Work

As a consultant, you’re often not allowed to talk about your who your clients are, and certainly not details of your work. One of my best friends in London (a consultant) used to take this very seriously. All he would say about his client was that it was a major manufacturer of mobile telephones. The problem was that he kept flying to Helsinki. Needless to say, I would tease him mercilessly about this. He would also talk about how he wasn’t allowed to invest in stocks in the company, or those of any direct competitor; the only thing he was allowed to invest in was index funds (sort of like a basket of companies put together). So I went online and found something called “Hextech”, or the “Helsinki Technology Index” (about 90% of which is a certain manufacturer of mobile phones named Nokia), and told him to invest in that. He didn’t think I was very funny.

The reason I mention this is that now the shoe is on the other foot. I have just started work, and a number of my friends have been asking me what I am working on. However, I have been told in no uncertain terms not to talk about my project, if I want to keep my job and avoid causing an international incident. I’m sure my friend in London had similar reasons, and kind of feel like I owe him an apology now for all the teasing. Maybe I’ll tell him that when he comes to visit me in Dubai.

Let it suffice to say that I am extremely excited about my first three days at work. I feel passionate about my first project, like I am working on exactly what I have always wanted to work on (and the better you know me, the more you know what that means). I will say, though, that the amount of Red Bull, coffee and chocolate in the office kitchen is rather alarming... and my travel schedule looks like it will be a bit hectic, given that it started on my third day on the job, and it looks like I'll be spending time in both Lebanon and the US in the next few weeks. Indeed, I am writing these words from Beirut.

Ask me how I’m doing in a couple of months.