Jason's Daily Notes

It's exactly 7 years since 7/7/07 :)

Monday at work.

I spent the morning dealing with the aftermath of our 4th of July party. Iris was very pissed off (and rightfully so) because there was a shopping cart left on the 6th floor, along with melted ice cream in the kitchen, which Anton had to clean. I was chasing everyone for their receipts and trying to calculate the total amount to be reimbursed. Was a mess.

Everyone was feeling a bit down today. Yildiz told me "I'm glad I went to Kaiser's alone, because I'm not in a good mood."

Kila has decided to join our trip to Serbia this week! She's coming on Friday with Patrick (first to Budapest, then meeting us in Novi Sad).

I couldn't focus that much on work.

Mike came over to my place after work, and I made him sloppy joes. It was an outcome of last week's "Yes week". It was another gezelig evening. He ended up going through my Tinder and saying yes/no :) I was able to open up to him about sex life (a bit) and all that. Felt good - like my best friend was back, though not as intense as our friendship was before.

And because I write so many emails each day, I'm tempted to end this post as follows:

Best,
Jason

This week, my "detox" was threefold: Wake up every day at 6:45am; go for a run in the morning; and fast (not eat anything before 1pm, aka "intermittent fasting").

The results were immediate! On Sunday, I was up early and decided to go for a jog around the Zoopark. I did not eat anything afterwards, but wow, I had so much energy and felt so good! I didn't know whether to attribute it to the fasting or to the exercise, so I decided to stick with both.

So, everyday I have been jogging, either around the Zoopark, Hofgarten, or along the new development/park area next to the train tracks (Toulouser Allee). I have felt so much better physically. I felt that it also strengthened my self-discipline (which I know I lack).

However, this all came crashing down on Thursday, when the US played Germany, and I succumbed to the hedonistic drinking lifestyle. I was also resentful at Mike and Toby for not inviting me out the night before (they joined the APAC team event). I ended up breaking down and feeling depressed again. Which was unexpected but came over me like a wave.

Anyway, a day-by-day breakdown of the week:
(Saturday, 21 June - walked to uRepair and got my phone fixed).

Sunday, 22 June
Woke up early. Jogged around the Zoopark. Went to the office and got some work done (all before 12:00). Organized my room/apt a bit more. Walked around the new development, discovered a lot of cool apartment buildings. Did not stay up late to watch the US-Portugal game (which I regretted; it was apparently a good game, and we should have won!).

Monday, 23 June
Jogged around Hofgarten at 7am. Trees still down everywhere. Work. Kila is away the whole week, so I have to do all the daily tasks for both of us. This is a bit overwhelming, and I am only getting 20% of my work done.

Tuesday, 24 June
Jogged around Toulouser Allee.

Wednesday, 25 June
Workkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk...

Thursday, 26 June
USA vs Germany! Final game of the group stage. Watched at the office. Sat with Justin; Syd and Sara and the Canadians in front. Patrick and I were wearing the flags.
Went to Altstadt afterwards; I stubbornly insisted on Space Burger because everyone else was insisting on going to some beef brothers place that I had never heard of. Nick joined us.
Mike went home; I had texted him some hateful things.
Met with Kate and her new friends (from the expat group) Leanna and ...?

Friday, 27 June
No jogging; slightly hung over.Stressful day at work. Had to finish everything before 2pm because of this product brainstorming meeting. Thomas pulled me out of the meeting to pack our stuff (we needed it done before 5pm). I was so angry. I needed to stay at the office until late to get my work done. I finished packing, waited until everyone else left, then I biked home alone.

Watched more Community.
Downloaded some apps to promote/boost my twitter, instagram, and (the company's) Tumblr. Also got on Tinder.

Saturday, 28 June
Stayed at home. Did my groceries and then it started raining. Win. Jogged around Zoopark. 

Phone is dead. Left it at home.
Last night: Brazil 0 - 0 Mexico. GR searching.
Woke up ~7:30 (no longer have an alarm because phone is dead!). Trimmed my beard. Still running the apartment with no warm water.
Uploaded Amsterdam Kings Day photos and responded to my birthday wishes on FB. Finally!
My watch is also broken. Ugh! Dropped off my khakis at the donation bin.

Work ~10:00. B2K run yesterday - many coworkers participated. It was apparently crowded.
(I need to get running shoes).
Work - pushing for new opportunities, and just keeping up with existing campaign. Had three calls today.
DECIDING WHO TO HIRE. !!!
Lunch with Talal. Went to Lecker Eck. To discuss LSE. He's an ambitious guy, looking to become a powerful politician. Impressive. Maybe a little full of himself, but he does have the family behind him so who knows.

Went home, cooked some chicken cordon bleu (from frozen) with potatoes, watched some House of Cards, and slept. Couldn't find any company.

I don't like living without a smartphone.

USA 2 - 1 Ghana! WIN! Great (and lucky) last minute header to give us the victory. I'll take it.
(I woke up at 01:00 just to watch the game).
Woke up early (06:45) to Hangout with Jenn and Cassy (Leslie's connection was bad). Talked about mindfulness and self-improvement. Was a good motivator. Shared TED talks.
I'm feeling good :) A bit of exercise in the morning helps! Or maybe I'm happy to talk with friends? Or happy that Team USA won? Or just happy!
This week's detox: Read 50 pages a day> let's see.
09:40 @ office. Cool, cloudy weather. The early heat wave is long gone.
I may need tob uy a new Phone. My phone is not charging above 30% anymore now :(
Working on Tumblr.
Tweeting a little bit at work :)
Usual dealing with existing campaigns.
Scheduling as many student loan payments as I can fit in.

Lunch: Welcome lunch for the new member of Team USA - Perry, from Florida. I gave her a pear. Had Italian food (lasagne). Jeremy and Sara are quite friendly.

Cupcakes. (aka using up Jeremy's leftover frosting from Friday's bbq)
Franco trying to hang up the IT flag
Dealing with TZ (Kelsie leaving the company; they are neglecting our account).

Sunday, 8 June 2014
Kiesgrube Sonntag!
Went to Neuss with Mike and Jeroen. We walked 20 minutes to find the Kiesgrube (an outdoor music/alternative festival). At the entrance, we met Kila, Franco, Didem, Olus and her brother! It was a warm sunny day; perfect to be outside. Actually a bit too warm perhaps. We planted ourselves in the shade and threw money in a pot to buy rounds of beers. Later, Nick, Katie, and Jojo joined us. Francesco and Toby could not get in! WTF.

Monday, 9 June 2014
It's Pfingsten, which is a public holiday. It was also extremely hot, so we spent the day at the lake. Instead of going to Unterbacher See, Mike, Lisa, Toby, and I biked to Elbsee, which was nearby (and free). However, it was not easy to get to. We met Iris there and we tried to find a place, pushing our bikes through mud and dense vegetation. Katie, Nick, and Jojo came in Jojo's car and met us there. We were roasting in the hot sun! But the lake water was thankfully very cool and refreshing.
The evening saw one of the worst storms in Germany's history tear through Düsseldorf. And I was in the middle of it. Biking home, and out of nowhere - BOOM! - howling winds, torrential rains (as if I was standing under a waterfall. My bike was blown out of my hands and tree branches were falling all around me. I had to take shelter, so I ran (completely soaked) to Mike's apartment just three blocks away. There, I rode out the storm with Mike and Toby. I took off all my soaked clothes, and there we sat, in awe at the unbelievable storm that was pummeling the city.

I left around 10pm, after the storm had passed. I picked up my bike. The streets were littered with the remnants of trees. Jacobistraße was blocked. It was unbelievable.

Tuesday, 14 June 2014
Back to work. Or sort of. The streets were (of course) covered with downed trees. The trams and U-Bahn were not running. I could not bike easily. The little park was a jungle/warzone. I had to go on the street in several points.

This week my "detox" is to give up worrying about the past or about the future. It's a bit of a BS choice, since I couldn't go vegetarian just yet (BBQ this week)

During Lunch, I bought a sandwich from the bakery with Jojo. As we were walking back, a TV crew asked to film us. We were thus on TV that evening! (ZDF)

Thursday, 12 June 2014
Work.
WORLD CUP OPENER! Went to Ratinger with Francesco. Toby and Mike joined us to watch Brazil defeat Croatia. The bars were not so crowded, but it won't be that way on the weekend (or when Germany plays).

Friday, 13 June 2014
World Cup Brunch
Team Event BBQ / Band (The Roomers) / Katie's Goodbye / Netherlands defeats Spain 5-1!!!!!

Music: Two Door Cinema Club - Changing of the Seasons

Germans (Europeans) like to follow the rules; Americans are taught to challenge/break the rules.

New Blog Template! Let's see if I can stick to this.

Summary of today: Work, lunch with the Ricardo's goodbye. Rested at home, then joined Toby, "Anton", and Ricardo at Stahlwerk.

Weather: Warm and sunny. As perfect as it could be :)
Something that did go my way: Two new campaigns now have pixels live / have just launched!
Something that didn't go my way: My bike is riding slower.
Something I did that scared me: I almost "broke down" again towards Mike (over WhatsApp). But I didn't - I restrained myself.
Something new: Met a girl from China (think she's only here temporarily)
Fun thing that happened: Stahlwerk party was fun
What will be better tomorrow: No work! Can do shopping and tidy up my flat.
Music: Echosmith - Cool Kids

Woke up around 7am but chilled in my apartment for some time. It's still a mess.

I had dinner at Mike's last night. It was chill, but also a bit un-passionate about each other. I'm learning not to be as open with him. It still hurts, but I'm becoming numb to the pain.

Took only 6 minutes to bike back to my place from Mike's.

Biked to work (for the first time, since I went to the Auslanderamt yesterday). Discovered a big traffic jam around Rochusstraße and Sternstraße. Hmm.

Spent the morning making the interview/reject decision on all my applicants. Then the usual, optimizing campaigns, setting up stuff, waiting for our docs/databases to load.

Lunch: Mensa. Had a big bowl of eintopf. Ricardo was talking about his "dilemma" of a job offer while he already signed up for his new job in Dublin.

Afternoon was busy. I had 3 phone calls with potential new partners.

I am, however, less stressy now that I have stopped drinking coffee. It's good. I do plan to start drinking decaf.

This week, my "detox" is no alcohol. Let's see how this goes, especially come beer time.

After work, most of my team went to Ratinger Straße to drink. The rain had cleared. Also, Victoria is in town for a few days!

I went to Woolworth (again) at 7:30pm. Today, I bought a clothes drying rack, so I can finally wash/dry my clothes! Woot.

I left my bike at Woolworth (to carry my clothes rack with me). Walked home. Cooked the rest of the chicken and ate the leftovers from my dinner with Mike yesterday. I felt a bit of the soul-crushing loneliness of living alone. This is the first time that I have lived by myself, I realized. I have always (even when traveling) come home at the end of the day and had someone there who was happy to see me. I now need to learn to cheer myself up on my own. Sigh.

Cut my hair. New month, new look. 

I have so much to get /buy for my flat. I plan to just get one thing per day, so I'm not overwhelmed. I can adjust to living simply in the meantime. 

Caffeine (coffee) free for 1 week now. Results are good. I'm less stressy.