theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for March 2008

It’s not fair

filed under: I can't make this shit up, my so-called life

My roommate told me this morning that her Dad is coming to visit this weekend.

Her comment: I’ll have to spend time with him for THREE WHOLE DAYS!

My reaction: So? [Starring in disbelief, shaking my head]

Clearly, the girl doesn’t know how lucky she is that her Dad lives “only” a 6-hour car ride away [in LA] and I told her exactly that. I would be thrilled (!) if I could see my Dad [and my Mom and the rest of the family!] for three days. Even for longer, for all I care ;) It’s really not fair… but then, what is?

Her reply was that she has been living on her own, doing “her thing” on the weekends for too long and that she doesn’t like to adapt to someone else for three whole days… (???!?)
Good luck on finding a man, is all I can say to that.

Oh well, I had to realize lately that not every relationship between parents and their children is the same [the same as mine, that is]. It still kind of a mystery to me.

Anyway, this prompted J and I to think about taking the opportunity of going away for a night. We haven’t decided where we want to go yet, but I am sure we’ll be able to come up with something… there is something to see everywhere around here ;) Let’s call it our belated “Easter holiday weekend”, since we didn’t really do anything special last weekend.

Multi-tasking

filed under: my so-called life

This is what I am doing these days. I know, women are said to be very good at that and I agree. I don’t get overwhelmed when I am trying to juggle multiple tasks at the same time. In fact, it makes me feel more productive.

Downside? There are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. Like, not even remotely.

Does anyone else feel like that from time to time? Hence the absence of any meaningful updates lately.

Anyway, I had a great Easter weekend. We didn’t really do anything special, but the weather was very nice. This makes me particularly thankful when I heard that you guys in Germany had snow! It’s a couple of days into spring and you had snow. Unbelievable!

I baked Easter bread [a sweet yeast bread] for Sunday and bought some Lindt gold bunnies [Good lord, they’re expensive!], so that we had a little bit of an Easter feeling. Since we don’t get Good Friday and Easter Monday off, Easter didn’t really feel like a “holiday” to me.
I ran the usual weekend errands [grocery shopping, appointment at the nail salon, etc.] and also did the ususal cleaning procedure at home. I am barely there during the week, how come it always needs to be cleaned at the end of the week?!
Oh yeah, and just in case somebody is interested… I tried two new (old) recipes last weekend. Chicken fricassee and Sauerkraut with pork. I might add those to San’s Cookbook a little later.

P.S. As you also may have noticed: I added a new gadget to my sidebar. You can now subscribe to this blog by email. Isn’t that something? :)

What are the odds…?

filed under: excitement, my so-called life

… to hear the name of your relatively small hometown in Germany on American NPR [National Public Radio]?
Close to 0%. Exactly.

So call this a snowball’s chance in hell what happened to me yesterday.
I was driving home from work – a little later than usual because I had to wait for a computer process to finish at work and then stopped at the store to buy some groceries – when I listened to NPR and was totally taken aback when all of a sudden I hear the radio host say “Grevenbroich”.

Say what?

But there it was again. Admittedly, the guy had a little trouble pronouncing the word – what the heck, even some Germans can’t pronounce the name of my city right - but he unmistakably said it.

Apparently, NPR was doing a report about CO2 emissions and all that stuff and since my town is considered the “capital of energy” [because we have some of those HUGE lignite-fired power plants  and enormous lignite resources that are strip mined near my town], it was on the news! [Ok, not the greatest topic to be on the news about, but oh well.]

Here’s the link to the podcasts and the story in writing:

KAI RYSSDAL: Oil’s at $109-something a barrel. The planet’s getting warmer. So the search is on — has been on for a while now, actually — for new sources of clean energy. Nuclear power’s making a comeback. More than 100 new reactors are being built or planned in Europe, Asia and in the developing world.In Germany, though, nuclear’s on its way out — Berlin’s vowed to shut down its last reactor by 2022. Thing is, it’s also promised to cut its carbon dioxide output by 40 percent by 2020.

Brett Neely reports from the Marketplace Sustainability Desk doing both’s going to be a neat trick.

Brett Neely: The western German town of Grevenbroich calls itself Germany’s “capital of energy .” Three massive brown coal power plants produce enough cheap energy to power Germany’s biggest industrial region, the nearby Ruhr Valley. The plants also release epic amounts of carbon dioxide — over 60 million tons a year. That’s earned the town another name: the CO2 capital of Europe .And it’s getting bigger. Another huge power plant is due to come online next year. Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer is the director of energy economics for RWE, the utility that owns the plants.

Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer: Coal has become more important because of the phase-out of nuclear energy.Brown coal is so dirty that it makes the black stuff look good by comparison. But it’s also dirt cheap. This part of Germany sits atop some of the biggest brown coal reserves in the world. By some estimates, there’s another 200 years’ worth of coal here.Although the future of coal looks bright in Germany, the view from Monika Hermkus’ window is decidedly darker. The giant clouds of steam coming from the plants can block out the sun in front of her house for days. Monika Hermkus: I see a windmill from my window and it doesn’t disturb me nearly as much as the power plant does. It goes whoosh-whoosh, but the power plant rumbles loudly.Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer says his utility is spending a billion Euros a year to increase the use of solar and wind power. But he says that won’t provide enough energy to replace coal or nuclear plants. And natural gas? Too expensive. So according to Schiffer, all roads lead back to coal. Schiffer: Lignite is the only domestic energy source that offers sufficient energy reserves on a large scale.Or more specifically, 30 new coal power plants in the next decade — which would make it impossible for Germany to keep its promise to cut CO2 emissions by 40 percent. Across the country, German citizens are suing the utilities and have managed to stop the construction of some new plants.Energy economist Claudia Kemfert says the government needs to decide what’s more important: cutting coal and CO2, or eliminating nuclear plants. If it can’t make it up its mind, she says the country is headed for an electricity crisis. Claudia Kemfert: I would think that within the next five years, we might face real problems and danger of blackouts.In which case, she says, Germany would have to import power from other countries who use coal or nuclear. Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer at RWE says the decision may not be as difficult as it seems. Schiffer: I would say that coal is not part of the problem, but part of the solution of the CO2 reduction question.He says this new brown coal plant will be the most efficient in the world. It will emit one-third less CO2 than an older plant. It’s also designed to work with new carbon-capture technology that pipes the gas underground. But that technology won’t be ready until at least 2020.Economist Claudia Kemfert is skeptical about that timeline. And she says even if carbon capture works, get ready to say “auf wiedersehen” to cheap electricity. Kemfert: There are studies showing that the electricity price might double with this technology.Electricity prices have already doubled here since 2000. If prices go even higher, Germans may well decide that they prefer to sit in the dark.
In Grevenbroich, Germany, I’m Brett Neely for Marketplace.

Is it kind of silly to get excited about this? Maybe.
But if you live so far away from where you grew up, it makes your heart jump for just a second :)

Gosh, I am so behind.

filed under: fitness, my so-called life

I can’t believe it’s been a whole week since my birthday and I haven’t posted anything. I feel like I am behind on so much stuff… updating, responding to emails, returning calls. If I owe you any of that, please be patient with me.

I’ve been busy with work and even with a three-day-weekend, there is only so much you can get done. At least I finished my tax return on Sunday. That’s always a drag and I sure am relieved that I got that out of the way.

On Friday, I went to Susi’s wedding reception. She got us all quite surprised there, didn’t she? It was a really nice small reception with yummy food and a bunch of toddlers and kids. If there is Susi, there are kids :)

The rest of the weekend was busy with running errands, filling out my tax return and catching up on some overdue phone calls. Damn, the time difference really only leaves the weekends for calls to Germany and why the hell don’t I get a couple more hours in the mornings, so that I can talk to everyone I need to talk to?!

Yesterday I went to my gym class again. Since I skipped last Monday for an obvious reason, I knew going back would be hard.
Let’s just say it was harder.
When the 1,5 hours were over, I was completely beat-up. I felt like I couldn’t lift my arms, let alone my legs to walk out of the exercise room.
I think I made it to the store and then back home in a state of trance.

Luckily, I didn’t have to prepare any dinner since we had leftovers from Sunday night, and I collapsed on the couch and watched “SATC” with my roommate for an hour. THE perfect way to relax, if you ask me ;)
I pretty much crashed after this, only to wake up with a headache after a very non-recuperative night . Just fabulous!
I am not quite sure if that was due to the heavy workout or the fact that I did my tax forms in my dream over and over and over again.

Go figure!

I got tagged!

filed under: about me, lists!

I got tagged by lovely Kim this morning and therefore I have to participate in this little meme:  

Here are the rules:
* Link to the person who tagged you – go blame Kim.
* Post the rules here – DONE!
* Share 7 random or weird facts about yourself – see below.
* Tag 7 random people at the end of the post, linking to them.
* Leave a comment on their blog so that they know they’ve been tagged.

1. I always pretend to be a coffee drinker. I talk about coffeeshops and the first coffee in the morning, when, in fact, I am a milk drinker. More than half of my coffee consists of milk and I like my coffee kind of ‘weak’.

2. I broke my right leg when I was 2. My Mom told me I stepped on a balloon and sprained my foot and had to wear a cast – that covered my whole leg from hip to toe! - for a couple of weeks. She also told me that I got pretty good at walking with it ;)

3. J thinks I am “typically” German in some ways… he calls me “bread and butter” sometimes, because that is what I could literally live off if I had to :)

4. I sometimes quite often think about the life I would have had, if I hadn’t gone to CA and hadn’t met J. Not because I don’t like what I have [because I do!!!], but just because I always wonder what would have been different, if I had made different decisions in the past. That applies to all areas of my life and I guess I am just a very curious person :)

5. I LOVE salt & vinegar chips. They are my most favorite snack of all time.

6. I am a person who likes a certain routine. I can get irritated if someone tries to boss me around or tells me how to do things. In order to feel balanced, I need to be able to follow my own routine [and if I may say so, that works pretty well for me].

7. I am constantly afraid and thinking about missing out on something. As much as I enjoy my life here in CA and would not want to trade it for anything right now, I do miss my family and friends and are constantly reminded of all the time that I can’t spend with them. It is hard sometimes.

That’s it. I hope it was entertaining :) … and I’m tagging Ute, Kerri, Viviane, Susi, Jenny, Stefanie, and Maribeth for some more entertainment. Have fun and let me know if you played :)

A fantastic birthday :)

filed under: fun!, love, my so-called life

Thank you all for thinking about me on my birthday and sending gifts, cards, emails, text messages and messages on Facebook! You all really made my birthday extra-special :)

It was a really good! decision to take yesterday off. J and I were able to sleep in a little bit and when I got up, it was a good time to call my sister and congratulate her on OUR birthday. Pretty much my whole family had gathered at my sister’s place, hence I was able to talk to all of them shortly which was really nice!

I had baked myself a birthday cake [marble cake – one of my favorites :)] and had a piece with my first cup of coffee, while opening the birthday mail that had arrived at our place over the last couple of days. I really cherished the moment!

J got me a really sweet card and two gift certificates – one for L’occitane [Skincare & Bodycare ] and one for Victoria Secret. Oh yes! :) I also got a really cute card from Kim along with a DVD that I had wanted for a long time: Momo, a film based on the novel by Michael Ende [thanks so much, sweetie!]. Sanni und Sebi sent me a Pearl Jam DVD [awesome!], I got a really cute keychain from Ute and Justin and my roommate Kari got me a cool thermos mug from Starbucks!

My Mom and my Dad were going to give me some money [because I am saving up for this baby here] but they also sent me a really nice birthday-booklet that moved me to tears. I miss them… especially on my birthday!

After a really nice laid-back morning, we got ready and left for the Bay Area around 1 p.m. We first stopped at the Berkeley Marina for an awesome view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was sunny and warm, but a little windy. We walked along the pier and took some pictures.

San Francisco

Then we drove to Rockridge and walked up College Avenue into Berkeley. We had café latte/beer at a little café and then we went back to the Marina and had something to drink while watching some wind surfers in the bay.

We had dinner reservations at “Skates on the Bay” at 6:30 p.m. I had wanted to go to this restaurant for the longest time. I’ve been receiving their online newsletter for at least two years and usually they send you discount coupons for your birthday. That was the perfect opportunity to finally check it out.

We got there at 6:00 p.m. and sat down for drinks in the lounge. I had a “Lemon Drop”… OMG! Dangerous. Especially on an empty stomach.

We transferred to our dinner table right at the window around 6:45 pm and had a breath-taking view over the San Francisco Bay and the onset of a beautiful sunset. It was perfect! Look at that!

Golden Gate Bridge

Our dinner started off with two delicious appetizers: Hot King Crab and Artichoke Dip and Seafood Deviled Egg Trio. As an entrée I chose the Grilled Seafood Brochette with fresh salmon, prawns, jumbo scallop, and hazelnuts. J went for the Rack of Baby Back Ribs with Hawaiian BBQ sauce. It was really, really good!
Since it was my birthday – and I had noted that in my dinner reservation – the nice waitress brought me a slice of key lime pie with a candle for dessert. I wasn’t going to order dessert, but oh well… it was delicious :)
With a free dessert and a birthday discount on top of that, we really made a sweet deal last night!!

Considering the fact that I couldn’t see any of my family or friends for my birthday, J and I made the best of it and had a really, really fantastic day! :)

For all photos go here.

Long weekend and someone’s birthday is coming up :)

filed under: food, my so-called life

I realized that I write and post an awful lot about food lately. It’s just that both J and I enjoy good meals and I’ve been trying out new recipes… and J’s loving it :)

I received some requests for a recipe over at flickr, so over here in my Cookbook is the recipe for the Noodle Casserole I made last night.
Very easy (!) and ready in about 30-40 minutes [10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes baking].

On a different note, work was unusually busy this week.
I worked a 15.5 hour-day on Tuesday. My supervisor had a presentation in the evening and we spent all day setting up computers, monitors and big screens in the lecture room on Campus.
The lecture went great. Many images and animations were shown that I had worked on with him. It was really cool to see them on a big screen :)
Since it was a public lecture, we didn’t really know how many people to expect, but the turn out was great and every last seat in the lecture hall was taken.
During the lecture, the audience had the opportunity to wear 3-D glasses to view our 3D data and see the development of “disasters”, for example how a bridge that crosses the San Andreas Fault slowly began to bend after the 2004 Parkfield, California, earthquake. Exciting stuff!!

Of course, we also had to take everything down once the presentation was over, therefore I didn’t get home before 11 p.m. Needless to say, I was dead-tired after working from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and decided to sleep in the next morning and go to work a little later than usual.

I am also working Friday this week – as in: today! – and what keeps me going is that I’ll still get my long weekend, because I’ll be taking Monday off :) Monday is my birthday and I don’t want to spend 10 hours of it at the office… I’d rather go and do something fun with J. Makes sense?

Pinch me!

filed under: family

OMG.

You know what? No, of course, you don’t, because I haven’t told you yet. What a stupid question. Maybe you should sit down. I definitely needed to sit down before she told me. I would literally have fallen over. That’s for sure.

My sister is pregnant!!!

As in, my little baby-sister will be having a baby. She’ll be a mom!
And I will be a godmother once again.

Here I am, 6000 miles away, beaming with joy and my eyes sparkling with tears.

I don’t know any person who is going to be a better mom than my sister. She’s absolutely wonderful with kids and she totally derserves to have kids of her own. I know that she had been talking about babies for a while, hence my excitement that her wish will finally come true.

As of Monday, my godchild-to-be is 1.6 cm long and according to my sister you can already see the head, spine, arms and legs. Ahm yeah right. I doubt it – but hey, I am waiting for the ultrasound picture to get here, so I can see for myself :)

Isn’t this just amazing?? :)