Jason's Daily Notes

Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Work. I had a bunch of things to do.

The weather was cool. It's supposed to be summer!

Brought lunch. Had a planning meeting for the 4th of July office party.

Beach vollyball after work. Kevin drove us (in Anna's car). There were only 6 of us: Me, Alexa, Anna, Mihai, Hannes, and Vicky. It was good - a bit of a workout, and I was sloppy (especially as a setter).
Afterwards, we took the U-Bahn into the city. There, I said bye to Alexa (who was going to Berlin for a King's of Leon concert and for the weekend) and went to Ratingerstr. to meet Mike. I saw his bike and gave him a text. Tobi then called me back, and I met up with them (plus Antonis).

We had a couple beers on the sidewalk. We went back into the crowd and found the b marketing team. Fabian had bought a round of shots for everyone!

Thursday, 27 June 2013
Had our team USA meeting. I then made a calendar of all the weird holidays in the world. Mike saw it and said that he already did it. Really?? Mike does so much work, and he somehow has time to take his own initiative on really big projects.

I am trying to figure out the best way to keep track of the KPIs. It's sort of embarrassing that I don't know at this point, but I should ask for help. Because I'm devising my own system when there may already be an internal system in place (display cont?).

After work, there was the "academy" session on Excel training. It was so slow and boring and useless. He just taught us like 5 formulas, but nothing I would really use frequently.

Then, it was time for dinner at Sigrid's. Danny and I biked together. Sigrid was preparing meatballs. There was also Anna, Mike, Daniel (new guy from Sweden), and Tiffany (Daniel's flatmate, a gourmet dessert chef from Liverpool via Aus/New Zealand).

Sunday, June 23, 2013
Hangover day. I went for a run around Nordpark. It was nice, such a beautiful park. After the antics of last night, I presume that everyone else was completely dead.

I didn't hear anything from Mike until the mid-afternoon. He had slept over at Sigrid's place, sharing the bed with her and Lilly. No, Sigrid just slept, but Lilly was awake, and Mike was up all night :) I am really impressed with Mike. 2 weeks and he's really knocking it out of the park at our job, both professionally and personally/socially. He's an all star.

In the evening, I went to Mike's place for dinner. We cooked spätzle with bacon and onions and some mashed potatoes on the side. It tasted really bland. Adonis joined us. I made my first video on Instagram. Mike and I stayed up, starting to watch some animated movie that looked boring, so we switched to Peep Show. I biked home around 11:30.

Monday, June 24, 2013
Back to work. And things were not going well for me: My campaigns were performing poorly. Very poorly. Like, only getting less than 10 per day (a more acceptable rate would be closer to 10,000).

I brought lunch - frozen veggies and veggie schnitzel. Ate it late, around 2:30pm. I was supposed to meet with Thomas, but he kept postponing the scheduled meeting again and again.

Had a call in the evening with a potential site - but it didn't really go too well. So I ended the day feeling bad about work and somewhat stressed.

I had dinner with Mike at his place after work. We stopped by Netto and bought some pork chops. Cooked it with rice. Antonis bought some more rice. We (including Mandy) all took the trash downstairs (for the first time; they just got their key). I stayed until around 11:30 again, just Mike and I chilling on the couch. Mike began to skype with Lilly. Aww.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013
In the morning, I met Badi, who was about to leave for Morocco for 16 days. But (after a night of heavy drinking) his phone was broken and he needed some way to contact his friend on the way to the airport. So I set him up with my old UK phone.

Got to work around 9:30. Not too much to do; Robin keeps asking me questions every 5 minutes, which does interrupt my (slow) work but which I also totally understand.

Mike got official news from Sydney: His contract would be renewed to stay on for his thesis! Yes! And Syd said "if I ever leave my job you'll take over for me" - WOW. Just wow. 2 weeks in the job and he is basically guaranteed to become a leader/manager at the company. Seriously, I'm truly impressed.

Lunch: Joined Matze, Francesco, Toby, and Mike. Mike wanted to invite people from the 10th floor, but no one bit. We went to Luxor grill and all ordered some chicken with side veggies and covered with gravy (not bad).

In the afternoon, I had a meeting with my boss and the head of marketing. It was a performance review and goal-setting session for the rest of the year. I wasn't too prepared for it. They gave me some goals that I need to reach by the end of the year, and my variable (bonus) payment depends on it. I need to be proactive and independent, and smart. I also need to be unafraid of asking questions. I'm already 2 months into my job and I still don't know a lot.

Long story short: Like always, I need to be like Mike.

There was cake at work (for the 2nd day in a row - good job team). I got some leftovers. I stayed at work late (until 8pm) but had a good phone call that might lead to something good :)

Stayed home and had a hard time finding online streams/torrents (even with my unblocker). I reactivated my Netflix subscription, but few movies were there. I watched The Hangover Part II and The Hangover III. They were alright, but not as gut-burstingly funny as movies from 10+ years ago (or I'm just less easily amused).

Friday, 21 June 2013
I had work. I was late to work - I woke up and it was already 9:30. Oops. So, I had my breakfast at 11:30am. Thus, I wasn't hungry when we (Francesco, Matze, Mike and I) went to Vapiano. I had a salad that I finished quickly.

I was pretty bored at work. Unlike everyone else. So I did feel a bit guilty about it. I had 1 beer before leaving - I was on a quest to buy my bike repair kit. Sigrid lent me her bike (because her friend Lilly was visiting and they were going to take the tram together. Her bike was heavy and had only pedal brakes. I went home and then headed out to Real. Along the way, I realized that I would pass Karstadt Sport, where I could buy the repair kit. So I did that, and I went straight from there to Sigrid's.

Sigrid hosted dinner for Lilly, myself, Mike, and Danny. I arrived there a little early, and we chatted for a bit before Mike and Danny came. We spent the night chatting, making jokes and innuendos, at eating the really nice salad and cheese that Sigrid made.

I took the U-Bahn back, arriving home just around midnight, as Mike and Danny biked home.

Saturday, 22 June 2013
Mike fixed my bike! He came over and just did it. I'm so grateful. He is an expert at it - knowing how to remove the tire (which was particularly difficult on my bike), to soak the inner tube in water to identify the leak, sand down the puncture area, apply the patch, hold it for 5 minutes, and put the tire back in (starting from opposite the valve). I was truly impressed.

I resolved to spend the day without complaining. I want to be a truly positive person, not douchey. So I bit my tongue whenever I could.

It's almost the solstice. The days are really long. Even at 11:30pm, it's not fully dark yet. I like it, and it makes it easy not to have a light on my bike :)

Anyway, work was both boring and busy. Because I essentially have to wait for TW to approve much of what I do, I'm just sitting around not doing much. And then in the afternoon, I have calls and emails and meetings with the US (bc of the time difference).

I try to bother Mike into coffee breaks as much as possible, but he's also busy and rushes off quickly. He's doing really well. As I always say, I love this guy to the end. He gives everything his all, and doesn't complain. He offers to help people where most people would shrug off the inconvenience. He is determined and friendly. He's unbelievably energetic. And he's really smart, so he always does his work better than anyone else can, and he's always suggesting great new ideas. It's no secret that I admire him, and am constantly jealous of him. I have absolutely zero worries about him and his future - he will easily achieve whatever he sets his mind to, and he will set his mind to some great things, I'm sure. I love this dude and even contemplating a future without him starts to break my heart.

Enough about my love story with Mike. (Apparently we're "vapendragere" in Swedish.)

It was warm and humid. I was wearing shorts. Some heavy rain passed through in the middle of the day, so we (DPM) ordered delivery, luckily before everyone else did so we got our lunch in time. I had a quick meeting with team North America (sans Jon) which was cool. Played a round of pool against Robin after lunch; he's really good!

Had a call at 6pm; played a quick round of pool with Mike. Then he went home to skype (he's got some worries on his mind because Laura's sister, sadly, had a miscarriage and now has cancer).

Worked until 7pm. Got home, and was determined to fix my bike's flat tire, because it has been weighing on my mind constantly for the last few days. I had the bike pump and pumped up the rear tire. I went for a quick ride, and it worked fine. Then, I saw that Real is open until 22:00, so I thought, why not bike there? I did, but after 5 minutes my tire was flat again. No worries, I pumped it up, but again after 3 minutes it was flat again. This was going to be a pain in the ass. I wasn't even halfway to the store but already sweaty and exhausted. So fuck it, I turned around and biked home, having to pump it up along the way. I was intercepted by "Rollnacht" (the Thursday night gathering of rollerbladers taking over the streets of Düsseldorf).

Got home, slept early, around 11pm, and woke up at 9:30am. o.O I'm going to be late for work!


Best,
Jason

It's now the second week of Mike working at the office. I also have a new desk neighbor, Robin from the UK. I actually met him on Saturday, at the pre-drinks at the company flat (Mike and I went there to cook dinner with Natalie).

Friday, 14 June 2013
Stayed at the office after work. Katie had reserved the upstairs patio and grill, and we drank a lot of beer. It was fun. I went home, while several others went to the city (apparently Stefano pulled Francesco away to get on the tram).

Saturday, 15 June 2013
Spent the day with Mike (of course). He was waiting for me outside his flat on his bike. We biked to the flea market (Trödelmarkt) which was closed! It was making way for some circus/festival/carnival/fair thing. But we met Anna and Sigrid, who had just bought a bike, and we talked Anna out of buying a way overpriced bike.

Then Mike and I biked to the Arcaden, stopping by Lidl along the way (to buy bread). There, we bought some shorts and Natalie met us. Mike panicked that he lost his keys in the fitting room, and the weren't there - but they were still in his bike lock! XD

We stepped outside, and it started to rain. So we went back inside to get some lunch. And guess what - there was Thomas (from LSE)! We joined him for lunch at the Asian food stand, and got to catch up. He's busy as a consultant for a real estate consultancy.

My best friend has come to me and started working with me. I feel amazing. The last few days we have spent almost all our time together, and I have been absolutely loving it.

"You guys are like a married couple," Judy said to us after we were commenting on each other's outfits. And we both smirked and said "yeah." It's true though - we make each other complete like no one else :)

Anyway, so let's recap how the last days have been.

Sunday, 9 June 2013
I'm hungover from the night before. Mike arrives in Düsseldorf. His dad and stepmom drive him over in a station wagon filled to the brim with boxes. They drive away quickly, and suddenly it's just me and Mike! We get settled into my room and then biked together to the trivago flat, where I promised Francesco and co. that I would come over to grill the meat that we had. So we did, even though it was cloudy and not too warm. Danny, Pavlina, and Matze were all hungover too. Celine was back from the festival, looking beat as well. We ended up watching some Formula 1 (taking place in Montreal, to Mike's delight) before heading back.

Monday, 10 June 2013
Mike's first day of work. I went with him to the office, had some cereal and dropped him off to wait for Sydney (who was running late).

Meanwhile, my whole team was uprooted and moved to new desks. Just 2 rows away, but a completely different view. I'm no longer staring outside into the sunlight, which is good; however, I'm closer to the bathroom and corridor so I hear more noise.

For lunch I joined Mike and Sydney at Vapiano.

Otherwise, for me it was a slow day at work. Until 5pm, when I got a couple new projects (setting up DBM). Typical.

After work, Mike and I went into the Altstadt to buy him a SIM card. But that was unsuccessful. We walked around for a bit before biking back home.

After a long way back from Antwerp to Düsseldorf, which involved taking 5 different trains and a rail replacement bus, I dragged my luggage off the tram and back to my flat. I was tired.

I was nervous about work, because I had made a big mistake and didn't know what the fallout would be. I arrived on Monday, understanding that I needed to do some sort of penance, and there was some underlying tension, but it soon was all gone.

I was a bit of a workaholic this week, really trying to get our costs under control, and trying to get a new deal agreed on. I was frequently at work late, making phone calls to the US (because of the time difference).

On Tuesday, I had an almost all-day-long training session. Then, I went to Badminton after work. It was fun, and not too hard. Danny was really good at it. Jennifer, who had been playing for 2 years, was still taking some tips from Phil.

Wednesday, my bike lock broke. Like, the key almost snapped in half. So I rushed to Woolworth's to buy a replacement.

At home each day this week, I just watched episodes of Game of Thrones. I stayed off facebook and whatsapp for some time to avoid all the spoilers.

Thursday, lots of meetings.

Friday! Slow day. Thomas left early to go to Rock am Ring. Jealous.

Saturday = go to Real,- as we usually do. I met Francesco at the Hbf and we took the tram further. We were going to grill, but the timing didn't work out as we needed to go to the Kö at 8:30pm to meet everyone. So we just cooked some chicken with rice. And pre-drank. Belgian beer, then Bacardi and coke.

The club night at Mr Thompson's was awesome. It's like a Vegas club. In my usual fashion, I left without saying goodbye to anyone and then walked (yes, WALKED!!) all the way home (in my nice shoes).

What a legend.

Anyway, Mike is on his way RIGHT NOW to Germany. He's bringing 8 boxes and 2 suitcases, oh my god, how I will fit all of that in?! (that's what she said)

Started the day with a quick breakfast of bread, butter, cheese and sliced salami.
Used my new bike lock (because my other one broke yesterday; the key almost snapped in half!)
Work around 09:30.
Was admonished by Thomas. I had fucked up a bit last week.
Spent time trying to "fix" my mistakes on GDN.
Had 4-5 hours of training for a new system.
Lunch: a short 15 minute break, devoured my pasta tofu bolognese.
Swag almost ruined GoT for me.
More GDN fixing.
Had to prepare slides for tomorrow's meeting
Call with a US deals website.
Badminton! I stopped by home to pick up my clothes. It's not too hard and pretty fun. Easier to just pick up than tennis. I would do it again.
Home - watched 2 episodes of GoT, almost caught up now (the season finale is on Sunday).

I still have to unpack all my stuff from Belgium.