The Glass Castle

This is actually one of first book club books I've really enjoyed. Given the difference in tastes of each of the members of my "Never Five" book club--named as such because in the 2 years since its inception no book has ever received a perfect score of "5"--this book scored a high "4."

A now successful writer, Jeannette Walls reminisces about her seemingly happy but turbulent childhood. Raised by her "free spirited" parents, she experiences poverty, deprivation, and remembers her parents with surprisingly fondness despite the reality of her family life.

I read this in two sittings as we flew to and back from Germany.

Even Molly and I, who NEVER agree on books gave this a 4. Worth the read. You can get it at Amazon.com.

Ronaldo, Beckham, Robinho and Roberto Carlos in Seattle

Yesterday my friend Michele from running club IM'ed me. She had big news. BIG NEWS. Real Madrid is coming to Seattle to play an exhibition game against United DC (from Washington DC).

All our excitement to get tickets (which went on pre-sale on Tickemaster yesterday) came crashing down when we found out that you had to have a special code to buy the tickets, since they are not being sold to the "general" public yet.

Diesel said he could give us the hookup, because his co-worker knows the Seattle Sounders owner, who I guess was involved in planning the whole event. Anyhow, Diesel did not come through, but Michele did.

So we got TICKETS! We are going to see some big stars. The Brazilians: Ronaldo (bald, fat and really not that great of a player now), Roberto Carlos and the adorable Robinho as well as the super hot David Beckham!

The event also revived our little soccer bunch--Tarah, Regina, Kristin and Corinne--so we're all gonna go! August 8! Oh, if you want the code to get the tix on pre-sale, it's: KJRAM06

Camping in Rainier

Last weekend I went camping with my good friend Adrienne and her friends. Truth be told, I was dreading the hot weather that they have been predicting, especially knowing that there would be hiking on Sat--and I HATE hiking.

It was a huuuge group of people. Most of us drove up on Fri night, and the rest arrived the next day, just in time for the hiking trip. The hike itself wasn't too bad, it was about 3 miles round trip. However, the scorching sun made that quite a trip. Fortunately, all 15 or so of us made it all the way to the top and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Germany 3 x Portugal 1

The place was packed. It was a pizzeria that had a big screen and was broadcasting the 3rd place Germany x Portugal game. Even though Winny's roommate (Anja) decided to boycott all things Italian after Germany lost to Italy, we were up for some pizza and a good time.

There were tons of people at the pizza place, but luckily Ramona (Winny's other roommate) and her friends got a table.

If losing sucked, winning 3rd place provided at least some kind of consolation, especially given the German pride phenomenon that spurted with the World Cup. Afterwards the whole crowed headed over to Leopoldstrasse, one of the several "Fan Meile" (fan mile) set up all across the country, where streets were closed, so that fans could celebrate.

The place was packed and people were singing and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. we left at about 3, but there was much partying beyond that...

Here are some pics of the craziness that ensued...



Winny's rommates and friends...


Winny, Sandra, Ramona, Tim and I

BG Update

Despite being the most disliked and probably the most despised character of all of my anecdotes, it seems that BG, my arch-nemesis, is the most popular person in this blog and the subject of many inquiries.

To clarify some of the questions that have come up, YES, BG is in fact, a real person. I do not make these things up. All of the stories recounted here, despite having a bit of flair and embellishment added (for entertainment purposes only), are based on true facts.

BG latest:

Today, one of our co-workers came over and started cracking up. A second co-worker and I stared at her in confusion. She pointed towards BG's desk and there it was: BG had put his head down and was TAKING A NAP. Let me reiterate it, because no, you did not read it wrong: There, in the middle of all the cubicles, there he was, shamelessly SLEEPING instead of working. And unlike George Costanza, who at least went to the trouble of hiding under his desk, BG just sat there, bald head on his immaculate desk (he is freakishly clean), catching some z's.

And then the funniest thing happened. After 5-10 min, he woke up, got his jacket and said: "I am going home." It was 3:40pm. I guess sleeping at work makes you tired.

Our New Digs

A most exciting thing happened right before we left for Germany...2 days before our departure, Diesel and I put an offer on a condo in Belltown. After having to go back and forth with the seller via fax while in Munich, our offer got accepted!

Site17 is a 4-year old rental building where all the units were remodelled and turned into condos. Awesome location and very cool layout. Check it out:

http://www.site17.com/photos.htm

We close next week, and in the meantime, Diesel and I have been busting our arses every weekend to get his house ready to go on the market. It's been a long road, but we got it all done yesterday night, and the open house is this Wed. We did tons of work inside the house, so selling it will be bittersweet...

But we got a new place, how exciting!

Why Brazil, Germany and Portugal Lost...by KC

Why did these powerhouses lose? Because Diesel JINXED them!

1) Why did Brazil lose?
The night before the big game between Brazil and France, Tiim said he was going to play the Playstation 2 to "predict the final game score." By playing Brazil, he got beat 7 x NOTHING. And that is why my team lost.

2) Why did Germany lose?
Right before we left for the Fan Fest, where we would be joining the crowds in watching the Germany x Italy game on a big screen, Diesel mentioned that he had forgotten to wear his lucky penguin boxers to give Germany good luck. And that's why my team lost.

3) Why did Portugal lose?
Because Tim said they were going to beat France, that's why.

Day 3 in Germany: We Got World Cup Tickets!

After working until 2:30 in the morning, I got up at around 11. I was tired. Winny and his roommate Anja let us borrow their bikes, so off we went to explore the city on our bikes.

The problem is that despite my Chinese genes, I have horrible bike riding skills. I saw many a senior citizens pass me, and the worst blow came when an 60 year old lady with a rusty bike that was about to fall apart passed me as well.

We went to the Olympic Stadium, where they are holding a Fan Fest for soccer fans. During game days/nights, they show the games on a giant screen that stands in the middle of a sorta amphitheater. We had lunch there in the beergarden.

After that we decided to ride around the neighborhood and I went to the grocery store for the third time today. Don't ask me why, but I feel that grocery stores are kind of a tourist attraction of their own.

We came home and got ready for the Portugal x France game, for which we had tickets. Getting to the stadium was quite a track. Fortunately we got on the train before the hundred of fans tried to get on. Diesel took some cool pics on his blog. The game in itself was not so exciting, since all of the teams we were rooting for (Brazil, US and Germany) are out. We sat behind the Portuguese fans, and honestly, despite all their animated cheers, it was pathetic to see them rooting for their team. I never thought that there was any chance that they would win it.

Being there though was quite the experience. The World Cup is, after all, one of the BIGGEST sporting events in the world, and we were part if it!

Getting home wasn't as bad as we thought, as we were able to hop on the train on our first try.

I worked till 3:30 am that night. Work sucks.

Day 2 in Germany: A Sad, Sad Day...

After dodging jetlag, Tim and I enjoyed a full day in beautiful Munich. We walked around the Altstadt (old part of the city) and visited a couple of churches and the Residenz. We also made some stops to go shopping. We came home exhausted, but after about an hr to rest and take a shower, we headed off to one of the public viewings of the World Cup games. We went to the same open field where they have Oktoberfest. There was a big screen set up and they were selling food and beer. The crowd was a sea of black, red and yellow; everybody was animated and chanting their usual soccer songs. Germany was playing well, and as far as I could tell, it dominated the game. First half ended, and gave way to a more exciting second half. After over 90 min and still a 0-0 score, I really thought that it would go down to penalty kicks, and that for sure Germany had it, because Lehmann, the German goalie, was doing awesome. Well, we all know how this game ended: during the last couple of minutes of overtiime, Italy scored. I heard gasps and when I looked around, I saw looks of stun and desbelief. And then came the second Italy goal. It was over for Germany. It was one of the longest and saddest walks in history...going back home we joined the multitude of disappointed, defeated fans. In my honest and impartial opinion, Germany played better soccer and deserved to win. But that might well be me hoping to watch GERMANY in the final game playing IN GERMANY. But I know that's not going to happen. My only consolation (and trust me, it is very small) is that tomorrow the German jerseys will probably go on sale, as it was the case with Brazil jerseys after their loss last Sunday. I still wish Germany had made it though...

Day 1 in Germany: Dodging Jetlag

We spent all of day travelling. I hate days like that. All you do is sit on the plane and do nothing. I did get some reading done. Seeing that, as always, I procrastinated on my book club book (The Glass Castle), I managed to read about 240 pages on the plane. It started out slow, but got better.

Anyhow, the day before we left for Germany, I realized that I had told my friend Winny, whom we were staying with, that we were arriving in Munich on Sunday. Thing is, we were LEAVING on Sunday, but not getting there till Monday morning. I franctically tried to get a hold of them, but for some reason, he doesn't have voice mail set up on his cell. I ended up managing to get a hold of his roommate Ramona, who said she would pass along the message.

We got to the airport and took the U-Bahn to downtown Munich, where Winny lives. He was indeed at home and made some joke about me once again planning way in advance bu planning wrong. Whatevers, I accept the derision because I deserve it.

After a nice shower, Tim and I headed out to explore Munich. The weather was beautiful, and to my surprise, I found the Altstadt rather empty. We had Indian food and then made a pilgrimage (at least that's what it seemed like) to the Englische Garten, a park in the middle of the city. There we took a 2.5 hr nap, which rejuvenated and put us both in a much better mood!

Since it was Diesel's bday, we went out for dinner to this cool little restaurant down the street from where Winny lives. Winny's roommate Anja and friend Ute joined us for dinner. The food was Turkish, but i SWEAR I got chicken kung pao, which didn't taste Turkish at all. It was all delicious and I would definitely go back when I'm back in town.

To celebrate Diesel's bday, the restaurant gave him a bottle of Prosceco. We finished off the night at a Biergarten, where Winny introduced us to our new favorite drink: Radler (beer + seven up mixed together).

We got home at around 12:30. And that's how we dodged the dreaded jetlag...

On Our Way to Deutschland!

It was a loooong day at work. To get all my stuff done before Tim and I left for Germany, I got to work before 7am and left after 8. It was a long, no fun day...but when I finally turned on my "out of office reply," in outlook, I finally felt some relief, knowing that for at least a week, I would get some well deserved rest....or maybe not...

We are, after all, going to the WORLD CUP! We got tix to see the semi-final game in Munich. If all goes as predicted, we'll be seeing Brazil and England. We're going to see the two quarter-final games tomorrow at Fado. My prediction: Brazil 3 x France 0 and England 2 x Portugal 1.

I'm VERY EXCITED!