New Things & What's Next

I was working in "house" today. This included feeding the cat, and helping Chris' mom sew new curtains -- two things I never did before. I also cleaned the yellow kitchen. That's the kitchen next to the old chalet that guests who don't want food service use to cook their own meals. It's called the yellow kitchen because it has a yellow door. I also loaded the wood burner stove which supplies heat and hot water to the entire building.

I have Saturday and Sunday off this weekend. I was invited to Kaspar's house on Saturday for a party. Kaspar lives about 2 hours away near Geneva so I'll get to see more of the countryside. I heard it might snow this weekend so it should be a pretty drive.

The following weekend I'm planning to head to Venice. Alex is going to join me. We'll leave on Wednesday night and return Saturday night. Can't wait to take a water taxi!

A little help from my Friends...

Worked in Kander-Lodge on Friday & Saturday. Tearing down walls. I loved it!

I worked on "Grounds" yesterday. Raking leaves all day in the cold. It may not sound like much fun, but I worked with Alex and Kaspar which made it very enjoyable.

Good lesson here -- even difficult jobs under hard conditions can be made easier with the help of friends. It's all about attitude.

Thought for the Day

Today was my last turn to be on duty and give a "thought for the day". I chose two. The first was from Sir Robert Baden Powell from the home page of my website:

"The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others."

The second was a poem. Author unknown:

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

(1934 - 1998)

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth...

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;

the cars...the house...the cash,

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what's true and real,

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more,

And love the people in our lives

Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile...

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read

With your life's actions to rehash...

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

New Addictions

In addition to trying fondue for the first time, I learned about a wicked hazelnut and chocolate spread called nutella. I am now keeping a snack bottle by my bed!

Along with the 15 pounds of chocolate, my Mom included a huge bag of Jelly Belly's. Over 50 flavors and I'm trying them all. The bag was supposed to be shared with the rest of the staff but right now I'm being selfish.

Another Day Off

Yesterday I worked at Kander-Lodge tearing down walls.

Today... I slept. A nice casual day of sleeping in... playing on the computer... and relaxing. Tomorrow is my last "duty day". Looking for a good and meaningful "thought for the day."

I'm downloading my files from an FTP server that my Dad setup in Pittsburgh. It's a little slow, but I can access all my music now.

We have snow on the ground again. I uploaded some pictures from my cell phone of the last snow in 29 October. Check them out here.

Working on making plans for Venice. Any ideas? I can't wait to see what Venice is like!

New Pictures Uploaded

Five new albums were just uploaded to my website (http://www.mrobertmarks.com). Hope you enjoy them!

Blog.... (finally) Up to Date!

Forgive me family and friends... it's been almost a month since my last blog. I took today off today to finish writing and updating the blog. I still have some pictures to load with the help of my Dad... but there's a lot to read now.

You can see all the blogs have Nov 11 as the blog date, so I added the date the blog should have been posted in the title. There are 26 new blogs below this one. Happy Reading!

The good news -- I am still having the time of my life! There's so much happening here I forget most of it. The time if flying by so quickly! There's only a month left on KISC staff and two weeks for sightseeing. I'll be sad to leave - but looking forward to coming home to family and friends.

HEY! Why don't you all come to visit me here for Christmas!!!

11 Nov -- KISC Webcam

The webcam on the KISC site is back up and operational. Check it out. Be sure to refresh your browser to update the picture.

10 Nov -- Quantum of Solace (Ein Quantum Trost)

Staff night out at the movies tonight! The new James Bond film opened in Europe before the US. For most films, it's usually the other way around, but there's a tradition of world premieres for Bond films in the UK with the royal family in attendance.

I made people laugh by dressing in a suit w/ a pink shirt and a pink tie.

The movie was very good although it ended too abruptly; like it was missing something. It’s not like the old James Bonds’, this one has an obvious sequel planned. The old ones could be watched separately with little or no hints to a previous bond film or preludes to a future one.

I’m not much of a fan of the new Bonds because of that, but his character was more easy to identify with since they don’t use all the special (unrealistic) gadgetry; it was guns, driving skills, fighting skills and cell phones.

Another disappointment – he doesn’t really seduce the women that much anymore. There was just one scene, but it wasn’t his classic clever remarks, it was “I cant seem to find the stationary, care to help me look?”

We drove to Bern for the movie. The theater was amazing and is part of a chain called Kitag. It is larger and better sound quality then our local theaters in Pittsburgh. There is a light curtain with a black backdrop in front of the screen, and a big lit up logo of the theater in front of the stage (just like a K-mart sign on the building, but sitting on the stage). Both lower into the stage at two separate speeds, the lights faster than the logo sign, and the black backdrop parts in the middle, returning to either side. They have a 15 minute intermission so you can get popcorn, drinks or go to the bathroom. My Dad says that's the way it used to be in US theaters...

6 Nov -- Staff Fun Times

Tonight was a "Murder Mystery" role play thing. These kind of evening events are very popular here in Switzerland. We were given a script that outlined who we were, what had happened and what our goals were. The rest was up to us...

I was the Barron who wanted to marry Mrs. Smith whose husband had died... or rather was murdered. But I couldn't have a bad image so I had to clear her name by hiring a detective to do it. My goal was to marry Mrs. Smith who was played by Helga.

Alex and Kaspar were the game masters. Jen was the detective. His goal was to help me and then get as much money as possible, from me and others. Awadi was the bartender.

Then there was Mike, he was a drug dealer. Joakim was the painter who failed, so he was just trying to sell anything. He could only paint when he was high so he had to try to get some cocaine from the Mafia. Pio was trying to indirectly help his son (the fictional drug addict) by getting all the cocaine off the streets any way he could.

Tony was the cop. Tati was a trader, he could get and trade anything, his goal was to make as much money as possible too. A Ra had a ton of money, she was the real murderer of Mr. Smith and her goal was to avoid the cops and not get caught.

It was a fun way to spend an evening. Here are the pictures from Tati.