Jeg leter etter job

I am looking for jobs now – or actually trying to see what possibilities are around – so I have turned to the trustworthy source of Aftenposten for some pointers, hints, hopes, encouragement..... So far I have learned these four points:

1. Drikk et glass og få høyere lønn

- the most important one I think is that to earn more money I need to drink alcohol (small amount of course) - yes this is the headline with further explanation “De som drikker litt alkohol tjener mer”.

2. Du blir stemplet på 30 sekunder

- I only have 30 seconds to impress the interviewer and possible employer. Then why do interviews take 30 minutes – and then that’s only the first interview!!! Do you think it would work if I tell the interviewer after 30 seconds that since he/she has already decided, “Can I leave now?”!!

3. Flere vil jobbe lenger

- Great news!!! I probably will have to work longer then 70 – something to look forward too. I guess retirement will come with death :-)

4. Mer skatt, men færre goder

- And even better news – more tax and less benefits. Maybe being a bum is the best then – seeing it comparatively, if I pay less tax because I am a bum, then I would still have basic benefits.

So as you can see folks – its good news out in the market. Oh, did anyone mention a financial crisis??? But hey, at least drinking a glass of wine will get me higher pay!!! That is good news! I'll keep you posted!

Financial Crisis in Norway

Yes - the financial crisis is hitting Norway really hard - so hard that Aftenposten - one of Oslo's most popular newspapers decided to do an article in it's economy section that hits right to the core of the financial crisis (9 October 2009 - http://www.aftenposten.no/pengenedine/article3310712.ece) . You guessed it - it is about Fårikal - yes, the economy in Norway is bleeding and the prices differences of Fårikal needed to be investigated! The headline in the newspaper is given below with their image as well. Ladies and gentleman, economists, investors......Norwegians have hit upon the problem of the present crises. The solution - shop Fårikal at Kiwi - the cheapest option - and all your financial woes will be over. Thank you Aftenposten for revealing this important information

Priskamp i fårikålgryte

NSB is Norway’s national rail company – this is supposed to stand for Norges Statsbaner – but I have just found out what it really means – Norges signalfeilbaner. This is another revelation the knight from Malta has been able to discover in the short time here. Finally the truth is revealed... Yes, NSB, is Norway’s official signal failure rail experts. They specialise in making signals fails and therefore delaying trains. Yet, they always seem to announce ‘unfortunately there has been an unexpected signal fail at…”. What is strange is that it seems to be only unexpected for NSB – while all passengers are just waiting for it to happen. I really wonder why these signal fails occur so often – surely, they can be fixed. Oh, and soon NSB will be surprised by the snow that will come. which will cause more delays...you see, because it rarely snows here! Though again, the only ones that seem to be surprised are NSB. Well, some like to keep life exciting and therefore want to get surprised by usual happenings!

Autumn

Well, like it or not Autumn is here. It is a season that is not always clear in Southern Europe since the change from summer to winter is more sudden. Here, in Oslo, Autumn is really beautiful. Autum is allowed to play its full script - changing from the bright green to orange and some trees to dark bloody red. The leaves begin to droop, weeping that summer is over and preparing to bare the tree from unnecessary burden for the harsh winter soon arriving.

Fårikål feast day and Potato picking holiday week

The last Thursday of September is ‘celebrated’ as Fårikål feast day. Fårikål is a traditional Norwegian dish made from interlaying layers of lamb with bones, cabbage, and whole black pepper thrown in a casserole and cooked till end of time. Don’t take me wrong, I like this dish – but if we have Fårikål day – shouldn’t we have pølse day…wait, I forgot, that is called søttende/syttende mai (National day). Fårikål is served with potatoes – which leads to another interesting fact – potato picking holiday week. Yes, the picture you see, although black and white is very recent taken in downtown Oslo – it is why children have a week holiday…ooops, I meant break… from school – to go and help their parents pick potatoes. Well, today, this potato week is actually called ‘høst ferie’. This change of name was due to the fact that potatoes made a civil claim against the government for using the copyrighted name ‘potatoes’ unlawfully. Anyway, it is a nice week holiday – but you only get it at school – unfortunately not at university. By the time we reach university age, we are expected to try and get ourselves properly educated without the distractions of potatoes, so as to make some money to keep growing potatoes.

Existence of Norwegian minestry of propaganda of meteorlogy

Winter is drawing near....actually, autumn (but really, it feels like winter) and I am now sure that deep within the Norwegian government there is a highly secret ministry - called Ministry of Propaganda of Meteorology. The job of this top secret government office is to convince people that it is warmer and nicer then it actually is. They control all thermometers and temperature signs in Norway. I would say that is usually at least 5 degrees more then it is - when THEY say it's 18 I need a fleece jacket. But you see people believe it - it's indoctrinated into people's mind from when they haven't even opened their eyes. They are dragged behind sleighs, thrown in the snow, taken outside when the sun peeps through the clouds - and are told it is a nice day. But not me, I know they are there....and I want to uncover this propaganda.

More will be revealed later...

Election day - a day of peace and dignity

"I dag får du

ikke kjøpt

alkohol"

Hvorfor??? «Ro og verdighet» This was a reminder on "Aftenposten" the Norwegian newspaper.

Today Monday 14th September 2009 (and yesterday Sunday) was election day(s) here in Norway. And you can't buy alcohol....I'm sorry :-( The reason is to keep "ro og verdighet" (peace and dignity).....as opposed to other days? This has been law since 1920.....as you can see, only recently updated!!!! Surely, are Norwegians mad enough to go totally crazy on election day. It is one of those days that Norwegians should flag - but I think we were the only ones to do it - so I don't think people are that crazy.... How was it before 1920....did mad Norwegians storm the streets, drunk and without dignity celebrating or drowning their sorrows.

First Signs of Spring

It's a little bit late since its already half way through spring...or is it summer. Anyway, season changes here are really nice - you get to see the full four seasons - some of the seasons though are a little tooooo long. But here is a picture of Spring trying to show it self. The flower is called Hvitveis - nice small white flowers that pop up as soon as they can smell spring.

National Day 17th May

17th of May is the national day in Norway - known as søttende/syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth), Nasjonaldagen (The National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (The Constitution Day). It is when the constitution was signed inEidsvoll on May 17th in the year 1814 which declared Norway an independent nation. It is quite a nice celebration (especially if the weather is nice - as it was this year) - with people wearing their traditional clothes called bunad. The common shout during the day is hurra...I guess it is a happy thing to be independent.

The worst part about it though is the traditional food eaten on the day - its pølse i brød (hotdogs in bread) or pølse i lompe (hotdogs in a potato flat bread) and ice-cream. In the evening, the traditional food to eat rømmegrøt (some kind of porridge that I haven't experienced yet). I don't know, but it doesn't really sound too exquisite. I guess everyone was toooooo happy about independence to think about food :-)

Notes from Levi

Really strange things people do. Go on the ski, instead of walking around. I must say though, it does in a way make life easier. Its easier to travel on around 80 cm of snow with skis on, rather than walking. They drag kids on toboggans that are tied to you by a rope while you are skiing. After a day out on the skis, they have a sauna. A room, often made from wood, is warmed up to around 70 C with coals. When its hot enough, you go in, throw some water on the coals in the stove called kiuas in Finnish`, which causes steam. I’ve tried a few times, its unbearable. The first time, it felt like my nose, and throat were being burnt – I could not breathe. Apparently, they say it is good for the body, since it makes you sweat and takes out all those bad things. You see, people have trouble sweating here in the North. No person in southern Europe would think that they need to sweat it out – just wait for summer.

The Winter

In Norway, they have a saying that it is never bad weather, just bad clothes that you wear. I think this is just some propaganda to get people outside. I have tried to wear proper clothes – a woolen under layer, a good woolen jumper, leather gloves and hat – and against my wife’s wishes, even a balaclava – it still feels cold. One really good thing they have though, is that they have really nice warm houses.

The Shipwreck

It was late July 2008 that a Maltese Knight became shipwrecked in Viking land close to Oslo.