James McMurtry

I think I may be in love with this song.

One Day Like Rain

One day like rain,
I'll come to you in my May dress,
The one my secret self stole to twirl in.
Twirl in the kitchen,
Twirl in the hallway,
Twirl in the bedroom,
Practicing a smile as the mirror rushes by.

One day like rain,
In our dry live oak summer,
The vinyl sticking to sweaty skin,
A red blush replacing a blossom's glow,
Is a whisper across my shoulder,
Dancing pianist fingers down my freckled back,
Asking me to go for a walk.

One day like rain,
We'll dodge the sun in cedar's shadows
As we amble up Arthur Avenue.

For that day, like rain,
You'll come and go
And cause a ruckus.
Stirring up oil deposits
And sending rainbows
As I run home, skirts in hand,
Hoping you'll be behind.

Wisdom Teeth

If being wise is the price for having wisdom teeth, I'd much rather be foolish, but no one asked my opinion, and I have all four wisdom teeth. Well make that two wisdom teeth now. Yesterday I had two of the four removed, the other two will come out in a few weeks. It was very much a surreal experience. I went in on Wednesday to the oral surgeon for a consultation. He took x-rays, explained the procedure, and sent me out to make an appointment. At the reception desk, she looked at her book, asked me what my schedule was like, and said, "How's tomorrow?" And the appointment was made, I was getting some wisdom teeth out in less than 24 hours. Fun.

What did I do first? I called my friend Michael to see if he could go with me- he could. Then I went and bought plenty of yogurt drinks and yogurt, as I cannot have solid foods- they are my lifeline. I called the family, took a bath, and tried to sleep.

Michael met me at my oral surgeons, it was such a blessing having him there. If I hadn't been with a friend to make me laugh, etc, it would have been miserable. The entire visit took less than a half hour. They saw me in, sat me down, shot me full of Novocaine (yes, no pleasant unconsciousness for me!), waited a few minutes, and then got down to work. It was a very surreal and terrifying experience to be awake while they took out some wisdom teeth. I think I might have preferred to be put under, but if my recovery is anything to go by- I feel alright- no where near the craziness I've heard from some of my friends to have the procedure before me.

The next saga of my ordeal involves pain medication. Normally, in the US, you are prescribed high powered meds, and lots of them. Not the case in Germany- 400mg Ibuprofen for me- no prescription necessary! There's a dull pain, but I think I'll survive. Just think of the bragging rights I'll have! I was awake when my wisdom teeth were pulled out and I did it with over the counter pain meds! I just really wish I didn't have to go through with this one more time.

Back to Berlin, Adventures with Cordelia

After returning from England, I had a few days until my next visitor came- so I did what we all do when returning from vacation, I ran errands. I also said goodbye to my dear friend and travel companion Marie. She headed back to California and I am down one friend, I need to make more friends! I miss her dearly.

Adventures with Cordelia were nothing but awesome, despite a few missteps, by no means on our part. The first was with a planned trip to Wolfsburg- the Volkswagon town, about 3 and 1/2 hours by the slow and cheap train with one transfer in the apparent hub of German train travel- Magdeburg. Cordelia is quite the soccer fan, and the plan was to go to a professional Bundesliga game- Wolfsburg against Schalke. We bought the tickets quite some time ago, and were very excited. However, as we slowly made our way to Wolfsburg, clouds of doom began to make their way toward us. On the train to Magdeburg, Cordelia caught the results to a game which looked remarkably like the one we were going to. Now, there are a million excuses one can make for this occurrence- and we made them all, continuing onto Wolsburg, a decidedly icky feeling developing in the pits of our stomachs. After passing the tiny and oddly named Bösdorf- literally evil village, we were almost to Wolsburg. We passed the stadium- it was fairly empty. But we were there over two hours before the game and Germany on Sundays is always empty. Best place to film any film of the world after the Apocalypse? Small towns and old industrial cities in Germany on Sundays. We passed some choice locations on the way to Wolfburg. We weren't up for admitting our possible failure to anyone, so Cordelia and I choose not to ask for help,but rather continued on our way to the stadium. At the stadium, we found ominous signs of the game having already occurred- an old press pass in the trash bin and trash around the entrance gates. A phone call to Marie fixed it for us- Wolfsburg is doing well this year, and the game was moved to that previous Friday night. I was incensed, I hadn't been informed of this change! And Cordelia was frustrated- but all in all, we had a nice day. We saw countryside and rode the train. Although the goal was a miss- the journey was splendid. In Wolfburg we even saw this terrifying advertisement for a stroller. One for multiple children, as you will no doubt notice- it seems they made good use of photoshop. Oh my, someone save that child!

So what did Cordelia and I do in Berlin? We went to the German History Museum three days in a row (school groups and tourists are everywhere!), for which I have purchased a year pass. That's right, until March of next year, whenever I'd like to go the German History Museum, it is free for me and a guest. We also went to a variety of Soviet era monuments. Monumental architecture is no stranger to Berlin, but these took it to whole new heights. It was an amazing week in Berlin, the sun shone almost everyday, and one day I even wore sandals- it may have been a bit premature, but my toes were happy. And fittingly, when Cordelia left, it rained. It rained, hailed, and even snowed a bit all day yesterday. Berlin would seem to be sad that Cordelia has left. Today has been glorious, sunny, and a bit warmer. I would have been out and about to enjoy it- except for the fact that I had two wisdom teeth pulled this morning, but I'd expect more about that later.

Some Berlin Spring

This, I trust, is only the beginnings. Over the last few weeks, it has begun to look a little like Spring. The skies have been blue, the sun has been shinning, and we are getting into the 50s some days! It isn't quite sandal weather, but I'll take what I can get. Not really any leaves on the trees yet- but come on, we have crocuses, how much longer can those buds take?

England, oh an English speaking country...how novel!

This is a long time coming, but I have had the good fortune of playing hostess once more since dear Charlotte came to visit. But here we go- England! A few weeks ago, I made my first venture into an English speaking country since August. It was marvelous, strange, charming, and oddly familiar. Beyond people speaking English, the signs were in English and my minor fear of linguistic failure was significantly less- if nonexistent. But let us start with the beginning, and the beginning is Berlin.

My friend Charlotte first came to Berlin, we saw the sights, took in the graffiti, and made a day trek to San Souci, in general having an awesome time in Berlin. We went to the Mauerpark flea market, saw if we could be a Jewish Peddler circa 1860 at the Jewish museum, and naturally ate delicious Döner Kebab. Then, we were off to London. The day began amusingly enough. We were on a Ryan Air flight, now those of you who have not had the pleasure of flying with Ryan Air will not expect this tale, but perhaps knowing that Ryan Air is a budget airliner will acclimatize you. Problems started at the gate, we were inexplicably given boarding passes stamped as though we were going to Frankfurt. This wasn't caught until we were boarding the plane, requiring flight attendants to ask each passenger if they were indeed traveling to London. They took our incorrect boarding passes from us, and everyone sat down, buckled up, and got ready to head to London. Then the flight crew realized that we need our boarding passes, so our names were called one by one and the passes were redistributed. During the redistribution, the captain came on and let us know that he'd be turning the power off for a while. About ten minutes after the boarding passes have been properly redistributed, the captain comes back on and announces that there is a problem with the plane, and that they've called an engineer- from Dublin- who should be here in three hours to fix it. In the meantime, we're going to deplane. General moaning ensues and everyone begins to fetch their carryons from the overhead bins. Then about three to five minutes later a flight attendant comes on and announces that we aren't yet deplaning and that we should stay on our seats. At this point, Charlotte and I are creating alternate plans, glad that I live in Berlin and if needed we can stay a bit longer, should the engineer from Dublin not be able to fix the plane. Then, about 15 minutes later, the captain comes back on, tells us they've done a little "trouble shooting" and we should be able to take off in about 20 minutes. Charlotte and I have a nice long laugh- pack our doubts about "trouble shooting" and airtravel away, and finally head off to London. A serious comedy of errors.

London with Charlotte was amazing. I was able to see her old haunts, wander through parks beginning to show signs of spring, and take in London. We saw La Cage aux Folles with Graham Norton, looked upon London from the top of St. Paul's, and ate delicious Indian food on Brick Lane. In keeping with the graffiti tour of Berlin, we also caught some Banksy in London, as well as a very exciting form of graffiti, knitting graffiti. As some of you may know, knitting is becoming quite hip- so in keeping with this hipness, knitting graffiti has been born. Because what statue doesn't need a hat or arm warmers? I think I should consider bringing knitting graffiti- let's say knitfitti to Berkeley, or Berlin at the very least. Semester break project, yeah! Of all the things in London, I think I enjoyed the oncoming Spring the most- I am oh so ready for Spring! In London, color plants had been planted, crocuses were blooming, and later in my travels I even found daffodils. Germany is just at the crocus stage- but I have hope for the spring to come! Easter is my latest date. April 12th is totally possible!

It was an amazing three days in London with Charlotte- but it had to come to an end, with Charlotte heading back home. I, however, did not head home. Rather I journeyed South, to New Milton, my friend Lydia, and her family. The train ride to Winchester (England's first capitol where I broke my journey, also where Jane Austen died) was uneventful and took me through beautiful countryside. Winchester was even warmer than London had been, and I wore just a cashmere cardigan, shedding my jacket. I felt the sun and spring on their way! Lydia and I then continued to her home where preparations for a family birthday party were underway. I was able to meet the whole family and even more- feel like I was once more part of a family. Everyone was so open and welcoming- it was marvelous. I miss being a part of a family and it was nice to get slightly into that swing once more. New Milton is on the South Coast of England, and Lydia's house is about a mile from the sea. We walked to the sea, fought the wind, and basked in the warmth of the sun- wishing for summer, but taking the beginnings of spring. We were also able to go to the Isle of Wight. Where you know, Tennyson lived. We reached the Isle by ferry and spent the better part of the day wandering through Yarmouth, Freshwater, and other even smaller hamlets on the Island. Much of our wandering was over open country- where I saw such sights as this amazingly picturesque little gate and some ducks in a very low and muddy pond. We walked for hours and when we returned home that night to a movie and curry with Lydia's mom, it was very much appreciated and enjoyed! A few lazy days were also had, lounging about, sleeping in, and eating leftovers- the true enjoyments of being on break and going home. I had such a nice time, when it came to go back to London and then back to Berlin, I did not want to leave. I wanted to watch the spring come and laze a bit more with such warm and loving people. Alas, it did end- I had to bid adieu and head back to Berlin. I was asked, multiple times, "Jenna, could you see yourself living in the U.K.?" and I have to say, yes. It was charming and familiar- but just a bit different. And the fact that I could communicate successfully is also a major benefit. I didn't want to leave, but it was all for the best, because then Cordelia came.