29 August 2004

The Cat in the Mirror

Harley was sitting in her favorite spot this morning and suddenly became very interested in something across the room. I didn't see a fly or spider, so I wondered what had caught her attention. Before I could investigate, she jumped up and ran over to the TV where she began to intently examine the kitty that was there. She wasn't seeing cats on TV, as the television was off, but her own reflection.

As she peered into the television and occasionally pawed at the "other kitty," I started to think about animals, cats, and their "sense of selves." The "sense of self" has many levels, and the one that I was thinking about was an animal's ability to recognize him/herself, most frequently, in the mirror. Scientists believe that some animals, like chimps, are capable of self recognition. Yet, most scientists claim that animals like cats and dogs, while capable of feeling primary emotions, don't have a sense of self recognition. Whether or not I believe that, I am not sure.

Once we had a dog who always growled at herself in the mirror, but by contrast, my cats stopped being interested in the "other kitties" in the mirror long ago. Is it because they recognize themselves, have accepted the "cat" in the mirror as part of our family, or is it just because since the reflected cat is not a threat they find it inconsequential and ignore it? Maybe I am biased and see human qualities in my cats that really aren't there, but I would like to believe it is because they recognize themselves.

Of course, that brings me back to Harley and the TV. She never gives her reflection a second glance in the full-length mirror in the bedroom, so if she recognizes herself, why did she paw at her TV reflection? It was the first time I have ever noticed her doing that. Was she actually aware that it was her reflection and was just pawing at it to entertain herself? I'd like to think so!

27 August 2004

Blast from the Past

This morning, I was greeted by something very odd in my email inbox.

Out of the blue, I got an email from this dude that I hung out with twelve years ago! It was a good thing that I was sitting down, because if I hadn't been I probably would have fallen down!

Turns out, he still hangs out with the same people we did then and, coincidentally, my cousin married one of those dudes. I guess that is how he got my email address. I will confess that I did go out on a date or two with him, but it never developed into anything more than friendship.

When I was getting ready to go to college, I pretty much severed ties with those people. I think the last time I saw him was about ten years ago when he was dating a (fair-weather) friend of mine. I wish I was still in touch with her, because I would love to rub her nose in the fact that after all this time he dropped ME (not her!) an email! ha ha ha ha...

He was always a pretty pessimistic person, so the email mostly detailed how horribly his life has turned out, but he did say congratulations on my marriage.

I think I will be nice and reply to him, but damn! What am I going to say after ten years? So much has happened to me in that time, he might recognize me on sight, but otherwise I doubt he would recognize the person I have become.

26 August 2004

Joke of the Day

At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon"

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

  • For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
  • Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
  • Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You could have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and then reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
  • Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
  • Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
  • The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
  • Before deploying, the airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?"
  • Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
  • Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again, because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
  • You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn off the engine.

25 August 2004

A Year in Provence

I have decided that even though I don't write the best book reviews in the world, I would like to share on a more regular basis what I have been reading lately. So, here goes...

First published in 1991, A Year in Provence is Peter Mayle's witty look at life in a small Provencal village from an outsider's point of view. It is divided into twelve chapters, each chronicling one month of the year and mainly follows the saga of the narrator's adjustment to life in Provence and the remodeling of his antique stone house; from the burst pipes in January to the Sunday before Christmas when a smartly planned party for the workers and their wives by the narrator's wife finally encourages all of the workers to finish their year-long efforts. There are plenty of stereotypical amusing French villagers thrown in and extraordinary details of the enjoyable cuisine to top off this book candy.

As someone who has been living abroad for the past two and a half years, I particularly enjoyed this book. I found it extremely entertaining and even though French culture and German culture are different in many ways, I could identify the way in which the narrator learned to take the good and bad things about the Provencal lifestyle in stride.

It is a quick, easy, and fun read and I would highly recommend it.

George W. Bush Resume

Please consider this when casting your vote in November:

RESUME

GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Law Enforcement:
I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.

Military:
I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.

College:
I graduated from Yale University with a low C average.
I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS:

- I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.

- I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.

- I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.

- With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's ppointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:

- I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

- I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

- I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

- I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

- I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.

- I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

- I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.

- I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.

- I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.

- I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

- My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History: Enron.

- My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to ensure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.

- I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.

- I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.

- I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.

- I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

- I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history.

- I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States government.

- I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.

- I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.

- I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.

- I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees, and have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.

- I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. elections).

- I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.

- I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August 2001, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.

- I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world---the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.

- I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.

- I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community.

- I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.

- In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.

- I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

- I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.

- I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:

- All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.

- All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

- All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

23 August 2004

Little Red Mustang

I used to drive a 1982 Red Ford Mustang. She wasn't particularly fast for a Mustang and had worn-out seats, faded-red interior, a leaky transmission, and until I replaced it, a real shitty radio. But she was a Mustang, she was red, and she was mine.

I drove the hell out of that car in the 2 ½ years that I had her. When I owned her, I lived 30 miles from school and 30 miles from work... in opposite directions. I went to school everyday and to work three times a week. I put almost 500 miles on that car and about 3 tanks of gas (at $7.00 a pop) in her a week. The gas gage was broken, so I never knew if I was filling her up or not, but I was paranoid about getting stranded in the barren Iowa cornfields between school and home or work and home. (These were the days before every three year old had his own cell phone.)

But I was young and right out of college. I had two good jobs, excellent credit, and was saving money. I got tired of worrying about the amount of gas in my tank and having to dump a quart of transmission fluid in her every week to ten days. So, I came to a life-altering decision: Should I take the money I had saved and get the transmission fixed and drive her for another 2-5 years or should I take the money and use it to put a down-payment on a bright, shiny, new car?

You guessed it. I decided to go with the bright, shiny, new car. So, I took some pictures of my Mustang, removed the stereo, and folded the seat covers up and put them away. I kept telling myself, "She's only a car," as they gave me $500 credit towards my new car and took her away.

In my worst nightmares she never got another chance. She went straight to the scrap-heap and was crushed into a cube no bigger than my fist. In my far-flung hopes, they fixed her transmission and she served another kid until he or she got the new car itch.

A year later, my bright, shiny, new car had been in a wreck and was totaled. A year and a half later, my 2nd bright, shiny, new car had been repossessed and I was driving a four door 1980 Chevy Malibu with the stereo and memories of my Mustang in it. And now every time I see a Mustang, new or old, driving down the street I silently curse myself because I really wish I had fixed the damn transmission in my little red Mustang and kept on driving her.

Little Red Mustang
photo by blondelibrarian

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Now Playing: "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

21 August 2004

Zucchini Pancakes

One of the vegtables that I like is zucchini. I really like stuffed zucchini, fried zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini cookies, and I have even been known to eat zucchini cassorole.

The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college, I lived in a house with 3 other girls. One of them was Korean and loved to cook. At the time not only did I not like to cook, but I wasn't all that interested in food or cooking techniques. Anyway, the girl in our house that cooked made these very delicious zucchini/squash pancake things that summer. And I loved them. All throughout August when the summer zucchini and squash were at their best she brought fresh zucchini and squash home from the farmer's market and made those pancake things for us. I never asked for the recipe or how to make them, and within weeks after that summer was over we lost contact and I never saw her again.

Since then I have bought many a zucchini and tried many a recipe that I thought were similar, but have never been able to figure out exactly how she made them and with what. It is such a bummer!

If anyone has any idea how to make Korean Zucchini/Squash Pancakes, would they please let me know? You would be doing me (and my stomach) a huge favor!

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Now Playing: "Son of a Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield

The Great DVD Rip Off

I have always liked living on the edge of the law. I used to do things that could have landed me in jail if I would have gotten caught. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) somewhere along the way I settled down and became a mostly law-abiding citizen. But sometimes I still do naughty things... even though I haven't done anything underhanded for a long time. However, that changed yesterday when I ripped off a local music/video store that is going out of business. And I must say, I was pretty pleased with myself.

So, what underhanded deed did I do? Since this particular store, which shall remain nameless, is going out of business, they have all their stuff discounted from 10 - 50%. I found a DVD that I wanted really badly (The Three Amigos!), but it only had a 10% sticker on it. It had no barcode, just an old-fashioned price tag that indicated 22 Euros. This irritated me, because it is an old movie and there was no reason in the world that it should be that much. In addition, A. and I have a rule when it comes to DVDs: We do not spend more than 15 Euros on them. That meant that even with the 10% discount, the movie was still out of my price range.

At first I thought about switching stickers. (They had colored stickers, yellow for 10%... red for 50%) but I couldn't get a red sticker off anything else without mangling it and making it obvious that someone had messed with it. So, I thought about it and decided that since it didn't have a barcode maybe if I just ripped off the price tag I might get a better deal. So that is what I did. I ripped the price tag off and then went to the counter. I told the girl that the DVD had a dot (it did!), but no price tag. Could she tell me the price? After looking at the DVD, (she didn't even attempt to scan it or call the manager or anything) she announced that it must be a 12,99 movie. So, with the discount it would be 11,69, how did that suit me? I said it suited me just fine and bought the DVD.

Yep, I sure am pleased that I got my DVD cheaper and was sneaky and underhanded in the process. But on the same token since the store is going out of business, I'm sure they didn't really care at what price they sold the DVD, just as long as they got rid of it.

17 August 2004

Iowa State Fair Memories

Yesterday, I read an article in USA Today about the Iowa State Fair.

Being a native Iowan, I couldn't help but remember all the times I visited the State Fair in the 23 years that I lived there. I don't think I went every year, but I estimate that I went for at least one day no less than fifteen of those years. In fact, it wasn't until I moved away from Iowa that I found out that not every state has an annual celebration like the Iowa State Fair. This year is special though because the Iowa State Fair is celebrating its sesquicentennial and after 150 years, it is "Still the One."

Whether or you were born there or not, if you live in Iowa, it is almost certain that you will spend a mimimum of one day during ten days in August at the State Fair... usually the hottest and most humid days of the year. Not only is it a rite of passage, it is one of the three biggest events in Iowa throughout the year. (The other two are the State Basketball Tournament and the State Wrestling Tournament.)

Like many rural Iowa kids, when I was old enough (i.e. 9 years old) I joined 4-H and spent all year dreaming up projects that would not only receive a blue ribbon, but would be good enough to attain the honor of a place at the State Fair. Since my family didn't raise livestock, my projects were of the home economics and visual art types. More than once during my six or seven year tenure in 4-H my projects went to the State Fair, and of course, I went along with them.

In those years I ate many bizarre foods on sticks, saw several butter sculptures, and attended numerous wood chopping contests. I remember the year the bungee jump was introduced to the Fair and betting amongst my friends who would be the first one crazy enough to try it. (Note: It was NOT me!) I saw Metallica at the State Fair and got both my tattoos there.

When I lived in Des Moines, I had friends who lived near the fairgrounds and every year they made a tidy profit charging people $5.00 to park in their yard. I remember the first year I was old enough to visit the beer tent, even though I don't remember how I got home that night. I spent plenty of time in the Midway and more than one ex-boyfriend spent plenty of dough trying to win me a stuffed animal there.

Eventually each State Fair blends into another and the excitement you had as a kid wears off, but that doesn't keep you from paying the admission fee each year and checking out the butter cow while eating fried cheese curds on a stick.

* * * * *

Now Playing: "A Lap Dance is so Much Better when the Stripper is Cryin' " - The Bloodhound Gang

16 August 2004

Super Size Me

A while back I saw a preview for that documentary called "Super Size Me." Honestly, I have no desire to see the movie, but from what I understand one of the rules of his little experiment was that when he was ordering his food, if someone asked him if he wanted to "Super Size" he had to say yes.

In a round-about way, that reminded me of something from my waitress days that we referred to as "up-selling." I worked at Chain Restaurant ABC for about 2½ years. When I began, I had to go through a training program and after you learned the basics of waiting tables, you had a session about "up-selling" as a way to maximize your tips (and the restaurant's profits).

As I am sure the majority of my readers know, in America, waitresses/waiters (the politically correct term is "server," but I always referred to myself as a waitress) essentially work for tips. I haven't waited tables for almost 8 years, but in 1996 (God! has it really been that long?!), the hourly wage of a waitress was between $2.25 and $3.75. As you can plainly see, in order to make the job worth while, obviously a waitress wants tips. A good waitress (meaning you are willing to work hard and give good service) usually makes pretty good tips and can turn waiting tables into a fairly profitable job.

Theoretically, a tip is 15% of the total amount of the diner's bill, therefore (so the thinking goes), the higher the bill, the higher the tip. This is where "up-selling" comes into play. The idea is to add to the diner's bill in a rather indistinguishable way. For example, the customer orders a Margarita that is (forgive the 1996 prices) $3.50. The margarita is made with "bar" tequila (aka the cheap, generic brand). The waitress who is practicing "up-selling," asks if you want a particular kind of tequila in the margarita. You say, "Cuervo Gold." KA-CHING! That is premium liquor and now your $3.50 margarita is $4.25! All throughout your meal you are asked these questions: Do you want fries with that? How about a side of ranch dressing? Maybe dessert? Ka-ching! KA-ching! KA-CHING! All those little extras add up and without thinking about it, the customer gives a 15% tip on a bill that ended up being $36 instead of the $30 it could have been.

Even though I was a successful waitress, I was never comfortable with the practice of "up-selling." I wasn't afraid of working hard and even when I had a long night I could serve a table with a smile on my face and take home generous tips. I thought, and still think, "up-selling" is a not only a sneaky practice, but extremely pushy. I don't like pushy people and didn't want to be a pushy waitress. When I was a trainer, I would tell my trainees about "up-selling" and leave it up to them whether or not they wanted to do it.

Essentially, "Super or King Sizing" a fast food meal is a form of "up-selling." Of course in such a "restaurant," there is no waitress putting herself through college to benefit, only the corporation. So next time you think about super-sizing your Big Mac meal, remember they don't care about your super-sized waist, only your incredibly shrinking pocket book.

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Now playing: "I'm Going Slightly Mad" - Queen

10 August 2004

Flying Kitties

This has got to be the best news story I have read in a while. Of course the story details the concerns of the flight crew and the inconvenience to the passengers, but being the crazy cat lady that I am, I sympathized with the poor kitty and his owner.

Air travel with pets is a very stressful ordeal for all involved. I know this first-hand because when we moved to Germany from the US, we brought my three cats with us. The rule of thumb for animals in the cabin is one person, one animal and the number of animals on a flight is limited. Since A. and I were only two, we had a choice: We could each bring a cat in a soft carrier and the other could ride in the luggage compartment, or all three could ride in the luggage compartment. I wasn't too happy with either choice, but since I felt I should be fair to my cats, I chose to have all three ride in the luggage compartment.

We flew from Portland, Oregon to Detroit, had about a two hour layover and then flew from Detroit to Frankfurt. All together, about a 12 hour flight and a 36 hour day. I am usually pretty laid back, but I had never been so stressed out in my entire life!

In Portland, I stayed with them until the last possible second and strongly warned anyone that was part of the Northwest Airlines family that they would face my wrath if anything happened to my highly valuable cats. (They are priceless to me, and besides, with all the money I had to invest to get them ready to go, I felt that I had a right to tell everyone they were valuable!)

In Detroit, I stood in the lobby with my nose glued to the window as I watched the baggage handlers load my cats into the luggage compartment. I had marked their carriers with highly visible "Live Animal" signs and florescent tape specifically for that purpose.

Every 15 minutes from Detroit to Frankfurt, I whined and cried on A.'s shoulder that I hoped they wouldn't be too traumatized, while he reassured me they were OK. I wasn't so sure: I had read horror stories of how badly animals were treated in the luggage compartments and others of how animals disappeared in transit. I was a nervous wreck until I saw them in Frankfurt, where all three greeted me with highly pissed-off looks on their faces. But to me at that moment, they had never looked so sweet and adorable.

Yet, I must give Northwest Airlines credit. On each plane, before it took off, I was given a special "Pet Passport" that verified that the pilot knew that my cats were aboard and that they had made it safely into the luggage compartment. However, it is an ordeal that I am not anxious to repeat and my advice to anyone who is considering flying with their pets is: Don't do it unless it is absolutely necessary. It is much less stressful for all involved.

On a final note, I want to reassure everyone that my cats came through their first Trans-Atlantic flight without being too traumatized (even Harley, who was at the time only about 8 months old) ...Even though they do still mysteriously disappear every time they see the kitty carriers!

09 August 2004

It's All Relative

Summer has finally arrived in Munich! For the past two weeks temperatures have hovered between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. (That's between 77 and 86 Fahrenheit.) All through June and most of July it was cool and rainy. And we complained. Now it is warm and sunny and we are still complaining.

The funny thing is, it really isn't all that hot. For example, summertime in Iowa can be quite a scorcher. There are many summer days in Iowa that are above 90 F (32 C) and usually there are even a few days around the 100 mark (37 C). In addition, after living for 2½ years in Texas and another 2½ in Mississippi, I think I can say with certainty that I know what hot is. But the difference is, in all of those places I had air conditioning! Here air conditioning is the exception, rather than the rule. Therefore, when it is 30 C outside and 24 C inside, it seems hotter than it really is.

Because I know it isn't as hot as I would like to think it is and because all through June I anxiously waited for the sun to peek out from behind the clouds, I have tried to resist the urge to complain about the weather. However, I would just about give my left arm to come home to an apartment that has been cooled all day to a comfy 20 C (68 F), sip an ice-cold lemonade, and chuckle at all of the poor fools that don't have air conditioning!

08 August 2004

Die deutsche "Recht"schreibung

One of the big news stories here in Germany for the past few days revolves around the German spelling reform (die deutsche Rechtschreibung). In 1996, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland introduced reforms "changing, among other things, the rules about where to place a comma in a sentence, and altering the spelling of about 12,000 words."

Ever since these reforms were introduced they have been controversial. The reforms are supposed to become mandatory next year. However, one of Germany's most prominent newspapers The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, abandoned the rules about four years ago and this past week, two of Germany's main publishers, Axel-Springer and Spiegel-Verlag, announced that they will too will abandon the new rules and urged other German publishers to do the same.

Opponents say that though the reforms were meant to simplify the language, in actuality they have made things more confusing. For example, people that didn't make spelling and grammar mistakes before now do. In addition, since the reforms have been taught in schools since 1998, parents and children now observe different rules.

Yet shortly after the calls to abandon the reforms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland announced that they will be keeping the new rules.

I have observed the situation first-hand. Since I didn't know any German when I first moved here, I attended the Goethe-Institut, a prominent German Language School and they teach the "Rechtschreibung." In my very first class, I ran headfirst into the spelling reforms. In order to help me with my German, I had some German reference materials that, unbeknownst to me at the time, included the old spelling. Needless to say, my first two weeks of learning German were riddled with confusion. Finally one day I mentioned something in that direction to my teacher. It turned out that I wasn't the only one that was bewildered. My classmates were also running into the old vs. new rules at every turn.

As my German language learning progressed, I would observe my teachers slipping into the old rules as they wrote examples on the board, even though they were supposed to be "reformed." I also learned that students who had learned German prior to 1998 were struggling to incorporate the new rules.

But the "Rechtschreibung" didn't just affect me at school. A. was absent when the German-speaking countries introduced the reforms and though he was aware of them, he was completely clueless about them. Sometimes when I would show him my homework, he would point out what he thought were mistakes. But in actuality, they were the reforms in action.

While it is a confusing mess, I don't really have an opinion on whether the spelling reforms should be kept or not. True, I learned the new rules and prefer to write that way. However, I also recognize the old ways when I see them and it doesn't bother me to read them.

I guess when your native language is one that has as many variations (American English, British English, Canadian English, etc.) as English does, it is easier to accept discrepancies in a language.

05 August 2004

A Melon Story

Tonight, while I was cutting up a honeydew melon, I was reminded of another time and another melon...

When I was living in Mississippi, I had a Chinese friend, who I always referred to as "my little Chinese guy." There was absolutely nothing offensive meant by this. I am 5'7" (170cm) and he was no taller than 5'3", so I always referred to him that way, because from my perspective, he was a (cute) little guy.

Anyway, we became friends because he walked by my office one day on his way to the restroom. In my old library, there were one-person men's and ladies' restrooms near my office. I later found out that the reason he had spotted me was because this was the restroom in the library that he preferred to use. He thought I was pretty and made up his mind to meet me.

I remember the day we met. He knocked on my door and struck up a conversation with me like we already knew each other. Since it was near the beginning of the school year, I had been all over campus talking to people and thought maybe I had met him and forgot. So, when he came into my office that day, I didn't want to be rude and act like I didn't remember him. It turned out that I had never met him, but we soon became friends anyway.

One day, about a year after we first met, he asked me if I liked watermelon. I confirmed that I did. He then told me he wanted to bring me a watermelon. At this time I was living alone and though I like watermelon, I could never eat a whole watermelon before it went bad. I told him so and tried to discourage the gift of watermelon. For two or three weeks he persisted. He wanted to buy me a watermelon. To this day, I am not exactly sure why...

Then one hot, humid, August evening (is there any other kind in Mississippi?), there was a knock on my door. It was my little Chinese guy with a big grin on his face. He had stopped by because he had brought my watermelon. He went to his car and when I looked, I saw him carrying a watermelon across my lawn that was almost as big as he was! I told him I hoped that he was in the mood for watermelon because we were going to have to eat it then and there.

Unfortunately, the watermelon wasn't quite ripe. So he brought it inside and sat it on my counter (it took up half my counter space!). It sat there for almost a week, untouched. Then one day I realized that it was probably getting close to overripe.

So, I took it over to my best friend's house and along with her husband and three kids, we had a watermelon feast! My only regret is that I didn't share that delicious watermelon with my little Chinese guy.

Ladybugs

I had some left-over material from a bookmark I made for a friend a while back and since I wasn't in the mood to start a new big project, I threw this little bookmark together for myself over the past couple of days. For some reason I didn't center the image properly, so I had extra space at the top. In order to make the piece a little more balanced, I added the saying.

Don t BUG Me When I m Reading!
© blondelibrarian

02 August 2004

Delicate Dragonflies

Today I finished my latest cross-stitch piece. It is called "Delicate Dragonflies."

"Delicate Dragonflies" Log:

Start Date: July 19, 2004
Finish Date: August 2, 2004
Stitch Time: 8 Days and approximately 30 hours

Remarks:
  • "Delicate Dragonflies" is a Dimensions Kit that I bought in 2002. It is sewn on 14 count printed Aida cloth.
  • It was necessary to soak the fabric beforehand because it was too stiff to put in my hoop. Perhaps the fabric had too much starch...
  • One of the interesting features of this piece is that except for the white in the flower, it is stitched using only one strand of floss. (Normally I sew 14 count with 2 or 3 strands) I think this gives the piece a soft and delicate look, almost like it has been painted instead of stitched.
  • I quickly learned that one has to be careful when stitching with only one strand of floss because it breaks very easily if pulled too tight.
  • A smaller needle went through the fabric easier, but the eye was too small and frayed the floss. After breaking 3 or 4 threads, I returned to my regular needle.
  • I found this piece difficult to backstitch, because it required lots of long stitches, which I am not too comfortable with.
  • As I was backstitching I was afraid I wouldn't be happy with it. However, when viewed from a distance, I think the piece looks very nice.
  • The Chinese Symbols in the top right corner are "Wind" and "Sky."


Delicate Dragonflies
© blondelibrarian

01 August 2004

Cologne/Köln - Part 2

On Thursday (7/29), we visited Cologne and had a really great time. The weather was warm and windy, but it wasn't too humid. After we figured out the Cologne subway system we were primed for our adventure.

The first stop was, of course, Cologne's most famous landmark, the Dom. It is a beautiful Gothic cathedral that was begun in the 13th century. It suffered heavy damage during World War II and when you see the stained glass windows you can tell (or at least pretend to) which ones are originals. It seemed to me that the light shines through them differently. Maybe the glass is thicker or something.

After touring the inside and viewing the artwork and the beautiful stained glass windows, we climbed over 500 stairs to the near-top of the south tower. Of course, we had to stop about half way to check out the bells and catch our breath! However, I will say I am in better shape now than when I climbed St. Peter's in Rome. I wasn't panting nearly so bad when I reached the top! It is also a good thing that I am not afraid of heights, because though most of the way up the stairs are enclosed, the last 50 or so are semi-open and you can see an awful long way down! After we came back down we visited the Treasury. Compared to the Vatican's treasury it is quite modest, but it is still impressive to see all the gold and jewels.


View from the top of the Dom
photo by blondelibrarian

After the Dom, we took a walk along the Rhine on our way to visit the Chocolate Museum. It details the history and process of chocolate making. There is a small manufacturing demonstration and you get free samples! If that wasn't enough, there is the obligatory gift/souvenir shop where you can buy anything and everything chocolate! A. and I were in Heaven!

Our last stop was at 4711; the boutique that is famous for its "eau de cologne" (water of Cologne - that's French, not German). There was a little exhibit that explained how a monk brought a secret formula to Cologne and in its heyday "Cologne" was ingested and honored as a magic elixir. Today it is merely the world's most famous perfume and to this day, the formula for "Cologne" remains secret.

By that time it was nearly time for dinner, so we jumped on the subway and headed back to the in-laws. A couple of hours later we were stuffing ourselves with Greek food and wine.

Friday we did a little more shopping, took a nap, packed up the cats in the car, and in the evening headed home. I love to travel, but I always appreciate coming home and sleeping in my own bed.

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You can see more pictures from my trip to Cologne in my photo album.