Christmas Chocolate and Dogs

So if anyone was wondering where I'd disappeared to instead of posting, I found my true love and ran off to lick its chocolaty goodness into the sunset. Then I got a stomach ache and found myself back in reality...

This picture was taken at the symphony gala. As an actual-factual (I did not just quote my psycho-overly-caffeinated college music theory professor) guest at this fine event, thanks to donors paying for principal symphony members to attend (instead of having to pay the $150 ticket ourselves), I got to get all dressed up to spend the evening gnawing on dry salmon and making small talk with fancy and important retired community members. When I wasn't worrying about spilling my wine, knocking my fork off my plate or dripping chocolate onto the white table cloth, I was having a good time. It was generally a successful evening until the band starting warming up during the speech (welcoming a stern reprimand from the speaker) and subsequently playing so loudly that our table mates had to take out their hearing aids to avoid the squealing and fuzz. They ended up just leaving, ears all worn out, poor souls. And they actually had to pay the $150...

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My German Connection (since my blog is supposedly still somehow German-theme-related and all) will be arriving next week Thursday for a 2 1/2 week Iowa holiday adventure. Matthias, my former long-term boyfriend, also joined us for Christmas with his German friend, Markus, in 2003 after their exchange semester to my alma-mater, where Matthias and I had met as "global buddies."

This Christmas, in addition to singing Christmas carols along with the family woodwind trio, a car ride to look at fancy Christmas lights, a brunch with all the old school friends and a post-Christmas trip to Iowa City and Ames to see Megan and her husband for New Years, Matthias will get to stay busy with my attorney's dogs. We will be dogsitting the two Westies for 3 weeks while my attorney and his family go to China over Christmas. We actually just dogsat for them over Thanksgiving, and I, already desperately longing for a doggy of my own, had the time of my life entertaining, walking the fluffballs and being followed around by my little shadows for 4 days. Actually, the whole family fell in love with the sweet, easy-going pooches, even if it was clear the dogs loved me the most... Nevermind I was the one to feed them and let them sleep in my bedroom instead of in their crates. Unfortunately living at home still shows no signs of a dog of my own anytime soon, as my parents have made it quite clear that there won't be a puppy in my stocking this year. So at least I have the dogsitting to bring me my Christmas cheer!

In addition to looking forward to seeing Matthias, I am also very excited for the goods he will be transporting with him, namely the rest of the treasures from my apartment in Berlin I couldn't afford to send back when I moved home 16 months ago. A few days before my departure from Germany, realizing just how much I had to get back to America, I schlepped 5 boxes and a suitcase into a taxi and then to the Post to send home. But upon realizing just how many hundreds of euros it would cost to send my overly-stuffed boxes overseas, I opted to send 2 boxes and the suitcase to America, sending the other 3 boxes to Matthias' house within Germany at a much more affordable rate. However, back at the Berlin post office, having no idea what was in each of the boxes, I ended up of course sending the boxes with the least amount of useful things in them to America, including my least favorite clothes, some of which I ended up disposing of as soon as they hit American soil, while leaving all of my oboe music, pictures, CD collection and clothes I could really have used behind.

I wasn't sure when I'd ever see that stuff again, but was planning on wiring Matthias money to send them eventually. Now that he's coming, he's conveniently bringing the important stuff with in in suitcases. So hopefully I will see my old goodies soon, as well as some fresh Christmas edible treats - because yes, I did write an extensive list of things to bring from Germany. Magenbrot, anyone?