I have decided that today I am going to give the whole "laidback and relaxed" thing a try. We all know how super uptight I can be about planning and my excessive need for it. Which is also super ironic, because I am also a notoriously shitty planner. So today, I am going to chillax and if my plans fall apart and me and my friends don't actually end up meeting up- well... I am just not going to get all bent out of shape over it :)
So take that stupid stressing and worrying! You've been cut.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
In Response
In respone to Erin's comment. LMAO. Yes, it is indeed a "good on ya, M" for talking to some Germans :D Amazingly enough, even here in Germany (a land filled with Germans) I do find it hard. So- I accept your congratulations wholeheartedly. Thanks :D
Also- about the chili. I have been thinking about it. In fact, I think your suggestion may have pushed me over the edge- I am gonna do it! I was going for some more groceries tonight anyway. The thing i really need to find first is some chili spices. The food here is usually pretty lame on spices, so it might take me a bit to hunt up some suitable ones. However, I'm gonna put some real effort into that today. Why, you ask? Because it has been pissing buckets all day and I could really use a homemade chili.
Also- random sidenote here: I hope you all really appreciate this post, b/c I typed it at the school on a German keyboard- meaning it took almost twice as long because all the letters and punctuation keys have been moved around. So there. Appreciate the post- It appreciates you.
Also- about the chili. I have been thinking about it. In fact, I think your suggestion may have pushed me over the edge- I am gonna do it! I was going for some more groceries tonight anyway. The thing i really need to find first is some chili spices. The food here is usually pretty lame on spices, so it might take me a bit to hunt up some suitable ones. However, I'm gonna put some real effort into that today. Why, you ask? Because it has been pissing buckets all day and I could really use a homemade chili.
Also- random sidenote here: I hope you all really appreciate this post, b/c I typed it at the school on a German keyboard- meaning it took almost twice as long because all the letters and punctuation keys have been moved around. So there. Appreciate the post- It appreciates you.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
M's Dinner
I had an intense craving for spaghetti this evening. And since I can make it for about 75 cents, I figured it wasn't too bad an idea.
So I wandered to the store and picked up a few things. When I got back, I had all the ingredients and I got to work right away.
I am really liking the idea of making the sauce personally. I think it tastes so much better that way. I actually got the idea from Elise a couple weekends ago when she was visiting.
The idea is pretty basic, put I'll tell you what I put in mine. Basically, I just chopped up a couple carrots, a couple cloves of garlic, and fried it up with some oil in a pan. I threw in some basil and other assorted Italian-y spices. Once it was nicely browned I threw it into the pot where I had the tomato paste warming. Then I made sure that it got all nice and hot. So yeah, like I said- pretty self-explanatory and simple. But man! It was so good and it totally hit the spot.
Things I learned though: maybe frying up the carrots with the garlic beforehand was not such a great idea. Fried carrot coins smell weird and they taste strange too. I should have thrown the carrots straight into the sauce and cooked them there.
So I wandered to the store and picked up a few things. When I got back, I had all the ingredients and I got to work right away.
I am really liking the idea of making the sauce personally. I think it tastes so much better that way. I actually got the idea from Elise a couple weekends ago when she was visiting.
The idea is pretty basic, put I'll tell you what I put in mine. Basically, I just chopped up a couple carrots, a couple cloves of garlic, and fried it up with some oil in a pan. I threw in some basil and other assorted Italian-y spices. Once it was nicely browned I threw it into the pot where I had the tomato paste warming. Then I made sure that it got all nice and hot. So yeah, like I said- pretty self-explanatory and simple. But man! It was so good and it totally hit the spot.
Things I learned though: maybe frying up the carrots with the garlic beforehand was not such a great idea. Fried carrot coins smell weird and they taste strange too. I should have thrown the carrots straight into the sauce and cooked them there.
The Word of the Day: Irony
Quick question- when used as an adjective does the word irony become "ironic"- or "ironical"?
Personally I had never heard the word ironical before I came here. Everything has always just been ironic to me (lol- sorry about that- but I thought it was funny at least). But since I have been here, I have heard/seen the word ironical everywhere.
Is it maybe a British thing? My buddy Nick always says ironical and gives me "the look" when I say ironic. (you know which look I mean- the one that says: Excuse me, but I rather believe your use of that word was incorrect because the word you used simply does not exist) It cracks me up every time I hear anyone use ironical (b/c it just sounds funny). It also cracks me up when someone gives me the look for saying ironic.
So, readers of the devoted (and not so devoted) variety- I am putting the issue at hand to a vote:
Does irony become ironic or ironical when used as an adjective?
Personally I had never heard the word ironical before I came here. Everything has always just been ironic to me (lol- sorry about that- but I thought it was funny at least). But since I have been here, I have heard/seen the word ironical everywhere.
Is it maybe a British thing? My buddy Nick always says ironical and gives me "the look" when I say ironic. (you know which look I mean- the one that says: Excuse me, but I rather believe your use of that word was incorrect because the word you used simply does not exist) It cracks me up every time I hear anyone use ironical (b/c it just sounds funny). It also cracks me up when someone gives me the look for saying ironic.
So, readers of the devoted (and not so devoted) variety- I am putting the issue at hand to a vote:
Does irony become ironic or ironical when used as an adjective?
A Point to Ponder
So, as previously stated, I spent an extra hour and a half at school today, having a nice chat. But here's the thing: It was a beautiful morning with lots of sun and an almost double digit temperature.
This afternoon was a different story though. By the time I was done chatting, the weather had turned grey, windy, and kinda stormy.
Now, I am just wondering a bit if my afternoon would have been better if I had just gone home when I was done, and not had to ride my bike through crap weather. Or would it have been better to stay, chat, and ride home in the rain?
I'm gonna go with the whole "my day was better b/c I had a lovely chat", just because after riding home it was pretty easy to just change into some dry clothes. But it is, at the very least, a point worth pondering I think.
This afternoon was a different story though. By the time I was done chatting, the weather had turned grey, windy, and kinda stormy.
Now, I am just wondering a bit if my afternoon would have been better if I had just gone home when I was done, and not had to ride my bike through crap weather. Or would it have been better to stay, chat, and ride home in the rain?
I'm gonna go with the whole "my day was better b/c I had a lovely chat", just because after riding home it was pretty easy to just change into some dry clothes. But it is, at the very least, a point worth pondering I think.
Bright Spot in my Day :)
Holy Chunky Monkey! My day was definitely made better this afternoon, when for the first time in months, I spoke to a German who was MY AGE (aka out of high school and into university). Yeah- it was fabulous!
There are something like 6 university students doing practicums at the school right now- and they all seem pretty interesting and fun. I spent prolly an hour and half just chatting about stereotypical single twenty-something stuff. It was bloody brilliant! Almost all of the other teachers are almost a decade older than me and are pretty much all married/committed with kids and mortgages and stuff, so sometimes it is really hard to feel like I have anything in common with any of them.
I am thinking a pub night with the student teachers is definitely in order. I feel so much better about life after this afternoon :D
There are something like 6 university students doing practicums at the school right now- and they all seem pretty interesting and fun. I spent prolly an hour and half just chatting about stereotypical single twenty-something stuff. It was bloody brilliant! Almost all of the other teachers are almost a decade older than me and are pretty much all married/committed with kids and mortgages and stuff, so sometimes it is really hard to feel like I have anything in common with any of them.
I am thinking a pub night with the student teachers is definitely in order. I feel so much better about life after this afternoon :D
Cultural Difference My Ass
There are cultural differences and then there are cultural differences.
For instance, I don't find it a trouble at all to wait until a clogged doorway empties before walking through it. No matter what country I am in. This waiting for it to empty usually means that more Germans will see that I am waiting and thus push their way through, causing a longer wait on my part.
However, some Germans seem to think that me waiting my turn to walk through a seriously congested doorway is incredibly impolite to the people I am holding up behind me.
Either way I lose. And either way the staff members (who see me having trouble trying to be pushy and obnoxious to get through something as simple as a door) will take the opportunity to make fun of me and ask me why after 6 months I have not yet assimilated. What irritates me the most about said staff members is that they are the ones who ignore me completely until they see me doing something that they can make fun of me for.
Hmmmph. I think I may have to bring in some ex-lax brownies or something... Well, nah, I prolly won't... but it makes me feel better to think that I prolly could :D
For instance, I don't find it a trouble at all to wait until a clogged doorway empties before walking through it. No matter what country I am in. This waiting for it to empty usually means that more Germans will see that I am waiting and thus push their way through, causing a longer wait on my part.
However, some Germans seem to think that me waiting my turn to walk through a seriously congested doorway is incredibly impolite to the people I am holding up behind me.
Either way I lose. And either way the staff members (who see me having trouble trying to be pushy and obnoxious to get through something as simple as a door) will take the opportunity to make fun of me and ask me why after 6 months I have not yet assimilated. What irritates me the most about said staff members is that they are the ones who ignore me completely until they see me doing something that they can make fun of me for.
Hmmmph. I think I may have to bring in some ex-lax brownies or something... Well, nah, I prolly won't... but it makes me feel better to think that I prolly could :D
Reasons to Not Enjoy My Job
Remember a while ago, when I wrote about how the two people I work for couldn't actually decide who my boss was? And I had decided I was going to do what I wanted anyway?
Yeah, well, apparently life doesn't actually work that way. I know- what a surprise, eh? I had hoped but I guess not. Anyway- the important thing here is that I gave these people like 2 months notice that I was going to need these 2, possibly 3, days off because I had mis-planned the dates of my family's visit.
Today I brought it up again (still a months notice)- and they were like- "what?!?!?!? you can't do that!!! you haven't given us any notice at all!!!!" Because, you know, two whole months really isn't that much notice- it was almost a bit last minute-y. *sigh*
I had to fight to get those damn days off. FIGHT, I tell you. I could understand this if maybe I took a lot of sick time and was never around and did a crappy job- but this was ridiculous. I have only ever missed one class because I was sick in the 6 months or so that I have been here.
I spent 20 minutes arguing with these people about it, before they would accept my idea of making the time up elsewhere. I am only missing 6 classes, so it won't be hard to make up at all. I still don't understand why it was such a bloody big deal. It wasn't that complicated and it's not like I was trying to skip out on my job.
ugh. It seems that they deliberately make life harder than it has to be and a lot more often than necessary too.
Yeah, well, apparently life doesn't actually work that way. I know- what a surprise, eh? I had hoped but I guess not. Anyway- the important thing here is that I gave these people like 2 months notice that I was going to need these 2, possibly 3, days off because I had mis-planned the dates of my family's visit.
Today I brought it up again (still a months notice)- and they were like- "what?!?!?!? you can't do that!!! you haven't given us any notice at all!!!!" Because, you know, two whole months really isn't that much notice- it was almost a bit last minute-y. *sigh*
I had to fight to get those damn days off. FIGHT, I tell you. I could understand this if maybe I took a lot of sick time and was never around and did a crappy job- but this was ridiculous. I have only ever missed one class because I was sick in the 6 months or so that I have been here.
I spent 20 minutes arguing with these people about it, before they would accept my idea of making the time up elsewhere. I am only missing 6 classes, so it won't be hard to make up at all. I still don't understand why it was such a bloody big deal. It wasn't that complicated and it's not like I was trying to skip out on my job.
ugh. It seems that they deliberately make life harder than it has to be and a lot more often than necessary too.
The Last Bits and Pieces
There are a few bits and bobs that require attention. I am a bad blogger- I had forgotten about things that I really thought post worthy. It's from Carnival (so like 2 weeks ago now) and getting a bit stale- so i thought i would combine it all into 1 post.
1) People dressed up for Carnival. You know this. What you don't know is that the best costume i saw was the Frog Prince walking toward the train station. It was just a full body frog suit- nothing too new there- but what really made the outfit was the tiny little plastic crown that looked like it was straight out of a disney movie. It even had the jaunty angle. It was great!
2) Very rarely is the Ahrtal train late. Most train stations have an electronic type board that says when a train is going to be late. Except for Bad Bodendorf. It has no sign like that. Instead the station master stuck his head out the window and yelled to us that the train was going to be ANOTHER 15 minutes late. At the time, only Elise and I were on the platform. Then like 20 other people came and expected the train. However, the station master did not bother to tell them that the train was late. It was a group of rowdy, costumed, and angry Carnival celebrating Germans on the platform to be sure.
There. now you are all caught up. i hope you appreciated the random stories :)
1) People dressed up for Carnival. You know this. What you don't know is that the best costume i saw was the Frog Prince walking toward the train station. It was just a full body frog suit- nothing too new there- but what really made the outfit was the tiny little plastic crown that looked like it was straight out of a disney movie. It even had the jaunty angle. It was great!
2) Very rarely is the Ahrtal train late. Most train stations have an electronic type board that says when a train is going to be late. Except for Bad Bodendorf. It has no sign like that. Instead the station master stuck his head out the window and yelled to us that the train was going to be ANOTHER 15 minutes late. At the time, only Elise and I were on the platform. Then like 20 other people came and expected the train. However, the station master did not bother to tell them that the train was late. It was a group of rowdy, costumed, and angry Carnival celebrating Germans on the platform to be sure.
There. now you are all caught up. i hope you appreciated the random stories :)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Nighty Night
Is it wrong that after having napped for a solid hour this afternoon and having done nothing really strenuous today, that I have been ready to crash since about 7.30? What is that even?
It's now 8.45 and I am seriously considering blowing off my prep for tomorrow and showering up and hitting the hay.
Yeah, I know- it is a bit irresponsible. On the plus side though- at least it's hygienic.
It's now 8.45 and I am seriously considering blowing off my prep for tomorrow and showering up and hitting the hay.
Yeah, I know- it is a bit irresponsible. On the plus side though- at least it's hygienic.
Another Movie in the Making
I was going to make another slide show thing similar to the one I put up earlier last week. I was gonna do this one of pics of friends though.
And then I realized that most of the pictures I have of my friends include us doing wildly inappropriate things. So I may still make the show, but it won't debut on Blogger any time soon.
It may however, be available for private screenings in June.
:D
And then I realized that most of the pictures I have of my friends include us doing wildly inappropriate things. So I may still make the show, but it won't debut on Blogger any time soon.
It may however, be available for private screenings in June.
:D
Monday, March 2, 2009
Irritation: My Middle Name
Ugh. I'd like to say that I don't know why I have been so mopey and depressed lately, but I can't. I know exactly why. I have almost reached my limit for being here. I am pretty much done, I could care less and I am ready to be home.
The sad thing is, is because I feel this way, it is spilling over into everything that could be potentially good and just making me about 96% miserable. Like today- if I hadn't been so down already, I probably would have just flipped the bitch teacher off and let it go, instead of stewing about her blatant and cruel insensitivity all afternoon.
Even the canned pineapple I bought depressed me. I know that because it was so cheap I shouldn't really expect much- but it was only vaguely ripe. No colour, no taste :( I almost cried.
Plus, I have been getting stress headaches as well, because I have been so wrapped up in my misery. Ugh, and planning a trip that gets more expensive by the day doesn't help either. So. I am going to do my best to muddle through the misery and the suck that i am currently wallowing in. However, I can't promise that my blogs will be uplifting of inspiring in any way, shape, or form.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.
Management
The sad thing is, is because I feel this way, it is spilling over into everything that could be potentially good and just making me about 96% miserable. Like today- if I hadn't been so down already, I probably would have just flipped the bitch teacher off and let it go, instead of stewing about her blatant and cruel insensitivity all afternoon.
Even the canned pineapple I bought depressed me. I know that because it was so cheap I shouldn't really expect much- but it was only vaguely ripe. No colour, no taste :( I almost cried.
Plus, I have been getting stress headaches as well, because I have been so wrapped up in my misery. Ugh, and planning a trip that gets more expensive by the day doesn't help either. So. I am going to do my best to muddle through the misery and the suck that i am currently wallowing in. However, I can't promise that my blogs will be uplifting of inspiring in any way, shape, or form.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.
Management
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Things That Make Me Sad
Paul Harvey died. I find this really sad. I remember back a couple of years ago, when Dad would come in from chores around about lunch time, flip on the AM and catch "the rest of the story". Paul Harvey was a real good broadcaster.
But, I do wonder- Now that Dad's gone, the farm's been sold, and Mr. Harvey is dead as well- how much longer do I have before all the concrete reminders are gone? I know cliches friggen blow and no one likes to hear them, but time really pisses me off with how easy come/easy go it all is.
Sorry to be so damn depressing. I wanted to write about Mr. Harvey- I got a bit distracted though.
Anyway, true to precedent, I have included the CNN article and the Wikipedia article as well.
But, I do wonder- Now that Dad's gone, the farm's been sold, and Mr. Harvey is dead as well- how much longer do I have before all the concrete reminders are gone? I know cliches friggen blow and no one likes to hear them, but time really pisses me off with how easy come/easy go it all is.
Sorry to be so damn depressing. I wanted to write about Mr. Harvey- I got a bit distracted though.
Anyway, true to precedent, I have included the CNN article and the Wikipedia article as well.
New Shoes Suck
Ugh. I am finally breaking in the pair that I brought from home. It sucks. They are so white, I feel guilty just thinking about wearing them out of the house. What on earth could have made me decide to buy such a useless and impractical colour of shoes?
Also they are still in that not-as-comfy-as-the-old-ones stage. I think when I get home I am gonna buy like 5 pairs of the Filas I really like and just keep them stored in my closet til I wear a pair out. That way I will always know what to expect from my new runners. There is also the fact that you can never have to many pairs of runners.
Fantastic. I'm glad that's settled.
Also they are still in that not-as-comfy-as-the-old-ones stage. I think when I get home I am gonna buy like 5 pairs of the Filas I really like and just keep them stored in my closet til I wear a pair out. That way I will always know what to expect from my new runners. There is also the fact that you can never have to many pairs of runners.
Fantastic. I'm glad that's settled.
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