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2004-04-28
On the fat track

14:30

If things keep on as they are, I'm going to gain back and more all of the weight that I lost in France. Boo. The lunches at EADS are fill-ing. There's a choice of three plates, and sometimes a salad or something. Monday, I had sausage and potatoes, yesterday it was a hamburger, beans (the dicke bohnen), and potatoes, and then today it was some sort of sweet Cream of Wheat-type soup thing with cherries. Not exactly healthy.

Maybe I should just get up when the bakery wakes me up at 4 and go running or something. That would be the smart thing. But when do I ever do the smart thing?

My lunch. Riveting news, eh? ;)

Here are some observations I've made of my new home. Noone wears their badges around at EADS. At JSC, it's highly encouraged, and most everyone does. Except that I have a tendancy to leave it at my desk, especially when walking over to MCC where I need it most. Also, they are very casual - dress codes, holidays, arrival/departure times (I was told to come in whenever and to leave whenever...within reason, of course), etc. They are all courteous and treat me well and are good about speaking English around me, or if not, then they explain what was said. The Germans themselves, in general, are very friendly and helpful. One amusing trait that Beth and I have picked up on is that when crossing the street, they do it at crosswalks and only when the little guy is green, signaling that it's okay to cross. If the light is red, they don't go. Seriously. They wait for it to turn green and don't take a step until it does. In France, the "don't walk" signal was more often regarded as a suggestion, and even then to mean "run" rather than "wait".

My tax refund was deposited. Yay! I can pretend that I have money until I have to pay some more bills.

Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart. Had to take a tram and two busses to get there. Very exciting. Then went to try and catch Beth, but that didn't work. I ended up riding around for a couple of hours on various trams and busses trying to catch up with her. Finally went to the train station to meet Dinesh, and she was there, too. Dinesh is working at EADS starting next week and is staying with us until he finds a place. Turns out, he'll be working one floor above me.

When Beth and I moved into our place, the landlord told us the hot water in the kitchen wasn't working and that a plumber would come and fix it. Yesterday, he sent an e-mail saying that one would come this morning at 7:45. And true to German punctuality, they showed up at 7:45 a.m., no earlier, no later. Nice. So, hopefully we now have a working washing machine and hot water. I have so, so many clothes that need to be washed, and Beth, too, that we will keep it running for several days straight (it's pretty tiny).

So I'm a little frustrated right now because I'm having trouble trying to find a way to get from Bremen to Caen (or La Havre) in France to meet up with my parents on June 4. We're going to do the 60th anniversary of the landings at Normandy and then drive to Frankfurt, where catching a train to Bremen is cake. So far, flights and even train tickets that I've found are proving expensive and time-consuming. Suggestions are welcome.

The weather is very beautiful. I want to go outside and play.

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