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New Delhi, The Wild West

I'm fresh from another work-related trip to New Delhi (actually Gurgaon, about 20 minutes outside the city). While There are many things that drive me nuts about traveling there (complete dependency on drivers and being stuck in either the office or the corporate apartment come to mind). However the wacky, loosey-goosey, need 25 guys to stand around and check your office pass quality of the place never fails to delight. Neither does the utter 'boomtown' of it all. They are in the middle of building a huge metro to extend into Gurgoan from Delhi, and the speed in which office buildings are erected boggles the mind. The buildings literally spring out of the dirt - Microsoft, Ericsson, Canon, Deutsche Bank and always seem to pop-up within a matter of weeks or months. The best part is the morning run across the road from the corporate apartment - 'Belvedere Towers' (I have to start compliling the names of all the corporate apartments I've had the good fortune to stay in) to the office. This is the equivalent -I'm not exagerating- of crossing a freeway, except on this freeway there are cars, tractors, bicyle rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, cows, motorcycles, those crazy colorful 'Goods Carrier' trucks, and whatever anyone else can manage to get running on the road, all following some sort of honking code I have yet to crack (basically honk continually for what seems to be no reason at all). I always feel grateful when I make it accross this road and I know there is some fitting 'why did the chicken cross the road' joke inherent in the situation, but I haven't worked it out in my mind yet. The strangest sensation is finally making it across alive, walking by (again, not kidding) a snake charmer, then making it up the small dirt hill into the office building. Once up there one could be in San Francisco, Frankfurt or New York. The ground level of the building is complete with the chains we all know and love, Costa Coffee, Papa Johns Pizza, Subway and McDonalds. Once inside it's floor after floor of office space just like anywhere else. The only way to tell you're in Delhi is by looking out the window to see all the insanity: the crazy traffic, buildings and apartment high-rise construction sites in every direction, all amidst the dust and the cows. Once inside, it's business as usual - lots of meetings, conference calls and all that good stuff that's part of workin' for the man.

Oktoberfest Bi-yatch!

Interesting observation this year at Oktoberfest. I noticed many of the young lads were wearing their lederhosen carefully and deliberately saggy and pulled down to mid-buttcrack, ‘gangsta’ style – some cultural theorist could have a field day with this I thought to myself. Shortly afterwards, the MTV European Music Awards were being promoted all over town which is when I saw this image:

This is actually not the one on the billboards that I saw. On that one Snoop was still in full Bavarian regalia, but looking much more pimped out and relaxed leaning back in a limo (still flanked by two half-naked ladies).

Yodeeeohleeholla!

And the Rest of the Trip...

So, the grand finale of our trip out to Cali in August was, of course, Charlie and Michelle’s wedding. The pictures say a thousand words. Party-boating, karaoking, connecting with friends new and old and of course the nuptials, it was all a total and complete blast.

You can also see pics of Seattle where we pretty much just collapsed (my ticker started acting up again) but did get to do a lot of hanging out with Julie (Armin did a lot of mountain biking with Julie and her boyfriend) and visit Doon, Petra and their two adorable girls.

Last night in the U.S.of A. was at my party animal (I’m not kidding!) parents who were hosting a lively and fun dinner party.

The ‘Wedding Extravaganza 2007’ was completed outside of Tolouse, France where we celebrated our friends Julien and Anke’s wedding. I found myself grudgingly admitting that the south of France is indeed pretty gorgeous. Finally, we were able to meet Armin's folks on our way back to Munich, in the small and charming town of Moissac.

Greetings from L.A. and Canada

So, we're in the third leg of our big west coast trip. Two weddings down, two more to go. We arrived in Lala land, where we hit the ground running visiting friends and family, attending wedding festivities and even going into work at the L.A. office for a 3-day training to shave some days off this long-ass vacation (almost 4 weeks). Highlights included: Hangin' with homies, Evanne's birthday picnic, My entire family shamelessly waiting on the porch and rubbernecking as Armin and I arrived (and later unabashadely asking him over mexican food and margaritas how he is able to handle my 'high strung' personality), visiting the Getty Center (finally-thanks Mark and Steph), The gala wedding party at the Ureni Grand, visiting family friends, and a final goodbye barbque with homies new and old. A big fat shout goes out to Arati and Matia, for loaning us their fabulous apartment - this made for an incredibly soft landing. I will spare everyone my 'How can people live here?' rant about L.A. and it's tyranny of the automobile, but let it suffice to say I think it was some kind of cosmic screw up that I was born and raised in a city I have so little affinity for (this revelation coming to me while sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405 on a Saturday afternoon).

Moving on.

Next leg of the tour was Canada. We caught a hideously early flight to Calgary, where we met Armin's friends Sonja, Brett and their adorable little son Elias. Sonja picked us up in Calgary and then drove(!) us back to Jasper - about a 5 hour drive. It's gorgeous though, through national parks, past Banff and into Jasper National Park. Canada - who knew? It is so expansive and breathtaking, it really feels like the unexplored west. Unfortunately due to the early flight and the long drive, I kind of had a little melt-down when we finally arrived (those of you who know me well know that this usually aint pretty). Although I knew ahead of time we were going to be in a more natural, rustic setting - it somehow slipped my mind that a hot shower an room service weren't on the menu. Armin prudently (and annoyingly) left me on my own to wrestle with myself in our tent. Forutnately I snapped out of it the next day and we proceeded to have a fabulous time. I really enojoyed Armin's friends, and found myself sad that I never got to know them when they were living in Munich. We went on nature walks, to hot springs high in the rockies, ate GREAT food (Brett's a fantastic cook an they had a large vegetable garden) as well as swimming in one of the (many) local lakes. After a few days there it was time to move on for our weekend in Vancouver.

We ventured into the city our first night there. After walking through what seemed and endless tenderloin type district complete with drug transactions, prostitues and  the like, we finally made it to Chinatown which was completely closed. The rest of the downtown area also seemed to be D-E-A-D.  Hmm, maybe Vancouver wasn't all it was cracked up to be.  The next day we saw more of what the fuss was about. We rented bikes and rode through beautiful Stanley park and started to explore some of the little neighborhoods (where all the action seemed to be). If I had to describe Vancouver it's sort of  like all of the SF and the east bay smashed together mixed in with Hong Kong and a dash of Chicago. Lots of bridges, a bay, houses on hills (mountains), crafstmans and high-rises.  My friend Julie arrived to fetch us and bring us to Seattle (where we are now). We enjoyed a dinner at the hip (but I say overrated/overpriced) LIFT restaurant which sits right in Coal Harbor. I like a mango-pomegranate martinis as much as the next girl, but it was a little too-too, but fabulous views and a nice walk through the city. The next day we took the Aqua Bus to Granville Island Public Market where we ate ourselves into a coma and as the weather started to detioriate decided to hit the road and head homeward to Seattle. P.S. Thanks Catherine for the NY Times '36 hours in Vancouver' article tip - it was good to have in a city where we didn't actually know locals.

I'll stop here to prevent any snoozing. To all those at home in MUC I miss you much, to all those Norcal folks I'll be seeing in a few days for the final Killian-Watts nuptial extravaganza, I am counting the minutes!

Quiet Time is Over

The  'lay low' and recuperate part of the year is  officially over, it got kicked off with my quarterly team meeting in New Delhi. Which, I must admit, was pretty interesting. I really like the people I work with, and working in our New Delhi office really feels like standing in the vortex of globalization. We would pass snake charmers, tractors tugging cages full of chickens andbicycle rickshaws on our 200 meter walk from the corporate apartment to the office building. Once inside the tower it was all starbucks, and business as usual, one could just as easily be in London, Frankfurt or New York. I was lucky enough to participate in a couple of team event nights in the local Diskotheks, those young, upwardly mobile Indians really like to party...

I returned home for a week or two and then it was off to California for what I called my 'Bay Area one Night Only Tour'.  I visited loved ones from Pleasanton, to Sonora, to San Jose, Rockridge and San Francisco, as well as pow-wowed with family (established and new) at my Cousin's wedding near Yosemite - a happy and joyful event. California is just the bomb, the land of plenty. I vowed to spend at least a month there next year (now that I can, in theory, work from anywhere). See pictures of wedding, family and a fabulous day in SF where I ate some really good meals (I forgot how one can eat in SF) with dearly loved homies. Thanks again Sarah for flowing us all at the Basque restaurant.

Made it back to Munich without incidenct (except for a luggage mix-up), and was there for almost a full 24 hours before Armin and I flew out for a long weekend in Mallorca for - another - wedding. Incredible. Much of the island has a bad reputation as it is haven for package tours catering to Brits and Germans - and they were certainly there in throngs. However one can quickly get away from all that and head into the hills, which resemble Mexico and find many local, non touristy beaches complete with clear Mediteranean waters and quaint seaside towns. After the (very lovely) wedding we spent a day at the beach and as we enjoyed the sun and swam in the beautiful sea, I felt really, really grateful to be happy and healthy. Armin and I hatched a scheme over a pitcher of Sangria and a view of the sunset as to how we could live there next summer in a Finca...think good thoughts and make plans to visit.

Came back home (and reluctantly back to work, ugh) to this shocking news: In a recent International Herald Tribune study, Munich is the world's most livable city! I encourage you to read the article, here is the lead paragraph :

"After much tire-kicking, data-sifting and deliberation, Munich emerged as Monocle's most liveable city in the world. A winning combination of investment in infrastructure, high-quality housing, low crime, liberal politics, strong media and general feeling of Gemütlichkeit make it a city that should inspire others..."

I certainly know this, as we have been thoroughly enjoying it for the last few months - The long night of Music where all cafes and restaurants have live music until 4 a.m., The Auer Dult - the hoakey neighborhood fair with loads of good (bad for you) food and cleaning supplies (don't ask), A really great Documentary film festival and of course the river, the parks and the wonderfully warm weather we've been having. I have accepted, however, that it will never be a sexy enough location to lure as many friends and family as I'd like (as Charlie and Michelle did when they lived in Paris). So I thought of a new slogan for the city: "Munich, a great place to live, but not to visit"

In any case,  I'm a very, very lucky girl to know the people I know, visit all these great places and live in a such a lovely, liveable city.

Stay Tuned for: West Coast Wedding Extravaganza, A tour of  Southern Califronia, Canada, Seattle and Tahoe for two more weddings starting July 20!

Ozone Schmozone

Okay, a lot of you have heard me refer to global warming as ‘hooey’- mostly to be provocative. I honestly don’t know if it’s hooey or not, but I am skeptical. A couple of years ago my friend Alex and I went to a lecture given by Michael Crichton here in Munich, ostensibly to hear about his new book. Instead he gave a very compelling talk on why all of the hoopla around Global Warming merits closer scrutiny.

Now, before I continue, let me assure you that I am all for conservation. I’m sure I use at least 30% less resources by default by simply living in Europe – I have no car, no clothes dryer, a fridge the size of a shoebox…you get the idea. My teeny galley kitchen is overrun by a complex system of baskets for recycling. I hate the tyranny of the automobile and think the majority of city planners for a lot of the west coast should be jailed. However global warming smacks of Y2K to me, the doomsday prophecy for the secular left to fill the vacuum where religion would normally reside.

I thought it may be time to challenge my global warming challenge, so we finally got ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ from Amango (Germany’s version of Netflix). Nope. Still think it’s hooey.  Armin is currently reading State of Fear Michael Crichtons’ fictional debunking of Global Warming, so one morning we searched online for a counter-argument to his argument. What we found was this. An NPR sponsored debate between 6 (left of center) scientists and experts (including Crichton) on whether or not global warming is a crisis. Each panel of 3 went at it mano-a-mano and the results are quite interesting. I encourage you to listen with an open mind and decide for yourself.

The Feminine Mistake

Probably about a decade(!) ago, my friend Jill Littlewood gave me Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. I can honestly say it had a big influence on a lot of the decisions I made in the years following. At the root of the book was the question: ‘What is your Work’?. Now, at 35, keenly aware that one phase of life is winding down and another is about to start, I discovered The Feminine Mistake by Leslie Bennetts. She argues that it is foolish for women to stay out of the workplace for more than 3 years and draws a compelling picture of why it is beneficial for women to work. She talks about the current glamorization of homecaring (which I happily indulge in) and how ‘opting out’ has radical implications not just for women’s long term financial security but also on it’s hidden impacts on marriage and women’s sense of competence, mastery and self-esteem.

She leans a little too much on the ‘your husband could die or leave you’ angle for my taste, but does speak to reaching your creative potential beyond being a care taker, which I found a more appealing argument.

As someone who has had the odd fantasy about dropping out, having kids and never working again, this was a loud wake-up call. This is a hot topic among a lot of us gals right now (either new moms, or thinking about becoming moms) and I strongly suggest you read this, especially if you are confusing marriage with a sound individual financial plan. I definitely want kids, and at the end of the day, I know myself, and I believe I will always need a career (Bennetts lays out why this is utterly NOT selfish) – even though she frankly admits that if you work and have small children you need to be prepared to be exhausted for about 4 years.

Drawing on the work done by Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir, she finishes by discussing the ‘Anxiety of Liberty’ another feeling I can relate to. After reading this book I found that the question still remains: What is your work?

Bloggin’ Mania!

Well sort of. I just wanted to turn your attention to a couple of blogs that different cross-sections of this audience may find interesting. The well-established blog ‘I’m Seeing Green’ out of Park Slope Brooklyn by my uncle Chandru Murthi may prove interesting for those of you that are interested in global warming, sustainable cities/development, civic issues and general NYC liberalism. I comment occasionally and do my best to incite violence and bloodlust (ex: Global Warming=Y2K), but usually without success. Also edited and maintained out of the same locale (in a nearby room, in fact), but not really a blog and with a completely spin, is my aunt Sukey’s website. It’s for her design company ‘Goodform Design’. I may a bit biased but I think her stuff is brilliant. If you know anyone needing a website or logo or collateral work they will get something fresh, clever and original from her.

Finally I was happy to see my good friend (and a friend to a cross-section of ‘The Latest’ readers) Julie Lauzon take a ride on the blog train to launch her blog focusing on her life in Seattle and the crazy world of mountain biking divas (to each her own).

Enjoy. And please, although I know my plea will fall on deaf ears – consider starting your own! Curious minds really do want to know! Although I feel so self-centered writing all this ‘me me me me me’ stuff, friends always tell me they are happy to get it. And whenever I get great group emails or big letters/essays to a larger group sent out by friends I am always absolutely delighted. Our worlds can get so big and extended and distant, it’s good to be in the loop.

On My Bookshelf:

Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World Of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

So far this is FA-SCI-NAT-ING. Not only am I learning a lot about the Muslim world and the myriad stains of  Islam, I’m getting interesting insights from an author whom I can respect and identify with (so far) that are really stretching the limits of what I always felt was in my enlightened and tolerant attitude about the Islamic world.

A Heartbreaking Work of  Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

A Pulitzer finalist. I started out absolutely adoring this book. It takes place in the mid-nineties in the EastBay and San Francisco, both a time and place I have incredibly strong fond memories of. In fact, I started reading it fresh off my ‘Northern California Periocarditis 2006 Tour’ - it got me scheming of was I could spend part of the year back in the Bay. He sort of went off the deep end in the second part though, It all got a little too manic. However, there are some really hilarious and poignant passages that are really worth reading.  Warning: could also be very generation specific. I’m starting to feel like one of those oldies that gets nostalgic about ‘the ‘60s, man’.

Back in Munich, Healthy and Happy

Hi Everyone.  Of course I sort of  had a vague new year's resultion to update this more often...but you know how it is.

Since the last post life has basically been a dream, a good one. I spent a wonderful month in California at my parent's resting, catching up, reading through all of your truly touching emails (thank you. See one of the most hilarious ones in the post below) and catching up with many of you on the phone. In spite of a one night back in the ER scare (had to go back on steroids) I was healthy enough to venture out one weekend to visit my dear ones in Tuco. (Tuolmone County) and old-new friends from Munich that now live in the East Bay (That's you Kristen and Kami, and Mia!) Lots of  'new' babies and kids I had only heard about and never met, and one on the way (now here). Towards the end of the month I got to see Tom and Francie, and the L.A. posse came for a visit. Being with friends and family was so overdue, and truly healing. One of my big takeaways from all of this is that I can't stay away from California for too long.

I flew back to Munich on New Year's eve (as many of you know - No one is going to force ME to have fun!) and was warmly welcomed by good friends here who helped me celebrate a mellow but fun birthday at a nearby Italian restaurant.

My job has given me a new role, which I really love (consolidating creative best practices, folding them into a methodology and rolling out tools and training). It involves a lot of home office - I can theoretically work anywhere because I'm on a global team - and basically no travel except for a team meeting once a year!

As a result of spending so much time at home, I've been on a nesting bender, the primary activity being installing a new kitchen (Armin did it all!) and a new sideboard.

Healthwise, so far so good. I've been to my primary care physician and a cardiologist. I get a regular ultrasound, EKG, blood test and breathing test and I've been completely off steroids for almost a week...think good thoughts! So far everything has looked 'wunderbar' and the Cardiologist said he's seen this sorta thing before and his feeling is I've gone through the worst of it!