Anger Management

I know, you guys are all dying to hear everything about my new train pass, but before I get to that:

Happy Birthday to my not-so-little-anymore brother, Benjamin!! 

I can not believe that you are already 23!? Thanks for reminding me with your birthday how old I am :oP

Due to the ridiculous opening hours of the admissions office (who opens only from 8-12!?? rude!), I had to move my morning run to the evening and am really hoping for it to get a bit cooler outside by then.

I took the bike to get to the office and managed to look like a pig roast by the time I finally arrived. You would have been proud - I was so prepared with all my copies and documents and print outs. I even had a folder for Pete's sake!

What the lady told me, after I put all those papers in front of her on the desk, felt like a slap in the face. "Well, this is not exactly what we need."

Source

Turns out, there was a major mistake on 1 of my 35 documents. I had an official letter from my department that stated that I will be working on my dissertation for this upcoming semester. What it SHOULD have said was that I am "granted permission" to be working on my dissertation for this upcoming semester. 

The seal, the stamp, the signatures, the pretty, official stationary - all this doesn't matter if you don't have the right wording. 

Please know that just the act of getting all those forms was nightmare to begin with. 

The plan was: go to admissions, drop off the letter from the department, pay the fee, and take the train home. 

Then, two weeks ago, I found out that I need all sorts of documents from my previous German university. I have left said university in 2008 and am currently enrolled in the US, where I also received my latest degree. All that doesn't matter. 

Plus, the forms that they needed had to be requested via mail, with a formal letter. 

It got really awesome when I learned that the person in charge is going to be on vacation for another 4 weeks. (Yes, Germany has the craziest vacation day policies. 30 days of vacation is pretty normal here.)

To save you the rest of this ordeal, I don't have my ticket. Yet. 

I paid for it, but if I have to resubmit and in which form is up to the admissions person in charge (whoever that is). 

Source

I was so irritated about this whole procedure that I had no choice but to go and get food. 

Yes, the chocolate croissants are also filled with chocolate,
and the ones with caramelized almonds
have vanilla pudding-creme inside ("Bienenstich"). 

With everything related to filling out forms, writing applications for other forms, writing requests for approvals for applications etc, I have learned that it is all about finding a way to deal with your anger afterwards. Maybe there are a gazillion bakeries around here, because people here have an incredible need to eat their feelings. It definitely comes in handy. 

Here is to hope that one day, my ticket will magically appear in my mailbox!

Are you patient with endless bureaucratic procedures? - I try. I really do. 

Do you prefer chocolate croissants or "Bienenstich"? - Its a difficult decision, but I would say "Bienenstich".