Sleep experiment

Since I needed to take shifts in Japan, I decided to do an experiment on myself.
I picked 7 days of consecutive night shifts with no free day before or after. So basically, even if I am in Japan, I am on European time. Now, if we always lived inside, and the sun didn't matter, this should work just fine. But with my current schedule of going to bed at 8am and waking up around 4pm, I basically see the sun for about an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. Which is not so different from being a grad student in a windowless office, like I was for the past 6 years. The only remaining variable is that I cannot make my room completely dark, the curtains are not good enough for that. I decided to try to go running everyday when I wake up at 4pm, just to make sure I go outside when there is sunlight. I am curious to see how I'll feel in a week and if I'll be jet-lagged when going back to Europe.

Right now, one and a half day in the experiment, I feel ok, but I do have the impression it is the middle of the night. Somehow my body knows it.. let's see if it will change.

Je m'insurge!

Le Croque-menus, le livre de recette de mon enfance, celui que l'on nous donnait a l'ecole, celui que j'utilise encore souvent quinze apres, le croque-menus va etre re-editer sans les recettes contenant de l'alcool. Plus de fondue au vin blanc, plus de jambon au Madere!!!!!! Mais c'est quoi cette histoire. Heureusement j'ai encore ma vieille version, mais je plains deja les futurs ecoliers. Je ne recommande evidemment pas les cuites a 15 ans, mais il ne faut pas pousser le politiquement correcte trop loin non plus. Une goutte de vin dans la fondue n'a jamais fait de mal a personne.

Swimming in lakes and rivers

It's amazing how much I love swimming in lakes and rivers.
Over the last few days between a trip to Paris and hours debugging/learning c++ code in my office, I had time to go swimming twice in the Rhone, and a few times in the lake. Even if I had full work weeks, this feels just like holidays.

If the Charles was clean enough to swim, can you even imagine how awesome Boston would be! I love Boston, but I always missed swimming.

Otherwise, being back home is really nice so far. Lots of family time, lots of friends time, and lots of good food. I know winter will be harsher, it tends to be just grey and boring, but at least now, Geneva is just a pleasure.

One more day

Two more birdy pictures. Because Geneva was spoiling me tonight.. we gorgeous rainbows over the Alps, and raimbows over the bird.







Otherwise not much to say. Tomorrow I'll go listen to a concert by my childhood friend Lole, one more thing I have been dreaming to do when I was in the US. I miss Boston though.. I miss you guys a lot.

So from now on this blog will be in English

Because the whole point of a blog is to let your friends far away know how you are, what you doing and stuff like this. And now that I am back in Switzerland, well most of my friends far away are in Boston. So here it is, now this blog is in English (with probably some exceptions once in a while).

Geneva has been really nice to me so far. Decent weather, good old friends, welcoming family, weekend in the Alps, evenings at "terrasses", and.. and... my cousin (who is my current roommate) lives just above one of the best bakery in Geneva (ergo I live just above on of the best bakery in Geneva). This means perfect chocolate croissants whenever I want except on Mondays when they are closed. I swear I'll post pictures of my office soon, but right now here is a little bird taken from my balcony..

These defendue et tout et tout

Voila deux semaines que je suis docteur :-)
Entre temps, j'organise mon demenagement a Geneve, j'ai chante "Cenotaph" d'Argento et la grande messe en do mineur de Mozart a Symphony Hall avec le choeur de l'universite, et je profite du printemps qui est arrive a Boston a tout vitesse. C'est chouette quand les choses avancent!

Et voila une photo d'apres ma defense:

De retour

Dans une semaine je defends ma these, et dans deux mois je serai de retour en Suisse. Apres onze ans, ca va faire bizarre de pouvoir manger des Caracs quand je veux, de devoir me soucier de mon numero d'AVS, de pouvoir voter autrement que par correspondance, et de raler contre le brouillard en hiver. Ceci dit, je me rejouis beaucoup.
Post-doc a l'uni de Geneve, je commence le premier juin... ca m'a fait tout bizarre de recevoir la paperasse pour mon premier boulot en Suisse.

Bon bon.. ceci dit il faut que je defende ma these lundi, et pour ca, j'ai interet a preparer mon talk maintenant.