Category Archives: updates from the office odyssey

trip reports, what’s shaking on the office odyssey

burgundy blitz

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burg_fishSure, it sounds like some sort of wacky drinking game played by students at East Coast colleges in the 1950s, but in this case, “Burgundy Blitz” translates rather simply to the Family Heaton’s surgical touristic assault on a beautiful little corner of France – the Bourgogne. Quinn’s baseball club – the formidable Grenoble Grizzlys – had a tournament in the area on Saturday, so we decided to make a weekend of it and see some sights in the area on Sunday.

Wait…baseball in france?

Yup, sure enough. When we first arrived in Grenoble some six months ago, we were more than a little surprised to find a full-on baseball club competing year-round against other q-pitchteams around the Rhone-Alpes region. Right now, we’re in the middle of the indoors season, which is a dang good thing what with it being freezing outside and often covered in snow. Also, this gives me some time to address the involuntary shudder I still have every time I see their uniforms spelled out “Grizzlys” instead of, well, you know. So far, Kristanne has forcibly restrained me every time I’ve attempted to broach this subject with the Grizzly brain trust, but one come a day, she’s not going to be there, and that’s the day I’m probably going to get beat up by French people who don’t care about spelling the same way I do, man.

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baby, you can drive our car

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“Sid,” people often remark to me casually, “You seem like a together guy, full of chutzpah, tsuris, and other Yiddish words. What’s a guy like you driving on a trip like yours?”

tepee

Who’s your partner? Who’s your tepee?

Well, up until today, the answer was that sweet, full-on diesel-powered Partner Tepee you see at right. Brought to you by Peugeot, the Tepee boasts plenty of interior space, but without all that powerful engine that just gets in the way in some other cars. Who needs it?

We leased that bad boy with the friendly assistance of our good friends at Peugeot Open Europe. We met them on the Internet, so we’re pretty sure they have our best interests at heart.

French people are endearingly loyal to their domestic cars — most of the wheels rolling on French roads were made by Peugeot, Renault, and Citroen, brands that have long since disappeared from the US scene (ah, but who can forget the triumphant Le Car from Renault…pretty much everyone, actually). Purchased new, these cars carry a healthy VAT tax bite for French citizens.  Since the only thing French people love more than charging one another high taxes is skirting those very same taxes, all of the major French car manufacturers have a long-term lease program aimed straight at tourists. The idea is that you get a brand new car, completely insured and licensed for anywhere from three weeks on up to the maximum of 171 days. When you return your leased car, the manufacturer simply delouses it tidies it up and then turns around and sells it domestically without having to charge the VAT. Et voilà – a sweet little French tax dodge in action.

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Back in the Saddle!

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Hey, welcome back to the Office Odyssey, all you faithful clickers who’ve been checking in week after week for the last 12 years, hoping for an update, for some sort of sign, maybe just a scrap of news from the Extreme Telecommuting front – we truly appreciate your devotion! And, yes, Mom and Dad, I’m talking to you.

Veterans of our previous forays in Extreme Telecommuting may dimly recall the semi-regular updates to this site – the witty anecdotes, the pithy insights, and what one close friend regularly referred to as the “ceaseless bloviating.”

Slightly blurry, but ready for action...

Slightly blurry, but ready for action…

 

Well, this time out, the times, they are a-changing. For one, we’ve already blown the “semi-regular updates” thing out of the water – we’ve passed the six-month mark on this year-long Odyssey and I’m just now getting to the – ahem – first update. As for the “pithy insights,” I’m pretty sure that’s just my name for the “ceaseless bloviating.” You say potato, I say pomme de terre (and make up a story about Kristanne throwing it at me during a disagreement over the sociopolitical implications of German expressionists versus whether I should have a beer with lunch.)

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Welcome Back to the Office Odyssey…French Style!

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Hey, howya been! After a short 12 year hiatus, we’re back, badder than ever. No van this time, unlike the good old days of 1997. No sweet Extreme Homeboy Division t-shirt like the one that cut a blazing swath through Europe from 1999- 2000. What we do have, however, is the significant addition of two Extreme Fellow Travellers, the renowned and exalted Extreme Telecommuting in actionQuinn and Kinsey, also known as “our kids.” So, it’s a whole new flavor this time around — instead of the usual array of art museums, medieval history, and unfettered cultural exploration, it’ll be nothing but beer, tattoo shows, and cigarettes. Man, I can’t wait to introduce the kids to life in Europe!

Really?

Not so much on the tattoos & cigarettes, but for the rest, YES, we have indeed dusted off our old Extreme Telecommuting boots and greased them up for another metaphorical trip around the block! This time around, we’re headquartering Extreme operations in the lovely Rhone Alpes region of France, right outside Grenoble. We’ve got a work permit, a full complement of long stay visas, and a few French bank accounts…not to mention the near-empty reserves of patience we exhausted obtaining those things. Seriously — if you need something filled out by hand in triplicate, confirmed twice by registered letter, and attested to by employers, bankers, and Jean Claude Killy (he signs off on everything in ths part of France), well, we’re your family.

Barring any panicky, lack-of-sausage-driven escapes to Germany, we’ll be living in France through the summer of 2013, the months stretching out in front of us like a blank canvas waiting for us to paint our masterpiece or, at the very least, spray our graffiti. More on that later. For now, grab your favorite beret, light up a Gauloise, and join us for the latest update from the Office Odyssey!