Jul
27
AlMost OnE MoNth!
Filed Under Daily
In few days, it will be one month. That means my first salary at my new job. I will be on my own soon, and of course, I will enjoy the big pretty office. It also means more responsibilities. Cannot wait to be there!
So far so good! I enjoy going to work everyday but also look forward to going home at the end of the day. I am busy at work so time flies quickly. Things are going smoothly and nicely. I will try to keep it this way. Thanks to the trip to Denver, I am fully integrated to the team. The fact I enjoy a high position and a nice office don’t make everyone happy but I cannot do anything about it … no I am not giving away this office easily!
Let’s keep fingers crossed and hope for the best in the near future!
Jul
25
WiNd Of ChaNge!
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Well Well Well!
My bro passed his “CAPES” exam to become a math teacher and he was assigned to a school very close to home. Like 10 kms away only. That is good! Hopefully the students aren’t too hard to handle. Anyways this year looks promising for both of us. We both got a job! France’s economy looks gloomy so we are happy with these changes.
I finally subscribed to a phone/internet plan for my Iphone 4S. I wanted to avoid using the network at my work. I do not want to mix work/personal stuff: 19.99 Euros/month on Free mobile plan.
Jul
22
We were supposed to spend the weekend in Belgium with my cousins but life has decided otherwise. My parents’ car had some engine’s problems and it could not accelerate on the highway. We had to stop near a highway exit, left the car there and got back home in my sister’s car. My sister had an accident earlier as well and she had to drive all the way from the other side of Paris to pick us up. Our cousins decided to come instead on Saturday and dropped their dog before their vacation in Vietnam in August. They left early on Sunday so that one of my cousin can have time to practice her driving before her exam next Thursday.
I have Monday off to recover from the hectic weekend. At least we have my newly bought car to drive around.
Jul
16
Pics from Denver!
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I managed to get some pics on Friday night. I went out and had a really expensive dinner alone in an Italian restaurant. I gave the smart waiter a fat ass tip. I had 3 Heineken!!!
Jul
13
Back to FrAnce!
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I am waiting for the taxi. I am leaving today late in the afternoon but I will take a cab at 3 pm with my boss. Her plane is earlier. Anyways I checked out at the hotel so I do not have a place to stay until then therefor I will wait at the airport.
My plane will leave the US at 20:35 (Denver local time) and arrive to Paris on Saturday 14 at 16:05 local time. There is a connection in London at Heathrow. I will call a cab to get back home from the airport. I will travel on British Airways.
It was exciting to go back to the US after 7 years. The conference was not too bad and I managed to stay away from troubles. I cannot wait to get back home and get my little routines back where they were. Next time I might ask to only attend the events that concern my work. We shall see.
I cannot wait to start my real job as well.
Jul
10
Day 5: No Stress!
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Relatively smooth day. Nothing happened and everything went smoothly. The Gala Banquet was nice and not as stressful as I feared. Today is my last day. I cannot wait to get back to my routines in France. I miss playing games :). I am tired of social events.
Jul
9
Day 4: ANother Drama!
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One more Drama! This time the blow came from the American head organizers. Another secretary had a heated exchange with the person responsible for the American team. Again I was not part of any of this and I was happy.
Since I came here, I did my best to avoid drama. My fellow workers are on edge and sometimes they overreacted to events that did not seem that important to me. I mean there were problems for sure with such an event but there were also easy solutions to each of them. We have managed so far.
My impression is that they set their mind to higher level of expectations and they tend to be …difficult to deal with. Again I smiled, moved away from the pitfalls and go along with the solutions rather than complaining about minor issues.
Jul
8
Day 3: Stranger than fiction!
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My boss and the secretary had a small drama. An event was changed and we weren’t aware of it. My fellow workers almost had a heart attack (not me). Anyways my boss changed things accordingly and asked us to leave some board meeting earlier to set things up. I was more than happy to oblige since I hate meetings. The secretary took it as an offense. Anyways big words were used and I am glad I wasn’t part of it!
What I do here is not what my job is about. This is just an event we organized in collaboration with the American team. We do almost nothing. We just tell people what to do in fact. Anything we want is immediately satisfied and any technical issue is fixed by someone else.
The hardest thing so far here is to figure out what event comes next and sometimes help people moving boxes or ask others to move it for you.
Life is hard !!! 🙂 I hope I can get used to this.
So far no mistakes on my side. I am nice, I help when I can and I am being social.
Jul
7
Jetlag was less severe since we came late and had a night to recover from the flight. I am starting to get used to the accent. People tend to be loud here and very nasal when they speak. I enjoy meals at the Hyatt and other outside restaurants. Today is the last day before the conference starts. We are getting ready for the last details.
I can get used to this :). Traveling, spending money and getting paid to be social! I am just lucky I came at the right moment but I doubt it will last. We shall see. This job is in any aspect different from my previous position which was painfully stupid. Without mentioning a nice salary raise!
Jul
6
Day 1:
We arrived after 12 hours of traveling. Custom had some very strange and direct questions. I was not at my best to answer.
Custom officer: What are you doing in the US?
ME: It’s a business trip
Custom officer: What is your business and what is your position within the company?
ME: I am a scientific and technical officer, I work for the International Institute of Welding and I learn the job I just got on Tuesday.
Custom officer: So you just got a job and they sent you to the United States of America the next day?
Me: Yes this is perfect! no ?
Custom officer: (surprised and maybe not believing) put your4 fingers on the blabla…. the end!
I felt a bit stupid because of my mumbling and my french English accent at the moment but I actually told him the very truth.
I was very tired when I arrived at the hotel. We had some issues with credit card limits and we only have the room for one night. Someone needs to fix that tomorrow with the people organizing the event.
Denver looks strange. Like a city that grew out of the desert. The buildings are too tall and too squared to my taste. The view from my expensive room is nice. I wouldn’t want to live here though nevertheless I am glad to be here and to discover the city.
Room : King bed at 234 $ per night
Meal : 67 $
