Hello again.

I was contemplating not posting anymore. Not because I don't enjoy it, mostly I do. More because I hadn't posted in a good week and it seemed like nobody had noticed. Don't misunderstand - I'm not throwing a self-pity-party or anything. I just thought that I wouldn't bother messing with blogger anymore if it didn't seem like anyone even noticed my "absence." Then two things happened. First, Miranda left a comment on my last post (thanks, Miranda!). So I was reminded of how blogging can connect people who have never met and are miles apart (LeAnne). And then my sister-in-law sent me an email with this too-cute picture of my nephew and mentioned that she noticed that I hadn't blogged in a while.
So I'm back. Now, on to more interesting topics than my temporary hiatus from blogging...

I have been really busy the past couple of weeks. So busy that I have started to use my planner again, because I tried to double book myself, which meant that I had to apologize, reschedule and just generally feel disorganized. Is this good? Well, on one hand, it's nice to not be sitting at home. And I've been spending time with some really fun people. On the other hand, if you know me, you know I need/crave/must have "down time." Otherwise I wear out. Well, not literally like an old shoe, but I just get run down. So I have been trying to schedule myself some "time out" and that seems to help.

Here are some highlights:
-I met with a group of expats from my company. That was fun. I've met some of them before, but others I have not met (at least not since I've been here in Germany ~ I do know some of them from work in Michigan, not well, but at least by name). When I said that I had been here for over three months, they were pretty surprised, because apparently they do a lot together and so they asked me where I "have been hiding this whole time." It seems that when you arrive in Germany, you should announce your presence to the other expats from the company who are already here in Germany.
-Last week, the Electrician from the satellite company came over and established that there's nothing wrong with my satellite connection. He brought a test receiver with him and when he hooked that up to my TV, it worked perfectly. But when he hooked mine back up, it didn't work. So he told me that the receiver was broken and I should take it back. That seemed odd since it's only two months old and has not been used for 1.5 of those two months. And since it worked at the beginning, until the exact time that he switched over the other satellite dish. But he's the electrician and I'm not (obviously), so he must be right. So I went to Media Markt (Germany's Best Buy). But they won't just take it back on your word (which is smart), so I had to go over to Customer Service. And the guy there hooked it up to his TV, initialized it and (guess what??) it worked perfectly. He tells me there's no way it can work at the store, but not in my apartment and that I should take it home, initialize it again and it should work. And you know what......it did. So somehow, when the satellite that I was not connected to was switched over, my receiver was set back to zero. And all I needed to do was run the set-up program.....Oops.
-On Monday, I was in a hurry. I came home for work for two minutes to change my clothes and leave again. But there was no parking on the street (have I mentioned that I don't use my garage??). So I thought, well, it's only going to be two minutes, surely my neighbor with whom I share my garage won't come home in the next two minutes and so I parked in front of the garage. I ran (literally) upstairs, and was just putting on my shoes when my doorbell rang. And who was it? Yep, the neighbor with whom I share the garage. I apologized (lots) and told her that I would be right down to move the car. She said she wasn't worried about that, but she wanted to know if (loose translation) I had fear of my garage. Because with winter coming and all.....so she offered to practice with me. And so we practiced. And I'm now proud to say that while I still have some fear of parking in the garage, I can and do actually park there!
-I saw "Der Teufel traegt Prada." (Or, The Devil Wears Prada....) Meryl Streep was amazing. And it was funny. But the book was better.
-I drove to Bamberg and back for work on Wednesday (2.5 hours each way). It was a good trip work-wise, but I didn't get to see any of the city. I think I was there in 1998, (I'm pretty sure we got lost in Bamberg looking for the nativity scenes for which the city is known, never saw one and walked for what seemed like hours...) but I don't remember much, so I hope that next time, I'll be able to at least stay overnight. Can I just reiterate how much I love the Autobahn, though!!!!
-After multiple trips to the store and purchasing 5 varieties of light bulb, I finally bought the right one that fits into the fixture in the stairwell (we're each responsible for our own landings, which means that I have to change the bulb there). I have to say that they seem to have way more variety in light bulbs here in Deutschland!
-I am helping my 16 year-old neighbor with her English homework. She's having a hard time, so her dad asked me if I would tutor her. Well, let's see, he fixed my washer, he's in the process of fixing my bathroom mirrors and well, I can speak a little English. The problem is just that I don't remember all of the grammar rules perfectly. When is it "dark of night" and when is it "the dark of night"? (It's a good question, right??) This is mutually beneficial, because she learns English, I (hopefully) improve my English and simultaneously have the opportunity to improve my German.

So, let's see, I use the garage, I have light in the stairwell, my washer runs without dripping, I have TV again and my bathroom mirrors are repaired and just need to be hung up (by my neighbor...). I have a social life. I'll be able to see my family and hold my nephew in less than two months. Things are going pretty good.......[If only my house in MI would sell!!]

Hmm, the bathroom mirrors....you might be wondering why my neighbor has to fix them. Well, let me just tell you that fun little story. The mirrors are actually doors on the bathroom vanity. I am pretty lucky, because the cabinetry in the bathroom came with the apartment (not always the case here). So, I came home from work last week and the water in the bathroom sink was running. Now, I have been known to sometimes be forgetful, but, people, I live in an apartment. As soon as you come in the front door, you can hear that the water in the bathroom is running. How could I possibly have left it running when I left for work?? So I go into the bathroom and two of the mirrored cabinet doors are hanging on an angle. Somehow, they had worked free of the adhesive which holds them to the hinge (that's right, they're basically fastened to the hinge with double-sided tape!!) and had fallen to a funny angle and in the process, had hit the faucet in just such a way that the water went on. (I seem to have very odd household issues....)

So, it's 11:00 on Saturday, the day of housework (it's like a crime to do housework on Sunday), which means that I need to stop blogging and go grocery shopping. (Even if it is raining....again.)

Tonight, I'm going to the Stuttgart Culture Night with a friend, so I'm looking forward to that.

Oh and just because.....

You Are 32% Control Freak

You have achieved the perfect balance of control and letting go. You tend to roll with whatever life brings, but you never get complacent.

Are You A Control Freak?

That's a relief! I would have thought that my Control Freak factor would be much higher.

I hope that you have a good weekend!