Woah, it really has been too long. 4 months since the last post and so many things happened already.
Now I just need to get in the habit of blogging again as we have been too caught up in getting back to reality after what has been a fantastic experience.
First of all, Lulu and I found a job. I thought it might be somewhat challenging but we actually found them rather easily. I think I mastered my interviews and managed to get a job that is very interesting and that will open many doors if I ever decide to change. The next step was not that smooth as I needed to get back to Switzerland and apply for a new visa. Long story short, in Switzerland, I had to wait for my visa to be filed by my company, hoping the paperwork would arrive before my appointment was due (which it did), then had to go to Paris as I couldn't go to Berne because I am not a Swiss resident, had to leave my passport at the embassy for processing (after some struggle convincing them to ship it to Switzerland as I have no address in France), cross the France-Switzerland border without any ID, and finally waited what felt like an eternity to receive my passport. In the meantime, I lost my return flight and had to buy a new one and couldn't attend any Sharks playoff game even though I made a deposit for the tickets.
All in all, it was very nerve wracking but I got to spend some time with my family, play video and board games (Shogun and Year of the Dragon which I bought as well as Formula De) which was well appreciated.
Then I finally got back beginning of May, hurried to buy a car in order to be able to get around and I settled for a Toyota Yaris: cheap, gas efficient, small and hopefully reliable. I got the price I wanted so I was pretty happy. Why buying such a small car you ask ? Well, the answer lies below.
I then started work and even though it is in South San Francisco and it takes time to get there (about 1h30 door to door) the train is an inexpensive solution that is reimbursed by my company so I am saving on gas, plus I can sleep in the train: not such a bad deal.
I guess the time I had on my hands in March got me thinking a lot about what I really wanted now. I am the kind of guy who always need a project to work on, something to look forward to, something that ignites passion and anticipation. So I finally decided to take the plunge and realize one of my dreams and bought the car of my dreams: a Lotus Exige. I did a lot of research (having the time to do so in Switzerland), read a lot of opinions and posts about people sharing their experience, defined my requirements and my limits and settled on buying a used 2007 Lotus Exige S. The color ? Krypton Green. 6,600 miles on it and absolutely gorgeous. And not only is this car absolutely stunning, it also drives like a dream. There is a quote that I read somewhere that I love: "Some people say that a Lotus is a compromise. I think everything else is a compromise." And now I discover new activities. First of all I want to know more about mechanical tasks therefore I started to do some easy maintenance jobs by myself such as brake pads for example and plan to do oil and brake fluid changes and more. It is not hard at all is rather fun and it saves me money in the process. I also want to get out to the track on a regular basis. I participated in my first autocross a week ago and it was a blast ! I met a lot of interesting people and had so much fun: I am definitely going back. I also planned some outing to the race track to Buttonwillow and legendary Laguna Seca. A lot to look forward to. Plus I discovered the tight and friendly community of Lotus owners, whom I will learn a lot from. You can see some pictures in the Lotus album...
But this is only one part of what is going on in Lulu's and Pascal's life. It is amazing to see how busy we are. We always seem to have things planned. Lulu is following quite a few dancing classes, plus some economy class and some yoga, while I started playing in an inline hockey league, going to some concerts (Billy Idol last month, Disturbed & Slipknot this month and Jonny Lang next month). Plus we have regularly meetings with friends, board games nights and try to find some time when we can to sort the pictures we took last year in order to make a customized book for us out of it (with all the installments from our blogs) as well as creating a short movie/slideshow of our amazing experience.
I will also get busier when September comes as I will finally be able to follow my beloved San Jose Sharks for yet another exciting season: will this year be THE year ?
In about 2 weeks, I also plan to attend the MotoGP event in Laguna Seca: I can't wait.
Looking back at last year feels so surreal now: I can't believe we had the guts to follow our hearts and experience the trip of a lifetime. And what makes it even better is that getting back to the "real" life was actually not that hard besides a few speed bumps. Getting back in the rythm was easier than expected and I don't feel like life here is that dull after all, thanks to our busy schedule. There are a millions exciting things to do here too. I guess the trip taught us to enjoy more what we have on hand and not always wait for something better to come along, to embrace our passions and "go for it" without worrying too much about "what if". This is the kind of persons we are anyway and I guess that, for me, it took some "out of the comfort zone" experience to realize that and see what really matters to us.
But let's face it: if only I could get paid to travel, that wouldn't be all bad either :-)
Random thoughts: a few days back, I came across (again) a video I have known for some time now about a guy filming himself dancing in many places in the world. He became kind of famous and has been sponsored to do a 2nd video, therefore being paid to travel. I stumbled upon his website and one video of a presentation he did in a school. It is very interesting to find some parallels about his experience and ours, even though it was really different. It brings back warm memories, especially when he talks about Antarctica. On other news, Maximilien started to walk. And Patrick and Karen are getting closer to the due date (2.5 more months to go). By the way, my Lotus nickname is "MicroMachine", thanks to Valerie.
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