Word of the week.......Referral.

As I am soon approaching the big, oh so big birthday I have felt inclined this week to get everything checked. Don't know why? Perhaps my brain is telling me that once we reach that 4th decade everything physical will start to fall apart and one will be too old for jobs, so need to stay healthy because of a lack of funds to get ill with. Anyway, I am now officially Ms Uberweisung. The German health system is very good but fills up your life with paperwork and prevents you from having the time to find a job. First one must go to a 'normal' doctor to get an Uberweisung( or in my case 7) to go see another doctor. This is for everything, even for a cold. I spent the WHOLE of last week, collecting these pieces of paper and making appointments to see other doctors, and learning along the way. For a cold you see an ear, nose and throat specialist and for a headache a brain surgeon, it seems. I am totally confused and feel that I may need to become a doctor myself in order to know which specialist you see for which ailment.
Anyway the trip to the gyno was an interesting one, but I won't go into details, except just to say that I am a convert to specialists:) So this is what an Abstrich should be like. Not all that fumbling, agony with an English nurse, who never knows which object to use, let alone where to put it.
So I am feeling very well thankyou, except for my back which has decided to pack up for awhile............and then oh no, there are all the alternative therapies to go into. That's my job for next week then.
If you want the weirdest experience ever, go and try craniosacral therapy........ha ha. Back feels great but think I've officially left the planet.

Are we aliens?

My task of the day is, after very little sleep due to the snoring, juddering Mr F, to write an essay on the human beings relation to the Infinite Cosmic Consciousness and Ultimate reality. Phew! Think I need to go back to bed first in order to have enough brain power to tackle this one. I thought this yoga training was going to be easy.......didn't think I'd have to ponder over the worlds existence. According to my research so far everything is an illusion anyway so maybe I should just go back to bed and I won't even notice. Have 8 more assignments to complete before my practical in November which is unfortunately not an illusion. How did anyone ever function before the internet?

If only.......

The Elf had her school summer fair today, and even though it is no longer summer here I was totally blown away by the talent of some 16 year old boy born to be a popstar, with his Blur like tendencies. It is true that this youngster needs a haircut and perhaps a new band but performance talent he certainly has. Were we like this at 16? I think not. I didn't even know what the word talent meant and was sipping hot chocolate at 9pm and revising for physics A level under the bedcovers. It is definitely time to grow my hair long and rediscover some hidden musical talent. Where did I pack my drums? Now is the time to buy myself a new piano. If anyone wants an old crappy one look on eBay..........going cheap for 30 euros
Goodnight. I am off in search of my ambition and youthful talent. You might not hear from me for months. Got to practice, no time for idle chat. xx

Heat

In the last few weeks I have become quite addicted to this. Everytime I go to this strange new yoga phenomenon called Bikram yoga I think of the Shark and how much she would dislike this class! It involves doing yoga in a room that is a minimum temperature of 34 degrees so that you just have to walk into the room to start sweating, let alone move and I am truly addicted. The cold Berlin winter approaches fast and I know exactly where I'm going to be spending most of my days. I should easily be a yogi by Christmas.....
If anyone's interested look here

Aside

........ as for front cooking I am learning fast. Spot me at the back holding the microphone?

I will be 63 at mine

If you get married at 21 and you are a bit older than me then you are likely to be having a 25th wedding anniversary this year. So this explains why I spent the weekend in the depths of the german countryside at The F's sisters 25th Wedding Anniversary celebrating with 90 others in a schutzenfest abode with front cooking?I have no idea what schutzen people do but did manage to pick up a few hints from the locals. Basically from what I could gather men from villages get together, dress up in costumes, drink alot, elect a King for the year, be nice to people and shoot clay birds. Maybe my understanding of the German language is not quite there yet?
However, I had a ball after managing quite by accident to seat myself next to the only camp married man in the room. We twittered in german ( or something) for most of the evening and I went to bed very happy, full of champagne and dreaming of my future life as a Schutzen wife.

Beware of spanish small waves

I love the sea. In fact I am one of those people who can happily swim out to sea with nothing in the distance and always have the urge to keep on going, perhaps in the hope that I will one day reach Treasure island. I did this once in Thailand on what became later known as the Tsunami beach. I remember that the sea was so calm I just kept on swimming out but my desire for another Thai Green Curry became greater than my desire to find an island so I came back.
I have now had two near disastrous experiences in the sea and now I have lost that urge to swim into nothing without stopping.
This year in Spain with the lovely family Foxwells it became the daily ritual to jump the waves with one child in each hand. This was usually F's job and the kids loved it for he was extra brave and went in the sea just that little bit further than I would. They were surfing beaches after all. This particular day The F decides to do big walking tour up the nearest mountain so said children pick on nearest willing adult which was me. The water was up to my thighs.......honest. Then out of nowhere I was adrift with nothing beneath me and a child in each hand and rapidly being pulled away from the beach. Whoops! What now. Never quite been in a situation like that before and had visions of going back to the beach and having to explain to M that I just mislaid her daughter. However Baywatch Spain was on alert and luckily three very tanned, beautiful lifeguards were already entering the sea to tell people to get out because it was dangerous. I was shouting to the Elf to keep swimming but she looked totally embarrassed and just replied,' How can I swim if you are grabbing onto my arm?' Fair point.
The Elf became even more embarrassed as I got scared enough to scream for gorgeous Baywatch lifeguard who responded like in the movies with orange lifebelts and muscles any man would die for. Safely back on the beach The Elf and A both declare at the same time," I'm not going in the sea with you again.....when's F coming back?" and I'm left to tell the story to which I get a few grunts.
It seems in life that telling the story afterwards never has quite the same impact as the event itself.