The Life of Franzi

Flat = found

franzi1981 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 13:23:13 GMT

Since I moved to Berlin in August, I lived in a temporary arrangement in a flat that was, basically, free until end of February when the owner's (who is one of the three founders of the company I now work for) in-laws would move in.

But, barring any weird things in the contract that I still have to get (Tuesday, they say), I have finally found a flat!

Which isn't a small feat in Berlin when you have 50-80 people at LEAST competing for one flat. As these stories go, this was via a friend of a co-worker who was moving out, so I was the only person applying.

It's in Prenzlauer Berg, which is sort of the "rich hipster moms" area of Berlin, but hey. Could be worse! It's close (in Berlin terms) to Mitte - where I work - and Wedding - where my Crossfit box is. And it's not on a street with tons of bars and such, which is a definite plus. There's a Späti not terribly far away and plenty of options for public transportation.

The flat itself is "Altbau", basically meaning it was built before the war and did not get bombed out. It also means it has super high ceilings and a weird-ish cut, but it's pretty and it'll be fine! On the 1st floor (or 2nd for you Americans...), so the lack of a lift is not important. Only downside: I have to buy a kitchen. For the first time in my life.

Upside to that: I can get induction thingies ;)

It's also cheap for where it is.

So... yay, hipster flat!

This knee is full of iron

franzi1981 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 16:50:46 GMT

I'm still alive!

I also had to move back to Germany as my company went boom. Well, most of it, anyway, taking me and all of my team, plus 50% of all other people with it. And because my visa was not transferable, here I am.

I already found a new job in Berlin. The city I said I'd never want to live in or move to - see subject line.

Looking for a flat in Berlin now...

And hey, I might not be a hipster, but I like all the hipster things like Crossfit, craft beer and gourmet burgers - all of which I can find in abundance in Berlin. So I should be fine. ;)

So I guess I just (temporarily for hopefully two years) moved to PA

franzi1981 — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 19:51:58 GMT

As of yesterday.

Nope, hasn't sunk in yet. Probably will when all my stuff and furniture arrives ;)

franzi1981 — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 19:13:31 GMT

I can't believe it's almost time to go back to Germany again...

Easter on the other side of the pond

franzi1981 — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 12:40:38 GMT

So I'm spending Easter without my family for the first time ever. Still had cookies (bought from Wegmans) for breakfast.

Also, the start of Passover and Easter happened on the same weekend this year and I was invited by my awesome friends Naomi and Andrew to their Passover Seder past Friday. Given how the invitation basically went: "So we'll have this Gefilte Fish which is really not edible. Wanna come?", the food was pretty awesome. I went with another non-Jewish friend of mine - Dan - so it was a bit less awkward.

Not that it was awkward at all - Naomi and her dad were very good about explaining what's going to happen next and why, and we did our part. Overall, it was a good evening with good food and spent in great company.

And since Naomi obviously doesn't care about Easter Sunday, we're going to see Dirty Dancing the Musical in Philly later today.

Monkeys in ice and snow

franzi1981 — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:58:19 GMT

Last Thursday, I went to NYC with a couple of friends to see a recording of the "Infinite Monkey Cage - live". To my shame, I have to admit I never heard of this until I was offered a spare ticket. Anyone else who's as ignorant as me - it's a BBC4 radio show with Robin Ince and Brian Cox discussing various science topics with various guests - scientists and celebs, like Patrick Stewart, alike.

There's also a podcast containing a longer cut.

Last Thursday, Neil de Grasse Tyson was supposed to be one of the guests. Well, supposed. As you might know, we had the worst snow storm this winter on that day. Yes, it took until March 5 to happen. Anyway, we made it to NYC by travelling the night before. Neil, however, thought it was a good idea to go to Montana and try to come back during the storm. Which would've worked - except a plane skidded off the runway at LaGuardia - incidentally the airport Neil was supposed to come in at - which shut down the airport for a few hours.

So he didn't make it. He did skype in from the plane though AND we got Bill Nye instead. Which isn't such a shabby "replacement". We also got Tim Daly, and two women I didn't know - a scientist and a comedian.

The talk was interesting - it was essentially about whether or not science is for the good or the bad. Guess what side we came down on. :P

Other things we did on the day we spent in New York: Have fun at the M&Ms store, visit the Hayden Planetarium and have DELICIOUS food. OMG, so much delicious food at the Momofuku Milk Bar and Ivan's Ramen. YUM.

Also, New York in a snow storm is pretty. It also smells a lot cleaner ;)

Meme - 8 things that annoy me

franzi1981 — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 23:57:18 GMT

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself
Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust

1. People who come late to appointments without good reason (like rescuing a kitten from a burning building).

2. People who come late for any reason without even calling or messaging that they'll be late.

3. American bedding.

4. Cheating. Any kind of cheating, big or small.

5. Couples who can't keep their hands/lips off each other and only pay attention to each other when they are supposed to meet other people.

6. Shitty drivers. Like those who don't let you merge, or those who weave - risking accidents just to be 2 minutes faster.

7. The current weather.

8. Other passengers on an airplane ;)

Stuff

franzi1981 — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 14:41:44 GMT

Watching the Oscars is a lot less tiresome when you're at least in a similar time zone ;)

Yay, Julianne Moore! She deserved this so much! I adore her. And J.K. Simmons! That movie was awesome, and he's brilliant. <3

I've been invited to a Passover Seder at a friend's family home. That'd be my first, and I have no clue what to expect!

Also, I'm so ready for winter to be over! Anytime now. Please???

Meme - "Day 2"

franzi1981 — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:19:37 GMT

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself
Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust

That one was stupid. Who does more than just the basic things every single day?

1. Brush my teeth

2. If I'm somewhere with a connection: Check email, dw, lj, facebook

3. Get out of bed

4. Go to the toilet (hey, I'm really struggling here)

5. Eat

6. Drink

7. Sleep

8. Look in the mirror

9. Change my underwear

Update from the other side of the pond ;)

franzi1981 — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 22:00:57 GMT

So here I am, near Philly, once more ;)

Of course, when I got here, half of my friends were still on the JoCoCruise ;) They just got back to Ft. Lauderdale, though, and should arrive here tomorrow-ish. And my favourite coach at the box is, apparently, in AZ, according to his Facebook posts. No idea when he will be back. In any case, I should be back in training on Monday or Wednesday, depending on the weather. They predicted icy rain for Monday evening, so I might play it safe and go work from home in the afternoon.

Saw most of the other half of my friends at yesterday's gaming meetup in my favourite bar. And won at Settlers of Catan (the Ancient Egypt version) for the first time! It will never happen again, but hey... apparently it is possible to win that game.

Went for a run today, as the temperature was, for a change, above freezing. Still had to turn around sooner than planned as the trail is apparently only kept snow-free to a certain point :P And yeah, I so don't have running shoes to run in the snow with.

Workout

franzi1981 — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:54:22 GMT

I joined a CrossFit box in November, and I have to get a couple of things off my chest :P

While researching, I found that CF, just as any other sport, theoretically puts you "at risk" for rhabdo. In short: it's a disease where, after you severely overwork yourself, your muscles begin to break down, causing, in turn, your kidneys to break down. If treated immediately, it usually doesn't leave lasting damage, but it's still serious and if you experience the warning signs, go to an ER immediately.

Anyway, just as with any other sport, it only happens when you don't listen to your body and are stupid (e.g. more than one heavy workout a day; no rest day, ever; continuing until you puke...). Yes, CF can easily lend itself to that if you don't check your ego at the door and try to get too many reps in even though your body has given up 5 minutes ago.

That being said, CF is often criticised for downplaying the issue. Thing is, in every single article I found about rhabdo that was written by a CrossFitter, it listed the warning signs and told you to go to an ER the instant you notice any of the signs.

In contrast to that, I found this article by a runner: " Exercise-associated rhabdomyolysis in and of itself is not dangerous..." (http://www.ultrarunning.com/features/running-rhabdomyolosis-and-renal-failure-whos-at-risk/).

Now, who is really downplaying the effects rhabdo can have on your body?

Secondly: My only other experience with strength exercise so far has been a run-of-the-mill gym. You know, the ones that give you a plan of 6 machine exercises to do and then that's it. There's no supervision, no variety. Nobody to check if you're doing it right. No bodyweight exercise, no free weights... and thus no progress.

CF is more expensive, but there's always at least one coach around, checking everybody, checking everybody's form, helping with scaling the exercise to one's abilities and making sure no one is overdoing it.

I don't know yet if I'm gonna stick with it; but given the choice between a normal gym and CF, I know where my preference lies.

PS: New deadlift PR this week. It's puny, but I managed to do 35kg for a set of 7 and still had some left in me. Which means my 1 rep max is now probably at something like 45kg. Yes, something any weightlifter will laugh at ;) but you gotta start somewhere ;)

How to: Chocolate Bark

franzi1981 — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 14:01:49 GMT

This is so ridiculously easy, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.

I love chocolate bark, with all the fun stuff that's added to it. So I decided to look up how to make your own (yes, sometimes I can be dim like that) and gift it to a friend for her birthday.

The pumpkin seeds I bought still were within their husks, despite being "roasted and salted". Which I discovered after I opened them. I can be resourceful, though, so I used crisp bread instead.

Here's the result:

What I did:

300 g of dark chocolate (70%, as I wasn't sure how dark the recipient likes her chocolate ;)
200 g of white chocolate
Crisp bread, crumpled

Melt the chocolate, separately, over steam. Be careful not to burn it!

Spread the chocolate onto small tray lined with baking parchment. It shouldn't be too thick. If you want to make it artsy ;), spread it like this: First a "row" of dark chocolate, then white, then dark. Then use a skewer or the other of a spoon, a fork... you name it, to create patterns, moving the white chocolate "into" the dark chocolate.

Immediately afterwards, sprinkle whatever topping you want on top of the chocolate. Be as creative as you like, as that is the fun part ;)

Let it cool down in a cool room (will take at least two hours) or if there's enough space in the fridge, 30-60 minutes in the fridge will do as well.

Remove the hardened chocolate from the parchment and break into pieces.

Eat and enjoy.

Has it been this long...

franzi1981 — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:20:42 GMT

...since my last post?

I escaped the East Coast winter storm by going to my sister's in Seattle a day early. The PHL airport will be a mess today, no matter what, so I think this was a good decision.

I'm working today, except I can't do what I wanted to do because I can't access the systems I need to access / they are broken so I can't test the features I need to test.

These are systems we need in two weeks from now for a trade show... Sometimes you gotta laugh.

Tomorrow: My first Thanksgiving Dinner ever!

I now have my own DnD character

franzi1981 — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 01:19:49 GMT

Well, had her for the previous two sessions already. But I made some mistakes when creating her, so we fixed her and now she's *awesome*.

Meet Chiara, a Lvl 9 Paladin. Basically, the group needed a paladin or a cleric for their campaign. So Paladin it was. Sadly, that means that I, of course, have to play Lawful Good, pretty much, not Chaotic Neutral as I hoped to be ;)

Her weapon? A FUCKING FLAMING LONGSWORD YES. And because that's not awesome enough, she has Lunge and Great Cleave as special ability (and of course the stuff you need to have as a prerequisite for that :P).

If only my D20 would stop rolling fucking ones (at least I have not yet lost my weapon...), all would be well ;)

Oh hey...

franzi1981 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:39:21 GMT

...still alive.

I started CrossFit recently, and I got lucky that the gym closest to me has a couple of trainers (one in particular) who really watches out for your form, especially with us newbies. Let's see if it gets me anyhwere and also hope that the "Box" in Heidelberg is just as good (there's only one, so it better be good!).

RSS readers?

franzi1981 — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 14:25:52 GMT

Are you using a RSS reader? Which one? I'm looking for one that easily integrates into the browser and where I can organise the feeds (categories, tags,...). Any suggestions? Never used one before.

Officially lost my DnD virginity ;)

franzi1981 — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 12:14:01 GMT

There's a Friday Night DnD - Pathfinder round at my friends' place. Yesterday, I officially got my own char. A paladin half-orc with a flaming sword ;) Since everyone is level 9, I got to start at level 9. As the needed either a cleric or a Paladin in their midst, those were my choices.

She got to kick some serious arse with a rather high body count and that's with me just finding out how to play her right. Like, I forgot I have certain spells, so I didn't even use those yet.

Wheeee.

waves from the other side of the Atlantic

franzi1981 — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 13:58:34 GMT

I made it to DC yesterday. Well, Arlington, VA. But DC area ;)

Here for a conference (which doesn't start until 12pm today...) and then off to Philly on Thursday until mid-December.

IAD is still the worst airport ever. Especially the immigration. I had hopes that maybe, just maybe, they realised how inefficient it is. But no. They didn't or if they did, they didn't do anything about it.

You just know you're doing something wrong when there are THREE flights coming in (thankfully, ours was the first!) and you have 3 - THREE - officers for the non-US Visitors. And when they finally brought in new officers, I thought - yay, maybe now we can speed it up? But no, the "new guys" were just relieving the others.

So everybody's baggage was already unloaded from the baggage carousel by the time we made it through. Ah well. Saved me from trying to get my 45 lbs suitcase off the carousel at least :P

There are people freaking out (??) about CBP's plans to already check the US visitors in Germany. Yes, it might make leaving/boarding more annoying, but at least then you can get it all done in one go and have it a lot easier stateside. And if for some reason they refuse you entry, you're at least still in Germany and don't need to be detained/get sent home again, which can be stressful, I imagine.

So tonight, I'm meeting up with beeej for... food, probably. Definitely talk ;). We'll decide when we meet.

Fic: Fifty (Mikhail Baryshnikov, RPS, NC-17)

franzi1981 — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 06:18:06 GMT

Title: Fifty
Pairing: Mikhail Baryshnikov/OMC, Mikhail Baryshnikov/Rudolf Nureyev (references). Set in 1998.
Summary: Misha turns fifty. Things need to change.
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: References to BDSM, nothing graphic. References to character death.
Notes: Thanks to dalehead for a quick beta!
Disclaimer: Nothing in here is real, obviously, or even tries to imply that it's real!

Five years. It's been five years since Rudolf's death. His Kiska, the only love of his life. He knows, hopes, he will love again, but never like this. No one will ever be like Rudolf, no one can ever command his heart like his lover, his pet. He had a few affairs in the past years, mostly women, but it never went beyond the sex, the lust, his body's needs.

A few weeks after the day that took everything away from him, he moved out of Paris. Everything in the city reminded him of Rudolf. This was his city. No other city could ever match that loving, but also passionate, rebellious, sometimes furious being that his lover was. As intense as their love was, as legendary were their rows. Rudolf could never have lived anywhere else.

He never sold the house - the place where they lived, loved... and where Rudolf died. Every year, he would go back. Every year, he would spend a night in that bed where his lover closed his eyes for the last time.

Misha's not religious, he doesn't believe in a life after death. But he hopes that something of Rudolf's is with him, watching over him. He hopes his lover would be proud of him now. He's turning 50 today. Not that much younger than Rudolf was when he died. He's turning 50, and his dance company has really taken off.

He's turning 50 today and he's alone. For the first time, it hits him. He has colleagues, dance partners, but he has no friends. Not anymore. He had poured everything into the dance, even more so than before. His grief, his love, his anger. There was no time, no energy, no emotions left to found new friendships in a strange land. He's the dancer that never sleeps in the city that never sleeps.

He stays in contact with old friends in Paris, but it's not enough, never will be. There's no one here he can share his triumphs with, no one who is genuinely happy for his success, no one he can be happy for, he can love and spoil.

He turns the drink in his hand as he eyes the boy he booked for tonight. Every year he books the same boy - Ian - one of those who had a classical training, can follow orders without any smart-arse comebacks. It's getting repetitive, though, and boring. He has no connection with the boy. It's a pleasant way to get off, or to work out some of his anger. But even now, watching him, he's bored.

Rudolf never bored him. If this had been Rudolf kneeling there in front of him, Misha's cock in his mouth, hands tied behind his back, wearing clamps and a cage, Misha wouldn't be sitting here with a drink in his hand. His body is reacting to the stimulation. His mind is bored.

He's turning 50 today and the boy is about half his age. He always joked about Rudolf being old, and now he's old himself. Not seasoned, not wise, but old. He's what he never thought, never wanted to become - old, sad, bitter, bored and alone. No, Rudolf wouldn't be proud of who he turned into.

He needs a change. He gets up, paying no attention to Ian who is startled and almost falls over backwards. "Get up," he commands as he gets dressed. He needs to get out. Calling his driver, he leads the boy to his car. He needs to go to his favourite club. Maybe he won't find anyone tonight. Maybe he'll just spend the night with Ian and a cane. Or maybe he'll find someone he can begin something with.

No one will ever be like Rudolf, no one can ever command his heart like that. But maybe he can find something else tonight.

He's turning 50 today. Maybe it's time to return to his roots. Maybe it's time to be someone's boy for tonight.

Conundrum, please help

franzi1981 — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 20:59:23 GMT

So I have this friend. He recently self-published a novel via Amazon and asked me what I think.

Well, I read the free excerpt that is free to download on the Kindle and... the writing style is horrible and the characters seem to be stereotypes. I've only encountered a couple of them, but amongst them is the girl who doesn't want to do girl things and rather be with her brother on a ship (?).

Or the girl who works in the stables and dreams of bigger things.

But I could deal with them, see where he takes it... and then judge. Except - the writing is so bad, I can't. Most fanfiction, even the bad, is better.

His "editors" are mostly friends, which, you know, is fine for fanfic. But if you charge money for your novels, I'd expect a professional editor. Could still be a friend, but someone who knows what they're doing, and is not just correcting your spelling errors.

I would post an example, but it's in German :P

So what do I say to him? I can't just ignore him or say I haven't read it yet, because knowing him, he will keep asking then. I need to come up with a reply eventually :P

Already leaving again!

franzi1981 — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 17:51:14 GMT

I'm all packed, ready to go pack to Germany tomorrow afternoon.

I'm hoping to be back sooner or later! I will miss the new friends I made here. I will miss the beer. I gained some weight, but now that I know how things are over here, I think I can deal better with that next time, because I'll be better prepared.

Last night was spent with two friends and lots of alcohol. And boardgames. And a sleepover. All three of us in a giant bed. None of us are small, but it didn't feel tight at all.

Tonight's good bye will happen in a German restaurant in Philly.

Pictures: New York

franzi1981 — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:12:11 GMT

Oh hey, I'm still alive! My time over here is almost coming to an end, though I hope to be back, of course!

I have more pictures from Philly and around the area, but I'm so behind with posting... so have some pictures from my trip to New York (July 19 & 20)...

The statue of Liberty... with the sunset. And a sailboat. I think this is my favourite of the NYC set.

The view from the Empire State Building.

The Flat Iron Building.

Manhattan, as seen from the Staten Island Ferry.

The Madness of Times Square.

Central Park.

Alice in Wonderland.

The Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge, again.

Pictures: Philadelphia!

franzi1981 — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 19:54:11 GMT

How has it been so long since my last post?

I went to the July 4 parade in Philadelphia, which was fun. We also stayed for the fireworks. They were short (15 minutes) but so pretty!

And yesterday I went to the "Mütter Museum" and the "Eastern State Penitentiary". The Mütter Museum is a collection of medical oddities. The ESP is self-explanatory ;)

Both are definitely worth a visit!

Some pictures... Bigger versions will open when you click on them.

No, I didn't run up there. I was wearing a dress and sandals the day I went :P

Of course there's a Rocky statue as well.

Unexpected Shakespeare!

The City of Brotherly Love

So there was Joe Biden walking in the Parade.

And the Emperor.

And Darth Vader. And Boba Fett.

And Leia!

Random stuff

franzi1981 — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 23:26:20 GMT

I found a gaming group here on meetup! One of the regulars lives, basically, right in my backyard. With three cats. And has all of Hannibal S2 recorded. We'll have a first session of Hannibal after the gaming meeting on Sunday.

Well, of course he doesn't *literally* live in my backyard. But there's a trail behind my house and if you walk down that trail for maybe 300 feet and then walk up a path through a (meant-to-be-there) gap in the fence, then apparently that's where his house his *g*

I went on a run with him and some of his friends yesterday at 5:30am. Yes, in the morning. It was early, but I saw a FIREFLY! Haven't seen one in AGES. And deer! This one deer really wasn't afraid of humans. He (she?) just stood there while we walked by relatively close (10-ish metres away from it).

I will not do this regularly, because I'm so not an early-morning runner, but every now and then I'll join them. It's a nice deviation from my usual exercise routine.

Book: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

franzi1981 — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:04:02 GMT

Since I forgot my Kindle on my way from PHL to SEA two weeks ago, I had to buy a book. So I picked The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

It's a cute little story. It claims to be a "fairy tale" for both children and grown-ups and that pretty much sums it up.

I enjoyed it!

It's basically the story of a boy and that summer he had, experiencing a magical adventure and meeting a family that is/symbolizes the Crone, the Mother and the Maiden.

8/10, because it was a tad too sweet for my taste.