ohhhh markus ….

so there is this automated voicemail system that keeps calling me like every 2-3 weeks.

“The warranty on your vehicle is going to expire. please act now. [...]”

and I don’t even have one. but this isn’t the creepy part. When I entered the elevator in my building like 10 minutes ago, the elevator speaker (!!!) started to talk to me: “This is your final notice that the warranty on your vehicle is going to expire”.

this is twilight zone my friends. twilight zone.

Junichi invited me over for a kind of small & private show the put up in the school he teaches ballet at. Although the school was just two subway stops outside of Manhattan it felt like a different planet, with no people on the street and only big industrial buildings and no shopping infrastructure at all (not even a Deli!).

The performances itself were very impressive, ranging from hip hop break dance, to sword fights, to classic ballet, to dance factory style choreography. And afterwards a nice organic buffet. oh, and I was the only non-asian there …

A (austrian) friend of mine works at the United Nations and invited me over to watch a spectacular documentation about how women ended a civil war in Liberia just by peer pressure and a very very strong organization (”Pray the Devil back to Hell“). After the movie there was a Q&A session with one of the main characters. Very touching and totally different world.

Afterwards I had the privilege to see the United Nations building after it closed, almost completely abandoned and gained access to areas that are normally off limits. I didn’t even have to wear the huge visitor badge and we could move freely around. It was a quite interesting experience (to say at least) to see the big halls where history is made, stand in front of the press wall you know from public broadcasts and also see how incredible bureaucratic and old fashioned the offices look.

One of my friends is a pretty awesome dancer, teaching Ballet. He invited me to this spectacular performance, taking place in a HUGE gallery space on the 9th floor of a massive old building. You step in and EVERYTHING is white, ceilings, walls, pillars. And some mannequins, showcasing amazing amazing fashion.

The performance started with dancers in the middle of all the people (although we formed a big circle to give the performers more space).

but enough said, here are the pics:

… when someone draws that on the floor covers we have for the bathroom renovation …

probably the niciest guy in the world got married and I was invited! Wonderful Joe and I rented a car for the ride (since it was upstate, 3 hour drive) and set up a meeting point at 12.01pm sharp on saturday.

weeeell, that was the plan.

I partied kinda long the night before and was on my way home on saturday at 11:30am (yes it was one of those nights …) when I saw a text message from Joe, sent at 5am, that he will be late and cant make 12.

In the end we left the city at 1:30ish and made it to the wedding about 20min before it started.

The ceremony was a jewish/catholic one, with quite some funny moments (best moment: the groom and bride had to repeat the sentences the rabbi said, and when it was her turn after a couple of sentences he switched to hebrew and she looked like “WHAT?” :D)

another good one, when they raised the bride and the groom on the chairs. L.O.V.E.D. that. I want that, too, at my wedding ….

anyhow, quite some night, lots of friends there, traded my ring for another one with a girl (ohh such a fabulous bling trade it was) and headed to some after party. next day we stopped at the wafflehouse (highly recommended!) for a very trashy and tasty brunch.

but ‘nough said. here are the pics.

I am on my way to burning man. Driving cross country in a car with two friends. Let’s see how this goes

the problem about having a blog is that sometimes there is so much happening, you just don’t have the time to update and post.

so there has been a couple of really nice things lately, some of them quite life changing.

My trip to maryland for the gallery opening

Fabulous S had her first show, hosted in maryland. and I was delighted to be able to be there!

check out those absolutely rad paintings:

Washington DC license plate

 I also made a small hiking tour next to the Potomac river, was incredible. Saw a real praying mantis for the first time in my life. and it was HUGE! first I couldn’t see it at all, just a grasshopper that was twitching funny midair. and as my eye adjusted to the scene, the mantis suddenly appeared right in front of my eyes. pretty eery. and took its time eating the grasshopper alive.

its pretty hard to find in this picture:

Praying Mantis

but even harder to see it in the video:

the hiking trail was pretty extreme, for some of it I really had to be on all my fours. Probably the most dangerous thing I have ever done in the US without having to sign a weaver first!

Finally my own place! Searching for a flat in NY is … eery 

… And I am not impressed. But it was a nice boat ride at least.

Fabulous S dragged me to that barber shop in trendy Williamsburg Greenpoint. Dudes with tattoos, racing magazines and everything very 50ies. And the guy who is doing your haircut, rarely uses scissors, more like a electric razor, switching blades a gazillion times. And at the end I had … the most fabulous haircut ever. And no, I won’t tell where that place was …