Sticky Apple Kisses

This describes German roads in a way I never could. Good for a giggle, and come July 5th should I fail (which I am not planning to do, but who knows in this country what I am actually SUPPOSE to do on the roads at any given point in time), well you have a better idea why I might have.

So yes, July 5th I dance the happy dance, or I scream cry and curse.

I really hope its the happy dance.

 German Signs Do Not Tell You The Speed Limit

I despise this:

German Traffic Lights Are Directly Above Your Head

and finally:

Germans Drive Binary  (I have had my instructor yell at me for not racing up to a red light at full speed,as well as for not accelerating at “full gas” when I see the yellow about to go green.)

Sigh, I may be able to start the bike on a mountain (a requirement of the test) but if I fail because I dont fly out of a red light I will dropkick.

Heh heh, I have so far managed to convince two of my friends to sign up over at Journizer. its harder than I thought!!! The problem my friends are already blogged out OR want nothing to do with blogging. At least not in the long term commitment to it sense. I cant tell you how many friends have said they would love to blog, at least about their trips, but that they dont have the time to maintain and a site and therefore would lose readers and it would not be worth getting into to begin with. But that is the sweet thing with Journizer, its not a regular blog, its a travel log, so its just about the trip, and therefore not a regular blog like this one. And since its a site Patrick is involved with as some of his friends are using it as their final thesis it makes me depressed that I have a useless Masters in History.

Yes I said useless.

Another topic for another day. But if you are thinking about having a record for a trip for the memory sake of it (or to save those mass emails), and you dont want the regular commitment to a blog. check them out! (And they are starting to look for external entries for JLog, their travel magazine, if you have a short story you want to submit!).

I really enjoy Carrie’s web site over at the gremlin wrangler. I think how she writes about daily life is entertaining and funny, and as a former check out girl, I LOVE her letters from your friendly cashier. As in a laugh so hard I sometimes cry, because lets face it, that is exactly what is going through our heads, only rarely in such entertaining prose.

So I urge you to buy buy buy buy it! Or at the very least check out her site and see if you can win a copy. But I dont think you would be disappointed.  And if you think Im just out to try and win my free copy, I bought the downloadable version already.  My paid posts do more than buy my gas on the road, they let me indulge by buying things with paypal instead of credit card!

Wahoo!

Go play this the 3 Trillion Dollar Shopping Spree and then go puke.

An example:

End hunger and poverty related diseases

Price: $195,000,000,000.00

The United Nations has estimated that it would cost $195 billion per year to end hunger and poverty related diseases.

Tomorrow is Raven’s motorcycle carnival! I wont be checking it out tomorrow, but next week when I am home and dreaming again of the trip in July I will be drooling over the links she recommends!

Do not go together!  I do not recomend it.  But separate they rock!  And I am joining Raven’s motorcycle carnival that will take place May 7th!  (My dad’s Bday, who will be here in Germany, although actually we will be celebrating in Switzerland!).

And I have to pass on this, the next time your having a bad day, do read this and have a drink on Not Afraid To Use It!

Alix called me last night and it was one of those amazing heart breaking things. I do so love what Europe has to offer, and when I went home last time I missed it here. But I also miss my friends and family, and hearing Alix’s laugh drove that point home. I am missing a lot by being here. BUT she also mentioned that she will go to China next March, and invited me along! And though it is close to my brother’s wedding, I am going to try my best. After all, that is what paid posts are for, extra cash for those things I would not have the money for without. One post a day for 3 months gets my ticket! (Not so bad when you think I would be posting anyway!) until then I leave you with a copy of her post over at Driftwood:

I was cleaning out my desk drawers last week and I came across a story I wrote when I was young. I’d guess that I was nine years old, seeing as how I didn’t know how to read until then.

Reading it now, I can actually see that I haven’t changed much over the years and, really, my adult behaviour should come as no surprise once anyone reads the story.

The Curious Dragon

Once there was a dragon and his name was Tom. Now Tom was very curious and he wanted to go and have fun out in the world, but he had to stay in his cave with his mummy. But one day he snuck out and ran away. After a while he sat down to have a nap, but suddenly he heard a bunch of little voices and he looked and saw that he was sitting on a little city and all the people were telling him to get off. So he got up and he said sorry and he helped them build it again, then he walked away. After a while his feet started to hurt and he looked down and saw little people stabbing his feet so he said “can you please stop that,” but they didn’t. So he kicked them in a lake and went away. After a while he got hungry so he looked down to see if there were fruit on the trees but there wasn’t and then he saw a whole bunch of horses with little people on them. So he picked the horses up and took the people off and ate the horses. The people were so scared that they ran away, then Tom started to want to go home, so he caught one of the people and asked him and the person told Tom. So Tom went home and when he got home his mummy was mad at him, but he went up to his bedroom, because he didn’t want to hear his mummy yell at him because he had fun.

I guess the moral of the story is that you should enjoy life and not let anyone tell you differently. Some other lessons learned are: try to be polite, but if that doesn’t work, then it’s alright to use brute force; don’t kill people; if you accidentally destroy something, help rebuild it; and, if there is no fruit available, horses are a viable source of nutrients.

I am so tired, I just MUST sleep.  But in my mindless surfing I found this quote, which use to sum me up perfectly, and I need to get back in touch with that.   But also a good follow up to my last post.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits
in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
- Helen Keller

but I will anyway. Honestly, this is too funny, and yet strangely disturbing. (That sentence kind of sums up my whole life in Japan actually). I was actually looking for the angry German kid video to send my brother (because I like to give him random gifts of disturbing videos) but this is much better. I also know Flowers taught in Japan, so I felt it must be shared!

Because without the great Ayatollah Mugsy I would have a huge gapping hole in my required knowledge! Such as this praying dog!

You can venture over to Mugsy’s site or read the full story here.

Speaking of pugs, this weekend on the drive I lamented the fact that Patrick said that when we no longer have a big trip planned, a dog can be in our future.  On the condition that dog is not a pug.  I have been considering if I can stay with such a person.  Caroline declared that a moody little pug would be the perfect pet for me.  I am not sure how I feel about that comment.  One thing is for sure, if Patrick fears that once a pug enters my life there will be no more room for him on the couch - he is absolutely correct.