July, Done and Dusted

Already a week into August. This year is flying by!

After surviving the Firmenlauf, Mr. Kilt and I headed to Brussels for a long overdue visit to a friend of mine living there. Back in 2004 she had gone for a few weeks to work in Germany. At the time she was working for the same company as me and we had been my second roommate at my first project back in 2001-2002.



Well, a few weeks turned into a few months and now a few years have passed and she is still living in Europe. She married a man from Brussels and they now have two little ones. Life's funny that way.

I had never been to Belgium and Mr. Kilt hadn't been since he was in University in Amsterdam so it was a nice combined visit and sight seeing tour. We had good weather, which is apparently unusual in Belgium and did a day trip to Bruges. Lovely visit, enjoyed both Brussels and Bruges and would be happy to go back any time.



My friend's mother and father-in-law spoke nice in slow in French and was good to be able to still understand what they were talking about. My friend's children understand French and English but are incredibly shy about speaking English and would only speak French. It was a lot of fun playing with them all weekend but between the two of them and two step children, I can see why my friend has decided to be a full time Mom for the near future.

After the Brussels trip, Mr. Kilt and I decided to just lay low for a few weeks. We are in preparation for a 2.5 week trip to the US at the end of August and when we get back we have the following weekend in Berlin (where Mr. Kilt will be running the Berlin marathon) and Oktoberfest will be in full swing.

I am having way too much fun planning out the itinerary for the US trip. The first week we are going to New York City, Philadelphia and Boston - three of my favorite cities in the whole world - and it will be his first time there. The second half is a bit more laid back - my parents in CT, Newport and Portland, Maine to see my sis and her other half. We just can't wait for it!

I am trying also to leave the house in order and ready for visitors that will descend on us for the last weekend of Oktoberfest. Although I have been slowly moving along on house projects since I moved in there is still so much to do. I am not really in a rush but would like to reach a comfortable plateau while my visitors are here.

Yes, a hectic couple of months coming up!


Dog Days of Summer

Posted from Munich

Here, There and Everywhere

I was supposed to be back in Germany last Monday morning but fate had other plans for me. My initial two weeks in the US went as planned - I worked in NJ during the week and visited friends and colleagues in Philly over the weekends. It was great to see a good friend from college, her husband and their 1 year old boy, another friend of mine who was celebrating his 35th birthday, and still another good friend from Spain who had moved to the US last fall.

On the Thursday before I was scheduled to fly home, my project came to a halt and I, along with others, was asked to take a week holiday. With no certainty as to if and when the project would resume, I decided to stay a bit longer on this side of the world so I could visit my parents this weekend. But what to do with the week when my parents were working?

I have so many miles and points that I rarely get to use so I decided to check out what options I had in the Caribbean for a last minute trip. My only requirement was that it be somewhere I felt safe enough going along, that miles would pay for the flights and that the flight schedule would get me to CT by Friday afternoon.

Turks and Caicos fit the bill - lucky for me! Usually me Caribbean time is spent in Mexico so this was really my first trip to one of the islands and I can only highly recommend it!

The weather was gorgeous, Grace Bay Beach perfection, the people friendly and the food tasty (especially the conch fritters at Da Conch Shack). I would say TCI are more for a relaxing retreat or family vacation than a big party spot. There are tons of things to do if you are so inclined, from spas, to diving, snorkeling, sailing, kite surfing, horseback riding and parasailing. I loved watching the kite surfers go ripping past up and down the bay. TCI feel off the beaten path but there is quite a bit of development going on; hopefully they won't overdo it.

I arrived in Connecticut late Thursday night and spent Friday tacking a nasty to-do list (including taxes, apartment searching, bill paying and all those kind of fun things). Friday night I made Mom and Dad a knock-off of a meal I had in the Caribbean - red beet and goat cheese salad, sea bass over caramelized balsamic onions, chorizo and roasted tomatoes and molten chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream! I can't wait to have my own kitchen again.

Today I went horseback riding with Mom (my legs are crying now) and then it was her turn to make dinner. All that is left now is breakfast at Diane's, the hole in the wall cafe where we always have my farewell breakfast when I return to Germany. They have the best giant pancakes and creative omelettes around. I head to Newark for a 6 PM flight back to Düsseldorf and work on Monday (as far as I can tell).

All in all it's been a nice, if strange and unexpected, 3 weeks in North America. Something tells me that the surprises are not over yet in this roller coaster of a year.

Posted from East Hampton, CT

Philadelphia

This city always makes me happy.

Jolly Old England

The black cloud that I have named '2009 So Far' hangs over my head still. I really hope this year has better things in store or that I see the sun behind the clouds soon. I haven't been in a rut like this in years. I am not even having my fallback of vicarious happiness as it seems like this year is not being all that kind to anyone so far.

I spent the last week in England for training and decided to precede training with a visit to my good friend S., in Chester, England. It was a bright spot - what else can be as good for a down mood than girl time? S. is as mischievous as me and together we seem to always have a lot of good laughs. I met her new beau, who was quite startled that I was American, which he somehow detected when I started speaking. S. explained to him that he needn't worry, I am quite European now. That exchange left me alternately giggling and speechless! Chester is a beautiful town and we had a great dinner in Liverpool and caught an Arhtur Miller play afterwards. I also loved seeing all the progress S. has made in renovating her house and I feel even more strongly that I need to find my own home to experiment with and love.

After the weekend I headed on to training, very reluctantly. Some people prefer to mope alone at home when they are down in the dumps. Others can't stand to be alone. I fall into the former camp. So the thought of going to training, where networking is more important than the training, with a bunch of people I never met before had me praying for any way out. However the training was excellent and the insights and stories shared by my colleauges combined with a healthy sense of humor drew me out of my shell and by the end of the week I had made some new friends. One thing I can always count on in my job, for better or for worse, the people are cut from the same cloth as me and they understand far better than most what my life is like.

After a weekend in Cologne, I arrived back in the US today. I think I will start putting a little sign by my bed each night so I know where I am in the morning. Like in Memento.

The jet lag is winning. Good night everyone.

Posted from Cherry Hill

Americans

After two weeks in the US, two weeks of feeling like a stranger in a strange land, I was struck by what I now notice when I am back.

Like how much Americans like to banter. The chatter at work is incessant but also largely uninteresting.

Preferences for brand of Caesar salad dressing, nuances of sleeping patterns, weekend plans ad nauseum, repeating the same story over and over, poking fun at the latest overplayed news story...all the better if the story is witty and animated.

I used to wonder why Germans would often say they felt the American communication style was superficial and fake. Now I get it. In all this talking about the latest products, personal preferences, pet peeves and the minutiae of daily life, very little is ever said about anything that really matters. Quantity triumphs over quality.

Maybe the added effect of being overly sensitive to anyone speaking English makes it worse but I kept wishing everyone would just be quiet for a little while, get some work done and save the exaggerated banter for another time. I wonder if I looked the part of the stern, humorless German. Hmmmm...

Posted from London

Pittsburgh

Four may days until I go 'home'. I have been in Pittsburgh for almost a week and now have a last minute change of plans to leave for New Jersey tomorrow rather than finshing the trip here as expected. It doesn't phase me. My suitcase is always at the ready these days. My father was right, I am a hobo. Maybe a yuppie hobo, but still a hobo.

January has been a surreal experience. I have spent most of this year so far living in the past and each day I regret more and more the events of the last year. I dream of a reunion that is never to be. Without M. and our life in Munich there is nothing to anchor me anymore and I drift with the current, the job setting the direction and speed of all events in my life.

I would like to complain about the radical situation I am in at work right now. The travel is too much, even for me. The chemistry is not there with the people on my new project, even though they are mostly nice people. Köln feels like the wrong place. I spend too much time alone, in hotels, in corporate apartments, in the airport. All that being said though, I know I can't complain. I am glad to have a job right now because that is no longer a given. It's time to batten down the hatches and hope to hang on until the storm is over.

I haven't been writing so much lately because I have been churning my thoughts. Everything I think to write sounds half-baked at best. Ignoring the state of my mind and writing something superficial seems, well, superficial. I am slowly reorganizing and reprioritizing what I want out of life and while that means a lot to me it is boring to read about.

Whatever my conclusions are, I can't help but wonder if it isn't too late for some things anyway.

Posted from Pittsburgh

Connecticut

After a hasty and disorganized exit from Europe on Sunday, I survived the week in Pittsburgh and am getting more comfortable with the new project. It will definitely keep me busy and may even be interesting!

I flew last night from Pittsburgh to Connecticut, albeit 2 hours delayed (thank you USAIR!) and spent today working and playing with my camera and new zoom lens. I am happy to have gotten here just in time for 8 inches of snow...beautiful!

Hopefully I will not be too lazy and do a little more writing than I have been lately.



Posted from Connecticut

Halloween Surprise

Last week I finally made my first (and possibly last) trip to NY for my current project. I decided after all the discussion back and forth about going or not and when that I would just sneak over to the good ole US without mentioning anything to my parents. Yes, a surprise visit sounded like a lot of fun.

I left Jersey around 4 on Friday and after the long and tedious trip up the Merritt Parkway, I arrived at my parents around 7 PM. Just in time for all the kiddies to be in full trick-or-treat swing.



My mom loves Halloween so I knew she would be home, with the pumpkins lit on the porch and a bucket of candy for the kids. I also knew Dad wasn't going away for his annual fishing trip until next weekend so the stage was set.

Hehehe.

I snuck across the porch, rang the doorbell and waited...

When Mom opened the door I yelled Trick or Treat. It took a couple of seconds for her to register who was on the porch and the yelling began! Well, needless to say, they were happy to see their daughter, who until 5 minutes before they thought was in Zurich.

We had a nice weekend together, visting Mom's new stables, eating blueberry pancakes
at Diane's, laughing at Fat Randy and just hanging out.

I like good surprises.





P.S. Wow! I still get shocked how big the American grocery stores are. The cereal aisle - it goes on for MILES - wow wow.



Posted from Zürich

Helluva Trip

I made it back to Munich but, oh, what a trip!

Aug 8 12:30 Leave Connecticut by car
Aug 8 17:45 Arrive PHL Airport, drop off rental car
Aug 8 18:00 Check in for 20:20 Flight to MUC, note 2 hour delay, ugh (in retrospect would have been happy for that)
Aug 8 18:20 Duty Free Shopping Spree
Aug 8 18:40 Settle into Envoy Lounge for 2 hour delay
Aug 8 21:30 Head down to gate to await boarding
Aug 8 21:40 Arrive at gate to find another delay tacked on, now departing 23:30
Aug 8 21:50 'Free' snack at closing snackbar
Aug 8 23:30 Announcement: We have two broken airplanes. Whichever is fixed first we will use for the trip. :-O Start to think about calling it a night and rebooking on Lufthansa, cost be damned. I don't want to die on a rickety old USAir plan somewhere over the Atlantic.
Aug 9 00:30 Tickets are collected. Still waiting to board.
Aug 9 01:00 Board and promptly fall asleep. Wake up for take off. Skip nostalgic farewell to Philadelphia skyline in lieu of falling back asleep.
Aug 9 01:12 Awakened by pop in ears and sudden rush of heat in the cabin. Convinced this could be my last flight ever.
Aug 9 01:14 Pilot announcement: We cannot maintain air pressure. The repair didn't work. We are circling and heading back to PHL. Sigh. At least we aren't going to die.
Aug 9 02:10 After circling for about an hour (I assume dumping most of the fuel) we make a landing back in lovely Philadelphia.
Aug 9 02:15 Announcement: Please stay on the plane. We will try to make the repair again. We don't know how long it will take but will refuel and wait.
Aug 9 02:20 Call M. Tell him the story. Fight urge not to run screaming from US Air Deathtrap. Tell him I love him in case we never see each other again.
Aug 9 03:20 Dinner meal served. In the absence of anything else to do, I eat it.
Aug 9 03:35 Announcement: Still working on the plan. Have to change flight crew. New crew expected at 05:00. Please deboard. You can take your pillow and blanket with you.
Aug 9 04:00 Fall asleep in waiting area. Wonder for the 100th time in my life, why do they only have seating with arms.
Aug 9 05:00 New flight crew arrives. Sky is pink and snack bar is reopening. Announcement: Crew here, fix nearly completed.
Aug 9 06:00 Wake up in time for boarding due to loud German kids arguing.
Aug 9 07:00 Take off (again). Plane fishtails for about an hour due to turbulence. Still convinced we might die. Fall asleep anyway.
Aug 9 21:21 Land in MUC. Never so happy to see it. Envious of all the people on Lufthansa planes, far outnumbering us.
Aug 9 21:45 Luggage is waiting before I clear customs, a sure sign I am back in the land of order and timeliness.
Aug 9 22:30 Joyful reunion with M.
Aug 9 23:30 Showered, fed and in bed.

Total time: 29 hours out of my life.

Posted from Munich

Delayed

Made my way past NYC again today, heading for the PHL airport. Arrived exactly on time (5.5 hours drive) only to find out we are delayed at least 2 hours. Damn you PHL! At least I am comfy in the lounge with snacks and beverages and internet.

I think if I ever end up owning a home, it will look like a combination airport lounge/hotel suite. It is the only interior decorating I have exposure to, with the exception of 'office'. I actually think the Basel Star Alliance lounge looks pretty cool. Airport chic. Ha.

If and when I get home tomorrow I have a week and a half to live in Munich before returning to the weekend rotation. I have a few ideas what I will be doing. Apparently our garden has decided to self destruct and needs some serious TLC. I want to finally try some Indian cooking before the cookbook I bought last fall gathers too much more dust. For M. I will try to do some Thai as well. I want to plan out the Oktoberfest party that has ballooned into needing at least some partial catering - our butcher to the rescue again! Dirndl shopping is on the list. I also would like to try to meet some people outside of M.'s friends and plan to attend a couple of the Toytown events while I am home. Finally, if any of the Munich area bloggers (no serial killers please) would like to meet up for lunch or whatever - drop me an email - would be fun to get to know some of you.

On that note, the location of the Third Annual Whiney Expat Meetup has been decided. Dresden it is! I will be attending if the date works out - sounds like a good time and I am curious about Dresden as well.

I am slowly being surrounded by German again. I guess the others on the delayed flight are settling in around me. I even think I still remember some after being away almost a month. Time for a little eavesdropping...

Posted from Philadelphia

A Lady

More fun with the new camera and a fun day with my father seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Some of my ancestors were processed there. I wonder what they would think about where I live now. I wonder what they would think of the US and where they came from now.

Original Shot:

I like it this way better:


A few other shots from the day:

Summer Traffic

GW Bridge

Abandoned Railway Station (build 1913)

Registration Hall, Ellis Island

Manhattan Bridges

New York Skyline

July 4


Posted from East Hampton

New Camera Test Drive

Given the generally cheaper price of electronics in the US, I decided to replace my broken camera with an upgrade. I wavered back and forth between Sony and Canon but in the end kept my loyalty and got the Canon Powershot SD850 IS. 8 MP, 4x optical zoom, 16X digital zoom.

A few shots from today...






Posted from East Hampton, CT

Goodbye

With a single tear in my eye I head out from the greater Philadelphia area today.

I won't be sad long though. For every sad goodbye there is a happy arrival and I'm off to see my parents and grandparents for the weekend.

Posted from Delaware

The Icky In Between

I think I am generally a happy and well adjusted expat. I don't regret my move. I make fun of the locals more than I get upset by them. Most days I feel like my life has changed for the better with my international experience.

But right now I am in some kind of icky in between place. In between one home and another and another. This is the longest I have been back since I moved. It was also my third weekend in Philly this year.

Last year, I wrote about my last real home, the place after which I named this blog, Jeweled Concrete. When I was out with my friend D. this weekend in Philly, a girl was talking to him in a bar, and he explained that we were good friends, that we had known each other since we were 7. I laughed because we have known each other for only 6 years, not 26 years. He said, same thing for all he could tell.

I have tried to make a home in many places over the years. DC was too far south, the people wrapped up in their dreams of greatness, often disconnected with any reality, far too absorbed in the inner workings of the political machine. I never got to give it a real try, but Boston was too far north, the humor black and biting against my undying optimism, too gritty and bitter. I couldn't even be a proper Red Sox fan because I always believed they would really do it.

I am sure now, as I probably have always known, that Philly is my real home. The tough humor is a form of flirting and affection, the grungy city feels authentic, my favorite memories are there and I know the people, even when only for a few days, like I had known them since I was 7. Not everyone could love this city but I do.

So now, the man I love is in Munich and the city I love an uncertain someday. Life has a way of coming full circle, and maybe I won't always be caught in between. Today I am, and it feels icky.



Posted from Delaware

Next!

Another project major milestone completed yesterday in Delaware. We celebrated with some rabble rousing, surprisingly not with my consulting colleagues who all fled for the weekend, but as a guest of the client project team. As much grief as they have given me in the last couple of months, it was fun to go out and let off some steam together at the lovely Wilmington waterfront. It's not so often as a consultant that you are treated as one of the gang on the client side.

It has been surreal to be back here in Delaware, the place where my consulting career began. Every restaurant, bar and store holds a memory and strangely I have felt bittersweet emotions during my stay here. My personal life was quite difficult back then and the career outlook was even worse. In life it is sometimes hard to see the incremental changes you go through as they happen almost imperceptibly. Coming back here I can see how I have changed in the last 7 years and it doesn't look too bad. If nothing else I find myself more comfortable in my own skin as I approach my mid 30s.

Spending time with the client team last night I found out that a number have doctorates in chemistry as I do. It was fun having all kinds of geek conversations and reminiscing about graduate school, as well as wistfully wondering what had happened had we taken different roads than what brought us all together on the brewery patio in a big summer thunderstorm last night. I was even invited to send my resume in to come work with them if I was tired of consulting.

It has been entertaining watching the multinational team descend on the US and experience my home with then from their unique vantage point. I giggled endlessly when I saw a silly group of people walking down the highway to dinner and realized they were the Germans from one of the project teams. I guess they have figured out by now that you need to drive.

While here, my boss asked me to consider continuing on with the project afer November for the next phase of the project back in Europe/Middle East/Africa in a new position. More travel and depending on which territory I got I could be spending some of my winter in the darkness of Finland. Intriguing. The other two people I would be teamed with are some of my favorites so I am tempted to go for it. I may need to push for the sunny Barcelona slot though.

I'll spend the next week here doing some clean up and then its on to a visit with my parents and two weeks of vacation back in Munich before picking back up with the New World.

Posted from Delaware

Photojournalism: Moose Head Lake

It was a fun filled action packed weekend with my sis and her boyfriend at Moosehead Lake in Maine.

I got new, ugly shoes.


The Harry Potter book arrived even in the far reaches of Maine on the first possible day.


I searched for my dream garden and found a couple.








The weather was perfect.


A lazy afternoon with BBQ and blue grass.


There were fireworks.


We went to the Finnish Farmers Hall for some folk and ballroom dancing.




Posted from Bangor, Maine

What A Long Strange Trip

Going home, coming home and everything in between.

I am finally back in Munich after nearly three weeks away and trying to relax away the restlessness that stems from another whirlwind tour and some upcoming changes in my life.

First stop was Basel for a few days of work before my flight to JFK. The trip over was uneventful. I was looking forward to a three day weekend, just about in time for my father's birthday. We had a lovely day on the coast of CT, posted below.

My father and I spent a day at my grandparent's catching up and I was as amused as always that the drama never ends. I won't go into the details but wayward bank charges and a possible new front door rip off scam were topics we covered exhaustively and excitedly throughout the afternoon.

On Sunday I drove to NY for my first training session on Monday morning. It went off without a major hitch and then I had a couple of days for normal work from NY and back at my parents.

I had time for visit with my other grandparents and stocked them up with raviolis from a good kitchen nearby. I was somewhat concerned when I knocked on my grandfathers door and he looked at my without any sign of recognition. 'who are you?' he asked. My heart dropped through the floor and when he saw my face he broke into a big smile and a wink. Grandpa!

THe week was a parody of what should of been and what was with missed flights, construction traffic jams and feisty client challenging everything they were being asked to do. It also felt like a review of my life. I saw the Jeweled Concrete house in Philadelphia, spent a day in Virginia bringing back memories of trips down to the Outer Banks, 6 years of graduate school, marriage and divorce, a day in Delaware where I had my first client in my current job and my life started to move off the beaten path and some days in CT with my parents and grandparents.

Upon arriving back to work in the middle of last week, I realized rather sadly, that a phase of my life in Europe is drawing to a close. I have been working in Basel for a year and a half. With the completion of our work in the region and shift to North and South America a number of people are leaving the project (who want to work regionally) or are relocating over to Brazil or the US. I am one of a small group who will remain in Basel.

A number of our colleagues from the US and Brazil are over in Basel this week so we had quite a critical mass. So on Thursday night we had an enormous party to commemorate the leavings, comings and to celebrate our most recent milestone. We had a happy hour on the Rhine and then a nice walking tour of Basel city. The tours were offered in German and English and one of the other Americans and myself decided to test our knowledge and take the German tour, with many whoops and hollers from all the Germans & Swiss who were proud of us for trying.

Then it was off to a lovely dinner at Restaurant Spillman. We rented out the whole restaurant to ensure we didn't disturb anyone else. After dinner we gathered around the bar, which oddly had the choice only of the Grateful Dead or Buena Vista Social Club for music, and the night drifted along beside the Rhine with high spirits and many laughs. I guess another strange aspect of my job is that you can't help but become good friends with people, being out of town all the time and under the constant stress you need a release valve, and nobody understands better than your colleagues.

There are a few I will miss more than others, and none more than S., a girl I met on my frist day in Basel from the London office. The sentiment was echoed as at various points in the evening we had S. chants to send her off. S.! S.! S.! You could always count on the mischievous S. to get everyone out of a funk and laughing in the face of the tough times. We will keep in touch as I have with many of my former colleagues over the last 6 years but Basel will be lonelier.

In the meantime, I have decided to reposition myself as a Munich based resource for the immediate future in response to a good offer from my company. For the last year and a half I was still based out of Boston while working in Switzerland. This move has opened a can of worms with work permits, taxes, health insurance, and the loss of my vacation days. At least it will keep me busy for the summer.

So, here's looking to the start of a new era and a bright sunny summer.



Posted from Munich

More Randy

Posted from East Hampton, CT

Stateside

A trip for work combined with a visit to my parents snuck up on me but it's nice to be here. Wish I could ditch the work part though!

The flight was uneventful. It's the second time I flew Swiss over from ZRH to JFK and although they aren't the most luxurious and not quite as nice as Lufthansa, I still think they do a nice job. Rental cars are a bit different here than in Munich.

My Rental Car

The weather is much nicer than last time I was here in February. My father had the day off so we tooled around the shoreline, visiting Mystic, Bill's Seafood in Westport, the Salem Dairy Barn before heading home and picking up some T-bone steaks for tonight's BBQ if the weather holds up. I guess it's an eating tour of Connecticut.



Mystic, Connecticut





Bill's Seafood




Salem Dairy

Fat Randy has dropped some weight. He was happy to see me even if he was confused about who I am.
Posted from East Hampton