Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ouch

No comprendo el insurance-o.

Isn't the whole point of insurance to help you take care of medical situations, especially emergency medical situations??

No no no no no, this post will NOT turn political, nor do I want comments on how it's the fault of this or that politician. I don't understand the whole healthcare thing, and I bet dollars to doughnuts you don't either. Besides, I'm a hippy. Chances are, my political beliefs are way different than normal people. (Yes, I'm the first to admit I am not a normal person)

ANYWAY, I finally got the bill for my night in the ER. JUST the bill for the initial injury - nothing to do with the surgery, follow-ups, whatevs. The bill was $1800. Ok, that's fine, I get it. It was an ER visit, with x-rays, and several assistants holding me down while 15 doctors tried to put the pieces to my ankle puzzle back together. I understand the $1800. But you know what I don't get?

Guess how much of that bill our insurance paid for?

$10.00

Ten flippin' dollars.

¿Que?

Monday, July 25, 2011

Casa de Aycock

I've been ignoring numerous requests for pictures of the inside of our palace. Not because I didn't want people to see it, but because we still had unpacking to do. But, we had people over this weekend, and what better way to get your rear in gear and finish setting up house? So, here is our house. Complete with narration:

(FYI, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Here's the main (2nd floor) entrance to our house:


Bathroom's on the left:

Yes, that is a urinal. (Don't worry, there is also a toilet to the left)

Kitchen's to the right of the entrance:



There is a mini-fridge in the kitchen, but we also have a huge pantry with a full-size fridge in there.

From the kitchen, we go to the dining room:


From the dining room, you can go out onto the terrace:


And the lovely view:
(it really is a great view - photos don't do it justice)



From the dining room, you can also go to the living room:



From the living room, we go to the stairwell:

1st Floor (we also call it the basement, but it's not really below ground)


From the stairs, you have the bathroom on the right, the oil room straight ahead, and the other rooms to the left:


The 1st floor bathroom:
There is also a shower on the left side.


Here's what will eventually be Josh's pool room:

On the left side of the pool room, thru the door, is what will be our "game room". Eventually, we're going to get a couch (a pull-out, so we'll have an extra bedroom) and some chairs for the game room.


Then, on the right side of the pool room is the 1st floor entrance, and beyond that, the laundry room, deep freezer, and storage room:



The view from our downstairs porch. Up on that hill is a biergarten. Tragic, isn't it?


Ok, back to the stairs. Now we're going up to the 3rd floor:

3rd floor hallway. From here, the bathroom is on the right, the guest room is straight ahead, the master bedroom is next to that, another storage room is next to the master, and then our dressing room is on the left.


Yes, ladies, we have a dressing room. Two wardrobes on the right side, and one wardrobe and one dresser on the left side. (remember - no closets in Germany)


Unfortunately for us, the bathroom is a horrible pepto-pink color:


This is the guest bedroom/office. As soon as I find the perfect desk, I'll be able to unpack the very last box (which is why the far side of the room has crap stacked up).

And, finally, the master bedroom. Eventually, we're going to buy a chaise lounge, and make a little reading nook in the corner.

Yes, that's Sasha under the bed.



We still need to get a lot of artwork, and trinkets (not to mention several pieces of furniture) - we have a lot of bare walls and shelves. But, we have a ton of room, so we need to start having houseguests!! Maybe I should run my own bed & breakfast....

Also, did you notice how many pictures Sasha and Rufus were in? I can't do a bloomin' thing without both of them following me, wherever I go.

Friday, July 22, 2011

How to Make an Angry Aycock

It's bedtime. Josh goes downstairs with Sasha, to let her out the back door to go to the bathroom. I'm doing last minute pick-up in the living room, and I turn off all of the lights. I see the shadow of a wagging tail on the steps by the FRONT door. I open it up, and it's Sasha, all smiles. She waltzes in the house, sits down by the steps, and waits for me to go upstairs to bed. I didn't really think anything of it, I just thought she was cute...

Then I start thinking....well, Mr. Aycock let her out the back door....I'll call out to him from the FRONT door and tell him I have Sasha. Well, it's 11pm, and I don't want to piss off our already nasty German neighbors, so I "yell quietly." (talk about an oxymoron).

I get no response, so I assume the Mister is IN the house. So I close the door, and yell downstairs to him.

No response.

Eh, he'll figure it out. So I continue to clean up the kitchen a bit, close some windows, etc.

So it's been about 3 minutes since Sasha came in the house. I go get a drink of water. Then I see the shadow of a large angry man on the front steps.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SASHA?? I CAN'T FIND HER!"

"Oh, she's right here!" *points to smiling dog calmly waiting to go upstairs to bed*

"I've been *&%*&ing yelling for her this whole time!! WHY WOULD YOU LET HER IN THE HOUSE AND NOT TELL ME?!?"

"Um....oops?"

And there you have it: How to make an Angry Aycock.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Issues

I am Courtney, and I am a complainer.

I really try not to be. I hate it when other people complain. But dammit, sometimes it's just so easy. Now, I'm a happy person. I love life. I love where I am in this world. I love my house, and my family, and friends, etc. etc. etc.

But I would like to complain about some things. Yeah yeah, another post in which I complain about silly things that have no bearing on life. Stuff it.

So, here are some issues I'm having with my house.

1. All of the countertops in the kitchen, and all of the bathroom sinks, were apparently built for midgets. Now, I'm an Amazon of a woman, but I really think it's slightly ridiculous for the kitchen counters to be crotch-high. Makes for some difficult baking.

2. Tile floors. This really is not the house's fault - just a problem with the family dynamics. The 1st and 2nd floors are all tile (which will be AWESOME in the winter, because they're heated). This means that pet-hair tumbleweeds form in less than 12 hours. I hate cleaning, and now I have to sweep every day. Suck. First thing on my Christmas list this year? A roomba. It's going to happen, people.

3. Stupid freaking tiny German washing machines with English instructions, only the instructions are for a different model of the same brand of washing machines. Somehow my whites just aren't getting as white.

4. Apparently, we have crazy German neighbors. Our landlord & his wife (who are extremely nice, good people) live next door to us. Well, across the street from them, lives a mean old goat, his wife, and the meanest little dog from hell. The old man yelled at Josh on Day 2 of us being here, because Josh was walking Sasha in front of the man's house, without a leash. (at least, that's what Josh could decipher was the reason) Although, every other German we've seen with a dog NEVER uses a leash. But anyway, we asked our landlord about this old man, and he says, "Oh, he is just a horrible, horrible, crazy man." So, now we don't feel so bad about letting Sasha off her leash. Besides, our landlord never has his dog on a leash. Also, apparently the crazy neighbors like to yell at each other. A lot. Outside...

5. Storage space. Germans just do not believe in closets. Thankfully there are just two of us, because there is no room for any more stuff (even though this house is flipping HUGE). We do have an attic, but apparently the Mister has an attic phobia. And I can't really climb up a ladder carrying heavy things, because of The Ankle.

6. German electrical plugs. Few and far between. Makes laying on the couch for while surfing the internet very inconvenient....well, if doing so for more than 3 hours....not that I ever do that, or anything...

7. Windows. Now, I love the German windows. They can open from the side, or from the top. And, the weather is so nice, we can leave the windows open all the time (houses don't have A/C here). HOWEVER, Germans do not do window screens. I have no idea why, but this fact means that we constantly have to deal with flies in the house. Which, actually, is just fine with Rufus. He gets to play Hunter all day long.

And......I think that's all the complaining I can do right now. It really takes it out of me.

Especially since, all in all, I LOVE this house, and I'm 100 times happier here than I ever was in stupid Dayton.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Seefest on Lake Ohmbachsee

Saturday, the Mister and I went to Seefest at a nearby lake. It's a festival where they have dragon boat races, a biergarten, pavilions set up for music, etc.

The first problem came with finding the damn entrance to the parking lots. The festival website was less than specific. So, while it only took us twenty minutes to get to the lake, it took us another twenty minutes just to find a place to park. Not because it was crowded, but just because we were slightly...lost.

Finally, we found some parking. Didn't really realize how far it was from the entrance of the festival, but that's ok, because my leg needs the exercise. Plus, it was a lovely day (maybe 70 degrees at the most, and partly cloudy).

But then we realized that there just weren't a whole lot of people around...it was 2pm by this time, so you'd think there would be plenty of people around.

Well, not in Germany. Apparently their festivals don't start til way later than I think they should be open. (Just call me Ms. Snobby American) Josh and I are convinced we read on the website that the boat races started at 2pm. Whelp, no, they didn't start til 4pm. Actually, we were able to walk into the festival grounds without paying, because the ticket people weren't even there yet.



This would be us, waiting for the biergarten to open. One of us a little more patiently than the other.

Well, eventually things started picking up. Vendors started opening, people started trickling in. Ya know how standard fair food in the States is stuff like cotton candy and corn dogs? None of that stuff at this festival. Here in Germany, they serve things like waffles, crepes, homemade pizza (actual Italian-style pizza), and 50 different kinds of sausages. I had to fit in with the locals, so I was forced to get a waffle covered with Nutella & a cut up banana. That, and a couple of large beers...

FINALLY, the races start. Little did I know that dragon races are the most boring boat races ever. Unless you're at the finish line, you have no clue who wins. And it takes about 35 seconds for the race to start, and finish. They did several of them, but it was several minutes in between each 35 second race. WOOHOO!!


Really, I think it's just one of those things that no one cares about unless you have someone actually participating in the race.

But, there were also live music pavilions set up around the lake, and the Aycocks are nothing if not music lovers. Lucky for us, we sat next to the pavilion where the geriatric couple with matching keyboards sang Abba and Los Lobos songs. Excellent.

So, we're sitting there, listening to 70s music as interpreted by the German couple with matching haircuts, watching the most unexciting races ever, and chowing down on waffles and beer. Then all of a sudden, I see something strange out of the corner of my eye...but I'm not really paying attention to it, so I just ignore. I turn to Josh, who has the most horrified expression on his face. I have never seen this look on another person.

"Courtney, if you have ever loved me, you will NOT TURN AROUND. Trust me trust me trust me trust me, do not turn around. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TURN AROUND!!!"

Normally, that's exactly how to make a person turn around. But his face was frightening, so I listened. I also heard a collective groan coming from other people sitting near us. Apparently the lady sitting behind me had chosen that moment to stand up and puke, right in front of my poor husband...and right behind me.

Talk about a good time.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Trace Bundy

Thursday, Josh and I went to a Trace Bundy concert with one of his friends from work. It was at a little hall in downtown Ramstein. I think a grand total of 70 people were in the audience.

Now, I had never heard of Trace Bundy before, but he is this SUPER AWESOME FANTASTIC guitar player. He does his own interpretations of old songs, and he also does his own stuff. He used some kind of looping machine to basically create a whole backup band.

Check it:


Now, just so you know, the Aycocks are the authorities on what is good music. And trust me, friends - this is good music.

Plus, the guy was really nice. He met everybody, and signed whatever, and took pictures with people. A kid and his dad had driven down from Amsterdam to come to the concert, and this kid was so freaking cute!!! He was pretty star-struck, and Trace shook his hand and talked to him from the stage. He was a cool guy.


That's Trace in the middle. The other guy (Chris) is Josh's friend from work. Who's actually pretty cool, too. And I'm not going to lie - it freaked me out a little to add him on Facebook, and see all of the people on the "people you may know" section. Apparently Chris has mutual friends with several people I grew up with. Small world, eh?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Yes, Yes I am in the Land of the Living

Sooooooo, I'm here. I'm back. Don't hate.

We moved into our house on July 1st. YAY! Best day ever. Buuuut, we didn't have the internet for over a week. Then, I got lazy for a week. Hence, no blogs.

But whatevs, I'm here now.

So - we now live in an out of the way village, on an out of the way street. It's nice and quiet. The house is HUGE, but livable. I have a kitchen. The dog has a backyard, and a neighbor dog to "play" with. (The neighbor dog plays with her, and she stonewalls him). The cat has tons of corners to hide in. Josh has his comfy bed back.

I'm almost done unpacking everything. It's really slow going with a sore leg, and three stories to climb up and down. But, I only have two boxes left. The hardest thing is finding space for all the little geegaws. Germans don't do closets, so it's realllly difficult. Thankfully we have a nice, big pantry, and one big closet on the first floor, and one big closet on the third floor.

We do still need to buy some furniture. What's really nice is that the base has a "yard sale" website, that's basically like Craig's List (but confined to the base area). It's awesome, but competitive. Hopefully I'll find some nice things soon, though.

I'm still getting used to the German appliances (oven, dishwasher, microwave, washer/dryer). And I still have to look up oven temperature conversions on the internet...but at least I have a big kitchen, now.

I'll try to be done with everything (as much as possible) in the house this week so I can post some pictures. (so all the parental figures in our lives can quit nagging)

Friday, July 1, 2011

WOOHOO!!!

TODAY IS MOVING DAY!!!!!!

WE ARE OUT OF THIS HOTEL!! Two months of living in a hotel room (complete with kitchen, living room, 2nd bed) smaller than the living room we will be enjoying later today.

I'm probably the happiest girl ever. I'm pretty sure this ranks up there with the wedding day.

Although, now I feel I've said too much....I really don't want to jinx it....

Anyway, we should have the internet & phone hooked up today, so I'll be posting photos of the inside of the house later (when all of our stuff gets put in its correct place).

On another note, I'm a little concerned about the level of cleanliness expected by Germans. Last week, when Josh and I dropped by the house, the Landlady was in there cleaning. Josh went by the house last night to drop some stuff off, and she and her husband were both there...still cleaning. However, before we were even there last week, the previous tenants (Americans - and clean, by American standards) paid a cleaning lady 200 Euro for 17 HOURS worth of cleaning.

Apparently Germans just really really really like everything to sparkle...this does not bode well for me. Not that I'm a dirty person, I'm just lazy. And I think the landlord (he's really very nice) will be the type to drop by whenever he feels like it, just to say 'hey'. I really don't want him to walk into the house and see a cat fur tumbleweed blow by...

But, whatever, I don't care, because WE'RE MOVING TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!