Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Back to life, back to reality
Back home in Spokane for about a week now. I started working right away so I can refill my very empty pockets.
I am sad the trip is finished, but now that I know how to travel I can get something new cooking for the future. India is at the top of my list. And much, much more of Europe.
Planning to post some photos here once I have time to look through everything.
Most importantly, it's time to job hunt.
I am sad the trip is finished, but now that I know how to travel I can get something new cooking for the future. India is at the top of my list. And much, much more of Europe.
Planning to post some photos here once I have time to look through everything.
Most importantly, it's time to job hunt.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Ho hum
Not much happening the last few days other than waiting for Madonna's new video to come on MTV. That proves that nothing much has changed in the last 19 years.
Things here for my family are pretty much arranged (house, car, located the IKEA, etc.), I might head home in the next several days and find some kind of temporary income to start refilling my bank account. Fortunately, I can stay at my parents' home for a time, but I hear I will be painting and moving furniture to earn my keep. That's OK with me.
We went to IKEA in Mannheim on Saturday, and it's so massive that it makes the one in Renton look like the Circle K version. It was Becky's first trip to an IKEA, and we should have known better than to take her on a weekend day. Wall-to-wall couples in very hip eyewear pushing empty carts. I have a feeling every IKEA is like that. We left after a few hours and tried to find the city center to Mannheim, but we got lost and decided to pretend that we were going to Heidelberg anyway. I love Heidelberg. I am even going to buy a T-shirt to tell people I have been there. We browsed in the pedestrian shopping district, ate some brats and looked at all the weird but cool European footwear.
Has anyone been to the Denver/Colorado Springs area? I am thinking about looking for work there and in a few similar places. It has several of the qualities I have determined are important to me: not humid, four seasons, pays enough that I can support myself and have some left over, enough people that I still stand a chance of meeting quality unmarried ones in my demographic. And it kind of has that microbrew/outdoorsy/work-hard-play-hard thing happening. That doesn't describe me at the moment but does describe the kind of friends that sound fun. Other places on my list: Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Las Vegas, Boise, Austin. LV and Austin are so hot, though, and Lance Armstrong lives in Austin and, man, he bugs me. Watch, I will end up in Seattle for the fourth time. Holler some of your ideas at me so I can expand my city list. Or just hire me and we'll call it done.
The third Duran Duran reference in my previous post was the phrase "friends of mine" which is a song on the band's first album, if memory serves. But maybe it's on "Rio." Cindy, I'll meet you in London on Friday to start looking for Simon. We could also go to Harrod's, have a pint, search for Wills and have a bloody great time till we're so knackered we have to take the tube to get back to our flat so we can use the loo.
Things here for my family are pretty much arranged (house, car, located the IKEA, etc.), I might head home in the next several days and find some kind of temporary income to start refilling my bank account. Fortunately, I can stay at my parents' home for a time, but I hear I will be painting and moving furniture to earn my keep. That's OK with me.
We went to IKEA in Mannheim on Saturday, and it's so massive that it makes the one in Renton look like the Circle K version. It was Becky's first trip to an IKEA, and we should have known better than to take her on a weekend day. Wall-to-wall couples in very hip eyewear pushing empty carts. I have a feeling every IKEA is like that. We left after a few hours and tried to find the city center to Mannheim, but we got lost and decided to pretend that we were going to Heidelberg anyway. I love Heidelberg. I am even going to buy a T-shirt to tell people I have been there. We browsed in the pedestrian shopping district, ate some brats and looked at all the weird but cool European footwear.
Has anyone been to the Denver/Colorado Springs area? I am thinking about looking for work there and in a few similar places. It has several of the qualities I have determined are important to me: not humid, four seasons, pays enough that I can support myself and have some left over, enough people that I still stand a chance of meeting quality unmarried ones in my demographic. And it kind of has that microbrew/outdoorsy/work-hard-play-hard thing happening. That doesn't describe me at the moment but does describe the kind of friends that sound fun. Other places on my list: Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Las Vegas, Boise, Austin. LV and Austin are so hot, though, and Lance Armstrong lives in Austin and, man, he bugs me. Watch, I will end up in Seattle for the fourth time. Holler some of your ideas at me so I can expand my city list. Or just hire me and we'll call it done.
The third Duran Duran reference in my previous post was the phrase "friends of mine" which is a song on the band's first album, if memory serves. But maybe it's on "Rio." Cindy, I'll meet you in London on Friday to start looking for Simon. We could also go to Harrod's, have a pint, search for Wills and have a bloody great time till we're so knackered we have to take the tube to get back to our flat so we can use the loo.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Looking like a New Moon on Monday
It's been a productive week over here in Germany. My sister and bro-in-law bought a car, found a new home, and we're all getting acclimated to the local area. I have been cooking and helping to keep the homefront organized. We ate at a German restaurant this weekend. I had some kind of schnitzel. It wasn't gourmet good, but it was warm and homey, just right for a fall night.
Now that the hurdles of transportation and accomodation are figured out, we are talking about having an adventure this weekend, maybe driving over to Heidelberg or Landstuhl to see a castle. Speaking of driving, the autobahn is pretty fast. It does have posted speed limits in most sections we have driven, but that's about 80 mph so the cars move at a good pace. It's not at all like the autobahn of my childhood imagination in which there are schoolbus accidents, ambulances and Porsches colliding all along the highway.
Beauty tip for the day: Leave the hair coloring to the professionals. Hopefully, it's supposed to wash out in 28 days. My hair is so many shades of red, it's like "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" when I look in the mirror. If you know what I mean by that, then you might be one of the Neighborhood friends of mine. (Where are we going in 2006? I need something to look forward to ... )
Can you find the third reference to Duran Duran in this post? I hid it.
Now that the hurdles of transportation and accomodation are figured out, we are talking about having an adventure this weekend, maybe driving over to Heidelberg or Landstuhl to see a castle. Speaking of driving, the autobahn is pretty fast. It does have posted speed limits in most sections we have driven, but that's about 80 mph so the cars move at a good pace. It's not at all like the autobahn of my childhood imagination in which there are schoolbus accidents, ambulances and Porsches colliding all along the highway.
Beauty tip for the day: Leave the hair coloring to the professionals. Hopefully, it's supposed to wash out in 28 days. My hair is so many shades of red, it's like "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" when I look in the mirror. If you know what I mean by that, then you might be one of the Neighborhood friends of mine. (Where are we going in 2006? I need something to look forward to ... )
Can you find the third reference to Duran Duran in this post? I hid it.
