open mic, free stuff and a fab film

Last night Mark and I, along with my friend Jasmine, in for the weekend from London, went to Miss Brandy's Open Mic at a cool little bar in a funky neighborhood (don't ask me the name - I have no idea ... I'll figure it all out soon...) There were some interesting acts and a few really great ones as well. (http://www.myspace.com/msbrandysopenmic)

We were all v. tired and were about to leave but decided to stay for the last act, hoping it would be better than the previous few ... it was a tiny little peanut of a girl with a guitar that looked way too big for her. Well, don't you know we were glad we stayed. She had a Fiona Apple/Tori Amos/Ani DiFranco thing going on and it was amazing the sounds that came out of that little person. Really great. (I will try to remember to figure out who she is and pass it along!)

Today after dropping Jasmine off at the airport and saying goodbye to M. for a few days (off to Frankfort till Weds. pm), I wandered around the neighborhood we were in last night to check it out during the daytime. V. cool. I think we actually almost had an apartment in the area now that I recall and can put it all together.

Said area is the 'good' end of the red light district, (which is pretty mild, from what I can tell) and v. near the only Hooters in Switzerland, M. was quick to inform me just after he looked at the apt. the first time. My immediate thought was that maybe I could get a job as the not-so-skinny, old, buxom, American chick. I mean, how hard could it be? German-Scherman - I'd be fine with "Greuzi, wings? Ya. Bier. Ya. Hooters. Ya." ... See, no problem.

Anyway - Along my journey I re-found the fabulous Brocki-Haus. The biggest and pinkest of them all. 3 floors of other people's stuff. My dream and my husband's nightmare. But as I mentioned earlier, he is gone for few days and ... not that I would ever try to pull the wool over my partner's eyes. And really, 90% of what I have ever brought home from a yard sale, thrift or antique store he has ended up loving and being thankful that his wife is so thrify and can see treasures in veritable trash.

Why look what I got FOR FREE today .... of course I will be reupholstering the seat, but its solid maple and sturdy and we need dining room chairs ... I also got a nifty Roulette wheel and chips - a whole snazzy set for a mere 7 CHF. Now when people come to visit, not only can I take their money in poker, but in roulette as well!

Instead of staying home and working on some of the many projects I have going, tonight I decided to take advantage of 'cheap' movie night in ZH - ( 12 v. 18 CHF - what a bargain - and I even sneaked in my own bottle of water and a roll for dinner ... there's that frugal, Yankee spirit again...)

I saw Once and loved it. Please go see it or at the very least listen to the music. (http://www.foxsearchlight.com/once/) I have not been this moved in a long time. Shot in only 17 days for 150k. True independent cinema at its best. I laughed, I cried (... it was better than Cats...)

It's been a great 24 hours that began and ended with fabulous music made by passionate, talented people.

my mama was here for 2 weeks

My mother just left for NH after being in Zurich with us for 2 weeks. While admittedly no one knew what to expect, (no matter how well one gets on with one's mother, 2 weeks is 2 weeks...) it turned out to be a simply marvelous time, most of which she was in our 'employ' working day and night to help us get settled.

We got to calling her Cinderella (and she referring to herself as such as well) as she really spent a huge part of her time cleaning, unpacking, organizing, breaking down boxes, reorganizing the kitchen, decorating, giving advice, being sent to bed with no tv (we have none) and not being fed properly. Such hosts we are.

We spent manymanymany hours assembling Ikea furniture, which entailed and included schleping to Ikea on the bus/tram which was about an hour each way not counting waiting for said bus/tram, fighting our way through the Ikea crowds (the Swiss are not fast shoppers and do not stay to the right when walking...), buying heavier things than we could really carry and having to create carrying 'vehicles' with twine and newspapers and our MacGuyver skills to get these heavy shelves, etc.. home ... on the bus ... in the rain ... in the dark ... with no dinner ...

Mom had her hip replaced just 2 months ago and by the time she left, you'd never know it. She was a little stiff when she first arrived (who wouldn't be after such a long plane trip) but with all the walking we did, she left looking like a champ.

Even my personal trainer, Momo was impressed, enamoured and taken with her. Before she arrived I tried to explain the phrase "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ..." (he is from Casablanca and speaks English very well, but sometimes misses the idioms and dialects - he speaks 6 languages ... amazing!) so, when mom arrived and she came with me to a training session, Momo met her, spent no more than 2 minutes with her and exclaimed, "I see the apple and the tree!"

We were our usual silly, crazy amusing selves and I found myself apologizing several times to some Swiss people who are, in general, very conservative and reserved. Much to our delight, we were met with comments expressing that we should not change - the Swiss need more people like us around - they need to have more fun! (Not that we would have changed our ways anyway ...)

There is much more to tell and many more adventures I could relay, but I need to get back to attempting to stain our maple bookshelves (after one coat, I am a bit dismayed and considering painting over them...) and I have not been able to locate my cord so I can download the photos from our adventures - next post perhaps.

Thank you, mom for a wonderful visit. Next time, maybe we'll even take you out!

Candy-O

When you get a speeding ticket in Zurich, there are no police cars and lights and sirens. There is a strobe light that flashes repeatedly from atop a pole and blinds you just enough so that the camera on the pole can see the car, license plate and who is driving.

I was driving a rented vehicle recently and this is just what happened to me. I really would like to see the photo, as I imagine it looked a bit like the cover of the Cars album Candy-O, circa 1979. (But in this version, the woman is much older, much less attractive, made up, sexy, sassy, etc...). **** update **** How embarassing ... a few days after I posted this I had the itch to check out the covers of Cars albums ... turns out that while the Candy-O cover was (is) quite sexy and provocative, it was not the one I pictured while writing this post. It was the self titled Cars album with the woman behind the wheel. My apologies ...****

But still - for a moment I was on a classic album cover. Maybe there's still time ... any bands out there looking for an old broad to sit and knit on their next CD cover? Drop me a line and I'll put you in touch with my agent.