Made in Japan, Outsourced Globally

5:17am - London Stansted Airport. Unrelenting business people who have twerped senses of timezones and frugal English travelers meander through the hallway (and around each other). Jenny and I, on the other hand, were on a mission.

We loaded up our carry-on luggage with 2 bottles of PIMMs and a "new friend" (read: "porky offering to a special friend"). Afterall, that's what friends do when you get invited over to someone's home country. Give them liquor and pig.


Marco: International Man of Misadventures

Marco... I don't even know where to begin with this guy. He's the type of guy who would get on a bus in a foreign country with no destination, just to see where it would take him (in fact, he often did that in HK). He's also the type of guy where Chevy Chase National Lampoon worthy misfortunes pile up (e.g. - his car died in the middle of the New Jersey turnpike, so he dragged 4 suitcases and a hubcap (read: memorabilia) through NY, and barely made it to Boston by train in time for his flight). I want Marco to publish a "travel disaster guidebook" some day. Jenny and I had a good laugh for a good 1.5 hours non-stop.


Lubec - not just a Ryanair airport town. A beautiful hansa (merchant) town.


I think I learned some of the most random things about Germany that weekend. For instance, meet Emma - Marco's turtle. In Germany, all land turtles must be registered and anyone who wants to buy one must get a certification (or training?) to become a rightful owner. Including the pig, Marco now has 2 pets.

The paper-crafted people are the result of Marco's MBA education in the US (haha). Out of boredom, he created 12 people for the last 12 days of school, and killed one off per day. Notice the creativity in they way they died.


Notice anything a little different? The World Cup fever brought something quite unique to Germany this year. Yes, Germans are proudly decorating their cars with flags! Now, if you know German people, most are quite conservative when it comes to public patriotic cheering. It's a refreshing change.

Jenny and I weren't the only ones visiting Hamburg that weekend. Robbie Williams was belting "I don't wanna' rock, Dee-jaaaaaaa-ee-ay" when we were sipping Pimms at the balcony of Marco's apartment. I hear he's the new David Hasselhoff for German teenie-boppers today.

Guten tag, beautiful Hamburg! We took a nice stroll around the city.






Mannequins with attitude.

That weekend, the Queen Mary II was in town. She was a big hit, apparently, and all of Hamburg was cheering for her arrival, and then, her departure in the evening.


Waiting for Queen Mary II


And there she is!!! Surrounded by her enterouge, the royal majesty makes her grand entrance and exit. Hamburg is a little unique in that it's Europe's second largest port city and is considered the most international city in Germany due to its role in international trade. We took a boat tour around the harbour, and we saw containers and cargo ships from all around the world. It is mind-boggling to be so close to these massive ships and the engineering it took to build them.


Welcome to Reeperbahn - the red light district of Hamburg. For some reason, it never occurred to me that Germany was a nation that legalized prostitution. Afterall, prostitutes pay taxes. The only people punishable by the law are the pimps. Pimping is a manipulative act of putting people in dependency and financial slavery (with the added bonus of possible violence). Of course, there is a lot of awareness posters against prostitution and prostituion rings in subways.




Jen, Marco, and I - lots of fruity drinks. Lots. Happy reunion!

I can still feel the cobblestones beneath my feet. The sweet wild berry ice cream on my tongue. The hot summer sweat on my neck. Hamburg picked up our spirits in true delight.

God forbid that I should forget...

UA Flight 759

From: Philadelphia Int'l Airport, PA
2:45pm Sunday, August 6

To: Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport, IL
4:13pm Sunday, August 6

Anybody up for drinks in the Chicago area on Sunday the 6th?

Hello, World.

I have been well. I'm watching the world go by, sitting in a bagel shop where the local elders gather for their daily chit-chats - scrabble, Fidel Castro, visits by their grandchildren. My green beast (the car) is now running. The apartment hunt will start soon. My flights to Chicago and Boston are booked. Everything seems to be going a-o-kay.

But there is a restlessness that course through my veins. I can feel the rise of another adventure ahead. New & old faces in the Midwest. Business travel to NY, LA, Shanghai, (and HK would be a GREAT bonus). Getting my engine revved up.

I don't want to reflect just yet. There are photos that need uploading, presentations that need to be created, letters to my boss that need to be written.

But I sit here sipping hazelnut blend coffee. Reading Murakami. Eating bagel with lox creamcheese. A huge grin slapped on my face.