Hohenzollern: Here I Come

You know, I had a very enjoyable weekend. Not a very social one, but I got some things crossed off my list.

As we hit 60 degrees on Saturday, I finally took a trip to Hohenzollern castle, which was about an hour away with train connections. Seeing the darn thing was pretty much a forced day trip, since only one bus per day goes from the train station to the castle and back (11:20am and back at 4:10pm). So I packed a lunch, my loving camera, and set out on my way.

It was cool. I had wanted to get there for at least six months now, so am glad I went. Climbed up around the mountain, toured the inside, took in the separate chapels, and had plenty of extra time to explore the mountain and get any and every pic I wanted. And one set of doors had a favorite decoration of mine - A lion's head with the door knocker hanging in his mouth. The cathedral in Cologne had a similar set of doors. It was getting chilly later in the afternoon, and I was beat when it was time to come home. Already dark by then, too.

I also managed to do laundry, clean the kitchen, and wash all of the floors in my apartment this weekend. Not bad, eh? I have company planned for Tuesday night so the place is in tip top shape for that as well.

Ready to start a new workweek, I suppose. Bring it on - only got 10 days left until vacation. The countdown has begun (ok, it actually began back in October but that's beside the point).

Thanksgiving in Deutschland

Congratulate me - Yesterday I cleared out the huge box of styrofoam which had been sitting in my storage room. And I did laundry. And I cleaned the kitchen. All this on a weeknight. Someone call "Ripley's Believe It or Not." I have further plans to get things organized in the next couple of weeks while I'm still here. That way when I return in January, I'll be starting off fresh in the new year.

The cleaning lady at work is such a hoot. Apparently, she's retiring and her last day is tomorrow. She's been telling everyone for weeks. Although a bit envious, it's probably not my time. Maybe next year.

I spent my Thanksgiving working today. And working out in the evening. So I probably didn't pack on the pounds that most people back home did, but it's certainly a holiday that I miss not taking part in. Jeepers, this was my 5th Thanksgiving in Germany.

Hoping everyone had a great one...

It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas

I'm weak. I gave in. I succombed to the pressure. I hang my head in shame.

I broke out the Christmas music on Saturday.

But, I have good reason. My thought process was that I only have three more weeks here before heading home for the holidays, and probably won't be taking any music with me (as I don't have an mp3 player), so I decided to start listening to my collection now since otherwise it probably wouldn't be heard this season. It's a little early, but I guess it's not too bad.

Just as last year, there will be no Thanksgiving celebrated at this end. I'll be working. It's one of those rare (and rather unpleasant) occurrences where everyone back home has the day off and I don't. That's no fun. Oddly enough, I don't seem to mind when it's the other way around, though. But I suppose I'll survive… Those four weeks I have off next month will help me get through the pain.

I got to work this morning, and THEN noticed my pants were unzipped. Hmm…that explains why it seemed extra drafty... Not to mention the (over)abundance of smiles I received this morning (I knew it couldn't be that Germans suddenly became overly friendly!).

Speaking of drafts, it's cold in the office. Back in the summer, the trainee who was sitting next to me had the task of finding additional cost saving measures for the division, and one of the ideas he was working on was the effect of altering the office temperature one degree in either direction. Now, I don't believe anything came of it, and he has since moved on to a rotation in Mexico, but I've really begun to wonder because the office has been quite chilly. They're probably just holding off on the heat as we're still reaching the 50s for daytime highs. I should bring a blanket to work tomorrow and wrap myself in it. That would be great. I think I'll add earmuffs and a scarf to the mix, too. And mittens, although it might be hard to type wearing them.

Live Each Day...

I've realized something. I despise the expression "Live each day as if it were your last." Listen, I'm a huge fan of motivational quotes and the like, but this one is just too over the top to be realistic. Do you know how crazy you'd go if you literally lived each day as if it were the last? I certainly wouldn't go to work. God knows those dishes in the sink wouldn't get washed. The bills sitting on the table? Forget 'em. I most definitely wouldn't be booking trips for next year. And after not doing all of that on the one day, waking up and realizing that there's a new day to live as if it were the last, then I once again would skip work, leave the dishes, etc. The expression itself is just too loaded to be applicable. Something like "Live each day to the fullest" or whatever is tolerable and makes sense, but this other one has got to go. That's why I propose banning all use of it. Starting now.

After about 8 months of them sitting in my closet, I finally grabbed my black dress pants and took them to a seamstress in town yesterday. The bottom seam on one of the pant legs came undone, so was longer than the other side. I had never been to this particular store, but it was owned by a cute little Chinese lady. Her facial expression after inspecting the pants was priceless. She asked me who had done the seam originally, and I told her I bought them like that in a store in the U.S. She couldn't believe it, claiming it was done incorrectly and trying to explain to me how it should have been done. Now, with her testimony, my pants as evidence, and solid legal representation, I have a feeling that together we can take on the GAP on grounds of illegal stitching. I can almost hear their stock price plunging at this very moment. Unfortunately, the real culprit is probably a little 5 year old in some third world country, not yet as well-versed in the art of stitching as his/her 7 year old counterparts. Oh well.

My favorite commercial jingle right now: eBay TV spot airing in Germany. Classic!

Singing the "Blah" Blues

I find myself in the middle of a period which I believe in medical circles is referred to as "blah." Rather uneventful. Not much happening. Work is dragging. Weather is chilly. Been staying in a lot lately. Basically I'm just looking forward to vacation next month - vacation which was finally approved! Waiting for the flights to be booked.

As I was on my way home from work last Tuesday evening, there were groups of German kids trick-or-treating. Dressed up and all. Really starting to catch on over here. Almost made me feel like I was in the U.S. for a moment. As for me, it was a cozy night at home. To get into the mood, I just watched some episodes of "Halloween" which aired on TV and took it easy. We had Wednesday off for the holiday - All Saint's Day. Naturally, I spent the day praying in church. Or something similar. I don't really remember.

A few others from work and I were supposed to go to the zoo in Stuttgart on Sunday, but due to the cold temps and the threat of rain, we decided to cancel.

As for this weekend...?