shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yo shimmy yay

It's been a long week. Full of head aches and annoyances and anxieties. I haven't been the biggest fan of Germany this week. We all have these weeks. We all have emotional reactions.
Mine happened tonight as I was watching the last episode of Skins. Big baby tears. Sometimes it's nice to cry at nothing when the little somethings pile up.
Now I'm all snotty.
It's funny how we react to spring the same way every year. Four days of sun and everything bursts into color. It surprises me every spring.
My feet have returned to their normal color. Tanned, but just on top. Brown feet white legs, that's me.
I've been spending times in different neighborhoods. Mild exploring into the west where the money and fancy cars are. The areas I usually see are full of young people, turkish people, and tourists. West Berlin seems all white with a lot of old people (in comparison) It seems more solid, and less likely to change. It's nice to see new neighborhoods. It's nice to actually be in a a neighborhood. Anhalter/Potsdamer Platz, is not neighborhoody. However, it is nice to be so close to the big park. We spent all day in there yesterday, lying on the grass and picnicking. Could hardly tell we were in the middle of Berlin.

A List of Good Stuff:
-Nutella
-Skins
-The way the path along the canal smells all sweet and warm and peppery from the kernels fallen from the poplar buds.
-Blossoms.
-5 Euro Rayban Wayfarer knock-offs at the C&A. (the german Primark)
-Travel Scrabble
-My bosses at Ron Telesky's
-This new white tea and pear flavoured drink.
-Letters in my mailbox
-Finding ways to fill a day on the least amount of money possible. ("You, me and five bucks")

I'm tired...

I go to rome every twice in a while.

Rome revisited was good. The Trevi Fountain works.
I did more things this time around. Put a lot of miles on my cheap American shoes.
I met my sister and her husband on the Spanish Steps. A very romantic place to arrange a meeting. They took lots of pictures of me and I felt embarrassed.
We saw a whole bunch of old junk...including the Pope. The pope was far away and very tiny. John took a nice paparazzi type shot of him.
The Vatican and the Cathedral and the Sistine Chapel were disappointments. Cool, but not very Holy or Sacred at all. The Sistine Chapel was crowded and noisy and you couldn't really enjoy it for what it was. I find sacredness in humbler places. Like in this tiny, ornate crypt at the graveyard.
I guess I don't understand the world of popes, etc.
I put my hand in the mouth of truth, and nothing happened...so I guess that goes to show what bunk that's about. But I really liked the chapel of the church where the mouth of truth is. It's rustic and small and kind of mis-matched and old. They have real candles there instead of flickering LED lights. Not that I know much about lighting candles either. It seemed more real than St. Peters, and the guy that worked there seemed just like a normal man, and didn't have to wear any unusual collars.
There was a lot of piazza sitting and coffee drinking. Good talks and some jokes.
My friends who are living there at the moment are lovely and warm and funny. I learn a lot from both of them.
Benny had his thesis show up. It was great. I liked it. He does some cool things. His paintings make me like him more. I don't like to gush about people's work, really. I don't know if much is accomplished by gushing. I could be wrong about that, I have certainly spent plenty of time gushing...
...i need to think about that some more before I have a final stance on gushing.
I just know that I felt weird when Aunt Kitty gushed over me. Maybe I have become uncomfortable with it.
On friday night we sat in the cold to see a band, it ended up being a MLK Jr. memorial. Initially, it was kind of boring, but then the band played. The Orchestra de something-something. Lots of people from lots of countries. It was kind of hippy-mom music, but so good. People got into it. We packed snacks.
I went back to the place that had the delightful cappuccino last time, but it wasn't as good this time around. Still better than what you find most places, but not perfect. I was much busier.
I have come to dislike tour groups (very much).
I sat next to a nun on the trip back to Berlin. I wondered if she ever missed snuggling. God isn't much of a cuddler, you know?
I gave some Greeks bad instructions on how to get to their hotel.
Chad has left us. Now it's just me and ben...for two days until the parade of visitors start.
I am NOT going o NYC. I am miserable about this...but it was a luxury, and a girl can't ask the cosmos for too much.
The marathon is running right outside my apartment as I type. Drums all morning.

This is funny

Restauranttipp "Ron Telesky" - Jubii TV
Es ist ein Elch entsprungen – und zwar direkt aus Kanada mitten hinein ins Herz von Kreuzberg. Ron Telesky heißt er, und hat mit tatkräftiger Unterstützung zweier Berliner einen echten kanadischen Pizzaladen eröffnet. Pizzen mit 61 cm im Umfang und ungewöhnlichen Toppings – so was haben Sie garantiert noch nie erlebt.









Ron Telesky




Dieffenbachstr. 62




10967 Berlin-Kreuzberg

Keywords: quebec restaurant berlin pizza hockey montreal essen bier bio eishockey citylife kreuzberg restauranttipp dominik roth kanada ron telesky pizzaladen ole schnack sebastian hunold elch ahornsirup

Video from tv-berlin

the earth moves under my feet.

Our apartment shakes in the mornings.
I want a new one.
This requires time and money and effort. All things I would rather spend on getting to New York with Nelleke and Dolly Parton...which I am probably going to do.
It may not be the wisest decision financially speaking, but as Marty reminded me, it's for my memoirs. You gotta write about something. The grandkids might like to know about the time I went to Radio City Music Hall.
My birthday was pretty mellow...in the nice way. A little bbq and some friends, and some people I don't know so well.
I was overwhelmed with birthday wishes, and I was homesick for about a week. I miss my peeps, you know?
My knuckles are burnt to a crisp from that damn pizza oven. It takes a long time for knuckles to heal. It looks kinda like I got into a fight. Tough.
It snowed again yesterday. It was lovely. Big damp flakes.
I am at a crossroads in a few decisions. I don't know what to do...but I want to do it on purpose.
I feel like I have growing pains in my heart. It's tiring.
And the plants are on the counter every morning.

wind beneath my wings

It's my birthday tomorrow.
I've never really liked my birthday time too much.
we're having hamburgers, and you're all invited. Please come.
Today the weather has been a little manic a la Calgary weather.
I just finished watching the movie Beaches. I cried again. It's not as good as it used to be, but I think I love it or other reasons. The soundtrack was a major part of my pre-teen years. So good...kinda.
The other day M and A and I went on a drive through the country. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon type thing. I really love to get out of the city for a while. We saw little castles and tiny towns with roads too narrow for cars. We poked our head into one of the palaces at Potsdam. The place got terribly run down while the DDR was in power. I guess this is how ruins start. They are still restoring it, but it looks super old and broken in parts. It was fun to drive around and be surrounded by trees.
We also saw some real skinheads. They were scary, and totally put a damper on the day. It's weird how powerless you feel in the face of that kind of fear. It opened up an interesting discussion for the ride home. Intetresting discussions always make me feel closer to the people I'm having them with.
Things are still Okay at Ron's. I bought a book to help with German...we'll see how that goes. I taught my boss how to drink whiskey with ginger ale...always nice. I am sick of pizza. Crazy, right?
My darling sweet Nelly has bought a ticket for me to see Dolly Parton at Radio City Music Hall in New York City! All I have to do is get there. (my birthday is tomorrow) Dolly Parton in NYC! (my birthday is tomorrow) I really want to go (my birthday is tomorrow). There are a few complications, but most complications can be ironed out. I am willing to make huge sacrifices to get there. But my birthday is tomorrow, so maybe my sacrifices won't have to be so huge.
Subtlety has always been my strong suit. Have you noticed how mysterious I can be? Like the wind.

ho hum, riight?

Geez.
I haven't been to motivated lately. I feel like I haven't left the house in a while.
It's winter again, and the transit is on strike (again). My bike tire is flat. I just don't want to leave the house. Anything beyond yogurt and a pot of coffee seems too much effort.
Not a good thing. I will get out there today. It's only been one day of blah. I just don't want it to carry over into today. I have to work tonight, which is kind of nice. I miss the whirl of busy-ness. I like having full days and nights. I like it when down times are special, not normal.
There is a tiny health problem that I should get checked out, but I am kind of terrified of doctors. The doctors in Germany are German doctors (surprising, i know) which seem slightly more doctorish than Canadian doctors. Hence, my inactivity.
My sweet friend Agata moved into my bedroom. Chad now sleeps in the coffin. So we get the medium sized room. It's nice. It actually has a view, and the sound of construction is vastly diminished. The colors of the furniture, floor and bedsheets make this room look like some kind of dorm room...at a college with very little funding.
Ags has had a rough week. My heart is heavy for her.
I'm going back to Rome in April. My big sister and her husband are going to be there. I am stoked to be there again, and to see familiar faces.
The other day Ben and I decided to go out for coffee, but it got cold, so decided to take the train to wherever we were going. Once at the train, Ben suggested we just keep going right on to Potsdam. I was the bummer skeptic, but we went anyway, because well, what else would we do?
As soon as we stepped out of the station at Wannsee, it began to snow. I mean, SNOW! flakes the size of your head. Despite our inappropriate attire, we had a very nice time. We didn't even go see the palaces in Potsdam. We stayed in the town-ish area and went for coffee there, then turned right around and came back.
Adventure 2008!
I ate a whole box of jaffa cakes...in one day. They are so good. I don't think I can buy them anymore. I have no self-control when I'm around them.
Okay enough internet time has been wasted. I need to get some wind in my hair.
love you.

sunday morning walk

Just this morning I was out walking with Old Man Winter. The sky was grey, and the wind was sharp. As we walked past Anhalter Bahnhof, I saw a bunch of people playing soccer, and I noticed how nice it sounds. It sounds like fun, it sounds like friends, it sound like spring.
Just then the wind picked up, and I began to shiver.
Winter looked at me as he said, "SPRING? WHAT SPRING? THERE IS NO SPRING!"
I pulled my scarf in a little tighter and I glared at him.
"You know Winter, you can be a real asshole sometimes."
He chuckled and said, "SO CAN YOU." Then he laughed some more.
Then he started to howl.
Then it began to rain.
That's when I decided to take the train to work.