I'm not embedding photos into the text to save time. I want to write this all out, but not take a ton of time with the pics. So reference the link above at your heart's content.
Work was slow and I couldn't focus. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the clouds were either beautiful or non-existent. But somehow I got through the day.
I was "working" and my manager walked by and said she and my other boss needed to talk to me stat. So I went into their office, sat down, and the CEO walked in. I was wondering what was going on...
Well, we all sat down and the CEO started talking about how they were impressed at how fast and how well I worked. They liked what I've done so far (which really isn't much...), and that if I was interested, they would be willing to keep me on after the program. Essentially a job offer with no details or concrete information. I was pretty surprised. They said they were going to wait until the end of the program to bring that up, but hey, it's good to know they like what I do!
But honestly, I'm not really sure if I want to take them up on it. I know for sure this would be the easiest way for me to remain in Germany. That's a no brainer. They know me, they know how I work, they're pleased with how I work, and they seem pretty willing to keep me on and help to make that happen. That is all very reassuring and awesome.
The main thing I need to do is ask about the details. What would I exactly be doing? What would be my 'title'? Job description? Responsibilities? Daily tasks? Would I be expected to develop to a specific role? What would I be earning (I've got loans to pay off)? All that and more I need to get clarified before I can make a full decision.
But yeah, I think I've got a chance to stay here if it all works out. And it would definitely be a constructive experience for me to stay with 8.2. It's something I need to think about, but that could hold a lot of promise!
After work, I went home and we had our first official grill party of the year! Some fresh fish, grilled veggies, Merguez, and a bunch of other stuff. Great people, salivating food, refreshing drinks, so much awesomeness in one evening. Absolute bliss.
Well, the fun didn't just end with food. I decided to jump out of my shell and have some fun. Around 10:30 I left the house with my bike, camera, tripod, and some bumpin tunes through the headphones. I'd been wanting to do this for quite some time, and finally made it happen.
With a pretty empty city and perfect weather, I had a little photography session of my new city at night. And let's just say the results were pretty satisfactory. There were a couple pictures I took that really stood out to me. Take a look at the album yourselves and feel free to let me know what you think!
It was a really fun and relaxing evening. I took my time with the pictures and tried some different things out, I was hitting the shuffle luck with great song after great song constantly popping up, and it was very peaceful having the city pretty much to myself. And the perfect weather really made it that much better. I can definitely still be quite the introvert, and this was an awesome way to feed this side of me.
An awesome night/early morning. I definitely want to do this more often. Not just at night, but during the day too. Practice leads to improvement!!!
Schlagball. (all german) It is an awesome sport. And it is a German sport. I happened upon it by total accident a few weeks ago, and I've been really enjoying it quite thoroughly when I get to play it every week.
The team that I've been playing with set up a game against the other team here in Hamburg, and with blue skies and perfect weather, we went head to head at the city park. It was a hot, sweaty, tiring battle, but it came down to a tie score (I think just to make it neutral after the game...). It was a lot of fun, and it was my first actual Schlagball game! I played pretty well too. I got at least 6 points from catching, a cool catch and immediate throw-out, and a good job running too. Not that any of that means anything to those reading this, but I did pretty good!
After the game, we hung out and grilled and chilled at the park all afternoon. THAT IS THE LIFE!!! Good sports, good people, good food, great weather, and combining it all into the perfect Saturday!!! Really a perfect Saturday.
Me and Lutz were off to a St. Pauli Game!!!!! Apparently one of the most famous football clubs throughout the world, I'm lucky enough to live in their city, and got even luckier by scoring some tickets to one of their home games!!! I was really pumped to go. I love stadiums that get totally into the games.
Sidenote: I CANNOT WAIT until my next Buckeye game at The Shoe!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, St. Pauli got crushed 3-1. They played like crap the entire time, and it was kinda sad to see. Even though they got destroyed, the game was fun. Sport is my religion, so I got to bask in the arena of competition and enjoy a Hamburg must-see. Boom Baby!!!
After the game, me and Lutz met up with Malte, another frisbee guy here in Hamburg. We went to a park and chilled around for a bit throwing some Frisbee. Afterwards, I went and explored a really cool building along the harbor. It looks exactly like a ship, and I've been intrigued by it since my first time in Hamburg. I had fun taking pictures of it and getting to climb up to the top for a great view!!!
Overall, an unbeatable weekend. Full of me time, social time, sport time, food time, everything. Why is the weekend only two days? The world will never know...
Another 4 day work week (Thank You Germany and your many holidays!!!). Wide open plans this weekend. I'll find something fun though. And then next week, Hamburg's Harbor turns 825 years old! Apparently there's a big party and boat parade through the harbor. So that'll be quite the experience!!!
Original Publish Date: April 28th, 2014