Happy New Year! ...and all that jazz.

Yeah, i know, it's been a while since i've blogged the last time. Mid-december? :) So, an update on what happened:

- christmas
- new year's eve
- university started again.

Too quick? Well, what shall i say. On the first christmas day (being 25th of december, and by the way, we get our presents on the 24th :P) we went to the thermae in Templin, near Berlin. It was refurbished and partly redesigned, so it freshly opened on dec 24th (i think). We were all really looking forward to this, but oh my gosh! Cables were sticking out, they didnt have any "Pommes Frites" for the kids anymore (at all!), the pools - and the floors in general were full of concrete powder and sand... plus when you went to the outer saunas then you got a really bad surprise when taking off your shoes before the sauna (you dont take the shoes inside the sauna. develops dangerous gases. So you morons from the gym near me, take that advice and leave your shoes outside.) because the ground was ice-cold -- surely not too healthy for the kidneys etc..
And the water is still not warm enough for me. Then again, my hands manage to get even colder while being warmmed up. But still. (though, that is nothing new, used to be like that before the renovation too).
All in all it was a very ambiguous trip. On the one hand it was really nice to be there again and go swimming there, and we liked it. On the other hand the general condition of that thing (also the new layout of the sauna area - there are two places where you sit and your back is heated through some bits of hay - of course you do that naked - which used to be in the quiet room, now you are being exposed to the whole cafe; the dressing rooms are "somewhere" hidden etc etc) was soooo disgusting, that it was a real downer to the whole trip.

The next day already, after a quick to the hospital, i was on my way to England. Royal Leamington Spa, dig that. It turned out to rain for the whole time of 9 days which i spent there (yahey), sometimes just slightly, which was alright, and sometimes heavily - like when we went to Sainsbury's, 30 walking minutes away. Even my otherwise waterproof coat started to wet through, causing wet shoulders etc.
But well. i got to see some bits of Wales (a rainy Newport and a skateshop as well as a not-rainy but wet Cardiff and a pub ;)), of which i have to say the countryside is really gorgeous, even in rainy times. cant wait to see it again in the summer :)
Anything else to say about that week?
Well.
a) The Exorcism of Emily Rose was alright, but not more than that. Not scary in the slightest, no really shocking moments, and well _I_ felt bored.
b) Saw I + II were also not as horrific as i expected them to be, aside from the guy cutting his foot off. Couldnt watch that, somehow i really dont like watching people crippling themselves voluntarily.
c) Night at the Museum was good fun. Ben Stiller does a good job there, it is a very nice family film and kept us (old enough :P) entertained too.
d) 21 grams. One word: awesome. Sean Penn for the win!
e) same applies to I am Sam (my lord, he is so... cute...) still my personal favourite. sometimes you dont know whether to be slightly put off, to cry or to laugh.
f) Borat - if you are not easily offended, go, watch this. It is so painful that it is funny again :D
g) Amores Perros - those who like 21 grams, snatch or other films like that should really see amores perros. it surely is a very long film (around 150 minutes), but it is worth it. Definitely one of the better films i have seen.
h) Jesus Camp - crazy stuff. it is a documentary on extremely religious people who can make children cry and act very weird. Go, see it.
i) Neon Genesis Evangelion is still cult.
j) Serial Experiments Lain as well - for Geeks like me :)
k) Paranoia Agent is just slightly less creepy than Lain, but fun, too. :)

So, we have been watching loads of films and/or series. And not been outside much, aside from usually 2 or 3 hours of walking around and/or go shopping, eat out and whatnot. And that we have only done to burn at least SOME calories from the horrendous amount of crisps we've eaten. Did you know that there are 26-pack-multipack bags from Walker's? I mean. 26 packs.... it contained Cheddar flavoured crisps though, which are awesome :)
All in all i am extremely happy that i went there, but im not going to post any further details on the trip.(only that british airways is cool :D)

Well, and now university and work have started again, so everything is back to normal... i guess :)