On a pathway to Hell

Boxing Day / 26 December 2015 I decide to go a-walkin´. Wife at work while I have the day off and a ticket to ride anywhere in Switzerland for as long as 26 December 2015 lasts (0500 – 2400). Decide to resume walk begun long ago in Bargen (the northernmost point in Switzerland)… (See Borderline… Continue reading On a pathway to Hell

The road not taken

Wienachtsdorf am Bellevue, Zürich, 23 December 2015: The book I bought today, among other books I spoiled myself buying in Zürich before meeting my wife and enjoying the splendor that is Zürich´s Christmas market, is mentally burning a hole in my backpack. The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Science Fiction ponders the question: What happens… Continue reading The road not taken

Working for a giant

As regular followers of this blog know, I have two jobs: freelance teacher and part-time barista. I work as a humble part-time barista for the largest coffeehouse company in the world, Starbucks. And I can´t deny that this results in mixed feelings. I am older than this upstart of a company. In fact, I am… Continue reading Working for a giant

Beggars at the banquet

It is nine in the morning here in Landschlacht, Switzerland. It´s cold, damp and foggy here by the shore of the Lake of Constance. I have a headache, but have taken medicine from a bathroom stocked with medicines for any type of illness real or imagined, present or potential. The guest room of our four-bedroom… Continue reading Beggars at the banquet

Canadian home sickness and the Excited States of America

As a Canadian resident in Switzerland there are many things I miss about life in Canada: I miss old friends and family. I miss the magnificent splendour of my home and native land. And I miss small things too: Food like Habitant pea soup, poutine, tourtiere, Canadian breakfast, perogies, microwave dinners, beavertails… Comedians like Lorne… Continue reading Canadian home sickness and the Excited States of America

Distant friends

Today, a rainy and grey day, I left the cave of home and took the train to the city of St. Gallen an hour away, just so I could have brief conversations with my work colleagues/friends. I like my co-workers, though very different from myself and one another, because they offer me human contact which a day… Continue reading Distant friends

After sunset

My thoughts this morning while waiting for sunrise is the question of male/female relationships. My visit to Freiburg last week and the discussions I had with friends remain strongly imprinted in my mind. One topic my closest male friends and I talk about after work, tech, movies, music and politics are our relationships with the “fairer… Continue reading After sunset