The Himmel Ueber Berlin

...is cold and grey.


And the wireless is sort of on the fritz again. We'll see if this successfully posts. Yesterday was German Unification Day. We didn't really celebrate: I drank half a gin tonic and we watched Enemy of the State. Stephan's mum and Max came by on their way back from Schierke, which was cool. Stephan obsessively compulsively cleaned the apartment before they came, even though it wasn't dirty, and then proceeded to forget where he'd put the keys when we went out to help them unload the car--leading us all to believe we were locked the fuck out on another typicall cold, mies Berlin afternoon. I think he was a tad nervous. Not to fear--Angie (his mum) loved the apartment, and in his brother's eyes, wherever Stephan lives will be some kind of temple to awesomeness. Younger siblings are great like that.

So far today I've been shot down by the Auslanderbehoerde (Immigration Department) and had minor success on other fronts (I got a tutoring client, I left a voicemail with the new talent scout for Berlitz language camps and my boss will, I believe, pay for my month-transport-pass). But back to my crushing defeat: after spending WAY too much time pacing the apartment, being on hold, I get to talk to this real live woman, to whom I spin my very sad story

"Hi, yeah, I'm sure you hear this all the time, but my situation is really urgent. I was supposed to start work last Monday," (they don't need to know that I actually did start), "and I really really need my Aufenthaltsgenemigung (Visa-ish) and my Arbeitserlaubnis (Green Card), like, now, so I was wondering if I could make an appointment with you."

To which the heartless dame says "Well, actually the best thing for you to do is to just come in during our regular hours and wait, because the earliest appointment we can give you would be in 4-6 weeks."

At which point I start tearing my hair and gnashing my teeth. Why? Because the Auslanderbehoerde in Berlin is Not A Nice Place. People are so desperate to get in that they sleep there. Yeah. And my chances of actually getting in and getting my business dealt with in a timely fashion are...slim to none. Julia, who's here on a high-powered internship is STILL waiting for her paperwork to go through. I have no internship and no well-funded foundation who's got my back. All I have is a German-national boyfriend and a part-time job. Yeah...not feeling too good about this one, to be honest. I mean, technically, I have two weeks of vacation before things really get going and I really need to have this under control. And technically, I have until...December before I'm no longer legal to be here. Can the German beauracracy actually take that long to issue a Visa and a work permit? Ohhhhhh yes they can. It is this, this that oppresses my soul.

It's cold out on my balcony, though, so I think I'm going to take a break and wash some dishes.