Who's gonna drive you home tonight

This is the story of the mighty Thor. Thor the Jeep. Thor is my first car that I've purchased with my own money. Did I mention that I haven't had a car of my own since I went to college the first time in 2010? Well, I was pretty excited to buy him. I felt pretty adult-ish. Yeah. Adulting. So much fun.

When I named him Thor, I didn't know how much the following story would resemble the plot of a certain Marvel film. My roommate suggested the name, and hey, it's big and red and strong and old and such.

Earlier this summer, my mom decided to send my youngest sister out to this side of the country to visit me and then we'd drive up to Idaho to visit our middle sister and her husband. We had a wonderful adventure plan. My middle sister lives about four hours away, and we planned on going to Yellowstone and simply having a wonderful western adventure together. Well, I drove the hour to the airport, and my car was getting a little overheated. I had to wait more than two hours to pick up my sister due to flight delays and her status as an unaccompanied minor. I figured the two plus hours would suffice to cool down my Thor. 

So when I finally had my sister, we went on our merry way to Idaho.

We didn't get very far.

Twenty minutes later, my car was overheating again. So I pulled over to the side of the interstate. We waited a while, and then tried to start the car again. But Thor wasn't having it. Remember the part where I said my family is on the other side of the country? Yeah. Help. (In hindsight I don't know why I didn't call my one of my roommates... probably that dumb thing called pride.) Eventually some guy in a tiny little Mazda pulled over, tried to help and ended up towing my huge car to the next town, where he had a mechanic friend. That was probably the most scary thing of my life. Waaaaay scarier than the time I moved to Europe to live with a family I'd never met. I was terrified that something would go wrong and I would crush his pint-sized car or kill his engine or run into something else or or or... yeah. You get the picture. Itty bitty convertible Mazda pulling my (literally) one-ton vehicle at highway speed. So many things could have gone wrong.

This all took place in the evening, so of course the shop was closed. My sister and I slept in the back of my Jeep. In the morning, the mechanics looked at my engine. My sister and I had walked to a store in search of AC, and when I got the phone call from the mechanic, I nearly had a full-on panic attack. The repairs would take more money than I had in my bank account, and my newly-attained first credit card has a super low limit. I had no choice but to call my daddy for help. This goes against every fiber of my very independent being. Don't get the wrong idea, I love my parents and I know that they would do anything for me, but I just wanted to be able to take care of things like a grown-up, and I know my parents don't have tons of money. Anyways, my dad was a superhero and took care of everything from the other side of the country. 

Meanwhile, I had gotten in contact with my Idaho sister. Plans were changed, and they came down to meet us in Utah, since there wasn't really a way for us to get there anymore. We left my car at the shop an hour north of home and had a very different adventure than the one planned. 

So it turned out that Thor needed a new engine. It took about two weeks for them to find a decent engine and replace it. I had my roommate take me up to where it was, and the mechanics took it on one last test run and discovered that the engine was no good. So they gave me a loaner car and we went back home.

Two more weeks and three engines later, I finally had Thor back in my hands. I still feel bad for the mechanics and all the frustration and bad engines they had to buy and put in and take out. Poor guys.

If you're familiar with the Marvel movie, there are parallels. Like how Thor thought he was invincible. Then he did something that was kind of dumb and was banished to a far away place and had to go through significant changes in order to come home. 

Although this certainly isn't what I or my bank account wanted, I learned a ton. First, know what your car is capable of and check the temperature gauge (everybody told me he was in great shape and would make it to Idaho. They didn't know there was a tiny crack in the engine block.). But even more importantly, I was able to draw a connection to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I was able to experience what it is like to be in situation that you can't get out of on your own. I had no way of paying for what I'd done - for unknowing totaling my precious car - and couldn't even get home. I had to call on my father for help, knowing full well that it would take ages to be able to pay him back from my meager college student earnings, if he even let me pay him back in entirety. This situation reminds me of how we, as mortals, sometimes get ourselves into spiritual situations we can't get out of without our Savior's help. I know that if we call on Him, He can help us get back home to our Father and pay for our mistakes. And for that I am eternally grateful. 

Caught in a landslide

Lately, my roommate and I have been thinking about how to save the world.

Actually, we just want to help the refugees. But alas, here we are at college, and, let's face it, there aren't too many refugees running around campus. I haven't seen a single one! There are no camps, no apartments full of foreigners like I saw in Europe. We still want to help, even though we are poor college students stuck in the United States.

So we began to research. And research some more. Even during class (oops, did I just post that for the world to see?). And what have we found?

Nothing.

You either have to be there or have money to donate.

When we found out that the German ambassador was coming to our campus this week to give a little speech, we jumped on the opportunity. Germany has taken on over a million refugees in the past year, so we hoped the Honorable Peter Wittig could help us in our quest. When I got to ask him a question- you know this must be of great importance to me if I got up the nerve to talk to someone about it- this is what he said:
"There really isn't much you can do from over here. Mostly you can just be friends with refugees when you find one and help them integrate into American society so they don't make mini Syrian communities, which would isolate them."
K thanks for not really helping...

His wife was a little more helpful. She said that a lot of people offer language tutoring online to help with integration. Both my roommate and I are bilingual, so we thought this would be a great way to help from over here. Turns out, not so many people do that, especially as volunteers.

I cannot even put into words how frustrated we were about how little people, especially Americans, are doing about this crisis.

I had an idea yesterday while I was reading the Good Word. I am at a university where many people are bilingual. And if they aren't bilingual, they at least speak English, which is much more widespread among Europeans than Arabic. So why don't we set up a website where people can volunteer to help refugees learn whatever language they need via Skype? Once it's set up, we could get in contact with the refugees through city governments and schools. It's not a huge time or monetary commitment, but yet we can make a difference, even from the other side of the world. We can use our skills to bless all of God's children and make this difficult transition a tiny bit easier.

Who's with me?

PS. Here's the gem that started it all:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/refuge-from-the-storm?lang=eng

Nothing's gonna stop us now

Let's rewind eighteen months or so.

I entered the England Missionary Training Centre. It was a bit different than I expected, but then again, I didn't really know what to expect. I think the main thing that I learned in those short twelve days was that I had no idea what I was doing. That if any words came out of my mouth, they wouldn't be from me- not because I didn't know the doctrines that I would now be sharing with all sorts of people, but because I simply could not do it by myself. It was time to grow up and learn how to trust in God and that he would give me the words to say if I would just give Him the opportunity. In all reality, I didn't fully learn this lesson until much later. I'm still working on that, even though I am no longer a missionary with a tag. I've never been much of a talker, so it was really hard for me to be in a situation where I had to be ready to talk at all times. It was a struggle my whole mission!

Me and my awesome Swiss companion Sister Burri

It's difficult to say much about this experience. It's all kind of a blur. We spent our days learning about how to missionary (if that can be used as a verb) and practicing. All of us were excited to get out and be real missionaries, but probably not as excited as the missionaries next door, who had been there a month longer than us in order to learn some Deutsch. Well, I was quite nervous, actually. All my inadequacies came crashing down upon me. But never mind those- I had already signed up for this gig and I was going to be a real missionary. Bring it, world!

 I think I need to go back to England someday.

I'm still trying to remember things so I'll have more to say. Mostly I just remember sitting at a desk for far too long, goofing off in our 3.48 seconds of free time, awkward role-plays where we taught our teachers, and being slightly stressed about the newness of it all.

Oh, I guess there was that one time when Sis. Burri and I almost missed our flights to our missions. Sister Burri went to the Frankfurt Mission, so she took a different flight. Well, that was a funny morning. We had stayed up late on our last night getting everything all packed up. We had the alarm set for 3:45 or whenever we were supposed to get up for that ridiculously early flight to Munich, but this smartie forgot to turn the alarm on. The other sisters came and got us about ten minutes before we were supposed to be downstairs. By some miracle we made it! We were not about to miss our flights. 

All of us heading to the Alpine German Speaking Mission ran to the gate and made it. Barely. 

Yep, that sums up my MTC experience. What happened after that belongs in a new post. So, tschüss y'all. 

It's been such a long time

A year and a half.
A year and a half as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

That sounds weird auf Englisch.

I've been back from my mission in southern Germany and Austria for a week or so now.

I won't try to summarize my whole mission in one post. As missionaries, we kind of joked that a mission is like a whole life squished into 18 months (or two years for the guys). The first area in which you serve is where you were "born," when you train other missionaries, they are your "children," and you "die" in your last area.  As you go through your service, you experience such highs and lows as you've never seen before, and they are somehow compacted. All the rules of time are broken, or so it seems. You get to know so many wonderful people and forge friendships that will last through eternity.

I can't believe it's over. It seems like it was just last month that I was packing my suitcase to go on this grand adventure, but irgendwie also a lifetime has come and gone.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.
It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder than leaving home for the first time for college, harder than moving to Germany to live with people I didn't know. But it was also the most beautiful, most rewarding thing I've ever done.

In the words of singer/songwriter Brendan James:
"Memories as sweet as these, you cannot take them, they belong to me"

I'll post more in the near future. Relive my life and share my few stories.

Now I say goodbye to you

I'm flying out to the Missionary Training Center in England in less than two days.

Am I nervous? No.
Stressed is much more accurate.

It doesn't help that much of today was spent buying last minute items. I realized it's kinda chilly over in England right now, so I had to get some tights. And then, when I went to put some things in my backpack for the flight, I discovered there was mold on it. Thank you, humidity, for killing my backpack. We've been through a lot together. I got it in tenth grade, and it's hauled not only high school binders and college textbooks, but it's helped me across the continent and the Atlantic several times.
Did you know it's really hard to find a decent backpack this time of year? I don't even want to talk about the several stores we had to go to in order to find one.

Guys, I have so much to do. I should not even be blogging. But somehow venting is calming me down. Yes, it is 2:00 AM. But it kinda just hit me how much I have to do TOMORROW.

At least my suitcase is packed.

I had planned to do much more last week, but then a man at church gave me a job for the week helping him organize and clean his home office/man cave.

Where did this month go? I had so many good intentions...

And my Darth Vader flash drive is still MIA. As are some other things. Bad things happen when I thoroughly clean my room.

I better get back to important things. Maybe even sleep. Hopefully some family member of mine will keep this blog up for me while I'm gone. Well, since missionaries are gradually gaining permission to blog and use Facebook, mission by mission, I might be on here sooner than later. Whatever. Until we meet again!

P.S. Here's the song for the title:

Nothing is real

Yesterday the strangest thing happened.
Not only did I go jogging, but my dad came with me. Both of us hate running with a fiery burning passion. We decided, though, last week that we should jog every other day. He's diabetic and so he should exercise, and I just want to lose weight. Like every other girl ever.

You may be thinking that this isn't so strange, BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

As we were getting ready to go, Kelsey, my littlest sister, asks if she can come along. I'm still in shock. She's in sixth grade and has to run a half a mile in PE almost every day. Every day she comes home all gross and sweaty and we ask her if she had to run. And every day she wrinkles up her nose and says yes. And now she wants to go running with us every night. I'm supremely weirded out. I tried to get her to run with me earlier this summer, since I knew she'd be in PE, but she backed out on me. Pansy.

I may be the world's worst at jogging, but I try. And now somehow this idea has caught a hold of the two other people in my family least likely to run. We're all horridly out of shape. Not fat, just not, well, trim. Just imagine the three of us stumbling down the road, gasping for air as if we had just been saved from drowning. If I had been a spectator, I would have just smiled at the pathetic effort.

Today, Kelsey and I were cleaning out the cabinet under the sink in our bathroom. You wouldn't believe the stuff we found down there... I digress. Anyways. She started asking me if we could go running. My mind is blown.
We'll see how long this trend lasts. I'll only be around for another 16 days, after all...

I also think it's ironic that earlier this summer, my headphones were broken and so jogging was even less fun. That was when I asked my sister to go jogging with me. Now that the headphones been replaced (thank goodness for warranties), I have jogging buddies.
That's life for ya.

It's all I can do to keep waiting for you

So ever since my date to report to the MTC was verschoben, I mean postponed, I've had to find stuff to fill my time. You're probably thinking I'm a pro at this by now, seeing as I've blogged about a couple of boring summers and managed to not go completely insane. There is a profound difference in my situation this time. I have no transportation. Ok, I have a bike, but to bike here is to risk being ran over by cars going about 50 mph (80 kph). Nope, we don't do sidewalks or bike paths. Super lame. Not that I'd have anywhere to go. All my friends now live at least 100 miles (160 km) away. Most of them live a couple thousand miles away.

Mondays or Tuesdays I take my dad to work so I can use his truck to buy groceries for the week.
I make dinner for the family several times a week, depending on mom's school schedule.
I help my sister with her math homework.
Once I even swept the garage.

I feel like I'm in Freaky Friday or something. I've turned into a stay-at-home mom without having kids.
I still wonder what stay-at-home moms do all day. I've wondered for years... Let's not get off on that tangent.

When the sister missionaries need me, I go out with them. I've gone finding/tracting, helped with lessons... I even went to a baptism last week. Maybe I'll blog about that later.

I try to prepare for my mission. I'm supposed to read the lessons in the Preach My Gospel missionary manual. It's slow work though, because once you read a section, there are a billion Bible and Book of Mormon verses to read, sometimes even whole chapters. I'm almost done with the first lesson.

I tried to do some genealogy. Those ancestors are trying very hard to stay in their hiding places deep within old record books.

My mom had me borrow dad's truck one day and go job hunting. That was pretty fruitless and frustrating. I almost had an interview at Kroger last week. It was a group interview, and as I was introducing myself to everybody, I mentioned that I would be serving a mission soon. The hiring guy then asked how soon and how long etc. and then said I should just leave. There would be no point in hiring me because by the time they trained me, I'd be gone. I'm just wondering how much training it takes to put groceries in a bag.

Too bad there's nothing more interesting to say. 22 days! AGAIN.

London Calling

Ok, so technically the call came from Preston, England, and not London. But hey, when else could I use that line?
I got my travel information in the mail yesterday. I should be going to the Missionary Training Center next week. I looked at the envelope, and noticed I'd be there for six weeks. Apparently they now have a six week course for people learning German. Um, guys, I'm not exactly a beginner when it comes to Deutsch. In my opinion, the class for natives would suit me better. I've had three years in high school, two in college, and a year in Germany.
So I sent the MTC people an email about that. They got back to me rather promptly, given the five-hour time difference. They sent me an email last night asking for my phone number so we could have a little German Exam. I replied about half an hour ago, saying that my mornings are free, and hopped in the shower. What I didn't know is that they were going to call me right after getting that email. I tried calling back, but my phone plan isn't good enough to call the UK.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten minutes later
~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just got off the phone with the German teacher at the MTC and the coordinator. They got my explanatory email and called me right away.
They've decided I definitely don't need the language course. The teacher even said I sound like a German! *major confidence booster* The thing is, the native course doesn't start for another month. And there's one other sister missionary who will have to be by herself. They've had that before though, so it's not to be a major factor in my decision. I would like to have the extra month to get ready, study, and *hopefully* get some sort of employment. I think it's time to pray a lot. Thank goodness God answers prayers.

And bein' apart ain't easy

Sorry to get out of chronological order here, but I need to.
Yesterday we dropped my sister off at college.

I cried like a baby.

Ok, maybe not as loudly. Maybe as often as one, though. I cried more than our momma.
We've been nigh inseparable lately. Best buds.
My Grandpa also decided to come down Tuesday from Colorado. He'll be here until just before my mission. I'm the only one who doesn't have school or work in the day, so it falls to me to hang out with him. I also have a whole lot of stuff to do. Speaking of which... I ought to call about getting police clearance for my visa.

Yesterday she told us, "Hey, you're just losing one person, and I'm losing my whole family!" Excuse me! You will still be able to call and text and skype. In less than two weeks, my only contact will be email and snail mail.

I want my sister back.

Took my chances on a big jet plane

My next big adventure was not even a week after my Frankfurt trip.
The name of the game is Flying into Atlanta on Stand-By in Summer.
Anyone who's tried to fly with a Delta Buddy Pass knows what a joy it can be. On one hand, I saved a ton of money. On the other hand, well, you're about to hear about that.
It just so happens that the two closest Buddy Pass approved airports are about four hours away. And so instead of making me take the train, my host family decided it would just be easier for me to go with them to Frankfurt on a little church trip so that if I didn't get on a flight, I could still have some place to stay.

Day 1.
My sweet host family drove me to the Frankfurt Flughafen, about half an hour away from where we were. I got checked in, sent my two ever-so-slightly overweight suitcases to wherever they send them and went up to security. Nobody was optimistic about me making the flight. And when I got to the terminal, I saw why. When it was time to rebook for the next attempt at getting home, the lady at the desk was beyond pessimistic. I didn't stand a chance of getting home until mid-August. I could try for New York, but as I know nobody there whom I could call upon for shelter, I decided against it. So I called up my family and they came to my rescue (after a couple hours when they were done with whatever they were doing). Poor Dana had cried bitterly and inconsolably when they dropped me off. And so I got another day in Germany.

Day 2.
My host family did not have the time to drive me to the airport, so they stuck me on a train with my two HUGE suitcases, each weighing 52 pounds, my carry on, which probably weighed too much, and a backpack packed to nearly overflowing. So many people helped me! When I got to the train station at the airport, I found that all of the escalators were either off or not working. Great. So I lugged the suitcases one-by-one up half the stairs until some nice people helped. The situation at the gate wasn't any different. As I was waiting for my baggage, one of the workers gave me a hint: try Detroit.
So I left my baggage at the airport baggage place for a few Euros. I was already getting callouses and there was NO WAY I was going to lug those things across Frankfurt two more times.

Day 3.
Things were getting desperate. If I didn't get a flight by the end of the week, I'd have a whole new set of problems, like where to sleep for starts, and maybe even visa problems if it lasted too much longer.
I did try for Detroit, which looked as bad as the Atlanta flights, and did not get on. Then I counseled with the gate agent again. There was the New York flight, but it would be delayed. Well, when flights are delayed four hours, people tend to get angry and fly on other airlines. Hello empty seats! When they finally called my name to get on, I really did start crying tears of pure joy. All thirty-something of us buddy pass people got on, which is a miracle.
The delay meant that there would be no more connecting flights to Atlanta or anywhere else, though. I had to get from JFK to La Guardia for my morning connecting flight to DC. This is where I "slept" for a few hours. Turns out the luggage carts are more comfortable than the chairs behind said cart, where I first tried to sleep. Add jet lag, and BINGO. A nap. Sorta. Every time I finally fell asleep, some employee pushed a huge floor cleaner across the floor. The floor didn't look a bit better for it either.
I still wasn't home, but hey, at least I was finally in the proper country. That's the hardest part- getting across the pond.

Day 4: So I woke up waaay too early. We're talking hours before the place even opens. But I did make the wide-open flight to DC, where there are hourly flights to Atlanta. I didn't get on the first three or four flights. But then, lo and behold, there was a plane with an hour delay. I love delays. Delays get you where you need to go. At least on buddy passes, that is.

And so I arrived home, feeling as if I had accompanied Frodo to Mount Doom. Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it sure felt like it took that long.

Happened just the other day...

Hello friends! Good news! My computer is finally working again! The bad news is that it totally and completely died along with everything on it, including my list of potential blog titles. I mean lyrics... And I have more than a month to catch up on- a month full of adventures. Oh man. This is going to be fun...
Not to mention I have a bunch of stuff to do right now that's way more important than blogging.
Frankfurt. I'm thinking this will be easier if I just post photos. Aight. Here goes Frankfurt.
So I carpooled to Frankfurt. The other people in the car were actually very nice- no creepers, crooks, criminals or anything of the sort. They were just some nice, normal people. I got to the Hauptbahnhof where I was greeted by four friends plus two I hadn't met yet. My four friends were now... officially two couples. Ary introduced me to her friend, Anna, who was visiting from Alaska, and Jeanette introduced me to her sister. And I said "Hi! I'm still Shelby and I'm... still single." They all just kinda laughed. Let's just say that Anna and I were very grateful for each other's presence, or else there would have been a whole lot of third-wheeling and occasional fifth-wheeling.
I'll spare you the minutia and cut straight to the exciting things- otherwise known as a choice selection of pictures from the trip.

The Main

Altstadt

This escalator went up about five floors. 

A skyline! Basically the only one in Germany.

This was outside. Beats me why balloons aren't allowed.

Inside the Dom (cathedral)

Some couples fun... I shall refrain from further comments.

Burg Münzenberg. It's been deserted for about 400 years. 

I've been waiting since childhood to see something like this.

A rebuilt Roman Fortress! How cool is that?!?

Standing on the Limes- the German version of Hadrian's Wall.

Currywurst. One of my favorite things.

Botanical Gardens

Kaiser Wilhelm 'stache

The craziest fishies ever. Just look at their mouths!

Goin' Home

Friday I've got travelin' on my mind

Well, my friends, I'm setting out on one last adventure in Germany. I'll be in Frankfurt tonight. It'll be an interesting trip, that's for sure. I'm meeting up with a couple friends from BYU, and honestly, I'm not even sure what all we're doing. No big deal. Most important is to see people I won't get to see for at least 20 months. Actually, it could be much longer than that. I don't know if I'm going back to the Y, and besides, they'll all be done there when I get back off my mission anyways.
I also starting packing for America today. It's a week and a half away, but since I'll be traveling until Tuesday night, I thought it best to get a head start. And another friend, a former exchange student of ours, wants to come visit me on my last weekend. I do need to give her her Harry Potters back... And I really want to see her one more time. I'm pretty sure all my junk is going to fit in my luggage. All my clothes that I brought (minus some that I gave away), my shoes, plus some books that I bought, and the various blu-rays, oh and the really big fluffy coat my mom brought me. I'm using that for insulation for all the chocolate I'm bringing my family. My brother works for Delta and he says it gets pretty warm down there wherever they keep the luggage on the plane. Anyways, my clothes are packed. I'll just wash and rewear the clothes I'm bringing to Frankfurt.
Thank goodness I'm coming back soon or I'd be a weeping mess of emotion.
For real.
I don't even want to think what state I'd be in if I had to leave for the foreseeable future. It was bad enough last time when I had to leave after three weeks. This time, I'm also bringing home different stuff. Not just dessert. And I'm armed with a huge photo album. I'll be fine... I hope.

Tuesday Afternoon

It's Tuesday afternoon, and I'm done with work. I have one last choir rehearsal for the Uni Chor. I'm not even a student... which is why I don't feel too bad about skipping out on one of our concerts. And the Friday rehearsal this weekend. I'm going to Frankfurt, baby! My friend Ary has planned a get-together for us and all the other Americans we know that have made it over here this summer. Sadly, due to unforseen circumstances, several of our friends won't be coming, but it'll be fun anyways. And I can't promise I'll get to blog about it until I'm home. Which will be on a Tuesday afternoon in two weeks, if all goes well with the buddy pass. Oh man. Two weeks. I also want to write a post about the questions these kids have asked me.  I won't spoil the fun by giving a preview. You'll just have to be patient until, well, I get home home. Next Tuesday I should be getting back from Frankfurt and possibly singing in the Uni Chor concert if I gete back in time and I feel like it. But on this Tuesday Afternoon, I'm going to try to find birthday presents for my two sisters. They both have their birthday in the next couple weeks, and since they're still young, I feel obligated to give them more than just some excellent chocolate. Did I tell y'all I'm bringing my family 24 bars of chocolate? Anyways, I'd better skidaddle so I can find something for my sisters. Time's rather short you know...

The earth is turning...

Sorry for my absence from the blogging world. I actually have some adventures to blog about. I just got caught up in a good book... And Wednesday my laptop decided to quit turning on. So I'm on the family dinosaur, and I have no idea how much time I'll actually have to write. Everybody's out, but I have other things I need to do while it's quiet. I found out Wednesday that I'm speaking in church on Sunday. Seven minutes about why I want to serve a mission. They said I could take longer, but I really don't even need seven minutes to explain that one. I just want to share the love and happiness I've found in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And everybody should know about the blessings that can be ours if we follow Christ. K, Done.
So, I get to give two farewells. The other one will be back home in Georgia, closer to when I actually go on my mission.
Guys. I'm going home in 2.5 weeks.
By the way, if anyone ever complains about the price of fabric in America, just know that it's waaaay more expensive over here. My host family decided to ask a lady from church to sew something for me as a farewell gift. This lady used to sew women's clothes for a living, so the skirt I picked out will be pretty awesome when it's done. And the fabric, a lovely gray flannel, matches practically every shirt in my closet and will keep me warm in the Alps. I hope.
Really I have a lot more to say, but I should probably go do something productive. Like prepare my talk for Sunday. Or figure out how I'm going to teach a song to the children at church. *sigh* I just didn't want y'all to think I fell off the planet.
Confession: I'm really aweful at thinking up titles for things. Hence the lyrics. And since my list of lyrics is on my laptop... Hence the not-so-splendid title. There ya have it.

We'll find a place where the sun still shines

After more than a week of nasty, rainy, cold weather, the sun finally came out. I don't know what season to call it, though. It's pretty much summer for here, but more like April for me. And I apparently have allergies. Strangely enough, they don't bother me too much while outside. It's only after I've gone back inside that I start sneezing like crazy. Maybe I'm allergic to being inside when the weather is nice. Huh. 

My dreams the other night involved Iron Man and Thor, and maybe a little bit of Pearl Harbor. It was all rather strange. And last night I dreamed I was already on my mission and people were giving me money to get somewhere. That somewhere, Celle, is not in my mission, but where I went on my mini-mission. And you don't have to pay out of pocket to get to places in your mission- it's all rolled into the monthly amount you pay, as far as I know.

We put up the trampoline in the backyard today... woohoo? 

Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the first time I set foot on German land. And, for once, I'm not scheming how to get back. I have plans. Concrete plans. Ain't nobody gonna stop me plans. These mission plans are making it so much easier to leave next month. I've got just over a month left here, but that's alright. I've got that final Schluss feeling. The end of this adventure is drawing nigh. I don't have to mourn my departure, though, since I'll be back in the blink of an eye. Well, if that America blink were to last two months. Whatever. I'm going to enjoy my two-month blink, whatever I end up doing. Hopefully I'll find some sort of income. If nobody wants a babysitter/house cleaner/meal preparer/whatever, well, I'll just hang out with my family. Hopefully Dad will get a lot of work these next 21 months.

I think it worth mentioning that someone I never expected to see again showed up in church Sunday. I know him from the German House at BYU. It quite threw me off. His brother lives here with his family, so it wasn't completely random, but still very unexpected. Too bad we didn't get to talk longer... Naja. 

I'm now halfway done with Les Miserables auf Deutsch. I'm really glad I'm reading the book after seeing the movie, 'cause the musical leaves out a lot of detail and some interesting parts. I won't bore you here. Or I just don't want to sound like a fool in case I read something incorrectly. 

I met my sister's boyfriend via Skype this past Sunday. I approve? I mean, I'd like to meet him for real. He seems like a nice guy.

My sister and I also watched Pride & Prejudice simultaneously and Skype-chatted all the best lines. We kept track of the "ohhh burn" quips and the awkward moments. Good stuff. That movie never gets old.

Oh, and just because it's warm outside doesn't mean it's warm in the basement. They told me I'd get the room that stays the coolest in the summer. What they meant is: "You will want a jacket and the heater on in June." And no matter how long I leave the window open, only the cool air comes in. No sunshine. My tiny window is in a corner that gets very little sun quite early in the day. I love being cold. Not.

You're just, just, just wasting time

It's a very good thing I can't find my scissors right now. If I had any idea where they are, my hair would most likely be the victim of my boredom. I should either get some real hair scissors or... just pay someone to do it.
Stupid triangle hair.
Meh.

If you're looking to kill time as well, you should watch the Eurovision contest. Especially Romania's contestant. You know what, it was so... interesting... that I'll put it right here.

Because we all need countertenor vampires.

Today I spent my free time moping around in an annoyed boredom. Nothing to do... No reason to go out, since that would only lead to spending of money. And I need all the money for my mission. I had not the faintest desire to inconvenience Maria by asking her to move her car so I could ride my bike. I'll refrain from complaining about working for and living with a pregnant lady. Let's just say I'm looking forward to moving on with life.

Yesterday I watched Studio C on YouTube. It's completely clean humor. I would post some favorites, but I think I would run out of room and I'd most likely get sucked into watching them all again. On the bright side, watching those clips got me out of a bad mood.

I even made a catalog of all the clothes I have for my mission so far. I'm pretty sure they could all fit in a carry-on suitcase. Maybe if I get bored enough, I'll try... And I thought I had a lot already. 

I've also wasted  spent a lot of time looking at potential mission clothes and shoes on the internet. Nothing better to do... I've decided that if I had any money, I'd have the coolest clothes and shoes ever. For now, I'll stick to sales racks and thrift stores. Oh wait, thrift stores and Germany don't mix... Sales racks it is. 

I ought to move on to something more productive or at least useful. Mission Prep, reading Les Mis to work on my Deutsch skills, finish composing that one song... 

The less we say about it the better

I can't say this post has any set topic or adventure. It's just the leftover snippets that are running around in my head but haven't made it onto a post lately.

Song of the day: 

I really like the Talking Heads.

My sister got her first boyfriend a couple weeks ago. Captain Norrington aptly summed up my feelings on the matter in the first Pirates movie:

"I apologize if I seem forward, but I must speak my mind. This promotion throws into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved."
Of course, I'm happy for her. And I can't wait to meet the guy when I get home in July.

I'm not the only one who has a friend that as good as ignores my presence when other people are around, right?

I really want to buy all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. There's a box set  on Blu-ray for thirty euros and I'm just dying to get it, but... I should save my money for my mission. Meh. This mission thing is turning out to be more expensive that planned. Or maybe the problem is that I wasn't planning on going until last October and just focused on getting through college without debt and then to Germany and therefore have practically no money. No debt, but not much else either.

On the note of mission funding, I'm going to have to sell my beloved bike that I left in the care of one of my best friends in Utah. I love my bike. My lovely fixie from the seventies, my Made-in-Austria jewel. We had such lovely times together. And so many fun trips to the repair shop. Let's not discuss the matter further.

I finished the wall I was working on. But I've realized lately that I shouldn't use the money for the trip I was planning on with my friends. Good thing nothing was set in concrete. Heck, nothing was set even in Jello, other than that we wanted to go. I hate money. At least my sacrifice will be for a good cause. And Switzerland is in my mission, so maybe I'll even get to serve there. But because I'm American, the chances aren't super high, since the Swiss aren't handing out visas to us right now. At least that's what everybody tells me.

I'm having a hard time refraining from cutting my own hair. Layering can't be that hard, right? My haircut could hardly get worse. ...Ok, it could. Which is why I haven't done it, although there have been some VERY close calls. We're talking standing in front of my mirror with scissors in hand. And I wish I could do bangs. Oh the joys of somewhat curly hair.

I have a love-hate relationship with chocolate covered rice cakes.

Everybody's really excited about Eintracht Braunschweig getting into the first league. I mean, I spotted Aufstieg 2013 beer cans and even Aufstieg Bratwurst at the grocery store this weekend. I love Germany...

Less than two months left in Braunschweig. We're not talking about that either.

And the weather had better pull it's act together and start acting more May-like.

Climbed aboard the dream weaver train

It's not often that I remember my dreams, but when I do, they're craaaaaaazy. I remember two from last night, or rather this morning, since I possess the excellent skill of being able to go back to sleep for a while instead of going jogging. Loser. At least they were entertaining...

I dreamed that I was in a medieval battle of sorts. We were in some sort of fortification up on a cliff or mountain. Apparently even in my dreams I am not a skilled archer... I specifically remember trying to get this one guy, who was a really easy target and not even that far away, and missing three times. There was also a guy with a huge hammer. I don't mean Thor. Thor is much better looking than this guy. He was some insane old guy in robes swinging a hammer around quite ineffectively (unless his intent was to just keep people from touching him). It was like having a movie in my head, but I was in it. There were all sorts of cool effects and lighting and such. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Maybe it was based off something from LOTR or the Hobbit. 

I don't remember now all of the second dream. I walked around a very modified, but no less confusing version of the Fine Arts building at BYU, which then turned into my high school cafeteria, where I met my sister and her new boyfriend. He was rather distraught, as my brother had just been giving him a very hard time about something, probably just about being Kenzie's boyfriend. The weirdest thing about him was that he didn't look like the pictures I've seen of him. He took on the appearance of this little dorky kid from back home and was wearing some sort of strange denim shirt with black leather epaulets that was at least three sizes too big. It was bad enough for me to remember the horrid details. And then I decided to wake up for real.

Here's one from earlier this week: I think it was supposed to be a tour of typical German homes through the centuries. But even in my dream, I recognized that the homes weren't even German at all, but more like the pictures I've seen of British homes. Thank you, brain, for trying to entertain me with a fake documentary with false information.

Some of my dreams from the more distant past:

Traveling with my choir by car to Ireland...?! 

Trying to buy cheddar cheese... I guess I miss sharp cheddar or something.

My Grandma telling me to chop off my sister's head with a huge battle ax for refusing to vacuum. Right...

Reading books with friends in a castle library only to have the castle set on fire by a dragon.

Road trips that end at super weird destinations. For example, some place that was supposed to be a camp that I went to once upon a time, but didn't resemble it at all. There may have been dinosaurs involved.

A spotless and very modern airport- everything was white and smooth with clean lines. I don't know about y'all, but I have yet to see such a place in real life. And then a very very long road trip. 

Going back to (a quite modified) high school and seeing several friends that I haven't talked to in three years and a super huge truck.

Some sort of chase on an old-school train. By that I mean, on top of the train. 

Being out somewhere with my dad when suddenly a guy I used to like showed up out of nowhere and gave me a really long hug. That was the weirdest thing... Symbolic of never understanding the kid?

There may or may not have been one about being a rock star...

I will return again

Hello, World!
I finally got my mission call Tuesday. I'm going to (drum roll, please) the Alpine German-Speaking Mission! I report to the England Missionary Training Center on 5. September. My mission covers Southern Germany, Austria, and most of Switzerland.
Leaving Germany this July will be much easier now that I know I'll be coming back in two months time. I'll probably get homesick for Germany anyways. Last time, after being here only three weeks, I pretty much had withdrawals. I mean, I broke into tears at a grocery store just because it wasn't Germany. Luckily it was night, so nobody was around, and they had bubbly water, which made things a little bit better.
I'm amazed they're sending me to the England MTC. That's where they send German-speaking people who are going to German-speaking missions. I think they think my German is better than I think it is. I must say, though, that the beginner classes in the Provo MTC would be way too easy. It's still unusual to send an American to the England MTC for Deutsch. I wish I could see more of England than just the MTC, though. Someday...
Interesting fact: I have ancestors from just barely inside my mission boundaries. How cool is that? And just after I got my call, we started looking at more genealogy stuff about the people . We were able to find several more people!
If I could have picked my mission out from the 300-something missions all over the world, I would have picked this one.

It's absolutely perfect.

Well, let the good times roll

Ever have one of those days when you're just happy for no apparent reason? I did today, my friends. I woke up before my alarm clock and was actually happy. Alarm clocks and feelings of happiness shouldn't even belong in the same sentence. I even had a good song in my head! I managed to go jogging too, due to not having to work until noon. Well, I've never enjoyed jogging in the slightest, but it's good for me... right? Luckily I had good music to keep my spirits up.

My first assignment of the day was to make lunch- chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, and frozen spinach. Not exactly my first choice (especially the spinach), but it was good nevertheless. Not to brag, but I make some good mashed potatoes. A bit chunky, with butter, buttermilk, salt, copious pepper, garlic, and a bit of green things- like oregano or whatever. Mmm delicious :) And today they were super good, most likely because I haven't made any in months. Not even Dana's complaints about them being too spicy could bring me down. They weren't even spicy. Stinker.

We then went on our usual Friday swimming excursion. I don't like swimming. But this time wasn't that bad, since I mainly went on the big slide with the girls. It's pretty big for an indoor swimming pool. Nothing for Hurricane Harbor, but it's still the biggest slide I've seen at a swimming pool. Jilli got such joy from going down the slide with me that it was impossible to have a bad attitude about climbing that spiral staircase.

I got home and started immediately on the wall. The paint stripper looks like, well, some sort of cross between snail slime and snot, with a very chemical smell. It has to work for 1-3 hours before you chip off the paint, so I took a trip to Real,- while waiting. They are having a sale on Ritter Sport chocolate. Who on earth would do that? They sell well enough at 89 cents... but 69 cents?!? I had to buy six bars. And the cute cashier was there too. And then my iPod decided to play awesome songs. The weather was great, I had chocolate, a nice bicycle ride, good music... Ok, back to the wall. Removing paint is a much more enjoyable experience when you use the proper materials. I would've worked for longer, but I had to go inside at 9:00 when it started getting too dark to see properly. There is something extremely satisfying about hard work. Maybe we Americans have forgotten that as we've gotten pulled into more "'intellectual" work.

Anyways, it was a nice day. Nothing extraordinary (except the random chocolate sale...), but I had a good mood all day. It's all in the attitude, people :)