Okay, I give up

I've tried and tried and tried to get a blog that is hosted by Tripod, still using Blogger as a publisher. But apparently this time the tried and true "Guess, Test, and Revise" technique just isn't going to cut it. I guess I'll just have to wait until I either learn more about web publishing, or find someone else to help me that does. ::sigh:: Oh well. At least I can change the colors and links on THIS blog.

Lo siento, mis amigos

Hey dudes, sorry I've been MIA for so long. I've been busy doing highly important things like watching TV, hanging out with friends and family, and procrastinating in any way possible to avoid cleaning my room--in fact, that's why I'm blogging right now. Anyway, I love my blog, but it's REALLY in need of major revamping. I'm not quite sure how much it's going to involve yet, but I'm thinking a total reformatting is in order. I'll see if I can keep this same site and everything, but it might be easier to start a new one, as sad as that would be. We shall see in time. That time hopefully being in the next few days. I'll keep ya posted ;)

Sexy At Any Size

Isn't it nice to know that Fredericks of Hollywood supports men and women of all shapes and sizes? I know I'm assured by their catchy little slogan. And for all of those who might disagree, shame on you. I mean, geez, it's just a coincidence that everyone in the catalogue is thin, ripped, stacked and well-packaged.

I'm kicking out fiercely at the world around me...what went wrong?

Tonight I received an email that shocked me. It was from one of my former students, telling me that she tried committing suicide. Her reason? Because she it's almost Valentine's Day and no boys like her. And a boy that she does like just ignores her. AGGH!!

What do you say to something like that? I tried as best I could to write something inspiring for her. How do you tell a 14-year-old that she's not alone in the world? That there's much more to life than boys? That romantic love isn't the most urgent and important thing?

She's a unique and sensitive girl, and her difficulties getting along with others socially doesn't help matters. But God, how do you tell a girl that all of the hurt and pain of being a teenager will pass? How can you tell her that you understand what she is going through? That you've felt those feelings but worked through it and moved on?

I remember those days in middle school, when I had crush after crush on impossible guys who couldn't have cared less. The other girls (aside from a couple close friends) would make matters worse by picking at my faults and insecurities. It's a terrible age. My body was developing, yet it was years before I was really comfortable with my form. And there's so much pressure SO MUCH PRESSURE to be attractive, have a boyfriend, and be a part of the crowd. Those pressures have probably even grown since then, now that young people are being introduced into sexuality sooner and sooner.

But we can't blame society, we can't blame THEM. It just doesn't do any good that way. We've got to work with what we have, help the kids that need our help. Get them involved, get them understanding their potential, get them making goals in working towards those dreams they fear are unattainable. And remind them that family, friends, counselors, and teachers...they all care; they all want to help.

UGH, but does all of that sound like bullshit to a 14-year-old? Can one email from one older friend make any difference at all--make her feel even a tiny bit better? I hope so.

So don't expect to see me sleeping in my bed...

Because I'm up doing some much needed organizing in my room. I simply can't stand it any more. I'm going to clean this dang thing even if it means staying home all dang weekend. ::sigh:: And it will probably take all weekend. But I've got to start somewhere, right?

Where does this sudden burst of cleaning enthusiasm come from? 1) There's nothing worthwhile to watch on TV. 2) I'm kind of tired of my DVDs and VHS tapes right now. 3) My parents are boring and went to bed early. 4) I did'nt feel like getting out of my work clothes today to go out with Shelly or play video games over at my brother's place (he just bought BG2 for Xbox). And 5) My room is so annoyingly messy that I don't enjoy spending time in it. That was the main reason.

I mean, how am I supposed to have the ambition to sit and do some writing, blogging, or scrapbooking down here if I can't stand spending more time down here than my nocturnal activities require? It's like when I lived in EC--I just couldn't get myself to sit down and do homework if there was straightening to be done in my room. Strange, hm? Who'd have thought that I of all people could get annoyed by a messy room? My mother certainly has a hard time believing it. Hey, it's gotta get messy before it gets clean. That's just the way it is. Take my word for it.

Como se dice "I forgot how to speak Spanish coherently?"

As some of you know, I took 4 years of Spanish classes in high school (ncluding 2 years of "Honors Spanish"), earned a membership into the Spanish National Honors Society, AND took 1 year of university level Spanish classes. Well, let me tell you...that just really didn't mean jack when I was trying to actually hold a conversation with fluent Spanish-speakers.

Yeah, I was warned by my high school Spanish teacher that if you don't regularly speak the second language, you'll lose the most of it within the first year. After that, it's a slow decline. And now that it's almost 4 years since my last Spanish class, I struggle even with the most basic of nouns, verbs and conjugations. For instance, today I when asked if I was married I answered that I was only a little tired. Hey, it doesn't help that loud machines are running in the background.

But it's cool cuz some of the workers are making an effort to talk with me, showing great patience with my horrible Spanish. There are a couple workers that actually speak fluent English and they talked with me a little too. If the conversations keep going, maybe I'll actually regain some of my lost language skills. If anything, it made stuffing boxes a little more bareable AND after only 3 hours of brain-wracking, I remembered how to say "to sing."

We are living in an Imperial world, and I am an Imperial girl...

Come on, sing it with me! Okay, so this little spoof of a song has nothing to do with this blog entry, except that I was thinking of possible lyrics for such a song while today at work I was mindlessly filling boxes with exfoliating and moisturizing sea salt bath crystals packages (say that 5 times fast). I think Weird Al and I should could come up with a good one. Of course, knowing the excessive Star Wars fans out there, I'm sure that such a song already exists.

Now, on to the topic at hand..."I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!" Yes, I'm totally psyched that I'll be driving to MN tomorrow after work. No work on Friday for me, thanks to a little "appointment" I have. Tee hee hee. But hey, I didn't even have to fib--all I said was that I need to get to an appointment in MN on Friday, which is totally true: Tricia put me in her date book :) So I have an appointment to get down on my b-day! Yay for me turning 23! Then I'lll officially be older than dirt--according to some circles.

And it looks like a night at GZ is in order for Thursday night unless something else comes up. You know what that means ;) I'm thinking short, I'm thinking black, I'm thinking zippered....in short, I'm thinking totally hot. Can't imagine it? or maybe you just would rather not imagine it :P Or maybe you would ;) What can I say, it's "Bondage Night" and though I'm not really into the whole dominatrix and porn thing, dressing up in funky, sexy, stylin' outfits and dancing the night away with great friends is my idea of fun :)

So, see you on the dance floor! Or, if "Bondage Night" at wonderful club Ground Zero isn't your thing, then you can always just wish me a happy birthday and I guess that will be alright...for now ;) Now to figure out what the heck is going to match that snazzy black skirt I bought in London....

Early to bed, early to rise...make me vomit

Tomorrow I get to start work at a packaging plant, but this time I get to FILL boxes instead of make them. Yippee. Eh, it's a job. And thankfully, it's temporary. Despite my intense dislike for getting up before 8am, I suppose getting up and being at work from 7-3 will be good for me. Especially since I haven't exactly accomplished much in the last week aside from cooking now and then. My room's still a hole, and I have plenty of projects I should be doing. At least after tomorrow I'll have an excuse ;) Wish me luck, friends!

Okay, bear with me

I'm trying to update this blog, which is much in need of an overhaul. Pink was good for a while, and I liked the various hues, but I'm sorry, enough is enough of the pink theme. Time to move on. Unfortunately, blogger has crappy templates, so I'm not going to mess with that much yet. Eventually, I'd like to see about getting my site hosted by Tripod so I can use more pictures. But first I have to figure out how to do that without losing all of my shit. So far, I've just lost the ONE PICTURE on this dang site by trying to put up a different one. ::sigh:: Eventually I'll get it figured out.

Top Ten Reasons It's Good to Be Home

10. TV and VCR--can you say "Movies!!!"
9. Driving anywhere, anytime.
8. Sleeping in.
7. Free food.
6. Sleeping in.
5. My computer :)
4. Sleeping in.
3. Puppies.
2. Family and friends to hang out with.
1. Someone to share a bed with.

Top Ten Reasons Home Is Lame

10. Phone ringing every half hour from 8am on.
9. My room's a hole that needs organizing.
8. Sitting on my ass too much when I need exercise.
7. Household chores.
6. Sub-zero temperatures.
5. My dad's campaigning.
4. Family conflicts.
3. No job and a miniscule amount of money.
2. Did I mention SUB FRIGGEN ZERO TEMPERATURES?!
1. One loooong spring.

My name is Katie and I like to fly

Okay, so the only one who will get that joke is Jenni. I hope she enjoys it ;)

As for the rest of you blokes, I'm happy and sad to say that tomorrow's the day I fly home. In fact, in about 12 hours I will be all aboard, hopefully sitting near my wonderful travel companion and enjoying a nice smooth flight. Just in case, I think I'm going to refrain from mowing down a bunch of junk food before the flight. It just didn't go over very well last time.

For certain, the streets of London will call me back someday--according to the dating rules that'll be no sooner than at least two weeks from now. My guess is that London's a smooth one, and it'll probably be next year sometime. Always playing it cool :P

Even with the bit of melancholy of leaving, I'm ultra excited about going home. After weeks of living as a foreigner, it'll be great to be among the familiar again. It may be cold, it may not be overly thrilling, but it's home and it contains the people I love. And in the end, the people are just more important than the place. Besides, there's nothing saying I can't grab a few new traveling companions on my next adventure.

Check ya on the flipside! Of the world that is ;)

42.5 hours...but who's counting?

In less than two days I'll be in Chicago.
In almost two days I'll be home.

In two days I'll be petting my dogs, hugging my parents, and calling my friends.
In two days I'll be giving my boyfriend a huge hug and kiss.
In two days I'll be kicking ass once more with my "twin."
In two days I'll be sharing exciting stories with my brothers and sisters-in-law.
In two days I'll be watching my nephew crawl across the floor to me.
In two days I'll be absorbing wonderfully pointless American television.
In two days I'll be drinking a cup of flavored, bottom-less coffee at Caffe Espresso.
In two days I'll be eating stove-top popcorn while watching a movie.
In two days I'll be staring at all of the luggage I should unpack but will not.
In two days I'll be sleeping in my own bed with my own fluffy blankets and pillow.

In two days I'll be dreaming of ways I can afford to travel back to Europe.

Absence makes the heart grow...sick of traveling

Hello all, sorry to just slip out of existence for a week there. Jenny and I have just concluded our "whirlwind" tour of France, Germany, and Austria, having just arrived at our hostel in London about 45 min ago. That might not mean much to you out there in the Central Time Zone, but I can tell you that trying to get a night bus and taxi to a dang hostel at 1:30am friggen sucks. Actually, our whole day of travel pretty much blew goats all to hell. But I'll not get into that.

Okay, maybe I will. First, of all, it was OUR fault for deciding to save a few euros by first taking a train to Frankfurt from Berlin, knowing that it cost €20 less out of the Frankfurt airport (this is via Ryanair). Now, let me tell you a little something about Ryanair: Ryanair has no concept of distance or location.

So we get our tickets for flying from Frankfurt to London Standsted, thinking "Hey, aren't we savvy travelers? We just saved ourselves money by getting a 'free' trip to Frankfurt via our last flexi-day on our Eurrail passes (that we weren't going to use anyway) and then flying out of there. Piece of cake!" Mmmm, hmm, yeah. Next time we'll do a bit more research.

You see, "Frankfurt-Hahn Airport" is where Ryanair said we'd be flying from to get to London. No problem right? Yeah, if you don't mind a 1 hour 45 min BUS ride to a place called Hahn. I'm sorry, but a place that is 100some km away from Frankfurt IS NOT FRANKFURT! STOP ADVERTISING IT AS SUCH!!!

I understand that Ryanair is a cheap little airline that uses cheap little airports that are distances away from the main city, but even London Stansted is only 45 min away and there's a nice quick train to use that is actually LESS cost than the bus ticket for Frankfurt-Hahn from the train station. Oh, that reminds me. Let me tell you a little something about cheap airports.

Jenny and I got in the line to check our bags, stuck behind a crowd of about 20 pre-adolescent boys on a "football" team with their coaches. Thankfully, they got through quickly. The same cannot be said for me. I went up the the desk, put my bags on the platform and was promptly and bitchily told that my bags were to heavy. If I wanted to check 2 bags, it would cost me an extra €66. My ticket to get ON THE DAMN PLANE only cost me €19.00. Needless to say, I was a bit frazzled. Now what?

Well, she said my smaller bags were too big to have as a carry on, which was such bullshit, since I basically took the same amount with me by the end. I DID end up discarding: a handful of dirty socks; my bottles of shampoo, soap, hairspray, hairgel, febreeze, and body spray; stupid papers I didn't really need with me; my pajama shirt; and a few other things I can't even thinkg of right now. I was ready to throw out almost anything in my frustration. I wish I had kept the soap. That might have been nice for tomorrow. Guess I'll be borrowing Jenny's. Or just be really dirty. Dang.

After this whole ordeal of spewing the contents of my suitcase on the ground and throwing out some of my replacable possessions, I managed to get the weight of the suitcase down to only 2kg over (costing me €12). At that point, I just wanted on the damn plane, no matter the friggen cost. And my carryons were fine. Whew. So we get on the plane. Ordeal over, right? Nah uh.

Another thing about small, cheap airlines...they're bumpy. It certainly didn't help that Jenny and I had plenty of junk food before we got on our flight, thinking we'd be hungry later if we didn't. Oh, I definitely wasn't hungry. All of my energy was spent concentrating on not being sick on the plane. Thankfully, I was successful, though it was comforting to know that I did have a handy Ziploc bag in my purse to use in case of "emergency evacuation."

Customs took forever, getting our bags took forever and a day, and then we got on yet another train. But we were finally heading to London--YAY! Only, the Tube doesn't run that late, so we had to take night busses. The one to King's Cross was easy to manage, but from there...all we found were seedy characters trying to sell us bus tickets or to get us into their illegal unmarked taxis. We gave up on the bus and opted to find a MARKED taxi, which took a little wait. When we saw one approaching, I was ready to do anything to hail it. I wonder if he would have been impressed by my unshaved, sneaker footed leg?

But we're here now, and friggen tired, so now it's off to bed. I just felt the need to vent all that. Besides, we're so exhausted now that we're overtired. Anyone up for a run to the 24 hour corner store?

Oh yes. It's very nice.

Like a grail-shaped beacon, it has both called us from our humble beginning and led us through perils that are far too perilious. But since our time in Paris, it has been our quest. We have walked and ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdoms of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna.

And it has taunted us like so many Frenchmen, "We French persons outwit you a second time, perfidious English mousedropping hoarders ... I wave my private parts at your aunties, you brightly-coloured, mealy-templed, cranberry-smelling, electric donkey-bottom biters," with inadequate imitations strewn about like so many bones.

Still, we journeyed on. We knew that... somewhere out there ... there must (intro music) Stop that! Stop that. Okay, well, I better get on with it.

Jenny and I made an important discovery: a crepe stand here in Vienna. Not just any crepe stand, but one that actually attempts to make crepes with Nuttella-esque ingredients. It's still not QUITE the same, but it's better than nothing.

I know what you're thinking: the most important thing you've seen or done in the last few days of touring around some of the oldest and grandest cities in the world was find a semi-decent crepe stand? I understand your concern, and I can answer that. Yes.

And a Happy New Beer!

New Year's Eve greetings to all! Tonight is the time of festivities celebrating the coming of a new year and new beginnings. I can't say I'll be partying a lot tonight due to the cold and wet weather here in Munich, but then, isn't having a beer for breakfast a party in and of itself?

Remember to think of a cool resolution for the new year. I'll have to think about mine for a while. Time's running out here at the internet cafe at the moment. But I'll probably be back here later. It's open until 2am tonight. Doesn't that sound like a blast of a New Year's party? I'm such a geek. To all of you who are going out tonight, be safe and have fun! Oh, and remember to toast your long lost friend who's freezing in Bavaria!

Did I say death camps? I meant happy camps.

All kidding and South Park references aside, today we took a train out to Dachau. An unbelievably moving experience. On approach to the concentration camp, it was surprising to see that there is a nice little town right next door. Most of the people in the town either didn't know the extent of the brutalities going on at the camp or they were too scared to acknowledge it. It certainly didn't help that most of the information came from a bunch of propaganda.

The SS made it very deceiving, only giving the German community the information they wanted them to know. I was disgusted to find out that they even gave people tours of the concentration camp, which were of course diligently orchestrated to show only the people who were the healthiest and had the most stereotypical physical attributes of the "inferior" races, such as the supposedly big nose of the Jewish "race."

They even went so far as to describe the wonderful recreational activities for the prisoners: swimming in the camp pool (actually a huge pond of filthy water and fluids that would have made anyone sick who entered it) or playing music (the SS did play, but any prisoners writing songs or poetry could be severely punished or killed). Imagine the prisoners' intense frustration at being unable to communicate the real horrors of life in the camp, while the SS made sure it seem like Dachau was just a work camp where prisoners, enemies of the state, would be educated in the work ethic while doing a service to the country with the prisoner's help (slave labor) in industry and repair work.

When the public did finally realize the truth of the attrocities taking place at the camp, they were horrified--I can't imagine living there and knowing that your town is associated with such a violent history.

The chilly evening air and snow lining the ground helped add to the bleak effect of the camp. There was A LOT of information to absorb there, but it helped that most of it had English translations. It was a good history lesson, tracing the beginnings of the Nazi party, Hitler's rise to power, and the concentration camp system. By far the hardest part was touring through the crematorium.

The gas chamber there at Dachau was never used, but it didn't prevent me from feeling really creeped out walking through the room with those vents in the floor and ceiling. I can't believe they had the dark humor to put the label "Bath house" above the vaulted door. And seeing the ovens...that was almost more than I could handle. As it was, I took a picture and got out of there, walking through the room where they used to store the bodies before they burned them. Yeah, it was a very sobering experience.

One of the most striking things about it was the how it looked from the outside. I expected a stoic, industrial looking structure, cold and impersonal. What I saw was a pleasant looking brick building, with terracota shingles, and a big cheery chimney. It made me feel sick just thinking about the sort of mentality it would take to build such a structure and then make it look homey. I am glad I went though--seeing all of it made the Holocaust that much more real to me. And the memorial site at Dachau is very well done, nothing touristy about it.

Tomorrow Jenny and I are probably going to check out the Science and Techonology Museum here--it's supposed to be Smithsonian-quality, and sounds like a good way to spend our Monday, when many sites are closed here for cleaning and maintenance. Tuesday we're likely heading to Füssen to see the fairy-tale castles of "Mad" King Ludwig II. I'm looking forward to that trip--it will take most of a day with the 2 hour train ride, but from what I've heard and seen, it will be worth it.

We still haven't had beer, sauerkraut or sausage since we arrived, but we have had our first pretzel. It was okay, but we've come across one that look tastier, so I'm sure we'll try some other ones. We also saw a man in liderhosen in the subway. I'm sure there will be all sorts of German experiences to share with you by the time we leave. I'll keep you posted :)

Gutentag, darling, gutentag

München, otherwise known as Munich, has become our new home for the next few days. After an exhausting 9 hour train ride from Paris (with fine catering including a shared croissant, a bottle of juice, cookies that were more air than sugar, two shared sandwiches--one of an eggy concoction--and water in glass bottles...all for price equivalent of a steak dinner and wine in Paris) we arrived at our hostel. Remind me to stock up on snacks from a grocery store before my next long train ride.

The hostel doesn't seem half bad, although the stupid European hostel idea of not accepting credit cards and asking for cash up front is a real pain in the assets. Unlike our last hostel, this one decided to forgo the ratty blankets and rental sheets and has clean and comfy bedding. However, we're sleeping in a dorm style room, which means that instead of sleeping in a four-person room, we'll be sharing a room with 20 other travelers. Oh yeah, we're talking 10 bunkbeds scrunched in one room that has a bit of a divider wall in the middle. It's going to be like one big slumber party...except there won't be any movies...or popcorn...and we're in Germany. Yeah, just like a slumber party.

Merry Christmas--I aim to tease

With Christmas having arrived and left its drink ring stain on the table, I thought it would be an appropriate oppurtunity to compile a countdown of 12 paricularly memorable gifts that "gay Paris" has bestowed upon my traveling companion and myself....HOWEVER, you will have to be patient for I have not yet compiled this magnificent list since we have not yet finished our trip.

Until then, you'll just have to amuse yourselves imagining what that fine future blog entry will entail while I tantalize you with these few highlights as a preview:

*Eiffel tower sparkling like a big brown diamond
*Baguettes for breakfast
*Crepes for breakfast, crepes for lunch, crepes for dinner...oh, and crepes for dessert
*The Tube could kick Le Metro's ass
*The Louvre, Arc de Triumph, Champs-Eleysey, Versailles...check
*Christmas Eve at Notre Dame with Jenny and 3 glasses of wine
AND
*Christmas Day with the gamers hard at it here at the Internet Cafe

Hope you all are having a great Christmas!! Take care :)

Held in our hearts

This week has seen the loss of someone very special. A good man, who though he had many blessings in his life including a wonderful family, should not have had to leave us so soon. There are no words adequate enough to give my sincere sympathies.

Christmas, Christmas time is near

Becky sent me a Chipmunks themed Christmas e-card (well, me and about 20 other people, but it was thoughtful all the same) and it was cute. Too bad I couldn't hear the sound on this crappy cafe computer (nice alliteration, eh?), but I could imagine a few Chipmunk tunes while I read the email. For instance, All I Want for Chirstmas, and Christmast Time--one of my favorites: "Want a plane that loops-the-loop, me, I want a hoola-hoop!" So cute.

I heard more songs at the meeting I attended for student teaching tonight. Nice classic Christmas tunes by Bing Crosby and a bunch of other oldies, all floating over the boredom that had me wanting to nod off. Thankfully, it was our last meeting, and it didn't last too terribly long. If they hadn't given us some food, I might have been more annoyed by the only partially interesting 1.5 hours of discussion. But the good news is, I found a smoothie shop on the way to the meeting--go fruit!

I need the fruit, all the fruit I can get, to battle this cold that's setting in. I think the Ben n Jerry's helped too--chocolate is the solution to many problems, all the important ones at least. The rest can be covered by a pint.