I´ve finally moved and started my new job in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria. After eleven years away from home I now live a mere threequarter of an hour from my hometown Ebersberg! Very nice!
The job is great, I´m really looking forward to working each day - the patients are the usual mixed lot to be found within the Armed Forces - old seargents with high cholesterol, conscripts with everything and cadets with a variety of symptoms depending on the training schedule. Some of them simply are afraid of failing the obstacle course or similar events and fall ill with gastrointestinal symptoms or - even better - backache. And some of these are about to leave the Armed Forces rather without their own volition. Oh well....
Anyway - my comarades are extremely nice and helpful, every problem is dealt with immediately and there´s NO MOBBING!! Those of you who have suffered with me for the last two years can relax - I´m doing just fine!
Coming thursday there´s going to be a volleyball tournament (officers vs. NCOs vs. personnel) which we officers are going to lose of course (we have to - keeping spirits of the majority up;-)) which is going to be followed by the annual summer barbecue party. I´m going to bring a big bowl of my mousse au chocolat....
Now I´m off to bed - there´ll be the examinations of almost 400 cadets starting tomorrow - new officer training class.

I spent a very nice afternoon yesterday...Very nice!
That´s all of the details most of you are going to get. ;-) And, yes, we´re going to meet again, as soon as our work schedules allow. :-D
Now, today Vicky and I´ll be going back to Ulm - I´ve got to work tomorrow.
And perhaps I´ll get myself to do some household chores this evening - like ironing, for example. The basket is stacked extremely high - and it´s on the way to my wardrobe. So if I don´t reduce the stack fast, I´ll need a rope and helmet to climb oder it to get a clean pair of socks!
Oh, did I tell you, that I´m on top of the waiting list for the next English Test coming around? Since my preliminary test went so well (200 multiple choice questions and 2 hrs time - I went out there after about 20 minutes with 185 points...) the folks in Personnell decided that a good language test might come in handy once they have vacant posts in NATO staff units or something like this. Unfortunately, my French Preliminary Test wasn´t good enough for a complete language test, yet. I might really have to take serious French lessons if I ever want to be stationed at LeLuc or Fontainebleau. ;-)

Hi Folks! Again I haven´t written for quite some time. Now what has happened since? I´ve changed my workplace and carreer. At the moment I´m in the Department of Internal Medecine of Ulm military Hospital - and I´m no longer going to be an anaesthesiologist, but a specialist in work related medecine (I´m going to look up the exact English term one of these days, promise!). I wriggled out of my depression, went to the German Armed Forces´Emergency Medical Care course (Those of you, who´ve known me for quite a while will hold their bellies laughing, but that´s German bureaucracy...), met an interesting man during these three weeks and we´re going to have our first date tomorrow.
Isn´t it ridiculous to be so nervous about it? As if I´d never been dating before (ok - you´re right - not for over seven years...). From his emails I guess he´s a little nervous, too! We shall see. Some of you will of course get a detailed report on the events of Easter Sunday 2008.
After 11 years in the German Army I´m finally going to be stationed close to my family again - from June on I´ll be physician at Fürstenfeldbruck Airbase/ Officer School of the German Airforce - me, Army through to the bones!! :-)) My new commanding officer already told me to "behave according to airforce codex" or they´re going to order me to wear an airfoce uniform (YUCK!!) But I think i can manage! It´s just a lot of teasing....

Today Vicky and I went abroad for the weekend. We met Jürgen in Munich where he picked us up for the ride to Ebersberg, because no regional trains were in sevice today due to strike. (The union of the trin drivers fights for a 31% more money...)
My mum´s still at work, but she should be home soon.
Jürgen and Vicky set up the grocery shop and we all had to do enough shopping for a month! Now I know why our parents didn´t like this game when my cousin Marcus and I played shopkeeper during parties at our grandma´s place! ;-)
We plan a trip to the fleemarket and a visit with Jürgen´s mother for tomorrow and on sunday we will be having lunch with my grandparents.
I gotta quit - the shop downstairs is in urgent demand of customers! Some cookies, toothpaste, catfood or noodlesoup anyone?!

Herbsttag

Herr: es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr groß.
Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren,
und auf den Fluren laß die Winde los.

Befiehl den letzten Früchten voll zu sein;
gib ihnen noch zwei südlichere Tage,
dränge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage
die letzte Süße in den schweren Wein.

Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.
Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,
wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben
und wird in den Alleen hin und her
unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.

(Rainer Maria Rilke, 1906)



Septembermorgen

Im Nebel ruhet noch die Welt,
Noch träumen Wald und Wiesen:
Bald siehst du, wenn der Schleier fällt,
Den blauen Himmel unverstellt,
Herbstkräftig die gedämpfte Welt
In warmem Golde fließen.

(Eduard Mörike, 1828)

She didn´t come home. She went right to Stefanie, her day care mother. I went to therapy and we talked about yesterday´s tests. Oh my - am I screwed up! ;-)
But a lot of things came up which are actually very true - even if it is awkward to admit. And working on these items you really can change is very exhausting and it hurts - it feels like raw flesh - every touch hurts like hell! And like picking on scab - which you can´t seem to stop once you started even when it hurts - you can´t stop rummaging through your feelings, faults and wound spots. Everytime I come home after therapy I´m totally worn out! It´s emotionally and physically exhausting.
Well, what isn´t for me these days?!
Oh well, off to bed...
Vicky´ll probably stay home tomorrow - she has a temperature, a sore throat and a tummy ache. Perhaps she won´t remember tomorrow morning....

So this is how it is - a constant up and down. The last few days I brought myself to considerable activities, even some dancing (boy, do my muscles still ache!!!) and today - nothing. I fell into bed right after I had delivered Vicky at school and deposited the old paper in the container on the way back.
I thought I´d just dozed off for half an hour or so but when I had a look on the alarm clock it was already 11.45!
This afternoon Vicky has school and I have therapy. Afternoon classes mean that they don´t have homework to do - something she´ll love. She should be home now any minute...