Quality of Wife

This week Mercer's 2010 Quality of Living Global Survey was published giving me an opportunity to collect and benchmark facts from you, my adorable blog chums.

It also provides an opportunity for me to complain about the cost of living in Oslo, which jockeys annually for the most expensive city in the world (the Economist).

Interestingly enough, but no surprise to BB, Canadian cities top the list for Quality of Life in the Americas, Australian cities for Asia Pacific, and German cities for Europe.

There are few changes to the top cities in the in the Eco-City category. Nordic cities emerge in the Europe category, including Oslo, which comes in at 9th in this overall global category.

Well done Oslo! The Eurovision Song contestants, in town this weekend for the big sing off, will be able to fill their lungs with clean air. Hoofuckingray!

This year’s items for comparison are a bit idiosyncratic, unfortunately bear little relationship to 'Eco', and have more to do with what is available to hand, but here it goes:

• My favourite baker’s scone - $5.40
• Dry Cleaning of my 2 piece suit - $55.25
• Hot Dogs (580 grams/1.23 pounds) - $8.00
• Lindeman’s Chardonnay (any year, it’s all rubbish) - $53.90
• My Haircut (my hairdresser has great tits) - $85.94

If you have the time, check out these similar costs in your neck of the woods and blog them into me.

I shouldn’t really complain too much, my quality of life in Norway is quite excellent, Eco or not, and often in life, you get what you pay for.

More importantly for me my quality of wife is outstanding and Norwegian. She is priceless!

Beaverboosh

Turn Off The TV

“Turn off the TV, dinner is on the table and it is getting cold,” says Mrs. BB for the second time.

This is the familiar cry of parents in households around the world trying to get their children to the dinner table.

Unfortunately in Mrs. BB’s case, this is the familiar cry of children trying to get their parents to the dinner table.

We spend many weekends together as a family in Norway. At this time of year we are in the mountains. There is often a family crowd, but last weekend there was just the four of us.

Mrs. BB’s parents are coming to retirement age and have ‘put in their time’. As such, we undertake most of the domestic duties, providing them with a bit of relief. Cooking dinner is my job, getting them to the table is hers.

They arrive at the table. They are both fidgety and eat fast. Grand Prix, the Norwegian finals of the Eurovision Song Contest is on television in 15 minutes (if you are not from a small country in Europe, you’ll have no idea of the enormity of this event).

They ask to be excused from the table and run back to the television.

Mrs. BB and I sit at the dinner table finish our wine, musing at how they are getting older in front of our very eyes.

We are interrupted by shouts demanding we come and see the band on TV. It is a Norwegian heavy metal band.

My mother-in-law is standing in front of the TV jumping up and down, headbanging and playing air guitar. My father-in-law has a cheeky smile on his face and is shaking his head.

Mrs. BB and I retire back to the table to carry on our adult conversation. It is going to be a busy year with all of the activities we have planned for them.

Life has come almost full circle.

Beaverboosh