What's the craic? Part II

On the plane ride over to Ireland I sat next to a retired American couple from Nebraska. We had a nice chat about their trip to Europe and how I liked living in Germany. Until they said the following sentence, "Your English is quite good." Seriously? Yep, I am an American and that is the language that I grew up speaking so yes, it is quite good. I ended the conversation there because I just couldn't bear to go on.

What's the Craic? Part I

Well, I just arrived back in Germany from a week in Ireland. Not only did I start my new job but I also met Sean's family. First the job. I accepted a job at Vistamed which is an Irish based catheter manufacturing company. They are quite small (about 70 people) and I am the first sales person ever hired. My official title is Techical Sales Development Manager. As was with my old job I will work from home when not traveling the globe. So far I like working there. Everyone is very helpful and nice. It is great to be back at a small company again where there isn't so much of a political environement and I report directly to one of the owners so I get a say in how things are done.

Alicante Spain

It was decided that some R&R was much needed. Afterall, being unemployed isn't easy. So we took off to Alicante Spain for 4 days. We stayed in Sean's uncles house which overlooks the ocean. We spend a little time at the beach. a little time by the pool and a little time in Alicante. The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold. The only problem we encountered is the eating hours. We were always hungry at 5 but the restaurants do not open until 8. Siesta time was a bit of an inconvenience. Other than that it was great albeit too short. Hopefully we will go back soon and spend more time.

My First Fußball Match

Sean is teaching me to play football or soccer as it is called in the US. We have found a little park with a football pitch just down the street from my house which is very convenient. We have been out to the park 2 or 3 times teaching me how to kick the ball and coordinate my gangly limbs. So far I am doing quite well. Yesterday I had my first improptu match in the park. My competition had an average age of 10 years. Sean and I teamed up against 3 kids and won. 5-3. Despite my fears of kicking a little kid in the shin or head, I managed to score 2 goals!! Then the old people had to call it quits as we were both out of breath after chasing around the little ones. :-)

Bruchsal Frühlingsfest 2009

May 1st is a big celebration day in Germany. There is no work and everyone gets together with friends and family to celebrate spring. A group of us went to Bruchsal and spent the day cycling, drinking and eating. We cycled around the village stopping at different beer gardens to sample the food and beer. I had my first currywurst and some sort of pork sandwich. All were tasty. Also to drink along the way we had an erdbeerbowle. It is punch made from sparkling wine and strawberries. It was goood but leaves you with a bit of a headache in the morning. I hope to do it again next year.

Wohnung Update

So the curtains were hung by the chimney with care.....oh wait, that is a different story. The curtains were hung without incident. Also the shelves went up with out a fight. Meo loves his new blanket. I love it too as it keeps his hair off the sofa.It looks like my living room is completed. Well, unless I decide to paint.

The refrigerator is awesome! I love having food that doesn't spoil. I also like having really cold milk. Mmmmmm!

Update

Once again it seems like it has been a while since my last post. One would think that being unemployed would leave me with all sorts of time to keep my blog updated but that hasn't been the case.

The job search is going well. I have 2 offers coming from 2 different companies in Ireland. I also have another interview for an American based company next week in Paris. I also received an email from Bosch requesting an interview but I think that I am going to decline that one. For the job at Bosch I would have to commute or move to Stuttgart. With any of the others I would be able to stay where I am and that is the most important thing to me.

I went to my last doctor appointment today. They tested me for all sorts of blood clotting disorders (factor 5, lupus etc..) and all were negative. So I am healthy and hopefully this blood clot business was a 1 time occurance.

Today I am going to try to hang curtains in my living room. I have had them for 4 months now so I think it about time that they were hung. Hopefully it goes better than the last time I attempted it. The last time was in the US and I had problems drilling the holes deep enough to accept the wall anchors. After drilling 8 holes in the wall to get 2 that worked I finally gave up and started gluing the anchors in place. Gorilla glue works wonders for this type of work. Again, hopefully this type of maneuver will not be needed this time.

My cat has turned into a cold blooded killer. In the past 2 weeks, he had killed and brought home 5 mice. Some were not entirely dead. I would have taken photos but that just seemed disgusting. I don't know why he has all of a sudden gone on a killing spree but I can only hope that it is short lived.

The last bit of exciting news is that I am getting a new refrigerator delivered tomorrow. I know, stop yourself from passing out at from extreme excitment. After living with my crap used refrigerator for the past 8 months that doesn't really keep anything much colder than room temperature, I finally got around to spending the €300 for a new one. The timing is great as the weather is warm enough that I can no longer store perishables outside. :-)