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I seem to be at some sort of turning point in my life. I'm 54 (55 in September) and have lived in Prague for the last 15, almost 16, years. While I love living here I find myself somewhat lost.
I came here as a traveler originally after accepting a payout when the company I worked for in Atlanta decided to move to Newark. I didn't want to move to NJ so I was given a nice bonus. I thought I would do some travel through Europe then head back to the US and get back to work. But while in Prague I met another American who asked me to help him build his new real estate business. He was finding housing for people moving here but wasn't a real estate person; he only spoke Czech because of his parents leaving Czechoslovakia back in the 40s and was roped into the work because no one spoke enough Czech to read the papers, meet landlords, etc. I had experience and agreed to help him for six months. It turned into 15 years. It was a great experience - watching the development of the country and the people etc. But now it's gotten sort of boring. The economy is on hold, much like other economies. People seem to have gone back to their old ways of lying and cheating to get things they want. There's no regulation of the industry so it's still a cut throat business - more now than ever because before everyone made money. Now, it's "normalized" and it's much tougher.
I was in a relation for several years but that went flat about a year ago. I caught him away for a weekend fling with another guy. That, I must confess, has put me into a bit of a spiral. I enjoyed the monogamy, the relationship - him!
Now I'm in a dead end job with a boss who doesn't understand basic math. He expects me to bring in business but he doesn't want to invest a Dime. He thinks it should be easy to hire people on commission only although that's not how it's done here. You pay basic salaries. Offering a commission only position goes nowhere. So he agreed to lower than basic salaries and we got lower than basic employees. Mostly kids right out of school. He expects immediate results but again without investment. Our webpage is old and outdated but he refuses to pay to improve it. We don't have any client management system, no database system, nothing. It's all Excel spreadsheets. We do everything by hand whereas the competition has sophisticated on line systems, email blasters for promotions etc. He just doesn't get it.
So after trying hard to build something from nothing and gaining very little ground, I'm ready to throw in the towel. But for what? I am not sure what to do next or where to go. I was thinking to head back to the States but again to what. My head is clouded.
Not sure what I'm asking. I guess I'm just venting and hoping that something might bounce back.
Thanks for listening....
I came here as a traveler originally after accepting a payout when the company I worked for in Atlanta decided to move to Newark. I didn't want to move to NJ so I was given a nice bonus. I thought I would do some travel through Europe then head back to the US and get back to work. But while in Prague I met another American who asked me to help him build his new real estate business. He was finding housing for people moving here but wasn't a real estate person; he only spoke Czech because of his parents leaving Czechoslovakia back in the 40s and was roped into the work because no one spoke enough Czech to read the papers, meet landlords, etc. I had experience and agreed to help him for six months. It turned into 15 years. It was a great experience - watching the development of the country and the people etc. But now it's gotten sort of boring. The economy is on hold, much like other economies. People seem to have gone back to their old ways of lying and cheating to get things they want. There's no regulation of the industry so it's still a cut throat business - more now than ever because before everyone made money. Now, it's "normalized" and it's much tougher.
I was in a relation for several years but that went flat about a year ago. I caught him away for a weekend fling with another guy. That, I must confess, has put me into a bit of a spiral. I enjoyed the monogamy, the relationship - him!
Now I'm in a dead end job with a boss who doesn't understand basic math. He expects me to bring in business but he doesn't want to invest a Dime. He thinks it should be easy to hire people on commission only although that's not how it's done here. You pay basic salaries. Offering a commission only position goes nowhere. So he agreed to lower than basic salaries and we got lower than basic employees. Mostly kids right out of school. He expects immediate results but again without investment. Our webpage is old and outdated but he refuses to pay to improve it. We don't have any client management system, no database system, nothing. It's all Excel spreadsheets. We do everything by hand whereas the competition has sophisticated on line systems, email blasters for promotions etc. He just doesn't get it.
So after trying hard to build something from nothing and gaining very little ground, I'm ready to throw in the towel. But for what? I am not sure what to do next or where to go. I was thinking to head back to the States but again to what. My head is clouded.
Not sure what I'm asking. I guess I'm just venting and hoping that something might bounce back.
Thanks for listening....