Something is wrong with my connection at home. Something in the DSL modem or the line does not want to behave. And my home phone decided not to allow the hang up/pick up button to work a week ago or so. I tried putting an analog phone on the line (obviously didn't work because the line is DIGITAL) and then Friday evening I tried putting another phone on the line. I don't know if the two are related, but now the DSL modem can't sync and the new telephone sounds funny when I try to dial. I don't think they're related though because the DSL was acting flaky for the month. But not flaky enough to have somebody come look at it. In fact, I did call TCom to report the problem, but oddly enough, it behaved better after that. Well, now they're in the process of checking things on their side. I should hear from them sometime Monday on whether or not somebody needs to come out to look it over and whether or not I'll have to pay at least 60 for the privilege.
Arrghh. It's frustrating to not be able to surf or chit chat on the phone. Sigh.
I just listened to my first podcast - over at Expatriate Odyssey. Hilarious. Especially the bit about the possible next pope.
Keep up the great work Duncan. You had me cracking up!
. . . but I haven't. Honest. And even though I've had a four day weekend and done not much other than crochet, watch TV & some shopping on Saturday, I just haven't felt like blogging. I'll blog more after this week. I have some news coming up to share & I'll be going to London next weekend. So next week I'll definitely have London stories & photos to share. And if I don't, kick my butt & get it in gear okay? Because I'll definitely have the them. :)
I just updated my blogroll over there on the right - rearranged some entries, added two, deleted a couple of old defunct ones, etc. Check out the new sites, notably my crochet blog, the aforementioned Stringbean, and the long overdue-I'm-sorry-I've-neglected-my-blogroll Germany Doesn't Suck. I think latters title is supposed to be a positive re-inforcement, but I'm not sure it works ;).
Okay, okay, off to find my tax papers. Sigh.
Okay, I don't usually join the meme's, but I need blog material. ;-) So here's the latest meme, and my answer's. Stacey tagged me on my crochet blog, but since it doesn't have anything to do with crochet, I'm posting my answers here.
1. Total amount of music files on your computer:
Um, I have a 4GB iPod mini and when I set it up it copied about 2.2 GB worth of MP3's. There are probably about 100MB more on the work computer.
2. The last CD you bought:
I'm not sure. It's probably Mary Chapin Carpenter's Between Here and Gone. I don't buy CD's very often.
3. The last song you listened to before reading this message:
Nine Inch Nail's "Closer". I was listening to a colleague's iTune's playlist on Thursday.
4. Name 5 songs you listen to often or that mean a lot to you
Um...well, this is hard. I have to think about it.
Mary G. Blige's No More Drama
My iTunes list with all my ratings is at work. I'll have to update this list later. I have 4 others that mean something to me or I listen to a lot, but I'll have to disconnect from the computer a few hours and think about it. :)
5. Who will you pass this stick to (3 people) and why?
To Bill, Janine, and Jay. Cause they need blog material too, and they haven't been hit yet either. ;)
Tracey and Vivi have teamed up together to create a Secret Santa-like exchange for bloggers. I signed up, you should too! You don't have to be an expat, just interested in exchanging a surprise package with an international buddy. :)
I've had complaints about my blogging lately, specifically the lack thereof. Sorry people. I haven't felt like it. Works busy, I'm going to the gym, I'm crocheting.
I could give somewhat amusing stories about the trainers at the gym. For example, speaking English to me even though I'm speaking German to them. You do not know how annoying I find that. It's okay for the Jamacian guy - he's not German and he peppers his speech with English. But the guy who's obviously German, has heard my accent and decided to speak English to me after I've spoken two perfectly good German sentences to him? And continues to even though I continue speaking German to him? Annoying. VERY. I know he thinks he's being helpful, I find it condescending. Oh, then there's the perfectly nice trainer who at the end of our circuit training demonstration decided to obliquely mention weight loss, classes that are perfect for people like me, and little pep stories about extremely overweight people (much larger than me) losing 40 kilos in year by coming to the gym regularly. Um, yeah, thanks. That's condescending too. And yes, I know she's being helpful. It's still condescending, especially since I didn't ask for any of it. But this is just being whiney about a perfectly lovely gym that I'm 100% happy going to, and I think I'll stick it out more than a month. Really.
Or I could talk about my co-worker who flipped her lid on Monday for seemingly no reason. My boss wasn't anymore of a jerk than he normally is, but she flipped. I think it was stress. She took a day off and she's all better now. But that's SSDD (same-shit-different-day) and par for the course at work.
I could show photos of my crochet projects, but I have another blog for that. And besides, if I mention a crochet project, I get asked about other WIPs (works in progress), so that's no fun. Even if the person does say nice things about what it is I'm doing.
Oh, heres a good topic: my engagement. Except, well, I'd rather not talk about it. Talking about it brings up questions. Since we have no date, Bill has no job at this point, and I'm not ready to discuss certain aspects in a public forum that people at my work read (hi!), that's a dead topic too. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be engaged to the most loving man I have ever met. He's the perfect match for me. But other than the fact that we'll be together, hopefully sometime in the next year, and we'll be married - probably next year - there's not much to say on that topic. Oh, and to a certain ex - we will make it. Get over your hang up with my mom. Thanks for the encouraging words though.
I know a good topic - my family. Specifically one of my brothers. I'm really upset about a certain situation he's in. But, since I live across an ocean and can't do anything to help, no matter how I want to, it's better not to go into it. And besides, no matter how much I open my life up on this blog, that's family and that would be just wrong.
So all in all, I've just not been in the mood to blog. Plus, I'm really getting tired of my blog look. I'm working on a new template, but the work/gym/crochet/surfing is making it slow going. I am making it a priority though, and I should have something new to unveil next weekend. Stay tuned!
I'm really not in a bitchy mood, even if it does read like it. I've spent the last two evenings being completely relaxed. I've watched the West Wing and crocheted. That was almost like therapy for me. You have no idea how good I feel when I am crochetting.
Okay, enough nonsense. I'm off to bed. I'll probably blog more this week, but no guarantee's.
More answers to questions! This time, it's CAD Monkey's turn. CAD Monkey is my new best friend because she linked to my blog and said she's been reading it "voraciously". Woohoo! :)
First, the recommendations.
Movie - Real Genius. Ermm, yeah. You know, I don't think I've ever sat through this movie in it's entirety? I've seen bits & pieces. Back in High School I was a total romance novel nerd. My nose was stuck in the middle of a romance novel every waking minute seemingly. My brothers, on the other hand, were total HBO & Movie Channel nerds. I watched many snippets of many movies on my way through the living room to the kitchen for a drink and then back to my room to read. Occasionally I would stop & watch the movie with them. So I've probably seen the entire movie, just not all at once. Or maybe I have. I'll have to rent it to make sure.
Book - Memoirs of a Geisha. I keep seeing this book. And picking it up. And reading the back. And putting it down. I think I even read the first few pages of it. I just need to buy the flippin' book and read it. I'm such a wimp when it comes to new genres and a little bit of a non-conformist. If it's new & hip & happening, that makes me want to not participate. A little bit. On the other hand, I love being one of the first people on a new & hip & happening wave. Yes, I know, a contradiction. Point being: Memoirs of a Geisha was hip & happening a couple of years ago and I was late on the uptake and now I just need to read it. Good suggestion. :)
Music - Kittie. Cool. I listened to snippets of their latest album and it sounds promising! A bit like Disturbed - I love "Down with the Sickness" - but a bit different too. Definitely will check them out next time I'm in the CD store. (Man, that last sentence is a perfect example of how German is corrupting my English. "Definitely will" is a German phrasing, "Will definitely" is more American. )
On to her questions!
Were you fluent "auf Deutsch" before you moved there? (please forgive grammar if I'm wrong)
No! Goodness gracious, no! I wouldn't say I'm fluent now, but I'm a lot closer to fluent now that I was three years ago. My German was on the level of a really bad 2nd grade student then. Possibly worse. It's maybe up to the level of middle school now, grammer-wise. Vocab-wise, I'd say late high school, early college. My grammer is the worst. I mix up genders, use "du" when I should use "Sie", haven't quite figured out the correct way of saying "you two", etc. That said, I've notice a significant improvement in this area in the last 3-6 months. Probably because my only vocal contact is in German now that Bill is in the States.
Where did you learn German (book/ class/ etc.)?
I originally learned German while living here as a child. In the DoD elementary school we had German once a week and then in middle school I took it as a class. We moved back to the States in the middle of my 7th grade so for two years I had no German contact. I lost a lot of vocabulary. But the basis was there. I continued German for all four years of High School & then two years in College. Sorry Brett, but I just don't feel like I learned German from Frau Blanner, as just keeping it fresh in my head. It probably has more to do with me than her because we had a couple of guys in my class take AP German and pass with flying colors. I didn't do bad, I just didn't feel like I could read or talk the language. Granted I never really tried. And thinking back on it now, I probably did learn more than I realized. In any case, those six years kept German in the back of my brain & really helped with my understanding & re-learning the language when I moved back here three years ago. I'm not much of a help if you're looking for advice on how to pick up the language. Even after moving here I didn't take a class. My first company offered German lessons on company time, but after they declared bankruptcy two months after I joined them, those stopped. Funny that. I looked into German classes at the local Volkshochschule (community college), but those are inconveniently timed in the middle of the day and the professional business language schools want an arm and a leg per month. So I've just been picking it up on my own and trusting my German colleagues to be patient. It really helps having them speak German to me. And explaining things when I don't understand, preferably also in German. Reading German books/newspapers helps a lot and so does watching TV.
If I moved there, would you be my friend? ;P
Absolutely! :) That was an easy answer.
After a hectic week at work - it was awful.....just about everything that could go wrong, did - it's the weekend! Woo hoo! Oh wait, only three days and a little bit until I fly! Ack! I mean, Yea! :D
Back to answering the questions my readers have posed to me. Starting with Ruby Bean's.
First though, her recommendations:
Movie - High Fidelity. Isn't John Cusask great? And his sister Joan - I love her too. I keep thinking about reading the original Nick Hornby book and then thinking, nah - I saw the movie. Which is not very typical of me. Maybe I should take this as a recommendation to read the book since I've already seen the movie?
Book - Welcome To My Planet - Where English is sometimes spoken by Shannon Olson. Hmm.....I'm thinking good airplane book. You know, for that flight coming up in three plus days? Let's see if Amazon.de has it. Nope. Well, then I'll have to look for it in the States and read it on the way back.
Music - Keene. This one is hard. I found mention of a new group with the name of Keane, but no Keene. So I'm assuming she means Keane. They sound promising. The review says they've been compared to Coldplay, which is good. I like Coldplay.
On to the questions!
What is your favorite country to visit outside of Germany?
Hmmm.....all of them? :) Okay, just one? That would have to be Italy. Venice, Milan & Rome were lovely!
If you could live anywhere beside Germany where would it be?
See the answer to Janine's third question.
What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Watch DVD's, go to the movies, or stay inside reading a good book.
Thanks for the questions!
Bill's having spammer problems at the moment. I looked around and found this wonderful tutorial on how to help spam-proof your MT blog. It's full of good suggestions, so check it out. If you have an MT blog or want to migrate to one.
Here are the answers to Janine's questions.
First, the reactions to her recommendations. I've seen the Bourne movies (loved them!), but not read them yet. I haven't heard of or seen the Shopaholic books, but they sound like a good Christmas gift Janine. ;-) As for John Mayer, I love his album "Room for Squares". I did know he had a new album out yet, but I'll look out for it. I have a feeling it's not out here yet.
Okay, on to the answers!
How has living in Germany for a few years changed you and your outlook on life?
It's changed my outlook on time. I'm generally more punctual now. For things like social appointments, trains, and airplanes. It hasn't helped my punctuality at work though. ;-) I'm also a better judge of how long things take. Or rather, appreciating what can be accomplished in smaller amounts of time. For example, last Wednesday I went to the Christmas market with Stefan after work. We got there around 8pm and it closes at 9pm. I think a year ago I would have said, "why bother". It didn't even faze me last week though. We had fun walking around, drinking a couple of Feuerzahnanbolle (hot sugar, rum, and fruit drink), eating burritos (very traditional!) and window shopping. :) It's also made me more discerning about quality products.
It seems your passion for photography has dwindled, whats up with that!
Well, for one, I'm quite busy crocheting at the moment. For another, I got a look at a really really nice digital camera when I used Sandra's a month or so ago. So I'm working on getting my really really nice Nikon film camera ready to be sold so I can afford to buy a nicer digital camera. My current camera is nice and great - hey I couldn't beat the price! However, it's limited. It's wonderful for taking photos of things that are up to 10 feet away. It has a wonderful macro function. However, it causes redeye in 90% of indoor flash people photos, and the clarity drops off significantly for subjects greater than 10 feet away. What can you expect from such a small lens? So that's why I haven't taken many photos lately. I'm a little dis-enchanted with the camera at the moment.
Other then the USA, if you could live anywhere else in the world for a few years (as you have been living in Germany), where would it be? and Why?
England, Ireland, Belgium, or Italy. In the former two it would be great learning the differences in the English and how to integrate in those societies. We speak the same language, but we don't. And I love the accents! Belgium is like a nicer Germany - from what I've heard from others. I don't think the weather is better, but the countryside & buildings are beautiful. It would seem familiar, but different. Italy - I wouldn't be able to understand a word, but it wouldn't matter. Especially if it was a coastal region where I lived. Sun, great food, good looking guys who flirt outrageously, warmth, the Mediterranean. Ah....
On to Shelby's questions. The last ones for today.
Goodbye, Lenin is her movie recommendation, and I second it! I was proud that I understand almost all of it when I watched it last January. The only things I missed were some DDR specific jokes. I should buy this DVD. Hmm...
Shelby's book recommendation looks like another to add to the list. I think I'll order it with Amanda's from Amazon.de in January and go on a German reading spree. And um, Krahhftverk? Hmmm...I'll think on it. ;)
On to the Answers to her Questions!
1. What's your favorite German city? Why?
Munich. Because that's where I spent the first nine months when I moved to Germany. And despite my company going bankrupt two months after my moving there, I had a great time there. Our company was composed of a great variety of nationalities - 60% were new to the company in the last two years, under 40 years of age and 40% of us were a nationality other than German. There were Australians, Italians, Phillipinos, a couple Americans, lots of British and French. My core group of friends was composed of two Idians, a Frenchman, an Irish/Spanish girl and a British guy. The larger group included all the other nationalities. We went out every weekend, watched movies together, went on a couple of short trips, helped each other move, it was great. I went to the English Gardens (a huge "English" park in a German city with a "Chinese" pagoda in the middle with a German oompa band playing inside - I love the contrast!), Oktoberfest, a Nickelback concert, wandered through Olympia Park on many a weekend, visited Nuernburg, the lakes in the region. It was an idyllic, if cash strapped, period in my life. I don't think I'll ever forget it.
2. What American food do you miss the most?
I don't know. Two years ago I would have said Goldfish. However, in the meantime I have received so many care packages packed with them that I'm a little sick of them. This morning I would have killed for a package of instant Quaker oatmeal - I plan on bring many packages back from the States. In sum, I don't miss any one food. I miss the grocery store. That's open at midnight when I realize I'm hungry and have nothing but mayonaisse in my refridgerator.
3. What do you want for Christmas?
DVD's of American TV shows that I'm missing. Cool crochet pattern books with no expectations of gifts made from said patterns. A hug from my honey. Sitting at my parents dining room table for Christmas and getting fed up with the bickering and loudness of 10-12 people in one room, three of them under age 8. For my niece Emilie to finally come to me willingly and play with me. For my nephew Johnathan to not act like a brat so I can feel good about spoiling him. Nothing big, nothing special.
Here are my answers to Amanda's questions. Amanda is my best friend from High School. Her sister Val is the author of Dispatches from France. I think it would be really cool if Amanda started a blog. Hint, hint.
Amanda recommended the movie Snatch. I love this movie! Her book recommendation also sounds like a good read. Have to put it on the list of books to get. That list is long, but it flys out of my head the moment I step foot in a bookstore or visit a book website. :)
On to the Questions!
1. Where did you meet Bill?
*blush* Ah, yeah. Shortly after I moved to Frankfurt and broke up with my German boyfriend, I joined a personals website. I was lonely, wanted to date, but didn't want to get serious. Just meet new guys with similar interests, go on dates, have fun. I weeded through some real losers and was really getting dis-hearted with meeting a "normal" guy. One evening while I was on the site, I got an email from this "haughty" guy. Now, this personal site didn't give out email addresses - you got "emails" through their website first & if you wanted to give out your email later, that was up to you. So I was surprised to get an email from this guy and sent a very suspicious "how'd you get my email address??" back to him. He explained that most people's nicks are variants of their email addresses, so he took my nick and added several free email service domains after it. He got lucky! No, I got lucky! I'm soo glad he found me! We chatted for a couple of weeks and then agreed to meet at an Irish bar that is close to my work. The rest is history. :) Or should I say, history still in the making?
2. At any time since you've been in Germany, have you ever felt unsafe, either because of political climate or just walking down the street?
Once. I was walking through the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and when I came out of a store, I noticed this Eastern European guy looking at me. When I passed him, he started following me. I kept to the side to kind of keep an eye on him and walked slower, but he didn't pass me. I pretended to stop and look at a city map and he stopped a few feet pretending to write a message on his cell phone. I was thinking "oh sh*t, what do I do?" I kept walking towards the underground train - you have to go down two levels and I had a vague idea of either ignoring him or losing him. Somehow. The first level has a big wall that splits it, so after walking down the escalators, I walked quickly towards one direction and at the end of the wall I changed directions to go down the other side. This guy had the same idea, just opposite! Crap! He saw me see him, stopped and pretended to call somebody. F*ck. I walked very quickly down the escalators to the wrong train track, ran back to the half escalators that are a short cut to the other side and hid behind the coke machine on the other side. I saw him get to the bottom of the escalator on the side I came down first and look around for me. I stayed behind the Coke machine until my train came. That was pretty freaky and scary.
3. Why can't life be fair for good people?
That's a hard one. Sorry, no answer here. :(
Okay, four people have left me questions and here are the start of my answers. One post per person.
Jay recommended I read Crime and Punishment. Man, he must want to punish me. Seriously though, that book is on the list of "sometime in the future". I got the Cliffnotes ™ version in high school, but I should read it myself sometime.
On to his questions.
1. What do you like the best about Germany? Why?
The thing I like best about Germany is it's proximity to other destinations in Europe. Frankfurt especially since it's has major international airport. And with the addition of Ryan Air in the area, it's super cheap! The thing I like best in Germany though is the cafe culture. Going out to eat or grabbing a drink in a cafe or bar is nothing - there's one every few streets. They're nice and you can sit for hours chatting with your friends or just have a quiet meal by yourself. Most U.S. cities don't have this.
2. What do you like least about Germany? Why?
The thing I like least? I would have to say the weather. It seems to always be gray and overcast and hazy, with maybe three weeks total a year where it's sunny and warm. I would have thought the haze was pollution, but I first noticed it when I was working in the middle of Bavaria with the lovely countryside. Or maybe it is pollution? A close second is the high taxes.
3. Would you consider living in Germany forever?
Yes. If I was either married so our two incomes could afford to jump the tax hurdle better OR I got a job with an international company or the US government living here. They tend to, not always, but tend to give you some bennies that overcome the high taxes. But then I would be integrated as much into the culture and probably wouldn't speak German as much. So, it would be a trade off.
Here's a meme for you all to play along. Leave your answers and questions in the comments and I'll answer anything.
(A) First, recommend to me:
1. a movie
2. a book
3. a musical artist, song, or album
(B) I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want.
(C) Then I want you to go to your blog/journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything & say that you stole it from me.
I stole it from Shelby. She gave me good answers to my questions. :)
So......ask away!
Ok, I didn't manage the two posts I promised. So, here's a roundup of my weekend. And tomorrow I'll post more Zurich pictures with commentary.
That was my weekend. I hope all of yours were as relaxing.
* pissed means very drunk in British speak
No, I didn't impulsively buy anything today - I deliberately spent 50EUR on Fish Filter improvements. Ouch.
Anyway, via Blog Explosion I just found this funny product review blog: The Impulsive Buy. Check them out, they're really funny.
I just spent an hour creating this banner for my blog. Actually for BlogExplosion, a blog referral website.
The text was easy, I've got that up at the top already. It was trying to find an photo or two that was still interesting and somewhat recognizable when reduced to a height of 60 pixels. Oh, and relevant to me/Frankfurt/Germany. Sigh.
So, I'm not 100% happy with it, but happy enough. I'm going to let it stew for a few hours while I watch Pirates of the Caribbean (10EUR at WOM!). Let me know what you think.
I'm not copying Val, really I'm not. However, I saw on Blogger.com News last week were they suggesting that you solicit photo suggestions from your readers, and I liked the idea.
I'll collect suggestions until Thursday and then ask you, the readers, to vote on the suggestions on Friday. I'll take the photos over the weekend and post them next Monday.
So, your mission is to create a comment with at least one photo suggestion that you would like me to post. Something artsy, sight-seeing worthy, local, whatever. Suggest away!
I've added a category at the top right, "Contact Me". Feel free to use that email address to contact me! Of course (at) should be replaced by @. You knew that, right?
I'm feeling an urge to update my blog design. Especially since I've been looking at the work Valerie and Bill have been doing, blogs they link to, and the crochet blogs I've been looking at. Sigh. So don't be surprised if I change the design on you.
I should mention that this supposed design will probably happen first in a couple of weeks. When a certain boyfriend is no longer here :( to keep me company and cook me wonderful dinners. Sniff sniff pout.
My first blog child is back up and running, after a long hiatus. So everybody go check Bill's View of Life out and say hi. Be nice! :-)
Hallelujah! The red light was back to being green again!!
I can now surf and check email and blog.....all from home again. Yea! I'm happy. :)
Monday - Sychronized diving. How yummy was the hunky British diver? YUMMY! :) Oh, and the American men achieved a Silver medal in the All-around Team Gymnastics competition! Yea! That's the BEST they've done in YEARS. To quote Paul Hamm: "This is the first medal for a USA mens team in a non-boycott Olympic Games since 1932. We made history here."
Tuesday - go to TCom to complain about the letter that says my DSL will be turned back on on the 20th and oh, by the way, there's a 99.95 fee for that. Wait forty min behind a clueless lady with NT who wants DSL and doesn't understand what the - very patient - sales person is explaining to her. Finally get up to the other sales person, explain the situation, she calls the main office, somebody had already taken care of removing the 99.95 fee. Yea. :) As icing, the American Women take Silver in the All-around Team Gymnastics coverage. The Russian came away with the bronze. It was only AFTER the competitions were over that Svetlana smiled. Until then she looked like she really didn't want to be there and was just going through the motions. Okay, whatever.
Oh, and Bill moved in with me last night! I now have more oatmeal, tuna fish, and bath products than I know what to do with (combined stuff that couldn't be shipped from both him and his ex). I'm sure it'll all get used though. :)
Hi All. Sorry it's been quite here. My parents left, I started a reading marathon of romance novels that's kept me up late, Bill's in the middle of moving (his things, not himself yet), and to top it all off, Deutsch Telekom decided that my order to go to a lower DSL rate was an order to turn off my DSL. Since it takes three months to effect ANY change anyway, I noticed this on Monday, three months to the day after I gave the order. Sigh. At first I just thought it was a normal outage and then when it lasted three days I called up and found out I was no longer a DSL customer (big surprise to me!). I could turn it back on by phone, but then they'd have to charge me a 99.99 new connect fee. Right. So I went into the TCom store yesterday, explained the situation and the lady said they'll reconnect me. And her boss will keep an eye on it to make sure I don't get charged the new connection fee. Very nice and all, but it means I don't have connectivity at home right now and I have to watch my bill to make sure I don't get charged.
Also, I'm helping Bill this weekend to straighten up his apartment and get everything ready for the movers on Monday, so I probably won't put anything up here until next week. Who knows though, you may get lucky! :)
According to this article (Hat tip: PapaScott), general web surfers/users don't like it when links open a new window - Tip #7. Which is news to me, because I love that. Even more, I love having my Tab Browser extension for Firefox set to open other links in another tab within the same window. That way I don't loose track of the website I'm currently browsing. I can click on the other links as they interest me and read them when I'm finished with the current article. I like it so much, I make all the links on my site open in a new window.
Okay, I'm asking my general public - do you like this "feature" or not?
Oh, and I knew Tip #1 (logo is a link to home page), and in fact, I implemented it on my site from the beginning. And Tip #3 (navigation of rollover menus) is a minor pet peeve of mine that I didn't even recognize as a pet peeve until I read this article. It's soo annoying to have to go back up to menus and renavigate because I move the mouse diagonally. I've mostly encountered this with desktop apps though, not browser rollover menus.