Silver

Last week was distressing in so many ways:

• I still had a kidney stone which was causing discomfort and pain.
• BA relegated me from Gold member status of their Executive Club frequent flyer scheme to Silver status.
• SAS relegated me from Gold member status of their frequent flyer scheme to Silver status.

Why?

Because I've only made one flight this year.

I'm a global project manager damn it. I should be flying every week.

Instead I have to be grateful that I have a job.

Hmmm.

The Spanish question

What do you do when:

• you're a mate of the job hunter with no name
  
• you've been living in Spain for, oh, maybe a decade
• you have a professional interest in linguistics
  
• you have a two year old bi- or trilingual kid?

Easy answer: you start a blog of your own, eventually, about your son's language development.

Recovery

This blog is by no means dedicated to the tedium of having a kidney stone.

I went back to work last week albeit with a couple of morning hospital appointments where:

1. they inflicted a lot of pain leaving me too exhausted to go back to work in the afternoon
2. they told me, the next day, that it is no longer a problem any more.

So, no kidney stone. But it's taking a few days to recuperate and I think companies are more likely to give a bit more lattitude to sick employees than sick freelancers. It's not just that I've been away but when at work I've sometimes lacked energy.

Anyway, there's a project starting in Delhi and I have other things to do at work so I should soon get back into it.

Political analyst

Never have I written about my desires to become a political analyst.

Why?

Because I never wanted to be a political analyst: it just never occurred to me to be one.

But maybe I should.

I seem to have spotted something which no-one else has ...

Why is Norway a cause for concern these days?

Here are the top reasons:

1. it has vast reserves of oil
2. it has been involved in a known and serious attempt to produce WMD and has large reserves of a required component
3. its environment makes counter-insurgency operations difficult
4. its ruler is a man who is in his position, not by election, but by the "Grace of [a Middle-Eastern] God"
   
5. quite a few of the men have beards.

So why has Norway, or Al-Norway as I think we can more appropriately call it, decided to give the new US President the Nobel Prize for Peace? He probably hasn't worked out how to adjust his office chair yet, let alone work out who is who in the Middle East War process.

Obviously Al-Norway is trying to head off an invasion by the Coalition of the Willing in The War Against Terror.

And they knew that being a member of NATO wasn't sufficient cover.

So, if I can work all this out over a cup of tea maybe I should change careers.

Bounce back

So, last week I was off work because of a kidney stone.

This week I went to the office, mainly to drink their water, but by Wednesday morning I was exhausted.

I suspect I had an imbalance in my electrolytes (of course I have no right to have such a suspicion, hardly an area where I've had any training).

I couldn't go into work. And by the evening I was seriously considering taking myself back to the hospital the next day for them to check me out.

Anyway, come the next day (today) and I felt ok. I went to work and was relatively productive.

Now the thing is I had put my name down for a Xing networking dinner event tonight. And paid 50 euros - non-refundable.

But I am not going.

Despite being a good place to meet other business contemporaries in Munich, and being one of the few opportunities I get to practice my German, to go from a state of almost seeking medical attention, to a state of attending a formal dinner, in less than 24 hours, doesn't seem right.

Oh well.

Decline

Well done Tony and Gordon.

In 1990 Britain was the 10th most desirable place to live. Now it's 21st*, according to a recent review.

And for a G7 (or G8 country) even 10th isn't that impressive.

Also, Chase Me Ladies I'm in the Cavalry makes an astute observation that Germany is more liberal and democratic (especially around the issue of policing) than the UK.

* OK, one has to question a methodology which puts Germany one place below the UK. Life is significantly better here in many way. Still, my point is that Britain was 10th and now it has badly slipped.

I hope Gordon reads this blogsite, it may help him in a few months.

That sickening feeling

I've just looked at a web site of a global consultancy. One with a slightly different offering.

It seems quite good.

But it's mainly looking for people at MBA or equivalent level.

Then I looked at people in the company who were on Xing and LinkedIn.

They all went to top internationally focussed universities and quite a few had academic awards.

So I feel disappointed because my profile doesn't seem to fit, by a long way. Yet, I have significant, global experience and achievement (and I do have a relatively mediocre degree).

I could send in an application but right now, despite not needing a job, I have a sick feeling in my tummy.

Mind you, that could be due to the kidney stone.

Freelance or permanent

My ambivalence to how I'm employed, that is as a contractor or a permie, took a hit on Monday.

Extreme pain in the left side of my torso stopped me going into work in the morning. Instead I called for an ambulance.

Turns out I have a kidney stone.

I had to take the rest of the week off work though I am fine (apart from bursts of pain).

A week off work is acceptable, even if I was a contractor and therefore not paid. You should, after all, factor in some sick leave per year into your rate.

But things happen, worse things could happen, and losing the assignment, or even a significant time without income isn't appealing.

I think I will remain only interested in contract assignments if I don't have a permanent job.

ooVoo

Over two years ago a friend and former colleague put me in touch with his boss who was recruiting for a project manager in London.

The first telephone chat went well and he wanted to see me over a video conference call.

Unfortunately they didn't use Skype and I couldn't work out an alternative method (for example using SIP or finding an affordable service in Munich). Then I got a job where I am still working.

Skype is, of course, very good. I use it all the time. But the video quality isn't great.

Recently I stumbled upon ooVoo.com which provides a very good level of video quality and, like Skype, provides a no-charge option for basic usage.

I'm now using it every day.

It can also be used by people who don't have the application but do have a web browser (and webcam and mike, of course). You simply send those people a personal URL generated by the application itself.

So, if I ever find myself in a similar situation (needing to do a vid con interview) I might well use this service.

Not so cheering

Article in the New York Times about the despondency people feel who cannot find work.

Right now my job seems to be surviving the global recession. And Germany is actually out of it, having grown a whopping 0.3% in the last quarter.

In fact due to my contract I don't think I could be made redundant (or resign) until the end of the year.

But the article reminds me of how grim it is when things are bad.

World survey

Investment banks haven't had a good reputation recently.

But when they publish a comprehensive review of prices and earnings around the world, for free, then it's not surprising they've been losing money.

Useful site ...

... http://mashable.com/2009/02/19/laid-off-sites/ containing useful sites, but not mine.

It's not all doom and gloom ...

despite the financial turmoil, according to The Telegraph: skills still in demand.

Though none of the skills mentioned are ones I could offer.

A refresh

I'm at the ancestral home in England and quite bored.

I invite a friend to connect to me on LinkedIn and Xing.

Whilst I'm there I update my details on both sites, something I haven't really done for 18 months. Only takes 10 minutes.

A few days ago I also updated my photograph across these sites as well as Facebook. Not sure what difference it'll make but I think it looks better.

Now, I don't expect the phone to ring as a result, but I just feel keeping everything up-to-date and fresh is no bad thing.

That whole Japanese-German business thing

Working in Germany, and having recently visited Tokyo for a fourth business visit, I am glad to read about Japanese companies relocating from UK to Germany.

A phone call

Despite suffering from near fatal influenza blokus I yesterday called a recruitment consultant who had found me a job in Munich a couple of years ago.

We actually spoke a few months ago when he called me to check my availability. Things were looking up in the recruitment world.

Of course things are now looking "50/50" in the recruitment world. Still, I sent him my c.v. and will call him on Friday.

Slow down

I didn't let the week before get me carried away in a job hunting frenzy.

My efforts last week was limited to attending a Xing dinner.

This is a networking dinner operated by www.xing.com in Munich.

You sit at a different table for each course and meet new people.

Really though, in terms of making useful contacts it's not very beneficial.

But for me it's a chance to practise my German.

And the food's good.

Slept

Yesterday I updated c.v. and then slept on it.

Just as well. I had tailored it quite specifically for my Telepresence experience (that's what's the job for) but didn't think to change the section header. It said "IT Project Management".

Today I changed it to match the contents ... it now says "Telepresence Project Management"

So, today I applied for one job, for which I was contacted on Friday and so that counts as a bite.

A nice start.

Timing

I'm not unemployed but the feeling at work isn't good. There will be redundancies.

Lots.

Must be ready, update my c.v., actively network and survey job sites.

Must, must, must.

Yesterday one of my mobile phones rings. It's an agency in London. They're looking for project and programme managers with experience in Telepresence.

In other words, they're looking for me (I have project and programme management experience in Telepresence).

The timing might be good. Their client isn't ready just yet but may be they will be when I know, by the end of October, if I'm in the first round of redundancies.

I'll leave you now as I must check and maybe up date my c.v.

Local difficulty

Do you realise how difficult it is to job hunt when it's the Munich Oktoberfest?

Very.