Tschüs, Berlin: Part II

Much like the last time I said goodbye to Berlin, I'm leaving here with a plan for what's next, but no real definitive idea of how it will actually turn out. Every time I recount the story of what's happened in the past eight months, I'm reminded how crazy and surreal it's all been. And it was very special getting to come back here to the place where it all started as sort of a full-circle-yet-also-a-totally-new-step-forward experience.

Here Spiros and I have gotten to know each other approximately 1,000,000 % better than I could have imagined. As we discussed the other day, in terms of hours spent together - like if you divided it up by dates and factored in if we each had, like, a real life to attend to - it's practically like we've been dating for years. I mean, had we been dating in New York, maybe we'd have seen each other once or twice a week? (Granted his comeback to this was, "Yeah, because you would have been 'Juggling Two Hotties'"...touché...) But living together, traveling together, "working from home together". It has been a lot of quality time to prove we are compatible.

This time has also afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with the friends I made last fall (and spend time with my friend's adorable baby) as well as meet new people. It makes me sad to think I don't know when I'll be back to see them again, but most have already assured me they're already planning their California excursions. I mean, what's the point of having an American friend if you can't come visit them?

And last but not least, Berlin itself, I'm glad to have been here.Thanks to Spiros, I've seen and done plenty of things I never would have made the effort to do when it was just me. He's reminded me that it's a city where at any time you can find yourself in the coolest, weirdest situations. (For example, a random burlesque show slash 18 piece brass band concert, like the other night.) But it's also the place we first had a real routine, where we went to 'our' brunch place on Saturdays and then shopped in the farmer's market for dinner ingredients. That will always make it special for me.

I will miss it, that's for sure. But I also couldn't be more excited for what's in store.

I will miss random nights out.

I will miss taking advantage of nice weather at neighborhood beer gardens.

I will miss our weekend brunch routine and the best croissants ever.

I will miss reminiscing at the places where we had our first few dates.

And for the month of September, I will miss this guy.
(Isn't his Longhorn training going well?!
He even threw up his horns without being prompted!)

I Forgot To Mention ...

I have an article in this month's Cosmo magazine! It's part of the regular "The Naughtiest Thing I've Ever Done" column. Clearly my parents are so proud... 

I wrote about how before I left for Germany last summer, I dated two guys at one time. I mean, I was leaving! Why not!? Then they both showed up at my going away party... and one of them picked up the entire tab - including drinks for the other guy. Of course the article got a little Cosmo'd-up from the editors, but in the grand scheme of life it was more funny than scandalous.

Anyway, if you happen to be waiting in a long line at the grocery store in the next few days (before they switch out for the newest issue) or getting a mani/pedi and spot the cover, maybe you can take a peak and see if you see my byline! Eeek.

This is the issue!
Who is this girl?
Never mind, just IMBD'd her.
Should I be watching Pretty Little Liars?

The Truth

I can be real silly. But only in front of certain people. Luckily Spiros is one of those people. And you know what? I have discovered how silly he is too. And it's one of the things I'm going to miss most during September while I'm back in the states and he stays to wrap things up in Berlin.

Something to look forward to when we're reunited, I guess. 

PS Isn't this picture the cutest? Who knew the man behind the salad dressing had so many other talents!

image of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (via Hip Hip Gin Gin)

Some Thoughts On Our Future Home

My feelings for LA have always been complicated. I visited for the first time with my family during the summer before eighth grade. We drove down the coast, and while I loved San Fran and San Diego, LA seemed too big, too rich to take seriously.

I didn't go back until my junior year of college to visit a friend who'd just moved out there. My perception was downgraded a few notches. It was too crazy, too vapid. Nothing I could handle, I figured.

Then about five years later I went back, this time armed with a few years of living in New York under my belt. To be honest, I was already searching for a way to escape the city, and LA felt like seeing in Technicolor for the first time. But even then, I knew it wasn't really an option at the time - something about it didn't feel right.

So here I am, two years later, fresh off a house hunting trip to the city of angels, and finally ready to make that step out West. Now I know it's the right time. Life can be so weird.

While it was definitely a mark in the crazy category to book the trip so close to leaving Berlin and before we could even legitimately look for a place to live, it was the best idea we've had in a long time.

This way we could get a real perspective, not a "Oh crap we're going to be homeless, just pick a place" time crunch. No, instead we got to look at different areas, view sample properties in our price range, and enjoy a few days getting to know our future home.

It was just what we needed. Sure, hitting two hour traffic from the airport to the hotel following an 11 hour flight wasn't exactly what we needed, but it did serve as a constant reminder that commute times are never a given.

We learned some other good lessons like how from the area we'll probably be living in (Calabasas, yes home to the Real Housewives of Kardashianville) is only a 20 minute drive to the Malibu beaches. And how there are lots of Chipotles and Targets everywhere (as learned by our realtor, I'm pretty easy to please).

We might have had a few mini-freak outs - mostly related to not living "in the city" considering that's what we're both used to - but then we did something adult: We looked at it logically. Spiros' job is farther north. Is it a good idea for him to have to commute almost four hours daily? No. Plus housing gets exponentially more expensive the closer in you get. Does it make sense to spend an insane amount of money on a one-bedroom apartment when we could get a house (and a yard)? Probably not.

So there you have it. We acted like quasi-adults, and we feel good about it! We are ready to be settled. And I feel so old and mature just typing this.

PS Chateau Marmont was celebrity-less, but as imagined, still at full douche capacity. And the food was actually pretty good.

"Leavin' On A Jet Plane... "

"...Don't know when I'll be back again"

Oh wait, yes I do. I'll be back in five days. Because Spiros and I are crazy people. Crazy people who couldn't turn down a free business class trip to LA to do some "house hunting." Except it's too early to actually find a place to rent because apparently the market is "hot" right now. So basically we are traveling for, like, 15 hours each way to look at "sample" properties. And eat dinner at Chateau Marmont. I just made a reservation for Sunday night at 9:45, which I think is totally the time Jennifer Aniston and her new fiance would also probably have a nice Sunday dinner. Not that my expectations are high or anything. If Lohan isn't there embarrassing herself, there's no way I'm going to enjoy my food. Anyway, basically we are flying all the way to California only to return a few days later only for me to get on another trans-Atlantic flight ten days later to New York. All because the lure of non-stop eating and movie watching while somebody waits on us hand and foot is basically my ideal life style and there was no way we could pass that up. I've been exceptionally good about my eating for the past week and a half, but that no bread rule is going straight outta that tiny little window the second that first roll is put in front of me. I just know it. Mmmmmm bread, why must we have such a complicated relationship?? To butter or not to butter, now that is the question ...

... And now you know what the inside of my brain looks like. I'm sorry.

I'm, Like, Really European Now

"You are so euro!" - comment left on FB re: this pic 

My time on The Continent has taught me a thing or two. For starters, I eat soft boiled eggs now. We even use the little stands and tiny spoons.

I now know there is a difference between techno music, electro music, and house music. I couldn't tell you what that difference actually is, but just that there is one.

Europe has also taught me that sometimes having the government in on your biznance isn't so bad. Two years of maternity leave paying you 60% of what you were making? For men and women? Not too shabby.

And don't even get me started on those 30 days of vacation per year. Working to live isn't so bad.

I've only got a little while left here in Berlin. While I'm beyond excited to get back home to place where people speak my language (I'm not so Euro that I picked up German like it ain't no thang), I will miss the ability to pack up and spend a weekend in another country as if you're just heading to another state.

I guess I can't be too sad though. One perk of having a European boyfriend - he'll always want to come visit! (And hopefully he'll bring me along too...)

"We aren't fighting, this is just how we talk"

When I first met Spiros, truth be told, I thought he might be too soft spoken for me. And The BFF's one complaint about him when she met him at Nicki's wedding was that she could barely hear him half the time. (In his defense, he was beyond exhausted and stressed, flying in last-minute for 24 hours just to be there with me. Sweetest guy ever.)

Anyway, I figured it just wasn't his nature to be loud and brash.

Or so I thought.

When I saw him in Greece, he was a totally different person. Energetic. Effusive. Engaged. More than once I'd look at him curiously, thinking to myself, "Who is this guy?" And more than once when the conversation decibel would reach even higher highs, I'd give him a side-eye glance and say, "Be nice." To which he'd respond, "We aren't fighting, this is just how we talk."

The familial shouting from My Big Fat Greek Wedding playing out right in front of my eyes. Quite a cultural experience, I have to admit.

I was reminded of all this on Saturday night when we met some friends at a Greek restaurant frequented many times by Spiros over the past couple of years. The minute we walked and were greeted with a hearty "Yassas! Kalispera!" ("Hello! Good evening!"), his eyes lit up.

I love when he speaks Greek. It transforms him, and it's adorable.

Here's to finding some great Greek people (and food) in California. Yamas! (Cheers!)

Happy Birthday, Dolo

What a rock star.

Happy 82nd birthday to my beloved grandmother Dolores. (No one ever calls her "grandmother" or "Dolores" but technically those are her names.)

While it's not exactly customary to make wishes for yourself on someone else's birthday, I hope that I manage to maintain an ounce of her humor, intelligence, grace, class, and general awesomeness when I am her age.

You are the best, Dolo. And now that you're OFFICIALLY retired, I can't wait to hang out. ALL THE TIME.  

P dot S: In honor of her birthday, I had lunch at Dolores Burrito here in Berlin. Not nearly as nice as being at her fancy schamncy Houston birthday luncheon, but I won't lie, it was good.

Today

Today I wish my eyes were the same size. 

Today I miss New York. Today I miss my family. Today I miss being in the U.S. for the Olympics. Today I miss Greece. Today I miss my friends. Today I miss bread (three whole days without it). Today I miss feeling like I have a purpose in life.

Today I am PMSing.

Bavaria & A Bit of Austria

Here are a few more photos from our most recent adventures. Get excited, they're of *gasp* landscapes and buildings! And - since today is your lucky day - I've thrown in one of a rotund, old man on a bicycle, a cow covered in flies, and a giant slug! 

I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to explore this part of Germany. One of my biggest regrets from my time in Berlin last fall was never making it to Bavaria. I never got to experience "real" Germany with the cute fairy tale towns full of white houses with brown wood beams decorating the outside. 

When I commented to the wife of Spiros' friend about how beautiful all the little villages were - we made it a point to drive through them instead of only taking the highway autobahn - she said, "Oh really? I guess I'm just so use to the architecture from living here that I don't really notice their beauty." I guess that's how it is wherever you live.

But don't you think these places are pretty?

A Year Ago To Now

A year ago today, well, technically a year ago on Friday (August 3), Spiros and I met for the first time. We were introduced in the corridor between our offices by the woman I was working for. He later told me that nobody ever introduces new people like that, so I have a feeling she already thought we might hit it off.

A few days later, he invited me to lunch. One thing you should know about my experience with German professional culture is that people are always making lunch plans. This was weird for me, a person accustomed to shoveling food into her mouth in front of a computer screen scanning People.com.

To be perfectly honest, lunch time was actually the worst part of the entire experience in Berlin. While I had a rotation of people with whom I'd occasionally make plans, more often than not I decided to have lunch whenever the moment felt right. And then I would sit alone, enjoying my elementary cafeteria style lasagna, while everyone else stretched out awkward small talk in German.

Good times. I've never felt so alone.

Anyway. This really has nothing to do with the story of Spiros and I meeting except to say that the few times we went to lunch together were my favorite. We had good chemistry, and I could tell we would have fun together away from the glare of the office. While part of me regrets that we didn't just start dating then (permanent lunch buddy!), we both know it was for the best that it played out like it did.

We laugh a lot about our first few dates together and how little we knew about the other person. He was so nervous, and I was so wise, saying things about "needing to be realistic about what could happen in the future since I was leaving." Ha, like the only time I've had my feet firmly planted on the ground since.

Our relationship's geographically transient nature has been a fun way to get to know each other. Our two-week trips together in Colorado and then later in Austin/California created little vortexes for us to bond, tell random stories, and make memories. They were beautiful. Same with our time in Greee this summer.

But living together, that's when you get a real idea of how someone is. Like he uses mechanical pencils. The only other person in the world I know who uses mechanical pencils is my dad. Not that there's anything wrong with mechanical pencils, they just stopped existing in my mind once I finished taking scantron tests.

And would you guess that Spiros has a million tupper-ware storage containers? Like not even the ones from the grocery store, nice ones with special snap lids. Granted I have remarkably few personal possessions to my name for a 27-year-old, but seriously, I never would have pegged him as a tupper-ware guy.

Oh, and you'll never guess how messy he is with his clothes. Leaves 'em everywhere. Oh wait, that's both of us. We maybe should work on the tidiness.

It has been fun, these past two months. And year, for that matter. Maybe the best year ever. Even if I did have to suffer a few months of awkward lunches to get to this point, it's been worth it.

I'm 27 And I Spent My Birthday At A Castle

Last year my birthday fell on a Monday. The first day of my job in Berlin. Everyone was coming back from holidays, it was disorganized, I had no computer, and it was just a hard day in general.

Even though I had celebrated with friends before I'd left New York, and although the woman I was working for sweetly took me out to a nice dinner that night, it didn't really feel like my birthday. (I was raised to be a Birthday Monster, after all.) And so I promised myself this year things would be different.

While I still wasn't able to celebrate with friends and family (we'll save that for September when I'm back), my 27th birthday was drastically different from last year. For starters, I ate breakfast looking out onto the Cinderella Castle in Bavaria.

A month or so ago, Spiros had suggested we visit a few of his close friends in Southern Germany. It just so happened that we could go the weekend before my birthday, tacking on a few extra days to visit Neuschwanstein aka the Cinderella Castle.

Now, Spiros is not what I would call a "planner." I learned on our first trip together that he would much rather figure things out on the go. So it made it doubly special that he took the time to find a wonderful hotel - and book MASSAGES for us - ahead of time.

It was all perfect. (Well, if I am being honest, the scaffolding obscuring half of the view of the castle wasn't perfect, but oh well.) Still, it was completely wonderful. The castle was beautiful. The hotel where we stayed was charming. The massage was incredible. (Never did I imagine I'd be so greased up by a middle-aged German woman, but life's full of surprises, huh?)

Here are a few pictures!

Mrs. Rachel Upshaw, eh? Very sweet of the hotel staff!
(And they gave me homemade marmalade to take home)

It's been agreed that this is the worst photo of us ever taken

This one isn't much better. Welcome to Gum City, My Mouth.

My birthday cake

Land o' the Schnitzel 

Beer garden in Munich before our flight.
Not a bad way to end the day.