Do you know the "Radio Yerevan" jokes ? These were well known in the Sovietunion and in other socialist countries. They always start with an inquiry to Radio Yerevan, mainly a yes-or-no-question, and the answer goes "In principle yes but..." For instance:

Inquiry to Radio Yerevan: Is a small party member allowed to criticise a big party member ?

Answer:In principle yes but it would be a pity about the small member.

Or another:

Inquiry to Radio Yerevan: I heard cars are given away for free on Red Square in Moscow. Is this correct ?

Answer:In principle yes but it's not Moscow but Leningrad, it's not Red Square but Square of the Revolution, it's not about cars but about bicycles, and they are not given away but stolen.

Finally one that breaks the usual pattern.

Inquiry to Radio Yerevan: Which is the most important city of the Sovietunion ?

Answer: Yerevan, of course !

Additional question: And how many atom bombs does it take to destroy Yerevan ?

Answer: On second thought we decided that Moscow is the most important city of the Sovietunion.

Q:What's a swedish man's favourite song?

A:"Have you ever really loved a woman?" by Bryan Adams

(in case you didn't know, this joke comes from the fact that us finns have this slightly cruel (but generally true) opinion that all swedish men are gay... there are far better jokes than this about gay swedish men but i'm afraid they don't translate at all.... but if anyone speaks finnish i'd be happy to share...)

tsk tsk who hasn't joined the yahoo club yet? i sent you at least one invitation... go on.. go on go on go on go on.... (remember that commercial too?)

Thanks. Heh.

(Anna, I joined the club over the weekend. Hehe. So who *did* join the club! ;p )

heheh i've been staring at that stupid page a million times and not seen you.... oh well that's what happens with all this work stress *cough*... well i suspect the real reason i didn't see you (i did now) is that they make such shitty coffee in this country that it makes me not want to drink it nearly as much as when i was on "the continent" (mmm they had goooood coffee in maastricht, at least where i was working.. no wonder they get addicted to it... no calories, tastes good and gives you a caffeine high... what more do you need?) as they say here or at home where i can make my own... go espresso machine! maybe i'll take it with me next time...

for your finnish readers out there...

q: mitä ruotsalainen mies pelkää eniten?

a: että elämä menee päin vittua

q: miten erotta suomipojan svedupellestä?

a: suomipoika tilaa vodkan jäillä, mutta svedupelle ottaisi mieluummin jätkän voilla

sorry but these really don't translate without extensive explanations which then makes them not funny..

why are you drinking sprite? i thought you didn't like sprite... wait, i'm the one who doesn't like sprite. ewww... well that's probably cos you rarely see the diet version and you know what full fat versions do to my teeth with all that sugar.. my dentist actually banned me from drinking them.... he still hasn't commented on coffee though... yes i'm bored, i have nothing to do right now (no i still won't start my own page).... *sigh* only 3 hours left until i get to go back to the hotel.. and be bored there instead... ooh i get to pack, home time tomorrow! and read the new cosmo too.. i guess i'll keep posting more than you do until you manage to block me from doing it or decide that there should be a limit to the length of posts allowed... i forgot my wallet today and i only have 20p so i can't even go buy myself a kit kat unless i scour the floor for loose change which would all in all be a bit sad really don't you think?

It's amazing, Anna, how talkative you are at the moment. So you'd rather become the co-author of this blog then having your own one ? Well, I don't mind at all. Laura, what do you think about this offer ? It would make your page even more dynamic and adventurous, wouldn't it ?

And another one from our former big borther.

The Chukchians (East Siberia) ask their party sekretary in the next big city: "Mr Party Sekretary, how will be the winter, hard or mild ?" The secretary hesitates and then answers: "The next winter will be cold", while he thinks: 'It's better they gather more wood, who knows what comes.' But after a while he decides it would be better to be sure, and he asks the party leaders in Moscow: "Comrades, how will be the next winter in East Siberia, hard or mild ?" After some weeks he gets the answer: "The next winter is definitly going to be very cold - the Chukchians already began to gather wood."

* * * * * * * *

(You probably know the four main enemies of socialism ? They are: Spring, summer, autumn and winter.)

What is this Yahoo Club all about ?

The Yahoo club, is something set up by one of our former classmates, for our graduating year to keep in touch.

Anna is welcome to write anything she wants. Heh, I'm glad someone seems as bored as I am (even if she staring at a computer screen and I am studying economics! ;P )

so sebastian, are you insinuating that laura doesn't write a dynamic/adventurous page then? wonder how she likes that ;p ? and then you go on to encourage me to waste time instead of work... heheh sounds like a good idea to me i'd say, and they can't really track what i do i don't think cos i'm on a mac and they're not :P... well and plus that what they get me to do takes nowhere near as much time as it seems like they think it'd take me.. maybe i should start finding it insulting... but it gives me time to do unnecessary stuff like this that i'd never otherwise have the time for... i'd be out shopping instead (not that that's necessary or anything) but it's a bit difficult to take time off work to go shopping... especially when you're really in the middle of nowhere and have to take a cab (or, horror of horrors, me, drive? lmao)... so this is what i spend my time doing... but i go home to london for the weekend tonight.... *jumps for joy* but this isn't so bad, at least i speak the language here.... unlike my last stop... my dutch isn't all that great i must say... bla bla bla now i'm just writing utter nonsense so i might as well put you out of your misery and post this and get on with some work...

Heh, I'm biting my tongue.