Much ado about nothing

I'm on an early 90s music kick. Sophie B. Hawkins, Cathy Dennis, Jane Child, and Ready For The World (Oh, Oh Sheila!) And I figured out that if I do my hair wavy/curly everyday 1. I not only avoid blow drying my hair in a warm apartment (pretty no air conditioning on this whole damn continent) and thus save time, energy, and sweat, but 2. it's also much harder to tell that I have a slight mullet (ie, longer in back than in front.) And it looks cute.

Not much going on these days, just chilling, experimenting with cooking and baking (see below), drinking wine in the park, and enjoying work. This past weekend we went to see one of my colleagues perform contemporary Indian dance, which was awesome.

Other than that, I can't wait until one of my closest friends from NYC arrives at the end of the month! I already started thinking of tons of things to do while he's here, including renting bikes (critical!) and dune buggies (you can drive these puppies on regular roads, it's so insane!), a trip to swim in one of the lakes, hitting up alternative bike tours (graffiti/memorial rave spots and former clubs), clubbing, and some traditional/essential stuff like visiting the dome of the Reichstag, going to a few art museums, a boat ride on the river (or even canoe on the river!), etc.

This week is the start of the Euro Cup 2008. I (and the rest of this country, pretty much) are hungry-- no, starving, for a rematch with Italy. And the only two places we can possibly meet Italy are in the semi-final..or the Final. Italy and Germany always have good chances and usually get very far in all soccer tournaments, so it's within reach...! It all begins on Saturday-- first Germany game (against Poland) is on Sunday. Already a group of us going to watch it in a biergarten in a park!

...which reminds me... crap, I have no Germany jersey! Gotta go out and get one. It's dire.



(A very delicious, vegan) Strawberry Rhubard Pie (all made from scratch!) We didn't have a pie form (€19,95?! Fuck that!) but a springform worked just fine.




The day after. Hehe.


Michi's famous bröt.


Blooper!

Exercise the bell.

Oh man, today was awesome. 80 degrees, not a cloud in sight. I worked, then rode my bike for 5 hours all around Berlin (and I mean all around), met up with a friend visiting Berlin, went to the Asian foodstore to quiz myself on recognizing seemingly unidentifiable foods (it's kind of like Name That Tune, but instead of music, it's just weird Chinese and Japanese food packages with no English written on any of them-- and no Italian or German either. ("Um, um, um, it's... it's... DRIED BABY SQUID PACKED IN FERMENTED CATFISH OIL!!!!!" Ya know, that sort of thing.) And finally (drumroll please) I bought one of these:




I've been dreaming of the day where I'd finally buy one!! It's a squeezy squeaky honky bike squeaker honk!!! So exciting. It was Gloria the Hippo or Melman Giraffe (Madagascar, people!) I had to go with Gloria. Although I definitely would have gotten this guy if they had him:



People are responding much better to my squeezy squeaky honky horn much better than my regular bike bell. And you need to exercise your right here-- that bike path is alllll yours! But I usually try to give blockers-of-the-bike-path a little chuckle/smile as I'm honking on by. Either because I scared the shit out of the them or just because it's the funniest sound you ever heard. And it's so much more pleasant than an official Ring Ring Ring! isn't it? Making people smile (or crap their pants) is always fun. Speaking of making people smile, I saw a guy walking down the street down with a sign on his shirt that said "Kostenlos Umarmung" (Free Hugs) and I wanted to get a free hug from him, but he looked really dirty. I bet he didn't get a lot of hugs.

Oh man, I'm really tired now...

Notes to self for when next paycheck comes:
1. Buy some expensive vegan food. Preferably at the crazy asian market, where you can always get a deal! (It was like the Crazy Eddie's of asians supermarkets, but with asian women singing chinese songs instead-- and then speaking broken German.)
2. Get a haircut!!!!!! (I haven't had my haircut since FEBRUARY people.. Ugh.)

I should create a poll to see what people should think I should do to my hair. Michi always requests the fauxhawk and I'm so tired of hair that I just might freak out, get really angry at the fact that I have a bushel of hair on my head and do it. Or I just might get a trim in the back and make an angled bob out of it. Either way, I believe I finally found a place to do it, a place which recently was rated best hair salon Berlin. So they gotta be decent, right? Cuz I'm too cheap to fly back to Milan to get my haircut by my savior, Giovanni Tropeano. (But trust me, I was considering it.)

Sum-sum-summa time..

Now that the warm weather's here, you see a lot more motorcycles, scooters and even some roadsters around here. Normal. But I don't suppose to see these rollin' around town, do ya?






Yep, people still ride around in motorcycles with sidecars in Germany. Not many, and pretty much because it's cool. (Maaaan, I wanna ride in one!) And speaking of motorcycles with sidecars, we saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull last night. Exactly what I expected it to be, a fun movie with corny lines and George Lucas' cheese-lovin' fingerprints all over it. Not excited that they'll eventually be making "Son of Indiana Jones" movies soon. Well that's capitalism for ya.

Did you ever see the Cheese Run in Gloucester, England? It's an annual contest where lots of people literally chase a wheel of cheese down a verrrry steep hillside. It's pretty funny to watch, although lots of injuries ensue!

Ah, yes, reminisce...

While we were waiting for My Big Fat Greek Wedding to download yesterday night, Michi asked me to play some music for him, so I chose some badass 80s tunes that he never heard of (remember, he did grow up in East Germany...)



(Ohmagawd, look at that pink bodysuit-jacket getup!!! I SO know what I'm gonna be for Halloween!!!!)

And my All Time Favorite Bon Jovi song:
(I couldn't embed the original video from youtube since it was uploaded by the label and they disabled that function, doh.)




Michi was born in '83, so he has his own collection of 80s song memories... here's one of his favorites: Marius Müller Westernhagen - Weil ich dich liebe (Because I love you) Live 1989




I could probably post about 500 videos of 80s song I adore, but you all know them. :)

What could be more fun than an 80s-themed wedding?! AAHHH!!!!!!!!!


So Michi fell asleep halfway through My Big Fat Greek Wedding but he appreciated and dually noted the cultural references for which I wanted him to see the movie. Of course, my favorite line is when Tula's aunt finds out that Ian is vegetarian: "What you mean you don't eat no meat?! ... That's ok, I make you lamb." I experienced a similiar scene with my father unwittingly handing me a plate of salami, me shooting him a sneering look and comment about having forgotten that I haven't eaten meat in over 10 years, and him saying "What? It's not meat..!"

My stupid cold is almost gone. It's so annoying, the last bit of it. I've been blowing my nose SO much to get that sticky snot that's totally stuck in my upper nose unless I blow my nose as hard as a trumpet (sorry to be so graphic, but I know you know what I'm talkin' 'bout here!) I think I've lost a lot of braincells in the course of doing so, which would explain my complete brain-fartedness in the past few days of post-sickness. The funny thing about the trumpet is that I still don't have my full hearing back, and every time I blow my nose, I hear --no joke-- squealing in addition to popping inside of my ears. I may have to go back to the ear-nose-throat doctor, who is conveniently located a floor below us. Then I can also ask her why the hell I can't dive deeper than 8-9 feet without feeling like someone is stabbing me in the ear? How am I ever supposed to go scuba-diving, goddamnit?! Michi's ears never pop-- not underwater, not on airplanes, not when I scream and yell at him. Unbelievable.

I got a new bike on Monday, woohoo! Well, it's actually a year-old bike but it's in mint condition and I got it from the lovely folks from TakeABike, who I had been renting bikes from since I started visiting Berlin on a regular basis. (Oh, wow, I just realized now that the TakeABike was a play on words..take a hike? take a bike? Ha!!! Another blond moment or what?) They are also repairing my old craptacular bike free of cost. They're so sweet. The new bike cost me 200 euros, which seems like a ton of money but for a brand new bike, you can't find anything cheaper than 500 anywhere in Berlin. Today I actually got comments from a pedestrian on the street today. He said, "Schönes Fahrrad!" (Nice bike!) as I cruised on by. You see, riding down the street of Berlin with a nice bike is the equivalent of riding down the streets of SoBe in a Lamborghini. People rubberneck to check your shit out, it's pretty funny.

I was craving something sweet yesterday so I made some oatmeal peanut butter cookies yesterday. Yes, they are vegan. And they're the best damn PB cookies I've ever had, I swear it's true! Michi hates PB with a passion, so I lied to him and told him that they weren't PB when he asked if they were or not, but after his first bite I told him the truth and then he admitted they were damn good. :)

You know what's cool? The sun sets at 9:30 here. And it's only May-- wee!! :)

Well, that's good...

I'm feeling much, much better, thankfully. I think having to get my ass up and go to work today sort of gave me the psychological electro-shock that I needed to get my ass physically in gear. Plus I had to go to work, since it certainly would have look crappy to just cancel a class when I had plenty of time to call in for a substitution but didn't. So I went, although in Europe, it is quite uncouth to go to work with even a slight cold. I swear to god, at least 75% of all Europeans are hypochondriacs (And 99.9% of all Italians.) So my (very polite) students laughed at me nervously with furrowed eyebrows when I sneezed or blew my nose 10 feet away from them, so as to say "Ugh, I really hope you don't infect me with your friggin germs, lady!" Heh. What was I supposed to do, suck up my snot or something? Eww! I only do that at home. Ahahah.

*Sneeze*
*Sneeze*

(I really did sneeze twice. Not on my keyboard though.)

In other good news, it seems as though the Berlin Philharmonic building isn't severely damaged by the fire that engulfed it just yesterday. The firefighters actually cut through the zinc roof to get to the fire and used a lot of foam to limit the fire and water damage. It seems as though the fire was started by welders doing some work up in there. I'm sure those welders already have a major fire lit under their asses for that massive screwup. Wouldn't wanna be in their boots right now.

So that's better than good news. It's great news. That building has one of the best, if not thee best, acoustics in the world. Plus, the building is considered an architectural gem worldwide. Plus plus, their concerts are being rescheduled at other venues, including beautiful outdoor Waldbühne ("Forest Stage".) Yay for spring in Berlin!

Well, that's all for now. I'm off to go do the dishes. And take out the recyclables. And buy some groceries. And then bake some apple crisp. And contemplate throwing my craptacular bike into the Spree. (What? It could become, like, an artificial reef for fish, right? Mebbe..? ...no? ...sigh...)

Dalai Lama in Berlin

Here's a cool link to the video of the entrance of the Dalai Lama, with the letting go of thousands of balloons in the crowd and the first 5 minutes of his speech.




You can see the Brandenburg Gate in back of the stage. (This is also where LoveParade used to take place.)




Freedom: Germany for Tibet; Tibet for the world.





When we got there, you could barely move through the crowd (and for a while we ended up standing next to a really dirty old man wearing birkenstocks whose toenails looked like they hadn't been cut in 3+ months... Not to be an asshole or anything, but maybe I got sick from him.)
The unofficial count of the crowd is about 25,000. Not bad, eh? There was also a Tibetan nun who sang Amazing Grace in Tibetan and then in English as well as a traditional Tibetan chant. (I have that on video but youtube is not cooperating with me at the moment.) I was pretty proud of myself for having understood about 80% of what the German announcer was saying and the speeches from various prominent German figures.

It was pretty cool seeing and hearing him live. I realize he's become a sort of celebrity over the past few years, but he just seems like a really cool mofo. I'd hang out with him. I mean, the man's smile is contagious and so is his cute giggle-like laugh. Every time he chuckled, the entire crowd would crack up, I swear. He had a translator next time translating into German as he spoke, and a few times, his microphone still on full volume, he would spot a few kids in the front row, wave and giggle at them and even gave them candy from his satchel. Candy from the Dalai Lama? I'd frame it in a glass box!

On the way home we encountered some Chinese protesters with signs saying "Go home Dalai Lama" and passing out anti-Tibetan literature. I showed off my Free Tibet tote bag while passing them.

Anyway, I'm feeling better after having spent the majority of the day in bed. I was force-fed some honey-lemon cough drops for my sore throat today. Ok, not exactly force-fed (as if I were hungry strike or something) but Michi was nice enough to pick me up some medicine without me having asked him, so I said alright. They made my tongue numb and not much else. (Honey is one of the things vegans do not eat.) :/ Here's the vegan substitute for honey, agave syrup/nectar, which is damn good! In German it's called Agaver Dicksaft, (Agave thickjuice) so you can imagine all the jokes Michi and I came up with. Hardy-har-har.

In other news, Michi came home today around 3pm and said there was a huge fire somewhere in Berlin, having seen the smoke clouds so high up. Ends up there was (is, actually, because I think they're still in the process of putting it out) a massive fire in the Berliner Philharmonie today, the seat of the world-renown Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. (Michi and I went to see their New Year's Eve performance there on December 30th, which was broadcasted on national television... and guess who was on TV? Me!) Apparently it began just under the roof of the building but I haven't read reports about the full damage or how it began. Musicians were allowed to go in and get their instruments out (obviously not the big ones, like pianos-- but some instruments costs up to 400,000 Euros, which doesn't surprise me since a Stradivarius violin goes for a million!) Each concert they cannot play is an approximate 750,000 euro loss. Hopefully they will be able to repair everything after the damage assessment.

The Itty Bitty Barbeque Committee

Last weekend we hung out in Tiergarten (the central park of Berlin), right across from the Bellevue Palace (See? Even we got a Bellevue in Germany!)




2 big monkeys.






Michi and our friend Kay. (pronounced Kai, like kayak.)


Fanning the flames.


Just to give you an exact idea of the size of the disposable BBQ. (It worked really well though! And it cost a mere 2,50!)

I'm really pissed off today, I've had a head cold since last night-- and of course it's a gorgeous day out too. AND I popped a flat on my bike the other day and can't seem to find a place that wants to fix it in less than 5 days time. Wtf? How long does it possibly take to fix a flat tire?! I guess May is get-your-bikes-up-and-running season for cyclists and their bikes in Berlin. But I'm too achy to even go out today. My nose is like a Wal-Mart factory in China, packed to the gills and rollin' out the goods non-stop. It's 1pm and I'm still in my PJs. Ugh.

Today, today...

Veganism is going pretty good. Went to a Nepalese restaurant with my friend Tia today and all was good and vegan. And cheap. I especially love the last part. It's kind of weird passing by bakeries, cheese, and ice creams shops saying to myself, "Hmm.. Nope, can't have that... or that either..." but it's just a matter of finding the vegan equivalent, really (You'd be surprised at the stuff they make these days.) While Michi and I live in Mitte, the Upper West Side of Berlin (ie, less funky/trendy, much more residential and family-oriented), Tia lives in one of the funkier- and cheaper- neighborhoods, known as Kreuzberg, which is similar to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Walking down her street today, my jaw nearly dropped at the variety and uniqueness of all the shops and cafes and markets, all filled to the brim with people of all types, which I love. Talk about a happenin' hood.

Anyway, my newest obsession is replacing my current cosmetics and toiletries with all-natural products. Actually, lemme rephrase that-- I'm just going to phase them out when they're done and then replace them with all-natural products. I was reading up on food additives and cosmetic/toiletry additives and it kind of freaked me out... For example, additives in tons of popular cosmetics/toiletries:

• Sodium laurel, lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) - Is a white powder used in thousands of cosmetic products and non-cosmetic products. SLS is a strong degreaser that dries the skin and hair. It can also cause hair loss. Used in many products that are called natural as a result these products are not natural. This product is found in shampoos, toothpastes, lotions, and creams. It is also found in many car washes, engine degreasers, and garage floor cleaners. When combined Triethanolamine (TEA) it can become a nitrosamine, which is a potent class of carcinogen.

• Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum - Are hydrocarbons which come from petroleum products. On the skin, it is heavy and greasy and clogs pores. It is toxic and leads to skin issues. It disrupts natural skin grown causing skin aging. It is also suspected cause of cancer and disrupts hormonal activity. If take internally, it prevents the absorption of nutrient into the blood in the small intestines.

• Phenol carbolic acid, Phenolic compounds - Are used as a preservative and found in many lotions and skin creams. They are toxic and can cause paralysis, convulsions, coma and even death from respiratory failure.

• Benzoic Acid, sodium benzoate - is used as a preservative in cosmetics and foods. Often combined with sodium bisulfites, which are banned in some countries. This is a dangerous additive, since in low amounts it has been associated with brain damage, neurological disorders, and cancer.

The worst part was when I looked at my shampoos and facial cleansers. They had ALL these chemicals. I know, I know, I may be going overboard but it just sort of makes sense to me to not trust all these chemicals in the stuff we use/eat every day. The vegan shops I've researched all have alternative/natural cosmetics and whatnot (even natural laundry detergent!) But it is definitely more expensive, of course (around 5-6 euros for a very small bottle of shampoo! 150ml! Time to used quarter-sized drops I guess..)

On that note (sort of a tangent, but whatever), they say that, in order to lead a healthy life, no single ingredient you consume should have more than 5 ingredients in it. (Ie, it's okay to combine lots and lots of ingredients as long as each individual ingredient contains less then 5 ingredients in it...Got that?)

I know, I'm turning into a total hippie. Hah!

Oh, and Micha is trying to tell me that I have a bald spot on the crown of my head (where my part ends.) Of course, there's no way I can actually see if I indeed do (although I'm vehemently disagreeing wit him on the topic, I have a ton of hair, damnit!) unless he takes a picture with our digital camera. But I totally refuse to do that or let him do it either. He only pays attention to it because at my height, the top of my head fits neatly under his chin, so it's like a constant presence for him I guess.

He's making vegan pancakes for me with soy milk and a vegan egg substitute...so sweet and considerate. :)

Oh and another thing: The Dalai Lama is coming to Berlin (or perhaps he's already here?) and there's going to be a massive gathering/peaceful demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate for Tibetan Solidarity. We'll be there!

Pictures from New Jersey...

Beaker and his family!


Hmm.. Left or right for lunch?


Beaker: It's what's for dinner.


Lil angel resting.


I don't have a best side-- every side is my best side!


Big brother Conrad and Dad.


Bisnonna! (Greatgrandma!)




With Monica, Grace, 2 childhood friends, and a mango margarita.


With my cousin/godmother Joann. Spent a day down in Brick (aka Bricktucky!) with her and her fiancee, Kurt:







Das ist alles. Bis nächstes Mal!

Jeez, is it already the middle of May?

*Looks at calendar* Uh, guess so...sheesh.

I had a great trip home, although (no offense, ma) being home (in a new house, so not exactly home) with my parents was a bit odd after having lived solo and then with my bf for the past 8 months. And before/during/after my trip back, I've been finding myself sort of pondering and struggling over what the word means for me. Yea, there's a literal home, a home where you grew up, and a metaphorical home, a place where you feel at home. Not like I had that much trouble adjusting to the new house (well, not like I had that much time to adjust anyhow, I was busy buzzing around in my car, aka zippy car, aka caffetiera, aka the percolator! Way too many family and friends to visit.. and I still got flak from some for not including them in my plans! But Beaker was my number 1 concern anyhow so deal with it, peopo!) I ate horrendously, with pizza and pasta being number 1 on the list of what I'd eaten... Ugh. Now I'm paying for it. Regardless, it was fun and I miss my nephew already. And I wish I had gotten to see some people more than just once! (Like Nico aka my little buddy, the little baby I used to babysit :)

I was just reading some previous posts I had written and this one (obviously as I'm typing it) and I notice that sometimes I write how I speak/think-- ie I don't put that much thought into these blog posts, which sometimes results in sloppy posts dripping with spelling errors, etc. I'm also sort of a forgetful person and a scatterbrain to boot. So mix that together with too many thoughts going on in my head at once, and the result is a mishmosh of dashes and parentheses since I feel I need to immediately type everything in lest I forget what I was just thinking. My favorite professor (the one who suggested I apply to University of Wisconsin) was the one that pointed that out to me (the fact that I was/am a scatterbrain, hehe.)

Anyway, I got back to Berlin and it was like Christmas all over again for Michi. Presents from my grandmother, mother and me, wee! A new backpack, a shoebox full of nonna's famous cookies (which are an instant reminder of my childhood), a bracelet, a new water canteen, 2 Wii games and more.

What sucked about getting back here was that I had to work within an hour and 30 minutes of my plane landing. I didn't originally schedule it that way; my plane was late. But oddly enough, I didn't have jetlag. Stayed up til 10pm on Thursday, took a 2 hour nap on Friday and I was good to go.

Today I had off due to a class cancellation. Not like I work too many hours but I got to sleep in, read some and just generally ride around the city and see cool stuff and interesting people and architecture. Which reminds me, I always forget to bring my camera! There were definitely things I wanted to take pics of and I missed the opportunities. And I got a flat tire. A damn nail went into my rear tire. That sucked. I walked all the way home, although I could have taken the U or S-bahn but that would have cost me 3,60 euros and I only had 1 stop to go. Weather was nice enough so I didn't mind. Also went to a vegan health food store. Yea, as if I am not complicated enough as a person, I'm trying out veganism for the first time. Started officially yesterday. Not that I'm not happy about being vegetarian but since I was a kid I always felt it was kind of weird that humans drank cow's milk, for one. I really love milk, don't get me wrong. (Don't even get me started on cheese. I'm such a formaggiona! Vegan cheese is definitely not a good substitute whatsoever-- at least, not yet.) But scientifically speaking, I think our bodies were designed to drink our mothers' breast milk for a while and that's it. And to this day, the enzyme in our bodies use as babies to breaks down lactose fades away and disappears as we get older, which explains why many of us become lactose intolerant by the time we're in our early teens (including me.) I do like fish but when I first starting being vegetarian, I didn't eat fish (for about a year or two.) I don't think I'll miss that too much. As for nutrition, there's no question that you get all the vitamins/minerals/protein you need on a vegan diet. And pretty much any way you slice the cake, it's healthier for you, which is pretty much the bottom line for me. This is what I made for dinner yesterday. With a side of Lebanese bulgur. Sooo good. I'm eating it again now actually. (I even omitted the honey in the bulgur recipe since it's technically an animal product. I promised myself I would go all or nothing! And I also promised myself I would post about falling off the bandwagon if I do.)

I do feel bad for Michi's mom though, who cooks for us three when we visit her on the weekends. It's nice enough that she cooks vegetarian meals for me, so I feel bad that I'm making life harder for her. But we'll have to cooperate. Michi's grandmother won't take the news so lightly, as most Germans don't understand non-meat eaters. Anyway, we'll see how long I last. (Just to let you know, when I became a vegetarian about 10 years ago, it also started as a weird fad/phase I was going through. It just never ended.)

My ultimate goal is to be a weird/cool (it's all relative) vegan Italian doctoral student with really long dreadlocks in Wisconsin. Ahahaha! Slowly but surely.

Oh, by the way, I'm also little beaker's godmother! woohoo!

Here he is!!!

Born at 11:46pm on April 22nd, 2008, weighing in at 6lb 1oz, heeeeere's Dario!!!



Wee! Poor nephew has to get used to zia Daniela being so loud!




Lil Beaker and me.




Nonna!




I'm keepin' my eye on you!



ET phone home? Aka chin-scratching/pondering the universe...


Mom, is that you?!


Yep. Ok, back to sleep now.


Ooohh, gettin' woozy...


Cannot....stay....awake....

After I hugged/kissed my mom at the airport (and cried a lil!), I asked her what the status was. I had no idea if my sis in law 1. was giving birth at that very moment, 2. was still at home waiting for the doctor to call her in to induce her, or 3. already gave birth. So as soon as I asked what the status was, she stopped in her tracks, realizing I was in dark about it all, and said, "The baby is born!" And from then on it was all a flash... :) It was an emotional day... Just looking at the pics, I'm gettin' faklempt!

What an end to the week...

Thought this was le funny. It's an unidentified artwork on display right now in Potsdamer Platz. (I work in that building just behind it.)

So what news! To be precise, I have a 4 year teaching assistantship (full ride + stipend) at UWM (again, Wisconsin is here, people) for my masters and some of the doctoral program. The first thing my brother, the die hard fan of University of Michigan's Wolverines (college football), says to me: "Michigan plays Wisconsin every year! Get me the fukin tickets!" Hahaha. Will try!

So on Wednesday, when I get home, there will be much to celebrate, because just to make it a double whammy (remember that game show? No whammies, no whammies, no whammies, STOP!!!!!!!!), my sis in law went to the doctor to see whether they should let the kid stay nice and warm in the womb for a while more (ie, kicking my sis in the ribs and stomping on her bladder all day long) or pop him out sooner, the doc said that if she doesn't pop the cork within the next three days, they'll induce her... on Wednesday!!! I guess my nephew is waiting fo his zia Daniela. :)

In a few hours in the Berlin's Olympia Stadion, Dortmund (a city in the northwest) will play Bayern (Bavaria) in the German national soccer championships. Historically, there was (and still is, to a certain degree) lots of tension between the north and the south. If you called a northern German a southern (Bayerisch), or vice versa, it would be like calling a Scot a Brit (ie, be prepared to run. Fast.) Anyway, biking through Zoologischer Garten aka "Zoo" (here's a virtual version of what it looks like) earlier this afternoon, it almost felt like the World Cup all over again. Zoo seemed as though it swarming with bees: thousands of beer-handed Dortmund fans dressed in yellow and black, all buzzing around, singing and shouting their team's (and other) soccer chants, waving massive yellow and black flags and brandishing 4 foot long blow-up bananas like machetes. There was about 10 Bayern fans, sporting red and black attire. They must have taken over a different part of the city.

We're off to a "Frühlings Fest" (Spring Festival) across the street from our pad, even tho it feels more like Herbst with this chilly 45 degree and zero sun. (Unfortunately, Frühling in northern Deutschland doesn't really come until later in May.) And damnit, I have to find my digital camera!

So I guess all that finger, leg, eye, and toe crossing worked...

...because I got that scholarship I was talking about!!!!


Ok, I'm off to celebrate and fall drunkenly into a ditch somewhere. WOOHOO!!!

Banning Bottled Water

I think it should be done. There are very few things I preach about (at least, I think...) but this is one of them. So far I got a few friends and my boyfriend to stop purchasing dozens of bottles of water per week and instead to use a brita filter and fill up a nalgeen water bottle instead.
(But I just ordered two stainless steel water canteens because after a long while of using and resuing my plastic canteens/nalgenes, the scratches made in the plastic from normal usage can actually lead to leaking bits of poison right into the water it holds. Eek!)

Here are some extracts from various sources about how bottled water 1> is a scam (i.e. not really being cleaner than most tap water samples), 2> reeks havoc on the environments by the oil it requires to produce, but also the oil (gas) it takes to transport it to all sort of sales points.

Bottled water, a natural resource taxing the world's ecosystem
"...the United States was the largest consumer of bottled water, with Americans drinking 26 billion liters in 2004, or about one eight-ounce (25 cl) glass per person every day. Mexico was the second largest consumer at 18 billion liters followed by China and Brazil at 12 billion liters each. In terms of consumption per person, Italians came first at nearly 184 liters, or more than two glasses a day, followed by Mexico and the United Arab Emirates with 169 and 164 liters per person respectively. Belgium and France follow close behind and Spain ranks sixth."

"The study, citing the Container Recycling Institute, said that 86 percent of plastic water bottles in the United States end up as garbage and those buried can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade."

Pepsi press release states that Aquafina is tap water

Seven Misconceptions about Plastic and Plastic Recycling
"Plastic packaging has economic, health, and environmental costs and benefits. While offering advantages such as flexibility and light weight,it creates problems including: consumption of fossil resources; pollution; high energy use in manufacturing; accumulation of wasted plastic in the environment; and migration of polymers and additives into foods.

Did you know that microwaving food in plastic containers lead to early puberty in kids?

NYTimes: A Battle Between the Bottle and the Faucet
"Or, city officials suggest, you could spend 2,900 times as much, roughly $1,400 yearly, by drinking bottled water."

“More than 90 percent of the environmental impacts from a plastic bottle happen before the consumer opens it,” said Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Oil for plastic, oil for shipping, oil for refrigeration — and in the end, most of the effort goes to landfills."

Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water

Tapped Out: The True Cost of Bottled Water
"Last year Americans spent nearly $11 billion on over 8 billion gallons of bottled water, and then tossed over 22 billion empty plastic bottles in the trash. In bottle production alone, the more than 70 million bottles of water consumed each day in the U.S. drain 1.5 million barrels of oil over the course of one year.

"Not only does bottled water contribute to excessive waste, but it costs us a thousand times more than water from our faucet at home, and it is, in fact, no safer or cleaner. "The bottled water industry spends millions of dollars a year to convince us that their product is somehow safer or healthier than tap water, when in fact that's just not true," says Victoria Kaplan, senior organizer with Food and Water Watch."

"While single-use water bottles should never be used more than once, some reusable water bottles simply shouldn't be used. The debate continues over the safety of bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical known to leach out of the #7 polycarbonate plastic used to make a variety of products, including popular Nalgene Lexan water bottles. New studies keep cropping up that don't bode well for BPA, demonstrating that even extremely low doses of the chemical can be damaging. [Buy stainless steel water canteens!] Recent research has linked the chemical to a variety of disorders,including obesity and breast cancer, and one chilling 2007 study, published in the journal PLoS Genetics, found that BPA exposure can cross generations. Pregnant mice exposed to low levels of BPA led to chromosomal abnormalities, which possibly cause birth defects and miscarriages, in grandchildren."

Eau, no: Clean, healthy and pure? Hardly. Bottled water is killing the planet

Tap Water Regulated by EPA	Bottled Water Regulated by FDA
Cannot have confirmed E. coli or fecal Coliform bacteria.	A certain amount of any bacteria is allowed.
Filtered and/or disinfected	No federal filtration or disinfection requirements.
Violation of drinking water standards are grounds for enforcement.	Bottled water in violation of standards can still be sold.
Utilities must have their water tested by certified labs.	Such testing is not required for bottlers.
Tap water results must be reported to state or federal officials.	There are no reporting requirements for bottlers.
Water system operators must be certified.	Bottled water plant operators do not have to be certified.
Water suppliers must issue consumer confidence reports annually.	There are no public right-to-know requirements for bottlers.
Costs pennies a day	Costs $.80 to $4.00 per gallon.
Contains essential nutrients for the body such as calcium and iron.	Natural minerals are removes by filtration.
Chlorine residual in water to prevent bacteria growth.	No disinfectant present to kill bacteria in bottles.

Ok, now that I sound like a friggin' tree-huggin, organic-eating, bleeding heart liberal, this Penn & Teller episode about the bullshit behind bottled water is really worth a watch, just for a laugh if anything:



Last bit of me being a pseudo-hippie: Think about where the stuff you buy comes from and how far it must travel in order to get to your local supermarket. Buy locally!

Michi the Bread Baker

Yes, he really is always this sweet. He baked bread again with a message written on it again today but half the loaf mysteriously disappeared before I came home. :P But it said "Dani and Michi since 2005." Aww. :)

Yoga is not for me.

But before I get into that, my mom calls me yesterday and tells me the story about how Law & Order is going to be used to film a scene for Law & Order. Pretty cool, huh? Supposedly Ice-T will be one of the actors there on that day. In my parents' living room.

It's been a little over month since I moved from Italy to Berlin and the biggest difference (other than cultural or geographical...or climate-wise.. or food-wise..) is that the time goes by much faster here. For whatever reason. It's 4:18pm on a Sunday, I just got done looking at hundreds of pictures of Southeast Asia from my friend Billy, who's been backpacking there since January (!), I looked out the kitchen window to see a bleary Berlin sky and.. *sigh*. I got a tad of the Sunday blues. Don't get me wrong-- I'm way better than I was a few weeks ago, or even last week for that matter and I do love this city (poor Michi has to deal with my high-anxiety, constant-crises personality on a 24/24 basis) but I just get really jealous when I see pictures of people I know in places I've never been. So my latest mini-crisis (just a half hour ago) erupted (there's always one brewing): when will Michi and I ever have the time to disappear and travel-- Australia, New Zealand, Tazmania and Indonesia? 3 months right there!-- while we're still young? (ie, before kids and possibly before marriage?) He's graduating next August but I still have to do my masters and doctorate, since my ultimate career goal is to be a professor. Usually, the answer (from Michi, or just the logical one that I refuse to admit to myself) is "you just have to wait and find out."

And that brings me to the subject of this blog post. I'm apologizing to my sister-in-law in advance (prego or not, I bet she can do the human pretzel position in under 5 seconds. Cirque de Soleil ain't got nothing on her yoga poses!)

So I've been trying several classes at Jopp, getting a feel for which ones I like, which I don't, etc. So, Indoor cycling? Yep. Fit Bo (kickboxing)? Yep. Power Workout (barbells, weights, and heavy stuff?) Yep. Yoga? *cringe* Nope. Michi actually suggested I try one to de-stress myself since I'm usually a nutty basketcase (with or without caffeine.) I've come to realize that I usually try a yoga class once a year and every single time, it's the same result. Yesterday, I did Power Workout class (about an hour) then did Yoga. For an hour and a half. Unfortunately, I'll never get those 90 minutes back. Let's see... I spend roughly 15 minutes looking at clock, 10 wishing I was home playing Super Mario Galaxy on our Wii, and another 5 making a grocery list in my head. And 20 napping on the damn mat. Ok, ok, there were some really interesting positions like this one:



I call this one the Nancy Kerrigan.


And this one the Olivia Newton-John (in the "Let's Get Physical" music video.)



This was actually fun.

But then there were several poses like this one, which, even though I used a nice foam yoga mat, were killing my hip bones (even though I thought I had enough fat there to cushion it..)




I don't even wanna talk about this one. If someone slapped me on the back, I probably would have stayed that way just like those little girls making the ugly pig faces in One Crazy Summer.

And whenever I look at pictures of yoga poses, I think about how cool it is and get all down on myself cuz I just can't seem to get into it. I say to myself, "You lack discipline!!!" (usually in the Ahnold voice for the additional verbal flogging effect.) Maybe Power Yoga would be better for me since it's more aggressive but Jopp doesn't offer that, so I'm SOL. But then I just realize that I'm more of a ju-jitsu gal and I really miss it. And piano too, since we're on that topic (actually learning/playing pieces.)

Anyway, I'll be back for about 2 weeks at the end of April for the birth of my nephew, whose name is Dario (and I quote my brother, who says it's "a nice guinea name" hehe.) He hasn't been born just yet but my sis-in-law already had false labor last week! (The official due date is April 24th I believe.) Put a cork in it!

I just put the first 3 seasons of The Muppet Show in my cart on amazon.com. I'm so excited to start watching hilarious stuff like this with my baby nephew!



and this, one of my favorites:


In case you don't know what Rickrolling is:

Rickrolling is an Internet meme involving Rick Astley's music video for his song "Never Gonna Give You Up". In a Rickroll, a person provides a link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand which actually takes the user to the Astley video. It can also mean playing the song loudly in public in order to be disruptive.
The practice began as a variant of an earlier prank called duckrolling, in which a link to a popular celebrity or news item would instead lead to a photoshopped picture of a duck with wheels.

Oh! and just to tie this all in with my prior post...

Scientology protests

In connection with the online meme, Never Gonna Give You Up was played and performed at some of the Project Chanology February 2008 protests against the Church of Scientology. At February 10, 2008 protests in New York City, Washington D.C., London, Edinburgh and Seattle, protesters played the song through boomboxes and shouted the phrase "Never gonna let you down!", in what The Guardian called "a live rick-rolling of the Church of Scientology". In response to a website created by Scientologists showing an anti-Anonymous video, Project Chanology participants created a website with a similar domain name with a video displaying the music video to "Never Gonna Give You Up".

Tom Cruise can't teach English here.

For 2 of my 3 jobs, I had to sign a very interesting separate contract clause that says exactly this:

I, [my name here] as a freelance worker for, among others, [name of my language school here], declare that in the fulfillment of my contract I will not in any way apply the teachings or technology of L. Ron Hubbard (founder of Scientology). I further confirm that I have never been and am not a member of IAS (International Association of Scientologists) and will not recruit new members for the IAS.

Violation of this agreement can result in termination of the freelance contract without notice. Furthermore, [name of my language school here] has the right to pursue any damages incurred as a result.

Oh and I love the title of this contract clause: "Voluntary Sect Filter Clause." Gotta love euphemisms. :)

I know that Germany isn't too fond of Scientologists, but I didn't know this would be one of the ramifications...Interestingly enough, the Interior Ministry, which is actually right next to our apartment building, is in the midst of deciding whether Scientology will undergo federal investigation (since it's only undergoing state-level investigation right now) in hopes of eventually banning the "religion." Reason why?

Source - Time Magazine "...the Scientology organization, agenda and activities are marked by objectives that are fundamentally and permanently directed at abolishing the free democratic basic order" and in 2004, a German judge "... ruled that the monitoring was warranted because the activities of the Scientologists were a threat to German constitutional protections, and in particular the right of Germans to exercise their political will, the right to equal treatment, and guarantees against bodily harm. (The judge ruled, among other things, that the group brainwashes members.)"

From what I've heard so far from colleagues and other Germans, the government here is basically treating it almost as a terrorist organization and doing their best to watch them as closely as possible to get clear(er) proof to ban them. About a month ago they shut down a Scientology daycare center in Munich, claiming that they were teaching the kids according to the Scientology ideologies. Meanwhile, the German Scientology headquarters sprang up in Berlin in 2005 (it's about a mile and a half from our pad.)

So all this made me curious about what the deal is with all this Scientology crap in general (aliens and shit, right?) My friend Gianni told me a while ago that in the end, when Scientologists reach some advanced level of whatever the hell it is their practicing (apparently there are a bunch of levels in this religion that one must attain, or something, by paying through the nose of course), the "truth" is that a dead alien souls, left behind from an evil alien ruler called Xenu that killed a crapload of aliens inside Earth's volcanoes, live inside your body:

Scientologists ACTUALLY believe the evil alien ruler Xenu killed a lot of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by bringing them to earth & blowing them up inside volcanoes. They believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") have attached themselves to us & cause many of our mental & physical ills. Members who know about Xenu will attempt to deny it or pretend like it doesn’t matter. They are required to sign a contract binding them to silence on the matter. Lower level members don’t know about Xenu & accordingly deny everything because they honestly don’t know.

Sounds pretty funny so far (and that part was, but this video explaining gruesome deaths directly caused by Scientology, is not. Viewers beware!)

To rid ourselves of "Body Thetans" & also “engrams” (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind) so that we can become “clear”, we have to go through "auditing" with a member of the “church” who uses an "e-meter" to measure our “reactive mind”...... & we have to pay lots & lots of money for “auditing” (purchased in 12.5-hour blocks, costing anywhere from $750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions) & to take courses on Scientology to advance to higher “levels” in the “church”. The “church” has also taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional in everyday life. They deny the reality of chemical imbalance & profound mental disturbance & accordingly do NOTHING to effectively stabilize the dangerously unstable. The “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (with deadly results).

Scientology is undeniably a cult. For more information on what a cult is & what their damaging effects are, please visit the link provided at the bottom of the sources. Just know that Scientology DOES qualify by meeting these 5 criteria:

(1) It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate & retain its members. (2) It forms an elitist totalitarian society. (3) Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable & has charisma. (4) It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds & recruit people. (5) Its wealth does not benefit its members or society.

Man, did Tom drink the Kool-Aid or what.