Afy

Its pricey considering my favourite is Beaujolis Noveau from Georges Doubcef...difficult typing with a bottle in you :)   I should get some for my FIL though...

Getting a work permit... is very very difficult. An overwhelming majority of the companies will not do so. If you did get married... that changes things and gives you the right to work without  a work permit. But do you want to get married for a work permit alone? Alternatively a work permit can only be sponsored post a CDI contract. Making the equivalent of what you're making in SA is possible but difficult. You have a degree in Computers... hone your skills on hot technologies and go free lance contracting. Money is good, travel is brutal. But you do need work authroisation either a Work Permit (neigh impossible without native level language skills or the ability to turn base metal to gold) or via marraige. No one said it was easy. Now getting married isnt easy either... you need your birth certificate notarised and submitted to the Marie via the French Embassy. From personal experience I can tell you they certainly wont make the process any easier. Budget a year for the embassy to endorse your certificate... it took me 1.5 years but then I am Indian. :) It might actually be easier to move to say the US. Evaluate why you actually want to move to France. Relationships do die. I personally dont think the move to France was the wisest thing I have done... but then that is me.   Good luck either way..  

Yes tea will be served at the end of the countdown...

Yes you can if you have a Cat 1 permit. I just ordered one...

Sounds like a plan...

Stealing bandwidth and or personal information off the internet is actually a fair bit simpler than most people believe. Especially in places like the UK or US which lay a heavy emphasis on credit rating etc. I sometimes do work for banks around risk assesment so do know what is involved. Should anyone want more information, please feel free to email me and I would be more than happy to advise you, though it might not be what you want to hear.

100% pure Beeswax? Where on earth can one get this without actually finding a bee keeper?

Lori yes that is a small ray of sunshine. Wife has started shooting as well... she is enjoying it. Surprised the hell out of me...   Anyhow the paper targets are running really scared now... :)

You could also buy a 9mm Glock 17 with a suppressor if you so wanted... along with 1000 rounds of subsonic ammo if you wanted... Personally I like the gun laws in France

And since they had an emergency when we were five miles away and had to cancel... we ended up going to a Quick for lunch.. and next to the Quick was a Tir shop. So now in addition to my pair of 1858 Remington new Army's I have a 1860 Colt Army and a 1848 Colt Walker all of which are in 44 caliber. (Makes logistics easier). And from there we drove straight to the range where I live. (100+kms from Auxere).   The Walker is literally a blast. The Remmington and Colt typically shoot about 24 - 30 grains of Poudre Noir. the Walker uses 60... The Paper targets were devestated... :)   Anyone shooting black powder... would definetely reccomend trying the walker at full load. What an absolute blast...

I couple that worked at the same company as me... moved here from Australia 4 years ago. And this January decided enough is enough and have moved back. Between them they made a very decent salary. Certainly more than double of most people I know including my self... keep in mind that a lot of people who do move here end up moving back inside of 5 years. 

You have a PM :)

Do you also deal in black powder guns? If so do you sell spare nipples and cylinders for Remington 1858's

Wife says no male dogs... :(:( I guess I am bad enough. Sorry about this...

Do you ahve more information on Nelson? Temprament? Is he chipped/Neutered?  

As a final bit.... sat down with the wife and told her quite clearly I cant fight a war on two fronts. Namely work and her... and something has to give. So now we have decided to give our marraige another try, no tantrums no fuss nothing. I will be parting ways from my slave driving company and looking for alternative work. Failing which... "we" will move back, since I can pretty much make the same amount of money in hand (post tax) as here and we can actually affoard a hugely superior lifestyle albiet with a few problems. Plus we can easily get more dogs... :) However should I need to move back... we would need to ship the dog and cat... amongst other things. But it would be worth it ... :) So yes the year is starting out positively and hopefully the wife and I can have a happy 07... I do hugely appreciate the amount of support and advise and support everyone has extended.   Wishing all of you a great 07...   Cheers Afy

Yes that is her...

[IMG]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Afy07/Arrival.jpg[/IMG] At Frankfurt Airport... the walking Skeleton in June 06   On her couch with my nephew...in August [IMG]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Afy07/_1LailainAug.jpg[/IMG]  

Thanks for the wishes. Either way I dont think or rather do know... she will drain me of every last penny. So it is easier to start from scratch. Less painful for everyone involved. I know I am not thinking straight, and also know I wont be able to think straight until I get out of this situation. Something's got to give I guess.

Counsellors wont work because I am never there, and dont even speak French. I am not even angry any longer, just trying to figure out what the hell this woman wants from me. We have two bank accounts, one for my travel expenses and the other for my salary. I dont even have a bank card for the salary account. I dont ask her for any money from the account, never question what she buys. Everything has to be her way or I am being selfish. And ofcourse I can never be right, and everything is my fault. To the point when I am home, I even cook my own food simply because I will never get anything that I might want to eat otherwise.. Admittedly she does do the laundry and the ironing when she feels like it. (We do have a washer and a dryer though... so she doesnt have to do it by hand). But a laundry service might actually be cheaper for me in the long run. I am at a complete loss at what I can do other than leave.

I have about had it with the French experiment. My wife is now threatening to file a complaint of Domestic Violence with the Gendamarie because I want her to face up to the fact that our marraige is in the dumps. And no I do not threaten or use violence of any sort. Yes when I am angry I can and do raise my voice. I am about ready to just pack my bag and move leaving her and everything behind. As far as I go she can have the bank accounts, the mortgage, the jewellery, the dog, the cat, the car, and the country. My life really does suck...

So do I get a Green Card or what?

Nah got back a day early due to the fog situation and flights being cancelled...   The cat seems fine... climbs all over us given half a chance... Will alllow the dog within siz inches of him as long as there is a human inbetween, not perturbed by the dog too much. The dog is more inertested in the cat than the other way around. Hissed at the dane a couple of times ... who was more than a little taken aback... since she is just a huge baby... I guess time is what it will take.    

I returned home this evening after almost 4 weeks... and find a cat in the house. Wifey says was waiting for her outside..and starving. Have checked in the village et al ... no one is missing one. Well seems fairly young... But the issue is that the cat is evidently house borken et al... probably abandoned... Laila (our great dane) has no experinece with cats... she (laila) gets along just fine with the in-laws newfoundland... no idea how to proceed. The cat currently lives downstairs in the laundry... office area (heated... not the basement) While Laila is in the main upstairs area... the cat is sitting on my lap as I type this. We are going to take the cat to the vet...post christmas to see if it is chipped... and probably have him neutered, vaccinated etc. But in the event that we do keep the cat (very likely) I do want the doggah and kittah to be friends... no idea of how to achieve that.... All advice is appreciated....

today the situation seems good. Visibility is a couple of KM so should be ok. Hope it holds....