Ok, I admit, I am not the most reliable blogger. I keep the blog so that I can write about new exciting things going on over here in Germany or where ever in the world I may be, that way friends, family and anyone else can live vicariously through me. :) But this means that if I am staying in Bonn for an extended period of time, chances are, I do not update the blog at all.
In addition, I like reading some blogs, but I don't check them all every day, mainly because there are others like me that do not post every day (sometimes every week). If I haven't looked at it recently, I usually forget to look at it.
But, I found something that helps me and wanted to share it with you, to help you avoid looking at my blog and realizing, I didn't write anything recently. I use Blogarithm, you sign up, give it the URLs of the blogs you want to follow and it sends you an e-mail daily for any of your blogs that have been updated in the previous 24 hours. There are probably other similar services out there, and they may be better, I just settled on the first one I found that did what I wanted. The can be found at www.blogarithm.com
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Single Again (updated)
So, for the first time in many years, I am (un)technically single again...
I drove my wife and son to Frankfurt Airport today to send them on their way for the beginning of what is just short of a three month trip. First they are going to her parent's house to drop off luggage and set the house up for the baby. Then I will meet them in Asia to pick our daughter up and return to the US with them. Then, if we want to continue to eat and have a place to live, I have to return to Europe to work while they wait for certificates and passports. Which leaves me on my own in Europe for most of the next three months.
To be fair, it works out, especially as it has enabled me to over schedule implementation projects for work. Normally, I wouldn't have scheduled so much because of the travel required, but since they aren't going to be here, might as well make sure the target objectives for this year are met and exceeded [finally bonus eligible this year:)]
Well, it was sad to see them off, but the bachelor life beckons... catch up on e-mail, go for bicycle ride, defrost the freezer... Oh yeah, the good ol' days.
UPDATE:
So, for the first meal, I figured nothing says "family is gone" like fries, chicken nuggets and a Kölsch Beer. Speaking of Kölsch, I am going to miss this stuff when we move back to the States... I used to like Sam Adams and Yuengling Lager. On recent trips to the US I have had both, but they just don't compare to the German Beer...
I drove my wife and son to Frankfurt Airport today to send them on their way for the beginning of what is just short of a three month trip. First they are going to her parent's house to drop off luggage and set the house up for the baby. Then I will meet them in Asia to pick our daughter up and return to the US with them. Then, if we want to continue to eat and have a place to live, I have to return to Europe to work while they wait for certificates and passports. Which leaves me on my own in Europe for most of the next three months.
To be fair, it works out, especially as it has enabled me to over schedule implementation projects for work. Normally, I wouldn't have scheduled so much because of the travel required, but since they aren't going to be here, might as well make sure the target objectives for this year are met and exceeded [finally bonus eligible this year:)]
Well, it was sad to see them off, but the bachelor life beckons... catch up on e-mail, go for bicycle ride, defrost the freezer... Oh yeah, the good ol' days.
UPDATE:
So, for the first meal, I figured nothing says "family is gone" like fries, chicken nuggets and a Kölsch Beer. Speaking of Kölsch, I am going to miss this stuff when we move back to the States... I used to like Sam Adams and Yuengling Lager. On recent trips to the US I have had both, but they just don't compare to the German Beer...
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Wonderful Week!
Well, I did it - made it to Platinum. The flight to Miami put me over the top. Once I get the return miles added in, I will be 17,000 miles away from Chairman's Club - still can't wait to see what the color of that e-mail is...
This isn't what made last week wonderful though! It did start with travel related wonderfulness...
I flew to Miami and reserved a rental with National. They have the Emerald Club, which, if you are a member and reserve a mid-size car through your account means you can take advantage of the Emerald Aisle. You just walk up to any car in the Emerald Aisle, hop in and drive off - no counters! Plus, most sites have better than mid-size cars there. As I was on the shuttle bus I was scouting for the Aisle - spotted it and saw a PT Cruiser Convertible - BINGO! It was a really nice drive from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale with the top down!
Then, to end the work week, I booked a quick flight to Philly to see family. Good ol' US Airways came through for me. Once you are a silver member, you can get free upgrades to First Class on domestic flights if it is available. The higher your status, the earlier you can upgrade. The great part is if you book with your DM number, you don't have to do a thing! 3 days before the flight I received an e-mail telling me I was upgraded - Bingo #2!
In addition, on Friday we finally got the word that we can go pick up our daughter from the orphanage in Taiwan in a few weeks - #3.
Finally, the wonderful week ended by spending the weekend at my Mom's house and seeing all of the family in NJ that I could. Plus some friends who have a little boy I haven't met yet. Of course, for all of the wonderfulness of the trip, it was great to get home too!
Well, the "Where in the World" spot will be changing as things are finalized, Chairman's will get here very, very soon...
Sunday, July 22, 2007
A great weekend
This is the first weekend since June that we have not traveled anywhere. Not to take anything away from London or Brussels, they were both great, for me, this might have been the best of the three weekends. The weather was wonderful, it rained only a little bit here and there, not enough to make you depressed. When it wasn't raining, it was mid 70's with a breeze. Add to this some good quality time around the house with the family and it doesn't get much better... but it did!
I was able to work in two bicycle rides, since I haven't ridden since I climbed to Petersberg on June 30th (thanks to travel and good ol' Mother Nature), I decided to go with shorter rides - 26KM yesterday and 36KM today. Overall, great rides. Saturday was my usual flat ride along the river, maintained close to my best average for the ride. Today's was my usual ride to the southwest with some rolling hills and a long ride along the river to end. This was the best ride, I beat my best average by 1 km/h, doesn't sound like much, but at this point, a pretty big gain for me.
Finally, a true sign of July, the Tour de France. Now cycling has not necessarily been in good light lately with all of the doping scandals. This has eased some of my excitement around the tour this year and there really hasn't been anything to get excited about until this weekend. Yesterday was a great time trial, which really sorted out who was there to play and who was there to win. Then today's stage was amazing! A mountain top finish with 6 of the top ten riders in a break away group leading up the final 16k climb. Best of all, Discovery Channel had 3 of their riders in the group. Disco then won the stage thanks to Alberto Contador and also moved into the "Top Team" spot. They are definitely making amends for a rather poor showing last year. This final week of the Tour should be exciting and culminates with another time trial on Saturday. I don't think we will really know who will win until then. If you get a chance to catch a mountain stage I highly recommend it. Especially since Versus (formerly OLN) shows only the highlights, so you can skip the boring parts.
I was able to work in two bicycle rides, since I haven't ridden since I climbed to Petersberg on June 30th (thanks to travel and good ol' Mother Nature), I decided to go with shorter rides - 26KM yesterday and 36KM today. Overall, great rides. Saturday was my usual flat ride along the river, maintained close to my best average for the ride. Today's was my usual ride to the southwest with some rolling hills and a long ride along the river to end. This was the best ride, I beat my best average by 1 km/h, doesn't sound like much, but at this point, a pretty big gain for me.
Finally, a true sign of July, the Tour de France. Now cycling has not necessarily been in good light lately with all of the doping scandals. This has eased some of my excitement around the tour this year and there really hasn't been anything to get excited about until this weekend. Yesterday was a great time trial, which really sorted out who was there to play and who was there to win. Then today's stage was amazing! A mountain top finish with 6 of the top ten riders in a break away group leading up the final 16k climb. Best of all, Discovery Channel had 3 of their riders in the group. Disco then won the stage thanks to Alberto Contador and also moved into the "Top Team" spot. They are definitely making amends for a rather poor showing last year. This final week of the Tour should be exciting and culminates with another time trial on Saturday. I don't think we will really know who will win until then. If you get a chance to catch a mountain stage I highly recommend it. Especially since Versus (formerly OLN) shows only the highlights, so you can skip the boring parts.
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