PUKing locks

Just came home from a three-hour practice session. Because I don't have regular access to a piano here, I've had to buy hours from a band's studio nearby, three hours maximum per day...now that I am PAYING to practice and have to make every second count, I now realise how unbelievably privileged I was back home in New Zealand - I can't believe the hours I frittered away taking "breaks". Sure, breaks are important and necessary, but I think I may have been a little gratuitous with them :P ah, you live and you learn. One good thing about being under pressure is that my practising therefore has been super productive. I don't know what it is, but my brain goes into some sort of "MEGA POWERCHARGE PLUS! *superhero stance*" mode and I am able to absorb and retain much quicker than before. Just as well!

Last night I was one of several thousand people that gathered at the Schönbrunn palace for the free annual Sommernachtskonzert by the Vienna Philharmonic. Schönbrunn is definitely schön indeed - I have yet to see it during the day in person, but all the buildings lit up in gold and silver was especially beautiful.
I had hoped to catch Yefim Bronfman (playing Liszt No.2) up close but my friend had had a rather busy and stressful day and we ended up riding the U-bahn several stops in the wrong direction before she said "...scheisse. Oh scheisse, Maria, we are going the wrong way!". Ahahahahaha. The irony was that we had boarded the carriage saying "man, it's really empty. Maybe everyone's already at Schönbrunn?"

So by the time we arrived, it was all too much to bear thinking of parting through the monumental crowd to get a peek at Mr. Bronfman, his formidable size presence notwithstanding. I managed to snag a spot where I could see the screen and enjoyed the last 10 minutes of the concerto, as well as his encore.
The highlight for me, though, was the Vienna Phil playing the Imperial March AKA Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars. I mean really. It was all too kitsch and touristy and yet really well played (of course) and they had synchronised lightsaber-like lighting spinning around and it really was a spectacle, in every sense of the word. Towards the end of the night the music petered out into muzak and people were dancing waltzes around me and that's when I decided to call it a night.

In reference to the title, you may be wondering what I'm on about - let me tell you. I did something very intelligent and forgot the pin code of the sim card my friend gave me. So I tried it in several different combinations and got the "please enter your PUK code" message. Which my friend cannot find anymore. This wouldn't have been so bad, were it not for the fact that I had *just* topped up 20 euros onto this (now blocked) sim card...

Eghh blgegehgg fail fail fail.

It's just a hassle really. Money is money, it comes and goes, but I'm really annoyed that it takes lessons like this for me to get it right from the second time. Why can't I just be on to it from the get go?! But at any rate, I have another sim card, which I am about to go top up today. -_-
I will also add that locks here have been giving me grief. They never turn in the direction I think they will. And the lock at the flat here likes to misbehave sometimes, and I had a slight moment of panic when the bolt pushed itself through to the other side thereby rendering it impossible for any unlocking to happen...took a lot of manipulation with the key for it to come back out. All's well that ends well!

VIENNA IS HOT. Time for some ice cream and a nap I think. Ciao!