Wednesday, September 10, 2003

What a full day today was with me having to do things I was not expecting to do.

Though today was suppose to be a day for me to be dealing with the stone factory and other business related work, I got a call this morning from people working for NK Arts tell the work I gave them they were unable to do, which means they could not resolve some very important tasks that had to be taken care of today for sure, or else we were looking at not having the festival.

I was left with no choice but to get in my car and drive all the way to Stepanagert and resolve those issues that they could have very easily resolved. Yes, most of those things they claimed were going to impossible to do, I resolved in about a whole 5 minutes. And I went to the same place they claimed to have gone to resolve those issues. To say the least, I was not at all happy.

Then a trip to Shushi, no, two trips to Shushi to make sure things were being done right and guess what? I had to adjust work there too.

Then in Stepanagert, I was being given these outrageous prices from my people for just about everything that needed to be done, so after a couple of phone calls, I called in my people from Martuni, including one construction person who will do come cement work tomorrow for 25% the price (which is the real going rate) for a job they said they could get done for no less than the price they were telling me.

Then as I'm getting ready to leave for Martuni (this was 7 PM), one of our people comes form a meeting with a restaurant owner to give us a price on what the meals for our visitors is going to cost. I could not believe the price and it was decided that we would do the meals ourselves and the person that was suppose to be arranging all this (the guy that came with the restaurant price) ends up in the end, dropping the whole thing in my lap. So instead of killing him right there on the spot, we sat down together and made out a menu and then I sat behind a computer and made the shopping list and also called someone in Shushi to find me quick a cooking and cleaning staff for the kitchen, which I did. In the end, I was able to cut the price of meals in half.

I finally got out of Stepanagert at 2 AM and though I should have been really pissed off, I was smiling and thinking that when this whole festival is over, I'm going to pat myself on the back for a job well done, as this was a great test of what I am capable of doing and this only proves that according to the locals, from everything they were telling each other with the impossible tasks I was able to do today in a matter of a few hours, this means that I really am capable of doing the impossible, meaning that just maybe my vision of making this country into something good is in fact truly ascertainable.

Well it's now 3:30 and I think my body deserves a rest, as I have to be back in Shushi tomorrow by 5 PM to make the rice pilaf, as what my menu calls out for, I'm going to have to show them the first time how to make it.

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