That's where I've been...on walkabout.
I'm amazed you guys have kept going all this time...but then I did have a quick peek on the CLP blog and am not totally surprised that some need to find some refuge...
Is it me, or did a storm in a teacup suddenly turn into world war 3? I guess hindsight is a wonderful thing for giving some calmer perspective.
Life goes on, madly busy at work and still flying around the place all the time. Am in Germany for the weekend and therefore I have the first time to sit and surf for weeks and months. Am off to Cornwall next week on Wednesday (for the Mrs Moose and Mooselet #2 double bill birthday) and they are all there already - not worth an extra weekend trip to come back for 2 days. Am playing golf tomorrow with a colleague...forecast is 35 degrees so I must just take a hat and some sun cream. Unlike last time when I frazzled myself.
Have had a coaching session at work. Good guy, really challenged me on a real sore point for me.
I am looking forward to working with him some more...
I will probably not be back for a while. After the Cornwall trip I'm back in Germany for a week then we're off on our proper hols for another 2 weeks.
Keep up the good work...I'm very proud of you all! See you in September...
Friday, 25 July 2008
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Cleaning Day
A Bank Holiday in Germany today and I'm sitting at my desk wasting time and trying to put off cleaning the flat and doing my washing for as long as possible. I have to work this afternoon as well, so I guess I'm trying to put that off too.
Mrs Moose and the Mooselets are planned for a short trip over at the weekend as part of Half Term excitement. If only the Post Office would deliver Mooselet #2's passport then everything would be fine...
Hence the cleaning. I did clean once just after I'd moved in. But since then other things seem to always get in the way, and I only ever see the place in the dark when it's so much easier to ignore. Mrs Patel is the answer...I really must engage her services soon. (She is a cleaner, not a provider of any other form of personal services....)
I have a shiny new I-Pod docking station that is currently blaring out Bohemian Rhapsody at me as I type...picture Garth rocking out while driving and you almost get the picture....antlers waving in the air rather than long blond hair.
And for the philosophical question for the day (or given my record at posting, for the next 3 weeks): Why am I so good at defining what I don't want in life but so very poor in defining what I really do want?
Mrs Moose and the Mooselets are planned for a short trip over at the weekend as part of Half Term excitement. If only the Post Office would deliver Mooselet #2's passport then everything would be fine...
Hence the cleaning. I did clean once just after I'd moved in. But since then other things seem to always get in the way, and I only ever see the place in the dark when it's so much easier to ignore. Mrs Patel is the answer...I really must engage her services soon. (She is a cleaner, not a provider of any other form of personal services....)
I have a shiny new I-Pod docking station that is currently blaring out Bohemian Rhapsody at me as I type...picture Garth rocking out while driving and you almost get the picture....antlers waving in the air rather than long blond hair.
And for the philosophical question for the day (or given my record at posting, for the next 3 weeks): Why am I so good at defining what I don't want in life but so very poor in defining what I really do want?
Friday, 2 May 2008
Back again...
..via a spot of sunshine and sand on the south coast.
Have been busying myself with a profit forecast. Not an enthralling thing to be doing but at least it meant eating steak while looking at the sea last night. Have fought my way back through Bank Holiday traffic today in time to see the Mooselets and Mrs Moose. Makes up a bit for not actually getting a Bank Holiday. Grman one was on Thursday as they still do the quaint old-fashioned thing and celebrate May Day on May Day. But I was in Poole. On Monday I fly at my normal horrible o'clock in the morning time back to Germany and work, while everyone else gets to watch the rain in the UK. (Sorry!)
Does anyone else feel even just a little bit sorry for Gordon Brown?
It was all going so well for him...a reputation as one of our best Chancellors ever, a nice wife and children to fight those vicious rumours that keep bubbling up, and the pleasure of pretending to be devastated when the PM took a hell of a beating in the local elections.
Now he's got a reputation as one of the worst PMs ever, the rumours keep on coming (well they do here anyway!), and he's the one eating the humble pie.
So the question that remains is this...Who ate all the pies?
My money is on Boris...
Have been busying myself with a profit forecast. Not an enthralling thing to be doing but at least it meant eating steak while looking at the sea last night. Have fought my way back through Bank Holiday traffic today in time to see the Mooselets and Mrs Moose. Makes up a bit for not actually getting a Bank Holiday. Grman one was on Thursday as they still do the quaint old-fashioned thing and celebrate May Day on May Day. But I was in Poole. On Monday I fly at my normal horrible o'clock in the morning time back to Germany and work, while everyone else gets to watch the rain in the UK. (Sorry!)
Does anyone else feel even just a little bit sorry for Gordon Brown?
It was all going so well for him...a reputation as one of our best Chancellors ever, a nice wife and children to fight those vicious rumours that keep bubbling up, and the pleasure of pretending to be devastated when the PM took a hell of a beating in the local elections.
Now he's got a reputation as one of the worst PMs ever, the rumours keep on coming (well they do here anyway!), and he's the one eating the humble pie.
So the question that remains is this...Who ate all the pies?
My money is on Boris...
Friday, 25 April 2008
Party?
As I'm in the country, anyone fancy a picnic party?
Location: Lundy Island
Time: 4 pm, finishing off with a communal skinny dip in the sea and listening to ARF
Jobs: Hazel - enormous sound system
Caroline - food
Me - eating food
Everyone else - wild fun
Hope to see you all there...
Location: Lundy Island
Time: 4 pm, finishing off with a communal skinny dip in the sea and listening to ARF
Jobs: Hazel - enormous sound system
Caroline - food
Me - eating food
Everyone else - wild fun
Hope to see you all there...
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Connected
Hooray for Wireless Lans....
Connected now, feels so much better. Currently posting from Steve the Aussie Personal Trainer's flat - he lives upstairs and has a LAN that we are sharing. I hope it works as well from my flat downstairs. He also has a far more comfortable sofa than I do, so following my run this evening along the banks of the Main river, I needed some comfort. He says "G'day"...to all of you.
Stayed over this weekend to work and ended up getting invited to a dinner party and a barbecue...can't complain. This week sees the end of some of the last few weeks stress. I'm sure there'll be more from different sources to come, but at the moment it's just nice to see the end looming for one major piece of work.
The dinner party was a very nice international affair...2 South Africans, 1 Macedonian, 3 Germans, 1 American, 1 Peruvian, 2 Brits and a half Peruvian/half German baby. And a mad dog called Mackenzie! We ate traditional South African and Peruvian food - what a mixture. All fantastic though, and washed down by some wine from a vineyard that the hostess used to work for and the host's friend runs. Now they are the sort of friends to have!
Connected now, feels so much better. Currently posting from Steve the Aussie Personal Trainer's flat - he lives upstairs and has a LAN that we are sharing. I hope it works as well from my flat downstairs. He also has a far more comfortable sofa than I do, so following my run this evening along the banks of the Main river, I needed some comfort. He says "G'day"...to all of you.
Stayed over this weekend to work and ended up getting invited to a dinner party and a barbecue...can't complain. This week sees the end of some of the last few weeks stress. I'm sure there'll be more from different sources to come, but at the moment it's just nice to see the end looming for one major piece of work.
The dinner party was a very nice international affair...2 South Africans, 1 Macedonian, 3 Germans, 1 American, 1 Peruvian, 2 Brits and a half Peruvian/half German baby. And a mad dog called Mackenzie! We ate traditional South African and Peruvian food - what a mixture. All fantastic though, and washed down by some wine from a vineyard that the hostess used to work for and the host's friend runs. Now they are the sort of friends to have!
Saturday, 12 April 2008
...and relax....
Apologies for the long absence. Life suddenly got hectic.
So much has happened, where to start...
I was made interim Finance Director, then I was made permanent Finance Director.
Had a few weekends in Germany.
Company has been taken to court by an egomaniac.
So much work to do I don't know where to start.
Starting to make an impression on people, I think. My team are e-mailing me over the weekend, so they got the strong hints about needing to work the weekend becasue there's so much to do, without me having to actually tell them to work the weekend...always better that way!
If I could just get the month end results completed and presented in somewhat the way I want them and a Profit Forecast done that vaguely resembles what might happen in the rest of the year, all by Tuesday morning, I'll be happy!!!
Seriously though, I already love the industry and the management team are mostly already good friends...makes a huge difference, especially when battling a common enemy in court. (We won by the way...yeehaa!). I'm on an ex-pat contract with the expectation of being out there for 18 to 24 months. But nothing is forever and you never know what the future brings. For the moment I'm challenged way outside my comfort zone - thought my German was quite good until I had to write an Affa Davit in German!!!. In fact, I thought my German was quite good until I had to deal with the German legal system, full stop!
The good thing about the job is that I'm senior enough to have REAL influence, which was lacking at the big T...by the way, did you see the story of the Scouse woman applying for planning permission to have the big boss's house demolished? Crackin' cheese, Gromit!
My biggest challenge at the moment is taking control of my own diary and my own time. When I do it works well. It's a funny feeling to just tell everyone what's changing and then for them all to turn up in my office at the right times!
I'll have to remember not to let the power go to my antlers!!!
I have to do a fitness test on Tuesday that I'm going to fail really badly...that should bring me back down to earth with a moose sized bump. Let me know if you feel any tremors at about 6.30am...
Greetings to everyone...I should be getting an internet connection in my flat very soon. Not that I spend a lot of time there at the moment - I'm either in the office or being wined and dined! And with work the way it is I can't promise to blog again soon, but I will, as ever, do my very best...
Macht's gut!!!
So much has happened, where to start...
I was made interim Finance Director, then I was made permanent Finance Director.
Had a few weekends in Germany.
Company has been taken to court by an egomaniac.
So much work to do I don't know where to start.
Starting to make an impression on people, I think. My team are e-mailing me over the weekend, so they got the strong hints about needing to work the weekend becasue there's so much to do, without me having to actually tell them to work the weekend...always better that way!
If I could just get the month end results completed and presented in somewhat the way I want them and a Profit Forecast done that vaguely resembles what might happen in the rest of the year, all by Tuesday morning, I'll be happy!!!
Seriously though, I already love the industry and the management team are mostly already good friends...makes a huge difference, especially when battling a common enemy in court. (We won by the way...yeehaa!). I'm on an ex-pat contract with the expectation of being out there for 18 to 24 months. But nothing is forever and you never know what the future brings. For the moment I'm challenged way outside my comfort zone - thought my German was quite good until I had to write an Affa Davit in German!!!. In fact, I thought my German was quite good until I had to deal with the German legal system, full stop!
The good thing about the job is that I'm senior enough to have REAL influence, which was lacking at the big T...by the way, did you see the story of the Scouse woman applying for planning permission to have the big boss's house demolished? Crackin' cheese, Gromit!
My biggest challenge at the moment is taking control of my own diary and my own time. When I do it works well. It's a funny feeling to just tell everyone what's changing and then for them all to turn up in my office at the right times!
I'll have to remember not to let the power go to my antlers!!!
I have to do a fitness test on Tuesday that I'm going to fail really badly...that should bring me back down to earth with a moose sized bump. Let me know if you feel any tremors at about 6.30am...
Greetings to everyone...I should be getting an internet connection in my flat very soon. Not that I spend a lot of time there at the moment - I'm either in the office or being wined and dined! And with work the way it is I can't promise to blog again soon, but I will, as ever, do my very best...
Macht's gut!!!
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Inspiration
Elder mooselet's birthday on Sunday. Yes, I know....
Maybe the price I paid for the small misleading statement (I didn't actually write that his birthday was last weekend when requesting, just said it was his birthday at the weekend without being specific which one...) is that the first time I got to even try to Listen Again was this morning, concerned that it would already have been wiped in favour of this Friday's ARF. and of course I was right. Anyone with an MP3 file of the 7th March show, please e-mail it to me!!!!!
Had an interesting lunch with the CEO on Friday discussing possible permanent roles for me in the company. We've agreed to keep running as we are at the moment and keep the dialogue going as to future directions. As long as I'm earning decently and enjoying what I'm doing, I have no current need to know what's coming next and am contented to go with the flow, dipping my oar in the water now and again to slightly influence the direction that flow takes me in.
Inspiration has struck on the book front. I am making some progress again on Book 1. I can truly call it that now because I have an idea for Book 2. It's not a sequel as I don't really have any story threads in Book 1 that justify one, but it is a spin-off in that Book 2 is essentially the story of a character mentioned in one line of Book 1. I am at the mind-mapping chapters and ideas stage at the moment, trying not to get too distracted from completing Book 1 ready for sending to agents, but excited at the thought of being at the very beginning of the creative process again. Starting on Book 2 is also important to persuade an agent/publisher that I've got more than one book in me. Plane journeys are impossible to use for the work left on Book 1 anyway, so using the time with my little notebook and my ideas for Book 2 isn't really distraction...convinced? I'm not sure I am...
Maybe the price I paid for the small misleading statement (I didn't actually write that his birthday was last weekend when requesting, just said it was his birthday at the weekend without being specific which one...) is that the first time I got to even try to Listen Again was this morning, concerned that it would already have been wiped in favour of this Friday's ARF. and of course I was right. Anyone with an MP3 file of the 7th March show, please e-mail it to me!!!!!
Had an interesting lunch with the CEO on Friday discussing possible permanent roles for me in the company. We've agreed to keep running as we are at the moment and keep the dialogue going as to future directions. As long as I'm earning decently and enjoying what I'm doing, I have no current need to know what's coming next and am contented to go with the flow, dipping my oar in the water now and again to slightly influence the direction that flow takes me in.
Inspiration has struck on the book front. I am making some progress again on Book 1. I can truly call it that now because I have an idea for Book 2. It's not a sequel as I don't really have any story threads in Book 1 that justify one, but it is a spin-off in that Book 2 is essentially the story of a character mentioned in one line of Book 1. I am at the mind-mapping chapters and ideas stage at the moment, trying not to get too distracted from completing Book 1 ready for sending to agents, but excited at the thought of being at the very beginning of the creative process again. Starting on Book 2 is also important to persuade an agent/publisher that I've got more than one book in me. Plane journeys are impossible to use for the work left on Book 1 anyway, so using the time with my little notebook and my ideas for Book 2 isn't really distraction...convinced? I'm not sure I am...
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