Random Object Spotlight

On a list of random objects which are very dear to me, this band-aid holder would definitely make the list. It's easy to load the band-aids and easy to slip one out when needed. It keeps the fragile band-aid packages in tact, even in a heavily used pocket of my backpack.

I think I acquired this little thing as one of the objects thrown out into the crowd at a parade (a Botsford Hospital float, I assume). It is possibly my knowing that it would be difficult to find such an object again that contributes to its special status.

The Mystery of Bruises

The acquisition of bruises is sometimes a very strange thing. At times it is very obvious to me where a bruise came from because I remember the moment I yelled, "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!". Other times, I find a bruise in a strange place and wonder, "how in the world did that get there?".

A few days ago I had a circular bruise under my right upper arm. It was as if I had slammed my arm down on a circular object which had a whole in the center of it.

Yesterday I found a bruise at the meeting place of my left thigh and knee cap. It's as if I was sitting at a table somewhere and raised my leg up too quick.

But when and where did I do these self-destructive acts? If only I had a mental surveillance tape and could rewind it to the times of the crimes.

Cottbus Life

I love to show off my bicycles, so here's a photo of my newest bike. It's a used one-speed in good working order. I bought it at a bike shop, so I had the guy raise up the seat and handlebars to fit me before I agreed to buy it. You may be thinking, "a one-speed!", but I assure you that Cottbus is a very flat city, so I'll be okay. The brakes are interesting because the back brake is controlled by pedaling backwards but the front brake is controlled by the right hand on the handlebars. This freedom for the left hand has actually been quite useful these past few days as I transported items home from stores either actually in my left hand or being held in the basket by my left hand. Come October my university ID card will be my ticket for all public transportation, so I will have a backup to the bike.

This is a fountain outside my apartment building which I can see from my living room. That's a lizard crawling around on top. It looks really cool in the daytime, but when I rode by it at night, my brain went into fantasy mode and saw the big mass of the lizard as a monster which was waiting to pounce on me.

I was out hunting for a pajama t-shirt and found the perfect one. Translation: Ausser Betrieb = Out of Order. I'd been dreaming of buying a t-shirt with German words on it and I am very glad I found this one.

Welcome to Schmellwitz, Cottbus

This is a sequence of photos I took when I was returning home from the grocery store across the street. As you can see, the tram has a stop right in front of my building complex. Then, you can see my building complex from the outside (but not my apartment). And then the courtyard on the inside. My apartment is on the 4th floor where the windows are open. My bedroom is in the green area.

The apartment is so roomy that I feel like it might be just as big as those houses in Livonia where lots of Clarenceville people lived. We've got 4 decent sized bedrooms, a full bath, a half bath, a small kitchen, and a large living room/dining room. I look at these apartment complexes, which are numerous in Germany, and see houses stacked up on one another. And because the walls and floors between apartments are made of cement, sound doesn't pass between apartments very much.

In case you are confused by my title for this entry, you should know that I live in a neighborhood of Cottbus called Schmellwitz. I am not sure if there is a meaning behind the name, but it sounds funny and makes me giggle. I did some research on the internet last night and learned that Schmell is a German last name while Witz means joke/gag. Schmell sounds like the English smell, so...I live in the smelljoke (according to a English-German language mix).

Home Sweet Home, Cottbus

On Tuesday I traveled with the train up to Cottbus. I discovered that there is a train ticket special offer in Germany called the "Quer Durch Land Ticket" (across the country) which is a much cheaper way to travel through multiple states than to buy normal tickets.

Stefi came down for the day from Berlin to receive me into the apartment since Christin was at work until late in the evening. There had been someone renting my room for the month of July, so there was still Christin's loaned out air mattress waiting for me to use until I got my own bed. I was grateful to have a place to sleep until I could get my own furniture. Stefi returned to Berlin that evening, but both she and Dominick will move back in at the end of September.

Here's a brief introduction to my new apartment-mates:
Stefi is entering her second year at the university and is studying to be a building contractor.
Dominick is also entering his second year at the university and is studying Business.
Christin completed one year at the university, but decided it wasn't for her and changed to a vocational training program for business. She works as a salesperson at a furniture store for 3 weeks and then does one week of schooling (and then repeats the cycle).

I spent the rest of the week taking care of business at the school, city office, getting a bicycle, and furnishing my room. The last resident left behind her desk, so that was one thing I didn't have to worry about. I made a trip over to Christin's furniture store and made use of her employee discount. It didn't make a big difference in the bill, but enough to be worth it. I spent half of Saturday putting the bed and shelf together. I decided that if a friend ever asks for my help in cleaning or cooking, then I'll be ready at hand, but if the request is for assistance in furniture assembly, then you can count me out!

So, last night was my first night in my mostly completed bedroom. It felt nice to be home.

Chocolate Education

Here's some chocolate contents education from the chocolate museum of Prag for all of you chocolate lovers out there. The museum contained lots of the same information which I had learned from the National Geographic Magazine article on chocolate. So, don't be jealous of me, go read the article yourself.

On the topic of chocolate...I just opened up a new bar of chocolate from Rigoletto brand and it isn't good. It's very dry and crumbly in my mouth. This is a "cheapest chocolate brand in the store" which I will have to avoid in the future (or just have lots of saliva at the ready to moisten the chocolate up in my mouth).

Remember to click on the pictures in order to be able to read them.

Photos in Prag

These are a couple of photos I took in Prag.

In a moment of waiting for people to be done in the bathroom, I stole Baraa's hat and put mine on his head. With his reaction, he looks like a giggly girl in Springtime!

I am quite fond of the sculpture. Interpret it as you will. I'll keep my thoughts to myself on this one.

Prag, Czech Republic

It's been quite a week for me, and now it is time to let my neglected publicum know what I've been up to.

Last week on Friday I traveled to Prag with a group of 13 others from the international youth bible study. We spent Saturday, Sunday, and half of Monday touring around the city. Everyone had told me that Prag is a beautiful place and I was preparing myself to be disappointed, but they turned out to be right. Prag's nickname is "The Golden City" and it is a very apt name. Within the old city, nearly every building has ornate architecture and many are painted in yellow tones. The effect of the sunshine, which we were grateful to have, put the golden city aglow.

Here's a culture fact I was astonished to find out: the Czech Republic still uses its own money, the Koruna. If I recall correctly what someone said, it is only in 2013 that they will officially move over to the Euro. The map above shows which countries are already using the Euro (green) and which are not (purple). Source: http://europa.eu/abc/travel/money/index_en.htm. This is a good map to keep in mind for future travels in Europe.

Exercise!!

Today is such a beautiful day for a jog: cool, misty, and windy. I know, it sounds crappy, and for bicycling it is. But, I find that it is the perfect weather for jogging. I never quite realized this back when I was doing track because we had to stand around so much waiting for our events. I enjoy these days for jogging now. The whole weather combo enables me to keep cool while I am pouring out sweat.

I fulfilled a long time dream a few days ago and invested in a barbell with changeable weights. I am tired of having weak arms that look so scrawny. I want to be able to pick up and carry heavy things like most people. I remember back in my freshman year of high school I had PE class and we spent time working out in the gym frequently. The next year when I no longer had PE class, I noticed how my arm muscle mass had deflated. All I've got to do is a little work each day in order to improve myself.

Computer Background of the Moment

We had fish one night in Austria. Niki was washing them and laying them out on a plate. I thought they made for a good picture.