I have an awesome brother

The past two years, I’ve been living in the town just South of Zürich on the East side of the lake, Zollikon. Two weekends ago, I moved to Wollishofen, a part of the city of Zürich. When moving from one community to another in Switzerland, it is necessary to let the authorities know about your move within about a week of the move. So last Wednesday, I took a few hours in the afternoon to take care of the necessary paperwork. I went to the Zollikon Gemeindehaus and unregistered from the community. With the required stamp in my B-permit, I went to the corresponding office for the Kreis 2 district of the city of Zürich and registered as a resident in my new home city, Zürich. To register in Zürich cost me eighty Swiss francs—considerably more than it cost for me to register in Zollikon two years ago.

On Friday when I returned home from work, I found a letter in my mailbox, from a local restaurant. Restaurant Seerose (German for Water Lily) is located on the lake just a few minutes’ walk from my new home. I often pass by the restaurant when rowing on the lake. It’s nice, and quite fancy. “Wow,” I thought upon seeing the envelope addressed to me, “that was fast.” I assumed that the City of Zürich had shared my name and address with local businesses, and that the restaurant had sent me a note letting me know about their establishment. When I opened the envelope, I found an even nicer surprise waiting inside:

“A message from Ethan Lowry of Santa Clara, California, welcoming you to your new neighborhood.”

The letter was accompanied by a gift certificate for dinner for two at the restaurant. Isn’t that wonderful? In a Skype call later, Ethan explained how he accomplished this clever and generous gesture. He looked in Google Maps for restaurants close to my new address; and finding a nice one, called and spoke with the manager to arrange the letter and gift. I plan to use the gift certificate soon.

Thanks, brother. You’re the best!

A week with Ethan & family in the Bay Area

_MAL6781, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I just returned from a very enjoyable week in the S.F. Bay Area with my brother Ethan and his family.

I flew out there on the fifth of January, and stayed with Ethan & Kelly at their home in Santa Clara. While in the Bay Area, I met with my Swedish friend Rebecca, visited the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, worked for a couple of days at the Almaden Research Center in San Jose, walked among giant redwood trees in Big Basin park, stuck my toes in the Pacific Ocean on the beach in Santa Cruz, and visited San Francisco with Ethan & family. However, the part of the trip I valued the most was having the opportunity to spend time with my adorable niece Evelyn! She turned one just a few months ago, and is really beginning to develop a personality of her own. It was simply wonderful to get to know her a bit better.

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world. Should I ever move back to the 'States, it would be near the top of my list of places to settle.

Goodbye, Mama-mama

_MAL0274.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

This morning at 6:40 A.M., my maternal grandmother Etha Johanaber Howard died peacefully in her bed, surrounded by her loved ones.

My “mama-mama” was a role model in my early life. She exemplified the virtues of love, compassion, patience, and hard work. The holidays we spent at my grandparents’ home in Dallas are some of the happiest memories of my childhood. Etha suffered several strokes in recent years that left her body and mind diminished; but I‘ll always remember the thoughtful, kind and dryly witty character who could communicate volumes in a wink or a glance.

The last time I saw my grandmother was two months ago in Dallas, when the family gathered at my aunt Melanie’s home to celebrate Thanksgiving. The photo above shows Etha getting to know her great granddaughter Evelyn, as my mother Alaire and sister-in-law Kelly look on. Evelyn is my brother Ethan’s daughter and she is the first of her generation in our family.

Mama-mama was a dear friend, loving grandmother, and an important person in my life. She will be sorely missed!

Climbing at Austin Rock Gym

_MAL0099.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Last night I joined Ethan and Dave for some bouldering at Austin Rock Gym. It was my first time to do any indoor climbing in the U.S. The bouldering problems here are graded according to the ”Hueco” grading system, developed here in Texas at the Hueco Tanks State Historic Site.

In this photo, Ethan does a hand-foot match on the way up from under the overhang. Last night was Dave’s first time climbing. He did alright considering that!

Prior to last night I hadn’t done any climbing in more than two months. My strength has deteriorated noticeably and the skin on my hands has lost some of its toughness. Even so, I was pleased with the climbing. I even did a couple of rather tricky problems. I have missed climbing! I'm looking forward to returning to my home turf and resuming my routine of climbing twice or three times per week.