Well it’s been awhile since I’ve written…in fact I think the last time was after my trip to Italy in March. A lot has been happening, both good and not so much, but mainly good.
My friend Janelle came from Seattle to visit me over Easter which was fabulous!!! It was so much fun to have someone visit! (In fact if any of you all want to follow her lead, you’re more than welcome!!) Then just a few weeks ago I journeyed up to Scotland for the weekend and spent time in both Glasgow and Edinburgh which was great! The trip also enabled me to spend some time with my friends Joyce and Paul which was also quite a treat. I’m hoping to make it up there again if I can!
As for work…well that’s an interesting situation! I’ve had my time pretty evenly divided between London, Birmingham, and Leamington Spa which has been good b/c it’s kept me traveling around a bit. Things were also really crazy up until we launched our full business product to the public (on May 8th) so now that Merrill Lynch HSBC (http://www.mlhsbc.co.uk) is a full-fledged functioning company, our work as trainers has slowed considerably and talk began to focus around what we’re going to do next. My main concern has been where they plan to put me. The only request I made was to NOT be left up here in Leamington. While it’s a nice small town, I am not a small town girl and requested to either be moved and based in London or put onto the global roll-out team. What came back from my manager was that there were no places on the global team and that any job for me would be in Leamington. This left me with the choice to leave at the end of my minimum 1-year contract term rather than stay for the max of 3. So I told them that I would prefer to return to the States at the end of my year (July 31st). Last week I was in London working for a few days and had a meeting with our ex-pat guru. I was given some tasks to complete and we’re at the point where everyone’s trying to help me find a position back in the States to go to. There are a couple of catches however:
Catch #1: I have to have a job in Merrill Lynch to go back. They won’t send me back without one. The problem with this is that Merrill currently has a hiring freeze on (thanks to the current fabulous condition of the economy!) so I’m having trouble finding a spot to go back to. If I can’t find one, I’ll have to basically sit around in limbo until one comes up. They have one guy here who’s been waiting for several months with still no light at the end of his tunnel.
Catch #2: Whatever department I end up going back to will have to pay my re-pat costs. This is no small bill since it includes me and all my worldly possessions and shipping and packing and customs charges and taxes and who knows what else… Apparently ex-pats often have a difficult time finding employment back in the States b/c they come with a rather large price on their heads. This was not good news.
On a positive note, there are a couple of people in areas of the business that would be very pleased to have me join their team (one in London, one in Beverly Hills) but b/c of the hiring freeze, they aren’t allowed to fill the vacancies they have. And there is no indication at this time when the freeze might be lifted. It could be weeks, it could be months. Of course I’ve got almost 2 months left on my current contract so I guess prayers could really be focused on the freeze being lifted before long.
The other option I have right now is to stay on the current project, only in a different role with a different part of the organization. I’d be happy to do that…especially if they would place me on the global team. I had a meeting with the head of HR last week in London and told him that I was not adverse to staying here on the project for a longer period of time, I only wish to get out of Leamington.
I have no idea what will happen or what things will look like over the next few months…I’ll keep you all posted of course and if you could all keep me in your prayers, I’d appreciate it! In part, it’s somewhat exciting to have so many possibilities and options open, but it sometimes also nice to have the resolution in sight.
On a more personal note, the weather has been FANTASTIC recently! (Fantastic for England that is!) Allow me to translate…”fantastic” means it hasn’t been raining nearly as much, I’ve actually been seeing the sun on a regular basis, and while it’s still mostly chilly, we’ve had some nice spring-like warm days. 
I’ve been really enjoying it…riding my bike to work everyday which, I have to say, has been one of the great perks here that I’ve been loving.
Let’s see…what else?
The next month or so will be extremely busy for me!! Let’s see… I’ve got my friend Tracy’s wedding in New Jersey for which I’m traveling home (if you know my parents, DON’T SAY ANYTHING! They don’t know I’m coming and I want to surprise them!!) So I’ll leave a week from this coming Wednesday and will be home for only a few days. Not a real relaxing trip unfortunately! Then the week I return, my sister Kristin is coming to stay. She’ll be here the 28th through July 7th. On the 7th she and I both fly out from London…Kristin to the States, and me to Greece!!! This is of course my big important fabulous holiday that I’ve had booked for nearly a year! I’ll be 2 days in Athens before taking an island hopper out to Leros. From there I meet up with a small yacht and about 8 other people I don’t know who I will be sailing around the islands with for a week. We end up finally on Samos where I catch another island hopper back to Athens and then back to London the following day. All in all it should be 10 very full and fun days in…dare I say it?…SUNSHINE and WARM WEATHER!!!! Nothing sounds better to me after all these months of cold damp and rain.
So! Enough about me, how are all of you?
