February 2008
28,02,08There is a particular program that we use at work...I've trained enough people on it that I realize now it causes people to talk to themselves...
is that considered a bug? Should I email tech support to report a bug or ask the boss for a therapist?
I plan to buy a bike this weekend...this is exciting...to noone but myself...
27,02,08
joesquires.com...insulting people and alienating friends since 1998...
It was my dad's birthday yesterday...A kind and generous man...
I remember once my dad was giving i and some friends a ride somewhere and one of my friends only had a couple bucks...my dad gave him a few without expecting anything in return...I think I was a bit insulted that my dad wouldn't give money to me (I was 13 or so), but in retrospect he knew what he was doing...that was a kind thing of him to do.
so happy birthday to my pa...
I would kill for self checkout or at least an express lane at any of the markets here...
some days I go to Aldi for a sandwich and coffee drink (cost 2.18€), and I have to stand in line behind 8 old people who are doing their shopping during my lunchtime (jerks). then wait there with the 2.20€ in my hand as the old people put their groceries into their shopping carts or bag then pull out their wallets as if surprised that they had to pay...can't you get the money out beforehand old people???
Funny how in a country known for the efficiency of it's people and products that there are lots of little things that are very inefficient...Garbage collection is still done by hand as is mail delivery...At least the mail people have bikes as they go door to door to drop off the mail...
25,02,08
OK...I just can't wait until tomorrow...It is Monday night and I'm bored...
ok to distract from the last insulting entry I'm posting some pics...
I went for a walk along the river away from the city center and at some point I realized I have never actually walked in this direction...that's sort of embarrassing...Like I mentioned a few days ago I really haven't seen that much of Frankfurt...I made it halfway to Offenbach and got a text off someone looking for food, so I didn't make it to Offenbach, but maybe next weekend...anyways some shots of Frankfurt (my fair city...for the moment at least...). there are much much worse places to live...I'm content here.
...after rereading that it sort of implies that I'm not fond of Frankfurt...I am...in fact to be clear...i am fond of frankfurt, and I am fond of cheese, and i am fond of Guinness.
Sting
has really let himself go...and this is just to insult myself as I've already done to all you readers ;). Words and "art" by moi!
25,02,08
I've been thinking lately how I generally lack substance (just look at this page ;) )
anyways I think I've really touched (positively or negatively) very few people in my life...now granted...that isn't necessarily how one should or could define a successful life, but isn't that some part of it?
...but then I was thinking that not only am I fairly unsubstantive, but I don't really know anyone who is...sorry to all my friends, who make me laugh, cry, love, etc, but is anyone doing great things now-a-days? (ok is anyone doing slightly better than mediocre things?)
Should I feel better that I'm not worse than anyone else I know...
OK I'm probably going to feel bad about this entry (cuz I may have just insulted everyone I've ever met), so that means tomorrows entry will be extra crappy to make you all forget about this one... ;)
quick...someone give me a topic...
22,02,08
So pub quiz last night...we're slowly improving...no thanks to Saffa I'm sure, but we got 4th out of 12 this time...Just barely missed placing (and a free baby guinness for the table) and it's probably cuz Saffa was rude to the quizmistress...He had to correct her (adamantly) about one of the movies (about a boy I think)...
anyways if we had taken my advice and used the Joker on General knowledge we might have moved up a spot...
I did peak in the General knowledge section...here was my high point...
Q. Which US chain is named after a character in Moby Dick
A....Starbucks (this one was all me....I got cocky after this, which probably lost us a point in the movie round when I was adamant that "Gone with the Wind" was a black and white movie...It was in fact in colour and also won best picture oscar in 1939...everyone at the table wanted Gone with the Wind, but since "the yank" was flying high after the Starbucks question I misled the team...oops...stop listening to me people... ;)
I've been in 4 countries (besides DE) in the last 4 weeks...Wow...fairly impressive considering I had never been outside of the states as of about 2 years ago.
I've put up the other pics on the Bratislava page...please note that not only is Bobby McFerrin visiting that country, but also Naughty by Nature (hip hop hurray...down with OPP?) and also there are Kim Wilde posters in the background....I also saw that Chuck Berry is doing a show in Slovakia...Rock n Roll is apparently more powerful than democracy...the West has won with their sex drugs and rock n roll.
21,02,08
I just realized...Barcelona in 2 weeks!!! This makes me
smile :)
Do they have taco bell in spain?
apparently ants never sleep...
my mom said I need to slow down and take care of myself...do I look tired or something ;) Thanks ma!
...and yes...still in the picture :)
more
of me from Bratislava...more from matt in the next days on the other
page...
20,02,08
Not sure if I've ever really written about this, but
I need someone to explain to me why Genetically modified food is
such a bad thing (I'm not being a smart ass I want an actual
explanation without having to do research).
If you can produce twice
as much corn with the same amount of water and land as non GM corn
why would you not want to do that...
If you're against GM does that
mean you want poor people to starve?
If I was thinking properly I would somehow tie this all into a serious of incomprehensible statements about overuse of resources and if one is anti GM then one must be pro war (but only among rich people and countries, because war among poor people doesn't really cut down on consumption)...
Again....semi-serious....I'm completely ignorant, can anyone recommend some reading on this topic?
I think I need some scientist friends...where does one go to meet the big thinkers in Frankfurt...oh yeah...Yours...
on a serious note...can someone do Europe a favor and cut off a couple of sven's fingers? No need to kill the man, but I just don't want to have to listen to him "perform" anymore.
Can anyone name any famous Helens besides Helen of troy and Helen Keller....
random out of context Quote...
me: I wish my name was Helen....
me: there's a body angel dude over there...he looks like the dude
from the Blue Lagoon.
Kat: is it Chris Atkins...
that's right...Kat thought she knew the guy from the Blue Lagoon...
Random out of context Quote...(to me)
Kat: you are being captain asshole tonight....
I think there are only two actual close readers of this page and they both seem to be mac users...hmmm...I'm annoyed...
18,02,08
when will the silly american people realize the president has
nothing to do with the economy...
in summary...
americans are silly.
18,02,08
Back from Slovakia and Austria...
So the plan Friday is that Matt and I meet outside Hauptbahnhof at a bit after 16:00... Done...no problems up to this point...I had my second kase und schinken croissant of the day whilst waiting for matt near that piece of crap O'Reilleys (we have a vow!!!).
catch the bus to Hahn...I thought it was like a 45 minute ride...it's an hour and 45....good thing I'm an informed sort of guy...I read the paper while matt tries to sleep...we occasionally talk in a whisper while listening to Belinda Carlisle and whitesnake come over the bus speakers...
Then we arrive at Hahn...My first time there and the impression is that it's sort of like little league airport...it's apparently also run by Fraport, so they must use it as some kind of training ground for the real airport...
plane is delayed. My Hahn/Ryanair experience is going from no opinion to negative opinion...Damn you Ryanair...
Get on the plane about an hour later than planned...Meet Dennis the former bouncer who was sitting next to Matt...offered us a car ride back home on Sunday night...says he's on the same plane back that day and he has a car...sweet!!!!
Plane lands and I somehow ended up as the very last one in Passport control...Here's how my passport experience has been for about the last 3 months...
Give person passport...
watch as passport person opens first page...
watch passport control person raise eyebrows
watch passport control person look at me suspiciously...
look away and wait (variations on this include passport control
giggling or showing me my own photo in my own passport and asking if
this is me....Yeah...).
Wait as passport control person looks
through every page in my passport and eventually getting to my DE
work permit photos and repeating the same confused expressions...
passport control person raises eyebrows
passport control person looks at me suspiciously...
Wait and look away as passport control person moves head from my
passport to me about 7 times...
stand uncomfortably and check phone
or look around to see if there's a big line behind me...
wait while
passport person types stuff into their computer... apparently
nothing has ever come up because this is usually the last step...
I eventually get through the gate (I was indeed the last person)...
matt is waiting and looks bored and/or sympathetic...not quite sure...life must be easy when you have 2 passports eh? he's obviously read the instruction on how to get to the hostel about 5 times and has some kind of plan I think... it must be somewhere around midnight at this point...
The next 15 minutes are chaos as matt repeatedly says "I hate this country"...we couldn't get change for the bus (I was even offering to pay people to allow them the privilege of making change for us, but they refused). We finally get change by pretending to be deutsch and getting change from the car park man. Since we don't know what the currency in Slovakia is we just decide to call them "thingys". We thought we had missed the last bus (attempting to chase down the wrong bus)...but luckily the actual bus arrived shortly after we had given up hope... We did however miss out connection to the last tram of the night and whilst amusing ourselves with a camera and a Bobby McFerrin poster a taxi happened by and saw us (***stupid tourists with camera) and we got a ride to the hostel (everyone commenting on me going to Bratislava..."Have you seen hostel?")
on checking in girl at hotel counter Looks at my passport, giggles and says...is this you? yeah thanks!
it's probably about 12:30 now and since the pizza shop closed between the time we checked in and the time we went out looking for food we have to wander to search for a pub...The kitchen at the nearest pub is closed so we decide to choose between McDonalds, KFC, McKabob and Mr. Kabob...it's Mr Kabob...
...best 3€ I ever spent...hang out in front of Mr Kabob and complain about how cold it is...it's really hard to blow your nose when you are holding a kabob wrap and fries and a drink...not sure how I managed...
have a beer at pub across the street...it's only 3€ for two beers...things are looking up...
Go back to hostel and Matt crashes...I check internet in Hostel common room....there's some movie on and about 6 other people in the room....they speak some sort of foreign language to each other, but at key times in the movie I hear them (the other people in the room) say "What the fuck" and "fuck off"...ah the universal english language... I still am trying to figure out what the movie was...Jude Law was in it and I'm not sure if I've seen it or not...
go to bed at 2am....sleep poorly due blowing nose and coughing every hour or so... Wake up at about 7am... wait for Matt to wake up and hit the road about 8:30....
one quick stop in the internet room at the hostel and matt
updates his facebook to note:
Matt: is ready to take on these Slovakians! Is
Bratislava ready for Squires??? :)
being as I often have no plan when I travel I somehow managed to not think about packing an actual coat...so for 2 straight days I wear the same clothes, which is a t-shirt, a long t shirt underneath and a zipped up hoody sweatshirt... it's bloody cold but I don't think too much of it (yet!)...the sky is blue and the wind is blowing...
then
note how cold I look....
matt wants to go shopping...we walk...get coffee...notice the weather is changing a bit...think nothing of it...yet complain about how cold I am...
snow starts falling and I realize I'm still cold and it's snowing...
walk a bit...shop a bit...have lunch at bratislava pub (what a name for a pub). Have a traditional goulash...I would never have ordered this in real life, but since I was being multicultural I had to try it...and it was delicious...and cheap.... Note that they have a student lunch for only 39 "thingys"...that is the equivalent of 1 euro for soup and bread...start thinking about how cheaply I could live there...if I had 2000 Euros could I live here for a year??? hmmmm
finish and take a cab to the train station...all taxi driver seems to want to talk about is how expensive frankfurt is and prostitution...Luckily Matt was up front so he had to talk to him.
catch train to Wien. Arrive at Wien...go to hostel...find pub for Arsenal v. ManU...spend the evening laughing at strange people and talking to locals...seems that most of the people in this particular pub were not from Wien.
Matt
making friends...
Dude! you were weird! and swedish?!?
Van
Morrison in the hat...
the
Austrian Giovanni Rabisi
Go to some aussie pub where matt makes me cry like a little girl...just a typical holiday for me... ;) It was basically like the scene in Family guy
Brian Griffin: Stewie?
Stewie Griffin: Yeah?
Brian Griffin: It's not your fault.
Stewie Griffin: What?
Brian Griffin: It's not your fault.
Stewie Griffin: I know.
Brian Griffin: It's not your fault.
Stewie Griffin: [annoyed tone] I know.
Brian Griffin: No, Stewie, Stewie. It's not your fault.
Stewie Griffin: Don't do this to me, man. Not you, man.
Brian Griffin: It's not your fault.
Stewie Griffin: Screw you. Cut it out, man!
Brian Griffin: It's not your fault.
Stewie Griffin: [cries] Why is it so hard? I didn't know it was
going to be so hard. [cries]
OK it was nothing like that, but it's still a funny scene...I think the above is a conversation a couple of middle aged unemotional men might have...maybe Brian and stewie were in 'nam together. Funny how much occasional insight shows up when a dog and baby have a conversation together...
bed at 2am, awak-ish at 7:30 am...complain about the cold and start hacking up my lungs as soon as we step outside...
back to Bratislava...act all touristy and take more photos...see the castle and play with statues...I actually ate a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, goat cheese and green peppers...no dressing...it was great! I felt all healthy and stuff ;)
dink around and decide to spend our last two hours at a single pub for dinner and some football...magically we found a cool place where the large bratislavan Neve Campbell was working...
she was a laugh...
go to airport...Matt goes to Toilet...
I have nothing to think about but the usual thoughts that wander into my head...-
Why did Jeff Buckley die so young?
("if the world ends
i hope you're here with me
i think we could laugh just enough
to not die in pain
if the world ends
it won't finish you
you're not the type they can capture
you flit like a fly catcher " - Guillemots),
and...
Why do people sing "Otherside" for Karaoke...(I hate when people
sing songs without actually listening to the lyrics...it's not a
happy song, but people sing happily cuz it's catchy...they miss the
point - and I don't go to Karaoke). Try to figure out why that
offends and annoys me, but other things that are supposed to offend
people don't offend me...I'm always focused or thinking about on the
"wrong" things.
Receive a text from Matt that breaks my thought process...It started out like this "I can't stop pooing"...It went on, but I'm just not going to go into details in case matt's mom reads this ;)
Go through security and observe many large women with belts as I'm standing in line...I've never noticed this phenomenon before, but really your pants are not in any danger of falling down and the belt can't possibly be for fashion because you're wearing 3 baggy layers...maybe next time just skip the belt...
see Dennis as we get on the plane...he graciously gave us a ride to Frankfurt...good man!!! Get home almost 2...set alarm for 8 yet promptly wake up at 6:47...I just can't sleep in no matter how tired I am....
I need soup or something...
my ears are throbbing as I write this...what does pneumonia feel like?
Random out of context quote from me: Don't ever confuse the swinns and the fedes...
Rest of the pics here when I get them up...
Matt...don't forget about your life under the sea...I didn't want to write it first and ruin it for you... ;)
14,02,08with a finite number of days and a finite number of years hold your valentine close if you have one...
next year you might not...
13,02,08
I feel sorry for australians too....now will that Rudd guy go back to playing the giant kazoo barefoot so I can get my groove on...
...I'm missing the point? oh well....I still feel sorry for you people... ;)
I was called "complicated" and "too polite" by a german colleague tonight...It started me thinking...the three biggest compliments I've ever received are probably
1. you're so random
2. you're so british
3. you're so complicated
at last I feel appreciated... ;)
12,02,08
I think I meant atypical american....I couldn't think of the right word last night...I knew untypical wasn't quite right...
might make my way to the states this august...might be looking forward to this ;)
It's all about the food...gotta start making a list of restaurants to visit...
garlic Jims......
there is something slightly cool about hearing a car driving on cobblestones...or maybe not...at least it's not something we ever hear in the states....
everyday is Valentines day...
11,02,08
I was sitting on my balcony tonight after work...it's still light and the city is beautiful in the mornings/evenings...I really haven't taken time to appreciate Frankfurt. There is a lot of the city I just haven't seen...
I walked for 3 hours on Saturday morning along the river, and eventually made my way to some tourist plaque talking about Goethe University and the Palmengarten and Botanical Gardens...I made a point at the time to go visit the gardens, but didn't make it there last weekend...hopefully the next weekend I'm back in the city...
am travelling with Matt to Bratislava and Wein (Vienna, Austria) this weekend...I once saw Austria from the top of a mountain (south of München). t'was lovely. I think I'm looking forward to this weekend...but I suppose we'll just end up in an Irish pub watching football...hmmmm....is that what I want from life? turning into jeff/Monty...saturdays at an open air market...then the pub to meet the regulars...with an occasional weekend away...works for now I guess. It's good to see new places and cultures...
My colleagues say this makes me a not typical american...
Cheers to mum for the vitamins...I was sick, but took them and feel a bit better today...
10,02,08
only my dad and I will find this funny, but I might be the handiest person I know in DE. I guess this proves I'm just not a city boy...I know how to use a screwdriver...
someone with a mac has put me on their home page and this confuses me because I get 126 loads a day (everytime you open your browser). This puts too much pressure on me...
I will soon be moved to a department called "Product Production". This is the best department name ever :)
I love my job, and am looking forward to this year at work...
08,02,08
I was sitting on my balcony (deck) tonight and noticed lots of stars...in the summer I don't see any stars (too bright until very early in the morning) and I remember sort of missing them when I first came here, but I hadn't thought about this for months...I grew up in places where you could actually see the stars...I guess this qualifies as one of the little things that you miss whilst living in the city...Not sure the significance of this...
people do seem to miss the chance to ponder the "human condition"...this has nothing to do with stars, but with the many distractions we have now that keep us from pondering the important things...
like politics...
Chelsea Clinton is UUUuugly...
06,02,08
It seems the weather never used to affect me when I lived in the states, but being here where the sun occasionally shines even in winter seems to bolster my mood a bit...or maybe I'm just way more in touch with my emotions of late...
I seem to have developed a smile line on my face of late...I've been waiting 10 years for wrinkles...at last they come... :)))))))))
05,02,08
I've survived today on 4 Balisto bars and a small ham sandwich from Aldi...This is healthy right?
Cooking for one is not one of the great joys in life...
to muzzle and to nuzzle are not the same thing...
I was a bit light at 18:00 today...it confuses me...I like arriving and leaving to work in the dark...it makes me feel like I've accomplished stuff at work...
04,02,08
They say if you share your goals with other people you are more likely to complete them...(something about being viewed as a failure or ashamed or something)...
well I've decided to do something important next year...and I'm not afraid of failure or shame so I'm telling everyone that I plan to free tibet OR conquer mt. everest OR become president of the US (actually any country would be OK...I'm looking at you luxembourg), get over my irrational fear of smoking OR go to a funeral (or possibly an important religious or cultural ceremony of some sort) OR remember to buy birthday cards for important people (hi mom. Happy Birthday...you get no card again...it's just cuz I'm lazy and I basically forgot...let's be honest those are two character flaws that can only reflect on the parents...I'm not responsible for my failures)........... :)
Happy birthday to me mum. :)
and since I sometimes confuse people with my attempts at humour...that above statements are meant to be funny...but as always there is between 1% and 99% truth in most of the things i blabber on about... ;)
I don't really plan on doing anything next year...if one of those things i wrote about happens to happen to me through no fault or effort of my own I shall happily accept that good things are happening to me (George W).
and the combination of sarcasm, smiley faces and explaining sarcasm (see...it's funny cuz...) has just made my head explode...this entry is over... ;)
What a mess...
03,02,08
I just participated in my first pub quiz (at Macs)...I wasn't planning on it, but after my weekend I didn't want to sit at home so I mosey'd to mac's for dinner and was about to leave when i was invited to the pub quiz...we've talked about pub quiz for months and so I decided why not join...It was actually quite fun...with a little help from Mona I managed to finish in the top half...considering the number of questions on Europe, art, literature etc. I thought i did rather well...I did however get the question wrong about which president imposed prohibition and which one ended it...however I have to ask (now) if a president really had power to do that, or if it was in fact congress that would have done that...regardless...if I had known who was president during 1920 and 1933 I would have gotten the question right...I think my answers were wilson and roosevelt, but those were wrong...anyways...
i just managed to write the longest paragraph ever about basically nothing...
in post production i see that Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo is...being... post produced...(wow!!!! draw your own conclusions about that last sentence.... that is quality)...
Neil Patrick Harris is in it...can't wait....
I can't believe I was in London last Monday...seems like ages ago...
03,02,08
delay of course, but we all survived despite a unique noise heard on takeoff...
not many pics, but here's some more....
I think I saw the Hemingway while riding on the number 11 home today...
all in all I have to say I really enjoyed Dublin...the people were great...the city as I mentioned was sort of plain, but real, and since I didn't do any of the touristy stuff I will definitely like to go back...and to some other quieter places in Eire as well...Good times!
the sun was shining beautifully here in Frankfurt so all in all it's a nice day...
03,02,08
The wind is blowing extremely hard...I hope there are no delays...If I don't arrive it's a delay or crash eh?...tra la la!
02,02,08 part 3
OK I have a browser window open that says I can go ryanair to Glascow for less than 40€...I shall wait to book this flight until tomorrow in case I am being impetuous...
anyone want to visit Scotland with me???
I think I shall book tomorrow...
02,02,08 part 2...
sometimes being an astute observer of people is annoying...you just end up observing how stupid they are...
If I'm ever 69 years old and singing and dancing with a guinness in one hand and the other hand in a fist please shoot me...
If I'm ever a silly girl who is attempting to subtly show off her back tattoo to some guy please shoot me...
I'm tired of bullshit...and bullshitty people...Is this leftover from growing up in small towns...
I think the small town mention deserves a whole sentence...hmmm...I haven't thought about this for years...
wouldn't life be better if we had no choices to make?
wouldn't life be easier if there were no assholes?
Sarkozy got married...everyone talks about how lovely his new wife is, but I saw a pic today and think she's somehow ugly...
this from the Mrs. Chirac
"I want to express all my best wishes to this new household. She is very, very beautiful,"
seriously...what kind of mental lightweight has nothing to offer besides beauty...I guess the beautiful have their own problems...pfffffttttt...I won't relate...
(maybe it was a bad pic)
Like the new fat spice girl who apparently ate a bit of the ugly grotesque thin one (ms beckham).
DUB A LIN!!!!
I read some series of articles from the Irish Times today about Scotland...
I now have a great desire to go to Scotland...I shall end this entry and go look up flights to Scotland....
02,02,08
is it insane what we spend on leisure activities these days?
When my grandparents were my age they were probably making choices of eating or being able to buy shoes, but nowadays the most difficult decision I have to make is where to travel to for the weekend or which pub to eat at...
Is this a good or bad thing to have lost touch with what might be considered the basics of life...once the basics are provided then we only need to think about entertainment!?!
I think I am the only person I know who thinks about such things...Is this part of my larger problem of not ever fitting in...I'm always thinking about the wrong things at the wrong moment...
ok back to the Lost little boy tour....
went to bed sometime after 2 and was out the door at 7:30 this morning...walked for a couple hours and then found a place for breakfast and a cider about 10:30...they were showing steeplechase (?)...at least I think that's what it's called...where the horses are whipped for about 20 minutes and have to jump obstacles along the way...
well one horse (i think) seemed to die during the race...he (? - not to be sexist, but what's wrong with bein' sexy?) fell coming off the jump and raised his head for a second then his head dropped to the ground and he stopped moving...the other horses were on a long straightaway so you could see the horse lying there for a long time...
yeah that pretty much marked the end of my breakfast...luckily I had already eaten most of it by that point, but I couldn't go on anymore after that...
The Irish breakfast has black and white pudding...yeah...that's like blood sausage right? took a bite of each just so I could say I tried it, but I'll be perfectly content never eating either of those again...
so Sinead (the artist who works at 3 kings) described Portland OR as something like a dying industrial town...that's actually kind of my impression of Dublin (the bit I've seen)...there's not a lot of large or grand things...it's very much a working class sort of town...I rather like it. It's just a dreary simple place...the people are pleasant.
Went to a museum that was rather touching...I think I was close to tears reading about a picture of a place where Ireland lost a battle to england and how it was now and forever would be a subjugated country.
stupidly didn't bring my camera cable, but saw two musicians playing in the street and they were great...probably homeless, but the singer literally had ONE TOOTH! yeah, he has credibility...when he was singing about rambling I believed him...
How many teeth has Shane MacGowan lost?
01,02,08
For the record I will be making a point to visit Leipzig...not because of the American...
again writing from the airport waiting for the plane to Dublin...booked last night and still got a cheap ticket...Six nations rugby and drunken Irish...I think this trip is just filling a void...a distraction to keep me from shopping ;)
aka "the lost little boy tour part 1"
who was it that said something like If I have no free will, how am I morally culpable for my actions?
and this is a bit late, but here's a map of the walking tour of London...note that I was drawn as castro...that's a gun, a cigar and a hat...or maybe I was drawn as Clint Eastwood...
