Spring is a'here

I've been coming to work early all week (6 or 6:30) and leaving early (4pm or so). Yesterday I got home ready for a nap. Decided to take something out to the garage and ended up chatting with the neighbor for half an hour.

And after chatting, I started picking up all the sticks in my backyard. Then I raked all the leaves (barefoot) and wiggled my toes in the garden. Then I got the grill out to cook steaks for Maura and me. Oh, what a wonderful evening. Steaks, wine, and a wiggly kitty on the floor begging for attention.

Tonight I need to pick up all the leaves as it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Tomorrow will (hopefully) be working on my desk refinishing and having special visitors up from Philly. Won't that be nice? Even better if they remember to bring my CDs ;)

I rode the VFR in to work today. Maybe I'll leave early and take the long way home.

Sorry vacation photos still aren't up. Damned Yahoo is giving me a lot of grief. Can't upload them from work or home. Hmmmm. Don't know what is the issue, but I'll keep trying.

Back in the US . . for awhile

Hi, friends. Glad to be back at home and able to update on the travel. Photos to be posted soon at the Yahoo photos site.

Overall, Maura and I had a great trip. We were able to relax, enjoy seeing new things, talk about life and such, and catch up on sleep. There was a lot of sleeping during this trip and it was wonderful.

I'm not going to go into much detail right now, but I will say that we ate suprisingly little, but very well. Really good Mexican food in Amsterdam, just enough to get us by in Iceland, and Taco Bell in Maryland on the way home in the car.

Drinking was another matter - a lot and all good stuff. I hadn't had the traditional Dutch gin (jenever) on my last trip. A couple of bartenders tried to talk us out of it, but we tried both the young (jonge) and old (oude) and found both to be quite good. Duty free even had small bottles of each, so we can continue the sipping in the US. The bar "Absinthe" was a fun place. Interesting crowd, ambience and multiple styles of Absinthe to be had. We tried four different distillations (only 3 with wormwood) and they were good . . interesting . . but neither of us noticed any additional affects besides alcohol. Probably was more fun drinking the Westmalle dubbel and tripples for $3 each :)

We saw museums everywhere we went. We went through areas of Amsterdam I hadn't seen during my first trip. We decided there was plenty to see there, so we didn't bother trekking to Belgium or Germany. The weather was fair to tolerable - only a little rain, a little chilly, but not awful.

The guesthouses were good. We stayed at Guesthouse Odinn which was in a better location of Reykjavik than the one I stayed at during the last trip. A little more central and very cozy. Hotel van Onna in Amsterdam was ok for the 2 nights (at least it was cheap), but it wasn't that good and they were doing a bunch of construction next door that was very noisy. We moved to the Hotel Wiechtmann which was a much nicer place and closer to the nightlife, but much more expensive. Oh, well, that's what vacations are about :)

There'll probably be a more detailed report to go with the photos later. Maybe Maura will write something from her point of view to put up here - let's encourage her! I want to thank her for being a great travelling companion and a fun friend on this trip. And mostly for putting up with my frequent irritation. Thanks, dear, for being so good to me.

Finally, an (Amster)dam update

Hi, all. Internet access isn't all that easy to find, though the internet cafes (2e =~$2.25US per 1/2 hour) are everywhere in Amsterdam.

Maura and I are on our last night here. It's been a fun trip, though frustrating at times. Mostly due to me, of course. Everyone knows how irritated I can get, and poor Maura was the recipient for a day or two until we decided to just stay in A'dam for 5 nights instead of trying to day trip and such. Much of the trip has been sleep and relaxing, which is very good. My cold has faded away and I'm feeling ready to tackle work (and possibly a new job).

We've hit the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt/Carvaggio collection, and the Van Gogh museum. We've had pannenkoecken, frites, Amstel, Hoegaarden and Mexican food. We've been to sex shops, the red-light district, a coffee house (or two) and seen many canals over and over. Same with churches. We just finished with Greek for dinner and Westmalle dubbel/tripple. %^) NO wonder I can't type better.

Should be home in about 34 hours. Time enough to get into plenty of mischief, though I'm about ready for one more beer and then sleep.

More update and photos once I get back to the US and weed through all of my work e-mail. Not enough personal e-mail (hint, hint, btw who is Ms. L?), but plenty of work stuff not happening while I am gone.

Poor Lily is probably missing us by now. I hope the neighbors remembered her . . .

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I Googled for a good "Kiss Me I'm Irish" or similar graphic to install here. Most of them were lackluster and my enthusiasm is at a low. Probably because I've been sleep deficient all week and still sick.

Even without graphics, I'm sending happy thoughts and best wishes to my Irish(ish) friends: Sweetie Maura, John "Why don't I get this holiday off" H., Jeff O'Conlin, Patrick "Top o' the Mornin', to ya" D. and their families. My own Irish roots are buried so far back that I can't drink whisky. I do like the boiled corned beef & fixin's dinner, however. Washed down with a Harp.

So, enjoy the day, but don't listen if you have a leprechaun friend like Ralph does. "That's where I saw the Leprechaun. He told me to burn things!"

Bend over and brace yourself

Spotted on Yahoo! News: Hot pepper kills prostate cancer cells in study

Oh, jiminy, don't let it be topical application.

***

Sweet Maura and I are headed out for parts East (though not as East as I usually go) tomorrow night. Iceland, Netherlands, Germany. Food, drink, art. Geysers, canals, Koln. It will be nice to get away (from work, I'm used to being away from home) and *very* nice to spend time with Maura.

Updates with travel photos when we return.

Ah, a new work week in an old place

Here I am, back in my PA office. So nice. Even with the piles of unsorted mail to go through.

I mentioned a fun trip we took to Tiger Hill in Suzhou. The photos are at my Yahoo photo page (the link pops in a new window).

It's going to be a busy week with work and packing for the next trip. Maura and I leave Friday night for Iceland, Amsterdam, and (probably) somewhere in Germany. Total trip is 9 nights, though one is on a plane. I think it will be loads of fun and very relaxing. Expect more photos following.

Not much else to report. All I've done since landing Saturday night is eat, drink, visit the wonderful Haydt family, and watch the 2-hr pilot for "The L Word". We won't bother watching more than that. It sucked to some degree.

Everyone enjoy your Monday.

*p.s., sex happened. And it was very good. Photos coming soon.

back in Philly

And I finally made it. Friend Horst and I traveled together from Suzhou to Shanghai to San Francisco. Spotted another coworker at the airport (that my 4th coworker spotting at airports in 6.5 years - 4 different countries, too) and the 3 of us waited for the flight to Philadelphia.

And waited.

Turns out someone tried to flush a diaper on the previous flight. There are 3 restrooms - 1 front, 2 in back. Both rear ones were out of business. We boarded 3 hours late - sucks, but not so bad, at least it was fixed..

So bad was 20 minutes into the flight where they said, "uh, the 2 rear lavatories are not working". Picutre a 5+ hour flight with people lined up for the 1 lavatory for the whole time. I got in line twice and had to sit down both times when we hit turbulence. At least I wasn't the poor woman with intestinal distress. Yikes!

Now I am at home, it's 2am and I'm pretty awake. Had a hot bath, shave, and I'm on my second screwdriver. Got to see and pet Lily, the cutie, fuzzy-head kitty.

quick update, 7 March, China

My apologies for not keeping everyone updated on my goings on. Busy, busy with work and touring.

Friday went out with the sales guy and my two US coworkers (although one is German and the other Taiwanese). Oh, my gosh. Something about Asia makes me think it's ok to drink and sing. My Hong Kong coworker talked me into singing My Way with him. After a few drinks, it seemed like a good idea.

Saturday, we went to Tiger Hill, Sunday to Zhouzhuang. Monday work included a 3-hour meeting and transferring 80 files, 3 at a time, by floppy disk. Any idea how hard it is to get info from a floppy to a new laptop?

Anyway, another busy day. Photos and more update later.

How to end a bad date

I stole this from Fark.com. Four-word phrases to end a bad date. Try them when you can. (There are some racier ones, but I'm trying to keep this a little clean.)

Lemon Law in effect
This locator anklet chafes
Do you smell chloroform?
Is your mom hot?

My wife is calling.
It gets the hose.
I live with mommy.
I voted for W

I felt it kick.
Goodnight, please don't call.
Does this look infected?
Carpet match the drapes?

I'm feeling stabby tonight.
My crotch itches BAD.
Do you take checks?
I am a Scientologist.

I'm from Florida, you? (especially for Amy)
Momma says I'm special
Bartender! One roofie colada!
Quick! Pull my finger!

have you found Jesus?
My fingers taste weird
Live long and prosper
Whiskey makes you interesting

Mmm, nice birthing hips
Good god you're ugly
I need green card
There's my parole officer

I'm carrying Daddy's baby
what's your safe word?
I bent my wookie

A quickie update from China

Ok, I'm in Suzhou. Flight was good (better than expected) and immigration wasn't too bad. Best part was that my luggage made it and it wasn't damaged! Yeaaahhh!

Now, if only my T-mobile acct could find a carrier here. It worked the 1st time, damn you!

So, after a soak in the tub and a little duty-free-on-the-rocks, it's bedtime.

Everyone sleep well.