DFW

I usually don't post links, but this is too good.

Oktoberfest, Berlin styles.

Yesterday, celebrated Oktoberfest in Berlin. Today my brain hurts. Its an age-old tale.

Back to school.

This past Monday, although Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer in the US, marked the first day of school for the state of Brandenburg and ostensibly, me.
After an entirely too short summer, I am back at school teaching and am interestingly quite happy about it. This school year, I am a full-time faculty member at the school, teaching English to every child an the school and French to a select few. My new position is far more demanding and challenging, but is also markedly more rewarding.
Germans, from my two years of researching culture, on a whole, don't practice the American 'apple on the desk of the teacher on the first day of school' routine. Instead, the tradition in Germany is that kids get from the parents a giant cone filled with candies (British English speakers read: sweets) and school essentials. I found many shots to exemplify this online but this one is the best:


In the continuing coverage of my current fashion trends, I would like to add that I have been wearing a keffiyeh, on a daily basis. Since summer decided to walk out on Berlin in the middle of August, the scarf has provided me with a thermodynamic reason to be fashionably cultural in my Turkish neighborhood. Last week, one of my bandmates saw me wearing the keffiyeh and asked if I had joined Hamas during the summer vacation. I responded that, in fact, yes, I was the only Zionist member of the organization. It was funny and cultural relevant, trust me.
I'll hit you with a photo. Chose this one for two reasons. One, it shows the scarf in action. Two, I owe my cousin Scott a payback photo of me and the new iPhone in the mirror. Done and done.


For me, fall is always a time for new beginings and plans for the year. Truth be told, as a student for so many years and now as an educator, I have always seen the school calendar as the real measure of a year. So, at the start of this school year or year I have made a few decision and goals.
I am going to continue my daily running routine with an aim towards running the Berlin half-marathon this April and the full Berlin Marathon in a years time, next September. I can do it. No doubts there. The fact that I am going to be training and running with a good friend is going to make it way easier too.
Also on this years list, I am going to take the Foreign Service Exam for the United States Department of State. There will be a lot of reading there. I am looking into testing centers and believe that I may be able to knock it off here at the embassy, saving the necessity of having to travel to the District of Columbia to do so.
So that should kick us off for the school year. Welcome back.

The true measure of a man...

Returned home from first half of my language camp summer on Sunday. Back in Wedding with the pooch and enjoying a week of calm and quiet before heading back out, this time north to Meck-Pomm.
Getting back to the apartment, I was met with a cache of items that I had ordered for myself and friends while away on camp. As is normally the tradition in my life when I acquire new things, they come all at once. Usually to mark these events, I take a photograph of the bounty. The above photo is one such example.
Pictured are:
1. Guitar Hero Wii, game and controller. This is pretty much the greatest video game I have played since the oft recalled Tetris year of 1988. After two marathon gameplays, I am nearly finished the medium level. True GH fans may note that I pulled in a five-star rating for my inspired take on Weezer's "My Name is Jonas."
2. Two Mark Kurlansky books. A favorite author of mine since I read his works, Cod and Salt, his newest commodities history volume is entitled, The Big Oyster: New York in the World. I also picked up his older piece, A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry. Kurlansky offers a great perspective, as he is a features writer and although approaching his subjects from a historical stance, does not get overwhelmed by the need to fit his stories into the traditional academic historical cannon.
3. Jeopardy champ and trivia wiz, Ken Jennings' book, Brainiac, a look into the unique history of knowledge and trivia within popular society.
4. The Famished Road, a book by Ben Okri that my friend Elizabeth bought for me a few years ago and I never got around to reading (mainly because I am a jerk). Well the next few weeks will resolve that.
5. The 'nike+' running system. The little transponder clips to your shoe and transmits a signal to a receptor that is hooked into your iPod nano and tracks your run distance, pace and length. When you get back from your run you can sync your iPod and upload your data to your account on the nike page. The page is hooked up to a community of runners around the world. For those of us who need the occasional encouragement to get out there and run, this system is perfect. I love it and I love being rewarded for good things done. I guess I am not unlike the Jenks on that account.
6. Oh yeah, and my iPhone came. Endlich. I am in love.

Camp Dispatch

Just finished the camp talent show for the first of my four weeks at summer language camps. One of my kids just burped the alphabet. Well done!




Also, need to give a quick update on my summer wear. After spending the better part of the school year dressed in smart, sensible, and marginally fashionable threads, I have slouched into what my friend calls "the Summer Uniform." This consists of, from the ground up, flip-flop sandals, camo shorts, football (soccer) jerseys (with the inevitable Eric Cantona popped collar), aviator sunglasses and a sunburn. There exists a certain level of freedom when you are so removed from society (as I am on these language camps) that you care not what you wear, as long as it keeps the heat away. I must say, however, that wearing football jerseys everyday is pretty much the coolest thing in the world to my 12 kids. Two points to me.

Back popular demand.

So yes, I agree with you, a blog is meant to be updated, that's kind of the point isn't it? Well, again its been a while, but I will try to update you here.
I am currently away from home, spending the next two weeks working at an English language camp, on the campus of the Hertha BSC training grounds at Olympiastadion in Berlin. For all intents and purposes I am 'out of town,' as I am meant to be here on the camp for 24hr/day for the next 12 days. I am within mobile phone reception range, and was able to secure at WiFi network, so if you need me majors, hit me here.
So what's up lately?
Just got back from a big trip to the US. Originally planned to stay three days, but was swooned by New England and stayed on an extra week. It was lovely. Great wedding in Philly for my brother and Leslie, lots of time in NE with family, going to the Cape and beach with my good friend, can't ask for much more. Well, acutally you can. When in New Hampshire, I got a tattoo for the beagle.
Being in the US got me launched back on watching some crappy tv shows. Judge not, but I have been watching the Denise Richards show and Living Lohan among others. They are hilarious, and if have a sense of humor and a certain level of self-irony I would highly recommend them.

As far as current listening, I loaded up the new pod (thanks CJ and Les) with the new Frightened Rabbit, Coldplay, and Scarlett Johansson records. I have listened to FR so many times that I am fearful that I am wearing down the grooves in the digital files. The Coldplay is surpsingly bearable, thank you Mr Eno. And let me say, the Johansson is delightful and anyone who says otherwise has no idea about avantgarde and pop musical history (listen to Nico, David Bowie, Patti Smith and Jesus & Mary Chain, idiots!). I proudly say that I purchased the record, twice, as well as the follow-up live and rarities EP.

Like just about every other mac geek in the world I am bananas over the 3g iPhone. I ordered mine on the day after the announcement and am still waiting for its delivery. I don't blame apple for the delay (they can never do wrong in my eyes, it seems) but chalk it up to t-mobile being false promisers (my dad will back me up when it comes to t-mobile bashing). So still waiting. Maybe I will blog from it when it arrives and it will give that pretentious "sent from my iPhone" footer.

Was für ein Zeug?

My boss has good timing, proving my soul/dignity can be purchased at a cost effective price.

It stays light out now until 9 pm. Berlin in the summer is to die for, much like ambrosia.

Nick has brought it to my attention that I live in filth. I am finally coming to terms with this.

Softball season has started again. I got "drafted" to a better team. The Prenzlauer Berg Piranhas (pronounced Piran-yas in German. weird, i know.), to be exact.

In the process of planning summer vacation(s). Nick and I are going to attempt to ride our bikes to Copenhagen. Images of eating salami and bread under trees near bodies of water come to mind and me likey- likey.

In German they call stew "Eintopf", which means "one pot". They are so precise sometimes.

I'm going through a Sporty Spice phase.

It's American food week at Lidl, the local supermarket. I bought 4 bags of Marshmallows and have already tried my hand at a batch of "Corn Flake Treats".

Is it wrong that I (a) just heard the Cold War Kids song "Hang Me Up to Dry" for the first time, and (b) I kind of like it? Oh, how embarrassed I am to say this to any Pure Poppers. What have I become?

Blerg.
Sue