[pilowsky]

helene_t, on 2023-March-30, 02:31, said:

New job. Will be a "consulting technical statistician" whatever that means for a UK detachment company, working for a couple of US based biotechs from the 1st of July. Probably remotely, I have no plans of actually moving to the US. But we shall see.

Can't keep still for a minute!

[helene_t]

The job in Manchester (the one with the bus ticket issue) turned out to be a disappointment. It's a very ethical company (dog friendly, LGBT etc) but there was just nothing to do. A "bullshit job" as it's called in modern English.

So I quit early January and was unemployed for three months (well, I write self-employed on my CV as I did a few projects for various ex employees).

Since April 15 I have been working for Danone Nutricia Research in Utrecht, Netherlands. It's quite exciting, full of young people from all over the World, with a very fast pace and good team spirit.

I haven't found a place to live yet, this is a bit of a problem. Free-market rent is about three times as expensive here compared to the UK, and splitting up with my ex last year cost a lot of money so I won't be able to buy a house anytime soon. With some luck I will get an apartment in one of those semi-communes (cohousing) where you share some facilities with the neighbours. For now I am staying with a friend in Rotterdam.

I get to play a lot of bridge, that is one of the good things about Netherlands. You can easily get to play some 10 sessions a week without traveling too much, if you want. DavidKok and I play Cottontail Club at a students' club in Leiden. With Shogi I play Boring Club in BC Oog in Al in Utrecht, that is one of the stronger Dutch clubs. And then I play various ad hoc events at the Rotterdam Mindsport Center, that is where the Lombard (the club of the Swiss National Team) plays, but I probably won't run into them, I mostly play at the more mediocre clubs of the centre.

[helene_t]

At the end of October I will be moving to Copenhagen, got a job there at an international infectious disease research coordination center.

I will be missing the Netherlands, in particular playing bridge with DavidKok and Shogi. But I didn't manage to find a place to live and my patience is up. It should be a bit easier in Copenhagen.

Bridge is not as exciting in Denmark as in the Netherlands, but please spread the rumour that I am looking for a partner on the Danish islands or Southern Sweden.

[helene_t]

Sorry, this thread is turning into being mostly about me, please can someone else post something? It can't be true that I am the only one who has a life outside BBO. Nobody who got a new niece or nephew or dog or car or something?

Anyway, on Sep 1 I will become chief statistical adviser at Odense University Hospital. This also means that I will be moving again, this time to a 50+ (arghh I am getting old) community which shares a petang court, honey production, zumba classes and loads of other things. On a good day we can get two tables of bridge also. I will also be playing theater, and I just found a new bridge partner. Odense Bridge Club, which is one of the stronger clubs in Denmark, paired me with a Polish woman as there are not so many people here who play Polish club, so far we have been playing together once and that went fine, we won six bottles of beer six bottles of soda so that's good for a change, I had to dumb all the wine I won in Copenhagen on a relative as I don't drink so much wine myself.

This is my sixth job (seventh if you include the brief period as "self employed") and seventh residence in four countries (five if you consider England and Scotland distinct) in four years. It is a bit of a problem with all this perpetual uprooting. I am talking to my psychologist about it but so far we haven't found a solution so if someone here who knows me has some thoughts then please share.

[jillybean]

Thanks for the update Helene, and best wishes in your next, new role and Polish ♣ partnership. You lead an exciting life.
"we won six bottles of beer six bottles of soda so that's good for a change, I had to dumb all the wine I won in Copenhagen on a relative"
I am definitely playing bridge in the wrong country.

[Cyberyeti]

Some (many ?) of us are too old and/or too sick to ever have another job, and unlikely to ever move house so nothing to put in here