05/04/2008

Mother's Day - first edition

Germans in general aren't as actively practicing religion, as people in the Midwest. But Catholic and Lutheran Holidays are strictly observed. This year Whitsunday (the first day of Catholic Pentecost in Germany) would be on the same day as Mother's Day (which is always the second Sunday in May).

Since Catholic Holidays were scheduled long before Mother's Day was even invented, whenever Pentecost falls on the second Sunday in May, Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in May - at least in Germany.  

So I ordered a pretty bouquet of flowers, and a heart-shaped box of chocolate to go with it, for my mom. b7f14dab9b44fe6575a0c78f6bf5fffe.jpg 

11:25 Posted in 09, Staying in touch | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this

04/27/2008

Dinner at Eddie Merlot's

Today we used the $100 gift card that came with my Team Spirit Award and went to dine out at Eddie Merlot's. c3cce2381a8002359598f127da8a1abe.jpg

We ordered *Steak Diane for Two*. Tom had a glass of Rioja with it -since I volunteered to be the designated driver. We enjoyed excellent service, a delicious meal, a stylish atmosphere - and bought a dozen lemon filled doughnuts at Krispy Kreme, right next door, on our way home.  

Steak Diane for Two
Filet Mignon prepared to your request, flamed tableside with Cognac, mushrooms and herbed mustard demi-glace served with Eddie's potatoes.

19:00 Posted in 06, Having Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this

04/18/2008

Team Spirit Award 2008

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One very nice detail of American workplace culture, something I haven't seen in over 27 years of employment in Germany, is the recognition that you get for working hard.

Today Indiana Tech celebrated the annual employee awards ceremony, where individuals and teams are honored for their outstanding contributions to the success of our institution.

The surprise at the very end of this ceremony was this year's winner of our *Team Spirit Award* - the Information Technology department. We each received a nice plaque and a $100 gift certificate for Eddie Merlot's - a fancy local restaurant.

16:15 Posted in 08, Making Progress | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this

04/17/2008

Smart makes it to the Midwest

Now, when you tell people here you bought a Mercedes, this is probably not what they have in mind. 34f5c089839ef57508624c37f5a57edf.jpg

The *Smart for 2* has been available in Germany since 1998, and officially made it to the USA in November 2007.

With gas priced at about $3.50 a gallon, people are likely to smarten up more around here too.

When I went for my lunch-break walk today, I saw the first one cruising down the road in Fort Wayne.   

13:20 Posted in 09, Staying in touch | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this