225. Today I got chased
by the Tram police who literally chased me from the tram, after I had gotten off to check if I had my tram ticket, it's official: this place IS the pits! Yes a#$hole I paid my monthly 52 Euros or 73 US bucks a month to ride your stinky tram, because you guys took away my license to drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
224. Ok it's official
Armpit, Germany has THE worst weather in the world. For instance the weather all week is freakish saying 80 degrees to 40, extreme sunny and rainy. So today it went from blistering hot 84 degrees to a monsoon at 6 pm. It's official, I have NEVER seen anything like this, it is reported to start hailing, the sky is actually light, it's like a freakish winter storm in the tropics, windy, pouring,thunder, lightning, WOW this place is ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!!!!
Armpit, Germany has THE worst weather in the world. For instance the weather all week is freakish saying 80 degrees to 40, extreme sunny and rainy. So today it went from blistering hot 84 degrees to a monsoon at 6 pm. It's official, I have NEVER seen anything like this, it is reported to start hailing, the sky is actually light, it's like a freakish winter storm in the tropics, windy, pouring,thunder, lightning, WOW this place is ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!!!!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
223. Getting Arrested Like Winona Ryder
How could I forget (must've blocked it out) almost getting arrested in Germ? (oh that's the new word for Germany now) When we were in Baden, the first few months and I was trying to buy everything for the apartment (and that was TOUGH lemme tell you, I didn't even know where to look, what to say, to find basic things like toilet paper!) I went to a big store called Real. This place is kinda like a Target but not as good or as cheap (in fact nothing is as cheap as the States). Well I was spending tons of our Euros there, buying everything from groceries to vacuum cleaners. Anyways one of the trips there I was at the cashier spending exorbitant amounts of money and I went through a sensor and the alarm went off. I was nicely excorted into the back room by a Germ security officer into a room filled with other Germs. NICE! being that it was still my first few weeks of being in a new country! They told me to empty out my purse and I happily obliged knowing that I didn't steal anything. So there was all the contents of my heavily stuffed purse on the table, Prada wallet, tampons, keys, umbrella etc...I stuffed everything back and they were discussing things between themselves in German. Then I was escorted by 2 people walked through the entire front of the store while others Germs were gawlking at me to a customer service counter. Then I was told to walk through the sensor, once by myself (no beeping) then with my bag (beeping). So the Germ asked me if I had anything and in my broken German and plenty of english, I said I had nothing in my bag and they could easily check it again. In the meantime, my 200 Euros of groceries were in the cart melting. Finally they figured out (and with me digging through my purse, scrambling to find out WHY I was beeping), that there was a security sensor in my purse from Zara. So after my empty purse kept beeping through the sensor, I put everything back in my purse, the customer service Rep handed me a PEN and said sorry and I was on my way. Humiliated and devastated with melted ice cream, I went home after another Happy Day in GERM!!! Never went back to the store and never will.
How could I forget (must've blocked it out) almost getting arrested in Germ? (oh that's the new word for Germany now) When we were in Baden, the first few months and I was trying to buy everything for the apartment (and that was TOUGH lemme tell you, I didn't even know where to look, what to say, to find basic things like toilet paper!) I went to a big store called Real. This place is kinda like a Target but not as good or as cheap (in fact nothing is as cheap as the States). Well I was spending tons of our Euros there, buying everything from groceries to vacuum cleaners. Anyways one of the trips there I was at the cashier spending exorbitant amounts of money and I went through a sensor and the alarm went off. I was nicely excorted into the back room by a Germ security officer into a room filled with other Germs. NICE! being that it was still my first few weeks of being in a new country! They told me to empty out my purse and I happily obliged knowing that I didn't steal anything. So there was all the contents of my heavily stuffed purse on the table, Prada wallet, tampons, keys, umbrella etc...I stuffed everything back and they were discussing things between themselves in German. Then I was escorted by 2 people walked through the entire front of the store while others Germs were gawlking at me to a customer service counter. Then I was told to walk through the sensor, once by myself (no beeping) then with my bag (beeping). So the Germ asked me if I had anything and in my broken German and plenty of english, I said I had nothing in my bag and they could easily check it again. In the meantime, my 200 Euros of groceries were in the cart melting. Finally they figured out (and with me digging through my purse, scrambling to find out WHY I was beeping), that there was a security sensor in my purse from Zara. So after my empty purse kept beeping through the sensor, I put everything back in my purse, the customer service Rep handed me a PEN and said sorry and I was on my way. Humiliated and devastated with melted ice cream, I went home after another Happy Day in GERM!!! Never went back to the store and never will.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
221. Going on vacation to see the sun
We go on vacations to get some much needed sunshine. I think that's why Germans are outta here as well. It's pretty sad how much money you can spend just to do basic things like enjoy warm weather, sunshine, maybe even lay out, see a beach, swim. You know things you can do in California almost 365 days a year, for the amount of money we spend trying to get some warmth, we should just move back to LA, just a suggestion.
We go on vacations to get some much needed sunshine. I think that's why Germans are outta here as well. It's pretty sad how much money you can spend just to do basic things like enjoy warm weather, sunshine, maybe even lay out, see a beach, swim. You know things you can do in California almost 365 days a year, for the amount of money we spend trying to get some warmth, we should just move back to LA, just a suggestion.
220. Smoking everywhere
You can't get away from it and I'm telling you it used to be a lot worse. At least in Germany they banned smoking from restaurants which is a huge relief but everywhere especially at the bus and tram stops someone will light up next to you so you can inhale their wonderful and fresh second-hand smoke.
You can't get away from it and I'm telling you it used to be a lot worse. At least in Germany they banned smoking from restaurants which is a huge relief but everywhere especially at the bus and tram stops someone will light up next to you so you can inhale their wonderful and fresh second-hand smoke.
219. It's hot and it's cold...
you know the Katy Perry song? Well that's how it is here except most of the time it's cold! The forecast for this week, in the middle of May is:
thunder, thunder, rain, thunder, rain, rain, rain
No I am not kiddin, I am very serious about this weather thing, it's a BIG deal. It affects your mood! So last week when there was an ounce of sunshine it will get super hot in the sun, then you walk in the shade and you're freezing again. It's awful for you and that's why everybody is sick here, like I said I am getting over the worst flu and so is everyone else, especially with this tempermental weather. So you have to wear a ski jacket, thin shirt and shorts. Layers, layers but you will still be sweaty from walking super fast everywhere with bags, running to catch buses and trams etc. Very moody weather, like me now!
you know the Katy Perry song? Well that's how it is here except most of the time it's cold! The forecast for this week, in the middle of May is:
thunder, thunder, rain, thunder, rain, rain, rain
No I am not kiddin, I am very serious about this weather thing, it's a BIG deal. It affects your mood! So last week when there was an ounce of sunshine it will get super hot in the sun, then you walk in the shade and you're freezing again. It's awful for you and that's why everybody is sick here, like I said I am getting over the worst flu and so is everyone else, especially with this tempermental weather. So you have to wear a ski jacket, thin shirt and shorts. Layers, layers but you will still be sweaty from walking super fast everywhere with bags, running to catch buses and trams etc. Very moody weather, like me now!
Monday, May 11, 2009
218. German class is harder and harder
I can't even tell you how difficult this absolutely IMPOSSIBLE, ILLOGICAL, INCONCEIVABLE language is, even the Germans DO NOT know how to use it properly. There are so many rules, then so many exceptions to the rules and even if you knew all that there's still mystery on how to use it. Every single word has a gender-masculine, feminine, neutral so you have to memorize 2 things instead of just the word, then you have to decide if the sentence is a Nominativ, Akkusativ or Dativ (and sometimes Genitiv) don't ask me THIS is the most confusing of all things to do, even native speakers don't know this SHIT and they expect us to learn it in a few months?? the Nom Akk or Dat changes the structure of the word so you have to change the ending it can be dem or den or ein, eine or einen or even eneinem. You also have to do this for the adjective too but you have to know if it's the or a, if it's masc, fem or nom, if its nom, akk or dat, then you have to know what happens to the verb and where the heck it goes in the sentence. Sometimes you have to add beginnings to verbs or even put the verb at the end of a sentence. There is no logic to any of these things and I assure you, it's impossible for all of us. The teacher told us today you just have to use it thousand times and it will start coming to you but if they can't even use it properly, geesh and there's so much more you have noooooo idea..It's a crazy language, just like the country!! so many rules and illogical nonsense! Oh and they have words like this:
Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
I can't even tell you how difficult this absolutely IMPOSSIBLE, ILLOGICAL, INCONCEIVABLE language is, even the Germans DO NOT know how to use it properly. There are so many rules, then so many exceptions to the rules and even if you knew all that there's still mystery on how to use it. Every single word has a gender-masculine, feminine, neutral so you have to memorize 2 things instead of just the word, then you have to decide if the sentence is a Nominativ, Akkusativ or Dativ (and sometimes Genitiv) don't ask me THIS is the most confusing of all things to do, even native speakers don't know this SHIT and they expect us to learn it in a few months?? the Nom Akk or Dat changes the structure of the word so you have to change the ending it can be dem or den or ein, eine or einen or even eneinem. You also have to do this for the adjective too but you have to know if it's the or a, if it's masc, fem or nom, if its nom, akk or dat, then you have to know what happens to the verb and where the heck it goes in the sentence. Sometimes you have to add beginnings to verbs or even put the verb at the end of a sentence. There is no logic to any of these things and I assure you, it's impossible for all of us. The teacher told us today you just have to use it thousand times and it will start coming to you but if they can't even use it properly, geesh and there's so much more you have noooooo idea..It's a crazy language, just like the country!! so many rules and illogical nonsense! Oh and they have words like this:
Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
217. Whew!
I just carried home a pound of each: nectarines, lemons, pears. Then some cherries, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, a huge melon, cucumber, zuchinni, mixed salad. Along with my schoolbag which weighs a ton and a bag of groceries from the Italian deli...I am sweaty and exhausted!!!
Still no car and drivers license!
I just carried home a pound of each: nectarines, lemons, pears. Then some cherries, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, a huge melon, cucumber, zuchinni, mixed salad. Along with my schoolbag which weighs a ton and a bag of groceries from the Italian deli...I am sweaty and exhausted!!!
Still no car and drivers license!
216. Be Kind to Elders
I can't tell you how many times I watch elderly and handicapped people need assistance and nobody does anything to help them here! Using the public transport system you run into a lot of these people, elderly women trying to get off a tram, a wheelchair mentally handicapped individual stuck on the street, I rush over to help them, how can you not? But I haven't seen one person make any other effort, it's unbelievable. Guess that's what happens in a unsympathetic society that are so aloof and cold, they forgot all their basic manners.
I can't tell you how many times I watch elderly and handicapped people need assistance and nobody does anything to help them here! Using the public transport system you run into a lot of these people, elderly women trying to get off a tram, a wheelchair mentally handicapped individual stuck on the street, I rush over to help them, how can you not? But I haven't seen one person make any other effort, it's unbelievable. Guess that's what happens in a unsympathetic society that are so aloof and cold, they forgot all their basic manners.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
215. miss more
Ahh the things we take for granted when you suddenly don't have them: air conditioners (no need for it at the moment), ice, garbage disposals, movies, chocolate cake, Loehmans, good Asian food, driving a car, my church, sunshine, beaches and sand, moonlight and stars (I'm serious in Armpit, it's always foggy so there are no stars at night!), Hollywood, convertibles, buying an English book to read, going out with friends, dry cleaning, shopping and sales, tv shows, American magazines, wearing shorts and flip flops, cking out new exciting restaurants in LA, friday nights in LA, parties, getting all dressed up for a reason, using the internet in English without it always automatically turning to the German site or trying to figure out doing ANYTHING online without translating!!!!, going to the store for anything and not having to take an hour to translate or figure it out...
Ahh the things we take for granted when you suddenly don't have them: air conditioners (no need for it at the moment), ice, garbage disposals, movies, chocolate cake, Loehmans, good Asian food, driving a car, my church, sunshine, beaches and sand, moonlight and stars (I'm serious in Armpit, it's always foggy so there are no stars at night!), Hollywood, convertibles, buying an English book to read, going out with friends, dry cleaning, shopping and sales, tv shows, American magazines, wearing shorts and flip flops, cking out new exciting restaurants in LA, friday nights in LA, parties, getting all dressed up for a reason, using the internet in English without it always automatically turning to the German site or trying to figure out doing ANYTHING online without translating!!!!, going to the store for anything and not having to take an hour to translate or figure it out...
212. Missin the Movies
Not being able to watch any America movies, or tv shows in English is a bummer, they dub everything into German here. Like I said I have 2 choices, MTV and CNN, quite a range I would say. But unable to understand anything else on TV stinks and there are no English movie theaters here in Armpit, I think they play one surprise movie on Mon nights in English, but we've not been able to make even one. The closest English theater is in Munich, an hour and 90 km each way. Even the video rental store has the worst selection of movies, I think the last one we saw was some no-name movie called Who killed Mandy, it was horrible...You can't imagine how that feels unable to just drive to the local theater and watch the newest movie, it sucks.
Not being able to watch any America movies, or tv shows in English is a bummer, they dub everything into German here. Like I said I have 2 choices, MTV and CNN, quite a range I would say. But unable to understand anything else on TV stinks and there are no English movie theaters here in Armpit, I think they play one surprise movie on Mon nights in English, but we've not been able to make even one. The closest English theater is in Munich, an hour and 90 km each way. Even the video rental store has the worst selection of movies, I think the last one we saw was some no-name movie called Who killed Mandy, it was horrible...You can't imagine how that feels unable to just drive to the local theater and watch the newest movie, it sucks.
211. Attic housing
What is UP with that??!?! seriously, attics are for old furniture storage NOT to live in or vacation in. I can't tell you how many ATTICS we looked at when we looked for apartments, being in Europe, they try to make use out of every bit of space! Think about it, an attic has a triangular tip and you cannot even stand up straight unless you are in the middle! I'm serious, we saw so many of these places, I was in shock and they are not much cheaper either! Some hotels use attics as rooms and that really is annoying, they have no windows except maybe one skylight it's quite a treat. It makes you claustrophobic but I refuse to live in one of these!
Pix: haha don't hit your head when you wake up!! geesh!
210. The German Driving School
The driving test in Germany is one scary thing, not only is the price for getting it scary (anywhere from $2-3000 Euros= $4000 USD) but it includes a theory and driving test which only 60% pass on the first time. You have to study every night for at least a month, sometimes few months and it requires lots of studying, it's a whole big thing here, def not as easy as it is in the states. Sometimes NO kidding, they will require you to know things under the hood, where to put oil, water, brake fluid and if they're real assholes, they make girls change a bloody tire!??! WOW! the questions on the theory test are purposely tricky and no wonder you have to an exhorbitant amount of money from a private driving school to assist you in passing this darn thing..ahh these Germans and their ways! Everything is about studying, difficult and how to make your life harder.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
209. Food I Dream About...
Lawrys prime rib with yorkshire pudding and Lawry's salad with french dressing, Roy's chocolate bomb cake, Houston's traditional salad, real Italian pizza made by Italians, REAL fresh sushi made by Japanese, Korean bbq, Spicy homeade kimchee, Japanese miso ramen, Chinese Seafood made by real Chinese, American yellow cake with chocoate frosting, Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes, things from Trader Joe's, Real lemonade w ICE cubes, Korean shaved ice with red bean and condensed milk, boba drinks, Pinkberry yogurt with fruit toppings, Krispy Kreme donuts, In and Out burgers animal-style, Rib eye steak USDA choice, Fogo de Chao brazilian beef, Marukai Japanese market, Japanese shabu shabu, korean soups, PF Changs lettuce cups, Cheesecake Factory white chocolate cheesecake with macadamia nuts, asian tuna poke, Eurasian food anywhere, Father's office burgers with sweet potato fries, Real and spicy Mexican beef tacos made by Mexicans, Thanksgiving dinner with all the sides, pumpkin pie, House of Pies fresh strawberry pie with custard filling and more...
Friday, May 8, 2009
206. Spring is in the air...
in every other part of the world but in Armpit, Germany! It's still freaking freezing at night and the best thing is the Apartment Police have conveniently turned off the heating in our apartments. Remember no. 147??? They control how hot, and when you get heating, to their thick skinned bodies, I guess they think dropping to 25 degrees at night is too warm for them. In the meanwhile, even though I AM PAYING for my heating, I have no control over the heating in my apartment, so now I really am cold in this gosh forsaken place!
203. I live in a 3rd World Country
No really, I know it sounds silly, but I really feel I do. This place is so backwards, I've been reading some of my old blogs and it's no wonder why. Draped in traditionalism, history and just plain unwillingness to adapt, this country which may seem modern, is definitely NOT. I don't want to come off ethnocentric, saying America is the LAND OF THE FREE, but heck it sure is!! There are so many luxuries and yes extravagance and maybe waste, but when you are used to that and come here, it's like living in a 3rd World country. I feel like it's living in the 1970's, yes I lived through those years, where modern amenities still did not exist, and you had to do things the old fashioned way ex. before dryers, microwaves, color tvs . I heard that many East Germans are unhappy about the modernizations and choices that they are now offered. Meaning they LIKED having no fresh fruits and vegetables before they were imported from other countries and they will still stick to their curry wursts and beer than try other foods. They said they feel there are too many choices now and that they have to work harder (you know capitalism!) than they ever did. Some of them like to be socialists, having everything done for them and not deal with all the pressures of the modern, capitalistic world. They LIKE to not to have to work hard to improve their situation, dream of anything better, they don't like the views and traditions of America, and they are perfectly content with the way things were. Wow, if this is the mentality of these people, we should build that wall up again and leave them alone.
No really, I know it sounds silly, but I really feel I do. This place is so backwards, I've been reading some of my old blogs and it's no wonder why. Draped in traditionalism, history and just plain unwillingness to adapt, this country which may seem modern, is definitely NOT. I don't want to come off ethnocentric, saying America is the LAND OF THE FREE, but heck it sure is!! There are so many luxuries and yes extravagance and maybe waste, but when you are used to that and come here, it's like living in a 3rd World country. I feel like it's living in the 1970's, yes I lived through those years, where modern amenities still did not exist, and you had to do things the old fashioned way ex. before dryers, microwaves, color tvs . I heard that many East Germans are unhappy about the modernizations and choices that they are now offered. Meaning they LIKED having no fresh fruits and vegetables before they were imported from other countries and they will still stick to their curry wursts and beer than try other foods. They said they feel there are too many choices now and that they have to work harder (you know capitalism!) than they ever did. Some of them like to be socialists, having everything done for them and not deal with all the pressures of the modern, capitalistic world. They LIKE to not to have to work hard to improve their situation, dream of anything better, they don't like the views and traditions of America, and they are perfectly content with the way things were. Wow, if this is the mentality of these people, we should build that wall up again and leave them alone.
202. Always on vacation
Germans take the most number of vacations in the world (it's a fact I learned in class) and I KNOW WHY!!!?!?! because they want to get the HELL out of here. You know, like we do, get away from the drab and dreary weather, people and food. But the problem is everywhere we travel to in Europe, you can't get away from them! And they are always at the same restaurant wearing their German sport jackets and sandals and speaking in their annoying language, harping about one thing or another or even complaining about the food. It's no wonder they are so despised by all other cultures. They can be rude, pushy, aggressive (always cutting in line) and honestly they would not fit in anywhere else in the world but Germany. Can you imagine if they had won the war>>!??! The world would be a very different and scary place my friend. I was watching a lot of old movies, Schindlers List, Charlotte Grey etc. that took place during WWII and I have to say they are portrayed in movies as villains, unsympathetic, hard, cold and just plain scary. This is scarier than any horror movie, because this is based on truth and history. I know they were not all involved in the war and many opposed this political view, however as a foreigner I have never felt so detached and out of place and unwelcome as in THIS country. I can only count a few people (on one hand) that were very nice here and overrall the public has been well, just not that friendly. Living in Bavaria, which I heard is a very closed off society (they have excuses for everything) I can see how people can feel that way. My current neighbors have only scolded us or questioned us, in fact the latest was, some neighbor hand wrote a note (and wrote in bold, meaning went over it like 20 times with a pen to make sure it was nice and dark for us to get the point, unbelievable!!) that we should crush our paper cartons down!! I assumed all that pen work meant an exclamation point, well that particular nosy asshole didn't realize we had NO cartons in paper that week and that we HAD been recycling properly but they chose to blame this on us, the new guys, or the one with the foreign wife. FUCKERS!! Sorry had to get that out, I was pretty upset, now we get letters from city depts AND nosy neighbors for not following the rules, everything is forbidden, blah blah blah. (Does Big German Brother really go through my freakin trash!?!?)
It's a wonder why I am so tense and stressed here all the time and trust me it affects me. My doctor said all the dry lips and constipation was from stress and the hard water and getting adjusted, bullshit, it's all because of them, you know THEM! I didn't have this problem at our first place, or it wasn't as bad, since this place was a beautiful part of Germany known for spas it was full of tourists. In Armpit, it's another story!
Germans take the most number of vacations in the world (it's a fact I learned in class) and I KNOW WHY!!!?!?! because they want to get the HELL out of here. You know, like we do, get away from the drab and dreary weather, people and food. But the problem is everywhere we travel to in Europe, you can't get away from them! And they are always at the same restaurant wearing their German sport jackets and sandals and speaking in their annoying language, harping about one thing or another or even complaining about the food. It's no wonder they are so despised by all other cultures. They can be rude, pushy, aggressive (always cutting in line) and honestly they would not fit in anywhere else in the world but Germany. Can you imagine if they had won the war>>!??! The world would be a very different and scary place my friend. I was watching a lot of old movies, Schindlers List, Charlotte Grey etc. that took place during WWII and I have to say they are portrayed in movies as villains, unsympathetic, hard, cold and just plain scary. This is scarier than any horror movie, because this is based on truth and history. I know they were not all involved in the war and many opposed this political view, however as a foreigner I have never felt so detached and out of place and unwelcome as in THIS country. I can only count a few people (on one hand) that were very nice here and overrall the public has been well, just not that friendly. Living in Bavaria, which I heard is a very closed off society (they have excuses for everything) I can see how people can feel that way. My current neighbors have only scolded us or questioned us, in fact the latest was, some neighbor hand wrote a note (and wrote in bold, meaning went over it like 20 times with a pen to make sure it was nice and dark for us to get the point, unbelievable!!) that we should crush our paper cartons down!! I assumed all that pen work meant an exclamation point, well that particular nosy asshole didn't realize we had NO cartons in paper that week and that we HAD been recycling properly but they chose to blame this on us, the new guys, or the one with the foreign wife. FUCKERS!! Sorry had to get that out, I was pretty upset, now we get letters from city depts AND nosy neighbors for not following the rules, everything is forbidden, blah blah blah. (Does Big German Brother really go through my freakin trash!?!?)
It's a wonder why I am so tense and stressed here all the time and trust me it affects me. My doctor said all the dry lips and constipation was from stress and the hard water and getting adjusted, bullshit, it's all because of them, you know THEM! I didn't have this problem at our first place, or it wasn't as bad, since this place was a beautiful part of Germany known for spas it was full of tourists. In Armpit, it's another story!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
201. Recap
So let's do a recap, of what's still going on here, the closet still squeaks, my lips are still dry, the dishwasher still does not work properly, we're still fighting with the rental management company (we may have to sue them now, fun!), the bed is still rock hard, I still can't drive anywhere with no drivers license for over a month!! oh and the best thing, it's still pretty much grey, and rainy almost every single day. I check the weather every single day and it's a wonder to watch the weekly forecast, it might say sunny for a few days, but lo and behold as you get closer to the day, the weather ALWAYS ALWAYS turns rainy and cold, it's no wonder I love it here. In the last 4 months, I can honestly say there has not been 1 solid week of sunshine not even 3 days, nope, it's been sunny, then rain, then thunder, then cloudy, then rain, then rain, then rain..you think I'm kidding it's almost the middle of MAY and that is the freakin weather in Armpit, Germany. I think it's actually worse than northern Germany which is known for the cold. And once again to get away from it, we went to Italy last week (which was AMAZING!!!!! the food, the people, the shopping, everything not Germany! except every place we ate at, we were surrounded by German tourists ARHGGGGHH!!) and the weather once again was 30-40 degrees warmer, you remember, drive from Italy 82 degrees to Austria 38 degrees!??!?! We drove from rain back to rain, that was fun! Why did God bless Italy with such good weather and everything else, the food was amazing, sooooo good, I had to bring a ton of stuff back with me, because we are so deprived here of anything good, delicious (meaning with taste!) or Italian, and that was quite a treat.
So let's do a recap, of what's still going on here, the closet still squeaks, my lips are still dry, the dishwasher still does not work properly, we're still fighting with the rental management company (we may have to sue them now, fun!), the bed is still rock hard, I still can't drive anywhere with no drivers license for over a month!! oh and the best thing, it's still pretty much grey, and rainy almost every single day. I check the weather every single day and it's a wonder to watch the weekly forecast, it might say sunny for a few days, but lo and behold as you get closer to the day, the weather ALWAYS ALWAYS turns rainy and cold, it's no wonder I love it here. In the last 4 months, I can honestly say there has not been 1 solid week of sunshine not even 3 days, nope, it's been sunny, then rain, then thunder, then cloudy, then rain, then rain, then rain..you think I'm kidding it's almost the middle of MAY and that is the freakin weather in Armpit, Germany. I think it's actually worse than northern Germany which is known for the cold. And once again to get away from it, we went to Italy last week (which was AMAZING!!!!! the food, the people, the shopping, everything not Germany! except every place we ate at, we were surrounded by German tourists ARHGGGGHH!!) and the weather once again was 30-40 degrees warmer, you remember, drive from Italy 82 degrees to Austria 38 degrees!??!?! We drove from rain back to rain, that was fun! Why did God bless Italy with such good weather and everything else, the food was amazing, sooooo good, I had to bring a ton of stuff back with me, because we are so deprived here of anything good, delicious (meaning with taste!) or Italian, and that was quite a treat.
2oo. The Mattress Story
There once was a girl and she moved to a far away country. When she moved there she went with a fairy prince who told her everything would be allright. Once she got to this country she didn't know anything, not the language or any of the customs or even how to buy furniture. So she and the prince went shopping one day to buy a bed. The big, bad retail store guy named Wolf ( I am NOT KIDDING!! That was his real name!) told them they ONLY had 2 choices, he showed them the first bed, she sat on it and it was waaaaay too soft. (She wouldn't had made such a big deal over this process but she had spent 2 weeks on an Ikea bed in her temporary furnished apartment and woke up with back pains so bad she had to sleep on the couch for a week and had excruciating back pains and swore she would get a good mattress). She told Wolf that it was too soft and had no support so he told showed her another mattress that was stiff as a board. Now, she knew it wouldn't do either and she insisted that Wolf and her prince check the other floor with the other mattresses. She took them upstairs and noticed a brand name bed that she saw in a magazine and it was much more comfortable than the other two. But the prince who hated shopping or shopping around took the evil Wolf's advice and said let's just choose between the two. The girl was very confused, why can't we have other choices and find the perfect matttress, one is too soft and the other is too hard, but for some evil reason the Wolf insisted on these two freaking mattresses and said these other ones (the ones with the good name) were for old people with back problems and convinced my prince to go back downstairs. Now, from what the girl remembered there wasn't much of a price difference either, but I'm sure the ASSSHOLLLEE Wolf would probably only get the fREAKING! commission on the downstairs merchandise and hence MADE us buy the piece of S@#T mattress downstairs. So, unhappily the girl had to choose the way too hard mattress for a lot of coins (around 1000 Euros which is like 1400 USD!!!!!) and it came with not a box spring mattress but a WOOD SLAT as the bottom support. It seemed ok at first but as the months went by, the mattress felt harder and harder and the girl woke up with back pain every night. She had predicted this would happen and unfortunately her prince did NOT listen to her and will now have to pay the price, which is to buy another overpriced mattress in this gosh forsaken country with no warranties or refunds!!! It may have been better if the girl had fat on her back to cushion her against the rock hard mattress, but not being a big-boned, thick skinned German woman! she did not have that protection. So, now we have an unhappily ever after story of the girl who wakes up every morning feeling like she's been beat up around her back and chest and tried everything including putting a feather comforter to ease the pain and it hasn't worked. But who could make this mattress softer, it's so hard you could even bounce a Euro on it, and we're not talking about the sheets!!! So, the girl dreams every night of leaving this awful country and hopefully returning back to her loved homeland...and a comfortable box spring mattress to sleep on.
199. Rear Window
Our apartment is like the movie Rear Window, its on the 5th floor and it faces a courtyard of hundreds of windows all with nosy Germans on their tiny little balconies peering out to look at everything. Except our house has both a rear window and a front window because it faces hundreds of windows in the front and back, that means I have to dress my windows with curtains or leave the blinds half down in the front and back so I don't have to face the very nosy, and bored fat old German guy that always seems to have enough time to stare out his window peering down at girls that walk by or the bored old grandma who sunbathes for hours, I mean hours! (which I don't blame her, since the sunny days are so rare here! but I really don't know want to be looking right at them since they are right on our eye level!). In fact, this was the very reason I did NOT want to get this particular apartment, I had never lived this way with so many neighbors being able to see right through your living room and kitchen! But after all the discrimination of gettting the other apartments we had to take this one, now we're just stuck with the awful rental management co. This also inhibits the limited amount of sunshine that I rarely see in Armpit, Germany anyways. Well it's either dark privacy or sunshine lookiloos...so our place is dark.
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