Michael What happens after we flush the toilet? To find out, we booked a tour of the "San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Wastewater Treatment Plant" in the Bayview district at the end of August. Promptly at 9:45 on a Saturday morning, we had to report at the visitor entrance wearing long pants and closed shoes (!), and after an hour of theory, we were immediately equipped with helmets and latex gloves.

Michael Recently our old washing machine gave up the ghost. In America, the landlord is responsible for providing replacement kitchen appliances if they break down, but since ours would have undoubtedly been replaced with another noisy, low quality appliance that makes you think the door's open and it's impossible to entertain guests or even watch TV while it's running, we decided to bite the bullet and buy a quiet Bosch dishwasher. Its customer reviews on Amazon weren't exactly mind-blowing, but German products have gone downhill in quality and nowadays have pretty bad reputation in America (just like German cars that often sit in repair shops), so what can you do? We were just hoping for the best.

Angelika Political topics interest me a lot. Every day, I watch the one-hour news program 'News Hour' on the public broadcaster PBS, and often 'Charlie Rose' as well. I also read the weekly magazine 'The New Yorker' and important articles online in the 'Süddeutsche Zeitung' and 'Die Zeit.' It is highly interesting to compare the reporting in various publications. The renowned 'New York Times' naturally cannot be omitted from this list.

Angelika Four weeks ago on Sunday, around half past eleven at night, it suddenly started smelling in our neighborhood as if everyone had lit their fireplaces at the same time. We really thought that either there was a fire in the neighborhood or one had broken out in our house. I'm constantly worried that our house might go up in flames, especially since a few guys in our apartment complex heavily consume alcohol and marijuana and aren't always fully aware. Also, sometimes rather strange figures lurk around on our roof. So, we always have to be on guard that nothing happens or no one gets the idea to start a bonfire there. On that particular Sunday, we first opened the balcony doors, but saw nothing. We only felt a warm strong wind blowing towards us, which was odd because the wind here is never warm. Michael then searched the internet to see if there was a fire anywhere in San Francisco. His research turned up nothing. Then he asked on the neighborhood forum "Nextdoor" if it smelled like smoke elsewhere, and in no time, despite the late hour, he received 70 responses: Not only did our neighborhood "Noe Valley" smell like an open fireplace, but all of San Francisco reeked of fire.

Michael I'm very sensitive to smells, and nothing ruins my day quite like cheap perfume or the smell of sweat when a colleague at work has apparently never heard of deodorant. The worst is the smell of vinegar; Angelika sometimes experiments at home making materials for her group classes with vinegar, and it drives me crazy. Or the stench of stale food when Angelika has eaten lunch in the car and I have to drive it the next day. Yuck!

Angelika Trump and associates had made efforts to repeal Obamacare, but they were unsuccessful. This was recently a hot topic in the news. What's less known is that most employees in the USA still receive their health insurance through their employer, not through Obamacare.