Czech Republic? Whuh??

[justalurkr]

So, why am I asking a librarian about how to get controlled substances in the Czech Republic? Because:

I. Librarians are scary good at finding stuff out. (I need an appropriate link to Unshelved here. Until then, The Scary Librarian.)

II. It may have escaped your notice that I have Adult Attention Deficit Dis--ooh, kitty did a cute thing!

III. The department of All Your Phones Are Belong To Us that I work for sent out a cryptic e-mail requesting volunteers for an overseas assignment.

A. We have offshore team members in Bangalore, India and Brno, Czech Republic.
1. If it's India, I'd need immunizations and a high tolerance for a culture alien to someone of North European extraction (translation, not just the whitest white girl who ever did white, but distantly related to the perpetrators of the Raj.)
2. If it's the Czech Republic, I need only bring extra vowels.

B. Oh, crap. And find a place for the cats.
1. Mom: We'll be happy to take your cats.
2. Dad: Let me set up the fee schedule for the Lurkr Feline Residential Boarding Facility.

C. Double crap. And some idea of what "ramping up offshore" means to leadership.
1. Trainer who's been there: Don't drink the water and try not to breathe while you shower in India.
2. Me: Oh, thanks.
3. Trainer who's been there: Also, you have to be able to teach everything, including Data tickets and call routing.
4. Me (silently): I'll have to pick a religion that doesn't include a prohibition on working Data tickets now, won't I?

D. Triple Platinum Plated Crap. And a way to get a methamphetamine precursor in a foreign country.
1. Counselor: They don't like to mail controlled substances directly. Maybe your parents?
2. Me: Interstate mail order controlled substance prescriptions.
3. Counselor: Yeah, and I had a patient teaching English in Korea. Customs confiscated half her stuff.

I (heart) librarians in general and nialla42 in particular. :D

Comments

[nialla]

How long is the assignment going to be?

One of my co-workers has a husband who often has to do stints overseas. At one point, he was in Australia for a year, though he was allowed one vacation home while the company also paid for his family to visit him there (a piece of my luggage went on that trip, so it's more well-traveled than I am).

More recently, he's been sent to South Korea. I think the first trip was six months, and he's been several times since, in six week to two month intervals.

I can ask her what he's done for prescriptions and get that info to you.

[justalurkr.livejournal.com]

That would be very sweet of you. :)

The cryptic little e-mail said "six to nine months." The cryptic little manager (when pressed about expenses) said "they make sure everything at home is taken care of."

Another not-so-little but still equally cryptic manager said Brno is looking like the front runner for an overseas volunteer. This is a Good Thing, as the Czech Republic scores high on safety, progressiveness and accessibility to other fun parts of Europe according to the intertubes. Also, Brno is in heart of the Moravian wine country. My Inner California Wine Snot cheered.

[nialla]

Talked with co-worker, and she said she talked with the Health Department about what would be required. Not just potential shots, but also how to handle getting your meds overseas.

She also stressed, and I totally agree, take any paperwork you get from them, as well as copies of your passport and driver's license, and stash them just in case your original stuff is lost for any reason. When Tam, Bob, and I went on our trip in 1999, each of us had a copy of our own and each others info, just in case. Triple redundancy.

[justalurkr.livejournal.com]

Thanks for checking up on that. Now if I go (and there's been a sudden radio silence at work about it) I'll have copies of the paperwork stuffed in every bag and both shoes.