Failed Photo Uploads, etc...

The last time I posted, I immediately tried to upload photos from my camera and then in turn to das Blog. However...it didn't work. I was supposed to go meet some people (for Tapas at the fantastic Spanish vinoria across the street) and I got frustrated and stopped. Now as it turns out, the photos didn't even make it from my camera to my computer. The question is whether or not my originals got deleted after the so-called upload. Don't know and because Stephan's hidden birthday presents for me in our chest of drawers, I can't go looking for my camera to check. 

Since the move finding things here has been complete trial-and-error. There's something incredibly disorienting about a posse of extremely motivated, hyper-clean German women unpacking and organizing your kitchen. And all the rest of your apartment. Seriously folks, if you ever move, make German friends. They wiped out my cupboards, put away my silverware, my tupperware, my plates...and not a single thing got broken. It was great, especially for a little chaot like me. However, it remains at times, difficult to find certain things. 

Anyhow, last weekend was the kindergarten overnight. Unlike last year, the kids didn't sleep much, which meant that I didn't sleep much. They did seem to be quite impressed though. The kids, that is. After all, that was the aim of the game. However, it became abundantly clear to me that I am in no way ready to be woken at 1:15 am by a screaming child. Everyone I work with tells me it's different when they're yours...but my sleep is sacred. Anyone who's related to, chohabitated or slept with me at one point or another knows that. It also seems to be getting worse as I age. This Friday (aka tomorrow) is the Sommerfest. Kind of an end of the year sort of thing where all the kids and their parents are invited and we've got all kinds of games, etc. This year, Julianita decided she wanted to have the kids perform a short theater piece. It's called the little black sheep. After having gone through somewhere between three and five different black sheep, I think she's regretting it. I for my part am ambivelantly counting down the days until we close for the summer. This means on the one hand four weeks of paid vacation for moi--and no children, but also the epic organizational feat that is the Americana Extravaganza. I get panicky when I think about it. I mean, I can't effing wait to get back to the states and see everyone I've been missing for ever--living abroad consists mostly of balancing your adventure/wanderlust with varying degrees of homesickness and longing. Oftentimes, though, it's more satisfying to long for something than it is to actually have it. I basically just have to cowboy up and start planning some shit and I think once I've actually gotten started, it won't be so bad. 

Anyhow, I'm sure there will be more details on that subject whenever I do manage to get my shit together and start making real plans. In the meantime, I've got a birthday/housewarming party to throw. That's going to be lovely. I hope. We shall see. Hope you all are well, I'm going to contain the chaos in the kitchen leftover from my steamed pangasius in white herb-dijon sauce with carrots and get to bed. Or something. Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

Be safe.

What you missed...

Ach, Kinders...

Sorry about that. The month of March really threw me for a loop and things just kept going from there. The early childhood ed program I'm doing also kicked it up a notch and two of my colleagues had some serious mental and physical health problems (respectively) that kept me doing overtime and away from regular updates. 

But I'm back. I hope to keep y'all amused with some amusing tidbits more regularly from now on. 

So here's a rundown of what all's happened since I last updated. 

March:

-Gramps died. That was a rough one, folks. I haven't lost enough people close to me to be good at grieving yet. I'm still working on it.

-Angie seperated from her partner of almost ten years. Also rough--a real readjustment for all of us--and a lot of crisis management.

-The apartment search was also intensified in March because we realized that we had to be out of the old place by May.

April:

-Found and proceeded to not get a series of lovely apartments.

-Found, almost lost but did in the end sign on a really lovely apartment.

-Packed like a crazy person while working ridiculous overtime for 2 impaired colleagues.

-MOVED IN in a germanically organized move of epic proportions.

-Bought tickets for the Americana Extravaganza (coming to a city near you starting 07.19.09)

May:

-Intensive period of nestling, settling and socializing with all the new kids in the neighborhood.

-Un-packed like a crazy person.

-Enjoyed the obscene number of bank holidays Germany and Western Europe have on offer in May.

June:

-Wrote and handed in an idiotic number of small assignments for school. In German. Which turns a small idiotic assignment into a somewhat larger undertaking.

-Started going through the motions of planning the Birthday/Warming Party 

-Ditto on the Americana Extravaganza

-Got a guilt trip and FINALLY updated my blog.

Sooooooooooo, time for a funny tidbit of the day.

Yesterday, my colleague Julianita (name changed for comedic/germans are discovering facebook purposes) started freaking out because my other colleague Mattholomew apparently has a habit of not being germanically cleanly. It'd be damn hard for him to, seeing as he's Australian. Anyway, Julianita is going on and on about how much it bothers her that he left his shoes laying around, etc. etc. What does she decide to do? 

Hide them. 

Yaaay for adult problem solving skills! 

So this morning, Mattholomew comes to work and looks for his work shoes. Can't find 'em anywhere...which I admit was pretty funny. Everyone kept referring him to Julianita, but he doesn't take the bait and starts walking around in Uggs in June. Julianita can't keep a punchline to herself, so she starts trying to take the piss a bit to cover up for the fact that she well...actually cares. Except you could blatanly tell that she really cared, and it actually wasn't all that funny. Mattholomew was kind of like, 'well, eat me'--for good reason, if you ask me...I mean, she ain't his Mama and it ain't his problem that she has to clean up after her husband and sons at home all the time. I mean...I have to admit, I enjoyed the viewing/free worktime entertainment, but really folks--there are things WORTH getting upset about, and there are things that aren't. 

Moral of the story: Take it easy. This sometimes means taking the easy way out, but you know...it keeps your blood pressure low and keeps you from turning into a semicrazed, shoe hiding Julianita.

Sad News...

http://www.legacy.com/MaineToday-KennebecJournal/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=124935635

...my Grandfather died. He was a hero of mine.

Stress is...

...putting on your underpants wrong side out and not figuring it out for 24 hours.

To laser...or not?

Tagchen...

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!

Die Perfekte Welle...

d.h. die perfekte Grippe Welle.

Yes, yes y'all, a vicious wave of influenza is sweeping the northeast of Germany. Guess where it started? Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, of course. Guess where it's at it's worst?...Berlin, natch. So far, I'm taking it like a rock star. The only problem is, Stephan's been lying on the couch looking like death for the last four days. Seriously, folks. I have no experience with fever and other flu-based nastiness. The only thing I'm an expert in is gastrointestinal whatnot, and this has apparently nothing to do with that. The Europeans like to sweat this sort of thing out. You know, ninteenth century style, wrapped in blankets which get soaked in sweat so that you have mountains and mountains of contaminated laundry. Some people like to drink whiskey with some herbs in it, as they maintain it accelerates the sweating-out of the fever. Others prefer the sauna...I prefer meds. I picked up some paracetamol at the pharmacy Friday after things kept getting worse, and unfortunately it didn't help. So I went back Saturday morning and begged the pharmacist to give me something that would actually HELP. She gave me this shit called aspirin complex. I don't mean to get all advertise-y up in here, but it seems to be working, at least half decently. Stephan is able to make jokes and occasionally leaves the couch, which was more than we could claim in the name of progress Thursday, Friday or Saturday. 

The thing is, as much as I love him--he's milking this. I don't say that because I've been drawing him hot eucalyptus baths, buying fresh kiwis and apples at the market and preparing them on little plates, brewing endless pots of sage and fruit teas. Nooo, I'm saying that because NOW...now that he's feeling better, I'm being forced into watching MISSION IMPOSSIBLE THREE on television. Grrrr. It's not only that he's sick, although that's his major point of leverge, but there's nothing else on for which I could even remotely make a case for. Sadly. So I'm blogging in protest. I've found out that's a red flag. 

Anyway, aside from this mini epidemic we've got going on here, I can't really complain. Keep your fingers crossd for me that I don't catch it. Tomorrow is allegedly the last day the symptoms could pop up. I'm not sure how much stock I put in that, but I've got a two week buffer before my adult ed courses start where I could technically be sick. I know these things are inherently unplannable, but I like to exercise what little influence my free will allows. My personal theory is that I was the carrier monkey that brought the pestilence into our environment to begin with. I do get sneezed/coughed/snotted upon on a regular basis. Hopefully that's created a certain level of immunity.  

However, in order to support whatever immunity I may or may not have against this really nasty flu virus, I'm going to sign off for now. Hopefully I'll remain healthy and be able to post again soon. 

Take care, Kinnners, stay healthy and warm!

xoxo

So Kinders...

Enter standard opener here-- (I know, people it's been forever, I'm sorry, I know you have better things to do than follow my blog, etc. etc.)

Anyway, out with the old, in with the new! Welcome to 2009--better late than never and all that. Things here started off well--we rang in the New Year with Lenny, Natta, Stephan and Vica and a few others eating wayyyy too much raclette and watching the ridiculous amounts of civilian fireworks around midnight. We then ventured to an artsy hipster houseparty somewhere near Ostkreuz (me in leather gloves, a woolly hat with a pom-pom and a bottle of Tanqueray and Tonic)--it was freaking freezing. Unfortunately, the cold sobered me up to the point that I had no patience for an overfilled apartment filled with über-hip hipster types wearing mostly black with those heinous plastic-rimmed glasses that are part of this intentional ugliness thing that I'm not sure I'll EVER get. Whew. So we jetted after like, an hour tops, leaving Lenny stuck waiting for Natta, who, as an art therapy major, has some kind of connection to these people. I think we were home around four. The next day was entirely wasted--I think I spent a total of six hours on the couch in some kind of sleepy, half catatonic state, watching skijumping and biathalon with Stephan. 

That's how it was, folks.

And here's how it is...

So the New Year is getting into week 2.5, I've survived my first full week of work/school, I get paid this week...things are good. I've got no new VHS (adult ed) classes to teach until mid February, which is fantastic. I actually have TIME to get a jump start on the New Year's Resolutions I've made (hit the gym more, be less of a whiny nagging bitch in private and less ragingly gluttonous) before things get all stresstastic up in here. I'm at a new gym now, with a new trainer and a new fitness plan that eerily resembles my first one at my old studio, but whatever...a start is a start. My plan is to spend the time that I used to devote to being exhausted and unmotivated on my couch to reattaining my foxy form. I'll let you folks know how I progress. I do have to say though that since I started two weeks ago, it's gotten easier. Beginning is the hardest part? We'll see, I guess. 

In other news, I got my first exam results back on Thursday and I aced the damn thing. I had expected to do moderately well, but the fact that I perfect scored the sunofagun overshot my expectations. It's good to get  positive feedback--apparently my studying methods still work. To be fair, though--it's not like the material is difficult. It hasn't gotten much harder since the last time I posted. School still really blows. I was more excited to go back to work after the Christmas break than back to school. I don't feel in any way challenged--but at the same time, there are people in the class who are hopelessly overwhelmed. It's crappy to think that pretty much no one's needs are being met by this circus. I spent an hour and a half this afternoon putting together a powerpoint presentation about Ben & Jerry's...it's my grade in a class about making presentations. Not like I know anything about that...working as I do in education and all. I try to avoid going if at all possible. I've scheduled a doctor's appointment for Tuesday during a class called "promoting health". It consists entirely of the students presenting on topics for which we won't ever be held accountable. I often ask myself what the point is. 

Enough about that, though. I hope you all rang in the New Year healthy, happily and in style...with any luck, you won't have to wait as long for my next post. Ha ha ;)

The New News. Get up do date, folks!

Buenos Dias, Compadres...

We've had the first official snow! There's a snowman in our courtyard (and a mighty professional looking one, considering how little opportunity the kids here in Berlin have to practice), and our neighbors waged a rather one sided snowball fight with our bedroom window last night. At least...I think it was them. I was ecstatic to see the cars and the parking lot covered, and the terrace. It was a rush like a little kid. Whee! Berlin is, to put it mildly, outside the snow belt. You've got to get down into the Harz mountains or real deep down in Bayern before you get serious snow like I know it from home.

Anyway, weather aside, the stress of Black November hasn't killed me yet. One more week and I'll officially have it all behind me. I'm not so sure I'll miss it, to be honest. Hopefully I've learned my lesson in terms of biting off more than I can chew, in terms of work...but somehow I doubt it. Deep down, there's that fear that suddenly there won't be enough work, ergo money. I mean...it's not a problem now. My job at the kindergarten is pretty secure, and it pays definitely enough to live on, but not enough to move to a new place, pay the lawyers fees if we lose the lawsuit or pay for the laptop...

Which brings me to my next topic. Stephan and I are going to become Macpeople. It should be here on Tuesday...somehow I doubt I'll see it often, but it's just as well. It seems like we spent forever trying to decide which model, which brand, what features, how much, why...whatever. I'm glad everything worked out, I'm glad it's ordered and I'm glad it's done with. I'll tell y'all what I think of it when I've had some time to play with it. The good news is...I'll be able to chat with you all on WEBCAM!

In other news, last Tuesday, we had a look at a FANTASTIC apartment near where we live. It's about 30 sqaure meters more than we have now, fourth or fifth floor, balcony, hardwood floors, a nice big kitchen, gas stove...perfect. Really great. We've been rushing around like mad this past week, getting all our paperwork together to apply for it, and now we'll have to see if everything falls into place. Technically, we'd really need the settlement money to get everything squared away there. There are things we'd need to buy for a new place...like a fridge and things we'd need to sell, like our patio furniture (tear! it's so pretty!)...It seems like too much needs to happen in too short a time, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. I have a crush on an apartment. It's close enough to where we live now so that our commutes to work and school wouldn't change that much and although it's on the main drag, it's high up enough that you don't hear jack and the bedroom is faces the courtyard anyway. We talked to the couple that lives there now and they also said that the management company and the landlord are all reasonable people...not like the jackals we're dealing with now. One can only hope that they realize it's really in their best interest to let us get the @#$% out of here and move on with our lives. We're only spreading hate and discontent here and I mean, they would EASILY get this place re-rented at whatever their asking price might be. It's a plum location, the terrase is an extra bonus, it's calm, quiet and if you're a total sap, you won't notice that you're being taken for a ride by the management. I mean...hopefully they'll have learned their lesson and play it a bit straighter with their tenants from now on. Bastards.

We'll have to see. If everything works out, we'll be moving between Christmas and New Year's. It's the only time we'll both have time to really do anything. My school/work starts back up on the fifth or sixth--whichever the Monday is, and Stephan's Uni as well. So we'll have a bit less time then. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out for us. The judge was supposed to have sent out his official verdict on Friday...we'll get it from our lawyer sometime hopefully next week. Stephan was at the last hearing (on Halloween--har har har) and the judge said he'd decide in our favor, but he'd leave the opposing side the opportunity to appeal (although they shouldn't actually have it, because they've already appealed once). Stephan went to visit our landlord (he lives coincidentally in our street. Isn't that bizarre?) and said that he didn't seem all that motivated to go for the jugular. Apparently he kept saying that he was a victim of the management company as well, and that he just wanted the situation resolved. We'll have to see if the situation really turns out that way...after all the horseshit that's gone down, I'm not so sure I actually believe anyone. Like I said, keep you fingers crossed. I never thought I'd say this, because I do love this apartment, but it would be so nice to be out of here and to be able to put this whole mess behind us.


My whole early childhood ed program is also starting to pick up. I've got a round of papers and presentations in early December that I'm trying to get a hold on. I spent part of yesterday banging out a rough draft of an analysis of a paper on the various forms of media and their effects on childhood development. It's shite in all probability...it's been aeons since I've actually had to write something in any way scientific in English, let alone in German. Stephan's been very patient about reading things for me. I mean...so far the semester as a whole hasn't been that bad. They try to give us as much prep time as they can in-class, because so many of the people there have families. It's crap for me, because I do so much work/research for all this shit online and the one computer lab that they have there is usually booked or being ruled by the super cantankerous, very flaming Bernd. I haven't asked, but I can't imagine that they have WLAN or anything like that. Not that I'd be interested in hauling my laptop to work and then through half Berlin to school. I change trains in THE addict hangout in Berlin. Junkies would rob their grandma without qualms in broad daylight. I mean, okay...it's Europe--it's not like they're packing heat or anything, but still. There's an awful lot of them. Not the right place for our new baby MacBook, if you catch my drift.


Wie dem auch sei...
(How/Whatever the case may be)
this has turned into a monster post. I was a bit under the weather this week--and have blown through a whole bottle of Tussin to prove it--so we're skipping out on our Sunday run this week, which is crap, since I have the feeling that I'm getting soft and squishy all over and don't have the time other days of the week to do anything about it. Argh. We all know that dietary restrictions and/or willpower is not my strong suit, so exercise is really the only way to keep things under control. Which means it's time to finally join a new gym. I think that's a story for another day, though. I think I'm going to read a bit more in the fantastic book that Mer sent me (love yis, dahlin), the Time Travelers Wife. It's so good---I stayed up way too late last night reading. That's how you know you're getting old and sedentary, right? God!

Anywayyyyy, take care of yourselves, don't freeze yer bollix off and don't get too stressed.

love and silky pre Christmas kisses,
.mia.

Wow.

What times we live in, my friends!

I'm pretty excited, to tell the truth. I mean, for someone who got on the bandwagon relatively late. Living here, you see what kind of overwhelming support Barack Obama has on the international scene. It's such a great thing--although I think on a certain level, it's symbolic of the frustration not only of Americans but also of people all over the world with the Bush regime of the last eight years. I worry a bit, though that things will just be so catastrophic by the time Obama takes office that he'll have to be doing ridiculous amounts of damage control and won't be able to do half the great things he has the potential to achieve for America. But at least the potential to do good is there, unlike a certain other administration that comes to mind. Here's to hoping he can make good on the rhetoric, the enthusiasm and the good will that got him this far.

And what do we all think about "rogue" Sarah Palin positioning herself for 2012? I love all of the fantastic hate that's come out of the McCain camp over how much of a joke this woman really was. For me, the Canadian prank callers were the icing on the cake. The fact that she didn't catch on, that she really thought she was talking to the real Sarkozy is astounding and insulting to the man himself...but then, her camp CONFIRMING this whole ridiculous incident...was unbelievable for me. If I'd worked for her, I'd've lied my FACE off. I mean, there are some things you don't necessarily need to admit to. People thought George W. was idiotic--at least he had half decent handlers. Don't get me wrong--I don't feel sorry for her, and it's not based in some kind of catty woman-against-woman horseshit. I don't think she's qualified and I don't think she understands or appreciates the difficulty the office of the Vice Presidency presents...let alone the Presidency. Otherwise she would have never accepted the nomination for a job for which she was so completely unqualified.

But anyway...I suppose that's enough political blather for today. I don't even really want to hear it anymore myself. I was so addicted to news in the months and weeks before the election, but now it's all anyone talks about and I'm sick of it. Bring me new news! I know that Barack Obama won the election, and while I am interested in who he decides to tap for his cabinet, I don't need to hear report after report based on whatever speculations the expert of the hour has to offer. I'd prefer an insightful analysist of the choices when they've been announced. Enough, though. Really.

I took today off from everything...slept twelve hours last night and had a fantastic hot bath today...all efforts to try and shake off last week/prepare me for the next one. It was Stephan's suggestion that I try to do as much nothing as possible. He grocery shopped yesterday, cleaned the apartment and washed dishes yesterday. It was awesome, because I wouldn't have been able to do it. This week shouldn't be so bad, though. At least I'll have Tuesday afternoon to get my house in order. It was nice not to worry about anything--whether it be the stupid translations of the Thanksgiving recipes or the course prep for next week's adult ed classes or the reading for school. I mean--it's all still there, subconsciously at least, but my powers of repression are strong, so it's working. I did sneak in a bit of productivity and did some pre-shopping for Christmas today, so that I know where to find what when my next paycheck rolls in. I've got to get Christmas presents sorted for the family--my goal is to have the package get there on time this year. We'll see.


Anyway...hope everyone's well! Take it easy.

Happy November! or "Hurray for procrastination"

Ahhh, Kinders--

How is everyone?

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to the Harz mountains to wish the Grandparents a preemptive happy birthday (although that's actually a HUGE no go here--brings bad luck, doncha know...). It was nice, and we got back relatively early this afternoon, so it wasn't too stressful. I hadn't been since May and there was snow on the ground, so I was excited all around. In light of all the upcoming insanity (KiTa Thanksgiving, My Thanksgiving, 3 different adult ed courses, school, exams and WORK) I should be doing about a bajillion different things other than updating this, but you know...vive la procrastination!
So anyway, the Grandparents are well, the Angie is well, the Max is well and it was really nice to be out of the city and in such a lovely quaint village like Schierke. It's one of my favorite places in Germany because it reminds me so much of home. Sometimes I think that one of my ways of dealing with being so far away is to find little pieces of home wherever I go. To be fair, however, there are definitely more conifers in the Harz region than in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern combined. And there was snow!!!! Not much, and we didn't go up the Brocken (weather was too foggy and craptastic) where there was allegedly more, but it was enough. In Berlin it rains. A lot. Last week we had four out of five days of constant.rain. I thought I was going to go crazy! I also had nothing to wear, because no one here has dryers. Everything gets hung out on the balcony on drying racks. But when it rains and is windy, nothing gets dry. And it sucks. In the depths of winter here is when I'm at my post patriotic. Wait and see.

In other news...the elections!!!
They're coming and I'm so excited. I voted about a month ago, but it doesn't matter. I absolutely cannot wait for Tuesday to see how committed America really is to being the change we want to see in the world. I mean, I'm not the hard core Obama fan that so many other people I care about are...and if I'm going to be honest, I would have preferred Hilary, but I think that Obama has the potential to take the US in a very fascinating direction, domestically as well as internationally. I don't have anything against McCain personally. I think it's a shame that he allowed himself to get strong-armed into making such poor and uncharacteristic decisions (choosing Palin as a running mate, abandoning his principles and giving in to negative campaigning). He's a good I guy, I think. He's certainly an American hero, and he definitely deserved a better campaign than the one he got. I think that's really only fair to say. However, as a result of one of his poor decisions in particular, I hope to heaven that he doesn't win. That woman is not fit to be president now, and she won't be fit to be president in 2012. I think she needs to go back to the hinterlands where she belongs. But I don't want to get too nasty here. I just happen to think that she speaks to the vilest part of America, really the bottom of the barrel of what we stand for as a nation. And no, I would not like to go out for a beer with her. Which is also, by the way, absolutely NO MEASURE of a person's ability to govern. I mean seriously, people. Whoever came up with that crap, anyway? Fortunately, as I heard James Carville say to Wolf Blitzer today, in times of trouble, America is less likely to vote based on likeability and more likely to vote based on capability.
Here's to hoping that's true.

Anyway, I'm going to pack it in for today. I've got some reading that I won't have any other time to do...so yeah. Take care of youselves and ROCK OUT ON TUESDAY!!!

New Look!

Hey all,
I thought I'd try my hand at pepping up the look of things around here. Hope you like it!

Rock/Jam out, respectively.

Bland October Update

What's up, y'all?

Things are moving along here...I got my absentee ballot in a timely fashion, thanks to the great folks at the Readfield Town Hall and VOTED which was a great feeling. Paying four Euro in postage wasn't so much the highlight of my day, but you know...even living aboad has a downside once in a while. I've also managed with the help of about a metric ton of lemons and gallons of sage tea to regain my health. Painful process, that--but fortunately unaccompanied by scarlet fever. That really would have put a damper on my Fall, since there's just so much going on!

Thankfully, my Early Childhood Ed program has started picking up. We've got articles to read and presentations to make and the dates for the first exams have already been set. It's a neat feeling to be learning new things, like German custody/family law and sensory disorders. My challenge at the moment is time management and making sure that I distribute my time and energy relatively equally. We're celebrating Halloween at the KiLa this year and of course, as the resident American, I'm expected to be spearheading the whole shebang. One of my colleagues came up to me yesterday and was trying to share her fanastic ideas about a puppet show for the kids and I was completely unreceptive. Ugh. I felt bad for a minute, but firstly, she was telling me shit I already knew and secondly, I had just spend two and a half hours trying to get my monsters to take their afternoon nap--unsuccessfully. Whatever. It was also Friday. I'm sure by Monday I'll manage to have an opinion. Or some ideas. Or something.
The adult ed classes are fun and cool and interesting...but it's definitely a drain. I'm on the fence about whether or not to tell my boss next week to cancel one of my courses for next semester. I mean...having the money is great, and since the exchange rate appears to be levelling out, we'll absolutely be able to use the dinero for our Americana Extravaganza. Ugh. I hate having to make grownup decisions of this kind. I hate it almost as much as I hate cleaning out food debis from the little thingy in the kitchen sink. And I hate that an effing lot.

So yeah...that's what's up here. November is going to be even wilder, since I'm probably going to wind up with 3 evening classes, plus KiLa work, plus school. Don't expect to hear too much from me, then...it's hard enough surviving the week, let alone having a social life or any other extracurricular projects of any kind (blog included). I'd love to go out more often, but by the time I get home from my Friday adult ed class, you might as well stick a fork in me, cause I'm done. I suppose it comes with the territory and getting older and having chosen to combine multiple careers--all of which require a certain amount of take-home prep work. So I can't complain. I guess. Pardon me for doing so anyway...

I'm thinking about saying to hell with lesson planning (I can do it tomorrow after yoga ANYWAY...providing I get there. I haven't been to the gym in so long, it's practically criminal.) and making some apple sauce. We got a ton of pears and apples and corn from Stephan's family while we were there, and we've been keeping them out on the terrace...I'm pretty sure the corn isn't good anymore, but the apples and pears should be fine. It's been about fifteen years since I've make apple sauce from scratch, though...so I'm a bit nervous. Oh well. If I remember correctly, it's not that hard. I could also make a cake, though. Germans have all these great recipes for apple cakes. H'mmmm. We'll have to see how motivated I feel/how many apples we still have. And how quickly I get tired of peeling and coring them.

But since it's already four, I should get moving, otherwise I'll be standing in front of the stove all evening, and I'm not a 1950's housewife.

Hope everyone's well.
Love.

German Unification Day

Happy Unification Day, folks!
So far, I've celebrated by going our for nachos, taking a eukalyptus bath and drinking about a gallon of hot water with lemon slices. It's really too bad, actually. The weather's the best it's been in days, and I'm about to drown in my own phlegm. I mean, I should have seen it coming. Usually it hits even earlier--I suppose I should count my blessings that it was early October and not early September when my festering pestilence hit. The timing's actually great. I had to tough out work and Vo-Ho on Wednesday, the I cut classes on Thursday and spent the entire day on the couch. If I keep this routine up, there's no way I won't be cured by Monday. I hope.

Anway, not too much is new at the moment. This week school started "officially" and the idiotic project month finally came to an end. From the one day of classes I attended, it'll be interesting. It's also odd to be back in a classroom setting where I know I'm going to be held accountable for the information I'm being presented with. I mean, so far it doesn't seem too overwhelming, but I'll have to get back to you on that, I guess. I don't have too much to go on at the moment.

As I was walking back from La Cucina Latina today, I saw an older man who looked really fantastic. He was wearing a nice little tweed hat and a cape...but not Sherlock Holmes-like. This thing really looked much more like a garment bag, or a normal trench without any form or tailoring whatsoever...basically a garment bag with a collar. I wish I'd taken a picture with my phone, because it was so modern, but at the same time totally classic. Yeah. That was the streetwise fashion report of the day. Thanks ladies and gents for your time.


In other news...Stephan and I were up in Le Schwies last weekend to celebrate Max's eighteenth birthday. I think it was my dear Angielein who infected me with her pestilence to begin with, but getting there at one in the morning on Friday (or Saturday if you want to split hairs) didn't help much, nor did the ridiculousness which ensued on Saturday night.
I get along pretty fantastically with Stephan's Mum and the other women in the village. When we go up there, it really does feel like I'm visiting part of my family that loves me and looks after me in it's own special way. It's also a great way to really intensively experience the culture of the north east. But anyway, these women DRINK. Not with the desperation of the English, not with the carelessness of the Americans...they do it as methodically and precisely as Germans seem to do everything. They always made sure my glass was full--that everyone's glass was full. Constantly. There was fig vodka, wayyy too much sparkling wine, white wine, red wine, beer...and I forgot that my golden rule is not to mix my booze. God. Those women torched.my.shit. With impunity. Not only did I have red wine stains on my Tillys, I had one of the most godforesaken hangovers EVER. Wret.ched.


But...you know me. I recovered. I made it back to Berlin. With Stephan, a bag of corn, a bag of pears, a bag of apples, a bag of chestnuts, other nuts...and all our other kit. It was a schlepp of epic proportions. We made it, though. But barely, as one notices by the fact that I've been wearing my OSU scrubs for the last 48 hours straight. Anyway...I would say enough geschwaetzt for now. It's time for another hot lemon toddy and a short nap on the couch. Maybe with a side order of James Bond?


Find time to vegitate, kinders. It regenerates the soul.
(brought to you by YogiTea and My favorite pink blanket.)

Crime and Punishment on a Saturday Afternoon

It seems like Fall is finally here. Not that I've been waiting for it with baited breath or anything, but temperatures have taken a crisp drop in the last 48 hours and it made me think of...closed shoes. You know, not sandals. My feet haven't seen the inside of anything since May (yes, they do look disgusting as a result--but I'm okay with that) and yesterday I started to really feel the chill.

So I was out and about with my trusted shoe-expert/fetishist looking for some trainers. We had some limited success in our Kiez area, so we thought we'd stop by and visit Kalina and Bernhardt who run a fantastic boutique called Episoda ( www.myspace.com/episoda ) and ask them if they knew of anyplace else we could find some hot little euro-trainers for me. Bernhardt was running some errands, so Stephan and I are chilling, talking to Kalina and examining the new arrivals (effing goettliche jeans from Kuyichi and really lovely scarves from Erfurt) when this guy comes in. He tries on a pullover for a pretty penny and says he wants a larger size. I was in the other room, playing with the amazing scarves, so I only registered this on a marginal level. This guy tries the L on, which was on the rack, and before he even has it all the way on, he's asking for an XL. Kalina thought it was weird, but she's super-friendly and open, so she went into the back to get him an XL. I came into the front room a second before she did and saw this guy heading out of the store at a pretty brisk clip. I didn't think anything of it, except that in Germany, EVERYONE says "Hi" and "Goodbye" when entering and leaving a store or other public place. I thought it was weird that he hadn't.

We didn't really take any notice of it and were both trying on various items and chatting with Kalina, until all of a sudden she says, "The cash box is gone!" They're not a big store--they don't have a register or anything, just one of those little lockboxes with a key. And like, 700 Euro. At first, I thought maybe she'd just misplaced it--but no. That bastard had really robbed them. We were all kind of in shock and Kalina was trying to serve the other customers like nothing had really happened. Stephan and I volunteered to have a look around the neighborhood, because he hadn't had any kind of bag with him or anything, so he must have at least theoretically wanted to get rid of the box as soon as possible. We searched our hood up and down, but the problem is that on a Saturday morning, so many people are up and about running errands and shopping and walking their dogs and sitting in cafes and whatever that if you're some guy throwing a lockbox off a moving bike, people just might notice.

Anyway, by the time we got back, Bernhardt was there and had called the police, who were then also there and took statements from Kalina, Stephan and I. I'm an official witness to an official crime. Weird. No one has too much hope of the guy getting caught, and that's the worst part. I mean, Bernhardt and Kalina are the greatest. They sell only things that they really think are cool, that they can stand behind. They're just a small business. I can understand people who
steal from huge facist corporations like Wal Mart or Old Navy or shit like that, but not from two people just trying to make a living selling organic jeans and hipster fair trade pullovers. My God!

It's frustrating when shit like this happens to good people. And it's unfair. I've never really been able to cotton much to the phrase "life is unfair"--it might be true, but it shouldn't be. I mean, I'm sure this guy had a reason to steal--a habit, a pressing debt--but damn it, it sucks for Bernhardt and Kalina. Living here in Berlin as an American, I have always had a certain feeling of safety. The knowledge that in an American city of comparable size, the crime rate is much higher. In the states, this guy would have had a gun. That doesn't really give much comfort, though. You still feel angry and violated. What I'm not going to forget is the first thing Bernhardt said to us when we came through the door. He was like, "I don't know if I should be sad or pissed off." He eventually decided on pissed. I think I'm sad.


Play safe, Kinders.

As if there aren't enough other things in life to get angry and hateful about...

So I was sitting on my couch, relaxing with Henry who was visiting at the time, planning our coup of the Berlin nightlife scene when John McCain drops the bomb of Sarah Palin on my unsuspecting self.

Can we talk about this?

There are so many things about this nomination that get me unbelievably riled. It's like for the first time the GOP has noticed that there are a ton of Americans out there who'd like to see women in higher positions in government--the Hilary phenomenon isn't really explainable any other way--and they thought, "Oh, okay--we want a piece of that action. Women who would have voted for Hilary will indiscriminately vote for another vag as well. Who can we take who'll pose no threat whatsoever to our heinous agenda? H'mmmm..."

...E voila, ladies and gents, that's how Sarah Palin and her charming family were catapulted out of their Alaskan obscurity and into the national (and international) limelight. Oh boy!

Okay, to be honest, I was pumped for about a minute until Henry swiftly Wikipedia'd her ass. After that it was pretty much all over. Initially I thought...well, maybe it's the start of something. Maybe, regardless of their motivations, both the Dems and the GOP are rising above themselves and allowing American politics to ascend to a whole new level. It didn't take long for the wonders of modern technology to send me hurtling back down from cloud nine with a reverberating thud.

It hurt.

According to her Wickipedia entry, she also didn't seem like the antichrist. You know, with all her alleged anti-pork-barrelling and all. And honestly, I'm sure she's terribly nice, and certainly a great mom. I respect her "values" and all that jazz--more on that later--but what bugs me I think, about the whole kit'n kaboodle is that people are forgiving her things that no man would EVER get away with. I mean, she's trying to trump up PTA experience as a qualification for the American executive branch! Sorry, but I'm not okay with the post of VP for an aged potential president being filled via affirmative action. A woman so close to becoming the most powerful PERSON on Earth should be impeccably qualified. Or amazingly intelligent. I am offended by her being held to what appears to be a completely different standard than everyone else in those echelons of politics. It upsets me. She's a GOP poster child--or should I say pin up--and little more.

As a feminist, I've got to be honest and say that I don't want the first female president of the USA to get in the back door like this--as a pawn in the hands of the same old half dead white male elite. I want it to be REAL. I want her (whoever she may one day be) to run and win a REAL campaign, win the popular vote, win over the establishment and go in there and kick some ass! What's happening here is a sham. This woman might just manage to win over conservative voters who fall for the "Oh, she's just like me!" line of campaign logic. It might sound arrogant and condescending but the American president should NOT be just like you and me. What did that get us the last time?! People voted for GW because they thought he was accessable and down to earth and just an all around nice guy. Didn't really help him run the country, though. Did get us into the PR/IR/Ungodly disaster that is Iraq. Didn't help the economy any, or the national debt.

Let's sum up: THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE SHOULD NOT BE A POPULARITY CONTEST!


I just sighed. Deeply. I know how things are, and I know that in all honestly, despite whatever Barack Obama is promising, they probably aren't going to change in the near future. I just had to get my frustrations out there, though. I just can't stand people mistaking this woman for a feminist and a role model. Okay, she's a role model in that she's a working mom. I respect that. And I respect the fact that she wrangled with some gut wrentching decisions regarding her youngest son, and most recently her daughter. Before things get all pro-choice-y up in here, I just want to say that whatever decisions a woman makes regarding her reproductive system are just that: personal, sometimes painful decisions and should not now, not EVER be misconstrued as politics, a litmus test or a qualification to hold higher office.


Anyway, I hope everyone's doing well.
Fight the good fight, guys.

Saying goodbye to Markus...

Today was my colleague Markus's last day. Ohhhh, Markus. I want to post to do him justice, but that's just difficult. Somehow work won't be the same without him. Or certainly not as gossip-filled. I think I'll share my top 5 favorite Markus stories and -isms with you all...just because he's gone.

Number Five: Markus the steak-eating Buddhist

Markus is a practicing Buddhist. Buddhism's great! Now, I don't know how much y'all know about the various paths of Buddha and the different tenets of Buddhism, but one of the basics is "hurt no living thing". There are monks in parts of the world who walk around with brooms to sweep insects out of their path that they might possibly otherwise tread on. These folks take love of nature and her creatures very seriously. I had the good fortune to be around when our intern, Linda, started asking Markus about Buddhism. Markus was saying how he doesn't kill mosquitoes and since he adopted this kind and accepting stance to all of Earth's creations, he's noticed that bees and wasps don't sting him, and mosquitoes are no longer a problem. Linda eventually reaches the inevitable conclusion that Markus must be a vegetarian. Surprise! Of course not! According to him, it's perfectly okay to eat and also to purchase meat as a Buddhist, as long as you do not know where the meat comes from or who killed it.
I mean, I've heard very different things from people I know who have a great interest in or who practice Buddhism...but you know, whatever helps you sleep at night, right?

Number 4: "I won't work with another man"

I'm not sure if we all knew what we were getting into when we set out to fill the job of Sandra, our MIA caretaker with a jolly good fellow named Roland. Well, actually we were planning to fill the slot with Julia, and Roland was only a substitute until Julia could leave her old job, but whatever. In the beginning, there was Roland--and I think that was the beginning of the end.
One day during this process, my boss takes me aside and asks me if I would be okay with maybe switching into our other group for a month or so. I'm flexible--I don't care, and at work, we don't do too much work in our separate groups anyway, so I said sure. My boss explained that Markus approached her about the hiring of Roland and said that he refused to work in a group with another man. I was like...ummm...okay...wait, WHAT?! Who makes demands like that of their boss?! That's not normal. I asked my boss if Markus had given a reason--apparently not. That was when I realized that something wasn't quite right.

Number 3: "Just do what I tell you to, okay?"

The stage is set--my boss is on vacation, Markus and I are working the early shift with Roland in his first week. Roland is getting on well with the kids and making a general good impression. However, on that day he'd been running late and hadn't had time to eat his breakfast. He takes out his tiny German mini sandwiches at the breakfast table in front of all the kids, explains his situation and starts to unpack them. Markus looks over and was like "hey man, you know we we're not supposed to bring stuff from home here because some of the kids have allergies. You can just eat some of the stuff we have here." but in a tone where one would have thought 'oh, okay--I'll not do it again'--which was Roland's reaction. However, he continues to unwrap his sandwiches. Markus then does a 180 and was like "Put your sandwiches away!" Roland looks at him like he's crazy and doesn't do anything. Markus then ASKS HIM TO STEP OUTSIDE. All the while, I'm sitting at the table, looking from one to the next asking myself if they're going to start yelling at eachother in the hallway. I didn't hear any blows or screaming, and eventually they both came back in. Later, Roland told me Markus had said Roland just needed to do what he said and not question him in front of the children. Needless to say, relations between the two were strained after that.


Number 2: "If you don't like the way I'm doing it, then do it yourself!"

I had the wondrous good fortune to be chosen to co-lead the year-end KiLa trip with our "big kids" (5 kids ages 3-5). My boss had chosen the period of time and the location, and Markus and I were responsible for planning, packing, supervision and whatnot. During the planning period, one of the mothers made the suggestion that we take a day trip over to the island where their family had a camp. Markus and I were thrilled with the idea, but hadn't really planned anything, when word started to get out. During the run-up to the trip, my parents were here and I had vacation time and to put it simply, I wasn't often there. Apparently, some parents, my boss included had gotten the idea that this boat trip was set in stone, without of course, consulting them. The parents I work with REALLY like to be consulted, and my boss was starting to get a bit of flak. So she mentions to Markus totally offhand that he might want to maaayyybe run off some permission slips for this little field trip within a field trip with some extra information, seeing as boats, small children and deep water were going to be involved. Upon hearing this, Markus flips his shit and starts yelling at my boss, threatening not to do the trip at all if she didn't back off and leave him to do as he saw fit.
...Charmin' fella ain't he, folks?


Number 1: Giving up, Markus style

So remember the aforementioned boat trip? Permission was granted on all sides, slips were printed and signed and on the predetermined date, we woke up to drizzling rain. However, we went ahead with our plans, packed food, the kids, life-jackets, towels, rain gear...the whole shebang, and took the bus 15 minutes to the next village to meet up with this mother.
So. Now, we're standing with five very excited small children in a boat house at the water's edge, waiting for the rain to let up. It does, and the mother asks Markus if he would mind rowing one of the boats over to the island. Markus said he would, and he gets into one boat with Linda, our intern, and two or three kids. I'm in the next boat with the mother, her friend, her daughter and two other kids. We're busy loading up and shoving off, and all of a sudden, we notice that Markus and the boat are nowhere to be seen. We row over and find them--they've drifted into a little cove on the shore and Markus proceeds to have a fit. It's too unsafe, the weather is terrible, he promised the parents we wouldn't go out if the weather was like this, it's HIS responsibility, and he refuses to be a part of it. The two women try to reason with him and they manage to draw the discussion out long enough that the rain really does let up and Markus finally agrees it's "safe enough" to row over. However, he graciously allowed the friend of the mother to take over and row for him. Later, our intern Linda told me that he never even touched the oars. He got into the boat, let it drift and began to say over and over again "This is too dangerous, we're going to have to break it off, it's not safe..."
I mean, anyone with a grain of common sense knows that in a situation which might even remotely be construed as dangerous, one does not share one's fears with any small children who might be present. Even after the weather had cleared up, the kids were scared out of their wits. My boss's son greeted her with the words, "I didn't drown!" when she picked him up. True story.


So yeah. Those are my favorite episodes of Markus-mania. Stay tuned, we're getting an Australian starting in September. His name is Matt. Hopefully he'll be half as entertaining.

Mellonade!

So yesterday, because my budget is relatively limited and I had nothing else to do, I decided to go to the turkish market at Kotbusser Tor. You can get fabulously fresh produce there at prices my beloved vietnamese greengrocer can only dream of. It's also the only place I know of in Berlin where you can get a whole lamb. I'd just been on Friday, but in a fit of summery gluttony all my mangoes had disappeared...and, like I said...there was nothing better to do.

One of my favorite things about summer has always been lemonade. Delicious, refreshing, not at all nutritious...I used to drink it by the gallon. I started out with Countrytime, then moved on to Paul Newman's virgin lemonade. However, due to either its complete lack of health benefits or it's inherent American-ness there is no lemonade to be found in these parts. Although products like Fluff and Oreos and Swiss Miss cocoa have long since started to deck the shelves in forward thinking German supermarkets, lemonade remains an outsider. So on my way to market, I thought to myself, in addition to buying mangoes and figs...why not get a dozen lemons or so and see if you can make good on that old English proverb?
...And that's exactly what I did. A friend of ours is doing an internship at a clinic outside Berlin and came over yesterday afternoon to help me out. Considering that I don't even have one of those hand-juicers, things went pretty well...albeit a tad on the sting-y, citrucy and sticky side. Marleen, who is studying medical biotechnology explained to me in great detail why this combination of citric acid, water and sugar pretty much created the fatal trifecta of doom for my teeth (btw--does anyone know a good dentist here in Berlin?) but the end result tastes all right.

My problem is that the longer I live here, the more subtley German my tastes become. I HAVE a little plastic package of the Countrytime lemonade powder in my cupboard here. I've made it several times...and every single time I think to myself 'Dear GOD, this is disgustingly sweet.' So the home made stuff is ungodly bitter in comparison, but I'm happy. It's far more refreshing that way...and at least it's citric acid gnawing away at my tooth enamel and not sugar. Because that's better...right?


Anyway, that's the view from here. I should hang up the laundry before it starts to stink in the washing machine...and translate my driver's license...but that's a story for another day.

Play safe guys, and fight the good fight.

Of vacations, spoons and immigration services

Hi folks,
how're things?

I'm still on vacation, using the time to catch up with friends, work on forming some new good habits (for a change). My trainer saw me at the gym twice today and I thought he was going to fall over in surprise. We'll see how long my latest wave of motivation lasts, or how long my impending hectic schedule of doom will let me keep at my workouts and pilates, but I'm hoping to get the best out of the time that I have. In other news, I was at immigration services about a week ago and officially got my visa extended for two years with unlimited and unrestriced access to the german job market. I'm elated...mostly because technically I'm not even eligible (love your caseworker and she'll love you back is all I've got to say about that one...) and because when you've experienced having to check in with a government agency before even thinking about changing your job, knowing that your potential employer is going to be hunted down and grilled by the german department of labor regarding why they want YOU to work for them instead of a perfectly good, out of work German...well, it's just nice not to have to deal with that.

Not that I'm thinking about changing jobs. I've been listening around and for most Kindergartens and nursery schools aren't half as employee-friendly as ours is. My boss is fantastic and hardly ever plays the Boss Lady role and my co workers are mostly pretty cool. We all know what the odds are of those conditions cropping up in most places of employment. A lot of friends of mine who also work in "the business" can't even take vacation days during the first six months on the job. I know, I know...in the states it's normal, but I've gotten a trifle spoiled where I am now, I guess.

Let's see...not too much has been going on recently. The annual Beer Mile was this past weekend a few blocks from our place. We went down there Friday and wound up throwing a spontaneous party for some random people Stephan knows from school cause it started to rain. I drank a Polish kid under the table at a game of spoons...the poor bastard is still mad at me, I think. Oh well. He kinda had it coming.

Anyway, I just spent a fantastic hour skyping with Colleen (all y'all who have skype can search for me under tyler.margaret) and now I think I'm going to go dig into the leftover tiramisu. I mean...why else was I at the gym twice today?

Take care guys...I'm thinking of you!

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dreams.png

I don't know if the link is going to show, but I saw it on xkcd and I thought it was awesome.

I'm on vacation! It's pretty fantastic--I spent the last week in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with Stephan's Mum. There was lots of getting up early, bike riding and lake swimming. All in all, it was nice to have a break from the city. However, planning my ATM visits days in advance was kind of annoying. The weather started off kind of weak, but we're now in the middle of a fantastic heat wave and my tan is coming along. I've got my appointment with Immigration Services on Tuesday and I'm kind of excited about it. It's looking like I might actually get a three year visa. We'll see.

Hopefully we'll get a chance to get down to one of the lakes here in the area as long as the weather's good. For whatever reason, I can't think of anything terribly witty or entertaining to write, so I'm just going to cut for now.

Take care, all.

Older and Wiser?

Hey folks,
hope this post finds you all in great health and spirits. Here in Berlin, we're enjoying temperatures warmer than those in Rio and I'm lucky enough to have collected enough overtime at work to have had the majority of this week off. It was a great chance to recover from the stressful yet utterly fantastic combination of my parent's visit, my uncle's wedding and my 25th birthday. Celine was here for a short visit, which consisted mostly of wandering through my neighborhood and drinking tea on my terrasse. Next week, I've been tapped to take the four and five year olds on a week-long trip with Markus, my sometimes difficult colleague. I'm mostly excited, we've checked out the accommodations, and our intern Linda will be coming too (she's pretty cool) and I've got some pretty great stuff planned. My only worry is that Markus is going to somehow manage to botch the packing (because I'm not there this week) or somehow otherwise submarine my input. We'll see. I'll actually only be staying until Thursday evening because our negotiation hearing in court is on Friday. I'm hoping that we'll get the issue with our ridiculous landlord and his cohorts settled once and for all. Our lawyer is also of the opinion that we have nothing to negotiate, as we have done nothing wrong. Our demands--to put it frankly--our pretty basic. Our landlord needs to stop treating us like idiots, reduce our rent and preferably (my addition here) apologize for their ridiculous behavior.
We'll see...keep your fingers crossed for us.
My parents were here, like I mentioned--and I think things went swimmingly. No one got food poisioning or any other strange diseases, everyone tried new things, my parents got to meet Stephan, Stephan got to meet a big chunk of my family at Steve's wedding and we got to spend a lovely few days in an utterly charming Czech hamlet. I can only reccomend it. The people are friendly, the castles are imposing and beautiful, the landscape is breathtaking and the exchange rate is favorable for the dollar (places like that are getting few and far between these days). My only tip: do not drive through Poland. The roads are being renewed from the center of the country out to the boarders. This is unfortunate if you don't plan to drive through the center of the country. I thought the rental was going to bust an axle on some of those craters! Stephan narrowly escaped getting charged an exorbitant five euro for a sausage (polish sausage is good, but not that good), my sister got chased after for stiffing the bathroom watchman twenty euro cents and we got our windows forcibly washed by some cracked out guys with squeegees...while it was raining. A very colorful trip. I don't think any of the parties involved will forget it any time soon.
The rest of their visit was relatively uneventful--except that my Mum's bank card didn't want to work and the hotel reservations got botched somehow. It was a bit stressful...but rewarding.
However, all these events left me no time to plan my quarter-century birthday party. I managed to send some chaotic texts to a few friends, and Stephan did what he does best (shopping like he invented it) and when I came home from the kindergarten overnight (a preparatory measure for our trip next week) I had a fantastic birthday breakfast waiting for me--complete with my very own kiwi plant. A bunch of people came over in the evening for grilling and whatnot and it wound up being quite nice, despite the lack of planning. One of the coolest things I got, other than the kiwi plant of course, was a dvd box set of all the James Bond films with Sean Connery in them. I've already managed to watch From Russia With Love, and while I'm writing this, You Only Live Twice is running. I was ecstatic when I got them. All in all, I got to celebrate four times--once with my parents before they left, once with my kids at the overnight, once with Stephan and once with all my German friends. All in all, I can't complain.
The only bummer in recent weeks has been my bad spell with my bike. I bit it twice in as many weeks, hitting the exact same places on me and my bike. The last time was with substantial speed and I've gone through that from having nine speeds to having three...and because it's my own fault, there's no way it's going to be covered by my warantee, no matter how nice my bike guys are. So I'm hoping to get there either today or tomorrow and get things straightened out so I don't have to buy a transport pass for this month.

Anyway, I'm going to get started on dinner and whatnot. Hope everyone's doing well. Keep fighting the good fight.