The car

Yeah, yeah. i know, who wants to hear more about the car..LOL Too bad...
Actually not much to say, we have gone through a lot of gas, Germany is SUCH a pain to get around, well at least the city of Hanau. We end up going in circles forever to find NY PLACE, SHEESH. So we have gone through 3/4 of my $35 of gas in just 3 or so days. We did drive about an hour away to Wiesbaden, but of course got lost. What should have been a 57 km drive ended up as 135 km. *g* We also ended up eating at a Persian restaurant and i finally got a chance to smoke a hooka(spelling??) We had melon flarvor, they were out of orange, and apple didn't sound very good. Even JESS smoked it after a bit of prodding!!!!!!

Anyway, it is really wonderful to have a car. We are parking at the very ends of lots so that we have to keep walking. Also, if we go into the marktplatz area of town to shop, you can't park there, so we leave the car at home and walk. I am doing my best to make sure I stay at this weight, as well as loose more.

Well, Jess is sitting at the computer next to me, staring at me, she wants to go, we both work this afternoon, so I am gone. Take care!!

FINALLY got the car in my name

Woo-hoo! 1987 Audi 100, is BIG for cars here, holds a whopping 80 liters of gas, which I THINK is only 20 gallons. Thank god I get a gas ration card so that I can buy on post at 68 cents a liter vs $4 a liter on the economy.

Well, am paying big bucks for this time online, on on post, the computers at the library are down. We are going to take a hour drive to the Wiesbaden Amry post after Jess gets off work at 4 today. There is a big bookstore there she wanted to go to, so SINCE WE HAVE A CAR we can go... A permit to park on the street in front of our apt only costs 25 euro a year, so that was great. The car also needs an oil change badly and a new air filter. I have a feeling it might also need brakes, but there is a man who works at the shoppette which is connected to Taco bell that says he is a certified mechanic. (He also likes me, so that might be of help too) *g*

Ok, will write more when I get onto a computer that is free or WAY cheaper. Take care.

Driving times

I did a bit of checking online today for driving times from Hanau, Germany. (If the car can make it long distances.) A couple of places it would be better to fly, but below are the results. Amazing the places you can drive to with gas bought with the money you made at Taco Bell. LOL

less than 4 hours driving time to Brussels, Belgium
6 hours to Paris, France.
6 hours to Vienna, Austria
9 hours to London, UK
3.5 hours to Holland, Netherlands.
8 hours to Venice, Italy
16 hours to Madrid, Spain
4 hours to Amsterdam, Netherlands
4 hours to Zurich, Switzerland
3 hours to Luxembourg
3.5 hours to Munich, Germany
5 hours to Berlin, Germany
5 hours to Prague, Czheck(sp) Republic
15 hours to Dublin, Ireland
9 hours to Monaco (French Riviera)
A whopping 24 hours to Athens, Greece
24 hours to Lisbon, Portugal
15 hours to Stockholm, Sweden.

That is all I have to say today.. :-)

Sing with me now!........

Diana's gonna have a caaaaar... Diana's gonna have a caaaaaarr.

Yes people, I will be buying a 1982 Audi something or other with 149,000 miles on it. *LOL*

The woman at work whose son is going back to the Phillipines (sp) keeps offering it to me, she says she won't sell it to anyone else but me. (i remind her of her grandmother whom she loves very much!!) I don't know whether to take that as an insult (do I look that old?) or not, but I am secretly very proud. PLUS even though I was going to buy it before, but then I lost all my state tax refund to the kids student loans that I cosigned for.. she still keeps offering it to me, even saying i can pay part now, part later. Also my supervisor, Nick, who is is also Philipino(why does that spelling look SOOO wrong??), and is going to see if she will bring the price down a bit.. Soooo.....

I think that means no flying trip to Spain, but I am now researching road trips. We are only a couple of hours away from France I know, and probably only 4 or so from Beligium, and I think the Netherlands too, Plus Austria, Prague, etc... We will just have to see if the car will hold up to long trips....

Anyway, not much else new. (NOT MUCH ELSE NEW?????? I AM RESEARCHING ROAD TRIPS ALL OVER EUROPE, HOW COOL IS THAT????)

I am getting to really like working at Taco Bell, I JUST NEED MORE MONEY!!!!!

I like that the work is physical, it feels good to be moving around, bending lifting, etc.... and the people I work with are pretty amazing, with the exception of the manager of the store, but what else is new there, that is the ancient curse of working at all. LOL

So I am getting into pretty good shape I think. I am still down about 52 pounds, so that is good. I really need another 20 pounds I think, I will be so thrilled, you will have no idea. HOT 48 year old woman. *g*
I really wouldn't mind working here for a while, but I know I need more money to survive. For now though, I am pretty frigging happy where I am, thank you. Maybe my goal in life WAS to work at a Taco Bell.. *g* I am sure I will move on to something else, but as I said, i am pretty happy where I am right now.

Well, off to look up road trips, find out about changing my MN license into a German one, etc... Hope you all are well in Minnesota!!!

Some exploring

Well, I have decided to take $150 of my tax money and take a three day trip somewhere, probably the south of Spain. It is warmer than here and I can speak Spanish, and the food??? Do I have to say anything? YUM..

Am still not sure though, I may do southern Italy or the Island of Sadinia off Iitaly.. Ryanair has flights for about 1.99€ plus about 20 in taxes, each way.. The places I am looking at also have youth hostels where you can stay for about $20 a night... sooooooo.....

Half the fun is in the planning I think. *G* Jess may or may not go, she has not said. If she goes I will see if the landlord/Vet's secretary might stop up and feed and water the cats and plants in the apartment since the office is right in back of us.


So I can go to london, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain., Portugal, Switzerland, France, you name it. Maybe I should save Spain for when it is warmer and do London or Paris.... AUUGGHHH... Don't you just love that these hard decisions are so FUN?? not bad for a Taco Bell worker.... :-p

I decided I need to get off my butt and start taking some short trips. Actually London or paris I could probably do in two days......

Hmmmm..

OH! I finally got my hair dyed back to blonde.. It was almost completely the natural, dull brown color before I had the money to dye it back blonde, it was such a shock, I didn't know if I even liked it, but now I am glad, makes me look younger again, not so old and haggard.

I am helping to pay off my mom's credit card now, so i feel a lot better about that. Living with the minimum amount of things and costs allows me to be able to start paying her back...
Anway, i work at 5:30, so I need to run home and get my work clothes, stop off at the market for some fruit and yogurt. I'll keep you updated on the travel thing. I plan to go mid March, I always have two day off work in the middle of the week, so I will take those and maybe one other day. Not sure yet. Hope you all are fine there in Minnesota!!!!

maintaining

Sorry it has been a while, I couldn't get into blogger the other day to give an update. I got my federal taxes back and was able to get my hair dyed back to blonde. YEAH! Also was able to buy jeans and topes that fit me.. For those of you who know me, you know I used to wear big mens shirts over tops. NO MORE! I bought a bunch of knit shell sort of tops, short sleeved scoop necked close fitting tops. GRIN. 50 pounds and a person can definitely wear things they could not wear before.

Otherwise not much else new, just haunting the UN and military job boards, putting in for all the IT jobs I can, waiting to hear back. I haven't heard back from the UN, but it is still possible, has not quite been 4 weeks since the interview.

Flower shops are awesome here. I bought a little bonsai tree, would run about $30 in the US, for 6€.... and a few flowering plants, most about 99 cents, the most expensive was 4€.


I had to take my cat in a few weeks ago to have her mouht operated on. She is older, had to get about 6 teeth pulled. OW.. Luckily the vet is our landlord and her office is right behind the apartment! Bammy is doing great and you can tell feels soooo much better with the teeth out..


Jess and I were going to get a car with our tax money, but decided to wait until we know where we are going to be permanently, plus I am paying back my mom at $100 a month, so car insurance would be too expensive to pay with everything else, on our pay.........

Weather is great, springlike, getting more sunny days, I was able to walk across the comples where I work without a jacket the other day.. Woo-hoo!

Well, I need to hit the shops in town before they close at 6, this is one of my days off......

Hope everyone is doing fine........... Take care!!!

Thunder and snow

Strange weather here in Germany, been windy and rainy, then suddenly snow and thunder, and then by 1 pm sunny and everything melted. *L*

Still not much going on, waiting to here about jobs, that's about it. Jess and her boyfriend broke up, thankfully before she left to go live with him in Portugal, so she will be following me wherever I get a job. (YEAH)

We went to the movies the other night! On post, Jess wanted to see Harry Potter, it was the last time it was playing. I had gotten a couple of free passes from my supervisor for being so wonerful *blush*. We had not been to a movie since the US.

NICE, high backed chairs, etc. We bought a bag of popcorn, smooothered it with fake butter and salt, and a drink, also some chocolate, what a treat!

As soon as we sat down I had flashbacks to when I was in the Air Force, and I told Jess to be prepared for the National Anthom, that we would have to stand up during it. She didn't believe me, said that was a long time ago. But I said we were on a US military base, trust me, they will have the national anthom before the movies starts. Sure enough, it played. I should have bet Jess money. *g*

So that was a nice treat. I think I gained 2 pounds from all the butter and salt I consumed.. (American food, evil, fattening!) LOL

Work is the same, i have gotten into the swing of thing really well with one particular supervisor, so when we work together, it's not too bad.

What else?? I know I had things to talk about, but once I get online, my mind goes blank.

Well, going to go, am just hanging by a thread hoping to get a call about one or another job in Geneva.

Take care!

United Nations interview.

Shew.. that is over... I spoke with a man named Anders and another gentleman whose name I did not understand. He may have been from Nigeria or some such place.

They asked me a lot of questions about my work background. Very straight forward, none of the "How would your best friend decribe you" types of questions.
They wanted to know how I felt about traveling. It seems the job will be based out of Geneva, not the Hague, so scratch the Hague link from yesterday. When he asked me about traveling, he said the places they go to were not the usual tourist spots, he actually said it could be "deepest Africa" or southeast Asia. LOL.

I am not sure how I did, i know I am weak on a couple of things they are looking for, such as Zenworks and any programming. BUT, it also sounds like they use Novell, because one of them was asking me about my GroupWise experience as well as asking if i had any Novell certifications, so that is a good sign.........

We spoke about 1/2 hour. The human resources person that was supposed to be there got lost finding the place, so they just went over a bit about the hiring process. That they had more interviews, and that I would probably hear nothing until about 3-4 weeks from then. Then if I got the job an HR person would contact me with an offer.

Another thing they asked was that if i received an offer, how long before I could be in Geneva. I said it would take no more than two weeks, that I was renting month to month and would just need to get things together back here and go. AAUUGGHHHH... :-)

Pretty cool huh, being called up by a couple of people from the United Nations in Geneva about a job where I could be traveling to "deepest Africa" and Southeast Asia??? *G*

Well, I will just be keeping my fingers crossed. I am going to have to talk to Jess and see if she would move to Geneva with me (and Rob could come) so that they could share an apartment and take care of the cats for me. Otherwise i am not sure I can take the job, depending on how often I travel.....

Not going to plan too much though, since there is no promise that I will even get the job, but it is nice to not be sideblinded if I get it, by having made no plans.

I am also kind of hoping about the AF job in the Azores. The waiting 3-4 weeks for a reply from the UN kind of gives me time to hear from the other job.

So things are looking up at least. more sun in Germany..... i was standing at the bus stop waiting to catch the bus here (I am at the USO on post using a computer at the library) and I was just watching these three boys play football (soccer) in the street, and the bells from the town square started ringing at the top of the hour, and I have to tell you, I was pretty frigging content with where I am right now.. So that it good.... Much better off then I was a month ago.

Anyway, i need to get going and get some other things done here before I go to work. 6-10:30pm for the next 3 nights.

Bye!

Things are looking up

Well, at last some interesting things to put on the blog. I was at the vet today with one of the cats when i received call from the united Nations in Geneva wanting to do a phone interview with me on Wed about a job I applied for a few months ago.. It is for a computer assistant job in the Hague (Netherlands) at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia! (try saying that three times fast.. Here is the site for those interested: http://www.un.org/icty/

I also checked on the status of a computer job for the Air Force in the Azores, Portugal, and I am eligible for it, so we will see if I get a call or email from them! Here is a link to the Island that the base is located on: http://www.destinazores.com/index.php , The job would be on the island of Terceira. The islands are actually about 900 miles west of Lisbon, it is the most Western part of Europe. See what you think! I just started checking out the two places myself, though obviously there is no guarentee I will get either job..

Something must be in the air because I just got a call from Heidelberg asking if I wanted a job in the commissarry. that one I said no to, i don't have a care right now, etc, and it is an hour train ride away. i would not make enough money at that job to justify going.

Well, cross your fingers that one of these jobs comes through (I personally want the one in the Azores.) It is only a 5 hour flight from there to Boston, so the US would be closer, and maybe I could get my mom to come over........ Now if I was in the Hague, Nick would be more likely to come, he wants to visit Amsterdam, soo..... Either way both pay about the same money, obviously the UN one would look better on a resume.... there are porbably a lot more perks to it also. Well, we will just have to see if either pans out. cross your fingers!!


OK, Holland itself looks pretty fricking interesting... *sigh* Here is a link: http://www.holland.com/us/

New direction maybe?

Well, that old travelin jones is hitting again. Looks like we will be trying to get to Portugal in the next few months. Jess' boyfriend is living there and she wants to be closer to him. To be honest, warmer weather sounds wonderful. I have been watching the military sites for job openings. I just applied for a computer assistant, it closes the 20th, so we will see if I hear anything after that.

The other thing we have decided to do is buy a car if we get enough tax money back. It's really needed, esp when you first get to a place, looking for apts, applying for jobs etc. So we will se how much we get back.

Been working, working, working. Still only getting about 30 hours a week, no benefits, but it is enought for the apt and utilities, and some spending money.

I have been working closings, so I come in around 1 or so and work til 10:30 a couple of days, then come in at 5:30 or so and work til closing. I LOVE sleeping late, man how I love it.

My weight loss is now up to 40 pounds!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that is the happiest thing of this trip, losing all the weight.


Living in Germany is OK, the weather in the winter sucks, a bit of snow here and there, in the 30s mostly, but no sun most of the time, and to me it look slike MN in the spring when everything is sort of dirty and no leaves on the trees yet.

Living in Dt Hanau has been nice, you just walk into town to do your shopping, etc.... The main downtown blocks are all paved and cobbled, with blocks and blocks of stores. I still have not been impressed with the cooked food available. pork mostly, and sandwiches. There is this one butcher shop where you can get a leg/thigh of chicken roasted with paprika for 1.7 euro. YUM, but not a lot of other places to eat. We still have no kitchen in the apt, so we are unable to cook. This means I am eating a lot of Taco Bell. YUCK...

So now it is just work work work while we look into going to Portugal.

Note: Visit to a local dr here cost TEN euros, about $11!!!!! Can't beat that.... :-)

Back

Sorry, I was deciding whether or not to keep doing the blog, which is why I haven't updated this for a while. I had a rough time during Christmas, and am just now getting back on my feet and up to speed. I only have a minute before work, so I can't go into everything now, but I have Tuesday off so then I will have time to hit the computer and update you all on what has been going on. Take care until then!

Life in Germany

Lots going on, little time to be online.

I am going down to Heidelberg Army post tomorrow to interview for a Computer Support job. It is a LONG commute, so not sure if I will take the job or not, will have to see. About half of what I made in the states, but double what I am making now, plus health care, etc.

We are in the new apartment, no kitchen for a month, nothing on the walls or floors (welcome to renting in in Europe!) not even light fixtures. We will be buying wallpaper and will be taking advantage of the long weekend for Christmas to paper the walls.

Have bought a couple of beds, that is it. we have the TV, basic cable comes with the apt..... will be getting a land line in this next week i hope. internet (YES!!!!) in a few weeks.

Cats are confused, the place is huge and empty so it echoes.

Am short on time, will try to write more in the next couple of days....... Bye!

Officially Army

well, before I get into my day,I just to reply to the comment made about my adventure having a purpose...

This blog was was simply created so that I could communicate with friends and family without having to write emails to everyone. That's it.

SOOOOOO.. today we went in, and finally got our ID cards that gives us access to the base. We also received a card that goes with our passports that will allow us unrestricted access in and out of Germany, since our three month tourist visas will be up.

Of course I went and got the covetted(sp) bars of Coast soap and the can of Sierra Mist. (Just about as good as I hoped, but will taste much better in a glass with ice when I am sitting in our new apartment.

We think we have an apartment right in Hanau! This means a 5 minute bus right to and from work, not bad!! It is also owned but a woman Veterinarian, SCORE again, she said no porblem to the 4 cats. it is also located right next door to her Vet clinic, score again for the cats! i can't stand it, cn hardly wait until Monday to see it.

Whe have an appt Monday at 9 am to see it, but unless there are gaping holes in the walls, we will take it. That means we only have to pay for bus to and from work, about a 5 minutes ride from the apt. What a deal. monday and Tuesday we also have real orientation.... Two all day sessions.

Jess actually worked until 6 tonight, I am waiting for her to come back any time. I work tomorrow from 1 pm to 9 pm....so I get to sleep late....

What else, oh yes! We both opened up APO boxes, meaning that we can get mail from the US at regular stamp prices. This means my mother no longer has to put 5 stamps on everything, if she sends it to the APO box. Cool!

What else, oh yes, tomorrow we have to go before I start work and open up accounts at the community bank on base. This way we get direct depost and also are able to pay our German bills through this account.

I am so tired, really can't think of much else to say right now, so am off for the evening. Take care!!!

THANK GOD FOR MOTHERS!!!!!!!!

Ok please, I would like every one of you to post a comment thanking my mother for being there and being generous enough to save our butts again! I can't really explain how and why she did it, but you will have to trust me, short of giving up a kidney she made the ultimate sacrifice so that we were able to stay here, get back and forth to our jobs, find an apartment etc. All I am asking of you who read this is to put an anoymous comment on this blog thanking her....


I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!! thank you for being there for us.... nothing I can say will truly express how thankful I m that you have been there behind us!!!!!!!!

Both Jess and I received a call today saying that we have been apporved to work before we even go to orientation on Monday, so tomorrow morning we go in, fill out paperwork, and start our respective jobs at Subway and Taco Bell. LOL

Should be a lot of fun to be busy again, and be around people esp those that speak English!

That is all for now, bye! (mom, to read any comments, just click on the number of comments at the end of this blog.)

The best of both worlds?

Anothe short blog, sorry.

We went on post today, the woman at Taco Bell didn't even really interview me, just said how many hours a week were available, anywhere from 25-35 or more. Asked if I could work evenings, weekends, holidays. I said yep, I have no life, will be glad to, so i now work at Taco Bell!! piece of cake...less problems with carpal tunnel! plus there may be a supervisor position coming up, which changes my staus from intermittent to PT, which gives me more benefits, though not sure health....

We went in to the commissarie, and I found COAST SOAP and SIERRA MIST! I actually started crying (ok, that is mostly because I have been off meds a month, and I have a tendency to cry when not on them.) but it was soooooooo nice to find things like that. Hey, I left America because of the crime, etc. No one said i could not have coast soap and Sierra Mist if I left.

I had 3 bars of Coast, a can of Sierra Mist (all I could afford) a Slim Jim and some ladies items that Jess can not find in Germany stores. AND THEY WOULD NOT LET US CHECK OUT WITHOUT AN ID from on Post.. I about died... no fair.... *SIGH* That is OK, we will get them within the next week. We have orientation on monday and Tues and should be able to start as of next Wed.

There is an unfurnished apt we want to take a look at. Unfiurnished being nothing in the kitchen but walls and outlets. Bathroom had toilet and tub, but the place is huge, two bedrooms, and cheap, 360€ a month, which is about $400, so I am waiting to hear from the agent tomorrow about going up and seeing it.. YES!! It woul dbe so nice to be in a place of our own by xmas. ok, have to go, using the expensive coputer time at the hotel. No cash right now. Love you all and take care!!!

Money in - money out

Sheesh, we seem to get enough cash in for a couple of days, then it is gone. We have been broke the last few days, which is why we have not been online and/or written blogs. We've simply been sitting in the hotel room sulking, waiting for the week to begin. What a LONG weekend. Some money came in this evening, but then this internet cafe closes in about 20 minutes. Will write more tomorrow. Got a call from Taco Bell and have an interview tomorrow at 10 am. Then we will be contacting a couple of rental agents in Hanau about an apartment. YES!........ So til tomorrow..... Bye!!

A bit of America in Germany

Yesterday Jess and I went to the Hanau Army base for her two job interviews. One with Subway and one with a pizza place. Obviously they loved her a smuch as she loved them, and before we even left the base after the interviews, Jess was being offered the Subway job. YEAH!

I had decided enough for shooting big with jobs, and the day before had gone ahead and applied for a fast food job also. WEE NEED MONEY! (That and being able to access the base means books and magazines in English, access to used cars cheap, commisary, etc..)

Since Jess has taken the one, and the HR person has spoken with me while jess was making out paperwork, I got lucky. The HR person called Jess this mornign and said they had reopened the pizza job so that I could apply for it. LOL. I never thought I would be bragging about a pizza job being opened for me so that I could apply. :-D

Works for me, will get us money for transportation and an apartment while I keep applying for other jobs. To be honest, I don't even care if I get an IT job any more, I think this is a blessing in disguise.

We will also be able to go to the onsite university for cheap, and then I think I wll go ahead and take the few classes I need to get my BA. It walways seems to haunt me that I have 2 -two year degrees, so close to a BA.....

Well, i have to go, we have used the last of our cash again, waiting for a refund on some clothing i brought back to a store. Will talk more later!!!!!

Baby Steps

are what we are taking. Going to another part of Germany means leaving our comfort zone and going somewhere where we have NO idea where things are, how far away, what they cost, etc.. It is going to take a few days for us to get our bearings. In the meantime, WE GOT OUR MONEY BACK FROM ATENA!! Which works out really well, because we had 4€ in our pockets, enought to get online and see if my money came in, and then we were broke..

My dear mother had emailed them saying what a digsgrace it was that they would not return my money. They emailed her back and CCd me saying how rude she was, but amazingly my money showed up today also. Co-inky-dink? I THINK NOT!

Below is the blog I wrote out on paper last night....

We have escaped, YEAH! We gor into Langensbold, a town about a half hour out of Frankfurt, at about 5 pm or so, with minimal trauma to the cats, etc. The drive took about 3 hours. We found the hotel and saw that it had undergraound parking. SCORE. We got buzzed in and got out of the car to go to reception when suddenly a god awfulear splitting alarm went off! I mean this was LOUD. In my version of this story the lights are flashing on and off. I later made the mistake of asking Jess if this really happened or not. The killjoy she is, she said NO mom, the lights were not flashing on and off. She then goes on to say, but the lights did go off and I had to find the button to get them back on. I say that qualifies me to be able to say the alarm was skrieking and the lights were flashing on and off.

We make it to the elevator, all the while yelling back and forth.... Did we cause this? What IS it? Did we make this happen? It finally stops somewhere when we were going up to reception in the elevator. We ask check-in and they say no, we didn't cause it, they were testing the alarm system. (Is that some sort of sick German way of greeting guests?)

I hate checking into hotels with the cats, because even though I pick pet friendly hotels, my worst nightmare will be them seeing up drag in 4 cats and they will proceed to kick us out.. In thi hotel the elevator goes directly from the parking ramp to the rooms, bypassing the lobby altogther. SCORE again. This way not only do they not see us bringing up the cats, by they will also miss the show of us making 6 trips up with all our worldly possessions, parking themin the hotel room. I was however able to get just about everything into the armoir, only leaving out our suitcases. Thus housekeeping will get the idea we are just your ordinary travelers. LOL.

The room is only 29€ a day, or about $33. Although after getting up and lookkng at the information we are supposed to pay an extra 5€ a day, so that makes it more like a whole $40 a day or so, and that includes the taxes. Let's face it, it would not be possible to rent something habitable for that amount in the US. This room is GREAT. We each have a full sized bed, a mini-bar refridge so we can buy pop etc and store it. We also have a corner room on the second floor, with a big windows on each side, and also a small sofa and a huge desk, worok area. AND, a tub. YES... It has been so ong since I have been some place with a tub. I don't even like baths, but I plan on taking one every night here. Sheer heaven.

I have had the stomach flu this last week or or so. I have not had the flu in so many years, has b´to be 20 or so.... Must be some strange European bug. I would much prefer a cold thank you. The constant queasiness sucks big time.

Anyway, tomorrow (really today, I wrote this Monday night) we take the car back, check out buying some sort of weekly or monthly rail tickets and start looking for a place to live, etc.


Off the subject.

In Germany people don't eat french fries with their hands, they use this cool little thing to spear them. It looks like one of those flat wooden sticks youget when you buy the little individual containers of ice cream,but this is forked at one end. It is disposible and you use it to spear your french fries. I'm telling you, it beats the hell out of getting your hands full of grease, and if you have been shopping, etc, who the hell knows whathas been on those hands. I have even been in some semi-fast food restaurants that have a little sink right in the eating area so that youcan wash your hands before and or after eating. Pretty smart.

So now it is Tuesday,and we have brought back the car in frankfurt, and inquired about rail passes. looks like we can get a bahncard, where it will get you 25% off your tickets for one year for 50€, 50% off all your fares for one year for 200€ and for a mere 2,000 €, free riding for one year. Man, I like that one. But I don't think we will be going for it quite yet. Though the 200€ one would pay for itself in a month or so if you are riding back and forth to work. Train fare is expensive here!

JESSICA alread received a call for an interview to work at the onbase Subway in Hanau. The interview is for this Thursday. Certainly not the most glamorous job in the world, but a great start! The next step is for me to get some sort of interview.

Anyway, enough blogging, I need to get to work online looking for a place to stay, work etc. Later!

Escaping to Reality

So my son Nick… I LOVE HIM! He is doing great at UPS and sounds like he is also working a lot of hours at Blockbuster. He has a girlfriend who is very nice to him, and some great friends who are covering his back.
He has pretty much moved out of the apartment I rented for him, and will be sharing a townhouse with some friends starting the first of the year (I think)

I miss him soooooo much. I love when I get online in the morning and he is on AIM. Some days I get a hard time from him, but most times we just talk. That works for me.

I can hardly wait until he gets here or I get there to visit. He’d better get ready for one hell of a hug!

*SIGH*

Well, tomorrow we head off to Frankfurt. Not sure if I can even get Mark to give me a ride to Northheim as he promised…. Typical… So I will be online tonight checking train fare to go pick up the car. We have the car for one day, thank god in Germany it costs no more to drive a car one way, so I will be able to drop it off in Frankfurt Tuesday morning. We have a hotel rented for a little less than a week, and about 60 euros in our pockets. LOLOL Back to the adventure.

Trust me, Tues after I drop the car off we will be calling every base ion the area looking for work, and going out to the main hiring HQ and dropping off CVs, etc.


I am hoping things go better there. In the back of my mind I see myself saving every dime I can, doing a bit of cheap travelling to Spain, England, Netherlands etc, and the whole time doing research on what would be the nicest, safest area of the US to live. Propose to my mom that when her lease is up next October, to move in with me somewhere… We’ll see, so many things seem to change, and I know now that plans don’t seem to go the way we hope. So………..

I will be so glad to leave here, the Pension. Even though Mark was nice enough to give us a place to stay, it is time to move on and find a place of my own. I really long for a place of my OWN. Without jess, just me, mine, no one else’s. I am tired of trying to make sure everyone is happy. I actually came over to Europe so that I could be selfish. Yeah, right. HA.

Well, I need to get online and print out some directions to the hotel, etc. mark is on the phone, Jess is sitting here SIGHING because god forbid she may not get online right at 9 to talk to Rob. A word of advice to those planning to be parents, do NOT give your kids everything. Be really mean to them, deny them everything, beat them. Trust me, they’ll turn out to be better people and thank you for it. Damn straight.

Phase 3? 2.5?

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to look for work we go.

As of Monday, we will be broke and down in the Frankfurt area looking for work and a place to live.
My mother God bless her, has come to the rescue again and is lending us her credit card to rent a card for one day and a cheap hotel for the next week or two until we can get settled. My only fear is that the car rental and hotel will say no to it being used and not even there with me. I have a feeling that the hotel will not care, but the car place I am not sure about.

(Oscar speech time)
I would like to take this time to say thank you to all of those who have helped Jess and I get to this place.

First and foremost my mother, who besides giving birth to me, has put aside her own feelings and stood beside us the entire way, giving moral and monetary help even when I know she just wanted to scream “WHAT THE HELL KIND OF DUMB THING ARE YOU DOING? JUST GET BACK HERE SO THAT YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY AND HAVE A NICE JOB AND HOUSE AND BE NEAR ME SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE TOGETHER AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE ALL THIS WORRY AND YOU WILL BE SAFE!!”

Hopefully at some point things will settle down, in the meantime, I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!

Next I would like to thank Jodi, my friend and unfortunately for her, my real estate agent. She gave me the initial money for the house, in good faith that it would sell, and the damn thing is still on the market. She also was able to give me a couple thousand more that should have been paid only when the house sold. This got me out of trouble a few weeks ago and allowed me to pay the car payments and insurance up, get Nick out of the red in his checking account (my fault he was there) and buy pants that fit me and winter coats for Jess and I. We went a little spend crazy because I thought we were set staying in the house, had I known, we would at least have a couple of hundred dollars left in my account. Oh well, it is more important that Nick is able to have a car to get to and from work.

Next would be Eric, who no matter what anyone else thinks about this craziness, has ALWAYS backed me 100%, saying to go for the risk, take a chance and enjoy it all. Of course he admits that is not what HE personally would do, but he knows me well enough to know that these are things I have to do. THANK you Eric, for standing by me! ((HUGS))

Ann is my voice of reason, tells me what I should be doing, the smart way to handle things. I of course ignore her, but I love the fact that she worries about me and wants me to be safe and secure!

And then there is everyone else who reads the blog and sends words of encouragement. I finally put a counter on the blog, I have no clue how many read it, but I received a comment the other day from someone I worked with at the state, he works in another building. He said he had gotten the site address from someone at work. So now I am wondering just how many people might be checking the blog out. Might be fun to see, or maybe depressing. LOL


This started out to be thank you, and as I read it, it almost sounds like a goodbye letter! LOL Not at all, This is the next phase of the journey, I just wanted everyone to know that I am thinking of you all, and thankful I am able to share all this, and to thanks you for supporting me!

All that aside, Monday we rent a station wagon, pack up all of our worldly goods and cats and take a 3 hour drive down to Frankfurt. Once we get there I know we will be able to get jobs at the army bases right away, even if they are only cashier ones, those are always available.

The big problem is to get money for an apartment. The damn rental place in Italy is STILL sitting on almost $400 of our deposit money. They keep saying it has been sent, be we have seen nothing of it.


Well, I need to get online and post this. Will keep you informed the best I can when we get down there. Will be using internet cafes again, and depending on money, may only be able to post once in a while.

Will talk to you all before we leave on Monday. Take care!