Das Blog
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Addictive Oxfam Find
One of the reasons I haven't been posting for so long is this brand new, completely unused, and utterly addictive find from the Oxfam store: 
When I first picked it up I thought it was just a cartoon book from the NY Times, and was thrilled! Then I saw it was cartoons and *puzzles* and thought 'uhhh, well guess I'll get it anyway,' it still had some cartoons.
But from the moment I got home and openend it I could not put it down. I stayed up way to late doing crosswords and agonized over fill in the blanks.
But finally I've finished it. And now I'm in withdrawl.
¶ 6:45 PM 5 comments
When I first picked it up I thought it was just a cartoon book from the NY Times, and was thrilled! Then I saw it was cartoons and *puzzles* and thought 'uhhh, well guess I'll get it anyway,' it still had some cartoons.But from the moment I got home and openend it I could not put it down. I stayed up way to late doing crosswords and agonized over fill in the blanks.
But finally I've finished it. And now I'm in withdrawl.
¶ 6:45 PM 5 comments
Monday, August 28, 2006
Das Blog Lives
When people ask me how I like living in Germany, I'm tempted to reply "well, Germany's fine, it's the Germans I can do without." But that's too rude, isn't it? It's hard to articulate exaclty what's so difficult about Germans as a group. Cold. Distant. Unfriendly. Unapproachable. Uptight. They all touch on the idea, but none hits it on the head.
Having a dog has proven to be a great segue into conversations with other dog-walking neighbors who, on the most part are happy to engage in dog chit-chat, then act as if they've never met me four hours later on the next walk.
This evening's walked proved a perfect example of German terseness/unfriendliness. I thought I spotted another greyhound in the park, and it being an unusual breed thought I'd chat with the guy walking it:
Me: Is that a greyhound?
Guy: What?
Me: Your dog, is it a greyhound?
Guy: A what?
Me: The breed, is it a GreyHound?
Guy: No.
Me: Oh, it looks kind of like my dog, I thought maybe it was a greyhound.
Guy: (looking increasingly annoyed) No, it's a mix.
And he walked off.
See what happened was, I broke rule #1 of german interaction: Don't talk to people you don't know. It's built into the language too, you have to call someone by the formal address until you've known them either ten years or slept with them 100 times, whichever comes first. So all the neighbors I engage in dog chit-chat with will keep me at a distance for at least ten years, and ignore me outside our usual dog walking context.
Germans are the exact polar opposite of Californians. ¶ 8:19 PM 11 comments
Having a dog has proven to be a great segue into conversations with other dog-walking neighbors who, on the most part are happy to engage in dog chit-chat, then act as if they've never met me four hours later on the next walk.
This evening's walked proved a perfect example of German terseness/unfriendliness. I thought I spotted another greyhound in the park, and it being an unusual breed thought I'd chat with the guy walking it:
Me: Is that a greyhound?
Guy: What?
Me: Your dog, is it a greyhound?
Guy: A what?
Me: The breed, is it a GreyHound?
Guy: No.
Me: Oh, it looks kind of like my dog, I thought maybe it was a greyhound.
Guy: (looking increasingly annoyed) No, it's a mix.
And he walked off.
See what happened was, I broke rule #1 of german interaction: Don't talk to people you don't know. It's built into the language too, you have to call someone by the formal address until you've known them either ten years or slept with them 100 times, whichever comes first. So all the neighbors I engage in dog chit-chat with will keep me at a distance for at least ten years, and ignore me outside our usual dog walking context.
Germans are the exact polar opposite of Californians. ¶ 8:19 PM 11 comments
Friday, August 04, 2006
I'm a messy eater (and I gloat)
You know those detergent ads where the woman holds up a white shirt with a huge plate size splotch of chocolate right next to a huge grass stain? And you think: "who in the WORLD is that messy, I mean how could you possibly get that huge stain on your chest?"
Well now I know the answer, and apparently, it's me.
This is not a studio shot or created stain, I assure you. It happened as I was getting ready to relax on the couch and enjoy an (open face) pbj, and as I plopped down, the pbj slid off my plate and adhered to my chest. (translation for non-americans: pbj=peanut butter and jelly. and yes, I eat that and no it's not disgusting.)
So I've created the perfect stain, a huge splotch of BLACK CHERRY jelly rubbed in with greasy peanut butter. Will it come out? I have confidence, what do you think?
In other news, the heatwave in Europe is officially OVER!!!! We suffered through our two/three weeks of DC heat and humity, completely without a/c (well except me but that doesn't count because it only managed to lower the temp ONE degree.)
The past few days have been blissful low seventies (today 72F) cargo pants and, yes, jean jacket weather. And I love it. NO COMPLAINTS-can you belive it?! This is truly one of the (few) perks of living in Europe. There's nothing to eat, it rains and is pitch black nine months a year, but the brief, gorgeous summer, well, it's a relief.
Won't you come visit during the few pleasant weeks we have? ¶ 4:33 PM 2 comments
Well now I know the answer, and apparently, it's me.
This is not a studio shot or created stain, I assure you. It happened as I was getting ready to relax on the couch and enjoy an (open face) pbj, and as I plopped down, the pbj slid off my plate and adhered to my chest. (translation for non-americans: pbj=peanut butter and jelly. and yes, I eat that and no it's not disgusting.)
So I've created the perfect stain, a huge splotch of BLACK CHERRY jelly rubbed in with greasy peanut butter. Will it come out? I have confidence, what do you think?
In other news, the heatwave in Europe is officially OVER!!!! We suffered through our two/three weeks of DC heat and humity, completely without a/c (well except me but that doesn't count because it only managed to lower the temp ONE degree.)
The past few days have been blissful low seventies (today 72F) cargo pants and, yes, jean jacket weather. And I love it. NO COMPLAINTS-can you belive it?! This is truly one of the (few) perks of living in Europe. There's nothing to eat, it rains and is pitch black nine months a year, but the brief, gorgeous summer, well, it's a relief.
Won't you come visit during the few pleasant weeks we have? ¶ 4:33 PM 2 comments
