Word. It's one of those Mondays that feels like hell. Sadly not because I was celebrating uproariously over the weekend, more like my wee children were ridiculous today. The whole "Christmas is in less than a week" thing has them set on screech. Some random parent visited one of my classes today, and I swear if I were her, I'd've taken my kid out on the spot. The kids were so insane! But enough of that--I'm actually lucky that I've got quite a few classes that have been cancelled this week. I don't think I could do a full week of insane children. I am so already on vacation.
I expected to be on duty with dinner tonight, but when I got home at 6, my roomate Christian was already making dinner. It looked and smelled suspiciously German...I'm wary after last night's dinner of green cabbage, sausage and potatoes. Cabbage is nobody's friend. There's really nothing outrageous to report here--no 6 year olds tried to steal my phone yet this week, or last week for that matter. I've been passing out candy and singing Christmas songs and explaining that "Merry Christmas" is actually an English phrase, and that Christmas stockings are stockings and not boots. Which is it's own kind of crazy kicks, I guess. Stephan went back to work today after having infected tonsils, among other things. It's weird having him gone--he was home for like, two and a half weeks. But it gives me time to finish up doing Christmas-y things. And time to update this...all kinds of time. Ooh! And time to listen to The Sounds, who are fabulous and retro and ridiculous. I overhauled my iPod over the weekend, hoping that a software re-install would do...something. But no, she's still as tempramental as ever. I'm in the market for a new mp3 player if anyone's heard anything good. I've decided I'm going to buy them like I buy sunglasses--me getting burned by my iPod absolutely marks the last time I'm dropping anything close to that amount of money on faddish and overrated technology.
On a decidedly girly note, I got a bunch of gift certificates to the main cosmetic department store over here, so I went in yesterday (yes, in Berlin during the Advent season, you can go shopping in most malls on Sundays. It's glorious.) and discovered orange blush. It sounds so much more gruesome than it actually is. It's translucent and far more subtle than a normal pink. In case anyone cares. I'm over it. What else is news? I watched this incredibly intense movie over the weekend called 'the Valley of Wolves'--the director was turkish and Billy Zane was in it--it was originally done in English, but I can't imagine it being easy to find in America--it was one of the most anti-Ami things I've seen in a long time. Like, really really hard core. I needed about four mammoth vodka and cokes to get me through the portrayal of my countrymen. At the same time, though, I'm really glad I had to chance to watch it--I don't agree with the perspective, but I can understand where they're coming from and the people making these movies are entitled to it. It's hard to convey the level to which the director portrays Americans as brutal, godless, insane and greedy--it's all of those things multiplied by ten thousand and then squared. Whew.
One last thing.
Submitted for the collective approval of whoever takes the time to read this:
I'm debating cutting my hair. Not shorter, cause I'm growing it out, but cutting more layers into it or getting long bangs or something. Thoughts? Questions? Comments?
out.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
A day in the life
So. Me again...here, writing to you. Etc. Primarily in sentence fragments.
One of these days, I will stop using this thing as a replacement for any and all forms of email communication. But I'm a terrible asshole when it comes to emailing. Not that I have a reason to be. My life is hectic and idiotic, but no more so than anybody else's. And I do realize that. But speaking of ridiculous and idiotic shit that has happened to me in the last week, I should tell you that I saw a three-year-old hit another three-year-old in the face yesterday, so hard that the second kid's nose started bleeding all over the place. And this was in one of the nice yuppie districs of Berlin. I was freaked out. You don't expect violence from little kids like that. But yesterday really wasn't my day. After seeing the kiddies beating on eachother, and having one wreck himself while allegedly in my care (I left the room to look for a missing child, and this idiot takes a digger on a pile of gymnastics mats in the corner and starts crying while also bleeding copiously from his nose. I win!), I go to my last school and proceed to get my cellphone stolen by a six year old! Here's how it happened. A new program was supposed to start in the Hort that day--some kind of choir, and a lot of the kids were sad, because it conflicted with English, which their parents had already signed them up and paid for. So they couldn't go. Two of them even started to cry. So I give them my phone and tell them they are the official timekeepers of the English class, because little kids like it when you give them extra special responsibilities like that, and I really didn't want to have them crying all through my class. So they stop. But being six, they lay my phone down on a chair while coloring, and some other kid picks it up and runs off with it. Of course, I don't see this happen, because I'm trying to bring some modicum of order into the chaos that is fourteen six year olds and an after-school English class. So once I realize my phone is gone, I stop everything and explain to the kids that it's not funny, that I'm sad that my phone is gone, but I'm not angry, and I just want it back. So we all look, and it's not anywhere in the room. My phone has literally vanished. After much looking and finger-pointing among the kids, this one girl comes up to me and says "Hey Mia, there are some blankets in the hall where someone could have hidden something, I'll go look." And I'm like, "no, that's silly. My phone's got to be in the room someplace, stay here." But she insisted, so I let her go. And I'll be damned if two seconds later, the little witch didn't bring me back my phone. Yeah. So that's the last time I trust small children, however cute, with ANYTHING. Consider that lesson learned. And picture this, of course: in the first nursery school I was at yesterday, they gave me a poinsettia for St. Nicholas Day. So for the next eight hours, I'm carrying this idiotic plant all over Berlin, and forgetting it literally every place I go. In every single other nursery school, in the copy shop, everywhere. And me running back like an idiot to pick it up. It was just one of those days where I had to step back from my life and think "this can't be real. this is just too bizarre." I mean, it really was like some kind of third rate film--the characteristic Bad Day.
In other news, last weekend Julia had two friends from the states in town--Graeme and Jason*, and Stephan and I got invited to a housewarming party on Saturday night. So we round up the crew and storm the party. Like whoah. We arrived at 11 and left around three, but there was chaos and carnage, man. And the fucking sony singstar game stole my soul. I always laughed at those commercials where people are at parties singing karaoke. I always thought it was dumb. Well, not once I've had a few gin and tonics, apparently. I was singing all kinds of crap--German, American...I so didn't care. Germans really enjoy "the eye of the tiger". I never knew, but mannnn, that was one of the burning memories I had from that night. And I woke up with "uptown girl" in my head. For whatever reason. It was an awesome party, weird singstar phenomenon aside. The next day, I got to do one of my favorite hangover things, which is namely to lay around and watch nordic skiing on tv. I think that's my favorite thing about Europe in general, is that shit like that gets airtime. It's such a wonderfully relaxing thing to watch. Not too loud, not too hectic, and if you've ever been a skiier, just exciting enough to merit watching. So, fabulous party at Christin's. Check. Ridiculous stories of children from this week. Check. What else?
*Notes on Graeme and Jason: Jason is a New York architect who is probably the dictionary definition of "cute and cuddly". He's also mailing my family my christmas presents to them, so he's A number one in my book. Graeme is a lady killer, hipster-bingo style. Totally charming and smooth, even when black out wasted. He managed to make out with Christin, whose older brother is a career soldier in the German Army, right under Kai (the brother)'s nose and not get murdered. I was amazed. Not that Kai is violent or typically "army" in any country's sense of the world, but he is very much the "are you really looking at my sister?" kind of guy. But lovely. Very nice.
H'm. What else is new here? I bought Stephan his Christmas present: the goofy shoes from the adicolor series. I'm now in the process of coloring them in with the little paint pens that came with the shoes. Of course the little goofys are tiny and the tips on the pens are freaking huge. Oh, the things one does for love. And the darling has tonsilitis and will probably have to have them out once he gets better. I'm imagining the nightmare that will be Stephan in the hospital for a week. He'll be bored out of his head the entire time. But there's not going to be anything for him to spend money on there, so that'll be an improvement...I think?
This weekend is our one year anny. It kind of weirds me out that we've actually been together this long. The year went by so incredibly fast. I have to wonder if all the years are going to go by this quickly from now on. They probably always have and I just never noticed. Of course this makes me think depressing thoughts like "am I doing the right things with my life?" and if all the years are going to go by this fast, am I going to wake up one day and think "sweet jesus--where has all the time gone?!" But that's kind of ridiculous. I mean...I'm not sure that thinking like that actually accomplishes anything, other than making me depressed and confused and unable to do anything other than contemplate all the things I'm not doing with my life. *Sigh*.
Enough of those thoughts. Stephan and Christian are musically reliving their childhoods, listening to bad German rap from the 90s and chick music from the same time. I'm debating taking advantage of the new extended hours the stores have during December to go look for an English book for Max, Stephan's little brother. Anyway, I'm out for today.
kisses.
One of these days, I will stop using this thing as a replacement for any and all forms of email communication. But I'm a terrible asshole when it comes to emailing. Not that I have a reason to be. My life is hectic and idiotic, but no more so than anybody else's. And I do realize that. But speaking of ridiculous and idiotic shit that has happened to me in the last week, I should tell you that I saw a three-year-old hit another three-year-old in the face yesterday, so hard that the second kid's nose started bleeding all over the place. And this was in one of the nice yuppie districs of Berlin. I was freaked out. You don't expect violence from little kids like that. But yesterday really wasn't my day. After seeing the kiddies beating on eachother, and having one wreck himself while allegedly in my care (I left the room to look for a missing child, and this idiot takes a digger on a pile of gymnastics mats in the corner and starts crying while also bleeding copiously from his nose. I win!), I go to my last school and proceed to get my cellphone stolen by a six year old! Here's how it happened. A new program was supposed to start in the Hort that day--some kind of choir, and a lot of the kids were sad, because it conflicted with English, which their parents had already signed them up and paid for. So they couldn't go. Two of them even started to cry. So I give them my phone and tell them they are the official timekeepers of the English class, because little kids like it when you give them extra special responsibilities like that, and I really didn't want to have them crying all through my class. So they stop. But being six, they lay my phone down on a chair while coloring, and some other kid picks it up and runs off with it. Of course, I don't see this happen, because I'm trying to bring some modicum of order into the chaos that is fourteen six year olds and an after-school English class. So once I realize my phone is gone, I stop everything and explain to the kids that it's not funny, that I'm sad that my phone is gone, but I'm not angry, and I just want it back. So we all look, and it's not anywhere in the room. My phone has literally vanished. After much looking and finger-pointing among the kids, this one girl comes up to me and says "Hey Mia, there are some blankets in the hall where someone could have hidden something, I'll go look." And I'm like, "no, that's silly. My phone's got to be in the room someplace, stay here." But she insisted, so I let her go. And I'll be damned if two seconds later, the little witch didn't bring me back my phone. Yeah. So that's the last time I trust small children, however cute, with ANYTHING. Consider that lesson learned. And picture this, of course: in the first nursery school I was at yesterday, they gave me a poinsettia for St. Nicholas Day. So for the next eight hours, I'm carrying this idiotic plant all over Berlin, and forgetting it literally every place I go. In every single other nursery school, in the copy shop, everywhere. And me running back like an idiot to pick it up. It was just one of those days where I had to step back from my life and think "this can't be real. this is just too bizarre." I mean, it really was like some kind of third rate film--the characteristic Bad Day.
In other news, last weekend Julia had two friends from the states in town--Graeme and Jason*, and Stephan and I got invited to a housewarming party on Saturday night. So we round up the crew and storm the party. Like whoah. We arrived at 11 and left around three, but there was chaos and carnage, man. And the fucking sony singstar game stole my soul. I always laughed at those commercials where people are at parties singing karaoke. I always thought it was dumb. Well, not once I've had a few gin and tonics, apparently. I was singing all kinds of crap--German, American...I so didn't care. Germans really enjoy "the eye of the tiger". I never knew, but mannnn, that was one of the burning memories I had from that night. And I woke up with "uptown girl" in my head. For whatever reason. It was an awesome party, weird singstar phenomenon aside. The next day, I got to do one of my favorite hangover things, which is namely to lay around and watch nordic skiing on tv. I think that's my favorite thing about Europe in general, is that shit like that gets airtime. It's such a wonderfully relaxing thing to watch. Not too loud, not too hectic, and if you've ever been a skiier, just exciting enough to merit watching. So, fabulous party at Christin's. Check. Ridiculous stories of children from this week. Check. What else?
*Notes on Graeme and Jason: Jason is a New York architect who is probably the dictionary definition of "cute and cuddly". He's also mailing my family my christmas presents to them, so he's A number one in my book. Graeme is a lady killer, hipster-bingo style. Totally charming and smooth, even when black out wasted. He managed to make out with Christin, whose older brother is a career soldier in the German Army, right under Kai (the brother)'s nose and not get murdered. I was amazed. Not that Kai is violent or typically "army" in any country's sense of the world, but he is very much the "are you really looking at my sister?" kind of guy. But lovely. Very nice.
H'm. What else is new here? I bought Stephan his Christmas present: the goofy shoes from the adicolor series. I'm now in the process of coloring them in with the little paint pens that came with the shoes. Of course the little goofys are tiny and the tips on the pens are freaking huge. Oh, the things one does for love. And the darling has tonsilitis and will probably have to have them out once he gets better. I'm imagining the nightmare that will be Stephan in the hospital for a week. He'll be bored out of his head the entire time. But there's not going to be anything for him to spend money on there, so that'll be an improvement...I think?
This weekend is our one year anny. It kind of weirds me out that we've actually been together this long. The year went by so incredibly fast. I have to wonder if all the years are going to go by this quickly from now on. They probably always have and I just never noticed. Of course this makes me think depressing thoughts like "am I doing the right things with my life?" and if all the years are going to go by this fast, am I going to wake up one day and think "sweet jesus--where has all the time gone?!" But that's kind of ridiculous. I mean...I'm not sure that thinking like that actually accomplishes anything, other than making me depressed and confused and unable to do anything other than contemplate all the things I'm not doing with my life. *Sigh*.
Enough of those thoughts. Stephan and Christian are musically reliving their childhoods, listening to bad German rap from the 90s and chick music from the same time. I'm debating taking advantage of the new extended hours the stores have during December to go look for an English book for Max, Stephan's little brother. Anyway, I'm out for today.
kisses.
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