Well, where do I start?

OK so my first impressions of my new job were not the greatest. I landed in Brussels on 3rd August carrying just a 20kg suitcase with me. The wind was blowing and the rain was lashing, I had no idea where I was going, just stranded on my own in the middle of a military base. Then I wa handed my room key - 106R. I found out shortly after that R stood for ‘right’, because there was also a 106L. Yes indeed I`d gone from living in a 2 million dollar beach house in California to share a bedroom within the space of 1 week.

Joy.

The night didn’t get any better either. I was woken up at 3am by the sound of a military helicpter landing outside my window. I decided that if WW3 had started I may as well carry on getting some sleep and assess the situation in the morning.

The job has, so far, turned out pretty well. I found out that there were 42 applicants for my job alone.

I`ve not really had time to bask in the glory though as I`ve been very busy doing a few things. Mainly, finding a place to live and decorating it.

The find a place to live part went extraordinarily well. I found a castle to rent just 5 minutes walk from work and moved in on 11th August.

Then on the Friday I went to the local furniture store and spent something close to 6000 euros on 2 new sofas, 2 coffee tables, TV table, fridge, washing machine, shelving, clothes dryer, washing dryer, wardrobes etc etc.

Tomorrow I`m off to buy a 40″ LED TV, surround sound speakers and blue-ray player.

I still dont have a bed. Perhaps I should re-assess my priorities.

Its a very good job I dont have to pay VAT / sales tax any longer.

Now I even have an internet connection in the castle so I`ll be posting much more regularly over the coming days and weeks.

And I have many things to tell.

Like how in November I`ll be working from Italy.

and also how there is a chance in the medium term that Ill get to visit much more interesting places:

like Afghanistan.

Once again I`m off to start a new job in another country.

I`m making a habit of this.

I fly to Belgium in just over 6 hours and should arrive at my ‘hotel’ a little after 10pm UK time ready to start my new job tomorrow morning.

Its unlikely I`ll be near an internet connection for the coming weeks so posts might be a bit slow, but we`ll see. I might be pleasantly surprised and find there is a private internet connection where I`m staying.

But as I`ve already been told that I have to share a bathroom and change rooms every couple of days I think that highly unlikely.

Who am I kidding? I`ll be lucky to get a bed.