Bright eyes

We really were thrown into the ocean in the worst of weather.

Gosh.

I'm happy happy happy. The weather is sunny/rainy/cloudy and I love it. I'm so glad Dresden has cool summers. B wore his old chinos and put on an apron to fry some chicken and it was just like how things looked in Löbtau. He threw a towel over his shoulder because I told him I secretly fell in love with him when I saw him do that one time. I shrieked and jumped about it.

IT'S CALLED SHOUTING AT PEOPLE UNTIL THEY UNDERSTAND:

Talking to an Ausländer 101

The following is of help:
Repeating the sentence a bit slower.
"Und was wäre, wenn du in die Vergangenheit reisen und alle schmertzhaften und dunklen Stunden durch etwas Besseres ersetzen könntest?"

The following is of less help:
Repeating the sentence so slow that the speed distorts words or it takes you a couple minutes to finish one sentence.
"Unnnd was wäääre, ....wenn duuuuu in die Verrrgangenheit reiiiiisen..."

The following is of even lesser help:
Screaming.
"UND WAS WÄRE, WENN DU IN DIE VERGANGENHEIT REISEN UND ALLE SCHMERTZHAFTEN UND DUNKLEN STUNDEN DURCH ETWAS BESSERES ERSETZEN KÖNNTEST?"

The following is of no help:
Repeating certain words of the sentence at highly increased decibels.
"DUUU! VERGANGENHEIT! REISEN! STUNDEN! BESSERES! ERSETZEN KÖNNTEST!

Endlich

B and I ran some errands and walked a bit in the cool air. A British guy asked to take our picture for his blog. The week's almost over.

unmöglich

Impossible for me to go to bed at a decent hour. Impossible impossible impossible.

Can I get an amen

If an Ausländer freelancer can successfully do their taxes in Germany, they should be given some preferential treatment. 

For instance. Let's say your visa expires in December. You get a letter in early November that you should come to the immigration office with these papers at this time on this day. Mit freundlichen Grüßen. 

Also, this appointment is in December. You get nervous but figure the immigration office knows what they're doing so you just get that paperwork. You know the list by heart and use your trusty "I'm going to the immigration office today" folder to store everything. 

You have to wait, even though you have an appointment, so you hang out with the other panicked Ausländer surrounding you and read some literature posted on the walls. You find out about the new visas, no longer a sticker in your passport but a legit card. You figure this is a success because now you don't have to carry around your passport just to go buy milk. 

You finally go inside and find out you have to pay 80€ what with the visa being a new program and everything like that. This is a lot but you have learned not to show weakness in an Amt so you nod stoically. Then they tell you your new visa won't be ready for a while because who knows how long it takes to make a plastic card. You nod again, ok, that's ok. And then you find out you have to pay 20€ extra for a temporary visa because in case you didn't notice, your visa expires next week. 

So if you've ever had to curl up with a cup of tea and the Einkommensteuergesetz and then the Umsatzsteuergesetz because the experiences of the good people of Toytown Germany have terrified you, and then you stare at legal German for way too long 

dealing with tangibles

It's very quiet in our apartment today with B working and kitty sleeping and me... respirating.

Planning out the day

Me: Do you really think we need 'I'm faking getting ready to get married' pictures?
B: What are those?
Me: You know, pictures of someone holding my shoe in front of my foot and a picture of you putting on your tie as the other guys stand around you like "ha ha, I thought so too."
B: People do that? It's probably all staged.
Me: It is staged.
B: Okay... well...
Me: Here's how it's going to go. We'll wake up and eat breakfast in a diner and then one of us will say, "Are you going to take a shower now?" and the other will say, "Why, are you?" and the other will say, "I took one last night before bed" and the other will say in a minorly aggressive tone, "That doesn't answer my question." And the other will pause and finally say, "Well, you can go first."
B: We're not that complicated.
Me: Okay, well let's say I'll get in the shower. I'll get out, toweling myself and then Buck (my mom's dog) will nose his way into the room since the lock's broken and press his cold nose against my legs and I'll yell at my mom to get him out of the bathroom and you'll come to the door and say, "Are you done yet?" and then Calliope will come in and meow like the Doppler Effect because I haven't made eye contact with her in a couple minutes and then you'll notice I'm holding a makeup sponge with brown stuff on it and you'll ask, "What's that?" and I'll say, "it's foundation" and smear it on my face. And you'll say, "What's that?" and I'll say, "I don't know; I'm supposed to wear it so I look good in pictures" and then Buck will knock over the hair dryer.
B: And you don't want a picture of that?