Writing just to write...

Sometimes I like to read, sometimes I like to work-out, sometimes I like to listen to speeches or watch movies or play video games...but right now, all I want to do is write. It's funny how after you graduate from college the necessity of writing anything just for the sake of writing drops virtually to zero. As an engineer, the only writing that I do is concise e-mails shot back and forth to coworkers meant to convey a complicated message in as simple language as possible. Long words and phrases turn into acronyms and compound sentences turn into bullet points. Difficult computations are much better represented as an attached Excel document and in-depth presentations become PowerPoints. And the statements that get electronically transferred through e-mail must be checked and double-checked for comprehension and accuracy, for once that "SENT" button is pressed, your simple statements become living documentation demonstrating your, and the organization that you represent's signed and authorized opinion of a certain situation. E-mail's can be dangerous... One wrong word sent to one wrong person can mean a thread-ful of hurt responses. Even the choice between "TO" and "CC" becomes a matter of close scrutiny; does a person copied on an e-mail really need to read the e-mail at all???

Technical writing takes all of the freedom and creativity that existed in your high school English class and flips it on its head. The need to use symbolism and literary devices is trumped by the desire for clear and concise communication. Maybe this is why so many people turn to blogging (and Facebook) to express their needs to write...freehand...in whatever literary fashion they may so desire. Whether a post contains the grammatical inferiority of an 8 year old or the professional tone of a world renowned author, the blog-ee can always feel good about taking the words within him and setting them out to the world (with no risk of rebuttal except that of a sharply phrased comment or two...) Although I do not think of myself as a regular "blogger", I respect and understand those who take the time to keep up with the online world and freely contribute their thoughts and opinions. Thanks to everyone who does this as it continues to keep people like me (lazy internet stumblers) with a bit of Attention Deficit Disorder entertained every day. Maybe someday I'll get more involved in the wide world of blogging and give a little back myself...

What's happening at Pax?

Engineers are testing the most advanced aircraft in the world, Joint Strike Fighter.  In this video it demonstrates its VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) mode.  Amazing piece of machinery...

New Job in Maryland

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted anything in this blog...one, because I'm no longer in Germany and I haven't been for over a year now. Two, because I'd gotten very busy (and lazy) and had neglected to take the time to share my feelings in blog form.

But since my last posts I've still had lots of experiences that have been very meaningful to my life. For one, I've now graduated college and have moved on to take on the challenges of the "real world." This week, I started my first full-time job working in Southern Maryland for the government. So far, the job has been a little slow as it'll take some time for me to get through all my security clearance and paperwork so that I can start workin on real projects. Hopefully, my projects will involve some travel and I can see some more of the United States just like I got to see so much of Germany.

I should be gettin on this more often from now on and posting some short updates. Again, if anybody has any comments to make, please feel free! Comments and questions will give me a lot more encouragement to keep goin on this blog knowing that someone out there is reading.

New Blog

I just wanted to let anyone who might be following this blog know about another blog I am currently writing for the college of engineering at Purdue. I'll be staying more up-to-date in it for a while so if you want to know the latest happenings in my life, check out my new blog at:

https://engineering.purdue.edu/Blogs/KyleZienin

Enjoy!

Two months in Europe (in a nutshell)

It's a little ironic that the last post I wrote about was strike because it seems that I have gone on strike for the last two months from blog writing. If anybody's been following this and dying to have me write another posting, I'm sorry it's taken so long, but now it's finally here!

Phew, where to start off... I've done soooooo much since the last posting that it's gonna be really hard to get in to any sort of details about my adventures so what I'm going to keep it simple. I'm going to list the cities that I've visited, write about the first memory that comes to mind, and post either a video or a picture.........go!

Dublin, Ireland - St. Patrick's Day... Probably one of the craziest trips of my life... One of the most insane times was standing in the street among thousands of people watching the annual Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade. In addition to that, I met kids from all over the world, explored my family's history, drank lots of Guinness, and hung out in an Irish Pub or two. Not too bad of a trip I think...be sure to check out the pictures on Picasa!

Munich, Germany - My parents came and visited and after we spent some time in Berlin, we headed to Munich, home of the Hofbrauhaus, bratwursts, and all that is German beer. Among our various trips to the beer gardens we met up with some interesting people including a French nuclear physicist named Pierre.

Hohenshwangau, Germany - From Munich, we headed south to Schloss Neuschwanstein, the castle known as the inspiration for the Walt Disney Castle. Not much more to say except the whole area was incredible and I'd recommend it to anyone going to Germany. And pictures describe it better than words...

Dachau, Germany - After coming back to Munich it's just a short trainride to a little city on the outskirts called Dachau. A little suburban city that seems normal until you walk into the memorialized concentration camp that held over 200,000 people and took the lives of over 25,000 of them between the years of 1933 and 1945. The gate still holds the dark slogan for prisoners that "Arbeit macht frei" (work makes freedom). Within the camp we saw lots of chilling reminders of a horrible time in human history including the ovens that burned bodies towards the end of the camp's use...

Paris, France - From Munich, we took an all-day train ride west into France to visit the spectacular city of Paris. Although I had thought the city might be a little overrated, I found out I was completely wrong. The buildings were incredible and at night the twinkling of the Eiffel Tower lights up the entire city...

Be sure to also check Picasa for more pictures of everywhere I've been. It's really been an incredible adventure. I hope that everyone back in the States is doing well and having a good summer.

BVG wird bestreikt

These three words have caused me about six hours worth of walking back and forth between my home and the nearest train station... BVG is the Berlin train service that operates the U-Bahns and busses. Bestreikt means that they have gone on strike... I think I said that I needed some exercise in one of the posts before this; I guess my wish is coming true... The strikes that are occurring in Berlin are occurring simultaneously with many others across the country. It seems like everyone in Germany is going on strike lately. From kindergarten teachers to trash collectors to airport workers and train operators, the strike across Germany has most definitely hit all areas of the German public sector. And because public transportation the primary form of transportation for Germans, the strikes have also caused chaos on the roads forcing hundreds of people who almost never drive to get out their cars and use the roads. When I was walking down Unter den Linden the traffic was backed up from museum island to Brandenberg Tor (that's a long way if you don't know). And this Monday there is a good chance that the other train union GDL will also go on strike effectively shutting down all of the trains in Germany. This means that there will be neither any inter-city trains or s-bahns that typically bring me to work... Since I work about an hour away from the city by train I don't really have any idea what I'm going to do if this happens. I guess I get a day off?

Hertha BSC - Nur nach Hause

This weekend I attended my first ever German Fussball match in Berlin. The game was Hertha BSC (Berlin's soccer team) versus Duisburg (an apparently not-so-hot team ranked very low in the German Bundesliga). The games are held in the Olympiastadion that was built for the 1916 summer Olympics and just recently was host site of the World Cup. Although I didn't make this video, it pretty much sums up the atmosphere... Thousands of Hertha fans, who call themselves the Ultimas, remained standing the entire game, singing songs, waving flags, cheering, chanting, and just plain being crazy supporters of Hertha football. Before I went, I bought a blue Hertha scarf with their slogan on it:

"Nur nach Hause geh'n wir nicht"
(Translated: "Only home, we don't go")

I sang along with all the songs as best as I could and drank some German beer and pretty much had an incredible time. Hertha won the game 2-0, ending a 10 game losing streak at night games in the Olympiastadion in Berlin. I'd like to think think that it was because I was there to support them... Also, I found out that Hertha BSC is actually a friend of Karlsruhe's soccer team so when I go to University in Karlsruhe and suddenly become a Karlsruhe fan everyone won't hate me for supporting Hertha.

Now if only I could be attending some Purdue basketball games right now (Big Ten champs?)...