Dispatches from the couch

Quinton and I are hanging out for a while, since we've finished packing the car and vacuuming and stuff. When Mom gets off work we'll head down to Florida. We managed to get everything in the car - only one unpacking event when we realized that we forgot to include the beach chairs.

So far my time in the U.S. has been pleasant. It's warm here. In Germany my feet are always cold if I'm not wearing socks. Now I don't have to worry about that.

I bought some bathing suits yesterday. It was traumatic. I managed to get two, but it involved a lot of staring critically at my body in the mirror. From the experience, I can recommend that no one look too closely at the back of my thighs. It's not pretty - I should know. I guess that's the other nice thing about Germany. A person doesn't have to wear a bathing suit so often when their feet are cold.

What else? So far I've eaten some tacos, biscuits and gravy, and pimento cheese. I've also decided to open another restaurant in Germany. In addition to the taco stand and the deli I think Jena needs a barbecue joint. I think I can probably manage it with the money I'll make from my vending machine empire.

Also, American television is awesome. For example, I'm watching a commercial now about how to "lift and firm your booty" by doing "flirty girl dancing." Lots of hip gyrating. Apparently it involved a chair dance, and for advance students, a stripper pole. I'm wondering if it could do something about the back of my thighs.

Just a quick note...

Hey everyone! I think I have something like 54 hours before I begin my journey home. It starts when Goeran drive me to Erfurt at something like 4 Thursday morning. Obviously, I will love him forever for this (but not in a weird way, in case he's reading). My train leaves from Erfurt at 5:18, and arrives in the Frankfurt airport at 7:50. My flight leaves at 9:45, and from then it's just a quick 10 or so hours before I arrive at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (or, ATL).

International travel is exhausting. I can say that because I'm so worldly and well traveled - sophisticated, one might say. Especially since I was wearing a cowboy hat, star stickers on my face, and the colors of the flag while I was dancing around the yard waving a sparkler and singing "God Bless the USA" this weekend. Unfortunately, no pictures. But you've got that mental image to keep with you.

Right, so I'm trying to get some things done this week before I go, so if I didn't e-mail you back it's both because I'm a bad person and because I'm trying to get a rough draft of a paper written before I go. I'll be home at 1:55 on Thursday and leave at 4:25 Tuesday the 21. Call me. I'll have my U.S. cell phone. Georg is German in his thinking and believes that no work should be done over a holiday, so I'm going to keep to that, but at some point I'll be going with my family to Jekyll island for a few days. I've seen the ocean in the past year, but it was cold and that seems wrong, somehow.

Wow. Boring post. Also, if I had a stalker they'd probably be able to track me down, which is kind of creepy. Anyway, I'll see you all soon!

Emily's Craft Corner

I haven't put a knitting related post up in a while, and I'm sure that my audience has been wondering what I've been up to. In keeping with my desire to 1) avoid counting stitches and 2) finish all projects within a couple of hours I made some felted beer cozies. They're different sizes because beer comes in differently sized bottles here. I personally feel that they look better in person, but I don't hold that against them. I'm not so photogenic either.


Anyway, it turns out that the concept of a cozy (I thought it might have been coozy, but according to my friend the internet, that's a vulgar term for um, something else) is pretty much unknown in Germany. But they're also much less concerned about the temperature of beverages, so I guess that all makes sense.

I saw a girl the other day with some felted flowers in her hair, so I'm considering making some with my leftover yarn. I'm so crafty, I know.

Fallen Princesses

Check this out. I really love this website somehow*. It's about the Disney princesses. The artist says:

"In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues."

I'm not sure which one I like best. Maybe this one - just because she looks like I feel some days.


Plus, I like the bar. It seems like hard drinkin' kind of place.

_________________________

* Jenny points out that both of us have started ending sentences with somehow. I think it comes from Charles. So I may start speaking like a non-native English speaker. It happens when you lead a glamorous life abroad.

Göttingen

I went to visit a friend in Göttingen this weekend. If there's a market for science tourism (and it's hard to imagine that their wouldn't be) Göttingen has it cornered.

See, perhaps the most exciting thing about Göttingen is that the motto (slogan, whatever), "Stadt die Wissen schafft" is German play on words and I almost understood it without looking it up. For those of you who don't speak the lovely language of Goethe, let me explain. See, literally it means (and this is my translation so if you're German and it's wrong please correct me) "The city that creates knowlege." However, since "Wissenschaft" means science, it's also the city of science. It makes me realize how many little jokes must be happening all the time that I don't understand.

Right, where was I? Okay, so Göttingen (according to the tourism website) been associated with 43 Nobel Prize winners (I think all in science). Eight of them are buried there, so I made a pilgramige to see the cemetery where all the famous dead guys are buried. Fascinating tidbit of information - Max Plank has his constant on his tombstone.

I also saw this statue (the Gänseliesel):


Apparently she's the most kissed girl in Germany (although really, how can a person possibly know that?) because after students at the university finish their Ph.D. they have to kiss her and give her some flowers. I think it's sort of sweet. I wanted to kiss her also, but I don't think I've met the requirements.

Anyway, Göttingen is a lovely city. It was sort of comparable to Jena in some ways: about the same size, big university, lot of science - but sort of more impressive. I'm sorry Jena. At least Goethe never lived there (at least, as far as I know).

Like Life

You know, the major thing I've learned from living in another country is that it's not glamorous. I think the word "abroad" has always sort of filled me with anticipation. "Abroad" causes my mind to fill up with vague images of cafes, cathedrals, elephants, pyramids, and crowded markets. Also, I think it conjures the smell of some slightly exotic spice - cardamom, maybe, which isn't available in the Covington grocery store.

I haven't posted anything in more than a week (I like to think that you noticed, loyal readers, but I can't be sure) because nothing is really happening. I gave a seminar in lab meeting yesterday. I'm watching the 7th season of the Gilmore Girls. A new bar opened up by my house. I'm going to learn about the genitive case in my German lesson this week. While walking to work last week a fly flew between my eye and my glasses and got stuck there for several seconds until I ripped off my glasses to release it.

But when I talk to people from home, it seems like so much is happening. Babies, jobs, weddings, etc. Big stuff. Dramatic, life changing events. I was considering leading this post with the fly story (because I was concerned at the time that it was a wasp - imagine the dramatic consequences there) instead of the "I'm getting married, having a baby, and buying a house" news that everyone else seems to have.

It's not that I'm jealous. The news is as often bad as it is good. It's just that I sometimes feel like I'm just waiting for stuff to happen. My days are mostly pleasant and uneventful. Jenny frequently jokes that everyone's life is better than hers. But I don't really think that - it's just that everyone's life seems more lifelike than mine

Chemikerball 2009

Chemikerball 2009 was a fancy affair. It's fun to see your colleagues all dressed up (note to the Germans - I did not claim you as friends).


Here's Alex doing her best to keep Martin in line. It's a tough job, but if anyone can do it, she can. Click on the picture and you'll get to see all of the other photos.

Also, I should point out that if you google "Chemikerball" you get my 2008 post. More text, fewer pictures. But most of my observations held true this year as well