... in Australia

I am back again!

It was such a wonderful vacation!
I saw soooooo much!
Western Australia is just awsome!

a Humpback Wale

We stayed in Perth for one week (which brought me eleven new books) and then drove around the state.
We took the coast road up North till Coral Bay and then saw parts of the outback while driving back South on the inland route. It was really amazing!

I also just finished 5 books and started 4 others (some were just not right at that moment) which is not a lot in three weeks with a lot of time for reading on my hands. You can see which books I read in the right hand column under the headline "Read in July ...".

a dolphin in Monkey Mia

I am at home now for one more week and then I will fly to London for a week - a mix of vacation and work. Hopefully my siutcase will not be that heavy when I fly over there so I can pay a lot of visits to Waterstone's and shop for books, which I am looking forward to each year.

... in travels

This blog is currently on vacation!

... in Australia

Just 4 more days ...

... than I will be on my way to Australia!


There is just one more portfolio to write and one more exam to pass.

Right now I downloaded some books to my Kindle to take with me to Australia, I got my visa, updated my MP3-player and collected adresses for cards.

Now I will pack my bag, attend my last lecture for this semster and meet with a friend of mine who was in Great Britain this last year.

So, I will leave you now with this wonderful quote:

... at university

Right now, I start to get a little dizzy from all this sounds.

Sounds strange – well, it is.

I am preparing for my PPOCS exam, which is a kind of conversational course. There I have learned the CORRECT General American way of English. I mean I am speaking English – American English – since I was about three but I wasn’t speaking it correctly. Thank you!

So I need to practice my th-sound and my voiced s and all this …

And yes, I am kind of annoyed with all this. It is just one course for crying out loud. After that no one will ever ask me if I speak British or American. We American English speakers are the minority at the department anyway. There are just three to five professors who speak American English and there sometimes I get to hear things like “Yeah, that is an American pronunciation. We don’t use that!”! I mean, people! Come on!

I think it is not necessary to read between lines to see that I am not happy with that situation but I have to deal with it and make the best out of it.

So I will now turn back to my prepared three pages of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love” and read it once again to my room. I so hope that I will pass this exam because I am not sure if I can do this over again without turning crazy. 

... in books

Can you remember that I took part in a raffle at "Beauty & Books". Stephanie asked us all to leave a comment and tell her how high our pile of unread books is right now. I decided to reveal my well kept secret and told her about my many many many unread books.
It was worth it!
I won! I won! I won! I won! I won! I won!

Three of my friends celebrated their birthdays this week. So we had three major birthday bashes this week. So much fun. Last one was yesterday. We did some barbecueing, sunbathing, played "Cluedo" and laughed and talked a lot. I am so grateful for all my friends and I know that they are really something super special!

So now, I am so (not) looking forward to the following week. One presentation at university, one paper to finish and prepare for exams....I am really looking forward to July!

... in books

Yeah!

After three stressful days I finally had time to finish "The next thing on my list" yesterday evening. Nice story with an unexpected ending. Somewhere in the middle I thought I figured it all out and then some things happened and the whole story was flipped and the ending was not at all what I expected. I really enjoyed that.

Then there was this obvious problem that I needed a new book - in the middle of the night with no plan what to read next. So I spend 30 minutes in front of my books and settled on Terry Pratchett's "Night Watch" which I started almost three times by now and never read more than 30 pages. So I am really curious if I manage to finish it this time. It is not that this book is not interesting or amusing it just wasn't right at that time.

I still have some exams left and I really need to write my paper but it is a bit more relaxed till end of June. Hope I will have time to read some more books and find enough good ones to load to my Kindle for my Australia trip.

... online

Look what I found online a few days ago.

The following are different answers given by school-age children to the given questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Think about it. It was the best way to get more people.
3. Mostly to clean the house.
4. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. He made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What ingredients are mothers made of?1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world, and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string. I think.

What kind of little girl was your Mom?1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

How did your Mom meet your dad?1. Mom was working in a store and dad was shoplifting.

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?1. His last name
2. She had to know his background Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer? Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

What makes a real woman?1. It means you have to be really bossy without looking bossy.

Who's the boss at your house?1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dads such a goofball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?1. Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just got to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power cause that's who you gotta ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.

What does your Mom do in her spare time?1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What's the difference between moms and grandmas?1. About 30 years.
2. You can always count on grandmothers for candy. Sometimes moms don't even have bread on them!

Describe the world's greatest Mom?1. She would make broccoli taste like ice cream!
2. The greatest Mom in the world wouldn't make me kiss my fat aunts!
3. She'd always be smiling and keep her opinions to herself.

Is anything about your Mom perfect?1. Her teeth are perfect, but she bought them from the dentist.
2. Her casserole recipes. But we hate them.
3. Just her children

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know her hair. I'd dye-it, maybe blue

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.