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My Blog of Life as an Expatriate
My Other Blogs My life in Korea (10 years) My life in China (1 year)
February 16, 2007: Global Warming; Evidence in Wroclaw, Poland! I was wrong. The grass is still green in Wroclaw. The snow melted and the weather got relatively warm. Of course the snow did kill some of the grass, but most of it is still green. It's been raining a lot lately. I'm telling you: this global warming thing is scary! Truly scary! I am convinced that it has very little to do with what we humans put into the air. There are only two reasons why the globe would warm up as it has: (1) ozone depletion (2) weakening of the earth's magnetic field. Of course, some of the gases that we put into the air, such as fluorocarbons, can (and probably do) contribute to the depletion of the earth's ozone layer, but, I thought that we were doing something about that. Am I wrong? Right or Wrong, The magnetic field that surrounds our planet protects us from much of the harmful radiation which comes from the sun. You take that away, and we fry. What is happening in the cosmos?!!!!! The Hopi Indians, The Mayan Indians, The Hindus (just to name a few) have written and oral histories that attest to major galactic events that happen regularly, causing mass extinctions on our planet. Scary? Yeah... wait 'till you read this: Hopis and Mayans are predicting another one really soon! Check out the following articles: Dec. 27, 2006 Biggest Galactic Flash in History Galactic Core Explosions every 10,000 years
There is another explanation for loss of protection from the earth's magnetic field: magnetic reversal. According to an article that I've just read, we are due for another magnetic reversal. The process follows the following steps: 1. Magnetic field/force weakens until it practically disappears 2. Then, it "reboots", but only with opposite poles. The process is said to take thousands of years. Evidence shows that the earth's magnetic field/force has weakened by 50% during the past 4,000 years, and 5% during the last century. The really scary thing is we could be without a magnetic shield for hundreds of years! My source: article from the Guardian Unlimited. So, do not believe all the hype about the Greenhouse Effect! Yeah, sure, it contributes to Global Warming, but it's effect is minimal. The major cause of Global Warming is way beyond our ability to control.
But, are you ready?!
January 22, 2007 Snow, finally In the photo below, dated December 22, you can see the the grass was still green. Well, after getting a foot of snow today, I don't think that that green grass is going to last very long. Residency The Polish government is giving me a second chance to get my residency permit. That's nice. ...except, I've recently tendered my resignation. I'm going to be leaving Poland soon.
December 22, 2006 The Land of Dog-lovers Nearly everyone in this city (Wroclaw, Poland) has a dog. (Or so it would seem). These signs are all around my neighborhood. Even if you DO see these signs, watch your step in Poland. People are supposed to pick up after their dogs, but as you can imagine, that doesn't always happen.
December 21, 2006: Of Banks and Beggars in Poland The beggars in Poland are funny. I write "funny", because they are honest. They will come up to you and ask for money for beer. I am told that it works. I guess, sometimes honesty is rewarded. The banks in Poland do not exchange money, with the exception of Euros (but you may have to have an account in order to get Euros from a bank in Poland). If you want to exchange money in Poland, you have to go to a "Kantor", which sounds like the name of an evil troll, such as the one in Ernest's Halloween movie: "Ernest Scared Stupid". Actually, I've deciphered the meaning of the word; It means: branch office (akin to the German word: kontor). Evidently, the full title of an 'exchange [branch] office' is: Kantor Wymiany Walnut, but the only word you will see is Kantor. Don't worry, there are Kantors all over the place [I should qualify this: downtown in BIG cities, Kantors are all over the place. I wouldn't expect to find them in the more rural areas, nor in the smaller towns]. But, be aware that only certain currencies are exchanged there. Stirling (the Pound) is accepted, but paper only. Japanese money is accepted, but not Chinese or Korean. (Korean money is not traded on the open market, but Chinese money is; so, I was disappointed that they wouldn't accept my Chinese bills). Euros are, of course, accepted, even coins. U.S. and Canadian money is accepted, but no coins. [I think Canadian money is also accepted.]
December, 17, 2006: Land of Red Tape I don't want to write about my residency documents. They still haven't been approved. This is now four months that I have been living in Poland. My tourist visa has expired and if by some chance, my residency is denied again, I will have problems exiting the country. I don't know what they will do. They will definitely detain me. I'll probably miss my flight. And I'll probably have to pay a fine. Welcome to Poland, the land of bloody red tape. Two days before my winter vacation, I was told by my employer that I cannot leave the country until the documentation is complete. GREAT! What if I had booked flights? I'd have been screwed, royally. Weather Report For a place where the sun sets at 3:30pm and it is night by 4pm (as winter solstice quickly approaches), it is remarkably warm. The grass is still green in Wroclaw, Poland. On November 2nd, we had our first snow. The next day, it sleeted. Then, the next day, it rained. Since then, it has rained about once a week (on average). The morning frost disappeared, until recently, as temperatures have dropped a bit in the past few days. Yet, the grass is still green. All the leaves of the deciduous trees have dropped, but the grass is still green. Amazing! However, I am told by the Poles that we can expect a white Christmas. We'll see.
November 30, 2006: Postal Strike I've recently been denied residency (and proper visa status) in Poland. Reason: didn't make the deadline for application Reason for not making the deadline: Well, Poland's bureaucracy is infamous (at least amongst the Poles). There are a plethora of hoops to jump through to do anything. After jumping through most hoops (taking three months), I had to wait for some documents to arrive in the mail (this was probably to verify that I was actually living where I indicated I was/am living). The documents arrived after the deadline. This was due to the Polish postal strike (evidently). When the immigration office was notified of the reason for our tardiness in submitting the documents, they informed us: "Not our problem." However, there appears to be a 14 day grace period. So, we'll see how it goes.
October
31, 2006:
And the sky shall become as black as
sackcloth... The other day (I think it was Saturday, Oct. 27,
2006), Titus and I were playing catch in the nearby park during evening
twilight. The sky was covered with clouds, which made the sky darker than it
would normally be. Then, when I looked up to see the ball that Titus had tossed
me, I noticed that the already dark sky was now speckled with black, moving
(flying) animals, hundreds of them. I'd estimate that the breadth of the
procession was fifty head, spead out about one animal distance apart from each
other. If each animal was a foot (which seems about right), then the procession
was 100 feet wide. The length thereof can only be measured in time. Titus and I
stood looking up for at least ten minutes. It seemed like the procession would
never end. At first, I thought that they might be birds, but their wings were
webbed, like.... gulp! BATS!!!!!!!!!!! The first thing that went through my mind was,
"What if these were vampire bats?" "Isn't Transylvania near
Poland?" "Maybe I can run faster than they can fly." But, they
didn't seem interested in anything on the ground. It seemed that they were in a
hurry to get somewhere special. When we got home, I decided to google
"Wroclaw Bats". I found some interesting information about bats in
Poland. Evidently, when the Germans occupied Poland during WWII, they built some
extensive underground fortifications, which the bats now use as winter
hibernation grounds. No one seems to really know exactly when the bats first
inhabited the caverns. After the German Nazis were defeated, the Russian forces
occupied the fortifications (but perhaps not all). After the Russians left in
1993, scavengers (humans) have been searching the man-made caverns for burried
treasures. Somehow, throughout it all, the bats have managed to survive there,
and recently, the part with the most bats has been made into a nature preserve.
Evidently, every year about this time, bats come from Czech, Germany and other
parts of Poland to hibernation in the caverns. The bats that we saw, must have
been on their way to the Nietoperek (Bat Preserve) at Miedzyrzecz
Fortified Region. By my calculations (based upon the setting of the sun in
the west, the bats were traveling North by Northwest, which is exactly the way
to Nietoperek from here. For more information, consult the following
websites: http://www.wiejce.pl/html/strona.php?id=foto&lang=gb&idf=8_3 http://www.iol.ie/~corkbatgroup/Nietoperek.htm HALLOW
E'EN' in POLAND While the Poles all know of Halloween, it is not
celebrated here. Poles celebrate the Day of the Dead on November 1st. Whole
aisles in the hypermarkets are devoted to candles, which my wife and I are sure
are for the upcoming holiday. The Day of the Dead is a national holiday in
Poland.
October 28, 2006: Horrific Behavior When Recently, in Poland, I was made aware of a horrific incident. Here is the report:
Question: What kind of parents raised those five boys? Comment: The country is outraged (and it should be). Our school held a minute of silence in commemoration for the young woman who took her life.
Original Date: Unknown Things I just don't understand (ammended: Oct. 2006)
Q: Why is it that right after I polish my shoes, someone steps on them? Q: Why is it that every time I exalt myself, I become abased? Q: Why is it the amount of effort that I put into something result in an inverse exponential relationship to the desired effect? Q: Why is it that the more I care about something, the higher the likelihood that I will lose it? Q: Why is it that the smarter I feel, the more stupidly I act (with or without alcohol)? Q: Why is it that time dilation occurs when I least want it to? Q: Why is it that when I need money, it isn't there, and when I don't need money, I've got more than enough? Q: Why is it that less seems like more, and more seems like less? Q: Why is it that the more a woman wants to have a baby, the less her chances of getting pregnant (and visa versa)? [Just an observation]. Q: Why is it that more of an emergency #2 "nature call" exists, the less chance of there being toilet nearby (and if there is a restroom nearby, there's an even less chance of their being toilet paper in the restroom)? Q: Why is it that there is a 100% chance of my nose itching as soon as I start washing dishes with rubber gloves? Q: Why is it that the more I can't have something, the more I want it? Q: Why is it that when given a choice, children always chose the more expensive of two items? Q: Why is it that the meek inherit the earth? Q: Why is it that hot dog wieners (sausages) never fit the buns? Q: Why are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Q: Why does my wife always have to do the opposite of what I want her to do? Q: Why is it that when the path is wide and only a small section thereof is soild with poo or oil or something, my son always manages to hit the "soiled" part of the path? [I've done many observations]. Q: Why is that whenever I say, "Things are going well," that something bad happens immediately thereafter? Q: Why don't people follow their religion? Q: Why is it that I can go months or years without getting a stain on my clothes, but on the most important days, I get a stain? Q: Why do good-looking women wear make-up and ruin their faces? Q: Why don't women accept the fact that most men ARE superficial (and do something about it)? Q: Why don't women accept that most women are superficial too (only in different ways)? [E.g., most men look at the body, most women look at the wallet]. Q: Why do most men like big "jugs"? (I don't like 'em big. And, I don't understand the attraction.) Q: Why can't spouses stop trying to change each other? Q: Why can't we as a human race understand that LOVE is not "holding on", but rather, "letting go"? (Lust is "holding on").
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