Willkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome. C'mon in. - Lili Von Schutpp in Blazing Saddles

My next level of German class started today.  Overall, Im in the same class of as before with some of my friends but with the addition of 4 new students - Japan, Mallorca, Bulgaria and Russia.  No Americans.  It's like looking for the White Whale in Moby Dick...call me Ismael...ANYWAY, B came home today but had to leave for London and will be back tomorrow evening.  We saw each other for 5 minutes (on my way in the door, he, on his way out - direct from the airport).  The weather is COLD and Halloween is this Friday.  We are not going to the Halloween Party previously mentioned in my other post.  Instead we will drive (meaning I will drive) to Wiesbaden to visit our friends Anders and Anastasia for a long weekend.  Its another holiday here in Germany this Saturday, which means, all stores will be closed Saturday AND Sunday which means there will be a mad dash of people trying to get their shopping done on Friday...time to get the hell out of Dodge.  It wont be any different being in Wiesbaden as it is still in Germany but perhaps we can go to the outlet mall in Metzingen...I will have to check the internet...

Why don't you take your PhD and stick it up your A-S-S! - Uncle Ben in Accepted

So today was the last day and it ended well.  We had a small party to celebrate the small milestone and to say good bye to others as they will not continue on with the classes.  We're the suckers.  Others are coming in to join our class as I assume they placed high enough in the placement test to be placed there.  The list of new students was posted on the bulletin board and by the look of it, there are no Americans.  Oh well...

I have to go shopping tomorrow for groceries and take the car with me.  Ive dreaded having to drive in the city as it is a little difficult to navigate but thankfully the car has a navigational system.  The worst part is that I buy a lot of groceries at one time.  That is not normal for Germans, who go every other day to ensure their food is fresh.  I look very American walking in the supermarket with a small cart bursting with food.  Vasteful Amerikan!  Get out!  Sorry Stormtrooper but I have neither the time or inclination to be going to the grocery store all the time...

"Chris! Chris! Chris!", "I'M BUSY!", "I'm busy too stupid dick!" - Samantha James in Just Friends

So I inserted my foot into my mouth last night.  I went out to dinner with the American friend of B's.  Dominic brought his friend Martin to dinner.  As we were sitting down, I casually asked where Peter was (Peter being Dominic's boyfriend), Martin pipes up that second wives are not allowed tonight as he is the first wife and is slowly dawned on me that Martin is THE Martin who Dominic used to live with.  Well hell, how the hell would I know?  It's not everyday that you would bring your ex-boyfriend to your own birthday dinner...SHIT...then they proceeded to argue in rapid fire German for the remainder of the meal.  I should have just ordered popcorn and watched it unfold in front of me.  I felt kind of bad but oh well...

Part one of school ends tomorrow.  And Im so behind with studying.  I have to really bone up on my German to ensure that I can keep up with part 2...we're planning a little party during class tomorrow so I decided to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch.  For all of you haters out there...SHUT IT...I can bake something like that.  I couldnt think of anything American to bring to the potluck other than going to the McDonalds in the train station and ordering a bag full of burgers.  B comes home on Monday and it cant be a day too soon.  I am bored to tears being alone.  In spite of myself, Ive been hooked on Gilmore Girls and have been watching it religiously and Im hooked on this show called Property Ladder from the UK wherein this lady who used to be a property developer advises potential property developers on how best to market, rehab and sell their properties...I know...full life I lead eh?  Next time, I'll lie and tell you all about the places I've been the champagne I've drunk and the movie starts Im hobnobbing with!

BTW, We were in Belgium three weeks ago and finally bought a dining room table!  It's an English Regency style table that can seat 10 people and is about 110 years old and is supposed to be delivered soon.  One by one Im starting to get this place into shape.  Im trying to turn this into a SHOWPLACE!

"If we get anymore white people in here, it's going to be a suburb! "- Motormouth Maybelle, Hairspray

Germans are busybodies.  I was walking home this afternoon and went into my building.  There were two older ladies talking in the lobby and I walked in without using the key as it was already open.  I greeted them Guten Tag and the next question I got was Machen Sie hier?  What are  you doing here.  It took me a moment to realize that they were talking to me so I said, Ich lebe hier.  I live here...and they were all...SORRY!  Bitches, whatever, mind your own damn business. 

Im having dinner tonight with a "friend" who is having a birthday.  I cant consider him a friend as he rubs me the wrong way and whenever we meet, it is all about ME ME ME ME ME...and my problems.  I  wouldnt have gone but he ran into me at the trainstation on my way home and he cornered me.  The  only redeeming quality he has is that he is an American but he's been living here for so long that when I speak to him in my normal cadence, he doesnt seem to understand me so I have to talk a little slower.  Whats the point then?  He's B's friend not mine and Ive told him numerous times that I didnt care for his company...oh well...I'll have to bite the bullet and go just so I wont be called a bitch behind my back.  The Expat community here is small so once you get a reputation, no invites come along...soooo high school

I voted today at the Consulate.  Its McCain all the way....PSYCH!  If I have to see Caribou Barbie in office for the next 4 years I will have to burn my passport.  School was ok today but I arrived late as Ive been suffering from a severe case of insomnia for the past few day which has kept me up till 2 in the morning.  I woke up so late that I didnt have time to take a shower.  EWWWW...so Im going to pull a Karen Silkwood right now and scrub this day away from me...

"Unfortunately, our Don Juan is moving with the speed of a Special Olympics hurdler." - Katyrn in Cruel Intentions

I am alive and well folks.  Im terribly sorry for the lack of posts.  I have been very busy...no wait, thats a lie.  I have NOT been busy.  Actually, I have been in a funk for the past few weeks and not really in the mood to commit my thoughts onto paper (or the computer).  B has been traveling up a storm lately.  He was in Moscow for a few days and last Friday, left for Boston for a conference.  He doesnt get back until the 27th.  I made a list of things for him to buy for me while he's back in the Good Ole USA...

Onion Soup Mix

Cans of Spaghetti-Os

American Magazines - GQ, Domino, Details, Town & Country...what the hell did you expect Sports Illustrated and Guns and Ammo?

Excedrin Migraine pills

and various DVD's of movies that I didnt get to watch while I was still living in the US and no chance in hell will I ever find it here...

Early presidential voting started yesterday for expats, so I will haul my ass to the consulate to get that down.  A lot of my classmates are very interested in the outcome of our elections and ask me if I have I voted, who I am voting for, etc.  They also ask me a lot of questions about our voting process.  Something, shamefully to say, I am not very familiar with.  I know we have Electoral Colleges but Im not sure how that works. (Denise can you pipe in?).  I believe we should just have a popular vote system or in case of a tie, a celebrity death match.  I can just picture Caribou Barbie (Palin) in a ring filled with Jello...

School has been ok.  It is our last week until I go to the next level.  We had an oral test yesterday wherein each of us is placed in a hot seat, the teacher gives us a topic and all the other students ask each of us questions pertaining to the topic.  My topic was food.  So classmates asked me Where I like to eat, what my favorite foods are, if I cook, what I hate to eat etc...well, one of my Arab classmates kept asking me this question and I didnt understand it so I kept asking him to repeat the question - because a) he stutters when hes excited, b) he used the wrong verb so the questions didnt make sense, and c) his pronunciation is HORRIBLE. And he was getting agitated that I didnt understand him... Finally someone told me the right verb and I was able to answer the question.  It flustered me.  Well folks you can guess what fucked up bitchy thing I did...when it was his turn to get questioned (his topic was free time/hobbies), I asked him:  Wer ist deine liebling schauspieler oder schauspielerin? (Who is your favorite actor or actress).  He looked at me blankly and started stuttering and didnt understand my question.  I looked at the teacher and asked her if my question was correct and she said it was...so he looked at me and asked what Liebling was and I had to answer him in German only and he forgot what schauspieler was so I had  a fun time making him squirm.  I am such a cunt...LOL...BTW, his other favorite pastime is reading political books. Im going to have to keep an eye out if he ever comes to class with a big trench coat and a backpack...

I have not been keeping up with the entertainment news in the US lately but I recently heard about Madonna getting divorced...LOL...she said its the most painful thing she has ever been through...Yeah lady, more painful than Shanghai Surprise?  Im still trying to figure out how to get a refund for that movie and that is over 20 years ago...