Some news some olds

Its been a long time since my last post. Not that I was particularly lacking in things to report on, but it seemed like a torture to get myself to sign in. Its like that with many activities that aren't a priority and I presume many people have the same problem. In scientific terms one could say that the activation energy is just too high. While the whole process may be exothermic (i.e. pretty satisfying) its just too darn hard to do the first step of signing in and writing the first sentence.
Well, here I am now and on fire writing up anything and everything that comes to mind...or not?

Life Updates:

1) I bought a new condo. Its not just a new condo for me, but its also brand spanking new!! It even smells new...though that smell is slowly going away. After throwing a lot of money out of the window on rent I followed suggestions I've been hearing for a long time and chose to move out of my favorite apartment - the one with the view on a lake. The new condo has a view on a golf course / driving range, has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a living room integrated with a kitchen. While its very different than my old apartment (which was very open with only two rooms but lots of space) it does have its benefits such as nice shower, large bathroom, cool bedroom etc. Its also nice to know that I own the place I live in!

2) I'm currently in Germany!! My father was celebrating his 80th birthday last weekend. He invited 52 guests for a grand party at the Hotel Oranien in Wiesbaden (snobby hotel....) and wouldn't let me miss this celebration. Unfortunately this time around most friends were not in Wiesbaden. I haven't been able to go do too much drinking so far (and most likely won't at all) but I've been busy with many other tasks (shopping, eating cake etc) and its been pretty good.

I also got to see many of my relatives thanks to the birthday celebration which I really enjoyed. I hadn't seen many of them for years and there were many changes - bigger stomachs (babies) and lots more kids. Its silly how families work...everybody seems to function in distinct flows. When one person has a kid, everybody else does as well...pretty much all my cousins has been turning into parents over the past 2 years (only one exception out of 10 cousins...wtf!!??). I'm really happy for them and hope that I can see and help those kids grow up. That said, some of my silly aunts thought it'd be funny to suggest that I was next on list for a baby etc. Haha, yeah right...thats like giving a baby to a 16 year old - bad idea! So anyways, it been a good time.
Picture of a new stream type addition to the city center (walking area)
Tomorrow my parents and I will be driving 5 hours to my company's production site to do a tour...then after two days there I'll be finally flying home to Minnesota. I can't wait! Its nice to be here, but I feel its time to head out. Parents...not good to be close for extended periods (like putting two big chunks of plutonium and reaching the critical mass...just a baaad idea!).
4 more days to go!