Tick tock
I've been thinking about the different times I've moved house in the ten years since graduating from high school, and after making a list I realized I have moved 20 times in those 10 years. And the longest I lived in one place within that time was 23 months. What's funny is that I don't feel as nomadic as those numbers appear. I have a tendency to settle into a new place quickly and I think I've realized why. It has a lot to do with that ticking clock you see on the sidebar of my blog.
I installed a countdown ticker on my blog as a constant reminder to myself about how much time I have left until I move. It is a way to keep me motivated to get the things on my to-do list finished, but also to remind myself to enjoy these last days in
Coburg, especially since they are now precious and few.
The countdown ticker is one of my preparation methods for my impending move back to the United States. In anticipation of a big life change like a move, I don't just check things off a big to-do list, I also try to get myself into a new mindset by finding countdowns everywhere in my daily life. For instance, when I am at the grocery store I look at the expiration dates on labels, and now realize that many things I buy will expire after I'm back in the United States. Or when I did laundry tonight, I figured that I will probably only do laundry three more times before moving. This kind of calculation puts a big event like moving house into a different perspective, kind of like breaking the whole ordeal down into bite-sized pieces.
I think this countdown tendency of mine really helps me mentally adjust to the idea of moving, but I actually tend do go one step further. If I get myself all worked up about a single day or event, then it can cause a lot of stress for the event or day itself, and then a big letdown after the day has passed. So I try to think past an important day. For example, when an important recital is coming up and I have invested months of preparation into one performance, I try to think about what I'm going to do right after the concert, and also on the next day, week, etc. Or if I have an audition, deadline, or something on my calendar that seems insurmountable, I make a countdown to when the stressful event will be over, and whatever the outcome, life will still go on.
Labels: This and That
Beatlemania
Well, here it is. This is my "Beatlemania" cardigan, knit in two weeks in a frenzy of mass-hysteria caused by
this nifty pattern.
If I could go back I think I would have done a few things differently, but all in all it's a very cozy sweater that I think will get a lot of wear. It's not blocked yet, which means I need to either steam it or soak it and lay flat to dry so the lace pattern spreads out a little more. But of course, I'm not patient enough to wait for blocking to wear it to work and photograph it.
The great thing about this pattern is that it looks much harder to knit than it actually is. The cardigan is knit from the top down in one piece, meaning there is no piecing and no seams to sew. This is also a very useful concept in custom-fitting clothing, because you can constantly try on the garment to make sure it's fitting just right.
I particularly like the wool I chose for this project, which is soft and buttery and very very smooth. The color is actually magenta, not the purple in these photos, but the color is very hard to photograph, especially in natural light. It is also supposedly "superwash" wool, meaning I can wash this cardigan in the washing machine. But I'm not sure I want to risk two weeks of knitting being shrunk or snagged in a machine, so I think I'll wash it by hand anyway, just in case.
I am moving back to Seattle in less than four weeks (!!!) and it would be really imprudent of me to run off to the yarn store and buy wool for a new project when I have a project already on the needles. So I picked up the Catriona tank top again and have actually made good progress:
That is the back piece and it's almost finished. The cables aren't as intimidating as they were at the beginning of the project, and I am really excited to see what the finished tank top will look like!
Labels: Knitting
Bunny déjà vu
Here is a breakdown of my past trips to Nuremberg:
-I went to Nuremberg right before Christmas in 2006 to see the "world's largest Christmas market." I was overwhelmed by the size of the market and the unbelievable mass of people, and only stayed for a few hours before hopping on a train back to Coburg.
-Joe and I stopped off in Nuremberg in December 2007 on our way back from Munich to check out the Christmas market and get a holiday beverage from Starbuck's. The market was just as crazy and crowded as I remembered, but lots more fun at night and with my sweetie.
-My friend Verena and I went to Nuremberg a couple months ago to shop, and I came away with some beautiful yarn, which I made into
this cardigan.
-Garrie, Maggiee and I took the train to Nuremberg a few days ago for a day trip outside of Coburg, and so I could have Starbuck's. I'm telling you, it's the simple things in life... :)
So, since I'm pretty good with math, I'd say that I've been to Nuremberg a total of four times. But when I was there with Garrie and Maggiee a couple things started looking familiar. I just chalked it up to my other three visits and didn't think any more about it.
Then we were standing up at the fortress and looking down at the beautiful streets below...
... I noticed something that looked familiar on the street below us. It looked like a bronze sculpture.
And upon closer inspection, I realized that the familiarity of this bunny was not just déjà vu. I had been here before. I had seen this bunny before. But where??
And then it hit me. I
had been to Nuremberg before, and not just the three times before this week. I went with my study abroad group back in the summer of 2002 during a week-long bus journey! In my 21-year-old state of culture shock and general confusion (my German wasn't that great back then), I must have become overwhelmed with the amount of things I saw and experienced in my year abroad and not realized that I had been to Nuremberg before.
But one *cannot* forget this sculpture. As a matter of fact, Gumby had his picture taken on this sculpture. He (Gumby, not the bunny) has accompanied me on almost all of my world travels (you can check out
his blog from my audition tour in 2006 if you want), but his photo with the bunny is on a real photograph, so I can't show you the original.
The fact that I've been to Nuremberg before shouldn't surprise me that much, because I actually had the same "déjà vu" feeling when I went to Bamberg last year and it all kind of looked familiar. Which was because it was also a stop on my study abroad trip and we even spent the night there. Oops. Who would have thought that my study abroad travels would have taken me within an hour's drive to Coburg and my future employer? Small world, I tell ya.
Tomorrow I have a fun new cardigan to show you! And since the weather in Coburg is pretty cold and dismal today, I'll actually get some use out of it tonight.
Labels: Tourist stuff in Germany
Nuremberg, Part 2
If any of you readers are considering a vacation to Germany, I can't recommend Bavaria enough. It is such a beautiful part of the world, and I'm really going to miss it. Even though I'm chomping at the bit to move back to the States, I'm sure once I've filled myself to the brim with cheap Pop Tarts and Starbuck's, I'll look back at pictures like these and start pining for my next summer holiday to Bavaria so I can enjoy the architectural beauty that I just won't find in Seattle.
Take a look at this door. It's about 400 years old has a great lock system. The hinges are elaborate wrought iron masterpieces and the door itself is massive, probably about 15 feet tall.
There is a fortress in Nuremberg that sits atop a sandstone hillside and contains an interesting collection of buildings. The varying textures and geometric patterns caught my eye for this picture.
When we arrived at the top of the hill, two painters were working on the restoration of a huge wooden door.
Using gentle brushstrokes, these men were restoring the crest of Austria to this door, which must mean this fortress was a part of the Austria-Hungary empire once upon a time. Did you see that door handle? I can't even imagine what the blacksmith's workshop looked like where that thing was made.
Sandstone is not the most reliable surface to build a fortress upon, and it looks like there has been some patching done over the years. The base to this tower looks like it has been reinforced a few different times and the reulting effect is very interesting, as if the tower is slowly setting down brick roots into the sandstone.
Although we did not take a guided tour of the fortress, it appears that there are a few different architectural styles at work, including the use of different brick and stones, and also wood.
We really couldn't have asked for better weather that day.
This courtyard had a striking display of trees, which were severely groomed to grow in a circle. The effect is not only beautiful from the outside...
...but also creates an enchanting tangle of branches when you walk underneath and in between.
I still have some more Nuremberg pictures and a funny story to share, but I'll save that for another day. Until then, enjoy this sturdy little flower and have a great day!
Labels: Tourist stuff in Germany
Nuremberg, Part 1
Yesterday I went to Nuremberg with my friends Maggiee and Garrie. I got a bit camera-happy and took close to 100 pictures, so I thought I'd break down our trip into two blog posts. Tomorrow you'll get to see all the pretty old buildings and cultural things, but today let's focus on the important stuff: food.
As our train rolled into Nuremberg we were greeted with a sudden rainstorm. Since it was around lunchtime anyway, we retreated to the basement of a department store for some shopping and lunch.
The Karstadt in Nuremberg has a gourmet grocery store in its basement, including a substantial display of American groceries.
It was a novelty to see the kinds of things the Karstadt had imported from the United States. Mustard, barbecue sauce and macaroni and cheese were not a big suprise to me. But then I wandered to the other side of the display and spotted the Pop Tarts. And the price tag below them:
No, my friends, that is not even the price in dollars. If you live in Nuremberg and would like to enjoy a tasty Pop Tart for breakfast, according to the current exchange rate, this little blue box will set you back $10.11. TEN DOLLARS AND ELEVEN CENTS. For Pop Tarts! Wow. I am still at a loss for words. Maybe that's the reason why the display was completely intact and not one box was missing from the lot.
But take a look above the Pop Tarts in this photo. Someone, it seems, was in the market for an American product. Let's go take a closer look at what they wanted. Huh, it looks like "Bisquick."
Just so that we're all on the same page, let me make it clear that Bisquick is essentially flour, leavening powder, and shortening mixed together. That's it. There is nothing catchy, nothing overly-American about this product, except it makes pancake batter come together about 25 seconds faster than if you were to make it from scratch. And it costs 3.89 Euros for that small box. $6.06 USD. And don't even get me started on the cookie, brownie and cake mixes for 5.69 Euros per box. That's $8.86. A box. I think Betty Crocker just passed out.
The Oreos were quite tempting, I must admit. And for just two Euros I could have bought a small box of them. But I think I'll hold out a few more weeks for the Trader Joe's "JoJos," which are all-natural and taste much better.
The last sticker shock item I found was Campbell's soup. For a bit of nostalgia and a quick lunch from your childhood, you'll have to pay $6.21 USD for one can. Oy.
After I made a spectacle about the insane prices at the America aisle, I had worked up an appetite and was ready for lunch. Garrie and Maggiee led me to the butcher counter, which also has a grill and some seating. They have different seating "stations" all around the store including a beef station (which is naturally where we ended up), a seafood station, an Asian station, and a pasta station.
We wandered to the meat counter and ordered our cuts of beef, which were taken to the grill by our waiter/butcher/chef. He grilled them right before our eyes and in just a few minutes our lunch was served. Here's what Garrie ordered. You don't find t-bone steaks much around Germany, so it's a pretty big deal.
I had a smaller cut of beef and a baked potato and it tasted really good. Sometimes you just can't beat meat and potatoes.
After lunch we emerged from the basement of Karstadt to find the sun shining outside. It was as if the crazy rain storm had never happened. So we headed down to the river to one of Nuremberg's FOUR Starbucks for a post-lunch caffeine boost.
That, my friends, is a coffee frappacino. Or to a Seattle girl, happiness in a twelve-ounce cup.
If this post wasn't really for you, come back tomorrow and I'll show you pretty pictures of old buildings and castles and flowers. And if this post was right up your alley, then enjoy the rest of your day with maybe a Pop Tart (but only if you're in the U.S.) or maybe a treat from Starbucks. And I'll hopefully still see you back here tomorrow. :)
Labels: Tourist stuff in Germany
Random globalization stories
I was poking around on Ravelry this morning and I noticed I had a message from a fellow knitter (from Oregon) who wanted to know more about this shawl I knit earlier in the month:
She noticed from my profile (or perhaps my blog?) that I'm from Olympia, and asked if I knew someone named Larry who runs a bike shop there called Oly Bikes. Woah! My Dad, Mom and I all have bikes from Oly Bikes! How funny that a knitter from Oregon contacted me in Germany about a shawl I knit and it turns out we both know someone in Olympia. The inernet is a strange and powerful tool.
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I am now one month away from my move back to Seattle and need to really start selling off and/or giving away the things I don't plan on taking back with me. I didn't really buy that much stuff in Coburg, but it's still a daunting task on my to-do list. Although I've gotten better about letting go of my material possessions, I am really sad that this lamp needs to stay in Coburg:
Do you see how cute it is?? It's EMBROIDERED!! I know, I totally flipped out when I saw it at Ikea last fall. And I flipped out even more when I saw how much I paid for the shade and base together. Plus lightbulbs. Ouch.
Anyway, I can't take it back to Seattle with me because 1) the plug won't work in America and 2) the only way I can get a fairly delicate lampshade like that back with me is to wear it as a hat. So it has to stay here. But on a whim, I checked out the Ikea website and the lamp is still there. And what's better, it's available at the Seattle store! And the best part? It's way cheaper in Seattle. I actually noticed last fall that Ikea publishes their catalogs without putting Dollar signs or Euro signs on the items. And since I'm a pretty savvy shopper and tend to remember what I paid for things, I realized that the prices in Germany and the U.S. are the same, it's just dollars in Seattle and Euros in Germany. And so with the exchange rate in my favor and Ikea's interesting pricing policy, I'll be able to re-purchase my favorite lamp of all time for a fraction of what I paid in Germany. :)
I am the sad, sad product of globalization. I might as well go have dinner at McDonald's now.
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I might go to Nuremberg tomorrow with two friends of mine and if we do, I am definitely going to Starbucks. I'm very, VERY excited.
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I have the morning off today and managed to check several things off my moving to-do list:
- cancelled personal liability insurance account (
fast, easy, great customer service)
- told medical insurance company I'm moving (
fast, easy, good customer service)
- set up an appointment for my power company to do the final reading and changed address (
fast, easy, and the nicest man I've ever done business with in Coburg helped me)
- asked my internet provider about cancelling my contract (
not that helpful, typically poor customer service)
- got help filling out my retirement reimbursement forms (
I am forever in debt to our personnel lady for filling out six pages of mind-bending forms for me)
- signed up for travel insurance for the summer when I'm in the U.S. (
fast, easy, and CHEAP)
WHEW!!!
(Hmm, that last bit of randomness didn't have a whole lot to do with globalization, unless you count my inter-continental move a globalization of sorts...) ;)
I got so much done and still have a few hours before I have to be at the theater for a rehearsal. I think I'll turn on a book on tape and try to get my cardigan finished up:
Labels: This and That
Football
Most Americans think the N.F.L. is football. Within the confines of the United States, that assumption is fairly correct. But once you say that word in practically any other country in the developed world, then "football" is universally-known as a ball game involving a black and white ball and 22 very healthy boys. In America it's usually called "soccer."
Coburg, Germany, and the rest of Europe is in the middle of a football frenzy because of the 2008 European football tournament. Or whatever it's called. Since I live in a cave (i.e. the Landestheater) and don't have a television or radio, I first heard about this tournament from my football-loving boyfriend, who ordered a special cable package from his television provider so he can watch all the games in Seattle.
I didn't really think much of this whole tournament thing until one day a couple weeks ago I walked to work and noticed that almost all of the cars in Coburg have flags flying from the windows.
And then the theater started to buzz with betting pools and charts and spreadsheets involving the tournament.
And then onen day when I climbed the back steps of the Theater, I noticed this Germany flag hanging on a building:
And then I took my camera to get a closer look. I think this one flag could clothe an entire village, it's so huge.
And then I heard the noise. There was such a ruckus coming from the beer garden across the street from the theater that I figured there were some people gathered to watch a football game. And this is what I found.
I don't even know if Germany was playing, but it was astonishing that this otherwise-sleepy beer garden had suddenly been filled with people.
In the couple weeks since this tournament began, I have learned that America's obsession with baseball, basketball, N.F.L., or whatever racecar driving is called, PALES in comparison to Europe's love for football. When Germany played an elimination game a couple days ago, Coburg filled up with football fans wearing jerseys and t-shirts and face paint and hats and scarves and flags and any other kind of black/red/yellow decorations they could think of. And during the game we had a performance. And the performers, technicians, doormen and security guards (and heck, probably half of our audience) had absolutely no interest in the show. Instead, during any free moment they were crammed into the canteen to watch the football game.
And when Germany won 3-1, I expected there to be a lot of noise on the street. Since the tournament's begin I have gotten used to the screaming, yelling, drunken carrying-on that seems to happen after a football game. But when Germany advanced to the semi-finals of this tournament, all heck broke loose in Coburg. I stood agape at a crowd of hundreds of people gathered at that bus stop, halting traffic, jumping on cars, honking horns, screaming, and carrying on like crazed animals.
And then I went home, closed my windows to dampen the screams and car horns, and knit on my cardigan.
If it weren't for the liability involving riots and broken chandeliers, I would suggest that the Landestheater cancel all of our performances between now and the end of this tournament. With an average audience of around 250 people per show, it's not like we're making any money this time of year. The house holds around 600 people and I'm sure the technicians could put up a big white wall and run a projection of the game. And then the theater employees won't be taunted by the screams from the neighboring beer garden while they have to work in a dark, windowless, football-less theater.
Labels: German Culture
To do, but sometimes to knit
Have you ever had one of those days when you come home from work and feel paralyzed? And instead of being productive and doing the extra little things on your "to do" list, you just kind of sit and space out? I'm having one of those days. Actually, I'm having one of those weeks.
Sure, I get the necessities done like folding laundry and cooking and washing dishes. But now that I'm preparing for an international move, my list of things to do has gotten more complicated. And stressful. So instead I knit. I'm making great progress on my latest project.
Here are a few things from my "to do" list:
- cancel my internet service- fill out retirement reimbursement forms for Theater- change my address at the post office- photograph and inventory my furniture, kitchen items, etc. that still need to be sold/given away- finish gathering documents for German income tax return- sort through things to take home to Seattle and pack boxes to send- contact airlines about possibility of shipping boxes as cargo- repaint apartmentIt's not that any of these things are that difficult. But each of them are a bit stressful and time-consuming and when I'm done with a stressful rehearsal at the theater, I don't want to add any more stress to my day and end up going home. To cook. And fold laundry. And knit.
A few months ago I started displaying a lot of my finished knitting projects on this blog and I received a lot of positive feedback, but also the comments that I am a very "fast" knitter and I sure seem to fly through projects at a record pace. Well, the truth of it is, many of those finished projects represent some kind of little hump I was trying to work through, and the meditative process of knitting helps me deal with whatever life dishes out.
I knit this scarf after Joe left Germany in January. We had spent a really great month together and when he left, my life in Coburg was not the same. I was sad, lonely, and I used yarn and needles to turn that sadness into something warm and soft that comforted me.
In March I resigned from the Landestheater. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done, but I didn't doubt my decision for one second. However, making the decision and starting to plan a different future and leave Germany was very stressful. I knit this cardigan with yarn I bought when I was back in Seattle to audition for opera companies, using a pattern written by a woman who was also transitioning her life from Germany back to the United States. The cardigan looks a lot like "Tracht," traditional German clothing, and to me represents the mixing of my lives in Seattle and Germany.
This is one of the most mentally-challenging projects I have ever knit. It was my first lace project, was knit on tiny needles and I had to graft almost 400 stitches together (in ribbing) to complete the project. I began this project after my Grandfather took a turn for the worst after having heart surgery in February. He passed away soon after and I felt like a prisoner in Germany. My relentless performance schedule and distance from home kept me from being with my family at such a difficult time, and escaping into the repetition of this knitting project helped me work through the grief I had to go through alone.
When I wear these finished garments now, I don't feel sadness, stress, or grief. When each of these projects came off the needles, I was happy to see that I had accomplished something. I had made something positive with my own two hands. And I could pick up my needles and begin something new.
I hope when I am done with my current knitting project I can move towards my impending move with a lighter heart and more focus. But until then, I'll let my to-do list sit for awhile and go back to my cozy couch to knit a few more rows before bed.
Labels: Knitting
The Beatles Effect
Have you ever seen archive footage of the girls in the audience at a Beatles concert? How they screamed and writhed and pulled their hair and cried? It's a classic example of mass hysteria, and I have to say that I am definitely that kind of girl. I am a joiner, a clubber, and someone who likes to get involved. And get enthusiastic. And get caught up in waves of mass excitement. And sometimes scream. Sometimes a lot.
Last week a woman posted the pattern for this amazing sweater on
Ravelry:
"February Lady Sweater" by Pam Wynne
Photo credit:
www.flintknits.comIt is an adult version of the infamous "February Baby Sweater" designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann, who is one of the founding mothers of modern knitting and whose books and patterns are very VERY well-respected in the knitting world.
Ravelry itself is like a gateway drug for knitters, because within its pages we have a place to congregate, share patterns, talk about knitting techniques, and generally act dorky and crafty. But when this pattern emerged on the website last week, the Beatles effect quickly developed. As of the posting of this blog entry there are over 200 people currently knitting this project on Ravelry and discussion boards are being filled with talk of the "February Lady Sweater," which is how this green gem is otherwise known. For all intents and purposes, knitters all over the world are screaming, writhing and pulling their hair over such a gosh darn cute pattern.
Since I'm a joiner, I jumped on the bandwagon as well, practically running to my local yarn store to buy wool for this project. And after just a few days on the needles, the cardigan is starting to emerge:
The construction of this cardigan is called a "top-down raglan," meaning that it is knit in one piece from the top to the bottom. There is no sewing (or 'finishing') involved and when the project comes off the needles, it's ready to be worn.
My friend Maggiee also experienced the Beatles Effect and learned to knit garter stitch today, which is how the yoke of this sweater is knit. And by her look of determination, I have no doubt that she will also be touting a cardigan by the time the weather turns towards winter.
Labels: Knitting
Road trips and moving boxes
Being the father of an opera singer is not easy. But thankfully I have the greatest Dad in the world, whose unfailing "behind the scenes" support is one of the main reasons I have come so far with my singing, his presence and support being a catalyst in pushing me forward towards my current profession.
In 1997 we took our first road trip together to visit Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. My first glimpse of the campus was from the passenger seat of his convertible and during that visit I fell in love with the University. I eventually decided to attend WSU after receiving a scholarship to major in music. I remember feeling trepidation about going to college, but Dad was right by my side to make such a big life change seem less scary.
Five years, three dorm rooms, two apartments, and one Rose Bowl road trip later, my Dad was a
bona fide Cougar, and could probably tell you how many stairs each of my homes had, since he carried most of my boxes for me, and divas like to live in the penthouse.
In 2003 when I was thinking about going to graduate school to continue my vocal studies, my Dad arranged all of the travel itineraries, flights, and hotels for my auditions and personally escorted me to Oregon, Colorado and Minnesota so I could sing. And he didn't even show
that much frustration when, after all that time and effort, I eventually settled in Seattle at the Cougars' arch-rival, University of Washington.
Three years, two apartments and one house later, I was ready to depart for Germany. My Dad put on his travel agent hat one more time to book my flights for my three-month audition tour. And after I got a job in Coburg, he once again saddled his pickup and helped clear out my apartment in Ballard.
Now I'm ready to return to the United States and a begin a new chapter in my life. In a way I feel about as nervous as that spring afternoon in 1997 when Dad and I crested the peak of the road into Pullman and I caught my first glimpse of the WSU campus. Back then I was taking my first step into the adult world. And over ten years later I am still moving forward one step at a time. And each step has been made easier and less frightening because of the love and support of my Dad.
I love you Dad. Happy Father's Day!
Labels: This and That
Pet Peeves
Even after almost two years in Germany, I still find myself getting peeved at people and situations that may be normal to many Germans, but drive me crazy. Shopping is the place where I notice our cultural differences the most. Here are the top thee shopping offenses that make me cranky:
1. Cutting in Line
I ran some errands this morning and people cut in front of me in two different shops. In the first situation, the woman stormed the counter and did not even look up to see that I was already standing there waiting to make my purchase. She just plunked down her items on the counter and dug into her purse for her wallet. I started to say something and the cashier didn't really know what to do, so I just said "it's okay" and let the woman go in front of me. Who knows, maybe she had an emergency to get to somewhere.
The second time I was cut in front of was a different situation. There was a long line at one cash register and so another cashier came to assist. Instead of helping the next customer in line, the tradition in Germany is to mob the second cashier and the fastest person gets served first. There is no such thing as being fair or taking turns. I honestly do not understand how normally-civilized people can become so aggressive when it comes to making a purchase. Am I crazy to think that the first person in line should be served first, second next, and so on?
2. Bagging Groceries
I love grocery stores in Germany, but I hate the checkstand. Not only is there no-one to bag your groceries, but there is no conveyor belt on the other side of the cashier, meaning that once an item has been swiped, it needs to be QUICKLY placed in a bag or back in your cart. Since the cashiers are devilishly fast at their jobs, this means that you really have to stay alert.
I have actually devised a system for unloading my groceries from the cart to be scanned. (Yes, yes, you can laugh, I know I'm a bit eccentric). When I put my groceries on the conveyor belt, I put the largest, heaviest items first, and the lightest, most delicate items last. That way when the cashier throws the scanned groceries in my general direction, all I have to do is put everything back in my cart and I don't have to worry about items getting squished or damaged. And then after I've paid I roll my cart to the bagging area to load my groceries in peace.
3. Personal Space Infringement
This peeve is most likely related to #1. When standing in a checkout line, Germans do not abide by Patrick Swayze's "dance space" rule, which was so eloquently described in
Dirty Dancing, leaving approximately an arm's length in between people. Oh no. On any given trip to a store I now expect to be bumped, nudged, or downright pushed by a cart, bag or person. This not only makes me cranky, but it makes me want to push back, which is just childish and wouldn't help the situation at all. So I usually stand my ground and pretend to be a tree and try to ignore the people around me.
I do think that if there wasn't such a huge cutting-in-line problem this problem would not exist. But as it stands, the Germans are most likely protecting their spot in a cashier line by physically attaching themselves to the person in front of them. Sigh.
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On an unrelated note, I mailed in my United States income tax return this morning. Expats get an extra two months to file and I just squeezed in under the deadline. My friend Maggiee was a HUGE help in the whole process, which is kind of scary and confusing and weird. But the forms were eventually found, exchange rates were calculated, and the papers were filled out. And look what I put on my return:
Not many Vocal Performance graduates get to fill that in under "occupation." It is a very proud and surreal feeling to show the IRS that I can make a good living from singing. And I hope the people who cracked jokes about me working at McDonald's after graduation are reading this right now and will maybe think twice in the future before demoralizing the studies of a Vocal Performance major.
Labels: German Culture
Gateway Drug
I'm glad I consulted you all for advice about my shawl. I ended up ripping out a pattern repeat of the leaves to get enough yarn for the ending. The process was fairly traumatic because ripping out lace is scary and every row of this pattern has a different number of stitches. Eek! (BTW, that's why I didn't actually list that option in my little survey). Anyway, I came out victorious and here is the finished shawl:
It's very long and warm and soft and I really love it.
And here are the two finished edges and the wee bit of yarn I had left over. Whew!
After I finished the shawl I almost RAN to my local yarn store to get the wool for a new project that I found a few days ago online.
Ravelry is turning out to be
somewhat of a gateway drug and
seems to be contributing to my ever-growing knitting obsession. Don't you those modifiers in the last sentence? Okay, I know you all can see right through me. But this is why:
Photo courtesy of http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151Don't you LOVE this jacket?? It popped up on Ravelry's pattern database a few days ago and I became one of the lemmings to immediately begin knitting it. I bought some really soft, squishy (expensive!!) magenta yarn and have a couple inches of the yoke already knit. The color is really hard to photograph, though, so you'll just have to use your imagination for now.
I guess of all the things to be addicted to, knitting isn't quite as bad as, say, drugs or alcohol. And at least you have something cute to wear when all's said and done. :)
Labels: Knitting
June 11th Randomness
Exactly 10 years ago today I graduated from high school. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be sitting at this computer, in this apartment, working this job, in this country. Weird. I wonder what the heck I'll be doing exactly 10 years from now...
Thanks for the comments on the last post about my shawl dilemma. The mental telepathy was a little overwhelming, though. Sheesh, you all can sure send loud vibes! :) My shawl is indeed finished and I'm actually wearing it right now. I'll take some pictures when it's light tomorrow and let you know what I did.
The choir is in the middle of a mini-revolution at the theater. We are having an extremely difficult time with this production of Cabaret and have finally reached the breaking point.
When we have staging rehearsals for a show the choir has already rehearsed the music long enough that we not only know the melody and text, but we have our parts nearly memorized. This is not the case for Cabaret, since the premiere was shoved into the end of our season at the last minute and we have been doing so many other performances and premieres that there were not enough hours in each day to rehearse this on top of everything else. But now the director expects us to come to staging rehearsals when we have only had one or two musical rehearsals for each number. Then we are expected to sing through a number one time and then be able to sing it memorized while executing fairly complicated choreography. And if we can't do it, the director makes snide comments. On top of that, we have performances every night this week in addition to four hours of staging and choreography each morning. In between rehearsals and performances I only have the energy to eat something, and then fall into bed exhausted, before I have to get up and get ready to go to work. This is not the job I signed up for, and the others agree. So tomorrow we're having a musical rehearsal and the director is going to go soak his head.
Yes, I just took a deep breath. Thank you.
I saw my first firefly tonight! There was just one and my friend Verena noticed it flying behind me when we were talking. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Ever.
Please choose for me!
I'm at the end of my rope, literally.
I am very nearly done with my
Voyager Lace Shawl, which has been a delight to knit. The pattern is easy to follow and the cotton yarn hasn't been too hot to work with during Coburg's recent heat wave. But this afternoon I came to the last few rows of the shawl and realized I was not going to have enough left to do the fancy picot edging (those little bumps you see on the end).
I figured it wasn't that big of a deal, and decided to rip out the picot edging that I had started, take out two rows of the garter stitch part and redo the last row. You can see the result is that there are three garter stitch ridges on the beginning edge, and only two on the ending edge:
I would have been content to leave my work slightly asymmetrical like this, but alas, it STILL wasn't enough yarn to get through that blasted picot edge. I swear those little nubs eat yarn like it's going out of style. So this is what I'm left with:
ARGH!
I've ripped out my knitting once today, and knit the picot edging twice now (totaling about 3 hours of wasted afternoon sunshine), and I am still short about 20 feet of yarn. And I'm tired from a very long day of rehearsals and am probably not in the best position to make this decision for myself, so I've decided to turn to all of you for advice on how to complete this project.
How should I finish my shawl? Here are your voting options:
Should I....
A) Buy another skein of yarn to finish the project as-is (i.e. asymmetrical),
B) Buy another skein of yarn, rip out the picot edge and reknit that extra garter stitch ridge to make the edges symmetrical,
or
C) Rip out both sides of picot edging (because it doesn't look that cute anyway) and bind off using a traditional, smooth edge?
The future of my shawl now lies in your hands. You can choose the fate of my shawl by commenting on the post, e-mailing me, calling me, sending me a smoke signal, or by mental telepathy. I'll let you know how the majority ruled and how I should move forward.
This is such a great pattern. Don't you just love all those beautiful brown leaves all lined up in rows?? :) Vote fast, I want to finish this project and start wearing it!!!
Labels: Knitting
Der Wildschuetz
Der Wildschuetz is a very cool German opera, but very hard to explain. Instead of giving you a run-down of the whole plot, I thought I'd just show you some costume pictures I took the night of our premiere on Friday night and tell you how they fit into the performance.
These are my shoes when I'm dressed as Nanette, the Baroness' best friend/lady-in-waiting. Don't they kind of remind you of Smurfette's shoes in black?
The director decided to set the opera in 1970, meaning at any time the stage is alive with synthetic fibers, bright colors, and lots and lots of hair. There are chops a'plenty and stacks of platform shoes, and the overall effect is funky enough to add livliness to the story, but not so over-the-top that the opera becomes campy. I'm one of the more conservatively-dressed people onstage during the opera. Here is how the audience first sees me before I change into boy clothes:
The Baroness wants to go to her brother's castle and look around unobserved, so we change into men's clothes during the Baroness' aria in the first act. It is a little stressful to do a costume change onstage, but we practiced it so many times that it now goes like clockwork. Here's what I look like when I've been transformed into a boy (minus
the sock):
I think I make a pretty good looking guy, which helps the story along, because another female character named Gretchen develops a crush on me dressed as a boy. At the end of the opera my real identity is revealed and the poor girl is pretty crushed. Who would have thought I'd be a heart-breaker in corduroy and plaid?
My solo is very tiny in this piece, but I still received some great premiere treats from my colleagues. It's fun to feel spoiled!
There are now less than four weeks until the premiere of
Cabaret, my last premiere at the Landestheater, and in the next three weeks we'll finish up the productions of
Kiss me Kate,
Wizard of Oz,
Faust, and
Glueckliche Reise, leaving just performances of
Wildschuetz and the premiere of
Cabaret for the rest of the season in July. I'm starting to get nostalgic about Coburg in general, but every time I think about the theater specifically I just feel tired and burned out.
The funny thing is, my position in the choir is exactly what I went looking for when I left Seattle in 2006 for my audition tour, I just didn't know it at the time. I remember telling people that I don't like moving around a lot, and I wanted job security and stability, even though those things seemed pretty unlikely to find as a professional singer. And even though I found those things in the choir at the Landestheater, it just wasn't the right fit for me. By the end of the season we will have done close to 150 performances and I don't think I'm cut out for that kind of schedule, not to mention the committment of evenings, weekends, and every major holiday. But I will always feel lucky and thankful that I had the chance to try out a job like this for a time in my life, even if the conclusion is that it's not the right one for me.
Labels: Costumes
High Hopes
After my post from yesterday I want to make sure that you, my dear readers, haven't mistaken me for a crazed nutrition freak who counts every single gram of sugar in her diet. What I actually do is try to eat three balanced meals a day, and leave some wiggle room so that I can enjoy snacks and sweets without having to deal with the consequences figure- and energy-wise. Being careful with a simple meal like cereal makes it easier for me to enjoy a cookie or sweet snack during the day, which I do on a regular basis, believe me. :)I love my rubber tree, and I think it loves me, too. I bought it just over a year ago and because of the recent sunny weather, my rubber tree is experiencing a growth spurt.
Here's a picture of my beloved tree:
And all the leaves you see above the yellow line are the leaves it has grown since I bought it last spring, although most of them have popped out within the past two months. The tree has lost several leaves down below, but it seems to be more than making up for that now.
Actually, in the last two days two new leaves have made their appearance. Here is what they looked like yesterday when my tree was nice enough to pose for a photo shoot:
And just look what happened within 24 hours! When they're ready, the leaves push themselves out of their little protective pods and stretch towards the sun.
Spring really is one of my favorite times of the year, if for no other reason than seeing things grow.
Labels: This and That
Sugar
Anyone who has shopped for breakfast cereal with me knows that I have one important rule for choosing a cereal: sugar has to be at least the third ingredient listed on the box. Since ingredients are listed in order of amount, placing sugar third on the list means that there are two main ingredients (usually wheat, rice, or some other grain) that comprise the majority of the cereal content.
This rule was passed down to me from my parents, who always kept the kitchen stocked with Rice Krispies, Cheerio's (no, not honey nut; sugar's #2 on that ingredient list), or Corn Flakes. After a brief phase in college when I ate the sugary cereals that were offered in the dorm's dining hall, I returned to eating low-sugar cereal when I realized the sugar crash in the middle of a morning lecture wasn't doing anything for my energy level, not to mention my waistline.
I have managed to adhere to this rule in Germany as well, and I think reading labels on grocery items has improved my food vocabulary over the months. But lately I've been wondering more about this rule of mine. Even though it's a fairly safe bet that a cereal will have a smaller amount of sugar the farther down it's placed on the list, I want to know the real bottom line: how much sugar am I really eating?
To answer this question, I turned to my current cereal: Kellogg's Special K. (Yes, globalization is alive and well in Coburg, thank you for asking).
I took a look at the side of the box and saw that sugar is the third ingredient on the list, behind rice and wheat. The box label also tells me that for 100 grams of cereal (that's over 1/4 of the box, by the way), there are 17 grams of sugar. And for one portion of cereal AND milk, there are a combined 11 grams of sugar.
American's aren't really hip on using grams for weight measurement, but I think I'm getting better after so many months in Europe, and especially since my parents got me this cool food scale last fall. Here is what 10 grams of sugar looks like in its white, refined form.
That is two of those little teaspoons (smaller than American cereal spoons), and can fit in the palm of my hand. I usually put one of these little spoonfuls into a cup of tea and it's definitely sweet enough.
Acording to my Special K box, the average woman should consume no more than 90 grams of sugar per day in order to maintain a healthy diet. If 10 grams come from cereal and 5 come from my tea with sugar, that leaves me 75 for the rest of the day. Not so bad, I'd say. And it definitely proved to me that using my "third ingredient rule" when shopping for cereal was a good plan.
But then I thought of something else. I know that a 12-ounce (0.33 liter) can of Coke has 40 grams of sugar in it. And since I had my food scale out, I thought I'd put more sugar into the container to see what 40 grams looks like. Oh my:
This is what is swimming around in my can of Coke? Oh dear. If I had cereal, tea, and then a can of Coke, that leaves me with 35 grams of sugar left for the entire day. I think that's do-able. But this little mountain of sugar might haunt me a little bit the next time I go to open a can of soda.
Labels: This and That
Go ask your father
Today was the first dress rehearsal for
Der Wildschuetz. In the piece I play the role of Nannette, who is the best friend and servant to a Baroness. At the beginning of the opera the Baroness decides that we should dress ourselves up as men before arriving at her brother's castle so we can survey the situation at the castle without being recognized. This means a costume change onstage, where we take off our girl clothes and put on boy clothes. Our boy costumes are complete at the end of one of the Baroness' arias, when we both stuff socks down the front of our pants.
After we were done with that scene, I was waiting backstage for my next entrance when I was approached by one of the little girls who sings in the children's choir in the opera. She had seen our changing clothes scene from the side stage and didn't understand why we had to change our clothes to look like boys. I explained to her that we wanted to arrive at the castle undetected, so we dressed ourselves as men. She then got all serious and asked, "Well, why did you put something in the front of your pants??" I tried to gently sidestep the question by saying, "Well, so we'd look more like boys than girls," to which the little girl replied, "But why do you have to put socks down the front of your pants to look like a boy?"
At this point I realized the conversation couldn't really go any further without giving out more information than I was comfortable with about the anatomical differences between boys and girls. And since her father sings in the opera chorus and was also somewhere in the theater, I simply told her, "Go ask your father, he'll have the answer for you." :)
Labels: Theater Life
Random post
Hi there. My blog has been pretty quiet for a few days, so I thought I'd stop by to say hello and just sort of let my random thoughts run amok. :)
Coburg has been hit with a heat wave that caught me off guard and has wreaked havoc on my productivity. Apparently I am not capable of functioning well in a top-floor, non-air-conditioned, afternoon-sun-receiving apartment and have been forced to flee my home for the greater portion of each day to keep from wilting. I'm getting smarter as the days go by and have started to wash my dishes and cook my meals for the day in the early morning hours when my kitchen is a reasonable temperature. But even though I'm coping, I have come to the realization that I am a born-and-bred Olympia girl. I don't do well in this kind of heat, and when it gets this hot there needs to be some kind of large, cool body of water for me to hang out in until the heat wave passes.
The first dress rehearsal of
der Wildschuetz is tomorrow. I haven't told you much about the show, but the director has been a dream to work with and I really like the (teeny tiny) solo role I have. I'll tell you more when I have pictures to help explain the story. It will be worth the wait. :)
Coburg had its semi-annual flea market this past weekend and I managed to sell my old laptop and some other things, which officially starts my big clean-out leading up to my move on July 24th. The flea market is really a wonderful thing here. About two days beforehand, people start marking out spaces on the main streets downtown with chalk or tape. Then on the day of the flea market, you go and sit on your marked-off area to guard your territory against someone else nabbing it. As of 6:00 p.m. you're allowed to sell stuff and then a security guy comes buy and collects the fees for the space. A flea market plot costs 7 Euros per meter for adults, and 3.50 per meter for kiddies. This fee pays for the street cleaners that come through after the whole shebang and make the city look gorgeous again. The *very* cool thing is that the flea market always starts on Saturday night and goes through Sunday afternoon. And that means continually. There are people who actually man their tables through the night and you can see shoppers wandering around the stands with flashlights and lamps at 3 in the morning. Totally weird and cool. Germans must love their bargains.
My replacement at the theater has been found. We held an audition last week for a girl whose resume we really liked a lot and it turns out she is just as great in person as she was on paper. We offered her the job immediately and she replied by telling us that she had also received a job at a bigger theater closer to her home town and needed a couple days to think over her decision. The choir ladies seemed pretty despondent, so I put on my Ann Taylor Loft salesgirl hat and went to work. I piped up and gave her a little speech about how our choir has a very exceptional working relationship and that when she considers where she wants to work she should keep in mind that her colleagues make up a huge portion of job satisfaction and even though Coburg is small, it's a great place to work and the experience is second-to-none. And the next day she called our director and accepted his offer. The choir ladies patted me on the back because they are convinced my speech won her over, but then I told them that the potlucks and dressing room gab has been the most cherished part of this whole theater experience, and I didn't have to exaggerate one bit about how great they all are. I am really *really* going to miss that room full of crazy, vivacious ladies.
But no matter how super my colleagues are, I am very excited to return to the United States. I am more homesick than I've ever been and really want to see my Mom and Dad, my two great sisters, and Joe. And after that I want to see my friends and speak English and become reaquainted with my favorite country in the whole world. There is really and truly no place like home.
Labels: Theater Life, This and That
