Still Alive... :)

Yes hi there!

I just quickly stopped by to say hi and tell you all that I'm still alive and well. The new job is taking its tolls and in addition to single mommyhood, 60-70h work per week don't really leave time for anything else. The branch has been open for over 2 months now and it's going really well. I actually took a very well deserved 2-day weekend this weekend to spend with Elaine, who is almost 8 months now, crawls around like mad and will start to walk soon. She is still the best baby ever! :)

Last night I celebrated into my "hump year day". 21. August 2011 means, I've been here for exactly 2,5 years now - halfway through to my goal of 5 years and citizenship... It's been an interesting ride and I'm sure it will stay that way. With the new company being a Start-Up in the USA, there are lots of possibilities and at this point, I have no clue if next month I will not suddenly be asked to move.... Anything is possible.

By the way, we also have a tropical storm named Irene out there in the Atlantic right now, whose predicted paths bring it very likely to us. Something to keep my eye on... I did not manage to get hurricane prepared this year, so if it comes, I'll be on the road up North!

Hope all of you are doing great as well! I'll get some back-up for the next couple of weeks in regards to lil E, so maybe I'll be able to post a little more again. Right now, the computer sees me about every 2-3 weeks. All else is done over the phone and for some reason, I haven't found a good blogger app yet... If anybody knows of one, let me know!

Sunny greetings from SoFla! - Jen

A month later...

... and I officially opened MY branch today. Without a big bang, but still very exciting when the booking channels open up and people can actually rent cars in Fort Lauderdale with our company now.

So how did the last month go? Well, although this company is well known and big in Europe, over here it is a start-up business and things are being handled accordingly = sink or swim! I started with 3 days of training in the computer systems and some general knowledge, rented some cars and one week after I signed my contract, I was brought to the property in Fort Lauderdale, got a walk through which looked like -> Boss: "This needs to be done, and this, and this and this and this, and here we need this and you need to check for this and get me this and need need need..." and Jenny: "!" (writing as fast as possible to get everything that was being said).

From there on I was basically left TO DO! With a building from the 40's which interior did not look anything like someone could move a business in soon and a time frame of 3 weeks until opening, I decided to swim although I must say the length of To Do List and time frame to get things done looked veeeery crazy in comparison!

Well, 3 weeks later, I opened the branch today and it looks very nice. In 3 weeks I met more people than in the past 2.5 years I've been here since I had to talk to a million and one contractors. I was basically the construction site supervisor and while not having a clue about what I was doing in the beginning, it was very interesting and fun and I've learned a lot. I worked loooong hours, but I'm able to get Elaine in the evening hours and bring her to work, so that is great.

I'm amazed that I was hired and just thrown into the job that I had no clue off. Tomorrow my bosses leave on a 3-day trip and leave me on my own which tells me I must have done something right as they trust me to be able to run the show without them. One great thing: My employees have been trained very well, as they started, when I started and got all their training in the Miami branch. That makes things a lot easier.

I now can't wait to start my "real" job and to get into the analytical and management things instead of organizing a granite floor to be laid 2 days before opening after everything else was done and boss decided to change his plans... Telling the flooring guys to remove their dirty fingerprints of my freshly painted walls was definitely fun though. The wagon was way ahead of the horses when plans all of a sudden changed. Luckily that was not my fault as I said from the beginning to put a new floor in.....

In Deutsch mal kurz: Nachdem ich nun vor 4 Wochen angestellt wurde, Schwimmen lernte und mich als Baustellenleiter vergnuegte, habe ich heute MEINE Station eroeffne!

Wer haette das vor nem Monat wohl gedacht...

Wind of Change!

It is official!!!

Today I signed my new job contract and I'm now an official employee of Germany's well known car rental company with 4 letters and the colors orange and black! :) In case you didn't know it, this company has not been in the USA before, but is now on expansion into the new world in their 99th year of existence. Since each State over here is like a single country in Europe, the company chose Florida to start with and opened their first location at Miami International Airport about 2 months ago. Now I did apply for an office position with them, but since my new boss (30 years old and one of Germany's top young managers) believes my profile fits their branch manager program better, but I'm restricted from travel due to baby, I might become something in between. I did already attend two interviews for "my future employees" today and we're starting training tomorrow. I'm so excited! I'll be training in Miami, but will be based at the new location in Fort Lauderdale once it opens in June.

I've been waiting for a position like this for quite some time now and after things in the restaurant were getting slightly frustrating - felt insulted by my new General Manager who offered me a $11-12/h position, less than I make serving tables - and quite a few customers just wanting everything for free - I was definitely ready for a change!

The greatest thing is, I'll even get a company car again! This couldn't have come at a better timing as I was wanting to buy or lease a new car this year and was trying to up my credit some more.

Well, wish me luck on my new job journey and come visit me at the rental car station in FLL one of these days :)


Nur eine kurze Uebersetzung heute, da ich ins Bettchen muss, weil sich mein Arbeitsrhythmus einiges veraendern wird :) :

Ich habe heute meinen Arbeitsvertrag mit einer sehr bekannten deutschen Autovermietung mit 4 Buchstaben und orange/schwarzen Farben unterschrieben!!! Ich freue mich ja so, da ich schon eine Weile auf so eine Stelle gewartet habe. Diese Autovermietung expandiert gerade in die USA und hat sich Florida als ersten Staat ausgesucht und in Miami vor ca. 2 Monaten die erste Location aufgemacht. Ich werde vorerst in Miami lernen und dann im Juni in die neue Location in Fort Lauderdale umziehen.

Alles ganz spannend!!! Falls von euch deutschen Greencard-Gewinnern jemand an diesem Gewerbe interessiert ist, wie gesagt, die sind auf Expansion und dementsprechend wird es da jetzt in den naechsten Monaten einige Jobs geben... Augen auf und Koffer gepackt! ;)

Drueckt mir die Daumen, dass ich mich gut schlage. Heute habe ich mich auf jeden Fall schon gut gemacht!

Tornado Desaster

The USA was hit by the 2nd deadliest tornado outbreak since 1950 yesterday and as a lot of you probably know already, Alabama was hit the strongest. Luckily I can say that none of my family and friends up there was hurt. Lauderdale County, the county where I know most people, was spared, whereas all the counties around them had tornadoes touch ground and tore up whole neighborhoods. The pictures are devastating. My American cousin's boyfriends house was ripped apart but no one was hurt there as well. Some people I went to high school with, but that were in grades below me, are studying in Tuscaloosa right now (the location of the University of Alabama). This city was hit the hardest and it sure enough scared everything out of them. One had a tornado go through her apartment complex but it didn't touch the building where she was living in and hiding in her bathtub. Friends from high school that served in the US military and are now in the reserve were activated today. They didn't quite know for what reason yet, but since AL and several other states are in a state of emergency, they will probably be used to help clean up etc.

If you pray, please pray for everybody up there that has lost family, friends & property!

Neighborhood by 10th Ave., Tuscaloosa, AL

picture from FB group Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Die USA wurden gestern von der 2. staerksten Tornado-Serie seit 1950 ueberrollt. Wie viele von euch wohl schon wissen, wurde Alabama dabei am schlimmsten getroffen. Gluecklicherweise kann ich sagen, dass keiner meiner Freunde und Familie dort verletzt wurde. Lauderdale County, der Landkreis in dem ich die meisten Leute kenne, wurde komplett verschont, waehrend in allen Landkreisen drum herum, dutzende Tornados aufsetzten und zich Wohngebiete dem Boden gleich machten. Das Haus des Freundes meiner amerikanischen Cousine wurde zerstoert, aber auch da zum Glueck niemand verletzt. Einige Leute mit denen ich an der High School war, die aber ein paar Klassenstufen unter mir waren, studieren momentan in Tuscaloosa (dem Standort der University of Alabama). Diese Stadt wurde am schlimmsten zerstoert und das hat natuerlich alle in Angst und Schrecken versetzt. Ein Maedel das ich kenne, hatte einen Tornado der durch ihre Apartment-Anlage zog. Zum Glueck ging er knapp an ihrem Gebaeude vorbei, wo sie sich in der Badewanne verkrochen hatte. Einige Freunde, die im US Militaer gedient haben und nun Reservisten sind, wurden heute aktiviert. Der genaue Grund wurde noch nicht genannt, aber da neben Alabama auch in einigen anderen Staaten der Notstand ausgerufen wurde, werden sie wohl dort zum Aufraeumen etc. eingesetzt.

Falls ihr betet, sendet doch bitte ein paar Gebete fuer die Menschen in den betroffenen Gegenden nach oben. Es haben ja etliche Menschen ihr Leben und Eingentum verloren.

Obiges Foto zeigt ein Wohngebiet in Tuscaloosa was quasi ausradiert wurde. :(

1. MLB Game while getting paid...

Today I was part of what they call the "Fun Patrol" team at work. It's basically a marketing effort and when working this position, I get to go to all sorts of events to promote my employer. I never signed up for it, but as I was only scheduled 4 days this week, but like to work 5, I asked a co-worker if I could pick up his shift and he said yes. When I asked him, I didn't know what the event would be, I just cared about the extra shift.

Come to find out, I got to attend the Florida Marlins vs. L.A. Dodgers baseball game at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami. I've never went to a baseball game, so I was all thrilled that my 1st baseball game would actually be one of the Major Baseball League and the best part of it: I didn't have to pay a cent AND got paid for being there!!!

The game was awesome! The Marlins made the 1st run, but then the Dodgers took over the lead and we couldn't reverse it and after 8 innings, the Dodgers were one run ahead of us, so the final inning was very exciting. However, in the final stretch, the Marlins were able to score two runs and we won the game! From a home-run to an "exploding bat" (the ball hits the bat in such an angle and speed that the bat will break, no wonder at ball speeds of 95mph)... I saw it all and it is to say that it's a great game to watch and not that hard to understand for a newbie like me.

We were able to sit wherever we wanted if there was no one sitting there and the actual work time was just 10 minutes, but we were paid for 5.5h. :) We were told a "Lucky Section" by a sales coordinator of the Marlins, it was announced on the big screen inside of the stadium and we handed out coupons in that section after the 3rd inning. Easy!


Heute war ich Teil der sogenannten "Fun Patrol" auf Arbeit. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Marketing Massnahme und wenn man in dieser Position arbeitet, macht man auf allen moeglichen Veranstaltung Werbung fuer unseren Arbeitgeber. Ich schrieb mich nie dafuer ein, aber da ich diese Woche nur fuer 4 Tage eingeplant war, ich aber gerne 5 Tage die Woche arbeite, fragte ich einen Kollegen ob ich dessen Schicht uebernehmen koennte und der sagte ja. Als ich ihn fragte, wusste ich nicht um welche Veranstaltung es sich handeln wuerde, mir ging es nur um die extra Schicht.

Wie sich dann herausstellte, durfte ich dem Baseballspiel Florida Marlins gegen L.A. Dodgers im Sun Life Stadium in Miami beiwohnen. Ich war noch nie auf einem Baseballspiel und so war ich super erfreut, dass mein 1. Baseballspiel eins der Major Baseball League (quasi 1. Bundesliga des Baseball) wurde und das Beste: Ich musste keinen Cent dafuer bezahlen sondern wurde dafuer bezahlt mir das anzuschauen!!! Das Spiel war super!!! Die Marlins gingen in Fuehrung, jedoch uebernahmen die Dodgers schnell die Fuehrung und wir konnten es bis zum 8. Inning (eine Spielrunde im Baseball) nicht wieder umkehren und so fuehrten die Dodgers bis dahin mit einem Run Vorsprung. Somit wurde das letzte, 9. Inning, super spannend. Die Dodgers waren zuerst das offensive Team, erzielten aber keinen weiteren Run. Das war unsere Chance! Und wir nutzten sie und konnten noch 2 Runs machen, bevor die Spielrunde zu Ende war und gewannen somit das Spiel!!! Vom Home-Run bis zum "explodierenden" Schlaeger (der Ball trifft dabei in solch einem Winkel und mit einer Geschwindigkeit auf den Schlaeger, so dass dieser zerbricht... kein Wunder bei Ballgeschwindigkeiten von knapp 160km/h), sah ich alles und ich muss sagen, dass Baseball ein tolles Spiel zum Anschauen ist und es auch nicht so schwer verstaendlich fuer einen Neuling wie mich ist.

Wir konnten uebrigens sitzen wo wir wollten, solange keiner diese Sitzplaetze gebucht hatte und die eigentliche Arbeitszeit betraf 10 Minuten. Wir wurden aber fuer 5.5h bezahlt! :) Ein Vertriebsmensch der Marlins teilte uns die "Lucky Section" mit, diese wurde gross auf einem Bildschirm bekannt gegeben und dort verteilten wir dann nach dem 3. Inning Coupons fuer meinen Arbeitgeber. Einfach!

The Marlin - Team Mascot

A player of the L.A. Dodgers
A player of the Florida Marlins
Me & my co-worker after we took our Fun Patrol shirts off, who happened to get my hair in his face... Stupid wind! ;)
9.Inning Offense for the Marlins at 4:3 for the Dodgers
Marlins WIN!!!!

Easter Sunday Pic

Elaine is 4 months old now and despite me having to work, I decided to dress her up for her 1st Easter and take a couple of pictures. She wasn't that excited, but oh well! :) I hope you all had a relaxing time off!

Happy Easter Holidays!

I know it's been ages again, since you've last heard from me, but this mommy here is one busy bee and apart from working and raising my beautiful daughter, there's really not that much going on. I have a few informative things on my mind that I'd really like to post, since it's more about life in the USA and not just my life, but I seem to not find the time right now. It will eventually happen though!

After trips to the Vital Statistics and Social Security Administration offices, I finally also made the trip to the post office to apply for Elaine's passport. I expedited it and almost $200.- poorer and 1 week later, I had this beautiful piece in the mail on Monday. Yes, the US passport is pretty - prettier than the German one (sorry!!!) and yes, I still work towards getting mine one day... Anyhow, it was one of these proud mommy moment... My little chubster has her very first passport! :) Bahamas here we come!!!

I hope all of you have a great and relaxing Easter weekend! I'm going to be working as usual, so while on an outing to West Palm Beach today with some German girls, I decided to take Elaine for her 1st visit with the Easter Bunny!

Happy Easter Holidays everyone!!!

Elaine during our self-made Easter home photo shoot! She's too funny!

Ja ich weiss, ewig ist es schon wieder her, dass ihr von mir gehoert habt, aber ich bin eben eifrig am Arbeiten und Kind erziehen und so passiert nicht wirklich viel Neues. Ich habe einige informative Sachen die mehr mit dem Leben in den USA als mit meinem Leben zu tun haben, schon seit geraumer Zeit im Kopf, aber irgendwie bin ich noch nicht zum posten gekommen. Vielleicht schaffe ich es ja bald!

Nachdem es in der ersten Monaten nach der Geburt bereits zum Einwohnermeldeamt und der Social Security Behoerde ging, schaffte ich es letzte Woche auch endlich mal zur Post um Elaine's Reisepass zu beantragen. Ich lies das Verfahren beschleunigen und so war ich knapp $200.- aermer und eine Woche spaeter, am Montag, im Besitz dieses wundervollen Papierchens. Ja, der US-Reisepass ist huebsch! Viel huebscher als der Deutsche (sorry!!!) und ja, ich arbeite weiterhin daraufhin eines Tages meinen in der Hand zu halten. Jedenfalls war das einer dieser "Super Stolze Mami" Momente: Meine Kurze hat ihren allerersten Reisepass!!! :) Bahamas, wir kommen!

Ich hoffe, dass ihr alle ein schoenes und entspanntes Osterwochenende geniessen werdet. Ich muss wie immer arbeiten und so entschied ich mich bei einem Ausflug mit ein paar deutschen Maedels nach West Palm Beach heute, beim Osterhasen anzuhalten. Da ist dann auch obiges Foto entstanden. Das 2. gehoert zu einer Serie die ich zu Hause fuer meine Osterkarten schoss. Elaine hatte viel Spass!

Ein Frohes Osterfest wuensche ich!