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In my mental state, I think I would have spent a good part of the 19th century under sedation.
Lots to do as we are finally getting into the last stages of preparing for our trip to the States. A ways off, but getting there (yey). This week, I have a counseling appointment, an interview at a job agency hiring for a federal agency (only a 1-year and I am not qualified) and an appointment with the doctor (ooh fun).
I need to get the apartment in shape and get my paperwork in order for the appointment this afternoon – so I’m off.
Hello again you kindly, persistent readers. We are hanging in here at chateau de moose, watching the fortunes of the German national soccer team climb despite (come on, deep in your heart, you know the games have been . . . meh) so-so play. It doesn’t change the fact that it makes me happy to see the Germans happy. Yes, they are noisy, but this is all just one more big chance to let our intellectual, so very above it all neighbors reveal Germany’s prolo heart, one every bit as big as that of your standard Gerry Springer audience. Seriously, I enjoy it – although the irony of a drunken idiot leaning out of the sunroof of a tuned up honda screaming, “This is what winners look like,” is not lost on me.
Had an interview yesterday. My performance – also very meh, but although that pains me, the only thing that truly matters is its total behind-me-ness. There is yet another appointment of doom coming up next Tuesday, a position for which I am even less qualified (always fun), but that is ok, because I have a new best friend. Baldrian (valerian for you Englishers). Relaxing and catnip-like all in one little pill. (They sell this without prescription in DM, but you can’t get an aspirin there. NO, that would be dangerous.) Honestly, I think my coolness, calmness and collection yesterday sprang from my deep ambivalence about the position for which I was interviewing. Steady hours likely, distance moderate, travel time enormous, and subject matter potentially very boring.
The charming UNGS indulged me by taking me out to dinner and we watched the Spaniards win deservedly. Today I have slept and lounged and am trying to get caught up on cleaning, laundry, and everything else that doesn’t make me thing of the stomach-churning world of job hunting and interviews. (cue “I am the queen of denial”)
Is there anything about this picture that doesn’t shout, “Summer in America”? Pass the Country Time Lemonade please!
not confined to Bayern (hat tip to Jul).
So Boulder might as well be here on the continent, but at least my Mitbürger felt the need to use the odd strategically placed swim fin.
I have no idea how good the information is likely to be, but I ran across an New York Times web page -
The Frugal Traveler Does Europe on A Budget
and I thought some of you might be interested. I will try to keep an eye on it and let you know if I see anything particularly intersting in our neck of the woods.
In other travel news, we were just introduced to Couchsurfing last weekend. Although I don’t know if we will be headed out into the wide world, and we are definitely too fuddyduddy to attract anyone to stay with us, there seem to be more meetups in my area scheduled through couchsurfing than through Toytown. We went to party last Friday evening and hung out with some of the same folks the next day. Hopefully, we can arrange to have people over to our place to watch and EM game soon.
MG – would you be willing to guest-write a review of the hotel you stayed in in Paris?
In fairness, I have been told that having a clothing store called “Banana Republic” come across as strange if one isn’t accustomed to it, but mister*lady ?
Trying to be anyway.
The job opening that I really (repeat x3) want is advertised for applicants with an FH degree. It actually says “not Uni” in the ad. You might be asking yourself, “Well, what the heck does that mean?”, and you would not be alone. The UNGS and I can’t be certain from the wording of the ad that a more advanced degree wouldn’t be an exclusion criterium (which would suck). On the other hand, they may merely be trying to emphasize that the applicant with an FH degree more than meets the minimum selection criteria.
There is also the little issue of my vacation time coming up and colliding horribly with the time period in which the interviews are most likely to be held.
The UNGS is convinced that it is best to call and ask if a) being an uni alumn will put you at a competitive disadvantage for the position and b) if they have any suggestions for working around my planned absence.
- – -um ok- – - browser window went wonky and then I had a white browser screen with a little smiley face in the upper right corner – -thank you wordpress and your autosave
Gathering up my little courage I put together a little script with my questions and called the organization where I wish to apply. I have talked to two people and am awaiting a return call from a woman who might be able to answer my questions.
Is this going to help – probably not, but they may wish for specific contact information during my absence and probably most importantly, I have made some phone calls and it’s all about fear managment and building self-confidence through small successes. Much in need of that.
Six days before my parents were scheduled to come, I lost my keys. It ruined my plans for an evening meet-up with my pal M., who was very understanding (you’re the best). It completely freaked me out, because I managed to leave the keys with a receipt from the post office with our name and address on it. For about a half an hour, I also couldn’t find my wedding ring – cue meltdownn.
We also started to get hang-up phone calls which turned me into a basket case.*
*I have been told that this is a function of the way telemarketing computers work.
The next day I got two new apartment keys cut and 1 new house key (that one alone cost 20 eur – owwwwch). All I can say is, thank God the keys weren’t security keys. After repeatedly making the rounds to every store I had visited with little papers with my cell number and first name and going to the public transportation and city Fundbüros, we gave up and re-keyed the apartment door. (The UNGS is my hero and so very handy. You’d never think this was the same man who put a nail right through the cable in our last apartment.) This was so easy to do.
Here’s the old one.
The good news part?
I got my keys back yesterday. They were turned in at the public transportation office a week after I lost them. Of course, one would have liked to get them back earlier, but we have a better lock in now, a few extra keys and we have the doubles for my bikes and the mailbox, too. All very reassuring.
Still battling our demons here at Moose Lodge, but we are consciously working on our as-yet-to-be-named project, the focus of which is “enjoying life anyway”.
Left to our own devices, we would probably sit around most weekends not doing much of anything, even though there are plenty of things worth seeing well within day-trip range. Just as we headed off to Heidelberg after I got fired, the past few weeks have been fuller than is usual for us and this is a good thing.
A bit of a detour here – early steps in implementing above mentioned plan.
At the beginning of May, I got to pondering our situation and further upset myself (SOP, I am afraid) by reflecting on the time I had available and the fantastic weather and that my parents would visit at some later date when I had no time to show them around. Shortly thereafter, my father’s physical therapy ended. (He still has a long way to go, so this wasn’t good news, but at any rate, his schedule was free.) Right about the same time, my mother’s teaching obligations ended for the year and I had a GreatIdea(tm). Despite the fact that we are going to see my parents in July, they could come visit us now.
I (in my not insignificant awesomeness) found them a great deal on a direct flight, and the rest is now history. It was good having them here. Low sodium cooking is impossible. My father is as difficult as ever. We had dinner on the balcony almost every night and the weather was more cooperative than any German resident has any right to expect. Some rain, but we never got soaked.
End detour -
We went to the Mummelsee over the weekend and hiked up to a moor on the Hornisgrinde in the Schwarzwald. (Strangely enough the web page for the Mummelsee is available in Catalan and not English. If you are a wikipedia-type, this might be your chance to add an article. Achhhh! The English page on the Hornisgrinde is also about 10 years out of date. See below.)
I hope that I have been able to demonstrate conflusively that
- the view alone makes the Hornisgrinde a visit
- the summit is no longer closed to the public or in use by the French military
- physical exercise, a stiff breeze and a zip line are the cure for nearly all that ails
The perfect job for me, I am qualified out the wazoo, over-qualified even, but that’s ok, I am confident that I could do it – pay not great but good enough and local. But, here’s the kicker. The application period doesn’t close til the 26th, which means that, in all probability, we will be out of the country when they schedule the interviews. I have added a sentence to the cover letter with info about our travel schedule, but still, it’s public sector and it pretty much means that my chances went from low to nil. (I guess I should just be happy that there even was a job like that open.)
Ok, off to returning emails about volunteering.
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