A Week Of Updates

The past couple of weeks have been a little crazy, so I'll try and recap. I haven't wanted to say too much because I didn't want family especially to worry, not that there's anything to worry about, but, you know.

Our first job didn't turn out quite as we'd hoped, becoming call centre work. All good fodder for the stories backlogging in my head. Half-hour interviews starting with personal financial questions - sure! While most people were polite or just hung up, it's soul-destroying. Calling nanas who can't hear and mums with screaming children and old men about to go to bed. And then they finished the quota for the project and cancelled our shifts until the next one starts, whenever that is.

So we keep applying for jobs. The downer was being told for the first time from a recruiter that companies would be reluctant to hire us because of our short visas; even jobs advertised as short term or contract are seen as trial periods for long term positions.

We read the tax rate is 40% for salaries over 17,000E (or 33% for under). Dutchies, is this true? We can't seem to get a straight answer. So that left us feeling a little disparaged.

We get work at a bar/restaurant; I do a shift and hate it, Dani perseveres ahead. The stories will be good at the very least.

During the week I wonder if what we are actually doing is getting sore heads from hitting them against brick walls. My mind thinks about London for the first time and starts considering the possibility of making a go of it there. Of chips instead of frites. I mention it to Dani, she agrees. We decide to persevere a little longer - let's not forget we love this place and really want it to work. So London is now a plan b, and we can apply for visas while we keep thinking about what to do here.

I worry about if we end up going to London and find the same situation there - not quite the bounty of jobs and ok-it's-not-affordable-but-you're-living-in-Europe housing that you hear about. But we've learnt that you just don't know what to expect until you're amongst it.

We have interviews for a decent-sounding job on decent-sounding pay. It's for Adobe and there are two positions with three candidates, and we are all over-qualified so the decision will be interesting. In her interview Dani is asked, "describe your apartment". It's a creative question of course. There are French jobs going too so I do part of my interview in French, just an opportunity to test myself, assez amusant. Have an interview at a shop on Monday too.

And on top of this I have two wonderful visits from mum and Andrew to look forward to, which I've always wanted and has me juggling the job situation around just that extra bit more, but it was my choice and I'll work it out!

Today was warm. It was almost hot. The sun was blinding bright and I was boiling up. I checked the weather online and it said it was 9C.

So there you have it, a couple of weeks of uncertainty, stress, anxiety, but the resolution to persevere and find open doors and not settle for dead ends.