goofy logic

Recent conversation between me, the German, and voices in our my head: 

The German: Can you believe we’ve been dating for a year?

Me: Can you believe it’s been 18 years since the Berlin Wall came down?

ESPN: Can you believe it’s been 6 years since USC last lost at home?

Melinda: I told you so!  I told you so!

Last year, I quit my job to bum around and travel, at the urging of my goofy friend, who pointed out that as I was young and financially secure, nothing too terrible could happen.  In the nerve-wracking days leading up to actually handing in notice and departing the country, I often berated myself for heeding her advice.  While I did go off to frolic and enjoy life, I also met an equally goofy man who convinced me to move to Germany.  Which only led to more mental cursing of The Melinda as I packed my bags again.

But now, as I have survived my first few months amongst the Deutsch, mastered enough German to read travel and style sections of Die Welt, and the German and I have not killed each other, I would like to say: You were right.  As always.

’tisn’t the season

This afternoon, I saw a store display completely filled with Christmas decorations.  See, people, this is what happens when you’re not a completely capitalistic and commercialized democracy.  Without fake pumpkin lanterns and candy corn and Black Friday to establish order to the holiday regime, people haul off and start celebrating Christmas in October.  Marketing is a good thing.  More accurate than real calendars.

Although, speaking of holidays, I came across a list of the ones celebrated in Bavaria and 11 of 13 are Catholic holidays.  Bavaria also has more public holidays than any other German state, thanks to the large Catholic population in a predominately Protestant state.  If I was to give on one element of my First Amendment rights, I would say, unity of church and state?  Not so terrible.