Hold your breath...

Another week, another update. Seems to be the way I roll with updates lately. Probably because it gets to the weekend, and I think about doing my German homework, and all of a sudden there's a list of other things I could be doing. I'm getting so predictable in my old age!

My workweek (ha, as if I do any work!) was uneventful. German class Mon-Thurs mornings, lazing about during the afternoons. I've been doing a lot of cooking lately, just because I haven't felt that excited about what I've been eating. Hokkaido squash (pumpkin, close enough!) from the markets was definitely a highlight, because it meant that I got to eat pumpkin scones and roasted pumpkin. I've got a big tub of roasted veg in the fridge at the moment, which is definitely awesome.

So, to get to the things that are outside of the routine: firstly, on Monday afternoon I took a train to Koln. I got to my hostel, put my things down, ate my packed dinner, and went to see Polar Bear Club play at the Blue Shell. The show was good - the first band were mediocre, the second (Deny Anything, who were kinda crucial punk-hardcore) were pretty good, and got extra points for the singer's denim cutoffs with a minor threat patch, because it amused me. And, of course, Polar Bear Club were solid, and played a good mix of old and new stuff. I bought a tshirt for ten euro, not realising in the terrible light that it's navy, not black. Also discovered that it's a kids' size (I hate when bands do that for girls' shirts!) which means it's a bit of a funny shape and the sleeves are wayyy too long, but it'll be ok once I sew them into that rolled-up position. Whatever, it's only ten euro, and it helped a band whose CD I've been listening to for months, despite not having bought it. So it's a fair trade.

After the show, I went straight back to the hostel and slept. (Oh, I did get to tell PBC's singer that it was awesome to see them, and he said they might make it to Aus in Feb... I said it was too early cos I wouldn't be back. heh.) On Tuesday morning I got up at 6am and was on the train at 7:20am (pre-packed pumpkin scones for breakky!) with a coffee in hand. I made it to uni at the start of our break, and met C in the cafete - he was also showing up late. It was a struggle to stay awake for the second half of the lesson, because I don't do very well on less than 8 hours sleep.

Anyway, going to a show just made me miss Adelaide, because that was what I'd do on weekends there. It's always strange going to a show here and not knowing anyone when at home I'd be in a room full of people I know, or at least familiar faces. I sent J a message to say hi, and he told me that he had a photo of me that Md had given him sitting next to his bed. It's reassuring to know that my best friends haven't forgotten me.

So, back to the other good bits in the week. On Friday I caught the train, with bike in tow, to Muenster. I'd bought a pump at the bike shop on the way to the station, because my back wheel was kinda flat. So I started on the tyre, unscrewing the cap on the valve, and after a few seconds the middle section of the valve fell out... which meant that in the space of about 2 seconds, the entire tyre was deflated. So when M and E met me at the station, I had to explain my predicament. M agreed that the tyre was unfixable (by us, anyway) so I left it chained up near the station and we walked back to their house. I got what I paid for with that bike... ;) it was free, so really I could have left it chained in Muenster, bur then I would have felt bad about Sd arranging it for me (and probably fixing it up against after B fell off of it a few times)...

So, hanging out at M & T's house was awesome. It's so good to be able to talk to people with whom I share common interests. Not to say that people here aren't nice, but I don't have much in common with anyone. So it's good to be able to get into a proper conversation sometimes! Plus I got to try out the flying fox at their local park - though I think E and Sa made it look easier than it was, ha! I was fed delicious pasta for dinner, the cake I'd brought hadn't been squashed in my bag (which was totally what I'd anticipated happening) and I tried a delicious bio beer that I promptly forgot the name of. It was a really fun evening.

The next morning, T and I were up bright and early at 6:30am, to go to the Flohmarkt. (M was also up bright and early, albeit not voluntarily, to look after the kids!) T managed to find a bike for Sa at the second stall, which was good luck if ever I've seen it. I was tempted to splash out on a better bike and just leave mine chained up in Muenster forever but my common sense and wallet got the better of me. What I did purchase, however, was an awesome pair of roller skates, to fulfil my secret desire of getting into roller derby. Also because I've been looking for fun ways to get active. Plus they only cost 5 euro, score! Everything else I looked at seemed to cost 20 or 30, even just for shoes. T got all the bargains, but in that she didn't really buy anything for herself, getting games for the kids instead, I can't really feel jealous. Maybe I just need to start shopping at the stalls run by kids...!

Anyway, I had an absolute ball at the Flohmarkt. There were hundreds of stalls, hundreds more people, and so much cute stuff that was just great fun to look at. M and kids came down at a more normal hour, and then we went back to their place for lunch. I decided that I'm going to steal M's bike, because it was just so comfortable and easy to ride. After lunch we went on a walk around the lake that I can never remember how to spell, which was really nice... the weather was unbelievably good! I was pleased to be able to make the most of the sunshine, because it had been so rainy all week. It was like the last hurrah for the unbearably short German Summer.

Anyway, I caught the bus to the train station at about 5:40pm, which was held up for a while because of residual Flohmarkt traffic/parking. Large sections of a street were only wide enough to let traffic through in one direction, so the bus had to wait for a looong time. Anyway, I eventually made it to the Hbf, picked up my bike, and waited for a while for the train, which was all good. I was listening to my running mix and feeling like some kind of crust kid, with denim shorts and tennis shoes and books about avoiding processed food. I can't believe how easy it is to keep myself amused sometimes! Then the train was delayed for ages in Hamm, but I eventually made it back to Pb. I had risoni for dinner, because it's like pasta but faster to cook, just with some fresh herbs and veg mixed through. I hope I remember never to buy tinned artichokes from a German company ever again. They just didn't taste right. Anyway, I was in bed by 11pm, which suited me perfectly.

This morning I slept in (twenty past seven! Unbelieveable!) and taught myself to rollerskate in my room. It's safer to begin on carpet because I can't roll too far, there are no stones, and no one is watching. I'll go to the Flohmarkt at Uni next Sat to find some kneepads if I can... and I'm going to have to find a deserted carpark to visit insanely early in the morning, so I can get in some practice. I made roasted veg while I ate breakfast (well, I did the prep work - the veg roasted themselves without much help from me, actually). Beets, carrots, summer squash and baby potatoes: so cute! So there's dinner sorted, plus extras for tomorrow. This morning I finally got around to trimming my hair. I was a bit lazy and haven't thinned out the back properly yet, but I did trim the back and cut the front to eye-length. Chin-length was getting a bit ridiculous because it didn't look good and I just pulled it behind my ear all the time. I could have had a fantastic devil lock if I'd been so inclined... thankfully, I wasn't. I'm no Davey Havok.

Which reminds me, I dyed my hair mahogany last week. It's already faded considerably, which reminds me of how much of a joke "permanant" hair dye is in my hair. For four Euro though, I don't really care. I've got another box of dye that was also on special, which is just straight red, so when this goes too pink I'll put that one through, but I'm not keen to spend enough cash to maintain this colour by dyeing it as often as it needs it (every two weeks for red dye). So either I'm going to have very pink hair, or I'll change it to some respectably-fading colour. I'll decide that next time I'm at the supermarket and decide to get hair dye as an impulse purchase.

Oh, and while I remember, Sd didn't bail on Pb after all. Ra had to come back early because he couldn't find a hostel in Hamburg (as if he didn't book in advance? What the hell?) so Sd didn't go there. He was annoyed at me for telling C about how I was worried, because then C told everyone, and they all reacted like he'd lost his mind. I told him that perhaps that should tell him something, and promptly signed out of skype. I'm still angry with him, and he knows that. I can't deal with people's stupid rich-kid attitudes to their problems. My parents are sweet enough to help me out with my finances here (I saved twice as much as I'd thought possible, and I still fell short of what I needed for a year, and they helped with the rest). And honestly, I am so grateful for that. I take every chance to say thankyou, because I know how goddamn lucky I am. I have amazing parents. We don't agree on everything, and that's ok. I'm never going to be someone to complain about them when they're funding my studies, helping out with my finances, and using a medical conference as a thinly-veiled excuse to visit me... I am so lucky! :)

Ok, so, excitement aside... actually, no. I'm listening to Fascination by Alphabeat... they're not a band I get into much, but this is quite possibly the cutest pop song ever written. Pity it wasn't written 20 years ago, otherwise it'd probably be the most famous. Anyway, it's hard to sit still with a song this upbeat playing. I want to go outside for a skate, but I see that ending in scrapes and tears, so I think I'll hold off until I get some kneepads... still cautious. I turn more into my mother every day... but there are a few billion worse people to turn into, so I should be grateful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BOMhenAQcw&feature=related