My Berlin Trip

This is as much an entry for myself to nail down the memories (because my brain often acts like a sieve) and an entry for friends who are interested in my RL. And there is some fannish JM and Ghost of the Robot related stuff too, then there are two reviews of movies I've seen while in Berlin, namely Van Helsing and Kill Bill 2. I will therefore use lots of cuttags.

The drive to Berlin was uneventful. L met me at a suitable S-Bahn stop, so I couldn't get lost. L's place is really nice, particularly because the floor wasn't littered with toys and dirty clothes. Heee. L. and I took the S-Bahn to meet the_resa_ii aka Tracy at one of Berlin's Starbucks where I had my first White Chocolate Mocha with cream, ever. That drink is a "Plombenzieher" as we say in Germany, so sweet it destroys your fillings. Of course I loved it because unlike many Germans I am so not a coffee connoisseur. Tracy looked fabulous as always. Because she is translating a Berlin travel guide she knows the city very well. She was able to steer us towards an Indian restaurant. Indian food, yum. The spinach tasted a tad bitter, but the rest was yummie. I love Indian food so this already sent me to a happy place. Afterwards we rushed back to Starbucks to briefly meet isarobogirl and a bunch of other Gotr fans from the GotR boards. The whole GotR cavalcade marched off to find dinner, while L and I stayed to wait for blondegirlchris and her bf T. More chatting and catching up ensued.
The four of us decided to see Van Helsing and took the S-Bahn to a movie theatre that showed the original version. Since there was enough time for a few drinks I had my first Desperados. I am embarrassed to say, here I am, 40 years of age, and I never had a Desperados until now. For those as ignorant as I was: it's a beer with tequila aroma and slightly more alcohol that gets served in the bottle with a wedge of lemon or lime. Yum.

( Van Helsing )

Anyway, Saturday was the big day of the concert. Early in the morniing the truly devoted GotR fans took up their positions outside Huxley's (the place where the gig was taking place). Meanwhile, yours truly slept long and well. At 2 pm L and I arrived at the Sony Center to find a red carpet and Wolfgang Petersen's Trojan Horse - preparations for the premiere were in full swing. L and I went to see Kill Bill 2. You guys in the states have seen it already, but in Germany the movie has only been out for a few weeks.

( Kill Bill 2 )

After the movie L treated me to sushi. Mmmmmm. There is no surer way into my heart than to take me to movies and feed me well. Some of the rolls were odd, more savory than what I am used to but so mmmmmmm. And I had my first taste of kimchi, some Korean chili-pickled cabbage dish. Hot but yummie.
But you're not interested in that, you're dying to know what the Ghost of the Robot concert was like, right? Bear with me, I'm getting there....

( Before the Concert )

( The Concert )

After the concert? Drinks with Chris and T. Then back to L - who had been to Peter Gabriel's concert while I enjoyed the GotR gig. (Incidentally, Peter Gabriel played for 160 minutes, GotR for 80).

( The Event commences... )

( Estepheia gets her autographs )

( Special Audience with Ghost of the Robot )

( Special Audience with James Marsters )

The Q&A lasted approximately an hour. It was entertaining and enlightening. I feel so utterly sorry for the_resa_ii who for professional reasons had to leave shortly before the Q&A began. She missed a great Q&A. James is such a crowd pleaser, it's actually quite amazing. Plus he's gorgeous.

( Aftermath )

Lucky me!
(Tired now)

Good news

Good news. My dad is out of hospital for now. He has more check-ups at the beginning of next month, but at least he is not in any kind of immideate danger. Let me heave a sigh of relief. I hope he's sensible now and doesn't do those naughty things like eat, drink, and smoke too much.

Also, when checking the writercon auction page I discovered that I am currently at $50. Go me! Right now, Petzipellepingo owns me.... well, my typing fingers and brain anyway. Hi Petzi! *waves happily*

Did I write anything while in Berlin? Nope. I took a few notes for a poem in German, but my original story got put on ice. But as of today that's top priority. Which means that this morning I have to research Fashist Italy - about which I know absolutely zero. Oops.

Am now listening to my GotR EPs (yeah, I admit it, I bought them *facepalms*). I wonder. If I listen to them long enough, will they melt my brain?

My ex-lecturer dropped off a fat folder with poetry and short stories. Which means my duties as jury member for the Daniil Pashkoff prize have now officially commenced. Whoa.

Thank you very much to everybody who replied to my report yesterday. It's nice to know you enjoyed it. I'd answer you each, except that I should really be writing and researching right now. Rain check?

Also, I won't have time to sroll back three or four days and read everything written in LJ land. Please, dear friends, don't take it personally. If I missed anything fabulous or unmissable, please let me know in the comments, yeah?
Work. Story. Now. Ta ta.

Buzzkill

I think I just broke up with my best local RL friend.

Spam sucks!

God I hate spam. We set up an email account for Katharina, even though she's only 7, because we wanted to reserve the name before it gets taken by someone else. So the addy has never actually been used. And? Today she received her first sex spam mail. I really feel like inflicting bodily harm on those people.
I am getting tons of spam lately, always the same crap but from different senders.
Plus I get knock-knock-ed via AIM. If I want sex I will jump my husband and if I want porn I read it here. I am particularly offended by some hijackers who occasionally pop a hard core porn on my screen when I go to visist Thesaurus.com. What if my kids stood next to me when I go looking for a particular word? These people really have no common decency whatever.

As for the break up with my friend... Thanks for your support, guys. It really helped. Also, I spent a few hours gardening - digging and weeding helped my disposition a little. I am no longer completely morose, just kinda sad. Will try to write a bit now.

Oh and another thing that cheered me up? willshenillshe's latest offering, a post-Damage Spike/Oz ficlet called Hands. Lovely.