Lazy Friday and Fun Party
This morning was not terrificly interesting.....I worked in the library from 9 until 1.......nothing much happened....I filled a significant portion of my free hard disk space with ripped music from their CD collection, which was fun. After work I met Gretchen quite serendipitously and she accompanied me on all my errands of the day: first to Stöger to buy school supplies (after a week, I know exactly what I need, and managed to get it for under €10, and not only that, but I completely made up for tripping over my German at the opera house last night by composing a flawless sentence completely ad hoc asking the salesgirl if I could purchase binders individually or only in packs of 6...a small personal victory, but a victory nonetheless!) then to the music store (sheet music, not recordings) and finally to the supermarket. Having withdrawn money yesterday, I felt it was my civic duty to spend a bulk of it today: €20 worth of groceries (a more significant investment than I usually make at one time, but a worthwhile one) €45 for my Monatskarte (subway ticket) for October, €10 for school supplies, and....acutally that was it! Well, it felt like tons of money was leaving my hands today, but it all went to good causes. Thankfully I did not purchase anything at the huge (and fantastic!!) music store, seeing as how everything was very expensive. They did have everything, though, including a full score to Peter Grimes which I would absolutely kill for (and I'd probably have to do more than kill someone to get the required €160....) and tons and tons of organ music, which is probably the most likely thing I'll purchase there in the future, if I ever buy anything. (you must excuse my horrendous syntax....there's a reason which I'll get to later)
Part of my grocery expenditure was €8 for wine, brie and crackers to take to the wine and cheese party at Altgasse....two of my friends (Gretchen and Kate) and a bunch of other IES students live in this really nice place on Altgasse with a nice outdoor area, and they planned a big get-together in the form of a wine-and-cheese party. (a sort of anti-Oktoberfest, since lots of people are going to München now to catch the last weekend of the extravaganza) It was tons of fun, and although not quite as erudite as it might sound, was rather enjoyable. I played three games of chess (the board belonged to one of the occupants of the apartment where the party took place in lieu of the courtyard, and coincidentally it is exactly the same chess set I bought in Prague! He thinks he got his in Krakow on the 3-city tour, but I betcha he's just on crack and he actually got it in Prague.......) I won the first one (against Gretel) and I lost the next one to a University of Chicago student named Ben (or Max or something) by stupidly letting him capture my queen, but I won the re-match with a brilliant windmill, or whatever they call it when you take a bunch of your opponent's pieces in a row......it was lots of fun! After the cheese was gone we went to the local Heuriger, which is literally next door to their apartment. It was a really really cute little place, and when I go back I'll have to take better pictures. There was a violinist and an accordion player playing little waltzes and Austrian diddies and, especially for us, I think, songs from the musical theater repertory and the like (If I were a rich man, que sera, sera, etc.) It was really cool, and it lent the perfect atmosphere for drinking red Sturm (half-fermented red wine, basically) in a dark room with a bunch of friends. It was an awesome time, and not terribly expensive as these places go. (then again, we didn't order food, a decision which my stomach is starting to regret....) It was a nice experience of "eine echte Österreichische Nacht," as I would say; a real (or true...echt is a good word with a more intricate meaning) Austrian night. We stayed there for a LONG time, and when we finally left at 2:30 Mike, David and I took the night bus home. I feel better having been on a night bus now, so that if I ever have to do it again I will feel comfortable about it....) So again, sorry about the syntax, but first the cabarnet and brie and mostly the 3 glasses of Sturm have taken their effect. Now, I must go to bed and sleep 'til the 'morrow, when I will awake....well, God only knows when!
Part of my grocery expenditure was €8 for wine, brie and crackers to take to the wine and cheese party at Altgasse....two of my friends (Gretchen and Kate) and a bunch of other IES students live in this really nice place on Altgasse with a nice outdoor area, and they planned a big get-together in the form of a wine-and-cheese party. (a sort of anti-Oktoberfest, since lots of people are going to München now to catch the last weekend of the extravaganza) It was tons of fun, and although not quite as erudite as it might sound, was rather enjoyable. I played three games of chess (the board belonged to one of the occupants of the apartment where the party took place in lieu of the courtyard, and coincidentally it is exactly the same chess set I bought in Prague! He thinks he got his in Krakow on the 3-city tour, but I betcha he's just on crack and he actually got it in Prague.......) I won the first one (against Gretel) and I lost the next one to a University of Chicago student named Ben (or Max or something) by stupidly letting him capture my queen, but I won the re-match with a brilliant windmill, or whatever they call it when you take a bunch of your opponent's pieces in a row......it was lots of fun! After the cheese was gone we went to the local Heuriger, which is literally next door to their apartment. It was a really really cute little place, and when I go back I'll have to take better pictures. There was a violinist and an accordion player playing little waltzes and Austrian diddies and, especially for us, I think, songs from the musical theater repertory and the like (If I were a rich man, que sera, sera, etc.) It was really cool, and it lent the perfect atmosphere for drinking red Sturm (half-fermented red wine, basically) in a dark room with a bunch of friends. It was an awesome time, and not terribly expensive as these places go. (then again, we didn't order food, a decision which my stomach is starting to regret....) It was a nice experience of "eine echte Österreichische Nacht," as I would say; a real (or true...echt is a good word with a more intricate meaning) Austrian night. We stayed there for a LONG time, and when we finally left at 2:30 Mike, David and I took the night bus home. I feel better having been on a night bus now, so that if I ever have to do it again I will feel comfortable about it....) So again, sorry about the syntax, but first the cabarnet and brie and mostly the 3 glasses of Sturm have taken their effect. Now, I must go to bed and sleep 'til the 'morrow, when I will awake....well, God only knows when!
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