back from the US June 14th.
as i'm packing, how is the weather where i'm going? (current high temps in C this week)
Philly - 27
Orlando - 33
Tampa - 33
small midwestern city - 21 (boooo!)
back with you in a few weeks...
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
nothing like a trip back to the US
to get one moving on the 'to do' list, including something that's been on my to do list since 2003.
One of Philly's greatest bands has been coming to Germany the past few summers, and the fates were always out of alignment and I could never go to see them.
Tickets now purchased.
One of Philly's greatest bands has been coming to Germany the past few summers, and the fates were always out of alignment and I could never go to see them.
Tickets now purchased.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Pleasantly surprised: London calling
I had the pleasure to take a shot day trip to the UK on the Thursday holiday, Cologne to London. This time with passport controls was similar to last time. Since it was an intra EU flight about 98% went into the EU line leaving the rest of us in the non-EU line. There were already 3 people ahead of me, with 2 passport officers.
Another line opened which took the third (in the meantime at least 200 people had gone through the 'EU quickie' line and and it was empty, so one of the officers came to this side. I was next in line, meaning 2 persons were still with the passport officers since the 5 min I'd been there, and the 3rd got the new one.
A space finally opened, two desks side by side with the other occupied by an American visitor. Out of all of Europe, I still hold that the UK is the most difficult for an American to visit. The lady is flipping through my passport (remember that I have a UK work permit in there from before as well as various UK stamps since 2003), so I am inadvertently listening to the conversation 3 feet away from me because the hall is now silent except for this guy.
The fellow looked like a typical middle-aged American tourist, and he had left his American wife in the UK for three days while he went to Germany and she visited a friend. The officer was leading him through a detailed itinerary of what he had visited in Germany, where he stayed, how he travelled, then for the continuation on in the UK, more questions, what was the name of the hotel he was staying at that night, what was the address, etc. Ugh.
As she's reaching the end of my passport (I have the extra pages) she asks, "and how long will you be in the UK....no wait, you're a permanent resident?"
-Um, no, I work in Germany, and only today, I leave tonight.
"So you're here for business meetings then?"
-Yes.
I see her scribbling something on my card, KA-THUMP! goes the stamp and that was that.
I am absolutely amazed what 5 years of Germany permits seems to buy me in the eyes of the UK passport officer. Having been through some of those serious UK question marathons--recalling even when I had my 6 month work permit there--
'and what was your purpose to visit Belfast?'
um, it was a cheap weekend flight and sounded interesting
'and why did it sound interesting?'
(thinking...let's not dig this hole any deeper and involve politics) because Dublin is so expensive it's my only chance to say I went to visit Ireland.
I didn't think it would be possible to ever visit the UK as an American without the 20 questions, so I can thank the Germany work stickers for that. Although, I'm starting to get increased questions on the US side in the past 2 years I've noticed, including being sent to Agriculture for a bag scan in Philly last time, so the universe seems to balance out. :-/
Another line opened which took the third (in the meantime at least 200 people had gone through the 'EU quickie' line and and it was empty, so one of the officers came to this side. I was next in line, meaning 2 persons were still with the passport officers since the 5 min I'd been there, and the 3rd got the new one.
A space finally opened, two desks side by side with the other occupied by an American visitor. Out of all of Europe, I still hold that the UK is the most difficult for an American to visit. The lady is flipping through my passport (remember that I have a UK work permit in there from before as well as various UK stamps since 2003), so I am inadvertently listening to the conversation 3 feet away from me because the hall is now silent except for this guy.
The fellow looked like a typical middle-aged American tourist, and he had left his American wife in the UK for three days while he went to Germany and she visited a friend. The officer was leading him through a detailed itinerary of what he had visited in Germany, where he stayed, how he travelled, then for the continuation on in the UK, more questions, what was the name of the hotel he was staying at that night, what was the address, etc. Ugh.
As she's reaching the end of my passport (I have the extra pages) she asks, "and how long will you be in the UK....no wait, you're a permanent resident?"
-Um, no, I work in Germany, and only today, I leave tonight.
"So you're here for business meetings then?"
-Yes.
I see her scribbling something on my card, KA-THUMP! goes the stamp and that was that.
I am absolutely amazed what 5 years of Germany permits seems to buy me in the eyes of the UK passport officer. Having been through some of those serious UK question marathons--recalling even when I had my 6 month work permit there--
'and what was your purpose to visit Belfast?'
um, it was a cheap weekend flight and sounded interesting
'and why did it sound interesting?'
(thinking...let's not dig this hole any deeper and involve politics) because Dublin is so expensive it's my only chance to say I went to visit Ireland.
I didn't think it would be possible to ever visit the UK as an American without the 20 questions, so I can thank the Germany work stickers for that. Although, I'm starting to get increased questions on the US side in the past 2 years I've noticed, including being sent to Agriculture for a bag scan in Philly last time, so the universe seems to balance out. :-/
Saturday, May 24, 2008
How life in Germany treats me well
A few years back, those of you who know me way back when, remember when I moved to sunny California. It represented a sea change in life for various points. At one time, I wasn't feeling so well, and my new, California, new-age, 'just-out-of-med-school doc' with plenty of time on her hands and my phenomenally good health insurance had run some blood tests and gently suggested that I cut out red meat for a month, just to appease her as my genetically awful cholesterol clocked in above 240.
Keep in mind that at the time I was an average to below-average sized female with decent physical activity, under 30 years old, non-smoking, with very limited alcohol consumption, so 240 was simply obnoxious. Not sure of what I'm talking about? Study up.
I felt phenomenally better four weeks later and the cholesterol had dropped to 222, so at that point in 2001 I decided to go cold-turkey and become a vegetarian. Six months later when I went back to her as a vegan (no meat or dairy products) for three months already, I was certain it was going to be much lower as I felt so much better and was at the peak physical point in my life. Uh-uh, not even close, barely lower and still over 200 (when the goal was 180) and vegans clock in around 140.
Crestfallen, I gradually came to the conclusion that there was nothing that I could do, genetics was in action here. I bumbled along, remaining a vegetarian or vegan, because it made me feel physically better, but disheartened. When I first came to Europe, I was in the UK for five months and the transistion was smooth. UK life is similar to US life as a vegetarian. Many of the same brands/products are available, or close equivalents are nearby. For fun, when I went home to the US, I went to the doctor where they ran their usual barrage of tests. The only one that came back flagged was the cholesterol, in the low 200's, but I wasn't surprised.
Fast forward a bit. I moved to Germany and officially transferred to be a German paid employee. I decided to put the whole cholesterol thing on ice, as the last thing I wanted what a lecture from a Germany doctor. So we carried along merrily for a few more years.
Fast forward a bit more, 4 years. Company J was doing a 'health day' including free cholesterol check, body fat check, infos provided, that sort of thing. With extensive trepidation I showed up, ready for the worst, having held off for four years, but drawn by the idea of the cost-free checks and no associated bad notes on file.
The woman was very impressed with my ability to produce blood upon her pinprick. (Yeah, I'm good like that.) She smears my finger on a little strip that is in a little box, then we sit there as it counts down from 200. It finally gets to the end of its analysis and it blinks 171.
My initial thought--like everything else, this must be in a different scale...Miles/Kilometers, cups/millileters, gallons/liters, ft and inches/cm, pounds/kilograms--everything is different. No, this is one of the few things that is the same...it's 171 on my scale. You.have.got.to.be f'ing.kidding.me.
More funnier. I am smashed in line among lots of too highly numbered people. My first though was--her machine is broken. I checked with a colleague later, he confirms that it came in as he knows his to be, so it's not broken. So assuming she didn't take a bad read on me personally, to what can we attribute such good news? I'd go with the following:
1. The lack of processed and convenience food.
I get none of my favorite brands of frozen, snack, and prepared foods here. In general, the only 'processed food' in my diet would be frozen pizza and an occasional can of pringles. I find a lot of the prepared sauces (which I so loved as a quick fix meal in the US or the UK), to be much more salty or sweet, as well as limited in options. And overall, there just isn't the same culture of prepared, frozen food here.
I make about 95% of my meals here, (mainly out of necessity). There's just not the same processed convenience options here, and one can only eat so much frozen pizza.
2. The lack of fast food
No, I'm not expecting fast food in the tiny town of B (the population of B and the surrounding countryside is 17k). However, my closest fast food is Burger King/McDonalds in Leverkusen--25 min drive from home, or McDonalds in the other direction for 25 min. When I put 25x2 travel to and from), plus waiting time, I may as well just make my food, for that time effort.
3. The walkable culture
I walk a lot in general in the US. However, here it's more incorporated in my lifestyle every single day. Usually on the weekend, I don't use the car, unless I'm going to see D or to the supermarket to pick up a crate of water. In general, it's easier to walk than drive into the tiny town of B as parking is limited and everything is centrally located.
Why I didn't expect such a result:
A. I go for 30-45 min walks at lunchtime, and walking for errands and shopping, but I get no formal sport beyond that and an occasional trip to the pool.
B. My alcohol consumption is much higher here than in the US.
C. I eat a lot more cheese here than I ever ate in America. Cheese/any dairy product in the US makes my not feel well, so I avoid it. Cheese here doesn't have the same result (not sure why) and sometimes it's the only veg option on a menu.
Keep in mind that at the time I was an average to below-average sized female with decent physical activity, under 30 years old, non-smoking, with very limited alcohol consumption, so 240 was simply obnoxious. Not sure of what I'm talking about? Study up.
I felt phenomenally better four weeks later and the cholesterol had dropped to 222, so at that point in 2001 I decided to go cold-turkey and become a vegetarian. Six months later when I went back to her as a vegan (no meat or dairy products) for three months already, I was certain it was going to be much lower as I felt so much better and was at the peak physical point in my life. Uh-uh, not even close, barely lower and still over 200 (when the goal was 180) and vegans clock in around 140.
Crestfallen, I gradually came to the conclusion that there was nothing that I could do, genetics was in action here. I bumbled along, remaining a vegetarian or vegan, because it made me feel physically better, but disheartened. When I first came to Europe, I was in the UK for five months and the transistion was smooth. UK life is similar to US life as a vegetarian. Many of the same brands/products are available, or close equivalents are nearby. For fun, when I went home to the US, I went to the doctor where they ran their usual barrage of tests. The only one that came back flagged was the cholesterol, in the low 200's, but I wasn't surprised.
Fast forward a bit. I moved to Germany and officially transferred to be a German paid employee. I decided to put the whole cholesterol thing on ice, as the last thing I wanted what a lecture from a Germany doctor. So we carried along merrily for a few more years.
Fast forward a bit more, 4 years. Company J was doing a 'health day' including free cholesterol check, body fat check, infos provided, that sort of thing. With extensive trepidation I showed up, ready for the worst, having held off for four years, but drawn by the idea of the cost-free checks and no associated bad notes on file.
The woman was very impressed with my ability to produce blood upon her pinprick. (Yeah, I'm good like that.) She smears my finger on a little strip that is in a little box, then we sit there as it counts down from 200. It finally gets to the end of its analysis and it blinks 171.
My initial thought--like everything else, this must be in a different scale...Miles/Kilometers, cups/millileters, gallons/liters, ft and inches/cm, pounds/kilograms--everything is different. No, this is one of the few things that is the same...it's 171 on my scale. You.have.got.to.be f'ing.kidding.me.
More funnier. I am smashed in line among lots of too highly numbered people. My first though was--her machine is broken. I checked with a colleague later, he confirms that it came in as he knows his to be, so it's not broken. So assuming she didn't take a bad read on me personally, to what can we attribute such good news? I'd go with the following:
1. The lack of processed and convenience food.
I get none of my favorite brands of frozen, snack, and prepared foods here. In general, the only 'processed food' in my diet would be frozen pizza and an occasional can of pringles. I find a lot of the prepared sauces (which I so loved as a quick fix meal in the US or the UK), to be much more salty or sweet, as well as limited in options. And overall, there just isn't the same culture of prepared, frozen food here.
I make about 95% of my meals here, (mainly out of necessity). There's just not the same processed convenience options here, and one can only eat so much frozen pizza.
2. The lack of fast food
No, I'm not expecting fast food in the tiny town of B (the population of B and the surrounding countryside is 17k). However, my closest fast food is Burger King/McDonalds in Leverkusen--25 min drive from home, or McDonalds in the other direction for 25 min. When I put 25x2 travel to and from), plus waiting time, I may as well just make my food, for that time effort.
3. The walkable culture
I walk a lot in general in the US. However, here it's more incorporated in my lifestyle every single day. Usually on the weekend, I don't use the car, unless I'm going to see D or to the supermarket to pick up a crate of water. In general, it's easier to walk than drive into the tiny town of B as parking is limited and everything is centrally located.
Why I didn't expect such a result:
A. I go for 30-45 min walks at lunchtime, and walking for errands and shopping, but I get no formal sport beyond that and an occasional trip to the pool.
B. My alcohol consumption is much higher here than in the US.
C. I eat a lot more cheese here than I ever ate in America. Cheese/any dairy product in the US makes my not feel well, so I avoid it. Cheese here doesn't have the same result (not sure why) and sometimes it's the only veg option on a menu.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday happenings in the tiny town of B
Recommended musical selection while reading this to set the mood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eDkAG3R0h8
Normally Sunday in the tiny town of B is quiet, except for the church bells. However, the past Sunday had big happenings, it was 'Shopping Sunday/Spring Festival/Family Fesival' all in one. Many (but not all) of the stores were open, there was a stage with entertainment, and lots of street stalls selling various wares, some for local charities, others commercial, and plenty of food, beer, etc.
My favorite part of the weekend?
Here are the people waiting at the 'Bahnhof' (train station):
The 'train' has arrived:
OK, ok so it's a tractor on the the front. There's plenty of them around here as we're in farm country. Curiously it wasn't raining, although it was rather chilly.
It goes for a circle around B, and then winds back up through the shopping street. The photos don't really give it justice, but it's actually packed to the gills with adults and children, with flags from around the world adorning each car, including a US one.
Normally Sunday in the tiny town of B is quiet, except for the church bells. However, the past Sunday had big happenings, it was 'Shopping Sunday/Spring Festival/Family Fesival' all in one. Many (but not all) of the stores were open, there was a stage with entertainment, and lots of street stalls selling various wares, some for local charities, others commercial, and plenty of food, beer, etc.
My favorite part of the weekend?
Here are the people waiting at the 'Bahnhof' (train station):
The 'train' has arrived:
OK, ok so it's a tractor on the the front. There's plenty of them around here as we're in farm country. Curiously it wasn't raining, although it was rather chilly.
It goes for a circle around B, and then winds back up through the shopping street. The photos don't really give it justice, but it's actually packed to the gills with adults and children, with flags from around the world adorning each car, including a US one.
Monday, May 12, 2008
V is for Victory
In keeping up with news online from the US, catching up on news stories which are promoting 'new' Victory gardens in light of rising food costs and the environmental trend of eating locally.
If I had to quantify my reasons for my balcony garden they would probably be:
1. I'm lazy. I like to wake up and step outside for fresh tomatos.
2. Freshly picked tastes better.
3. I'm a vegetarian. I eat a lot of vegetables. My corner of Germany is very seasonally oriented, and it's difficult to find out of season or non-locally grown produce. This way, I can prolong my ability to have strawberries.
4. Building on #3, if one does find, say strawberries from Spain perhaps, they are hella expensive. (Which I guess makes sense when you figure in transport costs from Spain to Germany.) So I'm cheap.
5. It's an expectation in this building that something belongs on the balcony. Flowers are a money pit and hardly pull their own weight, expect for a few petals in a salad. If I'm going to provide water, dirt, a pot, and loving attention, I expect you to pay your own way here. The only flower that gets real estate here, are sun flowers.
6. Eating organic. Perhaps I've been here too long, but I'm always slightly nervous when I see green beans from Egypt or Morocco and am curious as to what kind of chemicals they may use. Since they're outside of the EU I have an inherent distrust.
7. Food miles/kilometers, an interesting concept, although I see it more as a taste issue. An apple picked not far away which spent limited time boucing along in the back of a truck tastes better than one all the way from Japan or New Zealand.
Current roll call:
Lettuce (from seed):
Tomato corner. So far I've had approx 14 cherry tomatos, with lots of flowers and tiny green ones in progress due to the great weather. I'm keeping a rough tally of tomatos eaten as I'm generally curious as to how many I can grow.
The overall view. The left corner is the tomatos above, and is what my neighbors like to ask me about as it overlooks the front walkway into the building and one can see the bright red tomatos easily from below.
More about victory gardens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/crops_02.html
http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/
If I had to quantify my reasons for my balcony garden they would probably be:
1. I'm lazy. I like to wake up and step outside for fresh tomatos.
2. Freshly picked tastes better.
3. I'm a vegetarian. I eat a lot of vegetables. My corner of Germany is very seasonally oriented, and it's difficult to find out of season or non-locally grown produce. This way, I can prolong my ability to have strawberries.
4. Building on #3, if one does find, say strawberries from Spain perhaps, they are hella expensive. (Which I guess makes sense when you figure in transport costs from Spain to Germany.) So I'm cheap.
5. It's an expectation in this building that something belongs on the balcony. Flowers are a money pit and hardly pull their own weight, expect for a few petals in a salad. If I'm going to provide water, dirt, a pot, and loving attention, I expect you to pay your own way here. The only flower that gets real estate here, are sun flowers.
6. Eating organic. Perhaps I've been here too long, but I'm always slightly nervous when I see green beans from Egypt or Morocco and am curious as to what kind of chemicals they may use. Since they're outside of the EU I have an inherent distrust.
7. Food miles/kilometers, an interesting concept, although I see it more as a taste issue. An apple picked not far away which spent limited time boucing along in the back of a truck tastes better than one all the way from Japan or New Zealand.
Current roll call:
Lettuce (from seed):
Tomato corner. So far I've had approx 14 cherry tomatos, with lots of flowers and tiny green ones in progress due to the great weather. I'm keeping a rough tally of tomatos eaten as I'm generally curious as to how many I can grow.
The overall view. The left corner is the tomatos above, and is what my neighbors like to ask me about as it overlooks the front walkway into the building and one can see the bright red tomatos easily from below.
More about victory gardens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/crops_02.html
http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/
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