2002
Well, as we left the last cliffhanger episode of the Keellings soap opera, the evil Siemens was demanding that our hero take a 'voluntary' 20% pay cut or his agency, and possibly he, would never do business with Siemens again. I'd like to report that our hero stood resolute for his beliefs. Actually, he said that 20% was unacceptable , since one other making the same money had cut a deal for 5%. After a few days to consider, the realization came that 80% of something is better than 0% of it and it might be a good idea to 'volunteer' and then look around for other opportunities. However, the 'gentleman' from personnel decided that if his offer was unacceptable before, then it would remain so now. And so we bade farewell to sunny Ulm, that gem of southern Germany, set on the lovely brown Danube.
Since we don't get much opportunity for holidays, so thought that we would take a month in Singapore or Thailand and made some inquiries and got very good monthly hotel rates in both places (approx $1,500/month). Then we happened to be at the airport& saw how cheap last minute deals could be - 5 days New York, with flight & hotel fro $500, 2 weeks Majorca for $450, great rates for St. Lucia, Bal., Kenya, Cuba etc, etc and we decided to show up at the airport with a packed case & play it by ear. A trip away, a week back home, repeat until a new contract is offered sounded rather pleasant.
Then Chrissy was surfing and saw an offer that was too good to refuse - a half price trip on the Orient Express from Singapore to Bangkok. We hung a whole months holiday around it, but that was definitely the central part. We had a week in Singapore, in the hotel where we stayed last year, outside of the city, on an island with a bunch of touristy things to do and a great beach. We visited Asia's largest recruitment agency for our line of work and told them that we would like to speak with some companies - not necessarily to interview, but just to get acquainted and the fellow reckoned that would be no problem. We told him we would be back in two weeks time, to see what he had fixed up, then got on with holidaying.
After a week of mainly just lying by the swimming pool in Singapore, it was time for the Orient Express. Three days and two nights of sheer luxury, a window back into a time long gone. We were pampered from the moment we boarded the train, with afternoon tea in our cabin, etc. The meals were delicious, five course affairs, and everyone made the effort to dress for dinner. We had taken the cheapest cabin (read smallest), which was still expensive enough at half price, but not exorbitant. It didn't matter in the end as we were really only there to sleep. There was an excursion each morning - on the first day, around Penang island, and on the second, a raft trip down the river Kwai to the allied war cemetery), lunch was long and languorous, afternoons were well spent on the observation car (if you've ever been to Asia, you know how friendly everyone is. We spent all afternoon waving at people in every village which we passed and they seemed pleased & excited to see the train). Dinner in the evening was even better, and somehow lasted even longer, than lunch and afterwards there was some entertainment in the bar car. All in all, a journey which I can heartily recommend (although, rather disappointingly, no one was murdered and Hercule Poirot did not put in an appearance).
We met a very nice couple from New Zealand on the train, who invited us to join them at their time share in Phhuket, but unfortunately we had already booked a week in Bangkok and regretfully had decline (you don't get off that easily, though, we'll be coming down to N.Z to doss on you ;-) We had originally planned to spend one week in Bangkok and one in Kuala Lumpur, before returning to Singapore, but changed our minds and stayed two weeks at a very comfortable Marriott in Bangkok, alternating between sight seeing and lazing at the pool (it had been difficult to leave the pool in Singapore, where the bar was by the pool, but in Bangkok, the bar was in the pool and I could lie until too hot, then get in the pool and swim up to the bar for a long, cold one - that holiday did definitely not help the flab war :-) Bangkok is an incredibly large city, with a great deal of culture (of which we saw much) and night life (of which we saw none). Traffic is horrendously congested and the drivers worse even than those in Italy! The only real ways to move around are on the river, or by the skytrain. After a few palaces and temples, my mind was spinning with images of gload statues, so I've thrown together some pictures to bore you with. Just follow the links & don't forget to check out the pictures of the floating market.
The hotel had a good selection of bars & restaurants, although we did venture outside to try the local food (delicious, scorchingly hot and cheap - what more could one ask for?). I also managed to find a tailor, even cheaper than Hong Kong and managed to come home with one dinner jacket outfit, five suits, three pair of trousers and six shorts for the princely sum of £500/ € 800/ $800 !! I think we'll be going back!
After two weeks of Bangkok we had totally forgotten work, but it was a bit of a disappointment to get back to Singapore and find out that there were no chats with prospective employers lineed up. It turned out that the shyster who had assured out that we would have no problem finding a job had resigned two days after talking to us. No one else in the company followed up, so that 2 birds with one stone part of the trip came to naught.. Oh, well, there's always next year. We had another week of relaxation on Singapore, then it was back home to Munich.
The following Monday, I started giving 'phone, which I may modestly say is one of my fortes, but the results were less than encouraging. Those of you in the industry know that this last year or two have been worse than any in living memory; certainly worse than any in my 22 years experience. Most agents were incredibly pessimistic, some even suggesting talkinbg a permanent job utils things improved (blasphemy!). However, by theThursday things started looking up. Within the space of an hour, we had an offer of work in Berlin from an American agent who was taking on fixed-price work and a very strong interest from a company in Norway, who unfortunately couldn't interview up until the next week, as their technical guys were traveling. So, we waited until the next Tuesday and had a very positive 'phone interview, which resulted in us flying to Oslo on the Wednesday for a face to face on the Thursday, resulting in an offer which we accepted.
We rose at 3a.m to drive 550 miles from Munich to Kiel and caught a ferry for a 19 hour voyage to Oslo, which seemed preferable to another 600 mile drive. The ferry was comfortable enough - I'm sure that you know how these things go - with the usually compliment of restaurants (including one surprisingly up market one), bars, a cinema and even a small casino which I managed to avoid, only when I saw that they were paying out 30:1 for a single number on the roulette wheel!! with a double zero !!!! After that, wild horses couldn't have dragged me in.
We had a pleasant trip, watching the coast line from the top deck and just beginning to realize how green Norway is (in summer), and how beautiful. For the first few weeks the company arranged for us to stay in a farm house. It is marked as suburban Oslo on the map, but then all things are relative. We found a village of a dozen houses, then headed up a very narrow track from that and, after a while, found the farm house. Large and built of wood, as most Norwegian houses are, but in beautiful lush, green surroundings and only a ten minute walk from the office (which was built on land bought from the farm). Its web site is at http://www.bergergard.no (yes, even farm houses have web sites these days :-)
We seemed to have arrived in Norwegian summer as, at 34c, it was almost as warm as Singapore or Bangkok. So, we sat most of the day on the balcony, enjoying the view and catching some rays, then went tp try to find a town to get some food. Everything in Norway is closed on Sunday, it's worse even than Bavaria. However, looking at prices in shops, we soon came to realize what we had let ourselves in for - a large pizza cost £15/ €22 / $22 and a burger £9/ €15/ $15 !! Ouch! Oh well, at least beer was so expensive that it looked like losing weight would be no problem. Since nothing else was open, we had no choice but to go to McDonald's where a Big Mac cost £4 / €6 / $6 and large fries and milk shakes each cost £2 / €3 / $3. I informed Chrissy that she could no longer claim that I don't take her to expensive restaurants ;-) An average week's shopping cost about £80/ €120 / $120 and doesn't quite fill 3 carrier bags - and they make us pay for the carrier bags! I'd best stip here, before I get carried away, I think you have gotten the picture by now.
I'm trying to lose some of the middle aged spread, so I am on the wagon. With prices like that, it's a smart move, but what I don't quite understand is that so many people say that there is a big alcohol problem in Norway (probably something to do with long, dark winter nights) - you can't buy anything stronger than beer in the supermarket;for wine or spirits, you have to go to a state run store - it's just like being back in north Carolina :-)
:The summer was excellent: the best in 130 years apparently. At the end of Spetember, people were still swimming in the fjords - by October 14th, we had the first snow! On October 15th we walked through the woods to work becuase we were afraid to try to drive the car down the steep, twisty, uncleared, unpaved road from the farm (which sits at the top of a hill). In fact, a few weeks later a swedish guy tried for an hour to drive up that hill, then gave up & bought the first set of snow chains he had ever used.
So, we have mostly been trudging through the woods in the snow in the dark, both morning & evening. In the evening I pause at the wood shed to chop some kindling and collect some logs - ah, the joys of simple country life! Of course, it's not quite so simple, becuase both morning & evening we have to pause to take our leave from, or greet, an assortment of cats and a very affectionate farm dog (there are also horses, but so far I have been able to keep Chrissy away from those :-) I have a large collection of pictures of the farm & its lands, and of the animals, whcih I will get around to posting one day.
Captain's log, star date mid November - I hate this country & wish I were in Florida! What a weekend! Having several times almost failed to get up the hill to the farm (and only succeeding by jetissoning Chrissy, reversing down the (twisty) hill & gunning it up in first), I decided it was time to get snow chains. Uneventful until the roundabout with the turnoff for the snow chain shop.
Aprroaching, I glanced to one side & saw that the car in front of me had plenty of time to clear the roundabout, as did I and the car behind me. Glancing once more to double check that I was still clear, I looked forwards to see that the car in front had not moved (the car in front with the large driving school sign). I slammed on the anchors only to have the ABS system tell me that I didn't really want to perform an emergency stop, but would much rather tail end the learner (thankfully quite gently). It's been so long since I caused an accident that I can't even remember how long ago it was. Still, if I think that I had a bad day, what about the poor learner girle ?
I'm still waiting to hear what the damage is. I think it will be out of pocket, rather than through the insurance, but given the cost of everything in Norway, I don't expect much change out of a thousand pounds to touch up a few scratches.
So, the next day we went out in the car again. Getting down the hill from the farm was easy (!), but it meets at the confluence of three hills & I couldn't get up any of them. No problem - I had my trusty chains in the trunk. So, I knelt in the snow to get them on & someone came along who could not wait & had to pass me immediately. Since this wasn't possible, I backed into one of the other of the three roads. Repeat that last sentence 4 times. We live in the middle of nowhere & suddenly the traffic was like Marble Arch at rush hour. By the time I needed to move it a 5th time (still no chains on), the battery hadn't enough charge to start it (I had forgotten how quickly they lose charge in very cold temperatures).
So, nothing for it but to get the warning triangle out & trudge up the hill and wait for the farmer to tow me up the hill (hoping that no-one, in the meantime, tail ended my white car in the driving snow). So, we got up the hill, pausing only to visit the wood shed & chop some heating material & waited. Eventually he returned & chained me to the tractor & dragged me up (and don't even get me started on the time I pilled over to let someone pass on a very narrow road & found we were stuck on a snow bank and had to wait fro the postman to come & dd us out!).
The only half way good news is that I got the chains on, got it started & managed to drive up & down the hill without too much trouble, so I thought that I might actually survive the winter. Between the chains & the shovel in the trunk to dig us out of drifts, I thought that we ought to be ok. But I soon became fed up with stopping half way up the hil in the dark and kneeling in the snow, reaching behind the wheel with freezing fingers, fumbling to put the chains on. So, we sprung for a set of Norwegian winter tires (without spikes) and things seem to be going well so far.
The locals are all saying that they can't remember a winter like this, so early, so fierce, so much snow. I think they are just trying to console me. Otoh, it's -15 today
Speaking of miserable Norwegian weather - Chrissy's latest brainwave is that we take up cross country skiing - she thinks we could ski acorss the fields to work! Stay tuned for pictures!
And that was that for another year. Please keep in touch, all of you. And, please, please, make sure I have a personal e-mail for you and not just a company address; I lose touch with a few more each year (see list at bootom of page).
This year it's even worse as I managed to lose my electronic address book and its backup. Could everyone please send me an address & 'phone number? thanks. And, if you have a recent digital photograph, I would appreciate that too. I am curious as to how you look nowadays.
Book of the year :(same as last year) ... How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? or Effective Way?
Anecdote of the year: the nameless Ericsson manager who contracted food poisoning in Turkey. Being a (rich) foreigner (by definition) they spared him a Turkish hospital and treated him in his hotel room - sterlizing the needles with his after shave.
Shock of the year : leaving work on a hot summer day and deciding to sit and read on the balcony. Stopping off on the way at the supermarket and purchasing 6 cans of Carlsberg Lager and 2 Mars bar ice creams - for £20/ €30 / $30.
Entrepeneur of the year must be this business in Bangkok, surrounded as it is by strip joints and sex clubs.
Link of the year (it's out of date now, but check for the 2003 version) : The Economy.com Layoff Calculator estimates the probability that you will lose your job by year end 2002. The probability of losing your job is determined by where you live, your occupation, the industry in which you work, and, if you work for a public company, how well your company is doing as judged by stock investors. Your performance rating is also considered. The median probability of losing your job by the end of next year is 5%.
Birthday of the year.
Stroke of luck of the year - when my brother entered the interviw room to see that the guy doing the technical part was someone with whom he had shared a tent in the desert for 6 months during operation Desert Storm.
Stunt of the year, possibly exclipsing last years winner (when John L.H.A.B Millard convinced an Indian restaurant to deliver a dozen Vindalus to the beer garden) must be
