Puppy Don't Fear The Reaper
Jul. 5th, 2026 12:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeComing back late on Monday night from the UK has made my week seem off-kilter, while going out to see Pixies on Tuesday messed me up too. This means the weekend sneaked up on me far quicker than expected. I could have gone on a historic tram ride on Saturday, while there was also an outdoor pool party that was cancelled at the last-minute, but this weekend was the first since Easter when I had no plans and I kinda wanted to keep it free and easy.
The working week was largely uneventful although I am having to navigate more exacting bureaucratic bullshit. Apparently, things need to be done in a very specific way. In addition, I may not be able to reduce my outgoings very much, despite my income dropping by over 60% in the last couple of months. This is somewhat annoying as although I'll get reimbursed any over payments next year, I could do with the money now. As a result, the temptation to move back to the UK is high once Wolfie has sorted his own arrangements out, but there are pros and cons of course. We have been weighing up these pros and cons for over two years now. My financial situation may clarify the move. Still, I am far happier with my work now, despite having a much lower income. Hopefully, I can secure a few more clients to get me back onto a more even keel.
With Al now back in Seattle, my social life has slowed down a little too. I saw him on the evening before he left, travelling up to Kurt-Schumacher-Platz to have some ice cream in the sun on Wednesday 24 June. We shared a strawberry Spaghetti Eis and I had to move tables to avoid a TV screen that was showing a programme on snake wrangling. Gabe turned up for a while and we sat and chatted, with Al seemingly knowing every worker and the owner in this charming little cafe. He was certainly able to acclimatise himself more to life here than I was ever able to do, and I wish I felt like I fit in quite so much.
This Friday, I headed over to the now weekly Sektgarten meetups in the garden of a techno club that Planke quite likes. I arrived late, so wasn't aux faits with the procedure, which involved using stickers to cover the cameras of my phone. Fortunately, I didn't have to pay for entry, and soon I was enjoying the company of around 15 furs around a picnic bench near a metal arch that was acting like a trellis. The beer was shockingly expensive - over €6 for a bottle of Spaten, with an additional euro on top of your first drink as a tip for the DJs - so I only had one. I largely spoke to Notefox, who wanted to leave quite quickly, largely to get food. In the end, we stayed until everyone else left at around 10:30pm and we only went because the pizza truck had run out of pizza. Note was getting quite hangry by this stage so we split from the group and went to the McDonald's at Ostkreuz. Here, we had a nice chat over some fries, while Note got a McMelt burger which he didn't much like. Planke walked in halfway through, noticed the toilets were ausser Betrieb, then walked back out again without even spotting us.
After this, we tried to go to Strassenbrau but it was busy, so we ended up in Home Bar, which was worryingly quiet. Apparently, it's been like this a while according to the owner with whom I was reacquainted. I bought a Lervig passion fruit and mango IPA for €8.50, little more than the bottle of Spaten had cost me, and Note and I had a long chat about politics. This had started in McDonald's and it was all rather fascinating. In their long black coat and dress, sat on furniture that resembled my grandmother's couch, they did look a little like a 19th century dandy. Anyway, it was fun catching up and although I would have liked the night to continue, we ended up parting ways a little after midnight, with me getting back at around 1am.
I had intended to go to the free rock and metal music festival Rocktreff at Westphalweg on Saturday, but the weather was cold and wet, so I took the opportunity to write instead. I fear, now I am largely editing for a living, I won't have much time or motivation to write. Having my story published in the Anthrocon conbook this weekend has been a huge motivator though, so we'll see how it goes. The hot weather isn't helping as the house is still quite hot, but at least the next few days are cool and rainy.
The working week was largely uneventful although I am having to navigate more exacting bureaucratic bullshit. Apparently, things need to be done in a very specific way. In addition, I may not be able to reduce my outgoings very much, despite my income dropping by over 60% in the last couple of months. This is somewhat annoying as although I'll get reimbursed any over payments next year, I could do with the money now. As a result, the temptation to move back to the UK is high once Wolfie has sorted his own arrangements out, but there are pros and cons of course. We have been weighing up these pros and cons for over two years now. My financial situation may clarify the move. Still, I am far happier with my work now, despite having a much lower income. Hopefully, I can secure a few more clients to get me back onto a more even keel.
With Al now back in Seattle, my social life has slowed down a little too. I saw him on the evening before he left, travelling up to Kurt-Schumacher-Platz to have some ice cream in the sun on Wednesday 24 June. We shared a strawberry Spaghetti Eis and I had to move tables to avoid a TV screen that was showing a programme on snake wrangling. Gabe turned up for a while and we sat and chatted, with Al seemingly knowing every worker and the owner in this charming little cafe. He was certainly able to acclimatise himself more to life here than I was ever able to do, and I wish I felt like I fit in quite so much.
This Friday, I headed over to the now weekly Sektgarten meetups in the garden of a techno club that Planke quite likes. I arrived late, so wasn't aux faits with the procedure, which involved using stickers to cover the cameras of my phone. Fortunately, I didn't have to pay for entry, and soon I was enjoying the company of around 15 furs around a picnic bench near a metal arch that was acting like a trellis. The beer was shockingly expensive - over €6 for a bottle of Spaten, with an additional euro on top of your first drink as a tip for the DJs - so I only had one. I largely spoke to Notefox, who wanted to leave quite quickly, largely to get food. In the end, we stayed until everyone else left at around 10:30pm and we only went because the pizza truck had run out of pizza. Note was getting quite hangry by this stage so we split from the group and went to the McDonald's at Ostkreuz. Here, we had a nice chat over some fries, while Note got a McMelt burger which he didn't much like. Planke walked in halfway through, noticed the toilets were ausser Betrieb, then walked back out again without even spotting us.
After this, we tried to go to Strassenbrau but it was busy, so we ended up in Home Bar, which was worryingly quiet. Apparently, it's been like this a while according to the owner with whom I was reacquainted. I bought a Lervig passion fruit and mango IPA for €8.50, little more than the bottle of Spaten had cost me, and Note and I had a long chat about politics. This had started in McDonald's and it was all rather fascinating. In their long black coat and dress, sat on furniture that resembled my grandmother's couch, they did look a little like a 19th century dandy. Anyway, it was fun catching up and although I would have liked the night to continue, we ended up parting ways a little after midnight, with me getting back at around 1am.
I had intended to go to the free rock and metal music festival Rocktreff at Westphalweg on Saturday, but the weather was cold and wet, so I took the opportunity to write instead. I fear, now I am largely editing for a living, I won't have much time or motivation to write. Having my story published in the Anthrocon conbook this weekend has been a huge motivator though, so we'll see how it goes. The hot weather isn't helping as the house is still quite hot, but at least the next few days are cool and rainy.
