… and then I footloosed around my apartment

I haven’t quoted in a long time. But I’ve been listening to a lot of music  – a lot of rock – lately, in the background, and since I love singing along many lyrics stay stuck in my head. Today, as I’m getting ready to bake a rainbow cake for Marco’s birthday party tonight (hi Marco!), Supertramp came on and I thought I just had to post some lyrics again.

 When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the world’s asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.

Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical,
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won’t you sign up your name, we’d like to feel you’re
Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!

My very first T.I.L.T.

So here goes, I’m starting a “Things I love Thursday” category, inspired by my friend’s blog (hi Jo!). Because I’ve heard before that I’m a negative person, which simply isn’t true once you really know me. I do notice many positive things, I just don’t voice them as often. Because getting all worked up and bickering is so much more fun! But still, before I turn into a sour puss (yes, that expression exists), I’ll share with you some of the things that have made me happy or at least smile in the last few days. Maybe this will help you open your mind to more positive things as well, because that’s a thing that needs to be practiced in order to work smoothly. Hey ho, let’s go:

Waking up to an unexpected blanket of snow

It had been raining for several days, and then one morning I begrudgingly get out of bed and open the drapes and am totally surprised by seeing everything covered in lucent white. Immediately, my mood changes. Snow is such a beautiful thing, it transforms everything. A gray city becomes a winter wonderland. Taking a break from learning, looking out the window and just watching the big fat snowflakes fall for a while is also uplifting.

A couple holding hands in the rain

In the days before the snow, there was some pretty hefty raining going on. Now generally I find it funny to watch people run through it or try to huddle under a roof. But this one time I saw a couple, holding hands, just strolling along – in the pouring rain – as if nothing was going on. It made me feel very happy for them.

Drinking and laughing with old friends

On the Friday after my exam I met with some good old friends, that I’ve known since my first semester, to celebrate our grades and the fact that one of us had finally made it – she was done, had her diploma. So we met up in a very comfy old bar/restaurant/café, along with several others. We were all crammed around a table that was way to small for all of us. Most of them drank the local beer, I tried different cocktails. We talked about old times and retold ourselves old jokes, generally having a good time and laughing our asses off.

Spending “quality time” with The BF

On that same week-end, I had free time but The BF still had to learn for his upcoming exam. He had asked me to interrogate him on the subject so that he could see where he still needed practice. It could have been a typical “couples week-end”, sleeping late, having a big breakfast and then cuddling or what not, but instead we spent the whole Sunday on his couch, me asking questions and him reciting. I really enjoyed it, just because it was unexpected, because I got to spend a whole day with him (a very rare thing) and it wasn’t wasted.

Going to the movies

I love the flix. It doesn’t really matter if the movie is that good or not (that’s a bonus), it’s just about going out, getting popcorn and coke, and sitting in big cushioned chairs in front of a huge screen and snuggling up to The BF. Plus, people-watching is mostly very fruitful at the movies. And I love the local commercials. And the previews, so that I know when I can come back again. And I collect the tickets.

Finding a good show on TV

This might seem redundant compared to the last one, but I do spend a lot of time in front of a screen. So when I find something that’s actually worth the time, all the better. I discovered a new show on the German channel DMAX (which is one of my favorite channels, despite it being advertised as a men’s channel) called “Die Stone-Skala”. It’s known in the US as “Most Evil” on the Discovery Channel. It’s a series about serial killers and other psychopaths. And I am now close to obsessed with that topic. Both The BF and a friend who watched it with me (hi Do!) said that they found it weird I would like something like this. Both couldn’t quite explain why, though.

Voicing an adult opinion

It’s strange really, when you grow up and then once and a while realize that someone is actually taking what you say seriously. Now that I am more and more coming to an age where I should be considered an adult, it’s nice to know I can take a stand on something and people won’t go “oh what does she know” – they listen. I especially noticed this in my last exam, where you might even say that I have developed some kind of expertise or at least competence, so that I know what I’m talking about and my counterpart notices this. If it’s a superior acknowledging it, it makes it all the more meaningful.

Meeting a friend on the street

I was coming back from my first and last class at the university, and saw a friend (hi Lena!) walking towards my house out of the tram window. Normally I never meet anyone I know in town, let alone someone I actually enjoy talking to. Thanks to slow traffic lights and the fact that the tram stop isn’t far from where I live, I was able to catch up to her. I hope I didn’t startle her too much when I tapped her on the shoulder – I know my initial reaction when that happens to me is to be annoyed – but it was a very pleasant unexpected encounter. We talked a bit in front of my door and then each went on with our days.

Whew, what a long post. I had made notes about more stuff, but I guess I’ll save those for next time. Have a nice week everybody!

umm… yay?

So I googled “Things I love Thursday”, to get some inspiration on how I want to go about this new category (just make a list, explain, put pictures, whatever) and came across this website,  www.43things.com, where you can list your goals, record your progress and cheer other people on. Right at the top of the site was this big yellow book screaming at me, and the test looked pretty simple, so I tried it. There was just a list of things, and you had to check what you’ve already done. My results were these:

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and

found out I’m a Lifelong Learning

Traveling Self-Improver

Only 0.15% of the 97426 people who have taken this quiz are like me. It’s the friggin’ Internet, people, and not even 1% have enough in common with me. Hooray for being different.

P.S.: it’s not a real personality test, and don’t buy the book.