Week One:

Shopaholic Ties The Knot - Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic and Baby - Sophie Kinsella



Week Two:

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides



Week Three:

Alphabet Weekends - Elizabeth Noble



Weeks Four - Fifteen:

Mr. Maybe - Jane Green

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov



Weeks Sixteen - Twenty:

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson

Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella

The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

(College Books: 20)



Weeks Twenty-One - Twenty-Six:

The Double Life of Anna Day - Louise Candlish

Thanks For The Memories - Cecelia Ahern



Week Twenty-Seven:

Breakast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote

Chocolat - Joanne Harris



Week Twenty-Eight:

Notting Hell - Rachel Johnson

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult







Total (including college books): 38

Finding My Feet

So, I am really bad at keeping up with this blog sometimes. I just don't feel like writing at times. But now I'm back, all ready to update.

I'm back in England. I can't believe that tomorrow morning, I will have been back an entire month.

My last week was a lot of fun, very busy and very sad too. My leaving party was on the Monday. Around 20 people had been invited, but in the end only nine people including myself were there. That was ok though, it was more than I expected. I was a bit disappointed though; the food didn't seem to taste as great as the first time I went to the restaurant with Cara in January, and somehow hardly anyone really spoke to me, despite it being my party. I'm not all that good at being in the spotlight, and tend to focus on others rather than myself, so I guess I did that. And it probably helped that the only people who turned up are ones I'm not all that close to and some very loud people who like to be the center of attention came, and stole the show. It was a good night, but not really what I hoped for.

I did get to have a great evening with Sandy to say goodbye though on the Thursday. We went to Sausalitos, a Mexican restaurant on the same street as the restaurant the leaving party was held at. It was a lot of fun; Cara and Maria Fe (new girl in the Ascent Office beore Cara arrived, friends with Sandy) came too, and Juan, Sandy's boyfriend of course. The food was awesome, and beforehand Sandy, Juan and I went shopping a little. I haven't seen Sandy since though, and I really miss her. :(

She hates this picture. It makes me laugh (in a good way):

The days at work were a bit rubbish, because I pretty much handed everything over to Cara on the Monday/Tuesday. There wasn't really anything for me to, so Wednesday was spent at home packing my boxes and sending them off with DHL. And on Thursday and Friday, there was a big move in the office, so there was nothing to do anyway. On my very last day, Claudia and Maria gave me a leaving present - a 2GB Mp4 player! I was VERY surprised. And after work, Siri took me out to dinner at Gasteig, which was lovely of her.

I adore this girl:

And then Cara came over to mine, and helped me pack. I ended up having a mini breakdown. I had like twice my luggage allowance and I was so stressed that I would end up paying hundreds of Euros to get it all home. Cara helped me pack, and booked a taxi for me. I cried so much I gave myself a migraine and worried so much I made myself sick. I couldn't sleep all night, and could barely breathe when I was waiting for my taxi.
The driver was great though, he carried all my heavy luggage for me and helped me load it onto a trolley at the airport, and when I got to check in, the lady told me the plane was virtually empty and asked if I had been studying in Germany and was going back home, and I got to take all my luggage for free. :) That took a load of my mind! Because I was of course taking my laptop home, I got to use my new wheely laptop bag for the fir st time. At Siemens, employees can get Siemens and other Siemens related stuff - like Bosch for example - (computers, washing machines, laptop bags, mice, USBs, irons, freezers, etc.) at a discounted price . I got the laptop bag because they are soooo much easier for traveling with, and it only cost me 45€. I looked them up online, and they cost like £175. So, bargain. But anyway, it was the first time I actually used it because when I went home at Easter and in May, I left my computer behind. So I was pulling it along, with my America bag looped over the pully bit. That was fun.
When it came to boarding though, I was really sad. I cried a bit.


Now I am trying to find my feet again at home. I am trying to reorganize my room, so it feels like it's mine again. I have put up postcards of Munich, Paris and Portugal (I was on vacation there for two weeks at the beginning of July) as well as my US license plate collection. I just bought a few more plates to add to it too. :) I have my little American flags in a glass on my dresser, along with a little German one too. I need to find some photos to put on the walls.

1. Go through all my clothes and decide what needs to be replaced and thrown out.

2. Throw out offending items.

3. Reorganize wardrobe and drawers. Make a list of new things I need, and things I have already bought for winter.

4. Reorganize bookcase and bookshelf. Find somewhere for growing collection of college books. Work out what needs selling, and for how much.

5. Get frame for Premonition poster. Put on wall.

6. Tody/clear out bedside table. Organize medicine box. Stock up on meds if necessary (paracetemol, ibuprofen, etc. - i'm not a drug addict!!!)

7. Budget!! Decide what to ask for for birthday. Start thinking about Christmas (people always ask what I want and I never know. I need to think about these things early, as well as plan what to give other people - my favorite part! I love giving gifts!)

8. Reply to letters from Elina, Chelsea, Karie and Amy. Organize envelopes of things I am supposed to be sending to people. Order stamps.

I feel very strange at home. Like I don't really belong anymore. I didn't realize quite how much Munich had changed me until I came back here.

I don't have a car here anymore, and even though I didn't have one in Munich, I was in a huge city and there was great, inexpensive public transport. Now I am in a tiny rural village in the provinces and I really rely on my mum to drive me places, or expensive buses. :( I feel quite trapped I guess, like my independence has been taken away from me. I suppose in a way it has. My parents just kinda disregard what I have been doing for the past year, and treat me like I am 14 again.

I never thought I would want to move away from here permanently; now I can't wait.

I'm still waiting to hear whether I passed this year or not. I have no idea when I will find out, but I hope it's soon. It's driving me crazy not knowing. I hope I have passed. More than that though, I hope I have done well.

I'm excited about the future. I can't wait for the challenges I will be faced with from now on.

:) I may not fit in here right now, but there's stuff to look forward to, plans to make. I'm happy.