Random observations

nimh, perhaps all of that is a sign that it is in the plan for you to change places? don't know how the budapest job worked out - if they offer you a position, will you take it? and if not, perhaps you should still look around for other jobs to get out of utrecht for awhile?

Hi Dag, I saw a Slovak movie tonight, "Two Sylables Behind". Do you know it? Enjoyable enough, very 'young' movie, felt kinda Czech. Good to see Bratislava on the big screen ...

(And yes, perhaps it is, I'll have to think. Would be worth it if only just not to have to hear myself whine anymore. But this job has been a fairly safe little informal hiding place for me this past coupla years, with understanding people and stuff, hence my hesitation. Big bad world and all that.)

Nimh, I knew you did mean thanks for support, was just not want you to zero in on it as just re the plants (which, is, after all, all I posted.)

On your quandary, I vote for adventure, my 2 cents.

Does that Valentines ad [here on a2k] really say a half dozen roses "starting at $39,99 + sh?

40 dollars for six roses?

What am I not getting, here?

They are genetically modified with a vocabulary of 200 words.

I'm going to be offered that job!




Yikes. Now I'm suddenly really scared. Its not nothing, you know, emigration. Drove my girlfriend crazy. (Well, that and me.)

Flattered though, in any case! Should I venture the big jump?

So what did you decide, dude? Are you going to go for it? Sounds like an exciting change of pace... and I generally recommend exciting changes of pace!

Waiting for the formal offer first ... and mulling ...

I never saw that!! You got the offer!!! Holy cannoli! Congrats!

Offers are good no matter what you decide. What I usually counsel people who can't decide (not that you asked) is to just go ahead and ask the current job what they'd do to keep you. I got some sweeeeet deals that way.

Heh, Soz. Thats not really an option - considering we barely scraped past having to close shop altogether here because the government initially decided to cut subsidies to 0,00 - they found some intermediate, patch-up resources that did allow us to also get some other funding again and so we're up & running again (the Dutch organisation, anyway, if not the European branch) - anyway though, considering all that, its not like there's space for wage negotiations or anything. Would also be highly unfair re: the other people here; the usual annual wage rise everybody normally gets was scrapped as well. And anyway, the money .. <shrugs>. Not so important.

I did think for a moment about ... saying that I wanted the fall-back job after all - the one I was promised should the Dutch organisation go on but funding for the European work stop altogether. It was a pleasantly straightforward, simple enough, concrete instant-fulfillment type job. I was going to get it because European funding did indeed stop, but then my boss still cobbled together enough money for me at least, if just me alone, to stay on doing European work. I would have preferred the fall-back job, even if it had been a rank lower I presume, but he would have none of that. So I did think now for a moment, what if I say now, with the other job offer in hand, that I want it after all or otherwise I'm leaving altogether?

But that would be unrealistic too though. That job has by now been reassigned into two different jobs that people have already been hired for by now. Not an option.

Anyway. I still havent actually received the formal offer yet, oddly enough, so I'm still on hold as far as I'm concerned. Still mulling, and you never know what the hold-up may be.

The second paragraph is actually more along the lines of what I was thinking -- reassignment of duties, a different office, that sort of thing. I know you had reservations about this job (your current one) that weren't money-related, seems like a chance to try to fix some of those. Might not be possible of course, I see what you're saying.

Hope the formal offer comes along soon.

OK, Random Observations. Has anyone ever wondered about those reports about demonstrations, when they mention the slogans that were used? I have. You read these newspaper reports, and they casually talk of the banners that were carried along or the things the demonstrators shouted - and what follows are often the lengthiest and most elaborate lines. And now I've seen pictures of Soviet demos, so I know how much you can fit on a street-wide banner if you really want to, but chanting it? Really?

Today, its the Trouw, reporting on the funeral procession of Lebanese PM Hairiri. They're outraged, obviously, and outraged in transethnic and religious unity at that, which is always a hopeful thing. So chanting, for sure. And when I see the Trouw report assert that they cried out, "Bugger off, Syria. Bugger off from our land!", I can just imagine it.

(Tries it out: BUGGER OFF - SYRIA! BUGGER OFF - FROM OUR LAND!! Yep, works.)

But really: "Thousands of youths yelled out slogans that a few days ago, they still would have been arrested for. "Bugger off, Syria. Bugger off from our land.'' And: "Hariri! Your blood seeps from your body but now streams through our veins. You have an army standing behind you!"?

I mean - no, listen - seriously. Try it! Probably not a good idea if you work in one of those cubicle environment thingies, but otherwise, try it. Try shouting at the top of your voice: ,,Hariri! Your blood seeps from your body, but now streams through our veins. You have an army standing behind you!" Yeah? Can you just imagine hundreds of young men yelling that, uni sono, all in rhythmically chanted harmony? No, me not either.

I mean, how does that work? Eh? Can somebody explain that?

Heya Soz. <smiles>
(Will re: 2 ur other message later 2day!)

(lookit you get all texty!)

no hurry! :-)

So, I'm reading this article in some obscure magazine about some obscure african country where the primary activity seems to be some form of genocide/ethnic cleansing and the writer tells me that the bad guys (or maybe the good guys-the USA/France/Russia/China/Israel alignments having not beeen worked out yet) are doing the killing with machetes because they don't have adequate modern arms. Well anyway, these guys with the machetes get tired after long days of be-heading and such although they still have the strength to kill with one stroke the younger, the females and the elderly but they are just too worn out for the
quick kill on the more healthy men so they just go for a neck cut or sometimes a gut cut and leave them to bleed to death over time (a few hours- a few days). So anyway I start to wonder if the entire idea of "western civilization" isn't just a matter of affordable technology.

I've been here for like 7 months now, starting to feel like home. Some things have become automatic -- I don't think "turn to that street, drive on that street for 5 traffic lights, turn left, go until that major street", blahbedy blah, I think "get to the grocery store." The route has become automatic.

So today I started the car and noticed I needed gas, and thought, "OK, to gas station", and my automatic processes got completely scrambled. I have only filled the tank maybe three times total here -- don't drive much, and E.G. fills it sometimes -- and my automatic process/ mental imagery was my old gas station in my old town. It took me a long time to disentangle that from here, to remember where the heck the nearest gas station was here. I had to slow everything way down, remember the name of my street, remember the name of the nearest major street, while meanwhile old street names and old imagery was taking up too much space in my head -- it was all just a big mish-mash.

Drove around feeling disoriented for a while after that, even though I eventually figured out where the gas station was. But there was more -- while I was doing errands I stopped and got an Odwalla Mango smoothie, which I haven't had since I lived in Pasadena. I realized this when I took a sip and was instantly transported back. I used to have them all the time, usually after my workout, on the patio of Wild Oats, reading the paper. It was just incredibly vivid, and redoubled the disorientation -- what was THAT major street? California?

It was just the weirdest feeling, remembering these two other places that were home very recently, thinking of this place as home, too. Three cities in less than five years.

Roots will be nice.

So now Prince just came on (Oscars) and I grinned at his familiar face (love that guy) and remembered that Minneapolis was all mixed up in it too, though I forget exactly how.

I adore the internet.

Kid has been going right up to the TV. Says it is easier to see. Just happened again, got me worried that she needs glasses. So I plugged "eye test" into Google, found this in a couple of clicks:

http://www.preventblindness.org/children/distance_child.html

Set it up according to directions, administered, she passed with flying colors. Maybe 10 minutes start to finish.

Whew.

(Will still bring it up with doc at next regular appt., but whew.)

Ahhhhh.....I'm glad she passed her test. You seem like a wonderful mother, soz.

Also - glad you're getting used to your new surroundings and it's feeling like home. I think the thing I hate the most about Ohio is the constant changes in the weather. But, I've lived here my whole life - so I should be used to it by now. :wink:

Still .... I can't imagine living somewhere that it doesn't snow. I don't think I will ever grow out of my love of watching the snow fall. It's a pain in the arse to drive in - but absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Yep.

You'll get more agreement from me in late fall than early spring, but yep. ;-)

My time in Pasadena ('97-'00) was the only time I'd lived somewhere without snow, and I didn't like it one bit. Though being Pasadena/ L.A., people would rent snow-making machines and fill their yards around Christmas. I drove past about 5 times the first time I saw it, couldn't believe it. Real snow. Melted, but took a while since it kept itself cold.

Gawd I'm glad to be outta that place.

LOL ..... I bet you did do a double take! I have this visual of you seeing that snow and going and then driving past it five times.

Too funny!