I am posting early, because Friday afternoon I board a Luftunsa flight connecting through Germany arriving in Dubai late Saturday evening. I come back on July 3rd. This is a business trip, but I am so looking forward to seeing Rodz for the first time in 19 months. Hopefully I will still be able to post on the first....
Looking forward to seeing Vinny, Kelly, Juan, Reem, Joseph, Jethesh, and JR...I have plans to spend time with each one of them, and keep the evenings for Rodz...
keep me in your thoughts and prayers!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
I am Violated in Florida...
Where to start this week...New job? Move to Florida? Rodz's upcoming June 30 interview? My upcoming trip to the UAE? or The story involving the Palm Beach Sheriff's Department, and the deputy that just left my new pad...
I moved into my new 3 bedroom townhouse last Sunday. It is brand new almost 2,000 sq. feet of happiness. I love it! It is in the West Palm Beach area (2 miles from the Atlantic Ocean) 4 miles from Fred and Debbie's new home. It is a waterfront property overlooking a nice lake. Very peaceful. My mom flew down from Virginia to help me unpack. We made a lot of progress this week. By the way, a very weird thing happened this week with my mother. As she and I were dining Thursday and talking about my old Lebanon, Virginia friends. I asked her about Billy Rhea. Billy is about 5 years older than me and used to give me odd jobs to do in the summer while I was in high school (cut grass/paint barn) I think just to help me with money. I have not talked to mom about Billy, or heard anything about him for probably over 20 years. When mom got back home to Lebanon this evening, she called me and said that in the paper she saw that Billy Rhea had passed away this past week and was buried on Thursday, the day I asked about him....eerie to say the least...
Some of you already know that I have begun an export company, that is selling various food service products to the UAE. It has started slowly, but that being said already have two container loads of food on the way to Dubai. I planned on going to Dubai on June 30th to accompany Rodz to her interview with Homeland Security and make some sales calls to help my fledgling business. So today I was looking for my passport so that I could book a flight (it was going to be a surprise for Rodz). I looked through all of my desk stuff and could not find my passport. So, I thought I would look later, and I headed to the furniture store to buy some new furniture for my new abode. I priced out what I wanted, thought I would check my bank account to see exactly what I had available to spend, and was unpleasantly alerted to a mysterious $600 check/withdrawal. It was a forged check that was apparently stolen from my desk by my professional un-packers (check was cashed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). I then realized where my passport was (packed in same box)...I called the police, they made a report, but I have to go to the bank Monday morning to close my account and report the forgery. I also have to notify the US Government of my stolen passport (believe it or not my movers were Russians) and see how fast and how much they will charge to get me a new passport. I feel violated....
I was rereading some of my old posts that I had written while I was in Dubai, and discovered that I used to write a pretty good blog....Sorry that I am not as interesting as I used to be. I could write about what a joke our current governments foreign policy is, but I think you would have to live under a bridge with no TV or internet not to already realize that. I could tell you cute Rodz stories, but half of what makes them enjoyable is listening to my imitation of her...lol.
You are probably reading this on Father's Day, if you are Happy Fathers Day! My dad is still going strong at 84 and I can't wait for he and mom to come visit Rodz and I this Thanksgiving...Hopefully, I will have a successful Rodz interview story to pass along on July 1st. See you here, then! RIP- Billy Rhea 1957 - 2014. Sorry I never thanked you properly for the kindness you showed me in my youth....
I moved into my new 3 bedroom townhouse last Sunday. It is brand new almost 2,000 sq. feet of happiness. I love it! It is in the West Palm Beach area (2 miles from the Atlantic Ocean) 4 miles from Fred and Debbie's new home. It is a waterfront property overlooking a nice lake. Very peaceful. My mom flew down from Virginia to help me unpack. We made a lot of progress this week. By the way, a very weird thing happened this week with my mother. As she and I were dining Thursday and talking about my old Lebanon, Virginia friends. I asked her about Billy Rhea. Billy is about 5 years older than me and used to give me odd jobs to do in the summer while I was in high school (cut grass/paint barn) I think just to help me with money. I have not talked to mom about Billy, or heard anything about him for probably over 20 years. When mom got back home to Lebanon this evening, she called me and said that in the paper she saw that Billy Rhea had passed away this past week and was buried on Thursday, the day I asked about him....eerie to say the least...
Some of you already know that I have begun an export company, that is selling various food service products to the UAE. It has started slowly, but that being said already have two container loads of food on the way to Dubai. I planned on going to Dubai on June 30th to accompany Rodz to her interview with Homeland Security and make some sales calls to help my fledgling business. So today I was looking for my passport so that I could book a flight (it was going to be a surprise for Rodz). I looked through all of my desk stuff and could not find my passport. So, I thought I would look later, and I headed to the furniture store to buy some new furniture for my new abode. I priced out what I wanted, thought I would check my bank account to see exactly what I had available to spend, and was unpleasantly alerted to a mysterious $600 check/withdrawal. It was a forged check that was apparently stolen from my desk by my professional un-packers (check was cashed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). I then realized where my passport was (packed in same box)...I called the police, they made a report, but I have to go to the bank Monday morning to close my account and report the forgery. I also have to notify the US Government of my stolen passport (believe it or not my movers were Russians) and see how fast and how much they will charge to get me a new passport. I feel violated....
I was rereading some of my old posts that I had written while I was in Dubai, and discovered that I used to write a pretty good blog....Sorry that I am not as interesting as I used to be. I could write about what a joke our current governments foreign policy is, but I think you would have to live under a bridge with no TV or internet not to already realize that. I could tell you cute Rodz stories, but half of what makes them enjoyable is listening to my imitation of her...lol.
You are probably reading this on Father's Day, if you are Happy Fathers Day! My dad is still going strong at 84 and I can't wait for he and mom to come visit Rodz and I this Thanksgiving...Hopefully, I will have a successful Rodz interview story to pass along on July 1st. See you here, then! RIP- Billy Rhea 1957 - 2014. Sorry I never thanked you properly for the kindness you showed me in my youth....
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Goodbye Missouri, Hello Florida!
Sometimes in life you must make bold choices in the hopes of brightening your future. If things go according to your plan, the decision looks easy and wise in retrospect. If your move turns out to be a false step in your life, hopefully you learn from that mistake and avoid repeating it. Often that hardest risk/reward decision is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity. Well, I have mad that decision, and hopefully I will be blessed as a result.
In my new career, it made sense (at least to me) that I relocate to Florida. If you have to move to an area, why not move close to your best friend. I flew down last week and Fred was there to help me look for a new place to live. We found a beautiful new town house overlooking the water in the Lake Worth/Lantana (West Palm Beach) area. It has everything I was looking for (pictures next blog) and happens to be 5 minutes from Fred and Debbie's new home in Lake Worth. Life is good. This past week and the coming week are all about saying goodbye to my colleagues and customers in Missouri and arranging my 1200 mile move.
I really hate that I am leaving Springfield almost exactly 14 months from my relocation here from Dubai. I will say that it has probably been my favorite city that I have lived in. Deciding to quit my current job and leave the warm comfortable working conditions that Todd has provided was a very tough decision and I probably would not have made it, without the support and blessing of Todd. He has been a true and loyal friend.
I have spent the past week making the tour around the region introducing my customers to their new rep and saying good bye and thanking them for the opportunity. It has been tough, I never like goodbyes. Some of my Springfield coworkers are planning on some goodbye parties/dinners/lunches this week. My moving truck leaves for Florida this Friday. Rodz is excited about the move to Florida, one look online at the Palm trees and the no frost winter made this exciting news for her. I am in the middle of packing, so new details about my career and upcoming trip to Dubai, will have to wait a couple of weeks....Hang in there with me!
In my new career, it made sense (at least to me) that I relocate to Florida. If you have to move to an area, why not move close to your best friend. I flew down last week and Fred was there to help me look for a new place to live. We found a beautiful new town house overlooking the water in the Lake Worth/Lantana (West Palm Beach) area. It has everything I was looking for (pictures next blog) and happens to be 5 minutes from Fred and Debbie's new home in Lake Worth. Life is good. This past week and the coming week are all about saying goodbye to my colleagues and customers in Missouri and arranging my 1200 mile move.
I really hate that I am leaving Springfield almost exactly 14 months from my relocation here from Dubai. I will say that it has probably been my favorite city that I have lived in. Deciding to quit my current job and leave the warm comfortable working conditions that Todd has provided was a very tough decision and I probably would not have made it, without the support and blessing of Todd. He has been a true and loyal friend.
I have spent the past week making the tour around the region introducing my customers to their new rep and saying good bye and thanking them for the opportunity. It has been tough, I never like goodbyes. Some of my Springfield coworkers are planning on some goodbye parties/dinners/lunches this week. My moving truck leaves for Florida this Friday. Rodz is excited about the move to Florida, one look online at the Palm trees and the no frost winter made this exciting news for her. I am in the middle of packing, so new details about my career and upcoming trip to Dubai, will have to wait a couple of weeks....Hang in there with me!
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