July 2002 Archives
2002-07-29
This is to update you on my last week, in Copenhagen. You know that I arrived Saturday afternoon at Copenhagen Airport, from which I took bus number 9 to Bredgade and walked to Brian's place. We had pizza and a few beers, and he drove me to Birketinget on Amager, where I was going to stay in Jose's appartment, while he was on vacation in Spain. After dropping off my suitcases, we had more beers at Nyhavn, and I was home at 2 am.
Sunday I went to Form & Fitness at 11 with Brian, only to discover that they would either charge me 900 DKK for a month's subscription, or 200 DKK for a single training session. After seeing the expression on my face, she allowed me to train for free for that one time. At the bench pressure I did 4 reps with 90 kg. Sunday afternoon I spend in Valby at Groen Koncert, (as described in my entry of 22 JUL 2002) with Marianne and Morten from Egmont.
Monday (23 JUL 2002) I did some shopping and some banking business, and then went to visit my former collegues at Orange at 14:00. Helped getting a SF480 into IT6, and saw their two new HP Super Domes and two new Compaq GS320s. They are black! What have the done - I like the alpha CPU and I liked the color - topgun blue - but now the GS320s are black! The resident Compaq technician said it's because they're 1GHz machines... Duh. After Orange I went to visit Jesper and Ingelise at Noerrebrogade. They served me dinner and I entertained them with the tales of my life as an expatriate.
Tuesday (24 JUL 2002) my parents and I picked up my brother, Jes, from the airport, arriving from South America. We ate at Cafe Krunch on Oeresundsvej, and then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in Lyngby at my uncle's place, where my aunt and uncle and my cousins from Luxembourg were also staying. Very nice family-get-together.
Wednesday (25 JUL 2002) I went to see the dentist (interesting: I didn't have to pay for it. My health insurance situation is a little special since I'm working for the German part of a Danish Company, in Germany, and I am medically covered in both Denmark and Germany, but not paying the taxes for it in either of the countries), and then went shopping for outdoor equipment with Bo, Jes, and Jan, who flew to Kamchatka north of Japan Friday the 27th. At 19:00 I met with 14 others from Etnica Culinaria at Den Persiske Stue on Noerrebrogade for dinner and beers.
Thursday I took the train with Charlotte and Karen to meet with Niels, Anna and little 6-month old Anton in Malmoe, Sweden. We had coffee and later dinner at their place. Saw the big crane at the harbour: 140 meters tall, 185 meters wide. They were supposed to take it down Saturday to move it to Korea, but according to http://www.kranspan.nu/camera/huge.jpg it's still there (while I'm writing this).
Friday I had lunch with Per, who subrents my appartment at Amager and then lifted weights with Valery at Egmont from 17. Still only 4 reps with 90 kg, but also 1 rep (very slowly) with 100 kg. Now I'm a proud member of the 0,1 ton club... Friday Jes, Bo, and Jan flew to Kamchatka. They'll be back in a month. In the evening I did laundry and moved my stuff from Jose's appartment to Brian's appartment at Nyboder.
Saturday I had brunch at Cafe Norden with Palle and Lars, and later went to Bellevue Beach with Servio. Had dinner with Servio and Jose at Eva's place, before we went to Park Cafe to enjoy Copenhagen by night.
Sunday I woke with a hang over, but still managed to meet Caroline for brunch before I caught the 14:10 flight home to Frankfurt. I used the so-called 'e-ticket' where you don't get a real ticket, instead you use your credit card to get the boarding pass directly from a terminal. Copenhagen Airport was very busy but since I did not have to wait in a line to check-in I could go straight to security and to the gate. Nice. I really recommend the 'e-ticket' - it's a great time saver! On top of that, the nice lady at the gate didn't have any aisle seats left, so she had to upgrade my seat to first-class, where I'd then sit in the middle. She hoped I didn't mind too much. In Frankfurt I had to wait one hour for the HEAG Frankfurt/Darmstadt Airliner bus, because the busses are on strike. So when the bus finally came, we didn't have to buy tickets - it was "on the house".
2002-07-22
Went to Groen Koncert yesterday in Valby. Nice, except it started to rain, I was in shorts and tshirt, and it takes 45 minutes on pushbike from Valby to Amager, where I stay. Do I need to say I got wet?
2002-07-19
My sleeping patterns are slowly getting better. I am now able to wake up around 7 in the morning, and I get up less than half an hour later. It means that I can be at work at 8:30. The downside is that I have to go to bed at 22 each evening to get my 9 hours of sleep.
2002-07-17
I have asked for vacation next week. I am still unsure of my travelplans (especially since I have not yet full approval from my boss (update! He approved. Now I just need to order the ticket (update! I ordered the ticket! It's a fucking ripoff!)), but I count on arriving in Copenhagen Saturday the 20th, and leave again Sunday the 28th.
- Arrvial Copenhagen: Saturday the 20th, 18:20
- Accomodation 20th to 25th: JOCAM
- Accomodation 26th to 28th: BRDOL
- Tuesday from noon to Wednesday afternoon I am spending time with the family.
- Wednesday evening I am attending an Etnica Culinaria event
- Thursday I would like to go scuba diving. Anybody wants to join?
- Saturday evening I'm hanging out with my former collegues
If you want me to hang out with you, please inform me, so I can update my plans.
2002-07-14
Sunday. My turn to wash the stairs today.
My book page seems to indicate that I am a very slow reader - I have been reading Gravity's Rainbow for the last month or so. I want to assure you this is not the case. My book page only shows the books I am reading for the first time. Saturday evening, for example, I reread Arthur C. Clarke's absolutely brilliant "the City and the Stars" - written in 1953. It's one of the most imaginative science fiction novels I have ever read and I really recommend it. I read it the first time in 1999 during my summer holiday hiking on the Kola Peninsula in north west Russia, the pages are covered with dead flies ("knot", hate the bastards) and mosquitoes. That summer the book lasted almost a month. And yesterday it lasted 4 hours.
Will go to the gym in one hour.
2002-07-12
Funny, my cousin, Andreas, dropped by yesterday evening on his way to France. Not everyday the family visits.
2002-07-11
Is it tabu to talk about the homeless people? I know of at least two in Darmstadt. There's the young guy, maybe around 30 years, who apparently shaves every day, and wears quite nice clothes. He stops you on the street and asks, if he may tell you something (that should alert you!) - of course you allow him. Then he talks for a minute about him and his girlfriend and how happy they are together, except that they don't have any food - if you can spare him a few Euro? I think he recognizes me by now - he has stopped asking me. Then there's the other guy - the typical homeless: looking very tired, walking around with his eyes almost closed, talking to himself, with a big, wild, red beard. For the last 4 months he has been asking people for "a mark". Today I heard him ask the exact same sentence, except that he's realized - or somebody finally told him - that we no longer use the Mark but the Euro: Haben Sie bitte eine Euro". At least people do have Euros. He must have been wondering like crazy why nobody never had any Mark for him. Plenty of Euros, but no Marks. Sorry, friend.
2002-07-09
I'm still alive. Went with Keith to the gym in the lunch break. Triceps and deltoids exercises.
The nice people at Riegel und Reisse have promised to deliver my WK810 Esstisch tomorrow morning before 9 o'clock. For the last two months I've been eating sitting in an armchair (which Markus and Danni from 2nd floor were kind to lend me) with the plate in my lap!
2002-07-03
Everybody thought we should do 'Search and Rescue' but the instructor wanted to do 'Peak Performance' diving instead. After 30 minutes drive to Wechselsee in Biebesheim, I discovered that my equipment, which should have been brought by the instructor, had been left in the basement under the diving center in Darmstadt. Uh uh... No problem, he phoned a couple of people, and within 40 minutes my gear showed up. We went down at 19:30 and up an hour later. Now I'm certified Advanced Open Water Diver. You may congratulate me.
2002-07-02
9:00 at Berliner Allé. Three unpleasent men in their early thirties enter the Straßenbahn, last wagon. The first is of middel east heritage, the second looks like he could belong in a right-wing party, and the third looks like he's been living on the street for the last two months. They all carry little (ugly) belt pouches. They sit down, one in the middle one in the front and the last in the back. This is either the beginning of a terrorist attack, a simple hold-up, or - indeed: the moment the Straßenbahn starts to move, the three announces simultaneously: "Fahrkarten, bitte". Damn. Of course I have my Fahrkart, but some people don't. I've seen this happen a couple of times, and it takes them by surprise each time. Smart move, to send in the ticket-guys under cover. In Denmark they wear nice, clean uniforms and can be spotted on 100 meters distance.