So far I have testdrove the following cars:

1. Toyota RAV4 in black.
Nice car but the clutch is not made for my feet. And I don’t want an automatic car…so this not an option anymore

2. BMW 1 or 3 series in silver.
Downside: the back gear. For a stick shift this is the worst I have ever experienced. This is not made for women at all. I am serious! I am sure you guys are laughing. But those among you who have ever driven such a car know exactly what I mean. Especially if you are petite in size as I am. The sales guy even admitted that his wife had the same problem and was always using both hands to get the gear in. Automatic isn’t an option here either…

The next two cars will be

3. Peugeot 307cc and 407 and last but not least

4. Volvo C30 - I currently like this car so far the best.

In the end I may not want a company car anymore and get the raise instead, ha ha. Am I being too picky here? I am not really into cars. I don’t care so much about the engine, horse power and the brand as you can see. I just want a safe car with a nice design…

Some of you guys may have already read about the story of this Immigrant Korean Dry Cleaning couple up in Washington who got sued for $65 mio by a judge named Roy Pearson, Jr over loosing his pair of pants. Pearson is defending himself in court. The Chung family did everything to settle it, even offered him up to $12,000 but this greedy out of the mind judge is wrecking the business of this poor family. Now, after years of hard work their american dream seem to vanish having to bear thousands in dollars just to settle for their legal defense costs. His pants were apparently found a week afterwards carrying still the ticket which matched the receipt. But Pearson claims that those weren’t his. What a nightmare. I feel very much for Pearsons parents too. They must feel quite ashamed for having such a son….

A legal defense fund was set up to help the Chungs pay their defense cost.
Help the Chungs and donate some bucks or send them some emotional support via a message. Here is the link.

I am getting goosebumps coz the guy beside me is listening to David Hasselhoffs ‘I’ve been looking for freedom’ song. This song was very popular quite awhile ago in Germany. Many German women between their 40 and 50ies just love David Hasselhoff. I think it is odd to see a guy about my age listening to it over and over again. Yuck! Germans sometimes have quite a weird taste. I guess I better go home and practice some Yiruma songs on my piano…

A friend of mine from Switzerland just send me this really wonderful book about the Kingdom of Bhutan. Eventhough it is a relatively small country with less than 700,000 inhabitants situated next to India, China and Tibet the pictures laid out in this book showed the serene beauty of this place. Bhutan is very mountainous and it’s capital Thimpu is believed to be the one and only capital in the world without a traffic light. The official languages spoken are Dzonghka and English. As the name indicates the Kingdom of Bhutan is run by a monarch. Though being an absolute monarchy where the king holds the absolute power there are aspiration to change this into a constitutional monarchy. In fact the first election has just taken place leading the country to a more democratic pathway.

I met Fernand on a plane ride from Madrid to Zurich and ever since we are keeping in touch and I receive these nice books once in a while as an inspiration I guess to travel some more. My co-workers mentioned that they wanted to travel with me next time so that they can get to meet such great people too. I guess I am a lucky person. I feel blessed because most of these people are truly very special to me.

Merci Fernand pour ce beau cadeau

I negotiated for a company car and will checkout some cars this weekend.

These are my current favorites

1. Toyota RAV4 in white
2. BMW 1 or 3 series in silver
3. Peugeot 307cc in red

Which one to pick? Any other suggestions? I will start testdriving the BMW tomorrow…

Tonight is the final tv showdown between Ségolène Royal and Francois Sarkozy before the presidential election will take place on sunday. Public polls have confirmed so far the lead of the conservative Sarkozy. I am curious whether Royal will be able to turn the public polls to her favor. If she does then she may become the first female president in France. Just like Angela Merkel in Germany…