plop plop plop

It's been raining non-stop today. Everything is extra green on days like this, our garden seems to just pop and explode with colours, taking a picture of it doesn't do it justice. I'm secretly infatuated with rainy days, but only those when it's really pouring down, when there's nobody on the street and you hear the rain against the windows and against your hood when you walk along. The entry to the Greek department was full with umbrellas trying to dry themselves.
It's a good thing to get up in the morning and have breakfast next to the window. Rain reminds me of summer holidays in Upper Austria where we used to see no sun for weeks, and of that one summer when parts of Lower Austria where flooded because it didn't stop raining for a week. We went to the zoo on one of these days and I was wet to the bone. Rain in May reminds me of the weeks before I graduated, live version of new Franz Ferdinand songs had leaked and I listened to them for the first time proper when I walked to the subway on a very rainy day. There's something special about listening to music when you've got the added sound of raindrops on your hoodie, isn't there?

A really old picture of me with the first mixtape someone else had made for me.

Today it was a mixtape that was made for me about two years ago. It got me thinking about mixtapes once again. This particular one was mostly made up of songs I'd never listen to at home, by bands I'd never buy an album from. I call it "the American mixtape" because it always makes me think of colleges and boys in bands. But it's a great mixtape and it put me in a special mood. I wish I had more mixtapes by different people. It's such a good chance to get a proper look at someone, to really feel for someone. A mixtape is with me only when I'm out and about, it's the soundtrack for tram rides and walks through my favourite parts of the city. It's one of the greatest gifts you can present someone with, isn't it? Lots of hard work, too.

Oh, and a PS of sorts: Did you notice how plaid shirts came back in fashion at some point with all the hipster kids in the US and UK? So far I haven't seen it here in Austria, thank god, which makes me feel okay about wearing my little brother's checked-but-definitely-not-plaid shirts from the kids department when I'm having a bad day. But check out Kris' photos from the All Tomorrow's Parties festival. The amount of plaid made me laugh. It's like back in the days when everybody wore stripes. I miss the stripes! A good old nautical t-shirt will always look good.