Posts
My inspiriation and blogging idol (that is you Laurie!!) encouraged me to update my look. Being a tried and true blogger for a few months, I thought this would be an easy feat... not so much. After a few hours of searching, clicking, rearranging- here it is. New and improved.
Where do I find the time? Well, work is a bit slow. It takes time to get up and running, especially on a large team with mostly project work. So, I'm adjusting to a life of 7 hour workdays and a much slower pace of work. Not that I am complaining, but it is an adjustment nonetheless.
There isn't too much to report as most of my week is just working and hanging out with friends after work while JP puts in his hours for busy season. This weekend we'll head to Brussels and Brugge in Belgium for the weekend. It will be the first trip we take the Eurostar, so that should be exciting. I'll be sure to share pictures when we return. I can't wait for big buckets of mussels and fries!
Until then, enjoy the week!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
You alright? Jolly good, jolly good
Week 3 started off on a positive note, induction (what they call orientation here) is over finally and now it is time to work.
Continuing on my theme of observations, I’d like to share other tid bits I’ve taken down over the last few weeks. Let me start by saying the job is great, I continue to learn a lot every day and I really like the team.
Many of the English on my team answer the phone like normal- eg. Hi, this is _____. You can hear the way the conversation goes- the person on the other line identifies themselves, asks the question “You all right?” and the answer inevitably is “Jolly good, jolly good.” I seriously stifle a giggle every time my very kind desk partner answers her phone. I love the way they say it and that it is part of their vernacular. It is not, hi, how are you. The appropriate greeting here is “You all right?”
However, some part of the social etiquette that is taking some getting used to- first, it is not appropriate to smile at others in the hall while walking by. Even if you know the person, then it may be ok to nod or turn your lips up into a very slight smile, but under no circumstances am I my normal “Hi! How are you?” co-worker I used to be. People walk the halls like they walk to the tube- fast, head down, and will walk around/overtake you if you are moving slow. It is so funny, people are painfully pleasant when you come in the morning- lots of sing songy good mornings, you all right’s, how was your night, did you hear about such and such, did you watch this show last night… but in the halls, look down and keep walking.
This firm is incredibly meeting happy. You have never seen anything like it. People live and die by their lotus notes diary (or calendar) and everyone has access to everyone else’s diary- including Directors and Partners. You are forever hearing- “put 20 minutes in my diary so we can discuss.” On any given day, I will sit in half a dozen meetings. I’m serious- most meetings are to prepare for another meeting or recap from a meeting I just came from.
It gets better… so, in an open plan office, nobody has an office. Not even Partners. What this means is that you are forever booking rooms for such meetings. The office is over capacity, people who “hot desk” (which means they book a place to sit when they come to the office rather than have a permanent place to sit) often don’t have anywhere to sit if they come in after a certain time in the day. Equally hard is finding a meeting room. When you do succeed and find a meeting room to book, you’ll find other people in there, going over their scheduled meeting time, with no regard for your scheduled meeting that is about to begin. It doesn’t matter anyway though, because no meeting starts on time. Typical protocol is that if you have a 3pm meeting, when your computer reads 2:59pm, you go to fill up your water bottle while the printer is printing your meeting materials. Then, at 3:04, you grab the materials and ask the person next to you if they are going to said meeting. Then, at 3:06 the two of you start walking towards the meeting and decide to take the stairs because it is hard to get a lift (elevator). You arrive at coveted meeting spot at 3:10 to find others milling outside the meeting room because the meeting before yours has gone over, and nobody is budging because you see a Partner in there. So, you joke until about 3:15 until finally the brave one in your meeting group sticks their head in the room and gently encourages the other meeting to end (remember, non confrontational culture here). Finally, you assemble to start your 3pm meeting at around 3:17, and someone comes in with a caddy full of tea and coffee they picked up downstairs and everyone takes their drink and sits down looking expectantly at the meeting organizer to begin. All meetings here, even if they should only be 20 minutes, end up being almost an hour because of such things. As a perennially “late” person, I’m ok with this timing, although some days it is a wonder how people get actual work done.
Another lovely habit that I’ve taken to has to do with heels in the office… and I am happy to discover that it is totally appropriate to roll all the way up to your desk with your trainers (athletic shoes) on, ipod still in ears from your train ride, etc. Most women here keep their shoes in the office in drawers or beneath their desk and commute back and forth in trainers. If you ever went to my old office in OC, you’d remember my collection. It is nice to have that piece of familiarity. It is also nice to not feel the pressure to walk everywhere in 2’-3’ heels.
I’ve determined that I like the Scottish people I meet. They generally are so much nicer and receiving than the Brits. Half my team is Scottish or Irish, the others are British. I’m the only American. It is nice in that with all the differences there are between cultures, I still have a lot in common with most of them.
As for weather, it is settling into what I understand is to be two to three full months of clouds and rain. It hasn’t rained too much, but there hasn’t been sun in over a week. I am seriously counting the days until Easter when JP and I head to Portugal for the sun.
In a final conclusion note to my rambling- I’d just like to just say that more of our friends are booking trips! I’m so excited when I get messages about dates and upcoming trips. We still have a ways to wait for Stacy and Frank in March but a little piece of home is something to look forward to.
Enjoy the rest of your week everybody! Until next time… be jolly, be good.
Continuing on my theme of observations, I’d like to share other tid bits I’ve taken down over the last few weeks. Let me start by saying the job is great, I continue to learn a lot every day and I really like the team.
Many of the English on my team answer the phone like normal- eg. Hi, this is _____. You can hear the way the conversation goes- the person on the other line identifies themselves, asks the question “You all right?” and the answer inevitably is “Jolly good, jolly good.” I seriously stifle a giggle every time my very kind desk partner answers her phone. I love the way they say it and that it is part of their vernacular. It is not, hi, how are you. The appropriate greeting here is “You all right?”
However, some part of the social etiquette that is taking some getting used to- first, it is not appropriate to smile at others in the hall while walking by. Even if you know the person, then it may be ok to nod or turn your lips up into a very slight smile, but under no circumstances am I my normal “Hi! How are you?” co-worker I used to be. People walk the halls like they walk to the tube- fast, head down, and will walk around/overtake you if you are moving slow. It is so funny, people are painfully pleasant when you come in the morning- lots of sing songy good mornings, you all right’s, how was your night, did you hear about such and such, did you watch this show last night… but in the halls, look down and keep walking.
This firm is incredibly meeting happy. You have never seen anything like it. People live and die by their lotus notes diary (or calendar) and everyone has access to everyone else’s diary- including Directors and Partners. You are forever hearing- “put 20 minutes in my diary so we can discuss.” On any given day, I will sit in half a dozen meetings. I’m serious- most meetings are to prepare for another meeting or recap from a meeting I just came from.
It gets better… so, in an open plan office, nobody has an office. Not even Partners. What this means is that you are forever booking rooms for such meetings. The office is over capacity, people who “hot desk” (which means they book a place to sit when they come to the office rather than have a permanent place to sit) often don’t have anywhere to sit if they come in after a certain time in the day. Equally hard is finding a meeting room. When you do succeed and find a meeting room to book, you’ll find other people in there, going over their scheduled meeting time, with no regard for your scheduled meeting that is about to begin. It doesn’t matter anyway though, because no meeting starts on time. Typical protocol is that if you have a 3pm meeting, when your computer reads 2:59pm, you go to fill up your water bottle while the printer is printing your meeting materials. Then, at 3:04, you grab the materials and ask the person next to you if they are going to said meeting. Then, at 3:06 the two of you start walking towards the meeting and decide to take the stairs because it is hard to get a lift (elevator). You arrive at coveted meeting spot at 3:10 to find others milling outside the meeting room because the meeting before yours has gone over, and nobody is budging because you see a Partner in there. So, you joke until about 3:15 until finally the brave one in your meeting group sticks their head in the room and gently encourages the other meeting to end (remember, non confrontational culture here). Finally, you assemble to start your 3pm meeting at around 3:17, and someone comes in with a caddy full of tea and coffee they picked up downstairs and everyone takes their drink and sits down looking expectantly at the meeting organizer to begin. All meetings here, even if they should only be 20 minutes, end up being almost an hour because of such things. As a perennially “late” person, I’m ok with this timing, although some days it is a wonder how people get actual work done.
Another lovely habit that I’ve taken to has to do with heels in the office… and I am happy to discover that it is totally appropriate to roll all the way up to your desk with your trainers (athletic shoes) on, ipod still in ears from your train ride, etc. Most women here keep their shoes in the office in drawers or beneath their desk and commute back and forth in trainers. If you ever went to my old office in OC, you’d remember my collection. It is nice to have that piece of familiarity. It is also nice to not feel the pressure to walk everywhere in 2’-3’ heels.
I’ve determined that I like the Scottish people I meet. They generally are so much nicer and receiving than the Brits. Half my team is Scottish or Irish, the others are British. I’m the only American. It is nice in that with all the differences there are between cultures, I still have a lot in common with most of them.
As for weather, it is settling into what I understand is to be two to three full months of clouds and rain. It hasn’t rained too much, but there hasn’t been sun in over a week. I am seriously counting the days until Easter when JP and I head to Portugal for the sun.
In a final conclusion note to my rambling- I’d just like to just say that more of our friends are booking trips! I’m so excited when I get messages about dates and upcoming trips. We still have a ways to wait for Stacy and Frank in March but a little piece of home is something to look forward to.
Enjoy the rest of your week everybody! Until next time… be jolly, be good.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Working 9-5
Week one into the new job and I have so much to report! Let me start off by sharing that I am now working for Ernst & Young. I know, I know, I had reported late last year that I would be joining Towers Perrin. Long story short- circumstances changed and on Monday, 7 January I started at Ernst & Young as a Learning and Development Officer in the Financial Services HR group.
As JP has asked on more than one occasion- "What is it that you do?" Basically I am part of a small group of HR professionals who design and implement internal training programs for the professionals in the Financial Services practice. The programs we work on include fast track programs to management, soft skills building for people (like building client relationships, enhancing influence and selling skills, etc.), Partner Track training, etc. It is something that I've been interested in for a long time and I am excited to do something non-recruiting related for the first time in the 7 1/2 years I've been out of school.
All week long I was in trainings and orientations and I took copious notes and poured over org charts to understand the business. Through the week I also kept a side list- observations and comparisions to my old world in the US. For your pleasure viewing, here are some initial thoughts:
As JP has asked on more than one occasion- "What is it that you do?" Basically I am part of a small group of HR professionals who design and implement internal training programs for the professionals in the Financial Services practice. The programs we work on include fast track programs to management, soft skills building for people (like building client relationships, enhancing influence and selling skills, etc.), Partner Track training, etc. It is something that I've been interested in for a long time and I am excited to do something non-recruiting related for the first time in the 7 1/2 years I've been out of school.
All week long I was in trainings and orientations and I took copious notes and poured over org charts to understand the business. Through the week I also kept a side list- observations and comparisions to my old world in the US. For your pleasure viewing, here are some initial thoughts:
- Fire exits. Every training I go to that is the first thing the presenter points out- what the fire exit plan is and where the exits are. Not where the restrooms (toilets) are, or where you can get tea and coffee... just the fire exits. As a seasoned presenter, it is something I had never given much thought to in the past.
- Open plan office- a lot of companies here in the UK have what is called "Open Office" plans. Everyone sits at desks with small partitions- even the Partners. There are no offices. There are meeting rooms and small huddle rooms to make personal calls and host meetings. Coming from having my own office to this is going to take a lot of getting used to. How does one get their important internet surfing done in an open plan office environment?
- The London office has 6,000 employees in it. It is huge. The office has a cafeteria, ATM's, a coffee shop, and even a place to pick up train tickets ordered in advance. I'm sure there is more, but that is all I've seen to date. My old office had maybe 350 people, all of whom I knew at least by face. In the old days I could walk up to the IT guys to ask a computer question, or go to the facilities people and ask for a favor. Now, I'm forced to learn a process to request this and go through the normal channels... ugh.
- So, there is so much US bashing here! JP had alluded to some before but never went into much detail. They love to point out how they are superior to the US here! Case in point: during the corporate orientation here- the presenter gave all the high level facts of the firm- it is a huge organization overall. The UK firm has 10,000 people and last year brought in about 2 Billion USD in revenues. The US firm has about 35,000 people and last year had over 18 Billion USD in revenues. The presenter (a Brit) told the audience of new joiners " Some people think this is a US firm. These numbers clearly represent the strength of the UK firm and show that we are actually bigger here." I'm not a mathmetician, but I think he was wrong. On more than one occasion this week people have gone out of their way to point out what about the US firm is wrong, bad, etc. In orientation even! I could never imagine disparaging any nationality in my old days- where I did a fair amount of orientations and trainings. It is probably because I am American, and I did work for the US firm, so why draw direct comparisions when we all worked for the US firm? Who knows, but there is a rather large chip on some people's shoulders that can make anybody not from here feel a little out of place.
- There are Partners in the UK firm named Steve Martin, James Dean, and Matt Broderick. Cool huh!
- The hygiene habits of the Brits leave much to be desired. People openly blow their noses at the table here- and it completely disgusts me. They carry hankies and tissues and just let loose. What happened to stiff upper lip, prim and proper behavior? Also, people stash their said hankies and (used) tissued up their sleeves. Seriously? In a meeting recently, one of the Partners pulled out his hanky, blew his nose rather loudly, and then stuffed the hanky up his shirt sleeve. It made me a little queasy to my tummy.
These initial thoughts are a little negative, so I want to put it out there that I'm very happy with the new team. The people in the group I joined are very pleasant and nice. They all seem very interested in getting to know me and ask lots of questions and crack jokes all day. I was apprehensive that being an outsider and from the US I'd have a hard time with that, but that is all going extremely well.
After week one I don't have a real hankering to go back to my lady of leisure days- although I do miss sleeping in until 10am. I am back to living for the weekends again, but that is ok, now I have money so spend on the weekends!
This weekend was more of the same- but as a group we are trying to get out beyond our neighborhoods and explore other areas of the city. On Friday night we stayed local, but last night a big group of us went to a Mexican restaurant in SoHo. The food was ok, nothing to get excited about. The dinner was followed by a pub crawl through the sprinkles to a few pubs in the area we were in. It was plenty fun and we even caught the last tube home- leaving no room for error on the erroneous night bus.
In the coming week JP disappears into busy season hours on his new client, and I am left to figure things out and cook for one. The joys of being married to an accountant!
Until next time, cheers, and have a great week!Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Shaken, not stirred
Happy New Year friends! I hope you all had a safe and fun New Year's Eve.We decided this year to do it up for our first official new year's in London. Luckily, our friend Andrea from OC was in town, so she rolled out with us. We went to a bar in Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester" if you are interested) called Verve. They were hosting a new year's bash with a James Bond theme. Everyone got dressed up in their best Bond attire and headed out to enjoy some drinks, casino games, and dancing. 
Here are JP and Andrea, one of many ridiculous pics they took like this!Those of the GEP'ers who were in town for the holidays, or returned home from the US in time joined us - we had a party of 14 out for the night! It was fun, the bar was packed full of revelers (see below) and the music was fun. We managed through the night with minimal hiccups. We met lots of other people at the bar (many from the US), and had fun watching some of our single friends out on the prowl. 
The crowd in Leicester Square was incredible- I think every Londoner and tourist alike was out and about. There were a zillion bobbies (cops) out for crowd control, many on huge horses, and the central part of the city's transportation lines were closed. So, at the end of the night, which was really early morning, the three of us decided to brave the crowds and head home. We thought we'd hop on the night bus like normal and head back. Unfortunately for Andrea's and my feet, we ended up walking a couple miles away to get the tube (it stayed open all night last night) home. My feet are still recovering from the hiking!
I've decided now though that New Year's Day is my favorite holiday. We didn't wake until after noon, made some food, and vegged on the couch. We can't go anywhere - everything is closed. Also, our guests are now all gone, so it was the first day we've had with nobody in town for over two weeks. Our place is clean again and quiet, it was nice! Not that we don't miss our family terribly- that much is true- but it is nice to resume to some normalcy.
If you are interested in seeing more random pics, feel free to visit this shutterfly link:
Enjoy your week going back to work! I'll go back to my lady of leisure ways until January 7 when I start work- and I can't wait!
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