Christmas in Scandinavia

As sad as it may be that I’m NOT going to spend Christmas time with my family, I aint exactly complaining about the consolation prize. This year I am doing something different for a change and spending Christmas in Europe. In a few hours, I leave Berlin to meet up with Ingrid in Copenhagen … and then the fun begins! We are going to spend the next two weeks exploring Denmark, Norway and Sweden by land, sea and air. I am SSSSssssoooo looking forward to it. Our rough itinerary is as follows:

23Dec - Fly from Berlin, Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark
25Dec - Overnight cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway
27Dec - Scenic tour from Norway in a Nutshell to Bergen, Norway
29Dec - Speed boat along fjords to Ålesund, Norway including Geiranger Fjord
31Dec - Bus to Olso, Fly to Copenhagen and attend Tivoli’s Christmas Special
03Jan - Bus to Goteborg, Sweden and spend the night
04Jan - A half day in Malmö, Sweden
05Jan - Fly back to Berlin into Tempelhof Airport!

A Surprise at my Doorstep

Ingrid managed to give me the second biggest surprise of my life (read about the first one here). I got a frantic phone call late one night from her telling me that a friend of hers would be at my house in a few minutes to drop a few things off to give to me to give Marcelo to give her mom (you know how that goes). On my descent down the stairs, I came across something I NEVER expected … BABY POOH ! But when Ingrid jumped out from behind the corner I was completely speechless. What a great surprise ! She had the weekend off an

We spent the weekend doing nothing special and had an amazing time doing so (the sign of a truly special relationship.) We had an elegant dinner using our coupons, went to a REALLY cool East Anatolian restaurant with Marcelo and Kerstin (thanks for the suggestion Stephan), rented a 50-cent movie and played Star Craft.

B is for Brats, Beers and Bureaucracy

Everyone knows that German love their Brats and their Beer ... but the B they love the most is Bureaucracy. They LOVE their rules ... they love makin'em, they love followin'em. I had a glimps at some of Germany's finest bureaucracy trying to get a German residence and work permit (whats that? ... you CAN pat your head and rub your belly while hopping on one foot through a hoop? Well then, you might be qualified for the paperwork you need to fill out in order to get the documents needed before we begin your application). The other day I had the fortunate experience to see Berlin's finest adhering to every letter of the law.
Cousin Chad and friends getting frisked by the German Police
I was biking to work some lazy Tuesday morning. I was riding one of those nice bike lanes they have everywhere in this city. Out of the corner of my eye I see a car tailgating me. A few seconds later I seems as though the passenger was trying to hit me with something !!! Ends up being a couple cops in a paddy wagon waving a stop sign! Eventually I 'pull over'. The police we yelling at me for running a red light on my bike. They were right, I DID run a red, but it was on this dinky little street and not a car in sight. I thought 'These guys have to be joking !' I instantly forgot my German, making communcation difficult, I ended up getting off with a 'warning'.

I talked to the people at work and they said that running a red light in German, regardless by bike or auto is the same offense ... I could loose my driver license for 3 months !!! The same goes for biking without proper lights at night !!! In general, I agree to rules for the betterment of society ... but sometimes you have to ask 'how do they apply here'

Skype ... friend or fiend

I've heard the hype for a couple years, but finally I decided to jump on the Skype bandwagon. Skype is this handy little FREE program that allows users to make FREE computer to computer calls or cheap international calls from your computer to a cell phone or land line (2 cents across the whole of the US and Western Europe).
The problems this would help me with:
1. My apartment changed from T-Com to Alice. Which means the end of those dirt cheap prefixes HOWEVER free calls across the WHOLE of Europe. Not the best deal if your relatives live in the US, so Skype offers a cheaper alternative
2. Trying to call Ingrid late at night, when the rest of the house is sleeping. Now her computer will quietly ring versus the chorus of phones that would wake up the whole house.
3. Living in the quasi commune style community that I do means all the phone lines could be tied up. Skype provides me with an alternative.
4. By getting my European friends on Skype provides us a cheap and easy means of communication in the event I move to the US.
5. It gives you a 'second' phone line ... nice if you dont have call waiting for frequently get put on hold

Those were my hopes and theories. In practise, the quality is not nearly that of a landline ... more on the order of a cell phone with a moderate/flucuating signal. Passible at times, unacceptable at others ... perhaps again to the effect my community roommates/neighbors have on my internet connection. Its a fun toy for now, but time will tell if its a viable option for my friends and I.

The pilgrims landed in Scotland

... well ... at least this year they did. Being a busy boy these days, I couldn't find the time (or money) to make it to Minnesota to join the rest of the fam on the farm so I headed off to Aberdeen, Scotland to visit my favorite cousin Trisha and husband John ... who ... contrary to popular belief I think is a great guy, fun to hang out with and NO I did NOT sabotage his computer because he took my favorite pen.


John and Trish picked me up at the airport, after a short quest for the perfect bottle of Scotch we made it home and started playing poker. Not surprising anyone, Trisha won (ooh yeah ... John ... you still owe me the 10 bucks for letting her win) and then we talked the night away. Unfortunately John had to go off-shore and thus missing our belated Thanksgiving feast. Along with helicopters getting struck my lightning and such the dinner party for 8 dwindled down to just Trisha and I. She and I cooked and ate all day Friday followed by a weekend of talking ... trying to catch up on each others lives. We toured the town, checked out the sites, threw a few pints back in a renovated church turned pub (sacrilege or libations … you be the judge). All in all it was such a great weekend. Thank you Trish and John for all
your hospitality !

There and back again AGAIN ... the story of Ingrid

Somethings are meant to be, then again some are not. Ingrid, along with all 160 kg of her stuff made it to Copenhagen only to not have her expectations be met, only to have another opportunity fall on her lap. I swear, that girls twists in fate has more lives than a cat. (Funny seeing she really is a duck; friendly but bites while I'm a frog jumping from lily pad to lily pad. Check out the test to see what animal you are). She came back to Berlin for a few weeks, before starting her new job in Copenhagen, and hung out with the Sonnenallee Gang for some better-than-soap-opera expereinces. Not let least including: buying groceries only to have roommates eat them, roommates buying groceries only to eat her groceries, hairy showers, open washing machines and roommates so bored/lonely that any noise she would make would be cause enough for a knock on the door to start up a conversation. Other highlights of her stay include: Berlin Festival of Lights, Pirate Baby Pooh and his first Halloween, Dinner with a view in the TV Tower of the ICC, Autumn adventure in MuegelSee, as well as your everyday Berliner misadventures.

No matter how fond (if not fun/funny) the experiences were, all good things must come to an end.


Thus Ingrid has returned to Denmark, and has begun making her new life in Copenhagen. My love and best wishes go with her.

The parents and me visit NYC

Ramping up for potential life change (ie move toChicago) I attended the Ad-Tech convention to seewhats new, hot and sexy in the industry. Overall itwas a great experience, but the highlight wasDEFINATELY meeting the parents !!! Living overseashas its perks and although technology continueallymakes it a smaller world with cell phones, email, chatprograms and webcams NOTHING beats seeing your parentsface to face. Especially if you're able to coax themout of their clam shell lifestyle and meet them in the Big Apple ! Highlights include going to the Top ofthe Rock during their opening week, Mom ordering asandwiche bigger than her stomach ... her whole uppertorso for that matter, and Pappy grabbing the WallStreet Bull by the balls.

Your dreams ... just an email away

I came across this website during my daily rummaging around on the internet. Its an email time capsule sponcered by Forbes and Yahoo! We all know about the old version of a time capsule where we fill a box full of stuff and put it somewhere in hopes of finding it years later to walk down memory lane.

One of my influential high school teachers had us write a letter to ourselves and promised to mail it to us a couple years later. In the letter we were suppose to write some of our short and long term goals. Upon receiving it years later I reflected how many of the short term goals I have already accomplished and how close I was to obtaining my long term ones (more the fact of the matter was, how much my long term goals have changed and how different a person I am now).

My original thoughts for this blog was to encourage all 2 of my faithful readers to send an encapsulated email to that special someone so they get a sweet message a few years from now. But half way through this blog I realized SCREW THAT !!! Send that special someone a really deep and heart filled email TODAY. All to often people go through life not realizing the impact they have on others.

Since writing yourself a love letter may be a bit vain, I think it would be a fun idea to write down the dreams and goals of today and email them to your future self. Write down that what is special in your life: like your favorite song, shirt or restaurant … anything sentimental … mail it to yourself a few years from now for a good laugh of ‘life back in the day’. For example, what really lights up my life in the here and now: Berlin, Ingrid BabyPooh and Marcelo, 50 cent movie rentals, Doom the Board Game and Hallo Pizzas newest creation

In short …
save this time capsuled emailer for yourself
write those who are important to you NOW and let them know how richly they have touch your life

Ingrid's Going Away Week

We have a very special blogging addition today. Four for the price of one. As always I’m WAY behind on taking notes about my life. Here is what happened recently.

I am both saddened and excited to say that Ingrid found a job in Denmark. She left last Thursday.


As part of a weeklong celebration/going away party we did all sorts of things. One of my favorites was a visit to MauerPark. Despite knowing Berlin rather well, I’ve never been to this rather important place. Not only did we have all sorts of fun (swinging, doing stunts on our bikes, racing down hills, having strangers want to be in our pictures then insisting to delete them cause they’re not a tourist attraction) but we found a new feature on our camera … the 2-in-1
Another highlight of Ingrid’s going away week was seeing a cabaret at the historic Friedrichstadtpalast. Last year my parents took us all out to the ‘Lion King’ when we visited them in Boston and man was that an amazing show. It really sent the bar high on other such plays/theater pieces but Casanova definitely cleared it no problem. I went through a great discount agent located near Zoo Station called Hek Ticket. We got FIRST ROW SEATS at 50% off ! The show was hilarious and stage was amazing.

Last but not least my good friend Marcelo turned 26 on the 26th of last monthes. He and Kerstin have been using Ingrid's DVD player for the past couple month. Problem is, Ingrid needs it back because she is moving to Denmark. There is no better present that to give something you were going to take away ... so Baris, Genevieve, Ingrid and myself gave him a new DVD player.

To see more pictures about the past weekend, click on any of the pictures in this post, or here.

My new apartment in Neukolln.

I think this is the 7th place I’ve lived since I’ve moved to Berlin but until all the other places, this one is mine. Before I was always staying in some guys room who would be coming back in a few months. Finally, I found a place of my own, with interesting roommates and an apartment with a whole lotta character. Lemme break it down for you. I like my new WG because:
1. The kitchen is way cool. Still no microwave (few German kitchens have) but the wall is 1/2 brick, 1/2 stucco
2. Despite wanting to live in East Berlin, I managed only to find a place 5 minutes from the wall. As a nice consolation, we have this way cool ‘History of the Soviet Empire’ mural on our living room wall.
3. Kids write in chalk in our courtyard almost every day
4. I have a cool (albeit small, room) with lofted bed and closet built into the floor.

For more pictures of my apartment, either click here or on the picture to the right.

Happy Birthday to ME

One quick note: you'll see on the frame to the right that I'm going to New York City to the ad:tech convention! Yippy !!! Actually, that’s not a sure thing yet … but its in the works, more on that later. Anyway, back to LAST WEEK. I had a birthday. Hurry for me ! It was a good one too. Since Ingrid and I just got back from our little tour around Tuscany, we decided to have an Italian themed dinner. Ingrid did it ALL … from antipasti, to salad and two types of pasta (gorgonzola and tomato pesto) and for dessert tiramisu and those almond cookies you dip into Vino Santo wine.

Afterwards I was hoping we all (my tried and true friends Marcelo, Kerstin and Anna) were going to play some board games … however once again Ingrid had something up her sleeve and we went to this WAY COOL board game bar called ‘Mystery Island’ where we hung out and place Mr. X (Scotland Yard … my favorite game as of now) and Monopoly Star Wars version (Ingrid joined the dark side and won). We closed the bar down around 2am and called it a night. Its friends like these that really make birthdays so special. I cant thank each of you enough for all that you've done.

BDAY 2004 ... Best Birthday Ever

Speaking of birthday parties … there will NEVER be a day goes by where I think about my birthday, that I don’t recall my Birthday 2004 celebration. From the moment I woke up to the wee hours the next morning the day just kept getting better and better. I woke up to Ingrid throwing a mini celebration complete with presents and breakfast in bed. When I got to my language school, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” (in numerous languages) as well as wrote it on the board in about 10 different ways. Afterwards we celebrated it in my favorite café Garcon where we ate Popcorn cake ‘just like mommy use to make’.
Ingrid and I sorted out my birthday plans. I decided to go to some random restaurant with Marcelo, Kerstin and Anna. Unfortunately Ingrid had to babysit but could hang out before and after dinner. To make it up to me, she wanted to give me a surprise before she began babysitting. We went up to this really cool building called Panorama. For some reason I always thought it was a Chinese restaurant, but low and behold it was a building that gave amazing view of Potsdamer Platz and Berlin. After watching the sunset there, it was time to go. Ingrid was going to drop me off at the restaurant when we had a slight fender bender.
Ingrid bursted into tears and confessed that she did NOT have to babysit and we were NOT going to the restaurant of my choice, rather she has prepared this great huge surprise birthday party and ALL my friends are waiting for me. Unfortunately she had to wait behind and take care of matters while I rushed ahead to restaurant ‘Yo Soy’ where they serve something I’ve always wanted to try … paella. There I found over 20 of my friends there … from old friends to roommates to classmates; Ingrid invited them all. Shortly thereafter Ingrid arrived along with my birthday cake. I don’t think I have ever been so surprised and so caught off guard as that day. It was a day I will never forget. As if a guy could be any luckier, I was off to Munich the next day with Ingrid to meet up with my old college roommate Brian to kick off Oktoberfest ! For more pix of the BDAY 2004 click on the picture above or check them out in the "My Photos"

Tuscany, Italy

After three years I have finally started to develop a routine J I am way behind on blogging, but as part of my brand spanking new routine I plan on updating my pictures one day, then blogging about them the next. I should be caught up in less than week.

Last weekend Ingrid and I had some misadventures in Tuscany, Italy. Ingrid found some cheap tickets from Berlin to Pisa, Italy AND for only 15 euro more we can bring our bikes along! Our idea was to fly to Pisa across the Tuscany countryside to Florence. For a much more detailed description you can check out her blog, but … the short n’ sweet way I see things are as follows:

LOWLIGHTS

• EasyJet lost our bikes L This took the heart out of our plan. But we had to make due without and decided add another city to the end of our trip.
• The added city to our itinerary ended up being Siena. We arrived late at night, ends up they had the concert of the year and the city was totally booked out. Walked up and down the streets begging hotels to put us up, called all the hotels in our guide book, called all the places in another couples guide book, we luck out and found the number to an old olive oil villa on the cities outskirts in a picture I took some hours before. Despite not having any other option, Ingrid managed to take the lady from 145 to 115 to 100 euros.

HIGHLIGHTS

• We all have heard of Pisa’s famous tower, but nothing beats weebling and wobbling your way up to the top.
• Siena is my new favorite Italian city. Pisa was quaint but small. Florence is beautiful but touristy. Siena however, is timeless! A beautiful medieval city with winding streets and a LOT of charm.
• Tuscany countryside. Although Ingrid says I missed some of the best parts (and has video footage of me sleeping, mouth open and drooling, to prove it) the parts I did see were breath-taking.

Big Bang ... the story of my life

In the beginning there was but a speck of ‘life’ and from it, with a thunderous explosion, came forth all other things. That little speck is a gringo hanging out in Berlin and that thunderous explosion is the here and now.

Life is happening so fast, I’m having a hard time keeping up with myself and I am loving every minute. I still haven’t recoped from my three weeks gallivanting around the Middle and Far East. Despite that, I still had to find a new apartment (which I owe Ingrid a fair share of gratitude for helping me find). Without even being completely moved in, over the weekend I celebrated Vincent’s birthday (an old roommate of mine) in his lake cabin located about 150 km from Berlin. Go here to see some of the pictures. While you're there, look for the one where Ingrid and I are carrying a mattress on our heads through the streets of Berlin.



The next day (which was yesterday, Monday) I had a job interview that went swimmingly well. There is a VERY good chance after 3 months of training in Berlin, I will be assigned a position in CHICAGO, USA!!! But I am putting the cart before the horse and need a few more days for things to develop before I really know what I’m talking about.

Even after juggling all that, there is an old plan in the works that Ingrid and I would like to follow through on. We found some cheap tickets to Italy, and for only 15 euro more we could bring bikes!!! So … with a little luck, tomorrow Ingrid and I fly to Pisa, Italy! After checking out their famous leaning tower, we hope to bike around half the width of Italy, to Florence (that’s only about 100km or so).

I’d like to write more … but I have to figure out how to take the pedals off the bike, try and introduce order into my room, and prepare for my first day on the job (tomorrow) … just another average day in the life for me.

Back from Asia

I've been back from my trip for about a week now. I'm moving a million miles an hour trying to get my life sorta, still have a lot to do ... here is a short summary. You can also check out some picture of the wedding in Heidelberg, Abu Dhabi, Laos, and Thailand.

Highlights
Thailand - Philosophizing with a monk in Bangkok about the worlds problems, while sipping my favorite ‘Thai Ice Tea’

Laos - Seeing the hobby/passion of a monk that carved a fusion of Buddist/Hindu deities into stone.

Abu Dhabi - Staying in a nicest hotel I’ve EVER been in … I had a room on the 14th floor, corner suite complete with kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom, 2 TVs all with a view of the Cornish (Abu Dhabi’s ‘Central Park’) and the Marina

Lowlights
Laos - That’s a toss up. On my bus ride down a mountain from Luang Prabang to Vang Vien, I was inconvenienced more than once. I’m not sure if I was more annoyed with the first or second mud slide … where we had to wait for bull dozers to clear the path, or the road collapsing, impeding the buses … making us walk across to the buses on the otherside, or the guy with the rifle riding next to me the whole way there. The trip was suppose to take 6 hours … instead it took around 20 !!!

Abu Dhabi - If it wasn’t the heat, then it definately was the humidity that got to me. Both days I was there the temperature was over 110 F with humidity somewhere in the 90s !!!

Globe Trotter V3.0

This will be the last blog in a while … I’m off on a nice 17 day mini world tour. My itinerary goes something as follows

Aug 7th (Germany) My two good friends Erik and Ariane are getting married near Heidelberg, Germany. Afterwards I hope to enjoy a day in one of my favorite cities, Heidelberg, with Ingrid.
Aug 9th (UAE) I am off to Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates (on layover). On the return flight I get to spend the night and a good chance to explore the city.
Aug 10th (Thailand) I will finally arrive in Thailand and will travel directly to visit my friend Rod in Pattaya for his big birthday celebration.
Aug 16th (Laos?) Having seen my share of Thailand, I am hoping to peter off somewhere else for a week, I’m really hoping to spend a week of so in Laos.
Aug 21st (Germany) I want to get back to BKK a day or two before I leave to recover some of the pictures I lost. The last time I was in SE Asia, one of my bags was stolen. The dirty laundry made it home safe and sound but my souvenirs and photos didn’t L.

When I get back I'm sure I'll have a few blogs worth of stories.
PLUS I return to an internship with Jamba! and I get to move to a new apartment. Lots of exciting stuff. Til next time ...

My Purple Backpack

The past week has been a busy one for me. The core group I hang out with has started to feel were approaching the beginning of the end. We’ve been doing a lot of big group activities thinking ‘this is the last time we’re going to get together like this’. Aside from that, shortly after I return from my trip I have to find a new apartment. So I’ve been busy packing up all my stuff. Lastly, not only am I trying to iron out the details of my trip to Asia, but forefront on my mind is Erik and Ariane’s wedding.

I have some sad news to report. It looks like my favorite backpack ... the one I got for my high-school graduation ... the one that has been with me on EVERY trip I’ve ever made, is on its last leg. We’ve been together for over 10 years now, and I’m quite confident that this will be the last journey together. There is a fun song (I changed the lyrics a little) to fit the relationship I have with my backpack:

I got you when I was only 18,
the brightest purple backpack I’ve ever seen.
It was extra large so I wouldn't grow out,
"That's too big for you!" the other kids would shout.
But we stuck together, we didn't quit,
and now the children say, "What a perfect fit."
Remember that long bus trip when I needed a nap?,
I used you as a pillow on that Spanish lady's lap.
Oh what is it about you that makes me so jolly?,
Is it your fifty cotton or your fifty poly?

Oh purple backpack we been through a lot together
like that time I played in that shirts
and skins basketball game and I had to take you off
and throw you in the corner of the gym.
I was midway through the game when I saw you looking at me.
You were staring as if to say
"Chris, you suck at basketball, you dribble like a damn woman.
"I was so mad I challenged you to a game of one on one
and you know backpack, even though I beat you 11 to 9,
deep in my soul I know you missed those lay-ups on purpose.
You let me win and that why I'll forever feel this way.

I love you baaaaaackpack
One pocket baaaaaackpack
dip dip dip
baaaaaackpack
shama lama ding dong
baaaaaackpack.

-Adam Sandler (Remix of Red Hooded Sweatshirt)

Normally, me ‘n my purple backpack travel alone. I take only the essentials: passport and plane ticket, Lonely Planet book and one or two changes of clothes. My newest acquisition is a battery charger (to power my digital camera and electric toothbrush). I was amazed how expensive it was (60 euro), but I know it’ll be worth it and its high time I stop mooching off other peoples anyway. This trip I am also going to bring my uni-wheeled suitcase too (to carry suit, wedding present and birthday present).

Hide and Go Seek

‘Hide and Seek’ is the classic game we all played as kids. At times I can’t help but think I’m still playing it, only now I’m not sure whose team I am on. Lemme try and clarify. What is the typical ‘traveler’ doing? Hiding or Seeking? One way a travel could look at it is:

My name is Chris. So what else do you need to know? Stuff about my family, or where I'm from? None of that matters. Not once you cross the ocean and cut yourself loose, looking for something more beautiful, something more exciting and yes I admit, something more dangerous. So after eighteen hours in the back of an airplane, three dumb movies, two plastic meals, six beers and absolutely no sleep, I finally touch down to the next new thing.
- Richard in The Beach

Now there is a guy on a mission, right? He is acting, not reacting, right? Therefore we have ourselves a Seeker. Lets add a twist. I’ve been on of those three year self-appointed self-financed sabbaticals you might have been hearing so much about … you know, to increase my international exposure.

At what point does the seeker, after not seeing what he is suppose to find, become the hider? Why doesn’t he find it? What is he running away from?
Alls I can say is I’m definitely not lost, I’m just not found.

'Morality of Preemptive Strike' or 'Is all really fair in love and war?'

I’ve been chewing on the idea of ‘Preemptive Strikes’ ever since George W. used it as a means to go to war with Iraq.

Are preemptive strikes an acceptable means of defense? Can you define ‘defense’ as ‘striking first’? Or are preemptive strikes somewhere in the family of paranoia? I don’t know any of these answers. Seldom are my opinions black and white, usually more a form of grey. Seldom, the questions I ask myself yield answers, usually only more questions.


George W. by no means invented the concept. For example back in WWII there was the highly controversial Fire-bombing of Dresden. Just prior to the bombings, Dresden was regarded as a beautiful city and cultural center with no direct military presence.

Near the end of the war, after the Allies bombed all the German cities full of bad guys, they got to thinking “What are all the bad guys going to do, now that we blew up all their cities?” The conclusion was “… they will probably move to a city we haven’t blown up yet.” The debate I have with myself: Can you blow up cities that DON’T have bad guys in them, but you think MIGHT eventually be used by the bad guys. To me, that has some parallels to firefighters using ‘controlled burns’ to limit the impact of forest fires.

What am I really rambling talking about?
Ingrid and I have broken up.

Check here for the short ‘n sweet version. Keep reading for the more incoherent one.

When is it time to call it quits on a relationship? Should the captains go down with ship? … futilely trying to salvage what they can, only to drowned in vain? Or should there be intervention? … which would prevent a worst-case scenario but result in a suboptimal (nonetheless livable) outcome?

Ingrid’s and my relationship has entered a new stage … a very transitional one. About the only thing that IS clear is that we no longer have the titles boyfriend/girlfriend. What our relationship will stabilize to be is still very uncertain. Despite the pains, confusion and frustrations that all moments like these bring, I still hold Ingrid in the highest regard. I truly hope our relationship continues long into the future.

Ingrid, Cyberbabe extraordinaire

This is a Harvard Business Review-esque story about a very gifted woman in the world of computer science who just so happens to be my girlfriend. Less than 8 months ago, Ingrid decided she wanted a computer. At the time, I thought it was a rather expensive paperweight and expected that AT MOST she would use it to chat and write emails to her friends abroad. Little did I know, I had a budding IT tech just waiting to blossom.

Sure, she started off with just the basic computer skills, but quickly learned about the benefits of Wi-Fi; setting up a network in her house and occasionally using the Hotspots around Berlin.

Ingrid’s next big step towards computer wisdom was developing a bit of an online personality. She is caught up in the blogging fad and maintains an online photo archive to compete with any. She is VERY proud that her blogger posts are up a good day or two before mine.

I appreciate Ingrid’s natural flare for computers the most when it applies to LAN games, the most noteworthy being Starcraft. It is a rather difficult game master, but after only a few days playing the campaigns she was ready to network with the big boys and hold her own against as many 5 other players! I don’t know if I will ever be a prouder boyfriend than the day she compared terrorism to the zerg. (that only narrowly beat out the day she could eat more Wasabi Beans than me :)

The epitome of Ingrid’s computer aptitude happened just a week ago. Ingrid, Marcelo and myself got together for dinner and for some reason the topic turned to online storage (a topic that would have put the Ingrid of yesteryear asleep, but now she was VERY engaged). Marcelo enlightened everyone with the fact that all yahoo accounts are automatically registered with a free website from geocities.com. Ingrid could hardly wait to finish dinner before she ran home to try her hand at web developing … something she knew virtually nothing about, nor did she want any help with. She wanted to prove to her dorky engineering friends (and to herself) that she could develop a web page as good as the rest. See the results for your self here and then compare it to mine. The consequence of out dorking the dorks means Ingrid truly desires the title of Cyberbabe extraordinaire.

Not knowing you don’t know aka is England a country?

A long while ago I was trying to tally up exactly how many countries I have visited when I ran into a few problems … namely, is England more like a country or more like a state? Let me clarify.

Reasons why England, Scotland, Wales, North Ireland are countries.

• Because we all call them countries.
• Because they each have their own forms of government.

Reasons why I don’t think they are countries.

• Because I have never heard of the English Embassy or Scottish Embassy … only a British Embassy.
• Because on my girlfriend's Map of the World, it has each countries flag below. The English/Scottish/etc flags are not there, only the Union Jack (aka the UK Flag).
• Because they all have the same passport.

Conclusion? I guess one could consider the UK a country made of four countries, but I’m not happy with that. I’m happier with the international community viewing the UK a country while on the INSIDE of that country, they view themselves as countries.

Wikipedia.org defines both England and the UK as a country.

While Dictionary.com refers to England as a mere division of the UK, avoiding the word country at all times.

Read other peoples take on the situation at LonelyPlanet.com

Amsterdam with Rodney

For the past … ohh … 10 years, I’ve had this great tradition of meeting up with a good friend of mine, somewhere in the world, sometime in early July. It’s allowed us to keep in touch, and to get out and explore the world together. Last year we spent a week in Prague, this it was a long weekend in Amsterdam.

Highlights:

• Got a job! I was FINALLY extended the job from Jamba just a couple hours before I had to catch my train to A’dam. It was nice to know I’d have a job to return to when I get back to Berlin on Monday.
• Just Chillin' Taking it easy with a very old friend, in one of the worlds greatest places to hang out.
  

Lowlights:

• Hide and Seek. My train was late arriving into Centraal Station, making it difficult for Rod and I to connect. I went to his hotel, sent an email telling him my whereabouts, then went to sleep. He arrived sometime later, waking me up staying something to the effect of “I’ve been looking for you for over four hours”. My response was “I thought I’d sleep in your bed while I waited for you!”
• Loosing the aforementioned job. It looks like I dont have a job after all. Due to slight schedule conflicts, I have to wait til AFTER my Southeast Asia trip before I start work.

U2 Vertigo Tour

After missing the chance to see U2 live with a couple other friends, my girlfriend was determined to find something on eBay. After a couple hours of searching she found General Admission tickets for only 35 euro each! (Face value was 55 euro, that’s my girl !!!)

The concert was great. We spotted our friends Marcelo and Kerstin up in the seated section. Opening band Kaiser Chiefs really rocked. The huge screen made of little lights, behind the stage was absolutely amazing. They flashed everything from words, designs, and pictures to real time video of Bono and the band.

Afterwards Ingrid and I went to Nollendorf Platz to eat at an American Diner. I had a salmon filled baked potato because, you know, that’s what all the Americans eat :) On the way home I found 30 euro. Yeah, it was a good night.

Young, Sexy and Unemployed

Found it, waited for it, lost it, redirected it, got it, then lost it again. The cycle is finally complete. So goes my job search in Germany. The longer version goes something like … I found a sexy lil internship. The company was as interested in me as I was in it. The one snag (and a 15 week stag at that) was I didn’t have a work permit. In the middle of the wait the company said they couldn’t hold off any longer and looked for other candidates. The Unemployment Office (simply translated into German as ‘Landesamt für Bürger und Ordnungsangelegenheiten’ … I think I’ll stick to 'Unemployment Office') FINALLY gave me the work permit last Tuesday YIPPY HOORAY HUURAHH. I approached the company again, and once again they showed enthusiasm about me coming aboard. Alas, I failed in negotiating a final condition of my employment and I haven't heard from them since. On the bright side, if I actually did find a job I’d have simply nothing to blog about.

Live 8

Last weekend, my friends and I went to a concert with a million or so other people while a billion or so watched from their living rooms. This grandiose event could be none other than Live 8, a concert demanding debt forgiveness, trade concessions and $25 billion in aid for Africa. For more pictures on the event, click to the left. For a much more vivid stories of our experience, check out my good friend Marcelo’s blog and my beautiful girlfriend Ingrid's Blog.

Movin' On Out ...

Ingrid finally did it! She escaped from the clutches of a host mom who was several falafels short of a Teller. Nine big suitcases later, she was moved into apartment with THE nice couple (who time and time again prove they deserve that title). Here is a picture of Ingrid and I carrying the first load, waiting at the bus stop the BVG hid around the corner from where it normally is.

Gold Fever

If you want to stay up til the wee hours of the morning, not go to ‘work’, and have your girlfriend to leave you, boy do I have the perfect thing for you !!! It’s a little online game called ‘Gold Miner’. It pretty much only used 1 key on your keyboard but its more addicting than crack. Give it a go … IF YOU DARE :D

Christopher Street Day & Sandsation

mon mon mon, time flies when you’re having fun! Can you believe its already been one year since my favorite week in Berlin 2004. This past weekend was Christopher Street Days. One of the biggest pride parades in the world (over 425,000 participants). It’s a colorful display of people, both gay and straight that bring gay rights into the spotlight. Below is a picture of Marcelo, Ingrid and myself from CSDs 2004. Click on the pix for more from this year.

Berlin is hosting its 3^rd Annual International Sand Sculpting Festival – Sandsations. What these guys can do with your average beach sand is AMAZING! This years theme is fairy-tales and there was some pretty creative pieces. One of my personal favorites was two collages, one of good fairy tales (like Yoda) and one of bad myths (like George W’s weapons of mass destruction) :D Below is a picture from last years theme ‘The Elements.’ Click on the picture for pix from 2005.

HP Wroclaw

I’ve been pretty excited about this potential job lead as in Intern for HP in Poland. The first phone interview went great. The second phone interview was ALL in Germany. Y-I-K-E-S ! I was very happy with my listening comprehension but I made (at least) one significant error. The interviewer asked “Do you have any experience in Buchhaltung?” I said “Yes, of course.” Then the interviewer said, “Would you care to elaborate?”

My mind was running circles trying to recall what Buchhaltung meant. Alas, my brain wasn’t quick enough and I was forced to ask “Could you care to elaborate on the word Buchhaltung?”

Four hours later I got an email saying I didn’t get the job. Back to the drawing board. Click on the HP logo to try your chance at a career with HP.

Moscow

Its so great to visit a country/city filled with so many stereotypes and see how they really compare with real life (yes Russians really do love vodka, no its not filled with boring grey buildings and sad people). We had a direct flight from Berlin to Moscow. We knew it was going to be an interesting trip when we thought FOR SURE we missed our plane not once, but THREE times!!!

1. We got a late start and left for the airport not 30 minutes before departure.
   
2. The security line was longer and slower than I have ever saw.
   
3. Ingrid has issues with her passport and got escorted to some sort of police office before realizing everything was just mix up.

If you want to see some picture from my trip, click on the one below. To keep this short, I’ll just tell you the highlights/lowlights.

Highlights
Russian Anna. Having a Muscovite on the inside is an invaluable asset. From giving us a place to stay, taking us to restaurants where you have to know a ‘secret password’ to get in, and experiencing dinner with a typical Russian family, I can not thank Anna enough for all her help

Lenin. Unable to make to see Lenin’s embalmed body on Red Square the first time I was in Moscow, this was the #1 I wanted to do this time around. After getting a late start, we arrived at the mausoleum 20 minutes before close to find a line of over 200 people. Realizing it wasn’t going to see the great communist revolutionary, I was deeply saddened. As always, my red-hot Latina girlfriend was NOT going to let me down. I am still fuzzy on the details, but somehow Ingrid approached a shady character and after some negotiation, lots of arm waving, and a few Rubles to smooth the transaction we were escorted to the front of the line and hurried past numerous armed guards literally seconds before they turned the rest of the line away.

Lowlights
Metro. The subway stations were entirely marble, have the stature of a museum, and the transportation came every minute and a half. However once inside, along with their great speed came great noise allowing you to scream the national anthem yet your neighbor sitting all to close to you wouldn’t hear a word.

АБГs (ABCs). The Russian alphabet takes some getting use to. Trying to remember that H is pronounced like N, P is really R, and π is no longer 3.14159 is difficult under pressure. As a result, we ended up taking pictures with our digital camera of the word on the menu and showed it to the cashier. More than once they got a chuckle outta it.

Life Unplugged

Due to the endless circles of German bureaucracy and red tape, a small mixed up left me and my roommates internet-less for a week. It’s sad to admit, but I realizing very quickly that life without internet access was unacceptable. I frequented an internet café throughout the week. Interestingly enough, I noticed a huge increase in my productivity … I applied for over 23 jobs over the week … far more than usual.

I already got a little taste from the fruits of my labor. I had a phone interview yesterday for a potential internship with HP in Global e-Business Operations in Wroclaw, Poland. I’m pretty excited about it. But first I have to pass a German fluency test by phone, sometime next week, yikes !!!

Essences of Berlin

Los Tres Amigos were sitting around Winterfeldtplatz, eating some good Habibi falafel, watching the sunset, and wax philosophical over Berlin. For better or worse, we had some funny first impressions and insightful observations as foreigners in what we all agree is one of Europe’s best cities.

Top Unusual First Impressions of a Foreigner Living in Berlin

1. When you order a Hotdog (or french fries or any number of other things) you have your choice of Ketchup OR mustard. The thought of wanting more than one condiment doesn’t seem to register.
2. The use of ice doesn’t exist. You wont get any with your pop and there is no sense in asking for some because they don’t even have the capabilities of making any!
3. German men have the exact same potty training of their female counter parts. Which is to say, while going #1 or #2, both should be done while sitting. They expect the same from everyone else as well.
4. Receiving tap water at a restaurant is sometimes difficult. On numerous occasions I have been told they don’t have any!
5. There is seldom any pressure for you to leave the restaurant/bar. The downside to that is, getting the check can sometimes be a time consuming process
6. The above problem is compounded by not knowing your servers name. They NEVER have nametags, NEVER introduce themselves, and on occasion take offensive when being asked for their name.
7. Tis an interesting place when you can drink a beer WHILE driving a car, public nudity is common place in major parks or beaches, and four letter words like sh*t arent really swear words.
8. One should NEVER cross a crosswalk without first consulting the 'Dont Walk' light. One should NEVER cross when it says 'Dont Walk', even if there are no cars in sight.
9. Clothes dryer and microwaves are NOT products that Germans like to use. In fact most places I’ve lived DONT have them.
10. The per/minute cost to call a European cell phone (from a land line) is about 20 cents. HOWEVER, when calling a cell phone overseas, it costs about 3 cents per minute.
11. Air conditioning does NOT exist ANYWHERE in Berlin. Heat solely provided by radiators and windows NEVER have screens on them.

Top Ten Things a Foreigner Living in Berlin will come to love.

1. Safety! Berlin has a VERY low crime rate.
2. Perhaps best public transportation in Europe.
3. A very low cost of living but VERY spacious rooms (12’ ceilings and 180 sq ft rooms are common)
4. VERY casual dress code. While listening to a symphony your neighbor could be gothic or punk and you will never get turned down at the door of a bar or club.
5. Rich ethnically diversity leads to colorful festivals and a wide range of restaurants.
6. Relatively low traffic makes the city easy to drive and somewhat bike friendly.
7. Caters to families, meaning lots of parks, playgrounds and a slower pace on the sidewalks.
8. Abundance of Higher Arts. The historic call divided the city, causing each to develop/grow independently. Now after reunification, there are twice the museums, opera houses, and universities.
9. Unusually quick queues in the airports due to the decentralized structure. (check in, security and gate number are all pretty much the same thing).
10. A modern history bigger than any roller coaster ride. The city retains its past while still being progressive in its future.

Fun with Food

Last week was a pretty food filled weekend. On Friday, my girlfriend and I check out my roommate’s band, Ganz Grosses Tennis. What a great concert. It’s like a show and comedy routine put to some fun music! Check out their website to hear the first 5 songs on their CD.


On Saturday, Ingrid hosted a great backyard barbecue (aside from our charcole having the same flammable properties as granite). The pix can be found here. Everyone brought their countries favorite food to grill: shish kabobs from Turkey, Hamburgers from the States, Sausages from Germany and South American Steaks from Colombia. It was a great success.

Finally, on Monday, Ingrid and I tried to satisfy our new found fancy for sushi by rolling it ourselves! Aside from buying WAY to much food (but still not spending more than what we would in a restaurant) everything on our romantic night turned out GREAT. Not to mention it was so much fun! We found the best website taking us step-by-step on how to Rolling Your Own Sushi.

Siedlers Update

OK ... so ... I guess we all learned a lot of lessons last night after playing Siedlers
1. Never boast on your blog that you are going to win a game before you actually play the game
2. Colombians are not only beautiful ... they can also play a mean game of Sielders
3. Russians are significantly friendlier than Hollywood may depict.

After the two superpowers (Anna and Chris) suffered a defeat at the hands the lil Latina (Ingrid), we decided to respect each other’s differences and finalize our trip to Moscow !!! That’s right, Anna was gracious enough to welcome us to her home. We found some pretty good tickets from Berlin to Moscow and back. We’re even done with the most difficult part … getting an invitation and visa. Anna couldn’t invite us because she wasn’t currently in Russia (plus the process takes even longer). Ingrid had to pay twice as much for her visa 'just because' she is Colombian and I had to fill out four times the paper work 'just because’ I’m from the US. If these is any foreshadow to the misadventures awaiting us, this trip is going to be GREAT.

Siedlers von Berlin

Anna is our neighborhood pusher. She approaches you FIRST, as a friend. Then she introduces you into her special little world. You think it seems cool. “No harm in trying it once”, she suggests. Next thing you know, you’re spending all your money on it, cant get your mind off it, and need to visit her once a week to get your fix.



Anna was the first one from our group to play the board game Siedlers von Catan. After playing it a few times, I was addicted and have since bought the base set, base expansion, and Städte & Ritter. That was about a year ago; since then we’ve met almost every Tuesday night to play. The die hard fans are Anna, my girlfriend Ingrid, and myself.

From first impressions Anna looks like one of those ‘nice’ Russians (as opposed to those mean ones that the great Sylvester Stallone saved us from throughout the 80’s (like Rocky IV and Rambo III)). But deep down inside she is ruthless like all the rest. She has been a tyranny to the poor people of Catan with particular oppression to peaceful US and Colombian settlers. I am here to publicly announce that TONIGHT is the night. I will personally end Anna’s lengthy winning streak ... in an effort to ‘spread democracy throughout the world’.

Wookie Cookie Weekend

Some time has past since my first serious offer to work here in Berlin. I want the job, the company really wants me, so alle ist gut, oder? NEIN !!! I first need to get a work permit from the good old Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten. I applied for one over 8 weeks 3 days and 13 hours ago and last Wednesday they said I still might have to wait another TWO WEEKS !!!




While a wait, I have no other choice than to have fun. Over the weekend my friends and I got caught up in the Star Wars marketing machine. We made Wookie Cookies, ate Star War edition Pringles’ and played with BK Kid Meals toys. 90% of the difficulty making Wookie Cookies here in Berlin is finding the raw materials such as chocolate chips and baking soda, but after shopping at over 10 super markets we persevered and they were a great success. For the recipe click on the picture. To check out the pix from my Wookie Cookie weekend click here.

Karneval der Kulturen

Its that time of year again, time for one of the two biggest parties in Berlin. The Carnival of Cultures is a reflection of Berlin‘s cultural diversity. Check out some of my pictures to see what its all about.

May the Force be with You

I'm looking forward to seeing the final episode of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith next week. To better understand the inner thoughts of Darth Vader (and for a GREAT laugh) you should check out his blog The Darth Side: Memoirs of a Monster. A brief exerp is:

The problem is solved now, however. I crushed his trachea with my mind, and promoted Piett to command the fleet. I have transmitted to following note to Ozzel’s kin:

Dear House of Ozzel,

I regret to inform you that your son has been killed in the line of duty.

He was an incompetent, yammering boob and he will be missed by none. I have allowed the men to pillage his personal belongings, which is why we have enclosed nothing but the sole remaining item: a torn advertisements page from a magazine of midget pornography. May it shock and disturb you, and may you think of it always when you remember your dearly departed son, the ninny.

Know also that his limitations as a sub-par military professional caused the deaths of many of the Emperor’s loyal soldiers, whose funeral expenses will appear on your next tax assessment.

Sincerely,
D. Vader

The marketing machine behind Star Wars is HUGE. It can been seen everywhere from Pringles to Pepsi to now even LEGOs !!! (But I do have to admit, the LEGO Death Star is pretty cool.)

Finally, before Anakin Skywalker finally transforms into Darth Vader, I would like to suggest he read Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord... for a very helpful (and humorous) look at the do's and dont's to intergalactic domination.

Death of an Ampleman

Back in the day when the GDR (aka Soviet Union) controlled East Berlin while the US, UK and France administered the West, a wall was built dividing the people. According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, an isolated species will evolve differently according to the law of ‘Survival of the Fittest’. What he did not predict is that his law applies to stop lights as well.

Today you can see the evolutionary effect walking through the streets of Berlin. If the little cross walk guy is wearing a hat, you’re in the East, where as your plain vanilla hatless ‘Ampleman’ indicates you’re in the West.



East Germans strongly resisted the idea of converting to the less interesting West German stick figures during the reunification of Germany, and as a consequence, the little man (the "Ampelmännchen") of the East Berlin traffic lights have become a ubiquitous symbol Berlin. However Ampelman nostalgia has taken its toll, and the Berlin government thinks it’s a great idea to make ALL crosswalk lights (even in West Berlin) Ampelmen. Now if you walk through the deep west of Berlin (like Dahlem) you can see Ampelmen, putting my Berliner compass into frenzy, and detracting from Berlin’s unique personality. ‘Survival of the fittest’ my rear end … all I have to say is DARWIN IS WRONG !!!

Euro Trip - Netherlands and Belgium

Ingrid and I found a cheap weekend car rental so we thought we'd make a little trip around Netherlands and Belgium. We tried to reserve a small diesel but ended up with a station wagon sucking down regular gas which costs over $6/gallon here in Europe !



To see pictures of this trip check out my Link Here. For all other pictures, check out the "My Photos" under my Links Section.

Iterative Blogging

Here are the two websites I visit a lot. Look for shortcuts to them under my LINKS sections.


I’ve been visiting Tom Simpson’s websites for over eight years. His blog has entertained, amused, and now inspired me to create my own.


You have to be a bit of a role playing geek to find it funny, but check out “The Order of the Stick” web comic

See dog Flip. Flip dog, flip!

my favorite job search tool www.flipdog.com was acquired by my not-so-favorite job search engine, Monster.com. I guess, if you can beat them, buy'em out :)