Be right back

Sorry no picture this time...

Went to The Netherlands this weekend, but none of the pictures turned out too well, so I didn't post any. I took a day trip with a guy from work to Maastricht, which is in the very southern part of The Netherlands. In the process we drove through some pretty scenic parts of Belgium as well. Fun trip, overall.

This week was a pretty normal work week, except that I kept having to leave work in order to run random "administrative" errands so that all my registrations, etc, would be in order by the time I moved into my apartment. That is an ongoing process with the final stages to end tomorrow. November 1 is a national holiday for Luxembourg, so I'm taking advantage of the day off to truly and finally get all of my stuff into the new place and start to really "settle in." On Thursday, all of my stuff that I shipped way back on August 30 gets delivered to my apartment. I will also get my cable and internet hooked up that day.

So...that means that I will be without Skyping abilities for a few days. But I will still be able to check my emails, etc, at work.

I will be right back on Thursday with some more updates. See you then!

Moien (Hello), Luxembourg

So one week down, about 75 more to go. :)
Everything is going well so far. The weather has been decent, with a little rain each day. During the first two days here, I saw a car, 10 apartments, and basically acclimated myself to the city. It was quite fun, but very tiring. I found an apartment in a northern part of the city called Bereldange (pron. Bear-el-donge). It is really really nice and I can't wait to show it off to all of you when you come to visit....(either way I will post pictures). I move in next Friday, October 28.
I also got a car, which is a very good thing, according to my co-workers here. I test drove it on Monday and it is very nice. The seller went on vacation earlier this week, and I didn't get a chance to set up a bank account (to pay him for the car), so I will actually take possession of it on November 1 when he gets back and I get my account set up.
I also got a cell phone, as well as got all set up with a phone number, fax number, desk, computer, etc at work. I will continue to update all this type of information on my "How to Stay in Touch With Me" posting.
So...things are falling into place and I feel like I've accomplished a lot for one week. I've been able to get out on some nice runs, and I've been learning a little French. I can function in a restaurant with my French, which as you all know, is one of the most important things for me!
So hopefully things will continue to go well here over the next couple weeks. I'm feeling more and more comfortable every day and I'm hoping that trend continues. 

So Long Chicago

About an hour to go before I leave for Luxembourg. Just a quick thanks to all of my friends, family, and co-workers. You are all very special to me and I am truly grateful for all the wonderful times that we've had together over the past years. While I feel very sad to leave, I'm also very excited (and, I can't lie, pretty darn nervous) about what lies ahead. I see this as an adventure, and I hope that I can make everyone very proud of me.

So peace out, word up, and, in the words of the great Lloyd Christmas, "Welp, see ya later."

{make sure to visit the "How to Stay in Touch With Me" post under the October 2005 archives for all my contact information} 

Pictures!

So I've figured out how to post pictures to my blog...how exciting! This particular one is of (from left to right) me, a burrito, and my girlfriend at the Coldplay concert in Alpine Valley, WI during the summer of 2005. I promise that future pictures will be better...I just have to get out there and take some more. But for now, enjoy.

Only a week to go before I ship out! Don't forget to visit my "How to Stay in Touch with Me" posting in the October 2005 archives. 

The Latest

Welp, I got news today from our HR team in Luxembourg that my work permit has (finally) been granted and I can officially step foot in our offices there. So, I can truly say now that I will be leaving Chicago on Sunday, October 16 and arriving in Luxembourg on Monday, October 17. I will be staying at the Hotel Parc Plaza, near the center of the city at 5, avenue Marie Therese (phone: 011.352.45.61.41).

I plan to take about a week off when I arrive and then get going with work around the 24th of October. During the week off I'll be apartment hunting, setting up a bank account, getting a mobile phone, and taking care of other administrative things.

Until then, I'll continue to give updates on this website. As always, please visit the "How to Stay In Touch with Me" posting in the October 2005 archives.

Stay Tuned

About a week left to go before my departure. Check in regularly for more updates, as they become available.

How to Stay in Touch with Me

You can get in touch with me in a variety of ways. Email and phone will work. Also, if you haven't heard of Skype, you should check it out. It's a completely easy, completely free, and completely convenient way to talk over the internet. Just click the "Talk to Me for Free!" link on my homepage, create an account, and download the software. Within five minutes, we can be chatting live!

Either way, here are my vitals:

PERSONAL
SkypeName: matthewmarcum
Email: matthew.marcum@gmail.com
Mobile Phone: +352.091.830.617
Home Address: email me for my home address, as the order of the address components can be confusing
US Mail forwarding address: P.O. Box 895, Rutherford, NJ 07070-0895 (no packages!!)
PROFESSIONAL
Address: Ernst & Young, S.A., 6 rue Jean Monet, L-2180 Kirchberg, LUXEMBOURG
Email: matthew.marcum@lu.ey.com
Phone: +352.42.22.33.8617
Fax (comes directly to my work email): +352.26.70.23.8617

Hope to hear from you!