My Resolution is……

I'm writing this at 2130 on Wednesday 4 July. I left Dubai last night at 2350 which was 2 hours later than it should have been because of the bad behaviour of a gentleman from Saudi who caused us to miss our takeoff slot by behaving badly enough to force the Captain flying the plane to call the police. He was eventually allowed to stay on when he apologised but must have done something bad because the crew told me that he was to be banned from returning with Fly Dubai and I saw police at the gate so I assume they were called for something to do with him. Interestingly I may find out because I filled in a witness report contemporaneously from about 2150. 

I didn't get much sleep and have been partying fairly hard in the "last week of term" so today has been tough.

Anyway, I arrived at 0600 and was picked up by the lovely Brayen who is newly returned from Russia although sadly without his new bride who will be joining the family in a few weeks. Despite being lovelorn he pulled himself together and we had a day of great accomplishments and progress. We  went straight to my place on which great progress had been made (photos to come) in my absence. Nonetheless the family had come to an end of the things they could do without my presence to provide cash and to make decisions. We bought breakfast and went to his place where we picked up his parents and I woke up his little brother. I texted my bank manager to say I was coming and she responded to say they were waiting at 0830 so off we went. The customer service at Sampath Bank is astonishing - the manager had already written out all the paperwork so all I had to do was sign and she had the money ready because I asked my rep in Dubai, Amila, to tell her I was coming. Fabulous.

Then we went to Singer Mega where they sell all manner of electric goods and have a peculiar approach to pricing in that they only price some items it seems. I was cranky from lack of sleep and we'd had a bad experience at Abans where an incompetent sales guy lied to me one too many times and I walked out without any white goods at all. So I'm afraid we took a rather robust line with Roshan who helped us there. He was up to the task and they delivered within hours and were super accommodating. I like these guys.

Next we went to Arpico. I'm trying not to shop there if I can instead go to a family owned store but sometimes you just seem to have no choice and it does have a liquor store and is air-conditioned. It also plays music that I know all the words too in most of the store - if you don't' like loud, annoying music then avoid the electrical aisle where I almost died or committed murder this morning when wandering aimlessly around the store trying to work out where the great jug I noticed there before and imagine filling with a long, cool drink when friends visit is. 

Finally we went to a shop whose name I don't know and could never find again where a host of lovely guys sold us light fittings and bulbs (although the electrician now says they're the wrong ones but that's our fault I'm assuming). They were Muslim and we talked about their Haj. The electricians then assessed what needs to be done and promise to be here at 9 in the morning and will do all the final bits and pieces and I'll go from not really having juice or light where I need it to having globe lamps along the lagoon that I can dim! I'll be amazed if they do as we kept them waiting around for aged. They turned up before the light fittings so the electricians (who disconcertingly look about 14) hung about patiently and helped the Singer Mega guys unpack so that now I have a kitchenful of appliances that will all be plumbed, fitted or whatever else they need doing to them by tomorrow evening. See, although people may turn up 2 hours late that means they are pretty accommodating when, as is inevitable it seems, something happens to change the best-laid plans. Like finding a dead bird on the ground and having to deal with that before the crows eat it (eurgh!) or a frog in the kitchen (all will be reclaimed from all animals tomorrow) as we clean out the final remainders of rubbish and building materials. Anyway, apparently these guys are really trustworthy so I'm confident.

I'm certainly pleased with what they've done so far and it is a new joy to be in Sri Lanka and  writing on a computer that is plugged in and with some light so that I am not in complete darkness. Although it will be better still when we have light shades and not just the bare bulb. Can't imagine how much better it's going to be when everything is bought and we have all you need to live a civilised life. I reckon we're about a week away if everyone does what they say they're going to do. Luckily there is no Pula (spell?)  for a few weeks and no big Catholic or Muslim holidays either so our pool of potential people who can do stuff   is wide and people are less likely to just bugger off to worship or party. Fingers crossed or, as I found myself saying  a lot today, Inshallah. I also get to get everything properly cleared and to buy stuff like a cupboard or shelves so that I can unpack. So that will be fun too. 

I will miss brushing my teeth outside at dusk or at night, looking out at the little boats with their lights on, men fishing and occasionally chatting or having a cigarette, and wondering if the noise of my electric toothbrush can be heard by them. In fact I might just keep on doing it; just because one has a functioning, clean indoor bathroom (by Friday I hope). This seems like an easier resolution to keep than to write a book.Which is something else I'm going to do this Summer along with yoga and a massage  every day and lots of fresh fruit. We've developed a training programme around managing in a matrix  based on our experiences and interviews with business leaders. I want to write the book to go along with it over the Summer - I am under no illusions that I am the best writer on the planet but I think I can write fairly clearly and concisely and that the stuff we have to say may seem obvious to some but it simply isn't to many. Anyway, I'm clearly not out of work mode yet but that should happen by Saturday and as soon as I have internet and can start my other resolution of only checking email once a day, clearing it and then doing something on the long list of things I love doing but never seem to make time for in Dubai if I want to work. And reading. Lots. I've been introduced to two new authors recently. Haruki  Murakami  is one and Dave Eggers is the other. Really wonderful in very different ways although they both have a style where there are no unnecessary words. I love that and singularly fail to do it myself sadly although 

1) I am trying and

2) I don't really expect anyone to read this I suppose.

Which begs the question why write it and I've been asking myself that recently.

Well, I suppose that I hope writing today's ridiculously long epistle  will help me cleanse my mind after the eventful time I've had over the couple of months since I last left here and so let me sleep. There is so much to do and I really want to get it done quickly so I can relax and veg. Or write a book of course.  Also I am missing the internet and it's ability to let me connect with the world. Is that sad? I'm frustrated I can't call some people as the pay as you go mobile eats credit and I haven't got it together to buy enough yet. Use my home phone I don't hear you cry? Well yes, I would as I can't Skype but it's not charged yet and so can't be used. So I've been reading a great book a friend of mine gave me called "The Wind-up bird chronicle" by Haruki Murakami . It's wonderful. I'm really enjoying it but I want to stop for a little while and let it sink in. So, if by some crazy chance anybody is reading my inane twitterings, forgive me the long post and I promise to play nicely and keep them short from now on as I know my brother, Alan, at least has already stopped reading a long time ago. And he would be annoyed by this display of lack of blogging etiquette (witness his nastiness to me on Twitter recently ). Anyway I know Lanka Logger will understand as I found myself calling her (lovely but a stranger albeit one whose posts I always read and enjoy, who has already done me a favour or two and who's coming to drinks with her husband tomorrow.) to share my excitement at the kitchen stuff arriving. And I don't think she thought I was completely insane. I suppose I'm also a little nervous here on my own the first night as I get used to the environment and so writing helps. I know from past experience I'll be much happier tomorrow when I've settled in properly.

Right now I'm tired and I'm going back to my book and try to sleep. Or I might listen to The Infinite Monkey Cage LINK which this week is about whether size matters. I have it on podcast so it doesn't depend on Sri Lanka Telecom LINK doing what they say they will when they say they will which is something I'm starting to learn to expect. Tomorrow is another long day of trying and sometimes failing to get stuff done but, I hope, seeing great progress very fast. But finishing at 5 to have drinks with Lanka Logger and her husband. I'm going to try to make a negroni which is another new thing I learned about recently and are yummy enough to be worth hulking 3 bottles through duty-free from Dubai because you forget you could get duty free in Sri Lanka on arrival and, indeed, just buy booze. Although mostly they sell electrical goods there which makes me wonder if I couldn't have saved myself a fortune buying the stuff I needed on the way in. Does anybody know the answer to that?