Saturday 6 September 2008

2 week update

Last Tuesday (Aug 26) we had our first “roommates night”. We decided to go out for dinner together for our inaugural weekly evening together. As Vancouver has Dine Out Vancouver, Amsterdam also offers 2 weeks a year where a selection of restaurants offers 3 course menus for a set price. Strangely, here it is done in March and August. Here all the restaurants offer their menus for €25, but don’t offer a choice (as we found out) or a sample menu on the website. We picked a little French restaurant.

It was a nice excuse to get dressed up and go to a restaurant I might not have known about otherwise. In the Museumplain neighbourhood, on a side street close to the hussle & bussle of Leidseplein we found the canal-side restaurant. We picked a French bistro by choice as Jaana and I are quite fond of French food. So how surprised were we when the server explain the meal ahead of us: bangers and mash! OK, he didn’t call it that, but that’s what it was. Typical British food in a French restaurant… who could have seen that coming? The sausages were homemade and very tasty, but no matter how you dress it up, it’s not French. However we did enjoy a dry French Riesling; the only French thing we consumed that night.

Toward the end of the week I contracted a nasty virus on my computer and required Shawn to send me some back-up CDs to enable me to reinstall my whole system (operating system & applications). Luckily I had the forethought to bring my external back-up hard drive with me so I could retain all my personal data and files.

I went to Nina’s on Thursday evening and worked at her office on Friday. Friday night we met up with another couple and went to the grand opening of a new restaurant complex in Herzogenrath. This old converted farmhouse now houses 3 restaurant (pub, casual and fine dining) and sits on the edge of a lagoon. The large patio housed a temporary stage with a live band and cocktail bar. It was probably the most excitement I have had yet in that town.

Saturday morning was spent reinstalling my operating system. The fourth time was the charm, but at least now I know how to do it. Saturday afternoon sat in a park and played cards as it was one of the first hot days in some time.

Saturday night I boarded the train back home as Nina had an alumni event that evening and I had to be at the terminal for my last shift Sunday morning. The last shift went well and it was one of the first days this year where the temperature was in the range of 30 degrees. After work a large group of us went next door to the modern music hall as it has a gorgeous patio overlooking the harbour. We sipped on our drinks and waved as the ship left for the final time.

Sunday evening I met a blast from my past. On the trip to Hawaii where I met Nina (Jan 07) I also made some Australian friends. One of them was spending the summer travelling through Europe, so I met up with her for the evening. She was staying in a seedy hostel in Leidseplein and didn’t realize she was 5 minutes away from one of the most beautiful parks in the city; Volndelpark. We walked through the park as I showed her a more civilized side of the city.

This week has been stinking busy! Stefan hired a new recruiter 2 weeks ago and another new one started this week. I have gone from supporting 3 recruiters to 5 and I have noticed the difference. In fact, one of the recruiters who has been with us for some time is on vacation and I can only imagine what it will be like when he returns. I logged close to 35 hours this week, my busiest week yet!

Wednesday evening we had our second roommate’s night. This time we stayed in and cooked, each one of us preparing a different course. Jaana invited a Finnish friend to join us and we had a fun night in. It was especially nice since the previous night she spent the whole evening going through the kitchen, dining room and living room adding some feminine touches to the place. Well, to be more accurate, she cleaned up a lot of the clutter that had been piling up for years and added some subtle touches here and there. The overall effect is a much better living environment that feels more like a home. I have a hunch I am happier with it than Marc is seeing as it was his clutter and crap she took away. But it needed to happen.

Since Shawn got his promotion at work and now works ‘normal’ business hours, it has made talking to each other a little difficult. I got up this morning at 7am (10pm his time) for a chat. I am not in the habit of sleeping late, but I haven’t been up at 7am in some time. I was lucky enough to witness this amazing sunrise (first 2 pictures, 3rd is from a sunset I saw from my room).

It is now 1 week until Dad’s Amsterdam visit and 2 weeks until my trip with Shawn. I feel bad for Dad as his trip coincides with a conference here that has every hotel room in the city booked solid! Even the small no-name hotels in my neighbourhood are full. So he is staying in a small flea-bag hotel on the edge of the Red Light District that is one (tiny) step up from a hostel. He has his own room, but the bathroom is at the end of the hall. Nonetheless, I am sure we will have a great time.

I am also getting very excited about Shawn’s trip. I had initially planned to work while away with him, at least to some degree. Since Shawn wants to see a lot in a short period of time, it’s going to be a little hectic and working will be hard to fit in. I am fine with the pace we have planned as I like to be busy. However I have decided to treat it like a vacation for myself as well and will leave work here in Amsterdam.

Last week I indicated my time here may be prolonged due to Nina’s PhD application process. I can now confirm that is indeed the case. I am still remaining hopeful we will be coming to Vancouver, and if that is the case, it will likely be somewhere between April – July. So yes, I now feel I need a vacation and a few weeks spent with someone familiar from back home will definitely be appreciated.

I assumed the staff in the office would do my work for me while I am away since that is what used to happen before they hired me. Before me, my position didn’t exist. However I received an Email from Stefan this week informing me they were bringing in another technical writer for a few weeks and they would like me to train him. Initially I was a little nervous, possibly training my replacement. What if they like him more and decide to keep him on instead of me?

A few months back Stefan installed a task management program/database on my computer that ties me into the office. On it I have access to every job we have ever placed someone in or advertised, every candidate we have ever worked with or had communications with. It stores a log of all communications and any data/files associated with those communications. Purely out of curiosity I typed “technical writer” into the program to see what would come up. What I discovered helped relieve my fears about being replaced.

I discovered 8-10 people applied for my job. One person was even offered the job right before I applied. That offer was then revoked and given to me instead. In fact, unbeknownst to me, Stefan initially hired 2 tech writers. After about a month I was commenting on the lack of work and he let the other writer go and gave me all the work. That other writer is the one I am now training. He is a student at Amsterdam University and doesn’t have any technical writing experience. After reading his CV and the CVs of the other applicants, I am no longer worried. They all have experience, but it’s more journalism or copywriting opposed to technical writing experience.

I am now back on the train heading to see Nina for the 3rd week in a row. Other than a visit to one of the new restaurants in her town, I don’t think we have too much planned for the weekend.