I have to admit that, even though I work long intense days, and clearly this gig is for real - I still have to sort of pinch myself and ask "Is this really my life?" every now and then.
I just spent an hour sorting through photos and uploading them to smugmug and I have to say I am so utterly amazed that I get to have this life.
But the funny thing is, whenever I post photos I get a lot of emails (which I love, so please keep writing!) and many of them say things like "Wow, it looks like you're really enjoying as much time exploring as you are working" or "You look so relaxed, you must be getting lots of R'nR".
The reality is that when I am on the road I pack as much fabulousness into the one day off I get each week as I possibly can. Take a thousand pictures. And post what looks like 6 days exploring.
And honestly...I am usually as refreshed after that one fabulous day as I would be after a week off. Which is a good thing. Because let me tell you a little bit about my week.
First, I have been having conference calls. A lot of conference calls. With Toronto and New York. Which means that the earliest they start is 9 pm my time. Usually they are more likely to start at 11 pm my time.
The lovely thing about conference calls at this time of day is that I do have time to go to the gym after work...which gives me a second wind...which gives me the ability to focus and actually contribute to aforementioned conference calls and make them productive.
The more lovely thing about conference calls and second winds at this time of day is it gives me a chance to chat with the godesses of brand marketing in TO. These calls are also productive, but decidedly less so than the ones where I have to be all "businessy". They usually end with me crying with laughter and my pal Nat saying "Teri I HAVE to hang up now. I'm laughing so loud I'm making a scene". But I'm sure its worth it because between her and I we have come up with an amazing campaign to rebrand...um....never mind.
One of the things we were completely undone by this week was the fact that with two words I nearly got someone fired. Well...not so much fired really as told there was no longer a need for their services. The team here is very eager to please. They are also desperately concerned about losing. There is a word for it. "Kiasu". I have grown to hate this word. It literally means "afraid to lose". No one has yet been able to give me a Mandarin word for "driven to win". So their motivation - and they have a lot of motivation - is driven by fear instead of by strategy or desire or just raw competitiveness. They also don't like ambiguity. Nothing stresses them out more than ambiguity. So I have learned to be very concise in my answers and direction.
So, when I was asked "Should I tell him this is the final E communication we will be sending using our previous method and database". I said "Yes. Absolutely." And a dark and deeply troubled look crossed her face and she repeated the question. And I repeated the same answer and moved blythely along to the next item on the agenda. Until about 5 minutes later she meekly interrupted and said..."But I am just not sure how to address this because his contract does not end until June."
At which point I said..."Oh no!!! No! NO!! That is not what I meant!!"
So I am most delighted that on my very first day here I strongly encouraged everyone to ask questions and ensure they had clarity before taking any action or completing any item in the project plan. Phew!! Can you just even imagine?!? I am beginning to see why consultants get a bad name. "Who told you to terminate his contract?" "Teri told me to."
And yet, while they cannot abide ambiguity they do love wildly over the top copy writing. Joel, you would find it unequivocally sublime I am sure. I get emails from Toronto that read like this..."Does this really say "enflamed with a burning desire"? Really?" Full stop. No preamble. No salutation. No close. Just copy angst. So my response was, "I gave her my Harlequin Romance Guide to Copywriting. You don't like that style?"
Nat, just so you know, I just noticed today that there is a poster in the elevator wishing everyone "Season's Greens with Jim Beam". I am confused. If it was a golf promo I could see the play on words...maybe. I think perhaps you really should jump on the next plane. I don't have time to manage copy writing. I have revenue to generate!
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Today I...am spicy!
Today I...am spicy and sticky...and so I just had my third shower of the day.
I know that in some ways I am kind of a high maintenance lass. But compared to the strappy stiletto sandals, designer labels (from shades to hand bags to clothes to accessories to cell phone holders to key rings), skinny jeans and full on photo shoot ready make up of the local girls I am a down right tom boy. I suppose I could argue that they are aclimatized to the heat and humidity but seriously? I don't know how they stay so put together. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the "all over body glow"...and therefore I shower with a frequency that may be moderately obsessive-compulsive.
I woke up very early for a Sunday morning for me. The Swissotel - which is attached via a 70,000 sq ft shared convention centre to Raffles the Plaza Singapore and therefore not only a "sister" hotel but more like a "Siamese Twin" hotel - was sponsoring Singapore's Vertical Marathon. So it was all hands on deck. So I had to be at least somewhat put together. Shower #1. I honestly didn't do much other than take advantage of an opportunity to access the heli-pad on the 72nd story of the building for some great photos...and then take photos of participants with their cameras when they finished their gruelling run up 72 stories - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity! It was HOT up there. I'm surprised no one passed out (myself included). Youngest participant was 12. Oldest was 83.
So when I saw this beautiful 83 year old climb those stairs with as much stamina - or more - than most of the participants I decided I best go for a workout myself! So I spent an hour on the elyptical groovin' to P!NK and working up a pretty serious glow. Shower #2.
And then, because the best way to see a city is to walk it, I decided to trek all over Singapore...with one of the tallest people I have ever met. Who walks fast in addition to having serious stride length. And who doesn't really stop to marvel at things while his touring companions are taking photos. So I did a bit of jogging today - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity. So in order to be able to sleep with myself tonight...Shower #3!
Its cooling off this week though - going down to 30. But there are going to be thunder showers. So at least it will be humid :-)
Spent the afternoon in Little India, Arab Street and Kampong Glam. That is a lot of cultural areas to hit in one day but it was a great way to gain an understanding of who the people of Singapore really are. You could stick to the pristinely clean, modern, very British city populated by "Singaporeans" and expats if you wanted to. Or you could see all the colors and the cultures. We chose the latter. And, in Kampong Glam, the Malaysian quarter, we inadvertently crashed a "Pre-circumcision" party for wee Selamat Datang. We decided, just to make ourselves feel better, that for sure Selamat must be a boy's name.
I know that in some ways I am kind of a high maintenance lass. But compared to the strappy stiletto sandals, designer labels (from shades to hand bags to clothes to accessories to cell phone holders to key rings), skinny jeans and full on photo shoot ready make up of the local girls I am a down right tom boy. I suppose I could argue that they are aclimatized to the heat and humidity but seriously? I don't know how they stay so put together. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the "all over body glow"...and therefore I shower with a frequency that may be moderately obsessive-compulsive.
I woke up very early for a Sunday morning for me. The Swissotel - which is attached via a 70,000 sq ft shared convention centre to Raffles the Plaza Singapore and therefore not only a "sister" hotel but more like a "Siamese Twin" hotel - was sponsoring Singapore's Vertical Marathon. So it was all hands on deck. So I had to be at least somewhat put together. Shower #1. I honestly didn't do much other than take advantage of an opportunity to access the heli-pad on the 72nd story of the building for some great photos...and then take photos of participants with their cameras when they finished their gruelling run up 72 stories - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity! It was HOT up there. I'm surprised no one passed out (myself included). Youngest participant was 12. Oldest was 83.
So when I saw this beautiful 83 year old climb those stairs with as much stamina - or more - than most of the participants I decided I best go for a workout myself! So I spent an hour on the elyptical groovin' to P!NK and working up a pretty serious glow. Shower #2.
And then, because the best way to see a city is to walk it, I decided to trek all over Singapore...with one of the tallest people I have ever met. Who walks fast in addition to having serious stride length. And who doesn't really stop to marvel at things while his touring companions are taking photos. So I did a bit of jogging today - in 35 degree heat with about a thousand and ten percent humidity. So in order to be able to sleep with myself tonight...Shower #3!
Its cooling off this week though - going down to 30. But there are going to be thunder showers. So at least it will be humid :-)
Spent the afternoon in Little India, Arab Street and Kampong Glam. That is a lot of cultural areas to hit in one day but it was a great way to gain an understanding of who the people of Singapore really are. You could stick to the pristinely clean, modern, very British city populated by "Singaporeans" and expats if you wanted to. Or you could see all the colors and the cultures. We chose the latter. And, in Kampong Glam, the Malaysian quarter, we inadvertently crashed a "Pre-circumcision" party for wee Selamat Datang. We decided, just to make ourselves feel better, that for sure Selamat must be a boy's name.
Saturday, 3 November 2007
Today I...am curious
Today I...am curious about a lot of things actually.
I am curious about the very large Asian family (four grandparents, two parents, three little girls, and the most beautiful boy with a very broken body, and one nanny) who scolded their little girl Annabelle (a decidedly not-so-Asian name) in crisp, unaccented English when she:
1. Approached my table and watched me write in my journal
2. Smiled very very coyly
3. Covered her mouth with her hands and giggled
4. and snatched the Orchid off my plate.
I thought she was curious about me. Clearly she was merely an adorable cleptomaniac. But she got a severe scolding for being "very rude and very naughty" which made her cry and made me want to give her the Orchid she was made to bring back to me. But what cheered her up absolutely made my day. This little boy whose body has clearly betrayed him, wheeled his chair around the table and said "Come on Anna, lets go play". And she put her hand on the arm of his chair and he very independently wheeled out to the promenade with his dad following behind nonchelanty as if any 6 year old in a wheelchair should be able to head to the harbour on a whim with no barriers in his mind.
I am curious about the woman with the expensive camera who was infinitely particular about taking shots of the Hong Kong skyline...and then sat down beside me, pulled a white teddy bear out of her bag, and proceeded to talk to him for a good 10 minutes before packing her things, putting on a pair of musical note socks, and walking away. I was wishing I understood Mandarin. I can only assume she was telling him all about the pretty photos she took. Or perhaps she was promising him a tasty treat, like tentacles on a stick.
I am curious about how we managed to take decent vacation photos before we could instantly see how they turned out...and when we actually had to count in increments of 12 - 24 - 36 exposures. I have been here a day and have over 200 photos...a pretty slow day for me actually.
I am curious about the complete inability of people to take a simple snap shot. Why do these people even have cameras?!?
One of the challenges of travelling alone is that you have to find willing and at least moderately capable strangers to take your picture (so as to prove you were actually there and not just skiving someone elses photos). I employed several strategies:
1. Find another person travelling alone trying to take the "self portrait". Bingo. Great Success! But that was just on the first shot of the day.
2. Approach caucasian couples - high probability that they speak English and that they will want a photo of themselves together. Less successful. Photos of myself at Victoria Peak took about 8 tries to get some good ones. Whereas the couples I had asked to take my picture all walked away exclaiming "Oh! This is a great picture of us!" about the shot I took of them. So, I guess the upside of that is about 8 couples got nice photos of themselves at the Peak today.
3. Approach people with fancy cameras. Less likely to make a run with mine and chances are if they are going to shell out that much for a camera they actually have some skills. Not so much. Worst night snap shots of me - EVER! Unacceptable. I seriously had no less than 16 tries (seriously - I counted the blurry, over exposed, side ways, dark shots of me that I deleted) to get some marginally decent photos in front of the night skyline. I was determined! I wanted that shot damn it!
Having gone through 1 through 3 above the strategy that finally worked?
4. Approach the adorable Asian girl who is loaded down with her Louis Vuitton bag, a Starbucks coffee, a cell phone, laughing at herself trying to take a self portait. Take two great shots of her. She returns the favor and - voila! I have two shots - slightly blurry, but at least my eyes are open, I am actually in the picture, and so are the buildings across the harbour. Great success!
And finally, I am curious about how my fabulous sturdy and practical, yet fashionable shoes completely failed me today and tore my heels to shreds. And also how, after changing to flip flops so that I could actually walk without wincing, I returned from the Ladies Market to find that my feet were even dirtier than after returning from Khan el Khalili in Cairo!!! I just recovered from one plague so I am just marginally paranoid about contracting another. Perhaps I should try to wrangle a standing order of Amoxycillin in every city I visit. Dr. Bonnie can you hurry up and get a job running the World Health Organization so you can hook a sister up?
Today I...sure am grateful for Roxy flip flops, but am needing to get over my obsessive-compulsive disorder about how completely unacceptable it is to have dirty feet.
I am curious about the very large Asian family (four grandparents, two parents, three little girls, and the most beautiful boy with a very broken body, and one nanny) who scolded their little girl Annabelle (a decidedly not-so-Asian name) in crisp, unaccented English when she:
1. Approached my table and watched me write in my journal
2. Smiled very very coyly
3. Covered her mouth with her hands and giggled
4. and snatched the Orchid off my plate.
I thought she was curious about me. Clearly she was merely an adorable cleptomaniac. But she got a severe scolding for being "very rude and very naughty" which made her cry and made me want to give her the Orchid she was made to bring back to me. But what cheered her up absolutely made my day. This little boy whose body has clearly betrayed him, wheeled his chair around the table and said "Come on Anna, lets go play". And she put her hand on the arm of his chair and he very independently wheeled out to the promenade with his dad following behind nonchelanty as if any 6 year old in a wheelchair should be able to head to the harbour on a whim with no barriers in his mind.
I am curious about the woman with the expensive camera who was infinitely particular about taking shots of the Hong Kong skyline...and then sat down beside me, pulled a white teddy bear out of her bag, and proceeded to talk to him for a good 10 minutes before packing her things, putting on a pair of musical note socks, and walking away. I was wishing I understood Mandarin. I can only assume she was telling him all about the pretty photos she took. Or perhaps she was promising him a tasty treat, like tentacles on a stick.
I am curious about how we managed to take decent vacation photos before we could instantly see how they turned out...and when we actually had to count in increments of 12 - 24 - 36 exposures. I have been here a day and have over 200 photos...a pretty slow day for me actually.
I am curious about the complete inability of people to take a simple snap shot. Why do these people even have cameras?!?
One of the challenges of travelling alone is that you have to find willing and at least moderately capable strangers to take your picture (so as to prove you were actually there and not just skiving someone elses photos). I employed several strategies:
1. Find another person travelling alone trying to take the "self portrait". Bingo. Great Success! But that was just on the first shot of the day.
2. Approach caucasian couples - high probability that they speak English and that they will want a photo of themselves together. Less successful. Photos of myself at Victoria Peak took about 8 tries to get some good ones. Whereas the couples I had asked to take my picture all walked away exclaiming "Oh! This is a great picture of us!" about the shot I took of them. So, I guess the upside of that is about 8 couples got nice photos of themselves at the Peak today.
3. Approach people with fancy cameras. Less likely to make a run with mine and chances are if they are going to shell out that much for a camera they actually have some skills. Not so much. Worst night snap shots of me - EVER! Unacceptable. I seriously had no less than 16 tries (seriously - I counted the blurry, over exposed, side ways, dark shots of me that I deleted) to get some marginally decent photos in front of the night skyline. I was determined! I wanted that shot damn it!
Having gone through 1 through 3 above the strategy that finally worked?
4. Approach the adorable Asian girl who is loaded down with her Louis Vuitton bag, a Starbucks coffee, a cell phone, laughing at herself trying to take a self portait. Take two great shots of her. She returns the favor and - voila! I have two shots - slightly blurry, but at least my eyes are open, I am actually in the picture, and so are the buildings across the harbour. Great success!
And finally, I am curious about how my fabulous sturdy and practical, yet fashionable shoes completely failed me today and tore my heels to shreds. And also how, after changing to flip flops so that I could actually walk without wincing, I returned from the Ladies Market to find that my feet were even dirtier than after returning from Khan el Khalili in Cairo!!! I just recovered from one plague so I am just marginally paranoid about contracting another. Perhaps I should try to wrangle a standing order of Amoxycillin in every city I visit. Dr. Bonnie can you hurry up and get a job running the World Health Organization so you can hook a sister up?
Today I...sure am grateful for Roxy flip flops, but am needing to get over my obsessive-compulsive disorder about how completely unacceptable it is to have dirty feet.
Today I...contemplated trying Tentacles on a Stick...
...but then I wimped out.
Today I...had an amazing day in Hong Kong. Sort of a surreal day. It is always a bit strange to find yourself on the other side of the world when you live on a schedule that is at best loosely planned 2 to 4 months in advance but never firmly planned until within 2 weeks.
But I was asked to be in Singapore a couple of weeks earlier than the plan ("subject to change without notice" as always) and figured if I absolutely must go through Hong Kong to get there I should really get off the plane and check it out. Have I mentioned that I love my job?
So, in addition to the usual schtick - Harbour Promenade, Star Ferry, Victoria Peak, Symphony of Lights - I decided to go to Mongkok to the Ladies Market on Tung Choi Street. Now, I know that all sounds really exotic but in actuality it was a mere 3 subway stops away from the harbour. The Ladies Market is to Hong Kong what Khan el Khalili is to Cairo and Karama is to Dubai.
It is absolutely packed with thousands and thousands of people. It smells like a cross between incense, rancid tempura, a hypnotic blend of 402 knock off fragrances, and something...unidentifiable. The latter, I later discovered, is the oh so alluring aroma of "tentacles on a stick". Yum. What a tasty snack!
So, I suppose the tentacles on a stick (tentacle kabobs?) are to street meat in HK what the paper cones of pidgeon in a bucket are to street meat in Cairo. Deeeeee-lish!
And I have to say that, while I am really not a big fan of crowds, I love the energy and just full on crazy of these markets! However, the constant barrage of "Missy, missy - you want handbag / wallet / watchy?" was only slightly less aggressive than the Arabic version of "Lady, lady - handbag / wallet". But both were better than the in your face "Ma'am, Ma'am, MA'AM!!! HANDBAG!!!" of the hawkers in Karama in Dubai. How is it that anyone out there is actually buying the real thing? Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton...I could start a side business if it weren't for the fact that I am constantly riding the airline weight limits within 2.8 pounds!
I am sure that last paragraph doesn't read as well as it would play if you could actually hear the accents.
And, speaking of which, Erin you and I thought it was beyond hilarious listening to the locals in Houston order Starbucks??? I will work on perfecting "Grande-nonfat-no foam - extra hot - sugar free - vanilla latte" with an Asian accent. I nearly spewed coffee out my nose when the Barrista barked it back at the top of his lungs. It would have made sense to hear it in Mandarin. In English it just seemed so completely out of place. But somehow as much as it was funny I sort of hate Starbucks for taking over the world...and at the same time I love them passionately for being a familiar sight in a very unfamiliar place.
Today I...am reminded that I am the foreigner and I am ever so lucky that the one language I speak has so far been universal in my travels.
Today I...had an amazing day in Hong Kong. Sort of a surreal day. It is always a bit strange to find yourself on the other side of the world when you live on a schedule that is at best loosely planned 2 to 4 months in advance but never firmly planned until within 2 weeks.
But I was asked to be in Singapore a couple of weeks earlier than the plan ("subject to change without notice" as always) and figured if I absolutely must go through Hong Kong to get there I should really get off the plane and check it out. Have I mentioned that I love my job?
So, in addition to the usual schtick - Harbour Promenade, Star Ferry, Victoria Peak, Symphony of Lights - I decided to go to Mongkok to the Ladies Market on Tung Choi Street. Now, I know that all sounds really exotic but in actuality it was a mere 3 subway stops away from the harbour. The Ladies Market is to Hong Kong what Khan el Khalili is to Cairo and Karama is to Dubai.
It is absolutely packed with thousands and thousands of people. It smells like a cross between incense, rancid tempura, a hypnotic blend of 402 knock off fragrances, and something...unidentifiable. The latter, I later discovered, is the oh so alluring aroma of "tentacles on a stick". Yum. What a tasty snack!
So, I suppose the tentacles on a stick (tentacle kabobs?) are to street meat in HK what the paper cones of pidgeon in a bucket are to street meat in Cairo. Deeeeee-lish!
And I have to say that, while I am really not a big fan of crowds, I love the energy and just full on crazy of these markets! However, the constant barrage of "Missy, missy - you want handbag / wallet / watchy?" was only slightly less aggressive than the Arabic version of "Lady, lady - handbag / wallet". But both were better than the in your face "Ma'am, Ma'am, MA'AM!!! HANDBAG!!!" of the hawkers in Karama in Dubai. How is it that anyone out there is actually buying the real thing? Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton...I could start a side business if it weren't for the fact that I am constantly riding the airline weight limits within 2.8 pounds!
I am sure that last paragraph doesn't read as well as it would play if you could actually hear the accents.
And, speaking of which, Erin you and I thought it was beyond hilarious listening to the locals in Houston order Starbucks??? I will work on perfecting "Grande-nonfat-no foam - extra hot - sugar free - vanilla latte" with an Asian accent. I nearly spewed coffee out my nose when the Barrista barked it back at the top of his lungs. It would have made sense to hear it in Mandarin. In English it just seemed so completely out of place. But somehow as much as it was funny I sort of hate Starbucks for taking over the world...and at the same time I love them passionately for being a familiar sight in a very unfamiliar place.
Today I...am reminded that I am the foreigner and I am ever so lucky that the one language I speak has so far been universal in my travels.
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Today I...may be giving you just a little too much information
So...here is what I love about this blog...people actually care about the fact that I am writing. It sort of blows my mind a little. And so I feel very bad that I had super dodgy internet access in Cairo and couldn't do my usual schtick of crawling into bed at night and waxing either philosophical or hysterically funny depending on my mood.
To make up for lost time I thought I would point form my Egypt experience for you - photos posted on SmugMug for those more inclined to view than to read.
To make up for lost time I thought I would point form my Egypt experience for you - photos posted on SmugMug for those more inclined to view than to read.
- The weather was perfect, gorgeous, clear and sunny and hot and fabulous and consistent. Amazing. Coming from Calgary weather so reliable is almost a miracle.
- The existing hotel - attached to the new hotel I was there to open - was not exactly the kind of property I have become accustomed to staying in. I am spoiled. We have established this. I was mentally prepared. But that didn't matter. I struggled with the hotel to be sure.
- On the morning of my sixth day I was walking down the corridor to the elevator...in my fabulous suit, and my fabulous pumps, with my fabulous swiss army office on wheels...and I had a revelation. "I'm over it. I'm over it. I can deal." When I shared this with my transition / resource team later in the day they collapsed in laughter....even though I had kept all my angst and discomfort to myself they were wondering how long it would take me to accept reality and move on.
- The Cairo "Black and White" Taxi is a cultural experience not to be missed. I will never ever in my life complain about traffic in North America again. There is a wild and innovative and nearly spiritual governance to traffic in Cairo. They make two lanes into four, and four lanes into eight. They communicate eloquently with their horns. And Allah forbid you do not know the unnofficial "rules of the road". For us very white, very homogenous, very North American folk it goes like this: Haggle over price. Agree on what is fair. Get in. Hold on. Trust.
- "If it ain't rubbin' it ain't racin' '" - I believe it was Days of Thunder or some such inane western movie about racing that we all got excited about. Well....that happens every day in a city in Northern Africa that is far more Middle East than African....unless there is a loud thundering CRASH or somebody bleeding, it is just the course of day to day traffic. "If it ain't rubbin' it ain't drivin' "
- Shisha...its herbs. Maybe tobacco. Whatever it is, it smells amazing. It tastes amazing. It is social and connecting. It makes you feel mellow. It melts the entire day away as if it was a mirage.
- The Plague. Let me just hide this little bit of information amoung so many other tidbits, facts, and random thoughts. I got bug bites. My body reacted violently against them. Instead of searching my mini pharmacy (ever present in my luggage) for benadryl I decided to "ride it out". Bad idea. They were persistent and itchy and so frustrating...and then I went to Khan el Khalili....
- Khan el Khalili...you really have to hear me say it, in my best possible Arabic. It is throaty and...well....sort of like hawking a loogie...but this market represented to me a snapshot of life in Cairo that was so real and so cool and yet - so very very very dodgy.
- Khan el Khalili is a market place - a souk - where I thought there would be lots of tourists but I was the only caucasian female. In spite of my three "Infidel Habibis" and one "Arabic Habibi" I got a LOT of attention...and a nasty, scary, third world infection (that I am happy to report succumed to some amoxycillin after 8 days home in North America)
- It is eye opening to be white, and blue eyed, and blonde in such a place....everyone wanted to touch me - know my name - be beside me....I will be forever grateful to my Moroccan Habibi, Fahd, who gave a few Egytpian pounds to the sweet little girls who wanted to hold my hand and in the process broke my heart
- And in addition to a wide open and sad heart I brought home Egyptian treasures from Khan el Khalili...and I brought home the plague. Infection in my right toes and left ankle so bad I worried if anyone laid eyes on it they would not let me fly home....something about that bloke who flew with tuburculosis came to mind. And I selfishly flew home anyway.
- And I was greeted by my friend Greg - and he represented my darling, sweet, dear circle of friends...and he represented HOME...and I don't know if I have ever had a deeper, sweeter sleep in my life than I did that night.
- And now, having had my soul and my body fed...I can't wait to go again.
I love this life I have been granted. I can't wait to see what my passport looks like by January.
Today I...am overwhelmed with the possibility and so grateful for all that keeps me grounded and connected to my home.
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Today I...am shaking the sand out of my knickers...
...and recovering from the mashed potato smack down at Greg & Diana's on the weekend!
I cannot tell you how I was craving some good Alberta farm style cookin'! Clearly not something I am capable of myself so, per usual, I relied on the hospitality and skills of my dear friends and their dear friends and ended up with a heaping plate of Turkey (delicious, perfect, yummy Turkey) and no less than four varieties of mashed potatoes smothered in gravy on my plate and in my very very grateful belly!
I imagine the fact that I needed a four hour nap the following day was more to do with carb overload and sugar shock than an 8 time zones = 8 days of recovery formula.
But, as much as I nearly cried with the joy of getting into my beautiful, soft, delightful bed when I got to return home unexpectedly (two weeks early from Cairo and four weeks early from my original plan)...And as much as I have felt so deeply grateful to hug and kiss my dear friends and look in their eyes and really just see them...I miss the field. I miss the amazing new people I have had the privledge to walk a dry desert road with. I miss the hilarity and adrenalin of a taxi ride in Cairo. I miss the daily wrap up where you can see the accomplishment and pride everyone brings to the table after the longest of long days. I even miss the hazing...well, maybe I don't really miss the hazing. It was painful. But I miss being tested and found to be stronger than perhaps those who sought to call my skills into question thought I would be.
And I miss my new friends as much as I miss my dear, true, lifelong friends when I am away.
So the wonderful thing about that is it tells me - yet again (because I have had so many affirmations) - that I am in the place that is absolutely right for me.
And Today I...am thankful! I feel so rejuvenated by being home and feeling so loved by so many. Today I...am aware that I have a rich life.
Shout out to Joel (who is, and always will be, the wind beneath my wings) for the inspiration for today's blog title.Sunday, 16 September 2007
Today I...am wondering if I should actually be telling you this...
...but I have to because it would just be crazy not to.
The other day I was working away in the Sales office and I happened to glance out the window (yes, they have windows in the office...but if you are reading this and you happen to work in a hotel sales office somewhere else and be jealous of said windows, don't be. The windows definitely do not make up for the rest of the grey environment, the smoke smell, the lack of good equipment, and general disarray I assure you). Walking past the window was a man dressed in dirty grey pants, a dirty striped button down shirt, and scuffed and torn shoes. He had something in his hand.
I took a closer look and said to my colleague from Cairo, "Oh my god, that guy has a gun". She glanced up and nonchelantly said "Meh...he's probably a plain clothes officer". I said "Really? He doesn't really look like one". To which she replied "Well...maybe not in Canada or London (where she is originally from)...but he could definitely be one here".
Alrighty then.
I've gotten used to having to go through metal detectors everywhere I go. Coming into the hotel. The shopping mall. Office towers. And I've gotten used to the 5 or 6 armed guards I see around the hotel every day and the uniformed lads with their machine guns and bomb sniffing dogs at every security check point approaching every hotel I have visited during my competitive set tours. I've even gotten used to the fact that the hotel that I am here to open lists "bullet proof glass" as one of its unique selling features and boasts about it in their local press releases.
But let me tell you what is a bit more difficult to get used to.
The other night during our 6 PM daily wrap up meeting the General Manager of the hotel did his usual "these are the priorities I see for the coming days and I thank you all again for being here" schtick and then he said:
"You are going to think that I am not serious when I say this, but I assure you that I am very serious. Tonight we have staying in our hotel the leaders and senior members of both Fatah and Hamas. They have been invited here by the Egyptian President for meetings. You will definitely see increased security presence around the hotel. I am going to advise you that before you go to bed you should lay out some clothes and your running shoes and ensure your passport is near by. If you hear commotion or an alarm goes off during the night, get dressed, grab your passport, leave the hotel through the back emergency exits and meet on Corniche el Nil, the street that runs behind the hotel."
That brings a whole new meaning to our inside joke about "evacuation outfits" hey Dr. Bonnie? And, to all my peeps at the Sheraton Suites, we've always thought we had the most interesting groups stay with us? I have to say, I never thought I would say that I stayed at the same hotel as not only the ruling violent and extreme political party in Palestine, but that their marginally more sane and peaceful opposition party was there at the same time.
Strangely enough I slept very peacefully that night.
The other day I was working away in the Sales office and I happened to glance out the window (yes, they have windows in the office...but if you are reading this and you happen to work in a hotel sales office somewhere else and be jealous of said windows, don't be. The windows definitely do not make up for the rest of the grey environment, the smoke smell, the lack of good equipment, and general disarray I assure you). Walking past the window was a man dressed in dirty grey pants, a dirty striped button down shirt, and scuffed and torn shoes. He had something in his hand.
I took a closer look and said to my colleague from Cairo, "Oh my god, that guy has a gun". She glanced up and nonchelantly said "Meh...he's probably a plain clothes officer". I said "Really? He doesn't really look like one". To which she replied "Well...maybe not in Canada or London (where she is originally from)...but he could definitely be one here".
Alrighty then.
I've gotten used to having to go through metal detectors everywhere I go. Coming into the hotel. The shopping mall. Office towers. And I've gotten used to the 5 or 6 armed guards I see around the hotel every day and the uniformed lads with their machine guns and bomb sniffing dogs at every security check point approaching every hotel I have visited during my competitive set tours. I've even gotten used to the fact that the hotel that I am here to open lists "bullet proof glass" as one of its unique selling features and boasts about it in their local press releases.
But let me tell you what is a bit more difficult to get used to.
The other night during our 6 PM daily wrap up meeting the General Manager of the hotel did his usual "these are the priorities I see for the coming days and I thank you all again for being here" schtick and then he said:
"You are going to think that I am not serious when I say this, but I assure you that I am very serious. Tonight we have staying in our hotel the leaders and senior members of both Fatah and Hamas. They have been invited here by the Egyptian President for meetings. You will definitely see increased security presence around the hotel. I am going to advise you that before you go to bed you should lay out some clothes and your running shoes and ensure your passport is near by. If you hear commotion or an alarm goes off during the night, get dressed, grab your passport, leave the hotel through the back emergency exits and meet on Corniche el Nil, the street that runs behind the hotel."
That brings a whole new meaning to our inside joke about "evacuation outfits" hey Dr. Bonnie? And, to all my peeps at the Sheraton Suites, we've always thought we had the most interesting groups stay with us? I have to say, I never thought I would say that I stayed at the same hotel as not only the ruling violent and extreme political party in Palestine, but that their marginally more sane and peaceful opposition party was there at the same time.
Strangely enough I slept very peacefully that night.
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