The bombshell from yesterday

I am exhausted. I am so glad the weekend is around the corner. I sure need one. I didn’t mention last night because I was still trying to process it. A really unfortunate event. I was so overwhelmed with responsibility I just didn’t know how to handle the news. I own a home in Houston. When I bought the house I was traveling back and forth to California for work and back to Houston for the 1st 3rd and 5th weekend visitations. I took the Friday off and took the first flight out on Friday morning and the last plane back on Sunday night. I did this for a whole year and only missed one weekend. I wasn’t hardly saving any money because most of it was going to the airfare but I didn’t miss any time with the kids. So I figured if I bought a house it would give my kids some permanency with regards to me. But since I was home only 6 days a month, I thought it was silly to leave it empty. So I started renting out the rooms. With the economy, I thought it was a pretty good move. Generally I’ve had good luck with the roommates. Most have been great, but we’ve had a few bad eggs. The last “manager” of my house was one of those eggs. She didn’t start off bad, but apparently the last year wasn’t so good for her. She lost her job and I think sunk into depression. She also wound up flooding the entire downstairs, but I got new carpet out of the deal, so at least all the hassle netted me something nice. She left right after the flood. I got an email from my current manager yesterday. David and I go to the Lakewood together and he is an upstanding guy. One of my better friends. So he said he got a letter in the mail from an attorney saying the homeowner’s association was filing suit against me. What???? Apparently I hadn’t paid homeowner’s association dues for the past 8 months. So they sent it to a collection attorney. David did some digging around and found 8 registered letters and invoices from the Homeowner’s association buried in a drawer. The old manager was responsible for paying the bills. Why did she forget this one? So the gist of the story my $350 homeowner association dues, now turned into a $1392 fine. Well that is enough to make everyone upset. Yet…not me. The rest of the day had been so overwhelming, I really felt peace in the midst of this latest issue. How is getting upset and frustrated going to help in the situation. So there I was sitting with peace in the midst of setback. It didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t explain it, but I was happy. I just praised God in the midst of the storm. Today I got up and felt great. I just worshipped God.

Everything fell in place today. The project which I was worried I was going to be late on, is completely on schedule…and its pretty good. Moody wound up doing a great job on it. I was hard on him, but hopefully he learned. He has a great attitude and that will take him far. The only thing I have left to do on the project is to select music and mix. Its going to be tight to hit the deadline of 2:00 PM tomorrow, but at least I don’t have to pull an all-nighter.

I had a very important meeting with Darin today. I think it went very well. As much as I don’t like sales, Im really good at it. My acting classes sure helped. Its all about reading the body language. I realized early on that the client wasn’t interested in my pitch so I changed quickly and figured out what he was interested in. We made a lot of headway. I think he might turn into a very important client.

We had a practice session for the Funniest Person in Bahrain. Im so happy with the team. They are not getting paid, but they are so committed to the process and they want to get better. Its real camaraderie. Im honored that they believe in me and what we are trying to accomplish. Im so tired, I think Im turning in early today. It was a very mentally exhausting day. I got 16 hours of work done in 6 hours. Or so it seems.

Overwhelmed

When God told me the next six would be difficult, I tried to anticipate it. I guess I didn’t anticipate it enough. Oh…just in case you are wondering, God is totally speaking to me in the midst of all the crap as a means of encouragement. But right now I feel like Im in the midst of the storm. There are so many little crappy things happening. Not one big giant issue, just about a dozen headaches. They can be rectified, but it’s a big hassle. But in the midst of everything, its not making my life miserable. I believe that God prepared me for this. Although I probably should have prepared more. There are issues from home, issues at work, deadlines, extra-curricular hassles, being lonely. But if I look on the bright side, Im healthy. I’ve had such a great run the last 11 months. Its been so full of joy and peace. Although the storms have still raged, I’ve had peace in the midst of the storm. But now its being really tested. God must have amazing plans for me by the end of October. If I can just bear down and make it through, I’ll be fine. So please keep me in your prayers. I believe the enemy focuses his efforts on people that are doing effective work for the Kingdom, so the fact that I’m facing such fire, Im kind of taking it as a compliment.

Well the good news is that the client came into see the rough cut yesterday. He was very happy with the project. Its coming together nicely. Now we have a day and a half to finish it. So let me go over my schedule with you. This is why I am a little bit overwhelmed right now. We have a big presentation to give a client on Thursday. The good thing is I have my new sales manager Darin on it, plus Tanya’s husband Raimond is helping out as well. This could be a huge client. We had a very big meeting today with the undersecretary of the ministry of health for a video project. Tomorrow we have a meeting with one of the richest corporations in all of Bahrain. Thursday we deliver a project to the client. Today, I had to rewrite a script for the Port Project, record a voice over narration with Khalid, finish the audio and video edit for Labor fund video (which is a daunting 30 min.) Khalifa was going to have his friend record the Voice over, which is a bit of a help. Tomorrow we have to integrate the Voice over, change the pictures, select the music, mix the piece, add graphics, create a dvd menu with chapters, author the DVD and burn it. We are also having our Funniest Person in Bahrain contest practice session tomorrow night. I have to script out the show, and prepare the performers for the practice. In the mean time I have to learn a monologue for church on Thursday. Once we get past the delivery of the DVD on Thursday, the client, who is huge is going to screen it on Saturday…so these are real deadlines. Next week doesn’t let up much, as I have two more deadlines to hit. Again very big clients. I know there are other things I need to do too, like manage the office in the midst of the glue (Simi) being gone. I also have to bring in some more income to cover payroll next month and manager the staff of 20. Now this is just the Bahrain section. There are storms brewing in the U.S. too (surprisingly enough none really have to do with X, which Im thrilled about).

I took Reji, Manu, and Moody out to lunch today. We walked down to Hardee’s. I had been a little short with them because of the pressure and wanted to apologize to them. I want to be able handle pressure with grace. To lead by example. We all face stress, and I want to handle mine with peace in my heart.

I went to a restaurant tonight. The waiter got really excited. “Sir I saw you in a magazine.” I never saw this particular waiter before. “You are Mr. Beeman, film director.” That was kind of neat, lifted my spirits a bit.

So I better cut this a little bit short. I feel like Im running in place because I have so much to do. So much stuff that its hard for me to figure out where and how to start.

Stress

I can’t write a lot tonight because I left my power adapter at work. I only have a few minutes of battery time remaining. So Im going to try to post before my computer dies. More tomorrow.

It’s interesting, Im pretty stressed at work with the three deadlines coming up. This is after I blogged that I don’t get stressed. So again I was short with my employees and again I apologized. We did the positive living group tonight, and what was the topic Joel was speaking about? Living a Stress Free life. Before I listened to a podcast in the morning from my church in California…the topic…hearing the voice of God. Hmmmm….do you think God is trying to tell me something…lol. God has a sense of humor. Things are going to be OK.

What a good day it has wound being…more tomorrow. I have to post this today…even though its short so my mother won’t be stressed that I’d been abducted by terrorist…or in an accident or a plane fell out of the sky and landed on my flat. This is her way of seeing if Im still alive.

The American Minority

What a tough day. The pressure got to me a little today. We were able to cover payroll this month barely. This is a regular problem for KSDi apparently coming out of Summer and Ramadan, still its tough. So while my focus should be on developing more business for immediate cash, I am drawn to production as we have three deadlines coming up in the next two weeks. The frustrating part is I have a staff that sometimes is making mistakes. I have never missed a deadline, but Im in danger of that record going away. Its so frustrating when you give staff deadlines and they miss them. That puts a lot of pressure on me to compensate. It also adds to the stress (which I rarely experience). Stress is absolutely non-productive. I found myself being very short with the staff. Nice Mr. Rick went away with very concise Mr. Rick taking over. I didn’t yell…but I expressed my displeasure with the staff. Its frustrating to be frustrated. I need to get in a better mind set. I prefer to work one project at a time. But I don’t have that luxury right now, as I have to figure out how to do three simultaneously. It was further frustrating that my main editor, was out sick today. Im really concerned with the glue that keeps the office together, our office manager/production coordinator/receptionist, Simi is leaving next week for a month. Its so difficult to run a company when at any given time, there is a member of our staff gone for an entire month for their leave/vacation. That is a regular experience here with ex-pats. It really hurts when that leaving member is a key member. They don’t have any temp agencies here. So you just have to spread the work out.

Bene, our accountant is really an all-star in the office and she is very sweet. It was her birthday over the weekend so she wanted to buy everyone lunch. I offered to pay instead, but she refused. She wanted the chance to be a blessing to the office.

I made it home a little bit early, around 7. I tried to take a nap because I knew it would be a late night. It’s quiz night at JJ’s Irish Pub. It’s the first contest after Ramadan. All the bars close during Ramadan as liquor is not allowed at all. Some restaurants skirt around the issue with “special” tea served in “special” pots. But for the most part you are not supposed to find it. Quiz night is my favorite night of the week. Im pretty competitive. The guy that puts on the quiz is a friend named Paul. He does a really nice job. Except, he used to have a Film/TV round every quiz, except I would win that round virtually every time. I’ve lost that round only 2-3 times since I’ve been here. Im a total dork, but Im like “rain man” when it comes to movies and tv. The only times I’ve lost that round is when they ask UK television questions. That is why I always try to stack my team with Brits. We noticed my team tonight, 6 people from the UK, one from the US (me). So maybe I’ve been recruiting a little too well. My new friend John gave me a really nice compliment tonight. He said I have an amazing talent for drawing people together. I really appreciated that. I try to round people up for quiz night, for “Positive Living” group, for acting classes, for “Funniest Person.” I think it might be a talent, though I never really thought about it. I also felt good about getting a few calls tonight. I usually send out text messages the day of the Positive Living group announcing it. We hadn’t had it for a few weeks because of Ramadan. So we were planning on do the first one tomorrow. I had four people call me today to inquire if I was having it. That made me feel great. People miss it. Im very happy about that.

After quiz night, I rushed home to enjoy the NFL on the Internet. Its kind of funny, that the game is blacked out in Oakland, yet I can watch it live ½ around the world. I wont get much sleep tonight…but one night a week isn’t that bad. I’m glad I took my quiz night/nfl nap earlier.

"For Laughing out loud..."

Another nice day for me. A little bit quiet. I slept in and played Russ racquetball at the Navy Base. Im proud that I didn’t hit him this time. That last time was weird. I do love going onto the base. I wish they would sell memberships, it has everything. But since Im not a navy guy nor a Dept. of Defense employee, I need to get someone to sign me on. Whenever we do go, we usually have lunch at Taco Bell…which they don’t have on the island. You don’t appreciate Taco Bell until you don’t have it. So think of me when you are downing your next chalupa.

I came back and I was so tired and looking forward to my Sat. afternoon nap. But then I just started chatting with my friends. That is so nice. I am really cyber-connected. I have as many friends online then I do around Bahrain. That isn’t meant to make me sound pathetic. But I have several really great acquainstances here and 5 really great friends. I think that is a good mix. Since I don’t have my children/family regularly, I have more time devote to friendships. Friendships take an investment of time.

I had a meeting with Sidd and Aqua Fuego, and I think we were able to come to terms on a deal. Im glad I played hardball. Its so nice when you have option in which to turn. Im totally hooked on “The Office” now, another DVD series. Darren let me borrow season 2 and season 3. So Im thinking…is that what Im like as GM. The show is so clever and written well. Here I am sitting alone in my flat and I burst out with laughter. I laugh hard for a few seconds then realize…im alone…awkward. Isn’t that a little strange that we tend not to laugh out loud when we are alone. At least I do anyway. But im comfortable with myself now. Im completely at ease with being alone.

I talked to my dear friend in Florida, she’s young…but boy is she cute. Well see how that develops. It is nice having someone where I can unload on, and she’s a good listening ear. I topped it off by having a really nice dinner with my dutch friend Marloes. Marloes is a beautiful girl and a great friend, but there is nothing in the romantic possibility there. She is amazing because she tends to attract some really powerful and influential people with her spirit. Her spirit is a bit contagious, every one wants a part of it. She is going to help me teach the acting classes whenever we get back in session. Oh, speaking of the acting classes, part of my negotiation with Sidd was that I was going to create a dramatic improv night. It will be similar to the improv, but much more serious. I got the idea from watching the hundreds of dramatic improvs from my acting classes. I often thought “Wow…this stuff is really good, it would make for great theater.” Now here is the chance we’ll get to see if it works. I don’t think that live dramatic improv has been done before…if you know if it has, let me know. There is no real live theater in Bahrain and very little in the Middle East. This could be an outlet for live theater lovers. Once again, its something different we are going to try for this area. If it is successful, it will entertain, make money, and advertise KSDi and the acting classes for Bahrain. I think it will be a hit. We’ll probably have a slowly growing but loyal audience. Im pretty excited about the possibilities. Its either going to be a fantastic success or a fantastic failure.

I haven’t been sleeping enough lately. Hopefully I can get into a good routine…starting tonight.

Numbing our insecurities

I got up early to go to church. Reji doesn’t have a car, so I drove across town to get him. It was a small thing to do. I figure that’s an Act of Service. I like Reji a lot. He’s a great guy. The service was nice. I like being so involved in the church.

I was planning taking long naps today, but instead I just lost myself for hours chatting with friends on the computer. I feel so anti-social when Im being cyber social. But I am getting friends from all over the world now. I was talking to my friend Misty in Florida. We were talking about drinking. Drinking and excessive drinking is so prevalent here. I have a theory. That people drink to hide the insecurity that they have inside. The more they drink the more their insecurity is numbed. That’s why they get more emboldened. Liquid courage because the insecurities are gone. Plus the alcohol numbs the pain and loneliness. I believe with Christians, we get our identity through Christ. Thus our insecurities, become secondary because our identity is in Christ. Insecurity is fear. The Bible states 365 times, Do not fear. I read into that, as do not be insecure. In my life, when Im living life right, my faith in God skyrockets and I can handle anything. But if sin creeps into my life then the insecurities start. With sin, my identity is not in Christ, but its in myself. Thus when sin is present there is a need to self-medicate (be it alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, shopping, pride etc) in order to get rid of the insecurity. We fall into temptation when we don’t trust God enough that he’ll do what he says he will do. So we try to do God’s job by doing it ourselves to make us feel better artificially. So when I go out to all these parties, my heart kind of breaks seeing all my friends numb themselves into happiness by spirits. I like to get to feeling my self…the natural way. It seems more authentic. Plus all these close relationships or conversations which are alcohol aided…are not remembered the next day anyway.

I had a meeting with Sidd this afternoon to discuss the arrangements for Funniest Person. I was in such a negotiating strong point. I made three calls yesterday, and all three venues wanted the show. So I came in with strength. Im not sure if Sidd will be able to meet what the others have offered, but at least Im giving him a chance. I also came up with another concept. Since we are doing the comedy only twice a month, I wanted to alternate with dramatic improv on the off nights. I got the idea after watching some of my acting classes and the performances that I get from my actors. Its just great drama. I always thought it would make a good show. Im not sure if there is any venue/place in the world that offers dramatic improv as a means of entertainment. If anyone knows of a place let me know. Its either a brilliant idea or going to be a spectacular failure.

I had to get out of the house today. So as the sun was setting I hopped into my kayak. Its starting to get less unbearably hot now as we are nearing the fall. So its more like 100 and the water is cooling a bit. Its down to about 88 degress in the water. I don’t think I’ll be able to continue kayaking for more than two months. In the winter the water is supposed to get really cold. The water was the roughest it had ever been. It felt like I was in the Pacific Ocean. The waves were about 2-3 feet and for the gulf that is big. I almost capsized for the first time, but I was able to level off .

I felt a little stupid today. I was preparing to go to a party tonight. So I cancelled a few other plans. Then I headed out to the party. I got there, and I was surprised there were no cars. Then even more surprised that it was locked and no one home. I then remembered the party was next week. I sure felt silly.

A tale of two halves

What a tale of two halves. I started out very overwhelmed at work. I have so much to do, and so very little time to do it in. I thank God that we were able to make payroll this month. That gives us another month to scrounge up money. I think we’ll make it, but this is all part of what God spoke into my heart. I know He will make a way. I need to be out there making money, but instead, I find myself trying to finish off three projects at the same time, plus run a company. It’s a challenge. So I was in a really bad mood this afternoon. I was not snapping at people, but I was expressing my displeasure and disappointment in them. Now I was kind of gentle…but when you compare that with my normal jovial, encouraging self, its like a different creature overtook my body. I did apologize to the staff if I constructively criticized them a little too harshly. They took it well. The thing that set me off was my deal for the Funniest Person in Bahrain. I saw the deal proposal and it seems like we are going backwards. I went from 100% of the gate plus 10% of the bar to 75% of the gate with no bar, to finally 50% of the gate. Well…that really made me upset. We have a winner on our hands and suddenly everyone wants a slice. Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan. So I called up a few other venues today and was amazed at the response we got. Apparently we are a hot ticket and there are lots of places that would love to host our event. Its so nice to be wanted. It puts me in a much better negotiating position. I know we have a great product…that is going to explode. I can bring a lot to the table…so Im in an extreme advantage and Im not afraid to walk away. I’ve already walked away from the negotiating table once, and it felt great. What a rush. So Im prepared to do it again. I know whatever I choose I’ll come out ahead.

So that news really had me cranky. The impending deadlines didn’t help either. Plus I was fasting today, so that made me on the edge even more. After work I went to play the Iraqi, squash. Im so glad he’s back in Bahrain. He’s really my best friend. We have so many wonderful talks about life. Its strange that a 40 year old American male can be such great friends with a 55 year old Iraqi guy. After squash we went to two venues on my appointments pitching and negotiating potential deals for the “Funniest Person in Bahrain” he was amazed at that side of the entertainment business.

After the pitch we settled in a Bahraini coffee shop. There was so much shisha there. Now shisha is an interesting thing. Essentially it is fruit flavored tobacco smoked out of a water pipe, which is a giant bong. It is incredibly popular amongst the young people. There were shisha pipes everywhere. Neither Baraq and I smoke and we were bothered by the smell of the smoke, as there must have been 30 bongs going. But it didn’t smell smokey…it smelt more like burned fruit. Not a terrible aroma, but not inviting either. From the people that smoke shisha, apparently you do get a bit of a buzz. Now I have never done drugs, but from what Im told, shisha is like the in between of smoking a cigarette and marijuana. Apparently you smoke…but you don’t inhale. I just had a nice meal, and some great conversation with my now old friend. I really like Baraq’s wife Mayada too. She was living in England while Baraq and I lived in Saudi Arabia. They were separated for 3-4 years as she was waiting to get her British citizenship. Another interesting thing is that Baraq and Mayada are cousins. Its quite normal in the Middle East for cousins to marry. I think one of the reasons is the lack of dating. In Saudi Arabia it is forbidden for men and women who are not related to be alone together. It is a punishable and jailable offense. Many more conservative muslim countries also hold a similar stance. So if a young person can’t get to know a person of the opposite sex in a dating way, they will be much more familiar with their extended family members because they spent so much time together as they were raised. Its interesting that Baraq, who left Iraq when he was 19 as Saddam came to power in 1979, then lived for 20 years in the U.K. He always introduces himself as English, not from the U.K. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I have to negotiate with my friend about the venue for Funniest Person. We are friends…but I have to look out for the company’s interest. It might get a little uncomfortable. But Im getting more and more comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

Lunch at the Ritz

It was a really nice day today. I got into the office and got a lot accomplished. We have a busy crew now of 21 employees. We started out at 13. So in a year we added 8 staff members. My goal was to double within a year. I still have about 1 month to go before my first anniversary. But still, that is pretty close to me being on target. Money is really tight now. We have a good sales team in force, but its going to take 2-3 months for those monies to start coming in. I think that was one of the thing that God was preparing me for the next six weeks (now five) issue. Im so confident that he will make a way. Im not that stressed about it. Maybe if I wouldn’t have been prepared, it would have stressed me out a little bit.

I took Manu and Jerilyn, out to lunch at the Ritz Carlton for their winning employee of the month the last few months. We give them a nice bonus check and I take them to the nicest restaurant on the island. I took Tanya along too. She is always fun to talk with. This is an opportunity where I can treat them to a five star restaurant, where normally they wouldn’t be able to afford it. I think they were a little uncomfortable with the opulence, but It was important to me to have them be treated in a first class manner. Ahmad, our driver who won last month, certainly didn’t want to go eat with me at the Ritz. He’d rather have the money in his pocket and eat Briyani ($0.75) and be perfectly happy. So that is exactly what I gave him. We were enjoying the Ritz this day. I just ate and ate. The food was amazing but it was quite expensive, even for Bahrain’s standards. We ate a fabulous buffet while we overlooked the pool. It was a very special meal.

One of my jobs as a General Manager is also being a teacher. I can’t do all the projects myself, especially if they are in Arabic. So its my job to teach my staff how to do it as well. Moody is a great guy, but he’s fresh out of film school. So Im taking the time to teach him all the tricks of the trade. He’s picking it up rather quickly. The more support I can have from my staff, the better the projects will be. We have to be efficient, because I think our sales staff is really going to be pouring the projects in soon.

I decided that I need to fast one day a week for the next six weeks to prepare for the turmoil that has/will happen. I fasted one day last week but not yet this week. I’m only doing a 24 hour fast which doesn’t seem like a big deal. Plus I had such a huge lunch, I wasn’t really hungry at dinner. But food has crossed my mind. I do a sundown to sundown fast usually. Where I skip dinner then have dinner as the first meal the next day. I’ll feel it tomorrow Im sure. When you do a multiple day fast the first day is always the toughest, then it gets easier. That doesn’t make sense but it works. Fasting is a very effective and little used tool for Christians.

I am very excited. My best friend the Iraqi has returned from Saudi Arabia. He didn’t like it there and was anxious to return. I have another squash partner now. He really wants to come with his wife to our Positive Living group. Its going to be nice to have such a dear friend back. Plus his building is not very far from me. Its 9:30 PM now, it looks like I’ll get a good night sleep heading into the weekend. Please remember to keep me in your prayers…they are working.

Bringing home the bacon in a near porkless country

First day back in the office after Eid. The rest of the country was on holiday. But Khalifa reasoned that two days were enough, especially since there are only two practicing Muslims in the office. That still amazes me, two practicing muslims and eight Christians in a company in a Muslim country. That can’t be a coincidence. Bahrain has so many public holidays. Someone told me they have the second most holidays in the world. Im not sure if that is true or not. But it was nice getting a lot of work done in the office today. The next few weeks should be a firestorm. Everyone puts off business until the end of Eid. Then everything happens really fast.

A lot of parents are upset at the Government. They closed the schools down until Oct. 14 as a preventive measure of the Swine Flu. Im not sure how much that will help. But you have to think that hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that descend upon Mecca for Haj, have to be concerned. But the Government of Saudi Arabia is convinced its not a threat to spread the virus. It is an amazing sight to see all those pilgrims walk around Mecca. I would like to see it someday, but the only way you can is if you are a Muslim.

I have to remember to be more patient at the office. When I do these projects, I have to remember that I have been doing it for many years and that I am extremely fast. I have to remember that my co-workers (with the exception of Manu and Saji) might not be as fast as I am. I have to calm down and move slow. The expectations I have might be a little bit too high for them. But we are getting the job done. Its just frustrating when I sit at the computer, I know I could have the entire thing edited in about 8 hours. But when its in Arabic, I have to rely upon my staff. They are young, but they are learning. It would really behoove me to learn Arabic, but Im just moving so slow in getting around to it.

I was writing a short narration script today. It was for a documentary. The words just seemed to flow. It reminded me how much I enjoy writing. Especially when its good writing. It leaves me very satisfied. Speaking of satisfied, Im not sure if this is a good thing or not, but right next to my office they opened up a Carl’s Jr. and Krispy Kreme. So its walking distance. Im sure the employees there are going to get to know me on a first name basis pretty quickly. I keep saying Im going to change my eating habits as soon as I get married. So I have to exercise extra hard now, so I don’t have to change my eating habits. But that’s probably not going to last too long. My metabolism is slowly changing. I think that’s what they call aging. So now I have to work out extra hard. Its all comfort food 24/7 for me. I know that isn’t the healthiest thing in the world. But I always ate what X put in front of me. She was a very good cook. So now, I’ll eat whatever the new one puts in front of me. OK…I don’t want a bunch of comments…why don’t you cook…you chauvinist…. Im kind of old fashioned that way. My dad never cooked and my mom did. It worked out well in our household as they were married 47 years. Oh…just a note, that I never considered, if you are never married and are thinking of getting married…check your potential spouse’s parents. If they had never been divorced that’s a very good sign. If not…consider it a red flag. I believe divorces might be a generational curse. I pray that my children don’t have to have that burden on them. I think a child of divorce will see that as an option. Whereas a child whose parents stay together doesn’t have it as an option. That is why I was so shocked when the divorce was happening to me. I never ever anticipated it as being an option. Another thing, (Jack Hayford taught me this) never ever threaten or use the word “Divorce” in an argument. There are spirits associated with divorce, and envoking them verbally is essentially giving them permission to torment you. So you are actually bringing a curse upon yourself. Its interesting, and I’ve mentioned this before. As ex and I were going through the process…neither of us ever uttered the word “Divorce” She used to word “Filed” or filed the papers, or sign the papers instead. It’s just a peculiar note.

OK, back to cooking, I was reared in an Ozzie and Harriett type of upbringing. Mom cooked, Dad brought home the bacon. It just worked that way. So that is the model Im going after. I can cook…and Im pretty mean on a grill…but I’d just as soon have the new one do it. Of course living in Bahrain, it is very inexpensive to have a live in maid/cook. Most luxury apartments have maid’s quarters, like mine has. But I leave it empty. For about $800/month which is a very good wage for a maid, I could have someone cook/clean/laundry 24/7. Most of the families that I know have this. Now I wouldn’t be taking advantage of the situation, because I’d be giving them a lot more then they could earn elsewhere and whole lot more than they would make in their home country. Its just that it is very inexpensive to feel “rich” here. Its one of the benefits. Its very inexpensive to be a blessing here. Let me give you an example. Our office boy who only makes about $400 a month (He’s happy with that if you can believe it) needed a 5 BD ($12.50) advance on his salary. So I ripped up the cash advance request form and gave him 10 BD ($25) as a gift. I love doing things like that. Now, Im not saying…look how great Rick is. But think about it, $25 is not a big deal to me but it is to him. I was just reading in Psalms 113 yesterday to be gracious lender. I guess Im there. I would encourage all of you, just to give stuff away. Its so freeing and it always comes back to you. My goal in my career now is to be filthy stinkin rich…so I can give it all away.

Not much happened today

Some day…no most days, I have tons to write about. That is kind of nice. I truly am living an amazing adventure over here. Work doesn’t feel like work, unless there are payroll issues, and I really do know a lot of people on this island. I am absolutely blessed. But today is one of those rare days where not much happened. The fact that I can think of being here for 11 months and I’ve only had about 10 of these days I think is pretty significant. Now keep in mind I wasn’t bored. Which still amazes me. I should have been bored by now, at least once. The fact that I haven’t just blows my mind. Whenever I do have a little bit of inactivity, I throw in a DVD so I’m always doing something.

Today was the 2nd of the 3rd day of the Eid holiday. Our office had it off. But Moody and I went into the office anyway. We have a deadline to meet. The good part is that I went in late at 12, and only stayed til 6. So I was able to sleep in and it was a relaxing day. The next two weeks are going to be very tough. I have to worry about the cash flow, but I have three projects due on the first of October. I have to pour all my energies into those. Its early tonight so I think I’ll get a good night’s sleep and resume my kayaking tomorrow. I’ve been playing so much squash and racquetball that my kayaking is down to once or twice week.

I did talk to my boys at length yesterday. That was very nice. Please keep me and them in your prayers. The next four weeks are going to be interesting. I’ll write more tomorrow…but Im just not feeling it tonight.

NFL in Bahrain

Ok…I’m kind of jazzed right now. I am totally addicted to the internet. I just signed up for the NFL.com package where I can watch every single football game the entire season. Its only available for people outside the U.S. So the crazy part is, I won’t be subject to blackouts, and I can watch all the Oakland Raider games. I know Im kind of a sports dork. But Im a pretty passionate fan. The 10am games or the east coast games start for me at 8:00 PM, so its kind of prime time for me. Whereas the late/west coast games start at 11:00 PM, which is a little inconvenient. When I lived in Taiwan in 2002 that is the the year the Raiders went to the superbowl. Can you believe that, the one year that the Raiders are good and Im out of the country missing it. But I used to wake up at 2:00 AM (Taiwan time) and listen to the radio simulcast of the game, not even video. So I’m glad technology has caught up. Plus I get to watch in HD. Now this is only available for people overseas. So Im kind of lucky this way. Now…I just hope the Raiders don’t suck again this year.

My body clock is kind of off. It is supposed to be Eid, where there is a three day celebration after Ramadan. It’s kind of like Christmas for the Muslims. Lots of family get togethers and gift giving. I have a deadline so Moody and I went into work today to get the project done. I think we’ll hit the deadline. I have never missed a deadline, so Im determined for my first Arabic project not to be my first. Having an enthusiastic Arabic speaking editor is a huge blessing. I hope we can get enough work to keep him around. He’s got a great attitude.

Im so sore today. I think the two a day games of racquetball and squash have caught up to me. So Im taking the day off exercise wise. Graeme, my pastor, asked me to do a monologue in church in two weeks. Im becoming more and more involved. I really like that. It’s a good church especially considering its an overseas all-denominational church. I’ve been to some pretty dry churches in my day, and this certainly isn’t one of them.

I was talking to a friend today about a comedy show that is tomorrow. I need to go, and Im treating it as a work event. How cool is that? I can go to a comedy club and it be 100% work related. Some of my participants in The Funniest Person in Bahrain are participating in it. Plus I want to go scout talent for more contestants.

I went out with Moody after work, to a nice Turkish restaurant around the corner from my office. I usually stick with American chains like Fuddrucker’s and Chili’s, but its nice to branch out to ethnic cuisine. The food was amazing, especially the Baklava for desert.

Lots of little things

What a satisfying day it was for me. Not any one particular thing stood out as amazing, just a lot of little things combined together. I slept in, which is always a good thing. I don’t get to do that too often. First order of business was to meet Russ at the Navy base for a game of Racquetball. Russ you might remember from last week was the recipient of getting hit five times with the ball. I was more careful this time. He ran into me once, but I made sure I kept the ball away from him. It was good exercise and a even match. Darren, whom I would later see twice more met us on the base. We all had Taco Bell. The navy base is the only place in Bahrain you can get Taco Bell, so it might as well been filet mignon in a five star restaurant. Its all in your perspective.

Came home took a nap, finished watching Prison Break Season 3, sent emails, and chatted with friends. By that time it was 6:00 and time to play Darren at Squash. Now I’m scheduling two strenuous racquet sports in a day in an effort to get squash fit. Im already pretty fit via the kayak for an hour to an hour and a half. But in squash you need quick bursts of speed. My legs certainly aren’t in squash shape. So it was nice playing Darren, I think for the third day in a row. The problem was with that strenuous of two workouts, I didn’t adequately compensate by lowering my insulin intake. Thus near the end of the game, I went into a low blood sure reaction, which kind of drains me. So I had to scarf down some cholcolate.

Afterwards Darren invited me to a dinner party he was throwing for friends. This was so different than the party I went to last night. This was so sophisticated. It certainly was a wine and cheese type of party. There were two Germans, a South African and four Americans. The conversation and meal was really fantastic. It was a very classy get together.

Im still not sure if they called Eid yet. Its basically four guys in Saudi Arabia looking up to see the moon. Eid signifies the end of Ramadan and a three day Muslim and national holiday. So its kind of difficult to try to run a business when you don’t know until the night before hand, if your employees are working or have the day off. Then once you find out, you have to contact them all. Nader was pre-emptive and gave the employees Sunday and Monday off. I wanted to go away during this Eid. My old college buddy, Robby Bradford moved to Paris with his family to start a church. I really wanted to see him, and see Paris. That would have been really cool. But I have a deadline for two projects on Oct. 1. Its going to tight to finish them both on time. But I’ve never missed a deadline, and don’t plan to on this watch either. So myself and couple of colleagues will work right through. It doesn’t seem burdensome, since I really enjoy what I do.

Im pretty tired tonight so I’ll wrap this up.

A lender not a borrower

Another very satisfying day. Now I don’t want to get all self-fulfilling prophecy, but I thought for sure God told me the next six weeks would be difficult. Now Im not wishing or hoping for the bad times. The week certainly started out challenging, but the last two days have been fantastic. Maybe it is a respite, or a test for me not to get too lazy. Now it is very important to me, that this blog is not perceived as egotistical nor tooting my own horn. I have a failed marriage, nearly a failed career that was resuscitated, and a strained relationship with my children, and many other inadequacies which I have mentioned in previous blog. I acknowledge my faults and try to be very real and transparent as that is what I believe Im called to do. So when I talk about my exploits, my intention is to not talk about how great “Rick” is. Rather its to show God’s faithfulness through a willing vessel. If God can come through for me an ordinary guy, surely he can come through for everybody. That is why I do detail the struggles and successes that I have.

When I was going through the heart of the divorce, I was left with a lot of debt, having to provide child support and pay for two households. This all happened when I was making $12/hour. The good part is, I was tithing regularly, even though my tithe was miniscule. Somehow, someway I was able to pay all my bills and never miss a support payment. It’s curious because later when I got the job at the Ad Agency, I was doubling my salary, and still having the same trouble paying all my bills. Sometimes finances are like the loaves and fishes, as long as you tithe, God will make a way. But this whole time, I remember hearing Joel Osteen say, almost on a weekly basis be a lender not a borrower, be above and not beneath, be the head and not the tail. At first I thought that was crazy talk. There is no way I’ll ever get out of debt and be a lender not a borrower. But I claimed it anyway, hoping the faith would come later.

Before Manu, our brilliant computer animator, ran off to get married. He wanted an advance. Not a company advance, but a personal loan from me. It was a significant amount. So I did have to think hard about it. I had Bene, our accountant draw up the papers. So Manu went off and got married. He was afraid he was going to have to elope, but her parents relented and agreed to the marriage. So he came back last week…and was so happy. He showed the office staff all the pictures and he was so proud and happy. Last Wednesday I had this most vivid dream. I don’t dream often, hardly at all. Usually when I do dream the memories and the details of it vanish within moments. But this dream was sticking with me. I guess it was so vivid it felt like a vision more than a dream. Im not sure what a vision feels like, but this certainly felt like one. I dreamt I was at Manu and his bride’s wedding reception. My job was to collect the money from the people that attended the wedding. So I went around to all the tables and collects from each person. I put a lot of pressure on people to pay a lot to honor the bride and groom. Then I took the spoils and showed them to Manu and his bride. They were so happy. So this dream just stayed with me. I felt very compelled that I should release Manu from his loan. Manu makes OK money compared to his co-workers, but compared to a westerner not a lot at all. I really sought God on this one, and every response I got, was the same, and that was to release him from the loan. So I called him into the office, and he was thrilled about it. But it was more a point to see that I was obedient, rather than make him happy. God was my total motivation here. Then, my good friend Fayad, lost his ATM card and his parents were away for the Eid holiday. He had no access to money for the next week. Now this one was a straight loan for him. I trust him to pay it back. Im not worried about it at all. But that got me to thinking. I have become a lender and not a borrower. How cool is that? I didn’t think it was possible a few years ago, yet here I am. God is faithful. If you follow his precepts all the blessings will track you down, pressed down, shaken together, running over. Once again Im a witness to God’s faithfulness.

The rest of the day was busy, went to church. I had lunch with Mr. Brooklyn, who came back after a two month hiatus. He invited me to his place for lunch. Then it was racquetball with Ivan on the base. The navy store, has real diet coke, not this Coke light stuff. So I had to get two cases while I was there. Im very happy about that. Then I had dinner and played Darren squash. Squash and racquetball on the same day, was a challenge. Darren and sat by the pool at the British club and had a drink and chatted afterward. Then it was off to another party, this time at my friend Tom’s house. I sure am getting to meet a lot more people. It was a very good day.

"I read your blog"

What an amazingly cool day it was. It’s 2 am, I just got back from a Brazilian themed party at Mo’s house. Basically that is a party where you have to wear yellow and green. There is a lot of alcohol at these parties, but I don’t drink. I just go to connect with friends. I think its important that they see me in those environments. So lets go in order of what happened today.

I’m so overwhelmed with deadlines at work, I didn’t hardly get anything done. Hopefully over the long weekend, I’ll be able to make up for lost time. So that’s the question, when is the long weekend. At the end of every Ramadan is a 3 day holiday called Eid. It’s the closest equivalent to our Christmas. The question is when is Eid. It might be Sunday or Monday or even Tuesday. The problem is that it hasn’t been called yet. There is this special counsel that looks up at the moon to declare when Ramadan is over. The problem running a business is you don’t know when to tell your employees to work or not work until the last minute. We did our last interview with one of our client projects. This guy is a landscape designer/engineer. He was very happy to have us working with him. It’s cool when you are interviewing people that are honored that you are covering them. Media here in this area is still a very big deal, since there aren’t a lot of production companies of television stations.

After work, I met up with Darren at the British Club for another game of squash. I love playing Darren because our matches are so close and competitive. At the end of our game, we were absolutely wiped out. The guy playing after us, who was from the UK, heard our voices. He said, you two must be the number 1 and number 2 ranked American squash players in Bahrain. Huh? Then he said he recognized me from my blog. Huh? He started going down some of the details that I wrote about in my Ramadan feature. Whoa. That blew me away. I had never met this guy, but somehow he found my blog, remembered it, and ever quoted it back to me. How cool is that? I have no idea how some people find this, but it it getting out there.

So Darren invited me to a movie with his new friends the Germans. So we went to see the late show of “The Hangover.” It was hilarious, I haven’t laughed that hard in a movie for a long time. It was kind of neat for me. The Hangover was directed by a guy by the name of Todd Phillips. It means something to me, because when I was at Dreamworks, I worked on Phillip’s other film Road Trip. Perhaps that is why I was laughing a bit heartier.

Finally my friend Mo called me, and said, are you coming to the party? Did you get my invitation. No. Well come anyway. So after the movie I hung out at Mo’s Brasilian party. I had a yellow T-shirt to go along with the theme. I saw a lot of my old friends there, but a lot of new faces as well. Bahrain is a very transient place with people coming and going on a regular basis. Im a little worried though. Three of my contestants from Bahrain’s Funniest Person, laughed when they saw me. FACT magazine is doing a write up for us in their October issue. Apparently these yahoo’s ganged up to make me look bad or make fun of me. I don’t mind being the butt of a joke, but these guys were warning I might not want to show my face in the near future. I can’t wait for the October issue to come out.

Seeking Inspiration

I wrote a long entry, that I just deleted. It wasn’t the right thing to say. Its interesting as I sit down and right this blog. I rarely plan ahead, instead I just type. It’s a stream of consciousness type thing. I really feel led by the Holy Spirit when I type. Im not saying Im a special writer, but He is giving me the words both to say and to not say. Like the few paragraphs that I just deleted, I didn’t have a peace about it, so I felt compelled to delete them. I do that periodically. So I would say most of the things I write here are inspired by God. That’s why its so difficult for me to write when there is sin in my life. Im totally upfront with most everyone about the flaws in my life. I’ve been criticized that Im too honest. But I think that is what God is calling me to be, transparent. How many ministers or church leaders do you know that are specific with their sins and trespasses. Although I do have to be careful with my confessions, as X mines the blog searching for ammunition for potential litigation. For the people I meet in person in Bahrain..they know everything. My transparency is my ministry tool. So many people can’t be transparent.

I am thankful for my life. Im thankful for the redemptive power of Christ. Im also thankful that I have a peace and joy that transcends whatever circumstance that I am in. I know that God has a “perfect plan” for my life. He is playing out that plan on a daily basis giving me continuous reminders. I have a hunch that this is a giant test Im walking through right now for the next five weeks. I have a hunch that God is allowing me to be tested here to see how I will react. I feel so much like Job, who had everything taken from him, to see how he would react to God. Its like He has removed his blanket of protection and said to the enemy, Go ahead take your best shot, Rick can take it. I know I can take whatever the enemy has to offer. I feel like the pain I endured with the divorce and came up praising God was the worst the enemy could throw at me. I will never been that emotionally devastated again. So whatever he throws my way now, I’m wholly confident I can overcome. I was broken and then built up the way God wanted. I can proudly say, so far so good. But I think I still have five weeks to go. Im worshipping and seeking God. I know there are a lot of people praying for me. So I have a lot to be thankful for just in that. I just want this season of life to be over, that is the single season. Im looking forward to falling in love again, having a family, and continuing this dream life and amazing ride that God has me on. Im just anxious, I want to be able to wake up with someone by my side. Its been four years since I’ve been able to do that.

When I think about my situation, it is really strange. God called us as a family to be missionaries first in Taiwan, then Saudi Arabia. I know the calling of God, and Saudi was certainly that. But as has been well documented X didn’t want any part of that. So here I am following God and losing my family in the process. Doesn’t feel quite fair. I know the Lord works in mysterious ways, but my mind can’t figure out that one just yet. I know justice will prevail someday, but in days like today where Im feeling very self-centered, the feeling of injustice is prevalent. I just have to fight through it. I know God will bring me out on the other side with a double portion of what the enemy has stolen from me. I just want to get to other side faster. I know I keep saying something will happen in December, but 60 days from now sure seems like a long way away.

I had a good day editing. It was very strange, I mean I the favor of God department. The client wanted many small changes to the product. I was getting a little nervous because I have a lot of deadlines coming up. I also knew I needed to shave 2:00 off the final piece. So I decided to cut the 2:00 off first. After I re-edited, I noticed that all the small changes that client wanted were done. It was like it was too easy, almost divine. I didn’t plan it that way, it was almost fixed by accident /divine providence whatever side of the fence you fall on. I think God honors me in ways like that because I am spending so much time with him.

I think God wants me to be successful out here. That way his glory can shine even moreso. Again, I don’t think its because I am special or smarter than anyone else. Im just willing.

Another One on the team

God is very faithful. The fact that he forewarned me about the next few weeks and by faith, I shared it in this blog I think proves his faithfulness. The bombs keep dropping, yet my faith is not diminished one iota. In fact, its increased. If God is going to be faithful in forewarning me about the bad times, don’t you think he’s going to be faithful and come through with the blessings he foretold me would come in the future. Something, I don’t know what is going to happen by December. Im not really sure what its going to be, but I know its going to be big. This was prophesied and spoken into my life several times, starting about 10 months ago by my co-worker Reji. Since then God has kept encouraging me to hold on til December. Usually whenever God gives me dates like that He always comes through.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at work right now. The pressure of meeting payroll is big. But Im trying not to stress about it. I know that God is control and He will make a way when there seems to be no way. Remember when I said a few weeks ago that God told me we would squeak by Ramadan financially by the skin of our teeth. Well..when we got the two big jobs in, I thought to myself, we are going to be fine all the way through Ramadan, I must have heard God wrong. Well starting last Thursday with the delay of our big project, we are officially in the “by the skin of our teeth mode.” So Im just waiting on something to fall.

Darin, our new sales guy started today. He is really sharp. He has a 14 and 13 year old and seems to be my age. I wanted to take him to a sales lunch to get to know him better. He too is a Christian. I don’t hire people based on religious preference at all…in fact I try not to even ask that during the interview. So that makes 8 Christians now in our office of 18. I just find those numbers to be absolute amazing. I don’t think any other company in the Middle East has nearly 50% employment of Christians. Again, Im not stacking the deck, I think these people are being drawn to this company for some reason. So Darin and I talked a lot on the way to lunch. I asked him about the divorce rate in India. Only 10% get divorced. He said, its because its culturally not acceptable there. You get married and you are expected to stick it out no matter what. The Husband is expected to take care of the finances, and the wife is expected to take care of the Husband and the kids. Its like it was in the U.S. in the 50’s. What they call the good old days. He said that is slowly changing though. India so wants to be like America, in everything. It seems like the rest of the world emulates America. Unfortunately some of what America is exporting is the substandard morality and the break up of the family. While America is still the greatest country in the world…its export of “You deserve to be happy right now” is certainly discouraging. I am ashamed that I am part of that divorced statistic, but we’ve been over that before.

I learned something today. Don’t eat a big meal at Fuddrucker’s and then go play your English friend Squash. I like Austin, he’s a good kid. He’s a scuba diving construction worker, which sounds kind of cool. Our games are pretty intense because we are evenly matched. I told him about my positive living group and invited him a few months ago. He told me he doesn’t get into religious stuff, so I just dropped it. He’s been asking me questions lately about the group. He said he wants to come with his girlfriend next week, just one time to check it out if that is OK. Its absolutely OK. Im just trying to make myself available and God is doing all the work.

I apologize if I have come across in the blog as judgmental or egotistical regarding my exploits here. I try to say again and again, that I am merely a vessel which God is placing in extraordinary situations meeting extraordinary people. I really can’t take credit for anything that is happening, other than Im extremely stubborn and don’t give up. My teachers and parents always told me, I don’t know when to quit. I guess I have never quite learned that one. As far as accomplishments, Im the same person now as I was when I was a cingular telephone operator making $8/hour, or a stagehand at a concert company making $12/hour. My settings have changed but the person hasn’t. All the glory and honor should go to God, not myself. If I have been arrogant or strayed off course from my calling I’ll work on it. But from what God is speaking into my life…Im right on course looking forward to December.

Cool in the Furnace

I touched on this a little earlier…but I felt like I should go into more detail. The story occurs in Daniel Chapter 1-3. Where Shadrach, Meshac, and Abed-nego were being faithful to God yet being chastised for it. They did nothing wrong, yet they suffered severe consequences because they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar and worship him. Because of their extreme faith, they were thrown into the furnace. But Nebuchadnezzar was so pissed, he ordered the fire to be seven times as hot as normal. It was so hot that the guards throwing the three into the furnace were killed. So after they were thrown in, Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace and saw not just three men in the furnace but a fourth one as well. The fourth was Christ in the midst of the fire next to three. Nebuchadnezzar ordered them out and not a hair on the head was singed, nor their clothes damaged. I told you earlier that God told me two weeks ago that a fire would be coming. I was able to prepare, like Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego were able to prepare. They fasted…and God called me to a fast as well. Thus when the flames hit this week, yesterday and today, Im as prepared as they were. The flames of adversity are not hitting me, not even a singe. I have more peace now in the midst of the flames than I did last week when everything was going great. God is walking by me side by side protecting me from the after-effects of the fire. Im not being injured, emotionally or psychologically speaking, in fact, Im thriving in the furnace. It doesn’t make sense, but the last four years haven’t made sense. How can so much negativity and unjustness happen to a person, yet he still maintains his peace and joy? In the natural it doesn’t compute…but I’m living above a natural plane, Im in a supernatural experience, and that is the difference. It doesn’t make sense but the hotter the flames get, the more my peace and joy become. Christ is next to me in the furnace, just like he was next to Shadrach, Meshac and Abednego. I shudder to think how I’d react to the adversity if I wasn’t living my life right. Im very very thankful. I think one of the reasons why God prompts me to go into so much detail on this blog, and be so personal is so that He can shine his glory through me. He is using me in ways I’ve never even imagined. If I can make it through…anyone can.

Today was a very busy day at work. Did I use that word..Busy? I guess I did. I had to be extremely focused as Im under some pretty tight deadlines. I had several meetings today, and several projects that needed to be initiated. I was able to stay calm under pressure and had a very productive day. In fact, I got a last minute call to meet with the managing director of a huge electrical engineering firm. That sales meeting went very well as I think we’re going to get a big contract out of it.

We had the positive living group tonight. There were only three of us as my Muslim friends are still enjoying their Ramadan Iftar feasts. They told me they would rejoin after Ramadan. Tonight Joel’s message was “Favor has been released to your future.” I was at Lakewood the week that was recorded. I remember the sermons by the jokes Joel tells at the beginning of his message. It was all about how God’s favor will track you down no matter where you are and what you are doing. It’s the prosperity doctrine. This causes a lot of controversy amongst even Christian believers. They don’t adhere to that philosophy and criticize Osteen because of it. But having God’s favor track you down has happened to me so many times in my life, even now. Im a total living testimony to the first part of Deuteronomy 28. After the video, we discussed it. Nearing the end of the discussion, Catherine, an older German lady, spoke up and said is that really true? Does God’s favor really find you that way? She didn’t even finish her sentence when I got a phone call. It was a 212 area code, so I figured I should answer it if its from New York. On the other end of the line was a guy named Shawn Edwards. Shawn is the guy who founded URfilez.com, that is the Middle East equivalent of Itunes. This guy is a big deal. Shawn and I had met before (read back in the blog a few months). He is a very sharp individual and we come from similar circumstances. We are both around 40, both good looking (Ha…) both worked in Hollywood at the same time, both moved to the Middle East to try things that had never been done here before, and both married girls from Oklahoma (Well it worked for awhile). So we connected. He has been following the Funniest Person in Bahrain from afar. He tells me that he is connected with a state of the art facility in Abu Dhabi (near Dubai) in the United Arab Emirates, and has access to financing. Would I know how to develop content for this region. Hello….that’s what I did in LA for 10 years. So we are supposed to talk when he gets back to Bahrain next week. But this could be big big big. Im supposed to send him my proposals, treatments, and trailers. So I hung up the phone and I said…yes…it is true Catherine God’s favor really does find you that way.

It’s cool in the furnace.

Money where the mouth is

We are having cash flow issues at work again. I think that was one of the issues I think God was trying to warn me about. I spoke with Tanya today and that is an issue the company has faced for years. Get fat during the good months so you can hibernate/survive during the summer months. Nader did try to warn me about it. But I guess I had to experience it the first time through. I did bring in three major video projects and that has kept us afloat so far. We have thousands of dollars of outstanding money that will come to us in the next 30-60 days because of it, but we just have to make payroll until that happens. One of the reasons why I was so upset on Thursday is that I was not able to hire one of the candidates for the sales position that I wanted to hire. The reason, he was too young, just 23. But the kid is so sharp. We still wound up hiring a very good and sharp salesperson. Im excited about him. We haven’t had any productivity out of the sales position since I’ve been here. The onus of the lack of cash flow ultimately falls on me, so its my neck on the line. While we have developed a great product and efficient staff, we have to have more projects. Im told the work just rolls in right after Ramadan. So Im preparing for the feast. But until that point gets here, I had to be aggressive. Khalifa told me on Thursday as I was arguing for the kid, if you believe in him so much, you pay for him. So that’s exactly what Im doing. I know this is a rather unorthodox move for a GM, but Im absolutely an unorthodox guy. So Im taking a cut in salary so I can bring this guy aboard. I believe in him that much. It is a gamble, but hopefully after three months he’ll have more than paid for himself. With two really great sales people, its only a matter of time before the ship rights itself, and I can go back to what I do really well…making movies. Im good at sales, and now negotiating, but I’d rather put my focus on the product. I feel very confident about that.

So the whole six weeks of crap continued with a note from X. I’m going to vent here, so if the negativity disturbs you, stop reading and come back tomorrow for more happy happy joy joy. I got an email from X wanting more money for medical bills…That is all well and good. My son has been asking about me coming back to his Talent show in November for three months now. It is very important to him. So in response to X, I asked if I could have the kids for a couple of days over thanksgiving to coincide with me coming back to Max’s play. I also asked what she wanted to do at Christmas and that I could be flexible. She responded that my weekend are the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends and I could see the kids if the talent show fell on one of those weekends. Further, my visitation for Christmas starts on Dec. 26, and goes to the first day of school, but, she is expecting an addition to the family (she’s pregnant) and wants the kids to be at the hospital when the baby is born and when they come home from the hospital. So I responded, lets just have a kitchen table compromise, let me have the week at Thanksgiving and I’ll do my Christmas with them then. That way you could have them uninterrupted during Christmas and when you have the baby. Then I told her congratulations, and I meant it. She responded, your weekends are the 1st, 3rd, and 5th, there will be no compromises or deviations form the decree. She gets the kids as it is, for 11 months a year and she can’t spare a couple of days in November? It’s truly amazing how justified she thinks she is in her own mind. It reminds me of the time two years ago, my daughter was the lead in the school play. My parents and I wanted to fly back to see her perform, but it was not the 1st 3rd, or 5th weekend, so X wouldn’t allow a sleep over at my house, we couldn’t even take the kids to dinner or ice cream after. So my parents decided not to come, but I did. My boys weren’t allowed to sit with me during the performance, and could only speak to me for two minutes during intermission. I later found out that night, they all spent the night at their friend’s houses (rather than spend time with their dad) and when I asked for and was rejected to go to breakfast with them on Monday, I found out they were home alone the whole day. The question is…I know that Proverbs says a man’s ways is justified in his own mind…but really I can’t see how X justifies this. There is so much hatred and bitterness not spoken through words…but in action. Its sad, because while X thinks that she is punishing me for some perceived offense, the real losers are the kids. The kids always lose in divorce, that is why God hates it so much. I think divorce is the ultimate act of selfishness unless there is abuse or continuous unrepentant adultery involved. Everyone tells me that the kids will see the truth eventually. Light always exposes dark.

On the bright side, I fasted today as per God’s instruction. While this episode with X, could have been emotionally devastating, I feel stronger now. It doesn’t make sense, but with everything that is going on, I have more peace and joy at this very moment than I did last week when things were peachy. I guess this is what it feels like to be cool in the furnace. On an even brighter note, I beat Darren (who skunked me last time) 3 out of 4 in squash, and I didn’t hit him once. In all fairness to Darren, I think I was playing with unfair advantage, God knew I needed this one.

Da Funk

Something very strange and bizarre is happening and Im not really sure how to explain it. I don’t want to get all “God told me this or that” because sometimes you can take that too far. Im not sure If I have already. But usually I can clearly recognize the voice of God. Whatever that voice tells me, usually comes to fruition. I also don’t want to go the self-fulfilling prophecy route either. Because that can be equally as powerful. So I have blogged in the past about the early warning system that God usually gives me. He’ll impress upon me, that the next few days or weeks will be difficult and I need to prepare. I usually prepare by prayer and fasting. Like a soldier prepares when he is going to war. Then almost every single time the storm happens exactly the way God said it would. Usually Im prepared and I can maintain my faith, peace, and joy no matter what the circumstances. Off the top of my head I can think of this happening at least 10 times over the past three years. Im sure there has been more. That also is one of the benefits of being in close communication with God.

So I felt very strongly a few weeks ago that I’d go through 6 weeks of hardship. Then last week it was reiterated. Well the suckage started on Thursday as I noted in the blog a couple of days ago. Since that point I’ve just been in a funk. Now if you know me, you know I rarely have two bad days in a row, and hardly ever three. But this is three bad days which is almost historic. (This is in direct contrast to the three year period I was going through my divorce where I would seldom have two good hours in a row, let alone two days in a row.) Im pretty much the most optimistic person you’re ever going to meet. Someone told me they were grounded. I responded, Im grounded too but I have my head in the clouds. I’ve been accused of being Pollyannaish and Im not sure if that is a bad thing or a good thing. I have found that positivity or negativity for that matter is absolutely contagious. So I try to be positive.

So the bad days have happened and its not only affecting me emotionally, but psychologically as well maybe even physically. Now, Im a better than average to good athlete. I love playing racquetball and squash. So I have this group of people I play regularly, well three guys in particular (Im not counting the Finn because I’ve yet to beat him). I can beat these guys regularly about 75-80% of the time. Since Monday, I have yet to win a squash or racquetball game. I used the excuse that I was tired, for losing all my games to Darren and Austin. But today I played Russ. Russ has never beaten me in a game of racquetball. In fact, I went out kayaking before the game to wear myself out, so the game would be more competitive. I guess I was trying to give myself a handicap. So Russ and I go on the Navy Base, and Im not even trying, serving easy ones so I won’t discourage him. I go out to a 9-0 lead. So I lay back even more. Then Russ get s a couple of points, then a couple more. Before I knew it was 9-9. Then I started trying harder to finish him off. The harder I tried the worse I played. Russ wound up beating me. My pride took a hit, but I was happy for him. So the second game I was determined to get my pride back and not give him one inch. OK here’s the weird part. Im very good at not hitting my opponent. I think I only hit my opponent once every thirty games I play. I’ve always been good about that. So in this second game, I hit russ again and again. Five times I hit him. One time he tripped over me, but that wasn’t my fault. He wasn’t angry at me, but I was scared to death to hit him again. So he beat me the second game too. This really has me questioning my ability and resolve. Is this part of the difficult 6 weeks? Or am I reading way too much into it. Do I suck? Or am I just going through a slump. I am trying to pray this through, so if it happens to be some sort of test, Im doing OK so far. Just keep me in your prayers. And I don’t mean to keep me in your prayers so I can beat Russ. Just so I can navigate through these six weeks.

A better day

Well today was a better day, if for no other reason than it put distance between the day previous. I suppose I just need to hunker down and trust God that he’s going to handle the financial details of my business. This is a unique situation for me. Im not used to being responsible for the bottom line cash flow of a business. I have done GM type duties in my other positions as producer of various projects. But those were all short 3-5 month deals. This is long term. I have made some mistakes the first time around, and I’m learning from those. I just had no idea that our cash flow would so quickly dry up in four months. I needed to have more in reserve during the down time. Hopefully we can keep the ship afloat. The long term prospects seem so promising. I know as General Manager my duties seem so widespread sometimes. Im concerned I might be spreading myself a little too thin at times. Hopefully once we get a competent sales executive in, that will run a little bit more smoothly.

They closed down the location for the church for the next few weeks. It was precaution because of the swine flu. They are even closing down some of the schools as preventive measures. They are being very aggressive with it. So the church had to find a location at the last minute. They were going to divide up the congregation between the small group home leaders houses. So I was going to get some folks. Then at the last minute they brokered a deal with a hotel. So church was at a hotel right around the corner from me. So it was convenient. Almost the entire congregation made it to the new venue. That is pretty amazing considering there are over 500 or so in the congregation and they just nailed down the location two days ago. That is good communication. There aren’t a lot of options for churches out here…Im just fortunate that one of the few choices is a good one.

I came back, and watched Jack Bauer save the U.S. from nuclear holocaust. Took a nap and went for a long kayak ride. The water was amazingly rough today. It makes it so much more strenuous. If I don’t pay attention, I can easily capsize. It felt at time as if I was whitewater rafting. I much prefer the water when its calm and still as glass. But it’s a better workout when its rough. I was completely drenched. But I did my thing where halfway, I just stop, drift and talk to God. He did impress upon me that the next few weeks were going to be difficult, and I needed to prepare myself emotionally for them. Im not really sure what that means. But the early warning signs that God has given me in the past to prepare for difficult times are amazingly accurate. Im just supposed to “seek him” during this time, and he is going to handle all the details of whatever situation that I find myself going through. Seeking Him, allows me to maintain my peace in the midst of the storm.

Russ invited me over for dinner and a movie at his place. There were three others there. It was a nice night of fellowship. We had Thai food delivered and watched Return of the King. I had seen it four times before, so I excused myself after the first ending (It has like four endings). I have a morning shoot tomorrow. So thank you again for your prayers…they are coveted.

A sucky day

I have felt all week that something bad was going to happen and that I needed to prepare myself. Usually when I get these early warning signs from God to prepare some hardship. Usually the warnings in the past have had to do with some sort of shenanigan’s from X. But not this time. I had an early morning meeting with some pretty important clients. The big project we’ve been working on for awhile…they essentially tore to shreds. There were a couple things that I didn’t like the way they handled the project. First of all..they had no comments on the rough cut, and said they deferred to another division for all their comments. So we adjusted the project based on the other division’s recommendations. Now three months later, once the project is complete they have a wealth of notes and we essentially have to recut everything. Why didn’t they tell us this months ago? It would have saved so much time. Some of their comments were helpful…the rest were kind of pointless. So it created a lot of extra work. We have to keep the client happy. But for some reason, that totally took the wind out of my sails. I was hoping this project was complete, now I have to go back to the drawing board. We are waiting on a huge check for the completion of this project, and that put off the check for at least two more months.

There were a couple of other things that happened at work that really bothered me. But I shouldn’t go into detail now. I have to learn that there is a distinct difference the way they do business in the Middle East, and I need to remember my place in the hierarchy of the company.

So those two things really got me in a funk today. My phone also stopped working. Before I couldn’t get incoming calls…now I couldn’t make outgoing either. Im missing a lot of work calls. I went out and bought a super cheap phone, put the sim card in that…and it seems to be working. So I guess I have to live with a cheap phone for bit while I see if it works.

We had a practice for Bahrain’s Funniest Person. We had about half the cast show up. These people are funny. I was honored that they were so committed to helping make the show better.

I was supposed to go to a party after the practice. It was a Hawaiian party and I put on my most awful Hawaiian shirt in the world. Its so awful, its absolutely fantastic. But I just wasn’t feeling it tonight. I hope this funk won’t last throughout the weekend. I guess I should count myself as lucky. I don’t have bad days very often at all here. In fact (I’d have to check throughout the log) that I don’t think I’ve had five bad days total since I’ve been here. That is kind of a great thing if you think about. Im very fortunate.

I better cut this short…Im just not feeling it. Say a prayer for me if you think about it.

Lowballed

What an incredibly productive day. Again Im not sure what I got accomplished, but I know I was busy. I didn’t even have time to chat on the internet…well…lets just say not that much time. Im really enjoying having Nader in the office. He is a tough boss, but he’s fair. We both have the same goal in mind, to grow the company. I have a day full of meetings tomorrow, so I guess a lot of the time was spent getting ready for those. In one day I have seven meetings at four different locations from 9a to 10p. They are all really big meetings too. I guess the pressure of being the sales manager is on now. Writing of which, We are conducting second interviews tomorrow for our sales manager position. This time around Im extremely confident that we will hire the right candidate. I already like all three of the candidates we are calling back. No wonder we are having cash flow issues again, we’ve had no production from the sales department (other than myself) for the last 10 months. I have brought in a lot of business over that period of time, but I’d rather my focus be on the long term growth of the company and the production rather than the short term. The good thing is that I have the company running as an efficient operation. So when we do get busy, we’ll be ready for it.

Im told the wedding crush is right after Ramadan. Most brides book at the absolute last minute 1-2 weeks ahead of time. No one likes to get married in the summer…too hot and sticky, so they wait until the fall. So Im preparing/hoping/praying for a crush of business. I think its going to happen. When it does we will be doing well with the cash flow crisis. But if it doesn’t happen…well…lets just hope that sales manager is up to snuff.

I’ve had to deal with some pretty tricky negotiations the past week. I’ve had to be firm. I think this General Manager authority is growing on me. I like making executive decisions. Im getting better at it. I was being lowballed by a potential client whom we need for a service. They over-valued their worth to me in my opinion. I like this client, as a friend a lot, but he has associated himself with an agency that is not representing him well…at least with me, according to my opinion. So this agent, started pontificating, she went on and on for a three minute monologue. At the end she said, what do you think about that? I thought to myself, I have no idea what she just said. She used a lot of words and her emphasis was emphatic, but her meaning was empty. So I sat there silently for a second, I don’t think the others knew what she said either. I thought saying “I have no idea what you just said.” Might sound a bit unprofessional. But it was 3 against 1, and that one was me. So they said, “you’re not going to get a better offer than that.” I calmly responded, “I got an offer better than that one hour ago in an email.” Their jaws hit the floor. I don’t think they anticipated me walking…but that is exactly what I did. Im supposed to call the client in 15 minutes to talk. I want to hash out a deal man to man, without his minions. His minions are trying to protect his interest, but I think they’re doing it the wrong way.

I have an addictive personality. I have mentioned a few times before in the late 90’s, I had an addiction to pornography, which I’m happy to say I’ve overcome. It is incredibly dangerous and easy to get sucked into. My pastor Jim Lewis told me, that statistics show that 70% of the men that attend church each week have viewed pornography within the last three weeks. It’s a problem that the church rarely talks about. That is why Im so vocal about it here and with the people I meet. I wish somebody would have reached out to me, when I needed it. I was just so confused about it, I thought it was a character flaw that I could handle on my own. The truth is, I needed help. Well I finally got it, and I’ve overcome it by the grace of God. But I still have an addictive personality, but Im trying to be addicted to the positive things, like exercise, squash, kayaking, bible reading, work, prayer. Now Im totally addicted to “24” season 4. I can’t get enough of it. I suppose the addiction will end when I complete the series. Through my divorce, I didn’t watch TV. Now I guess im catching up with all the shows on DVD. I take my laptop with me and watch episodes at dinner. Tonight is was Jack Bauer and I eating at Fuddrucker’s. I know the plots are cheesy and predictable…but they draw me in.

As I was driving home, I passed my friend Khalid who was walking towards a restaurant. I kept honking and calling out for him, but he was talking on the phone oblivious to me. So I drove up on the sidewalk (You can park anywhere here in Bahrain, and people do) and ran after him. I had just eaten, but he hadn’t. So I sat with him while he ate. He had been away for three weeks and just returned that morning. It was fun catching up with a friend.

"Whatever"

I was talking to my friend Imran yesterday. Imran is a Pakistani guy that recently won the second round of Bahrain’s Funniest Person. Imran is a hilarious stand up comedian that is trying to get his own stand up show off the ground. He wants me to figure out how to be a part of it. So anyways, he called and asked if I was busy, I said no. He said…are you ever busy? That got me thinking. I covered this in an earlier blog, but its important to cover it again. I don’t think Im ever busy. I can’t remember the last time I was busy in fact. Even a few months back when I worked 6 day weeks for 5 months straight at about 70 hours a week it didn’t feel that busy.

So am I busy? Lets review what I did today. I have two big projects due on Oct. 1, we are on a tight five week production deadline for both of these projects and they need to be in Arabic, this adds another big hoop to jump through. We are interviewing for a sales manager so I had 8 interviews this week one today, Had to schedule call backs on Thursday for the top three candidates. I have to figure out cash flow two big checks coming in on Wed., set up the acting school in Oct. at two different venues, finish the deal with the Funniest Person, start to promote, prepare the practice session on Thursday for our third show on Oct. 7, pitch to Bahrain TV, take a few sales call, listen to a few client pitches, stay on top of my staff of 20 to make sure they are still on task, finished editing the English version of the Port Video, remixed it, at lunch, watched an episode of 24, while eating. I did all that and still played on the internet and chatted for about 3 hours. I kind of felt like I was slacking, but certainly didn’t feel busy today.

I have had several people approach me the last few months and mention that I’ve already had a big impact on the island. That really surprised me. Because I guess I haven’t really thought about it that much. We have produced over 15 corporate/documentary videos so far, in addition to about 35 weddings photo and video. We have had 100 students go through our acting program in Bahrain, all getting their own personalized DVD. We created the Funniest Person, got written up in several periodicals. We were able to give the staff either 1 or 2 pay increases. Personally, I’ve had about 30 different people come to my positive living course, taught about 20-30 teens in church, had several really meaningful lunches and dinners with friends, played a lot of squash, kayaked for hours, watched about 10 seasons of shows like LOST and Prison Break, Heroes, and 24. I’ve gone back the U.S. twice and to Athens once, Dubai several times. Shared my faith with lots and lots of people both in person, on the phone and via chat. So when I spell it out that way…it does seem like I’ve done a lot on paper. But emotionally and pschologically…It doesn’t feel like a lot. Im not trying to be arrogant or egotistical in annotating everything that has happened to me. Instead I want to give the credit to where credit is due. It’s a total God thing, and Im falling under His extreme favor. It seems like all this stuff, these accomplishments are happening pretty natural for me. Which indicates that im part of God’s plan. I don’t feel like Im any more talented or more blessed than the next guy. Im just merely a vessel that learned to say “whatever” to God early on. Now God is using and blessing me. I think God wants us all to say “whatever…so he can fully use us. In the Bible there are countless of examples of God using simple people so he can show His glory. I think I fall into that category.

When Im living my life right, he uses and blesses me more. When I drift off into sin, he still uses me…but not as much and my blessings slowly decrease. I think it’s a circular human nature thing. If we don’t keep our eyes on the target ahead, we sometime run the risk of drifting off-course. I’ll be honest, as I always am with you. Im not as passionate about my faith as I was when I first arrived here. Im still more passionate than most, but compared to where I was and where I am now…there’s a difference. So the last few weeks, I’ve been really seeking God and saying “Whatever.” He is answering my call and Im being blessed for it.

The swine flu has finally arrived

I was thinking yesterday about this. I don’t think I’ve been bored for months. I really don’t think I’ve been bored at all since I’ve been here. That is a pretty amazing thing if you think about it. I live alone and have tons of time on my hands. I don’t really have a go to friend to hang with, and no romantic relationships..at least not locally. So theoretically, I should be bored quite often. But Im not. I actually crave the times that I am alone. I have a healthy balance of exercise, work, and leisurely activity. My day overall is pretty full. I think that is a little indication that Im right where Im supposed to be for this season of my life. God is handling all the details. Since Im doing His work, he is rewarding me with peace, joy and contentment. Im pretty blessed overall.

I am a little wiped out right now. Perhaps Im getting too much exercise. Darren and I are totally hooked on playing each other in squash. We are very evenly matched players. Except he kicked my butt tonight. Im ruing the day I recommended that he buy his new racquet. Before, he couldn’t beat me…now…he skunked me. We were playing with a new friend…Austin the scuba diver in a round robin type of play. I won the first game then lost the next six. So my pride really took it on the chin. I just get so wiped out when I play this game. As far as the upper body is concerned, Im the fittest I’ve ever been, but after 3 or 4 games of squash, Im absolutely knackered. I keep thinking, well if I keep playing this hard eventually I’ll get in better shape. Its been a month now, and Im still wheezing. Its not about the winning, well it is…but im more interested in the workout. It’s a great workout.

Tanya came back to the office today. I was so excited to see her. She’s like my best friend and confidante on the island. I had so many things to tell her. It will be nice having her back around. I sent the proposal off to Bahrain TV to have KSDi produce some of the shows. Im not sure how much money they have, but anything would be helpful. It’s a wait and see game now.

I got a note from my Pastor Graeme. Our church meets in a prestigious private school. The Government has ordered all schools closed for 2-3 weeks to try to contain the spread of the Swine Flu. Its just now hitting here. 3 people died from it last week. So since the schools closed, they don’t want our church meeting there for the next few weeks. Since I host a small group, they asked me if I’d be willing to hold church in my flat for a portion of the church. I’d be glad to help the church anyway I can. So I gladly accepted. Not sure how many people will show up though. Only three showed up last time we did this. Many church goers use this as an excuse to sleep in.

This is the last Monday that we are NOT holding our positive living group. Since its Ramadan, a lot of my Muslim friends told me they could not make it. So I took it on hiatus for a few weeks. I actually miss having it. I’ll gear up again next week.

The #1 and #2 ranked American squash players in Bahrain

(Forgot to post last night...Sorry)
I am so out of routine with Ramadan. Normally I do my bible reading at lunch wherever I go out and eat. Well…I can’t go out to eat at lunch, so my devotionals have fallen a little bit by the wayside. I don’t like it when Im out of routine, im more prone to spiritually stub my toe, or run out of gas emotionally speaking. So I had to mix it up a little bit. Im instead doing my devotions before bedtime. Its working, I feel like I have more sustained energy, spiritually speaking this way. Its like I need my daily fill up.

I was so busy and productive today at work…yet I have no idea what I really accomplished. I know I felt a great deal of satisfaction. Its weird when Im dealing with managing as opposed to doing projects. There are lots of little vital things to do that don’t really get noticed. But when I complete a project I have something tangible to show for it. I did do the proposal for Bahrain TV. I know they don’t have a lot of money…the question is do they have any? We can produce the Improv show for very little, since we are getting the revenue from the live tickets at the gate. Any television revenue generated is like icing on the cake. I want an opportunity to streamline the show so we can open up to a bigger market once we iron out the kinks and perfect it. This hasn’t been done anywhere in the Middle East…so why not dream big…and call it The Funniest Person in the Middle East. There are actually some pretty big television networks here that would go for that. The possibilities are really exciting. Start small…and work our way up to big. I can see how everything could fall into place from a far. We need things to break our way…but they have been so far. What’s nice about the cast that I have for this, is they are so enthusiastic. Most of all of them have been clamoring for a practice session. They have a lot of fun doing this. That is very rewarding for me.

I have to interview for another sales executive position. Ugh…this will be #5 since I’ve been here. No wonder the company is hurting cash flow wise. I know as the General Manager, sales is also a huge part of my responsibility. While I have brought in the last two massive deals, I’m being stretched to be a filmmaker and day to day manger as well. I love the challenge, but there are certain aspects which I feel Im more adept at handling. Hopefully we can get a sales guy that can produce. Im confident that our product is now top notch. That really is what I spend the last year in perfecting. Now we just have to go hit the marketplace. We interviewed four people today. I found out my good friend Fayad, left his company because they hadn’t paid him for three months. Fayad is a great guy and a excellent salesman. I was so excited when I found out he was available and willing to come work with us. But now, I have to go through the motions and interview the rest of the lot because Nader likes to have options. He has the ultimate say. I’ve vouched for several people, like our last two sales managers for example. Those haven’t worked out so well. So my opinion on personnel is a little sullied. After Fayad came in, I excitedly ran to Khalifa…I said…”he’s great.” He responded…you think everyone is great. I thought about it…and yes…I do think everyone is great. I always focus on the positives. So maybe I have to defer to others on this one.

I had another squash match with Darren. I made the mistake and showing him my new racquet. Its so light and powerful. So he went out and bought one. Now our matches are nearly equal. We played to a 2-2 draw again. We had done that the time before as well. I’d rather the game be competitive than a wipe out. Darren and I were both gassed at the end. He brought his co-worker by to play a game. He was Jordanian…and just wiped us out. Darren and I thought we were getting pretty good…this guy showed us…that certainly was not the case. He had a great attitude while he cleaned our clocks. I commiserated with Darren afterwards that he and I were still the numbers 1 and 2 ranked American Squash players in Bahrain. Im pretty certain we’re the only two American Squash players in Bahrain, but who care about the details?

A different life just 10 minutes away

Another very full day for me. I stayed up real late Thursday night chatting with old friends. I love that social outlet which the internet provides. So I only got 5 hours sleep heading into church. Our regular pastor, Graeme, was back from his long vacation. A lot of people now are coming back to Bahrain as the school year is about to commence. Things are getting back to normal. Well as far as normal can be during Ramadan.

I was all excited after church to take a 3 hour nap. I watched a couple of episodes of 24 season 4. While the show is riveting…this particular series is about Arabs that control a device to meltdown nuclear plants. Now the plot and characters are formulaic, but it’s a formula that works, thus they’ve had seven seasons sandwiched around Kiefer Sutherland’s rehabbing. But their depiction of Arabs is sooooo far off the mark in this one. I know its Hollywood. But the perception of the Arabs is solidified through Hollywood and the media. Their depictions are really off target. But lets face it, most Americans don’t care if their stereotypes are inaccurate. They just want to be entertained. As far as political correctness is concerned, America is still the greatest country in the world. I always extol the virtues of the Middle East, but I need to reveal the dark side, just to show Im objective. This is a very racist area, even amongst Arabs. America is truly the trendsetter for the world as examples of racial equality. Its not perfect, but I think it’s the best the world has to offer.

So I was all read for my 3 hour nap, and took all of 20 minutes and was done. Oh well. So I hopped in the kayak early. Did an hour ride at sunset. Made it all the way across this time. It was cool. Every once in while I’ll see a small fish about 6 inches long hop out of the water and skip along the surface, like a dolphin would. I noticed a dark spot in the water that glimmered a bit. I actually rode over a school of fish that were stagnant. As I rode over they sprung to action and swam away fast. About 20 of them skipped out of the water 3 or 4 times to get away. It looked really neat. I was tempted to go follow the school to see if they’d do it again, but then I thought better of myself. I was worried that one of them might accidentally jump into my boat. That would really have freaked me out. So I just moved on. After the kayak ride, it was sunset, so I went up to my pool at the rooftop, and just lounged and relaxed. It felt like I was at a five star hotel. Im kind of a wimp when it comes to fish and spiders.

I got invited to a birthday party for one of the Germans. Four of the crew were living in a villa in downtown Muharraq. Where I live in Juffair…doesn’t feel like the Middle East. This place however was certainly the Middle East. It was like a movie set with the small alley ways. It had a lot of character. I’m glad I was only visiting and not living there in that character. Its much nicer to visit. I think my experience here would be a lot different If I lived there. I like the luxury apartment I’m in. I get complimented on it all the time when I have guests. Im blessed. We had a barbecue at the roof for one of the German guys. It was hot. The humidity rose as the evening wore on. I was sweating bullets. I made it for abour 3 hours then excused myself. One of my friends was having a party at the roof of my building at the pool. They invited me along. So I spent about another 3 hours at this party meeting all sorts of new and interesting people. This was not a Navy-Gulf Air crowd. It certainly was different and very refreshing. But now Im tired. Its 1:15 and I still have about an hours worth of computer work to do. All in all…another very good day.