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653 days ago
Dear faithful readers (and if you've kept checking this site for the past seven post-less months you are faithful indeed), Although I have enjoyed keeping an online journal here on Windows Live Spaces, it was time to dare to strike out and find new ground. I have thus established a journal on Wordpress (one of the only online journal sites whose name does not contain the loathéd "b" word): http://fishiefishies.wordpress.com Same vision, same tone, same random-as-all-get-out subject matter... In short, same fishies, new location. Enjoy...
869 days ago
Not Deutschland. Bayern. Bavarians are, first and foremost, Bavarians. The Deutsch part is incidental. In this way, and with its strong regional accent, the German state of Bayern is much like the American state/republic of Texas, only with really cute painted buildings, lots more trees, and the Alps. So what do I absolutely love about Bayern? The view outside my 14th-story window (mine is the only tall building in the neighborhood) The adorable city center (though unless one does not mind looking like an inebriate one must be careful of one's footware, as cavernous gaps lie between each 4-inch-square paving stone) (heels are a VERY BAD IDEA) Sacrament Meeting object lessons involving very large reddish-brown umbrellas The shimmery tree outside my window (when the wind blows, the leaves sparkle like glitter--I don't know what kind of tree it is, but I really want one) The men's jacket-slung-over-the-shoulder oh-so-casual saunter/stroll ...
892 days ago
Those on the "A Word a Day" e-mail list will probably recognize this quote from the end of yesterday's message, but I absolutely love the sentiment: It's like, at the end, there's this surprise quiz: Am I proud of me? I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth what I paid? —Richard Bach, writer (1936- ) Update: The June 15 "A Word a Day" quote was just as good: Do not commit the error, common among the young, of assuming that if you cannot save the whole of mankind, you have failed. —Jan de Hartog, playwright and novelist (1914-2002)
895 days ago
Tram doors do not open automatically . Unless you push the button to open the door, the tram will leave the platform while you stare through the windows at the passengers who are staring back at you and wondering why the h[eck] you don't just push the stupid button, already. Those bright red blotches scattered randomly through the hair of otherwise very conservative-looking women are stylish, not accidental. The even brighter red streaks adorning the hair of punks and/or goths are also deliberate. The landlord is not completely naked. She is wearing swimsuit bottoms, albeit very small ones. Sometimes, in the late afternoon, she also wears a shirt. You must furnish your own grocery bags unless you want to purchase new bags every time you buy milk and/or Nutella. You must bag your groceries yourself. You must do this as fast as you possibly can. If you do not, your groceries and your newly purchased bags will be piled at the end of the conveyor belt while ...
898 days ago
So, I've been in Deutschland for four days now, and I love it here. Some things are a little bit strange, though—you know how sometimes you see weird foreigners whose speech is slow, grammatically dubious, heavily accented, and generally tortured? Well, here, that's me. Which has made me realize that when I see these other people walking down the street, jabbering in what seems like a random collection of consonants with a smattering of vowels, they're not just pretending to understand each other —they really are communicating. Whoa. A few other observations: Mohawks, mohawks, everywhere. I've seen at least a half dozen of these, on individuals from age 10 to 30. Those west of the Atlantic, consider yourselves warned. Just because you can find your way there, that doesn't mean you can find your way back. Under no circumstances should you ever challenge a kamikaze bicyclist. Under no circumstances should you try to dodge one, either, because regardless ...
