January 2013
1 post
US Christmas Trip, Christmas
I guess I’ll do this in order, to make it readable. We arrived on Christmas Eve, and I had booked the car rental at the wrong place — not at the Dulles Airport Enterprise, but at one just off Dulles Airport. And they closed at 3, well before we made it through customs and had our bags. And the Dulles Airport Enterprise was out of cars.
In the best display of customer service I have...
November 2012
3 posts
Cemetery Photobombing Part III, and Totally Not an...
So I was supposed to do two posts yesterday to make up for the post I missed on Friday, but I remembered that I said BEFORE I EVEN STARTED THIS MONTH that wiki updates would count as blog posts. Because they take time and effort. So I did that last night instead.
It’s NOT an excuse, I made sure to stipulate this BEFORE NOV 1. And that is what matters.
Anyway, I’m still riding the...
Cemetery Photobombing Part II -- Already Late
So I have to do two posts today to catch up, since I came home from work yesterday, went to sleep, and didn’t wake up again until this morning. But here we go… Part II of the Zentralfriedhof Wien!
We went from the overgrown and rundown parts to the new, well-maintained parts with recently dead people.
Here there were obviously lots of recent visitors — fresh flowers, some...
5 tags
Cemetery Photobomb and NaBloPoMo
So I am taking on the challenge of NaBloPoMo, and during November,I will be attempting to write a blog post every day. I made it easy on myself to start: KH and I went down to the Zentralfriedhof today, and I took a TON of pictures. So for at least a few days, I can photobomb the fuck out of tumblr. YAY!
Today we’ll start where the tour started: with the less-well-maintained, really...
September 2012
4 posts
3 tags
My first (two) weeks
Tomorrow I will have worked two full weeks at my new job. And it’s been very interesting. I don’t know if this is more of a challenge for me because I am in Foreign, or because I don’t speak German*. Or even if because it’s a large company, and the vast majority of my experience has been in tiny to small companies. I am gonna quote an old friend, who once wisely said...
3 tags
My first (two) days
So I started my new job yesterday, and since I barely slept Sunday night, I came home and crashed out. KH was lovely, got us McDonald’s, came home, woke me up, I ate and went back to sleep. He woke me up a few hours later to make sure I showered, which I did, and went back to sleep.
I have a bit more energy today. Although I don’t know what I can say… it’s a new job. I...
3 tags
Why am I learning German again?
So last night, KH and I went out for dinner. On our way to one restaurant, we encountered a new restaurant. Now, let me be honest. We were on our way to the Austrian TGIFridays (a chain restaurant with a menu that includes: schnitzel, bacon-wrapped sausage, schinkenfleckerl, and other traditional items) and the new restaurant was an Austrian Applebee’s (a chain restaurant with a menu...
4 tags
Some of us are a little different
I want to be clear: as much as this story may SEEM to be about a FB game, it is, in fact, about my own issues. The game is the vehicle.
I play Castle Age. Like any other RPG (or, in this case, dumbed down RPG-style vehicle for mindless clicking and ad sales), one has stats. Every time you level, you get 5 points to spend on stats. Every time you click enough times, you get a point to spend...
July 2012
2 posts
2 tags
What, am I suddenly Cliff Huxtable?
KH: How are you feeling today?
Me: You know, I could never sit here in the apartment and go 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours without smoking. NEVER. But put me on a plane, where it is just not allowed, to the point where there is totally no chance for me to smoke, and I don’t want a cigarette. I just don’t want one. I’m not going to hear about this job today. It’s...
4 tags
Very Bad Mood
I am in a very bad mood. We went to register me for the unemployment service this morning (I don’t get unemployment money, since I haven’t worked in the EU yet, but it’s possible they will pay for more German classes if I am on their books for too long. They offer other people other training, but since I don’t speak German…).
Anyway, I have this book of coupons,...
June 2012
2 posts
2 tags
Poor Sophie.
*I go into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.*
Sophie: I am so very hungry. I know it LOOKS like I have two bowls of wet food and a bowl of dry food to eat from, but the taste of those is as ashes in my mouth. I have heard tell of something called “treats.” Please, do you think I could just have a taste?
Me: Uh-uh, KH warned me. You got LOTS of treats an hour ago.
Sophie: I...
3 tags
Opinions needed: I need a resume headshot
And we have narrowed it down to cropping one of the following two pics (it needs to be a CHEERFUL headshot).
Pic 1:
Pic 2:
What do y’all think?
May 2012
6 posts
I love Wil Wheaton
wilwheaton:
I think I don’t want to hear a single fucking thing from Erasure on my 80s Alternative Slacker station, and then they go and play the Erasure cover of ABBA’s Take A Chance On Me, and suddenly I’m dancing around the house like an idiot and I hate myself but also I love everything about the song and the dance and that I’m doing it.
5 tags
Phone woes
joshishollywood:
My phone battery is to the point where I technically do in fact have a functioning phone on me at all times and you can always reach me on it provided that I never make the fatal mistake of… I believe the word I’m searching for here is “using” it
This is the shape my iPhone is in, and I have finally come to the conclusion that a completely non-functional iPhone* is NOT, in...
1 tag
he bought you dinner, you do owe him sex
stfuconservatives:
jsohcable:
otherwise why did you go on the date? he didn’t do it to spend time with you, you’re a shrill dullard. he doesn’t give a shit about your AA hire career, he actually earned his position. he went on the date because he wants sex. you went on the date because you’re a conceited gold digger.
the revolution is coming ladies, less and less men are putting up with...
2 tags
I don't speak German and it's killing me
So tonight KH asked me why I have been so tense and jumpy the past few days. And I realized I’m so damned scared and frustrated.
At the end of this month, I will be finished taking the B1 course. The school may or may not offer a B2 course next month, it depends on how many people are interested.
But that’s not the point. The point is that by the end of B1, I should be conversant...
7 tags
The Continued Adventures of Shopping in Vienna on...
So we had stuff we needed, which meant today was time to make an expedition to a hardware store. We needed a fan, and we need a way to screen our windows so that m0053 (in particular) does not leap to his tiny kitty death in the street. Or, more likely, fall the two stories to his death. We made a temporary fix when I got here at the end of last summer, but it really only prevents sudden...
5 tags
Introducing the Austrian to American Food
So KH loves my mac’n’cheese (I admit, getting the Gouda, Raclette and Fontina in Europe gives it a bit of an edge), and my mashed potatoes. He “doesn’t like lime juice” but really likes my fajita-style burritos (the chicken is marinated overnight in lime juice). He thinks English Muffins and Rice-a-Roni are bland, but went gaga for my black bean and chorizo soup,...
April 2012
4 posts
3 tags
It's not just me -- The OTHER annoying person in...
So, yesterday I posted about 2 women (no longer) in my German course who annoyed me because they were immature and mean and behaved in stereotypical fashions which offended my feminism. And a dear friend said they probably also annoyed other people. Today I am writing about the OTHER Very Annoying Person in my class and how I found out that she does, indeed, annoy everyone.
Here’s the...
5 tags
I hate encountering people who are caricatures of...
I’m going to rant just a little bit, about something that is both annoying me and making me feel ashamed. There are these two women — friends — in my German class. I am guessing they are in their mid-20’s, but they ACT like stereotypical high school mean girls. They flirt with the cute boys, completely ignore the older (say, mid-50’s to mid-60’s) man and woman,...
Josh dings it again.
joshishollywood:
I’m gonna post about something that most people have long since stopped talking about out of sheer exhaustion, and I honestly can’t blame them, but it’s been sort of nagging me all day
So last night, quite a few people were talking about an application form on the Drexel University website where you could check off one of three options with respect to your gender: male, female...
1 tag
March 2012
3 posts
“When we tell stories about creativity, we tend to leave out this phase. We...”
– The Importance of Frustration in the Creative Process, (via wilwheaton)
2 tags
kbslvr:
“If you are a monster, stand up. If you are a monster, a trickster, a fiend, If you’ve built a steam-powered wishing machine If you have a secret, a dark past, a scheme, If you kidnap maidens or dabble in dreams Come stand by me. If you have been broken, stand up. If you have been broken, abandoned, alone If you have been starving, a creature of bone If you live in a tower, a dungeon, a...
February 2012
5 posts
3 tags
2 tags
Ball Wars
Two weeks ago, I started at a new physical therapist. For the exercise portion, I was required to bring slippers. No problem! I have slippers!
KH: No.
Me: What no? These are perfect!
KH: They will kick you out for being unhygienic and burn the slippers.
So, nothing for it, I must purchase new slippers. I found these:
My physical therapist ALSO thinks they are adorable.
However,...
1 tag
This is why I hope my blog never gets famous
machistado:
desukapital replied to your post: You’re so mind numbingly beautiful and I can only imagine how much more gorgeous you are irl. Do you ever wonder about whether guys masturbate to you? I bet they do.
WTF is this shit. WHAT. WHAT IS THIS.
You’re new. This is regular shit on this blog.
I can only find 220 & 320 grit paper. THIS WON’T DO ANY DAMAGE AT ALL.
Machistado, if it...
2 tags
I love this guy
joshishollywood:
Okay, so
I was waiting at the bus stop at Hopedale Mall because I didn’t want to walk home with my groceries
This dirty-looking fuck comes up and says something obnoxious to an older gentleman in the bus shelter, I wasn’t really listening but I think he was pretending to be mall security and was telling the guy he couldn’t smoke there
Then he waves at me and gestures for me...
January 2012
3 posts
5 tags
PIE!
So i recently discovered that there is a store here in Vienna called Bobby’s, that sells UK and US food products that are otherwise impossible to find. AND it’s only about a 20-minute walk from home, AND that walk goes through the Naschmarkt, another place which sells gourmet and/or hard-to-find ethnic foods.
But while I may have to go to the Naschmarkt for ground Coriander seed, I...
3 tags
WTF Tumblr?
It used to be that when I clicked “Customize” I for a whole bunch of options, “Info,” “Appearance,” “Theme,” etc. Now I get ONE. ”Theme.” And if I want to customize it, I have to go into the fucking HTML, rather than just pick — for example — a background color.
So you had something that was super-easy to use, and you...
New Template
I’m using a new tumblr template, this is a placeholder for now. I can’t easily change the background color to that hideous TOTALLY AWESOME fuchsia, so I am looking for one that is clean looking, and has an easily editable background.
In case you are wondering WHY I changed my template, even temporarily, it’s because I couldn’t find the damned date I posted something on my...
December 2011
8 posts
1 tag
3 tags
STFU, Sexists.: On Hugo Schwyzer →
unknowablewoman:
stfusexists:
dr—grumbles:
Out of all the men that have ever abused/raped me, many of them were addicted to one thing or another. It didn’t mean a damn thing when it came down to it. A lot of people in my life have been addicted to things and even more have had…
I can’t make it reblog the entire conversation, but as an addict, I am thrilled to know that my...
6 tags
NOT a doughnut.
KH came home tonight with some bags, and naturally, I inquired as to the contents.
KH: It’s something you have to try.
Me: OK!
I reach inside, and pull out this:
Me: It’s… a giant doughnut?
KH: NO! It’s NOT a doughnut. It’s a krapfen.
Me: ok. I mean, it looks like a giant jelly doughnut.
I take a bite, and it tastes… doughnutty.
Me: Honey?...
6 tags
All is not what it seems in Foreign
I made really great chicken salad. REALLY great. I used mostly this recipe, although I admit to loving Trader Joe’s Wine country chicken salad beforehand, and I was googling to find what the ingredients were in the dressing.
How is chicken salad best eaten? On crackers.
So I went to the grocery store to find crackers. The grocery stores here have a slightly different organizational...
“Imagine, if you will, a man who, as Speaker of the House, orchestrates the...”
– Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker. (via langer)
3 tags
Ice cream & brains.: "NOBODY CARES THAT YOU'RE A... →
prochoiceorfuckoff:
Okay.
I realise that there is probably a tiny percentage of girl gamers that like to point out that “omg I’m a girl and I play video games look!”, but I’ve never met a girl like that. Every girl I’ve met that plays video games is just like every other gamer.
And while a small amount of girl…
5 tags
Christmas Markets, Round 2, WITH PICTURES
Before I get started, let me add a couple of caveats:
I am not a professional photographer
I do not have professional photography equipment
It’s HARD to take pictures of lit-up stuff at night without professional photography equipment
My semi-pro-photographer Beloved did help me, but it took a while before I asked, so that’s why there is a sudden increase in picture quality
We...
3 tags
Just getting out some thoughts
farrahthesquid:
I remember clearly the day mom told 3-year-old me everyone grows up when I proclaimed matter-of-factly that I was simply going to be a little kid forever. I remember the knowledge sinking in, I remember bursting out in tears on the spot, I remember mom trying unsuccessfully to suppress her giggles as she scooped me up, kissed and consoled me and said reassuringly that it was...
November 2011
3 posts
5 tags
Dealing with Winter
So I am surprised to find I like the cold. I lived for twelve years in Boston, complaining every winter. However: I was drunk the whole time, and not dressed appropriately. My very dear friend once told me at that time that if I would just dress for it, winter could be as wonderful as any other season. And while I took her advice to heart (after all, I still remember it), and I have one or...
6 tags
Christmas Markets, Round 1, No Pictures
Note: I do apologize for the lack of pics, there will be another visit, and I will bring my camera. For some idea of the light show, I direct you to last year’s just-post-Christmas holiday pictures album. I also apologize in advance for overuse of the word “sparkly” but seriously, yo. It WAS.
So Vienna does not fuck around when it comes to Christmas. The entire city gets...
4 tags
The differences between German and English
So I was trying to explain to KH tonight WHY I felt that the German language required an entirely different way to think then English does. Here is an example of two sentences, one in English, one in a direct translation from German:
English: I want to go to the store in town with the sale with Jennifer on Wednesday at 11am
German: I want on Wednesday at 11am with Jennifer in town to the...
October 2011
4 posts
3 tags
Food vs. Dessert
So I have a problem. It’s not earthshaking, but it is real and does exist. Maybe y’all know how to fix it.
My problem is what is food vs. what is dessert. I have recently realized that my brain categorizes ANYTHING sweet as “dessert,” and not-sweet as “food.”
This leads to me FEELING like I have eaten a meal when I have eaten a bag of potato chips, and that...
8 tags
Street Safety
So pickpocketing is still alive and flourishing in Europe, and KH has taught me all kinds of ways to protect my stuff.
However, the less subtle method of “grab something out of someone’s hands and run away” is also in use.
The other day, KH was saying he was concerned that I carry my Kindle in my hands while I walk, and maybe I shouldn’t do that. I asked, VERY...
1 tag
Are we special, or just weird?: Words Is Fun, Here... →
joshishollywood:
Though considered obsolete, octopodes, as the plural form of octopus, is still correct, as is the more contemporary variant, octopuses. However, since the word octopus is derived from Greek, and not Latin, octopi is incorrect.
The little wooden block Christ on the cross is often depicted as standing on is referred to as asuppedaneum.
Although most often used as a malaprop...
4 tags
Cat Litter
So I found this cat litter here that I haven’t seen in the US (this does not mean it doesn’t exist there, but I never saw it because I was heading straight for the fresh step and not looking at anything else).
It’s silicon crystals, and works GREAT. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s soooooo much better. Absorbs smells like WOW: if it’s more than a couple...
September 2011
5 posts
2 tags
A Tale of Two Kitties, in One Act
Dramatis Personae:
Sophie, an aged beauty of a cat
m0053, a young, kittenish kitty
Siobhan, The human who serves them
Chorus enters, in front of the curtain.
Chorus: for the purposes of this show, Sophie does not care for peanut butter, and m0053 would eat ALL of it. This you must know.
Exuent Chorus.
Curtain raises on Siobhan, in kitchen, making peanut butter sandwich. Enter m0053,...
8 tags
SAVE THE SEAHORSES!
So every week, during our weekly grocery shopping, “we” buy chocolate — like water, coffee, and bread, it is a staple. KH has been known to look in the fridge and cabinets and say “we are out of chocolate.” However: The reason “we” is in quotes up there is that from the time of purchase until we run out, it is “my” chocolate. The fact that...
