May 2008
30,05,08
Finally met a german who believed that I was actually a juggler on
the zeil!!!!
Most Germans just don't get sarcasm and I love the
puzzlement on their faces when I'm lying to them...'tis priceless...
is puzzlement a word?
28,05,08
what's the difference between glückwunch and glücklich?
Saw Tito & Tarantula last night...they closed with a triple speed
version of La Bamba...I think the song was about 30 seconds
long...they broke for an accapella aaaahhh...ahhhhhhhhhhh......ahhhhhhhhhhhh....ahhhh...then
repeated the same 30 second song....t'was cool....
27,05,08
Somehow made it home on bike again from work...I'm hardly saving time...a
grand total of about 10 minutes each way for the privilege of
beating myself up...oh well...getting in shape is a good
thing...Probably gets easier every day...
almost took myself out on a couple of poles whilst trying to get out
of peoples ways.
Colleague tells me Italians spend even more time outside than
the Germans do...I didn't think that would be possible, but I guess
that's proof I've spent too much time in the states...Insulated
inside a car and living in the suburbs (where you don't even have to
talk to your neighbours...)
26,05,08
Got hard drive back (with musak on it)...listened to Floaters
Glyph...perfect album for a perfect night (with a couple glasses of
wine...)
25,05,08
So back from Maastricht for a lovely weekend of shopping, waffles,
and museums...
I've never before taken so many pictures on a 1.5 day holiday (McTravelling
again).
Click here for photos...
was short, but great! highlight was being attacked by a flying
mousetrap...Loud pop followed by a mouse trap hitting my head and
falling into my hoody...followed by 60 year old dutch woman (sans
bra) explaining that they "are sorry, and just wanted to see how it
worked". Even the old Dutch people speak perfect english...annoying
;)
I think they were part of a nordic walking club...even nordic
walking has made it's way to the hinterlands...or maybe they
invented it there...
still trying to figure out all the names...Holland, The
Netherlands...why are they called "Dutch"...sounds like I'll have to
research...
any other countries that start with "The"?
Finally have a working bike...as I mentioned about 6 months ago, the
bike I bought broke...we ordered replacement parts...but they sent
the wrong ones...now they sent half the correct parts, so I just
bought a used bike to get me through short term, cuz fixing mine
might take years...
am sort of excited to attempt a bike ride to work tomorrow...It's
supposed to rain...
my boss asked me 2 minutes before i was leaving work on Friday if I
would consider moving to Italy...immediately said of course (I'll
try anything once...)...Small town on the coast near Pisa...tourist town, but nice weather year round. Good work situation. am
now considering this seriously...not sure how serious he was
though...I'll report it here first...stay tuned. :)
19,05,08
Maastricht is on like donkey kong (no word yet on if using
statements like that make me retro or just old),
...and because foresight is 20/20 let me be the first to say...
"it seemed like a good idea at the time"
and
"what could possibly go wrong?"
some guy: what's wrong with bein' sexy?
18,05,08
Watched "The Departed" today. really liked it...had low expectations
I guess because the last person who I asked about it gave a bad
review, but I think it's easily my favourite Scorsese movie.
Everything he's ever done has gotten such great press but I have
always been disappointed by his flicks...this one however was
actually deserving of whatever praise was bestowed...more
conventional story than his other movies so maybe that was the
difference for me...also nice use of the music in editing...
I called someone a cliché this week...which now that I've thought
about it is probably one of the biggest insults you can
give...however I didn't mean it as an insult (meant more as a light
hearted exaggeration)...after all who am I to decide what a cliché
is? Unless I am one as well which would give me all kinds of
credibility in calling other people one... ;)
Read for a couple hours so far today...Finished "Fortress of
Solitude". Was just OK...only cried once and it was near the middle
of the book....what kind of book peaks in the middle 4 pages???
sheesh!!! ;)
This was the type of book Scorsese could make a movie out of...an
overly ambitious character drama going through the long boring days of
wanna be criminals.
...and in the end nothing really happens.
16,05,08
I guess I have Amy Winehouse to thank for all the 60's hairdo's
showing up right now...I've always had a thing for that Jackie
Kennedy hair...wow!!!
So let's see...Monday was one of those holidays and next Thursday is
another one of those holidays...Rumour has it that we're renting a
car and driving to Dutchland, Netherlandsland or Holland or whatever that country is
called (Maastricht) on Friday....aka when good
times go bad - Part 84....
So Monday spent at the River with all the other Frankfurters
"working on my farmers tan whilst complaining about how hot it is".
aka drinking by the Main.
Went to dreikoenigskeller on Thursday. Live Surf music while b
movies play on a projector...surreal-ish
The Toasters are playing Nachtleben next Sunday...I was walking by
Nachtleben and saw amongst all the other bands and dj's there the
Toasters. My world got small. I haven't seen that name for 10 years,
but I'm quite happy to hear some live ska....
Tito & Tarantula at batchkapp 27 May...saw them at bumbershoot in
Seattle once...in case anyone cares they were that band in the
vampire road movie that Tarantino and Clooney did (name slips me
right now)...
I feel like I'm carrying some extra burden greater than my own...I
feel like an open wound...not sure why as noone has wounded me of
late.
12,05,08
so went to a BBQ yesterday...had a surprisingly good time..was
hosted by a columbian and a brazilian, so they actually cooked up
some chicken hearts...of course sounds gross, but since I've never
actually had chicken hearts (and who knows when I would have the
chance again) I tried a couple (you can see veins and stuff)...must
say I didn't really like them much, so next time I can pass on them,
but at least that's one more food to knock off the list...
they also had about 27 other kinds of meat...those people do love
their meat ;)
There was a guy from Arcor (one of the telecom providers here) at
the bbq, and
as soon as Saffa and I found that out we immediately freaked out and
started asking questions. since my internet doesn't work and I can't
call the tech support myself I had to grab the opportunity even
though he gave us a groan like (mein gott!!!!! next time I tell them
I'm unemployed)....well...I have his email now and a promise to get
my problem passed onto the "blue line" or some such priority
service...yes!!!! No more carrying my laptop to macgowans to get on
the interwebby.
Also saffa had the nerve ;) to ask this guy what he thought of the
yanks...typical response that I've heard many times from
Germans...something along the lines of Americans are nice and will
pretend to be your best friend right away, but if they tell you
something (like come over anytime, or lets get a drink tomorrow)
they don't actually mean it..."two faced" is a phrase that comes up
a lot when germans are describing americans....
we also came up with the analogy that being a project manager is a
lot like being a dutch porn star....I won't type out the rest of the
statement here, but if anyone wants to know the logic just ask ;).
trust me it's brilliant!!!
Then went back to dreikoenigskeller last night...Good band...mostly
rockabilly covers, but good musicians and they were certainly making
the songs their own (I hate covers that are exactly like the
original versions)...they did an amazing Susie-Q cover that changed
tempos about 6 times....there may have even been cha-cha beat involved...excellent...the lead singer was wearing an
eye patch (every band needs a shtick, right?)
Saffa: Do you think the patch is real?
me: everyone wants to be a pirate...
Saffa: no...everyone did want to be a pirate...
Paul (5 minutes later): Do you think the patch is
real?
sitting on my balcony as I type this...there's already been an
abundance of musicians today...Groups of old people in uniforms
singing in Deutsch down in the square...I don't know what they're
singing but I assume it's in honour of pfingsten...
11,05,08
So I have no internet at the moment. That's why I haven't updated
lately...The weather this week has been beautiful. mid 20's C. I'm
the first person to complain about it, and I will probably be
complaining for most of the next 4 months....The germans love the
sun and being outside....It's bordering on weird how some of them
seem to need it.
Me I'd rather go find a basement bar or
something...anyways....
pics of me in the sun...
from
the friday wine market at the Börse.
I've
no idea if this is kat counting to 4 or telling Saffa to CTFD!!!!!
Saturday
at Konsti market...Did
I mention I need better friends ;)
so house party with a bunch of yanks on Friday...was a good
time...Found out that my secret super power is being able pee while
standing up...It was right there my whole life, and I didn't even
realize it...
I'm old and i have the chest hair to prove it...
so today I guess I was invited as a tag along to a BBQ of some
person I've never even heard of...then dreikoenigskeller or
balalaika tonight...unless I get sidetracked...which happens
regularly....
Thursday went to pub quiz...we got 4th and I'm convinced that we
lost points because of the loud yank table (for once I was not
making a ruckus).
I find that my communication with people is
somewhat rude...I'm not quite sure if I'm becoming german or just being
mean...
me (to american girl I don't know): Are you of
Irish descent?
courtney: yes
me: I could tell because of the freckles and
sunburn...but don't worry about that sunburn. In 3 months it's going
to look fabulous...
I was making a joke, but it's a little mean right? ;)
Went to dreikoenigskeller Tuesday night (A small but appreciative
audience)...The band was from bordeaux and very friendly (www.myspace.com/theweakends)...mentioned
I've been to Bordeaux
Singer guy with moustache: Did yzou like eet?
me: nah...not really, the city isn't that exciting.
I didn't know where to go to find live music...
Singer guy with moustache: zer are loads of
places...yzou come to bordeaux eegin and call me...I vill show
you...
me: yeah, I probably spent too much time at Molly Malones....
Drummer: pfffftttt/snort (a sound as if he just
took a bite of a slug or something)...I vas there with my dad
once....
Singer guy with moustache: (interrupts) it is zi
vurst pub in Bordeaux...
they seem bitter...maybe they tried out and weren't good enough to
perform there... ;)
poor guys drove from Hamburg that day to perform for about 12
people...I hope they at least got their gas money paid for...they
did crash at the home of one of the guests...
old pics...
CTFD!!!!!
I
think this must be from that Bavarian restaurant where we had dinner
on my b-day....wow I look different.
another one of those "what german holiday is it today". I guess it's
pfingsten or something. No I have no idea what pfingsten
is...probably another easter thing... religious germany...
06,05,08
Finished Sputnik Sweetheart from Murakami...(btw j. did you buy all
your books in the UK...they all have the prices in pounds...)...
some text....
I turned face-up on the slab of stone,
gazed at the sky, and thought about all the man-made satellites
spinning around the Earth. The horizon was still etched in a faint
glow, and stars began to blink on in the deep, wine coloured sky. I
gazed among them for the light of a satellite, but it was still too
bright to spot one with the naked eye. The sprinkling of stars
looked nailed to the spot, unmoving. I closed my eyes and listened
carefully for the descendants of Sputnik, even now circling the
earth, gravity their only tie to the planet. Lonely metal souls in
the unimpeded darkness of space, they meet, pass each other, and
part, never to meet again. No words passing between them. No
promises to keep.
and the last two paragraphs of the book....
....I get up out of bed. I pull
back the old, faded curtain and open up the window. I stick my head
out and look up at the sky. Sure enough, a mouldy-coloured half-moon
hangs in the sky. Good. We're both looking at the same moon, in the
same world. We're connected to reality by the same line. All I have
to do is quietly draw it towards me.
I spread my fingers apart and stare at the palms of both hands,
looking for bloodstains. There aren't any. No scent of blood, no
stiffness. The blood must have already, in it's own silent way,
seeped inside.
so that's two books for me in about 2 weeks...wow!!!! Look at me...now
on to "Fortress of Solitude" by Jonathan Lethem.
someone is cooking cabbage or asparagus in this building...ugh!
05,05,05
The weekend was weird....
This entry isn't as good as it could be ;)
05,05,08
So my house might be about to become a home...no more of a
travellers apartment...
I keep wondering why I keep putting up uninteresting pictures, but I
guess my valid reason is that I have no backup drive so if my PC
dies - or i spill water on it (it happens) then I'll at least have them all posted here...
From Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami again - a lovely
passage...
...and it came to me then. That we were
wonderful travelling companions, but in the end no more than lonely
lumps of metal on their own separate orbits. From far off they look
like beautiful shooting stars, but in reality they're nothing more
than prisons, where each of us is locked up alone going nowhere.
When the orbits of these two satellites of ours happened to cross
paths, we could be together. Maybe even open our hearts to each
other. but that was only for the briefest moment. In the next
instant we'd be in absolute solitude. Until we burned up and became
nothing.
01,05,08
So today was some holiday...not only Lenin's bday (it is Lenin
right?) but one of those "what german holiday is it today" kind of
holidays that happen in the spring...I think it always has something
to do with x number of days past easter...
anyways day off...lunch with kat followed by some family guy and a
bit of scrubs...