March Madness

You would think having internet at home would mean that I am updating this more often - especially since I promised more frequent updates. Sorry to disappoint you all. Hey, with such long distances between posts, you can be sure that I have plenty of stories to tell....

March was an absolutely crazy month - definitely March Madness Zurich Style. It seems ages ago that I actually posted on here, but have no fear, I have enjoyed every minute of this past month. When I left you last, I was on my way to Barcelona and was hoping to go skiing that coming weekend. Well, mission accomplished on both fronts. I came back from Barcelona with some really good Riojas in prep for the dinner party my friend was going to have...duty free shopping is seriously the best! Even though I am traveling within the EU, I can still benefit from duty-free shopping every time I come back to Zurich. That first weekend my friends, Ben, Matt, and I went skiing to Andermatt - slopes about 2 hours from Zurich. So I have to give mad props to Ben and Matt who were so patient with me the whole time we were on the slopes. I definitely slowed them down for sure, but they were with me every step (and fall!) of the way. Thanks guys - couldn't have gotten down those slopes without your help!! Andermatt was seriously breathtaking. I posted some pics on FB - check them out! I honestly felt like I was on top of the world. The view was absolutely stunning, and the town of Andermatt was really cute. Definitely a spot you could enjoy for the weekend. We only went for the day, but I could see how people could make a weekend out of it. I had a great time skiing. I really think I am going to like this sport going forward. So the season might be over by now but I am pretty sure this is something I will stick with in seasons going forward. I am starting to like it, even though I am not that good, but there is no where else in the world that I would rather learn to ski.

After our grueling day on the slopes, Ben was kind enough to invite us over for a dinner party. The Riojas came in handy then! Ben made us a very decent meal with all of the proper fixings. I don't know how he had the energy to cook after a day on the slopes, but I was impressed. We then headed out to an area of Zurich called Langstrasse. For those that don't know it, Langstrasse is probably the area of Zurich that has the most "character". It is this up and coming area, but let's just say that this is the area where you see all sorts of things. If Zurich were to have a real "Red Light" district, this would be it. Now I should put the disclaimer out there that when I say red light, you have to remember that this is Switzerland we are talking about. Very different than what some of you might be thinking of....there are actually some really good bars and clubs in that area. As I mentioned, very trendy, very lively. I was glad to check out that part of Zurich. We visited some cool places that night.

So finally my furniture from Ikea was delivered. Oh man, I should have honestly just paid Ikea to put all my furniture together. Let's just say that we are now into April, and my furniture is STILL not finished. I am STILL living out boxes, unpacked. I am about 90% of the way there, but this whole furniture/Ikea thing is driving me crazy. For the record, I hate Ikea. I appreciate the fact that you can find everything you need for relatively cheap, but I hate the fact that you have to assemble everything. And some of the stuff I have --- well, you need a PHd to figure out how to put all of this together. I hate the concept of DIY...i dont think it fits my style....but this topic can be left for another day....

The only saving grace about building your own Ikea furniture is that you can have furniture building parties. Now my friends really have been great. They came over TWICE(!!!) to help me put my furniture together. Not sure why they would spend their weekends helping me build my furniture, but I have to say that I appreciated every second of it. To be honest, we created almost a routine with our furniture building parties. So the days went like this: my friends would get to my place early afternoon, we would all go grab a coffee, come back and then build furniture for a few hours. The first weekend, there was only 3 of us, and we only managed to get half of my wardrobe done. The second time, there were 5 of us, and we mastered the art of "dividing and conquering". So after a few hours of furniture making, we would head over to Paddy O'Reillys Irish Pub to watch England Rugby. I know what you are thinking....rugby?!?! England?!?! Irish Pub?!?! Well, one of my friends is a HUGE English rugby fan so we would all head over to the Irish Pub - the only place that plays the matches - to watch England play against another 6 Nations teams. In the spirit of teamwork, we thought it only fair that we watch rugby to make my friend happy after we all had built my furniture. Tit for tat...or something like that. And then we would just go where the night took us.....definitely some memorable weekends that started out pretty mundane (building furniture) but ending up in some cool places in Zurich. I will say that my friends and I definitely bonded over furniture making, I think everyone is just excited now to see how my flat will actually look like once I am unpacked and everything is set up. I know I am excited to see how my flat turns out....I will just have to host a dinner party when everything is all set and get my friends over here to see the final product. Don't worry - for all those who plan to come visit, I promise everything will be done by the time you guys come!

On the work front, things this past month have been crazy, with Business Review Meetings and a major consultant meeting I was running. All in all, everything has gone smoothly so far (thank god!) Still loving the work, and finally our team was completed in March. We are now a team of 12! It is nice to have a few more people in the office now. Not quite the size of Raynham, but good to have a bigger team. This team is really international, multicultural, with various career backgrounds, but I love it. I love the diversity of thought, opinion, styles, and I really think we can all learn from each other.

The only other thing that happened in March was that we had to say good-bye to one of our friends because he was moving back to London. That was a sad day. We definitely commiserated his last weekend in style this past weekend. I guess that is the weird thing about the expat community. Depending on the work situation, there is a higher likelihood that people come and go. It's hard to see one of your good friends leave....there were three of us that basically were the 3 Musketeers. I know what you must be thinking....how can you develop a bond that strong that fast? well, i think common experiences create strong bonds. So to see one of the Musketeers leave - definitely a sad day....then there were two, right BB?! (sorry for the inside joke...).

This brings me to this weekend. Spring has finally arrived in Zurich - and let me tell you - I thought this city was amazing during X-mas and Winter - oh man, winter has NOTHING on Spring. It is absolutely GORGEOUS here when its warm - I cannot wait for summer to be here in full swing!! I got a glimpse of what it could be like, and seriously I think this summer is going to be awesome!! I should also mention that I finally bought my TV and multi-regional DVD player. Now just got to hook it up.....but I spent most of the weekend outdoors. After shopping for my electronics, I headed to a friend's place who has a roof deck - and we just enjoyed the beautiful weather. OH MY GOSH!!! Amazing view from the roof deck and seriously had a great time. I have a feeling that chillin on the roof deck might become a regular occurrence in the summertime....I think I will be spending many a days there. Today I went and hung out by the lake. I think the Swiss definitely become different people when the sun is out. People were lounging around, bbq-ing, playing frisbee or football....SUCH a good vibe. Like I said, I can only imagine what summer will be like. I cannot wait!

So in the end, March was absolutely mad, but I loved every second of it. The more time I spend here, the more I love this city. For me, every change in weather, or any change for that matter, just unravels another side of Zurich, and every time I see a different side, I can honestly say that I am falling in love with this city. I really do love it here, and at least for the short-term cannot see myself living in any other city. I hope some of you have the chance to come visit. I would love to show you around!!

So here's to the continuing adventure! Here's to more discoveries in the city! Cheers! Until next time to all my readers out there...!