oh no! only 32 days left to become an international pop star!

hi all!

life in vienna has been incredibly fun and busy. my birthday was so rejuvenating - through the grace of my lovely mother and the miracle of online banking i was able to spend not just one, but TWO nights in a hotel room with a bathtub. i spent a huge majority of my birthday weekend immersed in water or sweatin' out toxins in the hotel's sauna. i didn't watch much tv, because it seems that CNN international (the only english channel available) is pretty focused on sad things like "PLANET IN PERIL" and "NO JOBS AT ALL: THE FUTURE" and "DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR KITTEN IS?!" not really, but pretty much. but i did have wifi, so i got to catch up on some daily shows and colbert reports, which was pretty exhilarating.

i spent the rest of that week trying to figure out my options for grad school and working on my resume/personal statements. much more frustrating and stressful than i remember it being two years ago... i guess being in school then made things a bit less intense. i'm really wanting to get into a joint JD/PhD in philosophy program but logistically, things are not going my way. we'll see.

halloween was interesting... i had a migraine in the afternoon, so i took my prescription - thinking i'd be better to go out later in the evening. unfortunately my prescription started giving me heart palpitations, so i was hesitant to go out for fear that some juvenile halloween prank would thrust me into cardiac arrest and render me half-dead and twitching in some viennese gutter. luckily, i felt much better by 10pm and my fears subsided. on the u-bahn on my way out, i saw the MEANEST kids ever. i actually think they might have been neo-nazis but i hope not. they spotted this poor girl in a witch costume, started taunting her, and literally tried to light her hair on fire with a lighter. the witch was smart and got up to safely exit at the next stop, but as she was walking out, they squeezed an entire tube of toothpaste into her hair. it was so horrible! i wanted to do something, but (a) i don't know how to say "knock it off you ne'er-do-wells" in german, and (b) i have a categorical rule of avoiding conflict with foreigners in general and neo-nazis in particular. so sad!

anyway, i arrived at my destination without a hitch and met up with meaghan, her roommate james, and her friend sean who was visiting from oxford. we stayed at a pretty lame american party for an hour or two, because there was free beer and entertaining costumes. then we hopped on the u-bahn and headed to "schnapsloch," an illegal, literal-hole-in-the-wall bar that is only open on friday nights. great atmosphere, great music. i drank a flaming beverage through a straw. meaghan did not take too well to the flaming beverage, so we headed home soon afterwards (not before getting some kebab). but it was still a lovely, really fun evening.

saturday was all saint's day, which is a big deal in austria. EVERYTHING was closed. grocery stores, retail stores, everything except museums. i caught the edward hopper exhibit at the kunsthalle, which was wonderful. later, after panicking that i would have to play 'meal or no meal' for the next 48 hours, i found an open grocery store in the praterstern. turns out i wasn't alone. i had to wait in a mob line of no less than 50 people before i was allowed to even go into the store. then it was a crazy free-for-all. imagine what a costco would look like if it was suddenly discovered that armageddon was upon us, and you'd be right on track. no milk left, people buying 50kilo sacks of potatoes, broken bancomat machines, pure chaos. but i got everything i needed and will heretofore pay more attention to upcoming national holidays.

that night meaghan, sean, and i headed out for my first foreign karaoke experience. karaoke in vienna is absolutely bizarre. since it's such a musical town, nearly everyone (except me) who sang had amazing, professionally trained voices. the funny part was that these angelic voices were used to sing really, really terrible songs (like the soundtrack from grease, and many 'hit' songs i'd literally never heard of by major american bands like bon jovi). meaghan sang "goodbye earl" by the dixie chicks, i sang "mercedes benz" by janis joplin, and meaghan, sean and i did a tasteless rendition of tina turner's "proud mary." then we immediately left, which was probably rude... but we had to save face. we then headed to a really cute, red-velvet walled pub that had the best music selection i've heard thus far in vienna. a bit expensive, but for a high quality dance party, it was worth it.

sunday night i trekked out to arena to see my dear american friend eddy and his band (parenthetical girls) play a show. they played wonderfully and it was so lovely to see a friend from home. i tried to talk the other band mates into letting me be their ad hoc tour manager for the rest of their time in europe, but they didn't really go for it. monday they played another set at the rhiz, and again much fun was had.

tuesday i tried to sleep in as late as possible so i could stay up late and watch the elections. poll results didn't even start to come in until 1 or 2am vienna time, so meaghan and i cozied ourselves up in a cute english cafe with coffee and sandwiches, ready for a long night. seven hours, two new friends, and many tears of joy later, we emerged triumphant and elated. minus my aforementioned run-in with the u-bahn police, it was a pretty perfect day.

wednesday was a blur. i woke up and fell asleep so many times i lost count. poor meaghan had to go to cello practice that day and said she literally fell asleep mid-phrase, with bow in hand. it was a rough day!

yesterday i received great news from home - some fancy hollywood producer wants to see michael's live reel and press kit! i spent most of the day and night compiling the press kit and frantically skyping with michael about the logistics. he's going to send it all off on saturday - i'm so excited! this could be the big time for michael rockstar...

saturday i will probably head to a couchsurfing.org party, and monday i'm going to catch the klezmatics at a huge klemer festival taking place next week. besides that, most of my time will be spent holing up and doing things that cost no money, because until SPIN pays me or i find a viennese benefactor who will shower me with money and chocolates, i am pretty darn broke. silly things like internet access and u-bahn tickets cost a lot more than i originally planned, and i need to budget for the fact that grad schools charge $50-$75 a pop per application. yikes! the one problem about converting to minimalist non-consumerism, as i have, is that you have nothing to sell on e-bay. :)

okay... dinner time! it is super cold and wet tonight... it got dark at like 3:45! these are the days when i miss cheap video stores and chinese takeout.

xoxoxoxo
ashley

i'm having problems posting pictures but will try again later! :)