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Have yourself a merry little Christmas at the radio station

Last Sunday was my Christmas show on radio. My co-host Thomas and I had Christmas cookies, gingerbread, mulled wine, some shots, and of course champagne in the studio. Ignoring the many signs on every door that say "No food or drinks in any studio EVER!!!". I mean, you can't eat or drink while talking, but during the songs it's just nice. We're always having champagne, but this time it was a nice christmas celebration.

We played Chistmas songs exclusively, from Doris Day, Wham, ABBA, Barbra Streisand, Boney M., and many others. By the way, do you know any other common Christmas song that contains the word "gay", except the one mentioned in the title?

This show was so much fun. A local band (five lesbians) stopped by for a short interview and played and sung a song live in the studio. We also had some other guests in the studio, e.g. the singer who played the mother in our radio comedy soap-opera, and of course we aired this episode. We had a blast. Probably due to some alcoholic beverages we started to sing along with the songs, and, of course, we made sure to broadcast our singing as well. This was also our two year anniversary show, and we got nice feedback from some of our listeners. One wrote in an email that he drives one hour in his car each week to get into the area of transmission. I replied that we're also having a internet stream. In fact, our most loyal listener is living in South Africa and listens our show to learn German--which probably isn't a good idea because I have a bold swabian accent.

The guy who's working the shift after our show laughed when he entered the studio to take over, because the studio was filled with a bold smell of mulled wine. We pribed him with champagne and some cookies. I hope the cookies got along well with the beer he brought for himself. Oh, sunday nights at the station are wonderful: peaceful and quiet. By the way, I pray that my bosses don't read my blog. :-)

What two answers are revealing ...

I found this test at Quantum Entanglements. I think this test is amazing. Just two questions, but the result hits the nail on the head...

the Perfectionist
you chose CZ - your Enneagram type is ONE.

"I do everything the right way"

Perfectionists are realistic, conscientious, and principled. They strive to live up to their high ideals.

How to Get Along with Me

  • Take your share of the responsibility so I don't end up with all the work.
  • Acknowledge my achievements.
  • I'm hard on myself. Reassure me that I'm fine the way I am.
  • Tell me that you value my advice.
  • Be fair and considerate, as I am.
  • Apologize if you have been unthoughtful. It will help me to forgive.
  • Gently encourage me to lighten up and to laugh at myself when I get uptight, but hear my worries first.

What I Like About Being a One

  • being self-disciplined and able to accomplish a great deal
  • working hard to make the world a better place
  • having high standards and ethics; not compromising myself
  • being reasonable, responsible, and dedicated in everything I do
  • being able to put facts together, coming to good understandings, and figuring out wise solutions
  • being the best I can be and bringing out the best in other people

What's Hard About Being a One

  • being disappointed with myself or others when my expectations are not met
  • feeling burdened by too much responsibility
  • thinking that what I do is never good enough
  • not being appreciated for what I do for people
  • being upset because others aren't trying as hard as I am
  • obsessing about what I did or what I should do
  • being tense, anxious, and taking things too seriously

Ones as Children Often

  • criticize themselves in anticipation of criticism from others
  • refrain from doing things that they think might not come out perfect
  • focus on living up to the expectations of their parents and teachers
  • are very responsible; may assume the role of parent
  • hold back negative emotions ("good children aren't angry")

Ones as Parents

  • teach their children responsibility and strong moral values
  • are consistent and fair
  • discipline firmly


Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele:
The Enneagram Made Easy, Discover the 9 Types of People
Harper SanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

If you want to take this test as well: The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test

There's no such thing as the German Christmas Pickle

I've heard of the legend of the German Christmas Pickle Ornament. This Christmas Pickle story seems to be taught in many American schools in German classes. And a little research showed me that many Americans think, the Christmas Pickle is a very important christmas tradition in Germany. If you haven't heard of that special ornament before, read on ...

A pickle is used as decoration on the Christmas tree seems odd at first, but it is an old German tradition. When decorating the Christmas tree, it is traditional to hang the pickle last, hidden among the branches. The first child on Christmas Day to find the Christmas pickle receives a special blessing for the year and an extra gift from St. Nikolaus!

Well, as you can imagine easily, there is no such thing as a Christmas Pickle in Germany. And it never has been. In neither area of Germany people ever hung Pickles in Christmas Trees. Believe me!

The Legend of the Christmas Pickle itself contains a few errors. Except the fact that the legend was made up by an American Ornament manufacturer, everything sounds like an American Christmas celebration. Because everything else in this story is more like American Christmas, since a traditional German Christmas is completely different.

Here's how Christmas is celebrated in Germany.


Real German Christmas Traditions

1. Each family has it's own Christbaum (Christmas tree). The tree is set up on December 24th--not earlier. And it'll stay in the homes till January 6th. Typical decorations are candles, Christmas ball ornaments and tinsel; sometimes (very rarely) real apples or oranges.
I can't emphasize it enough: There never was something like a Christmas Pickle. Really!
I think Americans put more things on their trees. I got a fratwork crab from a family in Maryland. She told me about a tradition in Maryland that each family makes these crabs out of wood and gives them to friends and then you hang them on your christmas tree. I still have the crab she gave me, but probably that's not a true legend either. Can anybody approve this story?

2. The Nikolaus (St. Nicholaus) in Germany delivers his presents at December 6th. When I was younger Nikolaus brought some nuts, oranges, chocolates and maybe a book or a CD. Small gifts only. I guess Nikolaus earns more money now, because the gifts he's delivering recently are getting bigger and more expensive. Anyway, he delivers only to children who were nice during the entire year. Nasty children however got spanked by "Knecht Ruprecht", his menial. "Just wait until Ruprecht comes" is still a common threat in German homes. Although there are no reports of children that really got spanked, Nikolaus is still commanding respect. When I was about 3 or 4 years old I was afraid of Nikolaus, although I've always been nice.

3. Children in Germany don't get their presents at Christmas Day. In Germany the presents are brought by the Christkind ("christ child") on Christmas Eve. The Christkind puts them under the Christmas Tree while nobody's in the room.
Children are allowed to open their presents right after dinner on Christmas Eve. Traditionally it wasn't a big dinner on Christmas Eve. In my state sausages and potato salad is quite typical. My grandparents always had sausages and potato salad. My parents however never made sausages, instead we often had a special pastry filled with chicken and mushrooms which is still one of my favourite dishes today. Today many families have Raclette or Fondue on Christmas Eve.

4. During the four weeks before Christmas, everybody has a Adventskranz (advent wreath) at home. The linked article on Wikipedia is showing a picture of a typical Adventskranz. However, the explanation on Wikipedia is not correct for Germany. Here's the real thing: It is a ring or set of four candles, usually made with evergreen cuttings. Then the candles are lit in succession through the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Each sunday one more candle is lit. The color of the candles doesn't matter. Most common color of the candles is red. And usually they're all the same color.

5. Each child has an Adventskalender (advent calendar). It has 24 little doors with numbers from 1 to 24. On the 1st of Dezember the first door is opend, then each day another one. When the last door is opened it's Christmas Eve and the children get their presents. Behind the doors there are either some pictures, but most commonly there are chocolates or other treats.

"Berlin Gay Mates" by Karim Konrad

My readers know that I never post random pictures of hot guys on my blog. That's not my mission. Usually I write about personal things in my life. But here's an exception.

Back when we still had our magazine I was always searching for artists to write about their art. We usually had three or four pages featuring an artist each issue. Some were amazing, I liked many things I've seen, and I think I've seen pretty much and quite different things.

About two months ago I got an email from Karim Konrad. He's a photographer who has just published "Berlin Gay Mates", his first book of photographs. He introduced himself briefly and sent some of his pictures. When I looked at them I was completely amazed. I can't really say why. I tried it in in German when I wrote my review. I'm not really able to put it in words. But I've never seen pictures like that before. They're colorful, they're bright. It's a candy-coated potpourri of flamboyant colors and erotic guys, of innocent mirth and horny admiration.

I like the composition of the pictures. It's a completely new style (for me), and it just works.

Quite often a picture taken by the featured artist was used as cover for our magazine. Usually I can estimate the success of a cover. The cover is very important. When we had a good cover, the magazine was out of stock in two or three days. If the cover was not perfect, we had to throw some magazines into the recycle bin when the next issue got published.

But I'm sure, one of those pictures on our cover and they would be fighting for the last copies. Unfortunately we're on a break and won't be publishing a new issue before June 2007.

I asked Karim if I may write about his book on my blog, and he gave me permission to do so. I'm glad I can show his photographs here, because I think they're really cool. I love those colorful accessoires together with the hot guys.

Ok buddies, check out Karim's Homepage at www.karimkonrad.com, there are more cool pictures.

Holiday Meme

I found this meme over at Frippin Frappin Crazy and just liked it.
By the way, I just love Christmas. But you probably already knew. So, here are my answers...

Weihnachtsmarkt06 026Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
First a Hot Chocolate, then an Egg Nog, and then a mulled wine.
Yup, sounds great ...

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
I don't know. Santa never brought me any gifts. My gifts were brought by the Christkindle ("christ child". By the way, that's where "Kris Kringle" got his name). But the Christkindle is more like an angel. Santa delivers the gifts in the northern part of Germany, but here in the south the Christkindle has to do the work.
Back to the question: the Christkindle wraps presents. Of course!

Colored or white lights?
White. Sometimes real candles.

Do you hang mistletoe?
Unfortunately this custom is more or less unknown in Germany. However, I remember one year my mom hang one. But the entire kissing thing is unknown here.

When do you put your decorations up?
On 1st of Advent I put up an "Adventskranz" (advent wreath), some candles, maybe some angels and "little" things. The christmas tree in Germany is put up on December 24th.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
All my Christmases were great. I have no special favorite.
Worst memory however was when my mom and I got stuck in an elevator on 2nd Christmas day because there was a blackout due to a heavy storm. We wanted to visit my grandparents (that's where the entire family meets on 2nd Christmas day).

What is your favorite holiday dish?
When I was younger my mom made a special pie on "Heiliger Abend" (christmas eve). The pie was filled with chicken, mushrooms, and a cream sauce. It's my favourite holiday dish. Unfortunately my mom doesn't prepare it anymore.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
What??? Santa isn't real???
Poor children in the northern part of Germany. Their parents are telling them lies. I'm so lucky to have the Christkind deliver them. And the Christkind is real, right?!
Well, I don't know how old I was. I guess about 7 or 8...

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Of course. In Germany every child gets his/her presents on Christmas Eve. Opening gifts on Christmas morning is unknown here.

How do you decorate your tree?
With white candles (uhm, the candles aren't white, but their light is), and ornaments.

Snow, Love it or Dread it?
I think I'm lucky to live in an area where we have warm summers and cold winters. And of course, a real Christmas needs snow. And I love snow. But, to be honest. If it went away right after christmas I wouldn't mind either.

Can you ice skate?
As graceful as an elephant.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
I still remember many, many gifts I got. But I can't select a favorite one.

What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Seeing my family again. And it's a big reunion each year, because some relatives that live abroad are coming home for the holidays. And if I ever move to New York (keep your fingers crossed), I think I will come home for Christmas as well.

What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Uhm ... I like everything. But the typical Christmas sweets here in Germany like gingerbread and other "Weihnachtsbredla" (christmas cookies) are best.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Spending the holidays with the family. Lame answer, I know. But that's really the best part of Christmas.

What tops your tree?
Nothing.

Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
I like ... wait ... oh ... you're talking about presents. That's quite different.
I prefer receiving, because I'm very bad at finding gifts for somebody.

What is your favorite Christmas song?
Sounds odd, but I like the typical American ones best.

Candy canes, yuck or yum?
Uhm ... I'm not really into candy canes. But they're quite uncommon in Germany.

Do you like Christmas music?
Of course! I like traditional songs, but also new ones. And Last Christmas by Wham has a special meaning for me.
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart... *sing*

Forever Young

It really hit me hard, when my 30th birthday came in July. Harder than anyone of my friends, harder than I ever expected. It's a little bit early for a midlife crisis, isn't it? But--you all know--it was good for me. I read some very interesting books and changed many things in my life. I'm not only losing weight, I'm also working on staying young. The books I'm reading are all from the same author, but on different topics. The first was about vitamins which made me curious, and then one about dieting, that's when it all really started. The last one I read was about being forever young. The good thing is, it's always narrowing down to the same things. So what I'm doing does help me lose weight, but also stay young. The name of the whole way of life is called forever young. There might be some companies with that name, but I don't mean them.

There was a show on German TV called "Diät-Duell" (engl. "diet duel"). There were four teams. One team did Atkins/Low-Carb, one Weight-Watchers, one Brigitte (famous German magazine for women, they have their own diet), and one group did "forever young". They're not really comparable since forever young isn't really a diet. Anyway, the results were amazing. The forever young team lost most of the weight, and their percentage of body fat decreased by nearly twice as much compared to the other groups. So, the forever young team won the duel. And it was a very obvious win.
 

Team Body Fat Loss Weight Loss
Brigitte Diät 8,8% 70,8 lb
Atkins/Low Carb 8,0% 86,4 lb
Weight Watchers 9,1% 86,6 lb
Forever Young 17,8% 127,5 lb


I never saw the diet duel show, because I can't receive the station, I just heard of the results after two months of duelling, and it showed me I'm doing the right thing ...

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today is my grandpa's birthday. It's him on the left, next to him is Granny, and on the right is my mom. The anual fall birthday-marathon is on the home stretch. Gramps was in hospital very often this year, but I hope he'll be around for some more years. I love my grandparents, they're very cordial and I love to visit them. Next time I'm gonna see them is on Christmas. I'm looking forward to seeing my whole family there again. Usually we're all visiting them on December 26th, wich is a holiday in Germany (called 2nd Christmas Day). Yes, we're having two of them.

Nikolaustag — Have you been naughty or nice?

Today is Nikolaustag (Day of St. Nick) in Germany. St. Nick often gets confused wrongfully with Santa Claus. But Santa Claus (German: Weihnachtsmann) is not the same as St. Nick (German: Nikolaus).

In Germany St. Nick is coming today. He has a book where all actions of everybody are recorded (I guess some secret service members would pay quite much to have a copy of that book). On December 6th he is riding from house to house on his white horse. He's carrying a huge sack full of small gifts as a reward for all children that have been nice. He's a nice and heavenly creature. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, there's also Knecht Ruprecht, his menial. But Knecht Ruprecht is a dark creature. Some say it's the devil himself. If the book says that you've been naughty, St. Nick won't give you any gift, instead you'll get a painful spanking from Knecht Ruprecht that you won't forget for the next year. "Just wait until Ruprecht comes" is still a common threat in German homes. So either way, chocolate or spanking, it sounds like fun, huh? Just kidding, And just for the records: I'm not into spanking at all. Far from it!

Each area has a slightly different Tradition. It's also very common to put your boots in front of your door during the night, and when you wake up on the morning of December 6th they're filled with little gifts like chocolates, nuts and oranges.

So, in my area it's a small gift in the boots, and a bigger gift from St. Nick himself in the evening. He usually wants to hear a poem or a song before he's willing to hand over the gifts. Although there are no reports of children that really got spanked during the last years, Nikolaus is still commanding respect. When I was about 3 or 4 years old I was afraid of Nikolaus, although I've always been nice.

Three Musketeers — Each for All, and All for Each

Yesterday I saw the musical 3 Musketiere (3 Musketeers). It's a new musical in Stuttgart, it just started two weeks ago. Yesterday it was a special performance. Stage Entertainment, the company that operates almost all musical theaters and shows in Germany donated the entire show to a local Anti-AIDS organization, i.e. the profit is completely donated to that organization for their projects. They do that regularly and I usually have tickets to that special shows. I think that is very generous of Stage Entertainment, and I'm glad this huge company is supporting that organization.

The musical was absolutely amazing, I like it very much. The music fits my taste quite well, it's a real ear candy, and the stage design made a great visual impact. The story in brief is about the good musketeers that fight the bad. The last song's title was the motto "Each for All, and All for Each", and there were dozends of musketeers dancing. Whenever one needed help, every other musketeer helped. And each one was helping when he realized another one needs help.
I don't want to elaborate to much on that topic, everybody knows what it means. It was very touching.

After the show I as I was walking home from the lightrail station I suddenly realized why this song touched me that much. I'm a very loyal friend and I was always helping the weak. I usually was a class representative, and I tried to help whoever was suffering from injustice.

Stuttgart Christmas Market

For more than 300 years we have a Christmas market in Stuttgart. It's one of the biggest and nicest in Europe. The festively illuminated city center - with a medieval flair due to the Old Castle, the towers of the Collegiate Church and the grand Baroque castle facility of the New Castle - forms the wonderful backdrop of the Stuttgart Christmas Festival.

I like the roofs of the little vendor booths, because they're individually decorated. I visited the Christmas Market (or "Weihnachtsmarkt" as we're calling it), and here are some impressions.

 

Weihnachtsmarkt06 003
And you can go ice scating in front of the new castle.

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Of course you can get mulled wine ("Glühwein") everywhere. I suppose it sounds odd to some Americans, because I know that you can't have alcoholic drinks on the street. But in Germany there is no problem with that at all.

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Some booths at the Schillerplatz ...

Weihnachtsmarkt06 012At the old castle ...


 

Weihnachtsmarkt06 015In front of the Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church) ...


 

Weihnachtsmarkt06 016More Impressions ...


 

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Weihnachtsmarkt06 027
These sugar canes aren't typical for Christmas here. But I guess it's a homage to the many Americans that live in Stuttgart.


 

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Weihnachtsmarkt06 057I hope you enjoyed the little visit at our Christmas Market. This won't be the last post about Christmas, because I'm still loving Christmas like a little child.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart ...

Yup, Christmas is coming. Today I heard Last Christmas by Wham for the first time this year on radio. You know what that means: Christmas is around.
I remember the trip with Markus to New York for Christmas shopping. It was the trip where I also met a nice guy. Markus picked me up at home in the night. If I remember correctly it was 3.30am. I sat in his car, he turned on the radio and the next song coming up was Last Christmas. We both thought that it perfectly fits to our trip. We heard that song hundred times during that trip. Not on purpose, but it was on everywhere. So this song became the theme song for this trip.


Jenny, thanks for an legendary trip to the Big Apple. I hope we'll have many more. Your bosom friend Rita

A couple days ago while I was looking for a magic book that I've bought during that trip I found a collage that Markus made for me with pictures of the trip. "Rita and Jenny on tour". Rita and Jenny were the names we referred to each other. If he was a girl his parents would have named him Rita, and my name would be Jennifer if I were a girl.

Ok, back to the collage. He wrote some very nice things on it. I've translated some of them and put them in those gray boxes and scatter them all over this post.


You are and you will always be my soul mate. Whatever may happen, I hope this will never change.

Sadly, we had some issues right after the trip. I haven't seen him since April. But I can't forget the absolutely great times we spent together. He was "my big sister". I would be so happy if we were still so close like in that time. *sigh*


I would go on another trip with you anytime. I'll never have a better friend than you.

Actually I was thinking that I'm over this drama. I really was sure this is over, but when I found that collage it really hurt very much. Again. Last time we exchanged some short instant messages I said that I'm sad we're not good buddies anymore. He said that we still are, but each of us is busy and we kind of adjusted our lives and moved on.

Stick to your principles. I'm not the only one who loves you the way you are.

Jesus, it's amazing and frightening what feelings a little song can bring up on a Monday evening...

Happy Thanksgiving

Yet another great US holiday I would love to spend with my friends in New York City. Alas, I'm still stuck in f*ing old Germany where people don't even know what Thanksgiving is. Anyway, I hope you're having a blast at your turkey dinner. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


Thanksgiving promise: I know, I wasn't blogging much lately. Somehow I feel very uninspired. I'll be back in a few days.

Carnival

Here's another one about German customs. Today: Carnival. Every year on November 11th, 11.11am, a very annoying time starts and lasts till mid of February. Sigh!

Fortunately it's not a big deal in my state, but in many cities there are big parades, people dress up, and no matter which channel you switch on, the f*ing parades are everywhere.

I don't want to be a party-pooper, but I just don't get why people just freak out for no reason, and why such sh*t needs to go on for almost 4 months...

Martinstag

Today it's St. Martin's Day in Germany. On a cold day Martin rode on his horse when he saw a hobo. Martin didn't hesitate, ripped his coat in two and shared generously.

It's a German custom that little children sing special St. Martin songs while walking with self made lanterns in small groups after sunset. In some areas there is also some "Süßes oder es gibt Saures" ("trick or treat").

I remember doing that in kindergarten as well. It was big fun. After the walk with the lanterns all kids and parents went to one's home where there was hot chocolate for the kids and mulled wine for the adults.

Happy Birthday, Mom

The birthday marathon in my family continues. Today's Mom's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mom. You're the best Mom ever!

And I really mean it. Many people are saying that their Mom is the best. But mine really is. I'm very thankful to have such an amazing mother.

She's coming to Stuttgart today and going to pick me up later, then we're gonna have dinner together in a very fancy restaurant in her town. It's my favourite restaurant, the food is just amazing. They're preparing everything from scratch. And they bake tiny little cookies to serve with a coffee after dinner. They are sooo delicious.

I'm gonna be back on Sunday evening. Take care.

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