Congrats! A special blend just for YOU.

Today i celebrate my third year living in Germany and what better way to mark the occasion than to find out that SOMEBODY had peed in our bed.

Obviously, it wasn't me or J but there's high suspicions that it was Yoshi since there were tufts of light coloured cat hair around the crime scene.

So last night just as i was about to tuck myself into bed, i smelt a distinct L'Eau de Pee Pee in the air. If you've ever dealt with cat pee, you'll know that exact stench the second you get close. So i pulled back the covers and zoomed in on the wet patch that had soaked in on J's side of the bed.

Yup!

Clearly, SOMEBODY wasn't very happy with J and made an effort to show their feelings.


So i spent part of last night and a huge chunk of the morning washing the bed linen, duvets and pillows with a concoction of washing powder, vinegar and an oxi-stain remover. I'm really hoping that works.

SIDE NOTE : If any of my readers have won the battle against The Accidental Cat Pee, please feel free to comment and share your wisdom.

But what i really need is an Enzyme-breaker. One that is said to work wonders in removing the smell and breaking down the properties.

However, currently it's minus 4˚C, grey and depressing and i'm in no mood to gallivant around the city looking for a pet store that stocks it.

And so my mission to remove the P to the double E continues.

***

The last time something like this happened was when the kitties were coming of age. I remember J telling me, as soon as one of them started marking their territories, we would have to intervene. And first step was to close the bedroom door on them. Which, i have to add, they did not approve of and tried every means possible to get into our bedroom for no other reason but because they knew they weren't allowed in there anymore.

Their most famous tag team tactic was when one would scratch the door and the second i'd open the door to shoo them away, the other would come racing in at full speed slipping past my feet and straight under the bed. At which point, i'd turn around and not guard the door and the other one would run in and hide in the corner.

But most of the time it was just a whole lot of scratching at the door. And the more it continued, the more irritating it got since it was usually me that had to get up and squirt them with the water bottle or chase them away.

So when we moved to this new apartment seven weeks ago, we invited the kitties to sleep in the room with us thinking they might be scared sleeping alone. We figured they'd be old enough by now not to have any "accidents".

Everything seemed to work out just fine.

Luna would find her spot by the window sill and Yoshi would snuggle up around my ankles. And only sometimes i'd wake up in the middle of the night to find Yoshi standing beside me dangling a random toy or shoelace above me hoping i'd wake up and play with him. But for the majority of the time, everyone was well behaved.

That was until yesterday happened and comfort got the better of them.

Needless to say, the kitties are now banned from our bedroom... again.

And so, i think, it's time i invest in a pair of earplugs.

Closing Yet Another Chapter.

It took us about a month and a half to finally get the rest of our crap belongings from our previous place to our current one. Mainly due to timing and the fact that the new tenants had only planned to move in in March, so the rush to remove all our stuff immediately wasn't so urgent.

But prior to Saturday's adventure, we had driven back twice and each time J's car was completely full. And each time we went, we underestimated how much stuff we really had. So instead of wasting more time and having to drive back more than we really needed to, we thought it would be best to rent a combi or some kind of car that was big enough.

93€/day

So we booked a VW Touran online but upon arrival the guy at SIXT told us there was a Citroën C4 Picasso available. Having no idea what the difference was, we had to be there to compare the sizes. But immediately opted for the Picasso not only because it looked bigger but it ran on diesel which meant filling her back up wouldn't be as expensive.


After paying by EC card, we spent the first few minutes checking out the car and its' functions.

I've never sat in seven-seater before but i have to say, for a family car it was very spacious. The seats at the back could fold down which was perfect since it allowed for more room. And it also had a "vast panoramic windscreen" which one could adjust and that gave the feeling that i was on some sort of spacecraft.

But what i, and my butt, was most grateful for were the adjustable heaters that were integrated into the front seats.

Believe me, when it's 2˚C outside, you'll know exactly what i'm saying.


But before we went off on our 170 km journey up north, we stopped off for some lunch at Vapiano. Not exactly the cheapest lunch out there but the pizzas are delicious and we like to think we deserve to splurge on 7 Euro pizzas once and a while.


0.5 litre beer [weizen] and a roasted vegetable pizza for little ol' me and a chilled white wine and Hawaiian pizza for J.

***

It took us just short of an hour and a half to get to our old place. But it didn't take us that long to clear what was left in the cellar.


And when we went upstairs the new tenants had already prepared the apartment for painting and had covered everything in plastic. What was ours were then stacked up against the kitchen wall and ready for us to remove. It felt weird seeing other peoples' stuff in "our" place.


But after having a peek outside, i noticed they had scrubbed down the balcony that we had unintentionally ignored to clean before we left. I was amazed at how clean they had managed to get it.

After handing over the keys to our ex-landlord, i couldn't help but think how glad i was that we chose the bigger car over the smaller one. And had we gone for the other, there would have been no way we could have fit everything in there without having to make a second trip.

But after a day of stress and J sneakily getting rid of some of our stuff in the bins at the rest stops along the highway, i'm just glad the move is finally over.

Next stop is to register as official Köln residents.

Friday Night at the Movies.

I'm not sure what happened but the last couple of days have been exceptionally cold. This morning i had a peek at the thermometer that the previous tenant had left out on the balcony and saw that it was minus 1˚C. It's no wonder there's so many people sick.

But isn't Spring supposed to be just around the corner?


So anyway, on Thursday J came home from his 4-day managerial training workshop. And for his welcome home dinner, i prepared a Caesar's salad [minus the raw egg and anchovies] and got some store bought croutons. For our mains, we had a soy Schnitzel [bought at Aldi Sued supermarket and that sorta tasted like Chicken Katsu] accompanied by some rice, buttered peas and carrots. Then washed it all down with a cheap bottle of rosé i got at the supermarket for 1.99€.


Then the next day J and i went to the movies. It was my sly attempt to distract J from his gaming that day but somehow he still managed to squeeze in an hours' worth of game time before we left.

So the cinema was called Metropolis and it showed OV [original version] movies, meaning the movies shown there are in the original language that it was made. It was an old skool looking small cinema with only three theatres and each consisting of about a dozen rows.

The movie was scheduled at 7 PM and we left at 6:30PM. We figured trying to find a parking space on a Friday night would be impossible and so we decided to take the train. It only took us 10 minutes and it stopped just across the road. The location was perfect.

You have no idea how much more i appreciate public transport, especially if it's efficient.

So anyway, we decided to watch the romantic comedy, No Strings Attached with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. A definite chick flick with a dose of raunchy scenes that would ordinarily be uncomfortable if you're sitting there watching it with, say, conservative folks.

Then after pigging out on popcorn, crisps and beer, we decided to walk around the area. Ya know, to see what else there was to offer.


And found ourselves sitting by the bar having melted cheese nachos, mozzarella sticks, cocktails and tequila gold/silver shots at a Mexican restaurant just around the corner.

Diet? What's that!?

And since we are very much creatures of habit, we've decided each time we go to Metropolis, we'll end our night at Pancho Villa for a few cocktails.

Hell yea to Happy Hour!


Waiting for the number 18 train and heading home on a Friday night before midnight.

We figured we had a long day ahead of us because on Saturday we were driving to our old apartment one last time to clear the left over boxes and officially hand over the keys to our previous landlord.

Halleluja!

Go Kendra... Go Kendra!

Ever since we moved to our new home and signed up for digital television, life hasn't quite been the same. For those of you who are familiar with TiVo and its' ability to record shows at any given time, then maybe you'll share my excitement.

Yup, T-Home for Telekom has that videorecorder function too.

So anyway, when we signed up for one of the bigger packages, we received channels such as Hustler, Discovery, TNT and Disney.

But if i had to choose between a particular channel that stands out for from the rest, i would pick E! Entertainment. The reason being is every programme is in English. If you live in a country where you can flip the channel and understand every language spoken, you may not understand what i'm talking about.

I remember when i first moved to Germany, i was completely frustrated that i couldn't understand a single word. And every time an infomercial was on, i would struggle to pronounce/repeat the telephone numbers being yelled out at me. Having access to digital or cable television was a luxury we couldn't afford.

So for nearly three years, i've had no choice but watch every programme in German. And if you've ever heard Jamie Oliver dubbed in German, maybe you'll find it just as disturbing as me.

So anyway back to my new obsession with E!

Now you can imagine how excited i was when i got to finally hear English and to be able to be in the next room and still understand every single word being said on TV.

The fact that i have the option to watch shows that haven't been dubbed in German is not only a miracle in itself but one that i am very thankful for.

And much like those housewives who get sucked into watching shows such as Days Of Our Lives, i've been lured into watching one reality show in particular and it's called, Kendra. If you haven't heard of her, she used to be one of the Playboy bunnies. In fact, she was one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends at one point.

I don't know about you but how in the hell does a crusty old man lure girls a quarter of his age? It's beyond my understanding that's for sure. Maybe it's money, maybe it's fame.

*Shrugs*

And after watching dozens of episodes, Kendra has managed to change my perception of what i thought Playboy bunnies were cut out to be and that included the stereotype of being fake boobed, blond and nothing much else. Although i'm sure the latter would probably best describe some of them.

So then i saw the episode where she's writing the memoir called Sliding into Home. She mentions one part of the book is about how she became Hef's girlfriend and life in the Playboy mansion and then i thought, i soooo want to read that.

I was serious.

And after much anticipation and stalking DHL's track and trace site...


My book order from Amazon.de, along with my stash of soy products from Alles-Vegatarisch, arrived yesterday.

Yup, i couldn't resist. Although i have to admit the cover design is a bit... off.

Anyway, this is her introductory paragraph to her book...


Hmmm.

For those of you who haven't completely lost interest and have decided not to remove me from your blogroll, here's a review i just found of her book. If you scroll down, you can read some of the comments written and have to say, some of them are pretty harsh.

All i can say to them is, chill the fuck out.

I know everybody has their two cents worth of opinions but some of them are just hurtful.

If you don't like it, move on!

My Encounter With A Stranger.

You know how as a child you were told never to let strangers into your home? For obvious reasons such as security. Well that piece of friendly advice somehow got lost in translation yesterday.

Let me tell you what happened.


So there i was, sitting at my computer and trying to get some work done because a sudden surge of urgency came over me yesterday when i realised another deadline was lurking around the corner.

And then the doorbell rang.

Thinking it couldn't have been the garbage men because i just saw them earlier that morning. And it sure wasn't DHL because i had just ordered some items online hours ago and it would be a miracle if they arrived that quick.

So i crept to the front door and looked out the peep hole.

There was a man in his late 40s, maybe even early 50s standing there with two briefcase-looking bags. One made out of metal and painted red and another faux leather and in black. He didn't look like he was there to sell me anything.

Hallo? Wer ist da?, i said in German.

I opened the door and he went on to explain that he was an electrician and had been asked by our property management to fix the TV connection because our neighbour upstairs on the 4th floor had bad reception.

I tried to ask for his ID but somehow the German word slipped my mind. So i said it in English hoping that he would understand. He didn't.

And after 5 minutes trying to scrape together enough words to explain to him that i didn't receive any letter or know anything about it, i apologised and wanted to close the door on him.

But he insisted that the company had sent a letter and blah, blah, blah.

At that moment it crossed my mind that he could be a fake and was out to rob me. I had watched a programme weeks ago about something similar. Some person rang the doorbell of an old lady and said that there was problems with the water pipes and he had to go into her apartment to fix it. So the lady lets him in and directs him to the kitchen. Meanwhile, his partner in crime is waiting outside and slips inside the apartment and snoops around the bedroom looking for jewellery. And you can imagine what happens next.

So i ask the guy standing in the hallway what he needs to do. And he goes on to explain that there's an antenna in the wall for the TV which he needs to adjust. And then it dawns on me, i remembered when we first moved in, J was fiddling with a wire in the wall because our reception for our TV was bad. And so i assumed that that was what he was talking about.

So what did i do?


Yup, i let the stranger inside my home!

Not like it was much of a consolation but i made sure i closed the front door and that i was only a few steps behind him watching every move he made.

I then went on to apologising that the work room was still in a complete mess with boxes and crap lying all over the place. Hell, if he was going to take anything, he was more than welcome to take the cardboard boxes/newspapers away.

And then he opened the black suitcase.

I could see a small television screen inside and beside it were some buttons. He then attaches the cable that runs through the wall to it before fiddling with some knobs. Which was also around the time that i decided to bust out my camera and take photos of him. And unless he was deaf, i'm very sure he heard me take a few photos of him.

It only took a few minutes before he said, he was done.

And then i asked him to write the name of the company he works for on a piece of paper. Ya know, just in case something did happen i can at least tell the property manager that an electrician from Elektro-Müller came to my home unannounced.


After he left, i watched him walk up the stairs through the peep hole and overhead him talking to somebody upstairs before the door closed.

Slightly relieved that he was telling the truth, i later checked out the antenna that was hidden behind some suitcases. I noticed that there were wires running down into the floorboards and another wire that runs up the wall and disappears into the ceiling.

And wondered, what strange wiring.

Then when J called me later that evening, i told him about my encounter with a stranger.

And let's just say, he wasn't very happy with my decision.

In fact, i think he was a bit upset that i caved and let a stranger inside the home. And even compared me to that of a child accepting candy from a stranger. And then i sort of felt stupid for putting myself and our home at risk.

And then went on to say, what if he was a murderer? Or a rapist?

Oh shit.

He could have been. But lucky for me, he wasn't. I guess one can only learn from ones' mistakes.

So the moral of the story is;

• From now on, if i don't know you, you ain't coming inside our home. Sorry.
  
• The word for ID in German is Ausweis. "Haben Sie einen Ausweis?"
  
• And i repeat: No, means no.
• Enrol and register for another German course.
  

I Got Wined & Dined.

Sorry for the sudden disappearance but work deadlines and just about everything else has been distracting me for the past few days. And as for my brain, it's doing much better - thank you. I've self-diagnosed myself and have come to the conclusion that it was just a migraine.

But let's rewind back to last Friday where i had my pre-Valentine's dinner date with J.

The reservation was made at 6PM and J was informed we couldn't be late because apparently at 8:30PM another party of two had booked that particular table. J refused to tell me where we were going and kept saying it was a surprise but mentioned i should dress nice because the place was fancy.

I'm not very good at the guessing game but when we passed Pizza Hut, i figured that was off the list.


We eventually get to an underground car park and J leads me to a glass door entrance. Security is tight and we're meant to press the buzzer to be let inside. We're then told to get into the lift and it will automatically bring us to the ground floor.

At which point, i still had no idea where we were going.

Ooo so secret.


The door opens and arrive at what looks like the ground floor. We tell the woman we have a reservation and she then tells us to follow a waiter into another elevator and it takes us to the 30th floor.

And let me just add, for the interest of those readers who are not living in Germany, although there is no official law that restricts the height of structures, there is however a law aimed to protect historic skylines. Hence, the reason why many buildings that line the streets are no higher than six levels.


So anyway, we finally arrive at a restaurant called Osman 30 and we're told the couple that had made the reservation at 8:30PM has cancelled, so that meant we didn't have to rush through our meal. We're then led to our table beside the window but unfortunately it's raining so we can't properly enjoy the view.

But before we even get to order, we're asked if we would like to start with a drink and we both order a glass of bubbly wine. And just because we also order a delicious bottle of 2008 Sancerre white wine.

Even though i was able to understand 99% of the menu in German, i was still having troubles reading it.

It didn't help that the lights were dimmed low and the candle on our table was flickering. I often have trouble staying awake during candle lit dinners. I know it's meant to be romantic but damn those "sleepy lights".

Lucky for me hunger got the better of me. I had practically starved myself all day in anticipation for my surprise dinner date.


But when J asked the waiter if i could get the menu in English and the waiter returned, i had a weird feeling as i swapped the menus.

Maybe i'm just being paranoid but i felt like the waiter had that Why-am-i-not-surprised look on his face.


I apologise for the yellow and green tinge to the photos but i didn't want to use the flash because i didn't want to attract anymore unnecessary attention. I reckon some people must have thought i was a tourist because of the number of photos i was taking. Or perhaps thought we were on our first date because of the amount of giggling we were doing - i blame the alcohol and the fake breasted woman sitting at the table beside us.


Moving on...

The first course was a choice of three hors d'oeuvres. All of which were available from the huge trolley the waitress pushed towards us. As the woman explained each dish in English, i couldn't help but wish they were much bigger.


As for our mains, J had the salmon and requested for fried potatoes instead of what was on the menu.


I ended up having pike perch fish on a bed of mushrooms, almonds and a grapefruit infused hummus based sauce.


And for dessert, J chose the selection of cheese. One could choose five out of the selection that was presented.


I ended up going for something sweet which included a small dollop of white chocolate ice cream.


When the clouds cleared momentarily, we could see the Cologne Cathedral in the distance. The rain highlighted the silhouette.


After dinner we stepped out onto the deck to see if we could get a better view of the skyline but it was still raining and we couldn't really see anything.

[wikipedia]

Here's an artists' impression of the Kölnturm a.k.a Cologne Tower boasting 43 floors. "The Cologne Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in North Rhine-Westphalia [after the Post Tower in Bonn] and the twelfth tallest in Germany".

Back into the lift and satisfied.

On our way back to the car i realised i forgot to take a photo of what i wore, so i asked J to take a photo of me wearing heels [a rare occasion but it happens]. And only when i got home did i realise i was standing beside a handicap sign. Which i thought was perfect, since it basically summarised how i feel each time i walk in stilettos.

It may not be very often that i get wined and dined or that we spend as much as nearly a months' grocery bills in one sitting. But overall, i had a wonderful pre-Valentine's dinner. And next year, i'm totally suggesting Pizza Hut or something of that price range.

I wonder if there's a Domino's Pizza here?

The Return of the Brain Jolts.

I'm not usually a hypochondriac but yesterday i was convinced i had a brain tumour. J, obviously, thinks otherwise.

OK, maybe i was a bit dramatic but that's what happens when one has access to the internet and search engines. So there i was trying to do work and my brain started acting up.

The feeling was similar to those times i would miss my dose of antidepressants or during that period when i tried to wean myself off of my AD medication altogether. And just so you know it's been close to two years since i took my last dose, so i'm not blaming any withdrawal symptoms.

But if i had to use only two words to explain the feeling they would be, brain jolts.

Where it suddenly felt like my brain and the sounds around me were pulsating outwards.

Yes, outwards.

Much like when you throw a pebble in a pond and the ripples makes its way to the edges.

Or better yet, like my brain was experiencing a roller coaster malfunction. Suddenly being jolted back and forth, then to return to its original place like nothing had happened at all.

Weird. I know.

And so i've narrowed it down to the following;

• Dehydration
• The onset of the flu
• A possible migraine

Although the latter may seem unlikely since i've never had any migraine issues before but i'm not ruling it out just yet.

My only solution i've come up with is to take some Aspirin Complex and down as much water as possible.

I'm really hoping it clears up soon because J's taking me out for a pre-Valentine's day dinner tonight. We try not to make the Hallmark occasion a huge deal but since J's going to be away for most of next week for a training workshop, he thought, why not kill two birds with one stone.

OK. Back to work.

P.S. I can't believe it's Friday... already! Is it just me or are the days just speeding along faster than i can type supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?

Hope you have a great weekend.

Chitchatting and A Whole Lot of Walking.

The weather has been surprisingly good this week. I'm talking blue skies and sunshine. The temperature averaged around 11˚Celsius, which isn't exactly t-shirt weather but enough that you could run around outside with a light jacket or a hoodie.

It's hard to believe that we're still in Winter. Maybe Spring is going to come early this year? Although i'm not going to hold my breath cause the week before last it dipped down to 0˚Celsius.

So anyway, the last two days i had arranged to meet up with two new different German-English Tandem partners.

In both meet ups, there was barely any German spoken - which i know, i am totally to blame. But perhaps i just need to get over my insecurities first. But one girl tried talking in German and i replied in English, which seemed to work for a little while but before she knew it, she switched back to English. Again, i am to blame.

Generally, both girls seemed really nice and both had no problems understanding what i was saying in English.

I think we got along.

Monday, 7 February :
It's funny how the second there's a smidgen of sun, one is sure to see people basking in the sun. No matter what the temperature is, as long as there is that burning ball in the sky, they're out there exposing their pasty skin.

So we decided to take advantage of it too and ended up walking along the Rhine river. The weather was perfect for a stroll and it only took 20 minutes to walk there.


I guess when one is walking and talking, one doesn't really realise how far one is going. I later found out we ended up walking about 7 km that day. No wonder my feet were hurting.

And along that side of the river there wasn't so much to see except some old houses.

OM NOM NOM NOM...

After which i went to the supermarket and bought a whole bunch of food. And then stuffed my blue IKEA bag with too many items including a massive bag of Lays crisps, which i ended up finishing within minutes of stepping through the front door.

I lost some calories and i immediately put them back on.

Yup, i have no control.

Tuesday, 8 February :


Then yesterday i met up with a law student. She sort of looked a little like Miranda from Sex and the City but the German version with glasses.

And instead of coffee, i indulged in spaghetti ice-cream. Mmmmm... more fat food!

Oh and i also found out she's Vegetarian too [but unless you're vegetarian, you might not find that exciting]. I was eager for her to tell me if she knew of good vegetarian places to eat at.

Feeling slightly guilty for eating so much, we decided to walk it off. And i found myself walking along the Rhine river... again.

But this time, we walked the other direction.

I later found out we ended up walking about 5 km and thought, at the rate that i'm going, i'm gonna have buns of steel in no time!

Standing under one of the many bridges in Cologne.

Fancy apartments along the Rhine.

Part of the city skyline.

We had to cross over a small bridge to get to an island that would bring us to the city. And to the right of the bridge and under it is a man made beach with a bar that is open during Summer.

Walking through one of the many parks.

Cologne Cathedral at sunset was absolutely breathtaking.

The bridge leading to the Cologne Cathedral and main train station.

It so happened that J was getting off work and had called me minutes before to see where i was at. And seeing that The Law Student lived really close by, i asked if J could pick me up at a nearby station. The thought of walking back another 5 km didn't sit so well with me.

So yea, both dates turned out better than i expected.

And it's nice to know i haven't completely lost the Art of Socializing.