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Directories
Freaky!
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LOL! I guess there’s no need to second guess my choice of major in college! (For those not yet in the know, I majored in statistics)
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All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
I really don’t have very much interesting to say today, but Rainer tells me that it’s been two days with no new blog entries and that’s just no good!
The nesting thing seems to have been a false alarm. I spent the last few days sleeping (post-cleaning exhaustion, I think) and not having bad contractions or anything else out of the ordinary.
We did our pre-check-in paperwork at the hospital on Friday - nothing interesting to report there - it took, about two minutes for the paperwork, I peed in a cup, and they did a fast ultrasound to check how the baby is lying. Everything looks perfect in my case. They asked if I have any special wishes (birthing in water, etc), and I don’t, I’ll just see what feels right at the time. The doctor was pleased with the answer and said that’s what they like to hear. (Rainer’s pal Harry who visited recently says I’m the most laid-back pregnant woman he’s ever seen). Because we have private insurance, we should have met the head ob/gyn, but she was at lunch, so we didn’t.
For lunch Friday, we tried out a fairly new place across from the hospital, Café La Roché (if I am remembering the name right) on Prüfeninger Strasse. The lunch was okay, I wouldn’t make a special trip to sample it, but the place has a breakfast buffet Monday-Friday (til 10:30am) and a brunch buffet on Sundays and holidays. Might be worth checking out, as I haven’t heard of any other brunch places in Regensburg, although I’m sure there must be others.
I’m jonesing for American-style chocolate cake, but not quite badly enough to go through the trouble of making one yet. Sucks that there is no Starbucks in Regensburg. Maybe I should check out the McCafe - Do they have these in the US? They’re McDonalds that look like Starbucks inside and have a coffee and dessert counter. The one by the university here has sofas and a fireplace.
I just introduced Rainer to his first Stanley Kubrick film (in this case, The Shining - it’s on sale at Media Markt for €5,99). He thought it was great, even though he is so not into horror movies. I’m not much of a Stanley Kubrick fan, but The Shining and the first half of Full Metal Jacket are excellent.
And I think that’s enough for now. I’m going to hit the sack. Happy trails, partner!
Rockin’ Neighborhood
I recently ran into my neighbors from across the way and inquired if they might look after Charlie when we have to go to the hospital. They were quite happy to oblige, gave me their number and I gave them a housekey. The wife, who’s also a nurse, expressed concern that I was still walking Charlie at my stage of pregnancy. I told her it was no problem and that I was taking him for short walks around the block and Rainer was taking him on long ones in the evening. Since then, every afternoon their teenage children have stopped by and asked if they could take Charlie out for a walk and to play. It’s so sweet of them! (Okay, now I’m gonna cry!)
I mentioned to Rainer that maybe we ought to offer the kids some money, or rather ask their parents if we could, but he doesn’t think this is appropriate, since they came over and asked on their own. I know that if we were in the US, I would, but how does that kind of stuff work here? What do you all think?
Geburtsvorbereitung, Teil 4
Another week, another class. On Monday, the husbands made their first appearance in birthing class and we officially crossed the halfway mark, only two more classes to muddle through now. We spent about an hour meditating all together, some at the beginning, some at the end. The instructor played New Agey music and said things like, “In the early days of your pregnancy, your baby looked like a boysenberry.” I’m all for meditation, but this stuff, not to mention that the room was about 1000 degrees, doesn’t work for me.
The men then introduced themselves and said what their expectations from the class were, most had few and stated they were there to do all they can to support their wives/girlfriends. The instructor then pulled out her baby doll, stuffed pelvis and mesh amniotic sac with placenta and demonstrated again how the baby makes it’s way through the birth canal. This time for the benefit of the men. She also showed us what forceps and a vacuum extractor look like.
All in all, somewhat of a waste of time for me. I want information and I don’t need it to be spoonfed to me multiple times. Rainer enjoyed the evening though and said it made him feel like a dad because he was finally doing something.
I’m wondering if labor is approaching a little early. Since Sunday I’ve been a cleaning and organizing freak. All the baby stuff is assembled and put away, except the smoke detector. I couldn’t push the drill up hard enough into the ceiling to make the holes deep enough. I mentioned this to Rainer when he got home last night and he just grunted. And people wonder why my hinting has a distinctly non-subtle edge to it. In addition, the windows are washed, the bedsheets are fresh, the cobwebs have been vacuumed out of all the corners - even in the storage room, and I’m fighting a serious urge to go pull the weeds out of the yard.
Yesterday we had a checkup at the ob/gyn. I had a problem with bone spurs in my feet a while back and that seems to be returning, the doc says it’s from all the estrogen running around in my body. I also haven’t gained any weight since my last visit, meaning that I’ve managed to lose some of the 1.7 kilos of water I had swelling my feet, wrists, legs and arms. She didn’t do a pelvic exam for some reason, Rainer guesses that maybe it’s something they just do every two weeks, but now I wish that she had.
Last night my contractions changed. They’re very strong now - I actually had to moan from a bad one this morning, they’re hitting me in the lower back as well, and are often accompanied by a feeling in my abdomen very similar to the cramps one has with diarrhea. They are still not regular, only occurring at most twice an hour, and they are still strongest in the area between my pelvic bone and belly button. So I’m not sure what to make of the difference. I’ve heard that real contractions start just under the ribcage and radiate downwards. I guess time will tell.
Social networking or round, round, round, round, I get around
A little while ago, I got invited by friends to join LinkedIn and Facebook. I decided to take the opportunity to check out some of the other social networking sites as well.
Facebook is great. I really dig it, but it would be better if I had a few more friends (I’ve got 8 at the moment). Due to the personal nature of the information that is up on my profile there, I’m only connecting with people I am friends or family with in the “real world” (or was friends with - in high school for example - and want to reconnect with). If you fall into this category, sending me a “friend” invitation should be easy.
MySpace is much talked about and I really don’t get the hype. Okay, my only friend is Tom, the MySpace founder, maybe that has something to do with it. The site isn’t as easy to use as the others I tried out, I had profiles up and running in minutes on all the other sites, I still am not happy with my profile here. I also don’t like that it doesn’t search your address book for people you know who are already members. I don’t know who of my friends are members and I’m certainly not going to take the time to search for each of their names! Anyways, I’ll friend anyone on here (as long as they’re not a spammer or otherwise suspicious looking!), so feel free to “friend” me - my MySpace profile.
LinkedIn is a professional networking site where you can list your job experience and connect with friends and coworkers. You may also receive job and consulting offers though the site. I’ve read that it can take a while before you get any “action”, so I went ahead and signed up now. Maybe in a few months or a year, I’ll have worked up enough connections for it to pay off in a career. I’m not sure if I’ll link up here with people I don’t really know.
XING was recommended to me by a former colleague and LinkedIn contact and seems much like LinkedIn, but when I had it search my address book, I only came up with contacts in Germany who were already members, so it must be more German-centric. I’m not sure if I’ll link up here with people I don’t really know.
iLike is a music site that looks at your iTunes library and suggests friends with similar music tastes. You can then check out what your “friends” listen to and maybe find new bands you hadn’t considered. It works best if you install the iLike sidebar onto your iTunes. This is my second to last pick for usefulness, just ahead of MySpace. I think my taste in music is too eclectic for this site to help. I do like it’s music quiz though. It plays a song and you see how fast you can guess the song’s title or artist from multiple choice questions. It’s very addictive. Anyways, I’ll friend anyone on here that either I know (through blogging counts) or that I have a medium to high music match with, so feel free to “friend” me -my iLike profile.
StumbleUpon is a social networking site for which you install a toolbar on your browser and when you come across a webpage you like or dislike, you can give it a thumbs up or down. The more sites you rate, the better StumbleUpon gets to know what you like/dislike. You can them “stumble” random web pages, blogs, or news items that StumbleUpon recommends for you. I’ve had trouble getting into the habit of rating the sites that I visit. I also haven’t been that excited about the sites that have been recommended, but this site has been highly recommended by many bloggers out there, so try it, you might like it. I’ll friend anyone on here (as long as they’re not a spammer or otherwise suspicious looking!), so feel free to “friend” me - my StumbleUpon profile - my goodness, I just checked in and I have three fans - that’s a shocker!
Finally, and still my favorite social networking site, MyBlogLog. I love clicking on the little pictures people put up of themselves (or of whatever they want to represent themselves) and seeing what blogs they read and which they write themselves. Just by looking at who else is reading the blogs that I like to read I’ve found a ton of great blogs that I don’t think I would have found otherwise. View my MyBlogLog profile, view this blog’s community, view the communities to which I belong. If you have a blog, put it on here, and if I read it, I’ll be happy to join it’s community.
What do you think of these sites (if you’re a member)? Any other sites I should try out? Anyone have any experience with LibraryThing? Is there something similar for your movie library?
Update (1 Nov 2007):
I’d say I’m pretty experienced with this stuff now and the only site I really use is Facebook (which I spend much too much time on). I get a ton of spam from MySpace; LibraryThing only allows you to enter 200 books on a free account, then you gotta pay; and I loved MyBlogLog, but with a new baby, I don’t have time to read all the blogs I’m currently subscribed to in a timely manner, let alone start reading new ones!
LinkedIn and XING haven’t done anything for me because I’m not looking for work at the moment, but if you are, I HIGHLY encourage signing up on them. I’d sign up for LinkedIn if you’re in the US or UK (I’ve been contacted by one recruiter in the UK for a position in Switzerland), and if you’re in Germany, definitely go for XING. I was getting at least one recruitment email a week and it got so I had to write on my profile that I didn’t want work. I still get recruiters writing to see if I know anyone they could contact.
What Kind of Thinker are You?
This is scarily accurate (or perhaps you disagree?). Thanks to Ilker at the thinking blog for posting the link.
Your Communication Style:
The Logical Thinker
If there is such a thing as a purely rational person, you’re it. Everything you think about and do needs to be analyzed and systematized logically. You live by deduction. First A, then B, next C.Everything is categorized into its place and function. Next, it’s checked to see if it’s factual and can be proven scientifically. Then, and only then, will you deliberately proceed any further.
Checks and Balances
Yes, yours is a life of checks and balances to the smallest decimal place. No detail is overlooked. You only take precise steps that are planned out well in advance. Thinking and logic are supreme. Knowledge is the foundation. Everything is a chess match at the Masters level!
You’re not a risk taker. It doesn’t mean that you’re not adventurous. It means that before you take the first step every possible move and option that can be controlled has been thought through thoroughly. You only like to deal with probabilities in your favor at 99.44 percent. Joy for you is minimizing luck.
The Ultimate Planner
You are admired by many because of your thinking skills and the way you skillfully design your life and the steps in the lives of others. You’re the ultimate planner. Your opinions are treasured and trusted. Most people know that before you do anything or advise others about anything, you have reached broadly and delved deeply into the history and facts. Everyone realizes that you are conscientious and respectful of doing the right thing in the right way.How You Learn
You are a lifelong learner. Everything is absorbed like a blotter by your lock-step memory. Then it is carefully processed and contextually stored with other pertinent information. When the need arises, you retrieve and reprocess the information for appropriate applications. Rarely does your memory or logical use of stored information fail.How You Interact with Others
You’re basically an introverted and low-key person who likes everything to be orderly and impersonal. Reserved, proper and calm are words that are often used to describe you. You usually don’t like to interact verbally or personally with other people. You are independent and can be a loner very easily. Sometimes, your best friend is your computer and its Internet access.
However, if you don’t invest some energy and emotions into communication and relationships, you’ll be seen as boring, stiff and “nerdy.” Relating to others is almost always done in an intellectual manner. However, this raises a paradoxical dilemma for you because you’re human and innately should be relating to others emotionally and socially, as well as intellectually.In a group setting you’re usually very quiet and rarely volunteer to speak unless you have something very pertinent to say. Even then, you are reticent at best. However, if someone you respect directly asks you for your opinion, you’ll answer if you deem the subject in question worthy of your attention. Then, and only then, will you respond in a thorough manner. If you are pushed to explain even more, you’ll use historical and logical explanations, including answering all of the possible questions as to why your responses are correct. Thus, you’ll not leave any rational leaf unturned and immediately you’ll halt the possibility that someone else may question you again about this subject area.
Given the right opportunity to debate someone of equal or greater intellectual stature, you’ll jump at this fortuitous occasion. You’ll enter this competition because you know that, win, lose or draw, you’ll learn more than if you abstain. You’re not afraid of losing face; after all, it’s an opportunity to learn and achieve at a higher level. You’re not worried about the cost of learning.
How You Judge Others
Sometimes, particularly when you’re younger, you can be quite critical of others and haughty in your responses. In fact, as people speak, you are editing what they’re saying and judging their intellectual capacity. At some point in your life, you’ll recognize that you are much brighter and more knowledgeably prepared than most people. Thus, you have two choices as to how you are to respond: arrogantly critical or respectfully positive. Hopefully, you’ve had enough experiences in life to respond in the latter manner so that people will not be intimidated and discontinue relating to you.The Final Analysis
Overall, your intellectual insights, planning and meticulous behavior are seen by others as a great asset to the team and the organization. People depend on your articulate advice and logical thinking. Just be patient with them in the beginning and let them know what you think in a positive manner.
So what kind of thinker are you?
Necrophiliac fly?
The approach
Uh, you know…
One satisfied customer
Thank God we have screens as of this morning. Hopefully there won’t be too much more of this funny business going on.
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