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.