LAID OUT IN GERMANY? A STRANGE JOB PROPOSAL AND AND DEEPER, DEEPER INTO IT or……leave?

YEAR 2007.

I, of course registered at the Arbeitsamt in Saxony.

Getting the Arbeitsloserngeld I. Money as unemployed 1^st class.

Presented the usual last 3 payslips- that’s was your earnings and that’s what you get: 60% of your salary with no children.

Civil status, taxes paid, you will get for 12 months in a row. Job search. CV, skills etc…….

Available to show up in the office once a month.

Why you get it? It is the law. An amount is deducted 25% by local authorities from your salary

when you become unemployed.

All my Spanish colleagues had left the city and the country.

Contacts with them to get used furniture – for free of course.

Visits to my apartment with a large living room table: they did not need it anymore.

MANY THANKS.

We will not be in contact anymore. For them the job was a joke.

They had temporary German partners, dumped with no reason- bored.

Too bored- too cold- difficult language to learn- parents waiting for them in Spain with open understanding arms.

ADIOS

My life in between jobs.

2 picnics in the park- a huge one- with Italian former colleagues-

A huge park you could get really lost if not guided properly. Beers- too many beers- too warm beers for my taste.

Italian colleagues dreaming of a nice and cozy apartment to live in in the Romantic Gothic architecture- and former Communist area. Perhaps a nice German lady to have a child with and raise a family.   Mostly male colleagues.

In between jobs- membership card to watch films, in French- or English.

Memories of a very ugly German woman, self employed who used to be very kind to me- ‘’let as many films you want’’ she never asked anything else’’

A seldom ‘’rendez-vous’’ with a Spanish woman for a coffee or a tea- and gossiping conversations of any kind- that made me smile in Leipzig main cafes, doing window shopping, receiving constant phone calls from possible suitors or young men that lusted her in a romantic way.

My passion for a past French man had gone for good. Deeply meditating.

Job interviews- no social media of any kind. Job interviews from France and Spain. 1 or 2 from England or so…..

Kept a phone contact with a former Italian colleague I used to travel with by train to go to an IT training.

He came to visit me to check a document- and he made his confessions: he had met the right one-

replying to an ad on line.

Lost contact with him for many months-(he used to send me erotic messages while working for the Michelin project- only written ones-he was convinced I fancied him somehow- some point).

Born in the same region I was- but of course he was joking- no interest of any kind, neither had I.

One phone call one day from him: ‘’please do not leave Germany, why are you doing that? We might have a beer from time to time……he had started his ‘’serious’’ relationship with a good heart, but plain German woman- physiotherapist. Me? Listening and just ready to leave the country for good.

My life went on…..I had decided to leave at the end of that year.

Meanwhile some underneath projects were going on I was unaware of.

It was the month of December in Leipzig- not a real cold one- no strolls of any kind. No snow.

Meeting in the elevator my downstairs neighbour, and her partner, holding a child-HALLO-

TAG- GUTEN TAG- Both self-employed.

Films-books- In between jobs in Leipzig- Pointless to say that I connected to the internet to check what was there- jobs?

One day I had a nice and unexpected phone call just before Christmas-yes-2 days before Christmas! I had the landline and mobile phone- both.

The Christmas unexpected phone call. A Christmas I did not usually celebrate- just a small tree-the same- adorned- intact- nice- that lasted until the 6^th of January- full of lights- shown in my bedroom small window.

A German woman of Polish origin was going to help me with the bureaucracy to go to more suitable place for me- The only place that I remarkably found more suitable was Berlin-visited on my own! She thought differently.   She noticed that my German was somehow improving- but insufficient. Phone calls from her- who used to complain about mainly anything- her professional life- not enough sex with boyfriends- not enough anything. Ja..Ja…Ja…. und JA! End of the phone call. ‘’naturilch, tu hast recht’’ We used to go to the French cinema, from time to time.

An unexpected phone call on my landline number- Me listening to music- very loud music- turned down the volume.

‘’Hello, I said. IT was an IBM manager- hello Si I have heard from someone that you are still looking for a job, I might have something for you. Or better SI I am desperate, please, I need a very good French speaker immediately for a short term, project! We do have other French speakers but they have a very strong German accent! The salary will be unfortunately very low-NO much IT involved’ ’Postpone your leaving please. It is important!’’

Made an appointment in his office: main entrance- the only muscled German doorman opened the door- ‘’let her in’ ’She has an appointment  with Herr Surname. The appointment lasted only 20 minutes. Name of the project, DOMETIC, CARAVAN FRIDGES WITH FAULTY ISSUES- MOTOR HOME FRIDGES SUPPORT- CALL CENTRE. ‘’WHAT’’? I said. ‘’Yes, let me explain you better- you will have a disabled Team Leader, that I had to hire and keep for compassion. Outbound calls to French clients telling them before leaving for their holidays that their Motor home fridges are going to explode in 3 weeks, and send them the local support to replace the faulty piece’’. End of the project.

In one month, my income support from the unemployment office ended. Sitting in the office next to him- the TL did, the disabled in wheel chair openly told me that he did not like me, sarcastic and smiling.

Many phone calls to all regions in France, from North to South, from East to West. All in French, most of them kind, they were somehow grateful that the company DOMETIC was warning them 6 months earlier to their family HOME CARAVAN summer holidays. Only one very rude Frenchman said the following:’’ Vas te faire foutre, toi et ton patron ou ton chef, vous voulez m’enmerder… ca coute beacoup d’argent mon vehicule, l’assurance ne couvre pas l’explosion, je vais porter plante’’ !

My manager could hear the very angry client- he asked me not to reply. Fill out the form- and hang up the phone.

Not much to say indeed, the famous multinational company was losing important and meaningful clients, keeping hands on an important one that year due to start. Much Information Technology yet to come! Patient enough to wait?

Purchased 2 small plants to keep on my large kitchen window. That short call centre job would last only 5 months. 

My life went on- absolutely irrelevant taking about any other activity. Listening to music at home- preparing my regular meal- a phone call from time to time to a French man to talk and have a good laugh, single father. ‘’One day we should meet’’ he used to say.

Visit to the Leipzig Central Station to have a nice meal prepared by real Italian cooks. ‘’Prego, si accomodi Signora, qui ha il menu’’. Calm --- reading a book- met once a colleague from Belgium in company of his father who came to visit him’’ Allo Si …au plaisir de te revoir’’! Ca vas? Je suis devenu père! Mais pas envie de me marier. Une très jeune fille allemande, on habite ensemble ! J’ai un très bon travail’’ !

BON APPETIT A TOI ! CA VAS OU CA VAS PAS ? CA VAS OU CA VAS PAS ? .