TMI?

My friends make fun of me for constantly asking questions. But really - I am interested; when I don’t ask questions is when I don’t care. Perhaps I should take this seriously and ditch b-school for a journalism degree, but in the meantime I will settle for continuing to bug friends, family and other unlucky peeps.

My favorite question is asking someone to describe his/her typical day. I like picturing that person living her “real” daily life, especially if I don’t know too much about it. It also helps my self-esteem to hear that other people too some nights get home from work, preemptively download turn on Millionaire Matchmaker, and don’t move from the couch.

Given this, I am just gonna assume you are interested in my daily life too. And since I spend the majority of my waking time at work…

Why, hello little car that gets me to work each day ~12 km outside of the city in Budaörs.


Morning commute: 20 minutes. Evening commute: 20 minutes – 2 hours. Road rage: you betcha.

I am not kidding when I tell you I work in an industrial park behind Tesco and Kika.


At least we have the Buda hills in the distance.


My windowless office explains my constant ignorance about the weather.


Alex: Let’s get drinks outside after work!
Susan: It’s downpouring.

Lack of windows coupled with being located on the first floor is why you shouldn’t take my threats to jump out of the window too seriously.

I also want to point out this is my 100th blog post. I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed. I will choose the former and the latter only when the number of posts begins to exceed the number of profile views (pro forma of course for my own clicks).

P.S. Dad, "TMI" stands for too much information. So when Mom and Kara start discussing Bethenny's "surprise" pregnancy on The Real Housewives of NYC, just say "TMI." Then call me so I can join the conversation.

Budapest Boy

Zurich may be unaware, but UBS set up a Budapest satellite office at Vigyazo Ferenc utca 3.


Pros vs. the Weehawken office:

You can foam roll while on conference calls.

Other professionals won't think you have scabies if you eat lunch alone.


You cannot walk down the street without an Eastern European woman striking a pose.


Easy access to bone marrow (and not the New Jersey mafia hit-related kind).


Cons vs. the Weehawken office:

BOYI(nternet) cord.

Trash Day can complicate the commute.


This could happen at any minute.

Dear Icelandic Volcano

I am trying to look on the bright side of things given you have detonated my plans to come home to Boston this week.

1. I have a new roommate.
2. My name isn’t Eyjafjallajokull.
3. I don’t live in Iceland.
4. Speaking of cold countries, I am happy I don’t live in Finland either.
5. I have the opportunity to prove Boyle's second law: work expands to fill the amount of (newfound) time one has to complete it.

Sincerely,
Alex

Megh's First Week (of X)

Dinner at Olimpia was delicious but bizarre.

Alex: “Can you please tell me what is on the menu?”
Waiter: “No.”
Susan: “Are you serving goose?”
Waiter: “No.”
(The first course was foie gras.)


Boston hosts its annual marathon this weekend; Budapest hosts its annual throw-out-your-trash-on-the-street-day. Unfortunately, the gypsies got to the good stuff before we did.


Unable to fight the forces of the Icelandic eruption, DJ 279 was stuck in London and the Urban Tribe dance party canceled.


Luckily, Szimpla Kert is as dependable as Shy Ronnie is shy.


Megh & Sus.


After this, I walked down Frat Row to pound a cutter at Bonesgate.


Megh upon realizing he may never be leaving Budapest.


No matter the view from the Erzsébet Bridge, Budapest is no New Hampshire.

The Truth (and not Paul Pierce)

Susan is CORRECT (she texted in her response)! Despite his Spartan, Franz Joseph-like sleeping habits, Megh does enjoy the decadence of Nougat Bits.

2 Truths & A Lie

We need to make this blog interactive or else it is won’t last much longer. Let’s play a game.

Who can spot the lie?

1. Megh does not share my well documented love for Nougat Bits. This has caused me to question his taste buds, judgment, and humanity in general.


2. There is a stack of jars next to the bathroom sink at work. Under closer inspection, I discovered they are filled with urine.

3. The plethora of one-way streets makes Budapest difficult to navigate. Last night I realized the one-way street next to my apartment had changed directions since the morning. I realized this while driving down it.

Ode To Meghers

In addition to all of the goodness that comes with Megh visiting this week...


I came home to a perfectly made couch-bed.

Any why yes, Megh did lovingly fold my baby blanket. Which I need for warmth. And love.

Sex In Abu Dhabi

Maybe they too meant to go to Dubai but actually booked tickets for Abu Dhabi.

5 Biggest Travel Mistakes (So Far)

You would think I would be good at traveling given I do it a lot. Au contraire.

5. Codi and I running on the Las Vegas Strip while on vacation.

Fat guys drinking mile-high margaritas at 10 AM and heckling us: "Why are you running?!"
Codi: "Because we don't want to look like you!"




(Ironic, eh?)

4. Camping. Every time.


3. Booking a ticket to Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai.


2. Arriving at the gate one hour early and proceeding to miss my plane while discussing a coworker's love for corn nuts.


(Reenactment one year earlier at Bowery Bar; a pose otherwise known as the Jason-Kane-Crossing-The-Delaware stance.)

1. Alyssa and I packing our paper tickets in our (checked) luggage while flying home from Barcelona. We had to buy new tickets from Heathrow to Boston for the exact same seats.


QED - I am lucky I get to work each morning.

And...I'm Done Rambling About Sarajevo

Contrary to what the below post may have indicated, I assuaged my guilt for knowing so little about the city by eating and drinking my face off.

But first I checked my gat at the mosque.


Sarajevo rightfully deserves its nickname "Little Istanbul." Although Affans and Omar were not there to show us around the city, Amitabh and I met two Bosnian-Canadians who showed us their favorite cafes/restaurants/sisha joints.

I'm moving here: doner kabobs, baklava, pite, sahlep
What the hell did I do to myself?: cevapi


The correct way to drink Turkish coffee is to slurp; the mixture of air and coffee should form an "aromatic cushion" within your mouth, adding more texture and smell to the drinking process.

Or you could use the coffee as a dipping vehicle for Turkish delite.


Although UN forces tried to supply the city with food during the war, there were severe shortages. Out of desperation, the inhabitants of Sarajevo dug a 1 km tunnel from a garage in the city to a house outside of JNA control, where they could receive supplies from other cities in Bosnia.

This 1 meter x 1 meter tunnel not only transported food and supplies to civilians but also all of the weapons used by the Bosnian "army" during the war.

Seriously?


Seriously.


A lot of stuff went underground during the war; Sarajevo even held the annual Miss Sarajevo contest in a hotel basement.


Not so much Miss Sarajevo as Miss I'm-Gonna-Imbibe-That-Homemade-Wine.

Mama Boch Is Famous!

Let's just say yesterday's conference call marathon resulted in some googling of family members/friends/people whom I stalk.

Sarajevo 101

Prior to this weekend, the only things I knew about Sarajevo were from reading Zlata’s Diary courtesy of the Kerr Elementary School book fair and watching archival footage of the 1984 Olympics on NBC.

I cannot imagine anyone knowing less about the history of Sarajevo than I did as of last Friday, but just in case, here is a quick primer.

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (one country, two “states”). Before gaining independence, BiH was one of the six federations, along with Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia, comprising the former Yugoslavia. The most ethnically diverse state, Sarajevo was home to Bosniaks (Muslim), Serbs (Orthodox), and Croats (Catholic).


Following the fall of communism, Slobodan Milošević consolidated power within Serbia and its capital, Belgrade. This contributed to Slovenia, the wealthiest state, declaring independence in 1991. Croatia did the same later that year.

Although Milošević and the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) waged war on Croatia, BiH thought it would be safe given its large Serbian population and proclaimed independence on March 3, 1992.

BiH fatally underestimated Milošević’s desire to keep Yugoslavia united and, by April, the JNA had completely surrounded and blockaded Sarajevo, located in a valley. Thus began the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.


The Sarajevo makeshift “army” had no weapons and was no match for the JNA. However, as our tour guide Ellie explained, Sarajevoans believed they would be killed if they surrendered so continued to defend the city out of desperation. Throughout the three year siege, more than two million artillery shells hit the city, and 11,500 civilians died. UNICEF estimates that 40% of the 80,000 children in the city were directly shot at by snipers and 39% saw at least one family member killed.

The Holiday Inn, built for the Olympics and located along Sniper Alley, was the one relatively secure hotel during the war.


Not wanting to get involved in what they incorrectly believed was a civil war, the United Nations finally issued an ultimatum for Serb force to withdraw from Sarajevo in late 1995. Shortly thereafter, Bill Clinton helped negotiate the Dayton Agreement, effectively ending the warfare. It is estimated 200,000 people (out of an initial population of 4 million) died in BiH as a direct result of the war.


TBC (I promise I did more than wander around Sarajevo paraphrasing Wikipedia).