Things that are happening

I've been getting together all the papers so we can get R's visa. Since I'm a "highly skilled worker" he automatically gets a work permit, which is making this process a little easier. Since he was born on a military base in Europe, the paperwork has been a giant pain. I registered our marriage at Gemeente Delft, which is like a city hall. That part was easy, since I just had to take the marriage certificate, its apostille, and my residence card (which I'm legally required to carry all the time anyway) to the building and hand them to the people there. However, I recieved a new form to fill out, which had some awkward spots. Since R is still in the states, he doesn't have a visa number yet; what goes there? Do I have to mail it to him to sign, or can we fax it? Naturally, I didn't read the form thoroughly until I got home, so I couldn't ask about it. I have it (I think) all ready to go, though, so it gets mailed to R tomorrow. Just as soon as I find out where to buy stamps.

The world cup is over, and I haven't heard a vuvuzela since. Pure awesome.

I tried fixing my bike tire, but I think the hole was too big. O very thoughtfully loaned me a tire repair kit, and explained how to use it. The whole process was pretty simple, I'm just not sure it worked. I suspect I'll need to buy a new inner tire (this is like, 5 Euros or so) and learn how to replace that. Fun times! I like fixing things. I had planned to take pictures of the tire patching process, but my hands had too much adhesive on them to be touching my lovely camera.

Now that I've been paid again, I'm planning an exciting trip to IKEA. I really need a new mattress, so I don't have to sleep on the perpetually falling apart bed, and I could use a couple picture frames. Plus, IKEA is fun to wander, and Delft has a ginormous* one.

R and I have had some more activity with showing the house since we lowered the price again. We're giving it a couple more weeks, and then are probably going to take it to auction. We've reached a point where as long as we have to keep paying the mortgage, we're losing money, so it's better just to cut it loose now. Besides, we're young, and can earn more money later.

I need to find a tailor, or borrow someone's sewing machine, to fix a tiny fit problem on the dress I bought for MM's wedding. The top needs to come in by about half an inch, and the hemline could definitely be raised an inch or so. I could do it myself with a machine, but I'm not hand stitching it, because I really really don't enjoy hand sewing at all. This is very apparent in my choice of knitting patterns, which rarely require any seaming. Granted, that's also partly because it's cheaper to buy a sock's worth of yarn than a sweater's, but still. That's not my point, which is that hand sewing is tedious and sharp. I am a huge fan of nice blunt plastic yarn needles, I must admit.

I'm impatient to finish the second red sock in the pair, because I really want to use the leftover red yarn with leftover brown from the previous socks and make a nice pretty scarf or something.

July has just flown by here, partly due to the week I had a migraine, I'm sure. I'm way behind on pictures, so I've added a handful of old ones. The only unusual thing I've done was have a BBQ (by this, people here mean grilling out as a social group, not actual BBQ-ing) with all the roommates. However, as it started raining right as we sat down to eat the first course, I didn't get many pictures after we finished prepping all the food, because we were busy running inside with all the stuff, and then finishing the cooking under an awning as the rain poured down. It was fun though!

*Is ginormous really a word? The spell check doesn't underline it, but does underline IKEA. Which is even stranger, since spell checkers usually assume all caps words are acronyms, and therefore not subject to normal spellings.

Another List

I'm tired, hormonal, and headachey. These are probably all related. So, because writing lists is easy, and I can only read so many papers about convection schemes at a time, I offer you a list of random little things I miss about Kansas. Or the USA in general.

1. Mt Dew.
The official drink of Howe Hall seems unavailable over here. There's less soda in general, which might explain it. Or, possibly, the fact that it's really really corrosive, even by soda standards. The (usually free) coffee machines in all the break rooms might also contribute to the lack of this particularly effective caffeine delivery system.
2. Cheddar and Colby Jack cheese.
Cheddar is imported from England, in the larger groceries, but it's expensive. And while there are approximately eleventy bajillion cheeses here, I don't know which names go with which flavors yet.
3. The Wichita local farmer's market.
I liked knowing that everything was produced locally and super duper fresh. Also, I really miss the bison roasts and emu steaks. Those were tasty. I haven't seen heirloom tomatoes here yet either, although I suspect I just have to go to a bigger market to find them.
4. American shoe and clothing sizes.
I have to guess a lot to find things that fit. Someone should standardize this system worldwide.
5. Consistently placed street signs.
A lot of street signs are on buildings here, especially for the little alley streets. Some streets don't seem to have signs at all, and some are on posts on corners like I'm used to. This makes finding where I'm going a challenge if all I have are google directions.
6. Having a sous chef when I'm cooking.
R likes chopping vegetables. I don't.
7. SuperTarget.
Much as I like to buy local, for housewares I like knowing that it'll be there. I still haven't found a fan.

Patriotism

I suck at patriotism. All day, my facebook wall has been filled with "happy 4th of July" and "woo USA" type stuff (and seriously everyone, it's only mid-afternoon here, and I'm 6-10 hours ahead of the States. Don't any of you sleep?) Sure, I love my home, but I don't feel the team spirit that Independence Day kind of revolves around. And when I think about loving my home, I really mean my family.

I am not proud of myself for being American; that's just an accident of birth. While growing up in the US certainly gave me a ton of advantages, and presumably shaped my personality to some extent, it seems weird to be proud of it. I guess I think that place of birth is inherently neutral; it's simply information, not a value. While being American makes me more privileged, more educated, and richer than most of the world's population, it doesn't really make me better. Lucky to have grown up in a country where liberty and self determination are valued, at least theoretically, but that's it. Just lucky. Just like I'm lucky to live in the age of the internet, and in an age where feminism already exists. But I'm not all proud of being a member of Gen Y either. So I've never been all that in to this particular holiday. I enjoy fireworks displays, sure, but because they're pretty, not because I'm on team USA.

This is probably why I've never enjoyed sports culture too. Apparently I suck at team spirit in general, which is funny, considering how much I enjoy teamwork. Although I can remember the occasional project team in undergrad that was all "we're the awesomest at this project!" and I thought that was stupid too.