day 16

this is a dinosaur I made out of legos in class

day 16

ok today i had planned on going to the store and getting some pasta sauce and some pancake mix. i also planed to fix my bike tire (an inner tube costs 6 euros, i also got tire levers). i did both but to put the innertube in the tire i had to put air in it. the obvious option was to remove the valve core and blow aiir into it and then pinch it off and put the core back in but i can't tighten the core enough to make it air tight so i either need to find a tool to put the core back in properly or spend 6 moore euro on a new inner tube. if i do buy a new inner tube i'm gonna get a co2 catrige thing because i can fit that in a suitcase and i won't look like a pipe bomb (i won't bring co2 cartiges with me to austria)

i tried to buy oil at the hardware store today but the guy wanted 6 euros for a small bottle (general purpose oil) and i said no that to much then he said five and i said no thanks and walked out i can get a big bottle of 3 in 1 oil at home for half that price.

i tried to finf tortillas at the supermarkt and they didn't have any but they had pitas so i could make pita quesadias. there is no yellow cheese in germany. it is all white or whitish yellow.

so i thought by bike tire was working fo i rode up amountain (which was incredably hard to do even in first gear) to look for a nice place to take a picture of that castle town thing i showed in an earlier post (i forgot my camera) but i found the absolute perfect spot and the sun was setting off to the side so it was light up perfectly but there were trees in the way so i went higher and there ware still trees in the way i figured the only was to get this picture was to climb up ontop of a building but since im in another country and i don't speak much german i figured i should not risk it especially since i didn't have my camera with me. then i was ready to go home i checked my tire and it was starting to get soft. i said ohh no and jumped on and took off down this mountain . when i got to the bottom i checked the pressure again it was still ridable. and the rims were warm from all the breaking i had to do. any way when i got back the tire was still rideable but it will need to be repaired again. which is a shame because i was gonna start ridding it during the half hour breaks in the mornings tomarrow.

in better news i got an email from my advisor today saying that my religion class credit had been transfered to religion. which means as long as i get 3 history credits here in vienna i will graduate on time. so i am very happy. now i have to figure out what i want to do after college.

right now i am considering going into facilities maintence at central. and maybe bbuying a house and renting out the one side i have more information on this but it is quantative and mostly boring so i won't post it.

i found out today that an ice cream cone at the ice creme shop next door only cost .70 euro so i may have one tonight. since i'm so happy.

i have decided to go to munich and nurnburge durring my week long break right now i plan to stay in munich for 2-3 days and then visit nurnburge on the way back.

i found out that i got put into the dorm that i wanted in vienna so i will hav a place to store my bike. i just have to get it there. right now most of the group is thinking about taking the train instead of the planeso i might go with them. i also am considering taking the train and paying for another student to take my luggage on the plane then i meet them at the airport and take the taxi (central is providing) to the dorm. i'm not sure if central can refund my plane ticket money or if they use frequent flyer miles or what not. but it is worth reseaching.

today in class we had to present our post on a trip to munnich it went very well.

tomarrow i plan to go to the bike shop and look at getting an air delivering device and maybe a new tube.

i need to ask the german prof to fill out a german minor slip or i could ask joe to do it since i trust him more.

day 15

day 15 august 12

today I woke up and found that the drunken idiots did clean the dishes but failed to put them away or dry them. they also decided that the old towels smelled funny so they threw them away. so I used one of the towels provided to me by the house owners to dry the dishes and put them away. mid way through tom walked out ask asked what I was doing (I must have been a little loud) I replied I'm cleaning the mess you guys left last night. apparently I have been called the "phantom cleaner" I thought I was just doing what I thought any one would do. so Tom helped clean the rest of the kitchen and now I'm here eating chocolate coins and typing this.

any way I got a inflatable plastic hand at the race yesterday (T-Moblie) I think I'm gonna save it and give it to miller. and since I'm not a hat person I think I will give that to somebody at home to. maybe anderson. I plan on doing homewrk today and trying to take the tire off my bike if I can get it off I'm just gonna buy an innertube and walk to the gas station and fil it up tomarrow if I can't I'll be forced to reaserch the price of having the store do it versus buying the tools and doing it.

last night I stayed up till about 10:00 wth out realizing it the day went bye so fast. I bought fries and a coke at the race and the coke bottles here are smaller but they are made of about twice as much plastic I think I was supose to return it to the guy but its such a nice bottle I decided to keep it. it will last for ever.

tomarrow I need to go to the store and buy some tomatoe sauce and some pancake mix.

the first week I spend 309 euros
this week I spent 60.80 euros
next week I plan on spending 12 euros
if this progresion continues
the next week 2.4 euros
then .48 euros
then .01 euros
then for the rest of the next month I should spent less than a cent

however I think that this is not a linear or exponetial progresion but a limit problem infinantly aprotching 10 euros
however I cannot take break week into acount for this because of the obvious change in food supply and travel.
any way that is the extend of math I'm gonna do for today


I have been thinking allot about what I want to do after college and I think I would like to work facilities maintence for alleast the first few years. however I think I would have to get training before I do that. I think I should stop being so subtle and sent an email to all my friends at physical plant and ask what I have to do to get a job as a facilieties maintence technition. tony already knows that I have shown an intrest in this feild and I think dave knows but I have been to suttle in the past I have to ask them straight out.

what would I have to do to get a job at central as a facilities maintence technition? what would help me to be selected for the job? are there any skills that are needed at this time? who's ass do I need to kiss? and am I qualified to work here at this time? what kind of starting pay could I expect?

also could I aford to buy that house and rent out the othere side if I start to work at central? or would I have to live in an appartment for a while?
to buy the house I would need aloan which means I need good credit which means I need to build credit first so I have to start using my credit card. now the quesion is how much credit do I need and how is it measured?? I also need to reasearch how to rent out a side of a house and how to advertise it to people in pella. for a house I think I could rent it out for about $500 a month which would be a nice little side income. I think I could live off of that and use the main / central job to pay off college loans. the house would probably pay for its own renovations in under a year so I think I would have to live in an appartment and work physical plant pay off loans and build up a surplus of money to renovate the house at the same time then get a loan buy the house renovate it rent it out and use the income to pay off the morgage and then once I own the house I should have enough saved up to live in another house and rent out both sides. but this requires dividing the central income up into 5 separete catagories (school loans, house renovation, retirement, living expenses, and morgage) thats spreding my money allittle thin I think. but I belive there is a way to balance out this plan to make it work I just need numbers and those are hard to come by.

also I need to get a new copy of microsoft word before I go back to central for my laptop I'm not sure when to do that.

I have a lot of euro cent coins and I'm not sure what to do with them I think I'll start using then when I go the the supermarket to buy small things like spagehhitii and sauce.

day 14

i saw george hincapie, his bike, levi liephiemer, his bike, a panoramic view of schwabisch hall that i need a wide angle lense to do properly and the tour de france devil guy

day 14 august 11th

today i went to bretten to see the team time trial in the deutschland tour. i started off the day making pancakes. this time i used olive oil as a lubricant and heatted the pan to leave 4. the pancakes were not terrible they were actually some what bearable. felling good about my day (taking the pancakes as a good omen) i walked to the markt to buy some bannannas but they were all really expensive 3 euros for a bunch so i went with out them. i walked home and thought maybe i should leave early to explore the town of bretten before the race. so i unlocked my bike to find that my rear tire was entirly flat. so i sat and thought for about 5 minutes i came to two conclusions 1. the bike store is probably not open yet and probably open after i want to leave. 2. it is probably a slow leak since i didn't notice it before. so my first course of action was to walk to the bike shop to see when they opened 9:00 so i walked back to the dorm to get my bike to take to the gas station to fill the tire and see if the tire would last the day. it was a slow leak but it would barley last an hour. however i rode it to the trainstation any way it became apparent that the tire wouldn't last the day so i locked it up at the trainstation intending to walk it back to the dorm after the race. i checked the earliest time i could leave (having bought a flexy time ticket yesterday) 9:03. so i could get the tire fixed and then bend time so i could get on the train. or i could walk the bike back to the dorm and leave it there and just walk all day. i walked to the trainstation and got on the train. i waited for some one to ask for my ticket but nobody asked. so i went to the heilbronn trainstation and tranfered to the s-bahn to go to bretten i think i was supose to check my own ticket but nobody asked so i didn't. i thought the race was at bretten trainstation but luckily i looked out the window and saw the gerolstiener RV at the stop before the train station so i got off. i walked around looking at the different teams RV's and stuff and walked around the start and fininsh areas. i was at the discovery RV just intime to the the team arrive i took pictures and videos i saw levi leiphiemer in person (he is short). i then walked to th start area and watched the amatuers start then watched the profesionals start. i saw the tour de france devil. then i watched most of the teams finish CSC was winning before i left. and i went to th trainstation to check is i could leave latter but the S-bahn doesn't post scheduals so there was no way to know. so i watched the final teams come in and then waited for the train i got on an earlyier train and i only went half way so i had to wait for the later train to catch up and also the latter train was delayed 15 minutes so when i arrived in the trainstation i had to run to catch the train back to schwabisch hall. then i listened to music on the way back i saw a castle on top of a very steep hill on the train but there were trees so i couldn't get a photo. then i got back and walked back to the dorm and made dinner. i ate out on the scafolding outside the kitchen and watched the sun set.

today i learned that there is a hardware store here so i can get oil for my chain and i found a senic veiw that would look great but i would need a wide angle lens to make it work. also i had lunch i payed 3.20 euros for fries and a coke (becuase i had only the rolls which gave the the hick ups and the bottled watter i had bought at the gas station a while ago was Co2 water which tasted nasty. (also fries and coke here taste less good than in america) also i bought a 5 euro hat and shirt combo. my feet hurt and im sore all over but today was a good day. i think i was better off not having the bike today.

any way i'll post asmany photos as i can and maybe a video or two.

day 13 a part of it any way

i got an email from my german profesor replying to email i sent asking about my goethe placement and how it will affect my graduation plans. he said abunch of stuff which i interpret to mean that just by being here i will get the equivalent of 2 300level german courses so im guaranteed 8 300 lvl credits so i will graduate on time

also today i got a reply from my adviser about my credit transfer from history to religion. apparently the reason i didn't get a reply from the registrar is that he has been on vacation for a while so i should have the answers to my graduation plans questions by the end of august.

happy happy day.

this is the last post until Monday when i have access to internet again.

have a good week end

rest of day 12

rest of day 12 laast nights dinner and kitchen photos

i went to the meet and greet cake and coffee thing and i ended up sitting alone at a table with a girl/ lady whom had been in my class on the first day. on the first day she started crying because she had to learn german and she expected to master it in under a year. but that won't happen and her hussband doesn't think she needs german and blah blah blah. and uring the dinner she told me her life story and i could see the entire time her eyes were about to water. and i keep thinking i have to get out of here but how i have to get out of here but how if i leave she will feel abandoned and cry and if i stay i will be uncomfortable and if she starts crying i will have no course of action. im trapped. why arn't i empathetic i don't have emotions im a guy and on top of that i'm a vanderwoude. what should i do. i lack the empathetic skills to sympasize with her i was a victim in the wrong place at the wrong time.

ohh yeah i forgot to write yesterday that before class this kid (and i use the word kid on purpose he is 19 but he acts 15) Danik from kazacstan walks up to me and asks me if i like my (something) i assumed he said first name so i said yes (apparently he said president) then he said "do you know your president planned the 11 september thing, and he planned it, and he new that he would start a war with iraq and destroy them?" i was temped to say "yes i did know that i also know that he eats new born babies and makes deals with satan to quench his thirst for human blood" but in reality i said "no, im not here to discuss international politics im here to learn german."

today was actually andreas birthday (not yesterday) so danik came to class with flowers and a present for her. it is obvious that danik is attracted to her. i'm not sure andrea relizes it. andrea seems to be incredibuly book smart but ignorant in the feild of reality. i am affraid she may do somthing that he interprets to be a welcoming signal which would be bad for all parties. unfortunatly all i can do is watch i cannot interfer. its not my concern.

in my experience with you people from the middle east they like to pretend that they are incharge of people older than them i don't think they they were ever taught that they are not incharge. i will site three examples. one mahamad from 5th grade his favorite joke was to walk up to the board when mr creighton was out of the room and make a broad direction to the class (ie. ok class we are going outside, miss student teacher go order us some pizzas, ect...) in class danik seems to have the same aditude h e never listens to the teacher and she lacks the will power to dominate him also while in class 4 days ago some one who looked like he saw to many micheal jackson videos walked into class and wrote his name on the board and introduced himself as a teacher in all of these casses no body has ever found them to be funny. also, i think there is an undertone of disrespect of women mahamad stayed inline when mr creighton was around but when only the student teacher lady was around he would go crazy. our current teacher is female and danik is out of control.

any way this is the end of my hate blog

any way tomarrow i plan to go to bretten to see the second stage (team time trial) of the deutschland tour. i plan to first go to the farmers market in the morning and buy a bunch of bannanas (what are those groupings of bannannas called) i took five rolls out of breakfast this morning and i plan to have one for dinner tonight and the rest tommarrow after eatting breakfast (pancakes) and a light lunch spagehitti i will leave for the train station with my bike at about 9:45 is then i will leave for bretten at 10:30 ish. when i get there it should be lightly raining and then stop toward the end of my stay so i'm not bringing an umbrella. then i will ride to the start watch the amatuer racers go and wait for the profesionals to start. i will then eat my lunch of bannannas and bread then go to the train station at 5 :00 to go back to schwabisch hall.
if i see any camras i will try to get in the picture i'll be wearing blue jeans black sweater thing over a brown t shirt carrying dads brown messenger bag.

day 11 and part of 12

actually today is day 12 but i didn't have time to type yesterday

first i woke up early to finish homework then went to class in class we did birthday stuff because it was Andreas birthday. after class we had lunch then i went online to talk to mom and dad and to post my blog and research stuff then i made dinner (spaghetti tomato sauce and a brezel roll) while i was making dinner two of the people who eat together all the time were making there dinner (stew) so when i was done i did my dishes and theirs (because I'm a nice person) and one of them invited me to eat with them.(because i did the dishes) i figured yeah there gonna eat to early to get drunk and i have to leave to watch the movie before then any way so its a good chance to meet my fellow Americans. so i said yes so i did home work while the stew stewed and then ate with about 8-10 of them. thomas (a music major from Austin Texas) said we need dinning music and i said I have vavaldi. thomas liked the idea james on the othere hand did not (he is a music major from central) it is his opinion that all baroque music sounds the same both thomas and i were ready to slap him but we restrained our selves. during the violin solo in spring i said this is my favorite violin solo and almost every one agreeded its amazing. and the conversations stopped as soon as the first phrase of winter was played what is my favorite movment. after that we discusssed the energy problem i think i was one of the few who understood that the problem is not finding alternative energy we know about it already the problem is implementing it. any way the disscusion wound down and i went to the movie "good bybe lenin" the movie was in german with german subtitles which helped alot.

basicaly the movie is about a mother and her children (eastern berlin) who were separated about 2 months before the wall fell in berlin. the mother went into a coma and woke up eight months later so the son had to buy back the old appartment and decorate it the way it was to make her feel at home. the he had to find all the old food stuffs that they use to eat which didn't exist any more because of capitalism so he transfered the new food brands contents into old jars. then the mother realy wanted to watch tv so he and his coworker had to find old videos from a year before. then crazy stuff started to happen like the building outside her window had a coca cola flag hung on the side of it so they had to make fake news programs to convince her that berlin was still separated and one day she got out of the house and saw all the new capitalist stuff and they eventually had to make a fake news program that said that the wall had just fallen. it was a funny film if you can find it in english i highly recomend it.

in my opinion the pinical of musicis the baroque style, the concept of many things happening at once is very exciting.


and now it is thursday to day i hae to go to the office to sign up for the mercedes museum and maybe the rothenburg trip.
any way class will start soo so i'm gonna stop now.

now im gonna write about today.
today in class we had to do research for a trip to munich my group has a brazilian uy in it who claims to have the information so all we had to do was look up pictures to print up. he better have the information or i'll have his head. in othere news i did find out that there is a website for the train station system here in germany i plan to use it to plan my trip to stuttgart when the library opens. i think culture shock is starting to set in but im not sure if its culture shock or home sickness. either way i havent felt this way since i went to flordia on a mission trip in 5th grade. i don't think its jet lag i should be over that by now.

i signed up to go to the mercedes mueseum on wendsday and i plan to sign up for the trip to rothenburg either tomarrow or saterday.
last night we discussed our week long break plans the group wants to go to denmark (to get drunk i suspect) then stop in different towns on the way back here. i think i would like to go to munchin then go to nurnberg then come back here. but i haven't made my mind up yet
i have two weks to decide.

tonight there is a get to know people thing with food so i think i'll sign up for that.

i have been thinking about what i want to do after graduation and i think i would like to work at central and contiue taking classes probably one class per semester or year. but then again my plans have shanged so much i' not sure what i would like to do.
any way i think this blog is done for now
have a good day

please forgive any gramatic or spelling errors as microsoft word will no longer help me in this regard.

day 10 august 8

ok so i was sitting in bed taking a nap when i had a half awake dream thing. i was making a violin on the island at central. so i woke up i thought why not make a violin at central. if i stop watching cartoons and looking up usless stuff on the internet i could easily make a violin during the course of a semester. also i could arrange to have access to the equipment in the basment of the art building. i would also have access to orchestra people. so if i take what i have here with me to central along with some othere stuff (no tv, and no big computer, no mountain bike) i should have plenty of room in the car to bring the tools i need. also i will be in the basement so i can make alot more noise than i used to in my room before disturbing any one. so that is the plan.

I hardly used the mountain bike last semester because the trail was always so wet and the tv was only a destraction and i don't need the big computer now that i am used to using th laptop. furthure more since i will be use to living with no more than what will fit in a suitcase i will need even less stuff than previous years. i may be able to live with out a fridge or a microwave but i liked having those things last year so i'll take them next semester.

it dawned on last weekend that i'm a senior and i have to get a job lined up sometime in the next 10 months. i'm still not sure what i want to do. i would like to work for facilities maintence but the pay is probably not enough to pay off my college loans any time soon. also i think i would need to get more training. i'm not sure how likly i am to get hired in that feild with out expirience. i think i would like to work at central but then again im not sure about any of the specifics and being the INTP i am i'm afraid of making decisions with out being totaly informed. i also considered going to school and becoming a boiler technition because that feild is always in high demand and i could work standard preventative maintence and have good job security. i also considered buying a house and renting out half of it. or renovating houses. or cabnet making. or even going to dakota county tech and becoming a work site manager. any way i doubt that the central staff will be to use to helping college graduates get blue colar jobs most college graduates are "to good" to do physical labor. i guess i enjoy it becuase i like the satisfaction of seeing the results of my work. were as white colar jobs you work all day and still have no idea how much you got done.

i tried to use my credit card today to get a bottle of water in a gas sattion and the lady looked at me seriously and said "du mochtest ein trink kaufen mit ein karte? bist du veruckt?" ("you want to buy a drink with a credit card? are you crazy?") i said "nien" then she explained how a purchace had to be over 10 euros for me to use a credit card so i said ok and handed her 2 euro coins. now i have a bottle that i can use to hold water which is what i was after in the first pplace but i don't know if the card works or not yet.

tomarrow i plan on going to a movie in the evening in german with subtitles in german and thats the extent of my plan. i took some rolls out of breakfast this morning and i had a snack and a bigger dinner than ussual i think i will continue doing it especially this week end so i will have lunch in bretten.

any way im tired and i have to do homework tomarrow morning so i'm going to bed