'Let's get 'er done'

All political opinions aside, I can't help but think of Sarah Palin saying that phrase when I have things to do. :-)

There are a few simultaneous plates spinning right now so I haven't been online much. The newest is the UK driver's test. I currently have a Germany license (which I brought along), and my US Pennsylvania license (which I received when the PA one handed in to DE expired-PA issues new licenses every four years.)

In the UK, US citizens are given a one year grace period to drive on their home license before getting a UK one in place.
EU citizens can do an even swap from EU licence to UK once, once they've been here for six months, or they can stay indefinitely on their EU one if they prefer.

Even though I have an EU one, I received my German one though an even trade of my American one, meaning--I didn't take any qualification test to get it. The UK therefore does not recognize this license as a true 'EU' one, but they treat it under the one year rule like the US one, that I can drive on it for a year and then must convert it to a UK one.

Someone suggested to me that the UK would never bother to track down in Germany whether or not I did or didn't take the test there. Probably true. However, the application to get the UK license forces one to state whether or not they received this EU license from a test or not, and from where. As a non-citizen in this country who plans to stay here, I don't want to be found lying on government forms. In addition, company J graciously provides me with a company car and insures it for me, they would not be too keen about this topic if I was found to be skirting the law.

I had an American expat colleague here who was convinced that she wouldn't pass the test here and as she was only here for two years she decided to carry on and not get caught. (Yeah, she got into an accident and got caught prior to the two years being up.)

No time like the present to get things rolling. I've purposely waited at least six months to get the rhythm of driving on the opposite side, and to stop clipping the curbs (done). I had to wait a few more weeks as one must turn in their non-UK passport to get the Provisional license, and I had work travel planned.

Expenditures so far:
-50 GBP to receive the Provisional license
-5 GBP to send off passport/application recorded mail
-5 GBP to pre-pay an envelope for them to return it in the same manner.
-31 GBP to pay for the theoretical computer test (test next week)
-practical test fee, still to pay

-a few hours spent reading the UK Highway code, including Friday night. As I've been driving for almost 20 years I'm doing the reading on the cheap by getting out library books. This should be interesting, however; my local driving center has a 38% pass rate on the practical test...

UK shortage list updates

I always keep an eye on what is happening on the UK immigration scene, in particular in case they introduce any new requirements which may impact my later applications for extensions.

All things being held equal...assuming you have desire and drive to go and live in another country, there are certainly a lot of opportunities in the UK for 'other' job holders, not just computer geeks (like so often come to the US). For example, on the list are 'exotic' professions such as professional ballerinas and orchestra musicians, but many 'normal' jobs such as nurses, social workers, paediatric dentistry consultants and pipe welders.

These tier 2 permits are skilled worker permits, so a company does have to jump through the hoops of applying for it on your behalf, as well as paying for it, but apparently the UK is lacking in these professions so that the need is justified.

The whole reason I found my way over there, the committee for these released a short update that teachers in special schools and skilled meat boners and trimmers should be added to the list.

So apparently the opening of the EU didn't fill the need for meat workers as predicted. More interesting--meat cutters are on shortage occupations lists elsewhere as well:
Canada - http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2006/Profile.aspx?val=9&val1=9462

Not yet skilled in the trade? Go to Denmark and learn the skill.

From my last trip to Germany

Graffiti in the Aldi Sued parking lot:

Behind the cars, not crossed out is 'Jetzt' (now)

And because we were stuck in traffic and it amused me:

If you like to lookup plates in Germany to see where they come from, try here. One often sees 'suck' plates on the A3 near Cologne as this combo comes from Rhein-Sieg-Kreis / Siegburg.

The rooftop garden in October

I am lucky being fourth flights off the ground--I think I miss some of the fall dampness. In addition--I still get the sun on the front terrace, from 8 AM - 3 PM. Nevertheless, it's potato and oninon harvesting time:

I love these little potatos...mainly because they're so easy to cook, roasted with a little olive oil, garlic and spices.

Speaking of garlic, I did not get all of the garlic out of the pots, so I have some self-seeders:

I enjoy the green garlicky shoots for cooking, so we'll leave these as is. (As I understand the gardening literature, this isn't the best situation in the world as far as planting goes as the heads are too close together so it will only produce little garlics in the spring.)

And below, the scotch bonnet* pepper enjoying the daytime sun:

*If you are my trini friend, replace 'Scotch bonnet' with 'habenero'.

-->We aim to be inclusive around here. ;-)

I'm not sure which is most worthy...

to (whine) uups blog about this week:

1. How I had no water (Monday)
The building management company told me that it wasn't their problem and to call the water company. The water company told me there were no outages and to call the building management company. The assigned building manager only comes in at 9, and no, they couldn't call her in advance. (Why-->do you think she's at home showering or otherwise enjoying her water??)

2. How the cat fell in the toilet in 'Operation Potty' (Tuesday)
(I was aiming to have her do something like this, in case you're curious.)


3. How I got pulled over in my corner of Essex for driving with fog lights on. (Wednesday)
(oops! I rather loathe this car, too many buttons. And it's the first time I've driven in 3.5 weeks.) I would be willing to bet money that he heard my accent and didn't want to potentially get involved with the paperwork of an illegal alien or illegal driver. (Neither of which I am.) He literally sprinted back to his car with a 'thumbs up' sign wishing me a nice evening once he saw to it that the right switch was set.

4. How getting the MOT took 2 hours rather than 15 minutes (Thursday)
...because the third party company J car service outsourcer made an appointment for me at 08.00 for a garage that wasn't open until 08.30 and then didn't do the MOT until 9, but their early appointments were already booked up so I couldn't be scheduled until 09.30. I love outsourcing arrangements! In case you're wondering, it is chilly in my corner of Essex at 8 AM, but not frosty.

I am now off to have a glass of wine and a hot bath...I think I'll be sticking with more frugal posts for the next few days to steer clear of the negativity above. :-)

Frugal Sunday lunch - a week late

I managed to get to the farmers' market on Saturday around closing time and came home with a few things as they lowered the prices to move them out:

1 large cauliflower + 1 giant bag of brussel sprout greens = 1 GBP
1 bag of brussel sprouts, around 75 of them = 1 GBP

Into this recipe went 1/3 of the cauliflower and 1 bunch of 4 of the sprout greens.
around 10 brussel sprouts went into the mix as well.

Already on hand:
a veg Thai green curry paste similar to this
a dented can of coconut milk, discounted to 51 p
rice and noodles
on sale tofu = 1 GBP
1 scotch bonnet/habenero pepper from my garden (ok, so not a perfect substitution, but in the vicinity)

Lunches made:
4.5 during the week and 1 for the freezer later for work

Estimated total cost:
.20 p for the cauliflower
.13 p for the greens
1 GBP for the tofu
.51 p for the coconut milk
.05 p for the paste
1 GBP for the rice/noodle servings
.15 p for the brussel sprouts
0 for the pepper (garden has already paid for itself)
=3.04 GBP

3.04 divided by the 5.5 meals = approximately .55 p per serving.

The frugal trip home for the December holidays

One of the things that really bites about working in Europe is that the airlines know you want to come home to America for the holidays and price their flights accordingly. For a few years I was very lucky as the company paid for me to go home as an expat. When I transferred my employment contract to Europe I lost that benefit, but gained extra vacation, so it all comes out in the wash.

Recapping the past few years of holiday travel:

• 2008 - DUS to EWR with Lufthansa (Newark baby!)
• 2007 - DUS - FRA - PHL, PHL - FRA - CGN -with USAir on miles.

I was extremely displeased with USAir's lack on service on this one. The best was when I went to confirm 72 hours in advance and they told me--we cancelled the DUS to FRA leg.

Funny, you didn't call to tell me this. So how to I get to my Frankfurt flight?
We cancelled the DUS to FRA leg. (yes, it was a German agent!)
(Sigh) Give me a supervisor please.

The trip was further riddled with incompetence, including the return leg when USAir's International counter wouldn't check me in because the trip was on miles and Domestic wouldn't check me in because it was an International flight. This is why I go to the airport 3 hours early, because USAir is the most incompetent airline and I needed to wait in various lines for 2.5 hours with everyone passing me off elsewhere, unable or unwilling to do anything. There is no customer service desk in Philly, only a 1.800 number. P*sspoor, and never again on USAir, or even a codeshare which is flying on USAir flights.

Moving on...

• 2006 Cologne to Newark with miles (direct!) back in the day when they were running this route.

I did this one a few times that year, and I loved it. Cologne isn't really set up for US flights, so it was goofy, their workarounds to keep the passengers who already cleared security, um, secure. It involved handing your passport to an agent to leave the area to use the toilet because they had blocked off a previously open area, so you needed to be secured again upon leaving.

The only issue with this one was that the route obviously wasn't making enough cash, so they started to cut back from 7 days a week, then 5, then 4...my outgoing was cancelled and the Continental people worked with me to find a decent replacement as I was rather set on my outgoing day. They re-routed me from CGN-EWR to CGN-Paris-PHL on AirFrance. It was the closest I ever came to missing an international flight, because Paris on December 18 was chaotic and we were late incoming. I was the second to last person to walk on the flight, having gone through the last security, and taking off on a run in stocking feet.

***
I was looking forward to moving to the UK because the increased competition on the London to New York market ensured that I'd be paying less than I did from Germany where Lufthansa runs the show. In addition, Open Skies has ruffled the market up a little.

I've been hemming and hawing on booking a flight over the past few months watching the prices go up and down. I was expecting to have to pay over 400 GBP for decent dates. Prices were reaching into the high 500's.

The negotiable items:
-Return date is flexible. Usually I try for Dec 31 because it's hella cheaper than the days around it, and I'm not so big on New Year's partying.
-Philly or Newark or Allentown airports are all possible.
-I can do any London area airport.
-I don't terribly mind connections.

The constraints:
-Dec 17th is the earliest I can leave.
-If I'm coming into Philly or Newark and getting someone to pick me up, I need aim for socialable times (non-rush hour, not post 10 PM, etc.)
-I need to keep in mind the Septa (Philly train) and Amtrak (Newark train) times. A 6 AM departure from Newark can't really be accomodated.

• The best option was looking to be AirFrance for 388 GBP, with a 1 hour 5 minute connection. (ho-ho-ho, I had 0% faith of making that connection.)
• Our neighbors to the North, AirCanada, had a nice selection for 398 GBP, with plenty of flights out of London to Toronto, and then multiples from Toronto to Newark. It became a little pricier for Philly, but I actually like to clear US Customs in Canada. Queues aren't too bad.
• BMI offered as direct to Philly, but it was USAir planes. No thanks.
• United had plenty of options that would ship me halfway across the US in the process. Chicago, Washington Dulles. I got sidetracked here, trying to see what the worst connection was that I could make for a limited cost. (London-Dulles-White Plains, New York-Philly or London-Chicago-Dulles-Newark for 434 GBP seemed to be the winners on that front)
• I checked Air India, for the London-Newark option

What was the final outcome?

I happened to catch a really cheap option on TAP Portugal, which goes London to Lisbon to Newark with superb connections and a nice return time from Newark, on the absolute perfect days. The only negative--it leaves Heathrow at 06.00. OK, for 313 GBP (including all taxes and everything), I cannot complain.

Happy 8 month UKversary to me

The 15th of each month remains a special day for me, as it's the day I arrived in the UK. Most funny to me last week in going to Germany...when I deregistered at the Rathaus, I expected them to mark something in my German permanent residency in my passport, like 'good until 6 months from Feb 15'. (I had the 'old' residency sticker which was supposed to be good for return for up to 6 months.)


The first time I flew back to Germany was withing six months of leaving; I had carried my deregistering papers in case of difficulty. However, they waved me through and refused to stamp my passport. When I questioned it, they said that they could not as I had the permanent residency sticker. OK.

Now that it's more than six months, upon arrival I expected that their computer would beep and they would ask me if I live there and would note that I'd been gone for months and would stamp my passport. Nope, not at all. I handed the guy the passport, not on the permanent residency page. He then proceeds to flip through it, to find it, and then hands it back and waves me through. Huh.

Upon leaving, the guy asks me for my destination. 'The UK, Stansted'. Alles klar, and back comes the passport, no more questions, and no stamp. Granted I have only three more years left on this passport and I'll need to get a new one, but otherwise it seems that I could come and go willy nilly to and from Germany, with them always referencing the permanent residency even though it's no longer valid.

Odd.

On the Stansted side they continue to question me upon arrival. Their basic minimum question is 'has anything changed in your circumstances since you received this permit?' Um, no. Some of them continue the line of questioning: where do you work, what do you do, how long have you done this, and on and on. When I had the German sticker, the agents in Germany tended not to ask anything, so this is a bit of a surprise, the difference in questioning...

No worries, the next trip out should be back to the US for the December hols.

The week in Germany - a wrap up

Last week was a nice time to visit Germany--fall has arrived with leaves changing color and crisp weather. (Well except for that one night when the weather was freakishly warm, above 20 still after the sun went down and we drank wine on the Balkon.)

I'm very lucky to be able to stay with a work colleague who has a very nice kitchen so I can buy foods and properly cook, instead of having to eat heavy hotel foods. I also consider myself to be blessed, my direct and indirect work colleagues are very nice, so the week was spent doing work while being invited multiple times for a coffee, lunch, etc.

While it was all pleasant enough to visit, I wouldn't really want to live there again.

One night, on the way home, I stopped off at Lidl in Leverkusen. (Leverkusen locally has a reputation of being a bit rough around the edges, working class.) In line behind me was a gentleman wearing the blue overalls of the working class uniform, and a dyed blond mohawk, perhaps 50 years old. As I'm past the queue and at the counter arranging items in my recycled box, he is then next to me doing the same.

He then says to me (in German): Pfui! It's too early for Christmas chocolates!
I have 15 items--pasta, tomato sauce, lettuce, etc. and he's commenting on the one Christmas item I have, a Milka Santa.

In my first few years of living in Germany, I probably would have felt affronted. Even in year three or four I may have stumbled along a response. After year five I think I got into the flow, and apparently, I have not forgotten this necessary attitude even after leaving.

Heather response: Ah yes, I used to lived in Germany, but now I only get to visit from England, and I will not return before Saint Nick day.

(To his credit, he managed to understand my less than perfect German. It's what I always liked about Leverkusen, the people seem a little friendlier to me than Cologne or D'dorf where they seemed personally offended by incorrect grammar.)

Leverkusen man: Ja, but you cannot buy a chocolate Santa Klaus in the UK?

Heather: Yes, but not such nice chocolate like Milka, and not so big, only little Santas.

Leverkusen man: Hmm! Then this is ok that you buy your German chocolate to take back to England...but this is not ok for normal Germans, this is too early.

*****
Well then. In addition, you'll be pleased to know that due to careful packing and AirBerlin's delicate suitcase handling, Milka man survived the trip back fully intact. :-)

Anglo American Cultural Exchange - with New Friend Ian

Having only ever lived in England (and one small part at that), my experience of other cultures is – shall we say, much more limited than Heather’s. However the other culture I know the best is probably American. (Admittedly this is mainly through watching The Sopranos and 24. Though my Aunt is American). Despite having a reasonable grasp of ‘Americanisms’ there is still the odd occasion when Heather and myself don’t quite get what the other person is saying. For example;

English / American
Anti-clockwise = Counter clockwise
Trousers = Pants
Pants = Panties
Courgette = Zucchini
Aubergine = Egg Plant
Manual car = Stick shift car
Ground floor = 1st floor
Chips = Fries
Large Coke = Small Coke
Petrol = Gas

(Pronunciation)
TomARto = TomAto
OrigARno = OrEGGANNo

The ground floor / first floor caused some confusion, with Heather telling me she had purchased a 4th floor flat, and me thinking to myself, “but the block only goes up to the 3rd floor”. And I will confess to wandering round the supermarket for at least 10 minutes looking for an Egg Plant, without realising what I was supposed to be getting.

With Heather teaching me about American culture and language, I have also tried to educate her with regard to Essex culture. ‘Essex Man’ and ‘Essex Woman’ came to prominence during the 1980’s when Mrs Thatcher made Essex very rich (and simultaneously made a lot of other places very poor). Characteristics of ‘Essex Man’ and ‘Essex Woman’ include the following;

* A desire for designer goods – though tacky rather than quality.
* Hard working – will do anything for a bit of extra money.
* Lack of subtlety – say it as it is at high volume.
* A habit of starting to produce babies in their teens.
* Politically right wing - with a fierce dislike of immigration.
* Big fans of fast food and cheap drink – and all the associated health related issues this brings. (As Heather found the other week when she wanted to buy a size 10 – only to find a lack of size 10’s but plenty of size 16’s and above).

As with all stereotypes – they are exaggerations but based on truth. Heather will often see an especially bad example of Essex Man and comment that they are “my people”. Well….. Yes, I suppose they are! But Essex isn’t really that bad. I wouldn’t live here otherwise.

So hopefully, as the years roll on, Heather will continue to teach me how to speak ‘American English’, and I will continue to try and convince her that not all Essex people live up to their stereotype. It will be fun!

New Friend Ian

Book Wednesday: Stuerm vor Englands Torren

NR. 4 Kleine Kriegshefte 10 PF
This one came from the Hay Castle Bookshop for 6 GBP.

My interests in German reading are mainly historical pieces about Germany, in German--such as this one. It's a piece of Germany propaganda from the early 1940's.

This one mainly talks about Germany's activies in France. It's a mixture of articles and photos.

As an added bonus, someone left a Hotel menu in it from 1942:

Book Tuesday: The Economic Development of Poland's Western and Northern Regions

Year of Publication: 1961

This one was an ex-library book, from the University of London, King's College

My price in Wales: 3.50 GBP

From the preface:

'Poland's prewar frontier with Germany and with the former Free City of Gdansk was 1,931 kilometers long. At present the border on the Odra and Nysa rivers is 460 kilometers, or one-fourth of what it was before 1939. The restoration of the regions in th west and north have placed Poland's boundaries on a natural frontier. The Odra and Nysa boundary unites two friendly nations: The Polish People's Republic and the German Democratic Republic; it has ceased to be a powder keg and is properly called the "peace frontier".

Fifteen years of reconstruction and expansion on Poland's western and northern regions as part of one unified economic plan, have made of the regained areas and the other parts of Poland one unified whole.'

Why did this one look interesting to me?

It's full of facts and figures, comparing Poland during the war years to Poland in 1961. Especially interesting to me is the overlap between Poland and Germany, including Chaper II. Nationality and Demographic Problems. Knowing the later history of Poland being in the EU, to see how Poland was viewed in 1961 in the post-WW2 years is a nice historical insight.

A snippet of one of the many tables:

Book Monday - Best of Enemies

Britain and Germany: 100 Years of Truth and Lies

by Richard Milton

from Amazon, here. My price at the Red Cross Charity Shop in Wales: 2.99 GBP

From the inside cover:

'For the best part of a century, Brtain and German had been closer than any other two countries. Germany was Britain's biggest export market, and vice versa. Germans adopted English dress, customs and manners. German thinking on race, national identity, eugenics and racial supremacy also had its roots in British thinkers like Darwin, Huxley and Galton. Even as late as the Nazi era, Hess, Himmler, Goering and Hitler himself remained passionate Anglophiles.'

I've wanted to read this one for a while, since I knew I was moving to the UK. Over time, some UK work colleagues have mentioned how they thought of Germany growing up is largely a result of their UK educational background. While I have an interest in German history over the past 100 years and have read up on it, I'm not so familiar with UK history over the past 100 years, so looking forward to see the intersection of them.

The start of Chapte 23:

On the road to DE

Be sure to wave above D'dorf to the AirBerlin plane incoming from the UK this afternoon.

I'll be offline for a few days in the office, but I preposted some book choices from Wales over the next few days. In addition, New Friend Ian will make a guest post on Thursday. Be nice to him, he's not a blogger (yet! hehehe...)

The painted kitchen

You'll probably recall, I had a German visitor a few months back. In the meantime I had a nice guy visit from Slovenia too. (My location is very convenient to the train and bus station in my town.) I gave the German an open invite to pop round whenever she needed a place for the night, so she stopped in once or twice as she was traveling through. In addition--she was doing some major walking (20 miles one day!) and ill-equipped for the task by having only a regular backpack and plastic sacks. So I lent her my camping rucksack with the agreement that she would come back around before leaving to drop it back.

Someone asked me, 'how do you know that she'll actually give it back?'

A. Because she's German and she said so. I put a lot of faith into German honesty.

B. Because she asked to leave some items here which she didn't need for the rest of her trip-mainly library books which she'll need to return to Germany.

And even if she didn't come back, it was my older rucksack which I keep for secondary purposes, the one which has been through a lot, so if it went on to never return that might not be so bad.

So she ended up coming round on Wednesday night, at the end of all of her adventures. She was out of cash and had seen enough of England at this point and was mentally preparing to jump back into school and a new flat on Saturday, after seven weeks of being on the move in the UK.

Since she last visited me I had window blinds installed and had bought my ebay bookshelves. In addition, I painted the bathroom. After painting the bathroom, upon removing all of the tape, I just put it directly up in the kitchen, my next painting project. I have been busy with work, etc. though, so I didn't get further than that on this project, although I had everything bought and ready to go.

As a thank you for letting her stay here and for something to do, she asks if I would like her help to paint the kitchen. I have relatives who are 22 in the US--if they asked to help paint something I'd probably hesitate a moment as it could be more trouble that it's worth. However--I knew that as a 22 year old German, she would have had YEARS of painting experience. (Which, of course, she did.) So I hesitated perhaps half a second before accepting her kind offer.

As expected--this got done the German way, immediately after dinner we began. Jump right in and start taping and preparing, no hestitation, just get 'er done. Within two hours we were cleaning up. She was an expert at wrapping the radiator and lightswitches in plastic and I couldn't be more pleased. I would never have even hinted at a Hospitality Club or Couchsurfing guest to have to assist me with anything, so this was such a pleasant surprise to have the offer.

Here is the before photo. The chosen color is the 2nd from the left, a slightly mossy green.

The after shot is a little washed out to be able to see the color. However, to get an idea--it's matching the lightest tiles here: