Invisible Pills??

I don't know what it is.

Yesterday I thought to myself: "you must have taken invisible pills this week".

Or, at the very least, there is something in my tap water that renders me invisible.

Seriously. People here seem to not see me.

They walk directly in front of me, they cut me off mid stride, they even cut ahead of me in a supermarket line.

Like if I had on my forehead "take advantage of me because I am not German!"

And I had my bout with culture shock when I first moved here and I thought it was "a Dresden thing" and then I got over my culture shock and I thought maybe it was "a German thing" and then I thought it was too much of a generalization to say that and said "it's a person to person thing".

Well, I was in Leipzig today on a business trip.

Guess what? It's a Dresden thing. The Leipzigers totally are more aware of their surroundings and move out of the way when you have the right of way. Crazy! Really! I cannot believe it.

And there is no way to remedy this. I just have to suck it up.

IDea

I don't really want a credit card.

OK, I guess I do. See, the thing is, if I use my American credit card, they charge me 12.99 to convert the currencies. How fucked up is that? I mean, it's a damn click of a button and it's converted. Why must I pay MORE to use the card??!

So, I tried the 'ol online credit card companies in Germany and I thought I submitted an application. Nice, I thought, that was surprisingly easy for Germany.

I was so wrong. They emailed mack to me a form with the information I entered and I was asked to take that form to a branch in my city so that they can verify the information.

So I did it but I wasn't happy that I had to do all the work for some service they are offering.

But ok, I did it.

Yesterday I got a letter in the mail saying that now I have to go wait in a line in some city government office to get a new copy of a perfectly valid document I already have proving my residence. How the hell can I prove to some city employee that I live where I live?!!? I have to go and wait in line and studder in my less than perfect German and try to convince some old fart that what I need from them is worthy of them getting off their asses and doing something about it.

*sigh*

And, to make matters worse, I have to also copy my passport and pay stub so they can verify what income I have. I understand this, but I did happen to tell them that I don't make a lot of money. When you choose the lowest income selection what proof do they really meed to give me a 500 euro credit??

So, in a world where service is really the defining element in anything we choose, this company sucks. I have to do all this leg work for them and, this is really the best part: I don't really need a credit card!

And I am always turned off by the complete lack of trust that exists here. You are always at a disadvantage when you need something here because you are automatically at the mercy of whoever you have to speak to to get the whatever you needand they never trust you. It's in their blood, I think. You are put in the position to defend and prove yourself—often for no reason that I can see—just to get what you want.

It's exhausting and it's not necessary, really. Germany doesn't understand that the customer is king. Here, the companies are king and the employees are told, it seems, to make your life as a consumer as miserable as possible.

No wonder no one I talk to here likes going to do anything that requires paperwork or effort.

No one trusts you here. And I guess with a country that gave us nazis and the stasi, I can't really blame them. But I still don't like it. But I have to deal with it.

Lufthansa. No Vaseline.

I don't care what Germany does to spite itself.

I still like living here. And I am determined to like it.

No matter what illogical bullshit they swallow as "normal".

No matter how complacent they are as a people.

I went online to check my flight status for my flight home in 4 weeks (fuck yeah!!).

With my experience from last year I cannot be too careful.

It showed my return flight as 2 different flights: one from JFK, the other from Newark. I didn't book 2 flights. I didn't book a flight from New Jersey.

So I called them.

Them: "Oh right, your flight was canceled. Is the Newark flight okay for you?"

Me: "Um, no! I have a domestic flight into JFK. I ABSOLUTELY have to fly from JFK"

Them: "Ok, can you fly out one day later?"

Me:"Will Lufthansa pay for a hotel room?"

Them: "Ok. So you need to fly out from JFK on the day you booked."

Me: (thinking: WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON??!!) "Yes"

And so on....

I got my ticket for JFK. I had to rebook my jetblue flight (65 dollars, thanks Lufthansa), but I got everything under control.

What pisses me off more than anything??

That they didn't email me to tell me. They probably just expected me to bend over and take the dry fucking I'd have gotten if I'd just shown up at the airport because it would have probably been too late and I should have known/read Lufthansa's mind/checked my flight status before hand/someotherlameexcuse.

And honestly? I am surprised that it was that easy to rebook my ticket. I was expecting some stonewalling.

Good thing Lufthansa depends on the USA for revenue. Otherwise I'd have been flying from Newark.

180 Euros Later...

O2 didn't cancel my contract. Needless to say, I won't be renewing again next time. In fact, I found out it was my phone. The signal in my apartment is so weak on the older generation system that I need a newer phone to use the newer system.

Fuckers.

So, because I want to do this right and have a warranty, I bought a new phone.

It works, and I really like it. But come on...don't give me a phone that doesn't work on your network! That is just silly.

But they are 180 Euros richer!