My second day of work pretty much consisted of me installing the compiler and its associated tools...three times. Enough said.
The German guys have this habit of going for coffee in the early afternoon. I decided to come with and to give espresso a second chance, because after all I'm no longer Alan the diluter-with-milk, the coffee-for-pleasure guy, the i'd-always-take-a-nice-crappaccino-over-a-coffee novice. No, this is the wiser, more mature coffee-drinking Alan you're speaking with. The first time I had espresso was over a year ago and I've been through a lot since that day. I've changed. I remember feeling so completely ripped off when I paid three bucks at a Barnes-and-Noble and got handed a tiny shotglass of terrible-tasting black stuff. I confess I didn't really know what it was, and expected them to hand me a big mug of milk or something to dilute it with. The espresso betrayed me.
Today, though, I knew what I was getting into, and I'll be damned if it wasn't alright this time. Next time I better drink it faster. If you hesitate at all, half of your espresso evaporates before the first sip.
Went to a German mall after work with Mark. It was basically an American mall, except that all the stuff seemed cooler to me. The shirts and shoes and stuff are the kind that I am always looking for in the States but can never find, because all they stock is Abercrombie and Fitch and silk dragon shirts that might as well be mumus on a twig like me. There was an entire rack of 32-34 jeans--an entire rack!--and this amazed me to no end. Americans must indeed be the fatasses of the world.
But seriously, from the moment I arrived in Germany I started seeing people more like myself, people who dressed and looked the way I've always intended to dress and look. Except that I still can't communicate with any of these cool-looking people that I see.
Tonight I think I'm going to see Star Wars Episode II (in English, yippee!) with some people from work, even though I've sworn up and down that I don't want to see it. Going for the people (or so I tell myself). But I've got to get going quickly or I'll miss the S-Bahn!
Posted by Alan at April 22, 2002 08:59 PM