When you buy a ten euro top up card for your Vodafone mobile in Italy, you only get 8 euros of credit. They keep 2 euros just for the hell of it. That's 20% down the loo, and they always take 20% no matter how large a top up card you buy. I'm finding it slightly difficult to swallow, despite the fact that it's not a huge amount of money, at least not at the rate I use my phone. I just don't like to hand over cash for nothing.

I almost got paid yesterday, but the finance department decided to go on strike on Friday. In Italy strikes are always on Friday, and occur more often during the summer when the weather is nice. So I might get paid next Tuesday or Wednesday, after which I will have to go down to the bank and try and persuade them to give me a bank card so I can actually get the money out. They're paying me the entire amount of my 5 month contract in two installments, one now and one at an unspecified future date. Very weird.