Sticky Apple Kisses

At the moment I am avoiding studying for my exam in ecotoxicology, and wondering if teaching was really so bad after all.  Or if I should have just gone for an online degree.  They have become accepted with the widespread use of technology and the fact that we all have such busy lives (and expensive ones) that so few of us can actually afford to take the time off to go on and do an in class program, rather opting for the flexibility (and income generating potential) of a  Masters degree online.  Such as those offered at Western University which offers a variety of online degrees.  I like where they write passing or failing an assignment should determine if a student passes or fails, not the amount of time spent in class.   Accredited, and affordable by North American standards (now there is one place where Germany wins, the low low low tuition fees!) they offer a variety of courses, but especially so in the field of education. A lot of my friends here are doing their Masters in Education through programs like those offered by Western. They are able to stay in Europe, teach and earn money, and yet still study in English before returning home with an degree from an American degree granting institute. You have to love technology!

Depressed Woman Loses Benefits Over Facebook Photos

Talk about the backlash from your online life. Forget about being worried about Facebook and other such things affecting your pre-employment screening. Now a woman has had her benefits cut as pictures of her on Facebook showing her having a good time on the beach and at a stripper show is evidence that she is not depressed. I am not so sure how I feel about this, I know it makes me angry that people who actually need benefits are cut off way before being discovered having a good time on Facebook. Having said that, having friends who have honestly been depressed, I know that one minute you can be running high and having the time of your life, before crashing down to suicidal depression. I dont know if the woman was diagnosed as manic or not, but it is still creepy that they used Facebook against her. And yet what do you expect. I have no disillusion that what I write here may affect me in the long term, especially over on Gypsy since I linked to my name. But the part that really freaks me out is that she states that she has her status set to private, so only friends and family should be able to see her site. If you put it on the internet, assume it has the confidentiality value of being screamed across a crowded room!

There is so much to be said in praise of low cost health insurance, my health insurance at the moment is not so much super expensive, as I chose the cheaper rate so that I would not have to pay so much, however it also means female health is not covered. (I worked it out, paying out of pocket once a year is cheaper than having it covered). However it is always a little saddening when you get the bill and you are out 175 Euros for a 15 min visit. (However there is an ultrasound in there as well, so they can see if there are any cysts or abnormalities that the regular exam you would get in Canada would not pick up). That was exciting and cool for me. And also explained why when a freind went to have her exam over the summer the doctor looked at her and said “are you pregnant?” She said no, and he said “actually you are.”

I am so out of touch with everything, but thank you Tracey for posting this song. I rather enjoy it, and I honestly never expected to.

If you wonder why I am so rarely on Skype its because I get sucked in and instead of doing school work or work for the job I get paid for, I end up chatting for hours and sharing links and spending inordinate amounts of time on Youtube. Now I am not complaining, if I get online feel free to ply me with video clip goodness. But the dark under eye circles I then get from being up to all hours trying to finish whatever I started (added to the mood I am in in the morning from lack of sleep and a full day of teaching and studying) and I just choose not to get online. But when I do I get such gems as the following, and then I just must share.

My friends often tease me that I have stayed in the same country now for 2 and a half years. Except for home in Newfoundland this is the first time I have ever stayed in one place so long. (ok, made the same place my base for so long, maybe that is the better expression). And when they tease about the apartment Im quick to point out my name isnt on the papers. But if the German is happy saying ours, well then who am I to correct him? But now because of writing about things like merchant services I have one student loan paid off in full and my credit cards as well (which means my money here can go towards travel rather than debt back home). Now I can decide to start saving for student loan number 2 or use it towards a girls winery tour in France this weekend. I want to say France and just let it set me back a tad (France is within driving distance), however I also have a presentation due next week. And although I can take the train back early Sunday morning, what kind of shape will I be in after a winery tour to really work on Monday´s presentation.

Ahhh decisions, and yet staying home and working is winning at the moment, which must mean Im getting old.

One last thing before I take off to do a little more of school work (yes on a Saturday!) before going out for drinks with friends (that part works better with the Saturday idea). And yes, it has to do with motorcycles and not rear spoilers, sorry if you are a car person. But we are slowly loading up the video portion of our presentations for Horizons Unlimited and BMW. I say slowly because it is unbelievable how slow our Internet connection is in this apartment. So for those who can not see the entire presentation, you can at least see the videos with music and pics! If you read our Journizer blogs you know more or less what we said in the presentation anyway.

In case you are only a sticky apples reader and you do not visit Gypsy as well (both I try to update as regularly as possible but with work and school it is sometimes a little hard) the exam that I was in a panic over went well. Hurdle number one finished, only a mere 14 plus a thesis to go. The next exam comes at the end of this month (no kidding) and when I say exam I do not mean test, I mean finished with the course final exam. We have 3 week modules of 5 days a week, 4 hour classes. So between work, school, and still figuring out the last details with the apartment (such as do we keep or change our faucets?) Life at the moment is a little bit of a blur.

So the new apartment is not yet ENTIRELY finished, we still require a few pictures (including some from our most recent trip which have yet to go into the picture frames we bought for them, and yet that did not stop us from hanging the empty frames up ) However what everyone seems to love is the thank you card that my brother sent to everyone who attended the wedding in Cuba. It is on our wall of travel love, (a giant map of the world that we covered with pictures and mementos of family and friends from around the world) and everyone loves it. When I tell them my brother got married in Cuba, and though there was no tuxedo vests but rather a very casual attire they love the idea even more!

Bride and groom moments before the wedding:

The groom and his big sissy moments after the ceremony was over: