Jason's Daily Notes

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.



Mike and I biked to the flea market. Just to check it out. There were some other people there from work - Phil and Denise, who just bought a bike. We ran into Natalie, who also headed out to join the rest of team UK for sushi lunch. Robin and Tobi were there, and we ate before going further out. Tobi bought a bike; €40 - not bad. The three of us biked to Real and waited for Robin, but he decided to go back to the market. So the three of us went around Real, laughing, stealing drink samples, and actually having fun.

We bought a keg of beer and brought it to the park, where the Midsommar pole was to be erected. We biked through the Volksgarten (which is really nice) before finding Carl by himself with some wood. Paulina soon also arrived, and we all helped set it up. This involved hammering the two beams together into a cross (which Mike did) and gathering leaves and grass and flowers to decorate the pole. Mike made a nice flowery headband. We set it up, hammering in some support sticks to keep it stable. Petr and Tuomas were there. Hyemee and Kevin joined too.

A guy came up and asked to pray to the cross. Weird.

We danced around the pole singing traditional Swedish (childish) songs. Victor was jogging by and joined us for a dance. It was hilarious - Petr took some videos of us.

We left the midsommar pole there in the park.

Me, Mike, and Tobi biked toward home, but we stopped at the bavarian restaurant to eat some schnitzel and have a beer. It was my treat to Mike for fixing my bike. We were tired and sleepy, and honestly doubting that we would have the energy to go out to the cocktail party tonight. So, we each biked home in our different ways. I had a little wank and a nap. Woke up fresh and itching to go out. And it was only 9:30 - perfect time to get ready. Let's do this! I freshened up, put on a shirt and a vest and went to Mike's place. Mike was quietly getting ready, wearing a full suit. He was fully professional and had a demure mood about him. I was loud and crass, and I think it annoyed Mike. I didn't want to do that; I just wanted to make him smile. But I guess there's a time for goofing off, and I was trying to force a different mood on the situation.

That kind of continued when we got to Sigrid's. It was hot like a sauna, and very crowded. "Fuck it" I thought, and I took off my shirt, leaving the vest and tie on. I thought it looked cool and people called me a male stripper, but people weren't laughing as much as they would back in LA. I kind of missed my friends for that.

The rest of the cocktail party was cool. I chatted with Paulina for some time. Sigrid and Lilly named me "Jökkil" or something like that. Danny was very drunk. So was Matze. Around half past midnight most of the people went out to a club or something. I left with Tobi. At that time, Sigrid, Mike, and Lilly went to get pizza. Ok.

--

I realize that I need to not just avoid being douchey/condescending to people, but I also need to genuinely listen to them. That will be my next step. For some reason, I psychologically keep people pushed away. I'm also too stubborn, and need to be open to other ways of doing things - whether that's wearing a suit, just doing what everyone else does, or eating new foods; whatever it is, just don't judge!

I can not care what people think without having to be a jerk.