back from lost

Lost stands for "Loads of stupid things" of course.

The past 2 weeks were spent in high stress, high adrenaline, heart pounding moments. Things would have continued so, if not for the mess-up in my stay permit.

For those who don't know it yet, I'm singaporean. i.e. I belong to some sunny island way out in south-east asia, where temperatures never drop below 27 degrees, and where it is unheard of to have heating in the house. ("are you nuts?" was the first comment I got from my parents when I described heating in Germany. It was also rather apparent then that I had no idea how to survive my first winter in a temperate land) The fact that I'm working in Germany means simply that I'm an expat here. And despite the qualifications which I (claim to) have, I still require a work permit to continue my miserable existence here.

The mess-up in the paper work was a typical snafu - "Department A sent a message to Department B, but no one heard anything". As usual, all liabilities were denied and everything was disavowed.

which meant.. i was theoretically not allowed to work until it was resolved.

This might have been a bad thing, except that in the days leading to this event, I had managed to catch some sort of a virus. And it was one of those serious things that led to pain, grief, tears, sleeplessness and also, fever. (no. serious. I didn't overdo my partying. in fact, I hardly party. check the rest of my blog for consistency).

So despite having an enforced holiday, I was stuck at home on my back, in bed, trying to stay alive. After the fever and bug disappeared, I was stuck with a "have job, can't work" situation. Friends were largely uncontactable and unavailable.

In such times, the agony of being alone stinks. :( .. I'll never crack a joke about how "being attached is not worth it" again..

I've just gotten a call that my permit will be processed this coming friday. i.e. I will have wednesday and thursday to endure. I'll figure out what to do on friday - might just decide to go down to work just so to make sure that my desk is still there...