2012 Trips

What is the first thing people say about Europe?  Ohh your moving to Europe, thats great, you will be able to see so much!! Europe is sooo small compared to the US, you can practically walk from Rome to Paris!!

Well, not quite.  But, we did do our best to get out and see the world around us.  Here is a list of the cities we visited in 2012 in no particular order:

Germany:
1. Aurich
2. Wittmound
3. Berlin
4. Hamburg
5. Dusseldorf
6. Bremen
7. Cuxhaven (via bike)
8. Oldenburg

Denmark:
1. Copenhagen

Spain:
1. Madrid
2. Alicante
3. Elda
4. Barcelona
5. Villafeliche
6. Zaragoza (Ana's Wedding)
7. Pirenees Mountains

Soon to add to the list (for Christmas vacation...)

U.S.A.
1. Albany
2. East Greenbush
3. New York City

Green Card Application: Step 1

Joaquin and I have accomplished a lot of big goals so far in our almost-2-year life together:

1. Joaquin got a job
2. I moved to Bremerhaven and got a new job
3. We got married
4. I learned a lot of Spanish
5. I got a 3 year visa
6. We are settled in Germany

So that's great. But now we have NEW GOALS!!!

1. Get Joaquin's Green Card
2. Gets jobs in US
3. Move to US
4. Get settled in US
5. Have babies
6. Buy house near beach

Currently we are chopping away at New Goal #1.  We are told the process takes about 6 months.  So far we have submitted our I-130 petition with supporting documents.  The petition wasn't so hard.  The supporting documents were also pretty easy.  All of the stuff was laying around the house.  It was just a matter of assembling it.  The package included the following:

·         Credit card payment form ($420.00)

·         G325A for myself and JSP (2)

·         Passport style photos of myself and JSP (2)

·         A copy of my U.S. Passport (1)

·         A copy of my birth certificate (1)

·         A copy of our marriage certificate in Spanish with an international translation guide (1)

·         A copy of my Aufenthaltstitels from June 20, 2012 – Dec 19, 2012 and from Nov 29, 2012 – Nov 15, 2015 (2)

·         Photos of our marriage day to show the commencement of our on-going marital union (3)

·         An Affidavit affirmed by a third party who has personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship (1)

The package was sent December 20, 2012.  Expected approval date is March 23, 2012.

Then we expect some more forms to fill out and some more supporting documents to be submitted.

Bremerhaven Benefits

Life is so comfortable here. Its almost to a point of boring.  No, not almost.  It is boring.

Work is not stressful 99% of the time.  Usually I feel pretty free to do what I want in the office as long as I get things done every now and then.  I really cherish the 1% of the time that something is challenging or frustrating.  Those times make my purpose here feel a little more meaningful and necessary.

So basically, I not stressed at work.  I'm not stressed about men (I've got a great one!!).  I'm not stressed about friends (I have plenty of good ones).  I'm not even stressed about the language.  I just don't care about not understanding everyone.  Those were my biggest stresses in the past 10 years or so.  And in Bremerhaven, they have somehow just totally evaporated.

Something I am MILDLY, like really really mildly stressed about would be my fitness level. In comparison to my high school days or my college days the level of stressed-ness would easily fall in the negligible category.  However, as my stress level is mostly at a flat zero, this feeling does register.

Maybe its because I've been doing almost zero physical activity.  Or maybe its because I have no distractions so I have time to think about it.  Or maybe its because I haven't gone shopping in a year and I miss the feeling of beautiful new clothes.  I don't have a clue.

All I can say is that this video is motivating/slightly unrealistic:

I have zero motivation or interest in going outside for a run.  Or going outside for a bike ride to my gym.  Nope, not happening.  I do however, have the slightest bit of interest in staying home and working on my body strength through yoga!  Joaquin and I bought a mat awhile back and we are both using it.

He does his exercises in the morning and I do mine a little before work, after work, and before bed.  Really anytime I feel the urge.  We keep the mat open in the living room so it is always ready for a dogward dog!

Well the way I see it, since there is nothing interesting to do, focus on myself. Improve the skin I'm in.  Take control of what I have control over.  This is the benefit of Bremerhaven: there is time to do whatever you want to do.

Today is a rather blah day.  Its cloudy and kind of rainy.  I have no idea if it is hot or cold.  I'm not motivated to do much at all.  Half of me wants to crawl back in bed and the other half thinks that not a good idea and that I should make something of today.  Well I'm torn between the two.  As a result I've moved from the bedroom to our "day bed".  It's a pretty reasonable compromise. 

Yesterday was quite the opposite.  I was uppity and rarrin' to go! Everyday is different.  

Things I should do today: exercise, study german/spanish, read info on wind structures, make cookies

It would be nice if someone called me today inviting me to do something...then I wouldn't have to come up with something on me own. 

I guess I'll start off easy with a lesson in spanish...

Today I decided that working out is a must for me.  Its raining/overcast again. I felt my motivation instantly drop.  So I did a little experiment. I decided to get off my ass and bike to the post office and then the grocery store. It worked wonders.  I'm putting on sneakers to go do an actually workout right now!

Yesterday spring arrived. May 1st. What a difference it makes when you don't have to put on 2 layers, a heavy coat, a scarf, and mittens to walk outside. My mood changed completely.  It was sunny and warm, without the usual hurricane winds. I was SO happy!

This warm weather made me realize even more how depressed my energy was getting while it was winter.  The cold makes me lethargic and cranky.  I had so much energy yesterday I went for a bike ride and a run!!

Lets hope it says like this until at least October.

Relocating

                                            That use to be my life.

Now this is my life:

Everything is so completely different.  

I don't even know where to start.  I don't even think I can start.  At this point its probably best if I just forget about San Diego life. Otherwise I risk getting bitter and frustrated and running back to the sunny paradise of California.

I must say, I've made some significant leaps of progress since my arrival March 8th, 2012.    

First, I sent resumes and got a company who wants to hire me. thank you TKB.

Second, I have a German phone with 5 or 6 new Bremerhaven residents in it that I feel comfortable to call in case of problem. Whew! I love friends.

Third, I have calmed down my grocery store experience.  What I mean is, I don't care if the people behind me have to wait 10 mins for me to re-load my cart with the groceries and fish through my over-sized bag to find exact change. They will have to deal.

All of this makes me very happy.  The problem is that in another couple of months I should have my job situation worked out and at that point I have no idea how I am going to keep myself entertained/motivated.  I imagine life will turn routine and we will be content to some degree.

This will be good temporarily.  However, I refuse to settle for this life.  I plan to hold on to a few goals: 1. live somewhere sunny and warm 2. live somewhere that speaks english or spanish 

 For now, I will set these things aside.  In 3-5 years I will pick them up again and make some changes. But for the time being its crucial that I forget about anything other than Bremerhaven.  My life is Bremerhaven for now!