pre-Transmission

Wednesday was quite refreshing... there truly is nothing like amazing weather to vacation you from horrific temperatures. As previously stated, it's not the rain that's real annoying, nor is it the temperature; it's the lack of sun. We go days on end without sunlight, living in a grey environment similar to 1950s television. On Wednesday, it was 65 degrees without a cloud in the sky. It was beautiful, and I had two outclasses to get to enjoy it outside. It was so tempting to not go to my econ class, and so boringly awful to go. When I walked into class, it was absolutely beautiful, and when I exited, the sun had set. Talk about a waste of wonder, a poor choice of class time sure screwed us all over. I went to yoga and then went out to 2 girls' birthday parties. It was fun, and when we decided to leave, half of us got stuck in the elevator. As I raced down the stairs and knocked on the elevator door, I probably should have realized that the 3 knock backs in the same spot meant they had stopped moving. After ten minutes of waiting, I decided it was worth trying to open the door, which got the Czech kids pretty pissed and could have gotten us in a lot of trouble. I at least thought it was a better idea than trying to jump down a floor, which everyone inside the elevator was attempting (they were 3/4 of the way between the 3 and 4 floors). When they finally got out, we shared a laugh as they shared some swear words, and everyone headed in different directions. Instead of getting to walk home with the girl in my building, we took care of her friend, which eventually led to me actually carrying her over my shoulder to get her home. It happens to the best of us, and they luckily are enjoying Amsterdam as I type instead of this horrific grey.
Thursday was back to the usual crud weather, and upon waking up from my post-Czech class nap, I felt fantastic. Czech was awful, and holding my hovering head just inches above the desktop made my situation apparent to not just myself. That day was pretty slow too, but at least ended in humor. We ended up going to club Radost, a few blocks from our apartment, after enjoying the Woodstock environment of my new favorite bar. With $1.10 beers, $1.40 becherovka shots, $1.75 shots of everything else, and $2.20 shots of absynthe or any whiskey, the Woodstock bar across the street is now for me what Chucky Cheese is to Michael Jackson. One side note about Woodstock is that it is quite different from most Czech bars in a form of its pricing. In the CR, if you want a rum and coke, you pay 50 crowns for the rum (or whatever it costs) and then 75 krowns for the coke (again event specific). A gin and tonic, for example, may often be 35 krowns for the shot of gin, and then whatever the tonic costs on top of that. At Woodstock, the 35 krown gin gets translated into a 39 krown gin and tonic drink. Weird, but still in pattern with other drinks. The whiskey coke, however, defies traditional economics. For 45 krowns, they will serve you a shot of any whiskey they have. For 39 krown, however, they will make you the whiskey coke drink. If you figure out the economics of this, please explain it to me, and it can't just be because there is that much greater demand for the shot.
I ran into a yoga friend at Radost while Dillon ran into what may have been Russian mafia guys who wanted to kill him. I can't confirm the first part because they were punks, but their friend that I ended up speaking to definitely did not seem to be the same Rhode Island guido-esque persona. I came home and went to my room to see where Dillon was (we both close the door before either of us go to sleep, and our door was open), and did not find him in bed. I then went to brush my teeth and heard snoring in the shower. Probably beats my sleeping on the trams I venture. I also woke up the following morning with a box of raspberries nearby, uneaten yet open with juice dripped on my nightstand. My keys were still in the door, and we shared a lot of laughs Friday morning. Friday afternoon consisted of me wanting to fly a kite, but shitty weather kept me inside. We then went to see the new Bond movie which opened early here (not as early as London) because it was filmed nearby, and I was slightly disappointed yet still enjoyed it enough to think the experience worthwhile. In Czech theatres you have assigned seating by the way, even if it's not enforced or upheld. They are very nice theatres, and the mall we walked through was really cool. It was nice going to a mall on a Friday afternoon/evening to see the crowd that was going there, and it was really bumping. I even saw a bookstore that had a small english section! I had unfortunately read all of the books that I wanted, most of them in the past 6 months, and right before leaving unhappy I moved a book on the bottom shelf and saw a Penguin classic hidden behind. I picked up Khalid Gibran's The Prophet and took it home with me. Amazon's comments and reviews make it seem like I made a wise choice. I stayed in last night to prepare for tonight, which pictures and Dillon's descriptions predict to be epic.
Today I had wanted to go to the zoo, but more rain sort of made that hope disappear. Well, it's more of being postponed because I still hope to go there, a magical place whose descriptions have consisted of nothing short of awesome. Having stayed in all day, I think it's sort of necessary to get out, which is perfect because tonight is Transmission 2008, a massive techno party. Before I give what I'm told it will be, I should mention my experimental lunch that I just finished. I had purchased canned herring to see what Czech people eat. It came in a paprika/oil dressing, almost like a light barbeque sauce of pepper. I added it to some Czech fake-Ramen, and 'endulged' in an interesting delicatessen that may need a more accurate description. Anyways, the entire O2 arena, the size of the United Center, is turned into a massive stage, and from 9pm until 7am, the whole stadium screams as the CR hosts Central Europe's largest techno party and hottest DJs. I will bring a camera (which is allowed in concerts here even though it's not permitted in castles) and make sure not to lose it, also hopefully taking pictures of the grandiosity of this event: it's going to be a thunderdome