I saw them in Vienna and they absolutely rocked!!!! Can't wait for them to come back to Europe!!
Dienstag, 13. Dezember 2011
Shantoine!!!
Anyone who is in the Area (it's in Las Vegas, Baby!) and wants to Party really hard should consider going there!!! I would if it wasn't about 10000 miles away and flights wouldn't be insanely expensive *sigh*
I saw them in Vienna and they absolutely rocked!!!! Can't wait for them to come back to Europe!!
I saw them in Vienna and they absolutely rocked!!!! Can't wait for them to come back to Europe!!
Sonntag, 11. Dezember 2011
Goodbye
This Video was taken at the last show of 30 Seconds to Mars. After the last full show which everyone could attend via VyRt Mars played two more shows at St. Peters of Chelsea Church in NYC. the last shows was a tribute show for Haiti, all the money they earned will be used to help people in Haiti.
The song is called "a Modern Myth" and is one of my favourites from the Album "A Beautiful Lie", what makes it so sad is, that most of the text is just "Goodbye". I am sure playing it as the last song during her last show must have been very emotional. At Church of Mars on Dec. 9th Jared said the following before playing the song:
and here is the Video (I know it is not the best quality but oh well):
The song is called "a Modern Myth" and is one of my favourites from the Album "A Beautiful Lie", what makes it so sad is, that most of the text is just "Goodbye". I am sure playing it as the last song during her last show must have been very emotional. At Church of Mars on Dec. 9th Jared said the following before playing the song:
"I know what the last song is but I don't want to play it because that means it is over. My fingers won't play the chords."
and here is the Video (I know it is not the best quality but oh well):
(c) www.youtube.com
Irene
Crazy Girls
I wrote most of this post yesterday evening but at some point was too tired to finish it, but here it is:
I had the time of my life today...it was such a great day and I am sad it is over. I am sitting on my couch now, posting on Facebook with my girls and wishing I could still be with them.
We had planned a Meeting in Nürnberg with a few Echelon at the end of October, not knowing it would be right after the last Mars Show, even before I started my crazy "4 week journey to Mars" or before I became such good friends with Patrizia and my emotional turmoil and everything.
As you can imagine my hubby was NOT amused when I reminded him this week, that the meeting is this weekend. Even more so when I told him a few of the girls would already be there friday night and that I will be going downtown to meet them at the Hostel they are staying at plus I won't be home saturday afternoon and evening. But to my surprise he was pretty cool with it after I let him do his thing all morning (he wanted to do some work in the backyard and finish one of his projects).
So on Friday I left when the kids went to bed and spend a few hours with the girls at the hostel, we talked and laughed and listened to Mars and chatted online with our friends on Facebook and I had a really, really good time. I met Patrizai again, who I hadn't seen for a whole week and totally missed. I also met Bine for the first time, we had been friends online for a while and we have had a lot of phone conferences with Patrizia. I already liked her a lot from just knowing her online because she is such a sweety and crazy and always in a happy mood.
Today I left when the kids went to take a nap after lunch and got to the restaurant we wanted to meet around 3 pm. 6 of the girls were already there, Jessi, Bine and Patrizia plus Nici,Tanja and Sandra. A while later 4 more girls came and we left to stroll through downtown for a while. We got something to drink and then took a few group pictures, also one while making a Human Triad. To explain what that is you have to know what a Triad is, it is one of the signs the band uses in their symbolism.
A Human Triad means that we make a Triad Shape ourselves and someone takes a picture from above. We tried it and I hope it turned out good, i haven't seen the pics yet. We also sat down and sang a few Mars songs, just like those street musicians, one of the girls had brought her guitar and we filmed it and might put it online. Later we all went to the Hostel to talk some more and laugh and sing a few more songs. I haven't laughed that much in a long time and I had such a great time today. Even if I spend it with people who are mostly strangers to me. We all share the same thoughts, and dreams and have the same kind of humor (which is a little weird and dirty, but oh well). I absolutely like that fact that we understand each other even without words sometimes. We all follow the band closely so it can happen that someone says something like "remember the concert in Frankfurt, you know when "thisandthat" happened" and it will start a conversation which can last for hours because we were all there (or most of us) even without knowing each other and even might have been standing or sitting close to each other. Being part of the Echelon means being part of a great community of people and I really enjoy it.
I am sad because all that is over for now, the last show was Friday, the boys are finally back home in LA, they won't be going on tour probably for the next two or three years, which is good because they definitely need a break, the all look really worn out and sick and Jared didn't really have voice anymore during the last few shows. But at the same time I fear that they will spilt up or not go on tour anymore ever again, I also fear that I might not be able to hold up the friendship with all the great people I met because the thing that we all shared (attending shows, going to meet and greets, etc...) is not there anymore. The excitement might fade away and you will loose contact.
I will enjoy this as long as it lasts and hope the changes in my life will last because most of them have been positive and if all of this will fade away at some point I still know I had the best freaking time in my life!!!!!
Irene
I had the time of my life today...it was such a great day and I am sad it is over. I am sitting on my couch now, posting on Facebook with my girls and wishing I could still be with them.
We had planned a Meeting in Nürnberg with a few Echelon at the end of October, not knowing it would be right after the last Mars Show, even before I started my crazy "4 week journey to Mars" or before I became such good friends with Patrizia and my emotional turmoil and everything.
As you can imagine my hubby was NOT amused when I reminded him this week, that the meeting is this weekend. Even more so when I told him a few of the girls would already be there friday night and that I will be going downtown to meet them at the Hostel they are staying at plus I won't be home saturday afternoon and evening. But to my surprise he was pretty cool with it after I let him do his thing all morning (he wanted to do some work in the backyard and finish one of his projects).
So on Friday I left when the kids went to bed and spend a few hours with the girls at the hostel, we talked and laughed and listened to Mars and chatted online with our friends on Facebook and I had a really, really good time. I met Patrizai again, who I hadn't seen for a whole week and totally missed. I also met Bine for the first time, we had been friends online for a while and we have had a lot of phone conferences with Patrizia. I already liked her a lot from just knowing her online because she is such a sweety and crazy and always in a happy mood.
Today I left when the kids went to take a nap after lunch and got to the restaurant we wanted to meet around 3 pm. 6 of the girls were already there, Jessi, Bine and Patrizia plus Nici,Tanja and Sandra. A while later 4 more girls came and we left to stroll through downtown for a while. We got something to drink and then took a few group pictures, also one while making a Human Triad. To explain what that is you have to know what a Triad is, it is one of the signs the band uses in their symbolism.
 | |||||
| (c) www.google.com |
I am sad because all that is over for now, the last show was Friday, the boys are finally back home in LA, they won't be going on tour probably for the next two or three years, which is good because they definitely need a break, the all look really worn out and sick and Jared didn't really have voice anymore during the last few shows. But at the same time I fear that they will spilt up or not go on tour anymore ever again, I also fear that I might not be able to hold up the friendship with all the great people I met because the thing that we all shared (attending shows, going to meet and greets, etc...) is not there anymore. The excitement might fade away and you will loose contact.
I will enjoy this as long as it lasts and hope the changes in my life will last because most of them have been positive and if all of this will fade away at some point I still know I had the best freaking time in my life!!!!!
Irene
Donnerstag, 8. Dezember 2011
VyRT
Yes, you read that right, VyRT...but what does that mean? And no, I did not make up a new word or am talking to you in some weird ancient language.
VyRT is a new virtual experience, one that connects (or well, connected as it is already over) millions of people around the world, and I was part of it! I will let you guess what it is all about and if you followed me closely you will know that it has something to do with....yes, Mars....again!
30 Seconds to Mars broke a Guiness World Record yesterday, they played over 300 Shows in the course of two years on a Tour for only one album (called This is War). The first show was in November 2009 in Paris, France and the last one will be tomorrow, Dec. 9th in NYC, at St. Peter's of Celsea Cathedral. Yesterday was the last full show at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC and they celebrated it not only with their Fans there, they set up a Livestream online for everyone around the World to see. They called it VyRT and it was a virtual Ticket for the show. People could buy a code to log on to a website to follow the show and some backstage action before and after. Jared actually took his laptop on Stage with him and checked the chat messages during the show to see who is online and who is sending greetings and virtual hugs and the such.
As the Stream started at 6pm NYC-Time it was midnight here in Germany. As you might have noticed yesterday was Wednesday, so a regular weekday which meant today I had to go to WORK. So I hesitated for a while, and I also thought "hey, it's just a way to make money" and I didn't know if the Stream would work. But in the end I was curious and I didn't want to miss it because I knew a lot of my friends would be there too, we would all be sitting in front of our Laptops/PC's chatting and sharing the experience and we would be having phone conferences in the middle of the night laughing and crying and spending the last time for a long while together "attending" a concert. So I bought my ticket and yesterday I napped a bit after work and I went to bed a 9 pm to sleep a bit and got up again at 11:30pm. I turned on the Computer which is hooked up to the big flatscreen in the livingroom, I turned on my Laptop, got some M&M's and Diet Coke and watched. At some point Patrizia called and she had two other girls on the phone also so we talked and watched it together. It was a fascinating experience, sitting at home, on my couch, with my Mars Hoodie and Sweatpants, under my blanket, watching history in the making and sharing it with thousands of others and my new found friends.
There was some backstage footage right before the show and they showed the Opening Act (without sound, because of the Music rights though) and then more backstage footage and then the show! 90 Minutes plus some old school songs from their first album which they haven't played for ages...and then they brought two small kids on stage for the last song, awwww....that was soo cute. It was awesome until the last minute when all of a sudden Jared stopped singing and called Medics to the Pit Area in front of the stage. The room turned dark and you only saw some Medics and small lights. Everyone was shocked...it looked like a few girls fainted and one fell and hit her head on the metal barrier. She was carried away on a stretcher. Not a very nice end to a perfect evening but I heard she is doing OK. But nonetheless, it was awesome....a once in a lifetime experience and I am still sooo happy I attended. Even though I only slept two hours and am trying to survive today until I can go to bed at 8 pm to be more awake tomorrow for an important appointment at work.
30 Seconds to Mars have helped my go above and beyond myself and face my fears, it made me insecure, it made me cry like a baby and question everything I did in the last few years...but this journey and the last few months made me stronger, helped me focus more on myself again and brought me some great friends I wouldn't want to miss again. They help me and hold me and guide me and don't judge me...my Mars-Girls are awesome!!!
Irene
VyRT is a new virtual experience, one that connects (or well, connected as it is already over) millions of people around the world, and I was part of it! I will let you guess what it is all about and if you followed me closely you will know that it has something to do with....yes, Mars....again!
30 Seconds to Mars broke a Guiness World Record yesterday, they played over 300 Shows in the course of two years on a Tour for only one album (called This is War). The first show was in November 2009 in Paris, France and the last one will be tomorrow, Dec. 9th in NYC, at St. Peter's of Celsea Cathedral. Yesterday was the last full show at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC and they celebrated it not only with their Fans there, they set up a Livestream online for everyone around the World to see. They called it VyRT and it was a virtual Ticket for the show. People could buy a code to log on to a website to follow the show and some backstage action before and after. Jared actually took his laptop on Stage with him and checked the chat messages during the show to see who is online and who is sending greetings and virtual hugs and the such.
As the Stream started at 6pm NYC-Time it was midnight here in Germany. As you might have noticed yesterday was Wednesday, so a regular weekday which meant today I had to go to WORK. So I hesitated for a while, and I also thought "hey, it's just a way to make money" and I didn't know if the Stream would work. But in the end I was curious and I didn't want to miss it because I knew a lot of my friends would be there too, we would all be sitting in front of our Laptops/PC's chatting and sharing the experience and we would be having phone conferences in the middle of the night laughing and crying and spending the last time for a long while together "attending" a concert. So I bought my ticket and yesterday I napped a bit after work and I went to bed a 9 pm to sleep a bit and got up again at 11:30pm. I turned on the Computer which is hooked up to the big flatscreen in the livingroom, I turned on my Laptop, got some M&M's and Diet Coke and watched. At some point Patrizia called and she had two other girls on the phone also so we talked and watched it together. It was a fascinating experience, sitting at home, on my couch, with my Mars Hoodie and Sweatpants, under my blanket, watching history in the making and sharing it with thousands of others and my new found friends.
There was some backstage footage right before the show and they showed the Opening Act (without sound, because of the Music rights though) and then more backstage footage and then the show! 90 Minutes plus some old school songs from their first album which they haven't played for ages...and then they brought two small kids on stage for the last song, awwww....that was soo cute. It was awesome until the last minute when all of a sudden Jared stopped singing and called Medics to the Pit Area in front of the stage. The room turned dark and you only saw some Medics and small lights. Everyone was shocked...it looked like a few girls fainted and one fell and hit her head on the metal barrier. She was carried away on a stretcher. Not a very nice end to a perfect evening but I heard she is doing OK. But nonetheless, it was awesome....a once in a lifetime experience and I am still sooo happy I attended. Even though I only slept two hours and am trying to survive today until I can go to bed at 8 pm to be more awake tomorrow for an important appointment at work.
30 Seconds to Mars have helped my go above and beyond myself and face my fears, it made me insecure, it made me cry like a baby and question everything I did in the last few years...but this journey and the last few months made me stronger, helped me focus more on myself again and brought me some great friends I wouldn't want to miss again. They help me and hold me and guide me and don't judge me...my Mars-Girls are awesome!!!
Irene
Dienstag, 6. Dezember 2011
Did I say over?
Well, I was wrong....LOL...
my totally freaking amazing 30 Seconds to Mars-Journey didn't end in Frankfurt....it ended in Austria, in a way I had never expected it.
A few weeks before the last concerts in Germany the band announced they would add one more show in Austria before returning to the US. This show wasn't a regular Mars-Show, it was part of a Ski-Opning Party together with two other bands in a small village in the middle of a huge Skiing Area in the Austrian Mountains, about 400 km from were I live. My friend Patrizia ordered her ticket and tried to convince me to come. But as I had already planned the weekend in Vienna and then also won the ticket for France and knew there is a Fan-Meeting on Dec. 10th I told her no, it would have ment not spending time at home with my family for 4 weekends in a row shortly before christmas and I knew we would need to do christmas shopping. Plus I thought they wouldn't play a whole show (and the ticket were regular prices) and I didn't know or liked the other bands. Patrizia had organized to go to Austria with two other girls from our Facebook Group and also organized an apartment to sleep one night. So she was set to go...
The week before the show she was soo excited because they also had Tickets for an Aftershow Party (not one like in Vienna but still with a small chance to see the band there as guests). I was happy for her and never really thought about it...until the Friday before the show when one of the girls posted the timetable for the next night and it looked like they would in fact be playing a 90 minute show. I was sad....and I told my husband (who always rolls his eyes and sighs when I talk about Mars). During the course of the evening he somehow decided he wanted to make me happy (don't ask me what happened, and I won't ask him, I will just be happy and love him even more than before). He had to go to the gas station to buy some drinks and when he came back he told me "I put enough gas in the car so you can make it to Austria tomorrow, so how about calling Patrizia so she can organize a room and a ticket for you" I was stunned...totally! But I didn't want to go by myself, I hate driving by myself. So he told me he would come with me (just like in Vienna) or I should just ask some girls from my group to come...
...I'll spare you the details, it includes a million Facebook Posts and over an hour of Telephone-Conferences between me, Patrizia, Petra and another girl from the group. In the end we did it the following way:
Lolly from Hamburg (about 800km north of were I live) would pack Julia (also from Hamburg) in her car around 5 am to drive to Bielefeld (3 hours away) to meet Petra and change to her car. The three of them will drive down to my place (about 4 hours) to meet me and hop into my car to go to Austria (another 4 hours). On our way there we would have to stop in Salzburg to pick up two tickets for Julia and Lolly, Petra and me would get tickets from a FB-friend of one of the girls who was going with Patrizia (can you still follow me?). Somewhere in between posting about it on FB another girl from Berlin asked if we are REALLY going and said she was soooo jealous. So I told her she could come, there is still one seat left in my car. She would just have to be in Nürnberg by noon. For her it meant taking a train around 2 am and switch to connecting trains 4 times during the night (and spent about 10 hours on the train). I told her she can decided herself, I will keep the space for her. She just had to call me in the morning to tell me if she is coming and where to pick her up. I went to bed around midnight while the others still organized tickets, trains and the such.
Needless to say I couldn't sleep....I was nervous and excited and totally overwhelmed by my own courage and nerves to pull something like that off on such a short notice. I totally freaked and I am sure I would have cancelled it if I could have...but when I got up around 8:30 they were all already on their way. So I had to deal with a few minor nervous-breakdowns, a lot of crying, an upset stomach and a totally frustrated husband who didn't understand me and kept asking "what the f...k is your problem" LOL
I didn't have breakfast, I stayed in bed until the last minute, I refused to get dressed...I was scared to death by what I had started....seriously, I still don't understand why...but I had to deal with it and I knew that at least Patrizia and Petra knew about my "problem" with dealing with spontaneous situations so I knew it would all work out in the end. And my girls were great all day and night, not asking any questions, not shaking their heads in disbelieve, not looking at me in a funny way for feaking out and crying....the just hugged me and told me it will be OK and that they love me no matter what...that feeling is incredible, especially when you haven't met them before and hardly know them in person...
I picked up Virginia (from Berlin) around 12:30 pm from the train and the others got to my place around 1 pm. Hubby came home (he did part of the shopping we had planned to do together for the weekend by himself real quick) around 10 minutes later and we left. I did the first hour of driving but then couldn't concentrate anymore (lack of sleep) so Petra took over and we made it to Salzburg in 3 hours. Picked up tickets real quick and were in Schladming an hour later. I had organized a room for 5 in the same Guesthouse Patrizia had so we met the girls (who had taken the train earlier) there. We changed real quick, used the bathroom and left to drive down to the village. Doors opened at 7pm, Mars were to play at 10pm. The 3 other girls had VIP-Tickets and had organize another one for Virginia, the other four of us had regular tickets. Unfortunately we found out at the Venue that we would be standing in different areas...oh well, at least we would see each other later. My group went to get something to eat (well, the other three, I was still way to nervous and didn't feel like eating).
The show was awesome!!! The Venue was incredible, it was Open Air, despite the fact that it was freezing (only thing missing was real snow but the y had some fake one). The Stage was set in front of a downhill skiing Area and it looked incredible!!!! We didn't feel like going close to/standing in the crowd so we stayed in the back which was a set little higher than the Crowd Area and Stage. We had a great view and lots of space to jump and dance and go crazy (which we did!!!)
AND the girl I met in Frankfurt posted on Facebook, that a friend of her knows which hotel the band is staying at and she told us - so right after the show we went there and stood in front of it for TWO freaking hours in the freezing cold (0° Celcius). We saw the guitarist, the keyboarder and the Drum Assistant plus a whole lot of Crew but none of the boys. It was still a lot of fun because we were goofing around and taking a million group pictures and dreaming about what we would do if the guys showed up. So around 2 am we decided that the guys won't be coming out anymore and the group with the Aftershow Tickets would go party and my group would go back to the Guesthouse to sleep. We needed to get up around 8:30 to drive back and needed some rest, the others were taking the train and could sleep on the way back. Patrizia told us if they see one of the guys at the party she would call....well, we got into the car and were on our way and she called...Party was now free admission and the saw Shannon!!!! Oh well, we decided to give it a shot and agreed on staying 30 minutes. We got there and he was nowhere to be seen, so we danced a bit and left.
The next morning we were told that he in fact was there but in a small VIP-Area on a Balcony above the dancefloor (the Venue was three storys high), so the girls could see him but couldn't dance with him or talk. So I think going to bed was in fact the right decision.
When we got up the next morning the girls were so excited because they all hadn't really been to the mountains before (being from the north/northwest part of Germany), It made me laugh so hard to see them take pictures of the mountains and go all ahhh and ohhh about it.
We left around 9, got some breakfast and coffee and were back on the Autobahn around 10. The girls mostly slept while I did the driving but we also talked about the crazy weekend and how great spontaneous decisions are. Had to stop for gas once and were home around 1:30 pm. Took a last picture, let them use the bathroom and boom....it was over!
Now there is still one show left to attend, or well, there are a few, 4 to be exact, in NYC, starting today. But tomorrow there will be a special show, it's the Mars 300 Show, which is a Guiness Book World Record Show (most shows to play in the course of one Tour for one single Album). And the guys decided they would stream it live on the Web so everyone can attend. I bought a ticket (you pay 15 $ and get a code to enter the Livestream) and will be sitting on my couch tomorrow at midnight here in Germany to watch the last and record breaking show of my favourite band...I will love it...and enjoy it...and I will cry...I know that....but it's OK...
Irene
my totally freaking amazing 30 Seconds to Mars-Journey didn't end in Frankfurt....it ended in Austria, in a way I had never expected it.
A few weeks before the last concerts in Germany the band announced they would add one more show in Austria before returning to the US. This show wasn't a regular Mars-Show, it was part of a Ski-Opning Party together with two other bands in a small village in the middle of a huge Skiing Area in the Austrian Mountains, about 400 km from were I live. My friend Patrizia ordered her ticket and tried to convince me to come. But as I had already planned the weekend in Vienna and then also won the ticket for France and knew there is a Fan-Meeting on Dec. 10th I told her no, it would have ment not spending time at home with my family for 4 weekends in a row shortly before christmas and I knew we would need to do christmas shopping. Plus I thought they wouldn't play a whole show (and the ticket were regular prices) and I didn't know or liked the other bands. Patrizia had organized to go to Austria with two other girls from our Facebook Group and also organized an apartment to sleep one night. So she was set to go...
The week before the show she was soo excited because they also had Tickets for an Aftershow Party (not one like in Vienna but still with a small chance to see the band there as guests). I was happy for her and never really thought about it...until the Friday before the show when one of the girls posted the timetable for the next night and it looked like they would in fact be playing a 90 minute show. I was sad....and I told my husband (who always rolls his eyes and sighs when I talk about Mars). During the course of the evening he somehow decided he wanted to make me happy (don't ask me what happened, and I won't ask him, I will just be happy and love him even more than before). He had to go to the gas station to buy some drinks and when he came back he told me "I put enough gas in the car so you can make it to Austria tomorrow, so how about calling Patrizia so she can organize a room and a ticket for you" I was stunned...totally! But I didn't want to go by myself, I hate driving by myself. So he told me he would come with me (just like in Vienna) or I should just ask some girls from my group to come...
...I'll spare you the details, it includes a million Facebook Posts and over an hour of Telephone-Conferences between me, Patrizia, Petra and another girl from the group. In the end we did it the following way:
Lolly from Hamburg (about 800km north of were I live) would pack Julia (also from Hamburg) in her car around 5 am to drive to Bielefeld (3 hours away) to meet Petra and change to her car. The three of them will drive down to my place (about 4 hours) to meet me and hop into my car to go to Austria (another 4 hours). On our way there we would have to stop in Salzburg to pick up two tickets for Julia and Lolly, Petra and me would get tickets from a FB-friend of one of the girls who was going with Patrizia (can you still follow me?). Somewhere in between posting about it on FB another girl from Berlin asked if we are REALLY going and said she was soooo jealous. So I told her she could come, there is still one seat left in my car. She would just have to be in Nürnberg by noon. For her it meant taking a train around 2 am and switch to connecting trains 4 times during the night (and spent about 10 hours on the train). I told her she can decided herself, I will keep the space for her. She just had to call me in the morning to tell me if she is coming and where to pick her up. I went to bed around midnight while the others still organized tickets, trains and the such.
Needless to say I couldn't sleep....I was nervous and excited and totally overwhelmed by my own courage and nerves to pull something like that off on such a short notice. I totally freaked and I am sure I would have cancelled it if I could have...but when I got up around 8:30 they were all already on their way. So I had to deal with a few minor nervous-breakdowns, a lot of crying, an upset stomach and a totally frustrated husband who didn't understand me and kept asking "what the f...k is your problem" LOL
I didn't have breakfast, I stayed in bed until the last minute, I refused to get dressed...I was scared to death by what I had started....seriously, I still don't understand why...but I had to deal with it and I knew that at least Patrizia and Petra knew about my "problem" with dealing with spontaneous situations so I knew it would all work out in the end. And my girls were great all day and night, not asking any questions, not shaking their heads in disbelieve, not looking at me in a funny way for feaking out and crying....the just hugged me and told me it will be OK and that they love me no matter what...that feeling is incredible, especially when you haven't met them before and hardly know them in person...
I picked up Virginia (from Berlin) around 12:30 pm from the train and the others got to my place around 1 pm. Hubby came home (he did part of the shopping we had planned to do together for the weekend by himself real quick) around 10 minutes later and we left. I did the first hour of driving but then couldn't concentrate anymore (lack of sleep) so Petra took over and we made it to Salzburg in 3 hours. Picked up tickets real quick and were in Schladming an hour later. I had organized a room for 5 in the same Guesthouse Patrizia had so we met the girls (who had taken the train earlier) there. We changed real quick, used the bathroom and left to drive down to the village. Doors opened at 7pm, Mars were to play at 10pm. The 3 other girls had VIP-Tickets and had organize another one for Virginia, the other four of us had regular tickets. Unfortunately we found out at the Venue that we would be standing in different areas...oh well, at least we would see each other later. My group went to get something to eat (well, the other three, I was still way to nervous and didn't feel like eating).
The show was awesome!!! The Venue was incredible, it was Open Air, despite the fact that it was freezing (only thing missing was real snow but the y had some fake one). The Stage was set in front of a downhill skiing Area and it looked incredible!!!! We didn't feel like going close to/standing in the crowd so we stayed in the back which was a set little higher than the Crowd Area and Stage. We had a great view and lots of space to jump and dance and go crazy (which we did!!!)
AND the girl I met in Frankfurt posted on Facebook, that a friend of her knows which hotel the band is staying at and she told us - so right after the show we went there and stood in front of it for TWO freaking hours in the freezing cold (0° Celcius). We saw the guitarist, the keyboarder and the Drum Assistant plus a whole lot of Crew but none of the boys. It was still a lot of fun because we were goofing around and taking a million group pictures and dreaming about what we would do if the guys showed up. So around 2 am we decided that the guys won't be coming out anymore and the group with the Aftershow Tickets would go party and my group would go back to the Guesthouse to sleep. We needed to get up around 8:30 to drive back and needed some rest, the others were taking the train and could sleep on the way back. Patrizia told us if they see one of the guys at the party she would call....well, we got into the car and were on our way and she called...Party was now free admission and the saw Shannon!!!! Oh well, we decided to give it a shot and agreed on staying 30 minutes. We got there and he was nowhere to be seen, so we danced a bit and left.
The next morning we were told that he in fact was there but in a small VIP-Area on a Balcony above the dancefloor (the Venue was three storys high), so the girls could see him but couldn't dance with him or talk. So I think going to bed was in fact the right decision.
When we got up the next morning the girls were so excited because they all hadn't really been to the mountains before (being from the north/northwest part of Germany), It made me laugh so hard to see them take pictures of the mountains and go all ahhh and ohhh about it.
We left around 9, got some breakfast and coffee and were back on the Autobahn around 10. The girls mostly slept while I did the driving but we also talked about the crazy weekend and how great spontaneous decisions are. Had to stop for gas once and were home around 1:30 pm. Took a last picture, let them use the bathroom and boom....it was over!
Now there is still one show left to attend, or well, there are a few, 4 to be exact, in NYC, starting today. But tomorrow there will be a special show, it's the Mars 300 Show, which is a Guiness Book World Record Show (most shows to play in the course of one Tour for one single Album). And the guys decided they would stream it live on the Web so everyone can attend. I bought a ticket (you pay 15 $ and get a code to enter the Livestream) and will be sitting on my couch tomorrow at midnight here in Germany to watch the last and record breaking show of my favourite band...I will love it...and enjoy it...and I will cry...I know that....but it's OK...
Irene
Freitag, 2. Dezember 2011
It's over
...or, well I should better say they are over..."they" being the most awesome, wonderful, freaking best and amazing 10 days of my life (or well, recent life...like the last year or so). As I mentioned earlier (only once or twice LOL) I am a HUGE 30 Seconds to Mars Fan....I am an Echelon with all my heart and it is so great to be part of that wonderful family. It changed my life and myself and I am soooo glad about it!!!
After I went to the Concerts in August with my hubby who likes the music but isn't really a fan I decided I would go to the Concert in Frankfurt (which was last Monday) either alone or with my friend (who has never heard the music before). I only planned to go to that one Concert but in the end I also went to another one in France and an Aftershow Party in Austria...that's life I guess. And I took my friend and she liked it too....and this last Concert was soooo perfect because I also met some of my online friends in person...and they are even nicer than I thought they are!!!!
As I have been a housewife and mother for the last years, partying wasn't really on my schedule....I never thought I really missed it as much as I apparently did (from my student years) because I was so nervous and excited and overwhelmed at some points during those days...I had a few minor panic-attacks and was near a nervous breakdown once or twice. I am sooo glad I had one of my favourite girls with me, her name is Patrizia and she has become a really good friend in such a short period of time (it's only been a month or so)....PattyMaus if you read this....THANK YOU....especially for bearing with me during my "what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here"-Moment in the Crowd in France!!
But let me tell you a little more about those days. Let me take you on a crazy journey....one I will never ever forget, one that I hope will be repeated one day in the not too far away future...
Patrizia came to my place on Friday the 18th, hubby was on a company party that night so we had a nice girl evening, talking on the phone and chatting online with other friends and having some nice deep conversations...it was great to have her here and my kids also like her a lot. Saturday we left around noon to drive to France, about 450 km. We talked, listened to Mars and had a great time. The drive was easy until we got close to the border, we wanted something to eat but couldn't find a gas station and the exit we took from the Autobahn was a weird one because we couldn't enter the Autobahn again into our direction, so we had to take country roads to the next town ,which was riight at the border. I was hungry and tired and close to my first freak-out because things weren't going well, we got lost and were late. Only highlight: We decided to ask for the way and the only person within reach was a really cute guy on a construction site with nice brown eyes....! We made it to the hotel (way to late), checked in real quick, drove to the venue and called the french girl who had my ticket (remember I won my ticket). She was already inside so my friend went inside and got my ticket from her. We then stood with them in the first rows. I had a few more freak-out moments (overwhelmed with being "alone", away from home, because I won a free ticket to a Mars Show...and lots more) and then it started and everything was perfect....like always. As soon as the room got dark, Shannon started his drumming and Jared appeared in front of the Triad on Stage I was happy. I was there with a great friend, I didn't panic and backed out of the crowd. I stood my ground and it was freaking A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! We unfortuantely didn't get the chance to see the guys after the show as the french Security kicked us out of the venue pretty fast....that would have made even more perfect! we waited in the Car for over an hour to leave the Parking Lot and had another nice, deep conversation...(and a few more tears from me)
One week later I was back on the road, this time with my hubby and kids...for a day (and freaking awesome night)-trip to Vienna, another 450 km into the other direction. We spend the day at the zoo as a family, had dinner, put the kids to bed at the hotel and I napped for two hours before getting up at 11pm to get ready to meet my girls at the Club. It was the Aftershow-Party for their vienna Concert (Ididn't get a ticket anymore on short notice so I skipped it) and Shannon Leto (Mars Drummer) and Antoine Becks (international DJ) were DJing and Drumming. One of the Echelon-Girls organized VIP-Entry and put us on the Guestlist, we had access to the VIP-Area behind the turntables and free drinks all night.
Let me tell you...Words can't describe this evening....I have never been a hardcore-fangirl, I never stalked stars, I was never a groupie....I always despised them. The blonde dumb girls who would do anything to be in the yellow press. I am not one of them....but I wanted to be near those guys, as close as possible. I "clawed" my way through (stepped on some feet and nudged some girls with my elbows) and ended up next to the DJ turntables. Close enough to touch them and to look into their eyes....and woah...let me tell me about those eyes....or no, go see for yourself....go to google and search for Shannon Leto, find a close up of him not wearing sunglasses, then find a close up of his body...and then imagine standing next to him, on the dancefloor, sweaty and sexy....now you know how I felt ALL evening!!! I was flashed, beyond words, I felt like I was 20 again....I want to repeat this night over and over again 8even now, a week later thinking about it gives me butterflies in my stomach!)! I came home to the hotel around 6 am...and the kids got up at 7:30, so it was a short night for me.... LOL
We went to the Vienna Christkindlmarket for breakfast and then were back on the road around noon. I slept early that night because I had to work on monday and then right after work met my friend Pascaline to drive to Frankfurt for the next Concert....the last one for a looong time....
We got there around 5 pm, found a parking spot pretty fast and walked up to the entrane. There were already a few people there but not as much as I thought. We got a spot in the crowd and had to wait a little more than an hour. I called some online friends and as soon as we were inside I saw a few. We stood with them, third row. I also saw the french girl (she went to about 20 shows in the last few weeks all over Europe) who gave me my ticket in Amneville. The Opening Acts were really bad....really, they hurt my ears. But I talked to a girl next to me, she was nice and friendly, it was her first concert and she was really excited. We talked almost the whole time and found out we live close to each other....how small the world is sometimes....so I made a new friend.
The Concert started around 9:15 and as always....as soon as the room turned dark and the first growling of the opening song started everyone screamed. And there it was... that feeling again...the bass inside my stomach, the drums beating together with my heartbeat, the voice of Jared, the fans screaming and jumping, knowing the words by heart....being a part of that is one of the most awesome feeling ever. I loved being in the crowd, singing, screaming, jumping, sweating....no matter how much I freak or panic or think "this is not me - I am too old for this!"...all of that stops with the first sound of the music.....I jumped, I screamed, I sang and in the end I stood in the first row for the last song....it was the perfect end to a perfect time of my life!!!!
I wanted to go to the next Concert in Cologne the next day sooo bad, but that didn't work out (work, tickets, taking my friend back home from Frankfurt, etc...)...I was bummed and sad but at the same time crazy happy. The Concert was awesome, meeting so many people was awesome, finding new friends was awesome, becoming a "new" me during the last few months, being happier than before (despite being sad because the guys are taking a long break)...it's over for now, which makes me cry...but the fact that happened in the first place makes me smile nonetheless....
This post is for all my new friends and sisters....
- Patty
- Mara
- Petra (x2)
- Sally
- Jessi
- Paula
....and all the others.....
I ♥ you!!!
After I went to the Concerts in August with my hubby who likes the music but isn't really a fan I decided I would go to the Concert in Frankfurt (which was last Monday) either alone or with my friend (who has never heard the music before). I only planned to go to that one Concert but in the end I also went to another one in France and an Aftershow Party in Austria...that's life I guess. And I took my friend and she liked it too....and this last Concert was soooo perfect because I also met some of my online friends in person...and they are even nicer than I thought they are!!!!
As I have been a housewife and mother for the last years, partying wasn't really on my schedule....I never thought I really missed it as much as I apparently did (from my student years) because I was so nervous and excited and overwhelmed at some points during those days...I had a few minor panic-attacks and was near a nervous breakdown once or twice. I am sooo glad I had one of my favourite girls with me, her name is Patrizia and she has become a really good friend in such a short period of time (it's only been a month or so)....PattyMaus if you read this....THANK YOU....especially for bearing with me during my "what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here"-Moment in the Crowd in France!!
But let me tell you a little more about those days. Let me take you on a crazy journey....one I will never ever forget, one that I hope will be repeated one day in the not too far away future...
Patrizia came to my place on Friday the 18th, hubby was on a company party that night so we had a nice girl evening, talking on the phone and chatting online with other friends and having some nice deep conversations...it was great to have her here and my kids also like her a lot. Saturday we left around noon to drive to France, about 450 km. We talked, listened to Mars and had a great time. The drive was easy until we got close to the border, we wanted something to eat but couldn't find a gas station and the exit we took from the Autobahn was a weird one because we couldn't enter the Autobahn again into our direction, so we had to take country roads to the next town ,which was riight at the border. I was hungry and tired and close to my first freak-out because things weren't going well, we got lost and were late. Only highlight: We decided to ask for the way and the only person within reach was a really cute guy on a construction site with nice brown eyes....! We made it to the hotel (way to late), checked in real quick, drove to the venue and called the french girl who had my ticket (remember I won my ticket). She was already inside so my friend went inside and got my ticket from her. We then stood with them in the first rows. I had a few more freak-out moments (overwhelmed with being "alone", away from home, because I won a free ticket to a Mars Show...and lots more) and then it started and everything was perfect....like always. As soon as the room got dark, Shannon started his drumming and Jared appeared in front of the Triad on Stage I was happy. I was there with a great friend, I didn't panic and backed out of the crowd. I stood my ground and it was freaking A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! We unfortuantely didn't get the chance to see the guys after the show as the french Security kicked us out of the venue pretty fast....that would have made even more perfect! we waited in the Car for over an hour to leave the Parking Lot and had another nice, deep conversation...(and a few more tears from me)
One week later I was back on the road, this time with my hubby and kids...for a day (and freaking awesome night)-trip to Vienna, another 450 km into the other direction. We spend the day at the zoo as a family, had dinner, put the kids to bed at the hotel and I napped for two hours before getting up at 11pm to get ready to meet my girls at the Club. It was the Aftershow-Party for their vienna Concert (Ididn't get a ticket anymore on short notice so I skipped it) and Shannon Leto (Mars Drummer) and Antoine Becks (international DJ) were DJing and Drumming. One of the Echelon-Girls organized VIP-Entry and put us on the Guestlist, we had access to the VIP-Area behind the turntables and free drinks all night.
Let me tell you...Words can't describe this evening....I have never been a hardcore-fangirl, I never stalked stars, I was never a groupie....I always despised them. The blonde dumb girls who would do anything to be in the yellow press. I am not one of them....but I wanted to be near those guys, as close as possible. I "clawed" my way through (stepped on some feet and nudged some girls with my elbows) and ended up next to the DJ turntables. Close enough to touch them and to look into their eyes....and woah...let me tell me about those eyes....or no, go see for yourself....go to google and search for Shannon Leto, find a close up of him not wearing sunglasses, then find a close up of his body...and then imagine standing next to him, on the dancefloor, sweaty and sexy....now you know how I felt ALL evening!!! I was flashed, beyond words, I felt like I was 20 again....I want to repeat this night over and over again 8even now, a week later thinking about it gives me butterflies in my stomach!)! I came home to the hotel around 6 am...and the kids got up at 7:30, so it was a short night for me.... LOL
We went to the Vienna Christkindlmarket for breakfast and then were back on the road around noon. I slept early that night because I had to work on monday and then right after work met my friend Pascaline to drive to Frankfurt for the next Concert....the last one for a looong time....
We got there around 5 pm, found a parking spot pretty fast and walked up to the entrane. There were already a few people there but not as much as I thought. We got a spot in the crowd and had to wait a little more than an hour. I called some online friends and as soon as we were inside I saw a few. We stood with them, third row. I also saw the french girl (she went to about 20 shows in the last few weeks all over Europe) who gave me my ticket in Amneville. The Opening Acts were really bad....really, they hurt my ears. But I talked to a girl next to me, she was nice and friendly, it was her first concert and she was really excited. We talked almost the whole time and found out we live close to each other....how small the world is sometimes....so I made a new friend.
The Concert started around 9:15 and as always....as soon as the room turned dark and the first growling of the opening song started everyone screamed. And there it was... that feeling again...the bass inside my stomach, the drums beating together with my heartbeat, the voice of Jared, the fans screaming and jumping, knowing the words by heart....being a part of that is one of the most awesome feeling ever. I loved being in the crowd, singing, screaming, jumping, sweating....no matter how much I freak or panic or think "this is not me - I am too old for this!"...all of that stops with the first sound of the music.....I jumped, I screamed, I sang and in the end I stood in the first row for the last song....it was the perfect end to a perfect time of my life!!!!
I wanted to go to the next Concert in Cologne the next day sooo bad, but that didn't work out (work, tickets, taking my friend back home from Frankfurt, etc...)...I was bummed and sad but at the same time crazy happy. The Concert was awesome, meeting so many people was awesome, finding new friends was awesome, becoming a "new" me during the last few months, being happier than before (despite being sad because the guys are taking a long break)...it's over for now, which makes me cry...but the fact that happened in the first place makes me smile nonetheless....
This post is for all my new friends and sisters....
- Patty
- Mara
- Petra (x2)
- Sally
- Jessi
- Paula
....and all the others.....
I ♥ you!!!
Freitag, 25. November 2011
Sick
The last weeks were pretty exhausting and frustrating but also a lot of fun. I will get to the fun part later but will tell you about the exhausting part first...I was really sick an had to stay in the hospital for a while, which was NO FUN at all.
10 days ago (Monday) I was home alone with the kids, hubby left in the morning on a business trip and was to return Wednesday night. I went to work, picked up the kids, played with them, had dinner and put them into bed. I felt fine, just a bit tired but nothing major. I plopped myself on the couch and turned on the TV. Around 9:30 my stomach started to hurt, felt like some minor cramps as if I ate something wrong. I got up to drink something and suddenly had a piercing pain in my stomach. I called hubby and he said I should ask our neighbours for some meds. He said I might have eaten something bad or maybe too much but I didn't feel sick like throwing up, just a lot of pain. I went over to my neighbour and she gave me something to relax. I went to bed and she called a little later to ask if I still had my appendix (yes). she told me if it isn't better in the morning I should see a doc to check for appendicitis.
I didn't sleep well and when I woke up and had to get up to take the kids to kindergarten I felt dizzy and almost fainted as soon as I stood up. I slowly walked to wake up the kids and called my neighbour and my best friend. My friend came to get the kids ready and took them to the kindergarten and my neighbour took me to the hospital. They did blood and urine tests and send me to get an ultrasound. The pain was a little better (only in my lower stomach/uterus area). The ultrasound showed nothing (no appendicitis) so I was told I had to stay at least one night to be monitored. Hubby came home that afternoon and brought me stuff to the hospital. After a regular doc had checked on me I was told I need to see a Gyn as it seemed to be a Gyn problem (and NO, there was no chance of me being pregnant). I was diagnosed with an acute uterus infection. I have no idea how I got it and why it became so bad. It is caused by usual bacteria which are normally fought of by the body and only on rare occasions cause such a bad infection. I guess my previous operations and the fact that I was stressed out by changing my regular daily routine because of my new job and maybe my immune system not being able to fight it off caused it to turn out so bad.
The Gyn told me I have to undergo an antibiotic therapy...AB through an IV three times a day for 5 days plus 5 more days in form of pills at home. Which meant staying at the hospital for 5 days. The first (whole) day was bad, I didn't sleep good the night before and my body didn't react well to the AB, my stomach didn't like it, I was sick and sleeping most of the day and didn't eat much. I got fluids through the IV and ate some soup in the evening. Hubby came with the kids but I sent them home after about half an hour, I was crying and felt sooo bad. I was in a three bed room with an old lady and a lady who had a planned operation. I didn't like it much and I overall just totally hate hospitals.
Thursday was much better...the meds kicked in and I felt a lot better, I was transfered to the Gyn station and had only one nice lady in the room who was there just for a night so I had the room for myself Friday to Sunday. I was totally bored, my hubby brought me my Laptop and some stuff from work because I had a lot of stuff to do and having just started my job I wanted to leave a good impression with my boss. And I felt good enough. I was sad because I missed the kids "Laternenlauf" for St. Martins Day at the kindergarten but hubby and my sister (who came spontaneously to help) took a lot of pictures.
I was released to go home Sunday night and had to take AB as pills for the whole following week, three times a day (gross!!!) and went to my gyn for a check-up at the end of the week. And then I took the last two pills on Saturday morning right before leaving on a trip to France with my friend to see Mars in Amneville that evening... I was sooo excited I didn't have to miss it...YAY!!! More on that next...stay tuned!
Irene
10 days ago (Monday) I was home alone with the kids, hubby left in the morning on a business trip and was to return Wednesday night. I went to work, picked up the kids, played with them, had dinner and put them into bed. I felt fine, just a bit tired but nothing major. I plopped myself on the couch and turned on the TV. Around 9:30 my stomach started to hurt, felt like some minor cramps as if I ate something wrong. I got up to drink something and suddenly had a piercing pain in my stomach. I called hubby and he said I should ask our neighbours for some meds. He said I might have eaten something bad or maybe too much but I didn't feel sick like throwing up, just a lot of pain. I went over to my neighbour and she gave me something to relax. I went to bed and she called a little later to ask if I still had my appendix (yes). she told me if it isn't better in the morning I should see a doc to check for appendicitis.
I didn't sleep well and when I woke up and had to get up to take the kids to kindergarten I felt dizzy and almost fainted as soon as I stood up. I slowly walked to wake up the kids and called my neighbour and my best friend. My friend came to get the kids ready and took them to the kindergarten and my neighbour took me to the hospital. They did blood and urine tests and send me to get an ultrasound. The pain was a little better (only in my lower stomach/uterus area). The ultrasound showed nothing (no appendicitis) so I was told I had to stay at least one night to be monitored. Hubby came home that afternoon and brought me stuff to the hospital. After a regular doc had checked on me I was told I need to see a Gyn as it seemed to be a Gyn problem (and NO, there was no chance of me being pregnant). I was diagnosed with an acute uterus infection. I have no idea how I got it and why it became so bad. It is caused by usual bacteria which are normally fought of by the body and only on rare occasions cause such a bad infection. I guess my previous operations and the fact that I was stressed out by changing my regular daily routine because of my new job and maybe my immune system not being able to fight it off caused it to turn out so bad.
The Gyn told me I have to undergo an antibiotic therapy...AB through an IV three times a day for 5 days plus 5 more days in form of pills at home. Which meant staying at the hospital for 5 days. The first (whole) day was bad, I didn't sleep good the night before and my body didn't react well to the AB, my stomach didn't like it, I was sick and sleeping most of the day and didn't eat much. I got fluids through the IV and ate some soup in the evening. Hubby came with the kids but I sent them home after about half an hour, I was crying and felt sooo bad. I was in a three bed room with an old lady and a lady who had a planned operation. I didn't like it much and I overall just totally hate hospitals.
Thursday was much better...the meds kicked in and I felt a lot better, I was transfered to the Gyn station and had only one nice lady in the room who was there just for a night so I had the room for myself Friday to Sunday. I was totally bored, my hubby brought me my Laptop and some stuff from work because I had a lot of stuff to do and having just started my job I wanted to leave a good impression with my boss. And I felt good enough. I was sad because I missed the kids "Laternenlauf" for St. Martins Day at the kindergarten but hubby and my sister (who came spontaneously to help) took a lot of pictures.
I was released to go home Sunday night and had to take AB as pills for the whole following week, three times a day (gross!!!) and went to my gyn for a check-up at the end of the week. And then I took the last two pills on Saturday morning right before leaving on a trip to France with my friend to see Mars in Amneville that evening... I was sooo excited I didn't have to miss it...YAY!!! More on that next...stay tuned!
Irene
Dienstag, 15. November 2011
3 countries in 10 days
Yep, you heard that right, I will be in 3 different countries within 10 days, starting on saturday. I won't stay in two of them for a very long time but anyways...for me it still counts
let's start at the beginning...and it all begins with Mars, how else could it be....my favourite band...
As I wrote here, I have been to a concert in Nuremberg in August and then spontaneously went to another one 10 days later because it was so great. Not soon after they announced more dates to come in November, one in Frankfurt and one in Cologne. After some argueing and my hubby rolling his eyes and mumbling something about "behaving like a teenager" I convinced him that he would either babysit while I go with a friend or come with me while friends babysit, to the show in Frankfurt. I also found a lot of other Echelon (see what an Echelon is here) on Facebook and I will meet some of them before the show (this time I got floor tickets and plan on being in the first few rows!).
In October there also was an Echelon-Meeting in Nuremberg where I met a few girls from my facebook group and became good friends with one of them. She lives in Munich and she is going to see the boys in Cologne and Vienna, Austria. We really liked each other from the start and were pretty bummed we would be going to the same shows. She also told me a few days later that there would be an Aftershow Party in Vienna which would be attended by the band's drummer Shannon Leto, who happens to be Jared letos brother (and as beauty seems to run in the family....he is equally hot!). I really wanted to go but hubby got really mad and pissed for being asked again to babysit. So I offered that we would make it a family day-trip. Go there Saturday morning (it's about a 3 1/2 hour drive), spend the day sightseeing and I will leave the hotel around 10 pm for the Aftershow Party. I didn't get good tickets for the Concert anymore so I will only be at the Party with all the girls who went to the Concert before. I actually already ordered the ticket for the Party (before they sell out), hubby isn't really convinced yet and happy but if it doesn't work out as a family trip I will probably go by myself.
About 10 days ago I read on a french Facebook Group that they had a giveaway...they didn't say what the prize was, but the rules included being able to be in France during the time of the Concerts there (Mars play 12 shows there within two weeks). I entered thinking something along the lines of "oh well I never win" or "France is not too far away"....a guess what...I won! One ticket to the show in Amneville, which is right across the border from Saarbrücken, and "only" 420 km from where I live right now. Problem was, it was only ONE ticket...so I had to convince someone to come...or go by myself...to France...I learned french in school but forgot most of it...I freaked out for about a day. Then I told my friend Patrizia (the one from Munich). she is even more Mars-crazy than I am and freaked out a little more then me, because she didn't enter and she was a little jealous...for about a minute...until I told her there are still tickets on sale for the show and I already convinced hubby to borrow his car and was granted permission to "have a weekend off". she only needed to buy a ticket and get here by train and I would take her with me. Needless to say she loved that idea, bought a ticket right away, looked for a hotel to stay and so now we are going to be in France next weekend...
So that means France on the 19th, Austria on the 26th and Germany on the 28th....I am soooo happy!!! And even more because I was seriously sick last week (and therefore "won" a free stay at the hospital for a few days) and didn't know if I can go.But more on that later...
YAY!!!
Irene
let's start at the beginning...and it all begins with Mars, how else could it be....my favourite band...
As I wrote here, I have been to a concert in Nuremberg in August and then spontaneously went to another one 10 days later because it was so great. Not soon after they announced more dates to come in November, one in Frankfurt and one in Cologne. After some argueing and my hubby rolling his eyes and mumbling something about "behaving like a teenager" I convinced him that he would either babysit while I go with a friend or come with me while friends babysit, to the show in Frankfurt. I also found a lot of other Echelon (see what an Echelon is here) on Facebook and I will meet some of them before the show (this time I got floor tickets and plan on being in the first few rows!).
In October there also was an Echelon-Meeting in Nuremberg where I met a few girls from my facebook group and became good friends with one of them. She lives in Munich and she is going to see the boys in Cologne and Vienna, Austria. We really liked each other from the start and were pretty bummed we would be going to the same shows. She also told me a few days later that there would be an Aftershow Party in Vienna which would be attended by the band's drummer Shannon Leto, who happens to be Jared letos brother (and as beauty seems to run in the family....he is equally hot!). I really wanted to go but hubby got really mad and pissed for being asked again to babysit. So I offered that we would make it a family day-trip. Go there Saturday morning (it's about a 3 1/2 hour drive), spend the day sightseeing and I will leave the hotel around 10 pm for the Aftershow Party. I didn't get good tickets for the Concert anymore so I will only be at the Party with all the girls who went to the Concert before. I actually already ordered the ticket for the Party (before they sell out), hubby isn't really convinced yet and happy but if it doesn't work out as a family trip I will probably go by myself.
About 10 days ago I read on a french Facebook Group that they had a giveaway...they didn't say what the prize was, but the rules included being able to be in France during the time of the Concerts there (Mars play 12 shows there within two weeks). I entered thinking something along the lines of "oh well I never win" or "France is not too far away"....a guess what...I won! One ticket to the show in Amneville, which is right across the border from Saarbrücken, and "only" 420 km from where I live right now. Problem was, it was only ONE ticket...so I had to convince someone to come...or go by myself...to France...I learned french in school but forgot most of it...I freaked out for about a day. Then I told my friend Patrizia (the one from Munich). she is even more Mars-crazy than I am and freaked out a little more then me, because she didn't enter and she was a little jealous...for about a minute...until I told her there are still tickets on sale for the show and I already convinced hubby to borrow his car and was granted permission to "have a weekend off". she only needed to buy a ticket and get here by train and I would take her with me. Needless to say she loved that idea, bought a ticket right away, looked for a hotel to stay and so now we are going to be in France next weekend...
So that means France on the 19th, Austria on the 26th and Germany on the 28th....I am soooo happy!!! And even more because I was seriously sick last week (and therefore "won" a free stay at the hospital for a few days) and didn't know if I can go.But more on that later...
YAY!!!
Irene
Samstag, 12. November 2011
Paint it Purple
I am reading various blogs and am subscribed to a lot of pages on facebook and on one of them I found this today and think it is a necessary to share it!
You can find more info on the website of the pixel project. Please share!
Irene
You can find more info on the website of the pixel project. Please share!
Irene
Sonntag, 6. November 2011
Job News
So sorry, I have been MIA for a while...Drama, Stress and Real Life got in the way and I focused more on solving real problems than being online blogging. Got some very good News though. I found a Job and it seems to be perfect. I was looking for something part-time, around 20-25 hours a week, not to far away from home (which proofed to be the most difficult because we live about 25 km outside of the city). I wanted to do something like work as an Office Assistant or Team Assistant. Not too boring (filing) but also not too much work because that would me working extra hours. I applied for a Job as Assistant for Contract Management. The Company is a really, really small Start-Up specialising in Projekt Development for Wind Energy Projects, and the office is just one village away, actually in the village we lived in before we moved here, it's right across from the old apartment, I already bumped into our old neighbour one mornign when he was taking his daughter to daycare. Wind Energy is a total hype right now, after Fukushima every politician in Germany is now into "renewable Energy". Which means a lot of rural areas are now preferred areas for Windparks. My boss is planning everything until the day the building starts, he is talking to the owners, making floor plans, getting permissions, making contracts with ground owners (mostly farmers as the areas are mostly farm land) for the planing phase and taking care of everything up until the building phase starts...and so on. My Job is to check Contracts if they are complete and valid, signed, dated, do follow ups if somone is not sending things back. I have to attend meetings with the owners and am going to be the first contact person if they call with questions. I also have to do some filing and organizing (my boss did everything as a one-man-show for about a year - talk about unorganized or well, organized in his own way). The coolest thing is that my boss just started his own business (with hired employees), so everything is new and I can decide a lot of things and help him getting started. If I need something I can buy it or ask him to get it, I can arrange the furniture in my office (I have my own room right now although there is another desk for a future colleague), make up my own filing system, decide which kind of Coffee Machine we will get, etc...Right now we are only 5 people (including me and my boss) so it's really cozy. The best part is that I can also work from home, my contract says I HAVE to be in the office two days a week, the rest is up to me and my boss. I also have to attend meeting about twice a month which counts as work time (mostly evenings) so if I go there e.g. on a Tuesday evening I don't have to work the next morning. Right now it is a hell lot of work, trying to learn all the details, getting into the different projects (each in a different phase of planning), checking (and correcting) old contracts and mostly learning a lot of law stuff. My dad is so proud of me (haha) because he is a lawyer and always wanted one of his kids to follow on his steps but none of us wanted. Now my main job is law stuff :)
Up to now I like it..its good to get out of the house for a while each day and not be "busy" doing laundry and claning or keeping the kids from fighting. Both are in daycare from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and I work 8:30-12:30 which gives ma a few hours for myself and the household each day before the kids are home. My way to work is...well about 8 Minutes I would guess, so I am not far away if anything happens :)
So I am happy right now! And on top of that I am going to see my favourite band twice this month and I am going to an awesome Aftershow Party. And I found a new friend...but that has to wait for a new post, it's late and I am tired.
Irene
Up to now I like it..its good to get out of the house for a while each day and not be "busy" doing laundry and claning or keeping the kids from fighting. Both are in daycare from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and I work 8:30-12:30 which gives ma a few hours for myself and the household each day before the kids are home. My way to work is...well about 8 Minutes I would guess, so I am not far away if anything happens :)
So I am happy right now! And on top of that I am going to see my favourite band twice this month and I am going to an awesome Aftershow Party. And I found a new friend...but that has to wait for a new post, it's late and I am tired.
Irene
Mittwoch, 5. Oktober 2011
Quotes
I really like Quotes, most of them help me in situations when I feel down and need to be reminded that everyone has a bad day once in a while or that I am loved no matter what, or they just make me laugh or make me think. I love posting them on facebook because sometimes they can tell people things how I feel without me actually saying anything. Today was one of those days were I had so many things to say but didn't dare saying it myself into peoples faces so I just said it through my quotes and it made me feel better even though I doubt the people I wanted to adress really noticed...it helped anyways. One fantastic source for quotes is Pinterest (and not just for quotes) and so i spend my day there. I will share some of them with you, those are my favourites, not just today.
and my favourite:
P.S. the Drama continues...or well, it actually got worse, and while I am still willing to help, I am not quite sure if I am the right person for it (more likely she needs to find a good psychiatrist for it). Plus, I feel like talking to a brick wall, I say things to cheer her up, she agrees, it makes her stop crying and I am happy that she feels better. Next day she decides to do something totally different from what we had agreed on, is unhappy again and I am the bad person in the end... *sigh*
Irene
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and my favourite:
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Irene
Montag, 26. September 2011
Drama
Oh how I hate Drama going on, but sometimes it happens and then you have to deal with it. Lots of Drama going on behind the scenes here right now, not in my own life but a friends but it kinda involves me because I am a person who is always willing to help and I sometimes even unintentionally involve myself in drama by asking if there is anything I can do to help and BOOM, right in the middle of it and not getting out so easily.
So I am pretty much occupied by that these days plus my own life and problems (which are tiny compared to the ones my friend has to deal with) so sitting down and writing something interesting and witty is not on my list right now, sorry for that.
I hope to be back soon!
Irene
So I am pretty much occupied by that these days plus my own life and problems (which are tiny compared to the ones my friend has to deal with) so sitting down and writing something interesting and witty is not on my list right now, sorry for that.
I hope to be back soon!
Irene
Mittwoch, 14. September 2011
Friends
Last night I was home alone (it has become a regular thing these days with hubby being gone on business trips for at least one night almost every week). I spent the evening on the couch, TV on and chatting/writing online with my friends on my Echelon FB Groups. We are mostly girls, so the majority of the time is spend discussing how hot Jared Leto is, or his brother Shannon. But we also share stories about our lives, we laugh and cry together, we share everything from “YAY, I am getting a Mars Tattoo” to “I feel so down today, it’s not even funny anymore” I can talk to them about everything. Great to have such friends you might think, lucky me to have them, good to be so close to someone you can share so many things with. Well, guess what, I haven’t met any of them in real life, to be honest, I haven’t even known them for more than a few weeks. But without giving it a second thought I call them friends. And I share my bad days with them, frustration and all.
While getting ready to go to bed I thought about it and then I decided to write a post about it. I have a weird habit, if I think about blog posts, I usually think about a title first and then, whatever is written in the post has to do with the title. I don’t write random stuff about what I did the last few days and then give it a title, if three things important happened in the last two days I would write 3 posts and address each of them with their own title (yeah, I am weird like that). I read once that titles are important, with email being the most important way to communicate; you have to catch the reader’s attention with a title. Untitled emails are not taken seriously because something untitled is considered unimportant. If you don’t make an effort to give it a title, it can’t be that important. So I tried to find a title, thought about “talking to strangers”, “communication” or “social media” but decided this would be a post about friends, old ones, new ones, strangers who became friends (and friends who became strangers) and more.
Let’s start back before 2000 and the whole internet thing, I was an Au Pair in the USA in 98/99, thousands of miles away from home. I had to use the phone, pay huge amounts of money for those calls or write letters, you know with a pen and a piece of paper, I would use this thin, blue airmail paper, one of the first things each morning would be walking outside the house to check the mailbox (not turning on the Computer to check my mailbox like today – some days I even forget my “real life” mailbox). Yes, I did have an email-address, but no one really used that way to communicate (yet). Keeping in contact wasn’t as easy as it is now. During my time as a counselor for future Au Pairs I sometimes couldn’t help but laugh. Those girls would usually ask me if they will have their own internet access at their host family because they want to talk to their parents/friends every night, otherwise they would feel so homesick. The world is so connected these days. Back then it was a huge effort to keep in contact with everyone and yet we still managed to stay friends. The funny (or sad) thing is that I lost contact to one of my oldest/longest friends (we have known each other since kindergarten, so almost 30 years) a few years ago, despite having Emails and Facebook. We wrote letters to each other every other day back in 1998, I was 4000 miles away but it didn’t matter. Flash forward 10 years, I moved 400 miles away and she became a stranger. She told me once we have grown apart, not only distance-wise but also emotionally. I guess emails don’t transfer emotions as good as old fashioned letters do. I am really sad about it. There are sooo many ways now to communicate, to keep in contact, to stay close to each other but it didn’t work. Emails are a lot faster than phone calls but not as personal. She actually told me she would end our friendship by sending me an email, she didn’t even bother to make it personal and call me. It hurt and still does 3 years later. I send her an email back asking her "why" but never got an answer, I didn’t want to call because hearing her actually say it would have made it even worse.
But all those new ways of communicating can also be a blessing. I found so many old friends, from Elementary school, to people from my exchange stay in Canada, to my host children from the time as an Au Pair. I can keep in contact with friends who moved thousands of miles away. I can see pictures of the baby-girl my friend from High School had, even though she now lives in Melbourne, Australia. I was able to follow the life of a friend with whom I had had a huge fight and stopped talking to, she wrote about her ups and downs on a blog and eventually after a few years we started talking again and being able to follow what had been going on in her life it was like we had never stopped talking. I can read stories from strangers who are brave enough to share them publically on their blogs and I can learn something from them. I can write down my own stories, struggles and successes. I have the opportunity to find new friends. And the anonymity of the WWW makes it a lot easier to become friends with someone. You can share almost everything, you can be silly and you can be sad. You can write down everything and people can decide whether or not they want to read it. For me it is much better than talking to someone (like a therapist).
Yes there is also a contra-side. You never know if these people are really who they pretend to be, you can get along great online but might not like each other in real life, people can act, people can be fake. But honestly, that can also happen with people you meet in real life. You meet and get along great, but then you might disagree about something and start arguing and all of a sudden that person is not someone you like and want to spend time with anymore. People can always play a role or be fake. And yes, it is kind of weird to be friends with strangers, not everyone will understand it, probably only those who have done it themselves, only people who blog or are on Facebook regularly will understand how normal it is. It’s the modern version of “pen-pals”, just way faster than sending letters.
I also make friends in real life, and great ones. I wouldn't want to miss them, sometimes spending an evening on the couch talking to a real person is much better than spending it on the couch talking to friends by typing your words into a computer. I have yet to meet some of my online friends and hope they are as wonderful and awesome in real life as they are in the alternate universe of the WWW. I am sure you can have both...
Here are two (of many) great blogs I read, check them out and see for yourself:
www.theinbetweenismine.com: one of the first blogs I stumbled upon when starting my blog-journey a few years ago. San is German, but moved to California to be with the man she loves and has been there for a few years now. I took me a while before I actually commented on something she wrote, but after exchanging a few words I was sure San was as lovely as I had already thought she is from reading her stories. We have yet to meet in person (I hope that will work out one day), but I REALLY like her already. And here is also a huge “Thank You” to her for caring about me without even really knowing me in person.
www.mattlogelin.com: a great blog from a great and absolutely brave person (I think). I came across the blog because it was mentioned on another blog I read. I recommend reading it yourself, it is too huge to explain. Matt lives in Los Angeles, he lost his wife a day after she gave birth to their first daughter, she died from a pulmonary embolism without even holding their daughter once. He wrote about the pain and the life as a single father with a newborn after losing the love of his life. He reached out to all those strangers out there and became friends with a lot of them. And they helped him get back on his feet. Read it from the beginning but be prepared, it takes a few hours because once you start you can’t stop reading and be sure to put a huge box of Kleenex next to your Computer, it will make you cry (but also laugh, I promise)
So here is to old friends, new friends, close friends, friends far away, real life friends and online friends...I love you guys!!!
Irene
Montag, 12. September 2011
9/11
So yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years already. 2011 also is the 10th anniversary for me and my (now) husband. We had just started dating a few weeks earlier back in 2001.
I remember the day like it was yesterday, I remember where I was when I heard the news, I can still tell you exactly what I did afterwards. I remember being in total shock, not only because of what had happened but also because it directly affected me. If my life had taken a slightly different turn a few months before I would have been there, in New York that day. I had been sad for a few weeks that my plans hadn’t worked out, but right then I was glad they hadn’t. I know, it is a historical day, usually people would say it is great to be there when history is created, but I think I am better off with not having been there.
I was living and studying in my hometown in Germany. I lived in my own apartment, about 25 minutes from my parents. That day I was on the bus, on my way to see my parents. It was 3 pm in Germany, I was going to have coffee with my mom and my siblings and we had tickets for a Circus Show that evening. My boyfriend sent me a text message while I was on my way, telling me that there had been an accident and it seems like a small plane had crashed into the WTC ( I think it said something like “a Cessna has hit the WTC, I heard it on the radio”). He was at work and was listening to the radio. I had to change from the bus to the metro outside the central station and I went inside to the main hall because I knew they had a huge flatscreen TV there. The usually busy and loud hall was awfully quiet and there were a lot of people there, staring at the screen. The second plane hit and everyone was shocked. I stood there for quite a while and couldn’t believe it. They were showing it over and over again and finally I decided I wanted to go home to my parents as fast as possible. I made it to my parents’ house and when I came in I asked “is the TV on” and my mom told me that the first tower had just collapsed a few minutes ago. We sat in front of the TV for the rest of the afternoon; we also called my dad to discuss if we really wanted to go to the Circus that night. He came home as soon as he was able to leave work and brought some flyers they had been handing out across town about what had happened. We did go to the Show even though no one really felt like it. My dad said it wouldn’t be fair for those Circus people, who had been planning and practicing the Show. For me it kind of felt wrong to enjoy myself while at the other end of the people died.
I was even more affected by the attacks because I had a good friend who was in New York that day. I knew him from university and he was there for a Semester abroad. A few months prior I had heard that my university offered a Scholarship Program with the New School New York. It included Tuition and a small monthly payment for living expenses. They only had two places available though. I applied, hoping I would be able to spend a Semester in New York. I had come to love the USA after my year as an Au Pair and wanted to return. My friend also applied and we were already making plans about spending the semester together as we didn’t know about anyone else who had applied. Unfortunately (for me) shortly before the application deadline was over we learned that we weren’t the only people who applied and in the end he got one of the Scholarships and I didn’t. I was sad and frustrated for a while but then I met my (now) husband and was kind of glad I didn’t have to leave soon for 6 months as we had just started dating in August. I thought that I will definitely get the change to go to New York again, maybe I would just apply again the next year and I had planned to visit my friend in New York. He left at the beginning of September and I remember that he actually visited the Twin Towers only a few days before Sept. 11. He showed me pictures later on. On the day he was already in school but the other german Student who had gotten the Scholarship was still on his way to classes (he was in a few of my classes back home but I hardly knew him). He had to hide in the metro somewhere and was traumatized afterwards, he nearly gave up the program. It took two days before I reached my friend on his cell phone and heard he was OK. I was shocked that I would have been there if things had worked out slightly different.
I hate how the world has been affected by the attacks, especially the USA. I remember my year as an Au Pair in 98/99, life was good back then. I fell in love with the Country and wanted to return as often as possible, maybe even to live and work there, and 9/11 made it soo hard to do that. It just changed everything. My husband and I were in the US for our vacation (in Florida) on Sept. 11, 2002. It wasn’t intentionally, we only realized it after booking our flights and hotel that we would be there that day. I remember it was on the news and the radio all day and we felt slightly weird. We were discussing if there are any landmarks which could possibly be attacked in Florida (like Cape Canaveral) but decided that no one would probably be stupid enough to attack at the same day again. I also hate how unsecure I feel when I have to fly now. I never had a problem with flying until I was on a scary flight a few years before 2001, so even before 9/11 I already didn’t like being inside a plane, now I am already scared when I enter the airport, I start shaking if anything out of the ordinary happens, everyone becomes suspicious to me. I used to love travelling; now I am an emotional nutcase if I think about flying. I hate the world being at war with everyone and each other, people are easily scared, nations start fighting over nothing, the war on terror now cost more lives than the attacks themselves.
Life will never be the same, never be as carefree as it used to be when I was a kid. My children will grow up in a different world. I wish they didn’t have too, I think my childhood was much better than theirs will ever be, because even though the world wasn’t perfect it was much more peaceful.
Irene
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