I started a new job last week doing some training docs for a project at a fairly large English company that has been around for over 100 years. This is a completely new experience on many levels--let me explain:
I have been contracting for over 10 years in the US. There are usually two options for getting paid: have the agency pay you as a W2 employee or go on a 1099 and invoice the agency directly and deduct expenses like you're running your own business. In my experience, most people choose to be a W2 employee to save the paperwork hassle.
Here, it's totally different. If you are doing contract work, most people set up their own limited company and do all the paperwork themselves, similar to a 1099 in the US. The other option is to use an "umbrella" company, which is basically like working directly for the agency, except you are still following the rules for a 1099 (gross billing less expenses) and the umbrella company does all the paperwork for you and just sends you a net check.
Instead of trying to deal with setting up my own limited company over here, I opted for the umbrella company route. Which just adds another layer on top of the process. So I technically work for myself, send my timesheets to the agency who recruited me, also send my time and expenses to the umbrella company (who invoices the agency), and then wait for the money to be deposited into my bank account.
Which it does only ONCE A MONTH. Thank goodness I started in the middle of the month! At least I'll get paid in a couple of weeks instead of waiting a whole month. I've never been paid once a month before. Most of the time, it's been weekly, with the occasional twice a month here and there. But I still have to complete weekly timesheets for the project.
And, to make it even more complicated, I'm technically working for a consulting firm that has been hired by the company for this project. Similar to a company hiring Andersen or IBM to come in and do stuff. So that makes 4 layers I have to keep in my head: the company, the consulting firm, the agency, and the umbrella company. (Don't worry...I'm pretty confused about it myself)
And the fun hasn't even started yet.
This is one of the most politically-charged workplaces I have ever been in in my entire working life. I've been really lucky as a contractor to be able to stay out of the political stuff, mostly because the companies I've worked for just want you to get on with the work since you're costing them money. But this place is a completely different animal. The consultant who is the head of the whole project is supposed to be this complete control freak who plays mind games with the staff, including the worker bees at the lowest level (i.e., me and my co-workers). He apparently has fired several people because they've told him the reality of the project's situation and he just didn't want to hear it. I've had a reprieve from him because he was on vacation last week and this week. But he's back on Monday, so we'll see. I've been told to keep my head down, do my work, and try to stay out of his way. Encouraging, isn't it?
Not to mention the fact that the previous manager of my group made a complete shambles of the work that was done up to now, and it took the management 5 months to figure out that he had done no work and put them way behind. He was let go the week before I started. The bright spot is that our current manager (until we get a team lead, anyway) is this really great guy who has managed projects all over the world. He even worked in San Jose for 15 months. He has really pulled things together in the last couple of days and he's a straight-shooter. I really like his style. Plus, the people I'm working with are really friendly and we all have kind of a "we're all in the same boat together" attitude, which helps.
So we'll see how it goes. I was telling Kev that this is a good opportunity for me to "grow up" and deal with the reality of the political work climate, even though I really hate work politics. I just don't see why we can't all just come in and get our work done. I guess I'm naive, but it just seems like all the politics just gets in the way and makes things more complicated when they really don't need to be. But whatever. If I can earn more cash so we can take an extra trip or two, that's what I really want.
Unless I get fired for speaking truth...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Catching up...
We've been a bit incommunicado for a while...lots has been going on, but nothing really out of the ordinary. We've both been working full time, Kevin on the trains (more on that in another post) and me at a local temp job.
Manchestah
2 weekends ago, we drove up to Manchester to visit Kevin's cousin Nuala and her family. It was nearly a two-hour drive, but a fairly easy one. We arrived about 3:30 in the afternoon and just hung out with them and had tea and scones (so English!). Kevin's other cousins Breda and Siobhan were there as well, along with his Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Jimmy. Siobhan told us that we have to pronounce the name of the city where Nuala lives as "Manchestah" which I just think is funny for some reason...probably because we sound kind of silly saying it that way as we don't really have the English-accent thing going.
4th of July
For the first time in 8 years, we didn't have a party, for obvious reasons. Kevin's brother said that he had a nice time, though, with our tenants, but couldn't understand why we weren't there. And how come the tenants seemed so confused when he appeared on the doorstep with beer and chips. It was just a regular work day for us, although we did go to Peter & Hayley's house for pizza that evening. I was tempted to walk around work that day singing "Yankee Doodle" but managed to keep a lid on it.
Rain, rain, rain
It has basically been raining here since May. When we arrived in April, the weather was gorgeous for almost the entire month. I think it rained maybe twice, and then it was a brief shower. Ever since then, it's been raining almost every day. Rainfall records are being broken every week all over the UK and there has been severe flooding in many towns. People here keep saying to us that they don't remember a summer like this in recent history. Most of the time, by now it should be somewhat warm and drier, with the occasional shower. But we've had moments of torrential rain and a few thunderstorms here and there. I'm at the point now when people ask me why we're here, I just say, "For the weather, of course."
Little big band concert
Last Saturday night, we went to the local theatre here in Ashby for a concert by the Ashby Big Band. They played lots of standards, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, etc. It was a gorgeous little theatre! They had rows of chairs set up behind tables and even a bar. So you could get a drink and listen to the music. The band had about 20 members and they really were fantastic. We had been by the theatre many times, but had not yet gone to an event. There is an Arts and Music festival coming up in Ashby in 2 weeks' time, so we're going to try to get to some of those events as well.
Manchestah
2 weekends ago, we drove up to Manchester to visit Kevin's cousin Nuala and her family. It was nearly a two-hour drive, but a fairly easy one. We arrived about 3:30 in the afternoon and just hung out with them and had tea and scones (so English!). Kevin's other cousins Breda and Siobhan were there as well, along with his Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Jimmy. Siobhan told us that we have to pronounce the name of the city where Nuala lives as "Manchestah" which I just think is funny for some reason...probably because we sound kind of silly saying it that way as we don't really have the English-accent thing going.
4th of July
For the first time in 8 years, we didn't have a party, for obvious reasons. Kevin's brother said that he had a nice time, though, with our tenants, but couldn't understand why we weren't there. And how come the tenants seemed so confused when he appeared on the doorstep with beer and chips. It was just a regular work day for us, although we did go to Peter & Hayley's house for pizza that evening. I was tempted to walk around work that day singing "Yankee Doodle" but managed to keep a lid on it.
Rain, rain, rain
It has basically been raining here since May. When we arrived in April, the weather was gorgeous for almost the entire month. I think it rained maybe twice, and then it was a brief shower. Ever since then, it's been raining almost every day. Rainfall records are being broken every week all over the UK and there has been severe flooding in many towns. People here keep saying to us that they don't remember a summer like this in recent history. Most of the time, by now it should be somewhat warm and drier, with the occasional shower. But we've had moments of torrential rain and a few thunderstorms here and there. I'm at the point now when people ask me why we're here, I just say, "For the weather, of course."
Little big band concert
Last Saturday night, we went to the local theatre here in Ashby for a concert by the Ashby Big Band. They played lots of standards, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, etc. It was a gorgeous little theatre! They had rows of chairs set up behind tables and even a bar. So you could get a drink and listen to the music. The band had about 20 members and they really were fantastic. We had been by the theatre many times, but had not yet gone to an event. There is an Arts and Music festival coming up in Ashby in 2 weeks' time, so we're going to try to get to some of those events as well.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
3 months and still no couch...
It's hard to believe, but we've been here 3 months already. Boy, the time really has flown! Now that we're starting to really settle in and feel more comfortable, we actually have more to reflect upon since we started this adventure.
The UK and the US are not similar in most ways. The language is definitely different, even though both countries speak "English." We've had to learn local vernacular and try not to misuse words that are familiar to us but have different meanings here. It's always interesting to see people's reactions if you use a word in a different context than they're used to.
Work ethics are somewhat different here as well. We're used to go-go-go, and the pace is definitely slower here. Kevin will have comments on this, but in general, people don't seem as frantic to get things done. As a side effect, customer service can suffer because it seems that people don't necessarily have any incentive to provide good service. Service seems to be better here in the small town, but when you get to the bigger cities, you notice the difference.
Work is not easy to come by, the unemployment figures notwithstanding. Apparently, the employments laws have swung more in favor of employees as of late, making it extremely difficult to get rid of poorly-performing workers. The problem on the other end then becomes an extreme slowdown in the pace of hiring, even for contract workers. Combine this with the "I'll get to it later" attitude, and it really makes the process take forever.
We've been lucky that we've found somewhat steady work, but it really came down to the last minute. We were seriously going to have to consider how much longer the funds would hold out. Here we are, two highly-qualified people ready and willing to work, and we found nothing but frustration at every turn. Not to mention the lengths to which Kev had to go to just to get certified over here.
We also discovered it is possible to go without TV. Yes, you heard it here first. I honestly didn't think Kev would survive, but we've both managed quite well without it. Even he's said how much he likes being able to do other things. We've done tons of reading (books, newspapers, etc.) and actually go out and about in town. Kev has investigated some hobby craft stuff, and I've been working on my French and reading a lot. The only thing we really do miss about not having a TV is the ability to put on a DVD on a rainy Sat/Sun afternoon and veg out. We've got the ability to play DVDs on the laptop, but the picture and sound quality are somewhat lacking. We'll live, though.
No, we still do not have a couch, but I just got a tech writing job that starts next week and it pays well, so maybe we'll go to the charity shops and see what's out there. The problem is getting it home! Hopefully, we'll find someone who delivers.
Many of you have asked what's been going on in between our reports of sightseeing. Well, mainly just trying to settle into daily life and getting into a routine. I can honestly say that although this experience is definitely worthwhile, it's been one of the most difficult things either of us has done. We've left a lot of our frustrating experiences out of the blog, I guess because we don't want people to worry about us or, really, for us to seem incompetent or something. But perhaps it's time to start putting those things in. Because those are truly part of the experience as well and those are the things that will make us more well-rounded people (and probably will make more interesting reading!). This trip has really challenged our ability to roll with the punches, so to speak, but I'm proud of us for adapting and carrying on. Of course, not being able to go back to our house until next April at the earliest is additional incentive.
We've definitely had our "pack the bags and get on the next flight out" moments, but thankfully those are short-lived and not as frequent as they were in the first couple of months. It was really difficult at first. We do miss all of you terribly, but just as your lives continue, so must ours. And we do try to keep in mind that this will all be worth it whenever it comes to an end and we can look back on what we learned and did as a great experiment in cultural assimilation. We'll keep you posted...
What we miss:
Family and friends (natch), sourdough bread, Toto's pizza (Kevin), big cheeseburgers, the ocean nearby every day, Bay Coffee, TV (sometimes), good Italian food, Marin Brewing Company, Mezes, Barolo, sunny days, the fog, hiking in West Marin, Cafe Pacifica on Palmetto, barbecuing, fireworks on 4th of July, Nordstrom...
What we like here:
Pubs (now smoke free!!!), castles, manor houses, rolling green hills and fields, fantastic museums, cheap flights to Europe, 95% of our needs within 5 minutes' walk, the ability to buy groceries in manageable sizes (e.g. sugar in 500 gram bags instead of 5lb sacks), efficient use of house space (not much space to waste), decent public transportation, beer (sorry, it really is better over here), the sense of history, the general friendliness of everyone (although this may be the small town thing), pub food, fish and chips, brick houses with architectural interest...
The UK and the US are not similar in most ways. The language is definitely different, even though both countries speak "English." We've had to learn local vernacular and try not to misuse words that are familiar to us but have different meanings here. It's always interesting to see people's reactions if you use a word in a different context than they're used to.
Work ethics are somewhat different here as well. We're used to go-go-go, and the pace is definitely slower here. Kevin will have comments on this, but in general, people don't seem as frantic to get things done. As a side effect, customer service can suffer because it seems that people don't necessarily have any incentive to provide good service. Service seems to be better here in the small town, but when you get to the bigger cities, you notice the difference.
Work is not easy to come by, the unemployment figures notwithstanding. Apparently, the employments laws have swung more in favor of employees as of late, making it extremely difficult to get rid of poorly-performing workers. The problem on the other end then becomes an extreme slowdown in the pace of hiring, even for contract workers. Combine this with the "I'll get to it later" attitude, and it really makes the process take forever.
We've been lucky that we've found somewhat steady work, but it really came down to the last minute. We were seriously going to have to consider how much longer the funds would hold out. Here we are, two highly-qualified people ready and willing to work, and we found nothing but frustration at every turn. Not to mention the lengths to which Kev had to go to just to get certified over here.
We also discovered it is possible to go without TV. Yes, you heard it here first. I honestly didn't think Kev would survive, but we've both managed quite well without it. Even he's said how much he likes being able to do other things. We've done tons of reading (books, newspapers, etc.) and actually go out and about in town. Kev has investigated some hobby craft stuff, and I've been working on my French and reading a lot. The only thing we really do miss about not having a TV is the ability to put on a DVD on a rainy Sat/Sun afternoon and veg out. We've got the ability to play DVDs on the laptop, but the picture and sound quality are somewhat lacking. We'll live, though.
No, we still do not have a couch, but I just got a tech writing job that starts next week and it pays well, so maybe we'll go to the charity shops and see what's out there. The problem is getting it home! Hopefully, we'll find someone who delivers.
Many of you have asked what's been going on in between our reports of sightseeing. Well, mainly just trying to settle into daily life and getting into a routine. I can honestly say that although this experience is definitely worthwhile, it's been one of the most difficult things either of us has done. We've left a lot of our frustrating experiences out of the blog, I guess because we don't want people to worry about us or, really, for us to seem incompetent or something. But perhaps it's time to start putting those things in. Because those are truly part of the experience as well and those are the things that will make us more well-rounded people (and probably will make more interesting reading!). This trip has really challenged our ability to roll with the punches, so to speak, but I'm proud of us for adapting and carrying on. Of course, not being able to go back to our house until next April at the earliest is additional incentive.
We've definitely had our "pack the bags and get on the next flight out" moments, but thankfully those are short-lived and not as frequent as they were in the first couple of months. It was really difficult at first. We do miss all of you terribly, but just as your lives continue, so must ours. And we do try to keep in mind that this will all be worth it whenever it comes to an end and we can look back on what we learned and did as a great experiment in cultural assimilation. We'll keep you posted...
What we miss:
Family and friends (natch), sourdough bread, Toto's pizza (Kevin), big cheeseburgers, the ocean nearby every day, Bay Coffee, TV (sometimes), good Italian food, Marin Brewing Company, Mezes, Barolo, sunny days, the fog, hiking in West Marin, Cafe Pacifica on Palmetto, barbecuing, fireworks on 4th of July, Nordstrom...
What we like here:
Pubs (now smoke free!!!), castles, manor houses, rolling green hills and fields, fantastic museums, cheap flights to Europe, 95% of our needs within 5 minutes' walk, the ability to buy groceries in manageable sizes (e.g. sugar in 500 gram bags instead of 5lb sacks), efficient use of house space (not much space to waste), decent public transportation, beer (sorry, it really is better over here), the sense of history, the general friendliness of everyone (although this may be the small town thing), pub food, fish and chips, brick houses with architectural interest...
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