Right now I'm wearing a hat and a Patagonia fleece to pair with my pajama pants. It's actually too hot and I'm going to have to take the hat off now. Maybe I'm getting sick. Last night's sleep was uninterrupted and marvelous. A solid eight hours. Before bed I was practicing for the German naturalization exam and I believe this contributed to a tired mind. The study materials for the test consist of 300 questions, plus 10 or so questions specific to your Bundesland (German federal state). The exam takes a subset of these, 30 I believe, in the form of multiple choice questions. So to prepare I've been memorizing all of them. There's no other way to do this short of taking an intensive German integration course which I don't have the time for. The challenge with the approach I've taken is that my level of German is only A1. The exam is in B2. This means I can't understand most of the questions and answers and need to learn a whole new vocabulary. Unsurprisingly, this slows down the process. I'm making good time though, and I've been able to pass the mock exams I've taken. It's just that when studying and memorizing these questions, they engage your mind in a more demanding way since you're trying to encode and understand not only new facts and ideas, but also a new linguistic concepts and grammar. It's more exhausting than regular exam preparation.
But, so is life in a foreign land.
Every day I feel like something is a little bit off in my body. Sometimes it's my mind, wrapped in a kind of subtle fogginess, and other times it's my body, with an odd ache or stiffness, low level inflammation or malaise. Today it's slightly swollen sinuses and a light cough. Just as every good meal comes with a wine pairing, my symptoms are paired with a cottony warm lassitude which makes me want to put my head down and nap. Except I can't. I need to busy myself at the computer with work, I need to run to the store because my small fridge is out of supplies and sundries, and after that I'll need to cook dinner and shower and study. No rest for the wicked. I'm sad that I haven't been able to read the Steinbeck book I'd started in days now. Maybe tonight. Or tomorrow. The story just seems to be taking hold too, so it's vital for my enjoyment that I allow it to hook me and give it the continued attention it deserves. Once I finish it I'll write some half-assed review of it here. Stay tuned!
What else is new? I'm considering buying a 3D printer. When push comes to shove, I know I won't, but the daydream is fun. They're pricey - between 800 - 1000 euros. The concept is fascinating though. It will be interesting to see how new AI's overlap with 3D printing to start generating unique physical objects and tangible abstract art. There's a piece I want to print that looks like something out of a video game. A sort of magic pixelated potion that shimmers when light hits it. I'd like to place it on a rotating disc so that it creates a mesmerizing illusion of transformation. Local printshops in Berlin have quoted me around 50 euros, far cheaper than buying and maintaining my own printer. This is what I'll do.
Are you ever able to smell the oil on your skin? I suspect it collects at the base of the hair follicles in my mustache and beard and then the soft smell wafts up into my nose with certain movements of the head. It's not an unpleasant smell, but it isn't particularly pleasant either. It just smells like skin oil. Which sounds disgusting, but why? I wonder if someone else paced their nose directly next to mine if they'd be able to smell it too or if the smell I'm smelling is just the scent of my nasal passage; of dry boogers and hairy little mucus membranes.
No comments:
Post a Comment