wow. i am so full of food
so we went all over the city today....had a proper breakfast of eggs and toast....real toast with bacon and hash browns. oh man. it was only 5 quid. so cheap compared to schweiz.
leaving switzerland i was asked at the boarder control at the gate where i lived and why my 'stay' was over 90 days in my passport thankfully i carry my swiss ID with me....it took a minute to explain but they let me go.
i visited here six years ago, london. i was a different person then......this time i am seeing a different side of london. met some interesting blokes that were all so very nice. what i am noticing the most here about meeting people is that no one really gives a shit. not that they don't give a shit...it's just a different kind of feeling.
so we had a few pints and were hungry and went to a 24 hour bagel place....i cannot wait to upload the photos. so i got a freshly baked bagel ( i have missed bagels!!) with this salt beef....oh man.
then we went to an indian place on the east end.....i cannot even describe the deliciousness factor.
i am ready for sleep but just wanted to chime in while i still had a computer to use.
my friend louis is very wasted (well he is asleep now) and is snoring louder than anyone i have ever heard!! thankfully i have my own room to crash in as well as my lovely ear plugs!!
i could live here easily. it's great and giant...i have missed city life so this is awesome.
it's so much cheaper than switzerland and the feel is amazing to me.
played some music even with some blokes....
so went to the science museum and the natural history and geological museums. so great to be able to go in for free, just like DC!!
then went to the ICA and the V and A museums....
it is a good preparatory city for rome.....
woooooo
30 May 2009
27 May 2009
very little sleep
i have not been sleeping well this past week at all.
could be several factors.
i have a lot to do this evening before leaving tomorrow.
hopefully it will all be packed and ready to go by the time i leave for work in the morning.
i must have been the first person to use the hot water in my building this morning cause it took a good five minutes for my shower water to get warm!
i got frustrated at this and turned all three faucets on in my house...
went to the SBB today to purchase tickets from rome to milan and then home but i couldn't do this because in italy one has to reserve an actual train time. in switzerland one can purchase a ticket to geneva today and has i think 10 or 15 days in which to use it on any train in second class at any given time.
i can really only afford to stay two more days in rome and i am skipping going to pompei. it's not like those petrified mummies are going anywhere and then after susan leaves i will have a couple days in which to just relax and sit at a cafe for half the day or wander around rome on my own. she also isn't into going to any museums so i can also (i hope) do this.
our hostel is near the vatican city. i am thrilled to be going to rome.
thankfully i get paid on the first. i know it will be a rough week after i get back....at least hostels have kitchens and i can eat this way instead of eating out which will really help....plus i will want to at least have one nice meal out with susan....also would love to have a good meal of fish and chips in london.
i am going to look on couch surfing as well but from who i have already contacted there are a lot of people out of their own towns as well in the summer months!
maybe tonight i will get a good rest.
could be several factors.
i have a lot to do this evening before leaving tomorrow.
hopefully it will all be packed and ready to go by the time i leave for work in the morning.
i must have been the first person to use the hot water in my building this morning cause it took a good five minutes for my shower water to get warm!
i got frustrated at this and turned all three faucets on in my house...
went to the SBB today to purchase tickets from rome to milan and then home but i couldn't do this because in italy one has to reserve an actual train time. in switzerland one can purchase a ticket to geneva today and has i think 10 or 15 days in which to use it on any train in second class at any given time.
i can really only afford to stay two more days in rome and i am skipping going to pompei. it's not like those petrified mummies are going anywhere and then after susan leaves i will have a couple days in which to just relax and sit at a cafe for half the day or wander around rome on my own. she also isn't into going to any museums so i can also (i hope) do this.
our hostel is near the vatican city. i am thrilled to be going to rome.
thankfully i get paid on the first. i know it will be a rough week after i get back....at least hostels have kitchens and i can eat this way instead of eating out which will really help....plus i will want to at least have one nice meal out with susan....also would love to have a good meal of fish and chips in london.
i am going to look on couch surfing as well but from who i have already contacted there are a lot of people out of their own towns as well in the summer months!
maybe tonight i will get a good rest.
25 May 2009
recount of my dream last night
i really need a good nights sleep one of these days. i slept well friday....but saturday and last night, not so much of the good sleeps.
tonight after work i will have a bath...hopefully this helps.
last night i nodded off a bit after eleven PM and woke with a start at 1220 AM
i immediately wrote to dave because he was in my dream the most. him and his friend brian. also german scientists, asian scientists (had no idea what north korea was up to before going to bed by the way)
so it started out with me working with and for david and his friend brian. it was the end of days or near the end of time as we knew it...so dave commissioned a nuke to be built in a high rise in germany. no one knew about this but dave, me brian (whom i have never met but have heard a lot about) and the scientists.
the reason for the bomb was something that happened in america...maybe in DC. i can't be sure. it had something to do with being radicals or about davids book.
so i was just living as i do here in basel and i got a call and it was david saying that it was time and i met him and degroodt at the airport. i think we were in frankfurt as this was the only major city in germany that i have been to.....but it was very non descript so i couldn't really say for sure it was actually frankfurt. it was just very sleek, modern looking.
so i drove them to the high rise building. the scientist (the german one) brought the bomb down. it was in four silver containers. we walked over to a conference like room where other people from the scientific community were starting to show up so they could watch david install it or start it up or affix it to a target.
david brian and i were wearing all black. i kept feeling sick in the conference room and no one would listen to me when i started to consider this to be a bad idea.
david put on these fancy bright silver headphone and plugged in his computer. it was attached to the four boxes. as david was doing this i started feeling sick again and started thinking about how this all started. i was going to the past in my dream mind....i was in charge of getting the supplies to the scientists in germany. i secured the highest grade uranium in order to make these bombs....
there was a woman and her son in my mind and i kept thinking about her and what transpired....
her son was the first in the chain of motorcyclists that brought the uranium to me in germany. her son got sick from the uranium. i was in charge of and had to have contact with all the people involved.
david was setting up his computers with brian and he put on orbital as the music for the occasion. i started crying and went to the bathroom. as we were getting the bombs to the conference room many people who knew about it but were not happy with the bomb kept trying to get in the building but we all had guns and we killed many people...i kept thinking about how desolate the city was....but we knew we couldn't stop that this was something that was set in motion....we had to do this.
i again thought back to the mother. she was close to my age my guess is a bit older...i had received word from my operative in charge of transport that her son was sick with radiation. i had to go and see her to quell the situation and offer hush money and things.....i was told her son was still alive. she was so sick with sadness when i arrived but she was also very upset.
she was outside the house when i arrived and there was this freakish wind storm and things were blowing around the yard....she was clinging to the side of the house and helped me in. i asked to see her son. i was wearing a protective mask and clothing but my hands were not covered.
her house was disgustingly dirty, filthy, stale....smelled awful....she took me up the stairs to what i guess was his bedroom.
when i got in the room i saw that her son was not alive, he was dead and decaying on the floor beside his bed. he was wearing clothes and his face was vividly decayed....
she was rocking back and forth holding him and i had to excuse myself....she was weeping and rocking....i went to call david to tell him about this unfortunate incident with the first transporter. my phone was an inner ear thermometer. before i used it i took out my kit and started furiously cleaning my hands because i had contact with the woman.....i was starting to sob at her loss and on accident i called her house instead of david so i said that she needed to come downstairs now so i could go over the particulars with her, papers to sign.
instead of her coming down this old man with peeling skin and a decaying body started walking toward me.
this was all in my memory as i was in the conference room with david and brian working on setting up the bomb.
we were displaying to the group where the bomb was going on these crazy maps on the walls and on projectors.
the band orbital was pumping hard through the sound system.....
and then i woke up.
tonight after work i will have a bath...hopefully this helps.
last night i nodded off a bit after eleven PM and woke with a start at 1220 AM
i immediately wrote to dave because he was in my dream the most. him and his friend brian. also german scientists, asian scientists (had no idea what north korea was up to before going to bed by the way)
so it started out with me working with and for david and his friend brian. it was the end of days or near the end of time as we knew it...so dave commissioned a nuke to be built in a high rise in germany. no one knew about this but dave, me brian (whom i have never met but have heard a lot about) and the scientists.
the reason for the bomb was something that happened in america...maybe in DC. i can't be sure. it had something to do with being radicals or about davids book.
so i was just living as i do here in basel and i got a call and it was david saying that it was time and i met him and degroodt at the airport. i think we were in frankfurt as this was the only major city in germany that i have been to.....but it was very non descript so i couldn't really say for sure it was actually frankfurt. it was just very sleek, modern looking.
so i drove them to the high rise building. the scientist (the german one) brought the bomb down. it was in four silver containers. we walked over to a conference like room where other people from the scientific community were starting to show up so they could watch david install it or start it up or affix it to a target.
david brian and i were wearing all black. i kept feeling sick in the conference room and no one would listen to me when i started to consider this to be a bad idea.
david put on these fancy bright silver headphone and plugged in his computer. it was attached to the four boxes. as david was doing this i started feeling sick again and started thinking about how this all started. i was going to the past in my dream mind....i was in charge of getting the supplies to the scientists in germany. i secured the highest grade uranium in order to make these bombs....
there was a woman and her son in my mind and i kept thinking about her and what transpired....
her son was the first in the chain of motorcyclists that brought the uranium to me in germany. her son got sick from the uranium. i was in charge of and had to have contact with all the people involved.
david was setting up his computers with brian and he put on orbital as the music for the occasion. i started crying and went to the bathroom. as we were getting the bombs to the conference room many people who knew about it but were not happy with the bomb kept trying to get in the building but we all had guns and we killed many people...i kept thinking about how desolate the city was....but we knew we couldn't stop that this was something that was set in motion....we had to do this.
i again thought back to the mother. she was close to my age my guess is a bit older...i had received word from my operative in charge of transport that her son was sick with radiation. i had to go and see her to quell the situation and offer hush money and things.....i was told her son was still alive. she was so sick with sadness when i arrived but she was also very upset.
she was outside the house when i arrived and there was this freakish wind storm and things were blowing around the yard....she was clinging to the side of the house and helped me in. i asked to see her son. i was wearing a protective mask and clothing but my hands were not covered.
her house was disgustingly dirty, filthy, stale....smelled awful....she took me up the stairs to what i guess was his bedroom.
when i got in the room i saw that her son was not alive, he was dead and decaying on the floor beside his bed. he was wearing clothes and his face was vividly decayed....
she was rocking back and forth holding him and i had to excuse myself....she was weeping and rocking....i went to call david to tell him about this unfortunate incident with the first transporter. my phone was an inner ear thermometer. before i used it i took out my kit and started furiously cleaning my hands because i had contact with the woman.....i was starting to sob at her loss and on accident i called her house instead of david so i said that she needed to come downstairs now so i could go over the particulars with her, papers to sign.
instead of her coming down this old man with peeling skin and a decaying body started walking toward me.
this was all in my memory as i was in the conference room with david and brian working on setting up the bomb.
we were displaying to the group where the bomb was going on these crazy maps on the walls and on projectors.
the band orbital was pumping hard through the sound system.....
and then i woke up.
24 May 2009
zurich, baden and british stand up
this weekend i went to zurich. i love going there. it's a much bigger city than basel and i enjoy seeing that things are in fact open on sundays.
saturday went to baden with my pal louis. what a great tiny swiss town!
i will post up the link to my facebook photos in a bit...
climbed up to a the top of a hill 500 or so meters to a castle build in 1272 or something....the old swiss fortifications on hills....very neat.
walked around there a few hours...had some gelato which was delightful....a precursor to what i will have in the italy!
went back to zurich (a quick 16 minute train ride from baden) made some beans had some coffee and off to this comedy show!
jon richardson is my new comic hero!
he was hilarious.
then some wine sleep and then home today.
work for four days then off for a weeks vacation!
i cannot believe it's been three months since i have been here.
i think i try to do stuff all the time to stave off missing my friends.
i am excited to see susan again...she's a fun travel partner too!
in london i hope to have some fish and chips and gin and tonics with ICE!!
here is the link to the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117470&id=758747518&l=14981250c7
i have also discovered, with the help of luigi, a yogurt with muesli and apple bits called 'heidi' something or other. oooh i was timid at first but now i will go to migros to get this delightful treat!
saturday went to baden with my pal louis. what a great tiny swiss town!
i will post up the link to my facebook photos in a bit...
climbed up to a the top of a hill 500 or so meters to a castle build in 1272 or something....the old swiss fortifications on hills....very neat.
walked around there a few hours...had some gelato which was delightful....a precursor to what i will have in the italy!
went back to zurich (a quick 16 minute train ride from baden) made some beans had some coffee and off to this comedy show!
jon richardson is my new comic hero!
he was hilarious.
then some wine sleep and then home today.
work for four days then off for a weeks vacation!
i cannot believe it's been three months since i have been here.
i think i try to do stuff all the time to stave off missing my friends.
i am excited to see susan again...she's a fun travel partner too!
in london i hope to have some fish and chips and gin and tonics with ICE!!
here is the link to the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117470&id=758747518&l=14981250c7
i have also discovered, with the help of luigi, a yogurt with muesli and apple bits called 'heidi' something or other. oooh i was timid at first but now i will go to migros to get this delightful treat!
22 May 2009
christmas in may!
oh thanks sarah! i ate the whole bottle of ibuprofen! seriously!
i am kidding!
what a treat. mac and cheese and i am still getting time magazines??
oh and the new yorker and art from the kids and pamprin...my rain boots and house shoes....pita chips!!! i have never seen these here!
thank you so much.
tamara said she hates mac and cheese but her brother i guess lives in the states and she said he loves it. so today at lunch i gave some to wolfram. he loved it. gernot won't eat anything new....still....ha!
i now have tons to read as i head to zurich this evening after work and baden tomorrow....
i will also have good reading for my trips next week!
thank you so much!
next pack should be more beans, more german lessons and those flat gourmet pretzels!
i wish i could send gelato in the mail!
paul: i am going to have to find you something in italy. maybe a cool italian tie!
thanks!
i am kidding!
what a treat. mac and cheese and i am still getting time magazines??
oh and the new yorker and art from the kids and pamprin...my rain boots and house shoes....pita chips!!! i have never seen these here!
thank you so much.
tamara said she hates mac and cheese but her brother i guess lives in the states and she said he loves it. so today at lunch i gave some to wolfram. he loved it. gernot won't eat anything new....still....ha!
i now have tons to read as i head to zurich this evening after work and baden tomorrow....
i will also have good reading for my trips next week!
thank you so much!
next pack should be more beans, more german lessons and those flat gourmet pretzels!
i wish i could send gelato in the mail!
paul: i am going to have to find you something in italy. maybe a cool italian tie!
thanks!
21 May 2009
less freaked out about travel costs
i have spent the past hour poring over my travel book from amanda (thanks lady) and websites on italian rail travel and am feeling much more relieved.
i still will be cutting things really close but i feel that i won't starve.
the cool thing about hostels here is that they all serve breakfast. something i was not used to in the US.
so it will be about 300 euro in total for hostels and trains.
40 francs from milan to home
plane tickets already purchased.
hostel booked in rome
to do:
book hostel in naples
figure out milan. i can leave naples early friday morning and be back in basel late friday night giving me the weekend to recover....
or book an extra night in milan but travel on saturday will be way more cramped than friday i think....not sure....
oh the horrible life altering decisions i have to make!
danielle--move here and you'll travel !!
come see me in basel!
i'll come to freaking sweden !!
i still will be cutting things really close but i feel that i won't starve.
the cool thing about hostels here is that they all serve breakfast. something i was not used to in the US.
so it will be about 300 euro in total for hostels and trains.
40 francs from milan to home
plane tickets already purchased.
hostel booked in rome
to do:
book hostel in naples
figure out milan. i can leave naples early friday morning and be back in basel late friday night giving me the weekend to recover....
or book an extra night in milan but travel on saturday will be way more cramped than friday i think....not sure....
oh the horrible life altering decisions i have to make!
danielle--move here and you'll travel !!
come see me in basel!
i'll come to freaking sweden !!
should have known better...
one bitten twice shy friends.
today is the feast of the ascension so the random thursday off. love the religious folks. no one works so most people stay home or wander around town. starbucks is of course open but i have coffee and internet and home.
today i woke up early and walked over finally to the 'three country corner' where i stood in germany france and switzerland. this was a 20 minute walk from my house.
i had a dream the other night that my friend dave sent me a book in the mail and in the pack it was a book he gave me before i left DC.
i also dreamed that corey's comments on his blog were in the hundreds and mostly from his mom about squirrels that were given valium.
i am pretty broke. okay not broke but really watching my pennies for my trip in which i have to change my francs to pounds and to euro.
i have written to some people on couch surfing to see about staying with someone in naples....i think the train rides home will not be super expensive. i think once i get back to milan i can use my swiss half tax card to get a 40 franc fare back to basel.
next trip after this i wish to go to paris. it's only 80 francs round trip.
i also have to save to get a ticket back here from my trip to DC in october!
i am going to zurich this weekend again and will go to Baden switzerland where there are some hot springs. it is also a very old town. probably costs 5 francs with my card to get there. i love this card.
today i plan on gluing my art and then hopefully watching frost/nixon
goal: not to spend hardly any money in the next few days. i leave thursday night!
i am so so so excited. i think winter will be in england this weekend which is odd but not surprising as he has been planning a european trip for starbucks anyhow.
just funny that we'll both be in england...
okay. not much to update. the weather is getting nice and warm. i think i have a bit of allergies but not too bad. chris and steph are sending me rosetta stoned for german so i hope maybe this will help too. the berlitz is really good with the work book....meesh just has to actually USE it more!
i am excited to get my pack from the family! i hear that my rain boots might be in there....ooh and tons of ibuprofen!
time for more coffee and gluing!
have a good thursday my peeps!
today is the feast of the ascension so the random thursday off. love the religious folks. no one works so most people stay home or wander around town. starbucks is of course open but i have coffee and internet and home.
today i woke up early and walked over finally to the 'three country corner' where i stood in germany france and switzerland. this was a 20 minute walk from my house.
i had a dream the other night that my friend dave sent me a book in the mail and in the pack it was a book he gave me before i left DC.
i also dreamed that corey's comments on his blog were in the hundreds and mostly from his mom about squirrels that were given valium.
i am pretty broke. okay not broke but really watching my pennies for my trip in which i have to change my francs to pounds and to euro.
i have written to some people on couch surfing to see about staying with someone in naples....i think the train rides home will not be super expensive. i think once i get back to milan i can use my swiss half tax card to get a 40 franc fare back to basel.
next trip after this i wish to go to paris. it's only 80 francs round trip.
i also have to save to get a ticket back here from my trip to DC in october!
i am going to zurich this weekend again and will go to Baden switzerland where there are some hot springs. it is also a very old town. probably costs 5 francs with my card to get there. i love this card.
today i plan on gluing my art and then hopefully watching frost/nixon
goal: not to spend hardly any money in the next few days. i leave thursday night!
i am so so so excited. i think winter will be in england this weekend which is odd but not surprising as he has been planning a european trip for starbucks anyhow.
just funny that we'll both be in england...
okay. not much to update. the weather is getting nice and warm. i think i have a bit of allergies but not too bad. chris and steph are sending me rosetta stoned for german so i hope maybe this will help too. the berlitz is really good with the work book....meesh just has to actually USE it more!
i am excited to get my pack from the family! i hear that my rain boots might be in there....ooh and tons of ibuprofen!
time for more coffee and gluing!
have a good thursday my peeps!
18 May 2009
so um
i wrote this whole long blog about my day on saturday and then i deleted it because i think it was too 'all over the place' and rambling.
i went to the black forest on saturday morning and it was delightful!
it was a second chance for me to try being friends with someone....i think it went rather well. we all deserve second chances once in a while! i know i have had my share given to me...
besides it never hurts to keep ones enemies close!
:-)
i am not feeling super hot today. i spent a great deal of my sunday crying. i know! who me, weep? NEVER!!
i have been going through all my photos of the kids.....of my friends....thinking about the solitude i seem to have here. i have friends that don't live in basel. i start thinking about the 'what if's' should something happen to me. i know that joachim and tamara would do what they could as they are in basel and my employers....but i guess in that security of friends sense, i feel a bit wobbly.
i am really enjoying life here....maybe though i was traveling so much every weekend that i had sunday to sit and really be with myself and my thoughts.
i haven't had a good cry in a while. i wasn't so much sad as i was just reflecting i guess.
so all is well. next thursday i go to london!
i am so excited for my trip....going to see susan in rome will be quite the fun fest as well. it's really too bad she's moving back to her native canada!
seems like a great lot of folks are going back to school in this economic climate!
i am enjoying playing the tele and reading my friends book which i am almost done with and i don't want it to end! maybe i can wriggle the final installment out of him!
*wink wink*
so all is well. just the ups and downs that come with this life.
hope you are all doing well too.
15 May 2009
the 'meeting'
so i stayed on at work after joachim got home last night and he and i talked at length about gernot and his therapies, hitting and over all behavior.
he is really chill.
he mentioned something odd about his father. short backstory: his dad is 84 and just had a stroke and they found something odd in his CT something similar to how gernots brain is...so joachim said. he asked his dad while he was there last weekend about his childhood and his dad said people used to call him 'egghead'-
so now joachim seems to think that they did maybe TOO much for gernot when he was born...prenatal diagnosis....putting the shunt in and the ever constant therapies since he was able to go to therapy.
it reminded me of paul and sarah...about last summer...how as doctors they aren't the kind that just push a medicine or therapy on someone unless they needed it. it reminded me of taking cat for her neck maybe for a while but then that was it. she didn't need it anymore.
there's something to be said for letting a kid be a kid for a while. i suggested that they take gernot off all these fucking therapies for the summer. just to see.
yesterday i spoke with his speech therapist and she's been saying for weeks now that gernot has hit a plateau where he has reached all the goals she has had for him.
she wants to stop the therapy and made an appointment with his parents to discuss this.
back to dad: i do like the horse therapy for him as well as the lady that comes to the house but OT, PT and speech can go for at least the summer. i think gernot is bored with these things. also, they just keep doing the same things anyhow. what's the point? i can help him with coordination, stretching, exercise, speaking (in english anyhow) and so on.
i can't imagine him being in kindergarten from 8 to noon then trying to fit in all these appointments afterwards. this would be just too much.
so hopefully he spoke with tamara. she called to say that she would be late. so he told me to just leave. but i really enjoyed this conversation with him. i suggested the summer off. let the kids be kids this summer. wolfram is also getting the shaft by being dragged all the time to these appointments.
i also inquired about laundry. he said i could bring a load today and this makes me so so so very pleased. i have one pair of undies left and while i did a batch in the tub, it's just not the same as washer washed undies!
whoooo!
so yeah, dad is chill.
also too we discussed behavior and i said that gernot doesn't really act up too much with me....i also mentioned that he doesn't really do this with azmina, the play group lady either. this drove home the point that as kids, they know what is really going to annoy parents.....what will get them what they want from the parent and so on. i am not a parent. i'm just a caregiver, one who wants to do a good job, teaching kids and so forth.
so phew. i am sure we'll have to have a meet with tamara too but i really enjoyed this talk with him and i feel better about them. he didn't so much tell me i was doing a good job but him just listening to me made me feel appreciated.
happy mother fucking friday
he is really chill.
he mentioned something odd about his father. short backstory: his dad is 84 and just had a stroke and they found something odd in his CT something similar to how gernots brain is...so joachim said. he asked his dad while he was there last weekend about his childhood and his dad said people used to call him 'egghead'-
so now joachim seems to think that they did maybe TOO much for gernot when he was born...prenatal diagnosis....putting the shunt in and the ever constant therapies since he was able to go to therapy.
it reminded me of paul and sarah...about last summer...how as doctors they aren't the kind that just push a medicine or therapy on someone unless they needed it. it reminded me of taking cat for her neck maybe for a while but then that was it. she didn't need it anymore.
there's something to be said for letting a kid be a kid for a while. i suggested that they take gernot off all these fucking therapies for the summer. just to see.
yesterday i spoke with his speech therapist and she's been saying for weeks now that gernot has hit a plateau where he has reached all the goals she has had for him.
she wants to stop the therapy and made an appointment with his parents to discuss this.
back to dad: i do like the horse therapy for him as well as the lady that comes to the house but OT, PT and speech can go for at least the summer. i think gernot is bored with these things. also, they just keep doing the same things anyhow. what's the point? i can help him with coordination, stretching, exercise, speaking (in english anyhow) and so on.
i can't imagine him being in kindergarten from 8 to noon then trying to fit in all these appointments afterwards. this would be just too much.
so hopefully he spoke with tamara. she called to say that she would be late. so he told me to just leave. but i really enjoyed this conversation with him. i suggested the summer off. let the kids be kids this summer. wolfram is also getting the shaft by being dragged all the time to these appointments.
i also inquired about laundry. he said i could bring a load today and this makes me so so so very pleased. i have one pair of undies left and while i did a batch in the tub, it's just not the same as washer washed undies!
whoooo!
so yeah, dad is chill.
also too we discussed behavior and i said that gernot doesn't really act up too much with me....i also mentioned that he doesn't really do this with azmina, the play group lady either. this drove home the point that as kids, they know what is really going to annoy parents.....what will get them what they want from the parent and so on. i am not a parent. i'm just a caregiver, one who wants to do a good job, teaching kids and so forth.
so phew. i am sure we'll have to have a meet with tamara too but i really enjoyed this talk with him and i feel better about them. he didn't so much tell me i was doing a good job but him just listening to me made me feel appreciated.
happy mother fucking friday
13 May 2009
dude, a telecaster!
so i met some folks on the internets via an expat-ish website.
well not in the flesh but after work today in the flesh.
james and daniella and jessica (i sure hope i remembered their baby's name!)
i think this could be the start of a very cool musical project. i also drank this french beer that tastes like blueberry flowers. that's the only way i can describe it!
what nice people!
so far probably the coolest nicest neatest peeps in the basel!
hurray for the internet....
so jimbo let me borrow his beloved telecaster!!! i also viewed a bike that i will purchase from them so i can be super neat in the basel and ride around and exercise and it has a basket!!!
good day overall yo!
tomorrow will be super interesting!
well not in the flesh but after work today in the flesh.
james and daniella and jessica (i sure hope i remembered their baby's name!)
i think this could be the start of a very cool musical project. i also drank this french beer that tastes like blueberry flowers. that's the only way i can describe it!
what nice people!
so far probably the coolest nicest neatest peeps in the basel!
hurray for the internet....
so jimbo let me borrow his beloved telecaster!!! i also viewed a bike that i will purchase from them so i can be super neat in the basel and ride around and exercise and it has a basket!!!
good day overall yo!
tomorrow will be super interesting!
a couple things i want here...
...that i cannot get so easily
1. bottle of maximun strength pamprin multi symptom. this is the one without caffeine. the ladies might know....
2. bottle of generic whatever brand ibuprofen. one can get a bottle of 500 in the states for like 15 bucks while i suffer and purchase ten tablets for almost 10 francs!
3. more annie's wheat shells and cheddar is always always welcome.
i am willing for shizzle to trade chocolates, mementos from rome/pompei/london or anything from the switzerland!
let me know via email
meshellerz at gmail dot com
i know i owe some people packs already!
i am working on it!!!
thanks
1. bottle of maximun strength pamprin multi symptom. this is the one without caffeine. the ladies might know....
2. bottle of generic whatever brand ibuprofen. one can get a bottle of 500 in the states for like 15 bucks while i suffer and purchase ten tablets for almost 10 francs!
3. more annie's wheat shells and cheddar is always always welcome.
i am willing for shizzle to trade chocolates, mementos from rome/pompei/london or anything from the switzerland!
let me know via email
meshellerz at gmail dot com
i know i owe some people packs already!
i am working on it!!!
thanks
feeling better...
...i chopped off all my hair again!
i can't stop!
yesterday both parents made oopsies which allowed me to feel vindicated on the inside and i feel better in general after consulting with some peeps who have given sound advice.
i have a problem with being too emotional.
who me? ha ha
today i take the kids to the Tinguely Museum. should be fun though it doesn't open until 11 but this is okay since they will probably only last an hour anyhow.
we have a free morning/day so we are watching some television...good times.
tonight i go meet someone for which i hope to start making some music with.....thursday is going to be a very long day and i won't be able to watch the season finale of lost until late!
hopefully the meeting won't be too long!
saturday i go to calw where herman hesse was born!
it's in zee black forest.
i am still trying to get to the vosgues mountains!
i think i need a visa to go into poland but it's free....so i think i'll do this trip on the weekend of my birthday. nothing says happy birthday like a trip to auschwitz.
hope you are all well!
i can't stop!
yesterday both parents made oopsies which allowed me to feel vindicated on the inside and i feel better in general after consulting with some peeps who have given sound advice.
i have a problem with being too emotional.
who me? ha ha
today i take the kids to the Tinguely Museum. should be fun though it doesn't open until 11 but this is okay since they will probably only last an hour anyhow.
we have a free morning/day so we are watching some television...good times.
tonight i go meet someone for which i hope to start making some music with.....thursday is going to be a very long day and i won't be able to watch the season finale of lost until late!
hopefully the meeting won't be too long!
saturday i go to calw where herman hesse was born!
it's in zee black forest.
i am still trying to get to the vosgues mountains!
i think i need a visa to go into poland but it's free....so i think i'll do this trip on the weekend of my birthday. nothing says happy birthday like a trip to auschwitz.
hope you are all well!
11 May 2009
almost everyday i do something upsetting...
....to tamara.
it's not as bad as when i started but it's every day that i don't know who she is going to be when she gets home. will she be nice? will she be in that rushed mood? will she be very late and spastic? will she hound me about inane things or speak to me about something very very serious?
today being the big adult that i am decided that since the calendar and the play group teacher had both kids in play group i opted to leave them both in play group. my mistake was in asking tamara about it this morning because i should know that as scattered as she is, she would have not really known. she's the one who WRITES the events in the calendar.
i told her it was IN the calendar (google calendar)
so i told her about the day and she freaked out and said i should have done what she said. this point was taken and i get that. no problem.
what i did have issue with was the 3 times she asked me why i left both boys there (my contract says 42 hours. if i don't leave both boys there once a week i am topping 53 hours a week....) so i kept telling her i was sorry and i just thought it would be ok....
get to the tram...my cell phone rings. i knew it was her. she was calling to ask me again why i did this, why i didn't call her....i can say it a different way ever time apparently and she will still not accept that i concede to the fact i didn't listen to her....we ALL fuck up, no?
then she goes on to freak about chalk on the wall near the neighbors house, blaming me for this when i didn't use the chalk but one day last week on the steps right in front of their door. i mention this a few times and she still tells me that i am not supposed to let them do this and i finally raised my voice to defend. i am defensive. i know this. i am learning to try to let their silly small shit go but when it comes to her telling me not to do something i didn't fucking do then...well, meesh becomes defensive.
we all have a nice little meeting on thursday evening so they can list ALL the things i do wrong.
got home and promptly wept.
ate dinner, had some chocolate...now i have wine and probably sleep soon to try again tomorrow to not get something wrong.
it's not as bad as when i started but it's every day that i don't know who she is going to be when she gets home. will she be nice? will she be in that rushed mood? will she be very late and spastic? will she hound me about inane things or speak to me about something very very serious?
today being the big adult that i am decided that since the calendar and the play group teacher had both kids in play group i opted to leave them both in play group. my mistake was in asking tamara about it this morning because i should know that as scattered as she is, she would have not really known. she's the one who WRITES the events in the calendar.
i told her it was IN the calendar (google calendar)
so i told her about the day and she freaked out and said i should have done what she said. this point was taken and i get that. no problem.
what i did have issue with was the 3 times she asked me why i left both boys there (my contract says 42 hours. if i don't leave both boys there once a week i am topping 53 hours a week....) so i kept telling her i was sorry and i just thought it would be ok....
get to the tram...my cell phone rings. i knew it was her. she was calling to ask me again why i did this, why i didn't call her....i can say it a different way ever time apparently and she will still not accept that i concede to the fact i didn't listen to her....we ALL fuck up, no?
then she goes on to freak about chalk on the wall near the neighbors house, blaming me for this when i didn't use the chalk but one day last week on the steps right in front of their door. i mention this a few times and she still tells me that i am not supposed to let them do this and i finally raised my voice to defend. i am defensive. i know this. i am learning to try to let their silly small shit go but when it comes to her telling me not to do something i didn't fucking do then...well, meesh becomes defensive.
we all have a nice little meeting on thursday evening so they can list ALL the things i do wrong.
got home and promptly wept.
ate dinner, had some chocolate...now i have wine and probably sleep soon to try again tomorrow to not get something wrong.
another weekend gone by
i went to the lovely south of switzerland saturday to lugano. it was really amazing. my friend ida here is from there and says that it's very boring there in winter but it was far from boring in spring. the hills were filled with lush growing trees....they looked so soft i thought i could just curl up and let the trees usher me to a peaceful slumber.
stayed at a hotel that had a spa! i never have gone to a sauna and it was delightful. there were some ladies in there when i went in and since i had my glasses off i mis judged the ceiling height and bonked my head good and the girls all laughed at me. good stuff.
then i cooled off in the pool....then went in the jacuzzi!
had myself a good italian meal of asparagus soup, tortellini, and red wine. for dessert i had the best treat i have ever had, especially after a heavy italian meal. just plain fresh strawberries with the juice of half a lemon and a bit of sugar. so good....topped off with a coffee of course....
next day was spent wandering the town and up to monte bre in the hills overlooking the city of lugano. very cool.
it's so amazing that just a few hours away by train is a whole other world with people speaking italian. nisey asked me 'have you been to swiss switzerland' and there is switzerland everywhere but they just speak different languages....
i felt very italian! i cannot wait to get to rome which is in two weeks.
i am planning to do a 'hitler' tour. i know that it might sound offensive but really i am fascinated with WWII and so i figure i might as well go to poland, austria and to the home of hitler himself!
this weekend i think i am going to calw or stuttgart...haven't quite made up my mind. then i get the 21st off for ascension and i will be able to lay low that weekend then off to london rome and so forth!
i finally got all the many pieces of paper in the mail to be able to log into my bank account online so this is pleasing....instead of going to the bank to have them do transfers for my bills i can just do it my own self now!
have a meeting thursday night with mom and dad here to discuss many things....my main issue is gernot's troubling aggressiveness toward wolfie.....but it's good. they can tell me what they want in their very german no frills way and i can probably have a good cry about it!
hopefully playing chess with the italian fellow i met that lives here as well as a live music show on friday at paddy's with the ladies from the G locals website....so i am doing alright. i am meeting so many nice people finally.
it's weird, i figured i would meet people right away and it seems opposite....i have already been invited to dublin for new years....it's a bit far off so not sure on that yet as well as ida's bday party in the alps in july....
mondays in may are my favorite days for the boys both go to playgroup and i get a few hours off. today i went home and got some disinfectant laundry soap so i can soak my clothes all day in it and have hopefully cleanish clothes.....
i am working on getting more packs out but i am trying to find things that are wholly swiss instead of just sending chocolate all the time.
i found giant swiss army knife toys for kids so i will get a few of those and i will send get well chocolate to oren and his broken back!
be well my friends!
don't forget you can mail me postcards or short letters.
michelle marcoccia
Wiesenstrasse 14
#26
4057 basel
switzerland!
stayed at a hotel that had a spa! i never have gone to a sauna and it was delightful. there were some ladies in there when i went in and since i had my glasses off i mis judged the ceiling height and bonked my head good and the girls all laughed at me. good stuff.
then i cooled off in the pool....then went in the jacuzzi!
had myself a good italian meal of asparagus soup, tortellini, and red wine. for dessert i had the best treat i have ever had, especially after a heavy italian meal. just plain fresh strawberries with the juice of half a lemon and a bit of sugar. so good....topped off with a coffee of course....
next day was spent wandering the town and up to monte bre in the hills overlooking the city of lugano. very cool.
it's so amazing that just a few hours away by train is a whole other world with people speaking italian. nisey asked me 'have you been to swiss switzerland' and there is switzerland everywhere but they just speak different languages....
i felt very italian! i cannot wait to get to rome which is in two weeks.
i am planning to do a 'hitler' tour. i know that it might sound offensive but really i am fascinated with WWII and so i figure i might as well go to poland, austria and to the home of hitler himself!
this weekend i think i am going to calw or stuttgart...haven't quite made up my mind. then i get the 21st off for ascension and i will be able to lay low that weekend then off to london rome and so forth!
i finally got all the many pieces of paper in the mail to be able to log into my bank account online so this is pleasing....instead of going to the bank to have them do transfers for my bills i can just do it my own self now!
have a meeting thursday night with mom and dad here to discuss many things....my main issue is gernot's troubling aggressiveness toward wolfie.....but it's good. they can tell me what they want in their very german no frills way and i can probably have a good cry about it!
hopefully playing chess with the italian fellow i met that lives here as well as a live music show on friday at paddy's with the ladies from the G locals website....so i am doing alright. i am meeting so many nice people finally.
it's weird, i figured i would meet people right away and it seems opposite....i have already been invited to dublin for new years....it's a bit far off so not sure on that yet as well as ida's bday party in the alps in july....
mondays in may are my favorite days for the boys both go to playgroup and i get a few hours off. today i went home and got some disinfectant laundry soap so i can soak my clothes all day in it and have hopefully cleanish clothes.....
i am working on getting more packs out but i am trying to find things that are wholly swiss instead of just sending chocolate all the time.
i found giant swiss army knife toys for kids so i will get a few of those and i will send get well chocolate to oren and his broken back!
be well my friends!
don't forget you can mail me postcards or short letters.
michelle marcoccia
Wiesenstrasse 14
#26
4057 basel
switzerland!
10 May 2009
switzerland italian style
i will write about my trip tomorrow as i am kind of sleepy....
i loved it so very much. it was a beautiful place. and i got to go in my first ever sauna! it smelled of fresh wood and mint...it was heaven in a tiny sweaty box....
i cannot wait to go to rome.
more later peeps.
ciao!
i loved it so very much. it was a beautiful place. and i got to go in my first ever sauna! it smelled of fresh wood and mint...it was heaven in a tiny sweaty box....
i cannot wait to go to rome.
more later peeps.
ciao!
08 May 2009
first phase booked
bought my ticket to london....one way less than 100 USD!
oh to hear just english or mostly english (well the queens snooty english) will be music to my ears!
we had a rash of crazy thunderstorms here this afternoon.
gernot had his first day of kindergarten today (to test it out) and i met joachim at ten thirty to pick him up. joachim said he was surprised that gernot did so well. i told him that he needs to give his son more credit. this was followed by awkward silence.
hopefully he didn't take offense. i said i was worried too that he would freak out but i think this kind of structure will be good for gernot.
the only thing i can think now is that all his appointments may be moved to the afternoons leaving little time for poor wolfie to get a nap in!
the schule is in this very cool very old complex on the river. i didn't want to take photos today...but i will. super neat stuff.....
otherwise i am looking forward to some refreshing gin and tonics this evening....
oh to hear just english or mostly english (well the queens snooty english) will be music to my ears!
we had a rash of crazy thunderstorms here this afternoon.
gernot had his first day of kindergarten today (to test it out) and i met joachim at ten thirty to pick him up. joachim said he was surprised that gernot did so well. i told him that he needs to give his son more credit. this was followed by awkward silence.
hopefully he didn't take offense. i said i was worried too that he would freak out but i think this kind of structure will be good for gernot.
the only thing i can think now is that all his appointments may be moved to the afternoons leaving little time for poor wolfie to get a nap in!
the schule is in this very cool very old complex on the river. i didn't want to take photos today...but i will. super neat stuff.....
otherwise i am looking forward to some refreshing gin and tonics this evening....
07 May 2009
a free day with the kids.....
....i don't really know what to do!
i was asked by dad this morning about gernot and how he likes to attack wolfram and i said he rarely does it when i am around mostly cause i do not allow this kind of behavior.
i mentioned we should probably get together to figure out how we can all be on the same page with discipline because as soon as tamara or joachim get home, gernot attcks his brother as if he's been saving it up all day (which he has) and he also must know there's nothing i can do about it because i try to stay out of things when parents are around....
or i just don't feel comfortable enough to butt in....i will say in front of them to gernot, 'not nice' and 'gentle'
taking things away doesn't really work because his parents do not like this approach.
so i do what works for me and we have good days.
gernot used to hit wolfram when he was a baby so i think it's just a matter of time before wolfram wises up and fights back....
(with no egging on by me of course!)
oren my old roommate and friend was in a motorcycle accident yesterday. he is at innova fairfax with a broken back, pulmonary contusions and a really fucked right arm.
thankfully he is awake and alert.
send the thoughts his way!
it's incredible sometimes how quickly life can change...
oooh i get to download LOST now!
i was asked by dad this morning about gernot and how he likes to attack wolfram and i said he rarely does it when i am around mostly cause i do not allow this kind of behavior.
i mentioned we should probably get together to figure out how we can all be on the same page with discipline because as soon as tamara or joachim get home, gernot attcks his brother as if he's been saving it up all day (which he has) and he also must know there's nothing i can do about it because i try to stay out of things when parents are around....
or i just don't feel comfortable enough to butt in....i will say in front of them to gernot, 'not nice' and 'gentle'
taking things away doesn't really work because his parents do not like this approach.
so i do what works for me and we have good days.
gernot used to hit wolfram when he was a baby so i think it's just a matter of time before wolfram wises up and fights back....
(with no egging on by me of course!)
oren my old roommate and friend was in a motorcycle accident yesterday. he is at innova fairfax with a broken back, pulmonary contusions and a really fucked right arm.
thankfully he is awake and alert.
send the thoughts his way!
it's incredible sometimes how quickly life can change...
oooh i get to download LOST now!
06 May 2009
why meesh doesn't eat out much in der schweitz
i went to a place called Jay's for dinner with a group of people from the english forum website.
i had three beers, one glass o red wine, two finely made samosas with the best chutney i have ever had, veggie korma, dahl and palak paneer...oh my GOD.
total cost: sixty two francs.
it was simply delicious...
met two very nice british ladies who are teachers at the international school here...the first people i have met at these gatherings who do not work at a pharm farm or at a bank!
they were really cool.
then there was alessandro from italy. out of the group, he and i have been here the shortest amount of time....i was the newest.
we talked about politics....what was kind of interesting was one of the women, carol, hasn't traveled much around europe and she's never been to the US....most people i meet tell me that, if they've been to the US, they have been to NYC- of course this is the most popular....next on the list is boston and lastly it's california...mostly in LA.
this was a lot better than the bar idea. i feel as though i am really getting old now because i enjoyed just sitting and chatting......i like bars....but to really talk to people, to actually meet them for who they are and such, sitting down in this restaurant was way more conducive for what i seek.
alessandro plays chess so this will be good for the random sunday....a nice by the river activity!
tomorrow i have a whole free day with the kids. i think i am going to not know what to do for ten hours.
make them walk!
most likely the zoo or depending on if the weather is still weird in the morning shuzelmatt park (i will only spell the german as i pronounce it!)...the park has a nice cafe in the center....
that is all. i am enjoying remembering my dinner!
i had three beers, one glass o red wine, two finely made samosas with the best chutney i have ever had, veggie korma, dahl and palak paneer...oh my GOD.
total cost: sixty two francs.
it was simply delicious...
met two very nice british ladies who are teachers at the international school here...the first people i have met at these gatherings who do not work at a pharm farm or at a bank!
they were really cool.
then there was alessandro from italy. out of the group, he and i have been here the shortest amount of time....i was the newest.
we talked about politics....what was kind of interesting was one of the women, carol, hasn't traveled much around europe and she's never been to the US....most people i meet tell me that, if they've been to the US, they have been to NYC- of course this is the most popular....next on the list is boston and lastly it's california...mostly in LA.
this was a lot better than the bar idea. i feel as though i am really getting old now because i enjoyed just sitting and chatting......i like bars....but to really talk to people, to actually meet them for who they are and such, sitting down in this restaurant was way more conducive for what i seek.
alessandro plays chess so this will be good for the random sunday....a nice by the river activity!
tomorrow i have a whole free day with the kids. i think i am going to not know what to do for ten hours.
make them walk!
most likely the zoo or depending on if the weather is still weird in the morning shuzelmatt park (i will only spell the german as i pronounce it!)...the park has a nice cafe in the center....
that is all. i am enjoying remembering my dinner!
05 May 2009
kitchen table and travels
i put my kitchen table together this morning with my bare hands!
i was nice and cozy in bed when my buzzer rang and i quickly rose to greet the strong ikea delivery men. thanks fellas!
then i skyped with nabha all the way in portland! it was good to see her face!!
oh then i finalized my travel for end of may....almost. just have to make sure i can go on the 29th.....
to london, then rome, naples, pompei and milan!
i am shrieking on the inside, not on the outside, for i could get into a lot of trouble for making noise between 2 and 4 PM here in switzeritaville
i am finishing three art pieces and am sad that i will be missing artomatic. what a great venue for art....
the apparently insanely cool basel arts festival is june tenth.
i am to go to a 'curry night' with some local expats. let the fun begin. hello weird girl who doesn't work in banking or pharmaceuticals! well howdy....do you know what we will all have in common? love of curry.
there are way more females than males in this group so this makes it very fun to watch the dynamics of a few men against a shit load of women. it's pretty good, almost like watching the television!
i really feel like napping so instead i am making coffee. i am home from work today because old gernot had an eye appointment in zurich....
i think there's some other odd holiday this month on the 21st i think.....i know this only for it is my next day to launder.
which means i cannot launder unless i bring the children to my house for most of the day which may be what happens.....
hope all is well in americaland.
tchüss
i was nice and cozy in bed when my buzzer rang and i quickly rose to greet the strong ikea delivery men. thanks fellas!
then i skyped with nabha all the way in portland! it was good to see her face!!
oh then i finalized my travel for end of may....almost. just have to make sure i can go on the 29th.....
to london, then rome, naples, pompei and milan!
i am shrieking on the inside, not on the outside, for i could get into a lot of trouble for making noise between 2 and 4 PM here in switzeritaville
i am finishing three art pieces and am sad that i will be missing artomatic. what a great venue for art....
the apparently insanely cool basel arts festival is june tenth.
i am to go to a 'curry night' with some local expats. let the fun begin. hello weird girl who doesn't work in banking or pharmaceuticals! well howdy....do you know what we will all have in common? love of curry.
there are way more females than males in this group so this makes it very fun to watch the dynamics of a few men against a shit load of women. it's pretty good, almost like watching the television!
i really feel like napping so instead i am making coffee. i am home from work today because old gernot had an eye appointment in zurich....
i think there's some other odd holiday this month on the 21st i think.....i know this only for it is my next day to launder.
which means i cannot launder unless i bring the children to my house for most of the day which may be what happens.....
hope all is well in americaland.
tchüss
03 May 2009
what a wacky weekend
i am lucky my computer still works after spilled a gin and tonic on it!
whoops!
the keys are a bit sticky.
was in germany france and schweitz...
so much fun so little time.
i'll post photos and a report a bit later as i really need to get my arse to the showering area and ready for the work tomorrow.
whoops!
the keys are a bit sticky.
was in germany france and schweitz...
so much fun so little time.
i'll post photos and a report a bit later as i really need to get my arse to the showering area and ready for the work tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
