&%$§ Telekom

Now I feel German. We've had the first of our moving glitches. Telekom has turned off our phone 1 week earlier than agreed on. No phone, no internet . . . not a single luxury, like Robinso - ok you get the point.

Might be a bit scarce til this gets sorted.

We have the key and the landlord has a small list of things that need to get repaired. There is a door latch that's broken.

Day 1 of the move involved MG refilling all of the holes in the walls. I stayed with him last night while he removed all of the lightswitch and electrical socket plates.
Someone had to be there to call 911 (or whatever it is) if he stuck that screwdriver somewhere it didn't belong. He insisted the screwdriver was designed for that, but I don't believe him.

Today he is taping, taping, taping and riding over to Telekom to give them a piece of our collective minds.

The mooselet is off to gay Paree for a couple of days. The trains are running again over there which means it's back to rioting season. C'est la vie parisienne, or something.

Meet-up

Anybody far enough down south that they would be interested in a local meet-up in Karlsruhe? I am thinking a low-key chance to visit one of our two new Starbucks cafes. Other suggestions are welcome. Glühwein/Kinderpunsch at the Christmas market anyone?

I have one definite, but she is returning from a tour of the Americas :) at the start of the year. Molly, my faithful commenter, has also expressed interest. I walked up to a random English speaking stranger on the street yesterday, poor thing, and gave her my number. Maybe she will call and I have to harrass the neice of an aquaintance of my mothers - who just happens to live about 500 m from here.

The long and short of it is, I am up for a local( KA) or semi-local (Heidelberg-ish) meetup or both. I don't pull a whole lot of traffic here, but if you are interested too, drop me a line, or even better post on it, and hopefully, we could get a group together for an afternoon some time.

Forgetting your English?

Here's a chance to get those synapses firing again and to do a good thing simultaneously.


Short but sweet - vocabulary game, 10 grains of rice to the poor for each right answer.

I can't get above a 44. Apparantly to be supersmart, you have to get to 48. All in the FAQ, kiddies.

HT: Eve Tushnet

Bonanza of Minutia

Despite well-meanng advice, I haven't made much of an attempt to find a new job. I have continued to learn, and there is no doubt I know significantly more than I did at the start. I have made a few phone calls recently that I wouldn't have made earlier, and have sent out a few faxes and emails that didn't need so much correction, but for the most part my writing still requires heavy reworking. I am still not at a point where I have skills that would make me truly marketable.

The week before last we had a madatory celebratory dinner that ran til 11:30 PM (read: I got to bed at 1 AM) in a week where I was overloaded. I still am furious, but I just had 1,5 extra days off and I am OK for the moment. My scheduling this week is going to be tight because of the vacation days, but perhaps I can rack up a little comp time for the move. Last week, I wound up back in the office Thanksgiving morning, which I was supposed to have off - doing recalculations for a project I thought I had finished weeks ago. The higher up who had signed off on the project was speeding away to Switzerland, but his failure to process my "It won't work like this" meant I was in the office wanting to scream "Happy $%&$ Thanksgiving" under my breath from 7:30 to noon Thursday.

But then I was swept off to little America by my sister mg or the Mooslet and MG and all was right with the world . . .

Everyone else at the office is a bit swamped, too. We've been offered "too many" projects, and the normal down-time of the year (sauere Gurken Zeit) is going to be anything but - apparantly it was last year as well, and that was one of the reasons I got hired. So here we are.

But we are in good health, my parents and in-laws are in good health, my sister is here, and we are moving. There are things I want (even more than better kitchen tiles) that we haven't gotten yet - but for the next 15 minutes, I have a bit of space from it and a little peace.

off to write some Christmas cards in my 15 minutes - take care ya'll

Lincoln can't be outdone. . .

so I will merely offer the following.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

To all my fellow sojourners and my fellow Americans and to everyone - Happy Thanksgiving.

So not true, but whatever . . .

"whatever . . ." ought to get me back to highschool level. Personally, I think it was the use of "aprapo" that put me over the top.

Seven Random things about the Moose

Thanks to the American in Bad Homburg for tagging me. . .off we go

I have a scar on my chin. In the town baby pool (depth 1 ft.) my sister (not the one that comments here) rammed me in the face with a plastic boat. No stitches, but it was the first time
since my birth I was to the hospital for care.

I may very well write in Steven Cobert for President. But being that the postage for a ballot costs a fortune, maybe not.

Earlier in my life, I was a very poor keeper of secrets. I am much improved.

I used to be able to connect large portions of the history of the monarchs of England through books and films.

I love the ocean, especially in Autumn and I love the mountains. I have lived in both and now live in neither. There is a distressing dearth of lighthouses in Baden.

My father read to us as children. The first book was Heidi and we read Sunday mornings. Later, we had to do the dishes every night and he read to us then. Twain, Dumas, Longfellow, Alcott, Morely, Caroll - what a gift. I can't imagine my life without them.

God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next. (For those not in on the "joke" - trust me, this says volumes.)

I tag

Dixie Peach
In Search of Dessert
Stepping Stones

Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs

I have added a few more names to the blog roll on the right. I have much more in my google reader, and even that needs updating. Some people (you may or may not know who you are) aren't listed cause the occaisional post is too graphic, or too hardcore Catholic (Paul :) ) - I am an equal opportunity discrimator. I hope to add more soon, but I just spent an hour adding stuff to the reader this morning so it is going to have to wait.

No snow here - but it's cooooold. (i know, i know, waaaah).

I am not a shoe kind of a girl,

But these sure are purdy.

Say Hello to my Little Friend!

Mausi's not the only one with a new washing machine. I am betting that her German didn't push the drain pipe back into the machine, though. Mine thought "What a great idea! I can store the extra hose inside the machine!" The problem was, that that put the hose too close to the motor and we had water all over the floor 4 days after we got the machine. Thank God for forgiving service men, who are willing to turn a blind eye to customer error. (Although, if the hose must stay positioned exactly as it is, there should be a piece holding it in place - imho.)

Why we went to Vienna.

Nothing cute this entry. We went to Vienna because I had the opportunity to be at the funeral of someone who I knew only fleetingly, but who was ready to welcome me into her life and into her home. Whether that had anything to do with me at all, or only out of love for her nephew, I will never know, but she was a force unto herself and I always connect her in my mind with the pleasure she found in the good things in life - good food and good music. I had wanted to get back to Vienna to say good-bye, but did not imagine it would be this way or so soon.

I can only hope that these pictures give some impression of the way I remember her. Laughing and enjoying life.

Touchy Topic or "Buße und Moose"

Hunting around for a Mass time on the webpage on the Stadtdekanat in Mannheim, I stumbled across this notice.

Der Bußgottesdienst anlässlich des Gedenktages zur Reichspogromnacht 1938 findet in diesem Jahr in der Citykirche am Markt St. Sebastian statt. Die Feier beginnt am Freitag, 9. November, um 16 Uhr und trägt den Titel „Das Geschenk der Versöhnung kosten“. Mitwirkende sind unter anderen OB Peter Kurz sowie die Pfarrer Andrea Knauber und Lukas Glocker.

The Penance Service on the occaision of the Day of Remebrance for the Reichspogromnacht 1938 (Kristalnacht) will take place this year in the City Church on the Market, St. Sebastian. The service begins Friday, November 9th at 14 PM and is being called "Taste the Gift of Forgiveness". Participants include, among others, Mayor Peter Kurz, as well as clergy members Andrea Knauber and Lukas Glocker.

Let me start off by saying that I agree that acts of public reparation by institutional leaders (i.e. the Mayor, Bundeskanzler, pope, President, etc.) can be acceptable and serve a purpose. Nor do I have anything against the event as it is being advertised in Karlsruhe (a service in remembrance/ and as a warning to the living). I am just wondering how they are intending to work in the penance service part.

Post-modern Germany has pretty much rejected personal sin (social sin, they still have - we are always being reminded that someone, somewhere else, is doing something wrong).
The prayers at church run something like this . . . "Oh Lord, for the times when we have not opened ourselves fully to your love like the beautiful, delicate flowers we are, and thereby failed to experience total fullfillment and have high self esteem every waking moment, we ask your forgiveness."

I don't think they are actually going to be calling anyone to personal change - or even to acts of personal penance (which would be very Catholic, actually, but is as likely as a cold day in Hell, see last paragraph). Is there really a purpose to this? Part of me thinks I might be using my time more effectively to think about currently occurring injustices?

Am I way off here?

Aprapo of Nothing

I was listening to a documentary podcast from RTE (imagine an acute accent over the E) over the weekend which discussed shanos dancing in Ireland. An internet search revealed that that is actually sean-nos (old-style) and boy is it nifty.



Looser than the Irish dancing I grew up seeing. I got the link and lots of other good info from this site.

The documentary was called "Heel Up" and available here or at Itunes.

It's all in the fine print. . .

A very busy (seriously) restaurant.



The serve bunnies here and they slaughter them themselves.

Which evangelische evangelikalische witch is which?

Lots to upset the observant reader at MSNBC today. Let's start off with the witches. I have no energy to debate the figures. No -my objection de jour is to the lazy translation that as the first commenter points out is terribly confusing to the modern English speaker.

False friends time, Freunde

What we in the US would refer to as Mainline Protestant denominations in the States are referred to as the "evangelische Kirche" in German. There are lots of exceptions - the Methodists for instance are a Freikirche. (I am not going to speak for Switzerland here.)

Historically you got shoehorned into whatever religion the guy who ruled your neck of the woods decided was most profitable for him in year X (treaty of westphalia??). If he felt his ties to Austria or Rome or whatever were useful to him, you stayed Catholic. If he had his eye on some monastery property you were free to reform if you were doing it yourself and if not a reformer could be imported.

Prior to that, some poor slobs had made up their own minds, but territory went back and forth (some towns near where MG comes switched back and forth between some flavor of Reformed Chritianity and Catholicism 7 times. Seven times!!) But anyway, after year X, your leader decided and you could like it or lump it. He was free to switch after that. You, peasant farmer in the town of XYZ-heim, not so much.

There were lots of Reformers though, and once having made the decision to split off from the Western Church, they continued to split (e.g. Christianity in the U.S.). Soon there were many varieties of the new Reformed Christianity. Unlike the US, though, the government's big ol' mits were stearing this process the whole time, and because religious freedom brought so much chaos, you weren't even allowed free to be the particular flavor of Protestant that you wanted. In the North - way Calvinist, middle Germany Lutheran, down by us, some kind of mish-mash. The point being in each location there was only ONE Protestant church with the locally acceptable seasoning - and they joined together to form (drum roll please) the evangelsiche (Gospel) Kirche (church) after the collapse of the monarchy.

This has absolutely nothing to do with modern Evangelical Christians.

If I meant "evangelikal", I would have said "evangelikal".

Tiles, Yey or Yech ***

The Kitchen tiles - I know, I know - they're not soooo bad, but what to do with random fruit? Ehhhhh brown tiles with ehhhh Birch-finish. I am considering the darkest wood countertop that ikea has. (We are not talking about forever in this apartment, so it's ok if they eventually stain and treating with oil a few times a year is also acceptable.)

*** (German) Igit (eee-git)

arrrrgh blogger is again refusing to let me load a photo, so ya'll still can't see our future kitchen tiles.

So I guess I will have to start off our new moosie series -The Cheapskate's Guide.

We were pretty disgusted with our travel guide in Vienna, and we felt that there must be some sort of guidance for travelers on a tight budget. We certainly don't know it all, but our travel guide was crap. So I will offer up a few measly tips here.

Looking for a great little bar (studentenkneipe) with reasonable prices, Czech Budweiser Beer and brick oven-baked "fladenbrot" (imagine a pita like bread) with a wide variety of fillings? Not much for the vegan here, I am afraid, most contain cream or cheese.

All of this in the 1rst Bezirk and it all hidden in a tiny alley that will have you feeling like a true insider. Oh and have I mentioned that the prices are reasonable? It's smokey; it's a keller (cellar); and the music is loud, but it's a cheap evening out. Here's the menu at Kolar.
It's in the tiny Kleeblattgasse.

For Jodi

Weak proof that there are vegetarians in Vienna. Even weaker because this vegetarian store had closed. But up until recently there was vegan ice cream to be had. And hopefully Ms J. will be pleased to hear that the fallafel restaurant made a real impression on MG - cheap and super tasty! The tahini was soooo good. I thought back fondly on Sunday Veggie Cooking at the unviersity. We don't have much middle eastern food around here (one of the things I most miss from the States.)

Here's the web address for Maschu-Maschu. And because I like torturing myself with memories of dinners past.

The good stuff

You might be a German Redneck if. . .

This is in your Schrebergarten or among your Streuobst.

Moose Round Up

Lots has been going on in the past few weeks. Many good things and a challenge or two. It was a good week, and there is a holiday coming up next week - all of it leaving me more optimistic. There were some ugly moments last week, but with the coming week split in two and busy, I am back to trying.

We have signed a lease for an apartment and move in December. The apartment isn't my altbau traum, but it falls into the 70-80% range in all categories instead of being 100% in some and 40% in others, AND the landlady wanted us, or at least allowed herself to be convinced by relatives to take us over the other applicants. The location is good. It's on a major street, but the street is especially wide (read: cars much further from our window than they now are) and the streetcar doesn't turn (a huge factor in the noise) and there are little balconies out the front and back. There are 4 Rooms, giving us flexibility for the future should we need it. Everything in the bathroom is in acceptable condition. The basement is huge (We are so happy about this). Parking isn't quite as tight as in other locations in the city. It's on the 1 OG - only 1 flight of steps (Yey!) which reduces our anxiety about moving and for the future.


So now we are giving thought to decoration. The kitchen is an issue. The one that is there is pretty oogly and we can't change the tiles.

Blogger won't let me load photos - so the rest of the post will have to wait

Do you read home design blogs ? Anything you want to recommend? thanks