The real June 15th

All that napped from five fifteen to six twenty-three stuff? Boring. We should just make a chart, and no need to litter the blog with it. If we can get him to actually follow a schedule convenient for us, then we have something to talk about. 

Today was a qualified success, at least for me. Magoo mistakes were made, but nothing fatal.

In the early afternoon I took Magoo in the stroller that we're borrowing to the Kaethe Kollwitz museum. The stroller stayed in the lobby, I put Magoo on my back, and off we went. No go -- he started squirming and gurgling, too loud for a museum. 

So I went for a walk around the block to try to put him to sleep. Got myself an ice cream cone; he immediately started squirming for it. How did he know I was eating something? He's on my back, and he doesn't understand mirrors! I kept walking and walking, increasingly feeling desperate. I would never be able to enjoy a museum again, the next five years would be like this, my life as a human being is over, etc., etc. Just as I started feeling wet around the eyes, he finally fell asleep. 

At this point, I had only about forty-five minutes for the museum. Fortunately, that was just about perfect. I like Kaethe Kollwitz a lot, especially the desperate clutching, but she can be a bit much. 

At three-thirty, I met a language exchange buddy named Soeren. He had sent me a most bizarre email, suggesting meeting at the Bellevue S station in the Tiergarten, "3:30pm sharp to 6pm on this Sunday, 15  June....I found that was always a perfect time to meet for tandem! I recommend to meet downstairs by the lift of s-bahn station. So does this work with you? Please let me know asap. You may use bvg.de to plan your trip." I was pissed off, especially by the out-of-the-way location, but beggars can't be choosy, so agreed to meet him. Turns out he's simply something like mildly autistic! He talks and talks, and doesn't listen, and is obsessed with statistics. Once I figured that out and relaxed, it was quite lovely, actually. And the Tiergarten has some very nice parts. 

Magoo fell asleep at about seven, and Rob and I thought we might be able to go to a restaurant. No luck. He woke up as we were passing through the Kulturforum on the way to the M29, and screamed and screamed and screamed. He was evidently hungry (Magoo Mistake #1) and cold (Magoo Mistake #2). We stopped to get falafel on Adalbertstrasse, Magoo still quite unhappy. After we ate, I ordered a plate for the baby -- just soft stuff: a falafel ball, some eggplant, and some hommus. Turns out feeding him works. I'll call this Magoo Solution #1. 

Finally, Magoo fell asleep, and we even managed to catch the last half of the Czech-Turkey game at the corner biergarten. Uncanny stuff! I was particularly excited to see Turkey play without a goalie for the last two minutes of overtime, but no such luck: turns out somewhen else gets to sub when the goalie gets a red card.