One thing keeping me busy during my blogging hiatus was playing around with my new DSLR camera. I am by no means an expert yet and would still like to take some more classes but I am slowly beginning to understand what's needed to make a good shot. I thought I would share some of my favourites with you all. Be honest and let me know what you think, I would love some constructive criticism, anything to help me improve.
Ahhh the locals!
Leia vaporised Luke!
Play that Alpine Horn
Random flower lady in Munich
Pictures of people taking pictures
Eh, not sure what this was
Pictures of people taken pictures: Woman amazed by Stroopwaffle
I disappeared. It was a gradual thing, one not planned or expected but something out of my control. This journey I had been on over the last year had all lead to this, the Blog, Social Media immersion, writing for other websites, all so I could shift my career in a different trajectory and it payed off. I got the job I wanted, the dream job, my Social Media job.
Initially I had great intentions, initially I thought I would be able to do it all, work in this online world day-to-day and continue my Blog but slowly the words began to dry up. You've all maybe experienced something similar, a general fatigue, a drought of inspiration but ultimately for me having to work in this online world for a living drained all desire to hang around here in my free time.
Don't get me wrong, I truly did love what I was doing for a living but it's like that scene from Friends, where Rachel is flirting with Carol's OBGYN and he explains why he does not want to have kids. It was exactly like that, I would get home and if I had to see one more Blog post or write one more Facebook post, well I could not bring myself to.
Now a change, I shift again career wise. I move into an area less online focused and I also have one month off with pay. It's is not a half-bad deal and so I come crawling back to this wee Blog of mine. I'm not going to bullshit you, make claims that I am back for good because I really won't know until I start my new job and see if I can strike the correct balance this time around. For now I seem to have found my voice again, found my words and it's a truly wonderful feeling. I think I have a good deal to say and I want to catch up with all my dear Blog friends again. I do apologise for my desertion but it was something that had to be done.
As for GBM I am still unsure what direction to take, to evolve, to stay the same, to delete and start a new, only time will tell but what I do know is right now I am not quite ready yet to say goodbye to this little Blog of mine.
Spring has unsprung! That's the second time I've been lulled into a false sense of security. Fool me once Switzerland, shame on you. Fool me twice and I get frostbite.
It would seem that this seems to be happening all over Europe at the moment so not so bad. Though I'm kinda done with winter. I long for swimming in the rivers and lake again. Oh well, all good things eh....
Spring seems to have arrived in Zurich. Take a look for yourself (though I have been duped before this month). I think this calls for me to get out today and enjoy this beautiful day.
My sister came to visit at the weekend. Yes GBS III and her fiancé finally came to see us in our new life in Zurich. I believe a good time was had by all, even if GBS III's future hubby did not get into the ice skating. Anywho, due to the extreme cold, the sister started rocking a pretty awesome new look, see below.
Guys, guys - excellent news, there has been a reason I've been all quiet on the blogging front of late, I've been expanding my writing portfolio into new online horizons.
You are now looking at the new 'Cityscribe' for Ron Orp Zurich. Got my own section and everything; 'Gingers Gutschein Guide' where I review restuarants using some vouchers.
But I'll not rattle on about it. Check it out for yourselves below. Hope you like it.
This was the scene last weekend, 24 degrees Celsius in Lucerne (75F), the sun blaring down from the a top the Alps. Sitting out on a swimbad with my sister and her husband who were over visiting, enjoying one last Aperol Spritz (tastes like summer). It was like an Indian summer last weekend.
This weekend on the other hand looks a bit like this...
Gotta love Zurich. I do feel slightly discombobulated, I mean Winter Wonderland before Halloween has even been and gone. Well it's probably for the best that I got this job. Money so I can begin another new adventure, one that involves winter sports. Yes, I will be learning to ski and/or snowboard this winter.
Last weekend over 950,000 dedicated ravers descended on my beautiful city for the biggest dance-music street party in all of Europe, 'Street Parade'. The day was an absolute scorcher.
This was my first time to attend something of this nature and whilst thoroughly enjoyable it was a rather strange anomaly in this city's more police-patrolled and rule enforcing nature. For one day in this city of order and rules, chaos is allowed rein supreme. Mass drinking on the streets, public urination, drug use, Italian men bathing in our city's fountains (ew), these are not things that you normally associate with the city of Zurich. As the time went on and the carnage of the day became apparent the once beautiful city began to more closely resemble Bagdad or Bangkok. Empty cans, crushed plastic and shattered glass became the carpet beneath my feet. Yet through it all none of the chaos was dampening my spirits for the overwhelming love of this atmosphere, of this music (whilst not for everyone and not for me all the time) was contagious.
In fact only one thing I saw that day managed to disgust, I won't go into details but extremely drunk girl, you know who you are, you know what you did and I really do not think your mother would approve of that behavior, heh heh.
I decided to dress up for the occasion with techno sailor slut boy being my intention, however it became apparent quite quickly that in caparison to those who went all out I was completely underdressed for Street Parade. I actually just looked like your run of the mill Zurichian hipster. We were talking, full on Lady Gagas, gargantuan trannies (Tranniesaraus Rexes, like), Lara Crofts, Toads from the Mario games and dozens of Smurfs. My little attempt at playing dress up felt a bit wet.
The music itself was great but I was mind boggled by the fact that the main stages where the supposed superstar DJ's were preforming seemed muted in comparison to the actual parade trucks. Next year I'm just finding a good spot to watch the parade, stages-smeages.
Yet eventually the day did manage to catch up to me and I was kindly taken home by Husband and put to bed. A little bit tipsy by the end and maybe even a little bit more cranky. Oh well I'll know better for next year.
My only regret is that I didn't get to meet this guy.
Techno Viking, fighter of evil drunkards, saviour of blue hair girls, drinker of water and dancer of hand. Maybe next year.
Okay, so apologies guys, I've not been around so much this week. I decided to throw myself a bit more wholeheartedly into the job hunt. Not that I've been complacent since I got here, it's just, well, those who are in a similar boat will understand me here, applying for jobs can be, in itself a full time job. You have to tailor your C.V. to the job in hand, prepare a cover letter based on what the job spec is looking for and then constantly checkin with all the different agencies you are registered with. It's exhausting.
Then Blogging, which I love be the way, but there is a whole process to it too, you can find that whilst you may have only written a very short post, it's figuring out the exact words that you want to say that can make it an altogether more time consuming affair. Then there's the rewrites, grammar and spellcheck (and I still sometimes miss some), then promotion on social media, interacting on the Blogsphere. I do it all and yet all I have managed to make money-wise is 3 francs, which reminds me where is my cheque Google?
Then of course I am my own worst enemy. I might get distracted and start updating the album covers on my iTunes (who else hates see that grey blank music note? Grr! This is probably down to my Obsessive Complusive Disorder and need for everything to be in order) or get distracted by Internet and it's Pelvic Trusting Cats.
Don't get me wrong though, I absolutely adore Blogging, I don't think I have felt as happy as I do now and I think it's due to the fact that I am doing something I love. All this said, I really would like to have my own money now, Husband and I are fine financially but I am ready to give up my kept-man/Hausfrau ways. So I think I am just going to have to have a few more days like the one before where I put my absolute all into finding that dream job. Unless suddenly I start making my fortune Blogging, tips welcome guys (lol, I know, I know, it's all about the long game with this one).
All the usual to follow anyways in the coming week.
It would appear that everyone in Switzerland owns a dog, some even have two (greedy bastards). It's becoming harder and harder for me pass by a cute pup, off his or her leash without wanting to scoop him up and leg it. Must be careful not to or my Swiss dream will be over before it's really begun (police are everywhere in plain clothes I'm told). So yeah, if there is such a thing as broodiness for a puppy then I appear to have come down with a mighty case of this affliction.
Husband and I have been seriously considering adopting our very own pup pup but have decided to hold off until I finally secure gainful employment. Considering the fact that we may occasionally need to travel (head back to Eire for Mammy's dinner) we need to be in a better fiscal position to afford the doggy hotels. This incredibly rational and logical decision is soul crushing to my inner child of Disney. I've so much free time at the moment and wouldn't a puppy make it so much more fulfilling? No, GBM, no, you don't get a dog because you are home all the time with nothing better to do, that's a bad GBM, sit.
To be honest it also would be great to have a dog to shoulder some of my stupidity on, say Husband arrives home to find his favourite mug or whatever shattered to pieces
GBM: 'Yeah it was the dog that broke it'
And then the dog would give Husband his big sad puppy eyes (no doubt infinitely more convincing than my big sad puppy eyes) and Husband would say.
Husband: 'Oh I could never stay mad at you'
I get off with it scott free. Mwah ha ha ha.
All this aside it's not something that we should be rushing into anyways as we are still at odds as to what breed we want our new bundle of joy to be. Personally my perfect dog has always been the Samoyed.
I might be a sucker for dogs that smile
Come on who doesn't want a dog thats known to appear to smile all the time. I'm sorry but if this picture doesn't melt the cockles of your heart then you are probably dead on the inside. Alas this dream dog of mine will have to wait as it would not be fair on this quite large dog to be cooped up in our tiny Swiss apartment, he needs lawns and fields to scamper about on. Run Sammy, run!
Back to the drawing boards, we started looking at breeds better suited to small apartments and guess what cutie was coming out on top.
Pugs, ahhhh, so ugly they're cute, I'm obsessed. The cutest thing I can think of in the whole world is a Pug in a hoodie. Come on what's not to love, they snort, they've got those cute squished up faces and those head tilts. Weird random Pug fact, you shouldn't use collars or choke chains on Pugs becuase if you pull too hard on them you could manage to pop poor little Pugsley's eyes out of his sockets. Seriously. Don't believe me watch this then (not actual video of it happening so don't worry).
So considering our wee Pug's potential health problems Husband offered a potential compromise.
It's a Puggle, cuteness overload, a Pug crossed with a Beagle. Wouldn't you just die? Okay I now realise I'm coming off like one of those crazy dog loving weirdos but perspective people, it could be worse. I could be this girl.
So I’ve arrived, yay me. This whole emigration thing is all a bit ambivalent for me. On the one hand I’m screaming ‘Wohoo’ in my head, I’m am free, I am living the the romantic dream, my job is my art, my art is my writing (if you can call it that) I am kept now about start my new life in a new country. How amazing? Then my other duality takes over, I’m jobless, I’ve yet to secure a single interview, my German is still very basic, oh woe is me.
Calm it down GBM, it will come, it will come.
After what seemed like the wettest week in Irish history and the possibility of a weekend of 25 degrees in Zurich I can’t say I was too sad to leave my beautiful green isle. Yes Ireland I won’t miss the weather, your complete lack of summer over the last 5 years has pushed me to this state of abandonment. You left me no other choice. I will not miss your constant drenching. That said you will always be my shire for you shelter and house the majority of the people in this wee life o' mine that I love the most. I’ll give you that, I’ll give you that. Fare thee well mine shire, I will always love thee but it’s time for this new Swiss way of life. Given I’ve just arrived I can not really detail yet what Swiss life entails.
So whilst on a visit to Zurich to see Husband before I finally make the big move we decided to check out our first ever live gig in the city. Dark Dark Dark an American band from Minneapolis were playing a small venue called el Lokal on Gesssnerallee next to the river. Hearing a band live for the first time or the sight of a cool, ascetically pleasing new music venue can fill me with all the awe and wonderment of a child's first visit to the zoo. El Lokal did not disappoint.
Once through the main door you are greeted with the first floor bar and a breathtaking N-shaped staircase the encumbers much of the rear wall of the building. The venue itself has an interesting vibe with stickers, pictures and graffiti covering it’s walls, toilet doors similar to those flapping doors of an old time western saloon and random roads signs and brick-o-brac scattered throughout. The stage is tiny and not too high off the ground giving the feeling the band is right amongst the crowd, heightening the intimacy. Ascending the stairs we notice each step is divided down the middle by white line, the purpose of which became apparent once the band graced the stage and people began to seat themselves on the staircase. Each right hand-half step now became the best seats in the house whilst the left hand side was left free to avoid fire hazard, something I’ve noted for my next trip back. At the top of the stairs we are greeted by a very cute and friendly barmaid who responds to my ‘Sprichen Sie English’ with the warmest of smiles and a heart warming ‘Yes’. We order our reasonably priced beers and take a seat near the edge of the ledge with a great view down to the stage below. It is then that Husband points out to me the incredibly huge human model skeleton hanging from the rafters. Yes, I do think I might have begun a slight love affair with el Lokal.
It was a cold dark rainy night, none more better suited to ‘Dark Dark Dark’s’ somber and beautiful style of music. The band land on the stage at 8:30 and it’s an unusual sight. Five very individual looking people, no cohesion in style, looks, a mish-mash of flavors and tastes that doesn’t look like it should work when altogether. That’s the beauty of music however because as soon as they begin to play it’s perfect unity and cohesion and then I get it.
As an avid gig goer it is incredibly refreshing to see a band tour with lesser seen instruments and so it was thoroughly enjoyable to listen to the delicate resonance of the flute and the accordion. In fact the accordion player is a revelation, at times giving me goosebumps with the Parisian sound he bought to the auditory ensemble. Then there’s Nona Marie Invie’s lead vocal, hauntingly beautiful with element’s of ‘Regina Spektor’ in her voice. When she begins to sing the band's cover of their ‘friend’s’ Elephant Micah’s song ‘Wild Goose Chase’ the hairs on the back of my arm begin to stand on end.
It’s at this point I realise how amazing the sound setup is at el Lokal. Scanning the crowd I get the sense that for the majority of the attendees this is their first taste of ‘Dark Dark Dark’ as I appeared to be the only person who was singing along (though this could be a very un-Swiss thing to do) but by the end of their set the crowds’ reaction was such the called for not one but two encores (however the first one seemed very planned as we on the second floor balcony could see the band come off stage walk up the stairs and stand at the top for a few seconds only to return back to the stage). The first brought one of my favorite songs of theirs ‘Bright Bright Bright’ in all of its eerie pleasantry. The second encore saw Nona Marie return to the stage solo, to preform a Kate Bush song to finish off the proceedings. A fine end to mine and Husband’s first live music experience together in Switzerland.
One of my worries with the whole relocation thing is the quite large possibility that I will be moving over the Zurich sans employment and furthermore sans cash monies. Husband has assured me what's his is mine but the idea of total dependence is not sitting very comfortably with me and I can't help feel like I will be penniless. Zurich has recently officially become the most expensive city in the World, cost of living wise and whilst I am trying to find employment, I seem to be at a disadvantage as I only speak English. Me no speaky the German sehr gút (but I am learning). Part of the reason I decided to Blog in the first place was because of this, I thought it would give me something to do should I remain stuck in an unemployment limbo. I won't deny that the idea of being kept or a man of leisure is not appealing for a while but in the long run it just isn't maintainable. Thing is I am a bit of a stickler. I like bargains, good deals on restaurants, entertainment, clothes etc and Zurich brings out the worst of my inner stickler traits. In my 3 short visits so far I have yet to buy one luxury item, this is unheard of for me when I am on holiday. Travelling to another country usually has me spending compulsively in various stores, vintage coats, latest gadgets, graphic novels and shoes for Husband but my stickler won't even entertain the idea in Zurich. It's like I've a tiny accountant in my head going:
Tiny Accountant: ‘Why would you buy those shoes when you can get them cheaper at home? Why would you pay 40CHF for jeans in H+M when you can get them for €20 at home.’
And so on and so forth, yada yada yada. Problem is, I've grown to trust my Tiny Accountant wholeheartedly. By listening to him where it matters like weekly food shopping in ALDI on the cheap meant I could splash out on the things that I really loved like trips to Italy, music gigs and eating out in great restaurants. Dublin is by no means a cheap city to live in, in fact at one stage the cost of living was outrageous but it's all about how you play the system. There are cheaper café's, shops (hell a whole street dedicated to discount stores on Talbot Street) where you could go when you were on a budget. I'm struggling to find these cheaper alternatives in Zurich. When I mention this to any of the residents I usually get a response along the lines of its all relative and when you have a Swiss salary it will not matter as they are quite robust. That may be, tiny expat community I've only just met but I don't have a Swiss salary. I will have Husbands spare credit card that I am terrified of using. Maybe I'm wrong about all this, readers (if I have any) if you any of you out there are Zuricans and know how to work the system let me know. Tips please!
I mean just the other day I went to a hipstery café out in Kreis 5, the type of place the blogtard and creative community go to tap away on their Macbook Pro's (guilty as charged), I ordered a bowl of soup and a cappuccino. Dublin equivalent this would of set me back about €8 -€10. Here I paid CHF18.30 works out as about €15, granted they were both delicious but why the mark up guys? Can we just assume for a second that everyone here isn't loaded (I think I can hear boundless Zuricans laughing at the very suggestion in the distance), how do you even get tourists to visit this place, backpackers destination it is not, affordability wise. I fared no better in the local MacDonalds or Burger King, given the universally lacking standard and quality of the food I assumed the cost would not differ country to country. How wrong was I? 15CHF (€12) for a medium burger meal in Burger King, Dublin price bout €8 max. If I hadn't stumbled upon Bretzal street vendors during my time in Zurich I actually think my Tiny Accountant would have had an embolism (CHF6-7 for a cheese and salami filled Bretzel and a taste heaven in your month).
I don't know what I'll do, cut coupons, shop in Goodwill, is there even a Goodwill in equivalent in Zurich? Maybe education is the key? Add some more strings to the bow and get the language down. I could fund this by being a stripper at night with a heart of gold. Or maybe not as I don't think I have the pecs for that job.
Whatever happens I know it's all part of the adventure :-)
I'm a 20 something redheaded Irish boy currently residing in Dublin, who's about to leave it all behind; job, apartment, childhood friends, and relocate to a new country with Husband.
Husband’s promotion and relocation package sees us reposition ourselves to the Financial Services capital of Switzerland otherwise known as Zurich or as I like to call it the city that likes to empty my wallet.
The city is so money and it doesn't even know it! No but in all seriousness it does seem like an amazing place to set up shop even if my inner stickler would rather tear my hair out than pay 5 Francs (about €4.00) for a small bottle of sparkling water.
Husband assures me his new earnings will be sufficient to support us both should I not secure work over there straight away, he will be the daddy to my need for sugar, which to be honest is a very strange situation for me to be in. I've always worked; ever since I've left college so this new found level of almost parental dependence will come as a bit of a shock to the senses. It might never happen, I might even get a job before I follow him over, you never know but I am at a slight disadvantage considering my grasp of the German language leaves a lot to be desired. According to something called the European Framework I'm at level A1A, sounds great huh but think the opposite of your Leaving Cert. I think this puts me at the grading equivalent of signing my name.
The move has me absolutely terrified and exhilarated to varying degrees (I have the emotional stability of a child at Disneyland who has lost his parents).
Overall my desire to dive into the swimming pool of new adventure and experience won over my practical need for stability (giving up a job in this economy, blah blah blah). Oh yes and the other big factor in my decision making would be the that crazy little thing called love, which I will now speak no more of out of fear of making you all barf and the risk of enlarging Husbands already inflated ego to the point that his giant 'Jake Gyllenhall' head can no longer fit through the doorframe.
So I'm diving in; in to the high cost of living, to being an expat, to the land of chocolate, to learning a new language, to Lido bars, to snowboarding, to a renters market, to more money than sense, to possible joblessness and subsequent poverty, to being a house husband, to being a kept man and to finally tasting fondue.
So I guess I'm asking you to come along for the ride, I'll try to make it funny and interesting but no guarantees. I can however guarantee that I will always be a big goofy ginger Irish 'man-boy' regardless of where I call home.
