Sunday, February 22, 2009

5 Musings and 1 Muse

I am crazy busy at the moment. Work is busy. I come home tired and exhausted, in one of those states where my eyes hurt from looking at a computer screen all day and the last thing I want to do is blog. I am sorry - usually blogging is my relaxation, my sharing time, my playdate with the Internet. But lately all I can seem to do is take off my shoes, heat something up, and pry my eyes open so that I fall asleep at a respectable adult-like hour. Pathetic.

Here are a few things on my mind at the moment, little tidbits of ideas that I meant to blog about but have missed in the haze that has been my existence over the last few days:

1. What on earth was the Brazilian chic thinking when she mutilated her (supposedly pregnant) belly and claimed to have been mobbed and attacked by Neo-Nazis on a train platform in Zurich? Thank goodness this attack was just one big hoax. Shame on her for putting Zurich in the public eye for such a lie.

2. English as ANOTHER official language in Switzerland? Um, don't they already have FOUR official languages? What up? Perhaps the Swiss should have a chat with the US, where we still avoid making Spanish an official language. Cablecom and UBS already have English options... I think they know what their customers are speaking, the rest of the country can follow if they want to communicate with the people - but another official language? Hmmm... sounds like someone wants more paperwork!

3. Who decided that the German language needed to have three gender cases? Why couldn't "THE" just be enough? I am so frustrated by German at the moment. If you speak with me in German and you realize that instead of der, die or das I use a slurring that sounds just like a 'duh' noise, you now know why. Stupid articles. I hate you. I spit at you. You make me sound like a silly cartoon figure perhaps even on the scale of a Borat. Loathe is not strong enough a word. Spat. Hack. Take that you silly language... don't even get me started on Swiss German. Today is not the day.

4. I will be coming home in May for my brother's graduation. I am pretty excited about seeing family and friends, and at the same time I am wondering if they make luggage big enough for the shopping spree I am planning. Then again, I will need to pay $20 per piece of checked luggage these days - pathetic service...not to mention I just got back from a Swiss flight - one flight - no connections and THEY LOST MY LUGGAGE. It has not been 24 hours yet but they better find it or I might FREAK OUT. I had visions today of running against the flow of the baggage carosel and kicking oncoming bags out of my way while screaming, "FIND IT!!!!!!!!!! FIND MY BAG YOU HEATHENS!!!" But I did not because of already negative expat press, see item 1. I had it all planned, too, down to swinging down into the sorting room and making grunting noises while lifting oversized bags effortlessly out of my way to get to my personal effects. Nonetheless, we are on standby. Stupid Swiss Airlines. Stupid bad expat press.

5. The financial crisis continues and UBS is again at the fore, hiding Swiss accounts held by US citizens in a big tax evasion story. Now UBS has to come forth with the customer details and will pay out an $850 million dollar fine. All this ludicriousness, and come March they are going to be charging me a monthly fee for my account... it just doesn't seem fair. I would switch banks if the effort did not make my eyelashes hurt - it is that painful - and if I felt that during this financial crisis some good would come of it. Can we trust anyone with our money anymore? Goodbye coffee house funds, hello coffee cans.

I promise I will get back into the blogging mood soon. Until then, please send me your 'atta girl' pick me ups in a comment, and perhaps link me to a good source of inspiration. I feel another grueling week ahead of me... until then, here is some photo inspiration for you for the week, because no matter how tough it gets, remember it could always be worse:

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20 comments:

Habebi said...

Articles are the bane of my existence when I speak French- that and the past verb tense. Ugh. Hope you get some rest and work calms down soon. Take care!
(that pink dog is disturbing, but, hilarious!)

N said...

I can't believe the Brazilian woman's story if a hoax! I felt horrible for her.

JuanitaTortilla said...

Awh? No wonder you have been so... quiet.

Don't I hear you on the die-der-das issue?!? Let's spit together. OK, but not *at* each other, ha!

Take a time off.

I really really hate flying, and to top that with losing a luggage?! How difficult is it for an airlines staff to pick up the bag, load it up on the plane, and load it back up on the conveyor on touchdown? I don't get it. I feel your pain!

Susan May said...

I wondered what had happened to you. Hang in there, better days are ahead. Thanks for blogging - I especially enjoyed your rant about the luggage!

Leigh said...

I just found your blog today, and it's very helpful to me! I'm here in Zurich with my husband for a few weeks and was just looking online for things to do, etc. and found your blog. All the info is so helpful. I'm looking forward to going to a few places you mention. We're here for my husband's work and also checking it out to see if we might want to move here (from the states), so your blog is especially helpful from that perspective.

The Antiques Diva™ said...

How is it you can make misery sound so funny!?

On the bright side, I suspect (unlike mine) your family room isn't currently filled to the brim with you & your husbands entire wardrobes while your husband has commandeered the guest bedroom (where said articles were previously residing) in a several week long endeavor to build one of those Ikea-esque wardrobe units. My usually mild mannered husband has become a growling spitting bear reminding me while cfo's shouldn't attempt to do "do-it-yourself" projects!

Best Regards!
Toma, aka The Antiques Diva

Anonymous said...

I found your blog only recently and think that it must be tops in terms of information and being informative to those who need to know about life in Zurich... so therefore you now have a responsibility to them... you no longer have the luxury of not blogging and more than that... you have a responsibility. It is unfortunately your duty... :)

Leigh said...

On the way here from California our luggage was lost too. At first I didn't have the energy to care too much, but the next day, I was freaking out and really upset. It showed up a day later though, whew! I hope yours will show up soon too.

Jessica said...

Thanks to everyone for the comments. I feel way better already, and I just got a call - our bag will be delivered today. YEAH! Now just to get through the work week!!!!

Michelle Glauser said...

I loooove the three gender cases. It seems to make so much more sense to have a language make that distinction. English seems so empty-handed now, even if there are still times when my world gets rocked upon learning the gender I had always used was wrong.

Unknown said...

Good to know they found your luggage! Hope everything gets better from now on.

On the subject of the Brazilian woman, well, I'm a 27 year old Brazilian woman who has been in Zürich only for a week. Could there be a worst timing for me to be moving here? I feel so ashamed. Now I can only hope that the Swiss authorities make her pay for what she's done.

Jessica said...

The whole thing with the Brazilian woman could happen anywhere. I am sure there are crazier things that happen in the US everyday. The difference is they do not get international media attention like this one did...

Don't stress, Carla. I am sure no one will take it out against you... at least I won't!

Just got the bag. I am caressing it now like a beloved pet. Oh sweet bag. (Makeup! That is what I am missing the most!)... lol

Z said...

I'm so with you on the articles issue. And the declinations are even worse, if you ask me. I've been sulking about them for a year now, maybe it's time to get off my duff and try to learn some things again. Memorization was just never one of my strong suits.

Tina said...

Damn UBS charging fees! I couldn't even open a bank account with them since our income is not sourced from the EU.

I think English would be helpful - but the proposed laws would just make it so government forms would be required to have an English translation available.

Hang in there!

mrsmac said...

Cablecom has an english option? I've never been able to find it when we call. Only German, Italian, and French. We usually have to get someone on the phone, ask if they speak English, and then are usually transfered to someone who does speak English. Then they usually promise that they'll fix the problem by having a technician call back and it never happens... but that's another story.

Jessica said...

MrsMac... perhaps you are right when it comes to calling support. Their website has an English option though which I find helpful and you can login to your account and make changes in English... that is all I have done to date.

I find with Customer Service in CH anyway that despite my STELLAR :) German the person on the other end always WANTS to speak English with me anyway...

Young Traveler said...

Hey you! I agree about the Brazilian woman...how bizarre was that!?

Also, I've given you an award on my blog. Check it out when you get a chance.

Amanda said...

Z - What the heck is a declination? Great, yet another grammar term. Sometimes learning what the grammar terms correspond to in English (if there is an equivalent) is just as difficult as learning German. Uugh. Anyway, I've missed your posts, but no pressure...

Chantal said...

I hope you are doing better. I too have had some really tiring weeks. Trying to work in German is not for sissies! And German articles are killing me too. I finally decided I don't care anymore and I just try to talk. The articles are pointless for comprehension anyhow!

Anonymous said...

Cablecom is consistently voted the WORST for customer service and I personally hate them in any language. Can't wait until my Sky satellite card comes and we can dump them.

Also I hate when airlines "lose" my bag. wth! I would rather lose it with Swiss than any other airline however, I probably stand more chance to get it back.

If you hate remembering articles, you might actually love Swiss-German, as you can skip over the der-die-das as everything gets reduced to D'--- I actually prefer swiss-german because the grammar is practically non-existant! You can just mumble around all that complicated German...

And lastly -- it is pretty easy to open a Post Bank account. I love Post Bank! Now, I just have to close my UBS one, ugh.

 

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