Communication and Training

It's amazing how weird you feel going around without a cell phone to have access to. Well, soon my feeling of weirdness will be lifted because EY gave me my very own (brand new) Nokia "mobiel"--obviously means mobile phone/cell phone. It hasn't been activated yet, because the letter they sent me is in Dutch, so I have to wait for someone to translate for me, but things are looking up in the communicatoin department. I can't use it to call most people I know, but at least I can give people my number if they need to get a hold of me....and I have the phone in case of any emergency. (Hmm....do I dial 911? hehe) If I get a car (which is not likely anymore--but still a work-in-progress) I will have to remember that I can't talk while driving. I think it's even against the law to use the handfree, but I'll have to check into that. I don't think I'll be doing anything while driving, b/c it's really crazy here, but if I do, I'll have a hard time remembering not to answer the phone or call if lost while driving.

I found out today that I will be participating in a training program (in english) for two weeks in November. I will stay in the hotel where the training is the entire time and they even have classes on the weekend. Uh..... oh well. It should be an educational experience where i'm introduced to more of what auditing at EY is like. I can't imagine its any worse than sitting through an auditing class as CMS, but I could be wrong. The dress is business casual, so pretty much what i wear to work everyday. : /

My HR person also informed me that EY would be paying for my residence permit (Charla's too)--YEAH!!!! That's about $550 that I won't have to fork over to the Nederlands! I was beginning to feel like it was going to cost me to work for EY during these 7 months.

I'm excited about moving into my new place in Scheveningen and unpacking all the suitcases,...even though I don't have room for all the clothes I brought. I might have to improvise and put some in the kitchen cabinets. haha....just kidding. Kevin and I are going to go to IKEA on Saturday morning and get me some stuff--like rugs, cups, etc. The apartment is 'officially' furnished, but lacks character--besides the obvious Dutch style that I mentioned yesterday. It sort of seems cold, but if I put some fun rugs around, it might seem a little more like me...and warmer. : ) I have this thing about where I sleep, too. The sheets have to be cleaned if anyone else has slept in my bed....so, if they're dirty, then it was because of me. So, for example, if someone else is in my bed--like Mac and Burke!!!--then I must have the sheets cleaned. Also, the sheets have to be soft--high thread count is a must. My sheets here at the hotel are stiff and just plain horrible...they may seem fine to anyone else's standards, but to me, they stink...so I might have to spend some money on sheets. I could have my mom mail me mine, but it would take too long and cost a pretty penny. Normally, I'm not that materialistic, but certain things have to be high quality--especially something that you lay on for 1/3 of each day. Alright, enough about the darn sheets courtney!!! haha

I'm really trying hard to get pics on here. It worked at first, but for some reason, it hasn't been working lately....when I actually posted.

Some of you have been asking for my address here--it'll be posted as soon as I find out the zipcode. For some reason, I'm having trouble finding it. : )

Dutch word for the day: "dank je" = thank you. I'm really working on these and with two Americans in th office, we are having a fun time learning.