Ich bin ein Mädchen von alten Zeiten

2006-08-15T19:15:00.000+02:00

2006-02-09T07:27:00.000+01:00

Ok, going back to my old home now, sorry about the clunky template.

2006-01-25T23:46:00.000+01:00

-10 Degrees, MAXIMUM -10 Degrees.
That is all.

2006-01-12T00:31:00.000+01:00

I am so nearly home now I can't be bothered, but the access to free internet has inspired me to post at least a couple more photos. I was informed this blog was much better now I don't write so much, so out of respect to Lachie:

Dingle Peninsula

Dolmen

Alice appreciating the Dodi and Diana monument in Harrods, you can't see in this picture but also in a case is the glass that they drank out of the night they died.

2005-12-20T19:17:00.000+01:00

I had to.

My hostel is just near the bottom on Sacre Coure so I did the whole Amelie thing, also joined the hoards taking photos of the Moulin Rouge, just trying to cover all my movie bases.

I got in trouble taking this photo with a flash as apparently you aren't allowed out of respect for the dead. I would have thought it would have been more respectful not to rearange their bones for others' entertainment, but maybe that's just me...

2005-12-20T19:11:00.000+01:00

Nice to see what kind of picture the world is getting of Australia.

2005-12-11T17:16:00.000+01:00

Schweinehaxe plus Sauerkraut

And one litre beers...

Can you guess where I am? Meanwhile the other people in the beer hall thought we were hilarious.

2005-12-03T19:48:00.000+01:00

Schnee! Schnee!

Lyon, the first snow of the season there.

And Hinterzalten, in the Black Forest (near Freiburg).

2005-12-03T19:33:00.000+01:00

I have been slack about photo posting and I'm sure you are all very sad about that. Here is a brief rundown, like a montage except not. Note change of seasons in 2 weeks.

Beach at Nice. Lovely day, you can't see in the photo but people are swimming and topless sunbathing. In November!

The bridge to Avignon. Apparently in some famous song of the same name. This is their main claim to fame apart from the whole popes living there for a while thingy.

Dijon, note SNOW!!! A week after beach.

An owl in Dijon too. Apparently if you stroke it it brings good luck. I put this one in for Guy.

Weilnachmarkt in Freiburg. Is really pretty and nice and you can drink lots of Glühwein, the only pain in the arse is the pfand so you have to return the cup and not walk home with it.

2005-11-22T18:35:00.000+01:00

Why is it that whenever I buy something it breaks? I don't break it, but it just breaks. Cheap, expensive, mid-range, whatever. Latest example; new coat purchased in Florence. I made Hana and YT stand in a shop for ages while I ummed and aahhed etc. And then on the third day of wearing, the zipper doesn't do up past halfway. I start composing angry email in my head. A couple of days after that the entire zipper toggle (thingy whatever it's called) comes off in my hands. Completely kaputt. I compose actual email and send to sister for proof reading. Maybe I could get a job as a quality control tester person.

Me and the coat in happier times on St Marks Square in Venice.

Note pigeons; YT wanted to buy bird feed and throw it on me so they would swarm my new coat but luckily was laughing too much at his own hilarity to carry out the deed.

ps. Where is fucking spell check?

2005-11-22T18:18:00.000+01:00

I spent a week and a half travelling with Hana and YT in Italy and here is their reward; instant fame!!! Hope you guys can handle it. Venice is nice but bloody freezing, this is at the start of the lovely ferry ride before the chill really set in.

I did have a ranty drunken post prepared about various scary racist developments enroaching on my protected little life, but you are all saved cos I managed to rant to my sister instead and she rescued you all from the bother.

2005-11-15T18:47:00.000+01:00

These are from my time in semi-southern Italy. I was in Naples for a few days but was a bit paranoid about my camera getting knocked off so none of there.

This is on the beach at Positano, on the Amalfi coast.

This is the crazy hill of houses at Positano too. These people do not have thing about personal space.

It took me three hours to get to Paestum. When I was there I had a mini freak out cos I couldn't find my credit card. Then they wouldn't let me onto the site cos it was after 3pm. I took the photos from outside the fence, apparently you can't see much more inside anyway. It took about 3 hours to get home sitting at the Paestum station making small talk with some middle aged British in the cold. That was a fun day. Note to anyone else who wants to go. Get the train there, and check the timetable first.

2005-11-15T18:44:00.000+01:00

I am getting lame about posting now. By the time I download photo there isn't much time to actually write anything. Lets pretend I wrote something interesting about Pompei.

Actually, I have thought of something interesting. Apparently the Romans divided the day into light and dark and assigned each 12 hours. Therefore during summer the hours in the light were longer than hours in the dark and so forth. Audio guides are good for somethings.

2005-11-14T21:04:00.000+01:00

Memories of Rome:

The Colosseum

And vicious bedbugs.

2005-11-09T19:28:00.000+01:00

Sitting in an Irish pub in Florence, listening to Le Tigre, trying to read The Golden Bowl and admiring the shapes of my 'g's in my handwriting. People I have met in hostels have said how they discovered writing while travelling, not writing about events, but but their emotions, and I wanted to say 'what a wank', But perhaps I am missing out. Why shouldn't I write about my feelings? Am a bit pissed now to start. Am also keen to meet a spunky boy. Really still miss my ex, and wonder how long it will continue... Want to feel everything and nothing, until then...

*Is my writing too mannered à la Helen Fielding? Am feeling maudlin and enjoying it.

2005-10-28T18:40:00.000+02:00

View of the Alhambra from hostel in Granada.

Inside Alhambra, hostel somewhere in the background no doubt.

2005-10-27T19:49:00.000+02:00

Because I have been slack, and I am still slack, here are a few hasty photos.
This is a tapas bar in Seville. You order at the bar and they take the piece of chalk which is floating in the beer run off and write your bill on the bar in front of you, adding to it when you order more stuff. When you pay they rub it off with a dirty rag.

This was on our mega touristy night in Seville. We saw Flamenco (pictured below) and ate paella and drank sangria, quite an achievement, and only set us back about a million euros.

Mesquita in Cordoba. The catholics liked taking over moorish (muslim churches/palaces)buildings and wacking christ all over the shop.

2005-10-16T20:55:00.000+02:00

Stumbled on some kind of Catholic procession tonight just as I was heading in here to finish of the emailing. Although I am scarily incompetant with the point and shoot camera I managed one where you can actually see something. There were about 20 people under this and they kept on stopping for little rests so it must have weighed a ton.

Another hilarious anecdote I forgot to relate before due to extreme grumpiness was my little overnight bus trip between Madrid and Seville. It took about 6 hours and they stopped in the middle of nowhere for a break. The driver said something fast in Spanish in which I recognised 15 minuntos. So I got off to use the bañas. On returning to carpark I saw my bus pulling away. I thought the driver was just moving it around or something, but then he pulled out of the parking lot and drove off. At this stage I was panicking a little so I ran after the bus (containing all my worldly possessions) waving my arms wildly. Yes it sounds hilarious now, but at four in the morning in some backwaters of Spain it wasn´t quite so grin worthy. Walking back deciding what the hell I would do now I ran into another woman I recognised from the bus. She also wasn´t very happy, although luckily for her, her friend was on the bus and texted her a little while later to say they had just gone to get petrol and were returning shortly. At least I was a littel warmer from all that running. Bastards.

2005-10-16T16:10:00.000+02:00

We had one nice day in Salamanca, this was taken from the Roman bridge facing the town.

And this is a picture of my hostel in Toledo, yes the castle. Life is hard sometimes. Actually, it was a bit of a hike from the city so it wasn´t as convenient as it it could have been, but it was pretty.

Am in Seville at the moment, staying at a shitty hostel in the middle of whoop, whoop. Am planning on researching some other places today after I get my arse to the Cathedral. Am also trying to read Confessions of an English Opium Eater which I can only continue reading in the hope he meets a nasty end (I know he doesn´t, but maybe there is at least some pain involved?). I tried reading it when I first got to Berlin, but it reminded me too much of the person who gave it to me so I stopped. It still reminds me of them, all the parts I dearly wanted to punch in the face*. Only 50 pages left...

*It seems I am wanting to do a lot of punching at the moment, maybe that is the sum total of what I will take home from Europe, frustrated aggression.

2005-10-09T21:17:00.000+02:00

Some relief sculpture from the new Cathedral in Salamanca. Note demon eating icecream.

And astronaut!

2005-10-09T21:09:00.000+02:00

Salamanca is a university town and I think half of America has come here on exchange. Add that to the number of American tourists and you have a whole bunch of really fricking annoying people. If I hear another whiney american accent I will have to punch it in the face! I think this is steming from the horrible cow I wound up hanging out with in San Sebastian. She was actually from Canada, but to me they all sound the same. She was one of those blonde types, kind of like Cher from Clueless, but without anything nice about her. I swear to god it was like being back in high school. The problem was once you have started hanging out with someone and you are in the same room as them, you can´t really ditch them, esp as you don´t know anyone else in the town so you don´t have much excuse to bail. I wound up going to bed as early as was possible to escape her, but that was the best I could do.

2005-10-08T23:09:00.000+02:00

Have just got into Salamanca, had fun 5 hour bus ride where the bus driver laughed at me for sitting in the seat allocated on my ticket. Had a big day looking at the Guggenheim Museum and taking about a million photos, maybe digital cameras aren´t such a good idea. The amount of crap I have taken photos of from everywhich angle is scary. When I arrived at the bus station I had no idea where to go, as my hostel (and hostel´s street more to the point!) was not marked on my map. Took a random bus to the centre and found an internet place to find the hostels address and some nice person searched on the internet for the address. Eventually found it, but lucky it is nice weather here.

This is ´Puppy´a sculpture by someone outside the Guggenheim. It is a steel frame with dirt and an irrigation system inside. All the flowers are real, it is nice now cos they´re flowering.

And here it is. I think I took over 20 photos, more restraint needed.

2005-10-08T22:33:00.000+02:00

This one is only to prove I climbed the huge mountain, well when I say huge, most of the other people up there were over 60, but it was before miday, which makes everything huge for me.

2005-10-06T18:23:00.000+02:00

A couple from San Sebastian. It is totally beautiful, although today was perhaps a tad too cold for me to sunbake.

And a view from the top of the mountain.

2005-10-06T18:03:00.000+02:00

Am finally getting around to posting my Barca photos although I am now in San Sebastian. Here are Paula and some of her friends. (For those of you who haven´t been following Paula is one of my friends who did an exchange in Berlin with me.)

Ok, be ready for a lot of Gaudi, I have tried to limit myself to just these few, but if you want about a million more mail me! This is one of the buildings in Parc Guell.

Top of La Pedrera. The tops of the sculptures are meant to be like knights helmets. I thought they reminded me of the guys you have to kill towards the end of Zelda, thanks James.

These are two of the spires of La Sagrada Familia, I seem to have neglected to take one of the whole building, will get onto it when I go back.

2005-10-04T19:44:00.000+02:00

These are my final ones from Berlin.

Fabulous me trying to take a photo so I could see my new haircut, nice to see how cheery I look.

Alex. The last day I had there was really nice. Barstards.

This is some law library geekery. Someone from the LRC better read this. Note holy trinity of Marx, Engels and Lenin.

And this is my bike on its final ride to the supermarket with me. Next to it is the bulging bag of bottles to be returned for Pfand. This lot was quite a haul, about 2EUR.

2005-10-04T19:31:00.000+02:00

There´s not gonna be much commentary until I get my act together with blogging but here are a couple of my Krakow photos.

This is the main church which also doubled as a lookout in medieval times. Now they have a trumpeter on 24hours a day to toot out some ancient song that was meant to warn the town the Mongols were coming. It stops rather abruptly, apparently in honour of one incompetent lookout who got an arrow in the throat mid blast.

Oskar Schindler´s factory. Shamefully I was the only one on the tour that hadn´t seen the movie.

The entry to Auschwitz which we visited one of the days along with Birkenow.

2005-09-25T16:47:00.000+02:00

Having a drink on a 'beach' in Berlin. We are actually on the side of the Spree and all the sand is imported in, no chance of swimming.

Badeschiff. A boat sunk into the Spree which is now a swimming pool. Unfortunately (?) the photo is cut off at the bottom leaving you all to imagine the German nakedness that surrounded us.

2005-09-23T12:57:00.000+02:00

Finally getting round to posting some photos of my brief trip to Copenhagen. I met up with a friend for school there for about 4 (expensive!) days. One of these days we went out to a fantabulous modern art gallery called Louisiana, and another of the days we were quite hungover after stumbling on a international students party with cheap beer the night before, and so we only managed to lie on park benches, and eat sausages wrapped in bacon and stagger out to look at the little mermaid.

This is an interior of Elsinore castle, y'know where Hamlet was set. This was on the same little day jaunt as Louisiana, and we had a late start leading to rather a rush though the castle.

This was during one of our many beer breaks in the park. I was reading The Sun Also Rises at the time and therefore had rather altered ideas about drinking, eg that I should be drunk all the time. Rather costly to achieve in Denmark.

And these lovely ladies are Katie and myself about to embark on a cruise. Note background of bars along Nyhavn, where a beer will only set you back 7EUR ($11).

2005-09-15T17:23:00.000+02:00

Another thing, go here now! Who can resist a bit of patriarchy blaming? I especially like the disclaimer on the side.

"I Blame The Patriarchy is intended primarily for advanced patriarchy-blamers. It is not a feminist primer. See Patriarchy-Blaming The Twisty Way for more information."

2005-09-15T17:09:00.000+02:00

Today has been quite productive actually, apart from the fact that I have indulged in a high level of procrastination. However there is no O.C. on the telly tonight so that can only mean good things for the essay. However, the brain thing, if it was ever fully functional has gone kaputt. I just spent five minutes agonising over whether I wanted a cup of tea, or maybe a snacky thing, but I have no snacky things so maybe a glass of juice, or maybe a cup of tea etc........
So I lumbered out to the kitchen to investigate whether said snacky things had perhaps apparated into the fridge, when it became obvious I did want a cup of tea, and had infact decided ten minutes ago, the cup of tea already sitting on the bench testifying to the fact. At least the surprise stopped the whiney internal monologue for a bit.

2005-09-13T18:53:00.000+02:00

Ok, so you know it's getting a bit dire when I start taking photos of my cute little statuey thing while sitting at my desk. A friend of a friend gave it to me recently when I was in Copenhagen. You can't see cos of my shitty photographic abilities, but it is a grumpy man's head on the body of a baby bear. Louise, the ceramist who made this one does heaps of awesome stuff like this, but mainly bigger and better. I like to stroke its little shiney body.

2005-09-09T18:35:00.000+02:00

Just thought I would let you all appreciate the lovely sunny weather in Berlin at the moment, the top picture is the Berliner Dome, and the bottom the Palast der Republik which I am dying to get inside before they start ripping it down.

2005-09-05T18:32:00.000+02:00

In celebration of me getting my camera back all fixed, and all covered by warranty, I will treat you to a picture of my new favorite cafe (only sometimes a den of wankers).

And also a photo of my desk to show how hard I am working!

I actually don't know how I ever managed to live in Melbourne with two jobs, uni, and real live face-to-face friends, it is as much as I can do these days to drag myself into uni for a few hours of less distracted typing.

2005-08-29T16:59:00.000+02:00

Something weird happened today. Well actually surprisingly a few weird things have been happening in my life now I am a total freak who doesn't talk to ANYBODY for days at a time. Onto todays weird thing.
Was walking to the PC pool near uni, as part of my new study regime, when I meet the eyes of a woman I vaguely recognise from one of my classes. I smile, she smiles back, weird thing number one, normally people who have classes together here don't deign to recognise each other outside of those classses, let alone a whole month after classes have finished. Then she actually speaks to me!!!!
...
(I'll give you all a minute to get over the shock)
...
She remembers that I come from Australia and am therefore an Englisch Mutter Spracherin. She wants me to look over her final paper, and correct the English bits. I am so surprised I say yes so we go to a cafe, she buys me a coke, and I look over the parts of her essay which are in English. (The whole thing must have been about 200 pages, which I had a heart attack over thinking I would be there all day, but luckily was only about 2 pages in total. The German system is really evil).
Anyway it is mostly fine, I give her a couple of suggestions and then we chat for a bit while we wait for the waitress.
Germans are weird.

2005-08-26T01:15:00.000+02:00

Finally decided to post these photos of Dad and my recent trip to Thessaloniki. It is in northern Greece, a port right on the Aegean Sea.It was very hot, we drank plenty of Ouzo, and ate lots of fish (something you are better not to do in both Berlin and Bucharest). We also played pot luck trying to decipher Greek, not something I was particularly good at, "we had that round one in maths, what was that?" We spent the Saturday wandering round taking in the 'sights' (old ruins of buildings and former wall, Greeks not so good with the signage). We wanted to take a day trip to an island on Sunday, but unfortunately it was a Greek long weekend so everything was booked out. However, because I was determined to try out my new bathers we took a local bus to a beach about an hour away. We hired a beach umbrella and two sunchairs so I felt just like a real German tourist.

2005-08-26T01:12:00.000+02:00

Dad looking cheery Forest Gump style as we wait for a bus in the middle of nowhere to get back to Thesso. (It finally turned up just as we were thinking we may have to check into the local beachside resort and try our luck with all the naked sunburnt Germans).

2005-08-26T01:10:00.000+02:00

Street art, old Greek neighbourhood style.

2005-08-26T00:57:00.000+02:00

This is our lunch when we ventured to a place much beloved of my dad namely 'where the tourists don't usually go'. Despite evidence this may be because there is actually nothing to see, he remains undetered. After walking around in the sweltering heat to find the Old Town, where "lots of lovely tavernas, with ouzo" were rumoured to exist, we stumbled on this place. There was no menu and they spoke very minimal English, leaving us to resort to our printed-from-the-internet-language-help-sheet, but the food was really nice. It is always a bit discomforting when you are walking around the backstreets of a small Greek neighbourhood, peering at a map, and little old ladies actually laugh at you for being there.

2005-08-26T00:52:00.000+02:00

This is some random gate thingy, it looks old. We had no idea. Tourism in actual Thesso doesn't seem to be huge, we couldn't find out much information about anything, I don't think it helped we were there over a long weekend.

2005-08-26T00:36:00.000+02:00

These two lovely photos are of Dad and I on top of the White Tower in Thessaloniki. This seems to be the premier tourist attraction there, apparently it is the Thesso version of the Bastille or something. Is not actually white. Not sure why they are so mini.

2005-08-20T01:55:00.000+02:00

Have been having a better day today. Finally found something to tie my essay together. Managed to cross a number of things of my list, including sending off an application in which I have to enclose cash ( I was told to wrap cash in alfoil to avoid detection, apparently this is to avoid it being x-rayed and then stolen, although surely the weird sound it makes when you move it would be give away enough). Finally settled my leaving here plans, and put an ad on the internet for my room. - Am a bit scared about people ringing up and enquiring in German, but never mind, will fob them off by repeating sehr schoen, and nodding and smiling into the phone.
Also picked up my photos, I think they are a case in point as to why I need a digital camera. Ability to check quality straight away and delete, delete! There is a corker of Charlotte I will put up here though.
Anyway, some friends of mine have a photo blog of stuff here too, and they can actually take good photos, if you wanna check some Berlin out arty style go here.

2005-08-19T02:04:00.000+02:00

Food. In my current blogging frenzy I have been eyeing off Twisty's delicious looking meals. They are in direct contrast to anything I actually manage to concoct for myself. Today in the super market I spotted some turnips, and being directed by my shopping list to buy 'dinner' I decided they were just the thing. Unfortunately the inspiration ran out there. The best I could come up with was sauteeing them. (sp?) And you know 'sautee' just means 'fry' in fancy talk don't you. They better be healthy or something.
Also I think I am putting on weight, not as much as when I was in Vietnam and forced to eat all of Lachie's food for him when he was sick. Am holding out to meet up with James so he can tell I'm fat.
In other news;
-Two of my fav Berlin institutions have begun letting me down. The Kabaps at my local Kebapery have gone up to 2EUR from 1,49!
-And my new-fav-cafe(tm) has turned into a den of wankers.
Also my arse is sore from sitting on my bed pretending to write my essay, when really playing with my blog, finding new blogs to read, and dipping into Harry Potter und der Orden des Phoenix which finally turned up yesterday.

2005-08-17T15:43:00.000+02:00

I have to steal Stewgad's analogy of the Mind Puppy today (well any day really). I started work on essay before 3pm which is a major world record, I never work during the day. This was interspersed with calling of hostel in Copenhagen to book a bed there for end of August. Then I deleted a few sentences which were clearly bullshit. Then I edited my To Do list, which strangely does not include 3 essays. Then I typed in a quote. Then my nail file caught my eye so I did a little filing, completely unnecessary since it catches my eye almost every time I am at my desk, so my nails are the smoothest things you have ever seen. Then I typed a sentence about Vorticism which I needed to reference out of one of my books. On reaching over to pile of books encountered box of face masks which my housemate gave me before she left for Canada. Perfect! Went into bathroom to apply said face mask. Came back and actually typed page no. into paragraph. Thought of Mind Puppy analogy and searched through archives to find it. Thought briefly about including a discussion in essay about how the feminine could ever really be privileged, or if it is irretrievably discredited and dismissed. Typed this post. Next up; examining face in mirror for possible blemishes.
Ahhh...this is the life.

2005-08-17T00:55:00.000+02:00

Ok, because I cannot help myself, and am able to be distracted after every sentence I write, I will now post some photos from out recent trip to Romania. They are just from my Dad's phone, but I put my disposable camera in for developing today, so if there are any good ones on that I will scan them in.

Some random tram, no idea where or what it is, one for Guy.

I took this one for Nick and Lachie, it is the architecture faculty at the University of Romania, or maybe the University if Bucharest, I have no idea. Anyway, it looked really cool at the time, now it just looks like a boring building.

This is a view from the Palace of Parliament. The building itself was originally called House of the People and was commissioned by Ceausescu. It is the second biggest building in the world and a masterpiece of fascist architecture, along with this boulevade which is longer than the Champs Elysees, the construction of which meant a whole suburb had to be destroyed. In the first two years of construction (before Ceausescu was killed), it cost 40% of the entire country's GDP.

2005-08-12T00:48:00.000+02:00

Meanwhile, who sent me a business card to my phone of my own details? It is weirding me out. It can't have been some vodaphone money generating ploy because it contained my Berlin mobile no., my Australian mobile no., my landlines to Fitzroy and East Melbourne and this blog address. However, not my old blog, or my parents no. or my email. Also I figure it was from Australia but was sent before 8am there.
Maybe it's not so exciting, or as big a mystery as I am finding while I sit here with my earplugs in trying to hammer out some bullshit about H.D.

2005-08-10T16:15:00.000+02:00

You lot in Melbourne have now missed the window. I hope you are all having nightmares about FORGETTING MY BIRTHDAY! (there are several honorable notable exceptions xx)

2005-08-10T14:55:00.000+02:00

Was speaking to my housemate last night, after we had shamefully both watched Sarah Conner's reality show here, Sarah and Marc in Love, Hochzeit des Jahres (think Newlyweds but one of them can't speak English, (well in this case German)). Anyway, we both had the theme song "I just started being bad" stuck in our heads, and I commented as much, and she laughed and said in Germany they say you have an Ohrwurm or 'Earworm'. Which is much cooler than English, and one of the few times you can say something in German in less words than you can in English.
I like, I like.

2005-08-05T22:06:00.000+02:00

Had a lovely day today, managed to borrow books from two different libraries, print from the evil hell-hole that is the PC-Pool, and even have a coffee at what I have designated as my new favourite cafe. But WTF is this all about? (link only good for a few days)
Where's my summer!

2005-08-04T21:07:00.000+02:00

Ok so this is the last CSD photo, a friend just emailed it to me today and I couldn't resist.

2005-08-04T16:48:00.000+02:00

Just thought to google Brokeback Mountain and realised I have read the original story a few years ago. Dammit why does everything have to end in tears?

2005-08-04T00:17:00.000+02:00

Omigod. Am procrastinating like crazy today. Hence refurbishment of blog. Also I have done the requisite room cleaning and desk ordering. I look really professional now with all my books standing up on my desk and so forth, if I only had my camera I'd take a picture.
I think the problem is, I have already read a bit over the topic but now can't remember it, so am having to reread and take notes and it's just not as fun the second time. Maybe I should just reread the novel, it is totally fantastic HERmione by H.D. but I can't think of a good essay topic either which I think is a big part of the problem.
Also, Freud eugh!
I think I need to come back to Melbs to have coffee with Alice in Black Pearl.
'nuff said.

2005-08-03T22:48:00.000+02:00

WTF is with Charmed at the moment? I watched it tonight, purely for study purposes (to improve my German), and all my old favorites were there. First off I see Cordy (ex-Buffy) in the credits, then Nick Lachey (or however you spell his name, of Newlyweds fame) seems to be Phoebe's new love interest. And then, Jack from Dawson's Creek! What is going on! Are there not enough C-grade actors to fill the ranks these days?

2005-07-27T13:02:00.000+02:00

Finished Harry Potter 6 last night. It finally arrived in the mail, and it was the normal bullshit of having to go to the post office and collect it...because the shitty hausmeister always takes my name down from the doorbell...so the post people don't know which bell to ring...and then they have to put a note in the letter box...and I have to wait in a massive queue to collect my parcels...
Anyway, it was pretty shit, Harry Potter that is, I guessed who died pretty early on, the half-blood prince was a load of crap, and unless Snape does something pretty bloody fantastic in the last book it will all be arse.
As you can tell I am feeling particularly cheery today, maybe it is not all Harry's fault. Not sure if it is a combination of everything ending here, the massive essays I have to write, the fact I did something utterly stupid yesterday, or the weather, but blah.

2005-07-23T13:42:00.000+02:00

I have finally gotten up the courage to see if all my photos were deleted from my camera since it started having its little rest, and they seem to be ok. So here is a brief gallery of the Christopher Street Day parade. All of the photos are the ones taken before the aforementioned little rest, so luckily for everyone we are saved from photos of extremely drunk people in summer clothes determinedly marching down the street, in torrential rain and hurricane winds. CSD is the annual gay/lesbian parade in Berlin, it refers to street in which Stonewall Inn sits, the site of gay rights riots in New York in '69. Anyway, in the last few years it has been particularly big, particularly since the Love Parade was cancelled, and this year there were about half a million people there. It wasn't as flashy as what I have seen of the Sydney Mardi Gras, and less of the choreographed dancing etc. but we had an awesome time. When we first got there we all bought a bottle of champagne to get us in the mood. Then after we had watched a bit all my Spanish and Italian friends started making fun of the German attitude to parades of merely standing and watching, and demanded we all follow a float. I think both Marty and myself were a bit shy about this idea, but not wanting to admit Australians are as boring as the Germans had been deemed we jumped in as well. About half way along the storm hit, the wind barreling along the streets, and torrential rain. As the weather had been in the mid-thirties earlier that day everyone was dressed for the heat, and this is aside from those who had chosen naked as their costume. Anyway I think the weather only served to make everyone feel an even greater sense of solidarity. I have to say after this the day is a blur, I vaguely remember eating wurst, buying beer off the back of a float, grabbing heaps of male beauty products from the Nivea boys and, while taking a piss in Tiergarten, getting stung by nettles. We staggered home for a power nap before attending our planned afterparty, however we never quite made it. We almost did, standing outside the front door of the club, but somehow paying 10 EUR to sit in a corner feeling sorry for ourselves didn't cut it so we turned and went home. The highlight of the day has to be my photographer friend Damaris, who came up giggling to say she saw two naked guys "making each other like this" (wanking movement) "and I didn't know what to do, so I took a photo."

2005-07-23T13:32:00.000+02:00

Damaris was very taken with this young man.

2005-07-23T13:31:00.000+02:00

Cheery marchers back view.

2005-07-23T13:30:00.001+02:00

Cheery marchers before the rain hit.

2005-07-23T13:30:00.000+02:00

One of the floats in the parade.

2005-07-23T13:28:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I look like a squinty eyed rat, but it is a nice one of Marty.

2005-07-06T16:36:00.000+02:00

Time for a breather. Today is supposed to be a 'productive' day of study as tomorrow I have two, TWO, big presentations in my higher level classes. Both of which require me* to lead the class for a whole hour and a half. Both of these classes are particularly brutal actually. My lit theory one burns through a theorist a week, I felt particularly sorry for the Derrida week as the professor had lost her voice and the onus was on them to explain Derrida in an hour and a half. Anyway the class I have most angst for tomorrow is actually a presentation on HERmione by H.D. which is an awesome book. Although unfortunately no-one else in my group liked it and I was slow enough for this to become the reason why I should lead class discussion, instead of the easy parts like author biography etc. Anyway this is why I have turned to the blog. I figure the computer on and open in front of me is half the challenge. As Hamish would say I am 'addressing the screen'.

*well, when I say me I am referring to my group of lovely German fellow students who have very nicely, for the most part, spoken in English when we have met to prepare said presentations.

2005-06-24T00:51:00.000+02:00

This is how my Dad is spending his time in Romania, emailing me photos taken with his camera phone. This is one of Romanian fish paste:

Carp fish paste

2005-06-18T22:06:00.000+02:00

2005-06-13T23:01:00.000+02:00

In lieu of actually writing something I have posted some photos of our trip to Dresden. Let's just say it didn't live up to the hype but it was fun anyway.
Guy has registered a formal protest at the inclusion of photo number 3.

2005-06-13T22:46:00.001+02:00

Dresden by night

2005-06-13T22:46:00.000+02:00

Kulturpalast

2005-06-13T22:45:00.000+02:00

Guy over-excited by Dresden

2005-06-13T22:44:00.000+02:00

Me as reisefuhrerin

2005-06-13T22:43:00.000+02:00

Kathedrale

2005-06-13T22:42:00.001+02:00

We're off to see the ...

2005-06-13T22:42:00.000+02:00

Arrived

2005-06-13T22:41:00.000+02:00

On the Train

2005-06-13T22:40:00.000+02:00

In Ostbahnhof

2005-06-07T02:23:00.000+02:00

Actually today I had some small achievements (not in spelling of course, the other day I took about 3 goes to spell mustn't (mustend, musend, and I think musent) until my sister reminded me it is a contraction of two words).

Anyway, so I found the new main university library (it had moved) and I borrowed two books! Not in one fell swoop, I borrowed one and then I went back and found the other and borrowed that. And I put a book on hold (I think).
I remember a little while ago Elanor Symposiasts posted something about setting small achievable goals, eg: checking the mail, because the value of the goal is in the achievement of it, not the actual goal itself. And in the face of todays attainment of 2 Books(!) I can safely say she is RIGHT.

P.S. They don't use the Dewey system here, or the Moys. It is called Humboldt Random.

2005-06-07T02:06:00.000+02:00

Bah! My role as ultra-study-girl has been thwarted by scheisse Iser. Had cleaned room (even vacuumed!), ordered desk - well sorted things into piles, didn't quite get round to filing things into rubbish yet, you never know when tiny scraps of paper will become an invaluable resource. And even cooked a nutritious dinner, but "Towards a Literary Anthropology"killed it all in the arse. Also a suspicious dullness in my left leg which I self diagnosed as late-acting DVT. After taking, seriously, more than an hour to read 5 pages, I began doubt my ability to complete any further study. These thoughts led to a brief brain skimming of possible thesis topics I could submit before September, in a cunning plan to continue recieving youth allowance. Total of topics thought of = 0.

2005-06-01T16:28:00.000+02:00

Things I have to do today:
Read "Indeterminacy and the Reader's Response in Prose Fiction" and "Towards a Literary Anthropology" by Iser, W.
Read excepts from "Passing" by Larson, N.
Read something about Rechtsextremismus for my Referat on Friday, (my partner's German husband is writing her half, but sadly I haven't found a husband here yet so will have to do my own).
Pick up my mattress from a friends house for Guy(!)
Post a letter
Go to kareoke and have fun without spending any money

Things I have already done:
Picked up my new visa and paid 50 unjustified, unexplainable, Euro for the privilege.
Found the Romanian Embassy, helpfully located directly opposite the building where I spent everyday of the first month. (Not to worry they are only open 9 hours a week so I couldn't actually go in).
Changed money to pay my rent and also bought a phone card for Australia.
Got excited thinking I could call Australia but realised everyone would be asleep.

What I am going to do now:
Read Harry Potter und der Gafangene von Askaban

2005-06-01T16:25:00.000+02:00

Note to self:
Salzstangen (pretzel sticks) are not a replacement for actual food.

2005-05-18T19:07:00.000+02:00

I can't believe it is only a week til EUROVISION! And I will be in Europe! Sadly not in Kiev, I did consider it but by that stage it was already sold out and anyway, stuff. Sadly I will not be in Melbourne to inflict a poorly attended party on you this year (unless Alice gets her shit together in my absence). However, you can still get the full Eurovision experience from your home by regularly checking out Troubled-Divas site. His first post on the semi-final is here. In many ways this is the preferable way to experience Eurovision, as you don't have to sit through hideously boring incomprehensiable ballads, etc. Plus you get the bitchy comments thrown in for free.
In other news an Italian friend of mine had never heard of Eurovision, scary.

2005-05-15T21:14:00.000+02:00

'The oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity (which is a way to create it), become in turn oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both' - Paulo Freire

The other night I went to one part of a discussion series called something like 'Theatre of Hope' and the guests on that particular night were a dancer from Iran and a choreographer from Palestine. The difference between them was quite marked. The choreographer delivered a highly charged political speech about the problems of his people especially that of living in ghettos under Israeli rule.
The dancer wasn't even able to speak about what she might be hoping for.
In question time a few people asked questions (framed very cautiously of course, everyone very careful to remain, for want of a better term, politically correct) about the nature of living in an extremely repressive society. She only answered that 'perhaps she wanted to see things in their best light, because she had to live with them'. In other words for her to critique the situation, even to herself, would make the situation unbearable.
Afterwards I was walking to the train with a friend who is herself Iranian and I expressed my reluctance to accept this form of thinking. And she replied that when you are from Iran you never know who is watching you, even in a small university theatre in Germany.

[Update: If you want to check out some info on the Iranian dance production go here.]

2005-05-14T23:43:00.000+02:00

I am feeling very virtuous today, even though I have achieved only one of my many goals. Namely going to the supermarket. It is still for me a bit of a mission heading into the supermarket. First I have to sort out my bottles and work out which I can take back for money. And then once I get there I have to feed them all into a machine which prints out a reciept which I cash at the register. Then I have to wander the asiles looking out for which brands I have already tried and know to be either good or shit. And then I have to lament over the poor selection of juice. When you actually get to the register is the actual nerve racking bit. They don't put your groceries in bags here, you have to either bring them yourself or buy them, and either way you have to pack them yourself. Now I totally agree with this but it is scary when you have the stern Frau whizzing your stuff over the scanner and shoving it into the loading area while you struggle to pack it all into your bag and pay at the same time. So far I have not one time been able to keep up with the pace and always there is someone elses groceries raining down on you and both them and the checkout frau are giving you greasys as if it is all a cunning plan to end up with an extra onion or something.
Anyway clearly I survived to tell the tale and I now have food at hoe which is a small miracle. And juice! They don't believe in juice here like we do.

Things I didn't achieve:
Haircut
Purchase of new bike lock (cos someone lost mine)
Purchase of TV remote control (So I can watch my housmates tv by putting in the code which he hasn't for more than 2 months)
Emailing people who, probably and I would almost say definitely, don't love me anymore
Reading of book which it took me almost two weeks to work out how to borrow for the library
Beating the shit out of this computer because it is so slow

2005-05-09T16:57:00.000+02:00

Oh yeah, and comment you bastards! I don't want no more emails professing shyness in cyberspace. Just to clear things up, you know who reads my blog? No one, only me and a few people whom I suspect have too much time on their hands in paid employment. Do It!

2005-05-08T21:48:00.000+02:00

Must type quickly cos am in danger of burning the toast.
Have been having visitors over the past couple of weeks (see photos below), first my dad on his way to Romania and then last week Nick visited me from Delft (in the Netherlands) were he is on exchange also. We were meant to go to Vienna this weekend but ended up not being able to get there due to poor planning and organisation. Today was VE day although here it is just the end of WW2, I don't think they take much notice of what happened in the Pacific. Anyway, a friend and I went out to check out the celebrations, a little late in the day but never mind, and then we went to Alexander Platz (where the huge TV tower is) to have a look at the Nazi rally. We couldn't really see anything except hundreds of riot police, fully kitted up. I don't think anything much happened in the end as they disbanded while we were there but according to the TV in the train there were 7000 riot police in Berlin. They don't really do horses here as much but they have tank things and the like which probably do a better job. I totally forgot my camera so there are no photos which is a shit. At one point my friend and I were peering over the shoulders of the police and we turned around and we were completely surrounded by a phalanx of scary masked and armoured folk, but the most exciting thing we saw was some drunk punk being escorted off the railway premises.

2005-05-08T21:43:00.000+02:00

Nick trying to eat a currywurst

2005-05-08T21:37:00.000+02:00

Dad on top of the Reichstag

2005-05-08T21:05:00.000+02:00

God! Maybe I am missing Australia more than I thought, I was just getting all nostalgic for big brother reading some pop culturey blogs. This is beside the fact that I don't think I watched more than one episode last year.

2005-05-01T22:04:00.000+02:00

Was reading Doug's blog actually and found myself a little annoyed by his analysis of feminism, then I was catching up on some Australian news when I found this by Helen Razer.
Now it is hardly relevent but Helen Razer ( I always think of her with two names) used to be my all time favourite person of all time. Actually I think she was someone else's all time favorite person of all time also, and that caused her to retire from the more public sphere. But never mind this garble, read the article.

2005-05-01T21:25:00.000+02:00

Uggh. I have just been reading up on all the blogs I have neglected over the summer and am feeling rather bloated and ashamed. It seems it is no good just to hammer out any old shit, but the trend is actually to write well and on interesting topics. Gah!

2005-04-28T22:22:00.000+02:00

Ok, that's it.
It's taken two months but I have finally got there. I am in the post-breakup psychotic phase. Today I was reading a blog and I was jealous because my ex-boyfriend would like her more than me, never mind he has never met her ( I assume) and she is a lesbian.
In other news a friend just invited me to drinks at a cute Norwegien's (sp?) house tomorrow, so maybe I had better go back to repression.

2005-04-26T23:04:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I feel pressure to write something although I feel it is a damn cheek that certain people never comment unless is to complain I haven't written. It is fine for me to write into a void, but the void shouldn't answer back.
Not much has happened in the last week or so, my dad visited me on the weekend, so i showed him around a bit and did some sightseeing etc. The main thing that preoccupied me last week was that my ex-boyfriend butted back into my life briefly so I was thinking about that, but that is not really blogging material and he could quite easily find this (or perhaps already has?) and so I am not keen to write about it here.
Mainly just been hanging out with a few friends and taking it easy. Still trying to sort out my subjects here, today I went to a class on marx in german but this is not a goer, I have no idea what anyone is saying and as it is a seminar, the other students talk also and their voices are much more impenetrable than the teachers. I wanted to do it because the reading list looked really interesting but I think it would be too frustrating.
My computer is driving me nuts at the moment, it is thinking about something else, god knows what, but I am typing faster than it it writing so tchuss.

2005-04-18T22:53:00.000+02:00

Also eBay, I love eBay. I have never used it in Australia, but today I picked up my desk which I bought for 1.50 Euro! I currently have bids on two Harry Potter books in German, and also an Art Deco lamp. I a playing it cool however and haven't put any bids on yet, will have to be near the computer tomorrow night to watch the final stages of the bidding process and clinch the deals.

2005-04-18T22:39:00.000+02:00

Nothing at this university is easy. The day started off well, I had a great lecture and the lecturer knew what the assessment was for the subject and for Erasmus students (which I am not but I fall into the same category). Then I had a few hours to kill so I thought I would check out the reader situation. Now I already knew that there are no pre-copied readers, some you can order, and others you have to copy yourself. But today I discovered that there are at least two copy-shops which hold the master copies of the readers, so you can't make a clean sweep. And some readers aren't in the copy shops you have to go to the Americanistik/Anglistik Bibliothek and borrow them to copy. There also happens to be a copier outside the library, but you need to buy card first. So I ask the young man who is already attempting to use the machine where I can get a card from. After some miming I realise it is in a completely different building at least 10 minutes walk away. Imagine. So I trek over to where I think the man has described (incidentally the law building) and sure enough there is a man sitting in a little booth with a sign saying Kopie Karten 5.5 Euro, so I try to ask how many copies I can get and I think he said 95 but by this time I was over the whole idea, so I haven't started on any reading for my course yet.

2005-04-18T00:33:00.000+02:00

Andrea Dworkin has been dead for over a week and I didn't even know, this is Catherine McKinnon's obit, don't know if you will have to sign in for it.

2005-04-17T23:14:00.000+02:00

A night out on the Pfand, or how I became a Catalonian Rat

My friend is from Catalonia, and she had explained to me previously that the Spanish call the Catalonians ‘rats’ as there is the stereotype that they hoard their money, and are always looking for ways to save money. Anyway, as was discussed briefly in another post the Germans love the Pfand (deposit when you buy certain bottles), so last Friday night a few of us went to check out the university start of semester party. I won’t say I didn’t have reservations as the memory of one J.L. starting a fight with a female bouncer and subsequently being escorted from the last university party I went to is still fresh in my mind. It started at 10 and while we were there about half past others in our group decided we were too cool to go into the party then so we went round the corner to another pub for a drink. When we returned at midnight there was a queue consisting of a few hundred people. We waited an hour. Upon the 4 euro entry, my fears were confirmed, this was worse than the Melbourne Uni party, downstairs they were playing top 40, but not the tacky fun stuff just shit, and people had whistles! Upstairs was billed as indy-alternative but seemed more try-hard goth. We had waited an hour and payed the equivalent of $7 so I was gonna stay anyway, and I headed to the beer table. The Pfand was 20c and already I saw a few thrifty people bringing back more bottles than they bought. After a few more beers myself and some energetic dancing (It’s Raining Men! (Weather Girls not Geri!!)) only slightly marred by a nasty habit of the DJ in turning down the music at crucial moments during the song so everyone can drunkenly yell out the words, I started collecting handfuls of bottles on my way back to the bar. And then I discovered that the mixed drinks had a 50c Pfand. My friend Paula and I ended up having a completely free night out, I’m sure it is very non de rigeur (sp?) and people were laughing at us (especially the bar staff) but at least we were making money, and who the fuck were they still at a scheiße uni party at 4am? The next day we were rich but very ashamed, and I am an honorary Catalonian.

2005-04-14T01:47:00.000+02:00

Tonight was hilarious, if only for the beer drinking conventions here in Germany. The last time I saw Le Tigre was at the Corner, and there they serve beer in pots, and pay some poor sucker to walk around with a torch during the show and pick up everyone's (hopefully un-smashed) glasses/bottles off the floor. Now in Maria am Schillingsbrucke they do it different. You pay a euro extra for your beer and you get a token, and when you bring the bottle back like good girl, you get your money back. Is very regimented. Anyway, 'Lesbians on Ecstasy' weren't much chop, a bit too techno-y for my tastes but Le Tigre were awesome and the gig itself was much better than the one at the Corner a few months ago.
Afterwards, quite randomly, I ran into a woman from Melb I have been meaning to get in contact with who is on exchange here also, and we went to Barbie Bar, a bright pink establishment were I mostly spoke with woman who performs in Drag Kings in Melbourne so it's a small world.
Ok am a little pissed so am off to bed.

2005-04-13T17:50:00.000+02:00

This week has been full of interesting experiences with the German higher education system. I went to a class on Monday, and all the students turned up but not the lecturer, fine. Then yesterday I went to a class with only four students, it will normally be held in English but it was the introductory class so all German, and me nodding and smiling (hopefully in the right places), anyway I think it might not run due to lack of interest. Today I went to another class, where there was both students and a teacher, but the teacher didn't now what the assessment was and to finish my degree this semester I need to get credit, so that might not be a starter either. And then after waiting 'round for an hour, there was a repeat of Monday, with many students/no lecturer. Although on the plus side I spoke with another student in German (very briefly). Tomorrow there is more trial and error, although I think things start in earnest next week so maybe I will be able to sort some stuff out then and finally organise my semester!
[sigh]
After that whinge, tonight I am going to see Le Tigre! The support are called "Lesbians on Ecstasy" so they should be fun also, and there is always more cheap beer to drink.

2005-04-12T18:55:00.000+02:00

This is my room, it is actually bigger than it looks here and I have no furniture so it is fairly spacious. My next objective is to get a cheap desk off ebay

2005-04-12T18:54:00.000+02:00

This is my building, Iam on the third floor, and my window is just left of the front door.

2005-04-12T18:52:00.000+02:00

All the lawn at uni, if you look closely you can see plates and bowls from the Mensa.

2005-04-12T18:51:00.000+02:00

This some of the food from the Mensa (a cafeteria for uni students), it is really cheap but usually really gross, and always, always potatoes.

2005-04-12T17:51:00.000+02:00

Ok so take two.
Have been getting so much ‘Kultur’ recently that have had no time to blog, ha ha. The people I am hanging out with here seem to know what’s going on much better than me so I have been tagging along to a few exhibitions. On Saturday I went to the Martin Gropius Bau to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibition, I’ve never been a big film buff but it was really interesting (and in English!), I have added Barry Lyndon to my must see list, but I think Lolita and Full Metal Jacket might be too much for me.
And then on Sunday after a quick trip to a flea market, we went to see the "Friedrich Christian Flick Collection" in the Hamburger Bahnhof. The bahnhof itself is a pretty cool space, as you would assume from the name it is a converted train station. Anyway, my friend explained to me (in German and patchy English so I might not have understood completely) that Flick is an art patron and his collection, mainly installation pieces, is too big to store anywhere permanently so it is always on loan to different galleries. They have already started packing the exhibition up so we didn’t see all of it, but some of it was really interesting. I particularly liked the work of Rodney Graham, especially "Flanders Trees". Now, far be it from me to assume any actual knowledge or insights into visual art but these pieces really grabbed my attention. They are large photographs of trees, turned upside down (the photos not the trees). But for some reason because they are not the right way up it is difficult to know them. I kept wanting to flip them round because then they would make sense as trees but because that was impossible they were very uncomfortable to look at.
And then we went to an Irish pub where the waitresses can’t speak German and watched Barcelona v. Real Madrid. (2-4)