Irish Rover - Part 6

....continued from Irish Rover Part 5 - Part of a series of posts recalling my wandering ways.

I had a great Xmas back in Ireland that year, reconnecting after 3 years with family and friends and Guinness (ah the Guinness and it's after effects!) but I needed to earn some cash and get the necessary paperwork together before I could avail of the lottery green card to get me into the USA. One of my closest friends lived in Liverpool, UK so I headed there in the new year. I figured the home of the Beatles would offer me ample opportunity for work so I could save some funds for the upcoming adventure.

I figured wrong! - 'Strawberry Fields Forever' it was NOT! - More like 'Penny Lane' - After 6 months I had to reluctantly admit defeat on the job search. With the exception of making some great friends and getting to explore the nearby amazing countryside, what a god awful depressing city it was (especially in Winter) - I hope and pray it's improved.

I have one vivid memory of two Liverpudlian lasses beating the holy crap out of each other, over an argument about who was next in the taxi queue. I think it scared me more because I knew they would have kicked the sh!t out of me given half a chance. Ruff-ruff working class city!

I moved down to London (again) and got a job as a temp in a US based bank within a week. It was another 6 months before I got all my paperwork in order that I finally got on a plane (on New Years day) to the USA. The Big Apple - New York City was to be my next home.

I found a tiny (very tiny) studio apartment in Forrest Hills, Queens and with a bit of luck the same US bank hired me in NY so I walked straight into a job. Well, walked straight is not quite true, as one of the worst snow storms on record hit the north east coast of the US that January so the walk was thru this little obstacle course.

New York Snow Blizzard 1

New York Snow Blizzard 2

This delicate little pasty Irish lad had never experienced anything quite like the cold in NY. My ears would freeze and actually hurt with the cold after a minute outside. My snot would freeze and block my breathing thru my nose. I was the proverbial brass monkey with his private bits in a freezer. But it was an exciting time and a new beginning. A new world to be explored and more adventures ahead. I figured I'd give it six months and see if I liked it. If not, sure there was always somewhere else to move on to.


Sorry but I'm afraid there's more of this drivel to follow....

Tags: ..Irish Rover ..

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Passports with a Purpose

With the holiday season upon us it's easy to get wrapped up in the craziness of buying presents but it's also supposed to be about giving to those in need. The good folks over at Wanderlust and Lipstick came up with a great idea about tackling world poverty.

People who travel often gain more perspective about the world in general (not in a snobby - we're better than you way - but you see things first hand - things that make you reevaluate what's important).

Quite often, you see poverty, a lot of poverty. It's easy to distance yourself from poverty if you read about it in the newspaper or if it's on TV. Just click the channel and you can go from a famine in Ethiopia to watching really important stuff like Paris Hilton strike a pose at a nightclub or Britney shave her head or drop her kid again!. It's hard to ignore poverty if it's on your doorstep or on the side of the road as you take a bus.

So the idea is for travel bloggers to help spread the word e.g. to those who travel vicariously thru their blogs. Click here and see how you can make a difference - buy a raffle ticket online for some great prizes and help make a difference to someones quality of life and don't forget to spread the word.

Tags: ..Passports with a Purpose..

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Irish Rover - Part 5

....continued from Irish Rover Part 4 - Part of a series of posts recalling my wandering ways.

After my exodus from Oz I decided I'd catch a few highlights on the journey back to Ireland. First I spent 2 weeks in Thailand for some R&R and traveled on the cheapest bus from Bangkok to Phuket (non air conditioned - non reclining seats) which is highly recommended if you're into a 12 hour self inflicted S&M session. The locals traveled with all sorts of goods they bought or wanted to sell including massive refuse bags full of WTF and live chickens so there's not much room to spare.

It was a beautiful beach spot, but also very disturbing due to the number of local young girls who worked as prostitutes. I took a wrong turn one night and walked into what I thought was a nightclub. There were about a hundred girls behind a glass screen holding large white cards with a number. Quite a few old fat ugly tourists were drinking and chatting in a lounge and deciding which number they'd pick. Very seedy - not my scene - I exited stage left.

Next, I spent a week in Nepal and traveled a ridiculously dangerous and memorable hair pin bend road from Kathmandu to Chit Wan national park for a 4 day safari and a close up view of rhinos (not to be messed with), elephants (ditto) , crocodiles (ditto x 2) , monkeys and even a tiger (ditto x 3) - Absolutely amazing trip.

Next stop was India and the hustle and bustle of Delhi and on to Agra to see one of the 'seven wonders of the world' the Taj Mahal - spectacular! - an amazing structure that defies belief and beyond the descriptive abilities of this blogger. You need to see it to believe it!

Next stop London to catch up with old friends for a weekend and finally Dublin. The date was Dec 24th 1993.

I hadn't told anybody including the parents I was coming home for Xmas. I hadn't seen them in almost 3 years so wanted it to be a big surprise. As I pulled up in a taxi, I started to imagine the wild reception I would get - Jumping, rejoicing, fireworks, beer! After I rang the front door bell - I could see the silhouette my Dad making his way to answer the door. I started to shuffle my feet in excitement. The door swung open and as he eyed me and then the taxi pulling away he said....

...."Yeah I thought it might be you alright - Gobshite - why are you wasting your money on taxis when I could've picked you up at the airport?"

Not quite the warm Irish welcome reception I was expecting - but good to be home nonetheless!

Tags: ..Irish welcome, Irish hospitality, Irish humour..

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Irish in Buenos Aires

Irish Leprechauns really look like this (ok it was this photo or a midget in a green suit?)

Truth be told, I'm a bit of an intravert (not unsociable but I do shy away from the big get togethers) and I'm not a big social networker. I typically avoid the expat gatherings here. There's plenty of social activities with the in-laws to keep me busy and interacting.

A four hour lunch with verbal diarrhoea is par for the course with the in-laws. I went to a few expat gigs when we arrived but was put off by the whole experience. On the one hand, by the mix of immature frat boy dorks on their 6-12 month whirl wind tour and on the other hand by the Argie vultures looking for fresh expat meat to prey on. One individual was trying to sell me a Ferrari!

A few weeks ago I finally relented and attended an expat gathering once more. I bumped into a fellow Irishman who asked me "Are you Paddy in BA?" - Jaezuz - I'm famous I thought (for a moment)!

I thought that I was the only 'Paddy' in BA, but he burst that bubble in double quick time and it soon transpired there's feckin' loads of Paddys here.

Well obviously you can imagine my disgust. It's like Columbus being told that some gobshite Irish monk called Saint Brendan sailed from Ireland in a makeshift piece of crap boat and discovered America before Columbus did - as if!

On Saturday, I went the suburb of Acasusso (30 mins outside the centre) to infiltrate this close knit group of Paddys. The occasion was to watch Ireland kick Argentinas arse in rugby (always a nice spectacle). The Irish banter amongst us was flowing, as was the beer. I realised these people are potentially more Irish (friendlier, wittier, Irisher) than I am.

Thankfully, I have a good lawyer and contacts in immigration. If all goes to plan, I'll have ALL of them deported in a few weeks. Finally, I WILL be the only 'Paddy in BA' (as it should be)

Tags: ..Irish in Buenos Aires..

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Altar Boy Anarchy

I was given a choice at ten years of age of either joining the boy scouts or becoming an altar boy. I figured I'd be buggered either way (OK - bad joke!) and I'm not sure exactly why (maybe a gentle bit of persuasion from my mother), but I made the decision to follow the holy path of righteousness.

The expression for a priest is that he "says" Mass (a service) and an altar boy "serves" Mass. So my duties involved "serving" Mass at 7:30am once a week and again on Sunday anywhere between 7:30am and 5pm. This duty was handed out like shift work at a supermarket and if you didn't show up for a good reason you had the potential to be damned to the fiery depths of hell or worse.

If you played your cards right you could get the 'golden cow' shift of serving at a wedding on Saturdays where the dizzy couple would leave an envelope with $$$ for all concerned i.e. an envelope for the priest, another for the altar boys (up to 5 punts = u$d10) and another for the sacristan etc.

The problem was, not everybody knew who the sacristan was or what he did. He is basically an admin assistant to the priest and does a fair chunk of the prep work for the wedding. Many times the dizzy happy couple would forget this poor shlep with the magic envelope.

After about 10 of these weddings, young inspector 'Paddy in BA' started to notice a similar pattern in the hand writing of the envelopes for the altar boys. Same handwriting for each one over several months - hmmmm.... same measly donation = 1 Irish punt = approx u$d2 compared to the 5 Irish punt norm.

In true 'Cluedo' style, I deduced that Mr Sacristan was switching the envelopes from the happy generous couple for his own less generous ones in the sacristy with a thieving conniving contempt for us altar boys.

I couldn't contain my disgust anymore. Did these people really think I was giving up half my Saturday for the the good of the holy church? - Hell No! = I wanted KA-CHING baby!

I left three of Mr Sacristans envelopes on the notice board in the changing rooms with the addition of....

"ALTAR BOYS WANT MORE MONEY!
p.s. how come the last three envelopes I got, have the same handwriting?"

As many of you are probably aware - Catholics don't take kindly to non conformers (think Spanish Inquisition) and so it came to pass that I was cast out of the holy order of the altar boys (no joke!)

Lucifer himself (with horns and tail) and I meet up for coffee on Tuesdays and Thursdays and reminisce about how - there but for the grace of god - the world was our oyster.

Tags: ..Altar Boy Anarchy..

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Irish Rover - Part 4

Some of the folks that comment regularly here missed my previous post - as there were RSS issues
- one of my few serious posts ever :-( scroll down to the previous post or click here

....continued from Irish Rover - Part 3 - Part of a series of posts recalling my wandering ways.

Having worked like a dog for 12 months straight after arriving in Australia in 1991 (without a holiday), I had more money in the bank than at any other time in my life. I decided to chuck in my job so I could explore the vastness of Oz. I went backpacking up the east coast which was an amazing experience.

This pasty white Irishman had seen nothing quite like this before. White sand, turquoise water for mile after mile of coastline. The nightlife in the hostels was great with a diverse cross section of people from all over the world.

I stopped in a small undeveloped town called Mission Beach near the Great Barrier Reef and did the diving / snorkeling thing which was incredible. I ended up staying there for 2 months and worked in a hostel. For 2 hours work a day, I got free dinner and free accommodation in a dormitory. I went white water rafting, abseiling, skydiving, you name it I did it and of course I had the occasional wee tipple as you do.

I continued the journey and visited Darwin, Kakadu, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Adelaide, Melbourne and eventually back to Sydney. The trip took about 6 months in all but I've always regretted not making it to western Australia.

I rejoined the rat race and worked for another 9 months before TWO significant immigration issues had a major impact on my life.

First, a phone call from Australian immigration.

Hi Paddy,

We notice you've over stayed your visa ........

...long story for another day, but short story is I left Oz within 7 days (not a happy camper) but the alternative was a detention centre with Chinese boat people.

Second, a letter arrived from the US embassy.

Dear Paddy,

We are pleased to inform you that your application for a lottery visa to work in the USA has been randomly selected by our computer and if you complete the necessary prerequisites and paperwork you will have the opportunity to enter and work in the United States of America.

Sometimes by a stroke of luck, as one door closes, another opens and so it was in this case.

....to be continued

Tags: ..Irish immigration, ..

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What REALLY defines your happiness?

So I've been asking myself this question a lot recently.

The wiki definition for the 'Standard of Living' is the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people, and the way these goods and services are distributed within a population.

The wiki definition for 'Quality of life' is the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group of people.. It consists of two components: physical (e.g. health, diet) and psychological (e.g. stress, worry, pleasure) and other positive or negative emotional states.

In an ideal world you would have the best of both worlds but unfortunately the two are often at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Happiness and success are also potentially worlds apart.

When I was growing up the following rather simplified guidelines to achieving happiness and success applied:

• Study hard in high school so you get enough points to get into a good College/Uni
• Study hard to graduate from said good College/Uni so you can get a good job
• Get a good secure job with prospects to advance so you can be 'successful'
• Work hard and try and save as much as possible so you can eventually settle down
• Get on the property ladder and keep climbing cos 'there's gold in them there hills'
• The better you are at this, the bigger your house will be.
• The bigger the house, the more cars, gadgets and toys for the kids.

To reach this nirvana for many people (not all) sometime looks like this.

Let me introduce the Sucker Family.

Mr Gaylord Sucker commutes 2 hours and works 10 hours a day in a high stress environment. Half the time, he makes it home in time to tuck the kids into bed, half the time he doesn't.
Missus Sucker works locally but juggles dropping the kids at expensive day care and running her own business. The kids are spoiled with all the clothes, toys, gadgets and everything and anything they need except enough attention from their exhausted parents.

The family spend 2 weeks in LottsaFunland each year but Mr S is constantly checking his Blackberry and is called away to conference calls 2 to 3 times a day. Mrs S has to check up on her business by phoning her liason for long conversations 3 times a day and checking on emails in the evening. The kids have a great time but the parents find it difficult to relax while juggling the work demands and keeping the kids happy.

15 years of this continues and seems to fly by and they move twice into bigger better homes. Mr S is now the proud owner of a top of the range blue BMW and Mrs S has an identical red one. Mr S is a bit burnt out but the kids still need to go thru college so he must persist. The kids have become a bit of a handful and ungratefully resent Mr and Mrs S's lack of quality time over the years. Rebellious outbursts are frequent. They rarely eat dinner together anymore and when they do get together, arguments typically ensue.

With the downturn in the global economy Mr S gets laid off but with a decent redundancy package there's no immediate need for alarm. Mr S starts to remember what it was like NOT to dread Monday mornings and wants to spend more time with kids, but they are now grown up and indifferent to his newly rekindled interest.

Mrs S's business also takes a nose dive and stress levels in the home rise as she is now the sole bread winner. Mrs S's mother visits but this only adds to the stress as she never got along with Mr S and they are not on civil terms. Mr and Mrs S wonder where the years went and how, even though they have all the material possessions anybody could want, they wonder why the family is not quite 'a Unit' and happiness has somehow eluded them.

Best case scenario - With a bit of luck they all live long and healthy but not necessarily happily ever after. Thankfully my own story is far removed from this nightmare, but it is something I have observed in friends and colleagues too many times.

Alternate case study - I've seen entire families here in Argentina (on or close to the poverty line) - grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren sitting around an Asado (BBQ) on the side of the road, who look more family functional, happier and healthier than the messed up wealthy family of 'The Suckers' above.

Being part of the rat race facilitates a certain standard of living but at what cost to your quality of life?

How do you define your 'REAL' Quality of Life and Standard of Living?
What REALLY makes you happy?
Yes - there's nobody else here - I am talking to YOU?!!

Tags: ..quality of life in Argentina, standard of living in Argentina,quality of life in Buenos Aires, standard of living in Buenos Aires..

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My maid refuses to wash my car..

..What am I supposed to do?

As reported exclusively on a web forum here in Buenos Aires, a poor unfortunate expat woman is in a bit of a kerfuffle. Her maid has point blank refused to wash the family car and had the audacity to say it is not in her duties to do so. This is the forum link to the post in question.

BA Newcomers

You need to be signed up with the Yahoo group to see the post so I've given you a free guest pass below

id = guestofpaddyinba@yahoo.com
pw = washmycarbitch

The numerous responses on the forum go on to discuss in great detail what course of action this poor woman might be able to take against this horrendous rebellious maid. e.g.

• Contact the local Maids Union and see if they could help persuade her to wash the car
• Speak with the Minister for Employment to determine the labour law obligations
  
• Pay the maid extra to wash the car - God forbid!
  
• Damn the maid to hell and bring the car to a car wash - last resort!
  
• Get off your frikkin' lard arse and wash your own car - BEE-ATCH - (suggested by an anonymous Irish expat)
  

Apparently the maid washed the car for many months before this current outburst of anarchy raised its ugly head and now it appears a revolution is imminent. All across Argentina, maids are uniting and refusing to mix cement, paint barns, shear sheep, lasso cows and other typical maid type stuff that they now consider to be outside of their duties.

These insubordinate, ungrateful heathens are already more than handsomely rewarded for their meager endeavours. Some earn as much as A$10 pesos (US$3.30) an hour, yet they seem determined to pick and choose what they want to do. They plot these schemes as the travel long distances to work, crammed like sardines in overcrowded buses from the far flung suburbs of the city .

Please help support this poor, poor expat woman by leaving a comment (anonymous if you like) on this blog which will be added to a petition to help force this evil uncooperative maid to wash the womans car like she should do. Without your support, more unfortunate expats like her will be driving around in filthy BMW's and that just doesn't seem right. Life can be so unfair!

Tags: .maid duties, Buenos Aires..

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Cost of Living in Buenos Aires, Argentina

People are always asking me "What's the cost of living over there?" - The answer depends on whether you're living 'La Vida Loca' expat life or trying to blend in as a local or something in between. Our goal coming down here was to use BA as a base from which to travel and that has worked out very well. Here are my observations on cost of living here. If you disagree pls let me know and if you have other ideas or questions on prices, post a comment here (anonymous if you like) and I'll do my best to find out.

Note: According to the government here, inflation is running at below 10% but click this link to see the independent estimates which calculate it is more than 30%

Use the scroll bars below to see the entire list or click here

Disagree with prices? Getting a better price? Want to know the price of something else?
Let me know please! - I will continue to update this with updated FX rates and reader feedback.

Tags: ..Expat Cost of living Buenos aires Argentina, how much money do I need, what does it cost to live?..

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Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums)

As promised, here is more of the cultural stuff going on in Buenos Aires - Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums) Buenos Aires, Argentina


National Geographic recently mentioned this humble blogger not just once (Noche de los Museos) but twice (Free things to do in Buenos Aires)

There maybe no such thing as a 'free lunch' but on Saturday, November 15th, 2008, most of the museums in Buenos Aires will be open from 7pm - 2am (yes am) for free. Add to this the free concerts of all varieties of music from classical to jazz to rock to tango. Public transport to get to the various venues is free. The whole thing finishes off with a kick ass open air party down by the docks in Puerto Madero with bands, DJ's, dancing and as is typical in this neck of the woods it goes till dawn and oh yeah, I forgot to mention - it's free. Click here for more details for free.

Tags: ..Free things to do in Buenos Aires, Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums)..

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