MinnesotaMel

A week of firsts

Wow, it has been a good week, full of many new things. First, the First Baghdad Management Retreat went very smoothly. There was great conversation about our strategic goals and mission statement, excellent engagement in the idea of being revolutionary, in a good way, in the way we do business, and laughter and learning had by all. I was disappointed that one of my bosses had to miss the big day because of other pressing concerns, but she was even more disappointed, so I know that if things could have happened any other way, she would have been there. My other boss did a great job of leading the way for both of them.

Last night I got to drive in the International Zone for the first time. So what if it was only for 3 blocks...so what if the top speed (because of speed bumps) was 15 mph. I was driving.

First trip to the liquor store...the military lives under General Order #1 here- no booze while in country. The State Department is not that strict with us. I have heard a lot about the little liquor store, and finally made my first journey there to buy $20 bottles of $3 wine. My wallet is lighter, but it is great to be able to end a long day with a glass of wine.

First middle of the night "duck and cover" alarm since I arrived. Though we are in the apartments, which are hard cover and designed to withstand incoming mortar rounds, the compound has an alarm system which gives us advance warning of incoming objects so that we can get cover. We are advised to move from our bedrooms into the central area when the alarm goes off, and this is advice I am going to heed, even in the middle of the night. It was tough to get back to sleep after the alarm though.

posted by MinnesotaMel @ 9:41 AM