A month in a list

Time for an update. The world of Suz is ticking along. There has been a virus going around facebook. I like to call it the facebook 25 virus. For the nonfacebook readers it works like this. Someone wrote 25 random facts about themselves, and then tagged (sent) it to 25 of their friends. These friends are supposed to write 25 random facts, and tag 25 new people. So everyday I check facebook, and find out random facts about friends/acquaintances. For me the byproduct is I've started to think in a continuous random list of 25. It's bad. So this entry is going to be a list of maybe 25 things that happened to me in the last month.

1. The 5th of January was Glöcklerlaufin Salzkammergut. This is a celebration to bring in the New Year. The fire departments, and boy scouts dress in white and wear large hats made of paper lit with candles. The kids have smaller hats. Here is some pictures from the Bad Ischl scouts: http://www.pfadischl.at/content/view/65/42/. It were pretty. It is called the Glöcklerlauf: Glocke: is bell. Glockle is a person who wears a bell. And lauf means run. Not only do they wear hats, but they also have massive cow bells on their backs which are constantly ringing. So it sounds like a huge herd of cattle have invaded the city. The festivities started at 5PM. I thought they started at 6, and so missed seeing the Three Kings ride through the streets, and sing, because I was in the middle of a run. The different groups parade through the streets. They run in figure eights, and then when the leader gives a signal they stop and kneel down to welcome in the new year. This lasted until 7ish, when the Glockler groups then disperse in different directions. This is also a fund raiser there was someone collecting money in town, and then the different groups knock on doors of those people who live outside of the center of town, and ask for money.

2. Suz keeps forgetting to bring her camera with her. So no new pictures in Picasa. Sorry.

3. School started again. It was difficult for me to get back into the rhythm of schooling. The first week that was only 3 days long was really really long. But this past week went really well. I feel like I'm getting the swing of things. Just in time for another vacation in 2 weeks. Yippy.

4. My mommy is coming to visit me. They are building a house, and apparently houses have to be build when the weather is above freezing. Aka spring and summer. Also my parents don't think a house can be built by itself, and supervision is needed. The moral of this story is they couldn't visit me later in the spring like originally planed, so my mother is coming in a little over a week to see winter Bad Ischl. I hope the weather is good for her visit. I don't know how much snow there will be. Yesterday was in the 50s, but a week before it snowed. We have very moody weather here. It can't make up it's mind.

5. I spent the first two weekend in Bad Ischl. My desk is (ok was) organized.

6. I sent in my application for being a Teaching Assistant again next year. After some last minute complication it hopefully is currently sitting in Vienna waiting for a YES we would love to give Suzanne a second year as a teaching assistant.

7. I cleaned my apartment completely for the first time. The dust bunnies in my bedroom were not pleased. I think I won the battle, the war is still undecided. (I do clean the bathroom/kitchen/living room about every 2 weeks).

8. I found that rice made with half coconut milk and half water and then adding fresh mango to it is amazing.

9. Cream of wheat made with half milk half coconut milk is also amazing. I have a weakness for both coconut milk and cream of wheat.

10. I have a new assignment notebook. Exciting, except for the part I put it in my bag with my cup that wasn't closed write. Now it's a tea-y assignmentbook.

11. I visited Freiburg again, and this time kept my nose out of the tea. I went for a dance/ball. I got all dressed up, and Regina did my hair. I looked all fancy. It was a good time. The real reason I spent 8.5 hrs of my life in the train was not to dance, but to see Regina's play. Alban Stolz Haus which is the dorm I lived puts on a play every semester. The actors a mix of experienced, and people who have never been on stage before. Regina is amazing. She was the maid in "eingebildeten Kranken" von Molière. It was great, and worth the 8+hr ride.

12. I've gotten old. Two days of going to bed after 3AM knocked me out.

13. I went snow shoeing. Florent, the French Teaching Assistant and I explored the Postalm. The trials that we fallowed were “well marked.” We never did get lost, we just weren't always sure that we really were going in the direction we wanted to.

14. I got a cold. It is lame. At the same time my back decided to inform me that it didn't like me. Lame squared. I have no heat pad, but my radiator worked great.

15. My lap top was sick. It inhaled too much stuff, and it's fan got clogged. I had to take it to the shop. They fixed the fan, and charged me only 20€ instead of 60€. Unfortunately they didn't hook up the battery and speakers right. So I had to go back again and get that fixed. Now it seems happy. A laptop without a battery kind of defeated the purpose.

16. This weekend I'm going to see Peter's final project. He designed the exterior of a small electric van for city construction workers. I've heard a lot about it, and it should be interesting. It is white.

17. I have started baking bread.

18. I learned why walking sticks are useful. If one were to say go hiking up a mountain say in the middle of the winter. Going up is fine, but coming down is really really slippery. Also probably not the best way to get rid of a head/chest cold. Pretty view from the top though. Also on the way down accidentally broke into the Kaiserville. The path went through a gap in the fence. It was a lot harder to find a way to break back out. I ended up climbing over the fence. Also learned you can let bread rise for 2.5 hrs instead of just 1 and it still tastes good.

19. Nineteen is a prime number.

20. I have made the executive decision that this will be a list of 20 not 25.