Prepare for spasmodicy.
Just today I changed the background of my computer to a picture that I took this weekend. Of moss.
People (in literature mostly, I think. I don't really know these people) say that a rolling stone gathers no moss. I think I subconsciously want this moss because I want some roots, even if only in pixelation. I enjoy the roll, but I am ready for some brawny roots, fruit from being stationary. And then, to not fear the moss when it does come.
A few hours ago, it was raining. I love the smell of a fresh rain, and the patchy, grassy field that wants to be a park in front of my building had children dancing in it. So I opened all the windows, so I could really hear the rain and the laughter, and lure in the smell. So. Now it is cold and I am wearing four shirts and two pairs of socks, and succumbing to warm liquids. Swiss Mövenpick espresso is to die for, and I just bought an orange-vanilla tea that smells like dessert. With no caloric consequences.
You know you are catching European when you start typing "z" for "y" (my Euro work computer has them reversed, along with a lot of other keys).
Made homemade sushi with my neighbor and roommate on Friday. Shopping in the Globus Delicatessen (similar to Saks, I think), you stand a little straighter, pretend like you belong, and hide that you normally buy the off-brand or AKTION sale stuff at Coop.
Went to Olten (the picture above), and then the Baum concert in Herzogenbuchsee (baby town in the middle of nowhere central Switzerland) on Saturday night, at the Altes Schlachthaus. The bar is actually a converted slaughter house, and they still have the hooks on the ceiling. It isn't quite as creepy as you would imagine. There was a real camaraderie between the band and the establishment, which I loved. Got to meet some people, and talk more about my opinions and hopes for America (the first thing people say to me is consistently, "Oh! Obama! Yea, Obama is the answer, he is going to turn it all around! You hate Bush, right?" I would prefer a "hello and how are you" rather getting grilled with how this single human can save the world, but I will take the conversation). Tasted Cynar (Chee-nar),an Italian liquor made of herbs and artichoke, and liked it!
Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) in You've Got Mail says, "So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?" Even though I want to be a bookworm again, a fourth grade book maniac, rather, I am still more of a movieworm. My life seems to be a series of movie moments that become "reality" and then dim back into recollections. I am detached, looking at life through a camera lens on autofocus that can't seem to make up its mind. "...ever so strong that it's over and none of it ever was real."
Went to Lily's, an Asian restaurant that is cafeteria style, and in Kleinbasel, with Lisa on Sunday night before church. I can't explain how nice it was to find a place with decently priced and still delicious pad thai. Eating out in Switzerland can really hit your wallet hard.
I met someone from Etritrea (near Ethiopia) last week at church, and got to talk with him a little more this week. I still don't understand fully why he needed to come here, but I am pretty sure it was not completely by choice. He has a large family, with one brother in Norway and the others back in Africa. It is amazing (and heartbreaking) to hear the hurdles he has to go through to establish a life here in Switzerland. Get some moss. I hope to hear more of his story soon.
The vote (that I spoke about from the previous post) passed with a JA! Ja-hoo!
Fun of the day:
—an old man with a big white wirey mustache and a beret
—a man waiting for the train, actually happy, smiling with bouquet of fair trade roses in hand
—small talk with the Coop cashier, in German
—breaking the crosswalk law to catch the tram
—making my brain work at work
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