Hump Day 4…..It Won’t Stop Raining!
Man, Switzerland is beautiful but it seems to rain A LOT here. Drat.
Anyway, after a lovely weekend with family in Paris, it was time for my first duty travel! The field trip turned out really interesting. I was able to meet up with Charlie at the train station in Paris and headed up to a Biobanque in Amiens. Amiens is quite a small town just North of Paris. The streets are lined with neat red brick row houses and the town is built around a very interesting looking tower (shown below). Apparently, Amiens was leveled towards the end of the war and the architect who replanned the city wanted to use what appeared to be a Stalin inspired architecture… luckily, the city ran out of money and only the center of the town looks like that. Charlie and I spent the day at the Biobanque checking out the facilities and doing all that work stuff. The people in lab coats, pipettes, centrifuges, etc. was sooo cool. It kind of reminded me of doing the gel electrophoresis in high school… so exciting. I’m such a nerd. But really, it was a great experience.
After all that fun, Charlie and I made our way back to the train station to head back to Paris… it was a bit funny at the train station… we looked like kids in a candy store when the trains came by. Our eyes wide open and smiling ear to ear… they came by so fast! It was a little exhilarating… heh heh. Ok, so I’m REALLY a dork. Psh. Anywho, the ride back went smooth and we had an “official” pick up with a little sign :).
Tuesday was ok. Went to work as normal… but it was a deep thought day. I went to lunch with some people and came to the conclusion that I am in VERY weird place right now. I don’t mean that Geneva is weird … I mean my mindset is just way off in space. I posted earlier that I had been slapped with a “Happy Stick” and can’t help but be content with what I have, where I am, who I am… At the same time though, I have a strange feeling. Like a vortex or something… time seems to be passing by so quickly yet it also feels slow. I mean, the day is finished before I know it but I don’t find myself wishing there were more hours in a day. I feel like I’m working hard at work but I don’t feel stressed or exhausted. Is my state of contentment causing me to stand still and smell the roses while the rest of the world passes me by? Have I lost my drive?
I feel like I’m still driven but my destination has changed to one that doesn’t conform with society. The lunch today made me remember the competition and pressure to “succeed” while going through post secondary… and yes, I think it was an important part of my life. I actually think I learned more about failure than success at University… I mean, I finished but the journey was a ride. K, I’m straying off into space again…
My point is, people always say you have to be able to keep up with the fast paced world to be “successful”… but if one can find a career that fulfils their desire, for example, to change the world, and doesn’t have a high position or high pay, are they still successful? I think if you go home and mope about it, then that’s not success but if you go home to a happy family and don’t complain about work, then you are more successful the some of the richest people in the world. With that said, it has now dawned on me that I don’t have a fancy degree, I don’t have a high paying job, I don’t have a family to come home to… yet, I am frickin’ happy…. haha. Man, this blog entry was all over the place… random thoughts diarrhea… sorry bout that!
ANYWAY… last night, I tried to socialize a bit and went out for fondue with some people from work. It was a great time but man, Switzerland is expensive… I think I’ll stick with oatmeal, peanuts, and tuna… haha. I will have to admit the fondue here is MUCH better than ANY fondue in Edmonton… so the experience was worth it… and I am starting to feel a little less like an outsider.
Yadayadayada… now another hump day has passed… and I find myself just catching up with my thoughts and what not. Still working on setting up a website to put my random thoughts on.. will keep you posted…. if you’re still reading. Ciao Ciao.
Tags: Europe
cheng.ev
July 4th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Stop daydreaming and get back to work.