Bureaucracy in Lithuania - work, short version

As I finished my EVS in Lithuania, but I am not planning to move somewhere else for a while, I found a job in Vilnius. But to start to work, you have to make a plenty of documents.

Recommendations for the people who have to do the same things:

*If you have to go to the Immigration office to get an immigrant identification card for the work purposes (and if you are EU citizen):
1) go to Naugarduko g. 100, not L.Sapiegos 1;
2) be ready to spend there at least 1,5 h if you will get a number with "0 person(s) waiting";
3) before going there, make a copy of your contract, passport or ID - they will take everything. If you want to spend there a little bit less time, you can fill the application already home.
4) It is written that you will have to pay EUR 8, 60, but reserve EUR 9,20, because you must pay a commission (EUR 0,60)! If you will pay by a card, you will save 2 cents.
5) Even if you marked that they would send you the documents by a post, it is NOT possible, so don' t even hope.
6) You will receive the document in 10 days, but don't expect to receive any notification, just come after 10 days and it should be there.

After I will receive this ID card, I will have to declare myself in Vilnius to receive social insurance number, but that will be another story after more than 10 days.

As you see, it is very convenient to find a right address - the address on the right upper corner is showed in all pages, but to get an address of Vilnius immigration office, you have to make at least 4 additional clicks.

*If you have to open a new bank account (if you are a foreigner in Lithuania):
1) Most likely go to the Swedbank (User-friendly internet banking, nice phone app etc.);
2) Reserve around an hour of your time (it took me 45min);
3) Have your contract with you, or, even better, some paper from your working place, that says that you will receive your salary to your account. In general, they shouldn't ask for such a paper, but seems like it doesn' t happen so often (really?) that foreigner wants to open a bank account here, so they don't really know what to do and will ask colleagues. Arm with patience.
4) You will have to fill a declaration - all answers should be marked as you plan, but it doesn't matter that in real life it will be much different. Just be careful when you write your contact details and the monthly amount of money you plan to receive (this can change your daily/monthly limits). This declaration in my opinion is total non-sense.

*To work in Lithuania, you have to get a medical book, that you are enough healthy to work in some kind of environment (e.g. next to computers):
1) Normally those books are given out by doctors, but in my case I had to buy it myself - I didn' t get it at the post office as it was recommended, also not at the pharmacy as it would be logical, but just at stationery shop.
2) Then you should visit a doctor at any clinic. I chose a private clinic, because it is much nicer and more likely that they will speak English (even if I understand Lithuanian, I can't explain specific things, especially about some medical stuff).
3) This is quite fast procedure compared with those mentioned above. The only funny thing is that everywhere they are asking "Haven't you ever...(checked yourself at the doctor; registered in Lithuania... etc)"

Happily, I already have my account and internet bank, and I could order to receive the bank card to my post box, so I wouldn't have to spend one more hour in the bank.

Wordpress noob - first steps and noobie's advises

*some photos - upcoming

I have been working with Wordpress before, but not establishing websites from zero. For most of the time while working at my great organization Creative workshop Beepart, I am eager to work on new website, as the current one is not very modern and well-maintained (except the content, that is still fine). But, of course, as this is also NGO, money for such a projects comes from..other projects or sponsors, so I decide that I have to prove the need of new website and that it should become much more responsive, not so static as it is. One more step was - our galleries broke down (possibly by some of my mistakes in the code (however, it worked for quite a while), but more possible, because of not updating the back-end system (it is not supported anymore)).

I started by exploring what local Lithuanian companies are doing and how much money could it require ordering somebody to make a website. Averagely from EUR 250 - 3000. That's not an average at all! But ok, if it is on Wordpress template, than for around EUR 300 basics could be done. But I have worked with Wordpress before, it was very simple (except a couple of struggles with formatting years ago)! So I started to explore and experiment...

Of course, such a step would have been much easier if somebody would sit next to me and show the first steps how to establish localhost and start to work with Wordpress there, but actually it didn't require so much time to find out myself. Thanks to Juste (my ex-colleague), who once advised using localhost for our current website. I downloaded XAMPP and put on it Wordpress (and also some other website making platforms, which I later deleted). XAMPP is all you need if you want to establish website locally (nobody else sees, it is not online for public, you can change everything starting from the domain name till design and content later on). When you install it, run Apache and MySQL (you will have to turn off some computer security options).

To install Wordpress on Xampp all you need to do is to download the latest version from Wordpress.org website, unzip it and copy all content to xampp/htdocs/wp. The folder in my case calls 'wp', but it can be any other name. It is important that it is the same name which you use to make directory on Xampp phpMyAdmin. To do that, open Xampp Control Panel, next to the MySQL click "Admin". On to top there will section "Databases", open it and make a new database called the same as your folder on xampp/htdocs. After that, open localhost/wp (instead of wp use the the name of your folder and database) and follow everything that Wordpress "says".

Sadly most of the free templates come with Premium option which requires paying to get some cool additional stuff - mostly useful. I believe that it is possible to do everything yourself, but I am just a beginner, and that was one more thing why I wanted to use Wordpress - plenty of amazing templates available.

Some of the templates have fonts which don't support Lithuanian. This is quite simple to change - go to Appearance - Edit, Ctrl+F and find font-family. Where it is not sans-serif or other well-known widely used font, change it to one of fonts which support Lithuanian (or other language you need)- there is at least one great page which lets you find the right one.

What we want to add to our new website is additional e-shop for our souvenirs, local craftsmen works and paintings / other art pieces from our exhibitions. So in additional to find just a nice, working design I should also look for the theme where e-shop is supported. On Wordpress the most used is WooCommerce plugin, which I also installed. It works pretty nice, just I still have a lot of work to do to make it even look good (and much more - to make it actually work).

And ooh, it is so hard for me to find excellent theme! 

"The Messengers"

Vakar ieintriģēja jauns seriāls "The Messengers" jeb "Ziņotāji". Sen nebiju skatījusies nevienu seriālu, tad nu gribējās atkal ko aizraujošu ar misticisma pieskaņu.  Te nu ir.
Aprīlī sāktas rādīt pirmās epizodes, šobrīd publiski pieejamas jau četras, bet katru piektdienu būs jauna. Kopā pirmajā sezonā paredzētas 13 sērijas.
Lieliska platforma (ja vien ieslēgts Adblock), kur skatīties seriālus ir couchtuner.eu, te arī links uz "The Messengers". Enjoy!

Want to learn online for free? Here are some hints!

As I really like to study, but I cannot decide what would I like the most, I dive into (free!) e-course platforms that offer many different courses, and decided to share favorites* with you.

*believe me, there are very many platforms!

Most of them offer courses in English, but some have possibilities to learn in Russian, Spanish, German and other languages.

Coursera - well known MOOCs (massive open online courses) platform, offers courses from top universities and organizations worldwide. After finishing the course mostly possible to get a certificate of accomplishment (for free) or verified certificate (for generally small fee). Courses are in really high quality, mostly requires do quizzes and assessments to complete the course and have beginning and finishing dates, but some are self-paced courses (that could be done any time you want). Possible to do specifications - it contains 3-5 courses in a similar sphere, for a fee.

Open2Study - courses offered by Australian universities and organizations. At the moment my favorite page, all courses are 4 weeks long, offers a certificate of accomplishment, assessments are quizzes (I don't enjoy to participate in forums, that often Coursera requires, so here it is optional). However, the page is loading longer than other MOOC pages. You will fast find out is there something for you, because it offers a limited amount of courses.
By learning, you earn some online badges. :)

Udemy - after quizzes shows statistics how many people answered questions right and wrong and compares with your answers. I am pretty sure that here you could find many courses in your interests. Many courses are for a fee, but many are for free too.

OpenLearning - here I found courses related with arts, self-improvement (not professional) and everyday life (as "Introduction to wines"), but it offers many courses in IT and other topics.

Iversity - Not many courses, but very nice platform. Possible to pass exams to get ECTS.

Khan Academy - I really enjoyed this platform when listening some history courses. The website is well-structured, learning is made like a game also by earning some badges. If on other MOOC sites subjects are mostly made for everybody or for one exact level, then here one subject is covered from beginning till the end.

Codecademy - Amazingly easy to learn website developing! Recommended to anyone who would like to learn it, especially if you think that you could never understand anything of programming.

Some other great platforms:

Livemocha - an interactive way to learn languages. Learn yourself, get feedback from native speakers and help to learn others your language! Very nice platform, but for me it is a bit too much like a game.

Bliu Bliu - a platform to learn vocabulary in many languages - first of all, test your knowledge, after - learn new vocabulary, check your progress! It gives texts to read (sometimes videos with a transcript) and to check unknown/known words (+ by using google translate, shows translations if you just move mouse on the word). Unfortunately, not always these texts are very meaningful and could be too hard for total beginners.

Lumosity - the brain training. Lumosity's groundbreaking program is based on extensive research in the field of neuroplasticity. In a couple of words - you can train your thinking, memory, fast decision-making etc. playing short games individually. It offers 3 games per day for free, but to try other games and to challenge your brains more, you should subscribe (by paying a fee). I enjoyed it very much when I was doing very routine type job.

You are about to expand your mind! Let's start? 

Krievu žilbinošā gaume un smārds

"Dobroje utro!"

"Yes, arī Jums izdevās aizvērt durvis!"... un tamlīdzīgi komplimenti tiek veltīti ikkatrai, iespējams, trauslai krievu dāmai ar milzīgu kažoku, kas tikko ielēkusi mikriņā un vēlas kaut kur noslidināt savu Rīdzinieka karti. Vai tad tu nezini, sārto vaigēnu īpašniec, ka vecajos, aprūsējušajos mikroautobusos šāda ekstra nav un būs vien jāvelk ārā lielais ādas maks? Ah..bet tas taču ir tikai vēl lielāks iemesls visiem izrādīt savu jauno kažoku un paflirtēt ar autobusa šoferi. Un viņam jau arī tīk.


Un tad viena.. un otra.. un viens kažoks..un nākošais..ar garām spalvām, zaļām spalvām, balts un melns, īss, garš, kupls kā kleita, apspīlēts kā triko... lai kāds tas arī ir, TAS IR MILZĪGS! un mikriņā tādam blakus sajūties nosmacēts ar kāda veca dzīvnieka ādu.. ja vēl ir palaimējies trāpīties tādā miklā rītā, tad arī šī dzīvnieka, atvainojos, - kažoka, smārds arī ir tāds ļoti savāds.. bet krievu dāmām ļoti patīk šo smaržu aizstāt ar kādām ļoti salkanām, uzbāzīgām smaržām.


**

Nemanot pienāk vakars..un atkal esi sabiedriskā transporta skavās. Kad esi dziļi grāmatā, tad var izdoties noslēgties no ķengaragiešu sestdienas vakara sarunām un smaržām.. beeet ja reiz neesi pamanījis nevienu īpašu kadru sabiedriskajā transportā, tad tieši ārā kāpjot tādiem jābūt vairākiem.

Lai arī mana šī brīža dzīvesvieta šķiet ļoti droša, klusa un mierīga, sapratu, ka sestdienas vakarā trolejbusa pieturā un pie Maximas iepriekš neesmu bijusi.. divi veči turpat katrs savu koku laista, skaļi lamājas uz mazajiem puikām, kuri tos iesvēta ar sniega pikām...bet nevar jau likt to krānu biksēs, kamēr līdz galam nav iztecējis. Un tā viņi tur stāv un stāv.. un lamājas, ka visa iela skan (lieki piebilst kādā valodā).

Otrpus ielai arī tādi - ar bamšļiem rokās līgojas, bet tanī pusē pārāk gaišs un koku nav... tie tikai sērīgi vēro tos divus, kas kokiem mēslojumu gādā.

Un tad tie kažoki... tu ieej veikalā, ej pēc maizes un nobīsties no lāča. Ej pēc saldējuma, bet netiec garām tīģerim. Stāvot pie kases nobīsties no hameleona krāsās, bet pēc skata 10cm bieza, pūdeļa! Man kaut kā šķiet, ka mums latvietēm, kažoks ir tikai viens no apģērbiem, kas gada aukstajā laikā pasargā no vēja.. bet krievu dāmām tas ir statusa jautājums! Nav kažoka - tu tū - esi nekas. [!?]

Tā es viņas apbrīnoju...un domāju, vai arī es pilsētā kādreiz vēlēšos līdzināties kādam meža iemītniekam..

"Kara lidotājs" A. de Sent-Ekziperī

"Turpretī  gars ņem  vērā nevis lietas, bet jēgu, kas tās savstarpēji saista. Sej, kas caur tām ainojas. Un gars no skaidras atskārtas dažreiz nonāk lidz pilnīgam aklumam. Cilvēkam, kas mīl savas mājas, gadās brīži, kad viņš tās uzlūko vienīgi kā atsevišķu priekšmetu kopumu. Cilvēkam, ks mīls savu sievu, gadās brīži kad viņš neredz mīlestībā neko citu kā rūpes, nepatikšanas un ierobežojumus. Cilvēkams, kas iejūtīgi klausījies mūziku, gadās brīži, kas tā viņam vairs nesniedz neko. Gadās brīži, kā patlaban, kad es vairs nesaprotu savu zemi. Dzimtene nav novadu, ieražu, bagātību summa, ko prāts var vienmēr aptvert. Tā ir Būtība. Un gadās brīži, kad es apjaušu, ka esmu kļuvis akls pret Būtību."

"Pašupurēšanās nenozīmē ne amputāciju, ne grēku izpirkšanu. Tā ir darbība šā vārda vispilnīgākajā nozīmē. Tā ir sevis atdošana Būtībai, ar kuru grib kļūt vienots. Tikai tas sapratīs, ko nozīmē īpašums, kurš būs tam ziedojis daļu sevis, kurš būs cīnījies, lai to glābtu, un strādājis vaiga sviedros, lai padarītu to skaistāku. Tikai tad radīsies mīlestība uz savu īpašumu. Īpašums nebūt nav interešu summa, tas ir maldīgs ieskats. Īpašums ir upuru summa."

"Mēs pārstājam dot. Ja es domāju tikai par sevi un negribu nevienam neko dot, es negūstu neko, jo sevī neko neveidoju, un tātad neesmu nekas. Ja pēc tam no manis prasīs, lai es mirstu kaut kā labad, es atteikšos mirt. Manās interesēs ir dzīvot. Kāds mīlestības uzbangojums atlīdzinās manu nāvi? Var mirt par savu māju, nevis par atsevišķiem priekšmetiem un sienām. Var mirt par katedrāli. Nevis par akmeņiem. Var mirt par tautu. Nevis par pūli. Var mirt aiz mīlestības uz Cilvēku, ja tas ir kopienas stūrakmens. Var mirt tikai par to, ar ko dzīvo."

"Miers ir tad, kad viss iekļaujas sevī. Ciema ļaudis atgriežas mājās. Graudi saplūst klētīs. Un salocītā veļa tiek nolikta skapjos. Miera laikā cilvēki zina, kur atrast katru lietu. Zina, kur uzmeklēt draugu. Zina, kur pārgulēs nakti. Ak, vai! Miers mirst, kad meti pārtrūkst, kad ilvēkam vairs nav vietas pasaulē, kad cilvēks vairs nezina, kur meklēt tos, ko mīl. Miers ir visās lietās sakatāmais veidols, kad tās guvušas savu jēgu un vietu.
Kad tās kļūst par sastāvdaļu kaut kam lielākam nekā pašas.."

/"Kara lidotājs", Antuāns de Sent - Ekziperī/

Svinētāji jeb 15.trolejbuss jau leģendārs

Kāpēc visi Ķengaraga svinētāji nesvin vienā dienā?
Varētu noorganizēt kādu īpašu svētku dienu ar nosaukumu "Davai, šodien dzeram!" un arī uz trolejbusiem norādīt -
* "15.trolejbuss šodienas svinētājiem",
* "15.trolejbuss tiem, kas aizsvinējušies vakardienu",
* "15.trolejbuss tiem, kam ar divām dienām pohainu svētku ir par maz" (šajā gadījumā tiem trīsdienniekiem būtu jāsaprot, ka trolejbuss ar garāko sveicienu ir īpaši veltīts viņiem) un
* "15.trolejbuss" (visiem pārējiem, kas spēj svinēt dienu arī bez pārlieku lielas alkohola devas).

Bet nē.

Rīgas šajā pusē tauta mīļo svinēt katru dienu.. un kas mani pārsteidz visvairāk ir tas, ka katru dienu šie ir citi īpatņi! Ja, piemēram, Centrāltirgū vai autoostas apkārtnē pudeļu brāļi, diedelnieki vai muzikanti ir daudz maz tie paši un tajās pašās vietās, tad svinētāji 15.trolejbusā mainās katru dienu. Kā tas tā nākas, nezinu.

Un tad tu sēdi. Sēdi vistuvāk trolejbusa durvīm, jo zini, ka drīz vien iekāps vēl ļautiņu..un, ka vismaz viens no tiem būs svinētājs, un tev būs nepieciešams svaigs gaiss, lai izturētu braucienu no iekāpšanas punkta līdz galapunktam. Tā nu nopriecājies par svaigo gaisu..uuuuuun te nu viņi, 2 vīrieši labākajos gados, ir! Ar mazu bērnu pie rokas, "Maxima" maisiņiem, pilniem ar alus bundžām, kuras pēc tam ērti izmantot kā pelnu traukus... un ar to drausmīgo smirdoņu, ko paši vairs nemana. Kādam, iespējams, tas ir tāds seksīgais mazliet "ieņēmuša", vīrieša - smēķētāja smārds, bet tev no tā vien vemt gribas.
O, prieks, vismaz bērnam ļāva apsēsties. Paņem klēpī. Bērns izspraucas, jo negrib klēpī..gan jau, ka arī bērnam šī dvakoņa netīk. Kamēr viens mēģina bērnu ievilkt klēpī, tikmēr otram ir nolaimējies atrast vietu, kur piemest savu pēcpusi vietā, ko simpātiska dāma, ar kuru viņš vēl paspēja paflirtēt, ir iesildījusi.
Ak, tu, laimīgā! Tā nu sanācis, ka šī siltā vietiņa ir tieši tev pretī! Acis no smakas griežās katra uz savu pusi, bet degunā sajūta, ka smaka ir iesūkusies katrā matiņa saknē. Mēģini acis dabūt vienādā līmenī un mēteļa piedurknē atrast parfīma pilienu, lai kaut kā aizbiedētu smaku. Lieki piebilst, ka pārsēsties nav kur, un neviena cita vieta nav TIK tuvu durvīm kā tevis izvēlētā.
Un tad Viņš tevi vēro. Vēro, jo gaida to mirkli, kad tu viņam pievērsīsi uzmanību un viņam rastos izdevība arī ar tevi paflirtēt. Bet tā būtu Viņa vakara kļūda (vai vakara jautrākā saruna), jo šī būtu reize, kad tu neklusētu, bet gan izteiktu visas līdz ar riebošo smirdoņu (kuru, savukārt, radījis Viņa pretīgais čurūdens un vakardienas pohas atliekas) radušās dusmas.


Beidzot ir pienācis tavs galapunkts. Jau laimīga meties ārā no trolejbusa, bet piecelies gluži vai apreibusi! Fui.. vēl mājās nevari saprast, vai gadījumā tā neesi bijusi tu pati, kas pa ceļam izdzērusi tās pāris bundžas un uzpīpējusi paciņu Marlboro..

"...un 15.trolejbuss jau leģendārs..."