Tuesday I took a little trip down to Rapperswil again to see if I could find myself some comfy shoes that can keep out the fall and winter weather. Elisa looks pretty hot in them too. I managed to find a pair and am putting them to good use right away. It was more fun to take a lone trip than I expected, though I still prefer the company of Chad. When we first moved here, I was excited that Elisa would be able to take day trips, like to Geneva, while I was at work. She was horrified by the suggestion. 🙂 But I was able to practice speaking German with the lady who helped me in the shoe shop and with some random old man from Holland who sat down next to me on a bench up at the castle. My vocabulary needs to improve. I was able to tell the lady I met at the shoe store what Mormons are—hopefully I didn’t say anything too off.

Wednesday was the happy day I was finally able to take my test. I got up early and took a train and then a bus to the University of St. Gallen. Alvin Schwendener graciously proctored for me. After all that waiting, it took me only 20 minutes to complete. Lame. Elisa also received the grades for her assignments so far. She has aced everything. I think psychology comes naturally to her. I walked around town and bought a sweater since it was a good 10 degrees cooler at the higher elevation. I went to this ancient library that reminded me of the one in the Beauty and the Beast Disney movie. It was full of scrolls and books and documents that were hundreds of years old. I even had to wear these funky felt slippers over my shoes just to go in and see. Unfortunately, due to the library’s fragile nature I couldn’t take any pictures. I strolled through the market and bought some figs and pepper Raclette cheese.

The pulled muscle in my chest is not hurting any more. I know you’ve been on pins and needles waiting to see how that turned out. 🙂 I’m happy because it means I wasn’t having a heart attack or even heartburn. I’m still young. Elisa and I had some “pepper Raclette” last week and it was really good! I was happy to be able to eat all the spicy toppings on the Raclette that I wanted. BTW, we had bought this Raclette cheese at a specialty store. It turns out that there is a big difference between off-brand cheese bought at the grocery store and cheese bought in an authentic rural shop. Elisa and I were in heaven for a meal.

On Monday my group at work moved from the old Google building to the new Google building. They are about a 15 minute walk from each other. The new building is not completed yet. The 5th floor where I am is just a temporary accommodation. The construction is months behind schedule. So during the workday there are people in the next room working with concrete drills! The door between us is thick, but it really doesn’t help. One guy working on the 2nd floor, on the opposite end of the building, says that it’s awful because the whole building is made of concrete, and even from that far away “the drilling might as well be inside your own head.” The facilities team gave us each a souvenir pair of earplugs. At first we thought they were only meant as a joke.

I’ve been spending a lot of time this month working on my computer program that analyzes stocks. Last week I was up until 4 am on three nights. Maybe I’m too old to keep that up forever though.

It’s that time of year again. Elisa and I have known each other for exactly 2 years–that’s all! We invited our friends to come over and bring a box of cereal, to celebrate the quirky get-together where we first met. A tradition in the past is that I make Elisa cry on this day. (That’s how I got her to remember me in the first place.) 🙂 This time Elisa got off easy though.

This year’s party was rambunctious because Baumanns and Sannemans were able to bring their kids. We mixed together sugar and preschool boys and a late night. It was hilarious. Milo dumped a box of cereal on the floor, and kids raced to see how much they could stuff in their mouths from off the rug. Kids teased each other about taking away the Froot Loops box. Mike Christian wanted to tease the kids by pretending to dump cereal on the ground, but really he closed the bag so it wouldn’t spill. Then he accidentally mixed up the boxes, and really did dump a box of cereal on the ground. Then we let Milo borrow our camera, and he invented a game of camera tag. He chased after the other kids and tried to flash the camera at them, and they tried to run away. We got funny pictures of kids under tables and bolting around corners and upside-down on the furniture. 🙂

• Party Photos 

Just because Elisa is super creative, I have to copy here the poem that she sent out after the party:

Cereal is my favorite treat
at any time of day.
T’was great for Chad and I to meet
in this very kooky way.
Thanks to those who came to eat
and brought a wide array.
We’re sorry it was not complete
as some could not come play.
We’ll repeat the feast replete
four months from next May!