Today I’m thankful for my job. Ok, really EVERY DAY I’m thankful for my job, but that’s today’s topic.

Sure, it has moments of driving me absolutely batty. But for the most part, I have a great job. A great job that also has an office in Germany, giving me this once-in-a-lifetime chance.

We’re also thankful for Travis’ job. Not many companies could perform as well as his does with one body hidden away in another country. He’s got great support there in Colorado, and this whole adventure wouldn’t have been possible without THEM, either.

Our jobs are demanding, yet rewarding. We’re very fortunate. And in this economy, we’re blessed not to be working at the Subway up the street. (Although I guess it would help be learn German pretty quickly.)

After consulting the weather forecast all week and determining that today was the ONLY day with no chance of rain in the forecast, I decided I’d ride my bike in.

This was something I tried to do at least once a week last year, but some weeks it was pretty difficult to find days with no rain forecast. I’m a little ashamed to admit that this was my first ride in this year. But in my defense, the weather so far this summer has been COLD and rainy and not very bike-friendly. (Good excuses?)

So today I rode in and it’s actually HOT out and I arrived sweating and flushed. I hoped to sneak by everyone and clean up a bit in the bathroom before being noticed, but of course I was caught by two people.

Now I get to look forward to the going home part, which is mostly uphill. Why do I choose to do this again, when I have a perfectly good car sitting at home?

There is a bit of a reorg going on at work, and both the Denver and the German offices are expecting layoffs. I was worried because a few weeks ago, I found out my boss wasn’t going to be my boss anymore, and the new boss was not anyone I knew. But, I got a call yesterday from my new boss and she reassured me that I’m being kept. A huge relief! I was imagining trying to pack up and move back already, and even though it’s been almost a year, it seems like we just got here.

As with most companies, mine is now going through the scary time of “reorganization.” I am fairly confident that my job is safe, but it is still a very scary word. Even if I do keep my job, many of my friends may be let go and it makes me sad to think about it. The announcements should come in the next week or so, but if I’m suddenly packing boxes for a return to the U.S., you’ll know why! Between that and the tax situation, I’m surprised I can sleep at night.

Today is yet another German holiday (not sure the name of this one), the third national holiday in May. Which is more holidays than Travis has had, total, so far this year. Hmm. But, we don’t get another holiday until October after this one, so I shouldn’t feel TOO bad.

Last night we went to see Indiana Jones at the movies.

It was fun to see a movie - in ENGLISH! - and especially nice since we don’t have a t.v. yet.

Today I’m going to lounge around, maybe go for a bike ride or a walk, and watch Travis work. This is the life!

And here’s what my daily commute looks like for those who like even more visuals.

1- Wake Up and gaze upon my lovely toes.

2- Grab a pair of shorts out of the hamper (the same ones I’ve worn all week).

3- Sneak a peek at this beautiful woman.

4- Sneak another peek at her for good measure.

5- Navigate the perilous spiral stairway of death.

6- Visit the local cafe for some leftover schnitzel.

7- Usually run across some wild animals on my commute in (See 3rd & 4th images down).

8 - Finally arrive at my office where we’ve just recently upgraded to high-speed internet.

We’re trying to go one month without a car, using public transportation as much as possible, to see if we can survive without buying a car while we’re here. And so far, that’s been relatively easy. I leave the house at 9:05 (not 9:06 because if it is 9:06, like it was today, then I miss the bus and have to wait a whole hour for the next one. But that’s neither here nor there.) and am sitting at the office at 9:30.

Here’s what my commute looks like for those that like the visuals.

First, I walk out the back gate:

I walk 4-5 minutes to the bus stop, this direction:

(Four minutes if I hit the crosswalk light just right, five minutes if not.)

I get on the bus here:

I get off the bus 11 minutes later in the town of Neu-Isenburg and walk ten minutes this way:

As I get close to the office, the scenery changes a bit:

And then, I’m there!

Blumen is the German word for “flowers” - one of the 20 or so German words I’ve picked up.

This morning, my co-workers presented me with a beautiful arrangement of “blumens” as a “welcome to our team, we’re glad you’re here” gesture.

(Sorry for the blur, I borrowed a co-worker’s camera that I’m not familiar with. I really need to start carrying mine around everywhere!)

The girls that gave me the flowers put a note with them - “Welcome to the NI Team. We hope you will have an exiting time here.”

“Exiting.”

Hopefully not.