Follow up post

Two things I can follow up to from yesterday:

Numero Uno. Running. It felt really good to be outside and working out. Even though it only lasted about ten minutes and at the time I thought I should have done more and lasted longer. Turns out, it was good that I didn't. Today, I can really feel it in my muscles and bones. My inside thighs are on fire (which is a good thing, hopefully that means more muscle leading to less fat, yay). And in my tummy (see brackets in previous sentence) and on my back. Don't know if there is that much fat to lose on the back but hey, all is welcome.

Avatar. In 3D. I really liked it. They didn't push the 3D in your face. In some scenes especially around the lush and luminescent forests on Pandora it just looks amazing. In others when people are just walking or talking I couldn't care less whether it was in 3D or not. It also looked rather nice when there were big 'boxes' on screen. For example when we were watching the protagonist through the front screen of a helicopter, or when a big long glasscase is washed out with a hose. Unfortunately, the story line fell a bit flat. Just a little bit too predictable and nothing new really. I won't say what exactly happens since I don't wanna spoil it for people who still wanna see it. But let's just say the story is straightforward. Though that said, the movie went by very quickly. I think it's about 2 and a half hours long. Definitely did not feel like that. So, to sum it up, I enjoyed the movie immensely, the story might not match the innovative tech. I'll give it a 7/10.

So, today we will go see 'Up in the air'. The idea is to watch as many Oscar nominated movies as possible. We are one down. LOL. Yeah, I think I did see many movies last year, but apparently my tastes differs with from the people nominating for the Academy. Meah, we acquired 'The hurt locker' yesterday, so that is up on the 'To watch list' as well. 'Up', 'Inglorious Basterds' and 'District 9' are high up there too, though I don't have them yet. The only one I am not toooo excited about is 'Precious...' The title is already too long for me to even write down and really puts me off the whole movie. A novel by Sapphire. Who is Sapphire, who names themself sapphire? Honestly. So that might be the one I skip. Bf money is on 'Up in the air' for best picture. I am not sure. Figure I wait till I have seen it all. Hmm, without having seen it, but were amazing if 'Inglorious Basterds' gets it.

Have rumbled on enough about this now. My tummy tells me it is time for breakfast. I think there are some eggs in the fridge.

All of you have a great Sunday! Enjoy. 

Quick Post

Hello everyone,

just a quick note from me. Started the weekend in style with a 7am run. Urgh. Wasn't so bad. The first run in about 6 months so I didn't even do a mile. Figured I have to start slow.

But bf cooked a nice breakfast after. Omelette with toast. Yum.

Have to get ready  now because we want to catch the 3D showing of Avatar. Can't wait! My first 3D film ever. Very excited about that.

Gotta run.

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!

Canada!

Finally there. And there is snow! Lots of it. Though according to my favorite Canadian it is not a whole lot at all. Hmm. We'll just agree to disagree on that one.

I am still tired from flying and am a bit jet-legged. But I hope that it will be gone by tomorrow. Today I went for a swim and we drove around the block for a bit. Picked up some things from the drug store and had a quick look around the mall.

But tomorrow will be reserved for real shopping. No other plans so far, but I am sure there will be lots to do!

Last day of work post

Tomorrow is my last day of work before the holidays! I can't wait to get it over and done with. Saturday I will get swept away to Canada. Can't wait for that either. BF's Dad sent over some pics and it is snowing. Awesome! Might actually have a white Christmas this year.

I think our flight leaves at noon. But for some reason we 'have' to be at the airport three hours before the flight leaves. So, the plans seems to be to leave at 6am. Uh, I am not convinced. But hey, then I get to hang out at the airport. Get some nice breakfast. Buy some tax-free alcohol (as presents obvs not for myself ;-)

Should be two lazy weeks ahead. Though I am planning to take my bathing suit and possibly get some swimming done. Hm, might keep off some of the holiday pounds. I guess Canadian Christmas food will be delicious. Hoping for lots and lots of it.

Now I need to be off and get some things organised. Though the actual packing won't start till tomorrow after work. Doing everything last minute!

Getting to grips with Word

Hurray, after trying for hours yesterday I finally got my Japanese scripts up and running. Not that I can do that much with it at this moment. But I do want to type up some vocab sheets. That will make studying that much easier. I hate reading my own handwriting, and having to read it and study from it is just a horror. I hope this way I will get to enjoy memorising and learning new words more.

Anyway, a happy bunny is going to try out her new toy now! ;-)

A NON-Weekend Post

This is very exciting. Finally I manage to get in a post that is not on the weekend. Though, I guess since it is Friday evening I am cheating just a little bit. Thats' okay though. This week was actually really exciting, so I feel that I have something interesting to say.

Monday evening I finally got to see Twilight:New Moon with a friend of mine. I was so excited when it came out and then it took so long for me to go. Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie. It was done much better than the first, everything looked more professional and like they had more money to burn. Weirdly enough I liked the first one better. Maybe because everything was all looking a bit cheap and the mood was much darker in the first. In New Moon everything was glowing a bit orangey/reddish while Twilight was all in blue and bland colors. That drew me in much more. Plus, the storyline of New Moon was technically darker, so I thought they should have used the darker palette there instead. But oh well. I just thought I would like number two better because that was one of my favorite books in the series. I just love the werewolf/Jacob storyline.
Speaking of Jacob. First time he stepped up I was all 'Holy Jeebus, somebody beefed up'. He looks HUGE compared to how he was before. No complaints there. But I didn't like that he cut his hair. Was that really necessary??? I know, I know it's in the book, but the long hair just suited him really well. I thought it actually made him look older... But enough of Monday.

Moving on to Tuesday. I was off and got to lay in a bit. Which I just loooooooove doing. Rest of the day was spent out in Angel shopping and in the evening I had my Japanese class. The last in this term. I thought we had gotten away without a test this time. But behold, of course in the last half hour, there it was. Uh, I did really bad. So I guess my Christmas break should really be filled with some quality studying time. Weirdly enough I am looking forward to that. I wanted to concentrate on learning vocab. I don't have all the grammar down, but mainly I am struggling with remembering all the words. So I figured learning a lot of verbs and adjectives might be the way to go. I will just build the grammar around that. Kanji is another big thing. We are not learning them in class but I would really love to learn at least some. Wanted to get a study book, but I just cannot find the right one in stores. Might have to do an order on Amazon, though I really, really do not want to do that. I just always end up getting much more than I should, and there are still about a dozen books on my desk waiting to be read. Anyway, after class we headed out to a pub to have a drink. That was really nice, I had never done that before because I am usually beat. Might have to do that more often now. Hmmm. Last thing in class was a presentation about wine tasting and the guy who did it brought in three different bottles of red wine. Tasted those. They were really good. I felt a bit tipsy after those tiny glasses. LOL. Wine just gets me. Makes me feel sick and tired. But I like the taste. Cannot help myself. Should really say no. So that was another late evening.

Wednesday was really uneventful. Hurray! So let's skip to Thursday. Went to a pub to meet up with a birthday girl. Guess there were about a dozen people. Had a really good time (and a couple of ciders). Just did not like my early morning Friday. Honestly, I just wanted to close my eyes at work today and snore through it. That's usually not how it goes down on a Friday. But in the afternoon it got really hard to keep my eyes open. I guess I am just getting old. Long evenings and working all day just do not agree with me any more (hm, long working hours have never agreed with me). But I survived! So now I am sitting here, nursing my tea and writing a blog that nobody reads. Love my life ;-)

But I really missed reading all the blogs on my blogroll. Planning on catching up now. Have to make another tea for that. Getting really addicted to them. So here's a shout out to all the lovely bloggers, who care to share their life with the world. We love you!

Let's all have a great weekend!