This Space Intentionally Left Blank

I opened an email earlier this week to find a one liner, "Remember when tonight used to be Red Square Retro night?"

Now, I could simply end this post right now and call it a justifiable blog entry, if only for the 5 people who read this who know how much the nachos used to cost at J Pepe's across the street from the Red Jacket (and perhaps always secretly wondered why the Ruby Room, which was really just a room just off the dance floor that had one couch in it, had to be so glamorized on the radio ads), but I'll use the statement as the perfect reason to write again.

The lack of posts since March is actually a good thing; spring in Germany is really nice. The weather improves, the terraces open up, the parks are filled with strollers and cyclists, and generally everyone spends as much time outside as they can, including myself.

Though I'll touch a bit more on the work front in a minute, I'll briefly state that April and May were busy months around the office, but pretty productive and actually kind of enjoyable. In my line of work, that's a sure sign that things will go tits up very soon, probably next week, but meanwhile, I have enjoyed the hell out of it.

I took advantage of the reduced work related stress, left the laptop at work, and spent many afternoons and evenings just doing whatever I felt like. Ambling through the weekly market, turning a quick coffee into a three hour conversation, stopping by the pub for a "couple," only to leave 9 hours later; it's a nice way to live your life.

Sure, one might say that I have a tendency to regularly spend 9 hours at a pop in my pub. There is some truth to that, and I do have a bit of a reputation of being able to go the distance. A neighbor stayed til close with me the other week, and the following morning, er mid-day, as it were, had a conversation with a mutual friend, who asked her, "Why are you so hungover?"

"I was in the pub last night drinking with Bryan."

"Ooh, say no more."

I can laugh at that conversation, as I ran into this same mutal friend (we've ended some late nights a few times greeting the morning joggers while sharing cigarettes on a parkbench ) last Saturday night as I was headed for home. She was pretty festive herself, and against my better judgement, I allowed myself to be dragged into a late night German pub for a few more rounds to celebrate someone's birthday. I can only imagine that she probably didn't go bike riding the next day, either.

It's not so much about the drink as it is the about the social opportunity. The community is somewhat small, but after 2 1/2 years, I feel a bit more attached to Bornheim. There are some pretty nice people here, and I've had the pleasure of getting to know some of them.

In German culture, it takes a while to become friends, and it can take a really long time to become good friends. Thus, you tend to have a lot more acquaintances. This has always been a bit of a challenge for me, as I've always thought it more important to have friends of quality as opposed to friends of quantity. I'm somewhere in the middle of that at the moment.

Because the community is relatively close-knit, I often hear many stories about people that "used" to live here. Or, I hear stories about "how" it used to be in the community. People move on, and new folks arrive. I'm able to understand this a little better now, as things do change quickly.

Thus, more than once, I've asked myself a similar question to, "remember when tonight used to be Red Square Retro night?"

It's a way of fondly reminiscing on the times of the past, and looking forward to the experiences to come.

Alas, the uncertainty of the future begins to loom. It's possible that we'll shift some things to Eastern Europe in the coming months. This will be rather interesting, as the answers to the questions I have had so far have only brought more questions.

More details on that and an update on the hilarity of my lovelife will come soon. Right now, I'm off to enjoy a coffee and do some shopping. I've a sudden urge to listen to OMD and watch the Breakfast Club. Thanks, Lori.

keep the faith
bryan

soundtrack:
Minor Threat - Straight Edge
The Exploited - Down Below
The Unseen - Scream Out