In NYC, I used to go to breakdance lessons with my colleagues after work. I unfortunately quit after a while, because I was afraid of getting a bruise before my wedding. Cindy, Moneta and I were at the point where we could do 6 steps without stopping (and thinking which leg goes where) and finally platform and headstand. Not bad for someone like me who hated sports.
Years after I quit learning breakdancing, Peter still thought I am into it and put a movie called “Planet B-Boy” on my iTouch. I finally got to watch it yesterday and totally loved it!! Even if you are not into breakin’ at all, this movie just makes you feel good after watching it.
Our windows have been replaced in the middle of the winter, when it’s minus degree outside. According to Peter who heard from Fabian, it’s cheap to have windows replaced in winter, so craftsmen have income in winter.
After Jenny hired Peter for a job in Zürich, we came down to Switzerland to look for an apartment for at least 3 times, looked about 30 apartments, and were denied right away.
In today’s Spiegel Online, there was an article about how hard it is to look for an apartment in Zürich. The vacancy rate is 0.03%. That means less chance for foreigners, especially people like Peter and I who are both foreigners. When we were looking for an apartment, we only had L-Visa for 1 year, a great risk to the landlord because the tenant can vanish without paying the rent. We looked at the smallest and darkest rooms at the far edge of the city, but we were still denied everywhere we looked. 2 Months before the first day of Peter’s job and we still did not have any apartment. I almost felt like we were back in NYC, where you have to kiss ass the evil brokers for the shittiest apartment in town just because we have no choice.
Whomever has read Max Küng’s “Heisse Sachen” on Das Magazin would be starving to go to Japan. He even made me want to go to Onsen (hot spring) in a country side and eat yummy Kaiseki dinner on Tatami floor.
In the sexist language of German, “Bring Your Child to Work Day” is called “Vater-Tochter-Tag” which translates into “Father and Daughter Day.” In Germany only men go to work. Surprised that this kind of sexistterm still exists in the country where the first female chancellor was elected 3 years ago.
My fury aside, this “Vater-Tochter-Tag” also exists in Switzerland. Last week when peter came home, he excitedly reported about the Vater-Tochter-Tag in his office and how he showed his colleague’s daughters the application he uses to create his magazine. (I doubt if the girls really understood the principles behind the application, but who knows, the kids nowadays are much smarter than the kids we used to be.) As I mentioned earlier, Peter’s magazine “20 Minuten Friday” is supplemental to a free daily newspaper called “20 Minuten (20 Minutes).” The content of 20 Minuten is aimed for the commuters to be able to cover the daily news within 20 minutes.
When Peter saw the boss of this newspaper, he asked why his son did not come to the office to learn about his father’s job. His boss replied that his son used to come until he started typing text messages next to him at the meetings. He also told Peter about the story when his son was in kindergarten. His son and his classmates were talking about the parents’ professions. When he was asked what his father does, he replied “my dad works 20 minutes!” and everyone went “whoooo! He only works for 20 minutes a week?! That’s a great job!!” As Peter told me this story, I imagined the reaction of the innocent kids and the hard-working father sweating off at work in contrary and had to laugh so hard. I always see the lights in the office building of 20 Minuten until very late at night.
Almost at the same time, Peter and I imagined our future kids in kindergarten. “What does your dad do?” “He works 20 minutes on Friday!”
Japanese love to invest in sports gear even before they start the actual sports, and I almost proved it true today.
Ever since I started jogging everyday (well, except when it rains, and it rains a lot in Zürich, if you know what I mean.) I started noticing I don’t have clothes to wear for jogging so many times a week. I sometimes have no choice but to put on my black pajama pants, hoping that nobody notices it’s my pajama pants. So I started browsing on Internet what kind of sports wear are out there, because I never paid attention to running wear in my life. My only serious jogging wear is a second-hand Nike fitness pants mom got from Mr. Kitayama but decided to send to me.
Then I found this Adidas website. I even went to the store to check out these outfits and they looked awesome, besides the price: the jacket costs $300. If this was in Japan, the jacket would be sold out. I remembered when Gerry-san went to Indonesia to surf, he saw a group of cool looking Japanese kids who were all geared up in flashy bodysuits but were not even good. It is tempting to look fabulous when you run, but I am just a beginner. Plus, I should remind myself that my audience is limited to dogs taking their senior citizen owners for a walk. So I am just gonna get some substitute jogging pants at Decathlon in Germany next weekend.
I love Kung Fu! If I was a lot younger, I’d have been a disciple to a Kung Fu master. Just imagine how you look when you go “hai hai hai!!” and give handknifestrikes to a bad guy!! Anyways, I think lots of kids dream about it too, and so there, “Kung Fu Panda.” The voice of the panda is Jack Black, and this main character moves just like him!! His stomach shakes like jelly when he moves, and his passion (almost eager) for food is persistent. Peter and I had lots of fun watching this movie, and guessing which Hollywood stars are doingcharactervoices was also fun.
When Hanna won 2 admission tickets to the 32nd Zurich City Run in tombola, she screamed “I am not gonna run!! No way!!” After this, she turned around to me, who was standing just behind her, lookedatmewithseriouseyes and said “Nemu, we are gonna run together!!” I was thrilled at her offer and my eyes weredancingwithexcitement. I replied “yes, let’s do it!!” and grabbed her hand. This was a month ago.
Since then, I started running more than once a week. This week, I was quite motivated and run 4 times. 10 minutes after starting to run is always the hardest point, because I have to go up the hill and catch up with my breath. After 30 minutes it gets to a highest point where I feel like I can run forever, and my legs move forward like they always did. This is a remarkable progress in the history of my lazy athletic career.
I gave up sports after elementary school, and jogging was absolutely out of question. I always wondered what kind of idiot wants to suffer so much and yet bear the most boring sports. Then my perception of sports changed when I met my ex-colleague Adam. He was so fit and good-looking, and he was into all kinds of sports. Once I rode my bike along Hudson River and saw him jogging. I waved my hand, but he did not noticed me. Next day at work, he explained that he did not see me, because he was going “strong”. How can somebody run “strong?” Does it mean “steady?” When I went jogging with Peter for 10 km for the first time today, I kind of understood what Adam meant. I was definitely going strong.
The city run is a joke and is only 4.5km long, which is one tenth of a normal marathon. You run around the city center twice. It will probably take only half an hour, but I am glad that I will be able to participate in a sport event for the first time in my life. It would be fun to run along Hanna and Peter and make jokes about each other.
My dream would be Paris Marathon, where you apparently get refreshments every 5 km, like crepe of your choice in the middle point and red wine before the goal. Maybe if I am slow, a bearded monsieur with beret riding a bicycle will push me from the back on his way to a bakery.
Anyways, Hanna, Peter and I will run for 4.5 km on Sunday, December 14th, starting at 14:45!! Please stay tuned for our exciting results.
