Almost three months

With Labor Day around the corner, I’ve been here about three months. It seems like forever, honestly. I miss Guangzhou very much – especially the staff there; there cannot possibly be any better  -- but am completely at home here in Istanbul.

My standing desk arrived in my shipments, and I finally got around to getting it to the office and switching over to it. I’m now back at the helm of my section, feeling like Captain Kirk. The layout of the office is different, so I don’t physically oversee my people, but when people walk in from outside, I can greet them at eye level.

Between that and unloading all my stuff in my apartment, it’s officially home. I do still need to hang some pictures, but not rush. And if you can believe this, I’ve no idea what they are. I hadn’t intended to get any of my “décor” delivered, but apparently some of my stuff was crammed into the boxes I requested. So I have a few knickknack things and five framed photos. They are still wrapped up in bubble wrap, my plan it to surprise myself once I get the nails up. They have to be old advertisements, though, since that’s pretty much all I have. Or at least all that I can remember.

Work is still incredibly insane. We’re in a status right now that requires tracking employees who are traveling and it’s a lot of paperwork and chasing people down. Some people don’t seem to understand the concept of “if you are leaving the city, please notify me.” It doesn’t seem unclear, but boy, some folks have a tough time grasping it.

This past weekend, I worked both days on two different projects, just trying to get caught up. The saving grace is that Tuesday is a holiday, but there’s another project I’d take on if they’d let me.

However, next week is Labor Day and then the entire week after that is another post-Ramadan holiday. I am getting out of town for both, which means Sept. 24 will be the next weekend I’m in town.

I’ve been blessed with another fantastic travel post and look forward to sightseeing in the area. For Labor Day weekend, I am meeting a friend in Tiblisi, and then I plan on spending the big holiday in Israel and maybe Amman. After that, I’ll look inside Turkey before wandering back out again. There are just so many options.