This January has a bit of storm in Europe. -Or so I've heard. Here in Lüneburg it's been raining for a week, and we had heavy rain one afternoon, with about an hour of strong winds and thunder. I remember better thunderstorms from my youth, but then, that was on the Pacific Coast, and we get there better Thunderstorms, besides better Salmon, better moss, better rain clouds, better ocean currents, better Granola, better Eagles, better Hippies, and more mold. So I can't say if it has been a big storm for this region or no.

The Germans seemed to want to hide at home, (Rehearsal in the theater was cancelled due to bad weather! Who ever heard of that!!! I once had a Rehearsal with an earthquake in the middle of it; We stopped for ten minutes or so, and then carried on from where we left off!) I would have rather gone to the coast though, and watched the big breakers coming in off the... north sea.

I'm looking forward, greatly, to Pamela getting back from her Skiing week in France. She will be back in Germany tomorrow evening, and I'll get to see her again in one week. (It has been two weeks already that I haven't seen her. It's been difficult.) Difficult how? Hm.

Difficult not to call her up, at exorbitant prices, for Both of us, on my mobile phone. -Just to hear her voice. We talk for over half an hour every day, during the normal week. So the eight days of not hearing her voice have been hard on me. I miss her so much, and have to make a large effort to be happy I'll be with her again soon, instead of sad and depressed that the wait is too long.

Anyhow, she's been skiing in France. -Except for the days that it was raining. And the first day there; when the ski-lift-operators were on strike. I never considered that such people were so skilled labourers... I thought it would be... collage students, taking a seasonal job. I thought it would entail no more than "Press a button if someone falls over trying to get onto the lift." and "Then press this button, when the problem is sorted out." Have you ever heard of a strike of a ferris-wheel operator? That's what I would compare this to. And I just can't understand it.

Something else, that's happening in January: I've printed a score (or 4 less than a score, I guess,) of my best photographs... at least the colour ones. And I've got them printed L-a-r-g-e. 40 by 60 cm. (about... 1 & 1/2 foot by 2 & 1/2 foot.) It's for an idea I've had since my last months working in Estonia; In the foyer there, someone had a photograph "Ausstellung," (How was that in English again?) Display? Panorama? hanging? Exposition? Something like Exposition. Anyhow, they had some prints hanging in the foyer of the theater. And I thought, "I could do that too... with time, and a bit of money..." -And then I moved to Germany.

The idea stayed in the back of my head, but I never saw... another convenient place that I could have my photographic... EXHIBITION!!! (OK; I broke down and looked up the word on the internet: Google search for "Family of Man." -which I incidentally have seen in Luxembourg.) The catalyst now, was a good offer at a photo-printing place, where they would do these huge enlargements, something like two for the price of one.

I've got the pictures all printed now, and I've been thinking about what frames could go on them, All I need is some place to hang them! I've been asking around, and it seems that there Might be a chance I could hang them in the foyer here. (I hadn't thought it was possible, because I've never noticed any pictures there at all, except for those acting as advertising for the pieces playing in the theater.) I plan on going to talk with the theater director about it on Monday. Wish me luck... (that is, imagining anyone reads this in the next... 24 hours.) If that doesn't work out, then I've had a number of other suggestions about where I might be able to EXHIBIT them.

Now, the last thing about the weather, which I forgot to mention; Besides being rainy and stormy now, the last few month have also been... rainy. That may not sound very exciting to YOU, but I grew up in this sort of weather; The West coast winter, where it rains 9 days out of ten, from October to April. -And where the first little flowers appear at the end of January. Now, Here in Germany, which usually has it's first snow in... late October? Early November? I saw a snow-drop today. The actual flower. There's many other green shoots coming up, but this was an actual Spring Flower. -And that made me feel so at home. All I needed then... Was Pamela. All I need now is Pamela. How can I last one more week... without Pamela?

At least I've managed not to be depressed for the last half hour...

M.