I always tend to lie low right before Sommerzeit (Daylight saving) comes to an end. So, last weekend I kept a very low profile, venturing out only to do a brief bit of shopping Saturday morning. I had stayed in the previous evening, and somehow found myself watching the first three films of the Lethal Weapon series. Normally, that should have prompted me to actually try and make up for time wasting by being extra active the following day. Instead, I consciously worked on being as productive as possible at, well, being unproductive. Sometimes a lazy Saturday is just what one needs.
This did include preparing myself a huge portion of nachos at home, which I ate while watching the Arsenal game via stream in my living room. During the second half of the match, I woke up just in time to see the stream start to hang, right as Arsenal got their winning goal. I went on to celebrate the victory by selecting another film to watch, one that was rather higher up the cinematic scale. This is precisely why people need to have DVDs of Hitchcock films at their house.
I had already changed the time on the wall clock in my kitchen in the afternoon, way earlier than necessary. And like usually happens after a lazy day, I found myself going to bed early because I was tired.
Not surprisingly, I woke up Sunday morning rather early, but quite refreshed. I enjoyed a few coffees during the morning while listening to German public radio. In the past weeks, I have avidly listened to Deutschlandfunk. (note to the non-German reader: funk here refers to the German term for radio and does not have anything to do with the music of James Brown.) I kind of wish that I started this habit years ago when I first arrived in Germany, as it certainly would have accelerated my ability in the German language. Still, better late than never. This particular Sunday morning, they broadcast an interview with the author Judith Kerr, a German woman whose family had to flee Germany during the early 1930s. They landed in Britain, and she became an author of children's books. So, my Sunday morning was most enjoyable as I listened to her tell her interesting story.
After a bit of piano time later in the afternoon, I did slip across to the pub for a few quiet beers. As always, I was amazed as it suddenly got dark early in the evening.
Monday, I started the work week hoping that things would stay quiet. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses (Reformation Day), the whole of Germany took an official holiday on the 31st of October. Since the 31st was on Tuesday, a fair amount of people had a "bridge" day on Monday. I, unfortunately, did not have said bridge day, but the 1st of November was also going to be a public holiday in many European countries, including some states of Germany. Again, November 1 is not a public holiday in my state, but most of my repair partners are in other countries, particularly those that DO celebrate the 1st. Therefore, Wednesday was going to be a quiet work day, for sure.
Monday evening, I met up at the kiosk with a few friends as part of our standard routine. A couple of guys were absent (due to bridge day), but a lot of people were out on the streets taking advantage of the coming Tuesday holiday. Some bars and restaurants, those that like to celebrate Halloween, elected to have their parties on the Monday night so as to allow revelers sufficient time to recover from their hangovers.
I am not a huge fan of Halloween, myself, so Tuesday I took it easy. Wednesday, as expected, things were pretty calm on the work front, so I was able to get a few things accomplished without having to deal with the normal interruptions of various colleagues and partners. That evening, we once again convened at the kiosk, this time with almost all of the usual suspects in attendance. Those of us that appreciate the significance of Monday night kiosk Abend recognize that flexibility is always key. After all, when it comes to gathering with friends to drink beer, one can respect that we can simply plan our schedules around public holidays without any fuss.
Wednesday evening at the kiosk was particularly enjoyable. Everyone was in good humor, jokes were flying around; that is always a good thing. Maybe it was because we only had a couple more days until the weekend, I don't know. It wasn't just us, either. As we were standing there having a good time, a young family exited their building right next to us. The youngest, who is probably 7 or 8 months old and being carried by her mother, was just giggling away without any care in the world. It's a bit of a production for a a family with small children to get going, what with strollers, baby bags, etc. So, they were all right there by us for several minutes, and the child's laughter was simply contagious. The little one just captured our hearts, and even those of a few people (who looked rather dour) that were passing by.
I am not saying that our evenings at the kiosk are totally like Monty Python sketches, but we do tend to continue themes throughout our evenings. Sometimes it's about the inability of someone to parallel park, or the strange noise coming from someone's bicycle as they ride by, or a group of really loud tourists walking past after eating in the traditional German restaurant down the street. ("They're some of yours, Bryan," my friends usually say, referring to the fact that said tourists were obviously speaking my mother tongue and scoring a perfect 10 on the stereotype scale. This is actually a backhanded compliment, as all of us in the kiosk gang not only respect each others cultures but also know full well that people can behave differently when they are not zu Hause.)
So, for the rest of the night, someone regularly emulated the child's giggle, and each time, we all had a good laugh.
I finished the work week with a quiet Friday evening, but jumped up yesterday morning with productive intentions. I hoovered and mopped the entire flat, got the shopping done, and got a good workout in at the gym. During the afternoon, I enjoyed several beers while sitting outside the pub, watching people go about their activities on a crisp fall Saturday. There is nothing better than enjoying one's alone time without feeling lonely. Yesterday was one of those good days where I was able to collect my thoughts, spend some time on my own, but also exchange pleasantries with a few friends and locals as they went about their own business.
The pleasant weekend continued later that evening with a little movie night with a friend, including a bit of take-out and ice cream.
This morning, it is cold and rainy, but I am literally watching leaves fall from the tree outside my door as I write this piece. It is a nice way to appreciate autumn, especially from the warmth of my flat.
I will spend the afternoon at the pub, watching a little footy, and fully expect for there to be some giggling involved.
see you out there
bryan
