Jason's Daily Notes

Yes, I'm headed to Australia tomorrow! I can't believe how quickly it's snuck up on me.

For the past week and a half I've been busy with two jobs. In addition to my new "full-time" (more like one hour per day) position working remotely from home, I have continued tutoring. And have I ever! The student whom I have been tutoring since the beginning of the month is a wealthy Arab businessman who is getting an MBA. He hired me to do all the reading for him and teach/discuss the readings with him directly. The best part is that I am getting paid twice my previous rate.

It's now cold at night. It went from too hot to too chilly almost exactly with the start of November. (Of course by LA standards)

Last week Angela, Adrian, and I went to Taking Back Tuesday at the Echo. I was disappointed. Mainly because of the bullshit of having to wait in such a long line. Also, emo music does not go well with "pumping up the crowd" and having energy channeled through an attention-whore DJ. I will never go again.

Went to a Cal Alumni happy hour at the Golden Gopher on Thursday. Met some nice people. I have been trying to find my social niche here lately, but I just haven't yet. I met a recent grad named Samara who is struggling to find her career footing. "I need to keep in touch with you," she told me. And she drove me home (I had taken the bus there).

Samara and I went to a *very* hipster underground comedy show in Echo Park at a vintage feminist clothing store. Very Portlandia. I enjoyed it.

So, after some chaos and (costly) eagerness on my point, I rented a car for the weekend. The plan was to get out of Germany, likely driving to the Netherlands. But no one was capable of actually going on Saturday. So I let the reservation pass. I woke up on Sunday and realized I could still have the car for the day, without having to pay for a hotel (maximizing my sunk costs, while minimizing my marginal costs - for all you economists out there - consumer surplus).

I went to the airport (walking first to pick up my bike from the office) and rented the car. It took a moment to adjust to driving again, but it felt good. I exited the parking garage in "my" BMW and hit the streets. I took some secondary highways leaving Düsseldorf, to enjoy the sunny weather. There was some traffic toward Oberhausen so I wound around. I chose as my first destination Emmerich.

I then tried to find the Dutch border along the Rhine but no sign there. Anyway, I drove toward Amsterdam. Found myself in Muiden, where I pulled over to glimpse at Muiderslot, a nice castle situated just over the highway.

Then I made my way to Zaandam, where there are some cool buildings, including the "famous" stacked green hotel in the center. Not too far away is Zaanse Schans, a traditional Dutch town. I rushed around as the sun was setting, then drove to the closest beach I could find, which was just behind Castricum. Unfortunately clouds had rolled in, so the warm sunny day I was blessed with did not extend to the beach. Oh well, that doesn't mean I can stop by Amsterdam at least!

I found a Park and Ride, but it was not connected; so I drove to another P&R that I was familiar with, and I visited Amsterdam for 30 minutes! :)

Drove back, hitting 210km/h on the Autobahn once I crossed back into Germany.

What an amazing day!

Still sick. But I went to work anyway.

Started the morning on the wrong foot; my bike ride was full of red lights and cars cutting me off, plus a traffic jam. I arrived around 9am, before Carolyn (who was viewing another flat at 10am) or Will (who was riding a train back from Amsterdam). I did the performance master sheet myself.

I'm not stressing out over work, but (likely as a result) I'm not excited or energized to push forward new projects. The idea of giving my notice is still weighing on me. I should be ok, but it's hard to keep a secret inside and not talk about it.

I'm also avoiding Mike. He's back from his snow trip, and I'm not even mentioning it to anyone. What happened between us is still the biggest heartbreak of my life, and it just doesn't make sense.

I went for a walk in the afternoon, all the way to Uerdinger str. and back. The air was chilly but also refreshing.

Had a phone call at 5, then called my mom and uncle at home, and went home shortly thereafter. Got a missed call from Oli as I was biking back.

I finished listening to Serial (the podcast), which I have been binge-listening the last few days. I then had nothing to do; I waned to be engrossed in the story further, so I had no motivation to watch any of the normal shows that I watch. I ended up watching some Workaholics, smoking up, relaxing myself, and then going to sleep to some comedy (Aziz Anzari).

I didn't do much this weekend. I'm still pretty depressed, as I have been since coming back to Germany from the States. I think I know it's inevitable that I'll leave here, so I have no motivation to do anything until then. Also, the weather sucks. It's below freezing, cold, and I have had enough of it.
I'm also sick. I was slightly sick at the beginning of the week, and thought I had gotten over it.

Today I woke up early-ish (8am, when the sun rises now, woot) and lay in bed for an hour. I had no energy other than to pee, and I still felt sick and shitty. I had a persistent cough. I took some painkillers and rested some more. I felt nasty. My body was sore from laying down too much, but had no energy to actually do anything. I could actually feel myself getting fatter. I finally showered and decided to walk outside. It took me maybe an hour to get ready.

Before leaving, I figured, "why not give this Serial thing a shot?" So I downloaded a podcast app and a few episodes of Serial. INSTANTLY HOOKED. Weird because it's just one story. How can they drag it on for hours? Anyway, I walked around the city, Stadtmitte and Königsallee and back through the Hofgarten.

I haven't updated in a while. I have been traveling a lot in the last month (Madrid, working from Palma, offsite workshop, and a gezelig weekend in Cochem), and I am not recording my experiences! Bad.

Let's start with this past weekend.
Friday (28 November).
It was the day after Thanksgiving; but there was no Thanksgiving celebration for me in Germany. It was Nick's last day, which didn't feel so sad, but there was a slight unspoken tension in the air. At 4pm we decorated the Christmas tree by the team's table. But I didn't really participate - just had a delicious cookie. A huge after-work party was planned, which was great. We had drinking games (rolling dice, King's cup, beer pong) and a tequila table. Oh my. When the group headed to the Altstadt, I peeled off to get some noodles and then walked home.

(29-30 November).
Bernadet and Thijs invited me to join them, as she had won a weekend at a holiday resort in Cochem, which is located along the Mosel valley in the beautiful wine-growing region of Germany. I took the train there on Saturday morning (fighting my hangover) and arrived at 2pm. Of course the train was delayed (which was ok because I was already running late to the Hbf), and this led to me missing my connection in Koblenz. But no problem.

Bernie and Thijs picked me up with their friend Jacco and we drove up into the surrounding mountains to the resort. The weather was chilly (about 4°C) and dreary. But we didn't plan outdoor activities. The others (Alai, Laura, and Elise) were there. We started by exchanging Sinterklaas gifts, which was a fun game that involved rolling dice, switching/stealing/unwrapping gifts, and 3 rounds.

We also went swimming in the indoor pool; had an amazing dinner made on their raclette; played Twister; played several rounds of Singstar (ABBA and 90s) and ended up watching De Marathon, a good Dutch movie set in Rotterdam. Passed out.

Sunday; woke up and everyone else was already downstairs (9am) having breakfast. We drove into the cty and checked out the Christmas Markets.

Returned home around 6pm. I cut my hair (I was doing no-shave November) but tried not to make it too short; I just wanted it not to get messed up whenever I wore a cap or beanie.

Monday, 1 December.
It's cold. 0-3°C this whole week.
I shaved; end of no-shave November for my face. I'm glad that the stubborn cold sore is away from my chin/lip.
Slept early (around 10pm) until nearly 8am. So I'm very well-rested.
Had to walk to the office.
My laptop programs wouldn't start correctly. There was an update to Office 360 that didn't complete somehow.
Lunch with Francesco - Douro. Was good to catch up; it has literally been months.
Stopped by Woolworth's on the way home; bought gloves and clear tape.
Cooked beef with broccoli, and rice.
Watched House of Cards s2 e5. Getting more into it.

Tuesday, 2 December
Work.
Had lunch (leftover beef with broccoli) at my desk. Did not go out shopping for winter clothes, as I had originally planned.
Had my GDN call. Met with Jon to discuss current efforts. Sent an assertive email to Matt at Y.
Forgot that I signed up for the academy; so I rushed over stressed at 18:15.
Biked home. My new gloves were too thin so my hands were freezing.
Boiled pasta and watched some Amazing Race. Also gave feedback on Luiza's application/CV.
2 weeks until I'm back in LA! Exciting.

Wednesday, 3 December
Team event (Brazilian food + Christmas market) tonight.

I just returned (late last night) from a semi-spontaneous weekend in Madrid. It was nice.

I traveled by myself for the first time in a long time, and it did feel a bit lonely at times, so I was desperate to meet people. I did meet some people from the free tour and corresponding pub crawl (with free shots in every bar).

Weird thing, I brought my laptop but it didn't work at all there. But now, back in Germany my laptop works! Woot. I was convinced that I would need to order a new laptop asap. Oh well, good for me :)

Yesterday, the last day in Madrid, I met up with Viola from CS. We alked around, grabbed lunch, then went on a quest to find a beer mat (coaster), which required some creativity. We then went to the airport together. It was a great day!

My mom is off to Mexico now for a 4-day cruise. She's really into taking cruises now whenever she travels; fancy!

I missed halloween, but that was sort of the plan. I knew I couldn't deal with the stress of finding a creative costume.

My plan for this week is to have my own douchebag jar; I'll put money into it whenever I say/do something rude or insensitive, make fun of other people, or whenever I have a stress attack, or whenever I needlessly complain. Let me see how it goes :)

Ok back to work. It's cold and rainy here :(

Returned from the trivago trip exhausted.

Work was obviously slow on Monday. But I wasn't actually hungover, just incredibly sleep deprived. I fell into the habit of sleeping 9-12 hours each night. I want to wake up earlier, but it doesn't help that the sun rises later (7:30-8am) each day, so my body doesn't wake up until 9:30 or so.

The week was pretty repetitive; getting work done each day, coming home around 7pm and cooking some pasta dinner (Thurs and Fri I had fishsticks) and watching an episode or two of Modern Family before passing out around 10:30pm. I also became a bit more addicted to the 8 Ball Pool game on my phone. I felt myself becoming a little sick, so I took it easy and didn't participate in any sport activities this week.

My videos of the trip (specifically of the train ride back) were shared multiple times, which is very cool.

On Tuesday, we had a publisher visit. She (Lyvia) and her colleague Julia took us (me, Carl, Abhinav) out to dinner and drinks - we ended up at Zum Schlüssel. Was nice but did feel a bit forced. I learned that Lyvia lived in L.A. for some time to pusue her acting/modeling (even though she's short).

After that, I stayed in Altstadt to meet up with the two Couchsurfers (!) that I was hosting: Liza and Tony, from Iowa. They were nice; two Americans traveling as much of Europe as they can in a month. I tried to hold my condescending tone toward Iowa but I couldn't help but make fun of it. We had a beer on the Rheintreppen. It was pretty sketchy. But there, I made two friends: Nico (who studies in Maastricht but is in Düsseldorf for an apprenticeship at the Hyatt hotel where he can take things from their high-profile guests, very outgoing and entrepreneurial guy) and Özgür, his friend. We swapped numbers, and Nico ended up calling me every day afterwards to see what's up.

Tony and Liza left the next day, off to Mainz.

The weekend was quiet. I did not stay at the office on Friday, just had a "meeting" to finalize the people traveling to Belgium next weekend.

Saturday, I stayed in. Went for a run (around Zoopark) in the morning. Tidied up a little bit (i.e. did more laundry, including my shoes). Shared some photos with my uncle, who has been asking for them. Tony and Liza returned, but they were exhausted from traveling and drinking all day in Cologne. So we all just passed out early. They had to leave at 6:30am to catch their flight to London from Weeze, so I didn't properly get to say bye to them.

I realized that I could run out of money at the rate I'm spending; especially with all the travel I have lined up in the next few months. Sadly, I'm not earning that much.

Sunday, also stayed in. But I was feeling a bit healthier, so I went for another run (along the Wehrhahn/triangle route) and did some workouts.

I met up with Nico in the evening. I went to his place in Bilk, met his flatmate Jonathan (who is starting his first day of school, studying social work, the next day), and we then kicked around the football (soccer ball) for a bit, just behind the Bilker Arkaden. And played some basketball (horse) with Jonathan too. Cool guys. I had a pizza with Nico and he showed me how he has gotten into DJing in the last year, which is really impressive. And he told me stories of his time in Australia (about 2 years ago), picking up odd jobs and saving lots of money. He also tried to get me into Trailer Park Boys.

Biked back home and passed out solidly.