Weekly Top 10 (2 - 8 March 2009)

I am starting to write this today (Thursday) which would explain why the date on this post is before the end of the week. It's just easier, instead of trying to write the whole thing at the end of each week.

1. This week has been a comparatively quiet week. Compared to the previous weeks with the skiing and the Karnival-ing... I have to say though that I quite enjoyed it. It's been nice to just chill without doing much. Also, I enjoyed it because it meant I had time to stamp (stamp as a verb, not noun. Yes, it is a verb!! I insist!). I do realise that I have consistently mentioned stamps every week. That is, in fact, a true reflection of my life. I am obsessed. But at least, the obsession has subsided to the extent that I am no longer spending obscene amounts of money on it. I am merely spending what may seem like an unreasonable amount of time on this, my obsession. I now have the largest collection of stamps of anyone I know. Haha - that's not surprising, seeing that I have the only collection of stamps of anyone I know!

2. After waiting about 6 weeks, I had finally received my dry suit. Then I sent it back. Background: sometime in January, I was at the watersports exhibition in Dusseldorf. There a dry suit was purchased for me, as a belated Birthday and Christmas present (yay!). As part of the promotion at the exhibition, the dry suit people were offering to custom-make the suits. Great! So I got measured up, etc. etc., selected a colour that oh, so coincidentally, matches my fins (!!) etc. etc. It was supposed to take 4 to 6 weeks. It took 6. But they got it wrong!! I asked for the neck thingamajig to be neoprene. The alternative is rubber, which is really uncomfortable and is much harder to put on and take off esp with long hair. My suit arrived with a rubber neck thingamajig. I tried it on and it was so tight, I could feel the blood flow being instantaneously cut off! So, we sent it back. I wonder how long we have to wait this time...

I am looking forward to receiving it, in a way. It is quite a cool suit - and I am not just saying it because it's mine. And, did I mention that it matches my fins? I'm a bit nervous about the prospect of dry suit diving. But I am assured that it will all be fine. Let's see about that. Also, like I said before, it's the whole package of diving in tropical seas that I miss. I am convinced that dry suit diving, i.e. in a cold lake / sea kind of diving would not be able to compare. I have been told that I am spoilt. Perhaps I am, or was. The diving is enough reason for me to want to live back in Malaysia. Aside from the fact that it's home and my mum and my friends and the food and all my familiar and favourite places and things, the diving along is reason enough. Of course, I don't just mean the diving in Malaysia. I mean all the dive spots that are so accessible in the region.

Having said all that, I am, shall be say, intrigued about diving here. It will certainly be different diving with a dive suit. I am looking to do the Dry Suit Diving speciality course - just because I am the sort of person that has to learn things in a structured environment and with a person who is being paid to teach me and therefore responsible for it. Heck, I even took a course in climbing!! So, anyway, I am looking to take a course. And, I have bought foot weights, to make sure I don't end up upside down in the dry suit!!

3. I am learning lots about German history. I was reading King, Kaiser, Tsar (previously mentioned) which is about, inter alia, Kaiser Wilheim II, the last German Kaiser. I am now reading a History of Germany for Travellers which I chanced upon in the 'Sale!' bin in MPH. I just finished reading 'The Book Thief' which is about the life of a young German girl in 1939 - 1942 or so. I find it all really interesting. Germany has a long and interesting history. I have many thoughts about this, but I think that I should read more and learn more and think about it a bit more before I expound my thoughts on German history and Germans. What I will say now though is this. The reputation of Germans, other than that of German products, seems to generally be a negative one. They seem, from my limited experience out in the world, to be the subject of derision and the butt of jokes. Then of course, there's World War II and the Holocaust, but let's not get into that right now. And while some part of the reputation may be well deserved, there is actually a lot about Germans and Germany that is positive and very interesting, and the stereotypical German is not necessarily the accurate, and certainly not the complete depiction.

And before I am accused of becoming German, as I was even before I moved here, this is not a defense of Germans or Germany. I do not presume to think that it is my place to defend a country / nation / people. Nor am I trying to 'sell' Germany, as such. All I am saying, is that I have discovered a lot of things, that I find really interesting. And it has made me more interested to know more. I have always had a thing for history (my 'D' for history in STPM notwithstanding). And I am very intrigued and interested to learn more.

4. I don't get public nudity. Really, I don't. More than that, I am unable to agree with it. And it is not me being a prude. I just think that some things are personal and private. For this reason, I have not been to a German sauna, nor will I go. I fail to understand why it is necessary for people to be nude in a unisex sauna. What is the purpose? Wozu?? But even that I suppose it acceptable. Because it is in a confined environment and it is expected. What I really don't get is people walking around naked in a unisex changing room.

It seems that the changing rooms in the pools (etc.) here are unisex. A concept, I have to say, I like. Because it means families stay together. And going as a couple, means that you can take one bag for all the stuff. But then, when people walk around these changing rooms naked, I think that is a bit too much. Not that it's the norm, mind you. Well, at least, it doesn't seem to be the norm, and I am told that it is not the norm. But it does happen, and it has happened a couple of times in my presence. And the thing is, because it is regarded so normal and natural and whatever-al, it's the other people around, the people who had inevitably seen this o'naturale creature and who are not comfortable, these people are the ones require to clothe their discomfort. It's funny. In most places - well, I don't know if it's most, certainly where I come from at least - if someone is seen naked or happens to unintentionally expose some body part that is not generally for public viewing, it is that person who is embarassed, and it is that person who is expected to clothe themselves appropriately.

I think - no wait, I know - my objection to public nudity has also something to do with my innate possessiveness. But that's another story for another time.

5. They changed the music in the undergound train (U-Bahn) station! I wish they hadn't. Every morning, I take the train to the centre of town. Then I walk across the road to the U-Bahn station. There is a slightly declining walkalator going into the station. At that bit, where the walkalator is, Beethoven's Fur Elise used to be played. Continuously, without a pause. I suppose it would be really annoying if, for some inexplicable reason, you were stuck at the walkalator area for hours and hours. If that were to happen to me, I think the repetitive music would drive me nuts. But as the music can really only be heard for the duration it takes the travel the length of the walkalator, it is actually very pleasant and quite uplifting. It has always been to me, in any case. Also I love piano music, always have.


Fur Elise is also particularly special to me, because I could, at one time in my life, play the entire piece. Yes, I realise this is not that big a deal to people who have had paino lessons. I think it's a Grade 5 piece or something?? I had a few Grade 1 lessons when I was about 6 or so, and no more since. But, while at University, a friend of mine had a piano in her house and I used to go over and practise Fur Elise. I don't know why of all the pieces, I chose that one to work on. I don't suppose there was any special reason other than the fact that I've always liked it. I could read a few notes and with that little knowledge and help from my friend, worked out the rest and memorised the whole thing. So, at my best, I could play the whole thing from start to finish from memory. Of course, I'm sure the tempo and whatever was all wrong, but hey, it's all an expression of the artist, isn't it? At least, that was my excuse.

So anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Fur Elise every morning on the way to class. It went on, to my knowledge, for two months. This week, Fur Elise has been replaced with some wind instruments piece. Ugh! I really, really don't like it. It irritates me, and grates my nerves. I want Fur Elise back! I wonder if there is somewhere I could write to about this and request that they correct this lapse in judgment.

6. I have received all my boxes! All 9 that were posted just before I left KL. So many people made comments about me sending stuff via the post instead of a private logistics company. The postal system in Malaysia is unrealiable to say the least. So, it's not to be wondered at that people made comments like that. So I was a bit worried, to be honest. But I have now received all my boxes and with them my framed Lion jigsaw puzzle and the Bayon painting. My lion jigsaw puzzle will be familiar to those of you who have been to my room in halls or my office. It's a jigsaw puzzle I did in my first year in Liverpool and stayed on the wall the second year. Then I had it framed up and put up on my wall in the office. It's a mosaic of pictures of cats (domestic and wild) to form a close-up of a lion's face. The Bayon painting I got in Siam Reap, close to Angkor Wat and is a close up of the face that features in the Bayon temple / complex.

Also, since I received my boxes, which also contain the rest of my clothes, I finally put on a skirt on Friday. First time since arriving here. It's been too cold before. Well, I suppose it's not really been too cold. But it was cold enough for me to not want to try. I've been wearing jeans and jeans and jeans since I got here. But it's warmer now (though to be clear, warmer doesn't mean warm - it's somewhere between 2 and 7 degrees Celcius, I think). What's the big deal? Nothing, really. Except that I like being able to wear skirts again. It's no big deal. Just one of those little things that makes up my existence.


7. I am definitely a city girl. I have been convinced of this for a long time. A long time ago, I realised that in Malaysia, I could not live anywhere other than KL. I think it started in 2000 when I went back to KK for the first time in 14 years. I was born there and spent the first 9 years of my life there. Going back, I realised that I could not live there. I had gradually become more and more convinced that I couldn't live anywhere in Malaysia other than KL. Sometimes people go to islands and have a great time and wish they could live there. I go to islands and have a great time and always wish I could stay a bit longer, but I've never wanted to live there for long. I never thought that I could live the island life. Now, living in Bielefeld, which is much, much smaller than KL, I realise it again. Not that I couldn't live here. I can, and I am. But I so prefer a bigger city. I miss the variety, and the hustle and bustle. I miss the choices of restaurants, and activities. I had come to really enjoy life in KL.


I was in Hamburg this weekend. That reinfornced the fact that I do prefer big cities. I do like being close to nature, but I don't need to live in the wilderness (not that Bielefeld is in the wilderness). My first impression of Hamburg is that Hamburg is great! Just being in the little part of Hamburg that I saw, I was completely taken by the different restaurants and shops and bars around. Also there are plenty of museums and galleries. The atmosphere just seems so much livelier. I would very much prefer to live there.


We went on Saturday. The plan was to arrive in Hamburg at about 2 or 3 so that we had the rest of the afternoon to walk around and see stuff and shop or whatever. But we were caught in a 2 and a 1/2 hour traffic jam over a distance of about 3km. I am not kidding. The journey was about 280km. All was well and on schedule for the first 270km. With 9.9km to go, the traffic became a standstill. Literally. We could get out of the car and walk about. Every 10 minutes or so, we'd start the car, move up about 10 metres and stop again. That, I suppose, is one thing that is not good about living in a big city.


8. I like water. My favourite cities have prominent water features. I chose Liverpool because of the Mersey (well, not entirely). I chose D&R Halls because there were lakes nearby. I like Sydney with the Harbour and the Quays. I like Perth with the beaches and the Swan. I like Paris with the Seine and all the bridges. I like San Fransisco with the Bay. Even in KL. Notwithstanding the fact that the rivers are muddy and really not very pretty, I always enjoyed the walk from the carpark to the office every day and back. At the right time of the day, which the right light, you could almost forget that it is muddy and really not very pretty.


And so I like Hamburg. With the Harbour, and the Elbe and the Alster. We took a boat along the river, which is like a passenger ferry that is included in a day ticket for the trains and buses. There are rivers and canals and lakes all over. There are many canals that run along buldings that used to be storehouses and warehouses. Now many them are museums and office buildings. There are boats that run along the canals for tourists. There are also boats that take you across the river for events. Well, I saw one - DER KÖNIG DER LÖWEN (The Lion King) which was just across the river and there was a DER KÖNIG DER LÖWEN boat, brightly painted and all that takes guests across for the show! I wanted to go for that, but we didn't have time. Maybe next time.

9. I think some people have way too much time on their hands. In Hamburg, we visited the 'Minatur Wunderland'. It's a huge museum or gallery or whatever-you-call-it of a minature world. Like a train set but much more. They had an American bit, with the mountains, then the desert and a Grand Canyon type thing, and Las Vegas, and the swamps and coast, with trains and cars and trucks etc running through everything. They had a Scandinavian bit that had lots of water around and underwater bits with killer whales and wrecks and corals etc. They had a Switzerland bit with the mountains and snow and all. They had a Hamburg bit with the Harbour and the canals and the 'Michel' which is a church that is called the Michel something-someting but it's known to the locals just as Michel. But the thing is, aside from the lanscape and the minature trains and cars and houses and whatever, there were also all these minature people driving minature cars and sitting in minature trains and climbing minature rocks, and watching minature football in a minature stadium. Apparently the Hamburg bit alone, took them 8000 hours to make!! I am sure the mountains and the trains and the train tracks, not to mention the mechanisms and whatever (because the minature cars even change lanes as they are driving along the minature highways, and some minature cars take different minature turn offs along the minature highways). The thing that gets me the most though is the minature people. There were thousands of minature people in this minature stadium watching the minature football. All dress differently and in different positions - standing, sitting, cheering, having a beer... All hand painted!! The time and patience it must take to get all that done. Really. 8000 hours?? Assuming they work 8 hours a day, that's 1000 days. That's almost 3 years!! But ok, I guess if it was somebody's job to build that stuff, then it's not really that they have too much time on their hands. Just a lot of patience.

10. I am watching more and more German tele. It used to irritate me incredibly that all tele here is in German. It really irritated me. To the point I had to leave the room everytime the tele was switched on. Not anymore. I've got used to it. I haven't got to the point where I like watching tele, but I do find myself following stuff on tele now. One thing I do like though, is the Stefan Raab show. He's a butcher turned television personality and is hillarious. He has his own late night talk show on tele and does crazy things like race woks down ice slopes. Yeah, woks - you know the stuff people cook with. They modify it somewhat (but a wok is a wok, no?) then ride it down slopes. Apparently it makes for good entertainment but also creates opportunities for some significant injuries. Stefan Raab created this apparently.

He doesn't seem to have a fixed format for his show. Sometimes he has guest comedians on for a few minutes. He had this guy on, who works for him, (I think his name if Elton but I'm not sure. Let's call him Elton) and who apparently got an exclusive interview with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson when they were in Germany to promote Marley & Me. And it was so weird!! J.A. and O.W must have been wondering what the hell was going on. He didn't ask a single serious question. He gave them random gifts like fake flowers and soft toys. He asked J.A. if she was the sort of person who will stop when she sees a cute dog on the street and stroke his tummy. J.A. said yes, and so he promtly lay down on the floor on his back with his legs up, and starting panting. He stayed there until J.A. stroked his tummy. It was so weird. Then he showed clips of people with messages for J.A. and O.W. None of them were serious. One of them asked O.W. if he would disappear so that Elton could be alone with J.A. J.A. immediately held on to O.W.'s arm and said 'please don't leave me here alone.'

Another time, Stefan Raab had this quiz show type thing on his show. And people from the audience could compete against him. Each question is worth 1oo Euros, and if they win, they get to keep the money they win. If they lose, they get nothing. There was a guy who beat him, and got to come back the next day. That guy won 3 times in a row. And Stefan Raab was quite upset, and arranged for the quiz show again so that he could have another chance. The guy has a band and if he beat Stefan Raab another 3 times, his band could come play on the show. He hasn't yet.

Another time, he challenged the German female boxing champion to a fight. This began really with him dissing female boxers. Somehow he found himself in conversation with the German female boxing champion and promtly challenged her to a fight. They fought, he lost. Apparently got his assed whopped in the process. After the fight, Stefan Raab proudly declared himself the German female boxing runner-up!