The episode in which Rob talks discusses non-drying water, stalkers, and curling

My shower is wet. It's been that way for over 48 hours. The floor is covered in water. It won't dry. It JUST WON'T DRY GOD HELP ME I'VE TRIED E V E R Y T H I N G! I am running the fan non-stop, and when I'm not running the noisy fan, the bathroom door is open to circulate air. The shower head is not dripping. I'm at the end of my wet rope. I could dry the floor with a towel, but in the name of science, I feel as though I need to let evaporation handle this one on its own. I think the problem might be that my apartment is so humid. No need for a fog machine here, folks. It's an asthmatic's dream. And opening my windows doesn't help much either--it has been raining continuously for the last 72 hours, so outside is wetter than inside (God's small blessings are the best blessings). So... we are officially on SHOWER WATCH (dun dun dun) to see if I have raised a new breed of evaporation-resistant water... I will keep you updated as events unfold.

Tonight I am going to have a beer with a guy who met me at the train station. He needed help with the ticket machine, and I kindly obliged, being the mild-mannered midwesterner that I am. Woe are the unforeseen consequences of R.A.O.K.'s. He followed me to the train platform, and then sat next to me on the train for the next 30 mins. Like a little lost puppy. Apparently he is 17 years old, goes to a vocational school in Waidhofen, and doesn't have any friends. That last part is really no mystery to me, because that is usually the consequence of not having social skills. One follows the other--that has been my experience. But he sort of badgered me into giving him my cell number and we decided to meet up for a beer. The beer summit was planned day before yesterday, and yesterday he called to ask me how my day was. And what I had done all day. (Worked.) And what I was doing right then. (Cooking) And what I was cooking. (Soup, I said, which was a half-lie because it seemed easier than explaining that I was eating delicious left-over chilli.) What kind of soup? (*sigh* Chilli.) Oh, what is chilli? (Soup.) How do you make it? (It has meet, red beans, onions, and tomatoes in it. Very good.) Wanna know what I'm doing? (Not really. [Spoiler warning, that didn't keep him from telling me]) The call ended with him reaffirming that we were still meeting for a beer. We had just made the plans the day before. Woof.

And here is the kicker. He just called me again. While I was writing the above. I mean to say--when I started the above, I didn't know that I would be writing this paragraph. He called to make sure we were still going to meet up. That's 55 mins from now. I hope he doesn't rape me and kill me because he just might be getting a little attached. I don't have the patience to play psychologist/friend (in that order, because folks, that's the order he needs them in).

Anyway, on a less mean-to-innocent -(most likely)-harmless people who don't know I'm blogging about them, I played in the Vienna Curling Championship over the weekend. 'Twas a six game round robin, and we ended up taking fourth. It was a really fun weekend, and I am thinking about joining the club now so that I will have the chance to practice regularly and play in some more bonspiels. They play in Budapest, Bratislava, Kitzbuhl (Austria), and in different cities in Germany--so it should be fun.

And... I suppose as an afterthought I should include this little teaser. If you have enjoyed the blog so far this year, be sure to tune in next year to see how my adventures proceed. I applied for and got an extension for my position. I will be back teaching in Seitenstetten (the Catholic Gymnasium) and a different school in Waidhofen--this time a business school.

Anyway, I know it's been a bit since my last report. I will try to be more timely with the next one.