Our comfort zones

by Brian Stirling Tuesday, November 03, 2015 0 comments

Well, I'm actually doing it, leaving everything I've known the last 30 yrs or so to try out an opportunity in Saudi Arabia. In the last month or two I've been real busy trying to finish up all the home and work obligations in advance of this trip. So busy, in fact, I don't think I've really had a chance to think much about this adventure I'm about to embark upon! Now that I'm on the plane and accept that whatever I didn't get done, won't get done, I have a chance to give it some thought. 


At home I'm leaving my very best friend and supporter, my wife, along with two daughters, parents, siblings and relatives and countless friends whose company I enjoy very much. Everyone has been so supportive, but none more so than my wife Paula. Knowing this was something I wanted, and maybe even needed, to do she put aside any reservations she might have had and committed her support 100%. That hasn't been lost on me and I appreciate that. 

 At work I'm leaving, if only temporarily at this point, a place that's been a big part of my life for almost 30 years. That really is a big deal. It's an even bigger deal if you consider that Brandon GS is like a family, and probably more so than almost any other place in Manitoba Hydro. Obviously, I may be a little biased but there's a lot of great people there. Really good people that know how to do their jobs, how to earn their pay, and most importantly how treat each other right. They're a great team and we probably just don't realize how good we have it. 

 I have no idea how this will turn out or where this choice will take me but, really, I can't lose. I go for 7 weeks where MHI and I kind of feel each other out. When I come home at Christmas we're to decide if I'd like to go back and do more or return to the station. Either way I can't lose. By Christmas I'll have seen a lot and will be a better person for it, both personally and professionally. If I decide to do more it'd be because it's a great opportunity. It'll be great work and Paula and I will get a chance to see places and cultures in a part of the world we might otherwise not have visited. If I decide to return to the station I get to go back to a place that's akin to a favourite old pair of jeans. So comfortable and a great fit. Great co-workers in a company that's a premier employer. As I said, how can you lose? 

 As I write this I'm sitting in First Class seating  in a Saudia Airlines Boeing 777 getting treated like a king and winging my way to a great adventure. I have the world by the tail and couldn't ask for more! Well, maybe to have my wife with me?