Just a Different Zipcode...When was the last time you did something for the first time?

原本想說宣誓完後當天去辦護照, 應該可以趕在4月下旬回台的說.  但是最近又一堆事在忙, 所以又要延了.  至於要延到啥時也還說不一定呢...><
 

計畫永遠趕不上變化...原本接下來兩年是要東西岸兩邊跑, 但因為某些原因, 所以回來加州了.  這樣也好, 畢竟加州的天氣怎麼說都比要待的(東岸)那個地方好太多了...所以, 我們回到原本可愛的家了.  
 
2010~2012 對我來說是個非常不同的時期, 離職, 到歐洲一陣子, 生了小孩, 今年4月開始了一份兼職的工作.  現在有時間就陪小寶貝囉 ^^  看著寶貝一天天的長大, 我也很開心.  想想, 從單身到已婚, 再到有自己的家庭, 對我來說真是不可思議啊.  有了家庭後, 想法也會有些不同, 當然重心會以家庭為主, 但是還是會有私心, 希望自己還是有想單身時的私人空間及生活.  所以偶而喝喝我的最愛scotch來回味一下囉.
 

六月份從德國回來至今也快四個多月, 在這期間一直過著美東/美西兩邊跑的日子. 實際上真正開始漂泊的時間應該是從2010年年底出發去德國吧, 在這將近一年的時間裡, 到處走著, 看著, 玩著, 吃著, 也過的蠻盡興的說. 但是最近卻想著何時可以再次固定下來...

可以預期的是, 往後的1~2年還是要過著美東/美西兩邊跑的日子. 所以, 就盡情的享受, 活在當下吧!!

Below information is from http://www.zaanschemolen.nl
DE KAT (The Cat)
Dye mill on the Kalverringdijk
Zaanse Schans, Zaandam, The Netherlands
This windmill is a smock mill: only the cap with its sails are turned to face the wind by means of the capstan wheel at the bottom of the tail-pole. The horizontal rotary motion of the sails is converted into vertical rotary motion movement by the brake wheel and the wallower in order to power the machinery on the floor below. The brake wheel is surrounded by a wooden brake which makes it possible to stop the mill from turning.
The Zaan
The story begins outside, just around the corner! There is the river Zaan. The people who lived along its banks, and who had grown rich through trade and fishing, built their first windmills around 1600. Initially they used the wind to keep their feet dry, but later on they used it to develop an entire industrial area. Barley, rice, paper, wood, cooking oil, mustard, tobacco, hemp and many other products were processed in 1,000 windmills in the Zaan area. From 1850 on the work of the windmills was taken over by soot-spewing steam engines. Only 13 windmills survived, as monuments of industry and technology.
The wind
It is the wind, a rather capricious source of energy, that makes our windmills work (or not work, as the case may be!). But they cannot work without the miller, who turns the sails, mounted on the 15-ton cap, into the face of the wind. He also regulates the speed of the windmill by means of the sails and boards.
Color
The product of this windmill is color - or rather, dyestuff! From 1600 onwards tropical dye woods were imported on a large scale in order to dye fabrics. They heavy pieces of wood were cut into chips by choppers in a big vat. The chips were then pulverized by edge runner stones weighing 5000 to 7000 kg and later sifted in a rotating drum. They were then packed into bales or barrels and delivered to the customers.
Just before 1700 the windmills were also put to use to process mineral dyes, chalk and abrasives. The wet stones, which came from quarries, first had to be dried off in warehouses. Painters made paint by rubbing the dye powders into a medium such as linseed oil.
Around 1920 there were only about 50 windmills left of the 1000 that had made the Zaan district the oldest industrial area of the world.

過幾天有要出發去德國了, 這次過去, 天氣應該會變好一些, 春天了啊...^^ 既然變天氣好了, 就要努力的給它好好得玩一下了~

昨天天氣比較暖和了一點, 0到5度C, 所以我們趁的好天氣去了一趟Postdam. 時速近180km在autobahn上奔馳, 實在爽快...哈哈. 下次換我試試囉.

照片晚一點在post.

滯留溫哥華2天後, 搭上23號的班機, 於24號聖誕節的前夕到達德國了. 到達當天直接衝去Dresden downtown 看看當地的聖誕節的布置. 可是, 到市區的時間約4點, 人們已經在收拾布置並且準備回家過節去了.
我們也是拍幾張照片就回家了, 原因之一是因為我有時差, 在飛機上都沒睡, 所以累了...呵呵

2005年的這個時候我來過溫哥華一次, 當時跟Dave一起來這邊旅遊. 2010年的這個時候我又到了溫哥華, 不是旅遊, 是因為班機取消而一個人滯留於此...

2008年回台時(也是在這時間), 當時我人已經在登機門等候了, 因為一個小插曲, 讓我必須留下, 當時淚灑機場. 朋友來接我時跟我說 這是她第一次在出境大廳接機...呵呵

想想, 也蠻好玩的說. 不同的經驗囉

開這這部小C32 AMG已經一年囉...^^ 對於我這個從來在台灣不開車的人來說, 開這部是有點難度...一開始要適應馬力大, 一不小心油門一踩就到70mph了. >< 再來, 需要認路. 記得要上工的前一天晚上, Dave還特地帶我走了一次, 當天他去日本出差, 我就自己一人硬著頭皮開上路了. 第一次自己在這開車alone+Dave不在...可想而知, 第一天當然還是小迷路了一下囉, 整個人情緒緊繃到極點.

"She's got attitude to spare"