Then up a small hill, panting, past the UPS building where, at half-past seven in the morning, the delivery drivers are already bustling around in their brown uniforms, down the hill, through under the 101 freeway and careful! At the roundabout to Townsend Street, there's now a police officer on a bicycle making sure everyone stops at the stop sign. No one there? Pedal faster on the long straight through the SoMa district (South of Market), where warehouses and art galleries alternate - that's where the 21st gear comes in handy!

Then: Straight into the train station, put the bike in the specially designated bike wagon, the conductor keeps an eye on it! They know each other. Then quickly head to the coffee vendor to get a "Small Coffee" and a Mexican cinnamon roll, hop on the train, and off we go!

Laptop out, tinkering around or reading through my magazines! Of course, only my own articles, others just write nonsense anyway, heh, heh! Recently, by the way, I've been listening to cassettes by Anthony Robbins on the Walkman. 'Personal Power II', it's an American motivational series, like how to become a millionaire in 14 days or something. Super funny!

Whoops, next station Hillsdale! Quick, get off with the bike - I'm losing it! Some idiot blocked me in again! You see, everyone has a sign on their bike indicating where they're going. Bayshore, Palo Alto, San Jose, you name it. In a bike rack on the train, there's room for four bikes. To ensure that the person who needs to get off first doesn't have to turn the whole wagon upside down to get to their bike, people park their bikes so that the one who needs to get off first has their bike in front. Did I mention everyone has a sign on their bike? Not everyone! M.S., for example, has a very inconspicuous sticker "San Francisco - Hillsdale" on his, which no one notices! But some people don't have any stickers at all.

If someone new comes into the wagon, wants to park their bike, and has to choose between several bike racks where the front bike has no label, they shout loudly in the wagon, "Where's the red Specialized going??" meaning they want to know where the red Specialized racing bike and its owner are headed. If the owner is paying attention, they might shout back, "It's going to Belmont!" and so everyone knows. If there's no response, the bike must belong to Mr. Schilli, who is listening to a Walkman or otherwise mentally absent. The bike gets mercilessly blocked in... Yes, out, out, out of the train, just made it! Phew! Now the route goes straight through the Hillsdale Shopping Center, which is a huge mall with mega department stores like Mervyn's, Macy's, or Sears. The first saleswomen are heading to work.

The neighborhood becomes quieter as it goes through the single-family home colony in San Mateo. This is typical middle-class America: bungalows with 10 square meters of lawn in front, neatly mowed by Mexican laborers. A double garage is the minimum. About 80% of all American houses outside the big cities look like this. In the morning, Americans like to open their garage door and let the car warm up while they are still having breakfast, since gasoline costs next to nothing.

Up onto the hill where the AOL building stands! The mountain is about as high as the Zugspitze, and so steep that you have to use the first gear (which means something on a mountain bike!), and I wonder every day how much longer I can keep doing this health-wise. But at the top, it's as quiet as on Mount Everest, the view is fantastic, and I take a quick look at the bay, humming softly "I lost my heart ... in San Francisco." And off we go! Into the office, where a few guys and gals are already sitting in their cubicles, and it's "Man, how are you?", "Hey buddy, how's it goin'?", "Man, I tell ya ...".

Computer on! I've never seen the "Silicon Graphics Challenge S" that I'm working on - it's located in Virginia, on the East Coast! And the work begins ... hacking away ... yippee!

So, dear German Brothers & Sisters, I hope you enjoyed the story. Until next year!

Take care, all the best, take it easy! Angelika & Michael

• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Interim Report After One Year
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  	Courses at UC Berkeley Extension
  	Frightening School System
  	Local News
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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Interim Report After One Year
  	Christmas in America
  	Courses at UC Berkeley Extension
  	Frightening School System
  	Local News
  	News About the Driver's License
  	Christmas Party With the company