potential complication

When I was first offered the job in Italy, they told me that the contract starts 1 July. Recently, when they sent me the note saying they hope to have the visa paperwork by 28 May (which would then need to be sent to Australia) they suggested that I could arrive on 6 July. When exchanging more detailed e-mails with my new boss, he suggested that actually, arriving during business hours on the Wednesday the 8th would work better for him, and he'd be able to help me get situated, sign into the temporary accommodation they are providing me (apparently a requirement for the visa), etc. At that point I e-mailed the travel agent and let her know that I was ready to really book the flights, and I needed to arrive in Mian early in the morning of 8 July, so that I'd have plenty of business hours available to get settled. The next day I got an e-mail back saying that she was out of town on a family emergency, but she'd booked flights on the dates I'd requested and hoped that she'd be able to access e-mail while out of town. I sent back a quick note offering condolences on the emergency, and asking if I should deal with someone else in the office, or if she'd welcome the excuse to do work stuff as a distraction, and mentioned that I needed to know the details of the flights. No reply to that e-mail, and with being on night shift, a couple of days went by with my not remembering to call when I got up in the afternoons, and thinking of it after business hours. So today, although I could have happily gone to sleep at 08:30, I made myself stay up to call. It is a good thing I did--apparently the flights she booked arrive in Milan at 17:55 on the 8th. That is not "early morning", by any stretch of the imagination (said the one who has, in fact, been eating breakfast about that time recently). The new travel agent did a quick look while I was on the phone, and she didn't see any available flights getting me in in the morning without substantially increasing the cost. Since I have to pay for the tickets upfront, and they give me the travel allowance when I arrive, I would just as soon take the more affordable fares, thank you. That and the travel allowance needs to cover shipping of my stuff, too. So she said that she'd do some looking and see what else she can find. I told her it is ok to try other cities to fly out of, because it is more important that I get there during business hours, so I may or may not be able to stick with plan A and fly out of Chicago (and therefore visit family and friends in Wisconsin before I go.)

In other news, while Chapter six isn't done, I can see the end of it from here--I'm nearly there, really. Yesterday's breakthrough made such a huge difference. Pity I'm so tired now, or I'd just finish it have it done...

potential complication

When I was first offered the job in Italy, they told me that the contract starts 1 July. Recently, when they sent me the note saying they hope to have the visa paperwork by 28 May (which would then need to be sent to Australia) they suggested that I could arrive on 6 July. When exchanging more detailed e-mails with my new boss, he suggested that actually, arriving during business hours on the Wednesday the 8th would work better for him, and he'd be able to help me get situated, sign into the temporary accommodation they are providing me (apparently a requirement for the visa), etc. At that point I e-mailed the travel agent and let her know that I was ready to really book the flights, and I needed to arrive in Mian early in the morning of 8 July, so that I'd have plenty of business hours available to get settled. The next day I got an e-mail back saying that she was out of town on a family emergency, but she'd booked flights on the dates I'd requested and hoped that she'd be able to access e-mail while out of town. I sent back a quick note offering condolences on the emergency, and asking if I should deal with someone else in the office, or if she'd welcome the excuse to do work stuff as a distraction, and mentioned that I needed to know the details of the flights. No reply to that e-mail, and with being on night shift, a couple of days went by with my not remembering to call when I got up in the afternoons, and thinking of it after business hours. So today, although I could have happily gone to sleep at 08:30, I made myself stay up to call. It is a good thing I did--apparently the flights she booked arrive in Milan at 17:55 on the 8th. That is not "early morning", by any stretch of the imagination (said the one who has, in fact, been eating breakfast about that time recently). The new travel agent did a quick look while I was on the phone, and she didn't see any available flights getting me in in the morning without substantially increasing the cost. Since I have to pay for the tickets upfront, and they give me the travel allowance when I arrive, I would just as soon take the more affordable fares, thank you. That and the travel allowance needs to cover shipping of my stuff, too. So she said that she'd do some looking and see what else she can find. I told her it is ok to try other cities to fly out of, because it is more important that I get there during business hours, so I may or may not be able to stick with plan A and fly out of Chicago (and therefore visit family and friends in Wisconsin before I go.)

In other news, while Chapter six isn't done, I can see the end of it from here--I'm nearly there, really. Yesterday's breakthrough made such a huge difference. Pity I'm so tired now, or I'd just finish it have it done...