Well, 24 hours after leaving Mick’s place in Munich yesterday morning, I’m finally back in Los Angeles after many delays. The flight home was even worse than the flight to Rome two weeks ago (not for the guy who had the heart attack on the plane though). My last full day in Germany started early on the train from Altenbuch to Munich. Sabine’s 2 husbands (Alan & I), rode with her to the Landshut station where we said our goodbyes:
Mick & Miggl met us at the train station in Munich and we had a quick lunch before Alan had to catch his train to Switzerland. After that, Kurt met us at a coffee shop by the Isar and we hung out with two cute kids, Helena & Julius:
Comparing retro shoes with Mick
Then we biked home and Matthias came and picked me up for dinner. Beate cooked a delicious Thai meal, as good as any I ever had in Thailand!!
Saying goodbye to Kurt
Was it MURDER???
Mick & Miggl’s balcony…one of the reasons for their 5 star accreditation and entry in the Fornia family of fine boutique hotels!
Master chef Beate cooked a great last supper to end my trip!
In the morning, I walked to the train station and headed to the airport, where the outdoor beer garden was already busy.
I had some time to kill in Chicago as everything was delayed, so I relaxed and enjoyed seeing the artwork for the city’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Good luck!
All in all it was a great trip. I visited old friends and made many new ones. I relaxed by the sea and traversed the Alps. Another memorable GLY gathering. Special thanks to Bine for organizing everything and to Massi for letting us stay in his beautiful Tuscan villa. I’ve got a bunch of videos that I’ll have to compile and post later. Ciao Bello!
I’ve been coming to Germany many years to visit friends in the GLY gang, but I haven’t been back in 3 years since the World Cup. Munich is such a great city. The days here always start with a trip to the bakery for Bavarian Bretzels, which I favor with Nutella:
No trip to Latin Bavaria would be complete without a visit to Mick’s childhood home where her parents ran a successful bakery for years. I even learned how to bake bretzen in that very bakery back in 2000!
Traditional photos with Mick’s Mom over the years…with the red hood my friends gave me as a gag gift because my ears are always cold!
Mick’s parents always prepare a delicious treat for us!
Mick’s parent’s lovely garden
I picked some flowers for Bine’s Oma (grandmother).
Another mandatory stop for me in Bavaria is the home of Sabine’s aunt and her 90 year old grandmother. She always has hand knitted socks ready for us:
One of the best surprises of this trip was getting to see little Patrick. I haven’t seen him since January in San Francisco, and his language skills have exploded in the past six months. I can now hold full conversations with him. We had so much fun while the adults visited with each other!
Then we went into town for dinner. When we came back at 11 PM, Patrick was still awake! The poor little guy had jet lag and didn’t get to sleep until 4 AM like me!
We made it through the Alps in Youenn’s little car! I must admit, I had my reservations:
…but the trip was breathtakingly beautiful. I’ve done it a few times now and the scenery never gets old. The weather was gorgeous most of the way through Florence and all of Italy. We hit an awesome storm in Austria, but emerged to blue skies soon enough:
Click for full size
We’re in Munich now, staying with Mick & Miggl and I must admit it’s nice to have high speed Internet again and a long hot shower (the beach house’s hot water didn’t last long with 20+ people staying there!). It’s unseasonably cool in Bavaria, but feels good after the heat and humidity of Italy. Today Alan and I headed to the Marienplatz to buy him an iPod Touch. His poor wife Bine is about to become an iPod widow. Boys and their toys! Tomorrow we will spend the day visiting Mick & Bine’s families and get to see Tom, Cathy & Patrick who just arrived from San Francisco. I’m looking forward to seeing them all.
Miggl prepared an amazing dinner for us upon our arrival in Munich.
The girls made paella for lunch.
And we had yet another delicious meal together!
Mick’s aunt, the soccer playing nun, even stopped by from her Swiss mountain abbey and brought Toblerone!
Tomorrow morning, my friend Youenn and I will be driving through the Italian and Austrian Alps in his 22 year old Renault 5! Wish me luck! We’re heading to Bavaria to meet up with a bunch of friends. We’re taking the scenic route, so it will be a 14 hour drive, but it should be beautiful. The weather here has been gorgeous, and with the beach just a walk away, we always have a nice ocean breeze. Yesterday we celebrated Sabine’s 40th birthday by visiting Il Giardino dei Tarocchi in Garavicchio. It’s not something you’d expect to find nestled in the Tuscan hillside, yet there it is, like Disneyland on acid. Today we explored the Etruscan Necropolis in Tarquinia; a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring remarkably well preserved tombs dating back to the 7th Century B.C. The paintings in the tombs weren’t exactly G Rated. Let’s just say the Etruscans were a wild bunch! I’ll write more after I get to Munich. Until then, here are some of my favorite photos from the past two days. They’re all uploaded here.
Massi and his angels: Bine, Eva & Lindsay
The Tuscan Hills are alive!
Don’t flatter yourselves!
I’ve been calling Lindsay “principessa” (princess) all week!
Update: Sabine & Alan’s wedding party was a sumptuous feast for all the senses! The Tuscan hills will be whispering about this party for years to come! About 35 “GLY” members old and new were in attendance from 7 countries and a good time was had by all. The air card I have for Internet here is pretty expensive and we’re pretty remote, so keep checking this link for new pictures as I won’t always be updating Xanga. Until next time, I leave you with our party pictures.
Happy 4th! We’re celebrating Bine & Alan’s marriage in grand style. The party is in full swing at our Tuscan villa. We have 6 Americans, 1 Czech, 3 French, 1 Togolese, 6 Italians, 1 Englishman and 12 Germans. I can’t begin to describe how difficult it has been to get these pictures uploaded. Suffice it to say, it was very involved, nothing is easy in Italy. I think we’ve got it worked out now though, so here are the pictures from yesterday. I’ve had to shrink them to a small size to conserve my SIM card credits, but you get the idea. We’re having a lovely time…hope everyone else in the States is having a Happy Independence Day. Sorry I’m not going to have much time to comment back or email. Thanks for all your well wishes though. And a special thanks to David for making this all possible! Ciao!
I had to call amazon.com tonight about a problem with an order. If you’ve ever tried calling them, they’re not an easy company to get a hold of. They don’t like talking to people. If you’re ever looking for a number for a company like that, www.contacthelp.com is a good resource:
I was able to get what I wanted from amazon, by using the old “I have a blog…” speech. Though my rhetoric lacks the dulcet tones of Martin Luther King, it usually gets me what I want. Coincidentally, Dan sent me the following article tonight. This is what I’ve been saying all along to the companies I write customer services blogs about, and I’m glad someone is finally noticing! Keep up the good fight people. You can almost always get what you want, as I’ve proven time and time again.
People are connecting with one another in increasing numbers, thanks to blogs, social networking sites like MySpace and countless communities across the Web. Some companies are learning to turn this growing groundswell to their advantage.
Companies are used to being in control. They typically design products, services and marketing messages based on their own particular view of what people want. Keeping up with customers has meant conducting research on their needs and test marketing new products and services. Because the balance of power has favored large corporations with a lock on manufacturing, advertising, distribution and other operations, the term “customercentric” was mostly just a buzzword.
Now, though, many customers are no longer cooperating. Empowered by online social technologies such as blogs, social networking sites like MySpace, user-generated content sites like YouTube and countless communities across the Web, customers are now connecting with and drawing power from one other. They’re defining their own perspective on companies and brands, a view that’s often at odds with the image a company wants to project. This groundswell of people using technologies to get the things they need from one another, rather than from companies, is now tilting the balance of power from company to customer.
To understand the dramatic implications of this shift, consider what happened in 2006 when Brian Finkelstein, a law student, was having trouble with the cable modem in his home. A repairman from Comcast Cable Communications Inc. arrived to fix the problem, but when the technician had to call the home office for a key piece of information, he was put on hold for so long that he fell asleep on Finkelstein’s couch. Outraged and frustrated, Finkelstein made a video of the sleeping technician and posted it on YouTube. The clip became a hit, with more than one million viewings, and to this day the image continues to undermine Comcast’s attempts to improve its reputation for customer service.
Comcast is not alone. Another popular YouTube clip contains dialogue between a customer trying to cancel his subscription and America Online. What should have been a simple conversation becomes a battle as the AOL service representative stubbornly persists in trying to retain the customer, sorely trying his patience. Finally, the customer says, “I don’t know how to make this any clearer for you: Cancel the account. When I say ‘cancel the account,’ I don’t mean help me figure out how to keep it. I mean cancel the account.” Apparently, the clip struck a nerve as hundreds of people posted comments on the YouTube page, many of them bashing AOL and relaying similar experiences with the company. CNBC even devoted a report to the whole flap. Read More…
Of course, I like to blog about when I (or my friends) receive good Customer Service too, as Bine did last week from Emirates Airways when her camera got stolen from her luggage in Bangladesh:
Carey Anthony
Carey, you should be proud of me 1 message
From: Bine
Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 8:01 AM
To: Carey Anthony
well, the camera got stolen but I complained and now at least I got upgraded to business…this should make the flight back much more comfortable :))
see, I am following your footsteps.
—– Weitergeleitete Mail —- Von: Faria Islam An: Bine CC: Rafiqul Islam – FAM – Bangladesh; Hanif Zakaria – Mgr Bangladesh Gesendet: Donnerstag, den 5. März 2009, 18:57:54 Uhr Betreff: EKDAC/082/09
Dear Mrs. Sibler,
Thank you for your email to my colleague Mr. Rafiqul Islam dated 03 March 2009, advising us of the baggage incident you encountered when you travelled with Emirates.
We are concerned to learn that you discovered your digital camera missing from your bag at arrivals hall on February 28, 2009. Please note that all baggage related items are to be registered immediately at the Arrivals Hall before leaving the Customs area as this enables our baggage staffs to assess the extent of the claims in details. Nevertheless, we wish to assure you that Emirates takes such incidents seriously and copy of your letter was sent to our Security department in Dhaka for their attention.
Nevertheless, as a gesture of goodwill, we have upgraded you to Business Class all the way to Munich.
Thank you for contacting us and for giving us the opportunity to respond. We hope this unfortunate incident has not marred your impression of Emirates and that we will be given another opportunity to demonstrate our service commitment.
Thank you
Faria Islam Customer Affairs Executive Customer Services Tel: 008802 9885572
Speaking of crappy companies, have you heard about Sony’s latest offering?
Claudio’s brother Cris and his wife Valesca are visiting with their two kids Victor & Isabella, so we drove up to Santa Barbara to meet up with Eva (who just returned from Bine’s wedding) and Bassam. It was a rare rainy day in Southern California, and at first the kids were a little hesitant on the beach. But soon, the clouds dissipated and it ended up being a gorgeous day!
Little child, be not afraid The rain pounds harsh against the glass Like an unwanted stranger There is no danger I am here tonight
Little child Be not afraid Though thunder explodes And lightning flash Illuminates your tearstained face I am here tonight
And someday you’ll know That nature is so This same rain that draws you near me Falls on rivers and land And forests and sand Makes the beautiful world that you see In the morning
Little child Be not afraid The storm clouds mask your beloved moon And its candlelight beams Still keep pleasant dreams I am here tonight
Little child Be not afraid The wind makes creatures of our trees And the branches to hands They’re not real, understand And I am here tonight
And someday you’ll know That nature is so This same rain that draws you near me Falls on rivers and land And forest and sand Makes the beautiful world that you see In the morning
For you know, once even I Was a little child And I was afraid But a gentle someone always came To dry all my tears Trade sweet sleep for fears And to give a kiss goodnight
Well, now I am grown And these days have shown Rain’s a part of how life goes But it’s dark and it’s late So I’ll hold you and wait ’til your frightened eyes do close
And I hope that you’ll know That nature is so This same rain that draws you near me Falls on rivers and land And forests and sand Makes the beautiful world that you see In the morning
Everything’s fine in the morning The rain will be gone in the morning But I’ll still be here in the morning
hidden behind some old trees… and far away from any civilization… some gnomes got word of a GLY wedding!! In order to find the right spot for a proper wedding greeting they set out on a long, long hike… and with the help of fantastic creatures… …they finally found a charmed spring. A few drops of that precious liquid gave them their final inspiration. In a quiet, peaceful place they created a work of outstanding art…
…to send warm Wedding Greetings to the couple of the year!
BINE & ALAN – ALL THE BEST WISHES FOR YOUR WEDDING AND A LOVE-FILLED FUTURE TOGETHER!
Since
our youngest gnome and GLY-member couldn’t join our incredibly long and strenuous hike he sends his own special greetings and hugs to you!
And she will always carry on, something is lost but something is found. They will keep on speaking her name, something’s change, some stay the same. The above video doesn’t work on all versions of Firefox, so if it doesn’t play, try Internet Explorer or click here.
Regular readers of this space know my friend Sabine, or Bine for short. You know about her resilience, her charm and her joie de vivre. You might also remember what a tough time she had last year at Virginia Tech. You know that her inimitable style and always positive attitude have gotten her, and indeed our entire group of friends, through the best and the worst of times. She is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted world. She approaches everything she does with passion and fervor, and is the glue that bonds our international family of friends together.
What you may not know however, is that she is my wife! Yes, it’s true. We were married in a small civil ceremony in Italy on August 19, 2000. The ceremony was officiated by the great great grandniece of the Red Baron. Her name was Baroness Andrea Von Richthofen (no kidding!). Mick was the maid of honor, Miggl the best man and Eva the flower girl. Now, some background:
I met Sabine at Marcelo’s house in Piracicaba Brazil in 1997. That Christmas many people had converged on Marcelo’s family home; both friends of Marcelo (like me) and friends of his sister Adriana. Many of us did not know each other, but we all soon became great friends, and began our tradition of traveling together for New Year’s each year. I was “homeless” at the time, traveling the world with my job, all expenses paid. One day, we were all sitting by the pool in the backyard eating mangoes, and I was telling this assembled group of new friends my life story. At the end, Sabine said, “Honey, I should marry you. What a great life you have!” To which I responded, “Honey, the only way I would ever marry you, is if we were in Florence Italy, at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio!” We all laughed.
Well, as luck would have it, wouldn’t you know that three years later we all found ourselves in Florence, Italy at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. Our friends had bought some truly rinky dink rings on that same famous bridge earlier that day, and as the sun sank into the horizon, we said our “vows“.
LOL, so there you have it. The story of my phony wedding in Italy. Today, Sabine, the two timing tramp, got married to Alan. In all honesty though, I can’t say that I’ve been entirely faithful in this marriage. So here’s to you Bine, on your wedding day. I wish I could be there with you in Denmark to celebrate, but as you know I’m in Orlando all next week on business. I know that you will have a wonderful day. You always do. You il always carry on, and I will always love you. GLY! xoxo
If you need to talk today, don’t hesitate to call.
xoxo
Carey
From: Bine
Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 4:05 AM
To:
Carey Anthony
thanks! Means a lot!
it is harder than I thought. receiving all these e-mails from
friends at Virginia Tech of what is going on in Blacksburg. Feels like I am at the
wrong place. Hard to focus! All the memories and with it all the
flashbacks of emotions. Painful
talk to you later.
Bine
I’m reposting my blog entry from one year ago today:
What follows is a
first hand account of this weeks tragedy by my friend Sabine,
who thankfully lived through it. Please take the time to read
this. It’s terribly sad, but also hopeful. I
appreciate your condolences to my friend and the loved ones she
lost. She will be arriving in California tomorrow night, and
I know she will be overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.
Thank you. –Carey
“He was an injustice
collector”
Day 3 -
Wednesday
I’m heading to the aiport now to pick up
Sabine. Thank you ALL so much for your messages, comments and
prayers. I will pass them on tonight…
She’s finally here. I hope she can
begin healing,
Day 2 -
Tuesday
———- Forwarded message
———- From: Bine Date: Apr 17, 2007
9:48 PM Subject: the second day To: nye
group
After a day of immense sadness and an
emotional roller coaster I am finally home. I have spent most
of the day with friends from our department. Today the shock has
settled and the magnitude of Monday’s event hit all of us. Especially
when we went back on campus to attend the convocation. Everybody from
our group couldn’t help but sobbing. We hugged each other and we tried
to comfort each other, which indeed helped.
The convocation was good for
our school especially the speech given by Nikki Giovanni who talked
about our morning and our capability to move on. After that we
went back to a friends place to be together and share the time and to
support each other. One of our friends, went to visit Gil, who has been
released from the hospital already, and to talk to him. And for you to
see, what an amazing person Gil is: He said today, one day
after he had been shot, that he is not angry at the shooter, that he
forgives him. this was not only his fault, it was also the society’s
fault our inability to help human beings who are in pain. He forgave
the VT-administration, which failed to close down the campus after the
first 2 homicides. But most importantly he wants to thank his
classmate, who was shot just seconds before him (as of now, I don’t
know the name), and who fell on top of Gil, so when the shooter came
back, his classmate was shot again and this way saved Gil’s life. Gil
said, “he has not only saved my life but the life of my wife, the life
of my son, the
life of my parents”. Gil is so much more at peace than we all are. No,
he has not yet left the shootings behind, but he has already started to
move on.
Maybe you have heard that tuesday night
was a candlelight vigil on the drill field of VT. Our group did not go
there but stayed at the friends house where we organized our own
candlelight vigil. It is not that we didn’t want to show our sympathy
with the others, but as our departments mourns the loss of 10
students/faculty, we just wanted to be closer to them…somehow.
Our classes have been canceled for the rest of the
week and Norris Hall will be closed for the remainder of the semester.
Some of our professors have already announced, that they are not going
to finish their classes anymore, they simply can’t.
Many people from our group of friends are heading
to home to get some healing time, and Youenn has offered me to pay for
a ticket to Providence (thank you so much for this generous offer).
First I thought I needed to stay here, but after today, being so
emotionally drained, I decided to leave Blacksburg for a while. I am
not going north though, I guess I am ready for some sun and ocean (well
and the friends/husband at the west coast, too). Carey, the master of
frequent flyer miles has gotten me a ticket to LA tomorrow afternoon
(Thank you again).
I again want to thank you all for
your help, support, phone calls and love. I just hope everybody here at
VT has a similar circle of friends…
love
bine
From: Carey
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 10:03
PM To:
Sabine Subject: RE: the second
day
You never need to thank me for loving you my friend! See
you tomorrow. xoxo
Sabine was interviewed by one of the bigger papers in
Germany this morning. Sorry if you don’t read German
Our “GLY” family in Brazil in 2002
Update 6:56 PM PDT:
Why Outsourcing is
Bad
After Sabine called me at noon, I called United
Airlines to book a flight. I was a 1K flyer with United for
over 12 years. What that means, is that I flew 100,000 miles
or more, every year, on United Airlines. With this status,
you would think I would have some influence with the airline, or at
receive some perks even though I switched jobs and do not travel near
as much anymore.
When I called United, I was routed to
a call center in India. In the past, 1K customers
could call a number where a human being actually answered the
phone. That stopped on 9/11. When I confirmed that
I was indeed speaking to a customer service rep. in India, I told them
what I was looking to accomplish. I had already checked all
of the flights out of Roanoke, VA (the closest airport to Blacksburg,
VA where the massacre happened) and all of the flights were booked for
frequent flyer seats. I told United that I had assumed they
would have opened up more seats because of the tragedy, and the
customer service rep. said, “What tragedy”. I told her
briefly what had happened, and she said there was nothing she could
do. I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, and no one was
available, so I ended the call.
Now, keep in mind that I am used to getting what
I want. Traveling that much, for as many years as I did,
taught me very well how the system worked and how to work the
system. A few minutes later, when I called back, I was
speaking to someone in the Philippines. I immediately asked
to speak with a supervisor and I was transferred. I then
explained to the supervisor what had transpired, and asked him if he
was aware of the tragedy in the U.S. He told me that he was,
and that he was sorry for all the victims.
Now I’m not ethnocentric enough to expect
everyone in the world to know about, let alone even care about what
happened at Virginia Tech. yesterday, but I would
expect a U.S. based carrier to inform their call centers around the
world that an event had occurred that would change the pattern of air
travel temporarily out of a few cities closest to the event.
I calmly explained this to the supervisor in the Philippines, and he
agreed with me. I asked him to abandon normal protocol and
open up some frequent flyer seats for my friend Sabine.
Again, I know the system very well, and I
know what is possible and what is not. (Most everything is possible by
the way!)
After I had secured flights to and from Los
Angeles for tomorrow thru Sunday, I asked that he transfer me to United
Airlines Corporate Headquarters in Chicago. He said
he could not transfer me, but he would see if he could get
someone there on the line and conference me in. It took a
while, but before long, I was on a conference call with the Vice
President of marketing for United Airlines. I explained the
situation and how the supervisor in the Philippines had helped
me. I also said that the majority of people affected by this
tragedy would not know how to or, in their grief, be able to work the
system like I did. I told him in the nicest way that just
like his industry changed after 9/11 that the average consumer’s world
changed with the advent of blogging.
Never before in history, has the individual
consumer been able to have such a massive effect on the
world. Lately I have noticed how my blog is coming up as the
first or second hit on certain Google searches. The reason
for this is that I post very frequently and tag my entries
well. I told him that if enough people were to blog about
United Airlines indifference to this tragedy at their call centers
around the world, that they could have a public relations nightmare on
their hands, and that I would be more than willing to make that
happen.
I suspect those of you who know me, know what
happened next. The Vice President of Marketing for United
Airlines promised me that he would notify call center
supervisors via systemwide email, that customers flying out of
airports within 2 hours of Blacksburg, Virginia would be offered
special fares and accommodations for the next 2 weeks. To be
fair, they had already instructed individual airports in the affected
area to accommodate travelers affected by the tragedy. What
they did not do however, in this new global economy, was thing
globally. The Internet has made the world a much smaller
place after all. Walt Disney knew this 50 years ago, even
before the Internet.
It’s a world of laughter, a word
of tears. It’s a world of hope, and a world of
fears. There’s so much that we share, that it’s time we’re
aware, it’s a small world after all.
Me and my friend Sabine last
Christmas
Update 12:14 PM PDT: Sabine just called me to say
that 10 people from her department were killed including her
professor. She wants to come to Los Angeles ASAP as students
are leaving the campus in droves, as it’s just unbearable to be
there. I will be looking for plane reservations from Roanoke
to Los Angeles for her tonight, and hopefully she can be here by
tomorrow, at least physically away from all of that terrible, terrible
sadness.
Day 1 -
Monday
At 7:10 this morning, I got an email from one of
my best friends, Sabine. We have spent New Year’s Eve
together for the past 10 years all over the world.
She is from Germany, but she is getting her PhD at Virginia
Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. I’m happy to report
that she is alive and was not injured today, though sadly, some of her
friends were killed. In the days and weeks to follow, we will
find out more about the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
For now however, we remember the victims of this terrible
tragedy. What follows, is the complete thread of emails I
received from Sabine starting early this morning. The emails
are listed in chronological order in Pacific Time, which is 3 hours
behind Eastern Time in Virginia. Note the times on the
emails, and at first, indeed the first few hours, so little was known
about what was happening on campus. Sabine actually makes
light of it, as she forgot to bring her lunch with her today.
The second series of shootings occurred 2 hours and 20 minutes after
the first, yet the campus remained open and students went to
class. Sabine also appended one of her messages with the
first and second emails sent to everyone on campus. Note the
times on these emails, and how progressively worse the situation
gets. Sabine was clearly in shock, and still trying to make
light of the situation despite how scared she was. She didn’t
want her loved ones to worry. Interestingly enough, the
university had 2 bomb threats last Friday. Last year an
escaped convict also rampaged the school, killing two police
officers. Sabine still does not know how many of her friends
were killed. As I write these words the death toll is 33,
with many more injured. I have tried to call her several
times today, and the cell networks are jammed. As you read
these emails, please keep the victims and their friends and families in
your thoughts. –Carey
From: Sabine
To:
Carey
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2007 at 7:10
AM
we got evacuated from our buildings due
to a bomb threat and now we have a gunman…never a dull
moment in Virginia.
that is the last update on the
situation here on campus….craaazy!
bine
P.S: And people wonder, why
I am not finishing up with my thesis
;))
From: Carey
To: Sabine
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2007 at 7:14
AM
Didn’t this happen
last year too??? Stay safe. xoxo
Carey
From: Sabine
To:
Carey
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 7:18 AM
Well, not the bomb
threat, that is an exciting new feature ;))
The only
thing I am annoyed by is: I didn’t bring any lunch with me, and now I
am not allowed to leave the building and will be starving
here….well, lucky me, I do have some “natural reserves” so I
have a higher chance of surviving
:)) bine
From:
Carey
To: Sabine
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 7:24 AM
What a
nightmare! Are you home? You should finish
your PhD at UCLA. Los Angeles seems safer! Did
you see the pics of Bassam and Mariana?
From: Sabine
To:
Carey
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 7:43 AM
No, I am at
school…quite disturbing the whole thing! Check CNN…already
one dead…crazy
From: Sabine
To: Carey,
Eva, Carolina
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 8:24 AM
Subject: Fwd:
Second Shooting Reported; Police have one gunman in
custody
ok..getting a bit
nervous. He crossed campus and moves towards us. Norris
Hall is the building right next to ours, they better catch the
second one quickly
plus I am hungry and I need
food..;)
———-
Forwarded message ———- From:
Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007 9:02 AM Subject:
evacuation To: Carey;Eva; Carolina;
Youenn
Our
VT-server must have collapsed, I cannot get any e-mails from there
anymore.
They are evacuating us now. It is quite
some chaos here.
I have to say, this situation
scares the shit out of me…but definitely makes up for a good story
;))
bine
Forwarded message from Virginia Tech Office of the Dean Unirel@vt.edu
Subject: Second Shooting Reported; Police have
one gunman in custody To:
Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU >
In addition to an earlier
shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a
multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris
Hall.
Police and EMS are on the
scene.
Police have one shooter in custody and as
part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for
a second shooter.
All people in university buildings
are required to stay inside until
further notice.
All entrances to campus are
closed.
—– End forwarded message —–
From: Bine
Sent: Monday,
April 16, 2007 2:57 PM To: Undisclosed
Recipients Subject: Today’s
Shootings
ok, for
all of those who are reading about the VT-shootings online and worry
about me. I am fine. We were evacuated.
I am hanging
out with friends here in our house, nobody wants to stay alone right
now. Everybody is under shock. 22 people were shot. The second shooting
happened in the building next to ours, which also belongs to our
department, therefore we don’t know yet, if any of our friends are
among the victims. Cell phones are not working and we are still in
shock!
I will keep you
posted
bine
From: Bine
Sent: Monday, April 16,
2007 3:01 PM To: Carey; Eva; Carolina; Youenn Subject:
Today’s Shootings
…I am just
getting more and more bizarre information and you are probably are not
interested in all the details, but it kind of helps me putting it out
there, this way, I feel it is more real. We are all sitting here numb
and shock…all of us want to cry but we can’t.
A
friend of mine, Gil, who was in the classroom was shot in the head but
was able to call. By the time he called, he hadn’t realized that he was
shot and told his wife, that he was ok. He said that most of the others
where shot including a professor from our department, then he
collapsed. He is right now in the hospital and in surgery.
Another friend of mine, who NEVER skips class, skipped it
today!!
Again, I am not sure, why I am telling you
all this, but it helps.
My friends and I
are sitting here and feel so lucky!
Thank you all
for your concern and help…it really helps
———-
Forwarded message ———- From:
Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007 3:07PM Subject:
evacuation To: Carey;Eva; Carolina;
Youenn
Thank you all again for the support and all the good
wishes.
This is the most inconceivable, hardest and
scariest situation I have ever been in.
The thing
that drives us crazy is that we cannot get a hold of all our friends.
And it is getting harder and harder to stay hopeful and optimistic. It
has been confirmed now, that one of our professors has been shot. No
news on my friend Gil, they say the surgery will take at least 3 more
hours. We heard that they wanted to fly him to a specialist in Richmond
but they couldn’t. Due to the high winds they can’t used helicopters.
aaaaaaaah, I want to scream…everybody here sits and can’t
fathom what was going on. Some started crying now but most of us just
sit here and we can’t, we are still in shock and numb.
We also just heard, that it is not for sure if this
was really only one shooter. Blacksburg police told us to stay inside.
I am not sure, if this are only precautions or if this is really a
threat.
We sit here and just can”t believe how
lucky we were. All of us, have classes in Norris. All of us were so
scared, because suddenly we were afraid that the bomb threats might
have been more severe and as my building was already evacuated on
friday we all started to make connections and getting really scared.
ok, I just got another phonecall, and we heard that
another friend of ours, Dan, has been shot and killed.
———- Forwarded message ———- From:
Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007 5:17PM Subject:
evacuation To: Carey;Eva; Carolina;
Youenn
we
finally couldn’t stand it anymore and went to a hospital to see if our
friends are listed but we only heard about two and they were in
critical condition, on of them Gil. There was also one
friend, Nathanial, and he told the most horrible story, I don’t know
how he will ever be able to live with this
memory.
Nathanial was in one of the classrooms the
shooter went in and he reported the following:
The
shooter entered the classroom, shot the professor in the head and
then every single student in the classroom, all of them in
the head…all of them but Nathanial. He stood 2 feet away from him but
he didn’t shoot him. Then the shooter left, went on
to the next classroom shot people there and came back. Nathanial, in
shock still in the classroom. The shooter tried to spot everybody who
was still moving and shot them again…but again spared
Nathanial…then he left.
No deaths are confirmed
yet, and the only thing we know for sure is, that Gil and Nathanial
have survived but we are sitting here and have no idea how
to deal with this news.
We are all trying
to comfort each other and stay sane!
Again my
friends, thank you for all your support,help and love! It is
much appreciated and really
needed.
bine
p.s.: the phones are
not really working, it is hard to get through but Iwill try
to stay in touch with all of you as much as I can.
———- Forwarded message
———- From: Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007
11:37 PM Subject: last update for
tonight To: nye group
My roommate Lee
and I went finally home and try to get some
sleep/rest.
Throughout the night, we got more bad
news about other friends who got killed during this insanity.
Campus is closed for tomorrow but there will be a
community service at 2 pm on Campus. I want to go there, but
I am a bit scared to go back on campus. I don’t fear that there is
another shooting, I fear facing the sadness and the insanity of this
incident. I am scared, really scared. What shocks most is the
randomness. Why got some people shot and why were other
spared? Why?
Again my friends, thank you so much
for your help and support. You have no idea how much this
helps
From: Carey
To: Bine
Date: Tue, Apr 17, 2007 at 12:30
AM
Subject: last update for
tonight
Do try to at least rest. If
you need to talk in the middle of the night (which is now I guess),
don’t hesitate to call. You may never understand why some
were spared while others were lost. The best you can do is
carry on. For you will always carry on, and we will keep on
speaking your name. Some things change, some stay the same;
like the love of our family and our deep bonds with each
other. God bless.
Tomorrow morning, my friend 
What you may not know however, is that she is my wife! Yes, it’s true. We were married in a small civil ceremony in Italy on August 19, 2000. 
The ceremony was officiated by the great great grandniece of the 
So here’s to you Bine, on your wedding day. I wish I could be there with you in Denmark to celebrate, but as you know I’m in Orlando all next week on business. I know that you will have a wonderful day. You always do. You il always carry on, and I will always love you. GLY! xoxo
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