Last weekend I worked 8 hours over the course of Saturday and Sunday. So much for looking forward to "UK hours". And the best part is that everyone I tell this to seems to look horrified that I worked over the weekend. It's like everyone here works a lot, but they just don't talk about it or admit it. Maybe it's the 'English reserve'? Who knows. I think the reason was that I was working on a US client, and the client seemed to be expecting me to work US hours. Anyway, it is done (kind of).
I've been meaning to tell all of my accounting friends some of the funny/weird/interesting differences between the UK and US accounting world (non accountants may now zone out - I promise you can come back in a paragraph or two, it'll get more interesting). Anyway, some terms that are different: Debtors = accounts receivable, creditors = accounts payable, stock = inventory (you can imagine how confused I was the first time that I looked at a balance sheet and saw stock up in assets), they have completely different terms for anything in equity. Of course dates are different - days come before months, so December 31 is 31/12. I keep saying, "twelve thirty-one" and people look at me like, "silly American". Oh, I also keep saying dollars too instead of sterling or pounds. It was actually nice to work on a US client last week so I could write dates the way that I'm used to and put Zs (that's pronounced "zed" here, ??) in my 'recognize' and 'realize' with abandon. I lapped it up.
And I'm still having an immense amount of trouble saying "trousers" instead of pants (pants mean underwear here, remember?). I took some "pants" into the tailor the other day and told the tailor that I need my pants taken in at the waist a little bit. He seriously could hardly hold it in. Fortunately I live in an area with a lot of Americans so he's used to it.
I found out that here, when it's your birthday, guess who gets to bring treats? You do! What is that?? You have to bring treats for the entire department! I'm debating whether or not to ignore my birthday so that no one knows or whether to make my American chocolate chip cookies. Decisions, decisions. Also Dasha told me that you're supposed to bring treats in after you go on holiday somewhere, like even if you just go for a weekend. Definitely going to exercise my ignorant American card on that one. I sound kind of cynical, don't I?
I started going to yoga last week on Monday, and I could barely get out of bed on Tuesday. Or Wednesday. I went to an Ashtanga class that was so packed we couldn't spread our arms wide, and it felt a little like boot camp. There was no music, the lights were full on, and the teacher just kept calling out poses like they were commands. But Thursday I went to a different class with a different teacher and it was much, much better. I went to an Anusara class and it was so fun - we did partner poses and handstands and a nice long savasana at the end. Ahhh...
On Saturday Dasha let me tag along with her to a house party, and then we all went to a club in Putney that was so fun, and the best part - loads of cute boys! Dasha and I walked in, took one look at the dance floor, looked at each other and just smiled! Of course I didn't really act on it, I mean I was having such a good time dancing to euro-trash music, how could I pay attention to the boys? It was really fun though (they also play loads of American-trash music too), and a very late night, although somehow I've been able to keep up without noticing the early morning hours.
Must sleep now, I've been finding it hard to get enough...
Love to all,
Heather
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
One month down!
I absolutely cannot believe that it has been a month since I've moved to London, at times it feels like I only arrived yesterday.
This week at work was rather boring, I keep waiting for the trips to fabulous places. Of course, a trip to a fabulous place to work is a bit disappointing, b/c you're stuck working all day. I do actually like working in the FRAG group though, b/c it's different from regular audit in that the work we do is consulting, so clients actually want us to be there and want our opinion. It's a welcome change from knowing that the clients consider you a necessary evil and count the days until you're done. I also like that the projects are always different too. I am ready to get out of the office though, I'm getting a bit stir crazy sitting at my desk day after day. Last Monday we went to the office at Finsbury Square, the largest GT office in London, and had an all day technical accounting update training. Riveting. But really, it was good for me b/c they focused on IFRS and I need to start thinking that instead of US GAAP. I did have a rather stellar moment though, the training leader asked a two part question, to which I answered both parts incorrectly, and the leader just kind of blinked at me after telling me why both of my answers were incorrect. Awesome way to make a first impression on the majority of my new partners. I will say though, it was in the morning and I hadn't had coffee yet. And I also thought that maybe they would just think that I was a silly American who was talking US GAAP. Although, my answer was probably wrong under US GAAP too, I really have no idea.
On Monday I had my first experience at a real, full-size grocery store (the one in my neighborhood that I had talked about before is very mini, almost like a glorified c-store), and it was amazing. Seriously, I felt better after that shopping trip than I have since I've been here. It may sound weird, but some of you know how much I love grocery shopping, it's therapeutic to me. Anyway, they had everything I wanted and a big selection to choose from. I was in heaven. Then I had to walk home in my suit and heels with heavy grocery bags and I was not so much in heaven.
We got our heat fixed, after figuring out that we were in fact not idiots who couldn't work a thermostat but that it was indeed broken. The heat felt amazing! But of course two days after we got it fixed it got warm again and we haven't even had it on for the last two days. Oh well. At least we know that it will work when we need it again.
I still have not been successful in getting through the firewall on my computer so that Skype and another program that will allow me to watch live football will work. I'm really so pissed at this point and I won't be shy about expressing my contempt for the GT IT dept. for blocking Skype. I mean really, what harm is it going to do to let me talk to my family and see their faces while we talk? One word: Lame.
You know what I've really been missing lately? Chipotle. Mmmm... Also Target, although not so much Target but just the convenience of a store in which you can get everything that you need. I know that I'll find places where I can find everything that I need, but right now I would love to go to Target. Maybe I can get the ingredients for a Chipotle and make it myself.
On Friday I went out for my first big night on the town and it was so fun! Dasha, Andrea, Dan, and two of Dasha's friends came out. We started at the flat and played drinking games, a little juvenile but so much fun! We played kings and I tried to introduce P&A, but it wasn't received so well. Then we went out to a club called Studio Valbonne off of Regent Street that was stupidly expensive to get into and outrageously pretentious, but ended up being so fun b/c we were having fun together. The dancing was great, granted I stood out for most of the euro-trash techno songs, but there was enough good music that I ended the night sweaty and tired and my hair had lost all of the curl that I had spent so much time putting in at the beginning of the night. We didn't make it home until 3:30 am, and I immediately passed out. Fortunately I stuck to beer the whole night so I woke up with a minimal hangover and cleaned up the mess of our flat before the other roomies woke up. Needless to say we were all fairly worthless yesterday. But I did make more chocolate chip cookies - they're a hit!
Today I went on a run for the first time since being in London. I went in Regent's Park, where the outer circle is 5k. Didn't exactly run the whole 5k, but it was a good effort for my first run in two months. Then I went to Hampstead and met up with Janet McMullen's friend who used to live in London and is in town for about a week. We had Sunday Roast at a pub called Hollybush, it was so delicious. Sunday Roast is exactly what it sounds like - some kind of roast meat (I had chicken), then potaotes, veggies, etc (think hearty 'American' food - same theme). Mine was made up of the chicken, roasted potatoes, carrots, red cabbage, and stuffing. After washing it all down with a pint of lager I was set for the day! Then he showed me around the town of Hampstead and the Heath (a huge 900 acre park). It was so beautiful - I definitely have a place to take all of my visitors! There is a hill in the Heath called Parliament Hill where you can see out over the whole city of London. We happened to go right at sundown, so the view was spectacular.
Ok, I need to go to bed, it's almost 1 am and I'm sleepy...
xoxo,
Heather
This week at work was rather boring, I keep waiting for the trips to fabulous places. Of course, a trip to a fabulous place to work is a bit disappointing, b/c you're stuck working all day. I do actually like working in the FRAG group though, b/c it's different from regular audit in that the work we do is consulting, so clients actually want us to be there and want our opinion. It's a welcome change from knowing that the clients consider you a necessary evil and count the days until you're done. I also like that the projects are always different too. I am ready to get out of the office though, I'm getting a bit stir crazy sitting at my desk day after day. Last Monday we went to the office at Finsbury Square, the largest GT office in London, and had an all day technical accounting update training. Riveting. But really, it was good for me b/c they focused on IFRS and I need to start thinking that instead of US GAAP. I did have a rather stellar moment though, the training leader asked a two part question, to which I answered both parts incorrectly, and the leader just kind of blinked at me after telling me why both of my answers were incorrect. Awesome way to make a first impression on the majority of my new partners. I will say though, it was in the morning and I hadn't had coffee yet. And I also thought that maybe they would just think that I was a silly American who was talking US GAAP. Although, my answer was probably wrong under US GAAP too, I really have no idea.
On Monday I had my first experience at a real, full-size grocery store (the one in my neighborhood that I had talked about before is very mini, almost like a glorified c-store), and it was amazing. Seriously, I felt better after that shopping trip than I have since I've been here. It may sound weird, but some of you know how much I love grocery shopping, it's therapeutic to me. Anyway, they had everything I wanted and a big selection to choose from. I was in heaven. Then I had to walk home in my suit and heels with heavy grocery bags and I was not so much in heaven.
We got our heat fixed, after figuring out that we were in fact not idiots who couldn't work a thermostat but that it was indeed broken. The heat felt amazing! But of course two days after we got it fixed it got warm again and we haven't even had it on for the last two days. Oh well. At least we know that it will work when we need it again.
I still have not been successful in getting through the firewall on my computer so that Skype and another program that will allow me to watch live football will work. I'm really so pissed at this point and I won't be shy about expressing my contempt for the GT IT dept. for blocking Skype. I mean really, what harm is it going to do to let me talk to my family and see their faces while we talk? One word: Lame.
You know what I've really been missing lately? Chipotle. Mmmm... Also Target, although not so much Target but just the convenience of a store in which you can get everything that you need. I know that I'll find places where I can find everything that I need, but right now I would love to go to Target. Maybe I can get the ingredients for a Chipotle and make it myself.
On Friday I went out for my first big night on the town and it was so fun! Dasha, Andrea, Dan, and two of Dasha's friends came out. We started at the flat and played drinking games, a little juvenile but so much fun! We played kings and I tried to introduce P&A, but it wasn't received so well. Then we went out to a club called Studio Valbonne off of Regent Street that was stupidly expensive to get into and outrageously pretentious, but ended up being so fun b/c we were having fun together. The dancing was great, granted I stood out for most of the euro-trash techno songs, but there was enough good music that I ended the night sweaty and tired and my hair had lost all of the curl that I had spent so much time putting in at the beginning of the night. We didn't make it home until 3:30 am, and I immediately passed out. Fortunately I stuck to beer the whole night so I woke up with a minimal hangover and cleaned up the mess of our flat before the other roomies woke up. Needless to say we were all fairly worthless yesterday. But I did make more chocolate chip cookies - they're a hit!
Today I went on a run for the first time since being in London. I went in Regent's Park, where the outer circle is 5k. Didn't exactly run the whole 5k, but it was a good effort for my first run in two months. Then I went to Hampstead and met up with Janet McMullen's friend who used to live in London and is in town for about a week. We had Sunday Roast at a pub called Hollybush, it was so delicious. Sunday Roast is exactly what it sounds like - some kind of roast meat (I had chicken), then potaotes, veggies, etc (think hearty 'American' food - same theme). Mine was made up of the chicken, roasted potatoes, carrots, red cabbage, and stuffing. After washing it all down with a pint of lager I was set for the day! Then he showed me around the town of Hampstead and the Heath (a huge 900 acre park). It was so beautiful - I definitely have a place to take all of my visitors! There is a hill in the Heath called Parliament Hill where you can see out over the whole city of London. We happened to go right at sundown, so the view was spectacular.
Ok, I need to go to bed, it's almost 1 am and I'm sleepy...
xoxo,
Heather
Friday, October 3, 2008
Settling In
I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post, the days are going by so quickly! Last weekend was great - Friday I went to the cinema with Dasha and Andrea to see Righteous Kill (I know it came out ages ago in the States, don't remind me. I hate that I have to wait forever to see the shows and movies that you guys already have), and then on Saturday I went to a place near Piccadilly Circus that I heard played college football games to watch the Ohio State game. I was reminded of how I should avoid that area, particularly at night. There are so many tourists there it's annoying. And of course they weren't even playing the OSU game, they were playing Michigan State and Indiana. But it was good to watch American football anyway. Tomorrow I'm just going to stream the game online since it's at 1am for me anyway.
I've been getting more and more comfortable with my surroundings every day, I think I've mostly lost that scared-child/deer-in-headlights look for the most part. The main reason is b/c I'm much better at deciphering the English accent and I can tell what the hell people are saying to me. The next trick is learning all of the different words and slang that they use here, and getting in the habit of using it so I don't get the deer-in-headlights look from them. The worst is when I say pants instead of trousers. Pants means underwear here, and for some reason it's just really hard for me to catch myself on that one. Embarrassing.
I love St. John's Wood so far. It's like a little village in the middle of the big city, with everything that I need in a five block radius, and it's much less busy than other parts of the city. And being two blocks away from Regent's Park isn't bad either. Not that I've taken advantage of that or anything - I haven't been on a run yet since I've moved. I have started to look for a yoga studio though and I think I've found one that's pretty close to me. It's outrageously expensive, but I've become accustomed to "London prices", I mean at least I don't dry heave every time I look at a price tag anymore. It helps to not convert it to dollars.
My flatmates are really amazing as well - Dasha and I have very similar interests so we've been doing a lot together and have spent the last few days emailing back and forth all day. There is a show called Peep Show here that is hysterical - I saw a few episodes on the plane on the way over and was laughing out loud, people were staring at me. Anyway, I asked Dasha about it and turns out she loves it too! The new season is starting soon so I've been trying to catch up on the previous seasons, we've been watching an episode or two every night. It makes me cry from laughing so hard sometimes. You guys should check it out - go to alluc.net and search for Peep Show.
I've got the bus system to and from work down now, so well in fact that I can even talk on my cell (er, mobile) phone while riding instead of staring out the window trying to tell one building from the next and wondering if I'm near home. Makes me feel much more cosmopolitan that I can just hop on the bus and zone out.
It's so cold here already - no idea what the temperature is b/c I can't convert to Celsius so I've just stopped bothering to look - but I wore my winter coat to work for the first time today. I've been told that this is unusually cold for this time of year, but I'm skeptical. It's comforting to know that it doesn't ever get really cold here, like Kansas City cold. The worst part is that we can't figure out how to turn on the heat in our flat - I'm sitting here right now in two layers of blankets with the computer on my lap for warmth and a cup of tea next to me to warm my hands (and my nose) every once in a while. Being from the desert, I'm not one for cold anyway and my roommates don't seem to think it's quite as bad, but it's cold!
My week at work wasn't so bad as last week, I certainly didn't stay as late in the evenings. This FRAG group seems like it's going to be interesting, it's a lot of consulting work regarding different IFRS issues.
On Wednesday I went to dinner with a bunch of people from work and their wives/husbands/etc. for the going away party of the guy that I'm replacing (he's going back to the US). We definitely made a night of it, we went to a pub, then dinner, then another pub. It was so much fun but we stayed out too late. It helps that we don't have to go in until 9 here, but I didn't even make it in by then.
Miss you all loads!
Heather
I've been getting more and more comfortable with my surroundings every day, I think I've mostly lost that scared-child/deer-in-headlights look for the most part. The main reason is b/c I'm much better at deciphering the English accent and I can tell what the hell people are saying to me. The next trick is learning all of the different words and slang that they use here, and getting in the habit of using it so I don't get the deer-in-headlights look from them. The worst is when I say pants instead of trousers. Pants means underwear here, and for some reason it's just really hard for me to catch myself on that one. Embarrassing.
I love St. John's Wood so far. It's like a little village in the middle of the big city, with everything that I need in a five block radius, and it's much less busy than other parts of the city. And being two blocks away from Regent's Park isn't bad either. Not that I've taken advantage of that or anything - I haven't been on a run yet since I've moved. I have started to look for a yoga studio though and I think I've found one that's pretty close to me. It's outrageously expensive, but I've become accustomed to "London prices", I mean at least I don't dry heave every time I look at a price tag anymore. It helps to not convert it to dollars.
My flatmates are really amazing as well - Dasha and I have very similar interests so we've been doing a lot together and have spent the last few days emailing back and forth all day. There is a show called Peep Show here that is hysterical - I saw a few episodes on the plane on the way over and was laughing out loud, people were staring at me. Anyway, I asked Dasha about it and turns out she loves it too! The new season is starting soon so I've been trying to catch up on the previous seasons, we've been watching an episode or two every night. It makes me cry from laughing so hard sometimes. You guys should check it out - go to alluc.net and search for Peep Show.
I've got the bus system to and from work down now, so well in fact that I can even talk on my cell (er, mobile) phone while riding instead of staring out the window trying to tell one building from the next and wondering if I'm near home. Makes me feel much more cosmopolitan that I can just hop on the bus and zone out.
It's so cold here already - no idea what the temperature is b/c I can't convert to Celsius so I've just stopped bothering to look - but I wore my winter coat to work for the first time today. I've been told that this is unusually cold for this time of year, but I'm skeptical. It's comforting to know that it doesn't ever get really cold here, like Kansas City cold. The worst part is that we can't figure out how to turn on the heat in our flat - I'm sitting here right now in two layers of blankets with the computer on my lap for warmth and a cup of tea next to me to warm my hands (and my nose) every once in a while. Being from the desert, I'm not one for cold anyway and my roommates don't seem to think it's quite as bad, but it's cold!
My week at work wasn't so bad as last week, I certainly didn't stay as late in the evenings. This FRAG group seems like it's going to be interesting, it's a lot of consulting work regarding different IFRS issues.
On Wednesday I went to dinner with a bunch of people from work and their wives/husbands/etc. for the going away party of the guy that I'm replacing (he's going back to the US). We definitely made a night of it, we went to a pub, then dinner, then another pub. It was so much fun but we stayed out too late. It helps that we don't have to go in until 9 here, but I didn't even make it in by then.
Miss you all loads!
Heather
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The joy of looking like an idiot
Week two is done, and I am well into my first week without grandma (aka any comfort of home). It's been good b/c I can now focus on settling into my flat and working as late as I want to (yeah, so far not seeing a big difference in UK/American hours, but we'll see), but it's also been hard to officially be on my own and floundering through every day by myself. I keep telling myself that there will only be a few weeks of looking like an idiot and then I'll start to get my feet on the ground and after only a few months this place will seem nearly as familiar as Kansas City is to me. In the meantime, I just have to suffer through the times when I get off at the wrong bus stop and have to walk seven extra blocks to get home, try to no avail to fax something back to the States and all the while standing right next to it while the thing screeches and everyone in the office stares at me, and nearly smashing into everyone on the street b/c I'm walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk or stairway (they walk on the "other" side as well as drive).
My first experience at the grocery store was a halfway success. It was very busy and the aisles were really tiny with everyone pushing past each other and I felt really rushed, so I didn't end up finding the sugar and flour even though I went through all of the aisles about two times. My flatmate went the next day and told me that he found them no problem - so I am apparently blind. I also got a package of something labeled "turkey", but it is certainly not turkey from the taste of it. Either that or they put some disgusting spice in it. Let's just say I did not have the most pleasant experience eating my "turkey" sandwich for dinner last night. But I did find some really good cheese and crackers, and they have great cereal, which is the basis of my entire diet anyway, so I was happy.
Oh, and I have to say thank you Mom for the Cheez-its!! They arrived on Tuesday, and I laid on the couch and ate about half of the box on Tuesday night.
Last week before grandma left we went on the London Eye, and she bought the champagne flight (they call them "flights" b/c it's run by British Airways - clever), so we got to the front of every line and had chapmagne on our little go-round. Gotta love grandma! On Saturday we went to see the Lion King and it was amazing, it's defintely one of my favorite shows ever. If you haven't seen it make a point to go, you'll be blown away.
I had my first pint at a pub after work last Friday (pint and a half, actually), and had some good banter with one of my British colleagues about whether or not England is a country. By the way, don't ever have this conversation with a Welsh, Scottish, or Northern Irish person, apparently they might get very defensive. For the record and those who are not sure, I am currently living in the country of the UK, and England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are all kind of like states, although some people here refuse to acknowledge that fact. Seriously. We also talked a lot about football (soccer), b/c I want to start following it and need to choose a team. He tried to sway me to his side of course, but it's not even a London team and I'm definitely going to root for a London team. I'll report back on what I decide. Hopefully I won't get shot for my decision or trampled in a staduim during a game or anything.
I got all moved into the flat this weekend, and Andrea (his name is pronounced like Andre the giant, with an A on the end) spear-headed a major "reformation" of the whole place. We somehow got the whole place painted for free by professional painters through one of his connections (amazing!), and we did a few other things and cleaned the place inside and out. It looks incredible now, not that it didn't before but it's stunning now. I'm so proud of it. I say "we" like I did a lot of it, but I didn't help as much as I should have - since grandma was still here I spent most of the weekend hanging out with her. I did go shopping with her though for new things for the flat and got really fantastic sheets! They jumped from cheap to really expensive, so I decided to treat myself.
At work it seems like I've been getting all the crappy projects that no one else has time for so the new person gets it, but I think I've got some real client work coming up that will be more substantial and seem more worthwhile to me. I had a meeting with the partner who's in charge of my group though, and he seems really laid-back and intelligent, and gave the impression that he really cared that I got a meaningful experience from my secondment and wanted to make sure that it meets my expectations. I'll be spending about half of my time in the regular audit department doing the same thing that I did back in the States, and the other half of my time in a group called FRAG, Financial Reporting Assistance Group. This is a team that assists clients in converting to IFRS (international financial reporting standards). So this experience will be excellent for me b/c US public companies will have to convert to IFRS by 2014, so they will be starting right around the time of my return, making my expertise very useful. If I stay in public accounting, of course. :) The partner in charge of my group told me that I should consider taking the test to become certified in IFRS which would help accelerate my understanding, but I told him I had to think about it. I mean really, do I want to spend 3-4 months of my secondment studying?? Hell no. But...it would be really useful strictly for my personal knowledge, since the damn thing won't even be recognized in the US. I don't know, we'll see.
Ok, enough about the boring work stuff, b/c I know you non-accountants have probably stopped reading by now. Some funny/interesting stories:
The other day an English guy came up to me on the street and asked if I knew where a particular tube (subway) stop was, and amazingly, I did. So I told him it was just around the corner and about a block down and he said, "A block, what's a block?", to which I responded, "you know, like a city block in between streets." He said, "Oh, you're American." I asked a Brit about this later and apparently they have no word equivalent to "block", they just say "down the street". Real creative.
Almost everyone has asked me about the upcoming US presidential election, and who I am going to vote for. I've been surprised about the level of interest, b/c (apologies for sounding egotistical), for the most part we don't really care about elections in other countries.
I was reading a magazine the other day and came across an ad that said "American Living" and had loads of pictures of traditional American things, and it made my heart ache. I really miss everyone so much. I'm having a great time here so far, but I just wish I could have brought all of you with me. So...you'll just all have to come and visit!
Wow, this was a long one. Hope you haven't fallen asleep yet. Or better yet, I hope it was a welcome break from your workday! :) Love you all, and don't be shy about posting comments to my blog!
Cheers,
Heather
My first experience at the grocery store was a halfway success. It was very busy and the aisles were really tiny with everyone pushing past each other and I felt really rushed, so I didn't end up finding the sugar and flour even though I went through all of the aisles about two times. My flatmate went the next day and told me that he found them no problem - so I am apparently blind. I also got a package of something labeled "turkey", but it is certainly not turkey from the taste of it. Either that or they put some disgusting spice in it. Let's just say I did not have the most pleasant experience eating my "turkey" sandwich for dinner last night. But I did find some really good cheese and crackers, and they have great cereal, which is the basis of my entire diet anyway, so I was happy.
Oh, and I have to say thank you Mom for the Cheez-its!! They arrived on Tuesday, and I laid on the couch and ate about half of the box on Tuesday night.
Last week before grandma left we went on the London Eye, and she bought the champagne flight (they call them "flights" b/c it's run by British Airways - clever), so we got to the front of every line and had chapmagne on our little go-round. Gotta love grandma! On Saturday we went to see the Lion King and it was amazing, it's defintely one of my favorite shows ever. If you haven't seen it make a point to go, you'll be blown away.
I had my first pint at a pub after work last Friday (pint and a half, actually), and had some good banter with one of my British colleagues about whether or not England is a country. By the way, don't ever have this conversation with a Welsh, Scottish, or Northern Irish person, apparently they might get very defensive. For the record and those who are not sure, I am currently living in the country of the UK, and England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are all kind of like states, although some people here refuse to acknowledge that fact. Seriously. We also talked a lot about football (soccer), b/c I want to start following it and need to choose a team. He tried to sway me to his side of course, but it's not even a London team and I'm definitely going to root for a London team. I'll report back on what I decide. Hopefully I won't get shot for my decision or trampled in a staduim during a game or anything.
I got all moved into the flat this weekend, and Andrea (his name is pronounced like Andre the giant, with an A on the end) spear-headed a major "reformation" of the whole place. We somehow got the whole place painted for free by professional painters through one of his connections (amazing!), and we did a few other things and cleaned the place inside and out. It looks incredible now, not that it didn't before but it's stunning now. I'm so proud of it. I say "we" like I did a lot of it, but I didn't help as much as I should have - since grandma was still here I spent most of the weekend hanging out with her. I did go shopping with her though for new things for the flat and got really fantastic sheets! They jumped from cheap to really expensive, so I decided to treat myself.
At work it seems like I've been getting all the crappy projects that no one else has time for so the new person gets it, but I think I've got some real client work coming up that will be more substantial and seem more worthwhile to me. I had a meeting with the partner who's in charge of my group though, and he seems really laid-back and intelligent, and gave the impression that he really cared that I got a meaningful experience from my secondment and wanted to make sure that it meets my expectations. I'll be spending about half of my time in the regular audit department doing the same thing that I did back in the States, and the other half of my time in a group called FRAG, Financial Reporting Assistance Group. This is a team that assists clients in converting to IFRS (international financial reporting standards). So this experience will be excellent for me b/c US public companies will have to convert to IFRS by 2014, so they will be starting right around the time of my return, making my expertise very useful. If I stay in public accounting, of course. :) The partner in charge of my group told me that I should consider taking the test to become certified in IFRS which would help accelerate my understanding, but I told him I had to think about it. I mean really, do I want to spend 3-4 months of my secondment studying?? Hell no. But...it would be really useful strictly for my personal knowledge, since the damn thing won't even be recognized in the US. I don't know, we'll see.
Ok, enough about the boring work stuff, b/c I know you non-accountants have probably stopped reading by now. Some funny/interesting stories:
The other day an English guy came up to me on the street and asked if I knew where a particular tube (subway) stop was, and amazingly, I did. So I told him it was just around the corner and about a block down and he said, "A block, what's a block?", to which I responded, "you know, like a city block in between streets." He said, "Oh, you're American." I asked a Brit about this later and apparently they have no word equivalent to "block", they just say "down the street". Real creative.
Almost everyone has asked me about the upcoming US presidential election, and who I am going to vote for. I've been surprised about the level of interest, b/c (apologies for sounding egotistical), for the most part we don't really care about elections in other countries.
I was reading a magazine the other day and came across an ad that said "American Living" and had loads of pictures of traditional American things, and it made my heart ache. I really miss everyone so much. I'm having a great time here so far, but I just wish I could have brought all of you with me. So...you'll just all have to come and visit!
Wow, this was a long one. Hope you haven't fallen asleep yet. Or better yet, I hope it was a welcome break from your workday! :) Love you all, and don't be shy about posting comments to my blog!
Cheers,
Heather
Monday, September 15, 2008
First day at GT London
The first day at work was a bit overwhelming but it was good to get going nonetheless. My favorite part was when four of my new co-workers took me to lunch and we had a glass of beer. Like this is a commonplace thing here in the UK, to have a drink over lunch. I have a feeling my British friends and colleagues are going to be able to drink me under the table.
Other noted differences from the GTKC office: No one has an office, not even partners. They have sections in the corners that are half-walled off with glass, but there are 3-4 of them that sit in this area at small desks. Everyone below manager level sits in the hot desk area, commonly called the "play pen", which is an area with long desk/tables where people just sit down anywhere and work. Like hoteling except it's not even a cube. So everyone complaining about space in Kansas City, stop right now and be thankful for the vast amount of space that you do have. I somehow got lucky (how does it keep happening that I get my own space at work when nobody else does??) and I have my own desk. Actually, I think it's b/c I'm kind of taking over for the last US secondee and he had the desk. Also, I do have to wear a suit, or something very close to a suit, everyday. Good thing I was on Russell Stover and went shopping for a few more before I left.
There are 252 people in the audit dept. in my office, which is the second largest office in London of the four. My office has its own building, called Grant Thornton House, and has nine floors. Also, another US secondee confirmed today that the UK work schedule is much better than the US - she said she only worked one Saturday last busy season! (I know all of you GTKC people are groaning right now). And the best bit - we get paid for anything over 37.5 hours a week, and always for any work on the weekend. So yeah, I might never come back. :) One of the staff here actually made the comment today that he had been working "American hours" on a tough client that he was on, how sad is that?
Hope you all are well, I miss you!
Cheers,
Heather
Other noted differences from the GTKC office: No one has an office, not even partners. They have sections in the corners that are half-walled off with glass, but there are 3-4 of them that sit in this area at small desks. Everyone below manager level sits in the hot desk area, commonly called the "play pen", which is an area with long desk/tables where people just sit down anywhere and work. Like hoteling except it's not even a cube. So everyone complaining about space in Kansas City, stop right now and be thankful for the vast amount of space that you do have. I somehow got lucky (how does it keep happening that I get my own space at work when nobody else does??) and I have my own desk. Actually, I think it's b/c I'm kind of taking over for the last US secondee and he had the desk. Also, I do have to wear a suit, or something very close to a suit, everyday. Good thing I was on Russell Stover and went shopping for a few more before I left.
There are 252 people in the audit dept. in my office, which is the second largest office in London of the four. My office has its own building, called Grant Thornton House, and has nine floors. Also, another US secondee confirmed today that the UK work schedule is much better than the US - she said she only worked one Saturday last busy season! (I know all of you GTKC people are groaning right now). And the best bit - we get paid for anything over 37.5 hours a week, and always for any work on the weekend. So yeah, I might never come back. :) One of the staff here actually made the comment today that he had been working "American hours" on a tough client that he was on, how sad is that?
Hope you all are well, I miss you!
Cheers,
Heather
Sunday, September 14, 2008
First week in London
The Water Lily House
Kew Palace
The Tree Walk at Kew Gardens
One of the greenhouses at Kew GardensGrandma and I at Big
Ben
Ben
Meg and I at the airport on my last day in the StatesHey everyone! So sorry I've been lazy about posting, it was actually intentional b/c I was miserable and I didn't want to give you the wrong impression. I spent the last week looking for a flat which turned out to be one of the most exhausting experiences of my life. They told me that the market here was tight, but wow! Viewing a flat was like going to a job interview. It had me so stressed out I got this terrible cramp in my neck that hurt so badly I couldn't even move my head. I want to live with some flatmates, so we would always sit down to get to know each other a bit, and then if I liked it I was left hanging until they made a decision. The first one I viewed I loved but was in a little bit of a dodgy area (hang with me on the lingo here, I have to try to assimilate), and they didn't pick me [devastation!!]. Maybe it was b/c I was moving like a robot when I met them b/c my neck hurt so bad that I had to move my entire body to turn around. Then others that we looked at were never quite right. But, my grandma said that something better would come along and was she ever right. The flat that finally worked out is in St. John's Wood, a very quaint, quiet, and posh (eh-hem) area of London that is two blocks away from Regent's Park, one of London's largest parks. I have two roomies (flatties?) - Dasha, a Russian attorney in her late 20s who has lived in London for 12 years, and Andrea, another attorney (this one Mexican-Italian) who just turned 30 and has spent his life in London and Mexico. They are very cool and I can't wait to get to know them better. They really seem like potential friends which is exactly what I was looking for since I have, um, zero in London right now. Well I take that back, I have one, more later. So I now have an adorable place which has room for all of you to come visit (we've already discussed buying an air matress b/c they have friends come to stay quite often as well). So the dreaded flathunt is done, and I am still alive, and I actually got to know London a little better as well while we were trekking all over looking at flats.
My new address is:
Flat 96
Eamont Court
Mackennal St.
London NW8 7DW
UK
Ok, so as far as the rest of the week goes, I met my one friend here, Dan, a co-worker of Denisse's (KC friend), who turned out to be more than helpful in my transition. He brought me a few guide/map books that had helped him when he first moved to London (he's from the States too), and he's been someone that I can trust and turn to with any question in the world. And as it turns out we will be pretty close neighbors - he lives in St. John's Wood as well.
I think I already told most of you this, but my grandma is here with me for the first two weeks, so we have been doing some touristy things since she's never been here. We've been to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (ok, this is probably the most maddening experience ever b/c there are so many people, and I swore that I would never go back after I went in 2005, but I'm assuming most of you who visit will want to go so I will do my best to figure out the most painless way to do this thing), Big Ben, Parliment, and Westminster Abbey. We also saw a bit of the British Musuem, which has the pieces of the Parthenon that Britain won't give back to Greece and the Rosetta Stone. On Friday we went to Chicago and ate dinner at an adorable French restaurant down the street from the theatre. We also managed to do some shopping. And yes, everything here is outrageously priced. When you look at the number, it's not so bad, but then you start converting it to dollars, and it makes you want to vomit. But I've started to ignore the conversion and just focus on the number since starting tomorrow I'll be paid in pounds anyway.
Oh, I did look for cheez-its everywhere I've been and I haven't found them yet. Looks like I'm going to have to give up my addiction (Most of you know how hard this will be for me, ie, send some in care packages! :) ).
Today grandma and I went to Kew Gardens, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and it was incredible! They are HUGE - we spent about three hours there and didn't even cover half of it, and so beautiful. It doesn't even feel like you're in a city. They supposedly have nearly every species of plant in this place. My favorite was the Water Lily House - lily pads so big you could sit on them, and have a friend join you.
I'll send photos later...having trouble getting them to the right size.
I love you and miss you all, hope all is well back in the States!
Cheers,
Heather
My new address is:
Flat 96
Eamont Court
Mackennal St.
London NW8 7DW
UK
Ok, so as far as the rest of the week goes, I met my one friend here, Dan, a co-worker of Denisse's (KC friend), who turned out to be more than helpful in my transition. He brought me a few guide/map books that had helped him when he first moved to London (he's from the States too), and he's been someone that I can trust and turn to with any question in the world. And as it turns out we will be pretty close neighbors - he lives in St. John's Wood as well.
I think I already told most of you this, but my grandma is here with me for the first two weeks, so we have been doing some touristy things since she's never been here. We've been to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (ok, this is probably the most maddening experience ever b/c there are so many people, and I swore that I would never go back after I went in 2005, but I'm assuming most of you who visit will want to go so I will do my best to figure out the most painless way to do this thing), Big Ben, Parliment, and Westminster Abbey. We also saw a bit of the British Musuem, which has the pieces of the Parthenon that Britain won't give back to Greece and the Rosetta Stone. On Friday we went to Chicago and ate dinner at an adorable French restaurant down the street from the theatre. We also managed to do some shopping. And yes, everything here is outrageously priced. When you look at the number, it's not so bad, but then you start converting it to dollars, and it makes you want to vomit. But I've started to ignore the conversion and just focus on the number since starting tomorrow I'll be paid in pounds anyway.
Oh, I did look for cheez-its everywhere I've been and I haven't found them yet. Looks like I'm going to have to give up my addiction (Most of you know how hard this will be for me, ie, send some in care packages! :) ).
Today grandma and I went to Kew Gardens, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and it was incredible! They are HUGE - we spent about three hours there and didn't even cover half of it, and so beautiful. It doesn't even feel like you're in a city. They supposedly have nearly every species of plant in this place. My favorite was the Water Lily House - lily pads so big you could sit on them, and have a friend join you.
I'll send photos later...having trouble getting them to the right size.
I love you and miss you all, hope all is well back in the States!
Cheers,
Heather
Friday, August 22, 2008
Welcome to my London Pages!
Hello all! I have created this page to enable all of my friends and family to find out the latest on my London adventures quickly and easily, and I won't have to bog down your inboxes with emails. Hope you enjoy!
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