Neighborhood Watch

Our neighborhood is about 40 to 50 years old. Many of our neighbors have lived here for that long. I think of the neighborhood as being a solid, blue-collar area where people walk their dogs, drink beer and root for the Bears. Most people have 2 cars and well kept lawns. Yes, there are a few McMansions around, but we don’t know those people and generally think poorly of them for their choice in large, ugly housing.

no cute dogs live here 

During the first week in our house, we met several neighbors and attended a backyard barbecue. It was an easy, relaxed atmosphere and English was the spoken language which was so great after 9 years of barely understanding what was being discussed around me. There was some discussion as to which baseball team to root for, but mostly I was riveted by the tale of UFOs, lost time, and alien abduction that one of our neighbors had experienced. The description was highly detailed and relayed in such a casual manner that you simply had to believe that it was all true. As you well know, the Chicago area is a hot spot for UFO activity and so I expect that my saucer people experience should not be too far away.

I want to believe...in alien baseball

Most of our neighbors are quite nice and seem to get along with each other. But just like in high school or at the office, there is always the pariah. In our neighborhood there is the house where the "kid" (as the 45 or so year old guy is known locally) simply sits outside with his pals and drinks. All day. Everyday. Sometimes they play music. Sometimes they throw firecrackers for no particular reason. It does make for often compelling window watching since the police have been there at least 3 times and there have been 2 ambulance parties in the last month. It is nothing exciting like Kung Fu fights or UFO abductions. Normally, one of the gentlemen simply falls down/passes out in the bushes and cannot get up. It has just become part of our suburban lives.

a Kung Fu alien fight would be spectacular

This is the Suburban Mailbox!

After just 3 months, I am fully back into the swing of American life. We have embraced the suburbs and I believe the suburbs are embracing us back. We have our house, garage, patch of backyard, fantastic HHR, fence, patio, sidewalk lights, cats, dog, giant TV, high speed internet, outdoor grill, neighbors and a mailbox that is just a little bit tilted to one side.

Last week was spirit week here in Darien, IL. There were lots of days where the kids went to school in pajamas and as super heroes or celebrities. Kimeko did indeed dress up everyday. Sterling mostly went as someone playing himself as a character in a remake of an old show . There was a parade with cheerleaders and marching band and the Homecoming Queen waving like some kind of minor royal, maybe a duchess or something. It was fun. There really is not the equivalent sense of school community in Germany and it was great to be a part of it again. 

We did go to the big homecoming game in which our local team did not win. But the stadium was full and it was a brutal reminder to me as to just how loud hundreds of teenagers can be when grouped into relatively small areas. Kimeko had a great time although she did not watch one second of the game. Sterling perhaps will play on the team next year...they could certainly use the help and Sterling can catch a football. Also, the marching band was fantastic. Worth the admission totally.

multiply by 100 and add copious screaming

The Homecoming Dance was on Saturday night. Jenn ferried Kimeko and her friends around while Sterling and I played video games. Watching Kimeko get ready gave me visions of bridezilla. Scarier than Halloween...

Here is what happened

yep, it's been a while. Here is what happened:

In 2001 we were living in the whimsical small town of Newport, NH. With the lovely town green, the Rite-Aid, the Dunkin’ Donuts and the bowling alley, the town had much to offer. We decided to move to Munich, Germany since the opportunity was presented and we were eager to start spending the exciting new Euro which was about to be introduced. Pretty, colored money made us feel like wealthy colonists moving back to the old country. There may have been other reasons as well, but that was 9 years ago so I can’t really remember.

 our life in 2001...

During our time in Germany our children grew from small, cute kids to big, wonderful, bilingual teenagers. We visited many countries. We ate many pigs cooked many different ways. We shopped at Ikea and Aldi. We made friends with tall Germans and even taller Swedes. We drove an Opel. We adopted 2 cats. We watched soccer, both in the stadium and on TV. We drank some good beer. We had many visitors from the USA. We ate fondue and raclette. I played in some bands. Jenn & kimeko danced. Sterling and I killed virtual zombies. I watched real football at weird times. We rode public transportation. It was a good time.

 

delicious...

Now we are in Darien, IL. It is close to Chicago. Sometimes I say we live in Chicago, just because it is easier than explaining where Darien is. But the “real” Chicago people who live in the city always freak out and make sure that I understand that the suburbs are not Chicago. Yeah, I get it. Take it easy freaks. We are happy to be back. At the moment, I do not miss anything about Germany, but I am sure that will change over time. I am too busy shopping and eating KFC to think about it. The rest of the family misses the old country in different ways, but it is good to be home.

close to Darien IL 

So 8 years 10 months is over. I will continue to write this blog…topics to be determined. I am not sure what the title will be either. Come back next week

May the Wings of Liberty Never Lose a Feather (part 1)

Well, we have made it to the USA! 

All things considered, the move went remarkably smoothly. We flew on 15 June 2010 and although the flight was named “Lufthansa”, it was actually a United flight. So a poor selection of movies and no free alcohol for our otherwise uneventful 9 hours in the sky. No one even stood up to scream, “We’re all gonna die!” in German, so you know, uneventful.

 

Not United Airlines

We were collected from O’Hare by Michi who was kind enough to volunteer  to drive us around in his typical cheerful way. I was able to get a mobile phone from the office immediately which was great since we were almost 24 hours without a phone. That is not how things work in 2010 as you know. It was strange not being in immediate contact with anyone and not at all liberating as the hippies like to proclaim. 

my new phone

After Jenn and the kids were dropped at the hotel, Michi drove me to pick up my amazing HHR which was waiting for me like a dark gray superhero chariot. It looked even better than I imagined and to drive it off the lot 3 hours after arriving in the country after 9 years of living abroad is the feeling that every communist longs for in his secret capitalist heart.

Since Jenn and the kids had never actually seen the house that we were scheduled to purchase the next day, we did a drive by before dinner. The house looked great and our first hours back in the USA were capped by an evening meal at Chipotle’s discussing who would get which room and where I could put amplifiers and drum kits. By 2pm the next day we were in our new house having our first non-German beer in some time in our awesome bar in the family room. The American Dream indeed...

up next...2000 miles of driving!

Last dispatch from Germany

So this is it...5 days until we leave Munich and arrive in Chicago. As it might be for most anyone moving a family of six (4 humans + 2 cats), it has been pretty hectic the last week or so. The cats really are not helping all that much as it has been quite hot and they spend most of their days dozing in various spots throughout the rapidly emptying house. They seem pleased with their mobile palaces and actually choose to hang out in them from time to time. Of course, they will hate them after 24 hours of travel, but they have not helped with the packing so this is what they get.

The cats will be flying in this bird

The most surprising thing is the amount of paper that we have accumulated. Not boxes or books (although we have a lot of those as well) but sheets of  paper. Where did it all come from? Why do we have it? Really....Our house was simply filled with paper? I made a special trip to the dump today just to get rid of  the mountains of paper (Thanks Henrik!). Paper.

paper!!!

98% of our stuff is now packed and in one of the 3 shipping crates. The remainder of our furniture and appliances will be gone on Saturday leaving us with 2 more nights with 1 mattress for the 6 of us. First one to bed gets the mattress so I will be turning in at about 17:00 on the weekend. I will save room for Catboy. Our belongings will be shipped directly to our new house in Darien, IL. Everything is finally set and we will close on 16 June 2010. Hooray! The Illuminati has been watching our every move and have set up spy satellite over our house...spy view of the Neil house


We will fly in on the 15th, buy a fabulous HHR, stay in a hotel and then move into our new house the next day. On the 17th we will begin driving to NH and CT. Driving will be a pleasure after 6 months of forced public transportation. The kids are looking forward to 15 hours of death metal after staying one night in their new home. We are looking forward to seeing  family and old friends. The next post will be from the USA!

actually I will write the next post from my new lawn mower

a time for stuff to happen...

Since my last post, many things have happened:

• I traveled to Chicago to look at houses. I looked at 16 houses in 2 days. Nearly every house that Jenn and I reviewed until the internet itself begged us to stop was nothing like its real life counterpart. 
• The crappy houses removed themselves from our carefully researched list until I was left with 2 choices.
• I videotaped the houses and uploaded them to YouTube so Jenn and the kids could "see" them. Both great houses...very different but filled with possibility. 
• The YouTube login/password process tried to get me to smash my computer. It failed.
• I drove around a lot in an HHR. I really like this car and decided to buy one since we need a car anyways. 
• Every single person that I told of my auto buying prowess questioned my sanity and even my very humanity. The Chevrolet HHR Facebook page agrees with me.

•  We made an offer on one of the houses. It was accepted. We celebrated. I flew back to Germany. We completed all the paper work. Everything was super cool until the house appraised for much, much, much, much less than we agreed to pay. The deal collapsed like the economy in Greece.
• JaMarcus Russell was finally cut by the Oakland Raiders. Hallelujah!
• We made an offer on the other house. It was accepted. We are cautiously optimistic. The appraisal is not yet done, so we are still waiting for the word. No pictures until the deal is set in concrete.
• We continue to pack. One of the crates is now full. About 30% complete

The kids have finished school for the year. They seem happy about that. I have 3 more days of work in Germany. We will be flying in just over 3 weeks. The house had better be ready!

Helicopters and home layouts

It has been a while since I last wrote something. In that time:

• I sold my road bicycle. I guess my triathlon days are officially over. I have not ridden that bike in about 2 years and the famous drummer that I sold it to has already become a dominating biking force around Munich
• Jenn and I have altered our "top ten houses we want to buy" list about 20 times. We have also had 8 different "favorite house of the day" choices in the last 2 weeks. When it comes to obsessively reviewing houses on the internet, we have no peers. My favorite today is "covered deck". It probably will not be my favorite tomorrow
• I packed another box. That makes 5 now
• We wrapped our winter clothes in plastic bundles
• I went snowboarding for the first time in 8 years and dislocated my left shoulder

Yep, first time attempting a winter sport since we have lived in Munich and I injure myself. It was really just a simple fall, but my arm was in the wrong place and my shoulder popped. After 1 failed attempt to put it back in on the mountain, I took my first helicopter ride to the hospital where they put it back in to my immediate relief. The relief was like being in a car for a 6 hour trip while you drink 8 German beers. When you finally get out and pee, the relief is profound. Just add pain to the mix.

Many people asked me later how the helicopter ride was. I have no idea. It was short and very painful. I imagine it will be different if I ever take a helicopter ride around Hawaii, but my experience for now is short and painful.

I guess I was inside one of these

I will be in Chicago next week with the goal of buying a house. It will be interesting to visit a structure that I can actually go in and see in real life. Our decisions up to now have only been based on photos (and people often take astonishingly bad photos of the house they are trying to sell...why a close up of the toilet??), views from Google Maps & Street View, and views from Bing. Since we are trying to figure out home layouts from photos and map views we sometimes get confused and I am mildly worried that the houses that I have constructed in my head will look nothing like the real thing.

lots of open space in this house!

Once I get back from Chicago, we will be in the stretch run and the time will go quickly. We are excited for the move and to be in a new place full of possibility. The cats seem pretty relaxed about the whole thing even though I frequently tell Catboy that he will need to live in a box for a day. I think he will love Chicago.

Catboy's moving crate