Events

Happy Hannukah!

Last Night was very cool. I headed over to JTW’s much anticipated Hannukah party. How he described it is much how it was. (Well.. except for the exotic fruit.. but we’ll get into that in a moment. ) A gathering of a bunch of non-Jewish folks to have latke, drinks, listen to some klezmer music and play with a dreidel. Oh and light a menorah. (because you have to have a menorah to call it a Haunnukah party.)

Pretty much, that was it. Only, at some point, some of the guests decided to go get some gluhwine mix (and sacrificed a few bottles of wine to the hot stove) and because money was leftover – some exotic fruits. Don’t ask me what any of them are, but I wound up getting photos of us trying a few – for better or worse – hideous face or quizzical expression.

Tasty... NOT!
Cecelia and Leah trying some strange fruit that turned out to be NOT so Tasty.
Chef Niall
Niall takes a break from preparing gluhwine (hot spiced wine served around the holidays here in Germany) and digs in to a bright pink fruit that resembles an onion on the outside.

 

Oh – we also got to catch part of a Riot at Hackesher Markt – from his 7th floor windows. Couldn’t see much, but the sounds, number of cop cars, ambulences and etc were impressive. Of course, that pretty much also explains WHY at midnight pretty much no one was at Alexanderplatz or Hackesher Market when that’s normally a highly traffic area due to clubs, bars, and various eating establishments.

Let's start a RIOT... Let's start a RIOT!
Finally, in honor of the holiday, I figured we should all sing a round of Adam Sandler’s most famous song…

Meanwhile, I’m going back to some exotic fruit. (UH GUys, are you sure I’m supposed to eat this? It looks like a hairy goat’s ball that’s been cut open….)

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11th Day of the 11th Month at 11:11 AM…

The Origins of Veterans Day

 

In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, D.C., became the focal point of reverence for America’s veterans.
Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as “Armistice Day.”
Armistice Day officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action. If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was “the War to end all wars,” November 11 might still be called Armistice Day. But only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe. Sixteen and one-half million Americans took part. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle.
Armistice Day Changed To Honor All Veterans
The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham , Alabama , in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all veterans. The event was held on November 11, then designated Armistice Day. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day. Raymond Weeks received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Reagan in November 1982. Weeks’ local parade and ceremonies are now an annual event celebrated nationwide.
On Memorial Day 1958, two more unidentified American war dead were brought from overseas and interred in the plaza beside the unknown soldier of World War I. One was killed in World War II, the other in the Korean War. In 1984, an unknown serviceman from the Vietnam War was placed alongside the others. The remains from Vietnam were exhumed May 14, 1998 , identified as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, and removed for burial. To honor these men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day and night vigil.
A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
National Ceremonies Held at Arlington National Cemetery
The focal point for official, national ceremonies for Veterans Day continues to be the memorial amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns. At 11 a.m. on November 11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes “Present Arms” at the tomb. The nation’s tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath. The bugler plays “taps.” The rest of the ceremony takes place in the amphitheater.
Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington and elsewhere are coordinated by the President’s Veterans Day National Committee. Chaired by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the committee represents national veterans organizations.
Governors of many states and U.S. territories appoint Veterans Day chairpersons who, in cooperation with the National Committee and the Department of Defense, arrange and promote local ceremonies.
Additional Information
Additional information on the history of Veterans Day, the Veterans Day National Committee, the national ceremony, a gallery of Veterans Day posters from 1978 to the present and a colorful and informative Veterans Day Teacher’s Resource Guide can be found on the Internet at

 

 

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WHAT TIME IS IT!?! AHHH!!!

Today’s episode in the life of a girl, her dog and a 2 year journey, brought to you by 2 lovely liters of strawberry daquerries between 3 ladies. (Watch as chaos ensues the next morning…)
After the Opera on Friday, I came home and managed to get 3 – yes 3 whole hours of sleep. I had mentioned that we should do a girls night or something, and on Saturday, Leah came up with a game plan. (Thanks sweetie!) We (Leah, Cecelia and I) were going to have strawberry daqueris, mexican food and go stroll up the ku’damm for the long night of shopping. Then, they would meet up with the guys (who were attending a concert) later and go on to a birthday party. (At which point I would head home since I had to work on Sunday.)
Now, forgetting that I had only had 3 hours of sleep (and feeling pretty good at 9 am on Saturday morning) I figured Yeah… that’ll be great. (mistake 1.) By 2pm that afternoon, I was fading fast. By 6 (time to leave work) I was exhausted, but figured I’d said yes, we’ll met up at 7:30pm and go out. I’m hungry anyhow, so it’s not a big deal.
Somewhere between 7:45 (when I made the restaurant) and started drinking daqueris (viola – mistake 2), and 9:30 pm (we ate dinner – Excellent Fajitas) we enjoyed the restaurant and had a good time just chatting and gossiping. I told the story of my Russian adventure in the black sea and winding up slightly sobering up in a glider over the sea (I’m still not quite sure how they got me in that thing!) and trying not to puke – at which point Cecelia got to laughing so hard she spilled her Daqueri on the table, which, of course, only made us laugh harder and prompted us (still giggling the whole way) to pay and leave.
With dinner over, (and feeling pretty good – let’s face it) we decided to head up to the Ku’Damm. This is the biggest shopping street in Berlin with everything from H&M to KaDeWe. It’s basically just shop after shop after shop of goodies. They had this thing called the “late night” where the stores were open till midnight and had special novelties (music, little kiosks for food along the street, high school drum bands) set up to enjoy. It was fun, and we took a bunch of pictures, goofed off, and etc.
Anyhow, I left and headed home, figuring that with the time change, I should get there before I was needed to be on call. (Things will surely go wrong – they have for 8 years, why not keep up the trend, right?) I made it home by about 1 am, and proceeded to upload the pictures I’d taken because I wanted the camera for Sunday. I’ll be honest, I was really tired by now, and I had had a little buzz still going (mostly sobered up though). My logic was that I’d go ahead and set back some clocks in the apartment before I went to sleep. It’s reasonable, right? WRONG. Let’s just say recipe for disaster – a-la mistake 3.
So, I started setting clocks back. I got the one in the bathroom, the living room, and the bedroom. I didn’t, however, get the one in the kitchen or my cell phone. That being said, I knew that my cell phone didn’t automatically change – so I was going to use that as my “backup” since I knew from last time that at least one (but not sure which one) clock had automatically switched before.
I went to bed – about 1:45am, and was sound asleep until the alarm. It went off, I got up, glanced at it (clock in bedroom) and yep, it said 6:30 am. It’s light outside, and I figure yeah – no big deal. Time change. Rubbing my eyes, and padding through the house, I see the clock in the kitchen says 7:30. The clock on the TV says 7:30. My cell phone says 8:30, the clock in the bathroom says 6:30. CRAP. Two clocks I set back automatically set themselves back. GODDAMN. I’m late, and missed my bus.
I hop on the computer (it says 7:30) and proceed to update it to make sure it’s really 730. Yep… *sigh*
I get ready for work anyhow and made it in by 9 am on the work computer.
Lesson Learned?
Don’t try to set your clocks back. EVER. Just wait until the morning after. Then, take the lowest hour and put that on EVERY clock. This way, you don’t wonder what time it is with 3 clocks displaying different times.
*checks her hair color* Nope, still red-brown. Guess that means I just had a blonde moment back there.
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