Rick Beeman

What a day.   April is turning out to be one of the biggest months since I been here.   December was huge as well, but we weren’t ready for it.   We are ready, efficiency wise for April.   May is going to be big as well.   We are already jammed and I took a call yesterday to book a two day modeling shoot this weekend.   So God is blessing us over here.   My goal is to get over 50,000 BD ($125,000) in the bank for our cushion, because July-August are going to be lean months, everyone leaves the island because of the heat.   My team is really responding well.   I’m very proud of them.   Another one of my goals is to get the company extremely healthy financially so I can reward all of the employees with significant pay raises.   I believe that we are already one of the best paying firms on the island, but I want to do better than that.   The employees at my firm deserve that.   I go to Greece tomorrow…Im very excited.   I’ve been getting a lot of responses on my facebook about people ...

What a great day it was today.    I got so much work today.    It seems I got twice as much accomplished today.    So that makes up for yesterday when I got nothing accomplished, so that means come tomorrow I’ll be on track for a typical week.    I had a breakfast with a wonderful lady that works for the Ministry of Social Development.    She’s very high up there.    She is connecting me with some pretty important people.    She believes in me and what I’m trying to accomplish here.    She has set up a meeting with me next week with someone from the U.S. State Department who in turn is also setting me up to meet with a bunch of people that hold influential positions within the government.    Apparently there aren’t a lot of firms that do what I do out here.    So they never really taken advantage of the media opportunities.    Now that Im here to help show them how to exploit this creative outlet, Im sure it will lead to many more positive leads.    Its really nice to develop this new ...

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you’ve got nothing accomplished at all?    Well today is certainly one of those days for me. It’s Easter Sunday but it certainly doesn’t feel like Easter.    Easter used to be one of my favorite holidays.    I used to love putting out the Easter Bunny tracks to fool my kids.    It was quite convincing with the rabbit tracks and rabbit droppings.    Easter baskets were always fun.    After the divorce I tried to establish a new tradition where I’d give each one $20 or so and have them fill in their own baskets.    Now Easter seems like just another day.    We have church on Friday and I was out of town for our regular Easter Service and I had to work today.    The thing that goes running through my head all day long is what our pastor Jack Hayford used to say.    “He is Risen.”    Then the audience response was “He is risen indeed.”    (Do you remember that?)     Now, I just have to remember the meaning of Easter and establish the ...

I am wiped out.    I got the early morning plane out of Dubai and made it back to Bahrain.    I was able to take a two hour nap, and that was nice.    I did the acting classes and again I really enjoyed them.    I’ve been teaching for awhile, so I can really go on cruise control.    Like I teach my actors.    To be a good actor you have to just feel and not think.    So when I teach really    It’s the same principle.    I know that seems totally counterintuitive (I so like that word), but it works.    The more I prepare for the class the worse it seems to go.   Today was a different class.    Krazy Kevin, who is turning out to be a friend, did his TV show from the class.    We had a few children and teens stick around for the Kevin appearance.    He did some interviews with them which served as bumpers for his music videos.     They were thrilled to be a part of it.      In the end we did a couple of fun sketches with him.    We provided him with some pretty great TV.    He did well in...

Woke up in the hotel and went for a great breakfast buffet that was included in the room.    I ate outside on a grassy area that overlooks the lagoon.    It was simply spectacular.    The weather was around 80 degrees as people started meandering by the pool.    I went with a friend and went snow skiing.    Skiing in the Middle East are you serious?    Yes, it’s a place called Ski Dubai which is an indoor ski slope, which is actually pretty big and its also in a gigantic mall.    The 2-hour lift ticket covered ski rental and clothes.    We put on some sort of ski outfit.    This place had a snow play area where most of the other people went.    Most people just don’t know how to ski here, go figure.    So it was mainly ex-pats on the slopes.    It had a four person chair lift and also a tow rope.    It actually went pretty high.    The snow wasn’t icy, but a lot of fresh man-made powder.    It took about five minutes to get to the bottom of the slope and about ten minutes to ride up th...

Got an early start for my flight to Dubai.    I was a little bit upset…they made me check my luggage because I have needles for my insulin.    I guess they could be used as a weapon.    I jest because I’m getting paid for coming to a film festival in beautiful dubai.    This place is amazing.    They call it the Paris of the Middle East.    The grounds everywhere in the city are so well manicured.    My parents referred to it as looking like Disneyland and they were right.    It’s a combination of amazing wealth and very inexpensive labor.    But its managed properly I think.    For example, they have the same wealth and cheap labor in Saudi Arabia and the two don’t even compare to each other.    Dubai is awesome.    This would be a very nice place to live.    Its about 80% expat.    Although the recession has taken a huge chunk out of this economy, it will bounce back.    So Im saying that I’m enjoying my trip over here, but Im actually getting quite a bit of work done.    I picked up...

OK…I’ve been talking about how great and lovely the culture is over here…I haven’t complained about the negative in awhile.    So here goes.    What an amazingly frustrating day.    I drove over to the Romanian’s house early today to give her the money so she could buy my ticket to Greece next week.    Im only going for two days so I don’t have to miss teaching my acting classes.    Oh before I get to that let me tell you that    I also have difficulty paying my rent, that is in the mode of payment.    Rent is very high here and I don’t have a checking account.    If I were to open a checking account it would take about a month, and I’d have to produce two blood samples and sample from my children…well its not the difficult but hopefully you get the point.    To open up just a credit card account, I had to go through two –in person- interviews they came to my office, had to provide paycheck stubs from the last three months and whole bunch of other nitpick stuff.    But I digress like a...

Im back home unexpectedly early and it feels great.    Its 9:00 PM.    I rushed home because I was invited to a wine tasting at a ritzy restaurant, I thought it would be fun to go to.    Most of my social network are people in their 20-somethings so its nice when I have social opportunities for people more my age.    Jeddah, one of our Filipino photographers brought in these delicious barbecue pork kebabs for lunch.    Now Im not sure if they were really that good…or if I just haven’t had pork in that long.    Pork is very hard to find here.    You have to have a special license to sell it if you are a restaurant or grocery store.    In the butcher shop of the stores that sell pork it clearly states for Non-muslims only.    So once I had a taste, I just had to have some more.    So Jeddah drew me a map and I was suddenly a man on a mission. After work I found this little obscure Filipino restaurant and the pork was divine.    You never know how much you miss something til you can’t hav...

Another really nice day.    Things are progressing smoothly at work.    I have a pretty efficient plan in place.    So we are moving along at a good pace.    We are about to get really busy as April is a big month for weddings plus all the other productions that we have to do.    So it’s a little bit like the calm before the storm.    I want the storm to happen and I want to rage, but keeping our work under control at all times.    I just recently bought another edition of    The Fire of Delayed Answers by Bob Sorge . Now of all the Christian books I’ve ever read (ive read a lot) the one that blessed me the most was this one.    What’s funny about that declarative statement is that I’ve never ever finished the book.    The story goes back two years ago, when I was reading it and God was totally revealing himself to me through it.    Basically, God sometimes delays the answer so that we will seek after him and be able to hear his voice.    So I prayed for the reconciliation of my marria...

Im posting a tad bit early tonight.    Im still in the office.    Decided to stay late with Quiz night just around the corner.    Im such a dork…I get so excited about quiz night and so does Guy.      Normally I like to work out every other day.    So since I worked out yesterday, I have more time on my hands so I’m getting a lot of work done.   I had a fabulous day today and it isn’t even over yet.    I’m so blessed being here.    I have so many friends and the number keeps growing and growing.    I tell people this all the time but life here feels just like I was in college back at Evangel.    The place is small enough that im running into people that I know all the time.    Since work is so much fun, it doesn’t feel like work really.    Its quite a surreal life.    Plus the island is so small, it feels like one giant international campus.    I really do love my life here.    Im very fortunate and very blessed.    One of the cool things about this, and I mentioned it yesterday are th...

I got back from teaching acting class tonight.    I teach three sessions.    Kids from 2:30 to 4:30, teens from 5:00-7:00, and Adults 7:30-9:00.    Tonight was one of those nights where I felt I was a great teacher from the kids to teens to adults.    What makes that feel so strange, that with all the classes I’ve taught this lesson, this is the one where I prepared the least amount.    I have taught these sessions so many times and have the curriculum all printed out, so I don’t need a ton of prep time.    But still I try to take 3-4 hours before each class to really study the material.    This time, I took about 1 hour and I felt as if I gave some great lessons.    The kids are amazing to watch.    I have about 10 of them.    At first they were so timid and quiet, now they are wild with enthusiasm.    Its like this class is the highlight of their week.    I even jumped into the improv with them and had a great time.    Its so rewarding for me to see them develop and have fun.    Its ...

It was a slow and frustrating start to my day off and that seemed to get better as time went along. I was invited to a new church, so I decided that I’d give it a try. It was the national evangelical church, which is an Anglican church in the American Mission Hospital. The church has been around as long as the hospital has which is almost 100 years. So it was actually American Missionaries way back, wanted to reach the Bahrainis so the built a hospital and lured people in that way. It’s a great concept, like bringing people in with loaves and fishes. We did the same type of thing in Taiwan only we were teaching English. You give the natives something they desire and they are more open to listening to what you have to say. The church was an even mix of Indians and Filipinos, and white people. It was kind of a dull service. But the praise and worship was fantastic. That’s what my friend told me was the best part of the church. I came back and rested and relaxed a bit. Im stil...

It’s been a little bit of a blah day today.    Whenever I have conflict with the kids…or any conflict really, it doesn’t hit me right away.    It usually takes a day or two to sink in.    So maybe that’s why Im in a funk.    I’ve had so many fantastic days over here, I was bound to have a bad one.    Im fortunate that I haven’t had too many bad ones over here.    God is really blessing me.    It’s a weekend night…and I just don’t feel like going out to the clubs.    I really dislike them.    Im supposed to go to a thing called “Models Night” tomorrow at a club.    It’s a special promotion with all the models being displayed in the club.    Its actually quite popular.    They want me to go because of the whole “director” thing.    I know…rough job.    That’s what all my friends say to make fun of me.    But really its not that big of a deal to me.    I work with models and actresses all the time.    I know how to communicate with them.    Its also good for networking purposes.    I usua...

What another fantastic day in Bahrain.    Im not making this up.    It seems like five out of every 7 days are great for me out here.    Im pretty blessed and fortunate.    The day started out with me sending the following email to all my staff:  Staff, There has been a lot of dissension lately about employees not willing to other jobs because it falls out of line with their primary job responsibilities.  This does not foster a team atmosphere and ultimately hurts the efficiency of the company.  Unfortunately we'll have to take semi-drastic measures to fix the problem.  "Job Shifting" is an "American" management technique that has been proven to be very difficult but very effective in working.  We can afford a period of time of inefficiency while we all cross-train into our temporary new roles.  So starting this Sunday April 5 you will all have new titles and job responsibilities for a period of 60 days while we cross-train and become more skilled at positions a...

It was strange, I came home at 9:30 PM tonight and I thought something was wrong.    I can’t remember the last time I was done with a social activity or work this early.    It kind of felt good.    I went out to eat with a bunch of South Africans at an Indian Restaurant…they like their food hot hot hot…    It was actually my Tuesday small group and this is the last time we’d be meeting with Casper before he leaves Bahrain and travels back to South Africa to start his job.    Casper’s tale is a real success story.    I’m very proud of him and his lovely wife Mariette.    I should probably go into detail…because my son was questioning that maybe I didn’t heard God right when he told me to come to Bahrain.    X is putting doubts in his head as regards to my calling.    But if I need any proof, I just turn to my friend Casper.   I loved being used of God and am open to however and whenever he will use me.    Whether its in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Los Angeles or someplace even more remote lik...

Wow am I wiped out.    Its 12:30 am and Im still at the office.    I am enjoying this, but still the mental drain takes it toll physically sometimes.    I have a contact going to Hollywood tomorrow.    He asked me to compile 10 creative projects which he could pitch to some of the Hollywood power brokers.    Our hope is that they are looking for the next “Slumdog Millionaire” and one of the 12 projects we are submitting (I threw in two extra) could be it.    I wrote five of the projects and the other seven I had submitted from various filmmakers in the region.    It’s a long shot, but if we hit with just one of them, we’ll be sitting pretty for awhile.   I didn’t stay at the office too late today.    I had an interview with the minister of works about the new shipping port that is opening.    He was very high up on the ladder of the government.    It’s the equivalent of talking to the Secretary of State in the U.S.    I was very honored to chat with him.    He seemed like a sharp man. ...

X is at it again.    I talked to Max for the first time in a month.    I had earlier written X an email asking for permission to have the kids come out and visit me for four weeks in July, during my regular visitation period.    She responded, “no.”     Max then called to leave a message telling me to stop twisting his mom’s words, and that he didn’t want to go to Bahrain and for me to stop making their house look so bad.    He was crying and very upset absolutely insistent that he didn’t not want to go to Bahrain.    Then he said it was his choice…and not anyone else’s.    No one influenced him.    But he also said…”Mommy isn’t blocking me going to Bahrain, but If I come back the door will be locked”    Meaning he won’t be allowed to return to his home.    So of course Max and the other kids don’t want to visit, if they do…they won’t be allowed to go back to the home they know and their friends…so of course they are choosing not to visit.    All I wanted was four weeks for them to exp...

Whew what a day.    I woke up at 4:30 AM with that still small voice in my head saying get up now…I’m going to need the extra time.    My alarm wasn’t supposed to go off til 5:15 am and that 45 minutes sure seemed good, especially since I didn’t got to be til 1:00 AM anyways.    So I laid there and argued with that voice in my head…is it God speaking to me…or is it my voice.    Im convinced its God as he and I have conversations.    You’d think I’d learn by now not to argue….but no…I laid in bed for an extra 10 minutes then I got up.    Thinking 30 min. early should give me plenty of time.    My father graciously offered to drop me off at the airport, return the rental car, and take a taxi back to the hotel in case I ran into any problems.    I declined at first thinking myself wholly self sufficient…then I second guessed and Im so glad I did.    We left the hotel at 5:30 am…but had to wait for the Valet to get the car about 10 minutes.    Then we found the airport but had to gas up th...