A Typical Monday

My Monday starts with an alarm at 8:30a - which I ignore until about...9a or 9:15 depending on how late I was up the night before.

I'm on the 43 Tram to Schottentor by 9:50a and one connection later, I'm at the Oper walking the 5min to school. I'm surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Kartnerstrasse in the morning.

My first class is PO357 or International Organizations. It's supposed to start at 10:35a but the Professor is perpetually 5min late. An hour and a half later (also known as 12:05p) and class is over and it's time to figure out what I'm going to do. My next class isn't until 6:10p. Sometimes I'll hang out at the school for a little while or go on an exploration.

Usually, though, I head back the same way I came and get my grocery shopping done for the week. Even though I've done this for going on 4 months now, I still have yet to remember to bring my reusable bag with me (Europeans do not use plastic or paper). So I end up using my backpack.

I can get most of the stuff to fit in here. Today, my haul includes eggs and milk.

Before I unpack my back (because I like to be comfortable at all times), I change my clothes.

There. Now I'm ready.

The rest of my haul. It's amazing how much I got into that backpack isn't it?

We've divided up the shelves. As 2nd tallest in the house, I got the middle. I'm down to bread, 1/2 a package of noodles, and bread crumbs. See why I needed to go shopping?

In keeping with the theme, the fridge is organized the same. Bailey (tallest) on top, Katrina middle, Danielle bottom. Don't judge. It works for us. My main shelf is even more pathetic than the cupboard. Noodles, an egg, and a bottle of ketchup.

My door-shelf. Home to most condiments.

And after my hard work is done, I get to eat lunch. Today, I chose tuna - which I added my newly acquired tomato, onion, egg, mayonaise and mustard. Yum! Oh, and never forget the Tabasco that I dump on top. Double yum!

What lunch is complete without entertainment? My laptop serves as DVD player, e-book reader, and internet portal.

At 5:40p, I'll make the trek back to school but for now, I'll sit back, enjoy my tuna, and let my laptop be my guide.

Look Ma, I've Got a Stalker!

So I went to Barcelona last weekend.
Saw some really cool things.
Like the beach. Or more specifically, the Mediterranean Sea.

So gorgeous that I actually lost track of time and ended up missing Temple Sagrada Familia. Whoops (she says while secretly thinking it was quite worth it).

And Guell Parc ~ a recommendation from JL in fact. She was right. It could not be missed.

And it actually led to (what I consider) the most interesting story of the weekend.

I’d like to introduce you to Jorge (that’d be him in the little red circle).

I first met Jorge at the top of these stairs, where I wanted to take a picture. At first he was nice and able to keep up with my Spanish (or was it vice versa). Anyway, he seemed like a nice little old man. Until he started following me.

Yes, Barcelona gave me my very own stalker.

Standing at the top of those very stairs. I tried to shake him but he moved in closer. Asked me out for a beer, coffee, water. Anything. I said no to all of the above. He stepped in even closer. And then, he reached out and touched me. Literally. He reached out his grubby little hand and began stroking my arm and just as quickly, he moved to my back. So I took another step back. Right off the edge of those stairs I’d been so proud of conquering minutes before.

Maybe it was my willingness to throw myself down an insane amount of steps over going anywhere with him but Jorge backed off. Thank Goodness.

And that is my Barcelona story.

Because I Have Two Midterms Tomorrow...

I am playing in Photoshop. It's a lovely diversion.

My plan is to hang these in my new apartment when I get back to Denver.

Midterms

So tomorrow, we kick off our midterm week here in Wien.

Yes, tomorrow. As in Saturday. Why they scheduled a midterm on a Saturday I do not know.

Tomorrows midterm is German and we just did a "pre-test". It was enough to stress me out. The teacher put us in groups (yes, groups :::shudder:::) to go through the 3-page review packet. I'm sure I came off as an absolute witch because, for the entire 1 1/2 hours, I think I said a total of 10 words.

Why? Because I spent most of the time tuning them out. Not so that I could be a Class A, uh, witch but because I'm already confused trying to remember how all this stuff works (I hated verb tenses in Spanish and I hate them in German as well). I didn't need 4 other voices in my head, trying to remember as well.

So I basically ignored them the entire time and tried to concentrate and remember what we've been going over for the last two months.

Yes. This was me.

Maybe that makes me a bad person. If so, sorry! But the last thing I want is to sit at my desk tomorrow, look down, and blank. I work better alone. It's just the way I operate.

November

My November is shaping up to be THE BEST MONTH. Ever.

Let me tell you what I have planned (Jessica Lee, if you're reading this, you might want to cover your eyes and turn away. No? OK, I warned you): Italy, Spain, and the Alps.

What?, you say. Did you find some rich Austrian to buy you things? (Erm, no, no rich Austrian)

Then, how?

One word, or rather, website. www.RyanAir.com.

RyanAir.com is THE cheap place to book airline tickets here in Europe. How cheap you might ask? Well, let's take a look.

I knew I wanted to go to Barcelona (Spain) but the normal airline costs (around 300Euro) made me feel a little nauseous. Then I found RyanAir. RyanAir cost? 26Euro. ROUND TRIP (that's about $40US). Yah. I booked it. I'm not stupid.

After I booked that, I was happy. After all Barcelona was (other than Auschwitz) really the only place I *had* to go so I told myself that I didn't need to go anywhere else.

But I still kept my eye out. You know, just in case.

Last night my 'just-in-case' theory paid off. I realized I hadn't gone onto RyanAir for awhile so I was like, I should check it out. And I did. And I found this: Vienna ----> Bologna (Italy) 12Euro ROUND TRIP. That's less than $20US. Uh-huh. I'm booking it. My friend, Kaitlin, is there after all. I misses her mucho (Kaitlin is also coming to visit me -- yay! -- the week after I get back from Barcelona. We're going to go horseback riding. I can't wait).

And then, for Thanksgiving, my gift to myself: a 3-day all-inclusive ski trip through the school. So far, that's my most expensive trip - it'll end up costing over $200US. But I don't care. It's worth it.

(November 5-7 - Gonna par-tay. Italian style)
(November 12-14 - I'm getting my Espanol on)
(November ::sometime between:: the 16-20 - a visit from Kaitlin)
(November 27-29 - Skiing in the Alps)

You may now drool and call me names. But just a few. And not too much drool, k?

(and JL, I told you to look away)

In Lieu of Balcony

This window beckons me, calls me, mocks me.

 There's a lovely little sill right outside, it says. Perfect for sitting.

It promises me lovely views of my new home.

To the left, the busy street with the Halterstrasse, bank, and the little Church whose bells chime daily.

To the right, the smaller side street, overflowing with shops and residences like ours.

But still I am unsure. You are quite old, I tell the window. Over a hundred years. How do I know you can bear my weight?

Trust me, it whispers.

But, still, I am unsure.

After all, it is a long way down.

It's All About die Schuhe

I could tell you all about my day.

The highs (rocking my German test). And the lows (a new facet of DU's Masters Program I'm trying to get into next year).

But instead, I am going to skip all that and focus on what is really important: Shoes.

Now let me preface this post with a (shocking) statement: I am not a shoe person. I own, maybe 10 pairs, and wear (regularly) ... 2?

OK. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, we'll continue:

To say that I've been living in my sneakers is an understatement. Living in Wien is A LOT of walking (to the Halterstrasse), running (to the U-Bahn), and trudging up stairs (to the apartment, the U-Bahn, and school).

Old Faithfuls.

Now, do not get me wrong. I love my beat up O.F.'s like any other human who cherishes happy feet. But I have worn nothing but them since I got here - just over a month ago. Every. Day. No exception. Why? Because it's either my O.F.'s, knee high boots, or black heels. I refuse to wear the heels (happy feet, remember?) and boots.. in this heat? I don't think so.

So O.F.'s it's been and we've gotten along famously. But my (lack of) shoe wear has kept me out of 1/2 the clothes I brought because, no matter how hard I try to convince myself, that small, small part of me which acknowledges right and wrong says my sneakers just don't look right with a knee length A-line skirt. For some reason, it just doesn't work (Fashion designers, can we get on that? Stat?).

Aware of this, I've been on a hunt these last few weeks, trolling the streets of Wien for a proper pair of walking flats that a) look decent b) won't make my feet cry and c) won't make my bank account cry.

And I was striking out. Big time. I was hitting up the Thrift Store (20Euro for used shoes...really?) every weekend. Walking, walking...searching. Nada. Or as my German Professor would say "keinen Schuhe"  (no shoes). I was complaining to everyone and anyone who would listen that I was destined to walk Wien in sneakers. Until Roomie D heard my cries and took pity on me (or just wanted me to shut up..hmmm...).

Taking her advice, I found my way to a little shop down the street from the Thaliastrasse U-Bahn.

When I first walked in, I'll admit. I was slightly skeptical.

Shoes here in Wien are...well, let's go with popular, shall we? After all, they must keep up with all the new fashions.

I'm afraid to know what fashion these are keeping up with.

Boots - in particular - are in high demand this season.

Would I ever find what I needed? Just a nice pair of flats, no bows, or ribbons or fringe (shudder).

And then, tucked away between the wall and the register. There they were. Flats. In normal colors. I quickly grabbed up the first pair - brown - and tried them on. A perfect fit (size 39 - wow!). And the price wouldn't kill me (15Euro). I tried to find other colors (staples, you know) but they only had one pair of 39's in any color. And they were mine. All mine.

They're now sitting in front of the cabinet - just waiting for me to take them out. 

And that concludes The Great Shoe Search in Wien of 2009.