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.

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.

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.

Time to bust out the Grill.

7:37

My weather widget lied, it's actually already 13˚C outside and i foresee a very toasty afternoon.

J woke up this morning with a craving for flammkuchen. He suggested after he's done with work we ride our bikes to the other side of the Rhine and go look for some. Time to bust out the sunblock and sunnies.

Germany is known for its' grey skies but i reckon the most popular activity would be grilling. The second there's a significant amount of sun, you're bound to find Germans in the park or on a random patch of grass turning over their Bratwurst or marinated meats on their grills.

So J thought since the weather is going to be so nice this long Easter weekend, we should just join in on the barbecue bandwagon. I managed to find vegetarian sausages at one of the supermarkets, so i'm all set.

[via]

So today's mission is to find a one-time use/disposable barbecue grill.

I did a quick google and it turns out they're an all-one-package and are called "Einweggrills". They can be priced anywhere between 2 to 5 Euro and can apparently be found in most supermarkets, discount shops and petrol stations.

But before i venture out, i have to wait for the delivery guy to bring my online order i made on Saturday from the pet store. Two bags of 12 kilo kitty litter and six cans of cat food.

Why is it taking so long?

Not Yet Dead.

As the world shows off their iPhones and fancy Apps, my three-year old Sony Ericsson has been showing signs of Schizophrenia.

It all started a few weeks ago when she decided to change my ring tone all by herself. Then she took it upon herself to remove all my photos from the camera album simply because she didn't like them. And when it came to operating the in-built camera, she had issues concentrating. Her ADD tendencies means she often switches to the main menu when she's in camera mode and then returns as if nothing had happened.

At first i was upset that all my photos were missing but then i thought what if she developed Alzheimer's disease and decided to delete all my phone numbers. Believe it or not, i don't even know my own phone number by heart. But then again, it wouldn't make much of a difference because the only people that actually call me are my parents, sister and J.

So i decided to do some minor surgery and check her insides. Twenty minutes later and a quick rubdown, i managed to bring her back to life.

It seems like her memory has been restored and i was able to retrieve all one hundred and twenty-five images.

2007-2010

Looking at my past through stills sometimes leaves me with a bittersweet aftertaste. But my past has made me the person that i am today and today i feel content.

Pasty was SO last Season.

Once again, Friday has crept up and bit me from behind. Is it just me, or is this month... year so far speeding up?

[via : Twisted Swifter]

I know Spring just got here but at the rate time is traveling, Winter will be back here and i'll be moaning again about how i can't feel my fingers/face/insert body part.

It makes me wonder whether or not i'm fully making use of my day. I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels this way.

Ya know, whether or not we're actually grabbing life by its balls or just simply wasting away. Because before we all know it, Arthritis will take over and/or we'll be old and crusty.

Hmmm. There's a visual i can't get out of my head.

Well not much has been happening in my world the past few days except that my attempt to stick to a fifteen Euro per week grocery bill failed miserably. I have now bumped my budget up to twenty.

OK. I lied, i spent twenty-five on my last bill.

Although, technically, if i split the ground coffee + 8 pack of 3-ply toilet paper + 18 x tissue packs over a duration of three weeks, i sort of, kinda, still stuck to my budget.

Well at least i'm not broke... yet.

My client tells me there's promise that i might get paid next week, so i'm staying optimistic. But then again, i won't believe it until i see those digits in my account.

Sticking to a budget continues to be a challenge. And so does wanting to attend to the sink full of dishes and the rest of the housework.

Procrastination is my friend and i'm in desperate need of a tan.

Eleven more days to go until i go back to German classes - believe it or not, a part of me is actually excited.

Yay for the weekend and random cuddles!

Spring has finally Sprung.

Yesterday was the official beginning of Spring and J took the day off. I woke up around 7:30 AM and was greeted by the sun shining down on our balcony and a perfect clear blue sky. I checked the thermometer and i couldn't believe my eyes...

What!?

How could the temperature jump from 9˚C the day before to 25˚C the next? I wasn't going to question it because surely my eyes wouldn't lie.

I then, practically, ran to the bedroom and jumped on the bed with excitement. J was still asleep but soon responded with one eye open, a smile and a quick roll over.

Obviously, he didn't share my enthusiasm.

So i grabbed a cup of freshly brewed coffee and stepped out onto the balcony hoping to soak in some rays and breathe in the fresh air. But the moment i stepped out, the damn sun started moving away.

And that's when i found out the truth.

Hmmpf.

The sun must have warmed up the thermometer and in turn, made me out to be a liar. But the temperature eventually made its' way up to about 15˚C, which is a lot warmer than what we've been having lately but still no where near Sweat Ville.

***

But our plan was to register ourselves as official residents in the afternoon. J checked for the address and found out the office was closed at the time that we wanted to go, so we're going later this afternoon when J gets back from work.

Since we were already dressed and minutes from stepping out the front door, J then suggested we take a walk on the other side of the Rhine river.


We found ourselves a spot on the pebbles to sit and with the binoculars J found at his parents' house, we tried to figure out how to focus so we'd stop seeing double.


J, then, decided he wanted to break a bunch of rocks. I think it was the inner child/cave man in him that thought it was cool to destroy things. And i looked around for pretty rocks to fill my pocket.


But before we knew it, the sun started to make her way down and hunger got the better of me. Overall, it was a somewhat lazy day but at least we managed to get out of the apartment for a few hours.


I realised then how much i really missed J when he was gone but how glad i am, now that he's back. All our petty arguments we had days before J had left, seemed to have been suddenly forgotten.

It's true, distance can make the heart grow fonder.


And here's our new additions before i added them to my Succulents and Rock garden.

On A Budget.

J is coming home tonight and i'm so happy. The original plan was that he would be gone for two nights but that soon changed to a week. I'd be lying if i said, i didn't miss him.

I did miss him. Especially when it hit day four.

But even though he spends a huge chunk of his normal day at work and i rarely see him, it's nice to know that i expect to see him walk through the front door just in time for dinner.

Well i now have about fifteen hours until he's supposedly back, which should give me ample time to do what i need to do to sort out the apartment and mop the floors.

The weather has been miserable the last few days with grey skies and occasional showers. The temperature has even dropped down to about 8˚Celsius which means there's a need for extra layers. But after a quick peek out the window, it looks like the weatherman may have lied when he said there was going to be rain.

At the moment the sun is shining and i'm tempted to go outside and shop.

[source]

However, in order to keep afloat financially, it looks like i'm forced to keep myself on a 15 Euro per week grocery budget for the next month. Which, theoretically, is not that much considering that that amount is for the both of us. Our usual weekly bill would come up to about three to four times that amount. But at the moment 15 Euro is all i can afford, especially with all our upcoming bills.

So with no chance for an extension, there needs to be mini sacrifices made and careful planning done.

I know J has a little money stashed away in his account from the security deposit we got from our old apartment. But seeing that this is probably the first time he hasn't been broke at the end of the month in years, he deserves every right to hang on to it. Plus both of us can't be broke at the same time - that would just be depressing.

But my fingers are crossed that my client gets all the necessary signatures they need in order to pay me what they owe me by April.

After which, i need to seriously start saving my money because there's no telling when my next job will be completed or whether i'll get anymore big contracts.

With everything going on in this world, life, as we all know it, can be so unpredictable.

But if there's one thing i dislike about being a freelancer, that would be not having a steady monthly income. It's ridiculous how fast money can come in and how quickly it can go out.

Money, is truly the root of all evils.

Life and Death.

Once again, i've had the motivation of a sloth this week in terms of trying to regurgitate my thoughts. Sorry for my lack of posts. And whilst i had good intentions to writing something midweek, before i knew it Friday got here and i'm wondering where the week had gone.

Workwise, i'm currently waiting for feedback and translations for the visuals i sent to my client nearly a month ago. And the longer i wait, the more anxious i'm starting to get. Not because i'm worried about my work but more like i'm concerned as to when i'll finish the projects and when exactly i'll get paid.

Unfortunately, bills don't wait for no [wo]man and i know i'm going to be broke by the end of the month.

As for last weekend, not much happpened.


J spent both nights gaming and in turn spent most of a normal persons' day sleeping. Although i did convince him to go the recycling centre and get rid of the crap that was filling up the backseats. Then to add the excitement factor, we spent the next two and half hours cleaning his car and changing the covers of the car seats.

oOOo fun times!


Then on Sunday, i wanted to get out of the apartment. The weather was gorgeous at 12˚C and it deserved to be taken advantage of. But J was passed out from the lack of sleep he's had the last week and so i ended up going by myself. I knew if i just stayed in i would just get annoyed, so i decided to walk to the nearby park.


I then spent the next two hours on a bench watching individuals walking back and forth, kids playing imaginary games and couples walking hand-in-hand observing the ducks on the pond.

***

Then on Monday came the carnival parade but that deserves a whole new post which i will eventually get to but something else has captivated my thoughts. I'm still a little shaken up and J was right when he said, he didn't want to tell me straight away because he thought it would scare me.

So J gets a phone call last night from his brother. And seconds into the call, i notice J's facial expression goes almost blank. They're talking in German and i'm trying to dissect parts of their conversation. He doesn't say too much but i'm bugging him to tell me what happened.

At first i thought something happened to his grandmother. But as he's on the phone, he tells me that it's not that. I continue to guess what could have happened but he interrupts me and tells me he'll tell me later. He then walks over to the kitchen pours himself some vodka and mixes it with juice and turns to the the kitchen exhaust and lights a cigarette.

It must be serious.

And at that point, my mind is swimming around trying to think of all sorts of things.

He gets off the phone and remains quiet.

I ask him again what happened but he says, he'll tell me later because it might scare me. At which point, i'm starting to freak out because he's never said anything like that me before. J gets back on the phone and starts talking to somebody else. This time it's his other brother.

And what felt like ages later, J gets off the phone and says, do you want to know what happened?

I'm sitting on the sofa half-heartedly watching Germany's Next Top Model and i turn to him bursting for him just to tell me what happened.

His mother's boyfriend committed suicide in the cellar of their family's house.

My jaw almost dropped when i heard the news.

The very house that J grew up in as a child and the home where his mother is now living since J's parents have separated. The same house that J and i were at when we spent boxing day with his mother playing Mahjong.

So anyway, this is what happened...

The mother and her boyfriend got into a heated argument, so she went to go stay with her friend on Tuesday. When she returned yesterday the doors were locked. So she sent him a text message, telling him to open the door otherwise she'd call the police.

He didn't answer, obviously.

So then Police came and opened the door. They searched the house and that's when the police found him hanging in the laundry room. He was dead for two days. And according to the mother the TV was on and there was no note. I can't imagine what would have happened if J's mom had been the one to find him. I think that would have been more traumatic for her.

The second he told me, i got chills. I still get the chills each time i read the paragraph before.

Thoughts of what could have happened leading to his final breath and the fact that i now have a permanent visual in my head of where it happened has got me feeling almost sick.

It's so sad.

Not only because it's a suicide of someone we both know but also that J's told me of many fond memories of the house he grew up in and now the house is tainted.

Some of you may know that four years ago when i was living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, my neighbour's mistress was killed in the apartment. And i can't begin to tell you how freaked out i was. I knew i couldn't physically go back to living in my apartment knowing that somebody was brutally killed in the apartment right below me and i had to pass their door as i went up the stairs.

I ended up living in a hotel for a month. At which time, it so happened that i had also quit my job two months prior to that and i had a month left to go till i had to leave. I took the murder as a sign that it was time for me to leave.

Yup, the murder was just the icing on the cake.

So yea, now J has to take time off work next week to drive to his parents' house. Most probably to clear some things and do as much as he can to sort through the house.

I told J, as much as i love him, i can't accompany him. He understood. And i went on to say, i don't think i can handle going near the house full stop.


The last time i remember seeing the mother's boyfriend was in the late Summer of 2010. J had borrowed his mother's car because the boot was bigger and so J lent his car to his mother. When they switched cars, the mothers' boyfriend had polished J's car and put J's car keys on a key chain and said that it was for protection which i thought was very nice. Now that i think about it maybe he needed the protection more than J after all.

And although i don't really know him as a person or what his motive was, i'm saddened knowing that he decided to end his life but the other side of me is angry that he decided to do it in J's beautiful family house.

Then there are moments when i think, life can be so unpredictable.

One moment you could be standing there breathing, the next you could be catching your last breath. Whether it was intentional is besides the point. What i really meant was, you never really know whether it's the last time you'll ever really see a person.

So on that note, i'm saying a silent prayer for him.

I'm hoping that he rests in peace and prays to all good things that his spirit isn't lingering anywhere that it shouldn't be a.k.a the house.

So go hug a loved one or a good friend and tell them how much you appreciate and love him/her.

The Prick of the Month Award goes to...

I was going to write about my weekend but something just happened and it's got me all upset.

So on Sunday i decided i wanted to order some contact lenses online. I've been using a brand from the supermarket which costs me 6.99€ per lens and since i need two, i pay about 14€ for a pair of monthly. Which is pretty expensive considering that overseas i can get a pack that contains three pairs for the price of one pair here.

So anyway this morning around 10:30 AM i checked my emails and saw that Deutsche Post DHL had sent a link to say that my order from Linsenplatz was on its way.


I clicked on the link and it said that at 1:38 AM today the shipment had been processed at the destination parcel center. There was no mention that it was actually in the delivery van on its way to be delivered.

Then at around 11 AM the door bell rings.

The apartment doesn't have an intercom or a camera, just a buzzer that one presses so one can open the front door. Which theoretically makes life easier since that means one doesn't have to walk down the stairs and manually open the door oneself. But the problem with not having an intercom is you can't tell who's at the door, which brings me to my real issue.

So i press the buzzer assuming that it's the rubbish man.

DHL couldn't possibly be here so early since the usual delivery man i know arrives in the mid afternoon. I look out at the back but don't see any of the rubbish men walking past.

The door bell rings again.

This time i hold the buzzer down longer and look through the peephole to see if i can see anyone walking up the stairs.

There's no one.

J specifically told me i shouldn't open the door for anyone especially after that incident where i let that electrician in the apartment unannounced to fiddle with the antenna and those other times those strangers came to our actual door and tried to convince me to switch electricity companies.

A minute or so later, i hear the buzzer again.

I then hear a man shouting from down below.

I walk downstairs and see a man with two small packages in his hands. My guess is he's Turkish, in his late twenties or early thirties [and is sexually frustrated]. I ask him in German which name he's after since it's happened before that the delivery man has given me my neighbors' package. He says my surname and so i walk downstairs barefoot.

Then he starts yelling at me and saying all sorts of crap that he went up the stairs twice and nobody was there.

Which is bullshit.

I was by the door and i didn't hear or see nobody walk up the steps and pass our door.

Clearly, if he's a delivery man he knows that the order of the doorbells at the front door correspond to which floor the customers are on. For example, if the name is on the last row of buttons that means the apartment is on the ground floor, so on and so forth.

So anyway, i apologize again but he doesn't seem to want to accept my apologies. And by the tone of his voice, i can tell he's pissed off.

What for? I have no idea. If he can't handle walking up stairs, he shouldn't be a bloody package delivery man to begin with.

I sign for my package and start walking up the stairs but the dude is still rambling on about something. I say once again, i'm sorry in German and under my breath tell him to "calm down".

What i really meant to say was, calm down, bitch!

I get upstairs and the realisation that i was confronted by such an asshole has got me all upset and i start to cry.

I'm more than certain everybody who was at home in the building heard because sound travels really well up the stairs. So not only was that embarrassing but i thought he was damn right rude.


I then decide to call J and start balling my eyes out as i'm telling me him what happened. He asks me to scan the cover of the package and to tell him the code of the package so he can call and make a report.

Half an hour later, J calls me back and says he's made a complaint at Deutsche Post DHL and has even spoken to the person in charge. I'll find out exactly what he said when he comes back from work later. J then continues to say he's called the property management to request for a speaker system to be installed for security purposes. That way when somebody is downstairs one can announce themselves before anybody presses the front door open.

My fingers are crossed that the property management agrees to installing the speaker system in the apartment block and the DHL delivery man gets his arse kicked by his superior for being such a rude prick.

*Double locks our front door just in case the dude comes back and wants revenge*

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.

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.
  

Danny & Annie; A Twenty-Seven-Year Romance.

And then i watched this and it brought tears to my eyes... AGAIN.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

"Being Married is like having a coloured television set, you never want to go back to black and white."

I Told You So + Sitting Face to Face

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.

Fickle Weather + Too Much Lactose Ain't Good.

For the last week we've been having reasonably warm weather. And by warm i mean 12˚ Celsius. So warm in fact, that i've even dared to shed one layer of clothing and not wear tights... UNDER my jeans that is.


But it looks like the tables are turning because the cooler temperatures are coming back. Tomorrow they predict snow-showers and later on this week it's going to dip down to minus 1˚C. Yuck.

For a second there i thought we were going to have an early Spring. Wishful thinking, i guess.

Well it looks like our bike rides will have to be put on hold.

Not only is the weather crap but J's really not feeling so well. I'm guessing the 17 km bike ride on Sunday wasn't such a good idea after all. He started work last Wednesday and already he's caught the bug. But J being the trooper that he is, is soldiering on and has gone into work today.

Cat TV

As for me, i've got a bunch of things to take care of. Mainly domesticated issues such as unpack some boxes, tidy, do the laundry, iron J's shirts, go to the supermarket, put up curtain rods and finish some work.

Speaking of curtains, last night i fixed the blinds in J's work room.

For the last two weeks we've been leaning the spare mattress and a piece of wood against the window for some privacy. From the outside, it totally looked ghetto but i shouldn't really complain, it did its' purpose.

Now i just have to find the electric drill and a measuring tape because i need to put up the curtain rods. I should really wait for J to come home but here's my attempt to showing my independence.

Wish me luck.

***

But before i go, here are some photos of J's impromptu belated-31st-birthday/just-for-the-sake-of-it dinner we had on Thursday. Also known as the night i overdosed on lactose.

Which by the way, i've only just found out, i'm slightly lactose-intolerant.

Did you know :
Almost all Asians and Native Americans are lactose intolerant, and up to 80% of African Americans and Hispanic Americans also have symptoms of lactose intolerance. [source]

5 € cocktails-to-go

J ate a fillet steak with vegetables + cheese potato gratin

&
I ate a Caesar salad + mixed mushrooms swimming in a lot of cream sauce
+ baked potato with crème fraîche.

The Kölner Dom at night
+
Taking photos from a low angle can be very unflattering.

Built in 1721
+
Eating gelato whilst it's 10˚C.

Venturing Through The Streets Of Koeln.

The second J came home on Friday, he complained of muscle aches and a sore throat. This then escalated to him lying helplessly on the sofa and saying he may have contracted Schweinegrippe = pig flu.

Huh!?


I, on the other hand, suspected that J had just developed a Man Cold.

After finding out he had a 38.8˚Celsius temperature, i spent most of the weekend at his beck and call. And yes, i even made him soup. I also ventured out looking for a pharmacy so i could get him Wicks Medinait which is said to work against fever, pain and cold symptoms.

By Sunday morning he was feeling much better and so i suggested a walk around the park just to get some fresh air.

The weather was looking promising, so J suggested we go on a short bike ride to see the Rhine.

I reckon, it's been over a month since i've rode my bumble bee bicycle anywhere. And at least six months since i've officially done any exercise. So after being cooped up indoors, i was eager to go out.

It was 12˚C and partially sunny, the perfect weather to be out and about.

Several towns and cities along the Rhine river have been slightly flooded due to the mass melting of snow, so we wanted to see for ourselves how high the water had really risen.

So there we were on our bikes, snaking through the streets trying to find our way.


On one of the shortcuts, we had to pass an abandoned industrial factory with broken glass and bricked up windows. And beside it, a squatter area where punk-looking individuals lived in makeshift homes made out of scrap materials. It reminded me of a scene in Mad Max just minus the desert.

Needless to say, we didn't stay very long.

So we eventually got to the Rhine and the park parallel to it was full of people. People of all ages riding their bikes and random people strolling along taking photos. At last, i didn't feel so much like a tourist.


You can see in the above photos, how far the water has crept inland. Previously lined with trees and children's' train track, the water now lies in the foreground, where the promenade once used to be.


Benches along the river are now sitting in water. Jetties that once served as bridges had collapsed and are now isolated.


After crossing one of the massive bridges to get to the city center, we came across a very full canal. The water level had risen to the point where half of the sidewalk [beside the left building] was submerged in water.



Cycling through the back roads and getting slightly lost we stumbled upon a reasonably priced Arabic cafe/take away place called Haibibi.


My love for eating falafel was only heightened when i found out they served them with Hummus.

Each meal was served with a free glass of hot spiced tea and a basket of pita bread. I topped my meal off with a fresh carrot + orange juice and a coffee that ended up being so strong, it's no wonder i had troubles sleeping last night.

Satisfied and eager to just pass out, our next challenge was trying to find our way home.


Somewhere in the middle of the city was a random hill where we took a break, camwhored and watched the sun set.


On one of the massive bridges so we could get back to the other side but not before i had to stop and take a photo of the Cathedral.

After reaching the end, J asked a random couple if they knew of a shortest route back to our suburb. Preferably one that didn't involve passing the Mad Max squatter community. They then told us to follow a path that would get us to another bridge but to be careful because there was high water.

Not knowing what they meant, we followed their directions anyway and soon got to a path a metre wide with banks of water on both sides. And with no light except for the dodgy one on my bike, my biggest fear was falling into the river.


But we eventually made it to the very steep bridge. In the dark you couldn't see where the bridge ended. It was actually kind of scary. That red light at the top is the reflection of the flash on J's bike. The bridge itself was impressive but it was too dark to take a photo.

All in all, our "short" bike ride adventure lasted a total of five hours and i reckon we cycled about 17 km, maybe even more. But despite feeling as if my crotch is bruised and finding muscles that i never knew even existed, J and i had a really good time.

There's so much to see and so many more new streets to venture through. Life just got a little bit more interesting.

Yup, it's official. Ich liebe Köln.