I was so eager to go home after nearly three months in the Middle East. I’d begun thinking about all the things I was looking forward to—the evening air cooled by the sea, Mexican food (REAL Mexican food!), our bed (and pillows and sheets!). Then, almost at the last minute, I was asked to stay an extra eight days. Laura went home (then on to Kansas with Dani) on our original date of May 16. I returned home May 24.
Laura was supposed to go to Kansas on the 24th with Dani, but with me arriving on that day we pushed her and Dani’s travels to Kansas about 36 hours so we’d have a couple evenings and a day overlap just to enjoy our time at home together. I landed on a Thursday afternoon, I took a day off and we had Friday together, then Laura and Dani flew out early Saturday morning, which left the weekend for me to relax and recuperate from my jet lag, which was heavy duty after three months in Abu Dhabi.
Going back to work the following Monday was easy enough, but I realized my heart wasn’t in it. I had had a really hard time leaving the team in Abu Dhabi, the work far from done, the project in the heat (literally and figuratively) of the action, the peak of activity. I felt I had abandoned them, a bit.
The Abu Dhabi team uses WeChat (a messaging app), broken down into attraction groups and other distinct teams. Each group is part of a team chat and a person can be on multiple groups and many chats. Given my role as Executive Creative Director, I’m on most chats. So when I’d wake up in the morning in Los Angeles there would be 80, 100, 120 chats waiting for me on my nightstand. There would be another dozen or more in the more private Google Hangouts (which were limited to Thinkwellians, and not the broader Project Delivery Team which includes vendors, general contractor, and client), and another few dozen project-specific emails. I would consume all of them, attempting to not get out of touch with what was going on.
Don’t get me wrong—I was very happy to be home. I had Mexican at least four times over three weeks. Laura and I went to our favorite sushi place a couple of times. We enjoyed the cool night air by opening our windows every evening and having a relaxing conversation on the deck. We slept in bliss (such bliss!) in our own bed (and with our own pillows, lying between our own sheets). And we saw friends, enjoyed cooking our favorite foods, and simply took it easy at home.
It was a nice “vacation” to go home for a little bit, but I’m glad to be back in Abu Dhabi. We have a monumental task ahead of us, but it’s coming together.
And, this time, we didn’t get stuck in Istanbul!
You've worked so hard and with great passion on this project, I can understand how difficult it was for you to be detached from your team. Being one of the recipients to bask in the pleasure of your company when you were back, however, makes me say, "Get over it Buddy. We need you here!!" 😘
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