A stressful morning, but the afternoon is shaping up to be better. I just got an email confirmation of my visa for the UK. So I'll be allowed to live there. G picks it up at 2pm and I'm guessing his is confirmed as well. So that's one good thing off the stress list.
The potential good things are about the apartment. I phoned the agency that looks after our building for the landlords, putting forward the idea of the landlords buying the kitchen we have in the flat. It belongs to us, meaning we could take it with us, but as we have no use for it, it might as well stay in the flat, so I offered that to her. She said she would have to check with the landlords and see the kitchen, but she didn't give an outright no. The other good thing was, once I told her that we will be out of the flat by the end of October, she said she would bring the agent in charge of finding the next tenant along and if they can find someone for November, we would be able to get out of our rental contract early. Tomorrow they will come by to take a look at the kitchen and the flat.
So the only stress now is to tidy up enough not to shock them at the haphazard state of our flat, with boxes everywhere.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Sleepless nights and stressful days
Have you heard of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale? Also known as the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, it's a rating system to determine how much stress you have in your life. Different events like death of your spouse or major change in social habits are weighted on the scale (100 and 15 points, respectively) and you add up all the events in your life over the past year to see how stressed you are. There's an interactive version too, if you don't want to add it up yourself. I projected a bit ahead and included the birth of the baby and having moved plus the other things, which puts me at a moderate to high level of stress. Considering that the last while before all of this, my stress level was probably mild to low, that's a lot of stress.
Right now the move is the thing that has me stressed out the most. There's so much to do in such a short window of time. This is the second night in a week I woke up and wasn't able to go straight back to sleep because my list of things to do kept pushing into my brain. Trying to keep track of everything is pretty tough, but today I'll be making a master list, so hopefully waking up in the middle of the night and thinking, "Don't forget!" will ease off, once I know it's written down as on a to-do list.
Today G. is in Düsseldorf for an appointment at the British embassy. This is one of his major stress points, applying for our resident permits. He had a big thick folder of papers with him, so hopefully everything they need to see is included and therefore we can get the permits glued into our passports this morning and have them straight away. Otherwise, it might take a bit longer, which is what has G stressed out because if they retain his passport, he can't go to the UK until he has it back, which could interfere with work. That's worst case scenario, which I don't think will happen, because we do have all the necessary paperwork for them. None the less, it's a stress until it's ticked off the list.
Not much anyone can do for us at the moment to reduce the stress other than keep their fingers crossed for us (or if you are German, press your thumbs) and wish us luck!
Right now the move is the thing that has me stressed out the most. There's so much to do in such a short window of time. This is the second night in a week I woke up and wasn't able to go straight back to sleep because my list of things to do kept pushing into my brain. Trying to keep track of everything is pretty tough, but today I'll be making a master list, so hopefully waking up in the middle of the night and thinking, "Don't forget!" will ease off, once I know it's written down as on a to-do list.
Today G. is in Düsseldorf for an appointment at the British embassy. This is one of his major stress points, applying for our resident permits. He had a big thick folder of papers with him, so hopefully everything they need to see is included and therefore we can get the permits glued into our passports this morning and have them straight away. Otherwise, it might take a bit longer, which is what has G stressed out because if they retain his passport, he can't go to the UK until he has it back, which could interfere with work. That's worst case scenario, which I don't think will happen, because we do have all the necessary paperwork for them. None the less, it's a stress until it's ticked off the list.
Not much anyone can do for us at the moment to reduce the stress other than keep their fingers crossed for us (or if you are German, press your thumbs) and wish us luck!
Friday, October 13, 2006
Confirmation of the niceness of Germans
I talked about before how when I twisted my ankle, no one offered to help me or ask if I was okay when we were in England. I said this was the opposite of my experience in Germany. Well, I had that confirmed again last night.
I was walking down towards the central pedestrian zone in Munich, right near Marienplatz. I was talking to G. on my mobile and wasn't paying close attention to where I was going. Or rather, not paying attention to where my feet were going. I stepped on an uneven grate and fell down. Fortunately not twisting my ankle, but going down pretty fast like a sack of potatoes. I wasn't hurt, and as it was a busy street, I picked myself up pretty quick. But even as I was getting up, about 3 people out of the dozen right near me were already rushing over, to see if I was okay. Several others were hovering, making sure I got up. I was still on the phone to G., so I smiled, said I was okay and kept walking, with nothing more than a scraped knee and a blown dignity.
This isn't meant as a dig at the Brits, but rather as proof that the Germans are friendly and helpful, something I don't think they are often credited with being. Hopefully next time I fall over in England (which is bound to happen, knowing me) I'll have better things to report.
As an aside, G. says the baby will have to learn walking from him, since I'm obviously not very good at it.
I was walking down towards the central pedestrian zone in Munich, right near Marienplatz. I was talking to G. on my mobile and wasn't paying close attention to where I was going. Or rather, not paying attention to where my feet were going. I stepped on an uneven grate and fell down. Fortunately not twisting my ankle, but going down pretty fast like a sack of potatoes. I wasn't hurt, and as it was a busy street, I picked myself up pretty quick. But even as I was getting up, about 3 people out of the dozen right near me were already rushing over, to see if I was okay. Several others were hovering, making sure I got up. I was still on the phone to G., so I smiled, said I was okay and kept walking, with nothing more than a scraped knee and a blown dignity.
This isn't meant as a dig at the Brits, but rather as proof that the Germans are friendly and helpful, something I don't think they are often credited with being. Hopefully next time I fall over in England (which is bound to happen, knowing me) I'll have better things to report.
As an aside, G. says the baby will have to learn walking from him, since I'm obviously not very good at it.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
First night
After taking posession of the house yesterday, G. spent his first night in the new house. We had thought ahead enough to pack him his sleeping bag and mat, but not enough ahead to pack any paper plates or a cup. Fortunately there was at least toilet paper in the bathroom! He'll manage, this is the guy who has overnighted in caves in the past.
G. has a very positive opinion of the place and says that the new landlord sounds very friendly on the phone, so it's all good. I asked G about the floor and a couple of the little things we wanted fixed before we moved in and that's all been taken care of too. He said, "it's done, but not to German standard", which means it's fine, but it doesn't look brand-new. When you move into a property in Germany, even just for renting, the place normally has to be and is immaculate. Fresh paint, no dust or grime, no recent signs of repairs, no mold in the grout, no build-up on the taps, etc etc. I'm not much of a detail person, but after 13 years here, I can easily spot things now that other nationalities possibly wouldn't even notice. A couple of small chips in the paint on a stair bannister for instance. In Germany, that would need to be fixed. In England, I don't think anyone would make a fuss about it. Both attitudes have their positive and negative sides. With the German one, you get an apartment that is in tip-top condition. But it also means you have to do a lot of work to leave the apartment in the same condition when you leave. With the English one, there's a more relaxed attitude towards "wear & tear" damage, but it also means the place you get might be a bit run-down. I'll give you my opinion of how the place in Cookham looks once I get there...
G. has a very positive opinion of the place and says that the new landlord sounds very friendly on the phone, so it's all good. I asked G about the floor and a couple of the little things we wanted fixed before we moved in and that's all been taken care of too. He said, "it's done, but not to German standard", which means it's fine, but it doesn't look brand-new. When you move into a property in Germany, even just for renting, the place normally has to be and is immaculate. Fresh paint, no dust or grime, no recent signs of repairs, no mold in the grout, no build-up on the taps, etc etc. I'm not much of a detail person, but after 13 years here, I can easily spot things now that other nationalities possibly wouldn't even notice. A couple of small chips in the paint on a stair bannister for instance. In Germany, that would need to be fixed. In England, I don't think anyone would make a fuss about it. Both attitudes have their positive and negative sides. With the German one, you get an apartment that is in tip-top condition. But it also means you have to do a lot of work to leave the apartment in the same condition when you leave. With the English one, there's a more relaxed attitude towards "wear & tear" damage, but it also means the place you get might be a bit run-down. I'll give you my opinion of how the place in Cookham looks once I get there...
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Minor annoyance - nothing to read
As I said in my last post, it's now arranged that the movers will do the packing. But one thing we did pack before we knew about that was all our books. I'm very much a recycle-reader, I'll read the same book more than once. And I read pretty fast, so I go through them quickly. Well, I've read everything that hasn't been packed up and am now facing going to bed without any reading material. I could read one of the books we've left out for sale, but there's good reason why we are selling them and not taking them with us - because they aren't that good in the first place. At least not to us. And I've already read a few of the more palatable options in the pile, now I'm down to the Dan Brown and Michael Crichton pulp. Bleh.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Moving quote
Yesterday a gentleman from Donath International moving company came by to check out what we had to move and give us a quote for it. Interestingly, it was the managing director himself who came by. I guess he isn't such an odd person to do the quote, he obviously knows the business, but it still seemed unusual somewhow. Today we got the quote, as did G's company (who are arranging the movers). Both me and G's office team leader thought it was quite reasonable. Best of all, the quote included the cost of packing. It's really negligible in the costs of things. So screw packing boxes! I'll let them do it rather than busting my butt to get things packed. Still need to do a cull of everything, which is nearly as tough as packing itself. And of course, there's probably a couple of boxes we'll want to pack ourselves. Don't need the movers going through all our underwear, as an example.
The price they quoted us, for moving stuff down 4 flights of stairs, taking apart furniture and putting it back together at the other end, packing boxes at this end (not at the other) and moving it the 1142km was €3800, including tax, insurance, etc etc. A lot or little money? You decide.
The price they quoted us, for moving stuff down 4 flights of stairs, taking apart furniture and putting it back together at the other end, packing boxes at this end (not at the other) and moving it the 1142km was €3800, including tax, insurance, etc etc. A lot or little money? You decide.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
First of the big goodbyes
Yesterday was the first of our group goodbyes. We did our last run with the Munich Hash House Harriers. It was a nice run/walk through the Ebersberg Forest near Kirchseeon. One of the things we'll miss living in England - easy public transport to wilderness locations. Okay, the Ebersberg Forest isn't exactly wild per say, but there are wild boars living in it, and it's easy to find yourself in a remote spot. We gave the Hash group laminated song sheets for the down-down circle as a good-bye present. Don't worry if you don't understand, what was important was that the other Hashers understood and appreciated them. They in turn gave us a Bavarian and Munich calender, two cute little porcelain dolls in Bavarian traditional costume and a bunch of pictures of all of them, which is what we had requested. The dolls were to represent how G and I looked on our wedding day.
After dinner at a local restaurant, we said our goodbyes to everyone. Lots of hugs and kisses and hopefully visits on both sides. As we were going home, G was a bit down, obviously more saddened by the whole thing than me. Which is very ironic, considering I'm the one who has been Hashing in Munich for well over 10 years, as compared to his 4. But it's probably the fact that he's going over to England on a regular basis for work, so the reality of the move has sunken in to him. For me, even though there are moving boxes all over the house, it's still not quite real. It'll probably hit me hard when it does though. Munich has been a big part of my life, and the Hash House Harriers too.
After dinner at a local restaurant, we said our goodbyes to everyone. Lots of hugs and kisses and hopefully visits on both sides. As we were going home, G was a bit down, obviously more saddened by the whole thing than me. Which is very ironic, considering I'm the one who has been Hashing in Munich for well over 10 years, as compared to his 4. But it's probably the fact that he's going over to England on a regular basis for work, so the reality of the move has sunken in to him. For me, even though there are moving boxes all over the house, it's still not quite real. It'll probably hit me hard when it does though. Munich has been a big part of my life, and the Hash House Harriers too.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Mental relief and side topic of Slough
I want to comment on how surprised I was to find a big burden off my shoulders after knowing we had a place to live. It obviously was important, but I didn't realise how important until after. It's one big unknown factor that is no longer unknown. It's great to be able to tell people where we will be living when they ask their usual assortment of questions. When we will be moving is the next unknown to solve. The other good thing about moving to Cookham is that for people who know the area, they usually are very positive and have good things to say about it. Whereas, if we told people we were moving to Slough, I doubt their reactions would have been so positive.
For my non-Brit readers, Slough (pronounced to rhyme with "plow") is a town between London and Maidenhead with a very poor reputation as a place to live. Deservedly or not, I couldn't say, I've personally never been there. But when a British Poet Laureate wrote a poem to bomb the town during World War II, you get the feeling that this place hasn't been a favourite of anyone's in a long time. If you watch the British version of "The Office", the series is set in Slough, with the opening credits showing one of the industrial estates there.
For my Brit readers, I can tell you that most people from where I come from in Canada wouldn't rush to live there either, as a slough (pronounced "slew") is usually defined as a small, stinky creek that has very little water movement in it. Hence the stink and also lots of algae. So either way, poor Slough loses out.
For my non-Brit readers, Slough (pronounced to rhyme with "plow") is a town between London and Maidenhead with a very poor reputation as a place to live. Deservedly or not, I couldn't say, I've personally never been there. But when a British Poet Laureate wrote a poem to bomb the town during World War II, you get the feeling that this place hasn't been a favourite of anyone's in a long time. If you watch the British version of "The Office", the series is set in Slough, with the opening credits showing one of the industrial estates there.
For my Brit readers, I can tell you that most people from where I come from in Canada wouldn't rush to live there either, as a slough (pronounced "slew") is usually defined as a small, stinky creek that has very little water movement in it. Hence the stink and also lots of algae. So either way, poor Slough loses out.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
We have a house!
The first step in our infiltration plan is complete - we have a found a base for our c'lonial headquarters. Our credit has been approved, G. is just negotiating the date we take possession. We want to push it back a bit, they of course want to push it forward. I'm guessing we'll meet somewhere in the middle.
So, we'll be living in Cookham Rise. To help you to know the area, here's a couple of photos of the town and area around Cookham.
So, we'll be living in Cookham Rise. To help you to know the area, here's a couple of photos of the town and area around Cookham.
That's not me hugging the tree, but I know this tree very well. Right there, in the shade of it, is where I dipped my swollen ankle into the Thames to help it. As you can see, it's a lovely spot.
The High Street in Cookham.
If you want to see more pictures, the Cookham website has a pretty photo tour that shows some of the major sites around the town. In fact, it was the great information that the Cookham website provides that was one of the factors that helped us to decide that it would be a good place to live. So for their efforts, they now have a permanent link on the left.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Must...pick...date...
The title for this post has been directly lifted from my previous blog, Zee Wedding. An interesting glimpse into what it takes to get married in Germany as a foreigner. Well, I found it interesting. Of course, it was my marriage, so that helped.
But the title is just as appropriate. People kept asking us when we were getting married and now they keep asking us when we are exactly leaving. I wish I knew. I know they aren't asking because they want to get rid of us, but rather because they want to be certain not to miss us! At least that's what they keep telling us, har har. But honestly, we don't have a date yet. We have a place to live theoretically, but not yet absolutely. Still waiting for them to approve our credit rating or whatever it is they do. Today I finally arranged when I will stop working, so until today that wasn't sure either. Our residence permits also have to be approved and stuck in our passports before we go there permanently. Oh, I nearly forgot getting everything packed and moved! So, fingers crossed, all that will enable us to go sometime in the last week of October to move. You'll know more when I know more.
On another note, I want to shortly comment on the fact that I now have Google Ads on this blog. It's hardly a huge income maker, I made all of $16 on Zee Wedding. It's more there for the fun of passively collecting a few cents here and there. I do want to say though, if you are contemplating it yourself but aren't sure about it, go for it! I had to change a few things with the new blog and combining it with G's sites and the support I got from Google Ads via email was extremely good. Quick, reliable and flexible, I can't praise them enough in how they helped me, even when there were problems due to my own incompetence. Really, very helpful. And no, they didn't pay me to write that either.
But the title is just as appropriate. People kept asking us when we were getting married and now they keep asking us when we are exactly leaving. I wish I knew. I know they aren't asking because they want to get rid of us, but rather because they want to be certain not to miss us! At least that's what they keep telling us, har har. But honestly, we don't have a date yet. We have a place to live theoretically, but not yet absolutely. Still waiting for them to approve our credit rating or whatever it is they do. Today I finally arranged when I will stop working, so until today that wasn't sure either. Our residence permits also have to be approved and stuck in our passports before we go there permanently. Oh, I nearly forgot getting everything packed and moved! So, fingers crossed, all that will enable us to go sometime in the last week of October to move. You'll know more when I know more.
On another note, I want to shortly comment on the fact that I now have Google Ads on this blog. It's hardly a huge income maker, I made all of $16 on Zee Wedding. It's more there for the fun of passively collecting a few cents here and there. I do want to say though, if you are contemplating it yourself but aren't sure about it, go for it! I had to change a few things with the new blog and combining it with G's sites and the support I got from Google Ads via email was extremely good. Quick, reliable and flexible, I can't praise them enough in how they helped me, even when there were problems due to my own incompetence. Really, very helpful. And no, they didn't pay me to write that either.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Terminator
Next week I will be playing the role of The Terminator. No, not a remake of the 1984 movie, with me starring as a pregnant cyborg from the future. Rather, the terminator of contracts, memberships and other assorted fee-paying associations.
It's actually rather incredible how many things there are to cancel. Phone, internet, language teachers' association, renter's association, apartment insurance, DAV (German Alpine Club), private liability insurance are what I can name off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more.
Some will be easy to cancel, like the renter's association. Others will be sad to cancel, like the DAV. It always made me feel more like an outdoorsy-person belonging to the Alpine Club. And if you live in Germany (or Austria for that matter, they have the same) and go hiking regularly in slightly hilly areas, I can only recommend it.
I'm hoping none will be difficult to cancel. The phone and internet are the two I'm most worried about, as Deutsche Telekom (no link for them, the jerks) isn't well-known for their fabulous customer service. I can imagine calling them Monday to cancel for November 1st and having them turn off the telephone on October 3rd, a holiday here. That, or somehow thinking I want to cancel Nov. 1, 2007. Really, that's how incompetant I've personally found them to be. British Telecom will have an easy time of it, as the bar has been set very low.
I'll be back. With another post soon.
It's actually rather incredible how many things there are to cancel. Phone, internet, language teachers' association, renter's association, apartment insurance, DAV (German Alpine Club), private liability insurance are what I can name off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more.
Some will be easy to cancel, like the renter's association. Others will be sad to cancel, like the DAV. It always made me feel more like an outdoorsy-person belonging to the Alpine Club. And if you live in Germany (or Austria for that matter, they have the same) and go hiking regularly in slightly hilly areas, I can only recommend it.
I'm hoping none will be difficult to cancel. The phone and internet are the two I'm most worried about, as Deutsche Telekom (no link for them, the jerks) isn't well-known for their fabulous customer service. I can imagine calling them Monday to cancel for November 1st and having them turn off the telephone on October 3rd, a holiday here. That, or somehow thinking I want to cancel Nov. 1, 2007. Really, that's how incompetant I've personally found them to be. British Telecom will have an easy time of it, as the bar has been set very low.
I'll be back. With another post soon.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Planned Binging and Ruthless Tossing
A tad risqué-sounding title today. It refers to how both G and I are trying to reduce our possessions before the move. The binging is an exaggerated term for us using up different food and drink items in the household. G. is drinking up the whiskey and cognac by having a glass after dinner some nights. Of course, I'm frustrated by this since I can't have any of the Hennessy (for example). What I'm doing instead is reaching to the back of the cupboards and fridge and finding food items which need to be used up, so doing some creative cooking. Of course, both of these are a bit silly, because the actual amount of money that we would lose by throwing away all half-full bottles or unopened packs of curry paste is negligible. But it doesn't stop us from trying. Maybe it's human nature to try and "stock up" before going away on a journey.
In other ways, we are doing the exact opposite. We are throwing away things that we have had for ages and ages and that we might even like, but can't see the point in actually packing up and moving. Things like candles, unused flip-flop sandals, little decorative items, roller-blade elbow pads, etc. Some truly random items. Moving is a good way to lose some of my pack-rat tendencies. As compared to just ignoring it now and letting it collect dust for the next forever, I am far more ruthless when I think about having to pack it, move it, unpack it and find a place for it. Still more work to be done there, but lots of little items are going to leave. Some souveniers too. An empty wine bottle with a beautiful label, reminding us of a trip to Bordeaux or to South Australia is really nice, but it's not worth packing.
Of course, if this move isn't more coordinated than our last one (within Munich), we may run out of time for ruthless tossing and end up just packing everything randomly together, to be dealt with on the other end...
P.S. I did finish both years' taxes from the last post.
In other ways, we are doing the exact opposite. We are throwing away things that we have had for ages and ages and that we might even like, but can't see the point in actually packing up and moving. Things like candles, unused flip-flop sandals, little decorative items, roller-blade elbow pads, etc. Some truly random items. Moving is a good way to lose some of my pack-rat tendencies. As compared to just ignoring it now and letting it collect dust for the next forever, I am far more ruthless when I think about having to pack it, move it, unpack it and find a place for it. Still more work to be done there, but lots of little items are going to leave. Some souveniers too. An empty wine bottle with a beautiful label, reminding us of a trip to Bordeaux or to South Australia is really nice, but it's not worth packing.
Of course, if this move isn't more coordinated than our last one (within Munich), we may run out of time for ruthless tossing and end up just packing everything randomly together, to be dealt with on the other end...
P.S. I did finish both years' taxes from the last post.
Monday, September 25, 2006
No Time to Procrastinate
One of the things about moving so quickly is that we really don't have a lot of time to sit around and contemplate things. In a way that's good, it means there's little time to second-guess yourself and your decisions. But in another way it's very bad. I'm a terrible procrastinator, and there's honestly too much to do to leave it all to the last minute as I tend normally to do.
Today I'm supposed to be doing my taxes for 2005 and 2006 (don't panic, 2005 isn't honestly that late, the German tax office is a bit more lax about these things than other countries', believe it or not). Have I started yet? Noooooooo. I've frittered away the morning online. Although this post is also a distraction from my task, I'm hoping it will act as a record of accountability and that in a few hours I can edit it and say the taxes are done. It's noon here now, let's see how it goes...
EDIT 1 - 2 hours later and I have 2005 more or less done and lunch behind me. Hoorah!
Today I'm supposed to be doing my taxes for 2005 and 2006 (don't panic, 2005 isn't honestly that late, the German tax office is a bit more lax about these things than other countries', believe it or not). Have I started yet? Noooooooo. I've frittered away the morning online. Although this post is also a distraction from my task, I'm hoping it will act as a record of accountability and that in a few hours I can edit it and say the taxes are done. It's noon here now, let's see how it goes...
EDIT 1 - 2 hours later and I have 2005 more or less done and lunch behind me. Hoorah!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Changes and Adaptation
There are always occasions when your life and lifestyle change. When you go from a regular easy pattern into something different. For instance, when you go from being a student to working full-time permanently for the first time, your life changes. You have more money coming in, but also more responsibility to others. When you go from being single to having a serious partner, you life changes. You probably do a lot of the same things you did whilst single, but with a partner there, your behaviour or frequency of attending might change.
This is one reason I think that moving to England just before having the baby is actually a good thing. Once the baby is born, life will change again. And from all accounts, this is a BIG CHANGE. Of course I realise this, but from everyone I talk to, it seems that it catches you by surprise none the less. Moving from Germany to England will be a big change too. But with both happening at once, I think that it will require less adapting than if they happened separately.
Let's look at some of the factors.
This is one reason I think that moving to England just before having the baby is actually a good thing. Once the baby is born, life will change again. And from all accounts, this is a BIG CHANGE. Of course I realise this, but from everyone I talk to, it seems that it catches you by surprise none the less. Moving from Germany to England will be a big change too. But with both happening at once, I think that it will require less adapting than if they happened separately.
Let's look at some of the factors.
- I won't be working, at the very least for a few months. That would happen whether I was in England or Germany. It's less adjustment than would be required if we moved over when I wasn't pregnant.
- There will be a baby. Again, whether we live in Germany or England, that will require new behaviour and adaptation. I think it's better that we only have to settle into one routine, not first here in Germany and then a new one in England.
- We won't know many people when we first move to England. Well, most of our friends here in Munich live a pretty single lifestyle. Of course we do have friends with families here, but the majority are single or if partnered, childless. So once baby is here, we would probably be a bit isolated from our friends here too, needing to make more friends with families. So although this will be more extreme in England, it would affect us in Germany too. Maybe moving to England and not always being confronted with singleton friends doing things that aren't so easy to manage anymore will be a relief.
These are some of the things I've thought about and how we'll get by dealing with them. I hope that I'm looking at it fairly objectively, but it's hard to say right now. I guess it's just a post to let you know we have been thinking about it.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Closing In
It's looking very promising for the place in Cookham. Everything is in place to set up a deal, just the paperwork to get through and then we have a house. That will take one big uncertainity out of moving if we can get that all settled soon.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Today, a wee bit of info fer yers
- Today is international "Talk Like a Pirate Day". Ye best be practicin' yer accents fer all te hear. Arrrr! Ye can talk in English like a pirate, or fer ye more fluent types, also in German. Tis a good thing to speak more than one version of pirate-speak. Ye never knows who ye might come across in the high seas.
- Today, the baby is kicking non-stop. Obviously doing internal jigs and reels in recognition of TLaPD.
- Today was the first day someone offered their seat to me on the tram. I was tickled by it, but didn't take it, as I was only going one stop.
- Today we found out that the place we would like in Cookham has wooden floors under the carpet and that the owner is willing to sand and varnish them. One step closer to having an address!
- Today I am slightly stressed with preparation for our club's big Oktoberfest weekend.
And that's enough for today.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Scouting Mission #1 - conclusion
Monday morning we headed off in the car to Maidenhead. It's about 4okm from Wendover to Maidenhead, but took us around 45-50 minutes to drive it. I think there were only a couple of lights along the way, but the roads are busy and not major highways. That was also apparently light traffic, as school hadn't restarted for the fall. A bit far to commute every day, even if it's a nice area.
We parked the car and I came with G.to his office and met his new boss. Very friendly guy. They had a meeting with the lawyer who is arranging the paperwork for G.'s work visa. One interesting thing is, G. will only be allowed to work for his company, but I will be allowed to work for anyone. So, if you know of any fantastically-paying jobs for new mothers in the Maidenhead area, do let me know.
I phoned and made arrangements to see the house in Cookham again around lunch. We drove to Marlow to pick up some lunch and to have a look around the area again, as when we passed through on Saturday, it was incredibly busy. It still was very busy. It's a nice town, but somehow hasn't grabbed me. Everyone else from around there seems to think it's the cat's pyjamas, but as I said, it somehow didn't stand out to me. It's pretty and prosperous, but that's about it. We had some surprisingly good pizza, looked over a few rental brochures we picked up from agents along the way and then headed back to Cookham to look at the house.
On second look, we were still interested in the house, and told the agent as much. That it was definitely on our short list. However, the carpet downstairs has a lot of wear on it, plus a couple of strange stainmarks from furniture or potted plants or something. We would prefer something other than carpet, and certainly not the carpet that was there. Later in the week, we emailed the agent to say as much, that it would be our number one choice if something could be done about the carpet. We're still waiting to hear back on that. The landlord is apparently on holidays...
In the afternoon, we drove back to Maidenhead and talked to a few more rental agents there. One of them was able to show us two places that afternoon, before I had to leave for the airport. Both of these unfortunately were pretty dumpy. Nice areas and if you were thinking of buying them, they had a lot of potential, but as rentals they were crap.
We sadly had to finish the partner scouting mission at this point. I dropped G. off in front of his work and headed off to Heathrow airport driving by myself!! It was thrilling I'll tell you. Actually, it was pretty easy; even driving on the M4, one of the biggest motorways around London, didn't throw me for a flap. They are nice, big, wide lanes, all the traffic moving in the same direction. It's those narrow little country roads with big blind corners around hedges that terrify me still. The drive went back to the car rental agency went smoothly, except for one point where I missed the turn off from the traffic circle (or roundabout, as the Brits so quaintly call them) and took a large tour of the cargo and business area of Heathrow airport. I can't really recommend it for an interesting detour, but it wasn't tough to get back to where I actually wanted to go.
I cleared security (after being asked repeatedly if I had any liquids, cosmetics or anything else more dangerous than a Q-Tip in my bag, on my person or in a hidden compartment of my shoes) and left G. in England to work and to check out a few more houses the next day on his own.
We parked the car and I came with G.to his office and met his new boss. Very friendly guy. They had a meeting with the lawyer who is arranging the paperwork for G.'s work visa. One interesting thing is, G. will only be allowed to work for his company, but I will be allowed to work for anyone. So, if you know of any fantastically-paying jobs for new mothers in the Maidenhead area, do let me know.
I phoned and made arrangements to see the house in Cookham again around lunch. We drove to Marlow to pick up some lunch and to have a look around the area again, as when we passed through on Saturday, it was incredibly busy. It still was very busy. It's a nice town, but somehow hasn't grabbed me. Everyone else from around there seems to think it's the cat's pyjamas, but as I said, it somehow didn't stand out to me. It's pretty and prosperous, but that's about it. We had some surprisingly good pizza, looked over a few rental brochures we picked up from agents along the way and then headed back to Cookham to look at the house.
On second look, we were still interested in the house, and told the agent as much. That it was definitely on our short list. However, the carpet downstairs has a lot of wear on it, plus a couple of strange stainmarks from furniture or potted plants or something. We would prefer something other than carpet, and certainly not the carpet that was there. Later in the week, we emailed the agent to say as much, that it would be our number one choice if something could be done about the carpet. We're still waiting to hear back on that. The landlord is apparently on holidays...
In the afternoon, we drove back to Maidenhead and talked to a few more rental agents there. One of them was able to show us two places that afternoon, before I had to leave for the airport. Both of these unfortunately were pretty dumpy. Nice areas and if you were thinking of buying them, they had a lot of potential, but as rentals they were crap.
We sadly had to finish the partner scouting mission at this point. I dropped G. off in front of his work and headed off to Heathrow airport driving by myself!! It was thrilling I'll tell you. Actually, it was pretty easy; even driving on the M4, one of the biggest motorways around London, didn't throw me for a flap. They are nice, big, wide lanes, all the traffic moving in the same direction. It's those narrow little country roads with big blind corners around hedges that terrify me still. The drive went back to the car rental agency went smoothly, except for one point where I missed the turn off from the traffic circle (or roundabout, as the Brits so quaintly call them) and took a large tour of the cargo and business area of Heathrow airport. I can't really recommend it for an interesting detour, but it wasn't tough to get back to where I actually wanted to go.
I cleared security (after being asked repeatedly if I had any liquids, cosmetics or anything else more dangerous than a Q-Tip in my bag, on my person or in a hidden compartment of my shoes) and left G. in England to work and to check out a few more houses the next day on his own.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Things to do before leaving Munich - Oktoberfest parade
Despite having lived in Munich for 13 years, there are a few things that I have never done while living here. Off the top of my head are the following.
So we went down for brunch, which was a bit of a screw-up on the reservation. I wanted a table on the first floor, but because of a private event, we ended up on the terrace outside. It probably was better for absorbing the atmosphere, but I was quite ticked off at first, since I had asked specifically for a seat upstairs. Oh well. The service was also pretty atrocious, but the food was excellent, so 50/50 I guess.
We enjoyed the parade, it was a lot of fun to watch and hear. The brewery beer wagons went by, as they do on the Saturday, but also a lot more traditional costume clubs and marching bands. I'm sure there was one from the United States and also one from somewhere in Eastern Europe, Romania or somewhere, as it was
very similar to the Ukranian style I know.
One thing I realised however, is how much I do already have of Bavarian culture. I knew most of the songs the bands were playing, I recognised some of the different styles of Tracht and where they were from, I knew what was up with all the banners they were carrying. It's sort of good to know that I haven't led only and expat lifestyle here in Munich, that to a good extent, I have intergrated.
- Gone to the top of Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany. Only an hour away from Munich.
- Been to the Tierpark, aka the Munich zoo.
- Been to Villa Stuck, a museum dedicated to turn of the 20th century art.
- Been dancing at P1, the nightclub in Munich. At least it used to be.
- Seen the Sunday traditional costume parade from Oktoberfest.
So we went down for brunch, which was a bit of a screw-up on the reservation. I wanted a table on the first floor, but because of a private event, we ended up on the terrace outside. It probably was better for absorbing the atmosphere, but I was quite ticked off at first, since I had asked specifically for a seat upstairs. Oh well. The service was also pretty atrocious, but the food was excellent, so 50/50 I guess.
We enjoyed the parade, it was a lot of fun to watch and hear. The brewery beer wagons went by, as they do on the Saturday, but also a lot more traditional costume clubs and marching bands. I'm sure there was one from the United States and also one from somewhere in Eastern Europe, Romania or somewhere, as it was
very similar to the Ukranian style I know.One thing I realised however, is how much I do already have of Bavarian culture. I knew most of the songs the bands were playing, I recognised some of the different styles of Tracht and where they were from, I knew what was up with all the banners they were carrying. It's sort of good to know that I haven't led only and expat lifestyle here in Munich, that to a good extent, I have intergrated.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Scouting Mission #1 - part two
On Sunday we had a slow breakfast and watched a bit of TV before heading out for the day. I do have to admit I used to be a bit of a TV addict before moving to Germany, and so the idea of thousands of English-speaking programs does hold a certain fascination. Some German TV is pretty good, but lots of it is absolute crap. Plus the fact that it's in German, which doesn't allow me normally the "turn off brain" feeling means I don't bother watching much of it. Hopefully I won't get into the habit of watching crap English TV just because it's easy to watch. Please please please, don't let me become a Big Brother addict! But on this particular Sunday, it was another type of reality show that held me captive in front of the screen - the Antiques Roadshow. On a continent far far away, I used to watch this show on the American public broadcasting channel regularly. The idea of having a teacup that you picked up at a garage sale for practically nothing being worth hundreds of pounds always fascinated me. It still does; I made G. sit through 2 back-to-back episodes of the show before I was ready to hit the road. (Just between you and me though, G seemed to enjoy it as well.)
We headed off in our rental car with me doing the driving again. It being a Sunday, it seemed an ideal time to have an inexperienced, slow and slightly haphazard driver behind the wheel. We took the scenic route from Wendover (am I the only one who thinks that sounds like Bendover with a speech impediment? Don't get me started on Maidenhead, maybe in another post) towards Cookham. We went through Amersham, Beaconsfield and Seer Green on the north side of the M40 (one of the major highways in England). These are also possible places to live, but as we haven't really looked at any houses around here, we didn't stop to look that hard. On the other side of the motorway, we went through Taplow, Wooburn Green and Bourne End before stopping in Cookham.
I'm happy to report again that I drove without mishap. Though passing the bicycle peloton on a curve with oncoming traffic looming in fast did cause a few choice words to be said within the confines of the automobile. It had all be just fine and dandy, I could pass safely, and suddenly it felt really scary. But no one honked at me, no fists shaken in anger and no cyclists left as a reddish smear on the road, so I'm probably exaggerating the situation.
We headed to Cookham to look around the area where we had seen a house that we liked. Well, the house was okay, but the area looked particularly good, and having done a bit of research on St.Sh.'s computer, we saw that it was indeed an interesting place, worthy of deeper investigation. We parked in Cookham and took a little walk down to the river. Where I promptly twisted my ankle, as I am prone to do on uneven ground. I twisted it bad enough to fall down and required a few minutes of holding it tightly to deal with the pain. I was able to walk after, with a slight limp, which lasted about 3 days. This was an interesting opportunity to make some more observations about the British.
I fell down and was holding my ankle, obviously in pain. G. was there with me, but not really able to do anything for me. Several people walked past us, as the spot is a popular destination for walks and it was a beautiful day. Not one person asked if I was okay. Several didn't even look. Even when an older couple with canes walked past, looking with some concern, they didn't say anything when I joked I should have had a cane and maybe it wouldn't have happened. In Germany, speaking from experience, not just random guessing, people will ask if you are okay or if you need help. They have at least always asked me that. Certainly not staying silent if I started some sort of dialogue. I know others could say different about the Germans, but that's been my experience. The British are probably proud of not interfering, but it would have really taken my mind off my pain if someone had shown some concern.
After I had come to grips with the twist, we hobbled down to the river where I stuck my foot into the water, hoping for great healing powers from the Thames River. It was actually a really nice spot, under a shady tree, with the water coursing gently past us. There is a sailing club in Cookham, so we watched as several different types of boats sailed back and forth. It was really pleasant, easy to imagine spending weekends down there with the babe. We headed back towards High street (the main street for any North Americans) to find some lunch. We had an okay lunch in the lovely garden of one of the pubs. Well, it was okay until G. found a feather in his sandwich. That kind of took away our appetites, but fortunately we had eaten enough by then. We got refunded on the sandwich and left, deciding that if we do move to Cookham, that pub probably won't be chosen as our local.
We drove over to look again from the outside at the house we saw before. Both of us were satisfied with the scout around the neighbourhood. The area looked safe, wasn't loud and is only a short way from the train station, under 1km. So we decided to call the agent on Monday to take another proper look at the house.
G. did the driving back after lunch, as I figured I'd had enough excitement for one day. We drove via Marlow stopped briefly in High Wycombe to pick up a little something for me to eat, as the curvy roads were making me a bit car-sick. Marks & Spencers food court. Marks & Sparks is probably worth a post of its own at some point. Anyways, we ate our lunch on a bench in front of the church in the center of town, which was also kitty-corner from M&S. There were a number of young people about, giving it a lively but slightly Bogan feel to the place. Bogan is an Australian word which I might be misusing, but has the same idea as a chav or redneck. To me, it has fewer connotations associated with it in terms of class, names and breeding, but basically sums up the look of the people. Loud, lots of swearing, not worrying about getting their trash into the garbage can sort of thing.
We got back to Wendover, and had a great dinner that St.Sh. had cooked for us and another couple she had invited over. Delish!
We headed off in our rental car with me doing the driving again. It being a Sunday, it seemed an ideal time to have an inexperienced, slow and slightly haphazard driver behind the wheel. We took the scenic route from Wendover (am I the only one who thinks that sounds like Bendover with a speech impediment? Don't get me started on Maidenhead, maybe in another post) towards Cookham. We went through Amersham, Beaconsfield and Seer Green on the north side of the M40 (one of the major highways in England). These are also possible places to live, but as we haven't really looked at any houses around here, we didn't stop to look that hard. On the other side of the motorway, we went through Taplow, Wooburn Green and Bourne End before stopping in Cookham.
I'm happy to report again that I drove without mishap. Though passing the bicycle peloton on a curve with oncoming traffic looming in fast did cause a few choice words to be said within the confines of the automobile. It had all be just fine and dandy, I could pass safely, and suddenly it felt really scary. But no one honked at me, no fists shaken in anger and no cyclists left as a reddish smear on the road, so I'm probably exaggerating the situation.
We headed to Cookham to look around the area where we had seen a house that we liked. Well, the house was okay, but the area looked particularly good, and having done a bit of research on St.Sh.'s computer, we saw that it was indeed an interesting place, worthy of deeper investigation. We parked in Cookham and took a little walk down to the river. Where I promptly twisted my ankle, as I am prone to do on uneven ground. I twisted it bad enough to fall down and required a few minutes of holding it tightly to deal with the pain. I was able to walk after, with a slight limp, which lasted about 3 days. This was an interesting opportunity to make some more observations about the British.
I fell down and was holding my ankle, obviously in pain. G. was there with me, but not really able to do anything for me. Several people walked past us, as the spot is a popular destination for walks and it was a beautiful day. Not one person asked if I was okay. Several didn't even look. Even when an older couple with canes walked past, looking with some concern, they didn't say anything when I joked I should have had a cane and maybe it wouldn't have happened. In Germany, speaking from experience, not just random guessing, people will ask if you are okay or if you need help. They have at least always asked me that. Certainly not staying silent if I started some sort of dialogue. I know others could say different about the Germans, but that's been my experience. The British are probably proud of not interfering, but it would have really taken my mind off my pain if someone had shown some concern.
After I had come to grips with the twist, we hobbled down to the river where I stuck my foot into the water, hoping for great healing powers from the Thames River. It was actually a really nice spot, under a shady tree, with the water coursing gently past us. There is a sailing club in Cookham, so we watched as several different types of boats sailed back and forth. It was really pleasant, easy to imagine spending weekends down there with the babe. We headed back towards High street (the main street for any North Americans) to find some lunch. We had an okay lunch in the lovely garden of one of the pubs. Well, it was okay until G. found a feather in his sandwich. That kind of took away our appetites, but fortunately we had eaten enough by then. We got refunded on the sandwich and left, deciding that if we do move to Cookham, that pub probably won't be chosen as our local.
We drove over to look again from the outside at the house we saw before. Both of us were satisfied with the scout around the neighbourhood. The area looked safe, wasn't loud and is only a short way from the train station, under 1km. So we decided to call the agent on Monday to take another proper look at the house.
G. did the driving back after lunch, as I figured I'd had enough excitement for one day. We drove via Marlow stopped briefly in High Wycombe to pick up a little something for me to eat, as the curvy roads were making me a bit car-sick. Marks & Spencers food court. Marks & Sparks is probably worth a post of its own at some point. Anyways, we ate our lunch on a bench in front of the church in the center of town, which was also kitty-corner from M&S. There were a number of young people about, giving it a lively but slightly Bogan feel to the place. Bogan is an Australian word which I might be misusing, but has the same idea as a chav or redneck. To me, it has fewer connotations associated with it in terms of class, names and breeding, but basically sums up the look of the people. Loud, lots of swearing, not worrying about getting their trash into the garbage can sort of thing.
We got back to Wendover, and had a great dinner that St.Sh. had cooked for us and another couple she had invited over. Delish!
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