Zurich – New Job (Same Old, New Old)

Home Office - Work in Progress (In More Ways Than One)

I’ve kind of changed employers, but at the same time, not really. That’s my complicated life for you. I’m now working for a partnering company rather than contracting with the company that I used to be with, but my job itself remains exactly the same (same colleagues, same product, etc).

A major upshot of this is that I now have to work from home in Zurich. I hadn’t really given this much thought other than that there wasn’t really anything to stop me from moving to Schaffhausen, for example, if that would reduce my costs.

However, after waiting in for multiple deliveries (new laptop, computer screen, printer, cables, plug adaptors, docking station, keyboard, mouse…), it dawned on me that there was more to this than just continuing with my normal job. I would have to tackle the horror of technical challenges!

Just getting things out of the boxes was a bit of a trial. I think sometimes these things are packed with the assumption that you will have someone there with you to help you unpack. The printer wasn’t the little cheapo printer that I’d been expecting but a fairly large laser printer/scanning machine secured between two large polystyrene walls that fitted very tightly within the box it came in. It wasn’t easy to pull it out of the box if there wasn’t someone to tug at the other end. I tried to shake it out of the box as it almost came free, but the printer fell out of the polystyrene protectors and promptly broke on the floor before I’d even laid eyes on it.

I think it’s fixable, though, but I haven’t got that far yet.

I have now taken everything out of the boxes and have gathered together all the leftover boxes into one single box for the cardboard collection on 26th August (here’s hoping I remember – I've forgotten for the last three months). I have a mountain of bubble wrap and more than a refuse bag full of polystyrene. The mess is quite stressful.

I decided that my old company could dispose of the polystyrene, since it’s always a faff to get rid of (it doesn't fit well in the 35 litre extortionately-priced rubbish bags over here) and I only had the polystyrene in the first place because my old company insisted I move to the new company. I timed this “tourist rubbish disposal” to be at the same time that I knew that there would be cake available in the office (by sheer coincidence, of course). I did the company a favour by eating the last bit of cake as an attempt to tidy up. That’s my thoughtful nature.

At work, we’d recently had an upgrade to our kitchen, so it now contains a freezer with an ice dispenser. I’ve always thought of ice dispensers as a bit superfluous, but in the heatwave that the whole of Europe has experienced this year, it’s been an absolute blessing and I’ve become completely hooked on iced coffee.

At home, I have a typical Swiss fridge with a tiny freezer compartment with no real room for ice cubes. I’ve missed having the ice at the weekends (the ice cube tray was hard to fit in with sloshing water when the freezer compartment was full; there was no level space).

Anyway, I decided I now can’t live without an ice-cube making machine for my coffee breaks. I didn’t even know ice making machines existed until I visited Idette (thank you, Idette!). So, that was yet another box and another load of polystyrene. I don’t think I’ll be able to charge that to work, though!

It took some courage to use it because the manual stated in bold that I could be killed if I didn’t obey the safety instructions immediately. Help! These included not plugging the machine into a multi-socket extension, which is what I’d been planning. I didn’t dare disobey. What if someone came round to kill me?

I used the socket I (never actually) use for the toaster. The ice machine takes a few cycles before the ice cubes get big enough not to melt instantly, and then it was so exciting to see it all happening that I let it go on and on. I ended up with so many that I had to freeze a container full of them, which really defeated the purpose. Hey ho.

However, I’m very happy to be able to have iced drinks at home now. I can work fully stoked up with caffeine. My productivity will be great!

The equipment from the new company also included a mobile phone. It took me a while to find the instructions. Those who know me will know that I’ve progressed when I say that I’ve taken it out of the box and I’ve charged it, but I’ve yet to turn it on (or read the instructions). Gone are the days where I’d be offered a new phone and I’d eagerly say I’d take it, but then just put the unopened box in my cupboard to be forgotten!