Travel Limits

There is one more aspect to my trip to the Golden Gate Bridge that deserved being addressed, but it makes sense to dedicate it a separate entry. In fact, the spot on the beach at the Golden Gate has been the furthest west I have travelled so far (in terms of longitude). My stay in the U.S. is the first time outside Europe, so anything west of that will set a new record. In that light, the trip to the Californian west coast is about as far as I can go within the (contiguous) United States. While I would certainly like to visit Hawaii and Alaska, those places will have to wait. - The runner-up in the west is actually the Chicago area.
The eastbound limit had been Budapest, Hungary, since September 1999, and was surpassed only recently, in 2007, when I went to Turku, Finland, for a scientific conference while still being a graduate student. To date, Turku still holds the record; actually both in the east and the north. The second most northern location I have visited so far is Glasgow, Scotland/UK, where I spent one wonderful semester as an undergraduate student.
Finally, southbound I have gone as far as Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands that are Spanish territories just in front of the African Atlantic coast. The Canary Islands share the same lattitude as Orlando, FL. The runner-up in this direction is Atlanta, GA, where I spent an as great as intense weekend with my friends Heather and Jon, number three is the San Francisco Bay area, and believe it or not: number four are both the area of Naples, Italy, and Chicago, IL! While Italy is generally perceived as a warm country (and rightfully so), Chicago is infamous for its cold Midwestern winters ... Indeed, Europe is not only east, but also (mostly) north of the U.S., but I don't think there is a single place in Germany that gets as cold as Chicago in the winter. You would have to go as far north as Scandinavia to experience -17°F in the European winter. (Well, Russia might do the trick, too.)
Further travelling plans encompass Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I have a friend and former colleague from Berlin; several coastal cities in China; Moscow, Russia; Iran, Homa's home, which might prove to be complicated, due to political obstacles; and many other destinations that I am not thinking of right now.

The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA)

As I have mentioned in the last post, I seized the day (Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, to be exact) to go to San Francisco. The main site on my list was of course the Golden Gate Bridge, but originally I had planned to see also the local Chinatown, "the crookedest street" (a section of Lombard street, which is exceptionally steep), the Transamerica pyramid (a local landmark), and the cable car. As it turned out, I could accomplish just the Golden Gate bridge, yet it was still all worthwile the visit!
When I finally arrived (after travelling on the hilly streets of the city and in particular going through the Presidio, which I knew beforehand from a movie of the same name) at the Golden Gate, which is the narrow junction between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, the sight was incredibly soothing, and I could not help to become all meek and mild about the beauty of this location. The bridge itself is a very impressive structure, and the view around the Golden Gate is breathtaking, I have no other words. I saw Alcatraz, I saw downtown San Francisco, I saw all the sailboats on the water, and I finally laid my eyes on the Pacific Ocean.
Actually, I could not resist, so I laid even my hands on it. Next to the bridge there is a beautiful beach, and I climbed all the way down to the water and touched it with my hands. I lingered a bit, beholding the scenery and contemplating for a while, and then I climbed back up to the trail, from which I came. (Up was of course more complicated, and I knew that beforehand, but I simply had to.) Back on the trail I contemplated some more about the sunset, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. In fact, I believe it is not possible to catch that moment with my camera, but I took a photo as a souvenir, so as to remind me of what I felt then.
And yet I had to part from my new favorite spot, as I was going back to San Jose the same night, and then to Chicago the next day.

AVS meeting (San Jose, CA)

From Monday, Nov. 9, to Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, I was an attendee of the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Vacuum Society. This is a scientific conference, which was held in San Jose, California. As promised earlier on, I am presenting my new outfit. (Unfortunately the shirt is not the one I bought originally, but that is another story.) The meeting was held at the McEnery convention center in San Jose, and Xiaofeng (another postdoc from our research group) and I were staying at a nearby motel. Xiaofeng deserves all the fame for picking this place, which was clean, inexpensive, and within less than five minutes walking from the conference. (The bottom right picture shows our room seen from the parking lot.)
The talk went okay, and fortunately I could give it already on the first day, so the cabin fever did not rise to a point where it would simply kill me. Yet I was nervous, of course, as it was the first time ever for me to speak at such an event. Well, as it is customary at big conferences, the crowd picks their favorite speakers, so two talks before mine the room was completely packed; when the next talk started, the speaker thanked the previous one "for leaving me with some of her residual audience"; and when it was my turn I could have thanked my predecessor for leaving me with a residue of the former residual audience ... In other words, the room that could hold more than 100 people was half full at best, but it was not entirely empty either. I think I was able to convey my message, and I did not get laughed at. On the other hand, I guess my standards are a bit on the low side, as the person who attracted the really big audience was honored with the conference award for up-and-coming scientists that are 35 years old or younger. She actually got invited to speak there, while ordinary folks like me have to apply for a slot. (And yet I am glad that there are better scientists than me out there!)
Anyways, I took advantage of the opportunity of being in California, which is now the third State of the United States I have visited so far; the first and second being Illinois and Georgia, respectively. I walked around San Jose a bit, and one thing I liked better there than in Chicago is that the buttons for the pedestrian traffic lights indicate the direction of crossing the street. In Chicago there is often just one for both possible ways to cross a street at the corner of an intersection, so then the pedestrian lights will both be active when it is ther turn. However, occasionally there are two, and then it can be hard to find out which one is for which street.
Although Homa found it a bit strange to do such a thing, I went to see a movie on one night: "The Men Who Stare At Goats". In one word: hilarious! One might argue that the time out of town could be spent more efficiently to see more things, but I guess the point is that I felt a bit on vacation, and therefore I was a bit reluctant to be efficient. Plus, I am having a very nice memory now. The movie theater happened to be just two blocks from our motel, so I could not resist, as I also had not been to the movies for longer than I liked.
The weirdest thing, however, was the artificial snowman I discovered on Tuesday night. Well, while I was welcomed back by a chilly breeze in Chicago (currently below 50°F, or single digits in °C), it was constantly 60°F (15°C or more) in San Jose. Only for two days I was wearing a jacket, and I did feel a bit strange facing the snowman wearing no more than a sweater (and pants, of course ...). I caught myself thinking that it might be a bit early for displaying winter items, but then I realized that it was mid November, and it was just the mild Californian weather that was getting me confused.
The conference ended on Friday at noon, but I returned to Chicago only on Sunday. On the Saturday in between, I went to San Francisco, more specifically the Golden Gate Bridge, but about that I will tell you in a separate story.

What I Am Is What I Am

The title of this post is actually borrowed from a pop song from the 1980s, which is originally perfomed by "Edie Brickell and New Bohemians". I thought is would do a great motto, also because I think it is a nice combination of funky music and cool lyrics. Click here to watch the video on YouTube - I wish my singing and guitar-playing skills were this good, as I would then perform the song myself instead, but I'd better leave it to the professionals.
As I said, the chorus line, "What I Am", is a good motto for this post, because in the recent past I have been judged by two people in a very different way. Dr. Aashani (see her picture on a previous post) told me that a fellow Sri Lankan, who works as a graduate student just down the hall from my office, has noticed me around, and for some reason that is inexplicable to me she thinks I am very scary. She even told Aashani that if I started talking to her she would actually faint! Well, perhaps there is more than just stereotypes to nationalities, and maybe I being a German do have a rough edge. Maybe some people think that I might be harsh. That may be so, but please also note that the frightened girl's name is Harsha ... I swear I didn't make this up! (What's even better, part of her last name can be understand as German for "grab 'er" - no, I didn't!)
Nevertheless, not everyone seems to think that I would do a formidable scarecrow. My new student Zhu, whom I dedicated another one of the previous posts, told me that she thinks I am as cute as a panda. I am not sure how much of a compliment that is, but maybe she actually meant "panther" ...
Turning back to Edie Brickell's song, there is another interesting line, "Religion / Is a smile on a dog". While I will certainly not start a discussion on faith here, I must admit that I do love this part. I used to date a girl a long time ago, whose family has a collie; the dog and I were best friends, and I do remember that I used to think that he looks like he is laughing when he was hackling. The reason, however, why I raise this matter at all is that it seems to me that one's image with fellow human beings is just as little substantiated as "a smile on a dog".
PS: I would like to apologize to Harsha that I am making fun of her - but hey, at least that means she is right about me!

Elevators

This post is about elevators. The picture shows the two in the Science and Engineering South (SES) building at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which is where I work. More precisely, it is where my office is, as my lab is actually in the basement of the adjacent Research Resources Center (RRC). I am mentioning that because I run back and forth between my lab and my office several times per day, and the latter is on the top (fifth) floor. Unfortunately, these two elevators are not exactly reliable. A few months ago two students got stuck in the one with the small door, and for a while it was switched on only intermittently. Now, people are anyways supposed to take only the small one, and the big one requires a swipecard; yet in case one is down it makes sense, at least to me, to open the other one to everyone. This is possible, as it has occurred already, but often the people who switch off the small elevator for another repairment/maintenance/whatever forget to make the big one available for us humble non-swipecard-holders. Although I have to admit that taking the stairs once in a while would do me good (check out my recent confession when I bought a new suit), the lack of elevator service does take my swearing abilities to another level! (Did you note the pun?)
The other elevator, however, is much more pleasant. It is located at The Water Tower Place, a shopping mall in downtown Chicago (on the Magnificent Mile, or Michigan Avenue). The mall has eight floors, and the elevator takes you from ground via two straight to seven, in almost no time. Macy's, where I bought my suit a week ago, is just next door and can be reached from any level of the Water Tower Place. Oh, and by the way, mischievous me published this little clip specifically for my friend Dominik, who is afraid of heights.