Don't drive on the sidewalk.

Words of advice: Don't drive on the sidewalk.



At least, that's what the policeman told me yesterday. I'd not wanted to turn completely around, drive out from the near-middle of campus, circle campus, to drive back to the near-middle of campus in sight of where I was. The only thing stopping me from simply driving through was a "service or emergency vehicles only" sign. And of course, as I exit the forbidden pathway, what approaches from the street ahead but a polic car, who waves to me to roll down my window. I explain I'm lost and looking for the main street, where I was actually looking for the parking lot adjacent to our location. So I had to drive out to the main street and drive back in to park next to where I had been talking to him.

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Since my shoes don't fit right, my current goal is to spend the last half hour of my shift seated in my chair. It's a rolley chair, so if I am committed to my laziness, a certain measure of creativity should prevent undue energy expenditure. I might even make it; for some reason, the droves of bleary-eyed grad students has slowed to a trickle, with only the occasional student doing penance from judicial affairs by checking out "When Good People Make Tough Choices". I try not to smile, but we all know why he or she is there: written up, minor in possession, or similar. Yay for moral highhorse. I'm old enough to drink here without getting in trouble, so nyah nyah nyah.

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We were interviewed by German journalists today, on an intercultural exchange trip to the US. We talked about current issues in Germany, and US-German relations (the We Hate Bush Club) and why (some) Germans are pulling for Obama. Main comments: US is *huge*. We knew this already, but if you haven't been here before, the sheer immensity of the place can be staggering, particularly for Europeans used to, as one of today's guests put it, "a different country being two hours away". Religion is much more public here, where in Germany it is a pretty private thing. Integration of foreigners is a problem shared by both (and many other) countries, and it is difficult to determine what is "American" and "German" culture. Flag-flying on every building seems strange to them; in Germany, where nationalism is understandably severely discouraged, the practice cam be unsettling.

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There is a really creepy individual who works where I do, ostensibly in maintenance. I guess I am making judgements without knowing him, but whenever he walks by my desk he stares fixedly at me/us. I'm not going to lie, it makes me uncomfortable.

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One of my favorite things to do at work is to take a stack of DVDs, open each one to check if there is a disk inside, stack them all up, and close them by pressing them together as a stack. It makes such a satisfying snapping and popping noise, much like the popping of plastic knuckles. Which I can't stand, by the way (popping your knuckles, not plastic). I also can't stand people chewing ice, or scraping ice with their fingers.

Kurze Anmerkung: wegen frührer übereifriger Andeutungsversuche möchte ich nur vorweg sagen, dass das Leid keinerlei persönliche Bedeutung hat, war nur das Erste auf der CD und ich fand's schön.


Du warst mir mal wichtig
Genau wie dieses Lied
Wärst du eine Melodie
Wär ich ein stumpfer Beat
Wir machten kleine Skizzen
Alle ziemlich einfach
Alles, was uns wichtig war
Lag sicher im Geheimfach

Trotzdem gehen wir beide getrennt
Und Bruce spielt wieder ohne E Street Band

Weil die Zeit sich so beeilt
Und so wenig bleibt von dem, was einmal war
Weil das Licht so leicht zerbricht
Sehen wir die Dinge manchmal seltsam sonderbar

Unsere Bilder sind verschwommen
Weil wir nicht mehr zurá¼ckkommen

Was bleibt ist nur der Rauch
In den man so gern taucht
Bevor es wieder klar wird
Verschwind ich lieber auch
Denn so viele reden wichtig
Erzählen tolle Geschichten
Und uns wird langsam müde
Von versteinerten Gedichten

Und wir werden nicht verbrennen
In den Fehlern die wir kennen

Nein so wollten wir nie werden
Und so werden wir nie sein
Der Trost ist, dass sich zwei kennen
Die aus all dem lernen
Der eine bist wohl du
Der andere wär ich gern

Nur weil die Zeit sich so beeilt
Und nur wenig bleibt von dem, was einmal war
Weil das Licht so leicht zerbricht
Sehen wir die Dinge manchmal seltsam sonderbar

"Weil Die Zeit Sich So Beeilt" -- Olli Schulz und der Hund Marie