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Saturday, August 30, 2008

High School Reunion

Highschoolreunion So here's my update on the reunion. I guess if I say that I didn't get home until almost 4am it should be fairly clear that I had a good time. :) I haven't been out that late in a really LONG time. I am feeling old - ha ha. Anyway, I had a good time. Most people showed up, we only missed 5 people out of about 20. Stayed at the Heurigen until about midnight when they closed. Then a small group decided it would be fun to continue hanging out afterwards so we went to a club type place everyone used to go when we were in school. I wasn't really into the club scene even when I was growing up too much but thought it might be interesting to go. Stayed there for quite some time and finally took a cab back home.

Today I got up around 11am and then met up with my friend Andrea in front of City Hall in Vienna where they still have all the food stands from all the different countries. Had some yummy paella and caught up with her. Afterwards I took the train back out to our house in Lower Austria (45min) In the evening I met up with my friend Anneliese out here. Went to have some yummy icecream and then headed to a nice casual restaurant next to a pretty lake where had dinner. Walked around the lake when we were done to work off all the food we ate. Then headed back to her apartment where we looked at some photos and had some wine.

Can't believe that it's my last day here tomorrow already. Need to pack tomorrow. Other than that I am just planning to relax and not do too much. My mom is going to make lunch and then we will head to Vienna in the afternoon at some point. My flight back to the US is really early on Monday so I am going to have to get up ridiculously early. Ugh. Oh well.

Mail Update: Wrote a letter to Celia/MA on the plane but haven't mailed it yet. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Alex/Germany, Charles/TN, Nicki/CA and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Hello from Austria

Hanna_small Here's a picture of me with my new haircut and haircolor. :) Having a really nice time here in Austria so far. Arrived yesterday morning. Didn't do all that much yesterday besides have a lovely lunch and sit outside in the garden. Also went to see a couple relatives and had some nice conversation over a few glasses of wine.

Today I got up around 9, had some yummy breakfast and lunch and then had my hair appt at 2. Sat in the garden afterwards again until just a little while ago. Oh and let's not forget the pizza I had for dinner.

Tomorrow it's already the day of my reunion. Going to have lunch at a nice restaurant on the way back to Vienna and then head to my reunion in the evening. Saturday I am meeting up with a friend for lunch and then am going to take the train back to our house outside of Vienna. Monday it's already time to fly back to the US.

Mail Update: Wrote a letter to Celia/MA on the plane but haven't mailed it yet. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Alex/Germany, Charles/TN, Nicki/CA and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Saturn Astra

Saturn_astra1 Here's the picture of our brand new car we got on Thursday. Our 4-year lease for the Chevy Equinox we had was up so we had to pick a new car. We decided against getting another SUV, partly because of the gas prices and partly because we just don't need a big car like that. We ended up with a Saturn Astra which is really a Opel/Vauxhall Astra currently manufactured in Europe. Saturn bought the rights to market the car in the US but is currently still manufacturing in Europe. Eventually they are going to be building plants for it here in the US. Anyway, so far I am really happy with the car. It's nice and sporty, has a sun roof and rainsensing windshield wipers. Oh and heated seats for the winter. What more can I want ? :)

Finished reading "The Outlander" by Diana Gabalon today. I really loved that book. Can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series. If you like romance, history, time travel and Scotland --> check it out. :)

Other than that not all that much new. Work's been nutty but what else is new ? I have one more full work day left and 1/2 a day on Tuesday. Packed most of my stuff today so I don't have to stress too much tomorrow night after work. Can't believe I will really be on a plane so soon. Time just flies so much.

Mail Update: No mail has gone out :(. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Alex/Germany, Charles/TN, Celia/MA, Nicki/OZ and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A day to unwind + relax

Despite the fact that I have tons to do at work at the moment I ignored that fact and decided not to work 6 days again this week. And I am very glad that I made that choice. I might regret it tomorrow when I see the huge pile of papers on my desk but for the time being I am quite content. Had a very nice relaxed day at home making some lunch (garlic+herb crusted fish), having some tea, reading (The Outlander by Diana Gabalon) and petting Oliver. It's definitely been a nice mellow day. I really needed a day just to unwind. Been really busy and stressed out at work trying to get everything sorted out and under control before I leave for Austria next week. The end of August is always a very busy time at work with all the schools starting back up, having to organize all their schedules along with the Labor Day holiday.

Really didn't do a whole lot today. Slept in fairly late, had lunch, read and played around on the computer for a bit. Somehow it was a really nice day though. Can't complain. Didn't get any letter writting done as I intended. Sorry to all the people that are expecting letters from me - will try to catch up soon.

Mail Update: Mail went out on Monday to: Becki/MI and Tizz/Holland. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Alex/Germany, Charles/TN, Celia/MA, Nicki/OZ and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Saturday, August 16, 2008

This week just would not end - finally!!

I am so glad it's Saturday afternoon now, I am off work and have the day off tomorrow. This week just dragged so much. I really hate weeks where it feels like there is no end in sight whatsoever. Part of the reason probably was that I worked 6 days and had to go in at 7:30am two out of those six days. Also stayed late pretty much every single day. Oh well, it's done now.

The picture on the left came from this silly website I found the other day while surfing the web. It's called Yearbook Yourself and let's you create old pictures of yourself. So that is what I would have looked like in 1984 apparently. Interesting. ;)

Really looking forward to my trip to Austria now as well. Only a week and a half to go now. Been making lists of things that I want to eat while I am there. It's all about food with me - ha ha. :)

Mail Update: No mail has gone out. :( Received letters from/still owe replies to: Charles/TN, Becki/MI, Tizz/Holland, Celia/MA, Nicki/OZ and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sunday, August 10, 2008

More Roadtrip Updates from back home

We got back to Connecticut late on Monday so been back for almost a week now but somehow just didn't get around to an update yet. 

Had a good time during the rest of our stay in Oklahoma. Then on our way back we stayed in Indianapolis overnight. Never really thought much about Indianapolis before but it was a really nice city. Seems like a place that would be fun to go back to.

Had the weekend off and tried to catch up with a few things (stuff around the house, emails/letters, etc.) Was partly succesful but there always seems to be more things to do and not nearly enough time. Working 6 days next week so there won't be all that much time to really get anything done next week either.

Well enough complaining. I'll end this on a positive note with some exciting news. Just booked a flight to Austria for the end of the month (August 26-Sept.1) The reason behind this short-notice trip is that I received an email with an invitation to my 10-year High School Reunion. I do have to admit I am quite curious what everybody else has been up to since our graduation (10 years -- wow I feel old *g*). Luckily I can stay with my parents while I am there so that definitely cuts down on the cost of accomodation/food etc. Thank you mom and dad. :)

Mail Update: A letter is going out tomorrow to: Tiffany/OK. Mail has gone out to: Kimber/Canada. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Charles/TN, Becki/MI, Tizz/Holland, Celia/MA, Nicki/OZ and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, August 01, 2008

Walking in Memphis - Roadtrip Update

Nickielvis Here's an update from our roadtrip. Having a lot  of fun so far. Right now we are at my friend Tiffany's house in Oklahoma City. Wow, it is HOT in Oklahoma. It's about 105F right now. We are mostly staying indoors in the AC. Went to the Science Museum this morning, then lunch and a tea room in the afternoon.

Went down to Washington DC on Tuesday night. Then left DC really early on Wednesday morning and headed to Nashville, TN. (about 10 hours) Nashville is a lot of fun. Had a yummy dinner and then walked around the downtown area to look at all the bars/listen to the live bands. From Nashville we continued on to Memphis on Thursday morning. (a little over 3 hours). Toured Graceland which was really interesting and then headed to downtown Mempis to walk along Beale Street and have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. From Memphis we continued on to Oklahoma City (about 7 hours) where we are now.

Mail Update: Mail has gone out to: Alex/Germany, Nina/WA and Sarah/Canada. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Tiffany/OK, Nicki/OZ, Jetta/Finland and Kimber/Canada.

Posted by Hanna at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack