Today I joined the ranks of healthy Germans everywhere by shelling out tons of money to become a member of a local fitness club. A hefty €14 Euros a week will be deducted from my account in the name of health and fitness. As a member of Team WOF (World of Fitness) I will enjoy access to a solarium, sauna, free training session with a trainer and of course the normal fitness machines. My biggest complaint is their lack of an actual pool and running track (not that I run). I need this. Now that I'm paying for a gym (first time in my life, ever that I've paid to work out) I will be sure to go. They are open until 2300 every night so that will be an added bonus.

I have to be fit and better looking for my trip to Spain in March. Well, I need to be healthier in my life generally and I feel better when I've been working out of course.

I did some more research on our travel destination. We'll actually be staying in Torremelinos, Spain which is about five km from Malagas. I plan on spending time on the beach and then going into the town to see some of the sights. We had considered taking the ferry to Africa but I don't know if that is going to work out or not for us since we'll only be there just short of a week.

I'm back

Today I ordered (finally) a hard-DSL and home phone line. I've been using at home since October a WirelessLAN system. It was working for me for a little while, but now I'm over it. The connection is awful and only sometimes works. Right now, my WLAN modem is sitting outside my window to get the best reception (shotty at best). Should have my real DSL connection (and home phone!) set up within 16 working days although he said its more likely that they'll get it done faster. This means that I'll be able to update more often. I find often that my most witty comments and stories come to me when I have no way of making them public on the WWW.

In addition to having a "festnetz" or land line and a real DSL connection, I also get a SIM card for my cell phone that acts like on a festnetz connection on the weekends! Crazy! People will be able to call my phone with this little gem and I'll be able to use it anywhere in Germany just like I was sitting in my kitchen, but I could be in Munich or Stuttgart or someplace crazy like that. Only on the weekends though. To understand why this is such a big deal, you have to realize that German cell phones charge you extra for calling other cell phones while calling a land line is typically part of your place (ergo, no extra cost). As of right now, I have to call of my friends (that have a land line) because its part of my plan but too expensive for them to call me.

In other exciting news, I've planned my Easter Holidays! On March 20th, I'm flying from Holland to Malaga, Spain for five days of laying on the beach and exploring the Spanish Andalusian area. We are staying in a Four Star Hotel, on the beach, including breakfast and dinner and the flight only cost us 455 Euros each! Unbelievable.

The weather has been nice the past two days. I saw the Sun today and I wasn't sure how to react. I had to wear my sunglasses. Tomorrow I'm going to a local gym and joining. Now that I'm going to the beach with some colleagues, I need to trim down about 23423 pounds before we go. I need to be on the lookout for my future wife.

Another Saturday night at 10:45 and I'm already in my pajamas. I've already watched one movie. Next month I have to buy a DVD player that is regional-code free so i can buy some more here in Germany. I've decided to stay in my apartment that I'm in for now. Its easier because my landlord is permitting me to use her guest apartment that is located just next to mine. This makes it a bit easier. Still having issues with my lack of washing machine and no shower (only a bath tub). She wants to negotiate a new contract with me this upcoming week. I'm going to see if she can probably put in a few curtains for my room (as I have none in the bedroom). Next month, i'm also buying a bike. It'll be cute.

Everbody is waiting for your entrance

I've note updated in a while and this is going to be a short one. I apologize for the lack of updates. My life just isn't interesting at the moment.

I hate North German winters. Its windy and cold in a way I've never felt before. I can't seem to get warm. There is no snow to comfort this. Just cold and wind oh and rain. Today it is going to be "warm" (40's) but windy. Bah.

My internet has been going in and out of connection since last week. I am a child of the internet generation and this is extremely bothersome since I use the internet more than I watch tv. I don't need to have the fastest internet connection just a solid connection that doesn't die every ten minutes and actually is fast enough so that I can watch my BBC News updates and things on youtube, of course.

I'm not happy in Aachen. More on this later.

Its just that simple

I decide that I would join the ranks of good, law-abiding Germans today and pay the controversial "TV, Radio and Other Random Forms of Media Entertainment" Tax. The common belief here is that public radio and tv should be well-funded and provide good, quality programming. And that is true here. The quality of TV and Radio is well enjoyed by the public and the quality seems to be good. You can, of course supplement your television needs with satellite and cable however that is not necessary. Just by plugging your tv in, you can get something like ten channels. The downside is that the German government, or rather its independent entity the (and I'm not making this up) "Gebühreneinzugszentrale" (I have no idea what this means, I just call it GEZ) collects a whopping €17,95 per tv and €5,00 per Radio and even computers that can download the webcasts! I mean, bah! Thats quite expensive. I guess they can do things like randomly check your house to see if you are lying on your little census like form. Somehow they got my name (my landlord no doubt, bah!) and have sent me two letters requesting that I send them the information. Even though my landlord owns the tv, I pay the tax on it. Tell me how this works.

I have become quite the pro at parallel parking. I have one of the company cars this week because half of the English department has left already. So I get to keep it and drive all over creation this week. Its nice. Tomorrow...laundry! The street that I live on is rather busy so parking is a pain but I have learned how to fit that little Twingo in to some seriously tight spots. Pretty soon you´ll see me whipping around in a mini. Ugh, I miss my Corolla!

I am going home in just a few days!

Me Talk Pretty One Day, too.

Although I had three years of university German as well as a summer semester learning the language in Dresden, sometimes I feel lost. I was talking to my friend Jacqueline who lives in Taiwan as an English teacher and she told me that my recent unhappiness is, culture shock. For a long time I figured that why I would be experiencing culture shock in some ways, that I'd be above any major problems. That turned out to not be true I guess. I've really begun to miss American traditions, holidays and just regular kindness as of late. I'm quite excited to be going home next weekend though. However, the language doesn't help. I understand the majority of conversations around me but sometimes I get quite nervous as I'm checking out at the grocery store or when I need to talk to someone at the pharmacy or something like this. David Sedaris in his book Me Talk Pretty One Day describes his life and language training while moving to France from New York. And so he writes:

My fear and discomfort crept beyond the borders of the classroom and accompanied me out onto the wide boulevards. Stopping for a coffee, asking directions, depositing money in my bank account: these things were out of the question, as they involved having to speak. Before beginning school, there'd been no shutting me up, but now I was convinced that everything I said was wrong. When the phone rang, I ignored it. If someone asked me a question, I pretended to be deaf. I knew my fear was getting the best of me when I started wondering why they don't sell cuts of meat in vending machines.

My only comfort was the knowledge that I was not alone. Huddled in the hallways and making the most of our pathetic French, my fellow students and I engaged in the sort of conversation commonly overheard in refugee camps.
"Sometime me cry alone at night."
"That be common for I, also but be more strong, you. Much work and someday you talk pretty. People start love you soon. Maybe tomorrow, okay."
Unlike the French class I had taken in New York, here there was no sense of competition. When the teacher poked a shy Korean in the eyelid with a freshly sharpened pencil, we took no comfort in the fact that, unlike Hyeyoon Cho, we all knew the irregular past tense of the verb to defeat. In all fairness, the teacher hadn't meant to stab the girl, but neither did she spend much time apologizing, saying only, "Well, you should have been kl;ja;dfkj more afkjakjf."

So I have more confidence than that, but I still couldn't tell you the irregular past tense of to defeat.

Pechvogelkeit

Bloody hell.

Bah. I should be in bed. Its almost one am and I'm exhausted. But I need to update. I had a good weekend, The Christine from Dresden came and visited me and it was a bit like FSU only we were in Germany. I miss her. It was so nice to have a friend of mine here. Christine and I are great friends, we just get each other. It was hard to say goodbye. I mean, we live in the same country but our schedules + finances don't allow for constant traveling of the great distances between Aachen and Dresden. However, I take solace knowing that I'll be seeing her and a few great friends of mine in a few weeks for New Years Eve in Berlin. We found a cheap holiday apartment and hoping that things work out. I'm excited.

Its been a really rough few months and I'm looking forward to the very badly needed break.

The weather sucks. Thats all on that front.

I can't say that I'm totally happy right now. I'm missing something. My expectations have disappointed me. I need to just jump into 2008 and start anew. And December 11th marks the four year anniversary of my Father's death.

I need some change.

simplicity

This past weekend I saddled up and did a little trip to the center of Germany. My former co-worker from Eglin, Danyel, came to Aachen, picked me up and we then spent the weekend at her place. Danyel has a little girl, Serenity, and we met her friend at Bitburg Air Base and from there went to the city of Trier. Trier is a city of about 80k, and although I was there at night could tell how beautiful it was. Wikipedia tells me that it was founded around the time of Christ. However, the best part of Trier was the amazing sushi restaurant that we went to. An all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant which sends sushi around on this small little conveyor belt and you just pick off the tantalizingnesses that is! It was great.

I went to the Air Base at Ramstein and I had another slight identity crisis. Next month marks the end of my 22 year career as a military child. I have mix feelings about this. As it is, I haven't really been a military kid since 2003 and after my dad died I became even less of one. Mom moved to Ohio, I was at Florida State and for the longest time the only thing I did with the military was get my insurance renewed and talk to other military kids. So why now am I having this slight panic? I think its part of my childhood identity and being an Air Force brat certainly shaped part of who I am as a person. My first job, first friends, my entire childhood and mostly my Father's identity was also intertwined with his career in the Air Force. This is part of growing up I suppose, freaking out about getting older, being more independent and saying goodbye to that part of our lives that we know the most.

While at the base, I also realized how different I am now and how different my life has become. I don't share that military lifestyle, etc. It was so strange, I was in Germany, paying in dollars, speaking in English and watching poorly dressed American's shop. The BX alone was strange as I have been in Germany long enough to get used to not having one central place to shop. As much I would like to be associated with this little slice of America, I just don't think its for me anymore. I guess to some extent it will always be part of me, but I'm not sure. I think this is just part of the greater problem of growing up, changing friends, life, end of my university life and not sure what to expect next. I guess I'm good though for the next two years as I got my work and residence visas yesterday.

On the way home from the base, I rented a car. The class above the cheapest class of car (the cheapest one with GPS-which I need here) was a Mercedes A class. It was beautiful. I was the first person to drive this puppy. It had 3km on it when I started the car. I will never buy a car that is not in a similar class again. So easy to drive and the gas mileage was great. I took the Benz on the autobahn and cruised around at 130mph. It was fantastic.

Life is progressing here. I am excited though to go home for the Christmas break. It will be nice to see my family and my baby niece. And, I just miss my family. I miss my friends too and that is mostly natural. Unfortunately I feel that in the two years that I'll be in Germany I will have lost a few of them, even those that I've been friends with for several years. I am not the type of person who can go a year without talking to you and then just magically catch up ( I mean, I can but I don't like to do that). I need from time to time an email, a phone call. I live in Germany, not Rwanda. Its not hard to get a hold of me. I'm tired of investing into people and not getting any investment in return. Its disheartening. Still trying to meet people in Aachen (esp outside of the office) and thats kind of at a slow down right now, but I'm working on it. Otherwise my colleagues are great, we get along splendidly, often having lunch and chatting. However, at the end of the day, I'm still lonely. Which is not a feeling I particularly enjoy.

I miss academia, Target and spontaneous lunches with friends. Oh, and Bullwinkle's too.