Musings by Rebekah Yami

30th Birthday reminds me of Xmas 2007

2012-02-12T12:52:00.000-05:00

I turn 30 today. One would not think that a number can be so important. but it's not only a number, it's a reminder of where you are in life.

Today made me think of Xmas 2007. That year I had just moved into my apartment, I finally had unpacked and was proud of where I had been and how far I had come. But also, that year, I was alone for the holidays. I had $9.87 in the bank which was enough to buy me a small piece of deli ham, a sweet potatoe and a slice of cheesecake from Target - my Yule dinner. I had no internet yet, and drove 20 minutes to the nearest Kinkos to realize that even they close. I remember how the streets of Tampa seemed so quiet on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was even quieter.

But even though I was alone and it was mildly depressing, it doesn't compare to today. Looking back, that was the best holiday I ever had. I caught up on sewing projects, watched old VHS that I had not seen in years (I also had no cable), worked on my book (probably the first time I pulled it out in 2 years) and enjoyed my little library that I created from the predesignated dining room area. I sat out on that massive balcony and drank tea, listening to the rustling of the oak trees while the radio played Christmas tunes in the background.

That calmness and tranquility was something I had sought for and finally found.

Today, I am far from that balcony. My library sits in boxes in a storage unit. I live in an 8x10 box where no music or singing is allowed. And I work part-time at minimum wage. I AM happy to have a job. A very good one, in fact. I AM lucky to not be homeless but its not where I ever imagined myself at the age of 30.

My birthday greetings mostly came in the form of SPAM bots and automatically generated messages instead of people. I did get one early Bday wish from a friend. Thank you. This year I received two cards - one from my aunt and the other from my mother. My sister called yesterday and got the boys to wish me a Happy Birthday. Even though Aiden thought it was his birthday all over again. :)

Well, Happy Birthday to me. Welcome to the age where the younger coworkers think you are snobby and not hip and you are too young for the older coworkers to take seriously. :/

German Makes Me Think of Alice

2012-01-14T17:27:00.001-05:00

It has been a productive couple of weeks. What started out as mere whimsical resolutions seem to turn into concrete stone. Always a good thing.

1. Getting healthy: not merely just weight loss. Anyone can do that. I started this wonderful transition in May 2007 after 3 light bulbs went off at the same time. Today, I am 100 lbs down and 20 more away from my goal. maybe numbers but my health has increased significantly. No more tendonitis, no more embarrassing smelly skin issues/irritations (I seriously believed I had leprosy). My asthma is nearly inexsistant. No more tiredness or fatigue. And I can sleep. Best of all, the female parts are working. Last year, I gained some of the weight back after a back/shoulder injury, lost the numbers and went down a few inches. Towards then end of the year, it was just inches - and you know what? That's fine.

2. Lernen Deutsch. Ernshaft!: I had the awesome privilege of learning German while on one of my 90 stays in Switzerland. Only A1 but it was awesome. It helped as i traveled alone often. Able to hold basic crude conversations with people expanded my experience. I am a fool to let that opportunity go to waste. My husband found Deutsch-Welle. They have a Sprachkurs for A1, A2, B1 and then, they have another set for B2. Its online, interactive and so far, I am enjoying it. DW-TV shows programs from Euromaxx, Dw-TV news and others programs and you can subscribe to their YouTube account and they sent you news and videos 3x a day to view. Then I started reading what was on Yahoo.de keeping to the less complicated subjects like - so no politics and economy. I need my sister to find me 2 books to send. I hope to be able to dedicate 30min daily.

3. I want my Masters: it's been 6 years since my Bachelors and I am in a good job and a good place to consider thinking about it again. I just pray that the money will come from somewhere. After spending feeling blessed that an academic advisor was willing to waste an hour knowing that I want to not attend their community college; she helped me understand the process into going back to school. I checked out from my library the GRE study guide for 2012 and pulled my VIP status and yoinked the always-checked-out 2012 scholarship bible. I will start looking through those Monday. My goal is to take the GRE in the next 8 months.

4. Manuscript: After 15 years of these people living in my head, the first part of this universe is almost at an end. Honestly, I never believed it would be brought to life in text. I had concluded that they would just stay in my head. I look forward to the road ahead for this journey. A new and uncharted experience that almost scares the living day-lights out of me. I am waiting to hear word from my sister if she read 3/3. The ending was something I struggled with for a year.

Last night, my husband and I stood at Reepicheep's grave. I had planted a lovely pink flowering bush where she was buried. I figure the color was appropriate since she did die from mammary tumors. I was talking to her - she filled my lonely hours when I was single.

Then after my German lessons this morning, I was reading an article on Yahoo.de about body weight and models. I learned two new words (amongst many unknown ones). Both are adjectives: mollig = plump, dumpy (if referring to bedding = snug, cozy) and mager= skinny, thin.

Made my think of a character in my book. She once started off as a fun character and had suddenly become a more prominent background character, whom wants more face in my stories. I fleshed out a stunning background for her back in 2007 while on a plane ride to Switzerland. During that time, I made a small layout of a story, just for her. I based her personality off of Justin (my very first rat who was much too intelligent to be a normal smart rat). I jokingly used to say that Justin was the incarnate of a great mathematician and architect. I turned that mathematician into Alice. Weird, quirky and does not look like everybody else. Royalty that lives in the boonies. She was raised by German nobility. When I looked up the word, mollig. I thought of her.

And it made the hamster wheel turn even more as I began to think of a lot more things.

Post New Year Wishes

2012-01-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

I honestly have no idea how anybody makes time to sit online and blog. :) I suddenly think about, "Oh! I have not posted anything in a week!" and yet there are folks who have kids and full time jobs and school AND still live online. I hope the kids are being fed. :/

Life has been busy, I cannot believe that it's already the first week of 2012. Cooking, sewing, being sick, couponing, editing, editing, editing and did I mention, editing? And this is not including work and my half of the house chores. I surprise myself that I actually sleep 8 hours a night.

Work has been going well. No complaints there. Marriage life is really goo too. No major complaints there either.

I sent of my 3/3 to my sister and I am taking a much needed mental break (I sent my characters on a winter vacation to Crete - where one of my characters live. They can all party with her for a while and leave me alone!!) from my story for a few weeks to focus on sewing. It's kinda taking up space - so it needs to go. ;) Also, it feels good to catch up on my reading. I have checked out two science fiction books and one young adult novel that I am looking forward to enjoying.

The best part about finishing the sewing is that it requires delivery to Port St. Lucie (an hour away). Which means passing through the town of Hobe Sound. Where my Library Director had informed me of this farmer's market where you can buy fresh beans including my husbands favorite - fava beans!

I smell a mini day trip in the near future!

Happy 2012 alle!

Sick for Christmas, Baking Love and Sending a Character to the Bench

2011-12-26T12:08:00.001-05:00

Well, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Holiday!

So some winter blessings to all my friends and family (they celebrate these) (in chronological order): Happy Hanukkah, Merry Yule, Happy Yalda Night and Merry Christmas!!

I spent my holiday sick. I am sure a lot of other people did. :) But I found the energy to happily make my super tender ham, my cheesy potato bread, my roasted potatoes, salad, steamed carrots and a homemade cranberry Nantucket (like a cranberry "pie"). Everything was devoured.

The best thing my husband ever told me was when I unveiled the ham (now mind you, he does not consume pork, coming from a culture where it was not available and believed to be "dirty"), he looked at it for a while and suddenly said in his serious voice; "My Honey, it's beautiful! Like something from a food magazine!" It was followed by kisses. I love my hams too, tender and buttery. :)

Luckily, I had today off again, I return back to work tomorrow. So I slept in. Not by choice but because I could not wake up. My body was like, "You aint goin' anywhere!! Muhahahahaa!"

I had a strange moment last night while I was laying down next to my husband watching tv (so rare for me!); I nearly fell asleep! It was only 10pm. I was dragging as I brushed my teeth and I was fading fast as my head hit the pillow. Next thing I know, I was consciously dreaming about being back in the Redwood Forest in Northern California.

I had a realization, pertaining to my story (of which I had taken a break from while I was ill), I realized that a character I had originally deemed to be a mentor for my heroine has to go! It was weird conversation in my half-sleep stupor with myself. Why did he have to go? I've planned him as a supporting character for decades!!

The reason was simple: I built up another character (unknowingly) who believes in the same principles as this guy. This other character has told me that he is willing to stick around for the long haul.

Ergo: Sorry buddy (the original one), ideally, way back when, you were needed. Chad has taken your place.

On a more positive note, my sister is awesome. I worked on that empty space in 1/3 and after her poor review, we talked about where my heroine was at this time, then I adjusted it. Now it's on the right direction.

2/3 Critique & Singer Island Love

2011-12-18T19:36:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while since I have blogged. Life = busy. :)

Spent a great weekend with my husband in Singer Island, again. We mostly talked about our future and where we hope to be one day in our professional, personal and spiritual lives. We also went thrift store hunting. Sadly, the weekend was mostly cold and rainy, but that is to be expected. It's that time of year.

My sister got through my 2/3. I thank every second of her super busy life to read and consider how it can be better. I apparently misunderstood a crit of 1/3 and redid a section to which she replied, "Why did you change that! Its so much worse now! I liked that section." OOOOOPPPPSSSS! :) I did like one thing I changed but I think I will expand on another part a bit more, make it more personable.

So far, the pace is comfortable, she actually wanted more of a section that I thought was not as interesting. She also liked my letters. We discussed length and wording, and came to a conclusion: as the heroine gets older, her letters will be longer with mature wording and thought. I concur.

She was confused with 2 subjects, unsure as to why a certain character HATES my heroine and more clarification of the levels of society is needed. Apparently, 3/3 is highly welcomed.

I still have some things to work out and will get that to her soon. Holiday break is coming up and I have a mountain of sewing projects. So I will focus on the 2/3 crit and the 1/3 goof up.

All good. :)

Thanksgiving = forgotten descriptions and couponing

2011-11-27T21:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving.

We had a Thanksgiving lunch due to the fact my husband had to work at 3am, which was fine. I drove him because i knew he would be dying when I picked him up later that day. It was just depressing to see people not able to spend times with their families so they could buy "stuff". Nice to see that junk is more important than family in the modern world.

The only thing my mom and I purchased in tandem was a set of earrings for my sister's birthday, which I ended up buying later in the day (the sale was still going on) and a sweater.

The best part of my Thanksgiving was getting a call from my sister to tell me that she was able to find cheaper turkeys in Germany - 3 kilos for 12 euros. and that she used our family recipe and attempted a homemade sweet potato pie. :)

She did tell me that she had the week off so she finally read my 1/3. She pointed out some things that I failed to realize, one being that i neglected to describe a character completely. She told me, "yeah, Fred is obviously a very unlikable character and a jerk but I have no idea what he looks like. Did you do that on purpose?"

I didn't, it just never occurred to me to describe him. In my mind I see him clearly. But luckily, i found a perfect spot to add a little description, an observation made by my heroine.

I finally got my 2/3 refined. I took out all of the stupid redundancies, repeated motions, words and the hundreds of "suddenly" that just paused the story. It was not necessary. I also moved some things around. I resent it to my writing friend, telling her to just delete the older version. My sister also got the 2/3, she was interested in reading more.

Now the best part of my weekend, COUPONING!
My husband bought Perry Ellis Portfolio slacks (we went to 4 stores to find his length! I married a giant!!), $70, after reduction + sale + coupon = $4.99. Oh yeah, baby! Saved 65% at Target on toothpaste, tooth brushes and batteries. My husband and I have mouthcare for 2 years AND we did not need to compromise on our needs - for me Sensodyne, and for him, Crest non-minty toothpaste! After sale + target coupons + manufacturer coupons, this was what we got free: 1/2 a tube of Sensodyne, 1 tube of Crest toothpaste, 3 Crest Pro Health toothbrushes and Energizer Lithium batteries. All for the cost of sale priced 1 1/2 "tubes" of Sensodyne + 1 tube of sale priced Crest toothpaste. And at CVS; CVS rewards bucks + coupon + sale on Mucinex, the savings covered the cost of my dad's medicine.

My husband and I were high-fiving all afternoon. It's the best high ever, knowing that you are saving money!

Titles, beasts and laundry

2011-11-20T23:15:00.001-05:00

Pretty much explains my week, especially my day.

I played with working titles in my mind this week after foregoing the original title. It was the title from 15 years ago and now that the story has grossly developed into a universe of its own, the old title has became moot. A year ago, there has been no title, then I suddenly had one pop into my mind, "Letters to Samantha" ....only to look through Amazon and find that another book has been named that. Lame.

It's aggravating because the title does encompass the mindset of the heroine. She writes letters to her only biological sister whom she has not seen since she was removed from her aunt's home. Knowing that her sister is alive keeps her going. She has no other family.

Now I need to think of something else. Bah. But I still have plenty of time.

My poor husband, unable to process anything in English that is not related to technology or computers or programming, cannot understand English fiction. He cannot comprehend anything I or anyone writes unless it in his native tongue. So I felt bad cornering him blabbing over something in my plot that has been a thorn in my side. but I had no one else to talk it out-loud to. He's a good listener. :)

15 years is a long time to have a group of people lay around and eat your food and use your electricity. So i have thought about every scenario numerous times, had my characters dictate to me where they want to go and what they want to do. I have no control over them. I can just throw things in their path and they can shake their fists and cuss me out.

As I was developing my universe and the creatures' mythos, I was sitting at a sushi bar in Houston, Texas drawing on table napkins - developing my governmental system and politics along with my ex. You have to realize that we took a break from visiting post-Katrina Louisiana, with me taking photos of what a post-apocalyptic world would look like. Honestly, it felt like the world has ended there. Every single thing that we take for granted; phones, internet, feminine products, clean water - was gone. There were not even birds in the skies. It was an eerie experience but one that I will cherish forever.

As I was saying, I was developing their politics when I realized that I needed to develop more, who these creatures were. They only go by what the humans call them, a horrible mis-reference but they could care less. They're are over dealing with petty bickering with the humans. In fact, they kinda like the mis-reference, because when a human sees their true form, its a hundred times worse than what they can ever dream of.

That thought seemed to had disappeared over the years, maybe I touched on it every once and a while, and suddenly as i was coming up with an outline for B2 after making a timeline, I suddenly realize that my heroine, who is booksmart, catches irregularities in the translations of their ancient texts that had been translated into English. And begins to wonder, what did she give her life away to?

Then I was like, "dummy, she would have found this out in B1 when she began doing her research with Bill and especially when she gets Peter's old library."

Now I get to go back and expand these findings. Now I have to hope that she will be too busy to care about it right now. *crosses fingers* In fact I need her to not care about it right now.....

Note to self: "brush up on French grammar tomorrow."

My sister informed me that she recicved my 1/3 and will be reading it this week since she has the time off for Thanksgiving. I look forward to hearing her viewpoint. My sister and I have been major opposites in just about everything. Like me, she knows what she likes to read and has an opinion about everything.

Aww! She's thinking of going to Austria in February to a retreat with the kids. I hate snow and could care less about the skiing part but how awesome would it be to sit by the fire and write with a hot cup of tea, writing, surrounded by snow covered beauty in the mountains!!! Why don't I have money? I don't shop for anything or go anywhere! I have enough time to change my last name in my passport... February is cheap to fly to Switzerland..... ;_;

Anyways, before I start moping, I am thinking of biting my nails and going to a writer's group for critiquing purposes. I'm just really freaking shy. But I am realizing that it has major purpose. To help me get better.

It's late and I'm tired. Luckily I work at the library in the evening on Mondays.

Rat Kisses, Plot and Couponing

2011-11-13T13:25:00.001-05:00

My ritual for Sunday mornings are usually as follows:
1. Sleep in until 9am
2. Breakfast
3. Pickup my Sunday papers
4. Fire up the big laptop
5. COUPONING!
6. Sparkpeople
7. Clean the critters' cages.

I had no idea how couponing changed my life until my husband suddenly said to me, “Honey, why are food and house products so expensive?”

And it was soon after that that I became very very ill and dumped all of our savings, $1400 into medical services. I have no health insurance. With my husband and I working PT jobs, we realized that we have to save every penny. And we do. My Sunday newspaper subscriptions are all purchased with coupon codes or Living Social discounts. which averages out to $0.56 per Sunday newspaper. We make that up easily by the coupons. We buy our own ink and OEM cartridges and save hundreds of dollars a year on ink. And we print, cut and use a calculator when figuring out our savings. We proudly coupon. It's my high now. I average about 30% savings on everything. An awesome day is 70%. My biggest thrill was my 93% savings on feminine care products, I am set for two years!

Now it was a sad morning as I realized that my Reepicheep, now going to be 4 years old has a small tumor. She had become lethargic and eating less over the last week. I gave her cage a good scrubbing and held her for a long time. Her time will be coming soon.

Last night, as I was editing my 3/3 I realized that my heroine is missing something, the final bit of oomph to prove her value and worthiness. My mind wandered for hours as I suddenly was like:
“Maybe I should move all of this to the 2^nd book – well that makes no sense, it has to begin with a mirrored scene of torture and biscuits – My readers need it to be established in the first book that she is suffering. Because in the 2-2/3, the territory is going to be taken away – maybe I can end the book at the trial? - no that seems like a piss poor ending, talk about leaving people in the dark. You yourself hates books that just END – But I could do it. We end with the Captain and begin with the Captain. - No, we need to see her branded. My readers want to know if she makes it or not – I need to do more research into wolves.”

My husband thought I was probably watching TV. I was actually staring at my small Buddha statue – the emphasis of 2-1/2. And it was then that it came to me; a criticism of the 1/3, “I wanted to see her duke it out. Earn that position.” You know what Manda-chan? Your wish is my command.

And finally, the tiles fell into place.

New Job. Farewell Gremlins.

2011-11-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

New jobs are always a good thing. Didn't get anything full-time (oh, how I miss benefits) but I ended up just "transferring" to a different department for the city I work for. Its really kinda funny, I volunteered most summers at a library but never wanted to work at one, never thought I would get one completely by accident.

I can remember being introduced to the library, I was at least five years old. Ever since then, I spent numerous hours in there. My book has some semblance of my real life and one of it was, during lunch time at school, I would sneak into the library to be alone. The librarians never minded because I was not destructive or noisy. My folks would drop me off super early in the morning and I would sit in the library until it was time to go to class.

Good memories indeed. But I had been in training for a few days and so far enjoy it. It's a small municipal library and it's quiet. Not like the large county ones where its as bustling and noisy as a coffee shop. The gals are nice and very knowledgeable at what they do. The one thing I do love that on the end caps of the aisles, if there is not a dewy decimal system chart, there is a "End banned books. Celebrate awareness!" poster of some sorts. These are my kind of people.

Don't really have anything book related to share. My sister flew in from Switzerland for three weeks and now has gone. ;_; But it was nice to see my gremlins and her. I will have to post some pics eventually. I had promised myself NOT to write while she was here and now that she is gone, I have not turned on my normal laptop to do anything with my camera. I only use my netbook for writing. Blog included.

But the best part was that I had found another person who would be honored to give me some good critique of my writings. My sister of all people. Now some may be like, "She's only going to tell you what you want to hear." My sister is the kind of person that will tell you what she thinks, whether you want to hear it or not. She is a thriller and mystery kind of reader with good romance thrown in the mix. Familiar with fantasy but not a super huge fan of it. I figure that she will bring in a good point of view since I am writing a dark fantasy with an urban setting. She knows nothing of the story (and I refused to tell her).

Now I just have to send the same 1/3 (unedited from being read by my writing buddy) so that I get fresh thoughts. Then i will combine their notes.

Again, scary.

Selfish people = more fuel for my world

2011-10-27T13:36:00.000-04:00

Living back here in southeast Florida has only ONE advantage; I am surrounded by the most vilest, selfish, rudest human beings alive. How is this a plus? Well at first it was difficult to see how this can be beneficial to me. I was brought up to say 'please, thank you, yes sir/ma'am' and most importantly, take responsibility for my actions. Something which NOBODY does down here.

So, as I and a student was about to be hit in the street because someone did not want to yield for pedestrians (which really scared the begezzesus out of her), I suddenly realized that not even human life is sacred in this region too...how horrible. I am surrounded by monsters. Real life monsters.

Last night, while my husband and I was driving to Target, I was telling him how much I am finding myself hate people more and more. And the thought really scared me. I told him that my dream was to live as a hermit anyways but now more than ever, knowing that a serial rapist is running around the street behind my neighborhood at night, people cuss at you for doing something good, I cannot even get a since smile out of nobody for giving them a compliment or being polite. I wondered, "what happened to people?"

My life sucks too. A lot. But what good is it going to do to sit around and be negative and start treating people like dirt under my feet? I feel even worse for my husband who is an immigrant. He was taught integrity and morals, something which he is slowly realizing does not exist here.

Wow, integrity...it even took me a while to remember that word.

So how is this useful to me? well, since I have very few people where to whom I can vent at, I use my story to do so. I worked so hard to create the world of my humanoids that I forgot to flesh out the world of the humans. So nice to know that I do not need to look very far to create what I was trying to aim at. I see its example every single day. It was once really hard to come up with the human aspect of this world when i lived in another region of Florida where people actually said, "good morning" and if your car broke down, people stopped to help you. I could not imagine what monsters were like.

10 minutes until work again.

Forgetting the Tree

2011-10-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

So before I head off into some writing for this afternoon, I wanted to continue this thought about forgetfulness.

Last night, I was finishing up some plot stuff. My heroine receives a gift of a human. Someone whom my ruler prays will help her calm down before she does something like burn the capital to the ground. This person is Taoist and is supposed to show her the Way. (Yes, I spent 4 years researching Taoism and chose it over Buddhism because I enjoyed more the principles it teaches. I have a folder full of notes on it.) BUT when i wrote these notes for this scene five years ago the ONLY thing I had written was "Charlotte receives Sifu from Richard - 'The Tree That Will Sacrifice Itself' "

..... I have no freaking clue what "The Tree That Will Sacrifice Itself" means and it is driving me crazy. I have forgotten things along the way. It is VERY annoying like you cannot believe. So now what does one do?

Simple, just redo what this person will teach my heroine. In a way it is better because she had changed so much over the years and at least this way, maybe she will absorb it better. She's a bit obstinate and sometimes she won't even listen to me. Ah, dames!

So some funny stuff. So I have this torture hold run by these centuries old beasts and it's out in the Mediterranean Sea closer to the south edge of France. I decided to call it by it's french name but since i do not speak french, I used one of my language dictionaries that I take with me abroad (They mostly speak French in the French part of Switzerland) and since the French alphabet is weird for me, I used a speaking bot to sound it out.

I had it said the name of the fortress and my guinea pig, Tiny, who is in the cage at the other end of the room began to purr. I did not think much about it and trying to learn how to say it correctly myself i played it a couple of times more. Every time, Tiny purred. I called my husband and had him listen to Tiny when she hears the French phrase. We were laughing hysterically. So our rat chatters to Yiddish and our guinea pig purrs to French. So cute...

Thoughts - characters that once were

2011-09-13T10:24:00.000-04:00

The critique of my 1/3 went well. The areas where I had the most problems were extremely noticeable. At first I dreaded it, not used to sharing my work with anyone - photo or writing. But I realize how important it is. I cannot see my flaws and I need another opinion. Needless to say, I was satisfied, I jotted down notes and now have it paper-clipped to my 1/3 - more fleshing out is needed.

I think my biggest concern is running out of steam - well it's more of my husband's worry than mine. But i can feel it sometimes. I don't know what great race I am trying to win but I was joking with my friend, "They owe me 5 years worth of back rent, it's time for them to go!" I think I just want them down, they've lived with me for nearly 15 years, these characters, I know everything about them. Sadly, I know more about them than I do about myself.

I think it's because I am forgetting. I had a couple of blood clots a few years ago and after that - I've forgotten a lot. Thank my stars that i write things down and my memory is able to be somewhat jump started but there are things and people and instances where I am clueless. I've ran into old classmates whom I just stare at like "Who the hell are you?" and these people remember me clearly. It happened right after the hospital, an old classmate named Sean, I ran into hum at a video store in Jupiter and I could not tell you who he was. It wasn't until hours later when i had a flashback of him breaking my apples in half with his bare hands. I've kicked myself in the ass everyday because I remember the look on his face when he realized that I had no clue who he was. Heartbreaking, indeed.

I've sent away 2/3 to this dear friend. I hope one day to repay her kindness. Now I am trying to flesh out 3/3/ I told her, it's not going to be done now, after all of her critiques, i will go back and rework it even more. I described it like an oil painting, you build up from the darks to the lights.

I am happy to hear that my characters - once based off of people we both knew - still have the same energy but are completely their own person. It was the greatest compliment I could have heard. Cookie cutter characters were not what I wanted but I want to look back thirty years from now and remember who they started out as. Unbenounced to them, maybe this was how I viewed them. ;-) Or maybe, this was how I wished they were.

I had a whole different direction for this entry. Oh well. Another time.

Rebekah

In someone else's hands.

2011-08-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

Such a scary thought. I rarely share my work with anybody or anything for that matter. Last night before bed, I finally got the balls to send off the first 3rd to a good friend. Ugh, my mind is so far away today, thinking of everything that can be wrong.

My husband told me not to doubt myself but being an artist, you of course feel like everything you do is awesome (well some of us anyway) but you know that not everyone is going to like it.

I just hope that the point gets across, its not too slow, not too boring.......

Editing the 2/3 but I may go ahead to start the 3/3. I am happy that it will stay within my goal of 90K- 95K words.

Maybe I should take a short nap before work again. Stop thinking about the book for a bit. :) (like that actually happens)

The best part about writing...

2011-08-10T01:16:00.000-04:00

....is that I get to kill people anyway I choose and not have to get in trouble for it! Yay! :D

Hahahaaa... or I should be saying, Muhahahahaa!! (Que lighting and thunder sequence in the background). Yeah, it's late and I feel sinister! but this sinister princess is going to bed in 10 minutes...

Just finally finished setting up for a scene that I will be writing in the next couple of days. For my heroine (not the drug!!!) to progress, I got to kill this one guy. It's not like they like each other but him being dead is crucial to her getting to the next level. Sorry Peter...you gotta go buddy... it's okay, people will mourn you. Ciao!

A funny scenario happened today. As I am typing away, my husband comes over and i do not even notice him, he suddenly says, "Honey? Are you sad?"

I guess the expression on my face was rather somber. I shook my head, "I'm not here right now." And I am so lost into the scene that I forgot what he said, but I guess it wasn't that important because he just came over and kissed me. cutie pie!

I am actually excited, I saved up money for a net book. I want to keep my laptop for my photo work and use a netbook to work on my writings on. Some people may think a tablet is better but I am not always guaranteed a flat surface to use the portable extra keyboard and I like using a keyboard to type with. I just want a portable device to have Word or Office.org, bluetooth and....that's it. My husband who is super techie, helped me choose one to suit my needs and most importantly, one with a keyboard I would like.Yay it will be here Thursday! Super stoked. :)

Off to dreaming of death and murder in the Everglades!

Schlaff Gut alle!

Book 1: 70 pages, retyped...phew!

2011-07-29T23:09:00.001-04:00

Took those 70 pages and retyped them, that was enough to wear me out. The best part was that I had the chance to rework a few things, edit out a whole bunch of stuff that I was hesitant with and take what I wanted in a different direction. Yay!

Replaced a older section with a new one, yet similar and got to re work it. But i once I do the written edits, i can continue adding the other parts.

See, the bad thing (or maybe it was bad), was that over the years, I wrote parts. I thought, "Oh, well, i just piece them together." the only bad thing is to now having to piece them after 15, 10, 5, years or so. So stuff will have to be re-worked.

I think the best part is that all my characters are on board to get this done. - sounds crazy I know. :)

Let the fun begin!

And Book 1 begins

2011-07-24T21:18:00.000-04:00

And a great thing has happened - (back story first) about oh, 5 years ago, I lost a file. And it was the file to the early version of the beginning of Book one in a series I am slowly writing. So for me, as an artist, it was as if someone stole my child from me - or I assume so. I was frantic, I flipped out and went crazy and feel into a depression for a year or so.

Luckily for me, I am still old fashion and need to print out my pages to edit (I cannot do editing on the screen, my eyes get tired after a while). So I had everything on paper...but came the daunting task of re-writing at least 70 pages of information, and I just stopped.

My husband has realized that the wooden chest in the bedroom is filled with written notes, research and stuff to be edited. I thought I told him I wrote; he just knew I did photography and painting. He has no idea what the series is about (since English is his 3rd or 4th language and he is not from a European background so abstract concepts, Western European folklore and American myths are a little hard for him to comprehend. To him it makes no sense.) BUT it has not deterred him to help me the best way he can. He has been an inspiration for me to complete my first book.

We laid in "bed" (or the make shift Shiki mattress (oh i dream of having one!) since he sleeps like they do in Japan) and he wanted to know my goals. It felt silly telling him - someone like him who is very scientific - that I hope to publish my first book in a year or two. To go back for my Masters in Photography and if I could find a way to spend everyday doing my art and make a living from it, I would be the happiest person in the world.

So he introduced me to that free printing service online (Vistaprint? - I have so much going on, I do not remember what comes in my mail anymore), and I took advantage to make 100 free note cards with the tagline of my book, like the cards you would pick up from an aspiring author's table at a writing or themed genre convention. I got it in the mail Friday, and to see something printed with my plot line...made me cry.

"I can do this Alizza!" I said to my husband. "The world and people in my head that I have worked on for over 15 years, I can give them life."

He just smiled and kissed my hand.

So starting at the beginning, means taking those 70 or so pages and retyping them. And you know what, I am happy I did because I was NOT entirely satisfied with the beginning I had written back then. This is a good new start. So far I have about 20 pages left to get through before I can continue on with the first book.

Now I just need the balls to share my work with someone for a sound critique.....oh, such a scary thought.

Testing

2011-07-08T14:58:00.002-04:00

Testing

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 2:55 PM
Subject:

6 weeks in.

2011-06-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

So far, all is good and I am very happy. A little stressed out but when you live at home, that's already a given.

My beloved hubbykins is really motivating me to push forward and challenge myself - and he knows how to do it the right way with a new lens for my camera. Then filters to fit those lenses and finally, something I have always wanted, a really good camera bag that is ergonomic and I can travel and hike with. ... like I said, the best!

Took advantage of some Vistaprint awesomeness and ordered some promotional materials. That will be coming in sometime in the next few weeks.

Plans for the summer? Of course!! Alizza revamped my laptop so I need to reload everything into it. This summer is building a new portfolio and getting my writing into gear and also get down the last 40 lbs. I do have one student for the summer that I meet twice a week for English. She needs to be able to read at a 2nd grade level for the next school year.

Ciao

Wow! Happy early Chinese New Year!

2011-01-30T15:06:00.003-05:00

Aside from the end of the year insanity, it has been a good start to the new year.

I enjoyed my trip to Turkey again. I got to fly Turkish Airlines from Zurich and I could never get over watching the screen where they talk about airplane safety. 1. It takes forever!!! They say it first in Turkish, then its repeated in English. On the corner of the screen a man that looks like Mr. Bean appears and does sign language for the hearing impaired in both Turkish and then in English. There are also subtitles. I like that they are effectively throurough but it is dull. The best part of the whole video is when they list EVERY SINGLE electronic device that is not permitted to use on the plane. Seriously, an electric razor? its only listed because someone has tried to use one!!

I loved seeing my fiance again. We sat in the airport for an hour just looking at each other. All those months of talking and we had nothing to say, just to sit quietly and hold each others hand and look. It was a wonderful moment. Then we began talking. Oh how I have missed him!

Turkey:
mmmmm...ground lentil soup!
Cheesy bread from the corner vendor :D <3
Hot cups of corn from the street vendor
In the Ulus bazaar you can buy leeches!
Hole in the ground toilets. >: | (bad memories of Italy suddenly came to mind)
Brought the wrong shoes to Ankara, so had to go show shopping. Not like I mind but my feet size is unusual for women in Turkey!!! :(
I am marrying the best man on the planet, he suffered through 4 hours of looking for shoes shops that carried my size.
In retrospect, I suffered through 2 days of looking for a suit that will fit him! My beloved is 6'2.5 and very lean. :) While Turkish men are average height and built in the shoulders.
Bought Kebab spices!!
A sweet afternoon eating Turkish Baklava and drinking Cappuccinos.
Keshar cheese!

Then I sadly returned to Switzerland to spend time with my sister and cutie pie nephews. Such handsome little boys! They are just a delight!

My trip was too short this time but I will travel again in 2012.

I came back to then suffer with 2 bulging disks in my lower spine (oh the misery). Thank you work! bastards. But I have used all my wedding savings to get my back into shape. Bittersweet. :/

Walked slowly yesterday with my mother a breast cancer survivor at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I enjoy doing these events with her. It boosts her spirit and how can you say not to walking on a beautiful sunny morning. The best part was walking down the street afterward to grab some munchies at the Green Market.

Fem Awesomeness November - Qatar First Female Judge

2010-11-10T22:22:00.008-05:00

I know old news but new news to me!

Qatar’s First Female Judge

HRH Sheikha Maha Al Thani was appointed earlier this year as the first female judge in Qatar, in a move to explicitly aimed at empowering women in the country and making their presence stronger in government. The Sheikha is a member of the ruling royal family.

Pictures

The article in English is found here. "Dream comes true for Qatar’s first woman judge"

A great line, "Asked if the appointment of female judges in the state was a victory for Qatari women, she said: “I do not see it as a victory. Women have not been defeated to need a victory in Qatar. They are there in all government departments on equal terms with
men.” "

Another English article: "Qatari women praise appointment of first female judge"

Great line: "She said, "The world saw a Qatari female doctor and a Qatari female engineer, and it is not out of the ordinary to see a Qatari female judge, or a female assistant judge, because it is something expected within the vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, in the field of development." "

Go Sheikha!

big thanks to my fiance for finding this for me!

22 days until my trip + a wedding dress

2010-11-10T22:01:00.005-05:00

Ahhh! Finally! The last 22 days have arrived!

Bought tons of stuff for my niece and my nephews and I cannot wait to see their faces light up! I had been searching everywhere for glitter jeans made by Levi and today, I finally found them at Macy's in Wellington. yay!

The best part of my week was the purchase of my wedding gown from Alfred Angelos! I was only going just to start trying on styles with my best friend and lo and behold, I put on the perfect dress. It was everything i had hoped for. Flirty, sexy, pretty and elegant. Yes, a dress like that exists and I purchased it! Because my fiance does read my blog, I will only post a peek! A sample from the dress. :)

The only downfall is that the white lace i had purchased on a day-trip in Jensen, doesn't match. :( My dress is neither white nor ivory. So luckily, I was able to return it down here and purchased ivory lace. Even though its darker, it will be okay. I am happy with it. :)

EEEEEE!!! I love my dress!

I am thinking that since I will be in Ankara, Turkey for a few days, maybe I should look for a karaoke bar. I think i will hit up CS Ankara and see what the locals recommend. :)

Tschuess!!!

63 Days until another trip

2010-09-30T14:16:00.004-04:00

Ah! so the countdown has begun! In 63 days I will be heading back to Switzerland. 2 days after that, back to Turkey. Then back to CH for some highly needed time with my sister and her critters.

I will be wedding dress shopping in St. Gallen and I look forward to be carrying a dress back with me to the states for my upcoming wedding. How is that going? Currently, at a stand still. With my fiance waiting for his visa interview, there is not much I can do. Without a wedding date, you cannot reserve or book anything, barely can you even get a consultation! ...weddings, its a business...I am not upset, i used to assist in wedding photography, i understand!

Ugh, I am so bad about putting pictures up on this thing. Yes, i need to. I do not like being in front of the computer long so usually after I am done, i turn off my laptop for the day. GASP!! Dare I say I can live without the computer for most of the day???!!! Modern day sacrilege!!

Hahahahaa, some of us prefer to have lives and I enjoy mine. :) I do not understand how people can sit in front of one of these things for hours and hours. There is this really cool place that exists outside your door...

Anyways, I am itching to do another puppet short. I have been working on a few ideas for this one. I would like to do a more serious film. The last short, i experimented with making my own music. Maybe this time, really work on that too.

Next week, i begin belly dancing for 8 weeks. Its been a goal of mine for 5 years and I am happy to begin it. It will finished right before I leave so its a perfect distraction before my trip!

Tutoring is going well also. My student is in Honduras visiting her family for a few weeks so I have been working on how to explain English prepositions better to her. I'd like to try and find like a children worksheet or something...hrm...i think i know a teacher I can bum off of :)

Job hunting is...job hunting. Working at Macy's is okay for now but definitely not something i want to do in the long term. Since i began job hunting 3 years ago, i have applied to well over 300 positions...nothing. I am currently working with the alumni resource personnel to rebuild my paper resume. She thinks its too long and "wordy". Its hard when you have done so much!

My goal this year is to begin a new portfolio and a new sketchbook. Time to have updated work (other than my travels) to show. I will be taking a day trip in October to regroup my mind and think.

Tschuess!

Rebekah

Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - A List

2010-06-17T13:20:00.001-04:00

An excellent list from my semester study Women's History years ago. The sheet that it came on was really worn and old, obviously Xeroxed a hundreds of times. So I took the time to re-write it in Word.

I know that no one likes to admit that these things do happen. I just hope that if you do know someone, let them know that there is support. Share this with them. This refers to men as well. Domestic abuse happens to either gender.
----------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
206 West Fourth Street
Duluth, Minnesota 55606

An Open System Based on Equality & Liberation

FREEDOM
- SUPPORT: Listening to you non-judgmentally. Being emotionally affirming and understanding. Valuing your opinions.
- TRUST: Supporting your goals in life. Respecting your right to your own feelings, friends, activities and opinions.
- ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY: Accepting responsibility for behaviors and attitudes. Acknowledging past use of violence. Admitting being wrong.
- AFFIRMING RELATIONSHIPS: Developing open and genuine relationships with other people and self. Honor your right to privacy. Respecting family and friends.
- NON-THREATENING BEHAVIOR: Taking action so that you feel safe and comfortable expressing yourself and doing things. Being sensitive to others needs and preferences.
- SHARED PARTNERSHIP: Mutually agreeing on fair distribution of responsibilities. Making decisions together. There is not a “right” way to do things. Supporting your choices. Flexibility in roles.
- ECONOMIC JUSTICE: Supporting you in your decisions about work, school and money. Who pays for something should not be an issue about indebtedness or expectations.
- EMOTIONAL HONESTY: Partner lets you know when they feel afraid, insecure, etc. Communicating unhappiness. Sharing fears.
- SEXUAL EXPRESSION: Accepting that “no” means “no”. Asking, not expecting. Caring about partner’s sexual needs and wants. Sharing birth control responsibility.
- PHYSICAL SAFETY: Staying in touch with own needs and motivations. Respecting partner’s physical space. Expressing self non-violently.

A Closed System Based on Patriarchy

POWER & CONTROL
- EMOTIONAL ABUSE: Calling you names. Playing mind games. Making you feel bad about yourself. Putting down things you are proud of. Not respecting your needs or wants.
- ISOLATION: Controlling what you do, who you see and talk to, what you read, where you go. Moving away from friends and loved ones.
- USE OF OTHERS: Using friends, parents and/or children to relay messages. Abusing or threatening to abuse pets. Being charming in public, but switching when you are alone.
- MINIMIZATION, DENIAL & BLAME: Making light of the abuse. “Well at least I didn’t hit you.”. Not taking your concerns about it seriously. Shifting reason for abusive behavior onto you, “You’re too sensitive.”
- THREATS & INTIMIDATION: Making threats to you hurt you, leave you, commit suicide, tell your friends you are crazy. Putting you in fear with looks and actions destroying your property warning you – you may be next.
- MALE PRIVILEGE: Treating you like a servant. Abuser’s way is always the “right” way. Defining roles in the relationship. Goes out with own friends but you can’t go out with yours.
- ECONOMIC ABUSE: Preventing you from getting or keeping a job. Making you ask for money. Paying for something and holding it against you later.
- USE OF EMOTIONS: Using jealously, depression, insecurity, anger, passion, frustration, stress to justify actions, “I just want you to be all mine.”. “Help me I’m hurting.”. “I just lost control.”.
- SEXUAL ABUSE: Teasing you about your body part. Treating you like a sex object. Manipulating you to do sexual things when you do not want to. Making you feel “dirty”.
- PHYSICAL ABUSE: Pulling hair. Slapping. Pushing. Hitting. Choking. Kicking. Grabbing. Using weapons. Twisting arms. Tripping. Biting. Spitting. Restraining. Standing over you.

So much has happened!

2010-06-17T13:04:00.002-04:00

So the life of this photographer has changed. Turkey was a life altering experience I will never forget. Not only did I had a wonderful experience, I became engaged to the friend I had traveled with. Congrats to me! woot!

It was absolutely not a "love at first sight". We had already known each other. It ended up being one of those, we knew that we were each other's halves. I feel really blessed, finally knowing that my soul mate was somewhere on this world looking for me. Nobody ever said that my other half had to be from here.

Love truly has no limits or boundaries.

1 Day Until Istanbul

2010-03-20T08:16:00.002-04:00

Ah! It has arrived! Now that it is closer, I am very excited!

And no, I have not finished working on my Swiss images from Aug-Nov 2009. I have been spending lots of time with my nephews and they wear me out! I have been very neglectful of my photowork! But that is okay! I will have lots more from Istanbul to add. :)

Well, tons of packing left for Istanbul and my trip back to Florida.

Blogging for International Women's Day

2010-03-08T07:24:00.007-05:00

So for years, my friends know that I am a proud feminist. Not many really enjoy that concept, some applaud it and even better a tiny few are feminists as well - including guys! This year, as I find myself becoming more vocal about my viewpoints, I decided to submit my blog for International Women's Day.

So today, there will not be talk of my upcoming trip to Istanbul, or what current photowork I am doing or any new images. Just strictly talking about equal rights and what it means to an everyday citizen like myself.

I like to think that I am unique (even though I know there are plenty others like me :P) in the fact that I am nearly 30 and still single; haven't quite found my place in this wide big world; and is considerably a "lone-wolf". I spend a lot of my time traveling alone (budget-traveling of course!) to new places to see new things and meet new people. I have been blessed as one of those people that hold no grudges or prejudices against others regardless of their viewpoint or beliefs. Living my life behind my camera, I have learned that, "everyone has a story".

In my journeys, I have faced unfairness for being a woman either by other women or men and have met many closed minded people. My travels nationally and abroad have humbled me considerably in realizing that everywhere, the same issues we as women in America suffer with are happening (to various degrees) everywhere. I think as Americans we like to think that women's rights are a "western ideology" when in fact, many other cultures have either had women in power or treated them as equals as long or longer than we have in America. Since I have been following the Iraqi election, I like to reference this article: Iraq's Female Candidates, Activists Or Quota Fillers?

Being that I am looking for something completely different in a life partner, friends have laughed at me when I said that, "I seek my intellectual, emotional and spiritual equal - a person that sees me as their best friend, not as their wife." Being that I am a loner, to be molded into something I am not would be as terrible as taking my basic rights away. Equality is realizing that as an individual, we have strengths and weaknesses, and as a team, we fill in the parts needed to make a complete whole. In the workplace, as a woman, I am no less worthy of equal pay to a man just because I have breasts. If I have the same qualifications as he does, the same drive and motivation as he does, then we should be judged upon our merits and our experiences.

Equality in the household is a new subject for me to experience. In the last year, I have spent a lot of time with my sister raising 2 twin boys in their terrible twos. In German, "hausfrau" (housewife) has a very degrading connotation to it. In America, I have seen that we have lesser respect for a woman who is a housewife. My message to those people who feel as such, it is worth the $800 plane ticket and I want you to take care of my nephews for 2 days, only 48 hours. When I have them (she works part time), it is non-stop cleaning, discipline, attention giving, staying up all night, cleaning and more cleaning...you don't even have a second to yourself. And for the significant others who think that raising children is a picnic and you cannot wonder why your partner just wants to be alone when you come home? You have them for 48 hours straight. *laughs* I was telling a friend, "I will trade with you! I will handle angry bosses and ringing telephones for 7 hours!" Being in Switzerland has taught me a sincere respect for any housewife who actually works in their home and with their kids.

With all that said, I have done the 65 hours of work, cleaned and cooked. In an equal household, each person understand that its not one person job to take care of domestic duties. If my partner (?) and I both work and pay bills, why should it be my responsibility to take care of the house and my partner? If your mama didn't raise you to wash your own ass, then we wouldn't be togther anyways. *laughs* I sent this awesome article to a male feminist friend, She Works, They're Happy but the best paragraph from this article is this: “Women no longer need to marry up educationally or economically, so they are more likely to pick men who support a more egalitarian relationship,” said Stephanie Coontz, director of research and education for the Council on Contemporary Families and author of “Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage.” I believe every bit of that is true for the modern woman. A partnership (I don't like the word "marriage") is about teamwork.

I feel proud to be a woman in the modern world and I feel even prouder that because of modern technology; women, men, feminists, etc are able to convey their ides, share news faster and support each other. Sometimes, I wish I could do more, especially when is see articles like this: Iran Women Rights Defenders Continue Undeterred by Prison Detention

I once joked with my Art History professor when I said, "It always takes a peasant up-rival to overthrow a kingdom." That would be my message to those women in Iran (and everywhere else!) fighting for gender rights. Always remember that united we are strong.

19 Days to Istanbul, Turkey

2010-03-02T15:58:00.003-05:00

As titled above, only 19 days to my trip to Istanbul, Turkey. I am very excited to finally get the chance to see a country that has been on my list for a while! I had said that I no longer want to visit these "expensive to my currency" countries for a while. There are so many beautiful places out there in the world and as an American, I feel proud to be able to go and visit the world, something most Americans have no desire to do. :) Everywhere I go, I have the ability to make friends and I look forward to meet and talk to people and photograph my experience. And I cannot forget my travel partner and good friend that is accompanying me! :D

I am pretty much ready, just recharge my lithium battery for my pro camera and make sure I have enough extra batteries for my, "point-n-shoot". I also just need travel shampoo which I will get at DM in Büsingen, Germany. It's been the only store that I have found to have "travel sized" toiletries.

Also, a big thanks to the other solo travelers and photographers from couchsurfing.com that have been more than helpful about visiting Istanbul!

Bis später!

Rebekah

Frölich Valentinstag alle!

2010-02-14T13:43:00.002-05:00

My newest Little Bunni puppet film is up! I am very proud of all the effort that was put into it as well! Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Enjoy it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7jadhwgzFk

While you are there, enjoy the 'sort of outtake' from the film that I posted two days ago! :)

Only 3 more days until I leave for Switzerland and 35 days until Istanbul! I am tempted to take Little Bunni to do a mini film there! :) *laughs*

Wow! Two adventures planned!

2010-02-05T14:22:00.004-05:00

Well, I never thought that I would be going back so soon, but I am! And sadly, it may be my last trip to Switzerland for a long time.

A 5 week trip to Switzerland is at hand and a weekend in Istanbul, Turkey is part of the agenda.

I am truly excited about going to Turkey, kinda like a post-birthday present for myself for really cheap! What would have costed me to go to Disney World for ONE day; covers airfare, food and entertainment in Istanbul for a weekend! Even better, I will have a friend who knows the language waiting for me there. My first trip not alone. I am truly excited!! :) I will even get to experience a Hostel! Oh yes, expect pictures of bathrooms!

Only 2 weeks until Switzerland and 6 1/2 weeks until Istanbul! Wow.

And yes! Pics from my last trip to Switzerland will be up before I go!

Production Date for new puppet film!

2010-01-27T14:45:00.003-05:00

I know I am terrible at keeping promises! But I have successfully edited through the 500+ images that I shot in Switzerland down to 50 images. Eventually those will be up soon!

My new puppet film, (tentative title)"Little Bunni's Valentine's Day Song" is so far going to happen. I am still waiting on a song to be edited or I will have to come up with an alternative for the song.

Production Dates as such:

Friday, Jan 29: Sound recording at FAU, if song is ready.

Thursday, Feb 4: Outdoor shots for the "day dream" sequence at Morikami Gardens (http://www.morikami.org/).

Sunday, Feb 7: Shooting the actual stage and puppets.

Sunday, Feb 14: Will be uploaded to You Tube!

I cross my fingers that everything will go well. Script and story board is completed and reviewed with Nicholous.

Hopefully Germany will not ban my film this time! :)

- Rebekah

A New Year

2010-01-03T14:12:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that it's 2010! Already another decade gone!

Well, my plans and goals for this year:

1. Loose the next 30 lbs. I have lost 80 lbs total!

2. Get a better job. I have discovered something wonderful. One of my goals that I thought was impossible to obtain, a friend told me of a way to make it possible! So I need to get myself on track.

3. Post the pics from the professional camera that I took in Switzerland. I will get those up by my birthday. I have over 500 images to look through!

4. Post more images on here. Period!

5. Travel to another foreign country, again! I can't afford Switzerland (it's so expensive ;_;) and my sister is planning on coming here anyways this year. A nice cheap country, so any suggestions and no where cold please!

6. Had another brain storm. Yet another dream I hope to save for.

7. See if I can get some writings published. I want to submit some of my short stories, don't know to whom. They are all abstract.

...I think that's it for now!

Frohe Neues Jahr alle!

Grüezi! All For the Last Time - The 11th Entry

2009-11-20T13:11:00.003-05:00

Guten Abend alle!

Well, this is my last Switzerland entry and my last great adventure. Too bad I’ll forget all of this in five years - stupid memory. That’s why I took pictures!

What I’ll miss:

- My gremlins.
- Being so close to nature.
- The boats!
- Taking the train.
- Convenient and reliable transportation.
- Weight Watchers everything. Loved the ice cream (chocolate was the shit!), the brötchen, mayo, pudding, cervela, cheese, fondue, meats, snacks, etc. So nice not to have to add calories or nothing. I know I’m okay grabbing one of their products.
- Produce and food is cheaper here (except for eating out which I didn’t do).
- Always baking something.
- Aiden and Rafi never refusing to being my official food tasters.
- This one pan they got in Germany. I want this pan! I’ve cooked a whole chicken in it and my fried rice comes out perfect.
- Fondue and Raclette.
- Medicine that is affordable and it works.
- Going to IKEA for 1 CHF hot dogs.
- Did I mention my gremlins?
- The boys coming into my room with smiles on their faces.
- Watching them adding more and more words to their daily language.
- Going to Büsingen to go grocery shopping. It’s worth it for the drama over who is going to ride in the cart seat. Since its been Libby and I, problem solved, we get two carts.
- My German classes. I had a great teacher.
- And duh, of course Alain and Libby even though they are both retarded sometimes.
- The place we stayed at in Calabria, Italy. You can’t beat on the beach for a little over 100 CHF a week!
- The book stores in Basel.
- Shopping in St. Gallen.
- ALL the castles. CASTLES.
- My IC train. I had my spot after a while. Five minutes later, a guy comes by with a cart offering coffee.
- Montreux and Vevey.

So finally Libby and I found a really good Broki in Thayngen. It’s right behind the Bahnhof. We are having dinner Sunday with the neighbors again. Tomorrow night we are supposed to go out with Priska.

Wish me a safe flight Monday.

Rebekah.

pic 1: the fam

pic 2: Sarah and Omenn

pic 3: Liby (the neighbor) and the boys.

pic 4: living room fun

pic 5: living room fun 2

Grüezi! 4pm of Darkness - The 10th Entry

2009-11-13T08:40:00.002-05:00

Shönen Tag alle!

So my time here is almost done (and there better not be any huzzahs!). Yesterday was my last hurrah to Zürich. I went to the Land Museum to see a photo exhibit and the China Garden (which was closed for the winter). There’s a bog pond where they have stones that you can walk on to get to the other side, once there I ate lunch by Lake Zurich, enjoying the early sunset at 4pm. The only way I could describe my day was a line form one of my books, “…all for the last time.”

Did some window shopping and got ingredients for my cake for tonight’s dinner party with the neighbors. Tonight I am baking a lemon vanilla yoghurt cake. It’s in the oven now and I have everything I need to make the icing. I <3 dinner parties! Libby cooking two chickens and I’m not too sure what else we’re having yet, it’s only 2pm!

Earlier this week, Libby and I had our own Zürich day where we went to NONAM (North American Native Museum). It houses a huge exhibition of Native American and Indigenous tribes. Then we met Alain in Winterthur to eat at this place called the Outback Lodge where I enjoyed kangaroo steak for the first time! Ist schmeckt sehr gut!

There was tea time with Madeline twice this week. She came here and then we went over. I got to see their house for the first time. And she showed us the goulashes and dry suits she got for the boys when it wet outside, they can still play.

Let’s see, I was oinked at last week. I glared at someone Wednesday after they reeked of booze and begged me for money for the Zug. Got pissy hearing Spanish on the bus from two obviously loud Dominican Republic Gucci wearing women. And you know what they were blabbing about so damn loudly, coffee. They were complaining about this place that serves bad coffee. Get a life! I laughed when some German guy told them to shut up!

This leads to: the Swiss are as reserved about certain things like us Americas are. In public places (unless you’re drunk) you don’t go screaming about like some whacked up freak, especially on the bus and train. The only allowance is children but they like them to stay as quiet as possible in public places. Like on certain trains, they have cars for families so you can be as loud as you want without bothering somebody. We like to think we are very direct but no, you haven’t met the Germans, they have zero tact. In America we would consider them highly rude.

A good example cane from my German book where we read off a conversation about someone who was having a house warming dinner. Immediately the first question was, “how much do you pay because this is terribly small!” As we know, in America we’d only ask that if we know the person personally and even then, people get iffy. I don’t like sharing how much I pay for something and I don’t ask other people. My teacher was like, “in Switzerland, saying something like that to someone you barely know is horribly rude!”

I don’t think the directness is a bad thing, just funny how cultures are very different.

Speaking of German books, Frau Porolli is giving me Schritte 2 and Schritte 3. In Europe, when you learn a language, you get a certificate and the level tells the work place, or school what you know. You start with A1 (Schritte 1 and 2) which is basic German grammar, alphabet, simple verbs, Dative, Gehen + Infinitive, etc. A2 (Schritte 3 and 4) – is more complex verbs, writing (writing and speaking is different), etc. B1 (Schritte 5 and 6) you only take if you are going to write reference papers, do government work, write a novel, etc.

We would call these, Elementary Conversational German, Intermediate Conversational German and German Composition. I thought it was very nice of her. She did tell me that it’s nice to have a student who is serious about learning. To which I smiled.

Now, here is something we should have in America. What my teacher meant was that the people who go to these German courses are there because the government or the place of work sent them. You legally cannot become a citizen, work or have any say in the government unless you complete A1 & A2 then wait 15 – 25 years. If you’re married to a Swiss citizen its 7 years. Even then if you are married (like in Libbys’ case) you cannot be a citizen unless you get a certificate in A1 & A2.

So two more classes left in A1 Scritte 1 and 10 days to go until I return to Florida. Just wish me a safe flight. I don’t want to hear anything else.

Ich wünche alle sehr schön Abend!

Pic 1: Bathtime fun - Rafi

Pic 2: Bathtime fun - Aiden

Pic 3: Tea time with Omi

Pic 4: Almost finished waking on the pond.

Ciao,

Rebekah

Grüezi! Happy Halloween - The 9th Entry

2009-11-02T08:08:00.001-05:00

Well, I have come to my last month here in der Schweiz.

In my time here I have learned numerous lessons:

1. You're better off being alone. Its absolutely not worth being with someone. Its terrible to see that no one i know is truly happy and content in their relationships.

2. Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies/family even closer. Everyone back-stabs you in the end.

3. Always remember to smile. You'd be surprised how just saying thank you can make someones day.

4. In Europe, there is no such thing as three feet of personal space.

5. If you know where the Bahnhof is, you'll never get lost.

6. Beware of free candy.

7. Even the crazy people need someone to talk to.

8. Happiness is what you make it to be.

So I went to Basel last week, and enjoyed the art city of Switzerland. There are tons of movie houses, museums, shopping, art stores etc. But what i loved the most was all the book stores. Most of them second-hand. I love the way books smell.

I also returned to Luzern, after seeing an excellent exhibition at the art museum, i went shopping and head to the docks to catch my boat from Luzern to Brunnen. Lake Zurich is massive and the boat rode well into the night. Clear skies and an almost full moon made the journey enjoyable and yes, i was the only idiot sitting outside in the freezing cold.

Halloween, came and we carved a pumpkin and lit it outside. I had gotten some candy in hopes that we may receive some trick-o-treaters. Halloween is an American holiday so I was told that no one may show up. Only in the big cities, they celebrate Haloween. To my delight, we did get 2 groups of kids. A group of seven girls at 7pm and a group of teenagers near midnight. Those boys were so happy to get what was left of the candy. They heard me speak English so they kept saying, "Thank you!"

I baked four batches of cookies for Halloween. Earlier that day i started making my doughs, my infamous honey peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisen and orange sugar cookies. I gave all the chocolate chip cookies to Abi & Liby next door since I am not a fan of them.

Not many pics this week. Like I said in the beginning, the only pics I'm sharing are the one on the point-n-shoot. On my blog, i will be posting the pics from my pro-camera.

Rebekah

Pic 1: Halloween

Pic 2: Halloween

Grüezi! Mountain buses have grammatical errors - The 8th Entry

2009-10-23T19:15:00.003-04:00

Guten Tag! Ich wünche alle ein sehr gut Tag. :)

I don’t know why I bother, once I return to Spanish infested SE Florida it’ll all disappear anyways. It’s still fun to dream right? Whatever. LOL

Okay, it has been a while, so I did a lot in the last few days so not to bore people with descriptions, I’m just gonna list stuff. If I feel like expanding, I will. And as per request, I’m writing these in Word first before placing them in the email since the lack of capital “i” are pissing some people off.

Well, I didn’t go to Luzern yet since I found an exhibition that’s opening on the 25 of October I want to see, so next week.

Last weekend was Liechtenstein (it’s a TINY country between Austria and Switzerland. You can drive through it in 25 minutes.). It’s a 3 hour train ride; Schaffahusen to Rorschach to Buchs then a bus to Vaduz (the capital of Liechtenstein. It’s nice to see a country with barely any poverty, everyone has a job, and everyone is middle class or above. Well, they have more companies and
factories than people. Regardless, I visited the Landmusuem to learn about its rich history and then to the Art Museum for an amazing exhibition called, Modernism as a Ruin. Deals with a lot of my personal concepts in my art. It’s on loan from Nuremberg, Germany.

They have a strange German dialect that I barely understood but funny thing is, they all speak English which I didn’t realize until after I spoke to them in German and then another person comes up behind me and speaks in English.

Then Tuesday was French-Swiss day. It’s a 4-5 hour train ride so I dedicated a whole day to it. Sat with some Americans (by accident, they found me) all the way from Zürich to Lausanne. From there I traveled to Nyon and took a mountain bus to Chateau de Prangins where I saw a great exhibition. The one thing I will thank the French for is bringing everyone out of the Christian inspired dark ages. Blessed science! Blessed Literacy! Blessed medicine! Blessed personal hygiene! It was really cool to see some of the first indoor plumbing showers, books on delivering babies and STD guides.

Then went to Vevey to go to the camera museum which was awesome. Then took a boat from Vevey to Lausanne. It was cold that day, -2 C so like 29 F? And I and these two gay guys from America were the only people sitting outside. We huddled together, watching the sunset and enjoyed the ride, waving to kids who were waving to the boat as it passed by. An hour and a half later, we arrived to Lausanne and never being there before, we found the underground tram that took us to the Gare (they didn’t know that was the French term for train station). At the
Gare/Bahnhof, they continued off to Genevé (Geneva) while I waited for the IC and headed back to Zurich.

Too bad I fell asleep on the bus, (I had to get up at 4:30am to catch a train out) and had to walk a good thirty minutes back to the house. Luckily, it’s right on our jogging path so it was familiar.

The next day, I went boating on Lake Zurich, which was fun. Weather had predicted that it would rain. It was nice to see that the sun came out by the time I got to Rapperswill.

Went to Kika (in Germany) and got pants! My 16W jeans have officially become useless (even with a belt) and I needed another pair of pants. Got a 44 (14) pair of black courds, would have gotten a 42 (12) but my only problem with the 12s is that I don’t have a waist, so its tight
and the “muffin-top” even though its in style, doesn’t looks good on anybody. I’m thinking of getting another pair since it was cheap, 9,99 Euros or 13,50 CHF.

Okay, since nobody remembered, the CHF is EQUAL to the $ right now, so I am not converting amounts to the $. The Euro is very high, unfortunately, so that’s why I show conversions. It may look like you get a lot for your money but you have to think about it like this: If I give 20 CHF to trade in, I’m only going to get back not even 14 Euros.

The boy’s birthday party is Sunday. They’ll be two.

I think I’ll be heading to Basel tomorrow.

The mail is delivered by a person on a motorcycle and they come twice a day. The streets are narrow here that it would be pointless to have a truck.

Das Woche, Ich koche; chicken und dumplings, meat loaf oder Fleischbraten, honey-rosemary cakes, biscuits, und baked Wurst und Käse sandwiches. Ist schmeckt sehr gut!

Ich wünche alle ein schön Schlaf!

-Rebekah

Pic 1: Watching a guy seriously diving in the freezing weather in Rorschach.

Pic 2: Schloss Vaduz. The country is ruled by a monarchy so the royal family lives there.

Pic 3: From Buchs to Rorschach.

Pic 4: View from Chateau de Prangins overlooking Lake Geneva.

Pic 5: On the way to Lausanne.

Grüezi! Not Up to Wooden Chairs - The 7th Entry

2009-10-14T07:24:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I know this is late.

Alain got sick, then the boys got sick and when the kids get sick...so do I. The only thing bad about Schaffhausen is that nothing is open past 7 or 8 pm. So when I was in Bern (the capital city or Hauptstadt), Sunday I got the boys cough medicine at the Apoteke (pharmacy) since the Rail City (the mini city underneath the Bahnhof) is open 24/7. And on Monday, i had to go to Herblingen, to their Apoteke to get me something too, and i slept all day and all night, not waking until 11am on Tuesday.

Now in Europe, its not like back in America where you go to Walgreen’s and grab anything you want and the only time you go to the counter is when you have a prescription. For any kind of medicine, prescription or not, you have to go to the counter and tell them your symptoms and
they recommend something. If anyone saw Bridget Jones Diary where she's trying to buy a pregnancy test in Switzerland but she doesn't know German, it’s exactly like that. Except that no one joins in...That’s in Italy where no one minds their business.

In a way, it’s good and bad. I can see the pros and cons of it. You just have to be stern if you want something specific. When i came back from Italy and that crap those people gave me didn’t do anything; you had to figure that I had an infection in my lungs and sinuses, fabulously green snot, i spend my whole night hacking up stuff and all I can think of is that I need antibiotics...in America I would be paying hundreds of dollars for medicine that didn’t work because I can’t afford amoxicillin or a Z-pack.

I was skeptical when Libby went with me the day after Italy and she translated my symptoms. The pharmacists comes back with a tiny box that costs 7.50 CHF, it contains 20 effervescent tablets, a total of 600mg a day. For the first time in my life, what only antibiotics could cure, 3x a day for 10 days fizzy tablets did. My goodness, too bad none of that OTC crap back home could cure an infection. If you can do math then you would have been like, "Bekah, wait 20 divided by
3 is not 10, silly!" Alain had some left over from a year ago and I finished off his.

So this time, the second i felt the "gross, icky taste" in the back of my throat (Monday), i went to Herblingen and got the same thing again. Since i caught it a week earlier, today, i only have a stuffy nose. Yay for awesome medicine without a prescription.

Like i said, I was in Bern, Sunday. You can tell that it’s a really old city, very different architecture from Zurich and Schaffhausen. I saw the exhibition, "Kust der Kelten" (Art of the Celts), and I will say that its one of the best Celt exhibitions I have ever seen. I have yet to see one with a complete burial chamber back home, and to see one here was amazing. Too bad I had no one with me to go Art History psycho with.

Afterwards, I walked up quiet streets lined with Victorian row houses <3!, to the largest rose garden in Switzerland. They have a small cafe there that’s open until midnight and it was beautiful. The view of the city below was spectacular and I enjoyed a cold sunny day while eating the much I brought with me.

Again, since i only seem to draw all the weird people, I had planned to enjoy my ride back from Bern to Winterthur by going on the IC so i can work on some revising. So it’s a packed train but i did find a seat with a table. Then some old guy sits across from me. So i expect him to enjoy his coffee, gipfeli (croissant), and French translation of some American murder book. No, instead that he decided that he was going to talk with me and when he found out that i could speak English, the next hour was torture until he got off at Zurich. I heard all the demographics and population of every city in Switzerland, he even pulled out maps...pulled out maps. I swear it was to torture me. Can he not see that I had a 200 page stack of papers and a red pen in my hand, like dude, seriously...

But from him, I realize something hard; i consider myself a very intelligent person, but you never feel dumber than when you come to somewhere like Switzerland. These people NATURALLY speak at least 3 languages. This guy spoke, (he's from Lausanne (in the French part)) French, French-German dialect, Swiss German dialect, High German (what I’m learning) and English - pretty darn good English. You feel like and idiot when you can only speak ONE language, then they know you're from America. Yay for living in a xenophobic country! And these people ask you things about your own country that i don’t even know. Makes you seem like you live under a rock you're whole life.

Oh well, my other adventure, went horribly. I attempted to hike the Shilwald forest but it was raining (which doesn’t bother me) and i was okay with my jacket that had a hood and its waterproof, waterproof boots, thermals BUT my backpack isn’t waterproof and it’s big and bulky. So I had to return home, with a soaked backpack and everything got went, realizing that i can’t hike in this country without a waterproof backpack. So there will be a second attempt as I am going to borrow one.

Winter's here, the leaves are turning and yesterday the temperature was 40 F, tomorrow when i go to Luzern, it will be 30 F. Oddly enough, since I've been here to experience the transition in the temperature drop, its not very shocking. I was actually surprised that it was as low as 40 yesterday since it didn't feel like it.

Remember that in one of my earlier emails, which i mentioned about the boosters? It just so happens that Alain's boss’s secretary gave them something even better. Over here, they have these wooden chairs that you can adjust so it grows from infancy to the age of 12. She gave them the two she had since her children don't need it anymore. Libby was so excited since that was what she originally wanted but it 75 Franks each without the trays and straps (they would have needed it back then) and they couldn’t afford it. Libby and Alain keeping everything clean are going to sell the two highchairs since they also kept the original boxes.

Hrm, since I always seem to add a German conversation on here:

My trip to the Apoteke on Monday:

A pharmacist approaches me since her counter is open and i can't see her because of the support beam in the way:

"Grüezi! Kann Blah Blah Blah ?" (She’s asking if she could help me)

I reply, "Ja, kann Ich habe das? Aber in zweihundred, bitte."

She takes that package from my hand that says 600mg. She smiles, "Genau."

And I follow her to her counter where she hands me the 200mg box, "Das ist?" she reaffirms.

I take the box, "Ja! Genau, vielen dank.”

“Bitte shörn.” She types on the register. “Seiben und fünfzig.”

I hand her 7.50 Franks, repeating what she said (it helps me with my numbers), “Seiben und fünfzig.”

She takes it and counts it, “Danke! Tschüs!”

“Ciao!” And I leave with my medicine.

Pic 1: Aiden and his wooden chair.

Pic 2: Rafi and his wooden chair

Pic 3: The boys.

Pic 4: the boys.

Pic 5: Bern from the rose garden.

Pic 6: Otterngutstrasse, Libby's street.

Pic 7: Horgen, the town of water ferries (not fairies, ferries).

Now I was asked why am not in any of the pictures? Well, i travel
everywhere alone.

Ciao,

Rebekah

Grüezi! Girls are Grazing Cows - The 6th Entry

2009-10-05T08:04:00.003-04:00

Now we're catching up. All the posts from the email will be added the same day here.

Guten Tag alle,

Well, even though i did a few things this week, I think I will take a moment to write about other things.

- The boys saw their first hummingbird this week. Libby has a bush with purple flowers out front and early in the morning, it came by for a while to enjoy nectar.

- They all had a safe trip to Serbia, another poor as dirt country, Alain told me that 1 Euro goes a long way. He went to withdraw money from the ATM just to find out that you can only take out 4 Euros at a time when 200 of their money = 4 Euros. The monthly income is 150 Euros a month. Do the math. Billiana's and Sergio's re-wedding ceremony and party was wonderful (they are married but they renewed their vows), they had a lot of technical difficulties with broken planes, broken taxis and the limo forgetting to pick up the bride and groom. Libby said that Alain danced the night away, a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other. LOL.

I can't believe I haven't spoken about the neighbors! Their landlords are Indian; very nice people. Their neighbor who rents the townhome unit next door are weird. Since I'm out front often Libby warned me that the husband likes to wander around in his undies and I thought
that maybe she meant like boxers or tighty-whities. So I'm with the boys and they're being handy helpers by putting clippings in the bag when the wife comes out and I wave hi. They don't speak English and at the time I knew no German. She came out with her water can and started
working on their flowers. Now they are an older couple, maybe in their fifties or sixties, she's wearing pajamas and her husbands calls for her and she responds. Suddenly he steps out, wearing nothing but a little black bikini bottom and smiles and waves. I wave back; the boys
getting a glorious view of saggy skin, beer gut and grey body hair. LOL.

Okay, so I was alone this weekend and I rocked out, taking vengence on the neighbors below us who decided to have a party that lasted all night long playing their shitty music untill 6am without turning down the music. Saturday I make the trek to St. Gallen. A 2 hour train ride
through the countryside. On the way i took a train that rode next to the Rhine and it was very beautiful. We had to go through Germany for a moment but luckily "Kontrolle" didn't come on the train. My GA pass only covers fare & routes for all of Switzerland.

There was barely anyone on the train for about an hour and a half until we got to Romanshorn where a group of teenage girls decided that out of the entire empty train car that they were going to sit adjacent from me. We took off and they started eating loudly, smacking their chompers and eating with their mouths open. It was very annoying but i soon found out that it provided the perfect soundtrack to the pastures of grazing cattle outside the window. Then after they were done they were suddenly very loud and annoying, a few others who sat in my car at the time were, "shush"ing them constantly. Then one of the girls held out her hand to the friend in front of her and said very loudly in English:

"Hello! I am a frog! Hello! I'm a frog!"

"And what do frogs eat?! Flies!" said the other.

"Hello! I am a frog that eat flies!!" she repeats.

"Rararaaaazooooom!" screaches the thrid one.

The look on my face was priceless. A man came over and spoke to them. They giggled at him as he walked away. It was the longest 30 minutes on a train.

St. Gallen is a fairly large city. Houses one of the oldest libraries in existence, has a gorgeous rose garden in the center of the city and on Saturday is market day. All the stores are located in St. Gallen, open for business. People were handing out free chocolate, free bratwursts, Asian chicken, free wine etc. There was also an open air market where farmers sold their breads, crops and flowers. I visited the Textile Museum which was very nice, depicting the history of the textile industry in Switzerland. Also, companies had samples made available for citizens to purchase.

On the way back i took one of the regional trains, which i like riding. They are different from the Thurbos and S-Bahns. The regional trains have the tables, dining cars, lounges, etc. The one i rode was the IC that goes from St. Gallen and hits, Zurich Flughafen, Bern Flughafen and Geneva Fluhafen - so technically it rides across the entirety of Switzerland. They have a kidding play train car, places where large groups can sit and have meetings or chill out and areas where you can catch a snooze.

The IC doesn't go to Schaffhausen so I had to get off at Winterthur and i ran into my German teacher Frau Provolli. She asked me what i was doing in Winterthur since I lived in Schaffhausen. I was rather proud as I told her in German, "Ich komme auf St. Gallen. Ich gehe zu die Textile Musuem. Das Bahn nicht geht zu Schaffahusen. Das ist warum Ich bin in Winterthur." she got the point.

Sarah saw me off as I drove out of the driveway to get Libby, Alain and the boys. I thought i was going to be late since a ricer car was going 60 on an 80 highway, but there was one lane due to construction. One i got to the autobahn and the speed signs at night show a gray stripe, i gophered the guy in from of me. Normally its 100 which you can go 120 but the gray ban means that you can go as fast at your car can take you. It was awesome going 140! I made up time until i got to Zurich, then it dropped back down to 100. By then i was early. Booyah!

The boys were exhausted from the trip and I let them sleep until 9am (they normally wake up at 7:30), we had a fun morning (they are napping now). We watch Baby Einsteins (the animated series) in German, the boys love singing with the girl, Susan. Pip and Pepper, a German kids show with these muppets who cook and they share fun recipes for kids. Then after some reading and wrestling I got them to tire down by watching a show that Libby hates but they boys love it, "In The Night Garden" on CeeBeeBies (BBC kids station). Its a weird show, practically pointless but the boys love the music and they love the main character who floats off in a boat to the garden, he has a "blankie". Its about getting ready for bed and they like to wave to
all the characters as they go to sleep.

Pic 1: The inside of the kids train car on the second floor.

Pic 2: Marktplatz in St. Gallen.

Pic 3: Lace from a local company.

Pic 4: Schloss Herblingen. I walked an hour there just to find out I couldn't tour it.

Until next time, Ciao,

Rebekah

Grüezi! Sweating in the Cold - The 5th Entry

2009-10-01T14:23:00.003-04:00

Sent September 28, 2009

Grüezi! Sweating in the cold - The 5th Entry

Howdy!

Oh, such a simpler entry. I think I'll start with reminiscing some good times from Italy.

1. At the first moment of dusk, hundreds of bats silhouetted against the dimly lit sky barely feet above us.
2. On the way down, Libby fell asleep between the boys just to wake up to Aiden picking her teeth and Rafi with his finger up her nose.
3. Walking through Armaroni at night during their Catholic holiday and it was pitch black.
4. Fireworks waking us all up at 3am, celebrating the Catholic holiday.
5. Laying in the sun.
6. Doing laps in the pool.
7. The look on my face was priceless as the sun rose and I saw Italy for the first time.
8. Five hour siestas???!!! And worst, nothing opens or closes on time.

LOL.

So, the boys adjusted back from the trip the worst. It was their first time being away from home long and for the next two nights they didn't sleep. After a day or two i was well enough to get back to jogging and it felt good to do so. I finally went to the harbor side city of Rapperswill (Rapper-svill) and walked the longest wooden bridge in Europe to the village of Hurden. The entire time i kept telling myself that thousands of people every year walk this rickety halfway rotted wooden bridge, it was the only thing that kept me from freaking out because every time i stepped on the vertical long bent pieces of wood, they either shifted or creaked and all i saw was myself plunging into Lake Zurich. I took the S7 train to Winterthur which rides along Lake Zurich so on the way back, i enjoyed a very scenic view of the lake.

It's been French movie week on one of the British stations (with English subtitles) so I finally jumped on board by watching a French/Romanian thriller called, "Them" which is based off a true story. It was a creepy film, but not in a supernatural way. More like a commentary on the outcomes of neglectful parents and some of the social issues of Romania. I really enjoyed it and being Romanian is one of my obsession countries, it was much more enjoyable.

Yesterday, Priska, Marco, Libby, Alain, the boys and I went to the Bachtel in Hinwill. Its one of those radio towers that you can climb but to get there, you park at the base of the mountain and hike up. its a 3/4 of a mile hike up the absolutely steep mountain. It was a terribly difficult hike and poor Priska who is a pack smoker, she kept saying, "Leave me behind! I can't do it!" then i gave her a pep talk. "If my fat ass + asthma can get up here with minor difficulty and all the old farts (who are passing by us with Nordic poles) who are making us look bad, then you can do it too!"

We were drenched in perspiration, our clothes soaked and red in the face as we went to the top of the mountain. The had a little restaurant and a kiddie park plus the radio tower. The climb was worth every difficult second to see the view. Afterwards we ate at the American inspired ranchero restaurant at the base of the mountain. Apparently, the original owner went to America, got inspired and came back to build this restaurant. The burgers sucked, taste like those frozen overly salted patties from the store but the ice-cream was the bomb!

Aiden babbles in gibberish like he's talking to you. Rafi says two words constantly (even though he doesn't know what they mean) "Why" and "Ich" clear as day. oh, "Ich" means "I" in German. Not the letter "I" but as in, "Ich habe ein klein Häschen." "I have a small Bunny."

We are currently looking for seat boosters since the boys do eat well at a table but the dining room table is really high and we all eat together so after realizing that its going to be too expensive (she has 2 babies, everything is double!), i told Libby that we can just get some foam, fabric and cardboard and we can make a small booster.

Shopping at Glatt Zentrum in Zurich on Friday where i encountered my first person asking me for money at Zurich Oerlikon Bahnhof. It was interesting because i was just standing there at my platform and some backpacker came up to me with his palm open and said something really
complicated. So I replied with, "Wiederholen Sie, bitte? Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch."

I don't know if he understood me but then he said much more simply, slower and loudly, "Kann Ich habe drei Franks, bitte?"

Since i finally understood i shook my head, "Nein. Tut mir leid."

Oh i know, i should have given him at least a Frank for amusing me. Oh well. LOL.

Well, Libby, Alain and the boys go to Serbia (its a country) on Friday with Billiana. I will be dropping them off at Zurich Flughafen. So wish them all a safe trip!

pic1: Boys eating ice-cream.

pic2: Rapperswill's Schloss (it was foggy that day)

pic3: We encountered cows on our way down. That's Priska with Rafi.

pic4: a doggy poo bag dispenser and no, that's not graffiti.

Ciao,

Rebekah

Grüezi! 20 hours of Rain - The 4th Entry

2009-10-01T14:15:00.004-04:00

Sent September 22, 2009

Gruezi! 20 hours of rain - The 4th Entry

Guten Tag alle,

Well, I’m somewhat alive after surviving what is one hell of a trip from Italy. Italy was very much a culture shock from the overly romanticized view that America likes to make of it. Even though it may sound like I am bashing the country, I am not. Ya’ll know how much I like to travel off the beaten path and as we sat in a small “mom&pop” pizzeria in Armaroni (where Alain’s folks have a house), I told Madeline aka Monster-in-law, that I would not want to have seen the
tourists cities. This is what I love, to see the real people, to experience the real food and be absolutely horrified all at the same time. I feel as if I would not have appreciated Italy if I had gone to Firenza (Florence), Milano (Milan), Sicily, Napoli (Naples), Roma (Rome) etc. As Madeline said, those cities are where it feels like America. She said that when they first came to the village (population barely 1000 persons) of Armaroni, it was a culture shock too but it
grows on you. And I liked Armaroni, it was tiny, up in the mountains and everyone was nice. A lot of Swiss have vacation homes there so the restaurants speak German/Swiss German.

After this trip I have one resolution: I WILL NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT PAYING TO USE A PUBLIC BATHROOM AGAIN.

Nobody told me that Italy was a 3rd world country. This is honestly one of the poorest countries I think I have ever seen. And as I sat horrified at villages, towns and cities that looks like what we see on CNN of the war ridden zones in Pakistan and Iraq, I am surprised that people live in homes that are missing walls, roofs, filthy looking towns with garbage and trash everywhere, you didn’t dare find me without shoes. The public bathrooms are disgusting and yes, I took pictures.

It was POURING as we left Schaffhausen. We decided to travel at night because the kids go to sleep between 7:00 and 8pm. And we know that they wouldn’t wake until 6-8am. I didn’t see much as we drove through the Italian part of Switzerland and barely anything as we drove into
Italy.

Our first mistake, I should have tried harder to convince Alain that we did not need a GPS unit. That shit device took us all over Italy; we paid nearly 70 Euros worth in tolls. (It’s 1.5 Euro to 1$) so nearly $102.00 in tolls or 106 CHF. You have to pay a toll to drive anywhere in Italy so the device kept taking us off and on the autobond. So Calabria is way in the arch of the boot so we know that we have a 17 hour drive, with the GPS it was nearly 20 hours. On the way back I asked Gustie (Alain’s father) to borrow his map and we didn’t use the device and you know what – we didn’t get lost and it only took us 17 hours!

My introduction as to the backwardness of this country was as we are passing the garbage heaps of Milano and we needed to head in the direction of Bologna, we pay our toll and take the roundabout to head towards Bologna just to be surprised by the entranceway into the autobond blocked off by a wall of fire and two unmarked trucks, in the pouring rain of course.

“What the fuck is that?!” exclaimed Alain.

We had no idea where to go and the GPS keeps telling us that we need to go on that road that was blocked off so lovingly by the mafia of the city. Spooked we drive in circles for a good hour. Just to pay more money and none of us speak Italian. So I tell Alain what to say in Spanish to the teller.

Now I love this scene, the teller is locked up in an airtight booth, no window, just a holes in a tray where you slide your money in. He has a long cigarette in one hand; the booth is grey with soot. Alain asked him how to get to Calabria and he slides in the Euros and the teller, smokes a bit, exhales against the glass and annoyingly says to head towards Parma. Without saying anything else he hits the button that lifts the bar up and we head out.

Eventually, after being pulled over by the cops (thank goodness they were the “good” ones). In Italy there’s two kinds, since we were in the prostitute section (and this is where we started playing, “Count the Prostitutes!”), the bad cops would have had all of us on the ground and probably have to have paid to get our passports back. Gustie (alain’s dad) warned us about them. They drive a different color car too because they are mafia controlled.)

Eventually the sun comes up, so I finally see this country, at first what I thought was abandoned cities lined along the highways. This is where Alain explained that Italy is a very very poor country. Like in Armaroni, every winter, all the men from the village head off to foreign countries, primarily Germany and Switzerland, with a program and they work for half the year. Madeline was saying that if we visited them in the winter, it would be all women and children in the village.

Eventually we make it to Calabria/Corregliano to our camping resort place. Mainly Germans and Italians go there and honestly it was beautiful. We had a great time and the kids go to be introduced to the beach and the pool for the first time. They love the pool and sand but are afraid of the ocean. I guess it’s the loud noises of the wave crashing onto the shore. :)

The people in the camping ground were very nice and Alain and I enjoyed the bar where we chatted with this one bartender who spoke only Italian and German. We had a little trailer, clean, roomy with a nice sized front porch where we spent most of our time and we were not even a minute walk from the ocean.

I unfortunately got sick. Our 20 hour drive in the cold pouring rain made me sleep a lot but I went to the beach and laid in the sun, unfortunately went into the pool (it was cold) and lost my voice for 2 days. The weather was perfect, warm, breezy and sunny.

Calabria is a poor town and as we would drive to the market (which was inside of a mall – how funny) we passed several regular prostitutes whom I lovingly called, “Blondie, Ugly Tan Line Girl, Leopard Skin, and Legs. Now what Libby and didn’t understand was that everything is
EXPENSIVE in Italy. These people don’t have money. Then it was explained to me that since they joined the EU and converted from the Lira to the Euro, it’s gotten poorer. To compare the prices before, as we left and stopped at a market for drinks, you could still see the marking of the old tags. For a bottle of water it’s used to be .30 Lira now its 3.20 Euro.

The one thing I was happy with was that (and this is cruel, I know) the Italians are exactly the way we stereotype them. Exactly! The men look like Casanovas with their darkly tanned skins, tight shirts, leather jackets, tight jeans, sleek glasses and slicked back raven black hair. The women are beautiful with long black straight but mainly curly hair, dark tanned skins, big tits and tight clothes. When they talk they always look like they are fighting, they are loud and the people in general were not very nice to us in this town.

Our trip to a “farmacia” was horrible. I asked the receptionist at the resort in German, “wo ist ein Apoteke in Calabria?”

She pulled out a map and sent us to an ocean side village where there are animals, strays and trash everywhere. I exclaimed, “We’re in Mexico!” It was the 5hour siesta time so people are just standing in the middle of the streets “talking” to each other. The farmacia tech look offended when I told her, “Gratzie” (thank you) as she gave me some stuff and after having to fight my way through the counter, I had to fight my way back out.

After we left Calabria, we headed towards Armaroni to drop the kids off by the parents so we could go to two Oceanside towns that I cannot remember how to spell. After dinner at a great pizzeria, we headed back. Never to be happier to be back in Switzerland.

The boys were awesome throughout this trip and they had a blast. In reality I had a good time too and happy to add Italy to my “places where’ve I been” map.

Other than that, after driving for 17 hours, I still went to class last night, happy for the first time to be able to ask my teacher for help in German. I got better medicine today.

Oh! There was 23 female prostitutes and 1 male prostitute.

Pic 1: dead frog in Calabria

pic 2: the family at the beach

pic 3: Me cutting Raffie's toenails.

pic 4: Gustie & Madeline

pic 5: view from Gustie and Madeline's place.

pic 6: A typical public bathroom in Italy.

pic 7: Finally in Switzerland as a schloss greets us in Lugano!

Until next time,

Rebekah

Grüezi! Banjos and Borzois - The 3rd Entry

2009-10-01T14:08:00.004-04:00

Sent September 15, 2009

Gruezi! Banjos and Borzois - The 3rd Entry

Guten Tag alle,

Let's see, the usual. I truly can, Ich spreche ein bisschen Duetsch, since last week was all about learning common verbs like; to go, to do, to make, to see, to listen, to read etc... and a few more nouns under my belt and adding conjunctions makes it all the better. Today, i tried making sentences with what i knew so far. I think that I'm understandable even though the structures are crude. yesterday at Priska & Marko's, i practiced a bit.

I do have a funny (to some) story to tell but let me get through all the other stuff first.

The boys are good. Whiniest bunch of critters. Libby and Alain are having to deal with how exceedingly clingy (and i mean CLINGY) Aidan is to Libby. Other than that, they are like normal almost 2 year olds except that they can't say words. This week, I got them to shake their
head when they DON'T want something. It's better than nodding for everything.

Tomorrow we leave for Calabria, Italy. Honestly, I'm willing to trade my spot for anyone who wants to go. The thieves and mafia capital of the universe (I wish i was lying) has never been of any interest to me. I rather spend my time here hiking and wandering through Schlosses
(castles), seeing rose gardens and working on my German than sitting in a mini van with whiny babies and an overly emotional and dramatic sister for 17hours just to go to another country where I can't speak the language and remember to wear clothing where i can hide my money
and passport. LOL. Plus like I want to miss the newest episode of Sturm der Liebe (my German soap opera. They speak simple and slow enough so i can barely understand them and hear how they pronounce words). Felix just asked Emma to marry him!!!

This week's adventure was to Schloss Wildegg in Wildegg, Switzerland to see the exhibition i was absolutely eager to see, a poisonous plant exhibition which was awesome. They discussed how certain lethal plats are used in modern medicines and had lists, examples and books on the
plants and their usages. Schloss Wildegg itself was lovely, recently inhabited until 1912 when the last relative died (were they stupid enough not to have kids to keep this beautiful small castle?!?!?!). To get to the mountain, the town bus which runs every hour (it was a
village), dropped me off at the base of the mountain and stupid me, in heels hiked up the mountain (which is surrounded by farms) through cow and sheep pastures. I ate lunch under a large hazelnut tree in the rose garden and descended the mountain barefooted.

The next adventure was the day i spent in Schaffhausen, rediscovering Munot in the summer time, walking the Rhine (all 6 miles of it) and practicing my German whenever i had a moment, even if no one understood what i was saying, which was often. The pronunciations of
the umlauts (all those letters with the dots over them) and the Diphthongs (Double umlauts that are spelled multiple ways but make the same sound) are what i am having the most trouble remembering. At least the basic 26 letter alphabet is the same for der Deutsch
Alphabet and it almost sounds the same too in English. I feel terrible for the Turkish, Slovenians and the South Koreans in my class who don't use a Germanic based alphabet. When we learned it tonight, I tought the South Korean girl was going to cry.

Yesterday we went to priska and Marko's for Raclatte (its like fondue but not really) and I baked a carrot cake with creamcheese icing. Once again devoured completely. Tomorrow, I'm using up the last of our apples and peaches and making bread for the trip.

whatever else i did last week, i don't remember. It wasn't important then. Finally, Okay, now we all know that i can't meet nice normal people. Libby was like, "I've lived here for five years and no one talks to me, says hi to me or waves to me! You get people talking to you, guys
waving and everyone says hi! What the hell??" I always have to meet fellow freaks and weirdos. Effie, you would appreciate this encounter, it reminded me of "Ketchup and Sauerkraut".

So after an afternoon of eating lunch by the Rhine which we took the boys, I decided that i wanted to watch the sunset by the Rhine. Libby worked the night shift, so i put the boys to bed, Alain came home and I left and took the bus. but i knew that it was well past sunset, so I
figured on a nice evening stroll.

Now backpackers are common here in Switzerland so its not unusual to see a filthy guy on a bike with a backpack peddling down the sidewalk. So of course i see some backpackers setting up to sleep along the Rhine, and there were also groups of people everywhere. Apparently
there was an event going on.

Now i go under a small canopy of trees, humming along when i suddenly hear a banjo. Yes, a bonifide American banjo, strumming away some country tune. In the darkness i squinted and i see a large snow white dog standing in the middle of the sidewalk. As the banjo music got
closer, i realized that i was looking at a real life Borzoi! I've always wanted to see one of those dogs, especially since they are said to be almost gone.

There is a small bench in the alcove of the hazelnut trees and at first the stench of filth hits me. Then i see two guys, both dirty with shaggy beards, they looked younger than me, one was dark haired with a stupid looking hat and the other a blonde wearing suspenders and a pinstripe shirt. The blonde was strumming away on the banjo. The borzoi sat next tot the blonde man as i started passing them.

"Gruezi." the dark haired guy said.

"Guten Abend." i replied.

Then the blonde guy asked me something in German and i stopped because I thought i could translate it. He resaid it again and i realized that he was a foreigner, like myself, speaking german. So i replied, "ich spreche ein bisschen Duetsch aber ich spreche English. du?"

The guys looked at each other, blinked and slowly the dark haired replied in american english, "Yeah. Cool. Well maybe you can help us, we are looking for a gas station so we can buy beer."

Now I'm waiting for them to ask me for money. "Beer? Which way did ya'll came from because you would have passed one if you came from," and I pointed towards Munot, "That way."

"What about that way. "pointed the blonde guy.

"well, that way takes you to Germany and the only gas station is the one after the customs booth."

They looked worried, "Will they search us?"

and i laughed, "looking like they way ya'll do. Absolutely!"

They laughed. "So there's one this way" and he pointed towards Munot.

Once again i replied that he was correct and for a few minutes they wanted to extract an exact location from me but i didn;t know so i bid them a good night and started walking away.

the blonde guy then asked if i had wanted to smoke a joint with them, and promptly laughing out loud i told them that they smelled too bad for me to consider it. They waved to me, wishing me a good night and i wandered down the Rhine.

I didn't stay long because there was just too many people for me to find somewhere comfy to sit.

Anyways, that was it. Oh and don;t expect pics of the boys smiling, they are very camera shy.

TTYL,

Rebekah

PS: Schloss Munot is Schaffhausen's castle. Its on the mountain in the center of the town, you can;t miss it!

Attached:

Pic1: the Rhein

Pic2: Rhinefalls

Pic3: Sign for the Poisonous Plant exhibition

Pic4: Aiden

Pic5: Raffie

Grüezi! So Many Trains - The 2nd Entry

2009-09-30T18:34:00.004-04:00

Sent: September 7, 2009

Gruezi! So Many Trains - The 2nd Entry

Howdy ya'll,

So so far, alle ist gut in der Schweiz! Oh the babies have taken to me so well and look for me every morning at the base of the stairs. I've taken three small movies with my camera. One of the boys watching their daddy have his OCD ticks, them running out back in diapers and
another at the park. They may be too big to add since they are all like 3 min or so but i'll try. Also pics will be included.

The temperature is still good here. Chilly at night and warm during the day. Libby gave me a couple of her "fat" clothes (all medium - and yes, this is fat to her) to wear and a new pair of "inspiration" pants, size 10 jeans, since I already fit into the size 12 jeans that Rachael's gave me. I've already had one German class, just basic greetings and farewells, where I'm from and what language i speak, kind of stuff. I practice by reading out loud labels, their version of the pennysaver and putting together 2+2 since, surprise!, alot of our words in English (ya'll have no idea how many) came from German because its spelled and means the same. nouns are easy to figure out here, not so much the verbs.

As for adventures, other than going to Herblingen (shopping mall) and Winterthur (classes), I finally traveled to Griefensee (Gree-fen-sea) and Hinwill (Hin-vill), Two small nowhere towns, why? Well, I had a character from Hinwill and i finally wanted to see it. Its the last stop on the S5 train, seriously a village in the mountains. Nothing worth noting until I came home and Alain is like, "did you go to the tower in the mountains and the pirate bar?"

to which i replied, "What tower and pirate bar?!" Why doesn't anyone tell me these things, especially since Alain grew up in Wetzikon (Vet-si-con), the village right before Hinwill. So i'm having another trip there. Now Greifensee was beautiful, its on a huge (i mean it
looks like it never ends) lake and its a sailing, canoeing, cycling, swimming town. I wished i had a bike, none of this psychotic mountainous hills, nice flat mountain trails along the lake to bike.

That day it was raining off and on and i put my most said phrase to good use, "Ich spreche ein bission Deutch" = I speak very little German. Exhausted after hiking a total of five hours, it was pouring, i found a bus stop and it looked like it said that it went to the Bahnhof. I was catching the last bus in this village and when the driver went to the last stop and opened the door for me to get off, i went up to him and said my coined phrase followed by, "bahnhof, ja?" he figured out that i was not from there and smiled, apparently it was not far since he took me to the bahnhof, i jumped off the bus saying, "Vielen Danke!!" which meant, "Thank you so very much!"

Friday night i went wandering into town to the Rhine. Today (Sunday) we all went to Konstanz, Germany to an aquarium. Its was the boy's first time and maybe not the best choice for them. they were PETRIFIED of the fishies. and on our hands were the whiniest, scaredy cats ever.
Silly things. Thank goodness we didn't go to the petting zoo with Priska and Marco (canceled due to car trouble), those boys would be screaming and shaking in their shoes! Ah, they'll get over it. On the way back, we went to Stein am Rhine to the Schloss (castle) on the top of the mountain since i never got the chance to and its a good few hour hike up the damn mountain (i'm referring to the day i came back in January. Today we just grove). The view is breathtaking, especially
on a clear sunny day. I am returning to Stein am Rhine for the museums and i want to tour the Schloss. Libby and i want to come early one sat morning and jog the numerous mountain trails on the way to the Schloss.

Sarah, the Indian neighbor gave me half a Kewpit ( i think that's how its spelled), its like a pumpkin that she grew in her garden and in her broken English, she said that she heard i baked. I tasted the flesh and inspired by its mild sweetness, i baked two loves of bread with a homemade glaze. The first loaf disappeared within a day and i gave half of the other loaf to Sarah. She is bugging me for this recipe so i got to sit down and convert it all to Metric. :)

Okay, picture time! beware these are only from the point and shoot. Finally.

1. WC in Oerlikon Bahnhof. (i was waiting for my connection) It was
literally the size of a closet.

2. Boys at park

3. View from Stein am Rhine's Schloss at the top of the mountain.

4. Karaoke at Priska's

gute Nacht,

Rebekah

Grüezi! Kissies - The First Entry

2009-09-30T18:26:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I decided to back log my email as entries here. I figure, why not?
--
SENT: AUGUST 31, 2009

gruezi! Kissies - the first entry

Howdy ya'll,

as promised, an email! Well since i am writing i obviously made it to Switzerland in one piece, luggage included! Unlike last time when a piece was lost. Did have way too much drama at the airport but that was handled efficiently. Its a big difference coming here in the late Summer with so many people in the airport and more people out and about. Its so beautiful here with the roses and flowers in every flower box and garden. Including Libby's, I spent Saturday pruning the
roses since she doesn't like the thorns. The boys are very handy helpers and picked up the clippings for me.

I flew with United this time and the only perk was that i didn't have to pick my luggage up in DC on the way to Switzerland but in comparison to AirCanada, it was 3 out of 5 stars.

Cons: less legroom, food was mediocre, crappy entertainment system with inability to choose what you want to watch, barely any attention from the stewardesses after the lights went out. And panel of the plane inside the cabin fell off and hit the lady next to me. Seriously, it was very nerving.

Pros: Didn't need to go through customs on the way, and more bathrooms.

I had the vegetarian meal (which i normally do on a plane since i don;t want to hit the bathroom often) and it was very good. I heard nothing but complaints about the meat dish so i was happy i didn't get the turkey. Of course i had to have the super talkative person next to me but in the morning a 12month old wanted to look out the window and her mommy asked me if it was ok for me to hold her. The baby girl was adorable, she loved the clouds.

The boys are huge and adorable! They don't do hugs but they will give you kisses and unlike last time, they actually come to you! Libby is so happy that the boys are taking to me. Of course they love their sausages and yogurt, still can't live with "blankie" but they can eat with their utensils, they can tell you when they are going to the bathroom, they nod = yes, they can get their shoes, assist you with putting on their clothes, hold hands when out walking, do handstands and rollovers, and let you know when they are hungry. They haven't expanded their vocabulary too much, added "ababba" for drink and that's about it. but they are very vocal now with other people but they still speak to each other constantly in their own special language. Aidan sings and Raffie dances.

Day one, to Winterthur to sign up for my German classes which i will start tomorrow (Monday), a little bit of window shopping and some food shopping. Friday was they big shopping day to Germany, this time instead of going to the other border near Singen, Germany we stayed in
the Kanton of Schaffhausen and went to the border here. One of the buses here goes to that shopping center since the village of Burlingen (within Schaffhausen) actually belongs to Germany, so it has Schaffhausen transit to take the folk of Burlingen to go shopping.

There is a Lida (like an Aldi), DM (like a Walgreens), a "dollar store" and i can't remember the other place. Then we went into town for a little bit where we picked up a cell phone to use while I'm here. So i have my own Swiss number! but it seems weird having a phone with no one to call. Its just for us to be able to get a hold of each other since i am going to be out and about alot on my own.

Saturday, we went to Jumbo (like a cross between Michael's and Lowes) to get me a plug adapter for my laptop. Mainly played with the boys and Today we had breakfast together and then we went to Priska's for dinner and sang karaoke. Raffie held the microphone and was singing.
(It was more lake "wawawaaawawaaa" but absolutely adorable to witness!) She's letting me borrow an extra pair of roller blades (we wear the same size) to practice on since she wants me to join them when they go out. Libby's happy to have a running partner and we run up the road to the forest that houses the hospital which is well lit at night. Running here is nothing like running back in Florida; higher altitude, hills galore, perfect weather where you are not dying of heat and lovely scenery.

LOL, Priska's cat, Sonne, broke my sunglasses and it also likes to attack toes. I'm heading into Winterthur and hour early tomorrow to buy glasses, they have a C&A and a Claires and it will be less expensive than going to a MANOR or a H&M here. Right now there is so many summer sales! I'm waiting for H&M to have one since i loved shopping there. I baked biscuits for breakfast and honey soaked cakes for dinner Friday.

Anyway, currently, Libby and I are eating jelly filled wheat croquettes while waiting Wurthering Heights on the Italian TV station. Almost time for bed. I'm getting my railway and buss passes tomorrow!

TTYL,

Rebekah

ps: i will have pics next time.

2 Weeks for free books

2009-08-12T21:41:00.003-04:00

So happy to know that the film was absolutely loved! I feel very proud of it and hope to make many more. My friend who helped me is interested in making more as well as inviting me to participate on some of his films. I'm happy. As I explained earlier to him, I've always been interested in films. My works reflects that with the use of multiple imagery (narratives) and the use of text. What held me back? The lack of skill in using a video camera and editing scares the bejesus outta me. So I am already working on Bunni's next movie. Something with the German I will have learned, maybe a musical...

In two weeks, at this time, I will be crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I have figured out my luggage situation and my fear of not having enough space is resolved. Its sad to realize that all my stuff will fit in a small suitcase but I have to carry two HUGE ones just for all the "gifts". I shouldn't be complaining but being the efficient/utilitarian person I have become in the last two years, it drives me crazy.

Luckily I have a busy next few days that will help the time pass but next week will be free until Friday. I may just hit the beach. Found out that ordering books off of Amazon Germany and have them shipped to my sister's home is FREE! I love countries that charges no S/H for books. Too bad nothing will be in English but in the process of learning German, I want to pick up a few young adult books in German. Why? The English is MUCH simpler yet not as trite as children's books.

Little Bunni Goes on an Adventure

2009-08-11T17:51:00.004-04:00

Here's is my 3rd video - My first one with sound and editing. You are viewing the really crappy quality version. The almost DVD version is up on Youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY_0fzVJ96s

Enjoy!

News x3

2009-08-06T17:04:00.007-04:00

Wow, so three new cool things are happening.

One: I'm going back to Switzerland. I will be gone from August 26 - November 23. So expect pictures posted on here. I am resurrecting my email group that I had when I was there back in January 2009 and this time, add a pic every email. As to why I'm going? Well, my sister needs me right now and everyone knows how I work, I go where I'm needed.

Two: I'm making my 3rd film tomorrow. It was a response to "how am I going to tell people that I'm leaving without answering unnecessary questions??" My friend who is a film teacher is helping my put this together. So this will actually be my first film with sound and really good editing! I'm excited. I finished the script and emailed it to him last night so he can make his own notes. I'm so excited that I may ask him to help me with a mockumentary that I've been wanting to make for a decade now. Don't worry, the film will be emailed, posted here and on Facebook. I still don't trust YouTube and still believe it should rot but that's just my opinion.

Three: I posted this on Twitter but this is my second year advancing to the Photographer's Forum Best of Photography (I've always done the college one) International Competition and I am in the top 100 as a Finalist! They haven't chosen yet who placed but I am so excited that my work will be published! How cool is that!

Overall, I'm scared and anxious to be away for so long in a foreign country but its not like I'm alone. I have my sister and nephews to drive me lovingly insane, I'm taking immersion German twice a week, get some writing done and I have a list of museums and events that I want to do. Plus TONS of pictures.

I will be posting one last thing on here before I go.

Have a great day!

Writing Booster

2009-07-18T23:05:00.005-04:00

Currently, I have enjoyed the sudden burst of inspiration to tackle a whole plot line that I have struggled with for the last four years. It has been one of those obstacles that I discussed with Manda-chan well over a decade ago.

In my plotline layout, it came to this one point where I could go either way with my heroine. The road I had pondered over, didn't sit well on my stomach. The ending would be horribly tragic but for all the wrong reasons and that just doesn't work. My people need to suffer in a way that pleases me. The other path, well, I knew it was there but it was dark, under heavy rain and road construction. I tinkered with it, had all these other scenarios, but nothing was right. Until it took a broken heart (sadly mine) to realize what had to be done. The rain stayed but it was no longer dark, just night. Finally! A name, place and why!

I wish I could give more but the only person up to date I no longer talk to and Manda-chan, if I could just get all my thoughts onto a simpler layout, I'd send it to you with a hundred page explanation. My only other problem is where to not begin with this whole thing. I have so much information...

I have to say this only because I can't contain it; I am proud of my heroine for making the hardest decision of her life.

Even better, I am grabbing primer from my storage unit tomorrow. I feel like painting again.

Event Samples II

2009-06-07T13:59:00.003-04:00

Same Wedding, just more from it.

Event Samples

2009-06-03T14:45:00.003-04:00

I assisted another photographer for this wedding. These are some of the stuff that I shot. It was great working with you Glenda!

Posting Some Samples II

2009-06-03T14:40:00.002-04:00

Posting Some Samples

2009-06-03T14:33:00.003-04:00

Here is some images from my portfolio. Just something to start with until I get a website put together.

Blogging vs a Website

2009-06-01T23:35:00.000-04:00

So instead of a website, I've decided to try a blog of my work for now. I will be putting this together in the next few weeks since I am house-sitting with tons of time on my hands. Welcome to whoever is reading this!