Purchasing certain things after moving to Switzerland would be much more costly than getting them here. Okay, actually purchasing MOST things after the move will cost more. I'm actually starting to brainstorm a "stock up" shopping list for a trip to Target soon, hoping to bring with us little household items and medicines that will be hard to find there. But the big ticket items weighing on my mind right now are a telephoto zoom lens... I believe I have selected which one I'd like to buy, I just would like to find someone who has it in stock so I can try it before buying. And I'm considering two other things that I'm not sure I need: an add-on flash for my Rebel, and a camcorder. I hate flash photography so I generally shoot without it, bless the heart of whoever came up with image stabilization! But I know deep down that it also depends on having the right kind of flash and knowing how to use it. Should I go prepared or maybe just get it later (November) if I decide I need it? The camcorder isn't quite my style but I was thinking it might be fun for more selfish capturing of memories (rather than taking the pretty shots I usually try to entertain everyone with) and might convey even more of the experience to family and friends back at home. However I could just shoot little videos with my point and shoot digital camera. Like the great video of the street band in Lucca... such an easy thing to shoot but it's a precious memory captured perfectly.
If I buy the telephoto lens I have my eye on I will have room in my budget for both these things. But I'm just not sure I need to go there. Any thoughts? Maybe wait and get them when we're back in November if I feel they're needed?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The storm is brewing...
The other night we made a lovely meal of veggies with a few chili flakes and shredded Parmesan, along with cannellini beans cooked up with some turkey bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh parsley. Delicious and simply, only made better by opening a bottle of the Prime Cabernet that our friend TH made!I suppose you could call this the calm before the storm. It's not exactly calm but it probably could be considered such compared to the way things will soon be. CF talked to the relocation company today and it sounds like someone will be out on Friday to start to make a plan for our stuff and our shipping container might be packed in as little as a week from now! Yikes! Right now I am itching to throw all our kitchen stuff in there to save room/weight in the air freight for clothes so I don't have to take a bunch of checked luggage with me and have to get it from the airport to the city when arriving. But then we'd have to live here for a month without kitchen stuff. Hmmmm...
I'm too distracted to be too disappointed but there's just about zero television shows I am watching right now. We have a new one though, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. I had thought it was a show about eating crazy stuff, and yeah, he does brave a number of things I don't know if I'd be able to stomach. But please note, this is a show on the Travel Channel, not the Food Network. It's about the travel, it's about the place. Watching many episodes so closely together (they're rerunning past seasons as the new one begins) it is easy to notice his repeated themes. One of them I just love, that the quickest way to the heart of a place is in its markets. Yeah, baby! I highly recommend his Paris episode which features some amusing editing while he fights of an absinthe trip in the hotel room where Oscar Wilde died. I was also amused when he pinned a sign over his head while he took a little power nap on an Italian airport floor that read: "Be a traveler, not a tourist." Naive little me, I thought I had improvised the distinction when I protested to KZ somewhere in last fall's adventure that I didn't want to do touristy things. "But you ARE a tourist!" "No... I'm a... traveler!" Oh well, I guess I'm not as brilliant as I thought.
I've made a decision that I will leave the country weighing less than 200 pounds. I've been hanging out just above for far too long. So I'm focusing on portion control and stepping up the running. I ran 5.5mph for my whole half an hour today! That's my best speed yet and I hadn't even managed to do a full 5.3mph before this. Last Friday when I bought jeans at Nordstrom's huge Anniversary Sale I got them from the regular sizes... sure they're 16's and a generously cut brand, and stretch... but hey, it's a mission accomplished. Earlier that day I dropped my platinum engagement ring to finally be resized by a jeweler recommended by Ms. KS. I was shocked to hear I had lost another ring size since resizing my white gold band last year. My ring is going from a 9.25 to a 7.
Jeans were the first purchase I made that day, but it sure wasn't the last. I proceeded to lose my mind at this damn sale. I bought the shoppingsmycardio.com recommended 8ft of cashmere for $65, the black crystal necklace that goes with the earrings I bought at the end of last year, tights, a sweater, a raincoat and a gorgeous handbag. I'd say it's my first respectable purse, but Ms. SMC would probably disagree, but she' d do it nicely. Still, it's nice, soft leather and the perfect size for schlepping an understandable amount of stuff around the city, including my camera when I want to make it disappear more discreetly than a camera case can be. Plus it has nice handles that can go over an arm or shoulder AND a nice long strap for looping around a whole shoulder. Love it. I bought all this thinking I'd take some of it back once the buyer's remorse set in. But it didn't happen. I can't argue against any of this stuff and CF agrees. Thank goodness for relocation bonuses! I ended up getting yet another coat this weekend when we went to another store and CF was taking advantage of the sale in the men's department. This one is wool and super cute. Hopefully this California girl is set to become a Swiss Miss now!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The list.
Lately our days have been all about "the list." This crazy to-do list we have going as a shared Google document that gets added to about as often as we get to take things off. Our lives have almost completed the shift to being remotely-accessible. Online banking, automatic bill-pay, a spiffy mail service that will scan things back here in the states for us to see over in Zurich, a Skype phone number from our home area code that can ring through to our cellphones... you get the picture.
Right now the two big things facing me are researching and purchasing camera equipment, and finally getting my engagement ring re-sized.
I love my DSLR, and I'm more than happy with the lens I have for it already, but I'd like to get a faster, fixed length lens for indoors/low-light shooting without a flash (oh, but that reminds me, I probably should buy a flash before we go, the built in flash pretty much blows). I'm also hoping to get a telephoto with image stablizition, but I have to decide just how much I'm willing to spend. Another thing to consider is a video camera. I have to imagine there will be times I'd like to capture some video footage in the next year. But considering that this isn't exactly my area of focus... maybe the video function on my little PowerShot is enough? What do you think? Looks like we could spend anywhere from $350 to $650 on a beginner level camcorder. Hmmmm. I have to decide on this stuff now, it'll be much more expensive to buy it there. I suppose I can correct any mistakes in November though if I decide I should have brought more.
And the ring... funny how I was thrilled when it no longer fit. As CF and I lost weight our rings traveled across our hands to larger fingers and then finally we went ringless for a while. It was a sign of our achievements. But now I miss the gorgeous thing that used to adorn my hand. We've both had our white gold bands from India resized, mine's been redone several times, you can see seams aplenty. However, my engagement ring, which was actually the one he put on my hand at our ceremony because I intended to wear it alone, is platinum and I was advised not to resize it until I was done losing weight. Well, I hope I'm not done but I've gone much too long without it. So I'll have them take the size and a half or so that I've lost already off of it and hope for the best if it becomes so loose again that I have to revisit this later.
If anyone reading has a good recommendation for where to have my ring resized, please let me know!
Right now the two big things facing me are researching and purchasing camera equipment, and finally getting my engagement ring re-sized.
I love my DSLR, and I'm more than happy with the lens I have for it already, but I'd like to get a faster, fixed length lens for indoors/low-light shooting without a flash (oh, but that reminds me, I probably should buy a flash before we go, the built in flash pretty much blows). I'm also hoping to get a telephoto with image stablizition, but I have to decide just how much I'm willing to spend. Another thing to consider is a video camera. I have to imagine there will be times I'd like to capture some video footage in the next year. But considering that this isn't exactly my area of focus... maybe the video function on my little PowerShot is enough? What do you think? Looks like we could spend anywhere from $350 to $650 on a beginner level camcorder. Hmmmm. I have to decide on this stuff now, it'll be much more expensive to buy it there. I suppose I can correct any mistakes in November though if I decide I should have brought more.
And the ring... funny how I was thrilled when it no longer fit. As CF and I lost weight our rings traveled across our hands to larger fingers and then finally we went ringless for a while. It was a sign of our achievements. But now I miss the gorgeous thing that used to adorn my hand. We've both had our white gold bands from India resized, mine's been redone several times, you can see seams aplenty. However, my engagement ring, which was actually the one he put on my hand at our ceremony because I intended to wear it alone, is platinum and I was advised not to resize it until I was done losing weight. Well, I hope I'm not done but I've gone much too long without it. So I'll have them take the size and a half or so that I've lost already off of it and hope for the best if it becomes so loose again that I have to revisit this later.
If anyone reading has a good recommendation for where to have my ring resized, please let me know!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Another follow up.
Thought I would follow up my other recent post with a few things about Where the Hell is Matt?, aka my sudden obsession. I'm pleased to say that after a half dozen viewings or so I seem to be able to watch it without tearing up. Not so pleased to say that I fulfilled my destiny as a Facebook stalker (CF accused me of being one because I connected with a few of his coworkers there), and in looking for a fan page for the video I ended up finding Matt's girlfriend (there were too many people with his name so I tried hers, she's a credited creator with him, I remembered her name because we have the same first name, stop looking at me like that, what?!?!) and happened to notice she belongs to a certain corporate network there which CF could join, but I can't. Small world, but not surprising. The beautiful song from the video is for sale on iTunes and AmazonMP3 (I plan to add it to my running mix, so I hope I'm over the crying bit). And I was so right about Amsterdam. 
His website has his journal and the only mention I could find of where they filmed in Amsterdam was a statue. Now, look at this photo I took near our apartment last fall: statue! So then I looked at the little photos from his blog and compared the buildings and it's totally the same place. Oh, I am such a goober.CF is over in Zurich right now for the week. I showed him the video after he had come in from a night out drinking with his new team. Maybe it was the beer and pizza talking but he seemed darn excited about the video, you know, for CF and anything YouTube and/or internet related.
For your viewing pleasure, here is the fun outtakes video (love the notes that he's added) and also an interview.
The dress.
No, not a wedding dress. Well, it's a different kind of wedding dress. This is a different kind of post for me, but since let's give it a try.
To answer Meagan's question... because I get asked about that dress a LOT. I wish I could tell it was bought somewhere special for a ridiculous amount of money, but the dress is by Suzi Chin and I got it at Nordstrom last fall. And you're welcome to raid my closet, but it won't be thrilling for too long. It's quite empty. I haven't been able to look at clothes as an investment for the past couple years since it is hard to know how much wear I might get out of something before I get too small for it. So I try to limit purchases to the fantastic. And I've been told I have done pretty well. This dress sure turned out to be a smart purchase, for sure!
I bought two dresses at the time because this one was a bubble skirt and I didn't know if my larger lower half could handle it. But my desire to wear something more interesting won out so I kept this one and the decision has done me well. I first wore it to a high school friend's wedding. One of my friend's wives asked me if it was vintage and the object of my tween years crush complimented it... twice. KS (who was KM at the time) asked to borrow it and wore it to a wedding a week or two later since we're twins and all.
I actually wore that dress to both weddings in June. I enjoy it so much and the guest list overlap was limited to just the two of us. That poor dress got dry cleaned 3 times in 3 weeks! I had never taken it in before and it needed freshening up so it went in before J&M's, and well, it was hot that day so it went back the very next week, and then half a tray of champagne was spilled in my lap at K&R's, so bam, dry cleaning #3. At least since I was already smelling strongly of bubbly I decided I could get away with drinking as much of it as I liked! Oh, and it even threw off K's mom when I was waiting for the ceremony to begin. I saw her looking at me from a distance. I waved and called out, "It's who it always is when you think it's her!" "Oh! Hi there!"
Nordstrom still has it on their web site, but there's only a size 4 left. Anyone? Anyone? I saw the same dress in different fabric at Macy's a few weeks ago. The print was not nearly as cute though, I thought it was a knock-off. It was actually the same brand. I was there helping Ms. TDP pick out a dress, I made her try on the one I would have wanted if I needed a new dress and it turned out to be lovely and flattering when tried on. With all the summer sales going on I don't know if you'll be able to find it in stores still. By the way, we had T in this dress in about 20 or 30 minutes of shopping, she left, I sent a text message to LT at the gym who had asked me to keep an eye out for a dress for her and it turned out she was on her way over right then. So I did a little shopping and came back to the Macy's dress department and had HER in a dress to wear to a wedding in about another 20 minutes. I felt like quite the bad ass personal shopper.
There's a lot of really cute dresses out there right now. You just have to open your mind a bit, and try stuff on before you judge it. Fit is important so you can't judge it on the hanger. But I say the feel is important too. If a dress makes you feel special and spectacular, you will exude the confidence that makes people line up to ask, "Ummm, do you mind if I ask where you got that?"
To answer Meagan's question... because I get asked about that dress a LOT. I wish I could tell it was bought somewhere special for a ridiculous amount of money, but the dress is by Suzi Chin and I got it at Nordstrom last fall. And you're welcome to raid my closet, but it won't be thrilling for too long. It's quite empty. I haven't been able to look at clothes as an investment for the past couple years since it is hard to know how much wear I might get out of something before I get too small for it. So I try to limit purchases to the fantastic. And I've been told I have done pretty well. This dress sure turned out to be a smart purchase, for sure!
I bought two dresses at the time because this one was a bubble skirt and I didn't know if my larger lower half could handle it. But my desire to wear something more interesting won out so I kept this one and the decision has done me well. I first wore it to a high school friend's wedding. One of my friend's wives asked me if it was vintage and the object of my tween years crush complimented it... twice. KS (who was KM at the time) asked to borrow it and wore it to a wedding a week or two later since we're twins and all.I actually wore that dress to both weddings in June. I enjoy it so much and the guest list overlap was limited to just the two of us. That poor dress got dry cleaned 3 times in 3 weeks! I had never taken it in before and it needed freshening up so it went in before J&M's, and well, it was hot that day so it went back the very next week, and then half a tray of champagne was spilled in my lap at K&R's, so bam, dry cleaning #3. At least since I was already smelling strongly of bubbly I decided I could get away with drinking as much of it as I liked! Oh, and it even threw off K's mom when I was waiting for the ceremony to begin. I saw her looking at me from a distance. I waved and called out, "It's who it always is when you think it's her!" "Oh! Hi there!"
Nordstrom still has it on their web site, but there's only a size 4 left. Anyone? Anyone? I saw the same dress in different fabric at Macy's a few weeks ago. The print was not nearly as cute though, I thought it was a knock-off. It was actually the same brand. I was there helping Ms. TDP pick out a dress, I made her try on the one I would have wanted if I needed a new dress and it turned out to be lovely and flattering when tried on. With all the summer sales going on I don't know if you'll be able to find it in stores still. By the way, we had T in this dress in about 20 or 30 minutes of shopping, she left, I sent a text message to LT at the gym who had asked me to keep an eye out for a dress for her and it turned out she was on her way over right then. So I did a little shopping and came back to the Macy's dress department and had HER in a dress to wear to a wedding in about another 20 minutes. I felt like quite the bad ass personal shopper.There's a lot of really cute dresses out there right now. You just have to open your mind a bit, and try stuff on before you judge it. Fit is important so you can't judge it on the hanger. But I say the feel is important too. If a dress makes you feel special and spectacular, you will exude the confidence that makes people line up to ask, "Ummm, do you mind if I ask where you got that?"
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Bliss
Last month we went to two very different, but both very exciting and wonderful weddings.
The first was our friends J&M's. Last year when I learned of their engagement I offered to do invitations for them, and I ended up doing place cards and table numbers for them. It was nice to be a part of such a cool wedding. Our circle of friends went through a couple of years with so many weddings I think we got tired of them, it was awful sneaky of these guys to hold out until we were starved for the occasion! Even I, who had claimed to be "so over weddings" after years of wedding design and working with brides, was looking forward to this event for weeks.
Everyone showed up looking so good, even in the heat. The ceremony set the tone for what was a really fun, happy wedding. CF and I sat near the back, a friend of the groom's was playing 80's love songs on piano up front. Three things happened all at once, I couldn't decide what made me more happy between them all, I was overwhelmed with joy. I turned around and saw J&M starting down the aisle together, arm and arm. How appropriate for our favorite long time daters who have already made such a wonderful life together. And she was looking absolutely radiant in a wedding dress of vibrant red satin. Then the piano started pounding out the introduction to Just Like Heaven. I was beaming brighter than I probably ever managed at my own wedding. It was perfection. Sorry to gush.
A moment of eye contact with the bride made me remember where I was, and I think I probably tried to snap a photo with my silly point-and-shoot digital (which I now regretted bringing in place of my baby, the Rebel). The couple arrived at the front of the room and stood there for a long silent moment. Each of them had one honor attendant who scurried over to them, they whispered to each other for a while, apparently I missed the best man's cellphone ringing, and suddenly the bride cried, "WHAT?!?!"
The groom turned to the crowd and simply said, "No officiant!" We all gasped. People had suspected they might pull something like this. Either they were actually already married or they weren't really going to do it... they just wanted the party. Those sitting near me started smiling at each other knowingly. "We've been dating a long time, and would really like to get married today! Soooo... can anyone here do it?"
Long. Pause.
Mr. PZ raises his hand and stands up. It had actually been planned all along, he was legally deputized for the day just as RS was when he married S&SB. Sneaky! P performed a short but sweet ceremony and then it was on to the reception. We all filed out of the small room we had been packed into and people immediately accused me of being in on the surprise! "Ummm no, I just made the place cards, although this explains why they didn't want to do any ceremony programs!" A few people were sure I would have known. Then KZ walked up exclaiming, "Oh my god!" She didn't even know! So there. Someone later declared that if we learned one thing it was that PZ can keep a secret. True.
The next weekend we attended the wedding of my former coworker and sometimes twin, KM... who is now KS! I had been getting rather concerned about her family's involvement with the wedding. Her divorced parents were footing more of the bill than her so she was having a hard time laying down the law when it came to making decisions and compromises. She vented to me over instant messaging frequently and I gave her the best advice I could. I told her to concentrate on what the day was going to mean to her and her husband-to-be. That weddings have the unfortunate habit of bringing out the worst in people and the best thing she could do for people who were letting insecurities get the best of them was to let it go because they were only going to feel bad about it later. And they WILL feel bad about it later. So do them the favor now of just not taking it seriously, if at all possible. I hope I gave her something to focus on. I like to think I helped in some way other than just designing her invitation.
I have to give her major credit. It was gorgeous wedding. A very cool, affordable outdoors venue that had lots of nice visual touches. Plus they added so much to it with K's impeccable planning and execution. It was a more traditional wedding than what we saw the weekend before, but this girl got through all the family drama and had a dream wedding day. I would not presume that my words were what got her through, but watching her smile that day I felt like I had at least been justified.
Both these brides dazzled me with their incredible naturalness. When I spoke to both of them on their respective days, it was amazing to me how they were just themselves. Not distracted, not a bit insincere, and anything but awkward. Thinking about it now I'm still not sure how they did it but I think it has a lot to do with knowing who you are, what you want and what's important. They just dripped happiness and I soaked it up.
The grooms were cool too. But that's more of a given with guys like J and R. ;)
I've learned a lot about weddings in the years since I got hitched to CF. I can't complain too much, but I have to say, there is a lot I would do differently if I were doing it now. I think it's less of a shame that I had to get married in a size 26 (or was it 28?) gown then it is how uncomfortable I was in my own skin. CF and I have grown and changed together of the years... what really counts is that we're happy, healthy and comfortable now. But it's sort of sad that neither of us care much for our rather expensive wedding photos and I cringe at just the memory of video footage of me that day. If we ever have the opportunity for a do-over, I'm taking what I've learned from all the weddings we've been to since and all the confidence and clarity that have come to me in the years since and you will just have to wait and see what happens!
The first was our friends J&M's. Last year when I learned of their engagement I offered to do invitations for them, and I ended up doing place cards and table numbers for them. It was nice to be a part of such a cool wedding. Our circle of friends went through a couple of years with so many weddings I think we got tired of them, it was awful sneaky of these guys to hold out until we were starved for the occasion! Even I, who had claimed to be "so over weddings" after years of wedding design and working with brides, was looking forward to this event for weeks.
Everyone showed up looking so good, even in the heat. The ceremony set the tone for what was a really fun, happy wedding. CF and I sat near the back, a friend of the groom's was playing 80's love songs on piano up front. Three things happened all at once, I couldn't decide what made me more happy between them all, I was overwhelmed with joy. I turned around and saw J&M starting down the aisle together, arm and arm. How appropriate for our favorite long time daters who have already made such a wonderful life together. And she was looking absolutely radiant in a wedding dress of vibrant red satin. Then the piano started pounding out the introduction to Just Like Heaven. I was beaming brighter than I probably ever managed at my own wedding. It was perfection. Sorry to gush.
A moment of eye contact with the bride made me remember where I was, and I think I probably tried to snap a photo with my silly point-and-shoot digital (which I now regretted bringing in place of my baby, the Rebel). The couple arrived at the front of the room and stood there for a long silent moment. Each of them had one honor attendant who scurried over to them, they whispered to each other for a while, apparently I missed the best man's cellphone ringing, and suddenly the bride cried, "WHAT?!?!"The groom turned to the crowd and simply said, "No officiant!" We all gasped. People had suspected they might pull something like this. Either they were actually already married or they weren't really going to do it... they just wanted the party. Those sitting near me started smiling at each other knowingly. "We've been dating a long time, and would really like to get married today! Soooo... can anyone here do it?"
Long. Pause.Mr. PZ raises his hand and stands up. It had actually been planned all along, he was legally deputized for the day just as RS was when he married S&SB. Sneaky! P performed a short but sweet ceremony and then it was on to the reception. We all filed out of the small room we had been packed into and people immediately accused me of being in on the surprise! "Ummm no, I just made the place cards, although this explains why they didn't want to do any ceremony programs!" A few people were sure I would have known. Then KZ walked up exclaiming, "Oh my god!" She didn't even know! So there. Someone later declared that if we learned one thing it was that PZ can keep a secret. True.
The next weekend we attended the wedding of my former coworker and sometimes twin, KM... who is now KS! I had been getting rather concerned about her family's involvement with the wedding. Her divorced parents were footing more of the bill than her so she was having a hard time laying down the law when it came to making decisions and compromises. She vented to me over instant messaging frequently and I gave her the best advice I could. I told her to concentrate on what the day was going to mean to her and her husband-to-be. That weddings have the unfortunate habit of bringing out the worst in people and the best thing she could do for people who were letting insecurities get the best of them was to let it go because they were only going to feel bad about it later. And they WILL feel bad about it later. So do them the favor now of just not taking it seriously, if at all possible. I hope I gave her something to focus on. I like to think I helped in some way other than just designing her invitation.
I have to give her major credit. It was gorgeous wedding. A very cool, affordable outdoors venue that had lots of nice visual touches. Plus they added so much to it with K's impeccable planning and execution. It was a more traditional wedding than what we saw the weekend before, but this girl got through all the family drama and had a dream wedding day. I would not presume that my words were what got her through, but watching her smile that day I felt like I had at least been justified.Both these brides dazzled me with their incredible naturalness. When I spoke to both of them on their respective days, it was amazing to me how they were just themselves. Not distracted, not a bit insincere, and anything but awkward. Thinking about it now I'm still not sure how they did it but I think it has a lot to do with knowing who you are, what you want and what's important. They just dripped happiness and I soaked it up.
The grooms were cool too. But that's more of a given with guys like J and R. ;)
I've learned a lot about weddings in the years since I got hitched to CF. I can't complain too much, but I have to say, there is a lot I would do differently if I were doing it now. I think it's less of a shame that I had to get married in a size 26 (or was it 28?) gown then it is how uncomfortable I was in my own skin. CF and I have grown and changed together of the years... what really counts is that we're happy, healthy and comfortable now. But it's sort of sad that neither of us care much for our rather expensive wedding photos and I cringe at just the memory of video footage of me that day. If we ever have the opportunity for a do-over, I'm taking what I've learned from all the weddings we've been to since and all the confidence and clarity that have come to me in the years since and you will just have to wait and see what happens!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Suddenly obsessed with Where the Hell is Matt?
You might have heard of this video, I had, but I just watched it for the first time today when a blog I just subscribed to mentioned they found themselves strangely moved by it. This was a theater and dance blog, not a travel blog! So I decided to see what it was all about. The editing is great, the set up is perfect: handing the camera to someone else, we're not sure if it's a stranger or a friend (if I read up a bit I bet I would find out but I'm going with gut reactions here). The dancing is goofy, yes, but a moment later when the setting changes I pretty much stopped even thinking about the goofiness. The transition is great, Matt stays in pretty much the same spot but he's gone from India to Bhutan. You think you've pretty much got the video all figured out at this point? Just keep watching. There's so much more. Plus, I notice something new every time I watch it. Like just now I noticed the dog dancing with him in Kuwait! Matt gets some company just before the one minute mark and there are flashes of several recognizable locations (San Francisco! Paris! Chicago! These were the easy ones for me.) that are given their front and center moment throughout the rest of the video but it gives the viewer a little jolt. I told you there's more to it. Now is when a few themes start to present themselves: Happy huge crowds, jubilant children, a few strangers that may have just been in the right place at the right time. Dublin! I bet that's Saint Stephen's Green... see the little ankle height "fence" to keep you off the grass? I love the kids in the Solomon Islands, who out-dance Matt. Hey, Munich! I'm going there! Cool. My absolute favorite moment is when Matt joins the choreography of the scene around the 2:35 mark. This is when I started to get chills. I love the transition from Bethesda Terrace in NYC to a very similar yet oh-so different structure in Tokyo. Lemur Island, hilarious!!! Remind me to look up where that was in Amsterdam, it looks like the bridge on the Singel canal near our apartment, but who knows? Brussels into San Francisco... I am such a goober, I started to tear up. The world is such a huge and small place. I love how you get see a vibe from a place from the way the people there danced. Cologne in front of the Dom into one of the few sights I got to see in Singapore... *sigh* totally starting to cry and it's so silly. Space-Monkey--you better make it to the 3:52 mark!
I've watched this video a couple of times this morning and the effect is the same every time. I don't know what it all means but I've been looking for meaning in what I'm about to set off into the world to do... and I can tell this relates.
I just wanted to share... I hope you enjoy it. (If you go to the actual YouTube page there is higher quality viewing available with a click at the lower right corner of the picture.)
I've watched this video a couple of times this morning and the effect is the same every time. I don't know what it all means but I've been looking for meaning in what I'm about to set off into the world to do... and I can tell this relates.
I just wanted to share... I hope you enjoy it. (If you go to the actual YouTube page there is higher quality viewing available with a click at the lower right corner of the picture.)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Countdown Begins!
Yesterday was the two month mark, I have a ticket booked for Zurich on September 2. We've done a lot of preparation already, but there is still an amazing amount of work to be done. I'm so grateful to be unemployed right now so I can work on all this stuff now instead of scrambling at the last minute. I have also been spending lots of time with friends and I'm having a blast. It will make it all the harder to say goodbye in 8 weeks, but lots of great memories have been forming.
I had finally decided to stay behind in the states after CF heads to Switzerland on August 16. My sister had been planning on visiting with her family at the beginning of September since before all this Europe adventure stuff came along and I wanted to be here for them. Plus the first couple weeks are going to be crazy as CF gets settled in at work and takes over for HK before he heads to Sydney. Originally my sister had asked me about our brother's birthday weekend... but somewhere along the way I had started to think we had discussed Labor Day weekend. You see, the two are usually the same. CF was itching to get airfare booked so I decided I would leave the day after Labor Day itself. He did the sweetest thing for me. Remember how I am super scared of flying? Well, at least of turbulence? The biggest drawback for me to fly to Europe after him was the thought of riding out a storm alone. I should mention, part of me deciding to stay behind two weeks was me wanting to do something that scares me. Just to see what will happen. Well, even if I'm scared to tears I will be crying much more comfortably because CF went and booked me a business class ticket. I am actually looking forward to the experience now because of that!
Ah, but here is where the "whoops!" comes in. My sister and her family were coming to stay with me because her husband bought tickets to all three concerts Dave Matthews Band is doing in Berkeley that weekend. That weekend that is my brother's birthday... NOT Labor Day weekend. I'm booked to fly out a couple of days before they will be arriving. This was so frustrating! I felt ridiculous for going and buying a ticket without confirming the plan with anyone, CF was already a little bit antsy about being alone in Europe so long and he did not want me showing up any later than already planned, but I didn't want to leave my sister hanging and miss out on a visit, and besides if I wasn't going to be here for their visit than the whole point of me staying behind was lost. ARRRRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!
Well, I've calmed down a bit now and remembered that with "opportunities of a lifetime" you have to make compromises. Moving my ticket would cost a good chunk of extra money, plus CF started suggesting that I couldn't live without him for longer than 2.5 weeks (I think he means he can't live without me, but whatever). So right now the plan is to leave that plane ticket alone and I'll go down to San Diego and visit the Life Breaking In crew after CF departs for Europe. The plan isn't perfect, but I think it will do. And yes, DS, I will give you a key and you can use the house for your Berkeley weekend. How funny to think it will be occupied so soon after I leave!
This weekend CF is actually heading over to Zurich for a week to start getting things ready. I'll be heading up to the North Bay for Mr. PZ's birthday party and then I'll drive to Davis for a little more time in my hometown, for what could be the last time for quite some time. Also in upcoming plans, a visit from my parents and grandparents (we're hoping to get out to Half Moon Bay for a visit to Sam's Chowder House), dinner at Chez Panisse with CF's side of the family (the upstairs cafe this time which did indeed look much more inviting than the downstairs restaurant turned out to be, we should have listened to the advice), CF's finally taking his scuba lessons (the last weekend of this will include a trip to Monterey so I'm going along so we can visit expecting mommy and daddy SL and BL, and also DH and family), then we're having a big going away bash for ourselves... like we needed an excuse to plan one last party before we go! So it's going to be crazy times from here on out. Hope we can keep our heads on straight.
Besides all these fabulous plans we also have to continue with our efforts to make our lives more transportable. We're in the middle of switching to an online bank and we've taken out a credit card with no foreign transaction fee and a good conversion rate. I've renewed my driver's license most of a year early as it would have expired while we were gone. My reward for being so proactive was having to take half the written test with no warning! Turns out the test is much more ridiculous than I remember and includes such passive aggressive notes as:
I got 100% on the test, got to take a new photo so at least it will look more like my current self, and I got to give them a whole new lie about my weight (what it current says used to be a lie because I weighed more but for quite some time now I've weighed a good deal less than what it says).
I was about to send my passport in for early renewal as well, had new pictures taken and everything, but CF is applying for our visa/s today and doesn't know if they will be attaching something into my current book or not. I'm hoping not so I can use my new photos and get a passport that actually says my current last name, not just as an amendment on the very last page. So much paper work! Photos here, signatures there... again, so glad to have the availability to be doing this now instead of scrambling for the time and cutting it close just before we go.
I spent most of yesterday updating accounts with credit cards and other billers. Giving everyone the credit card number we'd like them to bill from now on, giving our PO box mailing address (a swell service CF signed us up for that will scan the outside of envelopes we received and make that available to us online and then we can tell them if we'd like them to open it and scan the contents for us or not, fancy!), and updating our telephone number to the only one we have right now that will be staying with us: our Skype phone number! Our cellphones and home phone will soon be getting canceled. This number we can answer on a computer or forward to our new mobiles or home line. It's a US number too so it's cheaper for friends to call us this way.
If you have a web cam and microphone though I'd like to suggest signing up for a free Skype account and we'll get connected. Video conferencing is here and now, folks! My parents marveled as CF and I sat on the couch and had a chat... with him on our couch at home and me on my parents' couch in Davis a couple weeks ago. The world is getting smaller and smaller!
So anyway, as you can see we're getting through it all but there is a lot to be done before we take off. I remain excited but the whole thing seems much more real now and the responsibility of it all, all the organization and what not, is a pretty big burden. But I'm not complaining... it's just part of taking an opportunity of a lifetime!
I had finally decided to stay behind in the states after CF heads to Switzerland on August 16. My sister had been planning on visiting with her family at the beginning of September since before all this Europe adventure stuff came along and I wanted to be here for them. Plus the first couple weeks are going to be crazy as CF gets settled in at work and takes over for HK before he heads to Sydney. Originally my sister had asked me about our brother's birthday weekend... but somewhere along the way I had started to think we had discussed Labor Day weekend. You see, the two are usually the same. CF was itching to get airfare booked so I decided I would leave the day after Labor Day itself. He did the sweetest thing for me. Remember how I am super scared of flying? Well, at least of turbulence? The biggest drawback for me to fly to Europe after him was the thought of riding out a storm alone. I should mention, part of me deciding to stay behind two weeks was me wanting to do something that scares me. Just to see what will happen. Well, even if I'm scared to tears I will be crying much more comfortably because CF went and booked me a business class ticket. I am actually looking forward to the experience now because of that!
Ah, but here is where the "whoops!" comes in. My sister and her family were coming to stay with me because her husband bought tickets to all three concerts Dave Matthews Band is doing in Berkeley that weekend. That weekend that is my brother's birthday... NOT Labor Day weekend. I'm booked to fly out a couple of days before they will be arriving. This was so frustrating! I felt ridiculous for going and buying a ticket without confirming the plan with anyone, CF was already a little bit antsy about being alone in Europe so long and he did not want me showing up any later than already planned, but I didn't want to leave my sister hanging and miss out on a visit, and besides if I wasn't going to be here for their visit than the whole point of me staying behind was lost. ARRRRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!
Well, I've calmed down a bit now and remembered that with "opportunities of a lifetime" you have to make compromises. Moving my ticket would cost a good chunk of extra money, plus CF started suggesting that I couldn't live without him for longer than 2.5 weeks (I think he means he can't live without me, but whatever). So right now the plan is to leave that plane ticket alone and I'll go down to San Diego and visit the Life Breaking In crew after CF departs for Europe. The plan isn't perfect, but I think it will do. And yes, DS, I will give you a key and you can use the house for your Berkeley weekend. How funny to think it will be occupied so soon after I leave!
This weekend CF is actually heading over to Zurich for a week to start getting things ready. I'll be heading up to the North Bay for Mr. PZ's birthday party and then I'll drive to Davis for a little more time in my hometown, for what could be the last time for quite some time. Also in upcoming plans, a visit from my parents and grandparents (we're hoping to get out to Half Moon Bay for a visit to Sam's Chowder House), dinner at Chez Panisse with CF's side of the family (the upstairs cafe this time which did indeed look much more inviting than the downstairs restaurant turned out to be, we should have listened to the advice), CF's finally taking his scuba lessons (the last weekend of this will include a trip to Monterey so I'm going along so we can visit expecting mommy and daddy SL and BL, and also DH and family), then we're having a big going away bash for ourselves... like we needed an excuse to plan one last party before we go! So it's going to be crazy times from here on out. Hope we can keep our heads on straight.
Besides all these fabulous plans we also have to continue with our efforts to make our lives more transportable. We're in the middle of switching to an online bank and we've taken out a credit card with no foreign transaction fee and a good conversion rate. I've renewed my driver's license most of a year early as it would have expired while we were gone. My reward for being so proactive was having to take half the written test with no warning! Turns out the test is much more ridiculous than I remember and includes such passive aggressive notes as:
"Q: Driving slowly in front of traffic in the far left (fast) lane on any freeway... A: Can frustrate other drivers and make them angry."
I got 100% on the test, got to take a new photo so at least it will look more like my current self, and I got to give them a whole new lie about my weight (what it current says used to be a lie because I weighed more but for quite some time now I've weighed a good deal less than what it says).
I was about to send my passport in for early renewal as well, had new pictures taken and everything, but CF is applying for our visa/s today and doesn't know if they will be attaching something into my current book or not. I'm hoping not so I can use my new photos and get a passport that actually says my current last name, not just as an amendment on the very last page. So much paper work! Photos here, signatures there... again, so glad to have the availability to be doing this now instead of scrambling for the time and cutting it close just before we go.
I spent most of yesterday updating accounts with credit cards and other billers. Giving everyone the credit card number we'd like them to bill from now on, giving our PO box mailing address (a swell service CF signed us up for that will scan the outside of envelopes we received and make that available to us online and then we can tell them if we'd like them to open it and scan the contents for us or not, fancy!), and updating our telephone number to the only one we have right now that will be staying with us: our Skype phone number! Our cellphones and home phone will soon be getting canceled. This number we can answer on a computer or forward to our new mobiles or home line. It's a US number too so it's cheaper for friends to call us this way.
If you have a web cam and microphone though I'd like to suggest signing up for a free Skype account and we'll get connected. Video conferencing is here and now, folks! My parents marveled as CF and I sat on the couch and had a chat... with him on our couch at home and me on my parents' couch in Davis a couple weeks ago. The world is getting smaller and smaller!
So anyway, as you can see we're getting through it all but there is a lot to be done before we take off. I remain excited but the whole thing seems much more real now and the responsibility of it all, all the organization and what not, is a pretty big burden. But I'm not complaining... it's just part of taking an opportunity of a lifetime!
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