Sisters

It's the Return of the Barber Girls! :)


And it's amazing how immature we can be when we're finally together again. Fun times. :)

Stupid visa drama

I feel like I've forsaken my blog... I guess it's because quite a bit has been going on, both in my head and in my little world, and I've spent more time thinking and talking than publishing my life stories in the internet. But whatever. Whatever, I tell you. It's all under control.

Why does drama always happen to me? Last night, a friend was here and she was looking at my visa. The conversation was so typical of Life Abroad in Mary's World:

Friend: "Nice Visa."
Mary: "Thanks."
Friend: "Hey, you know your living permit expired two months ago."
Mary: "Crap. What?"
Friend: "Yeah, October 2008."
Mary: "I knew I was forgetting something."

So of course I'm worried that when I LEAVE THE COUNTRY IN THREE DAYS, they're not going to let me back in cause my freaking permit expired. So I spent half the morning frantically calling the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trying to get stuff straightened out. And now I have to drive to Wesel on Friday morning, the day before I fly. Why me? But at least my life is rarely boring.

By the way, I'm not really a Financial Analyst... I'm a Ninja with firey poisonous darts.

Books and Beauty

So I discovered the Library at the Duisburg-Essen University... it's like a little island of Paradise in a harsh, cold, world. Nah, not really, I'm actually doing surprisingly manically well. And I have a book of Hopkins poetry! Adrenaline rush! Here's an excerpt from Pied Beauty.

Glory be to God for...
...All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

For those who care, my all-time favourite poem is also by him (thus the book choice): The Windhover.

Chocolate!

So... I found chocolate in my mailbox today and I don't know who it's from! There was no note, nothing. But it was definitely some of my favourite chocolate - the kind with strawberry yoghurt, mmm. :) I've already asked several people but no one seems to know anything. I think I have an Admirer. Or someone who wants to poison me.

Perspectives

This is one of my new favourite pictures - it's Maurice and me renovating (or not) at Mariposa's. I call it "Resting after a hard day's work in Essen." But he called it "The Shoot-out." It all depends on how you look at it.

I'd kind of like to change some stuff around in my appartment... for example... painting a Monet mural on the wall, or painting "clouds" on the ceiling.

Politics and Pageants

I think the US Presidential Elections are the men's version of the Miss America Beauty Pageant. If women strive to be beautiful and loved, then Miss America is the Ultimate: she's loved, she's lovely, she's wanted, and all this on an official national level, sealed with a diamond-studded-princess-tiara. What more could a girl want? And if men strive for respect and admiration, then which man wouldn't want to be the President? After all, it's the highest, most respected position in one of the most influential countries in the world.

So, men and women of America, let the competition begin. For women, the most important part of the competition is looking good, whether it be in an every-day-dress, an evening gown, or even no clothes at all. This, my Dear Readers, is the message we want to send our future generation of women. For men, the most important part of the competition is the debate, and out-witting your opponent. You don't even have to say anything intelligent or relevant yourself... as long as you keep the debate going and make your opponent look like an idiot every now and then, then you're doing your job. And you're manly and respected.

I've never been that big into politics... which is odd, because I'm quite the Idealist. Maybe it's because I believe that it's the every-day-people and the little things that make the real, tangible difference, and not some politician. Sure, a politician has influence in the long-run and in the Big Picture... but I'm so trapped in my own Little World that it's sometimes hard to see the Big Picture until years later. Or maybe it's because I'm a frustrated, pessimistic Idealist.

Somebody, stop me

There's been so much going on... life and people and work and blah blah blah. I don't even know where to start.

In a book I just finished, the author described the difference between how men and women think. She used the analogy of a computer screen and various open programs or windows. A woman, for example, simultaneously thinks about multiple things - she'll have various "windows" open, and is unable to close certain windows. A man, on the other hand, tends to have one window open at a time. He'll think about one issue, close the window, and then move on to the next issue. In this sense, I'm 120% woman... and the problem is that I currently have one or two windows that I simply cannot close. It's as if one or two major windows have been opened, and they're crowding everything else in my brain out of the way. And I can't shut them. And I'm distracted and unable to concentrate.

I was talking with a guy friend, and he said that he's able to stop thinking about something, even if it's important to him or it's bothering him or it's unresolved. I'm jealous. I need a brain transplant. If I hadn't lost so much money in investments (*bleeping* financial crisis), maybe I could even afford one.

My Onion Life

I feel like I'm leading multiple lives with multiple identities in multiple dimensions. Sometimes it's kind of fun and interesting, but other times I wish I were more normal and stable. Though in the last several months I've started accepting (and even liking) my own weirdness. That's important.

It's not like a Glass Onion Life... more like a Coloured Onion. I think I need to discover a new colour.

New York from the Ferry

So... which is your favourite photo?


It's real-colour, for the Realists among my Dear Readers. What you see is what you get, you perceive and accept the world as it is, and Imagine is nothing more than a dusty old John Lennon song.



Behold, sepia, arguably for the slightly eccentric, misunderstood, and surprising personalities. It's modern, but old-fashioned. It's almost dark, but not quite. It has a certain beauty to it. It's not sure who it is, and what it's place in the world is.



Ah, the classic black-and-white... it's dark, obscure, foreboding, somber. It can turn a normal city into Gotham City. There's no hope, no escape, no peace, no beauty.



And now, for the Dreamers, the Idealists, the Visionaries among you, I present the tungsten effect. It's Reality on Steroids, it's a manic episode, it's seeing colour in a drab world, it's smiling amidst tears, it's hearing music in a deathly silence.



I think I'm losing my mind..........................

Library of Congress Quotes

Yes, it's 4 in the morning and yes, I'm having trouble sleeping.

And as I can't think of anything better to do at this wee hour, I decided to post some of my favourite quotes I found on the walls of the Library of Congress.

"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man."

"How charming is divine philosophy."

"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers."

"Art is long and time is fleeting."

"They are never alone that are accompanied by noble thoughts."

Periwinkle

I feel like there's Beauty in the World again. And Colour. And Goodness. And Hope. Maybe there always is, to a certain extent, and I just so often fail to see it.

A few Vacation Pics

Here are a few favourite pictures from Washington, DC and New York City. :)


Here's Kat with her grocery-shopping-cart, which is very practical given the fact that she doesn't have a car.



We had to visit the Capitol Building, of course...



This would be the Washington Monument, at the end of the National (non-shopping) Mall.



This was taken in the Senator of South Dakota's office... one of Kat's friends works there, so we went by and had lunch in the Cafeteria under the Capitol Building where all the Senators and Representatives eat. I felt important. And I felt like screaming "bomb!" just to see what would happen.



Yup, you've got it... Hillary R. Clinton's office. Not that I'm necessarily a fan... it was just neat being able to peak into her office.



It's my favourite Nurse! :) Yup, my ER Nurse Sister... I'm super proud of her.



Our childhood best friends came to visit us, which was great. It's a miracle we're all alive, and not in prison.



The main room of the Library of Congress was outlined in paintings with clever quotes... I didn't know our country had such an intellectual humour. This was one of my favourites: "They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts."



We went to NY City for the day... this was taken around 2 in the morning at Times Square. Craziness.



Mary Poppins! On Broadway! Life doesn't get much better than that.



Aww, sisters.



It's Mama L. Or Lady Liberty. Is that disrespectful?



New York from the Ferry. :)


I also took a million pictures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art... but I think I'll post those in a different post...

New glasses yeah yeah yeah

As requested... here's a photo of me with my lovely new red-brown glasses. :)


I think they're great - they're the perfect balance between terribly boring and utterly outrageous, which is what I am as well. Maurice, who helped me pick them out, thinks they say "Hi, I'm shy and lack self-confidence"... which... I'm not sure if I agree with or not, given the fact that he almost convinced me to get a pair of knall-green glasses. Red-brown is daring enough for me at this point in my life.

Why don't I live in Texas? Let me count the reasons...

... one of them being the conversation I just had with Mamita about Hurricane Ike evacuations on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Mary: "Mom, I've been hearing about Texans having to evacuate... is that only on the coast or are you guys having to evacuate too? What's going on?"
Mom: "No, we're fine. On the coast, it's a Level 4 storm, but in Austin it'll only be Level 2."
Mary: "Meaning there will be stormy tornado-like weather? Are you guys going to be ok?"
Mom: "The worst that could happen is that windows will be shattered and trees will be destroyed... we might have to take cover in the bathroom but I'm sure everything will be fine."
Mary: "Em..."

Seriously, folks. If you're having to lay in a bathtub with a mattress over yourself, to avoid injuries from shattered glass, then everything is NOT FINE. I hate bad weather.

Now the ultimate question... what's worse: bad weather or the Finanzamt*? Though if I were in Washington, DC, I wouldn't have to deal with either...


*the German Ministry of Finance

I hate being sick...

...and it's even worse when my Mom is on a different continent.

I realized how serious it'd become when a friend came by with some chicken soup and decided to help himself to the chocolate I had sitting on the counter. We talked for a while and it wasn't until after he left that I realized I hadn't eaten a single piece.

You know you're physically sick when you pass on afternoon chocolate.

And you know you're psychologically sick when you stop playing the piano.

And you know it's about time for the Employee Committment Survey at work when the boss is consistantly exaggeratedly nice.

And you know you need to get a life when all you do is read about Narnia and wonder if you could ever make it there yourself.

And you know... nah... there are some thing you simply can't know.

Lohnsteuererklaerungskacke 2007

So I got the information from my 2007 tax returns this week and I'm PEEVED. The government is expecting me to pay an additional 1,600 Euros in taxes. That's a crap load and it's ridiculous. For the first time in my life, I understand why people get married for tax breaks. I've started combing the list of people I know to see who I could ask to marry me (only on paper, of course, as there are currently no actual potentials). It's really not a bad idea when you think about it. I want to have the kind of marriage where we'll still be face-booking eachother 50 years later (cause we'll probably end up living in different countries), and when I ask myself why I decided to marry him, the timeless answer will be: to move to a more economical tax class. Now that's love.

I have to pay the money; there's no getting around it.

But don't worry, folks, I've started developing what I'd like to call my Sweet Unemployment Plan of Revenge on the Evil Socialist Government. Or the SUPRESG for short. Before leaving the country (which I'll probably inevitably eventually do), I'm going to quit my job, file unemployment, and live for a few years on unemployment money. I view my taxes for social welfare as a sort of short-term personal vacation fund. Look what socialism has done to me! It's turned this once-motivated and hard-working young lady into a ticked-off-coniving brat who's planning to sit on her butt for two years and do nothing just because she probably could. Seriously, though: the government is taxing my hard work for all it's worth so that other people who don't feel like working can bum around all day (believe me, this happens more often than you think). So, before I bail out, I'm going to get some of that money back, take a nice, long "vacation" and milk as much unemployment money from the government as possible. The government even pays rent when you're on a certain level of social welfare. Sign me up.

Maybe I'm extra peeved because I've been working sooo much this week. After working an average of 14-hour days this week, and then receiving a letter saying the government's taxing even more of my hard-earned money, I'm just having a hard time dealing.

Big Black Brass Band

Here's a clip of a brass street band in Dupont Circle (where Kat lives) in Washington, DC. They were fabulous live. :)

Back in the Land of Germans

Well, after 12,147 miles (19,549 kilometers), 7 US States, 2 art museums, 4 of my favourite Monet paintings, 1 Broadway Show, 10+ episodes of Arrested Development with Kat, 3 raspberry Margharitas made by Emita, 5 books*, 1 hand-made quilt from Mamita, 897.08 dollars worth of credit card bills, 3 Metro tickets (2 in DC and one in NY), multiple shopping trips**, 4 gorgeous antique-ish rings from Mamita, an encouraging talk with Kenny... *tries to think of more things she can count* ... I made it back, safe and sound and happy, to the Fatherland.

*Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Lewis), Die letzten Kinder von Schewenborn (Pausewang), Infidel (Ali), The Silver Chair (Lewis), Urlaub auf Saltkrokan (Lindgren)

**there's some stuff you simply can't find in Germany... like a bottle of 500 Ibuprofen tablets for a mere 9 USD. And I thought Amstelveen, Holland was the Cheap Drug Capital of the World.

Back in the US of A

As most of you know, I've made it back alive and well, this time with no Flight Drama. It's a miracle.

Kat picked me up at the airport on Monday evening, and we rode the Metro back to her appartment. :) On Tuesday, we took a tour of the Capitol Building and went to lunch at the underground House of Representatives cafeteria. It was freaking awesome. Then I saw Hillary Clinton's office... not that I necessarily agree with her views... it was all just so interesting. A friend of Kat's works for the South Dakota Senator, which is how we got in. :)

We also went to the Library of Congress... there wasn't that much open to the public there - just the main entrance area and one glassed-in study room that you had a sort of aerial view of. And then we stopped by the Native American Museum to see some of the beadwork they'd done. Lovely.

Yesterday, we got together with our childhood best friends, who currently live in Virginia. It was great seeing them again and reminiscing on our criminal past. :) I remember being completely devastated when they moved... but I guess it was for the best... if they had stayed in Texas, we probably would have ended up in a juvenile delinquent center. Or we would have brilliantly escaped from one. But as the mature grown-ups that we of course now are, we strolled through the Botanical Gardens, saw the National Archives* and then went to a Greek restaurant, all without destroying anything, manipulating anyone, or making idiots of ourselves. Fun times. I love you guys. :)

Today Katherine has to work, which is why I'm taking some time to write. I went to the National Gallery of Art earlier today and it was absolutely fascinating. They have two of my favourite Monet paintings there (I'm not sure whether they're part of the permanent collection or not) and I seriously started crying when I walked into the room. One of my favs is the Houses of Parliament at Sunset, which I ironically wrote about a while back. It's the first painting. :)

What really surprised me is the fact that the paintings weren't framed in glass... they were framed, of course, but it was all open - you could touch the canvas if you wanted (and if the security guards weren't watching).

Well, that's all for now...


*the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights being the most interesting

To pack or not to pack...

... that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against an empty suitcase."

Have I mentioned that I hate packing?

Tomorrow I'm leaving for the States! I still haven't grasped this simple fact... maybe because I'm used to only going home over Christmas. It's weird. I'll be in Washington, DC with Kat for a week, and then in Texas for a week. Kat's also going to fly to Texas, meaning my whole family will be together again! This is a rare occurence nowadays...

I always get in a weird mood before flying. When I was a kid, I used think things like, "When I grow up, I'm going to live in Europe and fly back and forth and bring my laptop on the plane. I'll be so cool." And now I'm sick of flying back and forth. After so much drama, flying has lost its romantic, exciting side, and it's a pain and I dread it and sometimes I feel like I'm walking into my own coffin. I need a private jet. Syd promised to build a landing pad on top of my appartment... I've already starting looking into jets on ebay.

Ok, back to packing...

... and tomorrow I see Kat! Sisters unite!