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Silke
10 July 2009 @ 09:04 pm
* Nicht etwa "Kreiskrankenhaus Hamburg" oder so...nee..einfach nur: Keine Küche heute.

Denn nach anderthalb Stunden Messen, Schieben und Dies und Das bei SMIDT in Leverkusen kam beim Ermitteln des Endpreises und meinem lautstarken "SCHLUCK!" von dem Berater - bei dem ich mich (bis dahin) eigentlich gut aufgehoben fühlte - eine Reaktion à la Boah, ey, dann hätten wir uns gar nicht erst zusammensetzen brauchen!! Und danach war sein Verhalten m.E. mehr als schroff und pampig (extra lautes, fahriges Blättern in Ordnern und Schließen von Türen/Schubladen, immer Betonung auf "Billiger bekommen Sie es eh nirgendwo" Knall, Peng, Belehr...ich mußte mich echt anstrengen, ihm aus Respekt vor dem Alter und der Präzision, mit der er meine unzureichenden Angaben verarbeitet hat, nicht gleich seine Planung um die Ohren zu hauen und rundheraus zu sagen "Ey, LECK MICH DOCH!"...)

Schlußendlich lagen wir bei 2.700 Euro - nach Reduzierung der Planung um all die Dinge, die ich gerade echt nett und praktisch fand.

Was gute 700 mehr sind, als ich ausgeben möchte.

Aber selbst WENN ich die Tage woanders hingehe und sie mir etwas in der gleichen Lage berechnen....allein für seine kotzige Art (stößt sich mit Rollsessel vom Tisch ab, abfällig schnaufend als ich ihm meine Schmerzgrenze nannte, und dem "hätten Sie das gleich gesagt, hätten wir gar nicht anfangen brauchen". O-Ton!) verdient es der Otto nicht, daß er für meinen Kauf da irgendwelche Provision kassiert. Ganz davon abgesehen, daß SMIDT die Null-Prozent-Finanzierung per 30.06. abgeschafft hat.... Mega-Mäh!:-(((

Nööö, gehe ich die Tage zu POCO, wo [info]jeherion  ja fündig geworden ist, und exerziere das Ganze da nochmal durch. Und, wie gesagt, selbst wenn es auf das Gleiche hinausläuft --- ich wähle jetzt aus Prinzip die Alternative!!! Pah!

 
 
feeling somewhat: frustrated
 
 
Silke
04 July 2009 @ 07:29 am


"When you need theatre tickets, contact the concierge. Illegal drugs...the doorman."



...und warum habe ich diese erste Folge von "The Philanthropist" runtergeladen???

Richtig. Wegen James Purefoy. *rrrrrw...*

Waaaaaaaaaah!!!

Es überrascht nicht, daß er innerhalb der ersten 10min gleich nackt mit Laken um die Hüften erscheint (okay, daß das Ganze in einem überfluteten Hotelzimmer passiert, sei mal dahingestellt...:-) und saugut dabei aussieht.

Diese 1st Person POV erinnert sehr an "Burn Notice" sowie auch der flippige Erzählstil...another reason to be instantly enamored..

IDNAS!!!*

With lines like this... )


*I DON'T NEED ANOTHER SHOW!
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Current Location: couch
feeling somewhat: worried
 
 
Silke
18 June 2009 @ 12:50 am

I don't know which icon to use for this entry:-)) 

I'm really, really glad to have taken tomorrow off... Just got back (well, almost an hour ago, but with shower and other stuff....) from the jubilee party of a colleague which I had organized (80% thereof), hence my anxiety till the very last minute.

Turned out okay.

Menu was fine, people loved it all, I was kind of mortified by my boss's lack of rhetorical talent (Boris Becker "ahm"s at an astonishing frequency *OH THE SHAME*), food was terrific.... And I spent those hours in a most delightful way: talking books and movies and music...

I already knew that the colleague in question was a sci-fi geek - I'd gathered that much from the recent team dinner at the Apadana when I outed myself as a Star Trek fan and so did he - but suddenly we were deep in a discussion about Tad Williams, Joe Abercrombie, G.R.R. Martin (in extremis!!! Such a fanboy, really...), and exchanged book recs by the dozen. I think I successfully pimped Jim Butcher and Gregory Keyes...he talked me into checking out David Gemmell...and while we were on the subject of "Schorsch" Martin, I lamented that he might pull an O'Brian on us...

And he nodded and said, Yeah, like suddenly dying after 20 books and 3 chapters.

Me: "....*eeep*"

The few people sitting at our table for the next hour must have hated us... Even I was amazed by his enthusiasm. And it grounded me better than anything else. To sit and gab with a colleague about Stephen Maturin's eccentricities and why POB is just plain awesome and why, hey, you haven't read Sharpe (as in EVER??), shame on you, here you are!!  Actually, I kept my mouth shut while he was explaining in detail to a colleague why the series was the best thing since sliced bread, why Jack and Stephen are best-est BFF(!!!!), why Peter Weir is God, and so on and so forth. Hearing the highlights from a straight guy who goes for exactly the same things as people who (may) read entirely different nuances in the whole Aubrey/Maturin dynamic... I was quite thrilled. And amused. He described in detail to two people, who happened to sit at our table that very moment, the first meeting of Jack and Stephen, and their respective situations and dispositions and how they are so damn perfect for each other...

I just smiled and took the passenger seat on this. I suppose I shall pass him a POB audio-book for his flight to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Or just make him read "Feast for Crows" so that we can talk some more. Imagine, he's only read each book ONCE. ONCE!!!

I'm f***ing exhausted now, but this was quite the interesting evening!

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Silke

Imagine a rather tiny theatre.

Imagine this tiny theatre packed (well, not quite, there were a few empty seats, but none of us Standees dared make a move for them...) with a lot of French, a handful of Germans, maybe a dozen British natives (and that's including the cast!), and one Austrian.

You got tonight's performance of Ibsen's "A Doll's House" pretty much summed up.

Last night was awesome in the way that I could enjoy two excellent actors, both masters of their craft, whom I'd theretofore only seen individually, on stage at the same time. Godot just stands apart from everything. Tonight everything was a first. In every category. My first Ibsen – I have to read the original (this was a modernized rewrite) sometime soon -, and the first time I got to see any of the cast. Ever.

Thoroughly "wow-ed" here.

Or to quote a certain Timelord: "Fan-taaas-tic!"

Yes, Eccleston came, brought the Northern vowels, and looked absolutely delicious in suits with barely a shirt beneath them...
Toby Stephens blew me away – I wonder if he'll ever get the chance to play opposite his Mom...now that'd be a play I'd love to see (or die trying to...) Tara Fitzgerald I would like to see more of. Definitely. Anton Lesser...have to research him in greater detail

And Gillian Anderson.... Seriously, seriously impressed.

Crazy as it sounds...I didn't go because of her. No, I went because of Stephens and Eccleston...and as Fate (Karma, you B****) would have it: the boys are the ones I stroked out on ☹ Yeah, the Bean Maneuver all over again.  I can't blame them; the  GA-crowd at the front was bad enough, they snuck out at the back...confirming my suspicion that the staff was lying to me when I asked about the stage door. 'There's just the front'...my ass!!  There I stood, my new Austrian acquaintance right beside me, and there was Gillian. Tiny, tiny woman...with Carrie Bradshaw hair....and so engaging and patient with fans, flashing cameras, gift-givers and non-functional pens...

In spite of the inner "grrr" because of two certain gentlemen (the impression they left will last for a long time, though) I am quite pleased. With my decision to go for it, with getting the autographs of precisely those two people I wasn't all that interested in, with making the acquaintance of a nice Austrian girl (an au-pair from somewhere near Salzburg – we got talking during the intermission and at some point a German phrase slipped past my lips...the rest is history...*g* Well, [info]marend , I hope we can stay in touch!)

My feet and my back certainly aren't pleased. That was close to fourteen consecutive hours that I spent on my feet walking/standing/trudging/climibing etc..  I won't be able to move tomorrow, I'm afraid....

But, as per [info]jeherion 's request, I'll pick up some pasteis:-)))

Advice to [info]vicodissimus : go, go, go for it!! I know your standing up during a play just *because* may not be your cup of tea anymore, heck, *I* was having difficulties, but really, really consider it. The chance to get returns for standing room is high, you got a good view for little money and Eccleston is worth every moment.

 
 
feeling somewhat: geeky
 
 
Silke
23 May 2009 @ 05:22 pm
Feet hurt. Tower is interesting (it pays to be there very early so that you're halfway through with the audio tours when the multinational invasion commences) and Henry VIII and predecessors had nice digs, really. Nice armor, too (which, as the man himself, kept expanding). Couldn't get into the chapel to say hi to Thomas More, though:-((  Don't understand why such a fuss is made about the Crown Jewels...it's not as if they're particularly pretty.... Tripped twice over small children, fell once. Remain unhurt....save for feet. They are selling the Tudor boxsets for 30 quid *laughs* Dream on, folks! Who set the price, Cromwell himself?  Passed by the Donmar on my way back (it was on the way to the place where I wanted to have lunch...on the same street even) and, I could scarcely believe it, they had returns for tonight's performance of "A Doll's House". And for 8 quid  I don't mind standing; I can sit all I want in the week to come. Had lunch at the small Portuguese place I'd picked out, yumm-yumm, finishing with a bica and pasteis.... Ah, life is good.

And now that I've given my feet a break and had some tea, it's almost time to leave again...

Toodles....
 
 
feeling somewhat: weird
 
 
Silke
22 May 2009 @ 08:24 am
Even the dead must have had a lighter sleep than me. Out cold. When I finally got past the anxiety-verging-on-claustrophobia that goes with being in room #16 of the hotel on the corner of Eccleston Square (the balcony helps, but not much, it doesn't get bigger on the inside), not even another alien invasion could have made me stir. Guess I needed it. Still can't explain the tennis sock draped over my curtain pole...an odd thing to leave behind...maybe I should add a pantyhose or some used kleenex...

The coffee I'm having now at the McDonald's at The Maze (aka Victoria Station and assorted shopping landscape) is merely a formality, I am quite awake already. Criminal Minds season finale will do that to you...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!

Erp. Right. Cool, girl. Composure.

In other news: London food keeps amazing me. If they offered stuff like that at KFC or McDo in Germany (McFlurry with Rolo..seriously, guys...), I'd be eating there a lot more often. And there's the kind of places that only exist here and I love this city for each and every one of them. I guess I'll be having Chinese tonight before the theater. At least two hours before, though, else I'll risk falling asleep...

Now I'll have a looksie whether or not I'll have to get around without the Victoria line yet another day and then return the laptop to my room before venturing into the City.
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feeling somewhat: awake
 
 
Silke
22 May 2009 @ 01:13 am
In & out of love with London at the moment - hope it'll change tomorrow when I've had a good night's sleep....in this mouse-trap of a room that SOOOOO isn't worth the money I'm paying.

Tube mice galore, Victoria Line strike (i.e. total sabotage of certain connections and a lot more walking than intended....), a very flirty receptionist ("Ah, German girls..." *rolls eyes*) later... I had a good and cheap Chicken Tikka Marsala (with Naan and chutney and poppadums) near the Marble Arch ODEON where I went to watch Star Trek at 9. They didn't start till 9.30. In addition to my worrying about catching various last tubes (Central to Notting Hill Gate and then Circle to Victoria) I sprung a nosebleed right there during the "Good God , man"-speech Bones gave upon seeing Kirk's elephantitis hands. Decided enough was enough. Yes, I walked out of the movie. Otherwise I would have fallen asleep (and they'd have found me in the morning frozen to death  - the A/C was quite efficient.....)

My head hurts, my feet as well, I am sneezing a lot, more than average, the place I'm staying at makes me glad that I bought the disinfectant spray....

If the strike on the Victoria continues tomorrow, I'll be killing people. Seriously.

Other than that: I love this city, no matter what kind of crap it keeps throwing at me at inopportune moments....

City tomorrow, theatre in the evening..and I'll probably be taking a cab back.

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeed sleeeeeeeeeeeeep now....
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Current Location: London, City of Westminster
feeling somewhat: exhausted
 
 
Silke
21 May 2009 @ 08:24 am
...for still knowing the dialogue of "Amok Time" by heart. Well, almost:-)  Jesus, Shatner...

"It has to do with...biology."
"Biology? What kind of biology?"
"Vulcan biology."

*headdesk* And why on Earth (or Vulcan) did my mind follow the "biology...as in reproduction?" with thoughts of the Boston Tea Party??? (A packet of crisps for those equally damaged by fandom to understand it....)

Just enjoying this little treat before I get busy packing (and hoping that the rain outside won't follow me to England).

And, honestly, I am infinitely grateful that the idea of "the more alien things/people are supposed to be, the more tin-foil and odd colors must be used in their attire" died with the 60s (with, AFAIR, a brief revival in the 80s). These Vulcans look like heat'em-eat'em microwave dishes.... Vegetarian ones, of course:-)))


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Silke
18 May 2009 @ 09:45 pm

Very well. Today I booked a really tourist-y thing for my upcoming London trip --- bear in mind, I never ever do that stuff, museums are an exception, but not...tourist traps like Madame Tussaud's, Buckingham Palace (only passed by there a couple of times, usually for the excellent hotdogs they're selling in front of it) or, *gasp* The Tower... THe most tourist-y thing I've ever done was that walking tour in November '07 with

[info]sashatwen . Or spending a day at Warwick Castle last fall. Other than that, nope. Tourists? Nah, don't know these folks snapping pictures of the Tower Bridge (it appears in every London photo series of mine, same as St. Paul's...), Beefeaters or Nelson's Monument. Bah, rubbish *puts on air of disdain and still goes all squishy when St. James's Park squirrels try to climb up inside the leg of her pants*

 

In a flash of nostalgia nurtured by "The Tudors" and memories of recent discussions with[info]jeherion  about C.J. Sansom's third Shardlake novel (really, really worth the read, all four of them, they're brilliant:-) I bought a joint ticket for The Tower and Hampton Court. Yeah, needless to mention that, in essence, there goes my entire Saturday and I can kiss efforts of getting return tickets for "A Doll's House" goodbye, for that would mean checking at various box offices in the afternoon. But I'll be saving myself some disappointment, I'm sure. I called those guys in early April and they were more or less laughing at me for even trying... And tickets (worst seat) for "The Cherry Orchard" at the Vic are 35 quid. Sure, the cast was great (judging from the experience in Recklinghausen) and, sure, wouldn't I LOOOVE to compare that Chekov performance to the Shakespearean one, but it'd be the first night of the previews, and spending the afternoon at Leicester Square or various box offices because of some *possibility* weighed against the possible *reality* of having a great day storing more information in the Databank of Useless Knowledge and enjoying the special stuff they've put on for the 500th Anniversary of Henry VIII ascension to the throne.

It should be fun.


 
 
feeling somewhat: chipper
 
 
Silke
30 April 2009 @ 09:07 pm
..and the smile-fest continues: Alex O'Loughlin on "Criminal Minds"....and so DOOOOOOOORKYYYY

SPOILER! Caveat lector!!!! )


*enjoying this one and hoping that one day Garcia might consider me worthy of friending me in her LJ because she's the coolest thing since the invention of the browser*

Sooooooo need CM icon...

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Silke
30 April 2009 @ 07:44 pm
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiii!!! *does happy dance*



MIKE FARRELL ON "WITHOUT A TRACE".....


*more happy dance steps*

...but how his voice has changed. But I don't mind...this is pure *gravel*, and I like it. Seriously...


Errr....@[info]gamesiplay ...Leigh, love, did you ever mail the correct signed copy of the book? No rush, just wanted to ask...

 
 
feeling somewhat: elated
 
 
Silke
28 April 2009 @ 08:50 pm
Seen at [info]rikki8879 How British Are You?  
You Are 75% British
Are you British? Hell, you're more of a Brit than the Queen is!
You're truly the dog's bollocks... and you know that's not an insult.

So what if you're a slobbering drunk obsessed with football?
At least you always remember your manners.


Rule Britannia...I guess...

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Silke
28 April 2009 @ 06:16 am
Happy Birthday, [info]kahvi_elf!!!!  
Have a great day (even though you're probably working, but take a few moments in spite of that, right?:-) and don't let the addition of one more year get to you! *hugs* Many happy returns!!!!
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feeling somewhat: tired
 
 
Silke
17 April 2009 @ 09:02 pm

Sean Bean turns 50.

Fifty years...he still has 18 years on me...maybe that'll change at some point...:-))))

Many happy returns, beloved Yorkshire lad... Your most memorable contribution to my life were the hormone therapy called "Sharpe", three hours spent in a police station in Torres Vedras, Portugal, and let's not forget my live London Macbeth trauma  -- some lines just don't seem to *sound* right if not spoken by you...

Fifty years... Seems like yesterday that you starred in "Patriot Games". Or "Stormy Monday" (okay, that's reaching....)

Note to self: You still have to watch "Red Riding"....


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feeling somewhat: cheerful
 
 
Silke
12 April 2009 @ 09:04 am
...weil frau ja auf zwei Beinen nicht stehen kann. Diesmal mit [info]aislingde 's Vorlage:

1. Comment to this and I will give you 3 people.
2. Label which you would marry, shag, and throw off a cliff.
3. Provide pictures of the 3 people.
4. Post this meme with your answers.

Sie gab mir drei Herren in Uniform. Sogar noch alle dieselbe Berufssparte, die mit dem Vorteil, daß sie oft lange Zeit unterwegs sind. Aber Unterschiede gibt's. Entscheidende Unterschiede. Daher frischauf ans Aussieben zwischen Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey und James Norrington.

United they fall... )


Just fun... )


At the altar again... )


:-)) 
 


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feeling somewhat: awake
 
 
Silke
11 April 2009 @ 10:32 am
1. Comment to this and I will give you 3 people.
2. Label which you would marry, shag, and throw off a cliff.
3. Provide pictures of the 3 people.
4. Post this meme with your answers.



...this one for the choices given to me by [info]dashan ...and they are somewhat more difficult than [info]shendara 's.

What to do with Stephen Maturin, Martin Fitzgerald and Willow Rosenberg?
Walk the Plank )

Strip & Shag )


 

Wedding Bells... )

 



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Silke
11 April 2009 @ 09:55 am
1. Comment to this and I will give you 3 people.
2. Label which you would marry, shag, and throw off a cliff.
3. Provide pictures of the 3 people.
4. Post this meme with your answers.



I've been watching this meme fill my flist the past weeks and read the results with mounting curiosity. So, I commented on [info]shendara 's choices and was given "my men"... Richard Sharpe, Ezra Standish and Johnny Smith. Shag, cliff or marry?

The good times... )

The bad... )

Until death do us part.... )



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feeling somewhat: amused
 
 
Silke
08 April 2009 @ 09:47 pm
Too busy to watch anything.
Too tired to watch anything (took Fiona to work just to "enjoy" - as much as that's possible with changing trains and such) - an episode of The Tudors which I wouldn't have found time for otherwise - this sucks, next year I'll HAVE THAT BLOODY iPHONE!!!) But as it turns out...I can fit an entire episode of Show-Of-Choice into my travel time. One ep to and one ep fro. Yep, definitely iPhone next year. Fiona's sweet but way to bulky.

Still hurting rib-wise but what can you do.... Details were whined about to some people. Nothing I can change today, but hopefully in the long run.

Going to bed now. And it's only 10 pm. It's pathetic....
 
 
feeling somewhat: exhausted
 
 
Silke
...you are confused by the absence of the "XYZ wrote...." voiceover while watching Law & Order UK.

*facepalm*
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feeling somewhat: amused
 
 
Silke
23 March 2009 @ 01:59 pm
Ich muß an dieser Stelle mal einen Eintrag von letzter Woche ein zweites Mal posten.

Nicht weil ich verzweifelt bin und mir Gedanken mache, ob mich denn überhaupt jemand da draußen lieb hat und ob ich unwissentlich für die Finanzkrise verantwortlich bin und deshalb niemand antwortet (die grausame Wahrheit ist eine andere: Ja, ich bin Jack the Ripper und habe obendrein JFK erschossen!), nein, sondern weil ich befürchte, daß mit meiner Aus-der-Reihe-Datierungs-Aktion von einem Eintrag neulich (der prompt dazu führte, daß mein LJ von Leuten nicht gelesen werden konnte -- alles rückgängig gemacht!!!)  dieser eine Post "untergegangen" ist...

Auch 2009 ist es unvermeidlich: am 15. April vor 32 Jahren hatte das Leiden für meine Mutter in den frühen Morgenstunden ein Ende...und ich habe alljährlich noch was davon, nämlich mit der Feierei in einem Monat, der für viele Leute ein Rennen von einem Geburtstag zum nächsten ist.

Nun sind es nur noch vier Wochen bis dahin und 32 ist eigentlich keine spektakuläre Zahl, aber ich würde gerne mal wieder die Bude voll haben, weshalb ich hiermit hochoffiziell in die Runde tröte:

Am Samstag, den 18.04.2009 (habe ich schon mal gesagt, daß Geburtstage am Mittwoch blöd sind?) lade ich zum B-Day Brunch ein. Details folgen noch, aber bitte haltet euch schon mal diesen Termin frei! Es würde mich sehr freuen, euch zu sehen. Gebt mir zeitnah Bescheid, damit die logistische (wenn auch nicht unbedingt logische:-) Planung anlaufen kann! *hearts all*



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Current Location: bed
feeling somewhat: chipper