then the dog went to the store and ate green bananas for a little while before he yawned and walked home.

I was trying to get Word's auto-language to switch to English, and this was the sentence I typed off the top of my head. Just thought I'd share, since I'm a little proud of it. And putting off work, of course.

Warning! Lots of pictures in this post!

First of all I wanted to post a pic of me and Hannah, my awesome German buddy from back in the high school days, and a good friend of mine that I don't get to see very often. We met up in Berlin for two days this extended weekend, and got to catch up a little. It was really fun! Here we are in a famous cemetery (Invalidenfriedhof) in Berlin:


Now the rest of the pictures all have to do with the same subject: SOCCER! Or really Fußball, as the Germans call it. I just want to convey how much Fußball-Fever there is in our small town of Goettingen:

The Mexican team is being housed in Goettingen, so there's a lot of "Willkommen Mexiko!" stuff in shops...I love how seriously this mannequin is wearing not-so-serious garb.

Soccer/German flag candy

Soccer display at the entrance of the Karstadt department store. There was a TV behind the display showing big soccer moments or something like that--notice all the men watching it.

Soccer books

Soccer toiletries: lotion, soap, makeup, etc.

Soccer dishware

World cup perfume and cologne.

"Sadness tissues" for if you cry while watching a game.

Cindy and Vivian showing off the soccer pasta, soccer ball pillow and soccer ball print toilet paper.

CRAZY!! But it's really cool to be in the midst of all this obsession; I've never experienced such a unified excitement for one thing!

Going to Berlin tomorrow (for my 4th time! Do I get a prize?) to meet up with my best blogging buddy, Hannah! I haven't seen her since last Thanksgiving, when she was in Davis by coincidence and we went to Crepeville...mmm the memories.

I'm a little sad rain is predicted pretty much as far as any weather report can predict...but I'm still excited!

My little sister was in her last high school musical last week; they did Into the Woods, the rather weird play that makes fun of fairy tales. (Remember when we saw it at Davis, Corie?) Leah was Cinderella, and apparently she did a really good job (as usual!), and since I didn't get to see it, my parents sent me some pics. And I decided to share them, since they're pretty good. (Click to see full size)

With her friend Danielle, who plays the Baker's Wife

With Prince Charming

With the cast

Singing the last song of the play

Cammy graduates from college today! (I almost wrote she graduates from high school.) This is crazy. I am not supposed to be this old. I mean, I guess I'M not the one graduating yet, but...time FLIES! And my little girl is growing up....

Congratulations Cammy!

You are one of the awesomest people I know! And now you are even more awesome, because you are a college graduate!

Who needs sunshine when you've got lots of reading to do anyway?

PS-Da Vinci Code movie...not so great. But I found Tom Hanks strangely somewhat attractive with his longish hair.

Look how disgustingly healthy my lunch was today:


That's right! Natural and wild rice mixed with baked tofu and fresh arugula! All organic! Sometimes I'm so proud of myself that I post about it on my blog.

L-O-V-E love, it's coming back, it's coming back
L-O-V-E love, it's coming back, it's coming back

Refer to our discussions, confirm the terms of our love affair
I exercise all options, and I know I'll see you there

BA-BA-BA etc. etc.

L-O-V-E love, it's coming back, it's coming back
L-O-V-E love, it's coming back, it's coming back

Not withstanding provisions of clauses 1,2,3 and 4
Extend contractual period, me and you for evermore

You're the Legal Man, you've got to prove that you're no liar
I'll render services that you may reasonably require

L-O-V-E love, it's coming back, it's coming back
L-O-V-E love, it's coming back, it's coming back

Get out of the city and into the sunshine
Get out of the office and into the springtime
Get out of the city and into the sunshine
Get out of the office and into the springtime
Get out of the city and into the sunshine
Get out of the office and into the springtime
Get out of the city and into the sunshine
Get out of the office and into the springtime

--Legal Man, Belle & Sebastian

This is unfortunately a very sad post, but I just felt that I should share the news with everyone who knew Vivian. Vivian's mom passed away from cancer on Saturday, after a very long and painful battle. Anyone that knows her mom knows what a sweet, kind woman she was to all of Vivian's friends, and she will be missed by many.

What I if I do this for my summer job?

My blog is officially three years old! Actually, its birthday was on May 8 (which happens to be Kaylan's 21st birthday too), but of course I forgot both birthdays until several days later. I'm pretty bad about that.

But happy birthday to both!

This is a prime example of typical "Germanism":
I get a note in my mailbox saying that I owe the housing people 30 cents for a new lightbulb, and I have to pay within a week. I don't remember when I needed to change a lightbulb, but it's kind of lame to argue over 30 cents, so I manage to make time to get down to the student housing building (which is open only 3 hours a day), and pay the 30 cents. And I don't just pay it; they have to write out a whole receipt showing what I payed for, when I payed it, and signed by me.
It's just freaking 30 cents!!

PS-Jack White is a father! They named the baby girl Scarlet Theresa. I'm proud of him for choosing a relatively normal name!

Oh man. Today was a reenactment of all those horrible years forced to play soccer/frisbee/touch football in PE during middle and high school.
Played ultimate frisbee and then soccer with the Americans, Germans, and a couple Brits today out on the field...and managed to hide in the background most of the time. Although I DID make a great catch, stopping the soccer ball with my hands (and no, I wasn't playing goalie, lol). Luckily the people that I played with were not hard-core at all, and were able to laugh it off.
Now I am back home where I belong, hunched over in front of the computer screen!

You know you have too much music when you hear a song you like at a club, research all the info about it, only to discover that you already have the song on one of your CDs.

But at least you already have the song!

I am an avid follower of Jay Leno's "Headlines," which are posted on his website. I just wanted to share a couple of "For Sale" ads he showed that I thought were really funny: