Well, I've got two dives under my belt in Roatan, Honduras and it's a great high to be doing something like that here. We took off our masks at 20 feet down a couple days ago, as a part of the certification program, and it was a pretty unnatural feeling! I am not really all that used to shutting off air circulation from my nose, so I will usually take in some water and choke a little...always fun...but I stayed on the bottom and our instructor said it was "good that you fought it...you have to learn how to fight that, so that was a good experience for you." For those that don't dive, this is a necessary part of the certification because you have to know what to do in case your mask is knocked off 60 feet down. You can't just swim up and put it back on...that's when you run into trouble because of the nitrogen levels in your blood...the science of it all is just as fun to learn about!
My diving partner on the ship is Orly, the bass player from the Legends show. He's a cool cat (great player too!) and gets all the skills terribly easy (I did just learn that he's dove before so it doesn't make me feel so bad...haha). It usually takes me a bit longer to do any of the skills and I hope I'm not dragging down his experience. Our instructor is great...a German guy named Jürgen...and he's super patient with our learning process. He's very thorough and doesn't accept half-assed skill completion from either of us. If it's not done exactly the way he does it, he makes us start over and do it until we understand (sometimes, it's 5 or 6 times in repetition because we missed a small detail that other instructors would probably gloss over). I totally appreciate that he actually cares about "the right way" to do things, but I do find it funny when trying to communicate details underwater that were not previously discussed...always a challenge.
I am getting to drum on the ship now, sometimes having to sacrifice time at a port or just waking up super early. Glad that things are coming together in that department...I do still need a double kick pedal to work on that stuff though. I'm this close to buying another...maybe a DW9000? I'm a little tired of the Iron Cobra's feel...I just wish those things weren't so pricey!
I got to talk to Annette last night and she bought a plane ticket to come out in mid-February! I'm psyched! She is coming out for the Costa Maya/Roatan/Cozumel run, so I'm hoping to be Scuba certified by then so we can do that at one of the ports! I'm glad she was able to work it out with her new job...too bad she can't stay for 2 months, but who can do that these days? Anyways, just glad she'll make it out!!!
'Til next time...
D
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas in Miami!
Hello all,
Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones! I am spending the day with about 30 other friends from the ship, at a real house, with REAL FOOD! The atmosphere is totally upbeat and we are all enjoying getting away for a bit. We have to be back on the ship at 3 p.m. to prep for tonight's shows, but at least we get to have a little fun before hitting what looks to be the busiest week of our tour (Christmas AND New Year's...and TONS of kids...somewhere around 1,000). I'm gonna keep this one short, since I'm consequently appearing totally antisocial here...haha...here's some more vids...
Dusk in Nassau/Bahamas...
Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones! I am spending the day with about 30 other friends from the ship, at a real house, with REAL FOOD! The atmosphere is totally upbeat and we are all enjoying getting away for a bit. We have to be back on the ship at 3 p.m. to prep for tonight's shows, but at least we get to have a little fun before hitting what looks to be the busiest week of our tour (Christmas AND New Year's...and TONS of kids...somewhere around 1,000). I'm gonna keep this one short, since I'm consequently appearing totally antisocial here...haha...here's some more vids...
Dusk in Nassau/Bahamas...
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
It's Been A Long Time...But...I'm Still On A Ship...So....
Whoo! Nothing much has changed lately, but I felt the need to update everyone. I have been on the Epic, working for Blue Man Group again for the past month, and all is well here in Blue Man land. The only thing that I can really complain about is our problem securing some of the equipment in order for me to do my job. The ship tends to take their time on things, so I'm hoping that changes soon...procuring equipment and maintenance is more than half my job, so cross your fingers!!!
We have been having a decent time on the ship, with the Blue Man band hosting a couple parties, both for crew only, as well as in the ship's "Bliss Lounge"...one of the clubs onboard where passengers can hang out. The band, reincarnating themselves as "The Crunch," have played a couple super-hyped modern rock sets that gets the crowd pretty bouncing. These have been my favorite nights on the ship so far...
The show that we alternate with, Legends, abounds with talent and right now is featuring Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, and Britney Spears impersonators...I have seen their show more than a few times...it's great to see all these new friends rocking out! We also had an amazing magician/comedian named Jeff Hobson onboard until last week. The guy is unbelievably good and you need to check him out. We get him back in a little over a month, and I'm looking forward to seeing him for the 8th time or so...
Staying in touch with Annette has proven more than difficult. Internet is hard to come by, and free internet...even harder. I finally talked to her for the first time on Skype last Saturday...it was awesome to see/hear her again. I miss her a ton and getting through this 6 month trip is going to be hard to stomach, but we can do it! Skype/Gmail is about the only thing I'm using to communicate with people. I have no phone and I haven't ever felt this much in the Stone Age. Most of us onboard have the same story, so there's just no easy way to go about it on the Epic.
Other than that, I have made some videos...nothing special...showcasing some of the port days where we get to unwind a bit while on the ship. It's takes a long time to upload these suckers, so it's probably going to be a one-at-a-time kind of thing...here's a shot of the view from Cozumel's "No Name Bar", where you can treat yourself to swimming right off their back porch and grabbing an earful of craptastic music...
D
Cozumel - No Name Bar
We have been having a decent time on the ship, with the Blue Man band hosting a couple parties, both for crew only, as well as in the ship's "Bliss Lounge"...one of the clubs onboard where passengers can hang out. The band, reincarnating themselves as "The Crunch," have played a couple super-hyped modern rock sets that gets the crowd pretty bouncing. These have been my favorite nights on the ship so far...
The show that we alternate with, Legends, abounds with talent and right now is featuring Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, and Britney Spears impersonators...I have seen their show more than a few times...it's great to see all these new friends rocking out! We also had an amazing magician/comedian named Jeff Hobson onboard until last week. The guy is unbelievably good and you need to check him out. We get him back in a little over a month, and I'm looking forward to seeing him for the 8th time or so...
Staying in touch with Annette has proven more than difficult. Internet is hard to come by, and free internet...even harder. I finally talked to her for the first time on Skype last Saturday...it was awesome to see/hear her again. I miss her a ton and getting through this 6 month trip is going to be hard to stomach, but we can do it! Skype/Gmail is about the only thing I'm using to communicate with people. I have no phone and I haven't ever felt this much in the Stone Age. Most of us onboard have the same story, so there's just no easy way to go about it on the Epic.
Other than that, I have made some videos...nothing special...showcasing some of the port days where we get to unwind a bit while on the ship. It's takes a long time to upload these suckers, so it's probably going to be a one-at-a-time kind of thing...here's a shot of the view from Cozumel's "No Name Bar", where you can treat yourself to swimming right off their back porch and grabbing an earful of craptastic music...
D
Cozumel - No Name Bar
Thursday, December 2, 2010
On the Epic!
Hello all...been awhile! So, I'm now officially a member of the NCL - Epic until mid-June! I flew into Miami last Friday, and have been on the ship for 5 days now. It's been great so far, but the internet service has been spotty at best. You can get internet on the Epic, but it's $.10/min, and apparently as slow as a 14.4 modem. To compensate, I've been studying German in my free time on the boat, and every time I hit a port, I get on the internet for free at one of the local shops. Not only is it free, but it's also normally pretty fast...well, at least faster than a circa-1995 connection....possibly an upgrade to 1999. Either way, can't complain.
Life on the ship has been interesting. There has been PLENTY of downtime, so I've been trying to do anything but watch TV (oh, and my TV doesn't work, so it's really not an option...). There are two gyms, and I have plenty of books/software on German, so I'm keeping myself busy. On our off days (Tuesday through Thursday), we've been really lucky. A lot of the crew is either not allowed off the ship, or has a lottery to get off the ship here and there. Our status allows us to do a lot of the things that the passengers can do. Let's put it this way...I'm planning on getting my scuba certification (I've never done it yet), within 2 months. A lot of the guys are doing this, so it's pretty cool to have the opportunity.
I still haven't played the drums really since being on the ship. I've heard there are opportunities to do so, but I have been so busy with learning my new tasks (I've never run cues during the Blue Man show so that is totally new), and learning where to do this or that. I love everybody on board and I truly feel lucky to have a show crew like this. They are a pretty tight family, and I hope to make myself a solid part of it very soon.
So far, my schedule has looked like this:
Friday - flew into Miami
Saturday - first couple of shows, staff party
Sunday - 2nd couple of shows...already doing my own cues
Monday - Costa Maya...got up at 8 and hit the beach for internet, ceviche, and relaxin...2 shows and load out for the other big show to take our theater space for 3 days
Tuesday - Roatan...up early again, tried to go scuba diving with everybody but had to get medical clearance first....it's all good...I start in two weeks
Wednesday - at sea, free day...was up at 6 a.m. and explored the ship at length
Thursday - here we are...Cozumel...free day until tonight...we load the show back in and I am meeting with my new trainer for the first time...gonna be fun either way!
Next week will be the first of the St. Thomas/St. Marten run for me...I plan to do a lot of shopping during that trip as I should have a full list of things necessary to do this for 6 months by then. Other than that, the "saints" run is supposedly the lesser of the two tours. Looking forward to it all the same...
Ok...gotta run...more updates (and pics) soon!
Life on the ship has been interesting. There has been PLENTY of downtime, so I've been trying to do anything but watch TV (oh, and my TV doesn't work, so it's really not an option...). There are two gyms, and I have plenty of books/software on German, so I'm keeping myself busy. On our off days (Tuesday through Thursday), we've been really lucky. A lot of the crew is either not allowed off the ship, or has a lottery to get off the ship here and there. Our status allows us to do a lot of the things that the passengers can do. Let's put it this way...I'm planning on getting my scuba certification (I've never done it yet), within 2 months. A lot of the guys are doing this, so it's pretty cool to have the opportunity.
I still haven't played the drums really since being on the ship. I've heard there are opportunities to do so, but I have been so busy with learning my new tasks (I've never run cues during the Blue Man show so that is totally new), and learning where to do this or that. I love everybody on board and I truly feel lucky to have a show crew like this. They are a pretty tight family, and I hope to make myself a solid part of it very soon.
So far, my schedule has looked like this:
Friday - flew into Miami
Saturday - first couple of shows, staff party
Sunday - 2nd couple of shows...already doing my own cues
Monday - Costa Maya...got up at 8 and hit the beach for internet, ceviche, and relaxin...2 shows and load out for the other big show to take our theater space for 3 days
Tuesday - Roatan...up early again, tried to go scuba diving with everybody but had to get medical clearance first....it's all good...I start in two weeks
Wednesday - at sea, free day...was up at 6 a.m. and explored the ship at length
Thursday - here we are...Cozumel...free day until tonight...we load the show back in and I am meeting with my new trainer for the first time...gonna be fun either way!
Next week will be the first of the St. Thomas/St. Marten run for me...I plan to do a lot of shopping during that trip as I should have a full list of things necessary to do this for 6 months by then. Other than that, the "saints" run is supposedly the lesser of the two tours. Looking forward to it all the same...
Ok...gotta run...more updates (and pics) soon!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Fantasy Sports in Germany; Job Update; Part I of Goethe Comes to a Close
It's turning a bit colder here in München, though it has yet to snow and stay (we had a light dusting about two weeks ago, and it melted almost immediately). The whole last week was awesome weather for November, and all you needed most days was a sweatshirt. I'm actually wondering if we will see some steady snowfall before I leave for warmer climates.
I have three days left in my German B12 course here at Goethe Institut, and then I'm off to the NCL-Epic ship next week as the new MIT (instrument tech) for Blue Man Group's travel production. I've been called upon to get to the ship a week earlier than originally planned and I should be there until mid-June. I plan to keep up the blog while onboard, though I've heard internet access costs 10 cents/min. Ouch! So, it's very likely I'll not be able to Skype anyone for the next 6 months and will only be logging on to upload/download emails and blog content. The ship will port out of Miami and complete alternating Eastern/Western Caribbean tours of one week each. For the last few weeks of the tour, we will do a transatlantic cruise and then port out of Barcelona the remaining couple weeks. For more info on the ship/tours, click here.
I'm excited to be around drums again soon. It's a pretty large part of my life...always has been...and I hope this experience will bring further opportunities when I return to Germany in June. The plan, after tour, is to immediately re-enroll in Goethe Institut classes, starting in B21 and taking it as far as I can until I land a job here. In other words, I will be enrolling in a class every month while simultaneously applying to jobs within Germany. If I get a job by August, then my classes will stop at the "B2" level. If it takes a little longer, then my classes will continue on to the "C" language levels, which is pretty high for a foreigner to achieve here. As far as jobs I will be looking at next year, I will be seeking further music industry positions. By the time I finish the tour, I will have professional player experience, group and private instruction experience, and tech experience on a major tour production. Some ideal job lines that will play to these knowledge bases include Artist Relations and Brand Marketing for instrument/music technology manufacturers. There are some great companies in Germany, so I'm looking forward to returning!
Getting cleared for working on NCL has been quite a process. I've undergone a huge array of medical tests over the last month (vision, heart, pre-existing conditions, and tons of blood work) and Maritime Law has also called upon a thorough criminal background check. I feel so violated...haha. Anyhow, it's opened my eyes to just how great medical practices are and how low the costs are in Germany. As of right now, I only have emergency medical coverage (through being a student) and this only covers pretty severe cases. So, I had all of these tests done "out of pocket" and can tell you that it was state of the art technology and testing...all for less than 200 Euro (if you don't know the conversion rate, don't worry about it...that's cheap by U.S. health care standards)!!! In fact, I had one last blood test performed by a doctor down the street, and when I picked up the results I asked him for the bill. He said (again in extremely good English), "it's no problem" and waived his hand. "Send us a postcard from the ship." Ha...OK...will do! I've heard time and time again about how bad the U.S. medical system is, with its HMO's, red-tape, and outrageous expenses that all seem to feed back to the pharmaceuticals industry (which has its hands in the government of course); and how many European countries have Socialist medical systems in place (that's MEDICAL SYSTEMS....not GOVERNMENT people...) that are designed to actually take care of the sick. But seeing things first hand...there was nothing like it. I thought I would receive over $1500 in bills and voiced my concern to Annette. I laughed when I found out how much everything cost. A lot of people in the U.S. have no idea how good things can be elsewhere and only see their system's benefits...this "We're Number 1" bullsh*t. Yeah, I'd love to rave about how great the American medical system is, but I was denied health insurance last year. I'm not saying Michael Moore's word is gold, not by far, but check out "Sicko" if you get a chance. It's an eye-opener, and it explains a lot of what I've gone through.
On other fronts, I am probably part of a tiny minority of Americans here that still cling to Fantasy Sports updates, playing football and hockey regularly. I can sit for hours in front of the computer and sift through each game, combing for interesting stat lines and players to pick up for my fantasy teams. I have asked around if there is anything similar going on here in Germany, and it looks like there is some sort of Fantasy Soccer website, though the fans aren't quite as gonzo crazy about that kind of thing here. Maybe someday I'll open a bar, called "Insomniacs," that doesn't open until midnight weekdays and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays. We can show all American sports and hope that somebody actually shows up once in awhile. It's very hard to get games over here, so the need is there...just the timing of the games is awful. For instance, I was up until 5:30 this morning watching the Eagles/Redskins. If you didn't watch Vick totally obliterate football records last night (stat line: 20 for 28 completions for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns; also ran 8 times for 80 yards and 2 more touchdowns), shame on you. What a sight to see! Click here for a glimpse of the human highlight reel.
I have three days left in my German B12 course here at Goethe Institut, and then I'm off to the NCL-Epic ship next week as the new MIT (instrument tech) for Blue Man Group's travel production. I've been called upon to get to the ship a week earlier than originally planned and I should be there until mid-June. I plan to keep up the blog while onboard, though I've heard internet access costs 10 cents/min. Ouch! So, it's very likely I'll not be able to Skype anyone for the next 6 months and will only be logging on to upload/download emails and blog content. The ship will port out of Miami and complete alternating Eastern/Western Caribbean tours of one week each. For the last few weeks of the tour, we will do a transatlantic cruise and then port out of Barcelona the remaining couple weeks. For more info on the ship/tours, click here.
I'm excited to be around drums again soon. It's a pretty large part of my life...always has been...and I hope this experience will bring further opportunities when I return to Germany in June. The plan, after tour, is to immediately re-enroll in Goethe Institut classes, starting in B21 and taking it as far as I can until I land a job here. In other words, I will be enrolling in a class every month while simultaneously applying to jobs within Germany. If I get a job by August, then my classes will stop at the "B2" level. If it takes a little longer, then my classes will continue on to the "C" language levels, which is pretty high for a foreigner to achieve here. As far as jobs I will be looking at next year, I will be seeking further music industry positions. By the time I finish the tour, I will have professional player experience, group and private instruction experience, and tech experience on a major tour production. Some ideal job lines that will play to these knowledge bases include Artist Relations and Brand Marketing for instrument/music technology manufacturers. There are some great companies in Germany, so I'm looking forward to returning!
Getting cleared for working on NCL has been quite a process. I've undergone a huge array of medical tests over the last month (vision, heart, pre-existing conditions, and tons of blood work) and Maritime Law has also called upon a thorough criminal background check. I feel so violated...haha. Anyhow, it's opened my eyes to just how great medical practices are and how low the costs are in Germany. As of right now, I only have emergency medical coverage (through being a student) and this only covers pretty severe cases. So, I had all of these tests done "out of pocket" and can tell you that it was state of the art technology and testing...all for less than 200 Euro (if you don't know the conversion rate, don't worry about it...that's cheap by U.S. health care standards)!!! In fact, I had one last blood test performed by a doctor down the street, and when I picked up the results I asked him for the bill. He said (again in extremely good English), "it's no problem" and waived his hand. "Send us a postcard from the ship." Ha...OK...will do! I've heard time and time again about how bad the U.S. medical system is, with its HMO's, red-tape, and outrageous expenses that all seem to feed back to the pharmaceuticals industry (which has its hands in the government of course); and how many European countries have Socialist medical systems in place (that's MEDICAL SYSTEMS....not GOVERNMENT people...) that are designed to actually take care of the sick. But seeing things first hand...there was nothing like it. I thought I would receive over $1500 in bills and voiced my concern to Annette. I laughed when I found out how much everything cost. A lot of people in the U.S. have no idea how good things can be elsewhere and only see their system's benefits...this "We're Number 1" bullsh*t. Yeah, I'd love to rave about how great the American medical system is, but I was denied health insurance last year. I'm not saying Michael Moore's word is gold, not by far, but check out "Sicko" if you get a chance. It's an eye-opener, and it explains a lot of what I've gone through.
On other fronts, I am probably part of a tiny minority of Americans here that still cling to Fantasy Sports updates, playing football and hockey regularly. I can sit for hours in front of the computer and sift through each game, combing for interesting stat lines and players to pick up for my fantasy teams. I have asked around if there is anything similar going on here in Germany, and it looks like there is some sort of Fantasy Soccer website, though the fans aren't quite as gonzo crazy about that kind of thing here. Maybe someday I'll open a bar, called "Insomniacs," that doesn't open until midnight weekdays and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays. We can show all American sports and hope that somebody actually shows up once in awhile. It's very hard to get games over here, so the need is there...just the timing of the games is awful. For instance, I was up until 5:30 this morning watching the Eagles/Redskins. If you didn't watch Vick totally obliterate football records last night (stat line: 20 for 28 completions for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns; also ran 8 times for 80 yards and 2 more touchdowns), shame on you. What a sight to see! Click here for a glimpse of the human highlight reel.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Paperlate...Is An Indian Summer Called a "Celtic" or "Tribal" Summer Here?
Starting off today with two coffees and some Genesis on the iTunes shuffle...Paperlate seemed a fitting choice since it's been a week and a half since last writing. There's good reason for that...
Before I get to that...the new Cage9 video for "Comatose" was released two days ago. It's my first music video, so check it out and let me know what you think! Here's the link.
The whole last week was spent doing things in the old apartment. Spackling, painting, painting again, painting yet again, defrosting the fridge, painting, cleaning windows that had about 5 years worth of gunk on them, and then cleaning everything with lemon scented cleaners that peel 4 layers of skin off your fingers if touched. Yes, Mom...I actually did ALL of this myself...
In that last picture, you can see that I wasn't lying about taking everything out of apartments...even the light fixtures (which I also spackled and repainted). Fortunately, the girl that took the old apartment decided to keep the cabinets and such (they can tell you to remove them if they don't want them). So, the reason for not keeping up with the writing, was that I also had class in the afternoon...AND...we had people coming for at least 2 of the mornings to the new apartment, fixing our door buzzer (below) and generally putting finishing touches on things. This left me doing the painting in the morning and in dim late-afternoon light only (all lights but the bathroom were taken with us to the new apartment...good planning...haha).
The weather has been awesome lately, though all the trees lost their leaves in one day (this past Saturday), so the colors could no longer be appreciated in the sunlight. Either way, I've dug out my T-shirts again...didn't have to dig far...that's pretty much all I got. For almost a week we've had a majority of sunlight...which as I said in an earlier post, Germans will have you believe is as rare as rain in L.A. It's not true, but at least it makes people appreciate it when it is here. (oh...and the net that you see below on our deck is to prevent pigeons from crapping us out of house and home...pigeons in Munich crap something fierce my friends)
Annette and I also went hiking at Tegernsee, a lake a little over an hour south of Munich, on Saturday. It was one of the coolest things I've done here in Germany and if you come to Bavaria I recommend shooting on down there. It's easily accessible, on a train named BOB, and two people can get there roundtrip for under 25 Euro. I recommend also doing the T3 trail...we got there around 10 a.m., reached the top to eat around 1 p.m., and headed back in time for the 4 p.m. BOB home. The only bad thing was, neither of us had done it before...and we didn't bring hiking boots (a MUST)...the top proved to be JUST a bit muddy...highlighting the trip, were the great views of the Alps from the top, great food, and the best Weissbier I've ever had...no idea who makes it, but the local brewery is pretty famous so I assume it was from them. And...some pics/vids...
Despite living in Germany, I keep up with my fair share of American sports...mostly Boston teams, but given the fact that Randy Moss was on a Boston team, I felt the need to keep tabs on his progress. What dandy progress that has been, eh? I've seen "diva" players get tired of their teams and coaches, but what he's done is amazing:
1) Got tired of not being respected in New England and was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, where he started. Full transcript of "not being appreciated" by the Patriots is here.
2) Said he was glad to be "home" and excited for the opportunity to play with Brett Favre.
3) Returned to New England, a couple weeks later, this time as an opponent. Vikings lose and he proceeds to bash his new team all while praising the Patriots. Great transcript of what he said this time is here. Please read this one at least...it's unbelievably funny how much of a 180 he pulls.
4) Waived from the Vikings less than a week later and is now going to play for the Tennessee Titans.
I have a feeling he may find something wrong with them too...for instance...think of how small a market that is for such a big personality! Nashville...known for it's music and....umm...hills. He's going to be bored out of his skull. Anyways...I know nobody really gives a crap what he does anymore (especially if you have no association with Boston or the Twin Cities), but he's definitely proved that although a great player...he's not a team player.
Random Thought of the Day: When listening to Alice In Chains' "Again"...you're either the person who sings "ooh oh uh" over again and again...or says "yeah" over again and again. Again, you can't be both. For the song, click here. It's about 2:20 in. So, which are you, and how is this reflected in your life choices?
Before I get to that...the new Cage9 video for "Comatose" was released two days ago. It's my first music video, so check it out and let me know what you think! Here's the link.
The whole last week was spent doing things in the old apartment. Spackling, painting, painting again, painting yet again, defrosting the fridge, painting, cleaning windows that had about 5 years worth of gunk on them, and then cleaning everything with lemon scented cleaners that peel 4 layers of skin off your fingers if touched. Yes, Mom...I actually did ALL of this myself...
In that last picture, you can see that I wasn't lying about taking everything out of apartments...even the light fixtures (which I also spackled and repainted). Fortunately, the girl that took the old apartment decided to keep the cabinets and such (they can tell you to remove them if they don't want them). So, the reason for not keeping up with the writing, was that I also had class in the afternoon...AND...we had people coming for at least 2 of the mornings to the new apartment, fixing our door buzzer (below) and generally putting finishing touches on things. This left me doing the painting in the morning and in dim late-afternoon light only (all lights but the bathroom were taken with us to the new apartment...good planning...haha).
The weather has been awesome lately, though all the trees lost their leaves in one day (this past Saturday), so the colors could no longer be appreciated in the sunlight. Either way, I've dug out my T-shirts again...didn't have to dig far...that's pretty much all I got. For almost a week we've had a majority of sunlight...which as I said in an earlier post, Germans will have you believe is as rare as rain in L.A. It's not true, but at least it makes people appreciate it when it is here. (oh...and the net that you see below on our deck is to prevent pigeons from crapping us out of house and home...pigeons in Munich crap something fierce my friends)
Annette and I also went hiking at Tegernsee, a lake a little over an hour south of Munich, on Saturday. It was one of the coolest things I've done here in Germany and if you come to Bavaria I recommend shooting on down there. It's easily accessible, on a train named BOB, and two people can get there roundtrip for under 25 Euro. I recommend also doing the T3 trail...we got there around 10 a.m., reached the top to eat around 1 p.m., and headed back in time for the 4 p.m. BOB home. The only bad thing was, neither of us had done it before...and we didn't bring hiking boots (a MUST)...the top proved to be JUST a bit muddy...highlighting the trip, were the great views of the Alps from the top, great food, and the best Weissbier I've ever had...no idea who makes it, but the local brewery is pretty famous so I assume it was from them. And...some pics/vids...
Despite living in Germany, I keep up with my fair share of American sports...mostly Boston teams, but given the fact that Randy Moss was on a Boston team, I felt the need to keep tabs on his progress. What dandy progress that has been, eh? I've seen "diva" players get tired of their teams and coaches, but what he's done is amazing:
1) Got tired of not being respected in New England and was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, where he started. Full transcript of "not being appreciated" by the Patriots is here.
2) Said he was glad to be "home" and excited for the opportunity to play with Brett Favre.
3) Returned to New England, a couple weeks later, this time as an opponent. Vikings lose and he proceeds to bash his new team all while praising the Patriots. Great transcript of what he said this time is here. Please read this one at least...it's unbelievably funny how much of a 180 he pulls.
4) Waived from the Vikings less than a week later and is now going to play for the Tennessee Titans.
I have a feeling he may find something wrong with them too...for instance...think of how small a market that is for such a big personality! Nashville...known for it's music and....umm...hills. He's going to be bored out of his skull. Anyways...I know nobody really gives a crap what he does anymore (especially if you have no association with Boston or the Twin Cities), but he's definitely proved that although a great player...he's not a team player.
Random Thought of the Day: When listening to Alice In Chains' "Again"...you're either the person who sings "ooh oh uh" over again and again...or says "yeah" over again and again. Again, you can't be both. For the song, click here. It's about 2:20 in. So, which are you, and how is this reflected in your life choices?
Monday, October 25, 2010
New Apts Take Time...The Sun Shines Not on Bavarians
Other than being the overseer for the day, I'll be once again running to the other apartment to start painting (I'll be there all week...see above for explanation...too bad I can't pretend I have some sort of Pollock obsession. Coloring within the lines has always been tough). I also have to defrost the freezer there and then run to the tailor once more (we were missing one curtain).
People here complain about the weather a lot. I think everybody in Munich is grateful for pretty much everything life has to offer...except the weather. It's really not all that bad, from what I've seen. It rains a lot, but so did Boston. Everybody is always asking me, "so how do you like Munich...oh, you must hate the weather here." No, actually, I enjoy gray skies...I like storms...I like being out in them...I like the excitement involved...you never know what's going to happen. Is something wrong with me? Are we truly damned that it must rain in this world? A majority of the German population seems to think that it's the most awful thing to happen since Soundgarden or Rage broke up...wait, who didn't get back together in the last year? Since Johann "Seabass" Bach died. (btw...why hasn't Sebastian Bach made an attempt at Bach Row? Sebastian Bach, arguably the former best-looking female singer of the 80's/90's...fronting a metal-esque Bach cover band...with no keyboard players allowed...epic dude). At least here it will probably be more like Wisconsin in the winter, sticking with snow and staying below freezing once it heads there. Boston had a knack for snow, then 60's & rainy, then a 75 degree sunny day, then 40's & rainy, snow again, occasional ice storm, 75 degree day again, 5 feet of snow (and suddenly, you can't park anywhere because everybody has put out lawn chairs on the street to call their cleared spots)...all winter. For a little more description of that famous Munich greyness, here are some exclusive pics from the square (der Platz, auf Deutsch) we live at:
...does that look so bad? I don't think so, but I do see some Pessimismimbulus Clouds approaching...
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Twas a Week b4 Halloween
...and all through the house...not a creature was stirring...because it's cold as hell outside. Yeah, one of these days, I may have to invest in something other than T-shirts. The initial thought was that I'd tough out the next month with the clothes I brought from L.A., since I'm on a boat for 6 months and won't have much use for a ski-jacket for at least another 10 months. Anyways, it's officially cold in Munich...7 degrees Celsius. Might have to change my plan.
Yeah...I haven't heard anyone talk about Halloween yet. Not a peep. I can't figure out if it's just not that big of a deal here, or if it's because we're not in 8th grade anymore, or if it's because none of our friends have kids here, or all of the above. I think everyone is still recovering from Wies'n (Oktoberfest) and sick of partying all the time...
Speaking of partying...we had a great time last night, at yet another house/birthday party. This time, it was our friend Alex's turn, and she treated us to some wonderful chili, and Cuba Libre's (image above) , which apparently are high-shelf versions of "rum and coke." I told everyone I wasn't familiar with the drink due to the States having such a volatile history with Cuba. It might not be the truth, but at least I don't look like an ass for saying I've never heard of "rum and coke" ('till now). I have this theory that Germans planned all their pregnancies in the 70's and 80's, staggered in one week intervals, so that their children could grow closer as the years pass. In Germany, you never say, "man...it's been forever since I've seen 'so-and-so,'" because the same group of friends is passing around the birthday candle on a weekly basis. I'm not lying...we've been to a birthday party almost once a week! And there's one next week...ha (sorry Judith...this just proves my point)!
And to keep the party going, Annette and I are considering having our own Thanksgiving here. I noticed how Germany is HUGE on tradition, and family is a really big deal here (I think even more so than in the midwest)...so why not carry on some of my traditions here too, right? Either way, it will be a good excuse to have people over to our new place and watch football all night (ok...I may be doing that last part alone).
More random thought of the day:
If you haven't seen Mad Men yet, check it out. We're on season 4 and it's been the most entertaining series I've seen in awhile. And, speaking of entertaining, Machete was also a riot! I think I'm officially a Robert Rodriguez fan!
Tschüss
Yeah...I haven't heard anyone talk about Halloween yet. Not a peep. I can't figure out if it's just not that big of a deal here, or if it's because we're not in 8th grade anymore, or if it's because none of our friends have kids here, or all of the above. I think everyone is still recovering from Wies'n (Oktoberfest) and sick of partying all the time...
And to keep the party going, Annette and I are considering having our own Thanksgiving here. I noticed how Germany is HUGE on tradition, and family is a really big deal here (I think even more so than in the midwest)...so why not carry on some of my traditions here too, right? Either way, it will be a good excuse to have people over to our new place and watch football all night (ok...I may be doing that last part alone).
More random thought of the day:
If you haven't seen Mad Men yet, check it out. We're on season 4 and it's been the most entertaining series I've seen in awhile. And, speaking of entertaining, Machete was also a riot! I think I'm officially a Robert Rodriguez fan!
Tschüss
Friday, October 22, 2010
I's All Domesticated and Crap
Today is going to be a long day. Productive, but long...
The past two mornings I've had the luxury of not waking up early to go to class (I'm between levels at Goethe Institut, starting the next one on Tuesday). Class has been much like the regular schedule of work. You get up at 7, you're out the door at 8...and you're at school by 8:30. Usually, by 9:30 I'm officially waking up, with everything said to me in German prior to that being reflected by my ear drums. This doesn't mean I'm not listening (in fact...my brain is working at this time, usually at the equivalent pace of the song "Back to Basom" by Ween or perhaps "Strawberry Fields" by some other guys. I'm in there, just a little lost in the beauty of a mellotron, or Pink Floyd-esque sweeping keyboard line). I do nod a lot to the teacher and I'm careful to smile back.
This useful practice is a very technical skill known as "Pretend Active Listening" (PAL for short) and shows the speaker that you are really concerned about what they are trying to tell you. However, this technique doesn't work for very long....soon enough, your teacher (wife, husband, child, boss, etc.) catches on and traps you with a question that requires an answer other than "yes" or "no." The easiest way to deflect this question in German class is to say "hmm...das ist eine gute Frage....aber ich habe keine Ahnung...vielleicht....uhh...." and just keep saying "uuhhhh" and looking around the room (maybe even pointing out the window or at a random object can help you out here) until she realizes you have nothing to contribute at this time. Essentially, you have just said, "yeah, that's a good question, but I have no idea....perhaps...ummm." Yes, you LOOK like an idiot, but you at least spoke German in a German class...so it's a tiny victory. As far as using this exact example in everyday life...I guess it's not recommended unless you're prepared to explain why that answer had nothing to do with what was being discussed...and more importantly, why you can suddenly speak German.
Which gets me to, you guessed it, more discussion of this amazingly complex language. German is not for the timid. It's not something you can take a lesson in once or twice a week for 2 hours, coming away with complete understanding. In fact, it's impossible to master. I had a long discussion with my landlord yesterday, who was born in New Jersey in the 60's, grew up in Houston, and moved to Germany in the late 70's. He came over to work with Radio Free Europe, a formerly-CIA-backed radio/news program aimed at promoting democracy, but he found that learning German has been a lifelong process. He now speaks with "96% fluency" and says his learning period is over. He came to this realization after he distributed a memo to ten native speakers (all but one with university degrees) that work for him, asking for revisions. He received ten very different answers. He then called a meeting and said, "I don't want any of you to correct my German from here on out." While this may sound extreme, it's true...nobody here has complete mastery. There are many reasons for this...here are some of the more fun ones:
1) There was a national reform to the language about 10 years ago, where they said one no longer needs the character "ß" anymore. Instead, replace it with "ss". Also, within this reform, they changed the articles (der, die, das) of many words. If you've studied German, you know this becomes a huge problem when you start speaking/writing with all the cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). These cases, and subsequently every sentence that comes out of your mouth, change dramatically when the article is changed. Imagine the power struggles between kids and parents when the kids start telling their parents (that have German language degrees), "hey you don't say that right" or "you're misspelling that." All of my teachers have complained that they have no idea what the "right" way of teaching certain words is, and so we just learn whatever they prefer at the moment. Just think of the consequences this creates when providing a cover letter for a job...
2) English is so common in the German language that it can be seen on billboards, heard on TV, and in language classes they even refer to some words as "Denglish". Many in Germany are calling this a travesty, and it can be attributed to both the influx of Western media into society (English terms are much more a youth culture thing) as well as technology. When the computer came along, there wasn't a German word in place, and so: der Computer. When the MP3 player came along, there wasn't a German word, and so: der MP3 Player. When the MP3 player required something to be downloaded from the computer, there wasn't a German word, and so: der Download.
3) Germany is losing population every year, and there are more and more foreigners being brought in by German companies. With foreigners increasingly becoming the source of GNP, guess who's speaking the language...
4) For anyone learning a foreign language, you learn that language to about the 85% mark, and perhaps you try taking it to the next level, moving to that country to gain complete mastery. The reality is, you will go there and speak well enough to get by...in ANY situation (unless you are attending a sporting event, such as American football or baseball, where a foreigner hears such terms as "football" and "bunt." 90% of American football has to do with everything other than the feet actually touching the ball. "Bunt"....well, how often does that happen anyways...). My point is, when you're speaking, NOBODY is going to say "excuse me, I understand what you mean, but when you told me 'I go to the store' what you probably meant to say was 'I am going to the store.'" It's just not going to happen. Add this to the fact that there's a specific case involved when saying anything in German, and yeah...I think we would spend half our lives awake, 1/3 asleep, and the other 17% saying "uhh...umm." (deep man...)
For a big topic shift, we finally have our new kitchen as of yesterday...hooray! It's amazing what you can't do without a kitchen these days. I'm not going to get into it, but just think about it for a second. It's pretty common in Germany for absolutely nothing to come with the new apartment. You provide the lights, you provide the cupboards, you provide all appliances....big culture shock. So, my duties for the day are to go grocery shopping (oh my god, a freezer...), run to the tailor to pick up our altered curtains from the last apartment, spackle the holes in the old apartment (painting comes next week!), and clean the apartment since I have the day off. I'm starting to think half the reason people have kids is because of the hope that someday they can help with stuff like this. Gustav is certainly no help...
And, the most random thought of the day...
I played a game called "Kicker" the other day. Still love that game! You all know it as "Fussball" (or as the pre-reform Germans say..."Fußball"). Here's a helpful key for you:
Kicker: German word for the game called Fußball in the U.S.
Fußball: German word for the game called Soccer in the U.S.
Babyfoot: French word for the game called Fußball in the U.S.
Soccer: Most popular game in the world. In the U.S., it's popularity just edges out Lacrosse.
The past two mornings I've had the luxury of not waking up early to go to class (I'm between levels at Goethe Institut, starting the next one on Tuesday). Class has been much like the regular schedule of work. You get up at 7, you're out the door at 8...and you're at school by 8:30. Usually, by 9:30 I'm officially waking up, with everything said to me in German prior to that being reflected by my ear drums. This doesn't mean I'm not listening (in fact...my brain is working at this time, usually at the equivalent pace of the song "Back to Basom" by Ween or perhaps "Strawberry Fields" by some other guys. I'm in there, just a little lost in the beauty of a mellotron, or Pink Floyd-esque sweeping keyboard line). I do nod a lot to the teacher and I'm careful to smile back.
This useful practice is a very technical skill known as "Pretend Active Listening" (PAL for short) and shows the speaker that you are really concerned about what they are trying to tell you. However, this technique doesn't work for very long....soon enough, your teacher (wife, husband, child, boss, etc.) catches on and traps you with a question that requires an answer other than "yes" or "no." The easiest way to deflect this question in German class is to say "hmm...das ist eine gute Frage....aber ich habe keine Ahnung...vielleicht....uhh...." and just keep saying "uuhhhh" and looking around the room (maybe even pointing out the window or at a random object can help you out here) until she realizes you have nothing to contribute at this time. Essentially, you have just said, "yeah, that's a good question, but I have no idea....perhaps...ummm." Yes, you LOOK like an idiot, but you at least spoke German in a German class...so it's a tiny victory. As far as using this exact example in everyday life...I guess it's not recommended unless you're prepared to explain why that answer had nothing to do with what was being discussed...and more importantly, why you can suddenly speak German.
Which gets me to, you guessed it, more discussion of this amazingly complex language. German is not for the timid. It's not something you can take a lesson in once or twice a week for 2 hours, coming away with complete understanding. In fact, it's impossible to master. I had a long discussion with my landlord yesterday, who was born in New Jersey in the 60's, grew up in Houston, and moved to Germany in the late 70's. He came over to work with Radio Free Europe, a formerly-CIA-backed radio/news program aimed at promoting democracy, but he found that learning German has been a lifelong process. He now speaks with "96% fluency" and says his learning period is over. He came to this realization after he distributed a memo to ten native speakers (all but one with university degrees) that work for him, asking for revisions. He received ten very different answers. He then called a meeting and said, "I don't want any of you to correct my German from here on out." While this may sound extreme, it's true...nobody here has complete mastery. There are many reasons for this...here are some of the more fun ones:
1) There was a national reform to the language about 10 years ago, where they said one no longer needs the character "ß" anymore. Instead, replace it with "ss". Also, within this reform, they changed the articles (der, die, das) of many words. If you've studied German, you know this becomes a huge problem when you start speaking/writing with all the cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). These cases, and subsequently every sentence that comes out of your mouth, change dramatically when the article is changed. Imagine the power struggles between kids and parents when the kids start telling their parents (that have German language degrees), "hey you don't say that right" or "you're misspelling that." All of my teachers have complained that they have no idea what the "right" way of teaching certain words is, and so we just learn whatever they prefer at the moment. Just think of the consequences this creates when providing a cover letter for a job...
2) English is so common in the German language that it can be seen on billboards, heard on TV, and in language classes they even refer to some words as "Denglish". Many in Germany are calling this a travesty, and it can be attributed to both the influx of Western media into society (English terms are much more a youth culture thing) as well as technology. When the computer came along, there wasn't a German word in place, and so: der Computer. When the MP3 player came along, there wasn't a German word, and so: der MP3 Player. When the MP3 player required something to be downloaded from the computer, there wasn't a German word, and so: der Download.
3) Germany is losing population every year, and there are more and more foreigners being brought in by German companies. With foreigners increasingly becoming the source of GNP, guess who's speaking the language...
4) For anyone learning a foreign language, you learn that language to about the 85% mark, and perhaps you try taking it to the next level, moving to that country to gain complete mastery. The reality is, you will go there and speak well enough to get by...in ANY situation (unless you are attending a sporting event, such as American football or baseball, where a foreigner hears such terms as "football" and "bunt." 90% of American football has to do with everything other than the feet actually touching the ball. "Bunt"....well, how often does that happen anyways...). My point is, when you're speaking, NOBODY is going to say "excuse me, I understand what you mean, but when you told me 'I go to the store' what you probably meant to say was 'I am going to the store.'" It's just not going to happen. Add this to the fact that there's a specific case involved when saying anything in German, and yeah...I think we would spend half our lives awake, 1/3 asleep, and the other 17% saying "uhh...umm." (deep man...)
For a big topic shift, we finally have our new kitchen as of yesterday...hooray! It's amazing what you can't do without a kitchen these days. I'm not going to get into it, but just think about it for a second. It's pretty common in Germany for absolutely nothing to come with the new apartment. You provide the lights, you provide the cupboards, you provide all appliances....big culture shock. So, my duties for the day are to go grocery shopping (oh my god, a freezer...), run to the tailor to pick up our altered curtains from the last apartment, spackle the holes in the old apartment (painting comes next week!), and clean the apartment since I have the day off. I'm starting to think half the reason people have kids is because of the hope that someday they can help with stuff like this. Gustav is certainly no help...
And, the most random thought of the day...
I played a game called "Kicker" the other day. Still love that game! You all know it as "Fussball" (or as the pre-reform Germans say..."Fußball"). Here's a helpful key for you:
Kicker: German word for the game called Fußball in the U.S.
Fußball: German word for the game called Soccer in the U.S.
Babyfoot: French word for the game called Fußball in the U.S.
Soccer: Most popular game in the world. In the U.S., it's popularity just edges out Lacrosse.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
September & October in Germany
I'm still studying German on a daily basis...about 5-7 hours per day, between classes and homework....so, it's pretty much my full time job right now. I am currently in German B11 (pronounced "bay-einz-einz") at the Goethe Institut and will be enrolled in B12 (pronounced "Bay-einz-tzvai") by next Tuesday (that is, unless I totally flunked the test today). I plan to take the Deutsch Zertifikat exam at the end of November, upon completion of level B1 (B11+B12). This exam basically certifies that I can speak German with enough fluency to work for a native German employer. However, I've found that most Germans speak more-than-fluent English and even better within a business setting. This is how most of my conversations go with the German people:
Me: Hallo, wie gehts?
German: Hey, how are you? (they immediately switch to English after I mistakenly addressed them in the informal "du" form)
Me: Oh, you speak English?
German: Oh...not really. Just a little bit. I used to study English 12 years ago and I have not really been able to practice very well.
Me: OK, well...you sound great to me.
German: No...really...my English is just awful. It's a shame that I used to speak it so well. But without practice, it all falls away...
Me: Right
German: I guess I could try. I feel so ashamed that sometimes I cannot think of the right vocabulary. Let's try it out, and if I have problems...maybe, you could just fill in any missing words for me and we can move on from there.
Me: ......
Anyways, you get the point. I will be sure to fix my German faults over the next month...that way I can avoid any "extremely embarrassing" English conversation hereafter. In December, it looks like I'm taking a bit of a detour...
In September, Blue Man Group had offered me a spot on their national (U.S.) theater tour as a drum tech, starting Oct. 1 and lasting 8 months. At the time, I was having issues with the German Consulate getting me a straight answer on what happens to my Student Visa upon leaving for such a long period of time. The Student Visa covers a year and would allow me to take German classes without leaving to "refresh" my Visa status. Americans are initially covered under the Schengen Visa, which allows up to 3 months of continuous stay in Germany, so the newly acquired Student Visa was a much better deal for me and I did not want to lose that privilege. Eventually, the Consulate told us that the Student Visa could be suspended upon my leaving for a job outside of the country (although this is usually never done), and then reactivated upon my return. In the meantime, Annette and I had decided it was just too early to get up and leave Germany...and so I declined the offer. About a half-week later, however, Annette received an offer and she HAD to take the job...it was a reputable company and it would eventually lead to bigger and better things for her. But.....they told her right away that there was a very strong possibility she would be based in Frankfurt for up to 6 months, starting this January. The timing was comical! So, we had a good laugh about my possibly being in Munich alone for half a year, and then we decided to give Bman a call again. The spot had been filled...but, there was an opening on the Norwegian Cruise Line Blue Man production...doing the exact same job! So...I'll keep you updated...
In cat news...Gustav is doing much better! Not only does he love the new apartment for all it's running room, but he also no longer has worms nor the runs (seriously...he had mud poop for about 2 months straight...apparently this is normal due to the stress involved, according to the Vet). We bought him some toys finally, a scratching post, and a brush that he still doesn't quite get (he let's us do it, but mostly runs around with us chasing him to do so). I would like to tell you that cat toys and scratching posts are so worth it, but he seems to rather enjoy the basic things in life...bottlecaps, cardboard boxes that are still in use, new furniture for sharpening his nails, and sleeping on anything made out of woven polyester, such as luggage or drum cases (the Tuxedo kind). He also seems to think that every time I walk out of the living room, it means I'm on my way to his food bowl. He usually sprints out the door before me and hangs a right, only to see that I take a left towards the kitchen or something...and then he just gets pissed and attacks my ankles for the dirty trick I just played on him. Despite my trickery, I think he's still getting a good workout cuz he snores every time he sleeps...
Oktoberfest was a blast! I got to go a couple times, and I think it was enough until next year. Before going, I thought that these people going 3-8 times were just abnormal...but that turned out to be about the average for everyone in Munich. I can see why...the beer was great (beer served at Oktoberfest is exclusive to the oldest breweries in Munich....most of them starting in the 1300's....so you are not going to find Pabst, Old Style, Sam, Bud, Grainbelt, City Brew, Natty Ice, Hamm's, or Genessee Light here), the food was amazing, the beer tents were enormous and VERY different from one another musically (they each had a band in them). Being my first one, I wanted to make sure I did everything in proper German tradition, so I bought all the traditional clothes...only came out to just over $200 total...which is a steal for Lederhosen, leather shoes, traditional shirt, traditional socks, etc. A buddy of mine out here bought his Lederhosen for 1400 Euro....not kidding. They were custom made and ridiculously nice, but you can't tell the difference between mine (cowhide) and his from 10 yards away....or 5 liters deep. If you ever come to Oktoberfest, here are some tips:
1) Go during the week...and during work hours. The weekend (starting with Friday night after work-hours) is unbelievably crowded...my friend Tom and I waited for 40 minutes at the tent we went in, around 5:00 on a Friday...and we only got in because we were hand-picked from the crowd to replace some people at a table that was bothering the waitress. It was crazier than the Minnesota State Fair, I tell ya.
2) Go to the Augustinerbräuhaus. They are all cool tents, but this tent played a little more traditional music (besides John Denver's "Country Roads" and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline") than others I've seen. Some of the other tents play to the younger crowds, so you get to hear such favorites as "Angel" by Robbie Williams mixed with a complete Maynard Ferguson version of "Hey Jude"....I guess it depends on what you want. Also, the Augustiner tent has the world's tiniest guys bathroom, which must be experienced. There's nothing like the camaraderie of walking into a hallway about 4 feet wide, with troughs on both sides...so that your butts touch while peeing and guys are constantly pushing you into the trough to get by.
3) Don't be "oh shit" guy. If you start at 8 a.m., you'll most likely be done by noon, or perhaps even 9:30 because you'll be getting such exclusive service. I don't know how many dudes/girls we saw around 5 p.m. stumbling along just fine, but then their eyes got big and they frantically looked around for an open plot of asphalt...uh oh....uhh...oh shit....
4) Buy the most inclusive train ticket you can for the time that you are here. Yeah, it may look expensive at first glance, but you'll probably use the train 4 times/day, at minimum. Also, buy the train ticket at a kiosk where a person is there to help you. The free-standing automated machines are great and all, but the language on them is extensive and you'll only end up confusing yourself even if you know German.
5) Bring a map of the city with you. We walked part of the way home after the tents closed down at 11-ish. When we found that the entrance to the only train station to the Oktoberfest looked more like a crowd rushing the stage at a Milli Vanilla Ice-T concert, we made other plans.
5) Know how to get home. That being said, we were drunk. Maybe it's a good idea to do a dry run the day before.
More tips next year...
Other stuff we've been up to...
1) Blue Nile is an Ethiopian restaurant nearby our house. So good...features Honigwein (honey wine) and Banana Bier (don't do it)...and of course, great Ethiopian food. As I may have told you, this is where one can "ass mit den Fingern."
2) If you love art, this is a pretty cool place to be. The Alte-Pinakothek (old), Neue-Pinakothek (new), and Modern-Pinakothek (duh) are all on the same block (You can see them all in one day for 12 Euro, but if you're like me, you'll easily spend 2-3 hours in each...so that's a long day). The "Old" art museum features the biggest collection of Peter Paul Reubens in the world, as well as works by Dürer and Altdorfer. The facade of the building itself was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt with different colored bricks "as a reminder of what happened." The "New" art museum features Monet, Manet, Degas, Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Gaugin, and van Gogh. First time I saw "Sunflowers" was here. The "Modern" hosts many works by Picasso and a couple Dali's. The building itself is worth the admission. Also, the Lenbach Haus is nearby the other museums, and is basically an old rich person's house that was converted into a public collection, much like the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. It boasts quite a few works from Kandinsky. http://www.lenbachhaus.de
3) We took a trip to Essen and had a great time there. Villa Hügel, a castle in Essen, was mightily impressive. Definitely check it out if you get a chance.
4) I officially like Liverwurst. Never thought it would happen, but after it has been served at every meal I kind of grew to love it.
Bis bald,
Damion
Me: Hallo, wie gehts?
German: Hey, how are you? (they immediately switch to English after I mistakenly addressed them in the informal "du" form)
Me: Oh, you speak English?
German: Oh...not really. Just a little bit. I used to study English 12 years ago and I have not really been able to practice very well.
Me: OK, well...you sound great to me.
German: No...really...my English is just awful. It's a shame that I used to speak it so well. But without practice, it all falls away...
Me: Right
German: I guess I could try. I feel so ashamed that sometimes I cannot think of the right vocabulary. Let's try it out, and if I have problems...maybe, you could just fill in any missing words for me and we can move on from there.
Me: ......
Anyways, you get the point. I will be sure to fix my German faults over the next month...that way I can avoid any "extremely embarrassing" English conversation hereafter. In December, it looks like I'm taking a bit of a detour...
In September, Blue Man Group had offered me a spot on their national (U.S.) theater tour as a drum tech, starting Oct. 1 and lasting 8 months. At the time, I was having issues with the German Consulate getting me a straight answer on what happens to my Student Visa upon leaving for such a long period of time. The Student Visa covers a year and would allow me to take German classes without leaving to "refresh" my Visa status. Americans are initially covered under the Schengen Visa, which allows up to 3 months of continuous stay in Germany, so the newly acquired Student Visa was a much better deal for me and I did not want to lose that privilege. Eventually, the Consulate told us that the Student Visa could be suspended upon my leaving for a job outside of the country (although this is usually never done), and then reactivated upon my return. In the meantime, Annette and I had decided it was just too early to get up and leave Germany...and so I declined the offer. About a half-week later, however, Annette received an offer and she HAD to take the job...it was a reputable company and it would eventually lead to bigger and better things for her. But.....they told her right away that there was a very strong possibility she would be based in Frankfurt for up to 6 months, starting this January. The timing was comical! So, we had a good laugh about my possibly being in Munich alone for half a year, and then we decided to give Bman a call again. The spot had been filled...but, there was an opening on the Norwegian Cruise Line Blue Man production...doing the exact same job! So...I'll keep you updated...
In cat news...Gustav is doing much better! Not only does he love the new apartment for all it's running room, but he also no longer has worms nor the runs (seriously...he had mud poop for about 2 months straight...apparently this is normal due to the stress involved, according to the Vet). We bought him some toys finally, a scratching post, and a brush that he still doesn't quite get (he let's us do it, but mostly runs around with us chasing him to do so). I would like to tell you that cat toys and scratching posts are so worth it, but he seems to rather enjoy the basic things in life...bottlecaps, cardboard boxes that are still in use, new furniture for sharpening his nails, and sleeping on anything made out of woven polyester, such as luggage or drum cases (the Tuxedo kind). He also seems to think that every time I walk out of the living room, it means I'm on my way to his food bowl. He usually sprints out the door before me and hangs a right, only to see that I take a left towards the kitchen or something...and then he just gets pissed and attacks my ankles for the dirty trick I just played on him. Despite my trickery, I think he's still getting a good workout cuz he snores every time he sleeps...
Oktoberfest was a blast! I got to go a couple times, and I think it was enough until next year. Before going, I thought that these people going 3-8 times were just abnormal...but that turned out to be about the average for everyone in Munich. I can see why...the beer was great (beer served at Oktoberfest is exclusive to the oldest breweries in Munich....most of them starting in the 1300's....so you are not going to find Pabst, Old Style, Sam, Bud, Grainbelt, City Brew, Natty Ice, Hamm's, or Genessee Light here), the food was amazing, the beer tents were enormous and VERY different from one another musically (they each had a band in them). Being my first one, I wanted to make sure I did everything in proper German tradition, so I bought all the traditional clothes...only came out to just over $200 total...which is a steal for Lederhosen, leather shoes, traditional shirt, traditional socks, etc. A buddy of mine out here bought his Lederhosen for 1400 Euro....not kidding. They were custom made and ridiculously nice, but you can't tell the difference between mine (cowhide) and his from 10 yards away....or 5 liters deep. If you ever come to Oktoberfest, here are some tips:
1) Go during the week...and during work hours. The weekend (starting with Friday night after work-hours) is unbelievably crowded...my friend Tom and I waited for 40 minutes at the tent we went in, around 5:00 on a Friday...and we only got in because we were hand-picked from the crowd to replace some people at a table that was bothering the waitress. It was crazier than the Minnesota State Fair, I tell ya.
2) Go to the Augustinerbräuhaus. They are all cool tents, but this tent played a little more traditional music (besides John Denver's "Country Roads" and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline") than others I've seen. Some of the other tents play to the younger crowds, so you get to hear such favorites as "Angel" by Robbie Williams mixed with a complete Maynard Ferguson version of "Hey Jude"....I guess it depends on what you want. Also, the Augustiner tent has the world's tiniest guys bathroom, which must be experienced. There's nothing like the camaraderie of walking into a hallway about 4 feet wide, with troughs on both sides...so that your butts touch while peeing and guys are constantly pushing you into the trough to get by.
3) Don't be "oh shit" guy. If you start at 8 a.m., you'll most likely be done by noon, or perhaps even 9:30 because you'll be getting such exclusive service. I don't know how many dudes/girls we saw around 5 p.m. stumbling along just fine, but then their eyes got big and they frantically looked around for an open plot of asphalt...uh oh....uhh...oh shit....
4) Buy the most inclusive train ticket you can for the time that you are here. Yeah, it may look expensive at first glance, but you'll probably use the train 4 times/day, at minimum. Also, buy the train ticket at a kiosk where a person is there to help you. The free-standing automated machines are great and all, but the language on them is extensive and you'll only end up confusing yourself even if you know German.
5) Bring a map of the city with you. We walked part of the way home after the tents closed down at 11-ish. When we found that the entrance to the only train station to the Oktoberfest looked more like a crowd rushing the stage at a Milli Vanilla Ice-T concert, we made other plans.
5) Know how to get home. That being said, we were drunk. Maybe it's a good idea to do a dry run the day before.
More tips next year...
Other stuff we've been up to...
1) Blue Nile is an Ethiopian restaurant nearby our house. So good...features Honigwein (honey wine) and Banana Bier (don't do it)...and of course, great Ethiopian food. As I may have told you, this is where one can "ass mit den Fingern."
2) If you love art, this is a pretty cool place to be. The Alte-Pinakothek (old), Neue-Pinakothek (new), and Modern-Pinakothek (duh) are all on the same block (You can see them all in one day for 12 Euro, but if you're like me, you'll easily spend 2-3 hours in each...so that's a long day). The "Old" art museum features the biggest collection of Peter Paul Reubens in the world, as well as works by Dürer and Altdorfer. The facade of the building itself was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt with different colored bricks "as a reminder of what happened." The "New" art museum features Monet, Manet, Degas, Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Gaugin, and van Gogh. First time I saw "Sunflowers" was here. The "Modern" hosts many works by Picasso and a couple Dali's. The building itself is worth the admission. Also, the Lenbach Haus is nearby the other museums, and is basically an old rich person's house that was converted into a public collection, much like the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. It boasts quite a few works from Kandinsky. http://www.lenbachhaus.de
3) We took a trip to Essen and had a great time there. Villa Hügel, a castle in Essen, was mightily impressive. Definitely check it out if you get a chance.
4) I officially like Liverwurst. Never thought it would happen, but after it has been served at every meal I kind of grew to love it.
Bis bald,
Damion
Friday, September 3, 2010
Welcome to Germany!
I completed my MBA (Marketing Cert.) at Northeastern University in August of '09, and after 10+ years of being in Boston and seeing no further opportunities at both of my jobs (HRIS Analyst at Northeastern University/Drummer at Blue Man Group), I decided to head to Los Angeles for a change of pace and to utilize both my degree and drumming skills.
Ever torn between the two worlds, I never quite got anything going in the year I was there, though I tried like hell. I slowly watched my limited savings dwindle to nothing and didn't see any end in sight with unemployment at 12.3% (http://www.bls.gov/lau/) and some of my best friends losing jobs. The marketing field was cluttered in CA, with jobs that offered little to no pay and a constant influx of college interns all looking to "get in the biz" out there. The music industry in Cali, I can safely say, was worse...
On July 14, I quit my $8/hr job at Guitar Center Hollywood and decided to move in with Annette in Munich. We've been together almost 7 years now (I know...crazy!) and it was just time. There were a couple bumps along the way (my van, which I subsequently sold for $300, broke down two days before moving and I rented a U-Haul, which also broke down in Bumfreak, Missouri) in the 3 day trip, but I made it to LaCrosse for a little over a day's stay with my brother Tony. It was in LaCrosse that I left all my drums with the hope that someday I'll be able to ship some, or all of them here eventually. Next, I made my way over to Milwaukee and flew out the next morning (July 31).
I arrived in Munich on August 1, and have been going full blast ever since. I went to my German classes orientation at the Goethe Institut on the 2nd, and I've been taking classes pretty steadily since then. Luckily, I tested into 2nd semester German, so I didn't have to learn the damn alphabet again. The Goethe Institut German courses are broken up into three main levels (A, B, C) and for my "intensive" schedule, like this:
A1 (4 weeks)
A21 (4 weeks)
A22 (4 weeks)
B11 (4 weeks)
B12 (...)
B21
B22
Level C has the same subdivisions as B, and completion of C is considered "Profi" level (i.e. I could teach by then...)
I am currently in A22 (pronounced "Ahh-tzvai-tzvai") and will be enrolled in B11 (pronounced "Bay-einz-einz") by Oct. 1. I technically only need through B12 to take the German "Work Test" and find work with any German-speaking company, however, I've talked to several people here that have taken French, German, etc. (this A, B, C system is a European standard...not only Germany) and they suggest completion of at least B22 so that fluid speech is possible. So, my plan is to take courses at least until February 1st and though I'll surely look for jobs before then, I'll really hit it hard at that time.
Since arriving, it hasn't all been work. We have been doing yoga every week, running when we can (the weather has gotten pretty cold lately), and got to go see Jason Sutter (sick drummer I met in L.A.) with Foreigner about 40 miles from Munich (in a town called Landshut...pronounced Lawntz-hoot). I went to my first "all in German" movie (yes, no English subtitles either). I'd like to tell you it was amazing, but it was just too damn early (the second week I was here...) and I couldn't understand a thing...haha. I have eaten Schnitzel, Weißwurst, and Milka (my favorite chocolate) and imbibed a few Hefeweizens, Helles, and Dunkels. For my birthday, we started with sushi/Thai, then strolled around Nymphenburg (a "Schloss," or "ground castle"...these are just really expansive 1-2 story buildings dating back to Ludwig II and such. Think of your art history book...now think of your art history book opening up to the Rococo section and vomiting gold and extreme ornamentation into a few rooms...then add the reflective pool leading up to the Jefferson monument in Washington Mall...then add a Vermont back yard...swirl that together, and that's Nymphenburg), and eventually we made it to a biergarten for bier und viele freunde. Annette and I have also gone to a "Mexican Night" (which was really well done, but I was definitely missing the hot sauce), as well as an "Oriental Night" with another set of friends. We prepared most of the food at the Oriental Night, but we were following recipes provided by the friend, and in the end...we found out it was "Mediterranean Night" (we made pitas, a dip with feta cheese, a dip with pepper paste, walnuts, tomatoes, and a dip with eggplant, sesame paste, parsley, and olives....I don't think there was anything oriental about it). I also bought all the groceries for that night of cooking, going to three different stores and an alcohol vendor on my own. It was interesting to negotiate in my limited German and most of the time it turned into charades...it seems I excel at acting out "dried fig." Another highlight was a traditional Franconian meal with one of our friends. Franconia is the middle part of Bavaria, about half an hour from Nürnberg. There were many different meats, most of them jellied (and thus, not eaten by me), and tons of great salads/pastas/breads. I gotta say I love the food here!
Gustav (my black cat)....he's had a hard time. The guy traveled all the way to WI in a box...I couldn't take him out like we did last year when driving out to California...I just couldn't control him once he was out. So, he stayed inside and yelled a lot...I mostly just coped by turning up the radio...somehow, I thought that to be more humane than sedating him. Since then, he also has had diarrhea for about 7 weeks off and on (mostly full on!). I took him to the vet once, and though we were assured a day ahead of time that the vet spoke English, it was not the most in-depth conversation I've ever had. I indicated that he had major runs and possibly worms (just from reading online and freaking out like we all do). She felt his stomach, said "lot of gas," gave me a de-wormer and some stomach-friendly food, charged me 70 Euro and said "Aufwiedersehen." Germans don't mess around.
I have yet to touch a drum here other than with my fingers, in passing, while snooping around an expensive drum shop. They're ALL expensive here. I don't know how I'm going to get it all going again here...gonna take some time. And shipping the drums from WI? Well...that's looking like it would cost thousands, so I may just have to go with the local stuff for the time being. At the same time, I'm still looking for any music avenues around here besides the opera or orchestra. It must be some underground sect, getting together between "Fight Club" and "You Are A Messy & Late Person Club"...either nobody talks about it, or it doesn't exist in Germany. Three days ago, I received an offer to join Blue Man Group on their national (U.S.) theater tour as a drum tech, starting Oct. 1 and ending sometime next year. Problem is, I'm in Germany, and changing things now could come at a huge cost to our getting settled, my education, and perhaps my Visa status (my current Visa is invalid once I leave Germany for more than 3 weeks). I'll keep you all updated...
Tonight we bought some Lederhosen for myself...something cheap (they are usually 200-300 Euro!)...because the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest is in 3 weeks!!! I asked Annette last week if it was possible that I could just, you know...go in jeans or something, since I have few clothes...maybe my red shorts and a t-shirt....she responded with a "no way" and a look that made me laugh. Americans definitely make too much fun of this tradition apparently. It's not as jokey-jokey as you may think.
Tomorrow, we are heading to Annette's mother's place near Passau. It should be a fun weekend, though I have a ton of homework to do. I will definitely get some good practice in though...I'm feeling more confident with the language every day!
Tschüss,
Damion
Ever torn between the two worlds, I never quite got anything going in the year I was there, though I tried like hell. I slowly watched my limited savings dwindle to nothing and didn't see any end in sight with unemployment at 12.3% (http://www.bls.gov/lau/) and some of my best friends losing jobs. The marketing field was cluttered in CA, with jobs that offered little to no pay and a constant influx of college interns all looking to "get in the biz" out there. The music industry in Cali, I can safely say, was worse...
On July 14, I quit my $8/hr job at Guitar Center Hollywood and decided to move in with Annette in Munich. We've been together almost 7 years now (I know...crazy!) and it was just time. There were a couple bumps along the way (my van, which I subsequently sold for $300, broke down two days before moving and I rented a U-Haul, which also broke down in Bumfreak, Missouri) in the 3 day trip, but I made it to LaCrosse for a little over a day's stay with my brother Tony. It was in LaCrosse that I left all my drums with the hope that someday I'll be able to ship some, or all of them here eventually. Next, I made my way over to Milwaukee and flew out the next morning (July 31).
I arrived in Munich on August 1, and have been going full blast ever since. I went to my German classes orientation at the Goethe Institut on the 2nd, and I've been taking classes pretty steadily since then. Luckily, I tested into 2nd semester German, so I didn't have to learn the damn alphabet again. The Goethe Institut German courses are broken up into three main levels (A, B, C) and for my "intensive" schedule, like this:
A1 (4 weeks)
A21 (4 weeks)
A22 (4 weeks)
B11 (4 weeks)
B12 (...)
B21
B22
Level C has the same subdivisions as B, and completion of C is considered "Profi" level (i.e. I could teach by then...)
I am currently in A22 (pronounced "Ahh-tzvai-tzvai") and will be enrolled in B11 (pronounced "Bay-einz-einz") by Oct. 1. I technically only need through B12 to take the German "Work Test" and find work with any German-speaking company, however, I've talked to several people here that have taken French, German, etc. (this A, B, C system is a European standard...not only Germany) and they suggest completion of at least B22 so that fluid speech is possible. So, my plan is to take courses at least until February 1st and though I'll surely look for jobs before then, I'll really hit it hard at that time.
Since arriving, it hasn't all been work. We have been doing yoga every week, running when we can (the weather has gotten pretty cold lately), and got to go see Jason Sutter (sick drummer I met in L.A.) with Foreigner about 40 miles from Munich (in a town called Landshut...pronounced Lawntz-hoot). I went to my first "all in German" movie (yes, no English subtitles either). I'd like to tell you it was amazing, but it was just too damn early (the second week I was here...) and I couldn't understand a thing...haha. I have eaten Schnitzel, Weißwurst, and Milka (my favorite chocolate) and imbibed a few Hefeweizens, Helles, and Dunkels. For my birthday, we started with sushi/Thai, then strolled around Nymphenburg (a "Schloss," or "ground castle"...these are just really expansive 1-2 story buildings dating back to Ludwig II and such. Think of your art history book...now think of your art history book opening up to the Rococo section and vomiting gold and extreme ornamentation into a few rooms...then add the reflective pool leading up to the Jefferson monument in Washington Mall...then add a Vermont back yard...swirl that together, and that's Nymphenburg), and eventually we made it to a biergarten for bier und viele freunde. Annette and I have also gone to a "Mexican Night" (which was really well done, but I was definitely missing the hot sauce), as well as an "Oriental Night" with another set of friends. We prepared most of the food at the Oriental Night, but we were following recipes provided by the friend, and in the end...we found out it was "Mediterranean Night" (we made pitas, a dip with feta cheese, a dip with pepper paste, walnuts, tomatoes, and a dip with eggplant, sesame paste, parsley, and olives....I don't think there was anything oriental about it). I also bought all the groceries for that night of cooking, going to three different stores and an alcohol vendor on my own. It was interesting to negotiate in my limited German and most of the time it turned into charades...it seems I excel at acting out "dried fig." Another highlight was a traditional Franconian meal with one of our friends. Franconia is the middle part of Bavaria, about half an hour from Nürnberg. There were many different meats, most of them jellied (and thus, not eaten by me), and tons of great salads/pastas/breads. I gotta say I love the food here!
Gustav (my black cat)....he's had a hard time. The guy traveled all the way to WI in a box...I couldn't take him out like we did last year when driving out to California...I just couldn't control him once he was out. So, he stayed inside and yelled a lot...I mostly just coped by turning up the radio...somehow, I thought that to be more humane than sedating him. Since then, he also has had diarrhea for about 7 weeks off and on (mostly full on!). I took him to the vet once, and though we were assured a day ahead of time that the vet spoke English, it was not the most in-depth conversation I've ever had. I indicated that he had major runs and possibly worms (just from reading online and freaking out like we all do). She felt his stomach, said "lot of gas," gave me a de-wormer and some stomach-friendly food, charged me 70 Euro and said "Aufwiedersehen." Germans don't mess around.
I have yet to touch a drum here other than with my fingers, in passing, while snooping around an expensive drum shop. They're ALL expensive here. I don't know how I'm going to get it all going again here...gonna take some time. And shipping the drums from WI? Well...that's looking like it would cost thousands, so I may just have to go with the local stuff for the time being. At the same time, I'm still looking for any music avenues around here besides the opera or orchestra. It must be some underground sect, getting together between "Fight Club" and "You Are A Messy & Late Person Club"...either nobody talks about it, or it doesn't exist in Germany. Three days ago, I received an offer to join Blue Man Group on their national (U.S.) theater tour as a drum tech, starting Oct. 1 and ending sometime next year. Problem is, I'm in Germany, and changing things now could come at a huge cost to our getting settled, my education, and perhaps my Visa status (my current Visa is invalid once I leave Germany for more than 3 weeks). I'll keep you all updated...
Tonight we bought some Lederhosen for myself...something cheap (they are usually 200-300 Euro!)...because the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest is in 3 weeks!!! I asked Annette last week if it was possible that I could just, you know...go in jeans or something, since I have few clothes...maybe my red shorts and a t-shirt....she responded with a "no way" and a look that made me laugh. Americans definitely make too much fun of this tradition apparently. It's not as jokey-jokey as you may think.
Tomorrow, we are heading to Annette's mother's place near Passau. It should be a fun weekend, though I have a ton of homework to do. I will definitely get some good practice in though...I'm feeling more confident with the language every day!
Tschüss,
Damion
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Jobs in Los Angeles, Planes, Flying, Earthquakes
So...it's been awhile since last writing. Things I've learned today:
1) Sometimes the world recognizes when you are panicking, and reacts accordingly. The job market is rather unkind to many these days, and I am not alone. I was thrown a bone today. Thank you, world.
2) "Entgegengehen" is the German infinitive for "to go to meet." Not only does it contain 3-too-many combinations of "ge," almost consecutively, but one also has to remember how to conjugate it. I still don't know if I would ever try to pull this one out in a conversation...
3) Flying makes me sick almost every time. Not during the flight...but for two or three days afterward, I almost always have a cold. Often I tell people that the flight was great, but my body reacts as though a kid with swine flu was sneezing directly into my mouth. Must be all the stress involved...the stress of being searched at the airport, the stress of spending money when you don't have it, the stress of packing (did I remember my......), the stress of saying hello to people you haven't seen in months/years, the stress of admitting you're a musician to those that await your arrival, the stress of sitting in a space barely big enough for a 3rd grader, the stress of flying a few hundred miles an hour, 30,000 feet in the air, on a planet that has a law called "gravity" (who made that one up...what a jerk...)
4) Earthquakes are scary AND exciting. At first you freak out, then you start working through any questions you might have: Is it fun? Inconclusive. Is it hard to walk? Sometimes. Is that someone at the door? Nope. Is someone in my room? Nope. Is this an earthquake? Can't tell...doesn't look like all the movies I've seen. Is it over already? Yep. Am I talking to myself?
1) Sometimes the world recognizes when you are panicking, and reacts accordingly. The job market is rather unkind to many these days, and I am not alone. I was thrown a bone today. Thank you, world.
2) "Entgegengehen" is the German infinitive for "to go to meet." Not only does it contain 3-too-many combinations of "ge," almost consecutively, but one also has to remember how to conjugate it. I still don't know if I would ever try to pull this one out in a conversation...
3) Flying makes me sick almost every time. Not during the flight...but for two or three days afterward, I almost always have a cold. Often I tell people that the flight was great, but my body reacts as though a kid with swine flu was sneezing directly into my mouth. Must be all the stress involved...the stress of being searched at the airport, the stress of spending money when you don't have it, the stress of packing (did I remember my......), the stress of saying hello to people you haven't seen in months/years, the stress of admitting you're a musician to those that await your arrival, the stress of sitting in a space barely big enough for a 3rd grader, the stress of flying a few hundred miles an hour, 30,000 feet in the air, on a planet that has a law called "gravity" (who made that one up...what a jerk...)
4) Earthquakes are scary AND exciting. At first you freak out, then you start working through any questions you might have: Is it fun? Inconclusive. Is it hard to walk? Sometimes. Is that someone at the door? Nope. Is someone in my room? Nope. Is this an earthquake? Can't tell...doesn't look like all the movies I've seen. Is it over already? Yep. Am I talking to myself?
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