It was bound to happen...
I'm sorry but I can't resist any longer ... as fun as telling you all about my drunken exploits is I must now have a political rant-ish... I promise to try and keep this short and as entertaining as possible...
To those who don't know the Lisbon Agenda is the EU's plan to make Europe the most competitive economy in the world by 2012. This includes taking action on job creation and job quality, productivity, research and technology, education and a whole raft of other things.
It's not working. In fact its fucked.
Before coming out here I didn't know why. It is a sound idea, on paper what has been said and promised looks feasible and achievable. So why doesn't it work? I can explain.
It's the Belgians fault.
Okay this may be a slight over-simplification but allow me to explain my reasoning. One example. In the UK you can access your account with your bank card on any cash machine in the UK, even if its a foreign card. In Belgium you can''t. This is just one small example of the problems.
Before the Easter bank holidays (that means Wednesday here, cause the EP staff takes Thursday off too, slackers, MEP staff had to work) we were going for a coffee after lunch in the EP. At the coffee shop we go to there are two bars to get a coffee, but because it was a day before the EP shuts one of them was shut causing massive ques at the other, which caused some people not to bother! WHAT THE HELL!!! Why shut one!?!?!? Its just STUPID!!!
Another example. The most efficient, practical and profit-driven of bars in Brussels tend to be the Irish ones. These you can expect the closest to good customer service you will get. Over the bank holidays (so Good Friday and Easter Monday) they refused to open until 5... They normally open at 12... Yes thats right when everyone is at WORK they open at 12 but when everyone is OFF WORK WANTING A PLACE TO GO they CLOSE!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! And thats the good ones, some normal bars didn't even open! And you can forget about doing anything on a Sunday, Brussels shuts down! If it wasn't for the damn Church bells going off from the damn Church I live on the same street as I would suspect that even they shut on Sundays!
Of course Belgium is not alone in these things... These problems of simple inefficiency are inherent in many EU countries, and if you think these small scale problems are bad the macro-economic ones are just as stupid and trivial but prevent alot of things getting done. As funny as it is to laugh at stupid sleepy Europeans these types of policies prevent job creation, economic growth and many other important developments. Its just stupid.
Okay political rant over. Next post will be about social stuff promise, and next week I'm going to Strasbourg so will tell you all about my week in Stras and France-that-was-Germany-that-was-France-that-was-Germany (oh dear now I'm doing history, I need a drink!) soon!
Friday 20 April 2007
Monday 16 April 2007
The sights of Brussels beyound Herrmann-Debroux...
Last week was abit of a edgy one, for astart I didn't get paid until Thursday and had about 15 Euros to live on until then. Work was great, with more compliments about the quality of my work off of the boss but the cash flow crisis really put a downer on things especially s it had been the Easter weekend. Things could of been worse however but then I won 25 Euros on England losing to Australia in the cricket by 7 wickets... A lack of patriotism proving useful yet again! To the sharp eyed amongst you yes I did win €25 and yes I did only have €15 to live on, but when you win a bet in the bar its only natural to buy yourself a drink or two...
The lack of funds made life particulary fun I can asure you, and most evenings for the week leading to Thursday were spent moaning about having no money with Arthur (Dutch housemate) who had also not been paid and who was also skint! Still when your poor the free things in life all of a sudden become more fun (well thats what I told myself!), like going to the park, where they have finally turned the fountains on, and the weather is great. Still as much fun as bonding over poverty with your housemates and the great outdoors is I was greatly relieved when I was paid! Besides that nature stuff is nasty, and I'm pretty sure too much Sunshine is a bad thing too!
Friday night saw a barbeque at my workmate Chris's house, this was great but things took a turn for the worse at about half ten when I get a text off my Irish mate Joe... 'Having a drink in the Joyce, fancy going clubbling in town?' Harmless enough you may think, just politely decline as your already pretty drunk and are having a nice time with your friends... 'Sure, still at BBQ just finish my drink then will join you. 30mins'
And that was my first mistake.
In my defence I was interested in going clubbing in the city centre as I hadn't been to any clubs in the city centre before. Secondly, well... I was already pretty drunk and it seemed like a good idea at the time! We left the Joyce at about 12 and got a taxi into town. Joe is new to Brussels too and so we just asked the Taxi driver for a good club where we could have a drink and dance... This translated into the drivers head as STRIPCLUB! When we realised where he had dropped us off we were not best pleased, especially as we only realised the error as we were asked for €60 to get in! We finally found a club and unfortunately I was in bad shape soon afterwards and recollection becomes hard...
Fast forward to 430am.
I'm pissed, wandering the streets of Brussels somewhere, where I don't know. I find a map on a Bus stop, I don't really recognise where I am but I see a Metro stop marked about a mile or so north of my position. It is called Herrmann-Debroux. That is the end of the line in the south-east of the city. That means I'm on the outskirts of the city, in fact the forrest to the south of the city is looming large on the map closer to me than the sodding Metro stop! HOW THE HELL HAVE I ENDED UP HERE!!! The club, I now know is slap bang in the city centre! I also now know I left the club at about half 2. So that means I must of tried to walk home and WALKED FOR TWO HOURS THE WRONG WAY!!! 'Shit'.
I spent the next two hours or so trying to walk back, but I didn't make much headway, in fact as I kept coming back to painfully familiar streets I was in fact walking in circles... Arthur tells me that people over a long period of time naturally walk in circles even when fully aware of their actions... I didn't stand a chance! At half 5 I decided that action was necessary and so when I saw two guys loading small packages into the boot of a car I decided to ask for help... I think the fact that I was clearly a pissed foreign idiot saved my bacon there, as looking back they were quite clearly two big nasty drug dealers... My broken french didn't work and when they replied in quite a hostile tone of voice I fell back on my tried and tested gallic shrug and walked off... By 7am it was daylight and I still hadn't even made it to Herrmann-Debroux, either it was further than I thought or I had really messed up! At the latest Bus stop after looking at the map I see on a little electronic notice board that the next Bus is going to the Bourse in 10 mins, 'Aha!' The Bourse is the stock exchange back in the centre of the city! Okay, its half an hour from my house but its a start! I sit at the bus stop and wait, I wake up just in time for the bus, a man is standing smiling at me as if I'm an idiot... okay I am but still! I finally got home at 8am, I hadn't been robbed, beaten up, injured or had anything else bad happen to me despite chatting to two unfriendly drug dealers... Either Brussels is the safest place on earth or else there is no justice in the world!
The lack of funds made life particulary fun I can asure you, and most evenings for the week leading to Thursday were spent moaning about having no money with Arthur (Dutch housemate) who had also not been paid and who was also skint! Still when your poor the free things in life all of a sudden become more fun (well thats what I told myself!), like going to the park, where they have finally turned the fountains on, and the weather is great. Still as much fun as bonding over poverty with your housemates and the great outdoors is I was greatly relieved when I was paid! Besides that nature stuff is nasty, and I'm pretty sure too much Sunshine is a bad thing too!
Friday night saw a barbeque at my workmate Chris's house, this was great but things took a turn for the worse at about half ten when I get a text off my Irish mate Joe... 'Having a drink in the Joyce, fancy going clubbling in town?' Harmless enough you may think, just politely decline as your already pretty drunk and are having a nice time with your friends... 'Sure, still at BBQ just finish my drink then will join you. 30mins'
And that was my first mistake.
In my defence I was interested in going clubbing in the city centre as I hadn't been to any clubs in the city centre before. Secondly, well... I was already pretty drunk and it seemed like a good idea at the time! We left the Joyce at about 12 and got a taxi into town. Joe is new to Brussels too and so we just asked the Taxi driver for a good club where we could have a drink and dance... This translated into the drivers head as STRIPCLUB! When we realised where he had dropped us off we were not best pleased, especially as we only realised the error as we were asked for €60 to get in! We finally found a club and unfortunately I was in bad shape soon afterwards and recollection becomes hard...
Fast forward to 430am.
I'm pissed, wandering the streets of Brussels somewhere, where I don't know. I find a map on a Bus stop, I don't really recognise where I am but I see a Metro stop marked about a mile or so north of my position. It is called Herrmann-Debroux. That is the end of the line in the south-east of the city. That means I'm on the outskirts of the city, in fact the forrest to the south of the city is looming large on the map closer to me than the sodding Metro stop! HOW THE HELL HAVE I ENDED UP HERE!!! The club, I now know is slap bang in the city centre! I also now know I left the club at about half 2. So that means I must of tried to walk home and WALKED FOR TWO HOURS THE WRONG WAY!!! 'Shit'.
I spent the next two hours or so trying to walk back, but I didn't make much headway, in fact as I kept coming back to painfully familiar streets I was in fact walking in circles... Arthur tells me that people over a long period of time naturally walk in circles even when fully aware of their actions... I didn't stand a chance! At half 5 I decided that action was necessary and so when I saw two guys loading small packages into the boot of a car I decided to ask for help... I think the fact that I was clearly a pissed foreign idiot saved my bacon there, as looking back they were quite clearly two big nasty drug dealers... My broken french didn't work and when they replied in quite a hostile tone of voice I fell back on my tried and tested gallic shrug and walked off... By 7am it was daylight and I still hadn't even made it to Herrmann-Debroux, either it was further than I thought or I had really messed up! At the latest Bus stop after looking at the map I see on a little electronic notice board that the next Bus is going to the Bourse in 10 mins, 'Aha!' The Bourse is the stock exchange back in the centre of the city! Okay, its half an hour from my house but its a start! I sit at the bus stop and wait, I wake up just in time for the bus, a man is standing smiling at me as if I'm an idiot... okay I am but still! I finally got home at 8am, I hadn't been robbed, beaten up, injured or had anything else bad happen to me despite chatting to two unfriendly drug dealers... Either Brussels is the safest place on earth or else there is no justice in the world!
Thursday 5 April 2007
Right, now its up-to-date so now I can ignore it again...
Not alot going on at the mo. I could tell you about my weekend in the UK but that defeats the object of this blog and I saw most of you there anyway (I assume the only people who will ever look at this blog are my friends/associates/enemies back home).
This week was a constituency week, meaning the Parliament is effectively closed and the MEPs all stay in their home countries, letting us catch up on work... okay letting us slack off whenever we want and spend all day updating our blogs!
Other than being shot down for the first time over here (we all knew it was going far too well on that score to last, I can almost hear the nods and the sighs of relief that normal order is back!) and then spending money that I don't have to get wankered 'cause of it last night, not much has happened.
Oh and I'm on Facebook now (George Sinnott not Synnott) so feel free to annoy me on there too!
Speak soon
This week was a constituency week, meaning the Parliament is effectively closed and the MEPs all stay in their home countries, letting us catch up on work... okay letting us slack off whenever we want and spend all day updating our blogs!
Other than being shot down for the first time over here (we all knew it was going far too well on that score to last, I can almost hear the nods and the sighs of relief that normal order is back!) and then spending money that I don't have to get wankered 'cause of it last night, not much has happened.
Oh and I'm on Facebook now (George Sinnott not Synnott) so feel free to annoy me on there too!
Speak soon
The problem with sharing your birthday with the EU...
The problem with sharing your birthday with the EU is that it is probably the only fifty year old which is statistically likely to outlive me... Depressing. Still not going to let that get in the way of getting ratted now am I! Besides, we all know that out of the EU, the Anniversary of the Slave Trade's abolition and my birthday that I AM THE MOST IMPORTANT!!!! Ahem, sorry about that.
The Friday before my birthday I was trying to sort out my finances on the phone to the bank. It was about five and the office was winding down with most people on the floor just killing time till Happy Hour at the Pullman on Place Lux.
'Hi I want to transfer some money into a Belgian bank account. Can you tell me how much this will cost?'
'Certainly, it will cost....'
I lost him at this point as the entirety of the EPLP assistants and stagiares poured into the office singing happy birthday.
'Sorry I'm going to have to call you back' as a chocolate birthday cake is handed over.
The bloody candles would't go out either. They were bloody sparklers or something and everytime one went out it would smoke and then relight, even when I put them out with my bloody fingers! So they were thrown out the window before the fire alarm went off. Still an hour of drinking cheap wine and a foul Hungarian spirit meant that I was already in fine fettle upon reaching the Pullman. The night quickly descended into messiness and at 11ish we crashed some guys house warming party for food then I wandered home with a girl who knew the way and of course we managed to find a bar on the way back too. This of course just set the tone for the weekend!
Brussels was buzzing all weekend and there was a huge free concert at the Atomium on Saturday night. I didn't really know any of the acts. It was mainly Europop with some aging German metal heads and a very depressing French singer. It was pretty fun though and a good introduction to European music. Some of the groups were even pretty good, including a Belgian band, really! Fifty thousand people were there and the Atomium was a great venue making a great backdrop and also a brilliant fireworks display.
The one annoying thing with the event were the bloody Belgian presenters! After every bloody act they hauled over the singer or band and bloody interviewed them! And because this is Belgian every answer and question was repeated and translated into five bloody languages! You'd think a country that speaks too many languages would focus on non-verbal stuff, especially at a sodding concert but oh nooo, that would be far too simple! Also the Flemish guy out of the two (the other being a French woman, I think that is always the way round as well...) was a complete clown and also seemed really bitter about the fact that one of the acts - a previous Belgian Eurovision act - hadn't won it. I wasn't surprised, she was shit.
After the concert I got off the metro at Schuman at about 1 and went in to my local for one. Five hours later I rolled out of there with Paulina - my Polish housemate - and staggered home... Jon the aussie barman had been plying me with shots 'for my birthday' and although I felt okay at the time the next morning I couldn't feel my legs!
After getting up at half three the logical thing to do would be to eat something and then go back to bed... So I went out and celebrated my momentous 22 years on the actual day and got abit pissed... Its okay I made it in to work the next day at half 8... besides pickled things last longer, take that EU!
The Friday before my birthday I was trying to sort out my finances on the phone to the bank. It was about five and the office was winding down with most people on the floor just killing time till Happy Hour at the Pullman on Place Lux.
'Hi I want to transfer some money into a Belgian bank account. Can you tell me how much this will cost?'
'Certainly, it will cost....'
I lost him at this point as the entirety of the EPLP assistants and stagiares poured into the office singing happy birthday.
'Sorry I'm going to have to call you back' as a chocolate birthday cake is handed over.
The bloody candles would't go out either. They were bloody sparklers or something and everytime one went out it would smoke and then relight, even when I put them out with my bloody fingers! So they were thrown out the window before the fire alarm went off. Still an hour of drinking cheap wine and a foul Hungarian spirit meant that I was already in fine fettle upon reaching the Pullman. The night quickly descended into messiness and at 11ish we crashed some guys house warming party for food then I wandered home with a girl who knew the way and of course we managed to find a bar on the way back too. This of course just set the tone for the weekend!
Brussels was buzzing all weekend and there was a huge free concert at the Atomium on Saturday night. I didn't really know any of the acts. It was mainly Europop with some aging German metal heads and a very depressing French singer. It was pretty fun though and a good introduction to European music. Some of the groups were even pretty good, including a Belgian band, really! Fifty thousand people were there and the Atomium was a great venue making a great backdrop and also a brilliant fireworks display.
The one annoying thing with the event were the bloody Belgian presenters! After every bloody act they hauled over the singer or band and bloody interviewed them! And because this is Belgian every answer and question was repeated and translated into five bloody languages! You'd think a country that speaks too many languages would focus on non-verbal stuff, especially at a sodding concert but oh nooo, that would be far too simple! Also the Flemish guy out of the two (the other being a French woman, I think that is always the way round as well...) was a complete clown and also seemed really bitter about the fact that one of the acts - a previous Belgian Eurovision act - hadn't won it. I wasn't surprised, she was shit.
After the concert I got off the metro at Schuman at about 1 and went in to my local for one. Five hours later I rolled out of there with Paulina - my Polish housemate - and staggered home... Jon the aussie barman had been plying me with shots 'for my birthday' and although I felt okay at the time the next morning I couldn't feel my legs!
After getting up at half three the logical thing to do would be to eat something and then go back to bed... So I went out and celebrated my momentous 22 years on the actual day and got abit pissed... Its okay I made it in to work the next day at half 8... besides pickled things last longer, take that EU!
Life so far...
Been sending out email updates on my adventures so far. See them below!
1) Bonjour from Brussels! 7/3/07
Hi all,
Just thought I'd finally get round to emailing you all, as I have a free few mins. I am intending to hopefully annoy you all with regular updates on my sordid adventures over here and some nutters among you have suggested I set up a blog but thats still wwork in progress!
For those of you who don't know, I recently started (as in last week) a short term job in Gary Titley MEP's office in Brussels. Sorry I didn't tell you all sooner but there was only a week between getting the job and coming over so I had little time! Suffice to say I'm thrilled and having a great time. Also if any of you ever fancy a weekend away feel free to visit!
Today sees me officially survive a whole week out here and its been great! The view from my office of the 13th floor of the Parliament is fantastic, and that pretty much sums up the week! The first three things I noticed about Brussels were dog poo (loads of it), Bars (very nice, and good beer!) and Pharmacies! There must be one on every street! Belgians are evidently hypercondriacs. I'm living in a classic European city house with three other 20-somethings, a Dutch guy and a German who have temporary jobs at NATO and a Polish girl who just finished one at the Committee of Social and Economic Affairs. The house is just off Square Ambiorix near Schuman and is a nice area with parks, shops and several Irish Pubs!
As for the job its fantastic. And I tell you this, anybody who tells you the European Parliament doesn't matter and has no power don't have a clue! The policy work done here daily is vastly important, and several times over the last few months the EP has brought the Commission and Council of Ministers crashing down. The place is great and I'm happy to be a part of it!
2) Blizzards and Booze-ups... 19/3/07
Hi all,
Bet you thought you were rid of me by now, well unlucky! How are you all? I'm very well, despite the freak blizzard that engulfed Brussels today! At one point you couldn't see out of the window it was so thick but now just as quick its all melted, weird, but apparently it happens quite regulary!?!?!?
Finally did some touristy stuff, visiting the Grand Place, the Cathedral and the Royal Palace and its Parks. The one problem with the Grand Place is it ain't that Grand! The buildings are great and ridiculously oppulent and sculpted but the actual square is tiny! Wind assisted I do believe you could spit the distance!
The Park was abit dishevelled too. I don't know why but all the fountains in the city have been allowed to go dry, its actually quite depressing when you look at them filled with skate-boarding scallies (true Belgian scallies are particularly comical. I think it would take about three of them to take on a scally from Stoke for example).
Last week the Parliament was having its monthly Plenary session in Strasbourg (which by the way is oppossed by basically every MEP but is only continued because the French Gov like to think Stras is the Capital of Europe, not Brussels, and they would veto any attempt to change it! Sign the petition at www.oneseat.eu) and so I was left in charge in Brussels, guarding the office! Of course, most of the action was going on in Stras. Despite this I still had plenty to do but also had time to get to know the other Stagiare's and generally have fun!
Obviously last weekend was a train wreck of a piss up - thank you very much St Patrick! But its true you know, wherever you are, Guinness tastes different...
1) Bonjour from Brussels! 7/3/07
Hi all,
Just thought I'd finally get round to emailing you all, as I have a free few mins. I am intending to hopefully annoy you all with regular updates on my sordid adventures over here and some nutters among you have suggested I set up a blog but thats still wwork in progress!
For those of you who don't know, I recently started (as in last week) a short term job in Gary Titley MEP's office in Brussels. Sorry I didn't tell you all sooner but there was only a week between getting the job and coming over so I had little time! Suffice to say I'm thrilled and having a great time. Also if any of you ever fancy a weekend away feel free to visit!
Today sees me officially survive a whole week out here and its been great! The view from my office of the 13th floor of the Parliament is fantastic, and that pretty much sums up the week! The first three things I noticed about Brussels were dog poo (loads of it), Bars (very nice, and good beer!) and Pharmacies! There must be one on every street! Belgians are evidently hypercondriacs. I'm living in a classic European city house with three other 20-somethings, a Dutch guy and a German who have temporary jobs at NATO and a Polish girl who just finished one at the Committee of Social and Economic Affairs. The house is just off Square Ambiorix near Schuman and is a nice area with parks, shops and several Irish Pubs!
As for the job its fantastic. And I tell you this, anybody who tells you the European Parliament doesn't matter and has no power don't have a clue! The policy work done here daily is vastly important, and several times over the last few months the EP has brought the Commission and Council of Ministers crashing down. The place is great and I'm happy to be a part of it!
2) Blizzards and Booze-ups... 19/3/07
Hi all,
Bet you thought you were rid of me by now, well unlucky! How are you all? I'm very well, despite the freak blizzard that engulfed Brussels today! At one point you couldn't see out of the window it was so thick but now just as quick its all melted, weird, but apparently it happens quite regulary!?!?!?
Finally did some touristy stuff, visiting the Grand Place, the Cathedral and the Royal Palace and its Parks. The one problem with the Grand Place is it ain't that Grand! The buildings are great and ridiculously oppulent and sculpted but the actual square is tiny! Wind assisted I do believe you could spit the distance!
The Park was abit dishevelled too. I don't know why but all the fountains in the city have been allowed to go dry, its actually quite depressing when you look at them filled with skate-boarding scallies (true Belgian scallies are particularly comical. I think it would take about three of them to take on a scally from Stoke for example).
Last week the Parliament was having its monthly Plenary session in Strasbourg (which by the way is oppossed by basically every MEP but is only continued because the French Gov like to think Stras is the Capital of Europe, not Brussels, and they would veto any attempt to change it! Sign the petition at www.oneseat.eu) and so I was left in charge in Brussels, guarding the office! Of course, most of the action was going on in Stras. Despite this I still had plenty to do but also had time to get to know the other Stagiare's and generally have fun!
Obviously last weekend was a train wreck of a piss up - thank you very much St Patrick! But its true you know, wherever you are, Guinness tastes different...
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