Sorry, once again, no pictures for this post. I know that makes it awfully painful to read but what should I put pictures of? A diagram of the upper urinary tract? You can look that up on google images! A photo of the doctor's office? Sort of forgot to bring my camera...
About 2 weeks ago, I was slightly suspicious that there was something wrong with my kidneys when I felt pangs of pain there, but I ignored it. Sure enough it started to get constant. So I self-diagnosed myself with a kidney infection (I was right). I realized something ironic about going to the doctor. When you feel like crap and it hurts to move, you do not want to LEAVE the house for anything. Why would the doctor be any different? Why can't the doctor make house calls like in Little House on the Prairie? So, when I found out the doctor was actually open on a Sunday evening (probably the only establishment in the whole city), I didn't go because I REALLY didn't feel like it. Ironic, yes.
The next morning I trekked out. The elevator was broken as usual so I walked down 5.5 flights of stairs (not as bad as walking back up, that was very painful). Walking was pretty painful and I felt like such a spoiled suburbian person for always having access to a car. I guess there are TONS of people in the world who don't know anybody with a car and this is normal for them. I mean I have walked to the doc plenty of times before in college and in Sweden but what do you do when it is too painful to walk? Maybe they just call ambulances, that would have been so unnecessary but sort of fun! Anyway I found the doctor's "office" that a friend had told me about. The main door was wide open, with an empty lobby. There was a hidden plaque in the entryway stating it was a doctor's office. Just an empty white room, no reception, with some foldable chairs and an enigmatic plywood door, also unmarked. There was a doorbell next to the door and a paper stuck above it saying "ring and wait" So I rang, and waited. One couple was already waiting. They confirmed that yes, you just ring and sit down. This is one thing that bothers me about queuing in France. I used to complain about the Swedish uber-anal queue for everything, but now I miss it. Because here, you just memorize the people that were in the vicinity when you got there, and when all of them have gone, you know it is your turn. I am very bad with faces so this makes it impossible for me to relax while waiting for something, trying to keep track of where I stand in the line.
I was sitting very uncomfortably doubled over and just counting the minutes until the doctor said "next" and it was my turn. The other couple had random visitors during their wait, some lady and a baby coming to show them bags of hand-me-down clothes. Right time and place? I suppose so. Another couple came in. A beggar came in from the street and spoke to the room in Arabic. When he was ignored he came to each of us individually and said something to each of us, one by one. Can't you see, Monsieur, that we are obviously at a ghetto clinic so we probably don't have money to share, and that some of us are in pain?? My insurance even covers private medical care so I do not know why I chose this place. Oh yeah, because who likes to do research when they feel like crap? Just go to the first one anyone tells you about.
A guy stepped in from the street asking who was last in line, I guess he was planning to wait in line while visiting a café or something? The man that came in after me said I was last. I said, no I thought I got here before you? He said, well I had forgotten these papers so I left to get them, but I got here before you. This is why I hate this anti-queue. I was like, ok whatever. But he said that I could go before him, no problem. I didn't say anything. Then his wife started yelling at him in another language. Obvious much??
When the doctor came out and said "next," the guy insisted that I go before him. I found myself in a humongous empty garage-like room, with some cubicle walls set up to make 3 makeshift rooms. It had an ambiance about as comfortable as a place you would go to be euthanized.
I was greeted by the doctor and a very young teen-aged boy. "This is an intern. Does it bother you if he sits in on this session?" Oh yeah, what woman would be bothered by a 16-year old boy sitting in on her doctor's appointment?!? Thinking this question didn't even deserve an answer, I just said, "I don't know, it's fine." The doctor was like, really are you sure? "NO, of course not, get that kid out of my sight" is what I didn't say.
It turns out that this garage cubicle doctor's office has no more medical equipment than a laptop and printer, and he printed me a prescription, and two notices sending me to two other places in the city to get tests. I walked back to the first testing place, it would cost 55 euros. I only had taken 50 with me thinking they would directly bill insurance anyway. The nearest atm was just about as far as home and I had stupidly only taken that atm-only French card with me, so I hobbled home to get my Swedish debit card, put about 1000 euros on the account to avoid having to walk anywhere ever again, tried to keep myself from completely breaking down, and went back to pee in a cup and get tons of blood drawn. After that I would rather have gone home than to radiology but he wrote "urgent" on that order. But oh, they don't accept credit cards, I would have to pay cash. So I had to leave there to go to an atm. Then they gave a sonogram to check for stones (none found). On the way home I picked up my scrips and collapsed into bed. This whole ordeal lasted from 11am to 3pm. It was exhausting. I missed 4 days of work and just stayed in bed the whole time, it was sort of nice because when lying down the pain wasn't too bad so it was lots of resting!
But that isn't the end of the story, no. For the first time ever, I broke out in hives from antibiotics. Typical. Calling in a new prescription was not an option. This was all hard paper, no computers involved. So getting new meds would have meant going back to the doctor, getting paper in my hand and putting the paper into a pharmacist's hand. (WHAT YEAR IS THIS!?!???!??!!). So after the hives were not too bad and only lasted about an hour, I decided to keep taking them. My body eventually gave in and stopped producing hives after a few days.
Next time I get sick I guess I will go to a hospital?
söndag 18 december 2011
tisdag 6 december 2011
Nations DO Have Personalities
I have come to the conclusion that France and Sweden are total opposites. There are tooo many reasons to name, but just take my word for it. Yeah, tons of people say that "Marseille is not France" but that is just where I am so some of my comparisons are just Marseille-specific. Some obvious points are the weather, the drinking water (still having a hard time accepting that change), new vs. old, dirty vs. clean, elevators working vs. broken, availability of postage stamps, I could go on, but those are boring and whiny. Here are two interesting differences I have been noticing, without sounding like a bratty tourist!
Babies on busses
France: on almost every bus and tram ride I have been on here so far, strangers talk to the babies in their vicinity. It starts with one old person saying funny stuff to the baby, then some laughing comments about how the baby doesn't want to talk to him/her, then others chime in laughing and commenting, smiling at the mom, trying to get the baby to react...
Sweden: Sometimes the babies interact with each other, then the parents do too, but generally, pretty kept to themselves.
Strangers asking me where I'm from
France: people in the grocery store line, the pharmacist, the doctor, the other doctor, the other doctor (I will explain that story later)... "vous êtes de quelle origine?" :)
Sweden: Nobody. Though sometimes they used to speak English back to me, their way of saying, "I know you're a foreigner!"
Other interesting tidbits just about life in Marseille:
The Honking Ritual
Did you know that honking is effective in reducing city traffic?
This is a very watered-down version, because they usually do not let up on the horn and just play one long HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(NKeventually)! I just caught the tail end of it when most of the honkers had stopped. This goes on twice a day for about 5 minutes each. I a m n o t e x a g g e r a t i n g ! ! !
I Am a Robot
Is what I say to myself when walking down the street.
No eye-contact. No emotion. No smiling, not even to yourself. Do not speak, to anybody. Do not look at any humans. Nothing gets your attention, not even somebody yelling pretending like they know you, or making very loud and unusual noises.
Using this strategy just makes it easier to forget about the people on the streets raping you with their eyes.
Next time you get a doctor story! It is not as juicy as being in a third-world country so don't get too excited but it was interesting...
Babies on busses
France: on almost every bus and tram ride I have been on here so far, strangers talk to the babies in their vicinity. It starts with one old person saying funny stuff to the baby, then some laughing comments about how the baby doesn't want to talk to him/her, then others chime in laughing and commenting, smiling at the mom, trying to get the baby to react...
Sweden: Sometimes the babies interact with each other, then the parents do too, but generally, pretty kept to themselves.
Strangers asking me where I'm from
France: people in the grocery store line, the pharmacist, the doctor, the other doctor, the other doctor (I will explain that story later)... "vous êtes de quelle origine?" :)
Sweden: Nobody. Though sometimes they used to speak English back to me, their way of saying, "I know you're a foreigner!"
Other interesting tidbits just about life in Marseille:
The Honking Ritual
Did you know that honking is effective in reducing city traffic?
My window
This is a very watered-down version, because they usually do not let up on the horn and just play one long HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(NKeventually)! I just caught the tail end of it when most of the honkers had stopped. This goes on twice a day for about 5 minutes each. I a m n o t e x a g g e r a t i n g ! ! !
I Am a Robot
Is what I say to myself when walking down the street.
No eye-contact. No emotion. No smiling, not even to yourself. Do not speak, to anybody. Do not look at any humans. Nothing gets your attention, not even somebody yelling pretending like they know you, or making very loud and unusual noises.
Using this strategy just makes it easier to forget about the people on the streets raping you with their eyes.
Next time you get a doctor story! It is not as juicy as being in a third-world country so don't get too excited but it was interesting...
onsdag 16 november 2011
Mundane Fundane
Hump day is over! I am so tired even though work hasn't been tiring! I can't even express how strange and wonderful it is to eat a leisurely breakfast and get other stuff done at 8am and then not have to leave until 8:45. And there is SUNlight spilling through the windows while all of this is going on! Usually I'd leave at 6:45 or 7:00 in the pitch black to start the day in Sweden. (Ok, in the summer it wasn't black but still just as early).
We work from 9:00-17:00 and we can take lunch between 12-14. You can take the whole time if you want but most people do 12:30 or 13-14. This still doesn't really make sense to me since in my mind the less hours of work = the better. But yeah obviously you gotta get something done... So sometimes we will have to stay late so it should be close to full-time anyway, plus a lot of lunch. I won't go into details about where I work or with whom because I really don't want to publicly publish anything specific like that. It's not like anybody here will know this URL anyway, nor be interested in it. This will be really boring. Don't read it unless you want to know about my tasks at work and other daily habits. And the best part is that there are NO PHOTOS.
I haven't had much training yet but learned as I go. My main tasks are like so: the boss forwards me random e-mails that she received but can't bother to read (because they are in English). Then at a good moment I say, "So, this e-mail you sent, what do I need to do about it?" Then she makes me explain which e-mail it was and what it's about, including me slowly reading it to her out loud. Then she explains the situation to me and tells me what to do. Usually she wants me to respond to the e-mail, usually in English. Then she tells me exactly what to write (in French). Then I try not to forget all the details and write the e-mail. Not all that efficient is it? Sounds sort of like The Office? I'm happy with it! Because the boss has left early every day this week so I have had almost no work to do in the afternoons!
Another task I have is translations! I love this bit. I've been putting a few promotional texts into English which is really fun since I get to make stuff sound good in my language of expertise without having to actually write or invent the content. I have put one activity info sheet into awkward French (I needed to get that shit edited afterward). But they need the help so I will probably do this more and hopefully improve.
Next week I'll help another girl work on a book about a big project that is ending. Today at work I was delighted when my boss told me I was going with her and a couple other people to a town an hour north of here to promote a project that we will be working on! I'm excited about seeing a little of the surrounding scenery here. The event is from 10-12, then lunch, then again from 14-16. So typical!
Well that's all so far with work. I really like it because it's laid back and the people are all so nice and interesting and I learn so much! Other than that I have walked around enough to see some stores and thus crave a huge shopping day, and haven't done much else. Every yoga place is free for the first time, so I went with a roommate and a neighbor, who are basically trying out every yoga class in the city. Tonight they went and I think it was the yoga I really enjoy but I was too sleepy to go, typical excuse.
Another new thing is my green tea test. Yeah green tea is great for your health in many different ways, everybody knows that and I won't get into it. I read that to reap the most benefit from it you should drink at least 2 cups a day, and that more than 5 cups doesn't help any extra. The exact science of Statistics has proven that so it must be ever-so true. So every day I have been drinking 2 cups of natural green tea. I have done this religiously for over a week now. I don't know if these changes are supposed to be physically noticeable but I still believe in the benefits no matter what. I do feel great, because it has just enough caffeine for a natural-feeling energy kick but not the bad feelings I get from my beloved coffee. Feeling great might have to do with recently moving to a place that not only speaks French but also has 60º and blue skies in November.
The last piece of news is that I am getting an American visitor this weekend! Haven't had an American one since Danielle came in June! It is dear cousin Perry's friend and my former French tutee who currently studies in Clermont-Ferrand! She barely needed my help at all though so I don't take credit for her language talent. I would, however give a lot of credit to the best French teacher in history that we both had, the late Mr. Peterka who taught me more French than anybody else has! He was the best teacher and everybody knew it!
A bientôt!
We work from 9:00-17:00 and we can take lunch between 12-14. You can take the whole time if you want but most people do 12:30 or 13-14. This still doesn't really make sense to me since in my mind the less hours of work = the better. But yeah obviously you gotta get something done... So sometimes we will have to stay late so it should be close to full-time anyway, plus a lot of lunch. I won't go into details about where I work or with whom because I really don't want to publicly publish anything specific like that. It's not like anybody here will know this URL anyway, nor be interested in it. This will be really boring. Don't read it unless you want to know about my tasks at work and other daily habits. And the best part is that there are NO PHOTOS.
I haven't had much training yet but learned as I go. My main tasks are like so: the boss forwards me random e-mails that she received but can't bother to read (because they are in English). Then at a good moment I say, "So, this e-mail you sent, what do I need to do about it?" Then she makes me explain which e-mail it was and what it's about, including me slowly reading it to her out loud. Then she explains the situation to me and tells me what to do. Usually she wants me to respond to the e-mail, usually in English. Then she tells me exactly what to write (in French). Then I try not to forget all the details and write the e-mail. Not all that efficient is it? Sounds sort of like The Office? I'm happy with it! Because the boss has left early every day this week so I have had almost no work to do in the afternoons!
Another task I have is translations! I love this bit. I've been putting a few promotional texts into English which is really fun since I get to make stuff sound good in my language of expertise without having to actually write or invent the content. I have put one activity info sheet into awkward French (I needed to get that shit edited afterward). But they need the help so I will probably do this more and hopefully improve.
Next week I'll help another girl work on a book about a big project that is ending. Today at work I was delighted when my boss told me I was going with her and a couple other people to a town an hour north of here to promote a project that we will be working on! I'm excited about seeing a little of the surrounding scenery here. The event is from 10-12, then lunch, then again from 14-16. So typical!
Well that's all so far with work. I really like it because it's laid back and the people are all so nice and interesting and I learn so much! Other than that I have walked around enough to see some stores and thus crave a huge shopping day, and haven't done much else. Every yoga place is free for the first time, so I went with a roommate and a neighbor, who are basically trying out every yoga class in the city. Tonight they went and I think it was the yoga I really enjoy but I was too sleepy to go, typical excuse.
Another new thing is my green tea test. Yeah green tea is great for your health in many different ways, everybody knows that and I won't get into it. I read that to reap the most benefit from it you should drink at least 2 cups a day, and that more than 5 cups doesn't help any extra. The exact science of Statistics has proven that so it must be ever-so true. So every day I have been drinking 2 cups of natural green tea. I have done this religiously for over a week now. I don't know if these changes are supposed to be physically noticeable but I still believe in the benefits no matter what. I do feel great, because it has just enough caffeine for a natural-feeling energy kick but not the bad feelings I get from my beloved coffee. Feeling great might have to do with recently moving to a place that not only speaks French but also has 60º and blue skies in November.
The last piece of news is that I am getting an American visitor this weekend! Haven't had an American one since Danielle came in June! It is dear cousin Perry's friend and my former French tutee who currently studies in Clermont-Ferrand! She barely needed my help at all though so I don't take credit for her language talent. I would, however give a lot of credit to the best French teacher in history that we both had, the late Mr. Peterka who taught me more French than anybody else has! He was the best teacher and everybody knew it!
A bientôt!
New Favorite Cheese
BREAKING NEWS !!!
I have a new favorite cheese.
I did not discover it in France, no... I had it for the first time in Göteborg. I bought it from Linnégatans Ostaffär to which I received a gift certificate a long time ago from a very intuitive significant other.
It's a sheep cheese! Fromage de Brebis. I believe that brebis means "ewe." It is produced in the Pyrenees. Since my pack of cheese is unfortunately not with me in bed right now, we'll assume mine was also made there. In one evening I've already consumed about a third of the 250g package! When I first tried it I was so surprised by its deliciousness and unique taste, so upon seeing it at the store I just had to get it!
The cheese looks pretty standard but somehow I recognized it from across the store. I do think the color/texture combo is a bit special, or else maybe I am just obsessed!
This one is a little aged but still tender with a subtle kick of the very interesting flavor. Pretty sure I noticed a tiny tiny hint of a goat cheese taste with a sweeter edge! The texture is solid but still pretty soft, so it sort of melts in your mouth. It is soooo goood!!! I eat it plain but surely it's amazing tons of other ways.
So go out and check out this cheese!
Anyone tried it? Thoughts?
I have a new favorite cheese.
I did not discover it in France, no... I had it for the first time in Göteborg. I bought it from Linnégatans Ostaffär to which I received a gift certificate a long time ago from a very intuitive significant other.
It's a sheep cheese! Fromage de Brebis. I believe that brebis means "ewe." It is produced in the Pyrenees. Since my pack of cheese is unfortunately not with me in bed right now, we'll assume mine was also made there. In one evening I've already consumed about a third of the 250g package! When I first tried it I was so surprised by its deliciousness and unique taste, so upon seeing it at the store I just had to get it!
The cheese looks pretty standard but somehow I recognized it from across the store. I do think the color/texture combo is a bit special, or else maybe I am just obsessed!
This one is a little aged but still tender with a subtle kick of the very interesting flavor. Pretty sure I noticed a tiny tiny hint of a goat cheese taste with a sweeter edge! The texture is solid but still pretty soft, so it sort of melts in your mouth. It is soooo goood!!! I eat it plain but surely it's amazing tons of other ways.
So go out and check out this cheese!
Anyone tried it? Thoughts?
onsdag 9 november 2011
Room Progress
Today was pretty awesome. A guy who works at the place I'll be working came and spent 2 hours on my room. He cleaned it and got my bed all fixed up. Still waiting on some furniture. My room has french doors (obviously, this is France). But really, it used to be a living room or something. The entryway between my room and the next one was boarded up and covered with some fancy curtains.
There are 6 people living here because the Latvian guy is actually a Latvian couple. I met the girl and she is really nice! Everyone is nice. Of the 20 people working at my future job, maybe half are French. I'll be completing my project (still don't know what it's about) with a team of 3 French girls and a French leader. So, je vais parler français très bien! Two other volunteers are Swedish, from Göteborg. I'm glad there is some Swedishness for me here!
Looking in the fridges in two apartments, I noticed that each person has their own Camembert cheese. Of COURSE I bought my favorite foods that I used to buy during the Vichy Adventure of 2008, but I will have to be careful with the Camembert this time. Like maybe one pack a week, instead of two. I do not want to repeat the Fatness Adventure of 2008. Meet a 20lb heavier me:
There are 6 people living here because the Latvian guy is actually a Latvian couple. I met the girl and she is really nice! Everyone is nice. Of the 20 people working at my future job, maybe half are French. I'll be completing my project (still don't know what it's about) with a team of 3 French girls and a French leader. So, je vais parler français très bien! Two other volunteers are Swedish, from Göteborg. I'm glad there is some Swedishness for me here!
Looking in the fridges in two apartments, I noticed that each person has their own Camembert cheese. Of COURSE I bought my favorite foods that I used to buy during the Vichy Adventure of 2008, but I will have to be careful with the Camembert this time. Like maybe one pack a week, instead of two. I do not want to repeat the Fatness Adventure of 2008. Meet a 20lb heavier me:
That mail was definitely not sent by whole dairy products.
A lot of the fat sat in the hip/thigh area, not (ever, hopefully) pictured. Buying new jeans all the time gets expensive, especially if Mango is the only one carrying your size. And giving away never-worn shorts to a much narrower aunt who has had 3 kids is a bit embarrassing. So I'm doing my best... Dinner tonight was couscous with zucchini (with an appetizer of Camembert on biscottes).
One of the roomies is playing guitar and singing. I'll have to become her friend and ask for partial rights to the guitar.
tisdag 8 november 2011
New Harbor Town
Well, here I am, in Marseille. I should probably change my blog header sometime, to a more French and less Swedish theme. I wanted to change it to a picture of our awesome Göteborg harbor view in the last flat but I've moved on to bigger, dirtier and poorer now as far as flats & harbor towns go.
Needless to say I didn't get the flight attendant job at Lufthansa, I had a phone interview and my Hoch Deutsch was NOT "sehr gut" as I had claimed, haha. Their loss!! I worked as a karaoke DJ for 2 nights and it was fun-ish, I didn't go to the interview for the casino because screw it, and I got a full-time job offer to work at a daycare which I then declined when it was already too late, or almost too late, depending on your sense of ethics. Anyway, while on an amazing, epic family cruise these people tried contacting me telling me I was accepted to a volunteer program (all expenses taken care of, and then some) in Marseille. They wanted me to come on Nov 1, 2 weeks from then and I was like hail naw, I'll come on November 8. Well it wasn't that simple. It was a horribly difficult and emotional situation in trying to decide if it's worth it to leave Christoffer. It's a definite amount of time, which makes it better. It's a long amount of time, which makes it harder. I'll be back for Christmas, which makes it easier. All in all I decided to take the opportunity. Long story short, I'm young now and can't do shit like this when I have kids!
Back to now. A nice German girl picked me up at the station and took me to my flat. I think my roommates will be 2 guys and then "2 Spanish guys."
"So all guys?" I ask
"No, you have the 2 Spanish guys too"
Well I already saw one of the Spanish guys (male) so far so I guess one of the "2 Spanish guys" is a girl.
My room was dirty, with no furniture besides a broken bed sans mattress. Luckily my new German neighbor (who lives across the hall) will be at her boyfriend's tonight. So I'll sleep in her bed in their much nicer apartment, hopefully just one night. Maybe the "productive" French will, against all odds, clean my room, buy me a new bed and the rest of the furniture, all in one day! Well I just found out that I clean it when I move in... So I hope there are ample cleaning supplies, like I like... I assume I'll be staying in this girl's room for a while, living from my very well-packed suitcase.
Not much else to update on now, except that I can't go on a walk around the neighborhood because we apparently live in the ghetto. Shit. And even here our closest grocery store closes at 7:30. I thought this was a big city!!!
Looking forward to more discoveries and new adventures...
Needless to say I didn't get the flight attendant job at Lufthansa, I had a phone interview and my Hoch Deutsch was NOT "sehr gut" as I had claimed, haha. Their loss!! I worked as a karaoke DJ for 2 nights and it was fun-ish, I didn't go to the interview for the casino because screw it, and I got a full-time job offer to work at a daycare which I then declined when it was already too late, or almost too late, depending on your sense of ethics. Anyway, while on an amazing, epic family cruise these people tried contacting me telling me I was accepted to a volunteer program (all expenses taken care of, and then some) in Marseille. They wanted me to come on Nov 1, 2 weeks from then and I was like hail naw, I'll come on November 8. Well it wasn't that simple. It was a horribly difficult and emotional situation in trying to decide if it's worth it to leave Christoffer. It's a definite amount of time, which makes it better. It's a long amount of time, which makes it harder. I'll be back for Christmas, which makes it easier. All in all I decided to take the opportunity. Long story short, I'm young now and can't do shit like this when I have kids!
Back to now. A nice German girl picked me up at the station and took me to my flat. I think my roommates will be 2 guys and then "2 Spanish guys."
"So all guys?" I ask
"No, you have the 2 Spanish guys too"
Well I already saw one of the Spanish guys (male) so far so I guess one of the "2 Spanish guys" is a girl.
My room was dirty, with no furniture besides a broken bed sans mattress. Luckily my new German neighbor (who lives across the hall) will be at her boyfriend's tonight. So I'll sleep in her bed in their much nicer apartment, hopefully just one night. Maybe the "productive" French will, against all odds, clean my room, buy me a new bed and the rest of the furniture, all in one day! Well I just found out that I clean it when I move in... So I hope there are ample cleaning supplies, like I like... I assume I'll be staying in this girl's room for a while, living from my very well-packed suitcase.
Not much else to update on now, except that I can't go on a walk around the neighborhood because we apparently live in the ghetto. Shit. And even here our closest grocery store closes at 7:30. I thought this was a big city!!!
Looking forward to more discoveries and new adventures...
onsdag 21 september 2011
What might happen
First of all I just made the most delicious soup--ever. It contained, among other things, a rutabaga. I didn't know it was a rutabaga until afterward when I google translated "kålrot." So that was cool, since I never really was sure what a rutabaga was before! The unattractive "root fruits" as they are called in Sweden are soo cheap and sooo healthy and should be eaten more!
Yeah I know, this blog would be boring as hell without photos.
Today was a good day. Christoffer got 2 calls for interviews and I applied to some fun jobs. I usually don't shout from the rooftops about the jobs I apply to since I so diligently apply to thousands every day and 99.9% of them end up in a "we have decided to go further with another applicant" but today was a bit interesting. I applied to be a "steel woman" for a steel company that needs a more gender-balanced workplace (office job, not miner), a "karaoke hostess" at a restaurant that happens to be 2 blocks away, and a dealer (no experience needed!) at the casinoo! Status? Took a tricky "service test" for the casino job, already got called for an interview with the karaoke job (the boss is also interested in some marketing services), and the steel job? Well they requested that application be sent by snail mail, so it's on its way... The casino sounds like the coolest but the karaoke/mktg job sounds quite promising and also potentially fun haha... Maybe I can succeed in making it THE place to go in Majorna!
Fine, I will jinx it and tell you about the flight attendant job I applied to. It has been a dream since childhood. Hope I get to fulfill it! I passed the English and personality tests so now I get a preliminary phone interview!
So, plans, plans, plans...
I really wanted to get a kitten for a while, always have, still do, especially after a friend that works for Lufthansa Cargo told me that a cat can be just another carry-on item, no problem, but I think I will have to refrain. I doubt it's allowed in this apartment and I decided to wait until I am stateside again to become a cat lady. Thought about that money I was so willing to spend on cat maintenance and decided I can either save it instead, or buy super healthy and delicious food (like rutabaga...).
I also bought something to make the winter fun and maybe even replace a gym membership (that I have also been considering). My new ice skates are HOCKEY skates so they 1)look cool and 2)will allow me to become a hockey star. Maybe Christoffer will practice with me. He worked as an ice skating teacher for kids in London, so he can teach me to skate backwards! The only problem is that they haven't come yet. I bought them on an auction on Sweden's eBay (was SO excited when I won the auction!!). Got them for around $30, barely used and hopefully my size. I sure hope the seller wasn't just a scammer. We'll see.
Speaking of buying things, I have realized that I have some materialistic tendencies. Walking down the street I find myself marveling at expensive kitchenware, bath towels, gourmet food, espresso machines, the Lush soap store, overpriced but still not pretentious cafés... and thinking yes, that's why I wanna be rich! haha what a lavish lifestyle I can imagine myself in. Not seriously but sort of seriously.
What more plans do I have that are relevant to you, my fanclub? I would so so love to visit home for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/maybe my birthday, but I can't leave my potential awesome full-time job for that long. And without the awesome job it's sort of steep, might as well wait until 2012 when I potentially awesomely would move back to the US. I miss all my friends there and especially all the Wagles!!! Grandma just turned 85 yesterday!
Gonna go make some butter-flavored popcorn and continue watching "Burn After Reading" (weird). I'll write again when something interesting happens!
underrated
Yeah I know, this blog would be boring as hell without photos.
Today was a good day. Christoffer got 2 calls for interviews and I applied to some fun jobs. I usually don't shout from the rooftops about the jobs I apply to since I so diligently apply to thousands every day and 99.9% of them end up in a "we have decided to go further with another applicant" but today was a bit interesting. I applied to be a "steel woman" for a steel company that needs a more gender-balanced workplace (office job, not miner), a "karaoke hostess" at a restaurant that happens to be 2 blocks away, and a dealer (no experience needed!) at the casinoo! Status? Took a tricky "service test" for the casino job, already got called for an interview with the karaoke job (the boss is also interested in some marketing services), and the steel job? Well they requested that application be sent by snail mail, so it's on its way... The casino sounds like the coolest but the karaoke/mktg job sounds quite promising and also potentially fun haha... Maybe I can succeed in making it THE place to go in Majorna!
Fine, I will jinx it and tell you about the flight attendant job I applied to. It has been a dream since childhood. Hope I get to fulfill it! I passed the English and personality tests so now I get a preliminary phone interview!
So, plans, plans, plans...
I really wanted to get a kitten for a while, always have, still do, especially after a friend that works for Lufthansa Cargo told me that a cat can be just another carry-on item, no problem, but I think I will have to refrain. I doubt it's allowed in this apartment and I decided to wait until I am stateside again to become a cat lady. Thought about that money I was so willing to spend on cat maintenance and decided I can either save it instead, or buy super healthy and delicious food (like rutabaga...).
I also bought something to make the winter fun and maybe even replace a gym membership (that I have also been considering). My new ice skates are HOCKEY skates so they 1)look cool and 2)will allow me to become a hockey star. Maybe Christoffer will practice with me. He worked as an ice skating teacher for kids in London, so he can teach me to skate backwards! The only problem is that they haven't come yet. I bought them on an auction on Sweden's eBay (was SO excited when I won the auction!!). Got them for around $30, barely used and hopefully my size. I sure hope the seller wasn't just a scammer. We'll see.
Speaking of buying things, I have realized that I have some materialistic tendencies. Walking down the street I find myself marveling at expensive kitchenware, bath towels, gourmet food, espresso machines, the Lush soap store, overpriced but still not pretentious cafés... and thinking yes, that's why I wanna be rich! haha what a lavish lifestyle I can imagine myself in. Not seriously but sort of seriously.
What more plans do I have that are relevant to you, my fanclub? I would so so love to visit home for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/maybe my birthday, but I can't leave my potential awesome full-time job for that long. And without the awesome job it's sort of steep, might as well wait until 2012 when I potentially awesomely would move back to the US. I miss all my friends there and especially all the Wagles!!! Grandma just turned 85 yesterday!
Gonna go make some butter-flavored popcorn and continue watching "Burn After Reading" (weird). I'll write again when something interesting happens!
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