I guess something of an update is in order, so here goes. This past weekend was Oktoberfest in Campbell, CA, and was ok overall, I guess. We (and pretty much everyone else we overheard) were disappointed that the Campbell Chamber of Commerce (we are assuming everything has to go through them as Oktoberfest is put on by them) decided to make the beer glass and mugs almost half as big as they were last year and in previous years...but still charge the same price for them and for beer tickets. I guess it is another sign of the recession/depression rearing its ugly head, but still. Events like this provide an escape from the day-to-day horror most families face, financially and otherwise. To give you an idea, I actually took the time to measure out how much liquid the glasses hold as compared to last year. I measured in millileters because that was the tool I had available. Here goes:
- Spaten beer mug and tall Franzikaner beer glass (both from the year before last as well as being the standard glasses available for sale with beer tickets for previous years): Each of these glasses hold 700ml of beer
- Branded "Oktoberfest" tall beer glass from 2008: 650ml of beer
- Oktoberfest 2009 Glasses: Spaten beer mug and "tall" Franzikaner" beer glass: A whopping 400ml
That is a HUGE size difference. I noticed the size difference in the mugs, first, when I saw a guy walking past me as we arrived with one in hand and I commented to Amy, "What sort of a pussy glass does THAT guy have for TODAY?". Little did I know I was about to personally find out as I shelled out money for them...
All of that aside, I think we all had a great time because - for the first time pretty much ever - we were able to enjoy it with friends who came out. Scott and Renee can always be relied upon to join us and take part in stuff like this, but we also were joined by Layce as well as the entire Silveria brood. The Silverias should be highly commended for attending as they had to drive all the way from Tracy and, unfortunately, were involved in a bit of a car accident when they were hit by another vehicle while trying to merge from 580 onto 680 (I think that is where they said it happened...). Thankfully, everyone was ok and damage to the Silveria transport was minimal. After enjoying some beers and checking out the various arts/crafts booths, we decided we had had enough and went to Rock Bottom Brewery nearby for an early dinner.
In other news: I am over halfway done with my project management modules and I may even be able to get a month extension on my LHH benefits to give me some more time to finish them up. Amy and decided to put Devlin back into daycare - at least a few days out of the week - to allow me to finish up the modules as well as to prep for our move. And speaking of the move, we signed our lease agreement and are currently researching moving companies. Both Amy and I feel a moving company is the best option given the amount of stuff we have to move and the distance we are going. Planning for the move is actually progressing very well. I am impressed with the order we are creating out of chaos and hopefully ensuring everything comes off smoothly. We are planning on visiting the house to take pictures and video of all rooms and the outside; we will be sure to post for everyone to check out asap.
And either as an example of the luck of the Irish, Murphy's Law, or some variation of Chaos Theory: As soon as we signed our new lease, I received two calls to schedule interviews. One is a phone interview for a company located in Fremont and the other is a confirmed in-house interview with a semiconductor company in San Jose. This gives me some concern given our upcoming move, but I certainly cannot say no to them, now can I?
Lots of stuff going on, moving fast. Try to keep up...
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