Another day, another few dollars

Today I’m feeling grateful again – and I say again because I have attacks of gratitude for various reasons but I have seen, done and heard things today that have made me grateful for what I have got here.

Firstly I am grateful that I’ve had no internet problems in the office like some people have.  The software we are using to design our processes for our Business Process Re-engineering has to be used live on-line, which is the daftest thing I have ever heard of for using in a place with varied internet access !  The other down side to that is that I can’t do a whole load of work up front without anyone knowing about it and then coast for a few days/ weeks at the end – everything I do will be visible as soon as I do it, which is a bit of a bummer and will mean that I will have to structure my days and weeks very carefully.  It’s never a good thing to look to good to early !

Something else I am grateful for is based around how much I heard a Philippino maid earns here in the UAE – AED 700……..a month ffs.  That’s less than £125.  I’m grateful for so many things on so many levels after hearing that.

I’m grateful that my lovely wife has the patience to “encourage” our children to do their music practice every night, to clean their teeth, to make them go to bed etc. etc. etc.  They would be bloody good at x-box if I was in charge but that’s about it really !

I’m grateful that I tweaked a calf muscle in the gym last night – that meant that I had to borrow a bike to go out with the psycho tri-athlete tonight which meant that I only had to try and keep up with here on two wheels as she chatted to me for an hour out in the desert.  Turns out she’s training for some monster run in Jordon in a few weeks time – 50km down a mountain and then into a valley below sea level…….madness !  Friday morning took her out for 28km with a friend – shoot me if I ever say I’m going to do something like that please !

She also gave me a run down on her companies complete lack of administrative and humanitarian skills today, which it was generally agreed (around the dinner table) would have made us all turn and head for home.  She then told me in private what she earns, which simplified things in my mind, cause I wouldn’t be here in the first place for that – my next task is to find her a proper job !  She can do it in exchange for being my personal trainer !

I’m feeling grateful for my opportunity here at the moment, for various reasons that will become apparent over time but generally because I’m getting a decent wage, in nice surroundings, with generally nice people, with a client that appreciates what I’m doing, getting fitter by the day, eating good food and generally being left to get on and do what I need to do – which is nice (and a novelty !)

I’m also grateful that I’m not a short fat Americanised Lebanese trainer with a Napoleon complex, a constant need to wear a baseball cap at dinner and a fat Harley that he insists on parking outside the hotel front door where everyone can see it.  Perhaps someone could explain to me why people feel the need to go to the buffet at dinner time, talking loudly on a mobile telephone and filling their plate up – surely one of those things could wait for just a few minutes ?  It’s bad enough that he feels the need to wear black shirts and waistcoats to work in the desert……He spent this evening on his laptop whilst eating dinner with the rest of us……..I mean, honestly !  He had a stand up row in the office this afternoon with someone who didn’t agree with his argument that bright yellow framed sunglasses weren’t gay – I just watched that one in case you were wondering…….Lucky for all of us (him included) that he’s only ever here for 2 days at a time.

I’m also feeling grateful for the Muslim working week today because we started on Sunday today is hump day which means there will be tumbleweed blowing through the office by lunchtime tomorrow and we can all knock off early and enjoy a bit of the sun that seems to have found it’s way back here to the Middle East (I hear that the UK has been borrowing it for a short shift, but we’d like it back now please !)

And lastly I’m grateful that I am now roughly 20% of the way through my contract.  I’m starting to look for the next one now so that I can give the tax man a good sound thrashing – but that’s definitely for another day.

I have just had a request for more pointing pictures so I think we will have to do a pointing special shortly – I’ll gather up the pictures and hit you with them one after the other !

What ever I think of the rider, the bike must have cost a fortune (I bet he’s got a leather waistcoat he wears when he’s riding it !)