Culture Talks

So, I thought that while I am in between busy periods, I should write a post, because I don’t quite know when I’ll get another down minute.
As I mentioned- things are busy.  Not too busy for me to get a haircut though!

The extreme shortness was a result of poor communication between the hairdresser and me, but I have to say, I’ve gotten used to it, and now I’m more or less happy.  I definitely won’t be needing hair elastics for a while.

Otherwise, things are ok.  All of a sudden Berlitz started giving me work, and I’ve been working much of the time that I’m not in school.  And like a sucker, I always seem to say yes to taking late shifts when co-workers are sick.  But it feels really good to be making some money again.  This paycheck will definitely be bigger than any I’ve gotten in the last 6 months (especially that terrible 24-Euro September).

Andreas is studying like mad for Chemistry- it’s exam month this entire month, so we’ve got a couple more weeks of this before a little break in February.  It has meant not leaving the house too much (or enjoying the spring-like weather), but I hear that snow is actually on the way, which will make staying home much nicer.

German class is almost over (19 more days) and already I am daydreaming about what I could do with my free time.  Thinking about getting some online Psychology credits so that I’m better prepared to start a Masters when the time comes.  It feels good to be taking control of my future a little.

Hope everyone’s well! 

I’ve been avoiding blogging since coming back from holiday because I haven’t really wanted to admit that it’s time to ‘look back on the holiday’ already.  Andreas and I have had a really nice week in Graz of just sleeping in and doing what we want.  And tomorrow the craziness starts up again- school for both of us, and work for me.

But before I start getting depressed about it, I’ll say that our holiday in Canada was really fantastic, just great.  I felt so lucky to be able to have all my loved ones together in the same place; the fact that it was Christmas was just an added bonus.  We did a lot of visiting with extended family, and I got to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen since the summer.  We arrived on the 18th and had several days of just doing quiet things together before the ‘Christmas hustle’ started.  Andreas and I got to see our first NHL game (the Sens lost to Tampa), but more fun than the actual game was the pre-game drinking and pizza (thanks dad!).

I felt like I got to have quality time with everyone, and had a chance to remember how much fun we can all have together.  There was a surprisingly minimal amount of stress, considering we had about 20 people for dinner on Christmas night.  It was also really fun to show Andreas around on ‘my’ turf for a change!  It was definitely hard to leave though- so that time was the hardest for me.  The day or two before we left I was feeling the stress of leaving building up and really had to remind myself to enjoy the moment instead of worrying about the future.

Back in Austria there was kind of a whirlwind of activity waiting for us.  We came back on the 29th, and the Schriefl parents picked us up at the airport in Graz and we all drove back to Leonhard together.  That night we had a beer and some food, and promptly went to sleep.  For 14 hours.  The next day we opened some Christmas presents with Andreas’ family before heading to Judenburg for a band practice at 3 and a show at 9.  The show was good- it was in a café and there were a good number of people there.  Also we got paid more than expected, which was a really nice surprise.

I’d say that that day was the start of our messy sleeping schedules- going to bed late late at night, then getting up late late in the morning.  It’s Sunday now, and I think we may have gotten it beat, which is good because I have 7:30 phisio on Monday morning.

So here are some things I’m excited about for 2007:
- Starting school again, but especially finishing my course in February (more time for ME; actually being able to support myself; more hours at Berlitz hopefully)
- Taking a yoga class in February (getting in shape?  Maybe?)
- Reading books that feed me again (rather than trashy British magazines)
- Taking some active steps towards finding a Master’s program I would like
- Getting some private students for tutoring
- Starting to write again