Simple plans, simple Montag.

It's a chilly monday today. Reminds me of New York. Crisp raindrops are falling sparsely throughout the city, but not enough to warrant my umbrella.

I'd like to say that I haven't been feeling any insomnia, the time difference here is pretty dramatic, but the bags under my eyes betray me. I finished Norwegian Wood last night. I thought I went to bed early enough to get a full night sleep, but for the second time on my trip, a noisy American woke me up. The walls in the hotel are pretty thin, I could hear the entirety of her conversation.

There are two museums I want to visit, but both of them are closed on Monday, so I'll have to check them out tomorrow. There's one church I want to take a look at, it's got some nice frescos and stained-glass windows. And I want to have an authentic dinner. My first night here, I had Indian street food. Last night I had Greek. Funny how that works out.

That, and I want to stay up long enough to reset my sleep schedule. It's only Monday, and on the West Coast people have just slept through the remainder of Sunday. But here, all the shops are open again, and I'm at my table at Starbucks, drinking up the free Wi-Fi, and staying away from the coffee. I've got a favorite seat here that over looks a major tram station, a deli, and a shoe store. And the conversations here on the second floor are equal parts English and German.

I feel like I have a lot of day left. It's only 10a.m. But by Wednesday, I'll be on a train to Milan, so really I only have today and tomorrow left here.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon.

Last night was a little rough. Jet-lagged, I went to sleep pretty early...and woke up way early. 2:35 to be exact. But I still managed to be productive. I finished reading The Alchemist. Started reading Norwegian Wood. Journaled for a couple of hours. Then fell asleep at about 5:30. Woke up at 8. Made it downstairs for continental breakfast and out the door.

So far my experience out here has been interesting. Been learning a few things about traveling internationally. Got a lot of walking down. And I think I'm finally settling into a groove. Which is kind of nice since I do have a couple more days here till I make to Milan. That is going to be another learning experience.

So it's Sunday today, and Zürich is completely dead. The only places that seem to be open are McDonald's and Starbucks. There's a light, cold rain outside, but otherwise the weather has been surprisingly agreeable. I haven't had to break out my wool coat, let alone layer.

Today I just strolled aimlessly down the river until I hit the lake. Strolled back another way, through a bunch of winding roads and a residential section. Started taking pictures with my iPhone. I'm actually pretty surprised how small this city is. The downtown is maybe half the size of San Francisco's downtown, with a river running right through it. There's also a big train station right in the middle, close to my hotel room. The accommodations are pretty spartan. Small room, small table, twin sized bed, tiny bathroom and shower. But it gets the job done, and it's super close to everything.

People here are generally friendly. I had a conversation with a couple guys, one was from Dublin, the other from Cambridge. I also had Indian street food for dinner last night. Random, but cool nonetheless.

I hope to hit a museum or two before I head out of here. Maybe hit a couple of recommended restaurants. I guess we'll see. Life isn't so bad out here.

So I booked rooms today.

And I can't tell if I'm being stupid or if I'm being brave. It's gonna be cold. And I'm going solo. But fuck it, I only live once.

I got a tip from Alex to check out Tripadvisor, and that's seemed to work out pretty nicely. Found some rooms that fit my budget. All I gotta do now is book some trains to get from A to B. Or in this case A to Zurich.

I started packing this morning. A few pairs of jeans. Plenty of socks and boxers.

In 48 hours, I'll be passed out on my way across the pond...

Lack of sleep.

So I got up real early today. 1:30. I've been up ever since. Work today was alright. I'm ahead on a few projects. A little behind on a few others. But generally I'm on track. On the way home I decided to give CT a call. We met up at J-Town. I had a yakisoba omelette and a large Kirin. She had a Japanese pancake. We talked about our dating situations. Or lack thereof.

I'm inspired to write again.

Look at the timestamp. Fuck. Whatever. I actually got to bed at a good time tonight. 10:30. But the stupid timer on the heater started making some god awful banging noise. At first I thought it was the neighbors downstairs hitting it again. But it wasn't. And I got a ton of sleep this weekend and I think I just burned it off staying up the past three hours. Sucks.

Anyway, I have all next week to catch up on it again. And it's going to be an adventure. Today I did a little shopping. Picked up a pair of gloves at REI. A sweater from BR. On the way home, I stopped by Borders and picked up some Lonely Planet guide books. Switzerland and Milan.

Tonight the Giants won the World Series. I was able to catch most of the game on the radio on the way home from work, and the last couple of innings and the late night madness on TV. It was beautiful seeing so many people out and having a good time. Of course, I was home. Munching on my Gordo's burrito. But still enjoying it. It would have been wonderful had the Giants been more exciting when I was really into baseball years ago. But it's still kind of nice seeing them win now, especially with the staff they have. Truly inspiring how sports can bring people together.

So I think I have renewed goals for writing this blog. And I have to set up some ground rules too. No moping. Stick to details. And have fun.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting with Nisha at 9:30 in the morning. Not going to miss it. If there's one gift that I've acquired, it's the ability to not let the lack of sleep make a difference with my performance at work. Sometimes you make impossible decisions, like standing up against fatigue. I know I have a lot of challenges in life to overcome. Let's hope they can all be as resolute.