Slapped actress.

So, I'm in bed and about ready to go to sleep... how incredibly lame, I know. But I feel that I'm entitled to tiredness. I could explain why now, but let's start this in chronological.

Thursday was German class, then I had lunch with F and a few friends in the Mensa. After that, I went home, then to the city to buy a couple of things and withdraw some cash. In the packing of bags I forgot my camera, which I was kicking myself about later. I only worked that out an hour into the journey to Munster, so there was no way I could turn back. Sigh. Anyway, I checked into the hostel, then went to the show. I got told I was in my room by myself but someone else (man or woman? who knows!) was in there after I got back from the show. Anyway, to the show.

The first band (no idea what they were called) were pretty entertaining, almost hillbilly stuff. A few songs with banjo, the most basic snare/hi-hat setup you've seen, double bass, guitar. One song was definitely about beards (I recognised "baard" and "rasieren" as vital parts of the lyrics) but otherwise the German was much too fast and complex for me. After that I went to the merch stand to get the latest MbD album, which came out last month, and I got a tshirt too. I got talking to their tour guy and he said I should stick around later. Anyway, I went to the front when MbD started. They were seriously amazing - the sound was great, and the cellist had a dress and cowboy boots that I desperately wanted to steal. Except that they looked better on her, because she's much prettier than I am. No matter, I still wanted them.

Anyway, they played a mix of old and new - I heard Brother and Sometimes the line walks you. So really, I was satisfied. The crowd loved it, and kept cheering for more, and the crowd were calling out for songs - I yelled 'Shiola!' and Adam said something about people always requesting it. However, as a second encore, Adam came back onstage solo, and played Shiola. So I was pretty excited, and sang along at the top of my lungs. Beautiful moments in strange cities. :)

After the show I waited around a bit for people to filter out, then just hang out chatting to N for a while. Everyone (band) was packing up gear and then hanging around outside, talking, and I was happy to be a part of that. Plus N gave me a beer for free, what a champ. He said I should go to the Mbd/ El Bronx / Gogol Bordello show in Amsterdam on June 2, and I said I might. It was just really nice to speak to native-speakers; to talk as fast as I liked, to discuss the American army and make coat-hanger abortion comments, and to be perfectly understood. I had a great time, and N and I made plans to friend on Fb. At about 2am I headed back to the hostel, and got some sleep.

At 6:3o am I got up, showered and dressed, and caught the 7:10am train back to Pb. I saw Mg in the station - he was going to his placement school to say goodbye. He's a sweetheart, I wish he wasn't leaving. I sat with him and Ve and some others in the cafe the other day, speaking German, and it was great fun. It was even more fun because S opted to go back to the classroom and sit there rather than sit with some man she didn't know. I like it best when she's not there. She really does drive me nuts. I'll be glad when the class has more people, next term, so that I can talk to other people, ones who actually try to string sentences together.

Bitching aside, I wasn't too late for class - about half an hour. I stopped in the cafe on the way to class to get a coffee and two rolls for breakfast, and then spent the Pause catching up on the things I'd missed that morning. I was really exhausted - I hope O wasn't too annoyed with me. Anyway, I had a quiet afternoon, and was happy to go to bed at a ridiculously early hour. Especially because I had to rise at a ridiculously early hour on Saturday, for the Eurobiz trip to Bremen. 5:45am, to be precise.

We met at the station at 6:45am for the 7:15 train... ok, I confess, I deliberately showed up at 7am. So sue me, I don't want to wait for half an hour. Anyway, V and his visiting friend were there, and Sd came too. So we hung out as a group of 4 for most of the day. The train ride there was amusing, and the guided tour once we got there was also amusing - the tour guide was great. The only problem was that we didn't have time to take many photos, so a lot of mine are rushed or a little crooked. Oh well. After the tour we had free time for lunch - we ate at Nordsee, then got beers and sat by the river and chilled for half an hour. That was pretty nice. I talked to Sd a lot that day - in German too, so I was impressed with myself. He's not as weird as I originally thought.

After lunch we met up for a boat tour along the river - it was a waste of time, admittedly. I think they should have told us that a) there's nothing to see outside the immediate city, and b) all the commentary will be in rapid german. I was quite tired and spent a lot of time sitting on the floor, because my feet and knees were sore. Anyway, after the boat tour we had to head straight back to the train station, because we didn't have time to do anything else.

When we were back in Pb, we caught the bus to Sudring and went shopping in Real, for food for dinner. I got a ride home in the trolley, too! It was cramped and bumpy but really good fun. In V's apartment, we had to wait until his housemates were out of the kitchen before we could use it. So I got to watch the last 5 songs of Eurovision! That included the German entry, by Lena, which was a standard pop song ripping off Sophie Ellis Bextor. She sang kinda badly but is a cute kid, so fair enough. She won, anyway. So, Sd cooked dinner and we all ate it ravenously. I was so starving... I was in the kitchen while Sd was cooking so that I could snack on the salad as it was being made, etc. Anyway, it was simple but fine, loaded with salt and olive oil (always a winner in my book) and now I can say I've eaten food that was most definitely made by Turkish people. Because honestly, I have no idea if the people who have made the various Turkish late-night snacks I've eaten are actually Turkish. It's not like I can tell by looking. I know one place was Armenian, even. Anyway, whatever.

We didn't finish with dinner until about midnight, and at about half-past I left. V and his friend were going out, because she's only in Pb for a couple of days, so fair enough. I was exhausted, and glad to entertain the prospect of sleep. Sorry, Eurovision party, but Bremen got in the way. Anyway, after a slow walk home, and other things, I did finally get to go to bed, and even get some sleep. It wasn't a bad night, really, but it does remind me about certain stereotypes.

Anyway, I had a late morning. L had had some friends stay the night before so I had to wait until the bathroom was free before I could use it, which very nearly killed me. Anyway, I was really pleased when they finally went out. I had a shower and ate leftovers for lunch and had two coffees. Sat on the internet for most of the day, booked a train ticket from Prague back to Pb for the end of my holiday, and talked to Mi about what we'll do in Czech rep. Should be fun!

I had fruit and yoghurt and oats for lazy dinner. Now, it's finally getting darker outside, so I think I can give up on staying awake. K and E invited me to hang out, and so did A actually, but I'm just too tired for any of it. I did my German homework without understanding any of it, so I'll need to ask about that tomorrow. Oh, and I left a message for N on fb, saying that the show had sold out. He said that he could get me in if I wanted to come... I'm so thinking about it. It's a lot of hassle, but it'll be an awesome show and I could talk to more nice people. Sigh. I'll decide tomorrow.

Some folks die too young and some die too old.

This is just because I'm lame.

Also, I realise I'd forgotten to post photos of Wewelsburg. I've been booking things for my trip to Poland, and planning visits to a few concentration camps also. I've been thinking about seeing Dachau and Terezin (Theresienstadt) in 2006. So depressing.

Wewelsburg Castle.

Bridge to Main entrance.

Purple Triangle - is that Jehova's Witnesses? I forget.

I love seeing the failed plans of the Nazis. I don't love the plans, of course, I just love that they failed.

But secretly, they also have some solid propaganda going on.

Castle from outside. Note the triangular shape; it's the only one shaped thus in Europe. Interesting, ne?

i teach him manners, and how to stick up for himself when things get bad.

Koln Dom, late at night.

Dom again.

The Bronx.

The Bronx.

Preacher Man.

Bronx.

Bronx.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists.

Ted Leo.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists.

Shiola. shiola, will all be forgiven? Am I strong enough to start again?

So, tomorrow night I'm going to see Murder by Death play in Muenster. Needless to say, I'm excited, and expect it to be an awesome show. I only hope they play the songs I want to hear, which are unfortunately from an album released four years ago. I have my fingers firmly crossed.

So, it's been a while since I last wrote. Things have been getting a little hectic, but admittedly, I was just lazy this last week. When life is too busy, I like to take a little time to myself, and that was precisely what I was doing last week. So how on earth do I remember what I was doing three weeks ago? Well, chances are, I don't. But I'm stupid enough to try, anyway.

So, Monday, 10th May. I had uni in the morning, and then I spent the afternoon baking treats for the Eastern European evening that Mi was organising. Then I helped set up in the Eurobiz Office. The night was a lot of fun, and it all went really well, so I was pleased for Mi. She'd organised a system where everyone attending had an envelope on the wall, and people could leave messages for their friends, etc... I got some very cute ones. I think my favourite was an anonymous one that said, "You look as sweet as your cookies." I'm not sure if I'd like it more or less if I knew who wrote it - I suppose that depends entirely on the author. Anyway, I was exhausted and went home around midnight.

The next day, I somehow managed to stay awake through German class. I went home afterwards and had a sleep, and that evening I went swimming with D. He's not much of a swimmer, but it was nice to go for a dip. I was still absolutely exhausted, and as such, was feeling pretty lethargic and quiet. So I declined dinner in favour of going home and sleeping. I felt bad, but in retrospect, it was a wise move. I'm not pleasant when I'm exhausted.

Wed 12 May I had uni, same as always. I played table soccer with Ka, A and Mi that night - what a great team of girls! We went to Sappho because the English pub was charging for entry, which meant that we actually had to pay for the table soccer, but it was only E0.50, so we all scrounged for change. Good times!

Thursday was a public holiday. I wasn't going on the Vaterstag tour because honestly, several hours of walking and more drinking and no public toilets isn't exactly my cup of tea. I was still tired. So I think I just had a pretty quiet day. No idea, really. Keine ahnung.

On Friday I had German, then I had lunch and quickly went to the shops for some food. I made sandwiches and bought lollies, then caught the train to Koln. When I got off, not entirely sure where I was going, some kid asked me for directions to Gebaude 9, which is where I was headed. So I ended up walking there with them, which was kinda cool. Some kid finishing his beer out the front gave me a swig, which is definitely working in the spirit of punk rock. So I went in as Mariachi El Bronx started, and they were amazing. So good I bought a t-shirt. I had a couple of beers, saw a local band called Paraquat, and then saw the Bronx. And honestly, it was one of the best shows I've seen. Some kid got KO'd in the first 30 seconds... but after that, everyone was just dancing and having fun. I screamed my throat raw and danced my ass off. Must have looked like a complete tard, judging from the couple of Fb photos I got tagged in, but I don't care. It was amazing.

Not so amazing was waiting for four and a half hours for the train home. It left Koln at 3:20am... I took some photos of the Dom from the outside and wandered a little in the old town, but honestly I was just tired and cold. So I was pleased to finally get on the train. Some kids who had been at the show were sitting across from me, off their fucking faces - maybe just drunk, but who knows. One of them had a quiet vom into the bin. I was pleased when they got off before me. I had a couple of transfers and finally got home at 7am. Went straight to bed, and slept until about 1pm.

Saturday, 15 May. I got up, showered, and chilled out for a while. Made some more food (hello, sandwich) and caught a train to Muenster. Got there at about 8pm, and found my hostel. The hostel was just one floor of a building, very small, but the woman working there was incredibly friendly and I was really pleased with the hostel itself. Which is why I'm sleeping there again tomorrow night after the Murder by Death show, but I'll get to that eventually.

So, at 9pm I walked to Gleis 22. Cute little bar. Had a Radler (try anything once - I guess I liked it, but prefer my beer to taste like beer, not lemons) and watched Von Dort, the local band. They reminded me of Dinosaur Junior, which was good. The frontman put me off a little bit, though - I guess mostly I didn't like the vocals, but also it was just a bit awkward at times. Oh well. I stood next to Ted Leo for a few songs, so really, I was too busy trying not to start gushing to him about how much I love him.

Between bands I bought a Ted Leo & The Pharmacists tshirt, and their new CD, which has gotten a few listens. It's good, but I don't love it like I do with the old stuff. Oh well. Their merch guy was lovely and picked the Australian accent. Anyway, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists were amazing. I had high standards and I was still blown away. They played this tiny room, and it wasn't even crowded, and it was still an incredible show. And they were funny! I heard all of the songs I needed to hear, plus a bunch of new ones and some old stuff - it was a good mix. I have the setlist on my wall, not too far from the Bronx setlist... it was a productive weekend for souvenirs.

After the show, I told the drummer how amazing it was to finally see them, and baed for the hostel. Went to bed, was tired, and managed to get a pretty good sleep. But I did wake very early, and after waking again a few times, I eventually just got up at 7am, despite the fact it was Sunday, and I didn't need to be anywhere in a hurry. I had the free hostel breakfast (Toast and jam, coffee, tea) and caught the train back to Pb. I can't remember what I did on Sunday. Probably my laundry - Sunday is nearly always laundry day.

Monday, I had class as per usual. Then Mensa lunch with Mi and V and a few others, which was good fun. That night was Mi's farewell, because she was going home to Cz on Tuesday. I think she was disappointed in me because I declined the tequila shot, but I could never have stomached it. Such an unhealthy weekend. (I didn't tell you about the entire packet of lollies that I ate in the Koln train station between 1am and 3am. Or a few extra beers, but whatever).

The farewell was at the Irish Pub, because it was an easy location and our favourite table soccer location. Mi picked me up on the way into the city and we met her friend there, and I can't remember his name, but he was lovely. Anyway, everyone else showed up eventually, and it was a good night. Mi and I had a sad farewell outside, and regretted that we'd only just become friends. But she's already booked a trip back, so all is well! We'll have fun again. No one else dances with me in my kitchen with the Distillers blaring while I sing at the top of my lungs, and then tells everyone they know that they love my voice. Sweet thing. Plus no one else noticed when at lunch, C didn't even look at me or say a word. But Mi noticed. I like that. I've just started to ignore him back. If I'm a ghost, then so is he.

Anyway, on Tuesday I ran into Mi again at uni, and we met later for a final Mensa lunch. Sad times. No idea what I did any nights last week, so don't ask. Wednesday I had extra German after lunch and didn't get home until 4:30pm. That meant another Mensa lunch with V and some others, which is entertaining, but the food is so terrible. I'm a bit sick of their salad. Speaking of food, lately I'm on a mission to eat more healthily. This means cutting out more processed food and eating more raw stuff. I'm starting, but it's a matter of striking a balance and eating the proper amount, too. I always overeat. Anyway, I have a fridge full of veggies, which is always good.

Thursday and Friday were German class, and other than that, I really have no idea. Saturday night was a party at AF's flat, and I was well-armed with Gin & Tonic. Cl and I spent the better part of the evening singing, using the guitar of someone else who lived there... suspect it was another D, but I could be wrong. Anyway, we decided we're going to play together sometime, and work out some songs. Summertime (jazz standard) was a bit favourite. And she can play trumpet. Amazing. Anyway, hopefully that'll happen this coming Sunday.

Sunday I slept in really late. That evening was a BBQ with J and friends at the Paderwiesen. The weather was sunny and warm, so I was able to wear a skirt for once. I was so happy to be in the sunshine! Also happy that my food was cooked first, because the single-use grill they'd brought wasn't hot enough for long enough to cook everyone's food. We played cards afterwards, and I wasn't losing, which is always nice. It was light until about 10pm, which is when we packed up. J told me that in Summer it stays bright until midnight. Jesus, that's not going to be nice, when I have to go to sleep at 10:30 so that I can get up at 6:30 for the German course.

Anyway, on Monday it was a public holiday. I lazed about and did my laundry, and my German homework. I can't really remember much else. I was pleased to have such a relaxing day. My room is once again looking like a Chinese laundry, because I have bed sheets hanging up on the line strung between the window and the unused bedframe. It's kinda amusing, really. Anyway, yesterday was German course again, and the exam is getting nearer... I'm getting more nervous. But I was pleased that I got 19/20 for the last listening comprehension. I hope the exam is so easy! But I know it won't be. I won't fail, but I'd like to do well, so I really need to do some more work. Plus we're still learning new grammar. Ugh.

Highlight of yesterday was running into M2 in the cafete, and having good conversations with nice people. Also that S wouldn't sit next to me while I was sitting with a man, so I didn't have to put up with her dead-weight broken German. At least I try to string a sentence together, and even if it's terrible gramatically, at least I've tried. I wish I could say the same for her. I freaked out a little last week when we were learning komparitiv and superlativ, and she said I was her best friend. I can see why she's isolated here, if she won't even sit at a table with men at it. But she latches onto me sometimes and it gets on my nerves, so I guess I'm finally cracking the shits with being sympathetic. I have no sympathy for people who don't try.

Anyway, today was German again. I sat downstairs with the boys in the pub, and S declined to come, so I was quite pleased. It was much better conversation. I had lunch in the Mensa with F and then tandem with Ka - it was her turn, so I took my Australian roadmap and talked a little bit about the country, and then taught her how to swear a little better. In my defense, I also taught her words like "hydroponic", and that she should never say "ain't", but you'll probably only remember that I taughed her that "beating the shit out of someone" means bashing them up.

This morning was sunny, but now it's cold and rainy. I only hope tomorrow night is better. Anyway, I'm a little hungry, so I'm going to snack on something and do my homework. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with F and friends, and then the show in Muenster. I'd better check train times. I'm nervous and excited already.

Oh, and I need to write a few people back on Fb. K finally responded to my sms sent a few days ago... granted, I never replied to the last one, but I realised that he's just vain and untags himself from any unflattering photo. Whatever, it's not my problem. Anyway, maybe dinner next week. And A has replied to a message I sent to ask whether she's going to the Eurovision Party in the Eurobiz office next week... I don't have a tv, so I'm totally excited that I can watch it there. Should be great fun.

Everybody used to call you Lucky.

I take back what I said about the coffee - S beat me to it. She's awesome. I've been hanging out at home and watching Whip It, which I secretly love, even though it's cheesy. Makes me wish I hadn't donated those roller skates to Goodwill... but let's face it, I'm slow and I have poor balance, so it's not a sport that I'm cut out for, anyway. But hey, I'm a dreamer... why not just add that to my list of unrealistic future achievements?

The party on Friday night wasn't too bad. Baking with Mi was much more fun, actually. We made sweet treats, and then talked about music and shared bands. Then we danced in my kitchen to The Bronx and I sang at the top of my lungs to the Distillers, and she decided that she was going to be my manager. I decided I'm going to be a rock star, hahaha. But of course I decided that when I was a child, and it's still on top of the aforementioned list. I talked with C briefly, and decided he's still doing my best to avoid me, for which I plan on doing my best to make him feel awkward. Might be entertaining. Ch was thankful that we made snacks, we talked to some nice people, and I caught the bus home with A. C was on the bus and didn't even say goodbye, so I guess it's pretty clear that I'm no longer a welcome friend. I thought I was being nice by offering a sofa bed to someone who was too trashed to ride their bike home. Whatever.

Speaking of no longer being a welcome friend - I noticed that K has untagged himself from a whole bunch of photos on facebook. So I guess he doesn't want to be seen with me. Which consequently means he's not a real friend, because honestly, none of my real friends are embarassed to be in a photo with me. I was so annoyed - and, admittedly, pretty hurt. But now I realise that it's just not worth getting pissed off about things on the internet, and he can go to hell if he thinks I'm going to make any effort on his behalf. I'm sick of trying to be nice to people who are jerks in return. Mi was a supportive friend and sent me a text to say that everything would be ok, because I sent her a message to have a rant about it. But I'm over it - photos aren't important. I'm just going to be much too busy to cook dinner this week while I think about whether or not I'm going to say anything. I generally prefer passive-aggressive, lame as that is, so perhaps he'll notice I've gone cold. Perhaps not.

Anyway, on Saturday I was feeling a little seedy. I met the excursion group at the train station - Mi had breakfast there, but I had eaten at home. We caught the bus from there, and I felt quite ill and did my best to distract myself. The tour of Wewelsburg was fine, albeit rather long and it went over a lot of information that I would have thought was blindingly obvious to all. Evidently not, because one student asked about gas chambers, and I nearly died of frustration. We were able to watch a film about the concentration camp and the SS use of the castle while we waited for the other group to finish... but the Eurobiz group leader took us out of the film to meet the other group without checking whether or not they'd arrived yet. So we waited in the lobby for three quarters of an hour. I'd have thought that he could have checked so that we could have continued watching the testimonials, which I thought was the best part of the tour, but evidently not... oh well. The bus home was long and tedious, because Ma was being a completely dick and Mi was trying to explain to him that he was, albeit in the politest possible way. I intervened a couple of times.

At the train station, we were waiting for the other Ma to catch her train, so we had snacks and hot drinks at the cafe. I was quietly wishing that the original Ma would just leave, but he continued to stick around. I nearly punched him when he said that feminism was a bad idea, but thankfully no one continued that conversation, so I didn't have to get too angry on a personal level. I just felt bad for Mi, because she's organising the Eastern European party tomorrow and it seems like she hasn't been getting help from anyone else. So, my fingers are crossed for her, and I'll bake some cookies tomorrow and do my best to help out. We've decided that I'll pretend to be Russian for the evening.

Mi and Ma walked back with me to my house, and Mi and I ran upstairs so that she could collect the food and coloured paper that she'd left behind on Friday. I had a quiet night and went to bed early, which was definitely what I needed. Today I got up at 8:15, though I should have gotten up when my alarm went off so that I could get some sleep. I've done the most half-assed job of my German homework, it's embarassing that I couldn't pay attention to it. I'm so sick of learning German already, but hopefully this is just getting past the pain barrier, and then it'll be ok. I'm supposed to return E's guitar tomorrow and I've barely played it. I'm such a loser.

I talked to my parents on Skype today, which was nice. Mi and I went for coffee this morning before she started work on her internship stuff, and it was good to sit down and really chat. I wish she wasn't leaving in a week... I'm going to be lost without her. She's definitely become my closest friend here, and the only one who understands some of my music. Anyway, I downloaded movies and spent the afternoon on the internet, and now I should go to bed so that I'm not moody in German class tomorrow. We'll see.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that D called this evening, wanting to hang out and drink some wine. I swear he's obsessed with drinking wine. Anyway, I declined, because I was feeling antisocial. I couldn't stand his excessive cheerfulness - he's definitely much too chirpy for me to handle for long periods of time, and certainly not when I'm sulking. We're going swimming on Tuesday, that's enough. So, I'll wait for either L or his girlfriend to get out of the bathroom, and then I'm going to bed.

I've got your name tattooed inside of my heart.

This is the main shopping street in Pb.

This is the Rathaus.

And this, cobbled paving, is totally pretty but a pain in the ass to walk on.
Even in sneakers.

There's no more room for love, and then the lights go...

So, another week has passed, and this one was considerably better than the last. Definitely a relief. So, I'll recount that little which I can remember, beginning with last Friday night. Following my desire to go out, I went to Mi's house. Ka was already there, armed with a bottle of terrible wine, which I was only too pleased to drink. (On a side note, it's getting confusing using initials for people, seeing as how everyone's names start with the same damn letters...)

We went into town quite late, going to Markandu, where I ran into some people I knew - V was there but I didn't really talk to him, and I danced with C for a while. I was pretty drunk - Mi and Ka left before I did, because they had the sensible plan of going to Dortmund the next day. I, however, am not half so sensible. Stayed out quiiiite late, and then walked with C back to my house, because he was much too drunk to ride home. I figured that I had the sofa bed, which he could stay on. He was much too drunk to handle English, also. Anyway, shortly after arriving at my house, he started feeling sick... shortly later, after throwing up in my garden, he was sober enough to walk back to Markandu to collect his bicycle. I walked him there, which I don't think he was terribly happy about (being embarassed enough already) but I wanted to make sure he made it there in one piece. And then he insisted on walking me back home, which was unnecessary, but nice anyway. I would have preferred that he'd just gone home, because clearly he was feeling pretty unwell, and gave me a lot of apologies. Silly boy.

Anyway, the next day I woke up much too late (after sleeping very badly) to attend the Reggae walk for dancing in the May... which was okay by me, really. I wasn't feeling a hundred percent after such a large evening. Coffee and plain food got me through the early afternoon. I got a call from D, who was interested in going swimming, but the pool was closed. He had a car for the weekend so we went to Lippersee and sat on the German idea of a "beach". I'll explain, for the uneducated: a few tonnes of sand dumped on the edge of a lake for people to sit on, except that usually they're fenced off and people pay entry. However, D and I were feeling sneaky, and took the opportunity when we found an open side gate. The sand was full of bits of tree, and the weather wasn't as warm as we might have liked, but D bought me an iceblock, so I wasn't going to complain! He was also armed with wine, but I didn't feel like drinking... my liver was still processing the remnants of the previous night's efforts.

Afterwards, we went driving for a while, and eventually came back to my house for dinner. It was a public holiday, so nothing was open, and I had more food. I made pasta with a variety of leftovers, and we did actually break into the wine, which was really good. Lazed around and watched stuff on youtube, me trying to explain how I'm trying to stay out of trouble here, until D left. I went straight to bed - I was asleep by 10pm, and I didn't wake up until 9am, which is a pretty epic sleep. I felt much better, though, and awoke feeling happy and energetic. Mi got in touch and we went swimming - we tried to go to the Sauna, but apparently one must be naked, and Mi's towel was too small, so we got a refund from an incredibly irritated employee at the front desk. The customer service in this country is nothing short of atrocious. So, after going in and out three times, much to our embarassment and the anger of this woman, to empty our lockers and get different coloured tokens to go back in and reclaim the same lockers, we were pleased just to swim for a while and laugh it off. It's still a running joke for us.

So, Monday I had German class. However, Friday's class was cancelled, but that didn't happen until Thursday, so I think I'm getting ahead of myself there. Monday night was the French party in the Eurobiz office. I attended, but didn't have much fun, and felt like C was ignoring me somewhat. Or rather, he didn't seem to want to talk to me. I figured it had something to do with the embarassment of Friday night, but I'm still not sure. Anyway, I was pleased to finally leave when Mi left after her courtesy visit, and caught the bus home.

Tuesday was class, and that night L had people over for his birthday, but I was feeling antisocial and didn't leave my room all night. The idea of doing so actually terrified me, I just didn't feel like talking to anyone. So I hid, and did my German homework, which was more difficult than usual. Wednesday was also class, and I went over to K's house for dinner on Wednesday night. He made some kind of one-pot thing, and we watched some Heroes, which is always awesome. I didn't leave too late, but still couldn't sleep very well. So I was tired for class on Thursday. I found out that Friday's class was cancelled, because the 4 guys were going to Berlin, and S wasn't coming either. So it would have been me alone, which was probably rather pointless. Had I known earlier, I wouldn't have signed up for the excursion to Wewelsburg tomorrow, and spent the weekend in Koln or something instead. Oh well.

Anyway, I walked home in the rain (the weather this week has been wintery and awful) carrying E's guitar, which he has graciously let me borrow. Talked to G as I was leaving uni, and he said I should go over his old house on Sunday for the communal jam session, but I feel a little strange about showing up and might check with C that it's ok. So, we'll see... I don't know. Anyway, last night I went to the Auld Triangle (yes, Irish pub, as frequented by the British soldiers stationed here) with A, Mi and Ka. We played table soccer and had a great time, and bailed about midnight. It was a really good, really funny evening, and I hope there will be more. Mi agreed to come help me bake cookies before the party tonight, because it's at Ch's house and I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. So this is a peace offering, so that I can hang out at his party and talk to my friends without feeling unwelcome. We'll see how it works out.

Anyway, today I've done sweet fuck all. Talked to J for a while, and we talked about what had happened with our relationship so long ago, and how we're emotionally retarded, and how we understand each other like no one else can. I got pretty sad thinking about it all; about how I threw in the best thing I ever had because I wasn't ready to settle down. I'm still not ready to settle down, but it's so nice to know that I still have the best friend in the world there for me when I need to talk.

I'd better go to buy some coffee... no one else in this house is going to.