A chill in the air.

Today was the first day I had to scrape ice off the windshield-before driving to work. I am quite sure it won’t be the last. The consolation was that for the first time in 5 days-there was no fog in either the morning or afternoon.

The fog is what is unique to me. I had been in Germany in the winter before-so I know the days are short. But the times I had been here TAD or for vacation, I had very seldom seen fog like you see here in the morning. They say its just the predecessor to the snows that are sure to follow.

Work and life wise-developments continue apace. We are still waiting for our car to get here-which is proving most annoying. Our stuff is here-but not our car. I am in the process of scoping out a second car to buy this week.

I hate buying used cars. I hate the dance involved. The meeting someone and being polite-while all the while being suspicious of his every move and motive. I hate the bargaining, where you underbid his price by a lot, he gets mad and you finally arrive somewhere in the middle. I hate having to crawl over the car and the disturbing worry that as soon as the money has changed hands-the car will fall apart. I think this car is a pretty good one-we have looked at it and driven it three times now. I still can’t stand the experience. If I had my way-buying a car would be like buying a TV. You shop around for the one that has the right price and features and you buy it. No haggling-you either like the price or not.

But of course used cars don’t work that way. Like people, some are well taken care of and perform well, others have not been given the TLC they need and are likely to bite you at the first opportunity. Like women-they look nice at first-and seduce you-and then when the deal is done, they stop giving you pleasure. They become just another factor in your life to deal with. ( Exactly like a woman).

I’m getting my feet into work-and slowly starting to feel productive but I think its going to be a while before I understand what the ins and outs are of working here. Still, the scenery on the way in and out is nice. It will be even better when we move in to our house in a couple of weeks.

And then there is the money. It is still hard for me to wrap my head around spending in Euro. Its kind of like Japan-you don’t realize you are spending a fair amount of money till you hit “update” in Quicken. I keep wondering what is going to happen if the Euro collapses. DM for everyone?

Going to a meeting of the ski club here. They are already skiing in Switzerland-but my ski stuff is in the main shipment. I am glad the SO cajoled me into buying a proper winter jacket. I did not want to buy it at first-but its proving more worth the money with each and every day.

And tomorrow as Scarlett said: ist ein anderes Tag.