21 November 2007

swiss cheese and efficiency

although recent political events have left me less enamored with my adopted country than before, i still find myself reacting to it positively now and then.

last night i went out for my annual fondue. i can only handle it once a year because it's so horrifying how much cheese gets consumed. there's only one place to do it: le dézaley by the grossmünster. (keep that in mind, my legions of future visitors!) another thing to keep in mind: fondue can only be consumed in winter -- even i've become swiss enough to gag at the thought of cheese fondue on a warm day. yuck! anyway, as soon as you walk into a fondue restaurant, this terrible cheesy stink engulfs you. it's really gross. but, in my third winter in zurich, i have to say i've gotten used to it, actually kind of like it, and am considering having fondue more than once a year now! (eww)

as for point #2. i went to the equivalent of the swiss DMV today to apply for a swiss driver's license. (and oh NO, i horrified myself just now by almost typing "driving license" because i'm surrounded by all these europeans who say that instead.) it was an amazing experience. i printed and filled out the application at my office, walked into the DMV, stood in a line with one person who then immediately got an open counter, waited about 10 seconds for another counter to open up, gave my documents to the lady, waited about 3 minutes while she typed some stuff and made copies of my docs, and then she said i'd get it in the mail in 2 weeks, goodbye! it was astounding. go switzerland.

01 November 2007

mesopotamian video potluck

three things to talk about today!

1. i'm not really a nerd, just a nerd wannabe. however, i have a few nerdy tendencies, one of which is strategy board games. my latest obsession is tigris and euphrates. for a long time i couldn't win, which made me even more obsessed, but even now after a few victories, i'm always looking for chances to play it! since getting the game, i haven't looked twice at my old standby puerto rico, which is also really good but (at the moment) doesn't compare with the complexity of T&E. not that complexity is always good -- i don't like chess at all. but oooh, T&E is just excellent!

2. mr. button, inspired by my past life in moviemaking, made one of his own! please be so kind as to give it 5 stars. :)

3. last sunday was my first potluck in zurich! i instigated it, of course. these europeans don't seem to be familiar with the concept, and mr. button actually considers it socially questionable. but despite the fear, uncertainty, and doubt, it was lots of fun and brought back all my best memories of the potlucks we used to have at the beanpit. i hope to make it a monthly tradition, but i've said that about lots of things that never ended up happening again. we shall see! it's a chilly autumn and there's not much to do before the snow comes other than going to people's houses to eat and play board games... hee hee.