I think posting every second day might be my new goal. Hey, in comparison to posting once a month, it's like a 200% improvement, right? This post will be short.....today I had to get up extra early, because I had a seminar about 40 minutes from here (without traffic backups), which started at 8 am. The seminar continues again tomorrow and again starts at 8 am. So, I will be going to bed very shortly.
We have an ongoing problem here in Germany - have you heard? The locomotive drivers have been striking on and off for a month, which seems like forever now. So, I basically have to check the news every morning to find out if I can take the train today or if there is a strike again and I should take the car. And on the days when they're not striking, there is always some problem which causes the delay or complete cancellation of a train. The union cannot agree with the employer on a salary level. It looks like they'll be striking again on Thursday, but this time they won't be striking the local street trains, they'll be striking the commercial transport. Most people are hopeful that this means that companies will put more pressure on the settling of a contract. Can you imagine if there's no commercial transport of goods possible? As a substitute, trucks would probably have to be rented for transport. Which will cause more delays and jams on the highways. It's a mess. Don't misunderstand. I'm all for the right of the locomotive drivers to strike. But it's going on too long now, in my opinion. I can't say which side needs to settle, because I'm not that knowledgeable on the topic. But somebody needs to do something......
06 November 2007
04 November 2007
Keep on Tryin'
Ok, so only 3 days into November and I've already failed at NaBloPoMo. Well, it's not that big a surprise given how infrequently I post....why did I think I would be able to post every day? But nobody loves a quitter, so I'm going to keep trying. Like my Mom always told us kids "Keep on keepin' on." We'll see....
There's a really cool new website "Free Rice." It gives you a word and then a list of four other words, one of which is a synonym. You have to find the synonym. For each word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations to help fight hunger. 45,760,870 grains of rice were donated yesterday alone! How cool is that? And as a side benefit, your vocabulary will be expanded. Check it out. I had some words which I had never heard before. As you get words right, it gets harder, so good luck!
Here's the verse that's running through my head on a loop today:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29.11 (NIV)
Happy Sunday!
There's a really cool new website "Free Rice." It gives you a word and then a list of four other words, one of which is a synonym. You have to find the synonym. For each word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations to help fight hunger. 45,760,870 grains of rice were donated yesterday alone! How cool is that? And as a side benefit, your vocabulary will be expanded. Check it out. I had some words which I had never heard before. As you get words right, it gets harder, so good luck!
Here's the verse that's running through my head on a loop today:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29.11 (NIV)
Happy Sunday!
02 November 2007
2. November
I made it with one minute to go! Today I donated blood for the first time in Germany...more tomorrow. ;o)
01 November 2007
Outback
On Tuesday night, Marc and I discovered the Australian Outback without leaving our little town of Fellbach. It surprised me to discover that there is an Australian wine shop in Fellbach. And on the last Tuesday of the month, they have a Stammtisch. Unfortunately, they don't speak English at their Stammtisch (it didn't bother me, but Marc was looking forward to it). They do have wine and food. So (hold on to your seat) on Tuesday night, I ate kangaroo. That's right, the little hippity hoppity creatures that look so cuddly. And.....it wasn't bad. I wouldn't make kangaroo a regular part of my diet, but it was definitely edible. It did not, however, taste like chicken.
While eating, we heard a presentation from Otto, a German who has lived in Australia for 15 years. He gives guided tours of the Canning Stock Route. His presentation was interesting, but I don't feel like I need to jump on a plane to Australia tomorrow.
In other big news that I haven't yet posted on this blog, we're getting married! I have alluded to Marc for the last many months and now it's time to finally make it official (on the blog anyways).
It's amazing what you have to go through to get married in Germany. As a foreigner, I'm required to present an Ehefaehigkeitszeugnis, or a document which states that I am able to marry (because I'm not married to anyone else). The United States, however, doesn't provide such a document. So, I had to drive to Frankfurt and obtain an Affadavit from the American Consulate, on which I swore to my single status. Then, I had to order my birth certificate, with an Apostille. That cost a pretty penny and took a while, because it had to go to the Great Seal office in Lansing. Then, I had to give it to a translator and have it officially translated into German. Marc had it much easier, he needed his family book and his parent's marriage certificate. Because his parents' marriage and his birth took place in the same city, he only had to go to one office and it's practically around the corner (I'm not bitter, just stating the facts).
Once we had all these documents, we went to the Standesamt, or Registry Office. In Germany, you are required to be married by the "state." It's not like in the US, where pastors are allowed to perform ceremonies which are in turn recognized by the state. Here, you can choose whether or not you want a "church" wedding, but you must be married at the Standesamt.
So, the Standesamt....we signed lots of papers saying that we're not already married, that we want to get married, that I want to change my name, .... And they took all of those papers and sent them to the Appellate Court. Because, remember, I couldn't present an Ehefahigkeitszeugnis. So, the Standesamt had to make an application to the Appellate Court to waive the requirement that I present that document and let me get married anyways.
And that's where we're hanging out. Waiting for the Court.
Today's a holiday in Germany - All Saint's Day. So the company is closed. And our department is closed tomorrow, too. Yea for a four day weekend!
Tomorrow, my landlord will come over to look at the faucets in the bathroom. The renter before me had to replace them, because they had washed them with something that ended up streaking them black. So he wants to see them and he wants to look at the water damage from the previous renter. He's also going to receive notice that I'm moving out, but he doesn't know that yet. He had called about a month ago and left a message that he needed to make an appointment with me to come by. I called him back, a couple of times, but it always just rang and rang. So I check the mail on Monday and I have a letter from him that I need to give access to my apartment within the next ten days, because he's left repeated messages to which I have not responded. This is an untruth and I was very angry. So I called him and told him I had received one message from him (he did not respond to that) and had called him back. He stated that he sees the number when he has missed a call and I stated that I see the same. Well, he just moved on to "when can we come by?" So he'll be here tomorrow....
Monday night was not a fun night for the mail....I had an 800 Euro bill from the dentist, which covered three months of visits, but should please be paid in the next 20 days. I also had a 150 Euro bill from the surgeon for the removal of my toenail. Then there was the 100 Euro bill from the Dermatologist. I think they had all called one another and agreed to send their bills at the same time. And unfortunately, because my insurance is in the US, I have to send the bills over (with claim forms that I'm really not sure I completed correctly, although I used to do that as my job...). Then they have to have the bills translated, then they will consider the claim. This will take ages. I know some fellow expats who have been waiting six months now to get their money back. Yikes.
In the last update for today, Marc gave me highlights yesterday. I'm not sure if I like them. I think I need to live with them for a little while. The color is a little funky. Not blond, but not quite red. Not orange, either, though....
November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBlogPoMo), so I'm going to try to post every day. Think I can do it?
While eating, we heard a presentation from Otto, a German who has lived in Australia for 15 years. He gives guided tours of the Canning Stock Route. His presentation was interesting, but I don't feel like I need to jump on a plane to Australia tomorrow.
In other big news that I haven't yet posted on this blog, we're getting married! I have alluded to Marc for the last many months and now it's time to finally make it official (on the blog anyways).
It's amazing what you have to go through to get married in Germany. As a foreigner, I'm required to present an Ehefaehigkeitszeugnis, or a document which states that I am able to marry (because I'm not married to anyone else). The United States, however, doesn't provide such a document. So, I had to drive to Frankfurt and obtain an Affadavit from the American Consulate, on which I swore to my single status. Then, I had to order my birth certificate, with an Apostille. That cost a pretty penny and took a while, because it had to go to the Great Seal office in Lansing. Then, I had to give it to a translator and have it officially translated into German. Marc had it much easier, he needed his family book and his parent's marriage certificate. Because his parents' marriage and his birth took place in the same city, he only had to go to one office and it's practically around the corner (I'm not bitter, just stating the facts).
Once we had all these documents, we went to the Standesamt, or Registry Office. In Germany, you are required to be married by the "state." It's not like in the US, where pastors are allowed to perform ceremonies which are in turn recognized by the state. Here, you can choose whether or not you want a "church" wedding, but you must be married at the Standesamt.
So, the Standesamt....we signed lots of papers saying that we're not already married, that we want to get married, that I want to change my name, .... And they took all of those papers and sent them to the Appellate Court. Because, remember, I couldn't present an Ehefahigkeitszeugnis. So, the Standesamt had to make an application to the Appellate Court to waive the requirement that I present that document and let me get married anyways.
And that's where we're hanging out. Waiting for the Court.
Today's a holiday in Germany - All Saint's Day. So the company is closed. And our department is closed tomorrow, too. Yea for a four day weekend!
Tomorrow, my landlord will come over to look at the faucets in the bathroom. The renter before me had to replace them, because they had washed them with something that ended up streaking them black. So he wants to see them and he wants to look at the water damage from the previous renter. He's also going to receive notice that I'm moving out, but he doesn't know that yet. He had called about a month ago and left a message that he needed to make an appointment with me to come by. I called him back, a couple of times, but it always just rang and rang. So I check the mail on Monday and I have a letter from him that I need to give access to my apartment within the next ten days, because he's left repeated messages to which I have not responded. This is an untruth and I was very angry. So I called him and told him I had received one message from him (he did not respond to that) and had called him back. He stated that he sees the number when he has missed a call and I stated that I see the same. Well, he just moved on to "when can we come by?" So he'll be here tomorrow....
Monday night was not a fun night for the mail....I had an 800 Euro bill from the dentist, which covered three months of visits, but should please be paid in the next 20 days. I also had a 150 Euro bill from the surgeon for the removal of my toenail. Then there was the 100 Euro bill from the Dermatologist. I think they had all called one another and agreed to send their bills at the same time. And unfortunately, because my insurance is in the US, I have to send the bills over (with claim forms that I'm really not sure I completed correctly, although I used to do that as my job...). Then they have to have the bills translated, then they will consider the claim. This will take ages. I know some fellow expats who have been waiting six months now to get their money back. Yikes.
In the last update for today, Marc gave me highlights yesterday. I'm not sure if I like them. I think I need to live with them for a little while. The color is a little funky. Not blond, but not quite red. Not orange, either, though....
November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBlogPoMo), so I'm going to try to post every day. Think I can do it?
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