coming up for air

Still crazy busy here. I started an entry yesterday and never got around to finishing it....5 days until I leave for the US. :-) Spoke to Mr. James Tuesday night and received about eight e-mails from him yesterday. His is loving the adventure thus far. He wrote that besides meeting and marrying me, Pakistan is one of the most amazing experiences of his life. The job itself is exactly as he expected. He's been assigned 30 work sites around Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi (sp?), and he basically needs to visit them regularly and report progress, as well as get things moving when projects stall. It is technically more complicated than this; he does need to know many things about erecting mobile phone masts, which he does. But one thing he realized in Amsterdam: he's not cut out to be a paper pusher, and this job is certainly not that. The Urdu phrase book has already come in handy, he reports. He wrote the Pakistanis on the work site really appreciated the effort he made in throwing out a few Urdu greetings and expressions. I always tell people visiting places where different languages are spoken that you certainly don't need to be fluent in the language. Just knowing 30 or so basic things will get you much further than if you just sit there and speak English in a loud voice. The only negative point Mr. James noted was the pollution. On a good day visibility is a couple kilometers at best. There is a good chance this project may be extended to six months; if so, I intend to take a trip there myself. :-) Can't imagine the hassles I'll get, though, when I next visit the US and have a Pakistan visa in my passport.... I've been busy with work this week and chasing delinquent invoices with two clients. One is just ridiculous. I haven't been paid $1400 for invoices going back to October because the department heads and the accounting department couldn't decide whether the St. Louis office or the Toronto office should pay me (I have done the work through the St. Louis office, but it's for a book to be published in Canada.) Just Tuesday, they decided I would have to be paid through Toronto, so now my invoices have been sent there. Who knows how long it will take for them to pay me, especially with the holidays, etc. The second client has a year-end cutoff date of December 5th for invoices, and then they begin cutting checks again the second week of January. I submitted an invoice November 18th, weeks before the cutoff, but the editor never processed it, so I haven't been paid again. I spent four hours corresponding with people about this Wednesday, and their final concession was to Fed Ex the check in January. Do these people not think I have bills to pay, that I would like to buy Christmas presents, etc? How would they like it if their paychecks were held inexplicably for two months?! In the case of the St. Louis/Toronto debacle, I cannot fault my editor. He has been great chasing the invoice and putting rushes on them; the decision was made above his head. But in the second case, I discussed with Mr. James, and I will be sending my resignation letter Monday. I have worked for this company in some capacity for more than 11 years, and this last event has been the straw that broke the camel's back. I accepted their paycuts last year because I had to, but now I have plenty other clients to make up the difference, and I can use the extra time I'll have to focus on my writing. I just cannot accept that there is no one in their accounting department who can write a check and mail it to me before January 6th, particularly because the mistake was the client's, not mine. Okay, enough rant. :-) C. came over last night and went on the dog walk with me and the pups. He and M.A. will be watching the dogs and C.K. while I'm in the US. I showed him all their favorite bathroom spots, and they have all bonded quite well. Honestly I think the dogs will be happier staying at home rather than in the kennel, even though they are well taken care of there. The last time we left them for two weeks in the kennel, poor little Mr. Beebs worried so that he gave himself a urinary tract infection.... My plan for the next few days is to work this weekend, do my shopping on the coast Monday (and early too, to avoid the chaos at the shops), tie up loose ends and pack Tuesday. I am having dinner with D. and U. tomorrow night, L. Sunday night, and M.A. is coming for dinner and instruction on using the DVD player Monday night. Will certainly need a vacation after the sendoffs. :-) I am so looking forward to seeing everyone. I was on the phone with my sister until 2am Wednesday. The last time I saw my niece, she was just starting to walk; now she is singing Jingle Bells to me on the phone and can count to 7 in Spanish. I told Cora not to worry; Mr. James still has trouble remembering 9, which can be a problem at self-serve gas stations. Nueve, Mr. James, nueve. hasta pronto, mylifeinspain