WC 1M Post Challenge - You Ready?!

[Laura Knotek]

Had dinner last night at the restaurant located near the top of Canton Tower. Nice views and the food was excellent.

Ooh, those views are very nice. I like all the colours.

 

[libra89]

Yeah it's the place I've bought other phones from. Their return policy is garbage so never dealing with them again. I've learnt my lesson. Cheap is great so long as you abide by the rules of cheap. In other words, expect crap service and expenses when dealing with the company that sold it to you.

With the X5. It's been a headache since she paid for it. It should be here by now but it was out of stock and now it's apparently stuck in customs. We've had no information from them at all so my wife told them we want a refund immediately. They said they can't do it until it comes out of customs. I don't know what to think. There's something not right.

As for getting the XZ repaired that's an issue. Do we pay for the repair and new battery and if things go wrong then we pay for a new screen? It's a hard one. I'd rather she just got a X5 locally or got the XZ3. Either or. Unfortunately she really dislikes a black phones and trying to find silver XZ3 is proving difficult.

Also she's not a fan of the XZ camera and it's not going to get updated so I don't see the point really.

She's contemplated using the Nokia 9 but I doubt she'll get 'used' to it.

This sounds very frustrating. I hope that y'all will be able to get that refund and find a reasonable middle ground. I don't see the Nokia 9 going the distance at all for her or you.

 

[N_LaRUE]

@N_LaRUE Is there anything like Craigslist in France? Would it be difficult to find a Sony device from a local seller?

What phones are popular in France?

Huawei phones are popular due to price. Phones here are a bit on the expensive side. Though not sure how much longer they'll be popular.

Lots of people buy cheaper phones in general. There's some brands here I never heard of.

Of course there are the usual suspects of Samsung and Apple.

I do see a few older Sony's around and some of the lower end models.

There's a few places to get used phones but I know my wife isn't a fan of used items in general.

 

[N_LaRUE]

This sounds very frustrating. I hope that y'all will be able to get that refund and find a reasonable middle ground. I don't see the Nokia 9 going the distance at all for her or you.

I wouldn't use the Nokia 9. I liked the display but the rest, no thanks. My wife feels similar.

Once we get confirmation on the refund for the Xperia 5 I'm going to suggest we go take a look at phones again.

I'll sell the Nokia 9 at a loss if I have to just to get rid of it.

 

[N_LaRUE]

So another video (yeah I've been playing around).

Last Friday before we went to my farm it was snowing (you read that right) in the Paris area. So I videoed it. I also used slow motion capture.

I put music to my videos so if you had the sound off on the others try it with the sound on, especially this one.

[video]https://drive.google.com/open?id=10B3tIvFgTr3nIAhMFaEPn6pYIspIZ7Ob[/video]

 

[N_LaRUE]

A little story.

I know that the Outrage and Offended Culture is a thing on the internet and I've seen it a few times. I prefer to not get involved in it. Some people have genuine concerns and ideas but sometimes they're a bit out there.

Case in point. I'm a member of several Facebook groups that cater to non-French citizens. I've reduced the number down to four I think now. Two are for Paris.

Now, the term Expat, short for Expatriate, in case you didn't know, was traditionally a term used for someone living temporarily in another country, typically sent by a company or government. If married they'd bring their significant other and children if they had any.

The term Expat has expanded to mean anyone living in another country, regardless of status. UK citizens use it in place of immigrant for themselves but are happy to call anyone moving to the UK immigrant, regardless if that person is a real Expat.

Anyway, on one of the Paris groups someone put out a call for Expat Spouses to attend a networking event. There would be around 40 companies who are interested in hiring non French speaking individuals. Not speaking the language is a big barrier to work in any country.

For some reason, 'Expat Spouse' appeared to trigger a couple of people. Somehow using the 'traditional' terminology for expat, meaning someone who moved to a country for work and brought their spouse with them was seen as derogatory. Nowhere in the post was 'spouse' given a gender or sexual orientation or even traditional marital status. Spouse just means someone you are legally connected to. It is literally one of the most neutral terms going and has been around for a long time.

Because of this, the person called the event, due to the term expat spouse - gender discriminating and full of bigotry :straight:

I'm at a loss. I guess the post could have been worded slightly different to be more inclusive of all 'expats' but really people take things way too literally.

No one was saying they couldn't attend and the individual promoting the networking event probably wouldn't care. I think the key thing was that they wanted people who would be in France for a long period of time and not just people here for a couple of months would be my guess. They didn't say that specifically but that's what the implication would be to me.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Well, I went and got myself into an interesting situation...

Being a contractor means always looking out for new opportunities.

I got contacted by a recruiter. Needless to say it sounds interesting because, 1 it's doing something I know very well. 2 it will be a proper project in my preferred discipline (unlike what I'm doing now). 3 it's sort of with a company I know. 4 it almost puts me in Paris (well technically I could probably live in Paris with this job).

Thing is the money might be the same as I make now, so no real advantage. It's a defined project length so work after that could be problematic. If I went to site it would be the middle east, which I don't have anything against but I need to stay in France at the moment.

So need to discuss this with my wife and then wait to see what the finer details are.

 

[N_LaRUE]

At this point it's 50/50 with a big I don't know...

 

[Laura Knotek]

A little story.

I know that the Outrage and Offended Culture is a thing on the internet and I've seen it a few times. I prefer to not get involved in it. Some people have genuine concerns and ideas but sometimes they're a bit out there.

Case in point. I'm a member of several Facebook groups that cater to non-French citizens. I've reduced the number down to four I think now. Two are for Paris.

Now, the term Expat, short for Expatriate, in case you didn't know, was traditionally a term used for someone living temporarily in another country, typically sent by a company or government. If married they'd bring their significant other and children if they had any.

The term Expat has expanded to mean anyone living in another country, regardless of status. UK citizens use it in place of immigrant for themselves but are happy to call anyone moving to the UK immigrant, regardless if that person is a real Expat.

Anyway, on one of the Paris groups someone put out a call for Expat Spouses to attend a networking event. There would be around 40 companies who are interested in hiring non French speaking individuals. Not speaking the language is a big barrier to work in any country.

For some reason, 'Expat Spouse' appeared to trigger a couple of people. Somehow using the 'traditional' terminology for expat, meaning someone who moved to a country for work and brought their spouse with them was seen as derogatory. Nowhere in the post was 'spouse' given a gender or sexual orientation or even traditional marital status. Spouse just means someone you are legally connected to. It is literally one of the most neutral terms going and has been around for a long time.

Because of this, the person called the event, due to the term expat spouse - gender discriminating and full of bigotry :straight:

I'm at a loss. I guess the post could have been worded slightly different to be more inclusive of all 'expats' but really people take things way too literally.

No one was saying they couldn't attend and the individual promoting the networking event probably wouldn't care. I think the key thing was that they wanted people who would be in France for a long period of time and not just people here for a couple of months would be my guess. They didn't say that specifically but that's what the implication would be to me.

Yeah, when I think of expat, the first thing that comes to mind are many of the characters in Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises".

 

[Laura Knotek]

Well, I went and got myself into an interesting situation...

Being a contractor means always looking out for new opportunities.

I got contacted by a recruiter. Needless to say it sounds interesting because, 1 it's doing something I know very well. 2 it will be a proper project in my preferred discipline (unlike what I'm doing now). 3 it's sort of with a company I know. 4 it almost puts me in Paris (well technically I could probably live in Paris with this job).

Thing is the money might be the same as I make now, so no real advantage. It's a defined project length so work after that could be problematic. If I went to site it would be the middle east, which I don't have anything against but I need to stay in France at the moment.

So need to discuss this with my wife and then wait to see what the finer details are.

Good luck with this, no matter what you decide.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I like my dish of cluster**** without two sides of headaches and stupidity, please...

 

[N_LaRUE]

Yeah, when I think of expat, the first thing that comes to mind are many of the characters in Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises".

Never read that book.

I went back to look at the post and the person clarified that they are after long stay people. Not just 3-6 month people.

This is the issue when a term changes meaning. It creates confusion.

I blame the UK if course...

 

[Laura Knotek]

Never read that book.

I went back to look at the post and the person clarified that they are after long stay people. Not just 3-6 month people.

This is the issue when a term changes meaning. It creates confusion.

I blame the UK if course...

I didn't read it because I wanted to. It was required for a high school English class.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Good luck with this, no matter what you decide.

I really like to make my life interesting...

My wife is fine with the idea but of course timing could have been better. Why couldn't this be a month ago?

We're currently looking for a place to live and viewing apartments around where I currently work.

This new place is in the opposite side of Paris. So finding an apartment here is pointless. If I get this new position.

So yeah... A bit of chaos.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I didn't read it because I wanted to. It was required for a high school English class.

At least you read a decent book. At least I hope it was.

I had to read The Catcher in the Rye...

 

[Laura Knotek]

At least you read a decent book. At least I hope it was.

I had to read The Catcher in the Rye...

It was ok. I preferred Orwell's 1984.

 

[N_LaRUE]

It was ok. I preferred Orwell's 1984.

I read most of that a couple of years ago. I have to admit to not making it all the way through it.

Also, nothing against The Catcher in the Rye I just don't think it's the best book to give teenagers at a time they're trying to sort themselves out. Most will miss the subtle message and the overall reflection on society.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I read most of that a couple of years ago. I have to admit to not making it all the way through it.

Also, nothing against The Catcher in the Rye I just don't think it's the best book to give teenagers at a time they're trying to sort themselves out. Most will miss the subtle message and the overall reflection on society.

Most adults will too.

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is in that arc too. High school reading for me back in the day.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Most adults will too.

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is in that arc too. High school reading for me back in the day.

Oh no doubt there are a lot of adults who would completely miss the messages in The Cather in the Rye. Funny how that book would be even more relevant today.

Thing is, it's a very slow book and in high school it's a tough read for anyone. I really slogged through it and got most of it. I probably missed a lot too at the time.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Oh no doubt there are a lot of adults who would completely miss the messages in The Cather in the Rye. Funny how that book would be even more relevant today.

Thing is, it's a very slow book and in high school it's a tough read for anyone. I really slogged through it and got most of it. I probably missed a lot too at the time.

Agreed. I still preferred reading the Chrysalids though. Perhaps on my next real vacation I'll reread the Rye.