The day has come...


Svataben's avatar
My internship ran out, and I'm now unemployed.
There is so much suck. I really liked working at my old job, I was good at it, and I liked the people there. And the money...




Anti-complaint:
My brother does not have cancer!

Seriously.

See, a few years back he started eating healthy and going to the gym. It was great. He's a tall, broad guy, and he was kind of fat.
Then he mysteriously kept losing weight, going to an unhealthy, weakened sort of state, he had nausea, and his stomach hurt, even though he wasn't dieting...
He has travelled a lot, both in the Far East, and in some Arabian countries, so the doctor checked for parasites etch. Nothing. He was down to 70 kilos by then...

One day it got so bad with the nausea that he stopped on the way to work at a bakery, to see if he couldn't settle his stomach with some bread.
The pain got so bad, he ended up asking staff to call an ambulance.

He was finally scheduled for two of those tests, where 1. they send a camera down your throat to look around, and 2. up your butt to look around from that end.

We were so scared, and my mum desperately kept babbling about lactose allergies, even though it had been ruled out.

He only had to go through the first test, because by then the doctor had an answer. Gluten allergy.

Seriously.

He's not even ill, he has an allergy. :roll:
And the Norwegian government gives him 1900nkr per month, tax free, to counter the extra costs for gluten free foods, and he gets to take classes on how to live a gluten free life.

The relief is massive!
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GalacticGoat's avatar
Yay for your brother, boo for the other thing though :c
Svataben's avatar
Thanks. :)

Yeah, it's a mixed bag this week.
I do have a meeting with my union Monday, to make a plan for my job seeking endeavours (they do that), and my x-boss made me a kick-ass recommendation, so I'm hopeful.

If I go unhired for a while, I'll be taken full advantage at the courses etc. that my union offers. Always nice to add skills to the résumé.
GalacticGoat's avatar
:la: well good luck.
Svataben's avatar
Thanks a bunch! :)
Buniis's avatar
Ah man, two of my bestfriends have a glutton allergy. They live with my best friend and their Dad also has the allergy. You have to be very careful with food at their house. Glad to hear it wasn't cancer though.

Sorry to hear about your unemployment.
Svataben's avatar
Yeah, the selective eating can be a chore.

And thanks. :)
Buniis's avatar
Yeah. x.x and no problem, hope you can find a new job real soon.
RandomRobskii's avatar
Hooray! Better the devil you know than the one you don't. :nod:

I suppose of all the things it could have been, a gluten allergy ain't half bad. :nod:
Svataben's avatar
My thoughts exactly!

This is stuff to live with, not to die from :D
RandomRobskii's avatar
There's plenty of people who get by with it. I got a family friend a cookbook with all sorts of delicious gluten free recipes for christmas, and he's been doing fine for years. :la:
FixMeKnow's avatar
Congrats to him, of sorts. Not cancer but eating gluten free doesn't sound fun.

Wow, a paid internship? Most internships seem to be a no-pay but school credit type of thing. Or maybe those are just the ones I hear about.
Svataben's avatar
I'm honestly not sure I'm using the word 'internship' correctly.

Let's call it a time limited contract.
DJ0Hybrid's avatar
Assuming you did well, they'll probably gladly hire you later.
Svataben's avatar
I'm hoping so. The company needs to make a lot more money though.
A few of the departments are doing really badly.
SahidenEthare's avatar
I hope you'll find a new job soon. :)

Gluten allergy sucks. I'm lactose intolerant and I can tell how much of a pain it is to watch what you eat all the time. Then again, it's not cancer, so that's a relief.
Also, I don't get any money from the Belgian government for any of my allergies, or my handicap even. I feel cheated. :grump:
Svataben's avatar
My mum is lactose intolerant, and our recent visit to London was marked by it a few times. She's not too good at English, so ordering at restaurants got tricky.
Plus, she's somehow convinced people will lie to her about whether or not a food has lactose in it.

But I can understand how it sucks with the stomach pains and the runs.
SahidenEthare's avatar
My mum is lactose intolerant, and our recent visit to London was marked by it a few times. She's not too good at English, so ordering at restaurants got tricky.

I see. Yes, it can be rather difficult in a foreign country. When I went to Scotland, we just shopped at Aldi and Liddle, since we also have those chains over here.

Plus, she's somehow convinced people will lie to her about whether or not a food has lactose in it.

It's not so much lying, in my experience, as people not knowing and taking a guess. On top of that, there are a lot of products people think don't contain any lactose that do.
Whenever I go to a restaurant, I just take my medication along, just in case.

But I can understand how it sucks with the stomach pains and the runs.

That's the part that sucks, yes. :D
I've lived with it for 19 years before I got diagnosed and had no idea what was wrong with me. ^^;
Svataben's avatar
I think my mum misses cheese more than anything. We both love all kinds of cheeses.

But now she's getting they hang of knowing what countries have dairy free foods, which help with restaurant picking, plus she discovered that she likes sushi.

It's easy enough to eat well, if you're at home and in control (and can afford it), but away from home takes practice.
That's why it's so awesome that my brother gets to take that course, which should involve both some basic recipes, but also tools on info-gathering and life style. He always did like to cook, so it might even be fun for him.
SahidenEthare's avatar
You can look into a brand called Valio from Finland. They produce various milk-based products without the lactose in it, but which don't differ in taste from lactose-containing milk products. [link]
While still operating mainly in Finland, they are looking to spread their product lines to the rest of Europe. Belgium currently already imports these. I'm not sure if Denmark does so yet though.

Away from home is the hardest. When you cook for yourself, you can check what ingredients you buy and use.
I wish someone had given me some pointers back when I was diagnosed. We had to check everything on the internet. ^^;
Svataben's avatar
Thanks a bunch for that! I'll let her know.

I can only imagine how hard it was before the Internet... :stare:
Kiwi-Punch's avatar
I'd like to take a business internship. How hard is it to pursue an internship?
Svataben's avatar
I have no idea. Mine was just a limited time contract, after I stopped working there as an apprentice.

I think it happened because I was good at my job, and a couple of women on maternity leave weren't back yet.
Kiwi-Punch's avatar
Hmm...Well, either way, it sucks.