HAPPY BIRTHDAY ______________ !

We're happy to have you in our family!


Love,
Your Auntie :)

Lake Bugs!

A panoramic view from the bell tower of the cathdral in old town Geneva (I love this city!) see the Jet d'eau (giant water fountain) in the distance on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) Lovely!

After a long week, a long day at school and a late night of school events, I finally got some sleep! Awoke to a spring day (the weather has been indecisive, one day winter snow! the next day spring summer warmth!) so I decided to take advantage of it and go running. Lately it has become apparent that sitting in a classroom 8 hours a day for months on end has not been good for my body. It seems that as soon as I get into the classroom my circulation slows, my digestion stalls, and my body goes into a sub-coma... it's a little frightening really and makes me wonder if perhaps this intense one-year MBA thing isn't so good for the health! We've had a slightly lighter schedule and although that extra space has been filled by job hunting activities, I've been trying to make running more than a once weekly event as it has been the last half year or so. I've always enjoyed running... it more of a jog for me, but put me in some nice scenery with my ipod and it is as much exercise for the mind as it is the body. Unless I have a 5K planned, my regime essentially consists of running until all the thoughts in my head quit coming, then running back home with a quiet head... it's lovely!

With my roomies on a Sunday afternoon walk along my favorite lake (Photo taken in January)

So today I am running along thinking about my life as it stands... you know, the usual... money... going it completely on loans is scary and not wanting to go into unnecessary debt I took the bare minimum in loans, only the bare minimum turned out to be less than the minimum when the exchange rates blew my plan! So I find myself thinking how much longer can I survive on what I have? and naturally following that up with questions about how and when I will find the right job. Last night we had a big event where we met several people in the "industry" who are our career ambassadors of a sort and try to fit us with the right people/organization/ position etc (if one can be found). I had a couple of interesting leads including one position that requires going into countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and other areas with groups of insecure populations and training citizens, police and other security personnel about civilian protection. It sounds fascinating and right up my alley but I find myself asking, do I want to return to the field 100%? Do I want to go back into the field? Do I want to stay in Geneva or go back to the states? Does it matter what I want or do I just take whatever paid position comes along? I took this course to give me choice, but there will be a day (very soon) when the well will run dry and I will have to take whatever opportunity is in front of me. I am thinking these deep thoughts as the trail turns and weaves a path along the lake and I notice people coming my direction on the trail waving their hands in the air curiously. I notice others on the lawn jumping and doing what looks like a little dance... and everyone looks a little blurry, cough, cough! I realize the blur is really the swarm of little white bugs I have just run into, and that I have swallowed perhaps a half dozen of these little creatures. LAKE BUGS! I run faster, hoping to run out of the swarm, but it turns out it was not simply a swarm but a swarm of swarms! I begin laughing as I see more people coming my direction doing all sorts of hand gestures some look like tai chi, even karate to fend off the little creatures and they laugh as heartily as I wildly wave my hands in the air for the same purpose. I cough and spit and give in saying to myself that I had been trying to find some cheaper forms of protein anyhow. I love running along this lake and I begin to appreciate even these crazy little lake bugs and the laughter they have allowed me to share with all the people along the trail. My thoughts wander back to where I will end up next... so much is behind me now, and there are so many ways ahead to go, so many opportunities, so many choices ahead of me how will I know which one is right? Where will I end up and will there be a beautiful place to run... perhaps with lake bugs? And with this thought, I know it's time to turn around and run home...spiting, coughing and flailing my arms all the way.

Part of the trial I run along the lake

Easter Adventures...

Sion Castle

Happy Easter Bunny in Sion hotel Easter Morning :)

Mural on wall in Ancient Church in Sion

Fire Hydrant in Muren
Sign in field in Interlakken

Goofing off in Zurich

Nearly missing our train to the airport in Zurich

Bohemian Birthday

If one has to turn 30... one might as well do it in Prague :)
I have some Bohemian Blood in me so it seemed like it was about time I made it to Prague!

The Easter Market in Prague

Our favorite Easter Market treats... dough with orange flavor, wrapped onto iron rods rolled near hot coals then slipped off the rods and rolled in cinnamon and sugar... YUM!

The Famous Astronomical Clock... crowds gather round waiting and craning their necks up to its faces...Just before the hour the clock makes a bit of noise and if you are lucky you can see each of the twelve apostles passing by the windows...

That is if you are not too distracted by the skeleton pulling the cord that marks the hour... Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong!

Tourists! Crowds of people at the Easter Market, a view from the top of the Astronomical clock tower

Inside the largest castle complex in Europe... or was it the world? This is the cathedral.

One of the stars of the show (Cathedral) Good King Wenceslas' tomb... yes that would be the Good King Wenceslas of Christmas Carol fame.

Now it happens that anyone who has seen five or more Cathedrals in Europe has likely seen them all, or that is how it will feel upon entrance into the familiar cross shaped, gothic styled, vault ceilinged refrigerated building. I went in on the decision to try to find what was special about this particular Cathedral (besides the Good King of course) and what I found were some of the most stunning stained glass windows I've yet seen and the sun was in full cooperation to highlight such stunning pieces of art.

Some of the many church steeples in the Prague skyline... notice how pregnant that sky looks, luckily it never rained on us, I was convinced if I carried my umbrella it would not rain, and rain it did not! The sky did look ominous sometimes though which actually just added to the ambiance of the city.

In front of the Prague branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (yes, that's what the sign says in Czech).

The Prague "night" shot

On the Charles Bridge :)
Below: view of the Charles Bridge

In King Wenceslas square (that's him up there on the horse... really nice guy)