Late to the Show, and Almost Always Walking on Green

In 2005, I was actively not watching television, save for some early morning football matches during the weekend.  Dramas, crime shows, and sitcoms were just not interesting to me at the time.  Despite my appreciation for some British broadcasting, I was always annoyed when I heard about yet another US remake of a British film or show.  

And that is why I completely missed The Office.  

By 2006, I was no longer in the US, and had relatively little access to any US television programming, which pretty much was fine by me.  That said, I continued to keep up with films, and managed to make a decent collection of DVDs, including a mix of indie films, old standbys, Hollywood hits, and a nice amount of European films.  From time to time I would see a comedy film from the states, and as I checked the actor's bios, regularly saw that one or more had been in the cast of The Office. 

Once or twice, I wondered if I should perhaps check that show out, just to see what all the fuss had been about.  I have become a fan of Steve Carell over the years, and I consider him to be particularly funny in many of his roles. 

At the start of this year, The Office popped up on netflix, and I decided to watch an episode or two. 

And of course I got hooked. 

So, my month of February has included me watching the entire series.  To some extent, so much English language broadcasting has not done my German skills any favors, but once I got into the series, there was NO WAY I was not going to finish.  

During this same period, I continued rereading the familiar stories of Ian Rankin.  I started just before Christmas, and this past week finished the latest novel.  Thus, I have read 8 novels so far this year, and while some people might argue that it does not count if it is a repeat, I have already expressed my opinion on that.  Besides, there is just something about rereading good literature that comforts the soul. 

And it also makes me a little sad.  I get very emotional at the end of something that I find meaningful, including mentioned series of books, or a good vacation, or a good visit with friends and family, or the conclusion of a really good television series. 

This week stands out as a really shitty week, considering the sad state of the world.  My heart, thoughts, and prayers are with the citizens of a country who have just been invaded, and those thoughts and prayers are for the rest of the world, too, as it just seems unfathomable that we just do not seem to be learning from our past. 

Part of me felt a little guilty for escaping into my books and my show, but I needed it, all the same. 

As I finished the latest Rebus, I just reflected on how great that series has developed, and reminded myself of all the good discussions I have had with other fans of the series over the past years. 

Then came Friday evening, and I sat down to watch the final episodes of The Office.  The finale, itself, was absolutely incredible, and I was just overwhelmed with emotion.  I am kind of glad that I watched all of the seasons in a condensed time period; I am not sure I would have found it as entertaining I had watched it on a weekly basis over nine years.  On the other hand, I might not have been so blown over emotionally I had spread the viewings out over time. 

At any rate, despite the heavy emotions, my heart just felt fuzzy as the television series came to an end.  What a heartwarming finale, and again, a brilliant show. 

With a couple of deep breaths, I am ready to renew my efforts on German language broadcasting, in the interest of continuing my language learning and cultural education.  I mention this, because once or twice during the month, I did notice that I was suffering from the "if you don't use it, you lose it," situation.  

Fortunately, I can remedy that very quickly.  In fact, Friday afternoon was a perfect reminder that I am still deep in the German way of life. 

There is a little stoplight down the street from my flat.  The intersection is at Funffingerplätchen, which is where five little streets all intersect with one another.  

I do not want to complicate the explanation, but the streets are either super busy with traffic, or absolutely empty.  In fact, the stoplights turn off in the late evening, around 22h, as there is simply no need. 

But, there are plenty of pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooter riders, along with various autos and delivery trucks, so it behooves one to pay attention. 

Back to the stoplight, it has a crosswalk (known as der Zebrastreifen, Pablo), and while the crosswalk is barely two lanes wide, it does have the little button that you press so that the traffic light will change to green so that pedestrians can safely cross the street. 

Friday afternoon, I wanted to run a few quick errands during the lunch break, so after grabbing my shopping bags, I walked to the light and stood there along with other people, waiting for the light to change. 

It was a particularly busy afternoon car-wise, so we all waited a few minutes, then continued waiting, as the light had not yet changed. 

Everyone in the neighborhood knows about how long the light takes before changing, and once that time period passes, you starting wondering what the problem is. 

Suddenly, the car traffic was gone, and still the light had not changed.  By this time, there were quite a few pedestrians on either side of the street, all still waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green.  Patience was starting to wane, especially as 3 minutes passed without a SINGLE car driving by. 

Light still red. 

Why hadn't someone gone ahead and crossed?

Because there was a child waiting with us.  

And no one wanted to be the guy who defied the rules and did not set the example. 

I was actually standing next to the mom and her son, and overheard them talking with each other, asking the logical question, "why is it taking so long?"

Finally, as we all still stood there and the light still had not changed, an older man announced, "Look, I am declaring that this light has turned green, and I am crossing.  I have some place I need to be, and cannot wait any longer."

That was all we needed.  People started looking both ways, then crossed the street and we got on with our lives.  

The mother and her son were headed in my direction, and were walking just a few steps in front of me.  Both kept looking back to see if the light had ever changed, and they continued this for the better part of the next block, until they no longer could see the stoplight that must have been malfunctioning. 

I found the whole experience rather charming.  People want to follow the rules, even in seemingly insignificant situations.  We were all frustrated, not to mention a bit confused, but it all worked out in the end. 

Minutes later, I was finished with my errands and returned to the same intersection on my way home.  

Yep, the light was still red. 

I looked to see if any children were standing around, then checked for traffic, then crossed safely, and continued on my way home. 

Look both ways, and see you out there

Bryan

Wrong Weather in the Right Month, and Other Challenges of Keeping Time and Dates

My grandmother summed it up the best when she remarked, "It is a beautiful spring day.  It is just the wrong month."

She was referring to the weather during my recent stateside visit over Christmas, where most of the days I was there were a rather pleasant 24 degrees Celsius.  A couple of days got closer to 30 degrees, which did not sit so well with me.  I wanted the temperature to be a lot more fitting to the season, requiring jackets and sweaters to be worn.  

As they always about Texas weather, just wait a few minutes, and it will change.  

Sure enough, the day before I was to return to Germany, we started the morning close to 27 degrees C, and by evening the cold front had blown in, and we were all saying "Brrrrr," as we checked the thermometer, which was right at -2 degrees C.  

Ironically, 40 hours later, I was back in Frankfurt, sweating ever so slightly as I removed my jacket, sweater, and my thermal; German temps were rather mild at the beginning of the new year.  

I always kind of chuckle during the first month of each year.  I see countless emails from people referring to the previous year during January.  For those of us who ever had a checking account, we can ask ourselves how many times did we have to void a check in the days after new year's, simply because we wrote the wrong darn year?

We all have to kind of adjust to things each January, at least I do.  This past month was no exception for me; I struggled to kick start the year, and really kind of flopped around for a few weeks trying to get into the swing of things. 

This year, I was overjoyed to receive some wall calendars from my father as a small Christmas gift.  I missed receiving those last year when travel was impossible due to the pandemic.  Although we had agreed as a family to sort of skip the gift exchange, Dad kept the family tradition of giving me said calendars: one with scenes of Texas, and the other sharing inspirational quotes from the cast of Sesame Street.  Quite fitting, I must say. 

Hanging the calendars in my Frankfurt flat was pretty much the first thing I did after I had unpacked, and I felt like it was a great way to get prepared for the new year.  What I failed to immediately realize was that in North America, the week begins on Sunday, while European standards start the week on Monday.  

In addition to using my digital calendars on my computer and mobile, I like to note meetings and events on the wall calendar.  Multiple times during January, I found myself preparing for a meeting, only to find out that I was about to be a day early.  Fortunately I got in the habit of checking the calendar DAY, so only had to scribble out a few things.  The football schedule added to the confusion, because many games had to be postponed due to Covid illness.  Thus, planning to watch a match on Saturday afternoon was suddenly rescheduled for the following Sunday, or during the week, or tbd.  

Despite the scribbles on the calendar, I am happy to have them, and gee whiz, time is speeding by, as we are already in the next month of the year.  (San Antonio River Walk and a comment from Oscar the Grouch, in case you are wondering.)

Just like with calendars, where I use both digital and paper to keep up with the days of the week, I like to keep an analog clock on the wall in my kitchen, which also serves as my office.  It is not so much that I am watching the clock, but rather, I just like hearing the second hand go round, and I keep a decent idea of what the time is.  

Sure, my computer and mobile calendars always sound an alert a few minutes before a meeting, and they all seem to be pretty well in sync.  As helpful as these little alerts are, I sometimes just sort of tune out, since I know I can glance at the wall for the exact time.  (It also helps that the church bell in my neighborhood chimes every 15 minutes; it is a perk of where I live)

However, my wall clock has been a little off over the past months, if not years.  Normally, as soon as I recognized this, I would change out the battery, reset the clock, and continue merrily along.  

Finally, and maybe it is just a sign as to how long an inexpensive wall clock from Ikea will last, I found that my once pretty dependable Wanduhr had given up the ghost.  No less than three times during the first couple of weeks in January, I had glanced at the wall clock, only to find that it was still stuck on 30 minutes ago.  The first time I tried to correct it, I simply changed the battery.  Two days later, I had reset the time, only to find that the clock now took 75 or so seconds for each minute, which was subtle enough that I did not immediately notice.  

Once the penny finally dropped, I decided to invest in a new clock.  It actually was a pretty challenging task, because I seem to be one of the few consumers who actually WANTS a wall clock with an audible second hand.  

But, things are now back on track, my new clock is doing what it is supposed to, and I am feeling pretty punctual.  

All these events fit nicely into the conversation I had with a friend this past Friday in the pub.  He was explaining that his girlfriend was frustrated with the way her mobile phone was alerting her to upcoming meetings and such.  She, herself, had missed a few events, and was trying to blame the technology. 

I could almost relate to her complaint, and I certainly understood her frustrations.  But, I always try to hold myself accountable for my actions.  If I need to set up a lot of alerts and reminders on my mobiles and laptops, I also never fail to make sure that I have ink in my pen and a little pack of post-it notes, so that I can write the reminders down, even if it is a reminder to listen for the little chime alert on my phone. 

And that is exactly why I was on time for my appointment at the hairdresser early Friday evening, because I had written the correct date and time on my wall calendar (on the right date) and had also written a sticky note to myself.   And this all helped me determine that the reason that my mobile alert for that appointment did not sound at the expected time was not because the technology had failed, but because I had inadvertently managed to switch my mobile to "do not disturb."

Happy February

Bryan