I think I am starting to gert my bearing. I finally had to sleep. I had not slept much on the plane, so I needed a couple hours. I slept for like an hour and half, woke up and took a shower. Now I feel like a new man in a new country.
This afternoon I walked all through the city. It is a very interesting city. Unfortunetly due to mischeduling I will only be here until Friday afternoon, but I need to come back here to catch my plane back to the states at the end of the trip. So I could always head back here early.
Either way I hae no clue what I am going to do this evening. Should be interesting.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Amsterdam
I have successfully conquered transalantic flight and have arrived safely in Amsterdam. I plan on relaxing and reading alot on this trip. I choose with Erneest Hemmingway's classic novel "The Sun Also Rise." Its major theme seems to be doing nothing in Europe. Any more later. I think I will wait until tomorrow to hit the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Update
I am sitting in Panera eating a French Baguette, thinking next week at this time I'll just be eating a baguette. As you can clearly noticed I have not updated the Media Dork in quite a while. That is for a number of reasons, but mainly because I am lazy. Therefore in the upcoming fall I will not attempt to keep blogging. I just don't see it as something I will keep up with. What I plan on doing is designing a website and start doing weekly-ish columns or rants. I think this will work better, but that is neither here nor there.
Anyway, it has been a long time since I posted here, so I thought I would update everyone. In a terrible twist of fate, on May 29, 2006 I lost my mentor, my teacher, my role model, my friend...my Father.
Robert M. Geidner lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at 51 years old. He was a scientist, a teacher, and a father. His science background is what lead him to hospital labratories, where he worked for nearly half his life. At the time of his death he was the lab manager at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. One employee remembered him as "the best boss they ever had" and another as "the best and cheapest psychologist." His love for chemistry is also what led him to his latest passion, winemaking. He made a variety of types from Merlots to Ports to Zinfandels. Benson Mills Winery was in its infancy, but Dad had big dreams for it.
Although chemistry was his passion, it was teaching that was his true nature. His love of teaching is what guided him as a cub scout master and a scout leader. He guided and taught hundreds of boys, including my brother and I during those years. Those years also provided me with the fondest memories I have of my Father. The weeks we spent backpacking through Shenandoah National Forest or canoeing on the French River will always be etched into my mind. They represent some of the happiest times in my life and I am truly blessed to have shared them with my Father. Unfortunately, Dad was not able to reach his dream of teaching at the collegiate level. He was offered a position teaching a chemistry class for the 2005-2006 school year at Villa Julie College, but he had to withdrawal due to his first surgery. Villa Julie again offered him the same position for this upcoming school year. He was amazingly excited for the opportunity.
As a Father, he was not overbearing. He did not nag us. He simply led by example. I cannot remember a time he said I needed to read a book or study. But I also can’t remember a time in which he was not reading at least one book. At the time of his death, he was reading at least 6 books. They ranged from books about winemaking to Bill Bryson’s “A History of Nearly Everything” to a biography of DaVinci. I think it is because of this example that both my brother and I value reading so much. I also share his dry, sarcastic sense of humor and his overall outlook on life. I learned an immense amount from my Father and although I wish I had more time with him, his life will forever serve as beacon and example for my life. And for that I will always be grateful.
With everything that happened I have spent the last six weeks out here in Baltimore at my Dad’s house. I had to postpone my trip to Europe, which was supposed to be from May 21 to June 20. It is now June 27 to July 26, which means I leave tomorrow.
I take off from BWI tomorrow at 1:35 P.M. and land in Amsterdam, Netherlands at 7:00 A.M. on Wednesday. I plan on staying in Amsterdam for a few days and then head over to Paris. From Paris I will head down to the French and Italian Riviera. I plan on stopping in Nice and the Cinque Terra. After that I will head to Siena, a favorite of my Fathers and then over to Vienna and Prague. After Prague, I will head over to Germany to hang out with Tomas. Then back to Amsterdam and back across the pond.
Anyway, that is the plan, but who knows if it will stick. I will try to post here as often as possible, just to let everyone know that I am alive and what country I am in.
Anyway, it has been a long time since I posted here, so I thought I would update everyone. In a terrible twist of fate, on May 29, 2006 I lost my mentor, my teacher, my role model, my friend...my Father.
Robert M. Geidner lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at 51 years old. He was a scientist, a teacher, and a father. His science background is what lead him to hospital labratories, where he worked for nearly half his life. At the time of his death he was the lab manager at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. One employee remembered him as "the best boss they ever had" and another as "the best and cheapest psychologist." His love for chemistry is also what led him to his latest passion, winemaking. He made a variety of types from Merlots to Ports to Zinfandels. Benson Mills Winery was in its infancy, but Dad had big dreams for it. Although chemistry was his passion, it was teaching that was his true nature. His love of teaching is what guided him as a cub scout master and a scout leader. He guided and taught hundreds of boys, including my brother and I during those years. Those years also provided me with the fondest memories I have of my Father. The weeks we spent backpacking through Shenandoah National Forest or canoeing on the French River will always be etched into my mind. They represent some of the happiest times in my life and I am truly blessed to have shared them with my Father. Unfortunately, Dad was not able to reach his dream of teaching at the collegiate level. He was offered a position teaching a chemistry class for the 2005-2006 school year at Villa Julie College, but he had to withdrawal due to his first surgery. Villa Julie again offered him the same position for this upcoming school year. He was amazingly excited for the opportunity.
As a Father, he was not overbearing. He did not nag us. He simply led by example. I cannot remember a time he said I needed to read a book or study. But I also can’t remember a time in which he was not reading at least one book. At the time of his death, he was reading at least 6 books. They ranged from books about winemaking to Bill Bryson’s “A History of Nearly Everything” to a biography of DaVinci. I think it is because of this example that both my brother and I value reading so much. I also share his dry, sarcastic sense of humor and his overall outlook on life. I learned an immense amount from my Father and although I wish I had more time with him, his life will forever serve as beacon and example for my life. And for that I will always be grateful.
With everything that happened I have spent the last six weeks out here in Baltimore at my Dad’s house. I had to postpone my trip to Europe, which was supposed to be from May 21 to June 20. It is now June 27 to July 26, which means I leave tomorrow.
I take off from BWI tomorrow at 1:35 P.M. and land in Amsterdam, Netherlands at 7:00 A.M. on Wednesday. I plan on staying in Amsterdam for a few days and then head over to Paris. From Paris I will head down to the French and Italian Riviera. I plan on stopping in Nice and the Cinque Terra. After that I will head to Siena, a favorite of my Fathers and then over to Vienna and Prague. After Prague, I will head over to Germany to hang out with Tomas. Then back to Amsterdam and back across the pond.
Anyway, that is the plan, but who knows if it will stick. I will try to post here as often as possible, just to let everyone know that I am alive and what country I am in.
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