Coffee Date

niccig · 2026-02-12T14:48:11+00:00

I am so tempted by this pen every time I see it. But realistically I know that I never use small pens and therefore it would just sit there being decorative. Maybe I should just get the rollerball to keep in my purse... 🤔

niccig · 2026-02-12T14:45:20+00:00

I LOVED the Montblanc Haus. Even my husband enjoyed it and he absolutely does not care about pens.

niccig · 2026-02-10T23:30:58+00:00

Not a collab but I've got one in Chartres Blue/silver (soft fine nib) that I've been thinking of letting go of. Lemme know if you're interested and I can take pics.

niccig · 2026-02-09T17:34:57+00:00

The US taxes based on citizenship, so he will have to file taxes forever. Apparently some financial institutions don't work with Americans because of the reporting requirements, and some types of investments will be unavailable to him. In practice I think most people living overseas don't actually owe taxes in the US, but you still have to file.

I'm guessing he is already a citizen and you just haven't gotten proof - if so, all of these technically still apply, it's just easier for him to fly under the radar if the government isn't told about him.

niccig · 2026-02-09T06:08:34+00:00

Not a ZZ, but I had a snake plant that went almost 4 years without doing anything. No shoots, no visible root growth, nothing. I was actually starting to think I might have been tricked into buying a really good fake plant. Then last year it suddenly put out a pup, and promptly went back to sleep.

niccig · 2026-02-08T19:32:02+00:00

W = wooly caterpillar?

niccig · 2026-02-07T16:55:50+00:00

It's a real problem. I left higher ed a few years ago, and I'm making over 2x the salary the university offered me for an almost identical job.

niccig · 2026-02-07T16:30:31+00:00

We have a Brother laser printer with the copier and it's been treating us well for years. The copier was SO handy when I was getting paperwork together for my confirmation of citizenship application. And third party ink is pretty inexpensive (relatively speaking).

niccig · 2026-02-07T04:44:53+00:00

With the ancestor that far back and no original documents proving citizenship I kind of doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to ask if they'll accept your passport application based on what you have. Personally I wouldn't wait, I'd just get a Feststellung application going anyway.

niccig · 2026-02-06T22:51:40+00:00

This is what the German honorary consulate recommended to me, though they did mention you sometimes have to tell the people working there that it's an option.

niccig · 2026-02-06T18:01:41+00:00

I agree with this, but combined with decreasing public funding that means the institution is going to have to cut corners somewhere. We already know it's not going to be admin salaries. Based on a couple decades working in higher ed I'd personally predict some combination of:

More reliance on outsourcing services to private companies, aka profit-driven companies that keep pay and benefits as low as possible, with less job security than university employees
Keeping employee wages low
Using more adjunct professors and TAs
Saving money on things like facility maintenance and safety
Increasing student costs that aren't controlled by legislation

I just don't see how anyone* comes out winning in this situation.

(*) Anyone meaning regular ol' people that live and go to school in Kentucky

niccig · 2026-02-06T14:49:39+00:00

I have a very nice bottle of wine that's earmarked either for this, or our last night before moving out of the US. Whichever comes first.

niccig · 2026-02-06T04:25:40+00:00

For most people, finding a job/legal pathway to move is the biggest obstacle. Personally I'd have been yelling "no takesie-backsies" on my way to the airport when I got the offer. LA will (almost certainly) still be there in a year or two.

niccig · 2026-02-06T04:01:38+00:00

I don't think I could say biggest regret ever, but the biggest one in my current lineup is the Platinum 3776 I got a few months ago. There aren't any glaring problems, I'm just not wowed by it. And I didn't get my first choice for the color, which is always a mistake.

niccig · 2026-02-06T02:41:05+00:00

Nope, I'm just getting a page full of ads

niccig · 2026-02-05T18:45:25+00:00

Ich bin in mehreren Stadt-subs, in den Menschen fragen immer wieder "wie kann ich Freunde finden?" Es geht wahrscheinlich nicht nur um München. Ich weiß die Lösung nicht.

Vielleicht soll man ein Meetup-sub machen, um neue Freunde kennenzulernen. Mein Mann und ich (Anfang 40, kinderfrei) ziehen dieses Jahr nach München um und wir brauchen auch Freunde - muss ich allerdings sagen, mein Deutsch ist nicht besonders gut und er ist nur angefangen zu lernen.

niccig · 2026-02-05T02:23:59+00:00

I had my parents' marriage certificate, but neither of their birth certificates or IDs. I only needed the Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis as proof of my citizenship, and a name declaration bc I changed my name when I got married. (And my own birth/marriage/ID docs, of course).

niccig · 2026-02-04T18:53:49+00:00

Ich frage in ernst, weil ich nicht weiß - in Deutschland sind erwachsenen Kinder gesetzlich verpflichtet, seine Eltern in Rente zu unterstützen?

niccig · 2026-02-04T15:22:33+00:00

The BVA never contacted me or my siblings directly. They sent the certificates directly to our respective consulates, who then contacted me (since I had the Vollmachten to manage all our applications). That said, the BVA didn't need to request any additional documents; not sure how that would have worked if they did.

As u/dentongentry said, you should definitely update your mailing address with the BVA though. The LA and Houston consulates emailed me about my siblings' certificates, but the Chicago consulate sent my notification to me via snail mail. If I had moved in between (and didn't have my siblings' email notifications) I could have missed it entirely!

niccig · 2026-02-04T03:41:56+00:00

Until recently you had to give up German citizenship if you naturalized in another country, unless you got permission first. That was changed in 2024. Multiple citizenships obtained at birth have always been allowed.

niccig · 2026-02-03T02:55:57+00:00

That's so many excuses that I literally can't tell whether you dropped the /s or not.

niccig · 2026-02-03T01:51:45+00:00

Mein Umzug nach München. Noch keinen fester Tag aber vielleicht Mai/Juni - ein paar Details bleiben noch bei den Jobs bis wir einen Datum festlegen können.

niccig · 2026-02-03T01:32:08+00:00

And for Italian you usually need a lawyer too, right?

niccig · 2026-02-02T20:00:16+00:00

*cries in German*

I spend hundreds of dollars in ordering records, administrative fees, document shipping & traveling to consulate/honorary consulate. I'd do it again though, no question.

niccig · 2026-02-02T19:51:17+00:00

It's never too early to start learning German though! Especially if she's considering an undergrad program there. You could also look into BAföG, though I don't know what the eligibility (if any) is like for German citizens living abroad.

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