December 4 2007 – 27 days until new years – 20 days until Christmas (why is Christmas capitalised in the English language?) – 4 days until my 21st birthday
It actually is December. It’s not only the 1st of December but already the 4th! Where have I been the past few weeks? It all just seems to have passed me by. I actually have to look at my wonderful Mac iCal to remember what has happened the past few weeks.
I don’t even remember writing my last blog, so I will just start at the beginning of November. Thursday, November 1st, 2007 I actually found myself going to see the musical Cats at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. My friend from Switzerland called me an hour before the show and asked if I would like to join him. I made other plans for the night, but it seemed like the best opportunity to actually go see one of the most famous musicals ever made. I am not a particularly huge fan of musicals, apart from Grease and maybe Dirty Dancing – the movies, not musical shows – but I thought I should take the chance to see it.
The big question, “Did I like it? Would Cats change my views on musical theatre?” The answer is NO. Yes, it was entertaining, and yes, I can understand how some people love seeing such performances, but for me the performances are so fake and just so dishonest. Especially when they are trying to make a character look particularly cool by supporting the immensely pop tunes with rock riffs, make it the cheesiest songs I have ever heard! And then there is the constant repetition of certain tunes… It’s just not for me. But I am glad I went finally, proving that musical theatre isn’t for me.
The Cats experience is followed by a fabulous performance of the Scottish 30+ band The Glas Vegas at the Barfly. I first heard of them when I was at In The City this year, and it got to me. First I hated it, and then I loved it. And the performance proved that these guys have something extremely interesting going for them – even though they may be older than the average successful band these days and certainly don’t have the good looks for teen magazines. But something like the Rolling Stone and maybe a bit of NME would love it (if I am not mistaken, their manager is an editor at NME… what a coincidence a guy from NME introduced it at In The City…)
The weekend after was followed by 2 house parties. I made an appearance at both for an hour or so before getting a good night rest. I only remember it being a very exhausting week, because I was still recovering from In the City followed by the hectic reading week featuring 24 hours in Munich, catching up with family and friends, Otto and Travis show, finalized by 2 days in Hamburg seeing my best friend, having a drink, going shopping and seeing the doctor for the annual check-up. Back on the plane. It was a quick visit. Too quick.
Anyway. I am drifting off.
Monday, November 5, 2007 was the big bon fire night in Britain – the day the British celebrate Guy Fawkes failing miserably at blowing up the Parliament. So off we go to Sefton Park to see the 20-minute firework display. I loved it! It was a lot better than last years, but it still wasn’t as nicely co-ordinated as any German fireworks – by far. I took some great pictures which you can see here… http://www.flickr.com/photos/asvlm/
Thursday, November 8th 2007 marked the day I went to see Kate Nash. What a sweet girl. Very British. Very cute. Enjoyable. The room was filled with so many girls in flowery dresses (even though it was absolutely freezing outside!) that I stopped counting. A couple of boyfriends had to show up as well, who agreed to tag along with their girlfriend, probably because she thought it would just be such a sweet idea! And some guys actually sang along and danced with their girlfriends. How cute.
And then November 9th 2007 the big garlic mansion twins party took place at my friend’s house. It was fantastic! 7 rooms on 3 floors were filled with people, conversing, dancing, singing, eating, drinking, and friends playing live sets the whole night. Another house party must be held asap. A must.
The following week I packed my bags to go to London for a day or two – just because London is fun and a friend from Germany was in town. I was persuaded to spend the weekend on a bus, travelling the British Island. I enjoyed it so much, that I absolutely hated the day I had to get back to my regular life. The autumn depression had set in and I didn’t know what was going on anymore. Even though my very good friend Josefine came to visit me for most of the following week, the work was piling up and I did not enjoy anything anymore. It is a horrible state.
I was looking forward to my break in Germany. I flew out to Frankfurt on the 29th to see my family and friends in Frankfurt. With work still being on my mind, I managed to spend a great deal of quality time in the city I lived in for two months this summer. I enjoyed it a lot.
And there we are. December 4th 2007.
The finance exam is over and done with. There is only another 3000 words to write for my production management essay. And my birthday celebrations are all in order now. Dinner tables booked, champagne is already cooling in the fridge and the outfits are already planned. The only thing left is to get a fabulous cake for the big day. If I can find the right ingredients I will possibly make my beloved lemon birthday cake I used to always get when I was living back in Germany. We will see.
So far, so good.
PS: This have been 1020 words written. Enough now. More to come soon.
Just a quick update on any art recommendations:
Films:
The Darjeeling Ltd. – great story of 3 brothers travelling together in India. Incredibly funny. Incredibly genius. Incredibly recommendable.
Heima – Documentary on Sigur Ros new album. I haven’t seen it but heard lots about it.
The Assassination of Jesse James – 3 hours of Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. Both incredibly good looking but three hours is even too much for me. The whole story could have been told in half the time.
Music:
Jamie Lidell – English man living in Berlin. Funky stuff! It’s got a bit of a modern Prince feel to it. Just not as genius as Prince, but nothing could ever live up to the genius that is Prince.
Iron & Wine –“Boy With A Coin”. What a tune!
The John Butler Trio – “What You Want” from their 2004 album Sunrise Over Sea. Bring on the strings and melancholy!
The new Radiohead. I love it. Love it. Love it.
Re-invent: Madonna “Ray Of Light”. Absolutely fantastic album. Still.
Lenny Kravitz “Mama Said” my all-time top 5 favourite!
