I Don't Know Why I Didn't Say It Sooner..

This week on my regular blog reading list, I read at least two Ex-pat blogs devoted to the movies. What really kicked me in the ass, was that Eurotrippen listed the movies she wanted to see, but figured she wouldn't, because of the lack of English speaking movies and/or access to them in Deutschland.

So I sent her a reply to tell her about www.movie6.net

I've known about it for awhile.. call it a blonde moment, but it never even occurred to me to share it with everyone. Damn. Sorry.

This site is totally free. The movies are uploaded by users and can be viewed on your computer. Some of them have great quality. Some of them don't. It's a crap shoot.. but hey, it's a definite alternative to spending money for a movie ticket or waiting for the DVD.

The site does upload new movies regularly. I have watched several great movies on the site, and recommend it if you want a dose of English..lol.

Here are some of the currently available titles:

300, 28 Days Later, 40 Year Old Virgin, American Pie Wedding, American Pie 5, Astronaut Farmer, Atonement, Behind Enemy Lines, Blades of Glory, Blow, Bourne Ultimatum, The Core, Crash, Day After Tomorrow, The Descent, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Death Sentence, Disturbia, Elektra, E.T., Evan Almighty, Fantastic 4, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Fight Club, Firewall, Flight 93, Fracture, Gladiator, Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix, Ice Age, iRobot, King Kong, Knocked Up, Live Free or Die Hard, The Last Mimzy, The Lady in the Water, The Lives of Others, LOTR I II III, Napolean Dynamite, Notes on a Scandal, The Number 23, Next, Oceans 13, The Painted Veil, Pan's Labyrinth, Pirates: Dead Man's Chest, Planet of the Apes, Ratatouille, Room 1408, Saving Private Ryan, Saw I II III, Shrek II III, Spiderman I II III, Superbad, The Simpsons Movie, Smokin' Aces, The Secret, Sicko, Traffic, The World Trade Center, This is England, We Are Marshall, War, Xmen II III, Zodiac..

If you're interested, check out the site. Sorry, I don't know why I didn't say it sooner..

Knock Wood

Oh, yeah.. Arrr!

My pirate name is:

Captain Anne Read

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Back to One (Squared)

So.. the fun begins. Right after my last post, the keyboard on my new laptop went south again. Damnit!

Thankfully we have a 12 month guarantee, although what that means in a German world, I don't know.. Michael is in the process of seeing what to do about this small disaster .. and for him it IS a disaster. He cannot stand it when something isn't right, and feels compelled to fix anything that isn't working. (Maybe thats the East German in him, but I secretly think he has the heart of a tinker)

I've had to put it out of his line of vision to keep him from trying to fix it himself. He got a little miffed when I told him to leave it alone. I explained that if he messes with it, then the guarantee could be voided and we would be stuck with a fubar laptop. I think he understands, but its killing him..hehe.

My feeling right now is, if the company won't replace the laptop, then we return it and get our money back. Laptops are a dime a dozen, and we can find several more for the same price we've paid already.. so we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, we're back using one computer.. damnit!

Ich liebe es..

My Clemson Tigers are now 3-0! Yesterday they beat Furman University 38-10. This follows the ass-whipping they gave Florida State on 3 September (24-18) and the punishment handed to Louisiana-Monroe last weekend (49-26).

The Bowden Bowl (vs. FSU) was the first game of the year this season, and once again we achieved victory, which is no small thing to a Clemson fan.. beating Daddy Bowden is always a solid orange endeavor, and is a personal vendetta, since we hate anything stamped with a Florida label.. especially Papa's team!

Granted, LA-Monroe is non-conference and was an expected win, but Furman usually has a good football program, and they did out-rush us yesterday and sacked our QB five times, although our passing game seems to be spot-on..

Now our offense needs to get to work! Running game needs improvement too! The schedule only gets tougher from here. Even with a couple of stars like James Davis and Cullen Harper, we shouldn't leave room for errors in the coming weeks..

Next week they play NC State - then they face GA Tech, VA Tech, Maryland, and Boston College.. and lastly, our arch-rivals, the USC Gamecocks (who at this point are also undefeated).

In my family, college football is a way of life.. I'm really missing getting to watch the games this year, whether from the stands at Death Valley or from my sister's living room sofa (where we do indoor tailgating!), but at least I can keep up with the scores..

And the rivalry banter still flows across the internet between my sister (who is a die-hard Gamecocks fan) and me.. We're a house divided when it comes to football, but united in our love of the game.

So, Go Tigers!



PS - Sissy, if you're reading this, the Gamecocks still suck! :)

Cyberspace: The Daily Dose

Being a relatively new ex-pat, I can't tell you how great it is to have a connection with all you other Americans living in Europe..

I usually grab a cup of something first.. tea or chocolate cappuccino.. and my ever-present breakfast of joghurt and müsli. I always liked eating granola with my joghurt in the US, and müsli isn't that different (although Michael thinks the combination is kinda gross).

Then I like to sit down to the old laptop and read up on the happenings of everyone. It's rapidly becoming a routine.. rather like being addicted to a soap opera or reality TV, or a weird combination of both. I never was one of the soap opera set, and the novelty rapidly wore off of the reality shows.

But blog-reading is different. It is a small window into the real lives of people you come to know and care about through their writing.. The talent of some of you should be recognized with awards, and all of you should be commended for having the courage to put yourselves into cyberspace & giving the rest of us that window.

Your personalities really do bleed through the words, and I often find myself laughing at your humorous turn of phrase, or pleasure at some kindness shown to you in your every day life. Most days I read something that in some way touches my own life, my own experience or my own thoughts on a particular subject.. I hear that 'click' of connection between us.. and I feel like I have found a new friend that I can relate to.

It's both wonderful and thrilling to live in a new country, and be immersed in a wholly different way of life.. I am enjoying myself immensely here!

But I also know that if I want to discuss the merits of southern fried chicken, I can ask Dixie.. if I want to get updates on Theo & Oliver (dubbed my cyber-nephews), I just have to click on Blythe's or Christina's pages (and for her Thai recipes - yummy!).. or if I want to know about pregnancy in Germany.. well, there are several sources for that one; it seems to me that injecting Americans into the German population has the effect of increasing the birth-rate by astounding proportions.. but most recently that topic goes to Christina & Claire..

Then of course, there's the hilarity of JDub (whose got a new tattoo) or Heisse Scheisse (whose cat-butt was the highlight of my day).. and I never tire of reading Eurotrippen or The Big Finn or Mausi or Schokolade or Betsy at Blog Ness Monster (whose 2 boys I also consider cyber-nephews) or that sweet Jelly Donut, who has a new love in her life.. and J at Germany Doesn't Suck, whose taken on the task of organizing our Annual meet-up..

Yes, you all mean a great deal to this ex-pat still adjusting to life in Germany.. and I want to thank all the wonderful people on my blog-list for my daily dose of perspective.. for the insights they share.. the way they touch my heart.. and for the smiles and laughter.. It's a very, very, very good thing!


* Image 'The Grid', provided by Digital Blasphemy - www.digitalblasphemy.com

No Problems.. So Far

Yesterday, despite my previous post, Michael and I had appointments to get some of my paperwork taken care of. We went to the wedding office to announce our marriage, get our familienbuch started, and get my name change. We also went to the Bürgerservice to get me registered as living in Germany.. and there were no problems at either office, no hassle, no fuss and no aggravation!

Which makes me wonder about all those horror stories I've heard regarding the paperwork ex-pats seem to run into.. Are we just lucky? Or is it just too early to tell?

We haven't been to the foreign office yet, but (knock wood) hopefully everything will go as smoothly.. that's on next week's agenda.

We also have to go back to the wedding office next week to sign the family book and make my name change official.. and I have to carry around this piece of paper with my passport that says I'm a permanent resident.. but other than that, we haven't had a single problem.. so far.

Keep your fingers crossed!