a moderately ruined christmas

Well friends - it's officially christmas in amsterdam.

And it's the first time I have not been with my parents on christmas. Not only am I currently not with my parents...I am not with anyone.

You see about two days ago I had come back from my day earlier than my friend whose house I'm staying at. I had to pee sooo badly that somewhere between coming in and locking the door and getting to the room I lost the key that had been given to me. It is illogical that I should have lost it.

My plan tonight was to go to st. niklaas church because this is what I did with my parents last year and the music was amazing. I got ready to go and then went to the door and realized...I didn't have a key to even get out! I am literally trapped inside this apartment. That was a real let down because I really wanted to go.

I figured it would be a good time to catch up on some work because I don't want to have to do it when I'm home in winnipeg. So I did that for a while and then decided that I'd maybe try baking the brownie mix that I had purchased two days ago.

I mixed it up no problem and went to put it in the oven and realized that didn't work. I figured well...it's an interesting microwave I'll try that.


Nope...burned completely.

And it smells awful

And I'm still trapped inside. I hope tomorrow is better!

my church dilemma of the day

So I have started attending the local lutheran church on sundays. I usually try to go twice a month. So I went this morning because I was a bum last week and was just to lazy to go. Why this church?...because it's not catholic and is about a 7 minute walk. It's also where I sing in the choir.

Anyways...I get there and I see at there are microphones set up at the front. Ok it seems there will be a choir..sweet I love choir music.

So the service starts and up tot he front come some kids wearing santa hats (pagans!) and then some adults come. The choir director then takes the mike and queues the music and some over produced prerecorded crap starts playing. It is clear that trumpets in that song where not in fact trumpets, but the trumpet function on someones keyboard. Then she started singing some call and response style thing with the kids singing backup. Which is fine - the kids sang fine, but she was just working it wayyy to hard. I looked around and could see others there sniggering as well.

Meanwhile as this is going on - parents...all over the place. Filming and going up for pictures.

On my list of big annoyances...taking pictures in operating churches...just don't do it. It is interfering with me coming to my place or worship. But I can't be that much of an asshole because everyone should be welcome in the church and God has these people here to sing for him (allegedly). But clearly not everyone else realized that because then we all applaud after they are done singing. I will never applaud during a church service. And I don't care if I'm "clapping for Jesus" - I'm not doing it.

It was clear that this was an outsider choir because I found the visitors were so disrespectful, and just didn't respect the sanctity of our service. Not only that - a mother of one of the kids gets up during the service and is on her cell phone texting at the back. But again, I should be able to focus on what is being said...but I couldn't!

Then the choir went up for a second time and sang perhaps the worst mashup of angels we have heard on high and some other christmas song I have ever heard. The fact that the choir was miked did nothing to help them. It was evident that they could not have heard each other. And I'm sorry kids, but your sing screaming was not comfortable to listen to. The prerecorded arrangement also had a nice little snare drum section to spice up this classic. They took what was ordinarily a beautiful song and one of my favourites to sing and just destroyed it.

The choir was finished after this and as they existed half of them left and were super disruptive. Then they had to take down all the microphones and everyone in the sanctuary sat in silence for 5 minutes and just watched this happen. I could not believe that was what was happening...really people!!!

And then we get to the highlight - the infant baptism....super!

But it wasn't just an infant baptism. They had that...and a blessing for parents who decided not to baptize their child.

The two side by side seemed like such mixed messages. And it could have easily been interpreted in different ways. Like the parents care more about their kid because they are letting the kid decide when they are older, which basically spits in the face of the lutheran church who prefers to baptize their children. I just don't understand how they can be ok with doing that. Like if you aren't behind infant baptism (which I'm not) I feel like it would still be awkward not participating in something. I'd be worried that some parents would think that I either love my kid less because I don't want them to be baptized and don't want them to be christian and that I'm judging them because they are doing it.

Heavy stuff.

Anyways I must say it was difficult sticking around. I just had to pray and be like God let me please try to enjoy what you have put before me today. I don't that everyone enjoys different things. Hopefully I'll get something from the message.

But I do feel pretty calm and good about going - so I'm glad I stuck it out...I guess.

Being alone does not mean I'm lonely

I am sure that I have mentioned my enjoyment of doing things alone before...and I want to talk about it again, because I enjoy being a broken record without new ideas....ha ha ha, but seriously.

I am literally my favourite person to hang out with. I love the freedom of doing whatever I want to do.

I also love the freedom of being able to meet new people. I think being alone has perhaps made me a very self-confident person. Being alone in Germany and having to make my own friends has certainly encouraged me to become braver in this aspect.

I remember the first time I went to see a movie by myself and being totally weirded out about it, but now I would not hesitate to do this - however there are rarely movies I actually want to see in theatres (they need to be worth my money cinematically or else I'll just wait).

Nowadays I have no qualms about engaging in activities by myself. One thing I don't like though is that I am still reliant on my iPod to keep me occupied. This isn't a horrible thing, but I should be able to enjoy things from my environment - but I love that I have the excuse of going on a two hour walk and being able to listen to my music the whole time (and loudly!).

I will tell people at work about how I went out on the weekend to the Krone (the local bar) and saw a band and an old man asked me if I would be interested in becoming the mother of his children (true story) - and they asked who I was with...no one. I love going with now one. I enjoy these conversations that occur spontaneously - even if I don't ever learn someones name I still enjoy the time with them.

I do worry though that I may at some point become to anti-social. There are already awkward times when I know my friends are not doing anything and I'm doing something they would enjoy and then to explain that I'd rather go alone.

I really do prefer to eat alone, because I find eating in a one on one basis a little awkward because the eating gets in the way of talking and the talking gets in the way of eating and enjoying my food. At best I love to bring a book, or sometimes just stare at the passers by. Drinks however is no problem. I'm always down for a drink - although I have been known to go drinking beer solo in summer as well.

I wish I that I enjoyed people more but I just like myself the best. -

Only child syndrome I guess.

I found this on tumblr - and it's perfect! (although I'm not sure if I'm scared of someone running away)

cake for one

Today was a glorious sunday.

And on sundays...I like to eat cake.

I think this comes into one of my weird ritual things. My weekends have become frighteningly ritualized. Fridays - nap, Saturday - shopping in the morning, sundays - eat cake at cafe chaos.

Today was just wonderful. I told a friend a few weeks ago about how much I enjoyed doing this and she suggested Maulwurf Kuchen (Mole Cake)...which is chocolate cake with bananas and cream in the middle.

So I got to my seat, and ordered just this with a cappucino.

Then it arrived and looked amazing...So amazing that I had to instagram it naturally.

There was also an older-ish lady sitting at the end of the table (late 40s/early 50s) , and when her friend went to the washroom she made a comment about my cake and how amazing it looked. 

It did look amazing.

She also naturally noticed my accent and asked where I was from. We got to talking as per usual with me, and we ended up exchanging numbers, because she likes cake and coffee too. 

Then later I chatted it up with the server, and it is clear that he has started to recognize me. Obviously because I also go alone and read for a long time and order cake and coffee.

I love my rituals!

To make a magical experience even better - everyone in my section ended up leaving and I was in peace and quiet...

and then the avett brothers came on!

It was a beautiful snowy day.

outer space

Space is the craziest thing ever.

Like think about how insanely and intricate our entire world is - like with ecosystems, and even social systems, and the interconnectivity of physics and chemistry...and whatever.

Now think about that for eternity, which is exactly what space is.

I have been watching some documentaries on space lately and my mind is being blown literally every 5 minutes, with how unique and different each part of the solar system is. From different moons to the different atmospheres.

Even the massicve size is just completely incomprehensible. It's nearly impossible to explain how fortunate we are to be here, and how we are literally in the perfect place. But at the same time, there are so many ways that we could die. Like the sun could just somehow over take us, or an asteroid crashes into us (if this ever happens I'd rather not be warned), or there are a bunch of other things that could happen to us, just from space.

I'm definitely feeling the we are just a little planet in the middle of now where right now!

Wishbone

Wishbone was without a doubt my favourite show as a child was wishbone. I was a book nerd and read all the time. At school we had reading contests and I would destroy everyone else. Like I had one year I can remember having any one challenge me.

Anyways - what I loved about wishbone is that it told amended for time versions of books that I did not have the intellectual capability to read. Later on in life I have even been able to continue a conversation and enjoy cultural references due to the fact that I have watched these episodes and have somewhat of a grasp of the literature.

I was reminded of wishbone after recently reading the short story scandal in bohemia - which is a sherlock holmes story. In general I must say sherlock holmes - amazing short stories. The movies really do reflect the tone well. After reading the stories I am more impressed with the movies.

Anyways - I think that I am now going to make it my goal to read all the stories that were featured on the show. I will however not read the plays because I do not enjoy reading plays.

I found this online

I think in my life I have been a little bit intellectually week lately. I am hoping to just keep on learning.

all hallows costumes

I will admit that I have dressed in halloween costumes as an adult. In university almost every year. I even tried out the sexy little queen of hearts one year. The second year - sexy doll. The third year I didn't dress up because belec was gone and I'm not able to have any fun without her. Not true...but I actually handed out candy that day and watched my cousin play volleyball. Then my favourite was the toronto maple leafs fan that was actually a homeless person. Great plan - night plans went a little array.

Then I moved to germany and did not care.

Halloween has kind of just become a thing here in Germany and it's not like a trick or treating kind of integration. More of adults having an excuse to dress up and have a party. I also want to note that they have a nice little festival called Fasching right before lent season where everyone really dresses up and goes crazy.

But last night was the official halloween party night and I must say there is a big difference. Sexy costumes are not really a thing. At least not where I was. There was a lot of fake blood and skeletons...like I was not really into it at all. Like not even a little. There was a clown that scared the crap out of me. I just felt so uncomfortable!! Needless to say I did not stay long. The band sucked - but in the time I was there I was able to charm the pants off some nice germans. Got invited to go out after with the - rejection.. ha

dealing with disappointment

There is one thing that they never teach in business school - or at least in no classes that I've ever taken. I think something that really contributes to being a great employee is measuring what happens when things to wrong. I think in general I am a pretty responsible person, and I know when to accept that I have made a mistake. I am not happy about making the mistake, but I don't try to hide the fact that I made it...and again I don't share with the world the thing I've done.

I feel like the message I want to communicate with my boss is that I accept that I have made a mistake, but I want him to understand that I take it seriously. I also don't want to spend hours of time dwelling on this mistake I've made. Once the situation has happened it is often difficult to go back and completely undo the mistake you've made. It is now up to you to find some sort of solution. But it is also difficult to make any solution be as good as was supposed to be originally.

This situation has recently happened at work - where it was partially a miscommunication on my part could potentially lead to us losing the customer. I don't know what to do or how to tell my boss or how to actually make up for the situation.

I think this is something that should be offered as a course - or at least a standard part of intro to business. How to clean up your failure!

a funny story - to celebrate my 300th post

Wow I can't believe it's 300 already. I have posted a lot of craziness on the internet that will hopefully be brought up at an inopportune time in the future...

Anyways - today also happens to be the first day that it snowed in Darmstadt for this winter season. I decided that instead of being loud and waking up my hungover roommate I would go for a stroll into the city and go to the library, and then reward myself with a hot cocoa at cafe chaos.

Great plan. Then on the way home I'm passing this old man who is just beaming at me. Seeing as I am in a good mood after my hot cocoa I decide to say something to the effect of boy am I walking in the wrong direction. The snow is falling into my face.

Our conversation proceeded as follows (translated for obvious reasons) - this is not the exact transcript as I cannot remember everything completely - that would be unrealistic.
Where are you going?
I'm just on my way home
oh do you live in Darmstadt?
Yup, do you?
Yes I live on (something) street
oh how far is that?
Oh that direction. Do you live with your husband
Yup
Do you have any children?
No not yet - I don't know when that's going to happen
Oh they'll come soon enough. Are you still working?
Yup
Oh I'm retired. When are you going to come visit me? Is that ok with your husband?
Maybe after next week, I'm really busy next week
Ok what day do you want to come?
Maybe wednesday
Morning or afternoon?
Probably afternoon I have to work during the day
Ok that sounds good

I actually thought he was going to kiss me at the end and I booked it outta there...


Also note that we exchanged names (mine fake naturally) - and there were a few more unimportant details...

but wtf happened there....

22-09

When I was younger I was a little bit nutty. I had a bit of a crazy personality. To sum up...I was just a little bit weird. Where most people were caring about what others thought of me, I clearly didn't think that was a big issue because I was very happy with myself. Much like I am now, but now I have become a little bit more toned down. A little more likely not to be as outgoing. I say this because when I was in grade 8 I had one of my teachers tell me that he wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with my own show one day.

Fast forward to today. I love reality TV. I love watching all these crazy survivor-type shows (including survivor) and competition shows. But I could never be on one of these shows.

I cannot lie, and I don't think that I would have the social game. I would become way to paranoid.

On the current season of surivior, a lot of those people are fans. They all understand how the game works and they are trying to hard right from the beginning to

I think that watching so many reality shows has affected the way that people are playing games. They have learned from the mistakes that people have been making from the past reality and competition shows so that it affects the decisions that people are making. I think that people are way less trusting of people  because so many people get screwed over.

Following Celebs

I have an instagram account - and like die hard gossip girl fan I am following ed westwick...I follow a couple other celebrities just because it's fun and I like to stalk them...

actually there is no really normal way of describing why you follow a celebrity. It's not like I'm personal friends with them. It's just cool to see what they're up to...but really, why? Does it affect my life? no. Am I inspired by them? no, not really. Actually I don't need to justify myself to you. Who are you...spammers?? I don't care.

One thing I don't do though is leave comments on their pictures. Like it literally makes me cringe when perusing through these pictures and coming across some of the comments that just kill me.

Really - do you think he's gonna read this an think - boy you know what...I am looking for a wife. Maybe I can get a green card...perfect. 

Actually maybe celebrities use this just so they can seek comments from people....and "connect with their audience" - yay PR!

"Put them trots away" - first off...what??

Second off I love the greeting from sweeden...

What is the point of these comments!!!

Honestly if I didn't care to have a life I would make a tumblr dedicated to these crazies....

just let me be sick!

So getting sick is never really fun. What I do enjoy however is having the excuse to get out of doing things and just hang out and watch your favorite shows and movies and wear your most comfortable clothes, all the while drinking tea. Sure you feel horrible, but at least you get to do cool things to get better...

But when you have to work life sucks.

With a cold there is not really a known cure, and really you're not going to die from a cold in this century. Just take care of yourself and you will do fine. For me a cold is not a great excuse to skip out from work. Maybe a little less time there, but to miss more than a day I don't think is necessary (also depends on your job). So I've been having to work every day being sick.

The symptoms suck but I am clearly dealing with them and doing things to deal with that, but what makes me worse is everyone telling me their own cure. Some people say eat garlic, others say drink water with an onion in it with sugar. Another guy rinses his nose with salt water - first off no thanks, and second off people...just let me be sick.

It's not like this has never happened to people before. I don't need for people to tell me how to get better. I'm not going to go to the doctor for something so minute!!

Just leave me alone and let me be sick, a little oh that's to bad would't be the worst thing ever.

And I feel like one of my coworkers feels like I cannot have any extra attention for being sick...because she seems to be sick as well....

I'll be fine, but I'm just not right now, but it's not your problem. You can care, but don't tell me what to do!

Oktoberfest 2012

As Oktoberfest seemed to be the best weekend I had in Germany last year. Hoping to replicate that I found some "somewhat strangers" and took my best shot again this year.

The start - my company originally consisted of a work colleague who lives about 2 doors down from me (fun fact), and then two other girls who work int he same department as I do. Then the one who really doesn't even like to drink mad " e the decision not to come. Then the next one got roped into a family birthday party and couldn't come either. So it was me, this guy I barely knew, and one of his friends, staying at anther old friends apartment in munich. But really this didn't worry me at all. I get along pretty well with people so it was fun...but still so funny that I end up in these situations.

The first night we went out clubbing and I really didn't go crazy - but what I find weird, is that I will dance to nearly everything. I generally hate electro music, but if I'm out, I will dance until 6 in the morning to this, which coincidently is what I did. I took no breaks for about 5.5 hours. I was a little tired.

Then headed some to sleep a little before heading out to the Wiesn.

I'll share some highlights.

First off, when I first got there I completely forgot how much of a madhouse it is. Like people are just wasted by 14:00. I couldn't believe it. And the sound is like nothing you can expect. Like a constant cheering sound for the entire day.

At one point there was a fight, and it was super crazy. People throwing down bows like they wanted to kill. Then the song angels by robbie williams came on and we sung to this big mob, thinking that our singing would help stop the fight...it didn't really but the juxtaposition was quite a treat.

I also found some guys who had spilled all down their shirts. First made fun of them for the spills - they claimed it was water though. Then I took a picture, made fun of them some more for being twins. Then they hit on me. I like that I can be as mean as I want and nobody cares

The bathroom seemed to be the place to smoke. Literally everyone standing in line was smoking up a storm to avoid having to go outside. I felt like I was in high school in the early 80s, but in a dress.

Singing country roads - because clearly that's a German song

I enjoyed watching people to the gagnam style dance in Tracht (the outfits).

I sat at a table with our servers sister and cousin, and the mom was also serving. They were hilarious. 

Next year I need to learn all the songs.

I don't really know what else to share. Literally you just sit and talk a pack the entire day with the people you are at a table with....

If we make it past this year, I hope I have some more people to go with next year!

forgive and forget

I feel like there are a number of very common expressions that are often used in the world that I just don't agree with. For example - sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Not at all true. Words can be very hurtful. Maybe this tool was invented by bullies. It really is just a surface response to hide your true feelings.

Todays expression I wish to discuss is to forgive and forget. I think in my teenage years I embodied this mentality a lot more than I do now. I think that I was so desperate for friends I was always willing to forgive and forget. Then when I grew up and started to realize that it was the same things happening over and over again, because I never really addressed the situation. I just kind of moved on without actually standing up for myself to try to prevent the same thing from happening again. I am at fault there...oops.

To be honest one of the reasons that I started this blog was that I wanted a place to remember situations like this. It was more so on my old blog from when I was in high school that I would write in generics about these situations. I didn't want to actually have a diary but I also felt ok writing these things online because I could write about the situations more from an emotional perspective, but I also have enough of a memory to put myself back in that situation and remember why I was cross. But needless to say I eventually just moved completely on from those relationships.

"I want to forgive you and I want to forget you" - Lauren Conrad

Now this is another version of the expression that I still don't agree with with. The thing is that you can never forget. I have had a really upsetting experience in my life in which I have had people completely betray everything that I thought they were. This is something I cannot possibly ever forget, nor do I ever want to forget this. I am pissed. Still. And I really cannot see myself ever really getting over this.

The actions made by other people really do have an impact on how I look at them. It's weird how it can take one situation and you can never trust someone again. But it's important to remember these situation. I know that the expression is about getting over the grudge that you hold, but the actions sometimes caused from conflict mean that the person completely breaks the character that you thought they were. And you don't actually want to be friends with a person like that.

I think that trust is really the most important thing for every relationship. That's why fights happen, because on some level trust was broken.

the downward spiral

I don't know if this is true but I feel like people that are really good at cooking often are a little bigger in weight - except Giada, she's a goddess. I don't know what is going on but I think that I am starting to go down that road.

I have had this weird thing for the past two weeks where I just need to go shopping for food all the time. Everytime that I get home I ask myself - who is all this food for? Who is going to eat this much? Why did I go shopping again?

A few weeks ago I attempted to make my own Thai inspired veggie soup and I literally had so much that I forced my roommate to eat some as well. And then had leftovers for a week, and there is still soup frozen in the freezer. I like to make a lot at one time but it is just difficult to figure out how much to cook.

My cooking has also been inspired by my vegan roommate, like the amount of meat I eat is barely any. The only time that I eat it is when someone else cooks it for me.

It is getting so bad that I know what stores I need to go to for specific ingredients including best prices.

My goodness I'm going to have to start exercising more...

The underreaction

So if you don't know me I will tell you now - I love seeing things. As in new things, as in important historical places.

I would like to say that I have been somewhat of a history nerd my whole life - but boy when I'm in europe do I feel stupid. I cannot remember anything that I have learned and it drives me crazy.

But when it comes to seeing significantly important historical places I always find that I am lost for words. Like I literally feel like there is not enough that I could say that will deeply enough express the feelings that I want to get out.

Being in Italy this last weekend was just another thousand places for me to have these reactions.

This is the house where I was staying

Thank goodness I was with a friend who can truly understand these passions that I have towards learning and seeing things - and is totally down with helping me express my wanderlust.

She's fantastic

But seeing the sights in Rome was literally the oldest stuff that I have ever seen. Like holy smokes - I was walking where billions of people have walked for more than two thousand years.

The duomo in orvieto - I was informed that I would "die"
when I saw it...nearly did

The problem however was that I was a little bit ill. I will not hide the fact that I had done like the Romans and enjoyed my fair share of wine. However, I did the majority of my enjoyment on the first two nights. Sunday night I only partook in a lemoncello nightcap and was up around 8 the next morning. That night I had also eaten the most unbelievable pizza of my life (pizza bianco with truffle, mushrooms, and sausage) and was completely full. Everything on the menu looked so good that I actually was physically unable to answer when my friend asked me what I was thinking of everything. I just had to giggle.

Anyways I woke up not hungry at all, and had a nice cappuccino - then we headed up to the piazza for another coffee. It seemed that I had not had enough other stuff in my stomach because it wasn't before long that I wasn't feeling that well. I was on the train and debating going for a puke. Like just get it over with. I bought some water and pounded that back and it helped moderately. About twenty minutes away from Rome I had to "give back the water" and I figured it might not be a bad idea to puke a little. I would call that mostly unsuccessful.

Needless to say I was feeling terrible. Also being in Rome it was clear that I was going to see some cool stuff. I was really excited about it, and so I decided that instead of trying to over express my feelings for everything I was going to try and take everything down a notch and under react. In a sense I wanted to change the scale. Instead of being a nine out of ten I was going to be a 90 out of 100. I hope this makes sense...

But boy did I sound like an asshole.

Oh neat the colosseum...oh wow the forum.

I also decided to take the pictures in the least joyful way possible.

Looking completely disinterested at the Forum

Literally could not care less (not really)

But needless to say - it was amazing and Sometimes it is fun to react in a non-typical way.

travel lessons

I literally just got back within the last hour from my little weekend pop on down to italy. For one - it was a fantastic vacation. It is literally one of the big reasons that I wanted to live in europe...for the freedom to do things like this a little bit easy.

So I left on friday and started off by making some real rookie moves. First off - know the time that your flight comes in so that when people are coming to pick you up they can be there at the correct time. Luckily I was only off by about 20 minutes, so I had some time to wait and enjoy Italians, and start my judging. Second, like a responsible flyer I shut off my cell phone, completely forgetting I have no clue what the PIN number for my iphone was. This was going to be fine for the weekend, perhaps not the greatest if I did end up needing to call Cat. Luckily there were pay phones in the event of an emergency. It was going to however be problematic for coming back to Germany, because of the wonderful Deutsche Bahn app....amazing. 

I would have probably looked up train transfer times before I got back to Italy, but I knew for sure I needed to get my connections last night so that I could plan what I was going to do and where I needed to go - pretty standard procedure...

I clearly did not plan that aspect of my trip very well, and completely over anticipated the number of transfers. 

Using only public transport from when my plane was supposed to land (at 21:40), would get me home at around 6 am...not what I was looking for. At first I was literally freaking out that I was going to have to sleep at the train station. The Baden Airpark does not have a great shuttle service and at night this is even less so. Honestly, leaving the airport in Ciampino I had no plan on how I was getting home. I was lucky enough that I am not a worrier and I actually started to accept that I just was not going to sleep enough. For me it just was not worth the money...like I am not going to pay 67 euros to get to karlsruhe - that is ridiculous.

I was hoping that on the plane I would end up meeting some nice german couple that would be able to bring me a little further down the road. Sadly, it was French people from strasbourg that I got...but then as we were landing I was listening to the people behind me talking about the long train ride they had in front of them. I butted in and asked them soo many details. I figured that my best bet was going to be getting a taxi into town to get the train that would get me in at about 1:55 into Darmstadt (not even home yet). I was going to get them to try to split the taxi, but those cheap beestings did not have any interest in that. I figured I was going to have to shell out the thirty euros on my own, but that is so much for a 15 minute ride. 

Anyways we landed, I still didn't really have a plan, but then I found out that we had landed twenty minutes early. That's great, maybe there would be a quicker bus to the airport. Not the case...

I then headed over to the taxi stand to maybe hope that someone would want to split a cab. I could see the bus from where the taxi stand was so I figured if I don't find anyone in time I will just take the bus. It's quite logical. 

Gott Sei Dank! A miracle happened, these wonderful people two from syria and one from jordan (so random) adopted me to ride in the taxi with them. I got right aggressive in there...thank goodness I did. When I got to the train station I was able to catch an even earlier train, better than the one I was praying that I wouldn't miss. But boy was it tight, I got my ticket, but realized I did not know any of the stops in between. So as my schedule is printing out I am seeing the train coming. I had to book it.

but I made it. and I am home now. and it is currently 1:32. It is time for bed!!

So life lesson: If I had known the pin number to my iphone I would have not needed to panic nearly as much and it would have made things way easier for me getting back to Germany. 

peace and quiet

I don't think I have ever been able to accept this really until this year - but I actually concentrate way better when things are quieter.

I have two colleagues that I really don't think they realize how well they talk. They are nice people and I have no issues working with them, but they are just loud people. It is very difficult for me to concentrate to concentrate on my own work because I end up listening to part of their conversations, but they both are very difficult to understand. Luckily one of them moved to a different office about a month ago and then the second was on holidays.

Well she's back and it is loud again.

I think that I used to just use studying as an excuse to listen to music and I could never just accept the quiet. But I have now realized that I was using that as an excuse not to study. I would consistently be thrown off my concentration depending on the song, and then I would want to sing along. I tried for some way to make it work because I loved the music more than I loved the studying. Obviously who wouldn't.

Now I love working in the quiet, except I hate when it's completely quiet and you feel like you are hearing things and then you never know if you are really hearing things or whether or not your head is trying to make you hear something because you hear nothing and you don't want to go crazy!

I still can't fall asleep without noise though. Yay for podcasts!

It's really to bad I didn't realize this about 4 years ago when I started university...

Old notes from disney movies

I found this on my other private blog 

I think these after watching the second harriet the spy movie...actually I'm pretty sure I wrote about it, but I think some of these really suit disney movies in General. 

- what an honour, getting your song in a disney movie - 

- this ole golly is whay flirtier, rosie is much more matter of fact and less worried about herself more well read

- disney movies are so odd because kids with small ranges of vcabulary for their age group don't ever hesitate in coversations, when people complain the conversations are always cyclical, and kids always talk... all the time

- the music always suits the mood

- i'd like to provide a commentary

- no kids movie would be getting this much set attention in real hollywood

- friends are never from the same social groups. they are always super rich, upper class, really nice bungalow but small or poor and helplesss

the ballad of little B the blackberry

This story has been about 3 weeks in the making...tragically three weeks ago a tragic accident happened

"well I figured that on my walk home I was going to stop and get a yogurt cup on the way for my breakfast tomorrow. Sadly the yogurt decided that being confined in the plastic bag within my backpack was not what it wanted with it's life. Like a lemming driven to a cliff it allowed it's contents to spill, escaping from the bag and descending into the pits of my backpack; as far into the seems at it would be allowed to go. 

Sadly, my phone a poor spectator in the whole event was there as an unexpected casualty and became covered in the mucous textured liquid. Sadly, the sugary ingredient did not allow for easy removal, and the various orifices of the phone are fighting at this very moment not remain clear. It's too soon to say whether or not long term damage will result of this untimely act of selfishness. To me, the decision remains...furniture or iphone???"

           - email dated July 17th to my father

Needless to say I thought that it would be ok, it wouldn't get to bad because it wasn't like water...boy was I wrong. What started off as a cloudy screen on thursday night resulted as an unreadable screen friday morning. Completely unusable. 

It's really not as bad as not having a computer, but it's very difficult to stay in contact with people. I just have to always use facebook or email which I don't like. I like texting....It's also easier to stay in contact with my people back home. 

But...I took it as an opportunity. 

I would like to introduce the newest member of my family...my iPhone....

I am elated. It was a little difficult to actually purchase because of the fact that I have a canadian address. However the person who helped me at apple was amazing!!! Like I want to call him all the time and just chat with him....I should probably send him a thank you.

But please...feel free to message me. I'll talk to you!

so my boss thinks I'm smart

At work last tuesday we had a 'surprise' meeting. I say surprise not because I didn't know about the meeting, but surprise because I was completely unprepared and had no idea what to expect. It was with all of my colleagues in internal sales, with our manager, the sales manager, and the company general manager.

I had no idea what to expect.

So we start and my the general manager asks if how my German is. Just to be really sarcastic I say ' oh, it's perfect' and he clearly called my bluff and says good...you're taking the minutes. I thought I was just going to have to keep quiet the whole time. Not the case. He then starts with the person two chairs down from me and asks on how everything is going with what he is doing. I'm still panicking because I have no idea what to write. What is important enough to write down. More importantly what am I going to say when he gets to me. I'm panicking slightly. Then he stops halfway and says, why havn't you written anything. We've been talking for 15 minutes and there is nothing written down. Sirrr....I don't know what to write. Then we get to me and I say my little bit about how it's frustrating to have to time zone delay with my colleagues in the US. So it looks like I'm going to be working later a little bit more often, which I am not upset about, it's kind of nice to work when it is quieter.

Anyways, the meeting proceeds, details aren't really that important. But then I have to write up all these notes I've taken, which are some nearly indecipherable combination of German and English nonsense. I understand everything that happened, but to reproduce it all in German is a little daunting. I recruit my co-worker to come help me write this thing up because I don't even know what is expected of me.

We finish everything and send it off and I think thank goodness it will be someone else's turn next time.

The next day I'm talking to this co-worker again and she tells me that the General Manager asked her if I wrote the whole thing myself. She says that she helped me a little. He says that he is so impressed and that my German is perfect.


WHYYYY!!!!???

Now there is going to be way more expectations from me.....

This can go either one of two ways. Now he will just automatically assume my German is good and become more impressed and will get me more opportunities, but more likely he will find out that my German is not good as he thinks it is, and the whole rouse will be discovered.

I'm hoping that it will be the first situation that happens. That the first impression will affect his view of me from here on forward.

one of those times where everything fits in together really well

Last night I was at the Mathildenhöhe here in Darmstadt because I remembered there was supposed to be some music going down. It's funny because on my walk/jog home I have been seeing posters for the Residenzfestspiele. TO be honest, I don't know what exactly this festival is celebrating since I have not done any reasearch into that at all. I just saw that there were some concerts, and there I love music, so I figured hey, maybe there will be some free concerts. I hate it when people stare at me, and you know that when people are driving they always stare at the people on the side of the road. I do it. I think it's because I always look to see if it is someone I know. Anyways I did remember that there was a concert last night. So I dressed in a nice long skirt so I could sit unlady-like and headed on down.

It was very interesting because they had the actual concert area closed off because you needed to buy tickets to get in...but wait...it's an outdoor concert. Just because one area is roped off it doesn't mean the sound is going to stop at the boundaries. It simply left a great opportunity for me and about 45-50 other people could sit outside and enjoy the same music for free. It was clear that some people had planned their evening and came prepared with some snacks and some wine....should have thought of that.

It was just so nice to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of vienna. I had however planned ahead and brought along the biography of marie antoinette with me (I have been reading this book for way to long). But it was the perfect book to have along with me because it fit into everything perfectly!

First, I started reading about mozart while they were playing mozart. Mozart later on in his career tried to get back into the royal court at versailles, but due to political reason was not accepted. Then he insulted french music (actually I think it was his father) Also interesting because Marie antoinette could have possibly been listening to the same pieces that I was hearing last night. When she was younger and living in austria as well as when she was older and was hosting fantabulous galas....

Secondly, she had the connection to Darmstadt because her old friends (ladies in waiting) from when she was younger were the doughters of the landgrave of Darmstadt. One of the friends came later on to visit her at the Petit Trianon where she adopted her more 'simple' lifestyle; where protocol wasn't so strict.

I have always felt like people don't really understand Darmstadt and it's not a city that really comes up a lot and just like when I see winnipeg in popular culture I got excited.

In gerneral it was such a nice evening that I hope I will be able to replicate again with some more outdoor concerts.

fandom

One thing that I don't understand about celebrities is when they say things like - it's all for the fans and they say that the reason that they are so motivated to do things is so that they can keep connected to the fans and thank them all for what they've done. To me this completely goes against the integrity of what being an artist is.

It has been said that you should think about the one thing that you would do if money was never an issue - like what is your favourite thing. This is what you should look for when you are looking for a job and find what you are passionate about.

To me these two ideas go completely against each other. If you were doing something for your fans it means that you are not doing it for your self. I won't go as extreme to call it prostitution but on some level it is. You are selling who you are as a person for money.

Think about the whole celebrity magazine thing. Basically you sell yourself to get in there so that you can 'stay connected to the fans'. This has nothing to do with your art. Nothing at all.

I just like people that play really great music but I don't care (that much) about who they are in their personal lives. I have way more respect for people who are going to play because they truly love the music. This is why I don't think that top 40 is nearly as appealing for me. Maybe because I like the honesty of the person that happens when they are writing lyrics that are personal for them.

The John Cage afternoon break

I have had the wonderful situation of having a refrigerator break last thursday. My roommate was cleaning it...and then, it didn't work. So I don't quite know what we are going to do about it, but in the mean time I can't keep cold products. This means that I have to go food shopping everyday. Due to the fact that I didn't really feel like getting out of bed after a really late night/morning on friday/saturday, it meant that I didn't go shopping and didn't really have food. The worst thing is no cheese. One thing that I'm sure many of you canadians don't realize is the fact that grocery stores are not open on sundays...only in the main train station can you go grocery shopping because it is seem as a necessity.

So at the train station they have a whole bunch of art being inspired by the works of John Cage. To give you a a taste of who John Cage is please watch this video




Weird right?!

Outside they had what they called the stage cage, which is a semi permanent wooden structure. Outside the building they had some beach chairs so you could enjoy the sunshine. The doors of the building were wide open and in the middle of the room there was a grand piano which was completely surrounded by oversized gym mats with these outdoor pillow things. They were so so comfortable....and I literally just sat there for an hour. The music that the guy was playing though was themed...'as slow as possible'. It was pretty much someone playing one or two notes or chords at a time and then waiting 20ish seconds between the notes.

The coolest thing was the intensity of the pianist and how deliberate he was between the notes. It was so enjoyable and made me want to think of my own installation art. I was also upset because I didn't have my notebook with me. I do feel a lot more inclined to write and keep my thoughts down, not just necessarily in blog format. But just to do something a little bit more creative...and every time I feel these great thoughts that I want to remember I never have anywhere to write them down.

Gettin donaghy-d

So I have been fortunate enough to start work again after nearly two months of vacation. Thank goodness because I was starting to get stir crazy. I will admit I am not enjoying the getting up early and not being able to sleep when I want, but I'm sure I'm not going to mind being able to furnish my room...and actually looking like a reasonable member of society.

I will admit the German language is just frustrating me though. It is really difficult to work in another language and it often makes me feel really dumb. Those of you think you know me well would be surprised how I am really hard on myself. This is more so in professional situations - in which I have to deal with people who don't really know me that well. And golf as well. I think I just always want to exceed expectations. And now, after graduating I feel like I need to be an exceptional worker. I don't want to just be a normal person, and I want to be able to come up with ideas and improve things and make things more efficient. I want to be a 'changer'. But it's just so difficult because even after 4 months there I still feel like I don't understand the process that well. And I hate when you are at work and you really don't want to ask your boss another question because you have already asked like 16 times about things and it's only 10 in the morning. I am always worried this will make me seem dumb, and then sometimes when I ask I feel like he doesn't listen and explains something up to where I have the problem and then doesn't go into my problem and doesn't understand where I am having the problem.

I do feel appreciated there though. The 'top boss' was in work on thursday and he gave me perhaps the most intimidating hand shake that I have ever had in my life. I would consider myself a not bad handshaker, but he just took the cake. I would honestly like to see what it would be like for him to meet Jack Donaghy from 30 rock. I may want to be my boss when I grow up....

Musical "Artist"

My parents, my friends, and my parents friends have had the privilege of attending the winnipeg folk festival this year. I am extremely jealous because there are some acts I would love to see. (And surprisingly a lot of acts I have never heard before)

One of the people I would have enjoyed seeing for example was James Vincent McMorrow. I often listen to him on my iPod, but do not necessarily listen to every song. I enjoy him, but I don't LOVE him beyond everything....he's not even who I most regret missing.

The Irish Bon Iver as he's been called was apparently quite lackluster (according to my parents)...my mother debated a visit to the beer tent (and if you know my mother that's quite strange). But it got me thinking about musicians the differences live vs studio. I think that there are just some people who are studio people only. It's been said that if you can't play live you aren't a real musician and I think that I used to be one of those kinds of people. But just today I decided that no, it's not necessarily like that. You can be talented as heck, but just may not be able to perform, and while this may not make you a superstar it doesn't necessarily make you a bad musician. I think that it's just a different way of approaching music.

I am looking at this from a much more artistic perspective and not just the 'entertainment value' perspective, nor the saleability. Think about it this way. Some people are just very outgoing and friendly and just want to 'have a party' and perform for others. Other people are much more concerned with the integrity of the song and are more willing to spend time in the studio working on an album to perfect and and ensure that every song is in the exact right place...and everything is a lot more deliberate.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that we are more upset when people don't sound the same live as they do in the studio is because the same instruments that were used in 'crafting the song' are not transferable in real life. I'm not necessarily just referring to auto-tune here either. But then it begs the question, does a song no longer have any validity if the artist can't reproduce it and what if he only ever plays it well once. Does that mean it's a bad song?

I don't know the direction I was meaning to take with this, but it would be cool to hear any opinions on studio vs live artists...

crashing pianos

I was thinking about finding a video on youtube...just for an extra visual for this entry, but what I'm about to talk about is a little painful.

It literally hurts me when you see pianos get smashed. Like literally makes me upset. It is just such a waste. Even if it's the oldest thing every, pieces can be saved in order to transplant to other.

There is a short film about an adorable little french man that has just this exact thing in Paris











this is why it hurts

The Secret Life of bees

I'm pretty sure the title is actually a book name...but I don't really care...

I was in the park enjoying some wonderfully summer weather accompanied by old nerdist podcasts...just dying of laughter by myself, looking like a total freak.

Also got into examining some bees as they would pass the clover flowers around me. But I just don't really understand them at all...So one goes by and pretty much checks out every flower. Knows right away if he's going to get some pollen...get what's he needs and then moves to the next flower. Ok that makes sense. Bees love pollen, it kicks off the whole honey process.

Then along comes another bee a little while later and checks out the same flowers. But didn't the first bee already check. It seems like a pretty inefficient thing. Wouldn't the first one get all the pollen...if he's already there. I guess I don't know the rate that pollen is created, but I really don't get it. Like someone was just there...sorry. Maybe they're from rival tribes.

I just thought this though...where is the honey production actually taking place? In a tree? Is it nearby?

I'm gonna need a bee-cam

Perspective

 I feel like I may have shown this picture before...if not I meant to. This is where I went on the May 1st holiday. It's a really cool place. We ended up walking here...(I went with a friend) and it took us about a 45 minutes to get here. Then after we walked another 3 hours to the frankenstein castle. Anyways one thing I really like about Germany is that there are hills here. So right now we are looking over a valley which is so cool. And even cooler because you can see so far. We were able to see Frankfurt, Mainz and even as far as Ludwigshafen (which is across the river from where I went to school). I could honestly sit and just look out for hours. I truly do like the mountain top experience. I know the picture is really poor quality so I apologize. If you use a magnifying glass you may be able to see a church spire...keep that in mind.

Now do you see the extra high point in the middle of the trees way in the distance....guess where the last picture was taken...Heights are the greatest.

Kishi Bashi

because NPR introduces some really cool things

I was listening to the best songs of the first half of 2012 today....I want all of it...and usually I disagree with some choices. Maybe there were one or two low points, but overall this was the highlight...oh and the surprise from carly rae jepson.

accepting my race

I'm white. You likely know this, largely by the fact that there is a picture of me on my blog. If you do not, you are clearly dumb and unobservant, or have google reader - in the latter case forgiveness will be granted.

Anyways - because there is all this sun I have had to think about making the decision as to whether or not I should try and get a mega tan. I must say that I went the entire last winter without feeling any shame of my whiteness. Is it because I'm living in a more ethnically homogenous environment where everyone is just as white as me. There are tanning salons but none of the people I befriend are the types to visit such places. But I have had a lot of time the past few weeks and I could lay out in the park and get an amazing tan. Like ridiculously dark....but contrary to danielle of about 2 years ago I don't really care to be that dark anymore. I wonder if this is one of the parts of self-acceptance you learn and maybe it's just part of my desire to 'age gracefully'. I don't want to end up a leather bag one day.

I was thinking...should I go back to naming the blog titles with lyrics of whatever song I listen to at the time of writing the post?? I'll probably forget this the next time I write.

hairmaggedeon

If there is one thing I really don't like about Germany...it's the water. I have been suffering the last 2.5 weeks because it seems like my hair literally cannot get clean...but I think that I am on the direction to some sort of remedy. I rinsed my hair with a vinegar water combination and I think that it feels somewhat softer, but the problem is that I can never tell whether or not my hands feel gross, or my hair the gross thing. I'll admit it's gross here. Like I am sweating all the time.

It is always so sunny. (it's always sunny in Philly reference?)

I feel like I am just sweating up a storm all the time. Do I just feel extra sweat in my hair. I think that the next time I am going to try washing with bottled water mixed with vinegar. Surprisingly my hair does not smell like salad as I had anticipated, so that's pretty successful. I don't think you care that much, but you may care if you have to live here.

Mainz Meetup

I met up with one of my old teachers from high school today. My German teacher for that matter. It was a wonderful day. It was also cool because I have never been to Mainz, and it is a pretty historically significant city...although it's so sad that I can't remember enough history right now. A very catholic city at any rate.

So we met up and then started wandering throughout the city. We then stopped and went through the Dom (cathedral) there, which was absolutely amazing. We were then going to go to the Gutenberg museum, hoping that I could see the Gutenberg bible which we did not because the museum was closed on mondays. That was a bit of a bummer. But we then went for cake which was a decent compromise. I finally had my first piece of Schwartzwalder Kirsch (Blackforest) which I could say competes for the title of my favourite cake.

I think the greatest part of my day was being able to connect with her as an adult. I mean she first got to know me as a wonderful little 12 year old and has known me for more than 10 years. Not well obviously because what she may see is slightly different than how I actually am. But it was great that we were able to share more experiences from our personal lives and actually bond somewhat an appreciate the circumstances that affect us in a more 'formal' setting.

I felt very inspired by her as well, and I feel a little bit more motivated into doing more things that will better myself. And figuring out how I'm going to be able to continue to do things I love, but being able to support myself as well. I also was encouraged to look a little bit further into my future and start thinking about that. I think that may be a larger theme of staying here in Germany. I think I need to figure out how to bring all the great parts of my life here into moving back to North America. It was cool how she talked about when she was a kid and she pretended she was going to know how to fly, and she ended up being a flight attendant, and then became a teacher partially for the time to travel in the summer. Just awesome...

Now that I think about it, we didn't actually see vast amounts of stuff while we were there, we just wandered down the rhine river and talked.

Then for lunch we had some tapas, and I even drank a beer in front of her which was neat...and not very MBCI. ha ha don't care!

But I must tell you...this food was amazing, and I would go back to Mainz, just for Tapas. We had these chicken croquets, and some bread, but the most amazing thing was dates wrapped in bacon. I literally in my life have never eaten bacon that tasted that good. Like I need to have it again or I will die. I'm getting hungry just talking about it!!!

Heinerfest

This weekend in Darmstadt there is a little event called heinerfest. I don't really know if it is celebrating anything...all I know is that there are a bunch of rides on food stands in the innenstadt. Someone told me it was the biggest inner city festival in the world, but I don't think that is true. There were a lot of people and it does shut down the inner city somewhat, but I don't think it's the biggest...

The view going into the innenstadt (Schloss on the right)

I'm down with festivals, but at the same time the only thing that I really do is watch people. In Germany I do a lot of things by myself, just because of lack of friends and because I'm not going to let that stop me. So I wandered around for a while and then I came upon the scare house where they have people standing to scare people. I took this really low quality picture so I don't know if you can tell what's happening here. 

So as people were coming out he would make swiping motions with his sword. I literally sat across the way and watched for about 20 minutes, just laughing nearly every time. The greatest moments were

- Teenage girls, of course

- the parents that were there to 'protect their children' but ended up getting more scared than their children.

- Adults getting scared in General

- the asians got scared every single time

- except once, there was one asian boy who I would say was about 12 years old. He did not get scared, and afterwards he gave the most stoic man-nod I have ever seen

I took such joy from all of this.

                         

I also saw these people, who were playing very south american music, with panpipes and the like. But they were dressed in a very traditional native American way. I actually need someone to clarify whether or not this is an accurate depiction of south americans...or whether or not there were just using the costumes as a gimmick....

an even nicer thing I did?

I did something for the first time ever yesterday...

I gave something to a beggar.

I had to go into the innenstadt to gather some grooming products and on my way I passed someone who had a sign, which I didn't read, but he looked really pathetic and I didn't think more of it, until I came back outside and saw him on my way to the bakery. I made the decision to buy him a bun, which I admit always seems like a risk, because you don't really know their situation...and maybe you could somehow offend them.

Now as this was my first time I felt a little weird. I have never donated to to people on the street in m life because I have always personally felt like I have to work for my stuff, and I am not even working right now and don't have that much for myself, why would I give it to someone else. I feel like I could be in need (slightly less), but not comfortably stable. I know this is completely twisted logic and I think this is one of the reasons that I hate taking money from my parents because I never actually have to struggle, and I truly cannot sympathize with those who have nothing. I feel like I'm still sometimes in need of a reality check.

The guy seemed really surprised. I don't think this is a habit I will regularly be participating in, ut from time to time I feel like I should go with a bag of buns and just hand them out.

lessons from the library

Clearly not working has given me a serious appetite for writing.

Today I was at the library and after realizing the John Grisham novel I had started was not a murder mystery I went back over to the english book section, and was debating leaving when I saw Grimms fairytales. I went over to look at it and was going to read some nice little stories, because I've learned that the nice disney-fied versions are really not what they are like.

But man are they soo stupid. One of the stories I read was Hansel and Gretl...so there was no house made of candy, in fact there was no witches house whatsoever. H&G were walking and eventually come to this pond that made Hansel turn into a faun. So they hide in some random cabin, but then they were hunting horns everyday and Hansels like sorry I gotta go. When there is a hunt why on earth do you have to go. But two days in a row he comes back and knocks on the door and speaks to Gretl because fauns can talk. And the King was like "hey what's the deal" and follows him and finds Gretl and says - hye let's get married, and they do and then a fairy turns Hansel back into a boy...


WTF?





Another thought I had at the library. One of my pet peeves is when someone automatically takes my plate and serves me food. Clearly I love to eat, but I do prefer to serve myself. If you ask if you can serve me I will accept that, and gladly let you, but don't just take my plate and serve me.

English football

John Doyle from the Globe and Mail said it best 


"This is a key period for English soccer. The national team failed to even qualify for Euro 2008. It was hopeless and whiny at World Cup 2010 in South Africa. England’s main club teams are, increasingly, the playthings of billionaires from other countries who can afford to play a whimsical game of fantasy soccer, plucking the best players from across the world to upgrade an old-fashioned brand"


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/englands-great-moment-is-at-hand/article4353838/

The one time I decided to be nice and, the time I reviewed my flight

As mentioned in previous posts I flew back to Darmstadt last Thursday and I realized I never really told you about my actual flight. Consider this an airline review of sorts….

I flew with a new airline. Normally when I fly in Canada I prefer to fly with West Jet because they are super amazing and fun and I have never encountered serious issues with them. It truly does upset me that they do not fly international to Europe. I’m sure it will come soon enough. I’m sure they have already taken a large market share from Air Canada simply due to the fact that their flight attendants smile.

(Sidenote: Watching Germans in the Luisenplatz reminds me of how some of them give the worst hugs ever. Like worse than my cousin, and she hates giving hugs so I always give her extra squeezes.)

I did fly with air canada to Germany after consultation with friends who said that air canada really was going to be the best. I figured that there probably wasn't going to be huge differences in pricing and so I figured that I should book with air canada. The flight was fine, the food was tolerable. It was average. I wouldn't really say that they stood out to me as being exceptional in one way. If you look at porters keys to succeeding in business he says that you need to either differentiate or lead by price. Air Canada doesn't do either of these. They simply lead by being convenient and perhaps the fact that they're canadian makes some people feel loyal, but if you had the choice between air canada and singapore airlines at the same price point I'm sure most would choose singapore simply based on service and reputation. Never the less I did a little bit more investigating this time into pricing because I am now a poor debtor. I had also met someone at the frankfurt airport who had recommended condor, and someone at work had mentioned air transat. I went over to the websites and investigated the prices and my jaw dropped to the floor. Sadly neither of these airlines flew through winnipeg so I'd have to get a connecting flight. When I told my mom about this she said why not fly through toronto and visit people. Deal. So I got my wish to fly West Jet. Even cooler, was having my old teacher watch my struggle to properly distribute the weight between my bags. 

But my flight from Toronto ended up costing less than $400!!! And they offered a cheap one way flight, which air canada doesn't offer. That is amazing. I figured that it was without taxes, but no...everything inclusive. I did have to pay to book a seat, but they also offered this "options plus" which included an extra piece of checked baggage, your seat booking, a welcome glass of champagne, and priority boarding. Deal! It was less than the cost of an extra piece of luggage cost for air canada. 

So I guess now is the time I actually tell you about me being nice. Seeing as I didn't even need all these extras (I really just wanted the extra checked baggage) I shared with the girl sitting in the aisle seat. Gave her my earplugs, headphones and a sleep mask. She was very surprised. I really didn't need them. I even was going to offer my champagne, but she was already asleep. I'm very proud for not just thinking about myself!

So in terms of the review for air transat. 

Decent. I really didn't expect that much going in, considering I know no one that has flown it, and the price was dirt cheap. I would say that I got what I paid for though. The seats were certainly smaller than I was expecting, but not completely horrible. It was more narrow than losing leg room. I was also extremely fortunate that I didn't have anyone sitting in the middle seat. One thing I did like about air canada was that they have the in-seat entertainment. That is really super, but I also can't focus on a movie very easily. For some reason it makes me feel very more anxious about the time and why my flight isn't there yet and that I have to sit for 6 more hours. The worst part...the food. I almost didn't want to eat. Like thanks for giving me a choice, but I don't think there was a "right" choice. I'm sure they were all barely palatable. Even the container it was served in grossed me out, and normally I enjoy airplane food. I'm a little weird. I used to get excited for it as a child. I didn't eat the side salad which I'm pretty sure was still half frozen. I could not have even identified one ingredient..except salt. There was definitely salt. I will fly with them again. The price really outweighs all the negative aspects, but if you have high standards, I wouldn't recommend it.

By the way - you're welcome marketing people for giving you the exact insight into my decision so that you can use it in planning marketing operations in the future. You would probably feel better about exploiting me if you at least left me some compensation. 

m-ass-crack

There seems to be this thing going around. I know you've all seen it...and I'm really surprised that no one has made a big deal to stop it.

M-ass Cracks...aka male ass cracks

Remember the good ole days when the boys would get made fun of for having their pants so low that you could see almost the entirety of their boxer shorts? Well it seems that they have started listening to our complaints. Instead of seeing boxers....we see bums!!!

Literally in the last week I would say I have seen at least 6 more than I would like to; at the airport, yesterday at the auslaenderbehorde...I'm telling you it's not a regional thing!

I guess the style has transitioned to a more fitted pant, especially jeans, which in my experience is the most common time to see the m-ass crack. Maybe people are just buying ill fitting clothing (side-rant: Is the clothing industry trying to alienate imperfect male figures as well.) Jeans are not supposed to show bum, and despite the fact that the pants will fit everywhere else, they just do not fit in the hips. Or maybe boys just don't know how to wear the clothes properly? Someone needs to take responsibility to teach these boys how to dress.

I also wouldn't say it's restricted to one demographic either. Literally all types of men are being affected by this. Jocks, Nerds, dads, hot dads, teachers, professionals, factory workers rich and poor...everyone! Don't take this the wrong way, but girls have way better looking bums. How are you bald, but have so much hair on your bum, and I don't understand...is that acne!! Somebody needs to tell these people if they are going to let it hang out at least take care of the skin down there!

Who is going to take this initiative. Someone needs to get on top of this. I'm looking people that all men can relate to. Pro Athletes, Donald Trump, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Villa, ...we need to reach a large population. 

We also can't forget about that time in high school where low waisted pants reigned supreme on girls, and I know that you spent time trying to throw your smarties into that crevice. But girls have grown up, and realized that they don't want to look like tramps. Boys, have you missed this? Is this a sign? Does somebody always have to show some bum. I swear if you start getting tramp stamps to go along with this I'm considering moving away from civilization. We learned from our mistakes! 

So listen up boys, from me to you...It's time to pull up your pants.

misstapes

So there's lots of issues these days with people not legally paying for there music, but what about back in the day when people were making mixtapes...


Was anyone then complaining about the fact that it was stealing music. Now we look at it like this romantic retro way to show your loved one that you cared enough to listen to the radio for hours just to find the perfect song. But these days we call it stealing

Any insights older generation?

legally prohibited from working in Germany

So Clearly I'm here in Germany. I have a job in Germany. My contract starts today...but I am not working..

It sucks. I went to the foreign peoples office today and they had no idea when the work permit will come in. My boss has no idea and it is just terrible. From the combination of conversations I figure it could come tomorrow, or it could come in two weeks, or in a month!!

This really sucks because I usually don't get paid until the end of the month and my boss figures that it's highly unlikely it is going to come this month. This means I have no way of making money to pay for rent yet, nor money to get me through july which is a long month!! How am I supposed to go to beer gardens!!

Again...time to live thrifty. Or find a job on a farm or something!!!

How frustrating. I also can't even go anywhere because of the uncertainty of the situation!

How a tree pooped on me and other stories

So I'm back in the Big Old land called Germany...

(sidebar, just saw Family guy in German...why don't I watch this!!)

So I'm currently doing couch surfing during the two weeks until I get my apartment. It's nice place I'm staying with (a guy and his family). I'm starting to get a little bit impatient though because I really want to move into my own place and start work and just get things going. I feel right now like I'm just stuck in some weird Germany purgatorial space. (I'm still waiting for my work visa). So anyways...yesterday I went with the couchsurfing friend to some little towns outside of Darmstadt, and we were in a little town called Zwingenberg, so we got out and were walking around and then I walk under some tree and all of the sudden I feel these random things just land on me and I turned around trying to find the terrible kids that threw these berries at me, but there was no one to be seen. So I realize it must have been the tree. I guess walking buy reminded the tree of the age old conflict between this tree and it's old nemesis the acorn tree, (Canadians naturally smell of maple syrup) and I provoked the attack. It's the only explanation.

At first I figured that it wasn't really a big deal because I was wearing a black pullover. Sadly, the amount on there was literally like a quarter cup of freshly made jam. So I wiped it off on a building. But now it looks like I booger-ed all over myself. It really sucks because my new flat does not have a washing machine and I know I'm going to put off washing as long as I can. Darn!!

(I'm super please the Canadian Dollar is doing well right now...it really helps in Europe)

Interestingly, the father at the place where I'm staying is an English/History/Politics (some kind of combination) Teacher and so he was talking to me a little bit about Canada because he is going to have to teach Canadian History next year. I felt terrible because I don't remember any history. Well obviously I remember some but I have been encountering some situations where I really don't know as much as I want. I have got to stop spending so much time filling my head with crap and learn some new things. Canada a people's History will be found online!! (and watched!)