Fu Wei and I went to the Elbe today, just to check out what the flooding looked like..and take photos. Actually, it all started when Raymond smsed me this morning saying that he and the new guy would be coming over to Dresden at 9.32am tomorrow. I was trying to take a nap then, but the sms woke me up...cos I didn't have anything I could offer guests...so I decided to go to the supermarket...if they had come today, we could've gone to the supermarket together, but since they chose a Sunday to come, all the shops will be closed and I had to go to the supermarket today. Anyway, I knocked on Fu Wei's door to ask if she needed anything from the supermarket. She said she didn't, but she asked if I would be interested in going to the river to take photos...so I said ok...that's how we ended up at the Elbe. The weather was great...but it was still flooded...not as bad as in 2002 though, which is excellent..

After that, I went to the supermarket and got some stuff to cook either Rendang or fried rice tomorrow. I also got a chocolate bunny and some chocolate eggs as Easter decorations. It made me think a bit about last Easter and how I spent it at Max's place, with his family. He gave me a Lindt chocolate bunny. I have the smaller one this year, cos like who needs THAT much chocolate if you're by yourself? But yeah...it's been a whole year. It was funny when this girl I went swimming with asked how my boyfriend was doing. I had to tell her that I haven't had one in about nine months. Strangely enough, people usually assume I am single (not that it isn't true, but it's just strange). I have this friend whom everyone assumes is attached...but she isn't and has never been...do people have this certain look or what? How can you see this from their appearance man??

Ok...enough said...

The first week of school is OVER!! Yay! But there's like a TON of homework and preparation that has to be done. But I actually have 3 days: today, Sunday and Monday to complete it all. It seems like a lot, but when you look at the amount of homework I actually have, it's totally not enough anymore. There's a lot of reading involved and I, with my extremely short attention span, am going to find it very very difficult to sit through all this. Ah well, I still have to try, don't I?

I finally finished the urgent bit of translation I had to do. It's taken me days and plenty of hours sitting in front of my laptop. But it's done...and I'm relieved. Not that I have nothing else left to do after this...I actually have another 23-page chapter to translate, but at least that's not so urgent, so I can take my time and do other things first.

And seriously, there is suddenly an influx of guys doing English and German...where on earth do all of them even come from??? I'm not getting all territorial and all, but it's just so weird.

Went to the bookshop twice this week. I now have about 5 new books that I am not sure I'll ever read from cover to cover. Or even one chapter. I think they're there to decorate my shelf..which is already overflowing, actually...also with books I've barely read. Will have to get down to it somehow..

Lee Ting came over to Dresden on Thursday! Had lunch and dinner with her, even though I didn't get to show her around, thanks to my classes. It was fun!! And being the lazy person I am, I was very happy to not cook for another day :) She bought a nice new pink sweater!! I walked around in Zara while waiting for her. I saw sooo many things I'd have liked to buy. BUT, I have to remind myself that my closets are overflowing and I have spent tons of money on books and assorted things. I probably have enough tops to wear a different one every day of the semester without having to repeat. Yes, I am horrible.

I ran into the Hausmeister yesterday and told him about our tap which isn't working too well. He told me that he's got an email address we can write to if we have problems...wah...so advanced now! Oh, and I actually forgot his name until 2 seconds ago. But he's really really nice!! So much better than the cranky old woman we used to have. I really hated her...and I wasn't the only one. This guy is so much friendlier and more helpful, even if he does make silly jokes.

Ok, had better get down to my work...the weekend's only so long...

It's only the second day of school and I am already up to HERE in homework. The most ridiculous one though, is this silly recording we have to make of ourselves. It's for "Classroom English"...it's some text with a "green dragon" and I have to pronounce "Abu Ali" as "eh-boo alley". I think I will puke when I have to do this. I refuse to call "Ah-Boo Ah-Li" by anything else but his actual name. I hate the way the "native speakers" of English mutilate names of other origins. Plus, no one actually likes hearing themselves speak, be it a tape or whatever. That's why I cringe whenever I watched myself on the Big Unknown 2. It was just so damn weird to look at myself from the outside, rather than from the inside. It kinda destroys all illusions that you could be beautiful. Same goes for my voice. I get nervous when I have to read stuff aloud...it makes me nervous and I am super prone to making mistakes.

But, I still have to do it...will try out the voice recording function on my laptop. Hope it works...DO NOT wanna sit in the language lab at uni and read out this passage like a weirdo in front of so many pple.

Oh, there are definitely MORE guys in my classes this sem. Believe me, even the lecturers are surprised. My German lit lecturer actually specifically mentioned it. After all, there were only 2 guys among 40-50 girls in the seminar last semester. There were at least 8-9 guys today. And it's the same for my GLCs (General Language Courses)...however, I must add that there's no improvement in quality. All the guys look WEIRD. Like long-haired hippies, or sloppy goths, or total geeks. They're either the smart alecky type who can't stop talking (probably wanna hear their own voices) or the whiny, complainy types...I'm sure I'll be able to say more after more lessons with them. But *sob* no eye candy!! And you know...maybe the guys try harder to show off, especially since there are so many girls around.

Oh, and it was kinda funny when we had to introduce our neighbours in class. One girl (let's call her A) was married (she's 22...I can't imagine being married now) and well, her neighbour (B) commented that she couldn't imagine anyone under 31 saying that they were married. It was easier for B to imagine someone with a child at 22, than someone who was married at 22. A said about B: "She's 29 and not married, but she has found a man to have a child with." Haha!! Well, they said a lot more, but my attention span is pretty short.

I was really tired last night...I actually went to bed at 6pm, wanting to simply take a short nap. Ended up sleeping until 3am...probably could've slept longer, if not for the fact that I had another dream about Max. The last time I dreamt about him was actually a long time ago....a VERY long time ago. It kinda disturbed me...because I started thinking about the hurt I felt when he left. It was also disturbing to dream about someone whom you're sure has not thought about you for a long long long time. I started asking myself the same old questions: "Am I too ugly? Too stupid? Too boring? etc". And it was just horrible. I thought I had put it all behind me, but apparently not. I mean it's practically a recurring dream, but each time it's a little different. In any case, I hope I am moving on. After all, it's been nearly 9 months since it ended.

In any case, I slept till 6am, then I had a shower. Worked on my translation a bit. Have a rough schedule, cos I definitely wanna complete it by Friday. Carlos (my boss) is so nice that I'd really feel bad if I couldn't hand in the work by the end of this week, like I promised. And, of course, I also have to do the rest of my homework...which I should be able to do over the weekend, I guess...if nothing crops up. This is the advantage of not having a social life I guess. I used to be pretty depressed about it, but I guess I am lucky in many ways, so there's no point in brooding over what I don't have.

Ok, better get back to work!

Oh and I finally had a proper meal after 1 1/2 days of eating nothing but Schokobrötchen. It feels good to eat vegetables! But man...after 1 month of not cooking, I don't really feel much like cooking. Thank God for Fu Wei, who cooked for me on Monday...if not, I'd probably have eaten junk too.

I am tired. Very very tired. The flight was a loooong, turbulent one. It felt like the plane was made of cardboard. I felt air-sick and scared. I also nearly lost my phone at Frankfurt Airport. Only a miracle could've let me find it again, considering how huge the place was...and I tell you, I am totally thankful that I found it. The phone's not worth a lot of cash to me, but I just hate losing things...and since I lost my house key a couple of weeks ago, I've been feeling like a loser (oh dear, was that a pun?). Anyway, Bunny (my new Eeyore) was really good company on the flight. I don't care if people think I'm insane for being so old and hugging a toy.

I have tons to pack...and I'm falling asleep. But I can't...I have to finish packing, bathe and do readings..but I can't be bothered...I dun care if I go to class and have no idea what's going on tmr...I just don't have the luxury of time right now. Owe lots of people things and I have a long long to-do list. Bleargh. Better get down to it now.

Hope you liked the photos though! :)

March 2006 - Singapore