A quickie to say hi and let you all know that you should be jealous of teachers and their summer holidays! I'm in Lisbon, Portugal... looking forward to a week of sun and relaxation to kick off the massive 7 weeks I have to recover from the tough spring term I've had - see previous entries for details ;)
Also wanted to have a little rant about ridiculous bank identification rules in Sweden... I want to pay a cheque (check for the Americans!) which is payable to "Richard Walls" into an account of the name "Richard Walls" and they won't accept my passport as ID... in fact no bank will ever accept an Aussie passport as ID... because it doesn't have my Swedish ID number (birthdate plus 4 digits).
"So, what you're saying is that I can enter your country, work here, pay taxes but I cannot pay IN a cheque??"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Does the bank issue a valid ID card?"
"Yes, but... I don't suppose you have any relatives that live here?"
"No" (How ever did you guess?!)
"Well your employer could come and vouch for you. That's the only other option."
hmm.... I think to myself... how likely that my boss wants to come to the bank with me??!!
Anyway, thankfully it was my local bank where I have taken my mortgage and the woman I have dealt with was able to vouch for me... so I got my money eventually!
Swedes are so amazed that Australia manages to function without every citizen having an ID number that is used for everything... I am amazed that everyone here is so happy for "Big Brother" to know everything about them (and me now... I have a number!)... but then I do come from a country founded on convicts and other dubious immigrants. And we all know that all immigrants are violent, rude, criminals that should all be put on the next boat back... except for me, of course, and all the immigrants I know... it's just the ones I don't know that are dodgy. Isn't it wonderful being right all the time... one of the luxuries of being a white, middle class citizen. Time to step off the soap box...
enjoy the sunshine,
rich.
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Rainy Sunday
We finally kicked the brats out of Beverly Hills High on Friday for summer, 3 days of meetings, reflection, evaluation, feedback and small amounts of planning next week and then I begin 7 weeks of summer holidays... which will be kicked off in style when I fly to Lisbon, Portugal for a week on Friday. The end of term/year varied for us teachers, some had finished all their grading quite early and looked like they were in holiday mode a couple of weeks ago. We, on the other hand, didn't plan it as well and had a final exam 10 days before the grade deadline (60 essay answers to read!) and an all-day parliamentary role-play 2 days before the deadline... so a few late nights/early mornings... but a 3 hour nap after lunch yesterday seemed to help put things back into order!
The final year students had their graduation a week ago - all the girls wear white, the boys in suits. Champagne breakfast somewhere is followed by a lunch with all the teachers, a final gathering in the hall for some prizes, speeches, and songs followed by a mad dash outside at 2.30pm to meet awaiting family members and friends. All the finery is quickly lost as they change from fines to dime, jump on the back of a truck of some description which has been suitably equipped with loud music and cheap beer. The drive round Beverly Hills generally making a nuisance of themselves but claiming it is their tradition and right to do so (do I sound like a whinging geriatric??). And then they are gone... some reappear a few days later to collect work or books but most become ghosts overnight.
And now here a short joke that made me laugh during the week:
A chicken and an egg are lying in bed. The chicken is leaning against the headboard smoking a cigarette, with a satisfied smile on its face. The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the sheet, rolls over, and says, "Well, I guess we finally answered THAT question."
If anyone needs it explained - read it a second time.
hmmm... simple things...
And now come the plug for local aussie music, have a listen to the myspace site, go to the launch, show some support!
I know one of the guys in the band (JC) and I know they would appreciate all the support they can get - will make an even better impression on the industry folk if there is a decent crowd.
So take your friends and have a beer!
Think that will have to do for today, I have to do all those exciting Sunday things like dishes, washing, cleaning...
I read that Melbourne has 63 weeks worth of water left, assuming that it doesn't rain... kinda scary, although it sounds as though Adelaide was a lot worse. The whole water issue isn't quite the same over here, can still see people watering their concrete pavements... brings back memories of growing up in Albert Park!
Also, tip on a great documentary: Planeten. It is a Swedish production, but most of the interviews and voice-overs are in English for those of you that struggle with your å, ä and ö!!
raining,
rich.
The final year students had their graduation a week ago - all the girls wear white, the boys in suits. Champagne breakfast somewhere is followed by a lunch with all the teachers, a final gathering in the hall for some prizes, speeches, and songs followed by a mad dash outside at 2.30pm to meet awaiting family members and friends. All the finery is quickly lost as they change from fines to dime, jump on the back of a truck of some description which has been suitably equipped with loud music and cheap beer. The drive round Beverly Hills generally making a nuisance of themselves but claiming it is their tradition and right to do so (do I sound like a whinging geriatric??). And then they are gone... some reappear a few days later to collect work or books but most become ghosts overnight.
And now here a short joke that made me laugh during the week:
A chicken and an egg are lying in bed. The chicken is leaning against the headboard smoking a cigarette, with a satisfied smile on its face. The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the sheet, rolls over, and says, "Well, I guess we finally answered THAT question."
If anyone needs it explained - read it a second time.
hmmm... simple things...
And now come the plug for local aussie music, have a listen to the myspace site, go to the launch, show some support!
I know one of the guys in the band (JC) and I know they would appreciate all the support they can get - will make an even better impression on the industry folk if there is a decent crowd.So take your friends and have a beer!
Think that will have to do for today, I have to do all those exciting Sunday things like dishes, washing, cleaning...
I read that Melbourne has 63 weeks worth of water left, assuming that it doesn't rain... kinda scary, although it sounds as though Adelaide was a lot worse. The whole water issue isn't quite the same over here, can still see people watering their concrete pavements... brings back memories of growing up in Albert Park!
Also, tip on a great documentary: Planeten. It is a Swedish production, but most of the interviews and voice-overs are in English for those of you that struggle with your å, ä and ö!!
raining,
rich.
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Acting or teaching?
I forgot to mention in the last post:
For those of you that know my sis, you'll know that she is the actor in the family and I stuck to following a black line (not a white one - that would make me a futures trader in London or a QC in Adelaide??!!). Although yesterday I did start to wonder... as we are coming to the end of the school year we usually have some form of evaluation of the course and our teaching with the students. So I sat down with half of one of my classes yesterday and had a bit of an open chat with them about what they thought about the course - the funniest moment came when one of the kids said that my "acting" made the classes more interesting, note he didn't say my "teaching"! I do remember at uni one of the lecturers saying that teaching was like being on stage every lesson, every day - although I had forgotten until that precious comment yesterday.
back to the essays...
For those of you that know my sis, you'll know that she is the actor in the family and I stuck to following a black line (not a white one - that would make me a futures trader in London or a QC in Adelaide??!!). Although yesterday I did start to wonder... as we are coming to the end of the school year we usually have some form of evaluation of the course and our teaching with the students. So I sat down with half of one of my classes yesterday and had a bit of an open chat with them about what they thought about the course - the funniest moment came when one of the kids said that my "acting" made the classes more interesting, note he didn't say my "teaching"! I do remember at uni one of the lecturers saying that teaching was like being on stage every lesson, every day - although I had forgotten until that precious comment yesterday.
back to the essays...
spring time, party time
Yes, spring is finally here in full force - sunshine and mid-twenties all week. Perfect! The weekend was very busy and that resulted in the past 2 days being a bit of a write-off, rich was very tired... can't party like the students any more!
My cousin Andy came up to Stockholm for the weekend (not from Aus obviously, he'd been studying in Lund for a semester and is now on his way around Europe for a couple of months). So on Friday we went out for a few beers and had a bit of a look around, ended up being quite late and then I had already promised I'd get up early to help coach... and also organise to "kidnap" Paul for his "svensexa" (buck's day/night). In Sweden it is tradition that the boys organise a day for the groom but don't tell him when it is going to be, the tricky bit is then kidnapping him sometime when it suits... Paul's habit of arriving at least one hour late made this a bit of a challenge. However the offer of all-you-can-eat brunch was too hard to refuse and 1hour 15 minutes after suggested time he finally arrived (I'd factored in the first hour, so really he was only 15 min late - perfectly within the realms of downunder "-ish" time!). When all the other guys turned up all he could say was "Oh no, oh no!" With perfect weather we set off for a park for a bongo drum lesson - we sat in a group of about 12 and made enough noise to be heard over half the town, thankfully no one complained. Then off to Sergels Torg (the most central square in town) and gave him his first challenge - draw a picture of Sara (fiancé) with chalk on the pavement... and what a crowd... up to 100 people at some stages (took him a couple of hours). His dad and brother arrived in the middle of the from England (another surprise). After that it was paint ball, dinner and out to a club - where I met another friend, Jakob, who had had his "svensexa" on the same day (Jakob is also getting married on the same day as Paul, unfortunately I can't teleport between them).
Sunday was spent wandering around Stockholm with Andy until he had to leave for the airport. Then it was time for me to get ready for the Beverly Hill High Graduation Prom - all the little darlings, and some of the teachers, get dressed to the nines and air kiss all night. This year it was located at a beautiful old château. Starting with mingle and drinks on the entrance balcony in the setting sun with views over a lake, then dinner upstairs in amazingly decorated rooms (think France (18th century?)), followed by dance and bar downstairs. There were speeches, some good and some not quite as good, as always - I hope my improv speech fell into the former category! Many of the kids piked early as they have been on the party wagon since the start of May, happy to say that Hanne, Jens and I kept up the faculty side until dawn was threatening. We were all, however, a bit tired the day after...
Today is Sweden's National Day, which means no work... well, for me it means no lessons but I do have 60 essay tests I need to read... gulp... better get on with it.
sunny,
rich.
My cousin Andy came up to Stockholm for the weekend (not from Aus obviously, he'd been studying in Lund for a semester and is now on his way around Europe for a couple of months). So on Friday we went out for a few beers and had a bit of a look around, ended up being quite late and then I had already promised I'd get up early to help coach... and also organise to "kidnap" Paul for his "svensexa" (buck's day/night). In Sweden it is tradition that the boys organise a day for the groom but don't tell him when it is going to be, the tricky bit is then kidnapping him sometime when it suits... Paul's habit of arriving at least one hour late made this a bit of a challenge. However the offer of all-you-can-eat brunch was too hard to refuse and 1hour 15 minutes after suggested time he finally arrived (I'd factored in the first hour, so really he was only 15 min late - perfectly within the realms of downunder "-ish" time!). When all the other guys turned up all he could say was "Oh no, oh no!" With perfect weather we set off for a park for a bongo drum lesson - we sat in a group of about 12 and made enough noise to be heard over half the town, thankfully no one complained. Then off to Sergels Torg (the most central square in town) and gave him his first challenge - draw a picture of Sara (fiancé) with chalk on the pavement... and what a crowd... up to 100 people at some stages (took him a couple of hours). His dad and brother arrived in the middle of the from England (another surprise). After that it was paint ball, dinner and out to a club - where I met another friend, Jakob, who had had his "svensexa" on the same day (Jakob is also getting married on the same day as Paul, unfortunately I can't teleport between them).
Sunday was spent wandering around Stockholm with Andy until he had to leave for the airport. Then it was time for me to get ready for the Beverly Hill High Graduation Prom - all the little darlings, and some of the teachers, get dressed to the nines and air kiss all night. This year it was located at a beautiful old château. Starting with mingle and drinks on the entrance balcony in the setting sun with views over a lake, then dinner upstairs in amazingly decorated rooms (think France (18th century?)), followed by dance and bar downstairs. There were speeches, some good and some not quite as good, as always - I hope my improv speech fell into the former category! Many of the kids piked early as they have been on the party wagon since the start of May, happy to say that Hanne, Jens and I kept up the faculty side until dawn was threatening. We were all, however, a bit tired the day after...
Today is Sweden's National Day, which means no work... well, for me it means no lessons but I do have 60 essay tests I need to read... gulp... better get on with it.
sunny,
rich.
Monday, 28 May 2007
been a while...
It has dragged on between posts a bit... and this is just a quick note before heading off to school for the day. It's getting close to the end which means everybody has a bit more to do, especially the darling kids that now want to make up for 10 months slacking in one week! Also starting this week is the renovation of all the bathrooms in my building - it has been years since all the pipes were done, so it is time to rip everything out and put in new ones. This means no shower or toilet for 6 weeks... thankfully (oh so, thankfully) I have a friend who lives less then 5 minutes from me who is overseas for another 3 weeks and has very kindly let me stay here - THANK YOU!!
And now something that I was sent recently... thought I could use it next year to explain political ideologies/economic models:
SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.
COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.
NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.
BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.
SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.
ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.
THE ANDERSEN MODEL
You have two cows.
You shred them.
A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.
AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.
AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy....
A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.
AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.
Cheers!
rich.
And now something that I was sent recently... thought I could use it next year to explain political ideologies/economic models:
SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.
COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.
NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.
BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.
SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.
ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.
THE ANDERSEN MODEL
You have two cows.
You shred them.
A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.
AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.
AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy....
A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.
AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.
Cheers!
rich.
Thursday, 17 May 2007
ruh
The last post was more for the readers down under I suppose, the rest of us not being able to buy OK Australia. So in the interests of fairness... well, no, not really, just because I know the guys:
I went to the Release Party for the début cd for the band Ruh, check out their website and myspace. They rock even more live, and are going to play with Bo Kaspers Orkester over summer (and, rumour has it, The Ark - of Eurovision 2007 song contest fame, 18th is still better than Australia if that is any consolation! ummm... hold on a sec... Australia's not in that one, 'cos I have no doubt Slim Dusty could win that one too if Oz was ever let in, even from the grave. Pub with no beer - classic.)... get on the Ruh bandwagon early! And buy their album - now!
And just to let you all know I am (in)officially 22% rich(er)... well, supposedly apartment prices in inner Stockholm have gone up by that much this year already. This of course means that my apartment would now be 22% over my limit... glad I bought it when I did!
hungry,
rich.
I went to the Release Party for the début cd for the band Ruh, check out their website and myspace. They rock even more live, and are going to play with Bo Kaspers Orkester over summer (and, rumour has it, The Ark - of Eurovision 2007 song contest fame, 18th is still better than Australia if that is any consolation! ummm... hold on a sec... Australia's not in that one, 'cos I have no doubt Slim Dusty could win that one too if Oz was ever let in, even from the grave. Pub with no beer - classic.)... get on the Ruh bandwagon early! And buy their album - now!
And just to let you all know I am (in)officially 22% rich(er)... well, supposedly apartment prices in inner Stockholm have gone up by that much this year already. This of course means that my apartment would now be 22% over my limit... glad I bought it when I did!
hungry,
rich.
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Wedding photos...
As I mentioned, the photos from the wedding I was at in Oz were going to be published in OK Magazine - this is the best pic I can find on the website. Guess they want you to buy the real thing!
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