Summer seems to be over, if it ever started, here in Germany. It is very humid but cool and overcast most days now. The only thing good about this is that I am tired of my summer wardrobe and looking forward to moving to Fall/Winter. Got a few things in London last weekend that aren’t exactly summer. I think Prince Charles should send me a card thanking me for supporting the British economy like I do.

Got my Vivienne Westwood dream coat! Oh, it is SO wonderful. With the signature Vivienne boat neck cut, it is double breasted with the large crown emblem buttons. I look forward to getting a picture of it for all of you soon. Still too humid. We ordered my dream couch this week too. It is 8ft plus or 2.6 meters. This is longer than the distance from floor to ceiling in most American homes. It’s red velvet and so deep that my feet don’t touch the ground. I’m going to live on that couch. Unfortunately it is Italian, and Italy has August off, so they have a bit of a backlog, thus we will not receive our couch until the 3rd week in November. Can you believe it? Patrick actually talks about it more than me.

London was nice. I was able to not thinking about work at all until Saturday afternoon, which is too bad since it was my birthday that day. We did get our toes done at the Bliss Spa and the lady said Patrick has some of the nicest feet she had ever seen on a guy. His bright red toenails look beautiful! We like the idea of going to London for pedicures every other month, though I realize this is a bit excessive. I have simply pleasures, they are just complicated to execute.

We were very popular at the festival. Something about us causes people to ask us for help. See Patrick being a boyscout and me being a wuss when it comes to the outdoors, results in our being very prepared and thus comfortable. I always have Band-Aids and sun block. We bought collapsible lounge chairs and brought my big golf umbrella. People were impressed by the chairs and jealous of the umbrella. When it started to pour, we made a number of friends. Suddenly there would be people standing under the umbrella with us. So, we’d strike up a conversation. The British are so friendly. Anyhow, the only thing that we decided we were missing this time was galoshes. Next time rain is in the forecast, I am bringing my galoshes. The White Stripes were awesome. Muse was breath taking. The Hives are a band that is better in a club environment, though I still loved the music. We did decide this time that festivals just aren’t our thing. Not much to do if you don’t drink or drug. I am too small to get near the stage so the artists are just little specks anyway. Oh well. It was a nice birthday anyhow.

One thing I did learn at the festival is that T-Shirts are an important form of communication. There is a Larry McMurtry book (‘The Last Picture Show’ or ‘Texasville’, can’t remember which) where the wife of the main character wears, ever day, T-shirts that have sentences on them. These sentences are her form of communicating with the world about her situation. At the show I determined that this is universal and very important at large gatherings. It helps people find ‘like minded’ people. Let me share with you some of the T-shirts I found particularly meaningful:
-Heather gray shirt with brown fuzzy letters that said ‘ACNE’
-Black T-shirt, white block letters, ‘INSECURITY’
-Blue T-shirt with Ford logo script, ‘FUCT’
-All sorts of old faded concert T-shirts, including previous Reading Festival years
-Military green T-shirt with black letters, ‘9 out of 10 kids prefer Crayons to Guns’
-Black T-shirt, white letters, ‘Ramones – Gabba Gabba Hey’
-Lots of short sleeved gas station attendant shirts with stripped ties
-Two guys walking together with matching shirts of uniform gray/white checks with random dark red/blue checks thrown in, reminded me of two wild and crazy Bavarian Brothers
-White T-shirt, black letters, ‘I hate Uri Geller’ (Uri Geller is a psychic/annoying psuedo-celeb)
-Gray T-shirt, black letters, ‘I eat Glue’
-MTV Jackass T-shirts abound. Black T-shirt, white letters and a skull with cross bones made of crutches
-Black T-shirt, white letters, ‘If you think I’m a bitch, you should meet my mom’
-Brown T-shirt with red letter and a picture of Jesus with his arms raised, ‘Jesus is coming. Look busy’
-Black T-shirt, red Pentagram, white letters, ‘God is busy. Can I help you?’

I have decided that I am finished with the Corporate world for now. I can’t take the crap anymore. Maybe I am just not cut out for it. I really don’t mind change, but I do mind the petty politics that go with it. Perhaps it is just at companies our size, with so many layoff’s in the wings, only this time at the upper levels. I am completely willing to use various administrative processes to track projects, but at a level that makes sense. I don’t want to use time intensive, highly complicated tracking methods for a project that is a) not complicated and b) almost over. Sometimes I think that I am resisting change, but then I think I am just resisting blank application of bureaucracy. Moderation is the key to life (stop laughing) and I think businesses forget that. Lately it has been SO obvious the differences between the US and Europe. Americans are so extreme in everything they do, whereas Europeans are more extreme in what they believe. Trust me the difference is significant. I just don’t feel like talking about it.

I finished a really good book last night. ‘Cryptonomicon’ by Neal Stephenson. It is a 918 page book so trying to describe the plot is hard. The cool thing about the book is the way he intertwines past and present. We have two sets of characters. One set during World War II and the second in the present. In the end, the two sets come together, at least those left. There is war, peace, logic, love, earthquakes, political and moral policy, governments and corporations, treasure and legacy. There are computers and math too. I recommend it.

Unfortunately, other than that, my life is rather dull. All I do is work and workout. Sure there was London but that was as it always is…shop, eat Indian food, see a movie (Austin Powers!), sleep, shop, pedicure, eat Wagamama, see bands, shop, eat Curry’s to go, etc.

This week’s outfit is courtesy of FCUK and good genes. I have lovely boobs and this dress shows them off. The piggy-tails are just to show that I am still sweet. Of course this dress goes in the box now that summer is over. Cheers.