Quiet Lately

I have been rather quiet lately. Work is dominating my life, but I really can't/shouldn't go into much detail. There are many deals and projects under development, and you never know who reads these sorts of things. I don't want to make my job sound like it is particularly important, but I really need to respect the principle of things here. I can comment on the peripheral issues, like spending hours in meeting where everyone speaks only Norwegian, or that fact that having a cell phone as my office phone poses interesting issues. I was at the gym last week when an important work call came in. I had to wing it without my notes, but apparently they liked what they heard and want to do business with us. Friday I received a call from the US well into the evening, since there is quite a time difference. Other than that, I think I am very suited to the job. Everyone is so nice at work, and there seems to be no strange office politics.

I haven't been biking since New Year's Day. I need to fix my cog. Last week was too icy. I did make it to the gym. I was very sore- definitely am out of form for a gym workout. I need to get back there.

The other issue we have been struggling with is the car situation. We are probably picking up a used 5-series BMW early this week. It was imported from Germany, so it has a bit more muscle than most Norwegian cars. In many repects, it seems quite extravagent. But it cost about the same or less as a comparable Ford Mondeo or Toyota Avensis or VW Passat. We really want a station wagon. We had a Matrix back in Minneapolis, and found it to be very versatile. We wanted something a little larger than a Corolla- the Matrix counterpart in Norway. We are sort of planning ahead, and think we will need more car for a variety of reasons. We were already prepared for sticker shock in Norway, and for whatever reasons, a BMW has less mark-up than other cars. This thing is quite loaded- even has a sunroof, parking sensors, leather, pretty much everything we wanted- and was a manual. Most larger cars are now selling with automatics, something neither of us wants.

On one hand, we are a little concerned about what other people will think. We really are not buying this to make a statement. Rather the price was right for the type of vehicle we need. German cars are plentiful here. Actually, most cars are European, with a Japanese cars filling in the rest of the brands. Even the Fords here are made in Germany. There are all sorts of Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, VWs, and Opels. For a representation of the brand distribution, check out finn.no. Mercedes are the number two used cars on the market. French cars are also well represented with Peugeots, Citreons, and Renaults. Of course there are Volvos and a few Saabs. There are cheap Russian Skodas that are a little scary. All the Japanese badges are represented, although they usually have different model names, and are more likely to have a 1.4L engine rather than a 1.8L displacement. Many cars are so tiny they just don't feel safe to drive, and they don't seem to handle well at speed. The BMW felt very solid. It didn't occur to me until after we signed the paperwork that it is a rear-wheel drive vehicle- I think. It does come with an extra set of snow tires already mounted, and a set of summer tires on BMW rims in storage. It has traction control, so I don't think it should be a problem having rear wheel drive. Besides, it almost never snows here. Still, we have a huge hill to climb to make it home.

The other issue is that we will only have one car. Our car expenses will be considerably less than in the US, where we had two cars. Insurance is very cheap here, and interest rates are almost non-existent- even for used cars. People here tend to treat vehicles as investments. They are better cared for and most people own them longer. It isn't strange to see cars over ten years old that are still in like-new condition. If we are going to own a car for a long time, we might as well buy something nice, as well as practical. I guess with all these words, I am trying to say we really aren't BMW people. It just seemed like a good deal.