Things that give me stress

Wow is it getting crazy around here.  Between coordinating wedding plans and watching more football than I should be allowed, I'm nearly burned out.  You'll be happy to know we finally found a venue for the reception.  Thanks to our roommate, we'll be celebrating at a restaurant owned by her cousin.  To be honest, he made us a deal we couldn't refuse.  It's a cozy little place and we've never been disappointed with the food there.  That has solved a major headache and we've been able to knock out a whole lot of other things this week.  The cake has been ordered.  I've purchased a new suit.  (My pleas for an Evil Knieval-style outfit, however, fell on deaf ears.)  All that's left is to get a new pair of shoes. 

Oh yeah, we also need to coordinate some family details.  I've now got four family members flying over from the US.  Given how tightly this has all been arranged, I didn't expect anyone from home to be able to show up.  I'm so excited for everyone to make it here and to be able to show them around town.  Unfortunately however, we still have to work out some minor details... such as where everyone is staying.  It's like someone told us regarding these wedding plans: for each thing you think you take care of, there's a whole other set of issues that come with the solution.

Case in point: in between all this, I've also taken it upon myself to create the photo slideshow/video thing.  We've been asking family and friends for some old photos to include in the video.  Everyone's been helping out, but now we need to scan these photos.  That takes time too.  If it's not one thing it's another.  And yes, if you're coming, you have no choice but to watch the video.  But don't worry, I'm doing my best to keep it short.

All this reminds me that there is probably going to come a day where the blog posts dry up again for a little bit.  Once everyone arrives and the big day approaches, I'm probably going to have very little time to write.  Just an early warning.

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While the above mentioned things give me quite a bit of stress lately, at least I can control them. The US National Soccer team?  Well, at least the stress is always over in about two hour's time.
 
The US managed to beat Algeria in the closing minutes of the game allowing them to advance to the next round of the World Cup.  Just hours later, Germany beat Ghana to advance.  That was a much better day than the previous Friday.

Once again, I had given up hope.  I will no longer allow myself to do that again.  Not with this team.  In the middle of the first half, yet another US goal was disallowed.  That's twice in two games.  I didn't know what else they needed to do to prove they can win a game.  Fortunately Donovan's goal in stoppage time was something no one could deny.  It's worth another look.



What did such a big win mean for the US and the country in general?  Here's a Daily Show clip that explains it all.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
World Cup 2010: Into Africa - US Beats Algeria
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

For those not living here, almost all the games here are aired on public TV.  But some of these games that were going simultaneously were not carried on free TV.  If you were lucky, your team's game would be the "feature" game.  Then, throughout the game, they might cut back to the other game to see what's going on.  Unless you've got pay-per-view tv or are at a bar, you may not see much of the "other" game.

The US-Algeria game ran at the same time as England-Slovenia.  Given the fact that (1) I am in Europe and (2) England is generally a much more popular football team, I knew the chances of the US game being aired fully on regular TV would be pretty slim.  Therefore we went back to the one "American" bar in town to watch this game.  We had previously watched the US-England game from there.  That first time, there were quite a few England fans.  I figured that was acceptable, especially given the fact that they probably should have won and would have loved to throw it in everyone else's face.

This time around, the game was on a weekday afternoon.  It wasn't nearly as crowded as the previous game, but there was still a lot of English fans.  Maybe as many as there was American fans.   The management caved to their demands (and drinking ratio I'm sure) and ran the England game on about 80% of the TVs, as well as the audio from that game.  We had to squint our eyes and watch the US game without audio on smaller TVs across the bar.

This town has about 30 Irish/British style pubs.  These are not good enough to watch your game there?  Hell, there is one directly next door.  This was the one place I thought I would be able to see the entire US game in it's entirety.  Well, I guess I was able to.  And the England game ended earlier, so the big ending was up on all the TVs just in time.  But seriously, just change the name and decor of your place and call it a British pub.  It might as well have been.  Needless to say, I will be watching tomorrow afternoon's game at home.  I have to... I gotta finish making that wedding video one of these days!

I'd give an in-depth preview for tomorrow's game, but I realize it really isn't necessary.  If you're interested, you know where to look.  Getting out of the group round was an accomplishment in and of itself.  To me, anything beyond that is gravy.  Ghana beat the US in group play during the previous World Cup.  They just lost to a pretty solid looking Germany 1-0.  But they are Africa's last hope for a representative country.  All I can say is that you can never count this US team out.  Prediction time: US comes away with the win, again in the second half.  US 2-1 over Ghana. 

And finally, tired of those vuvuzelas?  Tired of the vuvuzela bashing?  I'm tired of both, but this was too good to ignore. 

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
World Cup 2010: Into Africa - Goal Diggers
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Every Auslanders favorite place

Oh Bezirksrathaus, how I love thee.  From your freakish zombie-rising-from-the-ground sculpture outside,

 to your unfinished waiting area with buzzing fluorescent lights (in the same state of disrepair since my first visit nearly a year ago, minus a water cooler),

to your cheerful employees who are always willing to serve me er, eventually.  (I know they only ignore me waiting outside their office because they have much more important things to do.)

Yesterday we returned to the sight of so much joy, Central Bureaucracy.  We each had a few things to take care of there today.  She did all her paperwork necessary so that she can receive her new passport and IDs (with new last name!) after we're married.  After that, we dropped in on our favorite civil servant to ask a few questions regarding my visa status after the marriage.

There was a two hour mid-day break at this next office and we were done with the above-mentioned paperwork early.  We patiently waited outside the office until they re-opened.  There's not much of a system when it comes to visiting these people.  No secretary, no take-a-number, no sign-in sheet.  No, you just sit and wait outside the office until the previous customer leaves.  Then you know the office is free.  There's no window allowing you to see in there, so if you arrive and there's no wait, you have to knock on the door, timidly open it and ask for permission to come in.  Everything you do is in complete deference because they alone seem to hold the power over giving you a visa or kicking you out of the country.  

So there we are waiting outside her office.  It is just two of us.  There are no other customers waiting.  Soon a door opens across the hall and our civil servant enters.  We know it is her because we recognize her from our previous visits.  She crosses the hall, stands directly next to us, unlocks her office door, enters, closes the door and locks it behind her.  Not a word.  Huh.

It is 1:52 and the office hours begin again at 2.  Let's wait.

A minute later another door opens and our civil servant and her colleagues walk out and down the stairs.  The stairs are located across the hall behind yet another door.  (This hallway must be where they got the idea for all those Scooby-Doo chase scenes.)

Ok, a quick smoke after lunch before getting back to work.  Fair enough.  At 1:59 she returns.  She unlocks her door and enters her office.  Not a single word to us.  No eye contact.  Nothing.

We awkwardly chuckle to ourselves.  Do we go in?  What do we do?  We waited another minute and then finally worked up the nerve to knock on the door.  Yes, we were granted permission.  The actual conversation was fine.  And it seems to us that she's even lightened up a bit since our first visits.  If only she hadn't said she remembered us.  That only irritated me because of the cold shoulder we got the whole time waiting.  A simple, "I'll be with you in a few minutes" goes a long way.

We asked about my visa status:

• how that changes once we are married (new one-year visa granted right away), 
• if there is any more paperwork we'll need to do regarding the visa (of course there is!), 
• and also whether or not I can begin to look for regular work (indeed I can).  

This eased a lot of the angst we've had lately because my visa runs out in a few months.  It also gives me a lot more leverage when it comes to deciding whether or not I want to continue working for this moron of a boss.  (I still haven't been paid for work I did in April.)  We thanked her for answering our questions and providing us with more paperwork and an opportunity to come back. Then we got up, bowed, and walked out of the room backwards extolling her virtues and throwing rose petals at her feet.  Well, ok, in my mind we exited that way. 

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The World Cup rolls on and I am constantly surprised by many of the results.  There have been some impressive performances by the smaller countries while many of the supposed powerhouses are just squeaking by or having to deal with a draw.  Still, we've only just seen the first game by everyone.  We may have a clearer picture by the end of the week after everyone has played a second game.

So far there's really only been one dominating performance.  And of course, it came from die Nationalmanschaft.  Yes, Germany kicked the crap out of Australia who, frankly, probably deserved it after this freak of a team pep rally.  (Seriously? John Travolta? WTF?)  Germany ran roughshod and crushed the Soccerroos 4-0.  It probably could have been uglier than that too.  When they announced an extra three minutes of stoppage time, I begged the TV for mercy.

It was a whale of a performance and it has sent the country into a state of delirium.  Monday was non-stop talk about the game.  Every play was broken down and analyzed.  Again.  And Again.  And Again.  You really couldn't avoid it on TV.  From what I've seen and heard, you'd think Germany has already won the World Cup.  There was even a music video of sorts out the very next day.



Maybe just a tab premature, don't you think?  If you are to go the distance, there's still six games left, people.  And those last four will all have to be won.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not rooting against them.  At least not yet anyway.  I think it'd be awfully exciting to be here if they make it to the finals.  But the cockier everyone gets, the harder it is going to be for me to want to support the team.  But this comes from a guy who grew up rooting for a baseball team who's unofficial motto has been "wait 'til next year" for the past 100 years.  Hey, even the "lowly" US beat Australia 3-1 a few weeks ago.

Speaking of the US team, here's some Daily Show reaction to the previous game and the World Cup in general.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
World Cup 2010: Into Africa - US Ties England
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Still not down with how the game works?  For those of you looking for some basics, here's a great breakdown sent to me yesterday by a good friend.  Once you've seen this, I'm sure it'll all make a lot more sense to you.

Looking for a room or, the Goldilocks conundrum

Don't panic.  What I mean is that we're still looking for a place to celebrate after the wedding.  Anyone have any tips or recommendations?  We've certainly found some interesting places to celebrate but we keep running into the same problem.  Our party is not going to be all that big.  We figure somewhere in the range of 35-40 people.  Every place we've seen so far is too big or too small. Most places seem set up for 100 people.  And the small places seem like they fit about 25 people. 

Did you know you can rent a banquet hall in the Eigelstein Torburg?  That was the first place we checked out.   I think it is a situation where the idea of it is much better than the reality.  We're always going out to eat or drink in the neighborhood nearby.  So it'd be a nice way of showing off our adopted neighborhood.  Plus, for those coming from overseas, it would be pretty cool to celebrate inside a building like that.  The size of the room was not so bad.  But there's quite a bit of stairs involved leaving no real access to outside for smokers or anyone who just needs some fresh air.  The main floor is also in pretty rough shape.  I still wish it could be here, but it just isn't very practical.

We also considered looking at the Severinstorburg.  It certainly seems a bit more polished and professional just based on the website.  But it is also quite a bit more money and probably much too large for our group. Plus it is nowhere near where any of us would be coming from or going to.  We may still look this week just to get another opinion, but I think we've already decided against it. 

So far, the strongest candidate is the Kölner Seilbahn.  It is an unusual idea to be sure.  They have a small event room they rent for parties just behind the ticket office.  The only problem is the room seems a little too tight.  It is just 45 square meters. If the weather is nice, however, we can all spill outside on the patio.  Plus, at least for the first few hours of the party, the Seilbahn will still be operating and guests can go for free(?) rides.  (Here's my first encounter with the Seilbahn.)

We're not done looking yet.  But I think we need to find something pretty soon.  Time seems to be running out.  Less than a month now until the big day.  (Yipe!)

By the way, how do you like the new look?  Just last week I was driving myself crazy trying to tinker with the look of the site.  Over the weekend it seems Blogger rolled out a new design-your-own feature.  I can't believe this didn't exist long before.  It was long overdue.  I'm not totally sold on the background image, but it'll suffice for now.  Overall I think it is way better than the old templates they had available.

What are you doing July 12th?

I don't know about you, but I'll be getting married.  Yep, married.

I'm sure I know the next question.  "You met her years ago online, then met for an amazing week in Paris. Later you even moved to Germany to be together.  So... how did you propose?" 

Ah yes, there we were in Switzerland over the Easter holiday.  We had just spent nearly a week driving from Tuscany to the Swiss Alps where we were to conclude our vacation with a few days skiing.  We reached the top of the slope and gathered ourselves for a few moments before taking off.  This was most likely our last run before heading home the next day.  It was late afternoon and the sun was getting low in the sky.  We leaned forward and pushed off.

Halfway down this particularly long run is a small chalet overlooking the valley.  It is a good place to stop and take in the view over a hot chocolate.  As we zigzagged downhill, we looked to one another and nodded.  Let's stop there for one last time.  We stood on the balcony sipping our hot chocolate and watching as the sun began to dip into the horizon.  I knew this was it.  I waited until her attention was drawn by passing skiers when I reached into my coat pocket.  When she turned back to look at me, I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me.* 

If only it went like that.  It seems that all your life you think the moment is going to be something like that.  Some sort of grand, sweeping gesture.  A story your family can pass along for generations.  Well, I hate to say it, but ours came about in the most ordinary of fashion.  But then again, maybe we needed something like that, something ordinary.  As my sister said to me, there isn't that much ordinary about how our relationship came together and that maybe we've had enough of the "big" moments for the time being.  She may have a point there. 

Nope, this one came about during the course of a long conversation.  I'm not even sure what the original topic was.  I'm sure we were just talking about work, or to be more honest, complaining about work.  One thing led to another and eventually I said something like "we should get married."  "Ok!" she said.  And that was that.  I'm serious.

Thus began a flurry of activity, most of which involved running back and forth to the Standesamt (registry office) here in Cologne.  For all that we've read, it really was not as difficult a process as we had thought.  Either it really wasn't that difficult, or we have just built up a tolerance to a certain amount of bureaucracy here.  All in all, I think we counted three trips to the Standesamt together.  Although we thought we had all the necessary paperwork, it turns out we needed two other documents.  One was an officially translated version of my birth certificate.  That wasn't difficult to obtain, although it wasn't all that cheap.  The second document needed was an affidavit from the US Consulate stating that I am not currently married in the US.

Unfortunately, that meant an extremely early morning trip to Frankfurt where the nearest Consulate is located.  (There's actually one in Dusseldorf which would have been a lot more convenient, but apparently it is only for emergency situations.)  I made an appointment online using the consulate website.  I printed out the official appointment confirmation which seemed to threaten me with endless bureaucratic delays if I failed to show up for my scheduled time.  My appointment time was 9:30 in the morning.  Of course the Consulate is no where near the center of town so this meant dealing with local public transportation in Frankfurt as well.  After doing all the math, we decided we needed to be on a train around 6:30 in the morning.

Let me just say this.  If you need non-emergency Consulate services and are an American citizen, don't get so worked up about the appointment time.  When we arrived at the building nearly an hour early there was a huge line in front.   This line, however, was for non-US citizens seeking travel visas.  I was able to walk right up to the counter using the line for citizens.  I showed them my scheduled appointment and asked if I should come back later because I was too early.  Instead, he told me to walk right in.  So there you go.  I'm pretty sure I didn't even need to make an appointment.  I probably spent no longer than a half hour inside. 

For all my complaining about the people who work in the Auslanderbehorde, the people at the Standesamt in Cologne couldn't have been any friendlier.  But maybe that comes with the territory.  At one point, as we were signing some of the final documents, the official turned to me and asked (in German of course) "You do realize you are getting married, not simply buying a washing machine, don't you?"

We were told it would take 3-4 weeks before we could take the next step.  Instead, it only took about 2 weeks until the letter arrived stating that we could return to the Standesamt to pick out the wedding day.  We settled on the 12th of July. 

So that's it.  We've turned everything in. We've paid all the requisite fees.  We've bought the rings.  The only thing left to do now is wait.  If you're not doing anything on the 12th of July, why not swing by city hall and wish us luck? 

*Thanks to a good friend for inspiring that story.