Well, folks. Well, well. Matt and I have been finishing up our last few days here in Berlin, seeing the sights that remained on our list, trying the supposedly best cakes and Vietnamese food the city has to offer. We leave on Wednesday. In the morning, but not too early. It is predicted to be cold and rainy.

We sold our bikes earlier this week for even more money than we had anticipated (thanks Craig's List). Without wheels we have been bound to the limits of Kreuzberg. Today was absolutely beautiful. The sky beamed a bright blue and the air was warm. Matt explored photo ops around Köpenicker while I dozed on a bench near Künstlerhaus Bethanien. Then we went for ice cream and watched from the grassy meadows of Hasenheide the sun fall behind yellowed trees.

My job search has been active but so far without great success. It surprises me how many new listings pop up each day. I have quite a few bookmarked, though at this point I'm only applying for the positions that really excite me. I suppose in a couple of weeks -- if I don't find something good by then -- I'll alter my expectations. For now, I stay hopeful.

Still working on the new site. If all goes according to plan, I will have entirely transformed the set-up. Last week I finalized a site and started on the design. I will have to wait to pick up on it until I get back state-side.

Fall Clean-up: I updated the visual theme of The Pit of Babel only this past spring. Still, I'm looking forward to putting my new skills to use and designing a new template. Not sure if I'll try to create something from the ground-up, or if I will merely tweak a theme someone else has already made. Stay tuned to find out!

Just came back from the camping trip, where even isolated in a national park we ate delicious, real food (except for the marshmallows -- forgive me!). Due to some confusion over the placement of the bus stop, we missed the connecting bus to the campground. We were stranded; only pastures and fields surrounded us. We tried hitching with no luck. So we started walking. Not far up the road we came upon wild apple and pear trees. The fruit was still young, but crisp and juicy enough to make for a delicious snack. We filled my purse and nibbled on them for the next couple of days.

The first thing I did coming back to the apartment was jump online and watch the second class of my six-month Photoshop course put on by CreativeTechs. The second thing I did was redirect to NYT.com.

And just what did I find? A new op-ed piece by Michael Pollan. I know there are some mixed opinions on Pollan (in case I didn't post it before, please read the article The Omnivore's Delusion), but I find it impossible to find any wrongdoing in stating the facts that America, condemned to eat itself sick and spend itself bankrupt, pays ridiculously low attention to nutrition, fitness and and preventative care in general. We are famous the world over for producing the largest and strongest athletes, but the average citizen seems to have no idea how many calories he is meant to consume in a day or how many hours of exercise he needs to log in order to make a significant fight against heart disease. For many, especially us Midwesterners, corn and potatoes count as vegetables. Seeing sugar as the enemy of good health, we turn instead to sugar substitutes so that we can still drink our daily Coke.

In Obama's recent speech on healthcare reform, he says that everybody needs to take responsibility to do his own part. This means that every citizen needs to have insurance, regardless of who is providing the policy, but it also means that we need to our part to not strain or exploit the healthcare system.

Please click "Read More" below to, you know, read more!

I just finished reading the speech on healthcare reform that Obama gave earlier this week. Good work, Team Obama, at calling out the talking heads, the politicians, all those responsible for spreading the seeds of misinformation. Congratulations on figuring out a promising solution that can appease the majority, and most of all, thank you for not giving up. For the past couple of years, I have been one of those risk-taking youngsters who didn't have the money (or didn't want to shell it out) for health insurance. When given the option to register for vision and dental coverage, I took it. I know the value of preventative medicine. For general health coverage, I paid out-of-pocket for routine examinations and tests, finding the health services at my alma mater to be the cheapest option. There was no way I was going to pay $32 a week for the health insurance offered by my employer. I'm young, athletic, a non-smoker, a relatively good driver. I take vitamins. But at the same time, there was always the fear that something big could happen. A car accident, a skiing accident, a bookshelf or a mannequin that takes a tumble onto my foot. (Why else do you think I wear thick, leather cowboy boots?) I learned from someone -- a friend, a fellow blogger, I don't remember -- that it was possible to lie at the emergency room, that they were required to treat me even without insurance, and that I could give a false name and address to avoid ever receiving the bill. I prayed this wouldn't happen for my physical well-being as well as my ethical and emotional well-being. That's reckless, but what else can be done when one is earning $8 an hour and faces an $8,000 medical bill?

Last night, just before falling asleep, I started a post on yet another side of the healthcare debate, that of Michael Pollan. Stay tuned for more to come.

And while you're waiting, you should also read this short column, "Summer's End," by Judith Warner. Really, I do things besides reading the Times online!