J10.1

Day 4

By now my fever has gone and my temperature hovers at 37 degrees Celsius. I had almost forgotten what it felt like not waking up in a cold sweat.

I attempt to assist my daughter as she gets ready for Kindergarten. I have been avoiding her the last 3 days, in fear that i may pass on whatever virus i have. The last thing i need is to be sick AND have to take care of a sick child.

Lucky, in a sense, that my husband has also been down with the flu also and has been told to stay home. I'm not alone but we do keep our distance since his symptoms started a few days before. Paranoid we may cross contaminate, he sleeps on the sofa whilst i cough up my lungs on the high-bed in the bedroom.

I have to admit, i am lucky to be on the receiving end of the 5-star treatment, i'm talking about fresh lemon in my water bottle, hot tea and reminders when i should take my temperature and/or paracetamol.

I think he feels unappreciated.

Perhaps because when he started showing symptoms, i brushed it off as a case of "Man Flu". We joke around that he got the 1-star treatment.

I only got bumped up 1 star because i made him fresh soup.

As he rushed my daughter to Kindergarten, i got ready so we could be meet back at the doctors and be first in line at 8 o'clock.

But before the receptionist even sat down and started the day, there was already 5 patients waiting.

She greeted us and began by saying, it's only protocol that she asks if we were in Heinsberg or China in the last 2 weeks.

We said no.

She asked what were our symptoms  and asked if we had fever and our response was yes, 40 degrees.

At that exact moment, there was an undeniable pause before she continued.

Her eyes widened slightly.

She nodded and told us to come back at 10:45am.

...

So yeah after the check-up, the doctor tells me i have the Influenza. (J10.1 to be exact). Which translates to Influenza with other respiratory manifestations, influenza virus identified.

The doctor writes me a sick note and wishes me well.

And out of curiosity i ask whether or not i have to be tested for the Corona virus but was quickly shot down. Apparently, my husband and i are are not considered a risk and therefore were not thrown into isolation.

Although we both had the common symptoms:

• Sudden high fever
• Shortness of breath
• Breathing difficulties
• Cough

I reckon, they should make it mandatory that all that have the common symptoms to be tested.

But sadly, nobody wants to or have the capacity to test us. I live in Cologne, Germany.

So as the World Health Organization scrambles around trying to figure out what to do next and the rest figure out where they can buy their next stash of toilet rolls from, i'm going to take a nap.

I'm tired.

Influenza Journey

Today is Day 6 of my Influenza Journey and here is my attempt to recap the first few days.

It started on Friday morning with a slight uncomfortable scratching sensation in my throat. I figured it was the dry air in the apartment or simply dehydration. The heating in our apartment has been cranked up to "Tropics" mode, which is about 26 degrees Celsius. So when we step outside and it's like 5 degrees, it's a slap to the face each time.

I remember as i walked my 5 year old to Kindergarten, i felt every gust of wind rip through my numerous layers of clothing, thick scarf and jacket. Upon reaching home, i took my temperature and it was 37.7 degrees Celsius.

I had taken my temperature in my armpit, at which point, my better half told me it was better to place the thermometer under my tongue for a better reading. And yes, i did wash and sterilize it before i put it back in my mouth. And lo and behold, the temperature jumped up a whole degree and was actually 38.9 degrees Celsius.

No wonder i felt like crap.

I remember wrapping myself with my covers like a burrito and hoping my body would generate enough heat. But it was as if my matches were wet and i couldn't get the fire started. I was freezing.

By the evening, my temperature hovered around 39 degrees Celsius. And that's when the coughing started. It was a deep cough. Each time i coughed, it felt as if my lungs rattled. Like a mosh pit, i pictured both my lungs run into each other from either side of my body cavity at high speed. And bounce off one another.

Perhaps i was starting to become delusional.

I covered my head with my two duvets and it didn't take long for me fall asleep in my hole.

Day 2

It's 5:30 am and i measure my temperature. It says, 39.9 degrees Celsius. I write a message to my colleague to say, that i'm planned in to work at 11 am. I had already informed my boss the night before that i was sick and had a fever but was told that there are nobody to replace my shift. And he apologizes. So i reluctantly agree to come and do my shift. Despite feeling like a truck had just run me over.

My colleague sends me a simple Whatsapp response, "Ach du Scheiße". Which directly translates to, "Oh shit".

By 7:45 am, my temperature has reached it's all time high, 40.1 degrees Celsius. I debate with myself whether i should stay at home but start to panic because i had already told my boss, i would work. I can barely keep my eyes open, let alone comprehend the situation.

I start to cry.

I send him a message, along with a photo of my temperature reading.

No reply.

I eventually get a hold of my boss and speak to him directly. I tell him my situation and say i'm not fit to go to work.

He agrees.

And he doesn't sound pissed off. In fact, sounds totally OK with it all.

Paranoid that i was going to be fired, the feeling suddenly diminishes as i swallow an Ibruprofen and wait for it to do its' magic.

I lie back down and within seconds fall right back to sleep. I drift in and out of consciousness, by mid afternoon i am covered in sweat. At last, my fever has broke (one of many that day).

Day 3

Eventually, i peel myself off my high-bed and force myself to shower. As i stand there, i imagine the virus clinging to dear life to the soapsuds that washes passed my feet and as they scream for help, i watch motionless as they make an escape down the drain.

Oh, hello there.

I can't believe it's been 8 years since i checked in. I'm sorry for leaving you all in the dark. So much has happened, i don't even know where to begin.

Well all this time i had thought i had taken down this site.

I guess i didn't. Because all my shit thoughts are still here.

And looking at the "Blogs I Like" list on the right, shows that i'm not the only one that had better things to do than regurgitate their thoughts.

My sudden lack of interest and attention to detail when regurgitating my thoughts seemed to lack in my posts. In fact, i think i questioned whether or not it was worth all the time and effort. Paranoid perhaps people could read into my thoughts and judge me? Sharing too much information that perhaps i shouldn't be sharing. I have no idea.

But last night as i lay in bed with a 39 degree Celsius fever. I decided to log into my Twitter account (another platform where i have not visited in ages). My last tweet was in 2012 and that too was a half-arsed post.

Anyway, under the profile it stated this website.

I thought i'd click on it, even though i THOUGHT i deactivated it years ago. I figured i'd be faced with a blank page or an error symbol.

But i wasn't.

As i read through various posts, it brought me back to that day. Somewhat vague but good enough that i remember the situation.

And then it dawned on me.

What if i start writing again?

Not like i'm writing to anybody but because it's sometimes nice to know that someone is listening. Like as though i'm reading out loud.

Be right back.

I gotta attend to my laundry. It's been 3 days since i've had any energy to even get out of bed, there's an obvious indent on my mattress that i have barely moved. Plus i have to get ready for my doctor's appointment...

Path

Dear Readers [or the lack of them],

for those of you who still wish to have a peek at what i've been up to lately, you can find me on Path.

There you can expect less words, more photos and a chance to see what my sleeping pattern is really like.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1. An iPhone or an Android with internet access.
2. Download the Path App; It's free.
3. Send me a message with your full name and e-mail address [the same ones you used to sign up with - that way i can add you]. 
4. Or if you are already on my Facebook list... there'll be an option where you can add me.

See you there!

xx

I Bit Off More Than I Could Chew.

Today i officially quit one of my jobs.

Yes and i meant it in a plural sense. It probably doesn't make any sense to you all but a lot has been going on in my life in the last 9 months or so. No, i'm not pregnant.

Not only did i stop blogging [yeah, sorry about that!] but i even stopped stalking reading other blogs. I detached myself from the internet world and concentrated on... well, me.

Let's rewind a little…

I'm sure some of you have experienced it but living life without some kind of regular income is very hard.

But in 2009 i chose to be an independent graphic designer because i had a client who needed some work done and in order for it all to be legal - tax wise, i would need to register for a company… so i did.

It's been close to three years and the projects are finally coming to an end but unfortunately my daily bills aren't.

Speaking of bills, i just received a letter from the tax office saying that i owe them over 1,500 Euro in tax for my earnings i made in 2010.
.
.
.

*gulps*

Anyway moving on, i was and in some way, still am, at a cross point in my life.

To be honest, deciding whether or not to jump back into the world of Design after having a burnout still scares me.

However, on a positive note, my German is slowly getting better and am actually able to speak in coherent sentences. But if i had to explain a design concept in German in a Work In Progress meeting, i may be in trouble. Hence, the reason why i needed to throw myself into any kind of job that didn't involve much speaking but one that i could improve with along the way.

But as a RMIT University graduate that also did a year in Honours, i found it hard to even get part-time work at a Bakery. It was my lack in experience not my credentials that was the problem.

That was until August 2011 came around and there was an opening at J's work place - he works in Gastronomy & Events by the way and is one of the bosses there.

It wasn't anything glamorous but money is money.

The position was for two and a half hours, five days a week and i was to help out in the kitchen, help set up and serve hot food in the restaurant. I sweated bucket loads because i had to wear long sleeves under my short-sleeved uniform to cover my tattoos but i didn't mind that much.

I worked my butt off and it eventually payed off because they offered me more hours when a colleague applied for sick leave and they needed a replacement.

However, the woman ended up coming back and as a result, i lost my extra hours and was back to two and a half.

***

Then i remember when January rolled in, J and i went to eat at a salad bar. I ordered a veggie panini and couldn't believe how good it tasted. As i studied the girls behind the counter, i thought, their job can't be too hard - i can do that! We got home and visited their website and it turned out they were looking for employees.

So J helped me fill in my application and we hoped for the best.

The interview went well and i realised those few months that i was working at my other job gave me enough confidence to communicate in German. And that very day, the boss said OK and i could even start the next week.

I was over the moon!

A second job = yay, even more money.

***

Then in March, J told me his workplace was cutting costs and there was one too many employees in the area i was working at. Which would mean between my colleague and i, one of us would have to be fired.

But then i was offered a position as a Barista [a fancy word for someone that serves coffee] at the Lavazza Coffee bar.

So i took it and my colleague was able to keep her job.

On the 9th i was informed i was being transferred and by the following Monday the 12th, i was standing by the fancy coffee machines already instructed to make a range of coffees, foam milk, work the cash register and lay the correct spoon/plate for each coffee during the peak hour lunch break.

It'd like to think i'm a rather fast learner but in this case, i wasn't fast enough.

It is understood that newbies make mistakes but my inability to remember more than three orders consistently, let alone having to register more than 3 customers at one time was against me.

And it didn't help hearing snide remarks each time i took my time pouring the milk into my cafe latte, forgot/made a wrong order, didn't put enough foam in my latte macchiato or how i dared to serve a customer a cappuccino with foam that didn't look "good".

In my head, i kept yelling, BITCH... CALM DOWN!!!

Alas, the stressful environment and having to work sometimes till 10:30pm at my other work place had affected my concentration and in turn, increased my chances of spilling/messing up my orders.

So after my shift yesterday i went directly into the office, in fear that a bitch fight would unravel, only to find J sitting there alone. And i immediately said, i wanted to quit.

We had talked about it the night before, right after my six and half hour shift at the salad bar and we both agreed, super fast coffee making was not my forte.

No matter what you say, kerning IS important.

And because of the number of off days i still have left from last year, i was able to hand in my resignation this morning and leave immediately. Yes, i wrote the letter in German [with a little help from J of course].

On my way to work, the church by the bus stop.

If it wasn't for the fact that the salad bar offered me more hours and that my other colleagues are HEAPS nicer, i probably wouldn't have done it.

But i did.

And after shedding some frustrated tears, i am glad that i had the balls the courage to follow through.

...

So yeah, that's pretty much it.

Now that i have a little more time on my hands, i remembered the laundry needs to be attended to and the apartment needs a good spring cleaning.

...

To be continued...

P.S Here's wishing you all an adventurous, happy and love-filled start to the new year. See you in 2012!

Like a Jigsaw Puzzle.

18:43

It's the last Tuesday of July for this year and there are already signs that Autumn is approaching. The temperature has pretty much halved since the start of the month and scattered bursts of sunshine have accompanied my day.

Today, we're barely pushing past 20˚C and i've just woken up from a lovely afternoon nap.

Anyway, i can't believe i'm three days away from my last day of my B1-1 German course. If i really think about it, i think i'm actually going to miss going to class every day. Partly because yesterday, after studying after class, i actually kinda got my head around how the fourth German case : Genitive is used and what its' prepositions are. A chapter that previously gave me instant headaches.

But i reckon if i self-study and keep making an effort to practise my German through speaking, it will all snap into place.

[Some] wishes do come true, ya know.

And lately, i've been dreaming a lot in German. Whether i'm speaking grammatically correct, i don't know but those who are in my subconscious seem to understand what i'm saying.

It's definitely nice to have a fluid conversation with someone that doesn't tilt their head to the side in hopes that that would help make more sense of my sentences. If only i could remember what we talked about.

But i'm a week away from really focusing my energy on getting a job.

I mentioned before i'm in need of work but this time i really mean it.

I've also decided i really want to work at the Koelner Zoo - Germany's third oldest. Not only is it a few tram stops away from where we live but i can't think of anything better to do than if i care for animals.

I'm also hoping the job pays, even if it's just a mini job where there's a limit to how many hours one can work [40 hours/month] and i only get paid 400 Euro.

In my opinion, that's better than nothing.

But i've read somewhere that the internship waiting list can be quite long especially now that the Summer holidays have started. I've also read interns don't actually get paid anything but i could be wrong.

J suggested that during Little L's visit we go visit the zoo and whilst i'm there i can find out if there are any jobs available.

My fingers are crossed.

For those of you who've just tuned in, Little L is J's nine year old daughter. She lives in Ireland with her brothers, mother [J's ex-girlfriend] and her mother's boyfriend. I say brothers with a S because J's ex got pregnant by her boyfriend last year and she gave birth to another son in January.

I can't believe it's already been two years since we last visited them in Ireland and it's already close to three and a half years since i first stepped foot in this country.

Time has changed my perception of life but maybe it's just age talking.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle and as tedious as it may seem to want to complete, it's the satisfaction of finally finding the exact piece to fit in order to want to carry on.

Dental Issues.

About three weeks ago i was moping around and whingeing that my upper left molars were hurting. As usual, i was convinced something was wrong.

What if my weakness for chocolate and sour candies had finally left me with cavities?

Or worse, i cracked a tooth!?

But after three days of ingesting various painkillers i decided enough was enough. I made an appointment with a recommended dentist and hoped for the best. As a resident in Germany i am forced to pay close to 200 Euro a month for health insurance and whether or not i need it makes no difference.

However, it seems like the average waiting period for a new patient to even get an appointment is about three weeks. And depending on their popularity the wait could even be longer. But it's nice to know that in case of an emergency they allow for exceptions.

I, of course, forgot to mention i was in pain when i made my appointment in grammatically correct German sentences. But was relieved i was even available to get a slot at all [even if it meant i had to wait a week].

J rang the office again, this time slightly exaggerating the truth, and said i may have cracked a tooth.

They ended up squeezing me in at 8 in the morning the very next day and my teeth/jaw couldn't have been any happier.

After several minutes of prodding around in my mouth with various tools the lady dentist tells me she can't see anything and suggests i get an x-ray.

Here's the photo i took with my hand phone whilst waiting for the dentist to return...

[click to enlarge]

It turned out, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

And her only explanation as to why i was experiencing a dull pain was probably caused by stress and unknowingly clenching my jaw.

Take a closer look and it shows i don't have any cavities either.

Yay!

A Case of Time Out.

Let me begin by apologising to you all for not updating you of my whereabouts.

I realise now that my sudden disappearance from the Land of Bloggers may have left some of you concerned. After all it has been a whole month since my last post and who knows what could have happened. But as dramatic as my last blog entry sounded, i'm now happy to report i didn't decide to move out and neither do i plan to in the near future.

Relationships are hard work, even if one thinks one is meant to be with one another. And as corny as it may sound, it's true "...it takes two to Tango."

However, it took a weekend at my sister + her boyfriend + Mimi's place and dodging the subject for three weeks before J and i decided to talk it out.

Amongst various other things, it turned out the stress from J's work, his lack of sleep and disinterest in wanting to do anything else but play Warcraft on the weekend had finally taken its' toll on our relationship.

A part of him was envious of "my life" and used his gaming as payback for something he knew i had no control of.

But it was the period of two weeks prior to our argument that forced him to work 14-18 hour days. He was bitter that i got to work from home and learn a new language at my own pace. Never mind, that on top of that i also take charge of the household chores, clean after him and make sure his work clothes are ironed just in time for the new week.

But all that seemed pale in comparison to how much he works. And with that i had to remind him, once again, our lives are incomparable. And at the peak of our quarrel he dared to compare me to his ex - which of course, he later apologised for.

This happened around the time i practically finished all my projects and my twice-a-week German course was ending. I had enrolled in the next course but days before it was going to begin i received a letter to say it was cancelled.

Great.

Just as i was getting back into the groove of wanting to learn German.

But i couldn't just sit on my arse till September and wait for the next round of courses to begin. So last minute i decided to join an intensive Summer course. It's an intensive German class which runs Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm and goes on until the 29th of July.

I'm already in my third week but it ends next week just in time for Little L's arrival at the end of the month.

Oh...

and i've also decided August will be the month i will find a new job.

Or at least will try and find one.

Preferably a full-time job that wants me to speak English as well. But a part-time job will do just fine too and it doesn't necessarily have to do with graphic design either.

As for my relationship with J, well since our big talk last weekend, we seem to be getting along fine. In fact, it's as if nothing had happened.

J is making it a point to speak to me more nicely and believe it or not, is even gaming less. I can even see his patience with me is getting a bit better.

As for me, i'm trying to finish all my daily chores before J gets back from work and am making more of an effort to speak in German with J. Plus i'm also making it a point to be a little more independent and give J his "space" so he can have time to rewind.


Cause we all know, we have our moments when we just need a little time out.

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.

I'm Sorry.

So i'm back.

Every day that goes past and i don't write down my thoughts, an ounce of guilt hovers over me. It's not like i have nothing to say. I just have been occupied with other things. And by the time i'm done with whatever i was doing, the desire to sit down and spew out my thoughts in a logical manner doesn't exactly excite me.

But i think i know what my problem is.

More times than often, i am unable to downsize my posts to just a meer paragraph.

I need to learn that Less is More.

Generally, i find the whole blogging process rather long. First, i'll just type whatever comes into my head. Then i'll read over it at least once before i dive into iPhoto and pick out the more relevant photos. Then i'm in Photoshop to resize them so they don't take forever to upload and if necessary, edit them. I'm only allowed to attach five photos at a time and so inserting the pictures to the relevant paragraphs takes time. And then finally, i read through the post one or several times before i publish it.

And because i can't be arsed sometimes, i somehow convince myself that i'll blog later.

Later soon turns to days.

Days often adds up to a week.

I still have to upload photos from the weekend before and of course write about last weekend. But i'll see if i can work backwards.

If you are one of my Twitter followers, you may remember last weekend i may have said something along the lines of me being pissed off at J because Friday was his 3rd night in a row that he was playing Battleships and World-of-fucking-Warcraft.

We had previously agreed that every other day he would not play any computer games. And on that day he doesn't play, we would call it, Girlfriend Day.

But all hell broke loose when i woke up on Saturday morning and i found him still gaming since the night before.

Apparently, he is currently ranked #100 out of 30,000 players but his mission is to be one day ranked #1. And in order for that to happen, he would need to play a lot more.

So in the event that should happen, i told him, there's no guarantee that i'll still be around then.


After a few hours of silence, J felt guilty that he was ignoring me and suggested we get the Wellnesstag Hama package that included a day at the sauna, a 5 Euro voucher to be used in the café and a 30 minute Turkish Hammam massage at Aqualand. We later found out the massage involved lying on a marble table, get sanded down with some kind of glove and later soaped down and massaged.

But the idea of lying naked and being hidden by a semi-see through barricade in a room full of strangers watching didn't quite appeal to us. So J and i traded it for a normal back massage each in a private room.


The entrance and sauna area featured massive crystals such as amethyst rocks and rose quartz. They say crystals are good for healing, so what better place for us to be at then at a sauna decorated with crystals.


One wasn't allowed to wear swimming gear in the Sauna World and it was the first time i've ever been to a place that didn't allow their customers to wear anything. However, we were allowed to keep our towels on.


All in all, there were 12 saunas, ranging from 55˚C all the way to 100˚C. Each one was themed and at certain times they had special scents. There were two fairly small swimming pools outside and a small café.

And for obvious reasons, cameras and phones weren't allowed in the area.

***

The next morning, J went out to get some fresh bread rolls and croissants for breakfast.


And of course he had to squeeze in a round of Battleships before we went cycling around the city.


On our way, we ended up having to pass through a tunnel which had a sign beside it. Apparently back in 1941 this was the entrance to the train station that deported over 11,000 Jews to the concentration camps.


And after cycling around for a few hours, we decided to ride back but just as we were about to cross one of the bridges, J was convinced that he could hear music.

In the distance we could see people gathering underneath the bridge on the opposite side from where we were at.


So i zoomed in on my camera and true enough there were people there. They had set up their DJ equipment and were playing electronic music.

We decided to check it out but not before stopping at a kiosk to buy a few beers.


It took us about 20 minutes to get to the bridge and by that time it was already 7:30pm. We later found out that it was a replacement event for an outdoor event that was cancelled. The weatherman had predicted rain, so they set up their equipment under the bridge.

It ended just before 10 pm and that's when we decided to head back - just in time for me to get some shuteye and for J to jump back into few more rounds of Battleships.

*Sigh*

Twisting and Turning and Breathing In and Out.

It's Friday and J won't be back home until late tonight because him and his work colleagues are going out for dinner and drinks. As for me, i'm stuck at home trying to do all the housework and finish off work - "trying" being the operative word for both.

Last week i finally received the final copy changes to the project i've been working on for the last few months. But because there's a lot more text than previously, i'm forced to rethink one of the designs. Which, now that i think about it, is probably a good thing because i wasn't 100% happy with what i presented earlier.

Anyway, some of you may have read, i went to a trial yoga class on Wednesday. It took me twenty minutes to ride my bike there and for the most part of the journey, i avoided cycling beside cars.


It was a small group with only six people [five women and one man] and lasted about an hour and a half. And although i didn't understand every single word that the woman said because she spoke in German, i managed to follow reasonably well. And only when i wasn't doing the correct move, she would then stand next to me and whisper it in English - which i thought was nice.

In the beginning i honestly thought, it was a waste of time but by the end of it my perception changed.

By the time we got the downward facing dog position and into the plank, my legs were shaking. By the end, i was having troubles holding the remaining positions for the said amount of time. And by the next morning my muscles were in pain! I was aching all over.

Who would have thought simple stretches and poses would be such a workout?

Proof that i'm actually not that fit and i've lost some flexibility.

21:15 by the Rhine river.

And because Summer is just around the corner, the sun doesn't actually set until 9:30 pm and that means i don't have to ride in the dark.

So how much was it? Well the initial trial class costs 12 Euro and if one decides to sign up then it's only an extra 58 Euro for the remaining six classes. So in total it's 70 Euros [which makes it 10 Euros per class]. Which is a pretty good deal because at most yoga centres it costs an average 15 Euro per class and most of them are on the other side of the Rhine. Which would mean i would also have to pay for my train tickets and that would be an additional 5 Euro.

And so i've decided to sign up. I figured since i'm paying for it, i will have more initiative to go.

If you want to read the benefits of Yoga click here.

Plus i figured there's no point waiting any longer for J to set aside some time so we could both get into some kind of fitness routine together.

But i'm sure he's happy that i'm getting out of the apartment and being more active now. After all that would mean he would get to play Battleships and Warcraft in peace and i won't find a reason to start bickering.

It's a win-win situation.

Manila is not spelt like Vanilla.

I spent all morning psyching myself up so i could have a telephone conversation in German with a lady i've been trying to contact about translating my birth certificate for a reasonable price.

German?

I knoooOoooow! Who would have thought i'd have enough guts to bust out questions and be all fancy in a language i was once so scared of.

And thanks to google, i also found out that the lady also teaches a yoga class once a week and the course starts tonight.

So i figured i'd kill two birds with one stone and squeeze in that i was interested in trying out her yoga class AND that i needed her to translate a document for me. In hopes that she would be willing to lower her price to do a notarized translation.

Not because i was being a cheap arse but the other week i had ventured out into the city looking for a translation office. They quoted me a whopping 108.59 Euro! Which is ridiculous seeing that it is for something so small that i'll probably never really need, except if i were having a baby or was planning on getting married in Germany - which in both cases, are not in the near future.

But i had read online that some places translate documents into German for as little as 30 Euro, so there was no way i was going to pay over 100 Euro for a dinky-looking piece of paper.


So after scribbling down grammatically correct German sentences this morning, the lady finally picked up. She lives a few streets down from where we live, so finding the address later is no problem.

My appointment is at 3pm and her Hatha Yoga class is at a different address further down the Rhine at 7:30pm - which i plan to go to by bike.

But the reason for all this hassle began when i registered here as a resident a few months back. For some reason the guy who had keyed in my information had selected the wrong country as my place of birth, even though i had clearly mentioned where i was born.

And the document that one receives to show proof that one has registered, only states the city, so how was i suppposed to know he made the mistake? And it wasn't until a few days later did they realise their mistake when their system wasn't recognising the information.

So because of their mistake, i have to fork out my hard earned money to get my birth certificate translated.

How lame!

But to make it even more confusing, the person who had done my passport at the Dutch embassy in Kuala Lumpur spelt Manila with a double L [apparently that's how the Dutch spell it], so it's no wonder Germans are confused.

Just so you know, my country of citizenship is not the same as the country that i was born in. My father is Dutch and my mother is Singaporean.

Yes, my life is a bit complicated.

Oh well. That's how the cookie crumbles.

I guess that means i'm be going to Yoga class tonight... alone because J has to work late tonight.

The past two weeks in a nutshell.

WARNING : PICTURE HEAVY*

Yesterday was Friday the 13th and so i thought, what better than to make a comeback. Thinking i could just simply log on as usual and start regurgitating my thoughts, i was wrong. Blogger was down and had apparently been not working for the past two days.

I'll admit it though, i did feel a little guilty leaving you all hanging like that. After all, it has been just over two weeks since my last post. It's amazing how fast time can fly when you don't pay attention to it.

And if it weren't for the fact that i had my camera, i, probably, would have said i didn't do that much.

But in reality the past two weeks were stuffed with various activities like a few bike rides, eating pizza and lots of ice-cream, a night-time barbecue, attending German classes and trying to do some work. But the highlight of the last week has to be going on a random train trip that took an hour and half, which later involved bike riding and trekking through a forest to get to the top.

Oh but that's not all! J and i have agreed that every other day of the week will be "Girlfriend Day" which basically means, NO GAMING ALLOWED on that day. It's only been one week but so far so good.

But as for my absence, i have no real excuse.

I'm just going to blame the lack of motivation and the sudden peak in the temperature. However, it seems like that will be changing. They predict showers and the temperature is said to not push past 20˚C.

It's taken me close to five hours to sort through the photos and write this, so a part from the occasional descriptions, i will let the photos speak for themselves. My fingers are cramping and i need more coffee.

29.04.2011 - Friday


Ate at a new pizza place further up the road. J had his piece of flesh and i indulged in a salmon pizza.

Ate too much but decided to have a quick beer at Vreiheit anyway.

Felt a little sick because we overate, so we rode our bikes to the edge of the Rhine, laid on the concrete wall and stared up at the night sky.

01.05.2011 - Sunday

We checked out another pizza place and found out they cooked their pizzas in a stone oven. And since the weather was so nice, we ate our pizzas in the park near our place.

Spring has an effect on people. Couples are generally more lovey-dovey.

04.05.2011 - Wednesday

On that Monday J left for three days because of his exams. And after two and half years of attending the workshops, he finally completed his Management Development Program.

Go J!

06.05.2011 - Friday

Earlier that week J suggested we go for another barbecue, this time in the nearby by park. But before leaving he insisted on playing one round of Warcraft. By the time we left it was slowly getting dark. The sun sets now around 9 pm, so by the time we got to the park we noticed there weren't that many people left in the park. But those that were left, were already packing up to go home. So decided to make our way to the Rhine.

I didn't think we were going far, so i didn't bring my jacket. So by the time the sun was gone, it got nippy and so J built me a little fire to keep me warm and to keep the mosquitos and flies at bay.

At around 10:30 PM we heard fireworks going off. Apparently in one of the stadiums they were having some kind of talent show, so we assumed the finale involved fireworks.

07.05.2011


After five months, we finally put up some curtains up in our bedroom. There's nothing like having privacy.

Previously, we had put up a roller blind from our previous apartment but to our disappointment it didn't cover the whole window. Kinda ghetto, i know but it sure beat putting up newspapers or a blanket to block their view.

08.05.2011 - Sunday


J suggested we take a train to Bad Münstereifel. One could buy a Weekend ticket that cost 39 Euro a day for 5 people. There was no direct route, so we had to change twice.


Including changing trains and waiting, it took us about an hour and a half to get to our destination.

Old train station.

Surrounding the city/town is a stone wall. As soon as i walked in, it felt like i was walking back in time.


We ate some really good homemade ice-cream. Probably the best yogurt ice-cream i've ever had. The scoops were huge and was half the price than what we usually pay in the city.



Tudor houses line the cobbled streets. I think we were the only ones with "city" bikes. Practically everyone we saw who rode a bike had proper mountain bikes with what looked like a million gears.

A photo opp with my new cap i had just bought minutes before.

As i tried to make my way up the hill and around the corner. I saw J talking to some guy. He was dressed up as one of the gate keepers but lead one of the tour groups. J thought it would be funny if i got a photo taken with him.

Such tourists, i know.


Back in the day, they used to change horses hooves here. I wouldn't be surprised if they still do.


We got up one of the hills but the look out point was closed because the wood was eroding.

We sat up on the wall and looked down over the town.

And before heading down to look for some cake, we roasted on the benches for a little while.


I reckon it was about 28˚C, if not more that day and i remember i was sweating bullets.


We came across a bake sale. A youth group was raising money so they could get to Spain. So we helped them by buying a slice each of apple and rhubarb cake. Home baked cakes are the best!


The next mission was to make our way up the mountain. I could only manage to push my bike up the steep slope.


We got to the stone wall and made our way to the top and peered through the gaps. These gaps were used by the archers to protect the town from intruders or invasions.

We did, however, end up leaving our bikes by the entrance because we knew there was no way we could make it up the steep hill and forest.

Super sweaty, dehydrated and trying to catch up.

We had already finished two litres of water before we made the trek up the mountain.

Word of advice : Be sure you have sufficient water with you before you go on a hike, especially when it's really hot.

After nearly walking about two hours, we eventually get out of the forrest and closer to the top. Entering a residential area, was like walking into another world. We ended up asking a boy on the street for directions to a kiosk but tells us there isn't one nearby. He does, however, tell us where we can go to get to the top of the mountain.

So we're walking down the road and we see a guy in his garage. At which point, i'm about to pass out because i'm so thirsty. So J asks this stranger if he would be so kind to fill up our empty water bottle with some tap water.


He returns and says he's filled it with bubbly water. Nice! And best part was, it wasn't any ordinary kind of bubbly water but the expensive stuff.

See, there are nice people in this world.

Although on a typical ordinary day, i would never accept a drink from a stranger. Especially, if he ran off with my bottle and came back. But at that moment, seriously, it was a case of life and death. I would have drank anything.


We eventually see the path that we need to get to and after passing a perfectly good bench, J persuades me to climb further up.

I'm tired and at the point of exhaustion. We get to the bench at the top and it's covered in mold and insects.

So we opt to lie on the road, which so happened to be on a steep angle.

Two men walked passed us and look at us strange because we laied out our blanket on the hard surface in the middle of the road.

We then found out that further up, not too far away from where we were sitting, there was an even better view.


And lo and behold, there was even a wooden bench. So we lay our blanket over it and sucked in the view.


After about 15 minutes, we decided to make our way down. We were hungry and we weren't sure what time the train back was leaving. And because it was pretty much all down hill, it only took us about half an hour.


And feasted on potato cakes with slices of salmon, shrimps in a garlic + oil sauce, homemade beer bread and a vegetarian flammkuche. But no meal would be complete without a weizen.

We got told the last train had already left but we could take the last bus to the nearest biggest city.

But had we of missed that last bus, J said that he was prepared for us to stay at a hotel.

So whilst waiting for the bus, we treated ourselves with MORE ice-cream.

From below, that's how far up we walked!

On the bus, on a very windy road.

Direction Cologne.

So apart from gaining weight, that's pretty much what i've been up to. I, seriously, need to cut down on my eating/snacking/sweets/ice-cream. Yesterday there was a weighing scale at the pharmacy and it turns out i've gained about six kilos in the last three years.

Yikes!

Oh well. I hope you have a great weekend.