A COUPLE WEEKS GONE BY...
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CBYX/PPP - 25 - Some Early Spring RandomnessWhat's Happened.
I feel like I've been out of touch. Sorry about that folks. The last couple weeks have been pretty fun but no outstanding or superawesomeamazing circumstances or events have really stood out on a consistent basis. But, here's a little of what's been going down.
Well, two or three weekends ago (idk, sometime in the past), we had a BEAUTIFUL weekend here in Hamburg. Just around 17C, no clouds, perfect weather. So I jumped on my bike with my headphones rockin the jamz and rode around town all weekend. I discovered a few new parks, got a nice nap on a grassy knoll, and even ended it all off on a great note grilling on the beach. What. Is. Up.
A couple weeks ago I had a day that was a little too German for me. I got hassled by my roommate for eating rotkohl for the second time a week. WTF. It's like I'm going to curl up and dry out because I didn't wait 14 days between repeating meals. JESUS CHRIST. I also went to the theater with my roommate and landlady, and we saw a play. It was the slowest story I've seen. And dark too. I'm not a big theater goer, but this was not what I would've chosen (it was free. woot.) and then, on the way home, they started talking about a bakery. Literally, just a bakery. Discussing what their favorite thing was, why they liked it, their second fav.... JESUS CHRIST. Too. Much. But, thankfully, that day was a pretty isolated event.
That weekend, I went back to Magdeburg for the afternoon to go to Dietrich's (my guest grandpa) birthday party! It was really nice going back and seeing everyone I met though him again. It was only a couple of hours, but it was really fun.
Leaving Dietrich's I felt full and content, but sad to leave. The people there made it a very special day. Some people I've never met, or only met once, treat me so special and are so caring and helpful. It's amazing to see how much genuine people care about others, and how much of an affect that has, namely on me. I got hit hard with the warm and fuzzies, and just wish there was a way to show people my appreciation for them despite the problem of distance.
That following week (last week) I spent it back up in Esbjerg, Denmark for work. This time around, my boss wanted me to lead an inspection, and not just watch on the side. I was kinda nervous for it because a) there's so many friggin things to monitor and check in one inspection, and b) I didn't really want to do it. I'm not really sure why, but I just wasn't really interested in going further than just watching and seeing how the process goes.
Well, we only got 4 tower inspections the whole week. A whole lot different than last time. And due to my limited training certification (read, none) I was even further limited than before. But me and one of the inspectors 'snuck' in to one of the nacelles and did a fake inspection where I just kinda walked through and tried to find problems. It was interesting...
One little downside/traurigkeit. I took a page of my notebook and made a combined calendar of the rest of the days left in the program so I could map out my days and try and keep track of my weekends and stuff. It helps for me to see it all in one spot, you know? Well, I did that, and it's been really helpful, but now I just made it that more evident that this amazing experience is finite. There is an end to this, and it makes me really sad...
Well, I got back Friday afternoon, and kicked off a pretty great and lazy weekend. Friday I met up with Matt from the program for some beers. Then I was gonna go meet up with a buddy and his gf who were in town from Magdeburg but had to kill some time first. So I wandered around the U-Bahn network and scoped some cool photography spots. Here's a little taste.
The Saturday was AWESOME because I went to a Craft Beer Festival with Matt and Derek. FINALLY some delicious beer. No more Pilsners. REAL STOUTS!!! THICK PORTERS!!! ZOMFG I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!! I felt completely at home. Finally a little variety and deliciousness. Gah, impossible to fully describe...
Then on Sunday I played some frisbee with a couple of guys from the team here in town. Better than that, though, was I learned a new game. It's called Schlagball, and it's awesome. And, as one of the people I met there told me, it's an old nazi game.
Well, the game is a blast and I'll be playing more in the future. It's a definitely a game you'd play in elementary school (which is where they learned it) and it's so cool you can't not keep playing it. It's a cross between baseball, dodgeball, and capture the flag, kind of... I'm not even going to try and explain it. But it was a blast!!!
Well, this week has been just another work week. Pretty standard. I think I have a problem though, I have no motivation to work. It's actually pretty bad. Either I have something to do but have absolutely no interest or intrigue to do it, or I have nothing to do. I'm not sure how to get more motivated to do my work. I feel like there's a couple of reasons why I'm in this 'slump': I'm getting paid next to nothing, I feel like I'm not really needed there, it's not what I was expecting, and the work I'm doing is less interesting that what I'm learning on the periphery.
Regardless of what it may be, I feel like this problem could really bite me in the ass down the road if I can't focus on the tasks at hand. There's always going to be boring stuff to do, or stuff that doesn't really interest me. But I'm still going to have to get that stuff done. I gotta really work on this.
On better news, I think I found a solution to my German bread woes!!! As most of you know, I have had a bear of a time trying to find bread that I can enjoy, namely with my sandwiches. Everything just falls apart and can't hold on to what I try and do. It's been frustrating and downright terrible. But, this week, I performed an experiment.
Instead of buying the normal sliced loaves ('American bread' variety or cheap schwarzbrot variety) I bought a big unsliced loaf. Using the bread chop saw in my kitchen (literally a saw, specifically meant for bread), I have revolutionized my German bread use. I think the problem before and still now is that German bread isn't made to handle actual sandwiches. Their sandwich is a single slice of wurst and a single slice of cheese: small and simple. That not how I roll. I put it all in there, but noooOOOOOoooo they can't handle my baller sandwiches. So yeah, bread, I found mine.
This week has been pretty standard though. Struggling to find concentration and motivation at work. My boss actually told me I shouldn't be working so much, but interacting more with my coworkers and not just sitting at my desk. I don't want to be annoying and interrupt people at work, but hey, I guess they want me to a little bit.
I played some frisbee on Monday and Tuesday. I really miss my teams in Köln and Magdeburg. The team here (yes, I'm still in the 'getting to know everyone' process, so that plays a role) is a lot different. The biggest difference is tactic. The team here doesn't know how to practice correctly. They do drills to practice stuff you would (or at least should) never do in a game. But they do it and then learn bad habits and it shows when we play. That's really friggin frustrating. But I don'y want to be an asshole, living here for a few months and try and change their whole system around. Idk, I might talk to the captains and suggest some stuff, but I don't know how well it would be received. I'm not getting the most laid-back vibe from these people...
I did make some baller stir fry last night though. Holy crap was it yummy. And spicy. I finally found some spicy jalapeños, and got a little kick in the mouth from them. I've been missing that.
Roaming Minds and Thoughts...
Sometimes I can be a really self-centered arschloch. Some times when I see other people happy or in their element, I get jealous. Not happy for them, not satisfied at seeing others in their element, not thankful for what/where/who I am, I get jealous... That's a pretty self-centered emotion and I don't like it when it happens. Usually it's when I'm not where I want to be, or not in a good mood or so, but regardless, I need to work on being happy for people and not jealous that I'm not where they're at.
Small Talk Brightening My Day?
For work before last week, I had some stuff to do to help one of the guys prepare to head to Oregon to inspect a Biogas plant. He just got some fancy gas analyzer and wanted to see if it'd go through without fees and stuff. So I had to call Customs and Border Patrol, and the TSA. To put it honestly, I actually enjoyed it, for quite a few reasons. I finally got some small talk back in my life, it's non-existent here in Germany. I was treated with friendly customer service, especially in comparison to the shit they call 'customer service' here. And, I got to speak in English for a purpose. Overall, it was all just really refreshing.
US Rant
I'm doing research on US Wind Energy policy and the US Wind Energy Market and such, and through this I'm seeing how much the US goes for quick fixes and has no foresight for long term use or benefits. Everything is about how to get something figured out for the next couple years, and then worry more about it later. But nothing gets done in the mean time, so it is all just a continuous serious of shitty quick fixes that do nothing to help the problem in the long term. Case-in-point, Production Tax Credit and it's "progression" over time. A fucking joke of incapability of our government.
History of the Production Tax CreditTaxes and Enforcement
Probably the most important sports boss in this country, FC Bayern owner Uli Hoeness, was indicted for tax evasion. Trial started on a Monday and ended Friday. He was found guilty, and admitted to more than what was being charged against him. He was sentenced to 3.5 years and did not make an attempt to appeal or complain about it. He took it like a man, admitted to his wrongdoings and is accepting the punishment for his actions. Would you ever see that in the US? I think not. He even made sandwiches for reporters that came to report at his house. Despite seeing someone try to take advantage of the government, most likely because of his position, he took responsibility for his actions, and that restored a little bit of my hope for humanity.
Original Publish Date: March 7th, 2014