Hey!
I have officially been living in Atlanta for a month now. And I can happily say that both Charles and I are starting to feel at home now.
Last week I spent my last week in "freedom" before starting my new job at Rödl & Partner. Honestly, I didn't do much, except for shopping, laying at the pool and being cozy with Casey (our cat). So, Friday was my first day at work. Suprisingly I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be. I was mainly nervous about not getting there on time... which ended up at me being there ½ hour early. :) My first day wasn't very exicting though, I mainly met with all my collegues, had orientation about the company and about the benefits and was invited to a nice lunch with another woman (she's about my age) who also started on Friday and some collegues. So after Friday, I wouldn't have been able to tell you much about the job its self. But what I can tell you is that I really believe that I have found a wonderful company to work for. The firm has about 40 professionals, about half of the people are around my age (around 30 and under) and about half of the people are German (there's also one Romanian and one Italian), I believe that we are also half women and half men. The atmosphere is very easy going and family like, everybody makes sure that you feel welcome and part of the team. So even though I didn't have much of a feeling about the actual job after work on Friday, I definitely felt that this is a company where I will fit in well. After work, Charles and I "celebrated" my first day and his second week with ordering pizza, drinking Buds and falling asleep at 10.00 pm. :)
The weekend was pretty easy going. On Saturday, I took the opportunity to shop for furniture for the balcony and went to explore a huge french antique store, while Charles was at the university working with his study group. In the evening we experienced our first night out in Atlanta. We met up with some of Charles classmates at a great latin club called Loca Luna in downtown. Wow, talk about a place with great music, lots of latinos and just a wonderful atmosphere... everybody happy, dancing and drinking in the pre-summer heat. On Sunday, while Charles was busy studying (poor him, he really studies constantly), I kept myself busy being the woman and the man of the house and enjoyed the afternoon laying in the sun at pool.
Today was my second day at work and I left from home 15 minutes later than last time and managed to be there just on time. Until we have a better solution, I am driving Charles to the university in the morning and continuing to work and picking him up afterwards, unless he gets a ride. It takes me about 40 minutes to get to work, even though the distance is only 13 kilometers (8 miles). Audit season (a.k.a. "busy season") at the firm is primarily January to the middle of April, so from the middle of April until preparations start at the end of the year, everyone basically works with tax returns; individual, corporate and partnerships. So that's what I'll be learning and doing for the next 6 month period. Today I had tutoring for the tax system that we use, which I was very happy for because now I can actually start doing something. (Anybody who knows me and my working habits, knows that I hate having to little to do.) I've basically gone through the tax return process with a tutorer today and also studied a finished tax return on my own, to get to know the system and how things work. I tell you one thing... I have a lot to learn! If any country would be awarded for having the most complicated tax system in the world, I do honestly believe that USA would win first prize. But, who knows... if you ask me again in two months I might just say that it's a piece of cake. :) So overall I feel quite satisfied about my second day at work and I'm actually looking forward to going back tomorrow again!
I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures to post this time... but I'll try to take some snap shots during the week. Lots of hugs and kisses to you all!
Let me tell you a little bit more about my job. The last time I wrote, I had only worked for a day. I can now, after 3 weeks, confirm that I am really enjoying my new job working in an audit firm. What I like most about it is the exposure to different companies and different types of companies, companies that are going well and some that go less well. Fortunately I have a lot of use of my prior accounting experience (from the "other side" as they say). It's the calm season at the firm, so I have time to learn and really get to know the different aspects of the job. During the low season everyone works with Tax Returns, tax returns mainly for Foreig
n Corporations, US Corporations, Parterships and Individuals (mainly for non US residents). I can proudly announce that I completed my first foreign corporation tax return on my own today! Of course, it will be reviewed by one of the CPA's of my team and I definitely will have many corrections to make... but still! :) So that's basically what I'm doing... analyzing the financial statements of a companies and preparing the tax specific statements before doing the actual tax return, sounds great, huh? Hihi... I love it and then fact that I get to speak German everyday makes me love it even more!
