![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Cutting Onions
Apr. 13th, 2024 11:43 pmThings seem to be getting bleaker. Western head-burying over Ukraine, the erosion of transgender rights in the UK (although a huge boost here in Germany with the passing of the self-identification law on Friday), the Israel/Palestine situation and the very real prospect of a second Trump presidency have overshadowed this year. It is now starting to get to me and it's not aided by the fact that my job drones on. I did apply for two more roles last night and have another couple to apply for on Monday, but I really detest what I do. Unfortunately, being an immigrant means having a job is key, while I don't have the same courage as Wolfie just to up sticks and move. The rise of AI, which is something else that torments me, means I am unsure as to my future employment prospects so I am going to have to stick with the job I have for now. The hope is that I'll get something new sorted by the end of May, by which time I can quit and leave by the end of June. That will be the ideal scenario but with all worked dried up for my UK business, there isn't anything to fall back on either. This, and my pending vacations, are why I am sticking around for now. There are some hopes with my business too though, I just need some luck to go my way. I guess I just have to keep knocking at the door, no matter how hard it is, and hope I can break it open.
The week has been a fairly typical one. The Atlanta trip is now completely sorted and I have started making arrangements for the UK trip to Confuzzled. I still don't know when I will fly back to Germany after this - that's dependent on a harness fitting in Kent - but I really need to cease spending money for the next couple of weeks so I don't want to push that right now. It's amazing really that I have been earning more than I have ever earned before and yet I always feel cash-strapped. I guess part of that is the eye-watering rent and having two properties to maintain. I am also fearing missing out on things and I really need to keep my envy in check. I was invited out to Tropical Islands tomorrow last minute but I already have plans, while there are a few other events I cannot do because I already have clashes. I do fear I am missing out though, as irrational as that is, as I know I can't be everywhere all of the time. However, I do fear if I don't go to events, no-one will invite me to them again and I'll be alone. I know this is irrational, but then my brain has never been rational. It's basically how I feel all of the time.
Wolfie went for his MRI scan on Friday, which was a very quick in-and-out affair. He was given a CD of his scans, but as we don't live in 2002, we have nowhere to play it. He'll book an appointment with a doctor for the verdict in due course. Due to this, we postponed our evening meal with Blackie to this Friday, which has resulted in another clash, but as I don't have any free weekends after this until June, I think we'll go for the meal. It will be good to see him again, it must be over a year since we last saw him.
We did head down to the Bundeswehr Military History Museum at the old Gatow Airfield earlier today, what with it being rather sunny. Huskyteer had gone back in October and told us to allot two to three hours for the trip. What she didn't take into account was how long I like to spend in museums, and in that time, we only really saw about half of it. Still, it's free and only a half hour bus ride away, so we can easily go back another time and complete the tour. We were slightly delayed as the bus we wanted to get crashed into a parked van, meaning we had to get a Brandenburg livery bus and then walk 25 minutes. Still, it was sunny and the countryside was pleasant, so it did a lot to uplift the mood.
Once we were there, the airfield opens out in front of you and there are loads of old military planes sitting on the runway. These were from both the Western powers and the Eastern ones, with the differentiation quite easy to spot - the latter were largely weathered and had loads of exposed screws and bolts while the Western ones were much more streamlined. Wolfie knows a fair bit about military aircraft so acted as my guide and we spent a lot longer eyeing up these 20 or so machines than I expected. We then headed into Hanger 3, which detailed the history of flight from the Wright Brothers onwards, with a predominantly military focus. There were military planes throughout history in this modest exhibition, while in one of the side rooms, there was the shell of a downed World War Two plane, with its broken fuselage and one intact wing. I had never seen a wrecked plane like this and the fate of its occupants is unknown, but it was sobering to see, despite it having Nazi livery and having been shot down by Allied Forces.
In one of the side rooms, there was an exhibition dedicated to the First World War shown through the eyes of Peter Falkenstein, a soldier who spent the first two years of the war on the Front before being wounded then signing up for the Flying Corps in 1917. It is rare that we hear the story of that war from the German perspective, who suffered the same number of pointless losses that the Allied Powers did. An interactive exhibition featuring letters from Falkenstein, a French soldier and a British one showcased the ordinary humans who were caught up in the war. Between 2014 and 2018, they published letters on the 100th anniversary of when they were written to highlight this. On the walls of the exhibit, there were quotes from prominent people abut the war - some of whom like Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling revelled in the japes of it while others decried the pointless of it. There was also a lot about life in Germany during the war too, something else we hear very little about from the British perspective. It was due to the fascinating nature of this - as well as some of the photographs of early aviation from Templehofer Feld in 1909 - that we ended up staying here much longer than anticipated. We didn't even get to see the first floor exhibit on the history of Gatow or the Tower either. We did see the planes involved in the Berlin Airlift though, which was equally intriguing. This was just three years after the end of World War Two and highlighted to West Berliners that former enemies were now allies. It was also a wonderful strategic undertaking in its own right. Alas, the visit was tainted by the events in Ukraine, as it is becoming clear that the lessons of appeasement from the 1930s have not yet been learned. Hopefully, the mood changes quickly, but the dark clouds are amassing.
As we went in, and once again when we left, we had a pleasant chat with the lady staffing the entrance. She was telling us a lot about Gatow's history, how the Queen Mother, Queen and Prince Charles had been here, and about other events they host there. She did assume we were from London, as many people do, but I couldn't really be bothered correcting her. Her assistant was equally fascinating and we left the museum at closing time determined to come back. It was a ten minute walk to the bus through residential areas, which I'll admit I was eyeing up as potential places to move. It's still in Berlin,quiet, with some decent housing. There are also regular buses and it's not too far from Spandau. Walking around the Edeka getting snacks, I was weighing it up as our local too. We sat on a little ditch with our refreshments - Huskyteer had had a drink and a little sausage in the cafe in the museum but we had no time - and once refreshed, we headed for the bus. There had been a small incident involving the emergency services so we waited for that to clear before hopping back to Spandau. There, we called off at the Bulgarian store to see what they had, as well as an Indian store where I picked up some Marmite. We also grabbed some supplies from the supermarket as we have half a cauliflower left from a Hello Fresh meal earlier in the week and we needed spices to go with it. We also went to Chettinad, the local Indian restaurant, for the first time since February. The staff still recognised us though and again asked us whether we wanted our curry spicier than the usual German standard. Wolfie assented, but it wasn't too hot really. Still, it was a great curry and a nice way to end the day, a day which has allowed me to put some of my worries to the back of my mind, if only for a few hours anyway.
The week has been a fairly typical one. The Atlanta trip is now completely sorted and I have started making arrangements for the UK trip to Confuzzled. I still don't know when I will fly back to Germany after this - that's dependent on a harness fitting in Kent - but I really need to cease spending money for the next couple of weeks so I don't want to push that right now. It's amazing really that I have been earning more than I have ever earned before and yet I always feel cash-strapped. I guess part of that is the eye-watering rent and having two properties to maintain. I am also fearing missing out on things and I really need to keep my envy in check. I was invited out to Tropical Islands tomorrow last minute but I already have plans, while there are a few other events I cannot do because I already have clashes. I do fear I am missing out though, as irrational as that is, as I know I can't be everywhere all of the time. However, I do fear if I don't go to events, no-one will invite me to them again and I'll be alone. I know this is irrational, but then my brain has never been rational. It's basically how I feel all of the time.
Wolfie went for his MRI scan on Friday, which was a very quick in-and-out affair. He was given a CD of his scans, but as we don't live in 2002, we have nowhere to play it. He'll book an appointment with a doctor for the verdict in due course. Due to this, we postponed our evening meal with Blackie to this Friday, which has resulted in another clash, but as I don't have any free weekends after this until June, I think we'll go for the meal. It will be good to see him again, it must be over a year since we last saw him.
We did head down to the Bundeswehr Military History Museum at the old Gatow Airfield earlier today, what with it being rather sunny. Huskyteer had gone back in October and told us to allot two to three hours for the trip. What she didn't take into account was how long I like to spend in museums, and in that time, we only really saw about half of it. Still, it's free and only a half hour bus ride away, so we can easily go back another time and complete the tour. We were slightly delayed as the bus we wanted to get crashed into a parked van, meaning we had to get a Brandenburg livery bus and then walk 25 minutes. Still, it was sunny and the countryside was pleasant, so it did a lot to uplift the mood.
Once we were there, the airfield opens out in front of you and there are loads of old military planes sitting on the runway. These were from both the Western powers and the Eastern ones, with the differentiation quite easy to spot - the latter were largely weathered and had loads of exposed screws and bolts while the Western ones were much more streamlined. Wolfie knows a fair bit about military aircraft so acted as my guide and we spent a lot longer eyeing up these 20 or so machines than I expected. We then headed into Hanger 3, which detailed the history of flight from the Wright Brothers onwards, with a predominantly military focus. There were military planes throughout history in this modest exhibition, while in one of the side rooms, there was the shell of a downed World War Two plane, with its broken fuselage and one intact wing. I had never seen a wrecked plane like this and the fate of its occupants is unknown, but it was sobering to see, despite it having Nazi livery and having been shot down by Allied Forces.
In one of the side rooms, there was an exhibition dedicated to the First World War shown through the eyes of Peter Falkenstein, a soldier who spent the first two years of the war on the Front before being wounded then signing up for the Flying Corps in 1917. It is rare that we hear the story of that war from the German perspective, who suffered the same number of pointless losses that the Allied Powers did. An interactive exhibition featuring letters from Falkenstein, a French soldier and a British one showcased the ordinary humans who were caught up in the war. Between 2014 and 2018, they published letters on the 100th anniversary of when they were written to highlight this. On the walls of the exhibit, there were quotes from prominent people abut the war - some of whom like Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling revelled in the japes of it while others decried the pointless of it. There was also a lot about life in Germany during the war too, something else we hear very little about from the British perspective. It was due to the fascinating nature of this - as well as some of the photographs of early aviation from Templehofer Feld in 1909 - that we ended up staying here much longer than anticipated. We didn't even get to see the first floor exhibit on the history of Gatow or the Tower either. We did see the planes involved in the Berlin Airlift though, which was equally intriguing. This was just three years after the end of World War Two and highlighted to West Berliners that former enemies were now allies. It was also a wonderful strategic undertaking in its own right. Alas, the visit was tainted by the events in Ukraine, as it is becoming clear that the lessons of appeasement from the 1930s have not yet been learned. Hopefully, the mood changes quickly, but the dark clouds are amassing.
As we went in, and once again when we left, we had a pleasant chat with the lady staffing the entrance. She was telling us a lot about Gatow's history, how the Queen Mother, Queen and Prince Charles had been here, and about other events they host there. She did assume we were from London, as many people do, but I couldn't really be bothered correcting her. Her assistant was equally fascinating and we left the museum at closing time determined to come back. It was a ten minute walk to the bus through residential areas, which I'll admit I was eyeing up as potential places to move. It's still in Berlin,quiet, with some decent housing. There are also regular buses and it's not too far from Spandau. Walking around the Edeka getting snacks, I was weighing it up as our local too. We sat on a little ditch with our refreshments - Huskyteer had had a drink and a little sausage in the cafe in the museum but we had no time - and once refreshed, we headed for the bus. There had been a small incident involving the emergency services so we waited for that to clear before hopping back to Spandau. There, we called off at the Bulgarian store to see what they had, as well as an Indian store where I picked up some Marmite. We also grabbed some supplies from the supermarket as we have half a cauliflower left from a Hello Fresh meal earlier in the week and we needed spices to go with it. We also went to Chettinad, the local Indian restaurant, for the first time since February. The staff still recognised us though and again asked us whether we wanted our curry spicier than the usual German standard. Wolfie assented, but it wasn't too hot really. Still, it was a great curry and a nice way to end the day, a day which has allowed me to put some of my worries to the back of my mind, if only for a few hours anyway.
