Week 1

Today marks my first full week in Manama.  I had been mispronouncing its name.  It is 'mah NAH mah'.  It has been a very hectic week.  Meetings take up most of my day.  So far, everyone has been great.  The people here are really and genuinely friendly.  The staff is made up mostly of Bahrainis and Indians but there several others from Jordan, Pakistan, and Palestine.  The first three days were thick with dust.  It was like fog for the entire time.  You couldn't see more than a mile.  The weather has been over 100 degrees every day but the humidity has remained low...thankfully.  That will change soon.  Because we are south of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is actually north of us during the day.  Because of that, the sun rises at about 4AM but sets at about 6PM.  The nice thing is that we get 12 hours of sunlight or more daily.  Take that January!

I am awaiting my CPR...not sure of the acronym...which is my resident card.  Before I can get that I need to find housing so I have a permanent residence.  I have settled on an apartment in a high rise with sea and skyline views just a few miles from the office.  It is on the 24th floor and I can see the property from the windows and spacious balcony.  I had been to several areas.  One of them was literally a block away from where all of the protests ahd been a year ago.  Driving through the police checkpoint with the machine guns and shotguns was a little off-putting.  I decided against that area.  My office is also on the 24th floor and looks back at my apartment.  It has a fantastic fitness center and enormous pool.  Pictures to follow after I move in.  Hopefully I will move in early next week so I may leave the hotel.  Part of the hassle is getting my back account set up.  I was provided a PRO who is helping me with all of these items to help get me settled.  It is hard to imagine what a task this would be without him.

I tried to post a video to the blog showing all of the turbines working at the same time.  It is quite spectacular.  They generator several hundred kW daily.  You can see the blades of the propellors from the elevator lobby and they are enormous.

The first few days were torturous.  I was only sleeping a few hours at a time.  Finally, Tuesday night I was able to sleep through the night.  It was a combination nerves, jet lag, anxiety and insomnia.  Things are better now.

The work week is Sunday through Thursday.  By the time most of you back home are starting your week, I have completed my first two days.  The hours are Su-W 8-4 and Th 8-3.  It's a sweet gig if you can get it.  Unfortunately, I doubt I will be able to work only those hours and get everything accomplished.  With over two hundred tenants and a major renovation coupled with needing to learn the history of the property, my hours are likely to be much greater.

I am trying to join the Ritz Carlton sports club, but the waiting list is 2 years out.  My PRO has connections so that may work out for me afterall.  It is only a mile or so from the apartment and has a HUGE lagoon, beach, fitness center, and marina.  It is like a tropical paradise.  I REALLY hope my connections have the right connections.  It is very expensive, but with so limited green space, it would be energizing and worth the cost.  Regardless, tomorrow I will go to the Royal Golf Club where I am meeting the membership director.  Either way I will have options for my freetime.

I finally drove for the first time yesterday.  It was a scary situation.  Others will just pull in front of you, cut you off, stop dead to drop people off, and pedestrians, with very few sidewalks, just walk the streets in front of you.  On top of that, there are all of these small delivery motorcycles that squeeze in wherever they can.  They are hard to see.  I fear hitting someone.

I really miss my kid and my dogs and all of you.  I hope all is well in Minneapolis or whereever you may be reading this.

Next week I hope to include more photos to go along with this update.  If I have time, I plan to update this prior to that.  In the meantime, here is a photo of my office.  It has a spectacular view.

Office view to the east.  The windows on the north were too dirty to include but they are in process of getting cleaned.  The dust here is so heavy that the windows are constantly being washed.



My future home in the distance.  It is only 1 year old.  The best part is that it is on the southside of the building so I don't get the summer sun and the balcony is shaded all day.  My unit is approximately half way up.  There are only 8 units per floor so it is very spacious.