Tag: work

#100 We’re Going to Have a Meeting About the Meeting

Malcolm from Sydney, Australia, gives us some tips on how to reinvent ourselves when starting over in a new country. Also, why do Swedes need so many meetings?
#54 I Was Told There Would be Snow

Jenny, from Costa Rica, talks about the mild winter this year, the troubles of finding a job in another country, and sloths.
November 22, 2019Uncategorized

#44 Turn at the Robot

On this week’s expat podcast episode, Samantha, from South Africa, runs Stockholm Girl Gone International, an online group for expat tips and meetups. We talk language mistakes, getting out of […]
January 24, 2018Uncategorized

It’s melting!

The snow is melting today and it’s just a big slush of muddy roads and giant slabs of ice falling from roofs. I think most people here who claim they […]
October 20, 2017Uncategorized

A passion for chainsaws

These job ads get more specific every day. Today’s copywriting ad states that they would prefer an applicant who is really into chainsaws. If I come dressed as this guy, […]
October 19, 2017Uncategorized

Stakeholders

Every time I read a job ad that includes any mention of “stakeholders,” I just think of an angry mob chasing Dracula and then I forget what the job was […]
May 18, 2017Uncategorized

Advancement of our civilization

Sometimes I think about the hard-working farmers hundreds of years ago, constantly working the land to feed the family and earn enough money to survive. I think about people working […]
February 27, 2017Uncategorized

Chores

Sometimes my husband and I wonder what our kids might say to a therapist when they get older. Last week, we got a little preview from our 9-year old. We […]
May 31, 2016Uncategorized

Passive aggressive

I used to be in charge of the fruit basket at a previous job. Then they asked someone else to take over. I’m not sure why.
August 10, 2015Uncategorized

Southeast Texas job tips

While watching TV in Southeast Texas, there was a public service commercial to help people get jobs through handy job interview tips. Among the usual, “Dress nice, be polite,” there […]
June 8, 2015Uncategorized

My life as a lab rat

I’m starting to easily understand the old story of Alexander Fleming leaving an experiment over a long weekend and discovering penicillin from the mold when he came back. Apparently in […]
April 30, 2015Uncategorized

Drinking wine and eating a baguette on bonfire night

Yes, we take a lot of trips. At the moment, we are in Paris. You may say, “How come you can travel so much? Don’t people work in Sweden?” The […]
April 14, 2015Uncategorized

Am I too cynical?

I have to read food news for my job. The headline for one said, “Make your own cheese with only 2 ingredients!” I do that all the time. Milk and […]
February 16, 2015Uncategorized

Coffee Cow

A few summers ago as we were relaxing at a Swedish “beach,” a man came around wearing a white backpack with black spots and a hose attached. He was “THE […]
February 6, 2015Uncategorized

A magical word

“förnämliga” That is the word I had to translate the other day (I work part-time translating documents from Swedish to English). As you see, it can have vastly different meanings. […]
January 12, 2015Uncategorized

Not my neighborhood

Today I got lost on my way to work and ended up in front of the Latvian Embassy.
December 3, 2014Uncategorized

Is it just me?

I’m currently sitting at work in my winter coat. Normally I sit in the next room with a portable heater all alone. The other people who work here don’t want […]
September 22, 2014Uncategorized

87.5 and not one minute more!

Sweden is great because sometimes you can get 50% jobs as well as 75% jobs. It works out well especially if you have kids to pick up from daycare or […]
September 11, 2014Uncategorized

Deciphering job ads

I’m looking for something part-time to supplement my translating work. I like the ads that are straight and to the point. Too many of them are full of double-speak and […]
August 6, 2014Uncategorized

Now hiring – secret agents

It’s that time of year again when I keep an eye out for extra jobs. Today’s favorite was “German agent for fraud.” (I like to ignore the “for fraud” part.) […]