Article photo: professional device
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I continue to read other blogs. Recently I even wrote an email to a blogger, which he won't answer; which was not my intention either - since I like to receive feedback myself, I'm happy to give it myself, but I still have to be careful that it doesn't get taken the wrong way.
Stefan Rose made my day today, not because he doesn't care whether there is shooting on New Year's Eve or not, but simply because he reduced the New Year's Eve shooting to absurdity in just a few sentences (Flying Boards, January 4.1.2025, XNUMX).
“Oh yes, firecrackers. This supposedly goes back to an ancient custom of driving away evil spirits with noise. (The fact that this happens on New Year’s Eve fits in with the mythology surrounding the Rough nights between the years.) Only: Once again there was a bang like crazy and what is it? Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the AfD are still there. So the whole thing is completely pointless."
In my hometown it still looks like Hempels under the sofa, which I now accept as God-given and only want to address here in the blog from time to time.
Oh yes, once with professionals. Somehow my better half and I came up with waffles. Two waffle irons were quickly unpacked and both, the Belgian and the local, gave up the ghost immediately. Once in almost constant use, they had now been lying unused in the basement for a few years. Between Christmas and New Year, I didn't want to give in so quickly and ordered a professional device, which arrived in no time at all - professionals, after all.
I unpacked it straight away, put it in the kitchen and connected it to the power supply. My better half wasn't much slower with the dough. And... nothing happened! While the dough was being used for something else, I took a closer look at the professional device. OK, it was definitely designed for even the crudest of kitchen helpers. Soldered and screwed together by people working at the zoo - I'm guessing chimpanzees. When I removed the first screws, I immediately realized that one of the three was just for decoration. And the cables were also just hanging around because they were probably too short for chimpanzee hands. With a little bit of force, I was able to connect the cables, screw them tight and close the waffle iron again halfway.
I made waffles from the leftover dough and ate them with pleasure.
But now my conclusion about the professional device: Ordering, delivery and packaging: 1. Design of the device: 3. Material: 2. Assembly: 5. Quality assurance of the company: 6; by the way, the built-in timer does not make a "ding(ing)" at the end, but only a barely audible "garbage".
warm-up
Recently I was able to the first newsletter of the year the EUROPA-UNION events. It is gratifying that a good 52% of the recipients have taken note of the circular, and even more gratifying that I received three comments on it. One reader noticed that the location for the upcoming European get-together was not mentioned; this can now be found on the website.
As this year of the EUROPA-UNION will be quite long again, we will start the first meetings next week. But already now, not only the European federalists are called upon to get together as quickly as possible for the Europa Ball 2025 to register, because the best tables are slowly but surely already reserved. It would be great if one or another party or club, or even a company, could bring themselves to reserve a whole table. There is hardly a better way to advertise yourself and there are also still stands in the foyer of the Harmonie where you can chat to the ball guests and visitors.
My better half and I are also trying to warm up again with dancing, and we were able to do some dancing this week. Swimming will have to wait a while. But I'll be able to drive the meseno bus again soon.
long week
Even by the standards of Detlef Stern This was a very long week - what can you expect. Just reading the seminar papers leaves me in awe. But all of this is topped by one or two questions from my fellow people. Why is the apartment in the city center? Why doesn't the apartment on the first floor have an elevator? Who puts the garbage cans outside the door when needed? Can you furnish the apartment and is that included in the rent? If I move out again, will you take my furniture? Can I sublet the apartment, right?
But I also have questions. Why can't the formal requirements of a job simply be ignored? Or why can't one simply acknowledge that a two-room apartment in the city center is not on the outskirts of the city and doesn't have any additional rooms? Or even that I prefer a single person as a tenant who also fits in with the existing community. So now I alternate between reading seminar papers that ignore everything that is part of the basics of such a job and application letters from large families or single parents with several children.
Every now and then I get a job that I like, as well as applications that match the apartment on offer. And just as there are students who don't want to have written their work afterwards, there are also people who are looking for an apartment on the outskirts of town or who would have preferred a completely different apartment than the one on offer. The fact that these people are just stealing my valuable time doesn't matter to them at all, the main thing is that they had fun.
If a student messes up the content of his work, then that's just part of the job of a lecturer; not everyone can have an IQ higher than a can of bread. And if an applicant doesn't like the apartment, then that's also perfectly fine, because tastes and interests are always different.
But simply not reading the large print, not to mention the small print, and only communicating with your fellow human beings in this way is criminal in the highest degree - but unfortunately this is not a criminal offense in our country!
I can understand this somewhat when it comes to students, because they are no longer considered adults these days, and some of them are almost brought to the lecture hall by their parents. When it comes to those looking for an apartment, I have an idea to protect the citizens who rent out apartments: 5 euros per inquiry and 20 euros per viewing, which is then waived if you take the apartment or can at least explain why you don't like it.
I have currently processed 178 inquiries, 16 of which have been identified as suitable for the apartment and 32 as possibly suitable. The rest have obviously not read the advert or the other information available. Some of them addressed me as a woman, some even under a completely different name. I was also able to read the first applications written by a chatbot, and it sometimes happens that the apartment seeker changes gender several times and one even wants to be a very friendly German Shepherd. Of course, all of them are non-smokers, even those who come out as smokers in their application.
I have two very personal application highlights. Firstly, a very desperate woman who split up with her partner shortly before Christmas and made up again immediately after the viewing. And secondly, a man who has been sleeping in his car since Christmas and is urgently looking for an apartment - I don't know whether he has been taken back since then. The woman in question hasn't (yet) contacted me again; my long week isn't quite over yet either.
Speaking of which, the next viewing dates are already lined up and I'm still waiting for one or two replies. It remains exciting and the students have to present their work starting next week. And no, COVID-19 can't be used as an excuse for everything!
“We all come from Africa.”
Zeinab Badawi, An African History of Africa (2024: 9)
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