Doctors and salary

Lots and lots of stuff came up during our stay in Canada.
Some of them as still give me a chock, chills and I simply don't understand how on earth things can be done this way.
One of the things we have discovered in here is simply the lack of doctors. No wonder. One studies for 7 years, and then what? One gets paid much less in Quebec then any other province (and I am not talking about what is happening 50 km south from here), and one needs to be 100% bilingual. No wonder that a minimum amount of doctor wants to stay in this province. So, if one needs to get some help, it doesn't even pays out to have a good insurance, that will cover it all. You can't simply use it, unless you drive 50 km south. You should, just as everyone else, go to the clinic, sit in the room with lots of other people for at least 3 hours in order to get to be seen by a doctor for about 3 minutes in total. It is all free, which is great, I do believe so. But, when you are in a situation like us, that can and want to pay in order to get it fast, then no, no, and no. So, guys, if you think in Denmark sitting at the emergency room for 12 hours made it to the media, here it is a normal story for every kind of sickness.
Today, I have discovered that my salary hasn't arrive at my back account. So, I did question that. At Bell, a nice lady at an employee service sword on her parents graves that it takes 7 days to settle the money. 7 days! You must be joking. It doesn't. It never does. I come from a bank industry and I know that the longest time for money to settle takes 2 days. And that is when one convert the currency, sends the money from one country to the other, etc. Very interesting that it does 7 days for Bell to get my money to my bank account, or does it not. What Bell does, is using employees like me, to wire the money and to get the percentage on the salaried right into the company's pocket. I am sure if tomorrow a CEO of Bell will call, the money will be able to be on my disposal in couple of hours. Oh well, we learn something new every day, don't we?

My first days at Bell

Well, I will be honest. Right out front. It is different. Way different then one would ever imagine. How different? It is basically all about costs and nothing else. It is a different way of looking at the reduction of the cost. I can see that no one is talking about ROE should be 15%, that we should think about output management and print of both side of the paper. The real reduction comes with the train travel, even that takes 5 hours instead of flying, it is economy and no, there is no any kind of lounge involved. The real reduction comes with a budget when one department doesn't even have resources to go out for a beer when the colleagues. and the worse of all, ones should pay for coffee.Here it is way different then Denmark or I guess any Scandinavian country. But it is nice to see inside out. it is nice to experience a different style boss, even something tells me, he reminds me wy to much about myself. It is interesting to get to know another business, another set of rules, another behavior code, etc. It is tough, I admire. Tougher then I thought. I am hanging in there but a cultural/corporate shock is still there.

Travelling

For the next few weeks we will be going to total of 6 countries, will be having 9 plane rides, scoring thousands of air miles and just having fun.
Yes, the annual New Years trip begins shortly.
By looking at the past year it has been crazy. From going around Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Monaco, France, Uk, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Hungary, Jylland) and then getting to North America (twice (remember Canada on a short 5 days trip with kids) and then fun in New York and now in Canada). No wonder that my kids don't care where we will go next, just inform them if they need to change their DS or it will be on the flight and they are good to go.
That is great, isn't it. Well, this time we are adding a bit extra on a plate. We are heading to Barcelona and Prague. Places we have't visited yet.
But for now: MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

job experience

Prior to coming to North America I have heard that it has been impossible to get a job. There were several couples coming to Canada and leaving after 3 years, just because the wife were getting crazy of staying home. 

(Just a comment: there is absolutely nothing wrong being a home-stayed mum, but it is not a job for everyone. Trust me, my kids will appreciate much more me being at work and use my potential then going after them.)

Well, back to the topic, guess what, I have decided to prove everyone wrong. And I did! I did, and note: I am in a french speaking part of Canada. 

Especially after the stung Simcorp HR has done to me, that was a war. A war I was going to win. A war to show that I am not bl... wife, but a person who can, want and will contribute to the society, to the economy and to the family. 

And I WON IT. Yes, I DID. One should see the faces of some of the managers with not that much of a surprise but more like 'way to go'. I did it, I managed to land 2 jobs out of two and I am d... proud of my self. 

So no matter where you go, if you have qualification and positive attitude, things can be done. Just look at my example. 

country club

So, we came to the stage when we just enjoying life and trying to get the most of it. While we are in Canada our kids got an opportunity to swim in the best facility of Montreal, and maybe all Canada, to figure skate in one of the best arenas, to learn to Alp ski and now we were considering to get them to tennis or golf by summer.
There is a nice tennis club just around the corner from us. Easy to get, nice area, definitely nice cars. So, we have decided to look at the website. Ready?
In order to be a member of the club (which by the way cost: an entrance fee of 4200$ and 1355$ annual fee (that explains the nice car part I presume)) one should follow the following process:

1. Proposal & Application. Two members of at least two years (one Proposer and one Seconder) are required to nominate a candidate. The Proposer requests an application from the club and assists the candidate in its completion. The Proposer and Seconder must be well acquainted with the candidate and cannot be married. The candidate must also be known by three other members of the club. All members listed in the application must be in good standing.
2. Review of Application. During the review of the application, the Proposer will be contacted by the Membership Committee to further explore his/her knowledge of the candidate’s background and character.
3. Meeting Directors. Following the review of the application, a meeting is arranged with two Directors (this step is not necessary if the candidate is already known by two directors).
4. Notice to Membership. Upon completion of step 3, during a 7-day posting period, members are asked to provide any information, objections or recommendations that could impact the acceptance of the candidate.
5. Offer of Membership. At the end of the posting period, and upon approval of the Board of Directors, the candidate will be invited to become a member. The candidate will be contacted to complete any remaining paperwork and to remit any required fees. With the completion of this final step, the candidate is now a member of Hillside and entitled to all the benefits of membership.
Listen I am not joking!!! These are the rules. So the question now is: do we really want this, or how to get 2 friends who are members of the tennis club. You know where we stand in this case....

Job interview in Canada

Well, today I got my first Canadian interview. Actually if was the second one, as the first one was over the phone.
Generally it is the same way as in Denmark, one needs to tell why this company, where do you see yourself in 5 years.
What I have found a completely different is the test part.
The whole interview was 4 hours. Yes, 4 hours. 1 hour one uses to talk about stuff, you know, what the job is about etc. The other 3 is a test. And yes, it is a test of ones knowledge with no help. You just get a piece of paper with tasks, computer and off you go. So, in other words, it doesn't matter where you worked before, who is your uncle or who is your golf buddy (however the last one might still help). Here, it is a matter of your knowledge, way of thinking creatively, outside of the box and not to panic.
Everything happens in a nice way, with a smile.
So no matter what I got an interview!

Credit rating

You know, if some of you ever experienced moving to a new country and starting all your life from the scratch, you will understand me.
We have moved to Montreal a little over a month and now it is the time to get settled and get things started. Well, not that easy. If one is not a Rockefeller or Donald Trump, building a live can be difficult here. I admit one can buy everything cash. I would say more then everything. No one will ever ask you where the money come from, why you have so much cash, and why not to pay with a credit card. Actually just experience of an incident at the doctor, when one couldn't pay cash, but only with visa created a chaos among the patiences. Anyway, talking about cash. So if one wants to open a credit card is all about cash. It all depends how much cash one has and how much one wants to tight cash to ones account. The more - the better.
When one get to rent an apartment in Denmark, it will be highly suspicious if the landlord will ask you to pay cash or with a cheque. That will be a signal to call the police or tax authorities. Well, in here, if your landlord will ask you to pay with a credit card, that is where one should be cautious. Why? Well, they believe is that then landlord can get too much information about you. Maybe yes, maybe not. I just find it strange to keep writing cheque for our apartment, school, figure skating, etc.
Anyway, and then it come shopping. And that goes down to credit rating. Again, if one has cash, and easily can afford 25000$ car cash, then no question asked and no problem. However, if one wants to finance the car, then there comes the fun ride. One need to prove a credit history in order to be allowed to finance the car. And in order to get a credit history one need to get a loan of some kind. Catch 22, isn't it? We have had one of the experiences that I will be able to remember till the day I die. We wanted to get a lease transferred for the last 6 months. We could pay all lease cash, we had co-signers (someone canadian, that is willing to say, "yes" we will pay, if they will not), and we were ready to take the lease. As we didn't have any credit history, we couldn't get the transfer. So the car dealer decided to help us out. We were offered to buy the car for the value of it, at the end of the lease, plus lease the car for the last 6 months. Wow, what a plan... I don't even know how to be grateful for that "help".
Anyway, so at the moment I believe our feelings will be very much so described in the following cartoon: