I watched Arsenal advance to the next round of Champs League last night, and was feeling relatively pleased with things as I grabbed a couple of kepabs from Miro and headed for home.
My mood quickly darkened when I tried to connect up the iPod. Nothing but the little sound you get when you plug something in your USB port, but no power, no "iTUNEs is up," or anything like that.
As I'd only had a couple of guinness during the match, my wits were about me, and I was feeling a bit frustrated sitting at my pc trying to figure out the problem. While I was waiting (and munching on a durum), I skimmed a few emails to find one that irritated me enough that I simply powered down and went to bed, hoping like hell that I'd wake up this morning with a fresh angle on fixing my tunes.
OK, I didn't sleep well, and almost actually lounged in bed too long, but I did give the "reset" trick on the iPOD one more shot this morning and smiled when I saw the logo appear on the little screen. We've always known that I've got to have the music, and as I've got a TON to do in the next several days workwise, this seemingly insignificant bit of having an iPOD ALMOST die was going to go down as a really catastrophic thing. Fortunately, everything has worked out ok so far, and I smiled all the way to work.
Yep, for some reason, this time of year (when every other industry seems to slow down) gets more and more busy for us, which sucks for me, because I work in a place where no one seems to understand the concept. I've got a lot of colleagues who have already blown through their 30 days of holiday this year and STILL expect to have a week or so off at Christmas. It doesn't matter if I turn their vacation apps down, they'll just call in sick, and in Germany if you so much as sneeze you get a doctors note for a week off.
So be it, is what I'm saying. I'm hoping to stay relatively healthy myself, especially next month when I get back over to Spain.
The staying out too late and coming home at 8am (normally only on the weekends) is in full swing for me right now, and it's fun. It's particularly nice to cross paths with the early morning joggers who clearly did not just spend the past 12 hours doing what I was doing.
For those of you who make it into the Monk on this fine Thanksgiving Eve, enjoy yourselves, and give everyone my best. I'm going to go listen to "Reggata de Blanc" and "Alec Eiffel," again; those were the first two songs to pop up this morning, and they're both just mighty fine.
keep the faith
bryan
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Quck Scoop
I was sitting in my local pub last Friday night enjoying a routine night chatting with friends and listening to a couple of rather proficient guys play a live acoustic set, and suddenly noticed that everyone entering the tavern was shaking snow off their heads and shoulders; the first snow of the season!
It wasn’t just a fluffy pile of flakes, initially. In fact, some of us thought it was hail. It was actually snowing “buckets,” and was really coming down. The storm didn’t last all that long, though. A bit later, I went outside for a few minutes to sort of take advantage of the piece and quiet. I always enjoy the silence a snowfall brings, and was thinking to myself how absolutely nice my little corner of Bornheim happens to be, when BAM, I got hit in the head with a rather large snowball that Marc had just thrown at me. I laughed as I shook snow off myself, and did that little “whoo!” thing that you have to do when snow gets inside your collar and goes down your back.
Quite the way to be brought back to reality.
It’s been a few months of these kinds of moments for me recently, though without the snow. I am always aware that my job is one where you can never quite settle down and relax. There’s always another challenge or problem lurking around the corner, and while I certainly feel more prepared to address these “delights” in the workplace, I certainly wouldn’t be offended if we’d have a few more moments of calm and stability.
A new Geschäftsführer started working with us about a month ago. I welcome his presence, as it’s the start we need in order to bring stability back into the workplace. On the other hand, he’s got a lot to do in a short amount of time, so he’s having to get up to speed very quickly. We do get along, so far, which is promising. Additionally, he’s got a plan, which I find to be most comforting.
How effective will this plan be?
That remains to be seen. Recent events in the economy aren’t making the laptop repair industry particularly easy to operate in. And, my company seems to be pretty good at making things complicated without the help of an ailing economy, anyway.
While all of you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I’ll be doing a physical inventory of all of the spare parts in our repair center. Then, immediately after that, I’ll try to squeeze one or two business reviews in with my customers. It’s not yet determined where or when these meetings will occur, but it always seems to be like this in the last month of the year. Everyone runs about trying to do all the stuff they didn’t get completed during the other 11 months of the year, then we take a few days off to celebrate Christmas, then we start the whole process all over again.
I’m not complaining (though there are a few words I might otherwise use to describe the circumstances if it weren’t for the fact that small children might read this), just simply relating the facts as they relate to never a dull moment European repair logistics.
A quick word about the German reaction to the US election. I would say that the over all reaction is rather positive, though it took me several tries to truly explain just how the electoral college works, etc. My sources for world news tend to come from international English press as opposed to German newspapers, etc. However, I did find myself discussing the election regularly throughout the last couple of months with various friends and colleagues. Most are always interested to find that I come from Texas, and though I believe I’ve mentioned this once or twice before, it never ceases to amaze me that they immediately say something to the effect of, “EEEWW! Bush comes from there!”
“Fair point,” I often reply. Then, depending on the nature of the other person, I’ll decide whether or not to really try to defend myself. Only once have I had to remind them about their own history and one Charlie Chaplin look-alike (or at least the haircut and silly moustache). That’s really playing out of bounds as far as I’m concerned. All countries have their moments where they weren’t quite at their best.
We will have to see where things go come January. I think that most Germans are a bit skeptic. How can one guy change the world considering the state it’s in?
We’ve got to start somewhere, eh?
We had another nice snowfall on Sunday evening, and I brushed a few flakes off my coat as I got on the bus after work this evening. Thus, I’m going to sign of and head off in search of Marc. I believe he’s due for a snowball fight.
keep the faith
Bryan
It wasn’t just a fluffy pile of flakes, initially. In fact, some of us thought it was hail. It was actually snowing “buckets,” and was really coming down. The storm didn’t last all that long, though. A bit later, I went outside for a few minutes to sort of take advantage of the piece and quiet. I always enjoy the silence a snowfall brings, and was thinking to myself how absolutely nice my little corner of Bornheim happens to be, when BAM, I got hit in the head with a rather large snowball that Marc had just thrown at me. I laughed as I shook snow off myself, and did that little “whoo!” thing that you have to do when snow gets inside your collar and goes down your back.
Quite the way to be brought back to reality.
It’s been a few months of these kinds of moments for me recently, though without the snow. I am always aware that my job is one where you can never quite settle down and relax. There’s always another challenge or problem lurking around the corner, and while I certainly feel more prepared to address these “delights” in the workplace, I certainly wouldn’t be offended if we’d have a few more moments of calm and stability.
A new Geschäftsführer started working with us about a month ago. I welcome his presence, as it’s the start we need in order to bring stability back into the workplace. On the other hand, he’s got a lot to do in a short amount of time, so he’s having to get up to speed very quickly. We do get along, so far, which is promising. Additionally, he’s got a plan, which I find to be most comforting.
How effective will this plan be?
That remains to be seen. Recent events in the economy aren’t making the laptop repair industry particularly easy to operate in. And, my company seems to be pretty good at making things complicated without the help of an ailing economy, anyway.
While all of you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I’ll be doing a physical inventory of all of the spare parts in our repair center. Then, immediately after that, I’ll try to squeeze one or two business reviews in with my customers. It’s not yet determined where or when these meetings will occur, but it always seems to be like this in the last month of the year. Everyone runs about trying to do all the stuff they didn’t get completed during the other 11 months of the year, then we take a few days off to celebrate Christmas, then we start the whole process all over again.
I’m not complaining (though there are a few words I might otherwise use to describe the circumstances if it weren’t for the fact that small children might read this), just simply relating the facts as they relate to never a dull moment European repair logistics.
A quick word about the German reaction to the US election. I would say that the over all reaction is rather positive, though it took me several tries to truly explain just how the electoral college works, etc. My sources for world news tend to come from international English press as opposed to German newspapers, etc. However, I did find myself discussing the election regularly throughout the last couple of months with various friends and colleagues. Most are always interested to find that I come from Texas, and though I believe I’ve mentioned this once or twice before, it never ceases to amaze me that they immediately say something to the effect of, “EEEWW! Bush comes from there!”
“Fair point,” I often reply. Then, depending on the nature of the other person, I’ll decide whether or not to really try to defend myself. Only once have I had to remind them about their own history and one Charlie Chaplin look-alike (or at least the haircut and silly moustache). That’s really playing out of bounds as far as I’m concerned. All countries have their moments where they weren’t quite at their best.
We will have to see where things go come January. I think that most Germans are a bit skeptic. How can one guy change the world considering the state it’s in?
We’ve got to start somewhere, eh?
We had another nice snowfall on Sunday evening, and I brushed a few flakes off my coat as I got on the bus after work this evening. Thus, I’m going to sign of and head off in search of Marc. I believe he’s due for a snowball fight.
keep the faith
Bryan
Monday, November 10, 2008
Another Tick in the Box - Keeping the Faith
So, life continues at a frantic pace. Playing the role of a swashbuckling program manager is a strange one; the mere concept elludes most people. Yeah, I probably work a few too many hours each week, and as ususal, can see myself never really able to get out from underneath the pressure of it all.
That said, I'm still fighting for it, and still getting the results.
But enough about that...
Last Friday night, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing one Wayne Hussey play a solo set in a local haunt in Frankfurt. I stumbled across the information by accident a few weeks ago when I was having a conversation with a friend of mine in the pub. She mentioned that the lead singer of the Mission was coming through town, and I quickly put it on my radar.
Strangely enough, I actually was feeling indifferent to the show right up until Friday night. I had had a word with John in the pub about it right after I learned of the concert, and invited him along for the crack, as he tends to be up for this kind of thing. The week or so before the show, he mentioned in passing that he was not totally enthralled with the music, but more or less asked me to keep him informed; he'd go along in the event that I needed the support.
It depends on what you consider as needing support; I ultimately dragged him out, and we were both treated to a bloody great show. Stimmt.
Although a band that easily hits my top 5 groups of all time, I never thought I would have the opportunity to see the Mission UK, and by the mid 90s had already written the chance off. Sure, I've kept an ear open for signs or sounds of them through the years, but really just resigned myself to listening to the Mission that I've always preferred: that of the late 80s and very early 90s, the years of angst ridden adolescence and college. At one point during school, I actually stopped talking about the group as a heavy influence on my life, until I bumped into my friend Kitsie, who happened to be a pretty big fan of the group, also.
I permanently loaned a couple of Mission CDs to a Spanish girl Christina that worked in my Irish local in Valencia. She comes from the same town as Heroes del Silencio, a Spanish group that for me, happens to be a latino equivalent to the Mission.
I arrived at the club last Friday just as Wayne Hussey was starting the first song. OK, so it was only him playing, but play he did. He put on a brilliant little set, mixing loads of original Mission songs with a handful of covers. He played both acoustic guitar and piano, and truly amazed us all.
Unfortunately, I can't really capture the moment as I'd like to, but will simply leave it as an experience that absolutely makes my fall. For me, it's like UT winning the UT-OU game, or Obama winning the election. Sure, maybe both of those things happened, also, but I'm the one that's still smiling to myself saying, "damn, he downed a bottle of red wine, then ripped out a killer acoustic version of "Wasteland," followed later by what I have to say is the best piano cover I've ever heard of "With or without you." How cool is that?"
Pretty fucking great.
Like all German shows that I've been to, this one started early, and ended early. The encore got cut short by the fact that the club needed to reopen as a hip-hop club within the hour. That meant that by 11pm, I was back in my local, cutting up with whoever was about.
That also meant that I drank far too much got way too silly.
Of course, I'd forgotten all about this until the following afternoon when I returned to the pub to watch the 2nd half of the Arsenal - ManU match. The Arsenal victory just made the weekend all the more enjoyable, and things continued on through the Saturday evening and Sunday.
So, it's Monday night, and I've had a stressful day at work, but can still go to bed tonight knowing that I had a super weekend, and after almost 25 years of being a huge fan, I can finally say that I've seen the lead singer of the Mission. And that's good enough for me.
that's the short report for now,
keep the faith
bryan
That said, I'm still fighting for it, and still getting the results.
But enough about that...
Last Friday night, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing one Wayne Hussey play a solo set in a local haunt in Frankfurt. I stumbled across the information by accident a few weeks ago when I was having a conversation with a friend of mine in the pub. She mentioned that the lead singer of the Mission was coming through town, and I quickly put it on my radar.
Strangely enough, I actually was feeling indifferent to the show right up until Friday night. I had had a word with John in the pub about it right after I learned of the concert, and invited him along for the crack, as he tends to be up for this kind of thing. The week or so before the show, he mentioned in passing that he was not totally enthralled with the music, but more or less asked me to keep him informed; he'd go along in the event that I needed the support.
It depends on what you consider as needing support; I ultimately dragged him out, and we were both treated to a bloody great show. Stimmt.
Although a band that easily hits my top 5 groups of all time, I never thought I would have the opportunity to see the Mission UK, and by the mid 90s had already written the chance off. Sure, I've kept an ear open for signs or sounds of them through the years, but really just resigned myself to listening to the Mission that I've always preferred: that of the late 80s and very early 90s, the years of angst ridden adolescence and college. At one point during school, I actually stopped talking about the group as a heavy influence on my life, until I bumped into my friend Kitsie, who happened to be a pretty big fan of the group, also.
I permanently loaned a couple of Mission CDs to a Spanish girl Christina that worked in my Irish local in Valencia. She comes from the same town as Heroes del Silencio, a Spanish group that for me, happens to be a latino equivalent to the Mission.
I arrived at the club last Friday just as Wayne Hussey was starting the first song. OK, so it was only him playing, but play he did. He put on a brilliant little set, mixing loads of original Mission songs with a handful of covers. He played both acoustic guitar and piano, and truly amazed us all.
Unfortunately, I can't really capture the moment as I'd like to, but will simply leave it as an experience that absolutely makes my fall. For me, it's like UT winning the UT-OU game, or Obama winning the election. Sure, maybe both of those things happened, also, but I'm the one that's still smiling to myself saying, "damn, he downed a bottle of red wine, then ripped out a killer acoustic version of "Wasteland," followed later by what I have to say is the best piano cover I've ever heard of "With or without you." How cool is that?"
Pretty fucking great.
Like all German shows that I've been to, this one started early, and ended early. The encore got cut short by the fact that the club needed to reopen as a hip-hop club within the hour. That meant that by 11pm, I was back in my local, cutting up with whoever was about.
That also meant that I drank far too much got way too silly.
Of course, I'd forgotten all about this until the following afternoon when I returned to the pub to watch the 2nd half of the Arsenal - ManU match. The Arsenal victory just made the weekend all the more enjoyable, and things continued on through the Saturday evening and Sunday.
So, it's Monday night, and I've had a stressful day at work, but can still go to bed tonight knowing that I had a super weekend, and after almost 25 years of being a huge fan, I can finally say that I've seen the lead singer of the Mission. And that's good enough for me.
that's the short report for now,
keep the faith
bryan
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