I Haven't Forgotten About Ya'll

Here I sit in our room in the Royal Hotel in Paris (our last night in town) and I feel like I need to explain ya'll why ya'll haven't heard from me in a week (again).

• Thursday night was the Christmas party.
• I spent all of Friday recuperating from the Christmas party (no one went to or was expected to go to work the next day).
• Saturday was Kadija and I's last day in Frankfurt before leaving for Paris, and I needed to pack as well.
• Sunday we arrived in Paris. Yes, I could have blogged in Word on the train but I chose to read this long article I copied into Word from this website (it came out to be around 30 pages long) that explains the basics of photography because yes I plan to get a Digital SLR and try and step my game up. Unfortunately, around page 11 I fell asleep (we had to get up early for the train). The weather was lovely once we finally got checked into the hotel so we immediately went out onto the Champs-Elysees (Paris' 5th Avenue). That night we went out to this hookah bar at this place called the Egyptian Cafe. The 4 ladies and one dude that were at the booth next to us could not stop laughing (I believe they were shishain' up their own "tobacco" concoction. They did however take the time out to laugh at me and then help us with how to properly light a new coal. Once we got back, I went to sleep cause I had to get up somewhat early as I was to visit the Paris office the next day.
• Monday I went to the Paris office during the day, Champs-Elysees during the afternoon (for faux-Christmas Eve shopping) and to Kadija's model friend Mahady's home for Christmas Eve dinner. Although we got home before 12, I didn't blog that night because the next day was Christmas and Kadija and I had already established that, outside of Skyping relatives back home (which we really didn't have to start doing til 3pm our time--9am east coast time), exchanging gifts and loafing, this was going to be our blog day.
• Tuesday (Christmas Day) started out with such promise, but was quickly derailed when the internet for the hotel went out. And since no one at the internet provider they use was working that day, we had no choice but to wait til the next day. Yes we still exchanged gifts and did our fair share of loafing, but we ended up having to call all of our relatives on my German cell phone. By the way, I had planned on putting up a "Merry Christmas" blog, but couldn't do it when it mattered (i.e. yesterday). I sent out texts to the phone numbers I had memorized though (hope ya'll got them)...for those that didn't get it, I'm sorry and Merry Belated Christmas. Oh yeah, check this out...
  

Kadija, taken Christmas 2007 from the middle of the Champs-Elysees with the Arc d' Triomphe in the distance

• Wednesday was Kadija and I's "token" day through Paris (we walked to the Arc d' Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Lourve) and surprise, surprise...it was the first day of bad weather for the trip. Not to say it was horrid, but compared to the beautiful days we had prior...overcast was not a good look.

So anyways, here I sit Wednesday evening and I still have to write post cards, pack and get dinner (it's now 11pm). Not to mention that we need to be in Brussels tomorrow by 12pm, so we need to get to bed at somewhat of a decent hour. Needless to say, this blog will have to suffice for now. I'm sorry. Hopefully before everythings said and done, you'll get 3 to 4 more blogs out of me in relation to this Paris trip. Until then...

Cheers.

P.S. The Lisboa (part 2) blog is written, it just takes forever to upload pictures to blogger and I haven't gotten my patience around to it yet.

This Blog is Dedicated to Grandma...

On the real, if it wasn't for Mrs. Pearl Montgomery, you all still wouldn't have heard from me since last Wednesday.

Up until last Wednesday, I had been accessing the internet via my landlord's (who lives right above me) wireless internet connection. Well, last Thursday, he left for the holidays, and turned everything in his apartment off...including the wireless connection. I didn't find this out until last Thursday evening, when I was fully geared up to bang out one or more blogs for your viewing pleasure (namely the Lisboa blogs).

The next day, I went to the office and found out that in addition to getting a free car, gas, cell phone, laptop, and sparkling water, they also get a free UMTS card from T-mobile. For those that sort of know what it is, but don't know it by name (i.e. me prior to last Friday), a UMTS card is basically a card-like device that goes into the side of your laptop that allows you to access the internet from anywhere. It's that metallic/plastic device that, after being inserted into the laptop, still sticks out your computer and will have some wireless carrier emblazoned on the part that protrudes. Dammit...do a google images search on "UMTS card" and you'll see what I mean (where's a camera when you need one?!).] Technologically speaking, its basically a cell phone without the keypad (the device only works with a valid SIM card--just like a cell phone).

Unfortunately at our company, 1) they are configured to each person's computer (i.e. I can't borrow one, much in the same way I did the company car for Heidelberg), and 2) they are very expensive.

Well, I wasn't about to be without internet without putting up a fight, so I took Saturday out to do some field research (have you stopped and thought recently about how we ever got around without the internet and cell phones?! Scary isn't it?) Well, I found out there are only 2 carriers that actually sell these UMTS cards--T-Mobile and Vodafone. No matter what carrier you use, you have to pay the upfront cost of the hardware (typically between one and two hundred Euros). But it is from there they differ

• T-Mobile (the provider my company uses) - There is no pre-paid option (i.e. no contract) and the contract length is 2 years. And you only pay by the minute when you're in a t-mobile hot spot (you get like either a certain amount of minutes to use a month or a large amount (like 10,000 or so) for the duration of your contract). When you're not in a t-mobile hot-spot, you pay by the amount of bytes you use. Don't ask me how they compute it, all I know is that in the end its not a good deal :td
• Vodafone - Here they have both pre-paid and contract options, but the UMTS card for the pre-paid for some reason is different from the UMTS card for the contract and (surprise, surprise), the pre-paid UMTS card doesn't fit Macs. The contract option is also for two years, but you pay by the minute.
  

Needless to say, I wasn't trying to do either of these. Now, I don't exactly what it was that made me walk into Saturn (the Best Buy equivalent store located on my block), but it wasn't long after I walked in that I saw something that looked like a special on UMTS cards hanging from the ceiling. I asked the first available clerk if he "spreckenzied" english and then what he could tell me about the UMTS cards they offered at the store. What he told me next made my heart skip a beat.

There was a "Try and Buy" Christmas special going on for UMTS cards. You pay 49 Euro upfront for the Vodaphone UMTS card (the one that's compatible with Macs) and 5 Euros a month for the next 2 months...unlimited minutes and usage. If you so desire, after the two month trial period, you can terminate...no strings attached (and you get to keep the hardware (you return the SIM card though)). Once up, you'll have access to the internet anywhere in Germany...and most if not all of the big cities operate on the superfast 3G networks, so you'll be on the internet like its a broadband connection.

"Sounds like good deal" :tu "So what do you need from me?"

"Passport"

"Check"

"German Bank Account"

"Uhhh...I have a bank account, but its with an American bank. Does it have to be a German Bank?"

"Uhh...well I've never tried it before. What happens is when we get all the information, we send it to the verification department and they have the final say. I can give it a shot, though I doubt it would be a problem since its only 10 Euros [the 5 Euros per month x 2 months]"

"OK, what's the last thing you need?"

"Proof of residence. All you need is some mail with your name and address on it."

It was at that point my heart sank. The only person that had sent me mail was Mom. And since all the package contained was deodorant, I threw the empty package (proof of residence and all) away. Still, I frantically searched the house, after leaving Saturn, to no avail. Dejected I left the flat, thinking of excuses/ways around I could possibly use to get the UMTS card. It was at that point I passed by the mailbox.

Even though I hadn't checked my mail in probably a couple weeks or so, there was no chance that there was any mail in there for me. And not because I didn't think anyone might surprise me, its just that I could only recall one, maybe two, people that had my actual home mailing address. Furthermore, considering that you have to write this foreign "c/o" name on my address in order for me to get it AND ever since December my end date at this flat has been up in the air, I've just been telling those interested in sending me something to send it to my work address.

Still, you never know.

I put the key in, turned the lock, and...

Grandma's letter fell out...followed by me.

I was yelling, jumping, and screaming in the most stereo-typic of American ebonic glory for all of Berger Strasse to witness. And I didn't care. Because of all the people in the world, the one who saved the day was my Grandmother...the one who has ALWAYS been there for me in my best, my worst and when I needed--be it on my birthday, through my depressed episodes, during my euphoric highs, and the list goes on. Add this as its latest entry...when there was no other way for me legitimately get online. It may sound a bit over the top, but you have no idea how much of a lifeline the internet becomes when you go overseas.

To wrap up the story, I rushed back over to Saturn (after reading Grandma's letter...twice) and was back online by the evening.

Man, I'm finna call Grandma right now.

Cheers.

Lisboa (Part 1)

OK.

Because we had to be at the airport at like 5:30am, I didn't get that much sleep Thursday (December 6th) night. I spent the prior night putting the finishing touches on the presentation I was to give in Lisbon (aka Lisboa) and packing for the trip. Which is funny because, as I would find out once I got there, I spent about 1 hour too much packing about 10lbs. more of clothes that I didn't need. In other words, the weather was like high 60's/low 70's the whole time.

On the way to the hotel from the airport, I got off a couple interesting shots.

But once we got to the hotel, I knew things were really going to get interesting when I saw this...


Where do I start? Maybe with the in-room Bulgari toilettries...


No, maybe the view...


The bidet...?


No...I got it. Well, it's better if I just show you...


Yes, there was a glass wall between the bedroom and the bathroom. And of all the people on the trip, I was the only one with my own room.

Oh yeah, I haven't even told you all who the "we" is and why "we" are here. Well, valuation in Frankfurt (serving all of Germany, Austria and Switzerland), had a blockuster 2007. So the higher-ups decided to treat the entire in the department to a well deserved trip for literally working their "arsh"-es off the entire year. This trip was to coincide with their annual Valuation Conference (don't let the title fool you, the only attendees are those in Frankfurt valuation...and the head of valuation for our office in Portugal). Anyways, for this conference, the company got one of the conference rooms at the hotel (the mango during the breaks was excellent) as a number of people were to present, including...

• Martin (the head of valuation in Frankfurt),
  
• Marco (the head of valuation in Portugal),
• Janette & Anna, Norbert and Steffie (the newest asistants to the valuation team); and...(last but not least)
  
• Geertje (pronounced "Gya-tia") and I

Now, Geertje is the valuer from the Frankfurt office that did the exact same thing in Chicago I'm doing now in Frankfurt...only she started one month prior. So her stay in Chicago ended at the beginning of December--just in time for the trip to Lisbon. In fact, she even had time enough (or was nice enough) to make it to the office Thursday evening so we could go over our presentation the night before as opposed to Friday morning (the day of the presentation). This is even more monumental considering that she broke her wrist like her last or second to last day in Chicago.


Yes, the girl on the left is Geertje. Yes the girl on the right is her twin sister Berit. Yes, they both work in valuation in the Frankfurt office. And, just in case you noticed, yes they are both holding 4 leaf clovers...that I found while walking around between the time we checked in the hotel (around 11am) and the start of our conference (1pm). Go figure, the one time I find a 4-leaf clover (much less two), is when I wasn't even looking for it, I just liked the way the sun was hitting the ground.

Anyways, I won't bore you with the details of the conference (mainly because I don't know half of what was said cause it was in German), but the important points are that Julia doodled some masterpieces...



and that Geertje and I killed it! Basically, we talked about the differences in valuation in Germany and the States (regulations, compensation structure, valuation methodology, etc.), but we made for an entertaining, yet informative, presentation experience.

Skipping ahead to dinner, I could rant about how AT A FIVE STAR HOTEL, we couldn't have arranged for any taxis to pick us up and take us to the restaurant. Or how when the dust finally settled, neither Geertje, myself or the taxi cab driver knew where the restaurant was. Or how, even after passing the language barrier and the person you're asking directions to understands what you're asking...no one, and I mean NO ONE knew the names of streets. Or how we finally got to the restaurant 30 to 45 minutes late, we missed appetizers...but I won't.

On the positive side, I had a great conversation with Marco about numerous real estate/valuation topics, as well as some advice ("find out what you're good at, and if you're not doing it, get out of what you're doing immediately"). Afterwards, a small group of us went out on the town (i.e. Bairro Alto).


Eventually we found ourselves at a Kareoke bar.

We were all pretty toasted by this point. And yes, I got up there (after waiting upwards of an hour or so, and getting the crowd to chant "Freddie, Freddie..." until I was called). The song you ask...? "Red House" by Jimi Hendrix. And if you don't know, you betta ask somebody. After this, we all went back to the hotel and I collapsed on my luxurious bed (I honestly don't think I even got under the covers).

To be continued in Lisboa Part 2...

Cheers.

P.S. I have no idea why the picture quality is coming out so low. Hopefully, if you click on the picture(s), they will show in their true image quality.

Lisboa (Part 2)

Enter Saturday.

When I say this day was beautiful...you have no idea. And it wasn't until after rushing to make it downstairs in time (yeah, I overslept..duh) that I realized my worst nightmare may very well be upon me:

My camera didn't charge overnight.

Which was odd at the time because I could have swore I put the camera on the dock before going to bed. All throughout the day, I thought it was because I didn't put my key card in the little slot by the door that makes all the lights (and electricity maybe?) work...so the docking station had no power. Then when I returned home, I thought it was cause the docking station was broken. It was only until a few days ago that I realized the true culprit...the battery was blown.

Man, I will say it again--the weather, lighting, sights were absolutely perfect...and I was literally pouting and sulking out loud the entire time. All jokes aside, I was pissed! Fortunately, I was able to squeeze a few pictures out of the camera for Saturday's monumental stroll through Lisbon.

Please bear in mind: 1) these are the representative sample of but 1/16th of the pictures that I could/would have taken were I to have had a fully charged camera, and 2) these pictures were taken with haste as for each one I had to turn the camera on, align, aim, and shoot before the camera automatically shut off (i.e. less than 2 seconds).











After the stroll (mid-afternoon) everyone broke off into groups. Some wanted to shop (the ladies). Those that were not staying the extra night (those with families), left to pack their things to catch their flight home. Me? I left, with two others, to go back to the hotel to try to charge my camera. Now here's the funny thing...it didn't work on the first outlet, but it did on the second. And after checking into Saturday night's hotel shortly thereafter (the 5-star jumpoff was nice, but since the company wasn't paying for the next night, we weren't trying to pay 5-star prices) the camera charged again. I didn't think much about it then (I was just happy that the camera was back working again with the last vestiges of dusk-daylight left), I just left the hotel and went to out to take some pictures. Here's what I was able to salvage of the day...





Each of us took a shot of this Portuguese Cognac I bought while we were out and went out to dinner later on...


and for the second time in Lisbon, I had steak with a sunny-side up egg on the top and fries.


They told me a little "urban legend", if you will, that if you finish ALL of your food the night before, you'll have good weather the next day. Needless to say...


My food wasn't all I finished that night...let's just say the phrase, "TO THE FACE!" has officially been adopted by the Frankfurt office.

The restaurant was, again, in the Bairro Alto section of Lisbon...


and as the night progress into our inebriated selves, we somehow found ourselves again at the Kareoke spot from Friday night...and this time we were twice as deep and we armed with a bit of Portuguese pop culture. So much so that I'm sure to all the locals, we were the loud, drunk foreigners in the back that sang "louco por ti" louder than the guy on the mic.

I would expound on the Kareoke experience but 1) you had to be there and 2) I was there and don't remember. What I do remember is that after leaving, the half of us that didn't call it a night then went to supposedly one of Europe's most famous clubs: Luxe.

Look, at this point, I was done and all I remembered was that the club didn't live up to the hype (size-wise it wasn't as big as Dream), they played that Euro-dance music all throughout (which I have nothing against but really wasn't feeling), and there was a big pump on the roof...


You see the couple making out in the front of the shoe? What's funny is that when I got back to Frankfurt, there is no way I would have remembered taking this picture if it wasn't for this slip of paper in my pocket that (in handwriting that wasn't mine) had an email address on it reminding me to send the pitcure to the couple kissing in front of (and in) the shoe. Well I did and got a very pleasant email from them. Turns out the dude in the picture (Jose) is a painter and has a blog of his own. Check it out: www.jobelenguer.blog.pl

Anyways, I was out of commission for the rest of the trip. On Sunday, we went to this "shopping center" (since malls are what's hot in the streets of Portugal) that I can't even remember the name of (maybe I'll come back later and insert it in). Supposedly its supposed to be the largest in Lisbon or even Portugal or something. Now, maybe I didn't see all of it or something (cause there was this open-air, underground portion that I semi-traveled through), but the joint was like half the size of Pentagon City. Maybe this is American bammaness speaking, but the place really left more to the imagination. Or maybe it was just I was eager to leave cause I had a charged digital camera, it was midday and I was itiching to at least try to recreate Saturday's stroll. Unfortunately, it just wasn't the same (and no, eating your food doesn't guarantee perfect weather).
















After this, I trudged back up to the hotel, packed my things, wrote and mailed my postcards at the airport and slept the entire flight home.

Cheers.

I Have to Document This...

Long story short...

I went to this club in the basement of the European Central Bank called "Living." Upon leaving I called Kadija, who accompanied me, via phone, I'd say about 4/10's of the way. I thought I knew where I was going, but upon hanging up with her, I realized this was not the case.

Now, if you think lower Manhattan is a maze, don't even think about coming to Frankfurt (or any other European city with history for that matter). I have tried to walk home both sober and drunk and found myself caving in to either take the tram, subway or...hold your breath...taxi (people who know me know that I HATE taxi cab and tow truck drivers). Its just that difficult. I don't know if its that the old horse paths became paved roads (i.e. planned with no attention to straight-ness or which way is north, etc.), or the old walls surrounding the city that "paved the way" (pun intended) for the "main" streets that encircle the city (thereby, complicating the streets that branch from them as well)...but it just wasn't coming together. And mind you, I PRIDE myself on my exceptional directional ability.

But that all changed tonight.

After hanging up with Kadija, I believe I had an idea of where I was. But where I would normally question myself and backtrack, this time I trusted in whatever it is that's greater than this world, as well as myself.

I do not remember all the queues that popped up along the way that made me seriously question whether or not I was going the right way and/or turnaround (besides, I did not have my camera with me as the charger is bunk). But I stuck through it, and we were right.

It was deep because, to get a bit personal, I feel I have personally not been as in touch with with my spiritual side as I have been recently at home. Like I said, I ain't finna get preachy, it just felt very good to fully trust (myself, It, whatever, etc.), see it through...and be correct (despite all the doubt).

And with that...I'm out.

Cheers.

Louco Por Ti (Lisboa Preview)

Tonight, I would blog about last weekend's trip to Lisbon, but:

1. Between preparing last Friday's presentation/packing for the trip on Thursday night; a couple druken nights where I had to get up soon after hitting the sack; and staying up Sunday night catching up on all the news I missed over the weekend, the last 4 nights I've probably gotten a total of 16 hours sleep and I really need to get some rest; and
   
2. I'm bummed because the charger on my camera doesn't work and now I'm out of commission picture-wise (and yes, I found this out in Lisbon).

I'll get to it all (and probably split it into at least 2 not-so-long blogs because I know the picture-reeled essays take their toll on enjoying the blog that is the Adventures of Frankfurt Freddie)...I promise. In the meantime, enjoy the anthem of our trip (as well as discovering the traces of Spanish, French and Italian in the language that is Portuguese):

Cheers.

Idiosyncrasies #2

• Automatic transmission is non-existent
• Glaze donuts are non-existent (the closest you can get is a donut with granulated powdered sugar on top). All donuts have some sort of topping.
• To enter most stores, you have to push, not pull, the door open
• When giving directions, people will tell you the distance…in meters. (Which is funny because in the States we always give distances in time—“oh, it’s about five minutes’ walk”. Distances in blocks is about as close as we’ll come. Cause I mean really, when was the last time someone told you how far you needed to go…in feet?!)
• Peperoni is not pepperoni as we know it in the States…it’s hot peppers. If you want pepperoni, it’s called peperoniwurst
• Public trash cans are few and far between. Should you be lucky to find one, its prolly hanging from a street sign post and about ¼ the size of those found on every corner in America. Those that are free-standing are split into 4 quadrants, each having a hole—2 for paper, 1 for glass, and 1 for “waste”
• Pizza and gelato are the only foods that are cheaper out here, after conversion to dollars, than at home.
• Mercedes’ are badgeless (i.e. you never know the car’s model number, just that you want one)
• Escalators have motion detectors. So late nights, when no one is using them, they stop and only start back up the next time someone goes to use them (remember that the next time yo drunk self decides to supaman down the escalator thinking its broke)
• McDonald’s are like Chipotle’s out here. The quality of the food and restaurant interiors are MUCH better than at home…also more expensive.
• No free refills
• All names of clubs are English words
• Gas is cheaper in the city than it is on along the Autobahn
• You can go to any store that sells liquid in a glass bottle, give them your empty glass bottle, and they are required to take it and give you a credit on your next bottle purchase
• In some places, the storage lockers are free…all you do is pay a 1 Euro deposit that you get back when you return the key. The same goes with the gluhwien mug at the Christmas market, only with this, the deposit is typically 3 Euro and the mugs are hardly ever returned by tourists like myself cause they make for good souvenirs.
• Finally, it isn’t pronounced “Cheers”, its “Chioos” for women and “Chuss” for men.

Cheers.

NMTMBA?!

Editor's note: my last blogs were long and I'm positive they drained me more than they drained you reading it. I'mma try to keep this one succinct.

Frankfurt-n-Motion is basically a networking group comprised of ex-pats whom happen to be living/working in Frankfurt. While some of its members work either for the military or contract for the military (and the predominant language spoken amongst the group is English), many of its members are not American. Case in point, Etsuko...


She is Japanese, speaks 3 languages (Japanese, German and English) and is working on a fourth (French). Anyways, every Tuesday evening, Frankfurt-n-Motion holds "Drinkstag"--basically, Frankfurt-n-Motion members meet at a bar/restaurant and converse over drinks and food.

At some point during our (Etsuko and I) conversation, she makes the statement, "I want to learn to talk like you." Now mind you, Etsuko's English, while superb (verb conjugation and tense recognition and all), is no doubt spoken in an accent to where you know English is not her first language. I asked her what she meant, to which she replied with the phrase "do you know what I'm saying" while simultaneously imitating one of the many hand gestures I often use subconsciously. I found this interesting as I saw it less of a reflection of me, but more as an interest in "learning" (if you will) American "swag"...or maybe even the possibilty of learning more American slang so that less of her personality is "lost in translation" (if you will).

Throwing corniness to the wind, I took the back of a receipt on the table and wrote:

"you-o-what-m-sayin?!"

Of course she pronounced this very phoenetically, after which I corrected and instructed her to sort of let the letters/sounds flow together as easily as possible. It was then that I believe I inadvertently stumbled upon an epiphany (and of course, my tape recorder was at home).

I began to explain that we Americans are lazy (in theory). So in talking, we try to avoid the use of hard consonants or letters/sounds that chop the flow of a word/sentence. This in turn makes for words/sentences that are easier and/or faster to pronounce. I then broke down the following phrase and told her this is what's currently hot in the streets of America in the '07 (I really didn't say that, but you'll get the picture)...

"do you know what I'm talking about?"

"u-no-wh-m-talm-bout?"

"NMTMBA?!"

It was quite the entertaining exercise watching and hearing her attempt to this phrase this out...but sure enough after 5 or 6 tries, she got it. It was then that the British guy sitting next to us chimed in. He stated that that may be the case for America, but in England its different. He used the word "little" (which they pronounce "li-oo"--> I'm sorry, I don't know how to write it out, but EVERY SINGLE VIEWER AT HOME...NSMTMBA!)

I then felt even more gratified cause this only served to further extend my epiff. See, they do the same thing, the only difference is while we Americans try to smooth over the natural break caused by hard consonants, the British sort of chop it up--while omitting the hard consonant sound altogether (Kadija...you want to chime in on this?).

Anyways, I found this all quite amusing. Score one for American swag...and another for the intelligence of the boy Freud to articulate it.

Cheers.