V 's Blog

Relationships...

2006-04-18T20:37:00.000+02:00

As some of you who know more about me know, I have 2 younger brothers. One of them is 9 years younger than me. As it is normal for 17 years old, he is going out a lot with his friends and one of his main interests is GIRLS. One one of things me any my brothers noticed is, that all three of us tend to end up being best friends to people we are interested in. My youngest brother told me a few days ago that he was talking to a girl he is interested in, and she told him that she is not good enough for him. And afterwards she said she had to admit that she is is usually more interested in assholes and not in nice guys like him.To that he reacted in a quite unusual way for him, saying that he does not need others to decide who is good enough for himself and who isn't. He also said that it is pretty easy to act like an asshole.Somehow it is strange how some people end up being someone's best friend all the time and don't seem to be an option for dating or for a relationship. And the weird thing is that quite often those people are usually those that are seen as the really nice people who go with others through thick and thin, who don't turn their backs on others because of whatever reason.I know that feeling pretty well. I know what it feels like to be considered only a freind. Not to be seen as a possible date. I know what it feels like when a guy introduces me to his girlfriend, and talks to me about everything, including problems with his girlfriend....

some thoughts on religion

2006-04-18T05:59:00.001+02:00

I have been catchin up on blogs lately, and I have to admit that it is kinda sad to read of all the "bad spirit" between all those different religious and non-religious groups.Why can't people live the way they think it is right for themselves, and have others live their own way?

I know the situation in Austria is a different one as Austria is a catholic country. We don't just have catholics here though. As a matter of fact most people here don't care much about religion at all. Those that are not Catholic are the ones that pay most attention to it.But still most people celebrate holidays like Christmas or Easter one way or another, for many people going to church for Easter is of no importance, and I accept that completely.I have been raised as a catholic in a catholic country, but there were times when I was not happy with my religious background. I was looking at other denominations, and I have to admit I learned a lot that way. I learned a lot about myself about the Catholic church, and I learned to respect other people's faiths. It does not matter to me if someone believes in God, I respect them for who they are, whether they believe in God, and religion takes an important part in their everyday life, or whether they don't believe in God and see the world in a different way. As long as you respect each other's views and try to get along, there is nothing you can do wrong I think. But if you want to change someone, there is a lot you can destroy....

Relationships...

2006-04-18T05:59:00.000+02:00

One one of things me any my brothers noticed is, that all three of us tend to end up being best friends to people we are interested in.

My youngest brother told me a few days ago that he was talking to a girl he is interested in, and she told him that she is not good enough for him. And afterwards she said she had to admit that she is is usually more interested in assholes and not in nice guys like him.To that he reacted in a quite unusual way for him, saying that he does not need others to decide who is good enough for himself and who isn't. He also said that it is pretty easy to act like an asshole.

Somehow it is strange how some people end up being someone's best friend all the time and don't seem to be an option for dating or for a relationship. And the weird thing is that quite often those people are usually those that are seen as the really nice people who go with others through thick and thin, who don't turn their backs on others because of whatever reason.I know that feeling pretty well. I know what it feels like to be considered only a freind. Not to be seen as a possible date.
I know what it feels like when a guy introduces me to his girlfriend, and talks to me about everything, including problems with his girlfriend....

New place

2006-04-01T23:21:00.000+02:00

I am thinking about moving this blog some time soon, so you might aswell check out the new place and let me know what you think about it... just click here.

Please let me know what you think about it....

Immigration

2006-03-31T12:30:00.000+02:00

I have been hearing a lot about illegal immigration to the US over the past few weeks, as this is a subject that is to be read about everywhere.

As I was sitting at my parents' house today I saw a newspaper from March 19 with the title story Destiny Europe. It was about a flood of people leaving Africa in boats heading for the Canary Isles. The majority of them end up on Tenerife. The boats are up to 18 meters long and 2 meters wide and carry as much as 70 people. Mainly grownup men from Senegal and Mali.

About 700 people end up on the Canary Islands every week, at the beginning of the year they were quite well equipped, but by now most of them don't even wear shoes. The Red Cross is looking after them for 3 days after they arrive and then they are accommodated in a reception camp where they can stay for up to 40 days, then they are either deported back to where they come from or, in the case no one knows where they come from, released, or they are offered sanctuary, the police commissar explained, saying "They are not criminals after all, they are just normal people who were starving or persecuted..."

The problem is that the unemployment rate on the Canary Isles is quite high, and if people like them stay it is even getting worse. According to the Newspaper El País there are half a million people waiting in Mauretania to board boats to the Canary Islands. The fact that about a third of them don't survive the crossing of 5 or 6 days doesn't keep them from going. Most of them are not planing to stay on the Canary Islands though, they want to go on to mainland Europe, this is the main reason why the local population doesn't mind those waves of immigrants, because they are not going to stay forever. They look for a better life some place in Europe...

Inspirational

2006-03-30T15:39:00.000+02:00

this was posted in a forum I am reading, and thought I should share it:

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a
serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued, "..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything .

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew
6:34.

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

What means Love? Kids know more then we do!

2006-03-28T18:56:00.000+02:00

Slow down for three minutes to read this.A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

(You might think: "No.: somebody made these up." But, that really doesn't matter. WPLjr)
_____

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."Rebecca- age 8
_____

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4
_____
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologneand they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

_____
Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6
_____

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4
_____
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sipbefore giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7
_____
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired ofkissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8
_____
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
_____

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
_____

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and then he wears it everyday."Noelle - age 7
_____
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friendseven after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6
_____
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8
_____

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."Clare - age 6
_____

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5
_____

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt."Chris - age 7
_____
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."Mary Ann - age 4
_____
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4
_____
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little starscome out of you." (what an image) Karen - age 7
_____
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8
_____

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry".

Jury Duty...

2006-03-26T11:10:00.000+02:00

Hmmm, I got a letter last week that I should be prepared to serve as jury duty over the years 2007 and 2008. This means I might have to serve as a juror or lay judge anytime in that period of time. The only person in my family who was ever called to jury duty was my maternal grandfather and he had to serve as a lay judge, which is much harder on you than being a juror, as lay judges also decide the sentence.

Here in Austria you have to be 25 years old or older but under the age of 65.

There are reasons for which you may be excused, but none of them exclude me from this duty.... except that I might know the defendant in court, which is a different issue again.

Ms. Brook and Harry

2006-03-24T10:52:00.000+01:00

A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?"

Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd Grade too!"

Ms. Brooks had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.

While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the Principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave She agreed.

Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test. Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"

Harry: "9."

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"

Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader should know.

The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade."

Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."

The principal and Harry both agreed. Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"

Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"

The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!

Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"

Harry: "Pants." Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"

Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"

The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"

Harry: "Shake hands."

The principal was trembling. Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?"

Harry: "Firetruck."

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong...... "

WOO HOO! First day at work WITHOUT smoke!!!

2006-03-20T10:23:00.000+01:00

Today we had the first day at the coffee shop, that people were not allowed to smoke. As a matter of fact there were less customers, but the air was a lot better and all! Now my clothes DON'T smell like smoke when I get home from work!

Sorry for the down time

2006-03-16T10:55:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the long down time, I have been very quiet around here and need to get more busy writing again...

First I have a reading recomendation:

Just Another Soldier by Jason Christopher Hartley.
A great read and great to give an insight to his preperation to his deployment in Iraq and his time there. there is nothing you can lose by reading this book. To find out a bit about him go to www.justanothersoldier.com the blog as which the book started out. The parts that are in the book now, have been removed from the blog but you will still get an idea about the book and the person who wrote it.

Actually I liked the book so much that I decided to email Jason Christopher Hartley telling him that I think it would be great if his book was also available in other languages. I mainly thought of German of course and even offered to make a translation for him if this there was a need for that!
I got a reply, that Harper Collins does not have any plans like that, it is just going to be published in polish, no idea why...

more to follow soon

just a little survey...

2006-02-28T12:45:00.000+01:00

*TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey*
Name:	Veronika
Birthday:	August 14
Birthplace:	Innsbruck
Current Location:	Innsbruck
Eye Color:	Hazel
Hair Color:	Brown
Height:	172cm /about 5' 8"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	right handed
Your Heritage:	Mostly Austrian I guess, but I am told there is some italian and some slavic heritage in our family too
The Shoes You Wore Today:	depend where to
Your Weakness:	too trusting(?)
Your Fears:	that I might do something terribly wrong
Your Perfect Pizza:	Pizza alla Cipolla from La Fenice in Lido di Spina (Italy)
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	LOL
Thoughts First Waking Up:	don't want to wake up yet
Your Best Physical Feature:	guess you gotta ask someone else about that
Your Bedtime:	11pm
Your Most Missed Memory:	talking to my grandfather
Pepsi or Coke:	Coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	Burger King
Single or Group Dates:	Single dates, I guess
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Nestea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Cappuccino
Do you Smoke:	no
Do you Swear:	sometimes
Do you Sing:	yes
Do you Shower Daily:	yes
Have you Been in Love:	think so
Do you want to go to College:	am there already
Do you want to get Married:	yes
Do you belive in yourself:	depends
Do you get Motion Sickness:
Do you think you are Attractive:	I have been told I am, not 100% convinced
Are you a Health Freak:	not really
Do you get along with your Parents:	mostly, yes
Do you like Thunderstorms:	yes
Do you play an Instrument:	yes
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	yes
In the past month have you Smoked:	no
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	no
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	no
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	no
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	no
In the past month have you been on Stage:	no
In the past month have you been Dumped:
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	hey it is freezing here: too cold for skinny dipping
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	no
Ever been Drunk:	yes
Ever been called a Tease:	yes
Ever been Beaten up:	no
Ever Shoplifted:	realized afterwards that I took something, without any intension
How do you want to Die:	peacfully
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	How should I know?
What country would you most like to Visit:	there are so many I wold love to go to!
*In a Boy/Girl..*
Favourite Eye Color:
Favourite Hair Color:
Short or Long Hair:
Height:	taller than me
Weight:
Best Clothing Style:	as long as he looks good in it
Number of Drugs I have taken:
Number of CDs I own:	omg how should I know
Number of Piercings:	my ears: means 2
Number of Tattoos:	none
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	There are lots of things I regret, but I can't really count them
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Fun day at work

2006-02-20T10:50:00.000+01:00

Just that you be warned, this is something that rarely happens, that I call the time at work FUN, but today it was. WE had a group of cusomers, I think about 10 who were, as I could tell right away Americans, they had ordered stuff before and when I was there by myself 3 of them came to the counter saying "three!" pointing at their coffee cups, and each of them tried to tell me what they wanted using one or two words, so I came back at them asking "Three more coffee?" and they were like "yeah, we didn't think you'd speak English!" they were all enthusiastic about me reacting in English right away, so as soon as I gave tehm their coffees they asked how much they owed me, and then I sayd "Two Euros each" they were again surprised... when I finally found some time to clear some of the tables again and they were just leaving I asked one of them where they were from, and all he said that they were all from California. Would have been fun to talk to them a bit more though, lol

Abu Ghraib photos

2006-02-17T10:43:00.000+01:00

You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom: More Photos from Abu Ghraib and BLACKFIVE: New Abu Ghraib Photos! made me write this post. I know the way the media are displaying those pics from Abu Ghraib is in a way that is disgusting. And I know what I am talking about. Working at the coffee shop I work at I have tv screens above my head repeating the same news every 15 minutes, by 7:30 nothing sounds like news anymore, but just stuff that gets repeated over and over again. And then seeing those pictures over and over again... it won't make any difference. If I see them once to know what has happened, ok, though I think I don't need to see them. I don't thing that it is right what has happened there, and nothing is going to change my mind about it, but that does not make it right the way the media are using them. Just because someone is doing something wrong does not mean everyone is supposed to do so too.

I know there were and are people in Abu Ghraib doing great things, as BLACKFIVE reminds us. In any profession you will find people to admire and those that you can't relate to, those who do things the way you would do them and others who act differently. I mean, I am not excusing the actions of those soldiers who tortured detainees, as I think there is no situation that justifies torture, but neither do I excuse the way the media are playing with us, as they are not displaying the complete truth either.

Also linked to Mudville Gazette

Technorati Tags : Abu Ghraib

something to laugh about for once

2006-02-14T20:47:00.000+01:00

1. THINGY (thing-ee) n.
Female...... Any part under a car's hood.
Male..... The strap fastener on a woman's bra.

2. VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel) adj.
Female.... Fully opening up one's self emotionally to another.
Male.... Playing football without a cup.

3. COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-k ay-shon) n.
Female... The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one's partner.
Male... Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the boys.

4. COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment) n.
Female.... A desire to get married and raise a family.
Male...... Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one.

5. ENTERTAINMENT (en-ter-tayn-ment) n.
Female... A good movie, concert, play or book.
Male...... Anything that can be done while drinking beer.

6. FLATULENCE (flach-u-lens) n.
Female.... An embarrassing byproduct of indigestion.
Male...... A source of entertainment, self-expression, male bonding.

7 MAKING LOVE (may-king luv) n.
Female...... The greatest _expression of intimacy a couple can achieve.
Male.. Call it whatever you want, just as long as we do it.

8. REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl) n.
Female.... A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
Male... A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes.

Remember, it takes a college degree to fly a plane but only
a high school diploma to fix one.

Reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in their jobs.

After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet,"
which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics
correct the problems, document their repairs on the form,and then pilots review the
gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.

Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by
Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an
S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major
airline that has never had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land ! very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar ! with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

And the best one for last.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?

( 2 ) No person really decides before they grow up who they're
going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kirsten, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

( 1 ) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10

( 2 ) No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
-- Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

( 1 ) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

( 1 ) Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

( 1 ) Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get
to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

( 2 ) On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that
usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

( 1 ) When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7

( 2 ) The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
-- Curt, age 7

( 3 ) The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you
should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
-- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

( 1 ) It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

( 1 ) There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8

And the ..1 Favorite is.....

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

( 1 ) Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.

She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?"

Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."

The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, "Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"

Never mess with childeren !

How to shower like a WOMAN:

1. Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according
to lights & darks.

2. Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown; if you see husband
along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

3. Look at your womanly physique-make mental note to do more sit
ups/leg lifts.

4. Wash hair with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 vitamins. Use face
cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wideloofah, and pumice stone.
Wash hair again to make sure it is clean.

5. Condition your hair with grapefruit mint enhance conditioner. Wash
face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.

6. Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.
Rinse conditioner out of hair. Shave armpits and legs. Turn off shower.

7.Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower. Spray mold spots with tilex.

8.Get out of shower. Dry body with a towel the size of a small
country. Wrap hair in a super absorbent towel. Return to bedroom wearing long
dressing gown and towel on head.

9. If you see husband along the way; cover up any exposed areas.

How to shower like a MAN:

1. Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave
them in a pile on the floor.

2. Walk naked to the bathroom.

3. If you see wife along the way, shake wiener at her making the
"WOO-HOO"
Look at your manly physique in the mirror.

4. Admire the size of your wiener and scratch your ass.

5. Get in the shower. Wash your face. Wash your armpits. Blow nose in
hands and let the water rinse them off.

6. Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower. Spend majority
of time washing genitals. Wash your butt; leaving those coarse butt hairs
stuck to the soap.

7. Wash your hair. Make a shampoo mohawk. Pee. Rinse off and get out
of shower .

8. Partially dry off. Fail to notice water on floor because the curatin
was hanging ouside the tub the whole time.

9. Admire size of weiner in mirror again.

10. Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on.

11.Return to bedroom with towel around waist. If you pass your wife,
pull off towel, shake weiner again and make "WOO-HOO" sound.

12.Throw towel on bed.

THE HEARING TEST

There was an elderly gentleman who feared his wife was getting hard of hearing.

So one day he called her doctor to make an appointment to have her hearing checked. The doctor
made an appointment for a hearing test in two weeks, and told him of a simple informal test that he could
give her so that he ( the doctor ) would have an idea of the severity of her problem.

"Here's what you do," said the doctor,"start out about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational
speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response...."

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he's in the living room. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens." Then in a normal tone he asks, 'Honey, what's for supper?" No response. So the husband moved to the other end of the room, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, "Honey, what's for supper?" Still no response.

Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for supper?" Again he gets no response. So he walks up to the kitchen door, only 10 feet away. "Honey, what's for supper?" Again there is no response. So he walks right up behind her. "Honey, what's for supper?"

(I just love this!)

"Jack, for the fifth time, CHICKEN ! "

A major research institution has announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. It has been named Governmentium.

This new element has one neutron, twelve assistant neutrons, seventy-five deputy neutrons and eleven assistant deputy neutrons, giving it a huge atomic mass. These particles are held together by forces called morons,which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected because it impedes every action with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium causes a reaction to take four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of five years.It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganisation in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganisation will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration.This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "critical morass".

When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium - an element which radiates just as much energy as Governmentium, since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Acknowledgements to Kevin White, as published in the Daily Mail.

Retinoblastoma II

2006-01-29T09:45:00.000+01:00

Retinoblastoma, this post is more than 7 months old. I tried to explain something that is hard to understand when you are going thought it and not any easier to understand when you look back. There are so many things I found out about retinoblastoma ever since I posted that post, that I would either have to edit it or write a new one, so I decided to do the latter.

One thing I didn't know about this decease is that it is fatal if it is not treated promptly and with expertise. In most cases it also appears with children aged 1 or 2 my brother was already pretty old to be diagnosed, being 6 years old.

it is never easy for children to go though all those medical examinations, having someone draw your blood for examination. Neither is it easy for parents to deal with the fact that your child has some form of cancer and you have to decided who you trust with the treatment.
Honestly I think it was even harder than that for my father because he realized that he had gone through the same thing when he was too small to remember, and that it was something hereditary. Of course it is not my father's fault that the decease broke out with my brother, it is no one's fault, and there is nothing anyone can do about it,

Technorati Tags : retinoblastoma

How you end up in the military in Austria

2006-01-26T16:45:00.000+01:00

Having brothers can have an interesting effect on one's life. One of them is, if you live in Austria, that at age 17 each of them will get a letter to come to a local military post, where they will have to go through a phyiscal and mental examination. My youngest brother just went through that last week. The reason for that is, that every male Austrian has to serve in the military for 6 months I(Information in German). You also have the option to go for Zivildienst for 8 months, which are mostly jobs where you are doing something in the social sector, like working for the red cross or at nursing homes and similar institutions.

Linked at Mudville Gazette

Technorati Tags : Military, Austria

Mothers?

2006-01-24T15:26:00.000+01:00

I don't know if that is just my family, but since some of you who are reading my blog here are mothers yourself, maybe you can explain, why mothers always seem to have the feeling that they should know about every detail in their children's lives? Even being an adult, which I would say I am.

When do I have my dentist's appointment?
Which dentist do I go to?
Is my room tidy?

and the list goes on and on. Not that I am not willing to share things about me, I just find it kind of annoying to have to report everything....

Sad story...

2006-01-21T09:39:00.000+01:00

Through a German forum about Germany who have immigrated to the US or are in the process of doing so I found this website which is about the sad process of the son of a deceased US soldier who wanted to live with the American part of his family but was denied the US citicenship. Anyone who is willing to help, Ralf is going to appreciate it greatly!

Reply to Comments

2006-01-12T11:55:00.000+01:00

thanks for your comments!

Ladylily: thank you for so much faith in me, it means a LOT to me, to know that there are people out there who belive I can achieve all that although I tend to not belive it. I have to admit that even the thought of achieving everything I want can be kinda frightening, but I guess, life is frightening no matter what and if it is not, it is bound to be boring... well, just my thought...

Square1: I like your answer that you perfer to think how you would like to live... somehow that seems to be something I am afraid of though don't ask me why, I think I might just be scared of failing at getting there , and so I don't want to expect much cause I don't want to be disappointed or disappoint others.

Yankeemom: the thing is that I have not really seen anything that kept me getting up each morning lately that I was looking forward to... sometimes I think it is my fault others I think that's just the way it is... well that's my reply to all this...

Where is this life heading?

2006-01-11T11:05:00.000+01:00

Hmm, today I had several things that made me think of the content of this very post.

First I started reading at One To The Nth Power Square1's most recent post which made me think a lot about myself, because several things she was writing about are things I know very well myself, like having a hard time to communicate with people who are around me all the time, whereas it seems much easier to me to talk to people I barely know, and to tell them how I feel and what moves me or upsets me. I know I am in a different position than she is in, simply because I am not married, I am not even in a relationship, I don't have kids who need me.

The second thing that made me write this was caused by my very shallow sleep last night, that gave me the feeling I had not slept at all, the only reason I know that I did sleep was that time passed more quickly than it would have if I had been awake... when I woke up to get ready to work I turned on the computer to wake up, and a friend of mine I chat with on a regular basis was still up so we started a conversation, and I told her of that night, and she asked me if I was stressed by something. Not that I was aware of, but then the thought, that I don't really know what I want of my life, and that as soon as I come up with something that I might really want, something that would get me all enthusiastic, I ask myself, if I really want that, if I could really get to that point, and if I even got there, what then?

I know these questions are not necessary at all, since I stop myself from ever getting where I might want to be. This all sounds real pathetic to me when I talk about it, but for some weird reason I have not found a way to deal with that problem yet...

Should I just go for whatever I feel the strongest urge for?
Or should I find out the reasons why something seem appealing to me? And even if I do so, is this going to help me find out what I really want to do?

One thing I know is that I have to get some more discipline into my life and get myself more organized. This is one of the things I am aware of. But sometimes I feel like I don't see a reason to get my life organized, when I was working as a nanny I was pretty good at keeping my own life and the life of the family I was working for as far organized as it was possible in my position.

"Does your family hate Americans?"

2006-01-10T12:00:00.000+01:00

One interesting experience, I would like to share with you here: Most of you who read my blog here know that I have been supporting American troops for a bit more than a year. And one of the recent questions I get when we get to know each other enough so that we would call each other friends is: "Does your family hate Americans?" The first time I heard this question I have to admit I was kinda shocked. Why should they hate Americans? I, and my family, don't like or dislike people because of where they come from. There is so much more to each single one of us that makes us special. I think I also would have to say in that context that for me there is no such thing as a typical American, just like I believe there is no such thing as a typical Austrian, German or Italian. Of course there are things that are more probable to be encountered in some regions and barely encountered in others, but I would like to know how would you feel if I asked you as an American, if your family hated Austrians? Since both world wars had been started by Austrians, it might be the case. I just could not help thinking about all this.

I know, I might not agree with every single one of you on everything, I think the chance that we disagree on several things is pretty high, but still I respect your points of view as long as you respect mine. I might tell you my point of view if you say something I don't agree with, but that would not mean that I hate you or want to change you.

I just somehow got the feeling that a lot of Americans seem to have the feeling that Europeans in general would not like any Americans. One thing that is true, is that many Europeans don't like President Bush, and I have to count myself among them, whether you like to hear this or not, but in this very same sentence I also have to say that I don't like the Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel either. That doesn't make me hate Austrians. I just believe that there is more to people than their political views and than who they would vote for...

Linked to The Mudville Gazette and Basil's Blog

Technorati Tags : USA, Austria, politics, friendship

Christmas time - finally over...

2006-01-10T11:02:00.000+01:00

Well, Christmas break at university is over, and I am back at school. When the break started I had planned to relax a bit, read some books and stuff like that. Nothing like this happened. My mom broke her left arm just the first day of my break, and a few days later she got also sick with a pretty bad cold. I had been expecting to spend this last week before Christmas with getting lots of baking done, but somehow I had to do that all by myself, with my mom not being able to do stuff like that, and if she had to go somewhere I had to drive her, as she was not allowed to drive. Oh I forgot my grandmother, who always comes to my parents' house on Christmas Eve and invites the family to her place on Christmas Day. But since she is 86 she is not really capable of getting a full meal for 6 people ready, so it was my job to help her with that. And at the same time I had to be at work Mondays to Fridays at 7 am. For some reason I just don't feel full of energy, ready to be back at school and work at all! I just feel like sleeping, like I would need to hibernate, someting humans usually don't do....

Well, those temperatures outside, being below freezing aren't really making me want to go outside right now either. This morning it was like -12°C (which is about 9°F) when I was heading for work, and my bed was so nice and warm... Can anyone relate?

blogging block?

2006-01-07T11:11:00.000+01:00

I know I have been away from the blogging world for a while, but I guess I am back again. And reading other blogs just keeps me having so many thoughts, that I would like to share, but don't find the time to do so, and when I sit down to finally write them down, I don't really get anywhere, LOL

Might be just that there is too much on my mind to write, that I can't focus on one thing. All just sorry excuses I guess for not being inspired to write, but I will do my best to write on a regular basis though... I guess I just had a blogging block...

Rant...

2006-01-03T15:09:00.000+01:00

Well, this day started out pretty bad already... when I had to get ready to be at work at 7 I found out that one of the fuses of the apartment was off and when I had turned it on, I realized that the light bulb of the bathroom had had it. By that time I just had to run to get there in time. Then my co-worker kept telling me to hurry up. Well when I finally got the chance to use the bathroom (not something you would say you would have to wait about an hour for) I found the floor wet already, and when I tried to flush, I found out the toilet was clogged. Fun, right?

Well, sorry for this rant today, but I just needed to! Feeling a bit better now, so maybe a better post tonight...

Happy new year!!!!!!!

2006-01-01T14:51:00.000+01:00

Well, since I have been quiet for so long, I decided with the first day of 2006 I should get back to writing again on a more regular basis, and having borrowed a computer for my apartment I will be able to take care of that from home as well....

tag....

2005-12-25T18:17:00.000+01:00

hmmm, I was supposed to tag someone too....

How about

Hello Iraq

Gun Line

Random Mental Messes

Tagged

2005-12-24T14:40:00.000+01:00

Yankeemom from You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom tagged me, yeah I know, I have not really posted in a while, and I do feel bad about it.... I guess there is nothing I can do about that, so I am going to do this quirkyMeme: 5 quirky things about me?

I can't travel without bringing books back home, not books about the place I went to, just normal novels and all other kinds of books...
I keep playing with my hair when I am thinking (is that quirky?)
If I am wearing jewelry I will play around with it, be it earrings, rings on my fingers of necklaces....It might even seem obsessive....
If someone is slow in finishing a sentence I might finish it for this person or look for words that might be fitting in at that point
I have never been involved with an Austrian, I had boyfriends from all over the world but not from around here....

I hope they were quirky enough....

meeting people form everywhere - a bit philosophic I guess....

2005-12-16T11:33:00.000+01:00

well, I was thinking a lot today, and as those thoughts proceeded they seemed to be very important to me. I don't even know for sure how I came to those thoughts today, but they were just there...

well, I happen to get to know people from all over the world, any country I can think of, and I there are several of those people that I don't agree with on many points, you might even be one of those people, but that's no big deal to me. I can't think of anyone that I was sorry to have met after I did so. Of course there are people who I feel closer to than to others, and some of them might be my friends now and others I might have lost contact to, but I think I have learned something from each single one of them.

Those people I have not much to agree on teach me to respect and accept their points of view, which you probably know is not always as easy as you would like it to be. I think meeting all those people makes me grow a little bit each time. I don't want to make myself sound special, but I think everyone does grow by meeting other people and getting to know them.

It is not about who is better or who has better friends, it is about learning about yourself through the people that surround us. This is one of the reasons I would never want to say that I would not have wanted to meet someone , because I don't feel comfortable around that person or something like that because it might have been my fault I didn't feel comfortable or I might have given that person the same feeling I had....

Death....

2005-12-14T15:27:00.000+01:00

This weekend one of my mother's coworkers died. He had pancreas cancer and had been in a very bad stated for quite some time. last night and on Monday night people came together to pray the rosary for him. This is very usual around here especially in smaller towns and rural areas. My mom went there Monday night, and I would have gone with her had I not had other plans.

it is just interesting that it reminded me of one of the last funerals I attended which was of a school friend of mine who had committed suicide.

work....

2005-12-02T09:58:00.000+01:00

Being basically a waitress can be exhausting, but most of our customers are really friendly and nice and don't bug me, but today there was that guy with those 2 women who wanted to have breakfast. I told them to help themselves to the food and I was going to get them their coffees (one decaf, and one capuccino) and a tea. Just when I was making the coffees, my collegue asked me if I gave them those juice bottles (which we don't hand out because of the refund we get for them). Of course I didn't, they had just taken them. And then he complained about not enough bread being in the bread basket, and not the right kind... blabla blabla! I was almost about to yell at him, and I am not the kind of person who yells easily!

News and the media

2005-12-01T10:48:00.000+01:00

I guess all of you have your favorite newspaper news network that you trust. I don't have that, as I kinda have not been able to find any newspaper or news network that covers anything objectively. Of course there is no one out there who can cover anything in a perfectly objective way. as we always have our own opinions on everything, which is a good thing to some point. But it also leads to the disturbing fact, that no one will get just information about what has happened. Just when you go to Google News you will find several hundred to more than a thousand articles on the same topic, and if you take the time reading them all you might wonder if they even covered the same subject....

Just taking the top story there right now, I'm going to list some headlines (not all 1300), but you might see what I mean:

Gaps in Bush's Plan (Washington Post)

THE BUSH STRATEGY (Newsday)

Bush's latest plan for Iraq (Newsday)

'Time and patience' key to Iraq, Bush says (Indianapolis Star)

Bush touts `victory' (Toronto Star)

Ups and downs on the war (Los Angeles Times)

Bush changes tone, not course, on Iraq (Seattle Times)

President engages critics of Iraq policy (Miami Herald)

Bush Promises a US Exit Linked to Iraqi Readiness (Los Angeles Times)

Defining the mission (Los Angeles Times)

Bush Refuses to Set Timetable for Iraq War (Guardian Unlimited)

Rallying cry from fading Bush (Asia Times Online)

Bush's `Strategy for Victory' May Keep US Engaged in Iraq (Bloomberg)

Optimism and other assessments at odds (USA Today)

Bush Maps Out Iraq War Strategy (ABC News)

Bush staking rest of term on success in Iraq (USA Today)

Bush Promises 'Complete Victory' in Iraq (Los Angeles Times)

Bush Signals Shift in Approach to Iraq (Los Angeles Times)

Analysis: Strategy glosses over key roadblocks (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Just to list a few. All of these Articles were published within the past 4 hours, and there are so many different approaches. I know none of them is perfect and none of them is absolutely wrong, I think it is simple as that: everyone sees different things as important. I just don't believe this do be information in that case anymore, but it is about speading opinions....

Technorati Tags : news, media, newspapers

My Job

2005-11-29T14:22:00.000+01:00

I am at my job serving coffee and all that kinda stuff, the thing is that here in Austria, people are allowed to smoke like crazy in places like my work place, so most of our customers smoke one or more cigarettes with their morning coffee. It's not that I have a problem with cigarettes in general, I am just not used to smelling like cigarettes (not being a smoker) and after work (at 9am) I feel ready for a shower to get rid of all the dirt that I find on my skin after being there for only 2 hours.

I like the people I am working with there, they are perfectly nice people.

The only thing that really bothers me since yesterday, that I won't be able to be in Vienna for a conference I signed up for called Transatlantic Discord I just thought this whole conferrence sounded so interesting and I really wanted to go, but I can't get those 2 days off that it is going to take place, Thursday and Friday this week.

New Blog

2005-11-23T13:10:00.000+01:00

I have started a new blog today, it has just started, but I wanted to let you all know. The reason for that blog is that I have had so many people asking me things about Austria, or Europe in general that I though it would be useful to have a blog which points out things that differ and things that we have in common on these 2 continents, that are divided by the northern Atlantic Ocean. So feel free to check it out at Europe - North America. If there is anything in particular you would like me to write about leave a comment there or get in touch with me in any way you know...

Updates on me

2005-11-22T10:25:00.000+01:00

Short update on me:

We got lots of snow here and it is snowing again! Everything is so beautifully bright outside. Of course the slush created by the cars and pedestrians is not that beautiful, but I will bear with it cause I love the beautiful white of the snow on the trees, in the parks and everywhere.

Additionally I started working today. Monday through Friday, 7 to 9 am. Was at times a bit stressful, but not that bad. Making and serving coffee, juice and other stuff...well pretty good stuff to start out with anyway.

2005-11-17T10:20:00.000+01:00

alright there are lots of complaints in my last few posts, so back to normal again... This blog should not be about my rants and things about my personal life I am not happy about, but sometimes I just have to deal with that too.

so I am going to react to some posts I have been reading lately later today or tomorrow...

LIFE....

2005-11-16T15:07:00.000+01:00

I know I have not been posting for a while because of several reasons, one was that I had to deal a bit with my life here at home and with the dificulties it brings, such as the fact that I am 26 years old and still depend financially on my parents. A situation that is not necessarily satisfying, I have to admit. I don't know if that all makes sense, but there are so many things I know I am capable of, and so often I am not being given the simple chance to show what I can do that it is just depressing. But how can I proove that I have leadership (as many people told me I do) if they don't give me the chance, I know I don't have a certificate for it, but it is something I have not learned in a class or something, but it is something I have learned from life. Just as I have learned through life how to organize people and handling tough situations, as long as they are not a personal crisis in my life, but I think that is an absolutely different thing anyway. I usually don't lose my cool easily, even if everything seems to go wrong and in such situations I do my best to see to it that things work out one way or another to everybody's satisfaction, and honestly that is the most satisfying thing I have ever done in my life, just that it is not something that people expect you to do all the time as things don't go crazy like that all the time...
well just some thoughts and a rant....

Sing the Bill of Rights

2005-11-10T17:31:00.000+01:00

I don't know if any of you are aware of the fact that there is someone out there who has put the Bill of Rights to music.I know about it because I was there when the piece was being composed. You might want to check out this website: http://www.neelybrucemusic.com/bill-of-rights.htm

Technorati Tags : Bill-of-rights, Neely-Bruce, music

Conservatism and Liberalism on my side of the ocean

2005-11-09T17:46:00.000+01:00

I had a blogger friend of mine, yankeemom, ask me to explain a European Conservative and an European Liberal, so I decided to give it a try.

Well, I can basically talk about Austrians and Germans only, as I can't say for sure what other European countries are like, so please bear with me! One important thing to mention is also that I am NOT writing about political parties, but just about people

So here is the Austrian Conservative:

The conservative Austrian is usually cares a lot about traditions, at least 2 or 3 generations old preferably even some centuries old. They care a lot about traditional holidays, don't want to change things just because they are popular in other countries. They want to keep things basically as they are. They like good old Europe, they want to keep a certain distinction between Europe and America and they see things a lot more narrow minded (sorry if I offended anyone)

whereas the Austrian Liberal usually sees good and bad things here in Europe as well as in America, and kinda likes the idea of bringing the good things of both sides together. Maybe this also includes some kind of idealism, but I think if you want to change something you sometimes also need some idealism.

I know this is just a very basic not perfect post and there would be loads more to add but I don't have that much patience right now.

Technorati Tags : EU, USA, conservatism, liberalism

More on history

2005-11-09T11:05:00.000+01:00

I know some people might have been upset by my latest post, but there is something I might have to add to it. I read all the comments that I got and of course I would never do such a thing as delete a comment that comments to what I write. So I have to ask a question to this comment:

In America, liberals want everyone to stay just as they are, so they can run their lives better than they can themselves; conservatives want people to push forth and make the best they can out of life, to build, discover and create.

I just don't see what you mean, with this post Omni, maybe you did not understand what I meant in my post about people going for change and others holding on to things remaining the same. I didn't mean about just things in your career or your personal life but I was talking about making changes in our world. These changes sometimes are not as much about actions, but also about decisions which might have an impact on the whole planet and also the lives of the future generations. One of the things I really think about a lot, although I don't have any children yet, is that I would like to leave this world to my children one day in a way that they can do the same to my grandchildren without having to be ashamed of the state our planet is in. I know I am doing plenty of things that are not as good to our planet earth as I would care, but sometimes it is hard to avoid them and to find a different way to get things done. This is just my point of view and I know yours might be different...

Catlst, thanks for pointing out that the term LIBERAL having a dirty connotation. Maybe we have to go back to where the term comes from, which is a lot easier in English than it would be in German. Liberal comes originally from the Latin word Liber which means free, the same roots as liberty. By the way I would have never called myself neither liberal nor conservative but somewhere in the middle, I think I find things I like on both sides (talking of the European terms now) and I don't do something or believe in it, just because it belongs to either side. Usually I just make up my mind myself, by looking at something from as many perspectives as I possibly can and then decide if it is something I agree with or not.

Technorati Tags : history, liberal, conservative

How did things become what they are?

2005-11-08T10:34:00.000+01:00

Right now the public radio here in Austria called ORF is broadcasting a series about America, and it is about the fact that America is not just what he see and hear of in the media. It is more about the liberals in the US, and about their role and about things that have happened in the past years.

First I think I have to say that I happen to talk to a whole lot of people here in Austria about America, and since I was called a Liberal European by a conservative American friend, I have to tell him and all others of you who have a problem with us liberal Europeans, it is us liberals here who are more pro-American than the conservative Europeans. This might not make sense to you, but it is true. Maybe this has to do with the simple fact that European conservatism is different from American conservatism, or simply that we Liberals are more open to changes, I don't really know, but back to what I started out writing about:

Well that radio series focuses on the liberals in the US, and today's episode was about Northampton, MA, a city/town which I guess is as liberal as can be. Do you want to know I associate with Northampton? It is singing Shape Note songs from the Sacred Harp. This is something I would consider a Christian activity: It is also something that is as American as something can be and it, it is something that started in the US and has mainly stayed there for more than 1.5 centuries. It is something that has been predicted to disapear at least for a century but the book is still being printed, and there are young people singing this music with lots of enthusiasm and with a love that one has to find with groups singing together. I don't know how you relate to music, especially sacred music, but for me music is the most complete way of worship there is, and this is why I loved the experience of the Sacred Harp so much because this was the only experience I had so far where I eperienced the presence of God, if you understand what I mean.

All those people I met through this kind of music I would have called at least more or less liberal, but for each of them the bible and religion mean a lot. Most of them go to church on a regular basis, but I am pretty sure you would still call them liberals, because of their political views.

But if you look back in history, what kind of people were those who built up America to what it is now, I mean in the early years, were they people who held on to what they already knew or were they people who were willing to move on go for something new, something they didn't know? I think to build something new you need some liberalism to be able to make steps you don't know where they would lead you. You can't just hold on to everything to remain the way it had been to move on. Just think of all those Americans who are known in world history, were they people who were going for changes or did they hold on to the past?

Linked at Mudville Gazette and Stop the ACLU

Here is a reply to comments

Technorati Tags : Liberals, Sacred-Harp, Shape-Note, history

The population in Zimbabwe

2005-11-02T18:56:00.000+01:00

I am just listening to a radio program about what is happening this very moment in Zimbabwe. Just to imagine the fact that Mugabe is starving the population systematically, daily peoply die of hunger, and if churches or charity organisations want to distribute food to the people they are stopped from doing so.

Technorati Tags : Mugabe, Zimbabwe

Freedom and Liberties

2005-11-02T18:19:00.000+01:00

I am reading lots of blogs by Americans as most of you know and I am also in touch with several people living in the US and I pretty frequetly read about all the freedom and liberties that exist in America. And sometimes I wonder what freedoms and liberties there are that I don't have here in Austria.

I bet you can come up with some, if you want to, and I would be glad to get some Feedback, as there is nothing I can think of any liberties that we do not enjoy.

And even if there are things we don't have yet, we're heading for more rights to get more liberties and rights. This does not mean that there are no disagreements on liberal issues.

So please feel free and post comments or Trackbacks and let me know what you can think of that I didn't think of...

Technorati Tags : Freedom, Liberty, Europe, USA
Linked at Mudville Gazette and Stop The ACLU

Gay Marrieage.... some thoughts,,,

2005-11-02T09:31:00.000+01:00

An issue that is being discussed in lots of countries over the past years is the issue of gay marriage. I have to admit that I do not really like the phrase "gay marriage" or as they call it in German "Homo-Ehe", but I believe that homosexual couples should have the same legal rights as a married couple.

I know lots of couples who have children together but are not married, and 2 of them are my own cousins. I don't blame them at all for not being married, but talking to my mother a while ago, I realized that in the sad case one of them would end up in hospital their partner would have no right to find out about the health state, if there are any improvements...my cousins though have the chance to change this, they have the right to get married...

But with homosexual couples this means, even if they have been living together for 30 years, and maybe even don't have close family members anymore, their partner, who is probably the closest person in their lives, has no such right, and not way to get this right.

I think it doesn't have to do whether you think homosexuality is right or wrong, as I believe there is no right or wrong in such cases.

Technorati Tags : gay-marriage, homosexuality

Role Play Game - The Dark Eye

2005-10-30T12:10:00.000+01:00

Since my brothers have been involved in this role play game since they were kids they decided to introduce me to the whole word of The Dark Eye today. I had to generate a character last night, which took a long time but was also fun. Just to think of all the details what my character should be like, what name to give my character.... was pretty interesting. Now I am looking forward to playing, this is where I am heading now, will update when I get back...

Technorati Tags : RPG, The-Dark-Eye, DSA, Das-Schwarze-Auge

Communication

2005-10-29T14:34:00.000+02:00

I think one of the most important things in human life is communication

I think one of the most important things in human life is communication. It is something we face every single day of our life, from the day we are born until we die. It's not only the verbal conversation we are confronted with but also nonverbal conversation. In my opinion the two of interact as well.

Sometimes I even get the feeling that the nonverbal part can say more than the verbal. Nonverbal conversation often tells us whether people mean what they are saying, or whether they do something willingly or because they have to.

This is something we usually have to miss out with when we converse online. As we usually don't get the other person's complete body language nor do we get atone of voice that would tell us whether someone is serious or joking. This does not mean that I don't like online conversation, as some of you will be able to prove, but you sure miss out on some parts you get when you have a conventional conversation.

I think that many things in out lives could be improved if we were willing and able improve the communication with those close to us. I know this all sounds so much easier than it is in reality, as if we just don't improve things because we don't want out lives to be better, but I think that we all have out reasons for communicational problems. They might be caused by things we are not aware of.

Sometimes I also think that fear causes problems in conversation, I would never dare to blame anyone for fear, but without facing our fears we are not going to overcome them, which can means that we are not going to be able to deal with better with other situations which are going to confront us with the same fear again, or just deal with the specific situation and move on.

Some people juts don't seem to be aware that there is such a thing as body language or they are using it. Which means that they portray their feelings out sometimes saying the opposite in words,or something that just doesn't go together with what their bodies say.

Those people also don't realize that they are saying something by simply standing in a specific way. Like standing in the doorway with your arms crossed shows impatient. At the same time it makes a difference if we have a smile on our faces or if we frown all the time and there are plenty of people who hardly ever have a smile on their faces...

Technorati Tags : Communication, online, body-language

Blogging Tool

2005-10-28T19:34:00.000+02:00

Wanted to let you all know that this tool is really work using!

Technorati Tags : blogging

The war and the media

2005-10-27T14:24:00.000+02:00

Just today I had to catch up a lot on blog reading, as I missed out a lot for not having lots of internet access for 2 days. 2 of the blogs on my blog roll: You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom and Hello Iraq posted on the same topic, and their posts made me think about it a bit more so here you go:

I think I don't just want to cover the media coverage of the military in the middle east, but there is way more to start with, I guess.

First of all I have to admit I am not a regular newspaper reader neither do I watch the news on TV on a regular basis. One of the reasons is that in my opinion they mainly cover the things that are bad news so to say. They mention people being killed, catastrophes, anything that would have make us worry. I don't remember when I heard some good news on the news lately. It is rare, wouldn't you agree?

I think it is kinda sad because I believe it would do all of us good to hear about good things people do, and that there not just insugents, murderers, traitors and whatever, but that there are people out there who care for there fellow human beings.

No matter what group of people you look at, you will find people who have big open hearts and you will find those who are creeps.. and the only way to find out what kind of person someone is, is to be open to them and be aware of that they do and say...

religion and education

2005-10-18T11:40:00.000+02:00

This post at Stop The ACLU: School Teaching Children To Be Muslims, made me think as I grew up in a completely different environment than you all my American friends. In our schools here in Austria religion is an issue, we have religion classes, and every student has to attend some, you have the right for classes of your own denomination, or you can attend the Roman Catholic classes which are the most attended, because of the simple fact that most Austrians are Catholic. In those classes we are taught a lot about our own religious background or church history, as well as social issues and other religious groups. I don't know if those classes were good for me or not, but one thing I learned was that there is no religion that is based of hatred or evil, all religions, as long as they are lived in a moderate way are good, they give us morals and guidelines to live a good life. The problem appears when religion is being used as a means to get what we want or a means of power. This has happened in history over and over again, and I would say looking back at the crusades back then everyone would have had the right to call Christianity a religion of hatred and evil. I don't believe in religion being evil, there are just people who interpret things in a way to make it evil, there are people like that in all religious groups, and I think it is important to be careful no to judge the whole group for them, just as I believe not to judge the people of a country for something a few of its citizens have done. If you want to you can find lots of indications for Christianity being a religion of hatred, but there are also lots of indications that christianity is about love and peace. At least that's what I see there, and I bet if you really study Islam you will have the same experience, and there are people who willingly use only those parts that hurt others and don't treat the world with the respect it deserves.

Technorati Tags : religion, education

Work # 2

2005-10-17T12:37:00.000+02:00

For now I will just react to the parts that I have translated already, as I don't feel up to translating any more right, although I still want to do it for sure, but I have to admit it is hard work and I don't get paid for it. I guess professionals would get lots of money for a job like that, but doing it for my blog is not a job as you all know very well...

I like doing that kind of work, just as I like writing here, and writing songs (which I do in my spare time) and many other things, but I will never make a living doing those things, at least I don't think so. I also know there are lots of people who are good at lots of things, which are not really considered a profession, or they are not considered proficcient at them. Like a mother and housewife is probably working as much as her husband going to work everyday, but she doesn't get paid for it. But if there were no mothers our species would be extinct pretty soon. And I don't see a way of living in our world without money. Just before the summer I applied for a job, I don't really remember what it say about but they did not take me because I was not an English native speaker. Great! I think I am pretty good at speaking English, and I write my blog in English, I helped Canadian kids this summer with their grammar and spelling, what's wrong with my English?
I know loads of people who are looking for jobs but don't get any jobs they are qualified for. I know this is a rant, sorry, but I just think it is upsetting if the society doesn't seem to care about what's going on.

Work

2005-10-15T20:27:00.000+02:00

http://abfallgut.de/tafel0.html

I know this link is in German and I bet there are plenty of you who won't be able to read it, so I will do my best to translate each page here is about first and then write my own piece.

What is Work?
The kind of work we are talking about here is defined by Robert Kutz as work being exchanged for money, meaning a huge part of useful daily work is not included such as housework, raising children, or social tasks within the family or neighborhood.

Work for Religion
Ever since the early days of the reformation everyone of any importance of the western modernization were preaching of the sacred work. The priests of the working society always said that the human being was an "animal laborensis" by its nature. He would only become really human if he followed Prometheus example by making nature follow his will and signing it with his own creations and products.

The Industrial Society
"Mainly in the past 150 years all theories of society and political developments were literally obsessed with work... The post-war-democracies swore by the everlasting dictatorship of work. The merciless dogma of work being man's natural destiny is still ever present." (Manifest gegen Arbeit)
"The basic moral principle is the right of the person to his work. [...] For me there is nothing more detestable than an idle life. None of us has a right to that. Civilization has no room for idlers." (Henry Ford)
"Any job is better than no job" said Bill Clinton in 1998. Everyone doing something for his money, and paying taxes is a useful and respected member of this society. The societal respect increases with the time spent working and the money being earned. This also includes the production of land mines, nuclear power plants or disposable packaging.

As long as any work is considered better than none, the destruction of our environment will be accepted assentingly.

Jobs decrease
Ever since the beginning of the industrialization working people are being replaced by machines and computers. At the same time new products are being invented and new markets opening constantly. Humanity is increasingly flooded with new disposable products and through intensive advertisement even the most useless gadgets find their buyers. Up to the 1970's the downsized personnel was supplied with new jobs that way. But these times are over by now.
There are calculations that with today's available technology 30 million jobs in Germany could be easily down sized by 9 millions. In that case the unemployment rate would rise to more than 30 percents.
"Within a foreseeable period of time we will have the legacy of our collapsing 'working society': the havoc it wreaked. (H-J. Rieseberg)
The times when everyone who was looking for a job would find one are definitely over. Nevertheless these circumstances don't seem to be realized anywhere. The society lives in a collective delusion, that all you need is to be motivated to find a job.

Fictitious Jobs and Hidden Unemployment - costly paid
Especially in the 1980's numerous fictitious jobs in the administration were created to compensate the decreasing jobs. The 1980's were the height of well paid clerk jobs.
Nowadays the (German) government pays willingly any amounts that hundreds of thousands are in what ever kind of 'training places' (Trainingswerkstätten) 'Occupation companies', which simulate the lost workspaces and prepare for 'regular jobs' they are never going to get. The less sense the work enforcement becomes the more we are being told that you don't get anything for nothing.

There are always new and ever dumber "arrangements" being invented to keep up the appearances that this idling treadmilll will keep going for ever on." (manifesto against labor)

Work was Misfortune

Work ethics
Already during the 16th century a religiously supported work ethic was created. Martin Luther mentions labor as the will of God. As long as work is useful and is performed with the faith in God, he is going to like it and it is worship.

Beginning of the Industrialization
During the 18th century people in England were evicted from their fields "with the force of arms, to make space for sheep farming for the woll mills. Old rights like free fishing, hunting and the collection of wood in the forests were abolished, and when the hungry masses came around begging or stealing they were locked into factories or workhouses..." (Manifesto Against Labor)
At the turn of the century economists still noted...., that the majority of people were happy if their salary was enough to cover their basic requirements and a few luxuries. Otherwise they preferred time off to working more and earning more. (Jeremy Rifkin)

Absurdes Theater today (don't know how to translate that, beause it has a meaning in its own)
Unemployment today is a life in debt. A good society of 'honest' working people has to find a way to keep those millions of potential criminals under control. For that reason they created a social zone for the unemployed, a kind of open execution in which other rules exist than in the society of free citizens. Like suspects of felony unemplozed have to call in at the Federal Employment Office on a regular basis, not to lose the financial support they get.

If they are lucky they will be assigned one of those "arrangements" one day. In the rituals of availability they will have to prove their usefulness for the labor market over and over again.

Still to be continued!
Linked at Stop The ACLU

some thoughts on economy

2005-10-13T15:33:00.000+02:00

One thing my mom and I talked about a few days ago was that she read somewhere that more than half of the money of the world is in the hands of multinational corporations. Which basically means that the money is not available to be spent. And there are thousands of people out there who don't know how to feed their children enough or pay their bills, there are plenty of those people who are working on a daily basis or want to work but can't find jobs.

At the same time economy experts are complaining about the economy of several countries being so low. But as far as I can see, only people who have money to spend are going to spend it, people who feel financially secure are going to spend money on luxuries they don't really need but would like to have. If I don't know whether I will be able to pay my bills next month I am not going to go to fancy restaurants or buy a bigger TV set, go on a vacation...

I don't know if this all sounds terribly naive to you, but as far as I see it our economic system is the problem of it all, as the corporations don't spend the money they have, it is basically money that does not exist (concering national or international economies). Thus we are dealing with 50% less money than there should be. I don't believe that money should be spread around, but I just think that I don't like the idea of people starving, although they work every single day or they want to work, but they don't get a job, while billions of Dollars or Euros are stacked on bank accounts of international corporations, with employees working for minimum wages.

This is just a thought I would like to get some discussion going on this, as I think that it would be interesting to know what others like you, whoever you are, that you are reading my blog might think about it, so feel free to comment or write your own blog entry end trackback....

Linked at Stop The ACLU

2005-10-11T10:30:00.000+02:00

Last night when I was sitting with some friends in a cafe for a drink we started talking about the fact that in the year 2005 there seems to be not a place in the world that has been spared of any natural catastrophe. There has been the Tsunami, and then there have been the hurricanes, earthquakes... Here in Austria there have bee floods at about the same time as Hurricane Katrina flooded southern Louisiana.

there were some people in our group who said that they would not want to go anywhere right now, being scared that something might happen just where they were at, and others who said that they would not mind, if they were on a vacation and something happened to them they would have had at least a couple of nice days before the end... (I know it sounds cruel, but without intention).

When I was by myself I kept thinking about that, and then I thought, that I don't think that those catastrophes would keep me from travelling or going somewhere I would have gone to otherwise. I don’t know if I am just a very courageous person or extremely stubborn, but I just think that life is dangerous no matter what, and if you never dare anything life would just be so boring that I would not want to live it, and then even if you would spend all your life in your bed, just to make sure nothing is going to happen to you, something can happen to your house and it might kill you (hope no one is offended). I just think that there is more to life than just sitting around and make sure to be safe.

I have actually already shocked several people with things I have done, just for the sake of the experience. Those things were not like extreme sports or something, but about places I went to or so.

I also tend to trust people within a short period of time, but the reason for that is probably that I have not been disappointed very often. I get to know people where ever I go: on buses, planes, airports, youth hostels… I guess you get the idea.

I just never end up being alone, even if I started out a trip by myself...

more thoughts on the Military

2005-10-10T13:44:00.000+02:00

well, here I am again to continue the post I started earlier today. I just had some errants to run and writing a post like that just takes more time than I had just then. one thing that might be important to set things straight is that my only connection to any thing concerning military life has been my grandfather's time fighting in the Wehrmacht in WWII, and his stories of those years. He had been detained twice, there had been several occations he barely survived, but he spent his youth in the Wehrmacht (he was born in 1917). There were lots of things in his life I never heard about and I know I will never find out some of those things, as my grandmother never asking much so she doesn't even know everything. And since he died about 8 years ago there is no way of asking him. Over the past few years my grandmother started showing me photos of her family when she was a teenager or even before she was born, and in the very same box of pictures she has lots of photos from friends who were at the front back then and some letters, which she didn't show me. But one thing I realized back then was, that being a soldier at the front can be very lonesome. It doesn't matter whether you agree with what you are fighting for or not, the feelings are the same. I never found out if my grandfather approved of the Nazi diealings back then, and I don't think I need to know. All I need to know is that I love my grandfather for the grandfather he was to me... As a matter of fact my grandparents only met because he got emergency leave because his mother died, and my grandmother was invited by a friend of both of them to come along so there would be more people to cheer him up a bit... I don't know if anyone here understands my feelings , I am not even sure I understand them all myself, but maybe expressing is makes it easier to understand...

Technorati Tags : military

military.... some thoughts - to be continued

2005-10-10T10:12:00.000+02:00

You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom: A Rant

I am reading this blog on a more or less regular basis and yankee mom, you know that I really care for you and D~. But as you know I have my own opinion and I will say what I think, when I have something to say...

You know I am supporting the troops of a country I don't live in and I am not a citicen of, but for me personally it has less to do with 9/11. For me it has to do with the respect for people, for men and women who chose a profession which takes them away from home, endangers their lives and does not necessarily give them the respect they deserve.

Most of you probably don't know that, but here in Austria the military (see here) is a lot different from the US military. All young men who reach the age of 18 have to join the military for a period of 8 months. These men also have the option to work for a full year doing social jobs, like ambulance, old people's homes.... Every one of these men who have gone through the basic training will (in case of a war) be called in up to the age of 49. As a matter of fact the majority don't think much whether to do for military service or the social service, as Austria has not been involved in a war since the end of WWII because of the Everlasting Neutrality.

Have to finish this for now, but will be continued as soon as possible

Fort McMurray

2005-10-09T17:17:00.000+02:00

Here is a small post about the place I moved to with the family I was working for. The city of Fort McMurray, which is an interesting place for sure, although I have to admit it is not necessarily the place I would want to live in.

Fort McMurray is one of the places, where you can be sure to find a job if you want to work. The economy there is growing on a daily basis. The reason for that are the oil sand fields, which surround the area. Just check out this section of the website and you will have a hard time believing all that! Maybe you don't but I have to admit I didn't really know what to say when I heard all that for the first time!

And when I got there I went to the Oil Sands Discovery Centre, and there I found out even more about the facts, how the oil is being removed from the sand and how the mines there are working, and standing next to the wheel of that truck that in reality transports the oil sand from the mine made me feel so tiny! The wheel alone was so huge that my head did not even reach to the nut of it, so imagine the tire!

Actually it is not really oil that they seperate from the sand, it is bitumen from which the oil is being extracted again. The links I have offered so far are giving a quite a good account what it is all about, so if you are really interested in it, you can easily follow links there and find out about everything worth knowing that way, and if you are not interested, I better don't bore you any longer...

Back Home!

2005-10-07T17:40:00.000+02:00

I am home again, Arrived here in Austria yesterday after a very delayed flight from Düsseldorf to Munich. Still kinda Jetlagged, so bear with me being short. You will hear from me soon

Moved

2005-10-05T07:04:00.000+02:00

alright, we moved! was a big deal, getting the Trooper, the HUGE UHaul and the Pick-up loaded up to the top and then getting the kids in the cars and then hit the road. The night we made out of the old house we got to drive in snow... not too much fun when it is dark without street lights, so I lost my convoy....*blush* that was lots easier when I was to drive right behind the uhaul.
then we spent a night at a motel and drive the rest of the trip north.
Ft. McMurray is an interesting place will tell more later on about it.
I am on my trip home now.
will write more when I am home!

some more on religion

2005-09-26T20:05:00.000+02:00

My last post and the comment I got on in made me think abou this one. For me religion is so important because there is such a wide variety of believes and faiths and I would never dare to judge anyone for their belief. Even within the same denomination there are lots of different ways of seeing things and I think that this is so important for this world. But we all should be aware that although we might see things differently or believe in different things we are still living in the same world having lots in common.

This basically means to me that the openness to other faiths and believes is an important part for me. I always respected people for what ever they believed in, even if I was not able to agree at all. This is why I had such a hard time with the children at church because they didn't seem to respect the space of church and it being sacred for the people there... that's it for now maybe more to follow

Taking the kids with me to church

2005-09-25T23:34:00.000+02:00

Today I had to take two of the kids with me to church. This is the 3 Sunday now that I went to the St. Albert Parish, before that I usually went with the family to the Grace Family Church, which as far as I know is a baptist church; the people there were really nice, but I just didn't like the way of the service, so I decided to go to the catholic church to get the kind of mass I have been used to all my life.

Now this week P. the 9 year old kid was to get his bible for school at the Parish church so I was told to go there with him and E. the 6 year old decided to come along. Then today in the morning she insisted on going by bike, all the way up Mission Hill. I asked them if they were sure, and they said yes. But then on the way back home they were complaining, and also on the way there E. started, when I told her not to whine because she was the one who wanted to take the bikes.

then at church, just after P. got his bible he told me "Now we go home" which was no option as I wanted to stay to the end of course, so he was sitting there with a frown on his face for the rest of the mass. And then he told me that he didn't like the music and the rest of it. I think E. didn't mind it so much, but P. didn't want to go there in the first place already anyway.

and then on the way home I had to explain things like the first communion to them... and they are going to a catholic church!

strange feeling....

2005-09-24T15:44:00.000+02:00

wow, time flies! I can't believe it is just 10 more days to my flight back home.

it's somehow strange, but I can't really look forward to it as you would think I would after weeks of exhauting work here with 5 kids surrounding me all the time, having rarly any time off.... but somehow I still enjoy working with kids, even doing the house chores I don't really mind, I have to do them at home too anyway, even if it is just for myself and I don't have to clean up after children, vacuum 4 bedrooms... well, I never really minded all that kind of work as long as people are aware that I am doing it and that it is work. Does that make sense? Well, I guess seeing things that way also has to do with the simple fact that my mom always had a full-time job and did all the house work and my dad always took that for granted, and when she was gone for some reason he expected me to fill in most part for her, and maybe my brothers, but I don't remember of having heard him say thank you even once.

I hope I didn't sound resentful now, but sometimes it is just hard to not get mad at someone who is that way. I know I am a lot better off than some other people and I should not complain, but I want to make the best out of my life. So I will still complain if things are not right! But I try to keep complaints of that kind away from here.

2005-09-22T00:36:00.000+02:00

Sorry if I have not been writing lots lately, just being a nanny here keeps me pretty occupied, and right now my health is not tops either, got a sore throat, and the kids have runny noses, which causes me to run after them with tissues in my hands. FUN, YAY!!!

I was tagged by Yankee Mom

2005-09-15T22:59:00.000+02:00

ABOUT ME>>>

Body:
[] really short under 5'2
[] 5'2 -5'6"
[] 5'6.25-5'8''
[X] in between 5'8" - 6'
[] tall over 6'_________

Hair?
[] blonde
[] redhead
[X] brunette
[] dirty blonde/brownish
[] black
[]white
[]gray_________

Eyes?
[] blue-eyed
[] brown-eyed
[] green-eyed
[X] hazel eyed
[] gold/gray-eye
[] silver/gray- eyed
[] blue/green-eyed
[] brown/green-eyed
[] glasses
[] contacts

_____________Hair length?
[] short hair
[] med.
[X] long hair

___________________Your nationality includes...
[] Chinese
[] Indian
[] Taiwanese
[] Japanese
[] Hispanic
[] Cuban
[] Spanish
[] Nicoya
[] Puerto Rican
[] Chicana
[] Italian
[] Scottish
[] Filipino
[] Armenian
[] Dutch
[] French
[] German
[] Irish
[]Greek
[] Portuguese
[] Pirate
[] Polish
[] English
[] Trinidad
[] Korean
[] Jamaican
[] Canadian
[] Lithuanian
[] Native American
[] Russian
[] Swedish
[] African
[] Peruvian
[] Hungarian
[] Ukrainian
[] Czech-slovakian
[] you aren't sure what else you are {EVER HEAR OF HEINZ57????}
[] Rumanian
[] Finnish
[] Egyptian
[] welsh
[] Norwegian
[] Croatian
[X] Austria
[] Persian
[] Dominican

____________________Your favorite color(s) are?
[X] red
[] khaki
[] pink
[X] yellow
[] black
[] grey/gray/however u spell it
[X] green
[X] blue
[X] white
[X] silver
[X] purple {DEEP DARK COLORS}
[] brown
[] orange
[] clear seeing through things is cool!
[] anything bright
[] Gold
[X]Burgundy

{my #1}_______________________________Some sports/physical things you have done?
[] soccer
[] charlatans
[] dancing
[] lacrosse
[] field hockey
[] hockey
[] football
[]softball
[X] ice skating
[] wrestling
[]gymnastics
[] track/cross country
[] basketball
[] baseball
[] golf
[] playing music
[X] hiking
[] kayaking
[] camping
[X] horseback riding
[] tennis
[X] volleyball
[]Martial arts
[] rugby
[] frisby golf
[] surfing and skim boarding
[]bmx
[] wakeboarding
[] snowboarding
[] skateboarding
[X]skiiing

_______________________Your personality is sometimes...
[X] talkative
[X] shy
[X] funny
[X] serious
[] bubbly
[]spazzy
[X] fun loving
[X] laid back
[X] strict
[X] hyper
[X] weird
[] ditzy
[] sarcastic
[] slow

___________________The music you like is?
[X] classic rock
[] rap
[X] alternative
[X] rock
[] pop
[X] country[
] r&b
[] slow jams
[] christian (had too much of that lately!)
[X] classical
[] techno
[X] oldies
[X] punk
[] metal
[X] reggae
[] emo
[] screamo
[] latin
[] hardcore
[] noise
[] ska
[] 80's
[] reggaeton
[] dancehall
[]hip hop
[] blues
[] jazz

_________________The pets you have had?
[X] cat
[] dog
[] lizard
[] mouse
[] rat
[] ferret
[] rabbit
[] fish
[] ducks
[] chickens
[] rooster
[] horse
[X] bird
[] frog
[] hermit crab
[] prarie dog
[] none
[] turtle
[] hamster
[] snake
[] gerbil
[] guinea pig
[] goats
[] chinchilla
[] tarantula
[] squirrel
[] grasshopper
[] turkey
[] geese
[] vermicious kind
[] frumious bandersnatch

________________________Clothes you like to wear are?
[X]plain tshirts
[]sweatshirts
[X]sneakers
[X] jeans
[X] flip-flops
[] sweatpants
[X] ball caps

____________________Clothing Brands you like?
[]American Eagle
[] Hollister
[] Abercrombie & Fitch
[]Target
[]Nautica
[] Wal-mart
[] Wet Seal
[] Billabong
[] O'neil
[] PacSun
[] Aeropostale
[] Hot Topic
[] Dickies
[] Anchor Blue
[] Guess
[]Forever 21
[] champs
[] nike
[] salvation army/goodwill
[X] if i like something i'll buy it no matter what brand

________________Shoe Brands?
[] Nike
[] Adidas
[] K Swiss
[] Steve Madden
[] Vans
[] Etnies
[] Converse
[X] Saucony
[] flip flops
[] new balance
[] brooks
[] skeechers
[X]whatever

________________States I have been to.
[] Alabama
[] Alaska
[] Arizona
[] Arkansas
[] California
[] Colorado
[X]Connecticut
[] Delaware
[X] Florida
[X] Georgia
[] Hawaii
[] Idaho
[X] Illinois
[] Indiana
[] Iowa
[] Kansas
[] Kentucky
[] Louisianna
[] Maine
[X] Maryland
[X] Massachusetts
[X] Michigan
[X] Minnesota
[] Mississippi
[] Missouri
[X] Montana
[] Nebraska
[] Nevada
[] New Hampshire
[] New Jersey
[] New Mexico
[X] New York
[X] North Carolina
[X] North Dakota
[] Ohio
[] Oklahoma
[] Oregon
[X] Pennsylvania
[]Rhode Island
[] South Carolina
[] South Dakota
[] Tennessee
[] Texas
[] Utah
[X] Vermont
[X] Virginia
[X] Washington
[X] Washington D.C.
[] West Virginia
[X] Wisconsin
[] Wyoming

Riverbend's Baghdad Burning

2005-09-14T21:10:00.000+02:00

I just added a new blog to my blogroll today, which I found through a book, I got from the local library, called Baghdad Burning. It is a blog by an Iraqi woman my age who writes about her experince of the war and life in Iraq. Some of you might like her writings, some might feel offended. I just like the way she writes, I am even thinking about pointing you to specific posts, with reasons why I liked them. To me she appears a very openminded person who deserves being read and respected for what she writes.

Ain't that ridiculous?

2005-09-13T22:00:00.000+02:00

it's kinda funny that sometimes international flights are not more expensive than flights within one country! I am going to have to fly from Ft McMurray down to Calgary to get my flight and the total of the flight will be about 160 Canadian Dollars, and my flight back home was a total of 230 euros, but that flight within Canada is already a sale price! don't know how much it would be otherwise!

And I was thinking about visiting people from here but I was just not able to find any reasonably priced flights from here to the states, and now out of curiosity I was checking on flights from back home which seem to be even cheaper! something wrong here? I just can't believe that!

Day at a waterpark

2005-09-12T22:06:00.000+02:00

I want to say something before I go on with my entry here, I know my blog has changed over the past few months, not only that I am not writting as reguarly anymore, but that I am writting about different things, well most of you know that my life is quite a bit different right now, and I am pretty sure it will go back to the way it used to be, whether you like it or not, but the job as a nanny for 5 kids is quite a challenge and it makes you think of different things than if you are at home as a student...
well, I still think of a lot of things that would make great blog entries here in my old style, but I don't really find the time to write them and when I make it here, I don't really write them down, or don't find the rigth words for them, does that sound silly now?

well, here now a short account of a busy sunday:
I got up early because I had decided that I wanted to go to the catholic church here, as I have not been to a catholic church since I left home, and I would not have believed how much I would miss it. So when I got there, I found out that there were 3 children who were going to have their first communion during that mass, and that there was to be a pancake breakfast after mass. I knew I was not to stay for the pancake breakfast, as I was expected back home because we had planned to go to Water World, the water park of West Edmonton Mall, which opened at 11, so the family did not even go to church at all, and when I came back they had already put my pancakes in the fridge, cause I got back 90 minutes after the mass had started... Then all of us (8) went in the truck to WEM, where we got our tickets for the waterpark right away, and then I was to spend a lot of time with children in the wave pool, or running up the stairs to some slides. It was fun but also very tiring, so I really enjoyed the time I was able to spend in the hot tub, just relaxing! I expected my legs to be sore today but it is only my bud muscels that turned out to be really sore this morning...
the scariest slide I went down yesterday was one you went down on a sled, and when you did a great job you didn't get wet at all. The first time I managed that but the second time I didn't do that great and was not able to go that far, so I had to carry my sled for a bit, and the other scary one was a sleep closed slide which ended up in a thing where you go in circles when you are fast enough and then drop into a 10 meter (30 ft) deep pool without knowing which direction to go.
more updates on me soon I hope.

kids:your own or someone else's

2005-09-10T22:11:00.000+02:00

hmmm, have been thinking today a lot about kids and so on, well the chance is pretty high that I spend time thinking about kids lately as I spend about as much time with kids right now as most mothers do...

I take them to all kinds of activities (today we spent the morning at a gymnastics place), go to the library, stay home with some of them when Mom takes the others somewhere or have all of them at home with me when Mom has to run some errands, take them to school, pick them up from school, prepare their meals, change diapers, wipe bums... You get the idea. So I came to thinking that having your own kids can't really be any harder than this, as you don't have to raise the kids to anyone else's ideas. It is somehow strange how I sometimes feel like just telling the kids what I think about something, although I know the parents disagree with me. And how somethings the kids think really upset me, but I don't want to get into an argument with the parents... just on religious issues that can get pretty tough, never thought I would have such a hard time with that. I was raised Catholic in a Catholic country, went to a Catholic high school... so for me all the at makes sense, whereas they just call themselves christian and have quite a different point of view on many issues....

exhausting day!

2005-09-09T01:44:00.000+02:00

What do you do about a sore shoulder? You would not believe how I came to have that, I had to fight one of the kids to get him in his seat in the car, and then he would not have me put on his seat belt.... well I was just holding him in his seat while he was kicking and thowing his body in all directions, and somehow he must have done something to my shoulder, although I don't know what....

Hope it will be over tomorrow morning.
And then all of the kids were taking turns in crying today, as if they just didn't want it to ever be quiet,.... do you get the idea?

First day of school

2005-09-06T23:25:00.000+02:00

For the past week or so I was looking forward to the day when school starts so not all 5 of the kids will be around the house all day anymore. So today was the big day. So last night we got lunches ready, labeled all the school stuff, and tried to get the kids off to bed early. but the tough part was this morning, the kids were to have breakfast at 7:30, so they were to be awake by 7. So I had be awake even earlier. Did not like that so much! And then I had to distract the younger ones so they would not make a big scene when mommy took the big ones to school.
Later we went shopping and all kinds of stuff. As long as children are listening that kind of stuff can be fun, but when they start to climb around shopping cards or start sword fights in the dollar store it is not that much fun anymore....

Some Pictures from my trip to the Rockies

2005-09-05T19:51:00.000+02:00

This is one of the few pictures I got where you could see more of the mountains than just a few trees at the bottom, and I really liked this one as it shows very clearly that glaciers are nothing static but that they are moving. Moving down the mountain, almost flowing like some very thick liquid.and that's one of the dangerous parts about glaciers, as they crack...

some more water than the rain, the river in the very wide river bed, which I am sure can be pretty flooded at some parts of the year. The thing I really loved about this is that the river bed is not touched at all, so the river can flow the way it does.

In the icefields that's what it looked like, busses and cars driving through the snow, and in the visitor center they had cancelled all the snowmobil trips, due to the bad weather. This is where I spent some time inside just to escape the weather for a while. The following picture is another one from the icefields.

Taking off to the Rockies

2005-09-03T19:06:00.000+02:00

Got a weekend off.

Decided to make a 3 day trip to the rockies, dunno if I will be able to update while I am on the road...

Exhausting morning

2005-09-02T20:02:00.000+02:00

wow, it is early afternoon and I feel ready to get some sleep. all I did today was:
make breakfast for the kids at 8:30 (cream of wheat) put the baby to bed three times (he has a cold), took a shower and had lunch but I feel like I was working way more!

and even more exhausting afternoon

2005-09-02T07:43:00.000+02:00

just after lunch today mommy had to go to the bank and run some other errants so I was left at home with all five of them. The tired, sick baby, the 2 year old who was not told that mommy was leaving the house, and the three others who had the job of distracting him. Somehow of course some of them got into fights, hurt each other...
and the baby always just went to sleep to wake up right away again and cry....

thank goodness I got the chance to go to the Salvation Army thrift store to get a sweater! so I had some time to myself!

Car washing

2005-08-28T21:07:00.000+02:00

whew, exhausting morning!
First I cooked oatmeal for breakfast, then cleaning up the kitchen.
Just when I was done with that I was asked to help with cleaning the truck (GMC Sierra) first I was to clean the inside, then polish the chrome, and at last to wax the whole thing! Well, I was just to apply it to most of the truck and the owner removed it again, but still plenty of work, I tell you!

an afternoon at a water park

2005-08-22T03:57:00.000+02:00

Today is the 2nd birthday of one of the kids I am taking care of and because of that I baked a cake (Sachertorte) and we went to a water park to celebrate the birthday. I ended up getting involved in several water fights with water guns. Unbelievable how tiring that can be! running around watching out and getting all wet!most people running about the water park were kides up to maybe 13 or 14 years old and a few adults...The kids just loved fighting us adults! They did not get enough of it!

Had a good birthday

2005-08-15T20:33:00.000+02:00

Just to let you all know, I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. We went out for lunch and then had ice cream cake... It was just fun!

The pic of me and Josh Ritter

2005-08-10T19:29:00.000+02:00

alright I admit it, I am glad of having this picture, hehehe, I wanted to share it...

2005-08-10T19:13:00.000+02:00

Sunday was my first full day away from the family here since I got here and it was one of the best days I could think of! I found someone who sold me a ticket only 20 minutes after I got to the site. When I got in the day had just begun and I went to see one performance after another, just taken away by all these great people. I just wished I had had all 4 days to spend there! *sigh* but I guess I have to make the best of what I've got. And I think that I did. How many people get to talk to Josh Ritter in person and get to pictures of themselves with him? I know I am getting kinda silly here now, he is a great songwriter and singer and a wonderful person to talk to too!
I will try to post some of the pictures I took there as soon as possible, it is just not easy to upload pictures using dial up internet:-(

Edmonton Folk Music Festival

2005-08-08T18:33:00.000+02:00

I had a wonderful Sunday at the Edmonton Folk Fest yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day, the music was great, so were the people and the atmosphere. I got to see The Johnny Clegg Band and Ryan Adams, John Prine and Allison Krauss and Union Station and Josh Ritter, who is an amazing song writer!
Will tell you more later on, all I can say right now is that I got quite a sunburn, lol

2005-08-03T06:07:00.000+02:00

Take the Quiz here!

2005-07-30T05:54:00.000+02:00

Did you ever go swimming with just one other adult and five kids, with an age range from 3 months to 9 years? the 9 year old did not need any attention but all the younger ones needed LOADS of it! so tired I am about to fall asleep, lol.

2005-07-29T21:14:00.000+02:00

I have to admit that this bunch is pretty good at keeping me busy and getting me tired, lol, schoolwork for the oldest 2, chasing after a almost 2-year-old seeing to it that he has a diaper on when he's in the house, and that he is using his potty outside (this involves lots of accidents)... just as avoiding fights among all four bigger kids, whereas the baby seems to be drinking to fast and always has air in his tummy (poor boy) which makes him burp and cry a lot. I think he will also break his first tooth soon as he is drooling like nuts...

2005-07-26T03:49:00.000+02:00

Those of you who have read yesterday's post know the kids' names all the others have to bear with initials now.

Here is what I am doing here, except for normal everyday things like playing in the yard helping with food....
on friday we were swimming which basically meant carrying 2 children through the water, until they found all kinds of floats they were able to swim with.
on saturday we went on a country soul stroll where we saw a bison farm, and some other interesting places and also went to pick strawberries.
on sunday after church we went continued the stroll going to the town of Legal where they have lots of great Murials, and a factory where they produce Pea Butter. Delicious!
Today was a day at home with the two youngest family members. while all the others went to the library.

Hello from St. Albert

2005-07-24T04:23:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I am doing great, larger update later

Leaving home tonight

2005-07-19T08:25:00.000+02:00

Tonight at about 6:30 I'm going to leave Innsbruck by train to catch my flight to Calgary in Düsseldorf. Will have to change trains 3 time until I am going to end up at the airport at about 2:40 am. Then I will have another 6 hours till I am going to head out of Europe. Towards Canada...

Au Pair

2005-07-18T09:51:00.000+02:00

I am leaving Innsbruck tomorrow night for Alberta, Canada, to be an Au Pair there! I'll keep you updated here, probably with photos and stories of what's going on in my life!
Take care everyone

2005-07-18T09:50:00.000+02:00

Your love is... by ChibiMarronchan
Your name is...
Your kiss is...	mysterious
Your hugs are...	friendly
Your eyes...	burn into my heart
Your touch is...	irresistable
Your smell is...	exotic
Your smile is...	encouraging
Your love is...	everlasting

Quiz created with MemeGen!

2005-07-18T09:42:00.000+02:00

Would anyone want to bang you? by phobia
Name:
Favorite Food:
Wants to Bang you:
This many times:	102

Quiz created with MemeGen!

Reply to comment

2005-07-16T09:54:00.000+02:00

I might have said something the wrong way it the post before, as it migt not have to do with rape after all. I never had to go through this .I agree that rape is about control. So what I was trying to say way basically that I think everyone knows there are people who are not in control of themselves, or everyone should know. IF that is something we know, I think people should not test how far they are in control of themselves. of course there are occasions when we do dress up, but is it necessary to run around almost naked all alone? Rape has nothing to do with sex appeal, but if a possible perpetrator (and in this case I am not talking about rape within the family,because I think this is a bit different in this case) sees women in the street who's underwear you can see without looking closely peeking out above and below the skirt, 5 inch high heels, a bra like top,... I just think there are so many ways for women to be sexy without being almost naked. And the interesting thing here in Austria is that we do have lots of muslems here, and there are lots of young muslem women at university with me, and most of them dress very well, and I also think that the way they look they are sexy in their own way, but the don't show all their skin. On the other side there are these turkish women living there who look like this:

Whereas the miniskirts you see everyday look like this:

Re: Rape and Responisbility

2005-07-15T19:57:00.000+02:00

Reading the entry Rape and Responsibility at One To The Nth Power made me think about several things. I am far from blaming the victims for being raped, I would never do that and not even think about it, but there is something going that kinda worries me. I don't know if that is something Austrian or European or if it is the same way in America, but if you just look at a lot of young women in the streets nowadays here in Innsbruck, I think they show more than I would really feel comfortable showing wearing a bathing suit. Like the skirts they are wearing barley cover their buttocks top and bottom. Then the other day a woman was wearing shoes that I could not help reminding me of tying someones hands and feet. I don't think that those women are aware of the effect they might have on a man who is not in control of himself. This is of course no excuse for anyone. But if I go shopping in town or something like that I don't think I have to show all my sex appeal. I know that there are ways to be sexy without being almost naked in the streets, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but I think women should also be aware that if they dress like a prostitute (and there are plenty of girls, young women, and also middle aged women, who dress that way) they will also have that effect on men. I can make a comparison on that field as street prostitution is legal in Austria, and there are some of them standing just across the street from my apartment building, and some of them seem almost more decent than some school girls.

The Keys to my heart....?

2005-07-11T17:45:00.000+02:00

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

2005-07-11T13:24:00.000+02:00

Your Kissing Purity Score: 34% Pure

You're not one to kiss and tell...

But word is, you kiss pretty well.

Kissing Purity Test

One To The Nth Power - when dreams come true

2005-07-10T12:57:00.000+02:00

Square1's short story When Dreams Come True just fascinated me by the beauty of the story and its writing. The whole story felt so real to me. It's as if I had lived through something similar, although I have to admit, that I know I haven't. It may not make sense to others, but the part of the story that is published on One To The Nth Power so far really was as real as sometimes real world doesn't seem....

Marriage and Relationship

2005-07-08T18:04:00.000+02:00

Marriage and relationships are big issues, and are not to be dealt with easily, but still I am going to write an entry on them together, because somehow I think they belong together, whether or not I am ready for any of them. I have heard so many people talking of love, marriage, relationships and so on lately and somehow that made me think a lot.

There is someone who told me that it would be enough for a marriage if one of the 2 loved the other, and the other one would learn to love the partner. I doubt that this is the case, as I think there is no marriage without its ups and downs, and there are times when love is being tested, by all kinds of things, and ususally it takes a lot from boths partners to overcome such hard times and if the affection is not there on both sides, I don't believe that it would work out.

I don't think that partners kinda belong to one another but each of them still is a complex individual, with his/her own decisions, which can sometimes be quite painful for the other one too, but that's part of having to do with other people as well. Life is not always sweet and beautiful although there are lots of sweet and beautiful aspects of it. There are lots of painful aspects, but I think only because of them we can really cherrish the sweet aspects.

Two alive - two dead

2005-07-05T19:40:00.000+02:00

Today an Austrian truck was stopped near Vicenza in Italy, and there the police found four illegal imigrants hidden in the truck, two of them were alive the other two had already died. they found out that all four of them were young iraqis who had paid thousands of Dollars to some facilitator to smuggle them into central Europe. They had been suffering under the extreme heat and no food and nothing to drink...

childhood memories

2005-07-04T17:59:00.000+02:00

Just today I remembered one of the people who make me think back and I don't really know what I feel or think about them. This girl, Anni, is about a year older than I and she is autistic. I met her more or less regularly when I was a little girl, and somehow she always managed to scare hell out of me, but the reason I was scared of her was, that she liked me so much, that as soon as she saw me she was roaring and running toward me and then gave me that huge hug not wanting to let me go again.

I grew up in a family without lots of hugging so this experience was always something new and frightening. I never knew how to react or what to do. I never wanted to hurt Anni's feelings, but I wanted her to stop doing it. I remember that as if it had been yesterday, and then suddenly our mothers decided not to see each other with us anymore because I was always so scared...

2005-07-01T19:48:00.000+02:00

There is something in me that might sound weird to some of you. It is about the way I feel about myself, and I think that a lot of it also has to do with the feelings and fears I have written about lately. I hardly ever feel the age I really am, sometimes I feel like a young girl, 13 or 14 years old and at other times I feel like I was a lot older than I really am. I feel like that old woman who has gone through a lot of experience...

Fear - decisions....

2005-06-30T20:23:00.000+02:00

I think the problem with fear is not simply if you are scared/afraid of doing something, but the worst fear I have faced so far was that I didn't know what I want of my life. And not to know what you want keeps you from doing anything because there is no direction you are headed for. Of course you never know for sure if you will be happy with what you are going for, but if you always have the feeling I kinda like this but I would kinda like that too, and that other thing looks inviting too, but I don't find a way to put them together, this kept me from doing anything. I know that is no real excuse because sometimes you just have to choose one thing over another, even if the choice it hard...

My dad and my feelings

2005-06-30T13:30:00.000+02:00

I know that my dad didn't mean any harm by what he was saying, but it didn't make me feel better. it just gave me the feeling that I was not able to control my feelings the way I should. But by now I believe that controling your feelings is not the what I want or have to do, but that I have to deal with them to overcome them.

Cozy Europe?

2005-06-30T00:30:00.000+02:00

I have been reading a lot about the planned bulldozing of Checkpoint Charlie Monument and most of what I read was published in Milblogs. I know that I am in a different possition than all those of you who were posting about it. I have to admit that I had not heard of the Checkpoint Charlie Memorial before, but I don't live in Berlin, not even in Germany, but I do live in Europe, and reading the post on Iraq War Today called Still Want to Cozy Up to Europe? I have been thinking. yeah there are things that going a bad, or should I say terrible direction. I think there are plenty of people who are liveing in a very unhealthy way of nostagia right now. As far as I know there are lots of people who used to live in Eastern Germany who wish those times to be back, as they used to have some kind of job, they basically had what they needed, no matter what, they didn't have much more than what was neccessary to live, most of them didn't have a car or a phone, and if you applied for one it might have taken a decade to really get it... There are also plenty of people who are nostalgic about the time during WWII, which I would also call a very unhealthy kind of nostalgia. But I think that people who are scared of the future often look back longing for the past, and I believe that the time we live in can be very scary, if you don't really know what you want in life and where you are heading. If you are looking at the unemployment numbers in most countries in Europe it is not very encouraging I would say...