UK, Ireland / Applying for Polish citizenship; problem with old style UK birth certificates [7]

by the time I finished reading this, the voices in my head were saying "computer system" and "what idiot designed the database"

In the old days - with everything hand-written in books - there was at least room for manoeuvre. Now, once some dork of a designer decides "oh, yes, we'll make /this/, /this/ and /this/ to be the key fields", there's often nothing the poor users of the system can do.

A few years ago now I was sitting at my desk at work one day and overheard the senior designer talking to the database designer ... one of them announced happily "and of course PESEL will be the primary key". They were designing an HRMS system - round a database - and this design decision would have meant that every person entered into it would need a PESEL. I fought the urge to say nothing but had to pipe up with "I don't have a PESEL" (despite being at work and paying taxes). That stunned them - they couldn't imagine someone /not/ having a PESEL. Actually, during my treatment at a local hospital around that time they had to make up a PESEL for me ... one that wasn't 'real' but which still got through the field validation on the data entry screens...

In this case someone has probably designed an unholy mismash of data entry validation based on recent birth certificates and some polish-bureaucracy-based understanding of "how things are"

UK, Ireland / Applying for Polish citizenship; problem with old style UK birth certificates [7]

this o.f. says "thanks for the warning".
yet another reason to say "no" to the whole idea ...

Study / School in Poland - "hellish torture? [20]

do you mean US-school or UK-school ?

Life / TESCO SUPERMARKETS IN POLAND. Where are they? [15]

There are 2 Tescos in Trojmiasto -- both just off the ring-road.

Life / Minisurvey about living in Tricity (Sopot, Gdynia, Gdansk) [26]

Trixity -
I'm settled'ish. Been away too long from Ireland to return, but would love to go back to Vancouver.
Still no way fluent in Polish - long story.
Re jobs, I've sent you half an email
cjj
(and I'm sure my brain said "WEST from Sopot ...")

Life / Minisurvey about living in Tricity (Sopot, Gdynia, Gdansk) [26]

Where exactly are you living? : not far from Bojano (head east from Sopot)
What's your background? : Irish female
What brings you here? : Mr cjj is Polish
Are you working and if so in what sector? : IT
How long have you been here for and how long are you planning to stay? : since 2000, settled here
What do you like the most and like the least about living in the Tricity area? : My answer to that mainly depends on the weather... (living in the countryside focusses your mind a bit on that)

/cjj

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]

trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/news.php?id_news=35435
Is this the same cemetary - (the first one covered in the article)? My Polish really isn't good enough to pick out full details but maybe someone with decent language skills could comment.

Life / Surgery in Poland (varicose veins)...anyone with experience/advice? [18]

Clinic surgeon said no to the foam scl. At least one of the veins is very wide so that technique was unsuitable. They will be stripped out - tried and tested technique.

Surgeon says he has a cancellation this weekend so at the moment we're aiming for that.
I've no clear idea of costs because we've gone through medicover -- costs then get a little fuzzier as do waiting lists. Plus, this is Mr cjj we're talking about so my info. is second hand and we haven't discussed the $s (yet).

Procedure done on Saturday, victim up and walking around the next day - can go back to sedentary job on Monday (with some care about how the leg is kept elevated etc during the working day) ...

Anyone had any dealings with clinics in Sopot? I saw one in the Gdansk 'free' newspaper last week (Metro) - forgot to note either the name or any contact number ... rather surprised to see it in the small ads.

cjj

Life / Surgery in Poland (varicose veins)...anyone with experience/advice? [18]

Macduff !
You mean vein surgery ? or any surgery at all? We're in Trojmiasto too so quite interested in your reply :)

Update: serious thought is being given to Foam Sclerotherapy ... Some "clinic in Gdansk" is being visited this evening to chat about the procedure.

I'd be interested to hear any practical experiences - as usual the internet supplies a wide range of opinion on the subject :)

/cjj

Life / Surgery in Poland (varicose veins)...anyone with experience/advice? [18]

and ripping them out still takes weeks in bed? (or am I mis-remembering 1970s NHS ?)

Life / Surgery in Poland (varicose veins)...anyone with experience/advice? [18]

My husband is wondering about starting this whole process :) He's been for a medical opinion so is now waiting to hear about options ...

Work / Job opportunities in Poland for a foreigner? (other than a teacher) [175]

and I'm currently looking for a software engineer (maybe >1) - C++ background (or C at a pinch), ability to work in a team, multi-threading/embedded experience welcome but not essential. the post is full-time and in Gdansk. if anyone is interested, please pm me.

(the "ability to communicate" is a must -- "in English" as the extension)

Language / How do little children know that they should say "mamo" rather than "mama"? [23]

it's not the mamo that gets me, it's referring to grandparents in 3rd p.singular that I find bizarre. "would granny like a biscuit?" when referring directly to said granny is a step too complicated for me

Work / 5 months looking for a job in PL and nothing! suggestions? [22]

I'm in the software industry and to be honest I've found it tough here. I came from Vancouver where staff turnover is high and companies are constantly expecting to hire people with experience, into senior positions. Here, it so often seems that these senior positions are sourced internally -- or at least without the rigourous impartiality that I was used to in larger western companies. I've managed to get back to Team Lead level (where I was umpty years ago in the West) but it hasn't been an obvious journey.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


Maka kukurydziana can indeed be found everywhere. In my experience the direct name translation doesn't provide a product with the properties I'm looking for.


As I said - in the past 8 years.


I'm comparing with Vancouver. One-stop shopping removes a lot of hassle.

------------

Marmalade. Marks&Spencer have a small food hall in Warsaw and stock both sweet and bitter marmalades.

Tumble driers - they've appeared, and are a more useful size than the average UK ones - but I can't find anti-static sheets (I brought a supply from the UK instead)

Family Packs. I haven't had much luck with this. Things still seem to be packaged for single use events. For example, if you want to make custard, the pouch does for half a litre of milk ... Not life-threatening but curiously irritating.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

random thoughts - we moved to Gdansk from Vancouver.

Our North American microwave works on a stepdown transformer - but the frequency is different (unchanged by the tranformer) so the clock and power etc are a little crazy.

The washing machine ... well, it was a German one imported to Canada so has a North American motor: we had to get a special transformer for that as the 110 was coming across differently than expected pins.

I still can't find cornstarch (what the Brits call cornflour) - the locals use potato flour which creates a totally different effect. I give up.

There is still a lot of MSG in foods / spices here. Obviously not if you get the basic spice, but anything that is a 'mix', it does not harm to check the skladniki list.

Toys. Over-priced imho. The selection and price have improved somewhat in the 8 years we've been here, but there is still a lot of cr8p - stuff that would probably not hit the shelves in the US/UK. The small toys are the devil as you often have to ask for each item you want to look at (while being sternly observed by the bored assistant). I miss Toys'R'Us. The super/hypermarkets are pushing through some choice though.

Brown sugar has appeared (in the 'Real' chain, at least) in the past 8 years, and I've just managed to source treacle (molasses) and golden syrup - in a "Kuchnie Świata" that someone mentioned earlier.

Bookstores I miss the most - the ability to wander in on a whim, or even to pick up a child's book ... I was in Empik in Gdynia yesterday and had to forage for the foreign language bookshelf.

Films are obviously dubbed for kids, but at least the ones for adults are subtitled.

Fresh milk - pasteurized, homoginized is slowly coming in. However, I've stopped buying it at my one-stop supermarket as some dorks down the supply chain haven't twigged on that it needs constant refrigeration ...

cheese is European :) If you want Cheddar, Red Leicester, etc you will find it hiding for its life in between the gruyere and the boiled goats cheese.

I miss Esquires ... (and my big-squishy-sofa-with-magazine-and-coffee fix)

Travel / Driving In Poland ( scooters ) [11]

You know Poland - you've been there. The drivers are crazy and drive too fast, the roads are full of pot-holes/broken edges, there are a lot of container trucks barrelling along on what feel like B roads from the UK ... and into the mix you have a scooter puttering along on something that goes 40 km/h at max. If it's city driving /shrug/ at least you have more chance of survival -- but on the country roads (my experience is from round Gdansk) it's not unusual to hit pot-holes that a car bounces through (or swerves past) but which leave a scooter rider with little choice between the middle of the road and the ditch. Plus, the long lines of vehicles that build up behind these putters -- the drivers do crazy things to get past ...

I know I sound rude - but the whole idea scares the **** out of me. It seems much better to wait until you can get a motorbike with a decent engine and have your own place on the road. A young boy was killed a few weeks ago near here - car didn't quite get finished overtaking him before it had to swerve back towards the kerb to miss the oncoming vehicle ... the driver just didn't choose to hit his metal box off the other one and instead chose to bounce off an unprotected body.

fwiw the actual test is quite simple though I've no idea about the bureaucracy to take it as a non-resident.

/cjj

Travel / Driving In Poland ( scooters ) [11]

it will probably take you longer to get the licence than to die on the roads afterwards. I've seen the way cars treat them - I pass the road-side memorials every day.

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]


Hi

Bretow - change the e to an ę and then decline the word so the ending changes and you get
"Cmentarz w Brętowie" ? Bretow Cemetery?

See this link - it mentions the "Herz Jesu" Church that you were talking about earlier

rzygacz.webd.pl/index.php?id=25,169,0,0,1,0

but also says "Cmentarz funkcjonował do 1946 r. " (closed in 1946)

My Polish isn't good enough to read this through today but maybe it's a step in the right direction.

/cjj

Travel / Help with travel to Gdansk [30]

All that's left is the undoubtedly therapeutic approach - smile sweetly and rip them apart in fluent English before walking out.

USA, Canada / WHAT'S THE CANADIAN HEALTH SERVICE REALLY LIKE? [15]

I used it in Vancouver over 10 years ago - mostly for pregnancy and childbirth. It was ok - felt more "proactive" than here in Poland. Some focussed efforts (at least in BC) to educate for health.

I also remember some lonnnnnng waits in crowded Hospital emergency waiting rooms - but I guess that's univeral.

The maternity hospital was worlds away from the one here in Poland - in terms of equipment and attitude. However, the surgeon who sewed me up ... well, his handiwork wasn't praised by the one who had to slice and dice through it 6 years later.

I've no idea of other provinces. (I do remember if you moved from one province to another there was a lag period before you could use their services. Similarly, as landed immigrants, we had to insure ourselves for ... the first 3 months was it? ..)

My main gripe was that you couldn't pay to have a procedure done privately. I like choice. Sometimes I can't afford it (like everything else in life) but that's a different issue (for me).

I also didn't know anyone who went south ...

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]

tatt2dmoon

danzig-online.pl/dziel/wrzeszcz.html

Down the list you can see old photos of
Kościół katolicki Najświętszego Serca Jezusa (Herz-Jesu-Kirche) przy ul. ks. Zator-Przytockiego (Schwarzerweg).

The cemetary - I'd need a recent name for it. However I'm off on vacation now for 2 weeks - totally cut off from technology (I hope) [[ if anyone else can find out what it's called now then I can see what's left. ]]

Every year on All Saint's Day people go out and put candles on family graves - and on any that look dark and lost. So at least once a year someone will spare a moment for any graves that have lost their family to other countries.

and now ... off to see what other crises have developed (my car broke down yesterday :) that's what comes of driving a clunker)

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]

Does he have memories of other areas ? I don't mind taking more of other places round about Wrzeszcz if you want them (and don't mind a random time lag while I get in gear). I work on ul Matejki which isn't at all far away.

cjj_unlogged

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]

You're very welcome - I hope your dad likes them.

Perhaps in time Google's Street View will get to Wrzeszcz - that would be much more fun.

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]

picasaweb.google.com/wrzeszcz2009/Lelewela

Freshly taken - around 6pm this evening. I never did promise *quality* photography, did I ? :) I'm very much a point'n'shoot type.

I resampled them to 8x6in - to make them easier for me to upload. If you want the full-blown jpgs then e-mail me and we'll work something out.

hope your Dad enjoys them.

/cjj

Genealogy / Need photo from Wrzeszcz of childhood home. [53]

i'm in wrzeszcz right now - but of course my camera is still at home ...
If this task can wait a couple of weeks (i'm about to go on vacation) then it shouldn't really be a problem for me to walk round there one lunchtime.

Law / Opening a gym in Gdańsk [30]

What age group /fitness level are you trying to attract? The bored-but-money-to-spend middle-aged housewife or the atlas-in-the-making teenager?

Friendly staff are my #1 requirement.
And then it's down to the quality/variety of equipment and the space around it (I don't want to be breathing armpit air from the victim sweating over the adjacent machine ...)

Oh, and the gym I used in Vancouver had a small juice bar attached -- sold fresh juices / smoothies etc. That was nice ...

UK, Ireland / What do Polish people in Ireland think of Irish food? [90]

i have the buttermilk in the fridge ... no excuse against doing it myself other than laziness.

Travel / Help with travel to Gdansk [30]

I'll have a go, certainly -- can't promise when I'll remember to bring my camera to work (my memory is excellent but very very short).

I hope your dad isn't expecting green fields and birdsong -- this place is built-up.

How about going to
google.pl -- pick "mapy" along the top, and then put in

Lelewela gdansk 10

That will at least show you where it is -- and if you zoom out a few levels you can see the context (Oliwa will show up once your scale is around 2km)

/cj

p.s.
if the street is indeed ul. Joachima Lelewela then it was called after this guy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Lelewel

UK, Ireland / What do Polish people in Ireland think of Irish food? [90]

gosh but i'm starving now.
just eaten 2 wagon wheels on the trot but it's not the same.
emotionally, i need bacon and eggs with fried soda fread and a sausage or two.