I saw this match live. I was in Qatar pretending to be a manager 😉

I managed an advertising company, and later a LED startup as well. The two companies were just divisions in a multi billion holding company. They had business in retail, real estate, transportation, Travel, etc. It's a family business. The Managing Director was a very decent and respectable man. I had almost full power and authority over the companies I managed.

The Advertising company is a success and the LED company ended miserably 😫

But let me tell you about my first day in Qatar 😱

The start was good. 

After landing and while standing in line for immigration and customs, I saw a Qatari man (or he looked Qatari) holding a sign with my name on it. When I told him it was me, he asked me to get out of the line, he took my passport and escorted me to a helper to pick up my luggage.  Everything went so smooth. It was very cool. I learnt later that it's a service that you can buy at the airport. It was a nice gesture from the company though.

And now the horror... 😂

Now I knew before hand that I was going to roommate temporarily with my old buddy, who works as a designer in the same company that I will manage. 

Seeing a new country for the first time is always fascinating and exhilarating. 

After a 20 minutes drive, we reached home. It was a villa that had many rooms and 27 multi-national workers slept there; including the driver who had a shack outside.

My friend said "Welcome to your new home" and opened the entry door...😷

The smell came out like a raging wind. I was going to fall from the punch. 

My friend told me "Don't worry it's only in the corridor. It's less inside the rooms."😦

It's ok. I held my breath and raced to the room. We made it safely.

After settling, I told him I need to use the bathroom. He told me "You're in luck we're next to the bathroom" 👏

I got in and wished I never did. I think the bathroom color was orange one day, a long time ago.

It reminded me of the bathroom in Trainspotting 😂 I'm exaggerating a bit, but I would never sit on this toilet. I went back to the room and chased sleep.

In the morning, I took the plunge and decided to take a shower. As I put my legs into the tub, I felt it sinking. It was like the tub floor was covered in butter, inch deep. Lesson learnt? Next time get in the tub with the slippers on.

We woke up very early in the morning because the driver and the bus are at the villa. The morning pickups start here. It took us around an hour to pick up all workers in this route. Finally we were at work.

It was a big building. Most of the ground floor was a big retail store. Everything looked glamorous.

As we entered, all I was thinking about is how can I prove myself? What will the challenges be?

I was following my friend who was leading me to my division. We passed through a lot of places and every time I think we reached, I find him still moving. We passed everything. 

We went down many stairs. We reached underground 😱 I started to worry. "Where are we going?" He replied, "Soon". We passed the narrow halls of the underground warehouse. 

I was like "I'm gonna need a map to find the office" 😂

As we travelled, people become less and the halls got darker. At last, we opened a door and that door led to a forgotten room with a door on the other side. The room was chockfull of junk but there was a path to the door if we tread well and watched our steps.

"There is more?" I asked. "behind this door" my friend replied.

He opened the door and I never felt claustrophobic in my entire life as I felt the moment I entered the room. The door opened on a small hall. The dust, paper and cartons were so prevalent, they actually shaped the room like a cave. I was wondering if we're gonna find any treasure inside 😂

Walking through the hall was very tricky and got harder as we fought the trees and bushes of paper that surrounded us.  

Suddenly I saw light at the end. Thank God we made it.

The room at the end of the hall was not much different but there was light, working computers and a person. This person was the senior designer. He's indian and one of the best people I worked with. 

Off course my friend knew how I suffered the day before because of the bathroom, so he had a surprise. "I'm going to take you to the Marriott of bathrooms. Something seven stars".  I was optimistic, "Where?".  He replied enthusiastically "We have to go back up again". 

Here we go again.

The bathroom was decent. I couldn't complain. I closed the door and let it all out. Relief 😊

"Ok, now where is the hose?" Oh No 😱 the hose is broken. "Alright, where is the toilet paper?" Merde! there is no toilet paper. "There is gotta be water in the sink". I can't believe this, there is no water in the sink 😭 I'm stuck. I don't have a mobile to call anyone. I have to wait for rescue.

Thank God, my friend is the one who came knocking at the door, not a fellow worker that I would've had to ask for toilet paper as a conversation starter. 

My friend was worried I got lost on the way back 😆

All the above is true.

Remembering this first day and the day I left this company, makes me proud. Proud and grateful to all the people that helped build the company and turn it into a decent profit making division.

I'm supposed to meet the producer tomorrow. The task is to lay all the guide vocals and listen to the second verse and chorus. I'm excited. I feel the producer is on board with the song.