I'm leeaaavin', on a jet plane...

Germany is feeling a little bit more like home these days, thanks in part to M. and our neighbor S. who have, alternatively almost electrocuted S. and burned my apartment down, but in the final analysis, mananged to hook me up with some working light fixtures for which I am most grateful. And, I have my new wheels: a white, 1993 (hey, it's new to me!) 5 series BMW. The "new" car is also my first foray into driving a 5-speed for any other reason than to amuse my friends with my driving talents (or lack thereof). But, alas, Germany isn't enough like home to prevent me from really looking forward to our trip to the states next week for a quick visit and a wedding in Atlanta. I've already got my wishlist written and my mall picked out: I'm just hoping that I can hold the jet lag off just long enough to log a couple of hours of serious shopping time before everyone gets off work and arrives in town to start relaxing! Post-shopping, M. and I are planning some fun R&R with his family and mine (yay!) who are graciously making the trip to Atlanta to spend some time relaxing with us! Packing my bags already, people!

Translation Gone Bad, Hollywood-style

Vin Diesel: Hollywood star, or newest recipient of some translation gone bad? There are posters everywhere for his newest movie...I think it was called "The Pacifier" when it was released in the states. Auf Deutsch? Aw yeah, we have "Der Babynator!" Doesn't sound quite as sweet and charming as a pacifier, but okay...

Birthdays for everybody!

So, kicking off M.'s birthday week here in Germany, we attended the Birthday Ball in Würzburg last weekend. (Okay, so this party wasn't specifically for M.'s birthday...it was actually the birthday ball for the Army Dental Corps...) It was held in a beautiful fortress that sits high on a bluff in the city. We had a really great views of the city during dinner, including a beautiful cathedral out the window adjacent to our table. It was also a good chance for everyone to get dressed up and have a good time. M. and I even got to see one of our friends from our time in San Antonio who is a dentist stationed a few hours away in Bavaria, who came to the dinner with his wife. It was fun to see him: we're definitely starting to miss our friends from Ft. Sam, so it's good to see some familiar faces from time to time! We dipped out when the karaoke began...proabably a wise choice: from the sound of things, mixing dentists with a karaoke machine can be sort of a dicey proposition! So now begins the countdown to the big birthday of the week. And no, it's not the Army Dental Corps. Not sure just yet, but it sounds like M. might be leaning toward Heidelberg and Heidelberg castle as the big birthday celebration spot.