foraker Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 (edited) Seems my time here in the PNW is coming to an end. I've accepted a new job in Switzerland and am busily going through the motions of trying to sell the house and almost everything in it. Would love to get out to the crags once again this summer but am not sure if it's in the cards. At least I got 3 days of midweek skiing in at Whistler once last month. At least I get six weeks vacation with the new job and a nice raise...that and getting to live in Europe. Last time I was there I was living in Sweden and that wasn't....so great. This time I'll be in Lugano, in the Italian part of Switzerland (I may have to get that Triumph Speed Triple I've been lusting after). I'm guessing the food will be better this time around. No more herring in cream sauces and potatoes in cream sauces.... Which is great since the only other language that I have some sort of facility in is French. So, this has been a great place to hang out though I haven't been around much lately. Kind of took a break from climbing after the loss of some partners. It's been great climbing with those of you that I've met and I'm sorry I didn't meet more of you, even the ones I've had differences of opinion with in Spray. If you happen to end up in my part of the world and need a place to crash temporarily while out chasing the dream, give us a shout. Edited May 24, 2009 by foraker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobo Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Good luck, foraker! I'm sure you'll enjoy Lugano much better. I grew up in northern Tuscania, and spent a fair bit of my youth skiing in northern Italy, southern France, and a few trips to Switzerland. Too bad I was too young to know about Der Eiger at that age. Of course you'll probably check out Wengen and Zermatt, but if you get the chance, tourist skiing in Cervinia and Sestriere ain't so bad. Kinda like Whistler on steroids... Mind if I ask what it is that you do for a living that allows this fortunate turn of events in your life? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted May 25, 2009 Author Share Posted May 25, 2009 I work in the field of scientific and high performance computing. I've been working for a vendor for awhile and reached the point, quite awhile ago, where I wasn't happy doing basically what I felt was the intellectual version of assembly-line work. The position I'm taking is with the Swiss national supercomputing center which, for some reason (all politics, I'm sure), they chose to locate in Lugano. It's basically a chance to get both back into geophysical research and assisting customers rather than flipping burgers for the sales team. Thanks for the advice on skiing, I'm sure I'll be completely overwhelmed. If anyone needs to buy a condo in Redmond or some Ethan Allen furniture, let me know. All this stuff has to go. I'll post some contact info here when I've landed in case anyone finds themselves messing about over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobo Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minx Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 mmm...lugano! fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dechristo Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Dearest Four Ache Curr (you bitch), Congratulations! Sounds like a fine adventure upon which you embark. And thanks for the open invite to the future use of your roof, floor and/or lawn. Just remember, there are plenty of PNW expats who frequent these cyber confines: don't be so much a stranger when you're nine time zones away. near best regards, DeC-head Postscript: In parting, your favorite of my photo postings: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted May 30, 2009 Author Share Posted May 30, 2009 Actually, I just sold my BMW F650. Thinking about getting one o' these for those Swiss roads: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 So, I'm down in Switzerland now and do have one of the above show black Speed Triples (should show up here sometime around Oct 10 or so). During the obligatory trip to IKEA (the only place you can really afford furniture around here....and, yes, we did buy a sofa bed) i discovered a sporting goods place with a fair number of local climbing guides to start me drooling. Ski season should start soon enough...woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off_White Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Right on, sling us a few pictures now and then from that side of the world, its always swell when old hands gone far away visit with a little eye candy and a story. Maybe you need a helmet cam to send a little vid from a ride on that machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 So, I'm down in Switzerland now and do have one of the above show black Speed Triples (should show up here sometime around Oct 10 or so). During the obligatory trip to IKEA (the only place you can really afford furniture around here....and, yes, we did buy a sofa bed) i discovered a sporting goods place with a fair number of local climbing guides to start me drooling. Ski season should start soon enough...woot! How is the media circus down there right now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 So, I'm down in Switzerland now and do have one of the above show black Speed Triples (should show up here sometime around Oct 10 or so). During the obligatory trip to IKEA (the only place you can really afford furniture around here....and, yes, we did buy a sofa bed) i discovered a sporting goods place with a fair number of local climbing guides to start me drooling. Ski season should start soon enough...woot! Good times. Just a heads up - if you are looking to score either a few grand or a great pistol, I understand that the Sig P210 has a SIGnifigant price difference in our 2 countries. They are highly desirable and no longer made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 How is the media circus down there right now? You know...sadly...I have no clue. I've got more than enough to do so that I'm largely unaware of the whole thing (like spending half my days in Italian classes). I'm sure that'll change soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Yeah, I glanced at a gun shop that I happened to pass by and about had an aneurysm. Thinking maybe I SHOULD have imported something along with my personal effects. The other hilarious thing (at least, to someone like me who grew up around guns and then spent way too much time in places like Boston, SF, and Seattle), there's an outdoor gun range right next to the parking lot of the big grocery store that we go to. I'm thinking "Oh, that would have gone over really swell in Redmond." Good times. Just a heads up - if you are looking to score either a few grand or a great pistol, I understand that the Sig P210 has a SIGnifigant price difference in our 2 countries. They are highly desirable and no longer made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Right on, sling us a few pictures now and then from that side of the world, its always swell when old hands gone far away visit with a little eye candy and a story. Maybe you need a helmet cam to send a little vid from a ride on that machine. I'll try to pull it off. I managed to find some local guide books the other day and there's huge amounts of stuff around Lake Como that just looks sweet. Oddly enough, no one I work with climbs. There's one ex climber dude but no one else. I've never been around such a collection of techie types with no climbers amongst them. Plenty of bikers and semi-Italian girlies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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