Got my FLIGHT!!!

Here are the details...

Fly out of Geneva on the 18th of Dec @ 10:35 AM
Stop over in London for a couple hours...
Arrive at SFO on the 18th of Dec @ 4:25 PM

Loooooong flight, but nice and cheap due to www.studentuniverse.com

By the way, if you are a student...CHECK THIS SITE OUT! It's amazingly cheap (I got mine for ~$650) but they've got wicked good deals on other flights...students/teachers only though.

Also...tonight is the Festival of Lights...which means there will be some EXTREMELY drunk Indians. I was working with several Indians on my Econ project and they had to bail so they could go buy liquor. I found that pretty funny.

Our Econ project should be pretty sweet. It was really hard to do though...due to the word limitation. It was supposed to be only 2600 words, then he said 2800. We worked for AGES to make it smaller and only could knock it down to 3053. Doh!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!! Eat some candy and scare some kids for me ;)

You want pictures? FINE!

It's been a while since I put up pictures of people (instead of things and places)...so to make up for it here a bunch of random ones of random things that have been happening recently.

Also, the order is random. Neat huh?

This is part of the aftermath of Cultural Night up at Absolut. It was PACKED up there...seriously shoulder to shoulder. I, magically, got a sweet couch spot and observed for hours. This is an example of observation.

Obviously these guys were pretty excited to have a picture taken of them. It's understandable...a picture is FOREVER. The most enthusiastic one in the middle is Devraj...Indian, actually doing his internship in SF.

This painfully dark picture is Culture Night on campus. The entire school building was emptied out and filled with all these booths and TONS OF FOOD. Not to mention TONS OF SWISS. It was a madhouse, and I ate SOOOOO much I thought I might have to crawl into a corner and die.

More Cultural Night insanity. People...food...etc.


This was as things started to wind down a bit (thankfully). I was barely able to walk at this point due to the massive stomach food intake.

Here is a Halloween picture with the school director wrapping up the head of the BBA program. Hilarity ensued.

Ah, more Culture Night (I told you it was random). The Brasilians were mad at me for not eating their food (I tried!). So I took a picture instead. I think that's fitting.

This is Crazy Dancing Man, and after the Halloween party at a bar in Montana. He was grooving like he was the last man on Earth. Anders (drinking and watching) was jealous. And Toga Guy (I've no clue who he is) wanted to dance too.

Here are some crazy Halloween people. I'm the handsome green fellow.

And a much larger group of us Halloween freaks. I wasn't looking at the camera sadly.

I'm not quite sure what night this is...but Tony (squished face) obviously reacted very strongly to...something. You go ahead and use your imagination.

Absolut. Drinking. I suck at dancing.

I've got a lot I could post about...Halloween, Culture Night, People...a ton of pictures too.

But eh, I just don't feel like it.

It's just one of "those days" where I'm just not in the mood for much. Ya know when you don't really want to talk with people, don't want to be bothered by people? Meh.

I'm sure this won't last all that long...but right now, don't expect much. Sorry folks.

Two more results...WOOT!

Culture: 80%
Doh! She said I wrote well but didn't draw in enough from class. I don't think that's quite right. But she loved all the Crawford family history...thanks Doris!

Human Relations: 90%
Highest grade in Management! I had a great group and we really worked hard on it. The teacher was very impressed...and so was I!

So that makes...
2 A's, 4 B's and 2 Unknowns (Marketing and Economics...both of which have projects due next week). An average of 87%, not too shabby I must say!

School hates Yahoo

So I went to the computer lab today to work on Economics and do some test printing...I wanted to make sure all my graphs were pretty and the like...

So I plug into the network, turn the computer on...and it tells me my account has been blocked. Hmmm...

I unplug, type in my password, plug back in...and can't print. Hmmm...

I go to the IT department, they look through my computer, and tell me I've got an "illegal program".

It's Yahoo Messenger.

The guys says "Why don't you use MSN? Everyone uses MSN." I tell him that people at home don't use that. He tells me they should.

Whatever.

So no more Yahoo at school. Bastards!

short one

First of all, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Gallaxy is an AWESOME movie! I am a huge Douglas Adams fan and have read the books cover to cover many times now...and thought the movie was fantastic. It followed the books in part, totally diverged in others, and made me want to see a sequal NOW.

Hopefully they will.

Secondly...my favorite website, www.nasioc.com, is DOWN! Stupid hurricane! Bah!

That's all for now...

Oops...one more, because this is SO FREAKY STRANGE! Remote controlled PEOPLE!

I go to a very odd school

So I'm sitting in CDV...the school run "fast food" restaurant and bar. This Friday is Cultural Night and a lot of students have been getting ready for it...with dances, food, singing...all things cultural.

So there is a school band that's going to be playing...they've been practicing a lot (in my basement, so I know ALL THE SONGS BY HEART NOW AND IT SUCKS)...but they are good guys working hard.

They "auditioned" for the school tonight at CDV...including the Dean of Students, Mr. Taylor. And what did he do after telling them they did great?

Got on the drums and RIPPED THAT SHIT UP! I was blown away! He totally rocked. The Dean! Awesome.

Now check out the below picture...




This was the Halloween Party (which will get it's own post). To make a long story short...it wasn't all that great. But then I have VERY high Halloween expectations. Anyway the night was pretty fun...but ended amazingly.

You see that dude in the middle, with the short short hair? That's one of the teachers. In fact, he's the Service teacher for the a la carte restaurant...our "high end restaurant". He was hidden in a coffin in the middle of the room, burst out of it, crawled around like a zombie (scaring the piss out of students that know him), then was joined by those other students...who then did...

The entire Thriller dance from the Michael Jackson video.

Amazing.

I may knock this place around a bit...but when it comes down to it, it really is the most wacky and nutty school I have ever experienced in my entire life.

New and Improved Grades

Here it is...

Accounting: 93%
Nothing changed here. Highest grade in my class and tied for 3rd in Management.

Food & Beverage: Project 75% Mid Term 83%
I am disapointed with this, especially the Project part. I worked hard on it and got dragged down by people in my group. Oh well...still doing "well" in that class.

Room Divisions: Project 87% Mid Term 81%
Woot! After bugging him about the grading on my Mid Term test he bumped me up 8%...now that I'm VERY happy about. I can still get an A in this class if I bust my ass :) Oh yeah, that's the highest grade in Management for the Project ;)

Facilities Management: Project 80% Mid Term 85%
I did well on the Mid Term vs the class...3rd highest in my class (unknown vs Management) and...well...we got the highest grade in Management on the Project. Awesome!

So that leaves me with...

Human Resources: Unknown
We turned a project in for that class that was 40% of the grade. I've got decent feelings about it...it was a very simple group project and that makes me worried. The final is 60% and pretty unknown. I know it'll be an essay.

Marketing: Unknown
My grade is dependent on 2 things...a written project (60%) and an oral test (1 on 1, 40%). My group for this is awesome, and my role is "typist"...to take everyones bits and turn it into proper English. I'm fairly confident

Economics: Unknown
We've got a project due in a week which is 40% of the grade, and I know my section is amazingly awesome. I've got graphs up the ass, excellent research, and I'm very proud of what I've created. The final is 60% and I've got good feelings about it.

Contemporary World Issues: International Relations 95% Art 75%
I destroyed International Relations, but crapped out in Art. It was written in class and she pretty much summed up my grade with "I expected more from a native English speaker". Bah. I didn't argue...my spelling sucked. But we just turned in Culture and Sociology should be a snap. After that it's Enviornmental Policy then some sort of final "test" of lord knows what. A is still possible here.

So that pretty much sums it all up.

Entrances to Hell

I had originally found this site on memepool, but for some reason it changed to a rather stupid site. I eventually found it again and still find it pretty disturbing.

So of course I had to submit this picture.

Enjoy the Entrances to Hell.

Busy guy

Sorry for the lack of blog involvement. I've got fairly large projects/papers/stuff to do these days so I'm not on much. But I'm still thinking of all of you!

Plus I should have some really cool pictures after this weekend. So stay tuned...I guess.

You know what is awesome?

Awesome is waking up 5 minutes before your 8 AM class starts...somehow being able to shave, brush your teeth, brush your hair, slap on the full school uniform (blazer, pants, tie, dress shirt, yada), busting your hump to the main building...

And then...

Finding out your 8 AM class is cancelled.

You know what makes it MORE awesome?

Finding out you've got NO classes until 1 freaking 45.

AND...

Your 1:45 class is the ONLY OTHER CLASS THAT DAY!

AOIJNSKJDBGIJBDSIB!!!JN!!

Sigh.

No, I can't go back to sleep. My body just doesn't do that. Oh well...guess I'll get a lot done today.

4 of 5 results in...and good news/bad news/scary news

So here is the breakdown so far of the mid-term exams...
Accounting: 93% I should have done better...made a silly mistake.
F&B: 83% I simply didn't write enough...I wrote a LOT but just not "enough". I found out later you have to write REAMS to get a great grade.
Facilities: 85% I made two really dumb mistakes...and it cost me. I tried to argue with the teacher about 'em but he took one look at my grade and laughed. He said it will make no difference. I argued again and he told me to go away...I did better than the vast majority of the class. Sure...fine
Room Divisions: 73% That was a TOTAL shocker...and oddly enough the 3rd highest grade in class (next was an 80something and a 90). He just wanted more than what I wrote...so I talked to him and gave him the test back...hoping to get more points. I'll be PISSED if I don't get at least an 80%.

What is remaining? The results from the Integrated Project...which I am now officially worried about. I am worried 'cause I was ultra confident about how well I did with all these exams yet in pretty much every instance I didn't meet that expectation. Sure I averaged a good solid B but I was expecting A's across the board. And I really don't like that.

And now...the scary bit. In Facilities we are going to be studying electricity for a while...things like resistors, fuses, meters, analog vs digital, distribution blocks, and all that jazz. It will be very little math and a considerable amount of theory/concepts/definitions. Why it scares me...later.

And in Accounting we are going into forecasting methods...which is EXACTLY what I used to do when I worked for First Data. I showed the teacher some of the stuff I had leftover from work and he laughed saying that I should be teaching for a bit.

And finally, in Economics, we are getting into the modern era...stuff from 1980-present day with a focus on the United States. I asked the teacher if we were going to do Reganomics and he smiled and said "that's too complicated for these students...but we'll touch on it".

So what is scary about those three facts?

I know that stuff. I've installed enough stereos in cars to know, not only what a distribution block and a fuse is, but the practical applications of these things...and why we use what. I know forecasting like the back of my hand...hell, I did it for a living! And I know current day Economic policy...It's something I've always been interested in and have been studying it since High School.

So why am I scared?

I'm scared because I was SO confident about my testing yet didn't get the results I wanted. And this is all stuff I know...I know pretty damn well...therefore confidence is...I repeat...confidence is HIGH.

The end result...

A) I will fall back on my laurals a bit again and...once again...average a bunch of boring B's in classes.

B) I will go insane studying, learn much more than is needed, and mildly burn out...yet get great grades.

Hopefully it will be something in the middle.

This school is SO STRANGE. I think the teachers are on drugs.

I am still alive

And this is a funny story that has been around the email world a couple times (I think).

Oh yeah...I got an 85% in Facilities Management. I, again, was mildly surprised but did very well compared to the rest of the class (3rd highest). It appeared that I (DUH!) overestimated my ablities or underestimated the tests. Whichever...I will focus harder.

Anyway...on with the funny story...

Wouldn't you love to have this attendant on your next flight? Thanks to a retired Delta Captain for sending this "paraphrase" of a memorable safety PA (public announcement) from their Flight Attendants. In his own words.... "I was flying to San Francisco from Seattle this weekend, and the flight attendant reading the flight safety information had the whole plane looking at each other like "what the heck?" (Getting Seattle people to look at each other is an accomplishment.) So once we got airborne, I took out my laptop and typed up what she said so I wouldn't forget. I've left out a few parts I'm sure, but this is most of it."

(BEFORE TAKEOFF)

Hello, and welcome to Alaska Flight 438 to San Francisco. If you're going to San Francisco, you're in the right place. If you're not going to San Francisco, you're about to have a really long evening. We'd like to tell you now about some important safety features of this aircraft. The most important safety feature we have aboard this plane is ...... The Flight Attendants. Please look at one now.

There are 5 exits aboard this plane: 2 at the front, 2 over the wings, and one out the plane's rear end. If you're seated in one of the exit rows, please do not store your bags by your feet. That would be a really bad idea. Please take a moment and look around and find the nearest exit.

Count the rows of seats between you and the exit. In the event that the need arises to find one, trust me, you'll be glad you did. We have pretty blinking lights on the floor that will blink in the direction of the exits. White ones along the normal rows, and pretty red ones at the exit rows.

In the event of a loss of cabin pressure these baggy things will drop down over your head. You stick it over your nose and mouth like the flight attendant is doing now. The bag won't inflate, but there's oxygen there, I promise. If you are sitting next to a small child, or someone who is acting like a small child, please do us all a favor and put on your mask first. If you are traveling with two or more children, please take a moment now to ! decide which one is your favorite. Help that one first and then work your way down.

In the seat pocket in front of you is a pamphlet about the safety features of this plane. I usually use it as a fan when I'm having my own personal summer. It makes a very good fan. It also has pretty pictures. Please take it out and play with it now.

Please take a moment now to make sure your seat belts are fastened low and tight about your hips. To fasten the belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle. To release, it's a pulley thing -- not a pushy thing like your car, because you're in an airplane -- HELLO.

There is no smoking in the cabin on this flight. There is also no smoking in the lavatories. If we see smoke coming from the lavatories, we will assume you are on fire and put you out. This is a free service we provide. There are two smoking sections on this flight, one outside each wing exit. We do have a movie in the smoking sections tonight ... hold on, let me check what it is ... Oh here it is ... the movie tonight is "Gone With the Wind."

In a moment we will be turning off the cabin lights, and it's going to get really dark, really fast. If you're afraid of the dark, now would be a good time to reach up and press the yellow button. The yellow button turns on your reading light. Please don't press the orange button unless you absolutely have to. The orange button is your seat ejection button.

We're glad to have you with us on board this flight. Thank you for choosing Alaska Air, and giving us your business and your money. If there's anything we can do to make you more comfortable, please don't hesitate to ask.

If you all weren't strapped down you would have given me a standing ovation, wouldn't you?

(AFTER LANDING)

Welcome to the San Francisco International Airport. Sorry about the bumpy landing. It's not the Captain's fault. It's not the Copilot's fault. It's the Asphalt. Please remain seated until the plane is parked at the gate. At no time in history has a passenger beaten a plane to the gate. So please don't even try.

Also, please be careful opening the overhead bins because "shift happens."

Pretty pictures

First results are in

And so far...so good.

Today was the first day back at school since roughly 10 days ago...and not too much has changed it seems.

However I did get the results back from two of my Mid-Term tests...and will get the remaining two PLUS the results from that big integrated project later this week. Woot!

Accounting Results: 93%
That was pretty expected...and without sounding like too much of a nerd I was hoping for a little more. I lost points for not being descriptive enough about the pros/cons of the High/Low method for seperating variable/fixed costs from a mixed cost. Doh! Plus there was that one question I mentioned in a prior post that I struggled with...and only got partial credit.

I did get the highest score in my class though, but only second highest overall in the school. Rats! :P

Food and Beverage Results: 83%
Now that was a shocker. I was expecting at least the mid 90's...and I'm not at all pleased with that. From the short time I was able to go over the test with her in class I found out that I should have written more on some things...each part I either got 100% points of 50% points. Eh...live and learn I suppose. Thankfully this class is made up of a lot of other bits... 10% for my initial "Practical" work in the restaurant, 25% from the integrated project (which I will find out about later on this week), 20% from this mid-term and the remaining % from the final exam...so I'm fairly hopeful.

I'm still waiting for the results from Room Divisions and Facilities Management...both of which I am fairly confident on.

On a side note I've got a couple more Group Projects looming on the horizon...Human Relations due at the end of this week, Economics due at the end of this month and Marketing due mid next month.

There is a girl in my class, Molly, with whom I've been working on a lot of these projects with...and she is seriously starting to get on my nerves. Every time I see her she asks me something about one of these projects. I was eating today and she tapped me on the shoulder...I was hanging out with friends last night and she stopped by my room...I was walking between classes and she asks me something...

Ugh!

To be honest I'm REALLY tired of group work. I just want to do something on my own...no group, no others, no nada. Just me and research and writing and that is all.

But the HR thing will be a breeze, Marketing will be tough but isn't right around the corner, and Economics is with an entirely different group of people.

Sigh...even with only 34 actual class days left there is still a lot to do!

The Company Cookbook

This is for all you people that have suffered through those horrible pot luck lunch/dinner things at work.

I recall, years ago, when I was working for a big company as a Financial Analyst. We had a potluck lunch...which really wasn't that horribly bad. In fact some was pretty good.

I made a cheesecake. I made it from scratch.

My co-workers were FLOORED by this. It wasn't that terribly dificult. I looked up how to do it online and...well...did it. Piece of cake...pie...cheese....whatever.

Anyway, check out this site.

It made me laugh pretty hard.

Before and After mountain pictures

This is when I very first got to Bluche...it's actually taken up in Montana so it's a much bigger view of the valley from higher up.

Here we have a cloudy sunset...it was probably snowing out there at the time.


The results of one rainy couple days...


And after a couple more...


And this was this morning.

A bit of a change eh? Granted all these pictures aren't from the exact same place but all of 'em (with the exception of the first) are from my balcony. Nuts. Cold. Ow.

Uh...snow?

Not like here on the ground, but really close. Like scary close.

I remember it raining like (insert clever metaphor here) quite a lot before I left. But it was also so foggy I couldn't see the hills...now I can, and they are freaking covered in snow.

I think after lunch I'll post up a little before/after picture session to make it all the more real.

PS: I have a new cleaning lady (I think), and she's sexy. Hmmm...

Home again home again...

...jiggidy jog.

I never understood that saying. Alas I am connected to the internet and therefore could easily look it up. But I won't. I'm stubborn in my ignorance at times.

Anyway I'm sitting in perhaps the most bad ass airport of all time. It's called...um...Sci..Scop...that fancy Amsterdam airport that starts with an S and sounds something like "schipoli". Sorta.

Regardless it is the best airport I've ever seen. It is perfectly laid out, wonderfully clean, and full of everything the traveler could use. Hell, it's got showers! SHOWERS! I'd take one if I had some clean socks to put on. My feet are going to be horrid when I get back to Bluche...especially considering my left ankle is bleeding a little from walking too much in non-walking-distance shoes. Oops.

My flight boards relatively soon but I'm desperately trying to download the newest episodes of Lost. I can't watch 'em in Switzerland and oh I'm sooo close to getting the newest ones. Unforunately they are a massive pain to download back in Bluche.

It better hurry...c'mon.

DOWNLOAD YOU #^$@%@!!!

tapping fingers here...

OK, while waiting...thanks to all that talked to me/emailed me/contacted me during my time of pity. We all go through homesickness at times and having some people that really care contact you makes a huge difference. Plus I vented like a little baby on NASIOC...gotta love it.

99.4%! C'mon BABY!

And that's it. Done. And I've got just enough time for one last cigarette and a bathroom visit.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Mmmmm...clean socks are calling my name. Life is GOOD.

And then it sets in

It's funny how things change with time...sometimes in a matter of weeks, sometimes in a matter of hours.

Amsterdam is very cool...that certainly hasn't changed. It is still the vibrant, confusing, chaotic, lively, wild place that it was when I arrived. Any change to this place would probably take centuries.

But it hasn't taken all that long for me to just want to be home.

And home, to me, is people I know. People I can talk to.

I miss my friends and family. I miss being able to call someone up and hang out. I want to talk to someone about the latest movie, or the weather at home, the changing seasons, the football game...the anything in my life that I truly relate to.

Last night was fun...but it got old quickly. I wandered all around town looking for...I don't know. I suppose I found it. I ended up spending most of the evening at a British pub drinking Guiness with various people around the world. It was cool to talk to them about stuff...about the few things we all have in common.

But I really want, more than anything, to just sit back in familiar surroundings and babble about the life I know and love.

I realize this is a fairly big change from my post yesterday. I guess a long night (and deep into the day) sleep will do that to you.

I wandered this city until I got blisters on my feet...literally. I took maybe 3 to 4 pictures. My heart just wasn't into it I guess.

I leave tomorrow...back to Switzerland. I'm looking forward to that...I'd leave now if I could.

But more than anything, at this moment in time, I would love...love in every sense of the word...to be home.

I miss you all very much.

But who knows what a day will do to me...or a week...or the next couple months. We shall see.

Heaven

Just a simple view...nearish a fancy hotel here. People love bikes.


Yes, people LOVE bikes. There were literally thousands here. Unreal.


Even the construction appeals to stoners. Note the pink...cracks me up!


Just a shot from near the train station towards where I've been hanging out. Those tour boats are constantly crusing around.


Another random view down a street. You may be able to pick out the Bulldog in that shot on the left middle of the way down.


The street where my craptastic hotel is. It's a pretty busy place...I dig it.


See? Munchie HEAVEN. All you could want and more. Yes...more.


My bad ass hotel room. It's huge isn't it?


A shot from the train station in Sierre before I left. Note the odd angle. I was very tired yet excited. Tired and excited results in odd angles.


The view out my hotel window down into the alley thingie. Classy. Classic. Nasty. Rad.


A view from a bridge across from the train station...beautiful place. I'm loving it here.


Amsterdam is awesome. Awesome. I need a better word for that though…it’s just so damn cool. On a Saturday night during peak tourist season…whoa.

There is every walk of life cruising around here. I saw Asians in business suits, a gang of American looking business men (all 5 wearing tucked in polo shirts, all 5 wearing leather belts, and all 5 wearing a variety of khakis). There are upper middle aged British laughing couples, American upper middle aged ex-party animal couples, stoners, kids, beautiful women, gay men, a few beggars, and an overall sense of comfort with a hint of awe.

And the stores…my god the stores are amazing. Sure you’ve got your usual tourist stoner stuff…knit hats, stripped knees socks, Rastafarian style shirts, and more shot glasses than I think there is liquor in Europe. And of course there is a TON of smoking paraphernalia…bongs, pipes, rolling papers, grinders, everything and anything you could possibly use to smoke…well…anything. One shop has a GIANT marijuana plant growing, and I’ve seen at least 5 places that sell magic mushrooms (buy 3 get 1 free!).

I even got myself a Boddingtons Pub Ale. It’s heaven.

And last night…hookers. Hookers in the windows. You see a red light oozing out onto the sidewalk and just have to look…you’ve got to look. They come in every shape and size…all in fun lingerie. Some are wicked hot, some curvy ones, some skinny ones, some tired ones, some bored ones, some that smile and giggle. It is (and I’m sure this saying is used a LOT in the description of this place)…it is sensory overload.

I couldn’t imagine it on drugs.

But beyond that the place is very pretty. Yeah it’s fairly dirty, and pretty beat up. My hotel is an absolute shit hole…but it’s cheap, the bed is comfortable and I’ve got hot and cold running water. Just don’t ask about the shower. But the buildings are ancient, the canals add a huge level of charm, and the streets wander and turn and the little stores are so freaking cool.

It isn’t the cheapest place I’ve been (hell, what part of Europe isn’t expensive?) but if you spend a little time looking around you can find a fairly good deal. Sure this hotel is crappy but I feel safe and it cost me ½ of what was quoted to me at the airport. Sure you could sit down and eat a steak, fries and salad (at a nice looking place) for around 18 euros but just down the street is a corner kebab stand with food that is probably just as delicious for less than 1/3 that price.

This reminds me…this is stoner food HEAVEN. I couldn’t throw a rock without hitting some place that sells sandwiches, fries, overstuffed pastries bursting with strawberries and cream, energy drinks or flavored rolling papers.

If you took San Diego…took Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, squished them into the Gaslamp and aged it for about 1000 years…you’d have a pretty good idea of what Amsterdam is like. Sprinkle in a good dose of Haight Ashbury and poor slowly on a city. Stir softly (softly is key) with wood from an ancient tribal tree and there you go.

It’s the sort of place you want to write “Neil was here…October 2005…Bluche Switzerland via California” and know that some wacked out freak will stare at it for 20 minutes 20 years from now.

I mentioned prior that I’m glad I’m only here for a couple days. That is true. I could see myself getting Las Vegas beat down or just plain sucked in. Thankfully my drug days are behind me or I just might have melted into the populace and opened a marijuana induced ultra fusion restaurant and hotel.

Remind me not to think thoughts like that again. Those are dangerous thoughts.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with....

...an idea.

I was sick and tired of Bluche. So many people had left town and the constant rain and fog was really starting to get to me. No more rain, please! No more French! No more Switzerland!

So I packed up a couple days worth of clothes...camera, batteries, laptop, etc and jumped on the morning train to Geneva Airport.

After a bit of a ride I arrived in the airport...and...now what?

I've never done anything like this before...just gone to an airport and caught a flight somewhere. But I figured it was about time I did something nutty like that.

I stared at the flight board for a while...hmmm...Berlin? Nice? London? Where?

Nice was a nice thought...oh, Monaco would be sweet! So I checked out the prices of flights. Ow...no good. So where to? I've got to go SOMEWHERE.

And I did.

240 CHF, a plane ride and a short train trip to the city center and here I am.

It's all new to me, but a very old city. It's very famous for a lot of things.

I'm very close to the ocean right now, but all I can see is old brick buildings and tiny little streets.

There are lots of young people around. Most of them are younger than I am but it's a nice mix.

Did you guess yet? Those hints were pretty broad...so scroll down for some more obvious ones...














They don't speak French nor Italian.













It starts with an A.













It makes Vegas look tame (in some ways).














It ends with a DAMN...as in DAMN what in the WORLD am I, Neil Crawford, doing here?













I'm in Amsterdam. I'm sitting in the Bulldog cafe drinking a coffee with a very familiar scent in the air.

Europe is an amazing place. I'm glad I'll only be here 3 days.

Argh, comments!

Occasionally when I post something new I get instant spam style comments (dickheads) and it really bugs me. Every time I see that email notification that I've got a comment...well...it's like getting mail, it makes me happy.

But these ones suck. I delete 'em. Quickly in fact. And I just figured out how to stop 'em...I hope.

By the way I haven't posted any pictures recently 'cause I've been scared to take my camera out. I will...I swear.

Passing time

I'm always on the constant search for fun and funny little things to do with this computer.

I admit I'm I can be a big geek but I dig this sort of stuff so you can bit me.

Anyway, here are a couple fun little sites that have movies and games and other crap to help those with ADD pass the time.

These are a couple classics that I personally love.

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Today is (hopefully) the last day I'll be in Bluche for a little bit. I'm itching to get outta here and considering I am in Europe, I've got all my documents and have no ties at this time...I better get the hell outta here. The only problem is I have no clean clothes. In fact I'm wearing one black sock and one white sock. That is rather embarassing I must admit.

So tomorrow I am going to get up early and head to Geneva and catch a train...somewhere. I'm thinking Nice or Monaco. Both should be interesting.

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A friend of mine back home has a blog...a hilarious one full of all kinds of wacky and wild observations (in some ways a bit more wacky and wild than me). She goes off at times about the "hits" she gets from search engines regarding her postings. Now I've got a little tracker program too but the only people that find my blog are A) those that have the URL and B) those that randomly happen upon it by clicking that button in the upper right (next blog).

Pretty boring stuff I have to say.

But then the whole deal with a search engine and keywords is that they look for things that have those words (the ones people are looking for) in them. And since we all know the primary focus of the internet (sex) that is what people look for.

So I think I am going to start sneaking in (boobies) occasional words into my posts (pussy) to see what happens (wild monkey sex). Maybe my traffic will increase (orgasm) maybe it will have no effect (blue balls), and maybe I will just come across as an idiot (banana monkey phone).

Ah...the internet. Such a wonderful (tits) and scary (corset) place!

Nerves in the Ghost Town

It's nearly 4 in the afternoon on Saturday the 1st of October...and this place is empty. Granted there are some people around (mostly Chinese students for some unknown reason...probably because flying to China is pretty freaking expensive) but the population in Bluche has been reduced by at LEAST 5/8, and probably closer to 7/8. This place is deadsville.

Which kinda sucks actually. I'm pretty bored. In fact I've done very little but attempt to start laundry (I got everything organized and was ready to rock when I realized that I loaned Magnus my detergent...and he's in Sweden. Considering the amount of junk he's borrowed he's off the "loaner" list...bastard!).

I'm planning on taking a little trip coming up next week...nothing fancy as I don't want to blow through my money...but at least get out of this town for a bit. It's not like there is much of anything happening around here.

Ah yes...I just noticed my title. Nerves. I had nearly forgotten to write about that part.

So Thursday I had my last midterm...Accounting. It was so easy I nearly cried. But there was one silly problem...one little one that, for the life of me, I could not remember how to do it. I sat there on that problem for like 25 minutes...trying all kinds of different things. Eventually I got some sort of quasi-answer and gave up.

And it made me nervous.

I really feel I've been doing amazingly well on these midterms. I felt I could have easily gotten 100% on a couple of them. And then this accounting thing happens. Sure I felt I got all the other questions correct...but I totally screwed that one. Did I screw up on a lot more, and just didn't realize it? I just don't know.

Sigh...guess I'll have to wait to find out. It's going to be a long week.