Rolling thunder is probably not the best pre-req for a new post, but I'll suppress my rural memories of blown circuits, ruined electrical appliances and power outages. I'm here for y'all. "Here" is actually Colleen and Eric's new house in Derry, New Hampshire. It's lovely--I've already taken pictures of the couch to aid Stephan and I in our hunt for home furnishings. Colleen's off getting her car inspected and I'm packed, organized and waiting for my new mp3 player to charge [for you tech fans out there, I got a creative zen V something or other with 2GB. Don't tell me if it's terrible.]. Anyway, I spent the last two weeks running around doing typically "Maine" things like going to the beach in the rain, not eating lobster and helping my dad paint the house. It's actually been really nice, in hindsight. We did a one-stop-shopping family/neighborhood grill-party at our house, so I got to see everyone there at least once. Highly recommendable, although due to the quantity of people, I had to scale back on the quality of visiting. And Janie working 3 jobs meant that I didn't get to see her as much as I'd've liked. But still, it was great seeing the family, catching up on all the latest whatever (some people call it gossip, others call it news...some call it insanity, you know. Whichever.).
Wow. Rural aside--we have the windows open here, and Colleen's house is on a curve at the start of a road. They'd just tarred the new road and so there are tire marks kind of all over. Some guy in a huge, pimped out truck just ground to a halt and shouts "LOOK AT ALL THE SKIDMARKS!" He then revvs his engine and adds one of his own to the many. I didn't know weather to laugh or shake my head.
Anyway, Colleen's back, with car...which means it's lunchtime.
And time for me to head back to 'Schland.
Peace out hoschis.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Of Flowers and Goodbyes
[Imagine the world's hugest sigh of relief]
That's my general feeling right now. For about a week, I was showered with flowers, that special acerbic brand of German "constructive" criticism and bone-crushing hugs from incredibly small children. Most places I lied and said I wasn't sure I was coming back next year. The truth is that I'm done with a vengeance. I spent most of the morning throwing out old handouts from the kids and the millions and millions of unused photocopies I'd made. It amounted to two garbage bags full. I probably should have kept some of the stuff...just in case, but I'm really trying to break with my pack-rat past. I also have next to no storage space here, as Germans do not believe in wall closets. I still have to write up my invoice for June and the week that I worked in July, and do up my end-of-the-year reports for every.single.class, but getting rid of the sheer bulk of mess that had taken over my desk was really cathartic.
It wasn't a terrible job...and it was cool to hear the kids and the parents tell me how much they'd enjoyed my work. At the same time, though I know that this just isn't "it" for me. I've got a lot of potential and while the work I was doing was really challenging on certain levels, I feel like it's time to move on. The question is...to what?
I got a rather frightening letter in the mail today from the German Immigration Agency saying that I have the opportunity to go and state my case (concerning my application to work in a tiny bi-lingual nursery school here) on the 17th of July. Now, they used the word for "state your case" (vorsprechen) which can also be used for certain types of auditions or interviews. This all leaves me a little confused and wondering why they can't just tell me either yes I can do the job, or no, they want someone German to do it instead. So yeah, I have to call them and tell them that I obviously won't be able to attend, since I'll have already landed in Frankfurt by then. We'll see. The hell of it is, I don't even really want the job. It's moved from being plan B down to about plan C by now.
But speaking of jobs and plans, the interview I had last Thursday was with the headhunters, which I'd expected, but what threw me is that they really didn't say much at all about the specific job I'd applied for. They maintained that they would send my paperwork directly to an American law firm with their German headquarters in Berlin (a rarity, most of them are based in West Germany) who might be interested in me, but they didn't say whether or not this firm was the one who had placed the proofreader ad. So we'll see. It's all up in the air now. Kind of insanely so. And when I say "it's all up in the air" I really do mean everything.
Case in point: Stephan's financial aid for school. The issue is whether his dad is legally obligated to support him (normally parents are financially responsible for their kids in Germany until they're 27), or whether he'll get the money from the government. It's still not settled and until it gets settled, I've got way more financial responsibility than I'm comfortable with. I mean, in principle, I don't mind. When I came here, Stephan had to cover me for everything, since my money ran out after about a month and I hadn't started working. It's just that I don't have a job as of today. And that I may or may not get one in August.
There's also the wee little matter of our apartment. Which is one of the coolest apartments I know, due to it's great location, enormous terrace and huge windows. Unfortunately, we have the most evil landlady on the planet. She has systematically cheated us out of rent and is refusing to admit to anything (of course). Our apartment is over 10% smaller than stated in our lease. According to German law, our landlord is required to reduce our rent accordingly. The evil landlady from hell refused to believe our architect that we hired to measure the place, and sent her own--who deliberately padded his measurements to make the apartment bigger. I could scream! It's so obvious that they're wrong. Soooo lawyers have been hired (in Germany there's this amazing thing called 'legal insurance'--like health insurance, but for lawyers fees. We have that now. It's cool.) and the odds are good it'll wind up in court. We've talked to an advocate for tenants who said that there'd be no reason why we wouldn't win. That's good news at least, but god only knows how long it's going to take to get this circus settled. Sometimes I think it'd be easier just to move out...but I like it here and I'm sick to death of moving around. Anyway, stay tuned for updates on the battle for the Niederbarnimstr. 2.
So yeah, there's a ton of things that need to get settled, fixed, regulated and finished. When I think too long about it, I start to get a little panicky. Thank heavens the weather is wonderful and sunny and I can sit in the sun on the terrace and forget my troubles.
...Oh wait. It's not. I have a huge complaint to register with whoever's in charge of the weather in north-east Germany at the present. It's July. It's cloudy. It's freezing. I'm afraid for my tomatoes! There's no excuse for my having to run around in jeans and a sweatshirt two weeks after my birthday. It ain't right! I feel for you all who are in north America, suffering in the clutches of this heatwave y'all are supposedly having, but I hope it hangs around until I get there. I've had enough rain and crap weather to last me until next summer.
Enough complaining, however. If I'm honest, life here is pretty great. Stephan der 2. and his girlfriend Caro were here last weekend, Max was around for the last two weeks (Max is a great kid. Incredibly intelligent, incredibly spacey, writes his own hip hop...a general character) and we managed to get some good weather Sunday night so we could grill with Kai and Tini. I've got the next little while off to rest, relax and clean things up and Stephan hasn't failed an exam yet. Even if it sounds like life here is a battle, I'm incredibly thankful for what I've got. Ooh, speaking of things I've got...I've got skype! Add me, because I have no idea how to use it. Stephan got it for me for my birthday with this kick ass bluetooth headset. He went a little formal on the username, so you'll have to search me as margaret.tyler instead of mia.
But anyway, that's enough from me for now, it's time to get back to the clean-up, pick-up game. Hope everyone is well.
That's my general feeling right now. For about a week, I was showered with flowers, that special acerbic brand of German "constructive" criticism and bone-crushing hugs from incredibly small children. Most places I lied and said I wasn't sure I was coming back next year. The truth is that I'm done with a vengeance. I spent most of the morning throwing out old handouts from the kids and the millions and millions of unused photocopies I'd made. It amounted to two garbage bags full. I probably should have kept some of the stuff...just in case, but I'm really trying to break with my pack-rat past. I also have next to no storage space here, as Germans do not believe in wall closets. I still have to write up my invoice for June and the week that I worked in July, and do up my end-of-the-year reports for every.single.class, but getting rid of the sheer bulk of mess that had taken over my desk was really cathartic.
It wasn't a terrible job...and it was cool to hear the kids and the parents tell me how much they'd enjoyed my work. At the same time, though I know that this just isn't "it" for me. I've got a lot of potential and while the work I was doing was really challenging on certain levels, I feel like it's time to move on. The question is...to what?
I got a rather frightening letter in the mail today from the German Immigration Agency saying that I have the opportunity to go and state my case (concerning my application to work in a tiny bi-lingual nursery school here) on the 17th of July. Now, they used the word for "state your case" (vorsprechen) which can also be used for certain types of auditions or interviews. This all leaves me a little confused and wondering why they can't just tell me either yes I can do the job, or no, they want someone German to do it instead. So yeah, I have to call them and tell them that I obviously won't be able to attend, since I'll have already landed in Frankfurt by then. We'll see. The hell of it is, I don't even really want the job. It's moved from being plan B down to about plan C by now.
But speaking of jobs and plans, the interview I had last Thursday was with the headhunters, which I'd expected, but what threw me is that they really didn't say much at all about the specific job I'd applied for. They maintained that they would send my paperwork directly to an American law firm with their German headquarters in Berlin (a rarity, most of them are based in West Germany) who might be interested in me, but they didn't say whether or not this firm was the one who had placed the proofreader ad. So we'll see. It's all up in the air now. Kind of insanely so. And when I say "it's all up in the air" I really do mean everything.
Case in point: Stephan's financial aid for school. The issue is whether his dad is legally obligated to support him (normally parents are financially responsible for their kids in Germany until they're 27), or whether he'll get the money from the government. It's still not settled and until it gets settled, I've got way more financial responsibility than I'm comfortable with. I mean, in principle, I don't mind. When I came here, Stephan had to cover me for everything, since my money ran out after about a month and I hadn't started working. It's just that I don't have a job as of today. And that I may or may not get one in August.
There's also the wee little matter of our apartment. Which is one of the coolest apartments I know, due to it's great location, enormous terrace and huge windows. Unfortunately, we have the most evil landlady on the planet. She has systematically cheated us out of rent and is refusing to admit to anything (of course). Our apartment is over 10% smaller than stated in our lease. According to German law, our landlord is required to reduce our rent accordingly. The evil landlady from hell refused to believe our architect that we hired to measure the place, and sent her own--who deliberately padded his measurements to make the apartment bigger. I could scream! It's so obvious that they're wrong. Soooo lawyers have been hired (in Germany there's this amazing thing called 'legal insurance'--like health insurance, but for lawyers fees. We have that now. It's cool.) and the odds are good it'll wind up in court. We've talked to an advocate for tenants who said that there'd be no reason why we wouldn't win. That's good news at least, but god only knows how long it's going to take to get this circus settled. Sometimes I think it'd be easier just to move out...but I like it here and I'm sick to death of moving around. Anyway, stay tuned for updates on the battle for the Niederbarnimstr. 2.
So yeah, there's a ton of things that need to get settled, fixed, regulated and finished. When I think too long about it, I start to get a little panicky. Thank heavens the weather is wonderful and sunny and I can sit in the sun on the terrace and forget my troubles.
...Oh wait. It's not. I have a huge complaint to register with whoever's in charge of the weather in north-east Germany at the present. It's July. It's cloudy. It's freezing. I'm afraid for my tomatoes! There's no excuse for my having to run around in jeans and a sweatshirt two weeks after my birthday. It ain't right! I feel for you all who are in north America, suffering in the clutches of this heatwave y'all are supposedly having, but I hope it hangs around until I get there. I've had enough rain and crap weather to last me until next summer.
Enough complaining, however. If I'm honest, life here is pretty great. Stephan der 2. and his girlfriend Caro were here last weekend, Max was around for the last two weeks (Max is a great kid. Incredibly intelligent, incredibly spacey, writes his own hip hop...a general character) and we managed to get some good weather Sunday night so we could grill with Kai and Tini. I've got the next little while off to rest, relax and clean things up and Stephan hasn't failed an exam yet. Even if it sounds like life here is a battle, I'm incredibly thankful for what I've got. Ooh, speaking of things I've got...I've got skype! Add me, because I have no idea how to use it. Stephan got it for me for my birthday with this kick ass bluetooth headset. He went a little formal on the username, so you'll have to search me as margaret.tyler instead of mia.
But anyway, that's enough from me for now, it's time to get back to the clean-up, pick-up game. Hope everyone is well.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Friends, Romans, Countrymen...
Howdy.
First, thanks to everyone that sent me wonderful well-wishes on my birthday. I've got loads of love for you all. Even those of you who don't read this. I got heavily buzzed on my terrasse, grilling with some friends. It was nice. (Think flowers, tea lights and temperatures far colder than the current ones in America.)
The weather here has been wretched, considering the fact that it's now July. I'm hoping that the delightfully hot summer weather from the states will eventually hit Europe. "Eventually" meaning before I go home. Speaking of which, I am looking ecstatically forward to my trip stateside, and I hope to see as many of you hoschis as possible. I am also looking ecstatically forward to stopping my current job. My last adult ed (Volkshochschule) course before the summer break is tonight, which will be a wee bit sad, since they were a great group. I'm also nearing the end of my short-lived career in elementary education--a week from tomorrow, I'm done. My boss keeps sending potential new employees to check out my courses, so I don't feel bad about jumping ship. There are enough eager girls with good English skills and the necessary background in education to replace me. In other news, (I can't remember if I knew this the last time I posted or not...presumably not, so I'll write it again. If it's a repeat, please just pretend it never happened) I've got an interview with an international law firm for a job as a proofreader. The first thing my father said was "Good lord, how boring!" but it'd be something...real. Not to mention full-time with benefits. I have to keep selling it to myself like this, because taking this job (if of course the interview goes well) will require some pretty mercenary dealings on my part. I'm already under contract to work in a wee small nursery school that's had tons of setbacks and is just getting off the ground, who I'd obviously have to ditch if this law firm offered me a full time job. Fortunately, the German Labor Department has not yet cleared me to do so. Their decision should, however, come this week. So yeah, keep your fingers crossed for me that the bad guys say no and the good guys say yes. This would be a really neat experience for me, though--giving me both editorial experience and legal experience at the same time. Which in turn would help me to figure out what comes next. And enable me to continue paying rent while I do so.
So there you have it. The latest in weather, news and sports. Oh, wait. I forgot the sports. I'm a cursory follower of formula one racing. No, seriously. I am. It's oddly relaxing. And my favorite driver, Kimi Raikkonen won the French Grand Prix yesterday. I found that exciting. So NOW you have the latest in weather, news and sports. Anything I left out?
Of course. Entertainment.
How could I possibly forget entertainment?
So, because my birthday was on Thursday, and I was not content to let it go with a mere-"sorry, I've got to work tomorrow"-barbecue, I agreed to go out with Tini and some of her friends from work on Friday. Stephan, smelling a girls night out a mile away, begged off to hang out with Max, who's doing a 2 week internship in Berlin. So I rallied admirably Friday, after a hellish full day of work, got my stuff together and trekked to Tini's place. Got a bit well done with some of her people and headed off to this club called Bungaluu. Or Bungalu. Definitely not Bungaloo, as one might expect. Anyway, it's a fairly well-known gay club, or so I've been told. But for whatever reason, we got in for free and got some lovely little bottles of champagne and hung out. As I was wandering off to get rid of our bottles, I bumped into a small grey-haired man standing near the bar. He said something about pushing and I of course apologized and said that I only wanted to get rid of my bottles. He then starts talking to me, saying it's his birthday and introducing all of his friends. He then asks me where my friends are, and telling me I should bring them over. Bear in mind please, that I'm in a pretty well-done state. So this seemed like a fine idea to me. I got the girls and introduced everyone, and apparently this odd little man was some kind of owner or operator of the club, because he took us from top to bottom of the thing. It was a really great space, amazingly decorated with a beautiful roof garden. The gentleman was very courteous, but it was absolutely one of the more surreal things I'd experienced. We stayed there for ages, which was hilarious for a time (there was a convention of plastic surgeons. I met one named Patrick. He was utterly ridiculous.), but by the time 3am rolled around, I was absolutely ready to go. Tini took some cajoling, but we got out of there in time for me to catch the tram home, where I proceeded to fall asleep. Fortunately, I woke up for my station, but it took some serious effort to get myself home. I know why I don't do that more often. It's so exhausting. I slept all day Saturday--with an exception for brunch with Tini, Kai and Co at this restaurant named for Albert Einstein. It's directly across from Cafe Moskau in a neo-chic east Berlin neighborhood.
Anyway, enough of Berlin neo-chic for now...time for me to get ready for my last Vo-Ho class. Yay.
rock out, kinders.
.mia.
First, thanks to everyone that sent me wonderful well-wishes on my birthday. I've got loads of love for you all. Even those of you who don't read this. I got heavily buzzed on my terrasse, grilling with some friends. It was nice. (Think flowers, tea lights and temperatures far colder than the current ones in America.)
The weather here has been wretched, considering the fact that it's now July. I'm hoping that the delightfully hot summer weather from the states will eventually hit Europe. "Eventually" meaning before I go home. Speaking of which, I am looking ecstatically forward to my trip stateside, and I hope to see as many of you hoschis as possible. I am also looking ecstatically forward to stopping my current job. My last adult ed (Volkshochschule) course before the summer break is tonight, which will be a wee bit sad, since they were a great group. I'm also nearing the end of my short-lived career in elementary education--a week from tomorrow, I'm done. My boss keeps sending potential new employees to check out my courses, so I don't feel bad about jumping ship. There are enough eager girls with good English skills and the necessary background in education to replace me. In other news, (I can't remember if I knew this the last time I posted or not...presumably not, so I'll write it again. If it's a repeat, please just pretend it never happened) I've got an interview with an international law firm for a job as a proofreader. The first thing my father said was "Good lord, how boring!" but it'd be something...real. Not to mention full-time with benefits. I have to keep selling it to myself like this, because taking this job (if of course the interview goes well) will require some pretty mercenary dealings on my part. I'm already under contract to work in a wee small nursery school that's had tons of setbacks and is just getting off the ground, who I'd obviously have to ditch if this law firm offered me a full time job. Fortunately, the German Labor Department has not yet cleared me to do so. Their decision should, however, come this week. So yeah, keep your fingers crossed for me that the bad guys say no and the good guys say yes. This would be a really neat experience for me, though--giving me both editorial experience and legal experience at the same time. Which in turn would help me to figure out what comes next. And enable me to continue paying rent while I do so.
So there you have it. The latest in weather, news and sports. Oh, wait. I forgot the sports. I'm a cursory follower of formula one racing. No, seriously. I am. It's oddly relaxing. And my favorite driver, Kimi Raikkonen won the French Grand Prix yesterday. I found that exciting. So NOW you have the latest in weather, news and sports. Anything I left out?
Of course. Entertainment.
How could I possibly forget entertainment?
So, because my birthday was on Thursday, and I was not content to let it go with a mere-"sorry, I've got to work tomorrow"-barbecue, I agreed to go out with Tini and some of her friends from work on Friday. Stephan, smelling a girls night out a mile away, begged off to hang out with Max, who's doing a 2 week internship in Berlin. So I rallied admirably Friday, after a hellish full day of work, got my stuff together and trekked to Tini's place. Got a bit well done with some of her people and headed off to this club called Bungaluu. Or Bungalu. Definitely not Bungaloo, as one might expect. Anyway, it's a fairly well-known gay club, or so I've been told. But for whatever reason, we got in for free and got some lovely little bottles of champagne and hung out. As I was wandering off to get rid of our bottles, I bumped into a small grey-haired man standing near the bar. He said something about pushing and I of course apologized and said that I only wanted to get rid of my bottles. He then starts talking to me, saying it's his birthday and introducing all of his friends. He then asks me where my friends are, and telling me I should bring them over. Bear in mind please, that I'm in a pretty well-done state. So this seemed like a fine idea to me. I got the girls and introduced everyone, and apparently this odd little man was some kind of owner or operator of the club, because he took us from top to bottom of the thing. It was a really great space, amazingly decorated with a beautiful roof garden. The gentleman was very courteous, but it was absolutely one of the more surreal things I'd experienced. We stayed there for ages, which was hilarious for a time (there was a convention of plastic surgeons. I met one named Patrick. He was utterly ridiculous.), but by the time 3am rolled around, I was absolutely ready to go. Tini took some cajoling, but we got out of there in time for me to catch the tram home, where I proceeded to fall asleep. Fortunately, I woke up for my station, but it took some serious effort to get myself home. I know why I don't do that more often. It's so exhausting. I slept all day Saturday--with an exception for brunch with Tini, Kai and Co at this restaurant named for Albert Einstein. It's directly across from Cafe Moskau in a neo-chic east Berlin neighborhood.
Anyway, enough of Berlin neo-chic for now...time for me to get ready for my last Vo-Ho class. Yay.
rock out, kinders.
.mia.
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