I was going to a party tonight and you're 'supposed' to bring something. So I thought I would pick up a bottle of wine. Now, I'm totally the wrong person for this job, but since I wasn't going with anyone, I couldn't arrange it so that someone else would do it. See, I've actually bought alcohol maybe 10 times in my life. And that's amazing because I'm 24 and most people my age have been drunk more times in a month. So wine is no exception, I really have no idea what I'm doing. The only thing I know is too bitter is no good. When I enter the wine section of the supermarket, a section I otherwise never bother going into, I might as well be blindfolded trying to pin the tail on a donkey. So I just pick by labels, not by what they say but the way they look. Some bottles look really tacky with how the colors of the cork, the bottle and the label match. Some look more classy and I ended up picking a Bordeaux. Or at least that's what it claimed to be on the bottle, it was the one where half the bottles were missing, so I thought if people are buying this, maybe it's a good choice. It also happened to be among the cheapest they had, at €2.09. It doesn't cost much to get drunk in this country.

Although I was a bit late for the party, I came in as the very first guest. But since everyone brought drinks and this didn't turn out to be some drunken fiesta, noone actually touched any of the wine. Neither the one I got, nor the one that was already there, nor the ones that were brought in. They seemed a lot more interested in the beer.

*shrugs*

Every once in a while I read up on a new technology and it makes me want to try it out, see what I can do with it. Lately that technology is Mono, I've been curious about it for months. But it's not the first time this has happened, a few months ago I was thinking about Common Lisp for some time, started reading Practical Common Lisp, but I sorta had no idea what to do with it. Then it was Ruby, I read both Programming Ruby and Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby (the book everyone is raving about). Once again I had no concrete idea about what I could do with ruby. Finally, I decided to write galleryforge, and that was a good idea, because it's actually useful for something.

You see, it's not like I don't have ideas at all, it's just that none of them pass my screening process. I know I don't want to get involved in a big project, because chances are I'll never finish it. So it has to be a fairly well defined and narrow. But if I am to work on code, it should at least be useful, it should solve some problem, otherwise it feels like a waste. But chances are that if it does solve a problem and it doesn't do it particularly well, there probably already are other projects out there which do it better, so again why bother? galleryforge was a good call, because although it's similar to certain others, its scope is well defined and it does its job well. But I haven't been able to find another idea as good.

Swiss German Dutch?? efficiency. That's what I encountered today at the Geemente (dunno how to translate this, 'kommune' for Scandinavians) when I went to report a change of address (yes, very promptly as you noticed, I actually moved to this house 25 days ago). Apparently, you are supposed to do this so the city can keep track of where you are. I walk into the building, up to the reception desk, the guy immediately tells me "end of the hall, up the stairs". I enter a big room with a looong desk and numbers at every place, like a bank basically. Lots of people seated and waiting so I'm thinking "well, this may take a while". But then I go up the stairs and there's just noone waiting there. I take a number and I get served immediately. I have to show my passport, my rental agreement, sign on a piece of paper, whole thing took 2 minutes. Amazing.

I was duped today, imagine with so much heat experience a person can still make a mistake like that. It looked like a normal day, people are walking around in pants and sweaters, but it's 16°C today and it's going to stay like this all week. I didn't realize I was sweating until I stepped into a bookstore where the concentration of people was about 1/m². You see, a new academic period is starting today and so *everyone* is out to get books right now. I knew this would happen, so I meant to be there at 9am, but it figures it was already 10 by the time I gained any kind of consciousness, and so I showed up right when everyone else did. It's not that it's hot outside, it's quite pleasant really, but in the buildings it's no good. Apparently they don't believe in ventilation or cooling here. I had to get 2 books and return one to the library, all of which of course happens in 3 different buildings. I also found out today the university is going to be a construction site until October this year :wallbang:, so getting from building to building will remain non-trivial. On the way home, I hear the faint noise of a fire truck and I'm thinking "there's no way Phil Collins put that in his song", so I take out one earphone and take a glance behind me. There is a fire truck advancing, it passes me and then... turns into my street. I pick up the pace on my bike (hell, you never know, right?) and I'm relieved to discover that it didn't park outside my house, it's gone. Once I got home, I started off with a summer classic: the cold shower. Oh you don't need shock treatment, just turn the dial little by little and it will feel perfectly comfortable. Then I see an ambulance racing through my street. It must be heat shock.

Won't bother explain since Ash already did. Ok, just a quick one then. A series of questions. For each one, put amarok on shuffle and respond with the track that starts playing.

Incidentally, when I queue _all_ my tracks and put it on shuffle, it always comes up with tracks I never listen to [anymore]. Oh and since this quiz apparently revolves around songs I'll exclude instrumental tracks, only songs qualify.

Will I get far in life?
R. Kelly - Spendin money
Erm.. is R telling me I spend too much money? R tries to spend money to forget his babe, I don't see how that affects me tbh.

How do my friends see me?
Will Smith - Gettin Jiggy Wit It
Hm interesting choice, am I really perceived as some playboy? That I didn't see coming.

Where will I get married?
Christian Aguilera - Genie in a bottle
A more prudent question would be "if". No matter, let's focus on the song. Wth does it say anyway? I'm none the wiser on the venue.

What is my best friend's theme song?
Sinead O'Connor - Nothing compares to you
I wonder if Erik has neglected to tell me something..

What is the story of my life?
Whitney Houston - Didn't we almost have it all
Derm... I'm starting to have second thoughts about this quiz. Don't see how this song affects me in the least.

What was high school like?
Will Smith - Will 2k
Nnnno. The IB was *not* like that.

How can I get ahead in life?
Dr. Alban - Sing Hallelujah
That may actually be a worthwhile message, I'm pretty sure I could benefit from having a happier outlook on life.

What is the best thing about me?
Christian Aguilera - Beautiful
*sigh* So many questions where the song has no meaningful message and then we get here and it's completely unambiguous. Come to think of it, I couldn't answer the question rationally if I tried, so I'll just pass on this one.

How is today going to be?
Pet Shop Boys - Yesterday when I was mad
Yeah that really is a lot of help :rolleyes:

What is in store for this weekend?
Kelly Rowland - Beyond imagination
Well granted that the weekend is over in 4h I'll let Kelly off the hook.

What song describes my parents?
2 Pac - Can't C Me
This quiz idea is officially worthless.

My grandparents?
2 brothers on the 4th floor - Let me be free
Ah, Dutch goodness from the early 90s. Well I guess everyone wants to be free, so why not.

How is my life going?
Eros Ramazzotti - Canzone for lei
Ah, trust Eros to liberate me. The title goes "Sing to her" or for her or whatever, who cares. Since I don't get the lyrics, I got off easy on this one. Okay okay he doesn't want to split up with her or something, whatever, totally unrelated to me once again. Unless you're a poet and take her to be Norway or something in which case it's still completely wrong.

What song will they play at my funeral?
2 Pac - All eyes on you
I guess so, I'll be in the coffin. Geh, not what I had in mind.

How does the world see me?
Savage Garden - To the moon and back
Disconnected from the world?

Will I have a happy life?
Andrea Bocelli - Un nuovo giorno
A new day. The English caption actually says "The first day of my life". As regards the question, from my own estimates I would say yes. Since I don't know the lyrics, I'm just gonna enjoy the music and I'll see you in 4 minutes.

What do my friends really think of me?
Mariah Carey - I don't wanna cry
I don't get whether my friends don't want to cry when they see me or whether it's me who's crying.

Do people secretly lust after me?
Garou - Le monde est stone
This one's a toughie. First I tried to look up "stone" but since I can't find it, it seems to be the American influence, ie. it does mean stone. The world is stone. From reading the lyrics, that seems about right. "I look for the sun in the middle of the night" and whatnot. Regarding the question, I'm guessing that's a no.

How can I make myself happy?
Phil Collins - True colors
Simplistic advise, but I'll take it.

What should I do with my life?
Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (let's make lots of money)
Yeah I don't think that's what I'm gonna dedicate myself to.

Will I ever have children?
Unloco - Bruises
For reasons unknown to me, listening to the Matrix soundtrack really felt right back when I was in intense exam preparation periods, walking home from school at 10pm in a cold and dark December. It was like releasing stress or something. Anyway, this song tells me nothing.

What is some good advice?
Ricky Martin - Asi es la vida
I'm guessing but I'm gonna go with "Such is life". Running through the lyrics I don't understand, it seems that it's "difficult to love anew" but in the first verse he says "a birthday without promises", I'm gonna go with that.

What is my signature dancing song?
Brian McKnight - Back at one
I really do not see how that could be, I've never danced to this.

What do I think my current theme song is?
Alicia Keys - Heartburn
No I don't. This song stinks too.

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Whitney Houston - Miracle
Mkay, apparently people don't read me like a book then.

What type of men/women do I like?
Garou - Que l'amour est violent
"How love is cruel". What does that tell you? Nothing, thought so. Fortunately we're done now.

I think you've learnt more about my playlist (well most of those songs I haven't actually listened to in years, I just still have them cause I once liked them) than me.