My life has taken on a strange normalcy since my last biz trip. I’m actually home for a weekend and don’t have plans to get on a plane or visit an airport for a while. Patrick and I hung out on Koenig Strasse today and did virtually nothing. I read a book. It was great.
So a while back, on weekend when I was fighting Jetlag, Patrick went to a b-day party in Austria (cool huh?) On Saturday night they went to the local disco only to encounter some really interesting locals. This was how Patrick described the happy club goers…”He looking like a cross between the guy from Riverdance and the hicks that hang out in front of the feed store on weekends in Chico. When he got out on the dance floor, he seemed to be doing some sort of techno line dance. Amusing to watch”. Made me wish I had been able to overcome my sleep coma.
As I was walking home from the gym this week I passed a man and woman eating ice cream cones (did I mention it is raining here?) The interesting thing was what the woman’s ice cream looked like. It was two flavors. A light colored one and a dark one. She had been licking from the bottom and this caused the dark flavor to over take the light flavor which you could now only see on top. The strokes of her lips seemed to form tulip petals in the ice cream. I realize this doesn’t make sense but the visual was really beautiful looking. I know, it’s bizarre to think about ice cream licks as art but it was really deliberate looking. It struck me so much I stopped and wrote it down in my trusty book.
On a recent trip I was listening to “The Great Below” by NIN when as Trent sang “I will take my place in the great below” the plane dipped. Mellow dramatic? Yes but it was a clarifying feeling to me. For a moment everything came together. Am I overly obsessed with the music I listen to? Yes. But it brings me peace and clarity and that is what I am looking for in life. Besides, it is my web site and I can write anything I want.
Fashion in Germany is a double edged sword. People pay a lot more attention to their appearance. Men dress up. I find this nice being the Fashionista that I am. On the other hand it does create more problems than seen, say, in your average California city. People try harder here, and they fail harder here. In California it is Levi’s and Gap shirts. Hard to go too wrong though I have on occasion wanted to slap some guy or girl with a citation for wearing, some hideous, ill fitting, “retro” shirt and shoe combination with their perfectly aged Levi’s. Though disturbing it is hardly “distractingly” bad. Here in Germany it is an entirely different story. When someone fails, they fail hard. A citation wouldn’t be enough. They need to be hauled into jail and given 2 years of hard labor at Abseits boutique or something. Germans are very trendy. Basically their fashion sheep. If shiny skin tight red bottom-flare pants and “matching” purple halter top with metal ring for the neck is in, they’ll buy it. Much to my displeasure. For the most part Germans are in good shape, but that doesn’t mean they can all wear a size 2, which they seem to attempt. My “government” could make a fortune on fashion violation citations and “rehab” programs for some of these people. For me, it is truly painful.
Vain? Yes. Excellent fashion sense? Yes. So what’s so wrong with it? Picasso and Rembrandt made the world a more beautiful place by painting. I make it more beautiful by helping people dress better.
So above is the pink and black Betsey Johnson outfit I bought in Seattle. You know the one that made me fail on my fast. Great huh? My Mom was particularly surprised it wasn’t black. I did buy a black summer dress too. Anyhow, I realize my eyes are closed but it was the best of the pictures we took of me in that outfit. You all do realize what a personal sacrifice it is for me to take these pictures? I hate taking pictures but I am doing this for you.