Home! And Pizza Sonntag

Along the Canal

 I haven't had internet at home, and it has really interfered with my ability to blog!  I have been living in a place that was probably quite nice at one point; however, everyone is getting evicted on the 29th so a) there is no community feeling anymore and b) there is not much left in the house because the main tenant has moved out.  No internet, broken washing machine, one day the water in the kitchen stopped working (but was fixed), and well, the whole place, it just doesn't feel like anyone's home.  But it's been a place to lay my head, be alone, and cook for the past two weeks.  Honestly though, I have been spending the majority of my time at Robert's. 
All that is about to change
Because
I HAVE A HOME IN BERLIN!  I HAVE A HOME!  I HAVE A HOME!
This is very exciting.  I have not had a home since August.  I can't wait. The first thing I am going to do is attain my own mattress, sheets, blankets and pillows.  At least a full.  I won't feel like it's home until I have a space where Robert can be comfortable with me.  But let's back track for a moment.  How did it all happen?

I had looked at a ton of places and been rejected: because I was dating a man, because I ate meat, because I didn't speak good German.  I saw one place that I thought might be nice, except it was just a tiny bit too clean and orderly.  What to do?  One day I walked around Park Templehof and cried.

Park Templehof Community Garden

Then there was a posting on Genderliste, an email list I am on that has housing, events, etc.  It was from a person named Sedrik who was looking to start their own WG.  I replied.  We agreed to meet at Silver Future on a Saturday afternoon...
And you know how sometimes you just meet someone and you feel, "Yes"?  Well, that was it.  We spoke in English and got along really well.  Sedrik brought up the fact that they were in a poly relationship and I get to tell them about my landlords, Pepper and Jen, and how I thought that polyamory was as natural as anything else, but it wasn't my personal choice.  We talked about relationships and theory and how it's not wrong to want something normative, just wrong when it's a default setting.  And then they said they had a cat.  Sold!  (Oh, how I miss animals.)
So, the only issue was that the WG we would be starting with one other person (whom I have not met yet, but I look forward to meeting) would not be open until April.  Couchsurfing for a month I could handle if I knew there was a nice carrot at the end of all the unsureness.  And then a very nice thing happened!
Sedrik's current flatmate was moving out of their 2 room flat at the end of the month.  I said, "Hey, how about we see how it goes."  They said, "Sounds great!"  The flat I will be in temporarily is in Friedenau, which is sort of out in the sticks, but there is a bus stop directly outside that takes one to the Ringbahn, which gets me to places I need to be.  The WG we will move into in April or May (there is a little question about the actual move-in) is in Wedding on the U-8 line, which takes one to Kreuzberg and Neukölln, my two favorite areas.  It's cutting it pretty close to the wire, but I will have a home to come back to in Berlin in August/September.  (I'll be working at the Randall Museum in San Francisco this Summer.)  There is some annoying stuff going on at my place on Schillerpromenade right now, but it will all be over soon, and I can't wait to have a home with a cool, mellow roommate and a cat!  Keep reading below for a report on Pizza Sonntag!

Schillerpromende

Robert at Hasenheide Park.  If you look back at older blogposts, you will see photos of this exact spot that are lush and green.  Note the absence of snow.  It has been a mild winter.

Hasenheide Park

On Sunday, February 19th I performed at Pizza Sonntag, hosted by the lovely and adorable David Cassel at The Space Station (Solmstraße 12)
Headlining was a fairly incredible clown duo: Gregor Wollney and Janette Flexonette, and some very eccentric musical acts.  Naomi Fearn played the Kalimba and sang a spooky and sad song about how people wear beige when they are preparing to die and also played a great ukulele duo with the host, David Cassel.  Their was Annika Crump, a musician and storyteller who played the theremin (one of my favorite instruments) and the accordian (another favorite) and me!  And I did something onstage that I haven;t done in a year.  I spoke.  And I sang.  It's been about 10 years since I have participated in a poetry slam, but let me tell you, I've still got it!  And I'm about to take Berlin by storm.  Video of the my intimate Pizza Sonntag performance below. Thanks for reading.

David Cassel in action

Annika Crump with Theremin