Will this day ever end?

It’s currently ten o’clock at night. I’ve been up since 6 am, it’s been a long, stressful day at work, in which I didn’t even have time for a proper lunch break and all I want to do is go to bed and sleep… possibly until the end of the week. Unfortunately this is not possible. Tea is still in the oven refusing to do what it’s meant to do (stop being liquid mainly). On top of that, the kitchen is full of unwashed dishes from last night’s tea, which I am going to fail to wash once again, and I still haven’t taken out the food waste, despite the fact that I’ve been meaning to for about three days. My Grandma has just informed me that one of the stereotypes that Germans have about the British is that we’re messy… and she knows for a fact Jan thinks that about me. Thanks Grandma – at least now I know what you two talk about behind my back! And the worst of it is I can’t even deny it. After all, we all know I’m the world’s worst housewife (I’ve mentioned it often enough!). The best defense I could come up with was “he can talk”. Very original! I also managed to get on the wrong tram this morning, my train was delayed this evening and Jan is not home yet. This certainly hasn’t been what I would call one of the better days in my life. Here’s hoping tomorrow will be better… once I’ve had some sleep!

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Questions upon questions

Yes, it’s one of those posts again…

• Why do so many people here feel the need to run across the road in front of trams? I’m sure you’re in a big hurry, but trust me, getting hit by a tram isn’t going to get you to your destination any quicker…
• Speaking of trams: why does the display thingy insist on telling me my tram is coming “sofort” (immediately) when it is nowhere in sight and will clearly not be turning up anything like ‘sofort’
• Why does my kitchen still smell weird even though I’ve taken the rubbish out?
• Why do I have almost not of my wages left already when the month has only just started?
• Why has the translation book I ordered for 30 euros which Amazon claimed should be here by 30th October not arrived yet? (Question for my UK readers, if I actually have any – surely you can’t all have gone off to France and Korea?: Is Royal Mail on strike? That might explain it…)
• Why is my wash basket so full?
• Why are crisps so addictive?
• Why is my flat so cold?
• Why are so many people I know pregnant? (Every time someone gives birth another person makes the “expecting” announcement. It’s madness!)
• Why is it not the weekend yet?

The last night

It’s my last night in the student residence.
By this time tomorrow I’ll be moved in to my new flat. I’ll even have a little bit of furniture.
Wow. I can’t believe I’m actually moving out. 2 and a half years I’ve been here. It’s been a while since I’ve spent that long living in one place. Even at uni I lived in various different places (halls in first year, house with friends in second year, then year abroad in Germany and in final year a different house with different friends).

I still have soo much to do. I need to finish packing. I need to clean. I need to take out the rubbish, sort out which food is coming with me and what can be given away or binned. And I only have until 11:30 tomorrow to get it all done. So of course today had to be the Friday that I wasn’t able to leave work on time. Some of you may remember me mentioning that we get to leave work at 4pm on Fridays, provided we work til 5:15 every other day of the week…
Well,  today I was lucky to catch the 22 minutes past tram (I ran and reached the platform about 30 seconds before it did). Yesterday it was nearly 5:30 when I left. And on Tuesday I stayed for an extra 15 minutes so that I could leave early on Wednesday for Spanish. The one week that I would have liked to get home and get things done I’ve ended up spending more time at work than ever. The Law of Sod as my dad would say…

Time flies

This shall be my last post for a few days. Not that I’m going to a place without a computer, but the chances of me being able to get my hands on that computer are pretty much zero, so no more blogging til I return at the weekend.

I’m returning to the Motherland (England) for my brother’s 18th birthday. Righteen! I can’t believe it. This is my little brother we’re talking about here. The baby I helped to bath, the toddler whose first word was my name. I remember helping him with his reading, playing schools with him, giving him piggy backs around the park. When did my baby brother get all grown up? He’s doing his A-Levels this year and will be starting uni next September. My little baby brother off to university! I know they say time flies but this has gone just a little too fast for me. I feel old now (again!).

So the next few days are going to busy, busy, busy – starting tomorrow when I’m going to have to leave work 5 minutes early to catch two trams and a bus to the airport. I feel tired just thinking about it!
And now I have to clean out the bag for my luggage (it got grape juice splled in it – don’t ask!), find clean clothes and pack them and somewhere in between that I need to find time to cook tonight’s tea and tomorrow’s lunch. If I’m lucky I might even make it to bed before midnight!

Twenty-five and no life

I’m slightly worried by the fact that all I could think of to blog about yesterday was dirty laundry. Has my life really come to that? I’ve been 25 for less than a month – surely I’m not old enough to become obsessed with housework yet?

Today has been one of those odd sort of days weather wise. It isn’t actually sunny but it’s absolutely boiling hot, with highs of 28°C. Luckily my office is fairly cool, but the tram is horribly sticky at the best of times. Except when you’ve just had walked for 20 minutes to reach the stop in the pouring rain with no umbrella – then the tram is freezing. It’s called sod’s law.

So I noticed today that Aldi have chosen this week to start selling Christmas stuff. How annoying is that? It’s not even Halloween yet! Not that the Germans actually celebrate Halloween, but that’s not really the point is it. Now for the next three months every time I walk into Aldi I’m going to be confronted with tons and tons of Lebkuchen. That’s German gingerbread for those who don’t know and it’s delicious. And here’s me trying to be healthy. I’ve even been cooking proper meals for myself, and everyone knows how much I hate cooking for one! Asking me to resist Lebkuchen for three whole months is just plain mean.

Ooh, here’s some exciting news. Karlsruhe’s getting its very own branch of Lush. I’m sure you all know the shop I mean – it’s the one you can track down from 10 miles away just by following the scent. I love Lush products! Must remember to drop a few un-subtle hints before Christmas gets here…

Right, I’m off down into the scary cellar to see if I can get a washing appointment. Wish me luck…

Last blog post before I turn 25!

On this day a quarter of a century ago I was born. I bet my poor mum is feeling very old right now! Even I’m feeling old, and I’m not the mother of a 25 year old (almost 25 year old anyway… I was born at 8:02pm so officially I’m still 24 til then).

Today started off badly but has gradually got better.
It started when Jan and I overslept this morning. At 6:10 am the alarm beeped and I turned over, murmering something about 5 more minutes. Jan picked up the loudly squawking clock and hit the snooze button. Or at least I assumed he did. Some time later I woke up thinking “it must have been 5 minutes by now, what’s going on?” It had indeed been more than 5 minutes… a lot more in fact. It was 5 past 7! So no leisurely birthday breakfast for me. I just had time to have a quick shower, get dressed, brush my teeth and make a sandwich to eat on the way to work. Somehow I managed to arrive at Europaplatz with enough time to buy some cake before my tram came. In Germany when it’s your birthday you provide the cake for your colleagues. Usually I would bake one, but we went to the cinema last night so I didn’t have time. So I bought cake then crossed the road to wait for my tram. The S1, which comes 1 minute before mine, came and went. No sign of the S11. The 6 came and went. Still no S11. So I waited and waited and, 10 minutes later, got on the next S1 (the first S1 ends 3 stops before mine). The S11 never did show up. So great start to the day – first I oversleep then my tram doesn’t show up!

Things started to get better after that though. The boss wasn’t bothered about me being 10 minutes late. He said “stuff like that can happen when you’re relying on trams” then later told me that technically I can turn up anywhere between 8:30 and 9am, they just prefer it to be earlier so they can close early. I then showed him my cake and said I had bought a little something because it’s my birthday. I expected him to know already. Turns out he didn’t, despite the fact that I gave him something to photocopy the other day with my date of birth on it. I could have just not mentioned anything and kept the cake! Although I’m actually pleased I did let him know… it meant I got sent home at 4:30pm so I could enjoy my birthday afternoon. Yay for nice bosses!

And now I’m off to enjoy my last hour and a bit as a 24 year old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!