Faded myths - mopeds

I don't know the exact English word for this vehicle. Moped, motorized bicycle? The German word is Mofa (motorisiertes Fahrrad).
A "motorbike" with a top speed of 25 kmph or about 16 mph. A lot of them were souped up (not mine).
They were quite popular in Germany when I was a teenager. You just had to take a little written test, nowadays you have to take some driving lessons. That's funny!
I had a Solo moped and later a Hercules moped which I inherited from my elder brother.
This was my key to liberty at the age of 15 to 18. My moped took me to every event I wanted to be at, without sweating.
Downhill I took the gear out and went up to 30 mph. Swoooooooosh.
I often drove without helmet although this is forbidden. I remember that the police saw me without helmet, when they drove towards me. But in the time they had turned round the car and tried to come after me I had disappeared in the next dirtroad (I grew up in the countryside). They never got me.
I drove through day and night, through sunshine and rain (although this isn't funny).
Often me and my brother went to the disco together. One was going by moped and dragged the other with the bicycle. The world famous disco Jeanette in Thierstein, a little village out in BFE (does anybody know, what this means?). Oh how urgent we had to be there every friday and saturday. Alexander Michael Wotton alias Mike delighted us as DJ.
Our father payed for the fuel (I think, but I can't remember exactly) so this was the perfect, free but slow locomotion.
Of course I was smiled at from the faster moped drivers (80 cc.) from time to time. But I couldn't care less. I wasn't in a hurry, the whole life was still ahead.

Back to business

Just a short entry today. I'm back after one week of holiday. Not that I was far away, I stayed at home most of the time. But:

• We had one day of shopping (without baby) in Regensburg; we bought some nice clothes, that felt good after a long time of "abstinence"
• We had some time to party and forget about stress at work
• I saw Emma a lot more than usual, as I had to babysit her during Tina's working hours as well (the revenge of the baby-sat)
• I played my guitar quite often
• I read and read and read
• I didn't waste a thought about work

Hey, I had a good time. But now I'm back at work and what happens: They are trying to headhunt me. Exciting. Let's see what this will be good for. Stay tuned!

TV tower of Toronto

To all the Canadians who don't know the TV tower of Toronto, I have a nice picture for you. Have a look and also a nice weekend. No offense!

Lies of life - Happiness

There are a lot of words dealing with the state everybody wants to be in:

• luck
• fortune
• happiness
• bliss
• auspiciousness
• felicity
• serendipity

What does wikipedia tell us about it?

Happiness, pleasure or joy is the emotional state of being happy. The definition of happiness is one of the greatest philosophical quandaries. Proposed definitions include freedom from want and distress, consciousness of the good order of things, assurance of one's place in the universe or society, inner peace, and so forth. More generally, though, it can be defined as the state which humans and other animals are behaviorally driven towards, to counter external forces which would otherwise lead to unhappiness (and presumably eventual death).

Associated emotions include joy, exultation, delight, bliss, and love. Antonyms include suffering, sadness, grief, and pain. The term pleasure (like its opposite pain) is often used to specifically indicate localized, physical sensations, while happiness is sometimes used to refer specifically to a long-term, inner feeling.

Interesting definition. Who wouldn't think about happiness from time to time?

I think being happy is a moment, of course a strong and intensive one. But it is not a feeling that can last long-term.
I don't know if pleasure can be separated from happiness according to definition. Those feelings are related intensly.

The pursuit of happiness is one of the basic facts of the American constitution. In my opinion at the moment the pursuit of fear would be more adequate for the American people.

Every man is the architect of his own fortune. I don't think that this is true. Happiness can happen to anybody without prior notice. It can grab you from behind, it can attack you from ahead. It's there when you didn't think about it. If you keep searching for it, it probably won't be there.

Let yourself surprise! Or choose between being a sheep or a wolf.

German politics - The next generation

Breaking news.

Angela Merkel will be the next chancellor in Germany. Gerhard Schröder tried three weeks to warp democratical justice but at last he couldn't succeed.
At least this manoeuvre gained the social democtrats more Secretaries than the conservatives.
Names are not yet known, only that Edmund Stoiber (Minister President of Bavaria) will become Secretary of Commerce.

Some details for the coalition negotiations were fixed already. A reform of the income taxes, higher tax allowances for families, an alliance for employment, 3% of the gross national product as expenditures for education and research are on the schedule.

Schröder calls it quits. He has announced that he will not be Secretary in the new government. But he will take part in the negotiations about the coalition.

The SPD will have the State Department, Departments of Finance, Labor, Justice, Health, Transport, Environment and Development Aid.
The CDU will have the chancellor, the Secretary of the Chancellery and Departments of the Interior, Education, Economics, Consumer Protection/Agriculture and Defense.

Names are still not known yet, but of course there are speculations. I hope that younger politicians will get a chance. Both parties have to think about their future and this could be a possibility to get it started.

Headache

I suffer from headache from time to time. I would give a lot to get rid of these pains and troubles.
I envy everybody who hasn't got any. You are privileged and should be blissful.
I have decided not to suffer that much and throw in pills as much as I can stand. If only I could get high on them.......

This reminds me of the Rocky Horror Picture show:

But maybe the rain is really to blame. So I remove the cause, but not the symptom.
A reverse headache pill. Kind of sadistic though...........

Anybody who knows remedies, please let me know. Now I will go to sleep and hope I can dream the pain away. Or a solution will pop up in my dream:

Tatatata.

Fill up

Sad but true. The gas prices have increased enourmously in Germany and probably everywhere in the world. No alternatives in sight up to now.
The felt inflation has increased to 7% although the real inflation rate is about 2%.
I've found this picture today and it shows how you feel about the family budget at the moment.

For the English speaking people among us, the translation:

Sie wollen also ihr Auto volltanken? = So you want to fill up your car?
Kreditabteilung = credit department
People involved = Tina, Emma, Konrad, loan shark

We are waiting for the one litre car. Or for a long overdue alternative to gas as fuel. And I'm talking about renewable primary products.