Wee Laddie is in love with the Mo Willems book ('Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus') that the Baileys got him for his birthday. It’s such a fantastic book! And at the end of every page where he’s supposed to tell the pigeon, 'No,' he responds with an enthusiastic, 'Yah!' He’s also embraced a few lines from the book: 'No fair' and 'Five bucks.' He’s wanted to read this book 4 nights in a row now. (This began the very evening after I’d talked at the EFMP playgroup about how he’ll only let me read him an actual story about once a month.)
Went to the Möbelhof to look for dishes. Didn’t find any there that I really liked (that were also IKEA cheap), but I found some fabric for a curtain for the upstairs bathroom and a German-English dictionary. It seems very funny because it says, 'Englisch' in big letters on the side, which normally wouldn’t bode well for an English dictionary.
Had my first moment of real homesickness today when Wee Laddie was saying, 'Aunt Tam house, Grandma house.' I miss them.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Veggies vs. Dessert
This morning at the Yoga class, Wee Laddie spent almost the whole time at the end of my mat. Very cute… just makes it hard to do some of the exercises. After we got home he kept saying, 'Yoga, Mommy,' and reaching up high then going into Downward Dog.
Checked out another local shop… the Penny Markt. They have short aisles of the freezer cases there. I went looking for veggies and there was 1/2 a case of veggies, mostly spinach. Just for reference I made a comparison: 2 1/2 cases of ice cream and tortes.
And I spotted this toilet paper:
Really, could it get any better?
Checked out another local shop… the Penny Markt. They have short aisles of the freezer cases there. I went looking for veggies and there was 1/2 a case of veggies, mostly spinach. Just for reference I made a comparison: 2 1/2 cases of ice cream and tortes.
And I spotted this toilet paper:
Really, could it get any better?
Monday, January 29, 2007
Food Choices
Wee Laddie’s on a cheeseburger kick at the moment. Or so he thinks. He actually keeps saying he wants a cheeseburger, then adds, 'No meat, please.' I keep telling him that’s a grilled cheese sandwich, but he doesn’t agree. The other day I was lamenting the fact that all he wants to eat are waffles, cereal and crackers and that we’ve really got to get some protein in him. He told me, 'No eat protein, Mommy.'
Sunday closings kind of suck. We end up on base a lot on Sundays, just because things are open there. Today even the library was open so I got to do a little email (Yay!) while Guitarman and Wee Laddie went to the commissary. When we were heading home, I asked Wee Laddie, 'What did you and Daddy get at the store?'
He said, 'Dinner.'
I said, 'Dinner, huh? And what kind of food did you get for dinner?'
He said, 'Cat food.'
Sunday closings kind of suck. We end up on base a lot on Sundays, just because things are open there. Today even the library was open so I got to do a little email (Yay!) while Guitarman and Wee Laddie went to the commissary. When we were heading home, I asked Wee Laddie, 'What did you and Daddy get at the store?'
He said, 'Dinner.'
I said, 'Dinner, huh? And what kind of food did you get for dinner?'
He said, 'Cat food.'
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Guitarman Heaven
Got a couple more inches of snow overnight. I woke just after 5 am, the snowplow came about 20 minutes later. Our neighbor started shoveling at 5:45 am. On a Saturday. Are you kidding me? Good grief, some people have no manners. I was still awake after 6 am and was thinking of leaving my two guys up there snoring in bed. I had just about decided what to do whilst I drank my cuppa, then Wee Laddie semi-woke saying, 'Grandma’s house, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.' And then he was really awake so I had to snuggle him back to sleep. I have a pretty hard & fast not-before-7 policy. If I’d gotten up it would’ve been all over.
Drove up to the Thomann music store in Tippendorf with Guitarman just for the ride. It’s a huge music store out in the middle of nowhere. They have tons of instruments, though, including strings, drums… even DJ stuff and whatnot. Guitarman seemed pleased with it. The guy that rang Guitarman up was British but has lived here a long time. Guitarman asked how long it took him to learn German, he said 6 months. He said most people go to the Irish pub with friends and watch CNN, but he jumped right in with an apprenticeship and had to learn. That supports my theory that we should mostly watch regular (German) satellite instead of AFN (Armed Forces Network, which is all in English). But I may be alone in that theory. At least at our house.
Had lunch at the Bistro Pizzeria Alberto right across the street from the guitar store. It was yummy but smoky… we’d only just gotten used to dining smoke-free in Denver and now we’ve gone back a step (says the ex-smoker). Guitarman tucked in Wee Laddie tonight, so I got a little time to myself. Happily, I didn’t have to spend it studying for the drivers’ test this time. Sadly, no internet at home yet.
3 words: Sponge Bob Schwammkopf
Drove up to the Thomann music store in Tippendorf with Guitarman just for the ride. It’s a huge music store out in the middle of nowhere. They have tons of instruments, though, including strings, drums… even DJ stuff and whatnot. Guitarman seemed pleased with it. The guy that rang Guitarman up was British but has lived here a long time. Guitarman asked how long it took him to learn German, he said 6 months. He said most people go to the Irish pub with friends and watch CNN, but he jumped right in with an apprenticeship and had to learn. That supports my theory that we should mostly watch regular (German) satellite instead of AFN (Armed Forces Network, which is all in English). But I may be alone in that theory. At least at our house.
Had lunch at the Bistro Pizzeria Alberto right across the street from the guitar store. It was yummy but smoky… we’d only just gotten used to dining smoke-free in Denver and now we’ve gone back a step (says the ex-smoker). Guitarman tucked in Wee Laddie tonight, so I got a little time to myself. Happily, I didn’t have to spend it studying for the drivers’ test this time. Sadly, no internet at home yet.
3 words: Sponge Bob Schwammkopf
Saturday, January 27, 2007
What, No Kitchen?
This morning a couple of guys came to 'fix' the kitchen island (not that they bothered to call first or anything). I say 'fix' because all they did was put a new back on it. It’s more substantial, but now there’s a strip along the back of it that matches the back but not the rest of the top, so it looks kind of weird.
And here’s where I’ll talk about German kitchens. Most German apartments/houses do not come with kitchens. No cabinets, no appliances… not even a sink. Sometimes not even a floor. (Because we rented through the housing office on base, ours did have a kitchen.) Those of you who have looked through IKEA catalogs are now understanding why half of it is taken up by kitchen cabinets & stuff, I’ll bet. Aside from the initial expense, I kind of like the idea of having your own kitchen move along with you. I’ve lived in so many places where I didn’t like the cabinets, or the lights or whatever other things… would’ve been nice to have my own stuff to put in. The only really tricky part would be how to have the kitchen fit from one place to the next. (More on closets & lights in another post.)
Guitarman’s car failed the inspection, so he can’t register it yet, which means he’s got these very obvious American temporary plates. Kinda makes the car stick out like a sore thumb. He’ll go in on Tuesday to have Peter fix the car (something about brake pressure not being the same on both sides or something).
The guy at the car center on base was really rude to Guitarman today, so he came home in a horrible mood… ready to pack it in & be back home. (Not really, but pissed off at having to deal with the stuff that comes with being in a foreign place. The guy that pissed him off isn’t even German so it wasn’t about that.) I think things’ll be a lot less stressful once our stuff is here. It’s so hard to feel 'at home' like this, and we’re not really relaxed enough to want to go be touristy either.
And here’s where I’ll talk about German kitchens. Most German apartments/houses do not come with kitchens. No cabinets, no appliances… not even a sink. Sometimes not even a floor. (Because we rented through the housing office on base, ours did have a kitchen.) Those of you who have looked through IKEA catalogs are now understanding why half of it is taken up by kitchen cabinets & stuff, I’ll bet. Aside from the initial expense, I kind of like the idea of having your own kitchen move along with you. I’ve lived in so many places where I didn’t like the cabinets, or the lights or whatever other things… would’ve been nice to have my own stuff to put in. The only really tricky part would be how to have the kitchen fit from one place to the next. (More on closets & lights in another post.)
Guitarman’s car failed the inspection, so he can’t register it yet, which means he’s got these very obvious American temporary plates. Kinda makes the car stick out like a sore thumb. He’ll go in on Tuesday to have Peter fix the car (something about brake pressure not being the same on both sides or something).
The guy at the car center on base was really rude to Guitarman today, so he came home in a horrible mood… ready to pack it in & be back home. (Not really, but pissed off at having to deal with the stuff that comes with being in a foreign place. The guy that pissed him off isn’t even German so it wasn’t about that.) I think things’ll be a lot less stressful once our stuff is here. It’s so hard to feel 'at home' like this, and we’re not really relaxed enough to want to go be touristy either.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Hoopdis All Around
Wee Laddie and I went to Kids’ Club. It was just us for 45 min or so (I guess because of the snow?), then 3 others eventually showed. The group that goes regularly seems to play well together. There are very few altercations, and the moms are all pretty involved. (Hmmm...perhaps that’s why there are so few altercations.)
Apparently our stuff is getting closer… Guitarman has been asked to fill out a customs form. We’d like to know why it wasn’t done ages ago, but the moving company doesn’t really seem to have their shit together.
Wee Laddie is talking up a storm. Today he talked about 'shovel cars' (snowplows)…his growing understanding of how to make sentences astounds me. He’s saying lots of things where he’s playing with the word order, like 'In there Daddy office?' becomes 'Daddy office in there?' It’s like he gets that it goes a certain way and plays with it ‘til it sounds right. My fave phrases of his are, 'Honey, honey, honey,' which he uses if he’s starting to get frustrated with something… can you guess why?) 'Guess so.' And, 'Thank you, you’re welcome, thanks.' Said all together so there’s not even room for another person to do the 'you’re welcome' part. He’s actually been doing this for a while, but it’s now getting clear enough for other people to understand easily. And they usually laugh.
Got Guitarman’s car tonight. Now I’ve got the schmancy car of the two of us. I should tell you, though, that my fancy red sports car (’95 BMW 3-series) only cost $4K. That’s only $1K more than the crappy little car I was driving back home. And even though it’s more than 10 years old it handles really nicely… better than any other car I’ve owned, actually. If we have to leave in October, I’m sure going to see about shipping this car back to the US.
Apparently our stuff is getting closer… Guitarman has been asked to fill out a customs form. We’d like to know why it wasn’t done ages ago, but the moving company doesn’t really seem to have their shit together.
Wee Laddie is talking up a storm. Today he talked about 'shovel cars' (snowplows)…his growing understanding of how to make sentences astounds me. He’s saying lots of things where he’s playing with the word order, like 'In there Daddy office?' becomes 'Daddy office in there?' It’s like he gets that it goes a certain way and plays with it ‘til it sounds right. My fave phrases of his are, 'Honey, honey, honey,' which he uses if he’s starting to get frustrated with something… can you guess why?) 'Guess so.' And, 'Thank you, you’re welcome, thanks.' Said all together so there’s not even room for another person to do the 'you’re welcome' part. He’s actually been doing this for a while, but it’s now getting clear enough for other people to understand easily. And they usually laugh.
Got Guitarman’s car tonight. Now I’ve got the schmancy car of the two of us. I should tell you, though, that my fancy red sports car (’95 BMW 3-series) only cost $4K. That’s only $1K more than the crappy little car I was driving back home. And even though it’s more than 10 years old it handles really nicely… better than any other car I’ve owned, actually. If we have to leave in October, I’m sure going to see about shipping this car back to the US.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Feels Like Bavaria
Had our first Bavarian snow today. (Actually, the first snow in the area this winter, as well.) 5.5 inches in our backyard and no shovel ‘til evening. (Neither of us had thought to buy one before now.)
We had to go back to the ID office for SOFA cards ('Status of Forces Agreement,' which does something about easier access in & out of the country… it’s like saying that we’re as crucial as military even though we’re not) then went to the car registration office to get my name added onto the car now that I passed the drivers’ license test. The woman working there had total bed-head. There’s something sort of freeing about living in a country where it’s socially acceptable to turn up for work without even brushing your hair.
Went shopping for boots in Parsberg (a bit of a trick since we have no phone book and I didn’t know where any shoe stores were) but no luck. Did find some boots, just none that seemed practical, really. And the 'fashion' ones were a little too frou-frou for my tastes… too many knit trims and tassels.
Guitarman’s car was supposed to be ready today, but Peter was working on Charlie’s (Guitarman’s coworker) CD player, so it won’t be ready ‘til tomorrow.
We had to go back to the ID office for SOFA cards ('Status of Forces Agreement,' which does something about easier access in & out of the country… it’s like saying that we’re as crucial as military even though we’re not) then went to the car registration office to get my name added onto the car now that I passed the drivers’ license test. The woman working there had total bed-head. There’s something sort of freeing about living in a country where it’s socially acceptable to turn up for work without even brushing your hair.
Went shopping for boots in Parsberg (a bit of a trick since we have no phone book and I didn’t know where any shoe stores were) but no luck. Did find some boots, just none that seemed practical, really. And the 'fashion' ones were a little too frou-frou for my tastes… too many knit trims and tassels.
Guitarman’s car was supposed to be ready today, but Peter was working on Charlie’s (Guitarman’s coworker) CD player, so it won’t be ready ‘til tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Cooking Overseas
So I’m trying to cook dinner. I set the burner knob on like 2, thinking that I’d move it up gradually, which is usually the way that I cook. Did that, but it seemed like the water was taking freaking forever to boil. Seriously, like long enough that I actually started to investigate what was going on. Turns out, that 1 is the high setting on our stove. 3 is actually the low setting. Huh??? This also holds true for the one burner we have that, for some unknown reason, goes from 1-12 instead of 1-3. Am I the only one who finds this completely puzzling?
On a reassuring note, I can now boil water.
On a reassuring note, I can now boil water.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The Telephone Is Calling
Went to take that drivers’ license test. Did pretty well. Passed, which is the most important thing. Now I’m legal to drive Guitarman’s car (there’s a weird tax implication if I drive it without the license) and we can go get another car. I didn’t think the test was that hard, really, if you study. Apparently a lot of people don’t pass it the first time.
Went to a Mommy & Me exercise class on base today, after the drivers’ test and before lunch. It’ll be ongoing if there’s enough interest. It’s kind of a combo of Yoga and Pilates and the kids just run around & do whatever they want while we’re exercising. Excellent…I’ve been wanting to do Yoga regularly for such a long time! Wee Laddie spent most of his time trying to snuggle a little baby that was there. She’s about 4 months old. Luckily she’s got an older brother so her mom wasn’t totally freaked out that my son was lying on top of her baby to give her hugs.
Today Wee Laddie discovered he can put his hands in his pockets so he’s been running around all day with them there.
Our phone is calling us with messages in German. What do they say? We’ve no idea. And it calls like every 15 minutes, too. Guitarman finally started pressing random buttons and it stopped calling. Whew.
Went to a Mommy & Me exercise class on base today, after the drivers’ test and before lunch. It’ll be ongoing if there’s enough interest. It’s kind of a combo of Yoga and Pilates and the kids just run around & do whatever they want while we’re exercising. Excellent…I’ve been wanting to do Yoga regularly for such a long time! Wee Laddie spent most of his time trying to snuggle a little baby that was there. She’s about 4 months old. Luckily she’s got an older brother so her mom wasn’t totally freaked out that my son was lying on top of her baby to give her hugs.
Today Wee Laddie discovered he can put his hands in his pockets so he’s been running around all day with them there.
Our phone is calling us with messages in German. What do they say? We’ve no idea. And it calls like every 15 minutes, too. Guitarman finally started pressing random buttons and it stopped calling. Whew.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Spreading the Ugliness
Spent most of the day at the base at Würzburg. It’s funny how not having any of your stuff makes you want to go buy stuff. (And need to go buy stuff.) Poor Wee Laddie must be so freaking sick of shopping! Someone mentioned to us that there’s a castle in Würzburg… today was the first time we saw it ‘cause it wasn’t so overcast. We’ll have to come back sometime just for sightseeing.
Würzburg got a lot more wind than we did… there were pieces of insulation or something scattered all over the base, and there was a big chunk of some more construction-oriented material by one of the parking lots. Glad we didn’t get hit with that.
We have, in our doppelhaus (duplex) 6 of the most actively hideous light fixtures I’ve ever seen. Two of them are twin glass globby-looking things in the basement…one is completely stuck in 1991 Pastel Madness, poor thing...two are a matching ceiling/sconce set that look like someone’s misguided attempt at a colorless Tiffany-esque style (actually the ceiling one isn’t horrible in and of itself)…the last looks like a round birdcage made of rounded wood with basketweave at the top and bottom. That last one dangles so low that I can barely walk under it… Guitarman bumps into it every time he’s in that room. I need to get some pictures on here so you can all see these lights. If we get to stay longer than October, we’re definitely going to be putting up some light fixtures…these insult me every time I walk by. (We also have several light fixtures that are lame, but not so much in-your-face ugly.)
Idea for later: Ugly Light Fixture Contest. I could post pics here and have a vote or something. I think they’d have to be lights that are actually currently used in a home, though, not just like ugly garage sale crap.
Würzburg got a lot more wind than we did… there were pieces of insulation or something scattered all over the base, and there was a big chunk of some more construction-oriented material by one of the parking lots. Glad we didn’t get hit with that.
We have, in our doppelhaus (duplex) 6 of the most actively hideous light fixtures I’ve ever seen. Two of them are twin glass globby-looking things in the basement…one is completely stuck in 1991 Pastel Madness, poor thing...two are a matching ceiling/sconce set that look like someone’s misguided attempt at a colorless Tiffany-esque style (actually the ceiling one isn’t horrible in and of itself)…the last looks like a round birdcage made of rounded wood with basketweave at the top and bottom. That last one dangles so low that I can barely walk under it… Guitarman bumps into it every time he’s in that room. I need to get some pictures on here so you can all see these lights. If we get to stay longer than October, we’re definitely going to be putting up some light fixtures…these insult me every time I walk by. (We also have several light fixtures that are lame, but not so much in-your-face ugly.)
Idea for later: Ugly Light Fixture Contest. I could post pics here and have a vote or something. I think they’d have to be lights that are actually currently used in a home, though, not just like ugly garage sale crap.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
History in a Hurry
Went to Regensburg and checked out the old downtown area a bit. There’s an old stone bridge that’s pretty cool.
It was chilly and dark by the time we were really looking around so we didn’t stay long, but we’ll definitely have to go back there. There’s such a sense of history here in Europe that just doesn’t exist in the US. Not that we’d appreciate it if it did. Old buildings are always getting torn down in the US.
Guitarman went to the car guy (there’s this guy named Peter who sells cars to nearly everyone on the base, I think) & found a ’90 (I think) BMW for 800euro ($1K). It’s in really great shape and doesn’t even have 50K kilometers on it, I think he said. Sheesh. That’s a deal you wouldn’t find stateside.
It was chilly and dark by the time we were really looking around so we didn’t stay long, but we’ll definitely have to go back there. There’s such a sense of history here in Europe that just doesn’t exist in the US. Not that we’d appreciate it if it did. Old buildings are always getting torn down in the US.
Guitarman went to the car guy (there’s this guy named Peter who sells cars to nearly everyone on the base, I think) & found a ’90 (I think) BMW for 800euro ($1K). It’s in really great shape and doesn’t even have 50K kilometers on it, I think he said. Sheesh. That’s a deal you wouldn’t find stateside.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
A Toddler’s Approach to Time
The mess hall is open ‘til 8:30 for breakfast. We got there about 8:27 this morning. For some reason, Wee Laddie was determined to eat everything in sight. But veeerrrrryyyy ssssllllloooowwwllllyyyy. Oy vey. I kept saying, 'Are you done? Are you almost done?' Meanwhile, the mess hall staff is cleaning tables, stacking chairs, removing all the food. I was caught in that whole not-wanting-to-create-any-later-food-issues mess.
We went to the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) playgroup today. It’s put on by the EFMP and a couple of other on-base services but says it's open to everyone, so we went. And it was fun & good. Different than the other one… this one is more like smaller-motor activity. And there’s a PT and a speech therapist there to help in any early intervention situations. I noticed that some of the people were using sign so I asked the PT if they offer any classes here. She said they don’t, so I said I’d be willing to teach one if they’re interested. I’m not certified or anything, but I’ve been using sign on & off for--yikes--25 years? She sounded interested and had me talk briefly with the New Parent Support person, who also seemed interested. I think I’ll order the Signing Time videos for Wee Laddie… then I can brush up, too.
Had lunch w/Guitarman and then took the rental car back. The rental car guy told Guitarman the car was supposed to be clean when we brought it in. Guitarman asked where he could take it to vacuum it and the guy told him. And he said, 'And the car wash is right… ' (and pointed) Guitarman looked up at the rain and said, 'You’re kidding, right?' The guy said, 'Okay, we’ll take care of that.'
We talked about me taking Guitarman’s car (a mid-‘90s BMW) and him getting a mid-‘80s BMW. A real 'hoopdi.' (I don’t know if I’m spelling that right… it’s what they call and older, cheap car.) We’ll probably look at cars soon. It’ll be awkward here with one car. Not like Colorado, but still inconvenient.
We had dinner from Burg Imbiss döner kebap (Turkish restaurant) here in Parsberg… very yummy. Better than the place in Seubersdorf, I think.
We went to the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) playgroup today. It’s put on by the EFMP and a couple of other on-base services but says it's open to everyone, so we went. And it was fun & good. Different than the other one… this one is more like smaller-motor activity. And there’s a PT and a speech therapist there to help in any early intervention situations. I noticed that some of the people were using sign so I asked the PT if they offer any classes here. She said they don’t, so I said I’d be willing to teach one if they’re interested. I’m not certified or anything, but I’ve been using sign on & off for--yikes--25 years? She sounded interested and had me talk briefly with the New Parent Support person, who also seemed interested. I think I’ll order the Signing Time videos for Wee Laddie… then I can brush up, too.
Had lunch w/Guitarman and then took the rental car back. The rental car guy told Guitarman the car was supposed to be clean when we brought it in. Guitarman asked where he could take it to vacuum it and the guy told him. And he said, 'And the car wash is right… ' (and pointed) Guitarman looked up at the rain and said, 'You’re kidding, right?' The guy said, 'Okay, we’ll take care of that.'
We talked about me taking Guitarman’s car (a mid-‘90s BMW) and him getting a mid-‘80s BMW. A real 'hoopdi.' (I don’t know if I’m spelling that right… it’s what they call and older, cheap car.) We’ll probably look at cars soon. It’ll be awkward here with one car. Not like Colorado, but still inconvenient.
We had dinner from Burg Imbiss döner kebap (Turkish restaurant) here in Parsberg… very yummy. Better than the place in Seubersdorf, I think.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Is This a Hurricane?
Kids’ Club today... 5 other mom-tot sets there. (This was actually our 2nd time there, but I was whining so much last week that I didn’t write about it. ) The kids seem to play together well. Wee Laddie really likes this German mom named Sabine. She reminds me of Rutabaga's mom in her 'anything to make this kid have fun' attitude. Her daughter’s fantastic, too… very happy & playful. This playgroup is in a gym on the base and they set out big gymnastic mats & tunnels & things. It is so good for Wee Laddie to have some serious run & climb time!
The satellite installer came to look around & see what he needs to do to get us set up. There’s apparently free German satellite TV (Astra), which I love having. Guitarman wants to sign up for AFN (Armed Forces Network) so we get some stuff in English and so we get the sports he wants to watch. I’d rather have just the German… it’d kind of force us to learn the language, you know?
Made my first trip to a local market… Netto. (I used to know a girl named Netta so it reminds me of her.) My observations: They were out of bananas. Yup, just plain sold out. No blizzard, no nothing...just sold out. Weird. Also, there were very few big loaves of bread. There were a lot of loaves that were like half or so. It must be because of all the bakeries...they must be used to having their bread really fresh.
I got some email time, thank goodness. Oh, how I miss the regular contact with my 'peeps.' It makes me crazy to just have these stolen moments online… it’s not enough time to actually accomplish anything, just enough time to make me realize how behind I’m getting!
Oh, and apparently we’re having a hurricane. A bunch of stuff on the base closed because of the wind. I went to the library. While there, the guy who works at the library went back to talk to a woman who works at the library. Here is the gist of their conversation:
Him: 'The weather is horrible. Go straight home when you leave here.'
Her: 'But I was going to stop at the store.'
Him: 'No, you need to go straight home. It’s really bad out there. Everything’s closed.'
(I’m really downplaying some of the drama.)
So a little bit after that, I go outside to go home. The weather? Perfectly freaking still. Seriously, not even a breeze.
The satellite installer came to look around & see what he needs to do to get us set up. There’s apparently free German satellite TV (Astra), which I love having. Guitarman wants to sign up for AFN (Armed Forces Network) so we get some stuff in English and so we get the sports he wants to watch. I’d rather have just the German… it’d kind of force us to learn the language, you know?
Made my first trip to a local market… Netto. (I used to know a girl named Netta so it reminds me of her.) My observations: They were out of bananas. Yup, just plain sold out. No blizzard, no nothing...just sold out. Weird. Also, there were very few big loaves of bread. There were a lot of loaves that were like half or so. It must be because of all the bakeries...they must be used to having their bread really fresh.
I got some email time, thank goodness. Oh, how I miss the regular contact with my 'peeps.' It makes me crazy to just have these stolen moments online… it’s not enough time to actually accomplish anything, just enough time to make me realize how behind I’m getting!
Oh, and apparently we’re having a hurricane. A bunch of stuff on the base closed because of the wind. I went to the library. While there, the guy who works at the library went back to talk to a woman who works at the library. Here is the gist of their conversation:
Him: 'The weather is horrible. Go straight home when you leave here.'
Her: 'But I was going to stop at the store.'
Him: 'No, you need to go straight home. It’s really bad out there. Everything’s closed.'
(I’m really downplaying some of the drama.)
So a little bit after that, I go outside to go home. The weather? Perfectly freaking still. Seriously, not even a breeze.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
I Need My ID NOW!!
Went to the ID office today. For some reason, our first IDs had a very short lifespan and we’ve been getting reminders every day from the security guards at the base entrances. Anyway, about 2/3 of the ID office staff has been deployed so they are desperately unable to keep up. Guitarman had an 11:20 appt...we didn’t even get in until an hour after that (and then had to wait outside a while, mid-appointment, for one woman to come back from lunch).
After we’d gotten kicked out for a bit there was this other civilian woman who was being really aggressive about her 1:00 appt. (Rather like a boss I used to have. Those of you who know her will know who I’m talking about.) She just kept talking about her 1pm appt and was trying to physically work her way in front of me, all the while acting friendly to me. I seriously wanted to smack her. You know, I would have gladly let any one of the soldiers jump in front of me in line, but I was NOT going to budge for this woman who isn’t fighting for our country, and whose appointment was much later than ours, and who didn't have a small child in tow. If anybody’s going to get preferential treatment, it ought to be the men & women who are out there fighting so that the rest of us don’t have to.
Anyway, that whole thing took so long that by the time we ate lunch, Wee Laddie & I went to the store for drill bits, I finished reversing the door of our fridge and got Wee Laddie tucked in for his very late nap, there wasn’t even time to go to the grocery store! Luckily, Guitarman picked up a pizza, so we had a mellow dinner at home.
Guitarman also tucked Wee Laddie in for bed so I could study for my drivers’ license test. The rental car goes back on Friday (it’s ridiculously expensive so we don’t want to keep it any longer) so I need to hurry and get the USAREUR license so I can drive Guitarman's car ‘til we get another one. (There’s not adequate public transportation here to/from the places we go.)
After we’d gotten kicked out for a bit there was this other civilian woman who was being really aggressive about her 1:00 appt. (Rather like a boss I used to have. Those of you who know her will know who I’m talking about.) She just kept talking about her 1pm appt and was trying to physically work her way in front of me, all the while acting friendly to me. I seriously wanted to smack her. You know, I would have gladly let any one of the soldiers jump in front of me in line, but I was NOT going to budge for this woman who isn’t fighting for our country, and whose appointment was much later than ours, and who didn't have a small child in tow. If anybody’s going to get preferential treatment, it ought to be the men & women who are out there fighting so that the rest of us don’t have to.
Anyway, that whole thing took so long that by the time we ate lunch, Wee Laddie & I went to the store for drill bits, I finished reversing the door of our fridge and got Wee Laddie tucked in for his very late nap, there wasn’t even time to go to the grocery store! Luckily, Guitarman picked up a pizza, so we had a mellow dinner at home.
Guitarman also tucked Wee Laddie in for bed so I could study for my drivers’ license test. The rental car goes back on Friday (it’s ridiculously expensive so we don’t want to keep it any longer) so I need to hurry and get the USAREUR license so I can drive Guitarman's car ‘til we get another one. (There’s not adequate public transportation here to/from the places we go.)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
A Place to Sit
Had lunch at the mess hall again. The first Mexican food we’ve had since we got here… beef enchiladas. They were completely wrong (flour tortillas and the sauce tasted like that chile con carne from grade school), but somehow not horrible. I guess because I wasn’t expecting it to taste like a real enchilada.
We went to Möbelhof after lunch to get a sofa. The one we’d picked wasn’t in stock so we picked another (there’s literally nowhere to sit on our main floor since our stuff from home hasn’t arrived yet) that we both actually like a bit better. (I think it cost a bit more or we’d have picked it to begin with.) It’s orange, but doesn’t quite go with the rug we got (the sofa’s in a brighter palette…more citrusy) but we’ll eventually put it in the loft, probably. I think (and hope!) that our red sofa will go better with this rug… and we can pick another rug later for the loft.
The Deutsche Telecom guy came out today and got our home phone line working… yay! And we’re one step closer to having DSL now, too. First they guy said we need to send a letter but later he said he’d have an English-speaking colleague call us. I’m hoping that means he’ll kind of grease the wheels a bit for us. Bureaucratic stuff is supposed to be very slow here, and I’m already going nutso from my lack of contact with my friends, my family, my co-moms. I just about broke down in the library parking lot yesterday because I was so pissed off that I couldn’t get 10 freaking minutes of 'me' time to check my email. So far I’m the only one putting Wee Laddie down at night (which usually still takes a while), and then Guitarman comes to bed early enough that it’s not even worth going back downstairs once Wee Laddie’s asleep…not that I’m still awake. (We’re all in one bed ‘til we get a low bed for Wee Laddie.)
I’m so caught up on sleep that I’ve been skipping naps (like Wee Laddie is sleeping as I write this) and still waking at like 5-6am most days. And I’m so not an early riser.
We went to Möbelhof after lunch to get a sofa. The one we’d picked wasn’t in stock so we picked another (there’s literally nowhere to sit on our main floor since our stuff from home hasn’t arrived yet) that we both actually like a bit better. (I think it cost a bit more or we’d have picked it to begin with.) It’s orange, but doesn’t quite go with the rug we got (the sofa’s in a brighter palette…more citrusy) but we’ll eventually put it in the loft, probably. I think (and hope!) that our red sofa will go better with this rug… and we can pick another rug later for the loft.
The Deutsche Telecom guy came out today and got our home phone line working… yay! And we’re one step closer to having DSL now, too. First they guy said we need to send a letter but later he said he’d have an English-speaking colleague call us. I’m hoping that means he’ll kind of grease the wheels a bit for us. Bureaucratic stuff is supposed to be very slow here, and I’m already going nutso from my lack of contact with my friends, my family, my co-moms. I just about broke down in the library parking lot yesterday because I was so pissed off that I couldn’t get 10 freaking minutes of 'me' time to check my email. So far I’m the only one putting Wee Laddie down at night (which usually still takes a while), and then Guitarman comes to bed early enough that it’s not even worth going back downstairs once Wee Laddie’s asleep…not that I’m still awake. (We’re all in one bed ‘til we get a low bed for Wee Laddie.)
I’m so caught up on sleep that I’ve been skipping naps (like Wee Laddie is sleeping as I write this) and still waking at like 5-6am most days. And I’m so not an early riser.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Lunch with Grandma
We met Guitarman at the mess hall for lunch, then I took Wee Laddie to the library on base. I was thinking that maybe if he got a chance to look at books or play or something he might give me a few minutes to check my email. Ha. Boy, was I kidding myself. I can’t remember if I was even able to log into Yahoo (I definitely didn’t get to read a single email) before he started screaming. He absolutely wouldn’t settle down so we left. Of course, I first had to carry him screaming through the library to put back the books we were going to check out. (Sometimes follow-through is a pain.) Turns out I’d kept him up too long before his nap… he fell asleep even before we’d gotten off the base!
Today I asked Wee Laddie, 'Do you want to have lunch with Daddy?' He said, 'Lunch with Grandma?' I repeated myself and he answered the same way. Poor thing, he’s really missing Grandma, his cousins, his friends.
And he’s been stuck inside for weeks! The last 2 weeks in CO were so snowy that he couldn’t really play outside and it’s been so wet & chilly here that he still can’t. I have to find some things for him to do to burn off some of his energy. I haven’t seen any kid play-type places that are indoors where he could run around in the crappy weather.
Today I asked Wee Laddie, 'Do you want to have lunch with Daddy?' He said, 'Lunch with Grandma?' I repeated myself and he answered the same way. Poor thing, he’s really missing Grandma, his cousins, his friends.
And he’s been stuck inside for weeks! The last 2 weeks in CO were so snowy that he couldn’t really play outside and it’s been so wet & chilly here that he still can’t. I have to find some things for him to do to burn off some of his energy. I haven’t seen any kid play-type places that are indoors where he could run around in the crappy weather.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Strykers & Ugly Furniture (One to Take Care of the Other?)
Had brunch at one of the mess halls. The mess hall meals are usually pretty good and always cheap (basically an all-you-can-eat, although you only get one main dish, for $3.65), so we’ve been eating there a lot. The downside is that it’s easy to overdo on semi-decadent foods that you usually avoid (biscuits, bacon, etc.). And it’s easy to overeat in general, just because it’s there and pretty yummy and I hate to waste food. Gotta work on letting that go so I don’t gain more weight again!
Went to Vilseck again today to check out the furniture store there. First ugly furniture I’ve seen in Germany. It’s that big, over-sized, overly-ornate stuff that I just don’t like. (Please, if you like that stuff, don’t be offended. I realize it has its place… that place just isn't anywhere in my house.) There was like one sofa and chair in the whole place that would go with our stuff, but that’s not what we need.
To get to Vilseck, we went out the back side of the base. That means you go through some of the training areas where they have tank crossings along the road & stuff. They do some blackout night training there, so at night you’re supposed to stop & listen for the tanks since they may be coming along with all their lights off. Guitarman was talking about how some people have never seen any vehicles out there so they kind of get careless about stopping at all the yield signs. (Yeah, yield doesn’t mean stop, but wouldn’t ya hate to have a tank run you over ‘cause you didn’t want to take the time to do a full-on stop?) Anyway, we’d just passed this yard thingy where they maybe store tanks (we don’t know what all the stuff is on base) and 3 of the Stryker vehicles went right by us. Wow, are those things quiet! We’d never have noticed them (they did have all their lights off) if I hadn’t happened to look over in their direction (they were on a road next to the main road). We also saw a few Hummers driving along another road. Kind of weird to be here, driving on by on our way from dinner (we ate at the bowling alley), while the military is out here training. Apparently they have fake towns on base and they hire locals to interact with the soldiers & stuff. Interesting.
I finally finished putting the bed together and got the 2 baby gates put up. We’re going to see how it goes to not block off the stairs from the main floor going upstairs… hoping that Wee Laddie won’t go up far enough on his own that he’ll fall down. (I’m sure some people are wondering why we still need gates for him. I’ll tell ya, this child does not pay enough attention to what he’s doing. Sometimes, he’ll nearly fall down the stairs even with me holding his hand!)
Went to Vilseck again today to check out the furniture store there. First ugly furniture I’ve seen in Germany. It’s that big, over-sized, overly-ornate stuff that I just don’t like. (Please, if you like that stuff, don’t be offended. I realize it has its place… that place just isn't anywhere in my house.) There was like one sofa and chair in the whole place that would go with our stuff, but that’s not what we need.
To get to Vilseck, we went out the back side of the base. That means you go through some of the training areas where they have tank crossings along the road & stuff. They do some blackout night training there, so at night you’re supposed to stop & listen for the tanks since they may be coming along with all their lights off. Guitarman was talking about how some people have never seen any vehicles out there so they kind of get careless about stopping at all the yield signs. (Yeah, yield doesn’t mean stop, but wouldn’t ya hate to have a tank run you over ‘cause you didn’t want to take the time to do a full-on stop?) Anyway, we’d just passed this yard thingy where they maybe store tanks (we don’t know what all the stuff is on base) and 3 of the Stryker vehicles went right by us. Wow, are those things quiet! We’d never have noticed them (they did have all their lights off) if I hadn’t happened to look over in their direction (they were on a road next to the main road). We also saw a few Hummers driving along another road. Kind of weird to be here, driving on by on our way from dinner (we ate at the bowling alley), while the military is out here training. Apparently they have fake towns on base and they hire locals to interact with the soldiers & stuff. Interesting.
I finally finished putting the bed together and got the 2 baby gates put up. We’re going to see how it goes to not block off the stairs from the main floor going upstairs… hoping that Wee Laddie won’t go up far enough on his own that he’ll fall down. (I’m sure some people are wondering why we still need gates for him. I’ll tell ya, this child does not pay enough attention to what he’s doing. Sometimes, he’ll nearly fall down the stairs even with me holding his hand!)
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Feelin’ Like a Moron
We went up to one of the other furniture shops by IKEA... it’s called Hiedl. There was a discount furniture place that seemed a little lower in quality than IKEA so we didn’t get anything there. I mean, IKEA’s got good bang-for-your-buck, but if you go much lower than that on quality I think you might have some regrets. We got a rug for the living room (I was surprised that Guitarman actually was okay with a big orange rug for the living room… he’s said before that he didn’t want to have bunches of colors in the house just for the sake of having lots of colors. And we do already have a red sofa!), some childproofing things and a stroller.
I had my first official 'I’m an idiot for never becoming fluent in another language' moment. We were checking out and while Guitarman was doing VAT forms and I was confused about the German instructions we were getting on how to actually get the stroller (some stuff you can just stick in your cart, some stuff you have to have sent over from the warehouse, apparently) we forgot a bag at the counter. We got to the car and realized it was missing so I went back in to get it… it had already been sent to where we had to go to pick up the stroller. So we get there and the guy says something to me in German. I told him I don’t understand German and he just walked away. He brought over the bag and asked if it was ours (through gestures), so I said yes ('ja') and he gave me that and our stroller. It was one of those moments where you can just tell exactly how big of an idiot another person thinks you are. I hate those moments.
Wee Laddie is having a lot of trouble listening lately. Well, I suppose it’s more the doing what we want him to part that he’s really having a hard time with. I know he’s two and all so there’s that. But I also think the upheaval is taking its toll on his behavior. We’ve been doing all this furniture shopping (another factor, I’m sure, along with the fact that it’s almost never warm & dry enough to spend any time outside here) and he just takes off running through the store and won’t stay with us at all. Makes it even harder to get this shopping done.
I had my first official 'I’m an idiot for never becoming fluent in another language' moment. We were checking out and while Guitarman was doing VAT forms and I was confused about the German instructions we were getting on how to actually get the stroller (some stuff you can just stick in your cart, some stuff you have to have sent over from the warehouse, apparently) we forgot a bag at the counter. We got to the car and realized it was missing so I went back in to get it… it had already been sent to where we had to go to pick up the stroller. So we get there and the guy says something to me in German. I told him I don’t understand German and he just walked away. He brought over the bag and asked if it was ours (through gestures), so I said yes ('ja') and he gave me that and our stroller. It was one of those moments where you can just tell exactly how big of an idiot another person thinks you are. I hate those moments.
Wee Laddie is having a lot of trouble listening lately. Well, I suppose it’s more the doing what we want him to part that he’s really having a hard time with. I know he’s two and all so there’s that. But I also think the upheaval is taking its toll on his behavior. We’ve been doing all this furniture shopping (another factor, I’m sure, along with the fact that it’s almost never warm & dry enough to spend any time outside here) and he just takes off running through the store and won’t stay with us at all. Makes it even harder to get this shopping done.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Echo, Echo, Echo
We had dinner at and looked around the Möbelhof furniture store. It’s right across the road (well, and a field, too) from our house but you have to drive about a kilometer to get there. It is a very cool store. IKEA style but more upscale. Rather like Bova…not quite DWR, but nicer than Scan Designs and way nicer than IKEA. Wee Laddie was quite taken with a table & chair set that’s just his size. (Already, with the high-end taste… maybe we can talk him into IKEA at least.) I love that there are all these furniture stores around with stuff that we like. There are some other shops around the IKEA that we’ll also check out on some other trip over there.
Tonight was the first night in the house. It echoes like crazy with the tile floors and no furniture. We can barely carry on a conversation, and then only if Wee Laddie’s not shouting something (which he often is). It’s maddening. Guitarman was unpacking the TV & stuff and it was just insanely loud from the bedroom upstairs.
When I tucked Wee Laddie in tonight he was crying for the hotel. I’m sure it’s just because that’s the only place he’s stayed here and he didn’t want to be in a new place (we don’t even have the bed set up, we’re just on the mattresses on the floor). I had taken some photos of the hotel room so I showed them to him. That seemed to help and he did finally go to sleep.
Funny thing Wee Laddie did: He picked a boogie and tried to put it in Guitarman’s nose. Hehe
Tonight was the first night in the house. It echoes like crazy with the tile floors and no furniture. We can barely carry on a conversation, and then only if Wee Laddie’s not shouting something (which he often is). It’s maddening. Guitarman was unpacking the TV & stuff and it was just insanely loud from the bedroom upstairs.
When I tucked Wee Laddie in tonight he was crying for the hotel. I’m sure it’s just because that’s the only place he’s stayed here and he didn’t want to be in a new place (we don’t even have the bed set up, we’re just on the mattresses on the floor). I had taken some photos of the hotel room so I showed them to him. That seemed to help and he did finally go to sleep.
Funny thing Wee Laddie did: He picked a boogie and tried to put it in Guitarman’s nose. Hehe
Friday, January 12, 2007
A Better Place to Stay
We’re definitely renting the house in Parsberg… Guitarman met with the landlord & a guy from the housing office today to do a walkthrough. He’s supposed to take the rent check to the landlord tomorrow. It’ll be really nice to get out of the hotel & into a place that’ll be ours even if our stuff won’t be there for a while yet.
We made a run up (down? over?) to IKEA in Regensburg tonight after Guitarman got off work. It was a horrible trip doing something I normally really enjoy. The people who lent Guitarman the truck (it’s connected with work so they can only use it for a short time) didn’t have their paperwork together, so it took him like 1.5 hours to get the truck. Those of you who know how patient he is can imagine how that affected his mood. (And I’ll just leave it at that.) He was supposed to have the truck at 4pm, IKEA closes at like 7 or 8pm (I forget exactly) and it takes probably 1/2 hour to get there.
The drive up was awful...my first time driving on the autobahn. Here’s the deal with the autobahn: There is technically no speed limit for the whole autobahn, but certain areas are marked with speed limits for certain conditions (60kph when wet, 80kph because of road damage, etc). And if you’re in an accident and are doing over 130kph (which is roughly 80mph) you can get in some big trouble if they think you were driving too fast for conditions. Still, a lot of people drive very, very fast. So I’m driving this Lancia rental car that is essentially a Euro minivan… tall, top-heavy, plus it’s shorter and narrower than a US minivan. And on this drive it was really windy. I felt like I was getting blown all over the place! So I wasn’t able to drive very fast but was trying to hurry. I'm a fairly confident driver except when weather conditions make me uncomfortable.
(photo from constructeurs.photos.caradisiac.com...trendy people included for perspective)
Wee Laddie and I ate dinner in the car (sandwiches from the Esso gas station…gotta say, much better than the 7-11 kind) and then we made a mad dash around IKEA, Wee Laddie in tow, trying to get all this stuff. We wanted to get: a bed for us, a bed for Wee Laddie, bedding for all, a TV stand of some kind, and some seating for the living room while our sofa is en route. What we got: a bed
and bedding, but just for us. (Guitarman had already picked up a TV, of course.)
There’s a weird phenomenon here… all the people in shops love to give out gummy bears (or sometimes lollipops) to the little children. Wee Laddie was being really whiny at the Esso when I picked up dinner and the woman handed me one for him. I stuck it quickly in my pocket so he didn’t see it because I was not about to reward his whiny behavior. I did refrain from telling her that, though it probably was mostly because my German is so limited.
We made a run up (down? over?) to IKEA in Regensburg tonight after Guitarman got off work. It was a horrible trip doing something I normally really enjoy. The people who lent Guitarman the truck (it’s connected with work so they can only use it for a short time) didn’t have their paperwork together, so it took him like 1.5 hours to get the truck. Those of you who know how patient he is can imagine how that affected his mood. (And I’ll just leave it at that.) He was supposed to have the truck at 4pm, IKEA closes at like 7 or 8pm (I forget exactly) and it takes probably 1/2 hour to get there.
The drive up was awful...my first time driving on the autobahn. Here’s the deal with the autobahn: There is technically no speed limit for the whole autobahn, but certain areas are marked with speed limits for certain conditions (60kph when wet, 80kph because of road damage, etc). And if you’re in an accident and are doing over 130kph (which is roughly 80mph) you can get in some big trouble if they think you were driving too fast for conditions. Still, a lot of people drive very, very fast. So I’m driving this Lancia rental car that is essentially a Euro minivan… tall, top-heavy, plus it’s shorter and narrower than a US minivan. And on this drive it was really windy. I felt like I was getting blown all over the place! So I wasn’t able to drive very fast but was trying to hurry. I'm a fairly confident driver except when weather conditions make me uncomfortable.
(photo from constructeurs.photos.caradisiac.com...trendy people included for perspective)
Wee Laddie and I ate dinner in the car (sandwiches from the Esso gas station…gotta say, much better than the 7-11 kind) and then we made a mad dash around IKEA, Wee Laddie in tow, trying to get all this stuff. We wanted to get: a bed for us, a bed for Wee Laddie, bedding for all, a TV stand of some kind, and some seating for the living room while our sofa is en route. What we got: a bed
and bedding, but just for us. (Guitarman had already picked up a TV, of course.)
There’s a weird phenomenon here… all the people in shops love to give out gummy bears (or sometimes lollipops) to the little children. Wee Laddie was being really whiny at the Esso when I picked up dinner and the woman handed me one for him. I stuck it quickly in my pocket so he didn’t see it because I was not about to reward his whiny behavior. I did refrain from telling her that, though it probably was mostly because my German is so limited.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Where the Hell Are We?
Went to the base at Vilseck (where my friend Kerri’s friend lives) today (an hour or so away). Vilseck is a very cute, quaint town so it was kind of a fun drive. This area in general is quite pretty. Not in that breathtaking way that Colorado is but in a gentle, rolling hills kind of way. The villages are picturesque, I think largely because the houses all seem to belong together… not all look-alikes like some areas in Denver (I won’t name them now that I’m in real estate, but you Denverites know the ones I mean), but there are certain colors that they all seem to use (white, yellows, sort of pale oranges) and the houses are all of a similar style. Somehow it comes off not as boring or mundane but as picturesque and charming.
The base at Vilseck is much bigger, like Würzburg (I think Würzburg is actually a bit larger but I’m not sure). Everything’s open later, too… Guitarman said the first time he visited one of those bases, he was like, 'Man, why are we stuck slumming it in Hohenfels?' I guess Hohenfels is different ‘cause much of the population there is transient. They just come in for a few weeks or whatever of training and then they’re gone. The permanent population must be pretty small.
Wee Laddie was busy flirting with a table full of women (plus one hubby) that were next to us. They just thought he was great. Not that I’m pretending he’s not an enormous flirt (which he absolutely is), but the real reason he was interested in them in the first place is that he thought one of the women looked like his Aunt Tam.
The base at Vilseck is much bigger, like Würzburg (I think Würzburg is actually a bit larger but I’m not sure). Everything’s open later, too… Guitarman said the first time he visited one of those bases, he was like, 'Man, why are we stuck slumming it in Hohenfels?' I guess Hohenfels is different ‘cause much of the population there is transient. They just come in for a few weeks or whatever of training and then they’re gone. The permanent population must be pretty small.
Wee Laddie was busy flirting with a table full of women (plus one hubby) that were next to us. They just thought he was great. Not that I’m pretending he’s not an enormous flirt (which he absolutely is), but the real reason he was interested in them in the first place is that he thought one of the women looked like his Aunt Tam.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
This Hotel Room Ain't Big Enough for the Two of Us
Semi-sick day. We skipped the hotel breakfast (which is pretty good, as German hotel breakfasts seem to generally be) because of excessive whining. Not by me, though I'm going to whine a bit right now. The hotel room was way too small for us today… we had a bad night’s sleep and a bad nap.
Guitarman was charged a 2nd time for a notebook he’d already bought at the PX (he told the bitchy cashier that he’d brought it in and she totally ignored him…and he’d even written in it already, not that she checked). It was less than $1 but it’s the principle, you know? I’m not sure why, but the German workers on base all seem to hate Americans. (Actually, I’ll revise that: The security people at the entry gate are nearly always nice as are most of the mess hall employees. But the people at the small offices around base are mostly pissy.)
I can totally understand why some people might not like Americans... especially Americans stationed in their country. But, really, if you feel that way, why the hell are you working on an American military base??
Guitarman was charged a 2nd time for a notebook he’d already bought at the PX (he told the bitchy cashier that he’d brought it in and she totally ignored him…and he’d even written in it already, not that she checked). It was less than $1 but it’s the principle, you know? I’m not sure why, but the German workers on base all seem to hate Americans. (Actually, I’ll revise that: The security people at the entry gate are nearly always nice as are most of the mess hall employees. But the people at the small offices around base are mostly pissy.)
I can totally understand why some people might not like Americans... especially Americans stationed in their country. But, really, if you feel that way, why the hell are you working on an American military base??
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Sick Day at Hotel Yogurt
Wee Laddie was sick today... he slept nearly all day. He was feverish, shaking, not eating, sleeping in fits & starts (woke once crying out, 'Blueberry! Crackers!'). Poor little guy!
He wouldn't sleep without me holding him, of course, so I was virtually trapped in bed all day. I read part of the drivers’ license manual (we have to get a special license to be able to drive cars here under the agreement Guitarman’s on) and a few Truman Capote short stories and knitted.
Guitarman looked at a house this afternoon and then we all went to see one in Parsberg (it was hard for me to really check it out, though, ‘cause Wee Laddie was pretty much crying the whole time and I was trying to keep him quiet so Guitarman could talk to the landlord). Guitarman really liked it so we’ll probably rent it since he’s got a better idea than I do of what else is available. And we're both pretty anxious to get out of the hotel even though I haven't even been here a week yet.
He wouldn't sleep without me holding him, of course, so I was virtually trapped in bed all day. I read part of the drivers’ license manual (we have to get a special license to be able to drive cars here under the agreement Guitarman’s on) and a few Truman Capote short stories and knitted.
Guitarman looked at a house this afternoon and then we all went to see one in Parsberg (it was hard for me to really check it out, though, ‘cause Wee Laddie was pretty much crying the whole time and I was trying to keep him quiet so Guitarman could talk to the landlord). Guitarman really liked it so we’ll probably rent it since he’s got a better idea than I do of what else is available. And we're both pretty anxious to get out of the hotel even though I haven't even been here a week yet.
Monday, January 8, 2007
No Place to Play
We keep seeing playgrounds on base but they’re all locked! We tried a few of them but ended up having to have Wee Laddie run around in an open field right next to a playground (which he kept looking at and saying, 'Play? Play?' Brutal.).
Went to look at a house in Seubersdorf. It’s the first one in Germany I’ve seen the inside of so I didn’t really have anything to compare it to. I thought it looked pretty nice (and was certainly bigger than I’d expected), but Guitarman wasn’t that excited about the inside of it. We were both concerned that it was on kind of a busy street (the main street through Seubersdorf, which the current renters said definitely gets busy during the week) and even though the yard was fenced I’m sure we’d be constantly worried that Wee Laddie might get out somehow. There was also an issue about the heating stove used by one of the neighbors… it apparently blows soot into the windows of this place when they are open. (Another issue about that neighbor mowing his lawn in Speedos, but I reckon that’s not worth passing up a good house over!) We found out that the landlord also owns like the next house over, so I thought we should look into that since it’s a bit farther off the road but Guitarman wants to go back to the housing office on Monday to see what else they have.
Went to look at a house in Seubersdorf. It’s the first one in Germany I’ve seen the inside of so I didn’t really have anything to compare it to. I thought it looked pretty nice (and was certainly bigger than I’d expected), but Guitarman wasn’t that excited about the inside of it. We were both concerned that it was on kind of a busy street (the main street through Seubersdorf, which the current renters said definitely gets busy during the week) and even though the yard was fenced I’m sure we’d be constantly worried that Wee Laddie might get out somehow. There was also an issue about the heating stove used by one of the neighbors… it apparently blows soot into the windows of this place when they are open. (Another issue about that neighbor mowing his lawn in Speedos, but I reckon that’s not worth passing up a good house over!) We found out that the landlord also owns like the next house over, so I thought we should look into that since it’s a bit farther off the road but Guitarman wants to go back to the housing office on Monday to see what else they have.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Nary a Vegetable in Sight
Went to the base at Würzburg to check things out. The PX there is huge… way WAY bigger than the one here in Hohenfels.
Had dinner at the döner kebap (Turkish food) in Seubersdorf (a town where there’s a house we’re going to look at on Sunday). We always get a good workout for our German when we go to foreign-food restaurants run by people for whom German is a 2nd language… they frequently don’t speak English so we’re on our own. It was sort of a weird little place--part restaurant part cyber café, I guess (although the computers there weren’t on). The owner showed us a game room in the back (not sure why but he seemed to like us) that had pool tables & stuff. At first when he was calling me over to see it I felt like I was in a mob movie or something… here’s where you see the back room where the secret poker games take place. Anyway, the food was good.
Tonight we tried to have Guitarman tuck Wee Laddie in… didn’t go so well. He was very upset, crying a lot. The manager of the hotel called to check on him. She told me that someone said he was outside, but I guess she could hear that he was in the room with me ‘cause she said, 'All ist klar,' and hung up. Now I don’t know if that was really the whole story or what but it made us uncomfortable. Guitarman was worried that someone who hates Americans might report us for something we didn’t do and the police would come arrest us or whatever… I was annoyed that we were having to make different choices than we want to just for the sake of placating other guests at the hotel. I mean, I’m sorry our child was crying and I wouldn’t want to keep the other guests awake or anything, but we still need to do what’s best for our son. We’ve only been here a few days but I already feel like we’ve got to get out of this hotel if it’s going to mean that we’re not free to make the choices we need to make for the best of all of us.
Had dinner at the döner kebap (Turkish food) in Seubersdorf (a town where there’s a house we’re going to look at on Sunday). We always get a good workout for our German when we go to foreign-food restaurants run by people for whom German is a 2nd language… they frequently don’t speak English so we’re on our own. It was sort of a weird little place--part restaurant part cyber café, I guess (although the computers there weren’t on). The owner showed us a game room in the back (not sure why but he seemed to like us) that had pool tables & stuff. At first when he was calling me over to see it I felt like I was in a mob movie or something… here’s where you see the back room where the secret poker games take place. Anyway, the food was good.
Tonight we tried to have Guitarman tuck Wee Laddie in… didn’t go so well. He was very upset, crying a lot. The manager of the hotel called to check on him. She told me that someone said he was outside, but I guess she could hear that he was in the room with me ‘cause she said, 'All ist klar,' and hung up. Now I don’t know if that was really the whole story or what but it made us uncomfortable. Guitarman was worried that someone who hates Americans might report us for something we didn’t do and the police would come arrest us or whatever… I was annoyed that we were having to make different choices than we want to just for the sake of placating other guests at the hotel. I mean, I’m sorry our child was crying and I wouldn’t want to keep the other guests awake or anything, but we still need to do what’s best for our son. We’ve only been here a few days but I already feel like we’ve got to get out of this hotel if it’s going to mean that we’re not free to make the choices we need to make for the best of all of us.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
This Ain’t Hollywood
Wee Laddie had his 2nd celebrity sighting at breakfast this morning. (His 1st was Buddy Guy—here's a picture of them—from a trip to the airport with Guitarman last year).
Wee Laddie was talking at breakfast to a guy with really cool dreads and it turns out he was on Wilmer Valderrama’s crew. Wilmer showed up a little later. He was very quiet, only said about 2 sentences. Hence, no picture. Oh yeah, plus it was one of the few times I didn't have my camera with me. Of course. I'll catch it the next time we have breakfast with Wilmer.
After breakfast, we took a short walk in Hörmannsdorf. We didn’t go far…not that there is a 'far' here. At least not without leaving town. All the houses here have these cool roller shade things outside all the windows. You pull a strap on the wall to open and close them and you can have them closed with a little light coming through or you can shut them down tight, in which case they are very good room darkeners. I have no idea what they’re called, but they’re very cool. The big one in our hotel is motorized. So you don’t strain yourself, I guess.
Guitarman also saw some of the 'Yo Momma' crew at breakfast. He said a guy walked over and took the lid off of one of the pans and said, 'Oh, god. Another sausage.' Welcome to Germany, dude.
Wee Laddie was talking at breakfast to a guy with really cool dreads and it turns out he was on Wilmer Valderrama’s crew. Wilmer showed up a little later. He was very quiet, only said about 2 sentences. Hence, no picture. Oh yeah, plus it was one of the few times I didn't have my camera with me. Of course. I'll catch it the next time we have breakfast with Wilmer.
After breakfast, we took a short walk in Hörmannsdorf. We didn’t go far…not that there is a 'far' here. At least not without leaving town. All the houses here have these cool roller shade things outside all the windows. You pull a strap on the wall to open and close them and you can have them closed with a little light coming through or you can shut them down tight, in which case they are very good room darkeners. I have no idea what they’re called, but they’re very cool. The big one in our hotel is motorized. So you don’t strain yourself, I guess.
Guitarman also saw some of the 'Yo Momma' crew at breakfast. He said a guy walked over and took the lid off of one of the pans and said, 'Oh, god. Another sausage.' Welcome to Germany, dude.
Friday, January 5, 2007
How to Wear Out a Toddler
Wee Laddie slept ‘til 10:45 and I still had to wake him… not like his usual 'Mommy wake up?' at 7am. I feel pretty decent (I seem to adjust fairly well to time changes). I mean, I am tired and slept late… but sleeping late means I wasn’t up at 4am or anything (which is what happened the first few days of my trip to England with Lori). Went to the military base for lunch… didn’t really do much else.
It’s cold here and grey. On the upside, there aren't 2 feet of snow on the ground like back home.
Wilmer Valderrama & his 'Yo Momma' crew were at Guitarman’s office today (apparently I just missed them when I went to pick him up), taking a tour or something. When we got back to our hote, there was a tour bus outside. Who knew Hörmannsdorf was such a happenin’ place? (That comment is funnier if you've ever seen Hörmannsdorf.)
It’s cold here and grey. On the upside, there aren't 2 feet of snow on the ground like back home.
Wilmer Valderrama & his 'Yo Momma' crew were at Guitarman’s office today (apparently I just missed them when I went to pick him up), taking a tour or something. When we got back to our hote, there was a tour bus outside. Who knew Hörmannsdorf was such a happenin’ place? (That comment is funnier if you've ever seen Hörmannsdorf.)
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Day One in Deutschland
The trip wasn’t as bad as I feared it might be. Wee Laddie did cry & whine for the first 3 hours of the flight but, to be fair, he had no idea what was going on (except that we’d talked about going to see Daddy and leaving Grandma). It was very discouraging, though, and I was not happy to be traveling w/o Guitarman just then. After dinner and all that, Wee Laddie did go to sleep and actually slept (on me, of course… so glad we paid for that extra seat that he sat in long enough to eat dinner) for pretty much the rest of the flight. I’m sure all the other passengers were nearly as relieved as I was.
The virgin trip with my Samsonite carry-on ended up being without it. Too big…bastards. I envision this conversation: 'Hey, look! We designed a new carry-on.' 'Great, I love it. I can’t wait to take it on the plane with me.' 'Take it on the plane? Why would you want to take it on the plane?' So I was stopped partway through the jetway and had to cram the entire Wee Laddie Entertainment Package into my purse and his little Samsonite rolling turtle suitcase. Oh, and the about 15 diapers that I’d brought, just in case.
Lost the stroller at Frankfurt. I really wish I could blame it on someone other than myself. I’d gate-checked it and got flustered when they disembarked us outside instead on a jetway so I forgot to ask about it. And it's really too bad, 'cause it sure would’ve been handy for the stopover.
Oh, and I left the now-unpacked diapers on the plane. You know, just in case.
Guitarman showed us around the base a bit (it was all a blur) and we ran into the admin from his office… I love meeting new people after 10 hours of traveling. Dinner at the bowling alley and met a family that is staying at the same hotel that we’re at. They have a son a year older than Wee Laddie.
The virgin trip with my Samsonite carry-on ended up being without it. Too big…bastards. I envision this conversation: 'Hey, look! We designed a new carry-on.' 'Great, I love it. I can’t wait to take it on the plane with me.' 'Take it on the plane? Why would you want to take it on the plane?' So I was stopped partway through the jetway and had to cram the entire Wee Laddie Entertainment Package into my purse and his little Samsonite rolling turtle suitcase. Oh, and the about 15 diapers that I’d brought, just in case.
Lost the stroller at Frankfurt. I really wish I could blame it on someone other than myself. I’d gate-checked it and got flustered when they disembarked us outside instead on a jetway so I forgot to ask about it. And it's really too bad, 'cause it sure would’ve been handy for the stopover.
Oh, and I left the now-unpacked diapers on the plane. You know, just in case.
Guitarman showed us around the base a bit (it was all a blur) and we ran into the admin from his office… I love meeting new people after 10 hours of traveling. Dinner at the bowling alley and met a family that is staying at the same hotel that we’re at. They have a son a year older than Wee Laddie.
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