MTV Video Music Awards 2014 – Or the Night of the Butt

MTV VMa 2014

Boy, what a night. I always look forward to these award shows and it’s always one highlight of my year. I try to watch as many as possible, but the VMA’s are my absolute favorite and I never miss them, even though I have to watch them in the middle of the night. So here is what I do: I get myself yummy stuff to eat, a bottle of water, comfy clothes, my computer, phone and notebook and park myself in front of a tv. I always do it by myself and it’s a kind of tradition, by now. Of course I live-tweet and read what is happening on my twitter feed, which is awesome. You get additional information, funny pictures, tweets from the celebs in the room and it’s just a lot of fun. My favorite tweets of the night:

Kim’s afraid to laugh! She don’t wanna piss Kanye off! #VMAs

She came in like a Wrecking Ball, and won with pure class—nicely done, @MileyCyrus#VMAs

(showing a pic of Jay and Blue backstage)

Standing ovation for Miley’s date Jesse accepting her award on behalf of 1.6 million runaways & homeless youth in the US. Goosebumps.

It’s gonna be awkward next time Blue Ivy sees North and asks, “So what does your mommy do?” #VMAs

“She’s not wearing pants? Fuck it. I won’t wear pants either.” -every dressing room backstage at the VMA’s

Fashion: Why I call it the night of the booty? They were everywhere. I mean JLo, Beyoncé, Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj in one room, only to name some of the most popular butts. It was one hell of a butt show. Which brings me to how these behinds were dressed. It’s so interesting to watch these stars enter the red carpet in their outfits and last night, there was a lot to see. In my opinion, not in a positive way. I really hated most of the outfits. Maybe it’s just me, but most outfits were so tacky and class was nowhere to be seen. There were 3 people who actually put some thought into their outfit and the rest just had no mirrors.
Best dressed: 1. Jennifer “I’m 45 but look like 25” Lopez
                             2. Miley “I decided to actually wear clothes” Cyrus
                             3. Blue Ivy “I’m the coolest baby in the world” Carter (Yes, Bey
                                  looked goo too, but we all know that she always wakes up
                                  flawless)
And I will also not bash Gwen Stefani, Jordin Sparks, Lucy Hale and Kendall Jenner.
Worst dressed: Everybody else!

Amber Rose came in chains and that was basically it. I mean yes, please flaunt your curves but that was just too much and didn’t even look good. Even Miley had clothes on! Ariana Grande is one of the cutest and prettiest in the business, but that leather Moschino outfit was not a bit authentic. Put it back into Rihanna’s closet and try again. Taylor Swift? That blue onsie looked like something I wouldn’t even wear to bed and her hair reminded me of Bey’s mop at the Grammy’s. Fifth Harmony looked awful altogether, including that really bad brown/platinum blond ombé look. WHY??? Rita Ora and Kylie Jenner bought their dresses in a store for satin night gowns and I hope that Katy Perry was really only joking with that hideous jeans outfit. It wasn’t even ok when Britney wore it back in the 90s. Iggy Azalea looked as if an alien and a robot hooked up and Nicki Minaj only gets away with that sequins/snake print dress, because of Anaconda.

Awards: I must say that I’m sad John Legend didn’t win. “All of me” is simply perfection! And why the hell was Lorde nominated in the rock category? Is it because she wears black all the time? Seriously, that doesn’t make her rock. She was actually nominated with Linkin Park and Imagine Dragons. Why? Why? Why? And I must say that Miley Cyrus surprised us all, when she sent Jessie to accept her award for Wrecking Ball, in order to raise awareness for 1.6 million runaways & homeless youth in the US. It just shows you that even if people are a little crazy, like to provoke, wear interesting pieces of clothing and are always good for a scandal, they are not bad people and have not forgotten about the important things in life. And of course, Queen Bey received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, which was the cutest thing ever. Jay and Blue entered the stage  and handed the trophy to Beyoncé, who was in tears and demonstrated what a happy family they are. Goodbye rumors! Just let them be happy.

The awards went to:

Video of the Year
Miley Cyrus, “Wrecking Ball”

Best Hip-Hop
Drake ft. Majid Jordan, “Hold On (We’re Going Home)”

Best Male
Ed Sheeran, “Sing”

Best Female
Katy Perry ft. Juicy J, “Dark Horse”

Best Pop
Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea, “Problem”

Best Rock
Lorde, “Royals”

MTV Artist to Watch
Fifth Harmony, “Miss Movin On”

Best Collaboration
Beyoncé ft. Jay Z, “Drunk In Love”

MTV Clubland Award
Zedd ft. Hayley Williams, “Stay the Night”

Best Video With a Social Message
Beyoncé, “Pretty Hurts”

Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, “Pretty Hurts”

Best Editing
Eminem, “Rap God”

Best Choreography
Sia, “Chandelier”

Best Direction
DJ Snake & Lil Jon, “Turn Down For What”

Best Art Direction
Arcade Fire, “Reflektor”

Best Visual Effects
OK Go, “The Writing’s On the Wall”

Best Lyric Video
5 Seconds of Summer, “Don’t Stop”

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Beyoncé

Performances: Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J opened the show and all I can think of is Anaconda. I loved how the stage looked like a jungle and damn, that butt. I also loved how Nicki had to hold together her dress during the “Bang Bang” performance. She managed to perform perfectly with that wardrobe malfunction. The greatest thing about performances is the moment the cameras are pointed at the crowd. Kim Kardashian was like, “Is her butt bigger than mine?”  Overall, Anaconda was hot, Ariana loves bathing suit outfits and you just gotta love Jessie J’s incredible voice. Then came Taylor Swift and social media freaked out in a not so positive way. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away, as well. I’ve definitely seen more interesting performances by her and she seemed like such a wannabe. I love her and her music but that dancing. that outfit, that setting was just so not Taylor. Sorry babe, but you don’t actually have anything to shake. Let Nicki do that! OMG, Sam Smith brought us all to tears. Such an amazing performance. Great voice, great song – it was perfection! Usher showed off his still awesome dance moves, although it did kinda have a negative effect on his singing and I wasn’t feeling marshmallow Nicki, at all. Maroon 5 performed on an awesome stage, 5 Seconds of Summer is a band I have no connection to, and Iggy and Rita did a good job. Nothing to stay in mind for a long time, though. Well, and then Beyoncé performed her whole album in 20 minutes which let us forget about everything that happened before, anyway. She killed it as usual, although the first minutes didn’t really get me. The thing is, we all know how flawless she is, we’ve seen it so many times and until the end, it was just the usual Bey show, which is great, but you know what I mean. Until MTV showed Jay, Blue and Kelly sitting with the crowd, I hoped for the couple to perform on stage or for a Destiny’s Child reunion, since Kelly and Michelle were present, but it didn’t happen. What I loved most was the private video footage of her, Jay and Blue and how she had tears in her eyes, when she heard her little princess. That was so touching. And of course Blue doing the flawless dancing on Jay’s lap. She’s the coolest baby on earth.

The only thing that really annoyed me was how MTV broadcasted and planned the show. No host, no introductions and correct me if I’m wrong, but that was how it was presented to me. So I’m not sure if it was only on German television or if it was a general problem. To let Jay Pharoah do some impressions in between was a good idea, though. He’s the perfect Jay-Z and it was hilarious to watch Kim K. while he was impersonating Kanye. Overall, it was a good night for music and I am already looking forward to next year. It was fun and definitely a celebration of female artists because the ladies totally rocked it. Who run the world? Girls!

PS: The Carter’s for first family!

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Photography: London – and a little something more about my trip

Finally, I got to spend 4 days in London and I enjoyed every second of it. The city is absolutely fantastic and if I can’t find a job in US, London would definitely be an option. I’m a city girl and I loved it. All these different people and cultures are very fascinating and I found them all very friendly. Furthermore, I traveled with my best friend in the whole wide world and we had such a blast. We laughed 24/7. I have to say that I am glad we’ve been friends for 16 years, because I am pretty difficult when it comes to traveling. I always have problems packing (only hand luggage should be forbidden), I always have a ton of stuff with me that makes my life so much more complicated, people constantly have to hold my things like jacket, camera, wallet, I always want to go to stores that nobody but me is interested in, I spend too much money, and a lot more. I asked my bff to please not end this friendship when we get back home, but she just laughed and told me that after all these years, she knows me good enough to be familiar with all of it. It felt so good to do this with her before I leave and it brought us even closer, if that is even possible.

InfinityLondon

We really tried to do as much as possible and I am pretty sure that some people will ask me “Why didn’t you do this or that?” Because it’s simply not possible and we tried hard. I guess we did most of the general things you can do in London like visit Buckingham Palace, take a ride on the London Eye and get some funny shots at Madame Tussauds. My personal highlight was getting photographed at Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross station, because I love Harry Potter and that was the reason I came up with this London idea, after all. We didn’t do a lot of shopping because it is very expensive and I was so afraid to buy too much, because we only had hand luggage. Turns out, I could have bought so much more in terms of weight but I spent enough money. Of course I had to visit the Disney store and M&M World because these are stores I love. I love the way they are built and it’s incredible what you find on the inside. A lot of thought is always put into these theme stores and I find it fascinating. My friend is the exact opposite. :D

London Harry Potter

We stayed in a hotel that was a little outside of London but we loved it there. It was very clean, had a nice room, everyone was friendly and the breakfast buffet was yummy. We found a great pizza place just around the corner where we always picked up our dinner and the railroad station was just a few steps away. We also bought a lot of great snacks from Marks&Spencer and this store alone is a reason for me to go back to London. It’s pretty healthy and they have sooo many great things to choose from. I wish I had a store like that next door. We got along perfectly with the city and had no problems at all to navigate ourselves through it. We are planning and navigation pros. We should totally organize tours. The weather was typical, I guess. It constantly changed, it felt like winter most of the time (and we were not prepared) and it was a little annoying to change in and out of clothes, all the time. But everything else was just great. And I saw David Beckham 3 times. ;)

A list of things we did/saw:

  • Buckingham Palace
  • Change of Guards
  • St. James Park
  • Madame Tussauds
  • London Eye
  • King’s Cross
  • Platform 9 3/4
  • M&M World
  • Disney Store
  • Forever 21
  • Harry Potter Store
  • Piccadilly Circus
  • Trafalgar Square
  • Covent Garden
  • Thames Cruise
  • Tower Bridge
  • Open Bus Tour
  • Westminster Abbey
  • Big Ben
  • Tower of London
  • Poppy planting
  • Marks&Spencer
  • Oxford Street
  • The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk

I really hope that I will come back someday and see more of this awesome city. I was really depressed when we landed back in Germany. I had to talk German again and I drove back home, where it is plain boring. I can’t wait to live in a big city. There is always something to do, you meet so many different people and cultures, nobody cares if you look different or not and you can enjoy great architecture, all the time. If you never been to London, give it a shot. I’m so glad that I finally made it there and it was awesome, awesome, awesome!

LondonLondon moneyLondon SidewalkLondonLondonLondon Buckingham PalaceLondon Buckingham PalaceLondonLondonLondon Westminster AbbeyLondonLondonLondonLondonLondonLondonLondonLondon BridgeLondon BridgeLondon BridgeLondonLondon Big BenLondon Big BenLondon EyeLondon KissesLondonLondonLondonLondonLondon M&M WorldLondon M&M WorldLondon Madame TussaudsLondon Madame TussaudsLondon Madame Tussauds

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Master of Arts – The greatest day of my life

Well, at least one of the best. Last Thursday I finally finished my academic studies and now, I have my Master of Arts degree. Let me just tell you that I am the happiest person on earth and I am really proud of myself. I have worked very hard for this during the last five years and now, it’s a done deal. Last week, I finally received the grade for my thesis and had my final oral exam and it all went very well. But just let me tell you a little about that day, or maybe about the whole week.

On Monday, I finally received a letter that contained my thesis reports and with that, my grade. This might sound totally stupid to some of you, but my biggest fear came true. It was only a B. Now in Germany, we have a different grading system. At university, you get grades from 1.0, which is the best you can get, to 4.0. Everything below means you failed. To be exact, you can get 1.0 1.3 1.7 2.0 2.3 2.7 and so on. Since I am highly overambitious, I had certain hopes and expectations but I didn’t quite make it. My thesis was graded with 2.0 which is of course very good but not really good enough for me. It’s like second place – it sucks! What annoyed me the most though, is the fact that I had to realize again that agreements obviously don’t count. Why do I even talk to my professor about my structure, plans etc., only to realize that he expected something more like I had in mind in the very beginning, before he told me to do something different? Or the second reader criticizing me for handing in a rather short thesis. Ummm, hello? According to the study and examination regulations, I had to hand in 60 pages, which I did. This is just something I don’t get but there is not much I can do about it. It is still a good grade and I wasn’t too devastated, due to fact my bff and me had booked our London trip about half an hour earlier. I was too stoked to be sad.

So because of this 2.0, I was pretty sure that I cannot get my A-average anymore and therefore, I didn’t put too much effort into studying for my final oral exam. A little here and there, but I was much more interested in watching tv. The exam doesn’t count much anyway and even if so, I never managed to get an A in an oral exam because I never managed to control my nerves. Imagine how surprised I was, when it actually went really well. I wasn’t much nervous. I just wanted to get it over with. I also brought my best friend and since we were running late, I had no time to stress myself out. I went into the office with my pockets full of lucky charms (rocks that baby boy gave to me, a little frog that I have since living in Texas as a child, and infinity rings my bestie gave to me before the exam. She wore one and I wore two. She sent me power. ;) I was pretty relaxed and just talked as much as I could. Gladly, I’m good with my professor and it was all ok. I answered everything, my English was perfect as usual and who would have thought, I received an 1.7. That felt awesome, but I thought it didn’t matter much. Still I was happy and just thrilled. DONE! Goodbye university – never again.

Afterward, I ran some errands, bought myself some cute things, visited another friend and then drove home. I was exhausted and tired, since I hadn’t really slept a lot the night before and it was pretty hot outside. I was sooo glad to be back at home. I just relaxed in bed and did pretty much nothing, since nobody was at home to celebrate and I had already called everyone. At some point, I just thought about checking if my grades were already online. To my surprise they were, which meant, I was able to see my final average. It was always my biggest dream to finish my studies with an one-point-something average and there it was. 1.9. That was the moment I completely lost it. I cried so hard and called my friends and family while sobbing like the world is going down. I actually scared some of them because they all thought something horrible happened. I just freaked out and it took a while to actually calm down. In that moment, five years of pure stress fell off my shoulders and one of my biggest dreams came true. To be honest, I still can’t believe it really happened. MASTER OF ARTS, 1,9 AVERAGE within the expected number of semesters. Yes, I am bragging but this just feels so awesome, especially because almost nobody in my life ever thought I had it in me. So many people always thought I was stupid. Some of them couldn’t even understand how I managed to finish school. Yes, I wanted to prove something. To those people and to myself and I did it. I went through a whole lot of stress to get here. I surrendered a lot of things to get here. I put myself under a lot of pressure to get here. Now I know that it was all worth it and I am so happy. I did it all by myself and I rocked it!

When I started, I thought university was like in teen movies, but I soon realized that it is not. I admit, I never gave uni-life an actual chance, but it’s ok. I know why I missed out on a lot of things and what for. And I still don’t get how many students think it’s so much more important to go partying 24/7 and how they don’t care about some extra semesters. Don’t these people want to experience something new? See the world, work…? I really just wanted to get done, as soon as possible. I loved to study American Studies. I never regretted it and I hope I never will. In terms of finding a job, it was not the best decision, but I let my heart decide and it was right. I believe that when you’re good and you are willing to work hard, you will find a way to make it. It might not be easy, but easy is for cowards.  I can just say that it will pay off to work hard for your dreams. You might have to make sacrifices but at some point, you will be rewarded. It took me 26 years to realize this, but last week, I did. It paid off and I am completely satisfied.

I am thankful that my parents provided me with the opportunity to study at university. They paid for my books, my rent, my food, my fees, which is a whole lot of money when you add it all together. And in a way, I am thankful for all those idiots who never believed in me. You pushed me to become the best I can be and I am pretty damn good.

Now, new adventures are waiting for me and I can’t wait to see what the world has to offer. I am truly happy and I hope, this won’t ever change, again.

Follow your dreams!

Never give up!

Educate yourself!

Do what is best for you!

Hard work pays off!

American Studies

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Forever Goodbye

I still lie awake
Lost in thoughts about you
What we could have been
But never were
Always afraid to try

Too different
So alike
Always attached
With or without you
Life goes on

You turned and left
Never told me why
Now it’s my time to go
Never coming back
It’s forever goodbye

Virginia Beach
365 days as an Au Pair!

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FIFA World Cup 2014

FIFA World Cup 2014

Not even a week ago, the soccer World Cup in Brazil kicked off and everyone is completely ecstatic about it. Well ok, not everyone, but most people. And why? Because it’s fun. We get together, we root for our favorite team, we celebrate. I am all geared up because in my opinion, you should at least have a small flag on your cheek or something. And how can one not have something that shows what team you’re rooting for? Merchandize is available in like every store. Unfortunately, some fans immediately started criticizing others for “suddenly being interested in soccer.” Oh come on. Stop feeling sooo cool just because you watch soccer, all year long. A World Cup is something different and it’s a great reason for a nation to get together and practice some “togetherness.” Personally, I am not a soccer expert, although I do watch soccer not only during huge tournaments like this. The only thing that does annoy me a little about everyone watching is the fact that some of these people ask questions throughout a whole game. Yes, sometimes I have a question but I can google it or wait until the game is over. For 90 minutes, I just want to watch and enjoy and not explain what offside is. And if you do ask me, I won’t even try to explain. If you are suddenly interested in soccer (for 4 weeks) just google the rules, or teams, or players and don’t begin to gather information during these important 90 minutes.

FIFA Worldcup 2014

Currently, we’re right in the middle of the knockout stage and some teams really surprised everyone in good and bad ways. Yes, I’m talking about you SPAIN! Personally, I am of course rooting for the German team, and boy did we make Christiano Ronaldo want to cry. And of course, My fingers are crossed for the US, as well. America is my second home, after all. Gladly, Klinsmann’s team had a great start, as well. I admit, I don’t have time to watch every single game. Seriously, who has time for that? But I try to watch as many as possible, especially those I’m interested in. And of course, I have my table where I record all the results. And yes, Germany is in first place sharing it with the Netherlands. And don’t be all “but they scored 5 goals.” I know, but Spain also scored once so technically, they’re on the same level. Everyone is still absolutely thrilled about Germany and their awesome game. I hope, they go on playing like that.

FIFA Worldcup 2014

So enough with the bla bla. I’m a woman and of course, I am not only interested in numbers and games. Let’s talk about the boys. Christiano Ronaldo, hot or not? I think women will never agree on him. Some love him, some hate him and I just think he is just too much. He is an animal! Seriously, his body is incredible and probably even his earlobe consists of muscles. For my taste, it’s all just too much and definitely not edgy enough. Still, I find him fascinating. Brazil offers cutie Neymar and I bet he is a real heartbreaker. He’s definitely hot but not exactly my type. I watched Ghana and the US yesterday and unfortunately,Kevin Prince Boateng only got to play for a few minutes. I guess it’s the bad boy thing, I just can’t help it. And did you see their keeper? I find Adam Kwarasey higly attractive. And Fabian Johnson was another cutie on the field, playing for the States. I’m also throwing in Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas from Spain. But my one true soccer-love will always be defender Mats Hummels from Germany. He’s tall, he’s smart, he is not too smooth and there is just something about him that makes me absolutely love him. If he ever gives up his girlfriend, I’d be happy to introduce myself. ;) I’d also love to include David Beckham but unfortunately, he’s not playing, anymore. So, what do you think? Feel free to throw in other players, because this is only my opinion.

Soccer Hotties FIFA Worldcup 2014

1st row: Hummels, Ronaldo, Neymar, Boateng 2nd row: Johnson, Fabregas, Kwarasey, Pique Not the best pictures but just google the boys and you see how hot they are! All pics from http://www.fifa.com

 

Furthermore:

Most Attractive Player: Always and forever Mats Hummels.
Most Unattractive Player: Lionel Messi (Yes, incredible player but you could offer me a million bucks and I’d say no), Wayne Rooney (definitely too white and he always reminds me of a pitbull), Arjen Rooben (just don’t let him get in front of the goal but if you do, you’re screwed! Can’t believe he’s only 30. He looks sooo old!)
Worst Free Kick: Christiano Ronaldo and the one-man-German-wall consisting of the shortest player the team has to offer. I laughed sooo hard! Overall, it was really not his game and his hair was never in place.
Greatest Goal: Robin van Persie. That dive was incredible!
Biggest Idiot: Pepe. He should definitely do anger-management. Seriously, how can he even be on the team? He could be the best player in the world and I would not let him play. Of course you get mad and frustrated when you lose, but as a professional, you should be able to control your nerves. And this was not the first time he crossed a line.
Biggest Surprise: The Netherlands beating Spain with 5:1.
Worst Corner Kick: Watching Wayne Rooney was hilarious. I could watch that Vine over and over again.
Greatest Jinx: I did feel sorry for Spain’s keeper Iker Casillas. It was really not his day and it was pretty sad to watch.

I hope the tournament will continue being exciting and of course, I want my team to win. Thinking about going public viewing on Saturday because the atmosphere is much greater with a huge crowd. Let’s all enjoy! :)

FIFA Worldcup 2014

FIFA Worldcup 2014

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