Jokers

These two jokers are coming to Germany for 5 whole weeks. Will they be better behaved than they were in California?

We are twins...

It looks like Stan and I are twins in this picture... We look like brothers. So sad! Hahahaha...

Proof that Dad is obsessed with Cornell...

I found this in the collection of photos... Apparently, Dad took the whole family to Cornell a couple of times for some visits.

Dad is so obsessed with Cornell. He should have gone to school there. Maybe, when I make lots of money, I will send him there for school.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today, Betty, Dad and I took Mom out to Niagara-On-The-Lake for Mother's Day. Dad was annoying Mom all day... She yelled at him, and told him to go away several times.

Dad said: "Today is not Mother's Day... it's Sad Father's Day!"

Family portraits cont'd...

This is my picture from our family portraits!

Jimmy Carter is ...

So today, Former President Jimmy Carter was invited to give a talk at the UC Berkeley campus. Luckily, one of my officemates couldn't go, and gave me his ticket.

For some really odd ODD reason, Jimmy Carter is my Dad's favourite President all time. However, today I learned that most Taiwanese people don't like Jimmy Carter since he broke off some diplomatic agreement with Taiwan when he was in office. So why does Dad like Jimmy Carter so much?

I have no idea. But then again, it's hard to explain Dad!



Anyway, Jimmy Carter talked about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He gave this cool quote from the late Pope John Paul II. Paraphrasing this quote, the Pope had stated:

There are only two ways to have peace in the Middle East: realistic and miraculous. A realistic method would be divine intervention from heaven above. A miraculous method would be for Israel and Palestine to reach a peace agreement.

Family Portraits are Cool

From Christmas time...isn't Skype great?

Schwarzwald

More pictures to tell Mom about Germany....

So I biked about 10 km from Freiburg to Kirchzarten, then did a 6 km leisurely hike in the Black Forest.

A pretty nice hike! As I finished it, it started to thunderstorm, so I biked back soaked in the rain. To make up for being drenched, I decided to eat Schnitzel for lunch...he he he Badisches Schnitzel with fried potatoes....

All in all a very good day!

Mmmmmm, SCHNIIIIIIITZEEEEL!

Germany is nice, MOM!

Sometimes, if you talk to Mom, it seems she is sooooo anti-Germany.

Ok, hopefully these pictures change her mind.

Oh, by the way these pictures were taken during a 4 hour hike from my place. I went 13 km on this hike, but the hike originates just across the street from my place! Its like living with a National Park in your front yard!

Calculus or Haddock

So Tintin is kinda cool, but he's lame compared to either Cuthbert Calculus or Captain Haddock.

The question is: who is cooler, Calculus or Haddock?

Miscellaneous Pics

Freiburg Munster

Some close up pics of the Freiburg church:

Hiking in the Schlossberg

Some nice hiking just across the street from my place.

Freiburg Fotos Finally!

Ok, finally got around to taking some photos of Freiburg.

Here are some panorama views from the Schlossberg.

Dad: no sense of discreetness

Dad is so weird....

So he drives Betty to the airport and lines up with her to help her with the luggage at the Air Canada check-in in Toronto. Because the flight is to Frankfurt, most of the passengers are German.

Betty asks Dad (in Mandarin), whether Dad thinks that Germans would help her with the two large suitcases she's bringing. And she asks whether anyone helped Dad when he came to Germany last year. Dad replies (in English): "Germans are not very friendly people".

Of course, people around them (most probably other Germans) give them a look!

So weird!

You think that's bad!

So while I'm ranting about German bureaucratic stupidity, here's an even worse example:

At Toronto, when I went on a business trip (let's say Chicago), it was easy. I buy my ticket, keep receipts of relevant expenses, and then submit a claim at the end, with a per diem claim set by the group. One week after my claim, I get reimbursed. Easy, right? Isn't this the way normal people do things?

Nooooooo....in Germany of course, there is love of bureaucracy!

So, now when I go for business somewhere (say Geneva), I have to fill in BEFOREHAND, two travel requests. I have no idea why two are required. I need to detail the reason I'm going, and then the begin and end times of my trip, whether I start/end at the office or at home, and also the start and end times of my official business there (which are different from the begin and end times of my trip!)

Then I have to say how I'm going to get there (train, private vehicle, or plane), then get a signature from my boss, which then gets submitted to the academic director. He signs also both copies, and sends them back to me. (No idea why I need two copies). If its overseas travel (outside of Europe), then the rektor of the university also has to sign.....(you're getting my drift, right?)

So now finally, I go on my business trip, keeping receipts as usual. Then I come back, and report on: when the begin and end times of my trip were, how I got there, whether I start/end the trip at the office or at home, and the start/end times of official business. Didn't I already fill this in? Oh, before the trip, I filled in the PROPOSED information, this is now the ACTUAL information. (Stupid....) If I take a train, I have to specify what time it departed. I also have to write down whether I received any third party honorarium or free meals. For some reason, I need to write down whether I'm married or not.

Because I stay in France (St. Genis) when I go to CERN (Switzerland), I have to also report every time I cross the border. Ridiculous! The per diem depends on which country you spend your time in, and its cheaper in France than in Switzerland. So every single border crossing must be declared (which occurs every day), with the time I crossed.

Finally, if I stay at a hotel that exceeds the nominal amount, I have to ensure that I write down that this was the cheapest option and that breakfast is not included (otherwise, my reimbursement is deducted). Don't forget, I have to write this information down twice, on identical forms....

So when do we get reimbursed? More than two months after the initial trip!

Tell me if that's not stupid bureaucracy or what!!!

Booooooo! Booooooooo!

Stupid German Bureaucracy

So I read on the Canadian Consulate in Stuttgart website that Canadian driver's licences can be exchanged for German driver's licences without having to go through a driving test.

Cool! This is very useful, so I go this morning to change my driver's licence. I know German bureaucracy quite well now, so I make sure I have my documents: my passport, my driver's licence, a letter mailed to me at my address to prove I live there, my work contract, and a passport photo for the licence.

Well, I had almost everything in order, it turns out they need an official translation of my driver's licence!!
How stupid is that?

What do they need to translate?
The words "Date of birth"? Can't they tell by the date underneath it?

Then there's "Cond." which underneath says "Corrective Lenses".
Come on, you're telling me that this isn't self-explanatory?

Well, I guess I have to find a "state-approved" translator to get my driver's licence.
Stupid German bureaucracy....

Booooooo! Booooooooo!

The Alphabet

I found this rather amusing...

Dad is crazy...

I called my dad before he left for Germany... the conversation went like this:

Me: Hi dad.
Dad: Why did you call?
Me: To talk to you before you leave for Germany.
Dad: Oh. Do you want to talk to your Mom?

Sigh.

BOYCOTT U of T

I just heard that the University of Toronto is making my brother take 2 defenses for his PhD. Why 2?? That's hella retarded.

Thus, I'm starting my new boycott:

BOYCOTT UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO!!