Ramblings for a Friday

So I'm pulling some stuff out of the trash can. Yup, I've been meaning to write about it, and dammit, I just need to do it.

In the words of Diane from Martinis for Two, "What I didn't blog about this week" although mine is going to be more like two or three weeks.

Waaaay back in the 2nd week of October I was lucky enough to meet Christina G. of Amiexpat along with a few Berlin Expats, most of them bloggers.

I managed to meet a Berlin blogger I didn't even know existed (sorry Ben, but hey, I've been enjoying back issues of your blog quite a bit). Yelli of 50% of my DNA and G. in Berlin showed up and another Berliner friend of Christine braved the group as well.

Christine was one of the few bloggers I've met face to face who is exactly what I had imagined. I suppose that it says a lot about her openness on her blog.

About the same time this was happening, I was experiencing a nasty situation with my neck. It suddenly got very tight and hard to move. Sometimes I could even hear it grinding as I moved. Yoga didn't seem to help it, concentrating on stretching and relaxing periodically throughout the day had no effect, after five days it was time to do something about it.

I bit down hard and went to my chiropractor, Anne Rampacher. Anyone looking for an English-speaking chiropractor in Berlin... I heartily recommend Dr. Rampacher. Nope, I get no discount for this review.

What I also don't get is the German resistance to the chiropractic arts. Not long after my arrival in Germany I had some nasty back problems (I bet it was the rock-hard German standard bed... I know you're feeling me on this Yelli). My general practitioner gave me a prescription for six sessions with a physical therapist for red light therapy and massages. SIX 1/2 hour SESSIONS.

Upon my suggestion that I would find a chiropractor and see what they would think, my doctor laughed. She said that I would have trouble FINDING a chiropractor in Germany, and that besides, they couldn't help me anyway. When pushed, she explained that my problems were muscular, not skeletal. OK, so no chiro.

Twelve red light therapy/massage treatments later it still was not gone. The next step up, water treatment... OH HONEY! Immersed in a bath of WARM water, nice lady using a hose to hit my pressure points... then drying me off and wrapping me up in a sheet and wool blanket to lie down relaxing for ten minutes. OK BABY, this works! And it did!

OK, so I'm rambling... sue me.

Two years later I am perusing my latest ExBerliner mag and I come across a real, live chiropractor begging for English-speaking patients. She's German but went off to England to train. Eventually she's come back to try to make a living and instruct her countrymen in the joys of chiropractic care. Love her, go see her!

It took two sessions and two weeks, but my neck is back to rights. It seems that sitting at my desk all day long is simply not good for my body. Can you believe it?

In this time period N. and I did a little entertaining and I made a friend who might just turn into a real movie buddy. We are both movie freaks, we both enjoy the same types of flicks, we are both in a relationship with no kids or other things to tie up our possible meeting times, it is like a match made in heaven... except... She has trouble understanding movies in English , and I have trouble understanding movies in German. Hmmm. Dammit! Well, we're going to try it anyway. I'm sure that it will help my German skills.

I've been to see two movies recently: "Wanted" and "Burn After Reading". They were both OK for a mindless movie if you know what I mean. Wanted had this weird story premise which blew the whole thing for me, I just couldn't go there, so it lost some of its original interest for me. Burn was a cute film with interesting actors doing one dumb-shit thing after another. I agree with Cliff, it just wasn't as funny as Fargo. Maybe for me it is the Shrek phenomenon. A movie comes out with an interesting premise, does a good job of making it fun and engaging, and I like it. Then the sequel comes out. The premise is still cute and it is still a bit excititing because it still has the feel of the original. Then Shrek the Third comes out and eh, who cares.

A while ago I bought WAY TOO MANY DVD'S, just because they were on sale, and slowly I've been going through them. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is just one of those movies I've heard about all my life, but had never seen. At 4.59, it was too good to pass up. The movie itself was very nice. I just love Hepburn and could watch her all day long without tiring of her airy way of talking. Next up was "The Children's Hour". I've known about this movie most of my life, but from a different group of people. The interesting thing... they both star Hepburn.

"The Children's Hour" was one of those (insert whisper here) lesbian (ok, back to regular tones) movies. This version was made in the 60's (b&w ladies and gentlemen), extremely controversial, and was WAY ahead of its time. Two ladies running a bording school are accused of being lesbians by one of the idiotic little brats. The sad thing is that one of them actually did have these feelings, so there was an ounce of truth in the lie. BUT, they had never acted on it... so they lost EVERYTHING for NOTHING.

It also had to end like all lesbian stories at the time... either the lesbian had to die, or she had to end up with a guy. The original stage play, written by Lillian Hellman, and this movie both took the former way out although by different methods. This rather good movie had Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner showing their fabulous stuff. Like most movies of its time I felt that the emotion was WAY over-acted, but hey, the transition from stage to screen really was hard at that time.

Last weekend, the Heidelbergerin and her American buddies, Michael and Jason came storming into town. G. in Berlin (yup, the same G. from above... she's at all of these things, have you noticed? :) made it a five some (well, N. joined later... is that a six some?) and we enjoyed touring Berlin a bit, she blogged about it, so I'll take the easy way out and say go over there for more info, but so far, the Heidelbergerin is strangely AWOL. I suppose that she is still recovering.

Oh the poor ladybugs. I can't help but feel sorry for them at this time of year. They are crawling all over my apartment, especially around the open windows. Of course I understand that they are simply looking for somewhere warm as the weather turns cool. But could my apartment really be the most reasonable place in the world for a lady bug to hide from inclement weather? I never know what to do with them. Do I put them back outside to what might be their death? Do I leave them alone to walk all over my bathroom walls, leaving little lady bug foot paths when I've steamed up the room? Do I put them in one of my houseplants and hope that they are able to fend for themselves? Someone please help me.

OK, just one more thing... and then I'm outta here.
WTF is it with the Christmas Party invitations already?
PEOPLE?!!? How organized can you be?
It isn't even Halloween yet! How CAN you be thinking of Christmas?

Been reading:

• Space Tourist, Station Cosmonauts Land Safely - DAMN, I'm so jealous!
• Greenspan Concedes Error on Regulation - Really? You're kidding? The markets didn't just regulate themselves? I can't believe it!
• Dare We Stand Up for Muslim Women? - This absolutely sickens me.
• We Must Pass the Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage - I just love Elayne Boosler
  

Been watching:
Will Ferrell is back to play Bush alongside Fey's Palin.
"I like to think that I'm one part practice folksy, one part sassy, and a little dash of high school bitchy".