Sorry, too lazy just yet

Okay, I am enjoying my day of doing nothing. Well... not exactly nothing, but practically nothing!

I got up just after 10:00 (which is pretty good for me) and sorted my laundry. I took two loads downstairs and was shocked to find that all the machines were full!! I couldn't believe it. Ten o'clock on a Monday morning, and they were all full. Whatever. I came back up and headed to the store. I had started a list last night, but couldn't find it before I left. I figured that I would remember what was on the list (it was only two items long) as I went along so I left and walked instead of taking the bus because it's such a nice day today!

I took the bus on the way home because I didn't want to walk with such a full backpack, and as I stepped off the bus I remembered what things were written on the list - and I hadn't bought either of them!! Whatever, now I'll have to go again tomorrow. I've spent the rest of the afternoon eating lunch with Nicole and Katie (Nicole made chili and nachos!!) and slowly doing the laundry, as well as watching olympic coverage. The men's curling is about to start. I can finally see why my folks like curling so much - it's more interesting than I ever gave it credit for!

Tonight is yet another concert! It's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tonight and I am really getting excited! I heard two of their songs and really liked them, then I bought the whole CD and absolutely love it; plus Erika, Yan, Uli and Greta are coming, so it should be a really good time.

I'll write about Dresden later, maybe tomorrow, we'll see, but I will say something more about the Death Cab show from Saturday: As cool as it was to be on the guest list, and as happy as I was to be there, I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it. Without a ticket, I wasn't sure what time the show started, and didn't think to look on the internet, so I ended up almost missing all of John Vanderslice's set, which would have been a total burn since he's the one who put me on the guest list!! Anyways, at least I saw the end of the set and went up to him right afterwards and thanked him very much. Erika and Yan were outside since they weren't able to get tickets, but were able to come in for Death Cab. I actually couldn't believe the venue that they put them in. It was ridiculously small and we were packed in there like sardines! I also think that Death Cab was really pissed about the venue, as they kept commenting on how funny it was that the merch table was practically on the stage with them and that it was like they were playing for all of us in their living room... which might be considered a good thing, but I got the distinct impression that it wasn't for them - if you know what I mean.

The show they put on in Dresden was WAY better than the one in Munich, but since I got to see both (sorry, now I'm just rubbing it in!) I will remember the Dresden one and try to forget the lack of enthusiasm on Saturday. Again, though, I am really glad that I got to go on Saturday.

Okay, I'm going to watch the end of the Canada vs. USA men's curling match. Have a great day!

Oh Wow!!

Okay, ideally I would like to post about my trip to Dresden as one long post. Or, at the very least, as more than one post, but in chronological order from the start. Unfortunately, I am a little pressed for time and really want to tell this part of the story before tonight.

So let’s start on Thursday night: after dinner. Hannah, Nicole and I got on a bus and headed over to the Star Club to go to the Death Cab For Cutie show. We met Hannah’s friend Laura and 2 of Laura’s friends outside the show and went in. I will just sum up the show for you here: incredible! Well, for me it was. We were near the front, but we talked to some of Hannah’s friends (or maybe they were Hannah’s friend’s friends?), who were at the back and they said that the levels were off for a lot of the show and it wasn’t very good, but I liked it from where I was standing.

The other thing that I need to say now, in this short summary, is that the opener was a guy named John Vanderslice. I had never even heard of him before, let alone heard him, but I really liked what he played, so immediately after his set I ran out to the merch table and bought his CD. It was, unfortunately, his last CD and not the new one because they said that the new one would be out in 2 weeks (which I thought was a little dumb that they didn’t have any copies on tour, but whatever). Anyways, on the way out of the show at the end of the night, John and his drummer were at the merch table signing the CDs and there was no real line up to speak of. I said to Nicole and Hannah, “I should get my CD signed. No, nevermind, I feel silly.” “Why? Don’t feel silly, just go get it signed!” “No, I can’t! I’d feel like a geek!” “Do it! We’ll wait.” So I went up to them and the rest of the conversation went more or less like this:

Me: “Hi, I bought this a little earlier and wondered if you’d mind signing it?”
John: “Absolutely! What’s your name?”
“B-A-R-I, blah blah blah, I’ve never heard you before, but I really thought you were fantastic.”
“Well, thanks very much, it’s always nice to hear that, blah, blah, blah. Where are you from?”
“Oh, I’m from Canada, I’m studying in Germany for the year, blah, blah, blah.”
“Blah, blah, blah. What do you think of Europe, isn’t it wonderful?!”
“Yeah, it’s okay, I’m really enjoying my time here, but I do miss home, especially the conveniences of North America – like stores that are open 24 hours! Blah, blah, blah.”
“Blah, blah, blah…”
“More blah, blah, blah. Are you traveling with Death Cab to Munich, or are you done after here?” (He had said during his set that he was headed to Prague the next day, so I was curious.)
“Yup, we’re going to Munich with them, I think it’s on Saturday.”
“Yeah, you’re right: it is on Saturday!! I know because I’m actually living in Munich this year, and tried to get tickets for that show, but it sold out so fast! I just kind of fluked out that I had planned this trip to Dresden to visit a friend, anyways, and the dates just worked out that we could come to this show!”
“Do you want to go to the Munich show?”
“Of course I’d love to, but it’s sold out and I got to go to this one, so I’m happy.”
“Well, we have a guest list for the Munich show. (to his drummer) We have a guest list for the Munich show, right?”
Drummer: “Yup!”
John: “We could put you on the guest list, if you want!”
Me: “Are you serious????!!!!! That would be amazing!! I would love that, but… are you serious???!!!!!!”
“Hahahaha, really, here, we’ll take your name down.”

And then they did. And I still can’t believe, even now, that it happened, but it did. And I am shaking just writing this, but it happened. We talked for a little longer and I mentioned that I wished that they had the new CD for purchase and they said that they had it but were sold out, but that they should have more at the Munich show, and that I can just get one then, since, you know, I’ll be there because I’m on the guest list and all.

So, now I’m about to get ready to go to the concert. It’s one of those things that is too good to be true, so I am trying to brace myself for the situation where I go to the concert and I’m not actually on a guest list. It will be so cool if it is real, though!

BBBBWWWWWWAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Okay, time to get ready!!

What a weekend!

Okay, where to start… I will try and keep this short because I don’t want to spend a lot of time when people are just going to complain about too much reading.

I wrote the test on Thursday. All I can really say about it is: at least it’s over now. Then I spent Thursday afternoon putzing around and getting ready for the concert that Olivier and I were going to in the evening. The band was called The Test Icicles and I had heard two of their songs, thanks to Olivier, ahead of time. I really liked what I heard, but they were their two singles. All I can really say about them is that they obviously don’t like what the producers did to those songs. Or they don’t like how most people have only heard those two songs. Or they’re just douchebags. The band is comprised of 3 members, who rotate between singing or playing the guitars or manning the keyboard: 3 members, 2 guitars, 1 keyboard, no drums or bass at all.

I really liked what they were playing and when they got to their 2 most popular songs, I was ecstatic! Here’s the thing: the singer went to the back of the stage, sat on a case, put his chin on his fist, and sang the song like a little kid who was being punished. I thought it was so childish. Again, I don’t know for sure what his problem is, but I know that I paid 14 € to get into the show, as did everyone else in the bar (which was a fair number) and I was pretty pissed that he acted that way. After those 2 songs were done, they did one or 2 more, then they just started jamming. It’s kind of hard to explain what I mean by that, but they seemed to just each be playing their own instrument without really caring what the other 2 members were doing. At first I was kind of like, “what the hell is this?” but by the end, I really got to liking it. Then they finished suddenly and left the stage. No encore, no nothing.
Friday was a rush, trying to get everything done and cleaned and ready for Elizabeth. I went and picked her up from the train station and we went straight from there to the supermarket to pick up a couple food items for us, and some other stuff for a wine and cheese party that Nicole was throwing that night. Then we came home and I made Elizabeth Käsespätzle, which has become one of my favourite dishes here. Then we mucked around with the computer for a while and headed downstairs to Nicole’s party. The party was a big success with lots of food and wine and people. After the party ended Olivier and Martin (also from France, I think I mentioned him before) came up to play crib with Elizabeth and me. We got to bed somewhere around 4:00 or 4:30.

Surprisingly, though, we were up at 10:00, and were showered, dressed, breakfasted, and out of the house by 11:00. I took her on a walking tower of pretty much the only part of the city that I know: from the University through Odeonsplatz and into Marienplatz and the Vikutalienmarkt. After that we went shopping and discovered (well, I rediscovered) the joy that is H&M’s change rooms. Then we went to C&A and both found pants for 19€! Score! Then we picked up a donair on the way home and spent the rest of the afternoon puttering in my room, watching some stuff on the computer and making her a CD.

The plan for after dinner was to go to this bar that I saw last Sunday called “Canadian Lounge.” When I saw it, I almost crapped my pants. I had visions of a real Canadian-type lounge where we could go in, watch Team Canada on the TVs that they would surely have, order poutine and a Crown Royal (what?! I can dream, can’t I?), and play crib with my friends. Yeah… we got there and it was like a martini bar crossed with a restaurant. How disappointing. We ended up heading back towards the Studentenstadt and going to this place nearby that we kept saying we should go to, called Kati’s. It wasn’t bad, but it’s really small and the ventilation isn’t very good so Nicole, who has been battling a sinus thingy, had to leave because she found it too smoky, but Katie, Elizabeth, Olivier and I stayed. Then Oksana (co-worker from the speech lab) and her boyfriend, Carsten, showed up and we sat around, ate Käsespätzle, watched Olympic figure skating, and played crib for a few hours.

Elizabeth and Olivier and I headed back to my place with thoughts of poutine dancing in our heads, but, alas, the kitchen in the bar downstairs was already closed. So we sat and chatted for a bit before I took Olivier to the train at about 1:00. In spite of the fact that we were in bed, definitely by 2:00, we both slept until 10:00 again. Actually, I think it was 10:30… and I really don’t know if Elizabeth was asleep that whole time or not – I only know that I was! Then we did the same thing as the previous day, except for the breakfast part, and were out the door by about 11:30.

We started off at the Hofbräuhaus to drink beer at noon and eat traditional Bavarian food. We left at about 1:00 and went to the Alte Pinakothek (old art gallery) and stayed there until 4:00, which was exactly our plan, when I took her to the train station so that she could head home again. It was a short, but full weekend, and I hope she enjoyed herself as much as I enjoyed having her here! The rest of the day has been pretty mundane. I came home and tried, without a lot of success, to put things back in order here in my little room. Katie and Elaine came over and we ate bruschetta, ordered pizza and watched The Score on TV (and I use the term “watched” very loosely). We just kind of chatted and every so often I’d explain to the two of them what was going on in the movie. Now I’ve just been fiddling around with the computer and trying to get everything together for a care package that I am giving to Olivier since I am leaving for Dresden on Tuesday and he is heading home to France before I get back again. That’s pretty much it. I will hopefully find enough time tomorrow to post my plans for the next couple of months so you can all be in the loop of what’s going on with me. Laters!

I'd consider doing it again

I got up early this morning. Can you believe that? I know, me neither, but it's true: I got up at 8:00 this morning to run some errands with Katie. And it was so successful, that I would almost consider doing it again sometime... I don't know if I will, but I would consider it.

I had to do a bunch of things, and was successful on all accounts. I went to my faculty to find out where I pick up certificates for the course I normally have on Wednesdays and found out that I have to buy one (you buy a blank certificate and fill it out, then the prof and the institute stamps it). So then Katie and I headed to the main bookstore to look around and we both bought some detailed course calendars for next semester (every department releases a different one). Then we headed to the department of my Monday class so that I could get the department stamp (I had the prof sign it on Monday, but the office was closed). Then we went to a bakery so that I could pick up some cake for my language course tonight (it was the last class and we were having a bit of a party after the test) and to the hotel where my parents are staying in Munich and I booked their rooms. Then came home, made lunch, puttered, watched TV with Katie and headed back to the university to get the certificate that I had bought in the morning filled out by the prof during his office hours. Then I headed to "work" and then to the language course, where we wrote the test and then ate treats and chatted. I'm glad the course is over, but I also really liked the people and I really feel like I learned some stuff (not tons, but some). I passed with a 2, which is like a B, so I'm happy. And the certificate that I got doesn't actually say the mark, it just says "mit sehr gutem Erfolg" which means "with very good success."

So that was my successful day. I'm trying to think if anything else exciting happened this week, and I'm thinking not. I'm trying to get ready for Elizabeth's visit this weekend. I don't know if I've mentioned that actually, so here goes: My friend Elizabeth is coming to visit me this weekend!! It's kind of a funny situation because I had several different linguistics classes with Elizabeth, but we really only started talking in the last one we were in together, which was LING 401 this last winter term. Then, over the summer, she said that she was going to go to Prague to teach English as a foreign language, and invited me (and the other linguistics girls) to her going away party. I've been keeping up with her blog ever since, and (as far as I know) she's been keeping up with mine. I feel closer to her than ever before and am really looking forward to seeing her! She's actually one of two people I feel like I know better since leaving Canada, the other being David, who is often online during the day when most others aren't, and I think it's hilarious that I have gotten closer to these people even though we are farther away than before! Ahhh, I'm excited!

Yeah, not much else to report, I hope all is well in Canada... and I really hope you get winter soon so that I can feel better about having left the Canadian winter behind me! Servus!

At least they're honest...

It would appear that they sell suck... and they have lots of it.

I went out with Erika tonight. I met her at her friend Michael's place which is right above this hardware store. They were having a music practice. You would be surprised what you can do with an accordian - or at least I was surprised what you can do with an accordian! Michael also has a parrot named Spocky. Apparently they normally let Spocky fly around the room, but he attacked Erika one time, so they lock him in his (very large) cage when she's around. Which is fortunate for me because that would be like an episode of Fear Factor for me. He's an interesting bird who likes dancing around to the music, singing along and... well, staring at me. If I spend more time there, he might help me get over my fear of birds because he seemed pretty cool, but I was glad that he was locked up tonight.

Okay, bedtime! This will be a pretty weird week because it's the last week of classes, so I'm not sure what to expect. Ciao!

Concerts make life worth living

You know all that talk about not flying by the seat of my pants? Out the window!! I like flying by the seat of my pants because spontaneity is the spice of life!

I met Oliver and Vanessa just after 8:00 on Monday so that we could go to the concert. The handbill that I had said “21.00” but didn’t indicate if that was doors or bands, but we didn’t want to take the chance, so Olivier and I blew off our respective German classes and arranged it so that we were definitely at the place by 9:00. Yeah… it was doors at 9:00 bands at 10:00. Whatever, no big deal; we were pretty much the first people there, but it’s not like we had to wait around outside or anything. And, judging by what I normally do at concerts these days, can you guess what the first thing we did was? That’s right, we got beers! I should also say that the bar was really small. Really, really small. We’re talking, like, smaller than the typical BP’s lounge; a little smaller than the typical venue on Whyte, but only because it wasn’t as deep as most of them are (I’m thinking, like, Suite 69, the Attic, Filthy McNasty’s, etc). I am trying to come up with a solid number and I would say about 60 square metres; but I suck at measuring things that way, so maybe don’t trust that number. Just trust me when I say it was small!

Now, the last time we hung out with Vanessa we spoke German all night, but I wasn’t in the mood (this is important later), and Vanessa spent a year in Georgia, so her English is great. The opening band was called The Havana Affairs and they are a local band. They were actually pretty good. Olivier and I were kind of grooving to them, but you could tell that they kept screwing up. It wouldn’t have been that obvious except that every time they’d screw up, they’d all kind of start laughing and look at each other. Anyways, halfway through the set I had to use the facilities and grab more beer, so I took off towards the back. After I was finished in the restrooms and had grabbed a couple of beers I swung by the merch table. This was very, very important for me because of the name of the headliner. Now, I’ll admit that I was initially drawn in by the name of the band, then I found out that the lead singer was the bassist from L7 (Jennifer Precious Finch), and then I listened to the songs that they have on the net (http://www.shockersite.com/) and really liked them. I went because I liked them… but also because I wanted to get some merchandise with the shocker symbol on it. So anyways, I bought their CD and a shirt and some pins and stickers, and was very happy with my purchases, and I headed back to finish listening to the Havana Affairs’ set.

Well, after the set, Olivier and Vanessa and I stood around in front of the stage, chatting, instead of heading back to the sides to sit down and, again, we were talking in English and quite loud because it was fairly loud in the bar. This heavily tattooed guy comes up to me and says something like, “You speak English really well.” “Yeah, that’s because I’m from Canada!” So we start talking and he introduces himself as Ronnie James and then says, “And this is Adam, he’s from Canada, too,” “Really?! Where from?” “Well, he’s not really from Canada, he’s from northern Wisconsin, so we just say he’s from Canada.” And then they kind of grab some equipment and haul it onto the stage. Turns out that that’s the band. The set started up right away and it was awesome. We were right in front; here are some pictures to give you an idea of how close we were:
As you can see, there was no one ahead of us, and I kind of had to take a step back to get these shots! I was able to sing along to some of the songs because of what I’d heard on the internet, and Jennifer even came up to me with the mic at points so that I could sing into it. It was awesome! I rocked out a little too hard, though, and my neck hurt for, like, 3 days afterwards; it kind of felt like I’d been in a car accident.

So, after the set the three of us were chillin’ and drinking a beer and got to talking to the band again. They ended up inviting us out to another bar with them, so we hopped into a couple of cabs and went. Jennifer and Lisa (the bassist) didn’t come, but the 3 boys did, and Adam’s girlfriend Carly, along with the members of the Havana Affairs. We got to one bar just as it was closing so we waited for all the cabs to get there, then walked down the block to this other bar called “Fraunhofer Schoppenstube.” It was this really small, kind of creepy pub with almost no one inside, but the tables that had people at them were arranged so that the group had to split up. Olivier and I sat at one with Adam, Carly and most of the members of the Havana Affairs and Vanessa sat at another one with Quist (the drummer), Basti from the Havana Affairs, and Ronnie James, who had taken quite a shine to her and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Right after we ordered our beers, Olivier and I both got up to use the facilities and I hung my coat on the rack that was right next to the table. When we came back, some people were sitting in our spots and drinking our beers. This didn’t actually bother me because we hadn’t paid for them, yet, so we just moved to the other table. I’d say an hour and a half passed and everyone was heading to a disco. I asked Olivier if he was up for it and he said yes, so we got up to grab my coat and his bag. Neither of them were at the table and, as half the people were waiting outside, no one was there to ask. Finally, Olivier found his bag at the next table, someone had obviously moved it, but I couldn’t find my coat. I remembered that I’d hung it up, but it wasn’t on the hook either. We looked under the table, under the next table, got the waitress (owner?) involved, got everyone in the bar to look under their tables. We checked the bathrooms and the entryway; I peeked my head outside and asked the people out there if they’d seen it. Nothing. Someone had stolen my coat. And to make matters worse, here I am wearing nothing but a black t-shirt and crawling under a table to see if it was under the bench, when I knocked the table, which had two half-full bottles of beer on it, which then tipped over and spilled their contents onto my back. I couldn’t even move; I just stayed there – stunned – as beer poured all over me. So, now I’m wearing nothing but a wet t-shirt. I took the two shirts that I’d bought (both were t-shirts as well - one’s for Ashley) and put them both on, but just then the waitress came up to me and gave me a coat. She said that someone had left it there months ago, so no one would miss it, and she couldn’t bear the thought of me going outside without a coat. It didn’t fit great, but it would do.

So, bummed as I was, I was just as angry and, with the trains not running anymore, I figured it’d be good to blow off some steam so we went to the disco. We walked the few blocks to the disco and I looked in every doorway, trash can and U-Bahn entrance to see if someone had ditched the coat. A wave of nausea washed over me as I thought about what was potentially in my pockets: but my keys were in my purse – Gott sei Dank! So I am now short my favourite winter jacket, the lining for it and my gloves. At least I had Katie bring another winter coat back with her after Christmas (I like variety) and I have a fleece I can use as a lining, plus a couple different pairs of gloves that I can use. As we were walking, I was talking to Quist about the band’s name and such, when I mentioned the term “smokin’ the pinky.” He said that he had never heard the term before, but thought it was so funny! He called Adam over and we explained it to him, and they agreed that that would be the title of their next album. I, for one, will be watching for it!

So, we hit this disco, which is called “The Registratur,” and started dancing. Olivier and I ended up losing everybody else, but I didn’t care and I don’t think he did either. (Oh, I should also mention that Vanessa and Ronnie James didn’t come with us, they took a cab back to her place. I have no idea what happened there… but I’m dying to know!!) This wasn’t the worst club I’d ever been in, but it was close. The DJ was awful, but still not as bad as the one that I mentioned that one time (the one who played American Pie), and the floor was filthy. I was actually having to kick broken glass out of the way to dance comfortably. Here, I took these pictures, but they don’t do it justice:
I ended up losing the ball for my conch piercing, again! I think I’ll have to get a whole new earring; after three years, the earring might just be getting old. Olivier also lost a pin off of his bag that he really liked, so we wandered around the bar looking for it (the lights were turned on, but the people weren’t ready to stop and the DJ was obliging them for whatever reason), but gave up after about 10 minutes or so. Anyways, it was about 4:20 at this point and we decided that the trains should be running, so he and I headed to the U-Bahn. We had to wait around for something like 28 minutes, but it was okay because we chatted until the train came. I got home about 5:30.

So, that’s the story. Not much happened for the rest of the week. I’ve spent the day bumming around and not writing emails. In fact, I was going to write this post earlier today, but put it off until after midnight. Yeah for me! Ugh. I kind of miss having a regular schedule, but not enough that I would force one on myself. You know how it is.