For Pete's sake....

I don’t use that phrase normally but today I am. Things are a little ridiculous at work right now. I think I mentioned some time ago that my coworkers are not satisfied with the food served in the cafeteria. There was a survey done and nothing seems to have changed. Come to think of it, I never saw the results of that survey. Hmmm… Fast-forward to Friday of last week when the workers took actions into their own hands and did what Italians LOVE to do. They went on strike against the cafeteria. At lunchtime on Friday, instead of going to eat in the cafeteria they hung around outside it making a lot of noise. Refusing to eat in the cafeteria and not letting anyone else go in. I waited until most of them went back to work and then went in and ate. There was still two guys hanging around asking us “nicely” not to go in but I did anyway. There was even a security guard in front of the cafeteria making sure that if someone wanted to go in they could. This striking business is out of control and if I don’t agree with their position then I have every right to go in there and eat. A strike would be necessary if the food was not eatable or if there were health concerns, but the food is fine. I have noticed a slight decline in the quality over the years (I’m sure to Italians this decline probably seems like the end of the world). But the bottom line is that food is getting more expensive and I’m sure the cafeteria is just getting by on the same budget they have always had. I would be taking my complaints to the person here at work that is in charge of the cafeteria. This striking business is just used way too often. Anyway, today I’m having a panino from a little store outside of work because they say I shouldn’t go in to the cafeteria again during this strike. This is so ridiculous. Do they really think they will get better food by striking? Anyway I would love to have a hot meal for lunch today but instead I’ve caved in and I’m a cold panino. Their big statement is that I’ll benefit from this strike in the long run. What happens if the strike doesn’t work?
Also there are no photos today as the Vodafone network is on the blink. It’s really slow. I switched my Vodafone Connect Card from 3G to GPRS just to get a connection that stays connected! I wonder if that new fancy new “Internet Key” that they show on TV is having this problem. Maybe it’s causing it!!!

To quote Sheryl Crow, “Every day is winding road…”

Day 7 How to get a job in Italy

From now on when someone asks “How did I end up here?” I’ll point them to this post

It’s quite simple. It starts back when I was born in the quiet suburbs of Cincinnati. Ok, maybe that’s going back too far. The short version is I’ve always loved airplanes and anything that flies. So to me it was obvious that in college I would study Aerospace Engineering (by the way I don’t recommend this, study Mechanical Engineering instead, trust me on this!). After university I got very lucky and found a job in the aerospace industry almost right away. Most of my classmates didn’t even try to go into the workforce because the job market was so bad back then. I took a contract job at a jet engine manufacturer in Indianapolis that turned into a direct job. Then I quietly spent almost 10 years designing jet engines in Indianapolis. I liked it but I wanted to play with the whole engine and see the world. In the design department you need to specialize in one area of the engine to be able to handle everything but only in “your area”. I was tired and worried about being too specialized, so I decided to get out and see engines in the wild. The Italian Government at the same time was deciding that they were going to buy some new aircraft for their Air Force with new engines, IF (that’s a big if) they were allowed to repair the engines in Italy. So my company said, “Ok, we’ll let you repair your engines in Italy, IF (that’s a big if) you agree to have someone from our company there to help you learn this engine.” The deal was made and a job created. I saw the advertisement for the job in our company newsletter and put in for it because it was exactly the combination of things I wanted, a new adventure at work and home. After a tough round of interviews they picked me. It was an easy choice for them because the engine that the Italians bought is one of the engine models that I worked on for most of the 10 years in design. So you see that’s how I was able to legally live and work in Italy. I had experience with a jet engine that was designed and built in the USA so there was no EU citizen that could do the job I was contracted to do. Not easy but I got in. I do recommend working for a big international company that has offices or businesses around the world if you are seeking a position in another country. That is your good way of getting a job in the country of your choice. By the way the company I work for and the Italian company are not part of the military but they both work a lot with the military.

A couple of interesting side notes to my story.
I had never visited Italy before I accepted the job in Brindisi. I did have a pre-work visit but at that point I was committed to coming and would have looked bad if I refused. I reasoned that with the Italian side of my family I already knew what it was like to live in Italy. I think that was true…to a small extent.
The day I was offered the job was also the same day that I had a first date with a woman I had known for a while in Indianapolis. In my excitement we went to an Italian restaurant called Amici. I announced how excited I was to be moving to Italy and that was our one and only date. Did I mention that I’m not good at maintaining a relationship?
My original contract was for 3 years and I’ve just finished 4 years. My contract runs out in September of 2008 but NOTHING has gone to schedule in Italy. All good things must come to end. I’m also not sure what comes next. That’s the subject of a post by itself, someday, when it’s clearer.
The job requirements should have included, “must at least like soccer, preferable to have playing experience and a desire to play in situations that are as serious as life and death.” If I didn’t play soccer then the working life here would have been much tougher. When I would go into new area of the Italian company there would be somebody there that was in the company league and therefore I was not a complete stranger or outsider.

The photo is the miniature radio controlled helicopter I bought myself for my birthday. It's soo frickin' cool but the cats better stop looking at it with a gleam in their eyes.

The Fight for a good Lunch!!!

Sciopero!!
We did it yesterday. It was THE most unusual strike I’ve ever done. We had a strike against the cafeteria here at work. Nothing radical, we just ordered panini from a little place down the road instead of eating in the cafeteria. This was done to protest the decreasing quality of the food being served. It’s funny because I still think the food we have for lunch is great but I have noticed that it’s not as good as it was when I arrived 3 years ago. We also need to remember in this time I have become a bit of a pasta snob. Having it everyday tends to have that effect. Way back 3 years ago I was amazed at what I could have for lunch every day. It was the highlight of the day. Everyday we have:
1. Bread always a little bun like thing called rosette.
2. Primi is always a choice between 2 pastas or maybe between a minestrone soup and pasta.
3. Secondi is always a choice between 2 meat dishes. Wed usually chicken (my favorite Baked Rosemary Chicken), Thursday a paper thin steak, and Friday is always fish or seafood.
4. Contorni is a seasonal cooked vegetable (always available options to this are a slice of cheese or green salad).
5. Water, beer or wine (yes beer or wine but the wine is Tavernello-the worst wine of Italy and it’s in a juice box like thing!)

So today we are back in the cafeteria at work. Was our point taken? Will things improve? We’ll see. I hope so, because I like panini but I would rather have that on the weekend when I don’t feel like cooking.

Reorganization

As you could tell from my last entry I was getting a little upset with work lately and someone up there heard me. We'll see....