Tuesday, January 8

Work Time

At Columbia Business School, ca '97 (photo from Adam Ballachey)

Back to the job for most of us. Unfortunately eurozone unemployment is 11.3% or 19 million people out of work; Spain the worst off at 26% and half of young people without a job.  Greece (25%) and Portugal (17%) not far behind. The difference of the haves (Germany, Netherlands and Austria below 6%) and have-nots striking : could this lead to social unrest ?  France thinks so as the taxi drivers to strike on Thursday and, since they are French, they will use their idle time to block the motor routes and central roads making everybody miserable.

Madeleine a trooper on her first day back to school (Eitan boots up tomorrow).  We walk to the bus stop in darkness; our gal frets about her pe kit, left at school on the last day of term . I worry about signing a next client.  Usual stuff, across the generations.

Madeleine: "I love taking the bus home" (Madeleine started taking the bus by herself last term).
Me: "Oh?"
Madeleine: "It is, like, freedom."