it snowed!

snow, snowed, snowing. scnei in german.

ok lots of photos coming now. a lot of random ones as well.
it is 10p.m. now...i guess night time will be the time i come online here since there is nothing to do at night and i am not really a tv addict.
having yoghurt now...dinner time. imagine that and then bed soon. breakfast at 11a.m. lunch at 4p.m. so the only solid meals i am going to have are breakfast and lunch. will keep it to the minimum for dinner. scared of putting on weight ah. it is really like hibernation here. weather is really cold. -1 to 1C. will try to do some running tomorrow at the place where we walk the dog. this dog is not trained, hence it cannot be walk on the streets like the others on leashes. how sad. it will run at cars and at ppl and it is very hard to pull it then. the dog is even heavier than me ah.
3 pics here show yesterday and today. yesterday we walked the dog in howling winds ...brrrr...and today we walked the dog in snow. also brrrrr.....my face was all numb and i had to run on the spot to make myself warm.
this is the hill where we walk the dog. about 5 minutes drive from the house. many ppl also walk their dogs here and aunt will usually avoid their path. below is a picture of bad ems from the hill. bad ems is a spa town which was frequented by kings, kaisers and tsars. there are many theraphy clinics and hospitals here and u will see lots of old ppl in town, doing their recuperation.
the dog needs the box to get into the car and then he is cleaned.
2 cars at home. ems means where the car is from. volvo is to bring the dog. benz is the ride.
the living room from different angles. the dog can sleep everywhere and i have vacuumed a spot on the sofa which i will sit. i have put a box there now. haha...to book my place and the dog will not jump on it. hair hair everywhere!
pss...have u heard how some pets resemble their owners? from some angles, the dog resembles my uncle. haha...
how can one come to germany and not eat sausage aka wurst? aunt discovered this one and it is really not bad. just slice it and pop it into ur mouth. the meat is very 'sringy', not soft or soggy.
we shopped at lidl, that building in the picture. was an abandoned building when i came in 2000 i think. ok, i was saying that i would control my diet right? man, there are so many things which are new that u can discover along the aisle in the supermarket. i can't afford to do that...i will start slowly and ungreedily. so only got this chocolate with cream filling and that pack of winter snack (vanilla, cinnamon and honey flavour). have always loved choc from kinder.
my 2 pieces of comme des garcons for H&M collection. ö
to today's itenary now. we went to koblenz, a bigger city about 25 mins away. but first aunt did a favour for a friend, she went to check on her apartment since she was away in the states. so this i think is a typical apartment. one lot is quite spacious and big for a small family. comes with 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 living room. and they also have a small storage room.
and since today is saturday, the main shopping mall in koblenz called löhr centre gives free parking after 4p.m. so we parked there and walked the shops nearby and the main shopping street called löhr strasse. the lohr centre is not really that big like what we have in malaysia, but it is sufficient for this town. more interesting shops are along lohr strasse. they even have one selling all paul frank and ed hardy stuff. interesting. nope, i din get anything. no plan to do any shopping. no money and space to lug them back...unless some good good bargain. maybe a pair of seven of mankind jeans (?) if they have it on sale...or a bag. ahhahah.
the 2 pics on the side above are taken while on the way to koblenz. those houses on the slopes are really a beauty to look at.
tis is what we had for lunch. grilled fish. aunt's favourite from nordsea. it was not bad, fresh. about 7+ euro one set.

ok. time to rest now. it is 11p.m. yeah...manage to survive till this late today... should be able to sleep gua tonight. fingers are freezing now. yawn. what to do tomorrow on a sunday when all shops are closed?

it snowed

this is the shaky hands attempt to take a video from the house's balcony while it was snowing outside yesterday. ja, i came and brought cold cold weather. forecast for the next few days, 0 to 1 celcius. and the bloody heater is not working. it is not hot at all! so i have to wear layers and layers in the house too. sucks. wore 3 layers to sleep too. and sleep dun come easy. managed to get 6 hours of sound sleep, then it was wakey wakey as it was 9a.m. in malaysia already. damn! a slight headache now.

from hot and wet to cold and wet

after 12 hours and 50 mins, and after more than 10000kms, i am finally in the land of audi, benz, bmw and volkswagen.
the flight was all right but of course there were quite a few turbulences and i was strapped to my seat all the time. sat next to a teenage boy who seemed flustered when he knew that someone would be sitting next to him. he was so uncomfortable the whole time, turning here and there (well, he was tall). i gave him my banana smoothie which i got for breakfast. and the only time i saw him grinning or smiling was when the flight was about to land in frankfurt. that is a good sign that i will at least enjoy myself in germany...since someone just can't wait to get back.

i watched 2 and a half movies...cannot finish the last one. watched get smart, a german movie...kinderhousan...something lah..funny and the last gift, a korean movie i could not finish. i hope to finish the movie on the trip back. not bad ah. the rest of the time was spent trying to get some sleep which did not materialise.
i was not checked by the custom officers so coming out was a breeze. breeze indeed, wind was blowing on a wet morning. waited for about 15 mins before aunt came in her benz. she din see me, luckily she told me her car registration no. er..car not in pic, next time.

went to pump some gas since the price has dropped by another cent the last time aunt pumped. yes, everyday new price.
aunt's big dog. max is his name...camera shy lah he. but he did not bark at me and right now he is snoring while sleeping. and there is his hair everywhere in the house! aahhh!!! i will be bringing them back all the way to malaysia too i am sure. have to sit on a towel spread on the sofa just like a picnic spot. or my bum will be all hair hair hair.


we went to the post office and the dog followed. he was supposed to go for his walk in the hills, but it was raining, so it was a ride in town for him. bald tress everywhere.

post office in the town of bad ems. stupid counter clerk...said needed euro50 to send express post to australia. aunt was so pissed. in the end only sent normal one.

ok..that is all for todaz. am very tired...but am trying not to sleep now. it is only 12 noon. i wanna make sure i adjust to the time difference. malaysia is 7 hours faster.
if u notice irregularity in the letter 'y'...where it is replaced with a z instead, bear in mind that i am using a deutsche keyboard and these 2 letters are switched.

packing is hard

will be flying off in less than 12 hours and i still haven't finished packing. so difficult to pack for a long trip and a winter one. sigh...okok...i have too many pieces of clothings i wanna stuff inside but i just can't because i only get 20kg baggage allowance and 5kg for cabin luggage.

i just can't wear the same shirt for the 40 days trip. no way.vain? well, let me have some varieties la. the winter skies are already dull and gloomy.
besides clothes (thick ones), i also have 5 packets of super 3-in-1 coffee powder, 2 packets of milo, anchovies, 2 packets of yee hup heong peah and curry powder. so these packets take up a lot of luggage space. when i get there, half of the load will be gone. yeah!

so what will i miss while i am gone?

1. beanie!
2. grey's anatomy and ugly betty
3. being able to sweat on a hot day
4. wearing shorts and tee shirts
5. driving
6. english movies

that's all i can think of. i will still be in touch in the cyber world. so do chat, do mail, do drop me messages. see you all from germany.

19 years later...still the same

who says government servant has all the perks? wanna go for a health screening also they do not offer this in the government hospital. have to fork out our own money to get one...and u see those in the corporate sectors filling in forms and handing in letters from their companies and not going to the cashier. shouldn't all employees regardless of what sector you are in get this benefit??

so went for a basic health screening at sime darby health centre (formerly known as sjmc) for rm400. only did 4 tests: blood test, urine test, ecg (resting heartbeat) and chest x-ray. no stress test in the package. damn. dunno how much more i have to pay if i were to do the stress test. i have never really done any blood test, so that is the only result i am curious to get. the rest, well, no alcohol, no drug, heartbeat normal, so should be all righty gua. have to go back to get the result next year after i come back from germany. thank god blood test was easy...although the vein on the right arm was tiny, the left arm's was large enuf. phew!

the whole thing only took me 90 mins. then off to one u. watched madagascar 2. it was just ok. nothing impressive to shout about.

oh this was my lunch at delicious cafe. yummy. green chicken curry, spicy seafood spaghettini, fried calamari and choc cake. had them with sook hua who came all the way from setapak.

and today...i finally have something good to say about facebook. facebook brought me to meet a dear friend whom i have not met for 19 years!!! gosh, i missed her!!! she left tm after she finished her primary education and she was my best friend in std 6. i think we sat together as well. during the exam, she got the first, and i got the second. those were the years.

and suba is gorgeous now. she was thin and lanky last time, and she is still slim and lanky...but add sexy now. she is t-a-l-l. not kidding here. she said i haven't changed since std 6. well i guess she missed my ballloon stage in secondary and college years. we had our chat at ttdi's secret recipe. really hope to catch up more often. well, she is staying in bangsar and working in pj. i am sure this won't be the last meeting. she still remembers the others although not exactly by name. she remembered pikkien (says still look the same), puisee, kokleong (how everyone used to tease me and him, uhhhh!) janaki, mishal, k sugumaran, ying, singthian, kamyen, marina, idreena, norazlina, mariana, the boy whose father has a shop along the main road and also another boy who was a bit round n was the head prefect at the same time ;P.

well, i dun even know what happen to a few names mentioned, but got to know that mishal is working in astro. suba met a friend of hers while clubbing few years ago.
oh, suba asks for a drink with those in kl sometime...so yeah...reunions.

honey came to visit

we had a visitor yesterday. ying ying has a new pet at home and she brought her over for a visit. it's a gift from a friend...how lucky and expensive. haha... chihuahua mix terrier i think. it was sooo noisy as soon as she got into the house. and she never stopped barking till she left...like 30 mins later. gosh, listening to her bark made everyone tired. she is still a baby. about 5 months old i think. so tiny. din dare to hold her. from some angles, she looks like a kangaroo and she looks like an old man with the patches of blonde hair too. oh, her name is honey.


ok this row of white shirts are just so white now after bleaching and washing. decided to clear the wardrobe and i found all these white shirts turning yellow. okok too many shirts and i have neglected all these white ones. even the neighbour next door gawked at the number of white shirts hanging on the rail. some old ones are packed in plastic bags waiting to be given away. how many tee shirts can i wear huh?

indulging before calling it a day

a few colleagues (8) and i decided to go to burn a deep hole in our pocket and fill our tummy with exotic fine dining in ipoh on thursday night. it is sort of like a celebration that we survived the working year and it is time for the holidays. it was my idea actually. read about this place 'indulgence' from the papers a few times already, but have yet to find the time nor the ppl to direct me there. finally rounded up enuf ppl and a navigator...off we went on a rainy evening. so we sort of like braved the rain just to go there. hhahaha. the bungalow aka the restaurant. you won't even see this from the roadside and there is no signboard to guide you into this lot. it is opp heritage hotel if i am not wrong...but not direct opposite ah...further down the road from the hotel. the bungalow is sheltered by trees but there is a brick wall outside with the name of the restaurant.

we did not go for 3-course-meal. pokai loh...and our tummy could not fill so much lah. in the end, we ordered, 3 appetisers, 6 main course and 4 pieces of cakes. appetisers are foei gras, scallop and salad.

oh, they gave a complimentary bread basket (can be refilled) and the bread was GOOD! thumbs up. it disappeared so fast so there was no photo. hahah...

vege pizza. lots of leaves...dunno what you call them. the pizza crust is really thin. rm30.

tuna. rm65. the cod was better than the tuna.

risotto and soft shell crab. love the soft shell crab. soooo crispy. rm42.

blood orange (from australia) and prawn salad. rm42.

a chicken dish.

pasta with calamari and cherry tomato.i think it is called 'duh!'. rm36.

hokkaido scallop (3 pieces) and mushroom. rm59.

oh blimey! cod and pumpkin chips...their version of fish and chips. rm52. not a fan of pumpkin, but the fish was good. thick and fresh and succulent.

foei gras flown all the way from france. since this is the chance to try and be adventurous...try lah. and yuck! everyone's face muscles all pulled in when they tasted it. not our flavour. i bet it is an acquired taste. rm52. it was very soft in the middle. i chose those sides which were more burnt than the middle, so the smell of the liver was not that strong. once is enuf and now i can tell ppl i have tried foei gras.

tiramisu...supposedly the best dessert here, but it was ok...better than others tiramisu but i din feel blown out of this world. something was just missing.

the dessert tower...check your cakes before you order them...all are just as tempting

my favourite: chocolate and mango. the mango was really fragrant.

blueberry mascarpone. not enuf blueberry. hehe...all these cakes are quite expensive ah...rm14.00 for this and tiramisu. choc and mango is rm8.50.

i am glad i went with a big group, then we got to try a variety. i won't mind going again to try other things on their menu. they menu is quite extensive and it is changed from time to time.

the staff there were all really friendly and fast. a glass of water took a tumble on the table and it was cleaned and wiped and mopped in a twinkling of an eye.

advised to book if you plan to go in the weekend. i heard their breakfast set is good...can't wait. all those carbs...my favourite for breakfast.

i own a trench coat now

yesh yesh yesh! good news greeted this last morning in the workplace. hehe....grinning from cheek to cheek.

got here early so can go online and meet yeelin.
her friend in germany helped me got my comme des garcons collection for H&M. so now i have a trench coat waiting for me in germany. and i also got the polka dots blue shirt which will be sent to the house because it was sold out in the shop. yeelin got it online for me and i have to pay extra for the postage...but the price is still cheaper than the scarf i wanted.
in fact, according to yeelin's friend, the shop was opened earlier than usual for this collection. almost everything was sold out except for my trench coat and a few pants. maybe the trench coat was more expensive compared to the rest. oh, i was hoping to get the polka dots scarf too...never mind...save some money.
so now i am keeping my fingers crossed than i will be able to wear them. already have something to look forward to before taking the flight. hehehe....tqtqtqtqtq yeelin. muah!

the mood is already jovial in the staff room and everyone is chatting away happily. well, the last day and some tables are already clear of stuff. i have to do mine after this, but there is so much time so no problem. won't miss workplace for sure...haha...for the first time, dun have to come back after christmas to help. however, the cons will be that i won't know and won't get a say in what kind of duty i will get next year. that is something scary for next year.

hang global online sales

i hate MAS!!!!
what global online sale! the early birds catch the most expensive tickets for those who booked early. damn it!!!
i paid rm5++ more for my ticket to frankfurt. the new price releasedd is rm38++.
and their website service sucks!
i have been trying and trying and trying to apply for enrich card and i fail everytime. i have written to them twice about this mistake....and yet nothing is done. will try again after this....and then call them to fire at them!!!

of wedding and baby

attended a wedding of a primary school friend this weekend...my one and only red bomb this year if i remember correctly. there should be another in december of a colleague's but since i won't be around, i won't be getting it lah. i guess tis the season for weddings and dinners. i know some ppl have to attend one every single week in november. a difficult season to keep the wallet full.

our dear photographer could not be in this photo. poor man...he would have completed it. but again, without him, i won't have this photo. hehe...sacrifice. everyone here has known each other since primary years....so all here are young uncles and aunties. 2 are already parents while the rest are still single.
the wedding dinner was organized. venue was klang executive club and i think there were about 50 tables, not more. food was not bad. but the venue was hot! too few air-cond vents. and those guys had the best times: free flow of beer.
and before the wedding i was promised a 'surprise' by the bride...yeah, it was expressed in her sms when i told her i would be attending this dinner. and it was one damn lousy surprise i got. it was more of a shock than a surprise. my lousiest, ugliest and fattest time in my entire life (form 5, 1996) was projected for all to see on the big screen in the arranged slide show presentations. only 2 faces on this shot; and mine came out first dominating more than half the screen of course (puke!) one consolation is that no one would be able to put 2 and 2 together since that face which popped up on screen is totally different from the one sitting at the table that night. call me bitter but i just can't help having this feeling in me. this is not a surprise you want to give your friend.
well, i guess this tells us that the past will always haunt you.

spent the night as usual in kien's house. here you have her rossi cooling down after having his bath in the morning. poor dog, he has problems in his legs now. the way he hobbled was not how a healthy dog would walk.

and who is this handsome fellow?? cute as a button right? already so dashing at 5 months old. kien's son. and he likes me. haha...he gave me his smile as soon as i stepped into the house. according to his granma, he is choosy and will cry if he does not like you. well, i guess i am not in that list. i carried him and he did not utter a cry of protest at all. simply adorable.

just checked h & M website, the first sale of comme des garcons and hM collaboration practically flew off the racks in tokyo. ppl queued for more than 12 hours waiting for the stores to open. and they waited in the rain, in the cold, under their brollies.
amazing!

if i were a boy...

beyonce's new song 'if i were a boy' has caught my attention. i have heard the title of the song before i actually heard it on the radio. initially i thought it was going to be another upbeat song, but i was wrong. it is a nice slow one which really shows her vocal prowess.
the lyrics tend to lean on the more emotional side of being a man and understanding a woman though. can't really relate to it....

so what are you going to do if you were given the chance of being the opposite sex for a day???
hehe...i know i will first go to the male toilet and pee standing up. then go underwear shopping. hahaha...these are the two things which came to mind first.
nothing i can think of in the emo dept. not that i have a bf nor do i need to change the way a guy think about me. oh, there is one. if i were a boy, i would go all out to woo the woman i like with all sorts of ways and sweep her off her feet. that's what every woman wants, no?

i think guys have more to say here...if they were women.

rudolph in the making

Lost world tambun, i was not there, but i was lost in piles and piles of paper bundles. oh the paper work is horrible.
is there such expression knackered to the bone?? that is how i will describe myself now.
the pressure to finish the bundles before this weekend is taking its toll on me.
i am almost sick...already the sneezing comes more frequently and my eyes are watery. and the damn papers are still staring at me waiting to be marked!
shit! this year is so horrible compared to previous ones.
dun wanna be rudolph when i go and attend a wedding dinner this saturday night. i am bringing the papers to the workplace to finish them. i dun care!!! i wanna finish them!!!

we have our annual 'lunch' today in our own canteen. how pathetic. others have theirs at hotels in ipoh. but it is a blessing as well lah, then i dun have to travel so far just for a meal and have more time to mark. there will be some lucky draw prizes...no tv or bicycles to be won. just dish washer, ribena, milo, and pen-drive to name a few. so this is how poor we are.

and well, america has a new president. it is hogging every newspaper frontpage i am sure...so congrats obama. well, he shows that colour and race do not matter when there is democracy. wait a minute, my country is a democratic country is it not? someone please answer my question ;P

well, hope your week is better than mine.

lucky number 7

my first jogathon competition and the result was not bad at all. haha....no 7 in the group. but performance wise it sucked lah. the first runner was 1 lap faster than me. haha...what an embarassment. but the lap was not that big. we just ran the inner circle of the DR park and it was less than 1 km per lap. they made us run 5 laps only, so the supposed 6km jogathon was actually less than 5. not that i am complaining, but who knows, i could have improved my position if it was longer?
well, if i have the opportunity to join again next year, will make sure i train for me and hope for a top 5 finish...then maybe can go to sabah. next year's resolution?
was so nervous in the first lap....race jitters. the heart was beating out of the chest. din expect to feel this way. lousy psycho.

after the run it was breakfast in ipoh old town. i just followed the other car and had a scrumptious breakfast. yummy...this is the shop lot and outside they sell those biscuits and peanut snacks. the store owner was having brisk business.

almost every table there had satay...yes, satay for breakfast ppl. it was just ok for me. the meat was very lean though. we had popiah, chu cheong fun (yummy) and ipoh hor fun and taugeh. and not forgetting a glass of iced white coffee.

then we went to cheer our badminton team for a while. they emerged second runner up this year...so it is good achievement since they already conceeded defeat before they went on friday. so this result was a bit unexpected.

next, usual shopping haunt in ipoh, kinta city. everyone who went in my car got something...so a good shopping trip.

late lunch or tea...about 4p.m. was kenny rogers...ewww. yeah i know. i wanted sushi king actually...

and it rained sooo heavily on the way back but there was still one more stopover before heading back. yeehup hiong pieah. promised aunt i will bring them to germany. so cannot disappoint her.oh, new keychain for my kitty mobile ;)

rest for a day today. tomorrow it is sunway lost world in tambun. total holiday mood now eh....

yesterday, today, tomorrow...

it is a hot hot day, and it has been a hot hot week indeed.

tomorrow i am going to huff and puff in taman DR Seenivasagam in ipoh for 6km, trying to compelete 3 trips round the park and telling myself not to be at the bottom half.

then will do some shopping at jj at kinta city. have to buy 3-in-1 coffee powder for uncle in germany, my own 3-in-1 coffee powder, milo for manuela's daughter in germany, hiong piah in gunung rapat, a good can opener for mom and lastly not forgetting to reward myself with at least one big apple donut.

yesterday...came home and saw a big gift box from liling sis. it was a nice soft beautiful bath towel from sogo. yeah...new towel. so kind of her...so remember to buy some hiong piah for her as well.

yesterday, saw dangling from ah ma's neck, a quantum pendant bought by uncle. we, her grandchildren thought of getting one for her, but now we can save our money. hahaa...but now planning to get 2 for parents. do i really believe in all those quantum energy or whatever shit some ppl might refer to it as....well, it is no miracle, but at least it does some help gradually, so that is better than nothing.

yesterday also received an e-mail from jason in bintulu. waa....that cute boy has not forgotten me!!! he had finished his upsr and now can play to his heart's content. and he said, upsr very susah, jangan harap can get 7As. haha....that is his way of practising his bm with me.

*now wish me luck for tomorrow.