seen from Romania
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from Netherlands
seen from Germany
seen from Spain
seen from Malaysia
seen from Spain
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Spain
seen from Poland
seen from China
seen from China
5 things
Made an Ikea trip an got most of what I still need for my room, most importantly curtains.
My Wednesday lecture was cancelled, giving me most of the day to use how I pleased.
Got a “tip” for tutoring Wed., 5€ more per hour.
Somehow got my butt out to run 3 times.
Despite being a very long and frustrating day, my birthday ended on a positive note: Glühwein with a friend, a surprise birthday brownie (+ dulce de leche), and a good secret santa gift at the work Christmas party.
3 x 5 things
Happy New Year! It's been a busy 1 week plus 2 comparatively lazy, but very full, weeks! I...
finally had my last classes before Christmas break.
had my best presentation yet - at the zoo.
got to see friends when in Vienna handing in my visa documents
ate a damn good Schnitzel
and I found the solution to my visa "problems" (there are always problems!) relatively quickly and got on it immediately).
made some Linzer Augen cookies with E and they came out great!
went on a long run with my new compression socks. Not completely convinced they're all that great, at least while running. But it was cool to try them out.
had very productive Christmas prep: present wrapping, food shopping, baking and getting the tree.
ate delicious food and drank delicious wine. Thank God for people who can cook!
also finally got some studying done.
was delighted with the snow that came on the 28th in Cologne!
drove to Plein with E and there was snow there, too! So beautiful. (And it snowed again on the 4th!)
ran 10 miles in that snow. Felt great.
,again, ate delicious food and drank delicious (though way too much) wine.
played a new board game with the others and enjoyed it, though I did not expect to
5 things
German bureaucratic stuff is done, for now. The woman at the Ausländeramt was actually quite helpful.
Had my last week in the lab.
Still went out for the long run Saturday despite the cold and the rain and ran my fastest 10.5 miles yet! I think next time I need to do slower and longer.
Saw my first snow of the season, unfortunately not where I live.
Baked Christmas cookies with E.
5 things
While I'd rather rant about my frustrating week here, this is supposed to be a post for positivity. So here goes:
The presentations in this one class keep getting better. They still kinda suck, but practice makes perfect.
E repaired my bike's flat tire quickly so I didn't have to walk to school.
Had a much-needed and awesome long run Saturday. Was my fastest 10 miles yet, I think, during which I beat my 15k (9.3mi) time.
Good food and wine and atmosphere at the Weihnachtsessen - 5 courses, 4 different wines, wood stoves warming the rooms. Cozy.
I appreciate that I did not have any internet access or cell connection on my birthday. It made the day much quieter.
5 things
The weeks leading up to December have been progressively more stressful and it's not going to get any better in December. So far, though, I'm doing well with keeping my cool and appreciating the positive things. This week...
I finally got some sort of confirmation of health insurance (though not sure if it's the "correct" document?) from my health care provider in Austria.
I went running on Tuesday. It was the only time I ran this week, which I don't like, but I'm thankful that I at least keep that time open on Tuesdays for the running group.
I got to talk to my grandmother, mom and sister on Thanksgiving.
I went to the running group's Christmas party. Although I hardly know anyone, they are all nice people and I didn't feel too awkward.
E and I brewed our first batch of beer on Saturday! Who knows if it will taste good; we definitely made some mistakes, but all-in-all the process was really interesting and fun.
Doctor's appointment on Wed was a "success". I was quite the process and painful, but I feel normal again now.
Second presentation was better than the first.
Came home one day to a small surprise gift. Nothing "special" but I really really appreciated the sweet gesture.
Took magnesium before my long run Saturday and I felt less fatigued during and after. Don't know if it was because of the magnesium or if it was just a good day, but it was a nice run.
While the food we ate Saturday was nothing but disappointing, at least the Riesling and Chardonnay were good.
5 things
I celebrated Kölner Karnival for the first time. Very interesting experience.
I was disciplined enough to get a run in before going out drinking Tuesday, I was able to go to the running group on Thursday because lab was shorter, and I got a long run in on Saturday.
Although I had to go into the lab Mon, Tues, and Wed (when it was planned to have those days off), I never had to be there the entire day.
Mussels and beer and company on Saturday. And I made oatmeal raisin cookies, just cuz, and they were a huge hit.
The cat cuddled with me in bed today as I recovered from yesterday's alcohol excess.
5 things
Things are getting busy busy busy. Class every day, almost all day, group work every week - sometimes for more than one class, and I have notes and literature research to catch up on. And Christmas is coming...and bureaucratic shit STILL needs to get done (no thanks to my health insurance). But along with the stress there are some good things:
Did not have to go into the lab on Monday, which gave me time to get some of my notes done and bake chocolate chip cookies.
Caught a cold, but never got completely congested. Yay breathing.
The first day of physiology lab started off horribly, but I think (I hope!) I can at least work with my lab partners.
Friday was cold and windy and class was outside, but it was somewhat fun and was shorter than normal.
Went to the country again: had good food, an interesting bar experience, took a few photos ...
