Michael Harling's Blog, page 28
November 27, 2014
Learning to Love Again
This flat had a lot to live up to: we weren’t exactly chuffed to be moving in the first place and the flat we left behind held a special place in our hearts. Still, I hoped our inaugural days here might have been filled with the excitement of discovery and the heady promise of a budding relationship. But instead of greeting us like a new lover—giddy and eager to please—the flat remain coy, distant and reluctant to commit.
Our old flat was solid and dependable and we loved its anachronistic qui...
Our old flat was solid and dependable and we loved its anachronistic qui...
November 13, 2014
FATCA Explained
Unless you are a tax lawyer or involved in the expat community, there is little reason for you to have heard of FATA. Yet.
FATCA, at its heart, is a law designed to make people obey a law that is already in place. In my view, a reasonable response to this situation would be to concentrate on finding the offenders and prosecuting them.
Instead, the US Government decided to hunt chipmunks with a howitzer.
FATCA is so monumentally ill-conceived that it is difficult to pick just one of its potential...
FATCA, at its heart, is a law designed to make people obey a law that is already in place. In my view, a reasonable response to this situation would be to concentrate on finding the offenders and prosecuting them.
Instead, the US Government decided to hunt chipmunks with a howitzer.
FATCA is so monumentally ill-conceived that it is difficult to pick just one of its potential...
November 8, 2014
If I Could Turn Back Time
I just spent the better part of three days taking photographs of notebook pages so I can store them “digitally” on my computer.
This, naturally, is to do with The Move.
(ASIDE: I realize many of you will be thinking, “Hasn’t he moved yet?” The answer is, No; the move is still eight days away. That’s what I get for announcing our move six weeks before the fact.)
We’re determined to use this as an opportunity to de-clutter, which means ruthlessly ridding our flat of things we don’t actually need—...
This, naturally, is to do with The Move.
(ASIDE: I realize many of you will be thinking, “Hasn’t he moved yet?” The answer is, No; the move is still eight days away. That’s what I get for announcing our move six weeks before the fact.)
We’re determined to use this as an opportunity to de-clutter, which means ruthlessly ridding our flat of things we don’t actually need—...
November 5, 2014
America the Beautiful
America is such a vast place that, on any given day of the year, it is a good bet that you can find a world-class beauty spot somewhere. During the early weeks of October, however, that spot is definitely New England, and I would be remiss in not exclaiming (again) just how beautiful it is.
Purdy, innit?Our trip this year was fabulous and, despite my annual carping about the border crossings, fairly relaxing. The weather—traditionally agreeable in early autumn—was especially stunning, with sun...
Purdy, innit?Our trip this year was fabulous and, despite my annual carping about the border crossings, fairly relaxing. The weather—traditionally agreeable in early autumn—was especially stunning, with sun...
October 29, 2014
America the Border-full
Date: 22 Oct 2014 Location: 36000 feet, somewhere over the Irish Sea
I apologize for the tortured pun in the title, but it's been a long flight and I'm a bit muzzy-headed.
Our trip to America was very nice. The biggest problem with it—and the reason I dread going every year—is that it is book-ended with the need to cross the US border. In years past, this has caused no end of aggravation and angst.
My feelings about this can be summed up by something I wrote on the outbound trip:
As far as air tr...
I apologize for the tortured pun in the title, but it's been a long flight and I'm a bit muzzy-headed.
Our trip to America was very nice. The biggest problem with it—and the reason I dread going every year—is that it is book-ended with the need to cross the US border. In years past, this has caused no end of aggravation and angst.
My feelings about this can be summed up by something I wrote on the outbound trip:
As far as air tr...
October 25, 2014
America the Bountiful
LOCATION: 38,000 feet; east bound, somewhere over the North Atlantic
Yup, another US holiday under my belt—literally.
This visit was something of a revelation: apparently, what has been missing from my life is people telling me I’m fat. If just one more person references my girth it will have been the perfect vacation…oh, wait…the winged waitress just told me to fasten my seatbelt so my fat stomach doesn’t jiggle all over the people sitting next to me. Okay, she didn’t actually say it, but I co...
Yup, another US holiday under my belt—literally.
This visit was something of a revelation: apparently, what has been missing from my life is people telling me I’m fat. If just one more person references my girth it will have been the perfect vacation…oh, wait…the winged waitress just told me to fasten my seatbelt so my fat stomach doesn’t jiggle all over the people sitting next to me. Okay, she didn’t actually say it, but I co...
September 3, 2014
Against All Odds
We didn’t exactly make our quest for a new flat stretch out as long as four seasons of Downton Abbey, did we? And that’s a shame, because I was anticipating a months-long odyssey that would give me something to write about for a change—even if it was just apartment hunting—but then we went and found a flat.
Chronology:7PM Thursday: Learn of random evictions by new landlord8PM Thursday: Start looking for flats11AM Friday: Make appointments to view flats9:30 AM Saturday: Take the first flat we s...
Chronology:7PM Thursday: Learn of random evictions by new landlord8PM Thursday: Start looking for flats11AM Friday: Make appointments to view flats9:30 AM Saturday: Take the first flat we s...
August 30, 2014
Pulling Up Stakes
The next time you are feeling snug and secure in your life, think of this:
Somewhere, in some anonymous city, in a beige office, wearing an off-the-rack grey suit with a red tie, sits a middle aged man, staring at a spreadsheet on a computer screen. He is making tick marks on the spreadsheet and watching The Bottom Line.
He’s feeling a little low this morning due to a party he and his wife attended the previous evening. It’s not that he’s hung-over, but the way his wife and Gary kept chatting i...
Somewhere, in some anonymous city, in a beige office, wearing an off-the-rack grey suit with a red tie, sits a middle aged man, staring at a spreadsheet on a computer screen. He is making tick marks on the spreadsheet and watching The Bottom Line.
He’s feeling a little low this morning due to a party he and his wife attended the previous evening. It’s not that he’s hung-over, but the way his wife and Gary kept chatting i...
August 21, 2014
Taking the Challenge
Yup, I caved. And pretty quickly, too. I first heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge only a few days ago.
My daughter-in-law posted a video on FaceBook of her getting drenched by a bucket of ice-water and I was, naturally, mystified. After that, I kept seeing more and more of the same sort of video so I finally looked up ALS and found out it’s what we in Blighty call Motor Neuron Disease. And, yeah, it’s a horrible thing, well worthy of every penny (or pence) you can donate to it.
But despite...
My daughter-in-law posted a video on FaceBook of her getting drenched by a bucket of ice-water and I was, naturally, mystified. After that, I kept seeing more and more of the same sort of video so I finally looked up ALS and found out it’s what we in Blighty call Motor Neuron Disease. And, yeah, it’s a horrible thing, well worthy of every penny (or pence) you can donate to it.
But despite...
July 1, 2014
Now They Tell Me
Yesterday, after 12 years and four months on this island, I discovered they don’t have canned corn beef hash here. I wish someone had told me about this sooner.
I’m not saying it would have been a deal-breaker, but it might have encouraged me to come better prepared (perhaps instead of eight bags of Halls Mentho-lyptus cough drops, I might have brought only four and two cans of Hormel). That way, I could have been prepared and I wouldn’t be feeling the way I am feeling at the moment.
This all c...
I’m not saying it would have been a deal-breaker, but it might have encouraged me to come better prepared (perhaps instead of eight bags of Halls Mentho-lyptus cough drops, I might have brought only four and two cans of Hormel). That way, I could have been prepared and I wouldn’t be feeling the way I am feeling at the moment.
This all c...
