That Pointilism function in Adobe is pretty nifty.

Speaking of recent storms and weather here, Google Mail's "Tree" theme (one of the ones I like best) has a pretty sweet background for thunderstorm weather. For those of you who aren't familiar or who have never tried it, this is one of the dynamic themes that changes depending on the weather in your region.



(Another touch that I like about the normal rainy weather background is that the inbox window has little droplets on it. Likewise, when it snows, there are snowdrifts piled on the edges of those windows. Hurrah, Google! How could I have ever survived in the bleak, empty, boring world before you came along.)

Wrath of the Storm

There is this... this... HURRICANE over Regensburg right now... and... and...

... and I'm LOVING IT!!!!!

The rain is a good, clear 45° angle from the ground. It's so violent and turbulent here right now that building walls that never get wet are finding out what it's like to be soaked.

I was the slowest person walking home on the street. Because I LOVED IT!! Aside from arriving home and sneezing out about half of the dirt from all the construction in a three-block radius. Vicious winds, as previously stated. Dust clouds like you only see on the prairies, before the rain started.

It was already brewing when I finished dinner and walked out to the park to spin poi. And it was thick in the air as I was in the park. And finally, I left because I couldn't spin against the wind any more.

I think half the flowers on my windowsill just got brutally decapitated.

I'm too excited to take pictures. And you wouldn't understand how glorious it is anyway.

If I was strong enough to defend myself and destroy large, flying objects in mid-air, like giant, tumbling umbrellas and café chairs, I like to think that I would certainly still be out there right now.

(The Amélie soundtrack turns out to be really excellent for certain storm weather!)

Regenbogensburg

Today was a public holiday (Ascension), and as a day itself, it was quite a marvelous one for me.

I spent the morning organizing things, and making yogurt. Yes! I am experimenting with bacterial yogurt cultures. But I forgot to take pictures. But it's okay. I'm planning to try again this weekend. (Because my roommate will be away, and consequently, not here to be too totally weirded out by this innocent experiment to thwart my adventurous attempts).

At noon, I scarfed a quick not-hungry sandwich, and headed out to the large square, Neupfarrplatz, where I juggled and swung poi. It rained lightly for a little while. Some German children came up and stared, completely mesmerized, at my throws and catches, which were mesmerizing. OoooOOoooh. One picked his nose and pulled out a blood-clot booger. Wait! You didn't want to know that.

I left Neupfarrplatz when it started crowding up and went to the Stadtpark ("city park") . Remarkably, I have only discovered this place within the last month. It is now one of my favored haunts of the city. I go there to read, study, stare into space, people-watch, duck-watch, juggle, poi, and as I did today, re-lace my shoes. (*Ask me sometime about my sneakers. I am a unique lacer :P . )

HOWEVER, I do hate adding to the internet's tedious, ever-growing collection of infinite blog posts that are all rant and no photos. And the main point of this post was, indeed, to show some photos.

Today, my dear readers, was most incredible, because one of my very, very favorite types of weather came and graced Regensburg.

Heavy rain in radiant sunlight.


I love this weather with so much of my being. It makes me close my eyes and breathe in deeply, hand to my heart, and want to run free in the open.


But I did not run outside, for Sunlit Rain lasts but minutes.
And I would have burned the frittata that I was making.


But the fantastic feeling will remain with me, as well as a photograph of a faintly shining rainbow over the cathedral of Regensburg. (This one's for you, Michael! :D )


As woefully predicted, the rain vanished soon after, but behind it rolled a sky of grand, darkening, slate-gray clouds..... So beautiful! Elegant and foreboding and unearthly and stately... my camera does no justice...


And a last look at the sky over Regensburg today.


I think I fell into a swoon and couldn't get up for a while.

Today, dear readers, was a most lovely and fantastic of days.



(Oh, and the frittata turned out nicely.)

Snowfall

From Regensburg... Snow!

I was sitting at my window today, munching some carrots (Möhren) while I watched the steady snowfall outside, when I thought,

"...Gravity is a very compelling force."
End Profound Thought of the Day.

Schnee!

("Snow!")
So as of last night...

From Beautiful Regensburg!

IT'S SNOWING HERE IN REGENSBURG!

From Beautiful Regensburg!

Look at my adorable little snow-covered German city :] .

From Beautiful Regensburg!

See the Picasa album for a few more pictures of our first snowfall of the winter :) .

Putzen (Cleaning)

There's a cleaning lady (and sometimes the Hausmeister) who comes into my(/our) kitchen every Tuesday morning, presumably (and maybe Friday?). The way my suite is set up is that you walk straight into a kitchen, which has a door on either side that lead to my room and my suitemate's, respectively. So while she fortunately never does or has to come in my room, I do still hear her.

Also fortunately, I'm usually awake by the time she comes in, which tends to float around 7:45 AM. I'm sure most other students are not that lucky.

Once, I had the misfortune of having no idea why someone was in the kitchen and stepping out to investigate (my suitemate, if I have one, has not come yet because the official semester doesn't start until October). She was nice enough, but she got onto my case about not taking the trash out. She told me in half-broken German that it smelled (she appears to be of Indian or close by ethnicity). Frau Cleaning Lady, I just got here a week ago. I don't even know exactly how the German trash system works yet -- you must surely know that there are a big pile of recycling and sorting rules and that it's confusing even for Germans sometimes.

Anyway, that's probably why I never step out while she's here at all any more. I know it wasn't a big deal, but I sort of have a subconscious bad impression.

I went out to the kitchen today a little while after she left. Hey, what's this?? Wait, Frau Cleaning Lady.... I don't leave huge, speckled streak marks on my stove top when I clean it. Come to think of it, it didn't have streak marks when I cleaned it and went to bed last night!

I have to admit that I take some pride in doing a better job than the cleaning lady in keeping the kitchen well, even if only in this aspect so far. And YES, this is probably one of the cleanest kitchens in the entire building, thanks very much, I'll be backstage to sign autographs after the show.

On a different note, last Friday, almost to the point of supernatural punctuality (I guess this is Germany), was the very last day it was decently warm/summer. The day after, it went, "BAM." Cold. Even the weather doesn't mess around here. It's here or it's not, and it's punctual about it! Not like weather in the confounded southern US.... where the best it can sometimes be described is a fickle [female hound]. US southern weather likes to loll and float about uselessly during periods that I fondly refer to as Wing, Spummer, Sall and Fwinter.

Ironisch

I find this ironic. I'm about to leave for a city that is well known by both its inhabitants and its visitors to be rainy and overcast for most of the year (even to the point of ad nauseum, for some)...

... And here at home, after a hot, parched summer, we've had thunderstorms for this whole week of my departure.