Hawaii - Day #8 - Sorry this is a long one

By Jeff - February 4, 2011

Oh boy, where to start?  If you read “Day #7” you know that today was the day that I went to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial.  Before coming to Hawaii, I was told by someone that I would spend a little while there, but then should have a plan of other things to do.  Well, I arrived at the USS Arizona Memorial “park” (as it is more than just the AZ memorial) at about 8:45 a.m. and left around 3:45 (had to get back to the airport, you know) – and still felt like I was rushed, and didn’t have time to see everything.  In fact, there were at least 2 exhibits that I said, “I have to come back to this” and never made it back.  Today was the absolute high point of my trip to Hawaii! 

Apparently, my excitement was visible to all on-lookers.  One of the store sales people, when I told her that I would be back later, said, “Yeah, I’ll recognize you.  You look like a kid in a candy store.”  I was so thrilled to be there (still in a reverent way) – that I sometimes had to remind myself why this was all here, and that it wasn’t the same as a Valleyfair rollercoaster.  That being said – it was so much better than any Valleyfair ride.

I started out getting a ticket for the 9:45 movie and launch out to the Arizona Memorial.  Before that I just poked around, seeing what all was where, and vowing to come back to things I didn’t have time for before the movie (big mistake – I never got back to them!).  The movie and trip to the actual memorial over the Arizona was just wonderful (again, in a reverent way).  I could’ve stayed for an hour just looking out at the wreckage of the ship and reading the names of the more than 1100 people who were lost in one short blast.

After that – I went to on a tour of the USS Missouri.  The Missouri was the last battleship ever built for the US Navy – and the last one built in the world.  It is impressive in size, being only 9 yards shorter than 3 football fields.  The Missouri (or “Mighty Mo”, as she is called) was the ship where the Japanese surrender papers were signed in Tokyo Bay to end World War II.  After a tour, we got to roam the ship (within the “allowed” areas, of course).  That was a real treat.  I broke from the group and headed up to the highest point on the ship (that was allowed), and then worked my way down.  It was great fun.  A quick note about the ship – if you look at my pictures – you will see the big battleship guns.  The guns (each barrel) is about 66 feet long, and weighs more than the Space Shuttle.  Each gun can fire 2 rounds per minute, and can fire the 2200 lb projectiles up to 25 miles.  With a total of 9 guns (3 per turret), the Mighty Mo, can fire a shot, and then fire off (I think they said) 16 more shots before the first shell hits its target (81 seconds later).  That is some serious firepower.

After completing the Missouri, I went to the Pacific Aviation Museum – which is housed in 2 old hangers that were under attack on December 7th, as well.  The glass in the doors actually still has bullet holes from that day.  It was never replaced, to serve as a reminder.  Anyway –at the Aviation Museum – I struck up a conversation with one of the guys, and ended up getting a personal tour of both hangers.  I also got to go into an “authorized personnel only” area to see one of the planes they are rebuilding.

Have I mentioned how cool my day was?

So – after all of that – I was out of time, and had to catch my flight back to my hotel (bummer!!!).  I seriously could’ve stayed another couple of hours.  They had a WWII submarine (the USS Bowfin – that was launched on Dec 7, 1942 – and called the Pearl Harbor Avenger) – that was also available for tour, plus the sections that I never made it back to, AND all of the things that I wanted to read, but just didn’t have time.  It was an amazing day

So – now, I have to finish packing, and get to bed, so I can make my way home on Saturday.  One more Skype call from the hotel, and then I am out the door.  I am looking forward to seeing the family.  One good thing about this is that Grace has expanded her vocabulary.  She can now say, “Hawaii!!”

Thanks for reading all of this, and taking some interest.  From both a work and personal standpoint – it has been a good trip, but it’s time to go home.

Be well, be safe.

JBD

Hawaii - Day #7

By Jeff - February 3, 2011

Well, the meeting in finally (or already) over.  It went very well – with the exception of my computer crashing about 15 times.  Fortunately I am getting a new work computer, so hopefully this is the end of the Crashing Computer saga.

Highlights of today include:

The course director has a photo contest each year.  I had shown one of my pictures (one with the heart shaped stone) to a few people, and they said, “Oh that’s a wonderful picture!!  You HAVE to enter it in the contest!”  I’ve never had anyone compliment on of my pictures like that (I got a “D” in college photography).  So, filled with hope, I submitted my picture.  People commented on it, telling me they thought it was a winner.  When it came time to vote, we had 2 groups of 7, taking the top 2 vote getters of each group, and then those 4 pics would be re-voted on to get the winner.  Again – with my hopes high – my picture was in the 1st pool of 7.  My hopes were quickly dashed, as I took 4th out of my group of 7.  Ho-hum, I still like the picture, though. 

We went to Humpy’s again tonite for supper.  I had something different than last night.  It wasn’t as good, but was still pretty awesome.

Tomorrow (Friday) is a free day before flying out on Saturday.  I am going to Pearl Harbor on Oahu.  I plan to see the USS Arizona Memorial, as well as the USS Missouri, which is where the Japanese signed the surrender papers to end WWII in 1945.  The Arizona is one of my (I believe the popular term is) “bucket list” items.  I am looking forward to the trip.  I will tell you all about it in my next note, which will be typed right after I return from Pearl Harbor (I’ll probably still be so excited, I won’t sleep for a week).

Then Saturday is my trip home.  Not looking forward to the long flight, but am looking forward to getting home.  I can only take so much 80 degree weather, before I just get sick of it and pine for my Columbia coat.  Of course, I am looking forward to seeing Grace and Lisa too, and just having some home cooking with family (even if its only Hamburger Helper).

I’m going to close out for tonite, but will one more post for sure, perhaps 2.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great day!

JBD

Hawaii - Day #6

By Jeff - February 2, 2011

Holy moley!  Just one more day, and the conference is done.  It seems like it just started, and now its done (almost).  When we’re done we have to pack everything up and move it down the road to another resort/hotel where one of our colleagues will be working for a conference next week. 

Today was a good day.  We went into the city of Kona.  We’ve been staying at a resort about 20 miles outside of Kona, so haven’t gotten into town until today.  Went down by the ocean and just poked around at some of the shops. 

We at late lunch at a place called, “Humpy’s”.  We both had their Stone Baked Subs.  They take the ingredients for your sandwich, and wrap it in a pizza crust and then bake it in their stone oven.  It was AMAZING!!!  The best food that I have had since arriving.  We ate lunch around 3:00 – and I am still full at 8:30.  It was well worth all of the discomfort I am feeling right now  :-) 

Other than that, there’s not a lot to tell today.  Sorry to be so boring.

Be well.  Will write more next time.

JBD

Hawaii - Day #5

By Jeff - February 1, 2011

Aloha again.  Day #2 of our meeting went well – with the exception of one of our computers crashing repeatedly.  Other than that – it was good.

Not much happened otherwise today.  After the meeting we hung around the resort.  I did have a chance to Skype with Lisa and Grace again.  It would seem that she (Gracie) is getting more used to me being gone, as the time she sits in front of the computer before going to play, is becoming less and less.  No – I don’t feel snubbed.  It is a good thing that she can get a “dad fix” and then be okay with me being gone.

Today was quite windy, and the surf was high (or whatever the proper term for surf conditions is).  I had been planning to rent a surfboard, and take it out.  Naturally, I wouldn’t stand on it – at least, not on the first try.  I saw people that would lay on them and ride the wave in like that – looked like fun.  So – today, I decide that I will finally try it out.  I get to the beach and ask how difficult it will be out in the high surf.  I was then informed that, “our rental equipment can’t leave the lagoon.”  Yes – they actually have a lagoon – like on Gilligan’s Island! 

Problem – there are no waves in the lagoon (natural lava breakwaters, you know) – so what fun would a surfboard be?  Change of plans!  I’ll just hop into the water (lagoon) – and splash around and swim for a while.  After being in the water for about 30 seconds, I suddenly remembered, “I hate the water – this is why I don’t go swimming!”  Sure, I like playing NEAR the water, or sometimes in the water (such as water slides, or splashing around in the crashing surf), but actually swimming in the water?  Who decided this was fun?  I swam over to a big pile of lava rock and feigned interest for a while, and then walked around the beach and back to my chair and belongings.  40 minutes after leaving my room, I returned to change back OUT of my wet clothes, able to say, “yes, I was in the ocean”, never to return again (on this trip, at least).

Supper tonite was pizza.  It was pretty good, and I had leftovers, so I have breakfast for tomorrow.

That’s really about it.  Oh – one thing, no, it didn’t storm last night.  Tonite seems very calm – so it will probably storm like a bear.

That’s it for today. 

Be well,

Jeff

Hawaii - Day #4

By Jeff - January 31, 2011

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for 4 days already – more correctly stated, that I’ve been away from home for 4 days already.  I just need to say (repeated from a previous post) that Skype is a wonderful thing.  Technology used for good things is just wonderful.  I love being able to call home and video chat with Lisa and Grace.  My colleague, Alec, and I were driving today, and I thought, “how amazing that Alec, while in a moving car, can talk to his wife from 5,000 miles away, while on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”  These really are wondrous times.

So – what happened today?  Well, the conference started.  After all of the stress of hoping that it would go alright, and there would be no show stopping A-V events – I am glad to say we made it.  There were a few minor issues – like the guy with the size 47 boots, whose feet had to fidget with my projector cable (right at a joint, no less), and kept disconnecting it from the adjoining cable, causing the projector to lose its image - but over all, it went well.

After the conference, we took off up to the Pololu Valley Lookout (we also went there on “day #2”).  We had taken pictures from the top of the valley, but wanted to hike down to the floor, get some pictures and see the ocean up close.  It was a good hike – it took about 15 minutes to get down there, and I think we dropped at least 500 feet, maybe even more – it was a LONG way down. 

Once we got down to the valley floor, it was outstanding.  The beach sand was nothing like I’ve seen before.  Rather than “sand” as we know it, it was more of a fine gray/black powder.  The ocean, while I know that it is impressive and powerful, from the top of the cliff looks much like the waves you would find at the local fishing hole.  However, after trekking down to 20 feet from its edge – it transformed from a gentle splashing of water to a roaring beast, pushing rocks, people and anything else in it’s path, where ever it chooses to move them.

While on the beach, we also found some rock “formations” that were built by various people.  Some of them were quite impressive, some romantic, and some were just odd.  Naturally, I had to build a “monument” too.  It was not nearly as impressive as some of the others, but it was mine, so therefore, I am proud.  Yes, my mark has been left on the north-eastern coast of Hawaii until someone (or a strong wave or the wind) knocks it down. 

After making the hike back up to the top (it was much easier doing down, I must say), we were off to find something for supper.  Ahi Tuna from a place called Merriman’s Market Café was on the menu for the evening.  It was quite good.  Now, at just before 9:00, I am feeling tired and am about ready for bed.  So – will close out.  It should be an interesting night.  I am no authority on Hawaiian weather, but based on the clouds earlier, and the wind right now – my Minnesota weather instincts tell me that it is going to storm tonite.  I will tell you if I was right in tomorrow’s note.

Bye for now!

JBD

Hawaii - Day #3

By Jeff - January 30, 2011

Well, today was uneventful, yet full of stuff to see.  First off, we had to actually “work” today.  We had to set up the room – which involves constructing the screens, setting projectors, setting microphones & speakers, connecting computers and monitors, and running and taping about 800 feet of cable.  Good fun was had by all.

I had swordfish for lunch today.  I would love to tell you I caught it, but anyone who knows me, knows that’ll never happen.  It was great!

Had a burger for supper tonite.  However, not just ANY burger, but a burger with a whole bunch of secret Hawaiian ingredients – yummy!

Last night, Alec and I met a cat.  Yes, an actual cat, who just hangs out at the outdoor restaurant.  He comes over and says, “hi” and sees if you’ll give him a small morsel.  If yes, he’ll hang out a little more.  If you don’t feed him, he’ll move on.  So anyway – tonite, while I’m eating supper, this lady gets all bent out of shape, and asks the bar staff – “Why do you allow cats to roam through this restaurant?”  Well – first of all, the restaurant is outside without a single wall in sight.  It has birds flying overhead, ocean-life less than 100 feet away, and actual sand acts as the floor.  And – it’s only ONE cat, not like a whole herd of them.  Welcome to Hawaii, ma’am!  I thought, “you’d better not ever go to Mexico, where dogs lay on the floor of the restaurants.

Other events of the day include:  6 sea turtles came up on the beach today.  It is illegal to interact with them, so the resort has fencing set up in the area where the turtles come ashore.  However, you can take all of the pictures you want from behind the fence.

My back has been hurting for the past few days.  It started before I left to get on the plane.  The very long ride did not help my cause.  The resort has massage tables out on the beach, so I thought I would ask about the price of getting the kink worked out of my back.  $169 per hour.  “Holy cow!” thought I.  “How much to just rub this Icy Hot on it?”  Needless to say, I passed on the masseuse.

Perhaps most exciting of the day – I have made numerous whale sighting off the coast.  Sorry, no pictures – ‘cuz you never know where they’re going to pop up.  From what I understand, there is a shelf about ½ mile off shore (maybe less – maybe more, it’s hard to tell) – and the whales hang out just beyond the shelf.  I thought perhaps it was the same whale over and over, but considering that some whales can stay under for 30 – 45 minutes, plus I started seeing multiple whales at once, I figured there must be a pod of them. That was pretty neat.

Anyway – back to work tomorrow (Monday).  The AV crew (Alec and I) have to be in the meeting room at 6:00 a.m.  Meaning – I have to iron my clothes and be off to bed.  So – good night. 

Look for more info in the next edition, of “Jeff in Hawaii!!!”

Hawaii - Day #2

By Jeff - January 29, 2011

So – after going to bed at 10:00 last night (that would be 2:00 a.m. CST – which my body was still on) – I managed to sleep until 5:00 this morning.

 I know that doesn’t sound very late, but that would be 7 hours of sleep, and for me – well, that’s doing pretty good.

So, I got up, took a shower, and at 5:45 a.m. made a Skype call to my family back in MN.  If you haven’t tried Skype, you have to do so.  It was such a joy to see Lisa and Gracie.  I think it was good for Gracie to see her dad too.  She was very excited when we saw each other on the screen.

As said in “Day #1” today (Saturday) was a free day, to get “un-jet-lagged”.  Alec (my Mayo collegue) had rented a car, and we drove around the island for most of the day.  We took off toward the north and made our way all the way around to Hilo – which is on the east side of the island (our hotel/resort is on the west side).  The most notable things we saw today were Akaka Falls and the Pololu Valley Lookout. 

You can see some of the picture in my "Hawaii- 2011” folder.  

Also during our travels, in the course of 20 miles, we went from a lava field/near desert, to a rain forest, and then to a farmland type landscape that could easily be mistaken for somewhere in the midwest.  We also drove through the Kohala Mountain, that take you from near sea-level to 3600 feet in a very short time.  We couldn’t figure out why our ears kept popping, and suddenly we saw an elevation sign – and suddenly, “oh, no wonder!”

We finally meandered our way back home, stopped at a small grocery store, to pick up some supplies, and found our way back to our hotel.  I’ve had dinner, and now – a just before 9:00 – am considering bed.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is set up day, and then off to more sight-seeing. 

Bye for now – the boy is tired.

JBD

Hawaii - Day #1

By Jeff - January 28, 2011

Hawaii – Day #1

Hello and welcome to “Jeff’s Hawaii Travel Log.”  I am in Hawaii supporting a Mayo Cardiology conference called Arrhythmias and the Heart.

Day 1 (Friday, January 28th) started out by getting up at 3:00 a.m. in order to catch a 4:30 taxi, to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight to Chicago.  After landing in Chicago, we waited a little more than 3 hours to catch the flight to Honolulu, and then from Honolulu to Kona (on the Big Island), where the meeting is.  The flight from Rochester to Chicago is only 45 minutes, and the Honolulu to Kona flight is about the same.  However, the Chicago to Honolulu flight was about 8 ½ hours.  I looked at my watch after about 2 hours, thinking we’d made some good headway – and found out that I had over 6 hours to go.  My butt was already hurting!!

On the bright side – I did get a lot of reading done.  On the other hand, I was expecting this book to last for the flight out and back, and I only have 70 pages to go, so I don’t think it’ll make it.  I did bring some more books though, so I’ll be fine for the way back.  Perhaps I need a Nook or something that will store hundreds of books at once  :-)

As you can presume, we arrived in Kona safely, and it is off to bed.  The one thing that I can tell you is that (so far) Hawaii is expensive.  The Whopper combo at the Honolulu Airport’s Burger King was $9.50.  If you ever plan to come to Hawaii – bring lots of cash for your meals!

Anyway, Saturday is a free day (to catch up on my jet-lag) so we will go exploring (“we” being me, and my co-worker Alec, who is also working on this program).  Sunday is “set-up” day, and then the program starts on Monday.

I will keep you posted about our exploring, exploits and mishaps.

Say tuned for the next installment of “Jeff in Hawaii”!

Until then,

JBD

Budapest - Day #9

By Jeff - July 3, 2009

Well, finally – I am back in the good old USA and will sleep in my own home tonite.

If you remember I was supposed to come home on Thursday night – but due to “restricted airspace” over Hungary, we were force to delay our take off for 1 hour, causing me to miss my flight (the last Northwest/KLM/Delta flight out to the USA, I might add) by 10 minutes – therefore forcing me to spend the night in the Amsterdam airport. Fortunately they have 2 hotels that are built into the airport. The room was clean and sort of nice. It was very small – but really, how much do you need while sacking out before the next flight? I slept like garbage though – until about 6:15 – then my 6:30 wake up call came in the middle of a dream. In my dream the other person’s cell phone kept ringing. I wondered why he wouldn’t answer. Then my brain said, “wake up, stupid!” Oh yeah . . .

The flight home was fairly uneventful. I was a little sad. I finally got a window seat, during the daylight hours, and wouldn’t you know it – all I got to see was the tops of clouds! I didn’t get to see any of the U.K. or much of the Atlantic. The clouds did open up enough for me to see part of Greenland as we passed over.

Before you think I am a total geography whiz – they had GPS monitors in the airplane where you could track the progress. It included a little map graphic and an airplane icon to show where you were. There was also flight data, such as altitude, airspeed, miles traveled and miles to go. Did you know that the temp at 39,000 feet is 68 degrees below zero? Neither did I until last Thursday.

Lisa and Gracie picked me up today at the Rochester airport – Grace did not give me the cold shoulder as she has done other times I have been gone. We grabbed our luggage and zipped home. Yes, I kissed the ground as promised.

All in all, it was a good trip – just frustrating along the way a few times.

I must close out this note, as my body thinks that is now 4:00 a.m. and has been up since 6:30.

Thus endeth the Budapest saga. Thanks for reading.

Have a happy July 4th.

JBD

Budapest - Day #8

By Jeff - July 2, 2009

So – you only THOUGHT this was my last note from across the pond. Well – the keepers of time and space (or in this case, “air”) decided differently. Due to a “restriction in airspace” – which I can assume to mean that some important dude or dudette was flying through and no planes were allowed in the air – my flight was delayed by one hour – so, I missed my connecting flight to the USA by 10 lousy minutes!

Therefore I am spending the night in the Amsterdam airport. With no luggage (that seems to be a theme this week) – so when I return home, I will be wearing the same clothes I put on Thursday morning and without a toothbrush (hopefully I can find one) – sorry Lisa – don’t kiss me when you see me!

Bleah!

I am supposed to get out of here on Friday morning @ 10:30 a.m. and be back in Rochester @ 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

So – you’ll get to hear from me one more time!

Wish me luck!

Jeff

Budapest - Day #7

By Jeff - July 1, 2009

Well, today was my last day in Budapest, and finally with no conference or deadline of any sort. It was a free day to roam. This was by far the best day here. Don’t get me wrong – I had a good time at the conference and made some new acquaintances – not only Hungarian, but also Rochesterites who were here. There was the doctor’s wife that I chatted with at the banquet (see Budapest #5), and the doctor (who was one of the course directors) who joined me for breakfast one morning. We chatted until it was time to go to work, and then he would come and chat every morning to see how I was doing (overwhelmed, etc or not) and continually greet me in the hall, lobby and such. I know that when I see some of these people back home, we will be like old friends – or, at least, not be strangers.

However – today was just a hoot. First off, I tagged along with a fellow Mayoite who met up with a Hungarian doctor who gave us a tour of the Castle District of Budapest (the “Buda” portion of Budapest, actually). From what I could tell, she has lived here her whole life, and is a walking encyclopedia for the area. Should she ever decide to stop being a world famous doctor – she has a future in the tourism industry. I will try to post pics from the castle and other parts of town after typing this note.

We hung out at the castle for quite a while today. After that, we all split up, and it was time to roam on my own. Since getting here, I had wanted to ride either the subway or the tram line that runs beside the river in front of our hotel. I decided on the subway (the Metro, as it’s known here) – and the Yellow Line was the obvious choice, for 2 reasons: #1 because it is the closest to my hotel, and #2 because it is the oldest subway line in Europe and the 3rd oldest in the world. So – I managed to figure out how to buy a ticket and hopped on. I then realized I didn’t really know where to stop. I wanted to go to a place called Hero’s Square – so had to figure out how many stops it was to get there (of course, it’s all in Hungarian) and remember how to find the train back once I got there. What an adventure. It was GREAT!

I finally got up to Hero’s Square and began to nose around. It is filled with museums – which were closed by the time I arrived, as well as a lake/fountain (that was neat – if I have a good photo, I will explain it there). Going there was just a reminder that no matter how many differences we all have – we are still so much the same. There were people sitting on park benches and having picnics, there were kids fishing in the “lake” (I doubt there was anything worth keeping – I only saw some 3 inch fish). Hero’s Square also housed –what I think was – a zoo, some sort of small amusement park with these trampoline contraptions that looked SO fun. There was also a bounce house in the distance but I didn’t go over there.

It was fun because I just wandered – not really knowing where I was, except that I was north of the lake and of the Hero’s statues – which were my landmarks to find my way back home. I wandered up there for about an hour. When I was about ready to leave, I returned to a park vendor for a supper of a Gyro and Coke (again, what is it with all of the warm drinks?). It cost me about $4 or $4.50 –and it was, hands down, the best meal I have had here. It was just super. The server, on the other hand, either didn’t like Americans or was peeved that I took her away from the Hungarian version of Days of Our Lives. She was a tad surely. When finished I went back to her booth, pointed at the gyro table and said, “gyro” and then gave her a double thumbs up, and then said, “thank you” in Hungarian. She returned a smile to me, and I felt good – hoping that I had made her crappy day just a bit better.

Wow, I’m getting long winded again – don’t worry, I think I’m almost done. I hopped back onto the subway and rode back to the station closest to my hotel. I then grabbed an ice cream cone – similar to ours, yet . . . not. It was pretty good though. I decided that I was done spending money and came home (although now I realize that I have to go back out and buy something for breakfast, as I have no intention of spending $20 or $30 for some bacon and a muffin in the café downstairs. So – I have to wrap this up before the stores close.

So – on that note, I will close out the final note from the city of Budapest and wish you all a good day (yeah, it’s night here, but early afternoon in MN). I leave for the airport at 9:30 Thursday morning (that would be 2:30 a.m. to you) – don’t worry Lisa, I’ve been packed – except for essentials since last night (try not to have a heart-attack). Thanks for your comments and notes – it has made me feel not quite so far away.

I’ll talk to you next from the good old US of A (and it is).

Jeff 

Budapest - Day #6

By Jeff - June 30, 2009

Well, my conference is now done – the equipment is out of the hotel and slowly working its way back to Minnesota, so my trip must be nearing its end.

Hooray! yet, bummer. I am so glad to be headed home to see the family again, yet it feels like I just got here and am already headed home. I do have one more day to just hang around, ride the train, go up to the castle and anything else I want – so I will have gotten to do something other than work. Yet – I will be so thrilled to get home and see Lisa and Gracie. I have missed them quite a bit and it really is time to get home.

So – what happened today? First off, I finally found a bottle of Pepsi. It was in a store that was down a long hallway, that I have no idea why I even entered. It was like a voice calling, “come hither.” It seems as if Pespi’s a bootleg product and you have to see a guy in a van down by the river to get it. Question though – why don’t they serve anything cold over here? Even the ice cream is room temperature! I also found a Twix bar – which I will eat as soon as I am done typing this note. Nothing says “home” quite like a Pepsi and a Twix.

I went souvenir shopping this evening. Apparently the “hard sell” is more effective here than it is in the USA. A lady had to show me every product in her store. And you know, I am gadgety person, who loves to look at things, pick them up and study how they work or how they are made. I think she was expecting me to buy one of everything. She – seriously – followed me around the whole store (ma’am, I can see that it’s a book, thank you!). She was nice though.

Oh yeah, something that I dislike about Europe. Actually, it’s not a Europe problem, it’s a computer problem. Computers are too smart. I tried to do a Google search today. Well, since the “net” recognizes that I am in Europe, it directs me to “Google.de.com” which is the German site for Google. Well, duh! I can’t read the results – because they’re all written . . . in . . . GERMAN! Also – all of the ads on my Facebook page, in German or Hungarian – none of the ads are in English. Pretty cool, huh?

Okay – am I complaining? I don’t mean too. Actually I am having a great time and all of my complaining is more silliness than anything.

I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but it is interesting to see that even though I am 4,000 or 5,000 miles from home, a lot of Budapest is much like home. Obviously not the architecture or culture – after all, Hungary was a country before the US was even a colony, but in the way people interact and the influence of the Americans/English. You see little kids on rollerblades zipping up and down the street. The taverns and restaurants play American or English music – I even heard “Walking on Sunshine” once. Many of the stores have English names, with Hungarian in itty bitty letters below (then again, I am down by the river, where many of the tourists do stay). Maybe this doesn’t all make sense, but it is a lot like home, except I use a lot of hand gestures when I am talking here – Oh, it is just like home!.

Anyway – That’s all for now. I hope you have enjoyed reading these ramblings and haven’t grown too weary of them. I expect I will write 2 more, maybe 3. I will have an “end of Wednesday” note and then a note when I get home to tell how Lisa reacted to my pile of dirty laundry (ha ha – I kill me). Maybe I will do one from an airport, if I have time and can find a connection.

Until next time – be well. Have a great day/evening.

JBD

Budapest - Day #5

By Jeff - June 29, 2009

Sorry, this one is going to be short tonite (or maybe to your relief). I just got back from the banquet - thinking it was about 9"30. Oops!! It's 11:30 and I have to be in the meeting room no later than 6:30 tomorrow morning.

Not alot happened today. We met all day and then had the banquet this evening - so didn't get out on the town and no funny stories. We are done @ 12:00 tomorrow (Tuesday), so after I pack up I will hit the town for a while.

I have got to know some really nice people this week. The 2 A-V guys who I have mentioned have been nothing short of super. Tonite I sat next to a doctor's wife and while everyone else talked shop we had our own private yak fest. It turns out their 2 kids are adopted, so we shared adoption and frustration stories. She was a real hoot! Everyone here has been very helpful and nice.

I didn't get to watch the news today, so don't know any world events - but I did just read in an email that Billy Mays died on Sunday. What? Who's Billy Mays? Are you kidding? You know . . . "(imagine me yelling here) don't just get it clean - get it OXY CLEAN!" You know - the pitch guy.

The highlight of today was getting to talk with Lisa for a few minutes. We just caught up for a short while. It was good to hear her voice.

Anyway - gotta run. Just wanted you to know that I am still alive in Hungary. Will write more tomorrow - after I get out on the town again. Woo Hoo!

Bye for now.
Jeff

Budapest - Day #4 (sorry this one got long)

By Jeff - June 28, 2009

Okay, here we are at the end of Sunday (about 8:30 Hungarian time as I start this note) – and I realized that we have only Monday and half of Tuesday and then I am done! Where did the time go? (ask my wife, who hasn’t gotten a shower due to a screaming child. I’m sure the time has passed much more slowly for her. Truth be told – since she hasn’t gotten a shower, I am glad that I am here – PEEEE-YOOOO!)

Okay, so a run down of today. I hate to start on a sour note, but then it’s all out of the way and everything else is nice and rosy. So – the aggravation of the day is:

Why the heck won’t my VISA card work here in Budapest? I phoned them 2-3 weeks ago to notify them and they said, “we have it in the system – have a good trip.” Well, it’s hard to have a good trip when you can’t PAY for anything!! (btw – Lisa, wire me some cash – baby!). Fortunately, I have another card – but I’m not really supposed to use it – but desperate times call for such measures, now – don’t they. I believe that we should have it straightened out soon.

Okay – onto other things. A few notes that I forgot to mention yesterday.

Last night Ferenc and Zoltan (Zoley, for short) took me out to a corner pub. Fortunately it was just across the street so Ferenc didn’t need to stagger too far to get home (rumor has it, he likes his alcohol). Actually, he was a good boy and stayed in control. I, still in search of that elusive Pepsi can, had to drink coke again (after I get home and hug the family, I have go and hug the Pepsi guy).

Anyway – for supper last night – in this AUTHENTIC Hungarian pub, that played James Brown and the Rolling Stones – I had goulash! The 2 guys warned me that it would be too spicy. I think they were secretly let down that my head didn’t actually explode. It was GREAT – but nothing like Minnesota goulash. First of all, there are no macaroni noodles nor tomato sauce or hamburger in Hungarian goulash. It is more of a beef and vegetable soup (oh yeah, don’t even try to tell me that I am the only one who didn’t know that!).

Also – something I thought was funny – yesterday morning, during set up – I came rushing out of the meeting room and made an immediate right turn to go down the hallway. I nearly killed this poor guy who was coming around the corner at an equally high rate of speed. We both stopped abruptly (he had good reflexes too) and I immediately said, “oh, excuse me”. At the same time I realized that this person looked vaguely familiar – very shortly thereafter, I realized that it was ME! There is a giant mirror just outside the conference room doors. It has fooled me a number of times over the past 2 days. I thought it was funny how quickly you react to something without actually taking in the whole picture (okay, now I’m rambling – but I did laugh).

Okay – on to today’s events.

It was a good day. A few technical difficulties, but everything worked out fine in the end.

I am amused to say that even though I am nearly 5,000 miles from home, it is just like being at home. Apparently, A-V guys from all over the world get aggravated when presenters grab, and adjust, a perfectly good microphone – not because it’s not picking them up, but because they just have to fidget. Apparently presenters from everywhere in the world also have to grab a microphone, just because they don’t know what else to do with their hands!

I went to the Chain Bridge festival again and had another meal from the same street vender. Different food this time, but equally as good. The festival was much more fun since I had time to hang out and watch people. There were a few bands. One band was made up of 2 men and 4 women – that sang to pre-recorded soundtracks. They must be pretty popular because they had the girls screaming and waving their hands. It was pretty funny – as they sang an Abba song. It was Waterloo, but all in Hungarian, except for the “Waterloo” part. Everything else was in Hungarian & everyone on the streets was singing along. (what was I saying about just like being at home?)

They say that Paris is the city of love, but I can tell you that there is no shortage of emotion on the streets of Budapest (if you know what I mean).

Anyway – I have been quite long winded, so will close (if you even made it this far).

Have a great day and enjoy life. Talk to you all again.

Jeff

Budapest - Day #3

By Jeff - June 27, 2009

Hello again from across the sea! It is Saturday night – a little after 10:00 & I have survived the jet-lag pretty well.

The day started at 8:30 this morning, setting up the room for the conference. I am working with 2 A-V techs from the hotel. They are professionals in every sense of the word. I must admit that I feel a tad stupid around them sometimes. Not because they make me feel stupid, but because they know SO much about everything electric that I have to sometimes sit back and figure out what they’re talking about (and then just nod and smile).

They are VERY nice though. When they heard that my luggage still hadn’t arrived @12:00 today, they volunteered to take me to the local mall to do some clothes shopping. Secretly, I think they were tired of looking at my shorts and Mayo Clinic shirt too (and it was getting a bit ripe!). Then – when we got to the mall, we went to look at a store that had some nice clothes (just needed a shirt and some khaki pants, please) – and while we were looking he turned to the clerk and said, “while you’re looking for his size in the back, we will look around and then come back to you.” He (his name is Zoltan, btw) proceeded to whisk me from the store – I thought he saw an old girlfriend or something – and then explained to me that the store was too expensive. “There is no reason to pay $150 for pants,” he said. I agreed. I did get clothes elsewhere and looked quite fashionable for today’s session. Its funny how many doctors are coming to me asking if my luggage came yet.

Anyway – after tonight’s session, which finished at 8:00, Ferenc and Zoltan were going to take me out for dinner and to see the town. I said that I had to go put on my 3 day old stinky clothes again – just in case I had to wear my “new” clothes again on Sunday.

When I got to my room I was greeted by none other than my LUGGAGE!!!! When I walked in it said, “hey, where have you been!!???” I was / am overjoyed to see my OWN clothes!

Other events of the day – I learned a new Hungarian word today. There was an orchestra at the Saturday evening “welcome” session. There was a soloist who entered the room carrying his instrument with him. He had a scarf wrapped around his head, gray vest and a shirt with real billowy sleeves. Ferenc (the other A-V tech) commented, and I could’ve sworn he said, “ooh, a faggot.” I though, THAT’S AWFULLY RUDE! I said, “what?” Again, he said, “a faggot.” Then he really confused me by saying, “beautiful.”

Little did I know that “faggot” is Hungarian for what we call a BASSOON!! And, yes, they are very beautiful.

One more thing – the Chain Bridge celebration is going on this weekend. Apparently the Chain Bridge is a very famous bridge here in Budapest (I haven’t Googled it yet) – and there are street shops and the like. I ate lunch from a corner food vendor today and it was just plain super (plus the lady spoke English, so that was helpful).

The only bummer so far (now that my luggage has arrived) is that I can’t find a Pepsi machine anywhere. I see people carrying Pepsi from time to time, but can’t find a vendor. So today (after 48 hrs with no caffeine) I had to buy a Coke (note to my wife – “yes, honey, it did kill me”).

Anyway – gotta run. Thanks to everyone for your kind comments and notes. This has been kind of fun. Hopefully we’ll get to do this again – by the way, Lisa – they are talking about Prague for next year – Woo Hoo!

Lastly – for all who have asked – I am doing A-V support for the International Vascular Symposium that is being sponsored by Mayo Clinic. We started today (Saturday) and run until Tuesday.

Thanks again! Bye for now.

JBD

Budapest - Day #2

By Jeff: June 26, 2009

Well, I am finally here. I left the USA @ 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and landed at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday (Hungarian time - but actually 7:30 a.m. - friday - Rochester time). Here is what has happened so far:

As you read before, my 1st plane was rerouted to Mpls, and then on to Amsterdam from there. That flight was about 8 hrs. Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep - only about an hours worth - as my seat wasn't too comfy for sleeping. They do have a pretty cool thing, in that they have a GPS graphic of the plane, so you can see exactly where you are in flight - such as when you pass just south of Greenland, for example. It also shows data about the conditions - altitude, distance travelled so far, distance to go, outside air temp (did you know that the temp at 38,000 feet is 59 degrees below zero?).

We finally land in Amsterdam and, sure enough - we did have to go through security again. The line was HUGE. I had almost 2 hrs to get from one plane to the next. After I got through the security line, I had about 20 minutes to get to my plane. I ran like a mad man to my gate - uh, cuz it couldn't have just been next door. No! It seemed like it was about a mile away. When I got to the gate, I asked, "are you boarding for this flight yet" and they said, "yes, we're waiting for you." Glad I ran!

When we arrived in Budapest, we waited for the luggage to get unloaded - only to find that mine somehow didn't make the final leg of the journey. Then again, it's possible that it never got pulled off of the original Detroit flight. My luggage might be visiting the Chyrsler plant right now. I have no idea.

Have now been to my event room to see what it looks like. They should be finished setting it up soon, so I can begin setting my equipment in the morning. I have to go look at it again tonite - and then off to bed.

good night from across the pond, everyone!

JBD

Budapest - Day #1

By Jeff: June 25, 2009

Oh my! My trip has started off well. Left Rochester @ 1:30 on thursday (right on time, I might add) only to have the pilot announce that we were having mechanical problems and wouldn't be able to get to Detroit (the first stop on my flight).

So - instead, we landed in Mpls. Now missing all of my connecting flights, I was rebooked (with the opportunity to go through Paris - thanks, but I'll pass). I will now leave Mpls @ 7:30 tonite, to arrive in Amsterdam @ 10:30 tomorrow (Friday) morning - and then on to Budapest - hopefully to arrive @ 2:30 Firday afternoon.

Keep you all posted as we go. My battery is dying, so gotta run!

JBD