Tag Archives: Qatar

First Week of Work

Finished up my first week of work today. I still have trouble with the Sun-Thur work week. Well the first one is down, and I’d have to say it went really well. I got a lot of paperwork and stuff done for employment. Got a little better idea of the equipment that they will be buying, and I am getting a little idea of what my job is going to be. I am really excited about working with the digital cinema. It is a different way of working that what I am used to. At WILL, I was working with others on Documentaries and studio based broadcast programs. The film style shooting is a little different than what I am used to, but I am learning what I can to help support the different systems.

Second, I am loving driving. That was the one thing that I was worried about, but it turns out to be my favorite part. I am doing well on the roundabouts and learning the city a little. There is a lot more to explore, but I have time to get it done. I think that I am just going to rest up this weekend though.

Just an update on my last post. I said that I bought soured milk, but actually it wasn’t milk at all. Turns out it was a yogurt drink that is popular over here. Looked like milk to me. I was a little more careful when I went back and made sure that I got milk.

A New Start in Doha

Well it is the beginning of the month and I am in a new country with a new job. First, I made it safely over. My flight was nice. There was a delay at Ohare to fix some mechanical problems. That always worries me when I am about to get on a plane. Ivana came to pick me up at the airport, and I got to meet her fiance. I haven’t done anything yet except sleep.

My place is great. It is so big. Three bedrooms, a maids quarters, lots of bathrooms, a kitchen and living/dining room. It is furnished and already has some basic supplies, utensils and dishes, and some food to get me by for a while. There are also a lot of switches everywhere. I have no idea what all of them go to. Nothing happens when I switch them on and off. I have a lot of decorating to make the place my own, but I’ll have a few years to get used to it.

Turns out that the US fell apart when I left. The stock market fell 777 points for its biggest drop ever. I doubt it had anything to do with me, but who knows?

I’ll probably need a few more days to get adjusted to the time difference, but I am hoping to do some exploring soon.

Where in the World is Brian Paris?

For those of you who don’t know, I just got back from a trip to Doha, Qatar. It is a small country in the Middle East, just off of Saudi Arabia. Northwestern University is opening up a new campus there this fall. They brought me over to interview for a tech support job.

I would be supporting their Mac computers for their Journalism and Comm students. It is a very similar skill set to what I did at WILL in the past. I miss working for a University and doing the video support work, so I was very intrigued by the position. At the same time I was a little leery (and excited) about traveling half way around the world to work in a country that I didn’t know much about. In addition to them getting to know a little bit more about me and how I fit in with their group, I was there to see how it would be to live in Qatar. Turns out that Doha is an up and coming city with hopes of being an economic center for the future. There were great architecturally beautiful towers going up everywhere, and they are spending a lot of money to bring in the best in education and medicine. All that, and the people were pretty nice also. I am a little concerned about the driving though. I don’t even drive in Chicago, so it seems a little hectic there, but I am sure I would get used to it. It was hot and humid, but nothing that air conditioning couldn’t solve.

There were a few issues with the job that I was concerned with before I made my decision. First was my diabetes. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t going to be a problem to continue getting the treatment that I needed to stay healthy. Turns out that there is a big problem with diabetes in the area and they are very good at treating it. The staff there was very familiar with the disease, and I am sure that it won’t be a problem getting everything that I need. Once I had that concern relieved, I needed to know what type of people I was going to be working with. Well, it turns out that the staff over there seem to be the best assembled group I have seen. Everyone seems to genuinely like the work and their fellow coworkers, and each is very qualified at their positions. There is a lot of work to be done to get a new program off the ground, and each of the staff seems to want to work together to get the program going. I could definitely see myself fitting in with such a good group. Lastly I was a little worried about the equipment that I would be supporting. I was a little worried that they were ordering equipment without the support techs in place. Again it was another fear that was quickly alleviated. I forgot that they could very easily get help from the Evanston campus. They have been doing this work for years over there and were very familiar with the equipment needs. I also met the equipment coordinator who turned out to be a marvel. She has had to work here way through a new culture to get items that aren’t as readily available as they are here in the states. She is doing an amazing job getting through the paperwork involved and learning her way with the local vendors. It is a huge project, and I feel badly that she is doing it on here own. I wish that I could be there to help here out.

So, I come back from a five day trip more excited about the opportunity than when I left. (also a little exhausted). Now, I have to admit, I really want to get the job. I don’t remember the last time that I wanted a job so much, but also I time when I was so unsure about my possibilities about getting it. Usually, I am pretty sure about getting a job, but this is a special situation. Because there is such a small team, isolated from everyone else, with a lot of work that needs to be done, team chemistry is so important to success. I really feel like I am qualified to do the work and can learn any new skills that I don’t already possess, but I just hope that I fit in with the team chemistry. I love the team that the boss has put together so far, so I really respect his judgment when it comes to hiring. I just have to hope that he (and the rest of the staff) were able to see enough to feel comfortable bringing me in. I would feel a lot more comfortable if I hadn’t spent the trip so sleep deprived that my brain was mush, and at the same time so hyped up on caffeine that I was afraid I was visibly jittery most of the time. I’ve always done well in my previous jobs, so I just hope that it showed through this time.

I should find out next week, and I will keep you posted.