There is something called “first world problems”, but I think this one must be categorized as a “zeroth world problem”:  I have a straight salary, no variable parts, no overtime. (Travels, which I avoid when possible, are refunded separately.) Now today it was payday again, and for some reason I felt the urge to know how much I was receiving. But unfortunately the corporate website hosting my electronic pay stub was overloaded, so I could not find out until after closing hours.

I might want to interpret this as “I am not particularly interested in material goods”, but my new computer would like to argue the opposite. Perhaps it is more that I have lived for so many years, I can’t really go around remembering how much I earn for each year. It will surely change again if I live for another year. Probably upward, although I am not sure this is in my best interest. The more expensive we are compared to foreigners doing the same job, the greater the profit that may be had by outsourcing our job.

But for now, we here in Norway seem to think the trees will grow into the sky. Of course, that’s what I remember from my American friends some five years or so ago, too.