On Cloud 9









Haven't been online in nearly an entire week. Have been too busy having fun that the Internet, usually my best friend, has held none of its usual charms for me.

Jasmine came over on Monday and together with Fu Wei, we had Swedish meatballs. I rolled them into balls super slowly...haha...hope no one starved to death. The sauce was actually quite like the IKEA one, but since we used minced meat and not highly processed stuff with tasty Geschmacksverstärken, the meatballs tasted different. Still, they were good.

On Tuesday, Marcus came over to stay for the week. We watched Infernal Affairs, cos we didn't manage to finish it the last time he was here...then we had soup for dinner, but Marcus didn't want to drink it. It's ok lah...I mean it was pork bones in there...am sure that not everyone is used to eating such things. Then we played Ligretto and UNO with Jas and Fu Wei. Fu Wei won...she's really fast man!

Wednesday was IKEA day. Marcus drove us to IKEA and we basically spent the whole day at Elbe Park. We almost got lost because I've never been there by car...and we had to follow printed instructions not unlike the GPS systems people have installed in their cars. But we managed to figure it out in the end! Yay! Marcus bought me a wok and some photoframes. He also got a couple of things for himself, like 2 vases, a pizza cutter, a comforter and batteries. We had lunch in the IKEA restaurant...ate Swedish Meatballs...yummy! We also bought some Daim from the shop...but nothing else. Then we walked around some of the shops and decided to check the cinema, cos we wanted to watch "Trennung mit Hindernissen"...and the timing was perfect, so we watched the 2.45pm screening. The movie wasn't bad, but I think we were both slightly dissatisfied with the open ending...still, I quite like the movie and I like Jennifer Aniston. After that, I went to get new underwear..and then we went to Kaufmarkt to buy some groceries...we decided to bake a cake the next day and also to cook Puten Geschnelzetes for dinner...I love the aircon in Kaufmarkt!

Thursday was Swimming Day! Well, the pool only opened at 12 noon and Fu Wei wanted to watch a movie, so we only ended up going at around 3pm. Before that, Marcus and I fixed a jigsaw puzzle he brought from home. It was so super difficult at first, cos nothing seemed to connect...it took me eons to find 2 pieces that actually fit together...but after that, everything got a lot easier. We went out for a Döner lunch somewhere nearby...it was quite pleasant and quiet...no one else but us..and the sound of trains going by...haha!

Swimming was great! Unfortunately, Fu Wei ended up having to wait for us quite long...cos she met us at the pool. We went to Georg Arnhold Bad at Großer Garten...the weather was finally warm enough for us to go to the Freibad...it has been raining and pretty cold the past couple of days. I decided to wear the bikini that Steffi's aunt gave her but which was too small for her...it's really hard to swim properly in a bikini..but oh well, it was quite ok, except for when we went on the slide...then I had to make sure I didn't "zhao geng". The water in the 25m pool outdoors was freezing! I didn't dare to go in at first, but after everyone else went in, I kinda had no choice. But it was fine once I started swimming...I miss the feeling of having water around me. After playing on the slide and just enjoying being in the water, we decided to move inside, where the water was super warm and pleasant...after all, it had started getting colder after a while. We spent around another hour in the pool (only paid for 2 hours) and decided to go to the outside slide 2 more times before we went to shower...it was super fun! I felt like a kid again!

That evening, we had dinner...fried noodles I think. It was too dry at first, cos I didn't put enough oil...but after adding some, it tasted much better!...oh yeah, we actually went to the new Lidl every single day since it opened. We got ice cream...yummy! And also many other things...and it's always the same boy there..the cashier I mean. After dinner, we baked chocolate cake...somehow it look longer than usual...maybe cos there were so many helping hands that I kinda lost the overview...but it's great when everyone is so helpful...just that I am not very good at giving instructions. The cake was nice and chocolatey :) But not very sweet...sorry to the sweet-toothed among you.

Marcus, Jas and I went to Pillnitz on Friday. It was raining in the morning, so we decided to wait a bit before going. Marcus and I continued working on the puzzle, which we still haven't finished. Then we went to Pillnitz...but stopped for lunch at Schillerplatz. The people at Subway somehow thought we couldn't speak German...so they tried to speak English to us. I had to try very hard not to laugh or raise my eyebrows. But the Chicken Pizziola (have no idea how to pronounce it!) was pretty good...the only thing that puzzled me was the fact that the lady asked me if I wanted it toasted. Erm, since when doesn't Pizza come with melted cheese? So toasted? DUH!!

It was still drizzling when we got to Pillnitz..we took lots of photos there. My camera's spoilt, so we borrowed Fu Wei's. There were lots and lots of silly photos...Jas is hilarious! She comes up with the funniest ideas for photos. Then, after walking about the grounds, the sun started shining again and we took more photos! I think some of the other tourists laughed when they saw us taking our photos. There was a nice old man who offered to take a photo for us. The Schloss Pillnitz itself may not be the most wonderful architectural creation, but I quite like the gardens: the flowers and trees are gorgeous...even if I am not usually a fan of either.

That evening, we had Meatball Toscana for dinner. It was kinda fun rolling all the meatballs again...Marcus had to run out and buy extra cheese, cream and tomato fix because we ended up having too much meat and a baking tray that was too big. But in any case, the meatballs tasted great! We watched TV after dinner. There was this really funny show...a panel of 5 guests have to choose what they think is the correct answer to a MCQ with 4 possible options. The 100 studio guests also have to vote for what they think is the correct option. Then, the host will reveal the real answer. Some of the questions were really interesting...like according to a study by Uni Calgary, which of the following will grow the faster in people who have sex regularly: A) brain cells B) finger- and toenails C) dunno what D) pimples...the answer is.... A!! Brain cells! Also, men tend to throw themselves into work when they are having relationship problems...and women, when they first sleep with a new guy, their greatest fear is that the guy will see their "fat deposits"...hahah...as opposed to the guy 1) forgetting their name 2) making weird noises 3) not being aroused enough...haha! Ok, these 2 were quite obvious, but it was still funny watching them reason it out. Then we just watched more comedy series until we were dead tired and decided to go to sleep.

Saturday was a pretty lazy day. Marcus and I got up late...so we had some breakfast and decided to go to the Kaufland on the hill, where you can get a great view of Dresden. We wanted to make pizza for dinner, so we went to buy all the ingredients. We ate a light lunch, then decided to go to the restaurant to enjoy the view...and ice cream...we could see plenty of Dresden from the terrace...even my block...and Frauenkirche..and the uni. But the camera died on us, so we couldn't take photos...so sad. But it was a wonderful day and the weather was great! We just sat there and talked.

I can't remember what we did that afternoon..but in any case, we ended up starting on the dough kinda late. Still, the pizza turned out pretty good. Everyone got their bit to decorate...Fu Wei and Jas shared one base and Marcus and I shared the other. With the remaining base, we made a chocolate banana and 1/3 cheese covered pizza. Everyone protested about the cheese...but it wasn't actually bad...though processed cheese would've been better than Pizza cheese. After dinner, we took more photos..mostly in sepia tones...and 1 or 2 in black and white and colour. Lots of them were really silly...we were mostly not looking into the camera...haha...but fun! Then, we played Ligretto with Fu Wei and Jas again...I finally won one round...think Fu Wei won the next one...it was fun anyway. I was so tired after that that I fell right asleep after brushing my teeth.

We woke up slightly later the next morning and just lazed around the whole day. I read my book while Marcus played his online game thing. Then we chose photos that we wanted to send for developing...after that, we prepared sweet and sour pork for lunch...it wasn't too bad, though the sauce mix smelled a little suspect initially...but after cooking, it was pretty good. Could be better though...but reasonable enough lah. After that, we just decided to just chat and do nothing...and soon, it was time for him to leave already...we went around collecting his stuff...but in the end, he still forgot his jacket...hehe.

After that, Jas and I had fried rice for dinner and after that, I still felt hungry, so I ate the last ice cream we stored in Phuong's freezer. Chatted with Marcus on MSN until he had to sleep. By then I was really tired too (it was only about 10pm)..but Fu Wei convinced us to watch the 'bimbo cooking show', which was quite funny, but I was too tired to read the Chinese subtitles...still, it was hilarious. The judges are quite mean and exaggerated...but it is still funny.

I was soooo tired that I actually woke up quite late today (by my standards)..at 9am...to go pee. Then I got an sms from Marcus, who was having his break...he asked if I was still in bed...I had to admit I was...haha...too lazy to get up!

Went to the supermarket to get bread and some other things for breakfast and lunch. A container of cream decided to empty itself inside my bag..so there was cream over every single thing and I had to wash everything, including the bag. Ugh...so much activity before I even had the chance to have breakfast! Am gonna cook imitation risotto for lunch soon...yum!