Emergency Root Canal Treatment!
I had that on Monday (yesterday), because of one of my bottom front teeth. Luckily, it wasn't very painful. The nerve of the tooth was mostly dead, and the anaesthetic worked a treat anyway.. I didn't even dribble my water afterwards!
I'm sure I could have gone without pain meds today, but as the day wore on, my overused mouth was starting to make itself known, so I decided to take a paracetamol+caffeine (for the caffeine, really!) and later an ibuprofen tablet as a preventative measure. I'll probably also take one just before I sleep, so there's less chance of me waking up.
Apparently dead nerves/gum infection usually occurs because of some prior accident, and the only accident I could recall happened when I would've still had my baby teeth, so that's almost certainly not the cause. So, no idea why!
— by Robert Thomson, created 26th Aug, 2008, last modified 26th Aug, 2008 | Tags: World
Italy Italy Italia!
Sì amici! I was in Italy. It was a wonderful few days that Sophia and I spent in Perugia, Umbria. While it gets quite warm there, it is dry heat, so with sensible clothing and plenty of water, it’s quite bearable, even pleasant (more-so in the evening).
An Australian friend has already lambasted me for talking as if 30–35 degrees was possible only on an alien planet, and he reminded me that it’s actually quite common in Oz and told me that I must be getting soft in Europe. All I can say to that is “Nyer! Nyer! I’m going to Italy and you’re not!” which I hope will put an end to the discussion.
We stayed at a cool place called the “Farmhouse hostel”, located a short bus-ride outside of Perugia, where we enjoyed the use of the pool as well as laid-back drinks in the evening with the owner, his friends, and other guests.
We also found an apartment. It’s studenty and small, but well divided (upstairs and downstairs with desks to work on both levels) and in the city. We should also be able to fit a single camping mat on the floor downstairs, for any visitors that we might have. :-)
In the meantime, I still have almost 3 months of work at Shell/T-Systems before I move there. So I’ll be trying to save money now so that I can enjoy the good life later. :-)
One of the many old streets in Perugia:
— by Robert Thomson, created 6th Aug, 2008, last modified 6th Aug, 2008 | Tags: World
Warum liegt hier überhaupt Stroh?
Warum liegt hier überhaupt Stroh?
— by Robert Thomson, created 28th Jun, 2008, last modified 28th Jun, 2008 | Tags: World
Gettin' it done..
I'm sure many of you have heard about Getting Things Done, an action management method by David Allen, which basically involves recording tasks and information in an manageable fashion, to get them out of your head and your worries. For a while now, I've been using a piece of software called ThinkingRock at work, and I find it quite useful. I do project work, and at the moment, it's a lot of small insignificant projects and tasks for them, all demanding some level of time and thought throughout the day, so doing a brain dump is excellent and it's a relief to know that things won't be forgotten.
My only complaint is that ThinkingRock doesn't have any web integration at the moment.. It would be nicer even, if it could use WebDav to save/synchronise with other instances, and publish summaries online for an on the road reference, perhaps talking to a web app for collaboration with other users (you can delegate tasks, and being able to track them would be great)
— by Robert Thomson, created 5th Jun, 2008, last modified 5th Jun, 2008 | Tags: World
Italy! Italy! Italy!
Vado a Perugia questo anno! Eccellente!
— by Robert Thomson, created 7th May, 2008, last modified 27th May, 2008 | Tags: World
12 days until Maibaumkraxeln!
The countdown has begun! Maibaumkraxeln is an annual event in Freinberg, Austria (just near Passau) of beer-swilling pole-climbing fun! There are often side-events that are more readily accessible to the inebriated types, but ultimately it's just a day of drinking beer and eating good Austrian/Bavarian food in the sun along with friends and strangers, while watching some death-defying unharnessed people climb a 15m high pole like monkeys, and watching others climb it like your grandmother, inching up with arms and legs holding on tight enough to choke a bodybuilder. I can't recommend it enough! This year it's on the 18th of May (unless the weather really is terrible, in which case it's postponed). Bring your Lederhosen and your Dirndls and come along!
— by Robert Thomson, created 6th May, 2008, last modified 6th May, 2008 | Tags: World
The longer I live here, the more I hate this city.
Never move to Den Haag.
May 6 update: Sure, now the weather's lovely.. don't trust it, though.
— by Robert Thomson, created 25th Apr, 2008, last modified 6th May, 2008 | Tags: World
Warm weather's on its way!
Hopefully. In the Netherlands, you can't really tell. It still gets to around freezing point, but the days lately have been around 10-12 degrees with sun, which makes sitting outside with a light jumper or even a long sleeved shirt a possibility. With daylight savings changes, it's no longer dark of an evening, which makes it a lot less depressing. I'm hoping for a nice summer here - mid-twenties with a soft cool ocean breeze.
— by Robert Thomson, created 16th Apr, 2008, last modified 16th Apr, 2008 | Tags: World
La vita, l'universo e tutto quanto.
Shell has been working on an IT outsourcing plan for about 12 years now, and it’s finally coming to fruition this year. As a result, my contract has been “mapped” to T-Systems, who are known in Germany but have no brand recognition in the rest of the world. In the Netherlands, they only have around 300 staff and contractors, so the addition of Shell’s Netherlands team will double their workforce. It’s a big opportunity for T-Systems to develop a name for themselves, so they will be trying hard to keep things working smoothly. Unfortunately one T-Systems person has stated that they don’t do development as a company (focusing instead on integration), which may turn out to be disappointing. But as a colleague told me, many times companies don’t realise that their staff are doing a lot of internal development, and I’m not likely to stop my current development work after T-Systems takes over in July. My contract is currently until the end of October, and I’m hoping in that time to make contacts within T-Systems so that it is an option for my future when I’m back in Germany.. or potentially make such a great impression that they keep me on the payroll part time, even while I’m in Italy.
My own future, intriguingly, will quite possibly take me to Italy. After almost two years contracting to Shell (as will be the case by the end of October), I want to move closer to Sophia; and by all accounts, it looks like she’ll be going to Italy for an exchange year. Being the intrepid character I am, I’m planning to go along with her and learn Italian in the process. It will leave me with no source of income (except maybe teaching some English) but it will no doubt be a great experience. La Buona Vita! It’s also vital for Sophia and I to live together and ensure that we can have just as great a (if not better) relationship living in the same house as with several hundred kilometres between us. I’m looking forward to it! She is hoping to go in September this year, in which case I will follow in November, otherwise in March next year, and her choices for cities are Perugia and Pavia. If March, I may stay for a little longer in the Netherlands to better equip myself for the income-less student lifestyle.
— by Robert Thomson, created 20th Jan, 2008, last modified 20th Jan, 2008 | Tags: World
I saw Knut today.
I saw Knut today. Das ist alles.
— by Robert Thomson, created 25th Dec, 2007, last modified 25th Dec, 2007 | Tags: World
TA Spring compiled for Fedora 8 x86_64
A lot of people can't get TA Spring compiled for Fedora 7 or 8.
I did, and I've provided a tarfile here.
I'm too lazy/busy to create an RPM, so live with it.
Enjoy.
— by Robert Thomson, created 19th Dec, 2007, last modified 20th Jan, 2008 | Tags: World
Moving House & crummy flatmates
I am moving house this week. I found myself a nice “shared” apartment in the Zeeheldenkwartier, a nice part of the Hague. I have my own kitchen and bathroom but we share a common entrance and the hallway on my level. The main room is 30m² and the kitchen and bathroom are of a reasonable size. It’s about half the cost of my current place. It will take me a little longer to get to work and home again, but I will actually have shopping centers that are open late.
In other news, the Aussie guy I had sharing the excessive costs of my current apartment, did a runner without paying almost €600 in rent and phone costs. Just in case you ever have any financial dealings with him, his name is Rohan Anderson, he’s from Sydney, his birthdate is the 7th of September, 1976 (7/9/1976), he does skateboarding, snowboarding, and other winter sports.
Here are some pictures of him and his girlfriend, Inga Hendrix of Germany. She’s also responsible for a small part of the debt, having been there for 2 of the 6 weeks of unpaid rent:
He seems like a nice guy and somebody you’d call a mate. I did. He didn’t steal anything (except one key which he hasn’t returned yet), but it appears that he’s a coward, unable to face life’s responsibilities. If he ever pays his debt, I will update or remove this page. His facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/people/Rohan_Anderson/841300611. Rohan Anderson
— by RobertThomson, created 4th Dec, 2007, last modified 19th Jan, 2008 | Tags: World
Rent reduction!
I have just sent a letter to my landlady demanding a reduction in rent. Some of you are probably thinking, "You can't do that!" But in the Netherlands I can! Here they have strong rental laws and they have a "point system" in order to keep rent under control. More deluxe properties are excluded from the point system, but mine is not deluxe. The landlady was charging me significantly more than the previous tenant and my immediate neighbors.
You should understand that in the Netherlands there's also a split between "rent" and "service costs". Service costs include anything that the landlord pays on your behalf, heating equipment rental, as well as the VVE (common area costs), and has to correspond to real costs. They can also pay gas/water/electricity for you, but in my case, I pay that.
So.. I wrote to my landlady and asked her to justify my €190/month service costs.. she came back very defensively and with total rubbish. I told her to get her act together and come back with real figures. She did - sort of. She justified most of her expenses, but not to the legal requirements of rental law. When she told me that she was actually wrong about one of the expenses, and it was €16/month cheaper than she originally said, I asked her whether I should make the adjustment next (this) month. She said absolutely not and to please not bother her again. This is flagrantly against dutch rental law, so I decided not to bother her directly again, but rather take the official channel.
I had somebody from the local government come around to look at the apartment and they came up with a base rental price that was €60 less than she was charging. I just sent her the letter that they provided me. I've also sent a request to the rental commission to reduce my service expenses. I think it's probably my obligation to only pay what I'm meant to, but since she's being disagreeable and I'm not 100% sure of the law, I thought I'd take the official route. I also sent them a copy of the rent reduction letter.
In total, my monthly rent and service costs should become €685 instead of €775. This is probably still above what the former tenant was paying because she was a bit desperate, but I'm certainly not complaining.
I find it funny, because if she had taken the €16 option, I would have felt a moral victory, and not proceeded further. Now, she's faced with a significant reduction (unfortunately not all backdated) and she can't do anything about it, except raise the rent by a small (legally limited) percentage next year.
I may still look for another apartment, as it's still above what I would really like to pay (considering my regular travel back to Germany).. but I'll let her stew for a while.
I'm now somewhat of an expert in dutch rental law - it's somewhat satisfying.
— by RobertThomson, created 22nd Aug, 2007, last modified 22nd Oct, 2007 | Tags: Private, World
Who would've thought that the Poles were whingers?
I've been following the EU treaty/constitution debates for a while now, and now it's the Poles who are causing problems.
I much appreciate the efforts of the poles in keeping software patents out of the EU, when the EU Commission tried to get them through under the radar. It brought the issue to the forefront, forcing the politicians to actually think before rubber-stamping. At least on this issue.
Certainly, Poland has reason to feel a bit neglected by the EU, and in particular Germany. Germany and a few countries continue to apply working restrictions on their citizens, as is a similar situation to all of the new EU states. Stereotypes of poor, uneducated, criminal Poles still prevail, despite the younger generation of Poles being just as if not better educated than many Germans (tried to speak English with an average German person lately?). The EU largely ignored Poland's meat-export problem with Russia, to keep friendly relations with Russia during EU-Russian trade talks - right up until Poland vetoed the deal and they were forced to take action. Germany & Russia are also building the baltic sea gas pipeline, which bypasses the polish pipelines. It would certainly leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Poland's trying to push for a situation where they'll have more of a voice in the EU, instead of being drowned out by the larger countries. It's understandable, given how they've been treated since they joined. But the press that their idiot twin-brother leaders are generating is definitely sending out the message that they're a bunch of whingers. Leave the past in the past, Poland. WWII and its aftermath are a shameful horrible time in european and world history, but it is history.
If they keep this up, they'll be the most despised country in the EU. It's not the polish people, either.. they're quite pro-EU. They see the benefits that it and the associated changes are bringing, and many businesses and individuals are reaping the benefits.
They have the opportunity to get a lot out of this and get commitments for future fair or even preferential treatment in the EU, but only if they don't overplay their cards. Otherwise they'll suffer in the long run, as other states prove they can also have long memories.
— by Robert Thomson, created 22nd Jun, 2007, last modified 22nd Oct, 2007 | Tags: World
Postmortem of a long weekend back in Passau
From Wednesday evening until Monday afternoon I was once again in Passau. It was a brilliant long weekend. I got to meet up with a few old friends and ran into a few acquaintances in the streets and while out. I stayed in Sophia's tiny student apartment, but we managed OK. The Maibaumkraxeln went ahead on Sunday and it was a perfect day for it - perhaps even a little too warm and sunny, even, as I am now sporting a visibly red face and arms.
I recommend to anyone who wants to experience some real Bavarian/Austrian traditions that they should go along to the Maibaumkraxeln one year. I don't know where else in Germany or Austria this goes on - it may only be this one city, actually. The fastest person took just under 8 seconds to climb the 15 meter high pole (the pole's still higher, but decorated on top), which means he broke the world record.
In smaller villages in Germany and Austria, it's traditional for the people of one village to try to steal the Maibaum of the neighbouring village, and if successfully stolen, it costs one crate of beer per meter to buy the pole back. It's also a common tactic to leave a crate of beer by the pole the night before, so the guardians-of-the-pole get drunk and fall asleep on the job, at which point the pole is easy-pickings.
The downside of going back to Passau is that Den Haag once again feels foreign and a bit depressing. Hrmph! Photos soon!
— by Robert Thomson, created 22nd May, 2007, last modified 27th May, 2007 | Tags: World
Over two months in the Hague
I've been in the Hague now for over two months. I'm settling into the work environment alright, and the apartment is growing on me, although I still think that it's too big for my needs (it also means that I have to clean all that extra space). But at least I can find an apartment - not like friends and family in Australia, who are being out-bid for rentals consistently. The weather's warming up, then cooling down, then warming up, then cooling down.. but I'm confident there'll be a warm spell of a few months somewhere in there. The night-life here isn't anything to rave about - but I'm meeting a few people (mostly from Shell) and it's OK. I've had to throw away my cap, because here (much like in South Africa), wearing a cap indoors is a big no-no, and I'm sick of being told off by bouncers and staff. Of course, most of the cap-wearers around these parts are usually teenagers wearing baggy pants and permanent looks of disdain, whereas in Passau it was just optional casual attire.
I'm also leaving shortly to go to Berlin for the weekend (and doing a bit of telecommuting tomorrow morning). Sophia's birthday is tomorrow, and I want to be there for it. There'll be one or two other people I know there, so it should be okay. I'm looking forward to seeing Berlin again, and going out somewhere on Saturday night (I get to practice my German with family and close friends on Friday night), although her parents both speak good English, I believe. I'm really looking forward to this weekend!
— by RobertThomson, created 22nd Mar, 2007, last modified 22nd Mar, 2007 | Tags: World
Moved in
I moved into my new apartment yesterday. The apartment is quite nice, but the location is a little ordinary. It will be convenient to ride to work from there (15 minute ride) or into the city center (A five to seven minute ride). But all the tramlines and a main train station are within 5 minutes walk. Here's my apartment's location on google maps. I was a little sad after signing the contract - I think because it's a sign that me being here is something more permanent, and that I'm abandoning my Passau life. I've been generally quite happy the last couple of years, and the idea of moving on isn't that appealing, even if I do like the contract work with Shell at the moment, and I know that I will settle in soon enough. Maybe I can spend the next couple/few years saving and investing, so that I can settle into the lifestyle and location that I want.
— by RobertThomson, created 12th Feb, 2007, last modified 12th Feb, 2007 | Tags: World
I have an apartment!
I've just made a verbal agreement for an apartment in Den Haag. The Apartment itself is very nice, but it's in a "cheaper" part of the city. A lot of people were warning me against the area, but the current tenant (an Australian originally from Merewether in Newcastle, as a matter of fact) told me that he'd never had any problems, and that it's mostly suburbs on the other side of the train station that are responsible for the area's bad reputation. By European standards the apartment is certainly not cheap at EUR€740/month plus approximately €150/month for water, gas, and electricity.. especially considering that I was sharing a nice apartment with river views for €255 all-up in Passau.. but it's not tooo bad by Sydney standards, and there's a higher population density here. I do have a spare room with a single bed, so it will be good for visitors, or short term sub-leases. But the best thing is that it doesn't have a German style toilet! No shelf!
Thom's kicking me out on Friday because he has another friend arriving (he's been a great sport, though!) and I'm going to travel to Amsterdam and Zwolle on the weekend, meeting up with a dutch friend Willem who I studied German with in Passau. Then I've organised to stay at a workmates place for the week after I arrive back. I'm sorted!
— by Robert Thomson, created 30th Jan, 2007, last modified 30th Jan, 2007 | 1 comment | Tags: World
News from the Nether
I've just finished my second day of work for SHELL. There's a lot of initial "onboarding" to do before I'll get involved in projects. Health and safety is a very big thing here. I'm sleeping on a mattress on Thom's floor, but am looking around for accommodation. I signed up for a bank account on Monday, and if Shell's internal post office doesn't destroy my mail, I should have my card on Friday. It's quite useful to have a bank card in the Netherlands - they're slowly becoming a cashless society. I should also have an automatic overdraft, which will be useful this first month, as I don't want to spend my Australian money when I'll have Euros so soon.. and I'll have to pay two months rent up-front when I find a place to stay.
Somebody within Shell misspelled my name so I'm now known to all as "Robert R Thompson", which makes me cringe.
— by Robert Thomson, created 16th Jan, 2007, last modified 16th Jan, 2007 | Tags: World
I have the contract..
I'm told that the paperwork will be sorted out by the end of today, but I've given the recruiter permission to accept on my behalf based on our discussed rates and start-dates. Now - to find accommodation. I may be one of the better paid homeless in Den Haag.
I'm actually going to stay with Thom May for a couple/few days when I first arrive.. but I don't want to impose so I'll do some frantic apartment hunting. I'll also use this time to get my SOFI (tax file) number, a bank account, and a dutch phone number.
It's quite sad to be leaving Passau, but Passau has no IT industry to speak of, and this is very much the kind of opportunity I was looking for last time I was looking for work in Europe.. but at that time I wasn't prepared to move too far from Passau. I'll probably keep my apartment here for now - I may sublease it, or just give up the lease.. but I've got a reasonable amount of stuff to move, so I'll have to come back and sort through things soon enough.
Update (9 Jan 2007)
I just heard, I start on Monday, and I get the rate I hoped for. I'm dusting off my suitcase as we speak. Farewell dinner/drinks on Wednesday.. probably train on Thursday.
Update (11 Jan 2007)
Leaving tomorrow morning at 11:22am, arriving around 8:30pm.. changing trains once in Frankfurt, and once in Utrecht in the Netherlands. I'm sure I'll be up for a good meal and a beer after that journey.
— by Robert Thomson, created 8th Jan, 2007, last modified 11th Jan, 2007 | Tags: Passau, Tech, World
Latest News - Netherlands..
A couple of months ago my my girlfriend of over 3 years, Katharina, and I broke up. She moved to Nuremberg and my initial plan was to follow her there after a semester in Passau improving my German, but I decided it wasn't what I wanted. We're still keeping in touch, but it's a little awkward - time will hopefully make it easier, as I really want us to become friends.
Since then, I've been living it up in Passau and generally enjoying myself. However, without any fixed plan for the future, I started looking for contracts around Europe. I applied for a short term contract in Berlin, which would have been cool, but didn't get it (or even a callback) - I think I asked for too much money. Then I spotted a 6 month contract for a Python Developer & Linux Engineer in the Netherlands. I was initially disappointed to discover it was in the Hague, but after chatting to some people and looking at train timetables, I realised that Den Haag is really not far from anything. 45 minutes to Amsterdam is nothing - I've waited longer than that to get from Chatswood to the city. Plus there are other nice places near Den Haag. So, after a bit of chasing I got the attention of the recruiter who had forgotten me after the initial phone call, and things got slowly rolling.
I had a phone interview on Wednesday with the manager from the company, which turned out to be Shell. The position is actually in Rijswijk, just outside Den Haag, but only 10 minutes away from Den Haag Centraal. The manager seemed to like me, and is keen to get me on-board.
A formal offer should come early in the new year, but I've got a verbal yes, as well as a very positive second hand quote from the recruiter, which was "I've been waiting for this profile for 3 months, and I get it just before Christmas!" - I think means that immediately before Christmas is an unfortunate time to be organising such things, rather than with a child's Sintaklaas joy - I don't think he's that into his job. I would most likely start mid-way through January.
As a skilled migrant earning over the threshold, I will be entitled to the 30% tax rebate, which significantly offsets the prohibitive dutch tax & social insurances and makes this contract lucrative. The work sounds very much like what I like - a mix of programming and system engineering, utilising many of the same technologies as used in the telco field - but certainly more formalised than in my experiences. I think there are almost as many project managers as engineers.
It's a pity that it's so far from Passau, but I will be able to afford to come back and visit reasonably often - flights can be reasonably priced and will save 8 hours or so of train-time. Weekend trips should be possible.
Am I abandoning my hard-earned German language skills for Dutch now? Not a chance. I'll learn some Dutch to avoid embarrassment, but the country's multilingual enough that English and failing that German should serve me well. There are many similarities to German, so the trick is to learn the pronunciation and pick up the vocabulary, where it vastly differs.
My first tasks will be signing contracts, getting a SOFI (tax file) number, getting a bank account, and then apartment hunting. I'm actually thinking that I'd like to find some shared accommodation, since it's a totally new country and language.. it would also probably be a little cheaper initially (before first month's payment).