All I wanna do is bicycle bicycle bicycle

Today's adventure came after work. After working in the dish room, any thing remotely fun is wonderful. One shift in the dish room leaves you feeling more disgusting than a week of camping. Ew. Anywho... after work, I took a shower to clean off all the grossness and then decided to sit out on the stairs and read a little before the sun set. Well, the neighbors were gonna go on a bike ride and were outside getting their bikes ready. Then, a branch decided to break off of our tree. So one of the guys came over to check it out. And then he asked if I'd like to go on the ride with them. Thus begins the adventure! We were gonna ride to the lake. We set out along this trail that goes by the river. It reminded me a lot of my time in Germany last summer. Five people on bikes, riding on a trail through trees, by a body of water... flashback!!! There were tunnels on this trail so that bikers/joggers/walkers don't have to cross roads and all that jazz. Thing is, all the snow is melting from the mountains, so one of the tunnels was rather flooded- too much for us to cross. So we went to the park instead. We basically relived elementary school days. We played on the playground, climbed slides, jumped from swings... you name it. It was a blast! Good times... And now we consider ourselves a "bike gang." But only in the sense that we rode our bikes in formations. Whatever. Then we went to have FroYo. Because we really needed to replace all those calories we burned... Yeah. But it was totally worth it! 

When the lights go down in the city

Hmmm... what did I do yesterday that was relatively adventurous or somewhat interesting...
I went to the store. Yay food! Our church activity was an international food night, which was very awesome. I made Kartoffelpfannkuchen. Other people brought good food too. Japanese chicken nuggets, nutella, Apfelkuchen (german apple cake)... life was good! After that, I hung out with my friend who is moving in with me. We watched Howl's Moving Castle. That's the strangest love story. Ever. I should also mention that it was in Japanese with English subtitles. My friend loves Japan like I love Germany. Too much :) We also painted our nails. She packed to go home for two weeks. Somehow we stayed up way late. Consequently I got up way late today. Fortunately work isn't until 4ish. 

Livin' in a dream in a sea of desperation

I didn't go on an lot of adventures this week, mainly because I was scheduled to work at awkward times. But I did get out early enough on Friday to do some fun stuff. My friend and I decided to go to Wendy's for dinner. Yes, quite random, all things considered. I don't eat out very often, mainly because I can cook my own meals for a lot less money. Go figure. But, I just happened to have a random gift card. So we walked the half-hour trek to Wendy's. For the first time in my life, I tried dipping my fries in the frosty. I'm rather picky (still!), so I was very surprised when I actually liked it! A lot! Then we went back to my friend's old apartment (she's moving in with me) to hang out with some of her friends. We ended up eating ice cream and then we came back to my place to watch a movie. Strangely, the guys that were with us chose Phantom of the Opera. Surprising, isn't it? The best part was when one of the guys sang along with Christine, high notes and everything. Yesterday, I worked two shifts. I don't have to do the cleaning one anymore! Hallelujah! 
And today, I had a mini adventure. I helped my friend bring her food, pots, etc. from her old place down to mine. Thing is, neither of us have a car. So, we carried bags and bags and bags and a huge box half a mile down the street. We felt like camels. Because we live in a nice area, people in cars asked if we needed help, but because we live in a crazy world, we said "no thanks." We've been taught to say no to strangers. Thank goodness none of them was a creepy man in a big white van. Yay for stereotypes. But it was an adventure, and our arms will surely be sore tomorrow. Heck, they're already sore. 

and distant memories are buried in the past, forever

So far, today's adventures have been the most delicious. I made German food!!! I made schnitzel, kartoffelpfannkuchen (potato pancakes of happiness and joy) and spätzle (awesome noodles). I took a picture just for your personal enjoyment. Too bad it's not possible to share food over the internet...

  

spätzle, kartoffelpfannkuchen,and schnitzel :)

This adventure was an adventure because I'd never successfully made the noodles before, and I had never cooked schnitzel by myself. I even conquered an irrational fear and touched raw meat!!! That's a huge deal for me... And so I rediscovered that schnitzel is pretty much my favorite food. Ever. Even more than pizza.

I guess I just miss my favorite country. I was in Germany, this time last year... and my sister is going there tomorrow. Without me. Had to make up for that somehow... Ok, food ≠ country. But it's all I have for now...

What else happened today... I went to work. That was fun! not... I got to put together chicken sandwiches. Again. Then I went to our church activity- water games! After that, my roomie and I went to a symposium. The boys next door put on some educational thing every Monday night. This was our very first time going, and we got to learn about autism. It's really very interesting. Maybe I should volunteer at this special school we have somewhere in town... And after the symposium, my roomie and I decided to make cookie dough! Good stuff. So, we ate it and listened to Foreigner, since we're going to a Journey-Foreigner-Night Ranger concert next month and we figure we should know more than just a couple songs. I'm so freakin excited!!!

Don't stop believin'

Sunday is pretty much my favorite day of the week. Call me whatever you want, but I really do like church.  Sundays are great because it's a day off from the usual craziness of the week. Sundays are not for shopping or sports games, but for church and service. It's a day to rest from adventures. Besides, all the roomies are home, so why seek out adventures away from the apartment?
Today I started my weekly accompaniment of the congregational hymns on the piano. Other than that, today was pretty chill. But since this whole blog thing is about adventures and how to stay busy during a boring summer in order to keep from going insane, I should just mention what I did some of the other days this week.
I painted a shirt. I am a huge fan of painting clothes. A while ago, I got a really cool black shirt at a clothes swap.  But, there was one small problem: it had a splotch of paint on it like somebody had tried to splatter-paint it but failed miserably. So, I found some old paint in this new (to me) apartment and decided paint the shirt for real. Just getting the old cans open was an adventure in and of itself! I then took the paint and shirt outside so that I could paint it. Using a stick as a paintbrush, I proceeded to paint my shirt. It looks pretty awesome! I'll post a picture later-- my roommate is sleeping, so I really shouldn't turn on the light at present...
Another day this week, I went to a different grocery store than the one I usually bike to. It's a little cheaper, but it's also farther away. I'm just glad I have a rack on the back of my bike or I would never have gotten home with all my delectable food!
P.S. I hate Times New Roman. With a fiery burning passion that usually only comes out when writing long essays and I'm forced to use it.

Don't bring me down, Bruce

Saturdays are usually the best days for adventures, right? Well, such is not the case this summer. For me, anyways. My second job, is at a cafeteria place. It is also where I spend countless, unending hours every Saturday. I left my apartment at 10:30 this morning. My first shift was in the dish room. Heck Yes. Loading trays in an industrial dishwasher. It's actually the best assignment and involves the smallest amount of nasty things. After roughly three hours of this, the shift was over and I got an hour and a half to do whatever with. I spent it eating lunch out in the sunshine and reading my German grammar book. Fun, eh? Then back in to work some more. This shift, I actually got to serve chicken sandwiches and tater-tots!!! On the bright side, the people I served were grateful and I learned how to say "you're welcome!" in Italian. Prego!!! Like the sauce! After the serving part was over, I got to refill cereal containers- the big ones like at continental breakfasts in cheap hotels. The most exciting part was also the worst. I took the Raisin Bran down to refill it and it kinda sorta just keeled over. Oops. It filled up a dustpan and a half. At least I didn't get in trouble for that... 
Then I changed my uniform yet again for shift three. Goodness. Night Custodial. Just hearing that ought to make anybody with common sense shudder. So, I spent the next three hours cleaning two of those huge dishwashers and the floor and drains. Fortunately my one friend in the place was working with me, so life wasn't quite as sucky as it normally would be. Basically, don't ever sign up to clean a cafeteria unless you are dying to earn a whole $23 for some really icky work. True fact of life. But, as a poor college student, $23 is a lot of money.
So, I've sold my Saturdays at a rate of about $67 each. I just hope this whole college thing pays off! Of course it will... Someday... In the very distant future... when I have a real job with normal hours... yeah. For now, though, I'll just stick to this. At least I have work!

Summer summer summer. It's like a merry-go-round.

My life this summer: work and                              .  That's right. A whole lot of nothingness. Between the shifts, I often have hours and hours and hours and hours to kill. Well, sitting around all day gets really rather dull, rather quickly. After a month, even reading (my normal summer pursuit) gets boring, especially because it's not a means of procrastination right now.  I'm between semesters in college, and my mom, who usually can find something for me to do (or clean), is two thousand miles away. So, I've decided to make adventures for myself. And now the whole wide world (or whoever is bored enough to read this) can know all about what to do for countless hours.
I first decided to go on an adventure this Monday. It really was on a whim. I didn't have to be at work until 7 PM, and I really needed something to do. I was going to go insane otherwise. I had this crazy idea to go shopping. That seems like no big deal, right? But it really was a crazy idea. The shopping part of town is a good four miles away. So, where's the problem? It's quite simple. All I have is a bike, and not a whole lot of surplus money floating around. And I didn't even know if I could physically bike four miles in this mountainous state (yes, I am that much of a loser). So, I packed my backpack with some food and my uniform for work (since I really had no idea how long this would last and it's better to be prepared) and set out the door. Somehow, I was able to bike the four miles! That's really quite a feat, for me at least. Fortunately, it was rather windy, so it wasn't very hot. Well, I spent forever in the store and ended up with only socks. That's probably really good though, since I didn't really need anything but socks. And they were on sale! Woohoo...
And then, on another whim, I decided to bike another couple miles to my favorite thrift store. I love thrift stores. A lot. Kinda ridiculously so. Anyways... that was an adventure in and of itself. I did find a few gems though. There was this wonderful blender for only five dollars! Perfekt! (intentional misspelling- it's actually the German way) Smoothies!!!! heck yes! And I also found working beaters, which is also excellent, since between the five of us roommates, we don't have working beaters, even though half of us love to cook. Well, I had toured the whole store, and came out with those things and a pair of jeans and an hour before my shift. So I got to go home and have real food before work! Score! I'd say the first adventure was a smashing success. Life's good. The End.
P.S. kudos to whoever can say where the title of this post came from :)