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Vil & Indy & Victor – One year on the road

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Today we have the pleasure to welcome two very special guests for an interview. They are on the road for a year now, they lived in four countries and they are still enjoying life. Now they are here to tell us a bit about their now one year journey, the actual status and maybe give us an idea how things are going.

Let’s cut the crap, welcome Vil, and Indy with a big hand and let’s ask them directly: ‘How are things at the moment? WhatsApp?'”

Vil:

“Hello and thank you for having us today. We are well, very well actually. We moved from Spain to The Netherlands, to Amsterdam to be precise. We flew with a plane and all went quite well.”

Indy:

“I was ‘high as a kite’ and literally 12km above the earth. NOICE! :)”

Vil:

“Yeah, you looked pretty funny. Your eyes were glassy and you had no intention to have a walk. Indy was ‘naturally herbed’!”

Indy:

“Allrite, you got me, but don’t you have more important stuff to tell? Maybe a bit about your new job? Or the move to Amsterdam?”

Vil:

“Okay! More serious then. Business and bragging first. I understand. Hmmm, … to answer your question. Yessssssss, it looks really good work wise. I found a really nice job in Amsterdam and we already relocated to the country of tulips and cheese.

In this job: ‘I help people! I listen! I ask questions! I find answers and solutions!’ Nice! That’s exactly what I like to do all day. Solving problems, speaking with many people, reading technical papers and playing around with some really expensive, powerful up-to-date soft and hardware.

Here is the job description, just to brag a bit more:

  • Support the sales representatives and sales specialists in identifying the best solution for their customer business
  • Provide a consistent level of support throughout all stages of the sales cycle (demand generation – campaigns- sales – post sales)
  • Proactively support sales representatives in creating and tailoring documentation and sales strategies in the selling process.
  • Where required, assist the sales teams in the qualification of opportunities, analyzing the customer’s business and technical requirements and building a solution to solve their requirements
  • Present and articulate features and benefits of the solution, both internally and externally
  • Showcase the product to customers, by using demos and trials
  • Become the technical solution expert for a designated product set, for both customers and internally
  • Keep abreast of all new products, market trends, future directions and the competition for areas of focus.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of our product stack and be able to position our solution versus our competitors.
  • Ongoing education and training of the sales force on technologies and solutions.

MegaNoice! :)”

Reporter:

“WoW, that sounds like a really good job! I am happy for you and good luck, but now you need to deliver. They don’t pay for all the services, perks and the good salary for nothing. What’s your plan?”

Vil:

“Listen and shut up, exactly defining what and whom they expect. What is my job and what are my responsibilities? What are my KPI? What I have to deliver? There in no time for a party in Amsterdam the next weeks, I need to get up to speed, learn, learn and learn. Products, technologies, sales tactics… It will be a tough time!”

Reporter:

“Good luck. Another topic. Spain, The Netherlands, but in your journey, there are more countries like Germany and France? All started in France around one year ago. Why did you leave France and what happened in Germany?”

Vil:

“Last year around this time, mid of March, we lived in France for around five years and our life just blew up from one day to the next, I had no real idea what to do, so we left France and went on the road.

At first back to my home country Germany, but soon I needed to recognize that this is not the place I want to live anymore. I met too many narrow-minded, abiding, stupid and stubborn people. “Box-Thinking”! Don’t get me wrong. I like it to be in time, precise and to be honest and respectful like Germans are, but you can overdo it.

Also, I didn’t have any chance to find a job, because my CV and my career is not really

German. I tried and wrote plenty of applications, but didn’t get even one interview. Additionally, I passed the 50, so I am too old to find a new job, I was told at the jobcentre.

My future was sitting all day on the sofa, drinking, smoking, PlayStation, movies and waiting for the welfare check to cash. Not a good life. Ok enough food and a warm place, but nothing more. Not perspective in any way.

Frick, but fact! So I thought we better try our luck somewhere else and Barcelona sounded like a good idea. For one year I tried to find a decent job and a nice place to stay for us, but unfortunately this didn’t work out very well. Most of the time we struggled with Greedy and dirty landlords, crazy managers and the overall situation was not really good. We survived, but that’s all.

Ok., the last two months in Spain two very good offers came up. One company offered me a job as a ‘Frontline Technician’ in Barcelona and another offer came from Amsterdam to be a ‘Internet Sales Consultant’. Finally I decided for Amsterdam, because the offer was way better. It was a Catch22 situation. Both offers where very nice, but I had to decide and now we are in Amsterdam.

Not a very successful story in Spain, somehow we failed, but most important, we had sometimes a really good time and we made some real friends.”

Indy:

” Yeah, from me a very big shout out to our friends! Just to name a few: Ana, Teresa, Jack, Mar, Thomas, Miquel …

A long BigHug to you all. Thank you for some wonderful moments.”

Vil:

“I totally agree!”

Reporter:

“Maybe a few words about your future.”

Vil:

“TL;DR – Part THREE – – – – A real job in AMSTERDAM!

Now we are living in Amsterdam.”

Reporter:

“So you settle in Amsterdam?”

Vil:

“Amsterdam seems to be nice and I hope that I will like my job.

Now I am struggling with the paperwork, registering in the Townhall, opening a bank account, health insurance, all these things need to be sorted.

The most complicated task again is finding a place to stay. I am able to pay good money for rent, but I need the money for deposit and rent NOW and not in some distant future.

The journey is still not over……”

Indy:

“As I barked. ‘Time will tell’ and she always helped us so far. We will make it, it’s only one step we need!”

Vil:

“Yes, it’s only one fucking step we need!”

Indy:

“Stop swearing!”

Vil:

“Let’s continue to search. Maybe post on Facebook? Maybe someone wo has a room for rent is out there. Craigslist as well?

——- POST —–

Hi there,

after one year on the road we finally ended up in Amsterdam and now we need a nice and affordable place to stay.

WHAT?
We are looking for a nice place to stay (preferred furnished), maybe my own place or a room in a shared flat, we don’t really care, but the place needs to be nice and suitable for us. Indy is my lovely, well educated, mid sized, companion. We are able to pay good money and we expect a good value for this, because we are not feeding greedy landlords or any other kind of parasite trying to take advantage of the situation on the market.

We don’t need a luxury apartment, but all appliances should work. We will take good care about your property and we will always pay my rent in time.

WE AM ALSO CONSIDERING TO SHARE A PLACE WITH ONE OR MORE ADULT PERSON!

WHAT NOT!
Let me say a few things before you reply:
– No collection of email address.
– Please NO Western Union or bank transfer stories.
– No stories with fake keys….. Get Lost!
– Cockroaches

WHO?
A few words about us. I am German, speak also French and English and just relocated from Barcelona to to Amsterdam, because I found a very nice job for a big software company in city centre. I do have a stable working contract and there is no issue with money.

And I do have a well educated and lovely dog. She is a labrador / border collie mix and her name is Indy.

WHEN?
As soon as possible.

BUDGET?
My budget is up to 1.500 Euro.

Please send us pictures and your conditions for your property via reply-email or PM. Please include your contact details. We will WhatsApp you if we consider your property.

Thank you

Vil

——- END POST —–“

Indy:

“That sounds like a plan!”

….. to be updated!

…

Indy’s BLOG – Interview with Victor

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Hi Victor. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Likewise.

How do you feel?

Super95! It’s fun to be in the road with Indy and Vil. I enjoy to eat the mile. Vil is a gentle driver. The last month we went two times to France and two times to Spain. Around 10.000 kilometer and all went absolutely fine. Although I need to say that I am a bit sorry for Indy and Vil, because I need gas and as is very expensive. I only drink super 95 and this is 1.40 euro a liter. Additionally I need around a liter 10W40 oil for every 1.000 kilometer. Not cheap I need to tell you. But Indy and Vil take it easy and we are a good teammates.

Sound like happy days.

Indeed!

Tell me a bit about you.

I am a VW Polo 6N1. My engine is a 60 horsepower powerhouse. 😉 Vil bought me for 250 euro. My former owner neglected me. My back window was broken and I got moist and the swamp everywhere. I was rotting in a garage for several months and Vil rescued me.

All my interior needed to be cleaned. The seats and covers removed and replaced. And finally I needed a door transplant. Luckily all went fine, although I lost back view, but Vil can compensate that easily. Now I feel fine. I am dry, my engine ticks like a clock and I am looking forward to reach 180.000 km soon.

Vil transformed me to a mini camper. I am not big on the outside, but I offer a bed for Vil and Indy, plenty of storage, can go long distances and when we stay I transform into a small and comfortable camper.

Here we can stay sun and rain and I will do my best to protect Vil and Indy.

Vil sponsored a 15 euro Bluetooth boom box, so we can have movies and podcasts with decent sound.
It’s real fun to be with my mates.

After the ordeal with my previous owner it’s a relief to have a mission again.  
I am not the strongest car on the road, I am not fast,  I look a bit shabby but I carry all food and always reach my destination.

You sound too happy to be true. Is there anything you would like to change?

Well, there is no shower or toilet for Vil and the office space inside me is a bit limited. Other then that I am really happy.

What are your future plans?

I will have a complete service soon. All my liquids and filters needs to be changed. My tires and breaks are ok. I feel the 175.000 kilometer a bit, bit I have no doubt that I will reach my 200.000 kilometer birthday soon and then we go for the 300K mark.

Victor, it was a real pleasure to meet you  is there anything you want to say to our readership, friends and followers?

Yes. Please donate your like and follow our journey.

—

Our Status
If you want to know where we are and what’s going on, please click here to see our latest status updates! If you want to read our whole adventure from the beginning and in chronological order please click here.

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Indy’s BLOG – Interview with Indy.

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Reporter: “Hello Indy, it is a pleasure to have you for an interview.”

Indy: “It is my pleasure.”

Reporter: “You are ‘on the road’. How do you feel?”

Indy: “Well, I am quite relaxed. Driving in the car is nothing new for me, Vil and I we already drove a few times long distances, we take it easy. Vil drives, I sleep and when I wake up, we already arrived.”

Reporter: “That sounds like you enjoy to be on the road.”

Indy: “Yes, I really like it. It is amazing to visit exotic places and meet new people. All these new smells I never experienced before, different colours and the new languages I hear.”

Reporter: “Which languages do you bark?”

Indy: “I am born in France, Vil is German and he also speaks English with me and all these new good smelling dogs bark Spanish or Catalan.I am quite confident that I will pick up Spanish and Catalan within the next days or weeks.”

Reporter: “What are your plans?”

Indy: “Well, all is in the flow right now. We have no real idea where we are going. Maybe Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands or Germany. Vil is looking for jobs all over and right now we just wait for opportunities to arrive.”

Reporter: “isn’t it hard to live on the street?”

Indy: “That depends. Actually, it is a nice feeling being on the road. The sun, the beach and all the new places we see. BUT it’s not easy to plan and there might arrive the situation we need to go and beg on the road.”

Reporter: “That sounds a bit depressing.”

Indy: “You could see it like this and surely it is not easy to live without any security, but we’d rather stay poor in Spain on the road then rot on a sofa in Germany. We have a positive view of life and we enjoy every day we can go to the beach and meet new people. As long as we are together all will be good. I am sure.”

Reporter: “Is there anything you want to say to our reader?”

Indy: “Please support our journey and share your like with us! Come back and read our blog or donate via PayPal. Every little helps!”

Reporter: “Thank you for your time.”

Indy: “Whiff, wuff!”

*This interview was translated by Therese van Nope. She is a Labrador Human translator from Berlin.

Indy’s BLOG – Interview with Vil de Mil.

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Having some tapas we got the chance to ask Vil a few questions.

Reporter: “Hello Vil, thank you for coming, it’s a pleasure having you with us!”

Vil: “Thank you for inviting me. It is my pleasure.”

Reporter: “Vil, tell us a bit about you and why you decided to ‘go on the road’ with Indy and Victor, but first the most important question: ‘Is Vil your real name?’”

Vil: “My name ‘Vil de Mil’ is not the name my parents gave me, but this is the name I use within the internet and while blogging. I am German and I worked for more then three decades in IT. I planned, designed, installed and administered, later also sold, huge computer networks, but unfortunately, this time is over now, because of several reasons. First I passed the ‘magic number’ of 50 years of age, which means that the industry considers me now as ‘too old’ for a job. Second I was not very lucky with my health and now I am not really sick, but sick enough to get in trouble with HR all the time, because I am off too many times. And lastly my CV is too ‘unusual’ for Germany, because I changed my jobs quite often, which is considered ‘unstable’ in Germany. They don’t see that I exactly did what the industry and politics demanded. I was flexible and willing to follow work, even if I needed to leave the country. Anyway, long story short. I am on welfare now with no perspective to find a job any time soon and instead of sleeping all day, playing console games and waiting for my monthly check to arrive I decided that I don’t want to rot in front of the telly and not accept this fate. So I bought Victor for small money and made him my base for the next days, weeks or even months.”

Reporter: “So you are still looking for work?”

Vil: “Yes, sure I am still looking for work and if the right job would pop up, I would seriously consider him. Actually, I am in Barcelona now and having plenty of interviews with recruiting agencies, temp job agencies, and companies HR directly.”

Reporter: “Any luck so far?”

Vil: “It is a slow process to find a job and the decision is not made directly after the application interview, so I have to wait for feedback.”

Reporter: “Let’s change the topic to something more positive. How are Victor and Indy?”

Vil: “They are both very happy. Indy enjoys the sun and the beach and when we drive she mostly sleeps, but at night she is awake and guarding us. There was already one situation Indy somehow saved us from trouble. Vil is a true working horse. He clocks the miles with no complaint. He is already a bit older, but for his age, he is definitively a young one.”

Reporter: “A dangerous situation? What happened?”

Vil: “We parked at the beach, Indy and I we went to the water to enjoy the waves. Victor doesn’t like water so much, so he stayed in the parking having a bit of sun. After a bit of time we came back to meet Victor and from distance, we saw a few shady looking guys approaching him.”

Reporter: “And then?”

Vil: “Indy got into ‘I am a dangerous dog mode’. Normally Indy is the nicest dog you can imagine, but in this moment Indy changes to a fighting machine with no fear from nothing. A little, but mean black bastard. She ran over to Victor and defended him until I arrived, but then the guys already ran away. It’s good to have her with me.”

Reporter: “What are your future plans?“

Vil: „I will continue to apply for jobs. I am not picky, so I would accept jobs all over Europe and until then I will try to have a good summer and not bother too much. Indy is happy to be on the road and Victor is ready to go even further.“ 

Reporter: “and what will happen if you find a job?”

Vil: “Then I would go to work from nine to five, but still stay somehow on the road. Maybe I buy me a small camper or an old and shabby transporter. For sure I won’t pay extraordinary rent anymore. I save the money and invest it in a bigger camper or something nice. No idea, yet!”

Reporter: „Thank you for your time and all the best for your future. Is there anything you would like to say for the end?“

Vil: „I want to thank you all our supporters, friends and followers and everyone who doesn’t follow us yet, please click here -> Donate Your Like! Thank you!”

[Update: Vil received an invitation for an account manager job. Face to face interview is on Monday.]

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