theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for August 2007

blog day 2007

filed under: fun!, my so-called life

Blog Day 2007

Today is Blog Day 2007 and I finally get around to share 5 of my favorite blogs with you after Kim tagged me back at the beginning of this month twice already and I really didn’t have ANY spare time at all to write up that post. But I really thought it’s a neat project, so I must obey and play along.

Here are the official rules:

1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2007
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
5. Add the BlogDay tag and a link to the BlogDay web site to your post

And without any further ado, here are the five blogs I recommend to you:

Rubysoho – Aaryn is a wonderful photographer and writer from San Diego and I originally came across her profile on flickr when I discovered some of her amazing photos of her daughter Ruby a few months ago. From there, I found my way to her blog and instantly loved her wit and humor and her great views on life. She is very “real”.

Kerrianne – I just love Kerri’s writing. She has a way of creating very complex, run-on sentences like no other and it reminds me of the way we create sentences in German sometimes [Kerri, are you of German descent?] ;) She has a big heart and great humor.

Fabulously out there – Ulli is German, but lives in [my favorite city in the whole world =] Boston. I don’t really remember how I found her blog, but it’s fun to read about her life, the ups and downs and everything in between and she’s very good about updating, too. This is one of the blogs where you will find a new post almost every day :)

Random and Odd – I originally went over to Kristine’s blog to participate in the Stuff Portrait Friday Project that she is running on her site. Then I started reading her other posts, too and realized that she writes about the roller coaster that we call “life”in a very straight-forward manner. She blogs about her good days and more often about her bad days, but through it all, she can still laugh about herself and see the irony in everything.

Notcrazyunwell – last but not least, I do have to mention Kim’s blog for you guys, because I think she deserves to be not only tagged, but recommended. Kim and I originally met online and got to know each other because we were both dating Americans at that time. It was good having someone to talk to who “completely understands”. We went through the ups and downs of our long-distance relationships and really formed a strong bond over the last few years. She is one of the most positively thinking people I know, even though she’s had a lot to deal with in her life already and the long-distance relationship with an American definitely added to that. Fortunately, we were both able to finally end the separation last year and now we can just share the every day challenges of living with someone from a different culture ;)

So, that’s it. Now it’s your turn to go over and check those blogs out.
Oh, and here are the people I tag: Aaryn, Ilka, Caity, Ulli and Hemlock
and don’t forget to report back to me when you’re done :)

 

Settling into “home” #2

filed under: my so-called life

I had a good weekend, not too eventful, so I spare you the details, but I enjoyed my time with J as much as possible. We cooked dinner together, went to the beach and just enjoyed being around each other.

Sunday night, I got on the plane again, arrived in Sacramento around 11 pm, picked up my rental car and went to my new “home”, or “home #2″ as I like to call it :) Kari had already gone to bed [of course], but she left me a really nice welcome message at the stairs.

Yesterday after work, she had invited me to go to the [Minor League] Baseball game with her and two of our neighbors. It was fun! One of her neighbors got season tickets from someone at his work, so we had really good seats and just enjoyed the game. We played Baseball Bingo. Let me explain: everybody gets a bingo card upon entry and then -depending on the plays the home team makes – you get certain letter-number-combinations. Kari and I did really well at the beginning, but sucked at the end – so we didn’t win anything. It was still fun though!
We had garlic fries and nachos for dinner [oh the calories *g*], because I am just not a big hot dog fan, although that is what you usually eat at a baseball game I was told ;)

Thanks to Sacramento weather, it was a warm night with almost clear skies. Just look at the beautiful view that we had!

Raley Field

Work was good today. I am still excited every morning to go to work – is this a good sign?? :) Still. Today I couldn’t wait until work was over, because I had planned to go to IKEA! They just recently opened an IKEA in West Sacramento and it is only a ten-minute drive from my work/apartment! Awesome!
Eventually, I’ll have to get a bed or something, but today I only got a few things to make my room [which has a borrowed air mattress and a cardboard box as a bedside table right now] a little more MY room ;)

I got a side table in dark brown, a lamp and a clock :) Now, isn’t that a start?
J and I will probably look into getting a sofa-bed or mattress next weekend.

Back home.

filed under: excitement, my so-called life

It’s Saturday afternoon and I am back in Ventura. The commute between Southern and Northern California is really not that bad and I am sure I will figure out the most time-efficient way in the next few weeks, but I am playing catch-up with the emotional side right now. It’s kind of weird to be in Sacto one day and in Ventura the next and vice versa, but I am sure I’ll get used to that as well ;)

I had a really good week, got a lot done [even though I have been working on the same “problem” for quite a few days] and I already got my first paycheck! Yay! We get paid twice a month and so I got my first paycheck for the first 3 days [August 13th – 15th] this week. Oh it feels so good to finally earn my own money again :)

I am also trying to figure out if I am paying enough taxes. I still have a hard time to accept the fact that I myself have to tell my employer how much taxes they should withhold. You see, in Germany this is decided FOR YOU and you don’t have to worry about it. Therefore, filling out the W-4 was a little adventure for me. Since my annual income this year will be on the low side [since I just started working two weeks ago], they withheld a really small amount percentage-wise from my last paycheck. Not that I mind, but of course I want to make sure that I don’t owe any money to the IRS next spring. I’ll just wait and see what my next paycheck will look like since it’s actually going to cover a whole half month instead of just three days.

By the way, I calculated that the per diem rate that I will be paid for one week per month will actually cover two more round-trips from LA to Sacramento, if I book in advance and get the cheaper fares. What I really like about Southwest Airlines is that I will be able to change flights online if I happen to have to reschedule my work hours and that I’ll be able to put the full amount towards a new flight. I’ll also collect “Credits” for every flight and rental car reservation that will eventually result in free flights to ANY Southwest Airlines destination :) I think that will really pay off for someone who’ll be traveling as much as I do.

I am also really excited that I’ll be moving in with Kari tomorrow night when I get back to Sacramento. We probably won’t see each other, because I’ll be getting in really late and we both will have to get up around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, but it feels good to go to an apartment and not to a hotel.

I hope you’re all enjoying your weekends :)

I smile a lot these days…

filed under: excitement, my so-called life

The new week started well. I actually enjoy! getting up at 5:45 a.m. and getting ready for work. Ha, let’s see for how long that will be going on :) This is too good to be true.

Anyways, staying at a hotel in a city that I called my “home” for 1.5 years feels kinda odd though. I can’t wait until I move into an apartment. It will feel much more like “home” again than going back to a hotel room every night. Oh wait, there is some good news I wanted to tell you: I’ll be moving in with someone this coming week! Yay!

You might remember that I looked at a room last week and it looks like it is working out. I really like the tenant, and her cat and her new kitten ;) OMG. Now I am even more excited about living with her, because I’ll finally have the pets that I always wanted! Kari seems to be excited, too, that we’re going to be roomates [and hopefully friends!]. She already invited me to join her and two neighbors to a baseball game next week. Cool!
I went over to the place tonight and we signed the “roommate agreement”. I got to meet the kitten [so tiny and so adorable!] and we talked about some organizational stuff. I think I couldn’t ask for a better roommate situation.

BUT: I am also excited about going home on Thursday. Commuting makes you look forward to the weekend even more – although I do have plenty to look forward to during the week as well.

Ok, enough of this crazy talk now. I think you got the point. I am pretty happy these days :)

In which I complain without complaining ;)

filed under: my so-called life

Damn, the weekend went by fast. I didn’t expect that all, especially because I have a three-day-weekend now, but I still have to say that it did go fast anyways.

Thursday after work, I drove back to the airport, dropped of the rental car *pout* and checked in. It is SO convenient to fly domestic within the US when you don’t have to check in luggage. I really don’t know why they still expect you to be at the airport 90 minutes in advance if you can check in, go through security and get to the gate in like 10 minutes.
It didn’t bother me too much this time though, because I found out one more reason why I like Sacramento so much: Sacramento Airport hast complementary wireless Internet :)

I took a shuttle from Burbank and made it home shortly after midnight.

The weekend was kind of busy with running errands for and around the apartment. We still had to unpack some boxes, clean up, do laundry and do some shopping. I think we won’t be able to completely ban these tasks from our weekends, but at least, things will go a little smoother once we’ve figured out a routine.
We did find some time to go to the beach on Friday, I actually intended to go swimming and was all prepared in my bikini and with a big towel under my arm, but then decided otherwise when my big toe felt the water ;), had lunch with J’s Mom on Saturday and went Thriftstore-shopping with her afterwards.
I found two nice bargains, a skirt and a pair of jeans, for $8 total. Yay!

I also managed to take some pictures of our new place [click on the newest pictures in the apartment set]. Please excuse the messiness, but we’re still not quite moved in yet. It will just give you an idea of our new home :)

I got picked up at 5 p.m. to go the airport and I am back in Sacramento now, starting into a new week. Good night all!

Eye Candy

filed under: fun!

I just came back from Sylvia‘s blog and she asked us to show her OUR eye candy and you probably know who does it for me

2658408

That also gives me the opportunity to tell those who are interested and haven’t heard yet [like Cathy, Ilka and Maren ;)] that he’s going to be a Dad in November. OMG!

Read the whole story here.

Sacramento got me back :)

filed under: excitement, my so-called life

My first week at work is almost over and I finally have a few minutes to update you guys. The last week has just been so busy.

First off, we moved last Thursday. You gotta love the US for the “easy” moving procedures. You just back up your boxes, collect a few furniture pieces, clean up the place and leave.
There is no “disassembling of the kitchen”, “disassembling your closets” or anything like that. We packed up and cleaned up our apartment in Westwood in just one day. Awesome.
We spent the first night in our new apartment Thursday night. J and I have made it our “routine” to sleep the first night in an empty apartment on the floor :) It’s kinda fun.

Friday, we unpacked the U-Haul truck and unpacked. I love our new apartment. It doesn’t have as much style and it’s not as unique as our apartment in Westwood, but it does have some nice features… vaulted ceilings, a nice-sized kitchen with dishwasher!, and a big patio :)

Monday morning, I had to get up at 3 a.m., the airport shuttle picked me up at 4 a.m. and took me to the airport in Burbank. While waiting for the flight, I spilled a cup of coffee right on my top. GREAT! Fortunately, I only had carry-on luggage and therefore was able to change clothes.
The flight was only an hour and before I knew it, we landed in Sacramento :)
I picked up my rental car – a Toyota Prius Hybrid. OMG! I l.o.v.e this car! It operates half on a normal gas motor and half on electric power. When I first stopped at a light, it almost felt like the car was not even running at all. Amazing! I am curious how much gas I will have to refill before I drop it off again.
My boss and co-workers were thrilled to see me and I was very excited myself. Most of the day I was busy with filling out paperwork and running a lot of administrative errands.

In the evening, I met with my friend Ilka for dinner downtown. She took me to this nice little, serve-yourself restaurant Jack’s Urban Eats and I kept kicking myself the whole night that J and I didn’t know about when we lived in Sacramento. It’s a nice place with decent prices and the food is just delicious! They serve soup, sandwiches and salads. You can create your own salad from a list of menu items and then they prepare it for you right in front of your eyes. Yummy! I ended up getting some take-out there last night, so here’s a picture. Ilka and I talked for about three hours. It’s so great to have a familiar face to meet up with while being here :)

My workday starts at 7 a.m., so I had to get up early on Tuesday. Since I’ll be working a 4-day week, I have to put in 10 hours each day and that means that I’ll be off to an early start every day, but that is actually fine with me. I have to say that yesterday and today just went really fast. Maybe it’s because I had a lot! to do – I don’t know ;)

Tuesday night, I met with a girl who is renting out a room in her duplex apartment in Midtown. We instantly clicked and within minutes her cat had decided to take up residence on my lap – seems like we were off to a good start :) We had a really good time, the apartment is really nice [I would get my own gabled room upstairs] and after two hours she said that – if I can work things out – she would like me to move in. Yay!

Life is good right now.

Caraazzyness

filed under: family, my so-called life

Damn, it’s been a whole week since my last update. I really don’t have any apology other than that I just didn’t get much time online AT ALL – well, that in fact is probably the best excuse that anyone could give you, because that means that I was busy.

So much has happened in the last couple of days!

Last Friday, I got the call from my potential employer: I’ve got the job! Well, I actually expected that, but it was still a good feeling to get it confirmed – right before the weekend! Now the actual “planning” could begin! I had the weekend to think about a possible start date and I called my contact back on Monday to confirm my plans. I’ll be flying up to Sacramento next week and start working. W.O.W. Finally. I am so excited and overwhelmed at the same time! :)

I’ll be staying at a hotel next week until the living situation has been figured out.

J and I also looked at apartments over the weekend and found a place that we both really liked and which will be available this week! We’re actually going to move tomorrow! Yeah, I know, this is crazy [hence the title of this post ;)], but I am actually glad that we’ll be able to get the move over with before I start working. That way we don’t have to worry about doing it on one of our “precious” weekends together ;)

That’s what’s going on in a nutshell. I will write more this week. Just thought I needed to update you guys, so that you know that I am alive :)

I totally forgot…

filed under: excitement, my so-called life

… how much work it is to move.

Since J did the last move from Sacramento to LA all by himself [well, with the help of his friend] while I was in Germany, I forgot how much work it is to declutter, pack boxes, and clean up the old place AND then drive around, collect information, pick out a new place and move all your stuff from one place to another.

No, we haven’t found a new place yet – ha, that would have been kind a quick, now wouldn’t it? – but we’ve been apartment hunting for the last couple of days and I know that we’ll be very busy these coming weeks. In fact, it’ll be a double-move for me since I will also be looking for a place in Sacramento soon. Hopefully, the move up there will be a piece of cake compared to moving our whole household. I hope to find a roommate situation in a house or apartment in Sacramento and literally move up there with a few boxes. That would make things a lot easier.

So, have you guys had time to digest all this news?

Thank God, I adopted an attitude a while ago that would make me less worried about sudden changes in my life and make me feel less compelled to plan everything like months in advance. I think, now I am actually ok with it and wow, that’s a big step for me ;)