Kittehs - I luvs dem

Sometimes I randomly google 'cats' to make up my mind about what kitties I'd like to own once I'm an old bitter cat lady.

That's how I found another site that is on my check-every-day-list now ... 

more animals

I love Lolcats!

the site also alerted me to the Slinky Cat

which made me youtube slinky ads and there are many...

... it's addictive.

so is watching this ...

... it's strangely soothing.

____________

More Than A Mousepad

Surprising news from my credit card company ... The FA has transferred almost 4 GBP back to my account. Must be the postage cos I collected my ticket from the Hotel. Never expected them to play so fair... thumbs up!

and now that my caps have been added ... I'm in the upper 15 ... hihi... well 15 000 that is. There are 10619 members who have less caps than me. Where does that put me for South Africa? We'll see... it's looking good, though I still have to attend home games this season to get into the important ballots ... 

... and then get rich to be able to afford to go to the other end of the world. Haha ... or bribe Stupid Sepp to have it back in Germany. Not very likely it seems, as they've just announced the ticket prices ... 15% of the tix will defo go to SA citizens, which is fair play, but I guess no one is so naive to think these tix won't reappear on the black market.

It Still Makes Me Happy To Think About It

It was a brilliant night. Once I was in the stadium it didn't matter they all decided to stay home... just that feeling ... that buzzing excitement shortly before the game starts... I could live off that.

Thought I post a few pics ... I can't remember there ever being flags above the designated entrances... but I like it ... also note that there was hardly anything to keep the fans apart...

but suddenly security freaked out, coz some idiots stirred up a fight outside. That made me feel a bit uneasy first, but then I thought... I can speak their (security guys) language, I'm gonna be okay ... in Rome I'd have a problem.

It was a good game for my B-team ... Schland was looking not so good. But hey, everyone can have an off-day. I was glad JT could make up for that mistake of his... which in a way was comedy gold... just good it didn't happen in an important game. 

Thing is, from where I sat I could hardly make out who was who. My eyes were hurting badly from doing that Computer Course and not sleeping enough (which is my own fault), so the number on JT's shirt appeared to be a 66 for most of the time... blurry vision.

I can't remember there being helicopters around for the World Cup, but then it was 2 years ago. Sometimes there are media-copters... this time it was police, I guess ... and I swear they had the helicopter directly pointed to look at me almost throughout the entire game ...

as the game went on I was starting to get a bit paranoid ... 

seriously... it was freaky! TC-freakish...

Anyway, the game left me very happy and I've been feeding off that feeling ever since ... it will be a while till I'll see them again.

Leaving the stadium, I was in a state of utter amusement ... being German myself and on the other side of the human fence while everyone else was kinda stuck behind it was weird.

I had a LOT of space to walk around, almost all the other englandfans had already left, while my poor 62.000 or more countrymen were not so lucky...  

meanwhile the journos tried to get a few interviews ... "it's for GMTV" ...

and here we have it... more space ... and a wall made of police vans which magically arranged themselves during the game to keep the fans apart afterwards...

I never felt this protected before ... nevermind the fact that I was basically being protected from my next door neighbours... it was a very bizarre experience! but soon I realised it had its advantages ... the police-van-later-transformed-into-policemen-chain/fence/wall led me right to the best platform to get away from the stadium ... the one where the normal service runs ... the extra trains are such a pain ... so while thousands of angry Germans (I heard them ... they weren't too happy) were huddled together, hardly able to move or get on a train, I walked around rather freely... though I gotta say the police presence outside the station (including horseys) was a bit scary too... 

well, that was until I walked into the station building and looked to my left, where this comical moment had me giggling...

they looked like robots who were programmed to not let anyone walk through those doors.

I was home around midnight ... which I suppose must have been a record for a late game ... usually it takes ages.

The trip back home was .. well interesting. I've been to many England games now, but this was the first time I got really squashed and had trouble breathing... which wasn't made easier by the people, who were doing the squashing, jumping, hitting the glass windows and singing that stupid "ten german bombers" song at a Germany fan who had sneaked on the train ... and yeah they were carrying beer in plastic cups and smoked on the train ... while I could barely move. I smiled though... their prison tattoos warned me not to do anything else ... but at least a cute guy from Hull was frequently asking me whether I was alright. Surprisingly they didn't freak when they realised I was German and supporting England... they actually invited me to celebrate with them. But they weren't hot so I declined ... sadly the guy from Hull didn't ask. Once they got off the train at the Zoo, I was insulted by 3 boys from the South who for no particular reason were total asses towards me. My faked northern accent didn't amuse them either... nevertheless they also asked me to join them for a celebration... what made them think I would want to after they were so rude? Some people! 

And by the way you three stupid rich boys, a german girl can support english football without having an english boyfriend... because girls can have own opinions too. (Not that I would mind having an english boyfriend ... or a boyfriend at all. I'm not bitter...) 

Thumbs up to the two guys from Southampton who were pretty sweet and the people I spoke to at the stadium!

Anyway... what a night ... and it left me with this little treasure of JT and Poldi professing their love for eachother in that bloke-ish romantic gesture of the almost-head-butt...

awwwwwwwwww!

So what did the MEDIA say? 

First I wanna thank the Times for teaching me my new favourite word ... I guess someone was using Thesaurus when they described Stuart Downing as LUGUBRIOUS.

How can it be I never heard that word before ... it's brilliant! Maybe it's because there are around 47 other words to say someone has a tendency to be dark-minded... and I have to say I kinda like FUNEREALLY too.

Anyway... lugubrious ... I can't pronounce it... but this woman can.

Okay then (to use a phrase half-tattooed on Wayne Rooney's body...) ... MEDIAWATCH

The Times

Joachim Löw, the Germany coach, prowled the touchline wearing a black coat that made him look like an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean.

What a lovely description of Jogi ... hehe... a pirate! Where was his parrot, though?

The athletics track kept supporters away from the action...

it did!

And try a bit harder next time, Germany, won’t you? There are girlfriends of footballers out there in that rain-sodden jungle clearing, you know, and, because of you, we have gone a whole day without news of their wellbeing.

hehe... the writer was very amused by ITV's predicament of footie vs. I'm a Celeb... well the footie won and news of Nicola's Boobies' first Birthday had to be delayed... wasn't it brilliant, how she burst into the bush telegraph to tell the world about it and how the creepy cop Brian was just saying something about an "older lover" ... though The Sun says he said "elderly mother" ... maybe my brain is making me hear things. Fabulous, nonetheless!

Tabloid Headline of the Day

goes to the Daily Mirror for: WIN-GER-LAND

Quote of the Day (The Guardian)

"It was a case of, 'You kick it, I'll kick it, you'll kick it, I'll kick it, oh the German has kicked it,'"

said Capello with a smile.

well, he summed that up perfectly!

and the Guardian is seeing great things to come, I suppose...

This Germany team, (...), had been in the final of Euro 2008, a tournament for which England did not qualify. BC - Before Capello.

seriously? BC?

Daily Telegraph

The Telegraph was hearing things, that I didn't hear, but then the acoustics in the stadium can be rather fickle... 

Terry made immediate amends with a late header, leaving England’s huge support singing in the rain. “Let’s all have a disco,’’ they chorused.

(...) There was plenty to get them on their feet.

Well, first of all, we NEVER sat down! Which I quite enjoyed! Makes the whole experience so much more exciting and lively! And then to be honest, it was raining (and thx to that big hole in the pretty roof the opposition fans usually get soaked) and we were all just shuffling 20 seats to the right to avoid the worst of it ... which was "cosy" and it must have looked funny.

But the Telegraph puts it right by describing that 1:1 moment like this...

Both keeper and centre-half cringed.

CRINGE! It was cringe-worthy, wasn't it?

The Independent

... might be pushing it a bit with this conclusion...

Add to Fabio Capello's list of achievements this latest triumph: he has built an England team more German than the Germans.

__________________

Yeah, it's still making me happy that night ... not so much because of the result, more because of being there in the stadium with my fellow englandfans watching England play. That stadium moment is just so big... I needed that to get some energy to get me through the next few lugubrious months. Well, they won't be too lugubrious, but I just like saying it ... lugubrious ... lugubrious! It's the new yogalates!

Have to go now and catch up on the jungle show ... I've missed the last 4 days (it's Tuesday ... I started working on this post on Friday), because I spent all my time watching Brotherhood. Damn you, Jason Isaacs, for those mesmerizing eyes and thuggish smile. Can't wait to watch The State Within ... a British Ambassador... he looks so fine in a suit. And yeah he is Lucius Malfoy ... but let's not go there... 

It Was Spectacularly Unspectacular

I don't know why in my mind it seemed so glamorous to pick up the ticket at a luxurious hotel.

Just two girls in a small room handing out tickets. No queue, no conversations with them or any fans.

Why did I wear a skirt? Where was the cute guy I wanted to steal the job from?

Damn it!

And the Hotel wasn't as fabulous as I had hoped. It has seen better days...

Well, I suppose I was just too excited about it all ... as always.

Well, it's good I'm no longer crazily excited about tomorrow night ... that way the disappointment won't be too big. Maybe the youngsters could make it up to me with a brilliant game and lots of goals and ... a win!

oh yeah ... not to jinx them any further ... but Baby Theo has just pulled out too. He dislocated his shoulder during todays training session ... and had to go to hospital. 

Something is wrong here... I suspect aliens!

Anyway, at least I have The Sun's humour to cheer me up...

Can I Have Another Drink Please?

I'm a bit upset, coz all I get will be a trip to the Hilton Hotel to pick up me ticket.

England is coming to play Germany in Berlin and I've been smiling ever since it was announced, coz I was convinced that as I couldn't go to England to see my boys play this year, they decided to come to visit me. Which I thought was incredibly sweet...

The scheduling was always a bit stupid for a BIG friendly like that - the last international match before the long winter break at such a crucial time of the season ... so I expected one or two of the boys not playing due to minor injuries.

BUT EIGHT???

This is a JOKE! A bloody FRAUD!

no David, no Wayne, no Gary, no Rio, no Frank, no Stevie, no Ashley, no Joe

*random posting of hot/cute pictures to make me feel better*

okay David hasn't played for 3 weeks, coz the season is over in LA (I mean why would the USA play during the normal FIFA schedule ... why would that make sense? Idiots!), so Fabio left him out... though he has been training. Now the midfielders are all dropping out and Becks is stuck in LA not able to be here in time ... come on Babes, just get on the plane ... no one cares how you play anyway and if you just land an hour before the game starts, who cares! all you have to do is look nice, come on after half time and cheer up the crowd... it would lift the spirits incredibly!
(yeah, I'm desperate!)

Gary was never to be expected anyway... coz he's not back to who he was 2 years ago after that damn injury... but I still love him and had hoped a friendly like this would be the perfect opportunity to get him back into the squad.

But for the others ... if this was an important game, they would have got a few injections and would have been fine to play.

As it turns out ... the risk is too high... blah, blah ... they just don't love me anymore!!!

The Sun goes as far as suggesting, that they would rather stay at home to watch I'm a Celebrtiy... Get Me Out Of Here instead of getting their asses kicked by Schweini... hehe, that at least made me smile.

So all I'm left with are JT and Crouchy... whom I love very much, but let's be honest it's just not enough... unless they humour me by showing up like this...



And then there are Calamity James, Bridgey and Baby Theo ... okay. And yeah I'm not naming Michael Carrick in that list on purpose ... boring!!!

I'm glad I didn't pay 100 Euros for the ticket ...

Well, I guess I'll just make the best of picking up the ticket from that posh hotel tonight ... I'll let you know how that went.

Fingers crossed JT and Crouchy don't pick up some whimsical and curious injuries till tomorrow!

Watch It While It's Hot

Xie Xie

Thank you young and minority America for voting for Obama. It goes with the flow of things. And yeah, thank god for the internet...

here is the song that has occupied my head for over a week now

btw: this is the first ever twin post with La Bonette... coz it's just sooo catchy!

The other clip I've watched over and over again since before the silly answer machine Russell/Wossy-scandal, is that brilliant Viddycast with Simon which also features Dita, Noel Gallagher, Pete Waterman (not Dennis... as I thought for days... stupid me) AND Wossy...

awww... aren't they adorable in the end? Good times! And now? Russell is gone, Jonathan's suspended till January and Simon has to hide away a pre-recorded Buzzcocks episode that features Mr. Brand until everyone gets their knickers out of a twist.

And then there is someone who wants to say HELLO ... it's Vegas! My new lovely computer. And hang on, someone else is shouting over too... it's lovely littly Stardust ... my new iPod ... yeah he's named after the old Vegas hotel which is no more ... and as my mate Robbie used to say "The iPod brought me back to music." A wise man that Robbie, but then of course he has to be...  I mean what with all the alien connections he has!

Now you might all wonder why the factory girl is suddenly speaking chinese. That's not just because Vegas and Stardust travelled to me from Shanghai, no, I got mail from Hongkong today, coz I ordered clothing for Vegas and Stardust from there via ebay UK. It's so exciting ... a big envelope with crazy bird stamps on it ... awww! I'm in love with all of it! So I am grateful ... xie xie!

I just watched the Gary Barlow Band perform at the EMAs in Liverpool... ahhh  memories! But why they let Kerry Katona onto the stage is a big mystery to me.

Damn this is a quite random post, but there is one last gem, I've got for you... this man sang this song on the public transport for me today and tried to sell me his CD for 2 Euros ... 

The First Look

The factory has been closed for a while now, because Kiki died. Yeah, my lovely Laptop gave up on me and for the last 5 weeks or so I've been using the miaudonna's old PC to go online... which I'm very, very thankful for (Thx Puffin!).

Luckily fo me it was a slow death and I could save most of my data. But I miss Kiki ... she wasn't the prettiest of notebooks, but she was my baby.

Now I'm getting a new Baby ... and the decision was difficult. I mean I didn't plan on getting a new Notebook now... I thought maybe next year when I have a real job. But now that Kiki is gone there is no argueing... I NEED a Laptop to write my dissertation and end Project Finish.

Macbook or "normal" Notebook?

I never really wanted a Macbook though, because of all the hype surrounding it and because I'm sooo used to Windows ... I know where everything is and how to deal with it. I just thought about maybe getting one in case my future employer uses Mac stuff.

Anyway... after a week of soul searching, price comparing and consulting friends and relatives ... it seemed not buying a Macbook would be slightly stupid. Yes, I want a stylish Notebook with all the latest gadgets and for a good price. And I want it to be as light as possible as I have to carry it around a lot in the next few months. The Macbook just convinced me more and more ... especially as I'll get 12% off the original price, if I buy it through my university's apple store.

So the decision was made ... my new Notebook would indeed be a Macbook.

And then a man at an apple store here in Berlin told me about the new Macbooks and possible price reductions (hey if I can save 100 Euros, I'll do it) and talked about them coming out in September... well that didn't happen. It was just new ipods.

But then they started the Back to School campaign basically giving an ipod away with a Macbook and now I'm very happy I waited and I was hoping for the rumours to be true that there will be new Macbooks by next week.

I waited anxiously for the rumours to be true and now they finally announced another event for next Tuesday.

And here is the first Look:



Is that my new Baby?

I've already got a name, I'm going to call it Vegas ... why? Because the money I have to spend on it could have easily paid for THAT trip to Vegas... especially with the economy being in the shitter. And I love Vegas and I think it's a fitting name... as I gambled by waiting and waiting for it and it seems I won... as I might not just get a new Macbook, but also an iPod touch for half the money it would usually set me back. Yippieh!

So I'm very, very happy and excited! I can't wait for next week and for my order to be placed!