Despite the fact that Gö-town has gotten snow within the past week, I'm really starting to think that this whole "spring" idea may actually stick at long last. Today was absolutely lovely... sunshine, chirping birds (just say NO to Vogelgrippe in Niedersachsen!) and temps ABOVE freezing! Maybe mid-30s Fahrenheit doesn't sound too appealing to some of the folks back home, but for me it was positively glorious. By next week we may even break 40! I'm already twitterpated in anticipation! Granted, it will be raining the whole time according to my sources...
I got the most out of today, though. Since I haven't yet gotten around to heavy-duty bike chain fixing (on the docket for tomorrow) it's still a little sticky in a couple of places and difficult to maneuver. Instead I walked into town and got some errands taken care of, updated my student ID on the first go, signed up for the second semester language placement test, randomly saw Patrick (another Göttingen grantee) at the grocery store and hung out at a café. I also popped in at the Vodafone store to see what they can do about my poor confused Handy. The cleancut young man at the desk was very helpful, and it seems that if I can rustle up my paperwork and receipt they'll kit me out nicely... ahem.
Right, the receipt... you see, this is one of the first purchases I made after arriving in Deutschland, and although I've saved most of my receipts here, that particular one wasn't making its presence known in my "big bag o'stubs and proof of purchase." I can calculate very precisely how much cheese (lots) or red and yellow bell peppers (waaaaay lots) I've consumed since the beginning of the year, but it seems like that won't do me much good tomorrow when I try to convince them to give me a new phone anyway... I do have all the paperwork in order and my name is all over every page, so maybe once just once *big puppy dog eyes* they can give me some leeway, right? *eyes again* Right??
But I'm dealing with Germans... and not just any Germans, Germans who make a living by being overdressed and selling 65-year phone contracts. I went for the pay-as-you-go plan, which means they probably already think of me as a kind of cockroach. Well, we'll see how it goes. If worse comes to worse I'll have to shell out another €45 for the phone myself (grumble grumble) but I'm sure they let me keep my number.
In other news, Hermann's last official day in lab was Monday. I went in for the weekly meeting and we tried to figure out a way for me to stay involved in the project second semester, which would be really fabulous. Although the majority of the work will be done in Erlangen, the samples we've already taken will stay in the freezers here, so there's a very good possibility that I can help out running some fill-in analyses. And then there was the next fabulous idea... when I explained the situation to some of my friends at the Berlin conference, a few people suggested I just up and move to Erlangen. Tempting as that was from the research side of things, I can't really see it as a viable option. I've got housing here, and I'm already registered and paid up with the Uni, and even though I don't know lots and lots of people here, it's better than nobody. I really can't stomach the idea of starting over again from scratch.
Hermann's suggestion, though, was that I travel there a couple of times a month to run short experiments and stay abreast of the job. Even with a Bahncard50, that could be pricey... but if it's all "grant-related travel" I may even get the Fulbright commission's help there. It's all hugely tentative, of course, but considering that I haven't heard from the other guy I was talking with (somatic disorders project) since a week before the conference... and I've seen him twice in lab, neither time with any acknowledgement on his part (!) I'm beginning to think that's falling through. Fair enough. If there aren't enough patients available between now and summer for me to finish out the study, it makes more sense to train somebody else who has the ability to stick around. Probably should send a courtesy email saying as much so he can bow out...
Gosh, that came out quite a bit more cynical-sounding than I intended. Sorry, I'm really not a cold heartless scientist, I promise!
Anywhoozits, on to other things I accomplished today: best laundry day EVER! I managed to catch two completely non-broken machines on the very first try! Thanks to the fabulous Berlin air, especially at night in the bar scene, my dress-up clothes (and everything else that was in my suitcase) had developed a carcinogenic patina that was almost visible to the naked eye. Thankfully I got to the wash before it could start attacking the innocent clean clothes in my closet, replacing molecules of shirt with stinky, stinky smoke. I was quite worried when I could still smell it in my room after tossing everything in the laundry, but then I figured out that it was coming in from outside (my window is right next to the building patio.) Reassuring, but also annoying, as I'm sure that will get worse as it warms up around here. Sigh. I swear sometimes, it's like they give people their first cigarette fresh out of the womb around here.
I'm sure if it gets bad I can just ask folks to blow the smoke the other way. Seriously, my housemates are so nice! A few went away for the semester break and came back in the last couple of days, so there's more going on around here and more people to talk to. Tonight Martin, the kind of psuedo-housemaster guy who helps me with my bike in exchange for brownies, asked me if I've been worried about something. (I keep dropping stuff in the kitchen and accidentally tossing bread across the room while attempting to butter it, and he's there all the time, so he must think I'm a nervous wreck instead of just a clumsy oaf...) Anyway, he seemed genuinely concerned, and it felt really nice. I told him about my lab stuff being up in the air, and we chatted for a bit while watching some TV program about gourmet chocolate. I mentioned my nutritional anth paper from last year on the same topic, and he asked if I had ever seen the movie Chocolat, which I haven't. He owns the film, which he brought downstairs to watch, along with a whole collection of assorted chocolates to sample during the movie! So we watched this total chick flick and ate great chocolate the whole time. Good thing I didn't give it up for Lent this year (sorry Amanda! I thought of you!)
(Also, before anyone brings it up Mom, he's got a serious girlfriend who also lives in the building. She's super nice and a fantastic cook, and she has my brownie recipe already, and I have no qualms about platonic chocolate!)
It was the perfect end to a lovely day.
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