shout out!

Haha, for you Shirley, who should visit me in the summer break! How kickass would that be?!!! Do it. Haha. Or anyone else who would want to visit. And a further shout out to everyone in Stillwater, who should keep sending me e-mails, even if I haven't been sending them any, haha. You guys gotta help me get a job when I get back.

The picture is from walking across the bridge that goes over the train tracks on the way from school to the buses home, with the Münster Cathedral in the distance, the tallest church tower in the world!

Fasching and whatnot

Faschingszeit is underway in Ulm! Fasching is kind of a mix of Halloween, a parade holiday, and a beer festival, to my estimation. This picture is from the parade, we were right next to it, and some of the people were playing these kickass trumpets!! I want one! Trumpet-things. The parade was pretty crazy, there were forty groups of different people from all over Germany, each one had a different theme, like one group were lumberjacks or something, and they had this big pole like the kind people used to ride people out on a rail with, and they caught a random woman, put her up on the pole, and bounced her up and down on it, she flew about three feet off the pole (it had a sort of padded seat). But still. Wow. And every group had confetti, and would randomly rub it into people's hair, or stuff it down people's shirts or up pant-legs, they would also pick up random girls, sling them over their shoulders, take off their shoes, and take the laces out. Hehe. And there was plenty of candy throwing. Once, this group went through that were dressed like some sort of officer or something, and one guy was throwing candy at the crowd, and a kid threw a piece back that hit the guy in the chest, and the guy turned around and was starting to scold him when the kid nailed him right in the face, which really pissed him off and made him go after the kid in the crowd. Hahaha, I burst out laughing next to my host family, who didn't see anything. Each group also had a welcome call, they were all on our program/leaflet, and they're all schwäbisch, the dialect around here. The people in the group, or the announcer guys would call out the first part, and we would yell back our part in greeting. So, that was the Fasching parade downtown on Sunday.

After the parade, I played a really intense and complex game with my host brothers and one of their friends (playing games is almost obligatory here, and they're usually fun. And it was really cold outside) called Der Ritter Canaans, The Soldier of Canaan. It was really complex and involved building cities and castles and whatever else to defend against the barbarians and earn Victory in Battle points, which decide the game. My older brother Moritz won after we had played for almost three hours. If we play it again, I'll understand it from the start and kick their asses.

Today we had school, in Chemistry our teacher burned different alcohols when talking about the properties of alcohols. When he burned methanol, the flame was colorless, and he was like, 'you think nothing happened, huh?', and then proved us wrong by burning part of his seating chart. I love Chemistry.

Math was ridiculously boring and easy as usual, then we had our two hour break while the rest of the class and Morgan had French, Aaron and I walked around downtown, into the Münster, then found Nunt enjoying a coffee milk thing in Henry's all alone. So, we sat and talked to her for a while, didn't buy anything, Henry's is too expensive unless somebody else is buying or you have a coupon. Very good gifts. Then we had English, hilarious as usual. Need to get out my quotes.

Teacher: "Do you buy anything from Britain?"
Aaron: "I hear they sell nice tea..."
Teacher: "Do you drink tea?"
Aaron: "Yeah..."
Teacher: "Could you live on tea?"

Teacher (suddenly) : "Hey, you two. You can tell us something about Bill Clinton tomorrow."

Then, at the end of class, we were supposed to make up a new term involving the European Union, real terms were like Europhobia or Euromania. As a joke, Aaron came up with Euromullet. The teacher ended up writing it on the board. The only thing that was written on the board. I was supposed to clean the board, but I didn't, haha. The teacher was like, "Euromullet, never heard of it before..." and Aaron and I were dying laughing, as usual. We even explained to him what a mullet was. Complete with business in the front, party in the back. I love English.

Went home, worked on the last of my harmony for my organ lesson, ate lunch (my host mom makes kickass mashed potatoes, they might actually be pre-packaged, which would disappoint me, but I think I saw and smelled potatoes that she got out), and went to church to practice before my lesson at 5. Was there before my teacher for once, played more cadences and a new piece. He was very happy with my playing today, wahoo! Next week I have to play a hymn with only the melody and harmony notations, though. Gulp. Must do more cadences and hymn analyses. At least I'll be allowed to do it very slowly. Mmm, got all my U2 playing. Most delicious. I think I will burn it all. My hair is so long for me. Combing is a pain. Literally. I never used to comb my hair, back when I got haircuts. Hehe, trying to go the whole year without a haircut, will be hard when my parents visit in May/June. It'll be a good run, though, even if my mom makes me get a haircut. Ok, enough boring rambling. Should read/sleep now. Have German tomorrow, must finish reading book. Max Frisch. Homo Faber. Is it in English, too? Should look. Ok, signing off.

failure of a Saturday

This morning, my cell phone woke me up at 6:10, was starting to get up when I remembered it was Saturday. Gratefully went back to bed, meant to have gotten up at 9:30, missed that by a little over an hour. Had breakfast, was thinking about what I was going to do today, like see something I hadn't seen in Ulm before and practice organ, and do harmony. Then, we had lunch after I had just started cleaning up my room, and Moritz and Johannes wanted to play ping pong, so I thought, oh, haven't played that since the Black Forest, fun, and they said they were going to play for an hour, so I thought I would still have time for the important stuff.

We walked up the hill to where the table was near the University. I hadn't been up there before then, so I was really surprised to discover a whole other little city up there, no wonder they call it the Universitätstadt. There's still lots of frozen and polished snow up there, so there are basically little skating rinks all over the place. We started playing the form of ping pong where you serve on one end of the table and then run around to return it from the other end, I should have seen that the ice would be a problem. First time I had to run around, I slipped and ate it. Tore a nice hole in my jeans (good thing they're my least favorite pair), royally scraped my knee and bruised my hip. Falls like that shake me up more these days, especially since I'm tall and carry my weight above the hips :P So, I wasn't very happy after that. Then, the host brothers decided that it would be more fun to slide around on the ice a little bit down the hill, so I basically watched them do that for a half an hour (my balance is shit and I was still hurting). I miss being small and younger. Went back home while the brothers went to a friend's house, was already a bit depressed. Rummaged through the music files on my computer for a couple hours, found some U2. Then, I forced myself to leave the house and go practice organ, was starting to feel a little less depressed and things, and then I got to the door of the church and realized that I had forgotten my key. Decided that it would be too pathetic to go back home, so I took the bus into town to the last stop, took the street train from there to its last stop, took it to the other end station, took it back to the train station and took my bus back home. I had wanted to take the street train for its whole route, at least I got to do that.

Was planning on going out with Juan and maybe other people too tonight, but dinner took way too long in being ready, so I missed out on that, too. Then we watched a German show where they bet on whether people can do amazing things, like whether or not 20 musicians can play for a minute in a wheelbarrow, none of their feet could touch the ground (they did it), or whether two guys on a motorcycle with a sidecar can get a faster time down a ski run than a skiier (they were slower by a second), whether a guy could close 50 umbrellas in 2 minutes using one hand (about 8 wouldn't close), and whether a music professor could name the names of four notes played on a piano at the same time (he did, I want perfect pitch). They had musical guests too, James Blunt was on, but none of the music was live, of course. Cecilia Bartoli was a guest, too, she sang a duet from the Magic Flute with the moderator because she lost the bet with the guy naming the notes. She's quite a character. Pretty cool show. Now I'm listening to classical music that I found on my computer, so at least my brain is at peace. Only because it's stopped thinking about anything that I'm supposed to achieve by Monday. I need a shave. Again. I think something needs to get me excited about life again, I'm floundering. I think the only things that I never stop being interested in are love and mystery.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MOZART!

I miss pets

I got barely four hours of sleep last night, I thought I was going to be dead today, but instead, I was pretty hyper. Very strange. I think it signals danger for tomorrow. Good thing it's Saturday, whew. Had usual coffee and cake with Aaron, didn't go for the deluxe combo, my wallet can't take that every week. Tried to transfer money from my parents' bank account to mine to pay for the Europatour, but it didn't work. However, Juan just told me that Rotary paid for all of it, and we have to pay the 400€ that we were going to pay back sometime. Good news. But then, what was all that crap from my counselor about how we had to deal with paying for it ourselves once we had gotten the money they were contributing? That was only a couple days ago! Silly Rotarians. Disorganized, but loaded.

After cake and coffee, I went to orchestra at school, which was kickass because they didn't need me for the whole rehearsal time, and the first half of the time I was there they didn't need me either. So, I silently practiced Claire de lune, which I have been trying to learn in my spare time for the past couple months. The piece that I have to accompany in orchestra is music from Pirates of the Caribbean, it's a pretty nifty piece. Kinda dumb, but nifty. My favorite title for one of the sections of it is 'He's a Pirate!' Hahahaahaa. Imagine Germans saying that. And the piano part doesn't give me much stress. And I know that the orchestra conductor/music master of the school respects me, now. Which is nice. Then, I went home, packed up my organ stuff, and went to practice the organ. At the bus stop leaving from my house, an old woman had a beagle, who jumped up on my knees and licked my entire face as soon as I knelt down to pet him. Doggie kisses. Then, once I had gotten off the bus near where the church is where I practice, and was walking to the church, I saw a cat down the street, and I just had to say 'kitty, kitty!' and kneel down, and the cat ran all the way down the street to be pet. I like to think I have special powers...haha. My second host family has no pets. I am in withdrawal. The best thing I have is a big dog named Bobby that lives across the street, who is very smelly. But funny.

And, to end the day, I played Risk with my host dad and host brothers for almost three hours, no one won. But we had pretzels and I made myself a cup of coffee, mm-mm. Now I should do some work before going to bed. I have more cleaning to do tomorrow morning. Great.

Brent (to Aaron): "Yes, it's much easier to steal something if you totally forget that you're stealing it."

Aaron (to Brent when bored): "Can I slap you?"
Brent: "No, not in German class."
Aaron: "Please?"
Brent: "Maybe."

mittagsschule

Mmm, nothing like going to a kick-ass supermarket with all your friends from your class in the lunch break, buying a buttload of junk food, oranges, and baked goods, and then taking it all back to school to eat during the two hours of afternoon history class. Good times, almost an Americanesque indulgence. Shared and ate all our junk food (well, I still have a bit of Haribo), and then had a furious orange peel fight behind the teacher's back. Nothing like the satisfying sound of a piece of orange splatting with deadly precision on your comerade's back across the room...and then have it come back at you five feet above your head. I love German school. Nevertheless, you can't feel too down on yourself about being overweight and out of shape and eating further junk food if you do it with a bunch of friends.

Played badminton this evening with Nunt from Thailand and Gabi from my class, Gabi invited us along to play with all of her friends. Not all of her friends are that interesting, but one of them was fairly hot, which made it worthwhile. I love the sport bra/tank top combo. But, she has a boyfriend who was also playing, so, too bad for Brent.

And, while girls may laugh at clowns, girls do not desire clowns as boyfriends. And, I just happen to be a clown. I think there's a social skills gap in there somewhere...or just the old question, how does one be a 'normal' teenager? I have the quasi-solution to that question, which is, you never have been, and never will be a normal teenager, but I would at least like to know how to pretend. Either I seem really depressed and quiet because I'm bored, tired, concentrating or being serious, or, I'm a clown. This frustrates. Whatever. I don't think I would entirely want to date a German girl, though, Germans have a different concept of dating relationship as Americans, or at least I, do. Germans are less emotionally diverse than Americans, methinks. Almost every relationship I've seen in Germany is so cliché, not what I want. I can count exactly two that weren't cliché. And 3/4 of those people weren't German.

Well, enough boring half-contemplation of my sorry social life. Which will get even worse when I'm forced by panic to take less social activities more seriously again. Which will happen tonight, I believe. I love built-in procrastinations. Life is hard when you love and have to do anti-social, very time-consuming activities.

I should stop, but I'll throw this in, too. If you are bored, skip the next two paragraphs. Almost my entire exchange year, I have been torn between and struggling with two groups and two prioritizations of my life. Almost all people involved with my exchange, and almost all of my friends, urge me to be more social, to 'hang out' with people my age more, people from school, to see what they do, to be curious. To be out there. To exchange cultures. When I applied and learned for my exchange year, I promised I would do my best to please these people (well, not the friends, but why would you not want to please your friends?). The second group is a group of people that is much more dear and close to me, who say that I must focus absolutely on my music, more specifically organ studies, and to take school here very seriously, to do my best.

Obviously, all of these priorities cannot fit in my life, unless I don't sleep (I like sleeping, but not going to sleep). So, how do I prioritize my life? Interestingly enough, no one has suggested or insisted that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about my life but me, no one has said that I should be the sole prioritizer of my life, and that everyone should be happy with my decisions. Everyone seems to know best, what is good for me to be doing. Sadly, and not surprisingly, I see otherwise. Being a naturally somewhat 'try to please everyone' person, this is a huge dilemma, because someone is going to be, and has been disappointed, angry, or frustrated. People from both groups. Everyone is at least somewhat important to me, I don't feel comfortable dumping their priorities without it being ok with them. I want to stand up for my priorities, but that won't fly without many people being angry, most of them the people that I see the most every day. The worst thing for me, is that I haven't been worried about pleasing myself, about getting the most of what I want out of this year, I've been worrying about what other people want. At least I have a more understanding host family now, my first host family was hell. And, I swear I'm cursed, now I'm doing more things my first host family would have approved of...it was more convenient there to do things they didn't fully approve of. I get all this psychological shit, and I've done almost nothing that nobody approves of! Maybe I'm just too concerned about what other people think about me. Hopefully is my life more clear in February.

January is almost over! WTF! Time goes way too fast on exchange. Aaron said at least one thing funny today, but I didn't write it down! Dammit. Well, I'll end with an ok quote:

Aaron: We think the name Fabian is hilarious.
German female classmate: Fabian? I always thought that was a normal name. Fabian. Fabian, Fabian, Fabian. Fabian, Fabian, Fabian, Fabian, Fabian...
(Aaron and Brent rolling on floor)

Oh, and maybe I'll add a quote of my own to make feel good about myself, hah, am sad person. Note: I do not know how to spell the sound, 'han', or 'hon', or maybe, 'honh'. At any rate, the n has to be nasal, like the Frrrrench!

Aaron: "Haha, Morgan thought that when we were saying 'honh', we were making fun of the French."
Brent: "Well, now we are."

Anothah:

(Aaron rips off part of giant baguette with teeth)
Morgan (broken German): "OH! Baguette!! May I have piece from baguette?!"
Aaron: (nods)
Morgan (intense French laugh/accent): "Haha, baguette!!" (shamelessly rips apart baguette)
Aaron and Brent: (fall around laughing)

Ok, that's really enough.

stolen from sister

I had a tendency to answer these questions, thinking they were asking about the past year, but I tried to remember they apply to my whole life.

1. Taken a picture naked? no, thank God
2. Painted your room? in America, three matching greens
3. Made out with a member of the same sex? no, wrong for me
4. Drove a car? no....
5. Danced in front of your mirror? heh, mebbe
6. Been in love? yes
7. Been dumped? yes
8. Stole money from friend? no, stole alcohol, though, hehe
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? yes
10. Been in a fist fight? yes, too many times, including in class...always with friends, never serious
11. Snuck out of your house? never had the reason too, anything that I wanted to do I was already out of the house for
12. Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? yes
13. Been arrested? no
14. Made out with a stranger? no
15. Met up with a girl somewhere? umm.. yes?
16. Left your house without telling your parents? yes
17. Had a crush on your neighbor? extremely briefly, like, two seconds
18. Ditched school to do something more fun? hehe, love exchange
19. Slept in a bed with a member of the same sex? no
20. Seen someone die? no, thank God
21. Been on a plane? yes
22. Kissed a picture? maybe, don't think so
23. Slept in until 3? almost, never allowed to...
24. Love someone or miss someone right now? yes
25. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? yes
26. Made a snow angel? yes
27. Played dress up? um, well, not the girly form of dressup, but I guess, yeah
28. Cheated while playing a game? yeah, but I don't remember the last time I did, was little
29. Been lonely? yes
30. Fallen asleep at work/school? try not to every day, do not always succeed
31. Been to a club? yes
32. Felt an earthquake? no, never have, that would be scary, I think
33. Touched a snake? yes! gotta love 'em
34. Ran a red light? all the time, but on foot...can't touch car...
35. Been suspended from school? no
36. Had detention? yes
37. Been in a car accident? not in a car, but on a bike with a car...which wouldn't be a car accident, well done, brent
38. Hated the way you look? indifferent
39. Witnessed a crime? think so
40. Pole danced? no, wtf
42. Been to the opposite side of the country? of Germany, yes, U.S., not yet...
43. Felt like dying? yes, when I'm that tired....or stupid
44. Cried yourself to sleep? no
45. Played cops and robbers? no, never was introduced to that game...
46. Sang karaoke? no, should try sometime
47. Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? yes
48. Laughed till some kind of beverage came out of your nose? no, thank God, haha, Aaron, don't laugh while getting drunk, or else bigbig owwie, hahahahahahaha
49. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? yes
50. Kissed in the rain? no, dammit, going on my resolutions...
51. Sing in the shower? try not to
52. Made love in a park? no, also on resolutions...
53. Had a dream that you married someone? hehe, yeah
54. Glued your hand to something? many things
55. Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole? no, seen Christmas Story enough
56. Worn the opposite sex's clothes? don't think so
57. Been a cheerleader? me be man, me hunt for food, no do silly shit like cheer...unless you're referring to the less concrete form of cheerleader, then yeah
58. Sat on a roof top? yes
59. Didn't take a shower for a week? hmm, no comment
60. Ever too scared to watch scary movies alone? no, what the hell is a scary movie?
61. Played chicken? not since elementary, balls haven't been the same since
62. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? no, I want to be the pusher, not pushee (on resolutions)
63. Been told you're hot by a complete stranger? no...*sigh*
64. Broken a bone? no, thank God
65. Been easily amused? too much
66. Laugh so hard you cry? usually
67. Mooned/flashed someone? mmm, no comment
68. Cheated on a test? I always say that I improved my test, or took advantage of my resources...haha, jk, I don't cheat
69. Forgotten someone's name? all the time
70. Slept naked? no
71. Gone skinny dipping in a pool? no
73. Blacked out from drinking? didn't black out, but fell asleep very drunk
74. Played a prank on someone? wtf, why I haven't played a prank on someone in Germany?! get with it, brent!
75. Gone to a late night movie? yes
76. Made love to anything not human? noeeeeewwwwww
77. Failed a class? not a class in America...
78. Choked on something you're not supposed to eat? my spit?
79. Played an instrument for more than 10 hours? in a day? at a time? in my life? all of the above
80. Cheated on a girl/boyfriend? no, one needs a girlfriend to cheat on said girlfriend...grrr
81. What did you do on the 4th of July? blew up fireworks in my uncle's backyard
82. Thrown strange objects? uh yeah? anything I can find...
83. Felt like killing someone? yes
84. Thought about running away? yes
85. Ran away? hehe, yup
86. Did drugs? nope, drugs are bad, mmk?
87. Had detention and not attend it? yes
89. Made parent cry? a while ago, yeah
90. Cried over someone? yes
91. Owned more than 5 sharpies? yes...I miss Sharpies!!!
92. Dated someone more than once? nope
93. Have a dog? yes
94. Have a cat? two
95. Own an instrument? no, they haven't come out with the pocket-size pipe organ yet
96. Been in a band? no
97. Had more than 25 sodas in one day? yeah, good old Oklahoma summer
98. Broken a cd? not one of my own
99. We seem to be missing number 99. whee.
100. Been on myspace for more than 5 hours? only cause Ashley made me, grrr

Attention, Germany!

1. Your language needs updates. Banish the case system, and forget about genders! Until then, I have a good hobby.
2. Brent te Velde can now travel your railways for 25% cheaper.
3. Exchange students are taking over, and you don't know it.

So, today in school, we had German traffic class instead of Biology and Latin (sweeet!), it was a bit similar to D.A.R.E. or G.R.E.A.T., except the teacher was intelligent, and it only had to do with traffic. We watched a ghetto video (1991) about this group of teenagers that tests this new car out, drives extremely recklessly, and eventually crashes it in a clearing after plunging off the road, killing one of the passengers. We then were split into groups, and given tasks to complete about the story. We had to list the serious and less-serious mistakes that the people made in the story. There were two German girls (fairly hot) in our group besides me, Nunt and Morgan (all exchangies), so the German girls were doing most the work, and they listed all these technical mistakes that they made, like exceeding the speed limit, swerving in the opposite lane, driving without a license, and I thought, if we had to do this in the U.S., we would only talk about the attitudes of the teenagers, and why that let to their ultimate demise. I suggested their attitudes toward the car as a mistake, and the girls were like, chuckle, that's all of these. Interesting. I know German drivers are faster but safer because they study driving theory more, but are there fewer young driver accidents because of it too? Is there a smaller occurence of reckless teenage driving in Germany? The police officer teaching the class said that the percentage of car accidents are consistently 30% from drivers from 18-25 in Germany, I don't know what the the number is in the U.S.

Then, in Math class, we got back our tests from Monday, I was the very last to get mine back, and the teacher said that I did better than most of the rest of the class *grins, now out of school* The class is so butt-easy as long as I understand the German in the question. I didn't study, of course.

And, to be further narcissistic, more quotes:

Aaron, in German class: "How do Nunt and Morgan entertain themselves?!"
Brent: "They don't, they're dead inside."

Brent: "Don't worry, I could take Bitchboy. I'm not sure about his girlfriend, though."

Somebody else say something funny!!!

Ooh, just remembered, got quote from a friend , Shirley, taking French in the Oklahoma. Shout out to Shirley and Evan! (and the whole gang)

Heh, in French, Evan cracked me up today. See, we were about to take a quiz
over professions, so...The conversation went like:

Me: "Est-ce que tu es mannequin?" (Are you a model?)
Evan: "...Oui. *nods head*"
Me: "Ah bon? C'est vrai?" (Oh really, is that true?)
Evan: "Oui, j'ai beaucoup poitrines."
(at this point I cracked up... he said "Yes, I have a lot of bosoms.")

And, remembered anothah!

Host mom: "Ooh, I love this song!" (Puff the Magic Dragon plays on radio)

Also stolen from sister.

Bold the ones that are true, Italicize the ones you wish were true. Then add 5 truths at the end and tag 5 more people.

I miss somebody right now.
I don't watch much TV these days.
I love olives.
I own lots of books.
I wear glasses or contact lenses.
I love to play video games.
I've tried Marijuana.
I've watched porn movies. (not full length =P)
I've been in a three-some.
I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship
I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
I curse sometimes.
I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.
I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.
I'm TOTALLY smart.
I've broken someone's bones.
I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.
I hate the rain.
I'm paranoid at times.
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
I need money right now.
I love sushi.
I talk really, really fast. (English)
I have long hair.
I have lost money in Las Vegas.
I have at least one [blood] sibling.
I was born in a country outside of the U.S.
I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.
I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
I like the way that I look.
I know how to cornrow.
I am usually pessimistic.
I have a lot of mood swings.
I think prostitution should be legalized.
I think Britney Spears is pretty.
I have slept with a suitemate.
I have a hidden talent.
I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.
I have a lot of friends.
I am currently single.
I have pecked someone of the same sex.
I enjoy talking on the phone.
I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
I love to shop.
I enjoy window shopping.
I would rather shop than eat.
I would classify myself as ghetto[fabulous].
I'm bourgie and have worn a sweater tied around my shoulders.
I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.
I don't hate anyone.
I'm a pretty good dancer.
I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
I have a cell phone.
I believe in (a) God.
I watch MTV on a daily basis.
I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.
I've rejected someone before.
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.
I want to have children in the future.
I have changed a diaper before.
I've called the cops on a friend before.
I am a member of the Tom Green fan club.
I'm not allergic to anything.
I have a lot to learn.
I have been with someone at least 10 years older or younger.
I am shy around the opposite sex.
I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
I have at least 5 away messages saved.
I have tried alcohol or drugs before.
I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
I own the "South Park" movie.
I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.
When I was a kid I played "the birds and the bees" with a neighbor or chum.
I enjoy some country music.
I would die for my best friends.
I think that Pizza Hut has the best pizza.
I watch soap operas whenever I can.
I'm obsessive and I can be a perfectionist. (Well, not so much recently.)
I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
I love Michael Jackson, scandals and all.
I know all the words to Slick Rick's "Children's Story".
Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.
I watch Spongebob Squarepants and I like it.
I have dated a close friend's ex.
I like surveys/memes.
I am happy at this moment.
I'm OBSESSED with guys.
Democrat.
Conservative Republican.
I am punk rockish.
I am preppy.
I go for older guys/girls, not younger.
I study for tests most of the time.
I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.
I can work on a car.
I love my job.
I am comfortable with who I am right now.
I have more than just my ears pierced.
I walk barefoot wherever I can. (well, with socks at least)
I have jumped off a bridge.
I love sea turtles.
I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.
I believe in prophetic dreams
I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.
I am proficient on a musical instrument.
I worked at McDonald's restaurant.
I hate office jobs.
I love sci-fi movies.
I think water rules.
I want to go/went/go to college out of state.
I am adopted.
I like sausage.
I am a pyro.
I love the Red Sox.
I have thrown up from crying too much.
I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
I love kisses.
I fall for the worst people and have been hurt every time.
I adore bright colors.
I love Dear Abby.
I can't live without black eyeliner.
I think school is awesome.
I think pigtails serve a purpose.
I don't know why the hell I just did this stupid thing.
I usually like covers better than originals.
I don't like multi-textured ice cream.
I think John Cusack is adorable.
I f**king hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.
I watch Food Network way too much.
I love coaching youth sports.
I can pick up things with my toes.
I can whistle.
I can move my tongue in waves, much like a snakes.
I have ridden/owned a horse.
I still have every journal I've ever written in.
I can't stick to a diet.
I talk in my sleep.
I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century.
I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.
Climbing trees is a brilliant past-time.
I have jazz in my blood.
I would not be friends with them if they weren't family.
I wear a toe ring.
I have a tattoo.
I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with.
I am a caffeine junkie.
I know who Santos L. Halper is.
I read trashy romance novels and I am NOT ashamed!
I love wrestling.
I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all.
If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder.
I cosplay or know what cosplaying is.
I have been to over 15 conventions.
I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better.
I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner.
I am an artist.
I have a goal to collect every Johnny Depp movie ever made.
I am ambidexterous.
I'm stuck in my childhood past.
I eat most my food cold.
I enjoy biting.
I know what it feels like to be betrayed by one you love.
I love dinosaurs.
I am in the top 1% of Pokemon players in the world.
I spend far too much money on music each week.
I'm an elitist prick.
I've never had chicken pox.
I own torn jeans.
I live in New Zealand.
The question marks at the beginning of each statement annoy me.
I have the habit of forming crushes on professors/teachers/authority figures.
I wish I didn't own as much as I do.
I prefer the smell of natural body odor to perfume or cologne.
I wish it were socially acceptable for women to not shave. (aack!)
I'm sick right now.
I'm a West Wing junkie. (I'm in Germany)
I hate little kids.
I think relationships are more trouble than they're worth.
I have a horrible memory.
I am procrastinating right now.
I *wish* I could be there for someone back home right now.
I want mail/packages!
I own a pink bean bag.
I have a cool nickname. (well, I think it's cool, no, I won't tell you)
I speak more than two languages.
I've traveled a lot.
I enjoy classical music and opera.
I love to read.
My friends think I am a geek, and rightfully so.
I now hate Volkswagen with a passion.
I'm not fully adjusted to this whole school year thing.
I can juggle.
I miss someone who's less than 5 miles away.
I haven't finished my homework for tomorrow.
I love my school.
I talk to my mom every day.
I'm horribly unathletic.
I snort when I laugh. (sometimes)
I adore flip flops.
I haven't slept in my own bed in more than 2 weeks.(man, this actually isn't true anymore now that I have a roomie.)
It's still summer for me.
I had a dream last night about dying.
I think rollerblading is the best mode of transportation. (wish I had rollerblades)
In&Out Burger is the best thing known to mankind.
I love star hopping.
The prettiest place on Earth is the Oklahoma panhandle. (sorry, OK)
Those twisty highway overpasses at night turn me on.
I love mosh pits.
I feel like I can talk to cats easier than humans.
I wish I could ski.
I'm torn between living, and being lazy.
I eat too much European chocolate.
I blog hop. (try not to too much)
I have friends from more than ten different countries.

Things to do at Wal-Mart

Straight up copied from my sister.

15 Things To Do At Wal-Mart

I think this'll keep me occupied for ten days in Stillwater, OK, where the most exciting thing to do is a close tie between the single movie theater (which didn't play Fahrenheit 911, because, well, it's Oklahoma) and Wal-mart, and hey, Wal-mart fun is cheaper.


1. Get 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in peoplescarts when they aren't looking.

2. Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to therest rooms.

4. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone,'Code 3' in housewares ..... and see what happens.

5. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. Set up a tent in the camping department and tellother shoppers you'll invite them in if they'll bring pillows from thebedding department.

8. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. Look right into the security camera; use it as a mirror, andpick your nose.

10. While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk if he knowswhere the anti- depressants are.

11. Dart around the store suspiciously, loudly humming the"Mission Impossible" theme.

12. In the auto department, practice your "Madonna look" usingdifferent size funnels.

13. Hide in a clothing rack and when people browse through, say"PICK ME!"

14. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assumethe fetal position and scream "NO! NO! It's those voices again!!!!"

15. Gointo a fitting room and shut the door and wait a while, and then, yell, very loudly, "There is no toilet paper in here!"

*reluctantly appreciative*

My host brother Moritz came downstairs, asked me if I wanted coffee, and I was like, sure, why not, and he ran back upstairs going, wheee, I get to make coffee. Then he came back down with it, milk all foamed or whatever you call it, and cocoa over the top. A nice surprise, especially since I'm about to fall asleep. Mmm. My life is boring.

more quotes

They never stop coming. And I like it. And, wow, I'm conceited.

Brent: "Whoa, déja vous from two months ago..."
Aaron: "What?"
Brent (distracted voice): "Something about the Magic Flute..."

Brent: "You just got owned."
Aaron: "Which is bullshit."

Brent: "So, let's use our standard method of bottle-opening: you hold, I kick."

Complete-the-sentences-in-the-jokes exercises from English class (italicized verbs are answers):

1) Salesman (selling parrot to young boy): If you pull the string on his right leg he says 'Good morning', and if you pull the string on his left leg he says 'Good night'.
Boy: What happens if I pull both strings together?
Parrot: I'd fall off the perch, you idiot.

(i just liked that one because of the parrot saying 'you idiot'. yeah, I'm like, 11. well, it would be
lame otherwise...)

I guess that these were supposedly common jokes, but I hadn't heard them before...hmm.

4) 'If I stand on my head,' said the science teacher, 'all the blood flows to it. Why doesn't it
rush to my feet when I'm standing on them?'
'Because,' replied a student, 'they're not empty.'

Haha, other quotes from English:

Teacher (asking class): "What's a parrot?"
Male student (British accent): "Something like a Barbie?"

Student (reading grammar answer): "If Junior here forgotten his-"
Teacher (yelling): "ELECTRO SHOCK!"

Teacher (trying to get answers about Portugal from his class): "What should we do in
Portugal? Drink sherry?"

Brent: "Why is Nunt washing the chalkboard?"
Aaron: "She forgot we have another hour of English..."
Brent: "We'll just let her carry on, then..."

(yeah, I'm mean, haha)

Ok, so, in other news, I was really stressed out yesterday for my organ lesson because I had practiced a total of twice in the last week, and hadn't done much theory/harmony work that I was supposed to. So, I crammed in a hardcore practice session, and kneaded my brain on the harmony. Then, I got to my lesson, and my teacher was happy with what I had done in both organ literature and harmony/theory. *internallypurrs* But, I'm definitely doing more this week, cause I felt like shit for being a slacker, and I think I should meet my expectations, as long as they're higher than my teacher's.

Probably not more than three people have read my blog, which is a little discouraging, I'm not big into doing enormously purposeless things, but I like this because it's not a written journal, which I have always sucked at, and because if someone actually wanted to read it, they can. So, I'll continue, it's a bit of fun. I wonder if I could see how many hits I get, somehow...

quotes

Geez, one more post.

Host mom (to me): "Do you have an urgent need for butter?"

Host dad (to 12-yr.-old host brother): "Stay in Latin class, and then you can find a girlfriend."

Older (12) host brother, telling this joke: "Hey, that monkey looks like our teacher! Shut up, the
monkey might hear!"

Ok, the last wasn't that funny. But my family's peculiar, haha.

You might be from Oklahoma if...

You might be from Oklahoma if...

1. You can properly pronounce Eufaula, Gotebo, Okemah, and
Chickasha. (yes, but I've never heard of Gotebo...hmm)

2. You think that people who complain about the wind in their
states are sissies. (definitely - and mosquitoes)


3. A tornado warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard
and look for a funnel. (of course, it's never close enough at that time to hurt you, and how many you've seen is like notches on your belt for Oklahomans, I've seen three, I missed the year when we had like, 60 or something)

4. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor
on the highway. (yes, or only two)

5. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day. (yes, and boy does my dad hate that)

6. You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but by the availability of shade. (oh yes, it's a matter of whether you want to be able to drive your car again or not when you get back)

7. Stores don't have bags, they have sacks. (haha, true)

8. You see people wear bib overalls at funerals. (quite possible, haven't been to a funeral, should ask my mom)

9. You think everyone from a bigger city has an accent. (yes)

10. You measure distance in minutes. (yes)

11. You refer to the capital of Oklahoma as "The City." (yes, when I'm in Oklahoma)

12. It doesn't bother you to use an airport named for a man who
died in an airplane crash. (obviously not, I love that airport)

13. Little smokies are something you serve only for special
occasions. (yes)

14. You go to the lake because you think it is like going to the
ocean. (yes)

15. You listen to the weather forecast before picking out an
outfit. (when I'm in Oklahoma, but it's more accurate to go outside and check first)

16. You know cowpies are not made of beef. (I think everyone knows that...)

17. Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their
wedding date. (yes, you have to in Oklahoma...not only weddings, everything)

18. You have known someone who has had one belt buckle bigger than
your fist. (yes, dozens)

19. A bad traffic jam involves two cars staring each other down at
a four-way stop, each determined to be the most polite and let the
other go first. (often)

20. You know in which state Miam-uh is and in which state Miam-ee
is. (duh, and don't you forget it!)

21. You aren't surprised to find movie rental, ammunition, and
bait all in the same store. (nope)

22. Your "place at the lake" has wheels under it. (no, we never had an RV or a mobile home, weird like that, haha)

23. A Mercedes Benz is not a status symbol. A Ford F350 4x4 is. (of course, if we see a Mercedes, we're like, ooh, out-of-state)

24. You know everything goes better with Ranch. (that's our motto at school, seriously)

25. You actually get these jokes and are "fixin" to send them to
your friends. (just ripped this off my sister, don't know where she got it)

Finally, you are 100% Oklahoman if you have ever heard this conversation:

"You wanna coke?"
"Yeah."
"What kind?"
"Dr. Pepper."
(too many times)

Why am I not working?!!

host family sunday

We had some killer pork and fried potatoes and green beans for lunch, the pork tasted like it was fresh off the farm. Then, when I was washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen with my host brothers, I slapped one of them in the back of the head with some soap suds, hehe. They started it. Then, we all went for a walk up around the top of the hills where there's still a buttload of snow, on the way down, we had a great view of Ulm with the mammoth Münster rising out of the city's center, and I forgot my camera again. We also passed by a playground on the way back, we went on the swings, it made ominous creaking noises when I was on it, hehe, then I launched my younger host brother off the seesaw. Then we played Tabu, only it's in German, so it was basically an intense lesson in obscure German vocabulary for me, with words for things like skin moles and marriage contract. Now, I have coffee and am supposed to be working on harmony exercises for my organ lesson tomorrow. That whole recount may seem boring to whoever reads this, but I'm just happy that things are so good with my host family. Younger host brothers are fun. So are kickass coffee machines. Hooray for sacrificing work for your family.

mmm, cornflakes

I'm going to rip more stuff like this off of my sister's blog, haha.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Um, lots of things, some random ones are hiking in the Black Forest, beating up a drop-kicking Japanese kid, falling for a non-American girl and getting over her!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Uh, I have't made resolutions for a long time, but I'll try it next year, maybe.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
no

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no

5. What countries did you visit?
well, I was in Heathrow airport briefly, if that counts as visiting a country, then Germany, of course. Go Germany.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
a girlfriend

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
yeah, I don't remember dates real well, but I know Sept. 6, when I got here, some day in the Black Forest, someday in October. because exchange has its ups and downs.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
going to Germany as an exchange student, all the other achievements fall under that.

9. What was your biggest failure?
well, best not to mention it, but a failure of judgment

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
what qualifies as illness? but not injury

11. What was the best thing you bought?
hmm, don't have a lot of money to spend, but I could be boring and say train tickets to the places I've visited already, or I could say my Oktoberfest t-shirt...wow, I haven't bought much stuff.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Ashley's! Still owe you...

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Hmm, sometimes my own, but also other exchangies...

14. Where did most of your money go?
peh, probably food, I'm a fatass, but actually, train tickets

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Europatour!! But does it have to be something that has already happened...then the Black Forest.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Haha, a few, but to be a girl, I'll say "You're the Only One" from Maria Mena

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier, for shizzle
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter...damn exchange, haha
iii. richer or poorer? poorer, but I'm in Germany!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Gotten out more, friggin' first host family

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Umm, speaking English

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Wow, I'm late with this, but I spent Christmas with my first host family here in Ulm, Germany

22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
yeah

23. How many one-night stands?
haha, none, I would like to stay in Germany, thank you

24. What was your favorite TV program?
In the states, Friends, in Germany, pimp my ride, hahaha

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
my old host sisters

26. What was the best book you read?
Hmm, the DaVinci Code was good, and the Life of Pi, word, Vera, and I like my Harry Potter in German.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jack Johnson, and some German pipe organs

28. What did you want and get?
Exchange to Germany, spot on the Europatour, but not the east tour, dammit! Suck it, Rotex 1800.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Ooh, that's hard. Seen some good German romantic comedies, and I saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith in German. Worst one was the Transporter.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Not much, had to go to friggin school, I was sixteen.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had gotten along with my first host family.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Practical, not smelly, haha

34. What kept you sane?
Music

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hmm, dunno, stayed away from fancying celebrities, I guess, waste of time

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
War in Iraq, gay marriage

37. Who did you miss?
An Australian

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Everybody in District 1930!!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:
Your best friend is yourself

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"days go by, I can feel them flying like a hand out the window in the wind," "Days Go By," Keith Urban

Now I need to do some actual work.

rachmaninoff and james bond

Our Rotary man, Norbert Bald, a.k.a. Luigi, he's friggin' huge with a kickass mustache, invited us exchangies in Ulm to go to a concert last night, which had Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto and Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony on the program. My host family had dinner sooner than usual, a little after six, which I was happy for because I didn't want to have to rush to get to the concert at 8. So, I enjoyed the typical meal of bread and butter and assorted lunch meats, cheeses, and vegetables, and told my host family I didn't have to go until around a quarter after 7. Then my host dad was reading the paper, and found the notice about the concert in it which said that it was at 7 o'clock, not 8. So, even thought I was skeptical, I took off, skimping on my clean-up duties in the process. Sorry Johannes. Got to the Kornhaus, a giant granary (not what you think of as a granary in the states) from the 18th century that was partially destroyed in the war, restored, and sometime turned into a concert hall, around 7:30, and what do you know, the concert's at 8. Retarded paper. I caused a little trouble at the ticket counter, cause Herr Bald had said that the tickets were bought and waiting for us, but he had decided to wait to see who showed up before buying them, smart man, considering I was the only one who came from the exchangies. All the rest of you are bitches. Except Aaron. Long live winter sport. So, I found my spot in the hall, and read the program and Homo Faber until the lights went down. I soon found out that the hall isn't great for big romantic music, it's rather dry, and the seats are flat halfway down, and then barely slope upwards, so you can't hear the piano as well as one should for a big piano concerto. The Ulm University Student Orchestra was playing, along with a pianist from Latvia, who was hhhhot. Herr Bald plays the clarinet, pretty funny to see this gigantic guy tooting on a clarinet back there. But, man, the second Rachmaninoff is my favorite concerto ever. I was really looking forward to hearing it live. Seeing the very beginning live is sooo exciting, I wonder if anyone who doesn't play the piano gets that excited. I hope so. I know Juan bitch wouldn't get excited. You can buy me a drink sometime, Juan. I want to play the second movement next year, but I don't know how that would fit into a recital by itself. Then the pianist played a Beethoven Bagatelle, I hate how Germans expect encores. I love the extra music, but the audience never stops clapping until they get an encore. I grew up thinking that encores are not planned, or expected, and are a very big treat. Stupid Germans. Then came the Tchaikovsky, which I can't relate to as well, seeing as it was his requiem piece, he died ten days after it was premiered. It wasn't all requiemesque though, and it was exciting all the same. Then they played some Waltz as an encore, expected again, bitches. Then I walked back through good old downtown to catch the bus back home. Informed my host dad that his paper sucks, and watched a sort of German version of Candid Camera, which wasn't very good, Germans just can't pull that shit off very well. Not that I watched Candid Camera all the time in states, either. Then, the Man with the Golden Gun came on finally at half past eleven, that was good. My wimpy host family all went to bed, though. Well, that was a long and boring account of last night. Oh well. I need breakfast.

Today's been a workday. But a different kind of workday from the last seven days. Last week I was doing musical work, which made me very happy, albeit stressed. It payed off, though, in the way of thirty fat Euros for my wallet, mm-mm! Today, I got up at eleven after going to bed three hours later than planned, again, and the house was entirely empty, which always freaks me out, so I had some cornflakes with milk and sugar, which I have recently rediscovered as the delicacy that it is. And coffee, of course. With a coffee machine like the one here, it's hard not to have coffee with every meal and for an afternoon pick-me-up. Don't like coffee? Come to Germany. Then, I cleaned up my room, which I hadn't really done since I moved in here two weeks ago. I also hadn't cleaned, which I started to do after I tidied up. And, true to my predictions, my host mom asked if I was planning on cleaning sometime soon the day I was doing it, that always happens with host families. And, I forgot how much I actually like cleaning, once I start. Call me crazy, I know. And because of my very important work, which will happily turn musical again this afternoon, I'm missing out on seeing Ashley who's in Ulm this weekend. Argh. I don't think they're doing anything that I haven't done already...I hope. Wow, I love listening to non-classical music whilst cleaning. Most rhythmatic. And tonight's a concert in a venue that I haven't been to before, the tickets are already bought, yay!! I love Rotary. I love exchange. What will I do when I get home...well, back to work!

German, german, german

So, I guess I'm blogging here now. Well, I'm Brent te Velde, an American exchange student in Ulm, Germany, home of the world's tallest church tower. Having a killer year, everyone should be an exchange student sometime. It's a whole different world, between the world of your native land and the world of the natives that you live with. And a whole lot of fun. Mm-mm, foreign languages. Like music. Almost. So, I'll try to actually keep blogging here. Until next time, then.