USDA Stamp of Approval

Monday morning I drove out near O'Hare to the USDA offices, large and dowdy-looking governmental buildings with a slightly unkempt interior, lazy security and lots of slow moving people. I found the "competent authority veterinarian" quite nice, however, as she spent less than five minutes reviewing Hobbes's vet papers before giving the official USDA stamp of approval--Prime Grade A. In reality, the government of Switzerland can't simply take the word of a random vet in the U.S. that a dog is healthy and safe, and therefore needs USDA verification. Makes sense if you like bureaucracy.

Fifteen minutes after returning home, I loaded Mr. Grade A into Trent's car for his eye doctor appointment; we've been performing regular checkups on his blind eye since last summer. We received some drops that may dissolve some slight scar tissue buildup, but mostly everything was perfectly fine. And Hobbes never met a veterinarian or invasive medical procedure that he didn't love, as long as treats are available.

Meanwhile Steph suffered one final CTA ride downtown (before the whole system crumbles to the ground, forecasted in early November) to retrieve our completed Swiss visas from the consulate and her previously-purchased Nordstrom clothes bounty. She returned home in time to join me in wishing a sad farewell to brother Trent in the early afternoon (temporarily only, as we'll see Trent and Amy in Spain in May).

Steph enjoyed a bit of relief by way of a spa and massage appointment in the early evening. Todd continued the melancholy job of packing and organizing and tidying up for the imminent move, including helping friends and neighbors remove our lovely TV and surround-sound stereo system as well as computer desk & chair, the absolute last piece of furniture to go, leaving the entire house empty.

France In Advance

On Sunday we bid Amy goodbye (Trent stayed until Monday due to his school schedule). We enjoyed lunch at neighborhood bar O'Donovan's with friends Tom & Christa & Tobin before saying our temporary farewells. We proceeded to Lincoln Park to drop off our six bottles of wine worth cellaring to Stephanie's high school friend Loong, a wine collector who already rents wine storage space with a downtown merchant. From there to Old Town to return a crock pot used at our Wine Extravaganza and to bid goodbye to friends Brad & Beth. From there back to Lincoln Park to say goodbye to friends Matt & Melissa & Tom, partaking in their usual NFL Sunday Funday party at a bar, Steph consuming one beer and Todd one beer and one Jaeger Bomb.

Finally we proceeded with Trent and Gayle to reservations for dinner at Lincoln Square's excellent Bistro Campagne for an absolutely A+ dining experience. They were firing on all cylinders with the classic steak frites, cassoulet and roasted chicken. Steph and I brought two bottles of wine that didn't make it to Loong's cellar, a 2000 Bordeaux and 1999 Burgundy that were both superb. We collapsed into bed exhausted to end the week.

Germany in Advance

I brought Hobbes to his morning vet appointment for the quick and easy microchipping procedure required by the EU. They also certified his prior rabies vaccination, also required. Thank heavens there's no quarantine on the European continent!

Meanwhile Stephanie stayed home to coordinate removal of many of the large furniture items that had been sold to friends and neighbors: a couch and chairs and tables and a 200-lb armoire, among other things. We met friends Sandy & David for an excellent brunch/lunch at all-time favorite restaurant Frontera Grill, whose service has slipped since recently being awarded James Beard's Best Restaurant in the Country. Our wait was 90 minutes and they were out of orange juice. Luckily the kitchen rebounded with its queso fundido and posole rojo. We caught of glimpse of celebrity chef Rick Bayless eating instead of managing in the kitchen.

That afternoon our block on Hoyne Ave. held a neighborhood late-Octoberfest celebration, complete with two-story-tall inflatable jumping castle for the kids and other mayhem. We attended for an hour later in the evening for a few drinks with our excellent friendly neighbors, later meeting up with Trent and Amy at local German bar Laschet's for authentic schnitzel-oriented cuisine, liter-sized lagers and an unsolicited final shot of apple schnapps which the waiter call "German apple juice". We proceeded to competing neighborhood German bar Resi's to try more beer before a short stumble home.

...And The Movers Go!

Moving rather slowly, Todd supervised the movers on Friday morning while Steph took her last day of (U.S.) work. Luckily I had received our new Dell home laptop computer and accessories on Thursday, that is, six days after paying $50 for expedited two-day service (Dell's India-based customer service rep later agreed to refund the money, no complaints from me), just in time for the movers to pack most of it away. As I thanked the very professional MI Group movers and signed the documents for the 114 items soon to be shipped to the port in Savannah to arrive later in Rotterdam and finally Zurich, my younger brother Trent arrived from Madison in time for a late lunch.

Steph enjoyed her after-work going away party in typical style, complete with complementary wine from the Food & Beverage Dept. and gourmet catering by Fox & Obel in the Hyatt boardroom. Now without furniture and therefore moving in temporarily with our amazingly gracious upstairs neighbor Gayle, Steph and I later went to dinner with Trent and wife Amy at local Guatemalan restaurant El Tinajon for dinner.

The Movers Come...

The movers showed up Thursday morning and packed all day, supervised by Stephanie. I submitted our visa paperwork to the Swiss consulate downtown that morning before working my last day. Steph was actually complimented by a SWISS woman on her paperwork organization, now that's a good sign!

That evening after work featured a work going-away party for me at O'Callaghan's pub on Hubbard. Both my twin brother Troy and college roommate Steve were in town from Minneapolis and Denver, respectively, on phony-baloney work trips to bid us farewell. Steph, Steve, Troy and I capped off the evening of ale-drinking with an awesome late dinner at Joe's Stone Crab--complete with bone-in fillet, signature stone crab claws and martinis--the only place that would serve us at 10pm.

A Carless Hot Dog Eater

The recent lack of blog postings has not been due to a lack of activity, rather the opposite! We're running on the ragged edge lately yet holding it together. Steph and I agree that we anticipated the move would be tough, but maybe not quite this tough!

After work I picked up Colombian work-friend Roberto at O'Hare in our beloved car, then watched him drive away in exchange for a check (luckily I arrived early and made time for an authentic Chicago hot dog at the nearby Plush Pup--one of my few regrets in Chicago is not eating more of those suckers). I took the el and bus back home feeling strange--the first time carless since 16. Later that night Steph and I selected and segregated a month's worth of necessities along with another gigantic pile of everything we're giving away; then we tagged every remaining item in the house as "Take" or "Leave" for the movers.

34 Revolutions

Steph celebrated her birthday on Sunday! Happy Birthday! How many trips around the sun does that make for her now?

Since her husband is notoriously unreliable in the gift-giving category (his heart is in the right place but execution is sometimes lacking), she decided to minimize her risk and blow a wad of cash on herself at Nordstrom's, partnered with a "style consultant" whose sole function is pinpointing clothes and shoe combinations that look dynamite on the buyer. Ostensibly the real goal of her excursion was updating her professional wardbrobe before starting the big new job, but the coincidence with the birthday damages her credibility.

Since the movers are coming Wednesday and we haven't yet spent one moment preparing, Todd remained home organizing and redistributing various items. Not completely oblivious to the date--and with some much appreciated assistance from upstairs neighbor Gayle--he successfully procured a gift and card for Steph's Big Day and we later dined at nearby fancy-ish restaurant Sola that evening.

Blast Through the Past

Wow, are we lucky to have such wonderful friends in so many places! And today I'm feeling lucky again that my liver is still functioning. Our Chicago clan of friends coordinated a going-away pub tour for us last night, a blowout bash for a group that has never been shy around each other or alcohol.

By request earlier in the week we had provided to our great friend Christa, a serial themed-event-planner, a list of our favorite places and activities in Chicago from our nearly 14 years here. Perhaps not surprisingly then, on Saturday afternoon (a few hours after returning from Greenville) we proceeded around the city to many listed locations, along with some other "classic" unlisted locations that everyone apparently associates with Steph and me.

Because the group was originally introduced through pairing for a Chicago league co-ed soccer team 10 years ago, we began the festivities by ceremoniously kicking around the pill on the old Montrose & Lakeshore field where we once reigned supreme (we won the league three times in our heyday). I managed to locate my dusty soccer cleats and despite not kicking the ball in years was at least partially gratified that I hadn't lost my touch entirely (just mostly).

Shuttled by cab the rest of the evening, Steph and I never knew the destinations until we arrived. After soccer (and a shower), we convened at The Art of Pizza (Steph's favorite Chicago pizza) near Ashland & Belmont for dinner and BYOB drinks. There the guests of honor were presented with our headgear for the evening (pictured above), the Swiss Princess party hat and Rainbow Trout cap. The trout was a thoughtful gesture owing to my streak of not catching any fish on my annual WI fishing trip.

From there we hit The Fieldhouse, a mostly-dive bar on Lincoln with peanut shells on the floor and tons of Bruce Springsteen on the jukebox, Steph's and my long-standing late night cheap beer joint of choice (it was unfortunately overcrowded with Saturday night sports fans so we settled instead for nearby Mickey's, who served skunked Miller Lite--but who can tell the difference?).

We proceeded to The Local Option pub on Webster Ave in Lincoln Park where we lived the majority of our time in Chicago, ~11 years (!). The vibe at the bar has changed appreciably under new ownership but luckily the bottled mass-market beer tasted the same. I performed respectably at video Big Game Hunter; real-life hunter Bob nailed the most bucks (after I taught him how to reload the gun) and real-life pacifist Tom shamefully murdered four does, a heinous display of both skill and ethics.

From there we rewound yet again, arriving at corner watering hole Mulligan's on Roscoe and Damen, our very original meeting place and sponsor of several soccer seasons (in retrospect, we might have guessed we'd hit it off together when, told to meet there on a Tuesday night by a mutual soccer friend who didn't show up, our two groups each waited in the otherwise empty bar drinking pitchers of beer for an hour before anyone approached the other saying, "Are you the team we're supposed to meet?"). Our other unfortunate tradition while gathering at Mulligan's after games was that goal-scorers were treated to a shot of Jameson whisky. Well, you would have thought the remnants of the old team had scored a record 24 goals on Saturday night after our third round of Jameson shots.

Although the group understandably staggered apart after that, Steph and I finished our "classic" Chicago evening at yet another all-time favorite establishment, the Burrito House at Lincoln & Addison. Trying to catch up on our sleep, we hit the sack at 4am, a little earlier than last Saturday.

Fried Greenville Tomatoes

We visited my (Todd's) parents in South Carolina on Friday and Saturday, a perfectly lovely yet unfortunately slightly abbreviated trip because nothing ever quite goes as planned, does it? Although the p's have retired in Aiken, SC, we chose Greenville as our rendezvous city which, although quite charming, is not exactly a travel mecca.

Mumurings of potential problems with our 7pm Thursday United Airlines flight (United stinks!) began 24 hours earlier with forecasts of high winds, scattered strong thunderstorms or even a possible tornado on Thursday afternoon. Nontheless, we diligently packed and then suffered the now 75-minute el trip to O'Hare on Thursday afternoon (already terrible service on the dilapidated CTA worsens daily), our arrival coinciding exactly with our flight cancellation. For kicks, we stayed at O'Hare's ratty and overcrowded Terminal 2 for a few hours, playing around in some long lines and temporarily rebooking on a woefully delayed flight to 100-mile distant Columbia, SC, before regaining our senses, throwing in the towel and returning home to fly Friday morning instead. By the way, the forecasted apocalyptic weather never did hit Chicago.

After finally arriving Friday afternoon with rain also having just passed through Greenville, we enjoyed a perfectly lovely time. As the beneficiaries of some local restaurant tips from Stephanie's sister's friend who grew up in Greenville, we drove straight to lunch at Henry's Smokehouse, a real-deal SC barbeque joint with awesome pulled pork and mustard-based hot BBQ sauce (my favorite). Proceeding downtown to the Hyatt Regency, we continued chatting all together in our corner suite room, grazing later on the delicious amenity cheese and fruit plate and wine (the perks of Steph's employment never end, do they?). My impending premature--and probably only temporary :-( --retirement in Switzerland appears to have nothing on my parents' retired life in Aiken, they're apparently having a ball there.

Not quite sated on wine and cheese, we toured around the cute downtown arriving first at a wine bar for a glass apiece and later beginning dinner with a cheese-fondue inspired starter at upscale southern-style restaurant Soby's. Dinner was quite good, especially the shrimp and grits, crab cakes and caramel flan (we shared a little).

Steph and I passed out early Friday night from the slow but steady exhaustion that seems to be creeping up on us closer to our move date. The next morning, a beautiful sunny Saturday, we capped off our trip with another short stroll downtown to a little cafe called Coffee Underground for breakfast. From there it was back to airport, but not before briefly celebrating my parents' stroke of luck with an unexpected Hyatt room opening Saturday night, allowing them to stay and enjoy another day in Greenville.

Meanwhile, Steph and I were anticipating another blowout evening Saturday with a big going-away party planned with our Chicago core of friends (that's the big third party so far, if you're still counting)...

Doomsday Averted

The single biggest missing piece of our move appears to have fallen in place--we received, renegotiated and ultimately accepted an offer on the house on Wednesday! Just over two weeks on the market. A woman who attended the open house on Saturday (one of two parties that showed up during the three hours--how's that for a slow market?) apparently fell in love with it (just like we did) at first sight. She spent over an hour casing the joint, including an all-important 30 minutes talking to upstairs neighbor Gayle, understandably to evaluate their potential compatibility and get the low-down on the neighborhood. Fortunately they hit it off just fine. The poor woman apparently toured 20 places all over creation in Chicago this weekend, thinking she'd prefer the South Loop (sorta the opposite of Roscose Village) then woke up Monday morning deciding she still loved our place best.

So we're set for a November 15 close; she's pre-approved and the financing appears solid; we're in fast forward mode with the inspection already on Friday. We really couldn't expect things to look any better.

The absolutely crazy thing is that Steph and I are responding exactly the same to this wonderful news--without any joy whatsoever. To "celebrate", we met for a glass(es) of wine on Wednesday night at our local wine bar, as I was returning from a business trip and she from her going-away work-friends dinner that evening (at Nine, incidentally). By our demeanor at the bar, you're more likely to have thought that the house collapsed instead of sold at exactly the price we wanted. And our dour mood certainly wasn't the wine's fault, it was awesome--a Spanish txocoli (some crazy white varietal) and a nice Oregon pinot noir.

So why is that? I guess I don't know exactly (my psychology career ended abruptly after Psych 101 in college due to insufficient electives for engineering majors). Maybe because the market still really stinks and we've heard too many stories of places under contract that ultimately don't close. Maybe because it seems too good to be true. Maybe because we adore our place and are heartbroken to let it go. Maybe because we're so busy and it's just another item to check off the list. Actually it's probably a combo of all of those.

Dom Perignon and Swiss Army Cake

Our wonderful group of college friends from Plymouth, IN and environs (most of us attended Purdue University--stoke 'em Boilers) threw a going-away party for us on Saturday evening (that's party #2 so far if you're counting). After fleeing our own residence moments prior to Saturday afternoon's open house, we drove the two hours from Chicago to Plymouth to stay with friends David and Brenda.

Among other diversions, they own a bar in Plymouth (one of two bars, thus giving them 50% market share) called The Dandelion that Brenda manages, also thereby receiving "trade discounts" on booze. She craftily acquired some bottles of Dom Perignon champagne over the years, one as a gift to Steph and me for our 10 year wedding anniversary and another for a previous anniversary of hers and David's. Well, we spoiled ourselves and finally popped them open in fine style that evening, accompanied by various stinky cheeses and smoked salmon and duck pate. The 1998 bottle was phenomenal and the 1996 even better!

Half loopy already, we progressed to the restaurant to meet other excellent friends Zeus & Sarah, Mike & Krysta, Mel & Eric and Dave & Chris who had reserved a separate room with catered food; staying in theme, we started drinking the champagne of beers (Budweiser products). Zeus (not his birthname) and Sarah presented us with an awesome cake, made by their wedding cake designer in Indy, in the form of a bright red Swiss army knife. "Auf Wiedersehen Todd & Steph" was inscribed on top and the whole thing was so nice that, combined with the champagne effect, I almost lost my emotional cool for the first time. Luckily I managed to restict my response to a moment of damp eyes and tight throat, not an outright breakdown. Whew!

After dinner we proceeded to the previously mentioned bar to continue imbibing Budweiser products and to jam with the more-spirit-than-talent local grunge/heavy metal cover band. After the live entertainment, we returned to David and Brenda's house to complete our usual ritual of afterbar stereo jukebox DJ'ing contest until nobody can stand up straight, then someone finally notices it's 4:30am and we pass out.

Reviving ourselves at a leisurely 2pm (that's Eastern time, so really only 1pm for us), we spent some time with adorable baby Toren, who had just returned home, before heading back to Chi-town to meet friends Sandy and David for a fancy dinner Sunday night. Leaving the country is tough work.

Fire Sale!

Wow! I haven't blogged in a while, I guess with some recent traveling and hitting the wire with the move there's less and less time! So we had our "We're Not Dead Yet" estate sale on Saturday morning with great success. Lots of neighbors and friends of friends actually showed up to peruse the assortment of items that we're not taking to Switzerland, everything from our 50" TV with surround sound stereo down to cookie sheets that don't fit in tiny Swiss ovens. Virtually every object in the house was marked with a sticky note, either green for "It's yours!" or red for "Hands off, it's still ours!"

Amazingly, every large item that we really needed to sell actually sold. Our family room couch and matching chair, three tables, flat screen TV with stereo receiver and speakers, 72" dining room table, a humongous credenza--all of it! And some smaller but bulky kitchen items, too, including a griddle, waffle maker, ice cream maker, coffee maker, cake decorating supplies (!), pizza stone, etc., etc.

As with so much else with our pending move, the event brought some mixed feelings. On one hand, we feel quite liberated (and suddenly quite cash rich too!) getting rid of so much stuff . But on the other hand, watching people walk out the door with items we've owned and used and enjoyed for years brought the first true deep pang that we're actually leaving.

The only caveat along with our slashed prices was that all furniture items must remain until October 25th, when the movers come, so that we can continue to show the house furnished to potential buyers. Speaking of which, after the sale we had exactly one hour to prepare for a 1-3pm open house showing that afternoon. Our realtor showed up Saturday morning to briefly observe the chaos and departed with genuine fear in her eyes, but we had the place sparkling again by her return at 12:55pm. Steph and I are so efficient these days it's scary..!

40 First Dates (not the stupid movie)

All right, maybe not 40 dates, but with three weeks remaining before departure we are receiving some solid dates and the semblance of a schedule is finally taking form...

Sun, Oct 7 - complete marathon from Hades - check

Sat, Oct 13 - host the "We're Not Dead yet" estate sale for all items we're not taking with us
Fri, Oct 19 - trip to South Carolina to visit Todd's parents

Wed, Oct 24 - give up possession of car after 100 MPH joy ride
Thu, Oct 25 - Todd's last day at work - moving company starts packing up
Fri, Oct 26 - Steph's last day at work - packing completed and no place to live (Gayle might take us for the weekend)

Tue, Oct 30 - Todd, Steph and Hobbes take a one-way evening flight to Zurich!
Wed, Oct 31 - Halloween - stay first night at the Park Hyatt-Zurich (in costume as rich people)
Thu, Nov 1 - move into temporary residence in Kloten
Sat, Nov 3 - Steph reports to Hyatt office to move rubber bands and paper clips into desk

Mon, Nov 5 - Steph's first day of work!
Tue, Nov 6 - Todd to complete a successful solo ascent of the harrowing Eiger north face

Marathon Inferno

Major congratulations to Stephanie for finishing the 2007 Chicago Marathon today!!

Not only was it the hottest Chicago Marathon in history, today was the hottest October 7 ever in Chicago at 88F with 60+% humidity to boot. And it wilted the 45,000 participants (will they ever cap the Chicago marathon..?) who generated over 90,000 gallons of sweat today, according to my calculations. Over 300 people were taken away in ambulances with one death.

Officials actually shut the course down after only 3-1/2 hours. At that point only 4,000 runners had finished; another 20,000 that had already passed the halfway point were allowed to complete the full distance (while being incessantly shouted at by dozens of bullhorn-wielding organizers and a helicopter overhead to walk rather than run); the remaining 20,000 that hadn't yet reached halfway were simply redirected back to the start. My favorite line came from a particular police car PA speaker while slowly cruising the final five mile stretch of Michigan Avenue, "If you don't stop running and start walking, we will arrest you" (of course, he was kidding).

Between Stephanie and our good friend David from Plymouth, IN, who also ran today, they saw dozens of people collapse. Both added 30-40 minutes to their planned finishing time, with Steph at 4 hrs 56 minutes and David at an amazing 3 hrs 30 minutes (this was his 10th marathon including running Boston two years ago). The last several course miles looked like a triage with countless ambulances running around and blaring sirens. Steph received incredible help, moral support and sherpa service from another awesome Chicago friend Tom who ran "bandit" (that means he wasn't registered to run) with her from mile 10 until the end at 26.2; he was only planning to run 11 miles but ended up sticking through the entirety to help her with additional water and Gatorade and positive reinforcement.

The marathon course was improved for spectators this year, so I saw Steph at 3 points: miles 10, 21 and 25. Friends Matt and Melissa also cheered her on at miles 17 and 23. Friends Brad and Beth live right on the course at mile 10, not only providing Steph a much-needed bathroom break (from over-hydrating, nothing wrong with that) but also blasting music and spray-misting their garden hose into the running crowd which made Brad popular enough to run for mayor. Despite all the runners' problems, the crowd was great this year (people come out to cheer when it's 88F, not 44F) and the event is always phenomenal, so much that I was briefly overcome by a moment of homesickness for Chicago without even leaving yet.

So once more, congratulations to Stephanie (who also raised $750 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation as part of a Hyatt-sponsored charity) and David and the additional 44,998 successful, limping, salty, sunburned and exhausted participants of the Hotter than Hades 2007 Chicago Marathon!

Gin, Tonic and Cachaça

It appears that I should plan to be drunk or hungover every day for the next three weeks (of course it doesn't help that the hangovers now tend to last two days). Because the goodbye parties are starting to roll and the end is looking blurry.

My very good work friend Jeff who manages our company's business in Asia is traveling for the next three weeks to China, Thailand and Malaysia. He returns just before Steph and I leave for Switzerland, which means we wouldn't have a chance to drink together again--and we've made quite a business of drinking together over the years--so he graciously held our first going-away party at his condo Thursday night.

It was a great party, attended mostly by friends from work ("the usual drinking crowd," as they're known). His condo is beautifully decorated and he provided an awesome assortment of food from a European-themed caterer--various excellent cheeses, olives, pates, meats, etc. Many brave souls who had just attended International Wine Night last Saturday stuck with wine. Since we're setting heat records in Chicago right now (bad for the marathon this Sunday, poor Steph!) I chose my favorite summertime concoction, the always delicious gin & tonic. Stephanie demonstrated her discipline by only consuming one glass of wine, otherwise hydrating nonstop for Sunday's big run.

Things were well enough under control until later in the evening (after Steph had left, when I usually get into trouble) when Jeff and I and a few others started doing shots of Brazilian rum--a very good liquor called cachaça that tastes somewhere between rum, tequila and whiskey--that had been a gift from our Brazilian salesman. Well, the curtains pretty much dropped on me after that. Some other very nice and less-drunk friends shared a cab and shepherded me home because I don't think I could articulate my address to the driver.

As has happened to Jeff and me countless times--in Mississippi, Minneapolis, California and Tokyo, among other places--we each woke up in the morning still fully clothed from the night before and also feeling quite ill, him sitting straight upright on his couch as if watching TV and me under the covers at home. But everyone had a great time and he's one of the many people that have been so generous on our behalf approaching our move, and also that will be sorely missed. But Europe is only a short flight away, and we're planning to repeat the routine on that continent sometime very soon!

[By the way, for those following along with previous party antics, my work computer was luckily not destroyed by the DJ'ing fiasco last Saturday night, just slightly bruised and apparently stunned for about 48 hours. Join the club...]

A Parting of the Clays

Lots of news rolling in this week as my company, a specialty minerals manufacturer, informed me after much internal debate and consideration that they have decided NOT to create a position for me in Europe. Which allows me to focus exclusively on my true goal of swelling the ranks of the Swiss unemployed.

The split has been quite amicable. My last day at work will be in about three weeks. I fully understand their decision from a business perspective and although I'm sure that I could have benefited them in a European role, it's certainly not out of character with the company's usual conservative style regarding decisions of this nature. Optimistically, the doors of communication will remain open and it's possible given the rapidly evolving business situation that an opportunity to work together again will present itself a few months down the road. That is, of course, if I'm not already otherwise employed or simply smitten by the lifestyle of a haus herr in one of the coolest locations in the world.

From a bit of scoping, I've decided that job searching in Zurich will consist of the exact same drudgery as job searching in Chicago--job boards, headhunters, corporate websites, blah, blah, blech. But there are certainly a fair amount of postings in English. And the area surrounding Zurich is full of multinational employers in the chemical, pharmaceutical and medical device industries which fit my geeky background. And although it sounds crazy, I still haven't adandoned the idea of an entrepreneurial venture in the project management consulting/software vein. I mean, after I shoot out five resumes and cover letters each morning, I can't possibly just drink espresso the remainder of the day every day (even though I do love espresso), so I may as well entertain my pipe dreams of self-employment, right? After all, it's the American thing to do.

Die Adresse (temporarily)!

Exciting news! We received our temporary Swiss address today (also exciting is that 'address' is one of the 50 German vocabulary words that I know). This will be our fully furnished residence during November and possibly December as we scour Zurich for that elusive apartment that accepts both Americans and gigantic dogs, and also while our every belonging bobs merrily towards us on the Atlantic for six weeks.

It's actually in a suburb of Zurich called Kloten, very near the airport and also Hyatt's new office. In fact, we may need to avoid landing gear hitting us in the head. Probably not the neighborhood we'll choose for our more permanent abode. But fantastically, our only one real requirement for the temporary digs appears to have been met--they take dogs! Which means that Herr Hobbes can make the trip and be immediately angry and resentful towards his terrible parents instead of staying in the U.S. for two months and building up his anger and resentment for later. This is a HUGE relief because Hobbes enjoys child status with us and therefore we have to worry about him incessantly. Of course there's always the possibility the landlords will change their minds when they see his size and hair count, but we'll cross that bridge later if necessary and for now we're as pleased as sauerkraut on a sausage.

By the way, the address itself is Hohstrasse 4, 8302 Kloten. Nice, huh? Scroll south and a little west to see Zurich...


View Larger Map

One Down, One To Go

Mark one accomplishment off the list--I found a buyer for the car! And in quite serendipitous fashion too (there's always a story, isn't there?).

My company has its research facility in a Chicago suburb called Vernon Hills located about 30 torturous, crammed, always-under-construction miserable tollway miles from home. I had a meeting there Tuesday, which was fine, but at the last minute of that meeting I was cordially invited to return for another meeting Wednesday morning. Crap!

So after the 90 minute commute Wednesday AM to attend the 60 minute meeting, I was happily scooting away for the much more enjoyable locale of downtown Chicago. While pulling out of the parking lot, I passed and waved to a just-arriving work friend, Roberto, our Colombian tech service/salesperson for Latin America. He waved me down, we started talking and, lo and behold, he's currently in the process of moving from Chicago to Miami and looking for a new used car (that's a play on words from a Bruce Springsteen song). He had owned a BMW previously in Colombia and was also interested in a manual transmission and a cost under $20K (we all just got bonused for the year, so everyone is flush with cash). And wouldn't you just know it, I had everything he was looking for! He took the car for a brief spin and we agreed on a price the next day and a transfer date of late October. Fantastic, yes?!

So the only tasks remaining before we hand over the car is clean it up and then drive it at 100+ MPH one last time. We've only done that once before but I'd highly recommend it if you can get away with it. That car doesn't even warm up until it's going 80 MPH.

So chalk that one off the list. Whew. Now if the house would just sell. Four days on the market, two lookers already with repeat visits, but no offers yet. What a farce!

Four Week Checklist

Currently our planned departure for Switzerland is October 29, with today marking exactly four weeks to that date. We haven't booked airline tickets just yet because, as I've learned, people in the service industry don't really book until it's convenient or worry too much about the price, whereas those of us in manufacturing book six weeks in advance and agonize if the fare is $15 more than last time because the boss might notice.

In honor of the 4-week mark, I'm compiling a list of what's known and unknown regarding our imminent departure.

What we don't know:

o If Todd will have a job/income
o If our house will sell before we leave
o Where we'll be living in Zurich
o How much we should pay in rent
o If Hobbes can come with us right away
o Who is going to buy all the stuff we're not taking

What we do know:

o The location of the best bratwurst stand in Zurich
o How to say, "I don't understand!" in German (Ich verstehe nicht!)
o That the Packers are 4-0

So I'd say that so far we're in pretty good shape.

We listed the house today and already have some showings scheduled tomorrow as well as some form of "broker bonanza" where a bunch of real estate brokers come to our place to eat free food (not ours, luckily) in hopes that they'll bring their clients back. That's cool with us as long as they clean up after themselves because this place is spotless right now.