Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Leo is a sweet guy. I love him to death. No joke – I’ve killed him several times already with my loving! ;) One of his major downfalls, though, is that he tends to think the grass is greener on the other side. While working his ass off in Italy, he wanted a job that was not based on commission. After leaving that job and moving to Estonia, he longed for Meccanica Breganzese again. Every job-related decision he made in Estonia filled him with self-doubt, and he was constantly kicking himself for choosing “incorrectly.” The same thing happened here in Florida: he turned down a part-time teaching position at USF, couldn’t decide if he should freelance, applied for random jobs, turned them down, and so on. I tried to help him make a decision or at least feel better about his decisions by offering my input and what I thought would be best. Each time it didn’t work out or he was upset about his decisions, I felt like I had pressured him into making one.
I am proud to say that I did not do that this time. When he left for Germany, he pretty much had a job waiting for him in Brüggen for a small translation company. I thought it seemed great. I wanted him to go to the interview and take the job immediately. The owner was really interested in hiring him (and she wasn’t even looking to hire anyone!), was willing to wait for him and would be paying more than most other jobs he was applying for. He’d also get to continue translating, which he loves. He was so hesitant though! He gave a few meek reasons why he was unsure and wanted to look elsewhere. I kept my mouth shut and let him look.
Over the last three weeks, he has been leaning more and more toward the Brüggen job. I was calm and supportive. I listened and let him go through his own thought processes. He seemed to be getting more and more excited about the job and pretty much gave up even applying for other jobs. And each time he mentioned Brüggen, I secretly did my happy “choppy hands” dance. On Monday, he officially decided to take the job. This morning he picked up his work contract (which any job in Germany is required to have) and then submitted a copy of that and his work visa paperwork to the Brüggen officials for processing! He was told that it would take 2-4 weeks and then he’d be good to go. Unfortunately, Carnival just started yesterday so that will likely add a week to the processing time. Once he gets approved for his work visa, we’ll buy plane tickets for Boogie and me, so we'll likely be in Germany mid- to late-March! Woot woot!
For a while, I have been playing with the idea of getting a tattoo symbolic of my family. I’ve mentioned it to 5 of my 6 adult siblings, and they’re all for it! Bonnie and I spearheaded the plan and have decided to go with each person getting a rabbit design of their choosing but should also try to incorporate their “number” in the tattoo. For example, Grace is Child #5. She’s decided her rabbit will be sort of wrapped around a pocket watch, whose hands are pointed at 5:00. I’m thinking mine is going to be a black rabbit leaping across the arch of my foot with a quatrain beside it. Bonnie had written a cute little poem for it… but I lost it so now we get to brainstorm and come up with another one! Anyway, now that I’ll be leaving in the next month or so, we’re trying to research and find a good tattoo parlor to get them done. I found one that I’m happy with but it needs Bonnie’s seal of approval, but maybe we’ll be able to get them done this weekend or next!
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