Although I actually made it outside this morning (it's sunny and hot, sweaty hot), I'm back in my apartment listening to some street band music (Czech polka, perhaps?) through my window. Lately I've mostly stayed inside, spending all day online busy with applications and whatnot. But today my electric toothbrush beeped an unusual beep, threatening to lose power completely. So I went to Conrad's for a transformer and the post office for stamps. No luck at Conrad's, but I found a small one at Saturn that can control up to 45-watts (not enough for my blowdryer, but more than enough for my toothbrush) for only 15€.
I remember my electronics adapter-buying trip of Paris. It was after a class meeting at the bar, so I was feeling just tipsy enough to string together the necessary French to get what I needed in my hand and out the door. Today I didn't have any booze, but I think I did just fine. It probably helps that the word for "transformer" here is "Transformator."
Last night I was tempted to make it out to a gallery party, but I wasn't feeling particularly social so I went to a park and read a few short stories of Cortázar. I've decided that he inspired Etgar Keret's technique, but Keret replaces Cortázar's oblique, Borgesian poetics with contemporary politics. Maybe I only see the similarity because of the surprise rabbits and gory endings in each of their stories (Cortázar's "Letter to a Young Lady in Paris" and Keret's "Hat Trick"). Then I went to a street vendor and had an excellent roasted half-chicken and salad. After reading a bit more, they brought me a complimentary tea (I didn't see them give any to the men).
