Marvin and Tianhao came round last night to look at the car. Today we got an email saying that they wanted to take it off our hands. Great news. They're flexible on when we actually sell it to them which is great for us. And I'm happy that it's going to a good home. It's served us well.
I arrived at work this morning to find an email in my inbox from Katie at Sheffield. She wants to interview me by telephone "to look at [my] career history and ability to step into a role such as this." It's been arranged for 9:30pm next Tuesday. Also she told me who the role was with finally - Hamilton Hindin Greene, "one of the few unincorporated and independent stockbroking and investment advisory firms in New Zealand." I still know nothing about equities and securities though. I must remember to ask what was the change in circumstances that led to my initial rejection being turned around.
A second bit of news of the job front (leading to the title of today's post) was via an interesting chat with Fred, the previous MD of cocoa, the one who appointed me head of the department. Firstly he was not disappointed with me about leaving, which was a relief. I was quite worried that he would be, but it seems that he is very understanding about changes in circumstance. He's now doing this group facility thing of looking at key issues that may potentially affect the company in any commodity, so has a close relationship with all of the senior management. It seems that one division that is really light on structured analysis is MAST - so molasses, alcohol, biofuels, rubber, palm etc etc. The MD of that division is a guy who used to be in the Cocoa division years ago and who I did some work for previously (investigating the relationship between El Nino and fish oil production in Peru and global fish oil prices, if you're interested). Fred has suggested that this guy and Marcelo get together and come up with some sort of proposal for them to both kind of employ me for project-based analysis, working remotely. And on a firmer basis than the consultancy thing Marcelo mentioned before. Fred's really positive it could work, which is great, and it's definitely worth considering, I reckon, and it won't hurt to talk it over. I said to Fred that I'd be keen to discuss further but would want some definite contract, rather than just a promise of ad hoc work, and he agreed that that would be important for job security. So, that's an option then. The plan, Fred thought, would be to sign me up initially for a year and then see how it went, maybe with a six month halfway appraisal of the situation. It would be nice to go over there not having to worry about a job, for sure. The downside, of course, would be that it would almost certainly guarantee me being back over here for a month at some point to officially hand over to my replacement, and also probably to do the travelling and introducing handover thing. I emailed Marcelo today to ask what's the latest on telling my Research colleagues my news.
No news either on Joanne's relocation/deployment thing yet.
My dad was down this weekend, his last time visiting us in London. It was good to see him. Joanne and I had a grand and massive packing session and got quite a lot done. It's very difficult to assess which of your possessions you're going to need for the next five months or so, you know.
Ooh, and Marvin and Tianhao are coming over tonight to look at the car. Fingers crossed...
Another week has passed and still I've not been able to tell people at work that I'm leaving. Only seven weeks left now.
I took the car to a valet place at Canary Wharf today to get it clean and ready for selling. It's a little early but it needed it and at least it'll make it doubly clean next time. I took the photos we need for advertising in Autoexpress too, and for old time's sake. Gonna miss that car, you know. I'd be pleased if Marvin and Tianhao decide they want to take it off us. It'd be nice to know it was going to a good home. We've been looking at cars online in NZ recently. The latest thinking is a Mini for bezzing round town and some sort of 4x4 SUV thing for out of town and other stuff. Joanne's keen to go skiing regularly it seems. I wonder if we'll manage to go this summer, erm... winter.
Planning to do a good bit of packing this afternoon, of our clothes at least. So much to do. If it all goes well we plan on trying to get the shipping people round a week on Monday. The sooner our stuff starts it's long journey to Christchurch the better, we reckon. At least then it might be there soon after we get there.
Did I mention we'd had our temporary accommodation all approved and everything? That's a relief for us.
There's bad news on the job front. Not for me, but for Joanne. The head Singapore guy who has to agree to her relocation over there has baulked at the cost. She got a voicemail yesterday (classy!) from him telling her that she is too expensive. It's not all over though, as senior London people don't want to lose her expertise so it might be that her working from home can still be sorted out, just without the redeployment part. It's a big step backwards though. It's just a shame that internal politics dog business nowadays and silly arguments about who pays for who and who is whose overhead means that Credit Suisse may lose Joanne's eight years' experience. It's all a bit daft if you ask me. Joanne and I have agreed a deadline of four weeks before we leave before she tells the NZ employment agents she's available.
Regarding my employment situation, Marcelo left for Luxembourg an hour or so ago. Nothing was done regarding telling the Research department of my move, despite talk to the contrary. If it's not done next week it's going to be mid-June by the time Kirsty hears as she's going to Switzerland and then Vietnam a week on Monday.
Late on yesterday Marcelo took me aside to tell me that he's had permission to approach his first choice for my role but won't be able to approach him until next week. He's been advised by the HR department to look elsewhere, just in case this person decides he likes it better where he is, surrounded by mountains and fresh air, rather than buildings and traffic (which wouldn't surprise me, to be honest). As part of this process, I had to prepare a job spec document. Good job I had a copy of my newly-updated CV laying around, eh? It was pretty much a cut and paste job.
We've just heard from the estate agent dealing with our flat sale that all we're waiting on are the local searches. Apparently Tower Hamlets are working through a backlog though. Once that comes through we can set exchange and completion dates.
I spoke to Marcelo last night. Most welcome support and thoughts in the last couple of days from Marcus and all of the book-group boys pointed me to what I already knew. The Slack lads had useful contributions in the same direction too, although their reasoning was not quite the same as that of Marcus, Chris, Ed, Ian and Jason. I told him that Joanne's handed her notice in, our flights are booked, our flat is sold, and we've organised accommodation in Christchurch. All of that, and the fact that I would be negligent in my duty as a husband to let Joanne go and move to the other side of the world without me led to my decision to decline his invitation to extend my employ until end-Sep or whenever. I think he understood my reasoning, and maybe even respected me for it. So we're still on for July 23rd. And the leaving do on the 14th won't feel like a cheat either.
Something that came up after the meeting was interesting though. Marcelo came over and told me that he doesn't think he'll be able to get a replacement sorted for before I go now. As a result he'd like me to keep in the back of my mind the idea of them flying me back here at some point for a proper handover. I said I'd definitely be open to discussing it at a later date. Thing is, the way I see it, it's a free option for me. If I get a job in NZ then I won't be able to come back. And if I struggle to find a job down there then I have the option of getting paid in sterling for a month once we're a bit more settled in Christchurch. Jo pointed out the airmiles. Shep pointed out the consultancy rates.
And speaking of jobs, Leigh from Debbie Graham Associates (another employment agent) sent me an email this morning trying to persuade me to move to Auckland and asking if I'd consider transferring my skills to equities. I replied saying Auckland was a no-go but I'll definitely consider any role. She's going to forward my CV to her Christchurch associate. So now I have DGA looking for stuff for me, the people at Hudson (still waiting to hear about the Telecom job, although my CV was only sent to them yesterday) and there was the comeback about the Equities Analyst advertised through Sheffield. I am definitely encouraged that there are jobs to apply for.
Oh, and in theory Marcelo and I are going to tell No.2, Kirsty, George, Beto and Gatot my news by COB tomorrow. About time really. It's been so hard not being able to tell them anything, especially Trixie and Kirsty. Marcelo is travelling at 5pm tomorrow and out of the office on Friday, and he wants it so that by then the team members of Research in London and the field team co-ordinators all know. We shall see.
7 weeks, 2 days, 3 and a half hours till I finish at ED&F Man.
It's been an interesting morning. Marcelo (my MD) is back in the office today after three weeks away, and he called me into his room first thing to update me on progress regarding "our situation". Turns out that "Andy Idol: the search for an analyst" is not going so well. There's no-one really obvious in the cocoa industry to slot right in to replace me, and also as time goes on the potential hand-over period is getting shorter and shorter, and in fact, with notice and such, there may well be no hand-over period at all.
To combat this Marcelo suggested this morning that I delay my departure until the end of the company's financial year, or at least until the end of September. This will give him longer to find someone and also time for me and my replacement to travel to visit all of the Research team overseas. I have until a meeting with him on Wednesday morning to discuss.
On the up side it means I'll be earning GBP a while longer and it will mean me doing the company a favour. Also there's a potential carrot being dangled of working remotely on a consultancy basis for specific projects.
On the downside it will mean Joanne being in NZ for our first few months alone. Also I've kind of got it into my head we're leaving in July.
I guess it might work if I was able to have three weeks in NZ at the end of July to mid-August (one in Auckland, one in Leigh, and one down in Chch), and if then my return flights were paid for by the company. Oh, and I'd want my accommodation in London paid for by the company too. Otherwise we'd be paying rent here and in NZ. Less than ideal. And I'd want a end-Sep final date.
But even if all of that was agreed would I still want to proceed? Do I want to miss being with Joanne for our first few months together? I was speaking with Chris on Saturday, as it happens, about the time Joanne and I spent apart when I lived in New York in 2004. I said to him that if a similar opportunity came up now I'd turn it down. And then something similar does come up. I think I have to say no, don't I? It wouldn't be fair on Joanne. She says just like she coped when I was in the States she'd cope now, but then it was me moving, not her having to set up a new life on the other side of the world and find our new home. Perhaps the circumstances aren't as similar after all.
But then it's only six weeks, and if I said no I feel sure the remote working project carrot would be removed. But do I even want to snack on that carrot? I think I need something a little firmer than project-based uncertainty don't I?
Oh, I don't know. Decisions, decisions!
It's been a busy morning so far, with NZ job potential. I arrived at work to find a couple of emails from employment agents in Christchurch. One was from Debbie Graham Associates just wanting an update on our current relocation plans. It's nice to know they're interested enough to chase me. And the second was even more positive.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but I applied for two jobs from the Seek website back in April. One was the Skellerup role that I got a rejection for in the past week, while the second was for the head of mid-cap equities research department, advertised though a HR agency called Sheffield. I received a rejection note from them about three weeks ago, I guess. But this morning, in my inbox, was an email saying that "some circumstances have changed with that postion" and asking whether I'm still looking for a position. Cue one email from me replying in the affirmative. I just need to find out what mid-cap equities are now...
Ooh, and more good news. The GBP:NZD rate popped it's head up above 2.71 today for the first time in a while. Hopefully it's bottomed-out and is on the turn. Every 0.05 increase in the rate potentially makes us around NZ$11k! To put that terms that are more tangible, a move from 2.70 to 2.85 buys us a car!
OK, so what's happened since my last post? Well, we've been to Romania for an excellent long weekend (including chocolate fountain), I got rejected for the Skellerup demand analyst role, and Joanne and I have started packing up the flat.
The main thing in all of that was the goodbye to Bints, Reen and the hello/goodbye to sweet little Neve. What a gorgeous, good-natured little charmer of a baby girl she is, and loved by everyone who meets her. I wonder where she gets that from. I could post loads of photos of her here, but I'll restrict it to just the one and include a link to Bints' favourite pics instead. The weekend was fantastic (and the weather was superb too). The perfect time saying goodbye to some dear friends who live too far away and who will soon live even further away. They have promised to come and see us in Chch though, and I intend to hold them to that.
So, Romania, a strange country, and like so many others, a country of contrasts. Bucharest itself is a city of contrasts where communist pre-fab concrete blocks sit uneasily alongside more 'historical' architecture. And everywhere you look the occasional sparklingly clean BMW is surrounded by a hundred battered Dacias. In Western Europe the Renault 12 died long ago. In Eastern Europe, it survives in it's Romanian guise. Everywhere you look there are Dacias. Everywhere. There are nearly as many Dacias as dogs in Romania. The only difference is that the majority of Dacias have owners.
Over the weekend we drove to Transylvania. How cool is that? A weekend in the Carpathians, when we finally got there. I won't go into the almost slamming into a car waiting to turn left, the taking the wrong road or the getting pulled over for Rene speeding. While we were there we stayed in the Hotel Economat. I feared the worst, with the name sounding a little too like 'economy' for my liking. When we arrived on the Friday night it was dark, stray dogs were howling in the woods around us and the corridors of the hotel were deserted. It felt like a cross between Van Helsing and the Shining but when the sun came up on Saturday morning and we could have a proper look around we knew why Jo said we'd love the place.
Saturday and Sunday were spent either relaxing in the glorious Romanian sunshine or exploring monastries and castles or various ages and designs interspersed with eating. We saw some amazing and varied architecture. If you ever find yourself in Sinaia, a ski and mountain resort in Transylvania, don't miss Peles Castle. A jaw-dropping place, just like the Rough Guide said. It must been seen to be believed - a fairytale castle with themed rooms of exquisite artistry and craftsmanship. I wasn't quite sure about the lion on a lead though. However 'tame' it is meant to be, it's still a bleedin' lion!
One bit of news received while we were in Romania was a rejection from Skellerup regarding my application for the demand analyst role. It wasn't really a surprise though, so there was no threat of it ruining the weekend. After all, it's still three months until I can start work in Chch, and when I applied I hadn't had the work visa approved, never mind the residence visa. If I was them I wouldn't have risked employing me either. Too many variables. It's still encouraging there are suitable roles though. And speaking of which I found another job on Seek last night that I might apply for - a Customer Information Analyst with Telecom. I need to de-specify my CV first though. A chat with an employment agent on Tuesday showed me that currently I am not emphasising the skills I am hoping to use in the sort of job I'm looking for. Another task for the weekend then, although when I'm going to fit that in alongside the London Men's Convention, church and writing a Bible study on John 16 I don't know.
On Tuesday Joanne and I sorted out our stuff in storage and even began packing up books and cds and stuff in the flat. A guy from the shipping company came round that evening to evaulate quite how much stuff we've got to ship. It kind of all feels a bit more real with boxes stacked in the corner of the room. Watching what I realised was my final ever Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday was food for thought too. I'll tell you one thing though, I won't miss the 'friendly' voting. At least the UK didn't come last, although I'm not quite sure how Malta could justify giving them 12 points.
No other news I guess for now, although Joanne keeps finding gorgeous houses on the real estate websites.
Well, the great Holt European tour has begun. It started with gorgeous converted barns by the side of a reservoir in Staffordshire, it ended with a day spent with old friends from school, and it had the Mariners away at Shrewsbury in the last game of the season and Macca's 753rd and final Town appearance in the middle. Excellent.
All in all it was a brilliant weekend. The cottages for the slackmeet were perfect (Shep did a great job of finding them) and it was so good to see everyone there. It's been a long time since we've all been together and I guess, realistically, it's unlikely that we will do ever again. Scary thought. Curry, football, pool, games, food, views, and Helen Baxendale in the next door barn. No, really.
Saturday afternoon was spent with the half of us going to watch Town at Shrewsbury while the other half took the kids to a farm. Shrewsbury's a really nice town actually. And Town played ok and scored an equaliser with the last kick of the game, while Shrewsbury confirmed their playoff place. Everyone went home happy. With the goal being so late and the game ending on a high I didn't have time to really dwell on the fact it may be my last Town game for quite a while. I really don't know how long it will be before I see Alan Buckley's black and white army play again. At half time I got a bit melancholy but I got over it. Am I really going to get up at stupid o'clock every Sunday morning next season to listen to the games? We'll see.
And then Monday, after Sunday and entertaining Helen Baxendale's children for a couple of hours on the football pitch, we drove up to see Andy and Heather in Chellaston. It was good to see them too. Can't remember the last time we saw them actually. The boys are both getting so big. Stephen is six now, and Christian is four. Where does the time go?
It all seems a bit weird, this saying goodbye lark. So far the people we've seen to say bye to we don't really see often anyhow, so it doesn't quite seem like anything different, even though we're moving to the other side of the world. Not quite sure when it will all kick in. Maybe when we start packing next Tuesday, maybe when I tell people at work, maybe when we say goodbye to people we see more regularly or my family. I don't know. We'll see.
Just a two-day week this week. Leg two of the European tour starts on Thursday when we visit Bints and Rene in Bucharest. We get to meet Neve, and there's talk of a chocolate fountain too.
Exciting news today - I've had my NZ work visa cancelled. "But I thought you said it was exciting news" I hear you cry. Well, if you'd let me finish I'd have gone on to explain that my work visa has been cancelled because I've been granted a residence visa. Now that is exciting. I've just been over to Nuzziland House on the Haymarket to get it stuck in my passport. And it all took less than a month from me applying to getting my visa granted. NZ efficiency at work. None of this British red tape stuff. Impressive indeed.
So what else is new? Well, we filed our application for three months accommodation in the West Fitzroy and should hear back in a few days. I don't foresee a problem. And the guy who is buying our flat came over last night with his mum and wants everything we care to leave behind in terms of furniture and stuff as it's his first home. That makes life a lot easier for us, for sure. Anyone want a widescreen TV though? I'm not leaving that for him.
Welcome. It's been quite a day for me. First I finally succumbed to the trendy set and joined the internet for 13 year olds that is Facebook. 16 friends already. And counting. And second, I've set up a blog. Mental. Whatever next? Moving to New Zealand or something equally radical?
Well, indeed. And that's why we're here. I thought it might be a nice idea to document the coming months (and years?) of my and Joanne's new life, starting with the planning we've left to do. It's going to be a mad few months?
So, first off, a bit of background. This bit is like the "previously" bit on a TV mini-drama.
We've got the guy who is buying our flat coming round tonight to do a quick reccy of the furniture he's buying and to see what he still needs. I'm intrigued to meet him. We've been in Hera Court almost 3 years now, most of our married lives. It's going to be strange not being there. I drove past my flat in Chafford Hunded the other month, just to have a look. From what I could see the 'blood & battleships' colour scheme had been removed. But as for not being in London anymore, Joanne's doing her level best to find us a house to live in. Some of them make us drool.
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