Mike's Take - Week 1
Well, after one week "in-country" I must admit that this is more of an adventure for me than a challenge, although I have had my share of challenges - mainly logistical issues (getting a lease signed, buying a car, applying for shipping numbers, etc.).
Country and people are beautiful - love the accents. Getting the brain wired to discern what I just heard is a blast. Especially love hearing locals tell me (and Jodi) that we have strong accents - sounds pretty plain to me. 😁 Have had several tell me they knew I was from the Pacific Northwest from my accent. Who knew we had a PNW accent?? North East I get, South I get, Texas I get, but NorthWest - who knew?
I miss Home Depot - the local stores have a tiny (or is it a "wee") shelf for the handyman. If you need more, then you need to go to the - pick one: plumbing store, electric store, computer store - oh wait, we don't have a computer store...had to drive 20 miles to another town to find a printer/scanner).
Logistics of buying a car is fun - search a 60 mile radius and there are 7 cars for sale. 7 😲. Go out to 70 miles and you get a couple of thousand. Guess where Inverness is! Oh, and that is 70 miles as the raven flies (more ravens here than crows). It takes 2 and a half hours to drive that far, and you are spent by the time you are done - small tight roads, driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car - tense, but getting more relaxed, but still find myself muttering "stay left" when I come to intersections, round-abouts, or when making a turn. Parking lots are my biggest challenge. Most of the ex-pats use a car-buying service. You tell them what you want, they go find, and then deliver close to you (can you spell close as in Inverness). So, this Saturday Jodi and I are going down to Inverness to meet a guy in the airport parking lot, exchange paperwork, turn in my rental, and drive off in our new-to-me car, while the dealer walks over to the airport and flies back to London.
I needed to go to Inverness anyway in order to pick up my bio-metric card (equivalent of a green card in the US) which is only available at select Post Offices. We will take advantage of the situation and spend the night and do some Inverness shopping/touring while we are there.
When I checked in to work on Monday I was told that a new security protocol has been put in place and that the state background checks are no longer acceptable, I will need an FBI check. Well that is fine except the FBI check needs finger printing. OK, so who has a finger printing machine? Well, it turns out that we can't use the UK machines - not hooked up with the FBI you know, so I need ink finger prints. Does anyone still do those? Well, it turns out that a short drive away (Wick - 20 mile/ 30 minutes) the Scotland Police have the ability, and we were lucky to get in and find the one sergeant on duty who could take care of us. ￡84 later, I then sent them via Royal Post for another ￡52, registered with a finger printing expediter for $70 who will upload the prints into the system and then mail the results of the background check to our house in Richland (they can't send results internationally). I will then have to have those FedEx'd or DHL'd to my residence here. So, until all of that gets sorted out, I need to have a full-time escort in order for me to be on the site. Fortunately there is a town office that I can work from, just don't have access to any people or systems to help me with my task.
So, day two in the town office, which is a ten minute walk from home. Think I will meet Jodi for lunch. Have to find the silver lining in all of this.
Our little river out back has turned into a very fast-moving river in the last couple of days as a steady stream of rain and wind has beleaguered us - but today we have woke up to a beautiful blue sky, very mild breeze, and mid 40s - great day for golf, but must go to work - so all for now - Cheers!
Country and people are beautiful - love the accents. Getting the brain wired to discern what I just heard is a blast. Especially love hearing locals tell me (and Jodi) that we have strong accents - sounds pretty plain to me. 😁 Have had several tell me they knew I was from the Pacific Northwest from my accent. Who knew we had a PNW accent?? North East I get, South I get, Texas I get, but NorthWest - who knew?
I miss Home Depot - the local stores have a tiny (or is it a "wee") shelf for the handyman. If you need more, then you need to go to the - pick one: plumbing store, electric store, computer store - oh wait, we don't have a computer store...had to drive 20 miles to another town to find a printer/scanner).
Logistics of buying a car is fun - search a 60 mile radius and there are 7 cars for sale. 7 😲. Go out to 70 miles and you get a couple of thousand. Guess where Inverness is! Oh, and that is 70 miles as the raven flies (more ravens here than crows). It takes 2 and a half hours to drive that far, and you are spent by the time you are done - small tight roads, driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car - tense, but getting more relaxed, but still find myself muttering "stay left" when I come to intersections, round-abouts, or when making a turn. Parking lots are my biggest challenge. Most of the ex-pats use a car-buying service. You tell them what you want, they go find, and then deliver close to you (can you spell close as in Inverness). So, this Saturday Jodi and I are going down to Inverness to meet a guy in the airport parking lot, exchange paperwork, turn in my rental, and drive off in our new-to-me car, while the dealer walks over to the airport and flies back to London.
I needed to go to Inverness anyway in order to pick up my bio-metric card (equivalent of a green card in the US) which is only available at select Post Offices. We will take advantage of the situation and spend the night and do some Inverness shopping/touring while we are there.
When I checked in to work on Monday I was told that a new security protocol has been put in place and that the state background checks are no longer acceptable, I will need an FBI check. Well that is fine except the FBI check needs finger printing. OK, so who has a finger printing machine? Well, it turns out that we can't use the UK machines - not hooked up with the FBI you know, so I need ink finger prints. Does anyone still do those? Well, it turns out that a short drive away (Wick - 20 mile/ 30 minutes) the Scotland Police have the ability, and we were lucky to get in and find the one sergeant on duty who could take care of us. ￡84 later, I then sent them via Royal Post for another ￡52, registered with a finger printing expediter for $70 who will upload the prints into the system and then mail the results of the background check to our house in Richland (they can't send results internationally). I will then have to have those FedEx'd or DHL'd to my residence here. So, until all of that gets sorted out, I need to have a full-time escort in order for me to be on the site. Fortunately there is a town office that I can work from, just don't have access to any people or systems to help me with my task.
So, day two in the town office, which is a ten minute walk from home. Think I will meet Jodi for lunch. Have to find the silver lining in all of this.
Our little river out back has turned into a very fast-moving river in the last couple of days as a steady stream of rain and wind has beleaguered us - but today we have woke up to a beautiful blue sky, very mild breeze, and mid 40s - great day for golf, but must go to work - so all for now - Cheers!
Reminds me of my first days at the Federal Building where until your background screening cleared someone had to meet you at security everyday and take you up to the office. You even had to be escorted to the bathroom......
ReplyDeleteMy mantra when driving in the UK was keep my body in the middle. Worked for me. When you come home you will have more trouble cause your brain will drift you to the left. Luckily it only happened a few times on empty roads. They should issue a sign for your car that says Caution: driver just returned from the UK. HMM, I just did my fingerprints for a background check. Inked at the local police station. Same when I got my conceal carry. You didn't get inked? Lee could probably tell you what the difference would be.
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy way to get your car but it will probably save you headaches. We had to have a solicitor to buy a house. Realtor helps you find it, then the solicitor does all the paperwork. Very different from what we are used to. You know, you two will have to write a book. Alternate chapters...she said, he said. Enjoy your trip to Inverness.
When I got fingerprinted for my biometrics it was on an optical scanner, same for DOE credentials - apparently the expeditor/handler will upload my ink prints into a scanner. I like the book idea, if for nothing else, the fun of it.
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