Long time no post

Sorry for having been absent for awhile. After coming back from Canada it took some getting  used to every day life. Back at work. It's ok. Not my favourite thing to do. In these cold winter months when it's still dark in the mornings all I wanna do is curl up in bed.

The last couple of days have been a little bit busier. It all started on the weekend, we went out on Saturday to a really nice restaurant for dinner. Gilgamesh. Uh, they have really awesome food. I think my favourite was the dessert: Banana Green Tea cake with caramel sauce and coconut ice cream. There were banana slices in the cake and it was served hot! What a dream! It didn't look like much, but tasted just amazing.

Afterwards we were supposed to meet up with some friends and go dancing. We did meet up with them. They wanted to have dinner at the pub we were meeting at. But because it was so busy they still hadn't gotten a table when we got there. So we talked for a bit. When they finally got a table we (bf and me) decided to go for a walk and take care of our aching bellies. We crashed in a not so busy pub and had a pint. After that we both felt so full and tired that we just went  home. Sorry friends, maybe another time.

Then this week we  had a nice dinner at City Raj. I love Indian food. Anything with coconut. Had a few drinks before heading over to the restaurant. Had a really good time. It just really annoys me. I had two pints of cider and a beer. Usually I would think that it's not that much to drink especially when it goes with a big meal, but nevertheless I always feel completely dehydrated. So I wake up a lot at night and don't sleep as well. Even though I drink a lot of water in between and before I go to bed. Plus, I usually have a headache in the morning and my mouth feels all weird from the beer. Very disappointing. I really like beer and wine but it just makes me sick.

Tomorrow I don't have to go to work. We will be flying out to Copenhagen to visit a good friend of ours. She is having a birthday party. Can't wait. I haven't seen her in ages and I have never been to Copenhagen. So I am doubly excited.

Anyway, this was not a very cohesive blog post. I apologise for that. Next time I will try to post something more interesting. And maybe some pictures of good old Copenhagen. Until then...

New Bed!

Hurray!!!

We finally got our new bed. Wanted to call the landlord for ages, but for some reason never got around to call. So I decided to call on my day off on Tuesday. They said they would come around Wednesday. Due to adverse weather conditions they never made it. It snowed. Apparently London simply can't take snow. There are no snow plougher, shuffels etc. Nothing, nada. Snow is still on the ground being crushed into ice. Making the situation worse. Someone should seriously invest into some winter equipment. But I digress.

So today, when we were at work some sneaky workmen came around and replaced the bed AND the mattress. I was so impressed. We hadn't specifically complained about the mattress, just the frame. But tadah, magic happened and they saw for themselves how sh** the mattress was and put a new one in. Sooooo happy.

For everyone who doesn't know. We had a huge 'hole' in the bed on the foot end. The cardboard, where the mattress rested on, was basically falling into the frame. Luckily it was where our legs are, so not that much weight to support. But it was still annoying.

Hopefully today I will have a great nightsleep again with lots of space on my side (bf was encroaching on my space since the hole was on his side and he couldn't really sleep there). Excited!

A decade of me

I got this idea from other bloggers (Once upon a Tanbo, Sassymoo) and probably some others. If I forgot to mention you I apologise. It is not out of ill intend, but solely due to bad memory. It was very interesting to read about others people's decades and it made me think about how I spent the last ten years myself. So here it goes...

2000: At the tender age of 16 finishing off a year in the USA as an exchange student in Idaho. Going back to Germany into 12th grade to finish off High School. Two more years to go to graduation.

2001: Enjoying my last year at school. Attendance is slipping, our dances are brilliant. Playing a lot of D&D (was a little bit geeky in school, still am) and drinking tea and other substances with friends. First trip to London. Fell in love with the city and decided I'd be back.

2002: Graduation. Still didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. Started studying physics in Rostock, Germany.

2003: Decided physics is not for me. Went to a different uni to study English and Sociology. Really enjoyed those three semesters, but I tend not to stay long at one place so...

2004: Leaving for Glasgow to do two semesters abroad as an exchange student. Had the time of my life. Met current bf who lived in the same student hall. Have to lie here but I think this is the year my brother got married. Uh really bad at this, might have been the year before. Sorry bro.

2005: Back to Germany this time to a university in Bavaria to finish off my studies. Took me another 2 1/2 years (most programs in Germany run 5 years, no fun I tell you). Went to Canada to visit bf at his uni. Long-distance relationships = no fun.

2006: Soccer World Cup in Germany! Must have watched every game that was on even though I am usually not a big sports fan. But boy, that was a fun time to be in Germany, so much fun, sun, drink and cheering. Too bad we didn't win. Maybe next time. Couple of trips to London to meet bf who had scored a job there.

2007: Final year of uni. Crazy paper to write and to study. Really enjoyed that. No more classes so I was completely free to organise my studies the way I wanted them. Felt so good.

2008: Finished uni in February and packed my bags, dropped them off at my parents place and hoped on a plane to London. Bf was already there for almost two years. I was so happy to finally get to go there too. Got my first job in June, spent those three months in between catching up with TV Shows that I had neglected in my last year due to crazy study schedule. Also, played a lot of Final Fantasy XII which got me into gaming again. Took up Japanese lessons for the first time. Always did a little bit of self-studying on the side. But this is the first time I get some proper Japanese taught. Really enjoying the experience. Did go home in May for my sister's wedding. It was a low key affair only close family and friends around. Spent Christmas in London since I had to work.

2009: Probably the worst year in this decade. My grandma died suddenly. She fell ill after Easter and passed away two months later. Everything happened so quickly and I still haven't gotten over that. I guess these things need time to sink in. On the fun side I attended my first British wedding. That was a lot of fun. Lots of kilt since the groom's side was Scottish. Spent Christmas in Canada with bf family. Good times. Hopefully next year will be spend in Germany with my family.

2010: Been at my job for over a year now. Have been taking Japanese lessons for over a year. I feel like I do not put enough effort into that at the moment. So I guess one New Year's resolution is to do more studying. I realise after a year I shouldn't expect too much of myself, but I want to stay motivated.

Another thing I would like to try is doing a lot more healthy eating and some kind of exercise. The goal is to either go running once a week or do yoga twice a week. Also thinking about getting Wii fit. Usually I don't exercise because I don't want to leave the house. So the fit might help. Anybody any experience with that?

There are also other changes I plan to do, but unless they are carved in stone I don't wanna mention them. I am a little bit paranoid in that sense.

I am sure I forgot to mention many, many things. But it was nice to write a little 'review' of my life in the last ten years.

All there is left to do is wishing you all a very happy New Year. May all your wishes come true this year.

PS: Don't you love the cheesy ending.

New Year, new Post

Happy New Year everyone!

Hope you all spent your holidays with family and loved ones. I am back from Canada where I spent Christmas with my bf family. We had a good time. Stayed most of the two weeks in Toronto and the last few days in its suburbs. It was freezing cold and we had snow. I enjoyed that so much. Really like a good cold winter. One of the first things I did was buy a proper winter jacket. I think it's for skiing. Very warm and cosy! Love it.

I didn't do that many exciting things. There are basically no photos. All we did was hang out and meet friends and family. Had a lot of good food. Went to a basketball game. I really enjoyed that. We were in the last row, but still had an amazing view. I am always very impressed by the technology and 'show' level at North American sporting events. Half of the time spent there (about three hours) was actually not any game play going on but some sort of entertainment. Don't get me wrong. I like that. I am not such a big sport fan, so the entertainment in between is one of my favorite parts of the games. I was a little bit disappointed in the end. There is a pizza company that sponsors a slice of pizza for every person if the teams scores 100 points or more. With about 20 seconds left the score was up for 98 and Toronto was leading. So instead of going for it and getting us all pizza they opted for the save ending and just kept the ball in possession for the last seconds. Didn't even go for it and threw it at the end. Grrr. Was a bit mad. Ah well, I survived without free pizza. But still, would have been nice. You have to give back to the fans!

Another nice thing I enjoyed was the swimming pool with whirlpool that was in the apartment complex where we stayed. Especially the whirlpool was great at the end of a cold cold day. ;-)

The flight back did not start out too well. It was a couple of days after the Detroit incident and they tightened up security. Shouldn't have affected us since we didn't fly via the States, but I had the distinct impression that there was not enough staff to handle us because they were all busy trying to get people into the States. I think we stood in line for one and a half hours for check-in. They only had half the counters open. Crazy. Well, made it to the plane on time. We were even lucky because there was a duty-free right across from our gate. So at least be could pick up some ice wine and cookies. Ice wine was delicious. Had it for New Years Eve. Very sweet and thick. Like a dessert wine. Yum.

Anyway, back home now. Loved to come back. Made me realise how much I like it here. Home sweet home. Hope you all enjoyed your holidays and are ready to start the new year!