There was a great song from a band called Borghesia called, "No Hope No Fear," which I've always enjoyed listening to.
Sure enough, it's the one song that isn't currently in my cache of music, but fuck it, I'll find it sooner or later for download. I fear the CD is stuck deep in a box somewhere in someone's closet. The compilation was called Electronic Body Music, and right now, I'm listening to a lot of dark electronica. When I went to search for it this morning on the way to work (in the ipod library), I realized I would have to wait.
It's been fun and zippy over the past couple of weeks. I love fall, so as the leaves change and the weather gets cooler, I constantly look forward to football matches on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and try to fit in my domestic duties around a few games.
This past weekend was quite the lively one: Man U were held by Everton, Liverpool beat Chelsea, and thank goodness Arsenal managed to win 2-0 against West Ham Sunday evening.
I actually only saw the Arsenal match; I spent a good portion of the weekend getting back into the gym thing.
For the better part of the past six months, I've really only done sport on the weekends, and while I've been fairly serious about it, it's never enough, particularly on the rations I allow myself for cigarettes and alcohol.
Thankfully, I finally told myself enough is enough, and have gone back to every other day visits into the gym. Not surprisingly, my energy is coming back, my fitness is improving, and yeah, ok, maybe schnitzel is not the BEST thing to be eating post workout, but I'm not going to really knock it either. Besides, before this turns into a Henry Rollins kind of thing (man, that guy likes to workout a lot!), I'm still clipping along having pils and Jagers anytime I fancy it.
That said, I like the routine of bouncing around the fitness studio multiple times a week, even with the goofy short guys that are constantly flexing and checking themselves out in the mirrors. Let it be said, whether Dallas or Frankfurt, the trendy gyms are still the trendy gyms.
On other fronts, I believe my capabilities in German seem to be hitting a plateau. Thus, I'm renewing my focus on trying to communicate a bit more intelligently. No easy task, but it certainly helps when I study more regularly.
The concern about my language skills came from the realization that perhaps my team doesn't always understand what I'm trying to say in the workplace. Embarassingly enough, I always have mistaken their puzzled looks for the sheer bewilderment that their boss listens to copious amounts of punk rock on the way to work each morning at a deafening level on the ipod and shows up for the start of each work day pretty wound up.
At any rate, the grammar books are reopened, and I often eat dinner with Genativ, Dativ, and Akkusativ. Before you say, "gee, that sounds really boring," let me express my own slight concern that my new Bavarian boss is soon to hold our first staff meeting and I do NOT want to be the only guy that has to ask for everything to be repeated. I've gone the past six months without sitting through a 3 hour management meeting conducted solely in German, and need to react now and get back in the groove.
Alas, there's really nothing other to report this week save for the escapade I had on the regional bahn this morning enroute to work. I found a spot on the train, shrugged my gym bag and backpack off my shoulders, then said, "what the fuck!!???!??" as I realized that, once again, a bird has taken advantage of my naivity and pooped on my rucksack. Thank goodness it wasn't my head, but geez, it was a bit more than I wanted to deal with at 8am on a rainy morning.
Not to worry, I got it cleaned (more or less) with a couple of wet wipes (live and learn, eh?) and strolled into work with, er, no hope, and no fear.
keep the faith
bryan
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Nada Que Perder
A friend of mine turned 40 last weekend, and being that we share some similar music tastes, I elected to put together a little birthday mix for her of tracks from about 20 years ago. (gasp)
So, during the daily commutes in the metro and the train, I shuffled through my iPod trying to find 16 or so songs that I thought fitting. Identifying them wasn't a challenge, nor was creating the correct order of the playlist. However, I completely forgot that most of my stuff isn't on my PC, but instead solely on my iPod. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but as I tend to procrastinate, I found myself terribly hungover last Saturday(previous night was a going away party for another friend moving to Munich) and trying to figure out just how I was going to get this simple CD burned.
Since I recently got a new laptop with much more capacity, I realized that the best thing would be to simply dump my iPod back onto my PC, then import everything back into iTunes. I spent the 30 minutes waiting for the iPod to PC transfer to complete doing a bit of vaccuming and other random domestic stuff, then the real fun started.
Embarassing enough, I work in the tech industry and forgot that you don't just DUMP a 500mb folder anywhere. As I had 49 folders to muck about with, I suddenly realized that this project was going to take a while. And, this was only to be able to START creating the playlist.
Two Skpe calls, half a bottle of baileys (don't ask) and 30 folders later, I had 13 of the 16 songs. The problem was that each folder contained hundreds of songs, all coded in away that don't easily enable one to just select the immediately required files. Once or twice I pictured someone (namely me) getting really frustrated trying to go through 6000 CDs without any liner notes attempting to find "that really cool song i used to listen to about 10 years ago that i forgot the name of." It wasn't pretty, and thank goodness I came to my senses and decided that I'd just have to bring the gift belatedly. As it was, I stopped dumping files around 10pm, quickly showered, then ran next door to join up with those of us from the Bornheim pub area that were to taxi to the restaurant where the party was held.
The party was fun, but I called it an early night and left around 3.
I resumed my project again when I woke up, and got the result within about an hour: all tunes back in iTunes, particularly the 16, and after a quick burn, I had my gift ready. Even better was the fact that I ran into the birthday girl (whose birthday was actually on Sunday; Germans beging the birthday celebrations at 12.01am on the day of their birthday, which is why the party was on Saturday) in the highstreet, and ticked the box for having given the gift on the right date.
All in all, a fairly decent weekend, one that included the added joy of finally, after many many months of waiting, getting some boots that I'd ordered from England (via the US). Amusingly enough, I initially thought that the boots didn't fit, but then later realized that I was just really hungover when I tried them on. Had I put the shoestrings through the proper eyes, things would have been OK right from the start. So, I'm now bopping around town in a new pair of Gripfast. Cool. Definitely worth the wait.
The week before the birthday party, I was in Edinburgh on business, which turned out to be a really nice time, also. My hotel was in city center right at the base of the castle. It was a bit hard to hide my enthusiasm in front of my supplier, but she accepted the fact that I was a big fan of the city. Alas, I didn't run into Ian Rankin in any of the bars I was in, but I was thrilled to be there regardless.
Workwise, it's been nonstop bop. Q4 forecasts, 2009 budget and plan, a random problem or two created by our facility in Prague, and a few exasperated moments where I called someone a complete prat on a conference call (perfectly justified, i thought) are just some of the highlights of the busy days. My new boss started working this past week, too. Should be very interesting in the coming weeks.
On the social front, things are wacky as usual, and currently they're a bit emotional, but I know that Alles wird gut.
I'll leave you with that. I've got to go and fight for a friend.
keep the faith
bryan
tracklist -
Mana - Nada que perder
Blaggers ITA - Oxygen
Alkaline Trio - Over and Out
So, during the daily commutes in the metro and the train, I shuffled through my iPod trying to find 16 or so songs that I thought fitting. Identifying them wasn't a challenge, nor was creating the correct order of the playlist. However, I completely forgot that most of my stuff isn't on my PC, but instead solely on my iPod. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but as I tend to procrastinate, I found myself terribly hungover last Saturday(previous night was a going away party for another friend moving to Munich) and trying to figure out just how I was going to get this simple CD burned.
Since I recently got a new laptop with much more capacity, I realized that the best thing would be to simply dump my iPod back onto my PC, then import everything back into iTunes. I spent the 30 minutes waiting for the iPod to PC transfer to complete doing a bit of vaccuming and other random domestic stuff, then the real fun started.
Embarassing enough, I work in the tech industry and forgot that you don't just DUMP a 500mb folder anywhere. As I had 49 folders to muck about with, I suddenly realized that this project was going to take a while. And, this was only to be able to START creating the playlist.
Two Skpe calls, half a bottle of baileys (don't ask) and 30 folders later, I had 13 of the 16 songs. The problem was that each folder contained hundreds of songs, all coded in away that don't easily enable one to just select the immediately required files. Once or twice I pictured someone (namely me) getting really frustrated trying to go through 6000 CDs without any liner notes attempting to find "that really cool song i used to listen to about 10 years ago that i forgot the name of." It wasn't pretty, and thank goodness I came to my senses and decided that I'd just have to bring the gift belatedly. As it was, I stopped dumping files around 10pm, quickly showered, then ran next door to join up with those of us from the Bornheim pub area that were to taxi to the restaurant where the party was held.
The party was fun, but I called it an early night and left around 3.
I resumed my project again when I woke up, and got the result within about an hour: all tunes back in iTunes, particularly the 16, and after a quick burn, I had my gift ready. Even better was the fact that I ran into the birthday girl (whose birthday was actually on Sunday; Germans beging the birthday celebrations at 12.01am on the day of their birthday, which is why the party was on Saturday) in the highstreet, and ticked the box for having given the gift on the right date.
All in all, a fairly decent weekend, one that included the added joy of finally, after many many months of waiting, getting some boots that I'd ordered from England (via the US). Amusingly enough, I initially thought that the boots didn't fit, but then later realized that I was just really hungover when I tried them on. Had I put the shoestrings through the proper eyes, things would have been OK right from the start. So, I'm now bopping around town in a new pair of Gripfast. Cool. Definitely worth the wait.
The week before the birthday party, I was in Edinburgh on business, which turned out to be a really nice time, also. My hotel was in city center right at the base of the castle. It was a bit hard to hide my enthusiasm in front of my supplier, but she accepted the fact that I was a big fan of the city. Alas, I didn't run into Ian Rankin in any of the bars I was in, but I was thrilled to be there regardless.
Workwise, it's been nonstop bop. Q4 forecasts, 2009 budget and plan, a random problem or two created by our facility in Prague, and a few exasperated moments where I called someone a complete prat on a conference call (perfectly justified, i thought) are just some of the highlights of the busy days. My new boss started working this past week, too. Should be very interesting in the coming weeks.
On the social front, things are wacky as usual, and currently they're a bit emotional, but I know that Alles wird gut.
I'll leave you with that. I've got to go and fight for a friend.
keep the faith
bryan
tracklist -
Mana - Nada que perder
Blaggers ITA - Oxygen
Alkaline Trio - Over and Out
Monday, September 29, 2008
Fresh Start...at Last
So for the first time in months, I’m feeling like I’m back in the game. And it feels bloody brilliant.
I’m back from a stateside visit for almost 6 weeks, and have twice discarded about 20 pages of writing…recents attempts to write up the summer trip, attempts to make sense of everything in my life, etc. Though I finished (and have subsequently scrapped) the last 8 pages I wrote last Thursday evening, it was an exercise that had to be done.
Recently, I’ve reread almost 90% of everything I’ve written in the past 10 years, and, while sort of impressed at the overall story, realized that some of the underlying themes have just continued to continue. Er, cigarettes and alcohol?
I can't bring myself to do that again, particularly in the form of a summer write up. Additionally, most of the stories I’ve written in 2008 have been all about how much work has sucked. Shoot, even I’m tired of talking about it. I can only imagine how many people have grown tired of seeing the same old comments month after month.
I had this past weekend to reflect on a lot of things while I was at home suffering from a cold, and it helped get me to this afternoon epiphany. Finally, the catalyst has hit, and I can honestly say that I feel like expressing a bit more, and certainly feel fuckloads better than I have in months.
Was it the recent trip to the states? I’m sure that has a bit to do with it. However, my time there was short, and a bit emotional as I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with anyone really. The times I did hang out there I think I spent a fair amount of time trying to hide the fact that work truly has taken it’s toll on me. This isn’t something that many of the stateside readers would really be able to grasp merely from a blog entry.
However, on this side of the world, it’s a different story.
A friend of mine here in Germany recently said that she thought I hadn’t looked happy in months. Though I was pretty surprised by the comment, I value her judgement, and furthermore, spent the next three weeks thinking hard about that comment.
I don’t get to see her that much, but that in it’s own right said something to me; if that’s the way I look to her, rather infrequently, then how can I look to all those people I see every day? Are they all thinking the same thing? Perhaps more importantly, what do I think?
I’ve always spent loads of time looking for ways to pysch myself up, but realized here in the past days that I wasn’t really doing a very good job. Sure, finding new music to blow my ears out to helps, as does learning a few new songs on guitar. However, what occurred to me today was that I’ve simply not been getting over myself, despite what I’ve written, what I’ve told myself, and what others have suggested to me in passing over these past few months.
That all seems to have changed this afternoon, during a relatively ordinary work day, that has been neither truly shitty nor truly great.
Am I that concerned with what actually forced the issue; forced me to wake up? Not at all.
What I'm fired up about is simply this: bring on the challenges, bring on the good times, bring on the (hopefully not so frequent) bad times. I'm able to face the challenges, like ever, but this time round, I've got the feeling that I can just motor on through, with a smile on my face, a steel toed spring in my step, and with the right attitude.
A couple of weeks back during a conversation with Chris, we both agreed that in my role at work, it's difficult to have a bad day. Why not? Well, cos' all the people who work for you pick up on that really quickly and freak out, for starters.
I've thought about that nonstop since that chat, and that, too, has really helped the situation. (Several times I've actually announced to several guys at work, after going on about some really unpleasant challenging topic, "but it's ok, cos' I'm not having a bad day!". (note - in German, you can't really say it that way)
So despite the fact that nothing has really changed for me, EVERYTHING has changed for me.
And if I'm gonna change the world, it's gotta start with me.
There you have it. A bit of a positive spin for the first time in a long while. Right on.
That's the bit for right now.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack
Figures on a Beach - Accidentally 4th Street (Gloria)
Yellowcard - Five Becomes Four
The Clash - Complete Control
ps. thanks to all the folks I saw in Dallas in August for such a great time
Particular thanks to Jeff, Pablo, Jen, and now little Arturo, Mitch, Tim and Shannon, Moe, and as always, to the unstoppable family McKee.
I’m back from a stateside visit for almost 6 weeks, and have twice discarded about 20 pages of writing…recents attempts to write up the summer trip, attempts to make sense of everything in my life, etc. Though I finished (and have subsequently scrapped) the last 8 pages I wrote last Thursday evening, it was an exercise that had to be done.
Recently, I’ve reread almost 90% of everything I’ve written in the past 10 years, and, while sort of impressed at the overall story, realized that some of the underlying themes have just continued to continue. Er, cigarettes and alcohol?
I can't bring myself to do that again, particularly in the form of a summer write up. Additionally, most of the stories I’ve written in 2008 have been all about how much work has sucked. Shoot, even I’m tired of talking about it. I can only imagine how many people have grown tired of seeing the same old comments month after month.
I had this past weekend to reflect on a lot of things while I was at home suffering from a cold, and it helped get me to this afternoon epiphany. Finally, the catalyst has hit, and I can honestly say that I feel like expressing a bit more, and certainly feel fuckloads better than I have in months.
Was it the recent trip to the states? I’m sure that has a bit to do with it. However, my time there was short, and a bit emotional as I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with anyone really. The times I did hang out there I think I spent a fair amount of time trying to hide the fact that work truly has taken it’s toll on me. This isn’t something that many of the stateside readers would really be able to grasp merely from a blog entry.
However, on this side of the world, it’s a different story.
A friend of mine here in Germany recently said that she thought I hadn’t looked happy in months. Though I was pretty surprised by the comment, I value her judgement, and furthermore, spent the next three weeks thinking hard about that comment.
I don’t get to see her that much, but that in it’s own right said something to me; if that’s the way I look to her, rather infrequently, then how can I look to all those people I see every day? Are they all thinking the same thing? Perhaps more importantly, what do I think?
I’ve always spent loads of time looking for ways to pysch myself up, but realized here in the past days that I wasn’t really doing a very good job. Sure, finding new music to blow my ears out to helps, as does learning a few new songs on guitar. However, what occurred to me today was that I’ve simply not been getting over myself, despite what I’ve written, what I’ve told myself, and what others have suggested to me in passing over these past few months.
That all seems to have changed this afternoon, during a relatively ordinary work day, that has been neither truly shitty nor truly great.
Am I that concerned with what actually forced the issue; forced me to wake up? Not at all.
What I'm fired up about is simply this: bring on the challenges, bring on the good times, bring on the (hopefully not so frequent) bad times. I'm able to face the challenges, like ever, but this time round, I've got the feeling that I can just motor on through, with a smile on my face, a steel toed spring in my step, and with the right attitude.
A couple of weeks back during a conversation with Chris, we both agreed that in my role at work, it's difficult to have a bad day. Why not? Well, cos' all the people who work for you pick up on that really quickly and freak out, for starters.
I've thought about that nonstop since that chat, and that, too, has really helped the situation. (Several times I've actually announced to several guys at work, after going on about some really unpleasant challenging topic, "but it's ok, cos' I'm not having a bad day!". (note - in German, you can't really say it that way)
So despite the fact that nothing has really changed for me, EVERYTHING has changed for me.
And if I'm gonna change the world, it's gotta start with me.
There you have it. A bit of a positive spin for the first time in a long while. Right on.
That's the bit for right now.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack
Figures on a Beach - Accidentally 4th Street (Gloria)
Yellowcard - Five Becomes Four
The Clash - Complete Control
ps. thanks to all the folks I saw in Dallas in August for such a great time
Particular thanks to Jeff, Pablo, Jen, and now little Arturo, Mitch, Tim and Shannon, Moe, and as always, to the unstoppable family McKee.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
One Frantic Summer
You'd think that I could find 30 minutes to jot down a few lines at this site once every couple of weeks, but the reality of it all is nope, no chance.
The past two months have been choc full of anxiety, stress, heartache, headaches, but a whole lot of fun, too.
June flew by for me; it was actually a pretty enthusiastic time around the office. Sure, we had no site manager and motivation for the employees was a bit grim, but the European Championships were on, and that meant that every night for about three weeks, everyone was tuned in watching football.
I knew I would be supporting Spain from the onset, but was excited by the enthusiasm of everyone around me. Germany had a pretty good tournament, and every pub and restaurant was packed when they played. Most establishments put at least one flat screen TV out on the terrace for patrons to view. My own knipe tended to have at two going at all times. During half time, we'd play foosball to amuse ourselves.
During the week around the shop, we'd discuss the matches and tended to give someone a hard time whenever possible. Our operations manager is Dutch, so earlier in the tourney, he was feeling pretty cocky.
One of the supervisors on my repair line is Italian, so he certainly had a few things to say, also.
Through it all, I quietly pointed out that Spain was looking better and better. Though I wore my kit often, I was secretly terrified that Spain, like they've done in the past 4-5 major tournaments, would crash out in fantastic style.
I began to think it was possible they could go all the way right after Spain beat Russia in the semi final. OK, the forklift driver at work tried to mow me down (he's Russian) after that win, but I pointed out that it was a deserved victory.
It was a bit tense in the pub for the final: Germany had their sights set on the trophy, and I believe were a little bit over confident. Several folks I talked to had mentioned that they weren't too concerned about Spain, and I hoped for a good result.
The reward came Torres scored a brilliant goal over Lehmann. I felt a bit sheepish as I jumped up and started whooping and clapping, but that's football, kids.
Post match, many people came to congratulate me, which I thought was very sportsmanlike. Most every German I've talked to about the game since has said the same thing. The best team won the tournament.
It certainly made for a fast paced June, and my confidence was really zipping along. Work was seemingly better (despite the fact that there are only 3 managers in the site), the customer feedback was a bit more positive, and once again, I almost convinced myself that everything was going to be great.
Wrong.
No sooner had I returned from Brussels at the end of June from a business review, then suddenly everything went south.
The very next week after the meeting, we experienced a 35% sickness rate (hmmm, nothing demotivating going on here) which resulted in us accumulating an impressive backlog quicker than you could say, "please fire me, cos' this sucks."
The week after that, we received volumes about 30% higher than we'd anticipated, resulting in more backlog.
Germany has loads of vacation days. Not surprisingly, most employees like to take three weeks during summer with their kids. We normally try to plan for this, but I've realized that two years in a row that we must really be idiots in this area. I've got more guys hanging out at the beach than I've got on a bench.
In short, July has been one big nightmare. Two weeks ago, I really thought I was going to have to walk away from everything, which wasn't a very exciting thought. Sure, the relief of not having to put up with the bullshit any more was tempting. However, that would mean that I'd suddenly be without papers, which I found annoyingly ironic, being that I'd just gotten an unlimited contract.
At any rate, I sat myself down last Sunday afternoon on a terrace, plugged in the ipod, and wrote myself multiple lists about a variety of topics. What should I do for a plan B? What country do I head for next? Do I really want to stay in this business? And many more...
Though I didn't find all the answers, I did manage to bring a bit of sanity back to my life, and entered this past week feeling only downright horrible. That was quite the improvement over the previous week, where I'd debated whether or not throwing myself infront of an U-Bahn would be less painful than throwing myself in front of the S-Bahn.
In seriousness, finding that peace enabled me to continue the daily battles, realizing full well that NO ONE can possibly manage all the logistics lanes that we utilize, along with trying to keep the repair program from sinking any further, all while training a couple of new employees about the finer points of notebook repair customer service. Throw in a few heated conversations with the finance manager who is equally frustrated that the program can't seem to break even.
Certainly not in these circumstances.
At any rate, it's not so much that I'm indifferent to it all. It's more like I'm through worrying about all the stuff that I can't control. (man, talk about a mythical joy division album that went horribly wrong). I accept anything that comes down the pipe, and hopefully I'll be able to keep myself from getting a faceful.
The future is uncertain, and will likely remain that way for the next few months. We may lose the repair site, which will make for quite a bit more excitement and stress. Yippee.
Thus, it's with loads of craziness in my life that I find myself two weeks away from a quick stateside trip. Though I'm excited about going, I'll encounter a fair amount of anxiety as we go off on a 5 day family reunion in Missouri. That will severely limit my time in Dallas, which nerves me just a bit.
That said, I look forward to any brief moments I will get to spend with anyone who is about. We'll get it sorted somehow, some way. Like the Spanish said through the whole of the EM, "Podemos."
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack:
Alphaville - To Germany With Love
Camouflage - That Smiling Face
The Damned - Psychomania
Moenia - Me Equivoque
Nitzer Ebb - Let Your Body Learn
The past two months have been choc full of anxiety, stress, heartache, headaches, but a whole lot of fun, too.
June flew by for me; it was actually a pretty enthusiastic time around the office. Sure, we had no site manager and motivation for the employees was a bit grim, but the European Championships were on, and that meant that every night for about three weeks, everyone was tuned in watching football.
I knew I would be supporting Spain from the onset, but was excited by the enthusiasm of everyone around me. Germany had a pretty good tournament, and every pub and restaurant was packed when they played. Most establishments put at least one flat screen TV out on the terrace for patrons to view. My own knipe tended to have at two going at all times. During half time, we'd play foosball to amuse ourselves.
During the week around the shop, we'd discuss the matches and tended to give someone a hard time whenever possible. Our operations manager is Dutch, so earlier in the tourney, he was feeling pretty cocky.
One of the supervisors on my repair line is Italian, so he certainly had a few things to say, also.
Through it all, I quietly pointed out that Spain was looking better and better. Though I wore my kit often, I was secretly terrified that Spain, like they've done in the past 4-5 major tournaments, would crash out in fantastic style.
I began to think it was possible they could go all the way right after Spain beat Russia in the semi final. OK, the forklift driver at work tried to mow me down (he's Russian) after that win, but I pointed out that it was a deserved victory.
It was a bit tense in the pub for the final: Germany had their sights set on the trophy, and I believe were a little bit over confident. Several folks I talked to had mentioned that they weren't too concerned about Spain, and I hoped for a good result.
The reward came Torres scored a brilliant goal over Lehmann. I felt a bit sheepish as I jumped up and started whooping and clapping, but that's football, kids.
Post match, many people came to congratulate me, which I thought was very sportsmanlike. Most every German I've talked to about the game since has said the same thing. The best team won the tournament.
It certainly made for a fast paced June, and my confidence was really zipping along. Work was seemingly better (despite the fact that there are only 3 managers in the site), the customer feedback was a bit more positive, and once again, I almost convinced myself that everything was going to be great.
Wrong.
No sooner had I returned from Brussels at the end of June from a business review, then suddenly everything went south.
The very next week after the meeting, we experienced a 35% sickness rate (hmmm, nothing demotivating going on here) which resulted in us accumulating an impressive backlog quicker than you could say, "please fire me, cos' this sucks."
The week after that, we received volumes about 30% higher than we'd anticipated, resulting in more backlog.
Germany has loads of vacation days. Not surprisingly, most employees like to take three weeks during summer with their kids. We normally try to plan for this, but I've realized that two years in a row that we must really be idiots in this area. I've got more guys hanging out at the beach than I've got on a bench.
In short, July has been one big nightmare. Two weeks ago, I really thought I was going to have to walk away from everything, which wasn't a very exciting thought. Sure, the relief of not having to put up with the bullshit any more was tempting. However, that would mean that I'd suddenly be without papers, which I found annoyingly ironic, being that I'd just gotten an unlimited contract.
At any rate, I sat myself down last Sunday afternoon on a terrace, plugged in the ipod, and wrote myself multiple lists about a variety of topics. What should I do for a plan B? What country do I head for next? Do I really want to stay in this business? And many more...
Though I didn't find all the answers, I did manage to bring a bit of sanity back to my life, and entered this past week feeling only downright horrible. That was quite the improvement over the previous week, where I'd debated whether or not throwing myself infront of an U-Bahn would be less painful than throwing myself in front of the S-Bahn.
In seriousness, finding that peace enabled me to continue the daily battles, realizing full well that NO ONE can possibly manage all the logistics lanes that we utilize, along with trying to keep the repair program from sinking any further, all while training a couple of new employees about the finer points of notebook repair customer service. Throw in a few heated conversations with the finance manager who is equally frustrated that the program can't seem to break even.
Certainly not in these circumstances.
At any rate, it's not so much that I'm indifferent to it all. It's more like I'm through worrying about all the stuff that I can't control. (man, talk about a mythical joy division album that went horribly wrong). I accept anything that comes down the pipe, and hopefully I'll be able to keep myself from getting a faceful.
The future is uncertain, and will likely remain that way for the next few months. We may lose the repair site, which will make for quite a bit more excitement and stress. Yippee.
Thus, it's with loads of craziness in my life that I find myself two weeks away from a quick stateside trip. Though I'm excited about going, I'll encounter a fair amount of anxiety as we go off on a 5 day family reunion in Missouri. That will severely limit my time in Dallas, which nerves me just a bit.
That said, I look forward to any brief moments I will get to spend with anyone who is about. We'll get it sorted somehow, some way. Like the Spanish said through the whole of the EM, "Podemos."
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack:
Alphaville - To Germany With Love
Camouflage - That Smiling Face
The Damned - Psychomania
Moenia - Me Equivoque
Nitzer Ebb - Let Your Body Learn
Friday, May 09, 2008
Lost in the Supermarket, Kicker, and the Return of the Barista
Right, so I don't seem to be getting too much written on a regular basis. On the positive side, I know that plenty of things are happening, only there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get everything done. On the negative side, the driving reason for lack of time is, yep, you guessed it, work related.
OK, so you might be able to ask, "well, Bryan, didn't you read three books in the past couple of weeks? (Nick Hornby - Slam, Ian Rankin - The Flood, and Ian Rankin - Bleeding Hearts) Seems like you're not working ALL the time."
Yes. I have read a bit, but usually on the train, where there is no connection to Internet. True, I'm not working all the time. However, things seem to stay consistently wacky, so mental stability is sometimes a luxury. (maybe it always has been for me, I dunno.)
Like always, I'll skip the details of the workplace wackiness. In fifty words or less: my boss was fired, the finance manager quit four days later, and we've got several consultants coming in trying to stabilize the shop. Quite the morale boosting experience, let me tell you. Oh yeah, and the customers are still just as pissed off as ever.
Moving right along to stuff that really matters, my supermarket closed!
I've always been a creature of habit, and routinely drop by my little market on the way home from U-Bahn a couple of times during the week. It's right on the way, and I've always found it pretty convenient, even if it closes at 10pm.
I had been in England around the 25th of April, and returned on a Thursday evening. Somehow, I didn't notice that the store had officially closed (though I walked right by it). Saturday is typically my "stock up" day, where I load up on the heavier items, like water and milk. I was returning from the gym Saturday afternoon and found a sign informing the community that the store had closed and would reopen on Tuesday (after the weekend) in a new location.
This irked me for two reasons. First, since I had been away during the week, I had absolutely nothing in the house save for half a liter of water and some butter that was going bad. I really needed a big trip to the store. Tuesday was a lifetime away, and I wasn't looking forward to having to eat kebaps for the next three days. Second, what was all this about a new location? Where was it to be? I didn't recognize the street name (or address).
On the particular Saturday, I quickly went home and tried to think of where another grocery store happened to be. A friend mentioned that there was another smaller store in the opposite direction from my flat, maybe 5 minutes away on foot. Unfortunately, I found this store also closed for the afternoon. It was part of the same chain, and all the stores were preparing for the grand opening in some street that I just knew would be really far away from my house.
I sulked for the rest of the weekend, though I did manage to cope with a couple of liters of OJ and some frozen pizza that I picked up at a quick-mart type of store.
On Monday I was in the pub and ran into Enda, who had been walking with me past the "closed" store on Saturday and who had suggested I try the other location up the road.
"Bryan, I found out the scoop on the Rewe. It's one street over from Bergerstrasse, about 30 seconds away from the old store."
Oh. For. Fuck's. Sake.
Tuesday, the day of the grand opening, I stopped by on the way home from work, and found a super clean new super market that, as Enda has mentioned, was literally one block over from the former store. I just had never noticed because it's a street I never have to walk down. Sure, you might be wondering how it is that I missed all of the construction that was going on, but I just never paid attention. I was aware of something happening for the past couple of months, but I could only see it early in the morning when I was walking in the direction of the U-Bahn. It was always dark at night when I would return from work.
At any rate, this new store is super (markt). I'm really impressed because it's a bit cleaner and spacious. European grocery stores are not known for being particularly big, but this one is apparently the biggest in Frankfurt, and is probably a bit larger than the Whole Foods down Greenville Avenue.
I'm greatly relieved that I have quickly adapted my evening commute so that I can slip in and get a few tidbits for the house. I'm even over the embarrassment of failing to notice that they were constructing a new super market with underground parking garage in my neighborhood for the past six months.
Germany continues to be a nice place to be, and I continue to improve (or attempt to improve) my language ability. Thus, I still meet with Ninjaa most Saturday evenings. We'll do a couple of hours, then inevitably head off to grab a drink or two. Sure, this often means simply walking next door to the pub.
Over the past month, though, Ninjaa has invited me along to other establishments, and as a result, I've now experienced a bit more of the Frankfurt scene, for which I'm very grateful for. Frankfurt is a financial city, and no offense to the financial professionals who read these postings, but sometimes I've found the city to be a bit too "posh" or "trendy." Think Lower Greenville post Poor David's and Royal Rack. Not bad, but a little too clean for me. It's exactly what the bankers and investors want: trendy clubs, upscale bars, and the opportunity to dress up a bit when you go out for a night on the town.
That's never really been my scene, and while I've certainly found my niche in Frankfurt, I'm now able to say that my niche is getting deeper. There are some really great places around that are suiting me nicely. These places tend to have a bit better music selection, crazier bands, and an element of danger. In fact, some of these places remind me of the better days of Deep Ellum, back when it was fun to hang out down there. You always had a chance of finding yourself totally in the wrong place at the wrong time, but for the most part, you'd always be able to get in, grab some beers, see a show, and have a rocking time.
Several Saturdays during the past month, we've been in places that have a Foosball table (known as Kicker, here), and I've discovered that Ninjaa and Natalie happen to be virtually unstoppable in partnership. I've quietly smiled to myself as I've seen two cocky guys come up and challenge them to a game, only to be down and out at 6-0 in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, a nice punk song plays in the background, and there are plenty of Radlers and Pils to go around.
Last night I was in a Kneipe having a few beers with Ninjaa, then we headed to a club to watch the results of the Eurovision song competition. (didn't expect me to ever write something like that, did you? me neither.)
I could do without the Eurovision contest, but it was interesting to see EVERYONE in the club OUTSIDE on the patio crowded around the television as commentators from 40+ countries gave the voting results. Upon completion of the voting, the winner was announced, and we all went inside. I was talking to some French-German girl that I'd just met, and totally missed the announcement of the winner. Oh well.
Let me be perfectly clear. Life is certainly going along for me, and I'm enjoying myself. However, the frustrations of work are always present, and it's been a really rough year on that front, even with the joy of having an indefinite contract. I've got a lot of questions and there are never enough answers. I've had (and will continue to have) plenty of sleepless nights. The anxiety I feel most every Sunday is difficult to deal with; it's hard not to think about the work week that looms.
That said, I'm aware that plenty of people have loads of challenges that they're going through, both here in Germany and on the other side of the ocean. I really can't do much more than try to get over myself and keep the faith, and hope the same goes for all of them. I saw a friend of mine late Friday night, and he paid me quite the compliment: it would not be good if I were to leave Germany, so I'd better stay.
Deeply flattered, I replied that I had every intention of sticking it out in my little corner of Bornheim.
Another friend is going through some pretty tough moments herself lately, and I've been particularly concerned about her. She's almost as good as I am at being super negative. Once or twice I got pretty alarmed, but realized that I can only support when I've got myself sorted out, so that's what I've been focusing on the past week.
Like always, I have to go back to basics, and remember how I got here. I've pulled out some tasty old music that I haven't listened to all that much in recent years. (part of that had to do with the fact that I didn't have the music here, but thanks to McKee and a jump drive, I'm listening to Bob Mould, the Cult, and Carter USM again). Now, if I only had as much hair as I did when I first started listening to those bands, we'd be in a whole different game.
Along with the music, I realized that I was missing one big appliance. Thus, yesterday I trucked off to my local Saturn and picked up a Kaffeemaschine, a trusty Saeco. I've already had about 40 coffees (which is basically why I sitting here writing this at 11pm on a Sunday night when I should be asleep) and can't help thinking that it was a bloody good investment, regardless of the price. Espresso machines are pretty popular in Germany, and I mean the super expensive ones that start at about 1000 Euros. Mine didn't cost anywhere near that much. I'm a coffee snob, but not a rich coffee snob.
So, things continue to come together, and I keep taking all of it in stride. I still take time to take the piss, though it's harder to keep the sense of humor light all the time. I recently made a small comment on Facebook which prompted a few people to ask me just what the hell was going on. Engaged?
I won't rant about Facebook right now, I don't have the patience. However, I'll quickly explain -
engaged auf deutsch can be translated into "beschäftigt," which actually means "busy."
In a moment of madness (and because I was pissed off at all the drama both in and out of Facebook), I chose to use a word that probably created a bit of confusion. It certainly made me chuckle, particularly because I already got a 50 Euro gift certificate to Crate and Barrel.
I'm going to use that to buy a few espresso cups.
keep the faith and all that.
thanks for the emails, the pix, and the support.
bryan
soundtrack
Sugar - The Act We Act
The Pogues -Haunted
Sponge - Say a Prayer For Me
The Sundays - My Finest Hour
OK, so you might be able to ask, "well, Bryan, didn't you read three books in the past couple of weeks? (Nick Hornby - Slam, Ian Rankin - The Flood, and Ian Rankin - Bleeding Hearts) Seems like you're not working ALL the time."
Yes. I have read a bit, but usually on the train, where there is no connection to Internet. True, I'm not working all the time. However, things seem to stay consistently wacky, so mental stability is sometimes a luxury. (maybe it always has been for me, I dunno.)
Like always, I'll skip the details of the workplace wackiness. In fifty words or less: my boss was fired, the finance manager quit four days later, and we've got several consultants coming in trying to stabilize the shop. Quite the morale boosting experience, let me tell you. Oh yeah, and the customers are still just as pissed off as ever.
Moving right along to stuff that really matters, my supermarket closed!
I've always been a creature of habit, and routinely drop by my little market on the way home from U-Bahn a couple of times during the week. It's right on the way, and I've always found it pretty convenient, even if it closes at 10pm.
I had been in England around the 25th of April, and returned on a Thursday evening. Somehow, I didn't notice that the store had officially closed (though I walked right by it). Saturday is typically my "stock up" day, where I load up on the heavier items, like water and milk. I was returning from the gym Saturday afternoon and found a sign informing the community that the store had closed and would reopen on Tuesday (after the weekend) in a new location.
This irked me for two reasons. First, since I had been away during the week, I had absolutely nothing in the house save for half a liter of water and some butter that was going bad. I really needed a big trip to the store. Tuesday was a lifetime away, and I wasn't looking forward to having to eat kebaps for the next three days. Second, what was all this about a new location? Where was it to be? I didn't recognize the street name (or address).
On the particular Saturday, I quickly went home and tried to think of where another grocery store happened to be. A friend mentioned that there was another smaller store in the opposite direction from my flat, maybe 5 minutes away on foot. Unfortunately, I found this store also closed for the afternoon. It was part of the same chain, and all the stores were preparing for the grand opening in some street that I just knew would be really far away from my house.
I sulked for the rest of the weekend, though I did manage to cope with a couple of liters of OJ and some frozen pizza that I picked up at a quick-mart type of store.
On Monday I was in the pub and ran into Enda, who had been walking with me past the "closed" store on Saturday and who had suggested I try the other location up the road.
"Bryan, I found out the scoop on the Rewe. It's one street over from Bergerstrasse, about 30 seconds away from the old store."
Oh. For. Fuck's. Sake.
Tuesday, the day of the grand opening, I stopped by on the way home from work, and found a super clean new super market that, as Enda has mentioned, was literally one block over from the former store. I just had never noticed because it's a street I never have to walk down. Sure, you might be wondering how it is that I missed all of the construction that was going on, but I just never paid attention. I was aware of something happening for the past couple of months, but I could only see it early in the morning when I was walking in the direction of the U-Bahn. It was always dark at night when I would return from work.
At any rate, this new store is super (markt). I'm really impressed because it's a bit cleaner and spacious. European grocery stores are not known for being particularly big, but this one is apparently the biggest in Frankfurt, and is probably a bit larger than the Whole Foods down Greenville Avenue.
I'm greatly relieved that I have quickly adapted my evening commute so that I can slip in and get a few tidbits for the house. I'm even over the embarrassment of failing to notice that they were constructing a new super market with underground parking garage in my neighborhood for the past six months.
Germany continues to be a nice place to be, and I continue to improve (or attempt to improve) my language ability. Thus, I still meet with Ninjaa most Saturday evenings. We'll do a couple of hours, then inevitably head off to grab a drink or two. Sure, this often means simply walking next door to the pub.
Over the past month, though, Ninjaa has invited me along to other establishments, and as a result, I've now experienced a bit more of the Frankfurt scene, for which I'm very grateful for. Frankfurt is a financial city, and no offense to the financial professionals who read these postings, but sometimes I've found the city to be a bit too "posh" or "trendy." Think Lower Greenville post Poor David's and Royal Rack. Not bad, but a little too clean for me. It's exactly what the bankers and investors want: trendy clubs, upscale bars, and the opportunity to dress up a bit when you go out for a night on the town.
That's never really been my scene, and while I've certainly found my niche in Frankfurt, I'm now able to say that my niche is getting deeper. There are some really great places around that are suiting me nicely. These places tend to have a bit better music selection, crazier bands, and an element of danger. In fact, some of these places remind me of the better days of Deep Ellum, back when it was fun to hang out down there. You always had a chance of finding yourself totally in the wrong place at the wrong time, but for the most part, you'd always be able to get in, grab some beers, see a show, and have a rocking time.
Several Saturdays during the past month, we've been in places that have a Foosball table (known as Kicker, here), and I've discovered that Ninjaa and Natalie happen to be virtually unstoppable in partnership. I've quietly smiled to myself as I've seen two cocky guys come up and challenge them to a game, only to be down and out at 6-0 in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, a nice punk song plays in the background, and there are plenty of Radlers and Pils to go around.
Last night I was in a Kneipe having a few beers with Ninjaa, then we headed to a club to watch the results of the Eurovision song competition. (didn't expect me to ever write something like that, did you? me neither.)
I could do without the Eurovision contest, but it was interesting to see EVERYONE in the club OUTSIDE on the patio crowded around the television as commentators from 40+ countries gave the voting results. Upon completion of the voting, the winner was announced, and we all went inside. I was talking to some French-German girl that I'd just met, and totally missed the announcement of the winner. Oh well.
Let me be perfectly clear. Life is certainly going along for me, and I'm enjoying myself. However, the frustrations of work are always present, and it's been a really rough year on that front, even with the joy of having an indefinite contract. I've got a lot of questions and there are never enough answers. I've had (and will continue to have) plenty of sleepless nights. The anxiety I feel most every Sunday is difficult to deal with; it's hard not to think about the work week that looms.
That said, I'm aware that plenty of people have loads of challenges that they're going through, both here in Germany and on the other side of the ocean. I really can't do much more than try to get over myself and keep the faith, and hope the same goes for all of them. I saw a friend of mine late Friday night, and he paid me quite the compliment: it would not be good if I were to leave Germany, so I'd better stay.
Deeply flattered, I replied that I had every intention of sticking it out in my little corner of Bornheim.
Another friend is going through some pretty tough moments herself lately, and I've been particularly concerned about her. She's almost as good as I am at being super negative. Once or twice I got pretty alarmed, but realized that I can only support when I've got myself sorted out, so that's what I've been focusing on the past week.
Like always, I have to go back to basics, and remember how I got here. I've pulled out some tasty old music that I haven't listened to all that much in recent years. (part of that had to do with the fact that I didn't have the music here, but thanks to McKee and a jump drive, I'm listening to Bob Mould, the Cult, and Carter USM again). Now, if I only had as much hair as I did when I first started listening to those bands, we'd be in a whole different game.
Along with the music, I realized that I was missing one big appliance. Thus, yesterday I trucked off to my local Saturn and picked up a Kaffeemaschine, a trusty Saeco. I've already had about 40 coffees (which is basically why I sitting here writing this at 11pm on a Sunday night when I should be asleep) and can't help thinking that it was a bloody good investment, regardless of the price. Espresso machines are pretty popular in Germany, and I mean the super expensive ones that start at about 1000 Euros. Mine didn't cost anywhere near that much. I'm a coffee snob, but not a rich coffee snob.
So, things continue to come together, and I keep taking all of it in stride. I still take time to take the piss, though it's harder to keep the sense of humor light all the time. I recently made a small comment on Facebook which prompted a few people to ask me just what the hell was going on. Engaged?
I won't rant about Facebook right now, I don't have the patience. However, I'll quickly explain -
engaged auf deutsch can be translated into "beschäftigt," which actually means "busy."
In a moment of madness (and because I was pissed off at all the drama both in and out of Facebook), I chose to use a word that probably created a bit of confusion. It certainly made me chuckle, particularly because I already got a 50 Euro gift certificate to Crate and Barrel.
I'm going to use that to buy a few espresso cups.
keep the faith and all that.
thanks for the emails, the pix, and the support.
bryan
soundtrack
Sugar - The Act We Act
The Pogues -Haunted
Sponge - Say a Prayer For Me
The Sundays - My Finest Hour
Friday, April 25, 2008
Alive and Kicking with a heavier iPod
It's amazing how things just seem to be zipping right along in fast-forward mode, and, with the exception of known vices, I'm drug free. (with a job like mine, drugs would actually hurt more than help, surprisingly enough).
It's been non stop bop around here for the past weeks. I celebrated Easter by going to a Chimaira show at a local club in Frankfurt. OK, so death metal isn't exactly my flavor, but I really enjoyed the show, actually. The venue itself is somewhat historic to the city; it was nice to finally catch another live act.
A couple of weeks later, I returned to the little bar adjacent to this club with Natalie and Ninjaa. This little bar is known for being visited by Robbie Williams, among others. I don't know how well he plays Foosball (Kicker), but the three of us dominated just about everyone itching for action, and I was most impressed that I hadn't forgotten all my table soccer tricks.
My folks have been lounging around Germany over the past couple of weeks. They spent the second week of April in Frankfurt, and we found ways to cause a bit of trouble, most notably a visit to a groovy Tex Mex place where we celebrated my birthday (and a bit of silliness fuelled by 4 to 5 too many margaritas). The very next day, they jumped in their hired car and have been seeing the eastern part of the country: Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, etc.
Meanwhile, I've been absolutely getting my head kicked in by the customer (as usual), and I'm loving it. I mean, can you really imagine doing something more fun?
Er, probably.
That said, I'm positioned to be given a long term contract, which basically sets me up for a long time in the EU. Goal achieved. Finally.
So, I've been to England a couple of times over the past few weeks, and have finally gotten to experience the joys of Heathrow Terminal Five first hand. Though the catastrophe of several weeks back is over, I still managed to find myself stuck in a three hour delay, which put me back into Germany really late last night.
I'm deliberately skipping over the angst and frustrations of work related crap. It's bollocks, and not worth discussing, and I'd rather talk about the cool stuff.
First off, thanks for all the birthday greetings, e-cards, memory sticks, phone calls, text messages, and pornography. It meant a lot. Birthdays are really important to the Germans, but, as I'm not German, I wasn't all that thrilled to turn another year older. On the other hand, I still appreciate well wishing and all that.
Second, how absolutely bloody fantastic that I'm now a bit more loaded when it comes to tunes. Pablo's been doing a nice bit through the email, and young McKee has once again gone through the efforts of loading several hundred more CDs of mine onto a 8gb memory stick. My iPod is excited, and I can't stop smiling and saying thanks! (I'm quite sure that the 5 Exploited albums must of a been a bit tedious for you, but then again, I bet you've held on to one or two tracks yourself.)
You might say, wow, he only had two good things to talk about?
It certainly goes a whole lot further than that. (you haven't seen the track listings, but most of you know how great that feeling is when you find something that you've lost (or have been separated from for a long long time). And, I think it's perfectly OK for me to disturb people on the U-Bahn with Bad Religion and Therapy? playing full blast.
Arsenal football is still Arsenal football, but it's time to put an end to the season, and get on with things (namely Euro 2008!)
So, this was really just a quick "yep, I'm still over here doing my bit" update. It's almost 18:30, and I'm about to make a bee line for the pub.
keep the faith
bryan
tracklist
Therapy? - Going nowhere
The Cure - To the sky
Bruce Springsteen - Born to run
It's been non stop bop around here for the past weeks. I celebrated Easter by going to a Chimaira show at a local club in Frankfurt. OK, so death metal isn't exactly my flavor, but I really enjoyed the show, actually. The venue itself is somewhat historic to the city; it was nice to finally catch another live act.
A couple of weeks later, I returned to the little bar adjacent to this club with Natalie and Ninjaa. This little bar is known for being visited by Robbie Williams, among others. I don't know how well he plays Foosball (Kicker), but the three of us dominated just about everyone itching for action, and I was most impressed that I hadn't forgotten all my table soccer tricks.
My folks have been lounging around Germany over the past couple of weeks. They spent the second week of April in Frankfurt, and we found ways to cause a bit of trouble, most notably a visit to a groovy Tex Mex place where we celebrated my birthday (and a bit of silliness fuelled by 4 to 5 too many margaritas). The very next day, they jumped in their hired car and have been seeing the eastern part of the country: Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, etc.
Meanwhile, I've been absolutely getting my head kicked in by the customer (as usual), and I'm loving it. I mean, can you really imagine doing something more fun?
Er, probably.
That said, I'm positioned to be given a long term contract, which basically sets me up for a long time in the EU. Goal achieved. Finally.
So, I've been to England a couple of times over the past few weeks, and have finally gotten to experience the joys of Heathrow Terminal Five first hand. Though the catastrophe of several weeks back is over, I still managed to find myself stuck in a three hour delay, which put me back into Germany really late last night.
I'm deliberately skipping over the angst and frustrations of work related crap. It's bollocks, and not worth discussing, and I'd rather talk about the cool stuff.
First off, thanks for all the birthday greetings, e-cards, memory sticks, phone calls, text messages, and pornography. It meant a lot. Birthdays are really important to the Germans, but, as I'm not German, I wasn't all that thrilled to turn another year older. On the other hand, I still appreciate well wishing and all that.
Second, how absolutely bloody fantastic that I'm now a bit more loaded when it comes to tunes. Pablo's been doing a nice bit through the email, and young McKee has once again gone through the efforts of loading several hundred more CDs of mine onto a 8gb memory stick. My iPod is excited, and I can't stop smiling and saying thanks! (I'm quite sure that the 5 Exploited albums must of a been a bit tedious for you, but then again, I bet you've held on to one or two tracks yourself.)
You might say, wow, he only had two good things to talk about?
It certainly goes a whole lot further than that. (you haven't seen the track listings, but most of you know how great that feeling is when you find something that you've lost (or have been separated from for a long long time). And, I think it's perfectly OK for me to disturb people on the U-Bahn with Bad Religion and Therapy? playing full blast.
Arsenal football is still Arsenal football, but it's time to put an end to the season, and get on with things (namely Euro 2008!)
So, this was really just a quick "yep, I'm still over here doing my bit" update. It's almost 18:30, and I'm about to make a bee line for the pub.
keep the faith
bryan
tracklist
Therapy? - Going nowhere
The Cure - To the sky
Bruce Springsteen - Born to run
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Hazards in the Bahnhof
Last week, I was feeling pretty darn great. Tuesday evening, Arsenal impressed the football world by beating AC Milan 2-0 in the San Siro, deservedly advancing to the next round of Champions League.
Though I had a customer visiting me from the states for the entire week, I will still finding time to get everything done, and was actually getting out of work at a decent hour.
Normally I try to catch a train from Darmstadt back to Frankfurt every evening between 18.30 and 20.00; one runs about every 20-30 minutes.
Sometime I have to kill a bit of time, and usually plug in the ipod and smoke about on the platform. Wednesday evening I was intending to do just that, but while walking through the lounge to the train platforms, a big bird pooped on my head!
OK, it wasn't a sesame street sized bird, but it was big enough (or at least it's poop was) to totally fucking gross me out. Part of me wanted to be physically ill, but I was sort of laughing about it. I scrounged for 50 cents, then went into the pay toilets where I again grossed myself out by trying to find the best way to dunk my head under the faucet without actually touching the sink. Though I've previously mentioned that the cleanliness of public toilets in the regional train stations I've been through has been impressive, I'm taking this opportunity to change my mind.
On this particular day, things certainly appeared out of order, and I recalled seeing a group of homeless heroin addicts lounging around outside of the station. Clearly they'd been in here already.
At any rate, I did the best I could as quickly as I could, then scurried down to get on the train, hoping that I didn't really look like a guy who'd just had someone shit on him. I was also thanking the world that I hadn't been looking upwards toward the rafters (as I sometimes do) at the precise moment of the incident. I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with an eyeful of muck.
I went on to the gym (where I did have a better opportunity to scrub my head), then hit the pub to watch another night of matches. As usual, I stayed out a bit too late, and got home a bit before 1am.
Several signs had been posted around the local U-Bahn stations notifying a scheduled strike to be held on Thursday; none of the U-Bahns, Trams, or busses would be running for the entire day. Like an idiot, I just assumed that I would just take a taxi to the train station the following morning.
That would have been a really good plan had I not forgotten that about half the city uses the U-Bahn for the morning commute, and most of those folks would be getting taxis, too.
As tends to be the case when things aren't going so well, everything else seemed to fall apart. First, I overslept. Second, the realization that I'd have to hoof it 30 minutes on foot to the local S-Bahn station (note - the S-Bahns and regional trains were not striking on this day) didn't amuse me, especially since I'd chosen the wrong pair of shoes for a city hike. Third, the S-Bahn takes about twice as long as the normal train, and I wasn't so sure of the time table.
I will say it was a bit interesting hiking through the city with a lot of other commuters. No-one was particularly thrilled, but at least the weather wasn't rainy or too cold. Once I got to the station, I phoned a colleague and told him that I'd have to miss a conference call, then went on to complain that there were no coffee places on the platform, and I was in dire need of an espresso.
About an hour later, I arrived at Darmstadt, and taxied to the office. My colleague elected to phone me once during that trip to tell me he was sitting in his office enjoying a nice coffee. Bastard.
So, I finished the work day without too much trouble (albeit it seemed like a half day considering I strolled into the office just past 11am), find an S-Bahn back to Frankfurt, then rejoiced when I found a taxi stand with several taxis queued up.
Let me be very clear on why I enjoy urban living so much, and why I don't really miss having a car. Frankfurt's U-Bahn system (when not on strike) is fast and efficient. I'm 10 minutes away from the main train station, which is 6 stops from my local stop. I live about 4-5 minutes away from my local stop.
Taking a taxi from this same main train station takes about 20 minutes normally, and costs about 15 euros. Taking a taxi on this same route during rush hour costs about 24 euros and takes closer to 35 minutes.
For me, I prefer public transport, even if you have to put up with the odd lunatic from time to time. (note - I've got to believe that somewhere out there, some one has just written a similar article describing some lunatic THEY saw on the U-Bahn last week that had bird poop on his head)
At last, I got back to the comfort of the pub, where I once again stayed out too late.
Yep, I overslept again on Friday, but thank goodness all the transportation was running; I was only an hour late to work.
Friday evening, as usual, was spent celebrating the weekend. The special touch on this Friday was that two colleagues from work came with me into Frankfurt. We'd been talking about this for quite some time, and finally found the right evening. Both Ingmar and Salva are good guys, but it was funny that there was still that bit of awkwardness associated with going out for pints with people that work for you. Though we did talk a little shop, the evening was more about celebrating what we've accomplished over the past weeks and months; finally we're able to smile more when we come to work.
The weekend was all about a birthday celebration for three of my friends. Steve had his birthday earlier in the week, but combined his party with Nadja and Derrick for Saturday evening.
Custom in Germany is to gather at midnight to celebrate; it brings good luck. Nadja's birthday was the actual Saturday, so Salva, Ingmar, and I met up with Nadja and a few others down the street at the Schoenburger; a popular place in my neighborhood. We closed that down (interpret that as: obligatory birthday shots, several pints, etc), then a handful of us returned to the pub to continue celebrating. At this point, my colleagues (one was designated driver) wished me luck and returned to Darmstadt.
I believe I got home around 5, and have since heard that I played a chess move (on line) around 6am (yet another note - the notifier feature on facebook for the chess application is ganz toll!).
Saturday was spent in bed, as one can imagine, and I think I eventually got up around 4 or 5. During a conversation I'd had with Nadja the previous evening, she was expecting for me to make a mix CD for her party, and come to think of it, the pub owner had also asked me to burn a few birthday songs (Altered States, Beatles, etc).
I had no problem coming up with the perfect mix for Nadja, but I struggled to get the playlist in a burnable format, simply because it's on my ipod and not my pc's hard drive. This was an unfortunate unanticipated challenge. I cursed myself for waiting til the last minute, then was scrambling to pull some songs down from other websites.
There is a feature on the ipod where you can copy all the files back onto your hard drive, but they're not in any particular order, just loads of folders with weird coded songs, etc. Besides, I would have crashed my pc had I dumped my ipod back onto my hard drive.
Result! I got the tracks in order, popped in a blank disk, then jumped in the shower. Grocery shopping would simply have to wait til the next week. Thank goodness there was enough milk to cover a day's worth of coffee.
All festivities from earlier in the week were leading to this large gathering. An Irish band was playing, and the three birthday kiddos brought their friends and family. Thus, the pub became as full as I've ever seen it. At one point, there was no way to move whatsoever inside the bar. No one could even drink from their glass as everyone was shoulder to shoulder.
Several times I escaped to the terrace with the other smokers (and ironically, those looking for fresh oxygen), and was lucky to have a conversation with Goran about how much I enjoy his new CD. This was my first chance to feed back to him.
Well, the Irish band paused at midnight to wish Derrick (his birthday was Sunday) a happy birthday, and we surprised him with his birthday gift: a weekend in Prague. This gift was somewhat special as I'm a part of it. Several weeks ago, Max and Heike had approached me about going off on a weekend road trip with young Derrick, and I answered, "why the hell not?"
Money was collected, flights were booked, and I'll be chief chaperon (or chief instigator, depending on how you want to read the story).
After a couple of encores, the band broke set, and on came a DJ, who kept things lively for the remainder of the evening. The mix was good, so I elected to dance until the world started getting fuzzy...which, once again, was around 5.30am.
I do remember leaving, but certainly there are some points of the evening that I'll have to be reminded of. That said, it was quite the evening.
Said evening lasted until 7am, actually, but I was already fast asleep. I woke up Sunday afternoon in time to watch the Arsenal - Wigan match. Sure, I wasn't feeling too frisky, and I'm sure I haven't looked much worse, but oh well, sometimes those are the breaks.
Went beddy bye pretty early Sunday evening, and woke up Monday morning to discover that the trains were on strike, again. I managed to get to work (on time), but had to take the slower S-Bahn.
I'm laying low this week, trying to cardio up and keep myself out of trouble. After all, we've got another big weekend coming up.
Don't look up in the train stations, and keep the faith
bryan
no soundtrack this week - enjoy the silence
Though I had a customer visiting me from the states for the entire week, I will still finding time to get everything done, and was actually getting out of work at a decent hour.
Normally I try to catch a train from Darmstadt back to Frankfurt every evening between 18.30 and 20.00; one runs about every 20-30 minutes.
Sometime I have to kill a bit of time, and usually plug in the ipod and smoke about on the platform. Wednesday evening I was intending to do just that, but while walking through the lounge to the train platforms, a big bird pooped on my head!
OK, it wasn't a sesame street sized bird, but it was big enough (or at least it's poop was) to totally fucking gross me out. Part of me wanted to be physically ill, but I was sort of laughing about it. I scrounged for 50 cents, then went into the pay toilets where I again grossed myself out by trying to find the best way to dunk my head under the faucet without actually touching the sink. Though I've previously mentioned that the cleanliness of public toilets in the regional train stations I've been through has been impressive, I'm taking this opportunity to change my mind.
On this particular day, things certainly appeared out of order, and I recalled seeing a group of homeless heroin addicts lounging around outside of the station. Clearly they'd been in here already.
At any rate, I did the best I could as quickly as I could, then scurried down to get on the train, hoping that I didn't really look like a guy who'd just had someone shit on him. I was also thanking the world that I hadn't been looking upwards toward the rafters (as I sometimes do) at the precise moment of the incident. I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with an eyeful of muck.
I went on to the gym (where I did have a better opportunity to scrub my head), then hit the pub to watch another night of matches. As usual, I stayed out a bit too late, and got home a bit before 1am.
Several signs had been posted around the local U-Bahn stations notifying a scheduled strike to be held on Thursday; none of the U-Bahns, Trams, or busses would be running for the entire day. Like an idiot, I just assumed that I would just take a taxi to the train station the following morning.
That would have been a really good plan had I not forgotten that about half the city uses the U-Bahn for the morning commute, and most of those folks would be getting taxis, too.
As tends to be the case when things aren't going so well, everything else seemed to fall apart. First, I overslept. Second, the realization that I'd have to hoof it 30 minutes on foot to the local S-Bahn station (note - the S-Bahns and regional trains were not striking on this day) didn't amuse me, especially since I'd chosen the wrong pair of shoes for a city hike. Third, the S-Bahn takes about twice as long as the normal train, and I wasn't so sure of the time table.
I will say it was a bit interesting hiking through the city with a lot of other commuters. No-one was particularly thrilled, but at least the weather wasn't rainy or too cold. Once I got to the station, I phoned a colleague and told him that I'd have to miss a conference call, then went on to complain that there were no coffee places on the platform, and I was in dire need of an espresso.
About an hour later, I arrived at Darmstadt, and taxied to the office. My colleague elected to phone me once during that trip to tell me he was sitting in his office enjoying a nice coffee. Bastard.
So, I finished the work day without too much trouble (albeit it seemed like a half day considering I strolled into the office just past 11am), find an S-Bahn back to Frankfurt, then rejoiced when I found a taxi stand with several taxis queued up.
Let me be very clear on why I enjoy urban living so much, and why I don't really miss having a car. Frankfurt's U-Bahn system (when not on strike) is fast and efficient. I'm 10 minutes away from the main train station, which is 6 stops from my local stop. I live about 4-5 minutes away from my local stop.
Taking a taxi from this same main train station takes about 20 minutes normally, and costs about 15 euros. Taking a taxi on this same route during rush hour costs about 24 euros and takes closer to 35 minutes.
For me, I prefer public transport, even if you have to put up with the odd lunatic from time to time. (note - I've got to believe that somewhere out there, some one has just written a similar article describing some lunatic THEY saw on the U-Bahn last week that had bird poop on his head)
At last, I got back to the comfort of the pub, where I once again stayed out too late.
Yep, I overslept again on Friday, but thank goodness all the transportation was running; I was only an hour late to work.
Friday evening, as usual, was spent celebrating the weekend. The special touch on this Friday was that two colleagues from work came with me into Frankfurt. We'd been talking about this for quite some time, and finally found the right evening. Both Ingmar and Salva are good guys, but it was funny that there was still that bit of awkwardness associated with going out for pints with people that work for you. Though we did talk a little shop, the evening was more about celebrating what we've accomplished over the past weeks and months; finally we're able to smile more when we come to work.
The weekend was all about a birthday celebration for three of my friends. Steve had his birthday earlier in the week, but combined his party with Nadja and Derrick for Saturday evening.
Custom in Germany is to gather at midnight to celebrate; it brings good luck. Nadja's birthday was the actual Saturday, so Salva, Ingmar, and I met up with Nadja and a few others down the street at the Schoenburger; a popular place in my neighborhood. We closed that down (interpret that as: obligatory birthday shots, several pints, etc), then a handful of us returned to the pub to continue celebrating. At this point, my colleagues (one was designated driver) wished me luck and returned to Darmstadt.
I believe I got home around 5, and have since heard that I played a chess move (on line) around 6am (yet another note - the notifier feature on facebook for the chess application is ganz toll!).
Saturday was spent in bed, as one can imagine, and I think I eventually got up around 4 or 5. During a conversation I'd had with Nadja the previous evening, she was expecting for me to make a mix CD for her party, and come to think of it, the pub owner had also asked me to burn a few birthday songs (Altered States, Beatles, etc).
I had no problem coming up with the perfect mix for Nadja, but I struggled to get the playlist in a burnable format, simply because it's on my ipod and not my pc's hard drive. This was an unfortunate unanticipated challenge. I cursed myself for waiting til the last minute, then was scrambling to pull some songs down from other websites.
There is a feature on the ipod where you can copy all the files back onto your hard drive, but they're not in any particular order, just loads of folders with weird coded songs, etc. Besides, I would have crashed my pc had I dumped my ipod back onto my hard drive.
Result! I got the tracks in order, popped in a blank disk, then jumped in the shower. Grocery shopping would simply have to wait til the next week. Thank goodness there was enough milk to cover a day's worth of coffee.
All festivities from earlier in the week were leading to this large gathering. An Irish band was playing, and the three birthday kiddos brought their friends and family. Thus, the pub became as full as I've ever seen it. At one point, there was no way to move whatsoever inside the bar. No one could even drink from their glass as everyone was shoulder to shoulder.
Several times I escaped to the terrace with the other smokers (and ironically, those looking for fresh oxygen), and was lucky to have a conversation with Goran about how much I enjoy his new CD. This was my first chance to feed back to him.
Well, the Irish band paused at midnight to wish Derrick (his birthday was Sunday) a happy birthday, and we surprised him with his birthday gift: a weekend in Prague. This gift was somewhat special as I'm a part of it. Several weeks ago, Max and Heike had approached me about going off on a weekend road trip with young Derrick, and I answered, "why the hell not?"
Money was collected, flights were booked, and I'll be chief chaperon (or chief instigator, depending on how you want to read the story).
After a couple of encores, the band broke set, and on came a DJ, who kept things lively for the remainder of the evening. The mix was good, so I elected to dance until the world started getting fuzzy...which, once again, was around 5.30am.
I do remember leaving, but certainly there are some points of the evening that I'll have to be reminded of. That said, it was quite the evening.
Said evening lasted until 7am, actually, but I was already fast asleep. I woke up Sunday afternoon in time to watch the Arsenal - Wigan match. Sure, I wasn't feeling too frisky, and I'm sure I haven't looked much worse, but oh well, sometimes those are the breaks.
Went beddy bye pretty early Sunday evening, and woke up Monday morning to discover that the trains were on strike, again. I managed to get to work (on time), but had to take the slower S-Bahn.
I'm laying low this week, trying to cardio up and keep myself out of trouble. After all, we've got another big weekend coming up.
Don't look up in the train stations, and keep the faith
bryan
no soundtrack this week - enjoy the silence
Monday, February 25, 2008
A Life of Surprises
February has been a very interesting month. Stimmt.
A month ago, I lamely attempted to clean the apartment prior to the expected arrival of McKee, but lost interest after a quick whisk about with the hoover, and spent the evening in the pub, as I do most Friday nights.
Though I stayed out way too late, I roused myself early Saturday and took the S-Bahn over to the airport. Although I wasn't feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed, I did feel pretty fired up: my first visit from someone other than my parents.
I noticed Chris' trademark red jacket as he exited customs, but thought it odd and coincidental that the woman immediately behind him looked a whole lot like his wife Lori.
As realization set in, I started to smile and panic at the same moment. Lori had made a surprise visit, which was ultra cool. The fact that I'd not been so thorough in cleaning my flat was not.
Never mind, there would be plenty of time to scrub a dub later.
After the enthusiastic greetings, we headed back to the S-Bahn to return to Frankfurt. I was still in complete disbelief that a 2nd McKee had made the trip. What a welcome surprise!
Earlier in the week, I'd sent a quick note to Chris indicating that we'd have to do some domestic shopping on Saturday; I'd simply had no time before due to work related activity. Thus, after unloading luggage in the flat, we whisked off to Schlecker, where I stocked up on all the toilet paper, cleaning supplies, deo, and shower gel; I was long overdue for this trip. (note - paper towels are NOT suitable for toilet paper, even in the bleakest of circumstances).
The three of us found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill before the Arsenal match, which would be on television at the pub that afternoon. So, Chris and Lori elected to unload the goods, and handed me several football jerseys and scarves that I'd left behind when I vacated little Goliad. A smiling hungover Bryan cannot be the prettiest of sights, but I didn't care: I simply couldn't stop beaming.
Chris handed me a small package from Pablo (Frankfurt Airlift Zwei) which included a valentine, a newspaper article about German smoking bans, a Pablo cd mix, a Dallas DART map (specifically to be hung in the kitchen, where I spend most of my time), and a copy of the Big Lebowski. That was pretty bloody cool, I thought.
brief side note - Germany did ban smoking in restaurants and pubs last October. The stipulations for permitting smoking are similar to those of the rest of the world. Pubs of a certain size can build a "smoking" room, but obviously have to invest in the ventilation equipment, etc. Thus, smaller pubs (including my own Kneipe) are now non-smoking.
Though several businesses have complained that business has suffered, I've seen very little impact, personally. Sure, we now all go outside to puff, but it's not nearly as pathetic as non smoking magazines and newspapers try to make it out to be. In fact, there now exists "smirting," which is basically the act of chatting up someone outside of the pub. I've actually met a lot more people this way.
Anyway, on with the show.
I was already pretty excited with all the cool stuff happening (care packages rock), when Chris hands me a USB stick and said, "pop that in to your laptop."
I've always joked when answering the question, "what's the best present you ever received?" with a response along the lines of, "a bottle of Jameson and a carton of JPS," which, albeit makes a pretty good gift, doesn't begin to approach the real sentiment.
Tears came to my eyes as I discovered that I now had 8 gig of music downloading onto iTunes; Chris had managed to go through half my stateside CD collection. "I'll send the other half along when I can," he said as I checked to see what was on the stick. Unbelievable. Absolutely unexpected, and simply too cool for words. Thanks McKee. That meant a lot.
We left the download going, and headed down Bergerstrasse to check out the market and grab a coffee. Lori and Chris were quickly getting familiar with the neighborhood surroundings, and I was glad that they were getting the chance to see the weekly bustle of fellow Bornheimers doing their Saturday shopping.
After a little walk around, we headed to the pub for lunch and match time. Chris jumped right in on the John Smith's, while I opted for coffee and juice for the time being. It was going to be a pretty long day.
We got a wonderful Arsenal result, and enjoyed a very nice pub afternoon just hanging out. Chris and Lori met several of my friends that came in to watch the Frankfurt football match. Before you knew it, it was approaching 7pm, but beer was flowing, as were the conversations, and no signs of jet lag wiping out Chris or Lori.
Dinner was certainly needed, however, but first, we headed back home (30 second trip) to rest a little and check progress on the iTunes. Out came some wine and cheese which served as a nice aperitif before we headed to a local tapas bar.
I'm fortunate to live around the corner from one of the best Spanish restaurants in the city, and was pleased that we were able to get a seat in what tends to be a pretty busy spot on Saturday nights. It was quite the tasty meal, and it was rather cozy in the restaurant. (gemütlich)
After obligatory carajillos de baileys, we strolled back to the pub, where a local band was playing. The drummer for this band is a regular at the pub, and that was certainly justification for going to show support. True, the band wasn't the best, but there were plenty of regulars around, and family McKee got the real taste of what Irish Pub Bornheim is all about.
The girlfriend of the drummer and I have had a few chats before, and recently I discovered that she works for an Italian coffee company. Remembering my sister's ability at forever remaining "enchufado," I'd mentioned that I'd love to have a few little espresso cups and saucers. However, I was delighted when she came up to me Saturday night with 3 little sets. I didn't exactly try to push my luck, but while I was expressing my thanks, I mentioned how nice it would be to have a super cool espresso machine, too.
Chris showed some signs of fatigue, but we managed to rally, and the three of us closed the pub down, managing to involve ourselves in various conversations with my friends. Certainly the pints continued to flow, and we got ourselves into bed between 3 and 4.
I woke up feeling fairly rested on Sunday morning, but realized around 11am that Chris and Lori probably don't get much chance to sleep late. I quietly read emails and soccer reports and checked out all the new tunes until they surfaced at noon.
We had brunch at a popular bar down the street, then spent the afternoon enjoying a walk around the city. The weather wasn't particularly cold, more mild I'd say, but it was nice to have a scarf on (for those of us that remembered to wear one) as we explored. Frankfurt is a pretty cool city to amble around in, and we were certainly not alone on the Sunday afternoon, particularly as several areas of the city were celebrating Carnival.
Our walking tour included a nice little jaunt across the river into Sachsenhausen, where we found a nice place to have a coffee, a little rest, and see a few folks walking around in their costumes, including a rather big guy in a pink rabbit costume.
After a bit of dinner at another favorite restaurant, we called it a night.
My guests slept in again on Monday morning, which was totally fine by me. We met a friend of mine for coffee at a place called Wacker's, which is a local family owned place that has been roasting their own beans for several generations. More on that a bit later.
We certainly enjoyed a leisurely morning, then took a local train off to Bad Homburg, an affluent town close to Frankfurt. It was a nice opportunity to give a flavor of somewhere outside of metropolitan Frankfurt. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Monday evening we returned to my local to celebrate our last evening together. Lori would return to the states on Tuesday, I'd return to work, and Chris would head off to India for a couple of weeks.
We sorted out the logistics of getting each other to the right destinations early Tuesday morning, and regardless of the chaos and stress I found in the office, the McKee visit kept me on a high. Thanks kids, for coming across. I'm glad to have had the time to hang out, and look forward to your next visit.
Let it be said that my commutes to and from work have improved over the past couple of weeks now that my iPod has gotten more full. Several times I've stumbled across tracks that I haven't listened to (or thought about) in years.
When you've just recently added 400 CDs on to your rotation list, one might think that there's no real rush to add another, but you can't go to a CD release party without getting a new CD.
My Serbian friend Goran finally got his CD complete, and invited us all out to a local club a couple of Friday's ago for the release show. I've been pretty fired up about this for the past year; Goran tended to keep me updated on progress as he went through the studio process of mixing tracks, and I was looking forward to hearing the finished product.
Goran worked at my local at the first part of 2007, and now works a few shifts at another pub in town. There is some cross over between the two pubs, and it's interesting how those of us from the Bornheim local stick our heads in the Zeil from time to time, and likewise the regulars from that pub pop down to the other end of Bergerstrasse.
Both pubs had strong showings of support for the Simonout show. It was great to see the pub crowd, and helped me not to feel so much older than the rest of the crowd. Simonout has a bit of a following amongst the younger females of Frankfurt, which both amuses and surprises me. The band itself is pretty young, but they play with an energy and tightness that suggests that they've been around for longer.
I've seen the band play several times before. In fact, I think I only missed one show in Frankfurt last year, and obviously did not make it to the two festivals that they headlined at during summer. I'll look forward to going to France and Serbia some other summer.
As with most local bands I saw in Dallas, I tend to prefer to see a band play live. Studio releases have never quite been able to hold up, in my opinion. Shallow Reign and Funland releases couldn't capture the energy those shows always had. Course of Empire is a notable exception; their studio releases have a particular quality that keeps you listening (which is impressive as their shows were even nuttier than the Funland shows).
I'll go out on a limb here and make a comparison to Ten Hands. Quite the live act they were, and my favorite records are those that were recorded live.
Perhaps Simonout could do the same.
For a studio release, I'm fairly impressed with this effort. You can clearly hear how tight the band is, and Goran has a very impressive ear for melody. He did a bit of experimentation on this record, and as a result, some tracks don't quite have the same feel as they do when performed live.
However, my initial reaction after the first two listens was that they left me wanting to hear more. Willows Lane has a handful of tracks that are certainly strong, but surprising to me is that they're not the same songs that I enjoy so much during the live show.
Simonout is a super high energy band that mixes a lot of punk, funk, and rock and roll. It's difficult to compare them to any other group, and that's a really good thing. Goran has impressive stage presence, and equally has an impressive vocal range. You'd easily recognize his influences, which come from Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Morrissey, and the guy from Marion.
The show was great, and it was nice to congratulate Goran on a good performance. I've now got a copy of the CD signed by the band, and am proud to have it in rotation on the iPod.
Hands down, February has been a very good months, driven heavily by these two key events. The rest of the month has been equally enjoyable, though, as I've spent time staying out too late in the pub, playing chess, and getting back into shape. (er, I realize that I just mentioned too much pub time and getting fit in the same sentence)
A couple of birthday parties are set for early March, which will be nice practice for St Pat's. Bornheim is just a pretty cool place to live.
Throw in some awesome coffee from Wacker's and a freshly cleaned toilet, and, yep, you've got it, life is pretty OK.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack:
Simonout - Willows Lane (entire CD)
Wire - In vivo
and much more...
parting words - Pablo, thanks for the chat, and I'll explain more in detail about how all the girls I seem to know here have names that begin either with N or S. It's made for a few embarrassing text messages already.
A month ago, I lamely attempted to clean the apartment prior to the expected arrival of McKee, but lost interest after a quick whisk about with the hoover, and spent the evening in the pub, as I do most Friday nights.
Though I stayed out way too late, I roused myself early Saturday and took the S-Bahn over to the airport. Although I wasn't feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed, I did feel pretty fired up: my first visit from someone other than my parents.
I noticed Chris' trademark red jacket as he exited customs, but thought it odd and coincidental that the woman immediately behind him looked a whole lot like his wife Lori.
As realization set in, I started to smile and panic at the same moment. Lori had made a surprise visit, which was ultra cool. The fact that I'd not been so thorough in cleaning my flat was not.
Never mind, there would be plenty of time to scrub a dub later.
After the enthusiastic greetings, we headed back to the S-Bahn to return to Frankfurt. I was still in complete disbelief that a 2nd McKee had made the trip. What a welcome surprise!
Earlier in the week, I'd sent a quick note to Chris indicating that we'd have to do some domestic shopping on Saturday; I'd simply had no time before due to work related activity. Thus, after unloading luggage in the flat, we whisked off to Schlecker, where I stocked up on all the toilet paper, cleaning supplies, deo, and shower gel; I was long overdue for this trip. (note - paper towels are NOT suitable for toilet paper, even in the bleakest of circumstances).
The three of us found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill before the Arsenal match, which would be on television at the pub that afternoon. So, Chris and Lori elected to unload the goods, and handed me several football jerseys and scarves that I'd left behind when I vacated little Goliad. A smiling hungover Bryan cannot be the prettiest of sights, but I didn't care: I simply couldn't stop beaming.
Chris handed me a small package from Pablo (Frankfurt Airlift Zwei) which included a valentine, a newspaper article about German smoking bans, a Pablo cd mix, a Dallas DART map (specifically to be hung in the kitchen, where I spend most of my time), and a copy of the Big Lebowski. That was pretty bloody cool, I thought.
brief side note - Germany did ban smoking in restaurants and pubs last October. The stipulations for permitting smoking are similar to those of the rest of the world. Pubs of a certain size can build a "smoking" room, but obviously have to invest in the ventilation equipment, etc. Thus, smaller pubs (including my own Kneipe) are now non-smoking.
Though several businesses have complained that business has suffered, I've seen very little impact, personally. Sure, we now all go outside to puff, but it's not nearly as pathetic as non smoking magazines and newspapers try to make it out to be. In fact, there now exists "smirting," which is basically the act of chatting up someone outside of the pub. I've actually met a lot more people this way.
Anyway, on with the show.
I was already pretty excited with all the cool stuff happening (care packages rock), when Chris hands me a USB stick and said, "pop that in to your laptop."
I've always joked when answering the question, "what's the best present you ever received?" with a response along the lines of, "a bottle of Jameson and a carton of JPS," which, albeit makes a pretty good gift, doesn't begin to approach the real sentiment.
Tears came to my eyes as I discovered that I now had 8 gig of music downloading onto iTunes; Chris had managed to go through half my stateside CD collection. "I'll send the other half along when I can," he said as I checked to see what was on the stick. Unbelievable. Absolutely unexpected, and simply too cool for words. Thanks McKee. That meant a lot.
We left the download going, and headed down Bergerstrasse to check out the market and grab a coffee. Lori and Chris were quickly getting familiar with the neighborhood surroundings, and I was glad that they were getting the chance to see the weekly bustle of fellow Bornheimers doing their Saturday shopping.
After a little walk around, we headed to the pub for lunch and match time. Chris jumped right in on the John Smith's, while I opted for coffee and juice for the time being. It was going to be a pretty long day.
We got a wonderful Arsenal result, and enjoyed a very nice pub afternoon just hanging out. Chris and Lori met several of my friends that came in to watch the Frankfurt football match. Before you knew it, it was approaching 7pm, but beer was flowing, as were the conversations, and no signs of jet lag wiping out Chris or Lori.
Dinner was certainly needed, however, but first, we headed back home (30 second trip) to rest a little and check progress on the iTunes. Out came some wine and cheese which served as a nice aperitif before we headed to a local tapas bar.
I'm fortunate to live around the corner from one of the best Spanish restaurants in the city, and was pleased that we were able to get a seat in what tends to be a pretty busy spot on Saturday nights. It was quite the tasty meal, and it was rather cozy in the restaurant. (gemütlich)
After obligatory carajillos de baileys, we strolled back to the pub, where a local band was playing. The drummer for this band is a regular at the pub, and that was certainly justification for going to show support. True, the band wasn't the best, but there were plenty of regulars around, and family McKee got the real taste of what Irish Pub Bornheim is all about.
The girlfriend of the drummer and I have had a few chats before, and recently I discovered that she works for an Italian coffee company. Remembering my sister's ability at forever remaining "enchufado," I'd mentioned that I'd love to have a few little espresso cups and saucers. However, I was delighted when she came up to me Saturday night with 3 little sets. I didn't exactly try to push my luck, but while I was expressing my thanks, I mentioned how nice it would be to have a super cool espresso machine, too.
Chris showed some signs of fatigue, but we managed to rally, and the three of us closed the pub down, managing to involve ourselves in various conversations with my friends. Certainly the pints continued to flow, and we got ourselves into bed between 3 and 4.
I woke up feeling fairly rested on Sunday morning, but realized around 11am that Chris and Lori probably don't get much chance to sleep late. I quietly read emails and soccer reports and checked out all the new tunes until they surfaced at noon.
We had brunch at a popular bar down the street, then spent the afternoon enjoying a walk around the city. The weather wasn't particularly cold, more mild I'd say, but it was nice to have a scarf on (for those of us that remembered to wear one) as we explored. Frankfurt is a pretty cool city to amble around in, and we were certainly not alone on the Sunday afternoon, particularly as several areas of the city were celebrating Carnival.
Our walking tour included a nice little jaunt across the river into Sachsenhausen, where we found a nice place to have a coffee, a little rest, and see a few folks walking around in their costumes, including a rather big guy in a pink rabbit costume.
After a bit of dinner at another favorite restaurant, we called it a night.
My guests slept in again on Monday morning, which was totally fine by me. We met a friend of mine for coffee at a place called Wacker's, which is a local family owned place that has been roasting their own beans for several generations. More on that a bit later.
We certainly enjoyed a leisurely morning, then took a local train off to Bad Homburg, an affluent town close to Frankfurt. It was a nice opportunity to give a flavor of somewhere outside of metropolitan Frankfurt. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Monday evening we returned to my local to celebrate our last evening together. Lori would return to the states on Tuesday, I'd return to work, and Chris would head off to India for a couple of weeks.
We sorted out the logistics of getting each other to the right destinations early Tuesday morning, and regardless of the chaos and stress I found in the office, the McKee visit kept me on a high. Thanks kids, for coming across. I'm glad to have had the time to hang out, and look forward to your next visit.
Let it be said that my commutes to and from work have improved over the past couple of weeks now that my iPod has gotten more full. Several times I've stumbled across tracks that I haven't listened to (or thought about) in years.
When you've just recently added 400 CDs on to your rotation list, one might think that there's no real rush to add another, but you can't go to a CD release party without getting a new CD.
My Serbian friend Goran finally got his CD complete, and invited us all out to a local club a couple of Friday's ago for the release show. I've been pretty fired up about this for the past year; Goran tended to keep me updated on progress as he went through the studio process of mixing tracks, and I was looking forward to hearing the finished product.
Goran worked at my local at the first part of 2007, and now works a few shifts at another pub in town. There is some cross over between the two pubs, and it's interesting how those of us from the Bornheim local stick our heads in the Zeil from time to time, and likewise the regulars from that pub pop down to the other end of Bergerstrasse.
Both pubs had strong showings of support for the Simonout show. It was great to see the pub crowd, and helped me not to feel so much older than the rest of the crowd. Simonout has a bit of a following amongst the younger females of Frankfurt, which both amuses and surprises me. The band itself is pretty young, but they play with an energy and tightness that suggests that they've been around for longer.
I've seen the band play several times before. In fact, I think I only missed one show in Frankfurt last year, and obviously did not make it to the two festivals that they headlined at during summer. I'll look forward to going to France and Serbia some other summer.
As with most local bands I saw in Dallas, I tend to prefer to see a band play live. Studio releases have never quite been able to hold up, in my opinion. Shallow Reign and Funland releases couldn't capture the energy those shows always had. Course of Empire is a notable exception; their studio releases have a particular quality that keeps you listening (which is impressive as their shows were even nuttier than the Funland shows).
I'll go out on a limb here and make a comparison to Ten Hands. Quite the live act they were, and my favorite records are those that were recorded live.
Perhaps Simonout could do the same.
For a studio release, I'm fairly impressed with this effort. You can clearly hear how tight the band is, and Goran has a very impressive ear for melody. He did a bit of experimentation on this record, and as a result, some tracks don't quite have the same feel as they do when performed live.
However, my initial reaction after the first two listens was that they left me wanting to hear more. Willows Lane has a handful of tracks that are certainly strong, but surprising to me is that they're not the same songs that I enjoy so much during the live show.
Simonout is a super high energy band that mixes a lot of punk, funk, and rock and roll. It's difficult to compare them to any other group, and that's a really good thing. Goran has impressive stage presence, and equally has an impressive vocal range. You'd easily recognize his influences, which come from Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Morrissey, and the guy from Marion.
The show was great, and it was nice to congratulate Goran on a good performance. I've now got a copy of the CD signed by the band, and am proud to have it in rotation on the iPod.
Hands down, February has been a very good months, driven heavily by these two key events. The rest of the month has been equally enjoyable, though, as I've spent time staying out too late in the pub, playing chess, and getting back into shape. (er, I realize that I just mentioned too much pub time and getting fit in the same sentence)
A couple of birthday parties are set for early March, which will be nice practice for St Pat's. Bornheim is just a pretty cool place to live.
Throw in some awesome coffee from Wacker's and a freshly cleaned toilet, and, yep, you've got it, life is pretty OK.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack:
Simonout - Willows Lane (entire CD)
Wire - In vivo
and much more...
parting words - Pablo, thanks for the chat, and I'll explain more in detail about how all the girls I seem to know here have names that begin either with N or S. It's made for a few embarrassing text messages already.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
That's Youth
So, I'm listening to a lot of Bouncing Souls and Mighty Mighty Bosstones this week, and it's making for a pretty lively commute on the train. It's cool how a few minutes with the Bosstones brings so many fond memories of my life in Massachusetts from ten years ago. Speaking of which, I'll acknowledge the assistance of Linkedin, which has put me back in contact with one Nat Urqhart, my best mate in Boston. We hit a lot of shows there, spent loads of time in pubs, and pretty much had a ripping time.
10 Years on, we're still having a ripping time, and I'm personally glad to know he's back in Blighty riding Vespa's and getting the youth of tomorrow educated with Britpop. Talk to you soon, Nat.
No, I'm not yet riding Vespas, though from time to time, the idea does cross the mind. However, since I've almost been hit by a bus a couple of times, lately, I'd rather stick to the sidewalk for now. And, I'm not about to take off the ipod or turn the music down (which would have likely avoided my embarrassment of jaywalking in front of a large bus)
As reported last week, I had a good day at work, and was fortunate to have a second good day right at the end of the week. Total count for week 4: 2 good days.
I celebrated by going to the pub the next two evenings and getting pretty silly. Whatever possesses me to think I can stay out til 3 and 4 in the morning two days running is completely beyond me, but I must say it was pretty fun.
Of course, that meant Monday was a bit rough, and all the worse since I had to take an early flight to Brussels for an all day meeting, where I sat in a conference room with about 20 people for the purpose of explaining to the customer for the umpteenth time that we should not proceed with a "cash on delivery" service in Germany. Hopefully the point was finally accepted, and yet another example of having to involve way too many people in a decision. I did have a few Stella in the airport, though. That was OK.
Yesterday started pretty rough, and I was pretty busy throughout the day, but we hit a record day of repair output, which went over very well with the customer. Thus, another good day at work. (That makes three, now!)
Like every other Tuesday, I headed to the pub after work, and celebrated Stefan's birthday with several friends. Simone can in for her weekly pub visit, and all in all it was a pretty good night. I wisely skipped the 2nd, 3rd and 4th round of shots, and woke up this morning feeling OK.
Sure, I wish I'd remembered that I was supposed to be in an all day workshop today, but I've managed to get some work done while sitting in this conference room.
I'd forgotten what it was like to have good days at work, so I'm particularly thrilled that I'm accumulating a few, though I'm well aware that I'm still in single digits. With a little luck, I'll hit 10 before too long, and from there, we'll see.
Meanwhile, I'll keep plugging along. Young McKee is preparing to head over for the weekend, so perhaps I should do a bit of cleaning in the flat, lest he think that I'm nothing more than an overworked program manager who spends a fair amount of time in his local. Hell, I might even put some food in the fridge this week.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack:
MMB - The Impression that I get
Bouncing Souls - That's Youth
10 Years on, we're still having a ripping time, and I'm personally glad to know he's back in Blighty riding Vespa's and getting the youth of tomorrow educated with Britpop. Talk to you soon, Nat.
No, I'm not yet riding Vespas, though from time to time, the idea does cross the mind. However, since I've almost been hit by a bus a couple of times, lately, I'd rather stick to the sidewalk for now. And, I'm not about to take off the ipod or turn the music down (which would have likely avoided my embarrassment of jaywalking in front of a large bus)
As reported last week, I had a good day at work, and was fortunate to have a second good day right at the end of the week. Total count for week 4: 2 good days.
I celebrated by going to the pub the next two evenings and getting pretty silly. Whatever possesses me to think I can stay out til 3 and 4 in the morning two days running is completely beyond me, but I must say it was pretty fun.
Of course, that meant Monday was a bit rough, and all the worse since I had to take an early flight to Brussels for an all day meeting, where I sat in a conference room with about 20 people for the purpose of explaining to the customer for the umpteenth time that we should not proceed with a "cash on delivery" service in Germany. Hopefully the point was finally accepted, and yet another example of having to involve way too many people in a decision. I did have a few Stella in the airport, though. That was OK.
Yesterday started pretty rough, and I was pretty busy throughout the day, but we hit a record day of repair output, which went over very well with the customer. Thus, another good day at work. (That makes three, now!)
Like every other Tuesday, I headed to the pub after work, and celebrated Stefan's birthday with several friends. Simone can in for her weekly pub visit, and all in all it was a pretty good night. I wisely skipped the 2nd, 3rd and 4th round of shots, and woke up this morning feeling OK.
Sure, I wish I'd remembered that I was supposed to be in an all day workshop today, but I've managed to get some work done while sitting in this conference room.
I'd forgotten what it was like to have good days at work, so I'm particularly thrilled that I'm accumulating a few, though I'm well aware that I'm still in single digits. With a little luck, I'll hit 10 before too long, and from there, we'll see.
Meanwhile, I'll keep plugging along. Young McKee is preparing to head over for the weekend, so perhaps I should do a bit of cleaning in the flat, lest he think that I'm nothing more than an overworked program manager who spends a fair amount of time in his local. Hell, I might even put some food in the fridge this week.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack:
MMB - The Impression that I get
Bouncing Souls - That's Youth
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
El loco de la calle
I was sitting on the train last night listening to some Spanish rock and roll, probably with a goofy expression on my face, and suddenly, I realized that I was smiling. I thought to myself, "You know, Bryan, today was a pretty good day."
The incident is worthy of a blog post simply because I honestly can't remember the last time I smiled at work.
Truth be told, it felt pretty fucking good.
2007 for me pretty much ended in shambles: work stayed crazy, and I was completely unable to enjoy myself during my two week "vacation" to Spain. Everything caught up with me in Valencia, and I spent a good portion of my time at Lynne and Fran's sick in bed, or at least unable to get out and do much.
It was certainly unfortunate, and no one feels more sorry than I that it wasn't the most brilliant of holidays. Lynne, Fran, and Daniel were fine, of course, but I certainly put a damper on things.
There were a few decent moments, which I'll touch on in a future post.
Up until yesterday, 2008 was looking pretty shitty, but a few things have clicked, and, while I'm quite sure that it's not all about to turn into an easy ride, I think I might have seen a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm not getting my hopes up, I'm just taking it a step at a time.
I have recently learned a couple of new things in German, which has enabled me to speak a little less like a bozo, and that's a really good thing, cos' sometimes I think I'm starting to forget English.
Friends are coming and going here in Frankfurt, and it's a little interesting how my relationships seem to be going up and down.
I'll skip that drama for now; there's no need to spoil my mood.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack
Alkaline Trio - Fine Without You
Alkaline Trio - Don't Say You Won't
El Ultimo de la Fila - Dulces sueños
The incident is worthy of a blog post simply because I honestly can't remember the last time I smiled at work.
Truth be told, it felt pretty fucking good.
2007 for me pretty much ended in shambles: work stayed crazy, and I was completely unable to enjoy myself during my two week "vacation" to Spain. Everything caught up with me in Valencia, and I spent a good portion of my time at Lynne and Fran's sick in bed, or at least unable to get out and do much.
It was certainly unfortunate, and no one feels more sorry than I that it wasn't the most brilliant of holidays. Lynne, Fran, and Daniel were fine, of course, but I certainly put a damper on things.
There were a few decent moments, which I'll touch on in a future post.
Up until yesterday, 2008 was looking pretty shitty, but a few things have clicked, and, while I'm quite sure that it's not all about to turn into an easy ride, I think I might have seen a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm not getting my hopes up, I'm just taking it a step at a time.
I have recently learned a couple of new things in German, which has enabled me to speak a little less like a bozo, and that's a really good thing, cos' sometimes I think I'm starting to forget English.
Friends are coming and going here in Frankfurt, and it's a little interesting how my relationships seem to be going up and down.
I'll skip that drama for now; there's no need to spoil my mood.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack
Alkaline Trio - Fine Without You
Alkaline Trio - Don't Say You Won't
El Ultimo de la Fila - Dulces sueños
Monday, December 17, 2007
No time for Urlaub
This month's post will be pretty bloody short; I've decided that it's not worth discussing any of the work related bull shit. It's the same old stuff. I'm beat down, pissed off, wiped out, and still foolish enough to think I can make a difference.
At any rate, we'll move right along to a few of the highlights (all three of them) of the past weeks since early November.
I did sneak away to Heidelberg to spend a weekend with a former colleague (someone smart enough to get out of the rot) and his family. This involved the opportunity to push a 2 year old in a stroller up the cobblestones of a steep incline to the castle. Frankly, it was totally worth it, even though I broke a sweat. We spent an afternoon checking out the castle, then walked down through the Christmas markets of the town. Quite a nice way to spend a Saturday.
The relatively enjoyable weekend continued through the Sunday, when I got back to Frankfurt to meet a friend at the local markets in my own town. I'm sure there's more to do at the Christmas markets than drink Gluhwine, but I'm not much of a shopper, so I settled for sampling a handful of the different hot bevvies. After three, one tends to feel pretty fuzzy, and I enjoyed myself right through the night until I woke up Monday morning to go to work.
Funny, I've been strolling into work around 10am recently. Most of that has to do with the fact that I just can't bring myself to get out of bed in the morning. Of course, it might help if I would go to bed before 2am (and a cratefull of beer) every so often. Then again...
Take last Tuesday, where we gathered for another outing at the markets. Once again we drank toasty bevvies, then headed back to the pub for a little lively atmosphere, which ultimately meant that once again, I stayed out past bedtime.
Christmas in Germany is a bit festive, I'll admit. With the temps being near freezing, everyone stays bundled up, and, as every place is nonsmoking now, there's always a small crowd outside of every restaurant and bar at any given moment during the evening.
This past Sunday night, several of us went down to a Spanish restaurant in the neighborhood. They were having a little sing along where, instead of Christmas carols and shit like that, we tended to sing all the folk songs that several of us would remember from our youth. Again, I'm not sure what makes "Take Me Home, Country Roads," so popular among the Germans, but just about any time I've seen someone whip out an accoustic guitar, this song gets sung.
Actually, it makes me smile to see and hear so many folks enthusiastically singing so many goofy folk songs. I'm always a bit surprised to see that both young and old people all seem to know these songs by heart. (I'm not even sure I can sing "Dirty Old Town" start to finish without a cheat sheet)
I'm burning a Beatles CD for a friend, and it's almost finished, so I'll wrap this up. No particularly fantastic news to report other than that I'm now able to stomp around Frankfurt with an ipod; what the fuck was I thinking for waiting so long before buying one of these? I've been enjoying irritating people on the train by blaring various bits of angry rock and roll. And, in the three weeks that I've owned it, I've twice gotten off at the wrong U-bahn stop, and one morning got on the wrong bus for work, which actually would have been pretty funny had I not already been in trouble for being late 4 days on the fucking trot.
Speaking of angry rock and roll, the other week the night before an International football friendly, about 40 football hooligans came into the pub for a couple of drinks before heading out to rumble with folks. It was quite the interesting few minutes, but fortunately, rather peaceful.
So, I've got about 60 hours of work to do tomorrow during my last day in the office before holidays. That pretty much means I'll be working throughout the Christmas break. Lovely.
keep the faith.
bryan
soundtrack - anything you want...just turn it up
At any rate, we'll move right along to a few of the highlights (all three of them) of the past weeks since early November.
I did sneak away to Heidelberg to spend a weekend with a former colleague (someone smart enough to get out of the rot) and his family. This involved the opportunity to push a 2 year old in a stroller up the cobblestones of a steep incline to the castle. Frankly, it was totally worth it, even though I broke a sweat. We spent an afternoon checking out the castle, then walked down through the Christmas markets of the town. Quite a nice way to spend a Saturday.
The relatively enjoyable weekend continued through the Sunday, when I got back to Frankfurt to meet a friend at the local markets in my own town. I'm sure there's more to do at the Christmas markets than drink Gluhwine, but I'm not much of a shopper, so I settled for sampling a handful of the different hot bevvies. After three, one tends to feel pretty fuzzy, and I enjoyed myself right through the night until I woke up Monday morning to go to work.
Funny, I've been strolling into work around 10am recently. Most of that has to do with the fact that I just can't bring myself to get out of bed in the morning. Of course, it might help if I would go to bed before 2am (and a cratefull of beer) every so often. Then again...
Take last Tuesday, where we gathered for another outing at the markets. Once again we drank toasty bevvies, then headed back to the pub for a little lively atmosphere, which ultimately meant that once again, I stayed out past bedtime.
Christmas in Germany is a bit festive, I'll admit. With the temps being near freezing, everyone stays bundled up, and, as every place is nonsmoking now, there's always a small crowd outside of every restaurant and bar at any given moment during the evening.
This past Sunday night, several of us went down to a Spanish restaurant in the neighborhood. They were having a little sing along where, instead of Christmas carols and shit like that, we tended to sing all the folk songs that several of us would remember from our youth. Again, I'm not sure what makes "Take Me Home, Country Roads," so popular among the Germans, but just about any time I've seen someone whip out an accoustic guitar, this song gets sung.
Actually, it makes me smile to see and hear so many folks enthusiastically singing so many goofy folk songs. I'm always a bit surprised to see that both young and old people all seem to know these songs by heart. (I'm not even sure I can sing "Dirty Old Town" start to finish without a cheat sheet)
I'm burning a Beatles CD for a friend, and it's almost finished, so I'll wrap this up. No particularly fantastic news to report other than that I'm now able to stomp around Frankfurt with an ipod; what the fuck was I thinking for waiting so long before buying one of these? I've been enjoying irritating people on the train by blaring various bits of angry rock and roll. And, in the three weeks that I've owned it, I've twice gotten off at the wrong U-bahn stop, and one morning got on the wrong bus for work, which actually would have been pretty funny had I not already been in trouble for being late 4 days on the fucking trot.
Speaking of angry rock and roll, the other week the night before an International football friendly, about 40 football hooligans came into the pub for a couple of drinks before heading out to rumble with folks. It was quite the interesting few minutes, but fortunately, rather peaceful.
So, I've got about 60 hours of work to do tomorrow during my last day in the office before holidays. That pretty much means I'll be working throughout the Christmas break. Lovely.
keep the faith.
bryan
soundtrack - anything you want...just turn it up
Monday, November 12, 2007
Same Shit Different Month
So when my old Spanish mobile phone started chirping on Sunday, I naturally was thinking, "what the fuck is going on?"
The phone has been switched off and stuffed in a drawer for months.
Fortunately, it was a reminder to wish Kendall a happy birthday. Sure, I get points for setting the calendar properly on the mobile, but miss the gold star on account I failed to sit down and send her an email until this morning...the day AFTER her birthday.
At any rate, that wasn't half as bad as me forgetting Heather's birthday, which was last month. So, I'll take this opportunity to give the happy belated birthday greeting to her now. Thanks also for the party invite; I'm sure that was a nice time. I assume I'm off the Christmas Card list but will hopefully redeem myself at some point early in 2008.
Things have been fairly wacky in recent weeks, as usual. Constant ups and downs with the job, daily conversations with myself about going off and finding something else to do, and incredible bewilderment that this industry I work in is such a disaster.
I was having a particularly bad day early last week, but was getting through the day. I went over to visit with a couple of girls who work on my team, and they went on to exclaim how much they enjoyed having me for a manager. "You do things differently, Bryan. You actually care about what's going on. You constantly check to make sure we're doing OK. You're great!"
I was really really touched. They went on to say that a lot of people that work in the repair site would just as soon work on my programs. That's pretty good feedback to have.
Of course, my fuzzy feeling lasted all of 24 hours. The next day the customer managed to call me a dipshit (I didn't even know the Flemmish knew that word) and make me feel like the world's biggest ass. In fairness, I had used some poor judgement which helped fuel the customer's frustrations, but once again, I'm struggling to see their need for 20 people to individually voice their displeasure. One time would have sufficed, and would have kept the teleconference from lasting 2 hours.
So, the beat goes on. I certainly don't care as much as I once did, but I haven't really stopped caring, either. I missed a couple of days work a few weeks back, feeling it was better to get over a cold in the privacy of my own apartment. Today, I just didn't feel like going in to work, so I called up and told my boss that I would work from home.
A year ago (ok, maybe 2 years) I would NEVER have done something like that. However, a year or two ago, I might have been able to take more than 4 days off from work, too.
At least I've booked my flights for Christmas. Once again, I'll be bringing joy and good cheer to Meliana, Alboraya, and Valencia. Jose Miguel, we'll have to abuse alcohol one or two nights while I'm there. Hope you don't mind making that sacrifice!
I've got to sign off and run next door for a little dinner and the Arsenal match, so I'll leave you with a few last bits:
I'm currently reading Redemption, the Stan Tookie Williams story. Wow, that's quite the story to improve your humor.
I ran my dishwasher today, and I'm not sure if I've done it right. There's no soap on the floor, but I'm not sure when the load will be through. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Last but not least - the tunes are still in heavy rotation:
Axodry - You
Alkaline Trio - Don't Say You Wont
Secession - All the Animals Come Out at Night
Bowling For Soup - Ohio
The Pogues - Body of an American
keep the faith
bryan
The phone has been switched off and stuffed in a drawer for months.
Fortunately, it was a reminder to wish Kendall a happy birthday. Sure, I get points for setting the calendar properly on the mobile, but miss the gold star on account I failed to sit down and send her an email until this morning...the day AFTER her birthday.
At any rate, that wasn't half as bad as me forgetting Heather's birthday, which was last month. So, I'll take this opportunity to give the happy belated birthday greeting to her now. Thanks also for the party invite; I'm sure that was a nice time. I assume I'm off the Christmas Card list but will hopefully redeem myself at some point early in 2008.
Things have been fairly wacky in recent weeks, as usual. Constant ups and downs with the job, daily conversations with myself about going off and finding something else to do, and incredible bewilderment that this industry I work in is such a disaster.
I was having a particularly bad day early last week, but was getting through the day. I went over to visit with a couple of girls who work on my team, and they went on to exclaim how much they enjoyed having me for a manager. "You do things differently, Bryan. You actually care about what's going on. You constantly check to make sure we're doing OK. You're great!"
I was really really touched. They went on to say that a lot of people that work in the repair site would just as soon work on my programs. That's pretty good feedback to have.
Of course, my fuzzy feeling lasted all of 24 hours. The next day the customer managed to call me a dipshit (I didn't even know the Flemmish knew that word) and make me feel like the world's biggest ass. In fairness, I had used some poor judgement which helped fuel the customer's frustrations, but once again, I'm struggling to see their need for 20 people to individually voice their displeasure. One time would have sufficed, and would have kept the teleconference from lasting 2 hours.
So, the beat goes on. I certainly don't care as much as I once did, but I haven't really stopped caring, either. I missed a couple of days work a few weeks back, feeling it was better to get over a cold in the privacy of my own apartment. Today, I just didn't feel like going in to work, so I called up and told my boss that I would work from home.
A year ago (ok, maybe 2 years) I would NEVER have done something like that. However, a year or two ago, I might have been able to take more than 4 days off from work, too.
At least I've booked my flights for Christmas. Once again, I'll be bringing joy and good cheer to Meliana, Alboraya, and Valencia. Jose Miguel, we'll have to abuse alcohol one or two nights while I'm there. Hope you don't mind making that sacrifice!
I've got to sign off and run next door for a little dinner and the Arsenal match, so I'll leave you with a few last bits:
I'm currently reading Redemption, the Stan Tookie Williams story. Wow, that's quite the story to improve your humor.
I ran my dishwasher today, and I'm not sure if I've done it right. There's no soap on the floor, but I'm not sure when the load will be through. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Last but not least - the tunes are still in heavy rotation:
Axodry - You
Alkaline Trio - Don't Say You Wont
Secession - All the Animals Come Out at Night
Bowling For Soup - Ohio
The Pogues - Body of an American
keep the faith
bryan
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
A Couple of Reasons to Smile
Even with the chilly showers and the crap work, I find myself smiling here on a Wednesday for a couple of reasons. Arsenal 7 - Slava Prague 0. What a nice night for football last evening.
Furthermore, I got to see my friend Simone, who was just as charming as ever. What a cool girl.
There will likely be a train strike tomorrow, and I think the milk in the fridge has gone bad, but it's really just another Wednesday, eh?
cheers
bryan
Furthermore, I got to see my friend Simone, who was just as charming as ever. What a cool girl.
There will likely be a train strike tomorrow, and I think the milk in the fridge has gone bad, but it's really just another Wednesday, eh?
cheers
bryan
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Insanity's Circus
Yep, once again, I'm having an absolutely bloody awful month playing program manager. There are a few stories brewing, but I've not had the time to get anything written. I did manage a couple of days celebrating Oktoberfest (interpret that as: drinking self silly and being an idiot), and there have been a handful of laughs.
Unfortunately, most of the past thirty days have been bogged down with work, more work, countless meetings, and not a whole lot of things to smile at.
My landlord has extended my lease; I will be able to stay in my flat until June 2008, which is a great thing. Of course, the next morning after that news found me taking a cold shower. My hot water heater is on the blink, and for the past week I've been taking sponge baths. The report today is that the hausmeister is on holiday until the weekend, so I'm looking at another week of being a guest star on little house on the prairie.
I'm doing my best to find the humor wherever possible (ie...last night at 11pm standing naked in a bathroom the size of a gymnasium soaping myself up in 20 degree water is somewhat funny), but really haven't had a whole lot of pleasant thoughts, so it's a lot harder to write. I'd just as soon not keep a daily diary about work. Life is too short (thanks Pablo, Chris, Tim, Jeff, sis, and EVERYONE who has reminded me lately) to squander it away on some stupid job.
Arsenal are on telly tonight, and I need to stop by the bank before matchtime, so this was just a quickie to say that I'm still out there fighting with a vengeance.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack -
Alkaline Trio - We've Had Enough
Unfortunately, most of the past thirty days have been bogged down with work, more work, countless meetings, and not a whole lot of things to smile at.
My landlord has extended my lease; I will be able to stay in my flat until June 2008, which is a great thing. Of course, the next morning after that news found me taking a cold shower. My hot water heater is on the blink, and for the past week I've been taking sponge baths. The report today is that the hausmeister is on holiday until the weekend, so I'm looking at another week of being a guest star on little house on the prairie.
I'm doing my best to find the humor wherever possible (ie...last night at 11pm standing naked in a bathroom the size of a gymnasium soaping myself up in 20 degree water is somewhat funny), but really haven't had a whole lot of pleasant thoughts, so it's a lot harder to write. I'd just as soon not keep a daily diary about work. Life is too short (thanks Pablo, Chris, Tim, Jeff, sis, and EVERYONE who has reminded me lately) to squander it away on some stupid job.
Arsenal are on telly tonight, and I need to stop by the bank before matchtime, so this was just a quickie to say that I'm still out there fighting with a vengeance.
keep the faith
bryan
soundtrack -
Alkaline Trio - We've Had Enough
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Simonout, Simone out, and some smiles
Yep, the ups and downs of life keep coming in typhoon sized waves, and I'm so used to it that I just kind of shrug, smile sheepishly and move on. One minute I'm thinking I'm back on track, the next minute things are so screwed that I'd just as soon have a root canal performed each week by my dentist.
The past two weeks have been ones filled with lots of reflection. I think a lot of that has to do with the recent death of Lorie; her memorial service was held a couple of weeks ago. I understand the service was quite emotional, but powerful and positive. I was certainly there in spirit, and was really glad to hear that so many people were able to be there to pay respect.
Sure, I've thought a lot about friends over the past weeks (though I'd certainly argue that I tend to think about a lot of friends anyway), but perspectives change after a sudden events, both sad and joyous, don't they?
I remember late last year saying that the Spanish experience had been brilliant; the only thing I was missing was the job. This year, the experience is equally fantastic, with the only downside being, er, the job. Funny enough, I wanted the chance to return to the thick of things, but never dreamed that finally reaching my goal of having European employment would result in me also experiencing record setting personal career lows at the same time.
Is it me? Is it the company? Is it the customer? Is it the industry?
Yes to all of those questions. The company is bollocks; it always has been. I've always rationalized that it was really no better in another company, particularly within the industry. I still believe that.
My customer? For the first time ever in my life I'm dealing with a customer that I'm having trouble respecting. I can appreciate a demanding customer. I'm a demanding customer. But, my customer has proven to be overwhelming. I won't go into gobs of detail (I really don't feel like stooping to that level. Besides I wouldn't feel much better anyway, though it is always fun to say the phrase "complete jerk offs"), and in fairness, they've certainly had justification for being dissatisfied with my company and myself.
That said, the constant browbeating that we've taken has been excessive. I tend to take these things personally, and it gets old real quick.
Each time I've hit a low, however, I search and search and find a way to dig back out. The summer was pretty tough, but I got through it. It's starting to get tough again, and I know I can get through it.
It's no secret how I do it, really. It's always back to basics: music, friends and family, and myself. I'll keep the religion low key. While my mantra "keep the faith" encompasses my personal religious beliefs to some extent, I use it more for the motivation on all fronts. It's finding something to believe in. It's the best way this punk has found to keep it DIY.
On the music front, I've had quite a bit to be psyched up about lately. A couple of weeks ago, I slipped in to a small club to see my friend Goran play a Simonout show. They've spent the summer doing some sizable festivals around Europe, and the band is certainly getting tighter. It's really quite a good show to see, and I'm looking forward to their album release, hopefully scheduled for November or December.
Goran and I always talk music when we see one another (he gets into the pub once in awhile). Whether it be about Pulp or Bob Dylan, it's nice to hear things from the perspective of a musician; sometimes it's a bit better of a conversation than simply, "I like the song because you can dance to it."
There's certainly room for songs that you can dance to, and I appreciate it when someone can make the remark that they do like the song because of a specific element, whether that be the driving beat, the chilling piano, the haunting lyrics, or whatever.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Course of Empire, partly because of the great memories I had of seeing show after show, but also because it's just good music. It's funny how listening to one band can trigger a thought, and I found myself hitting the internet searching for other bands from the same era.
Almost by accident (actually it was because I'd just loaded a few tracks from a Tim compilation onto iTunes, heard a song I hadn't listened to in a while, and then quickly went on line), I found some old 12 inches on the industrial front. Some of it is a bit darker and harder, some of it is a bit more electronica. I'm particularly thrilled that last Saturday, I found some really rare Secession, a Scottish synth band from the mid 80s. I absolutely went nuts trying to find their one CD release about 18 years ago, and I've treasured that CD ever since. Now, I've got a bunch of additional gems that I never thought I'd find.
Besides Secession, I dug really deep and found some Robotico Rejekto and Cetu Javu. Ironically, both of these bands are German, but Cetu Javu is a bit unique in that their lead singer is Spanish, and now teaches at a university in Hannover. (gotta love Wikipedia, eh?)
I'm sure my iTunes library is experiencing all sorts of confusion, as suddenly the heavy punk stuff is getting mixed with quite a few extended versions of 20 year old electronica. Just when you're saying, "well hell, let's have a party," someone comes forward and suggests just that.
My German teacher had a look at my stuff the other day, and asked if I would make her some mixes for the pub's "end of summer" party which will be held this coming Saturday. We spent a few hours compiling a song list, and I discovered that I already had a fair amount of what she wanted. Okay, I never thought I would be downloading an Ace of Base song or Ricky Martin, for that matter, but it's her party. I'm just sorting the track order and burning the discs.
At any rate, it's been great rediscovering some excellent excellent stuff. My office colleague has been forced to listen to a few things that are outside of his tastes, but that's what happens sometimes. Don't stop the music.
I'm quite fortunate to have some pretty great friends that constantly support me from various parts of the world, particularly the states. In Germany, you are pretty much a Bekannte for a period of time. Eventually (say a year or two), you might become friends. At least that's what a lot of the culture books say.
I can appreciate this to some extent, but am always a little unsure of how or where I stand. I've had some good chats with some of the English speaking regulars in the pub, particularly those of us who have our own code in the POS system, and I do feel a part of things, accepted. That's all well and good; it's particularly nice to be able to interact with the neighborhood and its residents.
Obviously I know a fair amount of Germans after living here for 10 months, and consider several of them friends. Initially, I perceived that people were being a bit cautious, but over the past months they have seemed to warmed up. However, with the exception of Stefan, the guy I've known longest, I'm not exactly sure if these others actually consider me to be a friend, or merely a really good acquaintance.
A couple of months ago, during one of the rougher weeks I had in summer, I happened to meet a girl that left a pretty good impression. We had a few beers together and a really nice conversation. I left the pub that evening feeling better than I had in weeks.
Though she said she'd come back to the pub a couple of weeks later (after a business trip), I was still surprised when she showed up, but again, we had a nice evening chatting about all sorts of things. Each Tuesday evening since, we've tended to hang out at the pub together.
I must say it's been pretty great, and exactly what I needed in Frankfurt, particularly with the amount of unpleasantness associated with my work. At least outside of work things are much better.
Strangely, I really have no idea how this girl feels about me. Since my love life can pretty much be summed up track for track in the album "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" by the Bouncing Souls, I think I prefer to stay as naive as possible about that situation.
Right about now Moe is saying, "Bupkis."
I don't have a great response to that, other than that the girl Simone is simply too special to me; there's no pressing need to run off and try to force something that may or may not be meant to be.
The past two weeks have been ones filled with lots of reflection. I think a lot of that has to do with the recent death of Lorie; her memorial service was held a couple of weeks ago. I understand the service was quite emotional, but powerful and positive. I was certainly there in spirit, and was really glad to hear that so many people were able to be there to pay respect.
Sure, I've thought a lot about friends over the past weeks (though I'd certainly argue that I tend to think about a lot of friends anyway), but perspectives change after a sudden events, both sad and joyous, don't they?
I remember late last year saying that the Spanish experience had been brilliant; the only thing I was missing was the job. This year, the experience is equally fantastic, with the only downside being, er, the job. Funny enough, I wanted the chance to return to the thick of things, but never dreamed that finally reaching my goal of having European employment would result in me also experiencing record setting personal career lows at the same time.
Is it me? Is it the company? Is it the customer? Is it the industry?
Yes to all of those questions. The company is bollocks; it always has been. I've always rationalized that it was really no better in another company, particularly within the industry. I still believe that.
My customer? For the first time ever in my life I'm dealing with a customer that I'm having trouble respecting. I can appreciate a demanding customer. I'm a demanding customer. But, my customer has proven to be overwhelming. I won't go into gobs of detail (I really don't feel like stooping to that level. Besides I wouldn't feel much better anyway, though it is always fun to say the phrase "complete jerk offs"), and in fairness, they've certainly had justification for being dissatisfied with my company and myself.
That said, the constant browbeating that we've taken has been excessive. I tend to take these things personally, and it gets old real quick.
Each time I've hit a low, however, I search and search and find a way to dig back out. The summer was pretty tough, but I got through it. It's starting to get tough again, and I know I can get through it.
It's no secret how I do it, really. It's always back to basics: music, friends and family, and myself. I'll keep the religion low key. While my mantra "keep the faith" encompasses my personal religious beliefs to some extent, I use it more for the motivation on all fronts. It's finding something to believe in. It's the best way this punk has found to keep it DIY.
On the music front, I've had quite a bit to be psyched up about lately. A couple of weeks ago, I slipped in to a small club to see my friend Goran play a Simonout show. They've spent the summer doing some sizable festivals around Europe, and the band is certainly getting tighter. It's really quite a good show to see, and I'm looking forward to their album release, hopefully scheduled for November or December.
Goran and I always talk music when we see one another (he gets into the pub once in awhile). Whether it be about Pulp or Bob Dylan, it's nice to hear things from the perspective of a musician; sometimes it's a bit better of a conversation than simply, "I like the song because you can dance to it."
There's certainly room for songs that you can dance to, and I appreciate it when someone can make the remark that they do like the song because of a specific element, whether that be the driving beat, the chilling piano, the haunting lyrics, or whatever.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Course of Empire, partly because of the great memories I had of seeing show after show, but also because it's just good music. It's funny how listening to one band can trigger a thought, and I found myself hitting the internet searching for other bands from the same era.
Almost by accident (actually it was because I'd just loaded a few tracks from a Tim compilation onto iTunes, heard a song I hadn't listened to in a while, and then quickly went on line), I found some old 12 inches on the industrial front. Some of it is a bit darker and harder, some of it is a bit more electronica. I'm particularly thrilled that last Saturday, I found some really rare Secession, a Scottish synth band from the mid 80s. I absolutely went nuts trying to find their one CD release about 18 years ago, and I've treasured that CD ever since. Now, I've got a bunch of additional gems that I never thought I'd find.
Besides Secession, I dug really deep and found some Robotico Rejekto and Cetu Javu. Ironically, both of these bands are German, but Cetu Javu is a bit unique in that their lead singer is Spanish, and now teaches at a university in Hannover. (gotta love Wikipedia, eh?)
I'm sure my iTunes library is experiencing all sorts of confusion, as suddenly the heavy punk stuff is getting mixed with quite a few extended versions of 20 year old electronica. Just when you're saying, "well hell, let's have a party," someone comes forward and suggests just that.
My German teacher had a look at my stuff the other day, and asked if I would make her some mixes for the pub's "end of summer" party which will be held this coming Saturday. We spent a few hours compiling a song list, and I discovered that I already had a fair amount of what she wanted. Okay, I never thought I would be downloading an Ace of Base song or Ricky Martin, for that matter, but it's her party. I'm just sorting the track order and burning the discs.
At any rate, it's been great rediscovering some excellent excellent stuff. My office colleague has been forced to listen to a few things that are outside of his tastes, but that's what happens sometimes. Don't stop the music.
I'm quite fortunate to have some pretty great friends that constantly support me from various parts of the world, particularly the states. In Germany, you are pretty much a Bekannte for a period of time. Eventually (say a year or two), you might become friends. At least that's what a lot of the culture books say.
I can appreciate this to some extent, but am always a little unsure of how or where I stand. I've had some good chats with some of the English speaking regulars in the pub, particularly those of us who have our own code in the POS system, and I do feel a part of things, accepted. That's all well and good; it's particularly nice to be able to interact with the neighborhood and its residents.
Obviously I know a fair amount of Germans after living here for 10 months, and consider several of them friends. Initially, I perceived that people were being a bit cautious, but over the past months they have seemed to warmed up. However, with the exception of Stefan, the guy I've known longest, I'm not exactly sure if these others actually consider me to be a friend, or merely a really good acquaintance.
A couple of months ago, during one of the rougher weeks I had in summer, I happened to meet a girl that left a pretty good impression. We had a few beers together and a really nice conversation. I left the pub that evening feeling better than I had in weeks.
Though she said she'd come back to the pub a couple of weeks later (after a business trip), I was still surprised when she showed up, but again, we had a nice evening chatting about all sorts of things. Each Tuesday evening since, we've tended to hang out at the pub together.
I must say it's been pretty great, and exactly what I needed in Frankfurt, particularly with the amount of unpleasantness associated with my work. At least outside of work things are much better.
Strangely, I really have no idea how this girl feels about me. Since my love life can pretty much be summed up track for track in the album "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" by the Bouncing Souls, I think I prefer to stay as naive as possible about that situation.
Right about now Moe is saying, "Bupkis."
I don't have a great response to that, other than that the girl Simone is simply too special to me; there's no pressing need to run off and try to force something that may or may not be meant to be.
She was out of town this past weekend, but I look forward to giving her a big hug when I see her tomorrow night.
So, besides the music and the friends, I keep looking for any reason to smile. Don't take this to be an act of desperation, it's just that sometimes it's a bit challenging to find the humor during rough spots, so you have to look a little harder.
Next to afore mentioned girl whose name is difficult for me to pronounce, the biggest reason I'm finding to smile right now is Arsenal football. The team is playing so well and so attractively. English press tends to be a pretty fair weather outfit; most of last season was filled with reports of how poorly Arsenal were playing, that they were lost without the efforts of Thierry Henry, etc. It certainly got old reading that press, particularly since the club were really not playing all that well.
It's early in the season, but Arsenal are showing real signs of maturity. The average age of the club is still quite young, but kudos to their manager for putting his faith into building a club that can do some wonderful things. The English press is once again using all kinds of superlatives to describe the quality of play that Arsenal are demonstrating. Indeed, it's certainly worth a subscription to Fox Soccer Channel (for those statesiders that don't already have it). I have to rely on a few pubs around town to ensure that I'm seeing matches. I missed Saturday's match (caught the highlights off the internet), but I found out that an Albanian bar in the city showed the match, so I'll add that to the list of venues that are possible matchday options.
Other random smiles are coming fairly frequently, thank goodness.
During the morning commutes, the trains tend to be pretty full, and Darmstadt is a pretty busy stop. Thus, when we all get off the train, we move as a large mass up the stairs, which becomes a bit complicated because there's always one or two people trying to get down the stairs to catch the departing train, and almost always someone has a bicycle.
It goes without saying that you kind of have to watch your step, much the way you do at a crowded concert or sporting event in a large stadium. Unlike the stadium, where the aisles are only big enough to allow two people to walk, the stairs at the train station allow for about 8 people across. Basically, if you trip and fall forward, you'll potentially knock everyone down in front of you; you fall "up the steps." Likewise, if you fall backwards, you've basically just fucked everyone behind you.
I've been waiting all year to see an accident, not because I like to see (not much, anyway) people experience pain, but because I wanted to see how big the domino effect would be.
Last week, I was walking beside three guys and one of them suddenly went, "Oh! Oh!" and I realized that he had tripped and was falling forward. He grabbed on to the first thing he could, which happened to be the girl in front of him. She started to fall forward, but the guy just needed to stabilize, so he managed to hold himself up as well as the girl. In the end, we all started laughing because it was such a close call: had he tripped into me and all four of us guys fallen backwards, we would have knocked over close to 25 people.
OK, maybe this is where I have to say, "maybe you had to be there" to appreciate the humor in the situation.
Wow, it's about all I can do to get this piece finished up. It's taken way too long, and covers a few too many topics. Furthermore, I started this last Friday, and am just now finishing it up. The party at the pub Saturday night was pretty successful. Certainly the music was excellent, and once again, I probably should have skipped the tequila shots (or was it the combination of pils and chupitos?). Sunday was spent sleeping and trying to not think about the return to Monday work.
Today, it's business as usual. Loads of emails, a handful of meetings and the excitement of some plumping problem in the mens' restroom.
keep the faith
bryan
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Underground Rock DJs - Left of the Dial
I'm really missing music right now. There's a noticeable emptiness in my life without a piano, and that's been particularly frustrating as of late. Of course, should I find myself sitting down with an opportunity to play, I think I'd prefer to do so in the privacy of a sound proof room so as not to give anyone other than myself the chance to hear how horribly I probably play after a year's hiatus.
Sure, there's a guitar sitting in my living room, and it has sat there quietly for the past few months as I've been mucking around with work and everything else. Guitar has never come easily to me, but it sure came better when I actually played regularly.
I miss singing in the Alboraya choir, too. Lynne has had a few concerts throughout this year, and I always liked hearing the reports; a chance to live vicariously.
Fortunately, it's not been a total disaster. I've finally loaded my laptop with a couple of gig worth of music and that's been a real benefit. A friend told me about a little PC subwoofer system he bought for 30 Euros, and I found it to be excellent. It may not be the best way for me to have music floating around (I'd much prefer the wall of sound stereo components), but it's certainly filling the void.
Though I've got a buddy who does play locally in Frankfurt (this Saturday is his next show), I've not seen too many shows. However, I have seen a couple, and have also had several nice discussions about lots of different music groups and styles.
From those discussions, I've listened to some stuff I never would have discovered otherwise, and on the flip side, I've got a few people listening to Alkaline Trio and Course of Empire around Bornheim. That's flippin' cool.
One of my goals for the year was to get a few more CDs played on the stereo in the pub. Once the pub reopened under Ray, I was able to slip a few things into the changer, and I'm personally glad about a double disc of Alkaline Trio that's made it into rotation on a semi regular basis.
But, it seems that a lot of folks like a bit more fiddly type music in an Irish pub. My argument that we could just play more Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys met with a bit of push back; the idea is not to have the music force the patrons to go to another establishment.
After listening to some of the more mainstream selections the pub was playing, I realized that I might have the perfect CD lying around: a four CD compilation of music we referred to as "underground" back at the end of the 80s and early 90s. While there are several popular songs on the comp, the majority of the songs really make you say, "wow, I always liked that song but just didn't hear it that much."
Certainly, this stuff didn't really have a big place on the radio airwaves, especially after George Gimarc left Dallas radio. Since that was way before Internet radio, we were forced to keep trading music tips amongst ourselves. That went really well until we got more and more busy with jobs and families and stuff and had less time to peruse the diminishing alternative record stores about.
Last Friday when the light bulb went on, I scrounged around in my drawer and found my CD which has this tasty compilation, then took it over to the pub and asked Ray to play it some time. He put it in immediately, and without further ado, people were sort of perking up saying, "wow, what's this?"
Several hours later, I told John how pleased I was that my CD was still playing. I was a bit nervous, since after the four Cd's of 80s rock there were two discs of some pretty lively punk (under the compilation known as "rock against bush") and didn't want the barman to get riled up. Sometimes punk is perfect in the pub, and other times even I'll admit that perhaps we should listen to something else.
I was the last man standing at the pub that night, due in part to the cool music and due in part to the good crowd at the pub that night. Stefan was around, John was there, I had a cool chat with Nathalie (she, like John, has been recently introduced to COE), and Simone came in with her sister and a friend. All in all, quite the nice evening.
In fact, the evening went a bit too well. I spent most of Saturday trying to get motivated to get out of bed. I skipped the gym, the shopping, and all the other stuff I had planned to do, and tried to remember if I'd really had a shot of tequila or not.
I did get to the store for milk and bread before I had my German class, then proceeded to get a real schooling in Genativ, Dativ, and Akkusativ: it's the German version of the subjunctive in Spanish. Talk about really difficult...
At the close of class, Ninjaa and I walked next door to have a drink, and ran into Max, Heike and Stefan, who all helped me to pronounce the name Simone. You'd think this wouldn't be that difficult for me, but as it turns out, I've been butchering this poor girl's name, and frankly, I'm embarrassed. (I would like to point out that it's my tendency to use Spanish pronunciation with a lot of German words; I'm struggling to break that habit)
I'd intended to have only one guinness, but that led to a second, then a third. Why? The tunes were super groovy, okay? I looked down to the end of the bar to see Ninjaa singing along to a Sisters of Mercy track, and then watched her get even more psyched up when Joy Division came on. Gotta love it.
Stefan talked me into heading down the street to our old standby, Sugar. There, we had a few margaritas each, and that right there would have made for a nice Saturday night. We had all the intentions of calling it a night, but then we ran into Abu, who told us that we should go down to a place called Chameleon (Karma Karma). Why not?
The place was supposedly just a few more meters down Berger Strasse, but just when we thought we weren't going to be to find it, we rounded a corner to see a bouncer standing outside the bar.
Inside we went, telling each other we'd each have a beer, then get on home. Abu appeared out of nowhere, then Howie (a German regular at the pub who happens to love John Hughes films) showed up and invited us to, er, a couple of shots of Jagermeister.
I really think had we stopped after the one shot, I would have been OK, but caution was flapping around in a gale storm, so of course we had another shot or two along with a few beers.
Stefan danced, and Howie and I exchanged a few "Bueller? Bueller?"s with each other.
Finally I came to my senses and signalled Stefan. It was time to go.
Sure, there's a guitar sitting in my living room, and it has sat there quietly for the past few months as I've been mucking around with work and everything else. Guitar has never come easily to me, but it sure came better when I actually played regularly.
I miss singing in the Alboraya choir, too. Lynne has had a few concerts throughout this year, and I always liked hearing the reports; a chance to live vicariously.
Fortunately, it's not been a total disaster. I've finally loaded my laptop with a couple of gig worth of music and that's been a real benefit. A friend told me about a little PC subwoofer system he bought for 30 Euros, and I found it to be excellent. It may not be the best way for me to have music floating around (I'd much prefer the wall of sound stereo components), but it's certainly filling the void.
Though I've got a buddy who does play locally in Frankfurt (this Saturday is his next show), I've not seen too many shows. However, I have seen a couple, and have also had several nice discussions about lots of different music groups and styles.
From those discussions, I've listened to some stuff I never would have discovered otherwise, and on the flip side, I've got a few people listening to Alkaline Trio and Course of Empire around Bornheim. That's flippin' cool.
One of my goals for the year was to get a few more CDs played on the stereo in the pub. Once the pub reopened under Ray, I was able to slip a few things into the changer, and I'm personally glad about a double disc of Alkaline Trio that's made it into rotation on a semi regular basis.
But, it seems that a lot of folks like a bit more fiddly type music in an Irish pub. My argument that we could just play more Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys met with a bit of push back; the idea is not to have the music force the patrons to go to another establishment.
After listening to some of the more mainstream selections the pub was playing, I realized that I might have the perfect CD lying around: a four CD compilation of music we referred to as "underground" back at the end of the 80s and early 90s. While there are several popular songs on the comp, the majority of the songs really make you say, "wow, I always liked that song but just didn't hear it that much."
Certainly, this stuff didn't really have a big place on the radio airwaves, especially after George Gimarc left Dallas radio. Since that was way before Internet radio, we were forced to keep trading music tips amongst ourselves. That went really well until we got more and more busy with jobs and families and stuff and had less time to peruse the diminishing alternative record stores about.
Last Friday when the light bulb went on, I scrounged around in my drawer and found my CD which has this tasty compilation, then took it over to the pub and asked Ray to play it some time. He put it in immediately, and without further ado, people were sort of perking up saying, "wow, what's this?"
Several hours later, I told John how pleased I was that my CD was still playing. I was a bit nervous, since after the four Cd's of 80s rock there were two discs of some pretty lively punk (under the compilation known as "rock against bush") and didn't want the barman to get riled up. Sometimes punk is perfect in the pub, and other times even I'll admit that perhaps we should listen to something else.
I was the last man standing at the pub that night, due in part to the cool music and due in part to the good crowd at the pub that night. Stefan was around, John was there, I had a cool chat with Nathalie (she, like John, has been recently introduced to COE), and Simone came in with her sister and a friend. All in all, quite the nice evening.
In fact, the evening went a bit too well. I spent most of Saturday trying to get motivated to get out of bed. I skipped the gym, the shopping, and all the other stuff I had planned to do, and tried to remember if I'd really had a shot of tequila or not.
I did get to the store for milk and bread before I had my German class, then proceeded to get a real schooling in Genativ, Dativ, and Akkusativ: it's the German version of the subjunctive in Spanish. Talk about really difficult...
At the close of class, Ninjaa and I walked next door to have a drink, and ran into Max, Heike and Stefan, who all helped me to pronounce the name Simone. You'd think this wouldn't be that difficult for me, but as it turns out, I've been butchering this poor girl's name, and frankly, I'm embarrassed. (I would like to point out that it's my tendency to use Spanish pronunciation with a lot of German words; I'm struggling to break that habit)
I'd intended to have only one guinness, but that led to a second, then a third. Why? The tunes were super groovy, okay? I looked down to the end of the bar to see Ninjaa singing along to a Sisters of Mercy track, and then watched her get even more psyched up when Joy Division came on. Gotta love it.
Stefan talked me into heading down the street to our old standby, Sugar. There, we had a few margaritas each, and that right there would have made for a nice Saturday night. We had all the intentions of calling it a night, but then we ran into Abu, who told us that we should go down to a place called Chameleon (Karma Karma). Why not?
The place was supposedly just a few more meters down Berger Strasse, but just when we thought we weren't going to be to find it, we rounded a corner to see a bouncer standing outside the bar.
Inside we went, telling each other we'd each have a beer, then get on home. Abu appeared out of nowhere, then Howie (a German regular at the pub who happens to love John Hughes films) showed up and invited us to, er, a couple of shots of Jagermeister.
I really think had we stopped after the one shot, I would have been OK, but caution was flapping around in a gale storm, so of course we had another shot or two along with a few beers.
Stefan danced, and Howie and I exchanged a few "Bueller? Bueller?"s with each other.
Finally I came to my senses and signalled Stefan. It was time to go.
All right, that meant that Stefan agressively tried to push the door open to get out of the club; unfortunately the doors opened in, much to the irritation of the bouncer.
Out on the street, I immediately headed in the wrong direction, and Stefan pointed the right way. We staggered back down the street, and what should have been a simple 3 minute walk seemed to take quite a bit longer. During this time, Stefan talked to a bush, took a leak on some flowers, and misinterpreted a passerby's suggestion that "you shouldn't piss on the flowers; it's a 20 Euro fine" for a sexual solicitation, which prompted him to make a remark, which then set off the passerby, who was certainly not into that.
For a moment, I thought we'd have a bit of trouble, which none of us really wanted. It was more comical than anything else, and very much out of character, the agressive remarks, that is.
I had a quiet word with the stranger, and the scene melted into nothing.
Stefan and I stopped for a cigarette outside of the Irish pub, before I declined Stefan's invitation to sit down at an empty table. It was 5am, and time for bed.
Sunday, I couldn't feel my face. I don't know how I got up to watch the Arsenal match, and I'm not really sure that an Irish breakfast was a real good idea. Arsenal played well, and after the third score, another patron murmured, "Wow, that's real enthusiasm, Bryan," as I continued to sit there.
"There's really no reason to yell," I responded, and went on to explain that I'd had a rough night.
After the match, I thought I'd head to the gym, but ended up sitting at home watching Kids Incorporated on YouTube for a couple of hours before finally collapsing on the couch to watch a James Bond film on TV.
Monday came well enough, but I couldn't seem to get out of the house. At 8.30, I forced myself down the street to the U-Bahn, passing the Gelato shop that some people I know own. "Wow, looks like someone poured petrol on their patio furniture and torched it," I thought to myself while waiting a couple of extra moments to light a cigarette.
The work day was a catastrophe, but I got through, and willed myself into the gym, where I had a pathetic workout. I gave up after an hour, and headed for home.
As I passed the same Gelato shop (now without any furniture in front), I decided I'd better have a chicken salad for dinner, so trudged into the pub (like I'd actually have lettuce in my house!) where I found Stefan sitting at the bar.
We had a few chuckles as we compared stories from Sunday and Monday. Stefan remarked that I looked like shit, and of course I replied that I ALWAYS look like that. I did have a nice salad, then finished with brandy and port to hopefully settle my stomach, which was still feeling a bit unfriendly.
With PreFabSprout playing in the background, Ray told me that, indeed, a disgruntled guy who used to live above the Gelato shop had poured gasoline on the outdoor furniture and set fire to it around 3am the night before.
On the positive side, the temperature here is dropping into the high 40s at night, so not too many people are sitting outside; autumn is here. (On the not so positive side..HOLY SHIT, somebody burned something down in my neighborhood!)
So that's how my September has started. Hessen is quickly becoming a non smoking region. Those of you on the anti-smoke campaign can be happy that I've not been sneaking any more smokes on the trains.
It'd be nice if my work permit was back in force, but apparently it's going to take several weeks. That's not too cool, but we'll figure something out. Hopefully.
It strikes me that given my present residence/work situation, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to go out two night on the trot and tie one on. However, I'm thinking it was EXACTLY what I needed.
So Stefan, vergißt du nichts Coconuts, Tanzen, und that Nancy Sinatra song, "Strawberries, Cherries, and ..."
Remember the tunes, listen to the tunes, and Alles wird gut.
keep the faith
bryan
iPods, song requests, and Advil can be sent to me at my address in Frankfurt.
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