justus922

Britain institutes document checks with Ireland

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:11:52 GMT

This is a ridiculous waste of energy:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7523435.stm

If we have to show documents when going to Ireland (esp. now that the Troubles are far enough behind us to allow a real government in N. Ireland), why don't we go full-bore and let Ireland join Schengen? Is Britain ruled by fascists (nationalists) in socialist clothing?

The Pope

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:18:28 GMT

In other news, the Pope is still master of the obvious:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080717/ap_on_re_au_an/australia_pope

Now that I'm officially a lame duck at my current place of work (last day: August 7!), I am finding time to organize the news websites i always manually read into RSS feeds in NewsGator. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to do this? I think I was burned by earlier, less full featured news readers.

France

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:19:23 GMT

Heading to London tomorrow (landing in London City - my first time!!! DLR, here I come!), then on to Paris via HSR 1 (my first time in the Chunnel since 1997), then night train to Andorra, then Toulouse and Bordeaux until Monday. France, here I come!

thought for the day

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:39:39 GMT

from an article on oil use in Sunday's NY Times:

"The United States is the only major industrialized nation to see its oil consumption surge since the oil shocks of the 1970s and 1980s. This can partly be explained by the fact that the United States has some of the lowest gasoline prices in the world, the least fuel-efficient cars on the roads, the lowest energy taxes, and the longest daily commutes of any industrialized nation. The result: about a quarter of the world’s oil goes to the United States every day, and of that, more than half goes to its cars and trucks."

also interesting is this article on the US prison population, which goes beyond the usual statistic-dropping to delve a little into the why. The summary:

"Criminologists and legal experts here and abroad point to a tangle of factors to explain America’s extraordinary incarceration rate: higher levels of violent crime, harsher sentencing laws, a legacy of racial turmoil, a special fervor in combating illegal drugs, the American temperament, and the lack of a social safety net. Even democracy plays a role, as judges — many of whom are elected, another American anomaly — yield to populist demands for tough justice."

belated bd party

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:36:49 GMT

i had a little party last night as an ersatz birthday party, since i've been gone or busy since september, and in germany it's bad luck to celebrate before the day (who knew!). i baked bread and Marge's famous brownies, and nikl made a pumpkin soup (nothing says fall like pumpkin soup). turnout was great, considering i sent invitations via SMS only on Friday. we drank and giggled until almost 5 AM, the first guest (Clara) also being the last to leave.
i'd hoped to be able to celebrate getting a new visa as well, but alas, the bureaucratic machine was to interfere. i had an appointment with the Auslaenderbehoerde (i think having a word with two umlauts as the place where foreigners have to go to get visas is a little mean), which i assumed would mean they would be ready to give me the renewal, since i had to bring all kinds of documentation with me, and since my visa runs out on Tuesday. No no, they were just going to start the process, and would then need to wait until the Federal Ministry of Work gave permission to extend the visa. This, of course, could have been started in July, when I applied for renewal. Oh no. I pointed asked if I should have applied to them directly, or ealier. No no, you couldn't do anything differently. Paid the full visa fee for an "extension" which is external to my passport and looks really shady, and then will have to come again (for the fourth time in 12 months, then) to get my visa in a few months, if it is approved. You might say, getting a visa in the US or England is also no picnic. Certainly not - but you receive one there for five years immediately!

krawalle in neukoelln

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:25:54 GMT

do you ever go to your window and wonder why there are riot police and screaming people running down the street? i just did. i heard lots of shouting, chanting and honking, ignored it for awhile, but decided to see what was up. there are people gathering around carrying turkish flags across their shoulders, and then riot police proceeding down the street behind them. a peaceful demo? a planned festival? a big wedding? an uprising? i'm not sure what it is...
i think i'll change out of my turkish football jersey that i've been wearing inside, before heading outside.

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:21:43 GMT

From an article on cooperation between I didn't know they could do that while moving, 2) I didn't know that Kaliningrad also had been converted to Russian rail gauge. I should get going on making that Berlin - Russia rail jouJSC Russian Railways and Deutsche Bahn:
"One of the biggest obstacles, however, has already been overcome. Rolling stock is now fitted with advanced equipment that allows it to adjust rapidly between the broad gauge of 1520 mm used in Russia and the narrow gauge of 1435 mm in Europe √ while still moving! This avoids the earlier to switch bogies and has brought major savings in time and money."
and further:
"The Talgo train used on the [Berlin to Kaliningrad passenger] service represents a major advance in train technology. Built by the Spanish company Patentes Talgo, the train employs a system that can switch the train from the broad-gauge Russian tracks to the narrow-gauge European tracks while still in motion."

Interesting bits, because 1)rney, because maybe someday they'll eliminate the several hour wait on the border while they switch bogies to Russian gauge!

On the topic of Russia, only five more days until Jim and my arrival in St. Petersburg. That is, of course, supposing I get my visa as planned on Thursday. I will then officiallyhave used all empty passport pages inside 15 months (and I don't get stamped when I enter or leave Shengen!)... time to use those consular connections for some new pages.

My first diplomat friend left the country yesterday. When you meet diplomats, you know that this will happen, but this eventuality has finally been converted into reality. Julia's departure will be followed in the next month by Ryan and Daniel's - Ryan's loss being the one that will most affect me. Foreign service seems to me to be the ultimate detached international lifestyle - by design, you're not to go native, and without going native, you'll always be focused around the current local expat constellation in your location of assignment. I remain convinced that, despite lower pay and no diplomatic immunity, staying in the private sector is the way to go.

N. has decided to stay in Berlin and not leave for Stuttgart. This makes some things easier, and others harder, but at least it finally a decision. He's being weird this week, and I'm hoping we can get to the bottom of what's bothering him before I leave.

romania

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:53:29 GMT

Ryan and I landed in Bucharest Henri Coanda on Saturday an hour late; our flight to München was canceled, so we had to reroute via Zürich, which took longer. Stephanie was late picking us up, due to heavy traffic. I didn't know she didn't have a car, or I would have insisted that she not take a cab all the way there to pick us up.
Bucharest is more functional and less in-your-face bureaucratic than i expected - no people telling you not to take pictures, a functional subway (though usually with broken escalators) with new Bombardier (Sweden SA) cars, some streets paved without massive potholes (though usually without solid curbs). We're getting a bit of a stilted view via diplo-world, nice restaurants, the "biggest" clubs, etc., but it still seems like a place genuinely putting itself together. The architectural mishmash may be the most eclectic I've ever seen: Beaux-arts official edifices, Parisian-style villas, turn of the century Jugendstil, Russian communist office towers, Balkan hotel towers, and what can only be described to as Mussolini joins the 80s - fascism meets Kim Jong Il in a dark alley. The People's Palace is truly amazing, and I will have to make a return trip here to see it (and the fabulous-sounding contemporary art center starting to fill its vast empty spaces constructively, for the first time) from the inside. (It was closed today.)
Tomorrow we're heading into the mountains - Brasov, then Sibiu - on the fastest type of train, in first class (for all of three euros extra?) I do love trains!

aachen

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:43:40 GMT

i'm in aachen this week, and two days of non-stop emergency mode at work have worn me out. it's nice having responsibility, i think. or was it better to have none and work as little as possible?
i visited matthew in sweden last weekend, my second time to stockholm but the first time for longer than a day. it grew on me. i expected people to be high maintainence and self-reference swedish culture and superiority all the time, but as most of matthew's friends aren't from stockholm, that wasn't the case. fought with nikl sunday night about whether swedes were worse than americans about extolling their culture. my experience up until this trip had said yes, while admitting many other annoying character traits of americans.
matthew has just separated from his boyfriend of several years, and moved out of the studio they were sharing just two weeks ago. now he lives in the lovely top story apartment of a former opera singer, who is as often gone as there. i'm excited for him - he seemed to be doing well - but i know how hard it can be to separate lives after so long.
i'm going to leave the only place i know to get free wireless in aachen, (Kaktus), because it's getting full, and i'm the only volldepp with a computer.

Belfast New Years 2006

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:37:24 GMT

I left for Belfast on Sunday and got in at a comfortable 13:45 - comfortable both because I could sleep in more than for the usual discount airline flight, and because there was still plenty of daylight left to find our way into town and get oriented. Conveniently, Mikal and Amanda arrived within 15 minutes of my flight; three flights, three corners of Europe, reasonably priced flights arriving to our destination at nearly the same time, all booked within a week of our arrival date; Belfast was meant to be.
We bussed to the Europa Buscentre - to become a homey orientation point by the end of our trip, due to the bars across the street, if not for the most-bombed-in-Europe hotel above it or a particularly charming atmosphere. We scuttled a bus to Arnie's Backpacker Hostel - a name that usually would make me cringe, but that proved to be perfectly suited to our trip - in favor of a brisk walk across town. A fair decision most of the time, but not in winds that caused the evening's New Years festivities to be cancelled. We could barely walk up the street, but bags and suitcases luckily fixed us to the ground. Never had we seen more non-functional ATMs, never had we seen a European capital that had window-free office buildings on its main approach. No matter, onward to Arnie's.
As promised, coal fire awaited us in the small townhouse that had been converted into as many rooms as possible. It was never clear to us how many people were staying in the place - the Orange County - cum Minnesotans, Steve 1 & Steve 2 (aka Brad), blond pussy-whipped bad-French boy, and the Two (sometimes called French, though this was a drunken mistake) Bitches aside, we never found the place particularly full. I only had to wait to shower once, forcing me to walk through the kitchen to the other shower, to everyone's dismay. In any case, I was reminded how nice it is to hostel with more than one person, as we could take over our 4-bed room and dictate lights on or off.
Mikal imagined seeing a person named "Steve" written in as roommate when we checked in, and as a result, we searched for Steve for the rest of our time at Arnie's. Steve 1 was a random guy brushing his teeth, who Mikal assumed to be Steve. Steve 2 (Brad) checked in the second day, and unfortunately had to take his name with his place in our room.
The two [French] bitches were the girls "on a roll with bookings" who, though there was only one of them in the room, needed *both* identical copies of the Lonely Planet Ireland so badly that we could look at the map to plan for our trip to Derry. This bothered us so much that we secretly plotted to vom on them, the Lonely Planets, or both upon one of our late night returns. These plans sadly never came to fruition.
But enough about the hostel - what about Belfast? It hadn't changed much since my last visit (2000), at least in the city center. There seemed to be new construction east of downtown, but the main drags seemed very similar to last time. There were more clubs, and nicer clubs - but one should expect that of a place whose primary attraction is its drinking culture and its religious/political clashes.
Our main touristic accomplishment in Belfast was arranging a cabbie to take us through the muraled, walled, and cemeteried neighborhoods of West Belfast, ground zero for the Troubles. We couldn't understand much of what he was saying, but we got the gist from the view out the window - 10 meter tall walls, raised at least twice, and recently; burned out houses from feuding families; a street where soldiers and policemen were attacked for shielding children on their way to elementary school; cemeteries full of mid-teen to mid-twenty year olds. It's heartening that much of North Ireland has been able to move on, disheartening that the walls and divisions still remain.
We sought respite much as the rest of the country does - by visiting the pubs. I present, for your enjoyment, the

Belfast International Airport - Meet me at baggage claim, said Mikal. Ok, I said. Mikal's not at this baggage claim, but his flight got in earlier and he's domestic. I'll keep walking. Oh, there's the domestic luggage claim, but I don't see him. There are seats here, but he's probably waiting at the front of the terminal. Narrow Walkway of No Return's unnecessary length would make Sofia International Airport proud of its purgatorical qualities. Outside, behind door number 3: Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Stupid! You so stupid! Waited for Mikal in the cold, with nothing to drink.
Conclusion: What kind of an introduction to Norther Ireland is this? No stars.

Arnie's Backpacker Hostel - free coffee, free tea, free biscuits, but the annoying French-speaking hostel worker lurked around with her whipped boyfriend casting looks of bored frustration, ruining the mood. Warm coal fire helped somewhat, when the living room was free, or when the Two Bitches weren't in the dining room. The owners' three puppies needed to be around more for this place to really excel.
Conclusion: For $24 a night, it should have been Irish coffee. Two stars.

Armenien Restaurant - Amanda: "We could try that Armenian place for dinner after we drink in Robertsons, should we check out the menu?"
Mikal: "Sure, why not. Let me look."
Amanda: "Do they have beer?"
Mikal, puzzled: "No, I don't think so..."
Amanda: "Screw those bitches. We'll find somewhere else."
Mikal: "Word."
Conclusion: Don't rub us the wrong way before we've had some tipple. No stars.

Robertsons - our first night in Belfast was to be the first of many times we tried to eat dinner between 4 and 5 PM. All of the restaurants on the back street I had taken us down seemed empty - it was New Years Eve, and seatings probably began at 6. We saw a pub and ducked in. We later realized that it had two sides, ours being the more traditional-looking of the two, we stayed put. They pour a good Guinness, gin selection and waiter attentiveness was lacking. Repeat visit the next day saw me try their fare - a respectable fish and chips. Conclusion: Sufficient. 3 stars.

Union Street - we chose this gay bar on NYE because it shared a common cover to Kremlin (below), and seemed like a busy-enough place to justify sitting down for a drink. We were not disappointed. Good, reasonably priced drinks served by attractive bartenders downstairs, somewhat less cheery and infinitely confusing service upstairs (we don't have pints, i can take your order, we have no table service now, let me clean your table again) where we settled down didn't really distract from the fun. Friendly locals at the next table, including a shoo-in for the Kylie Minogue youth look-alike contest, became our companions for the rest of the night, as the doors to the Box Factory and Kremlin led directly from our table to all the action. I still want to go back and order a drink from the short bartender downstairs with the curl hair. Someday.
Conclusion: Standard most-popular-gay-bar-in-town formula, works for us. Four stars.

Box Factory & Kremlin - though it took us awhile to realize that these giant rooms adjacent to Union Street were actually the clubs we were planning on going to later, their character eventually became clear. Box Factory is an all-black two-room dance club, high ceilings, boxes and rafters, see through wall behind the bar shows customers the current visitors to the pissoir. Kremlin was a very long, somewhat narrow room on two floors, with a dance floor on each. How could you tell you were in Kremlin? By neon signs blaring "Lenin" in Cyrillic, of course. Good music in both, and a steady but not overwhelming turnover between the venues kept us amused for hours. One downside: the only path from Kremlin to the back room of Box Factory (where we most often were, as it was less crowded) involved pushing through the middle of the main dance floor. A side door would help this considerably, but I'm guessing on most nights (ie not New Years) this wouldn't be a problem.
Conclusion: Standard big gay venues, Kremlin with better than average character. Four stars.

Crown Liquor Saloon - next door to the other half of Robertsons, across the Victoria Street from the Europa Buscentre (EBC from now on, ok?). A classic, Victorian-styled throwback to another era of sophisticated (and private!) drinking, the Crown Liquor Saloon graces many a guidebook, including, we discovered, that of a middle-aged couple from Seattle, who were kind enough to share their private booth with us. We should have known they weren't local - it was not only the most empty booth, but was also the quietest until we moved in. We discovered that the wife was secretly a lush, and had organized a pub crawl of dozens of places in Belfast. Respect.
Conclusion: Classy, fast, and loud - just like we like them. Five stars.

The Botanic Inn – our cab driver pulled a page out of the Asian cab driver play book when he suggested dropping us at a pub he liked in the neighborhood of our hostel. Unlike the hotels / restaurants / brothels one usually ends up with after following such cab drivers there, this was a pretty good place – a sports bar, really, with many screens, many sports and the omnipresent Omani sports TV we’d come to know and love. Expert pours, friendly staff, one of whom spoke with a strong Asian accent, just to keep it real. Finding a place to sit was a bit hard, but blocking people’s views didn’t seem to lead to them wanting to kick the poof and darkie’s (our) ass.
Conclusion: Testosterone heavy, but under control. Four stars.

Serai - Asian fusion, in Belfast? Sounded intriguing, and we weren't the only customers, even at 4:30 PM. Basically expensive Indonesian food served by Asiastanis in a polystyrene diner kind of setting. Dueling music video soundtracks actually fit with the food and decor. Worked for us, as long as there was beer.
Conclusion: Conflicted, but so are we. Three stars.

White's Tavern – We checked out White’s on the advice of D., who worked there. It was advertised / in the guidebook as the oldest pub in Belfast. Don’t mess with tradition and the possibility of a free drink, right? We stumbled in early afternoon, D. was very friendly even though he’d been up since New Year’s Eve morning (it was now 16:00 on the 1st), and the place was pleasantly full. The town drunk (one of) struck up a long conversation about colored ice and whether the Spaniard was open, but never took things too far (as town drunks occasionally do). Very homey atmosphere.
Conclusion: Warm, friendly, and a free round – what more could you want? Five stars.

Mynt - Big scary bouncers, modern two-story building. We went in on the evening of New Year's Day, looking for a gay bar for warmup before Potthouse. Amanda’s round, Mikal and I bee-line for the bathroom. Little did we know what was to befall us! We returned to find Amanda up to her ears in North Irish youth. They came back to the table Mikal and I choose in refuge, and proceeded to talk, drink and charm us for hours. We migrated after a few rounds (some in the form of a small, quickly drunken glass of high potency liquids) to Potthouse, but they

Potthouse – small line, ticket man wanted to know where I was from. USA, I said. Probably New York or Chicago or Los Angeles, he said. Nebraska, I said. Don’t get many people that have a sense of style from there, he said. Hitting on me, but compliments do go a long way.
Three floors separated by glass floors, the lowest a café-bar, not part of the club. We start upstairs, which closes by about 12:30; I would imagine that it would stay open on a busy night. It was black-paint-on-wood with stainless accents – typical big club décor – meets transparent glance-up-and-down floors and lounges against the outside wall, on every level. Middle floor has enough space for a good-sized dance area, but the bar area and lounges on the far wall provide enough space to avoid the crush.
D. joined us after work for an impressive multi-day tour de force of partying (and working). Amanda got friendly with one of The Boys, whose birthday they were celebrating; why the three of them chose to celebrate it in two gay bars is beyond us. Extremely advanced chick pick up strategy or not admitting something to themselves? Only time will tell. One of them planted one (several) on Mikal, to further call their story into doubt.
Conclusion: Yes. Five stars.

Europa Buscentre - not the most atmospheric location, but a steady stream of travelers, both local and intercity, keep this place interesting. Lack of alcoholic beverages not befitting its clientele, we were forced to spring for coffee. Haven't seen baristas this uninterested in serving coffee since the South Side of Chicago, but a perky interior, varied seating and free newspapers evened things out.
Conclusion: Functional, in a rehab clinic sort of way. Two stars.

Bus 212 to Derry - an "absolutely no alcoholic drinks" sign on the way in past the driver suggested that they'd encountered this problem before. Copious amounts of water were not enough to mitigate the hour and forty minute buzz kill each way. But for only 4 pounds return, we couldn’t really argue with the kilometer-per-quid ratio, and I suppose the liver needs water anyway.
Conclusion: High and dry on level 2 of the bus. One star.

Dungloe Bar, Derry – The locals were nice enough to ignore us here, but it did kind of have that you-could-get-the-shit-kicked-out-of-you-on-a-busy-night-you-foreigners feel to it. Good Guinness, though, and lovely alcohol-is-bad-for-you signs in the restrooms. The coasters queried, are you getting the perfect pour? We decided to call the number provided. A confused Guinness employee fielded our call, but didn’t really know why they put the number there. Amanda will be receiving monthly updates from the Guinness emailing list as a result, though.
Conclusion: Got the job done. Three stars.

The Chinese Restaurant, Derry – Once again, we found ourselves looking for dinner at 4:30, and this Chinese place seemed like just the thing. I erred in my identification of the characters on the sign, thinking Hanjul, but it was indeed a Mandarin restaurant. We were shocked and horrified that they queried “fried rice, boiled rice, or chips?” “Would you like chips with that?” became our question every time we ate Asian food after that. Friendly waitresses fielded backhanded compliments from Mikal without complaint. They really shouldn’t let us in to family restaurants, though.
Conclusion: Focus not enough on drink. Two stars.

Apartment - we first tried Apartment as a warm up for our night out New Years Eve (that would be, after the pre, during and post dinner drinks), I hoping for a knock-off of APT (in New York, no not Advanced Passenger Transit), but were thwarted by a ten-pound cover that seemed excessive for just a bar. We noted the central location and friendly & attractive door staff for future reference. After our dry bus trip back from Derry, on our final night in Belfast, we returned for some post-bus ride relaxation. It had a promising decor, and an attractive open floor plan, but as our stay extended a few drinks, I was put off by its relative uncleanliness (sticky tables, unkempt bar) & non-cocktail savvy bartender (a gimlet is *not* advanced, nor is a Hendricks martini up with a twist, both were botched), and Mikal and Amanda noted its airport-lounge feeling. Door staff proved as helpful as attractive on our way out, though, providing directions to our next place without making us feel embarrassed by asking.
Conclusion: Watered down chic. Two and a half stars.

Lime Lite - Doorman: "Sorry you can't come in it's full."
Mikal: "I see. Can you tell us what's going on at that place next door?
Doorman: "That's the same party."
Mikal, surprised: "Oh."
Doorman: "You can go in down there if you want."
Mikal: "We were looking for the gay party, though. Where is that?"
Doorman: "It's not gay tonight. That was last week."
Mikal: "Oh. But wait, why is it full here, but not 10 feet away at the next door?"
Amanda, Steve 2/Brad and Justus: *groan* "Come on Mikal!!!"
Conclusion: No stars!

EuropaCar Rental Office - I found Mikal & Amanda nearing completion of their car rental transaction. Disgruntled rental worker clearly didn't like them, for reasons still unknown. My coming in off the street did not help matters. She clearly would rather have been drinking.
Conclusion: Offer service employees some of yours, but not if you’re at a car rental place. No stars.

Belfast Central Station - Mikal and Amanda tried to oblige my request to drive me to my train to Dublin, as I'd already seen the Giant's Causeway and wanted instead to catch up with a friend in Dublin. What I hadn't realized was that there is no way to drive across the center of Belfast. One ways and construction conspired to let me off further from my destination than when I entered the Peugeot, but at least they were on the right road to pick up their luggage. Once I did find the station, the 37 pound return to Dublin left no money with which to drink.
Conclusion: Dry by deprivation. No stars.

Bushmills Factory & the Giants' Causeway – Mikal and Amanda might have paid a visit to the Bushmills factory on their way to or from the Giants’ Causeway; unfortunately, they had to have the car back by 5:30.
Conclusion: Too far to away to be practical. No stars.

The Spaniard - that the (a) town drunk was asking the wait staff in White's to call over and see if it was open should have been a sign. Intimate atmosphere, reasonable prices, perky female bar staff made this a winner. Too bad it wasn’t a gay bar.
Conclusion: Delightful. Five stars.

Norfolk Ferry Terminal – we arrived at the terminal with nothing to drink or eat, assuming there’d be something nearby where we could grab something before our departure, two hours after checkin. Sadly, there was nothing anywhere nearby, so we could honestly answer the security question: No, I have no alcoholic beverages in my luggage. Once on board, we were delighted to be directed to our cabin, past the first bar, up the stairs. There were all of five foot passengers on board, and we were three of them; car traffic clearly was their bread and butter. That being said, this was the nicest ferry I’ve ever been ridden. Food was included in the fare – both dinner and breakfast at the gawd awful hour of 5:00 AM – and beverages in Bar Two were not that overpriced.
Conclusion: Expensive overall fare, but excellent once on board. Four stars.

Additions and corrections to the Guide are always welcome.

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 19:32:51 GMT

Where to begin?
I'm on the train home tonight from Aachen via Den Haag - a detour I took to finally get a chance to witness Andrew and Sasha's house in person. They have a fabulous house on two and a half levels, right next to Grote Markt; if there's an exit to your street from the main train tunnel in downtown, you really live in the middle of it all. Of course, "it all" is a relative term, and Den Haag can still be pretty sleepy, even when you're in the center. We had a fun but brief time in the city. Andrew and I caught up over Chinese food before picking up Sasha and Saunder from the train station, on their return from Israel. Today we walked around a bit - love the early 20th century architecture - and tried a new place for lunch that I thought looked cool. Hanging drapes, electric candle chandeliers, and an old map painted on one wall were just what the doctor ordered. The onion soup was beefy and delicious, the hot chocolate couldn't live up to my favorite place in the whole world (conveniently located at Andrew & Sasha's tram stop!)
I was in Aachen for work - my company has an office there, and they needed help finishing up a project that we need for a contract in Berlin. My coworkers in Aachen are equally, shall we say, difficult to get to know as those in Berlin. In four days there I wasn't invited to lunch once; no one I recognized from my last trip there said hi without my initiating; no one suggested getting a drink after work, asked what I had been working on, or wanted to know why a foreigner was in their midst. My German friends confirm that this is anti-social behavior, even by German business culture standards.
Work is interesting in content but very not challenging, as I'm still basically acting as a cleanup agent, doing all the jobs that no one else has gotten around to but that need to be done before our next release. I don't mind doing that, and I enjoy having basically no responsibility, but I will get tired of implementing others' flawed visions in time. I really hope that my promised project leadership position comes to fruition in the next two months.
Aachen is a pretty town, but a "provincial capital", with not a lot going on besides the occasional student bar and a few Michelin spoon restaurants. To add to the wow-everything-closes-at-6 effect, more than half (no, really) of the restaurants I'd looked up were closed for winter holiday. I did manage to find a cafe with free wireless and cheap red wine, which made for hours of Flickr-uploading and chat enjoyment. I also wrote about 30 pages in my physical journal (which has been getting a lot more attention than my live journal - sorry. I resolve to do better in 2007...). Struck up a conversation with a preppy mech-e, son of an Essen business man, attender of prep school and the military (everyone is required, but most gays take community service instead). It was interesting to get a local's perspective on the town; Aachen sits on the far south side of the Ruhr-region's influence, with Köln being the next big city with something going on nearby.
I returned from New Years vacation with Mikal and Amanda on Saturday night - uncharacteristically, I left for that trip on Sunday and returned Saturday, two whole days of pre- and post prep. I came back early to attend Christian's house warming and because Andrew was planning to visit me. He didn't, and though the party was fun, I would have rather been with Mikal in Liverpool that night. Oh well - good to be an adult once in awhile, right? I was fresh and at work at 8 Monday morning.
Christian's party was interesting, both due to our differing taste in interior design (Nikl nearly cried), and due to the Small Gay World evident in his attendees. Markus PhD - old friend. Coworker of Sebastian Peter - also a friend. Jan F. and the hot blond dumb guy he was hitting on Kino International in Dec. - present. Actor I met in 2000 but hadn't spoken to since - also there. There were certainly new people - for example, a girl who in that characteristic German way managed to insult my intelligence and my German abilities inside 15 seconds of making my acquaintance - but the main players were already fixtures of Sebastian and my guest list, even though I've known Christian for less than a month.
Nikl and I spent Sunday and Monday (no choir this week) night together, which was enjoyable; we've been seeing less of each other in the last two months than he'd like, and it was stressing our relationship in December. Things were good last weekend - let's see how they are when I get home tonight.

I didn't really mean to take 10 months off, it just happened

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:03:33 GMT

As of Monday I'm employed again. I'll be a project/team lead for a company doing transportation software, mostly in Europe. I will get to travel - can't wait to see what projects will be flying around after my few months of programming as warm up. I'm excited to continue down the path away from code monkey towards customer focused engineer. My title will be "senior systems engineer", which of course thrilled me. I will also have 30 days of paid vacation a year. Bless Europe.
Sadly, this means I won't be starting a masters in historical urban studies in the fall. Happily, this means I won't be starting a masters in business computer science in the fall.
I am moving! So all of you that didn't get to see my lovely flat in PBerg with Sebastian, tough luck. I'm going to be renting a room from a friend in her villa for awhile (six total people will be living there!), with all the associated perks of cooked meals, fun social engagements (she puts on events with food and culture), and a grand piano! Downside is that it's a small monastic room. But that's kind of an upside, since I have not much stuff anyway. When I'm not there, I'll be pseudo-living with my boyfriend, for whom I finally just ordered internet service (hello mid-90's!) We'll see how that goes, and maybe get a place together next year.
I'm taking my last big trip starting the 18th with the boyf . We're heading to the 'rents place on the Bodensee, followed by northern Italy, which could be more exciting (since I was just there with Jim in June '05) but I'm sure will be lovely. Still wrangling to get time off for a trip to the States over Thanksgiving, since it's the year my fam spends T together instead of C.
What else? Big concert with my choir in the Konzerthaus on Gendarmenmarkt (middle of town) in October, which I'm looking forward. It's fun to be in performances in places where you've seen performances, I think.
Jim was just here last weekend for work, which was very enjoyable. I do miss being in New York more. Shout out to NY people.
Now that I am going to be behind a computer more often, I will try to be more LJ-present. Sorry for the silence. Many backdated entries are still floating around in my head and Not Live Journal - someday, Micke. BTW, ask Micke what today is, everybody!

You might travel too much if...

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 14:52:44 GMT

your passport was issued in a country other than your nationality
you consumed 35% of the available space in your passport in 2.4% of its intended life span
you recognize the passport control agent in Stanstead, because you had her when she was in training
you shudder every time you read the foreign currency rates box in the Economist
you are convinced that you could find the perfect man, if only your layover in Heathrow were long enough
you choose flights based on airline alliances
you choose frequent flyer numbers for each part of your three-airline journey based on the class of booking, because even though the airlines are on the same alliance, you want to maximize status accrual
you choose flights based on which purchased airline used to operate the flight through their old hub (Pan Am in Miami, TWA in St. Louis, etc.)
you give flight attendants your impressions of hot international reoutings, because they're heard of them but not flown them (United to Ho Chi Minh)
you have booked a connection through an airport because it offers free wireless
WHSmith is jealous of your Lonely Planet collection
you keep at least three reserve currencies with you at all times
you maintain an mental ranking of in-flight magazines
you no longer look at airline terminal maps

yes, i'm still alive

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:48:35 GMT

i keep waiting to post anything until i have a Major Update, as micke has requested, with all the things that I've been doing since my last update. that's not going to happen yet, but it's a shame to not post anything, so i'm going to post something. better than nothing, hopefully.
i'm in New York until Saturday, visiting people and theoretically helping Jim move in. Last night I met up with Nam Hee and Josh for dinner at La Esquina and then a couple of drinks afterwards, Nam Hee being the most responsible person (in bed first) and me the least (in bed last). Today I slept late and got some lunch, and have been doing surprisingly little. Sadly the copy of How the Other Half Lives, which I was supposed to have received at home and be reading now, didn't come on time (damn saver shipping!) and now I need to locate another copy ASAP, since I have to give a presentation Tuesday in my city history class ("Zwei Wege in die Moderne: amerikanische und russiche Städte in Vergleich"). Suggestions on used bookstores in Manhattan are welcome.
While I'm asking for suggestions, what camera should I buy? My trusty Canon S60 was grabbed by someone who was not me in London. Important features to me are picture quality, optical zoom and good nighttime shooting capability (which is why i'm thinking of getting one with image stabilization). I was considering HP Photosmart R717, the Sony DSC-T9, or the Canon ELPH SD-550 or 700. Any advice? Yes I'd love to have a digital SLR, but no, I can't be without a good point-and-shoot. The Canon S80 is an option, but it now is without RAW support, and if I'm going to get a camera that big, I want it RAW.
Being in New York for the first time since October is giving me mixed feelings. I like it here a lot, and I always have to evaluate my decision to move to Berlin instead of New York in that light. I'm also unsure of which friends in New York to try to keep contact with, since I'm here so much less than before. Should I meet old coworkers for drinks? Old tricks? School friends? (that's already happening, so that's not so much the question; seeing e_lime tomorrow!). Unsure.
Jim lives at the corner of homo and sexual, lunch today was a total street cruise fest. Even more so than Cheeseman Park - saw Len in Denver yesterday and he was pointing out all the nasty old guys in cars outside his apartment window on the park.
Enough for now. If you're in New York say hi! If you're not in New York say hi!

Back from AMS

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 01:06:30 GMT

Got back from a whirlwind trip to Den Haag and Amsterdam on Sunday, just in time for Sebastian's birthday treat for me, tickets to Swan Lake! Especially hot tights in this production.
In a rare move, I have actually posted pictures 1) within 48 hours of returning from a trip, and 2) on Flickr! I don't know how you all make the time for LJ + Flickr, cause man - I operate at about 10 photos an hour or three paragraphs an hour max. Not quite that bad, but seriously, download -> convert from Raw even with no color correction yes I know they could look so much better -> crop -> rotate (why doesn't Flickr understand EXIF tags like Gallery?) -> name -> describe -> tag... pant... takes a fair bit of time.

Anmeldung

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:24:36 GMT

I'm still extremely jetlagged, sleeping until 2:30 PM today, but at least I did sleep. I need to stop sleeping so long so maybe I can do every day, instead of every other. And I'm not even going out...
I registered with the neighborhood city hall (roughly translated) today. When I got my number, there were 93 people in front of me. I left about an hour and a half later, 16 minutes shy of when they closed. Lucky. Sadly, the Sparkasse wouldn't take me for a new account since it was so close to closing time.
I went grocery shopping tonight, and I got literally more than I could carry for 32 euros. Unbelievably cheap. They had about 20 different wines under 2 euros. Heaven! Sadly, I dropped a bottle (actually, I unwisely placed it in the child seat in my cart and it fell out) at the checkout. Embarrassing... Cooked for myself tonight, which will become a regular thing with Sebastian (my roommate) away at least four days a week.
The local volkshochschule (community college) has a scad of language classes starting in February. I'm thinking about taking several. One of the reasons I've moved to Europe is to learn and exercise my languages. A friend of Sebastians is Russian and in Berlin for at least the semester. I might get him to give me private lessons, but if not there's always the three week intensive course in Feb.
Sebastian is mir sehr lieb (being very nice to me) - he sent me no fewer than four emails and two texts today. Good to have a good roommate!
DSL tomorrow, so I can stop worrying that all my communications are being logged by the computer-to-computer network that i'm accessing the internet through...

Berlin

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 01:40:24 GMT

I've now been in Berlin for almost 30 hours - quite a feat if you knew half the things that I had to do in the two months leading up to my departure. I'd like to thank all the people that helped me, offered to help me, or continue to help me (hi George!) with my move, and I apologize to those people on whom I had to impose. Know that I am always here to help you in case you need me.
I currently can't sleep, and thus the first German-written journal entry; jetlag is a bitch, esp. when you're super tired but can't sleep in spite of it. Listening to my favorite Miss Kitten album isn't helping relieve the jetlag nor the surreality of actually being here after so long.
Sebastian has kept me busy from the time I left the protective glass of the baggage claim at my arrival gate (each pair of gates has their own check in, security, passport control, and baggage claim - those efficient Germans! Long live Tegel - they always plan to close it (I even helped with those plans when I worked at the state transportation planning office), but they never have the money to carry out the plans.) until tonight, sunrise to sunset. At least he let me sleep in today. But an early 8:30 rise for us tomorrow! He has the day off, and we are going household shopping. Our apartment is big, and nice, but pretty empty. The next task is to make it a home without spending a fortune, never an easy task.
I go through alternating periods of being super alert and all over the German, to super tired and ready to not hear another word. But all in all, I'm pretty pleased with how things are coming back to me. A week or two to settle in, and I'll be back to full speed.
Speaking of which, how many of you speak German? Ich denke immer dass ich mein schriftliche deutsch verbessern soll, besonders wenn ich mich als student bewerbe, aber ich will auch nicht jede sache wiederholen auf beide sprachen. Aber es muss warscheinlich sein...
I was listing the confirmed and potential visitors to Sebastian today, and was getting excited already. We need an air mattress for ya'll - the leather couch is nice, but not the best bed. We could always use the tiny unfoldable couch i'm now sleeping on...
I'm mooching wireless from some computer to computer network that is probably logging all of my personal information, but hey - at least I have connectivity. It seems like they want you to use it - it's named olsr.freifunk.net. 6000/600 DSL and our land line (ISDN woohoo) is being hooked up on Wednesday, so then I can call everyone who's been calling back without my US cell phone bill being $100.
Ok, time to try sleeping again.

Links

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 01:42:45 GMT

I liked this BBC member submission list of words and expressions in other languages. The comments about l'esprit d'escalier makes me think of Brandon's story about his Paris hotel doorman, who greeted him every morning with a different variation on "You look so fabulous that you radiate like the sun this morning, Monsieur McCormick."
I found a slashdotted blog entry on when to leave your first tech job [note that there are different comments on slash dot and at the original blog post], and those comments that did not focus on reaming the writer for his inexperience, to be interesting and relevant in some ways to my current situation. In others, though, they were off mark - my company isn't going down, it's just broken in a few places in engineering management and in interoffice communication.
MUST FINISH PACKING tonight.

Sunday

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 03:04:05 GMT

Sunday was good. Woke up at 10:45 and walked out at 11:15 into the Castro Street Fair. I'm not sure I could handle living inside "the zone" like this for very long. But there are a ton of restaurants and bars and cafes and there were not enough in my old neighborhood.
Timmy Yuen was having a birthday lunch at Luna (formerly Luna Piena) which was fab. Three bottles of champagne, but there were 12 of us. I went outside "the zone" to Brad Simon's house for a little pre-castro st. fair party, which was fun. Back into the zone, shopping (i was so good! dangerously close to buying a shirt...). Ran into everyone, as one does at the Castro St. Fair.
Rumor had it that Dolly was going to be playing at the San Francisco Bluegrass Festival in GGP, so we trekked out on the N to 30th to find out. Sure enough, Little Sparrow was playing as we shimmied down the brush covered hillside into the mass of people watching. Great. Short set though. We spent another hour afterwards wandering around to other stages. Saw Emmylou Harris while we were waiting for roasted ears of corn. Ryan got the last one, and the rest of us got none.
Took the N back to Inner Sunset to find something to eat. Soup sounded great, so we went to Hotei for ramen and oden.
On the way back to Duboce Triangle, I began venting about my old apartment. I'm not sure why I've held it in for so long. I do like the urban grit, but having it spill over into my living space for so long probably was a bad idea. I think if I'd had a job downtown and a different apartment, it'd be much harder to leave.
I'm going to LA on Friday and then to NY for a week starting next Tuesday, so my last weekend in San Francisco for awhile has just passed.

Moving - a two day timeline

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 02:47:42 GMT

Friday, Sept. 30th, move out day
5:15 AM - Wake up with Phil because his brother has to catch a plane back to Peace Corps in Mauritania. MUNI to my house and continue packing.
10:00 AM - Scott S., my unemployed just graduated music educator friend stops by to help. I've agreed to pay him to help pack. Very glad he stopped by.
12:00 noon - Movers don't show up
12:32 - Movers finally show up, one of them drunk.
1:10 PM - finished loading the van for the three stops. Skip a bunch of Goodwill items because I am worried about running out of my two hours of mover time
1:30 PM - arrive at Goodwill. Surlyy my-one-square-meter-of-authority-exercising Goodwill employee decides not to accept any metal furniture, leaving us with a filing cabinet, set of drawers, and CD rack to deal with. Drunk mover takes a bag of towels for his own and hides them in the truck cab. Left Scott there to write out seven pages of goodwill receipts for the two double column notebook pages of stuff that I donated.
1:50 PM - mover driving the truck, talking on cell phone to try to arrange another pickup, has drunk illiterate compatriot try to see if the police by SF General are tailing him, since he doesn't have a valid registration. I infer from this that he also has no insurance (on the truck or my stuff), and sigh in relief when I realize that I'm getting rid of or shipping everything in the truck.
2:00 - Futon is unloaded in front of the house of a woman who pays me with a PayPal credit card. Don't have a business account so had to deny. Still waiting for the bank-funded payment, but I think it will go through.
2:05 PM - Movers unload me and my 18 boxes (14 of them media mail) at the Potrero Center branch Post Office, and my three metal items of furniture onto the street, where they are snapped up. I pay them in cash, and have seldom been so happy to see people leave my presence.
2:30 PM - Finished hauling the packages to the counter one by one, having lady weigh and stamp them, and making a giant pile in a postal cart and on the next counter. $300 to ship probably 650 lbs of stuff to Nebraska - not bad.
2:35 PM - Walked to a Capricorn Coffee, a roaster on 10th near Folsom that I've always wanted to try. Eat food. Drink espresso.
2:45 PM - Run to packaging store across from the Chevron / Burger King / 24-hr (weekends only) Starbucks on 9th and Howard. Buy more packaging materials than I can carry.
3:00 PM - Ran back from my house to St. Anthony's Homeless clothing mission (8th and Mission) to see when they're open until. Ran home. Sorted my entire wardrobe. Ran two loads of clothes and shoes back to St. A's before their 4:15 PM closing time.
4:15 PM - On my way back from St. A's, run into my landlady. She's appalled by how much stuff there still is in my apartment, but I assure her I'll be out by midnight. She gets permission to give my number to the future tenant because he wanted to buy some stuff from me that I didn't have anymore.
5:10 PM - I call a cab after finding out that my Goodwill is open until 6.
5:45 PM - Cab arrives. San Francisco Yellow Cab sucks.
5:55 PM - Square-meter-of-authority man rushes me in and out, and closes the gate behind me. I forget to itemize my purple suit on my receipt.
6:00 PM - I run back to my house.
7:00 PM - New tenant stops by. He says he has two weeks to move in, so to take my time.
7:40 PM - Phil meets me and we hop on MUNI to go to my birthday surprise.
8:05 PM - Boulevard! Excellent. Still my all-around favorite.
11 PM - Go to Phil's house and SLEEP

Saturday, Oct. 1st, new tenant takes possession day
6:00 AM - Wake and MUNI to SOMA. Continue packing.
8:15 AM - Woman who couldn't fit bookshelves into her Volvo on Thurs. but who assured me she would pick them up at 8:30 AM Saturday flakes on me. I am pissed. Craigslist people are so f***ing flaky.
10:50 AM - Phil stops by. He decided not to fly (his flying club is in Oakland) because the Bay Bridge is closed at nights on weekends for construction, and the backup was terrible.
11:00 AM - Landlady shows up to give keys to new tenant. Appalled by mess. I assure you that I have permission from the new tenant.
11:10 AM - New tenant picks up keys late.
11:30 AM - Phil helps me throw some things together, and pack them into his Jeep. Lifesaving.
1:15 PM - Dropped off unopened canned food at Rainbow Grocery's SF Open Hand drop off.
1:20 PM - Third Goodwill trip. I itemize my suit this time, but forget most of the stuff I'd just dropped off.
1:30 PM - Arrive at Phil's, unload into his living room.
1:45 PM - He drops me off back at (formerly) my apartment and helps me carry the two bookcases to the street.
2:15 PM - I look outside and the bookcases are gone.
3:00 PM - I begin hauling trash to the street
3:05 PM - My crazy Phillipino downstairs elderly man neighbor with a Christmas tree in his window year round lights on explains to me that he's been keeping people away from my stuff since I'm moving. I explain to him that this is all trash. Oh, can I have these pots then, he asks?
3:10 PM - The sidewalk is completely covered with the remains of what I'm hauling out, as I continue to haul things down.
4:00 PM - I begin cleaning the kitchen.
4:20 PM - Damn I hate cleaning stoves.
5:00 PM - Damn I hate cleaning refrigerators.
6:30 PM - As I haul down some last trash, the melee has faded somewhat, but two people are still rummaging. The slum lord of the next door building starts screaming at me from his car that the trash will catch fire. The homeless people promise to clean up the mess.
6:45 PM - I call a cab to haul one last load of stuff to Phil's
7:30 PM - The cab still hasn't come. I give up, haul all my stuff back into the apartment from the stairs, and take one suitcase (with no clothes) to the MUNI to try to make it to Phil's and back before I have to go to the opera
7:42 PM - It finally dawns on me that I'm not going to make it to Phil's house before the opera.
7:45 PM - I drop my red suitcase behind a hedge at City Hall in hopes of not looking like even more of a fool than I already will arriving at the opera in a Stanford HoHo t-shirt and blue jeans.
7:50 PM - I continue to be mortified at my looks and smell, and get the ticket to the opera from a well dressed middle aged friend of a friend, whom I am just meeting. Mortified.
8:00 PM - The world premier of Doctor Atomic, an opera about Robert Oppenheimer in the days leading up to the first nuclear test at Trinity, begins.
9:45 PM - I drink a full cup of coffee and a carrot cake at intermission, the only food I'll eat all Saturday.
11:15 PM - Opera ends. I get a ride back to my apartment with my friend's friend in his vintage Peugot.
11:30 PM - Bagged and carried two and a half blocks 8 bags of trash from in front of my house. I smile internally as I know that it started out being more like 20 bags, that some of my belongings will get reused, and that it's less for me to carry to the dumpster.
12:02 - Call SF Yellow Cab for a van cab to take the rest of my stuff home. They say 15-30 minutes.
12:50 - Call SF Yellow Cab. They say they're still hoping to get me a van. Two other cab companies don't help.
1:15 - Hail a van cab off the street. Load all belongings and kiss my apartment goodbye.
1:25 - I make a stop at City Hall and retrieve my red suitcase from behind the hedge. City police had not found it, nor searched it for drugs or bombs as I was worried they would.
1:45 - Finish carrying things up to Phil's living room, which is still full as I sit here and write this. Shower. Collapse.

Moving out

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:34:07 GMT

Craigslisting all of my personal belongings enters its 4th day. I should be charging these people more than i paid at Ikea just because this stuff is all already put together for them.
Why do all hot boys buying furniture live in Cole Valley and wear wedding rings? Damn. I wish I'd discovered this sooner.
This is kind of a nerve-wracking process. I've become very accustomed to having all of these things around, and now they are being carted off, not all at once, but one small piece at a time; it prolongs the effect. My parents secretly think that I'm crazy (been talking to them more than usual), but that's to be expected; it's impressive that they're not telling me that to my face.
Anyone need a care package of kitchen equipment, wine, or college bluebooks?

Nothing like leaving work early on your last day

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 08:51:23 GMT

Friday, October 21, 2005
British Airways 284
Depart: 4:50pm
afternoon San Francisco, CA
San Francisco International (SFO)
Arrive: 11:00am
morning London, United Kingdom
London Heathrow (LHR)
Economy | Boeing 747-400 Passenger (744) | Meal | 10hr 10min | 5358 miles

Seat: 37K

Seat is confirmed.

Change planes. Time between flights: 1hr 50min

British Airways 984
Depart: 12:50pm
afternoon London, United Kingdom
London Heathrow (LHR)
Arrive: 3:35pm
afternoon Berlin, Germany
Berlin Tegel (TXL)
Economy | Airbus Industrie A319 (319) | Meal | 1hr 45min | 579 miles

Your flight is confirmed. The airline is assigning seats at check-in.

This is an overnight flight.

Total duration: 13hr 45min | Total miles: 5937 miles

Books

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 01:47:58 GMT

In preparation for my move, I've been adding all of my books to an online library. Yes, I did consider Delicious Library, but this one pulls from the Library of Congress as well as Amazon. Doesn't do Japanese though, bummer. I can always export the data to DL.
A reading I enjoyed from Your First Guinea Pig:
Whistling, Squeaking, and Grunting
The real clues to use when determining the mood of your guniea pig are the sounds that it makes. A soft, whistling, maybe only a gentle squeaking osund, usually means that your guinea pig is contented.

Just so you know.

Update: Also, just so you know, the catalog is about 25% complete. And I'm finally going to get rid of my Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books; my neices and nephews need them more than I do.

Trip

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 16:25:52 GMT

DC was less emotional for me this time than last. I came in Saturday evening on Amtrak 145, Springfield Mass to Washington DC through service. Laura Jean and Tim picked me up at New Carollton, a station I'd always wanted to use for something other than groggy horrified awakenings at wee hours when I slept past Landover on the Orange Line. Only did that once, thank goodness.
Just over a year ago, I was in DC for Laura Jean's wedding. I joked with her today that she needed to come up with a reason for us all to gather again next year, and make it a perfect three. This visit wasn't the first visit to the area since I moved away in fall of 1999, and as such harbored less pent up emotion about girlfriends and boyfriends past, love, lust, intrigue covert and overt, hiding of the love that dared not speak its name, to say nothing of research, the dusty welcoming reading rotunda of the Library of Congress, nor the flashy newness of the UMd fitness center hosting high school swimming championships.
I stayed in a suite on Embassy Row; lovely that hotels there often find themselves underbooked on weekends. Saturday I went out to JRs and Cobalt, after leaving Laura Jean and company to their suburban bliss and checking in. I was feeling like I was the only person under 35 (something that I'm accustomed to, living in San Francisco), but stumbling upon rebuilt and unmarked-as-such Cobalt helped that out a bit. I was beginning to be satisfied that I would not run into anyone that I know, always a feeling that I greet with equal parts liberation and solitary melancholy, when two friends (or former friends, as Drew is evidently not speaking to him) of Brad's caught my eye. Solitude shattered. I enjoyed speaking with them (well, with Drew really, since he doesn't have violent objections to the Israel policy of the United Church of Christ like Mike does), as did I enjoy fending off advances from two clueless boys from South Carolina (one of them bearing a striking resemblance to the mentally challenged boxer in the gym in Million Dollar Baby, in both looks and mannerisms) and one Columbian who felt it necessary to inform me that he spent $1200 on a flight to come on a moments notice from Atlanta. Not impressed ($1200), and not impressed (Atlanta, hi Matt!).
DC is pretty fun though, because: 1) I really like preppy, straight-acting, fair-complected, higher educated, and possible ex-military boys; though I never seem to meet any of them, they at the very least provide a pleasant backdrop (much like a roomfull of Matrotzen), and a the very best they could make good boyfriend material someday, and have made it in the past, 2) the MetroRail system rocks and rolls, especially with the Green Line infill complete (yes, it was that long ago that I lived in DC) and the open till four hours on the weekend; amazing what personal convenience for federal lawmakers will do for getting your rail system funded, 3) I like hot and muggy weather with not terrible smog; it was a balmy 91 on the lawn in Dupont Circle today, with a pleasant breeze out of the southeast. Too bad I would shoot myself if I had to use Dulles with any regularity.
Flashing back to the two and a half weeks of travel prior to DC, I spent Sun. night through Fri. morning in NY, which was mellower than usual but very nice and adult. I had dinner with Emilie, Nam Hee, Josh Chau, Eric Milkie, Tanvi, Steven, and Josh Kramer, drinks with coworkers, two nights gay-out, including running into Bryan Chin and Paulgina and company at Beige where the waitress felt it important to inform me that "there's a gay party starting at 11:30," just so I knew, as well as meeting up with Mikolai at the Pheonix, a nice Free Friday courtesy of Target at the MOMA, and a painfully slow brunch at Raffles cafe on Lex, fun for people watching but not fun when the "computer forgot your order". NY was also brightened by my receiving news from my boss that he was ok in principle with my moving to Berlin and keeping my job; many details remain to be ironed out, but I think it's actually going to happen!!!
The Wednesday night through Sunday prior, I was in Berlin with Jim and Sebastian. We had a glorious homecooked meal at Philipp's in my former WG, a high tea at Gerd's where I met a delightful (no, really!) VC couple from Mill Valley, dinner at Vau, shopping, CSD (euro pride), apartment hunting (I repeat: it's actually going to happen!!!), and of course some ausgehen.
Tuesday night through Wed. was in Venice. Hurried trip, but charming to see the lady of the sea for the first time since 1997. Monday night and Tuesday were in Padua (40 miles west of Venice), where Jim and I had our first Michelin Three Star meal of our lives (there are four three-star restaurants in all of Italy, for the record), preceded by by Sat. night and through Monday in Verona. Verona was nice, if more heavily touristed than Bologna or Padua, and offered up good food and lots of street cafes. I had fresh scicilian scampi on ice. Like that shit was alive seconds before its tender sweet flesh landed on my fork. We saw the mega church that was just far enough from the main part of town that no one ever goes but it was hot, and had a cafe full of locals, that served up local white wine in abundance. We couldn't figure out why it was so crowded until we paid our bill - 2 Euro glasses of wine would make anywhere popular.
Bologna was a big surprise - laid back, not a major tourist destination, one of the oldest universities in Europe (counting Umberto Eco among current faculty, Sebastian informs me), street after street of 7ish story building with arched walkways lining them all. Went to the best clubbing either Jim or I had ever had in Italy on Friday night, and were chatted up (starting in the admission line) by an America-loving, Condi-worhshipping, self-proclaimed neocon, who also happened to be very nice.
And that pretty much sums it up. My liver has already begun its recovery phase from our bottle per person per day minimum in Italy. Aside from the too-short time in Venice, the search for a way to get to San Bernadin from Verona that led us to not have a fun Saturday evening (of course, I blame us not going to the opening night of the summer opera festival in the Roman arena for us not having a good time), and the nasty outbound connection (SFO-JFK, terminal change, JFK-LHR, terminal change, LHR-FRA, terminal change, FRA - BOL) that started the trip, I wouldn't really change a thing.

Get your husband to slow down

justus@cs.stanford.edu — Tue, 31 May 2005 22:38:03 GMT

From the article More Sex, Less 'Joy' in today's NYT, about the deluge of sex books hitting the shelves:

Some experts are skeptical..."A book called 'How to Get Your Wife to Hug You a Little Bit More' or 'How to Get Your Husband to Slow Down and Caress Your Hair and Love Doing It,' now those are books that would change people's lives."