Where everybody knows your name

The friends that I've made in Bangalore, along with my friends in Europe, are what is keeping me going here. Being able to share my experiences, good & bad, on the phone and on this blog is a cathartic process. I'm gaining and learning so much from what people have to say. So, thank you for your support!

Today has been a hard day. This morning was spent mostly on the phone, due to another chaotic delivery and many broken promises from the bottled water (bonbone) people Kinley. The man had a capacity to not listen which drove me up the wall.

I learnt that my 2nd potential job was dead. After getting no response from the recruitment company who was handling it (I'll call you back, in a meeting) I called the company directly. They apologised and said they'd told the recruitment company I didn't have enough 'transition' skills (re-engineering processes etc). Of course, when I called the recruitment company, the woman was busy!

And finally, at the end of the day, I had my 3rd tough job interview meeting with the directrice and the HR for the 3rd remaining job. We discussed salary and holidays. I could see how deferential and submissive the HR was to the uber-boss, who exuded power. I'd forgotten how it can be! It was a stressful conversation: the starting salary they proposed was half of the salary I had previously said I was looking for! I said the starting salary proposed was out of the question, a dealbreaker. I wish I'd said it was an insult to my intelligence, tsk tsk, here's me being too polite! We discussed further, we are both going to think about it and coming back to each other in a while. I don't know if we'll be able to find some common ground.

But in the middle of today, I met up with some friends, chatted and lunched. And following my interview I spoke with a very good French friend. Thus friendship is keeping me going. (And I'm pleased to report, after more than one month of marriage, my husband remains my very special friend!). Photo by junku on flickr.