pay for anything.  As much as I insist, they simply refuse…and Im really trying, unlike my little sister when she tries to pick up a tab, or when I’m with my parents and I try to insincerely pick it up…I’m really making an effort here. 

Being in Greece is like being in a different world.  Bahrain, doesn’t feel like a foreign country but Greece certainly does.  There aren’t a lot of American things here which is great.  They have such a rich history and culture.  We went to the Acropolis today, which I think is Athens’ most famous tourist site.  I took a ton of pictures, I’ll post them tomorrow.  I even bought a camera to commemorate the event, there were just too many breathtaking images that I was missing to not have a camera.  So I bought a Sony cybershot camera to help chronicle this blog more regularly with pictures.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe I can get by with writing less and posting more photos…lol.  What struck me as we walked around…we walked everywhere.  There are so many little cafes where old men sit and visit seemingly for hours.  Its such a wonderful sense of community. 

They took me to the souk today which has so many quaint little shops.  I bought my kids a bunch of souvenirs of Greece.  Im excited about sending them home.  It seems that’s the only way I can communicate with them now…I have not talked to two of my children for nearly 3 months now…and I talked to my other child last month.  I really miss them.  I wish they could be here to experience this amazing place.  But hopefully with all the pictures and the souvenirs they can get the same experience. 

 I have been eating and eating and eating.  They order way too much food to possibly eat and its absolutely delicious.  They share the food family style.  They don’t take doggy bags, and just leave everything they don’t eat.  I think I gained 5 pounds in a day and a half.  But Im walking a lot, so that helps.  I didn’t get to see everything in just 48 hours, but I saw enough and just soaked everything in.  My favorite part was just walking to and fro on the streets interacting with the people and seeing the “real” Greece.  When we went to dinner tonight, there were hundreds of quaint little outdoor cafes we could have gone to.  There are some very trendy spots here and the nightlife is pretty fantastic.  I think if I were to come back, there would be even more to see.  My host family, wants me to return in the summer and go with them to their house in Santorini, which is the vacation spot on the water.  If you ever seen a movie called Mediterraneo, which happens to be one of my favorite foreign films, is similar to Santorini.  Before I’ve even left, I can’t wait to come back. I needed this pick me up, to fuel me at work.  I’ve been working 6 day weeks, 70 hours plus for a couple of months now..I feel recharged.  I’m going to try to make it a goal to go to one country in a weekend every other month.  I can do it so cheaply when I stay with friends. Once again, Im very blessed and fortunate to be here and have this life.

Tired in Athens

I made it to Athens. This place is really exotic. I certainly feel like iM in a foreign country. Its been such a full day. I was going to skip writing in the blog today, but my wonderful and gracious hosts insisted. I havent’ missed a day yet, and they didn’t want my first to be on their watch. They are treating me like a king showing me around their proud city and country. Im learning so much about Greek history and culture. I’ll try to write more tomorrow. They are going to take me on all the historic/tourist sites. I bought a good camera, so I’ll try to upload some pics as many of you have requested.