Berlin 2006

Okay, this is long overdue. I was supposed to post the pix in my online album. But after sorting through 800 over photos (between us and another couple), I lost interest in compiling them. I am posting a couple of them here instead.

Room in the boutique hotel. Real cool room except for the bedsheets which rustled loudly each time we tossed and turned. Didn't sleep well on the first night.

The Aspirin, a product from Germany. 40,000 tonnes of it are sold worldwide each year.

The Reichstag Building, where the German Parliament is held.

This cone-shaped light sculptor is built on top of the Reichstag Building. Its 360 mirrors at the core of the glass cupola funnels daylight into a chamber which converts the light into heating energy.


The Federal Chancellery, Chancellor Angela Merkel's office-cum-residence.

Quartier 206, a mega posh and plush department store.

We stumbled upon an art gallery and found this interesting piece of work.

The Berlin Bear.

The dessert was fantastic!!

Berlin Cathedral, a former court and palace church.

One of the five museums at the Museum Island. Visiting three museums under one day was quite a feat. My legs were so sored thereafter. While the other two were under renovation.

This was at the Hamburger Bahnhof-Museum. Extraordinary pieces of art there. Above were some bookshelves and the books were made of....

Metal!!

33 Degrees

Yesterday was a fruitful day. As we had a few errands to attend to, I had to wake up a little earlier than usual. I am not an early riser so I was already feeling grouchy when I dragged myself off the bed. Went to the bathroom and discovered an angry pimple-like red rash on my cheek! Great start to my day! Showered and had breakfast in my cranky self. Herr Rieger remained cheerful, trying hard not to be affected by me. Smart of him! Left the apartment and were met with a full blast of heatwave. 33 degrees, especially in a car without air-condition. Perfect! Turned up the volume on the radio, trying to forget the heat we were surrounded in. It actually worked. Felt better after humming to a few good tunes.

First destination: WMF. We wanted to try our luck in exchanging our pan, bought a year ago. Either we abused the pan unknowingly or we have no clues how to care for one, because even eggs stuck on it. My Ikea pan works better than it! Since WMF products provide lifetime guarantee, so there we were. To my surprise, we were told a brand new pan will be sent to us. No fuss, no questions asked. And guess what? Our old pan was actually bought during a sale. What a deal! On top of that, we managed to get a sauce ladle which we have been looking for the longest time. It matches our cutlery. Happy!

Next, met Steffen and Isa at Ikea. We needed some furniture to convert our spare room into a study room. After almost 3 hours of shopping, all of us got what we came for.

The heat was unrelenting once we were outside. A few minutes into discussion over where to go for dinner, we decided impromptu to BBQ at Steffen's and Isa's place. Cool idea! We were to get meat while they the side dishes.

We ended up with 10 pieces of assorted meat fillets, 2 fish fillets, 2 kinds of salads and at least 6 assorted bread to share among the 4 of us. Despite that, we finished almost all of it as the food was simply delicious! However, by the time I was working on my last piece of meat, I desperately needed a cup of espresso. After I drained the whole cup at one go, my tummy felt less bloated immediately. Espresso is something which I've grown to love ever since I got here.

The weather cooled down significantly in the late evening and it was very pleasant to sit out and chill. It was also the first time I got to learn more about Steffen and Isa after my one and half year here. Isa and I share a number of similar traits. No wonder both of us are capricorn. Of course Steffen and Herr Rieger have a lot to say about that. Good that they now have each other to confide in about their sometimes unreasonable the other halves.

We stayed well into the night and left feeling good about the day.

Radio Ga Ga

All this while, we didn't have a radio tuner except for a cd player. On days when I'm sick of MTV or CNN, I'll be my own dj, playing favourite tunes on the player. I tried listening to singapore radio stations online. However, it proves to be frustrating as connection is so bad that the music breaks up every now and then. Well, why not try the local radio stations then, I said to myself. To my surprise, the local radio stations are not available online. Or perhaps my german is that bad that I couldn't find the link. Not giving up, I thought, 'Ah ha! I still have the itunes radio!' After going through hundreds of stations and sampling a few, I have yet to find a listenable one.

I do miss dj blabbing away in the background. It just livens up things. In my previous workplaces, it was norm to have music blasting away even when there were meetings going on. In one, almost all of us had our own hi-fi. The office could sound like a pasar malam at times. Other than that, we respected each other's 'music space'. When a good song came on, it perked me up and after humming to it, I felt lighter and worked on harder. I simply loved the vibes. I hardly dreaded going to work. Okay, except when I had to drag myself out of bed in the mornings.

I used to work in the office of a pharmacy years ago. Radio was allowed but the volume was set at the minimal where one could hardly make out anything. A few of us plotted to pump up the volume a little one day. But of course we were found out. Our punishment was no more radio from then on. How rigid!

While I was shuttling between here and singapore not too ago, I did a stint in the bank. It was a mistake. No radio, that goes without saying. All you hear all day were sounds of keyboard typing away and shuffling of papers. Everything was by the book. I avoided going lunch with the colleagues. I rather ate alone. I didn't fit in. I hated it. Like a friend put it, I was soulless.

Some might say it is only music. I say music is joy and it makes a world of difference in life. Imagine a world without music. It would be dull and colourless.

Today we finally received our new tuner. The dj is blabbing away while I am typing away. I can foresee this new toy will be fully utilised by me. Someone is going to regret getting it at all.

Matters of the heart Part 1

One week before their holiday, Boyfriend told Girlfriend of 7 years that he couldn't look her in the eyes and say he loves her. In fact, he isn't even sure if he has ever told her he loves her. Girlfriend didn't say much to that except that she loves him. She is understandably upset and heartbroken. She stays put in his apartment, her reason being they can't simply put off the holiday, something which both of them have been looking forward to for weeks now.

I would not go into the reasons why Boyfriend asks for a breakup. Meanwhile Girlfriend questions over and over again, 'Why? I don't understand why!' After hearing that for the umpteen times, it just drives me up the wall and I give up now trying to find excuses to soften the blow. It is hard going through a breakup, no one can deny that. But not to accept the breakup is another thing. In my opinion, there is no why when a relationship breaks down, especially in situations as mentioned above. Nobody can analyse why someone stops loving another. Love is not Maths, Physics or Chemistry where one can deduce a number of reasons when a formula doesn't work. When it comes to the matters of the heart, no one really knows.

Perhaps Girlfriend is still in denial. Perhaps she needs more time. But after much consoling and empathising, I can't help imagining her in our NS camp with an official shouting at her, 'Wake up your bloody idea!!' Ha! I am in my usual evil self.

Ex-Boyfriend and Ex-Girlfriend are now on holiday together.

Watermelon Martini

My favourite drink when I go clubbing. Usually after a few rounds of it, I would go all merry and start smiling away stupidly. Not that I need a lot of it to achieve that. My clubbing mate once quipped that I would make a cheap date because I am not a heavy drinker and I don't smoke. It takes very little to keep me happy. A good supper after my martinis would keep me especially happy till no end. Supper done and back at home, I would laze on bed and turn on MTV or channel 55 for my daily dose of hk drama before I dozed off to dreamland. Lunch next day at 3 or 4pm. After which, I 'nua' on bed, tuned to Zhen Qing, yet another never-ending hk drama. Napped. By the time I woke up, my head would be throbbing with too much sleep. Ate dinner. Sms-ed friends for coffee. My typical weekend before I joined the rat race again on Monday.

Zephyr

Ever since I was little, I had been fearful of dogs. I could never go near one without running away from it. If I were to see a dog approaching, I would take pains to avoid it, even if it's taking a big detour. Till now, I have never understood why such fears existed in me. Perhaps they seem ferocious whenever they start barking and baring their fangs?

Well, all that changed one day when two dear friends of mine decided to get a dog of their own. My reaction to their intention was, 'If so, I am never gonna go to your place anymore.' Go to their place I did, after much convincing that their little puppy was very timid and shy and that she would run away from me first before I could run away from her. Reluctantly, I agreed to pay them a visit. Not going to their place because of a dog was after all a lame and stupid reason.

Upon setting her first sight on me, the puppy ran away quickly and hid herself in a corner. I didn't even have time to run! My first impression of her was, she was just another dog. Relieved, I let my guards down. Much later, I was sitting on the floor, feeling relaxed and chatting with my friends. Zephyr then started walking slowly towards us. I got a little nervous at once. She came around me to check me out (sniffing me out). I told myself to relax and give her and myself a chance. Taking a deep breath, I took a good look at her. She was indeed shy and timid but very cute. Then she surprised me by sitting down next to me. My friends looked worriedly at me, thinking I might jump and run. On the contrary, I found that gesture of hers sweet and soothing and I couldn't help myself but stroke her. With their big wide eyes, my friends screamed in joy, 'You're stroking a dog!!!' From then on, I fell in love with Zephyr.

One particular incident which I remember vividly. I stayed over at theirs one night. The next morning I felt something wet on my feet and I sat bolt upright and saw Zephyr's cute little face looking up at me and wagging her tail. She was waking me up by licking my feet! Even though I was in my blurry and sleepy state, I had to smile at her.

Zephyr is to me now not just another dog but a being. A being who has emotions, temperaments, likes, dislikes and etc. All thanks to her, I have learned to appreciate other dogs too.

I am often asked if I would want to get a dog for myself. However, I am not confident if I am responsible enough. Dogs are such trusting and loving beings that they give their hearts completely to their owners. I often feel I would let them down if I am unable to give my all to them. It is not just about bringing them out for walks, feeding them and cleaning after them. They need love and attention at the same time too. In doubt that I am able to live up to such responsibilities, I decided against the idea of getting a dog, which results in a guilt in me that I am pushing such responsibilities to others.

Home is where your heart is

Was at a friend's recently to help bao bak chang. My first attempt and certainly won't be my last. My bak changs turned out to be quite alright though they cannot be compared to those sold at the stalls in terms of appearance. Fortunately, the rice from those bak changs I wrapped didnt spilled out while they were boiling in the pot. Phew... And tasty too!

Friends cannot believe that I, one who supposedly do not know how to boil water, or is only capable of frying eggs when it comes to cooking, am now so domesticated. Well, people change due to circumstances, don't they? I am not saying this is entirely bad. I adapt. Instead of bumming around and do nothing all day at home, I choose to do something useful and challenge myself into uncharted territorries like cooking. And I am glad to say, I find joy in my new found hobby. I would never expect myself saying this 3 years ago.

Although I am far away from home, from my beloved friends, from my family, from all things familiar, life here is not that bad after all. I am beginning to embrace my new life here, learning new things everyday and learning to let go a little of what I have been holding on to: I am ceasing to be part of my Back Home gradually. It is a sad fact but this is also the consequence which I have to bear after I have decided to move here. Home is where your heart is. Is it possible to have my heart in two places?

I have a dream

I have a dream that one day the world would be conquered by the English or Chinese language and I didn't need to learn the German language anymore! Hahahaha... No, no, I don't hate the German language. Guess at times I am just too lazy to learn something totally new? Well, I don't mind the learning process really. I often wish I could go to my german class everyday so as to drill this language into me as fast as possible (Yes, I am impatient) and that the course didn't have a break which lasts 3 months. What would I do during such a time? I'm lost without my german course! Haha! So it's plain to see I like to learn. ;-) As the chinese saying goes, Live till old, learn till old.

Talking about chinese, since I've gotten here, I realise I appreciate my chinese roots more than ever. And I am greatly grateful that I speak the language too. Especially when I get to speak it and some ang mohs are around me, it feels damn good that they don't understand a word at all. Like a secret language. Some of my ang mohs friends are surprised that I know language while I am even more surprised that they are surprised. Hello, I am Chinese, after all!

I miss watching chinese dramas/movies/variety shows and listening to chinese music too. The MTV here is crap! Lots of euro trash and commercial pop, hip hop etc. Nothing like the cool videos they show back home, especially Channel 51. Well, I make do with youtube nowadays.