liebster time, pt II

hello friends! i hope you’ve been enjoying this lovely valentýnska weekend. i have been so burnt out the past couple days of the week. on wednesday, i completely forgot to plan any and all lessons for thursday… and i never do this kind of thing. organized and prepared is always my m.o., but guys, i was just losing it. i cancelled one of my lessons just to get my act together. thursday evening, i set my alarm clock for the time i was supposed to leave the house instead of wake up (however managed to catch this error in the nick of time), but something was just not right. i awoke friday in a code-orange state of anxiety and had to utilize meditation breathing techniques. 

i don’t know why these things always happen right before some days off, but i am happy to report i am taking most of the next week off to explore some new cities, some well-known and beloved ones, and to engage in some deep relaxation. with all this stress in the past week, it made my day when the wonderful bailie nominated me for a liebster (sweetheart) award! she writes about her long-term expat life in sweden and is a fellow game lover like myself.

here go bailie’s seven questions to me….

1. If you were going to a backup singer for someone who would it be?
a sixties pop group, like frankie valli & the four seasons or the shirelles, know what i’m saying? but i would be happy to sing back-up to almost anyone– it’s much more fun than singing lead sometimes!

2. Red or white wine?
for taste, red. for “i don’t wanna have purple teeth” sort of nights, white.

3. What is your all time favorite TV show?
if you had asked me this a couple years ago, i would’ve answered differently, but i have to say the wire is my ultimate favorite TV show. it’s the sort of epic that you can revisit again and again. so relevant to today, so quotable, and infinitely thought-provoking. i wish i could go back and watch it for the first time all over again.

4. Would you rather go mountain climbing or deep sea diving?
mountain climbing, i suppose. i’m not scuba type of person (and yes, i have tried!).

5. In addition to your native language which do you wish you would be fluent in?
german, for sure. i’ve been working at it (off and on) for eight years now and would like to get more serious about it. i am a big language buff though, so i would also loooove to study czech, swedish, icelandic, spanish, french, and japanese one day. however, i’ve got this mixing up words thing going on and it’s incredibly hard for me to study two foreign languages at one time. already, i’ve mixed up a couple czech and german words. (like jeden and pro, which exist in both languages)

6. What activity do you wish you could devote the most time to doing?
playing and making music with friends –i could do this for hours! honorable mention for going on an extended workstay trip or chillin’ in berlin.

7. If you found the equivalent of $100 on the ground and had to spend it right away what would you buy?
spend it right away? (groan) i’m normally one of those boring “save it for a fun experience” types, but i guess i’d go down to tiger or ikea and make my expat living room a bit homier and cozier with cushions and lamps. with any leftover, i’d put towards planter boxes & flowers for finally starting my balcony garden.

8. Who would you like to play you in the movie version of your life and no matter the likeness who would you pick to play your significant other?
alex would have to be played by ethan embry (because, duh). but mine is harder. i suppose i would go with a less scary/eye-linery taylor momsen. (does she even still act? what happened to her?)

9. Where would you like to own a vacation home/apartment?
my first choice is berlin, but i certainly wouldn’t mind having a cabin on one of the scottish small isles as well.

10. What is your favorite odd food pairing?
lately it’s been dumping a container of cottage cheese on cooked pasta and sprinkling liberally with pepper. i’m calling it poor man’s dumplings.

i nominate caity at where the heart is, sara at a different piece of sky, & anna at slightly astray to answer the following ten questions!

1. if i handed you a plane (or rail) ticket to anywhere in the world for one week, where would you go?
2. your favorite book you’ve read in the past year & why you loved it so much?
3. what does your “default outfit” look like? (aka, if i stopped by your house or met you for coffee on any given day, what might you be dressed in?)
4. what item do you miss the most from home (that can be bought at a store) and wish it could be shipped to you posthaste?
5. the mountains or the beach?
6. what’s a strange quirk of yours?
7. would you like to move back to the town you grew up in someday?
8. what inspires you most, creatively?
9. what do your travel plans for the rest of 2015 look like?
10. what’s a place you’ve been that you love that is totally underrated or off the tourist radar?

ps… liebster love & 10 questions and the lovely blog award & 7 facts