broken, christmas, death

1. somebody pushed me on rialto bridge, causing me to drop my camera. its broken, so this is the only picture of me in venice. it wasn't as cold as bremen, and the fog made for a nice effect (since i had already seen the city). the girls i stayed with were also wonderful, and the food- oh, the food!
2. my christmas package arrived from murr and meg! yeah! i won't mention they sent it to my old adress after laughing at mom for sending me something to that same old adress.... it contained lotsa warm stuff, but i can't take a picture :-( i was most thrilled about some snowboarder long underwear- the tights i have been wearing were worn-out! and that kinda stuff is crazy expensive here. also i think meg knit the shall??
3. at cafe chance tonight i found out that champagne-udo died. i don't know how. he was one of my street guys.. most known for when the mayor poured a bottle of champagne on his head two years ago at a public meeting.

wandergesellin and going to venice

yesturday on my way to work at the drug counselling center, i saw ute, a travelling journeymen carpenter. since i really love this trade (and have good friends following the tradition) i took her home with me. she helped out at the cafe, and the guests loved talking to her.

unfortunately i won't have much tiime with her, because in a few minutes i leave for venice.... it's a crazy story, but i'll tell it when i get back... till sunday

weekend love and money

this week i had a visitor from berlin, stephan. he is a former drug addict and dealer who now lives for God. it was a weekend full of blessings. he was hardly in bremen and we met up with tina, a women i used to often counsel and havent seen in awhile. then on our mini-tour, we ran into hans! he is doing well (for hans) and as we got home, half the church was standing ooutside and it erupted into a spontaneous prayer meeting on the street. later on a few others from church came by to watch a cult film with us. unfortunately, stephan had to leave before church today.

this is the first of a new thing i wanna do.. love and money. just a spotlight on people and the unusual blessings they give me through the week. this weeks goes to stephan, for coming so far and insisting on buying the burgers and snacks.

valentines and half birthday

who can be against a holiday that was created for the giving of chocolates? yeah, so it's usuallly me, but not this year... this year, i got a valentine. ok, so it isn't from a love interest, but it's still really sweet, and yeah, there was dark chocolate with chili. also a few books on jewish customs and another present- for my half birthday. so maybe as an adult the half-years aren't as important as they were when we were four... but somehow it's stuck with me. not just from the memories of box-mazes in february (which no one builds for me anymore, now that i'm grown up) but also as a symbol. on my half-birthday i now celebrate giving my life to Jesus. that's a birthday in it's own light.
so happy valetines to those of you who haven't heard it yet. and happy birthday to those of you who chose the same rebirth.

bookclub: million little pieces

this is the latest book i have finished reading... james frey's "a million little pieces." its the graphic account of his time in detox, with flashbacks to his past. and basically, for anyone who wants to know what is going on inside the heads and bodies of the people i work with, this is a good reference. he has a gripping writting style- but warning, it is VERY graphic.. (in other words.. mom, it's not for you). as far as the concerns that his account may not be completely non-fiction... who cares? the symptoms and stress he describe are an acurate portrayal of what my people deal with.

art karo

this weekend my friend karo was part of a large art school art exhibit. and, it being simultaneouly murray's birthday, i thought it appropriate to stop by. she was excited to sell her largest picture! the rest was alright.. i enjoyed the urban design department the most. we didn't watch the films- mostly because they were.. not really worth it. the highlight, though, was recognizing the work of armsrock (one of my favorite street artists) despite the adament karo who said this was not and could not be his (it was).

afterwards i was kidnapped by karo and ben (her husband) and treated to a home-cooked vegan meal. yummy! muck showed up as well, and we had a fun(ny) time. thie following picture is my cameras 2008.. here is the year in a shot:

creation vs evolution..

i came upon these short films through a friend, and wanted to share the link. (mom and gram, if you click on the title of this post, you go to the films) it's a well done piece of art, but what other thoughts do y'all have? watch creation, then evolution, then the duelity. enjoy..

mailman came twice

yesturday i was blessed with two surprise pieces of mail. one was the book "angela's ashes" sent to me from an old aquaintence in hamburg (who didn't realize upon sending it that we know each other- we had just talked about literature recently in chat). the second was a 10e gift certificate to galleria kaufhof, sent to me from someone i do long-distance counseling with. two surpriss to really make my day!

foot-loose and money-free

today i got a long awaited letter from the allianz insurance, the one in charge of jens' account... that being the guy who dropped me and caused my foot to hang loose at a 90degree angle to my leg back in the summer. they are taking over the payment of my hospital bills, and -here's the good part- paying me 1500euro for my pain! this is very convienent timing, as i am in dire need of a computer.. thats about 2,200$! [anyone wanna buy my old laptop??]