The visa clock is ticking

I had a work meeting today which basically consisted of drinking coffee in a cafe. The guy I was meeting with is someone I've been writing for for six months but never met, even though we're in the same city. Ah, the cold, impersonal nature of the internet...

He was surprised to hear that I can't really stay in Germany for too much longer, because I
a)am not married to a German
b)do not have a parent or grandparent who was born in Europe (dammit!)
c)am not sponsored by a company to work here full-time (I live in the flighty, wacky world of freelancing)
d)don't really want to live and work here illegally, only to have the German police barge into my apartment at 6am ready to deport me on the next plane (really, they are a lot stricter and I have heard of people being deported)

I worked illegally last time I lived here, because there were no working holiday visas for NZers then. But unless I suddenly fall for a man named Hans, or get sponsored by Deutsch Coca Cola or something, I might be out of here in the next few months. Which would be sad, but I've still got some time to figure it out. And I know I'll come back at some point, too. I can't be kiwiinberlin without being here, kiwiinnewzealnd just sounds redundant. Though maybe it's time for a sequel - kiwiinnewyork? kiwiinspace?

Illegal working in German is called Schwarzarbeit, or working black. I like that - sounds like you are a batman-type figure, cloaked in mystery, flying around town and always out of the grip of Policeman Plodd or whichever bumbling cop is on your tracks.