Good news, folks!  The German government has decided that I’m allowed to stay in their country for another half a year.  This buys me some time to finish my current research project and set myself up for a longer stay in Deutschland.  What a relief.  It always kills me to have that visa extension stuff hanging over my head.*  I’m the kind of person who can’t stop myself from worrying about the miniscule chance that things won’t work out, even though I’ve been told a million times that American academics have nothing to worry about.  Anyway, now that it’s officially official, I can share the news here without jinxing it.

It also means that since I know for certain what I’m up to for awhile, I’m making some changes to my 32 Things lists — replacing the vague, unexciting space fillers with stuff that actually inspires me:

5. Read a novel in German. 5. Read five of the books on my reading list.

7. Sign up for swimming lessons. 7. Visit at least three different Christmas Markets and blog about them.

12. Keep at least one flowering plant alive. 12. Now that I’m starting to figure out the wonders of Photoshop, new banners for the blog!

I have some other ideas to add to my list, but they need to simmer a bit longer before I put them out here.  You can check out the new and improved 32 Things list here, including the updates from the last several months.  Exciting, no?

* Please try to keep those clever suggestions of marriage as a solution for visa woes to yourself, thankyouverymuch.