Things I don't Miss

Here are some pics of last winter- a few things that i am definitely not missing during my "tropical" vacation here (it was +8 today, no snow- it didn't even rain!)

For example, I am not missing this so much:

lots of snow on the car

me brushing all the bloody snow off

This all fell in one day last year. Ugh. These are pictures from the big snowstorm we had. The big snowstorm here so far this year? The itty-bit of snow was gone the next day. It's not that i hate snow or anything, I like the idea of snow and winter much more than I actually like the reality of it. it is just such a pain in the ass- snow shovelling, trudging through knee high drifts, driving super slow on the highway, plugging the car in, warming the car up.... it's a long list.

But I'd take it all in a heartbeat if it meant I was at home right now.

Pics of Home- Part 2

More things I miss:

Mom and me

Nora and me

Andy at Halloween

Beth and Sam

Me, Andy, and Beth- notice the chokehold.


The sun. I definitely miss the sun.

Home.

Pics of Home- Part 1

I was quite a ball of mixed emotions today. It was a hardcore mix, but i think it can be summed up as a homesick ball of tired out bah humbug-ery. I figured maybe if I put some pics up I'd feel better and you could see the things I miss most about home.

Me and Manda

Nomes, Nora, and Mac

Kris, Erin, Beth, and Kim wandering in the snow a couple of Christmases ago

Andy, Beth, and me while skating

Beth, Kris, and me Christmas morning a couple years ago

I Need a Life

Since coming to Germany in September, I have had basically no everyday social life. Yeah, I know it's sad, but I am not so adventurous as Manda that I go and see things simply because they are there to see. I don't revel in discovering new foods and cultures for the first time; it makes me ridiculously nervous actually (I just about had a panic attack when Antje took me to the Thai restaurant for the first time- i was so uncomfortable). I don't see the need to wander out and try new things just for fun.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise then, that since coming here, I have seen over 80 different movies, and some of them more than once. I have read the Twilight saga 4x in the last 3 weeks. I have been contemplating going to Bonn, simply because there is a bookstore within 500 meters of the train station. However, I am trying not to buy too many books because taking them home is going to suck. ugh.

I would like to do my parents proud and make some sort of New Year's resolution about how I am going to get out there and do things on my own for the next 5 months. But I think that resolution would only last about a day and then I'd be back where I started, only with the added guilt of being a failure. LOL. Not to worry though- as I told JC- I don't need a social life, I have the internet :D

xoxoxo from Deutschland.

Why I Hate Teens: Reason # 245

As I was cooking my supper today (a delicious Thai Curry), Quentin bounded up the stairs and barged into MY kitchen, stuck his shit in MY fridge, leaned over MY cooking, and said, "It smells burnt".

WTF?!?!?!? Was there any call to be so ridiculously rude? I think not. I may have to make him a eunuch before I leave. It will stop him from passing his stupid/I'm-a-giant-jackass genes on to the next generation. Seriously. I fail to understand why I need to tell him off AND complain about him to his parents before he will respect my space.

On a side note- My supper was plate licking good and not burnt at all. Stupid child.

Grey

Everything here is so bloody grey. Seriously. I don't remember the last time the sun shone 2 days in a row. Clouds, rain, half-assed snow... Even the buildings are grey. It is so depressing. Ugh. It makes me want to just crawl back under the covers and hide til the sun (hopefully/eventually?) comes out again.

So, if you don't hear anything from me for the next 3-4 months- well, you know where i'll be.

Ugh.

Hmmmm.

So, i know that the closer we get to Christmas, the Scrooge-ier i get. However, there were three things today that made me feel a bit better:

1) My buddy Nick and i went for lunch. the food was good and Nick tried to cheer me up out of Scrooge mode and sort of succeeded.

2) I finished re-reading the Twilight series and now am firmly convinced that they were worth buying (i just wonder how i am going to get them home...) too bad i thought the movie was sub par.

3) Joey came back from Africa. It was such a shock to see her! i was a bit shocked actually. But i hadn't realized how much i'd missed her. It will be great to have her here again. But at the same time, it makes me realize that i have been here almost 4 months. yipes. Anyway- back to the point- now that Joey is back things will be a lot more fun around here. I am thinking about plans for New Years now that i know someone who will be here and prolly want to go out! woot. Things are picking up.

However, no promises. Especially seeing as we all know how easy it is for me to follow along in the Bah Humbug school of thought.

Ridiculous

I am really grateful that i am finished school tomorrow. i don't think i could talk any more. argh. it has been one long day after another this week and i am not enjoying it at all. Everyone is more pushy and snipey than normal and i just feel constantly run over. it is sad. and ridiculous.

also- if teachers could stop conning me into doing THEIR jobs or even just dumping shit on me at the last minute, that would be cool too. *cough, cough- Nigel, cough*

Poor Pete

I really need to stop Pete from making friends with things that don't last. It broke my heart when François died. Now this? Oh, Pete. The Weihnachtsmann lasted an even shorter time than François. Truly tragic.

Nikolaus Tag

Dec. 6 is Nikolaus Day and if you've been good, Nikolaus brings you candy. You are supposed to leave your shoes out the night before so he can fill them.

I forgot all about this until i got up on Saturday and saw a little chocolate Santa left near the door by Nikolaus. It was really sweet of my host family to include me in their traditions :)


I thought i should show you pics of my little chocolate-y Santa before i chowed down on him:

Classic Canadiana

My Aunt had this poem as her Fbook status today:

Jack and Gilles went up the hill,
to filch the font of power.
Jack fell down, pushed by the crown,
and Gilles came grumbling after.

Oh so Canadian. Classic.

Twilight

I bought the first two Twilight books on Sunday as well. They were pretty good, but at the same time a bit cheesy. which made me sad. Although i have to say that i like the idea of a teen angst-y vampire much more than the adult woe-is-me-i-can't-even-drink-from-rats-without-absolutely-hating-myself-and-what-i-am type that certain authors out there like to write about.

I also think that, despite some of the kind of unbelievable things that may happen to Bella and Edward, their love story is kinda nice and sort of believable.

*sigh- sorry about the cheese factor there*

Cologne

I wandered up to Koeln on Sunday to visit Elise. It was good fun, with the exception of the DB once again being ridiculously difficult to use (a way long, complicated story guaranteed to just make me angry all over again). We wandered around Cologne, checking out 3 different Christmas Markets, part of the Chocolate Museum, a book store, and the local Saturn. We lunched, drank Gluehwein, and chatted. I had a good time and i took some pictures for you all:

The "I Love You" Llama

The Cologne Cathedral

A herd of Reindeer

The Floating Christmas Market

A bridge over the Rhine

I got the Stealth

This house is big and drafty. And cold. The Family doesn't know, but i have stealthily gone around and turned the some of the radiators ON and up to 2. MUAHAHAHAHA. it is pleasant to know that it is now warmer upstairs by about 8 degrees (making it a very posh and overheated 17 degrees upstairs). My radiator stays sneakily up at 5 almost all the time to make my room livable. do you have any idea how hard it is to post for you all when i have to wear mittens???

I got the stealth, I got the stealth, I got the stealth...yeah!

I don't understand the attraction to big, impossible to heat homes.

Seriously Already

Germany is the land of no baggers at the grocery store. Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating to try and juggle shoving your groceries into your bags (off the 1 foot square section at the end of the til), paying for them, and getting out of the way before the cashier throws the next person's groceries at you on the aforementioned 1 foot squared of space. To top it off, usually the cashiers are super grumpy and way impatient with you or anything that holds up the line.

So, i was already kinda cranky today, then going to the store made it worse. the customer in front of me had a broken hand and was trying to pay, bag, and get gone, while the Cashier was pulling her usual nastiness and rushing and stressing this poor lady.

I see things like this all the time and it always makes me a little sad. Patience never killed anyone. Sometimes it seems that patience here is not a virtue, but rather more of a rarity. It's sad because it always makes me wonder what else those potential 30 more seconds could be used on that would make a real difference. This is one of the reasons i am excited to be that much closer to going home. Even in Canada when things are super rushed and crazy busy, it never feels quite so rushed as here. Although, it could just that i am more used to it at home.