Archive for October, 2006

Loitering in my favorite loitering spot again.

Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

Ah well, this is what I like so much. Arriving in Darmstadt, I can get rid of my luggage and then walk over to the 603qm. Outside, it is almost stormy. Inside, there are people that I recognize and appreciate. Even people you do not know offer some of their chocolate to not-too-famished strangers like yours truly. Perfect. It’s good to be back for another two years. And now it’s time to get another beverage. And perhaps some pastry goodness.

Später Lavendel.

Sunday, October 22nd, 2006

photo of lavender growing on my balconyGoldener Oktober. Heute noch mal auf dem Balkon gefrühstückt. Die Wespen sind immer noch unterwegs, aber schon etwas träge, so dass Olli und ich sowohl Brötchen geniessen als auch ausblühenden Lavendel anblinzeln konnten.
So erholt man sich doch gerne von einer Magen-Darm Infektion.
Hm. Irgendwie passen goldener Oktober, blühender Lavendel und Magen-Darm Infektion nicht so richtig zusammen. Aber wir wollen mal nicht weiter in diese jeweiligen Bilder und ihre Assoziationen einsteigen. Hö.
Kerstin sagt, in Oslo regnet es schon seit zwei Wochen und es sind sechs Grad. Die Arme. *hämisches Grinsen*

Die schöne Brache.

Saturday, October 21st, 2006

Foto Baustelle Choriner Straße 32a 21. Oktober 2006Mit einem Seufzer im Herzen habe ich heute noch mal ein Bild von der früheren Brache auf dem Gelände Choriner Straße 32a gegenüber von unserem Balkon gemacht. Vor kurzem hat Olli da noch in der Sonne gesessen und meine Dissertation Korrektur gelesen. Aber nun wird die verführend verfallende Fläche von der Härte des Immobiliengeschäfts ereilt. Ich habe bisher noch keine Tafel erspäht, die ankündigen würde was auf dem ehemaligen Gelände der KiTa eigentlich gebaut wird. Eine große Erleichterung ist nur, dass der wundervolle Kirschbaum (im Bild unten rechts) anscheinend erhalten bleibt. Es wäre wirklich grausam gewesen, wenn der hätte fallen müssen…

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

So, who’s who? First, there are the people from Darmstadt. They sent me a letter today. If you were listening to the sounds of the rumor mill you might have already guessed what is inside… Yes! It did work out as I hoped. 11 a.m. September 22nd I handed in my Dissertation. Two hours later I had my job interview for a postdoc position in the new post-graduate college Topology of Technology. Today I received the written approval of the college. Yay! Beginning sometime in November or December, I will not be dependent on the totally incompetent and not-so-subtly cruel social workfare system. That, I can tell you, is a relief in itself. However, it is of course much better than that because I really wanted to work exactly in that position: a post-doc in a Graduiertenkolleg, and even better, a post-doc in a Graduiertenkolleg that consists of people that are intellectually brilliant, socially competent and personally likeable. More about all of this in later posts.
But – as the title of this post hints – this is not all the news that I got. The above was, quite easily guessed, the good part. Now comes the bad. Last week, construction work has begun right across on the other side of the street. Yes, that is also right in front of our beloved balcony. Meow. We’ll see how the construction site develops but it appears as if the greatest and most marvellous part of the whole Choriner Straße will be left standing: the huge Cherry tree that astounds everyone when it becomes a world of blossoms in the spring. It would have been a grievous loss indeed. This was the bad.
Now comes the ugly. As usual, it has something to do with our Landlord. The property management firm Kirchner & Freund, which manages the building we live in, is not exactly shining in the bright light of competence. This in itself could be bearable. However, their letters also hint at a certain vice that is fostered by what one may quite righteously call capitalism. Thus they raised the rent by about ten percent a few years ago. We complied grudgingly. This year, they again wanted to raise the rent by roughly nine percent. We did not agree and sent them the necessary objections. They did not accept. (No surprise there.) We agreed to a partial raise by a bit more than one percent and paid the respective sum. To this partial agreement they never replied. Instead, I found a letter in our letterbox yesterday. It was utterly official and sent from the local court. They actually sued us! Sadly this is a joke but the ugly truth. We’ll see how things go. Since all the prior steps had been made in accordance with the Berliner Mieterverein, we will be financially supported by the renter’s association. I already contacted a lawyer and sent all the documents to his office. Ugly business. But better have the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly than ride with the trio of the apocalypse…
*starts playing the harmonica*

Leckerer Schlapf.

Sunday, October 8th, 2006

Wenn man kaputt ist wie heute nach einer Wanderung zum Ullevålseteren und wirklich Hunger hat empfiehlt es sich, mehrere Teller Leckeren Schlapfs zu essen.
Was braucht man? 500 Gramm Nudeln (Spiralnudeln oder Penne), ein Packung Schmelzkäse (oder auch etwas mehr, je nach Gusto), ein bis zwei Zwiebeln, eine große Dose Erbsen oder das Äquivalent an Tiefkühlware, Kochschinken und eine Handvoll Schinkenspeck. Etwas Milch oder Sahne. Pfeffer und Salz.
Die Nudeln werden wie üblich gekocht. Während dessen Zwiebeln und Speck klein schneiden und in etwas Fett goldig braten. Wenn die Nudeln gar sind das Wasser abgießen und die angebratenen Zwiebeln samt Speck und allen anderen Zutaten dazugeben (den Schinken klein schneiden), etwas Milch darüber gießen, so dass der Boden des Topfs bedeckt ist. Das Ganze dann unter stetigem Rühren miteinander verquicken, bis der Schmelzkäse seine Bestimmung gefunden hat, also geschmolzen ist. Mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Die Chose ist fertig, wenn sich beim Rühren ein Appetit machendes Schlapfgeräusch einstellt.
Heiß servieren und bitte so portionieren, dass man sich mindestens ein weiteres mal auftun kann, denn das Nachfüllen ist ein zentraler Bestandteil des Leckeren Schlapfs.

University of Oslo’s Library.

Friday, October 6th, 2006

reading desks in empty library during the eveningThis is the place where I like to catch up with work. Bit by bit, in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere.
During the day there are people sitting at the desks, of course. But I did not want to shoot them with my brand new digital camera (more on that in one of the next posts), even though they tend to forget turning their mobile phones off.

The aftermath.

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

Back to the screen. I definitely needed to take a break from the screen for a while. Strolling through the Odenwald, bathing in the North Sea, cycling through Schleswig-Holstein and now breathing the clear air of Oslo I recuperated from the stress of the last months.
Thus I am now up to the task of catching up with all the things that accumulated over the course of the last months. Luckily, there is no desperate need to hurry anymore. And going to the dentist is not exactly something I really missed while I was working on my dissertation…