Note: I've written this posting about a week ago, so I'm happy to inform you that I've survived the bronchitis and I am back at work...
Howdy folks!
How are you?? Well, I hope you're doing better than me. I am sick. Stuck in bed since last Friday when I thought I had a bad cold. Over the weekend it deteriorated into a pretty bad bronchitis. Today I saw the doctor and she prescribed me antibiotics and some more time in bed. :(
I hate to be stuck in bed and not being able to do much. I'm a very active person usually, so being sick feels like prison. I sleep most of the time if I can, but reading and watching too many movies give me a headache, I lack motivation to play guitar because I can't sing properly and generally I get depressed when I can't move and do stuff...Lonesome...that's what I am too since most people are working and I get few visitors except for my friend Andy, who provides me my daily dose of movies and Lachgummi (wouldn't get better without them!!). But I better stop wailing, there are people in this world that are in situations much much worse than mine...
I actually wanted to tell you about my visit to Milan a couple of weeks ago. Time flies by so fast, sometimes it shocks me a little.
Well, I went to Milan to visit my ex-flatmates from Rome, Gerry and Simona. This lovely couple has made my stay in Rome very much fun as we spend the evenings eating, chatting and drinking cheap red wine as all of us were sort of broke at the time. They're now getting a master's degree in Milan and so I decided to visit them in the financial capital of Italy.
In my opinion, Milan is not as pretty as Rome. It's a nice city, for sure, there's more going on in terms of music and contemporary culture than in Rome. But it lacks the warm historic incredibly impressive charm of the capital and well, I have always considered myself more a Roman girl since I spend half a year there...
On the first evening Milan, Gerry and Simo had prepared a great Italian dinner for me, with some fish (yes, I made a fish eating exception because their food taste just soo good!!!) and a Parmigiana (melanzani gratin) and salad. The thing I love about Italian food is that most things are very simple - you don't need to buy strange ingredients you don't get at your local store. But it's the quality of the ingredients and the way they are prepared that makes the food soo damn delicious!!
The breakfast was also remarkable - Simo had made a chocolate cake that you eat with mascarpone and some perfect Italian coffee!! I get hungry when I think of it. It was the perfect preparation for my goal on that day.
The timing for my visit in Milan was perfect as I was able to get an appointment for a new tattoo with Sarah Schor (click me) at the tattoo convention! The convention was huge and I was lucky to be there half an hour before they opened the doors as the queue outside was really long. I stood in line with some guys and chatted with them in Italian. I was so proud when a guy asked me if I was from Rome!! He said I sounded so Roman...he was amazed when I told him I was Austrian and only lived there for a while. When I finally found Sarah Schor in the huge hall, she showed me the stencil she had prepared and I liked it, so we immediately went to work.
It was my first convention tattoo and I have to admit, I don't like being tattooed at a convention. I felt like I was sitting in the window in a shop and all the time people were staring at me and Sarah, taking pictures, filming...I prefer the quiet and privacy of a tattoo studio. However, after 3 hours of being looked at, the tattoo was done and it came out really good. I am so happy and thankful for Sarah's great work. Here a pic of it. It's the muse of music - as music has always been a driving force in my life.
I checked out some other tattoo artist like dear Miss Arianna (click me) (she's THE queen of traditional tattooing for me and an amazing person) and Davide Andreoli (click me), another great artist from Italy. I'm sure to be back in Italy for some ink!
After that, I went back to Gerry and Simo who took me to a birreria (beer bar) where we meet some of their colleagues from university. We had a couple of beers and chatted about life, love and relationships, the usual important topics....but I was soo tired from the tattooing, so we went to bed.
Next day, we went for a walk in Milan, I took some pictures with my Lomo (I haven't developped them yet) and I had the first ice cream of the year with Simo. It was soo delicious! Italians know how to do it!! In the evening we had some more food and laughs and were generally silly...I enjoyed my time there so much. But it was too short, as it always is when you're having a good time. Sunday morning I had to leave really early and went back to Vienna...
I also have to tell you about a great concert. My friend and great musician Pascal Briggs (click me) came to Vienna again, this time with his band The Stokers. And they brought incredible support musicians - Sean Wheeler (Throw Rag) and Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks, The Weirdos, Die Hunns) who played some amazing tunes. In the end the whole bunch was on stage and performed some songs together...everyone was having a great time!!
Pascal asked me if we could take Zander for a walk in Vienna as he likes the architecture - so yeah, I played tour guide in the centre of Vienna for Pascal, Zander and my friends - on a freezing cold Sunday night at 2 o'clock! But it was fun!
End of February, we also held our first AaAaArRrRtnight - a night dedicated to doing something together, I think I have mentioned it before. So 7 people met in my apartment on a Friday night and we worked on stencils. My friend Andy showed us how to do them and then we worked together. It was great fun and some made really nice stencils...and sprayed them all over my apartment. But I wanted to paint a wall there anyway, so it was ok....
This year, my friends and me also dressed up as 80's rock band for the carneval party in our home town. We looked great! I could run around like this all the time :P
From carneval to a more serious topic - the situation in Japan is really scary. I'm speechless. It makes me feel helpless.
I get angry when I see the comments in newspapers about the financial situation, insurance questions and stock market issues - do they really matter in a situation like this? And then you want to watch a video about the tsunami and what you get is a one minute commercial before the acutal video starts - WHAT THE F**K?? I got angry. I got really angry. This can't be true. Business as usual?? Is that what we want?? And people still care about the latest celebrity gossip...WHY??
My mum told me that my little sister doesn't watch TV at all at the moment as she freaks out every time she sees pictures from Japan - she starts crying and asks my mum "Why does this happen?"....it seems as if we grown-ups have numbed ourselves...
Well, enough for today. It's time to go back to bed...and watch amazing "On the Waterfront" again. I adore old movies, especially with Marlon Brando - ahh, I start drooling when I see him acting :) He was the man!! Here's one of my favourite scenes from On the Waterfront:
So good night and take care, y'all! S
PS: At the moment I listen to Handsome Furs a lot. My friend Corina introduced me to them. They are a married couple and tour the world together - one of these romantic stories us girls like to hear! And they actually make good music. Here's the song I like most at the moment, it's called Hearts of Iron
How's life? Having fun? I am really fine at the moment, working and enjoying myself and hanging out with my friends and family. But this damn city of San Francisco that has turned my head and made me all crazy, in a good way, so that I am even more motivated than usually...and I owe you the story...
From Las Vegas I took a plane to San Francisco on the new year's first day. I was so excited about it because when I was there in 2009, I loved it! And I wanted to see if I still felt the same. I arrived at the airport, took the BART train to the Mission district, which is strongly influenced by Mexican/Middle American culture. I met my couchsurfing host Isky at Noisebridge, a place where I would spent a lot of time in the next few days. I was a little worried that this couchsurfing host was as much of a bummer as the last one...but at least I was in a city that I knew a little and I knew where to escape to if things went wrong.
But there was no need to worry. Isky is one of the nicest, most lovable human beings I've ever met. He hugged me and then showed me around at Noisebridge (click me), a hackerspace that is open to the public - a huge ware house-like apartment full of computers, weird machines, scientific stuff, a library, a kitchen and an amazing roof (more about that later on)....there were so many nice people around that I didn't feel lonely even if I had a lonely moment...That night, I was too tired to hang out with someone, so we went to Isky's apartment and I moved into his empty closet, my dwelling place for the next nights. I was so tired, I quickly passed out....
Just to wake up to the sound of Mexican mariachi music (click) from the neighbors. Weird scene - me in the totally dark closet, no windows, with strangers around me and the beat of the music pumping through the walls....I started laughing because I just loved it!! It was like I was already caught by the crazy and happy vibe this city emits...
I got up and met another lovely creature called Gonzo...his name aroused my interest since Hunter S. Thompson was the real Dr. Gonzo. He is a very witty theatre student currently enrolled at the university of Santa Cruz and I enjoyed our conversations throughout the whole day (unfortunately, he left some hours after we met...). When Isky was awake, they brought me to have lunch at this tacqueria Cancun on Mission street. I swear I had the best damn veggie burrito in my life (although some claim that there are even better ones)...I love Mexican food...I love the kicks I get from eating spicy stuff...this burrito made me cry and want more at the same time, really intense shit!! And I never had a Mexican coke before Gonzo told me that they actually use real cane sugar for it and not corn sirup as in American coke...after that I basically ate at Cancun once a day while residing in the Mission!
The rest of the day I spent wandering around book and thrift stores on Valencia street. It rained a little so I was not motivated to go exploring and just soaked up the feeling of the Mission...I realized that I had been in this district before in 2009 when my friend Derick showed me Clarion Alley, which is famous for it's colorful murals.
The next day, I was already excited about exploring, my favourite activity when Im traveling on my own (so 99% of the time)...I just walk whereever my feet take me...equipped with my iPod and camera. I had prepared a 100 songs playlist for my iPod which was perfect for my trip! With the sun shining and the usual Frisco breeze in my hair, I did walking tour that was suggested in my guide book.
I started downtown, at the cable car turnaround on Market Street and walked up to Chinatown. I checked out the colorful small alleys of this Chinese area until I came to a little street called "Jack Kerouac Alley" and there you can find some quotes by him and other writers written on the floor. I am a huge fan of Kerouac because he wrote some of the most beautiful and vibrant lines of American literature. At the end of this little street, in the area called North Beach, you can find the famous City Lights book store where the Beat poets were first published. Howl, one of the best-known poems by Allen Ginsberg, was first read inside this book store at a reading where "all" the beat poets were present...Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, etc....
I felt like a cheap tourist, but I had to buy a copy of Allen Ginsberg's poem! I like it so much as it's really intense if you read it out loud and it reminds me of my final exam where I cited some lines to impress my professor...
Then, my guide book advised me to get some food in one of the Italian delicatessen shops in this area. I stepped inside this place called Molinari and I was surprised by the fact that the guys behind the counter really spoke Italian. Being a smartass, I couldn't help but order my sandwich in Italian. First reaction: "Ma sei italiana?". But I had to dash their hopes, I am only Austrian...I then felt the strong need for coffee and went to Cafe Trieste and got a really good Italian style espresso that would help me climbing Telegraph Hill to get a great view of city. I walked up and I tried to take pictures of how steep the hills really are, but you can't catch it with a crappy mobile phone camera.
On top of the hill, I sat down...and opened myself to the amazing view. I was overwhelmed by the beauty. The sun was shining, it was even a little warm...I sat there staring at the city, the bridge. It was so pretty, it almost made me cry. I had this pain in my chest, like my heart was aching for me to stay there...like it was saying "don't leave, stay...just for a while..." I even texted my best friend because I wanted to share this moment with somebody...but Austria was sound asleep...So I sat there and ate my sandwich (which was delicious...Italians know how to do it!), being as happy as I could be.
I moved on to Russian Hill, climbed some more hills for some more views, some more feeling of "Damn, I wanna stay here...". Then, I just walked...I passed by some cable cars...went down some hills to Fishermen's Wharf. There I sat down and listened to some music. I was so calm and happy...I never felt lonesome in this city although I was alone most of the time. And I love the fact that there's surprise around every corner...if you open your eyes, you can find something new, interesting, exciting, funny or heartwarming in every street.
Then I felt like I had to return to an area of the city that I've explored a lot in 2009, the Haight. It used to be THE hippie spot in the 60s. Today, it is more of a tourist trap with a lot of weird people around, but I like some of the coffee shop's and the Ben&Jerry's store there. As well as Amoeba records (click me) where I can spend a whole day. I went there and bought a vinyl for my best friend Corina, actually the only present I bought during my holidays.
I went back to Isky's. And we were a little bored and bought some beers. We then climbed up a ladder to the roof of Noisebridge, for me a huge effort as I am very afraid of heights so that I usually don't even climb up ladders. But Isky informed me that we had to climb up 2 more walls to get the full 360° view. So he actually pushed me over two (in my opinion very high) walls. I have to admit that this effort (fear crept through my veins!!!) wastotally worth it. On top we could really see the whole city. We sat down close to each other, wrapped a blanket around our shoulders (the nights were pretty cold) and had some beers (one organic rasberry infused beer, loved it!). It was marvelous! It's so pretty to see the Muni buses climb up the hills at night...
It's cheap and good. First bought it because I thought the label was pretty :P
Next day, I decided to check out Japantown. So I walked up Pacific Heights to see some nice Victorian houses (they are soo pretty!) and then straight to the Japanese "district". Actually, I was a little disappointed because it is not very much - a couple of streets, Japanese shops and restaurants and I felt a little weird because there were no people on the street except for some old Japanese ladies that looked at me like they had never seen a creature like me. After my visit, I was told that the coolest thing in Japantown was the mall because they sell a lot of crazy stuff there. I should have known this before!
It was a very pretty day, so I decided to take the bus to Ocean Beach, one of SF's beaches. It's was really beautiful! I walked up to the Cliff house, explored a cave in the cliffs and then walked along the coast for about two hours towards Baker beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. Stunning views in the sunshine, green grass and huge trees...I was delighted!And this damn bridge is so pretty in the late afternoon light. I couldn't stop staring at it...unfortunately, I lost my camera, so I couldn't take proper pictures of it. But I saved it inside my head which is even better than any camera could depict it!
That evening I met Mark, who was a guest in the hostel I worked in last summer. We went to the Elbo Room, a bar in the Mission and had a couple of drinks. It was so cool to stand outside the bar and look at what was happening around me. It was rather quiet, almost no cars passed, only bikes and skateboards (the noise of skateboards always make me feel like a teenager)...but I was so tired and drunk that I soon returned to Isky and the other couchsurfers who had arrived. Suddenly, Isky's room was full of people - Helena from Portugal, a girl from Korea (I'm so bad with names...), Coco (a girl that had recently moved to Daly City), Isky, and me in the closet. I felt like a goddamn hippy and loved it...
Next day Coco joined me for the exploring. As soon as we stepped outside the building, we saw tons of papers on the floor, some clothes and a pair of nice leather shoes. One thing I love about this city is that people throw stuff they don't need anymore on the street - sometimes you can find couches, books, suitcases, notes, shoes, etc. on the sidewalk and if you like it, you can take it. Coco tried the cool leather shoes and took em! The night before, on our way to Isky's place, we jumped on a couch that was standing right in the middle of the sidewalk....
Coco and me went to a large thrift store where I bought a really cool San Francisco Giants shirt for 2$. I still have to cut it out and sew it to fit me because it's for men. Then I brought Coco to the Mission and Dolores park. I was really proud that I could play the tour guide and show her this lovely spot as I spent some hours there in good company in 2009.
We got some food and then I decided to visit my friend Derick at Picture Machine Tattoo (click me if you like tattoos). I surprised him at work. We went to a bar, had some drinks, went to another bar, met some of his friends and had some more drinks and a slice of pizza (that saved my life because we drank like pirates)...it's so good when you meet friends after a long time and it feels as if no time has passed...
one of my first lomo diana shots
The next day, I was too lazy and hungover to do much and actually Isky was sick, so I took care of him. We sat at Noisebridge and went to bed early. Next day, I went to Golden Gate Park...I walked around, took pictures with my Lomo camera and soaked up as much sun and good vibes as possible as it was my last day in the city...I was a little sad that I had to leave.
I went back to Isky's and Helena and me decided to hang out together in my last night and make it something special. We went to Dolores park and listened to some music and had some beers. We made friends with a rat (we called him Ratatouille) that was carrying food from the park to his home...he ran back and forth a couple of times. I offered him some beer but he refused. I guess he doesn't like to drink while being at work. Helena and me sang along, we told each other stories and laughed a lot. When we were singing California ueber Alles by the Dead Kennedys (click me if you like punk rock), we heard 3 shots. We thought these were fireworks. But about three minutes later, cops and ambulances arrived about one block away from were we were sitting. So it was clear that something bad had happened not very far away from where we were having fun. Helena sent me this article (click me) a couple of days later.
The next day, I got up early and went to the airport. I was really sad that I had to leave my newly made friends, first and foremost Isky and the people at Noisebridge who were so nice and open...I was really sad that I had to leave this city that inspires me so much. Each time I feel like I wanted to hug the world, go crazy and be creative as fuck. I really got infected with the artistic and creative mood that hangs over the Bay like a big puffy cloud. (How much I'd love to be able to create something like this (click me!!!))
I want to say thank you to all the people that made my vacation so special, memorable and beautiful! Thank you guys and gals!! If you wanna visit me in Vienna, you're welcome any time!!
So when I got home, first thing I did was starting a project called AaAaArRRtTnight - I'm planning a monthly gathering of creative friends who are as bored as me with sitting around and drinking beer...instead I would us to meet and work together on something, art, crafts, writing, music, whatever...and the first date will be on February 25...I will keep you updated on that...
Well. I guess that's the story....no important insights in this one since the text's already so long and I don't want to overdo it...I tend to overdo it, whatever I do. I'm all or nothing- which is a blessing and curse. But that is me. I'm getting better, though. Hope you too...
PS: I couldn't decide for one song this time, so I show you two of the songs that I listened to a lot while being in San Francisco. One band is called Beach Fossils - they make indie guitar stuff which I find really relaxing, joyful but also a little melancholic. The song is called Vacation...created the perfect mood!
I'm out here on my own
I might not come back home
The second one is a Noise-Indierock band called No Age, the song's called Here should be my Home....I love this one because of it's lyrics...although Kurt Cobain said that "music is what counts, lyrics are secondary", I do like words...and don't forget to turn up the fuckin volume!!!
Christmas is over, the new year's already been here for 17 days and time flies by so fast, you have to be aware of not getting lost....
I hope you all had amazing holidays and started 2011 in an optimistic and cheerful way!!!
Surely, I did. As most of you know, I went (back) to California for a very intense, crazy, rollercoaster up and down madness of a vacation. It was life as pure and wild and honest and thrilling as it can get...when I think of now that I am back to work and school and my pupils, I could laugh and cry at the same time.
But let's not make the suspense unbearable here, I'm gonna tell what happened....
I started on the first day of my holidays, from Vienna to Paris, Paris to Minneapolis and there I had to wait for like 8 hours for the connection flight and then two more in the plane because there was a snowstorm and they had to de-ice the aircraft. I was actually lucky to make it this far since most airports in Europe closed again two days later due to heavy snowfall.
I made it to L.A. and my cousin Andi, who is studying in San Diego at the moment, picked me up and we drove two more hours to San Diego. Unfortunately, my baggage had not arrived and it would not for another week!!!! (Im still waiting for Delta Air to pay my bills...had to buy new clothes since I didnt even have a fresh pair of socks!!)
In the hotel in San Diego I was warmly welcomed by my uncle and other cousin Thomas, who were also visiting Andi for Christmas. We celebrated a sort of traditional Christmas with a plastic tree from Walmart, Californian wine and Austrian Christmas cookies made by my aunt about 10, 000 miles away from home and it was so cool to be so far away from home and still have family around. I think it's all about this quote "home is where your heart is" because I felt sort of at home that Christmas night.
In the next two days, we checked out San Diego and the surrounding area which is really beautiful.
(I dont have many pictures anymore because I was so stupid as to lose my camera on New Year's eve. So I just post some from the internet and some of my cousin's.) But two days is way to little time to get to know a town, so I guess I have to go back there too.
Universal Studios
On the third day, we drove up to L.A. and on our way stopped in Laguna Beach. Laguna is the perfect upper-class beach town, really pretty and amazing mansions. But in my opinion, it is all a little sterile and too perfect for my taste. I like imperfections and a little randomness as these aspects make towns more memorable...
Then we spent two days in Los Angeles, the city of angels, doing the classical tourist stuff (Universal Studios - this was actually a lot of fun! and Hollywood - I couldnt find the stars of either James Dean and Marlon Brando, I was disappointed!!!) but the city did not really appeal to me for real (two days are too short to say anything anyway). First of all because without a car, you are really lost. Everyone has a car as the bus system is a little confusing and difficult to understand and the city is so vast that it might take you about 2 hours to take a bus. I made this experience...it was not so pleasant but that was due to an urgent need of sleep after the worst night in California ever...
I wanted to couchsurf (www.couchsurfing.org) in Silverlake, L.A. for a couple of days and had found a host that sounded nice as far as one can tell this from an email. My uncle and cousins brought me to his place and went to Las Vegas, I didnt want to go to Vegas with them because some days later some friends of my cousin would arrive and I'd go with them. So I stayed in L.A. with this guy.
Well, this was really weird and honestly, I was scared. He shook my hand and let me into his apartment. The first thing I noticed was the strong smell of weed. Then, the living room and kitchen were an incredible mess with tons of old dishes and cereal boxes spread all over the place. I thought it can't be that bad, I'm staying here for free, let's try some conversation. People who know me know that I talk a lot, especially when I'm nervous or insecure and so I think I totally bended the guys ears...
However, he wasn't very talkative anyway. We found a common subject, music, as he is an aspiring musician. And his stuff was good. He even wanted to bring me to a place I wanted to see, the Griffith Observatory, to see the sunset and the famous statue of James Dean....but traffic is sick in L.A., so it got dark before we even got anywhere close to it.
When we came back to his apartment, he sat down, pulled out this immense bag of weed from under the couch (where I was going to spend the night) and fixed himself a bong. He wanted to share, but I refused as I was a girl alone with an unknown guy in a huge city...no way! He then started playing computer games and totally gave up talking to me...at some point he asked me to join, I gave it a shot but he was so stoned that it wasn't much fun to play quiz games...
and when I went to the bathroom for the first time, I wanted to scream really loud!! It was one of the dirties and most fucked up bathrooms I've ever been in. The old Flex (a famous night club in Vienna) toilets were equally dirty and smelly. I just thought "I am not a princess but this is way too dirty, even for me"...so I went back to his computer that he allowed me to use and I immediately booked a bed in an all girls bedroom in a hostel in Santa Monica. Without luggage/sleeping bag and someone social who could at least comfort me a little and make up for the mess in the apartment by being social and considering that a stranger is around who might not feel so cool around a totally stoned stranger....I mean not that I am afraid of stoners, I know in most cases they are too lazy to harm someone, but still, the situation was fuckin scary for me and I just wanted to get out. I didnt sleep very much that night....
And the next day, I woke up at 8 and took my purse and my plastic bags and left the house. I left a note on the table saying that I was sorry but I didn't feel very comfortable as I was waiting for my luggage and needed some beach time...I took the next bus to downtown L.A., a pretty empty and also a slightely scary place at 8.30 in the morning, asked a women for the bus to Santa Monica, she didn't speak English, only Spanish, so made up a sentence from my rudimentary Spanish skills and she got it and told me the number and the street...I hopped on another bus and spent the next hour riding it all the way from Downtown to Santa Monica, through Beverly Hills and down Santa Monica boulevard, which is probably the longest boulevard I've ever been on...
I was so happy when I arrived in Santa Monica, checked in the hostel and almost hugged the receptionist, when she told me I could instantly get into my room...I took a shower, I felt like a bum after sleeping on the stoner couch under the stoner blanket...and my whole mood changed from miserable to relieved immediately...
The next three days I spent in this hostel and at the beach, talking to people from all over the world, in particular with one of the women in my room...an elderly lady who never told me her name, neither did I. She lives in Mexico and was visiting people in California. She told me she used to have a book store in Aspen, Colorado, and I told her that my favourite writer, Hunter S. Thompson, lived in Aspen...and she said that she has actually met him when he walked in and checked out her book store. She also met Allen Ginsberg, beat poet laureate, and meditated with him when he was giving a lecture on loving kindness and writing. She was also active in fighting cencorship in literature in the 60s and 70s. When I talked to her I realized that I would love to live a life like she did. She told me where she had traveled to, whom she had been with, what she had seen and seemed to now be perfectly happy with a small house in the mountains of Mexico. I am so happy that I met her, it was fascinating to listen to her stories!! I gave her a big bear hug when we had to say goodbye.
The day I had to leave L.A. was a good day. I was informed that my luggage had finally arrived, so I went to the airport, got my bag (in a surprisingly good condition) and met my uncle and cousin, who were leaving the US, to say goodbye. Then, my cousin Andi and me welcomed some of our friends from Austria and hit the road again...all the way to Las Vegas. The ride was not so funny since there were tons of traffic jams and I didn't get to see the desert in day light...and I wanted to see the desert by day soo badly!! :-(
After a long drive, we arrived in our hostel (no hotel in Vegas?? I didn't organize this *gg*) which was a bit of a bummer as it was not very nice compared to the one in Santa Monica. It was freezing cold and the only thing that helped was beer and then the heater eventually started working...
Next day, New year's eve, we spent sitting in the only attraction of the hostel...the hot tub, drinking beer and behaving like idiots. (I'll get pics of this!!) When we all looked like ogres, being all wrinkly from the water, we went back to our room and initiated a really wild night. At some point things got crazy, we drank these diabolical drinks called"Tilt"and "Four Loko", which are energy drinks with malt liquor, the latter has been banned in California...and I have to admit that they made everyone totally wild. We then headed for the Strip and all I remember is lights...too many people...talking to random strangers...fireworks...freezing cold...and yay, midnight...more lights and more fireworks. We also went gambling, I think I lost 20 or 30$ at the machines. My counsin's friend lost 30$ in 2 minutes at the Black Jack table!!
I really felt a little like in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas...all these people pushing you around, the lights, the carpet floors (they really are psychodelic, shiat!!)...and it was just a general information overload...we then got bored and tired and tried to get a taxi back to hostel which was an endeavor of 2 hours until we got on...the taxi driver, Willy Castro, became my friend...he originally was from Sao Paolo and so we had something to talk about. I was even able to remember my four words of Portugese and he gave me his business card which says "Will Castro, Taxi &Limosine, Free Rides to the Strip Clubs..your friendly ride in the sin city".
I collapsed into bed and woke up early next morning with a manageable hangover. Instead of relaxing, we went back to the Strip and did the crazy rollercoaster ride at the New York hotel...not the best idea with a fucked up stomach and a headache. But I survived this sick ride...it even has a loop...and it was soo fast. I love fast and wild, I love rollercoasters. (However, I wanted to puke afterwards because my stomach didn't appreciate this ignorant treatment...)
After that I had to catch a plane...one I was really looking forward too...domestic flight to my favourite city...and I was really excited.
But I think I will have to split this blog into two parts...otherwise none will finish reading or fall asleep while trying to make sense of my gibberish...
So next time you will get the rest of the story...if you are interested.
Thank you for your attention. Life is out there for all of us.
PS: Since I have arrived at home, I have problems finding the right music. I don't want to listen to the stuff I've listening to in California as it might carry me away and make me a little sad...so I listened to this record my friend Orangutanklaus recommended me by a "band" called Baths. And I quickly found a new temporary favourite song that sort of expresses my feelings towards life, love and everything...
This song is called ♥ by Baths...enjoy!
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if you are working with blogspot or any other blog/website, repost it on there and email me the link: eudorarock@yahoo.com
after 24 hours, i will randomly choose 1 person who reblogged this post and send you this 7inch for FREEEEEEEEEEEE. and i will ship internationally.
thanks so much to Brady at Brick Gun and the homies from DTM. thanks for supporting siqshit the blog. and if you wish to order this record, please do by clicking here.
And yes, I really wanna win. And I deserve to win as I was singing along their songs at their last show in Vienna....
Man, do i feel fucked up today! Just came back home from a trip to Berlin with my best friend and we had a great time. But last night i drank a little too much and i feel like i got a lobotomy while sleeping. on the way to the airport i started sweating and had to concentrate hard so that i dont puke into the taxi. i haven't been ruined like this for ages...but this has been my first holiday with my best friend since 4 years, so it's ok to feel fucked up for one day...
Berlin is an amazing city. It was the third time i went there and i frickin love it (and its inhabitants). I think it's my favourite city in Europe...i feel like i have to go and live there for a while. maybe next summer...
Every time i go there, i feel good about people. i have met so many nice, interesting, funny, charming, open-minded and creative people that im impressed. i know that might just be an tourist impression, but it doesnt matter.
it underlines the fact that life basically is about human relationships. but we tend to forget how precious relations can be. you are so used to be surrounded by people that you forget how important they are. and how much influence they can have over you. they can change your life.
i used to be a pretty negative and overly sensitive person. i still am in many ways. but i once met a wise young man who was able to change my whole perspective within a couple of hours. he said so many smart things...not to impress me, just because he listened to me and then gave me this idea of things. very simple ideas that actually now are engraved in my mind and since then i am a totally different person in many ways. and there are more people out there that do the same all the time...
im happier, i regard life as your one and only chance to make a difference and to enjoy yourself. to see the good things but also not look away from the bad things. and the most important idea is that you have to learn how to accept things. how to stop fighting against everything. i used to do that a lot and i suffered a lot. now im less attached to things/people (which doesnt mean that i dont appreciate or love them) and i stopped fighting about things i cant change.
i now accepted that my dad is not gonna change his life. he's has been on the road to ruin for years but i will never be able to change his ways. and that is alright. i have to accept the fact that i cant have influence over everything and everyone. it's alright. but that's why i also try to live my life in a way that makes me happy and try to avoid suffering as much as i can. i accepted myself and others and life the way it is and now i can enjoy things/people to the fullest.
these 4 days were all about it. i cant explain the relationship between my best friend and me. it's very strong. we constantly think the same, say the same. we mainly have the same ideas about life and we share everything. im so thankful to have a friend like her. i couldnt do without her. id do everything for her. i wished every human being had a friend like that. and not just tons of facebook friends you barely know.
the only thing that ruins my happiness is that many great people that i really appreciate do not live in vienna, not even in austria and sometimes even on a different continent. but im glad there are aeroplanes and i can see them at least sometimes.
now comes another friend and brings me food and a movie. otherwise id starve to death and feel a little sad tonight. leaving a place always makes me a little sad. but yeah, i cant change it...and it's gonna be alright tomorrow...
enjoy your fellow humans and take care....
PS: my recommandation today is a band called The Thermals. their song "Im gonna change your life" reflects what im thinking about today....i wanna change peoples' lives....i wanna give them something. something good. and i will keep doing my best....
Yes, I know, I haven't updated my blog for a while now, but I have been sooo damn busy. I worked in the hostel almost every day and I'm still working on the translation that takes a lot more time than I actually expected. But things are getting better, the hostel has closed, the season's over and none is gonna bother me with questions like "Where is the nearest supermarket?" or "Do you sell beer?". Although it was boring by times and some people were particularly annoying, I enjoyed working in the hostel. I like helping people and making them comfortable. And I know how important it is to get some good first hand information from the locals when you're travelling. I can imagine working in a hostel for a longer period...for sure not full-time because it's just so annoying to repeat the same things for 8 hours a day, but if I start studying again, maybe this is an option to afford my lifestyle...
But it's not that I am unemployed at the moment...nope! Although my Californian dream didn't work out because it seems to be impossible to get a proper US visa, I am doing really fine at the moment. I decided to finish my teacher education by doing a one year practical stage in a school...and since there is a lack of English teachers, I do not only teach the two classes you have to do for the teacher training program, but I got two more classes....so I spend my days in school...trying to grow into this new role that I've been given...from the student to the teacher. But this is not easy as you might guess...a bunch of wild teenagers can be very difficult to manage. Fortunately, I got the "she's young and seems to be cool" bonus, so so far, I have managed to handle the little brats and survive every lesson without nervous breakdowns! But yeah, this year is going to be exciting and I'm gonna let you know more about my life as a teacher in high-school...
I've also moved to a new appartment in a new district of Vienna, close to the school in which Im teaching. I love my new place although it still looks a bit "raw"...I only got a little bit furniture because I have not managed so far to bring my stuff from home to Vienna...but I think next month, my new "crib" will be fully adapted. It's a really old house and there are only 3 people living here - a very old couple and a woman in her mid-thirties. And a bunch of cats that always spy on me...
The raw state of my apartment made me a little creative...I painted this simple thing on a piece of mirror....
that's actually a nice work for me, since I am totally uncapable of drawing...I'd love to draw stuff similar to what Ralph Steadman did (just ordered this poster for my apartment...I'm so happy about it!!)
Well, Im pondering about a couple of things lately. First, it is actually great that life is in permanent transition, that nothing is permanent. Every day you can get up and try it again and things change and although sometimes you might have a hard time, better times will come for sure. I know for some hardcore pessimists among you, this might be bullshit...but honestly, if you're feeling bad all the time you have to look for a reason within yourself. And change things that make you unhappy. I have had tough periods and I always came out of it richer (in an emotional sense) and "smarter" than before...so I don't try to fall into black holes as deep as I could because I know things pass...and change. And that is great!
One problem I still have to learn how to cope with is people bitching around. I really dislike talking bad about people behind their backs. I know I sometimes do it myself, but I have tried to be more aware of what I am saying to whom and why. Some people just seem to exploit a person so that they have something to talk about and something so that they can feel better about themselves. I'm wondering if people don't experience more important things in their lives than what other people are saying or doing. Especially when it is people you don't really know or you've just heard about! People should be less judgemental in general...and bitching behing one's back is a part of this! I don't wanna preach here, but I really have difficulties grasping the sense of talking bad about someone else...what do you gain??
Well, so in this sense, one of my top ten goals is being less judgemental...especially because this will ruin my objetivity in class! If I start judging people by what I hear about them or their appearance, my evaluation would be a joke! Live and let live...stop worrying about other people...it's ourselves we should worry about...
I also got good news from the musical front. I actually made it to the rehearsal room with Anda and we cranked out some tunes that sounded really good. We have set up a couple of songs without even playing together, just by sending each other bits and pieces...if you got an Apple computer you don't even need to rehearse to write or record a song...it's weird, but it somehow works. Sure, rehearsing every week would make us a lot more productive, but still, for living in two different parts of Austria, we manage this thing very well. I only struggle with one damn song. It is crazy! I wrote the whole thing apart from the verse melody in one piece one afternoon. But I can't figure out a damn verse melody...I've tried so many, nothing satisfies me! But maybe I'm trying to hard...However, I got Anda, my captain and leader, who will, as always, figure out a solution! He's the man!
Ok, I now feel the need to go and play guitar and try my luck with the damn song again!
Leave comments or I will be sad that none cares....show me some virtual affection here guys and gals!
PS: This times I present you an Indie band I've come to like this summer. In summer, I always listen to what for me is "lighter" stuff than in winter...you might call it summer sound. And this band has been part of my summer soundtrack. They are called FOALS....I don't know anything about them. Apart from the fact that I don't like their first record. Their latest one is really cute though. It is called Total Life Forever (sweet title) and has a cover that reminded me of another album I particularly liked...
Here's the link to their single Total Life Forever....the record is one that you have to listen from the first to the last song in straight order, otherwise it loses its atmosphere...so try to enjoy the last warm sunrays with this sound.
