Creative Marketing

I used to work for a “Creative” Marketing agency, but we never produced anything as creative as this.

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German Jerry Springer

I should have bought a SlingBox.

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Eight hours in Business Class is like four hours in Coach.

Like most people without money to burn, I normally fly coach. The last time I flew Business or First was during a flight to Chicago when I was interviewing with Citadel. During trip from O’hare to Munich, I was reminded of how much better First/Business is than Coach.

Even before departing, Business Class ticket holders are reminded of how special they are with preferred boarding and champagne before takeoff. Once in the air, I was treated to my own entertainment system, a fully reclinable seat, and a tasty beverage: Warsteiner. After finishing my beer, or bier (that’s the only German I know), I was offered a warm towel to refresh. Next came dinner.

Dinner is where Coach is thoroughly outdone. For appetizers, I was torn between Pistachio Encrusted Shrimp and Smoked Duck Breast with Sweet Corn Flan and Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette; I chose the latter. Dinner was Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Celeriac Puree with Sweet Pea and Fava Bean Jus with a glass of Chardonnay to wash it down. I had a choice of various desserts, after dinner, but was too full to enjoy them, so I passed. I rarely get much sleep in-flight but after this much food and beverage I slept much better.

The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. I tried to sleep as much as possible since I knew I would be landing at 6am, Munich time, and my internal clock would be wrecked; however, I really didn’t accomplish my goal. My eyes may have been closed but I was only half asleep. It’s now ~9am here and I’m waiting unil my room is ready, which I’m told is at 10am.

The hotel seems nice but they are in serious need of a nutritionist. Here’s a picture of my breakfast. And believe it or not, I sampled only a couple of the sausage offerings!

Do the right thing

Just in time for the Presidential Election. I’m getting behind any candidate that is willing to enforce the Second Amendment correctly.

Have webcam – Will travel

The next month should be interesting and likely exhausting. Tomorrow, Stacy and I are driving five hours, from Chicago to Essexville, MI, to spend Thanksgiving with her family. I’ve made this trip once before and it wasn’t fun. I just pray the weather cooperates, I really don’t feel like turning an already long trip into a slow going nightmare.

After returning from Michigan on Friday, I leave for Unterhaching, Germany on Monday. Unfortunately, I’m not there for pleasure but fortunately Wrigley is footing the bill. The team I work on is global with two members in Chicago, one in Unterhaching, and finally one in Guangzhou, China. I’ll be in Germany for nearly two weeks which should leave me a good amount of time to enjoy Munich. Notice I say Munich and not Unterhaching. According to those that have been there, “the sidewalks roll up at night.” I suspect Unterhaching is to Munich as Canby is to Portland. Since calls will be expensive while I’m overseas, I decided to revisit Skype.

Previously, I had no use for Skype and only used it to experiment with VoIP. But during my trip, I plan to use Skype to make international calls back home and also to video chat. I have a couple webcams and have been testing the voice and video quality. While not perfect, the video quality is acceptable and the audio is excellent. Feel free to Skype Me [berningf AT gmail DOT com] if you see me online. The Skype software will allow you to see and hear me but you’ll need a headset and/or webcam to share in the fun.

Restaurants named after me.

It seems as though everytime Liz travels outside of Chicago, she happens upon a restaurant bearing my name. It’s a little frightening how relevant both of these pictures are. The latter one was taken less than a month after I left closerlook. Weird, huh?