Page 72 - Gilbert & Me_Neat

requires is naturally fast flowing rivers or dammed rivers. Also, they have to be at least two
meters in depth in order to generate enough potential flowing water in which to situate a turbine.

I watch a short video presentation given by a lecturer wearing wellies, standing in a shallow
man-made stream, discussing the calculations that would be used to help determine whether a
river would be suitable for a hydropower project, to a bunch of engineering students. It was
interesting and a very practical way of explaining where hydropower systems should be
considered, in terms of efficiency and usefulness.

After the video, I shutdown the PC and head home. On the
way home, I stop a at store to buy some stuff. I spend a
while selecting things, checking dates (have to do this on
everything you buy in these shops, because they will sell
you stuff that’s expired weeks, if not months ago, and if
you complain, they just say chose something else. They
have NO morals, really, they just don’t care; they’ll sell
anything). Anyway, I’ve got some stuff in my basket and
wait to reach the check-out, standing on the little red
marker taped on the floor, roughly three feet away from
other similar little crosses in front and behind me. But
when I get to the till and hand over my credit card, their internet is down and, as I don’t have
enough cash, I’m told I’ll have to go get some cash. I leave the items and go search for an ATM.

Ten minutes later, after having successfully find one, at the Brodies Store on the Philip Goldson
Highway, I return to the store and pick up my stuff, and go home.

The rest of the day, I contemplate more things. Like, what on earth am I doing? I love Belize,
don’t get me wrong, I mean it took me almost thirty five years to get back here after my first visit
way back in 1982 when I was serving in the Royal Air Force, and now I’m living my dream in
this wonderful little country. But, I always knew that I was not a salesman. It’s not my strongest
skill – I’m a people person. I like dealing with people, that’s why I became a teacher during my
Air Force service, and why all my jobs, be they paid or voluntary, have always been related to
people or problems that I could help solve.

My career to date tells you that one thing – people and problem solver. Teaching, Logistics,
Human Resources. Nothing about sales. Yet, here I am getting deeper and deeper into selling
stuff. At first I accepted that if I want to stay here in Belize, indeed, the only way I could get
back here, was to accept a work permit situation, working for a chap who owned and managed
an energy company, but at the time, we sold lighting equipment. We went after some totally
unrelated consultancy work as well, because, at heart my Boss is a consultant, not an engineer. I
enjoyed that work, chiefly because it was about research, information gathering, problem
solving, project design and document administration. I can do that.

We didn’t win any of the consultancies we went after initially, until some energy-related tenders
were submitted – we won the first of these sometime later, for the Government’s Energy Unit, to
carry out an energy efficiency project in the City.