Smart Start

For the last two years while I was in Switzerland, I took it upon myself to describe the culture, food, landscape, and people to my faithful readers back home in the US. Now that I am back in the US, I feel the impulse to do the same for the European readers I have developed. There is nothing too crazy to report yet, except that the sky is just so big here in Houston. Having spent most of my time in Lausanne, where much of the sky was obscured by [beautiful] mountains, it is now refreshing to look up and see so much blue all around me. I never appreciated it before, but it seems that Houston's flatness has advantages above and beyond being good for running.

And speaking of moving around, one of my first steps here was to procure a means of transportation. No more Mercedes convertible for me; I needed something greener! I thought about a Prius or other hybrid but they all were much larger than I needed. My basic needs are driving 2 miles back and forth to work every day and sometimes transporting another person to lunch. The ideal car would have been a plug-in electric, but it seems that they won't be commercially ready for another 1-2 years. So I settled on a car that is ubiquitous in Europe but only just gaining traction here in the US: the Smart ForTwo.

It meets all of my criteria and leaves so much additional space in the garage that it may have preemptively solved any space-sharing issues Katie and I might have. Is it as fun to drive as my SLK(s)? Certainly not! But I only miss the fun for a few minutes worth of commute each day and I feel great about the 40 mpg. This is a good first step for me in a policy of just buying what I need.

Although I am already working hard on enistic, I am also spending a great deal of time getting settled back into my house. My friends from all over the world are welcome to come visit me here in Houston. It's hot and it's humid, but it's home and I love it!

Pics are in my facebook album.