Not what it sounds like......trust me, I hurt my back doing "nothing", really I may have twisted wrong or turned wrong, but anyway it hurts like #@$#. Art was kind enough to keep me fed and in pain meds. The few times I got up were regrettable. By this morning (Monday) I am feeling good enough to go to work.
Last week was all work and no play although we did spend some time looking at 'flats' as they call them here. We saw a real nice tower that is almost complete and the 2 bedroom is in our price range the only problem is that it is not within walking distance of the beach. It does have good 360 degree views of the sea in the distance and it is right next to one of the largest shopping malls in town. We are in no rush so we will keep looking for the perfect 2 bedroom. We are working with a realtor "Suzy" that Art loves...(young and beautiful of course) and we have another showing. Agents typically get 10% commission of the annual rent and here u pay the entire years rent at one time up front ! Our allowance is for around $73,000 per year and that only gets us a good 2 bedroom apt or Villa. Not the penthouse, but something pretty decent. The rents here are outrageous and some of the people here only get around $20 - $40K that gets them a barely rentable place that is old, stinky, and in the middle of town with no view. I want a good view for the next 3 years I will be here.
Work is the same, the process here is at least 10 to 15 years behind what I was used to in the USA and I am tasked to bring them up to date in the Patient Financial Services world. I enjoy a challenge and believe me this is pretty challenging. On the good side, I made my initial evaluation of the systems and processes here and documented what I believe we need to succeed and made my first presentation to Senior Management for lots of new staff and processes to 'fix' everything. It was well received and now the tough work begins as I fight to get everything I need to succeed and put it into production....
This week we get our Liquor License and our Drivers License...then we can get a car and some Wine. The driver for the CEO has been here for over 30 years and 'knows' people. Getting the licenses can take weeks, but he gets past the B.S. and by the end of day tomorrow we should be just fine. Perhaps we will get a used car by the weekend. We are learning that around here you 'have to know someone' to get things done. You have to look like you know what you are doing (and even if u don't , u need to look the part) and be assertive.
So...thats it. Goodbye for now
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment