Quantum of Solace

The new Bond movie has its premiere tonight (in Sweden) and I was hoping that it would be out in Austria at the same day, but unfortunately it wasn’t. I usually joke about Austria being a developing country (considering the somehow bizarre experiences I have had during the last seven weeks), but this goes even beyond. I had to comfort myself by passing by the watch shops’ windows and drool in front of their monters with elegant portraits of Daniel Craig showing off his Omega. This picture turns me on in a morbid way.

Anyhow, I couldn’t see Quantum of Solace and I will have to wait a few weeks due to heavy workload, but I saw another movie instead. I saw Burn After Reading with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and John Malkovich. Short reflection: Funny scenes, funny characters (but with the wrong set of actors) and horrific story. It was hurtful to see Brad Pitt in that kind of role, he is too good for that. It was tragic to see George Clooney in his role too because it was unworthy. John Malkovich was funny though, but all in all, it was as if Jim Carrey would start acting in drama movies, it just doesn’t sit right.

In a few weeks time…

Gonads

I am taking a course called "Global Accounting down here in Linz, and we are playing a business strategy game online in the course in groups. Our group/company name was named "Gonads" (meaning "balls" in American slang). Another group had named itself “Fuck” or “Fuckers”. One of their groupmembers obviously logged on to their corporate lobby and changed the company name when he was drunk. I am still laughing when I think about this story. Anyhow, our American professor forwarded this e-mail to us:

"XXX,

Please advise Team "F" that they need to change their company name immediately.  In addition, I would recommend that they apologize to you, their classmates, and the administrators of the X game for their use of the offensive word in a professional class setting.  Failure to do so immediately, will result in my recommendation for a failing grade for this exercise, removal from the simulation, and if they are X University undergraduate students a recommendation for disciplinary action.

I also recommend that Team "G" change its name.  It is both unprofessional and inappropriate.  Thank you."

Then we received this directly from our professor:

“Team F and Team G Members.

Unless these company names are changed immediately, I will withdraw you from the course.

You should also apologize to Dr. X.”

The funny thing is that this came to their attention because we did well in the last round of the game. We finished 37 on the global top 100 highscore list after the first round, and the game is obviously played by thousand of students around the world. Hilarious, nevertheless!

This day has been long and it is unfortunately not over yet. I have a deadline, a short test and 90 pages to read due tomorrow. The best part is that I have classes from 8.30 to 17.00. Our teacher just handed us 90 pages to read a couple of hours ago and I have absolutely no chance of finishing that shit in time. I had to cancel a “Stammtisch” party tonight, where the English-speaking students brought food from their native countries. The Americans made peanutbutter-jelly sandwiches alongside cheeseburgers, and I really wanted to go there and have a taste, but as I mentioned the other day, 24 hours a day is not enough for me, I need at least ten more hours!

We are almost there, November is one of the most boring months of the year. I hate it and I remember how anxious I was about it last year. I had an exam on the first or second in microeconomic theory, and I still feel bad when I see the book cover. I recently found it in my girlfriend’s shelf, she has taken that course too. Maybe that’s the reason why we are together now, we are both deeply traumatized by that course.
Jokes aside, the course was interesting but the teacher was mediocre.

So, I have to get back to work. It doesn’t matter that it’s almost 22.00 hrs.

The zoo is back in town

They are back. This means no more peace and quiet. This means no more relaxed cooking. This means that someone will be standing over my shoulder again, asking me when I'm finished. This means that the medieval demeanor and behavior is back around me. Shoot me please.

I went out last night with my girl and it was a pleasure as always. My friend Sara from back home visited me today. We had some lunch and we talked about pretty much everything. She was out last night too, and she told me this funny (and at the same time disturbing) story about an acquaintance she had last night on the streets of central Linz. Apparently, we (me, Sara and a few of our Scandinavian peers) have got ourselves some heavy reputations down here. Bullshitting and intrigues... Jesus, I thought I left that shit back home in Sweden. Obviously not.

It's Sunday evening and I am very tired. I am going to bed soon. The coming week is (just like every other week...) filled with a lot of work and a few deadlines. Stress is slowly reaching me from behind. I can feel how it approaches me, I can hear the sound of stress, the smell of stress, the taste of stress. Sometimes I feel that the days should be longer. 24 hours is simply not enough.

Thank you for reading.

Six weeks

TGIF. Too bad they don't have one in Linz.

I have been studying today and finding more inspiration about the courses that I am taking. I realized that my first exam is coming up pretty soon, I need to start working more efficiently in other words.

Earlier today I met Sara for lunch and later some coffee at one of the cafés at campus. It's amazing how much the people down here smoke. I might have mentioned this earlier but I have heard that about 50 % of the population are smokers. After 15 minutes at a public place you smell worse than cancerman.


Anyhow, it was nice seeing her again and talking about the first six weeks down here. We laughed about what we have been through and about people that we have met during this period of time.

This weekend will be calm. My roommates are in Hungary over the weekend (praise the lord) and I am home alone! I am in big need of finishing off some work now that I have a few days without distractions (oh well....). We'll see how it goes.

It's Friday afternoon and the sun has been shining all day long, that is great. But for me it feels like any other day - I have something to be happy about even though there's a storm outside. Nobody can take that away from me.

The day after a Caribbean party in Austria

It's Thursday and we've almost made it to the weekend. My sixth in this country. Words can not describe how much I miss home right now, although I am very lucky at the moment. I am absolutely not sad about my stay.

There was a Caribbean party at one of the cafés at campus last night. They served exotic drinks (without alcohol for men, with alcohol for women) and played some kind of undefinable Caribbean music.


The place was pretty packed but not overcrowded, for that I am grateful. We had a few drinks and then we left.

Deadline yesterday, a case was handed in and hopefully it went well. My short test from last week did on the other hand not turn out to be a success, but I wasn't surprised to tell the truth. I didn't even know about the damn test so I wasn't prepared. I'll have to make up for that by performing exceptionally well in other fields of that course. Just watch me.

I'm currently reading a text about government trade relations and how specific decisions made by governments can affect markets, companies and consumers. This is interesting shit.

Later on I need to go to the city for some minor errands. I need new headphones, Sony's preferably. My current ones died on me the minute I started running on the treadmill yesterday. That was a huge blow!!

Champions League is running on and Inter won over the Cypriot team Anorthosis Famagusta (don't ask me what the hell it means). Adriano "l'imperatore" scored the only goal of that game and we are hopefully set for the playoffs by now.


I need to get back to the books, I is a lot of reading to do.
Thank you for reading.

A few words on a sunny Sunday

The sun is shining and it's Sunday. I am taking a break from the books and I am currently enjoying this moment.

The first night here in Linz was special. I have already written about the incident at Kolpinghaus. But something else happened that night. I met someone. I was just too tired to see who she really was.

Here we are, a little more than five weeks later, and I think that I have finally found out who she really is. She is my girlfriend.

We went out last night, and we had a few drinks around pubs in the old town of Linz. It was cold outside, it was dark and I felt really far away from what I refer to as "home". It didn't matter. It didn't matter at all. She was there.

This Sunday has been pleasant. People who know me, know very well that I hate Sundays. I never liked them and I probably never will. Exceptions have taken place, but usually during summers. Now I feel like every day is Friday. I am doing well.

"Five minutes or I'll kick them out"

Mid-week already and time flies faster than ever. We're in the middle of October and I have been here in Linz for almost five weeks.

I may have told you about my roomies and their habits in earlier posts. Anyway: they are very loud at night. It has happened several times that they come home some time after 2 am and start making noise instead of shutting up. If they are hungry, they start cooking. Forget about sandwiches, they actually start cooking. It's not wrong, only very different.

Anyhow, last night they got home around 2 or 3 am and this time they brought 7-8 other students into our small apartment. They started shouting and they started singing, piss drunk as they were (or at least what they seemed to be). I woke up sometime around 3 am, and instantly I felt that "here we go again"- feeling. I've asked these guys kindly to be quiet in the middle of the night when I am asleep. I am always careful not to wake them up but this does obviously not go in to their heads. When I heard the zoo in the other room singing "I kissed a girl and I liked it" 3:20 am it really pissed me off. I jumped out of my bed, went straight up to one of my roomies and said: "I give you five minutes to get rid of these people or I will personally get them out of here, physically".

Note that it is not my intention to brag about this. Nobody can expect me to be nice in that situation. Who would be nice in such situation anyway? This isn't the first time they do this and it's not the first time it happens in the middle of the week. I mean OK, if it was a Friday or a Saturday it would be easier to accept and to move on. But not for me on a Tuesday night, the night before an 11-hour day (!!!) filled with lessons, seminars and studies at campus.

They were apparently offended by my somehow offensive demeanor. I was in no position to be pissed off about being bounced out of bed from the horrific tunes of that stupid song.

Fuck it, I don't even want to think about it. I am currently enjoying success in other areas of life, and I couldn't be happier.

Rainy Sunday

I've actually needed to remain silent for one week, that's why I haven't posted anything since last Sunday. I have been through something significant and beautiful. It is perhaps too early to label this experience, so I'll wait.

My throat hurts and I am sick, but it's OK. This week went fast and my business courses finally begun. You can't miss your first lecture in a course here, because if you will, you lose your spot. Missing any random lecture throughout the whole course could mean a failed grade. New experiences all the time. Nevertheless: It is interesting and inspiring!

Sweden played Portugal last night at Råsunda and the game ended 0 - 0. I am proud because Sweden played well against a strong team like Portugal, but I wish we had won.



Iran is to play North Korea and one of our best players throughout history has now declared that he retires from his international football career. Ali Karimi will not be wearing the Iranian jersey. After more than 100 caps and some 40 goals he is throwing in the towel. I can understand him. He has been in the service of the national team for over a decade and the federation has not been run be proper people once during this period. He has been banned by his own federation several times for violations that don't exist anywhere else in the world. It's a huge blow for Iranian football to not be having Ali in the team anymore, but I hope that his retirement won't be in vain. I hope that people realize that this is the price we have to pay if the current kind of people are to runt one of the holiest and most appreciated assets of the Iranian people.


It's Sunday morning and I am looking forward to a rainy day consisting of studying and a walk along the Danube. I think I'll make that a routine from now on. Last week it was truly beautiful.

13 hours of something undefinable

Let's just say that the last 13 hours have been really odd. Enough said.

Trip to Mauthausen

I spent a few hours at the former concentration camp of Mauthausen today. It was an arranged tour and I am happy that I decided to join this trip. I have had the opportunity to visit former important places of WW2, but this one was a little special. We were first shown a short movie about the history of the camp and later on we were guided by guides with very poor english skills. It was very interesting and special to see all the monuments and to walk in the baracks, the gas chamber and to the oven where they burned the bodies of the victims. I can see why the movie was shown directly as we entered the camp. It's much easier to make an impression if you introduce the history with a 22-year old movie.
















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It's Saturday night and I am hopeful of some action. I am not intending to stay home.
Thank you for reading.

Esteghlal vs. Perspolis

A Tehran derby yesterday between Esteghlal and Perspolis. It ended with a draw after two goals from two former Team Melli regulars. Arash Borhani and Ali Karimi helped their teams respectively.

Post no. 300

This is my 300th post, but hopefully not my last.

It's Friday and my American friends are in Switzerland at the moment. I'm sitting here in Linz, having a glass of red wine with Frank Sinatra running in my mediaplayer. I was supposed to have my last lesson of the intensive German course today but the teacher never showed up. She was sick so it was cancelled. I had a lunchdate at campus today so I waited the for two hours in vain.
I spent the two hours with a friend and someone I know absolutely nothing about. I like to call her happyface because she her face expression is so dull and boring. There is no energy in her eyes and she looks tired and stupid every time I see her. I won't draw any conclusions from my observations, because I am probably wrong about her personality whatsoever. The thing is that this person knows nothing about social skill. She never says hello, not to anyone. But she shows up from nowhere, even if you're in the middle of a date, and she attaches herself to your company totally unannouced. She follows you (without asking if it's OK or not). She is just a pain in the ass. I have tried to be nice to this person, I have tried to be polite. I have tried to engage her in conversations but nothing interests her. She doesn't want to talk to you. She doesn't want to talk to anyone. She shows it so clearly with her bodylanguage. Happyface, that's the word. Like a sad clown.

Tomorrow I'm going to a concentration camp for a few hours and I think it is going to very interesting to see such place. Several friends of mine have been at some wellknown concentrationcamps and I personally think that it's an important thing to do in order to understand history. I will be taking pictures.

No plans for the evening yet, but that will change soon.
Thank you for reading

Short walk to the streets of home

After 2 weeks and 6 days I finally found home. IKEA is home. I finally got the chance to go there in order to buy important things for our apartment. Afterwards we had a typical Swedish lunch. I was surprised to see that the Christmas decorations are out already.



I received and e-mail from a close friend from back home today and it meant much. He had good news to tell and it made me very glad to read them.

My American friends left Austria tonight for a weekend in Switzerland. They asked me if I wanted to join them a few weeks ago, but I declined. Now I regret it. I can't be sorry about it though. Other things have needed my attention (the deposit).

It's Friday tomorrow and I am going to the gym at noon. I have my last German lesson and it feels good to finally move on. I haven't made any plans for the weekend yet, except for a trip to a concentration camp on Saturday. I will post updates and pictures later.

It's almost midnight and I'm tired. Good night.

Thrown out

I stayed civilized, I acted maturely and rationally, I stayed calm. And I was thrown out. I feel disrespected. The university is now taking legal action. This challenge was bigger than I thought it would be.

I had to make noise, I had to stand up. Nobody else was willing to help down here. Maybe the people at the university realized that if I write one article in any random influential magazine about this tremendous experience I've had with my accommodation down here, people might actually stop coming here. Badwill is a powerful weapon. So is courage. I don't like feeling sorry for myself and I don't want anyone else to pity for me either. Bitching and crying will not give me my money back. But giving up is wrong. Someone made a mistake and I have to pay for it. Why?

Anyway, I went to the office of the managing director (and his secretary) today at Kolpinghaus in Linz. The first thing they wanted from me today was to speak German. I refused.
I reminded them about our deal, our agreement, the consensus we reached when I left the place. All very politely and calm. I can't say that I was surprised when they all of a sudden changed their standpoint and denied all prior agreements. I asked for a receipt, but I was denied one. I asked for a specification of my (illogical) bill, and I was told a new story, deviating from the prior ones. I was never given the chance to finish my sentences. I was interrupted constantly. Eventually I said what I felt about their behavior, still being very polite. It was deceit and criminal. The secretary bounced off her chair, told me to get out of the office, and two seconds later she lay her hand on my back pushing me out. Do you think I left?

Ten seconds later, a man appeared in front of me, the managing director. This was the first time this man opened his mouth and said something to me, a troubling and very unhappy customer. I don't know where he took his marketing classes but they obviously didn't teach him anything about customer retention what so ever. He then tried to force me out of the office. Still, do you think that I left?

It became evident to me that standing there would not help me in any way. I had to stay rational. I had to remain sane. I slowly moved towards the door, and the man who appeared moments earlier closed the door on me, pushing me outside while I was still standing inside the room. My hands were shaking, my eyes were shaking and I was exploding. I went to Sara's room and she helped me out of the worst moments of rage.

I was thrown out. I was unfairly treated. I armed myself and I saved myself from getting killed.
It has become clear to me that the people I have faced in this process are not fair and honest. It's a catholic and conservative organization with no morale. It's a place where customers mean nothing. It's a place where pasta is on the menu, but potatoes are served.

I am moving on, I have neither the time nor the energy to keep on going back and forth to that place in the city for money I probably never will see again. But as I said earlier, it's a matter of standing up. It's about arming yourself and standing up for yourself, because nobody else will. It's a question of morale, just like everything else.