Category Archives: travel

It’s Going Down….

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So, I had one thing I had to do before Everest, well, two, I guess. I really didn’t want to get sick either. But, I managed to avoid strep throat, the office stomach flu, and whatever cold Brian caught earlier this week. So, what do I do to ring in the seven day count down?  Go for a run in my new trail shoes, of course.  And what else would I do while doing that other than crash. Pretty hard. And skid…my friend told me she heard it, but thought the noise was me catching myself. My right leg was covered in dust from the skid….took a chunk out of my left hand….and rolled my left ankle (I’m pretty sure that’s what caused the fall).  I heard it pop on the way down, but once it was over, I seemed to be in one piece.  At least enough to hike myself up and out of there, and back to the car.  That’s the thing about trail running…..you can cut the route short, but there’s really no way back unless you walk. And it’s generally just as far to keep going or turn around.

So, ouch…not how I wanted to spend the week before my trip.   I run that trail all the time….of course I would crash today. Ugh….I’d take being chased by a turkey again….

It’s actually not too bad….only a little bigger than a golf ball….and it doesn’t hurt too bad if I just stay off it.  Cause I’m good at that, and do t have anything else to do….

In other news, I spent the week with one of our counterparts from Japan.  I’d met him when I traveled there two years  ago, so it was cool to see him again.  I also really enjoyed learning from him as much as I enjoyed showing him what we do in stores here.

Alright…off to dinner with some friends….if I can navigate the stairs….haha…

Until next time.

An amazing vet, typhoid medicine, and a trip to Orlando

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So, first things first, we have an amazing vet.  I was texting Brian about my crappy run this afternoon, and he told me to come home – that he had something that would make me smile.  When I got home, he handed me a letter from the UC Davis Vet school.  As I pulled out the letter, I tried to figure out why we might have received it, but I couldn’t think of one.  As I began to read the letter, I almost cried. It was a letter informing us that our vet had made a donation to the school in the name of our cat, Gordon.  The cat we loved, and she had only known in the last few days of his life. We already knew she was amazing (seven hills vet in diamond heights – go there), but this is so above and beyond. I can’t think of a better way to remember my first mammal pet.

In other news, we had our annual field conference last week in Orlando. It was a good time, but exhausting. I flew in early to help, whichever as quite the adventure.  I started the following during my travel adventure, but never got a chance to finish and post it:

I love Uber…order on the phone and a ride shows up three minutes later – even at 4am. However, the adventure began once I got to the airport.  But, flying united is never anything less…

So, first, I get to the airport and try to check in…should be easy. Swipe credit card and enter destination. Of course the system tells me that my ticket and itinerary don’t match and to see an agent. Which might not be an issue if, oh, I don’t know…there were any around. So I try again and enter my connection city. Same thing. So I try to ask the guy behind the counter…and he just blows by me. Awesome…and the ‘I hate united’ thoughts begin. 

Luckily, I was able to flag down one of the ladies directing people to kiosks. Of course by then the message is gone, so we have to start over. Destination city, connection city, and confirmation number all yield the same result – ticket does not match itinerary. So she takes me to an agent…

The agent takes my confirmation sheet, ID, and credit card….tells me there isn’t an issue.  Oh wait…the system has kicked me out incase I want to take a direct flight at 9.  Right…cause there’s nothing I want to do more than hang out at the airport for three hours…if they had asked last night, I probably would have taken them up on three more hours of sleep.

To their credit, the two ladies that did help me were very polite and in good spirits for five am.  

Of course, this has taken time, and now I’m hoping I’ll still be able to grab breakfast. And the security line is a cluster…why wouldn’t it be. The guy checking tickets at the end of the line looks at mine and asks me – are you part of a group?  No…not really. I mean, gap travel booked my ticket… Oh wait, he’s asking cause he has my boarding pass…or someone else’s…or just a random handful of them in his pocket…cause that’s normal. Then he decides it’s not mine and lets me go on my merry way. 

Like I said, the conference was fun, but exhausting. I spent the first few days putting together packets and name badges and running from here to there. The highlight – the packing party involving tequila. I worked the registration desk the second day of check in, so got to see a lot of people and hang out with the territory assistants – a great group of ladies!  Biggest learning – it is actually possible to be so tired that the glass of wine three feet away is just too far to grab. 

By the time the conference started, heels were actually more comfortable than running shoes for a day. Until I had to open the door for the mass entrance…haha. It was fine, just a little crazy. I got to ride a roller coaster again – yay evening event at marvel island and the hulk.  I rode it twice – note to self, pee before you get in line for the roller coaster. Haha. I also checked out Spider-Man, which was fun, but hulk was better. And I still like roller coasters :). 

But, like all good things, it had to come to an end.  And, I was ready to get back home. Since then, we’ve been continuing to prep for our trip – six weeks from Saturday…squee!!!!  We have most of our stuff, I took Tuesday off and we went out to the friends and family mountain hardware store and got my gloves and hiking pants. We tried to get prescription sunglasses, but they were going to be $1200….yeah, not happening. I’ll go for daily contacts and sunglasses.  And pray I don’t get an eye infection. But, I did get to make a custom pair of oakleys. That was fun…black and purple, nothing crazy, but still fun.  

I also started taking a typhoid vaccine.  I’m not sure what’s more amusing…the fact that there’s such a thing as a vaccine via pill or the fact that I’m traveling somewhere that I need to have taken said vaccine. It has a host of fun side effects, but I’m half way through and have been ok.  

Other than that, the get back in shape project continues.  I can’t wait to dive into the 50 miler training when I get back. Pirate’s cove, I will conquer you. And muir beach…and the rest of you. Haha. 

Ok….up early for a friend’s 50 miler tomorrow. Until next time….

Everest, et. al

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Apparently, I’m not as good at updating this thing as I thought or hoped I might be.  I was shooting for once a week, but it’s been more like once a month.  Or in the case of January, not at all.  Oh well, things happen.

I thought January would calm down, since the holidays were over, but that wasn’t the case.  There was getting sick, dinners with friends, getting back in shape (I re-joined bootcamp), and the end of the fiscal year at work.  Early February brought Brian’s birthday and the super bowl, as well as a trip back to NY for my aunt’s funeral.  It was my dad’s sister, and she was too young – 69.  She was always the fun, eccentric, artistic one, and I have great memories of her from when I was little.  Many of them involve standing on a chair telling a story.  I’m pretty sure that happened a lot when I was six.  Many of the stories I heard about her over the weekend from family and friends made me wish I had more memories of her from adulthood.  Seeing a lot of family that I haven’t seen in awhile was nice – I met one cousin’s two little girls, met new second cousins, and learned that one of my cousins is an ultra runner.  While it was great to see the rest of the family, but would have been much better under different circumstances.

At the end of January, we picked our seats for Nepal and Everest.  So on 1/26, we were 90 days from take-off.  I don’t think I could be more excited.  We’ve been hiking every weekend to break in our stuff and get back in shape for the trip.  I’m treating this like a race – nothing new on race day, nothing new for the trip.

Two weeks ago, we did a seven mile hike in the headlands and tried out our packs, poles, water bottles, as well as ourselves (those hills were no joke ;)).  I should have tried out some gatorade powder or something in my water.  I ended up fighting low blood sugar all day.  Not fun.

The pack (Kelty Women’s 40 Liter pack) felt great, hardly knew it was there.  I did struggle all day to get the water bottle in and out of the holder on the bag, luckily, I would have time to practice.  Or so I thought.  Last week, I noticed a hole in the water bottle holder, so it had to be exchanged.  Good bye blue bag, hello black bag.  Which is fine – other than all of my outer layers are black.  Apparently I’ll be the goth girl on the mountain.

Poles were a great help once I got used to them.  Helpful going up hill, fantastic going downhill.  Excellent way to feel a little more stable.

Today, despite the rain, we decided to hike and headed up to Mt. Tam.  We were planning on a short hike, since it was raining and a little chilly.  But, we were excited to try out some more of our gear.  I had my new pack (still Kelty, but now black), it would definitely need some adjustments to fit me.

So, I pulled out the heaviest of the three base layers I had – Smartwool’s Women’s Mid 250 hoodie, and a pair of Exofficio underwear – tag line, ’17 countries in 20 some days…one pair of underwear’….(let’s hope it doesn’t come to that)….I also grabbed the shell of my component jacket – Marmot Women’s Cosset Component Jacket, as well as the rain/snow pants – also Marmot…I think the PreCip pant, but I can’t remember.

The good news is that the gear was fabulous.  I was actually a little warm, despite having only a base layer and an outer shell.  I also stayed dry.  All good things with the mountain coming up in just over two months.  We had a great hike….found a salamander, trekked through a waterfall (thank god our boots are fabulous), and got to experience nature in a way that it hasn’t been in a long time.

Overall, a good weekend – rested up Saturday, got some cleaning done, and then hiked today.  Now the Olympics are on for the rest of the night.  Until next time….

Long December

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So, this probably be a long post, written over several days, because…well, it’s been a long December.  Apparently, the year decided to go out with a bang.

The month started out normal enough…marathon planned, zero training, first trail marathon.  Typical me.  haha.  and, as I mentioned in a previous post, it was so much fun.  I need to train better, but I do really want to do the 50 mile race next year.

After that, it seems like it all went crazy.  Some good crazy, some not so good crazy.  The following Tuesday, I had my last class ever.  Very surreal, and a stressor ’till the end, but it was over. Brian surprised me with some wine and a poster when I got home. Thursday that week our good friends got married at city hall.  It was a beautiful wedding, city hall is really pretty, especially all decorated for Christmas.  I can’t believe I hadn’t been there before.  Following the wedding, we spent the day in Sonoma and had dinner at Seven Hills here in the city.  The following day, my parents arrived for my graduation, which was later that evening.  Graduation was fun, and I still can’t believe it’s over.  But, I am excited to have more free time.

Throughout all of this, Gordon, our oldest cat, got sick and kept getting sicker.  He had stopped eating his regular food, so we changed him to wet food, and he started eating again. The. He stopped eating that…sometimes, he’d pieces of ham, or chicken, and we started feeding him baby food. And then, force feeding him baby food when he quit eating all together.  We took him to the vet, and they couldn’t find anything wrong, and then took him back to the vet, and for an ultrasound. And, they still didn’t see much wrong…a kidney infection, but his numbers weren’t bad.  Ugh…poor kitty.  They gave him pain pills and antibiotics and different food, and he seemed a little better for about a day.  They were going to give him a feeding tube, which was a little more invasive than I wanted to sign up for, but if for some reason getting him to eat was the key to him getting better, I wanted to give him that chance. But then he started to have trouble breathing. We took him back to the vet, and she let us know that there was something pretty bad going on – brain tumor, advanced heart disease, or both. None of which are good. She offered to send us to a specialist, but, what would come of that?  Torture him a little longer to find something we can’t fix?  No, that’s not right. So, we made the tough decision to let him go.  Which, was awful, but the vet was wonderful.  Seven Hills Vet in diamond heights. Highly recommend. Highly. The vet called later that night to let us know she was thinking about us.  Today, we received a card in the mail with a sweet note from the vet and a paw print from our kitty. Very touching and very nice.

Then we were off for the holidays!  Somehow, we flew first class to buffalo – I’m still not sure how we swung that, but it sure was nice. It was nice to get home and see the family and extended family, really busy though. Lots of people to see, but it was a good time. I did have a bottle of wine crack/burst/something in my suitcase, luckily, it didn’t escape the plastic bag it was in. We also ordered a bunch of stuff – coats, pants, etc. for our trip after consulting with Brian’s uncle. Getting excited about that….other than having to buy a bunch more stuff. Fun, but ugh….

Work wasn’t that crazy, what was it I said….an alert a day keeps the boredom away…haha. A couple of fire drills at odd times, who doesn’t love working at 3am ;).  But, it’s been fun, and I had a really good store visit while I was there. However, I am looking forward to some time to relax.

And, now 2013 is coming to a close.  Where did it go?  It really doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that I was eagerly awaiting the departure of 2012, and  announcing that 2013 was going to be the best year ever. I had goals, wishes, things I was going to accomplish.  Did it all happen?  No, but…I do feel like I’m in a better place than I have been the past couple of years. It must be all about a positive outlook.

So, what was 2013?  It was a year of a second ironman, which I still didn’t finish….it was the year where one of my neighbors tried to blow up the apartment building, nothing like hanging out in the street all afternoon..the Jetta exploded and now we have another car payment….it was the year my first pet died, and I’m sure the year of plenty of other things I don’t care to revisit.

However, it was also the year I turned 30 and had one hell of a party. It was a year where I presented a paper at not one, but two conferences.  It was a year where I got to visit and find my way in Germany and had so much fun doing so. I visited a lot of places – Colorado, Louisville, Raleigh, Chicago, Arizona, Bremen, Hamburg, and I’m sure there are others.  I met up with a lot of friends, both near and far, and realized I know some pretty amazing people. I heard Hillary Clinton speak and saw Kelly Clarkson sing.  I discovered the headlands, and know I will always have a place to lose myself.  I bought a bright green car because I could and drove it home blaring Katy
Perry’s Roar. It was the year I finally got to walk across the stage at USF, something three and a half years in the making. It was a great year, for these reasons and more. But, I’m ready to turn the page.

So, here’s to 2014 – here’s to new adventures and getting back in shape.  Here’s to Everest basecamp and a Rhone river cruise.  Here’s to more free time and finding something to do with it all.  Here’s to another exciting year that’s better than the last.

Time flies….

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so i realized today how long it’s been since i updated this…where does the day go…

really, where did today go.  and why did it end with a meter eating my money, a broken microwave at school (thank god for 2 folsom), and birds not liking my bright green car…..

anyway…since its been so long…

puerto rico was amazing.  just what i needed – not that germany wasnt fabulous, but it was so nice just to be able to hang out…not worry about a presentation or a race or needing to be anywhere.  i also bought my first new dress in probably eight years…pretty cool.

other than that, life has pretty much gotten back to normal.  well, normal with a side of school and work craziness.  i cant believe its holiday again…yikes!  its crazy, but we all know that on some level, i love it.  and school…well, last class.  thank god!  but its so much work.  so.  much.  work.  ugh…but, its over in a few weeks and then….GRADUATION!  haha…i cant wait.

other than that….as if there is time for anything else….

im on a crash course of training for the north face endurance marathon.  hardest trail marathon in the country.  oh the things that sound good after several glasses of wine.  anyway, its the weekend before graduation and ive run a grand total of 11 miles.  must do 20 the next few weeks.  hopefully ill be able to finish…hopefully.  im sure it will be an adventure anyway, and i love an adventure.  even training has been an adventure – bob cats and trails and terrain and new shoes and training adventures.  always a good time.

we’ve also started to plan our next adventure – nepal/everest in april.  its almost still too far away to be real just yet, but all the forms are signed, we’re looking at flights, and travel shots have been ordered.  we’ve also looked at all the gear we need – eeek….so much stuff.  so crazy, but hopefully it will also be an adventure :).

ok, im pretty sure this is the most pointless blog ever, but i wanted to get something up since its been so long.  until next time….

On the road again….

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And this time, there is no paper to present, no conference to attend, or race to be run….just…relaxation. Not that those other trips weren’t fabulous experiences, but I am really excited to take some time and just relax. Brian and I are headed to San Juan to celebrate our fifth anniversary, and to just relax. Yay relaxation…once we get there….

Because of course it’s going to be a round of planes….in fact more planes than it took me to get to Germany. Though, I should be an old pro by now…haha. Though, I did have TSA inspect my hair, yes, you did read that right…my hair. For all the contraband I have hidden in it. And, we did find out that we didn’t have to pay to check luggage. Bonus – save $50 and not have to haul the extra carryon. Downside – we had planned to only check one, and could have brought twice as much wine. Haha.

So, LAX…awful airport. At least where food is concerned. One restaurant for the entire terminal…30 minute wait. Cause that works at an airport. But they had takeout…woohoo…or not. I’m pretty sure the pizza may have been fresh…in March…2010. Brian has a picture of it. I can’t believe we actually ate it…nor can I decide what’s worse. A stomach ache from not eating or a stomach ache from gross food. And, while being sick this week has been anything but fun, hopefully it means I’ll sleep all the way to NYC….

And JFK is freezing….it’s almost like being at the office with the crazy vent next to my desk. Good times…is it time to leave yet?  There’s six or eight of us attempting to sleep while we wait for our flight.  And of course that means someone brings their four year old over to ‘play’, loudly. Really?  There’s nowhere else you could go?  It’s a pretty big airport. Somehow the two guys in the near vicinity have managed to sleep through it.  Oh wait…sleeping guy is dad…awesome. Maybe he could, I don’t know…get up and take care of his child. Or let him continue to run through the airport, that works too.

And they’re playing a song from a really old, dawn era Old Navy commercial.  On that note….

Almost there…one more flight. Countdown to relaxation…six hours and counting.

Farewell Germany!

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From yesterday….

So, my trip is complete – I have been blessed…or something by a homeless man on the train. Only me…where is someone with hand sanitizer when I need it. 

The Bremen airport reminds me of the buffalo airport…other than there is NOTHING once you pass security – no food, no shops…well, other than duty free. And…no way out. Other than to hope the guy at security speaks English. He did, and let me out, right back through the metal detector. Add that to the list of things that would never happen in the US, along with leaving your shoes on and curb-side parking. 

Security was an interesting experience, you basically wait outside the security area until the people in front of you go through. I, of course didnt know this and walked right up. I had no idea why the lady was yelling at me…once she realized I don’t speak German, she did apologize. Once it’s your turn, there’s someone waiting with a bin that helps you put all your stuff in it. Then you walk through a metal detector. It’s seriously the highest security person to passenger ratio I’ve ever seen. Not sure if the bigger airports are like this, or how they manage if it’s busy…if it ever is. 

And there’s someone asleep at the airport…not so crazy. Well, wouldn’t be so crazy if he wasn’t snoring. Loudly. Loud enough for people three rows away to be turning around. 

The highlight – I did see a guy in lederhosen that was not headed to a beer fest party. 

There was more going on at the Frankfurt airport (even though a lot of it was closed because its Sunday), which was good since we were delayed an hour and a half. And, apparently since I’m flying back on a US carrier, they have extra security at the gate. Like, you have to get a special sticker to be allowed to board. To get the sticker, you have to answer a series of questions…..

Some make sense, such as, where were you visiting and how long were you here. Others, like, ‘where did you pack your bag’ and ‘did anyone give you a bomb to bring back’, I can’t say I understand. Because, if you’re being shady, are you really going to tell them?  And, where would one pack a bag?  In a house or hotel, perhaps?  Nah…I hauled it all down to the train station and packed it there. 

After getting through the interrogation, I was able to board the plane…a little shaken, because if you don’t know interrogating everyone is normal practice, you might think something is wrong…

Once onboard, I realized why I don’t fly domestic carriers overseas…the seats are way closer together…and no TV screens in the seat, just a couple of big ones that I couldn’t see anyway. No free wine, really, no drinks of any kind at all after the dinner service. I’ll take the half broken screen on Lufthansa any day….

I had a window seat, which was good. Unless of course you want to use the bathroom. And the people next to you are sleeping. With their trays down. For the whole flight. Awesome. Then I get to SFO, and the restroom is closed. This is not my day. 

Of course US customs was the most difficult to get through, but I had a book and got to watch a movie about security beagles sniffing out oranges in people’s luggage multiple times. I don’t really know what day or time it is, but I’m definitely glad to be home. 

If I roll my ankle in the cobble stone one more time….

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There’s a chill in the air that reminds me of east coast fall.  People have just started to bundle up in preparation for winter’s chill, but are still able to enjoy a beer garden in the sun.

Overall, the conference was a great experience.  It was a great opportunity to engage with people from across the globe – learn about where they’re from, what they’re working on, and share what I’m working on.

The conference didn’t provide a shuttle for those of us staying at the conference recommended hotel (interestingly enough, they did provide one back to the city….).  So a small group of us decided to walk back to the hotels, which was nice after sitting pretty much all day.  We ended up meeting later for dinner, same restaurant I was at the night I arrived, which I usually try to avoid, but was worth a second visit for some good dinner time conversation.  Very interesting to dine with: a new professor, raised in Kenya, but teaching in England, and a seasoned professor, currently teaching in Brussels, but has taught all over the world.  It was cool to discuss our countries and backgrounds with respect to university systems. politics, and cultures.

And the train…oh the train.  It continues to be an adventure, although today I did go the correct direction the first time.  And, I’ve mastered the ticket machine.  Having either the right amount of change, or small bills would have been even more helpful, however.  Not to worry, the convenience store at the train station was open (surprising, since it seems like nothing is ever open in Vegesack), and I am now the proud owner of a plastic bottle of gum and a bunch of change.  In time to board the train too!

And then there’s the entertainment factor – there’s a lady in the seat across from me drinking a bottle of either white wine or hard liquor.  I’m not sure.  But she’s quiet and clean and chugging away at 8:30 in the morning.  And apparently someone else felt the need to bring their breakfast on the train…thank you, but I could do without the smell of whatever that is…

We took the train to Hamburg for the day for some post-conference sightseeing.  It was cool to see another city – bigger and with more people.  We took one of those hop on hop off tour busses, and spent most of the day at the port.  Had lunch at a restaurant that brewed its own beer, and toured a Brazilian Navy ship.  Pretty cool.  Wandered the largest mall in Hamburg….Germany….I can’t remember.  It was big, but not that big…

It was also great to spend the day chatting with my professor.  We discussed next steps on the paper, as well as ways to get more students involved in research and potential benefits available to them.  Who knew a quick hallway conversation would take me to Germany?!  She asked if I would come talk to a few of her classes, and try to organize a way for them to meet other MBA’s/International Business people through Gap.  We also talked about ways these types of conferences could apply to my work and how I could continue to be part of them and projects going forward.  There were a lot of practitioners there, so there is the possibility.

Once I got back to Vegesack (Veggie World ;)), I tried my hardest to find a store with a wine opener.  I found one on my way to the hotel from the train station – a convenience store, surely they had one.  Of course they did….but only one.  To open bottles someone happened to buy on the way to a party…their hotel….who knows.  I thanked them, and continued up the street to the restaurant I planned on going to.  I had run down said street earlier in the week and it was the most bustling place in veggie world….however, 8:30 on a Saturday night, and….everything was closed.  Awesome.

After giving up on the wine opener, I decided to try the restaurant I thought looked cool while I was running the other day.  The menu was half in english…and they had wine…and it was this small, really cool Italian/German atmosphere.  Pretty quiet – there were only two groups of us in there, and the waitress, who couldnt have been more than 18, was very friendly.  And well…while the food was fine, I was attacked by flies…fruit flies, real flies….good times.  I think I am going to have nightmares about flies for weeks.  I had a fruit fly swimming in my wine…a real fly drinking olive oil like a lush….I either picked the wrong seat or the wrong restaurant…or both.  Not much I could do since they don’t speak English…and I dont speak German.  Minor details…

After dinner, I crossed my fingers (and a couple of toes), that the little store by the hotel, the only one open in veggie world, was still open and I could get a bottle of wine.  And thankfully it was…wine is a definite necessity when dealing with facebook’s picture uploader.  I remember it being easier in the past…

Oh Germany….I feel like I’ve seen a lot, but not nearly enough.  I wish I had one more day.  Or Brian and I were going to stay a week and tour.  So much I want to see and do…but, I guess that’s what next time is for.  Until then, I will miss bringing up google and getting google Deutschland, and wishing I’d had the time to go to Berlin or one of the WWII museums.

Such a (large) small world

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So much to say, and so little time….between the jet lag and the all day conference, I’m super tired. Today was….something. Full of moments where I felt proud of myself and definitely a few where I wished the ground would just swallow me whole.

Well, lets start at the beginning. I got up early to run, only to realize that it was still dark out. Awesome. So, I made up yoga in my room….that works, right?  Then walked over to the conference hotel to take the shuttle to the conference. It was cool to run into a lot of familiar faces from last night and have people to talk to.  As we boarded the shuttle, there were a couple of people on there already. Apparently, one of them was staying at my hotel and had gotten lost (once) the day before, so had the shuttle come special for her to a different hotel. On one hand, would have been great to know and saved me a walk….on the other, I did feel a little proud of myself for figuring it out on my own. Have I been lost since I’ve been here?  Of course….have I figured it out?  You bet, and really, that’s half the fun.

So we get to the conferee at Jacob’s University. Today, there are signs and people everywhere telling us where to go. And they gave us a neat little bag with a bunch of stuff and information in it. Wild have been handy to have the previous night, but oh well.  Then we had the morning sessions, followed by lunch and the poster session, which I was part of. Eeek…..

I manned our poster alone for most of the time because my professor had another meeting to go to – our poster that we put together wrong, but that’s another story, and it all worked out in the end. I talked to a lot more people than I thought I would, many of whom I met last night and wanted to check my stuff out. I thought it was cool that I could somewhat hold my own amongst professors ad Ph. D students from across the globe. Of course the presenter next to me was from Pittsburg, hence the small world. For the most part, people were polite, asked good questions, and had helpful feedback. And then it was almost the end…and I was charged by three men in suits. Somehow, I knew this wouldn’t go well. And….it didn’t. They had some questions about one of our case studies….some of the raw data I pulled from the company website, some information we got in one of the interviews, etc.  Valid questions, good callouts….but rather than make them and move on, they continued to drill at it, move away from one piece and then circle back to it. I did the best I could to answer their questions and continue to reiterate my points.  As I look back on it now, I’m more proud of how I handled the situation and could realize how much I’ve grown through school and work and experiences than anything else. But, I’m not going to lie, I really am a fish out of water at these things and sometimes it really does feel like it.

Then we had afternoon sessions followed by an evening event. It made for a really long day, and I was hoping to escape the evening thing, but there really wasn’t a way to do so. It turned out ok, there was wine…but I was promised dinner and given finger food. I’m hungry. And there were several more presentations before dinner, which were tough to get through until 8pm without food. Though, counting the people falling asleep was entertaining, I felt bad for the presenters. I did have a chance to meet some new, cool people, which I enjoyed, as well as reconnect with those I met yesterday. I’ve met a lot of interesting, diverse people over the past few days, and that’s been amazing.

Ok….it’s late and it’s once again an early morning. Even if I do plan to go late tomorrow….oops….

Exploring Germany…

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From last night, since the wireless went down….

So, I started off the day with an, ‘OMG, I’m in Germany’, thought. After a little bit of rest, I couldn’t wait to explore. I didnt have anything for the conference until three, so I had most of the day to myself. 

The hotel breakfast was simple, yet filling. For some reason, I felt like I was doing something wrong and everyone was starring at me. Oh well, I’m sure it was just in my head. 

After breakfast, I went on a long three mile run – long because I stopped to take pictures every few steps. The more things I saw, the cooler I realized everything was. So much of it was exactly what you would expect to find in Germany, yet a lot of it was different. And, while there are tons of bikes on the road, I was the only one running. Maybe because it was cold and rainy?  Maybe because people here don’t run?

After my run, I got ready and headed into Bremen for a tour the conference was offering. I found a cute restaurant by the hotel that I wanted to try, but ultimately decided that I needed to get on the train and get to my destination first. This turned out to be a good thing, since of course I got on the train going the wrong direction the first time. 

I made to the city center for the tour with plenty of time to grab a quick bite to eat – cue German McDonald’s. which, was very similar to American McDonalds. Unfortunately, my inability to find the tour (the meeting spot was lost amongst a protest/demonstration – why wouldn’t there be one right where I needed to be…), had me wishing I had chosen a different restaurant for lunch. Oh well, I ended up making up my own tour, seeing lots of cool buildings, and people watching from a beer garden. While enjoying my beer, i did see two guys in traditional Chinese dress – I figured they had to be with the conference. I also wandered into a church that was open to the public. So cool and very pretty. 

Then, it was time to find the conference check in – that I needed to go to, in order to get my name badge and whatever else for tomorrow. Of course, I couldn’t figure out how to get into the historic building…I saw some people, but they wouldn’t let me in for some reason. Luckily, I walked around the back of the building at the same time the China Goes Global tour was wrapping up, so I was able to follow them inside. 

They had a nice reception with a few speakers, some wine, and finger food. It was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world – China, Germany, France, Spain, and even Florida. If someone had told me two years ago that my independent study paper would land me here, I never would have believed it.

At the end of the reception, there was even a free shuttle to bring us back to the hotels so I didnt have to take the two trains to get home. The trains haven’t been bad, now that I’ve figured them out, but the ride was a nice touch. 

I found a restaurant with an outdoor pizza window (they seem to have a lot of those here) to grab some dinner on the way back.  Made to order as I watched – very cool. However, the town here (outside the main city), seems very quiet. Not sure if it’s because of the weather or that it’s the work week or what. 

And now the wireless is down…awesome. I didnt have anything I needed to look at for tomorrow, and I totally know where I’m going. Ugh. Well, off to sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s adventure.