I'm posting from a remarkably snowy Berlin. It's too warm for anything to stick, but Mother Nature's been doing her best all day long. Things here are going well...Stephan got better, I got my flu shot and haven't been ill since (knock on wood). Valentine's Day was pretty catastrophic...Stephan doesn't believe in celebrating it, which is fine with me...I'm not a fan of the commercialism and of course it's better to take the time to celebrate your relationship and the person you're with ALL year round and not just on one dark winter day
...HOWEVER, sniping at eachother all day is not really a super alternative. Unfortunately, that's what we did. I finally had enough and called a friend and was getting ready to leave, but we wound up talking it out and getting along. That's kind of our thing. We rarely have knock-down, drag-outs...we'll just snipe at eachother until one of us has had enough, then comes the part where we ignore eachother for a few hours, and then one of us has enough of that and makes the move to talk it out. And then we usually do.
Anyway, we've had a bit of stress lately...because we found a really lovely apartment in the Bänschstr. in the same house as a buddy of Stephan's. It's got just about everything we want...except for a balcony. Which is a bummer, but sometimes one's got to make some compromises. We also finally managed to get all the necessary paperwork in order (pay stubs from the last three months, two credit histories, a document from our management company stating that we don't owe them any money and the application from the new management company)--which was no small feat. Now the only remaining issue is whether or not we'll actually get the apartment. It is certainly possible that they've already said "to hell with these clowns--let's take someone whose paperwork is already complete!" There were a TON of people at the viewing. More than I'd ever seen at a single apartment viewing before. So yeah. Stay tuned...we'll find out either tomorrow or the next day if we've made the cut. It's really almost as stressful as applying for a job or for college. I think that someone who made a business of finding best apartment for people would make a KILLING. Really...I mean, my job isn't that stressful, but I've certainly got enough to do without having to troll the internet for non-divey apartments in our district, making appointments for viewings and that dealing with the mountains of paperwork. I'd be willing to pay money to some sort of headhunters who'd find us the perfect apartment for the perfect price. Sigh.
In other news, I had my first appointment at a german optometrist this week. I had to get an official vision test for my driver's license. While I was at it, I thought perhaps I might replace my two year old contact lenses with something available on the german market. So I found out a lot about my eyes. My newfound optometrist pal told me that I'd be best served staying with my brand if at all possible, because my eyes could have a reaction to a new type of contact lens after all this time. She searched and searched and searched and finally found a distributor of my lenses in Germany...and now they're on order, but before she could order them, she had to measure me, and because I have toric lenses, apparently you can't just take them out and get an accurate measurement. I had to wear my glasses for a whole day, to work...the whole nine yards. My kids found me strange. All day, I had small children creeping up beside me--silently (they're otherwise NEVER silent) and trying to peek behind my glasses--almost as if to make sure my "real" face was still there. And of course the weather was just plain sadistic for someone with glasses--sleet and snow. I wasn't sorry to be able to pop my lenses in the next day. However, this was one of the first times in years that I'd left my house with only my glasses on. I had to surrender them at the optometrist's so she could measure them...and it was terrifying. I really had no idea how blind I'd become. I stood there, watching the fuzzy shapes of cars race by on the six lane road outside and I got so dizzy I had to sit down. Everything was so hazy, so unclear. I felt so helpless. I was happier than I'd ever been to put my glasses back on. The kindly optometrist told me that I have only 60% sight in my right eye with my glasses, so after I get my contacts straightened out, it looks like that's the next thing on my list. Stephan thinks I should get lasered. I've never really thought about it. Not seriously at least...but the best eye clinic in Germany is in Rostock. I'd never really thought about how poorly I really see until I sat there half blind and completely terrified in a strange place. Maybe it's not such a bad idea. I'll get a call within the next week telling me when my trial contacts (42€ per eye, thank you very much!) are in...I can ask the optometrist then what she thinks.
Right. So, enough news from across the pond...it's time for a chat with the folks. And some water. I hit the elliptical pretty hard after my ab course today...and now dehydration's hitting me.
Lots of love!
