Budapest Summer Flying

Ferihegy international airport announced new flights for the summer schedule starting this Sunday. I am only hightlighting the budget airlines here, not the mainstream ones. EuroAir, Iberworld and Scandinavian Airlines are expected to launch new flights, but the key word here is 'expected'. Norwegian Air is expanding its range now including flights from Budapest to Copenhagen and Stockholm as new destinations. WizzAir's will now grace Budapest with flights to Madrid and Naples, while at the same time increasing its flights between Budapest and London's Luton. At one point, there were 34 budget airlines flying in and out of Budapest. Some of the budgets went down in history as financial calamities, while others just pulled Budapest from their schedule. The problem here is that although many want to come from points A, B, or C, the planes going back to points A, B, and C are flying half empty. This is not an efficient way to run an airline. In the olden days, SkyEurope announced a summer schedule and then canceled flights. Now, they only fly from here to Trieste, Italy. Recommended, but how often does anyone want to go to Trieste when there is a big world out there? I tried all of the 'recommended' budget airline search engines: Skyscanner, Air Ninja, Air Traffic.EU, and others for a reasonable flight from here to Lithuania. All searches pointed to flyLAL Airlines, but once I arrived on their site, I was greeted with "We regret to inform you that flyLAL – Lithuanian Airlines ceased its operations from 17th of January, 2009." Now I am working on dumping all of my United Airlines miles. All of the frequent flyer newsletters say the miles are at risk due to the airlines financial status. Being all of the airlines are in the same shape, no one may jump in and rescue the United miles like airlines have done in the past. Africa, here we come, I hope.

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Hungarian Birthdays

The kiddies in my Journalism minor had their Creative Writing class today. I am forever impressed with the undeveloped talent that is taking shape as the semester continues. At the end of the class, one of the students, had brought a cake to share, but had not said a thing. When another student asked why she was carrying around a cake, she said it was her birthday. We gathered in my office, sang Happy Birthday, and shared the cake. I was a little surprised as I have been told numerous times that birthday celebrations are usually for families and close friends. When I mentioned it to her, she said she felt our group was so tight, she wanted to include all of us. I have been working on finding these students internships with English media for next semester. The Budapest Times may be interested, but wanted some of their writing samples. In their Blogging class tomorrow, I will have them proofread their blogs and then send the link to the editor for review. My fingers are crossed.

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Who Hath Come A Knock'in?

It is one thing to have old acquaintances contact you out of the blue by e-mail, but when they show up at your door, that is down right spooky. Well, in this case, not so spooky, we had warning, but still... A nurse I had worked with in my past life sent an e-mail that she and her husband were cruising the Danube with a stop over in Budapest. They wanted to get together and take us out for dinner. The arrangement was to meet at our place, thinking they would like to see it, which they did. After wine and some appetizers, we ventured off to one of our favorites, Ko Leves (minus the Hungarian accent marks). It means Stone Soup, if you are familiar with the tale for children. Betty is a dear and good for a laugh. Her husband, Keith was great also. The evening was better than I had anticipated, especially when I realized we were meeting on a Monday, not a Sunday. As much as we are socially deprived, I resist evening activity on nights before a school day the next morning. Betty had not known we ran a B and B, nor did was she aware that I wrote the Frommer's guide and chapters to two other Frommer's books. Her excitement was refreshing. Dinner was lovely as usual. Then we asked for the bill came. Just out of courtesy, I slipped Ron a 10,000 Huf note as I excused myself for the restroom. When I returned, they were determining who owed what. How did my courteous behavior spiral into 'sure you can pay your own dinner'? The moral of the story is when somone asks you out to dinner, do not share with them your five week vacation in Australia, the fact you just remodeled your kitchen, you are retiling your entry hallway, or that you have written travel guides. There is something in those words that translate into 'you must be able to buy your own dinner. Not being one to hold a grudge, well at least not this time, we did walk them back to their ship. What really enlightened me was the tone of voice they used when they said "We noticed your Obama pins on your jacket." Earlier conversation pointed to their dissatisfaction with the economy, but who knew our political affiliation would cost us a dinner. The next time we are 'invited' out to dinner by suspected Republicans, I want the offer in a contract first.

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Scam Alert

It is too late for my father, who is now in debt to the tune of $170,000, but others may benefit from this information. Much of the money he is in debt for is due to his open heart. He opened his heart to a welfare mother and her children back in 2000. She had run the gambit and bled dry every social service agency in a three county area. She found my father because he was volunteering with the local St. Vincent de Paul Society. Pleading her case, he could not see her go homeless with two young children and allowed them to move in temporarily. Ron and I met her when we first left the country and went to see my father to say good-bye. We did not know a thing until we arrived on his doorstep. We tried doing an intervention with the St. Vincent Society, but he would hear nothing of it. Stories of her infiltration into his life are at the beginng of this blog, in the 2001 archives. This lasted for about seven years. Each time he had to go to the hospital, which was often, she made herself at home using his credit cards. One lesson my parents drummed into us was to maintain your credit rating. Ironically, this was my father's downfall. His excellent credit rating meant above average spending limits. Once he discovered the theft, he refused to take any action other than obtain a confession from his live-thief with a lame promise never to do it again. My brother and I warned, begged, pleaded, and even cut ourselves off from him and them, erroneously thinking that he would want us more than her. He received no secondary gains from sharing his home with her. He cooked for her children while she partied with an assortment of boyfriends, he made sure the kids made it to school when she was too 'tired' to get up and be a mother. He made his bedroom in the dining room, so she and each of the children could have their own rooms. It was not until late 2008 that he finally saw the light and sent her packing. Having no where else to go, her brother who is a police captain, sent her train tickets to TN, though reluctantly. Her brother and father knew the cloth from which she was cut; they did not want much to do with her either. Just when the coast was clear, the Jamaicans set in with their phone scam. After doing a Google search, there are numerous reports, complaints, warnings, and confessions. Yet, the legal system is powerless being they are offshore. Here is a link to an AARP newsletter from 2008. It most likely will not make an ounce of difference with stubborn people, but it is worth trying. Scam Alert Caribbean Calls—A Double Whammy http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/scamalert/articles/scam_alert_caribbean_calls_a_double_whammy.html

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Tweet, Twitter

The only reason I signed up for an account with Twitter is because someone on my professional travel writer's group named it as one of his top five techno resources. Thinking I was missing out on something great, I joined. I have not tweeted yet. Immediately after the registration process was over, I had second thoughts about it. Even Facebook can be harassing with the number of e-mail notices it sends. Yes, I know I can turn them off, but if I did, I would never remember to check it. The garden for saving the rain forest is my hook. It is the only garden I can keep thriving. I came across this video slashing Twitter. It is funny, but as Freud said there are many truths said in jest. Enjoy!

"Twouble with Twitter" sous-titré Uploaded by LePostfr

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Share

I was finally able to get the "Share" button to work after each post. If you read a post you want to share or e-mail, you can click on the box and options will pop up. If you would like to share or e-mail the entire blog, you can use the "Share" button on the right hand side.

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Scams - Not Only E-Mail Variety

This elderly parent thing has really turned things upside down. Not only are my brother and I having to parent our father, but my brother who is seven and a half years younger than I, is having to take the lead. The pyramid is balancing on the pinnacle, rather than the base. It was only a few months ago that I learned from my phone conversation with my father that he was being scammed by phone. He slipped one day, by telling me he was coming into a large amount of money, planned to pay off all of his debts, refurbish the house, and install new wall-to-wall carpeting. I believe I have addressed this issue here before, but it was not until now that I found out the severity of the situation. This had been going on for months. Hence, the checks we have been sending him to help pay his gas and electric bills, chip away at his credit card debt, has been going to Jamaica. We do not know anyone in Jamaica and we especially do not want to support anyone in Jamaica at this point in time. Our intent was to aid my father, not strangers with a funny accent. My brother shared that he thought he had nipped this whole thing in the bud, but months later discovered my father was sneaking behind his back like an untrustworthy teenager and continuing to share his bank details. This forced the child brigade to shut down dad's checking account and reopen it with new account numbers, which I am not even sure he shared with my father. I would not blame him if he did not. He even bought an answering machine so my father would not have to answer the phone when the scammers called. He could monitor his calls. When I called and spoke to the machine, he told me it was because he could not lock his knee in time to stand steady to grab the phone. The machine did not stop the overseas communications though. Once he knew who was calling, he still picked up the phone, whether it was a familiar voice or a Caribbean accent. Sending money may have been a way to appease my guilt over not being there to assist, but in this day and age, who can afford to rip up a life that has been deeply rooted, watered, and nurtured. This is not the life plan I had mapped out, but circumstances created something that exceeded my expectations and I am grateful. If sending a check is my only way to assist, then at least I am thankful we are able to do it. It seems to me though, the Jamaicans should care for their own and leave my father out of this. My brother checked into reporting it to the NJ Attorney General or local authorities. No one seems to have any authority considering the country. They will willing take the report, but there are no teeth to take a bite out of the crime.

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Adversity, Bringing Relatives Together

There is nothing like adversity to bring people together. Until my father was hospitalized, I had not heard from my brother for a couple of years. Suddenly, after I made the inquiries, my brother is now like a long lost pen-pal. Each couple of days or sometime a couple of times a day, I receive e-mails keeping me in the loop of what is happening. In terms of my father's progress, there is not much to brag about. He had not made any. He still has the left sided weakness, not able to use his left arm or bear weight on the left leg. Sometime during the calendar, he was transferred from the hospital to a rehab center, but that information never surfaced in my mail. It seemed to me beyond extraordinary that they would have keep him in acute care for so long, but the reality makes more sense. With daily physical therapy, he is not making progress. This does not bode well for his future, though he is mentally alert and reportedly making corny jokes with the staff. The $52,000 question of the moment is what to do about Dad? Both my brother and his wife work out of necessity. Dad is not able to be independent at home, nor would he be if he went to live with my brother. Medicare and Medicaid are not going to pay for daily nursing care. They are not going to cover a nurses aid other than a couple times a week, but only if he continues to get Physical Therapy at home. He no longer has skilled nursing needs. Then there is his house. What do we do with that? With the poor choices he had made in a roommate, he no longer has a life savings, no longer has equity in his house, no longer has stocks and bonds tucked away for his retirement. What he does have is a mortgage that is grandiose when I remember that they paid $112,000 for the house way back when. He also has enough credit card debt to support a small island. It makes me want to start cutting up my plastic right now. Questions that are more difficult to wrestle with are what is my role being not only so far away, but not even in the same continent as they are? Realistically, I don't see that my role would have been much different if I were still living in CA. I could offer to call the rehab hospital social worker or his financial adviser; it is just a matter of a time difference regardless of where I live. However the problem is, I do not have privy to the information they may need to assist us further. That really puts a fly in the ointment, a wrench in the works, it really is a pain for my brother who does have easier access, thus making him among the chosen.

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Thank you, Thank you!

It is so heartwarming when I post something and someone comes to my rescue. That is the case with the post on the social networking links. Divya Sai sent this note for which I am grateful. I will play around with it on one of the blogs I set up for my university classes until I get it down and then will migrate it to this blog. Thank you Divya!! Hi Ryan, You can place the images in any order as you want, the error means that the the div tag has not been closed, so if the code is like this you just have to put this at the end of whatever code you are using for stumble button: This closes the div tag.

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Share?

I have tried all of the 'helpful' sites I could find to add the social networking icons to my post. It seems that my html code does not have the requisite parts where I am supposed to be adding the code. In the meanwhile, I have added a Share icon to the right side. This however, will share the whole blog. Not that I mind if anyone chooses to do that, but so response I have received is that certain posts have been copied and pasted to friends. I was hoping to make this a bit easier. Quitting is not on my list of "Things To Do", so stay tuned.

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WAMP About

I was just putting the dates for the WAMP fairs on our online calendar and thought they should be included here also. If you are in the city on one of these dates, you would do yourself a favor to visit if only to browse. What does WAMP mean? Beats me. What I do know is that each month this organization, which started in 2006, holds a monthly fair of Hungarian designers and their products. The range is from clothing to lighting fixtures with lots of the in-between categories included. In order to join WAMP, potential members have their work judged by their peers, before being accepted into the organization. WAMP was started by three Hungarian women with backgrounds in fashion design, teaching visual culture in a university, and international relations. Some fairs will include a table or two of "Made in China" products, but they are few and as noticeable as a giant zit on your grandmother's forehead. Peek at their goods if you like, or just pass them by for the really good stuff. Have fun! Erzsébet square outdoor dates - The old bus station April 19th May 24th June 14th July 12th August 16th September 13th In October, they move indoors. While at Erzsébet square, you will notice stairs going down to the Gödör Club. Normally, this a cafe, but it transforms for the fair. October 11th November 15th December 6th December 13th December 20th

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Facebook Warning

This is rich, but not funny. I was trying to post this warning and Blogger locked me out of my account due to potential harm. So many of us are now using 'social tools' such as Facebook. Initially, I joined thinking it would create a window of opportunity to communicate with my nephews, but instead, it has opened a world of 'friends', some of whom I don't even know. Recently, I have been getting dozens, really dozens of e-mails that look suspicious, but have Facebook in the subject line. Being overly protective of my computer and data, I proceed like a lion stalking its prey. Here is what I came across today at http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2009/03/more_facebook_malware.php. Interestingly enough, when I tried posting the article here, Google would not allow it stating it looked like malware. Guess you will have to follow the link for yourself.

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Modern Ballet Sampler

This is a video of the National Hungarian Ballet Company performing Metamorphoses Nocturnes, not a Balanchine piece, but a modern one nevertheless to give you a taste of modern ballet movements.

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Ballet - Tippy Toes

Last night we went to the opening of the Spring Festival to see the Hungarian National Ballet Company performed "Balanchine". For those who are not in the know, Balanchine was a choreographer, born in Russia, but made his mark in dance while living in the US. He was the co-founder of the New York City Ballet. Michael the CEU student we have come to know, joined us. His pieces are modern interpretations of classical music transforming classical ballet movements into a contemporary piece. The Hungarian National Ballet Company performers are quite extraordinary. The first two pieces were traditional Balanchine pieces with the orchestra only consisting of cellos and violins. Watching their movements, I am always in awe. When you have a difficult time remembering left foot, right foot, left foot...it is beyond my scope of imagining how they remember all of their movements. Then I start daydreaming wondering if they are able to fully multitask. As they are doing an Arabesque or Batterie, are they also thinking, "Gosh, I wonder if I remembered to turn off the coffeepot." or "What am I going to fix for dinner tomorrow night. I am so bored with cooking." Personally, I never understood the point of the batterie. It looks like a seal impression. The third piece after the second intermission was a bit more flashy using George Gershwin's show tunes as musical accompaniments and a full orchestra. Not being a musical person, it was surprising when I realized how much more I enjoyed seeing the pit full of instruments with wood, brass, and steel. We had excellent left side seats in the balcony with the railing directly in front of us. Leg room was designed for the smaller than average modern person, but with the railing to lean on, it was possible to tuck our legs under the seat to bypass permanent scarring of the kneecaps. Total price of the tickets for the three of us, was $45.00. In some cities now, $15. is close to the price of a movie ticket and a small popcorn.

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Such a Busy Day

It is with great pleasure that I report that the kitchen is finally 100% completely remodeled. The doors that were without glass fronts have now been replaced with the matching doors of their neighbors. Six doors were supposed to have glass fronts, but the contractor misunderstood. He only installed two doors with sections for glass, making it look ludicrous. It was cheaper all around to replace the two with solid solid doors rather than four more with glass. It looks great. He also added matching floor boards at the bottom, and on the sides that show, so they are no longer anemic white. I love the granite looking sink. It is so much easier to keep clean. The stove is a marvel. We also had 14 boxes of tile delivered. In the next month or so, between guests coming and going, we will have the tiles replaced in the hallway to match the kitchen. Each little change makes this more and more our own, evicting the ghosts of tenants past.

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On the Restaurant Front

I just read an article that is predicting 30% of Hungary's restaurants are in danger of closing. The reason is of course the economic crisis. Read the news! Hotel occupancy was down 50% in 2008 over 2007 AND in 2007 it was down 12% over 2006. Anyone thinking of opening a restaurant should have thought it over a dozen times and then pull a Nancy Reagan "Just Say No!" Over our 7+ years, we have been horrified and then entertained by the stores and restaurants that spend months remodeling, open their doors for three months and then closed down. The next renter rips out all of the lovely work left behind, starts over from scratch, only to end up like a phoenix without a reincarnation complex. With any luck, the 30% of closures will be the places where the staff could care less if you are there to eat or play shuffleboard. They act like you are disturbing their private time. But it seems luck is not what this is all about. Time will tell.

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Show Me the Money! What Money???

This was a post I came across which was partially disheartening. When in Mammut Mall, I did enjoy the leather chairs and calm atmosphere of the GJ outfit there, but there was a high price for comfort and for the coffee. Me thinks inflexible rent is only partial reason for their closing up shops.

ADVISORY: BUDAPEST STORE CLOSURES

To our loyal Gloria Jean’s Coffees guests,

We regret to advise you that we will be closing our three stores in Budapest by the end of March 2009.

The combination of the negative effects of the economic crisis and high inflexible rents has currently made the running costs of these stores too difficult for us to sustain.

We will continue to watch the market closely with a view to opening new stores in due time. Our aim remains to make Gloria Jean’s Coffees, Hungary’s most loved & respected coffee company.

We thank you, with all our heart, for your support and hope to be able to welcome you back again soon.

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Former Student

One of the highlights for me is when students or former students seek me out for a chat. One such student who I have not seen in three years, invited me for a coffee. She was one of my favorites at the time I had her in classes. She is so down to earth. She had spent two years in Spain teaching English. When she e-mailed me, she mentioned she could not remember if she had even sent me a postcard. Jumping on the guilt train for the fun of it, when we met, she brought me a bag of Mozart chocolates in lieu of a postcard. She has some ideas for innovative language teaching, so I put her in touch with another student for collaboration. After our coffee, which she was fifteen minutes late for, she sent this note.

It was great to see you, and though I am sure I don't have any reason to apologize (again :) for arriving late and having such a short time, personally I felt sorry about it. It's great that you have pushed things forward at ELTE, and maybe people don't seem to acknowledge the major achievements of others, but at least you know that you've done your best! ;) The journalism course and creative writing also sound great, I wish we had had those a few years ago, but anyway, thanks for your quick response. It's amazing how reliable you are!

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The Faculty Meeting That Wasn't

Monday was supposed to include a faculty meeting to discuss who was going to teach what come the fall semester. Since I developed the Journalism, Creative Writing, and Academic Writing minor within the department, our department head announced in September, everyone had to do their share. It seems that "doing your share" does not translate well from English to Hungarian. Last semester, I taught four of the classes, one open elective class, and instituted a tutoring program in a writing center I set up. I have the writing center open for one and a half hours a day, twice a week. My office mate, a Hungarian, taught one course in the new minor. No one else offered any. This semester, I again am teaching three of the courses, one open elective, running the writing center, and supervising supposedly 1o Masters thesis students and 2 BA thesis students. Supposedly, is due to the fact that I doubt they will all finish, although I have been the nag my mother was and I hated. My office partner is again teaching one course, my Department Head has one, and the upper Department Head is teaching another. When the faculty meeting was canceled, I was relieved, but today, my Department Head shared with me that "we" need to encourage others to take the remaining classes to consummate the minor. After hashing around who could charm which fellow faculty, we set out to send e-mails pleading. Mind you, this is for September. The response I received was "I already have to prepare for a new Masters course over the summer, so I cannot possibly do another. Sure it is okay for me to create a fifteen course program, develop the materials for seven new courses, but this one cannot do two courses during the course of three months. Give me a break!! The luck of the Irish... Happy St. Patrick's Day.

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Spoiled Generation

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Ryanair Turns Pay Toilets into Cash Prizes

Ryanair has finally announced that their brainstorming ideas for fleecing their travelers has come to an constipated full-stop. Now, they are offering the public some chances at making a quick 1,000 BP for their aid in getting into the stream of things. Giving away money does seem to be counter-intuitive. Let us just hope that the currency awarded are pounds sterling that are still in circulation today. If you give this a try, send it to me also to be included here. Sure, you can wait a few days; we won't steal your thunder.

Press Release:

Passengers to Suggest Next Discretionary Charge

€1,000 CASH PRIZE FOR BEST SUGGESTION

Submit your ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (12^th Mar) invited passengers to suggest the airline’s next ancillary revenue idea after Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary, confirmed that the company is examining the possibility of passengers paying to use the on board toilets in a drive to keep costs down and lower Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares even further.

This Europe wide competition invites passengers to submit their most ingenious, wacky and creative ideas to Ryanair via the www.ryanair.com website to be in with a chance of winning a €1,000 cash prize.

Launching the competition, Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said;

“Ryanair is Europe’s largest low fares airline and we plan to continue to reduce costs and fares by stimulating ancillary revenues. We have always provided passengers with choice, if you don’t want to pay for food – don’t buy it, if you don’t want to pay checked in bag charges – don’t bring checked in bags, if you don’t want to pay handling charges – then just use Visa Electron entirely free of charge.

Since we confirmed that we are considering a toilet charge we have received a huge number of ancillary revenue suggestions from passengers and we want more. We are asking passengers to submit their ideas with the most creative winning €1,000 cash. Some of the best suggests to date are:

· Charging for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it,

· Charging €2.50 to read the safety cards,

· Charging €1 to use oxygen masks,

· Charging €25 to use the emergency exit,

· Charging €50 for bikini clad Cabin Crew.

Passengers can submit their ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com to enter their idea before the 30^th March 2009. The winning idea will be chosen by Ryanair and our decision will be final.”

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Gift From the Blast in the Past

I received this e-mail from a past B and B guest. Hello Ryan,

A blast from last summer's past! We have been having some issues going on here (as always) so haven't had any free time at all. I have a great picture of Budapest hanging that I am planning on sending to you. It is in a cheap plexi frame. Is that ok? That would be the best for sending really. Also, as you know, economy here is pretty bad so discretionary spending in limited here at our house! We often talk about our trip and the wonderful time we had with you. Your place is awesome!

My note back: Hey,

A great blast hearing from the fun past. If you want, you can send the photo in cardboard to reduce the weight. Whatever works for you will be wonderful, just getting it. Please send it to the university address for safety. The result:

Holy smokes, when you said you had a picture in a frame, I was thinking a 4X6 and was concerned about postage. When I went into the secretary's office today and saw the large box, I thought it was books I had ordered. What a shock!!

I brought both of them home to show Ron, but I just may confiscate the one in color for my office. It needs perking up. We were both floored with the photos and the fact that you were generous enough to send them. We love them both and will think of you every time we look at them. Thank you repeatedly!! Ryan Sometimes people's generosity is overwhelming. As my note above stated, I was expecting small photos in frames. Both of these photos are huge. I would not have noticed the quality of the frames if she had not mentioned it, but they look great and are ready to hang. I always feel guilty when people spend money mailing us things. The cost is so prohibitive and in these times especially so. I do count my blessings continually even when they are spread throughout the world.

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Repression

I have been trying with difficulty to repress the situation with my father. Teaching and other needy students pelleting me with questions about academia and life are wonderful distractions. The latest news is that his cognition is returning. He is no longer telling stories of the staff taking all of the patients for a field trip to the freeway and leaving them on the divider strip. Still, these incidents do make one do some heavy thinking about one's gene pool. What are those little buggers up to and how many of those nasty ones have hopped off of that X or Y chromosome hitching a ride making me? As Scarlett said "I'll worry about that tomorrow."

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Comment from H. Clay

A comment left for my February 26th post on the Pomegranate phone reminded me: The source: http://www.novascotialife.com

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Oh Dad, Poor Dad

Last Thursday, I received a call on my mobile, 'caller unknown'. When I answered, I did not recognize the voice. It was only the "Bub, is that you?" that made it click in who was calling. Hearing my brother's voice after, what has it been now, two years, it was like those dreaded calls in the middle of the night. Every cell of your being knows to stand at attention. Something not good is coming your way. Yes, Bub is my nickname for my brother. When he was a baby, it was his first word and attempt at brother. The name stuck, though brotherhood had not. After more than dozens in the high plurals of attempts to be close, it just never was on his agenda. I threw in the towel, gave up the ghost, and all of the other related cliches. So when I heard his voice, I thought it was time to find out I have been orphaned. Orphaned at my age is humorous, but when the last of the immediate family goes, there you are alone. It does not matter how many loved ones you have, significant other included. With family there is a different history and a different reality. My or our father is in the hospital. I had been calling him for two weeks leaving messages on his machine. Sometimes, he just cannot make it to the machine in the number of rings before the machine gets it. The woman recording on his answering machine and I have shared a great deal by now. Some evenings, I would call repeatedly thinking he would eventually make it to the phone, but these weeks it did not happen. Finally, my brother called to let me know, because he happened to check the machine while getting things for 'our' father. The timing was interesting. I had just messaged my nephew on Facebook asking if he knew where his grandfather was. He messaged back saying he had not heard anything other than he was having problems with his leg. It seems his father does not communicate much with him either. That must have set the wheel in motion, because an hour later, I received an e-mail from my brother and then the phone call. They thought that my father had a stroke, but nothing shows on MRIs or CT Scans. The only clue is left sided weakness that is still unexplained. They have repeated the tests daily to look for differences, but have found none thus far. For the first four days, my father was reportedly cranky and anti-social. Anyone who knows him, knows this is the antithesis of his normal self. On the fifth day, a young nurse came in to say "I am here to 'draw' blood" to which my father replied "I don't see a red pen in your hand." We had told him for years, if we could can his corn, we could wipe out the Iowa corn farmers. It is a good sign.

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What Has Been Keeping Me Busy

Sometimes it is not the complicated things that keep a person extra busy. The little things can be annoying time consumers.

My new phone, the Nokia N96 is all I could have hoped for, but... It seems all of my contacts from the old phone were never saved onto my Sim card. What that means is that all 300+ contacts have to be reentered into the new phone. I have looked everywhere and have not found a way to import my contacts from a file, for example, my Gmail address book.

One other problem. I can make calls, but when someone calls me, they receive a message that the number is not working. This is not a phone issue, so I will have to make a trip to my provider to figure this out.

For our university, there is a teaching load calculator we have to fill out at the beginning of one semester for the previous semester. I usually am really good about getting this done right away, but did not get to it until today. None of my BA classes were listed. I have no control to make changes, just add in the numbers of students I gave grades to. Even ignoring the BA students, I get an error message each attempt. Only the department secretary has control over this, but it seems it is beyond her time limit to make changes. We will see how this plays out.

Speaking of the department secretary, I bought her a plant today and made a "You Are Highly Appreciated" sign. The university let my health insurance expire in November. I did not know it until I went for my flu shot. It took until yesterday for it to be resolved. The secretary had to return to the health office five times. Each time, they wanted different information, which they had not told her on the previous trip. Finally, she had me bring in everything I had, photocopied it all, had me sign each sheet, took everything she needed from the Dean's office and I now have my card again.

The Writing Center, I created at the university with the ten computers I was able to get donated has been a blessing for the new courses I am teaching this semester. Only six of them were able to be hooked up to the Internet. This made teaching a blogging course difficult. After discussing it with our computer person, he stated that for 15,000 Huf, he could get a router to connect the remaining four computers, but that the department had no money. I gave it to him, thinking in a week, I would have the router and full functioning computers. Two weeks later, he told me he ordered it. The week after that he said they sent the wrong kind. If I had known, I would have gone down to the store and bought it myself. Today, he e-mailed me. He has the correct one and will set it up. Different people and cultures have such different senses of time.

On a brighter side, I finished my first assignment for the NileGuide at www.nileguide.com. It was a smallish one, but I had some good fun working on it. It was quite challenging finding the names of all of the districts in Budapest, but as it turns out, not all of them are named, just numbered. The best part is I get to continually review all that I love about this city repeatedly.

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