Andreas' 32nd Birfday

It's the BALD BADASS hisself. And he truly was a total badass yesterday on his birfday! He got the most manliest gift ever to touch my girly fingers... a power tool. Yes, you heard me correct, not only did he get a brand new Panasonic 12V Driver/Drill, but also a Black and Decker 100 piece Power Drill Bit Set and a Strait-line Laser Level. What a lucky man! And just in time too, as we have many a wall hanging to hang. Overall, we had a great day, homemade Betty Crocker chocolate cake for brekky (and dessert!), a walk through the Ellwood Butterfly Fields near our house to see the Monarch Butterflies before they leave for the Rocky Mountains in February, a bit of surfing in the baby waves at UCSB's campus point, a romantic dinner at a new Italian restaurant near our house, and of course, the opening of the presents late at night. What fun! Thanks to everyone who sent wonderful birthday wishes!

Deutschland (Gerrrrr-ma-ny)

Berlin and Thüringen, GE (Dec 19, 2007- Jan 4, 2008)- Pack die Badehose ein, nimm dein kleines Schwesterlein, und nichts wie auf nach Berlin. Actually, it wasn't the swimsuit we packed, but the heavy snow jackets and long johns. After not having been back in 4.5 years, we spent two frigid weeks in Andreas' hometown of Berlin. Although it is still as gray and as cold in the winter as we remembered it, with bratwurst in our bellies and glüwein warming our throats even the harshest of Siberian winds felt like a warm breeze on a tropical island. Let's be fair- we had a great time with Andreas' family and catching up with old friends. Here's the lowdown: Getting hammered with Andreas' PhD supervisor (and wife!) at the Christmas Markets, being lost in the plot of a ballet (I didn't see any nutcrackers, did you?!?), being overfed by the über-zealous German mutter (mom), getting educated the hard way about alternative energy and German efficiency (did we really have to climb up a modern 100 meter windmill in -6 degrees Celcius?), getting a crash course in German history at the Wartburg fortress in Thüringen (did you know that the first Christmas tree was brought into a home by a German, Martin Luther, who just happened to be the first to translate the Bible from Greek to German?), understanding the secrets to successful mating in the Jewish museum (your future love must show proof of her wealth before you take her out on a date- check out our snapfish photos of the "Modern J-Date"), and amongst a thousand other things, leaving the days of college drinking behind playing "Mensch, ärger dich nicht!" ("Man, don't get pissed off"- a game consisting of drinking a bottle of champagne each, etc. tailored to the occasion, of course) on New Years with a bunch of random, but roudy Germans. Bis zum nächsten mal. Ick stehe uf Berlin, eh.

Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas!!!

These are so innovative, and hilarious!!! Enjoy!
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Car shopping

All over (!) San Diego, CA (Nov 2007)- Oh... and did I forget to mention that we took an entire day to car shop! Having done heaps of research beforehand, Andreas, my parents and I bravely set out to the dealerships in hopes of coming away with a new car. After going to three dealerships and dealing with a few a-holes, we found a dealer that made our dreams come true. It was actually the first dealer that we went to funnily enough. So we bought our first car as a couple (and my first car ever!)- a brand new beige 2008 Honda CR-V! It drives like a dream and got me back to Santa Barbara in under a half a tank of petrol! Amazing efficiency- approx 30.4 miles to the gallon. What beauty.

Giving thanks on Thanksgiving

San Diego, CA (Nov 2007)- We gave thanks.... and we ate. I love Thanksgiving. It's the best excuse to stuff yourself silly and then stuff yourself again 4 hours later. It was good hanging out with the family. We also went to the Del Mar Holiday Lights Show, which was pitiful, but had some interesting activities at the end.... mainly our free photos with Santa, in the race car, and strangely enough, at Disneyland?!?! When hanging out with the siblings, everything is fun.

What's the point of cold if there's no snow?

Ann Arbor, MI (Nov 2007)- So here we are... freezing our tuchases off in frigid ole' Michigan. No snow. It was a spur of the moment decision to come see Andreas before he makes way to CalVegas (we used to call Brissy BrisVegas-I'm stealing the term), and I'm glad that I came to witness him in his element. Ann Arbor is a cute little college town about 64 km west of Detroit, Michigan (which by the way doesn't have the best of reputations- it was just yesterday named the most dangerous city in the US), populated primarily by students from the University of Michigan, or UMich for short. However, there isn't too much to do (especially without a car- story of our lives!) and it's been cold and rainy, so we've mostly been enjoying each other's company, reading in coffee houses, traveling to and from uni, walking along state and main streets in Ann Arbor's 'downtown', eating out and cuddling up in A's heated townhouse. I'm just happy that we are spending some quality time together. Tomorrow we fly to San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with the family. Gobble gobble.

Go Blue, Make Blue, and Feel Blue

Ann Arbor, MI (Fall 2007)- In order to choke any suspicion of my (Andreas) whereabouts, in terms of my not appearing in any of the recent blogs, The NewSimons are up and running in the U.S. and as strong as ever. It is just that I am currently doing a visiting scholar/ lecturer position at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. To fill you in on my time in Ann Arbor, my life can be summarized as follows: (i) Go Blue, not only have I found joy in the American way of life by being a passionate follower of the Michigan Wolverines (see video of Gunnar and me with All Access passes at a recent game), I have also had a smooth start working at the Number 1 ranked MBA school in the world (see building where I hold my lectures). (ii) Make blue, well this saying may not make as much sense in English, but what it means in German is to take off work. I have been thoroughly enjoying the time after my Ph.D. and instead of frantically working on research, I use my time to interview for jobs, soak in the scholarly spirit at Michigan, and getting ready for my move to California. (iii) Feel Blue, the only part that blows at the moment is being separated from Rachel. But it is almost over, and it certainly will pay off in the future. So taking on the risk of moving has so far paid off. Or to put it in the words of Arnie Schwarzenegger: "If they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men."