Personal / Misc.
OMW With Eurostar
08/17/08 08:19 PM
Hello there again.
I’m on my way home now with Eurostar from Paris (of course) to London (of course). It’s dusk right now and I think that it’s the last one as well. I’m sitting in a cabin that’s mostly full but not completely full in the last car. It’s nice and we’re going fast again. I can’t wait to get back to London and relax tomorrow after unpacking, doing laundry, changing currency, cleaning, and buying groceries... We’ll see how well that goes, the relaxing that is. Wish me luck. I’m hoping that all goes quickly.
I’m already thinking about where I can go for my next holiday and when I can take another holiday instead of going to work. It’s more fun to go to Paris than it is to go to work. Who would of thought?
I’m off to watch some video of some sort (probably Diggnation).
Chris
I’m on my way home now with Eurostar from Paris (of course) to London (of course). It’s dusk right now and I think that it’s the last one as well. I’m sitting in a cabin that’s mostly full but not completely full in the last car. It’s nice and we’re going fast again. I can’t wait to get back to London and relax tomorrow after unpacking, doing laundry, changing currency, cleaning, and buying groceries... We’ll see how well that goes, the relaxing that is. Wish me luck. I’m hoping that all goes quickly.
I’m already thinking about where I can go for my next holiday and when I can take another holiday instead of going to work. It’s more fun to go to Paris than it is to go to work. Who would of thought?
I’m off to watch some video of some sort (probably Diggnation).
Chris
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Return To Sender
08/17/08 04:53 PM
Well, I’m in Paris again at the same
Cafe’ using their free wifi. I started off
today at 6am in Hannover and have since taken 2
trains and am now waiting on my third. It’s
been a long day / morning.
My first train was pretty full, and I got to ride backwards to Koeln in an isle seat. My ride from Koeln to Paris was at least facing the right direction but I had the luxury of sitting in the isle seat again... next to a mother with her young and restless child on her lap. Yeah, he didn’t have a ticket and got to sit on mommy’s lap next to me for 4 hours.
I’m going to rant a little here and say that I hate isle seats. I was constantly hit with baby carrages / prams, people’s bags, and people that are to wide to circum-navigate a straight line between two seats without wanting to make a turn in either direction. I know you’re probably thinking that hey, the train moves right? Yes, it does but it also happened a lot while we were stopped. So between getting hit with people’s bags, or baby carrages, while getting kicked or hit by the baby to my right (who’s mother spoke no English or German), I’m glad to be off the train. Two down, one more to go. Wish me luck.
I want to be home in my bed.
Chris
My first train was pretty full, and I got to ride backwards to Koeln in an isle seat. My ride from Koeln to Paris was at least facing the right direction but I had the luxury of sitting in the isle seat again... next to a mother with her young and restless child on her lap. Yeah, he didn’t have a ticket and got to sit on mommy’s lap next to me for 4 hours.
I’m going to rant a little here and say that I hate isle seats. I was constantly hit with baby carrages / prams, people’s bags, and people that are to wide to circum-navigate a straight line between two seats without wanting to make a turn in either direction. I know you’re probably thinking that hey, the train moves right? Yes, it does but it also happened a lot while we were stopped. So between getting hit with people’s bags, or baby carrages, while getting kicked or hit by the baby to my right (who’s mother spoke no English or German), I’m glad to be off the train. Two down, one more to go. Wish me luck.
I want to be home in my bed.
Chris
Hannover for my 24th
08/12/08 08:23 PM
Well, I’ve safely made it to Hannover and I
spent yesterday with my Grandfather for the first
time in well over a decade. We had a great time and
caught up over lunch and later, dinner. We have a
lot in common and my German is slowly getting
better and faster than it was a few days ago. As
I’ve said before it has been way too long
since I was last here to see him. I’ve just
realized how close I was when I went to CeBit this
year and two years ago. Basically, the place where
CeBit is held every year is a mater of blocks away
from where he now lives. It’s sad that I
could not see him the last time I came as I
didn’t know but it’s great that I get
to see him now.
Today is also my Birthday. I’m 24. It’s been a great day. I spent the morning having breakfast with my Grandfather, lunch with my Grandfather and his girlfriend. After lunch my Grandfather and I went for a walk in a nice nearby park (Park der Sinne). Once back at the ‘hotel’ where I am staying, my cousin Rebecca and others came to take me out for the rest of the day. We went to an aquarium for about an hour and then we all drove to the downtown area (and got a little lost). We walked around, ate, went to the lake, walked around some more and generally had a lot of fun.
Thursday I’m going to visit them and have a nice lunch and meet the rest of my ‘long lost family.’ I’m really looking forward to it. Tomorrow I’m going into town to check out the main city center and visit Saturn, an electronics shop. Go figure huh? I want to see if they have something that I can’t get in London. Well, it’s about 9:40 here so I’m going to go to get ready for a bit of sleep. I’m going to try to relax and tomorrow before I go into the city, my Grandfather and I are going to have some breakfast.
Today is also my Birthday. I’m 24. It’s been a great day. I spent the morning having breakfast with my Grandfather, lunch with my Grandfather and his girlfriend. After lunch my Grandfather and I went for a walk in a nice nearby park (Park der Sinne). Once back at the ‘hotel’ where I am staying, my cousin Rebecca and others came to take me out for the rest of the day. We went to an aquarium for about an hour and then we all drove to the downtown area (and got a little lost). We walked around, ate, went to the lake, walked around some more and generally had a lot of fun.
Thursday I’m going to visit them and have a nice lunch and meet the rest of my ‘long lost family.’ I’m really looking forward to it. Tomorrow I’m going into town to check out the main city center and visit Saturn, an electronics shop. Go figure huh? I want to see if they have something that I can’t get in London. Well, it’s about 9:40 here so I’m going to go to get ready for a bit of sleep. I’m going to try to relax and tomorrow before I go into the city, my Grandfather and I are going to have some breakfast.
Germany
08/11/08 07:41 AM
Well, right now I’m in Germany on an ICE
(Inter-city Express) Train to Hannover to see my
Grandfather for the first time in to long.
I’m due to arrive in Hannover sometime after
10 this morning. I’m slowly getting used to
the constant German again but it really can take
some getting used to. Yesterday I watched Star
Trek: The Undiscovered Country in German on my
laptop and recorded an episode of Futurama in
German. It’s pretty fun. I’ve been
trying to keep up with the Olympics and world news
(I.E. the whole Russia Georgia thing). The U.S. is
doing decently in the Olympics but Germany seems to
be off to a slow start with only one medal at the
time of this writing.
I’m hoping that I’ll be able to take some more pictures in coming days but I’m unsure of how well that will work out. Wish me luck.
Chris
P.S. Hello Linda! (Linda, my aunt, always reads my blog to see what I’ve been up to)
I’m hoping that I’ll be able to take some more pictures in coming days but I’m unsure of how well that will work out. Wish me luck.
Chris
P.S. Hello Linda! (Linda, my aunt, always reads my blog to see what I’ve been up to)
I've landed (so to speak...) in Paris
08/07/08 02:05 PM
Well, I made it to Paris on time this morning. I
arrived at 9:50am local time (+1 from London). I
paid €7.00 for a locker for my big bag and
then wandered the streats outside of the train
station for about 30 minutes before going to a
Subway. Yes, my first meal of the day was Subway in
France. My French was as good as the associates
English but we managed to exchage food for
Euro’s with out problem. After wandering out
of Subway I found myself waiting to see which tour
bus company arrived first.
They would get my business. It was the L’Open Tour company. I paid my €29.00 for the daily ticket so that I could see Paris. They had 4 different routs including one Main route (I.E. Eiffel Tower, NotreDame, Etc.). I wasn’t on the main one. I found that out about halfway through. I found a stop that I could transfer on and at last I was on my grand ‘one-day adventure’ in Paris. I saw a lot of things and realized exactly how much I hate (HATE!!!) using my phone as a camera. Sure the picture quality is up to 5 megapixels but the lag on the shutter is up to 10 full seconds (lame) and the refresh from a picture can nearly be that. I’ve just proven that if I want to see Europe (and I do) I need to get at least another decent point and shoot camera.
I’m drueling over the recently announced Nikon P6000 which is 13.x megapixels, supports RAW, and even does Geotagging which would be nice especially while traveling. For those of you who don’t know what Geotagging is, it basically assigns a lattitude and longitude using GPS to each picture you take. I.E. it knows where you took the picture and your pictures can be organized by location or even assigned to a map. Google Maps is using some of this technology already. I saw a ton of places and learned a lot really. I hope that some of my pictures turned out alright as I want to try to show them off on here sometime later.
Right now I’m at a place I’ve seen all over Paris. No it’s not Starbucks but it’s really close, McDonalds. I know, I know, I’m in Paris and I’ve gone to a McDonalds. I didn’t come here (where I am now actually) for the food. I came praying for a Wifi Hotspot and a place to ‘plug-in’ to a power connection for my laptop and my misc. gadgets to follow. Well, I found the power after a lot of akward looking and waiting for a guy to get up but the Wifi here shows up but will not for the life of me connect. I’m hoping I’ll just find a place later to upload this to. I’m not a great tourist.
I’ve seen the main sights (in one day mind you) and I’m unsure of what to do now. I know you’re probably thinking that I should go to the Lourve which I would love to but It would be about another 2-4 hours bus driving and I don’t want to miss my train along with the fact that I would love to spend at least half of a day there and it’s a great reason to come back. Now if only I can find one of my friends who speaks French to come with me to make me look less stupid. . . well. . . at least a little.
I’m singning off for now.
Chris
They would get my business. It was the L’Open Tour company. I paid my €29.00 for the daily ticket so that I could see Paris. They had 4 different routs including one Main route (I.E. Eiffel Tower, NotreDame, Etc.). I wasn’t on the main one. I found that out about halfway through. I found a stop that I could transfer on and at last I was on my grand ‘one-day adventure’ in Paris. I saw a lot of things and realized exactly how much I hate (HATE!!!) using my phone as a camera. Sure the picture quality is up to 5 megapixels but the lag on the shutter is up to 10 full seconds (lame) and the refresh from a picture can nearly be that. I’ve just proven that if I want to see Europe (and I do) I need to get at least another decent point and shoot camera.
I’m drueling over the recently announced Nikon P6000 which is 13.x megapixels, supports RAW, and even does Geotagging which would be nice especially while traveling. For those of you who don’t know what Geotagging is, it basically assigns a lattitude and longitude using GPS to each picture you take. I.E. it knows where you took the picture and your pictures can be organized by location or even assigned to a map. Google Maps is using some of this technology already. I saw a ton of places and learned a lot really. I hope that some of my pictures turned out alright as I want to try to show them off on here sometime later.
Right now I’m at a place I’ve seen all over Paris. No it’s not Starbucks but it’s really close, McDonalds. I know, I know, I’m in Paris and I’ve gone to a McDonalds. I didn’t come here (where I am now actually) for the food. I came praying for a Wifi Hotspot and a place to ‘plug-in’ to a power connection for my laptop and my misc. gadgets to follow. Well, I found the power after a lot of akward looking and waiting for a guy to get up but the Wifi here shows up but will not for the life of me connect. I’m hoping I’ll just find a place later to upload this to. I’m not a great tourist.
I’ve seen the main sights (in one day mind you) and I’m unsure of what to do now. I know you’re probably thinking that I should go to the Lourve which I would love to but It would be about another 2-4 hours bus driving and I don’t want to miss my train along with the fact that I would love to spend at least half of a day there and it’s a great reason to come back. Now if only I can find one of my friends who speaks French to come with me to make me look less stupid. . . well. . . at least a little.
I’m singning off for now.
Chris
One Man Griswold Holiday...
08/07/08 05:30 AM
Well, I’m sitting at
St Pancras
International
train station in London and it’s 5:30 in the
morning. I arrived about 30 minutes ago as my
cab/taxi driver was... well lets just say after
arriving I was glad to be alive. I made it safe and
sound and my train for Paris leaves at 6:30 so I
have about 40 minutes before I can board the
Eurostar
train.
I’m off to Paris for the day and later in the evening I’m taking a night train to Hamburg to see some family followed by another train journey to Hannover to see my grandfater whom I’ve not seen in 13 years. It has beeen far to long. I hope that all of you reading this are well and having a great day. With any luck a day in Paris should be fun and I’ll have some pictures for you all to see provided I take them and then upload them. Hrm, that may be a lot to ask for. lol. We shall see...
Note: Griswold (if you don’t already know)
I’m off to Paris for the day and later in the evening I’m taking a night train to Hamburg to see some family followed by another train journey to Hannover to see my grandfater whom I’ve not seen in 13 years. It has beeen far to long. I hope that all of you reading this are well and having a great day. With any luck a day in Paris should be fun and I’ll have some pictures for you all to see provided I take them and then upload them. Hrm, that may be a lot to ask for. lol. We shall see...
Note: Griswold (if you don’t already know)
Getting Away From It All...
08/03/08 12:58 PM
Well, I’ve almost let my blog get away from
me again. it’s now the third of August and
it’s been about two weeks since I updated my
blog. Yesterday I spent some time down by the
Thames river watching the Red Bull Air Race (from
something of a distance, however a free
distance...).
Next week I’m only working on Monday and Tuesday thankfully followed by the start to my holiday. I’m going to take one day to clean up, organize, and sort things out and then go to Paris by train followed by Germany to visit family. It should be a fun and exciting week. Here’s to my next post...
Next week I’m only working on Monday and Tuesday thankfully followed by the start to my holiday. I’m going to take one day to clean up, organize, and sort things out and then go to Paris by train followed by Germany to visit family. It should be a fun and exciting week. Here’s to my next post...
This semi-sunny Saturday...
07/19/08 11:12 PM
Well, It’s been a semi-sunny Saturday in
London so I decided take a trip to Totenham Court
Road in London (which is quickly becoming my usual
destination in London to see what was new and
wander around a few of the electronics shops). I
honestly didn’t do to much or see to much but
hey, it was a nice outing anyhow. If you’re
reading this I wish you well and hope that you had
a great weekend.
Until next time...
Until next time...
Post Apple iPhone
07/13/08 04:34 PM
Well, as most of you would have guessed I really
want an iPhone being the Apple Fanboy that I am. On
Friday I went to Carphone Warehouse only to get
approved for a phone with a £150.00 deposit for me
to find out they don’t have any. It sucks but
I moved on. Later that day I went to the Apple
Store at Bluewater Mall only to find out hey, we
have them in stock but we can’t activate
them. Come back tomorrow (Saturday) and we’ll
have plenty.
Well, I show up 45 minutes after they open to get in line for an hour only to find out that they sold out of the 16gb Black which is the one I wanted only minutes before. Plenty in stock indeed. Ok. I’m not happy but I’m human and it’s just a phone. I call the Regent Street flag ship Apple Store to find out that hey, they do have them but they have closed the que for the day on Saturday. Fair enough. I go to the Apple store 45 minutes before they open (number 52 in line) and wait 3 hours (when I was told ‘no more than an hour wait.&rsquo
only to find out that O2 now
declines me service when just two days ago
they said it would be no problem. So there it
was on the desk in front of me... The 16gb
iPhone I couldn’t have.
I”m about to say screw Apple and O2 and just get a Nokia E71 on Vodafone as I know it can easily be done. Apple, why did it have to be this hard to get a phone? I mean really. Why? Apple, if you want to contact me, please do. I would love to hear what you have to say for yourself and O2.
Chris
Well, I show up 45 minutes after they open to get in line for an hour only to find out that they sold out of the 16gb Black which is the one I wanted only minutes before. Plenty in stock indeed. Ok. I’m not happy but I’m human and it’s just a phone. I call the Regent Street flag ship Apple Store to find out that hey, they do have them but they have closed the que for the day on Saturday. Fair enough. I go to the Apple store 45 minutes before they open (number 52 in line) and wait 3 hours (when I was told ‘no more than an hour wait.&rsquo
I”m about to say screw Apple and O2 and just get a Nokia E71 on Vodafone as I know it can easily be done. Apple, why did it have to be this hard to get a phone? I mean really. Why? Apple, if you want to contact me, please do. I would love to hear what you have to say for yourself and O2.
Chris
Well, It's Monday...
07/07/08 04:51 PM
Hello again,
It’s Monday now and it was a long day. I’ve had a very busy and dreary day at work. There were a lot of things to keep up with and work on today at work.
I went to ASDA just after work to pick up some groceries. I finally broke down and bought a Freeview box for the TV in the living room. It wasn’t to much but it’s great to go from 2-3 channels with static to about 30 or so that come in clear now.
It’s been pouring rain on and off and it’s continuing to do so outside right now. I only hope that the sun comes out tomorrow.
Chris
*Pictures compliments of Google Image Search
It’s Monday now and it was a long day. I’ve had a very busy and dreary day at work. There were a lot of things to keep up with and work on today at work.
I went to ASDA just after work to pick up some groceries. I finally broke down and bought a Freeview box for the TV in the living room. It wasn’t to much but it’s great to go from 2-3 channels with static to about 30 or so that come in clear now.
It’s been pouring rain on and off and it’s continuing to do so outside right now. I only hope that the sun comes out tomorrow.
Chris
*Pictures compliments of Google Image Search
Sunday Sunday Sunday!!!
07/06/08 02:12 PM
Well, it’s a soggy Sunday in London.
I decided to force myself to go out today to see what I could find to do. With it being a bit wet outside I decided not too wander to far from home if the weather got worse or I simply got tired of it and didn’t want to spend an hour getting back home. I decided to hop onto the 486 bus towards North Greenwich (The O2) and see what I could find. About half way there I decided to grab lunch. I wandered into Pizza Hut and decided that it wasn’t for me so I left and went to Nando’s just down the way. I had a nice chicken burger, chips (fries, whatever...), and some garlic bread with a Diet Coke (Go Figure...). It was nice.

After that I got onto the 472 heading towards The O2 again and wandered inside to check out the concept O2 phone store and enquire about next Friday (The UK iPhone Launch) and a few other things. After that I went and found the King Tut exibition at The O2 which I believe I am going to have to check out this week sometime before it leaves the UK next month. Of note is that at The O2 they had some BMW’s outside (as an exibit / display) which I decided to check out. This included two F1 cars and several other BMW’s as pictured below.
I decided to force myself to go out today to see what I could find to do. With it being a bit wet outside I decided not too wander to far from home if the weather got worse or I simply got tired of it and didn’t want to spend an hour getting back home. I decided to hop onto the 486 bus towards North Greenwich (The O2) and see what I could find. About half way there I decided to grab lunch. I wandered into Pizza Hut and decided that it wasn’t for me so I left and went to Nando’s just down the way. I had a nice chicken burger, chips (fries, whatever...), and some garlic bread with a Diet Coke (Go Figure...). It was nice.

After that I got onto the 472 heading towards The O2 again and wandered inside to check out the concept O2 phone store and enquire about next Friday (The UK iPhone Launch) and a few other things. After that I went and found the King Tut exibition at The O2 which I believe I am going to have to check out this week sometime before it leaves the UK next month. Of note is that at The O2 they had some BMW’s outside (as an exibit / display) which I decided to check out. This included two F1 cars and several other BMW’s as pictured below.
July 5, 2008
07/05/08 06:44 PM
Well, it’s been a fun day. I had a nice late
start and decided to go into London to SOHO to
check out all of the electronic’s shops. I
wandered around, had a sandwich, had a drink, and
walked around a lot. I was going to go back to
Charring Cross and I got lost looking for a bus
stop that wasn’t closed. I finally figured
out where I was and went to Forbidden Universe for
a while.

After walking around I realized that there were a lot more gay looking people (I’m not homophobic but it is something you tend to notice). I found myself at Trafalgar Square durring the Gay Pride Day event. There were a TON of people there. I would have to say 100K plus people. If anything it was a blast to accidentally run into the event. I hung out for a little bit, took a few pictures, and listened to the music before coming home to watch the new episode of Dr. Who.

I’m actually watching it now which is why I’m going to go and see what happens.

After walking around I realized that there were a lot more gay looking people (I’m not homophobic but it is something you tend to notice). I found myself at Trafalgar Square durring the Gay Pride Day event. There were a TON of people there. I would have to say 100K plus people. If anything it was a blast to accidentally run into the event. I hung out for a little bit, took a few pictures, and listened to the music before coming home to watch the new episode of Dr. Who.

I’m actually watching it now which is why I’m going to go and see what happens.
Family
07/02/08 08:03 PM
Well, I just got off of the phone with my
Grandfather in Germany. I can’t even begin to
recall the last time I spoke to him. It’s
been too long and it was great to hear his voice.
We went back and forth between English and German
in our conversation which was great. I’m
really glad to hear that he is doing well and is
happy. With any luck I’ll get to go and see
him next month if all works out.
I’m going to try to tinker some more with the site and add a few more things. Wish me luck.
Chris
I’m going to try to tinker some more with the site and add a few more things. Wish me luck.
Chris
The Future...
06/08/08 10:25 AM
Well, It’s been a while and I’ve still
not updated my site. I know... Shame on me.
I’ve got family in town and am working, etc.
I’ve basically been spending a littlle less
time in front of the computer but soon I think
there will be more content coming your way...
provided Vodafone fix my phone and I get it back to
take pictures / video...
Chris
Chris
New Job & New Flat
04/29/08 04:46 PM
Well, as usual it's been a while since I last wrote
something. A lot has happened in the last few
weeks. I've moved and started a new job. I am not
allowed to list the company I work for on my
personal blog as I signed a non-disclosure form but
let's just say that it's an online only fashion
company based in London and New York. I also moved
closer to work so that I don't need to commute as
much and I have more time for myself instead of 4
hours a day on the bus. I now live in Charlton
(South East London) and it's nice.
Hopefully I'll write more in the future but now I'm with out a full internet experience so I'm hoping that I get that fixed soon.
Chris
Hopefully I'll write more in the future but now I'm with out a full internet experience so I'm hoping that I get that fixed soon.
Chris
CeBIT 2008
03/04/08 03:30 PM
Well, I know it's been a little while since I
posted. I've finally gotten settled in London and I
have a lot more to write. I just wanted to say that
right now I'm at CeBIT 2008 in Hanover
Germany and I'm loving it. I hope that
everyone else is having a great day too.
Until next time,
Chris
Until next time,
Chris
New Server: E-mail issues Update 2 - We Have E-mail
02/21/08 06:50 AM
New Server: E-mail issues Update
02/20/08 12:32 PM
Well, I'm still having problems with the e-mail on
the site. I've got a support ticket in with GoDaddy
and I'm hoping that someone who knows what they are
talking about will answer it and help me fix it. I
just wanted to update everyone (if anyone)... Right
now I'm sitting at a McDonalds because I just
interviewed for a job at net-a-porter.com and it
went pretty well. Well, I'm signing off for now.
Chris
Chris
New Server: E-mail issues
02/17/08 04:08 PM
I'm currently having issues with the e-mail on this
site (I.E. user@digitaldownfall.com). The accounts
are able to send as well as see old e-mails but not
receive any. I've changed some settings to try to
fix this but they can take up to 48 hours to take
effect. I will try to keep checking to see if this
gets fixed and update once it has.
New Server
02/17/08 03:28 PM
As you may have noticed (see below), I've not
updated the site in some time. Well, to be honest
I've been busy working a lot, etc. I've just moved
servers so right now I'm trying to fix any issues
that may come with doing this and moving all of the
files, etc over to the new one. Wish me luck and
stay tuned to see if I (hopefully soon) add a lot
of content.
Chris
Chris
Working in London
11/05/07 11:09 PM
Well, I've completed my first week at Harrods and
my second Monday. I just got done updating and
tweaking my website. Feel free to let me know what
you think. I switched from taking the train and
tube (subway) to taking a bus to work. It's a
longer trip but it's easier and much cheaper. Well,
it's late here so I'm off to bed.
Chris
Chris
Well, It's Saturday In The Big City
10/27/07 04:39 PM
Well, it's Saturday at 4:39 pm local time and I'm
watching The 13th Warrior on FX in my room via the
Sling Box that I have in
the U.S. I slept in today but then went to the
bank to withdraw about
fourty pounds so that I had money for food at
Tesco to shop. I bought
about eleven pounds worth of food and
replenished my bread, coke, etc. supply. I
don't have any plans for tonight really. I was
invited to go to someone's party at a flat
somewhere in London which is nice and sweet.
I'm tempted to go but I'm not in the mood to
go out and it will save me almost six pounds
or about twelve dollars. There will be other
times to do things.
Yesterday I went to a job interview with Creation Marketing and then I went to the Apple Store to inquire about a position again. I would still love to go and work there. I'm keeping my hopes up. I stayed for the Leopard release at 6 pm (they closed from 4-6) and waited in line. I was about number twenty in line out of at least 1,000 people standing around the block. The line went to hell no thanks to security as by the time they opened there must have been 100 more people that forced their way in front of us. I think they needed to practice a bit more. I got a free t-shirt out of it and met some cool people that knew what I was talking about when it came to technology. With as little clothes that I have, a t-shirt can go a long way.
I'm still shopping for a good price on a desk and chair for my computer. I think my first major purchase here (eventually) will be a projector for movies, etc. so that we can all sit around and enjoy a nice evening in.
Well, I think that's enough for now. I just wanted to update my blog a bit. Sadly I've not taken any pictures really. Sorry about that. I'll try to take some soon.
Chris
Yesterday I went to a job interview with Creation Marketing and then I went to the Apple Store to inquire about a position again. I would still love to go and work there. I'm keeping my hopes up. I stayed for the Leopard release at 6 pm (they closed from 4-6) and waited in line. I was about number twenty in line out of at least 1,000 people standing around the block. The line went to hell no thanks to security as by the time they opened there must have been 100 more people that forced their way in front of us. I think they needed to practice a bit more. I got a free t-shirt out of it and met some cool people that knew what I was talking about when it came to technology. With as little clothes that I have, a t-shirt can go a long way.
I'm still shopping for a good price on a desk and chair for my computer. I think my first major purchase here (eventually) will be a projector for movies, etc. so that we can all sit around and enjoy a nice evening in.
Well, I think that's enough for now. I just wanted to update my blog a bit. Sadly I've not taken any pictures really. Sorry about that. I'll try to take some soon.
Chris
I miss my Weighted Companion Cube...
10/21/07 09:14 PM
A Job
10/21/07 07:03 PM
London
10/18/07 02:51 PM
Well, I'm in London right now. I slept on a bed
last night but it seriously needs a pad. I'm a bit
nervous and worried about this whole culture shock
that's taking me over now but I'm working on
handling it.
I'm looking for a job currently in London. I applied at about 7 places online with my CV / Resume'. So far I've not heard anything but it takes time. I am currently at the Apple Store which is no shock to anyone who knows me. After asking for a manager 2 times to inquire about a job I am stuck having to re-apply online and still no manager.
I hope it works out. I would love to work for Apple and be less worried about where my money is going to come from.
Well, that's it for now.
Chris
I'm looking for a job currently in London. I applied at about 7 places online with my CV / Resume'. So far I've not heard anything but it takes time. I am currently at the Apple Store which is no shock to anyone who knows me. After asking for a manager 2 times to inquire about a job I am stuck having to re-apply online and still no manager.
I hope it works out. I would love to work for Apple and be less worried about where my money is going to come from.
Well, that's it for now.
Chris
London Eve
10/16/07 07:21 PM
Well, I'm writing this on the eve of my flight to
London. Oddly I will probably post this once I have
arrived but I'm typing it at 8:20 pm local time in
Hamburg, Germany. I'm a bit nervous as I actually
don't have a set place to live yet. My goal is to
get to the Apple Store (hey, they have free
internet) to check e-mail, make calls, etc. I
finished a final copy of the DVD for my Aunt,
Uncle, and my father. It's good and funny. It took
about an hour to encode the final version but well
worth it. I'm learning about iDVD and IMovie 08
more and more. OSX 10.5 Leopard coms out on the
26th so I'm looking forward to playing around with
that.
I plan on going over to London in my suite to help me find a job while I look for a place to live. Out of all of the stuff that I brought I can only bring one carry on bag and one checked bag at a max of about 40 pounds. Keep in mind that I came with 4 bags total (2 checked at about 50 pounds each, a backpack, and a roll-on). Well, I'm off to go to bed now because I need to be up at 4 am tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Chris
I plan on going over to London in my suite to help me find a job while I look for a place to live. Out of all of the stuff that I brought I can only bring one carry on bag and one checked bag at a max of about 40 pounds. Keep in mind that I came with 4 bags total (2 checked at about 50 pounds each, a backpack, and a roll-on). Well, I'm off to go to bed now because I need to be up at 4 am tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Chris
Encoding
10/15/07 01:07 PM
Right now I'm encoding video and a DVD for my Aunt
Linda and her husband. I've been tinkering with it
for a few hours now getting the menu and settings
right while keeping it (I hope) from looking bad.
I'm on my 3rd test burn to see if it will work. The
first time I encoded everything at 16:9 but that
all got cut off on the TV / DVD Player even with
the TV set to 16:9. I've changed it all to 4:3
(standard ratio for TV's) and I'm hoping that it
will work. Right now my father is helping me modify
my resume to look a little better and sound more
formal for when I arrive in London.
I have yet to establish a place to live in London. I leave on the 17th at 6:50 am local time and arrive at 7:25 am (local time). I'm flying into London Gatwick Airport where I am going to try to catch a train into town to establish myself somewhere with an internet connetion. From there I'll be able to make phone calls, do some research, and hopefully find a place to live. Who knows, perhaps I'll even find myself a job in the process.
I've not really heard from anyone at home with the exception of a few people. I've not heard a peep from anyone I used to work with, etc. I'm sure that they're all busy with the re-model but still. It's a little sad but I'm over it. Mostly I'm honestly a little scared about this move. I can't take everything I brought to Germany so I get to consolidate all of the stuff that I brought into a backpack and a suitcase. I've finished a new copy of my CV/Resume' to bring along as well. I'm hoping to get to Saturn in downtown Hamburg tomorrow to get online and upload this, check my e-mail, and make a few phone calls.
I'm off for now. Have a good day.
Chris
[What I've been playing]
Half-Life 2 Episode 2 (Beaten) - I can't wait to see what happens in Episode 3.
Portal (Beaten) - It was pretty good. I only wish it was longer.
Unreal Tournament 3 Beta Demo (Not online sadly) - I've been waiting so long for this one...
Call of Duty 4 Demo (PC-Beaten as it's short) - Great game
I have yet to establish a place to live in London. I leave on the 17th at 6:50 am local time and arrive at 7:25 am (local time). I'm flying into London Gatwick Airport where I am going to try to catch a train into town to establish myself somewhere with an internet connetion. From there I'll be able to make phone calls, do some research, and hopefully find a place to live. Who knows, perhaps I'll even find myself a job in the process.
I've not really heard from anyone at home with the exception of a few people. I've not heard a peep from anyone I used to work with, etc. I'm sure that they're all busy with the re-model but still. It's a little sad but I'm over it. Mostly I'm honestly a little scared about this move. I can't take everything I brought to Germany so I get to consolidate all of the stuff that I brought into a backpack and a suitcase. I've finished a new copy of my CV/Resume' to bring along as well. I'm hoping to get to Saturn in downtown Hamburg tomorrow to get online and upload this, check my e-mail, and make a few phone calls.
I'm off for now. Have a good day.
Chris
[What I've been playing]
Half-Life 2 Episode 2 (Beaten) - I can't wait to see what happens in Episode 3.
Portal (Beaten) - It was pretty good. I only wish it was longer.
Unreal Tournament 3 Beta Demo (Not online sadly) - I've been waiting so long for this one...
Call of Duty 4 Demo (PC-Beaten as it's short) - Great game
Well, It's been a few days again...
10/12/07 06:37 PM
Well, I'm still in Germany at the moment. I leave
on the 17th at 6:50 in the morning to London
Gatwick. It should be an interesting flight knowing
that I'm going there to stay. I have yet to find a
place to live although I have a few prospects. Some
of them worry me though as they're insisting on a
deposit via Western Union, etc. If I were to do
something like that and it was a fraud, my money is
gone. About 800 USD if that were the case. So
needless to say, I'm trying to play it safe. Wish
me luck!
Chris
Chris
Time Zones
10/04/07 03:30 PM
Well, I think I've pretty much decided that I will
switch over the time zone on my computer (therefore
affecting the blog time stamps as well) to London's
when I get there. Keep in mind right now I'm in
Hamburg which is Central Time + 7 hours and London
is Central Time + 6 hours. I have to change the
settings all over my laptop including paper type
(U.S. Letter vs. A4).
Right now for me it is 4:30 pm (16:30) but in the U.S. (the time stamp on this blog right now) it is 9:30 am. So it's fun to keep up with. I have yet to switch my watch. Perhaps it's because I'm being lazy. I'm not to sure though. That's it for now.
Chris
Right now for me it is 4:30 pm (16:30) but in the U.S. (the time stamp on this blog right now) it is 9:30 am. So it's fun to keep up with. I have yet to switch my watch. Perhaps it's because I'm being lazy. I'm not to sure though. That's it for now.
Chris
I'm still in Germany
10/03/07 04:43 PM
Hello Everyone! (Or at least the 3 of you that read
this)
I'm still in Hamburg Germany right now staying with my Dad. I've made some progress getting the ball rolling for paperwork that I will need later on in order to work in the E.U. All of the fee's have been paid, etc. and now I just have to wait. It may be a while so I'll probably have my dad pick it up at the government office when it's in and ship it to me. I'm not sure how all of this is going to work but I'm confident that it will.
Today is a holiday in Germany for the wall between East and West Germany coming down in 1990. If you recall East Germany was Communist as was Russia at the time. Yesterday I was able to go to Saturn (Best Buy meets Fry's) and get online for 2 hours with my laptop for about 5 bucks an hour. I know it's not cheap but it is nice to be able to get online. I will try to write more and more when I have a decent thought to type out. For today, this is going to be it. I'm already rambling so what's the point of continuing.
To my friends and family, I miss you all!
Chris
[What I've been playing]
Battlefield 2 (Single Player because of no Internet.)
I'm still in Hamburg Germany right now staying with my Dad. I've made some progress getting the ball rolling for paperwork that I will need later on in order to work in the E.U. All of the fee's have been paid, etc. and now I just have to wait. It may be a while so I'll probably have my dad pick it up at the government office when it's in and ship it to me. I'm not sure how all of this is going to work but I'm confident that it will.
Today is a holiday in Germany for the wall between East and West Germany coming down in 1990. If you recall East Germany was Communist as was Russia at the time. Yesterday I was able to go to Saturn (Best Buy meets Fry's) and get online for 2 hours with my laptop for about 5 bucks an hour. I know it's not cheap but it is nice to be able to get online. I will try to write more and more when I have a decent thought to type out. For today, this is going to be it. I'm already rambling so what's the point of continuing.
To my friends and family, I miss you all!
Chris
[What I've been playing]
Battlefield 2 (Single Player because of no Internet.)
I've Landed...
09/28/07 10:45 AM
Well, I made it to Hamburg Germany yesterday finally after 3 days of travel and almost no sleep. It was a hell-ish trip involving missed flights (thank you so much United /sarcasm) and 3 different airlines. The flight was a total disaster up until the end of the trip. I would go into details but no one wants to hear me complain and I don't feel like writing a book about it which is what it would take. Let's just say I will never fly United again. With the help from Lufthansa and it's associates I finally made it in one piece and with all of my luggage as well. Keep in mind that I booked my flight with SAS (Scandinavian Air Service) and ended up on United. Oddly I never actually flew with SAS actually. Well, that's enough about the rough trip.
I am at my dad's apartment in Hamburg and in one piece. I slept for about 4 hours yesterday and then last night for almost 10. I'm glad to have a soft bed to sleep on and the time to sleep again. I'm trying to get over the 7 hour time difference from Central Time in Texas. I already miss my friends and it is very strange not to have a job. Right now my dad's on the phone trying to see about getting DSL here for internet which is much needed for my job / house hunt in London. I'm sitting in the living room thinking about all of the things I have to get used to not having now and all of the differences. I think I'll make it but it's going to take some time.
I finished the PC game BioShock before I left the states and I loved it. It isn't a perfect game but it gets amazingly close. If you haven't played it I highly recommend it and if you hadn't heard of it go to Game Spot and search for it.
I'm off for now. To my friends and family in the states. I miss you all.
Chris von Eitzen
P.S. Keep in mind I'm 7 hours ahead here but the time on the blog will continue to be Central Standard Time in the U.S. if I can help it.
(The first picture is me just now and the back of my dad's head while he's on the phone calling about internet now. The second picture is of my Dad and my Aunt Linda. The third is of the 747-400 in Chicago before I left.)
The Big Day...
09/25/07 08:45 PM
It's the big day. Today is the day that I leave for Europe for good. I'm sitting at DFW right now in a Samsung Mobile sponsored room with power for my laptop. No free wireless though. All that's here is T-Mobile which is 9.99 per day and I'd only get to use an hour. It's not worth it and I need to pinch my pennies or pounds or whatever. The day started at 6 am today with a wake up call from Buddy and Sam (Nikki was still passed out). If you didn't know those are my parents dogs at their house which is where I've been staying the last week until I leave. It's really an exciting notion to be going to do something so not 'normal.'
We all drove to Dallas (if you've ever been to Dallas with me, it was the usual run of the Apple Store at Willow Bend because I had to return a game). In the process I bought a new iPod Touch 16 gb and returned the one I had to Best Buy. That's right. We stopped by Best Buy. My last day in the states and I 'had' to go to Best Buy. I'm pathetic I know. We had Cinnabon at the mall where the Apple store is at and then after Best Buy we had Fudruckers (amazing burgers). Needless to say we are all STUFFED to the brim. Food is not a good subject right now.
I'm excited to see my Dad again and my aunt Linda as well. I'm excited to fly. I'm excited to be in Germany again as well but I'm terrified at the same time. Knowing that on this trip I'm going one-way and not planning on returning anytime soon is scary and exciting. I don't want to ramble so I'll try to keep the rest of this short. I tend to write when I don't have internet access and then upload away when I do. I miss my friends already and everyone already. Wish me luck!
Lots of love,
Chris
(The picture is of my Mom and I at DFW before I went through security)
Moving to Europe
09/24/07 03:36 AM
Well, if you didn't know it I'm moving to Europe
from the U.S. I'm going to Germany at first to
spend some time with my family there and see my
dad. I fly out on Tuesday September 25th. I'm
canceling my cell phone so if you have it you'll
have to e-mail me and I can get you the contact
info for where I'll be. Eventually I'll have a job
in London and be making it there. Once I do that
I'll be sure to post and let you all know how best
to get in contact with me.
It's been a long ... long time
07/29/07 05:47 PM
It's been literally months since last I wrote on my
website or updated it at all. Mostly I've been busy
working but lately I've been with out internet for
over a week and with out a laptop for almost two. I
finally got Apple to replace my MacBook Pro after
they had replaced almost every part inside of it.
Right now I'm typing on my new 17-inch MacBook Pro Core 2
Duo. I love it. It's got pretty much
everything I would want in a laptop and then
some. I've installed the program that I use to
work on my website but I still need to install
some more themes and tweak some settings
though.
My room mate is moving out sadly as he's a really cool guy and a great friend. I'm going to miss being able to chill with Ray. Every room mate situation that I've had has ALWAYS sucked and turned out badly except for this one. I couldn't be happier. Well, I'm off to make a few phone calls. I HOPE to be blogging more and posting more about what's going on in my life for those who like to read this, all two of you...
-Chris
My room mate is moving out sadly as he's a really cool guy and a great friend. I'm going to miss being able to chill with Ray. Every room mate situation that I've had has ALWAYS sucked and turned out badly except for this one. I couldn't be happier. Well, I'm off to make a few phone calls. I HOPE to be blogging more and posting more about what's going on in my life for those who like to read this, all two of you...
-Chris
Something Of An Update
05/21/07 01:34 AM
Right now I'm working 2 jobs for a total of about
80 hours a week. It's been happening since before
my post on 3-24-07 so I've been very busy with work
and sleep when I can. I just fixed a few things and
tweaked a few things with the site so I will be
posting more often. Please check back soon for some
more updates, etc.
Good night and God bless,
Chris
Good night and God bless,
Chris
Update
05/17/07 04:42 AM
Been a whie...
01/28/07 07:20 PM
Well, it's been a while. There are plenty of
reasons for that. I've been working a lot and I
just moved into a new place. It's day 3 in the new
place and most everything is here and unpacked. We
just got back from the store for food, etc. Not a
lot to write really. Sorry for my lack of
enthusiasm for conveying my thoughts by posting
them.
Prize for the runner up though:
Prize for the runner up though:
Movies: Borat
11/12/06 04:23 AM
This
is the first movie that I've walked out of in a
long time. If you want to see insults to everyone
from the Jewish community (no, I'm not Jewish) to
the black community, to the white community, etc.
then this movie may be for you. If you want to see
two hary naked men (one of which is very fat) on a
huge screen doing discusting things (in full view)
then this movie may be for you. If you want to see
the 'Borat' character next to a young mans
penis...If you want to see someone shit in a bag,
etc... well you get the point. I though this would
just be politically incorrect but it's vial. I'm
sad to see movies like this and I hope I never have
to again.
Rating: Give me back my damn money...
Rating: Give me back my damn money...
This Week In Chris...
10/26/06 12:18 AM
This
week I've been keeping pretty busy with work and
school as usual. I've been hanging out with some
friends and trying to keep things clean at the
apartment. My car's been in the shop since last
Friday and I've been borrowing a friends car the
last few days which has been a life saver (thanks
Bryan!!!). I can't wait to get it back soon but the
$300.00 price tag hurts my wallet / debt. I just
hope that all is well and that it runs alright. I
passed my Managment Decision Making class (which I
was terrified over) so there is still hope of me
graduating in December of this year. I can't wait
to be done with this stress from school, etc. Well,
I'm off to 'try' to pay attention in class now
(which is where I'm at). Wish me luck on my other
studies.
Chris
Chris
Buzz Out Loud Podcast
10/13/06 02:49 AM