I officially return back to work tomorrow in San Francisco after five months off and I would like to think that I am both mentally and physically prepared for the big day. I have packed my bag, laid out my “back to work” outfit and have set my alarm for the first time in who knows how many months.
Unfortunately, the return of work also means a significant decrease in free time. So, while I will try to continue to share my stories, the posts might be more sporadic than in the past. That is unless any of you know of a job that will provide me endless free time, international travel and the ability to wear jeans to work….seriously, I am interested!
Wish me luck!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
My 5 Month Sabbatical - A Special Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I would like to take time to give thanks to all that has been important, influential or significant in my life this past year. And in addition to the usual suspects (i.e. friends, family, good health) I would also like to give thanks to my company, which has allowed me to take a 5 month sabbatical from work, and which will officially end this next Tuesday. I had high hopes and plans for this time off: discover who I was, figure out what I wanted to do/be, reconnect with friends and family and hopefully be ready to go back to work. In retrospect, during the five months, I did some serious travelling, caught up on my personal life and did some not so successful soul searching….here is the breakdown.
Four weeks into the extended vacation, I could no longer distinguish between a weekday and weekend. And around week 7, I had enjoyed some serious bonding time with my mom, brother and dad…on one Tuesday, I managed to spend 4 hours watching Bridezilla with my dad, who at one point asked for the remote, not to turn the channel (which was my fear), but rather to record the next episode.
By month three, my sabbatical with work officially ended (meaning my three months of partial pay and full benefits) and my Leave of Absence began. And with the beginning of the LOA and only two months off left, I developed a strong aversion to all responsibility and commitments. However, like karma, responsibility came back with vengeance. Exactly three months and one week in and my finances were a wreck… insurance claims (both health and car), canceled credit cards and frozen Swiss bank accounts.
By the end of month four, the onset of work seemed inevitable so I began to assess my time off so far. And while I hadn’t (and probably wouldn’t) accomplish most items on my list of goals, - learn guitar, take singing lessons, perfect my German and write the great American novel - I couldn’t deny the fact that I was having a great time…this moment was of course followed by the fleeting regret that I had just wasted four plus months doing absolutely nothing - I hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do with my life, hadn’t even really looked back at my time in Europe and my brain power overall was seriously depleted (I could no longer remembers dates, key facts and was more ditzy and forgetful than my pregnant girlfriends.) It was around this time that, although consciously dreading the return to work, I was also beginning to look forward to getting back into some sort of routine and rejoining the community of working people.
I guess in the end, the sabbatical served some purpose…I got to see a lot of great friends all over the world and at the end I was, and am, ready to go back to work. The question really is, how long will I want to stay back at work.
Four weeks into the extended vacation, I could no longer distinguish between a weekday and weekend. And around week 7, I had enjoyed some serious bonding time with my mom, brother and dad…on one Tuesday, I managed to spend 4 hours watching Bridezilla with my dad, who at one point asked for the remote, not to turn the channel (which was my fear), but rather to record the next episode.
By month three, my sabbatical with work officially ended (meaning my three months of partial pay and full benefits) and my Leave of Absence began. And with the beginning of the LOA and only two months off left, I developed a strong aversion to all responsibility and commitments. However, like karma, responsibility came back with vengeance. Exactly three months and one week in and my finances were a wreck… insurance claims (both health and car), canceled credit cards and frozen Swiss bank accounts.
By the end of month four, the onset of work seemed inevitable so I began to assess my time off so far. And while I hadn’t (and probably wouldn’t) accomplish most items on my list of goals, - learn guitar, take singing lessons, perfect my German and write the great American novel - I couldn’t deny the fact that I was having a great time…this moment was of course followed by the fleeting regret that I had just wasted four plus months doing absolutely nothing - I hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do with my life, hadn’t even really looked back at my time in Europe and my brain power overall was seriously depleted (I could no longer remembers dates, key facts and was more ditzy and forgetful than my pregnant girlfriends.) It was around this time that, although consciously dreading the return to work, I was also beginning to look forward to getting back into some sort of routine and rejoining the community of working people.
I guess in the end, the sabbatical served some purpose…I got to see a lot of great friends all over the world and at the end I was, and am, ready to go back to work. The question really is, how long will I want to stay back at work.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Twenty-Five Francs or Less
After four months of not working, along with some serious travelling, my savings account had officially dwindled down to nothing. So in an attempt to prevent the onset of serious debt, come December, I was on a mission to be as thrifty as possible during my three weeks in Zurich. In hindsight, Zurich is not the best place to stop spending money…but ever resourceful, I did manage to find a few activities outside of dinners, lunches and drinks for 25 francs or less.
My first weekend in town proved to be a discouraging start… Martin and I went to the Zurich Zoo for an afternoon of wildlife only to find out admittance (even with the possible onset of rain) was CHF22 per person - which was still below my limit, but left no room for snacks or souvenirs. Thankfully the rain held off and the zoo surpassed my childhood memories of sad animals behind cages…It did help that I spent a fair amount of time trying to avoid the scariest animals in the place …not the lions or tigers, but rather the local “Swiss Mother” with zoo-issued stroller, who would rather run you over or off into the cages than make their child wait a few moments to spot an animal… I may or may not have had a slight anxiety attack in the reptile house due to too many strollers, kids and snakes in such a confined space.
Martin and I also enjoyed the Zurich Oktoberfest my first weekend in town, where CHF25 will get you a large beer, a pretzel and polka music…at least I think it will get you a pretzel, Martin and I made the mistake of foregoing dinner and drinking instead. He had somehow convinced me that 3 one-liter beers equal one schnitzel…we later found out that this is not the case. Yes, cranky, hungry, jet-lag Lisa made a return appearance, resulting in an earlier bed-time than the Friday night deserved
The CHF25 got us a little further at the Zurich Wine Boats, where 20 francs got Martin and me into the festive boats to taste wines from all over Europe and parts of the world. We spent the evening hanging out with friends and drinking great wines from both large and small wineries. And with our extra money I was able to buy a cheese pie afterwards for a late night snack.
Throughout the weeks, while Martin was at work, I took my CHF25 to the Kunsthaus (Art Museum), Swiss National Museum (where admittance is only CHF10… and where I should have spent the extra CHF5 for the English museum guide, as most of the displays were only in German), and the St. Gallen Library, a world UNESCO heritage site recognized as having the richest medieval libraries in the world… or at least that is what Wikipedia told me, after travelling to St. Gallen I was informed that the library was closed to the public from November 9 through the 29th. I was also looking forward to spending my money on the Lindt chocolate factory tour, only to find out that the tours, while when they occurred were free, are no longer offered. The money was subsequently spent at the Lindt factory discount store, a close second to Willy Wonkas, unfortunately minus the oompa loompas.
To wrap up the weeks of savings, Martin and I celebrated with the outdoor Christmas Market (free) and glasses of gluhwein (mulled wine for CHF5 apiece)…unfortunately after four glasses of wine, our budget was all but spent and dinner out that night was a “splurge”. I guess you can’t win them all. However, for a city as expensive as Zurich, CHF25 surprisingly goes a long way.
My first weekend in town proved to be a discouraging start… Martin and I went to the Zurich Zoo for an afternoon of wildlife only to find out admittance (even with the possible onset of rain) was CHF22 per person - which was still below my limit, but left no room for snacks or souvenirs. Thankfully the rain held off and the zoo surpassed my childhood memories of sad animals behind cages…It did help that I spent a fair amount of time trying to avoid the scariest animals in the place …not the lions or tigers, but rather the local “Swiss Mother” with zoo-issued stroller, who would rather run you over or off into the cages than make their child wait a few moments to spot an animal… I may or may not have had a slight anxiety attack in the reptile house due to too many strollers, kids and snakes in such a confined space.
Martin and I also enjoyed the Zurich Oktoberfest my first weekend in town, where CHF25 will get you a large beer, a pretzel and polka music…at least I think it will get you a pretzel, Martin and I made the mistake of foregoing dinner and drinking instead. He had somehow convinced me that 3 one-liter beers equal one schnitzel…we later found out that this is not the case. Yes, cranky, hungry, jet-lag Lisa made a return appearance, resulting in an earlier bed-time than the Friday night deserved
The CHF25 got us a little further at the Zurich Wine Boats, where 20 francs got Martin and me into the festive boats to taste wines from all over Europe and parts of the world. We spent the evening hanging out with friends and drinking great wines from both large and small wineries. And with our extra money I was able to buy a cheese pie afterwards for a late night snack.
Throughout the weeks, while Martin was at work, I took my CHF25 to the Kunsthaus (Art Museum), Swiss National Museum (where admittance is only CHF10… and where I should have spent the extra CHF5 for the English museum guide, as most of the displays were only in German), and the St. Gallen Library, a world UNESCO heritage site recognized as having the richest medieval libraries in the world… or at least that is what Wikipedia told me, after travelling to St. Gallen I was informed that the library was closed to the public from November 9 through the 29th. I was also looking forward to spending my money on the Lindt chocolate factory tour, only to find out that the tours, while when they occurred were free, are no longer offered. The money was subsequently spent at the Lindt factory discount store, a close second to Willy Wonkas, unfortunately minus the oompa loompas.
To wrap up the weeks of savings, Martin and I celebrated with the outdoor Christmas Market (free) and glasses of gluhwein (mulled wine for CHF5 apiece)…unfortunately after four glasses of wine, our budget was all but spent and dinner out that night was a “splurge”. I guess you can’t win them all. However, for a city as expensive as Zurich, CHF25 surprisingly goes a long way.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Indoor Pools
This past weekend Martin and I finally made our way to Vals, Switzerland to visit the architecturally renowned Hotel Therme, designed by Peter Zumthor, Martin had been wanting to check out the buildings and surrounding area for sometime…and after awhile (and a glimpse at a photo) I wanted to see the spa. So Saturday morning, we made our way out of Zurich and towards the middle of nowhere, on first a train and then a bus, through winding valleys with sheer cliffs, alongside a crystal blue river and found ourselves in the small village of Vals. With the towns’ buildings still relatively traditional, I couldn’t help to think that Heidi would have felt at home in this valley…of course, she might have been thrown by the new hotel and spa tucked away up the hill.
We immediately checked in, grabbed our wristbands and bathing suits and headed to the spa. Even with all of the hype and own expectations based on the one photo I had seen, I was still blown away by the design and space of the place. The building was structured like a large cube, built entirely of stone (for the sake of the story, let’s call it granite although it might have been quartzatine) and within the cube, were various pools ranging in temperature (freezing to hot tub style) and size (a closet to normal pool). But what made the place unique, was that rather than have the pools created by indentations in the open floor with guests entering the water from any side, instead each sunken pool was hidden and defined by floor to ceiling walls of granite and accessed through the stairs at the doorway. So at times, what appeared to be just a corner or side room, was in fact a new and hidden pool. With the sheer walls and hidden rooms, this place fully satisfied my childhood dream of flooding my parents’ house in order to have an indoor pool…it was awesome. And making things even more surreal was the one additional pool with access inside and outside (providing views of the Alps across the valley), separated by a glass wall with a 2’ opening… Martin and I spent the first half an hour just walking around the building, discovering all the different rooms and pools and finding the right one.
In case my accounting-like description has failed to help you visual the place, I have borrowed the following image from their website:
The trip left me completely relaxed and with the desire to once again flood a room in the house for an indoor pool.
We immediately checked in, grabbed our wristbands and bathing suits and headed to the spa. Even with all of the hype and own expectations based on the one photo I had seen, I was still blown away by the design and space of the place. The building was structured like a large cube, built entirely of stone (for the sake of the story, let’s call it granite although it might have been quartzatine) and within the cube, were various pools ranging in temperature (freezing to hot tub style) and size (a closet to normal pool). But what made the place unique, was that rather than have the pools created by indentations in the open floor with guests entering the water from any side, instead each sunken pool was hidden and defined by floor to ceiling walls of granite and accessed through the stairs at the doorway. So at times, what appeared to be just a corner or side room, was in fact a new and hidden pool. With the sheer walls and hidden rooms, this place fully satisfied my childhood dream of flooding my parents’ house in order to have an indoor pool…it was awesome. And making things even more surreal was the one additional pool with access inside and outside (providing views of the Alps across the valley), separated by a glass wall with a 2’ opening… Martin and I spent the first half an hour just walking around the building, discovering all the different rooms and pools and finding the right one.
In case my accounting-like description has failed to help you visual the place, I have borrowed the following image from their website:
The trip left me completely relaxed and with the desire to once again flood a room in the house for an indoor pool.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Back to Zurich
The weekend of Halloween was absolutely beautiful, followed by gorgeous sunny weather all week in San Francisco…so when I woke up Wednesday morning to the freezing cold and rain, it could only mean one thing – I was back in Zurich, Switzerland. Yes, last Sunday I was wearing jeans, Uggs and a tank top…on Thursday I was wearing jeans, Uggs, a tank top, sweater, jacket, hat gloves, and scarf and I was still cold. It was a subtle reminder of why I moved back to California. After just a few quick days however, including lunches, dinners and happy hours with friends and more importantly, a record number of sunny days in November, I was reminded again why it is so hard to leave. This place is truly special.
More stories to follow, once the jet lag subsides and I do something other than eat, sleep and drink…although really, what else do I normally write about.
More stories to follow, once the jet lag subsides and I do something other than eat, sleep and drink…although really, what else do I normally write about.
Monday, November 2, 2009
A Very Scary Halloween
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays in the US, and since Europe doesn’t really celebrate the Day of the Dead, I was excited to be back in California for the party this year. To properly celebrate the night of fright, I participated in one of the scariest things imaginable…a weekend long baby shower for two of my best friends. And while it might not be fair to call a baby shower scary, if you knew these girls in their former, non-married, pre-baby lives, you too would be somewhat alarmed at where life’s paths have led us and therefore afraid of the one question that begged to be asked (i.e. if they are mature enough to have babies, does that mean I need to grow up as well? – in case you were curious, the answer to that question was apparently NO, as the events of the weekend proved).
The Itsy Bitsy Spider weekend was hosted by Anjulee at her “ranch” house in Soledad, CA (I woke up Friday morning to the view of tractors and the bleating of her pet goat, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves). With no plans on Friday, Dana and I drove down to Soledad on Thursday night to help set up and prepare for the weekend. We spent approximately 2 hours on Friday preparing the house and food, followed by three hours of wine tasting at the local wineries and a case of bud light at one of her neighbor’s house…in true form, we were good and drunk when the ladies of honor showed up (and we were lucky that they even found us at all, considering we forgot to put out signs indicating the way to the well hidden house).
To continue with my current trend of hangovers and baby showers, I was appropriately weathered on Saturday morning for the baby shower brunch and full day of baby shower activities including: carving pumpkins, sitting around the table catching up, watching the show “I didn’t know I was pregnant” (which is clearly a great idea for a baby shower) and opening baby presents, during which Neff and I made up the drinking game “drink every time someone says ‘cute’”…mature? probably not, but at least it got rid of my hang over.
We cooked dinner in Saturday night and welcomed a total of two trick-or-treaters for free candy. And to wrap up the Halloween night, we watched the classic scary movie – Scream. In truth, was this the Halloween experience I had been looking forward to during the past two years in Europe? Not really. But would I change anything about the weekend and opt for a crazy night out with a bunch of scantily clad, slightly intoxicated strangers? Definitely not.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider weekend was hosted by Anjulee at her “ranch” house in Soledad, CA (I woke up Friday morning to the view of tractors and the bleating of her pet goat, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves). With no plans on Friday, Dana and I drove down to Soledad on Thursday night to help set up and prepare for the weekend. We spent approximately 2 hours on Friday preparing the house and food, followed by three hours of wine tasting at the local wineries and a case of bud light at one of her neighbor’s house…in true form, we were good and drunk when the ladies of honor showed up (and we were lucky that they even found us at all, considering we forgot to put out signs indicating the way to the well hidden house).
To continue with my current trend of hangovers and baby showers, I was appropriately weathered on Saturday morning for the baby shower brunch and full day of baby shower activities including: carving pumpkins, sitting around the table catching up, watching the show “I didn’t know I was pregnant” (which is clearly a great idea for a baby shower) and opening baby presents, during which Neff and I made up the drinking game “drink every time someone says ‘cute’”…mature? probably not, but at least it got rid of my hang over.
We cooked dinner in Saturday night and welcomed a total of two trick-or-treaters for free candy. And to wrap up the Halloween night, we watched the classic scary movie – Scream. In truth, was this the Halloween experience I had been looking forward to during the past two years in Europe? Not really. But would I change anything about the weekend and opt for a crazy night out with a bunch of scantily clad, slightly intoxicated strangers? Definitely not.
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