Skating on the Balcony

This morning the puddle in the balcony was frozen. The cold weather from Russia, Finland and Scandinavia seems to have reached Bochum. Germany is in a state of shock as Berlin freezes with -15 degrees centigrade. We snigger at all the commotion. One reporter on TV was so excited that he measured people's face temperatures to point out that it is cold. At least he couldn't show that the skin would be any colder than the air was. But he seemed genuinely agitated.

The puddle in the balcony was a bigger one yesterday. I had to throw litres and litres of water overboard to keep it from coming into our living room. Somebody should be coming soon, with a drill.

We had some words with Mr. Uhe whose company took care of moving us. Some glasses bought in Cologne had been broken and we wanted to say that. Mr. Uhe was kind enough to just say "buy new ones and we'll pay for them". We told him that it would be more expensive than he thinks. If we are going to buy special glasses in the cellar brewery restaurant Früh, we must take the train or stay in a hotel. It would not be right to just eat in a brewery restaurant...

I went and bought a second Airport Express box, which allows me to stream my iTunes music wirelessly to my stereo speakers in the living room. The setup was simple as the first time and it started to work fine immediately. It is small enough to be taken on a trip to allow for a wireless internet access in a hotel room. Maybe that's a useful feature, I'll have to test it.

I finally figured out what was wrong with our telephone (the fax is still silent). It was a kind of contact problem with one of the connectors. It was a relief to find a reason and see a change caused by a repair. Cause and effect. Because last time the phone just fixed itself and I couldn't figure out what had changed. But now it works and for a reason.

Tomorrow I have an early appointment with my job counselor (Arbeitsvermittler). I'm applying for financial support on starting a self-employed existence. Wish me luck. Also on the agenda there's an appointment with my financial advisor (like I need one), a possible lunch with Yrjö and a board gaming evening in Herten. I get to meet some old colleagues, I haven't seen for weeks. It will surely be fun.