Wo Ist Yanet?

Janet ist in Deutchland! Frohe Weihnachten!

Smoothing Bumps for Boomers - New York Times

Smoothing Bumps for Boomers - New York Times
I am ready for this class now.

On my way

I am getting ready, tying up loose ends, doing a lot of work, and making lists. There is so much to get done, and I am glad we are not leaving tonight. I mastered how to say "Merry Christmas" in German this week. I will just repeat it over and over.

A funny thing is when I discuss Paris with people who have been there, they tend to all advise me to eat a chocolate croissant. At least 3 people on seperate occasions have gone out of their way to tell me that. So I shall have a chocolate croisssant. I am prepared for its lifechanging effect!

My main goal this week is avoiding illness from the stinkers I see. This is a major challenge. One of my parents called to say her child had a fever, but she could give him motrin and come out (into the pool nonetheless). Wow, am I glad she asked instead of showing up. I have developed OCD this week (more than usual), and I have been treating kids at arms length.

It will be interesting to travel somewhere more expensive than NY. I am accustomed to feeling like food, etc are bargains elsewhere. I will be rooting for the lowly dollar for the next week. We do have some Euros here, but we have to figure out how we are going to do money out there.

So, I will have a blue Christmas without all of you! Here are some scenes from past celebrations.

Snow Miser - Heat Miser

I ended up watching the best claymation (OK, maybe a tie with Rudolf) tonight. It is such a non-sequitor that I associate the heat and cold miser with Christmas in the first place. The stories in claymation are strange, but they are so familiar that it is OK somehow. My new favorite part is when all of the manipulative little girls in the world sing "Blue Christmas" and draw sad Christmas scenes to make Santa get up while ill to deliver the greedy little beotches some toys. So sing along and enjoy.

Detroit Revival Vies with Auto Industry's Decline - New York Times

Detroit Revival Vies with Auto Industry's Decline - New York Times

OK, Here is one of Mike's pictures. I just could not resist. To be fair, I included one of mine. Mike commented that if you block my upper half out, it looks like a pair of adult legs standing next to Pat. I suppose nobody would believe our age spread at that time.

Why we need a house

As you all know, we are house hunting. My desperation always rises when it is laundry night, or some house problem is occuring that my landlady will freak out about. We bought a new range, because the idea of her dealing with it and her stress level was too much for us. All of the little things are just getting to me.

She just got back to town last week after being at her second home for a month. I immediately realized when she parked her car in the garage that her month-long repair to her fuel system failed. Diesel fumes filled the garage. I enter our apartment through the garage. Our kitchen opens up into the garage, and our room is about 10 feet away. Needless to say, I do not want to be breathing diesel fumes all night. She did not believe me when I told her about the car (I suppose after all of that time and money you want to believe they fixed it), but it was easy to prove. After about a week of the car being in and out of the garage, I think she brought it in to the dealer. After work, the garage had a new funk, like diesel mixed with a bouquet or urine. The floor had white looking powder. Mike discovered an empty jug of...drum roll please.... AMMONIA!!!!. I can not comprehend why you think that would help matters. I guess she never took any chemistry in school. So at 10 PM, Mike was out pouring kitty litter on the mess and praying he could adequately clean it up.
So that 5-7,000 a month mortgage is looking so attractive now.

Time's running out.....

I have been insanely productive the last few weeks. Crossing things off my list, paying bills, paying taxes (on time), doing my paperwork, vacation planning, Christmas shopping, and so on. I watched part of all of the Lord of the Rings this weekend, but I burned out on sword fighting after watching Gladiator too. That is Mike's fantasy weekend. I just do not want to spend a ton of money before we go to Europe and suffer the lowly value of the dollar over there.

Mike's family pics scanned nicely and easily were downloaded into the digital picture frame we are giving his aunt for her birthday. We had to get an adapter too, and that took some thought. It worked out really well. I told Mike that I did not post any pictures, but I was dying to do it. Maybe he will let me post a cool old picture anyways. I love going through people's pictures. It is funny how pictures look the same from our childhoods due to the fashions and type of cameras used.

I was stressed out first about the lodging (it appears our hotel is open) and transportation. The transportation ended up being quite time-consuming and complicated. We are renting a car from Frankfurt and returning it to Paris (we will get rid of the car the day we arrive to France to make things less complicated) For a while, we considered renting a car and then taking the train. I got so many prices quoted for either option, and finally got a reasonable offer on Friday just to rent. I have not really driven a manual much, so Mike thinks I should learn on the rental car so I am ready to test drive my Maserati (I got a second invitation in the mail a couple of days ago). So an manual eurobox on the Autobahn! Yahoo!

Our French ability sucks! I hope I get to hang out with Mike Castle at least one day there. We went through my French cookbook last night and wrote down what sounded good. I am just going to buy a beret, wear a knotted red scarf around my neck, and say, "Oolay Voolay Voooo". People keep giving us recommendations, but Mike and I just hear "Ooolay vooolay vooooooooo". It is annoying, because I usually deal with Spanish (I have some background there) or now German (which is not too bad, really) reasonably well. I get to speak my crappy Spanish on the job at times, and it really can get me through things pretty well. I just can not understand drunk people in Spanish or those who talk really fast. So we grabbed a phrasebook tonight and hopefully it will help. I am getting more comfortable not being able to communicate. I treated a little girl for 2 years who was Japanese. Her mother spoke barely any English, and the girl went to a Japanese language school. It was fine suprisingly, and the little girl started picking up English from me during sessions. She would speak Japanese, I would respond in English, but it was amazingly appropriate. She was really cute, because she would sing her little kid songs in Japanese (usually about butterflies and dragonflies).

I did not have much shopping to do (just money for nephews) and most of it was internet based. I finished Christmas cards tonight. It struck me why I have not been talking to anyone. I just do not have much to say. The last 9 months have consisted of saying, "We are staying out here and looking slowly for a house". Otherwise I go to work, go to the gym, and lie around the house. So I wrote we are staying out here and looking for a house a bunch of times and called it a day. I am sure nobody wants a form letter from me. I suppose you just get the painful day to day version on this forum!

I just pray this week that I stay healthy. I need to get a mask on the way to work tommorrow. Too many kids coughed in my face last week.

Use your noodle

Memory - Aging - Medicine & Health - New York Times
Some suprising findings.

aquaholic

My plant has a serious drinking problem. I picked up this rosemary topiary for the holidays (and to use for some fresh herbs). The instructions said that you need to water it a lot, but you could put it in a bowl of water if you wanted to ensure it got enough water. Every time I would check the bowl, it would be bone dry. So I put it in a serving-sized bowl. It sucks it dry really fast. So today at noon I refilled the thirsty plant's bowl, and I will take another picture tommorrow morning.

A Christmas Carol

Tis the time of year when you hear all of the Christmas music nearly everywhere. Last weekend while out to dinner, they were playing contemporary Christmas music (with artists like Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, and God knows who else). They had the Barbara Streisand "Jingle Bells" in the rotation as well. That has got to be the worst cover of a Christmas song ever! Sue and I like to sing that song to each other the last few years (it inevitably appears on one of our voicemails).

I really do not like contemporary Christmas songs. I have no interest in hearing my favorite artists belt out their own compositions or the classics. I just do not like it. I think I figured out why recently.

Christmas is about tradition and nostalgia. You find yourself looking for the same standard traditions of your childhood. For me it was making sugar cookies with icing and decorations. It is trying to find the elusive thumbprint recipe that we lost. I would love to taste them again! It is getting a live tree with an angel on the top (we never had a star). No flashing lights and plenty of greens on the mantle. Christmas is celebrated on Christmas eve, and Santa was never a big deal.
We always went for a drive to look at the lights after church.

Growing up we listened to the same albums year after year. They were compilation records of various artists of the 50s and 60s. So I expect Bing Crosby to sing White Christmas and Johnny Mathis for Chestnuts. Anyone else singing them seems a little wrong for some reason. Let it Snow was covered by Steve and Edie Gormet. I forget what song Mitch Miller did on the album. Mike's parents broke out their Perry Como Christmas album. It was close to my experience, but just not right. It was right for Mike though! I will rake my memory for a more accurate song line-up. I am sure Pat will remember though!

Mom update

Here is an email I got today in case you have not had time to check.

Hi Everyone! Paris was wonderful; I think it's the most beautiful city I've ever been in. We had a lot of drizzle, but got lucky on our full day there and had sunshine for 4 hours! We wandered into a lovely little church on our way to Notre Dame and attended a Latin high mass with incense and Gregorian Chant. Loved Notre Dame but couldn't see half. Walked the Champs Elysee, etc. It went by too fast....Cairo is an entirely different experience. I've never seen such traffic in my life, and the air pollution is beyond belief. But I love the people - they are so friendly. The pyramids are amazing. We had a private tour guide who is an Egyptologist, so he really gave us an education. We leave tomorrow morning at 3:00 a.m. for Aswan to begin our cruise. They tell us that the air is clear and fresh there. We're tired but still enjoying the sights. No time for more but just to let you know we are safe and having a real adventure! Love, Mom

Let it Snow!!!!!!!!!

The first Nor'easter is coming!! Wish me luck and a ton of snow today!
11:30 Update The sky opened up and it is snowing really hard! Yahoo!

Update: It turned almost immediately to sleet? What? I can not ski on that crap!

What's happenin'

When I hear the phrase above, the theme music starts going with the funky music and thoughts of Shirley, Roj, Re Run, and Dee.

Just been busy and being somewhat responsible for once. I want to get everything done before we leave for Europe. We got together with Mike's family yesterday, and now we have been scanning some pictures from the old days to give to his aunt. I would really love to post some, but I fear in may lead to marital problems. They are all pretty cool, especially the really old pics with people in traditional dress.

The 53 Places to Go in 2008 - New York Times

The 53 Places to Go in 2008 - New York Times

I have been to these places to go on the list:
1. Lisbon (although not to be avant-garde). I did enjoy it, but my feet were constantly dirty there from wearing sandals on the street. Check out the azulejos (one of the Portugese words I remember)
2. Prague
Unfortunately it sounds like it is getting too expensive! I loved it and still regret not buying some photographs of the city when I was there.
3. San Francisco
I love the city!!! It is a lot of fun and very scenic.
4. DETROIT!
I doubt if there will be a sudden surge of tourists, but the Diego Rivera mural is fantastic and my favorite there. Their write up did not tell me what to do there though.
5. San Diego
I was 5, but it may count
6. New York City
That's right! Please come visit 'cause I get excited to have visitors!

I’m Not Really Running, I’m Not Really Running... - New York Times

I’m Not Really Running, I’m Not Really Running... - New York Times

Physical therapists prescribe Wii time - Yahoo! News

Physical therapists prescribe Wii time - Yahoo! News

I think I need to check out some studies.

european vacation

Vacation

We are getting closer to hammering out our vacation plans for Christmas. Of course we have amazing timing going to Europe when the dollar is at a historic low. One of the last times I was there, our nice hotel was $30 (although we usually just stayed in youth hostels). It seems like hotels are automatically 100 a night minimum no matter where you go (at least here in the Northeast). When we went to Newport once, we planned on camping. We decided to get a motel when it was really storming. We were on the RI coast in the middle of nowhere (with empty hotels), and they were asking 150 dollars (for a crappy old place). We ended up driving home. Germany may be an issue. Everything in Europe essentially shuts down for the holidays. We booked our hotel online (it is where Mike's aunt is having her bday party on the 26th) and I got a call from them that they are closed. We may not have much of a choice where we stay. I am starting to make some progress for Paris. Our next decision is whether we rent a car. It is pretty damn expensive too, but I am not sure we will be driving around enough for it to be worth it. We were thinking about renting in Germany and turning the car in when we get to Paris. We do not want the car when we are there or we may look like the European vacation driving scene. Maybe Mike can visit and I can take the econobox for a spin on the autobahn. Ja Ja!!!!!!!!!!

I finished my German lessons in the car, but I need a basic French crash course. Mike told me I should be in charge of French. Neither of us took French, and I can not hear words in there. I suck at French. German is not too bad. Some of it I can figure out. I really think I could pick it up if I moved there, but I would have to purge my basic Spanish out of there.

I have been busy at work, and I do not want anything hanging over my head before I leave. I think I need to buy a mask and goggles for work. I got sneezed on in the pool a bunch of times today. I am picking up new pool clients, and that caseload is getting pretty full. I just discharged on case on land and dropped another client, and I think I may replace them in the water. I am in the pool now on Monday nights and Wednesdays. I get energized by seeing the kids on Monday night after my regular day. It is actually fun and stimulating to my brain. Maybe they can start to pay me in Euros.

So as you can imagine, I have not starting Christmas shopping yet. No gifts within Mike's family due to the trip, but I need to start on my family. So let me know what you'all want.

Priceless

No Shirts at Improv Everywhere#more-177#more-177

Heroes

1. I did not know that Hiro had that in him. I would be curious to see how he did that to Adam.
2. How could they kill Nikki. She is the super-hot hero. I am wondering who is coming back to life after a cheerleader blood transfusion.
3. Siler could not have gotten away like that, but they need to make him a villian again. Molly and Mohinder should have run away and Maya should have just cried him to death.
4. I knew Nathan was going to get his arse shot. Was it Bob or Noah Bennett. They showed a dude walking away.

Best Gig Ever at Improv Everywhere

Best Gig Ever at Improv Everywhere

This is pretty damn entertaining.

Stay together for the kids and the Earth

Divorce Squanders Earth's Resources - Yahoo! News

Risky Business

This movie was on yesterday afternoon. I have never seen the whole movie before, and I still did not yesterday either. I do not know why this is such a famous scene. It is not at all sexy, and his dancing gets really stupid (they never show him jumping around on the sofa like a spaz). Is this why they are so many gay rumors?
I have never seen a movie with so much wind noise EVER!! There is wind indoors and out. By the way, doing it on a train is not sexy either.

Winter

I have grown to love winter. Mike brought that out of me many years ago. It is necessary to ski when you are with him, and thankfully I love it. I just love looking forward to each season and the changes they bring (all beautiful). Last week when my mom and John were in town, I hoped the leaves would stay up for them to see the colors around here. Due to an unusual fall, they did get to see the area with some fall color and we enjoyed some 60 degree weather.

I was up late last night, because I went to a work holiday party. It is for my new job that I started in September. Work get-togethers are always different for me in the last few years. I used to work in hospitals where you spend a lot of time working together and gossiping in the staff room (instead of doing your paperwork). Most in my profession are women, and the bunch tends to be on the outgoing side of things. For the last 3 years I have been doing contract work in schools and in people's homes. So I am rather isolated out there. I do have contact with teachers on a regular basis, but not much with other therapists. That is the downer with my job, and I missed bouncing ideas and having more eyes look over patients with me. I usually only know about 2-3 people well at these parties, and I always think I will leave early. I forget that the therapy crowd will talk to anyone, and it is easy to slide into a comfortable rhythm. The weird thing is that in the last hospital I worked in, it was really clicky. I sat at the lunch table, and nobody would try to include me in socializing (until the clicky people all quit). It was really strange since I had rotated around at UM for 4 years and never had trouble getting to know new colleagues. I digress......
So last night, Mike and I went to my work party. I knew a former colleague from the hospital I used to work at here in NY, and the PT who hired me (who I do not even see frequently to boot). The other therapist who hired me is really an acquaintance since I have met her twice total. It ended up being a lot of fun, so that gives me a good indication about my future with them. So it was fun to get to know everyone a little last night. They even made Mike dance which was funny too.
So, not enough snow to ski on, but it gives me hope we will have a real winter this year.

The State News: Female runners, divers have lower bone density

The State News: Female runners, divers have lower bone density
I did not realize all those hours in the pool could really affect density! I guess I need to start on my supplements.