#41 Boston - Queen of the Idiots - March 17 2007

And again, that would be me, always seeking new ways to distinguish myself. It was a true Petra moment, one of those, where I am convinced to be right, and the whole world is wrong. In this case, the folks that were wrong were the manufacturers of door lock cylinders, what do they know, right?

What did qualify me for the position of Queen of the Idiots was my stellar performance in trying to re-install a door lock - I had decided to re-key my doors, mostly due to some slightly strange irregularities in my apartment that were discovered after my return from Europe. "Selbst ist die Frau" - a do-it-yourself woman I aimed to be, and bursting with confidence I dismantled the locks, drove to the friendly folks at Commonwealth Lock on Mass Ave and waited for the new keys to be inserted. Returning home, I did pretty well at installing the bottom locks, but seemed to be experiencing serious difficulties with the deadbolts, trying every which way to insert them and it just did not work. After futzing around with this about an hour or so, I cried Uncle and called my friend Ulandt, carpenter extraordinaire, who promised to stop by later and put me out of my misery and install the darn things. That little nagging voice in my head though kept saying, "You can do this, come on! You are not THAT stupid, right?" Apparently I was, and after finally figuring out that I had the outside cylinder upside down and once I turned it around (.... that way you can read the SCHLAGE brand name right side up as well - duh!!!) it fit like a glove and was a 2-minute job, I felt like the biggest idiot in town. I kept wondering why the inside cylinder had the word "top" on it, but the way I tried to squeeze it in, the word "top" was on the button..... Oh man, just sign my name on the line, Petra, Queen of Idiots, no election needed, I would win it by a landslide anyway.

It has been a challenging week for this homeowner, when I returned from Europe the gate had blown off our fence, the recycling bin was stolen, and of course yesterday we had a little snow storm. Tuesday and Wednesday we had experienced the first signs of Spring and the return of the flip flops (which made the Boston Metro react instantly with the headline "Flip Flops and Business Suit - Not a good outfit" - Amen to that, you know the beef I have with that unsightly combo....) - 70 degree weather!! Birds were chirping, everyone was in a good mood, it was nice indeed. Jump forward to Friday where we got ourselves a nice little snow storm, the walkway next to my house featured about half a meter of snow and you know what that means - heavy duty labor. Armed with a shovel I did some damage control last night, but the incessant snow fall was followed by a torrential rainstorm - you guessed right - basement got flooded. Good news is I do have a pump now, which will get most of the water out of the basement. Life is good.

I have to say that my street and my neighbors are great!!! Everyone was out there armed with shovels, and helped everyone dig out their cars. It was key to get the cars free, as we are expecting glacial temperatures tonight, and once the snow freezes around your tires, the work becomes exponentially harder. Antonio Senior and his daughter Maria were involved as usual, my Vietnamese neighbors whose names I can't remember even if I wanted to, and of course Mrs Lopez, Irene, who is probably in her 80s at least, pretty much deaf, and somewhat fragile, but she was unstoppable. We did good all of us, and I probably would have stopped a little earlier, had I realized that there was water duty in the basement coming up.

I am exhausted!!! Which does not bode well for tomorrow's first road race of the season, the Ras nahEireann race in honor of St Patrick's day - you run 5 kilometers and then you head for the Irish pubs in Somerville where the beer is free (and green is some instances) (http://baevents.com/rasnaheireann/ ). While this is one of my favorite races, I call it my annual pancake race, just like the first pancake you make is never perfect, I always stink at the first road race of the year, and my last two practice runs have not convinced me of the opposite. I have been seriously sucking wind; there is lots of training needed to reach my goal for the year, which is to break the 8:30 min/mile mark.

I have settled back in, jetlag is slowly disappearing (after a couple of embarrassingly early bed times) and Oscar is back from Casa Cooper, his vacation home in Salem. Last night I had my first social outing after returning from Europe -a very girly excursion - Ellen, Elizabeth, Amy and I headed to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Paris Fashion Show - http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/sub.asp?key=15&subkey=2139 - impressive, stylish, colorful, bizarre, most outfits not something I would be caught in, ever!! We learned that there are two types of fashion, haute couture, which are individually designed pieces, and ready-to-wear (prêt-a-porter), frocks that will be mass-produced later. Our favorite was Olivier Theyskens for Rochas - he was apparently the CFDA Designer of the Year in 2006 (Council of Fashion Designers of America - don't tell me you did not know that?) - dresses with Edwardian silhouettes, sleek suits, everything with a slight and suitable hint of Goth - we fell in love with his clothing line instantly. We liked a couple of Karl Lagerfeld designs, but were not swayed by Tunisian fashion maven Azzedine Alaia or Christian Lacroix, the first one was too furry, the second one too frou-frou..... My friends at Wikipedia tell me that Christian recently designed new uniforms for the staff of Air France, and it you happen to travel First Class, you get Lacroix-designed pajamas. There you go!

I know I owe you pictures from Europe, and I have been working on them, I will send them next week most likely. Until then, sit tight, stay warm and out of trouble.

e-hugs to all of you.

PetJ

#40 - Boston - Mices and Noodles - March 10 07

Make that "mice" and "nodules", but "mices" and "noodles" sounded so endearing that no one wanted to correct the oh-so German speaker at the TAT conference here in Amsterdam yesterday. His presentation was interesting, however the heavy-duty Tscherman Akzent did distract (and amuse) to a certain degree. We have to give him credit though- despite his linguistic disabilities his train of thought could be followed, a statement that could have not been made for some of his fellow presenters. In particular our friends from France and Italy did a spectacular job in testing our auditory limits and at times it was just easier to quickly read the abstract and use the remainder of the 20 minutes for a power nap.

As with every conference, it is a mixed bag, some outstanding lectures interrupted by a few high-end snoozers. The highlight for me in any case is the ability to network, and gather the 411 on companies we are interested in collaborating with - and fortunately there was plenty of that.

It has been fun returning to Amsterdam every year for this conference - I know my way around and there is absolutely tons to see and experience. Having explored all the major museums during my past two visits and faced with a rainy day on Wednesday, I decided to go for something completely different and visit the Heineken Museum (http://www.heinekenexperience.com/). I know, I know I have been making snide comments about this beer here and there, and have stated that I would drink it only during a beer emergency (whenever that would be), but "The Heineken Experience" is definitely a cool thing to do. The museum is located on the original site where the brewery was initiated in 1867, and tells us in an impressive and fun display the history of its origins. One learns how beer is made and what is needed to do so, gets to know all the Heinekens (a fun bunch of people), one can explore the inside of a brewing vat, sit in a space pod and watch old Heineken commercials, and of course, get free beer!! Upon entering, you get three coins for free beers, and after using two of them, I, like so many other people, was ready for the gift shop, which is conveniently located immediately adjacent to Bar #2 (nothing like a little beer to loosen the wallet....). Needless to say I headed straight back to the hotel for a little shuteye before I was able and willing to re-enter civilization. Note to friends and the entire population of the Netherlands: I hereby retract all my previous insults about your beer - it is a yummy brew, I must admit!!).

It was a day for beer, this Wednesday - I had come in via train from Germany, and after transferring in Frankfurt to the extremely comfy ICE train that would take me to Amsterdam, made instant friends with a couple of nice young fellas who were on a tour of Europe for one purpose and one purpose only, drink and find as many women as they can! It was wonderful to observe them in full swing, and the servers in the restaurant car where quite happy with the amount of alcohol these guys consumed. Strangely enough they talked me into drinking a beer with them, and only after the buzz kicked in and I had to go back to my seat, did I realize that it was 10 AM. I had gotten up at 4:45 AM that day, so had lost all concept of time, but as the old saying goes, it must be 5 o'clock somewhere.....

The conference days have been busy, the evenings filled with business dinners mostly, including a welcoming buffet at the "De Kersentuin" Restaurant (which happens to be a fancy schmancy place in the hotel I am staying in) and an outing with some colleagues from Belgium to their favorite haunt, the "Roode Leuww" (The Red Lion) - http://www.deroodeleeuw.com/index1en.html , which dates back to 1690.

As usual I have been staying at the Bilderberg Garden Hotel (http://www.bilderberg.nl/uk/hotels/gardenhotel/), which in the past has been very very good to me, but this time disappointed with a series of mishaps and snafus, including giving me a smoking room at first, forgetting wake-up calls and last night, putting a band under my bed. I swear it was like sleeping in a disco, and upon my inquiry as to when the deafening noise was going to stop, the cheerful receptionist assured me that the party guests would surely leave at 1 AM. Grrrrrrhhhhh.

The conference ended this afternoon and I used the remainder of this spring-like day to wander the streets of Amsterdam some more. God knows I needed to walk off the hearty Dutch food served at the conference and the gummy bears I had for breakfast (don't ask....).

It has been a whirlwind week and trek though Europe, after Germany and Switzerland, I threw in France as well this past Monday. Accompanied by my childhood friends Gitta, Gisela and Mimi, I headed to the city of Colmar in Alsace-Lorraine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorraine). Colmar, located near the foothills of the Vosges Mountains (the sister mountains to the Blackforest) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colmar - was founded in the 9th century, and was also apparently the city were "Charles the Fat" went on a diet in 884 (and you thought this was a new fad!). Apparently he was quite the overachiever and was emperor of France, Italy, and also Holy Roman Emperor, which is surprising considering his lethargy and ineptness. I also think he tried a couple of invasions which did not pan out either. Anyway, back to Colmar - aside from being the driest city in France, it is a charming place with a very well preserved city center, beautiful old "Fachwerk" houses reminiscent of the so-called Mock Tudor Style.


It was a fantastic day, we walked around, ate French pastries and French lunch, and then decided to explore the Alsatian Wine Trail. Driving along a more than picturesque landscape we ended up in Kaysersberg at the entrance of the Weiss Valley. The town was founded in the early 13th century, is a most quaint little place with a fortress to climb up to and some nice opportunities for "degustacion" - wine tasting. They are free, the tastings, and of course, after a few sips, one feels so much more inclined to buy a bottle or two - which is why I am now the proud owner of a couple of bottles of Bernhard Schwach wines - a nice oomphy Muscat and a more subtle Gewürztraminer.

I will be heading back tomorrow to the "Verenigde Staten" and will be a tired little puppy. The conference unfortunately has decided to move around its location and will be held at the exotic location of Bethesda, Maryland next year, so no more Amsterdam for a while. The organizers promised to alternate between Europe and the US and 2009 looks like Barcelona, which will be just fine with me.

Goede Avond my friends!!

Enjoy your weekend.

pert:)

#39 Boston - Whiteout - March 3 2007

That´s what vou get for being cocky- boasting last week about my skiing skills to you and the world, and now I have to take it all back. My head is hanging down in utter shame over my performance on the slopes this weekend. Actually I am kidding to a certain degree and I am not taking back my accomplishments from last week. I did do very well up in New Hampshire, and I still am ready to hit the blue trails as soon as I return.
However, I am and was not ready to ski the Swiss Alps just yet – as for my next step up from Waterville Valley,NH, skiing up at close to 9000 feet, on fresh, deep powder for the first time in the middle of a whiteout may have not been the best choice. Add altitude sickness to that and you can imagine the fun I had. My brother Martin, his partner Marion and her sister Andrea had grabbed me this past weekend and we headed to Switzerland – to be exact to the Belalp (http://www.belalp.ch/service/languages.php) Ski Area near Brig, in the Wallis (Valais) canton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais). The Ober Wallis (Upper Valais) is located in the southwestern part of the country and features some of the highest mountain peaks, as well as tons of snow. We rented the most charming cottage in the vacation village of Tschuggen (http://www.fedo-tschuggen.ch/), a gondola ride up from the small town of Blatten. The vacation village, mind you, is located on a steep mountain side, and since it had snowed there during the previous week, we had no choice but to leave the car in Blatten, lug all our stuff onto the gondola, and then lug it from the "Mittelstation" to Cottage #31, which contrary to all the signs posted is not just a five-minute walk, in particular if you are dragging suitcases, ski boots, food supplies (including wine) and whatnot.



The Swiss Alps are simply stunning, that is all I can say. We headed there this past Friday afternoon, and it would not be an overstatement to say I drove everyone crazy in the car as soon as I got sight of the mountains. For God sakes, I grew up in the area, but I had forgotten how breathtaking it was, and the images from this weekend will certainly stay with me for quite some time.
We had been a bit worried about having snow at all to ski with, since Europe, just like New England, had experienced a sorry and soggy excuse for a winter, and only once we were up on the mountain were our fears assuaged. The weather gods did their best, and dumped a whole lot of snow on us Friday night, and as a matter of fact, a bit too much.
Marion and Andrea had decided to go snowshoeing, and Martin and I opted for downhill skiing. We knew right away that we were in trouble seeing the amount of snow that was still coming down – but headed for the first small lift up to the Schoenbeil at about 2300 feet. We skied down a blue trail (which is the equivalent of a green trail in the US I believe) and my brother, who is a very good skier, took his time to accompany my first steps in powder snow. This, amigos, is drastically different from skiing on New England´s icy slopes, to issue a big understatement. I did fairly decent, and so my brother decided to get me up onto a bigger lift which will took us to Hohbiel at 2620 meters (8595 feet). The lift was pretty cool since it had a protective window shield on it, but little did it matter since going up we could see nothing, nada, zilch. Total whiteout. Snow everywhere (I know, I know, we were in the Alps after all....), a wind that just about knocked you over, and at times we had to stop and wait for the wind to die down, so that we could see the blue trail markers again. It was pretty nasty, even my brother had to admit that, and we gingerly made our way down. The whole experience was getting more difficult the minute altitude sickness kicked in with me, just as I had experienced in Wyoming last year, only it was worse this time. My brother, bless his soul, was phenomenal and coaxed me down the mountain, and ignored the spills I took along the way.
Bottomline was that this may have not been an ideal day for me to learn skiing on moderately deep powder snow, but I did learn a few tricks, and know that during more optimal conditions, I might have done better. I will have to figure out what to do about the altitude problem though – not being able to head all the way up my beloved mountains is tough – maybe some Diamox will help, and as to the skiing, a few lessons in powder snow at lower altitudes would be in order as well.
Marion and Andrea had a similar experience with their snowshoes, at times not knowing where the heck they were, trails were not visible, and we discovered them quite exhausted in one of the restaurants at the bottom of the lift. I went straight for a 2-hour nap, and then was ready to resume activities with the gang.
In a drastic turnaround the weather today was what it should have been yesterday – clear blue skies, fantastic visibility, and the Alpine peaks appeared so close as if we could have touched them. We had to leave in the early afternoon, so were not able to get any skiing in, but enjoyed the phenomenal views on lounge chairs in front of the chalet, and even got a little tan. At one point a butterfly sat on my lower leg, and I thought, how much more beautiful can life be?


It was certainly a lot of fun to go on a trip with my family, the evenings were filled with good food (there is only one restaurant in Tschuggen, but it does have very delectable regional cuisine) and game nights. We did play a German version of Trivial Pursuit, which featured a fairly uneven combination of easy, kindergarten-level questions, and some stuff none of us had never heard of, and I doubt anyone else would have. At times very spirited discussions arose, in particular when my brother doubted that Roger Moore ("the old guy with the warts" – according to Marion) was older than Sean Connery (we will look it up tonight, I´ll keep you posted). Last night also provided additional oohing and aahing in the shape of a lunar eclipse, and I do have an exquisite picture to proof it (it looks more like a white dot on a black background, but you just have to trust me on this one - I have three witnesses...)
We are back at home in Southern Germany and tomorrow I will meet up with some girls from the Schoki Club (my old childhood friends) to head over to France, and explore Alsace Lorraine, drive along the Alsacian wine trail and stop in the charming town of Colmar.
Wednesday I will hop on a train heading to Amsterdam for work – attending the International Symposium on Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT for short) – a very intimate meeting of about 500 cancer researchers and clinicians, but one of my favorites to attend. Sunday the 11th will see me return to Boston.
I hope my write-up finds you all in good spirits, I will send pictures after my return.
Auf Wiedersehn!
Pet:)