Xmas time is here!

...which always makes the city so much more fun!!! There are decorations everywhere, Xmas markets (I kid you not: 5 or 6 on the way home from work), and a merry spirit! I have to say though, and I don't say this often, it is not quite cold enough right now... Xmas markets are to be enjoyed with cold hands, and preferably some snow, like in the past years. Right now, temperatures rise to around 8-9 degrees during the day: far too warm for a real xmas market feeling!

In any case, for the past bit of time I have not really been able to enjoy Berlin anyway, since I have been travelling. I spent 4 days in Barcelona (20° and sunny: lovely!) for a conference, and some work with a potential co-author. I then returned for about 18 hours, to attend a workshop I was organizing on a new project proposal, before hopping back onto a plane to go to Brussels. We spent the weekend with M&L who live in Brussels, and G who came over from Milano. It was great fun, with lots of boozing and board games and other bits of fun! On Sunday night Fedor returned to Berlin, and I stayed as I was presenting in a seminar in Leuven. That was successful as well (and oh my, Leuven is so cute!) and I came back into Berlin last night. That also means that, according My Flightmemory, I finish the year with around 75,633 km of flying, a little down from last year when I flew about 78000 km.

For next year, I already have some 45000km of flights booked: I will go to Chicago for the American Economic Association in the first week of January and then we're going on vacation, for a short period of, ehm, 7 weeks... We're flying to Kuala Lumpur via Cairo and then on to Yangon, Myanmar (assuming we get the visa: I sent our passports off to the Embassy today). We will stay in Myanmar for around 24 days, then return to Malaysia and Singapore for a week or so, before going to Indonesia for the final 2 (1/2) weeks. Doesn't sound too bad, right?

Obviously, this trip is our attempt of avoiding Winter (leaving mid-January, returning in March) because we actually decided to stay in Berlin for now! I have today informed my boss that I would like to stay, given the quasi-promotion he has offered and the fact that, actually, I really enjoy what I do!!! (I may not enjoy the Institute that much, but I think I can avoid most of the shit fairly easily). So for those of you interested in coming to visit: there is no rush! ;-)))

Tschüßi,
OJ

November

Wow, what a month! I don't even know where to start. Let's just summarize:
- China was awesome. I didn't get to see the Great Wall, as I missed my connecting flight in Frankfurt. But I did get to see Number 16 of The List (The Forbidden City) and had an interesting experience at this military conference in Wuhan.
- Greifswald turns out to be a lovely little town. Old Hanseatic League, well-preserved, etc. The conference was pretty interesting, and I got the opportunity to visit the Nazi rocket factory of Peenemünde.
- Halloween was fun as always! We were dressed as Jakob and Edward from Twilight (although I only managed to get one of my contacts in) and there were lots of people who adhere to our Haunted Hollywood theme (and a few who didn't).
- The weather has been brilliant! (relatively speaking, that is, given that it is November)
- I said 'no' to a job offer... In Thailand... With pain in my heart, I must admit!!! But unfortunately, the job offer wasn't simply imperfect, it was terrible... So the search continues! (another interview didn't come to anything)
- Last week, my brother and his wife came to visit. The weather was absolutely brilliant, and we went to visit Charlottenburg park, which was really really pretty!!!



Now over the next weeks, I am going to Barcelona for a few days, Brussels/Leuven for a few days and seemed to have to go to Bonn for a job thing (I booked the ticket and everything, and was then told the test was taking place in Berlin anyway... bugger!). So in between lots of work, there is still a few bits of fun to be had!!!

Tschüßi,
OJ