Hanging by a thread

Well, twine is probably more accurate.




For months now, the monitor on my laptop has slowly been losing it's... well, I don't know what it's losing. The spring in it's step. Maybe that's a good way to put it.

First, it was just the left side of the monitor. Some plastic piece broke and some metal piece that attaches the monitor to the keyboard got twisted. I have no idea how it happened. The monitor became a bit floppy. Then the same thing happened on the right side of the monitor. And now my monitor... it's fallen, and it can't get up.

But aside from the loosey-goosey monitor, the computer works pretty well. So I decided to make a splint.




I started out with this cardboard brace to help hold the monitor in place. But after about a week the cardboard started to give a little. So I added the twine to the cardboard to help it keep it's shape. That worked for a few days, but then the laptop started slumping forward. So finally I added another piece of twine that wraps around the laptop itself. (That's the one you see in the first photo.) So the splint has kind of turned into a full-body cast.

But it works. I can even adjust the slant of the monitor with this latest addition. If you're going to hold your computer together with twine and cardboard, this is the way to go.

Hopefully the computer will make it a bit longer without needing additional braces or -- I hate to even think it -- surgery. I should have a new laptop in about a month.

From the mouth of babes

The other night Brian and I were at a neighbor's house for a Bible study. We were just sitting there on the couch when the host's 3-year-old son looked at Brian and asked, "Why you mad?" Brian tried to tell him that he wasn't mad, that was just his normal expression. I assured the kid that I had often been mislead by Brian's seemingly angry countenance and that he really was not mad.

The boy seemed skeptical.

To be honest, I'm a little skeptical at times as well.

Could've fooled me

I love sweet potatoes, but they're hard to come by around here. In the fall, the Naschmarkt was overflowing with sweet potatoes, but when I went looking for them in late December the selection wasn't so great. I figured that was the only time I would get sweet potatoes until the fall. So when I heard that the Asian Shop at a nearby mall sold sweet potatoes, I was quite excited.

I had sweet potatoes on the brain for several days before I finally made the time to stop by the mall. I was disappointed by the bin of small, shriveled sweet potatoes I found there. But I decided to buy a few anyways.


By the time I finally got around to cooking them a few days later, I was really craving sweet potatoes. I just love the taste, the texture, the color...


Wait a second. These potatoes are white. I was a little skeptical, but I cooked them up anyways. And sure enough, they were sweet potatoes. It's a good thing, because I don't think regular potatoes would taste very good with a streusel topping.

Small victories

Today Brian and I went to the university to register for next semester's German course. Everyone in the registration office speaks English, but I decided that I was going to give it a go in German. After all, I'm not in an elementary class anymore.

So I did it in German. And it went off without a hitch. Well, except that I told the woman that I was born in 1918 instead of 1980.

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Remember how I told you about the university field trip last week? We got a video of some of the activities. Here are a few clips that I pulled out so you could see a little of the class and what university students do on a field trip. The first two clips are from some fun in the blue box. In the last clip, we were checking out the teleprompter on the camera. So that's why everyone is looking at the camera oddly. The girl at the end is wearing a blue sweater, but the camera still has the blue box setting turned on, so you can see a bit of a weather map on her sweater.

A disclaimer -- I didn't add the music, it was on the video.

A calm night at home

This is how you usually find Brian and Sharkdog in the evening.



But sometimes, they get a little crazy. My favorite part is right after Brian says he thinks Sharkdog is worn out.

On their way

I finished the coasters today and took them to the post office this afternoon. Now they're in the hands of the Austrian postal service (which I've heard is not so great, although I've only had one problem with them). So, without further ado, here's the design I settled on.




It's basically the design that everyone seemed to like, with a few extra lines thrown in. The coasters ended up being a little larger than my first one, so I added a second box around the whole thing. And then I added a diamond inside the blue diamond on the fabric.

I really like how they turned out.

And while I was at the post office, I picked up a package from Amazon. The mailman knocked on our door at 7:30 yesterday morning (which is a bit too early for me -- so I made Brian get it) to inform us that we had to pick up the package at the post office and pay the customs fees. The last time we got something from Amazon, the mailman delivered it to our door and collected the customs fees. He also showed up around 10 instead of 7:30. I wonder if this is because we didn't tip him at Christmas? Ha ha! Since you didn't give me a tip, I'll make you pick up your own mail. And knock on your door while you're still in bed. Actually, I'm pretty sure it's a different guy than before, but maybe they're in cahoots.

In any event, I've been eagerly awaiting these books. Especially Amy Butler's InStitches pattern book. I have one more sewing project to finish before I can get started on the wide-leg lounge pants. It's a good thing I have some time off from school.

This is university

My German teacher has a lot of sayings. My favorite is, "This is university." I like this one because it can be used to mean so many different things. I'll give you a few examples.

If you....

... didn't do the required homework, "this is university" means that you need to get your act together and treat the class with a little respect.

... didn't do the optional homework, "this is university" means don't worry about it; it's up to you whether or not you do the optional homework.

... miss class, "this is university" means she doesn't need to hear your excuse. Whether you were sick, attending a funeral or recovering from a hard night of partying, she doesn't care. You can miss up to 20% of the classes for any reason or no reason. (Of course, if you miss one day over the 20% limit, you don't pass the course regardless of your grade.)

This expression became even more humorous to me yesterday. Last week we took our two final exams -- an oral exam on Wednesday and a written exam on Friday. But we still had class through today. We spent Monday reviewing the final exam and discussing some final points, but we were left with two full days of nothing to do. So what did we do? We went on a field trip. After all, this is university.

Yesterday we loaded up on the public transportation and headed to ORF, the local television studio. We saw several other groups of field-trippers -- mostly between the ages of 6 and 8. Even though I felt a little silly going on a field trip, I had a good time.

Today was the last of class and the plan was to go to a cafe for coffee and cake. I assume that that's what happened, but can't be sure since I didn't go to class today. Do you want to know why? Well, I don't have to tell you. This is university.