sey085

I think it's time to coin a new phrase and seeing as how this blog reaches literally handfuls of people each week, I can't think of a better place to do it. I propose the phrase "Swiss victory" with the following definition: Swiss victory, n., something achieved only in the barest possible terms; an undeniably positive result which still leaves much to be desired. Recent examples of Swiss victories: my apartment search, buying a bike, being overcharged by the cable company, and now ... Laundry! Ah, laundry. The white whale to my Captain Ahab; the Captain Kirk to my Khan. My quest to achieve a minimally acceptable laundry situation started the first day I moved into this apartment, and honestly, I would have bet on it outlasting me and leaving me a bitter, destroyed man. Instead, due to a small bit of luck and a bold move on my part, I can now declare victory -- or at least Swiss victory. Last week, I was doing my laundry in the usual way: I waited until 10 o'c...

It's not exactly a secret that Americans think that Europeans smell bad. OK, it's not a secret either that I think that Europeans smell bad. Just like blind people have heightened senses of hearing, I (in order to make up for my astigmatism, no doubt) have been given a powerful sense for detecting body odor. This gift, though, has been a cruel curse through four years at Harvey Mudd College and then another half dozen surrounded by grad students with less than ideal grooming habits. Still, I believe that it makes me an expert in this field, and thus I feel qualified to comment on the situation here. As I only have true first-hand knowledge of the situation here in Switzerland, I will focus my comments on the Swiss, who -- for the most part -- don't smell that bad. Some (not all) Swiss people smell bad most (not all) of the time because they are living in the frigging dark ages of doing laundry. Here, doing laundry is a chore roughly on par with changing the oil in yo...