Sometimes, when I’m writing, I find that delving into the past helps me come up with new material. An idea I discarded years ago because it wasn’t working can somehow work in the present, and sometimes I realize that the whole thing was onto something and it just needs a bit of tweaking. This is true for stories, poems and songs.
Lately, I’ve been working on songwriting…something I gave up years ago, but now feel inspired to do. I’m still not a particularly prolific songwriter, and most of my work is fairly simplistic. It gives me joy though, and when I feel motivated to create something, it will nag at me until I do it. Sometimes when I’m working on stuff, I look through old books of lyrics I wrote. I have about 8 years of material from the time I started writing until the time I stopped. Most of it isn’t very good (either totally unrealistic, too ambitious, or hardcore teen angst), but I’m finding that when it works, it really works.
I found one today that I wrote just before I gave up on songwriting. I’m going to use it for sure, and I didn’t really need to change any words; it just needed chords. I still need to work out a suitable finger-picking pattern; I’d originally intended to strum it, but I don’t strum very well. It’s weird how old songs can drag up the feelings that I felt when I wrote them; this one was about a real thing, and working through it made me remember how I felt at that time.
When the weather is this good, it’s hard to be inside and get work done. The joy of freelancing is that you can work where you want, but working outdoors is a challenge when the sun glares onto your computer screen. So, behold, my makeshift solution. I made it out of a box (obviously). I might make it pretty later, or I might leave it. Not sure yet!
I got the nerve to sing in front of the crowd at the Bearpit for karaoke this week…finally!
If you’re visiting Berlin and it’s happening, one thing you absolutely must do is visit Mauerpark Karaoke. It’s a local favourite, and the crowd is always really supportive. Make sure you get there early if you want to sing, as slots to sing fill up fast! Even if you’re not into singing in front of crowds, it’s fun just to watch. Some people put a lot of effort into their performances, and it’s a good time overall.
If you’re in town on a nice day, be sure to check out the facebook page, as it sadly doesn’t happen every week. If you live in Berlin and you’ve never been, get your butt down there on the next available Sunday!
…in HBO’s Game of Thrones? I’ve been curious, for a few reasons. For one, in a few publications the book itself is split in two, so it can be split effectively. Secondly, so much happens in the third book, and I think the show might even be better for it if it were split, because then the writers don’t have to skimp on details. Lastly, it would buy a year for George RR Martin to finish Winds of Winter in time for Season 6 (I guess in that way, it would be Season 7).
A few reasons it might not happen though: first off, some events from book 3 seem to be leeching into Season 2. I wont give any spoilers for those who haven’t read the book and want to keep up with the show, but those who have will know what I’m talking about. Second off, the ages of the children characters might be an issue. If it’s too spread out, they might not be children anymore!
I recently finished exams and am currently freelancing, so public holidays don’t mean much to me other than the fact that I can’t run over to the store if I run out of milk, but today is Christi Himmelfahrt. I think this is Ascension in English, though since we don’t have this holiday in Canada I’m still not quite clear on what it celebrates. I googled it once and it has something to do with Jesus arriving in heaven, and thought “wow, it took a long time for him to get there.” I guess that, when Christianity spread through Europe, they had to replace a lot of spring Pagan festivals, though don’t quote me on that one…
…Anyway, for many in Germany, it’s a day off. It’s also Fathers Day as well, though I always call up my dad on Fathers Day in Canada, as he has no idea about German customs. If you have a day off, or you’re a father, enjoy the holiday!
Today is free comic book day in Germany! Go to your nearest shop and pick yours up! Check out the website for details. I only saw German options, but for those of you learning German, see it as an opportunity to practice your reading.
I’m no Martha Stewart when it comes to cleaning, so I’m probably the last person to be giving cleaning tips, but hear me out. If you’re a neat freak, you’re probably thinking “You didn’t dust those places before? What a slob,” but I suspect there are a lot of people like me out there; people who understand the concept of keeping a clean home but who aren’t perfect at it. Lately, I’ve been a bit sensitive to my allergies. I’m not sure why; as far as I’m aware, I’m not allergic to pollen. Everything else I’m allergic to has been getting to me though. When I walk by someone smoking on the street, I feel the sudden urge to sneeze. I’m a bit sensitive to my cat (usually I’m desensitized). Worst of all, it seems to take only a speck of dust to make my eyes start watering and my nose to start running. I’ve been doing the usual; keeping up with dusting and regularly vacuuming and mopping the floor, but pesky dust seems to be lingering. I’ve really had to dust every corner of my apartment. I found it in the strangest places….places you’ve probably forgotten about too. So here it goes…if you’re not dusting in these places, you probably need to at some point!
On top of clothes hangers. This sounds crazy, and it probably applies more to people like me who have an open closet (or who just leave their closet doors open), but it’s totally true. While the items I wear more often were dust-free, I have some clothes I only wear occasionally, and their hangers were covered in dust.
The tops of picture frames. Yep, it’s a ledge, and dust collects there.
Your mattress. It’s full of dust. I found this great tip
on pinterest for cleaning your mattress. I try to do it every so often.
Inside light fixtures. You need to wash these sometimes. If you’re like me (short and have higher ceilings), you may need help with this.
Your curtains. You know that round vacuum attachment with the bristles on it? That’s totally for something. I know, right? I’m not joking…it really is! It’s for cleaning curtains…if you have dust allergies, you’ll want to start using it (if you’re not already).
The tops of your door frames. Another forgotten ledge.
Learning a language is hard, especially when your native language is English. English is pretty much the lingua franca of the world, and it’s the language of international business, so in many ways it’s easier to be an English speaker abroad than someone with a different mother tongue, but it also means that you’ll meet a lot of people who will speak English to you, and you may even conduct much of your daily life in English (such as work, university, etc). This is especially true if you’re in a major city, though it’s more true for some than others (some cultures are more resistant to English). Still, I hold that if you live somewhere, you should learn the language. It helps you feel just that much less like a “foreigner” and helps you make the place home. It’s also very practical. Even if you’re in a city where people speak a lot of English, it can make things like banking and dealing with bureaucracy a bit easier (I say a bit, because dealing with bureaucracy is never easy, even in your native language). In Berlin (and I’m assuming other cities as well), people will often answer you in English when you’re trying to speak German, especially when you’re just starting out, but don’t let that discourage you. Learning a language when you’re an English speaker just involves a bit of persistence. Sometimes, it also helps if you think outside the box. That’s why I’ve put together this list of various things I found helpful when I learned German. Many of my resources will be Germany-specific (because that’s where I live), but you can probably find equivalents in your country. The tips are applicable to most places.
1) Watch television. German television is notoriously awful (at least for a developed country), but watching it will do you favours. When I recommend this to people, I often get a response like “but I just don’t know enough German to understand anything.” I get that, but I don’t think it should let it stop you. When I moved here, I spoke very little German. I’d learned the bare basics in a first year university class and I’d grown up hearing it here and there (but don’t think I grew up speaking German, because I did not!) When I first started watching television here, I didn’t understand much, but it’s amazing how it helps you pick stuff up. You get used to the speed of how people talk, and a sense of inflection. I recommend starting small. I used to watch the Simpsons (which runs on ProSieben daily at around 6 pm) quite often, because I’d seen most episodes multiple times in English, so I could get a sense of what they were saying and follow the plot. After a while, I started watching Galileo, the show that runs after the Simpsons. I found it interesting because it’s an info-based show, so I learned a lot of vocabulary, as well as a lot of things about life and culture in Germany. TV in Germany isn’t as good as TV in the UK and the US, but once you get over dubbing, you can enjoy it and learn a lot by checking out your favourite shows in German (especially since they air so late here, so you’ll likely have seen it in English already). You may even find yourself checking out some of the documentaries they often air (which can be decent) or reality TV (which can be strangely addictive). Once, when I was in the hospital for a week after getting my tonsils removed, I watched a lot of Frauentausch. I kind of enjoyed it.
2) Write letters. I don’t really mean to friends and family, because unless they understand German, that will be kind of useless. I mean to get active and write letters about things you care about. It doesn’t have to be letters either…you could send emails or even tweets. It could be to political representatives about an issue you care about…as a foreigner you don’t really have a federal political voice as you’re not a voter, but you’re still a taxpayer (hopefully). Also, you may be able to vote in some local, state or EU elections depending on your citizenship, so you’ll have a bit more of a political voice in those cases (I can’t tell you the exact conditions because I have a German passport, but I’m sure you can easily find out). You can also send letters to companies. Tell them you don’t like their overuse of packaging (I’m looking at you, anyone who makes dishwasher tabs) or that you don’t think their foundation comes in pale enough colours (yes, I did this), or something else that you think would help your experience of their product, improve their customer service, or something like that. Get a German (or whatever nationality of the country you’re in) friend to check it over for you for grammar and spelling mistakes. This tip mostly applies to those who have learned enough to be able to string together sentences, but if you really care and you’re starting out, many companies accept complaints via Twitter (such as Deutsche Bahn), so you can practice in 140 characters or less. If you don’t have German friends to check it over….
3) Get German (or whatever) friends! Seriously. You need to have friends from the country you live in. It’s easy to make friends with other expats while you’re abroad, and that’s fine. Just don’t live in an expat bubble. Even if you mostly speak English with these friends, it will still absorb you into the culture just that much more. If you don’t know where to meet people….
4) Do a tandem. These are great. It’s like a language exchange where you meet up and speak both languages to practice. It works best if both of you speak each other’s language at a somewhat functional level (meaning you can go beyond ordering coffee and talk about a few things, even if it’s in basic terms). Check out bulletin boards, both online and off, to find one (or place your own ad), or ask around.
5) Volunteer. This is a great option because it lets you give back a little to the place in which you live. In Germany, there was a strong tradition of the social service program (the alternative to military conscription) that young men did after school, but now that this is cut, those volunteers need to come from somewhere!
6) Read. I started with magazines and newspapers because shorter texts were easier for me to follow (and less tedious when I first started and had to look up every other word. I read books now, and I try to read a book in German regularly. Mostly I read translated stuff, because I haven’t really got into German literature as of yet, and also my motivation is that I read a lot of the “guilty pleasure” stuff that I’m too embarrassed to read a lot of in English, like really bad vampire novels. It’s still intellectual, because I’m reading it in my second language, right? I think it’s great logic. Once you hit a certain level, replace your English-Whatever dictionary with a straight-up dictionary (eg. Bedeutungswörterbuch in German). Then you still expand your vocabulary, but you can keep your thinking in context of the language you’re learning, which helps you out a lot more.
I’ve been seeing these on pinterest a lot lately…workout games with various tasks to do every time an event happens on a TV show. They’re sort of like drinking games, only healthy. I vowed I would join in the fun and make one up for Game of Thrones, so here it is…the Game of Thrones workout! Game of Thrones Season 1 came out on DVD a while ago, and we’re well into Season 2, so if you’ve been watching the show instead of working out, here’s a fun way to combine the two!
(Image courtesy of HBO)
I tried to include events that happen in both seasons, so you can do this whether you’re catching up on the first season or keeping up with the second.
Before I start, I just want to mention that THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS! If you have not watched all of Season 2 up to date, and you have not read the books (and want to), you might not want to read this.
Anyway, I’m enjoying Season 2 of Game of Thrones so far, and I realize that it’s impossible to include every plot point of the books (which are quite dense), but I really feel like they’re missing some important things this season.
Mostly, I feel the big holes are sitting in the Winterfell plot line. In last night’s episode, Theon took Winterfell. I feel like this was rushed. Several things needed to happen that haven’t yet…things that lead into the plot later on. Where are the Reeds? How do we move on without them? For one, when Bran and Rickon leave Winterfell, they split up. Osha goes with Rickon, and he’s too young to set out on his own. The Reeds go with Bran and Hodor, which I think is necessary. Bran is crippled and Hodor is mentally disabled. The Reeds help them find food, and help them find their way in the North. Though they seem to be on the back burner in the plot so far, I also think they still have a role to play. It’s been hinted at that Howland Reed (their father) is the only other person aside from Eddard Stark who knows about Jon Snow’s parentage. I have a theory that this will turn out to be very important in the last books.
Secondly, Rodrick Cassel set off to arrest Ramsay Snow in the books. This hasn’t happened yet! If it hasn’t happened, where does Reek come in? If we don’t have Reek/Ramsay, we don’t have the downfall of Theon and Winterfell! I guess we have Roose Bolton sending word to Ramsay to retake Winterfell, but it’s not really the same. The sheer ruin of it has a lot to do with the level of trust Theon held for Reek/Ramsay.
I’m hoping that, since the writers and producers of the show have read all the books and are working with George RR Martin and have apparently been privy to the plot of the last books, that these things will be reconciled.
