Date: Friday, November 19, 1999 16:05 Subject: we're legal Folks, Yes, we are now legal. (We weren't illegal before, but were more legal now.) Oh joy oh bliss, we completed our last administrative errand today - we have our residency permits until next year, and by virtue of my being an American, I am also entitled to work. It was uneventful enough, only three unpleasant hours sitting on a hard bench in a cold waiting room at the Ausländerbehörde, but now it's done. We didn't really need to delay the process this long but for some reason we didn't feel like dealing with it until after the dissertation was away and we'd settled down at the new address and changed our Polizeianmeldung. God your life revolves around bureaucracy in this country. So it's been a good, eventful week: a successful move, making ourselves at home in our new quarters, and finally having "ze papers" in order. Even better, finally there is some work (and therefore eventually money) on the horizon. Details to follow, but it looks like a technical writing job from Vancouver and a web site for a company in Munich, plus a design firm in Berlin expressed interest in future use of me. The timing couldn't be better. Somehow I didn't feel like beginning any projects, remunerative or otherwise, while we were in such temporary circumstances. Now that the blades have arrived, I'm ready to start speedskating, though the weather discourages outdoor activity. I believe that the local expression is Arschkalt - ass cold. Light snow and rain, grey cheerless skies, temperatures hovering around freezing but just enough humidity to be utterly bone chilling. Not nice at all. We came home at 3:30 and turned the heat way up (the windows were open again today, killing the last trace of funny smells). Vita loves it here. The Little Brown Pig is quite, quite happy. She races up and down the long hall, clambers up to the loft and plunges down again, hides under the bed, skids on the tiles when she turns the corner into the kitchen. This is an excellent cat environment. She's particularly pleased with our ersatz couch, made from four large, scruffy upholstery cushions, a painted door, and four concrete blocks. When the cat's happy, I'm happy. More to the point, when the cat's not happy, I'm not happy. That's all for today's updates, I guess. What remains in the day? A few chores, some work-related correspondence, an expedition to the ice oval to get the new blades sharpened properly, a friend or two over for dinner. (One is a Canadian woman who's doing language training for a year before starting a Ph.D. in German history, who also happens to be a wickedly fast runner - a perfect companion for Annette. Annette gives academic advice, she makes Annette do speedwork. We actually met in IKEA back in September - I made a smart remark when I saw this person carrying a Mountain Co-op bag, and it turned out that she and Annette had been trading emails months previously after being introduced by a mutual acquaintance but hadn't arranged a meeting. Small world.) Then I'm going to get down to work this weekend, I think, now that we've set up our office and finished our stack of borrowed novels. Regards, Scott