It is just crazy how quickly time seems to be flying by.
Just one month ago, my father had just returned to the states after his visit to Frankfurt. It seems like last week that he was here. Meanwhile, lots of things have happened during May, but nothing too dramatic.
About a week after my dad got home, I got a letter in the mail from the Finanzamt, basically demanding that I submit my tax return from the year 2016. This came as a bit of a surprise, and I got a little anxious for a week or so as I tried to figure out what to do. It wasn't so much that I did not know what to do, but rather why I was being asked to do it now. Furthermore, it was a little strange that they would ask for a return from a previous year as opposed to the current year.
I asked a few friends for their advice, and eventually went to a local tax guy around the corner from my house. Fortunately, he was able to take a few minutes to discuss my situation with me, and helped me to understand a few of the finer points of the German tax laws. In the end, we agreed that he would file my 2016 return for me.
It all went pretty smoothly, and I must admit I was very relieved when I got the confirmation (and bill) that the return had been successfully filed. That same day, I happened to get another letter from the Finanzamt asking for the return from the year 2015, which sort of irritated me. Why wouldn't they have just sent out the request for all the years at once?
Anyway, I went back over to the tax guy, showed him my new letter, and gave him not only my documents for the requested year, but being that I was due a small refund for 2016, I figured it might be sensible to file year 2017, also.
Of course, now all the returns have been completed, and I have paid the guy for his services. Now I just have to sit back and wait for the government to cooperate and provide my refunds.
May in Germany has four public holidays, which, depending on how you look at it, can be either completely awesome or completely unproductive. I used to get really worked up about having so many days off during the course of the month, but over the years while I have lived here, I have come to think it is absolutely brilliant to have so many holidays. Of course, yesterday was our final holiday of the month, and the last public holiday until October. I actually had to do some work myself, since many of my partners are not in Germany and did not have the day off. Monthend is always a bit of a production, so the timing was not the greatest. Still, I managed to enjoy a bit of quiet and did not have to work too much.
The weather finally got warm and a few friends and I have had a few moments where we have had to complain about the heat. On the positive side, there are many more opportunities to be outside enjoying the various activities that come with the start of summer. The football leagues ended in early May, and the following weekend, the cup finals were played. Eintracht pulled off a major upset by beating Bayern Munich, and it was really great to be able to celebrate with all the fans. Eintracht had not one the cup in 30 years, so this was a really big deal.
With the weather so pleasant, it was not surprising to attend a few cookouts. Last weekend, I got invited to one that was hosted by a few groups from the neighborhood. They tend to throw this party twice per year, and for some reason, I never attended previously, despite being invited once or twice.
I had some friends in town visiting, so I managed to get them invited, also. This made for a fun outing, and I greatly enjoyed their company. My friend's daughter is soon to be 8, so I was reminded of last summer when Chris and co. were here; we also did a bit of cookout stuff. This time round, I wisely cut back on the beer consumption, although some of that had to do with the fact that I was trying to compensate. The previous weekend during the Pokal finals, I had managed to hit the other end of that spectrum, which required several days of recovery.
At the cookout, my buddy Mono said "Look what I got," and pulled a liter of French mustard out of his satchel; it was a gift from one of the guys doing the cookout. He told me that the mustard was super super spicy (scharf). A couple of days later at the Kiosk, he gave me a small container to sample. Indeed, the mustard is quite hot, but delicious. And, I no longer seem to have any allergy issues that I endured over the past few weeks as the pollen count has shot through the roof.
While my friends and I enjoyed hanging out last weekend, we laughed regularly as we repeated a few of our catchphrases, notably "the chicken just falls off the bone," (which referred to our dinner from Friday evening as well as the Saturday afternoon barbecue) and "It's all Dad's fault," which is what the daughter said a couple of times throughout the weekend. This second phrase was circumstantial, and within the context, it was hilarious. (thanks K, T and H...that was a great weekend).
My friends also introduced me to a really really funny tongue twister (German - Zungenbrecher) about a woman named Barbara who was really well known for her Rhubarb Pie. If you have the desire, do a search on Rhabarberbarbara and you can better understand why I am so amazed. I found a video where a girl actually films herself telling the story, and it is impressive. So, I have been saying "rhabarberbarbara" regularly throughout the past week.
So, here today on the first of June, we start yet another month. My nephew finishes school today, and I just worked out arrangement where he and his mother will visit me in Frankfurt at the end of the month, which, if anything like the month of May, will just zing right by.
Taxes, barbecue, a little heat, and a bit of Rhabarberbarbara....that's what May was all about.
A good month? Absolutely. I would say it cut the mustard.
see you out there
bryan
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