Now that I have a desk chair in my apartment I feel a whole lot better!! Right now I have two laptops set up in my cozy little office space.. yes, two.. one for my blogging and the other for work. I have completely underestimated the amount of "work" I would be doing in my new position. When I arrive in the morning I grab my coffee and jump into a meeting or a call. My stomach starts to growl and that's because it's already 2:00 pm!! What the freakin hell?! I guess it's better than waiting for the minutes to pass by but still.. what the freakin hell?? will this be another one of those jobs when you blink your eye and it's like 10 years later?!

So in a few weeks I will be back in NYC!! I must confess that this is the first time I have ever felt homesick.. when I mean homesick I mean I miss NYC!! There is nothing like the big apple man..! I miss the people hoarding the streets.. in LA there is no one on the streets.. a handful of pedestrians.. a handful of bikers.. ugh!! the streets of LA are lonely.. I will live it up in the big apple even if it's for a few days!!

Oh the good old days with Ben in NYC... ;)

Finding the time to post an entry these days has been a battle.. work is busy but I'm not complaining.. why? because I actually enjoy what I am doing and I enjoy the people I work with. The company is fun and relaxed.. fortunately, this allows the work day to fly by.. but once I get home, that's a whole different story.

My apartment is still lifeless. I spent the day today buying a chair and assembling it. Yes, that was the highlight of my day. I am very happy that I have a desk chair. I can finally set up my computer and blog (among other things).

Tomorrow I am starting my flex hours. I have yet to wrap my mind around the fact that it has been less than a month of employment and I am already working from home once a week. Perhaps I can move to Europe and still keep my job! ;) Did I mention that I like my new job?!

Yesterday, I went to a farm to pick some strawberries. During the tour we had the opportunity to taste fresh vegetables.. My gosh I didn't know spinach can taste soooo friggin good.. it was sweet and crunchy and I suddenly just wanted to say adios to beef from that instant on! But, of course, all highs must eventually rejoin the realm of reason - in this case, korean bbq!! This talk of food is making me hungry. It's been a long day .. time to go relax.

I feel like I'm working at Google.. the office space in my department is situated in what appears to look like a one big industrial loft.. coupled with, we get unlimited beverages and starbucks coffee.. if only we can get those bouncing balls to sit on during the day... and, of course, the massage stations..

Yesterday I received my refridgerator.. yes, refridgerator.. one might wonder why it took me this long to get one.. well, it appears in Los Angeles most apartments do not come with a fridge.. WTH you say? yeah, EXACTLY!!! Anyways, I'm done scratching my head over this no-fridge thing .. now I need to focus on how to stock up my fridge with yummies.. the past few days have been torture with no food to go to when I get home.. I missed my mom's home cooking.. speaking of home cooking, it's a drag that there is no korean restaurants around here.. WTH??!? This is LA dammit!

I still can't wrap my arms around the fact that when I step outside every morning the weather is just perfect!!! Since it is their "winter" season, it is apparently very "cold" here right now.. well, if this is considered cold then sign me up baby!!

Needless to say, I am quickly getting use to all this west coast style of living.. or perhaps its my new job.. overall, life seems to be really laid back here and if anything, I feel like the only one strung out from my New York lifestyle..

I like Switzerland. I first liked Lusanne until I went to Geneva and thought Geneva was better.. but then I went to Zurich and I concluded Zurich was the best of the three cities we visited... Zurich is fun, clean, hip, old, new.. although, there were a few unusual observations I feel compelled to mention:

1. Intermission - While watching Ghost Writer in one of the theaters in Zurich, I experienced my very first movie intermission. Actually, I never even knew that there were such things.. but yes, right in the smack middle of the film, during what appeared to be one of the most random scenes, the film just stopped! Stopped, the lights turned on and everyone started to exit.. what the freakin heck?! talk about breaking the flow of a movie.. We found out the following day that this is quite common in Zurich.. or even perhaps in Switzerland.. how odd!

2. Expensive - Switzerland is expensive!!! Our sushi lunch that consisted of edamame and a few rolls came out to a whopping $100! What the freakin heck?!?!

3. H&M - The Swiss love their H&M. It's like starbucks.. it's on every corner! In the main shopping square in the city, I found two (2) H&Ms on the SAME BLOCK!

4. Smoking - It's been a long time since I sat in an ash tray. Yes, smoking is allowed everywhere.

5. Pets - I still can't wrap my arms around the fact that I'm staring at a boston terrier while eating my spaghetti carbonara. It appears pets are allowed to dine along their human counterparts in restaurants throughout the country. Surprisingly, all the dogs that I saw in the restaurants were extremely well-behaved.. perhaps they are just use to this.. but I, on the other hand, was still puzzled.

Okay, I'm sure there are a few more observations worth mentioning but these are just a few off the top of my head. Nevertheless, I would like to return to Switzerland.. the Swiss are clean and freakin organized! I like it!

Oh, I'm sure I don't have to mention about the watches.. ahhh.. too many freakin tic tocs!!

I have heard from several different people that as they grow older they find themselves craving rice everyday. Of course, I had my share of rice attacks during my travels.. but that was nothing compared to my mom`s need for korean food during this trip.. her appetite for korean food was out of control. it started in brussels and it continued to paris.. she started to get so desperate she would stop and ask anyone on the street that looked remotely asian if they knew of a korean restaurant in the area.. her desperation was at its peak when she would peep into grocery stores and dry cleaners for any sign of koreans... we quickly found out that koreans in paris do not run groceries and dry cleaners.. but, of course, that didnt stop my mom from hoping. I found this all very amusing.. my mom...with me in paris.. in search of kimchi and rice..

I am happy to report that we eventually found a korean restaurant.. surprisingly, it was right down the block from our hotel. I should have taken a photo of my mom when she swallowed her first scoop of seafood tofu soup.. she looked like a women who had finally arrived to her destination after a very long journey..

Im writing this entry on a Mac pc with european keyboard..its tough!

Im in Paris and its snowing outside.. there is a nice parisian cafe outside the hotel and I was tempted to make my way over for a night cap.. thats tea and biscuits in parka language.. but then the thought of battling the snow dissuaded my lazy bum.. its been a long day. We took a bus from brussels to paris this morning.. the bus was suppose to depart at 9:30 am.. in brussels that means noon.. we finally arrived to paris and the weather was nice and brisk.. now where in the world did this snow come from??

while in brussels I visited the Margritte museum.. sometimes I wonder if its because of Margritte I keep including brussels in my european excursions.. I was so delighted when the museum finally opened last year.. the little side corner of his work displayed in the museum of moderne art in bruxelles did not serve justice.. I hope to post photos of me and rene shortly..

In the meantime... I shall get some tea..