Over 4 lbs of licorice Allsorts arrived in the mail for my brother and me today. My portion might last til Xmas if I'm lucky. ;-)

The wet wrap therapy was a failure. I woke up the next morning shivering and throwing up... No more sleeping in a puddle for me.

I called the office about the clinical study and left a message. Apparently they tried to call back and I missed it, but they didn't leave a message. I called again today and got the machine again. I don't know if I should bother calling back.

Apparently Freederm HC has a side-effect of "drying out" skin. I thought that this was the opposite of what I wanted to do. It also came with Tips for Caring for Eczema that included avoiding cow's milk, oranges, and bathing. I think I have to disagree with the entire thing.
I'll keep using the cream to see what happens... but I guess I'll start looking for something else again.

I also picked up Aveeno's Baby "Soothing Relief Moisture Cream"... it makes me itch... and burns like crazy. Must be the cetyl and stearyl alcohols.

The good news is that my feet are looking better... the bad news is that I'm still scratching them to pieces every night... and my arms/elbows are starting to break out now, too.

Maybe I should look into more anti-itch products. Or go back to using the Band-Aid brand bug bite itch reliever that burns like hell for 10 seconds and then goes completely numb.

So I've decided that I can't live with the eczema anymore.

I've contacted a local clinic about participating in a research study, ordered a jar of Freederm HC, and will be trying my hand at wet wrap therapy starting tonight. Instead of using bandages, my wet layer will be stockings and a leotard, and my dry layer will be leggings and a turtleneck. Here's hoping I can actually get some sleep with all this clothing on...

In order to determine which of these treatments actually work (if any), I'll be taking digital photos and comparing them to the pictures I took today.









22 years of suffering is long enough; it's time to find a cure.

"In an interview with Politico magazine and the Internet portal Yahoo, Bush also said he gave up golf in 2003 out of respect for U.S. soldiers killed in the war, which has now lasted more than five years.

"I didn't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.""
- Courtesy of MSN news

Thank you for that, Mr. President. Good to know that you're making sacrifices, too.

BE HONEST! COPY FROM HERE THEN SEND DIRECTLY TO ME IN A COMMENT THEN, REPOST THE EMPTY QUESTIONS

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
A.

2) What was your dream growing up?
A.

3) What talent do you wish you had?
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4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
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5) Favorite vegetable?
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6) What was the last book you read?
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7) What zodiac sign are you?
A.

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
A.

9) Worst Habit?
A.

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
A.

11) What is your favorite sport?
A.

12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
A.

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
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14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
A.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
A.

16) Do you have any pets?
A.

17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly?
A.

18) What was your first impression of me?
A.

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
A.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
A.

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
A.

22) What color eyes do you have?
A.

23) Ever been arrested?
A.

24) Bottle or can soda?
A.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
A.

27) What's your favorite place to hang at?
A.

28) Do you believe in ghosts?
A.

29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A.

30) Do you swear a lot?
A.

31) Biggest pet peeve?
A.

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
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33) Do you believe in/appreciate romance?
A.

35) Do you believe in God?
A.

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
A.

I don't care if you're in class and can't answer your phone (if it was important, I probably left you a voicemail anyway). I don't care if it's a holiday and you want to pass along wishes to all of your friends...
STOP SENDING ME TEXT MESSAGES!
/rant

This weekend, leaders of 21 nations--including the USA, China and Japan--are meeting at the APEC summit in Sydney, Australia. The summit has become the epicentre of a vital debate: whether to set binding global targets to avert catastrophic climate change, or to retreat to voluntary "aspirational goals" amounting to nothing more than hot air.

We've teamed up with Australian allies GetUp to create spectacles in Sydney, the climate-endangered Great Barrier Reef and around the world—heading off an "Axis of Global Warming" through a media firestorm, and sending our petition to key leaders. Can you help us break the half-million barrier this weekend? You've already signed the petition, but you can help by forwarding this email to five more friends to ask them to add their voices:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/apec_petition/i.php

Over 400,000 people have already signed, and on Friday we're launching a massive 144-square metre floating canvas "target" at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach where it will be taken out to sea by surfers. Next stop, Saturday, swimmers will float this banner over the Great Barrier Reef -- which current predictions suggest will be killed off by climate change before 2030. Thousands of people from every continent have joined in by uploading climate target pictures of their own.

George Bush of the US and Australia's John Howard are seeking to derail our efforts for a new global climate deal, and to convert the waverers. But both are lagging behind their publics, with elections expected soon. We need to reinforce the efforts of leaders like New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark, whose chief of staff has confirmed to Avaaz she will be working for binding targets at APEC. Let's win over the undecided countries, and add hundreds of thousands more voices round the world: only binding targets can prevent a climate disaster.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/apec_petition/i.php

The APEC summit isn't just a talk-shop. It's the kick-off to a string of top-level meetings in the coming months, all leading up to a landmark conference in Bali, Indonesia which will begin to write the next Kyoto Protocol. What happens in Australia could set the direction, for good or bad. But thanks to the worldwide movement that has been growing all year--from the G8 to Live Earth--we now have a real chance to shape the outcome.

Scientists agree, now is humanity's window of opportunity to stop a climate catastrophe. The world can't afford to miss this chance -- so please, spread the word today.

This seems to be the mantra of American news reports these days. Any time any tragedy occurs, the media has to jump on the terrorism thing just to keep us in fear.
The bridge collapse is STILL the top news story according to FOX. To take things even further, now they feel the need to tell us every piece of information pertaining to the bridge, and how dangerous other bridges in the country might be.
Oh boy, now there's a recap of a partial collapse that occured back in the 80's... and a story about unqualified bridge inspectors.
Way to keep us living in fear, FOX news... we certainly can't get far if we never cross a bridge.
Total time that SHOULD have been spent covering the (albeit) tragic bridge collapse: 10 minutes tops.
Total time WASTED talking about bridges: 30 minutes and counting.

Current Mood: Fuck FOX News

Since I'm sick and had nothing better to do, I actually watched FOX News tonight.
More tomorrow, I promise... here's a quick list of the "news" stories of the day:
- Bridge collapse in MN
- Killer, poisonous house
- kidnapped child
- laser printers => asthma/heart attacks
- hotel robbery
- robberies in Bayonne
- OJ's controversial book
- some politician (NY Governor maybe... I don't remember) being accused of taking a convoy of SUVs to the subway rather than just walking
- new way to check the status of MTA elevators/escalators on internet

I'll finish the entry tomorrow; I'm about to pass out.... You'd think that being bed-ridden all day would make me less tired....

Well I'm back in the U S of A. I took video footage of the plane taking off from Zurich, so that'll be up on facebook eventually.

I miss Germany.

I'm all (read: 'mostly') packed for home. My room is almost all cleaned... I'm just still putting off cleaning that window... spiderwebs + baby spiders + dead mosquitos = nausea. I gotta find a vacuum or a way to attach a tissue to a pole so that I don't have to get too close.
It's kinda sad having to say goodbye... and I didn't even really make any close friends! I can't imagine how much harder this would be if I had.
The good news is: I caught a pass at football practice this week! That gives me the tiniest hint of hope for the Soup Bowl season.
Well I gotta go throw in my last load of laundry (that washroom will be the one thing I DON'T miss), and then deal with the window situation.
See y'all back in Jersey! I can't wait to show off my newly-acquired piano skills!

There was a giant "flea market" last weekend, which was really more of a gigantic "garage sale", and I bought a Blümchen CD. I had heard her song "Ich bin wieder hier", and really liked it, so I figured I couldn't go wrong spending 3 Euro to hear some more of her stuff.
The funniest thing about the album is that every song starts off one of three ways:
- Her yelling "BLUUUUEEEEMMMCHENNN!"
- Her yelling the name of the song
- Some variation of "Testing 1, 2, 3"
And then some crazy techno beat kicks in.
It's kind of awesome. But I definitely can't listen to more than 3 songs in a row without getting a headache!

Current Mood: amused

I've about had it with the world beating me up lately. Hopefully the powers that be will hear my cry for mercy... or I'll just magically become less of a klutz... that'd be nice, too.

It all started last Tuesday (as in Tuesday last week) at football practice. I was on offense (RB), and we were running a Reverse play. Unfortunately, the WR to whom I was supposed to hand the ball didn't know that he had to run BEHIND me... Now, I'd be ok with that (everyone makes mistakes), except for the fact that he ran INTO me. I fell on my ass... probably dropped the ball... and that was the end of the play.

The next day at trampoline class, I decided to try out the thing where you land on your butt on the edge of the trampoline and it flings you over backwards. I had one of the teachers helping me out because I had never done it before, but for some reason I wasn't able to get enough power to make it all the way around. On one of the attempts, I managed to land on my lower back (where those 'disc' things are or something), and knocked my hip slightly out of place. It wasn't enough force to dislocate it, but it definitely wasn't sitting right. I had a hard time walking for about 4 days.

The next day (we're on Thursday now), I was at work (hooray McDonalds) when a coworker decided to not pay attention when we were at the fry station. I was filling little cartons with fries, and she decided it would be a good idea to dump the newly fried batch that was drying into the area where I was working. Needless to say, she managed to catch me right in the hand with the hot, metal, oil-dripping basket. There's pictures of my nifty little parallel scars on Facebook. I grabbed the fries that were already in my hand, and walked back over to my register to finish the order. Another coworker was mopping the floor right by my register, and I slipped and fell on my ass (I don't remember what happened to the fries... I think they made it onto the tray), re-aggravating the hip injury I had sustained the night before, and causing a giant welt to form on my left wrist.

Fast-forward to the weekend. I went to a Flag Football Tournament with my team (on the way there, we totally got pulled over because a cop saw us all drinking beers in the car... and we didn't get a ticket! I love Germany). Saturday was our first round of games, and we were doing a pass drill to warm up. I can't catch for the life of me (it's driving me crazy at this point), and managed to get a ball smack in the mouth. I pretended nothing had happened until about late afternoon when one of my teammates told me there was a big blue mark on my lip. I couldn't close my mouth correctly for the rest of the day; it swelled up like a fricken balloon!

Then Sunday, in the semi-finals, I was blitzing the QB and managed to fall straight on my ass. I really don't remember how it happened... it was the best play I had all tournament, too! I must have landed on her foot or something, because I ended up with a lovely bruise on my leg by the end of the tournament (along with re-aggravating the hip injury AGAIN). There's fun pictures of those two wounds on Facebook, too.

Monday and Tuesday I was locked in my room writing a paper, so nothing bad happened. Wednesday, however, I managed another trampoline-related injury. I was working on forward flips, and there was a mat in front of me on the trampoline. I was a little bit scared, so I had been flipping with my eyes closed, and didn't know when to straighten up again after the flip was completed. I asked my instructor, and he said that I needed to increase the speed with which I flipped first, otherwise I'd land on my back. He told me that I should tuck my legs in tighter, and I confessed that I was just a little bit scared. He laughed and said, "There's a mat there; nothing bad can happen" (auf Deutsch, of course), so I tucked my legs in tighter and flipped as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I still didn't know when to straighten up again, and ended up doing 1.5 flips before landing on my face on the mat. My neck snapped backwards at a fun angle and I couldn't move it at all the next day. I also woke up dizzy and nauseous, so I probably had a mild concussion. After making jokes with everyone about falling on my head and bruising my brain (thanks, Scott!), I'm finally ok.

I think I'm done with injuries for a while... at least, I hope so.

Current Mood: injured

I can't believe the last time I posted here was before the Pre-Release...

I DID finally make it down to Thun, Switzerland for an event (3 hour train ride)... got a pretty crappy card pool... didn't do too well... and all the cards were in ENGLISH... bummer.

Scott came to visit last week. I skipped a couple of classes so that we could go out sightseeing... Mainau, Conny Land, the Sea Life Centre, Meersburg (even though we didn't have time to do the castle tour...), We Will Rock You... it was a great week!

Grant left this morning. On the second night he was here, we headed down to the Shamrock and ran into a friend of mine. He said he was heading to Dance Palace later that night, so Grant and I decided to tag along. While we were waiting for a bus (and drinking .5l bottles of Hefe Weizen), a bunch of drunk guys got off a bus and gave us shots. I have NO IDEA what it was that we drank, but it was fricken SPICY! Seriously... it was ok at first, then the guy who gave it to us warned us that it was spicy, and then it hit me. We were breathing fire (and chugging the rest of the beer) for a good 20 minutes afterwards. Dance Palace was actually a lot of fun, despite the bad things I've heard other people say about it.

In other news, I can almost play Für Elise in its entirety! Just gotta work the last page into my fingers and then bring the whole middle section up to speed and I'm set! Good thing there's nothing to do on religious holidays... I'll just make my way up to the Uni and practice for a few hours.

Oh, and I'm off to Italy for a week next Saturday!

Nerd that I am, I decided I'm not gonna miss out on the Future Sight Magic Pre-release. I missed Planar Chaos for whatever reason I don't even remember, but other than that, I've been to every Pre-release since Darksteel.

I was on Wizards' website looking for the nearest Pre-release, and apparently there are no events in all of Germany. Luckily I'm right near the Swiss border and a ten-minute walk from a train station. I'll just have to wake up super early to take the almost hour-long train ride to Winterthur... but that's not what I'm afraid of.

I'm slightly afraid of the fact that all the cards will be in German (which I can deal with, just means it might take me a little longer to read all the cards... which I'll have to do anyway unless I decide to find a spoiler list in advance this time), but kind of excited about the concept of getting a German Pre-release card to add to my collection.

What REALLY worries me, though, is the fact that the Swiss don't speak Hoch-Deutsch (what they teach us in school)... they speak "Schwyzerdütsch". Now, I've never held a conversation in Schwyzerdütsch before, nor have I ever really HEARD the dialect/language before (other than the little snippet that was in the handout about Switzerland in my March course class: "Magsch ä schoggi?" means "Do you like chocolate?").

I guess there's a possibility that other Germans will be there, since there are no events in Germany... and all the cards will be in Hoch-Deutsch... and I'm hoping that the Swiss will therefore be able to understand me... but what happens if I can't understand them?

It should be an interesting day, to say the least. And hey, at least I'll know if they're asking me about chocolate! ;-)

Yeah... so I saw the "First Day of Passover" notice in my calendar, but then apparently forgot about it... Then again, it's next to IMPOSSIBLE to keep Kosher in Germany, so I'd probably just be a miserable person right now had I remembered; everything here is bread. I was already bad this week when I went to my program coordinator for our weekly Kafeeklatch. She always feeds us really good pastries and cookies and stuff, and this week was a bunny-shaped donut thing. Totally not Kosher. But if I had refused to eat it, she probably would've flipped on me. She's like the overbearing mother I never had... today she basically lectured me that I should come to her if I have any problems...
I went out today in search of matzoh... it doesn't exist here. So instead I checked the ingredients on every cracker-type product and found one that doesn't have a leavening agent. I also bought the most humongous box of Corn Flakes known to man... because I'm Jewish and it was on sale. :-P
It's really crazy how big of a deal Christianity/Catholicism is over here. EVERYTHING is closed for the next 4 days, which isn't good for me considering I need to get the paperwork done for my new job (McDonalds... oh boy!) and I'm still waiting on Sparkasse to get my EC Karte (ATM card, basically) back from Friedrichshafen (I don't know how it ended up there...) so that I can stop living on 10 Euros and be able to pay my internet bill. All three of my Mitbewohneren are going home for the weekend. Everywhere I go, people I don't even know wish me a happy Easter. I was really tempted to start wishing everyone I saw a happy Passover... but I'm not sure that'll go over too well.
Oh, and apparently Rutgers thinks I'm graduating in May. That might be a problem.

... Frohe Ostern!

RUTGERS IS GOING TO BE IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!
Against either North Carolina or Tennessee. I'd kinda like to see another rematch against Tennessee, but I'd just be more pissed off if we lost. Think about it, though: they knocked us out of the tourney way before our time last year (Sweet 16), the refs tilted the game in their favour the year before that (Elite 8)... it would be the perfect ending to this "Storybook" Post-Season if we faced them in the National Championship game.
Hey, third time's the charm, right?

EDIT: We're playing Tennessee in the National Championship game, and I just found out that RU fell to TN back in the Final Four in 2000. So they've beaten us in the Sweet Sixteen (2006), Elite Eight (2005), and Final Four (2000). Let's see how they fare in the National Championship game. GO RU!

We're sorry, but due to contractual obligations, we can no longer provide this thought on the Final Four game.

So here's a thought on the "Rutgers Basketball Radio Network":
F*ck you, WCTC.
And RealPlayer for refusing to load WRSU.
And Gametracker for not following Post-Season games.

(For those who couldn't tell, the radio coverage of the Final Four game cut out due to "contractual obligations", or something equally as highfalutin (yes, I looked up the spelling of that before posting this)-sounding, near the end of the second half. So Rutgers is going to be in the National Championship game and I didn't even get to hear it.)

Trumpets: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tune before playing. Thank you. :-)
(I know that Timbo doesn't know how to warm up brass, and I will place most of the blame on him... but In the Stone made me cringe... a lot.)
I also think it sounds like there are too many lower trumpet parts and not enough firsts... I can't really tell.

I love reading the articles on the other teams' websites after they lose to us. Especially when it's an upset.
Here's a humourous comparison of post-game quotes:
DUKE:
"One game does not define a season or the type of season that they have had," Goestenkors said. "I don't think anybody in the country anticipated that we would have such a remarkable year."
UCONN (after the BE Champ game):
To you think this is a major setback?
“No, I consider it one bad game. This game does not have any bearing on the next game that we play. I remember playing at Rutgers, I remember playing Villanova in the tournament championship and playing as poorly as we did tonight and things turned out okay for us. I think that if you are a bad basketball program, you allow things like this to change who you are. We know who we are, we know what we are and we know what we are capable of doing. Today does not change this at that, all this does is make us runner-up in the tournament championship but it does not change anything starting next week.”

Yep. Just one bad game. Keep telling yourselves that! :-)