Recently in Philosophical Category

Ok, I'm going to try and disable anonymous comments for a while to see if that cuts down on the spam comments.  May the spammers spend eternity having to read and listen to their crap.  If there's one constant online these days, it's spam.

It's not the greatest introduction to this post, but it will work.  After a good 3+ months in Oslo, life is taking on a modicum of normality.  Aside from everyone speaking a foreign language, life is pretty much the same as anywhere else.  --I go to work, I go to the gym, and all the other daily routines I would have anywhere else.

I am looking forward to winter, though.  After 5 years in areas with more moderate winters, I am actually eager to experience a cold season again.  Of course, we'll see if I still think so in January!

I suppose it's the normality that makes it a bit harder to actually compose the posts for this blog.  I need to buckle down and finish the posts I've started!

If you are currently abroad, or planning on moving abroad soon, what would you do if a family member passed away while you're living outside of the country?  Do you have plans, and a contingency fund with enough money to fly home at short notice if necessary?

I ask this because my Grandmother passed away on Sunday morning.  Luckily, I saw her a week before at my brother's wedding, and she was doing fine then, except for a fall she had recently.  Nobody expected this.  --After a mild heart attack on Saturday, she was stable and they were planning on using a catheter to try and clear any blocks on Sunday morning.  Unfortunately, during the night, she took a turn for the worse, and they weren't able to keep her alive long enough for us to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to the hospital.

I'm not sure just how much you can plan for something like this, to be honest.  But such an event is one that you have to consider, especially if you have aging relatives.  I can't tell you how to deal with loss, but I can make some suggestions on how you can be ready to deal with something like this:

1.  Keep in touch with family regularly.  No, you don't necessarily have to call everyone once a week.  But once a month would probably be a good idea.
2.  Have a contingency fund ready with enough money for a roundtrip ticket purchased at the last minute.  I realize this can be hard to calculate, but you can expect to need at least $2000, and realistically, $4000 would be a better number to have in your savings account.
3.  Try not to dwell on this possibility.  Remember, this isn't something that you expect to happen, and you don't need to worry yourself sick over this, but rather acknowledge as a possibility.

Maybe this is a useful post for people, and maybe it isn't.  I don't want to make people think they shouldn't live abroad because of this risk.  I just don't want you to forget that it's something you may have to deal with.

Moving overseas can turn your life upside down.  Usually this is a good thing, but it can easily introduce negatives.  Before I moved overseas, I was doing a good job of working out regularly. That good habit, however, was lost immediately when I moved to London.  In my defense, living in London while earning an American wage left me with little money to pay for a gym membership.  This, of course, resulted in me gaining back a lot (OK, most) of the weight I had previously lost.

I'm headed for the bus stop, on my way home for the night.  It's closing in on half twelve...  It'll be Friday soon.  At the bus stop, I look up.  The rain - more of a mist, really, is slowly coming down, and reflecting the light.  It's not really dark, of course - it never is in London.  The streetlights shine, and all the lights of the city reflect off the clouds, creating a soft glow.  Cars drive up and down the street, but I don't really hear them since I have my headphones on.  The night, the mist, the buildings create the mood.  It happens once in a while: I get this feeling of awe and amazement; a fluttering in my chest, a feeling of energy.  I'm living in London.  LONDON.  Never mind that I've been here over a year.  I'm thousands of miles from where I grew up, with an ocean between us.  But I'm here, and it's amazing.

The rain starts to pick up, and the temperature feels like it's dropping.  A couple of people hail cabs rather than wait any longer.  The ubiquitous black cabs - not the only ones you see on the street these days - but the ones that scream London stop and pick them up.  It's raining harder now, and the atmosphere is changed.  The awe slowly fades, and I wonder: where's the damn bus?