Eyes are about to explode in skull. Staring at a computer screen (and a tiny one at that) is definitely harmful to the eyes. I have a neckache too! Oww...Okay, should stop complaining cos this is quite a good job to have, even if it is about to push me over the edge. I have been stuck with the same database updating thing for 8 days now...I am so tired of it...if I have to cut and paste from the net somemore, I am gonna tear my hair out and run insanely around. Well, some people were good and sent me back the feedback like really ASAP and I still have lotsa others that I am waiting for. Only then will I be able to say goodbye to this repetitive task.

The weekend looms ahead. Why do I dread it? Everyone has major plans but me...Ruth is going for a concert tonight, a Bio-Fair tomorrow and on Sunday, she is leaving for a week-long ski holiday in the Alps...and I am gonna watch tv the whole weekend...RRRRRIIIGGGGHHHHTTT...someone wake me up from this nightmare please...Well, I reckon a lot of the people in the office are leaving early to celebrate V-Day with their loved ones but I am stuck here typing tiny letters into a tiny laptop keyboard with and equally small monitor. SO fun eh?

On the upside, I got quite a few emails today and I am very happy. I usually don't get many. Around 1 or 2 a day.

Had like the first REAL conversation in German in a long time...as in about life in Singapore, with guess who? Alex...well, even if he is crazy, he still lets me mumble on in my totally rojak German and that is really nice.

Okay...giving up. G....O.....I.....N....G BLIND!

Man...I am slacking 3 days in a row...this is not very good. But well, it's necessary, after the trauma of yesterday. Actually, I don't know who is more traumatized, me or Alex. You see, he tried to teach me how to do some stuff with Excel and after the 4th time he explained the whole thing, I was still shaking my head in confusion. I think he wanted to tear his hair out and scream...but well, he didn't. Not worth it I guess. So anyway, I learnt quite a fair bit about Excel yesterday, oh, and Outlook too. Yes, I am a suaku. I actually planned to learn more about the various computer programs before I came over but well, shopping and going out were way too tempting for me. So yes, the books were ditched in the corner of my room until they were due back at the library (typical of me, yes).

Also, had coffee with the collegues for the first time. As in it's different from going for lunch. There's this like place on every floor where you can stand up and have coffee and smoke. Erm, duh, I am not the one smoking...ciggys are way too poisonous. Think gross MOH 'this is a healthy lung.....this is a lung after 3 years of smoking 1 pack of cigarettes a day!' advertisement. EEEWWWW! But can understand why they smoke....two words: cold and boring. Plus, got ciggy vending machines all over the place. As long as you have money, you can smoke, no matter how old you are. You know, before you're the legal age to drink, smoke etc, all these forbidden things are so tempting...but guess what? Though I drank a fair bit of alcohol and went to discos when I was 15, I have no desire to do such things anymore...well, drink anyway. Look man, I've been in Germany, Beer capital of the world, for 1 and a half weeks and I haven't touched alcohol at all.

My German has gotten worse I think. Some ppl correct me word for word, just like with a little kid stuck in remedial class. I have no luck with German, just as I lucked out with Chinese. Sigh. So embarrassing. SIX years and still not much in the way of improvement. I can't hold a proper conversation at all!! Man I suck...

I'm also losing touch with Singapore. Why? Cos hardly anyone sends me emails...*sob sob sob* please, I am desperate!!

HaHA....back again...I can slack cos (1) my entire department...well, those pple who are in the immediate 'neighbourhood' are all at some presentation and (2) I have finished the work assigned to me, as far as my participation is concerned.

So..anyway, life is good...erm except I need more friends...but well, it's to be expected when I work in an office full of older people in an ulu suburb...well, apart from Alex's stupid and disgusting jokes, which Ruth really hates, he is quite okay lah...can see why he is not married...too disgusting for any girl to like. But as I've said earlier, there seems to be this MARRIED lady who loves him a lot. You see, Alex took me on a 'tour' of the department (as in the whole whole thing, not just in this big office room) and we came upon this table, which he said was Andrea's, who's sick right now. I wasn't really sure who it was, until he said, 'She is always over with us' (forgive the crazy direct translation) and I said 'With you, don't you mean?' I think he wanted to kill me then...but then who can blame me when all the evidence points that way? I mean like she's sick right? And of all people she calls to tell, it is ALEX....haha. And he thinks I am stupid...humph. But it is very funny cos whenever she comes over, it is always straight to Alex's desk, which is behind mine so I can obviously see which in which direction she is heading cos she has to pass my desk. Haha!

Holger is, I think, going to get married soon. He is one reason why I think guys with steady girlfriends tend to be nicer to girls...he has suggested many things I can do here and like showed me the library here in Siemens. He also usually asks if I wanna come along for lunch, to save me from having to be thick-skinned enough to ask if I can go along. Alex asks me too but I get the feeling he wants to get rid of me actually. You see, yesterday he asked if I was coming along for lunch, then said that I didn't have to... Actually I think he does treat me as an extra appendage which he doesn't need. He does enjoy making me feel dumb though. He was talking about how German weather in November really sux and I said that the weather in Singapore wasn't all that great either...he then insisted on asking Ormond (this guy who also worked in Singapore for abt 4 years) to see if I was right...plus, he enjoys the fact that I don't know how to ride a bicycle....HUMPH!

Haha....well, there is always a lot going on in my office. Even Ruth thinks it is super noisy at times and I must agree. Sometimes I wanna shout 'Shut up man!' but of course I can't cos I am definitely the youngest here and the newest so I got no authority...oh but there's this really cute little man here called Herr (Mr) Kuk who's alway jolly and knows a lot of things...even the seemingly scary adults (as in married with children) are quite nice actually, just that I am too scared to talk to them.

There's this girl who apparently hated Grace, my senior last year, but I just talked to her yesterday and she is very nice to me...hmm...I suppose I am not pretty or flirtatious
and hence not a threat to her...which is a good thing...I love peace...and since I don't exactly look up to Grace, it is fine with me.

Haha, well, looks like everyone here is still missing, so I am going to have lunch with Ruth today. Wow, the weather looks so much better today...blue skies and all.

I think I am addicted to chewing gum...well, I suppose after years of not chewing it, it kinda is fun and helps me to keep awake at work...plus, the water here sux, so the gum helps to kill the taste of the grossness. Like quick man, someone find me Ice Mountain or something!! I am going to die of thirst here!

Yo...it's me back again after ages and ages, cos I have been updating a database like nobody's business. So why do I suddenly have time to update my blog? Well, the people I have to check the info with are all missing!! Haha, so I can finally take a short break...yay. So what have I been up to all this time?

Ruth and I went shopping on Friday and on Saturday again...on Friday we went to this place a couple of bus stops away from our office and I bought a lot of things. Ruth didn't...my dad would love her...she doesn't spend any money without thinking about it for ages. I didn't really buy that much also lah...3 months is a long time to have to watch your spending...sigh. The worst part is actually that I always end up sleeping once I get home from work, and after I watch about 1 and a half hours of tv...they showed the first episode of Friends (in German of course)yesterday. It was so cute watching a 9-year old episode where everyone looked so different.

As for work, Ruth and I don't go for lunch together anymore cos we decided that we have to learn to be more independent sínce we are here. So I kinda end up going with the guys in my department (since there are no girls) Well, must say that they keep making stupid jokes and I also keep mallu-ating myself by saying the wrong things. Oh well, but it's okay lah...they are getting used to having me around and I am getting used to being around them too.

Not much of a life here but I kinda like it...well, I mean the weather is so cold, but it's very funny listening to office gossip. Hee hee...oh dear...they seem to be talking behind me (I mean literally, not like back-stabbing).

Hmm...office life ain't too bad, for pple who wanna try it...