Thursday Thirteen #2

First of all thanks to bluestartopics for this nice TT header! The idea was to make intenational headers and this is the german one. As I am german and this one is actually very nice, too, it wasn't hard to make my choice :)

Concerning todays TT my topic relates to my last post.

13 things I found while clearing out and cleaning up:

1. ) Old Computer Games - Day of the Tentacle for example, a real classic
2. ) Books - mainly study books, burried under stacks of paper
   
3. ) Dancing shoes - in a box in my cupboard. I was shocked when I realized for how long I haven't been on a ballroom-dancefloor! New mission: go dancing before the year is over!
   
4. ) Pens and other office stuff - everything that IÄm normally searchging for for hours.
   
5. ) CDs and CD-covers - and I thought some of them were lost forever
   
6. ) Photographs
7. ) Make up - can you imagine how many different shades of grey and pink eyeshadow one girl can have? And we're not talking about my collection of lipsticks, yet.
   
8. ) Ligthers - now that I quit smoking it seems that I hid about 20 of them somewhere in my deskdrawers, though I never found a single one when I needed it.
   
9. ) Hairband, bobby pins and hair grips - don't know here htese all come from ;)
   
10. ) Sheet music - tons of ...
    
11. ) Fireworks - no worries, it's the undangerous stuff they sell to kids as well. Must be left overs from last years sylvester
    
12. ) Small rubber football - needs a bit air, otherwise still fine.
13. ) Dust, dust and more dust, mixed with cat hair - *sigh*

Short round up: We're not finished, yet, but we're willing to fulfil the task!

Did you ever find strange or funny stuff while clearing out? Maybe even something creepy?
Let me know and enjoy your Thursday Thirteen :)

That's the sound of me, working on the chain gang!

Hi folks,

though I know about the sad background of the song,I really love it. It's so powerful and Sam has such a great voice, just listen and enjoy:



And you know what? It really gives you the xtra push needed while working hard, which helped me a lot to survive day 1 of our annual "clearing out and cleaning up"- day(s).
Let's throw a short glance at today's accomplishments:

The point of departure:

• our living room, about 20 m²
• two people - the bald guy and me
• two desks, 1 antique dresser, 3 single book shelves and 2 large storage racks, a couple of stackable boxes, endless numbers of smaller and bigger folders and stacks of paper - most of them remains of my exams
• lots of stuff that found its way into our roomduring the last year, it's unbelievable what you can find in your own home!

The interim result so far:

• 6 hours of work
  
• 66 pounds of paper - honestly!!! - I couldn't believe it when I looked at the scale.
• 2 big bags full with garbage
• 1 box with different stuff, things you don't really need, but can't throw away either
• my back hurts and the bald guy has a headache
• it will take as at least another two days to finish this *sigh*

But still - I want to finish this! I want to start in my new life without old tasks latching onto me. And to be honest - it feels pretty good afterwards. It frees you somehow.
There's only one more thing that concerns me:

Should I get rid of my tape collection - you know those little things, we used to record music on from the radio when we were younger and couldn't use iTunes or emule. I don't know if I will ever listen to them again, but somehow thy are a part of me!

What do you think? Is it important to keep stuff like that or does it slow our moving forward in life down?

Greets Julia

Addicted to love? - Oh, I wish ...

... but it's even worse.
My love for chocolate is not really an addiction, it's genetic I guess, something like the next step of evolution.
Stopped smoking a week ago and neither have the craving for a cig nor the longing for food. Actually I feel pretty good.

No, no, no, my worst addiction is one that makes me waste precious time! I'm ashamed, but I must admit that I'm a World of Warcraft victim. I spend hours in front of my PC, solving quests and leveling my characters up. And whatever you think now - you CAN'T just play for an hour a day. Believe me! I ofr example try to restrict myself by playing only every second day, and from time to time I put a "time-out" on me and don't play for a week or two.

Right now it's no problem at all to play and still get the stuff done that has to be done, and moreover spend quite a lot of time in the blogosphere. I have holidays and nothing to do all day long, but I really have to make this work when I start with a regular job in September.

On the other hand I already met people who literally are addicted to online-gaming and I think I'm still far away from that. I eat, I slepp, I have a "real" life and social contacts, I don't miss appointments I fullfiil duties and do the jobs I have to. But you see, this could become a serious problem if you're not aware of how much time you really spend with gaming.

Do yu have experiences with that topic? I'd like to know what you think about it!

Love Julia

I feel like Evita!

Cause the money hopefully keeps rooling in:



As I told you I joined Bloggerwave to earn some money on the side. Then a good friend gave me the advice to join Socialspark as well, which I did.

Doing this I remembered that I tried to join PPP half a year ago, but was always rejected. They said it had too much non-original content (memes, pics, videos). Those of you who ever tried know how strict they are:

• All posts must be in English on an English Blog.
• Your blog must be at least 90 days old with at least 20 pre-existing posts.
  
• Your last regular post must have been within the past 7 days.
• Content must be original. You may not post the same content on different blogs.

Quite a list isn't it?
But I thought "Well, let's have a look at PPP, you still have an acoount there, maybe I can manage to fulfill their requirements this time. So I registered my blog and thought that they would tell me again that my blog is not approved.
And guess what? I am an approved PPP-blogger now! I don't know what makes the difference, but I'm happy about it.
You know my goal still is to visit the USA during next years summer holidays!

But what about you? Do you blog for money? What will you use the extra money for? Do you think blogging for money sucks? share your opinion and experiences!

Love Julia

P.S.: Thanks to everybody for visiting: Thursday Thirteeners, Entrecard droppers and most of all those who "just" stop by to read what I have to say.

To all these unsticky persons

Remember the post I wrote a few days ago about being stuck in weight? If not you might read it here.

Well, if you've never faced those problems, if you're young and beautiful and if your favorite leisure time activities is to participate in Beauty Contests - "Look of the year" offers you a great chance.
Maybe you always thought about becoming a model and didn't know how to start or couldn't afford the traveling. Maybe you already decided to work as a model, but your career could need some initial aid, Look of the year is the answer to your questions.
Just send in some pictures and get spotted by intenational model agencies.

So giddy up you skinny bi***es!

Thursday Thirteen #1

Hi folks,

here I am starting all over again. So what is my first TT-post after 6 months goin to be about?

Well I thought about giving you a list of13 literature classics I had to read for my literature exams in anglistics. I bet you know all of them, have read some of them, even like a few and maybe I can inspire you to grab one of those and have a look at it again. Books change - if you look at them after 10 years you might find that your point of view on them has changed, that you see and understand different things now.

So here we go:

1.) The picture of Dorian Gray - by Oscar Wilde

2.) Dracula - by Bram Stoker

3.) Ecotopia - by Ernest Callenbach

4.) Pride and Prejudice - by Jane Austen

5.) The Scarlett Letter - by Nathaniel Hawthorne

6.) Kim - by Rudyard Kipling

7.) A Handmaid's Tale - by Margaret Atwood

8.) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - by Mark Twain

9.) Salome - by Oscar Wilde

10.) Death of a Salesman - by Arthur Mille

11.) The Great Gatsby - by F. Scott Fitzgerald

12.) Hills like White Elephants - by Ernest Hemmingway

13.) She walks in beauty - by Lord Byron

Ok, so grab a book and get started :) Let me know if you know these books and what you think about them ...

Have fun and thanks for enjoying this TT!

Love Julia

Stuck in a moment you can't get out of ...

... or better said in a size.

Since March I've been ona diet now. Nothing hard to do, no harsh restrictions, no bad-ass workout. Actually all I did was:

• having breakfast (I had to get used to the fact, that a cigarette and a glass of juice is not the adequat start in the day),
  
• avoiding carbs after after lunch
• eating three full, healthy meals a day instead of rummaging through the fridge every thirty minutes
• taking my bike instead of the bus or the car
• avoid fast food and convenience food as well as everything that is fried
  
• and - ok, it can't be all easy, can it? - reducing my chocolate consumption :(

It really wasn't that hard to do and I lost 22 pounds that way. And then it semmed that my scale just stuck ...
I just didn't lose or gain anything anymore.
As I don't want to put more food restrictions on me, I thought about doing more sport, but don't know which. Any suggestions?

Love Julia

P.S.: Credits to U2 for a good headline :) and thanks for a great song!

The hottest O in town

Have you ever thought about hot "O"s? Here's my Top10:

#10) O like Oasis

Bad boys like the Gallagher Brothers are hot, and these do even make good music!

#9) O like Onions

Onions can taste pretty hot, but having an onion-breath on a first date is definitely a "Not-Hot"

#8) O like Olympic Hero



#7) O like Oesophagus

That's the tube from your mouth to your stomach and it can get pretty hot in there after a bowl of chilli or curry :)

#6) O like Omnipotency
Come on, who wouldn't take the chance if he/she could have it for a day? That's why I like the movie "Bruce Allmighty"!

#5) O like Optimism

Makes a man sexy, as well as good odour!

#4) O like Oral

Well, just give your fancy free scope ...

#3) O like Ozon Layer

At least it absorbs over 90% of the suns high frequency ultraviolett light. Good job, mate!

#2) O like Hot-O


He's one of my blogging buddies and he is literally "Hot-O". Check out his Blog ThaCash.com about making money online and achieving world domination!


#1) O like Opulence

Yeah! Being rich is definitely hot, hot, hot!!!
That's why I participate in HotO's "Win some cash" contest. It's quite easy to enter, you just have to write a post and link back, a paypal account is necessary. For further details and instructions, visit him at Win some cash @ ThaCash.com. And what makes it even better - there will be 3 cash-prizes randomly alloted and 1 extra prize for funniest post. So, what are you waiting for? Get started!!!

We soooo totally suck!

So, he did it:

Congratulations to Michael Phelps - 8 gold medals and the record!
With his 8th medal tonight Michael Phelps beat Mark Spitz' record of 7 from 1972 and wrote olympic history.



By contrast all german athletes together achieved 9 gold medals. At least one more, though I think we're lucky that he just started in 8 events, otherwise he might have tied or even worse. Now excuse me please I have to pack my suitcase and get ready to emmigrate ...

I hate Paul Potts!!!

I really do! Though it's not his fault, but I just can't see his face anymore.

I mean at first I was impressed, I assume nobody expected this guy to sing like that. Then I read a bit about him, found out the he took singin lessons for quite a while - even in Italy - worked on his voice, but never thought about doing it for a living. All fine I thought, he's good and somehow it warms my heart that this poor guy won Britain's got Talent.
So far so good. But then it started. A phone company started to screen ads with his first appearance at BGT, about 100.000 times a day. Everytime I turn on the TV, I'm cannonaded with Nessun Dorma and I just can't hear it anymore. For everybody who doesn't know what I'm talking about watch here:



Touching, isn't it? But imagine hearing it all day long, it loses some of it's magic!

Anyway, the straw that breaks the camel's back is that everybody and especially lots of young people buy his CD, on which he sings classic music and all time favorites, though his abilities are ok, but not overwhelmingly good. He doesn't have technique, he will never be an opera singer - face it! But if you ask people if they knew which opera "Nessun Dorma" comes from, who composed it or if they ever heard Luciano Pavarotti sing it, they give you a bamboozled look! AAAArggghhhh!!!! And don't even ask if they know what it means ...

So here's my personal tribute to THE tenor:



Ciao Julia

The Royal Flush amongst Poker Schools

I know the BIG Poker hype is somehow over. About a year ago, literally E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y played Poker. And if it should happen that once a week i wasn't invited to join a Poker party in the evenings, I could easily spent the night in front of my computer, playing online.
Problem was - I was never good at it!
I never played for real money online and only for small sums with friends, otherwise I swear I would have lost a fortune. Honestly, if you ever want to mak money with this game - and there is a lot to be made - you have to learn Poker, not only play it for fun. Maybe I should have gone for professional help, something like a personal tutor - a PokerProfessor.

Poker Professor Strategy offers you this service, and what is even better - you get 150$ free to start with!
So what you're waiting for? Go, play!!

And the Oscar goes to ....

... or better said - I go to: Windsbach!

I just got the call today and I'm really happy. Windsbach is a lovely little village in Germany, near Nuernberg and I will spent the next two years teaching there.
These are some pictures of the school:





I'm sooooo excited, I just can't wait for school to start.

Love Julia

Last exit before ...

Hi folks!

As this is going to be my last big summer holiday before I become a member of the working class, I decided to spent a week at the beautiful Lake Chiemsee.



It is also called the "Bavarian Sea" though it's not the biggest Lake in Southern Germany - this would be Lake Constance. But if you look at the pictures you will understand where the nickname comes from ;)



We'll rent an appartment for a week, take our bikes, beach wear and enough supplies and switch off our cellphones. I hope this will strengthen my nerves for my upcoming task, which will start on September 16th.

Otherwise I feel well prepared for the job:

- lost 20 pounds and 2 dress sizes (yeah!)

- met a lot of new people and friends during the exams, who also start their teaching career in September - it's good to know your not alone!
- was allocated to a school district near my hometown, so I hopefully won't have to move

The only thing I still lack is one of those practical leatherbags, with lots of space for pens, books and folders. I like this one very much:



Unfortunately it costs 169,- Euros, I think I'll make it part of my Christmas wishlist.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to our little trip. I'll definitely take pictures and will give you a report how we spent the week. so come back if you're interested ;)

Love Julia

Let's get it started ...

Hiho holks!

Ok, first things first ... things have changed a lot around here.

When I stopped blogging, lots of bloggers faced the "Google-dropped-my-pagerank-because-I-write-sponsored-posts-but-if-my-page-rank-is-low-I-won't-get-offers-to-write-sponsored-posts-anymore"-crisis. I wasn't into earning money via blogging, so the whole affair didn't affect me, but I was curious to see if Google would have that much power or if the blogging community would fight back.

Now we know ... Google's shameless attempt to control the market miserably failed. Luckily advertisers realized that not the Google-controlled page rank is of interest, but the traffic that a site has. Companies like www.entrecard.com and Bloggerwave reacted and offer possibilities to earn some money with your hobby.

Beside the revolutionary victory of the blogging
David against the global corporation Goliath,
the biggest benefit is the possibility to combine
good blogging and making money. You can blog
freely without worrying about your pagerank and
from time to time squeeze in a sponsored post.

At least this is what I'm going to do from now on ;)
I could use a little extra money, cause I want to
spend some of my holidays next year in the U.S.,
visiting Jason (see picture) together with my lovely Bald Guy.

Intersted, too? Then visit




Love Julia

I did it! I did it!

Yes it's true, I passed my exams!

After 6 months of learning and taking written and oral exams I finally made it. And from september on I will be working as a teacher. And you know what? I'm really looking forward to it!
I will teach kids between 5th (10/11 years old) and 9th (15/16 years old) grade in different subjects. Of course I will tell you about my new experiences as a full-time teacher. So make sure to stop by from time to time.

That's why I haven't been around for a (loooong) while, but now I'm back in buisness and I hope some of my old friends and lots of new people will join me on my rollercoaster ride through my life.

Greets Julia

P.S.: Of course I will join the fabulous "Thirsday Thirteen" again :)