Europe is cold.
That shouldn't come as news to anybody. Europe is in the northern hemisphere and contains such remarkable countries as Great Britain a.k.a. We-Get-Sun-A-Few-Weeks-A-Year-Land (note: I confirmed this with a British person at my hostel, although he honestly admitted he didn't mind the lack of sun. Not sure whether to chalk this one up to the British stiff upper lip mentality or not). Having been reading about portents of SNOW and MORE SNOW for the U.S. this past week, I thought I'd post an update about a place that actually got snow: Berlin.
I'm currently holed up in a lovely little hostel in Berlin as I search for an apartment/job/purpose in life. The first few days of my stay proved almost pastoral: the world warmed up, the sun came out, the air smelled fresh and clean. The city seemed ready for spring. Then, two days ago, the weather switched course very abruptly. In the middle of the night, snow began to fall, and when I woke up, the world had been covered in white and the balmy March temperatures had plunged to a cozy -6 C (that's 21 F for people who haven't lived abroad).
I have to hand it to German snow. I wasn't living in a blizzard here; the snow honestly looked like something out of a movie, it fell in such a measured and delicate way. But on the other hand, the snow did not stop. It kept snowing beautifully for hours, for the entire day, well into the next morning, well into that day. As I write, it seems to have taken a slight break, and a friend of mine says that the weather forecast says the snow is done. But the snow still managed to coat the streets and cars and buildings with a thick layer of white, thick enough that the government summoned the adorably tiny snow plows to clear the city streets.
So, yeah, sorry to the East Coast USA friends who didn't get snow. Europe apparently stole it from you although if you really want it, maybe we can arrange some kind of trade agreement. In the mean time, I'll be digging out my gloves to build tiny snow-people and drawing smiley faces on windshields. Tschüss!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
New Year's Resolutions
This isn't a post about New Year's resolutions; those are boring as shit. Everyone comes up with the same two or three goals: lose weight (or the less overt "eat healthier"), quit smoking (or "lose weight" if you aren't a smoker), get a job (a.k.a. "save money" if you're one of the lucky S.O.B.s that has a job already) and so on.
No, I am writing this to ask if anyone has genuinely stuck to their resolutions. Ever. Because I absolutely failed at mine this year.
So I guess this is a post about my resolutions after all, but mine are a little more unorthodox, because my goals have been a bit more specific. I do need to lose weight and eat healthier, but until I can afford a gym membership and/or food, that one is getting shelved. I do need a job -- desperately so -- but that's something I'm constantly working at. It's a "forever" resolution. I only smoke when I drink, so I quit smoking when I'm sober: resolution accomplished!
With that in mine, here were my real goals, and how I failed them:
1. Draw at least one thing a day. Even if it was something stupid and small, like a cartoon muffin trying to eat Lincoln's head on a fiver, I tried to stick responsibility to myself with this one. My life as an artist has been suffering just a bit because I haven't got in as much practice as I would have liked, and this resolution was supposed to inspire me to practice. Sadly, I didn't even start attempting to keep it until like a week after 2013 started, so I broke it immediately due to a combination of laziness and forgetfulness.
2. Write as least one thing a day. See above resolution; I'm really not as organized or determined as I like to think I am.
3. Wear more makeup. I own far too much makeup for someone who wears it roughly twice a year. I love the expensive shit, unfortunately, and tend to accumulate it at the rate I accumulate pens (I will never, ever run out of pens -- I simply own far too many for this to ever happen). And it's not like I don't enjoy wearing it: I love playing with colors and styles. But again, I get lazy. I look just fine going out the door not wearing makeup, so why should I bother waking up an hour early to put on a far (or style my hair, even)? Yeah, this resolution died quickly.
4. Stop buying so many notebooks and pens. Hahahahahahahaha.
I admit I don't think New Year's resolutions are for chumps. If setting a goal helps give you something real to work towards, good job! But even with how specific I was in my resolutions (at least the first two), I failed before the year practically began. Do I feel bad about that? No, not really. I'm better with deadlines than with goals, to be honest: if I'd promised myself something along the lines of "by this Sunday you will have drawn seven things" that might have gotten more results. For now, I'll just stick with what I've achieved and keep trying to do better in general. Yes, it's lazier, and yes, it's easier, but I'm so done with setting goals right now. And hey, I can try again next year. No promises.
No, I am writing this to ask if anyone has genuinely stuck to their resolutions. Ever. Because I absolutely failed at mine this year.
So I guess this is a post about my resolutions after all, but mine are a little more unorthodox, because my goals have been a bit more specific. I do need to lose weight and eat healthier, but until I can afford a gym membership and/or food, that one is getting shelved. I do need a job -- desperately so -- but that's something I'm constantly working at. It's a "forever" resolution. I only smoke when I drink, so I quit smoking when I'm sober: resolution accomplished!
With that in mine, here were my real goals, and how I failed them:
1. Draw at least one thing a day. Even if it was something stupid and small, like a cartoon muffin trying to eat Lincoln's head on a fiver, I tried to stick responsibility to myself with this one. My life as an artist has been suffering just a bit because I haven't got in as much practice as I would have liked, and this resolution was supposed to inspire me to practice. Sadly, I didn't even start attempting to keep it until like a week after 2013 started, so I broke it immediately due to a combination of laziness and forgetfulness.
2. Write as least one thing a day. See above resolution; I'm really not as organized or determined as I like to think I am.
3. Wear more makeup. I own far too much makeup for someone who wears it roughly twice a year. I love the expensive shit, unfortunately, and tend to accumulate it at the rate I accumulate pens (I will never, ever run out of pens -- I simply own far too many for this to ever happen). And it's not like I don't enjoy wearing it: I love playing with colors and styles. But again, I get lazy. I look just fine going out the door not wearing makeup, so why should I bother waking up an hour early to put on a far (or style my hair, even)? Yeah, this resolution died quickly.
4. Stop buying so many notebooks and pens. Hahahahahahahaha.
I admit I don't think New Year's resolutions are for chumps. If setting a goal helps give you something real to work towards, good job! But even with how specific I was in my resolutions (at least the first two), I failed before the year practically began. Do I feel bad about that? No, not really. I'm better with deadlines than with goals, to be honest: if I'd promised myself something along the lines of "by this Sunday you will have drawn seven things" that might have gotten more results. For now, I'll just stick with what I've achieved and keep trying to do better in general. Yes, it's lazier, and yes, it's easier, but I'm so done with setting goals right now. And hey, I can try again next year. No promises.
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