ITS ALL GOT TO GO ..... AGAIN

Just sold the Porsche ... took a small $$$ hit (but not as bad as I thought I would, given state of economy) ...but the experience was worth it!! Had it, enjoyed it .... realized that its not really me .... and sold it.

Im starting my purging mode again ... anticipating next job move in June09 (ie. leaving OC) ... current expectations, Montreal, Canada

BACK TO LA

Recently I decided that I am going to make more effort in my appearance when I travel back to Europe this summer....I’m pretty relaxed traveler ... and usually on long-haul overnight flights I choose to wear tracksuit ... for comfort/warmth.... and could easily be mistaken for a back-packer (always have a pair of shorts/thongs handy if it gets warm upon arrival).
Well, with work, I fly Premium Economy .... and decided that I need to start looking more the part of a professional consultant .... and less like a student back packer.

I noticed that this makes a lot of difference how an Airlines (and their staff) treat you.
On the flight to London ... I noticed in the attitude of the airlines staff ... and today .... on way back to LAX, I got upgraded to Business!!! (awesome way to fly, would love to see what First class is like).....so maybe there is something in the way one is dressed, and being upgrade ...... stay tuned ... will keep you posted on future experiences.


If this sort of treatment continues.... I may have to reconsider my opinion of British Airways.....after all ... I fly 6-8 times a year with them .... so they should consider me Frequent Flyer!.

Arrived to 34 degree weather in OC ... would be great if didn't feel crap from yesterdays’ “Creeper” hangover/today's jet-lag.... with an 8 hour time-zone difference .... whatever the cause of pain ... its a long day!

KNOCKING OUT TWO KRANTZs IN ONE NIGHT

Last night in London ... caught up with the Krantz boys (and their Hungarian friends) for few quite “afternoon” beers in Northfields........ ok 8 hours later ... we missed the last Tube back to Earl’s Court ..... and decided on alternative transport (ie. Private car) ... pizza ... and for me ... last trip back to the Earl’s Court road falafel shop.... for a post-midnight curry. (4th Curry for the week!!! And with all the eating and drinking, I think the scales are going to be back in the 190s when I get back)

Anyway ... next morning ... both boys were extremely messy....as for me it was different .... I felt surprisingly OK, and expected the hangover to be the “Creeper” type .... you know, the one where:

You wake up (still drunk) ... and think .... oh ...feel great (of course one does ... you’re still drunk) ... I don’t have a hangover !!!! (of course not ... cant get one if still drunk).... got bloody luck to get away with that one ... and then few hours later ... you get a tap on the back of shoulder ... and the hangover goes “ello ello ello .... remember me??!!!” ... and knocks you over the head with a baseball bat ... for the next 12 hours.

Anyways .. I had a flight to catch .... so quick goodbyes ... and last trip on tube for this trip ... and back to Heathrow.

BACK IN LONDON

After the Easter break, Spent the rest of my time in London staying (or more correctly couch-surfing) with Máte and Gaspar, in the Earl’s Court “Cabin” ....It was great being back (its been 7 months since last time I was back).

Few comments:

• Falafel at SheBoo markets did not taste as great as I remembered
• The new SheBoo Westfield shopping center (biggest in Europe) not as large as i expected .. although pretty impressive
• London a lot cheaper than I remembered (maybe I’m just used to OC prices)
  

INTO SWITZERLAND

It is quite amazing how within less than 100km ... we went from sunny warm spring .... to high altitude (St Moritz is 1600m), and snow covered countryside/mountains.
It was definitely past skiing season (being mid-April and all) ...but there was still plenty of people skiing ... and as we went to top of Corvatsch (altitude 3303m, minus 5 degrees C) .. we were impressed with the runs, and wished we could spend few days here just relaxing and skiing.... not that we were prepared for this ... having only few warm clothes, and not much more.

BTW ...Switzerland is extremely expensive, compared to Italy (and pretty much rest of the world)

DRIVE AROUND NORTHERN ITALY – From Burgamo around Lake Como

Máté getting in touch with nature!!

We stayed only a few nights in Milan... and then decided to head off to see a bit more of the countryside .... We hired a car in Burgamo and decided to drive around Lake Como ... and do a bit of “Clooney spotting” ... no did not find/bump into him.

Not really realizing how big Lake Como is ... not to mention how slow it is to drive around it ..... rarely exceeds 40 kmph ... and in Easter ... roads were very busy with all the locals away for their breaks.

Máte was the navigator .. and once we got to the top of Lake Como .... we saw signs for St Moritz ... and it was like

• Q (Máte); “Do you want to go into Switzerland???”
• Q (me): “What’s in Switzerland??”
• A (Máte): “Some mountains, chocolate, banks”
• A (me): “Ok .. why not” ... “Ok, lets do it”

MILANO FOR EASTER

I had a whole bunch of frequent flyer points (from flying with Lufthansa between Boston-Poznan back in 2007) ... which doesn’t really get you anything ... except that Lufthansa had a promotion for new route they opened (London, Heathrow - Milan) ... and thought it was a great way to use them up.
Of course travelling on your own is not as enjoyable (as doing it with good friends) ... and so I planned it to do with my little “Hungarian” buddy .... Máte.

My goal for this Summer is to visit more of Italy and Southern France ... so this was a great way to get the ball rolling.

Milan is pretty much what you expect .... lots of beautiful (extremely well dressed) people, and some spectacular buildings.... not to mention a quick espresso around every corner .... and we also got extremely lucky with the weather (low 20s ... no rain).

CRACKED INTO THE 180s !!

So even with 2 weeks in Australia (boozing & eating), I still managed to lose weight in March … and cracking the 190 lb mark….. so the chart is heading down the right path … ie DOWN.
At the end of month … I weighed in at 189lb (approx 86kg)…. Hopefully April will also be a kind month.