Today Susi and I were talking about the new Incubus album which came out the other day, and she mentioned wanting to go to the next concert. I was thinking that I would actually like that too, and I looked up the tour dates, and they are playing Munich on March 19th. Which is - a Monday - but right during semester break. Tickets are around €30 which is a lot less than I expected and a lot more affordable. Since I want to do that internship at the DAI during the break, I have tried figuring out a way to be home in time for the concert, and I think it will work out. I will have to talk to Ingrid at the DAI first, but I am hoping to do my internship for five weeks, February 12 - March 16. Then I could go home for three weeks, and have another week to get ready for classes to start again. I really hope this will work out. After Snow Patrol canceled LU, this would be another great band I would really love to see live. (By the way, they are coming back to Germany in February, but of course not here, why do they not actually do concerts in the places that were canceled? The closest they are coming is Stuttgart which would be cool, but getting home after the concert without a car will be impossible, and staying at a hotel is not really an option either.)

The other day I saw a trailer for Shut Up & Sing, a documentary about the Dixie Chicks and their infamous statement at a London concert, and the consequences. It made me really want to see it. The thing that bugs me is, there is no release date for Germany. The thing that really bugs me is, they showed this movie at the film festival in San Sebastián, and I did not want to see it then. This is so frustrating, because I could have seen it two months ago, and I chose not to, and now that I want to see it, I can’t. I guess, this is what I get for not being able to make up my mind, huh?

Speaking of, I made up my mind, and decided to get the BtVS DVD collection. I ordered it last weekend, along with Merry Christmas and now I just have to wait until it is released next weekend. I did receive the other DVD already, though. I am really excited, although the amount of money I am spending is still making me cringe on the inside. I mentioned this (that I ordered the DVDs) to my dad the other day, and he just said, “oh that’s horrible, I don’t want to hear any more”. That’s my dad for you. Kind of comical, isn’t he?

And another speaking of, I have been wanting to replace my mp3 player. That is, get a smaller one. I would not be getting rid of my current one, probably use it on longer trips, but get a new one for everyday bus rides and such. And I was looking at the Sandisk Sansa e270, which looks great to me, however a few things bug me: the navigation does not seem that great (judging from reviews), and since I have not found a single store that had this one in stock, I have not been able to take a look at it myself. It sells for €149 at Amazon.de and the storage space is 6GB (however you can add another 1 or 2GB by inserting a microSD card). Now the new iPod Nano came out. It sells for €188.90 at Amazon.de and the storage is 4GB. Aside from the obvious that the Sansa has more space and is cheaper by a good €40, the main thing that bugs me about the iPod is the battery. I have heard a lot of bad things about the iPod battery, and the fact that you have to send it in to have it exchanged which will cost you around €80 does not help. Since the new generation was just released, I will not be able to find any reviews on the battery life. The iPod also only comes with a 1 year warranty, which may be standard in the US, but here a 2 year warranty actually is what you usually get. However, the iPod’s navigation seems really good, and it is an iPod. I try really hard not to fall for the brand concept, but it is hard. Everyone wants an iPod, everyone has an iPod. People pay a lot just for the name. I really don’t know what to do about this. I will probably not get a new one before the end of the year (or the beginning of the next, however the Mehrwertsteuererhöhung (sales tax on non-food/book is raised by 3% to 19% on 01/01/07) is making me think I should get it before January 1st), so I have some time to decide, but it is bugging me a little. If any of you have any input, let me know.

Now on to real - not hypothetical - news. Sunday a week ago I met up with Caty. We met in the afternoon for coffee at Starbucks, and we really had a good time. I had thought we would probably meet for a few hours. Well, we actually hung out a lot longer. After spending a couple of hours at Starbucks (one hour with a weirdo sitting at our table… he was probably mentally handicapped, but he really was a bit creepy, he kept mumbling to himself, we were more than relieved when he left), we went to Caty’s place. Turns out she lives really close to me (10 minutes/5 stops on the bus) and we just hung out there until around 2300, chatting and surfing the internet. It was a lot of fun (the picture is proof), and we will definitely hang out more often now. Yay for making new friends who live so close by.

Thursday was the thanksgiving dinner as I mentioned before, and the food was great. I had turkey (duh!), stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, corn on the cob, and pumpkin pie. We should introduce this holiday in Germany, and preferably celebrate it once every season. I love Thanksgiving (food)! One of my professors was invited to the dinner too, since he is the AmLit professor at the English department. He is actually the one I want to write my thesis with and who I want to be my examiner at the end of my studies in two years. He is a cool guy, but can I say how glad I was he did not sit at my table? I was glad I could just have a nice, relaxing dinner and be myself, not having to impress anyone. We just waved at each other, and that is it. His class is good, but so much to read. I have read three books so far, am in the middle of the fourth, and have another four to go (two of which I do not even have yet). Anyway, on the right is a picture of Nate (my language partner and fellow Grey’s watcher) and me.

Other than that, this week has not been that exciting. I worked on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (15 hours total, not that bad, and it means more money so I don’t mind at all). Tomorrow I have an Italian exam, a fact I have so far successfully ignored this weekend, but since it is 1930 now, I should probably start studying. I also have a 1-2 page summary paper to write by midnight. Of a book I read in August. Needless to say, I first have to refresh my memory as to what exactly happened in the book.

Speaking of reading, I borrowed a book from Caty and I already finished it: PS, I Love You by Cecilia Ahern. An easy, fun read, but nothing special, and very predictable. I enjoyed it, though, and I think the fact that I finished it within two days speaks for itself. Now I am reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and I really like it so far. Unusual and interesting, a good book.

Anyway, I better get back to doing laundry, and get started on studying and homework before it gets too late.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 26th, 2006 at 19:31 and is filed under Books, Friends, Life, Movies & TV, Music & Concerts, Photo, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.