Well here is a quick post. I am currently in Alabama and life is going well. The meetings have gone smooth and I have not felt unprepared at all which is really nice. I just finish up in Mississippi and I am on my way back to Alabama and I am filling the rental car up. The guy behind me tried to convert me to Jesus while standing in line at a Truck stop. How crazy is that? Who does that? So he gives me a CD and tells me that just like Dion Sanders there is more to life than Just winning Super Bowls. The reason for the title of this blog post is because that is what everyone used to say when I lived in Charleston. It never sounded right to me. At this truck stop they had some awesome Elvis stuff so I had to buy some. I think I might but all of me lights and everything I can from a Truck stop. If it is not sold in a truck stop I do not want it. I went and had some BBQ tonight and it was very good. I ate enough to be really full but not so much that I do not feel good. That is the best thing about the South is committed to the making really good food. I say keep it up, and we will look the other way when it comes to healthy eating. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Come On Rain
Well yesterday was crazy. It started in DE at a steel mill and it had rained on and off the night before so it made the steel mill very muddy and dirty. So the car is a little dirty right around the wheel wells and normal areas, but here is where it gets good. I arrive at my final Destination of Annapolis, MD and it is rainy so much that i see a guy with a beard outside hammer nails in what looks like an arc. It was unreal how hard it had rained and for so long. It was at least 3 hours of steady hard rain. So when I woke today, I looked out and there was still all of the steel mill dirt on the car. It is crazy how thick and bad the dirt is in steel mills. I also want to address another point, I have been getting some static about how low-tech this blog is. Well here is what I have to say, i am working on trying to improve it. I am working with a top-notch team to get things ramped up and you will see improvements very soon. As always. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Peace out.
Kirk
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Back on the Road
Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the extended delay. I am back on the road selling brake pads and life is great. I am currently in Petersburg, Va and will be driving around the Mid-Atlantic cost all week. It should be a good time. The one quick story that I have is that I think I am the only person on the planet who rents a car and asks for a smaller car than the one they give you. The first gave me a ford edge which is like a sleeker ford exploder but it was too huge and it only had 7 miles on the car. I tried a brand new rental car once before and it did not go that well so I went back inside and asked for a smaller one. I now have a Mazda 6 and it is really nice. It has Never lost which is really nice, and so far it is true, I have not been lost yet. So that is the story with what is going on. Today might be a little light on work so I am hoping to make some page changes. We shall see. As always, MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Sorry for the extended delay. I am back on the road selling brake pads and life is great. I am currently in Petersburg, Va and will be driving around the Mid-Atlantic cost all week. It should be a good time. The one quick story that I have is that I think I am the only person on the planet who rents a car and asks for a smaller car than the one they give you. The first gave me a ford edge which is like a sleeker ford exploder but it was too huge and it only had 7 miles on the car. I tried a brand new rental car once before and it did not go that well so I went back inside and asked for a smaller one. I now have a Mazda 6 and it is really nice. It has Never lost which is really nice, and so far it is true, I have not been lost yet. So that is the story with what is going on. Today might be a little light on work so I am hoping to make some page changes. We shall see. As always, MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Thursday, April 3, 2008
the last day
Well today is my last full day in Europe which is good and bad. It is good because we only have one meeting left and bad because I am really starting to warm up to this place. It is a lot of fun. Right now i am in Ghent. The hotel is totally kick ass. If you are ever in Ghent you need to go here. it rocks the name of the hotel is Carlton Hotel. We got here after a trip though Paris. My feelings changed about 3 times during our trip. When I first arrived i thought who in their right mind would want to go here, that lasted until we got into the heart of the city and in view of the Arc de Tripmphe. That was really fun and really cool. My opinion changed at that point to this place is really cool and I now Know why people love this place. That feeling did not last long though. Once we got out of that area of town, the traffic was crazy. I wanted to go on a 3 country killing spree the traffic was so bad. When in Paris do not drive. It is not worth your time or your health. So there you go. Life is good and it will be good to be back. Oh one other thing. They are having a Monster Jam over here. This is the same thing that I took my girlfriend to for Valentine's day. Yea it is world wide and totally kick ass. I do not know if Belgium has enough rednecks, hillbillies and mullets to make the show work but it sure looked fun. We will be chatting and as always MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Peace out.
Kirk
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
the last 24?
Let’s talk about the food for a minute. When I was in France I made it a speacil point to stop by and check out a McDonald’s. As they say in Pulp Fiction, it is true that in France they call the ¼ pounder with cheese the Royal Cheese. Just Like Vincent said it is because of the metric system. It just proves to you that all movies are true. So we are headed back to France from Germany for the last time and that should be good.
Germany is a trip. We started in Nuremburg. and then went to Wertzberg and then and back. The best part about Nuremburg is that it is the heart of where they wear lederhosen . I was this close to being the new owner of a pair, but it was a little steep. Man, I would have looked awesome in it.
It is very easy to see that English came from German. We use a lot of words that they use and so getting around was not too bad. We tried to take the bus to our meeting but it got to the end of the line and 1) did not make everyone get off and 2) did not say anything. It was really odd. So we rode a couple of more stops back down the route and got off and found a taxi. I tell you that story to tell you this one. So maybe getting around was worse than I thought.
So we get a taxi and the guy says he knows where it is and drives us over there. Well the company had moved. He speaks with the woman in the box and she gives the directions to the correct place. At this point our fare is €10.10 and we are not in the correct location. Now this driver is really upset and is very sorry that he took us to the wrong place. So he resets the meter to take us to the correct place. We finally get to the correct place and the fare this time is €10.10. That was too strange. The people in Germany are very nice. I think I am going to move here not because the people are nice but they eat everything that I really enjoy.
After the meeting, we get back to Nuremburg and we are looking for something to eat. For breakfast I had a croissant with a hot dog in it. Wow is that good. How could the morning start any better than that? Stay away from the coffee because that does not taste good. Then we had to stop and get a soft pretzel. What a deal. Maybe the best soft pretzel that I have ever had and it was €.60. So we get back from our meeting and now we are looking for some lunch. We start walking in a smaller section of town and we find this place that sells all of the great German food (schnitzel, sauerkraut and sausages). So this place rocked. It was just like something that you would see out a movie. The head waitress was older and had short hair and looked not so nice. Kind of like a mean Grandma, and the young waitress looked like she used to party quite a bit but still had some life left in her. The cook was a big man who after he was done making our meals came out and poured himself a beer. Man it was awesome, so when in Germany act like the Germans. I thought about getting the 50 sausage plate because of how awesome it was but instead I got the 6 sausage plate with warm potato salad and it was so good. The soft pretzels at the restaurant were quite good. The pretzel bread itself was salty so they did not have any added on. As we are leaving the restaurant we notice that there is a peep show right next to us, and it opened at 10 am. It was also a sex shop so they were open for all of those early morning sex needs.
As for Sex in Germany, man do they love there S&M.. You should see some of the stuff that they had on display I could only imagine what they had in the back of the store. In the .5 km that it took to find us this restaurant we must have passed 3 S&M stores. It was unreal. I would have thought we were in the wrong section of town but there were a lot of other more normal stores in that area. So who knows, but I can tell you that they are there, and the German’s love to get beat.
The biggest bummer about being in Germany was that I did not hear one Techno song. That was really too bad. Their style is awesome though. I saw one business man who looked like he was a professional, and he was wearing a brown striped shirt, black striped pants that were a different size stripe, brown jacket and dark shoes. Clearly he does not the rules even I would not wear that outfit.
This maybe the best story of the trip. So we go through security in Nuremburg (without having to take our shoes off) and everything is good. Nothing beeps and we are good to go. Then we are walking around and in one of the gift shops we see them selling standard gift shop stuff except for one item. That item is Swiss Army knives. Who needs to bring weapons through security when you can just by them after you are through. Man this is a different place. I almost bought one just to say that I did. I think America has other things to worry about than if people are bringing weed or whatever through the airport. So that is want is going on. We more than half way done with the trip. Sorry for the long post but as usual, MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Germany is a trip. We started in Nuremburg. and then went to Wertzberg and then and back. The best part about Nuremburg is that it is the heart of where they wear lederhosen . I was this close to being the new owner of a pair, but it was a little steep. Man, I would have looked awesome in it.
It is very easy to see that English came from German. We use a lot of words that they use and so getting around was not too bad. We tried to take the bus to our meeting but it got to the end of the line and 1) did not make everyone get off and 2) did not say anything. It was really odd. So we rode a couple of more stops back down the route and got off and found a taxi. I tell you that story to tell you this one. So maybe getting around was worse than I thought.
So we get a taxi and the guy says he knows where it is and drives us over there. Well the company had moved. He speaks with the woman in the box and she gives the directions to the correct place. At this point our fare is €10.10 and we are not in the correct location. Now this driver is really upset and is very sorry that he took us to the wrong place. So he resets the meter to take us to the correct place. We finally get to the correct place and the fare this time is €10.10. That was too strange. The people in Germany are very nice. I think I am going to move here not because the people are nice but they eat everything that I really enjoy.
After the meeting, we get back to Nuremburg and we are looking for something to eat. For breakfast I had a croissant with a hot dog in it. Wow is that good. How could the morning start any better than that? Stay away from the coffee because that does not taste good. Then we had to stop and get a soft pretzel. What a deal. Maybe the best soft pretzel that I have ever had and it was €.60. So we get back from our meeting and now we are looking for some lunch. We start walking in a smaller section of town and we find this place that sells all of the great German food (schnitzel, sauerkraut and sausages). So this place rocked. It was just like something that you would see out a movie. The head waitress was older and had short hair and looked not so nice. Kind of like a mean Grandma, and the young waitress looked like she used to party quite a bit but still had some life left in her. The cook was a big man who after he was done making our meals came out and poured himself a beer. Man it was awesome, so when in Germany act like the Germans. I thought about getting the 50 sausage plate because of how awesome it was but instead I got the 6 sausage plate with warm potato salad and it was so good. The soft pretzels at the restaurant were quite good. The pretzel bread itself was salty so they did not have any added on. As we are leaving the restaurant we notice that there is a peep show right next to us, and it opened at 10 am. It was also a sex shop so they were open for all of those early morning sex needs.
As for Sex in Germany, man do they love there S&M.. You should see some of the stuff that they had on display I could only imagine what they had in the back of the store. In the .5 km that it took to find us this restaurant we must have passed 3 S&M stores. It was unreal. I would have thought we were in the wrong section of town but there were a lot of other more normal stores in that area. So who knows, but I can tell you that they are there, and the German’s love to get beat.
The biggest bummer about being in Germany was that I did not hear one Techno song. That was really too bad. Their style is awesome though. I saw one business man who looked like he was a professional, and he was wearing a brown striped shirt, black striped pants that were a different size stripe, brown jacket and dark shoes. Clearly he does not the rules even I would not wear that outfit.
This maybe the best story of the trip. So we go through security in Nuremburg (without having to take our shoes off) and everything is good. Nothing beeps and we are good to go. Then we are walking around and in one of the gift shops we see them selling standard gift shop stuff except for one item. That item is Swiss Army knives. Who needs to bring weapons through security when you can just by them after you are through. Man this is a different place. I almost bought one just to say that I did. I think America has other things to worry about than if people are bringing weed or whatever through the airport. So that is want is going on. We more than half way done with the trip. Sorry for the long post but as usual, MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Travel, Travel, Travel
Well today went well. It started in France and we are now in Germany. We did three countries in one day. Only in Europe. We had a great meeting and hopefully we will get a big order. Everyone has been very friendly and very helpful.
Here is the total bummer; now that there is the EU there are no customs and no passport stamps. What a bummer. So I will only get 2 stamps for all of the countries that I am visiting. I have one from the Netherlands and I am getting on from Belgium when I leave. So that is a bummer but I could imagine what a hassle it was when you had to clear customs like every 15 minutes. I guess you win some and you lose some. As of now I have been to 2 countries every day so far.
They way we boarded was very interesting. First the woman takes our tickets and we walk out to a bus. Once on the bus we waited for everyone to get their tickets ripped. Once we had everyone on the bus we went to the plane. It felt like we were taking the bus to Nuremberg. Then we get to the plane and everyone gets on in the back of the plane. I have never done that before where we get in on the side and in the back of the plane. Who knew? We are on the flight to Nuremburg we got on the plane (not a jet but a plane with propellers) and the people have left the luggage from the last fight on our plane. It was so funny. Could you imagine standing waiting for your bags because the guys forgot them on the plane? That is just so funny. Never that would have happened in America.
Once we arrived in needed to get to the hotel and we were wondering if it would be faster to take the subway or take a taxi, Well here is your answer, it is the same. We were trying to buy tickets to the subway (because I am cheap) and there was a very helpful man who helped us buy tickets and get to the correct train stop on the subway. So we take the train to the central station and that same helpful man (who worked for the railway and spoke flawless English, like something out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades) said we need we needed to go one more stop. So we hop back on the train and take it one more stop. We get off the train and start walking in what we think is the correct direction and we get to the 1st hotel we see (not ours) and who is pulling up in a taxi? Yep that is correct the flight crew for the plane we flew in on. So there you go it does not pay to take a taxi and the subways are very friendly, very cheap and easy.
Tomorrow is a very busy day with some train rides and some taxis with a meeting in the middle. We start in Nuremberg and then we end outside of Paris in a town which I think is called Pigville or something similar in French. We shall see. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Here is the total bummer; now that there is the EU there are no customs and no passport stamps. What a bummer. So I will only get 2 stamps for all of the countries that I am visiting. I have one from the Netherlands and I am getting on from Belgium when I leave. So that is a bummer but I could imagine what a hassle it was when you had to clear customs like every 15 minutes. I guess you win some and you lose some. As of now I have been to 2 countries every day so far.
They way we boarded was very interesting. First the woman takes our tickets and we walk out to a bus. Once on the bus we waited for everyone to get their tickets ripped. Once we had everyone on the bus we went to the plane. It felt like we were taking the bus to Nuremberg. Then we get to the plane and everyone gets on in the back of the plane. I have never done that before where we get in on the side and in the back of the plane. Who knew? We are on the flight to Nuremburg we got on the plane (not a jet but a plane with propellers) and the people have left the luggage from the last fight on our plane. It was so funny. Could you imagine standing waiting for your bags because the guys forgot them on the plane? That is just so funny. Never that would have happened in America.
Once we arrived in needed to get to the hotel and we were wondering if it would be faster to take the subway or take a taxi, Well here is your answer, it is the same. We were trying to buy tickets to the subway (because I am cheap) and there was a very helpful man who helped us buy tickets and get to the correct train stop on the subway. So we take the train to the central station and that same helpful man (who worked for the railway and spoke flawless English, like something out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades) said we need we needed to go one more stop. So we hop back on the train and take it one more stop. We get off the train and start walking in what we think is the correct direction and we get to the 1st hotel we see (not ours) and who is pulling up in a taxi? Yep that is correct the flight crew for the plane we flew in on. So there you go it does not pay to take a taxi and the subways are very friendly, very cheap and easy.
Tomorrow is a very busy day with some train rides and some taxis with a meeting in the middle. We start in Nuremberg and then we end outside of Paris in a town which I think is called Pigville or something similar in French. We shall see. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Monday, March 31, 2008
In Belgium needing to use the bathroom
Well here is an update about the last 24 hours. We had a good meeting in Amsterdam. Before I left, I was talking with my dad and he said that you need to be careful because everyone is intrested in US politics and they do not like George Bush so be on your toes. I said sure then and went on my way. Well in our 1st meeting the 1st two questions were 1) How is the economy and 2) who are you voting for? Well there goes that plan. I dodge the question as best I can and he seemed to be happy with my answer so that was another bullet dodged.
So once we are done with the meting, we take the train from Amsterdam airport to Lille, France. That means we have to go through Belgium. Even better we have to change trains in Belgium. So we get off the train and I need to use the bathroom. After much searching we find a bathroom but it costs money to use the bathroom. What kind of crap is that? Is that insane? Had I really had to go I probably would have found a corner or something because I am not paying for something I cannot prevent. That is unreal. It is like paying for every breath. Well I could hold it and went on the next train which made everything very nice. Also, in speaking with people sometimes when you pay to use the bathroom, they give you only a certain amount of toilet paper. Now that is down right insane. Holy cow.
So we were on the high speed train and from Amsterdam to Belgium it was not very fast but from Belgium to France it was very fast. I would say it is the fastest that I have ever been on land. I think they said it was about 200 K an hour. Wow. So we arrive in Lille and life is good.
Lille is a really cool town. It is very nice and very pretty. The city center is huge. It is unreal how big it is. So we had a good time there and it was awesome. It must not have been too damaged during the war because there are so many nice old buildings there. As you could guess when we went out for dinner I forgot my camera so that is a total bummer. So no photos of the town.
At dinner it was awesome, we were sitting in the American section. I say this because there was a guy who was I think right of the plane talking with the most stereotypical Frenchman. The Frenchman had no expression on his face and looked like someone was reading the phone book to him. Well our waiter was amazing. He was this little Frenchman how had like a 3 Musketeers facial hair thing going on and looked right out of central casting. It was awesome. I had some lamb because they said it was very good here. Because Lille is below sea-level the grass is salty and it makes the lamb extra tasty. Alcide was the name of the place and it is worth your time if you are Lille. Do not order the Steak Tartar because it looks like a huge plate of ground beef, I do not know how they eat it (and I like beef). I look forward to you all and as always MORE TO COME.
Peace out,
Kirk
So once we are done with the meting, we take the train from Amsterdam airport to Lille, France. That means we have to go through Belgium. Even better we have to change trains in Belgium. So we get off the train and I need to use the bathroom. After much searching we find a bathroom but it costs money to use the bathroom. What kind of crap is that? Is that insane? Had I really had to go I probably would have found a corner or something because I am not paying for something I cannot prevent. That is unreal. It is like paying for every breath. Well I could hold it and went on the next train which made everything very nice. Also, in speaking with people sometimes when you pay to use the bathroom, they give you only a certain amount of toilet paper. Now that is down right insane. Holy cow.
So we were on the high speed train and from Amsterdam to Belgium it was not very fast but from Belgium to France it was very fast. I would say it is the fastest that I have ever been on land. I think they said it was about 200 K an hour. Wow. So we arrive in Lille and life is good.
Lille is a really cool town. It is very nice and very pretty. The city center is huge. It is unreal how big it is. So we had a good time there and it was awesome. It must not have been too damaged during the war because there are so many nice old buildings there. As you could guess when we went out for dinner I forgot my camera so that is a total bummer. So no photos of the town.
At dinner it was awesome, we were sitting in the American section. I say this because there was a guy who was I think right of the plane talking with the most stereotypical Frenchman. The Frenchman had no expression on his face and looked like someone was reading the phone book to him. Well our waiter was amazing. He was this little Frenchman how had like a 3 Musketeers facial hair thing going on and looked right out of central casting. It was awesome. I had some lamb because they said it was very good here. Because Lille is below sea-level the grass is salty and it makes the lamb extra tasty. Alcide was the name of the place and it is worth your time if you are Lille. Do not order the Steak Tartar because it looks like a huge plate of ground beef, I do not know how they eat it (and I like beef). I look forward to you all and as always MORE TO COME.
Peace out,
Kirk
Sunday, March 30, 2008
They call them coffee shops but it does not smell like it
So I arrived in Amsterdam and took a quick snooze. Not too long because that would have really did me in for the jet lag. So Diane and I head into Amsterdam to just check it out and eat up the rest of the day. We took the shuttle to the airport and then the train to downtown. I took a taxi to the hotel when I got here and I got taken for a ride. Oh well, I am sure that there is European getting fleeced by an American sometime right now so it all works out. Here is the hotel where I will be laying my head Tonight . So there you go. Amsterdam is a pretty cool place. The thing that amazed me was that there was really no traffic. Maybe it was Sunday who knows, but it looked like a pretty manageable city. On the main drag outside of the Train station there is a bike parking lot and there must be about 2000 bikes. It is unreal how many people have their bike parked at the train station. The main street in the city is packed with shops of trinkets and what not. I think every store bought their gear from the same distributer. We crossed over many canals and I had a lot of thoughts, which were not limited too, 1) How deep is the water? 2) How clean is the water? 3) what do you think is at the bottom of the canal? 4) How many people go into the water every year? So there you go. So as we were wondering around I did not see any "hash bars." Well I was looking for the wrong thing. They are called coffee shops. Not only do they sell weed but they also sell Mushrooms. They call mushrooms "energy starters." Know I have known a few people on mushrooms in the past and energetic was not the first adjective that I would have used for them. So the Coffee shops are all over once you know what you are looking for. >This should give you a better idea of what they are. So there you go. We did not get to the red light district but those things happen, and that is why you want to come back. Next time I am going to get a bike and hopefully go on a bike tour and try not to crash into the other million bikes that are in this town. Well I am off to bed so I can get a good night sleep. I look forward to hear from you and I hope all is well. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Peace out.
Kirk
a long time away
Well folks, I am back. Sorry for the delay but a lot has been going on so let me bring you up to speed. I am currently in Amsterdam. I am not wearing any clogs but there was a crocs shop in the airport so they must take their cloging very seriously. The crocs sell for the same price in Europe as they do in America. The only problem is that there is the exchange rate thing that people have been telling me about, so crocs is making money hand over fist because the Euro is worth more than the USD. So the flight was fine and everyone had a wonderful time. No real problems, got some sleep and arrived in Amsterdam first thing in the morning. Customs was so easy, there was no paper to fill out, just hand them your passport they stamp and you go on your way. It is that easy. I arrived and it was raining so that is not that awesome. The airport in Amsterdam has to be the biggest airport I have ever been to. It is unreal. I think it might take up 85% of Holland with Amsterdam city taking up 13% and 1% for the canals and 1 % for flowers. It is just massive.
Well hopefully I will get into the city center and buy a bike because I have always wanted to park a bike at the Amsterdam Train Station and just keep it there for when I need it. I would also give my friends my key to my bike lock if they were ever in Amsterdam and wanted a bike. My phone does not seem to be working so that is bad news if you would like to talk to me but good news for the blog because I will be posting a lot more. I am here for a week and doing 4 countries in 5 days so that should be pretty fun. There will be a lot of travel and some business so I do not know how much I will be able to see and look around but I promise to keep you as informed as possible. You are more than welcome to join me. Also I would say the best thing to do is to RSS this blog. It is so awesome and it really helps you stay on top of things. I look forward to hear from all of you. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
Well hopefully I will get into the city center and buy a bike because I have always wanted to park a bike at the Amsterdam Train Station and just keep it there for when I need it. I would also give my friends my key to my bike lock if they were ever in Amsterdam and wanted a bike. My phone does not seem to be working so that is bad news if you would like to talk to me but good news for the blog because I will be posting a lot more. I am here for a week and doing 4 countries in 5 days so that should be pretty fun. There will be a lot of travel and some business so I do not know how much I will be able to see and look around but I promise to keep you as informed as possible. You are more than welcome to join me. Also I would say the best thing to do is to RSS this blog. It is so awesome and it really helps you stay on top of things. I look forward to hear from all of you. MORE TO COME.
Peace out.
Kirk
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