Tabitheriel's Blog

Snowless January in Worms

2012-01-15T21:35:00.001+01:00

As the end of the year wrapped up, I tried to use my time wisely (filling out the forms for Kunstlersozialkasse, vacuuming, putting things away, napping, drinking Glüwein), and managed, at the last minute, to do some last-minute things like calling the tax office and getting the forms I need.

I also ordered some CDs to use for getting gigs (Rene has been helping me every Tuesday morning, calling jazz festivals, etc). I had to spend hours picking fonts and colors, typing text, searching for the names of the music publishers, etc.

Because I only had three weeks off from studying and working to do everything possible, I decided that the last weekend before class begin I would spend a few days in Freiburg, visiting Klaus and taking a ski lesson at the Feldberg.

Thank God, everything worked out fine, and I met Klaus on a Thursday evening, we went out for Thai food, and the next morning we set out for the Feldberg, the famous Black Forest ski area.

Of course, there was a huge snowstorm, and even hail falling. I was equipped with my Land's End pink snow boots, so walking up the hill from the car was no problem.

Of course, I didn't have the "proper" ski pants, and the ski instructor said, "You can't be in MY ski course in jeans! It's a safety hazard!" So the ski pants for women were "on sale" for 70 Euros. I had an idea. I got the kid's ski pants (for 50) and tried them on, and they fit.

The ski lesson only cost 20 bucks, but I had to pay 20 to rent the skis and poles. I was, at this point, getting nervous. This was costing a lot, and what if I just made a fool of myself?

I hadn't gone skiing in a long time, but I decided to just have fun and not worry. I met some really nice, interesting people- a single father from Brazil with his kids, a sister and brother from Dresden, and a young woman from South Africa whose German boyfriend encouraged her to try skiing. I had fun, remembered everything I had done before, and fell only twice.

We seemed to mostly work on stopping and turning, so if I get some money and have a weekend free, I can actually go up the hill next time.

After a few hours, of course, I was sweaty and tired and ready for some coffee.

We drove downhill and had coffee and cake at a rustic little cafe, then went back through the snowstorm to Freiburg, where it was raining. I hope that won't be the only snow I see this Winter!

Klaus has got an old 80's- era Yamaha DSR-1000, which I played around with while he worked on Saturday, then we had Raclette in the evening. I went back home on Sunday, which gave me enough time to study Latin before bed. I am now trying to review ALL of the Latin I learned in the first few units, so I will have everything memorized before the exam in February.

In other news, I spent hours online working on the graphics of my new CD, which is finally on the CD Baby website. The CD can be heard online here:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tabithaelkinsjazzapo

I am planning my birthday party next Saturday (which will actually be a small party, after all. I just don't feel like having a huge party, with the economy/planet being in the state it's in. I have to focus on the presentation I am doing for the Pedagogy Seminar, and the exams. I also am giving some tutoring to some students, which is helping me get enough money for essentials, like food and books.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T18:01:00.000+01:00

What a year! There were lots of demonstrations (I went to the anti-nuke demo in Biblis), fun festivals I attended (Spektakulum, Jazz festival, and of course, the "Backfischfest"), the Nibelungen theater festival and some fun gigs! This summer, a visit from Steve and a trip to Trier with Klaus, and all of those trips back and forth to Mainz were also memorable. And of course, the biggest thing was becoming a student again! It was an interesting, sometimes crazy year..... here is looking forward to 2012!

A New Beginning in Mainz

2011-11-19T18:29:00.003+01:00

With the end of my summer, and the frequent rains that kept me from enjoying the city swimming pool, I got down to business and started working on my tax forms. After three weeks of struggle, I managed to finish the 2010 tax forms and mail them in, just before the semester began.

I was, of course, understandably nervous about beginning a course of study at a German university, in which most of the courses would be taught in (academic) German! I had to make some appointments at the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) to see about my visa requirements, get passport photos made, fill out a bunch of forms, and bring them in to the student office. After this, I had to quickly send Mainz 234 Euros for my student fees* and train pass, and attend a bunch of boring and sometimes confusing "opening week" events, "student advisement", and online registration, culminating in a one-hour grueling English exam. An exam? One week before the semester begins? Yes, and it contained all sorts of quizzical SAT-type questions, such as: Which of these is the correct dimunitive form? Antling? Dropling? Not sure? Neither was I, but I got an 86 on the exam, which I didn't study for. Uh oh- I mean, "for which I didn't study"!

So to make a long story short, I am now officially a student at Mainz University, famed for its geeky science programs, and gorgeous leggy blonde students. Indeed, the preponderance of gorgeous, lithe high-IQ female students over 5'8" is making me feel positively toady by comparison, so I had to go back to the Red Cross hairdressing school salon (yes, they actually run a hairdressing school- for "socially disadvantaged girls" I suppose) and got my ten euro root job. My hair, as you can see, is getting progressively lighter, since these socially disadvantaged hairdressing trainees don't seem to know the difference between "medium ash blonde" and "trailer trash blonde". Oh, well, beggars can't be choosers.

Armed with my trusty MacBook, outfitted with my Ebay backpack and Jeggings from H&M (yes, I had to break down and buy 'em, since the frigid temperatures called for something warm under my big sweater dresses), I now spend much of my time attending dull lectures and trudging back and forth to the "Mensaria" for cappuccino. The food at the Mensa is excellent; thank God, my "jeggings" have an elastic waistband!

I am studying English and religion, (I will try to take music as a third major) and spending all of my extra time learning Latin, so I can say naughty things like "Penis amico magnus est". I bought a plethora of Latin books, vocabulary trainers and a DVD in Latin just to try and work up a bit of enthusiasm for this rightfully-dead language. I was going positively mad with tax forms and Latin grammar, so I just had to go shopping with Nicole at the second hand shop, where I got a wonderful, cozy oatmeal- colored Italian cardigan, and a groovy "medieval" leather belt. Kriemhild's revenge, indeed!

During the very first week of lectures, I saw a poster advertising a singer songwriter contest at the "Cafe Awake", so of course, this was a great opportunity to sing my newest song, "Playing Solitaire (without you)". Of course, I never win anything, but it was a great chance to ~~stress myself out over nothing~~ have some fun and sing in front of a crowd.

So guess what I got in the mail this week? A letter from the "Finanzamt" (tax office) demanding my tax records for 2009. Ugh! More tax forms! Luckily, I have all of my receipts, and I am, of course, writing off the piano and guitar as business expenses!

*Yes, you heard right. Mainz Uni. (AKA Johannes Gutenberg Uni- Jogu) is tuition-free! The student fee is for the ASTA (student government), the train pass (I can go to Frankfurt and Darmstadt free!) and student scholarships. Yay, socialist democracy!

End of Summer Report

2011-09-28T18:43:00.005+02:00

What a busy summer! Firstly, the Nibelungen Festspiel (Theater Festival) kept me VERY busy! Although I only had a small role as a "Zofe" (serving maid), there were a lot of rehearsals. We learned some old-fashioned dances, but the dances that were originally planned were scrapped, much to the disappointment of all involved!

In addition to the many rehearsals, there was the studying for exams at Mainz. I took the piano and theory preparation courses, and began taking regular vocal training with Ludmilla in May, although she thought that two or three months were not enough time. The exams (which are held every Summer and Winter) consist of theory, dictation and ear training,practical piano for the classroom as well as vocal and instrumental auditions. There is also a practical teacher's training.

I had a gig for "Culture Night" during the theater rehearsals, and I invited the director, Dieter Wedel, the actors and the other extras. Dieter didn't show up, but my friend Klaus came from Freiburg to see it. Some friends and even former colleagues came by the Stadt Cafe for my gig. Ludmilla also sang at the Lincoln Theater during the one-night event, and caught the second set. Just as I was finishing, some ladies for the theater festival showed up, and demanded an encore.

I wore my new blue dress and blue suede boots during the gig, so when it was over, my feet felt terrible. Werner did a great job on piano, though, and we tried out some new songs, such as "Don't Know Why", "Closest Thing to Crazy" and "Moon River". It was a fun (and well-paid) gig.

I spent every available minute studying for the theory and ear training exams, and even took videos of the theory course! In the tent for theater "extras", the others sat around chatting, while I studied for the exam. The sight-singing and dictation were making me nervous, though.

The audition was in the last week of June. I had been reading from the music theory books for a year, and I was certain to do well. Unfortunately, the first thing was the vocal audition, at 8 in the morning, after having spent the night before at the theater rehearsal. Problem number two was that Ludmilla couldn't come with me, so the usual vocal warmup couldn't be done properly. Then, in the hall, the other singers kept talking about how nervous they were. This did nothing for my nerves. I actually had to sit down to keep from fainting.

Needless to say, it didn't go well. I will try again next year. since classical singing is not my forte, I am now meeting Ludmilla three times a week, and I will continue with "Ear Master".

I decided to apply at Mainz Uni with English and Religion as my subjects, and I waited for word. The suspense was killing me. Planning your life (and your work) becomes impossible if you don't even know what you'll be doing in the fall.

In the meanwhile, the open air rehearsals were plagued by rain. The actors were getting soaked, and we sometimes had to wait around for the rain to stop, or go to the "Wormser" theater for the rehearsals.

Felicitas Woll, who played Lucie Fischer.... she always was a ton of fun!

For the film sections, we all went to the Mannheim Palace, on a hot summer day. After a day in a corset, long dress and tight shoes, my feet were hurting and I got a terrible headache.

We were all very excited for the opening week. The week before the opening was a week for the final touches. Getting the timing right, opening and closing the doors to change the scenery at the right moment, and following the cues on and offstage was a lot of work. We often had to change our outfits very quickly, and make little changes for our hairstyles. Because I have a lot of hair, I always had to get there at 6 PM for my hair and makeup. We didn't leave till after midnight, so I was tired at the end of such a long evening.

the extras!

The performances were in the last week of June and first two weeks of July. I was certain that such an exciting, thought-provoking drama about anti-semiticism, hatred, intrigue and friendship would get rave reviews. Imagine my disappointment when the local newspapers gave mixed or half-hearted reviews-I really expected something more along the lines of "Dieter Wedel's Masterpiece"! I guess I really don't know much about theater! At any rate, the public seemed to love it, the applause at the end of the performance was amazing, and I found the actors incredibly friendly, helpful and funny. We had a great time, and got paid (a bit) for it!

Finally, the festival was over, and we had a great party at the end of it, with a huge buffet, drinks and dancing. Unfortunately, the weather on the last night had been truly horrid. It kept raining throughout the first act, a cool wind made me feel miserable, and all of us, sopping wet and miserable, kept the show going till it finally stopped raining during intermission. I was impressed by how professional and good-humored the actors were about it. they really earned every penny they got! I was so tired that I didn't stay at the party long, but went home after eating and drinking a bit, and dancing for a while.

I saved my theater festival pay, and at the end of it, I donated 50 bucks, went shopping for some nice new summer clothes at H and M, and bought a wonderful new digital camera- in blue, of course.

Here are some pictures of me at the party with some of the actors. Can you recognize any of them?

Philip Otto and Jürgen Tarrach.... very nice guys!

Dieter Wedel and Anouschka Renzi. Anouschka was very funny!

You can see I am VERY tired!

I taught a summer guitar course, and took some language courses (French and Russian) just to have something to do. I had originally planned to go away for a weekend, but didn't manage to find anything. The weather in Worms was terrible, too cool and rainy. I only went to the swimming pool once, and I think I ended up staying in, eating lots of ice cream, having voice lessons with Ludmilla and practicing the guitar. Ludmilla is trying to help me learn Russian, and I am teaching her English. We are not making much progress, but we laugh a lot!

Steve came and visited Worms for the first week of August, and I showed him around Worms and Heidelberg. The weather was still a bit rainy, and one evening we simply stayed in and watched a film on DVD (Moses). The first few days were rough, but we managed to try and talk things out a bit. Of course, a week wasn't enough time to see everything in the area. Steve wants to come and visit again.

I've been working with two new groups lately- a jazz group and a local singer/guitarist who gets gigs at local sports clubs.

After Steve left, I got a thick envelope in the mail from Mainz. I got accepted. Now I have to get a student visa, and figure out how I can work and go to University. Meanwhile, the Fall courses at the adult education center have begun, and I am teaching three guitar courses, and will be working at a local music school part-time as well. I am trying to find a new part-time school job, if possible. It looks like I'll have a lot to do.

Another year, another dollar.... or two.

2011-03-26T23:09:00.000+01:00

Here it is, March, and I am already finished with the hours for my contract.
In January, I went to a party just about every weekend: First there was the Pirate Party (I won the costume contest- I dressed as a "software pirate"- I guess you can't see the CDR disc round my neck in the picture), next my birthday (blue light party) and the week after, Perry's party. I was also invited to go to the disco with friends. Needless to say, I missed a few Sunday morning church services, because of headaches and oversleeping. I guess too much partying does not suit me.

After lots of teachers called in sick for January and February, I was swamped with work. It snowed a lot, I trudged through the snow a lot, ate pizza and cookies, and managed to visit the sauna occasionally to sweat off the Christmas cookies, chocolate and marzipan.

I managed to get some real bargains on Ebay for the apartment- a new (used) code-free DVD player (the old one stopped playing DVDs), and a new digital satellite receiver, both under 20 euros.

I also used some of the money I have saved from teaching guitar to buy myself a new guitar, from the music shop in Mainz. I had a day off from the school, and I managed to go to Mainz Uni, and get the forms, ask questions and just look around, and then went to the music shop afterwards. Lo and behold, I found a 7/8 size guitar (a grrrl guitar!), handmade here in Germany, for under 200 bucks! It's beautiful, easy to play and "fair trade"!

So now I have lots of time on my hands, two new guitar books (a new Peter Bursch book and a book of Classical guitar pieces), some new material to work on with Jazzapo (including "How Insensitive" and "Lullaby of Birdland"), plus two new songs for the Kulturnacht gig- "Don't Know Why" from Norah Jones and "Closest Thing to Crazy" from Katie Mehlua. I am also writing some new songs, and working on song lyrics for the "Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Heavenly Virtues" song cycle, a weird project that was inspired by some of the Renaissance Art I saw in Italy.....

So here are some videos from the last Jazzapo rehearsal. Enjoy.

In other music news, I am preparing for the auditions at Mainz Uni, and if all goes well, I will start next Fall semester. I have to, unfortunately, take four exams and sing four songs, play two pieces on guitar and play the piano! It sounds nerve-wracking. Thank God, I have Ludmilla helping me with the Classical songs. She is giving me a real vocal workout! The new guitar is great, so the Classical guitar pieces are coming along nicely. I will spend all of May and June preparing for the exams, and taking the preparatory course, so this time, I ought to be ready for anything!

December

2011-01-02T18:13:00.000+01:00

As the year drew to a close, I was incredibly busy with writing, working (lots of people got ill in December, so I had lots of work as a substitute) five new guitar students, handing in paperwork for the end of the semester, and handling some problems with the German pension office. It seems I have been making too much money as a freelancer on the side, and I am being penalized by the German social security. They want five thousand bucks from me! Luckily, I am straightening things out.

I finally bought myself a new (used) macbook from the Apple Shop for 470 bucks. My only problem is: the garage band loops are not installed, so I have to burn a disc, and I can't get iwork to work, so I am trying to buy it! Since the new Macbook is more powerful than the old G4, I will be able to websurf faster, and record music better, so look forward to more music and videos from me!

I went to two services on Christmas Eve, including the tiny Lukas Church, where Ludmilla sang. Afterwards, we trudged through a snowstorm, and went to Ludmilla's, where we stuffed ourselves with duck, russian salad, red wine and stollen.

The nest day, my stomach gurgling, I took the train to Mannheim to Tante Ruth's, for some coffee and more stollen. I brought my guitar and we sang some Christmas songs. Unfortunately, Dorina the dog wasn't there, so I was unable to present her with her toy rat. We all laughed and enjoyed ourselves, and TR was in good spirits. It was, as they say, gemütlich. Here I am waiting for the streetcar in the snow:

Since I had the week off, I could have lunch with Rene (I baked a pizza, what else?), watch "Capitalism: A Love Story" on DVD, go to the Sauna with Ludmilla, do some shopping with Perry and Sandra and putter around the house, playing the piano and reading. Klaus came to Worms for New Year's Eve (here in German, it's called "Silvester" and the fireworks are strictly DIY!), and we went out on New Year's Day to eat at Times Cafe (where I had the turkey steak in curry sauce with basmati rice). On Sunday, we had some pizza and carrot salad at my place.

This week, I will be recording with Jazzapo in Mannheim, and auditioning for a soul group in Bürstadt. I am also planning some great new gigs for this year, including one in Mannheim, at the famed "Museum Night", and a cultural festival in Worms.

Now that I have a black light, I am planning a blue and white party for my birthday, with blue drinks. I am going to need a lot of cream and blue curacao! I just have to shop a lot, and clean the apartment. Ugh!

Meanwhile, I am bundled up for the cold!

"Pool of Tears" by Tabitha Elkins

2010-11-14T22:13:00.001+01:00

Here is my newest video, for "Pool of Tears", which I shot outside in the area, around the local park, in the parking lot near the church (during a sunset), and at home. I shot the outside shots during the fall holidays, on a sunny Sunday, and I did the editing the weekend before last.

Since then, it's been cloudy, wet and dreary. To keep from getting the doldrums, I've been eating lots of salad and oranges, and I went with Friedemann to an Adrian Belew concert on Wed. (Adrian Belew is so hip!), and visited the swimming pool and sauna with Ludmilla on Saturday. I am getting a super 8 camera soon, but if the weather stays so dark and dreary, I doubt that I'll be able to use it at all!

Bitter Blues, unplugged

2010-10-21T13:17:00.001+02:00

Here is my new video for "Bitter Blues". Enjoy!

Singing (and playing) for Jesus

2010-10-06T20:25:00.000+02:00

It's October now, and that means my gig as an organist at the Lukas Church on the 24th is coming up. The regular organist, an older gent with coke-bottle glasses, can't make it so I am supposed to fill in. I hope it goes well. Not only have I been practicing, on and off, I introduced Ludmilla to the pastor, and now she has a gig for Christmas Eve.

On the 4th of September, I sang at the "Evangelische Alliance" festivities, which included an inflatable church, and a crate climbing contest for kids. I was just getting over my bad cold, so it was a wonder that I could sing at all!

Here is the video of me singing "Walk With Me, Lord".

I also sang at the "Intercultural Week" buffet dinner on the 22nd, and part of me was in the newspaper (my nose and hands!), and they mentioned my song (but misspelled my name)!

Now that my hours at the school are used up, I am feeling better again, and suddenly it is a bit sunny and almost warm. I am going to play piano this week at the church, so I had better finish me blogging, and start practicing now!

End of Summer Report

2010-10-06T16:11:00.004+02:00

End of Summer Report
OK, so the summer is now officially over. The New school year, and semester at the VHS has begun, the leaves have started changing colors, the air is cold and damp and I have been officially ill for about a month.

My summer was monumentous and productive. Before the beginning of the summer "ferien", I managed to borrow two Aebersold books from Annette Ziel (my saxy friend from Mannheim) so I could spend the whole Summer working on my chops. I also started practicing the organ again, and bought a new guitar book at the music shop, so I could work on my fingerpicking. Because of the cancellation of my Summer course, I had extra time to practice in between trips to exotic locations.

Firstly, there was the annual "Jazz and Joy" jazz Festival, which I wanted to enjoy as much as possible. Klaus visited for the weekend, and I spent the whole Saturday visiting one stage after another. K. and I went to a Greek restaurant near the "Dom"for dinner, and he managed to put away prodigious amounts of food.
Afterwards, we went to see the jam-packed concert for Stephanie Heinsmann. This led to a splitting headache the next day. Dehydration? Too much wine (one glass!)? Strobe lights? Or am I allergic to Klaus?

June was also the month with Friedemanns's Birthday party (I went all over, searching for a present for him!) and a weekend trip to Saarbrücken with Perry and Sandra (S and I went to an art exhibition with weird art, which I posted on my facebook site).

At the end of the month, I went on a train trip with Klaus to visit Vienna, in which Klaus actually behaved himself. He paid for the train tickets and I paid for the youth hostel, which was a great hostel with a pool table, bar/cafe and free public viewing of the world cup (one of my favorite sport obsessions) on a big screen.

It was the weekend of the jazz festival, and Al Jarreau was singing at an outdoor concert, but it was so hot that I decided that avoiding fainting from the heat would be the first priority. It happened to be in the midst of a colassal heatwave, so we had to, after a bit of sightseeing, find a cool restaurant with air-conditioning.
We also managed to get somewhat affordable seats at a Classical concert in the evening, which featured Strauss and Mozart.
I would have liked to have seen more, but on Sunday there was only enough time to visit Mass at the cathedral and take a carriage ride in the old city. Lastly, we visited the Central Cafe for coffee and a nice small meal, featuring trout caviar and chocolate cake.

In July I had some rehearsals with the Jazzapo, and went to Mannheim for Marco's birthday. It was terribly hot, and because Gabi was in the midst of taking care of everything for TR (who was immobilized because of her hip), and because Saskia was away in the US, everything was a bit weird.

At the end of the month, I went to Freiburg to visit Klaus again, and we drove off to the Alps in Switzerland. The trip was quite a disaster. Firstly, Klaus' bank card was suddenly not working. He wanted to get us tickets to the mountain train to the "Top of Europe" but we couldn't do so when we arrived on Saturday. We decided to do it on Sunday, but we had to put it all on my bank card (which was overdrawn!) and we went for a walk in Thun, a cute little town in the area. We ate at an Indian restaurant in Thun, which I had to put on my card, because of Klaus' magnetic strip problem. Thun was a nice, old town with a small castle and the view of the alps in the background.

The next day, we took the train to the "Top of Europe", which rises 4000 meters, about 12,000 feet. You have to actually take two trains, the second which goes through the center of the mountain. Then to get to the observation deck, you have to take an elevator. The ascent is steep, and when you get out you feel lightheaded and dizzy. Walking is difficult, as if you are on the moon. The observation deck looks out towards a breathtaking and somewhat frightening view- if you look under your feet, you can see a sheer drop.

The "Top Of Europe" complex itself includes a gift shop/souvenir stand, two high class restaurants, a little place to buy snacks, and two Indian restaurants, one which was serving overpriced buffet, and the other, slightly cheaper (if you consider 18 bucks per entree cheap) cafeteria-style restaurant. I was reminded by Klaus that the high prices are somewhat connected to the fact that the supplies must be airlifted by helicopter. K and I split a chicken curry with Indian bread. I was ravenously hungry, tired and a bit bloated. I was also feeling the beginnings of a truly massive headache.

When we began the descent, I could barely stay awake. We managed to get back to the Gasthaus and left to go back, but Klaus kept getting lost on the way home. Things got worse. It began raining, not just a bit, but a real summer storm, with lightning, hail and sheets of rain. I had booked a very cheap train back to Worms, but I missed the train, and was feeling ill by the time we got to Freiburg. I had a real case of altitude sickness.

I had to spend the next day in bed in Klaus' guest room, nauseous and with a splitting headache.Luckily, by evening, I was feeling a bit better, and I caught the ICE home..

Five days later, I went on my bus trip with Ludmilla, to Italy. I was ready for everything, with little sandwiches, Iced green tea, whey bars and apples, and Ludmilla had snacks and water. I brought a purple fleece blanket and a U-pillow for my neck. We first went to the hotel in South Tirol, then had dinner in the hotel restaurant. The next day, we had a big trip-first to Sirmione, Lake Garda.

This is the former home of Maria Callas, and Ludmilla had to have her picture in front of it.

(We also took a boat ride, and went for a dip in the water). Then we did some sightseeing in Verona. Ludmilla took this pic of me posing at the feet of Dante:

In the evening, after pizza and wine for dinner, we went to the Roman Amphitheater to see Verdi's "Aida". It was great hearing the music in the open air, as the audience lit candles and listened in reverent silence.

The next day, we went to Bozen to go shopping (I bought a new dark blue purse). We spent one day lounging at the pool and taking a bike ride along the "wine street" with bikes we had rented- we found fields of orchards, and took apples from the trees. At the last evening, we went out to eat, and smuggled a bottle of white wine to mix with the mineral water.

The last day, we got back in the bus to go home. It was a short trip, but we had lots of fun.

On the day after I got back, with dusty, dishevelled apartment, dirty laundry, and a general lack of food at home, I had to go to the WER school conference. On the 16th, at the beginning of the school year, the hot summer weather suddenly changed, became cold and wet, and I immediately got a terrible cold that occasionaly felt like the flu. I was swamped with work because, of course, all of the other teachers were ill at the same time.

So there you have it- since then, nothing but work, sneezing, sniffling and weakness. The evening courses started, and every evening I had to either walk or ride in the damp, cold night air, or walk in the rain. Two teachers had broken bones, so I had to take over teaching 5B and 10B, and I had to make a class test, and grade the papers. Now that I've used up my hours in this past month and a half, I will have a whole month off from the WER school. Thank God!

Summer arrives after a wet, dreary Spring

2010-06-01T17:20:00.004+02:00

It's the first of June, which means that Summer, the World Cup and my vacation are quickly approaching. After a snowy, frigid Winter spent moping and reading music theory books, a nice concert in January, more rehearsals and studying, an awful exam, lots of rain, more dreary weather, rehearsals for a casting and even more rain.... I think I'm ready to start living again.

I think I had a total of three or four weekends of sunshine, and about 5 weeks of rain. One weekend, I went away with Ludmilla on a bus trip to to Holland, where we took photos, drank coffee, walked around a bit and watched a flower parade with beautiful floats made up of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

The bus was a bit cramped, and the trip was a bit chaotic, since Ludmilla had paid late, the woman couldn't find our names on the reservations list, and I thought that we wouldn't make it. We had brought lots of food,but I didn't have the prerequisite neck pillow, so my neck just flopped around, and I had a terrible backache and neckache. Some kids threw flower bulbs from a float and we caught them. I saved them for TR's birthday.

Ludmilla and I have already planned our trip this summer to Verona, and I have bought myself a nice neck pillow from ebay. Now I just need a shawl/blanket and a thermal jug. We are going to see the open-air opera.

In May, we all gathered for TR's birthday, and she was feeling quite chipper. She even baked a couple of cakes (Linzer Torte and cherry cake). I baked brownies, and brought a little bouquet and chocolates, and the flower bulbs. It was rainy, of course, so we couldn't go into the garden. I was relieved that she was feeling better after the horrible winter.

The weekend afterwards, it was finally sunny. It was the weekend of my casting in Frankfurt , and TR went down in the garden, where she lost her balance and fell. Now she is in the hospital, where she is doing physical therapy. They operated and gave her a new hip joint. I didn't find out till a week later, when I phoned the house and Gabi answered. She said that TR had told her not to tell me right away, because she didn't want any visitors. I had called because I had dreamed about TR the night before, and the dream disturbed me. What shock!

I had another sunny weekend on Pentecost weekend (here, it's a holiday) so Nicole and I went for a drive in her Alfa Romeo convertible, and we went to a wine festival in Neustadt, and did some sightseeing in Lorsch and Heppenheim. It was cool driving with the top down and taking photos.

I still haven't heard from Dieter Bohlen and co, but somehow, I have become apathetic and lazy, and haven't been practicing at all.

Thursday is Fronleichnam, a Catholic Holiday. Everything will be closed in Rheinland Pfalz, Baden Würtemburg and Hessen. I wonder if there will be something to do? I guess I can go to visit TR in the hospital, since everything will be closed. Or I can finally start practicing again.

2010-05-17T15:11:00.000+02:00

In the past few months, I have been teaching my evening courses, working at the school in the mornings, and working, intermittently, on my music.

I went on a trip to Holland with Ludmilla, to see the flower show. I caught some flower bulbs in the parade, and gave them to TR for her birthday, on May first.

After eating up my Christmas and birthday chocolates (and the half-price cookies from Kaufhof- you can't say no to reduced gingerbread, can you?) I got even more for Easter. TR, Gabi, Marco and Saskia supplied me with a month's worth of chocolates. It was so cold in Winter that I was eating pizza three times a week, just because I liked having the oven on. In the past 2 weeks, I have been eating salad, celery salad, cabbage soup and other boring foods in an effort to get rid of the mini beer belly. So far, I have lost 10 cm from my belly, and I am back at 60 Kilos, which is where I was before the long, cold winter which could only be allieviated by copious doses of hot chocolate, oatmeal, glüwein, and cookies.

One new development is that I have been rehearsing with Joachim, in preparation for the pre-casting round for "Super Talent" (not that I think that I will win, mind you. The last winner was a dog!) I just thought it would be a good idea to be seen singing on TV. The casting was last Sunday, at the atrocious hour of 8 AM!

Joachim and I got to the casting, Ludmilla in tow, after driving for about 45 minutes. My number was 8606, but we had to go to the "red room" and were the first ones on. After singing "Bitter Blues", we were finished. (I wanted to do at least 2 sings, and we had prepared "Pool of Tears").

At any rate, they said that they would notify me, but apparently, they were impressed with Ludmilla, because they asked her to sing again, and gave her a long interview outside, and filmed her walking around in the meadow. Meanwhile, Joachim and I waited outside, wondering where Ludmilla was. We left for a half an hour to go to the cafe across the street, and she was still not finished.

So if nothing else, my efforts on behalf of Ludmilla were successful. I'm pretty sure that she will go to the next round. I had to help her with the papers, the backup recording (neither Faina nor Ludmilla know anyone with a recording studio/DAT machine. I had to make a CD with a recording from my camera!) Now she ahs a questionaire to fill out, and I said that we would drink a whole bottle of wine, eat a pizza, and fill it out together!

I am doing rehearsals with Werner and co. as well, and I finally got the video DVD and the pictures. I still haven't put it up on youtube, or my website.

My computer has been in the shop for about 3 weeks not- the hard drive became kaput just after I was away for the weekend on a bus trip with Ludmilla to Holland. Thank God, I did a thourough backup of my files on the external hard drive. I am hoping to (finally) get my Mac back this week.

The exam from hell.

2010-03-10T15:09:00.000+01:00

In heaven, it is said, there is always beautiful music.

In hell, there are only horrific music exams.

I faced such a hellish beast, twice, in Mannheim recently, and came out of my encounter alive, if a bit scarred. I now have recovered from my battle wounds, and after much recearch and deliberation, have discovered that such scaly beasts are not easily felled by mere 2-month long preparations. Indeed, here in the land of the Nibelungen, I have discovered, it is the preferred custom to spend at least a year preparing for such savage battle.

I now am sorely wounded (in pride, that is) and will exact my revenge next year, after I have spent the rest of this year preparing my hands and ears for the hideous beast known in German by the horrific title of "Aufnahmeprüfung". If the name alone does not fill your heart with abject terror, then I don't know what will!

Suffice to say that I wracked my brain, a number two pencil and my bank account in pursuit of this hideous beastie, and to no avail. I even took a last-minute plane flight to New Jersey, to secure my scores from George's basement, in hopes of giving myself a bit of an advantage. I am now quite broke, having bought the plane ticket, an expensive purse (50 percent off!) and a piano, not to mention the new tascam digital audio interface needed for home recording. Just getting those notarized copies cost me over 100 Euros! I wanted to sell some things at the flea market for extra cash, but the icy weather and extra hours of work have impeded my progress.

Spring should have sprung already, but it hasn't. Instead, we have had a series of snowstorms, each whiter than the previous one. I have taken some lovely photos of trees, but in general, it's been a bit much, even for me.

On the bright side, I finally have the "Finale" program for my mac, thanks to Nick! I have typed out my "Nachtmusik" and "Symmetriphany" pieces, and even imported the midi files into garage band, so I will soon have recordings available on my website! And I am composing an electronic piece with bird songs.

Benefit Concert to Benefit Brazilian Missions Project

2010-01-25T18:57:00.001+01:00

On January 24th, the week after my birthday, I had my big concert at the FEG Church, to benefit the Brazlian missions project PEAL. A member of the church, Karolin Freund, went there for a year and I organized the concert, and put together the PR materials.

Not so many attended as I had hoped, mainly because there was a bit of a snowstorm on the day of the concert! However, I got some nice blurbs in the local press, some video and photos, and pics.... and we raised some money for a good cause. Here are some photos:

Singing in the Snow

2009-12-31T15:08:00.001+01:00

I have had a hectic month, with lots of work and gigs. First, in November, I helped Ludmilla with her gig, with emails and other things. I also took some photos and video of Ludmilla's christmas gig at a nursing home.

I sang twice at the Weinachtsmarkt, in sub-zero temperatures, with the guys from "Paradiso", and it went well, considering the temperatures; I also sang at three other events- a party, a giveaway at a vineyard and Ludmilla's gig at the Friederich church, so I had a lot of practicing to do. It was hectic!

Not only that, but I took a big step and applied to the Mannheim Musik Hochschule, and spent about 100 bucks on getting notarized copies of everything. Now I am practicing and studying like mad for the exams and audition in February.

In other news, at the end of the year, I always get something nice with my VHS money, and this year, I am getting my mini "home studio" together- I bought a microphone (a REAL one, not karaoke!) and a Tascam audio-midi interface. I already started recording a bit, and I am having fun with loops and effects.

There was a wonderful snowstorm here about a week before Christmas, which went well with the arctic temperatures. I took some nice videos of the storm, and made a little video.

I also got a piano. It was a minor catastrophe finding the place where we were supposed to get it, and I wanted to get 2 guys to help, but I ended up going to Darmstadt with Friedemann. The piano, a Wurlitzer, is great, a bit out-of-tune, but in good shape, and it only cost me 212 Euros. I also bought a very warm lambskin coat from Ebay for about 35 bucks.

There was a lot of eating out- Peter's birthday was in December, so we all met up at Aqui. Later in the month, I went out to eat at a "Weingut" restaurant with WER coleagues (it was a bit pricey) and went with some former colleagues from the Studeinkreis (which is now closing) at the Krone, where I had an enormous "chickenburger". Later, I found myself at the Krone again, with Tom Bola the guitar player, who invited me to a concert.

As always, I had a nice, mellow Christmas at Tante Ruth's. We all met at Gabi's for Christmas Eve dinner, then I spent the next two days at TR's. I had gotten a new cell phone (I gave Ludmilla the old one, because hers was kaput) and spent Christmas learning how to play Soduko on my cell phone. It's addictive!

I am planning a concert in January, which I am getting nervous about. The first rehearsal is on the 6th. I hope it will go well!

Prague, NY, and Worms

2009-11-15T15:04:00.001+01:00

If I haven't blogged in a while, it's because I have had a lot to do.

My trip to sunny, hip Stockholm was over in August, and I had enough time to take care of some loose ends before the new contract was signed. In September, many teachers were calling in sick, and I had a few weeks of a very hectic schedule. The new evening courses had also started, and the tutoring at the Studienkreis, as well.

In the last week of the "ferien", I decided to tackle one final project while I still had the time- namely, painting the office kiwi green, and putting the "tree" wall tattoos on the walls. I updated my couchsurfing page with my new green sofa (a 20 Euro find from ebay, that cost me a few sore muscles) and invited some friends to come and sleep over.

Billy was in Greece all Summer, and invited me to come visit, but I couldn't find a suitably cheap airfare.

After September was over, I had an unexpected break- the 250 hours were up, and I had all of October free. I had already booked a weekend with Klaus to go on a bus trip to Prague (I had to arrange all of the details myself, because Klaus didn't have any time).

So I was stuck with booking the bus trip, booking the youth hostel, and making all other arrangements. I stocked up on soup and rice mixes so we wouldn't have to eat out the whole time, and I even got a cheap digital camera (20 Euros) so I could take pictures.

Predictably, things went wrong. Klaus was supposed to send me at least half of the money for the bus trip (it cost 160 altogether) but he typed my account number falsely or something, so the payment bounced. Then, on the day we were supposed to catch the train to Manheim to get the bus, he was late. I mean REALLY, REALLY late, so that we had to catch a taxi (which sot 35 Euros).

We made it on to the bus, but on the way there, my legs kept cramping up and I couldn't sleep. Friday we walked all over the city, and went out to eat at a restaurant, and on Friday night, I drank to much beer, flirted with the guys at the youth hostel and woke up with a splitting headache. I ended up vomiting later.

We did a lot of walking on Saturday, and visited the old city and the castle, but Klaus balked at going to the jazz club, because he didn't want to pay admission. We ended up going to a Japanese place that had free music- a Brazilian couple doing bossa nova.

On the last day, Sunday, we went to a museum, and went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant, where I laughed about the menu- "Chicken with strange flavour".

It was a nice trip, but it would have been better for me to skip the museum and one of the meals and instead, go to the jazz club. I need to find a jazz-lover to go with me on my next trip.

On the following weekend, I went to New York. I had no time to clean the apartment before I left, so I just kept my suitcase where it was, and left the apartment messy. What a hectic visit! I had to arrange where I would sleep, when I could visit Naomi and Mom, and find a day to visit George and his family.

I only had one week to do all of this! I arrived on a Friday night, late of course because of bad weather. I had had a stopover in London, so I had killed time by eating out and reading. Billy picked me up from the airport, and we went over Oscar's, where we hung out and ate Chinese food.

The next day, I managed to go to a Messianic Jewish service before walking around midtown, taking pictures and finding the Italian restaurant where Dennis and some other Tolkien fans were going to meet up with Howard Shore, composer of the LOTR music. Afterwards, with "Timdalf" dressed, appropriately in wizard gear, we headed over to Radio City music hall, where we saw the performance.

The next day, there were a lot of Tolkien related events planned, including a talk with Howard Shore. I then went to Quantum Leap, and organic restuarant in the East Village, with Dennis, then met up with Nick at a cafe.

I then went to Cleopatra's Needle, where I sang at the open mic. Some friends whoed up and we had a big table. It was great- just like years ago (is it 5 years? It feels like yesterday) when I worked there.

On Monday I left and went to George's and brought some things for the nephews, and on Tuesday morning (very early) I went to visit Mom and Naomi. We went out to a place called the "Saloon" for an all-you-can-eat Buffet, and we all stuffed ourselves to the gills. We didn't have room for dinner that night, but I did have some grapes, and a slice of Mom's homemade cheesecake. Mom doesn't have a stereo or radio anymore, but she still has a big TV, and we watched "Walk the Line" on TV.

The next day, Mom and I took a nice walk around a "farm" museum, and I took some pictures. I made it back in NY in time to get some money and sing at the open mic for singers.

It started to rain horribly on Thursday, and I was glad that I had my rain gear. I went shopping and bought some new jeans at Express (my new favorites!), and some new sneakers (Wrangler Sneakers, for 25 dollars) and on Thursday night I went out to eat with Dawn Michelle (at Dalls BBQ in Times Square) and later caught a show at an Off Broadway theater (The Flycatcher's Identity). Unfortunately, the lack of sleep was catching up with me and I was exhausted.

Friday morning I left, and I spent the night at Heathrow Airport. I think I'll avoid British Airways from now on, and use Air France, my favorite! I wasn't aware of the fact that there are no night flights out of Heathrow! On a lighter note, I met some very nice people at the airport, and we had a great time talking and drinking cheap beer at the internet cafe.

As soon as I got back, I had a gig in Mannheim, singing at Werner's birthday party. I was so exhausted!

So now I have been back since mid-October. I needed a week or so of vegetating to recover from my trips, and I have decided to put off any new trips for the time being. Instead, I have a new project. I have bought some wholesale jewelry on Ebay, and I want to resell it at the flea market and make a profit. I will then use the money to set up my home studio and make some demos. I have already ordered a USB midi interface from Hong Kong. I need a DI Box and some microphones, and then I'll be set.... for the time being.

Since I got back, I had two guests who have taken me up on my offer and tried out the sofabed. First, Billy came over just about a week after I got back. Next, Nick came over for a weekend (the week after). I took him around the city, we went to a Thai massage place, had some Indian food, and we went on a short trip to Heidelberg, where we saw the old city and had Thai food.

The weekend afterwards, I went to Perry's for Tuk-Tuk's birthday. We drank some wine, and I tried some lemon liquor that tasted like floor cleanser. (Tuk-Tuk said she wouldn't know, she has never tasted floor cleanser). I must have been out of it, because I left my umbrella and gloves there. I was missing both quite sorely all week. There hasn't been a day of nice weather all month. At least 12 teachers were ill, so I had 5 or 6 hours of work every day. Thank God for those "Simpsons" DVDs!

For "prayer week" at the church, I played and sang for an hour in the "prayer room". "Prayer week" means a special "Prayer room was set up for 24 hour prayer. My scheduled prayer time was Friday afternoon. I also had a rehearsal Friday night, so I could play on Sunday morning. I didn't play well. There are two new singers, and a new guy, Nico, did percussion... I felt nervous and out of sorts.

I am also helping poor computer-challenged Ludmilla for her upcoming concert at the Gemeinde. I had to formulate a press release for her, and email it, and list her gig online, then type her program. I also took publicity photos with my new (cheap) digital camera, which didn't turn out so well. These Classical types have no concept of PR- they're worse than the jazz guys!

Stockholm

2009-08-13T14:59:00.001+02:00

I am back from my trip to Stockholm, Sweden, another city of bridges and water, in keeping with the maritime theme of the Summer. Unlike Dublin, Stockholm was warm and sunny, even tropical, adding to the feeling of lethargy which caused me to spend more time on Olov's couch than in the city, exploring.

This was my first adventure in extended couch surfing. I am eternally grateful to Michael, a long-haired heavy metal scientist/student from Mainz (whom I met on the train from Mannheim) who told me about the website. The idea is this: you have a couch, which you offer to like minded travelers, and they, in return, offer you their coach. Hence, the name, couch-surfing. Of course, the couch surfers in question agree mutually, based on common interests, previous references, etc.

The touble with these cheapo airfares on Ryanair is that they tend to be in far-off places, at odd hours. For both the flight in and the flight home, I had to get up at a ghastly hour (3 in the morning), take two buses to get to the airport, then wait two hours for the flight. Luckily, when I finally got in to Stockholm from the airport, Olov met me there, and even carried my bag for me. We stopped at a fast-food Chinese place to eat, and I explained that I had to eat and speak very slowly, because of my teeth. It's probably a good thing, I explained, because everyone always says that I eat too quickly and talk too much.

My couch surfing host, Olov, is a cute blonde football referee (soccer, that is) who plays the guitar and shares a similar loopy sense of humor. He kept me in stitches the whole time by showing me funny Monty Python clips on youtube, singing funny songs and doing funny voices. He seemed to think that I am "easily amused"! Well, not really. I can sit through a typical America "sitcom" without so much as smirking or chuckling, but Olov was hilarious.

To make matters better, he had invited a couple of fun chicks over for the same weekend: Firstly, Alexandra, a vivacious Russian girl with an infectious smile, who went with me to explore the old town, Gamla Stan, on Saturday, then Karyn, a girl from Canada who had just come from a Middle Ages festival, who came by on Monday evening, who was also a lot of fun.

On the first day, Friday, I was quite pooped, and I still hadn't fully recovered from the trip, and the aching jaw. I napped a bit, and then went out to do a bit of food shopping, noting to my dismay the priciness of the local grocery stores.

We all managed to cook together, and I made pizza, as promised. After some of Olov's friends came over to hang out, Olov sang for us and we had some beer.

The following night, after Alexandra and I had gone to the old city for some sight seeing, another friend of Olov's from CS came over, and as we were all having some salad and pasta, we heard some noises upstairs.

We ended up crashing the party upstairs, which was a hoot. I was wearing my big green hat, and Alexandra said that I looked like a mushroom, so she was dancing round me, screaming, "You're the mushroom! You're the mushroom!". A guy stopped dancing, looked at me intently and said, "Excuse me,you have mushrooms?" No, we explained, I AM the mushroom! I then put the hat on his head, and said, "Now YOU'RE the mushroom!"

The downside to the weekend was that I had to buy Ibuprofen while I was there, because my jaw was hurting (too much talking and chewing, as well as all of that laughing!). I was wondering if I would need to take them forever, but by midday Sunday I was feeling better, so I went to the history museum to see the Viking exhibit, then walked around the harbor.

Stockholm is a very clean, tall, blonde city- even the buildings look tall and blonde. There were many ships and boats in the harbor, but the musical highlights of the weekend were singing at the Stampen jam session on Saturday afternoon, and hearing some wonderful buskers (a string quintet) playing Vivaldi on the sidewalk. Just as I was feeling moved to tears by the mournful intensity of a slow passage,a frogman walked by. He really did look like a frog- small, no neck, waddling a bit. Of course, I didn't take a photo. It would have been rude, wouldn't it?

I had told Olov about my new guitar, and he decided to get a new guitar, too, and he invited me to go to the music shop together. I had fun checking out the guitars and keyboards, and afterwards we went to eat at a restaurant with all you can eat buffet. Later, I took a ferry, and went shopping in the "Soedermalm" section, finding a small used Loius Vuitton purse at a thrift shop called Emmaus, for 60 Kronen (about 6 or 7 Euros).

I didn't see all of the things I wanted to, so maybe I have to visit again! In the meantime, I am back at home with "the fluffies", and I can enjoy my new guitar, my newly renovated kitchen, and my Mac.

Dublin, Wisdom and pain

2009-07-31T14:53:00.003+02:00

I arrived in Dublin on the 17th of July, a Friday morning, and because I couldn't check in till 12 noon, I went with my purse and camera, and explored the city a bit. The unpretentiousness of it all, a city with culture and a certain tongue in cheek sense of humor about it, one in which folk singers line the streets to sing, in which everyone wears what they are most comfortable in, this instantly appealed to me.

After finding a silk blouse for 15 Euros, and a new pair of "Vans" boots for 25, I was convinced that Dublin was the best city, ever.

Then I realized that I was alone. Everyone in this city, apparently, goes in groups or in couples. Women seem to always go in groups of five or so. Then there are the ubiquitous couples of lovers holding hands and kissing discreetly.

Yesterday, I did my shopping and sightseeing. Today, I spent my morning visiting the Malahaide Castle and grounds, and napped a bit, then went to the Spire to not meet a guy named Davide. I thought I could simply meet up with someone from couch surfing, but seeing that it didn't seem to work out, I went to the "Elegance" bar, which had a "Couch Surfing Zone". The place was almost empty. I forgot that Dubliners are all night owls, and that it was impossibly early for going out. Here, the party doesn't start till at least 11 PM. With the one hour time difference, it's already midnight, my time.

At the "Elegance", I engaged in conversation with two very drunken Irishmen, one of whom compared me to Kate Bush, the other of whom told me that my eyes were pretty, then proceeded to repeat the compliment about 28 times. At about 9, a couple came in to start free "Salsa" dance lessons, and I found myself dancing with a gay Brazilian, who compared me to Brigitte Bardot. I haven't had so many compliments in years. Blarney!

At around 11 PM, I find myself at Crown Alley, in the Temple Bar region, listening to a jam band busking on the corner. Two winos, a man proffering an offering of beer for the band, and a woman bearing a plastic garbage bag, dance ecstatically; the rest listen attentively in the almost perpetual Dublin drizzle of rain.

Dublin at night reminds me of NY- the lights, noise, the hordes of young people in search of drinking and dancing, the desire to obliterate the sense in senselessness. It's the inner ascetic in me that has trouble incorporating that.... it reminds me of what I loved, and didn't like about the Village in New York- I loved the disorder, the freeness of it, the bohemian quality, yet I felt estranged from a part of it, as if I were estranged from this alien part of myself, a part that sought to subsume the whole. I guess I am still a stranger in this world, after all.

My last day in Dublin was a fitting sequel to the previous one.

On Saturday, I got to visit Malahaide Castle, erstwhile home to the Talbot family, who were presumably the ancestors of one Robert Talbot, who married Grace Calvert, daughter of Lord Baltimore, from whom I'm descended. They both moved to America in the 1600's to escape the wrath of Oliver Cromwell, and enjoy the religious freedom that the new colony of Maryland promised them. All of these various Talbotts are supposedly descended from a Norman family that came to Ireland with William the Conquoror and began building the Castle Malahaide in the Middle Ages.

Nowadays, of course, the castle belongs to the state (Rose Talbot had to sell it to pay her estate taxes), and so there was no tearful family with long-lost 32nd cousins, or something of the sort. I had to pay for my ticket just like all of the plebians!

The castle tour ended with the great hall, where the most famous Talbotts are depicted. Since Richard Talbott was, apparently born in England, his connection to the Talbots in Dublin is quite distant; still, it was nice to see what kind of digs my more medieval ancestors enjoyed. It's dismaying to find Normans in the family tree- they had such silly hairstyles!

I searched for a book in the gift shop that would illuminate me in my quest for truth about the questionable origins of "Sir" Robert Talbot, the husband of Grace Calvert, but managed to only find a slim 2 Euro tourist booklet, with nary a word about the famed Talbot lineage.

The drizzly weather and my aching feet meant that a trip to the garden was out of the question. I ate some salad and drank a coffee at the Malahaide cafe (Apparently there is no non wheat bread to be had in all of Ireland- luckily I had the spelt sticks with me!) and went back.

On Sundays I always go to church, and despite the rain and clouds, I decided to go to the Cathedral and visit some museums. I did have second thoughts about going to a Catholic Church on Sunday morning, but as I couldn't find any protestant churches in the city, I felt that it would be better than nothing.

Just as I was leaving the youth hostel, I noticed two new text messages from the evening before. Apparently, Davide had been late, and sent me two text messages which I hadn't gotten. Also, another couch surfer had sent me a message.

I decided to send a short message and see if I could find someone to hang out with, after all, sent a quick note, and headed out.

I was walking around in the Cathedral district, and had just snapped a photo of St. Patrick's Cathedral when I spied an African guy in a suit walking with a Bible in his hand, accompanied by a young woman in a dress. Aha! I though. I asked him if there was a Protestant (non Catholic) Church in the area, and he told me he was on his way, and invited me to come. After a few questions, I decided to come along. It was a nice little Charismatic fellowship, with lots of old hymns that I haven't heard in years. (Victory in Jesus! My Savior, Forever!) plus some newer ones I didn't know. The church was very international, too- Irish, Serbian, Russian, African, etc.

After church they invited me to eat with them, and the ladies in the church cooked Oxtail Stew, rice, Chicken with Mushrooms, salad, everything. I skipped the planned Museum- going, reasoning that I could always come back some other time to see the Museums. I had to eat fast, though, because I'd told Davide that we would meet at Le Basement, a Jazz club (It was a hip club).

So even though the true identity of "Sir Robert Talbot" remains something of a mystery (one source gave me data that, if correct, means that Sir Robert was born in the same year as his father!), I found the Spirit that moved him in a little church service in Dublin. Grace Calvert and Robert Tlbot, both devout Quakers, were certainly inspired by God's spirit to travel over the stormy seas, and risk life and limb, to be able to worship God freely, in the spirit.

After I got back from Dublin, I had an appointment to have my teeth Xrayed. It didn't take long at all to have my whole jaw scanned, and for the dentist to inform me that I really did have to have my wisdom teeth removed, all four. The lower ones were impacted, and of the upper ones, one had an infection, and the other had a cavity. So I had to go to the dental clinic in Ludwigshafen for the surgery.

So the following Thursday, I went to Ludwigshafen to meet the dentist there, who told me about the procedure, and informed me that I could either have local anaesthetic, or have a general anaesthetic, which would put me to sleep. It turns out that the general anasthetic is not covered by the health insurance, and it would cost 195 Euros for the anaesthesiologist. Despite the cost, I reasoned that it would be worth it to be "knocked out", and I had to make an appointment the following Monday to see the anaesthesiologist. I managed to get away with giving him 100 this month, and I will give the other 95 next month.

I was glad I did, because it was worth it. I didn't have to hear any drilling sounds, watch my mouth bleeding, or have to be repeatedly told to hold my mouth open for 30 minutes. The whole thing was mostly pleasant. Dr. Dhom's office has soft music and photos of peaceful ocean and beach scenes. After the IV (which wasn't so lovely, but bearable), they put in the medicine, and the water in the photo seemed to be getting wavy. I decided to try and think of the experience as sort of a really expensive, legal high, like getting expensive tickets to a Grateful Dead concert.

I awoke at about 12:30, so I must have been sleeping for about an hour. I felt a bit stoned, and sleepy, but without much pain. At 2, I left with Gernot (who had agreed to pick me up) and I had an iced coffee, and we went back. I spent the rest of the day reading and listening to music, and I've been having lots of ice cream, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, and soup. It's now Friday, and every day I've taken some extra strong Ibuprofen, and I have had basically no pain, just a bit of swelling on my lower jaw. One bad thing- I had to turn down going to the Freakstock festival, and an invitation to go to the local swimming pool.

2009 Update SoFa

2009-07-05T16:10:00.002+02:00

At the beginning of this year, I made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish, and I decided that I would change some things. I wanted to find a so-called "steady job", record an album, save some money, go on some trips... and maybe start studying somewhere.

I decided that I would also eat some fruit every day, and read the Bible every morning instead of depressing myself with the newspaper. I figured that it would improve my mood, and help me have better perspective. Armed with a better attitude, I would be able to accomplish more. Oh, and I wanted to train for the half marathon.

Well, the fruit eating and Bible reading have been successful, and borne fruit in my life, so to speak. I've been reading a Psalm every morning, and sometimes a bit of something from the Old or New Testament. And I have been eating more fruit, as well. Unfortunately, I have been very lazy with running, and it seems unlikely that I will be able to run in the half marathon. Ever since my bike was stolen, though, I have been walking to work, at quite a fast pace. So I guess I'm still in shape.

Not only did I find a job, it seems that the boss is happy with my work, and wants to lengthen my contract. At the beginning of the year, my finances were quite shoddy, and now things seem to be looking up. I already have plane fares for two short trips in Europe, and a plane ticket (paid for) to NY in October. I'll even get some vacation money, which I can use for the trips to Dublin and Stockholm.

I'm also halfway through refurnishing my apartment, courtesy of Ebay.

In the office, I got a new (used) Power Mac G3 from the Mac guy, and a green Ikea wool rug from Fussgoenheim. The new sleepsofa is going to be picked up this week, and I have a cute red Ikea swing chair from Obrigheim, a small town near Rhein-Duerkheim. I am going to put some green paint on the wall, and put up some "tree" wall tattoos. Lastly, there is a black and white mod chair, also from Ikea, which I have to get in Bad Homburg.

Last Wednesday, I went with Perry to get the carpet and the kitchen table (it's actually a kitchen "bar" with foldaway bar stools- just the right size for my small kitchen). I already have the new kitchen shelves and cabinets (which cost 57 Euros) from Wiesbaden, which came with a free microwave oven. I'm planning on getting a new fridge. I have already won a ceiling fan from Ebay for 1.50, which I have to get in Rimbach. On the 29th and 30th, Perry and I put the "tile" wallpaper on the wall, and hung up the shelves; the weekend earlier, Joerg and Rene helped me pick up the shelves, cabinets and sink, and Rene helped me install the new sink.

I suppose the new kitchen will end up costing about 100 Euros, total, perhaps 150 if I get a new fridge and oven. Not bad!

I also got a new beaded curtain for the hall, and a "Flokati" rug for the bedroom. I've always wanted a Flokati! So now I have a "gemuetlich" place to chill out. I'm hunkering down for the coming catastrophe, which will only get worse.

Regarding musical prospects, the band will probably have less time, now that Friedemann has a job again. Matthias also doesn't have muchtime, although he just got a new computer, and installed Protools.

Joachim, a brilliant guitarist, came by our practice to check us out after Perry sent him an invite on "Wer-kennt-wen", a German social networking site. We had a good time jamming, but he decided against it. We are still searching for another guitarist, preferably one who could sing. Initially, Darashayn seemed interested, but I can't seem to reach him, either by phone or by email.

This month, I had a couple of visits. Billy visited on the first and second of the month (now it seems like months ago!) and we ate at the Italian buffet in the Kaiser Passage. He bought me a pair of summer sandals, and now they are my absolute favorites- very comfortable!

On the 5th and the 6th, I went to a seminar in Mainz, which was terribly boring. It was fun, however, laughing with my VHS colleagues afterwards! It's nice when we can have a sense of humour about it!

There was a "verruckte Einkaufs Sonntag" on one weekend, with a Beatles cover band, and Atila came to Worms, and on the 13th, I went with Ansgar, a co-worker from WER, to the Jazz Festival.

Klaus came on the weekend of the 20th and 21st. On the 20th, I went to Friedemann's, for his birthday party, which was great fun.

On the 21st, Klaus and I went for a drive to Obrigheim, then visited Ladenburg, a cute little village near Mannheim, where we went shopping, ate ice cream and got caught in the pouring rain.

I also sang at the "Kesselhaus", on the 26th, at the 10th grade graduation ceremony. In Germany, the "Realschule" only goes up to 10th grade, and if you want to go further, you have to apply at a "Gymnaseum". I sang "The Voice Within", a Christian Aguiliera song, for 400 people. Afterwards, there was a party at the "Hagenbrau". It was a difficult song, but I got through all right, and had a nice meal at the buffet.

Last night, I went to the "Woodstock" party at the beergarden, with Joachim. He is a fabulous guitarist, and definitely hip. Unfortunately, he already has a girlfriend, with whom he lives. (I think that sentence was correct.... there is a "whom" grammar exercise in the "Murphy" grammar book). The band did some smoking "Santana" and "Doors" covers. It was nice grooving to hippie music, and saying hell to the conga player, Jose, who we both know from the "Sound Factory" jam sessions.

So I guess I have had a very busy month. The evening courses have been over for the month of June, and the new Summer courses have just started. I've had lots of time in the afternoons and evenings to practice, shop on Ebay, read (I've been reading "The Cycles of American History") and fix up the apartment.

So far, though, I haven't done a lot of things on my list for this year, so I guess I ought to spend the Summer running, working on my novel and recording some music. In one week, the summer break begins! So now I'm ready!

Michael Jackson and Idols

2009-06-28T14:59:00.001+02:00

I found out that Michael Jackson had died (I hate the phrase "passed away") on Friday morning, after I had greeted the kids in class 6C, and handed out a vocabulary crossword puzzle (I found a site where you make your own puzzles, so I make puzzles from the kids' books). A little girl walked up to my desk, and asked me if I knew about Michael Jackson. I couldn't help gasping when she told me.

Just a few weeks ago, my bandmates and I were arguing about which Michael Jackson song was the best. I thought it would be "Billie Jean"; just the bass line, and sinewy syncopated strings are cool, let alone he melody. Each of us, though, had a different opinion. I goes to show you that even people whose musical tastes are widely different all can agree that there was something about Michael Jackson's music.

Even though the press called him "whacko Jacko", and he was the butt of many jokes, most people I know felt sorry for him. His life had clearly spun out of control, and perhaps many, like myself, secretly wished they could help him.

When I first saw Michael Jackson, he was just a kid in the Jackson five. back then, they even had their own cartoon series. Every little kids back then loved the Jackson Five, their singing, style and dance moves. Later, he was the uiquitous star of "Thriller", and Jackson-mania became a force to be reckoned with. As much as I loved his crazy videos, dance moves and grooves, I was always uncomfortable with the level of idolotry that surrounded him, girls weeping, and kissing his picture. It was easy to dismiss all of the hysteria, and the "commercial" aspects of his popularity, and overlook his obvious talent.

Jackson had a talent for bringing together different musical styles (funk, R and B, pop, rock, etc.) as well as different people- black, white, old, young, gay, straight. In his videos, he depicted people of every ethnicity, culture and age, often including children, as well. He even reached out to ancient Egyptians, despite the fact that they had been dead for thousands of years! At the zenith of his carreer, he embraced humanitarianism and social causes. Then the cracks appeared, as he struggled with a larger-than-life role.

Imagine how hard it must have been for Michael Jackson to handle all of this fame and adulation, the pressure of it all. It would have been enough to make most people crazy, let alone someone with childhood "issues". As time went on, it became clear that he wasn't handling his worldwide fame very well. The past few years, his life was unraveled, and he seemed more and more lost... the press had a feeding frenzy.

The more people criicised him, it seems, the more fault he found with himself, even "cutting off his nose to spite his face". He seemed to invite abuse with his strange lifestyle, yet clearly suffered from the isolation and abuse.Were any of the attacks and allegations about him true? We'll never know. It does seem, though, that he was desperately lonely, and without a clear direction.

Why do we put people on a pedestal and worship them instead of God? If anything, we are to blame for sending his talented, lonely, broken man to an early grave. We didn't let him be simply human, we denied his "human nature", set him up as an "idol" to worship, demanded that, like a true God, he be "invincible", and when he showed himself to be flawed and vulnerable, even sinful, we cut him down. Young people look up to their "idols", but wha happens when the so-called idol has lost his way? Only God is perfect, so we should stop demanding perfection of our entertainers, and appreciate them for their ability on the stage. Michael Jackson lived and breathed for the stage. Unfortunately, his offstage-fright did him in. I hope and pray that he is in a better place now.

Trip to Dublin

2009-06-12T14:52:00.002+02:00

My old mac ibook was becoming very slow, and some pages were impossible to read, so I used some of my newfound riches to get a new (used) computer from the Macguy. This PowerMac G4 and flatscreen only cost me 200 Euros, and I've got OSX, Firefox, etc. I'm keeping the little blue clamshell ibook for trips, typing, etc, but I'll use this one for surfing and photo retouching.

The job is going well, and I am planning some nice little trips. I'm going to Dublin in July (only 30 Euros on Ryanair), and I'll take a train trip to Prague in October. I'm also thinking of going on a short trip somewhere in August. I think I can get a 60 Euro planefare to Rome; the only problem is paying for the hostel.

I've started planning the trip already. I definitely want to visit the old Malahide Castle, which was the home to the Talbot family, from which I am descended. One of these Talbotts immigrated to the US in the 1700's. I think it will be cool to visit a country I've never visited before, and I found a great, cheap youth hostel, called "Paddy's Palace". I can catch the "Paddy wagon" bus directly from the airport. I'll get a free breakfast, and I can get some food from a supermarket for lunch. Of course, I'll have to visit some clubs and pubs; hopefully, everything won't be too expensive.

I went to Kaiserslautern yesterday to visit Christina, a Brazilian friend of mine who recently moved. She has a great new (cheap) apartment in a quiet area, but she doesn't know anyone there, and feels lonely. I had some clothes for her that Anette from the church had given me, and I was curious to see K-Town. It being a holiday, everything was closed, but I noticed some cool looking music shops.

I went on a mini shopping spree with some of the money, and bought new underwear (I'm throwing away the grungy things!) and 2 blouses and a summer dress at H and M. I also bought some things on ebay. The clothes is, of course, for my trip to Dublin. I absolutely need to wear something green when I go there!

New Job

2009-05-05T14:47:00.002+02:00

I had a great gig at the Lincoln Theater, and a week off to relax and vegetate during Easter break, in which I ate enough chocolate to warrant a trip to the dentist.

Klaus came to Worms for the concert, which was well-attended, and we went to the ice cream parlor afterwards to celebrate. The concert was filmed by Friedemann, and Marco did the sound. I've got some nice photos from Janine, as well, which I'll put on the web as soon as I recover from my latest fit of laziness.

I still haven't gotten the CD of the recording from Werner, but we are planning some recording sessions at the drummer, Bernhard's house. I got some pretty good reviews in the local press, and the DVD is cool. I just have to find a way to burn videos for Youtube. The best songs were "What's Up" and "Good Morning Heartache".

In other news, I sang at a private party on the 23rd, and did my new song, "I don't worry bout money, cos money don't Worry Bout Me"... actually, it's not a new song, but one I wrote at least 10 years ago, but it seems to fit in with the current economic climate. I think my version of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is equally fitting.

I signed the Job contract and got the job, and have been teaching English and music at the West End Realschule (10 hours per week). So far, it's been good, except for a couple of "devils" in the 6th and 7th grade classes. It's fun working with the kids, and the other teachers are really nice.

I'm still rehearsing with Friedemann, Perry and Matthias, and we have about 5 songs so far. Unfortunately, it seems as though our rehearsals are a bit loud for the neighbors.

Last weekend I went with Perry and Sandra to a "disco night" at a local pub, and boy, what a bunch of horrible looking people! We were the best looking people there- not that we are so perfect! When I was 19, I used to go to clubs in NY, then run to the bathroom in tears because all of the other girls there seemed prettier than me.... better clothes, nicer hairstyles, hipper shoes... Now I go to a "disco night" and all of the women look uglier than me. I even have to take off my glasses, not to improve my looks, but everyone else's. Which is worse?

(Added May 26:)

As sooon as I started the new job, I came down with a horrible cold annd sinus infection, from which I've finallly recovered. Unfortunately, I blew my nose so often that I somehow lost my nose ring in a tissue somewhere. My bike was also stolen. I guess bad things always come in threes.

On the bright side, the weather has gotten warmer, annd I've used some of my extra time to start reading a new book, "The God Code". My evenings are free now that the evening classes are over, so I can get around to practicing a bit more. And, thanks to the crazy German holidays, I often have a day off. Next week, I have two days off for "Pfingsten" (Pentecost).

Maybe when I finally get paid, I can go to Berlin and visit some hip clubs!

My Gig

2009-03-27T14:45:00.001+01:00

I've been busy all month getting ready for my gig- sending emails, practicing and rehearsing, etc. I had posters made, and the theater is supposed to distribute them. Today, I bought some really hip sparkly silver shoes for my gig- they were on sale for 20 bucks. Now all I need are those black satin gloves.

I am working on a new project with Perry, Friedemann and Matthias from the Gemeinde. We are starting a new cover band and Darashayn, a guitarist I met at the jam session in Mannheim, is in on it. Last Sunday, D. came by and we went over some tunes for the gig in April, and jammed on some tunes for the new group.

I had a terrible cold last month, and recently, I had a terrible headache for three days. It might have been the wheat I ate (I went out to eat on Saturday), or the weird weather (it went from Spring weather suddenly to Winter weather, with high winds, rain and hail).

I might be getting some new work at a local high school. I sent out some resumes and finally I got a rresponse. Last Friday, I had a job interview, and if everything goes as planned, I'll be getting about 8 hours a week work, subbing for the English and Music teachers when they are ill. I might also get a contract for teaching music next year (starting in September).I won't know for sure until after Easter holidays.

This weekend, I will be donning the red rat suit again, plus I have two rehearsals. The "rat work" is publicity for the Studienkreis. I am the "reading rat", and I give away balloons and promotional items. It was my idea, and since we started doing this, the business at the Studienkreis has doubled. Really, I should have studied PR. I seem to have a knack for it.

Brrrrrrr!

2009-01-29T19:48:00.003+01:00

I was terribly stressed out and ill in December.
First, there was the Saturday afternoon when I waited outside for my friends to show up, for a scheduled outing to Strasbourg, to go to the Christmas market.

After about half an hour, I finally reached Nadine. "Didn't anyone tell you?," she asked, "We cancelled it for next weekend."

I had to play the piano and sing at the next morning's church Gottesdienst, so the sore throat was becoming a sore point for me. Thankfully, I survived, and even recieved some compliments for my solo, "The Servant King".

Then, on the following Sunday afternoon, there was the "day of disaster" with Ludmilla at the Christmas market. I had volunteered, out of the kindness of my heart, to videotape her gig at the Christmas Market, as well as provide the keyboard, amp and sound engineering.

Ludmilla told me to be there at 5 to set up, so she could sing at 6. Of course, a big brass band was playing when we got there, and I waited in the cold for a half an hour with my keyboard, amp, mic and Friedemann's 4 track recorder. At 5:30, a woman from the Culture Office of Worms came and informed us that Ludmilla's concert had been cancelled, because a sponsor had called off the financial backing "due to the economic situation". "We sent you a letter, but we couldn't reach you," she claimed tremulously.

As Ludmilla threatened to sue, call the newspapers, etc., I realized that the situation could only get worse. She decided to go on anyway, and pass around the hat (my hat, of course), and demanded that I go on the stage and badmouth the city office of culture. I gracefully handled the situation as diplomatically as possible, setting up the amp, keyboard and mic at 6 PM, and informing the crowd assembled that a sponsor had backed out, and donations were gratefully accepted. I gathered up 22 Euros, much less than the 100-odd euros that Ludmilla had been promised.

Being an opera singer, Ludmilla has little understanding of modern things such as electricity, which made setting up the sound particularly onerous, especially since I found out that there was no mic, no mixing board, and only one outlet at our disposal. With Ludmilla and Faina demanding to know why there was no sound coming from the keyboard ("because it's not plugged in yet"), I had to improvise. I decided to forego the audio recording, and spent the next additional hour making the video (I had organized borrowing a video camera from Rafael, Friedemann's brother-in-law).

Ludmilla treated me later to a snack at the cafe, but I felt truly "fix und fertig", as they say in German.

I tried to rest up the following week, but the weather was wet and cold, and I had errands to run- cards to mail, cookies to bake, shopping to do, etc.

The following weekend, I finally did go to Strasbourg with some friends from the Gemeinde and, of course, the next day felt even worse. We had spent at least seven hours walking, and although I was truly bundled up, I'm sure the exertion wasn't good for me. It was, of course, enchanting in Strasbourg, although expensive. Nadine's sister, Janine, sat in the back of Peter's van with me and she told me all about the cool publishing company she works for, so now I have a new prospect for my job hunt.

I went to the cafe with Thomas Haag, the guy who will play at my "big gig" in April. I suppose that ice cream isn't a good idea when you feel ill, but most of the cafes were closed. On Monday, I felt exhausted. I had to go to the post office and bank though, and Perry picked me up. Another bad idea. After 4 hours of shopping, I felt feverish and headachy. I just laid in bed, listening to the radio.

The week before Christmas, I had an hour and a half rehearsal at the unheated church. I called Ludmilla on Christmas Eve, "Can someone else play? I'm feverish." She insisted that I come, so I put on as many layers as possible, including my furry boots, and walked to the church. We managed, however, to get the other organist to play for the organ tunes, and I only played keyboards. I went back home feeling horrible, and stayed in on Christmas day.

The new year has started, not with a bang but with a whimper. I spent New Year's Eve at home, recovering from a cold, and wisely staying away from the icy streets outside. Tomas H came over, we had dinner together, and drank champagne at midnight.

On my birthday weekend, I went out dancing on Saturday, and spent Sunday afternoon baking pizza and cake. On Sunday night, I had a fun party, with about 20 friends, and lots of beer, wine, sparkling wine, cocktails and chocolate liqueur, We had four pizzas, bread with spread, salad, chips and dip, melon and cheese, and chocolate chip hazelnut cake. I wanted to do fondue, but there wasn't enough room, so I made fondue the following weekend for Perry's birthday.

After being sick in December, I recovered this month, and started in on doing all of the things I planned to do for the break- doctor's appointments, cleaning and tidying up the apartment, getting the computer repaired, the sewing and cleaning done, putting things away in the garage, etc. Oh, and finishing the paper/ novel.

At the moment, it appears that I'll have no time for half of that because I've got to fill out the tax forms to show the guy at the immigration office that I am now a productive member of German society, and not merely a mooch.

I've started rehearsals with Werner, and we picked out the tunes. One of his suggestions- "Nobody knows you when you're down and out"- is strangely suitable for the economic times we're living in, and I'm certain it should be paired with "I don't worry 'bout money, and money don't worry bout me". We also want to do "Sir Duke". My next project is updating and printing the presskit, and getting sponsors for the printing costs.

It was so cold and unpleasant this Winter that I have, unfortunately, gained weight a bit. I suppose sitting in front of the TV drinking champagne and eating chocolates during Obama's inaugaration might be one of the causes. Or the Gluwein (hot mulled wine) and cookies. Actually, it was so cold, wet and icy I haven't been getting any exercise, so this week, I've been eating fruit, and cutting out the extra fries and chocolate.

During December, I rented some great films from the City Library- "Brazil" (I love weird British films and anything Pythonesque) and "Being John Malkovich" (I love John Cusack). Both were great. I wish I owned both of them. Maybe I'll get them on ebay. Speaking of Ebay, I never got my copy of "Alice's Restaurant", which I ordered from Switzerland. How long does it take to send a DVD from Sitzerland to Germany, anyway?

I'm trying to not spend any extra money, but I've been buying silly things all Winter: a used Karaoke machine, a mini sewing machine, 2 CDs, 2 DVDs, makeup, books. I managed to resist temptation, and avoid buying any new clothes, though.

Thank you, Barack OBAMA!

2008-11-26T18:47:00.001+01:00

First of all, I want to thank the American people, as well as expats like myself, for proving that Americans don't have to be pea-brained, anti-intellectual racist troglodytes, after all. Till the last minute, I held my breath, wondering if it really could happen, wondering if Obama really would win. The conspiracy theorists, who predicted a stolen election, or even that the election would be called off, as well as the naysayers who predicted a "Bradley Effect", all ended up with egg on their faces. Halleluyah! After many years of tears, the powers of darkness have proved themselves to be just shadows that pass in the evening of the day. The power of light has shone and triumphed!

It's been a long time coming, as Obama has said. Some of us had given up hoping for this day to come, but the time for change has come at last. Older Americans who can still remember the lynch mobs and segregated luch counters of the past got a chance to vote in this historic election, as did 18 year olds too young to remember a time when there weren't black congressmen.

Yes, American people can be small-minded, mean-spirited and selfish. But if what happened last November 4th is any indication, then we have, at last, proven that we can also be generous, hopeful, idealistic and smart, as well, even if it takes eight years of stupidity, cynicism, fear and madness to rouse us out of our stupor.

Thank you, Barack Obama for restoring my faith in the democratic process, in the power of the common people and in the potential of hope and light to break the fetters of fear and destroy the strongholds of darkness.

Good luck to you, President Obama! You have, indeed, changed the world, and each and every one of us. You've changed the way we see the America, the world and ourselves. May God bless you- you've got a rough journey ahead, and the battle is yet to be won, yet victory is only given to those who can conceive of its promise, and the fight is only given to the brave.

With my vote, I, and millions of others, dared to take a chance on goodness and hope, looking forewards rather than backwards. We cannot reverse the evils of the past, but the future is in the hands of the young, and those who cast their lot with the future, rather than the past.

African Americans haven always given more than they have taken. They have given us jazz and blues, rock and R and B, they have fed us spiritually with Gospel and Spirituals, have given us healing laughter and and inspiring prose. How fitting, then that Obama, born of a midwestern "white" girl and an African father, growing up in Indonesia, Kansas and Hawaii, should embody all that is good and praisewothy in America, spanning the continents, being equally at home with Asian, African and European cultutes. He is the melting pot embodied, bringing together all Americans. He is jazz incarnate, the ultimate form of democracy encapsulated in sound, the grand musical experiment in democracy. Obama, you've made me, once again, proud to be American, something that I never again expected to feel.

Will he live up to his promise? No president ever does. But in him, we see the promise, long unfulfilled, of the America we dream of, the America we have yet to see.

I have clicked on Obama, and hope to soon list him as one of my top Myspace "friends". President Obama, I am happy to call you my friend.

And in other good news, the day after the election, I got my exam score. 19 out of 20 points on my DAF exam. Thank you, Lord!

I need a miracle!

2008-10-27T15:53:00.000+01:00

I have finally recovered from a tumultous week in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. First, I went to Paris, where I just wandered around and took photos. I managed to do a whirlwind tour of the tri-state region, visit Naomi for the first weekend (she was feeling weak, but in good spirits), go to NY for 3 days (I voted, bought some hip jeans and went to the open mic for singers, as well as Nick's gig at Bar on A), visit George, Cynthia and the nephews, and lastly, visit Mom for a day.

The weather there was warmer than here, though, and I didn't really need to bring boots. When I left Paris, it was cool and autumnal, in Philadelphia, people were wearing summer clothes.

I got some of the winter clothes from George's basement, and wore out my back schlepping my suitcases around. I now have my "Beethoven" coat and my black and white fake fur, plus two wool sweaters. Next time, maybe I can get my CD collection.

It was weird being back after so long, and I felt a bit like a fish out of water. Things are spinning onward there, everything getting worse by increments, but I feel like I've inexorably changed, and I doubt I could go back and live like I did then. I wonder if there is a place for me in this world. Things in Germany are a lot more stable, but I am not making huge progress here, either. At least I'm not falling into a hole of despair and crisis, like a lot of people in the US. Lots of people are out of work, and millions are without health insurance. People are losing their homes, and going bankrupt.

It was, however, inspiring to see the excitement that Barack Obama's campaign was causing, in NY at least. I felt myself getting caught up in "Obamania" when I was there, and it felt good to cast my early ballot. Can Obama win and change things? Can we believe in a miracle? I think, at this point, we are all in sore need of a miracle, financially, politically, and otherwise.

In other news, I finally got to get back to Worms, and see Thomas again, before I had to go dress up as a red rat and give out balloons and Studienkreis promotional material in the city on Sunday. I spent my Saturday night watching TV and sewing the ears and tail on my ratsuit. So on Sunday, I walked around dressed up like a "reading rat", with a long tail, big rat ears and round glasses. It was fun, but I had trouble breathing through the rat nose, and I had a headache afterwards. The ratsuit was actually my idea, since the Studienkreis has been having a hard time getting new clients. I got paid for my ratwork, of course!

I hope to visit the US again, as soon as is possible, but my money situation is not terribly good at the moment. I am hoping to be able to go in January, since there isn't so much work in January, anyway. I'm worried about Naomi. I googled "Glioma" last night, and was saddened to see that the median survival rate for the type of tumor that Naomi has is about 1 year. Thank God, Naomi isn't brain damaged, blind or paralyzed. At the moment, she is up and about, doing graphic art, going to concerts and keeping up her spirits. I can only pray. Here's another miracle we need.

911 Mysteries

2008-09-16T13:15:00.004+02:00

I could've had a lot of fun last weekend, since there was a big bridge festival celebrating the new bridge over the Rhine river. A three-day festival was planned, but the weather didn't cooperate, so I mostly stayed home.

Ludmilla has been coming over a lot lately, and I am helping her with her job applications for the Arbeitsagentur (job center). On Saturday,she came over, soaking from the rain, and I sleepily made us some coffee, and we sat at the computer to print out her letters.

At 12, Gernot came over and we amused ourselves by watching "Wallace and Gromit" in Finnish. Later, I made us some pasta with mushrooms and cream sauce, and salad.

I've been going to Quehl every week, to help the Quehls prepare for their trip to Hing Kong. They'll have to be able to speak fluent English. I've tried to save as much money as possible for my plane ticket, but I think I only have about 300 or so, and I'll need at least 500.

I had to spend some money on new tires (I went with Perry to Aquatica for Chinchilla food, and we went to Kaufland to get new bike tires) and I have bought a new gig bag and candle-mking supplies (I can finally recycle my wax collection!), but I'm being very careful with other things, and I've resisted the temptation to buy any unneeded clothes. I can't resist, however, buying books, and I just bought Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged", a book that many websites have been referencing.

What I am thinking about the most, however, is a documentary recently aired on Germany's "Vox" network, entitled, "911 Mysteries". I am normally somewhat suspicious of "conspiracy theories"- I've read lots of websites that stretch credulity- but this film is very credible, very factual and very scary.

Here is a link. I've checked out the facts, and they all add up.

You can get a pdf here.
If this film is true, Bush, Cheney and co. have a lot to answer for, treason and genocide included.

Stranger than Fiction

2008-09-16T13:12:00.001+02:00

I keep having weird dreams about weasels. A couple of months ago, I dreamed that I was in a car with my father, and we found what I thought was a small dog. It really was a little weasel. It had been running in traffic.

Last night I dreamed about the weasel again. It was runnung around in my hallway, and I was trying to catch it. I wonder what that means?

I have been having a lousy month. On the one hand, my rent is paid, I used the money from the wedding gig in August to buy my "dream guitar" on ebay, and I had some extra time. I put an ad in Sperrmuell, so I've got some new private students, and I'm trying to save some money.

On the other hand, my bike broke down, the second Wormatia women's team was dissolved, I found out my Aunt Nan died, and Naomi is now doing cancer treatments, so I was a bit worried and depressed. I hope Naomi will survive this.

I'm suddenly very busy doing silly things, like helping Ludmilla with her computer, or trudging around town with things for the Studienkreis. I finished the Cleo's schedules, but I still haven't put them up yet, either! Klaus visited on two weekends, then the weekend afterwards Billy was visiting. I really need to practice and study for the DAF test, but I don't seem to have any time! I only have about 3 weeks before the test, and I have to be able to write a proper essay in German, without grammatical mistakes.

Once I'm finished with the test, I have to start working on that paper for the pedagogy certificate.

Billy treated me to dinner Saturday night, so I paid for the entertainment, and I bought this DVD. It was in the €5 rack, and when I saw the cast (including Emma Thompson, Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman, as well as Queen Latifah) I thought it must be a good film.

Actually, it was very funny, very deep and well acted. It's about a writer whose character, an IRS agent, is a real person. He hears the author "narrating" his life, and starts to fall apart at the seams. He also falls for the woman he is auditing, a tattooed free spirit who owns a bakery.

In the film, Harold Crick says, "I'm a character in my own life". When he finds out that the author plans to let him die, he knows that he must find her. When he does meet her, the film poses the question: is it worth it to die to save another person's life? Or to die for art?

There is a saying that those who have nothing that they would die for don't have anything to live for, either.

Will Ferrell really outdid himself in this film. It reminded me of "The Truman Show" a bit. I've been reading up on philosophy, mathematics and physics lately, and the word "ontology" springs to mind. It refers to the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of reality and existence. Modern physics keeps bumping into these metaphysical questions. Scientists themselves, of course, deal with far more mundane things (as my brother, George, recently pointed out), but the philosophical implications are always lurking behind the corner. Why is the universe structured the way it is? It seems to impy a grand order, climaxing in the conditions neccesary for intelligent life. Could this actually occur by mere chance, or is there a reason behind it all?

"Stranger than Fiction" also contains many references to mathematics and science. According to Wikipedia: "The last names of many characters can be connected to the last names of famous modern scientists and mathematicians: Francis Crick, James Watson, Gustave Eiffel, David Hilbert, Nicholas Mercator, Blaise Pascal, Arthur Cayley, and Gösta Mittag-Leffler. Penny Escher's name can be connected to M. C. Escher, a Dutch graphic artist whose work was heavily influenced by mathematics. The Kroenecker bus, which hits Harold, can be attributed to the famous mathematician of the same name, Leopold Kronecker. Karen Eiffel's publisher, Banneker Press, can be attributed to mathematician and clockmaker Benjamin Banneker. Other small mathematics and science references are slipped in, such as a mention of the corner of Euclid Street and Born Avenue."

Crick's survival depends on whether his life is meant to be a comedy or tragedy. Theologists say that the Bible is meant to be a comedy. The ending- with the resurrection of the dead and the elimination of death, suffering and sin- is meant to be comedic, not tragic.

In the film Professor Jules Hilbert, played by Dustin Hoffman, tells Crick that we will all die one day. All comedy and all tragedy centers around this theme. What are we here for? What will happen to us when we die? Science hints at these questions, but only theology can give a satisfactory answer. Science tells us what the universe may be composed of, but only God can tell us why it (and we) are here.

Trip to Venice

2008-07-24T20:24:00.002+02:00

As you can see from the newest photos, I went to Venice, Italy for a week, leaving my poor litttle fluffies alone in the apartment (Perry came by every evening to let them run and play, and checked on the food and water). I was worried that there would be a heatwave in Worms, and that they would be overrheated, but all of my worrries were, apparently, unfounded. The only heatwave was in Venice, where I had to take a nap every afternoon just to handle the hot, humid weather. Klaus is used to walking a lot, but 6 hours a day of walking is a bit much for me! I think I would've lost a lot of weight there if it weren't for all of the ice cream and pastries.

On the first day there, Monday, we went to St. Mark's Square, (and had ice cream) then took the Vaporello to Lido. Lido is a nice part, an island with a public beach and shopping area. I was hungry and thirsty by then, so we went to a garden restaurant there, where I had the best rosemary chicken I've ever eaten, and drank a huge bottle of water. It was so hot, I actually refused to drink any wine! Not until I got back to the hotel, where I raided the mini-bar.

On the second day, we visited the Jewish Ghetto, visited the Jewish Museum (and the cafe), and met a cool artist/gypsy jazz guitarist named Tony Green, who invited us to his gig at the Italian restaurant the next evening (of course, an Italian restaurant! What else!). Tony spends half of his time in New Orleans and half in Venice, where he's got a great art gallery.

We went to the Rialto Market the next day (over the bridge) and bought some olives, cheese and salad at a supermarket; and had a little "picnic" in the hotel. Later, we went to the hotel cafe for cappuccino and cake. In the evening, we went to Tony's gig, where I "sat in" and sang a song.... "Summertime", of course. It was only apropos, given the weather. Afterwards, we popped in to a restaurant to grab a bite to eat, and saw the EM Game, Germany versus Turkey.

We went to Murano on the following day, where I bought some cool things, and we walked around, looking at the galleries. We even saw a glass blower at work. It was dreadfully hot, though, so, of course, we had to stop for ice cream.

On Friday, we went back to the "Ghetto" to eat at the Chinese restaurant (It's not *all* Italian food in Venice, after all) and visited some more galleries. The Museums all cost money, but the galleries are free, and you can *buy* the art, so why not? We also went to the most impressive church besides St. Mark's (which was too crowded): San Paolo e Giovanni. It's huge, with beautiful paintings on the walls. Klaus had to get an ice cream shake to cool off.

We stayed at the hotel Malibran, which was clean, air conditioned (thank God!) and had a great breakfast buffet, with hard boiled eggs, croissants, rolls, pound cake, fruit salad, cheese and ham, cereal and yogurt- all you can eat. Judging from some of the other (overweight) guiests, perhaps too much!

After Italy, I went to Stuttgart and visited Tante Elfriede for a couple of days.

I was worried about Naomi the whole time, though, and hoping she would pull through. While in Italy, I called Naomi and Mom to find out how things were. Naomi is back at home now, but we still don't know about the tumor.

I'm back in Worms now, where there isn't much going on, except preparing for the two upcoming gigs: one is a "Wedding" gig (I'm singing 3 songs, playing the wedding march and doing the church organ songs) and the other is a gig with the Blue Lizzards, playing at a party for the tennis club in Rhein Durkheim. I'm practicing all week long, and this week, I went to the little chapel in Hamm to try out the organ. What a creaky old thing! The manuals are all made of wood, some keys don't work, and it's a bit out of tune, so with some settings, it sounds like a whiny old cat, or a very tired flute ensemble. It's also got very stiff action, like an organ with arthritis. You have to pound on it to get a sound.

I'm excited about getting paid, though, because I've got my eye on a new guitar. Actually, I wanted to get a plane ticket to NY or NJ, but the airfares are quite high at the moment. I'll have just enough, though, for an ebay guitar.

I'm still studying for the DAF, and I'm working on my "Learning Styles" paper. It'll take a while to finish it! At least, I think I've got a good topic, and I've found enough materials to work with. It's all about how to incorporate muti-sensory teaching materials into the classroom to help students with different learning styles. I just want to get that stupid certificate!

I got an email from one Model Place, inviting me to apply to be on the next season of "Rock of Love", a show I am, unfortuately, addicted to at the moment. I sent them my info, but I'm not too sure that they'll call me back. I'm probably too old, although Bret Michaels is only about 4 years older than me. Actually, I think he's about the same age as Klaus. Klaus doesn't look like Bret Michaels, though. What a pity.

A blah year

2008-06-20T19:14:00.001+02:00

Last weekend, I went to Friedemann's birthday party, plus hung out at the Osthofen Wine Festival with Perry. On Sunday, though, I just stayed in and did some work on the computer, finishing up some website updates, and drinking some Beck's Limon.

I have been watching the Euro Cup all week. Last week, I saw the Germany versus Croatia game at the TE cafe, in the pouring rain (I was under an umbrella). A German guy who looked vaguely like Sting sat nearby. He was wearing a shirt that said, "Read My Mind". I couldn't resist flirting a bit, since I saw no evidence of a ring. Anyhow, to make a long story short, I had a nice conversation with Gunter (that's his name), and we had a cup of coffee together. It turns out he knows Perry....Worms is small, after all.

The last two games I saw at home. On Thursday, I baked myself a spelt pizza, and watched the game versus Portugal (interrupted by hopping and running chinchillas). Perry is surprised that the German team wasn't eliminated by the Portuguese, but I always thought that they had a chance. I have also spent the week getting ready for my trip to Italy and tying up loose ends. I filled out some forms at the unemployment office, but they are giving me a run-around. I got some pay, and spent it on bills, and managed to pay back the Bank of Perry for the loan.

This year has been very depressing, though. There are nothing but disasters on TV, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes. To make things worse, just about every economist is now predicting a worldwide recesssion, or depression. I don't drive, but those who do are all qvetching about the high cost of gasoline. The job market doesn't seem terribly good, either.

Plus, the year doesn't seem so great for me or anyone I know. Lots of people I know are unemployed, under- employed or making less than they ought to. I'm still working, but part-time. Frank, my sepfather, died in January. Now I just heard that Naomi is in the hospital.

I suppose I ought to be grateful that, at least, I've got my health (and health insurance). I've got some good friends, and if I haven't found the man of my dreams, I know a couple of good-looking nice guys who I can go to the cafe with... or a jam session now and then.

Virtual Sheep

2008-06-09T18:05:00.002+02:00

I'm at Perry's, using his computer, and he is a big fan of cheesy Disco music, funk, 80's music, anything with a good bass line. Me personally, I have been wearing out my Coldplay and Radiohead CDs. One day, I became obsessed by "In My Place", and listened to it about 78 times, annoying my neighbor.

Me and the guys in the band were practicing for the "Blue Lizzards" party on the 31st, a little garage party that took place during a torrential downpour, and Perry and I are going to the jam sessions at the Sound Factory on Fridays. There is now a video of me on wer-kennt-wen, showing me rockin' with the musicians there (mostly wizened old bluesicians).

The "Fußball" season is over. First, my team played a game away, a horrible loss. We played hard but only got one goal. Connie, who was playing midfield instead of as goalie (we had a different girl as goalie) scored in the first half.

One week later, I went to see the first team play at the Wormatia Rasenplatz. It was the Quarterfinals for the Pokal. They didn't have enough players (I think there are a lot of season-end injuries) they lost, Doro and Denie were both injured, and Tina got a red card. I was quite disappointed! Afterwards, they had a little grill-party, and I drank a couple of beers, but I had to go home to eat something, since I don't eat pork and white bread. One of these days, they will discover salad and turkey schnitzel at Wormatia.... perhaps.

Every weekend, there is some kind of festival. On the 23rd of May, I went to the Traubenblutenfestival (a wine festival) in Westhofen. There were stands with wine and food, and a live band played. The next day, on Sunday, I went to the Spektaculum, a Middle Ages Festival.

The following weekend, we had a party at Markus, the drummer's house. The Sunday afterwards, I went to the "Wormatia Festakt", an officious speechmaking occasion, (with Classical music provided by Anja the violinist, and her quintet) meant to solemnly mark the 100th anniversary of Wormatia. Afterwards, there was an impressive Buffet, with shrimp cocktail, chilled asparagus salad, little canapes with lox or ham, ziti with chicken breast and mushrooms, and "Wormatia" wine. I avoided the sparkling wine, of course, because it always gives me a headache, but I quite enjoyed the creme brulee and amaretto biscuits with coffee.

On Friday, Perry and I went to the jam session, but there was hardly anyone there, except for a rapper duo. A blonde guy was rapping about his finals, and his inablity to get a good job, or something. He had good rhythm, but I think he needs to develop some worse problems to rap about. I danced along, just to get into the spirit of it. We split after we finished our beers, and went into the city. Marla Glen was singing near the old Cathedral, and we watched the fireworks.

It was all part of the Jazz and Joy festival. I was short on money, so I didn't buy a button, but I saw some free jazz, anyhow. On Saturday, after Konstantin came over for his tutoring, I went and visited Tante Ruth and brought some asparagus, which we ate with potatoes and cream sauce. Afterwards, i came home and did some much-needed shopping, and Klaus arrived (at 7) with just enough time to go out with me to Cafe Aqui.

After we ate, we met up with some of my friends (Peter and Nadine) and saw some live music at the free stage by the youth Hostel. First, the Bachman Blues Band played (Winni, the organ player, used to be in Treacle People); next, a really great, funny band from Paris, Mini Moustache, did a show and I danced and laughed when the cigarette-munching keyboard player played his moog with his arse.

On Sunday, after the Jazz Gottesdienst (with Michael Grundlach), we had a huge grill party and buffet. Everyone was there. Matthias from Rhein-Durkheim (with whom I had a lovely discussion about tachyons at the Traubenblueten fest) was there, as were Mischi, the guitarist from Maskil, and a very cool jazz singer from Kaiserslautern, Chloe. I gave her one of my leaf doormats, and we had a very hip conversation. It was just what I needed after a lousy week.

Afterwards, Klaus and I went into the old city and saw a jazz fusion group. Mischa and Annette, Stefan, Matthias the bass player, Friedemann and Mirijam were all there. I also ran into Michael, the guitarist who I worked with in the "Heddesheimer Jazz Projekt". Afterwards, Perry and I watched the European Championship game on my big TV, and drank Sangria.

There isn't much work this month, and to top it off, my pay is terribly late. I had to borrow from the "Bank of Perry" to buy groceries. I ought to have almost a thousand in the bank at the moment. I am quite annoyed. I'm supposed to get money from ICR, Kern IKL, Accent and IBLA.

I'm studying for the DAF test, which I will take at the next available date. I want to apply at Mainz, before they change the laws, and start to charge tuition. I think that if I apply myself, I'll be able to finish my Master's in a year or so, then apply somewhere to get a PhD. If I must be poor and lonely, I might as well be an overeducated, pretentious poor person. Imagine how many hours of amusement I will be able to have, snootily demanding that the others in the unemployment line refer to me as "Doctor Tabi".

I've been in a bad mood, so I threw a sheep at Saskia. I then made up for it by buying her a beer. Virtually, of course.

My trip to the looney bin!

2008-05-12T20:20:00.000+02:00

The terrible weather is finally past, and I am looking foreward to the last game next week. The first team had a game this afternoon. It's finally real soccer weather, and it's so warm and sunny, I'm ready to get out the old running shoes, and go to the park.

On the first of May, it was May day, and I visited Tante Ruth for her birthday. Gabi, Marco and Saskia also came by, and we had coffee and cake (Linzer Torte and Cherry cake) and then we got a bit tipsy drinking boule (wine punch). Gabi got a new puppy, and we all giggled as the puppy ran about, chewing on everything.

It's Pfingst weekend now(Pentecost), and today is a holiday.Klaus came over for the weekend, and we went out to eat on Saturday night, then we went out yesterday with Ludmilla to the fairground. There are tents everywhere, with free giveaways, different kinds of food and drinks and rides for kids. Klaus bought me a blue stone bracelet, we ate some candied fruit, and lost Ludmilla somewhere in the wine tasting area.

Today, Klaus came over for lunch, and I baked one of my homemade organic spelt pizzas, with lots of melted cheese, italian veggies (peppers, onions, zucchini), broccoli and turkey lowfat salami. We drank some red wine with it, and I started to feel very sleepy.

The big news, though, is that I went to the looney bin on Saturday afternoon. Actually the worship team (Worship Team 4 Jesus) went to a psychiactric hospital outside of Landau to sing and play at an ecumenical service.

On the way there, I talked to Bede (the music deacon) about a part of the Bible that always interested me. In the book of Exodus, there is a passage where Moses asks God to let him see His face. God replies that no one can see His face and live.

I said to Bede that I would have said, "Then let me see your face and die." After all, we will all die, but in the moment that I would see God (who is infinite) I would experience God in eternity, therefore, death would have no meaning.

Bede said that if Moses had said that, he wouldn't have been able to finish his mission on earth.

Oddly enough, the Catholic priest who spoke ended up preaching about the very part of the Bible that I mentioned to Bede on the way there. He then noted that God had told Moses to go into a cleft in the rock, where it was dark, and God would pass over and show His back. He said that sometimes we can only see God when we are in a place that is very dark, lonely and confining. Wow... that was deep.

The whole service seemed to really fit with what I have been struggling with, especially after a migraine headache starting on Wednesday, then going Thursday and Friday. On Friday, I was nauseous and dizzy, and Perry came over with Beba, and brought some headache medicine with him. I took the extra-strength headache pills, and laid in bed, listening to music, and just thinking...I was hoping to be better for Saturday.

So I'm glad to have a long weekend, and some rest.At the moment, I am on Perry's computer, since mine is not working well.

This month, I'm trying to finish up my taxes, studying for the DAF test next month, and learning Italian. I'm also learning some songs for a wedding in August, where I'll perform.

In band news, our band party was put off till 2 weeks from now. We now have three sets, which is about 30 songs, plus other songs that we are not yet finished with. Last time we reahearsed, we did "Like the Way I do" (Melissa Etheridge) "Oh Darling" and "I will survive", all of which I sing on. I also played the riff on "Satisfaction, since Ollie can't sing it and play it simultaneously.

I still don't have the money for my dream guitar, since all of my money is being used for stupid things like rent, gas and electric...oh, and about 150 bucks a month on organic spelt flour, spelt spaghetti, french fries, etc. Gee, I don't think I eat so much, but organic food is expensive. I'd buy non-organic milk if I weren't afraid of growing a third tit, due to cow hormones and mad cow disease! Oh, well, at least I'm (usually) healthy!

Luther and Zwingli

2008-04-18T17:35:00.003+02:00

Firstly, the good news: My apartment has become infested with small, furry rodents who poop all over the kitchen floor.

Not mice, of course; Chinchillas. Luther and Zwingli, two male Chinchillas, have been with me for about 2 and a half months now, and have quite gotten used to the idea that when "the hand" enters the cage, it will most likely contain some kind of treat, such as dried apples, carrots or banana chips.

It all started around my birthday. Since it wasn't a "round" number, I decided against having a huge party, like last time. I did, however, want to get myself a nice gift. If I had known how much work it would have been to adopt them from the "Tierheim", though, I wouldn't have probably done it. I had to pay a 60 euro adoption fee, plus I had to buy a big "Voliere" (a big birdcage). New Chinchilla cages cost about 200, but I bought mine from a guy in dog shoes in Woerth, for 57, on ebay.

They are adorable, eat right out of my hands, and Luther comes out at night to run about and chew on the wicker furniture (Zwuingli will only come out if you take hime out- he's a bit shy).

The work in Mannheim (at Roche) has come to an abrupt end, just as I managed to get the Rhein-Neckar monthly ticket, saving myself the bother of either illegally riding the trains or using over 100 per month on train tickets. The folks at Roche decided to terminate the rest of the course.

Every week this month, something has gone wrong. Appointments cancelled at the last minute, students not showing up, or showing up late, problems with the telephone, the bills, the fax machine.... and I still haven't gotten the big payment I am waiting on.

I now have a fax machine in my office room, because I am doing a mini-job doing office work with Rene. I will supposedly get 300 per month just to let them use my telephone line and fax 2-3 mornings per week. I hope it works out.

The new soccer season has started, and it hasn't gone well, since lots of the players have not been coming to team practice. No wonder, because the weather has been horrible all month. Last week, it even snowed, then on Friday it poured rain. Last Sunday, we had a game which we lost. We played very hard, though, with Sarah making a goal despite a painful injury that she sustained in the first half. I was in the game for both halves, and when it was over, I was totallly exhausted.

Klaus came over for two weekends. The first weekend was the weekend of the "Worms blueht auf" flower show, the Honky Tonk Festival and the Wow concert. Unfortunately, it was cold, rainy and horrible, and I just didn't feel like going around the city attending concerts, so we just went out to eat instead.

We also picked up my new one Euro wall unit, which I got on Ebay. My idea was to have more room for shelves, folders, etc., and to have a place for the TV. Unfortunately, after all of that schlepping, I found out that my TV's too big to fit in it. Afterwards, we went to Wow, which was standing room only.

The weekend afterwards, Klaus came to see a theater piece, which was directed by Kirsten, who has been taking my English conversation course at the VHS. It was a street theater piece, in which the actors act outside, in various parts of the city. The "Theatergoers" follow the actors around, to various locations. The piece, "Nenn mich nochmal Jochanan", took place in the Middle Ages. A foundling baby is adopted and raised by Jewish parents. Later, the child's grandmother takes him away and has him baptised as a Christian. The plague and the persecution of Jews follows, and the boy now has the chance to help his family escape to Heidelberg, where they will be safe.

On Monday, I got my new 5 euro computer desk, also from Ebay. Klaus had brought me a new vacuum cleaner he had found, so my apartment is like new. I also won a one euro radio on Ebay. Really, I can't afford to buy new things, so Ebay is like the Sears Roebuck catalog.

Today was the last day of the conversation course, and my students surprised me with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. It was nice after getting a bad assessment at Roche. I really think that some corporate people are aliens. They have no sense of fun, or a sense of humor. I think I was basically not dull enough. If I had been a sour-faced bitch with her hair hacked off and an extra 20 kilos, they would have respected me more. I should have frowned more, screamed when someone came late (they were often late, or made unexcused absences) or acted imperious. My "fun" personality apparently puts people off.

Speaking of fun, I am going to take the DAF exam in June, and I will be applying to Mainz Uni. I have nothing to lose, since my so-called career entails schlepping back and forth on trains, dealing with students who aren't there half the time, or if they show up, are a pain in the tuchus, and my pay is below that of migrant farm workers. I might as well finish the MA, and get the Doctorate. Who know, perhaps I'll meet a brainy guy, and end up with an MRS degree, as well. If nothing else, I can impress the other people in the unemployment line.

The long, cold Winter

2008-01-23T10:19:00.001+01:00

I haven't written a blog in a while, since it was very cold and dark in November and December, and I had "kein bock", as they say here in Germany (no interest). The rehearsals with the cover band (Blue Lizzards) have been going well, and Wormatia had some games in November (Pfaffen-Schwabenheim and Marnheim). The big news, though, was that the first team qualified for the Pokal. The photos of the 2nd team were taken off of the Wormatia website, as were some of the team pictures. I suppose they will have some new ones taken, now that there are some new players. I missed some training in November, though, because I supposedly felt ill, but mainly because I had "kein bock". We are now in off season.

Suddenly, in December, I had a seminar to attend (but no money to pay for it), and I had two Wormatia parties to go to, one at the clubhouse, and one at the EWR. For the parrty, some of us went to Melanie's Dance Factory to learn a dance, which we performed at the party. To make matters worse, we all had to bring something to eat, (I baked a cake) and bring a gift. This just made everything stressful. I had been invited to a party for Kern IKL and S and W on the same night (I couldn't get there- no money for the train), and I didn't get my VHS pay till just before Christmas.

The Studienkreis annual party was cancelled because of Ms Marquardt's back problems- she had to go to the hospital and be operated on, and spent the holidays in the rehab center.

I had, fortunately, already bought most of the gifts; I just needed something for Marco, and an extra something for TR. I decided to give Marco the USB stick that I got on ebay (it doesn't work for the Mac), and I got TR a cute mini-teapot. The biggest stress, though, was mailing the 3 packages to the US; it cost me 30 euros. I must remember that next year, everyone will get jewelery! TThe other thing was deciding who would get a card or postcard. How annoying! I sent everything late! I just couldn't handle it!

Because of transport problems, I missed the Jesus Freaks party on December 22nd (nobody could give me a ride, and Markos didn't go); the Alzey Jesus Freaks will no longer be in the same place, and now they will have to find a new "hangout". I was disappointed because I was looking foreward to seeing Maskil again.

I wasn't sure whether or not I would play in the Christmas Eve Gottesdienst. At first, we had a rehearsal, but the guitar players balked at some of the traditional songs. I also find a few difficult, such as "Tochter Zion" (from Handel). I did learn "Oh du Froeliche" last Christmas, but that was on the organ.

In the end, Bede decided that he would dispense with guitar, have Michael play piano, and have me sing. We only had one rehearsal, though, just before we sang, so it was a wonder that we could sing at all. I certainly had never heard of some of the songs in all my life.

I went to TR's place on the 25th, and stayed overnight, but I went back on the evening of the 26th, so I could help the putzteam on Thursday. I would have stayed longer, if I thought that they didn't need me.

I then had a blissfull week and a half to myself, in which I traced the family genealogy back to Adam and Eve. Firstly, I traced the Norwood branch back to the Saxon Kings, including good ol' Harold Godwinson. Apparently, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicles and the Eddas, I am also, therefore, descended from Thor and Wotan. They are either descended from "gods" (how you interpret that is up to you- heroic men, fallen angels, or mythical beings?) or, as Josephus claims, from the Zerah branch of Judah.

If this is correct, then all Saxons are actually Jews! Including the "gods" Thor and Wotan!!! This gives the Nazi's idiotic "Aryan/ Nordic" philosophy a strange, ironic twist. Hitler, who was not a "Nordic" type at all, being an Austrian/Roman bastard, used the Norse mythology to justify murderring the Jewish people, all the while the "true" Nordic/Germanic people (in Scandinavia) tried their utmost to save their Jewish brothers, who were, after all, of common origins.

Of course, I am not finished with my research, but I've done a ton of internet research, saved it on a USB stick, and transferred it all to my PC.

In other developments, a new course started at IBLA, on Monday and Wednesday, one-on-one teaching, and on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, in which I am teaching three sisters from Pakistan. In January, I began an intensive one-month course in Mannheim, 3 times per week, also one-on-one training. I also had a telephone interview/trial lesson for KMP, a language school near Frankfurt. So I've been very busy.

With all of this work, I got a silly idea into my head while surfing the web, with unexpected results. I was reading the "Mouse Knight" online, and was impressed by the Chinchilla character. I then remembered reading the animal shelter ad in the paper, saying that they have Chinchillas for adoption, so I went to the website. I imagined that I would have a friend bring me there, would pick out a Chinchilla (the adoption fee, according to the website, is 6 Euros for a small animal) and bring it home, where I could then cuddle it and feed it. I also reasoned that there are tons of people throwing away animal cages, so you could find one for free. I wanted this to be my "birthday gift to me"- a cute, squeaky, furry pet.

Well, animal adoption is, nowadays, like adopting a baby. Firstly, I had to make an appointment with the Chinchilla lady. Next, I had to buy supplies and get a cage.

I agreed to go to visit Klaus for a weekend in January, because I wanted to try cross-country skiing. Last Winter, there was no snow. I had to work on the Friday before (I went to Mannheim and Gundersheim), but I took the train in the evening. The cheapest way to get to Freiburg is to use the Baden-Wurtemmburg ticket, which costs 20 Euros. You have to take only regional trains, though, so it takes 5 hours.

I got there very late, at about 11. We wanted to go out to eat, since I hadn't had dinner yet, but after the first place told us the kitchen was closed, we went to the "Weinstube", a hip little wine bar, where we had salad and wine. My salad was a huge mixed green salad, with finely shred cucumber, vinaigrette and poached salmon.

The next day, I mainly sat around, reading, since Klaus was working. We went out to a Chinese restaurant in the evening, though. On Sunday, we ate a big breakfast, then went to the Feldberg, the highest mountain in the black forest. Before we got there, we stopped along the way for a cup of hot chocolate.

We rented our poles, boots and skis there, and attempted to get up the little hill to the course. I've taken a ski lesson before (10 years ago) but that was downhill skiing. What I didn't realize, though, was thatt the skis would be so long and thin, and cumbersome. You really can't manouver them properly. I also didn't realize that I would be working my arm muscles so much. After the first 10 minutes, I tried to get the hang of it, and it didn't seem so difficult. Klaus, meanwhile, was falling, acting silly and laughing. I was trying hard to concentrate.

Then the hills came. The first few were gentle, but it was hard to get up the hill. I tried to do what the guys on TV do, but Klaus just went up sideways. This was not a "beginner ski trail".

Afterr the first 30 minutes, I felt like I was doing OK, but then, after about an hour, I was tired, and felt I had enough. Klaus didn't want to quit until we did the whole 3.5 km. Normally I can run 3K with no problem, but running with sticks on your feet is another thing.

Needless to say, Klaus insisted on going on till the end, and I ended up carrying my skis and poles. The last few hills were real hills, and after falling 3 times while skidding down a hill, I decided that I like having my knees where they are, thank you very much.

When we returned the equipment, it turns out we had been out there for 3 hours. I guess we got our 13 euros worth. I never do 3 hours of any sport! That's the last time I do any sport with Klaus! It was like the time we were hiking and I almost had heatstroke!

The week afterwards was "Klausweek". I don't think I can take any more of these. It's too much. He always insists that he visits other people in Worms, the Lehmanns and Gernod in Ludwigshafen, etc., but it feels like the whole week, he is always around. We went out on Monday night (we ate out at the Cantina Nueva), then he hung around on Tuesday while I was cleaning the apartment for the Chinchilla Lady's visit (you have to make a good impression on these animal social worker types). He helped me throw out the 3 mont supply of glass bottles, and painted the Chinchilla cage that he had picked up for me the day earlier. We went to DM and Dehner for human and Chinchilla food. As I was vacuuming (there are long blonde hairs everywhere!) the Chinchilla Lady called and said that she couldn't make it due to a migraine.

So Klaus and I went to Cafe Aqui, and then went to the cinema, where we saw "Elizabeth, the Golden Age". It was well acted, and the costumes were sumptuous. Because it was a Tuesday evening, the tickets were 4.50 each.

We had gotten our tickets an hour early, which I had suggested, thinking that the show might be sold out! hee hee! I guess it's all of those years in New York, where even the cheesiest overdubbed Karate film is sold out, and you have to wait in line. There were only six people in the whole screening room.

Anyway, I spent my Wednesday evening with Perry (we were going to visit a drummer, who cancelled because he was ill), then Thursday night, again, we had rehearsal; then on Friday, I brought some English language materials for Beba, and used Perry's computer to search for Chinchilla cages (the Chinchilla lady, who came on Thursday, said I needed a big "Voliere". There's a new word for my vocabulary). Then after shopping at Kaufland, I was finally able to have a relaxing evening to myself.

On Saturday, the 19th, I had my little get-together for my birthday. I didn't want a big party like last year. I had a cold and sore muscles from my cross country skiing fiasco. I invited some friends (about 15?) and 9 showed up: Ludmilla, Gerlinda, Friedemann, Perry, Rene, Klaus, Gernod, Peter, and Nadine. I had baked 2 pizzas in the afternoon, and had bought some tortilla chips, 2 dips (salsa and guacamole), a cheese wedge box and some salad. Nadine made a dessert and some seafood salad, and brought juice, and Perry brought some cola and wine. Manuela gave me a huge salad. Some others brought wine. It was fun, and not too stressful or exhausting. Later, Perry helped with straightening up.

The Klaus weekend ended with the Sunday after the party. I awoke with a frog in my throat, and feeling groggy, despite the fact that I had gone to bed at a reasonable hour. After a week of running to catch the early train to Mannheim, teaching the early morning class and evening classes at IBLA, and cleaning the whole apartment, I needed a relaxing day, but instead, I got to the church early for the 9 AM rehearsal, played and sung at the Gottesdiest, then managed to endure one more meal with Klaus before going home and dropping into bed. I've been coughing every morning ever since.

So now I have bid on the ultimate cage, on ebay. My maximum is 41 euros, but at the moment, it is only 10.50. If I win it, I will have to pick it up, by Karlsruhe- 70 km away; it should be about an hour's drive, at the most.

The attack of the giant killer crabs from Planet X

2007-11-06T12:13:00.000+01:00

I was just taking a drive with Naomi in her car, and we noticed that the clouds were clearing up. This was a nice change, since it had been cloudy and overcast for days. Suddenly, I pointed up to the sky. "Look!," I gasped. Up above the coulds, there were these giant crabs, with many long claws, flying high up above the clouds. They were building a giant wall around the earth, an enormous wall that stretched across the sky. Soon they would be finished, and the earth would be surrounded. I suddenly realized that's why it had been so cloudy- they had created clouds to hide their activities....

Then I woke up. Man, what a weird dream! I've been having lots of strange, vivid dreams lately, often after going to soccer training. I guess it must be the burning muscles.

Last night, I dreamed I was on a big ship, with lots of people. There were lots of families there, and I met a man with a very cute son. I went into the room to see the boy as he slept. When I went into the hall, the father, and another man, were there, and we were talking to each other. Suddenly, the ship shook, and the boat capsized. As I was underwater, and struggling to get to the surface, I awoke, with a headache.

The past month was interesting, with lots of traveling and writing. I am still working on those articles- so far, I've published two articles on opednews.com, although I currently have about 4 unfinished articles. It's quite difficult to organize, do research and then proofread everything. I want to be sure that my research is well-done, and not just based on Wikipedia, but there isn't a proper research library here, so my efforts are quite hindered.

On other fronts, I had some time off for the fall school break, and I went to Zweibruecken to visit the more distant relatives, and to get some genealogical info. It's always miffed me that I've traced my father's family back to the 1400's (not all data is 100 percent certain, however), but only knew the names of my mother's grandparents, and great-grandparents. I had the name and address of my mom's cousin, but no phone number, but I managed to get the numbers of Carolin annd Gisele. I was a bit nervous, but I called, and they both were quite friendly. Perry drove us there, and we walked about for awhile, then paid a visit. Carolin had some cake and coffee ready for us, and showed us some old photos. She gave me a big photo of my great grandfather, standing next to his contrabass, with his band.

I also visited the Standesamt, and ordered my great-grandfather's birth certificate.The "Winter" family is from Landau, not Zweibruecken, so maybe I'll call Landau.

I also went with Perry and his family (daughter and ex-wife) to Frankfurt to the museum there. I was curious to see Frankfurt, since I've never been there. It's not very exciting, though. If you've seen one big, modern city, you've seen them all. There were some nice old buildings, though. The museum was interesting, though, with lots of dinosaurs, stuffed birds, etc.

The other trip I made was to Mainz. I visited yet another somewhat boring seminar, and felt tired the whole time, and had a bit of a headache. I now have to attend the seminar in December (I'll have to pay for it, since the school will only pay for one per semester)and I'll be finished with seminars. Then, the fun begins- I will have to write a 30 to 50 page paper, on a topic that touches upon ESL teaching, and will have to attend an oral exam, and be "observed" teaching, and using a lesson plan. Then, I'll get my certificate. UGH!

Perry and I have joined a "classic rock" cover band that Perry found through a Sperrmuell ad. We are hoping to have lots of gigs, and make some money. We have rehearsals on Tuesdays, in Rheindurkheim. So far, it's cool- the keyboard parts are easy (lots of organ) and it's all easy tunes like "American Pie", "Smoke on the Water", etc.

I'm still trying to organize some rehearsals for my own gigs. I ran into Mischa, the guitar player for Maskil, on the train to Gundersheim, and he is interested in playing with us. The only problem is that he doesn't have a car, and can't schlep his amp on the train. I am trying to get a small amp. The other problem is rehearsing. We have to rehearse in the Kino, which means I have to get a key. Now that the soccer team is training on Thursday instead of Wednesday, I have Wednesdays free.

It's been cold in the evenings, and since we changed the clocks back, I really don't want to go out in the dark to soccer training under floodlights, but I go anyway, at least on Mondays.
My team has had some wins, and some losses. I have been on the bench since those two games I played in. Our new coach has got us training two hours, twice a week. Last week, we all had to practice heading the ball, and we have been doing lots of conditioning exercises, sprinting, passing the ball and dribbling. None of that helped us, though, last Sunday evening, when we lost 13-0 to Mainz. The Mainz girls are in first place.Our next game is on Friday, but I can't be there- I've got music team rehearsal, and I'm going to the "Open Doors" missions presentation about persecuted Christians.

On Saturday, I'm going to a seminar about witnessing to Muslims, at the City Mission. I really think that Christians here ought to be doing more to reach out, and break down barriers. Not everyone who grows up Muslim is hostile to the gospel, and plenty are becoming "secular".

The New Article

2007-10-07T12:56:00.001+02:00

I just finished the article I was working on (one of many articles). I have been, of late, so annoyed with what is happening in both the American culture, in general, and the so-called "religious right", which is neither religious nor right, that I wrote a lengthy article about it, and it's been published in opednews.com.

A lot has been written lately about the "decline of values" in America, especially by conservatives, much of it calling for some sort of governmental intervention, or "policing of morals". Unfortunately, this inevitably leads to more decline, not less, as the conjunction of religion and government leads to the decay and downfall of both.

You can read the article in full here.

So far, I've gotten 4 "diggs" (not that it really matters- I don't get paid to do freelance writing!)

I hope I can finish the other articles in the next 2 weeks, since I have time off for the fall school holidays.

2007-10-01T10:30:00.000+02:00

The first week of September, I was busy putting the final touches on my pieces for the instrumental ensemble. Every time I thought I had everything right, it always turned out that one note was wrong. I spent hours on the music, and I had to bring the music to the Jugend Musik Schule, and I gave Anja one set and Ludmilla another set. Some rehearsals had to be held at the JM Schule, but a couple were at the Lincoln Theater.

On other fronts, I had everything for my group except a drummer. I called Kristof, and he said he would be getting back from London too late for the gig. We ended up asking Friedemann to play at the gig, and we got Atila to play guitar (he already knew "Into the West". I had to set up rehearsals for the group, at the Kino. Every time we had a rehearsal, someone wasn't there, and it was nearly impossible to reach Bjoern.

Eventually, other things went wrong: Stefan (printer Stafan) didn't "have time" to print the posters and flyers, although I gave him all of the materials early in the month. He also didn't press my CDs. Ludmilla didn't learn the music for "Rites of Arda". I lost, then found, the number of Binjamin, the moderator, annd left messages, but he couldn't be reached. My dress was late in arriving. I still hadn't sewn my elf-cape. And since we didn't have a conductor, I had to conduct!

I did get a chance, in between sitting in front of the computer, to go to the last night of the "Backfischfest", with some people from the Gemeinde, and Perry. We saw the fireworks, I ate some very greasy slop, drank a beer, and then we went to the wine tent, and drank some wine. The first was a rose, from Worms. It was good, but a bit light. I said it was "Kinderwine".

The next wine was a white wine from Pfeddersheim, which had a good flavor, but smelled like my armpits. As the night got later, more and more drunken couples were dancing, and some girls were singing and doing some kind of silly group dance, and we were all laughing at a crazy old man who was singing along to all of the "Schlager" songs. Gernot went to the DJ and requested some Abba, and the DJ put on "Dancing Queen". It was a relief to go out and have some fun, after sitting in front of the computter for hours, with "Finale". I'm still perplexed by some of the functions.

By the middle of the month, the long-awaited dress rehearsals at the Lincoln theater arrived, and were predictably catastrophic. The VHS choir somehow vanished and gave up the ghost. My nerves were getting shot and Christian, who was in Frankfurt with his fiancee, wasn't there to do the mixing. Ludmilla, it turns out, hadn't learnt any of the LOTR arias, so I decided to give them to Anja as solo violin pieces. Regina said she "wasn't ready" to sing "May it Be", so i had to sing it. I did convince our flutist, Gerhardt Tausendfreund, to do another solo piece. Thank God, Faina played everything flawlessly, as well.

The next task was to type and print out the programs. It's a good thing that I am good at word processing and photocopying. On Friday, I had to type everything out, and get ready for the elf language workshop- three hours of elf grammmar! I had just enough material for three hours, what with the elf grammmar books, the stuff I uploaded online, etc. I wore my red renaissance dress for the workshop.

My elf dress arrived on Saturday afternoon. The blouson part fit fine, but the satin part was too big, and not very well sewn. I managed to hold it up with safety pins, and I spent the whole afternoon sewing my cape. Then, I left just before none to go to the Lord of Kerry, where I spent the night drinking cider and listening to Dansereye, the Middle Age group. Unfortunately, Stefan spilt some beer on my dress!

The next day, after the Gottesdienst (Klaus had come from Freiburg) I had to hem the cape, and work on my moderator notes. Klaus helped me by writing everything out, and fixing the grammar. C. was late in coming, as was Atila (I had to call him). The whole week long, I had a hard time remembering who I had called, etc. so it was difficult to get everyone to come when needed. I decided to wear my other bluegrey dress, with the middle-age blouson underneath.... and the cape, of course.

Perry came to get his amp, and I fixed my makeup, and as soon as Chris arrived, we left. As soon as I got there, we had to rehearse the "Rites of Arda" pieces.... with me conducting and singing!
Then, the children came up to rehearse, we set up the other instruments, and had to get started. Faina was a bit late, and G. T. had to go home to attend his children. We didn't get to rehearse "Longing"!

I had to make one last minute change- the flute piece had to be in the second half! This was another headache, as the first half was now too short, so I asked Ludmilla to sing an extra song- she did "O mio Babbino Caro".

Anyhow, G.T. came just in time for the second half, did "Rites of Arda" with us, and "Irlandaise", then I did some solo tunes, including "May It Be", a song I had had only 2 days to learn (Why Regina couldn't learn it in 3 weeks is beyond me). Since Perry wasn't there yet, I just started to talk to the audience, "winging it".... I talked about how and why I had moved to Worms, etc. Suddenly, Perry was there. We did our 3 tunes, and I have to say that for me, this was the highlight of the concert, especially "Gollum's Song", a tune that was hard to learn at first (crazy changes!) but has really grown on me, especially our groovy, bluesy version.

The concert was not as well attended as hoped, but well-received. A guy from the newspaper talked to me afterwards, and did a nice review, and later in the week, we did a long interview. A photographer came on the 28th, and on thhe 29th, I sang at the VHS Jubilaum Event (I got 100 Euros). This ought to defray the money I spent on the elff costume (42 for dress and ears), the elf language books (16), the music (at least 20), the photocopies (at least 10) and all of the headaches (literally and figuratively). I couldn't sleep well for at least 2 weeks, and the 3 days before the concert, my stomach was in knots.

So I now have a folder full of press clips. Something apppeared in the Nibelungen Courier, WO and the Wormser Zeitung, and a profile piece appeared in the Rheinpfalz. The new article in the
Wormser Zeitung hasn't appeared yet, and I'm looking foreward to it.

I went to training on Wednesday,( we trained with the first team) and I played pretty well. We did some exercises, then played a bit, and I managed to get the ball away a few times, although later, Sarah got a goal. When we did 11 meter shots, I got a goal!!! After so much stress from the concert, it was a great feeling.

Friday was stressful, since I had to go to Mannheim for the Zeller's, and the gig (the VHS shindig) was right afterwards. I couldn't be there early for the soundcheck, but I did get to leave early, and I got to the theater at 6:15, and did a soundcheck then. I had to sing 3 songs, and I was a bit nervous, since the mayor was there, and I didn't have the band to back me up. After the gig , I got a VHS umbrella, and drank some champagne, which gave me a headache the next day.

On Saturday, after Konstantin came over, I rested all day, then went with Perry to meet up with Friedemann and Gernot. F.'s brother's band was playing at the Kneipe. It's a cover band, and they know just about every popular rock tune from the past 30 years. They've got a chick singer who does Jefferson Airplane, Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morisette, Anastacia...she sounded a bit shrill on some of the notes, though I think it might have been the sound system. F. stood up front but I had forgotten my earplugs, so I sat at a table. Eventually, the band took a break. F. came over to where we were sitting and told us that he didn't want to continue with our band. P. had gotten a call from a drummer and now we have to call this cat back and see what will happen. It looks like getting gigs will not be a problem, what with all of the press clippinggs, etc. We just need a drummer. Atila wants to keep going on, and said that Thursdays would be OK for rehearsals.

On Sunday, I got up a bit late, rolled into church, and after church took a nap. I figured I would get my stuff together and go to the stadium and see my team play (I figured that they had already chosen who would play in the game), but I brought my soccer gear just in case. I didn't even bother to put in my contact lenses, since I figured, I would just sit on the bench, as usual. Good thing I brought my stuff, since I had to play! Firstly, not everyone showed up, and secondly, one of the Sarahs (the little Sara) was feeling ill, and after about 10 minutes, I had to go in.

I really had to push myself to exhaustion. It was uncharacteristically warm for late September, and I was boiling hot. In the 2nd half, I was switched to Sturm, but the other team's defense players didn't give us much chance. Most of my problems were lack of sprinting ability, as the chick who was tagging along behind me (I had to give her a shove occasionally) kept springing foreward to get the ball. Argh! We lost the game, but we found out later that we had been playing against most our opponent's first team. Later, the same chicks played against our first team, and lost catastrophically.

I guess I've got to learn some new tricks, and work on sprinting. Next weekend, there's another game.

Soul, Blues and Rock

2007-08-06T13:57:00.001+02:00

On the weekend of the 29th of July to the 1st of August, Worms had the "Jazz and Joy" Jazz Festival. Since the event is generally booked a half a year ahead of time, I wasn't able to get a gig, but I attended some of it. I was busy Friday eveing at the Studienkreis, and at Frau Hefner's. It's nice to be able to get paid 24 Euros to simply make conversation. Of course, we go over grammar, as well. I had spent the whole week going to Hofheim, to Gundersheim, and to the Studienkreis for work, and going to soccer training twice a week. Since Iride the bike to Hofheim,and have to hike up a hill every time I go to Gundersheim, I was getting in pretty good shape.

On the 30th, I went to help an old lady from the Gemeinde move her things. Later, I went over to the Youth Hostel to see some music, and went back home. On Sunday, Klaus came for the Gottesdiest and we went to the festival with a group from the FEG, Peter, Gernot and Friedemann.

The Studienkreis was over, the last day of the Kindergarten courses was on the 3rd of July, and I was looking foreward to devoting myself to Summer training, when I injured myself at training on the 4th of July. We were supposed to do a bunch of different exercises that were laid out at the BIZ field. It was a hot day, and we were supposed to run on our toes. I started running and twisted my left ankle, wincing in pain. I don't think Doro and Denie took it terribly seriously, but my ankle was totally swollen. Jurgen was there, and he sprayed something on it, and I rode home.

I tried to put ice on it, and wrapped my akle in a scarf (since I didn't have a bandage). The next day, I didn't go to help with the "Putz Team", or go to my organ lesson, but kept my foot up on a pillow. I did, however, manage to get Friedemann to drive me to the VHS, for the first evenig of "English fuer den Urlaub"..... what could I do? I have to teach the course.

On the following Saturday, I went with Atila to a Suzanne Vega concert, and I had to stand the whole time. On the next Sunday, not only did I play at the Gottesdiest, I had to play in my "Wormatia" presentation suit, which we all had to wear for the Stadium festival. It was a very hot day, and Iwas hugry the whole time. The various teams were presented, and the 1st men's and women's teams played test games.

One funny thing that happened was that Sarah was given the task of being the keeper of the list of names. I glanced at the list and saw that I waslisted as "12", so I took the number 12 tricot. Sandra took the 13. Sarah kept loudly saying that it didn't matter what number you took, just take one. We had to wear the red uniforms for the presentation, and for the team photos. (Silly me-I came wearing the presentation suit!)Well, she handed the list to Gerd, the manager, who read it just as it was....with the numbers! Sandra and I were the "stupid" ones with the right numbers. Everyone else was wearing the wrong numbers!

As if that weren't bad enough, these photos were put up on the website. I look OK sitting in the middle, but look at the pose that Sarah has taken! I wonder why the photographer didn't say something! OK, I guess some chicks just don't know how to pose.... Melanie, of course, isn't in the pic- she was busy with work. Roxana and Stella came late, and walked up very slowly, as Denie kept shouting, "Schnell, Schnell!" They stood so far in the back of the photo, you can't really see them.

On the 9th, I visited the doctor, and afterwards, to cheer myself up, I bought myself a new pair of soccer shoes, red and silver, for only 25 Euros. It'll be a while till I can use them, though, because my ankle is still swollen a bit one month later.

The planned trip to Geissen panned out, because Mattias the pianist decided we lived "in other worlds". Whatever. I've found better, non-tongue-speaking musicians here in good ol' Worms, so I guess it all works out for the best.

I now have a new quartet- we just need a guitar player. We have started having rehearsals, and we are going to do some original stuff, as well as some soul, blues and rock covers. We are rehearsing in Stephan's garage. (Another Stephan! Stephan the drummer, not to be confused with Celtic Stephan, guitar Stephan, printer Stephan or.... Really, there ought to be a law against men named Stephan, Michael or Andreas! There are too many!)

The Summer courses went quite well, and since I found a website with conversation games (as well as the ideas I got from the Workshop in Mainz), I had no shortage of ideas.

Speaking of ideas, I have been doing a lot of writing. I worte a short story, worked on my article (the Evil Meta-Meme), worked on the novel and wrote the beginnings of a new jazz tune (Schoenberg meets Monk).

I did manage to score a date at the Lincoln Theater, but I now need a photo of Ludmilla, ad she is on holiday, visiting her Mother in the east. It's one of the Stans....Uzbekistan? Anyhow, I've been stressing out about the concert, as well as other things.

I've just not organized my time very well, and my weekends are filled with cookouts (Guitar Stefan had one on the 22nd), weekend trips (I was in London on the 27-29th), and hanging out at the Times Cafe, or at Aqui (Patrick, the owner seems to be more amenable to giving me a gig.) I even went to see the Nibelungen Festspiel, an open-air theater production next to the Cathedral. I was invited by a friend of a fried, and sat at the balcony of the palace of Frau Bodenhausen, the "schlossherrin". Down below, I saw Eva, from our soccer team- she has been skipping team trainig to work as one of the "extras".

This week, though, I've got to take care of things.

Rain, Hail and other annnoyances

2007-06-21T16:21:00.000+02:00

The week after Freiburg was very hectic, with lots of travel and bad weather. I rode around Worms in the rain on my bike, and walked around Gundersheim with wet feet.

On Friday and Saturday, I went to Mainz for a teacher's seminar. It was actually very
interesting- it was about conversation games. On Friday, of course, I had to go in the rain, and it was very hectic trying to get the train station, after doing my paperwork all morning. I got there on time, though- I found out that there are
direct trains now, nonstop, and it took only about 40 minutes to get to Mainz.
I got a ride back in the evening from Jean Claude, the French teacher, so I didn't
stay overnight at the youth hostel, like I usually do, and he brought me and some other teachers there the next morning. By then, the weather had improved, and it was summery and warm again.

During the break, I was talking to a guy I met at the seminar, named Armin. He teaches Japanese. He lived in Japan for a year, and studied Linguistics at the Mainz Uni. He had invited me to lunch, and we went to the city center to eat at an Indian restaurant (he had a discount coupon). This was the first time I ate at an Indian Restaurant since I came to Germany. Of course, they have "Germanified" the food; it isn't quite as spicy as it is in NY. I told him all about the "Evil Meta-Meme", and brought him a copy of it. He later sent it back, and emailed me some comments.

After the workshop, I stopped by "easy study", an educational service on campus, and talked to a guy I met in Worms named Sven, who works there.
He has offered me work there, if I want to teach a course. He also sometimes organizes concerts for the international students there, and I brought him my CD. I hope I can start getting some gigs lined up for the fall.

On Saturday evening, when I got back from Mainz, the city was celebrating the "Verruckte
Einkaufsnacht", with live music, and I saw Ludmilla there. I reminded her about the Gottesdienst, and on Sunday, Ludmilla dropped by for the end of the
Gottesdienst, and talked to Bede, and showed him some of the voice exercises she does with me. He was "begeistert". (I love that word!) I think he is going to take voice lessons with her. She is going to talk to him about doing a workshop for the singers in the FEG.

After the Gottesdienst, I went for a walk with Camo, Stefan and Friedemann along the Rhine. Camo (I don't know if I spelt his name right) had to leave early, but the rest of us went to Lampertheim to visit the Goetzes, for cake and coffee.

Sabina Goetz gave me a bike helmet, a red one, like new, after I told her about my bike accident.
She also gave me a used office chair, which she didn't need anymore. I've been wanting
one, since I often sit at the computer for a long time, and I wanted to be able to sit higher. I put the two wooden chairs in the garage.

On the next weekend, I went to the "Saarland", near the border with Luxumbourg. I went with a big group from the church. I managed to get a ride with Rita and Holger on friday evening; it was a very hot, humid day, and on the way there, there was a hailstorm, with pellets hitting the car.
There were mostly families with kids there, but there was a group of singles, as well. On Saturday afternoon, the bigger group went on a boat trip, but we went hiking in the woods instead. It was hot and hazy all day. We hiked up to the top of the mountain, where there was a lookout point. I was tired and thirsty from the heat, though, and the bathrooms at the top of the mountain had been locked. Later, after we hiked down again, I went to the room to try and take a nap, but it was too loud. The "modern" doors in the youth hostel could only be closed by inserting a card and slamming them shut, so every time someone slammed the door, I could hear it through the "modern" paper-thin walls. Plus, the children were all running and shouting in the halls.

On Saturday evening the "cookout" was rained out, so we had to eat indoors. I had a headache and stomacheache on Saturday evening, and my stomache was gurgling.

Then on the next day, a small number of us went to a small town in Luxumbourg in the afternoon, and took a walk along the river. I was feeling a bit better.
Later, we went to an ice cream parlor and it started pouring rain, torrentially.

On the news they later said that there was some flooding around Frankfurt, and there was some damage because of hail.

The beds in the youth hostel were hard, and it was very loud because of all the running and screaming in the halls, so I was glad to be back home. Here, it's nice and quiet, and my food doesn't tie up my stomach!

I am very annoyed today, though. My pay from Accent, IKL and S and W is all late (it's past the 20th now), and I didn't have money for my ticket to Frankenthal, so I missed my organ lesson. Not that I could practice, since the E's are on vacation, and I can only do practicing at home.

Because the pay is taking so long, I haven't paid the KSK (I need to pay 127 euros for my insurance) or my rent yet. Thank God, tonight is the last class for the VHS English courses, so next week, I ought to be rich again (temporarily).

Oh, and the team, which is now split up into 2 teams, is annoying me. Firstly, because Jurgen isn't doing our training anymore- he is only training the "first" team. A couple of the Ober-Sulzen chicks have taken over, and they are doing everything totally differently. On Monday, it was terribly hot, and we had to run for 12 minutes. Afterwards, I was totally exhausted from the heat. We are also doing this stupid "handball" thing, where you can only score by heading the ball. Yesterday, Dani (I think that's her name) said that we are all supposed to do swimming and other sports together (gee, this is why I joined a soccer team- to swim and play handball- NOT!) and yesterday, I was stuck doing goalkeeper. ARRGGHH!

I had some very strange dreams recently. In one dream, Roger Waters and Dave Gilmore were doing a gig at my church. Eddie Murphy was in the audience, and he made some kind of joke about the church or the Pope (I don't remember anymore).

Then Lisa, a teenage girl in our church, got up, and responded that he shouldn't make that kind of joke in a church. I felt embarrased, because she obviously didn't recognise Eddie Murphy. The guys from Pink Floyd, though, tried to go on with the concert.

I wonder what it means? Was it the indian food?

Ups and Downs

2007-05-28T18:43:00.000+02:00

PEWFELL

Is the name of the new cool comic I bought in Freiburg, over the weekend.It's a fantasy comic involving a geeky loser wizard, his Princess warrior wife, unpaid bills, weird friends and a little, cranky blue gnome who moves in and never pays her rent.

In other words, the kind of thing that I can relate to.

In other developments, I've hung out with Sebastian twice.
we went to TE one night, and had a bite to eat, then I showed him around Worms. He has started a business with a childhood friend, an American, and they import and export old cars, as well as "pimping" them. He's very cute, long haired, a "beach" type, which is funny because, although I have become a bit more peachy lately, there is no way that I will ever acheive a tan.

In the past few weeks, I've had blue, purple and pink stripes in my hair; I'm dissapointed that the colors don't last longer. I guess I'm going through an experimental phase.

On the 13th, Chris came by and we went to the Silbersee for the Jesus Freaks baptism. It was a bit cool, and it looked like rain. Three people got baptised, and Chris helped out.

Later, I went to the Wormatia stadium for a "test spiel", and those 7 new players from some small team showed up to play. I was startled, to say the least. It was the first time I was back since my accident. The others were unhappy. These new chicks are all a bit on the rough side- brawny, brown (not naturally brown, more like tanning salon brown), pierced and "older" looking. We'll see if Jurgen can make this work. Apparently, he will divide the players into 2 teams.

The game was exhausting, mainly because of the heat. Afterwards, I was tired and hungry, and my bike lock suddenly broke up as I put the key in. I couldn't get it loose, so I had to wait around for Jurgen to give me a ride home. Meanwhile the "new girls" were kvetching because they didn't feel "accepted". I'm trying to stay neutral. I'm praying that the team won't become a victim of "zicken- terror".

When I got home, Stefan (the FEG guitar player from Worship team I) was sitting outside of the Treffpunkt, having his birthday grillparty. I was famished from the game, so I happily joined everyone, and we spent the whole evening out there, till we felt a few raindrops. We talked about a lot of deep subjects; it was good to have a "real" conversation. Friedemann, Gernot and Rainer were there. Stefan had moved from Marburg to Worms to be with Christiana, and now, they're breaking up. It's a shame; it seems that divorced people have a hard time finding new relationships. Now he's leaving Worms.

The Wednesday after, Sarah had a grill-party after practice, and I rode there in the rain. I had to use the mountain bike, because the other bike was still in the Stadium, locked up with the broken lock. I brought poultry sausages and cole slaw with me, as well as a little gift bag annd card for Sandra (it was her birthday). It was late when I left, and it was dark and dreary.

On the 20th, Wormatia had the last game of the season, against Brezenheim, and we won 2-0. It was a great ending. I arrived early (on my bike; the day before, F. had sawed my chain off), and took photos. Afterwards, we celebrated and I chatted up a cute blonde guy, a computer science major at the FH school, who plays on the 2nd team. Well, why not flirt? It won't kill me.

I sang at the FH school (technical University) on thursday afternoon, at "international day". I didn't find out till the Tuesday before, when Ludmilla called me on my cell phone. My gig at the Elo didn't go so well (the mic wasn't loud enough), so my new trick is to ask very quietly, "can you all hear me?", and if the audience says, "no", I have 'em turn it up. I spent the whole week practicing. Friedemann had to bring me there. It was a hot morning, at least 86 degrees in the shade. The chair was too low, and I could only do 2 songs. I did "Heaven Above" and "Blues for Jesus". Anna, from my soccer team, was there. One good thing- I brought a presskit with me, to give to the bookings lady.

I wanted to get some gigs for the Summer, but the lady from the Eis Amico Cafe gave me the run-around, first telling me to come back in May, then telling me that she had already booked all of the Summer gigs. Grrrrr!

I've given up. I throw in the towel! I'm just gonna record some of my music, and forget about gigging for awhile. I guess I'm not a great performer, anyhow.
I'm trying to put together a group to record some music. I want to do something more blues-oriented. I'm hoping that in June, when the Monday and Tuesday evening courses are finished, I can organize some rehearsals. At the least, I'll be able to have something going on musically. Maybe I can get some gigs at the FH school.

I've been struggling with the fitness center (trying to wrangle my way out of the contract), the health insurance people, my bills (still haven't gotten all of my money yet), my allergies (this spring has been bad- I keep coughing!) and other things....but this weekend, I took a trip to the Black Forest.

I got to take the fast train, the ICE. I thought it would be a treat, because it goes 190 kilometers per hour, and there is a dining car, comfortable seats, etc. However, a little boy in front of us spent the whole time screaming for his mother and crying. The couple with him tried to comfort him, but didn't really respond much. I hope he wasn't being kidnapped.

I arrived late, and Klaus brought me to a cafe with live music, and we sat in the beer garden and ate asparagus, and drank beer. There was a small lake there, and the mountain air smelled like pine trees.

On Saturday, Klaus took me for a ride on his motorcycle. He is sometimes an impetuous driver, and frankly, he makes me nervous. On Friday, He almost ran into a car which suddenly stopped in front of us. I held on tight, and when we got to his place, we took the car into the city. It had become very hot already, and I really didn't feel like wearing heavy black clothing in the city.

The scenery around Frieburg is beautiful- blue mountains, rolling hills and old-fashioned chalet-like houses, festooned with flower boxes.

We went for a walk and did some shopping- I got 2 new music books, and we looked in some cool shops. The sun was burning my eyes, so we stopped in a DM store, and I got some shades. For lunch, we went to the "Roten Baeren". It's the oldest inn in Germany, and dates back to the Middle Ages. We went to the restaurant, which was decorated with old fashioned wood carvings. I ordered the risotto with artichoke hearts and fish, and Klaus had some Lamb Medallions. The wine was excellent; I had white wine and Klaus had red wine. Mine was almost a rose, and very light, sweet and fruity. The creme brulee was excellent.

Afterwards, we walked a bit more, along the river, and then we went to a wine tasting at Jacques' Wine Depot. They didn't have any of my favorite wines (Louis Levandoux Merlot, la Vielle Ferme red wine), but they did have some interesting wines.

In the evening, it was still quite hot, but we hiked up the Schlossberg. I was so tired I just had to sit down when we found a bench. There was a cool breeze up there, but it felt as though it was going to rain.
I was not feeling well after the hike- I was overheated. I took a nap on Klaus' sofa, and drank some water, and ate an apple. I had a bit of a headache from the heat. We had to forego our plans to grill outside.

The next day, Sunnday, I was feeling better, and we went to visit Klaus' church, where he sings in the small choir. The Freiburg church is a bit more old-fashioned than the FEG in Worms, and the service was a bit too long.

We had lunch at Klaus' place, and listened to some music- Klaus has an odd collection of old records that he has picked up at flea markets, or from the "Sperrmuell". Some of the stuff is good, but much of it is worthless. The "Barclay James Harvest" record, though, was cool. Typical 70's stadium rock- get out the paisley shirts.

In the afternoon, we took a drive to the Black Forest, to Schauinsel, where we went for a walk, and took a short tour of the mine; afterwards, we had coffee and cake in the cafe.

I'm still reading the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". It's been alternately hot and sunny, and stormy and rainy, and I read in the evenings, rather than watching TV. CNN gives me strange dreams. I had a very strange dream, of a huge bald eagle being ripped to shreds by a small wild boar. I hope the dream wasn't meant to be prophetic; if it was, then America is in big trouble.

3 Weekends: the good, the bad, and the ugly

2007-05-03T11:18:00.000+02:00

After the week of the big gig, I was hoping that things would settle down a bit, but some of my bad luck is, apparently, not over yet. I am making a bit of progress, though, with my writing and music.

Firstly, the continued search for intelligent life in Worms continues unabated. The Saturday before the disastrous Gau-Algesheim match, I had a blind date with a guitarist, Enzo, who I met on the lablue.de website. I figured, it would be nice to meet another musician, and for once, I found a guy who was seemingly unmarried.

I've been trying to meet guys through various websites, since walking up to guys and asking what time it is doesn't seem to work (they tell me the time, and walk away). Whenever I talk to a cute guy, it turns out he is married or has a girlfriend. I had started to suspect that I had unintentionally stumbled across a cloak of invisibility; even at "Christian" events, the men seemingly don't notice my existence.

Anyhow, I had just finished wasting time chatting with a guy from Darmstadt who, after a bit of interrogation, admitted that he was married. "We live together and have a dughter together, but we're separated," he claimed. Yeah, right. You're married, have a kid and live together, but you aren't really together, right? And I'm Mary Poppins. I silently cursed myself for having lost yet another 20 minutes of my precious lifetime, and Enzo popped up and I asked him if he wanted to get together. So we made a date for the next day.

Well, I don't have any illusions about "True Love Forever", but I thought, at least I can meet another single musician, and who knows? We talked for a bit, and it turns out that I am not the only one who is getting irked by married people on "singles" websites. My theory is that at least 50 percent of the people on these sites are married people who are just looking to "flirt", for ego purposes. If you take the bait, and ask them to meet, they make lame excuses, act frightened and bail out, sometimes actually removing their profile.

Enzo hadn't seen all of Worms, so we walked around the city, and I showed him the Cathedral, which was imposing,spooky and cold, as always. Inside, there was a cool new art piece hanging in the back, four abstract expressionist paintings depicting creation which, when hung together, form a cross using negative space. I think the painting was from the 60's, from before I was born.

This led to a discussion of faith. Enzo told me he had grown up Catholic, and had quit the church because it seemed too hypocritical. I told him that my faith is not based on a church or leader. My faith is in God and Jesus, not in "the church", or the Pope. I happen to agree with the Pope's moral teachings, and I am sure he tries to be a good person, but my faith doesn't depend on any other person.

Anyhow, I invited Enzo over, and he helped me with my MIDI program (it turns out that the problem was that my MIDI cables weren't hooked in properly!) and I invited him to the WOW concert the following weekend. It turns out that Enzo went to music school with Yod, the drummer for "Allee der Kosmonauten".

The weekend after, I spent my Saturday trying to catch up with my work around the house. My week had been packed with students, the concert, the new courses (I went to Hofheim twice, by bike) and my work at home. Klaus visited Saturday night, and we went out to eat at the cafe till about midnight. I can't say that we had scintillating conversation. Conversation is not Klaus' strong point. Actually, I'm not sure what his strong point is. Dependability, perhaps?

At any rate, I am longing for intelligent conversation in English. Klaus can make small talk in English, but at the moment, I am getting paid 24 euros an hour to teach small talk, so doing it on my day off is not a great joy. I wish I could find someone to talk to about "Goedel, Escher, Bach", memetics, philosophy, politics or music. I could call George, if my phone bill wouldn't be too high. But then again, George is probably busy with the kids.

The next day was the WOW concert. Enzo had sent an email, telling me that he had checked the website, and discovered that the concert was "some sort of religious event" and he didn't want to go, because he considered himself an atheist. Hmmmm, I did tell him that it was "Christian music". I guess he was afraid that someone would shake up his nonbelief. I replied that blind faith is stupid, but blind disbelief is also stupid. I always believe with both eyes open! I hope he didn't take it the wrong way... I just think that writing off religion and calling yourself an atheist is a cop-out for people who don't have the balls to look at life's big questions.

Klaus was at the WOW concert, and the place was standing room only. After the concert, most people went home, except for some young people who were milling about, eating pizza or pretzels. I had invited Attila, but I didn't see him there. I also didn't see Ludmilla. There were a lot of happy couples holding hands, which I found depressing, so I just went home. I wasn't feeling sociable, anyway. Later, Klaus came by, and he remarked that I looked tired. Yes, I am tired of this whole planet.

On Friday, after three hours in Hofheim (with Frau Hefner and Frau Braun), I just wanted to go home, do the cleaning, and make dinner. I wanted to have a nice, relaxing weekend. I wanted to go on Saturday to Alzey to the Jesus Freaks Gottesdienst (Chris has been terribly ill with an inner ear infection, and I was hoping he would be well enough for company- I was looking foreward to hanging out and talking). I wanted to maybe get together with Atila, and jam. I wanted to start working on the new Cleo's schedules, do my blog, and spend Sunday evening in Mainz, cheering on my teammates.

So I was riding home on my bike, making good time, when suddenly, I went into a curve (which was much sharper than I had recalled) and fell onto the bike path, cutting up my leg, elbow and head.

I didn't feel much pain, but was bleeding from the wound, and soon a crowd was standing round. Someone called the ambulance, and I was taken to the hospital, where I was x-rayed from 3 angles, and got stitches in my forehead. I really wanted to just go home, but no dice. Much to my chagrin, I had to be observed overnight. The next day, Saturday, I was feeling sleepy, my neck hurt and my stomach was upset.

Klaus came by, and brought me some things from home (I have now read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, and I started the second book), and brought a little rose plant and chocolates. (I later gave TR the little rose plant on her birthday- it would have died in my apartment, anyway). My Saturday was completely ruined. I drifted in and out of sleep, and Klaus held my hand. The nurse brought soup, but I couldn't eat. Finally, on Saturday night, I started to feel a bit better, and on Sunday, my appetite returned, and I ate half a banana, some crackers with butter and marmalade and had some coffee.

After lunch, I was released, and Klaus and I went to the cafe for a late lunch. I ordered the special, hawaiian turkey kebabs, and an orangeade, and Klaus had exactly the same thing. He often does that. He orders exactly what I order. It drives me crazy. After eating, we made conversation about what kinds of fruit we like to eat. I kid you not.

To alleviate my boredom, I am re-reading "Goedel, Escher, Bach". Actually, I am re-reading the first few chapters, which I first read when I was about 14, and I am reading the parts I never read. It should help me with my theories about the evil meta-meme, the canon form as a three dimensional double-helix, and my science fiction novel.

I missed seeing the game on Sunday. I stayed home and read all evening. Apparently, it was another loss, 3-2. Again, the other team pulled through at the last half, scoring a win. We need to work on stamina. Or rather, my teammates do. I am supposed to take it easy this week, so I skiped training. It's hard to take it easy, though, when you are stressed out with bills. I am supposed to pay 175 for the organ course, and 300 for the health insurance.

I am meeting another guy on yet another blind date. His name is Sebastian, and he works with classic cars. We will meet on Friday. I hope he doesn't tell me he is an atheist. I don't want to have to explain it all yet again. Aren't there any intelligent Christian men in Worms? Oh, I forgot, there are two. Peter, who is already married, and Friedemann. Hmmm, if I could combine Friedemann's brain and Peter's personality with Flo's body, I would have the perfect Christian man....

Anyway, I am hoping he will either be very smart, very good-looking or a Christian. You can't possibly hope for all three.

On Saturday night, Atila and I are going to try and score tickets to the Merqury concert in DA. It's a Queen cover band. Unfortunately, it's the same evening as Ludmilla's classsical concert at the Drefaltigkeit Church. I hope she won't be disappointed. When Atila asked me, I had forgotten all about Ludmilla's concert.

I always have trouble with scheduling. And paying bills. And just about everything that doesn't involve lying in bed, reading, or making up theories about music, science or philosophy. I guess I need a secretary. I wonder if there is someone who would be willing to be my personal assistant for 50 cents a day? That's all I can afford.

Madness and Shoes

2007-04-22T17:23:00.000+02:00

THE GAME....
On the Sunday before last, Wormatia suffered a huge setback. We had a game in Gau-Algesheim (I was on the bench, or rather, there was no bench to be sat upon, so I stood and used up the last of my roll of film). There was no "kunst rasen"; the field was simply reddish dirt. Demoralized, the team played badly, and made errors and lost catastrophically. My number "12" has been taken over by Roxana, and will not be mine again, unless I start to show great improvement. I haven't, of course. I seem to have come down with allergy symptoms, and have had sneezing and coughing fits since the beginning of the month. Last Wednesday, I played exceptionally badly at training.... My right foot didn't seem to be working properly...

In other news, we had our pics done, and we will have new photos on the website soon.

MORE INSANITY....
On Monday, I awoke with a headache, no doubt due to the game the evening before.I had no money (I had to pay my TV and radio fee, something that never happens in the US) so I asked for an aspirin at the office (the Bibel Fern Unterricht office, a sort of long-distance bible school, moved into Peter and Sylvia's former apartment a few months back). After the aspirin, I immediately vomited, but felt better after a shower. I had just enough time to practice and prepare for the guitar class, and watch a few minutes of CNN.

My headaches tend to be in sync with world catastrophes, and this headache happened just as a maniac shot up Virginia Tech. Needless to say, one has to find it tragic that so many young people whose lives were just beginning were cut down before they could live up to their potential. The real question is not why did he do it. The guy was insane, obviously. The questions should be: why are people surprised that a society that revels in violence should produce hatred and violence, and furthermore, why is it easier for a mentally ill person to purchase assault weaponry than to get mental health treatment?

Americans live in a society where violence is celebrated, on television, in film, in children's programming, in games, in music, in sport, and in attitudes. War is a newly-popular theme on TV documentaries (the Discovery Channel, once devoted to science and nature, now produces a series extolling the virtues of modern military technology, never questioning the grisly uses for which these triumphs of technology were made). War is touted by the government as the solution for every conflict, and diplomatic solutions are poo-pooed as something for "wimps".

Even Jesus, the ur-pacifist who told us to love our enemies, has been revamped and given a macho image. "Rambo- Jesus" type action figures are sold on one popular website.

Would a less-violence prone society have prevented the school massacre? Perhaps not. But it would certainly make the present outrage and shock seem less hypocritical.

Incidentally, a universal health care system, one in which mental health care was guaranteed to all, might have prevented the tragedy. Furthermore, a federal law mandating that mentally ill people would be prevented from owning or renting firearms would also have been helpful.

THE GIG...
Ludmilla's concert just so happened to have occurred on a day which was totally packed with apppointments. In the morning, I rode across the bridge to Hofheim for 2 hours with Frau Hefner. Then, I went to the Studienkreis, to the Hochheim kindergarten, back home to practice and eat, to the Elo for a sound check, to the VHS for 45 minutes, then back to the Elo for the concert.

The concert had already started, and I had to change my shoes. After waiting one and a half hours (the concert was 2 hours long, without an intermission), I went on to do 2 songs, Blue Monday and Heaven Above. Afterwards, I had to change into a white blouse to sing with the choir in the last number. Unfortunately, I suddenly had an allergy attack, and couldn't stop coughing, and had to hide behind the curtain. I actually coughed into the curtain. My throat was burning, and my eyes were watering.

Afterwards, we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant, and I was famished. I blew most of my money on the meal, but I couldn't help it. After riding around all day, and being stressed out, I needed a nice meal and a glass of wine.

Incidentally, there was an article in the newspaper this week, and I wasn't even mentioned.

SHOES.....

My beautiful silver Puma shoes are falling apart. The leather up front is coming loose. My adidas shoes, though, are holding up. What a tragedy! I really love my Pumas! It just goes to show you that looks aren't everything.

LUDMILLA'S GIG

2007-04-13T12:41:00.000+02:00

I have been helping Ludmilla with her upcoming gig this coming Tuesday. Firstly, I am singing two songs. Secondly, I have to help sing with the choir. Thirdly, I had to help with printing, typing, hanging out flyers, getting addresses and phone numbers, not to mention juggling my schedule in order to sing on a Tuesday night.

I have been re-arranging one of my songs, "Heaven Above", with a new bridge and a middle section (unlike most of the time, I am going to have a pre-arranged solo section, which I can improvise upon).

I decided, since I couldn't afford to go to NY this Easter, to use my extra time working on my novel and my music. So I wrote a 12 tone Jazz piece called (Schonberg meets Monk), of which a midi version will soon be available on my website, and a weird unnamed tune featuring only diminished and augmented chords, which I will arrange as a spooky acid jazz tune. I got caught up in writing an article called "The Evil Meta-Meme: an Exploration into Kabbalah, Memetics and Physics", which I will not be able to finish until I replenish my book supply, courtesy of ebay.

Speaking of ebay, my rent-a-composer auction did not do well. Perhaps I need to find a new way to advertise.

I also got two new courses, without even trying. Just before Easter, I got 2 phone calls, and a job interview in Mannheim. The work just fell into my lap; both are private courses paying more than 20 Euros an hour. I am anticipating spending the money on my health insurance, which is somewhat expensive. Actually, it's the pension plan that is quite expensive. Why do I need a pension plan? I thought I was immortal!

The games are underway. Wormatia tied the first game 1-1. I sat on the bench next to Sandra, who is unhappy about being on the sidelines. Rather than bemoaning my fate, though, I brought my camera and took pics. We have some new players. Felicia, our new "Sturmer", is fast as hell. Last Wednesday, at training, I found it impossible to keep her from the goal. Only the fearless work of Connie, our goalkeeper, kept disaster from happening. I got a ball slammed into my face (from Frederika) and another one slammed into my arm. Well, what goes around comes around. I have certainly slammed into the other players enough. Curiously, my face is entirely unscathed. I should have headed it.

Now the weather is warm, and everyone is suddenly faster and better. Oh, and Anna, from Peru, is back. It figures that during the Winter, hardly anyone came to training, and now they are all coming.

Ups and Downs

2007-03-09T22:46:00.000+01:00

My adorable, irascable, unpredictable Blueberry G3 was sick for one and a half weeks, beginning on the evening of Ash Wednesday. My bike also was kaput, and I got a frightening bill from the Kunstlersozialkasse, demanding that I pay backwards, for October through February. Ack!

The good news is that the bike and the computer are both, once again, in working order, and I got some money from the VHS. The lovely folks at Gravis fixed "Blue Baby" for free, and asked only for coffee money. The rent and electricity are paid, and I am enjoying the benefits of electricity and heat at the moment, by listening to the radio in my toasty warm apartment. And I have health insurance. I just can't wait to see the dentist, and have some work done.... er, actually, I can. But I won't wait too long...

However, I still haven't received my Elf Dress from "Reddragonia", who promised me earlier in February that she would send it as soon as it was finished. Apparently, she was ill in January and that is holding things up. Some irate customers left very angry messages on her ebay page, and now she's no longer on ebay. I hope this is not a sign of impending tragedy; I left a polite note, figuring that you get more flies with honey than with vinegar. As Arwen says, there is always hope. So.... I hope that some time this week, the beautiful Elf Dress will arrive. Better late than never.

I had a bit of time off during the week of "Fasching", but it wasn't much of a holiday. The weekend before, I had a headache. I had a lot of things to do, and I am working on new tunes, and rehearsing some music with Atila. The gig at Cafe Affenhaus fell through, so I am setting my sights further.

The team has been preparing for a "Hallenfussball" tournament, on the 11th of March (my new-birthday). So for the past few Saturdays, we have been doing indoor soccer, at the "Disterwegschule", a school located among rolling vineyards, a bit further from the "Wormatia" Stadium.

On the 24th, I went to a concert in Speyer with Stefan and his friends, to hear "Garden of Delight", the Celtic rock band. They sound like a bar band with a mad fiddler. It was solid hard rock with an Irish touch, very well played. I guess I shouldn't go to a concert wearing high heels, though, after an afternoon of "Hallenfussball".... my feet were hurting, and I woke up the next day with a headache!

Last Saturday, it waas sunny outside, but terribly windy, and my workout clothes were still wet. I was supposed to have "Fussball Training" again. I got there late, after drying my clothes on the radiator. It was windy the whole way there, and the road was uphill. When I got there, my teammates were all waiting outside the hall.

"What are you waiting for?", I asked. "Gerd, the manager, was supposed to bring a key and the ball," they informed me. Well, we waited and waited, and after 15 minutes, we left. I decided to go to the fitness center. At least I could do some muscle training, and sit in the sauna.

When I got there, I met Simone and Carmo, who were also working out. (It is depressing, though, seeing happy couples working out together, and always being alone. I do remind myself, though, that there is some hope. I chatted with two very cute guys from Mannheim on the lablue website a few weeks back, and I have been phoning a cute single guy from Stuttgart).

Anyway, back to the team. We now have training on Mondays, but I can't come, because of the guitar course. We were supposed to have brought photocopies of our passports to the meeting after Monday training, but I was tired and I thought, I need to go home and eat. I'll bring the photocopy on Wednesday.

Tuesday morning, I was standing outside of the public library, where I had gone to get some guitar books, and to read Time and the NY Times, and who walked up to me? Gerd, the manager. Apparently he has an office in the same building. So we went up to his office, and I made a copy of my passport and other ID. OK, I thought, problem solved. Now they just have to send the "Spielerpass".

We also had training again this Wednesday, and we did a lot of exercises with the ball. I was sure that I had filled out all of the pertinent information for the team. Gerd came into the locker room after training, though, to personally berate those who had neglected to bring their photos in time, who didn't have copies of their ID, orwho had "Spieler Passes" from other teams that they hadn't picked up, etc. He reminded us that the Tournament was on Sunday, and we had to have the proper paperwork to be able to play.

Well, Thursday, after getting up early to finish the June Schedule for the Cleopatra's Needle website, then cleaning the "Kino" with the church cleaning team for three and a half hours, I was tired. I came back and noodled around with my guitar for an hour. I'm learning all sorts of new technique, like finger-picking, folk and country techniques, etc., for the guitar course I am teaching. There is no sense in teaching a course unless you, yourself can do it.

Afterwards, I spent a bit of time playing on my home organ, secure in the knowledge that I have been making progress. Last Sunday evening, I went to the Eichelberger's, and played "Von Guten Machten Treu und Still Umgeben" with both hands and feet.

So here I was, ready to leave and go to Frankenthal for the organ lesson, and I got a phone call from Gerd. I had to come to his office and fill out yet more paperwork to get my "Spielerpass". It turns out that as an "Auslander", I have to fill out two other forms, one for the "Deutsche Fussball Bund", and the other for the US Soccer Federation. So I had to miss organ lessons for the second time in two weeks. The week before, it was because I felt like crap and thought I was coming down with something. Like I-can't-stand-this-gloomy-weather syndrome, ICSGWS for short.

So I schlepped over to the office, and filled out the papers. It was nice weather, at least (this week there was finally a bit of sunshine). There is a new shop in the Fussgangerzone, a big trendy store with stuff that looks like "the Gap", except hipper, which had just opened, and they had a DJ playing music, and giveaways. After going to Gerd's office, I took some photos of the flower show in the Kaiser Passage (I'm still getting to know my way around the new camera. It's got automatic and manual settings, but the automatic focus is mostly an annoyance).

Afterwards, I did a bit of shopping for food, and Kevin came over for an hour of English (he seemingly has forgotten everything he learned). I had only a few minutes to get things together and go to the VHS. The first group, which was having trouble with "Present Perfect", played the "Have you ever" game, for play money and prizes, and I had copied some things for the second group, and we reviewed simple present and simple past. Everything went well.

So today I worked on the last of the Cleo's work, and checked my email. I wasn't feeling very well, though, and my stomach and head were feeling ill. I decided against going to the kindergarten for work, because I was feeling very hot and dehydrated. Maybe I am coming down with something, I thought. I decided to take a paracetamol, lay down and meditate on the Hebrew letters for a while. Well, it worked. My headache was gone. I was ready to go and do the last-minute shopping when Ludmilla called. She said whe couldn't make it today. I thought, it's just as well. I don't feel like company.

At 8:30, I left the house on my bike, in the pouring rain. Why, you may ask? Especially after feeling ill all day? Well, because we were suppposed to have a short training session at the Bildungszentrum Hall, where the tournament on Sunday will be held.

When I got there, Gerd told me that my "Spielerpass" had not come yet, and that I can't play on Sunday. It might take a few weeks, or months for the "pass" to come. Hmmmmm. So after working up a good sweat, and not playing particularly well, I went home. Now I am a bit dissapointed. I am also a bit relieved, since I wasn't sure how well I could play, after only 4 months of training. I'll go on Sunday, to cheer on my teammates. But I have to sit on the sidelines.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

2007-02-10T11:26:00.000+01:00

After the visit to Stuttgart, and the "Klaus" week, I was a bit burnt out. At the end of the week, I went with Friedemann and Klaus to a benefit concert to see Flo's band perform. I still dig Flo, although he is not exactly the right guy for me personally. I dig enjoy seeing him play, though. Surprisingly enough, I ran into several people I know, including Thomas Dany, who is also a teacher at the VHS, a guitar student of mine, and Marcus Deckenbach, who had come with Matthias. On Sunday, I wore my white wig and played a talkative old lady for our theater skit at the "Gottesdienst". It was a gas!

The week after, I finally got in contact with Maher, who gave me the info for the new schedules. There is one problem- my American bank account is kaput, because of a balance of minus 25 dollars (in Germany, you could have minus 300, and they still wouldn't shut you off). Ironically, if I had known in time, I could have sent them the 20 bucks that Mom sent me. I found out a few days too late. I told Maher that he could try to pay me with traveler's checks.

I finally got to meet Chris, with whom I had been chatting on the lablue.de website. I haven't really had much luck on this website, since most of the guys seem to want email pen pals, or they want to chat.... or worse, they are married men who want to cheat on their wives. I just wanted to meet some guys in the area, and maybe meet my "Traummann". Well, maybe I'll stay single forever, but at least I can have a social life. I am getting tired of being single, though!

We met in Alzey, a town whose name is prominently featured on my "Sparkasse Worms Alzey Ried" bank card. I thought it would be about as big as Worms, with a cute little pedestrian zone. Well, Alzey is a small town, where everything is closed on weekends. It was a bit past four, and most shops were closed! I did have fun looking at the castle, and the cute, timbered houses, and I snapped some photos with my new, used camera.(Thanks, Henry!)

Chris is a big, lovable "Jesus Freak", and after we sat and chatted over coffee and cake in his flat, he took me to the Maskil concert. Maskil, a Christian punk band, really rocked. The Jesus Freaks have a cool lounge-type place in Alzey, with hip decor, and a little bar in the back, with soda, coffee and beer.

Chris lives in a Christian WG (Wohngemeinschaft, with roommates) and his roommate, Matthias, is a mac guy (and amateur composer). I didn't know there are any other Mac freaks here (except for the guys who work at the Mac store in Mannnheim)! He is going to help me install OS X, if possible.

In other developments, Atila (who I met on feuerundflamme.de) is visiting this Sunday. We are going to try jamming on some tunes. Sunday evening there is going to be a free concert here in Worms, at the Lincoln Theater.

I've been very busy this week. Firstly, I went with Friedemann to Offenbach to pick up my new washing machine- I didn't have one for over a month, and since then, I've been doing laundry all week long. Hilmar arranged it for me- it's the first time I've had a modern, top loading washing machine.

It's also the beginning of yet another semester, so the new courses started, and I had to prepare eveything, make photocopies, plan lessons, etc.

I also had to go to DAK for my health insurance forms, and the "Auslanderbehorde" to renew my residency papers. The man there was not happy with my photo (with flowers in my hair), so I had to go get a new passport-sized photo. The picture is terrible!

On Wednesday, I had the delighful experience of going to Soccer training in the pouring rain (well, it wasn't so bad, since I was moving the whole time). Only eight of us were there. The coach has us doing this new thing- we play without goals, and as soon as you get the ball, you have to pass it to someone on your side. I was tired, though, from my day (I had to keep riding back and forth, from the DAK, back home again for 2 hours private teaching, back downtown to the Studienkreis, back to IBLA, then home again for a 1 hour lesson with Lisa), so I didn't play very hard. I notice that Connie and Andrea kept getting the ball away from me..... grrrrr!

When I got home, I was cold and wet, and I didn't even shower. I worked on the April schedule for the Cleo's website, as well as the changes for February and March. Now I have to do May and June.

Yesterday, I had to get the new photo done, go back to the VHS and do some shopping, as well as going the kid's course in Neuhausen. I wouldn't have had time to eat at all, except that Ludmilla left early to go to a jazz dance course. I am going to help Ludmilla with her music event at the Elo Gymnasium in April, and now I have to select songs, and try to change the times for the guitar course, if possible. After Ludmilla left, I had just enough time to print out a presskit, and eat dinner- I had rehearsal with the music team at 8. After rehearsal, I came home, flipped tiredly through the channels, and realized that there was nothing on TV, so I went to bed early. What a week! I deserve a bit of rest!

Stefan is the guy who appeared in my dreams with long, red hair. Well, in real life he doesn't have long, red hair, but he is a bit of a Celtic bard, very much into Celtic Mythology and music (he isn't a musician, just a music-lover). Stefan and I are planning a Tolkien Event for September. I don't want to give away any details, but it's going to be great! I feel very inspired... and I am planning a new gig, at the Cafe Affenhaus. Stefan introduced me to the owner, Albert, when we were hanging out at the "Funzel". And, I am working on another music project, my "atonal lounge music". It's going to be hip!

Later, I am going to go to Alzey, where I'm going to hang out with Chris, and we're going to try to install OSX on my Mac! I just pray that I don't lose my internet settings; otherwise, I won't be online for awhile!

STORM OF A CENTURY

2007-01-25T00:16:00.000+01:00

The storm of the century arrived on January 18th, 2007. I have officially become an "alte kaninchen", but don't tell that to my team-mates, who must be led onn to believe that I am still a fresh, young thing capable of learning all sorts of ball skills, one who won't mind occasionallly getting a ball slammed into her head (as happened last week, when we did the "wall", and Bianca tried to kick it over us, and destroyed a few of those redundant brain cells of mine in the process.)

On my birthday, I went to visit Tante Ruth, eschewing the usual "putz team"(cleaning crew) work, and taking the day off from organ lessons, as well. We had a huge meal for lunch, then later, Marco, Gabi and Asta came for coffee and cake (TR baked nut cake, and berry cake). It just so happened that an "Orkan" was sweeping its way through Europe, carrying 100 mph winds. People were advised to stay in, and I didn't need much inducement to stay put, being a lazy person at heart. Fortunately, most of the damage was in other areas, although those who ventured out ended getting stuck at the train station, since all train service in Germany was interrupted. There was flooding and damage in many areas, and in England, there were power outages.

For my 22nd Martian birthday*, I threw a party in the Treffpunkt, about 20 people, and I baked chocolate cupcakes and a big pizza, and made chili with tortilla chips and 3 bean salad. We also had carrot salad and green salad, and Dani made two chocolate cakes. Lots of people brought wine or sparkling wine, and there was soda and juice. I spent the day putting up decorations and balloons, and baking and cooking. Klaus came from Freiburg, and then told me he had the whole week off in Worms, which I wasn't expecting. I got lots of gifts, including a Mueller gift certificate (maybe I'll buy a DVD or CD?) and some mugs, a cute teddy bear (from Sylvia, who sewed it herself), jewelery, two CDs (Friedemann gave me a cool Hildegard von Bingen CD) and lots and lots of chocolate. I had so much that I decided to bring one box with me to TE, in Stuttgart.

The next day, I went off in the morning to Stuttgart, The weather was sunny and warm, more like spring than winter. I brought the little Christmas gift I had been saving (the little stone votive candle holder)and the chocolates (the non-nut ones, since TE has false teeth) and I picked up a little potted flower bulb in the florist shop. TE was waiting for me at home, and was happy with the little flower pot, festooned with tiny little yellow bees and felt. It will bloom in a few days, and TE says she will call when it blooms, to tell me what color the flowers are.

We had some of those TV dinners for lunch (TE had gotten some from some organization) and mine was fish in mustard sauce, with mixed veggies. TE suggested we could watch a video (she has lots of them) and I picked one out- the Magic Flute, which I was curious to see. I've seen some of the "modern settings" of this opera on TV, but never the whole thing, and a more traditional version would be less confusing, I thought. Well, at any rate, the story is confusing as it is, full of weird Masonic symbolism, everything happening in threes, an initiation rite, a Temple of Wisdom, and assorted strange characters. My ever-increasing grasp of the German language is supposed to give me new innsight into German art music; however, with such weird stuff, it might as well be Greek. "The Magic Flute" is a comic opera (meaning there is a guaranteed happy ending); however, it wouldn't be suitably Germanic without two attempted suicides (in one, Papageno sings, "Good night, sad world", and slips a noose around his neck, only to be talked out of it by the Three Knaves, who, in this production, are dressed in matching sailor suits.)

Well, after the video (it was long, and we paused it for dinner), we had some red wine, and talked. TE remembers a lot of incidents from long ago, some pleasant, some not so. FI, she still swears that Grandmother preferred TR and Mom, as they both "took after their mother". She still has nothing but praise for Onkel Arthur, and thinks that Onkel Erich was rude and selfish. She does, though, have fond memories of Ixheim, and the cousins there (all of whom, excepting one, have since died).

The next day, we had some more of the apple-nut cake that we had had with coffee the previous afternoon. Outside, it had become very cold and overcast. TE gave me some money as a gift (which I will put away; I need a new washing machine, and I want to get a plane ticket for April), and I went to catch the train in the afternoon. The trains, though, were delayed, and I bought a new "Spotlight" so I could read and find an article for Michael (my student at the Studienkreis).

I missed my connecting train in Bensheim, so I bought a drink at the lounge (a Blue Lagoon, very weak and almost 6 Euros... the only saving grace being the enormous slice of pineapple it came with), then got to Worms just in time to go to the Studienkreis. Frau Markquardt had a little gift for me, a little gift book.

On Monday, I got yet another surprise gift; I went to the Theater Group (we are doing another piece, and I am playing an old lady), and Henry gave me his old Minolta SLR camera... I've never had one before, so I had some fun with it yesterday. Me and Klaus went to Herrnsheim Park, and I took photos of clouds and trees. It had suddenly, though, become bitingly cold, and we went to eat at Sudpfanne, near the Cathedral, afterwards.

Today, the news is full of the huge snowstorm that has shut down airports in Prague, caused chaos in Munich, and is making the Autobahn impassible. Here, however, it is merely cold. Not cold enough, though, to call off training, and despite the below-zero temperatures, I showed up. Only 9 of us were there, the hardcore fanatics, like Julia, Sandra, Bianca, Christine, Connie, etc.
I guess I'll need that long underwear, after all.

So I turn dingsbooms* years old, and the weather goes haywire? Hmm, what does that mean? Is it a sign? Does it mean I have a stormy year ahead of me, with lots of changes? Or is it just global warming coming to bite us all in the ass? At any rate, I'm not giving my age here.

*OK, I will. 40!

Wormatia Lives!

2007-01-13T17:03:00.000+01:00

The week before my "big gig" at Cafe Aqui, a film crew came by and made a video of our team, which was broadcast on TV. Wormatia put the short clip on the website (finally!), and I was surprised to see myself in it. You can see me dribbling around the cones (dribbling is not my strongest ability!) and later, wishing the guys would take a shower with me (I was just kidding!). I hadn't gotten the new contact lenses yet, so I was wearing my cheapest "Fielmann" glasses... a good thing, because at the end of the evening, the ball slammed into my face! (Luckily, the film crew had already left, so they didn't film it.... then again, maybe that would've been something for "sports bloopers"! Neither my glasses nor my nose were broken, BTW- I put my hand in front of my nose in time!

The gist of the film clip is: we didn't have a goalkeeper, so Eva's boyfriend has been doing this for us during training. In the meanwhile, Connie is training to be a goalkeeper. Eva (AKA "Noodle") is the girl with long, reddish hair. Her boyfriend is the cute, young guy with dark hair (he plays with the men's team). The coach said that Eva was on the film more than anyone else. I guess they only want photogenic chicks on TV. I was dissapointed that they didn't who more of Paola, but then again, she has gone back to Ecuador (we were all disappointed about that!)

So here is the clip. I hope this works:

In other news, I have a mystery date tomorrow with a guy from a chat site. He has been clogging up my inbox with all kinds of Elven e-cards, magical flowers, pictures of fairies, etc. I even dreamed about him.... in the dream, he had long, reddish brown hair. Well, I'm not going to get my hopes up. We are meeting at the cafe near the cathedral. I'll get a free cup of coffee, at any rate.

Weinachten and Silvester

2007-01-11T17:43:00.001+01:00

Silvester? Who? Silvester the cat? Actually, December 31 is the day for Saint Silvester, and it coincides with New Year's Eve. Germans are surprised when they learn that Americans don't celebrate Saint's Days, like St. Nicholas or Silvester. It's funny that Americans think that they come from a "Christian Nation", and that no one in the world is more religious. Actually, Germans celebrate far more religious holidays than Americans. And while American Catholics consider themselves very devout, most of them complain about the Church's teachings (i.e., regarding abortion and homosexuality) constantly, and American Protestants are not much better. When I told Frau Pforr that many American Protestant churches perform gay wedding ceremonies, she just shook her head in disbelief.

Here, ones' religion and personal life is something kept private. The government allows secular same sex unions, but there are no gay church weddings. Gay people in Germany may do what they want, dance in the disco, have a drag queen parade, but they don't demand the church's approval, nor do they loudly proclaim their sexuality. Live and let live.

Similarly, what one believes and which church one attends is not a matter for political debate. We all know that Chancellor Merkel ("Angie") is a Christian, but whether she attends church frequently, or rarely, is nobody's business. People are more tolerant and laid-back here. It's funny, America used to be tolerant and laid-back. What happened?

Anyhow, I spent "Weinachten" (Christmas) at Tante Ruth's, after singing during the Heilige Abend service (no solo, though). I, surprisingly, got a ride from Sylvia, Lucy's Mom. She also gave me a surprise gift, three little cherub heads with wings (I hung them up in my office). So I saved myself the train fare, and the annoyance of waiting for a train on a public holiday, and I got there earlier than I thought.

The next day, Christmas, everyone got together, and had stollen and cookies with tea, and then we exchanged gifts. Gucki wasn't there (he was with friends).

I slept over on Monday night, then went home on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, I had an appointment with Herr Renner from CI, annd I finally got to clear the air a bit. Afterwards, I walked all over Mannheim, and did a bit of shopping. I bought a black turtleneck sweater (wool blend) for 8 Euros, ate lunch at "Nordsee" (the best Fish and Chips chain in Germany) and did a bit of shopping at the "Basic" Organic Supermarket.

Then, I had a headache for the next two days. Maybe it was from the stress of talking with Herr Renner, or maybe my system was clogged up from too much Champagne and Stollen.

I've been very lazy for the past two weeks. Perhaps it's the cloudy, dreary weather. When it's not cloudy, rainy and dreary, it's sunny and unseasonably warm. The flowers are confused, and have taken to blooming in January. The sky is dark and changeable, and the winds come from every direction. I wish the weather would make up its mind, and decide what season it is.

Here, it was almost 70 degrees outside for a couple of days. It's weird to go outside in January, when the giant snowflakes are still hanging up in the pedestrian area, and see people walking around with their coats open, like it's springtime. In New York, I've read, it was over 70, and too warm to open the skating ring in Bryant Park. Meanwhile, the stupidly perky weathergirl on CNN says, "Oh, I don't mind, I like warm weather!". Thank you, Bimbette, for entirely missing the point. It's supposed to be Winter, and if this ridiculous drastic temperature change doesn't scare the daylights out of you, then you're nuts. An obvious question: If the temperature in January is in the 70's, what kind of temeratures can we expect to start seeing in the Summers? What I fear is global climate catastrophe, famine, severe droughts covering much of the world, and a water shortage so severe, that it could cause global war. What I wonder is how the idiots in the news media can think that they can keep lying to us, saying things like, "Oh, it's just a warm weather system passing through." Do they think that we are all stupid?

Anyhow, I wasn't feeling terribly festive the week after Christmas, so I wasn't sure what I would do for Silvester (New Year's Eve). I could have called all of my friends here, and asked what everyone was doing, but I just didn't feel like it. Then I got a call from Klaus, a guy from Freiburg who I met in the FEG a while back. He told me he would be at the FEG party in the Treffpunkt, and I told him I would meet him there. I was still getting ready, hadn't put my contact lenses in yet, and hadn't done my makeup yet, when he rang my bell.

I had decided to wear something festive (I had a silver top and a glittery skirt), although I knew that everyone else would probably be wearing jeans (I was right!). I wanted to eat something before I left, just in case there was nothing but pizza and pretzels there.

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a lot of food there, and there was wine, sparkling wine ("Sekt") and soft drinks. Everyone brought something to eat or drink, and we ate, and played board games. It wasn't a wild time, but it was nice. Klaus, Friedemann and I all played multi-lingual Scrabble. (Klaus took me out to eat the next day, at the Times Cafe).

At midnight, all of the children ran out and lit firecrackers and fireworks. I'm not used to seeing children handling fireworks, and I kept praying that no one would get hurt. Normally, Germans are very prudent and cautious, but I guess "Silvester" is one of the exceptions. There is no "official" fireworks display- instead, the whole city lights their fireworks all at once, and there is a anarchic, chaotic burst of spontaneous celebration going on all at once, as young and old take matters into their own hands. How un-German!

The contact lenses were annoying me the whole evening, though, and by the time my eyes started to feel better, it was time to take 'em out and go to bed.

Contact lenses really are a true annoyance. You would think that such a product of modern technology would be a great improvement over Ben Franklin's good old spectacles, but guess again. It's true, you do get used to putting them in and taking them out after a while, but you often get the annoying feeling that there is plastic wrap on your eyeballs. Another thing is the fact that you don't really see much better than you do with a good pair of glasses. You have to blink very often, which makes your vision more cloudy, and if you didn't clean them well enough, there may be little flecks on them.

I also notice that the prescription on my lenses is set so that I can practically see Paris from here, but I can't read things that are close unless I hold them farther away. It also seems a bit harder to change my focus..... hmmm, strange.

One day, I accidentally put the left contact lens in the right eye, and vice versa. They aren't the same; the left one is more "solid", and the right one is floppy and soft, but I didn't think about it until I already had them in. Everything seemed really weird for about a half hour, then my brain seemed to adjust. I didn't have time to change them, since I didn't want to be late for soccer training (we've been training on the astroturf field, which is not as muddy as the other one). I played pretty well, considering (I guess I'm showing some improvement). And we did heading the ball that day, so thank God I wasn't wearing glasses!

When I got home, I realized what had gone wrong: After New Year's Eve, I was a bit tipsy, and took off the lenses without paying attention to the case (which is white, and has "R" and "L" marked in white, as well! I'm going to mark the case with some nail polish, just to keep this happening again. I wore them twice this week, without any problem, but I notice that they start to become very vexing after several hours.

Speaking of vexing, the coach is very miffed about the paltry showing at the last few training sessions. It seems that only the truly hardcore "fussball maniacs" (like Sarah and Julia) show up regularly. I haven't missed training yet, actually. Anyway, yesterday evening, there was supposed to be a shorter training, folowed by a meeting. Out of about 18 women, only 8 were there. I know that the FH students are all studying for exams, but they might have called to say they couldn't come. Jurgen had food and drinks for everyone (well, food for non-vegitarians- Thank God, I brought a whey bar with me!), and he was definitely not pleased! So we are going to try to do this meeting next week. At least I got a free beer. Beer seems to make the contact lenses tolerable. After watching everyone eat pork and white bread rolls (two things I do not eat), I took a long, scenic ride home (in drizzling rain), and went to Barbeque Corner for fried chicken, corn on the cob and A&W Root Beer. Leave it to me to find the only "American Food" joint in Worms!

It all comes in threes

2006-12-22T11:24:00.000+01:00

First the good news: the concert promoters did a good job; not only was my pic in the newspaper, but I expect some sort of review to show up. The gig went well, and lots of people showed up: Ella, a student at the VHS, Hilmar and Sabina, Dorit and Friedemann from the Hauskreis, Bernhard (whom I forgot to call about the concert), Lucy and some friends of hers from the FEG, and Atilla, a guy I met online at feuerundflamme.de, a Christian website. Dissapointingly enough, no one from the Wormatia soccer team came.

Speaking of Wormatia, we were filmed last Wednesday, by a camera team from a local TV station. I didn't get to see the clip (they filmed up for an hour or so, but the segment was, apparently, only about 5 minutes long).

I also won some incredible stuff on ebay auctions recently: a designer purse from Dooney and Bourke, worth 300 bucks, for 16 British Pounds. With shipping, it comes to about 41 euros. I also won a pair of ice blue Jette Joop boots, worth 130 euros, for 41 euros (with shipping). I am also having an "elf dress" made for me by a woman in Chemnitz, for 21 euros.

I started shopping, ironically, so I would have proper clothes to wear to work, and now the job at Suzuki is over. I was upset to see the courses end so abruptly, but I am going to see Mr. Renner next Wednesday and maybe I can start a course elsewhere.... hopefully, not so early, and in a more convenient location!

The bad news comes in threes, and my washing machine is also now kaput. Now I am asking around, to see if anyone has a used washing machine. I did a load at my neighbor's, but I don't expect that to be a permanent situation.

I also had a big annoyance regarding the worship team. I asked Bede in November if I could do a solo for Christmas Eve. I wanted to do "O Holy Night". He said OK, and I didn't ask about it, because I was busy with practicing for my gig, learning the organ, preparing the course materials, teaching, etc. Well, predictably, he forgot. I got an email stating that Rev. Lee and Judy were both going to do solos instead. I later found out that Judy was going to do the song I asked to do- "O Holy Night". Coincidence?

I decided to do the song at my gig, instead. I also told Bede that I was never going to request a solo again. If they want me to do a solo, they can ask me. Actually, I wanted to skip the Christmas Eve service entirely, since they don't need me (Michael G. is playing the piano). Now, Bede wants me to sing in the medley (not a solo, mind you), and I am not sure if I can worm my way out. So I will be forced to sit there and listen to Judy sing my solo. What a drag!

I was depressed about these things, so I bought myself a pity gift, the last bottle of "Tocade" they had at Mueller's drugstore. The EDT costs 15 euros, and it's a combination of vanilla, rose and amber. It's funny, though, it smelled more Amber-ish in the store, and it smells more like roses here. Maybe the tester was different? Anyhow, I feel a bit more kittenish wearing this scent.

I bought all of the presents ahead of time, except for a couple of small things. I already mailed the boxes out to NJ and PA (I sent them the first week of December), but I still haven't gotten the box from Mom. I'm also expecting a my ebay goodies (the purse and boots, as well as a blue metal beer sign). I suppose the elf dress will be sewn up and ready next year, in time for my birthday.

Yesterday, though, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to mail the cards, and that I hadn't mailed any postcards, like the last 2 years. Ugh! Postcards! I went online this morning to see if I could order them online, and pay to have them shipped, then I spent two hours trying on several webistes (Drogerie Markt, Walmart) trying to do so, but the German site only sends cards to Germany, and Walmart only accepts credit card payments. Since my debit card is already maxed out, I guess I'll send e-cards instead.

So I just have to wrap the gifts: I got Marco some nice cookies with a "slanted" mug, I have a little trinket box with earrings inside for Saskia (plus some bath goodies and a pen from Mueller), I bought some "Liebfrauenmilch" wine, and a terra cotta wine cooler for Gucki and Gabi, and I got TR an infared massage device. I also picked up a nice votive candle holder made of agate, for TE. I am thinking of baking something (maybe a fruitcake?), to bring with me to Mannheim, but I might not have enough time. I also have something for Kurt and Gisele, the building supers who have been so helpful (like letting me use their washing machine!).

Oh, and I spent some of the 95 euro gig money on something new: contact lenses. I've had them for three days now (I'm taking the day off today) and I wore them to team training last night. Normally, the thought of sticking things on my eyes is absolutely appalling, but I am making this grave sacrifice on behalf of "Koenig Fussball", and so that if the ball smacks me in the face (as it did last week), I won't be wearing shattered glass. Of course, I put my hand over my face last week, so the only result was a red nose.

It's been very cold at night, and I felt really listless the past two weeks, and huffing and panting at team training. I just don't seem to have much energy at this time of year, so I bought two blue light bulbs, one for the office, and one for the kitchen. They are actually meant for houseplants (the plants are looking a bit glum, come to think of it), but they are also for me, to improve my general mood and disposition.

So starting tommorrow, I've got two weeks off, and I'll have plenty of time to play "Oh du Froehich" on the organ, drink spiced wine, record music at home and spend an average of 40 minutes attempting to get those pesky contact lenses in my eyes. Maybe I need some kind of special mirror?

WORK AND PLAY...ING

2006-12-10T21:15:00.000+01:00

As soon as I thought that my days would be spent perusing "Kicker" and "Player" magazines, I got a mysterious call on my answering service (T- net box). It was an unfamiliar number, with no message. Perplexed, I called, and it was the "Ci Cambio Institute" in Mannnheim, who had just called regarding some courses in Bensheim. It just so happened to be a Wednesday, and I was on my way out the door to go to "Fussball Training" (I'm seemingly improving by leaps and bounds, although I've got to be careful not to leap and bound all over my teammates; apparently some of them don't really appreciate being "fouled"!). I took the number down, and promised to call back, but didn't get around to it till Friday.

It turns out that they needed someone for a "Krankenvertretung"- to fill in for someone who's sick, that is, and the courses are all being taught at Suzuki, in Benshiem. Actually, the guy teaching the courses, Marc Beerman, decided to go back to New Zealand for family reasons, so sickness had nothing to do with it. I was about to say that Benshiem's too far away, when I heard that the courses pay 20 euros per hour, plus 5 euros trainfare. I asked how often per week that would be, and found out that they needed someone for 5 courses, five days a week. At this point, I thought, hmmm, I could buy a weekly card, and go there every morning.

So, to make a long story short, I've been going to Benshiem every morning during the week, since the 20th, to teach 2 hours. Of course, this means getting up every morning at 5 AM, catching the early train to get there at 7:15, teaching till 9, and then catching the 10:15 train to get back at 11. So my whole morning is gone (If I get a ride from a co-worker, I can catch the 9:15 train, and be at home by 10). But I figure, for 800 bucks a month (which must be about 1000 US dollars a month), I'll do it. The courses end at the end of February, but I am hoping that they will be extended, or that I'll pick up new ones.

Around the same time, I found an article in the newspaper that stated that my favorite hangout, the Cafe Aqui, was looking for some musicians for a concert series, so I immmediately sent off an email, got the address, and mailed off my presskit. So I have a gig arranged, for the 18th of this month. Not only that, but the folks at the cafe sent off the info to all of the newspapers, and my picture was in the paper, as well as on "meinestadt.de" website. The concert series is called Aqui Live.

So I'm quite busy at the moment... and I'm getting free voice lessons from Ludmilla (in exchange for English lessons).

Oh, and the "Damenmannschaft" was in the paper. We had a little get-together at the VIP room after training on the 29th, (the much-balleyhooed "buffet" was just pork and bread) and we filled out the forms to join the Fussball verein, and our picture was taken. So now our pic is in the newspaper .

Opera and Fussball

2006-11-12T23:56:00.000+01:00

What do these things have in common? Well, both require dedication, talent and passion. Both are dramatic. And...you can learn everything you need to know about life by watching Operas, or soccer games (Fussball here in Germany).

I survived Fussball training last week, and even made a goal. I have to admit my skills are not so great, but I was not the only one wearing glasses, or the only one who seemed a bit less-than-stellar. There were some really good players there, and a couple who seemed....well, not so good, and it was quite a mixed group, including two girls from South America. I am in pretty good shape, though, and the running and sprinting went OK.

The next day, though, my legs were in pain, and heavy like lead, and the thought occurred to me that perhaps I had pushed myself too hard. By the weekend, though, I seemed to be recovering.

Then I made the next mistake. I had ordered a one euro home organ from ebay, and I went with F. to pick it up in Mommenheim. After we got it (the following Sunday) I had to move all of the furniture around to make room. Naturally, I use my legs (my strongest body part) to move things, rather than my arms and back.

By the next Wednesday, I was totally useless. I guess I strained my quadroceps. Every time I tried to kick my legs, or sprint, my legs were in pain. Needless to say, training didn't go well.
After training, I rode over to F's place, and I treated him to a drink and a snack at the cafe (to thank him for helping me with the organ), and I enjoyed a nice, cold beer. You're supposed to have carbos after a workout, you know. When I got home, I rubbed some sport goo all over my legs.

This weekend, I took it easy. I did go to the fitness center, just to do light jogging (I can do that without pain) and I am hoping to be back in top form for Wednesday.

Yesterday, I had to go to Mainz for a Seminar ("Stoerungen in Erwachsenerbildung") at the VHS in Mainz. Well, I didn't have to go, but it looks bad if you don't attend these silly things. Anyhow, the seminar was mildly interesting, the weather was drizzly and dreary, but the coffee and cookies were excellent (typisch Deutsch!*), and I met an interesting Opera singer/ music teacher, who teaches at the music school. Her name is Ludmilla Der.

We had a very interesting conversation, and on our way to the train station, I found a book shop that specializes in English language books. Guess what I bought? "Mastering Soccer", from 1979, featuring atrocious hairstyles of the 70's, and some nice tips on how to do proper defense...passing the ball, tackling...all for only 50 cents! So I've got some good ideas, and I'm hoping I can try all of this out on Wednesday, if my legs will cooperate.

*typisch Deutsch- typical German; only in Germany!

A COOL DREAMER

2006-11-01T17:15:00.000+01:00

That's the name of the Kid's Musical that we produced on the last week of the "ferien"- Josef, ein echt cooler Trauemer". But I think that it might make a good title for my life, as well. I have embarked on another insane mission- to turn myself into the next Ronaldino..... or Mia Hamm.....or perhaps, more realistically, a person who can occasionally pass a soccer ball to another person.

Since the World Cup, I have been suffering from this "strange malady", and have tried to cure myself by kicking "officially licensed FIFA World Cup" ball around at home, mainly against the fridge. (I blame FIFA, for apparently using subliminal advertising. I have obviously been hypnotised!)I also bought myself a small "goleo" mascot, wisely waiting until he was on sale for 99 cents.

I reasoned that I was merely letting off steam,and amusing myself, but actually, I was envisioning scoring goals in my kitchen. Well, lo and behold, my prayers have been answered, and some local students have decided to organize a women's "Fussball Mannschaft", which will be the official "Wormatia" women's team. Of course, I am only the next Mia Hamm in my dreams, but I figure, I could show up and volunteer to be a benchwarmer.....I could be an "ersatz" player, you know, like if the whole rest of the team is suffering from shin splints.

Anyhow, this evening, I will be biking over to the BIZ (Bildungszentrum) with my new shoes (silver Adidas turf shoes) and shin guards (at the age of 39 and 3/4, this is the first time in my life I have ever owned a pair of shin guards), and I'll give it a shot. This is my version of an "extreme sport". At any rate, it'll be more fun than running in the park alone.

The kid's musical went well, in the end. The rehearsals in and of themselves were stressfull, and for the first two days, the kids were running wild a bit. Reality did set in, though, and as the week progressed, they started to take it more seriously. It was a bit much, though, for them to learn 11 songs by heart, and do acting, dancing, etc. Next time, we should take the whole 2 weeks. The final show was incredible. Sure, a couple of the solo singers sang a bit off key, but then again, 4 or 5 of them sang really well. The dancers were great (professionaly choreagraphed as well, by a woman who owns a dance studio in Ludwigshafen. And everyone said that the background music was very fitting. A roaring success....and I got my pic in the newspaper, as well.

I didn't get back to Andy, or work on the Opera as expected, since I had to fill out the VHS paperwork for next Semester- 5 courses in all. I was also caught up in preparing for the Kindergarten classes, now that I have three groups, 2 new ones and one advanced course. I had 13 hours of private lessons last week, and I spent some of the extra money on the "Fussball" shoes, shinguards and a new blue hoodie. It has now suddenly gotten cold, so that hooodie will come in handy.

I also went to two concerts last week. On Monday, Frau Braun (my retired English tutee, who often mixes up her verb tenses) told me that she had an extra ticket for the Opera (actually, it was an Operetta) and asked me if I wanted to go on Tuesday evening. So instead of "Hauskreis" (bible study group), I went to see "Die Bajadere", by Kalman. The singers were all from Budapest, and sang German with thick accents, but it was fun, anyway.Last Saturday, I went to another concert, as well. The Music School here hosted a recital of pieces by Gustav von Luepke, a composer who died young during WWI.

So I guess you could call me a very cultured "footballer". Let's see if tonight I can actually show some prowess with the ball!

Surviving...and thriving

2006-10-15T19:50:00.000+02:00

I spent the first two weeks of October battling a terrible cold, which I got just as I got back from a trip to Koblenz, on the 24th of September. The weather, which had been cold and rainy, suddenly became hot and sunny. The trip was a mission festival for the FEG churches, and I went along just because I was curious to see Koblenz, and because I thought maybe there would be single Christian guys there. When I got there, I realized that the Koblenz FEG is located in an industrial area, and that most of the people attending were middle-aged married types. There also wasn't anything for me to eat. Or drink. They charged money for mineral water, and they only had goulash to eat. I had brought some little Florentines with me and ate them, and drank some water, and ate an apple, but was quite disappointed.

When I got back, I was very thirsty and tired, and the next day, I felt a bit under the weather. I decided to go running, anyhow, just for a bit, and I took some vitamins, but the next couple of days, I felt much worse. I was losing my voice, and felt hot and cold. I missed my organ lesson that Thursday, and didn't help with the Putzteam, and by the weekend, my nose was totally stopped up and I had a headache. There was a rehearsal for the Freedom Family that Sunday, but I stayed home.

The week afterwards, I started to have a toothache. By now, I started to think there was something seriously wrong. My whole jaw ached, and it was hard to open my mouth. Because Tuesday, the 3rd, was a holiday, I got to stay home from work, but things didn't improve. On Thursday, I went to the office, and asked if anyone could reccomend a dentist. Anna G. gave me the name of her dentist, and I called and made an apppointment for the next day.

I was sure there was something terribly wrong, and that maybe I needed a root canal, which would cost hundreds of euros. Fortunately, the dentist had a look, and told me the gums just needed cleaning. Now that I look back, it was probably caused by sinus pressure. Anyhow, it only cost me 27 euros, and apparently, I don't have any new cavities.

The Saturday afterwards, I was visiting the bank, and I got a call on my cell phone from Andy, the guitarist. He wanted to know if we could get together to work on some new songs, so I invited him to drop by that evening. He's got some new instrumental tunes, and is really enthused about starting a new project.

I told F. about it on Sunday, and we talked about it again on Tuesday. Apparently, he isn't so enthused. He has a lot of reasons why he thinks it won't work out, etc. He says that he doesn't like all of my songs, my lyrics are not easy enough to understand, he doesn't want to play in clubs, etc., etc. I guess I'll ask Andy if he knows any drummers who have a positive attitude.

I was in such a good mood before F. brought me down. On Monday, I had met with Anja to talk about the incidental music I had composed for the kid's musical. The music for the songs themselves is already done, of course, and will be on playback, but inbetween, I will play during the narration. She was very impressed (it's easy to impress non-musicians).

On Tuesday, after listening to Frank Zappa's "The Yellow Shark", I had been inspired to finally work on the libretto of what will be my short opera for four singer, choir and instrumental enseble, entitled, "This is Reagan's Brain".

So between the new band, the Musical and the opera, I am very much musically busy.

I had time for these things because of the fall vacation... the schools are closed, and I had a week off from the VHS. I used the end of the week (Thursday and Friday) to clean and redecorate the apartment. I bought some new kitchen towels (with an "Espresso" pattern) and changed the tablecloth and bedsheets, and vacuumed, mopped and cleaned the toilet and shower. On Friday, I was just back from throwing out the bottles (into the recycling bin down the street) when Anja D., the new student, shhowed up in a small van with a dog in the back.

She wanted to go to a cafe and smoke, so we went to the ice cream cafe at the marketplace, and her dog, a medium sized, mop-type dog, sat and occasionally barked at other dogs. I had an iced coffee, and we chatted. Later, we got into an interesting discussion about religion. She told me that I was the first person she had ever met who actually had read the Bible! This was odd, I said. Don't German people take religion classes in school?, I asked her. Oh, yes, she said, laughing, but in Pfeddersheim, the pastor who was supposed to teach her class was drunk most of the time!

Yesterday, I finally had a Saturday off (Konstantine and Julia didn't want to have tutoring during their "vacation"), so I went to Mannheim, and TR and I visited Luisenpark. TR was full of pep, and we walked all over the park, gazing at butterflies, attending an art exhibit, looking at flamingoes and storks, and eating some delicious cake. It was quite warm and sunny for a couple of hours in the afternoon, although in the evening, it became chilly. We went to the "Weinstube" for dinner, and TR ordered the "cheese with musik", and I had fried fish and chips, and a big glass of wine. We really had a great conversation- you can talk to TR about everything. I told her the plot for my opera, about internet dating (I'm trying a new website- hope springs eternal!), and we laughed about life in general.

Today, I'm resting and taking it easy. Tomorrow, all hell breaks loose- the rehearsals for the kid's musical, "Ein Echt Cooler Traumer", begin. And I'll be busy all week!

Procrastination

2006-09-20T11:35:00.000+02:00

Actually, this is a link to a website about "Structured Procrastination", which is something that I am certainly very good at. It's when you basically put off one annoying task for another, using your "to do" list as a means of avoiding the task you really don't want to do (like re-organizing your computer files, or teaching materials, in order to avoid doing your taxes!). I've been doing a lot of that lately....

The "Nibelungenlauf" roadrace is over, and I didn't do as well as expected. The weather was hotter than expected, and I had to slow down in the middle, due to thirst and my overheated condition. I only bettered my time by one minute. I was supposed to sing at the Luther Denkmal outdoor "Gottesdienst" on the same day, at 4 PM. Unfortunately, the city neglected to tell the churches in the Evangelical Alliance that the Luther Monument would be covered in awning for cleaning, and that we wouldn't be able to do it there, after all. We found out two days before, and decided that the service would be at the FEG. After the race, I was exhausted, but I pulled it off, anyway.

The next weekend was my gig at Jurgen H.'s birthday party. He is the father of Julia and Konstantin, whom I am tutoring. I was supposed to sing and play the piano for a couple of sets, before they put on the boogie woogie CD and start dancing. I got paid 100 Euros for the gig, but it was stressful. Most of the people were loudly talking, and I wasn't sure if I was playing well or not. I didn't have a monitor, and I didn't bring a jacket (it was a bit chilly outside); also, I should have brought my piano bench (their chairs were too low- I had to use three cushions). On the plus side, the people were nice, and I got some lovely salmon and red wine (I was offered champagne, but I wisely demurred, since I didn't want to drink before I played, and champagne gives me headaches).

My organ lessons are difficult, since I have, so far, only one place to practice the pedals, and that's by F's parents. I have learnt one piece already, but the 4 part piece is a challennge. I have to work on the fingerings, playing legato and using the feet properly.

The guitar course is going better than expected. It's also forcing me to work on my own guitar playing. I went to the city library and got a bunch of guitar books and a book of blues riffs for piano. I'm working on the left hand. Next time I have a solo gig, I'll be able to do a better left hand line.

This should keep me suitably distracted from the usual insanity going on in the world, including nuns getting murdered because the Pope quoted a midieval Turk in a plea against violence. Ironic, huh? The Pope says violence should never be justified through religion, and Muslims react by going crazy and acting violent. I just wish they'd shut up already, or perhaps develop a sense of humor.

I do note, however, that the countries that have lenient laws towards marijuana and alcohol (Sweden, Switzerland, etc.) have very little violence or war, and that those that prohibit them (i.e., Muslim countries, countries with a history of prohibition, like the US) have lots of violence and war. So the solution to Mideast problems? Don't drop bombs- drop bags of weed and kegs of beer! These people obviously need to learn how to chill out!

Life goes on....

2006-09-04T15:21:00.000+02:00

The new semester is here, which means that the kid's courses have started. This week, the VHS courses start, as well, including the new guitar course that starts tonight. I am hoping that everything will work out OK, since I have never taught a guitar course before.

This weekend, I will be singing at the Outdoor "Luther Denkmal" church service. It's the same day as the "Nibelungen Lauf", which I have been training for. The running is the only thing that has been going well. On Saturday, I had a pleasant surprise while running through the park- the trees in the park are full of pears and apples. I took some home with me.

Now that the vacation time is over, the weather is sunny and warm. All of August was wet, rainy and cool. I spent a lot of time visiting the fitness center, though, and have been working on my abs and arms.

This whole week long was the "Backfischfest", a big festival with wine tents, rides, music, etc. I wanted to go last weekend, but it rained (I went to the fitness center, instead). Alll week, I was busy with other things. Finally, I went last night with F. to see the fireworks. We found Peter and Sylvia there and were hanging out, and they told us that the fireworks and music were cancelled, because of a tragic accident. I wanted to have a wine sample, and got a glass, but the others didn't want any. We were waiting for Sharma and her sister to come back, and I was getting hungry. By the time they got back, I decided to go out and find something to eat, but all of the stands were closing, and there wasn't any fish left. I went back to the wine tent and told everyone I was going to go home. No fish, no fireworks, nobody drinking wine with me.... what's the point? Gee, it was so much fun when I first came to Worms....

I have to practice for my gig on the 16th, as well as the kid's musical next month. I hope I survive it all. I'm also trying to organize a rehearsal to work on some of my tunes with some musicians I've met.... I guess it's not gonna happen this week, especially with the guitar class, the concert on Sunday, and training for the road race.

Recovering from the World Cup

2006-08-14T11:36:00.000+02:00

My lost month was spent....of course, by sitting around in my jammies, watching the World Cup. Mundane things such as sleeping, cleaning, doing laundry (or blogging) had to compete with the growing obsession with the German team, which, next to Ukraine, had the most sexy guys, especially the "lecker" Torsten Frings, who made an especially exhilarating goal in the first game, from 40 meters away...

OK, I know,"Fussball" is supposed to be a "guy thing". That's what all of the newspapers and magazines were saying. There were even anti- fussball books for women being published. One TV station had stupid women's films (like "Castaway", starring Madonna) during the games, and they actually expected that only men were going to get into the World Cup. No dice! Every cafe and bar in town showed the games on big screen TV's, the city Mission showed all of the games with Germany on the big screen (with pre-game worship music), and contrary to expectation, when the whole city ran out into the streets to celebrate, there were men, women and children, all ages (well, the little old ladies, in General, stayed in). Flags, silly hats and German-colored flower garlands were selling like hotcakes. Every store had "Germany" t-shirts, with flags on them. I actually ended up buying three.

I will never forget how the whole city celebrated- the whole country cheered every time the team won. After hearing so many pessimistic predictions (that the national team would be quickly eliminated), it was heartening to see them do so well. I started to think, well, maybe there is hope for me, as well. After all, I've often been the loser, and no one predicted I would do well.

The weather was terribly hot. I had two Summer courses planned, but one was cancelled. There wasn't much work for me, so I allowed myself to become totally consumed. I bought "Sportbild", and read "Kicker" magazine (thhe VHS Hausmeister let me read them when he was finished). I watched the after-game commentaries, annd read the online reports (The Guardian has an excellent sports page). I was convinced that the forces of good were at work in the games, that the teams that play fairest, and with the right attitude will win over those whho play unfairly. My faith in God gave me great hope.

Then, the forces of darkness stepped in. The Argentine team attacked the German team after an astounding upset, and the Argentines got into trouble over it. The Italian media got involved, and just befor Germany was to play Italy, the Italians (clearly the dirtiest team there, what withe the unending game-fixing scandals, the theatrical diving, the fouls, etc.) managed to talk the FIFA officials into making Frings (see above link) sit out the game. Italy pulled their usual hijinks, the game went into overtime, Italy scored two last-minute goals, and the rest is history. Germany ended up with third place.

As dissapointing as that was, the game between Italy and France was also a letdown. I rooted for France, who were the underdogs and, I thought, deserved it more than Italy. Unfortunately, the great Zidane "Zouzou" ended his career and the World Cup by getting a red card for head-butting one of the obnoxious Italians. Italy, of course, won. I guess this proves that either a. God doesn't watch the World Cup, or b. The Devil has more of a vested interest in the games.

Those who still haven't recovered can do some head butting here, and get it all out of their systems.

As soon as the WM 2006 was over, though, I had to get it together for my gig, which, despite my lack off enthusiasm, went well. I managed to get some cool musicians from Mannneheim to do the gig with me (including a very cute bassist named Maurice), James Simpson backed out at the last minute, and I got a sub for him, and we played well.

Pfingsten

2006-06-16T10:08:00.000+02:00

A virtually unpronounceable word- Pfingsten- which means "Pentecost". As a child, this was just a word on the liturgical calendar which we used to get from the Episcopalian church. The Sundays had different colors, purple, green and red. The only important liturgical events were Advent, Lent, Christmas and Easter. Not so here in good ol' Deutschland, where each church festival must religiously (and irreligiously) be celebrated. Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day), Pfingstmontag (Pentecost) and Fronleichnam (a Mideival Catholic holiday) are all public holidays, with everything closed, which means (for me) one day less of paid work.

During the whole week of Pfingst, however, Worms has the Pfingstmarkt, which is like a fair, with rides, games of chance, cotton candy and sweets, greasy sausage, and exhibitions of various sorts. Most of the exhibitions are things for the home, health and fitness articles (an organic bakery had a stand there) and promotional items (I won some free software from .Com magazine). Since the Pfingstmarkt is open on Sundays (everything else is closed on Sundays), it's the only place you can shop on Sundays. The Summer weather came with the Pfingstmarkt, too- suddenly, the days are infinitely long, and the sun shines.

There was a jam session on the 8th, at the Cafe Schmidt, with Ralf Gauck. I have sometimes sung at the session, but I often feel annoyed at having to wait to be last to sing or perform. I also find it a bit annoying that it's often the same people there. In Mannheim, ther are oftten new faces at the sessions. But I wanted to check it out, anyhow, so I dropped by. The guys were friendly, and I did "Summertime", but I didn't feel like I sang very well, and there wasn't a great groove going on. I did tell the guys there about my gig at the Eiscafe (I was embarrassed that I couldn't say more about who would play, since at the moment, I only have a drummer lined up!)and I invited the saxophone player to sit in.

I had to go to Mainz again on Friday, for yet another Seminar. This one wasn't paid for, so I paid 45 Euros and trainfare, plus Jugendherberge. I spent the whole morning going throughh my receipts (I'm still not finished with my tax forms/banking crap)and got there just in time for the workshop, which was about translating. I had, stupidly, signed up for the workshop as soon as I got the form from the VHS, thinking that Frau Denschlag probably wanted me to finish the Weiterbildung as soon as possible, and that this was the last Seminar I could take before next Semester. I had totally overlooked the fact that this weekend was the beginning of the Fussball Weltmeisterschaft (World Cup). I'm not a sports fanatic, but I had hoped to see the opening on TV, since this is a big event, and I thought it would be fun to watch. Fortunately, our professor let us out a bit early, and I got a ride to the JHB, where a big screen was set up to watch the game. It had already started, and I got a beer, and after much deliberation, ordered the fish fingers. I had brought my peanut butter and rye bread, plus some wine, spelt cookies, and an apple, so there was no danger of starving. The fish fingers were a good choice, since they came with salad (not bad for 1.60), and Germany won the match.

Later, I took a walk with my roommate-du-jour, a pretty ballerina from Paris wo was in Mainz for a performance with the opera. We walked around the Volkspark, and chatted, and later, I lit my Shabbat candles and took a swig of wine (and some bread with peanut butter). Yes, I know, peanut butter isn't exactly a traditional shabbat food, but at least it's kosher.

When I got back from the seminar on Saturday afternoon, I was exhausted, but after a nice nap, I headed over to the Cafe Schmidt to meet with some friends from the FEG. Marcos had organized this, with the idea that we would form a "young adult" group to meet every month or so. I asked Nadine how she was doing, and I couldn't help but feel sad when she tearfully told us about her parents' sudden death and funeral. I noticed that Flo was sitting at the end of the table, flanked by Nicole and Simone, who was feeding him from her plate.

This week, I had no work on Fronleichnam, so I decided to practice for my gig and clean. I managed to practice (Gott sei dank), but after a couple of hours slogging through my music, I felt exhausted, and had no desire to clean the apartment. It had suddenly become very humid, and dark clouds were gathering. I had invited Michael from Bobenheim to come over and go over some tunes, thinking that he might want to do the gig. He came at around 4:30, but told me that he would be going to Ireland, and couldn't play. I was dissappointed, but wanted to be polite, so I offered him a Cappuccino.

He then told me something of great interest, however. It turns out that Michael is doing an Ausbildung as a church organist. The training costs 155 euros per semester (half a year), although Michael hasn't paid anything yet. When you get the "C-Schein", you can get paid to play at weddings, funerals, church services, etc. You can also get paid work as a choir leader. Of course, I think you have to learn 150 hymns to finish the course of study. So Michael gave me the number of the Cantor in Frankenthal, and I'm going to check it out. The courses are in the mornings, in Bad Durkheim. Now that the silly computer course is finished, I have plenty of time in the mornings. I think it would be cool to learn how to play the organ.

Last night, I went to a free concert at the Marketplace with Friedemann. It was a psychedelic progressive heavy metal band.

MAY MADNESS

2006-05-29T12:56:00.000+02:00

Well, May is almost over, and what a crazy month.It seemed like a month of reversals and weird irony.

Firstly, the weather has been either cold and wet, or hot and sunny, mostly the latter. I went to Mannheim to visit TR for her birthday (on Mayday) and we had to sit inside for cake and coffee, instead of in the garden, because of the dreary weather. I had bought a bird feeder from Mueller (special price) and a small bouquet of flowers and a chocolate truffle heart that I had picked up in the train station, the only place where the shops are open on May Day. Mom had sent a big, huge bouquet and Gabi had also brought some flowers.

Last year, I baked a cake, an impossibility this year due to the fact that the big Hassloch Jesus Festival was the night before (I went with Friedemann, Andreas, and Andreas' girlfriend; unfortunately, Flo couldn't come... such a disappointment), and I went to bed late. Just getting out of bed the next day, wrapping a present, taking a shower and catching the train was enough for me.

Despite the fact that she had just turned 85, TR pulled out all stops, turning out three cakes. I brought a bunch of photos from NY and NJ, and showed everybody.

I managed to pick up TR's old waffle iron while I was there, and the following week I made myself some waffles. They were great, although they were very hard to get out of the waffle iron. I guess you need to use a lot of oil...and have a lot of patience.

Speaking of patience, it seems that I am very short of patience lately. A lot of things have been annoying. Work hasn't been- unlike last year, everything has been running relatively smoothly, and even the little orcs are (mostly) well-behaved. No, the annoyances are from other areas. For instance, my paperwork for the jazz lecture for the VHS mysteriously dissappeared, because I handed it in too early, on the wrong color paper.

The guitar course has been once again put off till Fall. The Swedish shoe people won't send me a pair until they get paid (like last time) so I have to call TE, and have the money sent by bank transfer. Oh, and the gig. I finally got a date for a gig at the Eiscafe, but the date had to be moved over to July because of the World Cup. (Who is going to go to the Cafe to hear jazz during "Fussball Fever"?) Now, I am having trouble getting musicians together. The good news- I have a drummer. Now I have to get the set list together, and organize a rehearsal. I guess I should get off my butt and mosey down to the Cafe Schmidt, and get a gig there, as well.

After I got all of the paperwork over to the VHS for the Fall Semester (the 3 courses will go further, plus the guitar course, God willing), and discussed the Summer courses, and went over all of my Summer planning, I realized that I didn't have a damn thing to do all August long. I mean, outside of private students, the kindergarten courses and perhaps some tutoring at the Studienkreis. I'm not even sure if the kindergartens are open. So I'm thinking: I'll (finally) finish my novel, and maybe do some recording. I have been helping with the Putzteam more often, since I really haven't got anything better to do on Thursday mornings, and I figure that if I help every week, that's a bit of extra money in the bank at the beginning of the month.

But just as I was wrapped up in my own pursuits, namely, work, music and quality footwear, the world started exploding all around me, not just the usual insanity of wars, floods, earthquakes and tornados. Firstly, the worship team, which now, thank God, has Flo playing bass (and often dropping by my apartment afternoon to chat, which has made my life much more interesting lately) started having problems. Basically, Daniela didn't agree with Bede's leadership as the Deacon, and complained. So we had to stop having rehearsals for the worship team, while all of this is sorted out.

Flo was unemployed, which is sad for him, but I was looking foreward to hanging out with him (my employed friends have no time for me). I even suggested we take a drive to Strasbourg one day. Just as soon as Flo found a great new job in Walldorf at a guitar shop, though, Friedemann lost his job (after 7 months at his new job). Now, Flo wants to move away to either Speyer or Walldorf, where he will undoubtedly be surrounded by panty- flinging beauties, and he will undoubtedly marry a high-heeled brunette (I'm starting to hate all brunettes- they get all the cute guys, don't they), and move into one of those Lego- houses. Then, it'll be bye bye Flo. I'll try to not cry at his wedding. Damn guitar shop! Maybe Friedemann will drive me to Strasbourg.

Then, on May 14th, mother's day, I had a rehearsal with the FFC. I shared all of my good news (the gig, the trip to the US), and I sang a solo bit on "God is". I had managed to call NE before I left, and when I got back (we actually managed to get there and leave early) I called again. Naomi is still looking for work, and is having problems with some of the Poco people, as well as arguing with George. Both of them are very similar, which is probably why they fight. When either of them has an opinion, they won't back down. I can be opinionated, as well, of course; I've just learnt to hide it a bit better. It must be that Saxon warrior blood coursing through our veins. It was really beautiful weather on Mother's Day, and I called TR and Mom, to see if they had received my cards.

I later found out that on the same day, May 14th, Nadine's parents both died in a terrible motorcycle accident. I didn't find out till on Saturday afternoon, though. She had just gotten off the phone with her parents, and wished her Mom a happy mother's day, when they went out to go for a ride. On the 20th, we had a concert with the FFC, and Steffi Diri, who had been to the burial, told me about it. It's funny that no one at the office told me, but then, I'm always a bit out of the loop.

The concert itself was a bit stressful. As we were driving there (Steffi drove) it started to rain and hail, and tree branches were blowing all over the place. We got there really early, for the sooundcheck, at 6, and waited around for the concert, which was at 8. Actually, the concert wasn't very well-attended. I wonder if it was well promoted or not. At any rate, the timing couldn't have been worse- it was the same weekend as the "Rhineland- Pfalz" Festival in Speyer, which featured free concerts. Also, Beindersheim is a bit of a small village, just outside of Frankenthal, so it's not exactly like playing at Madison Square Garden. The restaurant area was filled with smoke, and since I hadn't wanted to eat before singing, I waited till after, and sat in the smoke-filled room to eat. I ordered the fish, thinking that at least it sin't meat, and found out that the potato salad that came with it had bits of pork in it, which I had to pick out. The beer was good, though having it on an empty stomach was probably not a good idea. The next day, I had a terrible headache and was nauseous. This was all followed by a terrible cold, which I still have today.

I had to spend all off last week resting up, taking Salbei* bonbons, drinking orange juice and vitamin C drink, and staying indoors as much as possible. Of course, it rained just about all week, except for Wednesday. I did manage to snag a great new pair of summer shoes (high-heeled man-catchers) for 10 Euros, which I couldn't wear because they are suede, and it kept raining.

There was craziness at the apartment; while I was sick in bed, coughing up mucus, my nieghbor, Oliver, got drunk, stole Peter's car keys from the office and got into a scuffle with the police in Ludwigshafen while driving the stolen car. Later, he stole a pair of wedding rings from the church office (Hilmar was going to perform a wedding ceremony). Peter and Sylvia want a new apartment, and Hilmar wants Oliver to move out. Gee, I thought he was going to "turn over a new leaf". I guess not.

Frau Marquardt told me that we would have a special promotion on the weekend, and that I would have to give out flyers between eleven and one. I rearranged my schedule for Saturday, and then the promotion was cancelled due to weather.

Thursday was a holiday, Christi Himmelfahrt, and I had planned to go to a concert at the Organic winery. Unfortunately, I was coughing, sneezing and dripping all day long, and it wouldn't stop raining. I ended up staying in and websurfing. Some day off.

I was feeling a bit better over the weekend, though- well enough to visit the "Spektakulum" Festival, a middle ages market set up in the city park. The Spektakulum started on Friday night, but I wasn't feeling up to going out on Friday. I had gone out in the rain on Friday afternoon, to the kindergarten, and when I got there, it was closed. I guess they had decided to make it a 4 day weekend.

Nonplussed, I decided to go do my shopping at Plus, and I picked up a rye bread and some other things. I was a bit wet from the ride, so I took my time. Later, I went to Netto and got water and wine. I also cleaned the hallway. In the evening, after having checked off at least half of my "To-do" list, I opened up the bottle of wine, and guess what? It was vinegar.

I did visit the Spektakulum on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, talked with craftspeople, bought some cool metal Celtic buttons for my "Umhang", and drank some Schwarzbier. The music was not as good as expected. It was mostly local acts, a bunch of ladies singing and playing instruments, a guy who sang and played the lute, hurdy-gurdy, etc. It would have been nice to see more big groups.

I missed the best group, Faun, which were playing on Sunday evening, because I had to rush home for the Freedom Family rehearsal at 4 PM. Ironically, as I was crossing the marketplace in my cape and rennaisance dress, a red car honked and I recognized Veronika, Steffi's Mom. I hopped in, we picked up Steffi, and we drove to the FEG. I ran in to my apartment to use the loo and choke down a slice of bread wih avocado and creamm cheese, and was getting ready to run out again, when Steffi rang my doorbell to tell me that there wouldn't be rehearsal today. It had been cancelled. Gee, Daniela could have told me after church- I guess she was too busy talking to Bede about the music team problems.

Oh, and after all of the to-do about the Kid's musical, we might have to use the playback, after all. So I guess there was no point in learning the music.

Alanis Morissette got nothin' on me. I'm the queen of irony.

*Salbei- Sage
*Umhang- Midieval Cape

Here comes the sun

2006-04-30T16:12:00.000+02:00

Well, I'm back from the land of plastic, with my head, heart and nose all in one piece.

While in NY/NJ, I bought: a pair of pajamas at Conway's, free samples at Macy's and Lord and Taylor, 2 new purses (a blue fake D&G bag, and brown suede hippie fringe purse) from Chinatown, kid's English workbooks at the 99 cent shop, a metal "Meteor Coffee" sign for the kitchen, 4 "art prints" from the flea market (for a dollar), two travel bags (to carry all of the stuff) and a bunch of books. Needless to say, the suitcases were packed... plus, I got all of the stuff that was in Cleo's, my old running shoes, beanie babies, clothes, doorbell, cell phone,glitter mirror, etc. Mom also gave me a beautiful Wedgewood vase, which I put in my bedroom.

On Thursday evening, I met Nick at Cleo's and we had some great dessert at a small cafe, then I went to hear the first set. I would have stayed longer, but I felt like I was falling asleep. On Friday, I went to the coffee shop on 207th St. with Billy for breakfast, visited the 99 cent shop, then went downtown to meet Dawn Michele at Starbuck's. We went to Dojo's for lunch. Dojo's was always my favorite hangout for lunch when I went to NYU (although in my punk days, we all considered it a "yuppie dive".... I guess either the place changed, or I did). The soy burgers there still cost 3 bucks, and the drinks are inexpensive.... although, there isn't any Franziskaner Weissbier! Na ja, you can't have everything.

D.M. is back to working where she previously worked, and has not time. They have her working all hours, and even taking work home. I wonder, what good does it do to live in an "exciting" big city, when all you ever do is work? But she's thinking of leaving....again. While downtown, I just had to stop in to Ricky's and buy myself some blue hair dye... you can't get it here, and you never know when it'll come in handy.

Friday night, Dennis dropped by Billy's really late. It turns out that Frodo's is in Pleasantville...apropos, non? We had the flounder, and I kept joking about Gollum and the "fissshhhhhhy!" It was a great meal. Afterwards, there was a lot of fog on the road, and it was hard driving. I was falling asleep, and Denethond made a pit-stop at Wendy's so we could have some very weak coffee (I guess I'm used to the high-octane, German stuff). We got to Mom's very late.

On Saturday, me Mom and "Francesco the Great" went out to eat at the Eagle Diner, and I got to eat a typically huge American Omellette. After gorging, we drove back and I stopped to take some photos of New Hope and Lambertville. Ironically enough, "Love Saves the Day", a store I remember from the East Village in the 80's, has relocated to New Hope. It was very sunny, summer weather, and I vowed to paint my toenails so I could put on sandals later. This is a tourist area, so there are lots of fancy cars, and big trucks.

Saturday night, I went to NE's, listened to Poco, ate some chili with chips, and hung out. We drove around looking for wine, but she didn't know where a liquor store was. Strange, in NY (and Germany, as well) you can buy wine at any store, even a gas station. I guess the Pennsylvanians are a bit prudish. Finally we found a beer place open, and bought a cheap bottle (3 bucks) of some sort of wine beverage. Here, In Worms, you get a nice bottle of French Merlot, or local wine, for 2 or 3 euros.... a real bottle, with a cork! Naomi is still "arbeitslos"*.

We went to Naomi's megachurch in the morning, after I had a very uncomfortable night attempting to sleep on the loveseat. Afterwards, we drove to Mom's, and I made a quick sandwich before we headed off to George's. (I notice that nobody is into eating 3 meals anymore- gorge for breakfast, skip lunch, gorge for dinner. It's a wonder that American peoples' bowels work at all).

We all visited George and Cynthia and the three kids for the afternoon. David (aka "Kwabena"), only 3 years old, already knows how to play every kid's online video game, and he knows how to log onto the weather channel for the weather report. He loves the characters from "Spongebob Squarepants". Amofa wasn't feeling good, but baby Georgie was very happy, and Mom played with him on the carpet. When we left, David said, "You're not going!" to all of us. I really hope to see them all again soon.

After George's, we had to go out and eat something. Naomi and Frank were a bit dizzy from lack of food (I'm glad I ate that sandwich), so we went to TGI Friday's. I was a bit embarrassed that Frank wanted the music turned lower. I tried to explain that it's a place for young people.... oh, well, the waiter was nonplussed, and made a special effort to be nice. I ordered the fish and chips (it didn't come with cole slaw- TGIF, apparently doesn't have cole slaw- so I ordered a salad), and I had a beer with it (hey, I'm on vacation!). The portions were enormous.Frank said the burger was excellent. I was surprised- he's very finicky.

One huge problem I'd been having is the lack of a debit card. While in NY, I visited the bank and gave them Mom's new address. I also visited the county clerk to inquire about the divorce papers, and went to the German Embassy to inquire about student visas. I got my new debit card in the mail the second day I was at Mom's. endlich!*

On Monday, Mom, Frank and I went to Peddler's Village, and Mom and I had Chocolate Mousse cake (for lunch- again, huge breakfast, no lunch) and coffee. Peddler's Village is a collection of shops, gift shops, chinaware, clothes, accesories, etc., all in old-fashioned, victorian style, with landscaped gardens. I wanted to find something for the kitchen wall, and finally one store had this cute metal sign for "Meteor Coffee", which Mom bought for me. I took quite a few photos. It was, again, very sunny. I'm surprised I didn't end up with sunburn! Good think I brought sunglasses!

The next day, we went to Border's (I wanted to buy books), and on Wednesday, we went to East Brunswick so I could verify my card, and get some money. We stopped in to Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee (endlich*! Cappuccino!) and went home afterwards, then went out to look at antique shops and art galleries.

Mom and Frank's new apartment is nice, and almost as big as the previous one. There is an exercise room, and a small library with a piano, which I practiced on.

I spent my last weekend in NY- I sang and played piano at the "Gifted Hands" meeting (Dustee gave me free passes to a classical concert at Carnegie Hall), then on Friday, went shopping for jeans, then went uptown to Billy's
The weather had just started to change on the weekend. Friday it was starting to get cloudy. It was Billy's birthday, so I baked a roast chicken with potatoes, yams and rice, and Jonathan (Billy's roommate) invited his friend, Metro Mark, to come by, too. Mark showed up with an ice cream cake that said "Happy Birthday, Bitch"! I wish I hadn't run out of film in New Jersey! Billy brought out an ancient bottle of wine that he had been saving since the last time I was in NY (2 years ago!)

On Saturday, it was pouring rain, and I had a headache (from the wine, maybe). In the evening, though, I met up with Candy at the Carnegie Hall concert, went disco- dancing at the Canal Room with Billy, Jonathan and Metro Mark.

On Sunday, I sang at Cleo's, hung out for Toru Dodo's first set, then went to Queens with Oscar;I spent the last day in Queens Village, where Billy's family lives. We watched a couple of films, and walked around the nieghborhood a bit, where we found a Christian bookstore. Around 5:00, Billy's brother, George, drove us to JFK, and there was a huge line of Orthodox Jews waiting to board planes... "fiddler on the Roof" meets "Terminal".

I got on the plane, but we just sat there. Eventually, we had to change planes, because the wing flaps weren't working) and the flight was bumpy, so I couldn't really sleep; as we entered Germany,however, I looked out the window, and the windmills waved to me, as if saying, "Welcome home! We missed you!" I almost shed a tear. What a beautiful view- the sweet, gentle green hills of Germany. Endlich Zuhause!

*endlich- finally
*arbeitslos- out of work
*Zuhause- at home

Blue Monday

2006-04-18T16:29:00.000+02:00

That's the title of the new song I am working on, inspired by the horrible, cold dreary Worms weather. I wasn't sure if I could get a cheap flight out of Germany for under 500 Euros, and I am on a very tight budget, so I was contemplating staying home, despite the nagging.
"When are ya gonna come home?", Frank, my stepdad kept nagging. "We could help you out", Mom kept saying.

I wasn't sure, but I prayed about it. I was worried I would spend too much money if I went to the US, or that all of my plants would die while I was gone, or that I would come home with huge unpaid bills (rent, telephone, etc.). My phone bill was pretty high last month, due to calling guys I met online. (Which was a waste, since I still haven't gotten one date out of it).I prayed about it, though, and God gave me the go-ahead. He told me not to worry. He's told me that a lot lately, but worrying is one of those bad habits I have. Some people smoke- I worry.

Anyhow, it was wet and cold for weeks, and I was feeling so down about it, that I wrote a song about it, on a wet, dark gloomy Monday.

Blue Monday
nothing but grey skies above
black clouds are raining in my heart
no one to love
outside the dawn is waiting
for the season's end
inside my heart is waiting for a friend

Blue monday
Why must it always be this way?
Blue Monday with skies of grey

I'm still working on the second verse, but I already have the beginnings of a bridge. In line with the classical Mozartean ideal of balance and symmetry in all things, I am moving into C Major for the bridge (the songs drifts between c minor and dminor for the verses- don't ask how!). I like the idea of using bitonality to keep the song interesting. My ideal would be writing pop/jazz/blues songs which combine these elements with the tonality of some of those Robert Schumann lieder. Schumann used to circle through the cycle of fifths in his music, and you never "knew" what key he was in, similar to John Coltrane. We used to argue about these things in Music Theory class, back at City College.

Speaking of grad school, I haven't had much luck in finding a full time job as a "Fremdsprache Sekretarin"; in fact, I haven't even made the short list. My last 2 job applications came back. The courses at the VHS have been going well, though. I have been thinking of
continuing my studies somewhere, and all I need is a student visa. With a student visa, I could still work 20 hours a week, which is what I am doing now, anyhow.

Last week, I had a huge struggle getting everything arranged for my trip, and I got a plane ticket at last minute.com literally at the last minute. My pay came on the 11th, and I left on the 12th, in the morning. Flo drove me to the airport (I gave hime 15 euros for gas; gas is so expensive, that people no longer give free rides!) and I got there early.

During the plane ride, I was seated next to a cool guy named Sasha, an actor, who was on his way to NY to take an entrance exam for Columbia. We had a great conversation, and after an 8 hour flight, I felt like I knew him.

My first stop was the village, where I got myself some KFC, and met Arthur for a
cup of coffee and conversation. Arthur told me he was feeling very alienated, both by the church and other artists. Of course, being alienated is part of the "artist" experience!

I headed uptown to go to Cleo's, and sang at the new Wednesday night open mic. I don't think I sang well, with jet lag, but others told me I sounded good! I finally got a chance to have some Moussaka, and see some old friends, like Jon Weiss and Emily (who is back from London!)

On Thursday, I walked all over the city, got my tax forms and banking done, went shopping (got a designer knockoff purse at Chinatown!) and got some important forms
from the city court (divorce forms) and later went back uptown and spent some
time with Nick (we went out to a cafe). I went back to Cleo's and listened to the first set, then went back to Billy's.

On Friday, I mostly hung out with Billy in the morning (he took me out to eat for breakfast) and then met Dawn for some lunch and shopping. Friday night, I went with Dennis to a very "hobbit-centric" restaurant called Frodo's, in Upstate NY. He drove me to my Mom's, through the fog. I was still on German time, so I was falling asleep. We had to stop at Wendy's to get some coffee, but of course, I am now used to the very strong German coffee, not the weak American stuff, so it only helped a bit.

I've been in NJ this weekend, visiting Mom, Naomi and George. We all were together on Easter Sunday, at George's place- imagine that! Three kids, George, Cynthia, Naomi and I, plus Mom and Frank. I did my best to keep Naomi from arguing with Frank. She is trying to turn him into a vegitarian (and a Protestant!)- good luck on that!

The world keeps spinning round and round my brain

2006-03-29T22:55:00.000+02:00

The seminar in Mainz was OK. It turns out that the JH* in Mainz is really cool, and cheap. The people didn't notice that my card was expired, either. I also met a cute hippie guy there (named Chris), and shared a bottle of wine with him. We discussed a lot of things. He was an atheist, and I explained to him that God doesn't believe in atheists. He was cool about it, though.

I've been meeting nothing but atheists lately. One guy I met online, who seemed really cool, told me that he was an atheist. Of course, after talking to him for two hours, I gave myself a huge phone bill!

And... after a week of helping out at the waffle stand in the fussganger zone (we handed out invitations- 100,000 of them- to the "Pro-Christ" week), I went off to Mannhiem on the 17th to see a chamber music concert, featuring Ensemble Recherche. It was a mixed bag of "new" music, most of it composed about 50 years ago, so hardly new. My favorite piece was by Benjamin Britten. I enjoyed the music, but I had gone there alone.... I am seemingly always alone. I have been alone for 38 years now, and I am, frankly, getting a bit tired of it.

Bored, I was was sitting around during intermission, and I noticed that a middle-aged, bearded guy in front of me was reading the "International Herald Tribune", so I started talking to him, and it turns out that he is American. We started talking, and later, we talked a bit about what was going on in the US. He complained that the right-winger types seemed to have taken over, and I responed that many of the "fundamentalist" types seem to forget that the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, and that many of the words in Hebrew have several meanings, so that there are many ways of interpreting the same passages. "I, too, doubt the veracity of scripture, " he started saying.

"Wait a minute- I didn't say I doubt the veracity of the Bible, I said that there is more than one way to interpret the same scripture. I consider myself a person of faith, but an intelligent person of faith.", I countered.

When I said this, he was immediately taken aback. I had, apparently, just slaughtered his sacred cow.

He started to launch into five or six questions immediately, without pausing for an answer. I told him that to answer so many questions would require hours. Did he really want answers?

He said that found no proof of God's existence, and I told him that we also can't prove Einstein's theories. We just can't prove everything. The truth is, we don't know everything. That shouldn't stop us from wanting to know. I asked him, "Aren't you curious? Why not just say, "God, if you're out there, show yourself to me, reveal yourself to me?"

He said, "I think it's a lot more human just to let it be." As he said this, he turned and quickly walked away. I shouted after him, "Are you saying that you are more human than I am? Woof woof!"

There really isn't much to say to such an absurdity. You just have to bark like a dog.

Anyhow, I was feeling depressed and needed to get this stupid, disappointing conversation out of my head. It happened to be St. Patrick's Day, so I decided to visit an Irish Pub. There are at least 2 in Mannheim, but the one near the train station cost 7 euros entry that night, so I went to the Stonehenge. A bunch of US soldiers were there, and there was really loud music (not live, though) and slutty German girls dancing on the bar. I ended up talking to a young guy named Dana, who was had spent 4 years at war, starting at the age of 17. He was from Maine, from an area not far from Canada. The army guys are definitely not happy with the Bush administration, and they are seeing a lot of death and destruction over there. It's sad to think that the war is being fought by teenagers who joined just to have a job and, maybe, a future. The whole war was based on lies.

The next day, a Saturday, I was feeling low down and disgusted. I just couldn't take anymore of planet earth, the violence, war, destruction and hatred, and the atheism and apathy of humanity, so I decided to visit God. I don't mean that I wanted to die. You don't have to die to visit God. I decided to visit, using the path of the mystic. Firstly, I relaxed my body (it was 9 AM, and I hadn't had any breakfast, so that was easy). I had to build a fire for a sacrifice, so I used my thoughts as logs, and burnt my soul as a sacrifice.

Then I waited, and observed the colors- first, red, then yellowish, then through all the others- seven in all. I started to see some interesting images, but ignored them, and kept going. At one point, I seemed to fall asleep, then came back, and I visited intermediate places, where there were trapped souls. I flew above them, and told them to follow me, and that I would take them to him, and started to go through the various chambers, one after another. Eventually, I got to a small room with blue and green tiles. I did talk to God, but, strangely, now I can't remember what we talked about. When it finally was over, I looked at the clock, and it was eleven- I had been gone for two hours.

I thought that this whole expereince would change my life somehow, but my silly life, with its stupid everyday worries, keeps going on. Like my Bezahlung*, which is late, again. And rehearsals. Last week was the week of the "Pro-Christ" Satellite broadcast, a different program every night, and I played with the worship team (for the pre-program) on Sunday, Monday, Friday and the last Sunday. Between rehearsals, work and helping with the cleaning team, it was a bit much. Tuesday night, after walking to the kindergarten, I rode to the VHS and got caught in a downpour. That night, I began to have a headache and the headache continued till Friday afternoon. My neck and back were also aching.

At the Gemeinde, we have been keeping up on the case of Abdul Rahman, who was on trial in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity. Here is another galling event! After all of the young soldiers dying to bring so-called freedom to Afghanistan (not to mention the innocent civilians), we find out that the new constitution in Afghanistan is based on Sharia Law!

George Bush, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!

I tried to drop by heaven last Saturday, but I didn't get past the lights. I guess I wasn't relaxed enough. I haven't been sleeping well. I've been having weird dreams lately- a 3 legged cat, drag queens and a weird concert featuring an Indian woman who simultaneously sang, played the piano and did calculations on a small calculator. I guess the last part must have been a nightmare about outsourcing to India. Anyhow, it's almost midnight now, but my computer clock (and my internal clock) says 10:56. I guess I've got to readjust both.

On a bright note, I recently found the video store. They don't have Antonini's "Blow up", but they had "High Fidelity", featuring John Cusack (my new favorite actor- Sorry, Tom Hanks) and "Bowling for Columbine". Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe that's the source of the bad dreams.

*JH- Jugendherberge, Youth Hostel
Bezahlung- pay

LOTS OF SNOW, BUT NO SKIING

2006-03-09T23:01:00.000+01:00

I wanted just a bit more snow before Spring, and I got it, just as the mini-holiday was coming to an end. First, it snowed a little bit overnight. The next day, there were only flurries, though. The big snowstorm, unfortunately, came on a Friday, which is the day I always have the kindergarten lessons.

I was half-hoping that I could just call and say I couldn't make it, but no dice. I wanted to ride the bike (and save time), but the snow got so high, I actually had to tramp through the snow for a half an hour just to go to Neuhausen. Luckily, I had gummi bears for bribery, so the little orcs would try to behave themselves. Next, I schlepped to the Familienzentrum (by now, the red snow boots were all wet). I again procured both gummi bears and "Die Maus" cassette, and did the "head shoulders" song with them. Needless to say, I got home quite tired, and with a bit of a sore throat. The next day, with aching muscles, I went to the CN choir practice, then came home in time for 2 students, so I never got a chance to enjoy the snow with the skis. On Sunday after church, though, I got into a snowball fight with Peter and the neighbors. I haven't been to the Fitness Center in a while, but I got enough exercise!

I was so tired from it all that when I couldn't get a ride to the FFC rehearsal on Sunday evening, I was a bit relieved. I decided to go to bed early.

This week, though, it's been a mix of rain and snow, very dreary. On Wednesday, foolishly forgetting to take my umbrella with me to work, I got soaked.
I had finally gotten my new red shoes, and wore them that day- they got damp, but held up nicely... They are beautiful, comfy and they smell great- like new leather. I have to call TE and thank her.

Another thing I am thankful for is the new printer. I had to re-install the drivers and change the cartridge (it wouldn't work with the cheap cartidge- it must be bootleg HP), but it's finally up and runinng, and working beautifully. I printed out the presskits, and they go into the mail tomorrow.

I have been putting up posters for the upcoming "Pro-Christ" event. I went out today after visiting the S and W office, and out up posters at the chinese restaurant, on the empty storefronts (the former imbiss place, and the now-closed 1 euro shop), and I put flyers in the bank. I've already given posters to the library and the Sparkasse Bank. I am hoping that a lot of people will come. I also invited my former neighbor, Steve the bodybuilder with the loud dog (I'm so glad I no longer live next door to that dog!).

Tomorrow I am going to Mainz, to yet another Seminar for the VHS. I don't have to pay for it, but I do have to pay for the train and youth hostel. I tried to get a room at the BW Haus, but they were booked solid. No problem- I wasn't really looking foreward to staying at the Boring House anyway. The youth hostel looks really cool- I checked out the website today. They have a Bistro and a TV room, everything. Plus, I'll get breakfast. I don't have any work or students tomorrow, so I guess I'll do some of the Cleo's work, then leave around noon. I'll be able to walk around the city, maybe check out a museum, then go to the workshop. In the evening, of course, I'll have to catch a bus to go back, but that's really no big deal. At least I'll be able to stay in a nice part of the city.

FASTNACHT

2006-03-01T12:32:00.000+01:00

In case you are wondering, "Fastnacht" is German for... well, Fat Tuesday. Fasching time is basically the whole month of February, which is nice, because without it, February is a fairly boring month. I, of course, did not participate in any fasching activities, other than seeing silly German people in costumes on television. Oh, and the theater group did a skit about fasching, and I wore my blue wig. Ortwin wore a jester's cap. We had three skits in February- not bad.

Last week was the final week of the course, which means that I had to try and pay attention, which is hard. At IQW, the ladies (it's always about 99 percent female there, and they are just about all middle-aged) sit around and make "quatch"* all day, and the setup of the room is particularly distracting.

On Friday, I had my prufung (test) and I got a 91, which was a surprise. I knew I would pass, but I thought I would be lucky to get an 88. On Friday night we had another rehearsal, at Dani's, with Flo and Julian. We picked out songs to do for the "Pro-Christ" week, which is a big evangelistic event. We have been hanging up posters all over Worms.

On Saturday, I had three students, and I had to do shopping.I had some free time on Sunday, so I did my cleaning, laundry, etc. I hadn't done any cleaning the previous Sunday, because after church, I went with Flo to a restaurant in Frankenthal with the rest of the worship team. We had played that morning at church, and everyone said that we sounded good.We talked and ate there (I had a salad and a beer), then I hung out at Dani's (and saw some of the Olympics on her TV), then we went directly to the FFC rehearsal. All week long last week I was busy with students and studying.

This weekend, though, was really a 4 day weekend. I didn't want to ruin Saturday by cleaning, so after the 2 students, I went to the fitness center and worked out, then came home and baked myself a pizza. I did all of my cleaning on Sunday after church, practiced for the musical (Anja gave me the music) went through the mail, did laundry and took out the trash. I also had a new student come by, a guy from Hamm who wants to learn keyboards. I'm giving music lessons now.

On Monday (Rosenmontag) I worked on entering my financial data into the money program, which took all afternoon. On Monday evening, the theater group had a meeting (we are going to do some street theater in the fussganger zone*) and then came home, to wait for Flo and Bernhard. F and B were going to pick me up too go out- where, we weren't sure. I had just gotten a cappuccino maker from Frau Braun. We tried it out (Flo and I had some cappuccino) and then we went to Mannheim, to the Irish Pub.

Yesterday, I used my free time to go to the public library and catch up on reading, then took a nap in the afternoon (ah! sleeping! One of my favorite hobbies!) After the business English course, I went to the Treffpunkt*, for Treffpunkt Bibel. We read about the 7 churches in the book of Revelation.

I haven't got any phone calls from my "Hot or Not" blind dates (I gave a couple of guys my number) but I did get a call from Maher, who gave me the schedules for May and June. So now I have some work to do. It was nice getting a hundred bucks last month for the website work.

Oh, and I did get around to putting the highlights in my hair. It's more blonde than before- actually brown and blonde stripes is more like it. I hope it doesn't look too trashy. Anyway, it's more interesting now. We'll see if I start having more fun or not.

*Fussganger Zone- pedestrian mall
*quatsch- nonsense, foolish prattle
*Treffpunkt- meeting place

Man versus God

2006-02-13T09:48:00.000+01:00

I went with a bunch of FEG folks to Karlsruhe last weekend, to the "Creative Kirche" Kid's Musical Conference. It's all to prepare us for the upcoming kid's musical, which we will be producing in the church for this fall. We attended workshops, and got to see how these musicals are produced and organized.

We spent the night at the FEG church in Karlsruhe. There were five of us: Anja, Anna, Jessica, Gertrud and me. Anja had brought a bottle of wine, which we shared in the evening. We got to discussing some heavy topics. Often, when one sees the suffering in this world, the usual response is that the person ceases to believe in God. The person stops going to church, and stops praying. Anja's neighbor lady did this when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer.

Amazingly (this proves that I am not, in fact, human, but rather another species), I have never doubted God's existence during the trials of my life. To me, that would be like doubting the existence of gravity, or the planet Pluto. I've never seen Pluto, it's true, and I'm sure you could come up with a bizarre theory that would negate gravitation (maybe the earth is "sticky"), but to me, these things are ingrown beliefs.

I pointed out that it is illogical that when things go well, people give themselves credit (I worked hard; I deserve this new job. I take care of myself; of course, I'm healthy) but when things go badly, they blame God, not themselves. It's just human pride. When a child is beaten by his/her parents, we say, "why did God allow this to happen?" It's like a reflex action to blame God, rather than the people responsible, whose heineous actions in no way are endorsed by God.

I am writing some essays on these topics, in particular the ceaseless war of man against God. Although God has shown great tolerance towards mankind, forgiving and overlooking most of humanity's atrocities and only seldom interfering with human affairs, humanity, in opposition to God, has either repaid these kindnesses with cruelty (attempting, more than once, to kill God, and even announcing his death), or seen his gentleness and tolerance as proof of weakness (the theory that God is unwilling or unable to intercede).

It takes a certain collosal gall to do as you please on this earth, destroying nature, killing fellow man and, in general, doing as you please, then turn around and blame God for the mess you made. How juvenile! Worse yet, they ignore the central tenets of
religion and claim that God told them to do evil!

I recently found this great website, which explores the most recent bit of human insanity, the idea that God doesn't exist. The story illustrates just how illogical this idea really is. I've often observed that atheists are seldom so because of a logical, critical analysis of the facts.

Usually, they are atheists because of sheer emotions. (Mr. Spock would certainly not be an atheist!)They are angry bcause their hamster died, or because the nuns in their school beat them (most atheists seem to be disaffected ex-Catholics!) Instead of just saying, well, the organized religions seem to have gotten most of their facts wrong, they throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Even the idea that there is no absolute truth contradicts itself. If "there is no absolute truth" is a true statement, then "there is absolute truth" must also be true; other wise the first statemsnt would be false. It's like the famous statement that Captian Kirk used to confound the minds of the androids in a famous Star Trek episode: "This sentence is false".

There was lovely snow 2 weeks ago, at the start of VHS classes. It was a white, powdery snow that covered all of the trees in a fine sugar coating. By now, of course, it's all gone. Today, the sun was shining and the birds were already rehearsing for Springtime.

Last Friday, I did the exam for Powerpoint, and got an 86, which means that I am finished with Powerpoint. Now I am doing the internet and Outlook Module. It shouldn't take long! Thank God, I am finally almost finished!

I got my new 4-CD jazz collection from ebay (only 4 euros), which includes Nina Simone, Billie Holliday, Cab Calloway, Bill Brubeck, and others. I listened to the first CD on Sunday (I had a wee bit of a headache, which I cured with olives... it turns out that olive oil is a cure for migraine headaches.)I guess spending Friday and Saturday in Karlsruhe for the conference was a bit much, especially after a busy week. Sunday was my lazy day.

I laid in bed and listened to music, then I got up and started the laundry. I still haven't gotten around to putting those highlights in my hair. I certainly can't do it today, since after class and work, I have to give an English lesson and a guitar lesson (Henry wants to learn guitar), and go to the theater group. I guess I'll be eating late tonight.

HYPOCRACY UPDATE-
In a classic move of hypocracy, CNN showed their true colors when they first did a story about the Mohammed cartoons without showing the cartoons that started the whole mess in the first place, sanctinoniously explaining that out of respect for Muslim viewers, they would not be showing the cartoons.

Later on, they did a segment on the Middle East and antisemetism, and showed anitsemetic caricatures of Jews, including Jews with devil horns, and Ariel Sharon as a cannibal. Now, granted, Ariel Sharon is not my favorite Jewish politician (he's no King David!), but still..... someone tell me why it's OK to offend Jews and not OK to offend Muslims? Maybe because Dubai Airport is one of CNN's biggest advertisers? I'd like to think that the motive is purely financial, and not of nefarious origins.... hope springs eternal, doesn't it?

Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here! (originally posted Feb 1st)

2006-02-06T10:56:00.000+01:00

Believe it or not, there is an international boycott going on at the moment. Is it a boycott against an atheist organization that puts up an anti-Christian website? Or a company like "the Gap", that uses child labor? Or a boycott against China, who uses prison laboroers to flood the market with cut-rate shoes, clothing and goods?

No, of course. It's a boycott of Denmark, because a conservative newspaper published some cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. In an overblown reaction, the entire Muslim world is outraged, and the UN is getting involved. The violence is spreading out throughout the world, as well: seemingly, most Muslims in the world can't seem to realize that the governments of Denmark and Norway aren't responsible for what (a small number of) the newspapers print, nor does it reflect on the majority of people there. (I guess it's hard to understand this when you're from a country where the government owns the press).

What strikes me as ridiculous is that no one says anything about Serrano's "piss Christ" or the many other works of art that are insulting to Christians, but a bunch of cartoons poking fun at Islam (most of which were quite tame)is such a great insult that the UN has to get involved. Of course, I consider it rude to insult anyone's beliefs, but in a free society, we are allowed to be rude. .After the Taliban blowing up those statues of Buddha, I find the furor over a bunch of silly cartoons absolutely absurd, as well as hypocritical.

(Update)
Here's an article in Spiegel.de, called "Democracy in a Cartoon", about the dangers of appeasing fanatics. Ibn Warraq writes, "Are we in the west going to cave into pressure from societies with a medieval mindset, or are we going to defend our most precious freedom -- freedom of expression, a freedom for which thousands of people sacrificed their lives?"

Of course, some of the cartoons are offensive, but people in Europe should carefully guard their freedom of the press. That means that we all have to sacrifice the occasional hurt feelings in exchange for living in a land with freedom of expression. (Of course, it's tasteless to insult religion, but the best way to respond is with words, not violence). If Muslims find the images offensive, why not respond in kind? One nasty cartoon deserves another. I would respect them all better if they responded by caricaturing the editor of Jyllands-Posten, instead of threatening to slit his throat.

TE sent me a catalog of shoes and told me to pick out a pair, so I've decided on the red "Latina" shoes from Denmark. I suggest that if you want to help Denmark stand up for human rights and freedom of speech, (as well as freedom of religion) buy yourself some comfortable Danish shoes, or a nice wedge of Danish cheese.

My birthday party was a success, and a lot of people gave me gifts. The party was supposed to start at 8, but the first people came at 10 before 8, and I wasn't finished with lighting all of the candles, changing my clothes, getting the stuff from the treffpunkt, etc. It's that damned German "punktlichkeit"!

TR couldn't come (health problems), Marko and Gucki were on ski holiday and Gabi just didn't make it. However, Saskia and Andreas came (late, after driving all over Worms for half an hour). The pizza was already gone, by then, but there still was some salad and chili, and guacamole and chips... and two cakes, one I baked, and one from Dani. The whole apartment was packed, and all of my musician friends were there (including Mischa from ADK) plus a lot of people from the Gemeinde. The next day, though, I had a headache.... from the champagne.

Flo came to the party, and Dani talked him into coming to the rehearsal to teach Joerg how to play the bass. Afterwards, I invited Flo over, and he, surprisingly, agreed. Flo has lost his job (he's not working at Mueller's drugstore anymore) and he has no clue what he wants to do now. He's playing bass in a band now, though.

I have finished the Access module, and I am doing Powerpoint now. I find it really hard to concentrate here, though. The women here (all but 2 are women) constantly "quatchen" all morning. None of them can speak "Hoch Deutsch"; instead, they all speak Wormser dialect. For example instead of "meine" (pronounced my-nah), they say "moine". It often takes me a great deal of mental energy to figure out what they are saying, and my mental energy is not so good at 8 in the morning. I basically don't say anything.

I went to the VHS on Saturday for the "Tag des Offener Tur" (open door day), which basically is advisement day for people who are interested in taking classes. I finally got to meet a couple of the other English teachers. One was an Irishwoman, with pink hair, who teaches business English (okay, that does it, I'm going to put purple in my hair). Of course, she has a German fiance. Everyone has a fiance. On Sunday, I saw a gorgeous guy in the "treffpunkt" after church. He has absolutely gorgeous blue eyes. I started to talk to him, then his wife came over. Oh, crap! Note to self: Look on the hands for a ring! Duh. :^P

Disturbed....?

2006-02-05T21:54:00.000+01:00

In case the violence and the horror going on in this world have got you down (see previous entry), I've found a perfect antidote, in the form of a "disturbingly cute" video of a French song that they have playing on the radio a lot here. I first saw the video on Viva, then became obssessed with the song ever since I heard it while shopping at the one euro shop after class. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the name of the song, and could only remember that the lines were about animals (animaux, in French). After searching fruitlessly for half an hour, I decided to search the Jamba site, where you get ringtones for cell phones, with just about every popular song you can think of. Voila! They had the song, a clip of it, at least, but by now, I wanted to find a video clip, which I found using the Altavista search engine.

It's called "Un Monde Parfait", which means "a perfect world". I also found the words, which are silly and not worth translating, on another site. The song, though, and the cotton-candy video, are like crack for your ears. You just can"t stop. Maybe there should be rehab clinics for "Un Monde Parfait" addicts.

I am now the proud owner of a free freezer. It's a bit old, and loud as hell, but works, so now I can go back to eating french fries and frozen stir-fry veggies. (Kurt, the Hausmeister, carried it up from the basement). In other startling developments, the new classes for the Familienzentrum and the VHS started last week, without major disasters. I suppose I am finally getting the hang of it. What a pity. Now I will have to find a new challenge- like climbing the Great Wall of China.

Oh, and I was in yet another theater skit today- this time about being motivated by God's love. We had to walk in circles wearing all black, wearing top hats. It sounds so avante guarde the way I'm describing it, but, really, it was quite simple and effective. Oh, and we "cheated"- our props were cardboard hearts, and we wrote our lines on the back of them. heh, heh. What the audience doesn't know won't hurt 'em.

Almost..... a grown-up elf!

2006-01-15T14:58:00.000+01:00

We all know that elves age less rapidly than humans, if at all. 39 is still considered teenage by elf standards. I will have reached this almost-adult Elven age this Wednesday, and will celebrate with a party next Saturday. I've invited lots of people, saved a bit every week towards food, beer and supplies, and have been cleaning the whole apartment in anticipation. Today, I threw out a huge amount of old newspapers, and last week, I straightened up the whole office.

This Wednesday, my long-awaited package from New Jersey arrived, with an assortment of brightly-wrapped packages. I vowed I would only open one, the soft one, which were leopard-print gloves. But I was unable to resist temptation, and just had to open the rest.

Firstly, it was easy to tell which were chocolate. The one that felt like a bar was Lindt dark chocolate with truffle cream filling. The package that rattled was chocolate covered blueberries (blueberries are high in iron, therefore nutritious, therefore, I do not feel the slightest pangs of guilt having eaten the first package already.)

I also, then, had to open the package that contained the English porcelain (which Mom had already told me about). One of the packages was obviously a photo aulbum. The other packages were a mystery, and all mysteries must be unraveled, so I opened them as well. The one surprise was a very odd set of salt and pepper shakers, made of stoneware, blue and cream colored. They are both egg-shaped, but they seem to fit in well in my kitchen, better than the plastic yellow ones.

The kitchen looks entirely different now that the famous "Shrank von Mannheim" is there. No, this isn't a creepy member of the nobility. I am referring to the antique kitchen cupboard that TR had told me about. She described it as "schmal", but actually, it is taking up the whole corner of the kitchen at the moment. I finally talked F. into going over there to pick it up. He arrived, after eating lunch at his parents', at about 3. It turned out to be a bit lighter than it looks (it looks very massive). We schlepped it down the steps, then went to the basement for the piece that goes above.

Afterwards, we had a cup of coffee and plattchen (very flat butter cookies), and talked. We talked about people who run off to marry people they met at singles ads, or online. Both F. and I know some people who have had good luck at these things, and people who have dropped everything to run into the arms of a faraway stranger, and ended up coming back with their tail between their legs...I told of the time when a man I met online insisted that I should immediately hop on a plane to Cali to meet him. "But I'm in grad school, and I have a job-", I told him, "I can't just hop on a plane!" I wonder if all of the people who spontaneously run off to the corners of the earth to meet their dream lovers are unemployed, independently wealthy, or perhaps just a bit looney. But perhaps they are right- who knows?

I spent the evening re-arranging the kitchen, and throwing out the cheap, somewhat broken pressed wood cabinet. I also kept checking ebay, and it looks like I won a new cafe-style kitchen clock for only 4 euros (9 with shipping)! Here
it is. Cool, huh?

"The Truman Show" was on television recently, so I watched it, thinking it might be somewhat amusing. I was pleasantly surprised to see how good it was, and it really made me think. Are we getting to the point in society in which human life only exists to be entertaining? How much of our lives is really only "manufactured"? The film was so good that now I want to get it on DVD. Jim Carrey really did a great job with this film.

Speaking of unreality, the web is all abuzz with rumors that Bush is looking to start his third unfinished war, now a new one with Iran. Meanwhile, Iran's ridiculous leader runs around claiming that the Holocaust never happened, and suggesting that a new Jewish state ought to be built in Europe. Bush has made yet another bright move, bombing Pakistan. (or, as the "politically correct" press put it, the army made an "air strike"- doesn't that sound more pleasant?) Great. These people have nuclear weapons- why not piss them off, by dropping a bomb, and killing innocent civilians?

These clown-like world leaders have convinced me that CNN and the Comedy Channel are really one and the same.

I've finished with the Excel Module, and I'm learning Access this week. I want to finish it as soon as possible, so I can move on to Powerpoint. I've been reading the microsoft website in English, then reading the course materials in German. We all took our tests on Friday morning, and everyone passed except Tilda, the Italian lady. She was so upset that she cried. Jeez, it's just a silly computer test, I thought. I got an 88, mainly because on Thursday night, I re-read all of the pages I had photocopied from the book.... uggh, boring!

Meanwhile, it was icy cold all week long,including Monday, when we walked all over the city center praying (for Worms prayer week). We had another service here on Thursday (the Tuesday and Wednesday services were in other parts of town), then on Friday, I walked over to the Adventist church to play piano at their prayer service. I skipped the all-night prayer service at the Baptist church, though, because it was so cold and I was tired after playing. The nice thing about the weather, though, was that the morning frost had turned all of the trees and grass white, as though they had been dipped in powdered sugar frosting. It was beautiful.

So now I just have to finish some of the office decorating (like the tree) and I'll be almost finished with everything. Tuesday, I am going to get some orphaned plants from a woman in the church, including a 2 meter tall tree. Peter is helping me move them. The office really is going to be a garden room! And in time for the party!

One other thing...I got a comment regarding ebaum's world, plus a link to ebaumsworldsucks.com. Apparently, ebaum has been using people's stuff without permission. But..... I still go to ebaum. Where else can I find this weird stuff?

Where did the year go?

2006-01-09T14:03:00.000+01:00

Looking over the past year, I've come to two conclusions....number one, I've got to use the cell phone less often, and number two, no more ordering from catalogs!

The catalogs in Germany all have a policy of charging outrageous usery, like 10 percent per month or more, if you don't pay immediately. My only exception will be Weltbild, which I love (they keep on giving me free stuff). I just finished looking over all of my bills and payments last year (my christmas break project) and was shocked how much interest I paid. All for things that were "on sale" for a "special price".

The other thing is the cell phone.... I spent hundreds of dollars calling people to say, "I'm on the train", or , "call me later!". What a waste! I should have spent the money on a ski trip, or shopping in Paris!

I had expected to get a lot of projects done during my break, and planned to finish painting, fix up the apartment a bit, clean up, take out the recycling, burn CD's, do my taxes, etc. I didn't do half of those things.

Firstly, there was unpacking from my trip, and cleaning a bit. I did a bunch of laundry, and went shopping, and contemplated what to do for New Year's Eve (AKA "Sylvester"). I talked it over with Peter and Sylvia, and they invited me over for a "Raclette" party, with a few others. In the evening there was a sparsely-attended Gottesdienst, and we all went to Peter's afterwards.

F. was there, as well as Nicole, Matthias and the blonde guy whose name I forget. It was a nice, cozy get-together, and I brought some French wine with me. After eating, we all piled into two cars, and went ot Grünestadt, where we drank champagne on top of a huge hill (or small mountain, if you prefer), and from above we could all see the fireworks going off in the valley below,a thousand little rainbow- colored expolosions. Peter had a little pistol with fireworks inside, and he kept shooting into the air. We got back quite late, and I was almost falling asleep, so I bade adeu, and went home....across the hall.

As for all of those projects...I started my taxes and got stuck, finished typing all of my bank data into an Excel file (At least I found a useful purpose for Excel), and made a discouraging diagram showing just how much money I have been throwing away on the cell phone, silly catalog purchases, and bank fees. That's another thing- I can't believe how much I am paying for the bank account! So now my new project is getting a new bank account, and a new cell phone contract.

I planned on working on some of these things this weekend, but instead I napped, worked out and surfed the web.My newest internet obsession is "Hot or Not", where you rate others, or are rated. I posted my picture on "Hot or Not", and you can rate me by clicking here. I'm wondering what my score will be.

I spent so much time rating people, plus playing computer games on Ebaum's World that I had a headache the next day (naturally, a Sunday, and the drugstores are all closed), and not just any Sunday, but a Sunday in which I was supposed to sing with the Evangelical Alliance Choir, at the Baptist Church. I had to ask Kurt, the Hausmeister, for some pills, because I was out of them. Thank God, I feel better today, but I had to miss the Freedom Family Choir rehearsal.

This week is "Evangelisch Allianz Woche" (Evangelical Alliance Week), and there is a different prayer service at a different church every night. Tonight it's at the FEG. I am planning on going to the Fitness Center right after Studienkreis, so I will be able to go to church at 8. I'm really looking foreward to that sauna!

3 weeks of rain, one week of snow

2005-12-30T15:27:00.000+01:00

Christmas has finally come and gone, along with a lot of work, stress, travel and one nasty cold.

Just about everyone in the whole city seemingly became ill at once, and the housewives of Worms simply couldn't let little Hans and Franz stay home from Kindergarten English; I was, therefore, assaulted by four separate groups of sniffling, sneezing four-year-olds.

At first, I bravely scoffed at this viral stew, and soldiered bravely onwards, visiting the fitness center and sauna regularly. "I won't get sick!", I taunted, "I take vitamins! I work out! I'm vegitarian!"

But eventually, I stopped having time to go to the FC; basically, between theater group rehearsals (every Monday), Freedom Family rehearsals (Sunday afternoons), Kid's Choir rehearsals (Sundays after church, then 2 Saturday evenings, as well) and evening classes (Tuesday and Thursday), I was wiped out. My sole evening, Wednesday, was taken up by students, and the weather was always dark, cold and wet.

In short, I got sick, especially after one strenuous Friday, in which I was surrounded by sick kids, and had to act out the word, "sick", by coughing and acting sick. Perhaps it's a psychological thing, but simply acting out being sick makes me sick. Later, I wondered, perhaps I ought to act out "rich and happy", instead. I need a new vocabulary.... next time I pantomime ESL vocabulary words, I'll act out, "rich, successful, and happy in love".

I was just about getting better when the Hochheim kids (on Tuesday afternoons) coughed all over me, and the next day I couldn't make it to the computer class. I called in sick, and crawled off to the apotheke for headache pills.... my head was killing me, I was cold and weak, and the next day, I could no longer breathe through my nose. I managed, however, to make it to the Studienkreis dinner at the Pfrimmpark, riding there on my bike in pitch darkness and a chilly wind. It turns out that only three co-workers had showed up; my boss was livid. I guess it makes me look good to show up, despite sickness. I got a free meal out of it, although I was not feeling well enough to order wine. I drank herb tea, instead.

I pulled myself together enough to go to class on Friday, and was doing better on the weekend.I had been to sick to bother with packing and mailing the packages to the US, but I did manage to finally do it, and mailed one to Mom, and the other to George... the postage was 25 euros. The kid's choir was stressing me out a bit, but they seemed to learn their parts well, and I added a flute part to "Freude, Freude".

The next Tuesday, though, the same thing happened. Not only did the kids share their viruses with me, but the second group fought with each other during the "fun" Christmas activities I had planned. I told Sarah and Max that this was Christmas, that Christmas was Jesus' birthday, and that Jesus had told us to love one another and treat each other with respect. About five minutes later, Sarah shoved Max yet again, and he left the room crying. sigh. So much for Christian education!

The next day, infused with a fresh batch of kiddie viruses, I could no longer speak, but instead croaked like a frog. I called in sick yet again.I still went to work, and the Kid's Choir rehearsal- I had spent an entire evening working on writing out the parts for the flute introductions.

I was a bit better by Friday, though, and I caught an early train to Stuttgart, and visited TE for one day, sleeping over on Friday night, then coming back on Saturday. The Weinachtsmarkt was beautiful, and I took some nice photos (no idea how they came out). I had brought some photos with me, and brought TE a set of "4711"Cologne, and a pointsettia. TE, though, still has her pointed views, and insists that "the universe does not need God". I told her that the universe doesn't need man, either, then told her the story of how I had met God....well, I told her that I had felt the presence of God come into the room with me, and speak to me.

It turns out that Uncle Arthur had typed out a book, at least one hundred pages long, with quotations of famous atheists, phlosophers, crazies like Nietsche (who went mad and killed himself, so I'm not taking his word for anything), and TE reads this book religiously, in his memory. I flipped through it a bit, but it made my heart sick, so I read the Bible for a bit, just to calm me down. A world of materialism is a sad, cold world, indeed.I had told TE that even if there was only a 1 percent chance of God existing, it would be worth it to find out, and search for Him. The next day, after breakfast, I left to catch the train. The ride takes awhile, especially during holidays, and snow was falling when I left, although it wasn't sticking.

When I got back, I practiced a bit, then changed into my angel clothes. The Christmas eve service started at 4, and we did 8 songs, in the middle of the service. Michael Grundlach also played at the beginning, the adult choir did 2 songs, and the flute group played a piece.

At the end, I gave out cookies to all of the kids, as well as an obviously single guy attending, who turned out to be Steffi Diry's brother-in-law, who lives in Mannheim. I guess the angel wings gave me courage, because I asked him for his number, and said that next time I go to Mannheim, I'll call. That night, I watched the Christmas music on TV, and baked hazelnut macaroons. I popped by Peter's place in the evening, and we had some Dinkel Stollen and Gluewein, and chatted. Sylvia was still not home yet.

I left for Mannheim the next morning, made sure I bought a bouquet at the florist's, and had a "gemutlich" time with TR. Gabi, Gucki and the rest were supposed to come, but they didn't come until the second day of Christmas. There was no big gift-giving this year. TR gave me a cute blue basket with dried fruit and nuts, and some Lebkuchen, and a blue and green kitchen towel.

I had gotten some glass and wooden ornaments for everyone, and gave TR the plant globes (you stick them in the houseplants and they keep the soil moist) and gave Marko a little keyring light, and gave Saskia a cloth horse calendar, and gave Gabi a candleholder set. Gabi gave me a blue candle with a snowflake holder, and got some scented candles and a bottle of wine from Saskia and Marko. Surprisingly, Gucki didn't come, but Gabi brought his gift (a quill pen) with her.

I had waited for the snow to come all month, especially after the dreary, soggy rain that had gone on intermittently all month long, and that morning, TR and I had woken up to snow. It kept snowing and when I got back, I was finally able to try out my new skis (well, used skis- they were TR's old skis).

I actually hadn't bought any really expensive gifts for anyone, because I was trying to stay on a budget, but after I added up the postcards, postage, train fare, and packages and gifts, it looks like I spend about 150 euros on Christmas. It would have been cheaper to stay home, send no cards, and send no packages, and just drink my gluwein at home. But Christmas comes only once a year... plus, Billy sent me some money.

When I got back, I went to the big sale at Kaufhof and bought some cute red rain/snow boots in fake red snakeskin...only ten euros. Plus an angora hat, mauve and lilac, only 15. Oh, and I bought a copy of "Stupid White Men", which I've lent to Julia. But the rest went in the bank. Good news- next month, I'll pay my rent on time!!!!

Freebop lives

2005-12-04T16:17:00.000+01:00

I am in Module 4 right now, which is the Excel part of the course. This includes an action-packed tour of accounting and numerical presentations, and I am at the edge of my seat....NOT!

Anyhow, I was so tired from it all that I was late in putting all of the new schedules on the Cleo's site. On the 1st (Thursday), Maher called me just as I was settling in to go to sleep, and reminded me. I figured, I'll never get back to sleep anyway, I might as well finish the work. So far, I've got December, January and February up, and this week, I'll do March (I already did the scanning, the new menus, etc).

Last week, as I was walking home from work at the Studienkreis (it was so bitterly cold that I walked instead of riding my bike), I walked past a house with some junk outside. A Turkish man was standing outtside, guarding the junk. As I looked closer, I saw a metal candelabra with six candlesticks, in a spiral design. He told me that the stuff was being thrown away, and I happily took the big candelabra home. Later, my nieghhbor (Mrs. Brom, the hausmeister's wife) gave me an advent wreath, also silver metal, with silver stars, as well as a bag full of little decorations. I've decorated the advent wreath with boughs of evergreen and blue annd silver bows, and I hung the red ornaments on my cactus, so now I have a Christmas cactus, in addition to the little tree I bought at the one euro shop. I feel very proud of myself that I am staying in budget, and didn't go out and buy a 15 euro tree.

Last weekend, I went to the fitness center, just to sit in the Sauna and Steam Rooms. I had a bit of a sore throat after the kid's choir rehearsal, so it was a good preventative measure. On Sunday evening, the FEG had another "WOW" service, Worms Worship, with rock worship music. The place was entirely packed, and at the end about 15 kids came up to the altar call.

I had a bit of a cold all week, but I went to the FC Wednesday and worked out, then used the steam room. It was a huge effort to get my butt out of the warm house, and out into the cold, but it was worth it.

By mid-week, I was feeling better. Unfortunately, a lot of people aren't quite so health-savvy. Laura and Erdal couldn't make it this week (Erdal has a fever), so that's money down the tubes. I finally got my pay from S&W, but had so many bills to pay that it was hard choosing which to pay......grrr! After I thought I was getting ahead!

Next Thursday is the last night for both the A2 English Elements class and the English conversation class. I have a great idea for the conversation class. I'm going to bring some conversation games, and we can have a bit of fun. I told all of the students to bring some sweets or Gluwein, so we can make it a bit of a party. In our A2 class, we are watching some films. We have already seen "Paper Moon", and now we are seeing "Barefoot in the Park", in English with English subtitles. I think it would be good to maybe lead a discussion of cultural differences and ideals.

On Friday, I got a nice surprise. Mom's package arrived, with all of my Christmas gifts. I was only supposed to open one.... the one marked "You are allowed to open this one". Inside was a beautiful Christmas Nativity made of Porcelean, from Mikasa. I lit up all of my candles on Friday night, including my free candelabra from Renz Strasse.

Last night, I went to the Kunstverein, to an improvisation workshop. It turned out to be more about theory than praxis, but I did meet an interesting musician there, and I suggested that we ought to get together, and try some free jazz. I have been wanting to do something really "out there" for awhile now.... maybe something can start happening now. The Kunstverein (art society) in Worms also has improvisation theater, which sounds like fun.

Today, I've baked a pizza and a cake, for the Freedom Family Choir. We are finally having a rehearsal here in the FEG. Halleluyah! I just hope I get to have a slice of my own pizza!

THE BUSIEST WEEKEND

2005-11-21T14:17:00.000+01:00

The weekend before last, I had the busiest weekend ever known, in which I had a total of two concerts, early rehearsals for the Worship team AND the theater group, and an overnight guest.

It all started on the Friday evening before, in which I had to run out of the door right after I finished my hourly lesson with Laura (after 2 kindergarten classes). Mary was waiting outside, and we drove over to Eisenberg, for the warmup. The concert started at 8 PM, and we marched in late (Rev. Lee couldn't find a parking space), clapping to the music (we started with "We come to Praise Him).

Dani had set up all of the out-of town guests with places to stay overnight, and I was looking for "Karin vom Hoff"....who is that?, I wondered. I had dug the pullout mattress from the garage, and rearranged the furniture, just for this mystery guest.

Well, it turns out that this Karin is none other than the scat-singing alto who always comes in with Pops(the Vibes player). We got a ride with Dani (after hanging out at the local "Kneip" for a drink), then stayed up talking and drinking wine till about 1 AM.

The next day was Saturday, so I really didn't have to get up early, but the gloomy grey light woke me at 8 AM, and I decided to straighten up the apartment and clean the coffeemaker before Karin woke up. She wanted to walk around the city a bit, so I gave her a couple of tourist maps. I had two teenage students coming over (Kevin and Julia), and I had to go over some grammar stuff, and writing.

When she got back, I already had a pizza in the oven, and we had a late lunch and went for a walk. It's almost time for the Christmas market, and they already have a Gluwein stand in the city. Karin was looking for some wool, but all of the wool stores were closed. I picked up some things at Woolworth, though- the wall rack that I had been wanting for a long time was only ten Euros at WW (it would have been 30 or more at Ikea). I got Kurt to put it up this week, and now my kitchen wall looks much better.

We had just enough time to go to the Cathedral before going back to the FEG for the soundcheck. All of the FFC people from Italy and Spain were there, and the place was packed. I found out later that Frau Pforr and some people from the computer class were there, as well as some FEG people.

Surprisingly, I got to do a solo, which went well (you never know who will do a solo, since Rev. Lee is very spontaneous)- just about everyone who wanted to did a solo, and Dani did a great solo, as well. The concert was great. I felt very energetic, despite the busy weekend, although I had sore feet afterwards.

It was late after we all finished, though. I was supposed to go to bed early, so I didn't go out to eat afterwards (Pops and a bunch of people went to McDonald's). The next morning, I got up before dawn, got together my angel costume (which I had assembled during the week), practiced both the tunes for the worship and the kid's choir, and then unplugged the keyboard and brought it to the "Adler" room. The theater piece was a gas-what a shame nobody took a picture of me with my wings!

Between the worship team, the theater piece, and the kid's choir, I was definitely at the end of my strength. Someone had moved the keyboard, and I couldn't find my pedal and adaptor, and this definitely stressed me out (we found it, eventually). The kids are definitely singing well. Next week, I am going to try and add some harmony parts.

When it was all over, I went home and took a nap. I even napped the next day.

Last weekend was considerably better- two students cancelled on Friday evening(everyone in the whole region is, seemingly, sick)and after Erdal, I chilled out and drank a glass of wine.

I went to the Fitness Center on Saturday afternoon, after Julia came over, and got nice and wet in the steam room.
After I got home, I went with Joachim to Cafe Aqui and had some Gluwein and the chili-potato casserole. The weather had suddenly taken a turn for the colder, and the Gluwein really hit the spot. I spent my Saturday night and Sunday afternoon doing website updates (for Cleo's).

On Sunday night, the FFC had another concert (as "special guests" at the Pop Choir's concert. We only did four songs, but it was fun, despite the fact that we weren't all present. It was over in time for me to get home and make myself some potato pancakes, which tasted great, although they stank up the whole house. Now the whole apartment smells like latkes.... today, I took the pre-text for Modul 3. I hope I can finish Module 4 before the Christmas holidays. I want this silly course to be over! Enough of the data-entry exercises! :^P

SCHNITZEL AND MORE

2005-11-07T14:18:00.000+01:00

I rode by the old apartment building the other day, and had a look at the former "Liang China Imbiss", which moved to bigger digs just down the road. It is now occupied by "Schnitzel & More", a perfect example of the Denglification of the German language, if ever I saw one. "Denglish", in case you are wondering, is the often-atrocious mixture of German and English which causes this otherwise-logical nation to refer to their cell phones as "handies". Here are a few articles to enlighten you: one from Deutsche Welle and a blog site.

The Schnitzel place, of course, features a giant photo of a piece of schnitzel, with a lemon wedge on top. You wouldn't know it was schnitzel, though- it looks like a strange yellow UFO, actually.

Last Tuesday was one of those "useless" German holidays, designed for pious old ladies (who go to Mass) and lazy loafers like myself (who sleep late). I am, of course, referring to All Saint's Day. I wasn't entirely lazy, though- I straightened up the apartment, re-potted a plant, showered, and went to the Fitness Center to use the Sauna and Steam Bath. After all of this time with the computer course, I really needed it. I also visited the "Allerheiligmarkt".

I've changed my hair color again, somewhat accidentally on purpose. It's now a reddish hue, prompting the inevitable question- do redheads have more fun than blondes? Probably so, especially in a city already teeming with blondes of ever stripe, including the now-ubiquitous blonde on top, brunette below look that has caught on recently.

I was getting fed up with my self-imposed financial austerity, and as I went through the Kaiser Passage to do some long-overdue shopping at New Yorker and H&M, I spied myself in the H&M mirror, under the glaring flourescent lights, and had a good look at my bland mix of blonde, brown and grey hair. Of course, at home I've installed those Zsa Zsa Gabor-recommended pink light bulbs all over the apartment, and any long life- flourescent bulbs that happen to be in the house are covered with shades.... but in the off-chance that I ever go to a well-lit area, I can't have my hair looking so ratty. I decided to pick up the last marked-down pack of hair color at Drogerie Markt, which was 4 Euros (after shopping for clothes, I couldn't bring myself to pay full price for hair dye!)The box said it would give me brown with bronz highlights, but it seemed to make the whole top of my head coppery.... I guess the gray hairs took the color differently.The good thing is, I no longer have that drowned rat look.

I did this on Wednesday night, the only free night I had all week. Every night, I've been busy with one thing or another. Next Sunday, I will be in another Theater Group skit (I'll play an angel) and we are rehearsing. I also have Worship Team rehearsals, students, etc. So ironically, Blue Liebling's back from the shop (I picked him up from Gravis the Friday before last- with no data lost, and they charged me only 20 Euros), but I've got no time for web-surfing, and the computer course, 29 hours a week, has taken all of the fun out of messing around with my computers at home.

I was trying to be patient in waiting for my VHS Bezahlung, and decided to pray about it on Friday, between students. I actually had 10 hours of private tutoring work last week, so finding time "with the Lord" was hard. On Saturday, I decided to take care of my bank and post office things early, before Julia and Joachim came over (even my weekends are packed, lately). When I got to the bank, I was shocked to find that I had a very large sum- half the pay for the courses, by my estimate. So I paid off all of my old bills in one day- 2 months of gas and electric, the cell phone, one month fitness center, the catalog bills, etc. When I was finished, I had about 86 bucks left. Well, I'm debt-free now.

I was so "aufgeregt" over this, that I totally forgot about the theater rehearsal on Saturday.... I did get to go to "Wormser Rock Night" with Friedemann Saturday night, in a smoke-filled basement club near the train station. The best group of the night was a "jazzcore hiphop" group. Now I am obsessed with starting a jazzcore band. For years, I wanted to combine jazz with punk. It turns out that other people have had the same idea. Anyhow, after 4 hours of second-hand smoke and headbanging, I wasn't feeling so good. I've become used to going to bed early since this course started, and I'm definitely used to breathing air which contains a bit of oxygen. Needless to say, the next day, I had such a splitting headache that I couldn't make it to church. I hope Gertrud did OK without me at the Kid's Choir.