I’ve got the power!

One of my students pointed something out to me today that totally shocked me.

Germany’s power lines are underground!

It’s something I had never thought about – not seeing any power lines here. But he’s totally right. And what’s more, I definitely remember noticing the presence of above-ground power lines the last time I went back home to the US for a visit.

For example, take a look at this cute picture of my parents in Ocean City, Maryland last summer:

See?

What a funny difference! In our apartment here next to the train station there are power lines, of course, but that’s because of the trains. You don’t see them in other places in the city.

My student said that he didn’t understand why it’s that way in the US, because then power lines are more susceptible to the weather. Florida, for example, which always has multiple hurricanes every year, must be constantly repairing power lines that have been blown over by the strong winds. He said that in his whole life, he had never had a power outage in Germany. Unlike the several times I’ve gone days without power due to bad weather in the USA. So I guess underground power lines might be the way to go…except for maybe in California or an earthquake-prone place.

Has anyone else noticed this before?

Guest Post: My best bud Peter!

Hello everyone! I’m pleased to announce that we’ve got our very own guest post here! And who better than my best friend Peter?

XO,
Sarah

——————————————————————————————————————

New Year’s Resolutions (Reality) Check

How are your resolutions going? Did you know that 80% of people who make New Year’s Resolutions don’t keep them for more than a few days/weeks?

Truth.

That’s a little scary! When you think about it, though, it kind of makes sense. How many people do you know that on December 31st make lofty goals like “going to the gym” every day? Or “stop eating junk food entirely”?

A few days later, these same people find themselves in the midst of a sugar crash like they’ve never known, and to top it all off, even the simplest of routine activities are impossible because every muscle in their body is ablaze with intense pain from their diligent gym attendance.

For most of us, being this miserable will cause a relapse to old behaviors. This relapse makes us think, “Welp, I failed….oh well.” And that’s where our resolutions die.

Don’t let this happen to you! Of course there’s going to be some pain involved in the change process! You can’t just suddenly start or stop something so significant without experiencing repercussions.

There have actually been a lot of studies done on this very topic of successful change. I don’t want to wax overly loquacious on the subject, but it turns out that there are a few basic steps to change.

Prochaska & DiClemente’s vision of the change cycle

· Pre-contemplation – before you even know you want to change

· Contemplation – when you realize you want to change something

· Preparation – laying the groundwork for successful change

· Action – making the change

· Maintenance – continuing with your new behavior

· Relapse – failing

It’s very interesting to me that “relapse” is considered a part of the change process. After all, it’s natural for us to fail. Whoever said we were perfect?

The most important part of all this is what happens when you relapse.

So you “forget” about your resolution and have a candy bar after the gym. So what? Let’s be honest: it won’t be your last. The key is that you realize you can move forward from this incident, and continue on the road towards change.

Of my own resolutions this year, I’ve been doing pretty well actually. I made two: journal every night before I go to bed, and learn a new word every day.

The first of these has been going just swimmingly! I don’t write much: only about five lines listing the “who, what, when, and where” of the day. Nothing emotional and gushy.

The second has proved a little more difficult. I bought a “Word a Day” Calendar in September when Borders was going out of business. When I bought it, I had the idea of using this as a resolution in the back of my mind, but by the time January 1st rolled around, the calendar (along with my resolution) were buried under four months of clutter on my desk. It wasn’t until Sarah reminded me around January 15th that I even started! And then I almost didn’t start because my first thought was, “Ugh, now I have to go back and learn all those words for the past 15 days….maybe it’s not even worth it.”

Then I realized how ridiculous that is! Even if I skip those first words entirely, I still have 350 days/words to go! (Thank you, Leap Year!)

So I’m doing it!

Today’s word: “funambulism: 1: tightrope walking; 2: a show especially of mental agility.”

Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be able to remember all these words in a few weeks, but I’m enjoying learning them and about them! It’s something new every day.

Well, I hope my causerie was not overly didactic, and that these words can anneal your efforts through this arduous journey. Best of luck!

————————————————————————————————————–

Wonderful points, Peter! And I only remembered on the 15th, too!

My new year’s “resolution” (I use the term very lightly, because I also never keep them!) was to take more video. That’s something I’ll definitely make sure I do this week on my snowboarding trip!

So, how about you? What resolutions did you make in January? And have you miraculously managed to keep them, or have you relapsed, too?

Fluffernutter!

I’ve never actually had a fluffernutter. But I always just enjoyed marshmallow creme as a topping for hot chocolate, and my mom and grandma always made a fruit dip using maraschino cherry juice mixed with marshmallow fluff.

Two weeks ago, I was absolutely SHOCKED to find it at Edeka, a nearby supermarket! I think it was about 3€, it being imported and all, but I decided to splurge on it anyway. And my hot chocolate has certainly thanked me!

“It doesn’t get more American than this!” (TRUE THAT – except maybe for cheese in a spray can…)

“The most popular sandwich in the USA!”  (Not really sure about “most” popular…that’d probably be the regular PB&J, with the Fluffernutter being perhaps a close second.

“Spread a piece of white bread with Marshmallow Fluff, put a second piece of white bread with peanut butter on it, and stick both halves together, and your Fluffernutter is ready!”