Happy Canada Day everyone. I am proudly flying the flag in my office. My hopes for the future are on the rise. We have a new government in Canada and a new government in Iraq. The Canadian dollar is strong – something which does me no real good – but it is good for our country’s morale. And now we are into the month that will bring me home from Iraq. For good! Strike up the band.
The US and Iraqi authorities pulled a fast one on the terrorists by having the handover two days early. Even though there have been the usual assortment of bombs and attacks over the last couple of days, June 30th has passed and the anticipated mayhem did not occur. For that, everyone here was very thankful. Our Chairman declared June 30th to be a holiday, nonetheless, and with a half day on Thursday and the Sabbath on Friday, the office is very quiet this week. Heck, the whole country has been fairly quiet, compared with the days before the handover.
I continue work on a large number of projects, but now that I have five new Project Managers working for my department, my role is much more that of a mentor and less of an implementer. I like that, since I am carefully weaning my team of my services in hopes that they will be self-sustaining after my departure. Our biggest task is the new office build in the hotel across the street. Through executive order, we are doing a number of the tasks internally, rather than contracting them out. This has caused a week of delay and I am now quite sure the project will not be done before I leave. Our CEO can micro-manage it to his heart’s content at that point.
In deference to the wishes of my lovely wife, and to stem the tide of my own rising guilt, I took up a mini-exercise regimen a couple of weeks ago. If computer work burned calories, I’d be a rail. I’m not, so to avoid any risk of hurting myself carrying my suitcase (or closing it), I thought I’d do a bit of a workout each morning. Since then, I have been in constant pain. Most recently it is a pulled back muscle and associated back spasms, limiting me to doing exactly what I was doing before – sitting at my desk. Only now, I get to sit in pain, so where’s the logic? My suggestion that all Dr. Atkins’ dieting did him no good when he died after a slip and fall accident, and the hypothesis that he might still be alive if his center of gravity were lower, continue to fall on deaf ears. They say what doesn’t kill one makes one stronger. Have you noticed that they never talk about the ones who are killed? One good thing though. I’ve found that a stiff drink of whiskey before bed eliminates the back spasms. Marvelous medicine, that.
So, of course, I get back to the hotel and they tell me that due to renovations being extended to the FOURTH floor, I had to move all my stuff to the first floor. Immediately. Which meant that I really got to give the old sore back a workout. When I checked everything in the room to make sure it worked (I have learned), I neglected to check the showerhead. So I got up the next morning and had to settle for splashing myself with running water. I simply cannot bring myself to sit down in the bathtub. I have found various critters in the tub on occasion but a recent guest was the largest cockroach I have ever seen. I finally managed to wash him down the drain but he put up a fierce struggle. I know my description cannot do justice to the mammoth cockroach so here is a visual aid. Don't thank me. Yetchh!!
Since my thoughts drift continuously toward my upcoming trip home, I decided to order a cover for our outboard motor. Although Heather might have settled for a generic type of cover, I felt it necessary to order the cover of covers from an outfit in BC. It is even green to match the boat. I’m very excited to see how the final product looks. Ordering a few things from afar sure gives me a sense of being closer to home. I'm still not allowed to proactively order a few yards of topsoil though.
The advertising picture is blue, so I added a small swatch of green so that you have an idea how it will look. I ordered "Tweed Green" to help hide the dust on the Black Lake road. It’s amazing how small things brighten one’s day here. Do you get that sense too?
Roaches and motor covers aside, our work here continues. So have a happy day or three.Steve