Old year new year.
Another one bites the dust. It’s been the most eventful year of my life I think. Recap…

January….uhhh I can’t remember. I was in Germany part of last December, so I was probably spending January thinking about Germany.
February….almost complete month spent in Germany. Saw some castles and started trying to move here.
March…..no clue, it probably rained in Oregon.
April….no Clue. It probably rained in Oregon.
May…probably wanted to take the top off the jeep. Sun might have come out in Oregon.
June….Came back to Germany for the month. World cup. Drunk Brits singing God save the queen…drunk Germans…Drunks Mexicans…watching some old Cuban guy make cigars on the street…bloody hot and the only place with A/C is starbucks.
July…home for a few weeks. Getting ready to go. Had to say bye to people…sell the jeep and pack stuff.
August… First month in DE. Lonely and bloody hot again. Made some German friends but they only get together once or twice a week. The rest of the time was spent alone.
September…Got a real Frankfurt apartment. Commute went up but well worth it. Have to sleep with the backdoor open cuz it gets so hot. As a result the biggest mosquitoes ever tried to eat me.
October…can’t remember, but I think it finally started raining. I also think I went to Ikea.
November…Went to Denver. Decide I don’t like the States at all anymore.
December…christmas market below my flat. Gluhvein and amaretto…tasty…Made lots of friends. Got angry at slow moving americans (and other tourists) on my street. You’re not in American anymore…WALK FASTER!!!!

I also have to remember everyone who made this a great year for me. Adrienne for being supportive, Parents, Grandparents, the old timers at nobeltec, the new timers at Jeppesen, everyone who came to my going away party at work, Jay, Kati, Rags, Ken, Lisa, Monica, Kevin (jerk) + wife (I can’t believe you married that jerk), and a bunch of other people I might be forgetting.
also Dave, Rhonda + kids, Bob, Cindy + Kids, Katie, Roger, Chelsea,

new people in Germany. Colleagues, Philipp, Sabine, Tina, Veronique, Karsten, Steffi, Stephi, Mario, Dorothee, Simone, Florian, Florian, Petra, and since I’m bad with names I’m missing a lot of people that I used to hang out with when I lived in N.I. and came here on business trips.

New people in Frankfurt a.M.: Vikki, Clinton, Matt, Kat, Jeff (pops), Phong, Vladdi, Lucky, Uncle Tony, Phil, Dennis, Anne, Ben, Jen, Ewa, Monty (not!), Cora da explora, Jess, Nadja, Rhona, and all the people whose names I can’t recall.
funny, I think there are only 2 Germans in that last sentence. The rest are Euro trash or wannabe paddies (I use euro trash with all the affection in the world. I consider americans to be euro trash too – only without the roots and Indian Breeding).
oh wait I guess there’s a couple ozzies in there too.

I’ll probably have to edit that list later when I think about it.

Thanks to Lucky for losing Matt’s keys and having to stay with me 2 nights in a row!!!! Good job son! Bloody Ozzies…Nothing like waking up to the ugliest girl ever!!!!

The Irish opens today after 2 nights closed. About time!!!

Going to see Babel this afternoon unless it’s super crowded at the Englisch cinema. Kind of excited. Haven’t been to the cinema in a few weeks.

I thought everything was going to be closed today, but I think there’s more stuff open today than yesterday. It seems the Germans spend the 24th with family, and the 25 is more of a family and friends day. This is good for me.

Friends are still gone so it’s a tad lonely.

an ozzie told me “Joe Squires is such an american name”. Hadn’t really thought about it, but I have not met anyone named joe or joseph since I’ve been here.

The streets outside my flat are rather deserted. At least Starbucks is open, but the newspaper stands are all closed (there are no newspaper machines here – just those news and magazine stores).

I realized while walking back that I’ve missed at least one of every family function ever (b-days, Thanksgivings, easter dinners) but I’ve never missed x-mas eve at my nanny and grandpas. First time for everything I guess. At least I managed to buy 0 gifts – not even a card…
Not sure of plans tonight…I’m sure someplace will be open for all the lonely people in Frankfurt. I guess I didn’t look pathetic enough to get an invite for dinner anywhere.

So in honour of christmas here’s the lyrics to the best song of the season ever. A bitter love story of Irish immigrants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairytale_of_New_York

or

try this for same lyrics in a comic strip.

It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The rare old mountain DEW
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you

Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen to one
I've got a feeling
This year's for me and you
So happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true

They've got cars big as bars
They've got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you
It's no place for the old
When you first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me

You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night

(chorus)
The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

(chorus)

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you

(chorus)

So I finally got pics back from other people….Posting a million of them now….On the day the xmas fair has closed….depressing that it’s all gone now…no more throngs of people below my flat….no more smell of peanut and popcorn and chocolate…and sausage…. The only street performers I saw today were a couple of 14 year olds right below my flat who weren’t very good…Matt suggested I throw hot oil on them…but I had no oil to throw….

Way to go Jeff (Pops) for earning your new nickname “Captain Ahab”. Get the bloody whale!!!!!! 500€ +20€ = physically impossible.
Call me Ishmael!

I’m thinking of taking up the spoons. Matt’s suggestion…

Why are there candy guts all over my floor?

Thanks to Matt, Phong, Singer Phil, and Blossom for testing my 4 people in the elevator theory…The sign says only 3 people but we all know how signs are put in elevators by the man to keep us down…(literally down…on the E floor or U floor or whatever it is. Not to be confused by the stupid Americans as the 1st floor which is not the ground, but the first floor above the ground).
and a special holiday thanks to my friends for putting up with my boorish behavior….much obliged.

an interesting article for the holidays http://www.slate.com/id/2155683/

Ma’amchester United rocks!!! Congrats on this season which will be the biggest letdown ever!!!
Thanks to the ref for making me 3€ by carding some loser at the 94th minute.

I got laughed off the table when I asked when the playoffs start. Apparently in the Premiership there are no playoffs.

Good thing I don’t have a way for people to add comments to this page.

Below with the family at the christmas market (can we get a pic where someone doesn’t have middle finger extended?). That’s me behind kat’s hand. Others are from Jeff’s Birthday (pops), and below that is the family portrait we gave pops on his birthday. He claims to have it displayed proudly in his living room.

It’s great fun when the horn playing street performers switch between xmas carols and star wars songs…

Went again to see the same band from last night. Great time. After the show the Banjo player sat at our table and we all sat around and sang with him. It was good fun.