229

Two hundred twenty nine. 229. 200 + 20 + 9.

Is it large or small? It depends on the context I guess.

Lets assume you take 229 and divide it by 8. Then you get 28.625.

If you then take 28.625 and divide it by 5 you get 5.725.

Holy Cow! I have over 5.7 weeks of accumulatd vacation! How did that happen?!? Unbelievable. I haven't really been paying attention to my payslips lately as they usually are all the same. The same numbers, the same taxes, just another piece of mail. But today I examined my payslip with more detail. I just can't believe how much vacation time I have accruewed.

Now the tough part, figuring out how to use it. Which, actually to an American is not as easy as it sounds. How does one plan over 5 weeks of vacation? What the heck can you do for 5 weeks? That is like 3 years of US vacations all in one go.

We'll I just booked another ski trip when a college roomate visits in a couple of weeks. That should be fun. But only 3 days. Hmmmmmmm, what will I do with the rest of the time? If I had paid attention I probably would have taken the entire week off. Oh well, Maybe I'll leave early on the Friday before just to make up for it.

Kulturama

It was a rainy day today so we were looking for something appropriate to do. Living close to Zürich it seemd like a perfect day to head into the city to see a museum. My wife looked online to try to find something interesting however most of the museums seemed to be closed on the weekend from November through April. One of the only open attractions was Kulturama.

Although the name seems a little cheesey it was actually a very nice musuem. The museum focused on people, covering topics like the human body, evolution, and how much time one spends on the toilet during the course of their life (6 months if you were interested).

Many of the exhibits were for children and were hands on. What I had not anticipated however was that this would be a perfect way to have fun while practicing my German. Some of the exhibits were about animals, or body parts and provided a nice leasurly way for us to have fun while picking up a few new words and phrases. Because most of the exhibits were for kids, the language was at a level that we could for the most part we could understand.

Apart for a few times I had to pull the English-German dictionary out of my pocket I was actually surprised at how much I could read and comprehend.

After the museum we walked back one tram stop to the Kunsthaus (art museum) to see a Rodin that was in the plaza in front of the museum. I had first seen the Gates of Hell was when I was in San Francisco in late 2004. There is a cast of the work on the campus of Standford Univeristy. I remember really being struck by the piece in California. Having seen it from the tram pearched outside the Kunsthaus on the way to Kulturama I felt we surely should stop on the way back. I'm glad we did, it is really a neat work.

Lightroom

I have been playing with a new digital photography tool today called Lightroom. The tool is a product just released by Adobe. It is a photo enhancments and workflow tool that bridges the gap between Photoshop Elements for novices and the full blown Photoshop.

I've been testing it out to see if it is work the investment. So far I am pleased with its capabilities althought I still and not comfortable with how it organizes your photo collection. I still need to do some more investigation on that area of the tool before I make the switch.

Executive Privelage

Today I got a letter at work that made me laugh. I have finally arrived. Aparently I am now an 'Executive'.

I got a nice letter from one of the software vendors that I work with on a regular basis inviting me to a 2 day event in Valencia Spain to attend of all things two days of yacht regattes and auto racing.

There was a nice agenda included in the packet. There was a pre race briefing from 10:00 to 11:00. Then a lunch on the viewing boat from 12:00 to 1:00. The race starts at 1:30, and you return to port at 4:00. Thats only the first day.

Day two had something to do with the BMW racing team. I couldn't read any more because it was just too funny.

Regardless, the letter assured me that this invitiation was only for key executives. I would surely not have to rub noses with anyone less than senior level whiskey drinkin' cigar smoking gray haired men in brightly colored bermuda shorts and linen shirts.

To be honest, half of me wants to go, just to people watch and see what kind of characters would go to such an event. I'm sure I'd have a million stories to tell afterwards.

The Party Starts

Walking on Sunshine
Proud Mary
Green Day
Winds of Change - Scorpions
Hawaii Five-O
Beach Boys

Yeah, the party has started. The mobs of guggen music bands are decending on our apartment. I shot some video from our balcony. At this point in time there are about 5 or 6 bands in the plaza. The all just strike up and play whatever they want, not necessarily together. And yes, it sounds as bad as the video.

The first song in the video is what I have coined as the Guggen Music anthem. They all play this one. If they didn't play it, it would be like going to the roller skating rink and not hearing the Hokie-Pokie. Its like the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend. And I'm sure I'll hear it another 10 or 20 times before the night is over.

Guggen Music....Again

Today is the last night of Fasnacht. They are aready starting the music. Unfortunately I saw a program for the evenings events. The stage opens at 8:00 pm. An hour from now. Then from 2:00 am to 6:00 am there is a 'breakfast' at the resturant down the street. If that is the case I can't help but think it is going to be a very very long night tonight.

I guess I might was well go since I don't really have a choice.

At least this time I've got my ear plugs ready.

Bizzare Hotel

The only low point of the weekend was the hotel.

I know that to some people hotels don't really matter. After all 'you only sleep there.' I have generally agreed with that sentimate until I was at the Alpenblick in Braunwald this weekend.

I generally don't complain but this one deserves it. I should have known there was something weird going on when I walked into our room and there wasn't much furniture. I know that probably sounds strange, but when we walked in there was only a bed and one chair. Along one long wall were you would usually expect something like a desk or a low credenza there was nothing. Just a void. It was very bizzare. What was more bizzare was the second day furniture turned up. We came back to our room to find an additional table and chair.

The bathroom was classic. It reminded me of something Elvis would have done. There was a tile surround in the tub, and nasty clay and olive color. And then the rest of the walls were done in a short carpet like material, almost like a door mat.

Should I mention that the toliet paper was locked down? I couldn't believe it but there was a plastic cover on the roll with a lock.

There are so many other stories. The kid upstairs that probably should have been on some sort of hyperactivity medication. The baby who had quite an embarassing accident at dinner. The resteraunt staff that never seemed to go home.

I'll probably go back to Braunwald, but I don't think I'll be back in that hotel.

Sore

My legs are killing me. Three days of fun in the mountains and I'm ready for the healing waters of the Baden thermal bad.

The snow conditions in Braunwald were pretty poor, but there were enough trails to keep us busy. I managed to make it down the mountain more than a few times. My back hurts, my knee is bruised, my legs are burning, but I've still got my pride. And I can also put a check mark in the box next to 'Ski the Alps' on my list of things to accomplish in life.

Gotta Run

Going to catch a train in about 20 minutes for our 3 day weekend in Braunwald. The weather is warm. Probably upper 40's or lower 50's. I hope the is snow when we get there.

We have a boat load of ski equipment to take with us. I hope I can carry it all.

Auf Wiedersehen.

Rough Night

It was quite a rough night last night. We were hoping that the music would stop around midnight. That proved not to be the case.

By about 1:00 we decided to put both of our clock radios on with 'white noise' and we had a fan blasting to try to drowned out the sound. Although that improved the situation it definately didn't solve it. Next we tried ear plugs. That was much nicer but it still took me a while to get to sleep.

I woke up around 3:40 am and went out on the balcony. While the bands had left, there were still people milling around and drinking. There was still loud music on the stage PA. Wow, these people in Baden must not get out much. I mean its a town of 16,000. It's not like a big happening place like New York, or Chicago where you expect people out at all hours.

Thank God we planned a trip this weekend.

Guggen Musik

Fasnacht has arrived and so has the Guggen Musik. I have discovered that the strangly clothed marching bands that I have blogged about before are actually known as Guggen Musik. For the carnival celebration apparently the Guggen musik starts today and goes pretty much straight through next tuesday and midnight.

In a broken conversation with our neighbor she informed me that there would be no sleep in our building for the next few days. It is now 11:00 pm and there are still going at it out there. They started at 7:00 pm. Hopefully they will end the festivities at some reasonable hour but we will see I guess.

I've heard some great covers of Phil Collins, AC DC, and several other Genres that one would not expect from a Guggen Musik band. I did manage to take the camera and video recorder out since the party is literally under our balcony. I'll post a video below. This video was taken about 10 paces from our front door. Don't be fooled by the English. This was the only English I heard all night.

I can't believe how loud this music is. My wife was just complaining that she could here it over the running water when she was filling the bath tub. It is actually really obnoxious. For a society that is so bent on having quiet time this is really a little much for a Thursday night.

Fasnacht is Coming

While walking home from work today I found that the city had started to decorate the streets for the upcoming Fasnacht (Carnival) festivals. There are cloth streamers and banners hanging everywhere. There are banners announcing various activities and parties and even a stage set up in the center of town.

I had not expected Fasnacht to be that big but from the looks of things it is going to be a big celebration. The festivities start on Thursday evening with a concert below our balcony in the square. I'm sure it is going to be more blaring marching band music.

I'm not sure if it is a good thing, or a bad thing that we will be out of town this weekend. Somehow I have a feeling it is a little of both.

At least the decorations gave me a good excuse to get out and take some photographs this evening. It was nice to have a chance to relax and enjoy some time for hobbies.

Tommy And The Kangaroo

Letzte Wochenende habe ich "Tommy und das Känguruh" gelesen.

These last couple of weeks I have really felt my German improving. The past couple of weeks we have been working on the past tense which opens up conversational German. Before all I could talk about was what I was doing. Now I can tell people what I did over the weekend and I don't feel like a moron.

I think the sentence structure is finally coming together for me as well. It is easier for me to put things in the right order before I blurt them out.

Reading is still a challenge. Last weekend I read "Tommy and the Kangaroo" I have become a huge fan of the Tommy series. I also have "Tommy and the Turtle".

I tend to read a sentence or two, and then open my German/English dictionary to look up the words I don't know. It is slow, but seems to be a really good way to learn. And, even though it takes a lot of time I really enjoy it.

Time To Buy Coke

Wow, Coke was selling for American prices this weekend. 9 Liters (6 X 1.5 liters) for 6.80 CHF. Time to stock up. We walked out with 18 liters of Coke.

Ah, shopping like Americans. How wonderful.

Your arms do get tired though.

The DMV

A few months back I was posting how wonderful my DMV in Virginia was. There were very responsive to my requests for an extension to my drivers license. Well today I found out they are responsive to quite a few requests.

I was looking around youtube and found this video. It happens that these pranks were all played at the DMV that I would frequent in Richmond. What are the chances of that. The video is funny, but it sure makes the Virgina DMV look stupid.



Wow, I can't beleive that. If you wan't to see some more, these guys did a couple of more DMV pranks that were pretty silly here as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owvO640ODwA

They must have made some waves as they even made abc news.

Ski Trip

This weekend I was preparing for our upcoming ski trip. I took out all of my gear, boots, skis, poles and looked everything over just to make sure nothing was broken in the move. This is the first time we will going skiing in Switzerland. I am really excited about the trip. We will be spending 3 days in Braunwald.

We also did some shopping yesterday to buy a few things. We both got helmets and ski goggles. Helmets seem to be the norm around here from what I have seen. I actually think that is a good thing. People wanting to protect their heads. Hopefully we won't actually need them but I figure there are good investments.

There are plenty of winter activities and Braunwald. I'm really excited about trying Schlitteln.
Schitteln is sledding on these radio flyer style sleds with runners. They are usually wood or plastic. Some of the resorts have amazingly long runs. I saw one resort had a 7 km Schitteln path. I was told it would probably take about 30 minutes to go from top to bottom on that run. That has to be a fantastic ride. The Braunwald resort has a much shorter run, but I think it will be a nice alternative to skiing if our legs get tired.

Quiz Taxi

Found a great game show on TV today. It is called Quiz Taxi. It reminds me of who wants to be a millionaire in a moving vehicle. It is really great.

The premise is this taxi drives around a city and picks people up. When they get in and sit down and tell the driver where they want to go the driver turns on all these lights in the car. It lights up like a discotheque. The passenger immediately knows they are a victim of the Quiz Taxi. Their reaction is great.

You have the entire length of your trip to answer questions, for each answered question you get money. The catch is you can only get three answer wrong. After three wrong answers you lose your money. If you end your trip without getting wrong answers then you get one more bonus question. If you answer it you double your money.

The have a couple of options for assistance. A 'phone a friend' options if you have a cell. There is a great "Stop a pedestrian" option too where they pull over at the side of the road and you ask somebody walking down the street if they know the answer.

Some of the questions are trivial pursuit style. Some are name the artist of a song, they play the song on the radio. They might show a picture of a building and you have to name the city it is in. I think the best one involves two people. One person has to hold a ball that is about the size of a golf ball between their teeth and read words of off a list. The partner has to correctly identify something like 3 out of five words for you to get the money.

This might be my new way to practice my German since the host has very good high German pronunciation and the questions are shown at the bottom of the screen.

Disappointment

Last night I had a plan. Got o bed at 9:00, sleep three and a half hours. Get up, watch some TV for a bit and go to bed with a smile on my face. Most of my plan went well except that last part about the smile.

This was the first time that the Bears have made the big game since 1985. The pinnacle of the 85 bears is often debated, either William Perry's touchdown run, or the superbowl shuffle.

I was hoping that my midnight viewing of the superbowl from the CET timezone would bring great bliss and a restful night of sleep. After the kick-off and Hester's kick-off return for a touchdown I thought we were in for a good night. Slowly though the Bears subsided into there lackluster selves and by the half I was pretty much sure that they didn't have the magic this year. I got into bed about 2:30 am after skipping out at the half time show.

I woke the next morning to have my deepest fears confirmed on the homepage of CNN. Seeing a smiling Peyton Manning hosting a trophy.

As I always tell a friend of mine. "The Bears Are going to the Superbowl........in 2010." I'll hold on to that dream and hope that next time they win.

Eye Drive

We vowed that when we returned to Switzerland after the Christmas holiday we would apply for a Swiss drivers licence by the end of January. It is important for us to get this done because for the first year you can still drive on our current US license, then after that you have to have a Swiss license. Also, if you apply for a Swiss license in your first year and you have a valid US license you do not have to take a driving test.

You do however have to take an eye test.

The vision test is not sanctioned by the driving authority. Instead you have to visit a local optometrist and get a vision test. The test is not much unlike any other generic vision test. Only this time all the instruction and recitation of charts had to be done in German. No English because, well, the optometrist didn't speak any English.

I already have a hard time with reciting the German alphabet. The vowels are particularly hard because an E is pronounce like an English A and I is pronounced like a English E. I have known troubles with pronouncing E's and I's and I realized afterwords I had said every E on the chart like a German I. Oh well, she knew I was an Auslander.

In the end some how I passed despite the fact that I couldn't only understand about 50 percent of what was being said to me. Thank God for context. See a chart, and start reading!

10 Years

10 years ago today I met my wife. Wow, how amazing is that. I can't believe it has been that long.

We met ice skating. All of my friends know the story, so I won't bother to re-tell it. But, we did find a place to go ice skating close to our house and if things work out we are going to go this evening.

I am just out of words. Ten years. Fantastic!

Pass Me The Duct Tape

If you watched any TV from 85 to 94 you should recognize this.



Mac would have been proud!