Crunch time

Ha ha, that last post was quite optimistic. I did indeed go out to Soho with some friends but stayed all of 45 minutes before weariness crept into my bones and too much cigarette smoke filled my lungs. I was in bed by 12:30am and didn't even try to get out of that one lesson. I'm such a good girl. *pat on head*

Tonight I am going to a benefit gala for Parkinson's Disease with my supervising teacher. She has recently begun to invite me to do things and after saying no the last two of three times, I figured I should go. Besides, when am I ever going to go to a benefit gala in Vienna again? Maybe never. It is in Wilhelminenberg Castle in the 16th District with a view over the city. I'm sure it'll be fun.

I am way behind in preparation for the 10k run I am doing on June 11th. I have been extremely sloth-like in the last few weeks, running maybe twice a week but probably more like once. Where did the motivation go? Actually it might not be a lack of motivation but a tightening of the schedule. Despite having gotten rid of about half my classes at the end of April I am still working all 12 hours each week and tutoring students for their final oral exams on top of that, plus have had engagements every evening with one friend or another. The craziness is currently scheduled to last through Monday evening, with Tuesday evening being my first non-planned evening in about 10 days. Whew!

That paragraph sounds ridiculous when read through the eyes of a 40-hour-per-week worker. That may be one of the things I dread the most about going back to the U.S.--the 40 hour work week! This job has been the best "non-job" I've ever had. Not that I'd want to do it forever, but I'm glad to have done it for the last two years. Hopefully ten or twenty years from now I can have another great two year non-job vacation like this one. That's what everyone dreams about, isn't it?

Celebrating interview #2

I have a half a bottle of wine in me and will be going out shortly to a bar called Soho with some girlies as a semi-celebration for the second interview with Columbia! I think I'm going to end up talking to at least one more person if not two...this thing is like the Energizer Bunny. And after I get a 1.90 EUR cocktail in me, I might just be the Energizer Bunny myself. (hee hee)

I have to teach tomorrow at 11:40am but whatever--what are they going to do? Fire me with less than two weeks left in my contract? Doubtful. And I might not even really have to be there until 12:30pm if I call the right teacher. Devious!

Fireworks and Sister Sledge

I hope my sister doesn't mind that I put her baby on the web...

Yesterday was the May Festival in Prater, sponsored by the SPÖ (Austrian Social Party). I went out in the afternoon with Gareth and Lauren, had some beers, laughed over karaoke singers and rode the giant swings. The festival's grand finale was a giant fireworks display, which was actually one of the best I've seen in a long time. Sister Sledge was also performing, which was really hilarious! It took me back to the Luther League trip to the Wisconsin Dells that one summer...someone had "We Are Family" on tape and we listened to that over and over again, singing right along with the gals. Good memories.

I am currently busy trying to work out a way to have a video interview with Columbia. This is going to be round two and will hopefully be a substitute for an in-person interview. If any of you know someone in Vienna with video conferencing capabilities, let me know! So far I've found a person willing to let me borrow their webcam and use Skype to do it, so I'm hoping that Columbia will be able to accomodate that. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I walked home through Schönbrunn today and realized that I am really going to miss German when I leave here in June. My return flight is in six weeks, which I find unbelievable! I'm going to have to find a way to keep hearing German on a regular basis because I don't think that I can stand to go without it anymore. Makes me think maybe I should do a higher degree in German, just for me. Or go into a career in translation or intrepretation. Or tutoring. :-)