A train trip

Monday, I was on a train heading to Italy. I was half asleep when the speaker announced something. I did not get the message but everybody around started discussion loudly. I opened my eyes and I thought I was in paradise: a beautiful angel was sitting in front of me.

I managed to do my smile number 7, she smiled back. Yes, it was paradise!

But I was a bit concerned. The train was stopped and the level of agitation was raising.
Everybody was angry like if the train broke down or was about to get fire. The speaker repeated the message in German: "we have a technical problem that will cause 8 minutes of delay".

Well, my German is good enough to understand a simple message like this. But I thought that 8 minutes of delay was not a good reason for the passenger riot that I was experiencing.
I concluded that maybe I did not understand the message well and the minutes were 80 or 800.
I took the opportunity to start a conversation to the beautiful angel in front of me.
So, I asked her in German: "Do you speak French, English, Spanish, or Italian?"
The angel was about to open her mouth, when another passenger started talking to me in Italian. Damn!
Well, not really Italian but a strange dialect from some rural area of Italy.
To give you an idea of how difficult was to understand this person, think about the English spoken by a Scottish who is chewing a baseball ball!
She confirmed that the train was 8 minutes late and this is unacceptable.
In Italy, a delay like this would have seen people thanking some Saint with candles and religious processions.
I smiled about this Swiss attitude but, after few seconds, I started worrying. I had to change train in a couple of stations and the other train was supposed to leave just 10 minutes after this train arrived.
10-8=2 minutes!!!!!
But the Swiss organization suddenly reacted to the adverse event with a pragmatic approach.
Since many passengers were taking the other train, the speaker announced that our train would stop not in usual rail track but in the one opposite the other train.
We arrived at the station with 8 minutes delay sharp, we jumped in the other train and we left the station after two minutes.
Organization at the pure form. But, I lost admiring the organization, I lost my angel!

Ok, time now to polish my shoes...

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I start feeling like Imelda Marcos

hectic

My Tuersday:
7.00am - wake up
8.00am - start working
11.30am - gym
1.30pm - back to work
4.30pm - german course
6.00pm - back to work
7.00pm - home for quick dinner
8.00pm - tango course
10.00pm - home
2.am - colapse!

pippo

Nothing really noticeable this week. Tango is going very well and I have really a lot of fun doing it. From the next week, I plan to dance twice a week. I'm becoming tango-olic.
I have very strange feeling, I feel like a soldier who is waiting for the battle.
My battle is the snow!!! I dream to wake up and find everything covered by a white mantel. I dream about going to ice skate or ski...
But my dream would not become true soon. Basel is so sunny and warm that I can't believe it. Two days ago, I was walking with just my t-shirt on. Then I got a cold :-)

This weekend I'm in Italy. The goal is to collect all my winter sport gear and my rollerblade. Why my rollerblade? Because of this event
http://www.nightskate.ch/fr/main/villes/bale/archives/photos-bale-12062006.html
Basically every Monday night, a crowd of 200-900 rollerbladers is invading the street of Basel for a night ride. I will participate!

The swiss organization is reserving always a surprise. The city of Basel sent me an invitation for a workshop about swiss taxes and pension system. The workshop is in English.
I can't believe it.
In Italy no public institution would invite you for something like this.

Maybe because the Italian tax system requires:

• a bachelor in economics;

• a master of science in law;

• a PhD in Theology, and

• a workshop of a couple of months.

Of course, after all this you would find easier defrauding the tax system!!!!
I worked in Italy for 5 years and I was never able to read my pay slip!

But I have also one thing to complain about. If you look at somebody, he/she looks back. The problem is with girls: how can you understand if she looks at you because she likes you or just
because she is polite?
Don't worry, I will find out :-)