Sieben, Sieben! It's BACK!

Eurovision Tonight!
Tonight at 9pm German time... yes, it's that time of year again! I'm betting on Norway at the moment in tonight's hellish euro-spectacle, even though their lyrics sound kinda stupid in English. Don't forget to watch! You might want to wear earmuffs and goggles, though, as a first layer of defense. [See Eurovision Song Contest for explanation.]

Hand Sanitizer!
Did I say "defense"? That reminds me. Bunny found some funky-smelling hand sanitizer that comes out as a foam. They have it at a pharmacy across from the Duisburg Hbf and who knows where all else. It's called "Erste Abwehr" (First Defense), made by Wick (known better by us as Vick's =;-). So now you at least know something to ask for, in lieu of Purell. I'll post a pic of it at some point.

Health Update
And now the exciting health update. Blood tests slightly better, but still totally not normal. Abdominal ultrasound revealed nothing, defying the odds with no gallstones. Have more appointments next week...

Resident Permit Renewal
And lastly, my residence permit (the first 3-year one) expires soon. I know we should have gone to the Ausländeramt sooner, but gee, between health problems, closing a business and dealing with a tax nightmare, it hasn't exactly been foremost on our minds. I figured that since we got the first one within a week, going there a month early would be good enough. (Ummmm. Nope. Let this be a warning to you!)

We went on Thursday only to find out they're only open for ONE HOUR (8 to 9am) Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Yeah, seriously. WTF??? How incredibly German. Always making things more complicated. And so convenient for people who work, for example.

So we went back on Friday, promptly at 8am and gave them all the paperwork they wanted for renewal, which includes things like a bank statement showing how much rent is, 'paycheck' stubs, copy of my health insurance card, etc. They then said thanks, it will be UP TO FOUR MONTHS before I get the permit!

FOUR MONTHS?! Holy crap! Mine expires in like 3 weeks, lol. F*ck. We are going to the UK in August (rain or shine, walking or not, healthy or dying... for a very, very, very important purpose that I will reveal in due time), so the Germans will give me some paper that tells the German passport control folks to let me back in the country. Hopefully British immigration (notorious for often grilling innocent vacationers about every detail of their lives) won't get an attitude about that. Please hurry, Ausländeramt! I'm so pitifully non-threatening, even when I talk sh*t about the things I hate about your country, lolol. And I already have more than enough stress in my life without having to worry about this as well. Please?

P.S. 'Sieben, Sieben!' refers to my first Eurovision, 2007, when THIS SONG FROM UKRAINE cam in at number 2. LOL. It would have won if not for 'Molitva' from Serbia. Still love this one - I still listen to it. Great song.