Jason's Daily Notes

For the last 3 days I have been spending my days at the office, learning the systems and trying to teach myself the world of display advertising. There is a lot to learn!

The weather has been awesome. Sunny everyday and relatively warm - like 18-22°C every day! I have been riding my bike everyday. The room I have (in the company apartment) is massive, but mostly empty. I simply don't have anything to decorate it with!

Lunch: Tuesday, I went to the local registration office to get my tax registration sorted. I then went home to eat lunch (leftover chili). I tried to make it to the bank, but they were closed between 1 and 2pm! Argh. On Wednesday, I had lunch with "Team America" (Jon, Patrick, Katie, Sydney, and Alexa who looks a lot like Anne Hathaway); we went to the Schwan and everyone else got (or shared) a burger while I had the goulash. Thursday (yesterday), I was going to get lunch with Victoria, but instead I was pulled last-minute into a meeting (USA) where I met Judy (Social) and Peter (SEO). Fun. Thus, I just got a döner from the cart and ate it in the park by the river, basking in sunshine.

The trees are in bloom and starting to grow back their leaves! Finally. I like it.

At 5pm everyday, they pass out beers. Awesome. I still need to figure out how to open a beer from another bottle. Or get a bottle opener ring or something.

I had a flat viewing on Tuesday night. It's a furnished room, not too big, but really close to work. At €450, it's slightly more pricey though.

Wednesday, I returned home after work and caught up completely with HIMYM. Slept around midnight.

Thursday, after work, we had our team event: Go Kart racing, pizza, and laser tag! Wow, what a great time. I drove there with Jose, who offered to take me in his BMW Z3 convertible. We got a little sidetracked by the construction in the city center, but still made it well before everyone else. Go karting (my first time) was unexpectedly intense. The turns were fast and I was slower than most of the group at first, but I eventually found my way and was rolling through the turns easily. Still, 7th place, but I'll take it. Laser tag was great too :) But wow, I was sooo exhausted afterwards.

I asked my friends back in the US to complete some reviews to help our company.

I might go to Antwerp tomorrow, to pick up my luggage. Had no response from Nike. We'll see.

Mike is in London this weekend. I'm honestly jealous of him (I know, I have this amazing job and he's jealous of me), but I would never get invited to a coworker's wedding. And I worked for 2 years at a job. He made closer friends in 6 months than I did in over 2 years -.-

Michelle just joined viber! So, thanks to the time difference, we had a little chat in the morning as I woke up. She was on an overnight bus from NY to Boston.

I was to be at the office at 10am. Danny and I biked together there (everyone else in the flat had left earlier). There were several newbies waiting in the lobby. Jon picked me up and gave me a tour of the office.

Wow, what an office! There are small task rooms, and larger conference rooms, all creatively decorated and named; a climbing/bouldering wall; kitchens everywhere, fully stocked; beer fridges; foosball ("kicker") tables, and so on.

I had an orientation with all the other interns - looks like Danny and I are the only full-time employees starting today. But the company is expanding, so there's lots of new people joining. I then was led to my desk. I sit between Martin and Wildemar. I already had tasks assigned to me (mainly setting up my work accounts, and so on), so I got straight on to that. My "boss," Thomas, was out, busy with appointments. Across from me sits Jennifer, doing Social Media; Vicky, here for just 1 week, from Mallorca; and Felix, who I think does SEM.

Before I knew it, it was lunch time. I joined Martin and Wildemar for some döner. Thomas had a meeting, so he didn't join us at the döner car; instead, we walked to I Heart Döner.

The afternoon was spent doing more of the same, setting up accounts, and so on.

Returned home at 6pm. Danny was there with me. I biked to the grocery store (Aldi), filling up my backback with necessary supplies. (Why do grocers scan so quickly in Germany? There's no space. I can't even fill up my backpack at that pace!) I also stopped by REWE to get what I couldn't at Aldi.

I cooked chili for myself. Tom was back, and he was cooking curry with David (our neighbor from upstairs). He put on A Night at the Roxbury, which was really funny (and which I don't really remember).

I then found out that there were some bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line. I checked that Michelle was ok. Watched some news about it for a few minutes, then retired to bed. What a day.

Friday, 12 April 2013

I left Duisburg and moved into the company-owned flat in Düsseldorf. I made two trips - the first in the morning (while Martin was teaching). It was a nice day so I had a lamacun from the shop around the corner, which I ate in the park. It started sprinkling rain. I returned to Duisburg, meeting Martin at his place. We made burgers (very oily and missing many ingredients such as lettuce and mayo).

We played tennis. Indoors. And I made a fool of myself. Rain began to pour down. It cost €11 per person. Blah.

I then left, with just my backpack of stuff left to carry to the flat. No one was there. I watched TV for a few hours - a behind-the-scenes of South Park, some news, and some Family Guy. I went to bed and then heard everyone return. They were drinking at the office (it was Friday, after all). I met Francesco, Italian/English, from Glasgow. And there was Danny from Denmark, and Todd, Bulgarian but raised in Germany. Danny starts work on Monday as well.


Saturday, 13 April 2013

Danny and I went to the flea market in the south of town. We looked for bikes, shopping for a while before finally choosing a cheap bike each. Mine cost €30 and is a single-speed. But it works.

We (Francesco, Todd, Danny, and I) walked to REWE to stock up on food supplies.

Jan came to visit! He drove from Mainz to see me and to compile his reportage. He accompanied me to my flat viewing in Friedrichstadt. The flatmate, Lars, seemed nice at first but then became increasingly uncomfortable and asked us to delete the pictures we were taking. What a loser. Jan and I kept making fun of him the rest of the day.

Returned to the flat (Jan forgot his wallet) and then we took the tram into the city. Walked around the Altstadt, and we ate at Space Burger, which has a crazy selection of hamburgers but the burger itself was overcooked and on the dry side. We walked, in the warm afternoon sun, along the river, past the Rheinturm to the Medienhafen. We were now craving ice cream, and we walked to an Eismacher (so my phone said) but it wasn't there. At the tram stop, there was a froyo shop which would do.

We returned to the Altstadt and had an Alt bier at Uerige; the beer was more bitter than I remember, bleh.

Back at the flat, Jan conducted his "interview" of me. Francesco was cooking. Jan stayed until around midnight, helping me eat my chocolate bunny, then drove home.


Sunday, 14 April 2013
It was a warm and sunny day. I woke up around 9am and wrote an essay for a travel writing contest. The winning writer gets $500, and the previous years' winners did not seem as well-written as my writing, so I actually think I have a shot. I wrote about my experiences trying to get a UK visa.

Around 2:30pm, I went out for a bike ride. I went past the office to the Rhine and saw all the people enjoying the first "warm" day of the year. It actually felt somewhat humid in the sun. I biked to the Nordpark, taking pictures here and there.

Returned to the apartment, watched several episodes of HIMYM, snacked on bread and leberwurst, and watched some of the football game (AC Milan vs Napoli 1:1). I put a frozen pizza in the oven.

I start work tomorrow!!!! Exciting! Hope I enjoy it - but let's not expect too much! :)

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?

I have been trying to force myself into enjoying the taste of mineralwasser. So far, it only works if I make a schorle (a mix of juice and sparkling water).

I had no viewing in Düsseldorf today, so I stayed in Duisburg and did some sightseeing. It was raining on and off in the morning, so I waited for the rain to clear up first. I ran into Martin, who was just arriving home as I walked out the door. As I walked into the city center, I passed a hair salon that had men's haircuts for €11, so I went in and got one. The ladies working there were really nice, unable to speak English but impressed with my German. (They were surprised that I wanted to cut off my locks of curly hair!) They also said that the way I said "danke" sounded like a French accent XD

Anyway, I continued into the city center. It's a standard Fußgängerzone (pedestrian-only area) with stores and cafés. It was cool (but not cold!) and cloudy. I tried to explore the whole area, finding the city hall and an old church, and then I got slightly disoriented and wandered north when I meant to go east. Anyway, I stumbled upon the dock area, with a park next to it, and a Jewish memorial. I walked back into the city center and got a döner box (with salad).

Returned to the apartment. Along the way, I bought some chocolate soy milk from Edeka. I wasn't very hungry, and Martin had a date (with Dunya, a girl he met on the internet and who lives nearby). So I made dinner late (around 10pm), cooking up some minced meat with balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce.

Slept well. Martin was already off to work/school. I enjoyed uninterrupted internet use for the first time in days (the wifi keeps disconnecting on my laptop when someone else is also connected). I stayed in most of the day.

Around 12:30 I went to Aldi to buy some food supplies. Martin was back from school when I returned. I cooked some onions/peppers with chicken and couscous. I helped him find an infographic on USA gun laws (for one of his classes’ exams tomorrow).

I scheduled to meet Anja (whom I missed on Sunday) to view her flat. We were to meet at 18:00 at the S-Bahn station Wehrhahn. I rushed to catch the S-Bahn, which nevertheless made me arrive at 18:03. She wasn't there. And she has no phone. I sent her some emails, but no response. I waited, watching the people (some of whom were really "posh" - I understand why people say that about Düsseldorf) until 18:35 and then took the S-Bahn back. The ticket machine was broken so I didn't buy a ticket.

Back home, I made some dinner - my version of a lemon pepper chicken with bell peppers. Served with couscous, it was simple and easy. :)

I didn’t get a response from Tobi all day (regarding the apartment). I stayed in Martin’s apartment all day. He also had the day off. I did my laundry. We finished the chili and couscous.

I only had 1 viewing, at 8pm. So I left at 7pm, caught the tram to Duisburg Hbf and then got the next S-Bahn (which comes every 20-30 minutes) to Ddorf. I had to change at Düsseldorf Hbf and the next S-Bahn got me to Volkslinger Straße a little late, at 20:05. I walked to the apartment, meeting Daniel and apologizing for my delay. The apartment was really clean and gorgeous. And only for about €485 a month. Daniel works for E-Plus and spends a lot of time in Berlin for work (where his girlfriend also is). He’s nice but could be a more open guy. I honestly don’t like this process of having to interview for flats.

Anyway, I finished viewing the flat, walked around the Mediahafen area (which is really nice and modern), taking a few pictures before returning to the S-Bahn station. I changed to a RE train at the Hbf, not sure if I was allowed to take that train, but whatever. At Duisburg Hbf, the next tram was coming in 25 minutes, so I decided to get some McDonald’s. It started to rain. I returned to the tram station, and the tram didn’t show! Everyone on the platform just walked away to catch another tram. WTF?! I decided to walk home. Of course I was annoyed, because things weren’t going my way!

Got a message from Tobi saying that he can’t give me a definite answer yet, because someone else was viewing the flat. Grr.

I got up early-ish, like 10am, because my first viewing was at 11am. My facial wounds had scabbed up again. I showered and rushed out. The sun was shining brightly! I grabbed the tram. For some reason the ticket machine wouldn’t accept my cash, so I bought my ticket at the machine at the Hbf.

I had to figure out which train would come next, which was a little complicated. I did catch the S-Bahn, but it was too slow for me to make the 11:30 viewing. But it was no problem – I got a message from him saying that we would meet at 2pm instead. Perfect. This gave me another hour or two to hang out before going to my 1pm viewing.  I was excited – from what I could tell, today’s flats were goo – affordable, well-located and with cool-sounding flatmates. The first viewing, in Derendorf, was the best one of the day. Tobias greeted me, showed me the large room, which I could take with furniture, and we sat and chatted. He’s from Hamburg, works long hours, but is still very very chill. AND the other flatmate, Adina from Romania, works at Trivago! Yep that’s right – I could live with a co-worker. How perfect!

At that point, I didn’t want to view any other flats, because this one seemed so perfect. Nevertheless, I had appointments and wanted to follow up on them. I had 25 minutes to get to the next flat, so I walked. The area was nice, peaceful but at least a little exciting. I rang the bell and walked upstairs to meet Robin and his friend Jena. Rob was wearing a dress shirt and a sweater – a bit formal for being at home on a Sunday, I thought.  His flat was really nice and quite big. The flat had a cosy but modern kitchen, 3 bedrooms (one of which was to be used by his mom when she’s back for Christmas, etc.), and a nice large balcony. In the bright sunshine, the balcony looked especially inviting. We chatted for a while; he told me that he wanted to leave Düsseldorf but could find no job relevant to his background (truck logistics). He offered to look up directions to my next viewing but I saw that it was walking distance.

I said bye then walked to the next flat. Again, I was early so I hung outside for a few minutes. This neighbourhood was Flingern Nord, which actually seemed much cooler and residential than what I imagined (from looking at the map). Cafés and bars on each corner, and a good neighbourhood feeling. I rand the bell then went up to the top floor to view the room. Lars (guy moving out) greeted me and showed me the small room (which at €300 is also the cheapest of those I’m viewing). I met the flatmates – Verena and Kai, who are both studying. We chatted for a bit, then I went off. This room is the smallest, and the flatmates weren’t as open/friendly as I imagined.

I had over 2 hours before my last viewing, at 18:45. I walked and looked for a place to eat. I walked toward the city center, then caught the tram at Schloss Jägerhof toward Nordstraße. I walked toward Derendorf, thinking of getting Chinese or Asian food, but then changed my mind and opted for a kebab at the Turkish place near Dreieck. After finishing my döner teller, I walked toward the river, to enjoy the sunshine. As I approached, I saw that there were a lot of people hanging out on the riverfront. Turns out it was the monthly fish market, which stretched along the waterfront right in front of the Altstadt. It was great – a tent with a band playing schlager music, many stalls selling small bites to eat (fried fish, cakes, cheese, etc), and a few actually selling fresh fish. I had a fried potato pancake with applesauce. I then walked through the city center again. The line to get ice cream was ridiculous. I could understand, through: I mean, it was “only” like 11°C, but after such a long stretch of cold, snowy weather, even I wanted to just lay out in the sun.

Anyway, I was again ahead of schedule, so I took the tram toward Bilk, where my last viewing was. The U-Bahn was packed full of people; it reminded me of London. Robin warned me that this are was an “up and coming” part of town, and yes, there were some immigrants, but still it wasn’t bad by any means (I mean, after all, I lived in London). I met Daniel, T (Joti or something like that, from Laos), and Max. The room was big, and the flat was very spacious, with a huge living room (perfect!). We chatted for a while. T was a flight attendant for Air Berlin, and Max was a 19-year-old student who works part time at a hotel. I could tell we would get on well. So, I’d mark this flat as my #2 choice, because I would have to buy furniture and it was further away from my office.

That was it. I took the U-Bahn to the Hbf and caught the S-Bahn to Duisburg. Listened to music and watched the sun set outside the window. It was 8pm. The days are getting longer! Now if only they would get warmer!

Had leftover chilli with Martin for dinner. We made some (soggy) couscous to go along with it.