Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Countdown to the Next Chapter
Three more days at this job. Under a 
month left living in Europe. Sitting at a "Bavarian Beerhouse" unsatisfied with what they called curry wurst. They advertise Octoberfest here while I attended the 200th anniversary Oktoberfest just over 2 years ago in Munchen. Reading a book on Kindle set in the 14th century England 3 days before a road trip all over the UK that will take me to many historical places from that era. Still digesting the family tree emails that tie me as far back as 1550 in Scotland. Wish I would have put more effort into genealogy while in Europe. Lots to coordinate for the international move still but tonight the changes coming down the pipeline are most apparent. I'll have to post a comical summary of differences in a few weeks. This blog started as I began an adventure that I knew would draw attention but soon I'll return to the everyday realities of most of America. I won't miss the pinball game of walking down the sidewalk in London. In fact I unfortunately will probably not walk down the sidewalk nearly as much. Here's hoping that I'll at least be biking if I'm not walking. I'm not sure why I didn't connect with more people here. I certainly met more people after I started working; and the people were friendly, but I think I held back. Something deep down told me it was a limited time and rather than encouraging me to bond I let myself hold back. This is what they call stream of consciousness prose. We won't travel so much; in fact our carbon footprint is bound to go down dramatically after the move. Going from telecommuting and mass transit that is quite ironic, but our circa 1905 mansion house flat leaks air like a sieve and we have thrown down easily over 200K air miles between us in the last two years eating up Europe. Fortunately my conscience is not affected by this transition, saving lives (medical device engineer) is at least as good as saving the world (solar PV product development engineer). and maybe I can bring some best practices to save money and resources at my next job. Thanks for sticking with me, I've written way too much for a weekly blog but not nearly as much as is going on in my head right now.
month left living in Europe. Sitting at a "Bavarian Beerhouse" unsatisfied with what they called curry wurst. They advertise Octoberfest here while I attended the 200th anniversary Oktoberfest just over 2 years ago in Munchen. Reading a book on Kindle set in the 14th century England 3 days before a road trip all over the UK that will take me to many historical places from that era. Still digesting the family tree emails that tie me as far back as 1550 in Scotland. Wish I would have put more effort into genealogy while in Europe. Lots to coordinate for the international move still but tonight the changes coming down the pipeline are most apparent. I'll have to post a comical summary of differences in a few weeks. This blog started as I began an adventure that I knew would draw attention but soon I'll return to the everyday realities of most of America. I won't miss the pinball game of walking down the sidewalk in London. In fact I unfortunately will probably not walk down the sidewalk nearly as much. Here's hoping that I'll at least be biking if I'm not walking. I'm not sure why I didn't connect with more people here. I certainly met more people after I started working; and the people were friendly, but I think I held back. Something deep down told me it was a limited time and rather than encouraging me to bond I let myself hold back. This is what they call stream of consciousness prose. We won't travel so much; in fact our carbon footprint is bound to go down dramatically after the move. Going from telecommuting and mass transit that is quite ironic, but our circa 1905 mansion house flat leaks air like a sieve and we have thrown down easily over 200K air miles between us in the last two years eating up Europe. Fortunately my conscience is not affected by this transition, saving lives (medical device engineer) is at least as good as saving the world (solar PV product development engineer). and maybe I can bring some best practices to save money and resources at my next job. Thanks for sticking with me, I've written way too much for a weekly blog but not nearly as much as is going on in my head right now. Wednesday, October 3, 2012
"Yes!"
“Yes!”
I’m not talking about what my wife told me after I proposed;
I’m talking about a way of living. When
opportunity knocks… answer the door. My
wife and I have noticed that we both tend to live life that way and we
sometimes sit back amazed at where we are and trying to remember how we got
here.
Where to next? Back
to the USA!!! The next chapter for us is
Bloomington, Indiana, where my wife is taking a promotion and I have also found
a great job. We aren’t sure that we’re
quite ready to leave Europe, but then we wouldn’t be in Europe if we always had
to be sure about things. Sometimes a
leap of faith is required to take you out of your comfort zone and keep your
mind nimble. And in the great American tradition
before we depart the UK we will…
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Just another overnight in Zurich
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Never thought I'd say this...
Giving me more vacation days is approaching ridiculousness.
I just filled out my benefit elections for the year and since I get the best benefits via my wife's job I only had to elect the 3 extra vacation days. I wonder if declining the vacation gives you negative personality points in the HR file or raises the company health insurance risk profile...
So I got to interview in the UK a couple times before I landed this job so I can say that 25-28 days of vacation (or "holiday" as the Brit's call it) is pretty standard for a full-time professional job in the UK. Surprisingly, so is a private health insurance benefit (costing you above what you already can't get out of paying to the "free" national insurance scheme that apparently is insufficient but that deserves its own entry). I currently get 25 days holiday, and I think 9 national holidays (US is usually 11-12 national holidays but only 10-15 days of vacation to start). I also have the option to "buy" an additional 3 days at my daily salary rate, but I'm given a "flexible benefit allotment" amount that covers this plus allows a little surplus to defer to my pension. Needless to say, I signed up for the extra vacation days to help feed my travel habit.
The benefits were recently re-evaluated and now we have the option to purchase 5 days instead of the usual 3. That means a clean 30 days per year for me! Now before you go and say "no wonder Europe is crashing", let's think about this. As a salaried professional, I'm expected to get the job done, and not paid overtime. Giving the option to purchase extra vacation doesn't reduce my yearly objectives, so most likely the company will still receive the same net work/benefit from an employee regardless of whether I skip 5 days of work over a year. On the flip side, I'm extremely grateful and the money I spend on vacation will keep me coming back to work! What if the US began offering a "purchase" of vacation time before implementing mandatory furloughs? It accomplishes nearly the same thing but with an entirely different outlook by the employee.
The fine print: the flexible benefit allows you to choose +/- 5 days, so if you elect gym membership or private health insurance that costs more than the standard allotment 'selling' a vacation day can compensate in lieu of salary deduction to cover additional costs. Either way the choice is appreciated by employees whatever their situation. Happy employees are more likely to stick around and do their job well.
I think I'll take this Friday off and fly to Barcelona...
I just filled out my benefit elections for the year and since I get the best benefits via my wife's job I only had to elect the 3 extra vacation days. I wonder if declining the vacation gives you negative personality points in the HR file or raises the company health insurance risk profile...
So I got to interview in the UK a couple times before I landed this job so I can say that 25-28 days of vacation (or "holiday" as the Brit's call it) is pretty standard for a full-time professional job in the UK. Surprisingly, so is a private health insurance benefit (costing you above what you already can't get out of paying to the "free" national insurance scheme that apparently is insufficient but that deserves its own entry). I currently get 25 days holiday, and I think 9 national holidays (US is usually 11-12 national holidays but only 10-15 days of vacation to start). I also have the option to "buy" an additional 3 days at my daily salary rate, but I'm given a "flexible benefit allotment" amount that covers this plus allows a little surplus to defer to my pension. Needless to say, I signed up for the extra vacation days to help feed my travel habit.
The benefits were recently re-evaluated and now we have the option to purchase 5 days instead of the usual 3. That means a clean 30 days per year for me! Now before you go and say "no wonder Europe is crashing", let's think about this. As a salaried professional, I'm expected to get the job done, and not paid overtime. Giving the option to purchase extra vacation doesn't reduce my yearly objectives, so most likely the company will still receive the same net work/benefit from an employee regardless of whether I skip 5 days of work over a year. On the flip side, I'm extremely grateful and the money I spend on vacation will keep me coming back to work! What if the US began offering a "purchase" of vacation time before implementing mandatory furloughs? It accomplishes nearly the same thing but with an entirely different outlook by the employee.
The fine print: the flexible benefit allows you to choose +/- 5 days, so if you elect gym membership or private health insurance that costs more than the standard allotment 'selling' a vacation day can compensate in lieu of salary deduction to cover additional costs. Either way the choice is appreciated by employees whatever their situation. Happy employees are more likely to stick around and do their job well.
I think I'll take this Friday off and fly to Barcelona...
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Life Goes (Rocks!) On...
 |
| View of Catalina Island from Venice Beach |
Life goes on... And so does our honeymoon. Two weeks vacation in Tempe (with a quick trip to LA) at the end of March is wonderful. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to return home to from Europe. My wife and I were able to read notes written for us by our wedding guests and to eat the top of our wedding cake since this trip was only a few weeks after our one year anniversary. The cake was deelish and the notes were personal. Best of all we read thru the notes after breakfast while enjoying the awesome weather on my back porch and feeling like we were on top of the world.
Technically, the honeymoon is over, but we both are so thankful each and every day to have each other that nothing is mundane. I don't have a "daily grind" despite returning to work after nearly two years off. We don't necessarily text or talk during the workday but as soon as I walk in the door at night I am hers and she is mine. We have gotten past planning out our vacations and now get to plan for the rest of our lives together.
 |
| View of Phoenix Mountains - Awesome Weather |
Our thoughts especially returned to our happy wedding day as we were priveliged enough to take part in a wedding of two of our best friends, my wife's brother and his bride. It was a grand event that celebrated their love and commitment to each other and made us hope that they will experience the same profound happiness that we have together.
I am composing this entry in the air enroute to our new(ish) home in London. Although this living abroad is "the opportunity of a lifetime" we will both always consider Phoenix metro and particularly Tempe as our home. We ate at hip new restaurants, saw a sunrise while eating breakfast on a boulder at South Mountain, bicycled leisurely to breakfast 95% via canal path, paddled a canoe around Tempe Town Lake, and unfortunately got caught in a traffic jam that turned a 25 minute trip into 100 minutes. Nevertheless we continue to believe in our hometown and simply prefer to bike, walk, or paddle to avoid future traffic jams.
I am composing this entry in the air enroute to our new(ish) home in London. Although this living abroad is "the opportunity of a lifetime" we will both always consider Phoenix metro and particularly Tempe as our home. We ate at hip new restaurants, saw a sunrise while eating breakfast on a boulder at South Mountain, bicycled leisurely to breakfast 95% via canal path, paddled a canoe around Tempe Town Lake, and unfortunately got caught in a traffic jam that turned a 25 minute trip into 100 minutes. Nevertheless we continue to believe in our hometown and simply prefer to bike, walk, or paddle to avoid future traffic jams.
 |
| View of Tempe Town Lake and Papago from Canoe |
The incumbent leaders are stressing us out with the extreme agendas that are catching international headlines, and making us hope reason will have prevailed by the time we return. Then we hope to bring the best ideas we have seen from the foreign cities that we visit back with us to add to Tempe's natural beauty and college town vibe.
Carpe Diem.
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