I May Look 23 - but My Legs Disagree.

Here I sit. I have been sitting here for the last two hours. I am a bit chilly because I haven't changed out of my sweaty dance outfit. Yes, not only is that incredibly disgusting but I am now telling the entire world. There have been some frequenters to my site from Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica, some of them have even poked around on it for upwards of 2 minutes and 17 seconds. I am practically famous.

Anyways, back to my gross outfit. The reason why I haven't changed is because I am not 17 and I do not have the energy to do so after attending my first dance class in six years. Ya, ya, ya, I get it I am young... but I have an old lady body. An old lady body that has not broken into a sweat for upwards of maybe two years. When I was in high school my friends and I (Shout out to Brittney and Abby) used to dance for upwards of three hours a night, four days a week. At that time I would also come home from school and eat half a pack of oreos, half a sleeve of wheat thins, and if allowed a package of dill cream cheese - in one sitting. The other half was usually eaten by Brittney and if Abby showed up we would divided everything into thirds and then polish off a case of coke. I am not saying I can't do that anymore its just that you can't buy oreos here and my thighs just don't react in the same way they used to.

Either way, I think I might go back once a week it as was actually a lot of fun (even though I don't have the range of motion to do a lot of it) and it helps with my Hungarian (egy, kettö, hárem, négy, öt, hat, hét, nyolc!!! I can count to eight like no one's business). Another thing to add to my list of weekly events - tutoring, Hungarian lessons, choir (haha! I know, right?), pub trivia night, dance, blogging.... I am such a well rounded young lady now please introduce me to someone tall, funny and has the ability to grow a nice beard.

Excuse me now, I have to walk the two feet to the stove where my pot of soup awaits me then crawl to my bed.

Park Full O'Statues

Long time no Blog.

This past weekend I had two CANADIANS come to visit me. We talked quickly to one another about people we knew. It was nice. I also made them walk around the city and up a mountain in the freezing cold. I only got lost twice and they only knew I was lost once. We were followed by Australian tourists once because we look like we knew what we were doing.

Here is a blog entry I wrote weeks ago and never posted from my Christmas vacation...

Look to your right! I have a new album up! A group of us got together with our very own Hungarian tour guide to visit the Monument Park. To fit the description of the USSR that we were taught in grade nine Social class we chose the coldest afternoon possible to head out to the middle of nowhere while a storm brewing over our heads. It was bone chilling cold and my camera died. GAH! It was so cold that day! They let us wear baggies on our feet to keep our shoes clean. Laughter and jokes ensued like you wouldn't believe.

You can read more about this place here.

STRIKE!

And then the bus drivers went on strike...

Some of the bus lines are still running though which is the case for my route. "Awesome," I thought to myself "This won't really be a problem for me".

Boy was I wrong!
(*I have only been listening to the CBC Radio 3's "Sunshine Show" podcasts and it is makes me talk like an old man... I love it).

The first bus yesterday morning didn't even bother to pull over. The second bus was so crowded I couldn't fit so I had to walk to the metro line. My usual 25 minutes to get to work turned into about 50. This morning, again the bus was too full at my stop to I walked to the next stop and decided, "screw it, I can be all pushy too" and got on the next bus. However, so did everyone else at the other stops. The ride was like a nice hug from someone you love.

By "nice" - I mean smelly...
By "hug"- I mean pressed against dirty coats...
By "someone you love" - I mean grumpy old men and women wearing fur coats.

A Knot, a Ball of Yarn, and a Scarf.

Dear Avid Readers,

Remember in my last post how I mentioned that I "worked on a Christmas present"? I am sure you all remember it really well and the anticipation must be killing you. I am not only going to show you - I am totally going to teach you how to make your very own.

Step one: Go to Budapest Christmas... Let me know when you will be there I will totally come along for moral support (they don't speak english at this booth). Enjoy a mug of hot wine then purchase the most beautiful handmade wool full of burs and straw and stuff.

-How lovely is that?

Step Two: Unravel the wool - this takes as long to do as it does to actually knit the scarf. It is best not to start this step at 11pm.

-Action Shot!

Step Three: Start rolling the yarn from each end because of a tangle.

(I suggest you skip this step it was really my downfall).

-Realizing someone might yell at me for not putting my clothes away and just hanging them on my chair I moved them out of the shot.

Step Four: Pout because of the large knot and late hour.

-This is ridiculous!

Step Five - Come to terms with the fact that there is no way to make these balls smaller and that I am just going to have be more creative at getting this knot out.

*Editor's Note: One way to make the balls smaller would have been to untie the knots that made the yarn so long in the first place. Realizing this weeks after the fact makes the author of the blog feel like a complete dumb-ass. (cough I mean not a swear word - Hi family!).

-Come on Piebiak - You are a strong, capable, educated, woman. YOU CAN DO THIS.

Step Six: Repeat steps 4 and 5 until it 1 am then take one last picture and go to bed. You are on vacation and vacation is supposed to be relaxing. THIS HOWEVER IS NOT RELAXING.

-*%&*))@%)#)%^@)@!!!!!!

Step Seven: Go to Vienna and be lazy for the holidays and find a pattern that suits you. Realize after 8 rows that the pattern is too skinny double the width. Start again. Decide that doubling the pattern that it is now to wide. Pout. Motivate ones self to do some math. It was your highest mark in high-school you can use these skills to make you OWN pattern. YOU ARE A STRONG, CAPABLE, EDUCATED WOMAN or man... Motivating yourself is the only way you will get through this.

-Does this scarf make my thighs look fat?

Step Eight: Continue knitting while watching movies, riding the train, watching the entire BBC mini series Pride and Prejudice, take the scarf to a coffee shop and knit it there, on the bus where ever... Curse at it... etc.

-Even up close it looks good.

Step Nine: Repeat step eight. Really there shouldn't be a step nine but it makes the blog formatting look better.

-Half way there....

Step Ten.A: Wash the scarf in coldish water all while panicking about how it might lose all its colour because it didn't come with washing instructions. Also, during this step you may also want to worry about it shrinking.

Step Ten.B: Block scarf. This means stretch it to be the shape you want it to be and pin it down and let it dry... I don't know if I did it right but it totally worked.

Step Ten.C: Sew in the loose ends. This is the most boring/annoying step.

-DRY STRAIGHT!

Step Eleven: Take one last picture and give it to your friend for Christmas. Be really happy when she wears it every day to work that week and says things like "I love real wool", "I love this scarf", "This scarf is so warm and perfect", "This scarf makes me look so cool", "I would look so cool in the UK wearing this scarf, even cooler than here", "This scarf makes me want to give you a raise - you can take Friday off".

-That is one beautiful creation... Such pretty wool...

Want to know my top secret pattern?

I started with this pattern.

Then turned it into this with my mean math skillz:

CO 25 st

Knit 4 rows garter stitch

Row 1: K2, (K2tog, yo) 3 times, K1, (K2tog, yo) 3 times, K1, (K2tog, yo) 3 times, K3

Row 2: K2, P to last two st, K2

Row 3: K3, (k2tog, yo) 2 times, K3, (K2tog, yo) 2 times, K3, (k2tog, yo) 2 times, K4

Row 4: K2, P to last two st, K2

REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT until it is as long as you are tall, or as long as your wingspan (SAME THING!!!), or until it is as long as you want it to be, or until you are just about out of yarn.

Knit 4 rows garter stitch

Christmastime in Vienna

Where to begin.... I haven't posted in a long time and SO much has happened. Really! I am a changed person. There have been so many epiphanies... You really have no idea.

...

Had you there for a second! I am not that interesting...

I went to spend Christmas in Vienna with Valerie (an exchange student who lived in Valleyview for a year) and her family. It was nice to be with someone who knows the same people as you and who has known you for more than six weeks. Funny story - I almost missed my train because of the combination between a twenty-four hour time schedule, and a two sided piece of paper. Good times, good times!

We had a big meal for Christmas Eve and then angels brought our Christmas gifts and we opened them. Magical! I don't know how they make kids believe that story. After gifts and Val, her brothers and I headed to a tiny neighbourhood pub and spent the evening with a big group... Boxing day I spent wandering the city, buying coffee in every cafe as they were really the only places open, going out for sushi, and going for "traditional" Viennese coffee... Much the same as going for any other coffee but in a prettier cafe and with richer cake.

-This isn't the traditional one - but it certainly is a chai latte that you cannot find in Budapest.

The rest of my holiday I worked on a Christmas present and caught up on movies. Oh also I preempted the Christmas card picture!

-A lot of American strangers were thinking of me!