Equal Goes It Loose
The World Of Teaching & Learning English
Looking For Kurt??? The Post That Is Also A Page
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.07.08 under Uncategorized
Looking for a cute furry monkey in a tie??? one that looks something like this:
Well you’ve come to the right place - kind’ve. Kurt is a computer geek, and he helps me with my blogs, and so Ive agreed to help him out and let him have a little piece of this blog to host his blog catalog stuff. In particular he wants to try to reach travel writers for J Log, and when it comes down to it, I am a sucker for a monkey in a tie. 
I’ve turned this entry into a regular page on the blog for others who go a looking for Kurt in the future.
That Does Mean What You Think It Means
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.06.08 under travel
Which is that yes, I am off on Friday for a 3 month motorcycle tour! Everyone seems torn between being mega excited for me, and ready to cry and run out and get life insurance quotes on me. Yes motorcycling can be dangerous. But life is dangerous. I never want to be that person who misses out on things for fear of what COULD happen. Life is for the living, and the one quote that has always stuck in my head from my high school agenda was one that basically went “if I could live my life over again I would make more mistakes.”
Being safe means missing out on too much. I would always rather say I lived it to the fullest.
Boo Ya To Your Motha!!
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.06.08 under 365 project, Germany
I did it, I did it, I did it!!!!!!!!!! Thats right boys and girls, I now have a German motorcycle license. Not without any small amount of pain now mind you - a brief overview of my last 3 days to illustrate: (with help from my 365 photo blog project, which I have been doing constantly, minus the blogging part, which is what I thought would keep me taking the pictures in the first place, but whatever, that is so me. I just wanted to write thats so me. :-P)
Anyway let the digression stop!
Friday: One week before anticipated departure date and I have my test the next morning. Should I fail I have to wait 2 weeks before I can take it again, meaning yes, my trip is delayed by at least one week.
More importantly. EVERYONE knew the date of my test. Under normal circumstances I would hide this information so no one would know of my humiliation should I fail. Except this close to leaving how do I hide that? Also at 250 Euros a pop the thought of failure made me want to vomit. That is 2 weeks on the road (minus gas).
I proceed to deal with it Sherrie style, over indulge in wine at the work summer function, and be pursued the entire night by my instructor who was riding a flaming motorcycle. Sigh
Saturday morning: Oh God, I am going to vomit into my helmet.
I have never been so scared in my life. I don’t remember feeling this way before going for my car license. (However maybe I should have as I failed twice for that stupid test. The first time because I backed into a pole, whoops nerves! And the second time I made it out of the compound only to be told I was TOO cautious and therefore the instructor felt that I wasn’t ready for the roads). Wither it was the nightmares, the wine, the missed class, or just memories of trying to go for my car license in Canada, I was ready to vomit. Everywhere.
The result: Something I am posting on all three blogs, which short of taking out advertising pens, is as loud as I can scream it,
I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Sweat, The Stress, The Very Nice Student
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.03.08 under 365 project, Germany, Language Learning, travel
I will fully confess to the fact that one of the big attractions to teaching English for me is the time. For those of you who know of my time schedule in Germany - stop laughing, I really am serious. ;-P This particular year has been brutal it is true, but then this is the first time ever I took every and any class offered to me in an effort to pay off debt (student loans and credit cards, of which one student loan still stands, still one down one to go!), take vacations when I can pay in cash, (and I have) plus I bought a new motorcycle and am about to go on a 3 month vacation. (Note: I worked A LOT!!! Plus I never buy myself gifts anymore, which is sad, but 3 months vacation is good. Ill let you know if the sacrifices of the past year were worth it).
However I digress, and the point is, I like being able to set my own schedule, and part of that is not having to wake up early. So that the past 2 days involved me waking up at 5 45 as I had motorcycle lessons to attend before going to class for 4 hours of private lessons did little to amuse me.
Lucky for me the student is lovely. Of the four hours I would say 2 is spent in general conversation, and 2 is spent on actual vocabulary building and grammar (as in work specific, as the entire time is spent speaking English, and I am a firm believer in any practice is better than no practice). I feel a little guilty, but not incredibly so, as I am correcting her and we are practicing the ever elusive “small talk,” that every student begs for and comes down to being able to chat. I sometimes wonder though if that much talking without real focus is good for her, and yet 3 weeks of 4 hour private lessons a day will quickly become dreadful if stuck to work vocab and prepositions.
Either way, I am so glad she is nice, as the week turned out to be a ball of heat and stress otherwise. I have my driving test on Saturday and I am terrified I am going to do something stupid to mess the whole thing up. Forget cheap Phentermine, between the stress and the heat I should be back into my old pants this time next week!
Is It Normal To Be This Nervous???
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.01.08 under 365 project, Germany, Quick Conversation Lessons
Everyone assumes I am nervous about the upcoming trip. I am not at all. I am just excited, I am really looking forward to it, and I derserve it. While I admit that in the past I didnt let money stop me, I just put whatever I needed on credit card, this past year has been hellish in equal parts as fantastic. Be it my Saturn’s return, that I am adjusting to life in a new country (as opposed to a short to long term jaunt, as I mentioned, I have never renewed a work visa before), accepting that I cant live on credit forever, or whatever it may be, this year I have paid off my credit cards, paid off a student loan, and this trip is paid for in cash. I put in 12 hour days, I did not decorate my apartment, I do not buy new clothes every paycheck, my books come from the library or an online swap account (mostly), and instead of eating out every week, I rarely eat out at all. (I also like to think all of this helps the environment as well, check out the story of stuff at the bottom of the post, on a tangent its great for an ESL lesson as well, the main site comes with a discussion handout that is perfect for advanced students, but you can modify the questions for an intermediate group).
BUT, what I am terrified of is failing the test on Saturday by doing something so utterly stupid like not looking long enough over my shoulder, or forgetting to check right before left when I am off a main street, or for the first time since my second lesson, dropping the bike.
GAAAAAA I am superstitious enough that even writing that makes me want to puke!
And the promised video:
Thursday 13: 13 Reasons To Write For JLog!
[ 14 Comments ] Posted on 06.26.08 under Uncategorized
 4. It can be in English or German. 5. Not a traveler but still want to flex your writing muscles? Straight from their submissions page: Your home is still someone else’s travel destination. And you have all the insiders tips they want and need. Restaurant reviews, the best bars, hidden spots that the average travel guide misses. This is what Journizer is about, and why everyone can be part. You just need to get your pen/typing fingers ready. And practice makes perfect! 6. Its true there is no payment, but that is because its new. It is still a discriminating source, and that also means there is no charge for the magazine itself. 7. Both could change in the future if the demand for it is there. Where there are funds for the mag, there are funds for the writers! 8. But the free part means you can link it directly to your blog or website, and your readers can read your submission for free as well! (I say submission instead of article, because what if you write a fantastic piece that is just 200 words long? Does that count as an article? I dont know). 9. Its that excuse you were looking for to dust up that blog entry on the time you were almost eaten by alligators. 10. Because Kurt wants you to:
11. Can you really resist a stuffed monkey in a tie? 12. Because you can write about almost anything you want! From the website: We want insiders tips, funny stories, and we want to hear how others can do the same thing you did for less or easier! How did you do it, why did you do it, and what did you learn from doing it? We want it all. The only requirements are that your article needs to be well written, something people would want to read, and that it takes place somewhere on this planet. Oh, yeah, and it should be in English or German! 13. And finally, because all you have to do is email submissions here: stories(at)jlog-travelmagazin.com or find out more here: http://www.jlog-travelmagazine.com/jlog/en/write_for_jlog |
Countdown!
[ No Comments ] Posted on 06.23.08 under Germany, travel
We are on the less than three week countdown to our trip. SUPPOSING that is I pass my motorcycle practical. I am not so worried about the bike itself, I can handle the bike, in fact the other day my instructor was riding in front of me (and without headphones in my ear) I just got to enjoy the bike. We took some back roads through the suburbs of Stuttgart, and I just forgot that he was even there, even though he was in front of me the entire time. It made me ache I want to go on the trip so bad, but at the same time that the next 3 weeks are going to be so crazy busy that I cant go wishing my time away. We already just passed the weekend of the Christening, we have less than 3 weeks before we leave. As I said, supposing July 5th I dont do something really stupid.
This shot is from the weekend and it was almost what I choose for my 365 project. I was actually so tired here I fell asleep on the back of the bike. Honest, we were on the highway through Switzerland to make up some lost time (read boring riding) and I just passed out cold, and woke up when my helmet beat off of Patrick’s.
Other things in Sherrie world:
Tonight I was talking to my parents about my brother’s upcoming wedding, and they have said that they are serious about coming back here next fall. Destinations: Greece and Spain, and this time they will stay for a full 3 weeks. The thing I love about Europe is that it is so cheap to travel. Planes or car rentals the prices are just right. (Gas to fuel them however is a bit more painful, but whatever) and we could car hire in Spain like we had planned to do this time, but just ran out of time. This time around I want to spend more time in Spain and Greece (and of course Germany itself!).
My dad wont drive a motorcycle, so car rentals are our choice when they visit.
This post was sponsored by that cheap car rental place worldwide!
Just Playing Around
[ No Comments ] Posted on 06.23.08 under travel
Day 5: The Travel Jar Breaks
[ No Comments ] Posted on 06.17.08 under 365 project, travel
This morning my trusty travel jar broke! For those of you who do not know, the travel jar is for my spare change, as well as anytime I make plans that get canceled. It is not exactly going to buy me a plane ticket (though truthfully within Europe it could) it has bought me pain free my motorcycle boots (at the tune of just under 300 Euros, so that would have hurt had I took it out of my paycheck that month), my protection bars for Betty (only 100, but still, who wants to feel 100 coming out of their budget when they can just open up the travel jar of those nonbought coffees and movies).
Patrick likes to shake it and tell me its hungry. Today when he did it it broke. Surely a sign that this time its not for something for future travel, but the upcoming trip!!
Day 3: GAAAAAAAAAAA
[ No Comments ] Posted on 06.15.08 under 365 project, Germany
How utterly boring, but so true, I have my theory test on Wednesday, and supposing I pass it, my practical will be on July 5th. yes that would be one week before the departure date. A little too close for my liking but my driving instructor keeps pointing out I should pass it, not fail it, and therefore the 5th makes no difference.
Easy for him to say, he HAS the license, and does not come with almost 10 years of driving that counteracts EVERYTHING I learned. Even to the point where we are suppose to pull all the way into the farthest lane, which I only do when I figure no cops will see me and I am being lazy.
Blech.
Then there is this theory test, which I fear may kick my ass. Multiple choice with multiple answers. Maybe its all 3, maybe its 1, but no partial marks.
Sniff, I have a Masters and I fear a test that high school students pass.