So..its hot then?

I hear that the east coast is in the midst of quite a heat wave. Well, i'd like to tell you that i feel your pain but frankly, i dont. It's been cold and cloudy for the last 10 days or so with no end in sight. Given the option of hot or cold...i'll take cold.

Not much else going on, next weekend is a 4 day weekend and up in Zurich they have the "Street Parade". http://www.streetparade.ch/ Hopefully the weather is better for saturday.

Here's some random pics of Europe during vacation season.

Brown Swiss...that must be where chocolate milk comes from.

What are you looking at?

See you in September

Friday officially marked the beginning of vacation season ( yes, season ) at my company and in Europe as a whole. Here in Europe there's Winter, Summer, Spring, Fall and Vacation season. Thats five for anyone who doesn't care to go back and count.

When i was working in the states for my current company i found it rather annoying. For 4-6 weeks every summer our European office became a ghost town. Need some cost info, need some quotes, need some prototypes?..forget it. Tell your customer to wait. After all, shouldn't he have vacation season too??? It wouldn't be so bad if it was spread out over a bigger portion of the year, one person taking vacation here, one person there. But no, it's all grouped together between June and September. There are a few people at work who literally walked out last Friday and said “Bis September”....”Until September”.

Wow.

To be fair this vacation season is pretty common throughout Europe. That is one reason they are able to get away with it. When your customers and suppliers are also taking time off then its much easier for you. But don't forget, its not just B2B businesses, it's consumer businesses as well. The bike shop down the street is closed till August 11th and the Kebop place next door is closed nearly as long! In my mind this would be the best time to be a shop owner, but try telling that to the shop owners. Actually I think that the vacation season here is an excellent illustration of the overall mentality towards work here. The world can wait, we've got vacation.

Is it really any wonder that most European economies cannot match the US for growth or output? When you add up all the time off they have allot of catching up to do. I'm an engineer by degree so lets do some math. Take 4 weeks and multiply over 100 years, thats 400 weeks. Now subtract out the average 2 week vacation in the states and that means that Europe's economy is ~2 yrs behind ours!! Rest easily my fellow Americans, our position at the top of the economic food chain is secure. Well, assuming China or our own government doesn't screw it up.

But now I'm on the other side of the fence and i can hear you asking “but corrigan, has my view changed?” But of course, from this side of the pond i can honestly say that it's great! I'm working the next few weeks because i cant afford the time off from my projects, but it should be nice and quiet around work. Come in at 10, 3 hr lunch, leave at 3...and i bet i still get more done than i normally due because of the lack of distractions. I've already taken about 8 days off this year and in September I'm taking about another 10 days. I suppose I'm a hypocrite, but I'm comfortable with that.

I sleep better.

Particularly knowing i have so much vacation.

Now get back to work you lazy Americans!


Oh, one more thing...so the BBQ went well, except for the Margaritas. First, i had trouble finding the Margarita mix. Tequila wasnt a problem, but the mix was nowhere to be found. After a few calls i got a line on a store that might have them but before going i thought it prudent to make sure i could find ice. Believe it or not, this is a huge challenge. When i was at LeMans there was no ice to be found. If i go next year, I'm renting a truck and a generator and carting along an ice maker. I'm telling you, that idea is pure gold!

Anyway, back to the margarita issue, so i called a few people asking where i can find ice. The best answer i got was “try McDonald's, i think they have an ice machine”. Well, i decided that Corona would have to do.

EuroBQ's

One constant with the arrival of summer is mankind's desire to get out in the sun, drink cheap beer and cook meat over an open flame. Europe is no exception, they may have a slightly different take on it, but luckily the fundamentals are the same. Over the last few weeks I've been to quite a few BBQ's over here and it's been quite allot of fun. My standard BBQ greeting was “anyone tap the keg yet? I'll pump...” but unfortunately that doesn't work here. It's generally greeted with blank stares or questions along the lines of “whats a tap”, or worse yet “whats a keg?”.

Although i haven't been asked (yet), overall i would give Europe a B+ for their BBQ's. They've got sun, beer, bikini's, fire, and meat. All the essentials are here but to get their marks up they do need some improvement in a few key areas.

One area where Europeans have not mastered the art of BBQ is in timing. No, it seems that weekdays and weekends are equally popular for BBQ's which any BBQ veteran such as myself would tell you is a bad idea. To properly hold a BBQ you need an open time table, and more importantly you need nothing planned for the following day, least of all work. We all know what a lethal concoction cheap beer, the sun, food and volleyball (or in the case if Europe, soccer) can be. It saps your desire to do anything the following day. Word to the wise, for any aspiring BBQ'ers out there this is your first rule, all BBQ's should be open ended. Typically its best to not send a formal invite as that defeats the purpose but if one is needed a simple start-? will suffice. The key is the “?”. That ? has found me sleeping in many a backyard lawn chair.

The second area where Europeans have not mastered the art of BBQ is in their meat selection. Pork is good, but not for BBQ'ing. The other white meat should always be reserved for indoor dining. Red meat is a rarity here and you might be surprised to hear this, but i received more than one blank stare when i asked where the 'Brats were. This place invented the f'in thing but i should have remembered that they have a strange aversion to shortening names here. (Word to the wise..this applies to people's names as well. Thomas is never Tom, Bernadette is never Berny and Peter is never Pete etc. I did meet a Wolfgang that was a Wolfy, but that ones definitely questionable). Back to Brats, apparently they are too low class for a European BBQ, reserved more for fast train station cuisine. By contrast, in the states you cant have a proper BBQ without Brats. The spicier the better and in true American fashion we even put cheese in some of them. Now thats a heart stopping good time. Actually, as a general statement i think you could confidently say that Europe seems to have a strange aversion to any portable food.

Now I know what you're thinking though, “Corrigan, why not throw your own BBQ and show these neutral Swiss how we do it in the states!”. Well, I'm way ahead of you...mostly. After making so many comments about the differences in the BBQ methodology next weekend I'm doing just that. So far here's the shopping list...

-Charcoal...lots of it. No BBQ'in over wood.

-Steaks. Lots of them.

-Cheap beer. They don't have Natty Lite here..nor Natty Lite Ice. Unfortunately you'd be hard pressed to find 30 beers for 9.99 here (man i miss good old Farmer Jack), how they've survived this long is beyond me. But i think i can scrounge up some Corona or Coors, maybe even some Margaritas.

-Brats. Lots of them.

-BBQ sauce. Too bad i didn't think of this when i was in the states last, but along with Ipods and blue jeans you could make a fortune importing proper BBQ sauce. (Ketchup is not BBQ sauce, despite what many people here think).

-Lastly, a V-Ball court. This ones a bit tough, but I've got a line on a court over in Austria..that's the target location. If not there then we'll head to one of the many open BBQ pits near Feldkirk.

Thats the plan. Simple, yet effective. Results? TBD I feel as though i am an ambassador of good will, spreading the best parts of America throughout the world. I really should be getting paid for this.

Some Random Funny Videos

Nothing like a little humor to cure a hangover. Well, that and gatorade. This week brought the 200 year anniversary of Liechtensteins soverienty as well as the Feldkirk Wine festival. Sorry, but i dont have the patience to google the correct spelling of soverienty. I'm not sure i can handle another night of homemade wine and umpa lumpa music. But i'll take one for the team and represent america well.

So hear's a few videos and fun links for you in case you're sitting around today nursing a hangover. I particularly like Urkel quest.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/video-elaborate-video-game-hoax

http://www.collegehumor.com/urkelquest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1N2PgopbJw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7_7_TE_kVk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6y7AgfMPv8

My kind of football!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pU52Xs7ljM

Thanks for trying USA

Despite a respectable showing, the USA is no longer in World Cup, or rather the WeltMeister Cup. As you can imagine this gave ample opportunity to my colleagues and friends to bust my bal..i mean chops.

Random coworker #1 “Hey, good job American. I thought you guys were supposed to be good at
everything?”

Me, “Give us 4 more years.”

Random coworker #1 “Didnt Ghana beat you guys”

Random coworker #2 “And the czech republic too?”

Me “Yeah.“

Laughing ensues.

Me “laugh it up, but we aren't the ones who started WW deuce”.

Laughing stops.

I've watched quite a few of the games and people take this stuff SERIOUSLY here. Rarely does a company allow jerseys to be worn at work but the last four weeks all rules were off. Swiss jerseys, German jerseys, Brazil jerseys, New Jerseys (nyuck nyuck) and of course Italian jerseys. It was pretty colorful around the office. I had a very special Tshirt made up that said “Real football requires padding”. No i didn't,but maybe i will next year. I must admit though that i took a small amount of pleasure when Germany lost the other day taking them out of the running for first place. The ego's were getting a bit out of control around here.

Its 4 more years till the US has another chance to play in the world cup. If we're lucky maybe Ghana will be having a civil war or something. Seriously, where the hell even is Ghana? How does a third world country outplay us? We've got to step it up for the next World Cup. If the US really wants to “win” respect back in the world, how about kickin some arse in the world cup. Nothing fosters good relations more than going to another country and beating them at their own game.

I'm not just a talker though, i'm practicing what i preach. My company had our football tournament last weekend and i, Corrigan, Mr Soccer, played on one of the teams. The tourney is a pretty big deal within the company, particularly this year as you might imagine. One might even go so far as to call it our own World Cup. We had teams from divisions in France, Germany, Liechtenstein (i just recently realized i've been spelling that wrong...for the last 8 months), and of course me. I like to think that i showed the Europeans a thing or two about how to play Football, REAL football. But apparently tackling and checking isn't allowed in European Football. Who'd have known, in America tackling and picking up the ball is allowed. That excuse only worked in the beginning though.

Well, the last game is starting shortly and i'm off to the beer tent at the Coop to watch it. Italy vs. France....Italy has Ferrari and Pizza, but France has...Airbus? So i guess its go Italy.

Oh and sorry Ma, but assuming the deal doesnt fall through I'll be the proud new owner of an '83 RZ350 by the end of the week....thats a motorcylce. I promise i'll be safe. Could've been worse Ducati's are pretty affordable over here.

24 Hueres Du Mans

When I think of France, i think of champagne, wine, fries, toast, dressing, napoleon, that creepy robot dude from Europtrip, and a slew of other rather uninteresting things. Now however, i can expand that list to include good racing.

France isn't generally known for racing. When gearheads meet and talk shoop, the talk generally turns to SpA, Hokenheim, Indy, Monaco, Daytona....those are the big well known and well followed races/tracks. But this year, for the 74th time France hosted one of the slightly lesser known but incredibly fun races, namely the 24 Heures Du Mans.

Think back to what you were doing at this time yesterday. Now imagine that you and 2 friends spent the time between then and now driving nearly non stop at breakneck speeds around an 8.5 mile course. That, in essence, is LeMans. (sounds like Les Mawn when the french say it. sounds like lemanz when i say it). The requirements on the cars, drivers, teams (and fans) is pretty intense. By the time the 12th hour rolls around fully half the field is usually out for engine trouble (or failure), crashing, or any number of other problems that can arise during such an excersize. This held true this year as only 27 of 50 teams finished.

Anyway, i took about 250 pics over the course of the week, the night pics being by far the most challenging. Sometime around midnight on Saturday i jumped on one of the continuosly running buses with my camera and a backpack full of beer to take the 5 mile journey to the other end of the track. Nothing like a few beers to make new friends.

Although i had a grandstand pass (directly across from one of ferrari's pits!) and i was camping on the porsche curve (with a bunch of crazy brits!) i really wanted to see "indy corner" and also the "Mulsanne kink" at the end of the Mulsanne straight. Indy corner is famous because its one of the fastest and most challenging portions of the track, and the Mulsanne straight is famous because its just that...a big straight. Mulsanne is the fastest portion of the track while the "kink" at the end forces cars to break from over 250mph to around 65mph to make the turn safely.

I arrived at indy corner first and found that i was not the only one with the desire to check out this corner...It was packed! But i was still able to work my way down pretty close to the track. After a few hrs there i got back on the bus and headed to the infamous Mulsanne kink around 3AM. Mulsanne was incredible at night...the sound of the cars, the glowing turbo's of the Porsches, the red hot brakes of all the cars, the 3 foot flames from the exhaust when they get off the throttle.....intense is the word that comes to mind but does not do the experience justice.

Night pics are tough and most of the ones i took didnt come out that well, but i got a few. Following Mulsanne i headed back to my grandstand seat to watch some of the action in the pits at 4AM. Although it might seem crazy to be up at this hour keep in mind that sleep is nearly impossible due to the noise. Besides, some of the best action is at night! Nothing like a 250mph race car and a groggy driver to make for some interesting racing. Sorry, but its the truth!

Over the course of 24hr race i slept maybe 3 or 4 in total. Luckily the weather held up the entire weekend as i was unprepared for anything other than warm and sunny. The Audi diesels (yes diesels) won the race placing first and third. The first place car bested the next closest car (Pescaralo) by 4 laps. More importantly, in the increasingly popular GT1 class one of the factory backed Corvette's bested the Aston Martins and even some of the supposedly faster "Lemans Prototypes" coming in 4th overall.

Lemans is known as the biggest race in the UK thats not actually held in the UK. There are so many brits that you would think you are at Silverstone. Despite this enormous contingency and the huge presence of the Aston Martin's in the race, nearly everyone i talked to agreed that the three Corvettes were the best sounding cars there. For anyone who cars it was sort of a cross between the thunder of a Nextel Cup car and the whine of an F1 car...but louder than both.

I had quite a few firsts this past weekend. First time on a night train, first time camping in europe, first time building a beer mountain, first time at lemans, first time surviving on nothing but beer and sandwiches...well actually that last one wasn't a first, thats pretty much my life. More importantly would i recomend it? Absolutely. Am i goin back next year? hell yeah!

3 Days of hardwork, and this was the result.



I camped with some brits over the weekend. They called themselves a racing team...but i have no idea what they raced, except eachother to the bottom of a beer bottle.

At the start as the cars are lined up. An Aston, a C6R and a Saleen S7.

A Ferrari headlight.

At the Porsche Curves.

Although their uniforms were from BP (British Petroleum), i have a sneaking suspicion they werent here to sell oil.

A GT40. A REAL GT40.

One of the Lemans Prototypes.

Audi Diesel.


The Pits at night. Still bustling with activity.

The corvette pits.

I've got a lot more pics...but i'm out of time now. Ciao for now!

Lichtenstein in Summer

Some Random Pics...Despite summer's arrival, there's still snow up high!




One of my noisy neighbors.

The Day After Yesterday

I've really got nothing to say right now, but i feel like i should post something. So lets just let my brain wander and see what comes out.

Last weekend i was in Vienna with a colleague from America. This was my third attempt to get there since moving here and the third time is indeed a charm. Vienna is fun. I met a crazy old hippy in a bar who tried to convince me to (metaphorically) give away a dollar every day. If everyone (metaphorically) gave away a dollar, he hypothesized, the world could eliminate poverty overnight. I inserted “metaphorically” because he kept saying that.

Crazy Hippie - “Dont you get it, if we all gave away a dollar then we could eliminate poverty”

American - “But what would happen tomorrow?”

Crazy Hippie - “You'd have to give away another dollar”

American - “Wouldn't that just create a giant welfare state?”

Crazy Hippie - “No”

American - “Really, You sure?”

Crazy Hippie - You don't get it man, I'm speaking about a metaphorical dollar”

American - “How does someone buy food with a metaphorical dollar?

Crazy Hippie - “You still don't get it.”

American - “I think your right. Bartender...another beer please. Actually better add a shot of JD
to that order.”

Crazy Hippie - “Lets start over, if everyone gave away a dollar, we could eliminate poverty overnight. Bono says that too.”

American - “But i still don't understand what would happen after tomorrow. If you're not talking about real money, then what the hell are you talking about.”

Crazy Hippie - “I mean all the rich wouldn't be so rich anymore and all the poor would have money”

Americn - “Metaphorically?”

Crazy Hippie - “You still don't get it”

American - “Definetely not. Are you a Nazi?

Crazy Hippie - “What?”

American - “Nothing

Crazy Hippie - “Oh”

American - “And Bono's a tool.

Crazy Hippie - “Hugh?”

I argued with him for a while and then got bored and drank (allot) more beer. I was apparently an ignorant American who didn't understand anything. As soon as i can get this freekin program working right, i'll post some pics.

There's some crazy German TV show on right now I have no freekin clue what this chick is babblin about, but that's nothing new. She's on the “supershow”. I'm not sure whats so damn super about it, it's certainly not the comedy.

What else is going on....Oh, Happy early Birthday to me. That's right folks I bought a new guitar. It made absolutely no sense to buy, but i like it. It's a Gibson LP and I deserve it.
Metaphorically.

This chick is still rambling on in the background, only now she's wearing pink cleaning gloves and doing something with a plate. What the fu...dge.

The exchange rates continue to get better. It's been like getting a 10% raise over the last few weeks. However the markets are in the crapper, so my raise is already gone.

My visit to the states was pretty cool. The weather was good, i got to drive my cars, the boat, see some friends and family including some that i hadn't seen in years. Overall a very good 3 days. I actually came back to fresh snow here. The next few weeks are gonna be busy. Next weekend...France. The week after that, Italy. July might include a trip to Hokenheim and August brings the WRC in Germany. At some point during the summer I'm gonna try to get over to Spain too.

Well, I'm falling asleep on my keyboard. I finally got an assistant at work though so hopefully things ease up a bit and i can start getting out of there before 7 every night. I'm gonna get a drink and read till i fall asleep.

Cheers!

Wilkommen Nach America

Waking up at 4AM is really like not having slept at all. I guess i could go to be at 8 tonight...but whats the fun in that. A better solution would be to just stay up all night..but the 2 hr drive to the airport would be a challenge. The compromise therefore leaves me with around a 2-3 hr nap before 18hrs of flying tomorrow. Who would've thought...we can explore space and conquer the poles...but a simple direct flight to Indy isn't even remotely possible. Nope...Zurich to Amsterdam to Minneapolis to Indy. For those who are directionally challenged...thats north, then west, then east and south. hmmmm. The hub and spoke system, a model of transportation efficiency.

Anyway, i thought i'd brush up on US current events before coming over. Apparently there's quite a bit of dialogue now around immagration. According to the "internet news" there are allot of illegals entering america from Mexico. I suppose it's possible...but after living in Michigan for 4 years i always thought Canada would be grabbing all the headlines. That's OK though...the Daily Show is fighting the good fight and getting the word out about our evil northern neighbors. Michiganders like to joke that the state is shaped like a gloved hand...i like to think it's a hand held up while a collective America yells "Stop".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8NGEDSP4nk

My Apologies

"Woke up, got outta bed, dragged a comb across my head.
Made my way downstairs and drank a cup, looking up i noticed i was late. "

Most music is about love..finding it, losing it, making it. But theres also allot of decent music about working. Finding jobs, losing jobs, workin for the weekend, how working sucks...those have been my songs lately.

The normal product life cycle for the product I am involved with is 12-24 months from kick off to hand off. 6 weeks ago i was “fortunate” enough to pick up a new project that has a 3 month life cycle. Needless to say, it's been a bit of a scramble. 12 hr days, Saturdays, Sundays...the concept of a five day week is gone. I thought Europeans were ahead of America with their 5 weeks of vacation and 35 hr work weeks. Part of me wants to take it as a compliment.

Manager 1 “We've got to deliver this project in 3 months, who should we give it to?”

Manager 2 “3 months? Wow. I wouldn't wanna wanna do it. How about project manager #1?”

Manager 1 “Naw, he's got a family. What about that American guy?”

Manager 2 “Brilliant!”

The truth is i take it as a compliment. If they gave it to me then it means they have confidence that i can deliver on time. Right? Well, that's what i tell myself anyway. God I'm stupid. But its not all wasted effort. All of my extra hrs are paid 50% as extra vacation 50% as money. I'm working on around 50 days of vacation right now. Was that a tear that just hit your keyboard?

Anyways, the reason i bring this up is that i feel like I've neglected my poor blog as of late. But things should be slowing down soon. I'm heading stateside next Sunday to wrap up another project so things ought to cool off a bit after that. Oh and during my visit i should be able to swing through NY for a few days to drive my cars. I mean see my family.

Cheers!

Happy Mothers Day

I've been working 12 hr days for the last 4 wks or so..so there isn't much to say. But in light of mothers day i thought i'd better get off my arse and wish mine and all mothers a happy mothers day.

So Happy Mothers Day Fool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_rBidCkJxo

(In)Famous Corrigans

This one's for the family.

Have any of you ever typed our name into google to see what you get. Some funny stuff comes up, particularly for Jimmie. Here's another one though from a book i'm reading. Its called "Titan" and its about JD Rockefeller and the history of Standard Oil. No it's not for school, yes i'm reading it voluntarily..it's interesting i swear.

Anyway, about half way through the book i run into a brief story about a James Corrigan from Cleveland. I know our family was out that way in Michigan many years ago, but i'm not aware of any James's's's in the family back then. I never know how to puncuate words like that. Jameses, James's...anyway, I'm not sure if the scan will be legible but here's the gist of it.

"The Corrigan" affair, as it is reffered to in the book, paired Corrigan up with Rockefeller's dim-wit brother, Frank. A deal that could've yielded enourmous profits for both wound up further souring the relationship with Frank and JD and causing a lifetime of friction between Corrigan and Rockefeller.

Thats all i've got today...but i thought my fellow Corrigan's might find it intersting.

Cheers!

Happy 25% to Me

I have a file on my computer where i keep all sorts of little notes, comments, uncompleted blogs and quotes. This afternoon i was skimming through this file and i ran across a blog i started around Christmas time. It was essentially a list of things i missed about the states and couldn't understand about Europe. Here's a few.

Too many coins!

No headbangers ball. No metal mania. No SNL. No Weeds. All great shows.

Roundabouts are good

No shopping for anything on Sunday.

No George foreman grill!

There were a bunch more but i got a kick out of reading it now because if i had to do it again, none of those things would be on there. I've pretty much given up TV. I eat a steady diet of sandwiches and soup. (Sidenote: it's possible to cook soup directly in the can on a stove if you A, remove the top and B, stir regularly. This saves washing a pot, but don't try on gas stoves. Or rather try it, and let me know how that works.) Roundabouts still are good. In fact now i would even go as far as to say excellent.

Today officially marks the completion of 6 months, or 25% of my contract over here. I admit, i have mixed feelings. On the one hand it went by extremely quick which is no doubt an indication of how the rest of the time will be. But on the other hand, it's been a helluva 6 months. The Lichtenstein government felt it a big enough event that they actually closed down the country today, Switzerland too. The “Official” reason is a bank holiday, but between you me and the wall, i know people. I'm kind of a big deal here (sorry to steal your line Mo).

I had a pretty great long weekend. Friday night i went out with some of my new friends here and, well, lets just say tequila is evil and i got home the next day at 2:30PM. Gotta keep things PG, my little cousins may see this. As you can probably guess, Saturday was pretty much a waste of a day consisting of a healthy diet of water and Tylenol. Sunday however, I got a tip that the canton of Appenzell was holding their yearly Landsgemeinde (thanks Ang). It's pretty wild, essentially everyone gathers in the town square to vote on various legislation. It's been going on for hundreds of years but today there are only 2 cantons in Switzerland that still hold these public votes. Naturally there is allot of traditional clothing, songs, etc, but one of the coolest parts were the swords. It used to be that men (not women historically) would vote by raising swords. To this day, many still bring them. Despite my taunting and precision cheese ball throws none were willing to do any sword fighting. Damn neutral Swiss.

To round out the weekend i spent today hiking and riding my bike, and of course writing this. Brace yourselves, it gets a little long winded at times and I'm gonna get a bit introspective here. Consider yourselves warned.

I didn't come here with many expectations mainly because i had no idea what to expect. I came with skis, my guitar, clothes and an open mind. These last 6 months have been full of highs, lows, good times, lonely times, new faces, old faces and a slew of other experiences that i never would have expected but were nonetheless worth every moment. It was tough to leave Michigan, i had a pretty good thing going over there. But i felt like I had stagnated. Before settling in Troy i was on my 11th address in 8 years. Nomadic? I suppose. The year before i left to come here i had nightmarish visions where 20 yrs from now I'd be doing the exact same thing with the exact same people at work. I see those people at work who are coming everyday, just as they've done for the year before this one, and the year before that one, and it depresses me. Makes me think of that guy in Joe vs. the Volcano. An underrated movie by the way. Back on topic..that's just not for me. So this gig couldn't have come at a better time. I try not to talk too much about work, after all i don't wanna get “Dooced” here. Besides I'm technically still with the same company, albeit at a slightly better location and pay scale.

So 18 more months. That seems like a long time now but i guarantee that it will fly by just as fast, if not faster than the previous 6 months. I've got allot of things planned; the LeMans race, a trip to Spain (I promise Jenn), F1 Hokenheim, Vienna, Red Sea diving, maybe Australia and no doubt many few others. There really are too many things to see. Curse this spectacular location.

Well, lets wrap this up. I have no idea what i will do when i get done over here. Stay? Go? Go where? Retirement sounds good. Indications thusfar point to me being able to sign on permanently here, can i really go back to Detroit traffic? I wouldn't mind starting my own business (plan will be ready next week Bri). Who knows, there's plenty of time to figure all this out. Tomorrow AM it's off to Germany for a meeting. I think I'll eat some pork knuckles and maybe drink a Weiss beer for lunch. Yes, that sounds nice. Only in Europe, only in Europe.

I got some good pics over the weekend, but the app to load them is malfunctioning. Ill try again when i get back in town.

Ma and Pa at the overlook near the Lichtenstein castle. thanks for the visit!

Opel Speedster. Built by lotus, it even comes in a turbo version.

What time is it?

The Glockenspiel clock in Munich.

Pop

Me explaining the general theory of relativity. or maybe how to milk a cow, i cant remember.

Pigs knuckles. sounds gross...but damn good.

Center shot from Dachau

Work will set you free (rough translation).

The castle in Balzers, south of Lichtenstein

Another Shot from Pilatus

Great Pics from Mt Pilatus

There Must be Something in the Chocolate

I was looking at myself in the mirror the other morning when it occurred to me that i might be losing my hair. I never noticed this when i was in the states. I might be wrong. In fact, I'm probably wrong. I'm 99% sure I'm wrong.

But that 1% keeps dogging me. I don't see the standard Corrigan thinning top, I'm not missing hair in the back. Rather, it's more of a northerly recession around my temples. Maybe it's all in my head....get it? Sorry, bad joke. Or maybe there's something in the chocolate here.

On the plus side, it hasn't affected my movie career. Despite my location and apparently receding hairline i recently completed yet another feature length film. I know i know, how do i
find the time, right? What can i say, I'm just that good.

http://movies.about.com/od/lonesomejim/a/lonesome040206.htm

Naw...that's not really me. Hard to believe i know, but seriously, not me. I saw an article in the Financial Times (www.ft.com) yesterday that mentioned my name and I realized that there's anther Kevin Corrigan out there. And here i was thinking i was unique. Thanks mom, thanks dad. At least my name is in Wikipedia, even if it isn't really for me. And apparently i have fan clubs too. But shouldn't i get some kind of royalties for this guy capitalizing on my good name? Half of his take from each film sounds like a reasonable starting point to me. I await your call Mr Corrigan, have your people call...me.

Wilkommen Springtime

Still no pics from my trip to Munich...thanks ma. :)

But in the meantime, I can report the weather here is getting quite nice. The snow is receding up the mountains (which is an interesting phenomenon in and of itself), the Rhine is filling up with runoff, the sun is out more and more each day and the temperature is getting much more suitable for outside activities. Over the last 5 yrs the arrival of spring for me meant the arrival of car season. Car shows, racing, cruising Woodward, but more than anything, just driving. No destination, no time schedule, just a full tank of gas and the open road.

There is actually a surprisingly vibrant car culture here in Lichtenstein. This can be attributed mostly to the income level i think. I've seen your standard Porsches and Bimmers all winter long, but now the Ferrari's, Roll's, Lotus's, Aston Martin's, Vette's and other non winter cars are starting to peak out from under their protective covers and test the springtime air. I love it. Just today i saw 2 Ferrari's out cruising. In case there is any doubt, they were the ones doing the passing, not me. I'd love to have my cars here, but the costs are prohibitive. So until i get back home, it's cruising in the Polo for me.

My new toy

Impulse buy? Yes.

Did i pay too much? Probably.

But i love it.

Half healey, half vette...all fun.

My Camaro

10 years and untold dollars later...i still own my first car. It's a labor of love. And besides, Orange never goes out of style.

Coming From America

Despite winter's last gasp of snow, i returned from Zürich last night after successfully delivering my parents to their hotel. They were in town for a short visit which turned into quite the whirlwind tour for them. We kicked things off at the Zürich train station where we immediately boarded a train to Munich. Four days in Munich brought castles, cars, cuckoo clocks, a concentration camp and of course some good German Beer. Following a few days in Munich we rode the trains back down to Lichtenstein where they spent 2 more days enjoying all that the Crown Prince has to offer.

Everyone departed last night with a smile on their face which I think means it was a successful trip. Speaking for myself, i had a great time and it was nice to see my parents. We typically cross paths twice a year, in a good year. So the fact that they were willing to fly 6000 miles to come visit for a week was great, although the location may have had something to do with it too. It was also really nice to hear about life in NY and how all of the friends and extended family are doing.

I won't ramble on too much, I'll let the pics do the talking. However I must comment on Dachau. For anyone living underneath a rock, Dachau is one of WWII Nazi Germany's concentration camps, one of the few actually in Germany. Starting out i wasn't really sure what to expect. From history and movies i had a picture in my mind of what i thought it might be like, but my mind is rarely accurate in such matters. Right from the start it felt a bit strange walking to the ticket counter and asking for a ticket to Dachau. You got the feeling that you needed to stress the fact that you wanted a two way ticket.

“Return ticket?”

“YES!!!”

Upon entering the city you realize that Dachau is more than just a concentration camp site, it is a true blue city. Dachau schools, Dachau Car dealerships, Dachau Churches, the Dachau Shriners.....the last one might be a stretch, but you get the point. I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for these people. No matter how much time passes since this town's gruesome past, it will always be known as a concentration camp first and town second to 99% of the world.

Enter the camp itself and again, it was not at all what i envisioned. It seemed, for lack of a better word, too sanitized. It seemed almost too clean, too new, too much like a prop for a movie set. It's obviously a fine line to walk between reality, history and respect for the victims so i can certainly understand why things are the way they are. But the site itself retains few of the original buildings, nearly all of which are empty of any artifacts. I expected to see offices, desks, uniforms...I think the site loses some of it's impact when you walk in and most of the buildings are empty. The few structures that remain were largely rebuilt or new since the war. As i said, i guess i expected more of a “shot in time”. I hope that doesn't sound morbid or gruesome as i don't intend it this way, but for me some of the potential impact was lost.

That's not to say the site wasn't emotional experience though because the site certainly does leave an impact. The movie shown and the undeniable historical facts will leave anyone shaking their heads. Of all the things to see and take in at this site, the one that made the most impact to me were the words integrated in the gate above the entrance (pics soon). These three words somehow incorporate the mentality of the captors and the brutal reality for the prisoners in one very short but powerful statement. Unfortunately my company has a history with the Nazi's so it also hit home in that regard. Those times are obviously long gone though.

Once again, thanks for the visit M&D! It can get pretty quite over here and it was great to have some family over for a visit. Come back any time!

Pictures do say a thousand words so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. As soon as my ma sends me all her pictures and i load a few up that is.