Mike Pederson
I wanted to provide you with an update for me as things are soon to be changing in my life.
As I’m sure you’ve heard with the times being what they are things here in the Las Vegas area have been hit pretty hard and the civil engineering market is one of the worst. So, needless to say I have been keeping my options open and have accepted a great job with a US based company and will be relocating to the country of Libya to help the country build it’s housing and infrastructure. I will be located along the Mediterranean working within several different cities. As it looks right now I will likely be deploying sometime the middle to end of July so odds are I won’t make the reunion. My family will remain here in the Las Vegas area ( Henderson ) and I will be making trips home when I can to see them. The separation from family is the most difficult part of this life’s journey, but I am very much looking forward to the job and the experience it will provide me both personally and professionally.
My primary form of communication while there will be email and Skype. I will update you with my new work email when I know what it will be. If you are not familiar with Skype, this is a great free internet based form of communication where you can call, video call and instant message with other Skype users. You can also make calls to land lines and cell phones for an inexpensive per minute fee.
Assuming that I won’t make it to the reunion, I hope everyone there has a wonderful time!
UPDATE - 7/22/09:
As anticipated I am currently in Tripoli, Libya. I arrived just yesterday and today was my first day at the office here. The people that I have met here so far are quite friendly and pleasant. I hope to learn their language well enough to extend them the same courtesy as they have in speaking English. Next week I will be traveling about 800 miles southeast to the city of Ghat where I will be overseeing several projects in the area. I'm sure it will be quite interesting and I am looking forward to seeing that part of the country. I hope all goes well at the reunion and everyone has a good time! Say hi for me as I will be thinking of you all.
Mike