If your car gets towed and impounded in Cologne, it costs 197€ to get your car back. I know this because when J woke up this morning, he looked out the window to find that his car was missing.
The first week we moved here he got a ticket for parking at that very spot. And despite reminding him numerous times he shouldn't park there in case the parking inspectors come, he reassured me that they don't check so early in the morning.
On a typical week day, J would leave for work before 7 o'clock but since his boss said that he could come to work late because he's working late tonight, he slept in until 9.
Parking Fine #1
There aren't any signs that says one cannot park there. So, the second time J parked there, he figured that if he parked partially on the sidewalk, it wouldn't obstruct the traffic. In fact, there was ample room for any vehicle to pass.
Parking Fine #2 + Prison for Cars
I guess he was wrong.
Oh well, i guess that shows him, that maybe next time he should listen to his woman!
So anyway, yesterday i experienced my first Tandem Language Learning experience. I later learnt that the Russian Blond Chick i was supposed to have a date with, was not from Russia but from Kazakhstan.
When she told me where she was from, it reminded me of that time i was on the monorail back in Malaysia and a guy [who i first thought was from Kazakhstan but ended up being from Kyrgyzstan] passed me his number on a piece of paper as he was exiting the train. You can read all about the days leading up to my "first date" here and here.
And after finally gathering enough guts to contact this stranger, we eventually arranged to have a date several days later but then the dickhead stood me up. Read about what i ended up doing instead here.
ANYWAY, back to my date with the thirty year old Kazakhstanian Blond Chick...
We planned to meet outside a particular bookstore in the city and later have some coffee nearby.
I chose to take the earlier train because i wanted to have a look around the city. It was my first time out on my own, so i wanted to make sure i knew where i was going. And in case i got lost, i would have enough time to find my way back.
2.50€ to travel 9 stops in 18 minutes
But i found my way and had about an hour to spare.
When it got closer to the time, i realised trying to find a complete stranger in a sea of people based on a passport-sized image of only her side profile can be a bit challenging.
But there she was standing by the doorway and not that much taller than me. Somewhat attractive with a shoulder length blond hair, wearing skinny jeans, brown high-heel boots and a matching leather handbag. She definitely looked quite posh.
So the plan was, i was supposed to speak in German and she was supposed to correct me when i made mistakes and vice versa except she would speak English. And although i made far more mistakes and probably ended up speaking a lot more than her, the pressure to make sure my sentences were grammatically correct was on full force.
I almost felt like i was back in school.
So when i explained to her in simple German sentences that i speak English with J and only recently have we started to try speaking German together, she immediately said that it was a pity that my boyfriend didn't speak German with me.
I could almost see the look of disapproval oozing out of her round face.
I immediately became defensive and protective of J and told her in English that it was my fault because i told him not to speak German with me. And that during my early days of learning German, we would often argue because i was annoyed because i didn't understand. But now that i'm slightly more confident and ready, we're trying simple sentences.
So the interrogation continued and just like any other date, we tried to tell one another the more interesting facts about ourselves.
An hour and half later, we ended our session [minus the coffee because we forgot to order some] and to tell you the truth, i was relieved that it was over.
My first impression? She's a wee bit too serious for my liking. Maybe next time i should ask her what her star sign is, so i can see if, astrologically, we get along.
But i think i made a good impression because she wants to meet up again this coming Monday.
I almost feel like i need to study more, in fear that she'll one day whip out a wooden ruler and beat me with it if i repeat the same mistakes for the umpteenth time.
I told her i would write her a message later to confirm.
Maybe if i agree to meet up again, i can suggest going for an ice-cream or maybe drinking a cocktail. There's nothing like a bit of alcohol to make conversations flow better and chill people out.
Before i forget...
I apologise for missing half of my nose and looking practically white in this photo. I'm seated directly in front of the window and the blinds were open.
P.S. I'm not that pasty in real life.
Day 2
But this is my new hairdo with a purple tinge to it. I know it's red in this photo but just imagine it to be more purple.
My hair is usually really straight but because i just let my hair down minutes before i took this photo, it looks like my hair is full of volume. I actually quite like it this way but i've got stubborn hair, it refuses to stay curly.
So after growing my hair for over two years and having it hang down to my hips for the last year, i decided to chop off about 6 inches at one go.
Why? Why not.
I figured it won't be another four months or so until i visit the hairdressers again, so i'm sure it'll grow. Plus i wanted to make the visit worth the time and the money.
The first week we moved here he got a ticket for parking at that very spot. And despite reminding him numerous times he shouldn't park there in case the parking inspectors come, he reassured me that they don't check so early in the morning.
On a typical week day, J would leave for work before 7 o'clock but since his boss said that he could come to work late because he's working late tonight, he slept in until 9.
Parking Fine #1There aren't any signs that says one cannot park there. So, the second time J parked there, he figured that if he parked partially on the sidewalk, it wouldn't obstruct the traffic. In fact, there was ample room for any vehicle to pass.
Parking Fine #2 + Prison for Cars I guess he was wrong.
Oh well, i guess that shows him, that maybe next time he should listen to his woman!
***
So anyway, yesterday i experienced my first Tandem Language Learning experience. I later learnt that the Russian Blond Chick i was supposed to have a date with, was not from Russia but from Kazakhstan.
When she told me where she was from, it reminded me of that time i was on the monorail back in Malaysia and a guy [who i first thought was from Kazakhstan but ended up being from Kyrgyzstan] passed me his number on a piece of paper as he was exiting the train. You can read all about the days leading up to my "first date" here and here.
And after finally gathering enough guts to contact this stranger, we eventually arranged to have a date several days later but then the dickhead stood me up. Read about what i ended up doing instead here.
ANYWAY, back to my date with the thirty year old Kazakhstanian Blond Chick...
We planned to meet outside a particular bookstore in the city and later have some coffee nearby.
I chose to take the earlier train because i wanted to have a look around the city. It was my first time out on my own, so i wanted to make sure i knew where i was going. And in case i got lost, i would have enough time to find my way back.
2.50€ to travel 9 stops in 18 minutes
But i found my way and had about an hour to spare.
When it got closer to the time, i realised trying to find a complete stranger in a sea of people based on a passport-sized image of only her side profile can be a bit challenging.
But there she was standing by the doorway and not that much taller than me. Somewhat attractive with a shoulder length blond hair, wearing skinny jeans, brown high-heel boots and a matching leather handbag. She definitely looked quite posh.
So the plan was, i was supposed to speak in German and she was supposed to correct me when i made mistakes and vice versa except she would speak English. And although i made far more mistakes and probably ended up speaking a lot more than her, the pressure to make sure my sentences were grammatically correct was on full force.
I almost felt like i was back in school.
So when i explained to her in simple German sentences that i speak English with J and only recently have we started to try speaking German together, she immediately said that it was a pity that my boyfriend didn't speak German with me.
I could almost see the look of disapproval oozing out of her round face.
I immediately became defensive and protective of J and told her in English that it was my fault because i told him not to speak German with me. And that during my early days of learning German, we would often argue because i was annoyed because i didn't understand. But now that i'm slightly more confident and ready, we're trying simple sentences.
So the interrogation continued and just like any other date, we tried to tell one another the more interesting facts about ourselves.
An hour and half later, we ended our session [minus the coffee because we forgot to order some] and to tell you the truth, i was relieved that it was over.
My first impression? She's a wee bit too serious for my liking. Maybe next time i should ask her what her star sign is, so i can see if, astrologically, we get along.
But i think i made a good impression because she wants to meet up again this coming Monday.
I almost feel like i need to study more, in fear that she'll one day whip out a wooden ruler and beat me with it if i repeat the same mistakes for the umpteenth time.
I told her i would write her a message later to confirm.
Maybe if i agree to meet up again, i can suggest going for an ice-cream or maybe drinking a cocktail. There's nothing like a bit of alcohol to make conversations flow better and chill people out.
***
Before i forget...
I apologise for missing half of my nose and looking practically white in this photo. I'm seated directly in front of the window and the blinds were open.
P.S. I'm not that pasty in real life.
Day 2My hair is usually really straight but because i just let my hair down minutes before i took this photo, it looks like my hair is full of volume. I actually quite like it this way but i've got stubborn hair, it refuses to stay curly.
So after growing my hair for over two years and having it hang down to my hips for the last year, i decided to chop off about 6 inches at one go.
Why? Why not.
I figured it won't be another four months or so until i visit the hairdressers again, so i'm sure it'll grow. Plus i wanted to make the visit worth the time and the money.
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