Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Last Days

My time in Berlin is running out and I still have some things I want to do:

Book reading at St. George's bookstore. DONE
Climb up the Teufelsberg.
Meet the President (of Germany). DONE
See the Pergamon. DONE
Swim in/lounge around the Badeschiff.
Swim across Schlachtensee. DONE
Swim in Wannsee.
See the Schloss Charlottenburg.
Get turned down at Berghain. DONE
Get into Berghain. DONE
Not get confused between 'noch' and 'schon'.
Learn how to decline adjectives.
Determine if a certain math professor wears pantyhose or not.
See the Soviet War Memorial in Treptow. DONE



Watch an episode of Tatort.

Others?

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Sketchlist

We're heading back to the US soon and these days we're slowly packing up our things. Part of the process includes putting up the few items that are worth selling (printer, guitar, etc) on various Craigslist type websites and listserves. So far we've had a few responses, but somehow the combination of poor grammar, use of all capital letters, fondness for cashier's checks, and requests for overseas shipping seem to indicate that these are less than scrupulous characters. Here are some samples:

i m glad to hear from u,i m a student in UK and i will really appreciate if u can made the transaction with me....so kindly give me all necessary info like your full name to be on the check,your postal address your,postal code,your mobile phone number for easier communications to send the cheque i have with me .......it will cover your payment and shipping.........nice to hear from u again.

thanks
john


HELLO, AM JUST CHECKING ON THE ITEMS ON THE CRAIGSLIST AND FORTUNATELY
I CAME ACROSS YOUR ADVERT AND I AM SATISFIED BY THE DESCRIPTION OF THE
ITEM...
I WILL LIKE TO KNOW THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ITEM WHETHER GOOD OR BAD..
PLEASE WHEN REPLYING MY MAIL ATTACH RECENT PICTURE OF THE ITEM SO I CAN SEE
IF AVAILABLE... ALSO LET ME KNOW YOUR BUSINESS TERMS AND CONDITION...
I WILL BE HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON


Hello,
I am very much excited to hear back from you.I lived in the UK.The guitar is meant for my daughter studying abroad.I will take it at your price.I want to know the method of payment you will like,but i prefer paying you with a certified check.The payment will include the shipping funds.Let me know if you accept the offer by sending me the necessary information to get the payment across to you.
My regards,
Emmanuel

(After responding to 'Emmanuel' with a polite message indicating our preference for face-to-face interactions, cash, etc. we got this back:)

why will you worry about the shipping.I should be saying that.!! I have a reputable shipping compnay that handles my consignment neatly without blemish.So let me worry about that.You just have to worry on how you get the payment on time by giving me the information i requested from you.Thank you for your concern.
Emmanuel