Constantly improving

As we sit here waiting for the phone call that will change our lives forever, we read news from Armenia daily. Most of it is good: tax reforms; corrupt police being questioned, or fired; big business developments by international Armenian businessmen, in Armenia; public voicing their opinions etc.

Today I came across this article and thought it is such great news.

From memory, Orange Armenia received some bad reviews in the past for slow internet/bad coverage. But perhaps with improvements they now have the formula right.

With their investment in Armenia reaching US30 million by the end of 2011, I assume they are planning to stay.

This computer room they recently helped set up in Tavush village is an awesome initiative. Tavush village is in Tavush marz (state) in the North-Eastern corner of Armenia. Tavush marz is known for its mountain and forest scenery sprinkled with beautifully sited historic monasteries (ie absolutely beautiful). 

Two thumbs up for this project – a great way to connect villagers to the rest of the world.

Tavush marz

Faith and patience

Today, as we come close to ‘sealing the deal’, we reflected on wether we will remember the journey when we get to the destination. It’s been seven years since the dream was born, six years since the first attempt. Five years since the second attempt.

Five years of living a ‘normal’ day to day life, with a dream coursing through our veins as we rack our brains trying to think of ways to make it happen.

Five years of wondering if the dream will ever happen, while having the faith and patience to continue to dream.   

Seven years of listening to doubters around us, of being called selfish for pursuing something we’re passionate about, something we believe in. (we also have family and close friends who have shown nothing but support).

When the belief is so strong, you just know it’s all going to fall into place sometime, and you live every day not knowing when that ‘sometime’ will eventuate. But you just continue to go about doing what you need to do, trying different options, working on your plans, because you know soon everything will pay off because you have faith that it will.

So, now we are coming towards the end of waiting. Soon our life will change, and our children’s lives too, for the better. Soon we will be doing what we feel we were put on this earth to do.  

Pass me the remote!

So right now we’re waiting. We’ve come to the point where all we can do is wait, and have plenty of patience.

When you’re waiting for the meeting to begin negotiations on the deal that will give you The Dream, it’s like waiting for Christmas, without knowing exactly when Christmas will come.

Every day you go about doing normal every day things, speak to normal every day people, meanwhile you know that a snap of the fingers (or ‘the meeting’) and it all changes. The people you interact with, who know your story, and know how close you are to The Dream, are amazed by just how big what you’re about to do is. They nearly can’t believe that you’re standing next to them talking.

The only way I can describe it is surreal.

Today I was wishing I had a universal remote, like Adam Sandler in the movie Click, then I could fast forward this time to The Meeting and then (hopefully) The Contract Signing.

 
So close now…

I *heart* improvements

 

photo by Ani Melikyan


Back in 2005 I wrote about how the green areas around Yerevan Municipality were overgrown and how someone should introduce lawn mowers to Armenia. Well, you can imagine the smile that formed on my lips when I read this article on Armenianow.com the other day.

The Mayor said at a press conference that 1000 lawn mowers will be given to schools, kindergartens and condominiums for the aim of “proper implementation of green areas’ and lawns’ care” in the capital. :)

I was even happier when I read this article about the Municipality and UN signing a project on rejuvenation of the city.

This timing is wonderful given that Zvartnots Airport just got a makeover, and is due to open in October.

Can't wait to go back!

Like a hamster

As we patiently sit on our hands and wait for that phone call or email, we predict, dream and conjure images of what may be.

Our life these days is lived day to day, sometimes hour to hour. Because we know in a flash things could flip and my husband could get a phone call from New York or Monaco (or somewhere else) saying “Come and have a meeting” in which case everything would be paused and off he’d fly to that location.

I once watched an MTV interview with Jennifer Lopez, where the interviewer asked how she ‘made it’. The thing that stuck in my mind all these years is when she answered “It’s like you’re a hamster running on a wheel, just going and going, going to auditions here, interviews there, more auditions, more meetings. You just keep on going on and on. Then one day it all falls into place. You get that part or that record deal, and it goes from there.”

At the moment, we’re the hamsters on the wheel. I never knew I could have so much patience. 

When you’ve had a taste of the life that you’re working towards, you know what’s coming (well to a degree, because experience has proven you never really know what will happen). And you can’t help but compare that life to this.

That life is employing more than 60 people in Yerevan; working hard but loving every minute of it; full of excitement and doing what you think you were put on this earth to do (ie The Dream); being able to help more people than we ever imagined…the list goes on.

This is where we refer to ‘sliding doors’, in reference to the movie. Just by one event (telephone call/email/meeting/one decision) the direction of your situation/life can change.

Reminds me how my husband and I met, but that’s a whole other story…

The highs and lows

"It’s easy to be positive when things are good, but when things are hard – that’s when you need to remain positive." 

I read this quote somewhere not long ago. 

While working towards our dream we’ve gone through many hills and valleys. So many ups and downs, highs and lows.

We recently had a high followed by a low, and to be honest it rocked me. Not in the ‘he rocked my world’ type of way, but in the way when you stumble for a moment, almost fall, only to straighten yourself and keep going.

When you believe in something so much, when you know that God will make a way where there is no way, you can’t help but put all your hope into an opportunity that presents itself. 

We recently spent a month working on an updated business plan for Yerevan United FC. The excitement it created was reminiscent of 2004, and thrilling to say the least.

The near-sleepless nights, the research to gather current figures and facts, the putting your dream into words so that others (namely potential investors) can comprehend just exactly what it is that you’re so excited about – we relived it all.

Then there’s the excited talk about the possibilities about what may be. When your focus is so much on the possibilities, you tend to forget reality, and that I think was my biggest mistake.

Although I kept saying “It could go one way or the other, we just don’t know.” I know now that in my heart I 100% believed in a positive outcome.

And after it didn’t come (well it hasn’t come yet, I’m still hopeful J) I was a little shattered.

But now I’ve regained my balance and dusted myself off, I’m back on track, still with a heart full of hope, still the woman behind the amazing man.

At the moment my husband paces around like a caged lion, eager to pounce into action, to go back and re-start what he was put on this earth to do. To quote him: “Faith and Patience”. 

Last night we received an email from a dear friend in Yerevan who, out of the blue, met a Councillor from England who knows Yerevan United FC, and was very excited that said friend is good friends with the President of Yerevan United FC (ie, my husband). The Councillor eagerly provided all his contact details to said friend, so they could be forwarded to us. Surprisingly, he’s not Armenian.  

God will make a way where there is no way.

Life's good

You know that feeling when things just fall into place, and you are happy not just about one thing, but a few things and things in general? That’s where I’m at right now.

 I have just embarked on a Diploma of Publishing (Professional editing, proofreading and publishing), that I have wanted to do for years. I know this is so right for me, because I get excited when I’m studying lol.

We’ve just spent a week trying to fix our PC, to find out it was the graphic card that needed replacing. So all is now fixed and we’re ready for a very busy and exciting week.

I’ve also been getting involved in my online communities more, after all is said and done when you’re working/studying from home you can end up feeling a little isolated.

We’ve gradually done some adjustments and updates to Blanky4me.com which I’m happy about. One of them is cutting out product and categories to get back to why we started in the first place – making personalised blankets.

When it comes to our dream….well I’m not so frustrated anymore, at the moment anyway. Because I know if it’s meant to happen it will and it’s about the whole journey, not just getting there. So I’m enjoying the journey. This last week we finally hooked up on Skype with a very dear friend who lives in Armenia. I am so excited about this because just seeing him on the screen and chatting reminds us a lot of Armenia and makes it seem more real.