A Whole New World

Now, this may come as a shock to most of you, but I'm not technologically gifted. I'm not the person who knows months in advance of a new product release, and I don't pour over all the new and exciting features of electronics that will make life so much easier. Case in point: music.

I love music, and I love listening to the radio, but that's about as far as my interests have traditionally gone. I haven't bought a new CD in nine years (seriously- if I only like a few songs by the artist, why should I buy 15?). I was firm in my position that a sunroof is more important in a car than a CD player. I always thought it was exciting to listen to the radio. It's kind of a gamble- you never know if the radio gods will be with you or if you'll end up finding only ads and annoying songs.

But in the last few months, some of my friends and family (you know who you are) have given me a bit of music therapy. They've introduced me to new music and websites where I can explore my own specific music tastes (pandora!). The next step in my music growth came in Germany. One of the tv channels in my hotel room was actually an Austrian radio station (HitRadio O-drei). The only things that showed on the screen were the name of each song and artist and a periodic traffic report. With more traditional radio stations, I never know what I'm listening to, so I can't explore it. But with this, I could write down the stuff I liked and research it later to find even more stuff that I liked. The final step of my music transition (and the link to my technological weakness) was getting an Ipod for Christmas. All of the sudden, I don't have to rely on the radio gods to help me find my favorite songs. My favorite songs are all in one place! I just have to plug it in and go! And if I get a new favorite song, I don't have to buy a whole CD! I can just download that song! A new world has been opened to me, and I don't plan on returning to the old. Thank you to my friends and family and Austrian radio for helping me find the higher road.

So much to do, so little time

Well, life continues to run at a demanding pace. Here's a rundown of a typical day in my last few weeks:
Wake up
Lie in bed for a while, delaying the inevitable cold that is my apartment
Yoga
Gym
Shower, hair, etc
Breakfast/Scripture Study
Check email
Job search/Send resumes out
Piano/Violin practice
Lunch
Jigsaw puzzle
TV break
Read
Dinner
Read/TV
Yoga
Bed
I was so busy today (finished my puzzle!) that I couldn't even find the time to go shopping. I know, just reading my oppressive schedule probably wears you out. It's rough, but don't worry about me- I'll manage.

What's not to love?

In the last few weeks, a lot of people have been asking where I want to go next, and I tell them I'd like to stay in Michigan. Everybody, including the Michigan natives, respond with a very cynical sounding, "Why?!" These pictures are part of my reason. Michigan is wonderful. There's no arguing with this kind of reason.

Gingerbread House

Here's an example of how I spent some of my newfound freetime this week. It may not be pretty, but it's by far the best I've ever done, so I'm proud of it.

Holiday

I'm officially unemployed now. Yesterday I packed up my computer and left work around 1:00, knowing I could never go back into that building. It was kind of sad. On Tuesday, it felt like the last day of high school. Everybody was walking around hugging their friends goodbye and collecting email addresses. Of the finance divisions I know, the take rate on the buyout offer was somewhere near 50%. It was weird. Anyway, as I drove away, the song on my radio was a Greenday song- the first line I heard was, "This is the dawning of the rest of our lives, on holiday". I thought it was fitting.
So, what next? I've been talking to recruiters, and they've sent my resume out to a few companies. They say more companies will be hiring after the holidays, so, while I'll still be sending out resumes and looking for a job, I'll try not to stress about it too much until January. In the meantime I'll build an amazing gingerbread house, take up knitting again, catch up on this season of The Office, and try my hand at pastry making or candy making or something. If any of you hear of any finance openings, send them my way.

Even more Vienna!

1. Weihnachts Markt- All the big cities in Germany and Austria (and maybe Switzerland) have Weihnachts Markts (Christmas Markets). I hear about them at least three or four times a week. Apparently, they're a huge deal. The main center of town is filled with booths that look like the stables you'd see in a nativity set, where vendors sell Christmas ornaments, waffles, fried potatoes, spiced nuts, all sorts of cakes and pastries, and gluwein (a hot mulled wine)- oh, and also lots of beer. I'll be going home about a week before the Stuttgart WeihnachtsMarkt starts, and I was kind of upset to be missing out on it. My coworkers rave- they say Stuttgart's is one of the best around. Anyway, it turns out that Vienna's started the day I got there! I was so happy to catch it. It reminded me a lot of the Christmas town that happened in downtown Ogden every year. It was right in front of the city hall, and all the trees were decorated with huge ornaments, and there was a brass band playing waltzes and Christmas songs, and everybody was happy. It was a lot of fun.

2. Volksgarten- one of the first public parks in Stuttgart. It was filled with rose bushes. I can just imagine it would be amazing in the spring and summer.

3. My hotel room. The description of this hotel in the Rick Steve's guidebook says, "Its rooms are spacious". I went off that promise when I booked my room. For this picture, I stood as far from the bed as I could, crammed into the opposite corner. What do you say- spacious or what?

4. One of the three meetinghouses in Vienna. This was the closest to the city center, which made it good for catching my flight after church. I had just enough time to go to the three meetings, get to the train station, and go to the airport. Sacrament meeting was a primary program- it was fun hearing the primary songs in German (coincidentally, that was my second primary program in 7 weeks. More than I've seen in about 10 years). After sacrament meeting I asked the missionaries where Sunday School was, and it turns out sacrament meeting was the last hour of the block. I had missed everything else. And they told me there was an English branch meeting later that day in the same building. Bummer. Anyway, I got to the train station way early, which was good, because there was some kind of technical problem and the trains were all delayed. Of course, I didn't know this. I just stood on the platform for a long time wondering what the announcer was saying and why the train wasn't coming. Finally I asked a lady who looked like she was going to the airport also. She explained it to me and told me there might be a bus going to the airport. So I went outside and found a bus absolutely crammed with people. There was no breathing room. And it was a half hour ride (roughly) to the airport. Anyway, I finally got to the airport, only to find that my flight was delayed 2 hours. It was a nightmare of a travel day. But that's okay. Vienna was great!

And this time I did the food right. I got all the foods I wanted to try. Goulash soup, apple strudel, wienerschnitzel, sachertorte, and pumpkin cake. Good stuff!

Vienna 3

1. View of the city from Stephensdom Tower.

2. Street performers in Stephensplatz. This is these guys' full time job. Every hour they do one or two shows that last about 15 minutes. They do flips and spin on their heads and balance in all sorts of positions, and tell jokes all the while. They were fun to watch.

3. Stephensdom Cathedral

4. Stephensdom roof- this church is one of the few buildings that didn't get bombed during WWII. But at the end of the war, the roof caught fire. Within just a few years, it was completely rebuilt, with a tile mosaic roof. It's really pretty.

5. Inside Stephensdom