masamonkeys

Look at that lettuce grow! We’ve also got a pretty awesome free standing fireplace, compliments of our neighbors upstairs.

I’m hooked. I watch this stuff every day now, mostly in the mornings when I should be doing my german homework. Anyways, for those wanting to watch German TV you can get a ton of stuff now on YouTube. Deutsche Welle has launched a YouTube channel in both english und deutsch and there are hundreds of videos.

And the first thing I hear my dad say when hearing I’m trying out a straight razor is “are you crazy?” — well I indirectly heard this through my brother Tyler who was instructed by my dad while on a cell phone to ask me this question.

Anyways, I bought a straight razor. I didn’t go all out though. I bought one that uses disposable razor blades. I wasn’t sure if I would like it and I didn’t want to cough up $200–$300 for a decent straight razor so I went the disposable route. The upside is the blades are super cheap. Between $.50 and $1 a piece depending on what kind and in what quantity you buy them. That’s a hell of a lot better than the $15 pack of 3 Gillette blades, which I am sick of buying.

I bought some decent shaving cream and a good brush to go with it. It was highly recommended by the folks at “The Art of Shaving” where I bought the razor and I thought I might as well give it a serious chance if I’m going to do this thing.

After purchasing it I went home and watched a few “how to” videos on YouTube. They were good at giving me a sense of the basics. Then I decided to go for it. I took a hot shower and afterwards went for my first shave with the straight razor. I should add that I had not shaven in quite a few days so that added to the complexity of the situation.

The tools.

This is me before I’ve shaved.

This is me after I’ve shaved.

My skin wasn’t really that red after shaving, it’s just bad color from the photo.

Regarding my tools. Maybe some of this is overkill but it’s my first time and I wanted to get the full experience. We have an initial oil used to prep the skin and help provide a barrier between the blade and your skin, it’s also suppose to provide a smoother surface so your less likely to cut yourself. There is also the brush, the shaving lotion, after shave lotion and finally the razor. I used a Dovo Shavette.

Well I’m sure you are wondering how it went. Well, it actually went just fine. Yes I cut myself, but nothing more than a few little nicks here and there which I think is pretty damn good for my first time shaving with a straight razor. I didn’t experience the gushing of blood that I had heard about. Granted I took a looong time to shave as it was very awkward to use at first. It’s mostly tricky to figure out the best angles and hand positions for holding the blade for the different parts of the face. Some areas I got a really nice close shave that was better than any thing I’ve experienced with the Mach3 blades from Gillette. Other areas I had quite a bit of trouble and it was still a little on the rough side after shaving. I only took one pass as I had all of the little nicks I wanted and my skin was not terribly happy with me.

It’s hard to tell yet but I think I may be a convert in the making. I’m going to give it a few months and see if I can really get the hang of it. Time will tell.

Our genius little brother was wrestling the other day and broke his arm. Somebody picked up little tut and threw him to the ground. He tried to brace himself with his poor little arm and then the arm gave way. Well, now our little brother is going to have an “enhanced” elbow with one or two additional screws to keep things in working order. Get well soon little brother!

(& Carmen’s but a different Carmen)

Note to Mr.Major:
Congratulations buddy. You did it kinda backwards but congratulations all the same — the kids are suppose to come after the wedding, and the relationship is definitely suppose to come after the kids. You lucked out. You know have a beautiful wife and three beautiful daughters. So once again, congratulations.

Yep, that’s me. Behind me is where the ceremony was. Sorry, I’ve got no pictures of the actual ceremony.

This is the same spot except facing the opposite direction. This is looking back at the hotel towards the dining hall were the reception begins.

The wedding reception. Free finger food and most importantly, free booze. I had a kick ass time drinking lots of the house wine, visiting with Bin’s mom and wrestling with the little kids that were all over the place.

The Bride and the groom the day after the wedding.

After I finished up my very late breakfast / lunch Bin, Carmen and I decided to go to a local diner to get some food. Bin & Carmen were a bit hungry and well, I’m always hungry, even after I eat. So we checked out this place. I ordered a cup of tea and a piece of Lemon cake. It was by far the absolute worst tea and lemon cake I ever had. I drank the tea, and threw away the lemon cake. I’m a big fan of small time diners, but this place was awful.

I just got new glasses. After two years my old glasses were scratched really bad and the prescription was a little off — my eyes tend to constantly change. On that note, amazingly enough my eyes have actually gotten better. Over the past 4 years they have improved by half a point, going from -6.75 to around -6.00.

I’ve transitioned almost all of the videos that have been posted on this blog onto YouTube. We know have the Masamonkeys YouTube channel. It’s a place on YouTube where you can see all of the masamonkeys videos. Spread the word : )

Tyler and went to the War Memorial Opera House tonight and saw the Merola Grand Finale. It was a collection of different pieces from different operas performed by different opera singers. The set design was lacking but the music was beautiful.

I particularly got a kick out of a take they did on the magic flute were the ‘magic flute’ was actually a gun - when you consider some of the lyrics it was pretty funny.

Thanks to the contest I won with the Goethe Institut, Carmen and I are planning on going to Germany from Novemeber 24th – December 28ish. Not to sure on those last few days. That will depend on how many invitations we get to stay in Germany : )

For the majority of the time we will be staying in Bonn, just south of Cologne, and we will be attending a 4 week intensive course at the Goethe Institut. Intensive meaning we will have class every day Monday through Friday.

Here is a little wikipedia entry about Bonn.

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999

Read more about Bonn (wikipedia)

We are thinking/planning on visiting our old home (Mörzheim) in Germany during the Christmas holidays. A nice quiet little christmas strolling through the old village.

And now for a few photos…

This is a photo of the Goethe Institut where we will be taking classes. This in the Bonn-Bad Godesberg neighborhood. A quite little residential area just south of the town center.

Bonn Nord aus helicopter

Bad-Godesberg - Marché de Noel