Minisode blog

Interesting to learn that there is a new version of tv shows for viewing. Called a "minisode" and discussed in the NYTIMES a few days ago, the 150 online tv episodes being sponsored/offered by Sony here have been edited from their original running times of 30 or 60 minutes to lengths of 4 to 6 minutes. Sounds hilarious. Also reflects the attention span/time left for tv that people have today.

So this is my minisode Blog for the day. SHORT.

Two photos for you. A view of the thermometer outside our living room window. Yes, you read it correctly. Zero degrees.

And...although the picture doesn't show it very well, the white color there on the roof below the beautiful fall foliage is....SNOW.

I'm not sure I'm ready for winter.

P.S. Work going well. Still in training. Bunch of project discussions. Great colleagues. Great location (when I'm in Munich). LOTS to learn (which I like).

My(fricking!)hase

It's nice to be a technophile and all in order to be a little out there - one of those weirdos that adopts strange technology before everyone else so you can talk about your eccentric purchase/habit/hobby/indulgence/moment of extreme boredom.

Sometimes, though, the pain of participating in the whole "beta testing" process can be more than you're ready to deal with. In this case...Claudia...WAIT TO BUY THE RABBIT.

The idea is very clever. It's a smart object that is supposed to do a whole bunch of kinda useless but cool things. Namely: tell me when I have an email, read out the 5 top headlines of the New York Times every hour (or once a day, whatever), play the radio, give me traffic and weather reports, read the top feeds of some of my favorite blogs, etc. Oh, yeah, and it's multi-lingual, and practices tai chi regularly with its ears.

Cute idea. If it would really work. I'm still working on getting these things to work: email, headlines, blogs, tai chi, time once an hour.

What is working? weather, market report, occasionally the time, her *mood* report, radio. Oh - and one other cute thing. Other users can send messages to my rabbit. And today...I got TWO messages. One from a woman in Munich - a student - who told me to have a nice Sunday evening. The other from some guy is Bucharest - that sent me a strange song.

For 140 euros, not enough. Of course, for 6 euros a month, I get premium service, but I'm certainly not going to commit to that with the current level of quality. Am bombarding company with SUGGESTIONS and recommendations for fixing their services (ok, I sent one email). According to Nabaztag blog, I am not the only one dissatisfied.

Andreas says I should send the little beast back. I think I should just feed it to Sammy if it does not improve.

Myhase

hehe
Now I don't have to look out the window. Myhase tells me it's raining!!!

More to come. You can send me messages which Myhase will say to me. Just need to register here for a name. (If you didn't figure it out, my rabbit is called "Myhase" which means..."my rabbit" in German).

Off to get haircut.

Sapient

Well, most people know by now, through one channel or another. But I wanted to wait to post something here until after I'd signed papers. Which I did on Tuesday. So the news is that on October 15 (yup, 11 days to go), I'll start work at Sapient in Munich. I'm joining their "Experience Marketing" group as a managing consultant - to do a combination of online/digital marketing strategy and project management. I'm quite excited and happy about the decision. I had spoken to them about two months ago about a position, but wasn't ready to commit at that point. After looking around and interviewing with a number of companies during the last two months, I'm pretty certain that this is the place where I will enjoy my work the most. Hopefully I'll have time to keep up the blogging. I'll try to keep topics away from work. :-)

No no no :-( + Yes yes yes :-)

No no no:


Yes yes yes? (more to come....in about a week)
Nabaztag

Going to work with the digital rock stars...

I'll sign papers next week on my new employment contract. The rock star comment ..well, will be explained at another time. A bit of an inside joke. Will reveal more soon. Am VERY excited and pleased.

Photo collage from weekend

I admit that I wanted to do a much more interesting version of what I'm posting. I was thinking a humorous photo timeline from my weekend. But I'm short on time, so what you get instead is just a photo collage. Some amusing photos in there, hopefully.

Most are self explanatory, so only a couple comments:
All were taken within a ten minute bike ride from our apartment, if not in our apartment.

The angel winged lamp was a cute little lamp we saw (Ingo Maurer is the designer) which had a touch mechanism on the wires to turn it on and off. Andreas seems to think that maybe I could just make one.

Chestnuts are unfortunately not edible - they are horse chestnuts and the building we live in is surrounded by the trees. Bummer. I love chestnuts. Well, at least they're pretty to look at.

The food there is from a really yummy ethiopian restaurant that we visited for the first time since being back here in Munich. I love ethiopian bread - injera - that everything is served on (you scoop up bites of food with the bread).

You have a view of the Isar river near our home.

A little flower shop around the corner (how can you not want to buy flowers at such a shop?)

And of course a Sammy and Sophie shot for you. Sammy looking mad because I am not giving him enough treats for his taste and Sophie hanging out on our stairs spying on me.

Ah - and my thumb maneuver? That's me renting a video over the weekend. I love the 24-hour service - all possible with an entry card and a kiosk that verifies my identity with my fingerprint. Since it's not legal to work in a video store on Sunday, they had to come up with a work-around here. This work-around works for me. Of course video on demand is even better BUT the download time must be taken into consideration (30 minutes to one hour with our broadband speed for a standard movie) AND the fact that the selection currently with iTUNES kinda STINKS, makes us still "normal" video/DVD consumers. I'm sure that will change within 12 months at the latest. (And don't tell me T-Net offers video on demand - have you seen their CRAPPY selection? Terrible...)

Test Run Video

I'm not sure if this will work without conversion.
If it does, it's a quick video of me riding through the English Garden on my bike....from my perspective of course...

Ah...it does work. Nice. Although very pixely.
Here's another snapshot.


Now that I know it works I'll try to do more. :-)

Vocabulary Lesson and Tenori-On

So there was some feedback from a few readers yesterday (not only the one who posted a comment) that I might have ...um... gotten too technical on people and way into discussing what I was doing rather than sticking to food, life in munich, friends, etc. Sorry Balu. (Although you should know that there are other readers who dislike my food postings...)

I certainly don't want to alienate people or use strange vocabulary that you don't understand.

In Germany especially, I have to be careful about vocabulary. I was in the car the other day with a neighbor of mine - we were visiting Ikea - and I was talking about life in Singapore, the MBA, etc. And I referred to "the MBA" a few times and finally at some point in the conversation she said..."so what is an MBA?" And I have to admit, it was tough to keep my expression neutral, but really that's not quite fair. In Germany, MBAs are not that common, and the equivalent here is simply called something else.

With this in mind and for those who are interested, here's my best shot at some definitions from yesterday:

1. web analytics: A generic term meaning the study of the impact of a web site on its users. E-commerce companies often use Web analytics software to measure such details as how many people visited their site, how they came to the site (i.e., if they followed a link to get to the site or came there directly), what keywords they searched with on the site's search engine, how long they stayed on a given page or on the entire site, what links they clicked on and when they left the site.

2. target audience: (Zielgruppe) simply the people that read my blog in this case. The people that I am addressing.

3. widgets: This is a bit hard to describe. Two examples are right there on the right hand side of my blog - the 3jam widget (where you can send me a text message to my mobile for free) and the Voki widget (where I greet you with the little cartoon image and where you CAN ALSO LEAVE ME A MESSAGE - by recording one there.) Essentially widgets are little pieces of code that are not whole websites by themselves, but have a function that you can use within another website.

4. my voki - this is the name for the widget that I just installed (the cartoon of me). The company calls it a "voki."

5. avatar - An avatar is an Internet user's representation of himself or herself, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, or a two-dimensional icon (picture) used on Internet forums and other communities. So the voki, which is a widget, is an avatar widget. I know, it's getting confusing...

6. web 2.0 - watch the video link I posted yesterday. The term refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites and wikis — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. (Sorry - I know I'm speaking Greek here - I need to define some of the words in the definition...)

So on a MUCH LIGHTER NOTE. Take a look at this video. I had a me-consumer-want moment when I saw this. This is a new musical instrument (called a Tenori-On) that has been released in Great Britain. It looks really interesting. I thought about getting one of these INSTEAD of an iphone. (I mean...if I have to choose at some point...maybe this would actually be more fun...then again..maybe not.)

Web 2.0 Bubble?

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you might have noticed a few things:
1) I'm not posting as frequently as I have in the past: I'm sorry - it's just that I'm really wrapped up in a bunch of projects and I also really want to say meaningful things on the blog and not just post for the sake of posting. I listened to part of a webcast of a web analytics expert this morning who reinforced this feeling with his views. His name is Avinash Kaushik and his webcast was of a talk he did at Google about web analytics. Quite interesting. But in his introduction to the talk, he also mentioned the feeling that "nobody wants to hear about your date last night" or something to that effect. And I often feel like the blogs I write are a bit "yeah, so WHAT?!" (I also think I've written some interesting blogs - at least for *my* target audience. Which is why I keep hacking away at it. Although sometimes I would like to write blogs which I dare not to...)

2) I've been outfitting my blog with all kinds of wacky widgets: Yup - as I mentioned in the last blog, I've been working with andUNITE and we're considering a whole bunch of different ways to drive users to the site. :-) So this is a little bit of a test pad to see who uses what, to play around myself, etc.

3) Latest widget: my voki. A bit boring at the moment cause I chose the very conservative look and my vocal message is not exactly EXCITING. But I think the idea is cool and has a lot of interesting potential. There are lots and lots of places to create an avatar for yourself, but these guys were able to personalize it a lot more than others - if you press the play button, you hear my recorded voice welcoming you to my blog. (Claudia - maybe Mika can create one for your blog.)
_________________
On a seperate note. Last night I was trying to explain to my mother what web 2.0 is. I keep sending around this really cool youtube video that does what I think is a really good job of explaining it. I think a simple text definition is boring.

And especially since I started working with Christian and Bernd, I've been really excited about web 2.0 projects. But I've also been worried. Because I remember web 1.0 and the big crash and I have this ominous feeling. I read this blog this morning (yup, where I first saw "voki") and had that sort of sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach...

Julie andUNITE

I've been holding out waiting for the English version to go up, but I simply cannot wait anymore. The English version will be up by the end of the month at the very very very latest. And then all you English speakers can also go see what I'm talking about. Never fear, there will be another post - inviting you to check out it out.

So, especially for the GERMAN speakers out there - take a look at the place I've been spending some of my spare time. And certainly *don't* hesitate to go take a look at it (the website, that is). Technically, you can't get in unless I send you an invite. But...this is only for a few more weeks and if you want to peek inside right away, then by all means, shoot me an email (or write a comment below) and I'll give you access as soon as I get the communication. Who ARE these people and what AM I TALKING about? Such good questions.


I've been working primarily with Christian and Bernd (top photo), the founders, since almost the beginning of July on their start-up venture called "andUNITE." "andUNITE" is a *different* web 2.0 concept. (Don't know what web 2.0 is? Go look at this very cool little video on You Tube - I think it does a really nice and also beautiful job of explaining what web 2.0 is.) Yes, it is community-based, yes it has to do with networking. But to cut to the chase, it's actually quite a simple little (BIG!!!) concept):

1) You use Google or some other search engine, probably on daily basis, to look up information.
2) Sometimes you find what you're looking for. Sometimes it takes pages and pages to find what you're looking for. Sometimes you don't find anything you're happy with.
3) the new service "andUNITE" helps to solve this problem.
4) by simply using the andUNITE interface (either the website or a toolbar you can install on your browser), you CONTINUE to use your favorite search engine to look up words. BUT, all the terms (or just the terms you want) you look up, get collected on your profile page.
5) People with similar search terms will be "matched" with you. Don't worry - it's not like you have to be best friends forever. It's only to show you when someone else has looked up the same term.
6) The idea is that a) you can find PEOPLE who might know more about the thing you're looking for and can help you or b) you might be looking for people that are simply like you.
7) Sort of a mix of search and networking. Social Search.

What do I have to do with all this? Well, I've been working on the sales and marketing plan, helping prepare the site for its U.S. entry, doing some usability analysis and consulting, and talking to as many end-users as I can for suggestions on how to make it even better.

Ich bin eine (gulp) Ami - (I am an (gulp) American)

I was not quite prepared, I think, for last night's party - although, don't get me wrong - it was lots of fun. :-)

It wasn't really until this morning that things hit me that the conversation around me (at least partially) has changed in the two years I've been gone. I guess last night was actually the first time since we've been back that I was at a party with a larger group of my peers. Until now it's been family and individual friends and occasionally a small group of people from the building we live in (older crowd).

What am I talking about?

Here's the thing. When I left two years ago and in the year or two before that, when I'd talk to people on a personal level, the topic of "being an American in Germany" would often come up. And we'd chat about my political bent and my views on the war in Iraq and more generally "how it is to be an American living in Germany." Then of course there's the standard curiosity about what's the same and what's different, etc, and that will always be there.

But last night was a whole new ballgame. The standard question that most curious people used to begin a conversation with an American with: "What do you think about Bush?" has changed. It's reached a meta level now. People are no longer curious about what I think about Bush (thankfully mostly done with that embarrassing and painful conversation). They want to know "How it is to be an American living in Germany having to face the conversation/criticism about my country, people, and president?" They're fascinated to hear about the nail-biting, cringe-inducing stories about having to somehow defend my country in public. (Because, yes, I have tried on some level to explain that not everyone in the US supports the Iraq war and really not everyone voted for Bush.) They already KNOW without having to ask that I face this all the time. And they want to know how I respond to it. Something that I find absolutely fascinating, although I don't know if it's true, is that one of the guys I spoke to last night told me that in Munich there is now a course being offered to Americans to help them RESPOND to Bush criticism in public! OMG!

Another woman I spoke to had a different, but somehow related set of questions. She was curious about my media consumption habits. More specifically, she wanted to know where I read/consumed the news. Her questions revolved around the concern that I might have a hard time finding out the "truth" if I read American newspapers *or* German newspapers. I.e. American newspapers were obviously bent so far right that I couldn't possibly read truth from them and German media was obviously bent so far left, that here too, I might not figure it out...pretty interesting.

For both conversations I was really unprepared. What to say? I think I need to take that course - or the follow up meta-level course.

In all conversations I am of course immediately and verbally excused as "an exception" (an exceptional?) American. I bothered to learn the language, I am not "typically arrogant," and "self-centered." (Wow - how to respond to that?)

And they were more than willing/wanting to follow up the initial conversation with a trade-off "love-hate" fest. Which is: "what do you love/hate about the Germans/Americans?" and then each party makes lists. They want to know why they have a reputation abroad (U.S., Singapore) for being stiff, formal and humorless. :-)

I sort of stuttered my way through the evening, albeit with lots of laughing, but whew! Need to think about that one a little more.

Happy happy homemaking

Along with baking many batches of cookies today for our upcoming house party (everyone in apartment building is involved and each apartment invites 10 friends), I considered cleaning the apartment, had friendly conversations with the neighbors, went grocery shopping, and murdered at least 30 creatures.

I also murdered at least 50 creatures yesterday. And you thought I was such a nice person...

We have an ongoing fruit-fly problem. Granted, I have fruit lying around and there certainly are enough breadcrumbs and other savory items around all calling out to the little drosophila. But...that's how I want my kitchen to be. (Well, ok, I could do without some of the crumbs - but I like having fruit and tomatoes in bowls.)

Last week I walked around like a zombie with my hand-held dust buster. Getting dressed - ZAP!, cooking - ZAP!, cleaning - ZAP!, working on presentations, CV, etc. - ZAP ZAP ZAP! What's really really rewarding - maybe sort of like scrubbing your face or brushing your teeth or many other personal hygiene tasks that we won't talk about here - is watching the transparent dust and dirt holder fill up with the little annoying fruit vampires. Before the dust buster I had been slapping them with a rolled up notebook - but then I had to scrub the wall/mirror/window to remove their corpses every time I did that. At some point during wall scrubbing and subsequently dust busting - I realized how much TIME I was wasting on the continuous hunt.

So I googled "getting rid of fruit flies" or some such term and was happy to learn that I had everything at hand to get rid of fruit flies passively. Namely: One glass, a small amount of alcohol - preferably wine, one sheet of paper, a bit of tape.

See the contraption (and the success!) right here. (I know, you're all going "ick!" but some days...well...this is really the most exciting thing to blog about.) Passive murder. I'm responsible. The smell of the alcohol draws them in and then they can't figure out how to get back out through the funnel. They fly around until they die from exhaustion and drop into the liquid below.

I'm hoping when it gets colder that they will mostly die off anyway...

Shelf Cat

I admit it, I put her up there. But now she's been up there for an hour and has no interest in coming down.

"How Do you 'Du'?"

And now, for a little discourse on one of the great challenges of returning to the German language...

For those non-German readers out there, German has both formal and informal versions of the word "you." For strangers, professional situations, and to show respect, the word "Sie" is used for "you." And for family, friends, *some* workplace colleagues, and apparently the gym (in Germany: "Sportstudio") and hair salon establishments, the word "Du" is used for "you." So theoretically, you simply apply the right word to the right situation and everything is easy-peasy after that.

Ha!

Of course, having lived in Germany before, I knew the challenges that awaited me.

Example #1. Squirm factor: very low. I know when you go into a gym - for instance to inquire about the monthly cost of joining said gym - you can freely use the word "Du." Relief. No challenge. Doesn't matter if they are strangers. "Du" is totally fine, especially if you throw in a few English words here and there to let them know you're a foreigner doing your best with their archaic language customs.

Example #2. Squirm factor: low. Yesterday, at the hair salon - one which I've never visited before, I had an appointment for a hair cut. Ok. The trick here is simply to wait and see. Rather than establishing the rules of engagement, you let the STYLIST do it. And this is (thankfully) almost always done right away unless the stylist is not sure what to do. She might say, "so, what have we here today?" (CHEATER!) But you can answer with "I want to cut off about 2 centimeters." Understood is that you want HER to cut off two centimeters. And on it goes. But generally...she just simply uses "Du" and there is no more tripping around.

Example #3. Squirm factor: low-medium. Landlords. The ones who live right underneath you who you see frequently on the stairs and in the nearby grocery store. Well, of course you start out with "Sie." (oh, and btw, they are older than you - they're the age of your parents. Showing respect is expected.) So when you introduce yourself and discuss contractual terms, etc., it is "Sie" all the way. But then there is this little problem. Because I refuse to be called "Frau Nathan" if I can avoid it at all. (People botch the name or stumble on it, and I simply hate being called by my last name, it makes me feel like I'm 90 years old.) So when the landlord/lady politely inquires, "What shall I call you?" I politely answered "Please call me Julie." Ooooh, major problems begin. Because what I'm doing is effectively offering "Du." (Du=use of first name and vice-versa.) And in Germany: 1) the "Du" form is offered by older people/people in "superior" positions TO younger people/people in inferior positions and not the other way around and 2) this is only done after you *really* *know* someone. But I don't care. I just bulldoze my way through. What's particularly amusing is that they still call Andreas by his last name. But we've ended up with a compromise which is fairly common: I am called "Julia" (almost everyone here Germanizes my name) and the Sie form is used.

Example #4. Squirm factor: medium. Let's say you're meeting with a former work colleague who you've known for years. You of course use "Du" when talking to him. You meet up with him at his place of work and then head off to get a cup of coffee. In the parking lot, on the way to the cafe, you run into one of his colleagues (this is at a new place of work, not where you used to work) who you don't know. Don't panic. Simply AVOID the word "you" as in the hairdresser example. One can get very very good at this. For instance, if in your little huddle, people start talking about weekend plans because it's Friday afternoon, you can ask the stranger what he's doing during the weekend by saying "So, what's up for this weekend?" while looking directly looking into his eyes rather than saying "So, what will you do this weekend?" The real challenge that I faced a few sentences later was "YOU" PLURAL. Yes. More language traps that can send you down the long dark hole. Because there is also a you plural FORMAL form. And what do you do when you want to say YOU PLURAL (like "what are your company's plans for expansion with these new business models?") and you generally refer to one guy as "Du" and with the other guy you don't know or you do know you should say "Sie?" Mind Boggling. I have no idea. Andreas says it depends on the situation. Which means you need to be a German equivalent of William Safire ("On Language," NYTIMES MAGAZINE) to know what to do.

Example #5. Squirm factor medium-high. You are making an appointment to meet with the former colleague in the example above. You are talking to his secretary. So, you don't know her (stranger factor="Sie"), but she's lower on the totem pole than the guy you call "Du" (call her "du?"), and she's probably younger than you (again, "du?") and it's a media company where everyone uses "Du" internally ("du?") but...it's about a job application (uh-oh: "SIE"). I went with "Sie." But then she called me "Du." (Totally incorrect.) What to do? Go with her bad manners or potentially embarrass her by sticking with "Sie?" I went with bad manners.

Example #6. Squirm factor: HIGH (squirming in seat just thinking about it). Someone contacts you online on a social/business networking website. They are a friend/contact of a friend/contact of yours. They are looking to hire. *They* write a message to you in German and use "Du." Ok, feels a bit odd, but the guy is German, so he must know what to do. So you APPLY for a position with this guy's team and then you wait to see what will happen. You figure, well, he was interested, so he'll definitely call to make an interview appointment. But then he doesn't call. So you decide, "what the hell, I'll call him." GULP. So 1) he used "Du" online ("Du?") 2) but...online is generally more informal than offline ("Sie?") 3) You don't know him ("Sie"?) 4) He's a friend of someone you call "Du" ("Du?") 5) It's about a job ("Sie?" 6) He's more senior than you in both age and potential position ("Sie?") 7) BUT HE USED "DU!" ("DU!!!) Vicious circle. I called and used "Du." Was totally totally weird and uncomfortable. Not sure what was correct. WHAT WAS CORRECT?????

Lesson learned - follow Golden Rule? "Du on to others as you would have others Du on to you."

Höllentalklamm

Emily, Jake and Gino might recognize where we went hiking today - they've all been there already. I sort have have a soft spot in my heart for this beautiful location which is in Garmisch-Partenkirchen - a little over an hour away from us if traffic is flowing normally (which it was not and we spent an extra 45 minutes on the way there and an extra hour on the way back sitting in traffic, but c'est la vie). And at some point during the outing I was wondering if Hans and Dorothee have ever been to the hike at some point in all their exploring, which is outrageously gorgeous, even when you've been there and hiked it a half dozen times. (Which we have - because we often take our visitors there, if you haven't figured it out. Mom, Dad - forget it - not possible in winter.)

I'm happy to simply arrive (it's usually a Sunday when we go - inevitably because in Germany, the stores are open on Saturday and you usually have some last minute grocery shopping or errand running to do, so therefore Saturday is the day to do it - yeah, Sunday...NOTHING EXCEPT GAS STATIONS ARE OPEN - and museums and restaurants - but forget about shopping and rather go hiking. It really takes some getting used to and after living in Singapore, the no-shopping-Sundays are a major source of culture shock. Along with the fact that I realize I have not eaten sushi now for TWO MONTHS) anyway, long aside over - because on Sunday, especially, you can see all the locals walking around after church in their tracht (the word for local German formal wear, which yes - please Google "Lederhosen" and "Dirndl" if you don't know what old fashioned - but still fashionable here in Bavaria - German formal wear looks like.) But in its old fashioned way, it is still quite beautiful and great for people watching and lots of fun during Oktoberfest (Walt, Chris - you coming?). It gets boring just to look at the tourie hikers in their hiking pants with their sticks. Tracht is much more interesting.

I'll keep it brief now. We spent two hours going up the mountain, at which point I gratefully dug into some pea soup with sausages at the local mountain hut. Unfortunately (fortunately?) it began to POUR and we froze to death for a good 15 minutes because the seats inside were all taken and the ones outside were only half-way under a huge umbrella. After a quick purchase of a plastic bag in the shape of a poncho, we headed back down the mountain and back to the car. Honestly, I was tired. I need to get used to this hiking stuff again. I must be a bit wimpy after only 1.5 hours (max) yoga classes for the last two years.

As usual, the Klamm did not disappoint. Totally gorgeous views and though on one hand I wanted to take pictures of everything (with my phone), on the other one really has to balance that with simply enjoying the view and not worrying about what photos will look best on the blog. :-) Enjoy and come visit - we'll take you to the Höllentalklamm (literally, "Hell valley gorge.")

"It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood..."

"...a beautiful day in the neighborhood, won't you be my, won't you by my, won't you be my neighbor?" Oh...remember those days....when Mr. Rogers would sing to you while he changed his sweater and shoes? Hmmm....you don't remember? Ok...so I'm dating myself maybe.

But, after a perfectly miserable weekend (in terms of weather), when I was chanting the nursery rhyme "Rain rain go away, come again some other day..." the SUN HAS COME OUT.

And I went to yoga this morning.
Went to the post office and mailed two packages.
Went bike-riding around the English garden a bit.
Went grocery shopping at the bio goods shop.
Talked to various people/sent various people emails about career.
Still have a good couple hours left to continue to get many things done.

Two photos (boring, sorry) from the weekend. Must have been Sunday morning.

Andreas working - and doesn't the light from the window make him look like a glowing alien from the back? And do you see what is sitting next to him in the funny little brown cave-like thing next to the desk?

Even Sammy didn't like the weather and was trying to keep cosy and warm. :-)


No big news here. Maybe some by early next week...

Amsterdam photos 2

Monday morning. Coffee and toast. Finally, a really good night's sleep.

I didn't mention - the first two nights in our hotel, we were attacked by mosquitoes. The hotel was right next to a canal (not a difficult placement in this Venice of the north), which means...breeding ground. Emily and I woke up looking like characters out of Star trek. Woke up is the wrong word. Got up. We compared our "Borgness" and because I was the one with the eye swollen shut, I decided I was in better costume.

Joking aside, the third night we finally had some bug spray, which helped a lot. Over the weekend, I must have murdered at least 9 mosquitoes in the bathroom hanging out on the shower curtain.

Anyway, some more images of the city here. Dorothee mentioned to me that she's never been to Amsterdam and wants to go and visit all the museums there (hey - birthday coming up! :-) ) but for me, I was just interested in wandering around and looking at the beautiful houses and not always so beautiful tourists. Also, except for Sunday morning, which I had to myself cause Em flew out in the early morning, we didn't really have time for museums. But, it's a city I'd go back and visit, and then I'd make it to a few more of the other attractions.

Meanwhile, Saturday was spent grabbing the last few photos Emily needed, going to yoga, as mentioned, watching a bit of the gay pride parade which filled the city with lots of revelers, having a nice dinner at a restaurant near our hotel, etc. Sunday morning I slept in, and then headed over to an antique market. I accidentally wandered through one block of the red light district on the way and scurried through, a little embarrassed. I went to a design cooperative (picture of the carved wooden frogs from that place - a statement about how 3rd world countries like Indonesia, are often used for low-cost labor. In the case of the carved table, only a country with skilled artisans are even able to make such a table - it was gorgeous) to look at some modern dutch design. At around 1, I slowly made my way to the airport and then flew home.

It was a lovely weekend and so nice to see and hang out with Em. She even let me touch her iphone. :-)

Amsterdam photos 1

We're heading to a yoga class in a few minutes, but here are some quick impressions of Amsterdam from our VERY FUN, but somewhat tiring day yesterday. The nice thing about running around a city with a professional photographer is that you REALLY SEE A LOT VERY FAST. The other side, is of course (and I'm told yesterday was a RELAXED AND EASY DAY), that you are running around with a lot of equipment for many hours.

On top of the planned running around, I totally screwed up. We were going to go to yoga yesterday morning, and I had looked up the address and had a map ready and route planned, etc. I told Em we had to leave an hour before class in order to walk all the way there and make it on time. Emily is like: "but Ayla said it's really close by." And I said, "it doesn't look close by on the map. It looks like a 40 minute walk...." And so of course, after 40 minutes of walking there, we get to the street to do yoga exactly on time...except for the fact that IT WAS THE WRONG STREET! :-( ARGH!

I had looked up the wrong street. So we walked all the way back - and then walked to the right street (an hour late), and looked at the schedule for today. So now we know. And we're going. And almost all the shooting is done, so today should be super relaxed.

Last words for the moment - Amsterdam - which I saw one other time when I was 8 years old - is BEAUTIFUL in a sort of quaint but grungy way, and I love all the canals and bikes. I'm getting used to the smell of marijuana everywhere....pretty funny to see it. Doesn't seem to be a real problem here. Anyway...more commentary later.