Crossroad

What would YOU do
if your relationship of nearly four years
came to a crossroad?

Friday Night at the Movies + A whole lot of Cheese.

J's been preparing for a number events at his work place and the extra stress has meant he's forced to work from 7am to 10pm in order to get all his work done.

So once Friday came along, J figured we'd go out instead of just sitting at home. And seeing that he played Battleships the night before and the rule is he's not allowed to play the next day, we figured a date night at the movies would be perfect.

It was a short 10-minute tram ride to the movies followed by a few cocktails at the Mexican restaurant.

[picture source]

15 Euro for two.

Trailer

I actually quite enjoyed Hangover 2 and found it much funnier than the first.

Having lived in Bangkok years ago, i tried to see if i could recognise any of the familiar streets.

But surprised myself when i felt slightly homesick after seeing all the high rise buildings and skyscrapers. Probably because the average number of floors buildings have here are like, five!


Anyway, a visit to the cinema is not quite complete without a bag of salted popcorn. Yes, even if it's just a small bag.

In the dark i tossed around the idea that the caricatures printed on the bag looked like Casper the Ghost wannabes or albino creepy-looking babies.

J took one glance at them and said, they're popcorn!

-_-

Obviously.


Across the road was the Mexican restaurant and there i ordered a Caipirinha + Mojito and J had his usual Classic Margaritas with blue Curacao. Accompanying our drinks was a hefty load of cheese and some nachos.


I'm not quite sure what our plan is for the rest of the weekend since Monday is a public holiday. But i reckon, apart from catching up with sleep, we may go bike riding and check out the public pool and sauna not too far from here.

All my meals the past week has involved some or all cheese and i'm starting to think i need to broaden my choice of ingredients.

Seriously, i wouldn't know what i would do if my life didn't include cheese and all kinds of carbs.

How To Be A Graphic Designer...

I have yet to find a bookstore here that sells a wide range of Graphic Design books in English and so i'm forced to order them online.

Majority of my orders are books filled with colourful inspiration and I Wish I Had Thought of That solutions. Many times i will browse through them only when i start a new project and/or when i am lacking a coherent concept.

I am often indecisive as to which book to buy since there really are so many out there. But majority of the time i will decide based on price and whether the content amount is actually worth the said amount.

Although that said, i can also be easily persuaded, especially if it comes recommended and has positive reviews.

For example, there's Nubby, a blogger and graphic designer that never fails to inspire me and has a great sense of style wrote; 8 Design Books That I Love : A list of personal favorites.

Here is her #3 choice;

HOW TO BE A GRAPHIC DESIGNER WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL
By Adrian Shaughnessy

It is brimming with practical, common sense advice that every beginning designer should know. I love the introduction: “Designers are quick to tell us about their sources of inspiration, but they are much less willing to reveal such critical matters as how to find work, what to charge, and what to do when a client rejects three weeks of work and refuses to pay the bill.” This book answers all those nagging questions designers have when starting out but don’t know who to ask. Written in a very straight-forward manner by a designer for designers, this is a must-read for design students.

I found the title rather amusing.

I was also intrigued after i read a few pages on Amazon and had scrolled through the numerous reviews.

17.50 Euro

So i was quick to order myself a copy.

Why?

Because i'm a sucker for good deals and am in desperate need of a bigger push especially since i'm working independently and trying to run a business.

A depleting bank account is, by no means, comforting and neither is not knowing when or even whether a new project will come in.

Blurry Vision + A Random Road Trip

R.I.P

On Sunday morning i woke to find my Paul Frank Jennie Bomb specs snapped in half. I have a habit of falling asleep with my glasses on but i recall many mornings waking up with them still sitting comfortably on my face.

But not this time around.

Wedged underneath the blanket, she lay lifeless. She was one month shy of five years.

I tried various super glues and even went out and bought a glue specifically for plastic and cost me 6 Euro. It stuck for about half an hour and then when i tilted my head forward, it snapped.

But i'm gonna check out Apollo-Optiker down the road and see if they can salvage her. If not, perhaps they can use my old lenses and i'll just look for an affordable new frame. Glasses here are generally quite expensive in Germany and can cost about 300 Euro.

***

So what's been happening the last one and half weeks?

There is an EHEC bacteria outbreak in Germany. They're saying raw food like cucumber, salad, tomatoes and beansprouts are infected. However, the source has yet to be found.

"Officials just announced that tests on sprouts from the organic farm they thought was to blame came back negative". [source]

Weird.

[source]

Majority of those infected are in Hamburg, although there has been several found cases throughout Germany and surrounding countries. Those numbers marked in red are the number of infected in Germany and those in black are the number of people who have died because of this nasty bacteria.

So until the WHO says it's 100% safe to eat those suspected vegetables, i'm refusing to eat them.

***

As for the weather, it's been ridiculously hot [for German standards]. I'm talking 34˚C in the shade, warm air and clear blue skies. I contemplated bringing up the standing fans from the cellar but woke up this morning to rain and a major drop in temperature. It's already noon, the sun is nowhere to be seen and it's only 17˚C.

A few weeks back, J's 8-year old Audi went in for a check-up. It turns out the brake pads have worn down and the small crack in the windshield - thanks to a flyaway pebble on the ground, is not safe and therefore the windshield needs to be replaced.

All in all, it'll cost about 1,300 Euro to fix. Money, that obviously is not available at the moment.

J thought about selling the car all together but J's father insisted that he didn't. We're going to see if we can find another mechanic and get another quotation.

So knowing that the car isn't exactly roadworthy, i woke up on Saturday, hours before J was supposed to go on a road trip with an awful gut feeling. I couldn't stop crying for some reason.

The plan was to drive to his grandmother's place which is about 4 hours away, then check out a few old peoples' homes and the next day on the way back, pick up his summer wheels from our old landlords' cellar.

He needed to rent a car with a bigger boot in order to carry 4 extra wheels. And ended up renting a Ford Focus which costed 140 Euro for two days.


That was when i decided last minute to accompany him. I figured Luna and Yoshi are capable of staying one night alone, so why not.

Are we there yet!?

However, i did feel kind of spewy the whole way there and decided to crawl to the back and lay down.

For anyone thinking of purchasing or renting a Ford Focus, i say, DON'T. Unless of course you don't mind getting car sick and you enjoy feeling every bump and turn.

HOTNESS!!!

But then again, i don't think it helped that i threw up several times the night before and was incredibly nauseous the morning i got into the car.

No, i'm not pregnant. I blame indigestion and those Knorr Instant fried noodles.


Finally after 4 hours we arrived and as usual, J's grandmother had set up the dining table with an assortment of cake and freshly brewed coffee.

Just in time for Kaffee und Kuchen. Yummeh!


We then went to check out an old people's home. J's grandmother is showing early signs of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, so before it gets too late the family is trying to persuade her that living alone may not be the best option.


After we were done, Oma wanted to visit her husband's grave. He's been gone for thirty-one years but she apparently visits him every two days to water the flowers and clear away the dead leaves.

I can't say graveyards are my favorite places to be at. At the beginning i even contemplated waiting in the car whilst J and her did what they had to do but ended up going along with them. I helped water the plot and J's grandfathers' brothers' grave too.

***

The next day we went to go see another old peoples' home and visited his mothers' new cafe. She recently signed a one year leas and is now co-owner. She has no experience running a restaurant but she says she knows how to cook.

Let's hope everything works out and she can make a small profit.


Catching the last few rays in Oma's garden before the huge storm arrived.

31 + 88 + 31

A group photo before J and i got back into the car so we can make our long 6-hour journey back home.


There was an 11 km long traffic jam on the highway, so for the first half the trip J drove inland and that added another hour to the journey.

Words of Advice : Don't eat butter cookies if you're feeling car sick.

On that note, i'll have to leave you. It's 2 pm already and i've got a bunch of errands to attend to before making my way to yoga class this evening.