Jul 20, 2008
Rain
It's been raining almost ever since I stepped off the plane on April 21, 2008. Although last summer I can remember torrential rainstorms, and I don't think we've had more than one or two of those this year. But RAIN??? Every week, there is some kind of rain. The nicest week I can remember was the one leading up to my birthday a few months ago, but even then the day after on Sunday, it rained. Although I guess I would choose this weather over 100+ degrees in the shade like it's been in NY, especially given that we don't have a/c in apartments here. I would choose just about ANY weather over 100+ degrees in the shade. It does nothing for hair, not to mention I feel as though I'm wearing the same two pairs of shoes on a daily basis, thanks to it.
Jun 10, 2008
105 in the shade
I know this blog is supposed to be about Basel, but I figure my time while living in Basel probably counts as well. I can't believe it's been over six months since I've written. Lest anyone think that NOTHING has happened in that time...well such is not the case.
As I sit here typing it's 4:30 p.m. and 105 in the shade. The a/c is running, Oprah is on TV, and I'm so happy to "just be".
In the last six months I've seen, I've done, I've traveled. Life and work are going in the right direction. I can't believe I've been living / working in Europe for over a year now. I've had another birthday, been to Athens (first time) and Prague (will return over and over again), St Petersburg, Russia with my parents in March (photos to come later), and lived through another ASCO. I'm home in NYC really enjoying "just being". Everyone keeps asking me "what are you doing for the day?" and frankly, just the everyday mundane stuff where I don't have to think about language, know where to find stuff, and don't have to mortgage my next condo to pay for it.
It's a bizarre thing to be straddling two worlds. One world is familiar and predictable, the other rocks your world on a daily basis. Safe vs. unpredictable...I've never been one to take the easy route...so why start now!
As I sit here typing it's 4:30 p.m. and 105 in the shade. The a/c is running, Oprah is on TV, and I'm so happy to "just be".
In the last six months I've seen, I've done, I've traveled. Life and work are going in the right direction. I can't believe I've been living / working in Europe for over a year now. I've had another birthday, been to Athens (first time) and Prague (will return over and over again), St Petersburg, Russia with my parents in March (photos to come later), and lived through another ASCO. I'm home in NYC really enjoying "just being". Everyone keeps asking me "what are you doing for the day?" and frankly, just the everyday mundane stuff where I don't have to think about language, know where to find stuff, and don't have to mortgage my next condo to pay for it.
It's a bizarre thing to be straddling two worlds. One world is familiar and predictable, the other rocks your world on a daily basis. Safe vs. unpredictable...I've never been one to take the easy route...so why start now!
Jan 6, 2008
Procrastination
As I sit here procrasting reviewing a document for a very big presentation tomorrow, it makes me laugh at all of the stuff I can occupy my time with. Changing seats, laundry, even getting paperwork together for my taxes, which incidently is going to be a HUGE undertaking this year. As part of my package I receive "free" service from PwC; however, I'm taxed on those "free" services, so I've opted to have them done independently. Ironically the U.S. is one of the only Western world countries that forces citizens to file (and pay) taxes when they live outside of the country for an extended period of time. So that means any money I receive here that I pay taxes on, I also have to pay in the U.S. so in effect, double taxes. The words "feeling screwed" comes to mind.
So I ended up going back to the U.S. (yes again) for the holidays. It was a lot of fun, but busy. It was great seeing everyone in DC and I'm glad I went, but moving around three times in eight days...a little exhausting! Now I'm back in Oz as I like to affectionately call it and procrastinating. One of the things I've learned from moving a lot is that the scenery changes, and it can be fun (albeit exhausting) who you are fundamentally follows you every where. So yes moving 4,000 miles away from everything and everyone you know is very exciting and an amazing opportunity, but, who you are, follows you. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing since it allows for consistency you might not otherwise find.
I committed to a year long tram / bus pass. It was, even by local definition, a committment. It keeps me from having to go to the post office each month to get the necessary stamp on my pass. Yes you can pay it online, but unless you have the stamp or carry the receipt around, you will get fined. Also, if you're thinking why can't you have it debited from your credit card each month? That would be too easy and although Switzerland is precise, it's pretty inefficient. If it makes sense you can pretty much guarantee that they don't or won't do it. It's SLOWLLLLLY changing, but they do it on their time, no one elses. Although I still can't figure out who "they" or "their" are considering most of the locals I speak to also would like to see more modern conveniences. And can someone please explain to me how these new energy efficient dryers can be that way when it takes two hours to dry anything?
I was in Luzern in December for a work meeting and it's fast becoming one of my favorite cities in Switzerland with the lake and mountains in the background. Although I must confess I've only been in Zurich, Luzern, and Basel (in terms of major cities). So after seeing Geneva, Bern, etc etc maybe I won't think that way. But water and mountains within 100 ft of one another is probably one of my favorite scenes (as shown in the photos).
And in December I went to an amazing place north of London called Cliveden House. I highly recommend if you want what is considered to be the "traditional English" country-side experience...this is the place to do it.
So I ended up going back to the U.S. (yes again) for the holidays. It was a lot of fun, but busy. It was great seeing everyone in DC and I'm glad I went, but moving around three times in eight days...a little exhausting! Now I'm back in Oz as I like to affectionately call it and procrastinating. One of the things I've learned from moving a lot is that the scenery changes, and it can be fun (albeit exhausting) who you are fundamentally follows you every where. So yes moving 4,000 miles away from everything and everyone you know is very exciting and an amazing opportunity, but, who you are, follows you. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing since it allows for consistency you might not otherwise find.
I committed to a year long tram / bus pass. It was, even by local definition, a committment. It keeps me from having to go to the post office each month to get the necessary stamp on my pass. Yes you can pay it online, but unless you have the stamp or carry the receipt around, you will get fined. Also, if you're thinking why can't you have it debited from your credit card each month? That would be too easy and although Switzerland is precise, it's pretty inefficient. If it makes sense you can pretty much guarantee that they don't or won't do it. It's SLOWLLLLLY changing, but they do it on their time, no one elses. Although I still can't figure out who "they" or "their" are considering most of the locals I speak to also would like to see more modern conveniences. And can someone please explain to me how these new energy efficient dryers can be that way when it takes two hours to dry anything?
I was in Luzern in December for a work meeting and it's fast becoming one of my favorite cities in Switzerland with the lake and mountains in the background. Although I must confess I've only been in Zurich, Luzern, and Basel (in terms of major cities). So after seeing Geneva, Bern, etc etc maybe I won't think that way. But water and mountains within 100 ft of one another is probably one of my favorite scenes (as shown in the photos).
And in December I went to an amazing place north of London called Cliveden House. I highly recommend if you want what is considered to be the "traditional English" country-side experience...this is the place to do it.
Nov 1, 2007
Adventures in traveling 4,000 miles with a bike...
For those of you that haven't heard about the adventures buying my bike...here goes
Locally a regular road bike (on average) costs around 1,000 Sfr ($860). So I got the brilliant idea that I would buy one during my last trip to the U.S. (in New York). So that was pretty easy. The bike shop shipped it to my hotel in Philly (where I was ending up for business) and I was able to take it at no extra charge on the plane with me. The bike was broken down into a bike box, I checked it at the airport in Philly (watched them put it on the belt). So me, my two suitcases, and the bike box all got on to the British Airways flight and flung across the ocean (or so I thought). Upon arriving in Basel (having made a pit stop at Heathrow - total nightmare) two suitcases (yea me!) and no bike! It's difficult to even get pissed off anymore (although I wasn't saying that when my suitcase didn't come on my flight on the way out, but rather at 4.30 a.m. the next morning!). File the paperwork with the lost luggage department in Basel and as usual they can't figure if it's still in Philly or at Heathrow (due to being checked by US transportation authority or at Heathrow). Bike arrives that evening, but trying to get it through customs they deem it "new" which means I have to go out to the airport to pick it up and pass it through customs and pay the tax. But according to the guy that e-mailed me British Airways would reimburse me for the return taxi to the airport (yea right!). A friend came with me for the adventure but neither of us could figure out how to get "back behind" passport control. Finally figured it out, we grabbed the box and guess what...there was NO ONE AT CUSTOMS! Apparently it's only staffed when a flight comes in. My friend Hilary and I were like Lucy & Ethel dragging the bike box. It was hilarious!
Fast forward a week when I was finally able to deal with having the bike put together. Now it's not that easy to do things in Basel. I couldn't find a bike shop online in my neighborhood and remembered one being on the tram line I take several times per week. Drag the bike on the tram and get to the spot only to find out that it was a seasonal place!! Argh. So I'm standing on the street with the bike in a box text messaging anyone who might listen to find a place to drop the bike. Finally heard back from a friend, dragged the box on the tram (again!) and couldn't find the place. Almost gave up...got back on the tram and saw it as we were riding past. Finally dragged the box to the shop and thank goodness they spoke English and were able to help me, albeit quite expensive. That's always the case whenever someone engages their hands here in Switzerland!
Picked out a basket for the back of the bike and tossed the brand new lock in the bike to keep everything together. Bike took a few days to assemble. Picked it up and realized that they had thrown away the instructions to set the bike lock!! Never ending saga of the "economical" bike from NY! Found part of the instructions online, called for the rest...and three weeks later all is good and tomorrow I will ride to work!
This is totally an "Erica" moment!
Stay tuned for the next post on off-site (work) meeting!
Locally a regular road bike (on average) costs around 1,000 Sfr ($860). So I got the brilliant idea that I would buy one during my last trip to the U.S. (in New York). So that was pretty easy. The bike shop shipped it to my hotel in Philly (where I was ending up for business) and I was able to take it at no extra charge on the plane with me. The bike was broken down into a bike box, I checked it at the airport in Philly (watched them put it on the belt). So me, my two suitcases, and the bike box all got on to the British Airways flight and flung across the ocean (or so I thought). Upon arriving in Basel (having made a pit stop at Heathrow - total nightmare) two suitcases (yea me!) and no bike! It's difficult to even get pissed off anymore (although I wasn't saying that when my suitcase didn't come on my flight on the way out, but rather at 4.30 a.m. the next morning!). File the paperwork with the lost luggage department in Basel and as usual they can't figure if it's still in Philly or at Heathrow (due to being checked by US transportation authority or at Heathrow). Bike arrives that evening, but trying to get it through customs they deem it "new" which means I have to go out to the airport to pick it up and pass it through customs and pay the tax. But according to the guy that e-mailed me British Airways would reimburse me for the return taxi to the airport (yea right!). A friend came with me for the adventure but neither of us could figure out how to get "back behind" passport control. Finally figured it out, we grabbed the box and guess what...there was NO ONE AT CUSTOMS! Apparently it's only staffed when a flight comes in. My friend Hilary and I were like Lucy & Ethel dragging the bike box. It was hilarious!
Fast forward a week when I was finally able to deal with having the bike put together. Now it's not that easy to do things in Basel. I couldn't find a bike shop online in my neighborhood and remembered one being on the tram line I take several times per week. Drag the bike on the tram and get to the spot only to find out that it was a seasonal place!! Argh. So I'm standing on the street with the bike in a box text messaging anyone who might listen to find a place to drop the bike. Finally heard back from a friend, dragged the box on the tram (again!) and couldn't find the place. Almost gave up...got back on the tram and saw it as we were riding past. Finally dragged the box to the shop and thank goodness they spoke English and were able to help me, albeit quite expensive. That's always the case whenever someone engages their hands here in Switzerland!
Picked out a basket for the back of the bike and tossed the brand new lock in the bike to keep everything together. Bike took a few days to assemble. Picked it up and realized that they had thrown away the instructions to set the bike lock!! Never ending saga of the "economical" bike from NY! Found part of the instructions online, called for the rest...and three weeks later all is good and tomorrow I will ride to work!
This is totally an "Erica" moment!
Stay tuned for the next post on off-site (work) meeting!
Oct 2, 2007
Doing it Basel Style...
It is 7.45 a.m. and I've been sitting here for 45 minutes listening to three guys put together my new closet (yes that's correct they arrived at 7 a.m. - nothing here happens AFTER regular working hours). Now when I say closet, I mean, basically a work of art for my clothes. For those you not familiar with the quaint way of building in Europe, you don't get closets in apartments (maybe houses if you put them in from the ground up, but not apartments). The upside is that you can pretty much put your bed anywhere. The downside is finding ones for a reasonable price that you can actually live with is next to impossible. Then you think, ok how long will I actually be here and do I need something than cost more than my first car? The how long will I actually be here is what I said when I moved to DC and that turned into almost eight years. So alas, it's what I work hard for, right? (photos to come). Oh and I went down to check on the progress, and the lead guy told me that it was damaged and someone would have to come back and replace one of the panels. At home I probably would have been fuming, here it's just not worth it since they don't give a sh+t about customer service no matter how much money you fork over. Hopefully there won't be any other damage (including walls and floors).
I was just in Barcelona for the first time on business, although we managed to squeeze in a little fun. To those of you who are aware of NYC traffic, Barcelona is WORSE. I didn't think it was possible. It's worse than NYC and it's worse than the beltway in DC. Yes worse. But the architecture is gorgeous so it made up for it the first few times I sat in a cab and moved an inch every 10 minutes. After that it just got tiresome. Also, being away from home for a week, living in a hotel, eating hotel food (although the restaurants were fantastic!), etc. does get exhausting. I actually found myself saying by day five that I couldn't wait to get home and I meant Basel (yikes!). Will post photos when I'm not half asleep. zzzzzzzzzzz
I was just in Barcelona for the first time on business, although we managed to squeeze in a little fun. To those of you who are aware of NYC traffic, Barcelona is WORSE. I didn't think it was possible. It's worse than NYC and it's worse than the beltway in DC. Yes worse. But the architecture is gorgeous so it made up for it the first few times I sat in a cab and moved an inch every 10 minutes. After that it just got tiresome. Also, being away from home for a week, living in a hotel, eating hotel food (although the restaurants were fantastic!), etc. does get exhausting. I actually found myself saying by day five that I couldn't wait to get home and I meant Basel (yikes!). Will post photos when I'm not half asleep. zzzzzzzzzzz
Aug 24, 2007
Back in the USS...A
It's unreal that it's been over a month since I've last updated, but it's just been too damn busy! Work has been insane, but in a good way. I had a fantastic mid-year review (everyone has to go through regardless of how long you've been with the company). My boss (who is French) said that I make her laugh (can't be a bad thing as long as she's laughing with me, rather than at me, right?), which makes me feel good. As the resident American on a team of almost 80 people from several different departments, I tend to provide the comic relief, although not all nationalities "get me". Come to think of it, not all Americans "get me" either. Ah well. No one else I can be, but ME.
In the last month I moved into my apartment (fell down my stairs the first morning, but other than having a bruised tail bone (and ego) all is ok). I'm still getting used to things like the total lack of customer service. I went for lunch with a former colleague yesterday and he summed up Switzerland quite appropriately and frankly words that I have been looking for since I arrived. Switzerland is precise, but inefficient. The minute he said it, I was like "yes that's it!" Transportation is on time and people adhere to the letter of the law, but nothing runs efficiently. Customer service is non-existent. Did I say that already? :) I have had an ongoing saga with my cable / cable box, but I won't drone on about that. The good news is that there is an underground handyman network filled with UK expats that are fantastic and pretty reasonable. I've had lots of Ikea furniture put together and lighting installed (yes people even strip the lights out when they move). I'm still trying to learn German, but the language itself is not easy, tossing in that the lessons are during the day twice a week (and I usually have to cancel as least one due to work load) and the fact that I'm tired at night and would rather be seeing friends etc than studying. Plus in the end, it's just an ugly language! But I'm trying...
BUT I'm in NYC on vacation. Arrived on Friday, August 17, so I've been here a week already and can't believe it's gone by so quickly (I guess the fun parts of life always do). And for any of you wondering, no I haven't called, e-mailed, or text messaged him (so no worries because I'm done). I've gotten questions like are you going to museums, plays, etc etc. I've seen a few plays and I can highly recommend www.myfirstimetheplay.com for those of you in the NYC area or planning to visit here. It's hilarious and they actually read an excerpt from what I submitted, although they keep it anonymous. My friend Susan and I laughed hysterically. If you don't know what the play is about visit www.myfirstime.com for more information. It's been around since 1996 and it's awesome!
I did some online shopping before I came home and had everything delivered to my parent's place and I've done more since I've been here. Been staring at this HUGE pile of stuff trying to figure out how I'm going to fit it all into my second (empty) suitcase. I think I might be leaving a couple of things behind for my trip in November. Although I might be coming home in October for business which will allow me to spend a few days on the side.
So I'm sitting here typing with my large, decaf, iced coffee from Fourbucks. In Basel you're paying over 10 Sfr for a non-fat muffin and the same drink. I've been on a bit of a food jaunt, since as everyone has heard a million times, good food in Basel comes few and far between!! Nothing has any flavor and everything is drowned in sauce, oh and don't forget the mystery meat! Plus, I'm in heaven because I can get the "make your own salad" on almost every street corner here. I can't get enough of the fresh salad!
I've seen 2 Days in Paris (with Adam Goldberg & Julie Delpy), Bourne Ultimatum (Matt Damon), and The Nanny Diaries (Scarlett Johanssen & Laura Linney - very good but a bit disturbing that people actually have kids as accessories). Went to a fundraiser at Chuck Scarborough's house (a regular broadcaster in NYC on NBC for years) and we all thought the same thing...this guy makes a gazillion dollars a year and just reads off an idiot prompter??? He's not even a journalist!? Ah well in any case, they raised a lot of money for a very good cause. I will post a photo of my silent auction purchase in the near future. Went to a friend of the family's daughter's engagement party. Have seen friends, family, etc.
Tomorrow I go for a day of pampering and seeing more friends. And then Sunday I see Avenue Q since I've never seen it and then Monday night I go back to Basel for several weeks of craziness preparing for upcoming meetings.
Oh everyone in the City is talking about how Sex and the City starts taping here next month. Rumor has it they will be filming Carrie and John's (aka Big) wedding at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's supposed to open next summer, so I will see it at home in NYC for sure!
I didn't realize how much I missed home until I was here for a few days. NYC is similar to my favorite pillow and my bed. I feel so comfortable here. Some people need a beach and to do nothing for a week to relax, for me it's the intensity of the City that does it. I feel centered and "right" again.
In the last month I moved into my apartment (fell down my stairs the first morning, but other than having a bruised tail bone (and ego) all is ok). I'm still getting used to things like the total lack of customer service. I went for lunch with a former colleague yesterday and he summed up Switzerland quite appropriately and frankly words that I have been looking for since I arrived. Switzerland is precise, but inefficient. The minute he said it, I was like "yes that's it!" Transportation is on time and people adhere to the letter of the law, but nothing runs efficiently. Customer service is non-existent. Did I say that already? :) I have had an ongoing saga with my cable / cable box, but I won't drone on about that. The good news is that there is an underground handyman network filled with UK expats that are fantastic and pretty reasonable. I've had lots of Ikea furniture put together and lighting installed (yes people even strip the lights out when they move). I'm still trying to learn German, but the language itself is not easy, tossing in that the lessons are during the day twice a week (and I usually have to cancel as least one due to work load) and the fact that I'm tired at night and would rather be seeing friends etc than studying. Plus in the end, it's just an ugly language! But I'm trying...
BUT I'm in NYC on vacation. Arrived on Friday, August 17, so I've been here a week already and can't believe it's gone by so quickly (I guess the fun parts of life always do). And for any of you wondering, no I haven't called, e-mailed, or text messaged him (so no worries because I'm done). I've gotten questions like are you going to museums, plays, etc etc. I've seen a few plays and I can highly recommend www.myfirstimetheplay.com for those of you in the NYC area or planning to visit here. It's hilarious and they actually read an excerpt from what I submitted, although they keep it anonymous. My friend Susan and I laughed hysterically. If you don't know what the play is about visit www.myfirstime.com for more information. It's been around since 1996 and it's awesome!
I did some online shopping before I came home and had everything delivered to my parent's place and I've done more since I've been here. Been staring at this HUGE pile of stuff trying to figure out how I'm going to fit it all into my second (empty) suitcase. I think I might be leaving a couple of things behind for my trip in November. Although I might be coming home in October for business which will allow me to spend a few days on the side.
So I'm sitting here typing with my large, decaf, iced coffee from Fourbucks. In Basel you're paying over 10 Sfr for a non-fat muffin and the same drink. I've been on a bit of a food jaunt, since as everyone has heard a million times, good food in Basel comes few and far between!! Nothing has any flavor and everything is drowned in sauce, oh and don't forget the mystery meat! Plus, I'm in heaven because I can get the "make your own salad" on almost every street corner here. I can't get enough of the fresh salad!
I've seen 2 Days in Paris (with Adam Goldberg & Julie Delpy), Bourne Ultimatum (Matt Damon), and The Nanny Diaries (Scarlett Johanssen & Laura Linney - very good but a bit disturbing that people actually have kids as accessories). Went to a fundraiser at Chuck Scarborough's house (a regular broadcaster in NYC on NBC for years) and we all thought the same thing...this guy makes a gazillion dollars a year and just reads off an idiot prompter??? He's not even a journalist!? Ah well in any case, they raised a lot of money for a very good cause. I will post a photo of my silent auction purchase in the near future. Went to a friend of the family's daughter's engagement party. Have seen friends, family, etc.
Tomorrow I go for a day of pampering and seeing more friends. And then Sunday I see Avenue Q since I've never seen it and then Monday night I go back to Basel for several weeks of craziness preparing for upcoming meetings.
Oh everyone in the City is talking about how Sex and the City starts taping here next month. Rumor has it they will be filming Carrie and John's (aka Big) wedding at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's supposed to open next summer, so I will see it at home in NYC for sure!
I didn't realize how much I missed home until I was here for a few days. NYC is similar to my favorite pillow and my bed. I feel so comfortable here. Some people need a beach and to do nothing for a week to relax, for me it's the intensity of the City that does it. I feel centered and "right" again.
Jul 15, 2007
You've seen one...
European city, it starts to feel like you've seen them all. I spent the weekend in Stuttgart (Germany) with a friend (it has about 150,000 more peeps than Basel) and maybe because Basel has such a huge German influence, both areas look pretty much the same.
I love the adventure that I'm on, but I think I'm ready for some new scenery when I travel.
Oh and it's HOT here. It's not that humid, but the sun is blazing! Today it was probably around 100+ in the sun and ummm...errrr....remember, no a/c! But in the end, my apartment stays fairly cool thanks to the amazing building materials and external window shades. One more day (tomorrow) and it's supposed to go back to a balmy 70 during the day. I move two weeks from tomorrow and have I mentioned that I'm THRILLED to have my stuff, especially my bed. I'm planning to sleep ALL day on August 1 (Swiss national day).
Off to London Wednesday night for biz Thursday / Friday and then spending the weekend. It's my SECOND favorite city!
Potentially going to Kuala Lumpur and Korea next month. Coming home August 17 to 27, then Milan, Paris, and Barcelona in September and various off-site team meetings in fun locations after that. Then home for Thanksgiving late November. I can't believe we're only in mid-summer and I feel as though the year is quickly coming to December!
Miss everyone a lot.
I love the adventure that I'm on, but I think I'm ready for some new scenery when I travel.
Oh and it's HOT here. It's not that humid, but the sun is blazing! Today it was probably around 100+ in the sun and ummm...errrr....remember, no a/c! But in the end, my apartment stays fairly cool thanks to the amazing building materials and external window shades. One more day (tomorrow) and it's supposed to go back to a balmy 70 during the day. I move two weeks from tomorrow and have I mentioned that I'm THRILLED to have my stuff, especially my bed. I'm planning to sleep ALL day on August 1 (Swiss national day).
Off to London Wednesday night for biz Thursday / Friday and then spending the weekend. It's my SECOND favorite city!
Potentially going to Kuala Lumpur and Korea next month. Coming home August 17 to 27, then Milan, Paris, and Barcelona in September and various off-site team meetings in fun locations after that. Then home for Thanksgiving late November. I can't believe we're only in mid-summer and I feel as though the year is quickly coming to December!
Miss everyone a lot.
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