I may tarry a while...

"If I'm late, don't wait

Go home without me

I may tarry a while

'Cause I need to know

Before I go :

How come the devil smiles"

I have not been writing here in forever, and I'm kind of missing my blog. Actually, I think what I'm missing is inspiration. And I mean that as in "I miss you" not as in "there's no coffee left" (I am making very little sense, and hope that you can read my mind...)

In any case, part of the things I do when I want inspiration is I go for a walk. Nothing new, of course, but walking tends to help me think clearer. Or maybe not clearer, but in a more focused manner.

So this summer, in order to look for inspiration, I've been going for walks in the night. Yeah, because I'm too cool for school, and walking during the day is so yesterday. Actually, here is a list of 5 good reasons to go have a nice walk by night, especially if you live in Cologne.

1. It prevents you from being reduced to a smouldering mess on the pavement. After a long, hot day of summer, when it's time to go to bed, but you don't want to get between the sheets because they're going to be sticky and you'll be too warm, just turn all the lights off, open the window very wide, put on a t-shirt, and walk off for an hour. Things will be much better when you come back (supposedly. Sometimes, a giant moth may decide to settle in while you're away, and then you'll have to chase it through the room, which will help you build out a nice little sweat, and then you're doomed to go back and have another little walk.)

2. There's no better opportunity to pretend you're a ninja fighter. Or a medieval princess. Or a gothic vampire warrior. Or a drug dealer. No one's on the streets, and you can just go ahead and be whatever you like. Depending on what your MP3 player decided to choose. (Respectively the Kung Fu Panda soundtrack, Emily Portman, weird techno stuff roommate N gave me or the "The Wire" soundtrack).

3. There's no better opportunity to be cheesy. If you're alone. Because in fact, it's not a necessary condition. Sometimes, going for a walk at night WITH someone is even cooler. But if that option's out, then you can go alone and have the cheeziest thoughts ever. You know, some of the thoughts when you're convinced you've found some Sacred Snippet of Truth. Actually, you've forgotten all about them by the time you reach your front door again, but still, it's nice.

4. It's cheap and romantic. It's actually not romantic at all, it's just walking in the night, but then you can claim that you "like to take long walks in the night". Kind of like "I'm writing a novel actually" or something. And it's sport without being sport, as well, which is wonderful. Ok, it's not sport at all, but calory-wise, it's still better than to sit on my couch, I guess.

5. It gets you acquainted with your neighbourhood in a very different way. It's in the dark, and there's no one around, so if you like you can stop and have a closer look at the grafiti, or maybe even stop and READ them (in my neighbourhood in Cologne, we've got a crazy person writing whole political pamphlets on the walls... Very strange. I don't understand anything, I just wonder where the guy came from, because he seems to know what he's talking about. I'd bet on a rogue European MP, driven mad by a 5 hours meeting on the correct length of shoe laces.) I'd say "you can stop in your tracks and look at the stars" as well, only I tried that the other day, and it turns out there actually was someone on the street and he stared at me like I was nuts (some people just don't get cheaply romantic, do they??)

Anyway. It's time for me to get back to my vocab list for my contract tomorrow (which, as it turns out, is much cooler than I expected it to be, so life's good). Have a nice night, and sweet dreams, reader!

Sh'PAM! PAM! PAM! Another one bites the dust!

Today, because I am, somehow, for no apparent reason, in a martial mood, I shall write a post about songs that I'd listen to if on my way to a battle. It's actually partially inspired by Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman (whom I love)... in the book he says that each of us is born with his or her very own song, and all you need to do is find it. Then he writes about a lady and says :

"Take Daisy, for example. Her song, which has been somewhere in the back of her head for most of her life, had a reassuring, marching sort of beat, and words that were about protecting the weak, and it had a chorus that began "Evildoers beware!" and was thus much too silly ever to be sung out loud."

I find the idea so amazingly cool, and I wish I had exactly that song in the back of my head, that's the type of person I'd like to be, I think, a little bit. It's probably one of these leftover things from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In any case, I don't. I think my song is about marshmallows and puffy blankets. That's fate for you.

In any case: I like the idea of a marching sort of beat to lead you through life's daily battles (like ordering coffee at Starbucks in German and getting the English accent on the right words. Bringing yourself to talk about something really important. Getting that stupid paperwork done. Getting out of bed. You know what I mean...)

So here are 5 songs that I think are good battle-fighting songs.

1) Another one bites the dust. Or We will rock you. I don't know what it is with Queen, really, but every time I listen to their songs, it gets me completely hyper. I'm not exactly a fan, and I don't even like everything they do (like, for example, "Princes of the Universe", which is terrible) but MAN! These two, and a few others, they are so awesome and so completely great that I find it hard to believe anybody actually wrote them. I think they must have been part of our collective imagination much earlier on.

So that would be for physical tasks, I think. Like going to Ikea and getting that 45 kg bookcase back home using only public transportation. And your roommate (eternal gratefulness, but the SHAME!!! OH THE SHAME, IT HAS NO END!!! Like a GIRL, for heaven's sake...)

2) Uninvited, by Alanis Morissette. I don't like this type of over-emotional songs, usually. I'm very easily ironic and snobbish about that type of songs. But this one? I don't know. It makes me want to punch holes in a wall and grow taller and taller until I'm big as a statue and shining and terrifying, a little like Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings movie. That would be for... getting angry at someone you like.

3) Sunday Bloody Sunday, by U2. I'm in a U2 kind of mood, these days, weirdly. That song is just great, and it makes me want to move mountains. That would be for political battles, obviously. That would be for going to a demonstration.

4) Inertia Creeps, by Massive Attack. It's a nice crescendo-type song. Really cool on the train to somewhere where you're scared to go. Matrix-type of mission.

5) Alles Neu, by Peter Fox. I don't know if you know Peter Fox, reader. He's a really cool German hip-hop (kinda) singer, and this song is about destroying things and starting a revolution, and beginning again from scratch. It's, hence, self-evident the type of battle that this is about.

With this, all I can say is: peace out (ha ha ha)

I'm my own grand'pa

Hullo reader ! Well, I haven't been writing here in forever, so I thought I'd drop by, and keep you updated on my status, because, as is famously known, my life is rivetting. So here are 5 random news from Cologne.

1. I still love it here. I love my room (which is actually furnished now, and very comfy too, thanks to the generosity of... we'll say Santa Claus, but you know who you are), my flatmates are still great, and if only I could manage to drag my butt out there, I'm pretty sure I'd even enjoy the city in itself. I've been a little short on time, in fact, these days, and haven't been to the city center this week. Maybe it would be a good idea to get some fresh air. And ice cold wind. And rain.

2. I went to a techno party with flatmate N the other day. I went mostly out of curiosity, but I really did love it. I think it's not really music. And I don't mean that in a grandmother "that's not music it's noise" kind of way, obviously. It's just, it doesn't talk to your ears so much as to your ribcage. It's music that you can actually (cheesy-alert) listen with your heart. I mean that literally. Because it vibrates. Follows that you can also listen to it with your lower intestine, but that's a really cheap joke. "Bässe massieren eure Seele" I guess is what I mean, but Peter Fox said it better than I can, though it's a little pompous for my purpose, I guess.

3. I'm going to Senegal next month, to work. I'm kind of scared. I don't know what to expect, there are going to be hundreds of us out there, and I don't generally like such huge gatherings, but I'm still very excited and can't wait to be there. It's probably going to be sunny as well, which really will be a nice change, the weather here is just plain depressing. I already got my shots and my passport, and my plane ticket and all, but I still feel like there's no way I'm going to Senegal in a week or so. Still, it's going to be very cool, and my friend J is going too, so I'm guaranteed to have a lot of fun.

4. I've been watching too many stupid videos on the internet lately. Especially Muppets video. Therefore, I've had stupid songs stuck in my head for days, like the Manah manah song, or the one that goes "I'm my own grandpa ! I'm my own grandpa ! It sounds silly I know, but it really is so, oh I'm my own grandpa". It has been a constant and conscious effort not to start yelling them out in the kitchen randomly. I'm holding on. I think it may burst out of me some time, and then, though I will still find my roommates great, they might change their mind and throw me out on the streets. Thanks for nothing, Jim Henson!

5. I've bought a salad today (rivetting, I told you). One of these pre-mixed, ready to eat things with mayonnaise in them. I thought it was perfectly innocent coleslaw, carrot-free and delicious. It actually containted PINEAPPLE. PINE-APPLE in COLESLAW. Germans are mad.

Well, that's it from here, I believe. I hope you're well. As for me, I'm going to go have a look in the kitchen, see if there's something reasonable I can scavenge.

Transylvanian concubine

Well, reader, I've been watching True Blood. A lot. I don't really really like it, but like many series, I find it weirdly addictive. And it features vampires. I can't resist vampires, shame on me. And I liked the book. Why am I looking for excuses? I just watch True Blood. And then I saw some top 10 list from the Rolling Stones magazine, about their top 10 best and worst vampires.
So I figured, go ahead, write your own top 10. And then I figured I couldn't, because I don't know that many vampires at all. But here's a top 5 list, anyway. And if you think I missed out on some great vampires, please do not hesitate to tell me. Aaaaah, vampires.

1. Spike. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I blame my love of anything vampirey, Twilight included, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm still looking for something as great as Buffy, and though I know it will come from Joss Whedon (as soon as he gets the chance to shoot more than two seasons of one of his AWESOME series...), I can't help but check on vampire stuff as well. Anyway. Yeah. Spike. My favourite vampire ever (though maybe he has too much of a sense of humour to actually be a proper vampire), and in fact, one of my favourite characters ever. EVEN THOUGH he has bleached hair, which is saying something.

2. Vampire Eric from the True Blood books. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so crazy about Alexander Skarsgaard in season 1 of True Blood, but he gets more interesting in season 2, I must say. Still, in the books, he's really great. He's got blond hair, and he's sarcastic. See a pattern emerging here? I think I just like sarcastic blonds, whatever their eating habits...

3. The one from Neil Gaiman's short story "Snow, glass and apple". I loved it. And it was terriffying. Some would argue that's how a vampire should be. Terrifying, not sarcastic. I fully understand this point of view, and would endorse it too if only I didn't love the two previous items on this top 5 so much...
4. Dracula. I read it when I was in Ireland a while back, and though I really, really did not like the ending (am I the only one who thinks that Bram Stoker just got bored halfway through? Am I criticizing a major literary work although I mostly read chick lit? I think I am. Sorry about that.)I found the vampire himself amazing. It is one of the... well actually it is the only book I ever read that literally kept me from turning the lights out at night. It may have had something to do with my flatmates at the time... And with the fact that I was probably (and inadvertently) responsible for the death of their son's pet gerbil and was afraid it was going to come back and nibble at my toes. "Whyyyyyy did you give me hobnobs, you crazy lady? Eeeeeek! Eeeeeeeek!" Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.

5. Edward Rochester's wife in Jane Eyre. Now I know she's not a vampire. But I can't help it. She'll always be a vampire to me. And she is compared with one at one point of the novel, I believe. So she comes 5th in here. I'm pretty sure her version of the book would be very interesting, poor woman. It would be so awfully sad and terrible that it would probably receive a Nobel Prize and/or be adapted for the screen by Lars Von Trier... Anyway.

So here it was. My top 5 favourite vampires, only one of them isn't one. And by the way, I apologize for the lack of originality of this post. It seems like just about eeeeeveryone is talking about vampires these days. We'll blame this one on peer-pressure, I already blamed the boogie too many times.

Life, oh life... [edit]

Well, reader, looks like I lied. I said I'd be writing here much more often now that I am in Germany, but nothing as thrilling as going to a goth club happened to me in a little while now. Here's a 5 steps update on my status, however. Because I'm sure you're dying to know.

1. I have a terrible, terrible backache going on, and I wish it would just stop already, because I'm going slowly crazy. Also, I don't know if you noticed that, but as soon as you back hurts, you want to sneeze every 5 minutes. Which only makes matters worse. Why is that, reader? Why do I have back pains NOW that the allergy season is full on? It is not nice at all.

2. My roommate M went to Switzerland yesterday to pick up the last things that were still missing in the kitchen. This means that we now have a fridge, a stove, cupboards, knives and forks and even sharp knives that you can actually use to cut onions without crying your eyes out. Ever tried to cut up an onion with a butter knife? Don't. But our new kitchen? I like it very much. Kitchens rule. I love cooking. I'll come back in a few days, and say that I don't have any ideas left, but as of right now, I love cooking and I am the stove-queen. I don't know, I seem to have something with royalty these days...

3. I have a truck-load of translations to do, which is great and will help a lot (money-wise) with my "find a dress for you brother's wedding" mission. I can't WAIT to go on THAT mission. A dress! A dress! I get to buy a dress! I love dresses! I'll try not to pick anything with tiny flowers on it. But you never know. Maybe I'll just go crazy and wear a Victorian gown and a gas-mask, like that girl I saw the other day at the gothic thingy. How about that? A Victorian gown and a gas mask... And then, once I have a dress, I'll actually go to my brother's wedding. HA HA! 5th of June! 5th of June! When will it finally be the 5th of June??

4. My room is in a terrible, terrible mess, even though I cleaned it yesterday. I don't know why this keeps happening to me, but I really, really hate it. OK today it does have a little bit to do with all the stuff my roommate brought back from Switzerland, but my "corner" of the room, with my bed in it and all, is in a terrible mess. I think some kind of evil spirit comes up in the night, while I am sleeping, kicks me in the back and messes up all my stuff. I'm pretty sure there is a Japanese ghost who does exactly that. And he's currently on vacation in Holzgerlingen. Stupid bugger.

5. I have been catching up on series the last few days. I now have seen all the latest episodes of Ashes to Ashes (not as good as it used to be, if you want my opinion), Glee (anything that sings hs got my vote) and Dr Who (I'm so glad Matt Smith is good. He really is good. He really is very very good). Series make me unreasonably happy. I still have some catching up to do on the Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, but I just can't keep up with the breaks and stuff.

Well, here we are, reader, 5 very important news-flashes about me. I hope you are doing good, and wish you sunshine.

And also :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wik2uc69WbU you can no longer live without this. Sing with us !

The Cave

Hi again, reader!

Now that I have moved to Germany, I figured I could try and start blogging a little bit more regularly. It will help with my English, hopefully, since I am speaking German so much lately. Of course, right now, I am back at my parents' place, sitting on the couch, but it won't last, I'm going back tomorrow. In any case: I will try to blog more often now that I am having adventures in a foreign country on a daily basis. First type of adventures I had last week: Spending time in gothic-dark-metal-rock-clubs in Germany.

Now if you know anything about me, (just read the previous post, for example), I am not a gothic-dark-metal-rock-club type of girl. I am a folky-pop kind of girl, and I like to drink herbal tea. I gather, also, that German gothic-dark-metal-rock-clubs are particularly... let's say... radical. I might be wrong, however, as I have no points of comparison whatever. Still, I spent some time in them last week, since it's the type of things my flat-mate M likes to do. It was really great fun, in a Discovery Channel sort of way... Here are 5 things I discovered :

1. You can be the Prince of Darkness and the King of Doom if you wish to. Just do it. It's OK, here. You are among friends. I find it pretty cool. Give me two weeks, and I'll be the Duchess of Night and the Marquise du Désespoir. It sounds so much more gothic in French, I figure...

2. If you wish to be the Prince of Darkness and the King of Doom, however, watch the DJ closely. He might choose to play little pranks on you. Like for example wait until you and your valets are very, very drunk and then play "Walking on sunshine" or even, amazingly "Ca plane pour moi", a weird Belgian hit from the late 70's, by a guy named Plastic Bertrand. (It's in French, but it's still Belgian. :D YOU GUYS NEED TO TAKE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES). The sheer name of the singer gives you an idea of what it sounds like. It was a very... 4th dimension sort of an experience. Or rather, Close encounters of the 3rd kind, maybe.

3. You will be more noticed wearing a T-shirt and jeans than, say, a tartan skirt, a linen shirt, a jingly little ankle-chain, and a dead racoon hanging from your back. I am not kidding you about the dead racoon part. However, apparently, wearing a washed out 92 Backstreet Boys Tour t-shirt is OK too. Did I ever tell you about Colin Farrell... Crap, no. That was Boyzone....

4. If you are the Prince of Darkness and the King of Despair, you also know how to dance to the music they play in clubs like the ones I was at. I can't. I can dance on Rihanna "Pon De Replay", and I'm not even so sure about that. But: My challenge for next time around: Play "Pon De Replay" in my head, and try and dance to that, while completely ignoring Rammstein in the background. I'm pretty sure it will be a huge win for the Claire Team. I'll keep you informed. ("let the bass from the speakers run through ya sneakers, move both ya feet and run to the beat" \o/ _o_ \o/)

5. Maybe, just maybe, I'm completely losing my marbles. It is a possibility I can't ignore. I'll keep you posted on this one too, I promise.

PS: Another mission for next time: Learn how to spell Marilyn Manson before saving my beautiful Paint illustration.