More on restaurants and stores

Before I get on with the main topic of today's post, I would like to formally announce that the guy who works at the CERN security gate can go blow himself (not the whole staff, just the guy working the gate today, he knows who he is). Allow me to explain. Last night I had misplaced my CERN ID card. The last time I specifically remembered having it was when I went to pick up my bike last night. My bike was parked outside a building about 30 yards behind the front gate. After I got my bike, I rode it back to my apartment. I chilled there for a little until it was time to go out for the evening. When I was getting my stuff together, I couldn't seem to find my ID, but I didn't really need it then so I just didn't worry about it. This morning when I woke up, I decided to search for my ID just to make sure I had it. I searched nearly every inch of my apartment but couldn't find it. I realized that I must have dropped it on or before the bike ride back. I got on my bike and retraced my path. I kept my pockets zipped shut last night, so I figured that my ID must have fallen out when I got my bike key out where it was parked. Now, an ID is required to get on site at CERN, but I carefully wrote out a letter in French to the guard saying that I thought I dropped my ID card a few meters from the gate and would like to just check the ground to see if it was there. I brought my passport as picture ID and the key card to my office, which I wouldn't have been able to get unless I worked there. The security guard said that he could not let me in. I explained to him that the place I wanted to check was within 30 yards of where he was standing and he had a clear view of me the whole time. If for some reason I had tried to go anywhere else, it would have been too easy to stop me. It would have taken literally 20 seconds for me to run to that place, check the ground, and determine if my ID had fallen there or not. If I found it there, then he could see it and let me in. If not, I would just realize it's not there and come back. The guard still wouldn't allow me to pass. Seeing how this was pretty much a lost cause, I gave up and biked back home.

Now, as fortune would have it, I passed the receptionist as I was entering the building and she was leaving. She told me that my ID card was found in the building's garage last night and was being held behind the counter. I gladly thanked her and got got back my ID. Now, seeing how I have my ID back and don't have to worry about going through the process of getting another one, I should be happy.  I should be able to forget about the whole thing and move on, but the guard's general rudeness and unwillingness to help still really rubbed me the wrong way. For that, he has earned a spot on my shit list. If that is something that I'm going to have to deal with a lot, then Switzerland loses quite a few points here.

With that off my back, let me get back to where I left off.

-I believe I had started mentioning the issue with restaurants being expensive. That's it really. Going out to eat is something that I can't really do that often because I really just can't afford it. If you go walking down the street looking at the menus for various restaurants, it's pretty uncommon to find things under $20. The cheap options are pretty few and far between. There isn't a whole lot of fast food here like in the US, and by that I don't just mean the big chains, but anywhere that can provide cheap food within a reasonable amount of time. Delivery also doesn't exist, at least as far as I can tell. I think one of the cheapest things I found so far is McDonald's, but come on. It's still the same shitty McDonald's food that you would find in the states. Almost any other fast food chain would be better. I particularly miss Chipotle and Subway, though those are only really semi fast food. Even Wendy's, perhaps one of the most underrated fast food places out there, would be much appreciated. I suppose there's always the kebab place, but I need some variety to my diet. There are some places in Geneva and St Genis that look moderate in price, but really sketchy in character. For example, when a restaurant serves both pizza and sushi (and nothing else), you really have to ask if any good can come out of this. I guess this is just motivation to learn to cook more, though the limited kitchen utensils I have don't exactly help with that.

-Another thing that is really starting to get to me is the hours which places are open. Any store will be closed by 7:30 PM on weekdays, if not sooner. Most places close around 6. This is not particularly helpful when I have to stay at work late and I need to do errands. Since our storage space is so limited, I can only really get enough food for 2 or 3 days usually. This means I have to go out of my way to schedule days during the week where I have to leave early enough to go do errands. The worst is Sundays though. Everything is closed on Sundays: restaurants, stores, general services, you name it. This means that if I am not adequately stocked with food by 7:30 on Saturday, I can either beg on the streets or starve. Even public transportation runs on a limited schedule on Sunday. That last bus comes to my stop at around 5 PM on Sunday. This means that if I go anywhere on Sunday and I'm not back by 5 PM, I'm screwed. Also, if I have to go anywhere that is beyond biking distance after 5 PM on Sunday, I am screwed. Not that any stores are open, but say I want to meet up with people who live far away for dinner or just to hang out. This makes that very difficult. And God help me if it's raining (more on this later).

+/- On the subject of public transportation though, it is better than New Haven. Granted, I have a car there, but every now and then I use the Yale shuttle when I know I will not be able to drive, and I have quite a few grievances with the Yale shuttle. Anyone who has been around me waiting for the shuttle has already heard these many times though, so I will not get into that here. Geneva has a much more accessible transportation system that makes getting around easy, for the most part. When you're in the city itself, the bus comes rather frequently. You rarely have to wait more than a few minutes for the bus to come. The further out you go, the more you will be waiting. In St. Genis, where I am staying, the bus comes once an hour. It'll come once every half hour during the morning and evening rush hours, but this is only a small portion of the day. It gets kinda frustrating when you have to start basing your schedule around when the bus comes. This becomes particularly true at night, since the bus stops between midnight and 1 AM. This means that if I am spending an evening in the city, I have to be really careful to leave by 11 PM so I can catch the last bus home. If I miss it, it's either take a 4-hour walk back or pray that whoever I am hanging out with has a place to crash at in the city. On Friday and Saturday there is a night time bus which runs extra late, but it only comes once every two hours. This means that if you don't carefully plan your night, it could mean the difference between getting home at 3 AM or 5 AM. And of course, as I just said, transportation practically doesn't exist on Sunday.

+ One thing that's kinda nice is that the laws regarding carrying and drinking from an open container are much more relaxed. If I am headed from one place to another and want to finish my drink while walking or even taking the tram, it's perfectly fine. It gives much better seating options at bars too, since it is ok for people to hang out and drink outside. Some of the European people I met were actually quite baffled when I explained the U.S. laws regarding open containers. They couldn't wrap their heads around the idea of being forced to finish your drink before you leave the bar, or not being allowed to drink while in a moving vehicle. Of course, there are people who take advantage of this law a bit too much. Last year, for example some guy was walking through the train station chugging a beer and then just passed out right on the floor. No one knew who he was and I think the police just came and got him out of the way. Also, just last night on the bus home, some guy had just finished his drink. For a few minutes he wasn't looking very good, mainly just tired, but then I noticed him projectile vomit all over the floor. People started screaming and running to the other side of the bus. The people running the bus didn't even seem to care that much. They just covered it with baby powder to mask the smell and kept on driving. Of course for the rest of the ride the air was filled with a cloud of vomit-infused baby powder, but at least I got home without them stopping the bus. When all was said and done, at least it makes for a good story, and no one got seriously hurt.

I think that's all I've got for now. Next time I'll try to talk a little less about food, but I will still probably have a few comments about particular items that I have on my mind.