Fröhliche Weihnachten

For Christmas, I will be sitting at home alone, trying to download bits of Charlie Brown's Christmas off youtube as it continually freezes up and has to be reloaded.

okay, just kidding. I am spending the day with a couple friends that are staying here and we will make dinner together and decorate a tree!

I am thinking of all of you as the holidays near. I *wish* I was coming home to visit.

Recent Highlights:

Work

• I finally got a couple days a week working at my gallery and then a month or so later found out they are closing already.

• ----scrambled to find something else-----ah, this is wearing on me!!

• found another job with my friend/former roommate from Chicago as a virtual assistant (THANK YOU SIMONE)

• possibly have a second job with the travel website again. Thank God!Both of those jobs combined would be full-time. It is funny to think I am in German working for two American businesses

SocialLife (or lack)

• I have been a hermit lately - tend to do that in the winter - and have used the time to make progress on some paintings. I can see a subtle shift in the work as living in this new place, and another country is undoubtedly changing things.

• my roommate is out of town and that is a celebration in itself - he 'doesn't like Americans'...soooo maybe I get to be the exception?! probably not. But that is okay.

• My friend, Kelly Marie is coming to visit December 28th. really looking forward to it.

• I got to see two 'somewhat old' friends recently - Brad and Tim. separate. Somehow with both of them, we had lost touch in Chicago but were able to reconnect here in Berlin. Brad and I went to this neighborhood spot, Tomsky for drinks. And then for a late night falafel. Tim and I had lunch at the organic/health food cafe next to the gallery called Eve and Adam's. Then stopped off at this group show I was apart of in an old, art nouveau swimming hall (the pool was no longer in use - people have asked me if my pieces were floating in the water- so, no) in the south of the city.

Germany

• Interesting moment - Talking politics with the Getranke store owner in German and my German is horrible. Realizing how far you can get with only two words besser and schlimm (better and awful) in the context of politics.

• I appreciate America more with the distance though I still *really* love it here and could live here for years if I can figure out how to make it work as well as afford to visit home. As Marc would say "Live and Die Berlin". Still that said, I am only planning to stay a year or two. We'll see...

Holidays once more

• Thanks to Mom's package - I now have my snowflake sweater just in time for the season. it has pompoms on it - Perfect!

On a side note - I had no idea people were really reading my blog until I received more and more emails asking when I was going to update again. So thanks for caring!! I will keep it going, okay!!

Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year.
Love,
Sarah