Last day of 2011

The year is almost over.  I can't believe it. Time is running...
I just know that it has been a good one.
Let's hope 2012 will be even better ^^
Enjoy this video =)

a lot of VW

 

Hey there! Haven't been posting in a long time...

Sorry for that. Anyways here are some videos I stumbled upon.

I really like The Fun theory one.

Check it out:

 

I guess I kinda like the VW ads for some reason.

And Volkswagen for that matter.

Also this commercial:

 

And also check this out:

Greenpeace's answer to the Star Wars commercial!!

 

And episode 2:

 

Yupp that sure is something ^^

Have a great weekend   =)

July already

The fun thing about living on your own is that you can do what you want whenever you want.
Also you can eat what you want whenever you want.
The downside is that you run out of ice-cream way too fast. :P

Sorry for not posting that much lately... but it's exam time again. I already took my first one last week. The next 2 are coming up on Tuesday... and then I'll have a bunch more till mid of August.
I can't wait till August because then I'll finally be done.

Other than being busy studying I'm looking for a new roomie. Mine is moving out in in September to move to a different town for her master's degree.

Yeah yeah...

The other day I stumbled across another video that is just the cutest!

See for yourself:

It's been a little over a year now...

I left sunny California and went back to Germany.
So crazy. In some ways it feels like it's been forever. Very strange feeling.
Everything is different over here. I can't really name it. I guess one has to experience this for themselves...
Classes still go till mid of July and the exams will last another month!- Nice. (not!!)
I'm thinking about my summer time a lot. Maybe I'll make it to Berlin eventually. We'll see.
One thing's for sure though: I'll spend my September in CA again :D
I can't wait.... where's the fast forward button when we need it?? The rewind one is also fine with me.
Seriously.

Uk well it's been another long awesome weekend. It started with my friend's B-Day-party Saturday. Sunday my sis, my friend T and me went home to my parents and stayed there till Tuesday.
We went to pick strawberries. Very delicious. I couldn't help myself eating half of the ones I picked :P
And later on BBQ at my grandma's. My aunt and cousins came too. The have the most amazing backyard. It's like this fairytale garden full of blooming flowers and animals running around. The kids were playing with the baby chicks and baby geese. So cute. The babies were just following my cousins everywhere.
Also my mum, T and me went to this lovely little town in the Netherlands. T has never been there before. So we had her try all the different dutch foods we think are typical for this area.
We went to this sweet shop called 'Jamin'. There you can just choose whatever you want and in the end you weigh it and pay. The licorice is the best. And some other things as well.
Then quick stop at the dutch Aldi ( a grocery store). There we bought some food and stuff.
I love their Vanille Vla which is this type of pudding. If you go there you should try it. Some really like the choclate one. ANd for those who can't decide ther's always the dubble vla ;)
Speaking of I should have some later ;)

Y-day I had some classes in the morning and my afternoon ones were cancelled. I didn't really mind ;)
In the afternoon till late at night there was this thing on Campus. They had a stage and food and beer and whatnot. Also some bands performed on a stage. It was all open air in the middle of Campus, the grass area part. Just check out the video & the pics and see for yourself ;)

Even though it rained earlier that day y-day night was perfect. There will be another party tomorrow night at the same location. It's called "Beach-party". Funny thing though there is no sand on Campus. But well that won't be an obstacle. Apparently they are going to get some sand for some areas at least. Shall be fun. ^^

Often it's the carnivores, but not this time ;)

Usually I think of myself as quite a sane person.
Sometimes though I really wonder what's going on in my head. It's the most peculiar thing, I tell you.
Like some days I can never be sure if I'll be on time... Either I'm super early, I'm punctual or I miss my train  by a minute. That's when I think: how come?
Today was one of those days again. I actually had enough time to make it, but somehow I didn't manage to do so. The funny thing is that I know I can do better, because I already did thousand times before...so seriously, why?!
Well... no idea really... I just have to try harder next time I guess.

Different topic: I just have to tell you something about what's going on in Germany now: epidemic.
Don't know if you heard about this but there is this virus called "EHEC". It's one of those 'eboli' things.
Here some No.s for Germany:
Over 2800 people are infected, more than 600 are serious cases and so far 29 people died!!
Apparently the numbers are going down, but that doesn't mean it's over yet.
There is no real cure at the moment. They are still searching for the source.
As far as I'm informed they narrowed it down to following:

I think they are called 'sprouts' in English, or maybe not :P

Before this they were warning the population about cucumbers, tomatoes and salad. But apparently that warning was unnecessary.

Oh well, ever more reason or an excuse to eat Junk food, right?! ;)
Carnivores are spared this time...

5 min only - riggghhtt

It was one of my friend's b-days today. So we cooked some dinner, ate some cake and also some sort of designer ice-cream in the shape of a wine bottle. So good!! I'm still stuffed.
 Real nice evening...
I walked home right through downtown. Listening to music and minding my own business with a fast pace.
Out of nowhere I see 2 people rushing towards me. One asian looking man and a blonde woman. I figured they might be asking me for the way, so I stop. That man approaches me asking me sth in broken german I didn't really catch. SO the woman explains:
"We are both Theology students and have to give a lecture tomorrow. We still have some homework to do. WOuld you mind giving us 5min of your time to help us out?"


Unsuspecting, I agree. Only to listen to sth I barely understand because that asian guy trys to tell explain sth to me. He had such heavy I accent that i could barely follow. The woman helps out.
Just then I realized what's going on, but didn't want to be rude and didn't interrupt.
After what felt like an eternity I was able to excuse myself and get on my way.
Man I had to laugh about my naivety... I just believe the best in people.
Now I wasted about 20min or whatsoever for nothing really...

I wanted to help. But I assume they thought that they were the ones who tried to help me.
Man.. I don't mind that people want to believe in whatever that is they believe in.
But I dislike being tricked into a conversation/lecture I didn't even want in the first place. Also I don't like it when someone tries to force their beliefs on me.... seriously...

I guess I learned my lesson...

Other than that my last few weeks have been fun and busy... the weather has been pretty nice mostly, so I just had to enjoy the sun ^^

Well I have an early class tomorrow so I'd better catch some sleep ;)

Nighty night

So amazing ^^

Really awesome idea!!

Ice-cream, gelato, Smoothies to come ^^

Saturday I had to go to univeristy. One class only: Italian.... too bad that it's n 4h class!!
Also the weather was just fabulous. So sunny and hot!
I had to stay inside till bout 1.30pm.
Then I was going to meet up with my parents n my sis in downtown.
There were so many people out there that day. Crazy!
I didn't find them right away, but I didn't mind: People were giving out free chilled coke in front of the Limbecker. So I treated myself to one.
My family and me grabbed some lunch with some of my parent's old friends. Real nice.

That very day I finally got a fridge with an integrated freezer... :D
Best thing ever! No I can go back to eating Ice-cream, gealto, making Smoothies and whatnot ^^

Sunday was just as beautiful.
We went to the

 

Really love the band ^^ 

Seaside, yeah that's right!
Nah actually it's just the Seaside Beach at the Baldeneysee again. Awesome day with awesome company and awesome weather! I even got to read some of that book I'm supposed to finish for class!

The rest of this week was ukay so far. College is keeping me busy as usual.
Plus: It's still nice and warm and sunny and all.

Monday night I had my 2nd time of "Korfball". Super fun! The people are real nice. We even have 2 english girls coming and this time an American girl visiting. So half of the time you hear me talking in English. Sweet, sweet. I didn't really think this sport is going to be rough or anything. But we this time we were all on it and all over. People kept bumping into each other or even into that pole-thingy. Once I even got hit that hard that I kinda smashed to the ground. Luckily I don't bruise that easily, so there's only a small blue spot next to my knee ^^

Tomorrow there'll be another party at the 'MuPa'.
And Friday there's this private party at my friend's place.
Saturday night is the Eurovision Song Contest in Duesseldorf which is pretty close. So we might even go to its downtown or sth. We'll see.

In your face Garbage Monster...

We have a 'Garbage Monster' in our building! So very annoying.

Basically it's just one of my upstairs neighbours who is too lazy to put his trash outside in the trash cans. Instead he just trows it down the stairs. It's scattered right before our front door our next door neighbours front door. Until we have mercy and take it down. Seriously what's wrong with some people?! How hard is it to take the garbage downstairs if eventually you are going outside anyways?? Straaaange.

It smells in the entire stairway.... 

Our next door neighbour S. just knocked at our door earlier. Apparently she caught the culprit in the act. She confronted him right away. He was just denying everything. Best part: him claiming it must have been someone from downstairs. As if!! Who would take the effort carrying trash UPSTAIRS when it is so much easier just to take it down?! Random...

S. now wants to take measures: She wants to call our landlord. Cross your fingers this issue will soon be taken care of. I sure will!

It's far too early in the morning....

Thursday

Yup, yup... daytime school.

Night: Party!! This time in a bunker. Well it used to be one and is still called so. Quite interesting. No noises get outside, which is cool, because it's in the middle of a neighbourhood. Minus: my cell had no reception!

But well I didn't need it anyway... :P I was too busy dancing...

Also I thought I had 4hours of class on Friday. Just I was about to go home that night I bummed into one of my friends. She told me that our Friday's classes were cancelled. Awesome!! Long weekend again. So that's how I found time to go shopping with my girls on Friday ^^ Nice, nice, huh?!

Well except maybe for that sudden downpour Friday afternoon. But I didn't even care... ahh whatever.

No egg hunt this year, but still a typical Easter

My Easter wish has been granted:

beautiful weather for the long weekend. Awesome ^^

On top of that I had lots of family downtime. Nice!

Our family's easter tradition:

Easter Sunday we always have a big family breakfast at either my aunt's or my mum's. This year my aunt was our host.

It was quite warm, therefore the table was set in her backyard. She served all kinds of food and eggs in all its varietys: cooked, scrambled, sunny-side up...

Afterwards we sat down in another corner of the backyard: talking and enjoying the beautiful weather with chilled drinks and ice-cream...

I played with my little cousin: jumping on the trampolin, soccer, and what not... It was so much fun and a good workout at the same time ;)

Gosh how that reminds me of my Au Pair time, and of how much I miss my kids!! (Well well, I can't wait for September to come, that's when I'll see them again :D)

Last year's Easter:

A.'s hostfamily invited me to their easter dinner (as my family is jewish ;) ).

It was pretty awesome. They are such lovely family.

They also had an Easter tradition: an 'egg-cracking-contest' (that's how I'd describe it at least). I loved that part. So fun and such nice company. It sure was an Easter I'll never forget. :D

The first ones to try...

and here we go again...

A. got into the next round

But lil M. just had a better technique I suppose... ;)

I wasn't so bad myself, but I lost against the older finalist

The final: Little M. ruled ^^

Anyways, back to this year:

Sunday afternoon we also had  a BBQ with my grandma. Soo delish & sunny! 

This Easter was really nice, too bad my dad had to work in the mornings... other than that no complaints :)

Monday was the last day to relax in the sun. In the evening my sis and me took the train back to Essen. It was quite crowded, but we were lucky enough to get seats for the whole ride ^^

Today I had one class this morning and I'll have another one this afternoon. In between I should be running some errands.... nothing too stressful though.

Yet tomorrow will be another busy college day. Not so much looking forward to that :P

Happy Easter!!

On Monday I didn't have any classes. A perfect opportunity for my mum, my aunt, my cousins and their friends to visit. Mainly they just came to the city to go shopping. But before they parked in front of my bulding to check out my new appartment. - Approved!Later on we walked downtown and through all the good stores we like. I even bought new pants and a sweater. Sweet ^^

After that successful day of shopping we sat down in the sun and got some gelato. Awesome!!

Then 2 busy days.

Thursday morning was my last class for this week. Loooong weekend, yeay (:

Mainly because of the holidays of course.

Nevertheless the past few days have been amazing. It's quite hot for this time of the year. Apparently in Germany the weather is even better than anywhere else in Europe. haha

Yesterday my little cousin turned 5! So we went to her place. They celebrated in the garden with lots of good food and waterballoons. I guess you can imagine how everyone somehow got involved in that water fight ^^ At night my uncle made a bonfire. And my aunt served some dinner: Veggies, baguettes, dips and self-made pretzels. So good.

Today is Easter Sunday. But I'll tell you more about this next time ;)

volcano part 2

...Stockholm: We arrived early in the morning. On the same day there were like only 5 planes total that arrived at the same airport. None were allowed to leave. And neither was I....

I always wanted to be in Stockholm, but not like this!!...

The airport was just empty except for all those reporters trying to get some good shots and interviews.

One as saying something to me in Swedish, which of course I wasn't able to understand. So she went on in English asking me about my thoughts about all this:

Considering I haven't slept the entire flight was super tired and stressed out, I even managed to answer her.

I think I said something like:

I was glad that I finally made it to Europe and that I was happy that no one was injurred. There are worst things than this. Well to sum it up it was a rather optimistic and positive response, with no anger or anything.

I guess I was just too tired to be frustrated or sth like that.... I don't know

What else: my cell had no reception; there was snow in the backyard (in April!); I had no swedish money and worst possible case: No possible use of my laptop as I didn't bring any adapter.Concluding no Internet and no connection to my family or anyone! Just my luck...

Mostly I was worried about everyone else being worried. Strange I felt bad for my family and friends not knowing where I was & how I was doing.

Later I bummed into that swedish guy from the plane. Just right before he was going to catch his train home. Luckily he gave me his adapter and the hotel had free wifi ^^ Made me felt so much better...

Here again I spent another 3 days and 2 nights. Usually I was waiting in line at the airport... for hours. Everyday the lines got longer and longer. I  constantlly kept on rebooking my flights, because sometimes they decided to cancel the flights just a few hours after I got booked onto it... Nice! - Not.

Finally they opened the gates on Wednesday. I was able to get on a tiny airplane landing the same night in Duesseldorf  :) My family was right there to pick me up ^^                end of story

Eyjafjallajökull - remember that one?

I sure won't ever forget. It happened about a year ago. The eruption of that volcano in Iceland in 2010. ...
with that gigantic ashcloud following that covered like almost all of Europe... Aaahhh... you see

Hundreds and hundreds of planes couldn't fly for days and days... and thousands and thousands of people were stuck on tons of airports and not just in Europe, even in the States... and I was one of them.

Today I can laugh about it. At that time I was still working as an Au Pair in California. I decided to surprise my people in Germany for a couple of days. Only my parents were in on this plan.

My first flight headed out on friday morning going from San Francisco Airport (SFO) to the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Arriving there my flight to Deutschland was cancelled!!... I was stuck!! uuuhh yaaa... not good

The airport was totally overcrowded & chaotic. The staff kept sending people all over. I pretty much spent an entire day pulling my 3 heavy suitcases all over the entire airport. I was booked on several different flights, but they wouldn't leave until the next day or even a couple days later!! Nightmare, I tell ya. I only had 9 days of vacation....

Ukay I'll narrow my stay in Chicago down: 1 day travelling & at the airport; 2 days & 2 nights at a Holiday Inn; I met people from all over & I was greatful for all my language skills; also I spend hours waiting for a couple of flights that were cancelled anyway. GREAT!

Fortuanetly I brought my american cell & laptop, so at least I was able to keep in touch with everyone.

Finally I was booked onto an overnight flight to Stockholm, Sweden... even in Business class. That actually was awesome!! Much more comfortable ^^

Also check this out:

That very plane was one of the first ones that was allowed to fly to Europe.

to be continued... 

A fun weekend follows the next...

Especially when it starts one a Wednesday. I went home for my cousin's B-day!

Always good to see my lovely family (:

Thursday I helped my father with papering our hall. Well just so you know: upstairs, downstairs and the stairs.... so we had days of work to do. But I had to be back in Essen for Thursday night:

A party in a club downtown with free Dunkin Donuts! Yumm!

I went there with some friends to meet up with some friends and even bumping into unexpected ones...

That's how I like it ^^ 

The not so fun part: Awaking the next day with a cold, thx parents for handinig it over to me :P

Sure I won't let myself get down by that. AFter staying in bed the whole morning I walked downtown to get some herbal medicine. Really helpful! I felt so much better just after an hour!

Also I had some errands to run. That same night there was a friend's party: Sensation white, you hear me?!

He made chilly, salad and other yummy things. He even organized black lights!! Also those armbraces that light up in the dark ^^ Very considerate of him I'd say.

Saturday my sis and me went back home. Over the rest of the weekend my dad and me worked on getting the hall done. Takes up so much time. Then Monday was my dad's B-day and we almost did it all. Yeay!

More relatives to see, more cake to eat... awesome :D

Tuesday back to reality.... my mood was high and sure good enough for the early and long day...

It started as a normal day...

So many things happened recently.... I'm not going to name them all. AT least not in this post :P

Today for instance:

My first class started at 8.30am in Duisburg. About an hour earlier I had to leave the house.... too early for my taste though I have to admit that it looked kinda nice outside (at least this morning).My class supposedly ends at 11.45am. 

One thing here: My next class was at 12.15pm in Essen.

NConsidering it takes at least 45min (if your'e lucky) to get from one Campus to another, that's not exactly managble, is it?!

well well then, I had to leave my first class early. Arriving there we still had to find to find the right room. In Essen that can be quite a task. After some wrong turns we finally managed to get there in time. Guess what?! All the effort wasted as the prof was tied up with business. Nice, huh?!

I was actually looking forward to this class: Forensic Linguistics. 

But who am I to cry about more free time, right?!

Later that day I went back to the university to participate at my friend's study.

He sort of invented some apps for smartphones. Therefore he needs some guinea pigs to try his software. 

My opinion: Couple months of work were definitely worth it!

I was kinda looking forward to be using it myself. Knowing my friend, I did have some expectations. Afterwards I have to say: it sort of blew me away. SO much fun and so pretty awesome. ^____^

Just you wait and see in a few years he'll be famous and all (He might even forget about the little people, who knows ;)

It sure is a highlight. Perfect day for quite a nice day.

So I thought. Who knew my roomie had another surprise waiting for me.

She didn't exactly intend toshow it to me... but once revealed, no point of hiding it any more.... way too funny :D

A few years ago she was part of a reality show: living in the 50s!

Yupp you heard right.

It is astonishingly honest and therefore truly funny (for me at least ;) )

Enough details here I think... a lot to dream about tonight

The summer semester started...

Today was my first class for this semester - Italian.

So far I can say this much:

The teacher is pretty nice. My fellow students seem to be as nice. 

Good choice, I'd say.

Next step lunch & then my 1st Literature class for this semester:

'Crossing the U.S.-Mexican Border - Depictions in Contemporary American Literature'

Seriously who comes up with those names?! Way too long.

Let's try its acronym: CtUSMBDiCAL

Yah.... sure... not going to work :P

Hope it'll be better than what I just did now ;)

The weekend started so amazingly good...

Friday I had a bunch of friends over at my new place. The kitchen isn't that big, but we squeezed everyone in there :) After we went dancing in that same club I went to the other day... Pretty fun: good music, awesome people, what more do you want?! 

To sum Saturday up: Awesome!! :D

The weather was amazing (all sunny blue sky) so we went to a "beach" nearby at a big lake (called Baldeneysee or sth like that). We brought food, blankets and whatnot... Played a lot of volleyball, some frisbee, some card games, some other stuff, talked a lot and laughed even more ^^ Just hung out with some friends... so as mentioned before: Awesome!

Today I had some repairs to do at my old place and am finally done with that chapter, not that it wasn't great one ;)

After I met some friends in downtown to grab some ice-cream! Like there's a way I could actually deny eating 'ice-cream'!

For a change tons of stores were opened this Sunday (which is usually not the case). Therefore and because of the rain we took a stroll in the shopping center (Limbecker Platz). How's the chance of meeting people you know, right then & there? Must be at least a little high, cuz we did meet some :P

Spent some time together before going home, again there was a lot of laughing involved and free coke for whatever reason :)

Back at home I wanted to be productive and clean the bathroom.

But yeah, smart move, Desi!!

I was in the middle of cleaning it the 1st time. Altough It wasn't even that dirty yet ^^  

But instead of things getting done, somehow I managed to make a big mess. My luck has it that I try to clean that glass shelf and it shatters. haha

Nah, not in a few pieces but in hundreds of tiny ones: 

Scattered all over, in the sink, in the closet beyond that, in the bathtub, all over the floor and under the other closet. 

Good job!! - Not! Man I had to laugh so hard about my own mistake, Just someone like me is able to whip up sth like that... haha

Yeah, and that's how I spend like 20min finding all those tiny glass pieces! And to top it off I still had to scrub everything else after. I guess I was lucky enouhg not to hurt myself that much, no visible scars or anything :P

Nevertheless an awsome weekend I'd say ^___^ 

The things you learn...

by just living together. You just meet this new person for an hour maybe and decide to move together.

If you think about it a little more than you might say that it's kinda crazy.

So today again. I'm back at my flat, my new roomie not being at home.

I figure while cooking some spaghetti I might just have some music to go with it. Radio just wasn't any good that time so uk, why not hit the play button...

Said and done. 'Flabbergasted' just what I was when I realized I'm listening to FOTC (Flight of the Conchords - for the ones who are not aware of this awesome duo). Yep not my CD, but could have been ;)

And just like that I had to smile n hum along ^^ 

Done!

Finally all moved in! Y-Day we were basically carrying things, putting furniture together allll day long.

We started early in the morning in my old flat. I realize now I have too much stuff! Seriously I think it grew overtime.

Also y-day I wasn't so sure about my new place anymore. It's on the 4th floor and doesn't have an elevator or anything.... We were so dead after a while.... my legs still hurt today a little...

This morning I'm all good... now I don't regret it at all.

I still need to clean my old place and get my last few things and then that chapter closes.

In my new place I'll decorate everything and do final adjustments evebtually the next few or sth.

Pics therefore will have to wait until then I guess ;)

Though my new room isn't as sunlight-flooded as I wanted it to be, I like it nevertheless. The view is pretty cool considering I live in downtown now. ANd I can keep my window open all day if desired without any car noises or whatsoever :D Awesome!!

the view from my room

& at night.... naah jk, still light out, gotta wait

3 hours of sleep...

is just not enough. Especially if you've been awake for 24h.

Even the weather seems to agree. All cloudy & chilly.

Just got the keys for my new flat. I might just start moving tonight already. The big stuff will be done tomorrow that's for sure. We'll have a van borrowed by then. That means: Packing the rest :/ Totally dreading that part.

Y-day night was my friend's E.s B-Day Party. Pretty cool. She really loved the  collage I made. Yeay! I guess all those weird cuts are worth it. EVen though they still pain me today :P

A bunch of nice people were there. We had tons of drinks and food. Almost everyone played Karaoke. Pretty fun to listen to at times :D

I got my fair share too ;)

At like 2am the leftovers (6people) went to a club downtown for some more dancing. Who'd think that we still had to stand in line to get in?! Seriously that's crazy. The place was stuffed but had good tunes so no need to complain. Quite eventful too. S. threw her drink into that flashy dude. Just like in the movies, I tell ya. ALso this weird old guy was dancing on a pole and in that cage (if that's whatever that was). He was amazingly fun to watch. All emotional singing along and dancing with no one at all except maybe that pole :P He was even taking off one of his shirts and his weird scarf and well... let's just say did some weird dance moves...

We left the club at 6 in the morning to grab some Burgers at McDonalds. Weird thing the daylight was there already. Then the guys and E. took a cab back to E.'s place while S. and me walked to my place. I fell asleep at 7am.

And yes only 3 small hours of sleep for S. and me. Somehow impossible to get more. That's why I can't wait for tonight's sleep :P

Afterall another one of those awesome nights passed.

It is pretty strange walking home from a club when the daylights already there...

Clumsy me...

Especially this week.

Just one of my many souvenirs

Looks like I just painted my finger.. I wish!

Good thing I don't get blue bruises easily otherwise I'd be looking pretty weird. A dalmation dog comes to my mind.

It probably lies in the family. My sister is mostly worse off.

When I was a kid, I used to loose my fights against gravity. Not as bad today anymore. Nevertheless no chair or door is safe. Be prepared to be hearing me apologize to furniture and such...

Uhh remember I told you about my cookie baking skills:

gigantic cookie: happens if you only have one tray

My first: squares

Again the first ones were way too sweet for my taste, but well I usually prefer it less sweet sooo... yup

I'm still packing everything for Sunday... such a drag I tell ya. My flat looks major messy. It doesn't make it any better.

Also I had to put together my friend E.'s B-day present:

I don't know why on earth, the blog thing keeps turning this pic...
good thing we can tilt our heads ;) 

Uh so while I was trying to get the photos in the frame it happened again:

another cut... what the...?!

Just what I mean.... and why do I get a headache now?! Nothing makes sense :P Well at least I got it done... that's sth, so almost all prepared for the night.... except I'll have to search for my dinner through all those bags my sis and me packed. Not the smartest move.... adventurous neverthe less ;)

Busy Bee

I've been pretty busy the last few days.
I'll be moving this Sunday. My stuff won't pack itself on its own...
I moved here in October and am leaving end of March, that's just a couple of months. Apparently my stuff must alive or something like that because it keeps growing.
How on earth did I manage to get so many things?
It feels like the packing will never end. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not even halfway done... oh dear...

Ukay also I'm trying to make a B-Day gift for my friend. I'm supposed to be done by tomorrow night... not as far as I planned to be here either... man...

Too many things spoking around in my head I can't grasp them all...

Also I'm frustrated with my schedule for this coming semester...
I only got into half the classes I wanted to take and now I have to wait for the next phase to sign up... oh and which classes I might be able to squeeze in order to get a somewhat acceptable schedule.... pretty annoying...

Somehow my 'To Do'-List seems to add up rather than getting checked off. I get 1 done and right away 3 others replace that one... man...

I've been at my parents the last few days and they want to do some redecorating. New wallpaper for our huge hall it is. Stairs and all.
My dad's big on doing things himself. My dad, my sis and I had to get rid off the old one first. It took us two entire days... (Lucky us: My dad was off for those days) My mum was keen on getting the kitchen done aswell. After an hour working we were certain not to do more than we have to, sorry kitchen.

Oh funny part: we pulled the whole wallpaper off and my mum (the decisionmaker for these type of things) hasn't even chosen a new one. I guess our hall will be looking yellowish rough for a while ;)
I mean my dad is working full time, it's not like he can just do everything at once now.

Less than 2 weeks and classes will start again... I'm just looking forward to lots of sunny days, just like the one today (don't mind it being warmer though ;) )

  

If the people all over the world...

...turned out a light, they don't need, I wonder how much energy that'll save.

Nature is beautiful and needs to be saved.
Here are some advices on how to be more environmentally friendly:

1. Don't forget to set your Game Consoles on Power Save. Very Important: always turn them off completely. Xbox & PS3 set on sleep almost use up as much power as if they were in use.
2. Power Strips with a switch prevent the electronic devices from staying on Stand-by.
3. Everything adds up, so unplug all the Chargers you do not need. 
4. Use green search machines like: http://ecosia.org/ (it uses green electricity)
5. Switch to a green electricity provider!
6. Use rechargable batteries instead of normal ones. FYI: 1 rechargeable battery can replace about 500 normal batteries!!
7. For your computer, laptop, etc. set it on Power Save (Plan)! And forget about the Screen Saver alltogether.
8. Whenever you leave your work area to take a break, remember to switch off the Computer screen.
9. Save Paper: Print your stuff on both sides. 
10.  Let them send you your bills via e-mail.
11. FYI: The production of recycled paper uses 50 % less water and energy! 
12.  So: Only use recycled paper, toiletpaper, tissues...
13.  Finish your old supplies and switch to climate friendly cleaning products & detergent!
14. Only because you are using a lot of a cleaning supply doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be any cleaner ;) So be aware of the right dosage!
15. Don't use the small pots for the big hotplates and don't forget to put the lid on while cooking!
16. Water heater are a much better option for heating water for tea or broth than using the stove.
17. Cooking and baking yourself is way more fun, tastes better and finally is more climate friendly. 
18. Let your leftovers cool off before putting them in the fridge.  

To be continued...

Earthquake and its consequences...

I'm quite shocked about what happened to Japan. I've been at my parents watching the news all morning. I can't believe it. I want to help but don't know how I possibly can. I pray for everyone's safety.

This afternoon I baked a cake and 6 cupcakes. 
Really yummy (one thing I'm good at :) ). Almost all cupcakes are already gone so sorry, but no pics for u guys ;)

I have so much free time now. It's kinda weird. There's so much I have to do (a whole list I need to finish) and other things I want to do. Not sure exactly where to start. Mostly trying to organize my move scheduled end of March. Hopefully all my furniture will fit - wishthinking for sure.

Today was my last...

...exam for this semester (hopefully). YEAY!

It's been an awfully long time: I've had at least 1 exam each month ever since December!! Ya basically 4 months almost continually studying for exams... 
I'm ready to take a deep breath, but still have to wait for the results...
The afternoon I spent talking to some people and organizing stuff for my move.
I'm supposed to move beginnig of April, but I probably will have to change that. My parents are going to help me but they are too busy that time so it'll have to be end of March.
Now I have to find a truck for rent for little money.
Also I'm looking into a new Internet/telephone provider... man why are there so many different choices of both...
My result so far is a headache and first I thought a weird noise...
But the noise is explainable. I don't know if I should like though.
It appears I'm not alone anymore.


My 'other' roomie is back. It feels like he never left. BUT I am certain he did about 30 times!! I let him go out my window. I even tried the kitchen and the bathroom window. Gosh he must like me very much. I don't deserve that honour as I don't have mutual feelings for him.
This is driving me crazy... how on earth did he get back into my room?? AGAIN!! If only I knew. It's not like I can just let him out again. He's up on that ceiling (probably 3 meters/10 feet or even more).
Too high for climbing up a chair and getting him. Nope! Can't do!
Guess I won't be sleeping alone tonight, am I right Mr. Ladybug?! ;)

Unfortunately I don't really know anything about Baseball...

This much I know:
Something about 3 strikes and being out.
Ukay I might no more than this, but I sure won't know any correct terms :P
Allright, so what's the deal? Why am I thinking about Baseball?
Hm good question, bot quite sure....
I was thinking about failing 3 times and so my brain somehow came up with that strike thing ^^


Yesterday I made Chocolate Chip Cookies again.
They are good. Buuuut I'm still not convinced. Like I know I can do better.
Just got to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I just don't know
Maybe it's because I have to convert all those 'cups', 'ounces' and whatsoever into the metric system. Maybe wrong amounts...


Or I just need someone to show me how to make the perfect ones :P
Guinea pigs step forward... I seriously need help!!

I shouldn't be writing here right now, instead...

I should be studying. Ukay so right now it all should be about my final 2 exams. But meanwhile I'm also searching for a new place, because my roomie wants to move out soon. She's about too graduate next semester and won't really need to stay much longer. Seriously she just got 2 classes!!
I'll be fully booked next semester. So I'm trying to get things straight as soon as possible. So I'm busy finding a new flat with a new roomie and being a little stressed. For some reason I feel like I'll be messing sth up eventually. I don't know yet what it's going to be but it'll happen...

At the moment I can only tell you this much: 
Recently I rule in the kitchen (at least for now)! Dude, I made this delicious risotto from scratch today. Who knew I was such an amazing cook? - I didn't... until now. Most likely nobody else is going to find out because I won't be able to create the exact same. Yeah sure, I can try and make something else instead. Question though: Is it going to be as good? And what is it going to be? I guess one just has to be brave and find out :P

Hopefully next week I'll have enough time to give Chocolate Chip Cookies another try. I really want to eat them and this time get them right (you know, just like the ones in my head)....

Note to self:
Bake those cookies and bring the camera more often to anywhere ^^

My day started pretty slow...

It was dark outside and freezing. I just didn't feel well (wonder why?!).
I prefered staying in bed and watching whatever good stuff was on my laptop. 
In between I ate some breakfast and eventually felt even worse than before.
Finally facebook (well actually one of my fb-friends) was referring to the results from that Literary Studies exam we wrote last week. We were able to look 'em up today!
I could just think: Oi, now the day is totally screwed...
At least that's what I figured, but fortunately I was wrong . In fact, I didn't do so bad afterall (won't complain here ;) )... so my mood went up and everything looked so much brighter to me.
Later that day I was trying to avoid my studies for a while, but ended up doing at leats something.

At night some of my and my roomie's friends came over. (It was this surprise thing we had planned for my roomie for a couple days now).
Turned out pretty well: 
Pizza, wine, all sorts of candy and lots of talking involved :D
So sort of an awesomeish day ^^

BTW: I'll have to move soon, so I'm looking for a new place (again)!
Sweet, huh?! - NOT!!

triple C

Ukay this past week I made Chocolate Chip Cookies, actually twice.

Monday: My first batch was waaaaay to sweet for my taste. Otherwise they were ukay. My roomie really liked them, at least someone did, right?! ;) Note for next time: Use more than 1 baking tray, otherwise one will just have a gigantic cookie :P 


Ukay so Wednesday 2nd try, this time a few adjustments to the recipe (to thge one I used before): only half the sugar!! Aaand guess what - still a tad too sweet. Still not what I've been looking for. So I figured maaaybe I should take a different recipe :P

So I asked on fb for a good CCC recipe and a few of my friends helped me out (guess the other one's just want to keep their favourite recipe a secret :P ). Now I'll just have to find the time and motivation to give it another shot ;)

--> I just really want to eat a awesomely delicious cookie like the self-baked ones I ate before.... is that too much to ask?!  

FYI:  I've rarely ever baked those cookies before and whenever there was always someone around who knew what needed to be done.... apparently I don't, because I seem to be missing something here...

Yup, so for today I stuck with my good old marble cake recipe and that sure was a great decision (at least something I'm able to bake) ^^

Some hate it, some 'love' it...

Considering that today is February 14th... you can be sure that I'm talking about Valentine's Day! If I had to choose between hate and love than I guess I'd tend to pick love. On the one hand I'm being optimistic and on the other hand because last year's V-Day was the awesomest so far!
Pillow fight in San Francisco, I mean how much better can it get?!

Here some pics (didn't have my cam with me, so I have to give credits to my friends n the Internet ;) )

How on earth am I not to love San Francisco?!

Ukay n here a random video of that very day, so maybe u get an idea what I'm talking about ;)

Well so far today I had to take an exam, so that certainly was not the best part of my day, right?! Sure!

The only good part is that the rest of the day I can just do as I please (if that's the right way to put it ;) )

Yup, but I'm pretty sure you all will have a fabulous time, because why not?!

Always good to spread some love, so today's your day to make everyone see that everyday should be a day to show you care and to let'em know you love'em :D ... 

Spur of the moment kinda thing (is that right?!)

My less than 60 sec-gift for 2 of my friends, just because I felt like it and just because they were the only ones I saw after the exam, I'd probably have done more! So some other time maybe, folks :P


Today: After lunch at that college food place stuff thingy we went to that other place right across, it's like this cafe "Bruecke", pretty nice.
D. reserved a couch while I was supposed to get him a Cappuccino. I was gonna get a Latte Macchiatto and E. felt like a Cappucino aswell. Therefore I asked her to just get 2 of them (one for her and one for him). No problemo.


Except E.: "So what am I gonna say now when I order?
                 2 Cappuccini, please?!"
The barista overheard us & was just like: "You can say both! 'Cappucinos' is german and the other one is italian; so either way is fine!"


Never though about it before... so next time I order more than 2 beverages I'll have to remember: Latte Macchiati, Esspressi, Capuccini... :P


Uhhh, one more thing: gonna bake some delic version of Nm's Chocolate Chip Cookies laterrrr.... Yummm!!

Finals & Friendship

Studying for finals takes away my time for other things...

and in my study brakes I seem to drift off somehow... 
I get bored or whatsoever I don't know, who cares, doesn't matter... 
Anyways, that's how I discovered another interesting image I wanted to share...
So here you go and ya today I took my math exam which was kinda good (I think but not sure if I'm right). Tomorrow's my 'Integrated Language class 1' (and seriously who came up with that name?!) But well after that I still won't be done with finals (last one in March) :/
So please cross your fingers and press your thumbs so I'll remember all my vocab & grammar :P

 

For my friends : Love you all! xoxo 

Not here...

 

Not here, I won't..... :P 

I wonder how many people actually take the time to read all of this...

Lazy or Awesome?!

I found this on the web.
I have to admit that it kinda shows my way of living!
Well at least the idea that behind it, if you're with me :P

Done with class that morning...

I left the building thinking:
'Seriously! ... seriously!...
really?!... ooh maaan!'
It's snowing - again. Not too bad yet but who knows, over night that might change. I certainly won't like that!

A few days ago was the first exam for this year. I'm pretty sure everyone agrees with me saying it was a mean one. Well, I guess the behaviour during lecture could have been better on certain days... ah whatever, let's just wait for the results.

Now time to prepare for the next exams, and I wanna get rid of that headache I've been having for quite some time.

It'll be a busy february, therefore I'm looking forward to some free time :)
These days I'm trying to cook some more. Even I can admit now that I'm not doing so bad afterall. Pretty decent meals, I tell ya... And oh yeah, that doesn't mean that I'll be cooking all the time, just so we're clear ;)

Lazy level for studying is kinda high.
How on earth can I find a better way to motivate myself?!
I have no idea...

My mind always drifts off to better places.... like a couple days ago, I've been thinking about geocaching. I'd like to try that sometime... need a GPS though.
I wonder if anyone I know tried that before... Certainly sounds like tons of fun!! So eventually, I'll try it.

Orange bumpersticker

A bumper sticker I like. It's orange & says sth on it. I'd buy it.
But I don't have a car, so wouldn't make sense to buy one, right?!
I'd like to see it nevertheless, so why don't you get it?

Better yet: Just try and do what it says ;)

"Practice random acts of kindness."