The latter form of reminder was what brought back to me mind the vague years of my high school.

Now, unless you have a child that is going to school you do not hear many stories of drug use and distribution inside them. However, such a recent story, recently reported by the media talked about the main arts school “Jordan Misja” in Tirana (which is where I went to school as well). These two students, ages 12 and 14 had smuggled drugs into the school and after using them had also tried to hide them into a potato chips bag so as not to be discovered. However, the news had gotten out and both had been discovered.

Even then, before the year 2000 had rolled around the use of some drugs in this renowned Tirana art school was known by the students (I was there) as everyone was an artist and artist are world-known to be rather more expressive and tolerant towards such experiences. However, with the increase of affluence and access, pupils and students have seemingly increased use of such substances and now the school authorities are working to deal with this ever-present and ever-growing issue.

Moreover, the saddest aspect yet is the fact that the quality of teaching at this school has not improved in years!

The problem with corruption in Albania is not that the government has not committed to doing something about it, but that in effect it has done nothing – period!

Reference article here and here

The desire to start doing my own thing has been with me for several years, but until you take off from everything else to focus on doing “your own thing”, then you start to truly understand this new reality. Being an entrepreneur anywhere is very hard, much more so in Albania. But if that is your calling, then doing anything else, can be just as hard and furthermore, it is frustrating as it somehow  causes you to give up on your dreams and thus diminish your potential by sticking to something else “more stable, and secure” like a corporate job!

I’ve realized already that being an entrepreneur is not for everybody, nor is it possible for everyone who dreams of doing their own thing, or working on their own thing (i.e. business, project, etc.). However, you can be an entrepreneur even at your current job, but I will not go into that now.

Working for myself
When I quit my corporate job over a year ago, the prospect of working full-time for myself was and continues to be exhilarating. I love the fact that despite the added amount of work and daily chores, I feel less stressed and manage to get much more done. That does not mean that everything goes smooth and that I do not face hard times, as those will always be there. But the knowledge that all the work and energy that I put into what I’m doing comes back to me in one way or another, just make me feel satisfied and fulfilled. Even when one project fails, just the knowledge that you gain from it, is all worth it.

Working for others
Will I ever go back to working for a corporation or for another business that is not my own, well yes, I know I will, and I already do that partially. But I do it on my own terms and fully aware that the returns will be at least equal to the time and energy that I invest in it, which is not always true in most businesses, unless you have invested a lot of years and time in the same place.

Anyway, one year is not much nor is it a little. You do get to learn a lot of things about yourself, your true potential, your ability to fail and to succeed as well. You learn directly what it means to fail at what you want to do, and you also get to benefit directly from it.

Facing challenges
The lack of a steady income (i.e. salary) can be a big challenge, but there are ways to manage that as well, which causes you to need to put more work into what you’re doing and possibly into other side projects/jobs so as to at least maintain a certain level of income without giving up your entrepreneurial venture.

Support system
The best thing is to ensure that you have a strong circle of friends and supporters who can and will be there for you with counsel, objectivity and even financial support if low times linger a bit longer than expected. In my case, having a trustworthy business partner and friend, is just priceless. He or she can help you to stay focused and within certain boundaries. Especially in my case, I can be rather rushed in decisions, often enthused by the prospect and/or potential of a new project or innovation, but not so careful about costs. So setting some limits and respecting set boundaries can be hard to do by yourself, especially if you are an entrepreneur who is always dreaming big dreams.

Copyright: pmusaraj (peshkupauje.com)

If you’ve been wondering what Albanians have been doing since the May 8 local elections, this picture tells it all. People have been glued to their TV sets and continue to follow the prolonged counting procedures. It seems as though all else has been forgotten!

My work experiences have exposed me sufficiently to understanding how the Albanian media works. Also the fact that I focus constantly on marketing and communication, has made me even more to want to repudiate the communication methods employed by the political parties and their media dogs. I do not distinguish nor do I discriminate against one or the other political spectrum. My concern is that of a citizen who wants for his/her right to make an informed decision – respected especially by those who are responsible to inform me! Most importantly, I do not want to be feed bull… by anyone, much less at a time when there are truly dire needs affecting me, my family, my business and the Albanian people as a whole.

But much to my concern is the fact that the Albanian people and businesses are so much at the mercy of politics which in turn affects their daily lives in more ways than what most people can control. I do want to express my outrage and indignation at the current situation and the way that politics continues to impose itself on our daily lives and well-being. Obviously we are still a long way off to the practices of true democracy and pluralism of ideas.

The challenge: what to do?

Obviously, most everyone can and do present their own outrage about the current situation that we find ourselves in. And it is important to get a good understanding of what is happening so as to make informed decisions about what you and I need to do.

So what can you and I do? These are just a few suggestions:

• do not spend your time being consumed by politically saturated media (both visual and printed);
• find other more fruitful and useful things to do with your time i.e. invest in your business, invest in your family by spending time with them, invest in your community by being a model neighbor and citizen;
• if politicians or their supporters come up to you ask them if they have kept what they promised last time, not what may be done in the future if they get elected or reelected;
• learn something new, get a book to read, don’t waste your time listening and talking about junk;
• if your friends/bodies start talking about politics, change subject!

I dare you to offer your own practical suggestions about what to do in the current and ongoing situation. I know that there are many more smart people out there who have better ideas and practical suggestions than mine. I just want to get the conversation and focused and going in the right direction….

Nevertheless, despite the few hours of sleep, I had to get up. I’m a husband and a father of a two-month old now and there are more responsibilities that need to be taken care of. For example…

Getting gas
My wife let me know a day prior that we had run out of cooking gas. Here in Tirana, the use of gas ovens is well-spread and people prefer to use them as a good means of saving on energy. My personal experience with overcharged energy bills from CEZ Distribution, is only one among thousands of Albanians who complain every month at its doors.

Anyway, I had to get the gas tank out of the oven and thanks to my father, I could at least get it to be refilled the very next day after we ran out. I’m just glad that he was available as I do not like to mess with gas.

Reading Baby Development information
I’m very proud of my two-month old. Though I regret being outside of the house for most of the day, I call home several times and Skype with my wife several times as well, so that I can at least see them both face-to-face and talk so that my son can hear my voice. One thing that my wife and I have done early on is to get ourselves informed about our child’s stages of development and needs so that we can be better prepared when they come. One great source for me has been a website called BabyCenter, which I had visited years earlier, but now follow religiously through email updates so that I can at least know what is going with my son’s development.

There are currently a number of well translated Albanian books on pregnancy and child development, which my wife has used and she likes, also we were given a special book at the maternity hospital before we got out, which has been very helpful as well. For our family, the added advantage  of all these sources of information has helped manage the sifting of good and bad counsel that you get when you are pregnant or rearing a child anywhere, much more so in Albania.

Needless to say, everyone has their own theories about what to do when you are pregnant, and how to raise your son or treat him when he is not well. Most of the counsel that we get is from our parents and close friends, but obviously there are times when such counsel contradicts with what we have learned or is not in keeping with the latest medical knowledge and child development studies that we can glean from more reputable sources such as our doctor or websites like the one I mentioned. Though I have not made a big effort to check out the material available in printed format, from what I have seen, there are a growing number of such books coming out regularly in Albanian.

Managing school work
Last but not least of my chores for this Saturday is trying to get my school work done. Every two weeks my MBA program requires me to submit a set of course work and assignments that do require independent study and research time on top of everything else that I have to joggle during most of my work-week days.

In the past few years Albania has seen a marked increase in the number of private universities that now offer all sorts of degrees for the undergraduate level and recently for your master’s degree as well. The response by students has been overwhelming, thus the response of private universities has kept up with demand both in their number and now more so in their degree offerings. Though the education offered by the state universities is well established, private universities compete more in terms of better premises and educational materials, though in the end it is the same teachers who teach in the state universities, who also teach in the private ones. However, private universities have the advantage to attract foreign educated teachers due to their more competitive salary levels and conditions. However, it is till too early, in my opinion to make a clear differentiation. One important development is the fact that quality universities will continue to distinguish themselves with time (not just student numbers) through their quality of teaching and level of students who graduate.

The situation with the electricity distribution in Albania does not seem to find a solution anytime soon. The problems abound and more so because of the wasteful and irresponsible mentality of people. Those who pay their correct energy consumption amounts are very careful not to become wasteful and over-expend themselves, but I know a considerable number of people and families who leave their lights on all the time and do not mind their energy consumption as at the end of the month it will be the same small bill amount or in cases no bill at all.

On the other side, the cost of electricity in Albania is not comparable to that of other neighboring countries, but that is another post altogether.

My personal case

Several months back I rented a place where I, my wife and our son now live. I was not able to tell at first why my energy bill would always come about the same amount, but figured it was probably because that is how much I was consuming. However, the whole situation changed once the winter season kicked in, and so did the energy bill. My electricity bill doubled and my concern tripled as it was completely out of any logic. I know how much other sizable families like mine were spending every month and so the concern grew.

It took several trips to the local energy supply office to try and get to the bottom of the issue. In the end I was told that the energy meter for the apartment had not been working so they were charging us the “afrofe” rate, which means the “what-ever-they-have-decided” rate. Which trust me was not reasonable, even by “afrofe” standards for other families. The local CEZ representative taking all the measurements had figured that since we were “new comers” to the apartment building, we would not figure it out.

Once the procedures for the replacement of the meter had started, I learned another interesting fact that the meter had not been operational for several years, more than I care to admit here. The simple fact was that we were being overcharged and I had to insist that the issue would be remedied soon otherwise I would have to continue paying the same overcharged rates. And sadly, I had to do that for two months until a new electronic meter was installed.

Though I personally try to bring forth a different perspective of this Albanian reality and life, I obviously do not tend to focus on the worst aspects nor do I want to exalt the evils of our society. But obviously there are harsh realities and issues that still affect us in ways that bring about dire consequences even to our very lives!

The recent violent protest in Tirana, which was interpreted as an attempt to try and overthrow the current government was an extreme example of that harsh reality in Tirana, Albania.

Albanian democracy does not need more martyrs
I would have liked to say that I was the one to say that quote, but nevertheless its truth was harshly realized by the death of three protesters on the street. Albanian democracy is still weak and irresponsible with regard to human life and the well-being of its people. Short-sightedness and selfish gain, continue to plague most of our decision-making be it in the political, social or economic spheres of our society. But further worst is the fact that the development of democracy can be so easily thwarted by acts of violence and the loss of lives!

Use of violence for political goals
[[Show as slideshow]]I am against violence, and more so against the use of violence to further political goals of any political party. But even more so at a time when there is true suffering all around us. A time when the economy is weak and is faced with natural and political catastrophes. But I guess that old saying holds true: the people deserve their leaders! At least the leaders that they choose to follow!

It is a historical fact that the poorer social stratas of any society are often misled and misused for political reasons. And Albanian political parties have no problem resulting to violence to sustain their position, be it on the part of the opposition or the current government. The recent protest was a vivid example!

We have not learned from history
There is another saying, which says: “those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat its mistakes”. And for me the violent protest in Tirana is a sad reminder that we as Albanians have a short memory. But even sadder than that is the fact that the same people who got the country in this situation are the same people that we continue to elect and call our leaders. Thus we continue to pay the consequences of bad leadership and forget about what should matter most in terms of the long-term well-being and prosperity of the people.

The summer is over and looks like most things are back to light-speed levels. The day is not only getting shorter in terms of light, but seems like there are not enough working hours as well. Though nothing seems to have changed the number of chores seems to have gone up and you just have to get used to the idea that this is normal – for now!

I’ve spoken and heard the comments of many a foreigner visiting Tirana or traveling on the roads of Albania about the almost pervasive presence of car wash places, or “Lavazh” as they are called here. Meanwhile, Albanians are certainly used to them, we often do not think of the fact that their presence is an indicator of the level of dust and dirt in our streets and eventually in our homes and lives.

But that is why they are everywhere, because dirt is everywhere too. Our streets continue to remain prisoners of dusts and dirt, and while you can brush off your shoes, you have to wash your car if you want to maintain that necessary level of cleanliness in your vehicle.

Thankfully I have to admit that the level of dust in Tirana (at least) has decreased somewhat due to many streets being paved and the level of constructions in the city decreasing as well. Nevertheless, the presence of car wash places continues to remind me of the ever present reality of dirt in our streets and in our own lives inevitably.

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Please send me your pictures of Albanian car washers if you any. Get them out of your digital dust archives and send them to be added to this gallery.