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.