Kindergarten punchlines

Yesterday, while I was teaching the bright minds of Berlin, one of my older kids (a 4 1/2 year old) was in a bad mood for pretty much the whole class. 'Why is he in such a bad mood?" another kid asked. Before I could respond, one of the sweetest girls (4 y.o.) in my class said, "Its because he's older, and he's closer to dying."
Even though she said it in German, I couldn't bring myself to correct her. It was just too hilarious.

Film Recommendation.

I strongly suggest, if you haven't already, see the film, Juno. It is lovely.


-n.

Yes it has been a while, but.....

... its a New Year, so forgive us!
We all know that the holidays are always a busy time of year, so we'll just bank on that as the reason that things have been a bit slow in the Jenks Über Alles world. Compounded by the apperance of the new Wii in our lives, and I think we are off the hook.

Well, anyways, happy new year to all. I am currently snowed in here at my mom's in Michigan, so figured this was a good chance to give a quick update of things. I am on a two week vacation in the States, the first week in Central Florida and the second in metro Detroit.

Florida was awesome and warm.Here is a shot of me playing Pickleball, an apparently uniquely Floridian racket sport that resembles a mixture of tennis, table tennis and squash. Oh, and you play with a ball that is pretty much the exact same as a wiffle ball.



Went to a state park on the Gulf Coast and visited some manatees. I can now easily imagine how these animals are called 'sea cows.' Also saw some 'gators and hippos. They had several foxes as well and they seemed to remind me of the beagle as they scurried around. Yes, I am so pathetic that after a week away from the pooch I am reminded of her by seeing foxes.







Last Friday, had the chance to go over to NASA Space Center, at Cape Canaveral. I, like many others, never got the opportunity to head to Space Camp as a kid, but seeing Space Center was pretty amazing.
Here is a shot of launch pad 39A from closest allowable distance of 1.5 miles. To the right of the launch structure is the Space Shuttle Atlantis, due to takeoff no sooner than Jan. 10th. It was kind of neat seeing this shuttle on the platform, because part of its mission includes the the deployment of a piece created by the EU Space program, to be attached to the International Space Station. Go European Union!

Reports dispatched from Berlin have informed me that the beagle is none-too-pleased with the German tradition of lighting and exploding fireworks in the four days surrounding New Years. Next New Year we will get her out of Berlin so she is not forced to hide the bathroom, shaking. Poor poochie.

Have a great day and a happy new year!

-nick