From Brat to Wurst

Award winning photo (in my opinion) from Guo Chang

Think you've got a bad day? Think again...

Ebook finally done!

However, another problem crept up. The autoresponder I use to collect emails encountered problems. When will Autorespond-it.com rectify the problem. If you wanna help, please email jdgraham@autorespond-it.com and tell him to hurry up.

Ebook finally done!

However, another problem crept up. The autoresponder I use to collect emails encountered problems. When will Autorespond-it.com rectify the problem. If you wanna help, please email jdgraham@autorespond-it.com and tell him to hurry up.

There have been 14 responses so far. Great. Now I'll plan to proceed to phase 2. I'll list out topics of that I think relevant:

1. Life in FH (FH specific)
2. Food (where to buy and stuff)
-Halal
-worth trying
-Must try
3. Contacts
- Embassy
- InWent
- FH
4. How to get a Handy
- Which network operator and how?
- Cheap place to get phones
- Best deals
5. How to buy tickets back to Malaysia
- What are the options
- STA Travel
6. Travel
- How to find cheap holidays
7. Sport
8. German Bureaucracy
9. Money
- Work
- Savings
10.Finding private housing
11.Cheap stuff
- Ebay
- Amazon
- Abebooks
- etc
12. TV n entertainment
- Concert tickets

I just broadcasted an email to all that I think can help. So now I'm waiting for a reply. Got 2 already. Now have to think of topics for the ebook. Hmmmm...

I'm creating a "Special Interest Group" called "Alles Deutschland" in Recom.org. Still in it's infancy. It might not be as big as mgss.de or something but at least it's riding on the tailwind of the ever expanding Recom.

Plans: 1. Create a SIG in Recom to recruit members and as a forum place for discussions. (pending approval from Recom due to problems in its database)
2. Link to offsite newsletter archive. (using blogger to archive newsletters)
3. Outsource newsletter content. ( get members to submit)
4. Create autoresponder and mailing list automation for subscription to newsletter (created with getresponse.com)
5. Use "Group mail free" to broadcast newsletter to members.
6. Created free domain with dot.tk to forward all mails and as an easy to remember domain.

Ahhhh...been more than a week since my last post. Had fun in Baden-Baden for the Easter weekend. One hell of a city. I think their main income is tourists. Shops are selling all "branded" stuff that I've never heard before. Maybe I might get a few pieces of cloth, sew 'em up, put a fancy french name, and set up shop in the middle of Milan and wait for all the rich suckers to empty their wallets. Hehe...but then again, I can't sew.

Anyway, I shoulda took more photos. My camera was at home. Brought my trusty Nokia 6230 though. Will upload when the urge arises.

So...I've been planning to haul my skinny ass to Paris and Prague this summer. Gotta save lotsa dough. Hmmm...no FHM, no...errr hell, I don't even spend much. Now, that's weird... how am I suppose to save money if I don't spend in the first place...gotta start spending. *weird theory* Must be the cold weather freezing my fingers off.

Oh yeah, today's the 1 year and 2 month's anniversary for me and my darling girlfriend! No need to send gifts, though money is always welcome! Thank you.

It's been more than a month now in Ulm, and 3 months in this forsaken piece of "all shops closed on Sunday" land. God, I miss Malaysia.

Hmm...what's for dinner today? Let's see...frozen piece of fish, some oyster sauce, an egg, something growing at the back of my fridge, put em all in a pan, and voila, good ol' Bachelor Chow!

Gotta send a contest entry soon. Been putting this off for 2 weeks. *Please God, let me win the sweet, sweet Mazda RX-8* Wonder if a foreigner can win? Maybe they think I'm Japanese and disqualify me. Who knows?

I was supposed to start this blog by the time I set foot in Germany. However, due to unforeseen circumstances and also foreseen ones, I can only start today. And also thanks to my darling, for encouraging me to write this. It also will make us closer by sharing each others lives while we are so far apart.

So, as usual, not much to ramble today. I'm listening to The Ataris. Damn cool band. It's now 6° outside. But feels like 2.

So far my transition in Germany was pretty smooth. I learnt to be very independent now. And frankly, I feel really liberated here. You can do lotsa stuff that can't be done back home in Malaysia. Such as, waiting less than 10 minutes for a bus, cursing the weather, cursing the food, cursing the weather again, cursing the bureaucracy, and in short cursing.

I'm settled in Heilmeyersteige now, after shifting from Malaysia to Konstanz to Reutlingen to Ulm then shift again to the place now.

Tomorrow got only ONE lecture! Whew! But gotta meet representative of Hostel here, to extend contract and show Visa. Then to train station to buy tickets to meet Yi Ling this Friday! Easter Hols is coming! Spring is coming! (Although it doesn't feel like it's here yet)

Lucky dudes in Reutlingen. Having long Easter holidays.

Nothing much else to ramble. So till next time. I'm out.