The Siberia of Bavaria

As the drive with Max and his mom from Munich to Hof progressed, the weather started to get worse. Max laughed and told me that the place he was born is known as the Siberia of Bavaria. No shit. It's colder, grayer and gloomier.

Max's grandmother (Oumi) was thrilled to see us, and greeted me as Frau Auffhammer! Max's dad and his wife were also there. We ate the traditional family holiday meal: goose, potato dumplings stuffed with butter croutons (the size of tennis balls) and red cabbage. All very light and healthy food. It was fantastic!! We downed the whole meal with a small shot-bottle of shnaps and then hung out in the living room chatting all day.

Both Max's grandmother and his mom have given me a piece of jewelry for the marriage. Max has been giving everyone a framed photo from our wedding as their X-mas gift, and everyone becomes teary when they see it. Oumi was also thrilled to discover that I knit, and told Max he has a very talented wife.

We are sleeping on the beds Max and his sister had as children. They are now permanently housed at his grandmother's. When we woke up this morning everything was covered by a beautiful blanket of snow. It's all very cozy, and a stay at Oumi is a full service operation. No dishes to be done, no work at all. Just eat, sleep and relax.

Max is currently upstairs in the attic (freezing cold!) looking for his childhood Asterix collection, to bring back to San Francisco with us. I am trying to decide whether I should start doing some work on my thesis!

Greetings from Munich

I am currently sitting at my sister in law's office, helping her design her 30th birthday party invitations. The internet connection is decent, and I've decided to take advantage and send a quick post...

The weather has been decent. In fact it's much warmer than I anticipated. The house is so warm, we've been walking around in t-shirts, and the window is open a crack when we sleep at night. Who knew?!

Christmas is celebrated on the 24th in Germany, and we had a great time last night. In typical Auffhammer tradition, we began with champagne and delicious potato leek soup. Then we moved to the beautiful tree and opened the mountain of gifts. Favorite: the new Sean Penn biography from Max. (I had no idea this existed!!)

We then moved back to the dinner table and ate a delicious spread of smoked salmon with horse radish, marinated beans, artichoke hearts, endive salad and pate. 3 bottles of champagne later and we were all lying in the living room chatting by candlelight.

Today we walked through the park, and I tasted my first Ausgezogene. (Basically a big flattened donut, rolled in sugar and cinnamon-served warm). The sun was shining, the wind was not blustering and it was a gorgeous day.

I am having a wonderful time. I've slept enough that I feel caught up for the last 3 months. Tomorrow we leave for Hof, where Max's grandmother lives, to spend a few days. More news to follow...

Celine Dion

Tonight we joined Deborah to celebrate her birthday this week. Dinner in the mission at a cafeteria style taqueria and then drinks at a bar. Melissa and Sean came along too, and it was nice to see them and chat. I especially enjoyed hanging out with Sean as I haven't seen very much of him since the summer. He had some funny stories to tell, and brand new sexy watch (circa 1983). The evening reached a peak when my brother started to explain his plan of 'The Island'. A place where all the death row inmates could be sent to live, and flourish on their own. It would be surrounded by 500 miles of ocean, with chargers at the borders. He believes they would catch fish, grown their own vegetation and make shelter from the natural materials on the island. Needless to say Max had a few bones to pick with this concept. Inevitably Shaun started to change his story and in the end devised a new plan, which included sending them all to Canada and giving them the equivalent of electric dog collars. What I share with you below, is Max's drawing of the 'Canadian Solution' on a napkin. Please note the singing face of Celine Dion in the top corner.

I am sorry

My maintenance and upkeep of this blog over the last few months has been shoddy to say the least. School has been hard to handle, compounded by a plethora of social events, German class and the hope that occasionally I'll see my husband for more than 5 minutes a day.

I am in the early stages of my written thesis, not to mention visits from Glen Helfand, the curator of the MFA show that will happen in May when we are graduating. Everyone wants us to have all the answers now. How can I possibly know what I want the written thesis to say, or the artwork that I'll show now? A whole 5 months prior to the end date! It's a little overwhelming for someone like me. I hate committing when it comes to my artwork.

Today was the last day of classes, and tomorrow is the last German class. We are leaving for Germany on Tuesday, and I am looking forward to all the entertainment Max has loaded onto the laptop for the plane. I CANNOT sleep on planes, and through these new wonders of technology (not the least of which was an awesome gift from my father-in-law: Bose Noise Reduction Headphones) I will be able to watch movies galore, listen to my iPod and read some of the fantastic books I got for my birthday.

I will attempt to make entries from Germany, but it seems unlikely. In the event that this does not happen, I wish you all a merry holiday season and a very happy, healthy new year. Having just taken a tour of San Quentin this week, I am bluntly reminded to let those I love know it, treat those around with kindness and respect and to be grateful for all the freedom I have.

I soooo wish I was in NYC for this.

Honor. Friendship. Fisting.IT'S KARATE, KID! The Musical

An outrageous and unconventional riff on the beloved ’80s film. Under the manicured guiding hand of a mysticalmaintenance man, Daniel-San Larusso wages war against pill-popping, white trash deviants; well-styled, bloodthirsty karate students; rampaging hormones and many more “unsavory things.”Featuring 20 ferocious new songs, including “Wax On! Wax Off!,” “‘A’ My Name is Ali” and “We are the Bitchkicks,” this KID chops through an orgy of drug-fueled excess and sexual perversion to win the gold!

More...

Coming round slowly

My birthday party this weekend was really wonderful. I was amazed by how many people showed up. Thank you to everyone for that. You made my day! Deborah offered to take all the pics, as we still haven't replaced the battery in our camera. [This will hopefully happen before we leave for Germany in 2 weeks] Max prepared an awesome food spread, including his famous onion torte, and Melissa made a gorgeous green spaceship cake. I am hoping to show images of this once she sends the pics she took at the party. Kate, the owner of Cafe Royale, provided delicious salmon with tartar sauce and a beautiful cookie tray. She is a generous woman to say the least.

The vibe was really chill and relaxing. People came and went, eating and drinking. It made me very happy. Interesting gifts included a Harley Davidson Encylopedia,a Mediterranean Fig Candle and an exquisite handknit hat from Deborah.

School is starting to feel a little better too. I was thrown for a bit of the proverbial loop with my candidacy review. I have been trying to sort through what I think happened in that meeting, and what I am going to do/show in the re-review in January. I think I needed to take some distance from school and just relax a bit. I've had some wonderful people to talk with about what it all means and how the work can return to the creative source that use to feed me. So many people were kind enough to lend an ear, do studio visits and offer some real advice. [You know who you are] I am really lucky to have the support network that exists in my life right now. I suppose, in the end, that is what grad school is all about.

Party Time - Oh Yeah!

Tonight is my birthday party. I will be celebrating at Cafe Royale, with a fun group of folks. Max is making him famous onion tart, and we bought lots of snacks for people to eat. Melissa is making the cake. I am making CD mixes.

I am VERY excited.

Truth is stranger than fiction...

An email from Deborah:

I couldn't resist... I saw this in the Mission the other night.

Happy Day

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. I was a good little girl, and went to all my classes, including the 9am in Oakland. Max made it more bearable by treating to me to a Starbucks run and a ride across the bridge, rather than the Subway.

When I got back to the San Francisco campus at 12.30, I went to lunch with some of my favorite girlfriends, Ruth, Deborah and Libby. We ate Chinese food at Eliza's and talked about our Thanksgiving celebrations, local gossip and how the movie The Notebook made those us of who saw it on the plane WEEP like babies! (People - if you haven't seen it, go out there and rent it!)

One moment that took me by complete surprise is mentioned here. I can only imagine that Hans has done some reading of my blog, or he has been spying on me for ages. I am baffled by how he knew it was my birthday - that I was in class and where - and that I love these actors!

I met Max back in Berkeley after my 7pm class, and he took me to Chez Panisse for dinner. We drank champagne and white wine and ate some of the most delicious food. I was in awe of the dessert Max had: Dave Fredrick's Clementines and Barhi dates. I've never eaten dates like this!!

I felt overwhelmed by all the gifts he gave me. Loads of books I wanted, including the David Sedaris books I haven't read yet, Culture of Fear, Devil in the Details and Acquainted with the Night. He also gave me a penguin calendar for next year, and a box of white chocolate truffles from Godiva. I'm a lucky woman.

I can't believe how many birthdays I've celebrated with Max. I reminded him that ten years ago, he gave me a box of Cracklin' Oat Bran and a jar of blue hair dye. I knew then it was a real love affair.