Facebook dictatorship

Most of the rich world is on facebook. We all have to be, it's both trendy and useful. We are all a great family connecting and sharing thousands of pictures, feelings, states of mind, informations, games, and all that can be considered as additional trash (stupid games, tests and everything else that you can chose to hide).

Facebook is a great tool to get in touch with friends we actually do care. Those that you remember more than once a year because suddenly their status turned into "single" again. After a while I got myself with almost 300 friends, quite a few that I actually never met or just shared an event or crossed eyes with. In the real world it is enough for acquaintance and will provide a smile, a nod or even a good day if ever encountered again. It may evolve to a real uninterested "how are you?" whose answer is never expected to be more than a "fine, thanks. And you?".

But Globalisation wants to Facebook them as friends. Friends with the apparent similar friendliness level as the ones who were there for you during those not so nice times in life. Or equal in status those co-workers that never said anything to you in the last two years but believe that you should share with him/her the last Christmas pictures with your Aunt Agatha or the last Bachelor Party revival that you hosted for your University mates.

More out of need than boredom I started to do some clean up. I thought it would be ok to start by the ones I never met. Net buddies. It didn't work. Some are actually cool net buddies with whom I shared common interests and keep in touch with. So they had their place within my Friend list. But it was starting and the list grew thin. Then came the list of friends of friends that think that the old proverb "friends of my friends are mine too" (or something like that). Actually some of the friends of my friends are mine too, but not all of them. So here some more were sent to oblivion. Strangely nothing happened so far. Not a single complain.

Starting to feel lighter I kept on going. Where should I continue? Known people or Workplace one? I'm not sure where I could draw a line, so I started to separate those to stay and those to go. I know lots of people I shared some time with in many ways and many forms but it was gone. No need to keep bounds that never existed. Other characters travelled through my life for an amazing short period of time, and unexpectedly, stayed in touch, being the both of us to be blamed. Sometimes life provides some nice encounters. Arriving at the workplace situation it was quite easier. I took off all of those I actually don't really speak with. Still easy and swift. No harm taken.

But the time to face oddness came. What about those friends who were more than good friends and are now completely unaware I even exist. Should I keep them for memory's sake or just accept them as good memories? Naa. Pressing the "unfriend" button. Now it was done. From almost 300, I came down to 150 something. Only one was willing to "friend" me again. But as I recall, we were not really close. Nor did we speak. One complain was heard from afar. But it never came before, in the real life at least. Only the virtual killing of a friendship shook the wounded relationship.

For now I'll keep the numbers as they are, actually I would like more people to do as I do. I may go lower than 100 if I'm lucky.

Being polite

Being polite is a basic rule for social inclusion and acceptance. The respect of others provide a fair ground for a successful interaction leading to the satisfaction of both needs avoiding unnecessary problems.

It seems easy and productive that way. And it is, most of the time. Unfortunately this last week was full of those little moments. First I had a little taste of politeness taking the tram. Mornings, 7h23, the tram is full of people. Elderly people standing by, while youngsters are sitting as nothing was happening around, listening to any kind music. This is actually acceptable as I have no idea of the level of fatigue of all commuters, but what really pisses me off is people leaving their bag packs or anything else on the seats while many other human beings are just standing around. It´s rude and egoistic. This morning I had also another good example: a guy was occupying almost two seats, I seated in the space left but he didn't budge! I don't understand that need to occupy all when the tram is at full capacity. I had a similar situation the last Friday. I was the one occupying the space of two persons in a front to front seats. Putting my legs at maximum range, letting the space in front not free for other legs. No problem I thought. The tram with three wagons had only two more persons in it. 'Til I reached the Haupfriedhof Station (Graveyard Station). Then, only one person came in. Wanting to sit right in the place where I had my legs! Wait a minute? Why this specific place? Well... I couldn't believe that one but I moved my legs off the grid, allowing this fair lady to sit correctly... Going on...

Last week we had a team issue (well one of many to be more precise) regarding a difficult situation: eating at the work place. Yes, it can be an issue. Two weeks ago a complaint was verbally filled in an open team meeting regarding this topic. As most of colleagues eat at their table, bringing a mix of smells not very appealing for other colleagues and use the working floor as a normal dinner and chat room, even bringing friends over (!) disturbing the peace of some of the other colleagues (in which group I put myself). Those lunch at work colleagues are the same one claiming that we need five minutes away each hour from the PC vicinity. But they stay 45 minutes for lunch. As being polite is part of being human, I was expecting them to change for another room (like, humm.... lunch room?) or at least to discuss it. Of course in East Germany open discussion seems not be allowed so nobody complained. During the meeting. But they kept to bring food and acting as they were in a café in the same room as their working colleagues. Bollocks. One week after, another colleague still believing in a possible dialogue sent an email to all colleagues and managers to request an apparently difficult definitive answer (yes or no). No one answered. Wonderful internal communication. One more week passed by. Then in a team meeting it was definitely decided by the High Command that it won't be allowed to eat. 'Til an email was sent a couple of hours later allowing it in the second room where, apparently, all are OK with keeping the lunch system. Fair enough. If all are really ok with it.

Smugglers

Arriving at a German Airport from abroad is always a thrill. Besides the mixed feelings of coming back home where it almost never felt like it, one thing keeps the adrenalin pumping. Smuggling food. Each trip is a further pushing off limits, one kilo codfish and one cheese are nowadays a kilo of cheese, three kilos of codfish, three sausages, four bottles of wine and going up. The starting tiny luggage is now almost obsolete and needs an update to appreciate the full twenty kilos maximum allowed (as I will NEVER fly "low cost fifteen maximal cargo person" except in case of emergency).

Sometimes I feel like a "guerilla" passing thought the embargo of a country at war or alike (Cuba, North Korea and Auslander in East Germany knows what I am talking about). Why punishing us with limits to the food we want to bring in? Colouring the Wiener Schnitzel pommes combo is such a crime? I risk a fine for bringing food which will allow me to endure the weeks away from those I love. What would be here in Kalte Deutschland if I can't have my thursday Mcvities cookies? Or my once in a month codfish dish?

As a smuggler the second hard time after the passing at the the "nothing to declare" zone is the rationing. As the next trip may be far away in time, each smuggled good has to be divided fairly in parts to hang on till next trip. Those succulent cookies are to be eaten on Thursday only, with an Italian coffee (smuggled too) and or a Port Wine (yes, this one too). This leads me to the next point: Sharing. Sharing with friends is a way to diversify the type of good and to keep the stock up. Trading fish and port Wine for Italian Coffee and olive oil or french cheese and pâte de fruits. Import/export is a luxury in tiny Thuringen, as prices for normal goods turn into caviar like priced goods. Today I just came back from Italy with five liters of olive oil and around three kilos of coffee (and more, but I don't want to catch the attention of the Zoll Polizei). Damn, it felt good to enter the at the Hauptbahnof feeling finally safe from prosecution. Next Friday, France. Then, it will be a long winter...

Travellers Friendly Reminder

If you travel in Germany get ready to pay for everything. If you need to urinate you'll pay at least 50 cents for using the toilets in many mauls, train stations and other public places. Airport still seems to be free zones so enjoy them! If you need them for something else, you'll even have to pay more. So travel light and be aware of too much beer drinking!

Back to work!

Amazingly, things have not changed a bit.

Except for this weird occurrence. My empty water bottle, used for daily refuel and as main drinking (no, it's not coffee) has been removed. Stolen for the "Pfand"? 25 cents??????

Wacken 2010

Damn. I can't believe I didn't got a ticket for it. First time I'll miss it in four years in German soil. The Biggest Metal Open Air Festival which delivers. Damned ticket... For 2011 I'll be there.

5 days till it begins for 80000 Frantic Metal Heads:

\m/

Holiday's After Shock

When you live in East Germany one of the best moments to experience is when you leave for some holidays outside of its borders. For some unknown reason I saw this by many of my co-workers getting back and/or before their own holidays. More than once. Could it be remorse of leaving "Das Vaterland" who cause those surgical strikes on the calendar? It would be interesting to check on that.

The opposite and sometimes complementary part is the sudden I'm back and ill occurring so many times. This time it happened to me. I could blame it on depression, as after a wonderful time in Sweden with family and friends I got used again of being with interactive smiling humans and "natural" behaviour all the way. All seems, and is, so damn natural and normal that the Erfurt sadness and brutal manners are no more the common way of acting. When I was changing trains in Leipzig last Tuesday, I was pushed aside by some guy who was so rushed he even forgot to ask for free passage or even let me know that he wanted to pass me quicker than I was going. I almost instinctively tackled him with my foot. I was cursing him in all the languages I speak. Too bad I didn't send him to the floor. I'm sure he would have talked then.

No, I am not depressed of being back here, even if I could have reasons to. The usual bad weather will just make me curse again the long German Winter but no more as usual. Nor the people because there is still a lot of good persons around here.

I'm Ill. That's why this time it's hard to be back here. But I'll only have a couple of days more to be here. Then it will be moving out again, can't wait for next week, for another holiday in the normal Germany: Bayern!

Eastern Winds in Office

At this blog there has been an earlier writing about Open Windows. This is a little addition to this. Some may consider it very minor, not perhaps even worth mentioning, but for me it is.

Think about sitting in an office where people open windows every once in a while without any kind of consideration to the colleagues, ie not even a "Somebody minds if I open the window for a while?"

You ask them kindly to please close the window since even though it is supposed to be spring the degrees outside are under 10 degrees celcius and some of us just simply freezes, might have allergies or are physically sensitive. They do close the wondow. They do! Just after this though (READ:) they put on the electrical fan, blowing directly into the backs of the colleagues. YES!!! May I ask - have I missed something? Where goes the border of being collegial and egoistic in an office of more than fifty people?

The winds of the East may certainly make you both cold and trembling...

Credits are not mine this time, but I can say It happened to me also...

Ich bin Krank!

Damn. Finally this winter weather got me. Headache. Dry throat, all time sneezing. The flu. The one and only, not the panic lie pestilent flu they tried to sell us. The normal and incapacitating one.

So here I go, calling work to inform them I won't make it and I'll go to a doctor. At least my Team Leader is human and understand that illness is normal. After this important formality the big and important one was to go. The doctor. This banal activity is still for me a possible issue as my German is not so perfect as it could be, so it's a kind of Russian roulette I am playing. If we, me and the medic, get lost in translation it could turn into a problem. As it is a normal, but annoying flu, I took the risk. By the past I always used so gentle - female - friends to help me out with it. The doctor by the time may had a different idea of myself as I took always a different one. Anyway those dear friends had to endure some half naked moments of mine (not so unpleasant I hope) and some dentist drilling (worse I imagine) as I could even explain myself. By the past I even used Latin terminology to make it clear, but this time I did it all the way in East German.

First contact with the reception was to find a "Termin" (appointment) as I wasn't coming like any regular customer with a previous premonition which would have me booking an appointment several weeks ago. Yes, my illness was unexpected. Nervously they checked their written agenda for a time for me while they were asking if she (the doctor) was my medic. Because if you don't belong to a medic, you won't have an appointment. Most of them have a numerus clausus on patients. So they'll send you out of their cabinet if you are not a regular customer. The Hippocratic Oath the usual medics make when their job seems to be overruled by the East German laws. Thankfully it wasn't my first time so, smiling I said she was my doctor (Christian 1 - East Germany 0). 10 euros after, I was allowed to wait for her in the waiting room. Here I got to pay the quarterly tax to see a doctor, valid for the quarter of the year (January - March, April - June, July - September, October - December). Not a big deal, when I remember that in Portugal I should pay 25 euros EACH time for it, or wait 3h in the hospital and still pay 6 euros (if my memory is correct). So for once, bravo East Germany.

My name and room two are in the same phrase, here I go!

After a brief contact the doctor asked me what I had (Well guess, Ich bin krank) and she checked my throat with one of those horrible wooden sticks in which I almost choke each time. Ok, no big deal..."Since when are you like that? Ok.... Do you need a paper for your work? Ok you'll have these and those and a "Krankenschein" for the rest of the week. And the antibiotics are for free..." Say what? Wie bitte? Yes, they are for FREE and generics (at least the state won't pay much more for the same stuff). Well... take that Portugal, our doctors always prescribed me expensive medicine and of course for some company who had paid the doctors holidays somewhere (as for Portuguese doctors we always are treated like collectors points to get them some goodies, but that's another story); Free and generic (here East Germany just tied the score 1 to 1).

Time to go! I went to the pharmacy and here it was, all set and back home for some recovery. I still had to send two papers to my beloved -not- Adecco company, and to the Social Security (the double of paper work... Ok, it seems useless but anyway, it's not such a drama). I am quite glad to have found a doctor on a Wednesday, as many are not available that day. Don't know why, but it's difficult to be ill on a Wednesday here. You may not found a doctor that day...

At the end I just rest at home, without any more problem than to kill the fever and rest, at the end me and East Germany tied up the Health Match. Good game, no faulty actions, just a bad timing to be ill.

November Rain

I sit near the window, looking at the rain pouring on the few people still running under it. Old tunes are playing in the stereo, dancing notes over memories of old. The gray sky color obliterate any will to move further than the proximity of the tea pot. Turning the day in a blues feeling. Dwelling in nostalgia is nice, recalling some friends, moments and places.

Life is a succession of cycles, with good things happening and felt in each season.

November Rain... I love it.

Too bad we're in May...