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!!

Oi!

We were out at Triple Rock for a party Dave organized and I bumped into someone (N) I rarely see. N is with a girl who I thought was a girlfriend that I had met once...

I say, "Hey N! And you must be L."
The girl looks at me and starts laughing.

N says, "No no no no no..."
Then, because I have no problems further embarrassing myself and everyone else around, I say "Oh crap. I am so sorry... I did not mean that. I'm just going to stick my head in the a toilet and flush."

I offer to buy them a drink, but they refuse. Then I just start talking to N, and he says that he and this girl (J) are not really together.

So, to further make myself look stupid (which is getting to be a little to easy for me), I say, "Oh, then I don't feel as bad about that mistake." Then I start talking to J and say, "Oh, I don't feel as bad since you and N aren't together..."

Later on, I find out from N's roommate that N and J might be dating (no one really knows). Once again, boy is my face red....

Coffee anyone?

Today, I went to coffee with three of my groupmates. Three of us ordered normal drinks. SRAM (yes, that's his nickname and his research topic) ordered a "double cappuccino with half decaf" ...

So strange!

Edmonton Boy wins it for Oilers!!!!!

Fernando Pisani....top corner....what a shot!

Can you pee in public?

I went wakeboarding (think waterskiing, but on a board) with a couple of friends yesterday on a lake near Tracy, CA. Apparently, it's pretty natural for everyone to take their restroom breaks in the lake. I, on the other hand, had the hardest time taking a leak in the lake. We were trying to figure out what my problem. Some think that I just didn't have that sense of urgency, but I assure you, I did!

We believe that I have a psychological block. Here are my hypotheses:

1. I cannot pee when people are watching me.
2. I cannot pee when I have a bathing suit and boardshorts on.
3. I cannot pee unless I'm sitting down.
4. I cannot pee if I'm wet.

I'm open to other suggestions...

Now, I will be creating experiments to test which hypothesis might be correct. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Can Oilers recover?

For the Oilers to recover, some of them who have been doing nothing need to step up.

Radek Dvorak has been pretty useless...c'mon, its playoff time, do something!

Sergei Samsonov....all bells and whistles, we need some goals!

Even Ryan Smyth has had a sub-par performance, we need you to lead!

Roloson, Penalty Killing lead Oilers to Cup finals

There are no words to describe how simply amazing Dwayne Roloson has been, in addition to the Oilers outstanding penalty killing.....

Jim, Jim, He's our man

Jim Abbott is the Conservative MP for Kootenay-Columbia. He is a true fighter for human rights and democracy, and Taiwan's best friend in parliament.



This post is my tribute to Jim Abbott, a principled man who does what is right.