plus six

is the additional number of days i'll be staying in the US for work stuff. instead of leaving tomorrow i leave next week friday.

try not to miss me too much Germany as i am certainly not missing you, although i've heard the weather has been quite nice.

so far after hours i've gone to:
-kohl's -picked up some basics
-target -bought a pollen/allergen reducing machines, to take care of those yellow flowers in june which seriously impacted me last year. we'll see how i bring it back to DE, although it is pretty small.
-a huge used bookstore - where i spent 80 dollars--don't ask, but it will probably require a trip to the post office to ship a media rate box.
-a cheesecake factory - not my favorite, but it was a free work dinner so who's complaining.
-a pick n' save - supermarkets fascinate me, especially now since i've been gone so long.
-a hole in the wall thai place that i come to every time i'm here. bring on the thai native spicy please.
-a chinese place that is so-so, but ok on the first night of arrival

i have immense amounts of time here, because i'm coming into the office between 7 and 8 to get some cross-over time with the US. and also, because the office here starts early and ends early, so by 5 pm everyone (including me) is gone, so leave as early as 3 pm.

i've also watched this season's American idol on tv and bought 'House' on dvd, one of the few things on US tv i absolutely adore.

tomorrow is supposed to be nice, and my work colleague gave me her member card to the art museum here, so i may visit there and can go for free, although if the weather is nice this area is known for its lake, so i may visit there instead or in addition. i could easily do both if i stick with my weekday schedule and leave the hotel by 7 AM. :-)

i plan to be offline for another week so that i can enjoy as much of the us as i can while i'm here.