That Thing Germans call a "Handy".

Yesterday i was waiting for the tram and this random guy came up to me, i reckon he's in his 50's, and started to talk to me in German. He began by saying that he hasn't seen me before. [I think he must be that tram stop regular and perhaps a little on the crazy side. I don't know.] So then he went on to make small talk and i tried my best to answer him in German.

We understood each other, so that's good.

He continues to stare at me and is curious about where i am from. Then he goes on to ask whereabouts i live. I say nearby and tell him the suburb. Of course NOT revealing the street or location, in case he ends up being some crazy stalker or wants to chop me up into pieces.


Then he passes me this paper with curled corners. Written is his phone number and instructions when he can be reached. He goes by the name of 'Christoph'. I eventually introduce myself and wish harder for my tram to hurry up. Seriously, it was the longest 3 minutes ever!

I'm thinking he lives on his own since the area seems to be highly populated by pensioners and nearby is the Unemployment office. And he goes on to say, that any time i can call him. He seems friendly. But then again, so do rapists and murderers.

He bids me farewell and hops on the tram. Then waves good-bye to me as though we've known each other longer than the 5 minutes. It's only polite to wave back. So i return the gesture.

Thank god i didn't have to take the same line because that would have meant i'd be stuck talking to him. I wasn't in a very buddy-buddy mood.

And i'm sure it's not common practice in Germany or in most countries to be handing out numbers at the tram stop to random Asian girls. But i was courteous and wished him a good day.

...

I told J that story and then he got me all paranoid.

Then he busts out with, "Should you leave and i don't receive a call, what is the latest i should wait before i raise the alarm?" Then it got me thinking. OMG. What if there was an emergency and i was unable to find a pay phone or was in trouble?

It gets dark around 5pm now and the walk back to the flat is very quiet. It runs off the main road and although it's not that far before i get to the front door, it can be quite scary.

I've passed J my handphone to use, since calls from the hospital cost a handful. So the past week i've been calling him the second that i leave and the minute i return.

Believe it or not but J is one of the very few the only person that i know that doesn't own a handphone. For him, the idea of being contacted 24/7 and hounded by calls from work/pesky individuals/strangers are more of a nuisance than a convenience.

...

So after the hospital, i dropped by Saturn [a big electronic store] and checked out how much a cheap pre-paid handphone would cost. And considering J's handphone usage was about 25 Euro every 2 days, i figured there must be some cheaper alternative.

Apparently calls from one Vodafone to another Vodafone as well as to fixed lines costs only 29 cents the first minute and after the 2nd minute it's free!

oOOoo free is good.


So for 30 Euro i get a basic Nokia 2310 which has an inbuilt radio. [One never knows when one gets stranded and needs some tunes to keep company]. Plus it has 5 Euro credit... wooOoohoo *cracks open the party poppers!*

So what, it's not the latest in technology. It's not a touch-screen or have fancy little buttons arranged like a mini keyboard. And so what if the pixel quality is questionable and it can't check my facebook or read my spam email.

It's affordable. It does what it says it does. And it keeps communication channels open.

[That said, i still miss my Sony Ericsson. FYI I will be temporarily using J's SIM card/number until he checks out of hospital.]

J's Corner Store on 4

Shiny!

I've just finished sweeping, disinfecting and mopping the staircase. Every other week we're responsible for cleaning the landing outside our door and the landing below. I think the block is owned by a big corporation so it's up to the residents to keep ones area tidy. Our neighbor that lives across is a rather quiet little man. A polite little sized widow that minds his own business.

I rarely see him. He introduced himself when we first moved in but i've already forgotten his name.

And since J is still in hospital, i'm in charge of making sure the area is in tip top condition. I'm not sure who owns the plants on the landing below but it adds some life to the stair well.

Anyway, J's condition has been improving. Yesterday he was allowed to sip on broth, which looked more like vegetable flavored water. I guess it's better than nothing. They've changed the clear solution in his drip to a milky one. It now looks like he's carrying a coconut milk filled sail.

We've ventured out to the cafeteria. And the past 2 days i've left early to have lunch with him. Well while i have lunch... he just sits there and watches me inhale the food. He just carries his food in liquid form. The food is not bad considering that it's hospital food.


The first day i had some vegetable lasagne with tomato-basil sauce. Interesting but i'm not sure whether i'll have that one again. The cook needs to calm down with the herbs and the dried basil. The second day was fish with dill sauce accompanied with potatos and carrots. Now that was edible and i could definitely go for another helping.

But thought, no. I won't be greedy... some people can't eat and i should be more considerate. And for 4.40 Euro a plate, i could nibble on chips should i be hungry later.


Before one gets to the cafeteria there's this glass cabinet that showcases some of the hospital's old equipment. There's an old fashioned syringe on one of the shelves with a mighty arse big needle! All i could think was thank goodness for technology and high standards of hygiene!

J trying to act like Father Christmas with the deco.

I wonder if J knows those children are not real and it actually looks kind of creepy. "Come heeeeere, little boy... muahahaha."

...

I spend on average 6 hours in the hospital. Somehow the day goes by fast and we manage to find things to do to keep us entertained. Just around the corner from his room is a little pantry.

Reenactment: Time to open Shop!

2008 L'eau de Bubbles

And since J can't venture out too far, we've named that room, J's Corner Store on 4. Unlike those 7-11 convenient stores found in every city, J's Corner Store is exclusive to those on Level 4. It seems to only stock 1 kind of bubbly water, 2-ply toilet paper, adult diapers and... ummm vases.

Available in ALL shapes and sizes. To satisfy everyone's needs.

A very proud J in front of his Corner Store.
Now open for business.

The nurses eventually asked J why we were spending so much time in the pantry laughing with tears in our eyes. They were curious why we were taking photos. So we told them our little story and that kept them amused. Either that or they think we're nuts.

But we think one of the dragon nurses is slowly warming up to us, so that's a good sign. We call her one of the Oompa Loompa nurses. She's not orange. She's just kind of small and has a slight waddle when she walks.

So Fast, so Fresh n so Clean!

Maybe my sense of direction finally kicked in because i didn't get lost this time. Dropped by Karstadt [a big department store] and bought a whole bunch of games. But until J's feeling up to it, i think they're going to remain wrapped up.


The Christmas windows were done up and as i stood there taking photos, random toddlers pressed their little faces and bundled up bodies to the window. It was rather cute.

When i arrived at the hospital, there was a new patient in the room. He had just come out of surgery but he didn't look so good. He moaned and groaned at every pain and i can't imagine how much it hurt. J looked kind of scared, so i tried my best to distract him by telling him random stories.

Then J wanted me to help him wash his hair in the sink. The small little area separated by only curtain was directly beside his bed so we both squeezed inside. The shampoo i bought smelt like green apples, it was so yummy all i wanted to do was lick it out of the bottle.

Not quite the Hairdressers' but it'll do.

Some adjustments and a little gel won't do any harm.

They had put the drip beside his neck and it was a real challenge not to get the soapy water running down everywhere. But somehow a little trickle got into the bandage and so we were concerned that it may get infected.

He informed one of the dragon nurses and she said the area needed to be kept dry. She's got straw blond hair, matched with a slight sour puss face, a bit on the chubby side and flashes her hot pink Crocs around. Blondie returned with fresh bandages. I couldn't watch. Worried that she may be too rough and may accidently rip it out. I tried not too look too freaked out since it may scare J so i pretended to look for something in my bag.

After spraying some disinfectant i was able to take a close up look. They had actually sewn the little plastic bit to his skin, i'm thinkng that's to prevent it from moving. The tube that is in his vein apparently runs quite deep. So instead of a white bandage that keeps the area private, the plaster is transparent and allows for free public viewing.

Lookin' at it makes my neck feel all tingly!

J was tired of lying down and so we tried walking up the hallway, which is as far as he can go for his daily exercise. But because he has to push along the drip, his movements are short and slow. He was feeling a little better, so we took a short walk around the ward and towards the elevators.

Let the race begin... gooOooo!

Chrissie's in the lead but J follows close behind...
[What felt like 20 minutes later]

Hang on!
With his swift bird like movements, J overtakes... and WINS!
*the crowd goes wild*

I pretend to race with him and that always puts a smile on his face. We couldn't stop cracking up as i watched him try to pick up his feet. But it was a real nice to see him laugh again. I told him i demand a rematch and i believe the race begins soon... so i better go and prepare.

Dragon Nurses on the lose

Around lunchtime yesterday it began to snow, just about the time that i needed to go and run some errands. Fully layered and feeling like a stuffed sausage i came back exhausted but ready to embark on my adventures for the afternoon.

My sense of direction must have been off because after i changed trams, i jumped off with my cabin luggage and onto, what i thought, was the correct line and direction. 15 minutes into it i realised i should have reached my destination. I squinted at the board that was on the other side of the tram and tried to make sense of where we were.

Then realised we were heading South.

I was meant to be heading North. Damn it. So i got off at the next stop and took the same tram back to where i got on and hoped it would be in the right direction. One would think that previously i was going the right way but apparently the road curves and the track ends South.

Finally, i made it to the stop.

And before i reached the hospital, i thought i'd check out where the stop was to get back to the main train station. One would think if one is traveling from South to North and wanted to return to it's original starting point, one would just hop off and cross the road then back track and travel North to South.

NoooOooo. Apparently, this line is different. In order to get back, one would get off at that cross road and take the road on the East and THEN it turns and runs along South.

Confusing? Hell yeah!

No wonder i got lost in the snow on Sunday. Was it obvious i was a first timer using 707? Probably.

"Auuua!"

Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner + a dose of Antibiotics

"Feast with your Eyes Only" gift basket from Ekki

Liquid Pain Killers = Sleepy Time

I'm not sure where Nurse Jenny was yesterday but she was replaced by 2 nasty nurses. Both cranky as hell and i'm sure were sexually deprived. They didn't bother looking at J in the eyes and when he asked a question. And they seemed bothered that he even asked in the first place. It was quite disturbing. The other 2 patients in the room looked scared.

Where was Nurse Jenny? I thought.

It was around 7pm and it was already dark outside, i figured i had another hour left so J wanted me to lie next to him in bed while we watched tv. We propped the headphones on the pillow and turned up the volume.

The 2 dragon nurses came in and grabbed a pair of rubber gloves. For what? I have no idea. We think it was just some dramatic entrance. It's not like they were doing anything that required body contact. It was too late for a sponge bath and nobody was in need of a change of dressing.

They bursted through the door only to close the curtain beside the sink and to turn off the light. That's it. Maybe they're on a power trip or wished they were surgeons. I don't know.

Then the shorter Turkish looking one saw me on the bed and made some smart arse remark that went along the lines of, "Ohhhh... there's 2 patients in the bed now". J asked if it was forbidden for Visitors to lie on the bed and her answer was that it was not nice for other patients to see and went on to ramble about something else.

Fair enough but she didn't have to say it how she did. It's not like i was getting cozy under the covers. And anyway my feet were still hanging off the bed. I was squished between the plastic bed controls and J, and that doesn't allow for much movement.

So then J asked the other 2 patients [both in their 70's] if they minded that i lay there. They said they didn't and wouldn't care if i wanted to stay longer. Apparently, they don't get much visitors. One Patient's wife only stayed for 5 minutes and was quick to exit. The other had his friend come by and when he asked if they could stay longer to keep him company, they said no.

I thought that was quite sad.

And apart from watching TV and dosing in and out of sleep and taking a short walk to the bathroom in the hallway. There really isn't that much going on. Seriously, there's so much TV one can watch before one begins to complain that they're getting square eyes.

...

Day 3: I'll be heading off soon but this time taking another set of trams. Not only for a change of scenery but they apparently head towards the city centre. Let's hope i get it right this time. I'm going to drop by the big department store since J wants me to buy a game, maybe Backgammon? Or something to pass the Time.

J just called to tell me they have removed the drip that was formerly inserted in his left arm and have shifted it to the right side of his... neck!

OMG... ewwwwwww *cringes*

Snowy Sunday ends up in Hospital

Our weekend began rather relaxed. I've been craving Potato soup for quite some time. Winter is near and the air is crispy. I then decided i wanted to make a soup from scratch since the canned ones weren't doing it for me. J suggested a Potato-Apple soup. And since we don't own a blender, i just slow-cooked it till it was all soft and it broke down itself.

3 hours later, the results came out much better than i imagined. Although i didn't follow the recipe that i found online exactly, i must admit it tasted damn good and have titled it my "Bestest Soup Eva".

J was meant to work on Saturday but wasn't feeling too good so we spent the rest of the day in bed. It was a really nice change to have him all for myself for the weekend. But we spoke about the incident that happened last weekend and that helped clear the air. I think we realised many things and most of all, we really want to be together.

I looked outside and it had lightly snowed. We watched the snowflakes dance across the window. It looked so pretty. But then it stopped and i could see the blanket of whiteness already melting. There's something about snow that makes everything look so magical.

I wished for more snow.

Then this afternoon Little L was meant to stay over but J was complaining about a bad stomach and that he hadn't slept at all last night. It got so bad that he decided he wanted to go to the emergency room. We drove to a random hospital and after a blood test he was told that he had some kind of infection.


Eventually they got him to drink a litre of this specially treated water so that when they did the MRI scan, they'd be able to see what is really wrong.

3+ hours later we were told that he would have to be admitted.

As he was preparing to put on that Oh-So-Wonderful white hospital gown, i looked into his eyes and could see he was on the verge of tears. I told him that if he started to cry... i would. So we immediately looked at opposite walls but it was too late, my tears were already falling.

Apparently he has a colon infection and that they found a small hole. He was told that he's lucky he came in when he did since if he had waited 2 days more the infection would have gotten so bad that they would have to slice the whole front of him open much like when one has open heart surgery and crack open the front of the rib cage.

A relatively attractive brunette nurse called Jenny took his temperature and says he has a slight fever. He's going to be put on that drip until the infection is cleared and they say he has to stay in hospital for 10 days. They're putting him on a liquid diet and he's only allowed to drink 5 cups of tea per day.

Poor thing.

He's going to be needing some serious fattening up when he comes home. Then in 4-6 weeks he has to come back for an operation. Although the incision is not as big, the very thought of him having to be operated is scary. They're making 3 incisions a few centimetres long. And i'm very sure he's not looking forward to it.


By the time i left the hospital it was about 7 hours later. The doctor gave us a free pass so that the car can stay the night. If he hadn't, visitors that leave their car in the bay have to pay a whopping 150 Euro! J's friend is coming by tomorrow to help him drive the car home.

I walked out and it had snowed. It was still snowing and having not worn my Timberland's meant that it wouldn't be long till my feet were soaked. My drivers' license has not be translated and i have no idea how to drive on the other side of the road, so i found an umbrella in the car and decided to take the tram. I would have taken more photos but my toes were frozen and the last thing i wanted to do was bust out my camera. The roads were covered in slush and my shoes have no grip.

I am sooOoo happy i bought a pair of super warm gloves.


I've never been to that part of town and trying to find the tram stop AND the right line was a bit of a challenge. I turned off the wrong road and was walking down some other direction. Not exactly smart since the snow was starting to pick up and my feet were already numb.

The weather man predicts snow until Tuesday and a low of -5 celcius.

I eventually gave up after half an hour or so and hailed a cab. It cost 10 euro [multiply that by 4.5 to get that in Ringgit] and the distance was probably only worth 10 minutes. Taxis are so damn expensive here!

So yea. Which leads me to now...

Everything is exactly where we left it and the series we were watching was still on Pause when i returned home. "Don't turn it off, we'll watch it when we come back, we won't be long", he said. Well i don't think i can keep it paused for 10 days.

Anyway, i'm going to try and wind down then TRY and sleep.

I miss J already.

Toxic Pee-Coloured Soak [check]

It's spitting outside and the weather man predicts snow this weekend. I don't intend to do much and i reckon it's going to be a rather quiet one even though Little L is staying the night tomorrow. The controlled temperature keeps me indoors.

But my muscles were really sore since the weekend so i opted for a bath instead of my daily shower. Nothing like lying in ones' dirt to soothe ones' muscles eh? So i bought a packet of bath salts, one which guarantees to soothe sore muscles.

Laundry... [check]
Make bed... [check]
Tidy... [check]
Dishes... [check]
Vacuum... [check]
Clean floor... [check]
Water plants... [check]

I figured the Supermarket can wait for another day. Nothing more to do than to sit back and relax. I had enough of watching TV in German, it's not like i can understand all of it anyway and i'll be honest to say it even sometimes feeds my irritation.

[Thanks Technology for the Mute feature].

Since moving to this part of the world, one definitely feels the pain of the Exchange Rate. Living off a tight budget means placing this packet of magic in my Luxury list. And for 95 cent per pack [and the cheapest available], i'm going to bloody well take advantage of every grain.

I poured half of the orange crystals into the running water, just so i could use the rest some other time.

It smelt nice, interesting to say the least and i was anxious to see whether Kneipp Activ Muscle Bath crystals would really work or was i just another sucker for guarantees in bold type. But the second i started sprinkling it in the steaming tub, the water turned a toxic pee colour!

OMFG!

Suddenly my overactive imagination went into gear. And i wondered whether this is what it feels like for those people with Pee fetishes.

I tried not to think about it and closed my eyes. Thank gawd it smelled decent otherwise i'd be gagging.

RESULTS: Minutes later not only did i smell and feel squeaky clean but my muscle ache had in fact diminished. And although the colour may be deceiving, it did in fact do some kind of magic.

Grey patches

They're naked. Nearly all of them are showing their stick thin branches. The sky remains a cool grey and the air smells icy cold. The sun is no where to be seen. I think i'm starting to miss it.

I can see the side road now. Suddenly it feels like our privacy is invaded. They can't see us but their visibility refrains me from walking around in my birthday suit. The random pedestrian walks by trying to fight the cold, i just stand by the window frame trying to hide my figure.

Comfortable in my surroundings, the world outside still feels so foreign.

I contemplate Change and try to round up the courage. I seek motivation but soon fall flat. Is it wrong that i have yet to find a passion? My urge to join the rat race has worn thin and the weekly Sunday phone call only adds to the pressure.

But i've started to translate my CV even though i'm unsure what i want to apply for. My frustration is that i still can't write proper sentences and am unable to express what i want to say. And now with new issues popping up, it doesn't help in my overall outlook.

I'm trying to stay positive and every week learning to accept things that i cannot change.

Yes, it is true that that it takes a lot of work to keep a relationship going. And with so many little issues surrounding us now, it was no surprise that finally the cookie crumbled. Was i naive to think that nothing could go wrong?

It dawned on me, i had no where to go and no person to see. Seeing the ugly side of any person, puts a real dampening on things. And at that moment i missed everything and everyone that i once knew.

I cried myself to sleep that night and woke up only to continue. I wanted to blame the full moon. I felt lost in my own home and my only escape was the little river parallel to our window. I found comfort listening to the Ducks and i hoped the fresh air would clear my thoughts. But i returned home feeling like i was treading on eggshells.

During the day our conversations were set to a bare Minimum and our expressions were as cold as the temperature outside. Avoiding eye contact and each others' presence was the only way to keep the silence bearable. Numbing it all would only help prolong the confrontation.

We both know it takes more than a smile and obedience to keep a relationship progressing. We also know a few lit candles, attention to detail and home-cooked meals won't forgive everything but it sure helps avoiding what is really bothering us deep inside.

Now that the issues have been lightly sprinkled out on the table and we can still look at each other with love in our eyes. The question still remains, what do we do to make this better?

Meet my friend, Spots.
[I'm hoping he brings with him Good Luck].

Last month, Germany was invaded by these Asian Ladybugs in search for a place to hibernate [click].

Rainbow coloured and action packed

Where Oh Where does Time go? 2 weekends have passed and not only have i gone on a road trip but i've attended 2 birthday parties in 2 different cities and checked out Düsseldorf's World of Erotic.


Can't say we were impressed. And i'd have to say the range of items sold weren't anything spectacular. But at least we can say we went and that's one thing checked off on our lists.

...

Last weekend i met a few of J's friends from "way back when" at a birthday party. A rather small gathering with random people walking in and out. But due to the size of the flat, the party was split up; a group in the kitchen and the others in the room. Not everyone could speak English, but those who could were very nice to try and translate the conversations.


We tried to do the self-timer pictures, to remind us of the evening but then later realised with J sitting in the middle it looked like it was his birthday. So after running back and forth, we finally got one that we all agreed upon and put the birthday girl in the centre.


Then we drove back to J's folks' place where J's older brother was celebrating his 30th. I think the last time i celebrated with him was on his 16th, and well... so much has changed since then. MM had rearranged the living room and set up the console up near the back. I was surprised how everything fit so well.


At first i felt very out of place, unlike previous get-togethers i have an idea of who's attending, this time i was almost mute. Hesitant to be a Happy Snappy Tourist like the Pimpstress back in KL, i opted to minimise the photo taking. Instead like the typical girlfriend, i followed J around like a shadow.

I tried not to stand out like a sore thumb and i'm hoping people didn't think i was rude because i wasn't talking. The idea of beginning a sentence in German with, "I'm sorry, i can only speak a little German. Can you speak English?" Doesn't really open up a string of conversations especially since nearly everyone there only spoke German. But with the universal common nods and smiles, we seemed to understand one another.

J just did all the talking.

The next day we helped clean up and by returning the empty bottles one can get money back. So we piled the bottles back into the crates and filled the huge garbage bags and stuffed them in J's car.

An hour's worth of sorting out, we got about 55 €! How crazy is that!?

332 km later we reached home and unloaded our bags. Why is it that we have so many bags? We were only gone for 2 nights! Nevertheless, we made the most of it and had a nice little road trip.


...

Then over the weekend, Little L came to stay the night. We took out most of the boxes and stored them in the cellar and those boxes that needed to remain, we covered them with my oversized duvet cover and created a temporary mini desk. The room which has adopted the name "The Green Room" purely because one feature wall has been painted a Pistaccio Green, now reminded me of a candy shop with bright reds, oranges and greens playfully intertwined with one another.

The room had magically transformed itself but the true test was to be found later when we woke up to find that Little L had written her name on an A4 paper and decorated it with what looked like flowers. Then stuck it to the front of the door. Perhaps that was her seal of approval?

The next day the weather remained fickle so we decided to go the indoor playground.


Sugar infused children ran freely while parents chased after them through the obstacles. We decided the massive air filled bag that one can jump on was the most amusing. Forgetting that we're twice twice the size of most of them meant that when we landed on the air-filled bag, anyone who was on the other side would immediately fly up!

Oh. My. Gawd. So much F.U.N!

One thing's for sure is that my fitness level has definitely deteriorated over the months since i was absolutely knackered by the time we got home. Oh and that i STILL bruise VERY easily.