Jason's Daily Notes

I scheduled two viewings for the day. Just because I still officially have no flat.

Still awaiting the decision from Tobi and my #1 flat. I'm trying to prepare myself for a "no" answer.

But I did get word from the company that I could move into one of their flats temporarily until I found my own place to live. Awesome! So that means I finally, for the first time in 2.5 months, have my own place to live!

My other goal for the day: register with the city. To do that, I needed my rental contract. I emailed with the company to see when I could get it, but Lisa didn't respond until the late afternoon.

In the meantime, I explored a bit (walking across the bridge) and then went to view my first flat of the day. It was being let by an agency; the guy (Markus) arrived 10 minutes late on his bike. It's in Flingern Süd, walking distance from the Hbf (with some new development, including pwc's office, nearby) but not really the most convenient location for me to get to work. But the room would be furnished. Meh. It's like my #3 or 4 choice, just for being furnished.

I then took the tram from the Hbf to Düsseltal, to at least see the neighborhood where the company flat was. It's a good area. Perfect biking distance to work. I walked onward into Pempelfort/Derendorf, where I caught the 701 tram from Münsterplatz (I'm learning these places already!) into the city center and returned to Burger King (which is now my go-to spot for free Wifi!). I got a crispy chicken combo, which tasted really artificial, and checked my email/chatted with Oli and Topi a little on fb. I then got Lisa's email that I could come pick up the contract, so I rushed through my meal and went straight to the office, trying to make it before 5pm. I got there at 4:58 XD and picked up the contract and keys from Monique, the receptionist. I also briefly met Marko? (crap, I'm going to have a hard time remembering everyone's names).

Straight from there, I went to the Bürgerbüro to register. They are open until 18:00 on Thursdays (the only late day) so I was lucky to arrive there at 17:20. I was at first unsure where to go, but I got a number from the information desk. Waited ~15-20 minutes and then was called to a desk, where the guy was really friendly. He just needed my passport really, so I didn't really need the rental contract! Oh well. I'm now officially a resident of Düsseldorf. I also got a welcome package :)

From there, I took the S-Bahn to Zoo and walked to my new (if only temporary) flat. It was on the "ground floor" but upon entering, it split into upper and lower floors. I tried the lower floor first, but no key would work. Then, quietly (so as not to upset the wrong neighbor) I tried the upper floor, and voila - it worked! Inside was Tom, from the UK (Yorkshire, near Leeds). He works in marketing as well and has been in the flat since November. Celine (from Germany) also arrived right after me; she's doing a praktikum (internship). I discovered my room, which is huge, and has a bed (but missing slots in the bed frame). Chatted for a little bit, helped Tom search for a flat, then went off to my other viewing of the day.

I went to an area in Friedrichstadt, not far from the Hbf, and met Flo and Andreas in their 4th-floor flat. The flatmate moving out is taking everything, so the room would be unfurnished, and the two guys are moving out at the end of June too, so it's not the most ideal situation. Flo is moving to Delaware to work, and I chatted with him about commuting there from DC/Baltimore. "Dein Deutsch is verdammt gut." Said Flo. Said bye and headed back.

I caught the first train to Duisburg. It was an inter-city train, which I wasn't allowed to travel on with my ticket. Oops :X. But the ticket checker let me go.

Martin was out on another date with Dunya. He returned, tired (and she was tired too). I skyped with Mike in the evening. He's going to London next week (for Jasper's wedding). He was "bored" with classes so he has taken up another job (selling instructional MS Office-training software) and is applying to be on the board of directors for a company. WTF?! How can one person be so productive, or have so much motivation?