| changing locations |
[Aug. 2nd, 2009|05:10 pm] |
Hi,
I have some photo updates from my trip to Germany but unfortunately, I have discovered that certain photo websites claim the rights to your photos when you put them up there, including the site I was using for this blog. So, I think I've found a suitable alternative but it includes changing the website I use for these purposes. I'm moving to Washington DC today and then as soon as I'm settled in, I'll change things around and post the new website for whoever actually reads this.
Bis dann!
M |
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| facebook |
[Jul. 20th, 2009|10:35 pm] |
it took me sooo freaking long to get to my profile page on facebook and figure the damn thing out that i forgot why i was trying to go there |
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| Six am. On a Sunday. |
[Jul. 20th, 2009|06:07 pm] |
Yesterday I was woken up by two people talking right next to my ear. The conversation went something like this*:
Girl: If you divide x through y, then you get one.
Boy: No no no. When you have x and you divide it through y, there is still an x-1 left over
Loud flirty girly laughter
Girl: Noooo, you get one when you divide x through.
Boy: I'm telling you, then there would still be x-1, not one.
Loud flirty girly laughter
Girl: But then the mongoose would lose its tail!!!
And so on. I finally open my eyes, groaning and moaning about murdering someone, when it turns out there's no one talking in my ear. And yet, I'm awake and the conversation continues. At six am. On a Sunday. What the HELL is going on?!?
As it turns out, two brilliant people decided to set up a tent on the lawn outside the student dorms. Despite this little adventure, they obviously wanted more excitement in their lives and decided to start having a very loud conversation at six in the morning. On a Sunday.
Please note: Everything you do in the dorms can be heard, like surround sound. FOR EXAMPLE, you know when people are playing computer games on a network, because you can hear them yelling at each other through their open windowns. FOR EXAMPLE, you know that the couple on the first floor of building 12 has sex every day at 2pm, because you hear the moans and sounds of bodies hitting each other. Which leads me to my point. WHY would you get up and have a very public conversation at the top of your lungs...AT SIX AM...ON A SUNDAY!?!?!?!??!?!?!?
*It was six in the morning. I have no idea how the conversation went.
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| Harry Potter |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|11:41 am] |
So, I saw Harry Potter last night.
It was very entertaining but ultimately the climax was...anticlimactic. Maybe I was too worn out by then - with a two hour movie, nearly an hour of commercials and previews and a German-style 'pause' in the middle of the movie - it lasted quite a bit. Nonetheless, entertaining film and worth seeing in theaters if you're a Harry fan. If not, it'll probably be just as good on DVD.
Sidenote: Pauses in Germany are ridiculous. They literally find the middle of the movie and cut in with a big blue screen that says 'pause' and turn the lights on. There there's a 15 minute intermission where people go out to smoke, buy more drinks or go to the restroom. It's horrible. They did it in the middle of the most recent Superman and now in the middle of Harry Potter. They stopped after a party and right when it started, there was a wizard battle beginning. You're like, waiiit, whaaat? If you watched the whole movie through, that would be a good, sharp, contrasting transition. With the 15 minute break, it's just confusing. |
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| German Efficiency? |
[Jul. 5th, 2009|12:04 pm] |
Yesterday I, along with my boyfriend, his brother, their cousin and the cousin's girlfriend were trapped in an elevator. I've been stuck in elevators before. You ring the little button, it calls the front desk or whatever, and then they send over the fire department to get the damn thing open. Then the elevator is stuck for a few days before the elevator company gets their act together and sends a mechanic over to fix it.
WELL. Not so in this elevator. The first button does nothing. No ring, no call, nothing. The second button rings as long as you hold it but it doesn't call anyone. It just buzzes. Totally useless. To add insult to injury, the door keeps slamming open and shut but only by a couple of inches. So there's this godawful bang! bang! bang! and the whole elevator is shaking.
There are two signs inside the elevator:
'do not ride elevator in event of emergency' (too late)
AND
'call this 1-800 number if you are having difficulties.'
Luckily we were on a higher level so we actually HAD phone reception.
'Hello?'
'Yes, hello. We are currently stuck in an elevator in the movie theater and the doors are banging back and forth.'
'How many of you are there?'
'Five.'
'I see. Well, I guess we'll have to send someone over.' (no kidding)
Then we call another cousin who is downstairs and he alerts the cinema security, who had not noticed on one of their many cameras or heard any bells. Finally, after what seems to be an eternity (two minutes) the man comes up to let us out.
Except he can't get the key to work. For another eternity (two mintues) he keeps sticking the key in, pulling it out, looking at it, sticking it in again, pulling it out, flipping it over and sticking it in again.
But finally, after all that, we're free from the crazy elevator and head to our car where my boyfriend's brother calls the elevator company again.
'Hi, I just wanted to call to let you know that we got out of the elevator.'
'Oh, so we don't have to come anymore?'
'Well, it's still brok-'
'So, no one is in the elevator anymore?'
'Well, no. We got-'
'Ok good. Then we won't send anyone over. Goodbye.'
'Uh, bye.' |
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| Plan for the Week |
[Jul. 4th, 2009|02:07 pm] |
I think I might have the swine flu....just kidding!
So, as stuff worked out, the people on my floor are only available for fun for the next week. Which means everything has been squished into one week:
Monday: Swimming pool
In Germany, they have pool areas inside that are open year round and pool areas outside with grass fields and volleyball and pools that are only open in the summer. So well be at the pool on Monday, its a biiig deal.
Tuesday: Cocktails
Thursday: Sushi
Friday: Tapas
Saturday: Going away party for our Polish friend
Sunday: Shutzenfest in Hannover
Shutzenfests are like little Oktoberfests. Nearly every German city sponsors one during the year. They have beer stands and food stands and carnival stands and other vendors selling random stuff. Hannover is the biggest one in Germany and runs 10 days.
Photos and updates to come as the events occur. |
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| SWINE FLU! Or not. |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|08:53 am] |
So yesterday I arrived in Düsseldorf and the German Health Department is requiring everyone to fill out little health questionnaires and walk past physicians on their way out of the plane. So *of course* I start coughing right then (asthma) and the physician pulls me aside to get my temperature checked.
Do they check the person sitting next to me who was popping cold medicine the whole trip?
Do they check the two kids who threw up for 6 of the 11 hours we were on that plane?
Of course not. |
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| Language Swap |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|03:15 pm] |
I currently have semi-mastery of three languages (English, German, Turkish) and am planning on starting Spanish. Usually it's not a problem because I only switch languages when I switch locations and after a couple of days, I'm fine. BUT my cousin came to visit from Turkey this week and all of a sudden I was using two languages in a one-language location (California).
We go out to eat at a restaurant that offers bread baskets. I turn to my cousin and say, "would you like some bread" in English.
She says ok, so I turn to the waiter and say "can we get some bread please?" in Turkish. Whoops.
The best part about the whole switch? The waiter actually brought the bread. |
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| Back from DC |
[Jun. 14th, 2009|09:53 pm] |
Whenever I'm out doing things, I think, "this would be great to write about!" And then I don't write about it for weeks and by the time I come back to it, it seems dry. So forgive me for the rehash and we'll hope for pictures and detailed stories at another time.
While in DC I went to the Botanic Garden, where I am totally in my element. I love botany, I find plants beautiful and fascinating and obviously, pictures are fun. First I joined the free tour, where I was one of three tour members. It was like I was on a specially planned private tour. I even got to eat a stevia leaf. The plant literally tastes like an explosion of liquid sugar. I'm surprised stevia wasn't utilized much earlier. I have to say, though, they have these beautiful purple flowers all over the place but with no placard. I finally asked what it was, and the answer was "deadly nightshade". Great. You know every other person touched those flowers when they saw them. Government conspiracy to thin the herd! Just kidding.
I also had an adventure renting a zip car. They're all the rage because for a small annual fee, you can rent a car per hour or day, which is very convenient when you live in a busy city and don't own a car. HOWEVER, their service was subpar that day. First the car we rented didn't have a card reader. After 20 minutes of trying to figure it out, we called them and they spent 20 minutes trying to figure it out. No doing. So we got another car, which looked like it was taken for an off-roading expedition. In a move of brilliance, they neglected to activate our new card and we spent all day trying to avoid locking the car so we didn't get locked out. Everytime we went to unlock the car, we had to call them, go through the automated system, talk to someone, explain the situation all over again and then get the car unlocked. Finally the last girl goes, "oh, well it looks like your card isn't activated. I just activated it so you should be good now." Wow. Gee. Thanks. Six hours later. |
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| Moving Again... |
[Jun. 1st, 2009|07:08 pm] |
So, after a full year of almost silence, the action begins again.
I have been accepted to Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and will begin my Masters there in August.
I spent the last week in Washington DC looking for an apartment, which I found yesterday. I will be spending this week relaxing and catching up with old friends and then we get the keys on Saturday and the Great Move begins. After a week of moving and settling and packing and storing, I'll be back in California for two weeks, in Germany for a month and then DC again to start a new chapter.
I'm going to be roommates with a friend from high school, L, and we get along famously, bonding over such mutual interests as obsessive organizing and adopting a puppy.
I have this online account where I can track calories I've eaten and exercise I've done, which I started when i first became a vegetarian in order to make sure I was getting all the necessary nutrition. SO, I've been walking around VA and DC for over a week now and my legs are crying for a break. I decided to go back to this account to see how much calories I've been burning with all of this crazy walking. Answer: 100 calories/30 minutes. WHAT? That's nothing! I'm so tired and my legs are so sad. I must be burning at least a million calories every half hour. This website clearly doesn't know what it's talking about.
I also saw Night at the Museum II at...the MUSEUM! The second movie is not as good as the first one but you can't beat watching a movie about a museum in said museum on an IMAX screen. It was awesome. Next on the film list: UP, in 3D. |
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| Ridiculous |
[Mar. 31st, 2009|11:20 am] |
A local paper had an article today with the headline: "Great Guns: How to get Michelle Obama's toned arms".
THIS IS RIDICULOUS
The woman is the first lady, raising two kids, a very successful lawyer and trying to make a difference in the world and all the media can focus on is her arms?! Other articles I've seen have included her style, her hair, her legs and whether or not her skin tone is natural.
PEOPLE. STOP THIS NONSENSE.
This is a call to all media out there. Write about her trip to Europe, write about her thoughts on political issues, write about her successful career before this transition. She's the first lady, not freaking Madonna. |
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| Quarter-Life Crisis |
[Mar. 26th, 2009|01:23 pm] |
Welcome to my new segment:
Quarter-Life Crisis!
This new segment encompasses both the current financial crisis and the quarter-life crisis some graduates (ie ME) face during the transition from student to unemployed to student again.
Today's topic: Packing a lunch
Since this crisis has hit, many people have been trying to find ways to cut costs. One of the biggest drains on income are the little things: the $3 coffee you HAD to have before work, the lunch you had to buy because you didn't have time to make a lunch in the morning and of course, Happy Hour. Most recently, a Happy Hour at my preferred bar resulted in a $30 tab. Granted, it was St. Patrick's Day, but this was more than I would spend on a fancy dinner out. Also, in the last week, I have purchased lunch five times because I did not have time to make a packed lunch in the morning. If we assume I was frugal and spent $5 a meal, that's another $25.
So, I have listed two excellently delicious and cheaper alternatives for your enjoyment.
( Couscous Wraps )
( Homemade Happy Hour )
Do YOU have any good packed lunch ideas? Or awesome cocktail recipes? Post a comment a help a poor blogger out.
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| The Lessons of Our Youth |
[Feb. 6th, 2009|10:30 am] |
I work part-time at an unnamed kitchen store that believes in the power of the flea market. As a result, our otherwise upscale and trendy merchandise is strewn throughout the store in baskets and crockpots, stacked upon each other and handing from various heights, all vying to catch the eye of an unassuming customer. One of these delights is the magnificent colored and extremely sharp paring knife. In a brilliant marketing move, these pretty and sharp objects have been disguised by sheaths and placed throughout the store within child's reach. Perhaps the store believes if they convince the children they want one, the parents will buy it...
Well, on more than one occasion a child has picked one up in curiosity and started to pull the sheath off to see whats underneath. I had always caught the unsuspecting victim before it situation potentially ended in tragedy...except last week. Last week, a harried mom with two boys was buying stuff at the counter and the older boy was walking around. I had not noticed that he came back to the counter when suddenly I hear, "Mom, look!" The kid had opened one of the knives and decided to test the sharpness on his finger. The mother turned pale as a sheet, "What did you do? Where did that come from?"
"I cut myself with a knife. It kinds of hurts," he replied, giggling. Now I have several instincts that flared up all at once: A. How badly is he hurt, do I need to call an ambulance? (no, looks like a papercut) B. Are we going to get sued? (no, thank the lord the mom is blaming the son) and C. Where the hell are our bandaids so I can cover this kid up before he bleeds all over the place.
"Come on, kid. I'm going to take you to the back. You'll wash your hand and then I'll put a bandaid on it." He nods and is sort of laughing. After I get the bandaid and put it on his finger, the kid smiles up at me and angelically and says,
"You know, this is why you shouldn't play with knives."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks for the advice kid." |
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| I need a new name for these posts |
[Jan. 30th, 2009|08:58 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | my desk | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Jog-a-thon music from the school across the street | ] |
I need a new name for posts about how I don't post. They're starting to occur alarmingly often.
I am now a mediocre seven months behind in telling of events which include two weddings, a stay at the airport with (almost) rioting passengers, a trip to Italy, San Francisco and Lake Tahoe. There was also the week where I worked 12 hours a day for the American Red Cross, helping those affected by the Tea Fire and my new relationship with them. In the meantime, I also applied to graduate and law schools and have been working part-time at a kitchen store. I have pictures for almost all of these stories and I *promise* that they are entertaining.
And oh yeah.
Today is my 23rd Birthday Anniversary. |
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| Resolutions |
[Jan. 1st, 2009|10:08 am] |
1. Budget my money
2. Exercise more
3. Update more often
It's nice making resolutions when you don't actually expect to keep them. No pressure. |
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| Trojans - the kind worse than USC |
[Dec. 5th, 2008|08:47 am] |
Hello Friends, Family and Strangers -
I would just like to make a brief PSA: There is a virus called sinowal_trojan, also recognized as backdoor_tidserve (generically). This sinowal sneaks onto your computer, pretends to be other programs to avoid detection and then spends its time copying your passwords as you type them and taking screen shots of your bank statements and credit card receipts. It also is clever enough to be next to impossible to eradicate.
I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE IT.
I suppose since it's the holiday season, I am grateful that I managed to go five years on my lap top without one of these incidents. But now, instead of buying myself books and computer games for the holidays, I'll be buying myself an expensive trip to the computer store.
So, the conclusion of this PSA is: This virus is very sneaky and even copies itself onto CDs while you're backing up your computer. CHECK YOUR COMPUTERS. CHECK WHAT YOU DOWNLOAD. You could be losing information or sharing nasty viruses with friends even as we speak.
Sincerely yours,
Sick in California |
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| Red Cross |
[Nov. 19th, 2008|07:19 am] |
Hello All. In case you were wondering, I had access to those last photos because I have been volunteering at the Red Cross, working to get supplies out to people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fire. If you were affected or know anyone affected in any of the Southern California Wild Fires, please tell them to visit their nearest Red Cross Station or contact Red Cross.
Red Cross does extra work to provide financial and material assistance to those who have been displaced by the fire including: clean up materials such as shovels, rakes, clean up kits, gloves and visine - referrals to places like FEMA, Salvation Army, supermarkets and clothing stores - medical help such as first aid, counseling and medical referrals - housing help such as creating shelters and putting you in contact with housing opportunities. They can also help put you in contact with other family members.
Go to Red Cross for more info:
http://www.redcross.org/
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