Rick Beeman

It was a tough day today. I had to let my sales manager go. He slipped out early…I think to go to his next gig, so I had to call him back into the office. I had never had to fire anyone before so I wasn’t really sure how to do it. Although I have been fired so many times you’d think I’d be an expert, but this was just the first time on the other side of the desk. I confronted the sales manager on his second position. He denied. Just like he denied something the previous day which I showed him irrefutable proof. That just got me to think. When you catch someone in a lie, even with proof, why don’t they ever say…”That’s right, you got me…I lied.” Does anyone ever fess up to that? I’ve lied in my day, but when I’m caught I confess. Yet some people go to the grave in their denials. I guess if you tell yourself something for too long, even you start believing it. Its amazing how the mind can play tricks on you. Someone can take a 10% truth and fill in the ot...

Well it was a day I was worried about, but it turns out my concerns were for naught. I love making movies. I was intimidated about the language situation. I knew I would have to make an all-Arabic speaking video one of these days. The day was today. So I conducted my first all Arabic interview. Fortunately the interview subject was fluent in English, so I could ask the questions in English. He responded in Arabic. This is where my actor training really paid off. I could tell it was a great interview even though I have no idea what he said. His body language, posture, smile, inflection all exuded confidence. That really is more important than the words. This guy’s name was Hani Mandal, so I remembered it by Howie Mandell. He ran this woodworking crafting company. He invented these machines that would carve these really artistic designs in woodwork. Some of the pieces he made were stunning. I went into the wood workshop. The smell of the woodworking to...

Not much to write about today. I stayed up late last night watching movies. Then I slept in late. I kind of wasted the entire day away. Well wasted might be too severe of a word. I didn’t get out much. I have all the delivery places on speed dial, so there wasn’t much of a need to go out. I couldn’t get food anyway…so the only way was really to stay in. Saturdays were meant for lounging around and recharging the batteries. So I feel fully loaded to head into the next week. I did make it out for a bit today. I had a squash match set up with a new friend named Austin. I was a little worried because he had my phone number but I didn’t have his. I haven’t been able to receive incoming calls all week. I wasn’t sure how I was going to connect with him. It has been a bit frustrating. I went to the my cell phone dealer they said it was a problem with the sim card…so they gave me a new sim card. Same problem, I could make outgoing calls and texts…just coul...

A nice relaxing day off started with getting up early to go to church. Im starting to really get to know people in this church. There aren’t a lot of singles that go, so I’m in the minority. There are lots of families. Seeing all the little children run around just makes me miss mine all the more. Im starting to get serious about the squash playing. Darren and I are pretty evenly matched, but when I play the Finn or his compatriots I always lose. So I know a good craftsman never blames his tools…still it wouldn’t hurt to stay competitive in the equipment racket (pun intended). So I got a top of the line squash racquet (its only $75) but I had it restrung to professional grade. I can’t wait to play again to try it out. I do not like losing. Its interesting the work out regimes Im doing. Kayaking is mostly arms, Squash is mostly legs. Both really take a lot of energy exertion. Im supposed to play a new guy from the UK tomorrow. One of the guys I went to d...

What overall nice day it was from start to finish. I went to bed early. Since Im fasting I know my energy levels are going to be down. So I wanted to be plenty rested. I can’t remember the last time I got 8 hours sleep on a weekday. So I was glad to have it. I went into work and started scoring the short film I just completed. Normally the music selection and mixing takes 2-3 days. Im very particular about the type of music I use and I have to hear it in order to feel if it fits. So sometimes its like finding a needle in a haystack. But today I scored and mixed the piece in 3 hours. I think it’s a combination of me getting more efficient and God blessing my efforts. I called Saji, my brilliant editor in to look at it. He was amazed at one of the edit moves I did. He wanted to know my secret how I did it. I was happy that I impressed him. I really respect his work. After work I went to play my good friend Darren squash. I bought a new racquet at th...

Woke up a bit early to do a shoot. Im really being particular about the shots Im choosing for this video. Its so nice to be able to be in this position. Most of the time, Im working with so little footage, there isn’t much of a choice. Now Im well stocked with choices. I wanted to reshoot a scene at the Bahraini Fort (the one that is 1500 years old.) I wanted to get it at high tide. It makes a difference. So high tide was at 8:01 this morning. I figured since I was out there so early, might as well throw my kayak in the water while Im there. So this was a new place to kayak. The water was so calm. I really prefer it that way. Although when the water is rough, it’s a better workout. But this was serene for me. The water was quite shallow all the way out. Since I was in a new area I stayed close to the shore. The water ranged in depth from 4-10 feet, absolutely crystal clear. You can see the bottom of the sea from up to 40 feet out here. The water ...

I had a really nice day at work today. I am focusing my efforts writing and directing a project. That is my true passion and when I can do only that, Im in heaven. I realize that my duties as being General Manager has me doing a lot of different things. While Im good at the administrative and managerial aspects, my true love has always been creativity. This is why Im so fulfilled working on this project. I can spend a great amount of detail work on it. For example, I’ve been working on a nine minute video full time for about a 1 week. Im not even half-way done yet. Im really being meticulous. Today I worked for 8 hours and only covered about two minutes worth of video. I have 10 hours of footage at my disposal and I’ll I need to do is cover 9 minutes. I really enjoy being in a position where I can focus on the detail. Im really looking forward to going into work tomorrow to finish it up. My cell phone suddenly stopped working this past weekend. You don’...

Well I wanted to try out the kayak in the heat again. But this time I went in the morning. I didn’t push myself too hard. I only went out for 40 minutes. It was only 110 degrees which isn’t brutal..but the humidity was 70% that is what will do you in. When I am in the water, I don’t really notice the humidity since Im usually drenched in sweat. But it is taking its toll energy wise. I have to work up to it like I work up to most things. I do love the kayak as you hear me go on an on about it. You wouldn’t think it was great exercise but it is. It works the arms, abs, but, even the legs. Its like running for your arms. But what I like the most about it is the meditative part. It really relaxes me. I get about ½ way out, I stop drift and listen to God. That’s my prayer closet way out there. I do take a litre of water with me. I know it’s a public place but there is no one around when I do. I still don’t understand how the Muslims go without water in t...

I ordered my breakfast in before I went to work today. I also packed a lunch. I had leftovers from the Macaroni Grill last night. This thing is workable, it just takes minor adjustments. As an astute reader commented last night, they fine you $250 if you get caught drinking, eating, or even chewing gum (Im told) in public. There is a lot of pressure. Its amazing the influence they put on this. Parking tickets cost about $20, littering $25, Speeding or traffic violations around $50, Having a drink during Ramadan $250, Adjusting and respecting a different culture…Priceless. Ok…I had to throw that last part in. But just looking at the price figures shows how much emphasis they place on religious values. I think I like Ramadan. On my way home from work at 6:00 there was absolutely hardly any traffic. A 45-60 min. ride was done in 15 min. Its like the streets were deserted. I can imagine all the Muslims looking at their watches. With fork in other hand wai...

The cannons went off at 6 PM last night signaling the start of Ramadan. So that meant I couldn’t do my regular breakfast routine this morning. It will be an adjustment. Its amazing as a society how nearly a continent of people can all be so unified in a religious act of discipline. Now whether you follow Islam or not, you have to respect their unity and singularity of purpose. I wish that Christians had that kind of unity on that broad of a scale. A unity where there would be more of a expectation to live your life according to Biblical precepts. Its seems like in the U.S. it’s the opposite. There is more of expectation to NOT live your life according to Biblical precepts. Maybe that is fueled by the media. I believe at one time the U.S. had more societal pressure to do so. Back 50 years ago (in the salad days…or the good ole days) in the U.S. there was an expectation to stay married, to stay faithful, for kids to avoid partying, to avoid drugs. If you deviat...

Today was a very good day for me. This is important since it’s a weekend and I sometimes dread the alone time. Today was different. They didn’t call Ramadan…so the moon wasn’t spotted. That gives me an extra day of daytime eating. You see during Ramadan all the stores and restaurants are closed during the day. Since I don’t really choose to cook it would impact me. So I bought a whole bunch of sandwich stuff. But I just found out that certain Western restaurants while closed during the day, will still be open for delivery only. So I’ll be able to eat and drink, Im just not supposed to do it in front of Muslims. So that was a relief. It will just be a big four weeks of adjustment. Ramadan is a celebrated time for Muslims. During the daytime they all seem to be miserable…then it is so festive at night. . Its really quite a dichotomy. At night, it’s a great family celebration. Think either Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner for 28 straight days. Buffets ...

Today was a very good day for me. This is important since it’s a weekend and I sometimes dread the alone time. Today was different. They didn’t call Ramadan…so the moon wasn’t spotted. That gives me an extra day of daytime eating. You see during Ramadan all the stores and restaurants are closed during the day. Since I don’t really choose to cook it would impact me. So I bought a whole bunch of sandwich stuff. But I just found out that certain Western restaurants while closed during the day, will still be open for delivery only. So I’ll be able to eat and drink, Im just not supposed to do it in front of Muslims. So that was a relief. It will just be a big four weeks of adjustment. Ramadan is a celebrated time for Muslims. During the daytime they all seem to be miserable…then it is so festive at night. . Its really quite a dichotomy. At night, it’s a great family celebration. Think either Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner for 28 straight days. Buffets ...

We had another shoot today. This time I learned my lesson and brought plenty of water. Still we started at 8 and I was drenched by 8:15. Now Im not complaining about my living conditions, Im just trying to paint you a picture of what it is like over here. For 8 months a year the weather is ideal. So I can take four months of pretty dang hot. As long as I mentally prepare for it ahead of hand, I can handle it. But I want you to think about this. I was without water for about 90 minutes yesterday and I nearly had a heat stroke. Ramadan is just around the corner. I read in the paper today that the panel for the Center for Islamic studies for yadda yadda yadda will convene today to determine the timings of Ramadan. That consists of a bunch of guys looking up and trying to see the moon. If they see the moon…its Ramadan. Now this will take some adjusting. What I feel bad for are the laborers. Here they are only making $250 a month and they have to toil in that...

I think I was in denial. I kept telling people how much the weather of the Middle East does not bother me. Well…I felt it today in a big way. It seems like Summer hit overnight. The humidity cloud dropped on Tuesday and its transformed the way this island feels. I had a shoot today so we were out. At 7:00 AM it was 110 degrees with 70% humidity. I got out of my car, and within about 30 seconds I was absolutely drenched with sweat. Its like I was walking around with a wet blanket on my shoulders. It was a strange feeling. We were at an old fort. The camera that we brought with us wasn’t working because of the humidity. My cameraperson did not bring a back up camera. So there we were at a location 1 hour from the office at 7:00 AM with no back up plan. That is the frustrating thing with some of the employees…they just don’t think pro-actively. So we lost two hours. We went to the next location which was another really cool old fort. It was built arou...

So much happened yesterday with our discussions about Islam and Christianity in the positive living group. I was able to mull it over and dwell on it a little more today. I have been continually asking God to allow me to see the truth. Bear in mind, growing up in the Assemblies of God that was a very rigid faith system. Our way is right…the best way…and every other path is second best or just plain wrong. I think every denomination and religion thinks like this. It has something to do with human nature. So this is how I was raised. I was heavily indoctrinated. But my worldview started changing once I saw the rest of the world and met others of differing faiths. Now it is clear to me that God sent me here to NOT convert Muslims. That is not my primary objective. Instead I am to reach out to ex-pats (foreigners) and other people that God will place in my path. So the primary difference between Islam and Christianity is Christ. Christians believe that Christ...