Fast Kein Frei Internet Macht Schwer Bloggen

Hello Friends and Family,

I am back.  Sorry for the lapse in communication.  I am doing just fine.  Exploiting Starbucks for the free internet, but yet again I buy something everytime, so I think they win on this one. 
I have finished half of my class in Koeln.  Only one more week left.  Yesterday I took a trip to Karlsruhe, where I will be living.  I met my friend Benny and we went apartment viewing.  It was an interesting day.  We got to a rocky start.  So this searching for apartments is a new adventure for me, living in the dorms my college life.  When communicating with the first apartment tenant, I failed to get their phone number and last name... making finding the exact apartment interesting to say the least.  I had the exact address, which is the one thing that helped us significantly.  I finally viewed that apartment thanks to a person leaving it and knowing the tenant.  So that one turned out okay.  That apartment was nice; it's downtown and just a short walk to work.  It would be with two girls.  The girl I met talked really fast, so I had trouble understanding her, but the place was nice and the location is ideal. 
Going to the second apartment was a total disaster.  I got a message back from this place asking if noon worked, so I replied and said was, but got nothing back.  I guess they didn't get it in time, but we went searching for it anyway.  I figured they got it and were going to send more information.  Did I mention I only had the street name and postal code?  Haha!  So Benny and I walked up and down the street, but it was a no success.  By this time I was frustrated with myself for not getting all the info.  Oh well, we headed to the third place.
The third place I had a phone number, exact address and confirmation of the meeting... this was going to be a winner (and it was).  We arrived and met the landlords, which were really nice.  They talked slow for me and showed me the whole place.  The building I viewed had two apartments with three and four roommates.  The location is outside of town and I would need to hop on a train daily, but it's much better than coming from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe and back everyday where DB offered me an apartment.  So, I wouldn't mind living outside of the city.  The room would be furnished!  SCORE :D  It's also cheaper than the downtown apt clearly.  We will see Wednesday where I will live for 6 months.  Exciting stuff. 

Well folks, I will log off here and go and view the city of Koeln while I am here.  I'll upload pictures of it next time.
Tschuess!

Zuviel Kaffee

I am way too excited to do work, so I decided to blog about my day.  I just finished my second cup of coffee and I am feeling a slight headache.  2nd cup - not such a good idea.  I am working on my last lab report and can't stop thinking of my interview on Friday and possibly landing a job!  Who would have thought that I would be getting a job?  I better stop blogging about it, so it's not jinxed.  BUT... I have two companies interested in me as of now.  When I get a job, I will stop putting you in suspense and just tell ya, but in the mean time... 
Let's toast to this quarter finally winding down and the prospect of a job for the spring and summer!

Einer Schönen Anfang

So, here is the start of my blog.  I'm so very excited to begin the spring quarter of my fourth year.  Bring on Deustchland!  I had a bit of trouble naming my blog, but I think "No pain, no gain" fits me and this experience in which I am about to embark.  This is my last week of classes and the beginning of figuring out what to pack and what I can leave behind.  Stay tuned for more exciting posts.  This is to be continued...