The Hangout

I am too nervous....

2011-01-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

World CUP in handball started today and our first game is tomorrow. When I say "our" I mean Iceland's. I am a proud foreigner in this country but when we play handball or any other foreigner has something nasty to say about this island, my internal Viking gets turned on and those horns will meet you were it hurts. Consequently, instead of studying I am watching old you-tube recordings of games from 2008.

Handball is the only sport we are actually good at, well that and Icelandic GLIMA, and let's face it...the guys look ridiculous in those tight pants that go over the shoulders and things get grabbed that God intended to be treated nicely. Besides, those Japanese pamper babies really have the edge when it comes to ridiculous sports in inappropriate clothing.

So you can feel the buzz on this little ice-cube these days and tomorrow is gonna be crazy. It is the time when fast food chains make a real profit, 'cause nobody has the nerves to cook, luckily so...'cause I am betting my lush hamburger tomorrow that our fire departments will be glued to the television as well and draw charcoal outlines of our defense set ups.

Here is to OUR team, may it succeed and give its nation a bit of a lift:)

2011-01-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Since the early 1600's, residents in a German Bavarian town -a German village tucked away 40 miles south-west of Munich at the lower edge of Bavaria- produced a play every ten years depicting the life and death of Jesus after God spared them from today's trivia result.

HINT at this BUGGER!

Leave a phenomenal clue in the comment section and help your fellow blogger along and show me what you've got :)

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

My life is changing, I can feel it... I really wanna give 2011 a hug, but I do not even know how I would go about embracing 300 something days; just can't make hands meet! I guess I will settle for blowing a kiss in whichever direction the wind blows less.

I hope your 2011 contains a few leaps of faith, a loving embrace and spaghetti!

How about a new start...

2010-08-14T07:10:00.001-07:00

I would like one every day, just to be on the safe side. Or how about whenever I do something stupid I immediately regret right after. Well, given the rate I am going, I would have to be re-born at least twice every day....and let's face it who would like to surrogate such an idea?!

I wonder why we make mistakes and why we even make them when we know they are stupid, even in bloody foresight. What drives us to commit to a moment and push past and future to the sidelines despite their heavy objections? Because living in the moment is thrilling, it makes you alive right here and right now and whatever door of doom you just opened at least you walked into it intentionally. Fate is such a common company and why should she always get to choose? It is your life, make it count and have it on your terms. Even if that means waking up with a hangover of doubts!

My summary of chapter 18....

2009-09-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

School sure is being a bitch at the moment, but I do not seem to mind too much. A couple of minutes ago dad came into my room and saw me drawing and said "So, that's what they call studying these days?!" Upon coming closer he said: "What the heck is that?!" Well, my human physiology impaired friends, these are the locations of the different partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the circulation...or my summary of chapter 18, if you will.

To seize any moment, I used dad's perplexity to ask him if he would bring me some tea. He did, a puzzled look still on his face :)

Ok, with the next post we will return to our weekly "Guess the person- trivia!" What are the odds of it being study-related? You do the math!

It's a New Era...(for like the third time!)

2009-09-09T03:55:00.001-07:00

I have returned to blogging, partly because facebook allows little for fully-formed sentences and most importantly: orion is safely located 2/3 rd of its length from the sun...perfect for new beginnings. Oh, it DOES matter!

What have I for you today?
Two things....my newly-aquired ability to scan old photos and my first stance of individuality!
I'd say that is rather good for a Wednesday morning...

Please be so kind as to control your eye-muscles to the picture on the left. You will see young Monika and her brother in kindergarden. I remember this picture-taking vividly, even the name of the teacher to my left...Frau Ulrich!

Every one of us children was going to run down the slide and a picture was taken. I distinctly remember thinking that I didn't want my picture to look like all the other pictures and most certainly nothing like the picture my brother would take. You see, back in those days....having your picture taken was a big deal.

There I was; I decided to cling my arms behind the steal bars to give it that little extra and slide gracefully down...or so I thought...geometry and physics not being taught in kindergarden, my arms got caught behind the steel bars and once I finally got down-with the help of Frau Ulrich- it hurt!

Moral of the story: being different takes a lot...mostly it can hurt and most often you make a fool of yourself. A little sailor suit certainly does not improve the matter! However, if you have very good luck, you might be able to use it later in life as a cute anecdote about yourself that will make some people smile and some might even nod knowingly.

This goes out to all of you who remember wanting to be different. And if you still posess that daring quality... leave some fully-formed sentences is my dare-devil comment section!

Welcome back, you all!

Another trivia...it's what we do around here!

2009-01-27T06:08:00.000-08:00

She was born in 1780 into a rich Quaker family in England. She received education and spend her youth flollowing her mother who tended to the poor and sick. Giving birth to 11 children did not stop her from following in her Mom's footsteps and in 1813 she visited for the first time Newgate Prison. An experience that shaped the rest of her life and even resulted in a book. In 1818 she spoke to people in Parliament and in 1823 the Gaol Act was passed that helped to improve living conditions in prisons. This charitable woman passed in 1845 and since 2002 can be seen on the back of a Bank of England note!

Now ...to the comment section with the lot of you and hint at this queen of a woman!

Weekend - Trivia

2009-01-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend we are looking for a physicist, born in Poland or Germany depending on your point in time. And to make things more complicated, he spend most of his life in the Netherlands. Despite having an angelic first name, his first invention in 1709 was a compilation of heat and alcohol. He adapted it 5 years later and used mercury instead of alcohol, differently toxic but probably less religiously offensive.

Any ideas? Measure your wisdom in the comment section with a HINT. If your brain is frozen, wait a bit...other hints might come in and warm things up for you...let the games begin!

It's Another Manic Monday....

2009-01-12T04:51:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that school has been driving me crazy these days...the teachers seem to be an unorganzied lot of weirdoes, apart from the fact that they are doctors. After one week, I thought I had seen it all when the newest lecturer dragged in a shakey overhead projector and started to fumble with cords that seemed too much for him. I'll be damned if I ever let him touch my intestines.

Then he got out his slides; I don't know if you ever studied Latin, but the letters looked as archaic and there was no evidence of color printing nor visual aids. Those slides looked, quite frankly, like a knitting instruction from Slovakia to me. I gave him a look of polite incomprehension and left the classroom.

Mondays!

p.s. I have an exam tomorrow morning, so everyone wish me good luck! ;)

Oh yes, it is trivia time!

2009-01-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

Most of you know the rules; if you are new, here's the short version:

1. Don't blurt out the answer. Leave a witty remark in the comment section that paraphrases, disguises or hints to your guess. I'll judge if you were right.
2. Don't point fingers at others and laugh. ( a treat reserved for the host of this blog and yellow budgies!)
3. Don't finish the cookies!

let's go...

A man born in London in 1633. He started to write a diary in 1660 and continued writing it until 1669, I guess he had a lot to say. Bad eyesight stopped him to continue. In fact, his diary gives us insights into his time, hello!...things like The Great Plague and the Great Fire of London were causing havoc and he also buried a big cheese we are told, to protect his house from catching fire. I guess he had his reasons, perhaps bad eyesight!

More interestingly, he wrote in letters that looked like a code and was referred to as Shelton's shorthand. He died in 1703, probably not of glaucoma.

Who's the man? Now of to the comment section with you and let the fun begin! HINT away!

One of my resolutions (for there are several!) is to...

2009-01-05T11:27:00.001-08:00

do something really good for someone else. And since I am rather fond of my kidneys, I thought: "Hey let's look into being an egg donor."

I changed my mind. This is what I found on one page: (feel free to be astounded with me!)

COMPENSATION $100,000

Preferred Donor will meet the following criteria:

*Height 5’7 or Taller

*Caucasian

*Very Attractive

*18-28 years old

*Proven Intelligence

*Athletic Ability Preferred

*No Genetic Medical Issues

Proven intelligence? Very attractive? Let's see a bit closer what exactly they mean, shall we? Oh it goes on, believe you me!

Height 5’7 or Taller

Our family is tall and therefore hopes to find a tall donor however, you will not automatically be eliminated from the search if you are not 5'7 or taller. You may apply at any height however, if you are shorter than 5'7 it helps if you have immediate family members who are tall.

Caucasian

Our current search is for an individual who has a heritage that is Caucasian however please check back in the future if you have a different heritage.

Very Attractive

Modeling experience is a plus but is not required.

18-28 years old

We are unable to accept applications from potential donors who are younger than 18. While many donor programs accept applicants who are over age 30, we are fairly firm on our age limit. If you are 30 years old, you may still apply, but no applicants over age 31 will be accepted. Our network of doctors have set this criterion and we are unable to make exceptions.

Proven Intelligence

While we are looking for a donor who has graduated from a top 100 four year college, we realize that not all women are afforded this opportunity. If you are not college educated but have proven intelligence, please consider filling out our application.

Athletic Ability Preferred

We are currently looking for a donor who has a history of participating in athletics or dance. Playing or performing at a college or professional level is ideal. Please note that a lack of athletic ability will not eliminate you from this search and women who are gifted in other areas are encouraged to apply.

No Genetic Medical Issues

This criterion is absolute. Please contact us if you have any questions about what is considered a genetic medical issue.

I didn't realize that people who cannot have children are so specific about their probable offspring. What are we cloning for? And I almost made it too...proven intelligence? I didn't even get this advert!

Here we go again...

2009-01-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

Another new year, another blog and I am still missing that sock I was looking for last night. Things don't seem to change even when monumental changes, such as the passing of December 31 to January 1st, occur. I am blaming elves, just so you know!

I have high hopes for this year though; so far every succeeding year has been better than the year before. I recall when I was 6 and thinking...nah, just kidding...I was too busy sticking yellow post-its on little Patrick's back and make him look like a poopooh-head, than have any thoughts involving another time-frame. Little Patrick did though, he wanted to be a priest like his dad ...which was a bit of a turn off to be quite frank until years later when I heard the song "Son of a Preacher Man" and metaphorically kicked myself for not using pink post-its on him.

Anyways 2009, come on in! I am quite ready for you...well, give me a sec until I find that sock and then we can battle it out.

A phenomenal 2009 to each and everyone, except those elves...they better mend their ways.

appendix: If you got a few minutes head on over here and listen to me ramble on about something or other to do with lager drinking and barley feeding to swine.