The good and the bad of no English TV

When we moved to Austria, Roland and I decided not to invest in the big cable package that included some American and British channels. We decided it would force me to watch TV in German and more easily learn the language. What this actually did was made me an excessive CNN watcher, forgoing any attempt at Austrian news early in the morning. Maybe I know more about the world but it's only out of laze. Sometimes I watch Fresh Prince and The Simpsons auf Deutsch, but mostly the lack of good ole American trash TV has just helped cut television out of my daily life...daily life that is...it also encouraged BINGEING.

(I just love that somehow it would be more productive to watch Fresh Prince than CNN!)

Bingeing - I started my 4 to 8 hour binges with the series 24. I can rent a DVD with four episodes of a series for a couple bucks at an English bookstore/video store nearby. During 24 binges, I was sometimes sometimes known to pick up 2 or 3 at a time. Despite the right-wing propaganda , Roland and I became completely addicted. We justified watching a FOX TV show by saying we were doing "socio-political research," looking for examples of ridiculous FOXy-type crap. (For example, please note that on 24 good guys seem to watch FOX News and terrorists watch CNN!) Really, I was just renewing a teenage crush on Kiefer.

After finishing 24 - up to the present season - I watched the entire first season of the new version of Battlestar Gallactica in one weekend. Roland did not participate in this weekend of sloth and thinks I am insane. I am hooked and dying for this season to end so the new DVDs will come out!

But, most favorite of all and the show that manages to make me cry every single episode (and speaking of rekindling teen-dream lust...Hello, ROB LOWE!) - "The West Wing." I love to see the random shots of DC, to determine down which streets characters are walking and to annoy Roland with explaining in detail how "it is impossible for a motorcade to go THAT way to the Capitol"...etc. I am looking forward to season 3, DVD #3 tonight! Until recently, I loved the fact that I still have 3+ seasons of entertainment to go. But then I heard that Leo died. And then I heard the show is cancelled after this season! I am not sure what to do with myself but know I need to slow down.

So, there you have it. I was never much of a TV-watcher before moving here but now, starved for weeks without American TV, I go on rampages! In a couple months, I'll need recommendations of other addictive series. For now, I will savor Rob's last few shows and anxiously await the arrival of Jimmy Smits!

Spa fetish!

Want to be jealous? Check out the spa in Tirol that Roland and I will go to for four days next month!

http://www.aqua-dome.at/therme.html/lan/en

Most important discovery in Austria

You will all be relieved to know - as am I, quite literally - that after almost 16 months of living in Vienna, I have found an Austrian equivalent to Excedrin! I will still smuggle back Sam's Club-sized bottles of The Headache Medicine on trips to MD, as it costs about the same for 30 pills here as it does for a bottle of 250 in the States! But, in a pinch, I am covered. You can all rest easier now, I am sure.

Cutest girls in the world!

Okay, there they are! I dare anyone to challenge that title! (Okay, Rudy, I know you have argument with that...but you understand!)

Rachel 

Ellie 

Lisa's Elly 

Photo

Oh, that photo is so big! I was really trying to add to my profile so you could see my face when looking at the blog. I can't figure out, however, how to add it to my profile. So, if you want to see me, scroll down! Also note that this photo is from my wedding and I look completely different now! My hair is much longer than any of you remember. Shorter, if you haven't seen me in 10 years...but well below my chin. I also wear my glasses a lot these days, so I look exceedingly intellectual at all times. (Really, my contacts dry out in a minute, so I can only bear the specs.) I will add photos of the most adorable girls in the world as soon as possible. You know who they are!

Betsy 

I'm back!

I am not so good at this blog thing, huh? I was thinking about what a great and effective way blogging might be to communicate, allowing me (and you!) to avoid mass-email annoyance. And then I realized - I have a dormant blog! So, I am aiming to revive it and fill you in a bit on our life in Vienna. I also won't pressure myself to come up with cute stories and funny stuff because, contrary to public belief, I am just not that cute and funny!

To update everyone - I am now working for HIAS (the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society) , helping Iranian religious minorities seek refugee status in the U.S. Yes, I am an actual social worker again! I interview three or four families a day about the persecution they have experienced and write reports for their cases, which go to a DHS officer. The officer reads their statements and interviews my clients and decides whether they are in or not. So, it is true, friends - Paul McCloskey and I are working on opposite sides of the same system! No, I don't see any debates in our future...just as there were none in our past, right?!

Roland and I did some running around before Christmas, after I gave him the "you-promised-me-the-heart-of-Europe-and-we-haven't-even-been-to-Graz" speech. I went to Berlin for a weekend to do some work with two extremely cool women I will be doing some programs with in the future...then Roland and I went to Budapest for a weekend...and then spent another weekend at a spa for Roland's annual birthday spa trip! I was in the U.S. for one short, short week and then back to Vienna. We are kind of staying put a while but planning to use Christmas money to go to another spa in February and we'll try some cross country skiing! Wish us luck! :)

Okay, I WILL be better at the blog, promise! Now that you are updated a bit, I can proceed with day to day life in Vienna...stay tuned, if you are interested!