While Jim's in Germany...

All you need to do is head to jimkoski.org (or simply click or tap HERE) and you can read along with whatever fun and/or mishaps come his way!

Tuesday, 5/5

It looks like all systems are go.

With but one day left before we (hopefully) hop on a plane and blow this Popsicle stand, it looks as if everything I need to get done is either done or will be finished today. It's something upon which I always cast a wary eye; after all, I've been working ahead on certain things for almost three months now, and it would not be cool if something (a dead computer, a mental breakdown, and/or the like) got in the way of all that work.

But thankfully, it appears as if fate has once again cast a loving aura upon everything. So thanks, fate!

Here's what's going on. There won't be a blog here tomorrow or (maybe) Thursday, and starting either Thursday or Friday afternoon (your time) I'll start posting on our trip blog. You can just keep coming back here to get to it; I'll make sure I leave a link right above this blog so all you need to do is click one extra time. Hopefully, it won't be too much. And if it is, you have my sincere apologies.

Really, you do.

As always, I plan on posting every day we're there, and based on past experience, I should have no problem. However, you never know if a new hotel we're staying at will have bad wi-fi, or if I'll have some kind of technical problem with the equipment I bring along, or if—like I've joking all along—we get stuck in the middle of somewhere because a flight's been canceled or the world's falling apart. It hasn't happened yet, and I hope it won't this time, but with the way the planet is these days I wanna put that out there just in case. I'm also hoping on send back radio reports on certain days, so you can listen for those, as well.

Well, I think that's it. The next time we speak I'll (hopefully) be a quarter of the world and (just as hopefully) munching on some really good chocolate.

See you then. And keep your fingers crossed. We're counting on every bit of luck possible!

*****

Before I leave...how did my “Star Wars” bit work out on TV last night? Check it out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/4

Happy Star Wars Day!

Wait...you don't celebrate Star Wars Day? But it's May the 4^th...you know, as in “May the force (or, in this case, the 4^th) be with you”. You really don't celebrate?

Oh, that's right. You're normal.

8-)

Every so often when I ask a movie trivia question about a “Star Wars” film I'll get someone who has never seen one. Several times, I've spoken with people in my TV job and they'll admit not being a fan of the films. And over the years on “High School Bowl” I've even had one or two of the brightest young people on the planet say that they just don't get “Star Wars”.

And that kinda blows my mind. I mean, I know I'm a dork and I grew up with the original films, but in a macro sense I'm also aware that those movies are a cultural phenomenon. Even if you're not a fan of the films—and, apparently, there are a lot more people out there like that than I ever imagined—you're at least aware of the significance of the movie series.

You may not celebrate the holiday today, but at least you're aware of it.

But I get where some people are coming from. Obviously, I'm a “Star Wars” geek Like me, there are people who are also geeks for a series of films, but in their case they're “Harry Potter” geeks. They grew up with the films, and they'll drink butter beer and play Quiddich. And when I tell them I've never seen a “Harry Potter” film and could care less about ever seeing one, they give me the very same look that I'm sure I give people who say they're just not interested in “Star Wars”.

To each their own. And, by the way, I hope you don't think any less of me because I really don't care about Harry Potter. We all have our deep, dark, secrets. I guess that's mine.

So if you celebrate today, enjoy yourself. If you don't, that's fine too. Just don't be surprised if you do hear “May the Fourth be with you” a time or two today. In fact, if you're watching TV-19 news at 6 o'clock tonight, and just happen to come across a “Star Wars” dork doing something that will either be a huge success or fail miserably...

Well, some of us just can't help ourselves.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 5/1

T-5 days, and all systems are still go.

Yay.

A few weeks ago I wrote in here about whether or not I should blog during the trip, and based on the comments I received and questions people have asked, I guess I'll be doing it. Apparently, there are a LOT of people who travel with us vicariously, and really look forward to seeing what we do.

So...blogging during the trip it shall be.

In fact, we're going to once again put the word “repurpose” into practice here. I've written a pre-trip blog (also available at jimkoski.org), and to wrap up the week here we'll share it with you.

Have a great weekend. Everything from packing to finishing my either really good (or really bad) TV piece await me, so I know what I'll be doing.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

To quote some old dude who once wrote a thing (or two)...once more, unto the breach.

Loraine and I are heading back to Europe for the first time in two years, and we're hoping—hoping--it all works out well. So many things have changed since we last visited one of our favorite places in the world, and there are many issues that could cloud our visit. This is just a partial list--

--What does the ongoing DHS/TSA shutdown mean for us trying to leave or get into the country?

--We're renting a car over there, so what will sky-high fuel prices do to our budget?

--Will tighter border security across Europe's Schengen Zone mean extra hassles in trying to cross from one country to another?

--And how will we be treated over there? Europeans once thought of America (and Americans) as a shining beacon on a hill. Now, they think of us—or at least our government—as bullies.

See? It's not like any of our past trips. But you know what? We'll take it as it comes. And, as always, you're invited to join with us.

Where are we all going, in fact? Well, we're going to Germany for what will be our shortest ever trip (if only by a day). We're flying into Frankfurt, picking up the aforementioned rental car, and then spending a night in Kaiserlautern (where we stayed last time) before heading to the city where we'll be headquartered the rest of the time--

Saarbrucken.

Saarbrucken is a city of about 70,000 people on Germany's extreme western side. In fact, it's one of those places that, during its long history, has been part of France, Prussia, France (again), Germany, France (yet again), and Germany (yet again). It has hills, water (in the form of a river), and a history of mining, so we should feel right at home. And we've chosen this place for two very important reasons, reasons that anyone who knows us (and we count you as among that group) will fully understand.

The first reason—Loraine likes their football team, FC Saarbrucken, and because it's a team in Germany's third tier league (3 Liga), their practices are open to the public, and we can check out her favorite player on the team, Tim Cevaja (he's the one on the left)

The other reason we chose Saarbrucken? It's only 15 or so kilometers to the French border, and only 60 (or so) to the Luxembourg border. So do you know what that means?

In one car ride, we can buy chocolate from Germany, France, and Belgium (which they sell in Luxembourg). Is Saarbrucken a great place, or what?

8-)

The whole adventure begins on Wednesday, May 6^th. Assuming none of the issues we discussed come to fruition, we should be ready to roll (and blog) the day after, having a blast before we (hopefully) head back to Marquette on Friday, May 15^th. And you know what?

As always, we hope you'll join us!

(jimkoskimqt@gmail.com)

Thursday, 4/30

It's either going to be amazing or it's going to implode spectacularly. I don't think there's any middle ground.

At T-6 days before we leave for Europe I have 100,000 things to take care of, among them making sure that I have not one but two TV bits ready to go this weekend, one that I'll be doing live on Monday and the other taped ahead of time to air on the 11^th., The latter, the one that airs while I'm in Germany, is pretty much taken care of. It's fully written, and just needs a few pictures to go along with it. The former, the one that'll do live Monday?

THAT'S the one that's either going to be amazing or implode spectacularly. At this point, I'm not quite sure which way it'll go.

The one I'm taping ahead of time for the 11^th will be reflective, will be something a normal adult would do, albeit with a few wisecracks. The one I'm planning on doing live Monday will be anything but. I mean, I could still change my mind between now and then; after all, I'm doing it live and, unlike the one I'll be taping, I have some leeway in what I do.

But I think I'm gonna go for it.

It's funny; after doing almost 200 editions of “Life in the 906” you'd think that every wild idea that could ever pop out of my head has popped out of my head. But you know what? Sometimes, getting an idea for a reflective one is hard. It's the wild ones that pop out of nowhere, prompted by something I see or, in the case of the one I'm planning for Monday, a date on the calendar. I don't know how and I don't know why, but that's the way it happens.

Lucky me, huh?

Like I said, I have a few days in which I could pull out of this wild idea, but I don't know that I will. And like I said, it's gonna go one way or another. It's either going to be amazing or it's going to implode spectacularly..

Keep your fingers crossed.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 4/29

Wow. I guess I do have something that would almost qualify me as a Yooper.

We've discussed this in here before, about how I, even though I was born in the UP and have spent over 85% of my life here, am not considered a “Yooper”. I don't do things Yoopers do, and I've had people from all across the UP inform me that despite my birthplace I'm not a Yooper. According to people ranging from Munising to Champion I'm a “city boy”, both because I'm from Marquette and because I prefer concrete over trees & swamps.

I'm just a bad person, I guess. Or at least a bad Yooper.

(And, if truth be told, I'm fine with it. I KNOW I'm not a “real” Yooper. I'm more of an “Urban Yooper”, which I hope isn't too much of an oxymoron).

Anyway, this “Urban Yooper” noticed something while getting ready to head to Germany next week. The weather forecast calls for (thankfully) mild temperatures, and so I dug out several pair of shorts to bring with me. I like these shorts a lot; they're handy and they look good on me. The secret about them?

They're Carhartt shorts. That's right—I own two pieces of clothing from the line that “real” Yoopers call their own. NOW can I be considered a “real” Yooper?

8-)

Don't worry. I'm not going to take up hunting or 4-wheeling or ragging on “city boys”. I just have two pair of shorts that I really like, and they just happened to be from a company that also makes rugged jackets, work clothes, and and whatever else “real” Yoopers wear. Who knew, right? So now, I can proudly say “I own a piece of Carhartt”, even if it is just a pair (or two) of shorts.

In what's probably another sign that I'm not a “real” Yooper I'm wondering how I'll feel the first time I wear them in Germany and the Carhartt logo sticks out. After all, I've never worn a piece of their clothing in Europe before. Does one act differently? Will my attempts to fit in over there be rendered moot? Will they immediately peg me as an “American” and not just as me?

I just want to make sure I'm doing this right.

Since I do like them so much, as the weather gets warmer over the next few months and if you happen to see me around wearing a pair of tan or green shorts, you'll know I've stepped out in one of my pieces of Carhartt. It may have taken me awhile, but at least I do have something from that iconic, Yooper-loved label.

(jim@wmqt.com), Urban Yooper.  But one who DOES own Carhartt!

Tuesday, 4/28

I wasn't even aware the picture existed. But now, I'm glad I found it.

Over the weekend I was putting together everything for my TV piece last night, which dealt with college students and how they're about to leave for the summer. In the course of it I mentioned that I was a college students at one time, and I wanted to include a picture of me in a cap & gown to go along with it.

I searched and searched for that particular shot, but as it turns out neither Loraine nor I ever scanned it into digital form. I did, however, come across a page I had scanned (but never edited) from one of my parents' photo albums. And that's when I came across this picture from my college graduation--

I really don't remember that day (other that it being a blur), so I don't recall this particular picture being take. But when I saw it I was glad it had been taken, as it pictures me and my grandparents on that fateful day. They were always big champions of mine, and while I can't speak for them over 30 years after the fact, I have the feeling looking at the shot that they were kinda proud.

I mean, if I had to guess, that's what I would guess.

So while I didn't find the picture I was looking for, I did find a picture that, at least in my mind, is a whole lot better.

Even if up until this past Sunday, I had no idea that it actually existed.

****

How did the picture fit into the TV piece? See for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)