| good news |
[24.06.08|15:29h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine | ] |
I got a job!! |
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[17.06.08|00:55h] |
I'm listening to Deb & Marie ON DUTCH RADIO
fucking awesome. |
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| Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders |
[27.05.08|00:04h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Dresden Dolls - Pierre | ] |
I recently discovered pgdp.net and it's my new time sink of choice. I'm generally fond of the copyleft because it means free stuff! and what would my computer/the internet be without Ubuntu/Firefox/Wikipedia/Project Gutenberg anyway?
So. PGDP means "Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders" and you can go there and check OCR'd text against the original scans of old books now in the public domain so that eventually, after lots of re-checking, those books end up on Project Gutenberg.
...This is really really tedious if the book is uninteresting (or if you end up with the index pages...), but really cool and fun and/or educational if you pick a good one. I did some pages of a huge anthology that claims it contains the world's best poetry, and I got some pages of the humour section, which was very fun.
Now I'm doing mostly books on travelling (centuries ago!) and I'm addicted.
And I just ran into this (presumably written about a hundred years ago):
"Sometimes the phonograph formed part of the musical programme. I do not approve of this demoralising instrument except to a very limited extent." |
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| Apfelfreibier |
[19.05.08|19:54h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Joose Keskitalo | ] |
Because we're out of school Sara and I went to town to buy clothes. We didn't, but we ended up going to the university, where Sara got a library card and a French book on globalisation (this is pseudo-learning, of course). For some reason, two guys had positioned themselves and about 20 boxes of beer between the university and the tram station, so we got two bottles of free beer each.
It's awful beer with unnecessary additives (artificial apple and sugar, yuck), but hey. Free stuff!
And then I had piano lessons which I'd completely forget (which is why I was totally underprepared) and then Bombom, from whom I haven't heard in ages, invited me to her birthday party on May 24th! AWESOME.
The world is set on showing me I'm totally wrong on the social failure part. Thank you, world. |
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| I am fundamentally bored. |
[18.05.08|16:10h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  bored | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Andrew Bird - Measuring Cups | ] |
I read the first four chapters of Effi Briest.
I checked my emails. Thrice.
I did nothing.
I complained about going to the only school that hasn't announced the Abitur exam results yet.
I read chapter five of Effi Briest.
I drank multivitamin juice.
I checked my emails, I crashed my browser.
I recalculated my average.
I realized I don't have to be at school tomorrow, or ever.
I washed my face.
I thought I could clean up the kitchen but then I didn't.
I thought I could make cake, but that involves cleaning up the kitchen first.
Or I could have breakfast.
Or lunch.
Or wait and have dinner?
I want to paint my room and throw out stuff, but then my sense of responsibility set in and told me to read Don Carlos. Or at least Effi Briest. Effi...
Someone rescue me.
I could call my cousin in Trier and ask whether I could visit.
I have to be here and get my Abitur marks on Tuesday though. Stupid.
My mother is in Gran Canaria.
I want to ride my bicycle but I have nowhere to go and it's going to start raining soon.
Waiting. |
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| It sounds like tomato sauce but it's not! |
[08.05.08|19:11h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hungry | ] |
In German we went to the best ice cream parlour in town and then to the meadow next to it and lay down and read children's stories and made long daisy chains.
Because it's the best ice cream parlour in town it has amazing flavours. My favourite is buttermilk-blueberry, which they stopped making for some reason, but today I got bold and tried:
Basil Sour Cream.
I've been eyeing it for the last few years I've went there and never had the nerve to order it. Now I did.
I think the fourteen years of always choosing stracciatella first just ended. |
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| Archive.org Saves The Day! |
[07.05.08|00:15h] |
It's my mother's birthday since three minutes and I promised cake. I did not forget, actually, but ended up watching Himmel über Berlin in its entirety again instead. This is also how I missed the opportunity to save a Euro because now the movie rental place is closed.
But, this all is no problem. I am an accomplished in-the-middle-of-the-night baker, even if the bedroom is right next to the kitchen and I can't make any noise. Even that the oven is broken and only heats up one half is fine, I figured out the twists and turns of when to adjust the position of the cake during baking so it's even and delicious [after lots of trial-and-error I might add, and after my mother killed one of our spring forms by severly burning one cake on the left side].
The problem is that the recipe was gone. I wanted to make my personal variation of the devil's food cake I made with Val once upon a time because I figured out how to make it quicker and better. This recipe used to be safely stored on cocoaweb.net and substantially less safely on numerous old envelopes and receipts I find in the kitchen. Needless to say, I have no idea where they are.
So I google the website (I forget the name every time, but it consistently comes up in the top 10 results, so that's fine), and they changed the recipe. White frosting and all. I always ignore the frosting because it's disgusting and butter and sugar and not much else, but they also wanted me to separate eggs and use water instead of the Killer Feature that is espresso. So that was very, very wrong and I was potentially fucked. I'd even bought white couverture to make the cake look more awesome, which does not work with anything but chocolate cake. Apple pie with white chocolate? Doesn't work. Fruit in this house besides my green apples and the still-green bananas? Non-existant. Anything else I could make? Nothing. And I refuse to make different chocolate cake, because this cake is awesome.
And then! I had an idea and archive.org had the old recipe. WIN.
I'm off baking. |
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| Radio at its finest |
[27.04.08|23:39h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  surprised | ] |
| [ | music |
| | SR P1 | ] |
There I was, listening to Swedish NPR and talking to Sanna, when suddenly that radio program started speaking German! It's something about chocolate parachutes and Berlin Tempelhof and people rapping. It's utterly bizarre. Why are they interviewing this guy? What is this all about? Mysteries... Now they said Luftwaffen. And about planes starting or not in general. And what was it with that rapping? Rosinenbomber-- a pattern's emerging, WW2, now that's a surprise, jeez, but what about that odd rap they played about rolling up your sleeves? I wish I understood Swedish. And not just because I want to know what this radio program is all about.
Now there was something about the Berlin police. "I had my first flight from here when I was five to Hannover." Now there's the rap again. I think it's about an airport closing down, or not, or being rennovated? The interview snippets being played don't says what it's about AT ALL. Now it's about going crazy and kicking politicians in the ass.
No one ever say what they're actually complaining about.
Next thing they're going to talk about Kassel Calden I can just feel it. |
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| Doro does the World Tour |
[27.04.08|15:16h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Dresden Dolls - The Mouse & The Model | ] |
I finally properly realized that from May 16th to June 2nd I have absolutely nothing to do except reading about Goethe, Max Frisch and philosophy of language (and a bit more), which is really neat and so I looked into shows being played around that time somewhere in Germany.
May 28th-29th, Jason Webley touring Berlin and Leipzig and I'm so going</em. YEAH.
Kleingeldprinzessin roams Germany, too, and my hometown, but I forgot that when it mattered. I woke up the next day with the terrible realisation that April 12th was yesterday. So, May 26th in Potsdam, Or 29th in Hannover, or 30.05. in Stuttgart, but I have no way of getting there cheaply, so no. If I don't have an Abitur exam Monday morning, I'm definitely going to the show in Frankfurt on Sunday. Frankfurt is great because it's dirt cheap to go there. Also, Scout Niblett in Wiesbaden (but during school-time but the day before I have to be at school late) and 17 Hippies in KASSEL in August.
Amanda Palmer is coming to Germany too, but I'd rather see Pretty Balanced :P |
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| Tromsø |
[17.04.08|03:38h] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Tori Amos (I *never* listen to Tori Amos) - Smells Like Teen Spirit | ] |
I feel imitated.
I have exactly one month of school left. This is very odd, especially because school is getting better each day. Our religion teacher gave us an insane exam as a goodbye present, I assume -- we had four exams to choose from and three didn't have anything to do with what we did in class before. I ended up writing something [brilliant!] about hope and little apple trees one might plant despite the end of the world. This was fantastic.
Then we're doing an Urgent Action again about someone in Afghanistan about to be executed and it's so good to be at it again, not to mention that everyone loves us -- we sell cake, too... The only one who doesn't love us is the principal. He's convinced Amnesty International is evil, which makes no sense at all, but if he feels better boycotting us, so be it. Seriously.
Amnesty always makes me late and I was late about one hour in total yesterday. The great thing is that no one minds: I arrive quarter an hour late to class, but the second I try to launch in an apology because I had to set up/watch/clean up/whatever the AI table, I'm told the teacher has seen me there and it's all fine and wonderful.
And when I was late for German and sorting my math teacher came and mentioned how my Abitur exam was excellent and she was sorry for not being able to tell me more.
Which, of course, was totally ok with me.
She said excellent!! |
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[10.04.08|02:53h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  gloomy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Janis Joplin live in NYC about 1969. It's awesome. The instruments are too loud. | ] |
You know what would be absolutely awesome?
Not going to bed at three and getting up at six all week.
I mean, I'm all for writing Urgent Actions and summarizing official AI statements in German in the middle of the night, but goddamn.
I'm writing an exam on globalisation tomorrow! In English! It's my last English exam ever!
My last chance to write something crazy. I should, I should. |
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[27.03.08|19:51h] |
Sara and I are at Val's place in Paris. We're having a great time. (Well, Val has to go to school and apparantly it's terrible these days, so she doesn't really :/) Sara and I are ridiculously lazy and generally don't manage to get into town before 2 pm, except today. We were SO productive. We went to meet Alice, a friend of Sara's and then ate Indian food for cheap and then almost went to Versailles and then went to Montmartre for real. Awesome. I think we'll go again tonight.
It's too bad I'm broke. |
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| Round the world |
[12.03.08|16:01h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  lazy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship? | ] |
I got my passport today which enables me to wander the world outside the EU legally. The government has my biometric data and I thought I'd have a new visa for New Zealand. Getting a working holiday visa is very unceremoniously done via the internet. I had everything filled in since before my birthday, but first it wouldn't let me submit my request because I wasn't eighteen yet and then I was lacking a passport number, which I have now.
I did submit my request but then the New Zealand immigration office asked me to pay $120 (62€) with a visa card online. My mum came home, I got her visa card and filled with suspense I clicked the "Pay Now" button, with the bold and red text underneath saying to click this only when you're really ready and to be patient because loading might take a while.
Unfortunately it took so long that Firefox sent me a "Connection Timed Out" message eventually. Now I'm unable to pay. Important documents & the internet: not a very good combination. I wonder when the governments will realize that... |
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| European Voluntary Service |
[11.03.08|15:52h] |
My friend Sara wants to do the European Voluntary Service this year once we finish school (that's June 13th! YAY) and I wondered if any of you fellow Europeans know of an amazing plac/organisation to do it. (Since she's just been turned down from my suggestion...) She's thinking about going to either Ireland or Scotland so this goes to Cara, Ciara and Laura especially.
Many thanks from her and me :)
In other news, I fucked up English, which really means I'll get 12 points instead of 14. so I probably should shut up. And as I've just been informed, maybe it won't be all that bad, anyway (thanks Sara!).
Val, how was your typography presentation? |
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| Album für die Jugend |
[09.03.08|23:21h] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Doors - When The Music's Over | ] |
I was just looking at English exams from last year and for some unfathomable reason the resit exams are actually easier and better than the real ones. I thought that was supposed the deterrent for people who figured they might just skive off and learn for something else instead/sleep in and watch a movie.
Speaking of that, I reread Macbeth and parts of Cal yesterday and a summary of Death of a Salesman today. Death of a Salesman is so depressing that I went back to my strategy of Using English Is Studying, and watched a movie in English. With German subtitles. Stfu, everyone mumbled. And the DVD didn't have English subtitles and didn't run on my computer. Funnily enough, then I did understand what they were saying in English, even though the subtitles were tame to the point of bearing no resemblance to the spoken dialogue. One day I'll found a company that does real subtitles.
My tea bags have clever advice on the little attached paper and they all directly relate to my Abitur.
All my plans for after school/before NZ involve reading loads of books I've always meant to read. The only significant change is which books I'll read first. |
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| abitur abitur abitur |
[05.03.08|14:31h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  stressed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Jason Webley | ] |
Math was sweet. We all got coffee and our teacher assured us we're all fantastically well-prepared (which, objectively, is probably true) and were ordered not to do any math and to go for a walk today, which I did and will do again. She was so nice and assuring us in everything that Christian asked whether she'd ever taken a class in calming down panicky 13th graders. (She hasn't.) We talked about how our school's Abitur traditions are awesome. I never fully realized it, but it's true. Then I tried to find someone to give me a calculator, but couldn't, which I probably should take as a sign to just let it rest.
I went into the Philosophy room, unsure whether to go or not, left again, met Maike, who also didn't go, wasn't sure about it again, and ran into my philosophy teacher, who asked whether anyone was coming to class (yes. crazies.), Maike said "you haven't seen us, right?" and she said that of course she's never seen us and get going and good luck for tomorrow.
So that was decided.
I went to Marion. She gave me tea and calmed me down and had me bake apple cake. It was good. She also ordered me to go for a walk; seems like a pattern emerging...
Now I'll try the cake.
And I need to make a poster/old bedsheet for Sara. I'm going to put Arthur le perroquet on it, who is a green parrot from the French textbooks in sixth grade and who on the first side of the book flutters around excitedly and cries "Paris, Paris!" (Sara's LK is French, too.)
I'll try not to go crazy. |
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| Hi, I'm hyper |
[05.03.08|00:00h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nervous | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Jason Webley | ] |
My math exam is in 36 hours.
Bad, bad, bad.
I think I can do it though. 180+30 minutes and my formulary.
I have time, and I don't need to know everything by heart, good good good. I suck at knowing things by heart. I deduce.
Things I don't know how to do: hypothesis testing, still. You'd think I'd have figured it out by now. I don't.
Abitur is quite the experience and I must blog about it once my life extends beyond integers and statistics again. I must also remember to bring a cup to the exam because I'll be served tea (in my own cup). We could choose between coffee and tea. I hope it's bring-your-own-teabags, too.
Tomorrow I'll have my last pre-abitur math lesson, but, as my teacher says, we'll only drink coffee and hold hands. My math teacher is kickass, also because after I became increasingly desperate on Monday (Monday was a bad day) she gave me a book which explains everything I need to know, and now I know it again. I hope. I'm pretty sure. She also asked me if I was ok today and if I had any questions and whatnot, awesome. Thanks.
There's this student teacher who keeps mocking me [in my head]. He sat next to me last semester and kept asking me why I wasn't in the math Leistungskurs and this keeps running through my head (and subsequently driving me crazy) when I can't remember how to differentiate (I figured it out in a minute again). Also driving me crazy are people going "You seem really relaxed, Doro, considering you're writing your Abitur [next week/in two days/in a month]". This a) makes me feel guilty because should I have studied to be even more physically exhausted? and b) the key word really is "seem" because you don't want to be around me after school. Don't don't don't.
I'm sorry for my father who I made my tutor. He's teaching statistics at university (and I STILL don't know how to do hypothesis testing, I think I mentioned...)
This is all over the place.
I also don't sleep because I'm not tired. I went to bed at three yesterday and was wide awake at six again, and I'm sort of worried this goes well till Thursday and then I'll crash down in the exam, which of course I won't, and even if I do, I've written some of my best exams being completely sleep-deprived, but of course this is all far from ideal.
Then English, then Religion.
Life after Thursday 2 pm: Awesome. That's in 38 hours now. This is nothing. 38 hours is nothing. 38 hours is a flight to New Zealand, I think. (With an 8 hours break inbetween...)
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ahah aha
I could still go to New Zealand instead?
I should have prepared my formulary better.
Oh wait, I am tired.
I'm possibly getting sick, which I can't, so I'm drinking homoeopathic cough nastiness, take homoeopathic immune system booster pills which are in a friendly shade of green and not nasty at all and a disgusting nose spray for my earache (screw possibly, I am sick) but strangely enough flower extracts without alcohol make my brain feel funny and lazy and incapable of thinking.
My intake of fruit is phenomenal, too, but I had fruit salad yesterday which for some reason made me feel awful. And my parents are sick!
Goddamn. I want to sleep and get well, and not ridiculous pre-Abitur sleep but YES EVERYTHING'S OVER sleep. Now.
Watch me switch to Religion worries on Thursday.
English's a joke. We looked at the exams from last year: are they kidding? Beyond reading my summaries of the books, I'm not doing anything. Oh, and reading that sheet on punctuation our teacher mailed to us. I should learn how to use commas in English. Eventually.
35 h. |
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| To Cara |
[01.03.08|19:11h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  satisfied | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Wir sind Helden | ] |
I got "My Oedipus Complex and other stories".
That was over a week ago, but I kept forgetting to mention it... |
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| Maybe the world isn't dying |
[29.02.08|23:47h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  blah | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Jason Webley - Last Song (on repeat forever) | ] |
I read Beowulf and it's incredible just how useless this is regarding my English, Math and Religion exams. One might think that this is the time to get geeky about hypothesis testing, or curve sketching. Or church history. Or Death of a Salesman.
The class I do most for is German, which is bizarre and useless, of course, but I have fun talking about Walter Faber.
I feel like making lame excuses for not commenting on anyone's journal and mostly not reading them either because I am actually responsible enough not to spend my time procrastinating on LiveJournal, but I'll go right back to that after those exams... How're you doing? |
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| I Think I See The Light |
[05.02.08|09:12h] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sick | ] |
| [ | music |
| | shine shine shine | ] |
Like everyone else, my piano teacher was quick to realize that I really like to travel. (In fact, I think I'm the last person who figured that out...) Last Monday, he asked me where - not if - I intended to go once I finish school, and I told him about my New Zealand plans. His girlfriend went there for a while, too, so he knows it's fantastic, apparently. Yesterday, after adding an additional 10 minutes to the lesson, we were talking about New Zealand again and as it turns out a former classmate recently emigrated to New Zealand. Incidentally he's a piano teacher, too. He told me he'll get the address and that I should drop by if I feel like it.
I love how everyone knows someone in New Zealand and tells me about it. The guy from the bank I had to go to when I cancelled "my" Bausparvertrag (ha) also had relatives in New Zealand and told me all about it and how wonderful New Zealand must be. It seems like everyone in Germany would rather be in New Zealand.
We got a letter ten years ago from a woman who lives in New Zealand. She asked whether she was related to us. She is.
We never wrote back because my mum insisted that she doesn't speak English and I didn't yet. (Which is a terrible excuse because the lady from the other end of the world actually found some translator to send the letter in German and I assume she would have been able to find someone to translate German to English, too)
I remember being fascinated by the stamp. |
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