List of Characters

Sure, the characters in my life and on this page aren't as complicated and difficult to keep track of as those in a Tolstoy novel... but they can be confusing for my Dear Readers nonetheless. Thus a list.

Over the course of this page, many characters have emerged... these characters come from various countries, various times in my life, and have a mixture of real and fictitious names.

This list has been alphabetized for (1.) your convenience and (2.) my desire to avoid creating or suggesting any type of character hierarchy.


Aunt Jane: my crazy retired rock star aunt who's now a massage therapist.

Beatrice: a lady at church who's helped me overcome my Biomuell-phobia. She's always very positive and encouraging.

Beck: my Canon co-worker. We work as a team, and together we're invincible. Take THAT, evil corporate world.

Biff: a friend from choir who sings a strange mixture of tenor and bass... and always remains within the right key.

Bizarro Mom: one of the first people I met here in Germany. In many ways, she reminds me of my own mother... just slightly more hyper and outrageous. She's helped and encouraged me tremendously, and for some reason, I've become rather attached to her.

Charlotta Louisa: Bizarro Mom's youngest daughter, who is absolutely adorable and hilarious. She seems to live in a peaceful and happy dream world of sorts.

Christiana: a dear friend (and one of the only people my age in these parts) from church and choir. She comes across as pretty shy and reserved, but she definitely has a wild side.

Constantine: my rockstar/ musician/ theater boi obsession... I heard him in concert and, um, touched his hand last summer. I swear I'm not a groupie (maybe cause we're on different continents now?).

Cruiser: Eleanor's hubby, a guitar-and-bass-guitar-playing-fiend, and one of the church Elders.

Eleanor: another lady at church who's been an incredible help and encouragement. Here are some Eleanor facts: spent some time studying in the States, is a very good painter, always wears green or orange, is an ebay-freak, is good about correcting my German (as well as English), and is quite creative. And she sees everything.

Emita/Emilie: my sister who's currently studying Communication at Texas A&M University (my alma mater!). She's the most sentimental/emotional of the four of us. I can always count on her for a good talk and a postcard. :)

Eve: my smoking buddy and former BenQ colleague. She's a very positive thinker, which is always encouraging.

Fernando: our piano teacher (be it classic, pop or jazz!).

Fränzchen: my co-worker I work closest with... we even have our own song, which we established during the last budget-planing period: "Help" by the Beatles. He also brings me chocolate when he goes on vacation to Switzerland.

Gladys: my friend from Great Britain... we enjoy analyzing and mocking one another's English.

Helmut: an actual person, as opposed to the fictional Helmut everyone in Austin jokes about. We met in choir, and he likes to talk, sing, talk, hang out on the balcony, talk, write music, and talk. Oh, and he talks a lot. In Schwaebisch.

Huckleberry: Mariposa's brother who's good at repairing cars and other things, painting, drawing (especially Jungle Book Characters), making weird/random cakes, and playing the ukelele. He's always so laid-back and relaxed; it's great. Here's his photo blog: dertobidertobi.

Jen: a Texas HCBC colleague who taught me to crochet, and who now shares an office with Shelby!

Karen: the greatest middle school youth group leader of all time!

Katinka: my sister who's working as a Nurse in Washington, DC. I'm super proud of her! She's very calm and has catch phrases such as "it'll all work out." And it does. Here's her myspace: katherine0319.

Kenny: my birth father. He's crazy... a Marine turned business man turned pastor. We're very much alike in everything from our thinking to our struggles to our hand-writing.

Laura: my positive-thinking-upbeat-angelic Alter Ego.

Leo: contrary to popular belief, Leo is not an actual person. He's an online dictionary who's somehow turned into an imaginary love interest. Kind of like Erik Westbrooke.

Little Rascal: Eleanor's pesky son who prances around wreaking havoc and playing the banjo. He's also an incredible drummer.

Liz: my old roomie's younger sister, who's also one of my dearest friends.

Lizzy: Eleanor's CRAZY, chatty, dancing, adorable, hyper, quadri-lingual daughter... who's going to be spending a year in the States. *sniff*

Mamita: my birth mother. If I end up 10% of the woman she is, then I'll be satisfied. If anyone's the Proverbs 31 woman, it's my Mamita.

Mariposa: a friend who recently returned to Germany after spending a year in Mexico (and visiting Texas multiple times!). She's kind of like the "Mom" of the youth group, and she likes Dr. Pepper. But now she's gone again... studying in Southern Germany. *tear*

Marketing Guy: a crazy Canon co-worker who can pretty much turn the drabbest of situations into funny ones. He's one of the easiest and most entertaining people to be around.

Maya: a friend from youth group who's known for talking so extremely fast that it's often difficult to follow, for making funny faces, for taking long walks, and for trying to condition people.

Michael Mustermann: a co-worker I'm not sure whether I should address formally ("Sie") or informally ("du").

Mr. E: a teacher and car-fanatic/genius. He's the one who helped me find Scaramouche, and who's helped me with the driver's license drama.

Mr. P: Bizarro Mom's husband, one of the main church leaders/elders, and one of the calmest and most peaceful of people. Unless he's wrestling with the guys... then it can get violent.

Neal: our local flute-playing progressive rocker.

Sarah: my childhood best friend. I have so many fond and hilarious memories with her...

Scaramouche: my car, whose name was inspired by Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (because her license plate happens to have the letters 'QN' in it).

Shelby: another Texas colleague from HCBC, to whom I dedicate each and every Seinfeld quote.

Sidekick: Sound Girl's Trusty Accomplice (yup, that'd be me)

Sound Girl: The Keeper of the High School Sound System

Stalker Boy: my ex-stalker

Stephanie: my crazy A&M friend... a group of us used to stalk our German professor and wreak havoc in class. We've also conducted various investigations and such together. Muah. Her myspace page: steponme008.

Sydney: Bizarro Mom's son. This kid never ceases to fascinate me - he's an improv-piano-playing, physics-learning, ever-observing, computer-operating, website-creating, baptismal-building, hobby-eating, English-speaking, question-asking, in-Aachen-living, Engineering-studying genius.

Teddy: another BenQ colleague... he's very warm, laid-back and optimistic. Until it comes to Schalke (the local soccer team) games.

The Commander: a co-worker I'm particularly frightened of, and to whom I give my monthly reports and forecasts.

Tiny: my baby sister who's thinking about studying Spanish and spending time in Spain. She's crazy and does weird things. Her myspace is: barb

Tony Blair: my international political crush.

Volli: a colleague who's been particularly helpful and encouraging. I can always depend on him for a smile and a Roland Kaiser-esque Schnulze song.


This list will be updated as needed. Please let me know if you think I've forgotten someone.