Operation Tubetop

May has been probably the most packed and surreal month of my life! Ok, there was that one summer in Moscow between 1st and second year of university but anyway... No, May was INSANE! I have decided to do a month wrap up because otherwise this would turn into a novel (that would be AWESOME TOO!) So here we go, the amazing highlights of May! Art Show: Talented artist Fabian Patzak put on a great art show at the beginning of the month called Nature at Loft 8 Kunstraum. It was amazing to go on the opening night. There was free wine. That is always a plus. His work is flawless and it was incredible to see his work considering I used to tease him on the school bus 20 years ago. You should definitely Google stalk him and his work. And he is a great guy! Opera: I went to the Barber of Seville. It was awesome and you can find my version of Barber of Seville on this blog. David Pershall performed as Figaro and it was fantastic. I felt incredibly lucky to be at the Staatsoper again afte...

First week back at work since Eurovision. I have had ups and downs, peaks and valleys, a lot of wine and not too much wine: because I am nothing, if not dramatic. I took the Kid to therapy today and he was a bit zombie-like so we didn't get far but that is ok. I will just add it to his bill for when he becomes rich for inventing a machine that takes my nagging voice and turns it into a piece from Chopin. Could happen. I think the Husband would invest in that. Heh. Actually, in the Husband's case, he would have my voice changed to that French woman's voice in that film The Beach . This Sunday is the big Frauenlauf. I am nervous especially since I couldn't get the kerblasted running app to work so while I can run 30 minutes, I really don't know if I can run 5 k in 30 minutes. My Fitbit seemed to believe in me but he just died so I am at a loss. I miss you Fitbit! I am picking up my t-shirt with a friend tomorrow. I hear that there is SWAG and this Jew loves free s...

Gah! So much to do and it is so exciting. The Meet and Greet took a bit of a backseat while I worked on Eurovision (God, I miss you so much. Please come back. We didn't even say good bye properly). The last few days I have been working out some details and I am getting there. I am still waiting on an answer from a location. CHECK YOUR EMAILS PEOPLE, I NEED TO GET THIS DONE! And once that is set up, I will feel a lot more relaxed. I expanded the guest list (invited the men) because I expanded my budget. How often will I get to have an event like this, so as I wrote on the invite, GO BIG OR GO HOME! I hope as many of you can make it. This is about raising money for the Autistenhilfe Dachverband which is based in Vienna. It is a not-for-profit organization that helps families dealing with autism. I feel incredibly blessed that we have been lucky enough to find a great therapist and a great kindergarten but it did take a while (please refer to rebirthing and being kicked out of a k...

Yesterday after work, I met a friend for some drinks and then headed home around 6 to relieve the Nanny. I decided that my previous glasses of wine would be best paired with some Alanis Morissette because why not. I pulled up Youtube and treated myself to the complete album of Jagged Little Pill which had been my anthem of MY LIFE back in the 90s. I lived in Vienna at the time and the Internet didn't really exist so whenever somebody visited from North America we all acted like some penal colony. What news do thy bring from the old world ?!? My sister brought news, she brought ALANIS! The Kid was not impressed with his mother singing "CAUSE I'M HERE TO REMIND YOU OF THE MESS YOU MADE!!!" while clutching a wooden spoon and making pasta. Man, did it bring back memories. I would listen to that album over and over and over, crying and singing and thinking "Man, Alanis gets me. She totally gets me." Because yes, I was 15 living in a house overlooking vineyard...

I'm heading back to work today. I also just got back from an aborted run. Gah! I ran yesterday early morning and now my shin splints are terrible today. The Husband was like "Maybe you aren't running properly" and I bellowed "The fact that I am running at all is a miracle!! Running properly?! Ahahahah!" I got dressed this morning, mincing my way out the door and I started to run and ouch, no. I had to stop after 30 seconds and I cried a little. I love my morning runs but my shins said no this morning. I will be spending tonight researching ways I can numb my body into submission. This sounds like some version of 50 Shades of Grey... now re-titled to 50 Shades of Hot Pink Spandex. Stay tuned. And because it was a quiet long weekend, I just have a "dis and dat" post. Also, I'm grounded for the next week because for 2 weeks I acted like I had no obligations at home. So here we go. Our neighbourhood - We have lived in the 4th for over just a ...

hi guys. i feel like capital letters show happiness so i will write with no capital letters because i am sad. i am emo. i am 90's goth. i am eyore. i am lidia deetz in beetlejuice. i am fairuza balk in the craft. Just messing with you. I'm doing alright. Well, I was a little melodramatic this morning. The Husband caught me listening to the songs from last night, clutching my press pass and ugly crying. It was a combination of exhaustion and well, sadness. These two weeks have been amazing and that saying "Find something you love to do and you will never work again" or something something, finally made sense. Yesterday I got to the hall around noon and set up my stuff. I saved a seat for a friend (his husband and friends had tickets to the final) and got to work. A Norwegian woman and two men sat beside me and we chatted briefly. They were absolutely lovely and we made a pact to try and watch each other's seats because it was already packed and the show wasn...

I am currently in the press hall. Just a few more hours to go and then my time here will be over. Jeebus, way to be dramatic, Tova. This has truly been a dream come true. I have learned a lot about covering an event (don't be shy and don't be afraid to ask questions) and I have learned a lot about me. I have discovered that if you do what you love you don't feel like you are working. It's been a whirlwind and I think tomorrow will be spent on the couch feeling sorry for myself and telling the Husband and the Kid about "That time I was an important journalist". And the Kid will respond with "Bing! Bing! Mommy!". Sidenote: I showed him my press pass this morning and asked "Who's that?!" and he responded with "MOMMY!" Makes me cheer every time. I am proud of my adoptive country Austria. You truly showed the world that you are trying to be tolerant and you put on a great show. The coordination of the event, the volunteers, the...

Well, I didn't know what I could write about today so I decided on a keyword piece. Oh boy, let's just start it because a keyword post really doesn't require a lot of intro. The Opera: Ok, this was surreal. I'm not going to go into detail (yet) but let's just say that I got to have a behind the scenes tour of the Vienna Opera House. AMAHZING! I don't want to go into too much detail because more will be revealed in the future but eu mah gawd. And no, I will not be working at the opera house because kittens cry whenever I open my mouth. But let's just say... I had one of the most Viennese of Vienna experiences that Vienna can offer ever. Surreal. The Husband: Well this is a pretty honest post. This morning, while I was getting the Kid dressed for kindergarten, the Husband asked me "Are you having a fun time?" and being the brat that I am I answered "It's not about fun. I AM WORKING! I AM DOING A JOB!" and I harrumphed and acted ...

First of all, as I wrote on Facebook, I am incredibly grateful to the Husband for keeping the home fires burning. He has been a rockstar this past week and a half. I have been putting in 18 hour days and he has been incredibly understanding about it. This morning I opened the fridge for a drink and he found me a couple minutes later sleeping while standing. I could have gotten frostbite - he cares. The Kid is missing me too and when I crawl into bed, he snuggles closer (the fact that he is still in our bed is a whole different issue. But like, he literally had a seizure when we tried sleep training a few months back. You think I'm dramatic?!). The other night I got home at midnight and he woke up and came into the hallway half asleep and gave me this look like "Lady, do you know what time it is?!?!" and then he took my hand and led me to bed. Tonight is the second semifinal and I am feeling jittery again. I will be tweeting for Vienna Würstelstand during the show whil...

Oh wow! Last night was incredible. I am currently running solely on adrenaline and it is amazing I haven't passed out yet. Yesterday I worked a half day, then grabbed some lunch and then headed to the Stadthalle to watch the last rehearsal for the first semifinal. The press hall was pretty busy and you could tell that there was a different feeling in the air. I worked on my planned tweets and read up on celebrity gossip for a few hours and then I headed to dinner to my friend's restaurant: Der Fuchs und Die Trauben. And this is where I have to admit something... I ate meat. The shame! I couldn't resist the gyoza, guys. I couldn't. I'm not proud. But hey! 17 days of veganism is not bad and I am back on the wagon today. Not tomorrow though, tomorrow I am heading back to the restaurant at 5:30 to catch a quick dinner before the second semifinal. After my dinner of shame last night, I headed back to the press center and boy was I glad I saved my seat. I also saved a...

Well, I am back at the Stadthalle. Tonight is the first live show; the semi final featuring 16 acts. Only 10 will make it through to the final. The votes are split fifty/fifty: jury votes and people who call in. You can definitely feel a bit of tension in the press center and it has filled up. One table is filled with a team from one site and they brought along the biggest Apple monitors I have ever seen. I have no idea what they are doing but I am counting out porn because the broadcasting box is right behind them. I am officially off work as of today and I am really really really looking forward to getting some rest tomorrow. I will take the Kid to daycare and then head back to the apartment for a rest. By noon I will be out and about, having lunch with a friend, doing a non-Eurovision related interview and schlepping my stuff until 4 when I will head to a very important press conference. I can't wait to go and I can't wait to tell you all about it! After the press confer...