springing forward

it's springtime in zurich! we just changed our clocks last night so the days are gloriously long once again. and the weather has been very swiss, changing to balmy springiness right on schedule. i loved the winter, but find myself equally thrilled with the first signs of spring. i'd forgotten how much i can be moved by seasons. (maybe i'm not cut out for california after all.)

apples

one thing i noticed in a few of my euro friends is that some of them, when eating an apple, eat the whole thing. that's right, no core remains to be thrown away, just the little stem (which is very clean and inoffensive in the trash, unlike apple cores). even the seeds are heartily munched and swallowed! after being initially horrified, i was intrigued by this waste-less custom. so i tried it and now i've been converted to a full-fledged whole-apple-eater! i just wash them a bit more thoroughly than before. and it turns out the seeds are yummy -- they taste like almond extract (it's the cyanide). highly recommended for fans of almond pearl milk tea!

going east

i managed to pull myself out of vienna and spent one day in budapest, so i made it to eastern europe after all! (though i've since learned that hungary is the last country in the central european time zone so some people don't consider it eastern europe.)

buda! pest! it was foggy but still quite lovely. i think i was a little euro'ed out by the time i visited, so i wasn't terribly wowed by the city. but looking at my pictures four months later, i'm belatedly impressed. i ended the trip at the terror museum, which has all sorts of contemporary exhibits on the nazi and soviet years. it's absolutely depressing and doesn't conclude with any kind of redemptive "we really appreciate the beautiful freedom we have now" ending -- it just sends you to the exit making you feel like killing yourself. so that may have slightly dampened my impression of the city. also, it was the first place i've been where the language was a complete mystery. but everyone has such nice things to say about budapest that i think i'll have to go back and spend more time there some day.

and since i'm four months behind and it will be impossible to catch up, this blog will skip all of my december adventures (summary: first ski trip in the alps, europa park, company christmas party (and still beating all challengers at ping pong while slightly inebriated), freiburg, and plenty of glühwein) and i'll finally be in 2006. until next time!

oscar night!

i may have lost many of my old values by now, but one thing that hasn't left me yet is my obsession with the academy awards! yes, they did start at 2 am over here and ended at 5:30, but i found one other nutso to share the fun with and just got home from a night of brownies, muffins, and cheering for reese and ang. time to go to sleep now! i need to try to make it in to work by noon tomorrow...