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December 2, 2011January 20, 2017

Thanks, Rotary!

Just a quick note…

Recently I wrote the Rotary club to thank them for a college scholarship, awarded during my senior year of high school. When money was tight, the club helped me get to the University of Idaho. I wrote to update them on my life and to show I used the opportunity they afforded.

They put my story into first-person form, and published it in their magazine. Check it out! (opens in a new window)

I always try to thank people who have helped me, and try to do their kindness justice by doing my best. Thanks Rotary International!

July 16, 2011January 20, 2017

Exploring the Egelsee

To cross into the canton (state) of Aargau from our place, requires a steep hike into a bipolar universe. Our still somewhat suburban setting morphs quickly into mixed agriculture–cows, chickens, greenhouses, orchards. Just as quickly, as we hike higher toward the Egelsee lake, the houses become larger and more ornate; the cars become more high-priced; the views become enviable.

Our Swiss neighbors asked us once if we had yet visited the Egelsee, and we hadn’t. “A shame,” the neighbors implied, with a disappointed verbal gauntlet thrown for us to venture into a dark wood to find a cherished lake. We didn’t know what to expect from Egelsee–literally translated to “Leech Lake.” Legend says its bottom holds ruins of a castle, and its dark water has swallowed many a person. With those warming thoughts, how could we have not yet visited the lake?

“A shame” indeed.

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April 23, 2011January 20, 2017

Swiss Spring has sprung (with pollen)

Phoenix was said to be a place to cure ailments, just by its natural climate. The high-Sonora desert was so dry, and the wide-open spaces so inviting, that residents packed into no-man’s land to be healed. With all of these people came pollution, and now days there are times when people should not leave their air conditioned homes for risk of breathing the dirty air.

Zurich, like much of Switzerland, has been plagued by dryness this year, in what some have called a European drought of the century. (I am sure they mean the last 100 years, and not just the last 11 years of this century.) That dryness, combined with flowers, trees, plants, animals, people, has puffed so much pollen, perfume, and cigarette puffing, that I have been on a non-stop sneeze fest.

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March 27, 2011January 20, 2017

Travel to Baselworld

Baselworld is very much like another planet, rather than the biggest watch, jewelry and gem trade show in the world. I consider myself very much an “everyman.” Despite interviewing the occasional CEO, or having access to industries or decision-makers, I am and likely always will be firmly in the middle-class. “Middle class” at Baselworld probably amounts to being able to afford a watch worth chf 20,000. (Read: not me)

In the first minutes of my first excursion to Baselworld I held a wrist watch backed in Titanium worth chf 87,000 before tax. I was nervous to hold it, until a salesman ran toward me with his newest gimmick–an analog watch with intricate mechanics to allow blackjack and roulette. The price? “About chf 160,000,” he said coolly. Not my middle class, I thought.

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February 14, 2011January 20, 2017

Biking (Swiss) Route 66

It was an unusually pleasant Sunday: the clouds had broken for long enough, and the sun shone bright and warm enough, for us to expect Spring flowers and mornings without shivered awakenings. Our new perch on the edge of Zurich’s suburbs has given also proximity to Route 66–a long trail of 55 kilometers (34 miles) winding along the Limmat River. Unlike US Route 66 this path is paved by just loose gravel for a time, traversing rails and pathways; buzzing apartments and a reformed industrial quarter, to connect a medieval refuge with a quaint town–with the largest Swiss city between the two.

So with an unexpected sun at my back, I took up the same bicycle that I rode through college triumph and strife, to conquer at least part of Route 66.

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February 6, 2011January 20, 2017

Melting Winter

There is something soothing about the sound of running water. As the elixir of life barrels over itself from mountains to sea the air inherits a freshness. Luckily for us, bordering one side of our neighborhood is a small river. A well-flowing creek keeps the water circulating in a near-by pond . Ice still covers much of this tree-lined pond, but the ducks still find space to dunk their heads, and search for food.

To us, this bit of nature is a respite from a city’s chaos. We have lived in Berlin, Munich, Phoenix..all cities with an abundance of movement and healthy populations. Even our former neighborhood in Zurich was suburban but dense–a view of a tree was enough to be considered experiencing “nature.” A meeting with a few (Swiss) neighbors yesterday gave glimpse at how our pond and river-rich neighborhood once was, before “change” moved in.

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January 2, 2011January 20, 2017

Sliding into the New Year

Compared to our New Year’s Eve last year in Munich, Switzerland seemed like it slept through the “slide” into 2011. (German speakers wish you a good slide into the New Year) Munich was like a war-zone, and bottle rockets and various explosive devices like the one pictured above would surely unnerve even the most fearless sober reveler.

Switzerland likes to temper itself, and everything from recycling to celebrating must be done orderly and Swiss-like. Oh yes there were loud booms, and lights flashing, but all but one celebrant stopped igniting things at 00:30 on the dot. The last hold-out must have been from Munich.

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