The last week or so has been alright, I seem to get more and more worn down at work. Finished the ASP.NET book and was given my 1st real project to start. A logging system for all the errors and messages that get sent when a user comes across a bug/problem. I had to build a database with set fields, make a UI and then collate all the information and run queries on it.
Last night was my first real night out in Germany. I was out till 2 and had a nice, eventful evening. We started at a place called sundeck. basically the top level of a multistory car park that had been turned into a beach-themed bar. On the way up we got in a lift intended for 4 people/300KGs but we squeezed 6 of us, weighing about 460KGs in total in. The lift took use to floor 4.5 basically, and got stuck. we were in there about 15min, really small and hot; with one of the girls hammering the alarm bell even after the guy had said he was getting help, I was just laughing through most of it. We finally got out, and the guy who worked there seemed very angry, you could see his face change as he counted the number of people getting out.
I drank 3 leters (6 glasses) of Weißbier and a weird pork chop in a burger bun, which made me ill later on. Another 1 of Sven's friends joined us later, and we all stayed there about 2hours. On the way down, we all burst into laughter at a sign that had been put up "Aufzüg zur zeit außer Betrieb - lift is out of order at the moment" only to then see the angry worker sat in an office glaring at us. Outside we also saw a cyclist get "clothes-lined" by a car barrier that had come down. He then pulled up and asked if we wanted a fight because we found it funny.
Next we headed to powwow coffee bar, which is open till 2. Being Ryan's last night out, he got lots of lady love by which point I had had enough to drink to begin speaking German without hesitating. Had 3 more Becks there, which wasn't the best idea on an empty stomach, so feeling it today.
Anyway it was fun and hope they invite me out again in the future. Today I felt pretty ill, didn't get up till 1pm, didn't feel like eating. Took some tablets and laid down some more. Ryan then moved pretty much all his room into mine, as he is leaving tomorrow morning. I gained a 2nd toast+kettle, desk fan, TV, oven, plates and bowls, tins, cans and washingup/laundry stuff. Room is such a mess, will have to spend tomorrow night cleaning and organising.
Tried getting my mac to work, but its still running really slowly. will have to format it, buy some RAM and start over I think.
Got my webcam working and saw Heather tonight :) just caught up on stuff as I had not sat down and chatted for a while. Friday is my dad's birthday, hope I can sort out some VoIP either by messenger or skype. Feeling quite optimistic about the year if it stays like this.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
the working week
Most of this last week has been spent reading a "ASP.NET 2.0 in 24hours" book which i bought before coming over. Alot of the chapters I had been doing with Bernhard (my team leader) and the rest were easy-to-follow examples.
Most nights I just listened to music and watched the odd film. Nothing special. Weekend came around quickly, and again was uneventfull. I wrote a handwritten letter to Heather and some postcards, but by the time i went to find the postoffice it was shut and is on sundays too. Bummer.
Wednesday the 9th (today) Was a bankholiday, meaning no work. but also meaning all the shops were shut. Most of the morning it rained anyway. Still without the internet I went out with Ryan (My neighbour, UCLAN student) to the pow wow coffee shop. They had free wifi and we had some pizza wraps and drinks. Talked for a while, but convo soon dried up, I also fellt a little bad as I spent most of the time on MSN talking.
After this we were contemplating playing pool. We returned to the appartments and managed to drag Sam and Ant out (The 2 other UCLAN students) and went to a poolhall in a bowling alley. Wasn't too expensive and had a little tournement, which was fun, and nice to get out the house for something other than work.
In the evening the 3 of them were leaving for the local gym, I joined them. Only costs 16 Euros a month and you can go as much as you like. Could hardly make 10 reps of benching 30Kg, fellt so weak; will get easier if I keep it up though I'm sure. After a couple of hour we walked most of the way into town and found a kabab shop. Had a really nice chicken 1 with proper salad. Reminded me of Amet's in Lytham back at home. By the time I got in at 10ish Sven had arrived home and turned on his router again. The internet again atlast.
Most nights I just listened to music and watched the odd film. Nothing special. Weekend came around quickly, and again was uneventfull. I wrote a handwritten letter to Heather and some postcards, but by the time i went to find the postoffice it was shut and is on sundays too. Bummer.
Wednesday the 9th (today) Was a bankholiday, meaning no work. but also meaning all the shops were shut. Most of the morning it rained anyway. Still without the internet I went out with Ryan (My neighbour, UCLAN student) to the pow wow coffee shop. They had free wifi and we had some pizza wraps and drinks. Talked for a while, but convo soon dried up, I also fellt a little bad as I spent most of the time on MSN talking.
After this we were contemplating playing pool. We returned to the appartments and managed to drag Sam and Ant out (The 2 other UCLAN students) and went to a poolhall in a bowling alley. Wasn't too expensive and had a little tournement, which was fun, and nice to get out the house for something other than work.
In the evening the 3 of them were leaving for the local gym, I joined them. Only costs 16 Euros a month and you can go as much as you like. Could hardly make 10 reps of benching 30Kg, fellt so weak; will get easier if I keep it up though I'm sure. After a couple of hour we walked most of the way into town and found a kabab shop. Had a really nice chicken 1 with proper salad. Reminded me of Amet's in Lytham back at home. By the time I got in at 10ish Sven had arrived home and turned on his router again. The internet again atlast.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Life alone
31st of July
The day before my contract starts; Tried cooking a pasta sauce, but fruit flies were all over the peppers, which put me straight of, along with the fact the hob is crap. Ended up having cerial.
And so living alone begins, but atleast I have things to do, left the house for 8.15. First off i went to the council offices to sort out my residency permit. Had to wait 25minutes to be seen but it was painless, signed twice and got my tax form too.
Next on the list was my bank problems, went into Duetsche Bank and tried the ATM, still didn't work. I opened a German acount for my salery, the staff were nice, only needed my passport; signed another 4 forms.
After the bank I went to get a tram to my offices at Siemens, sorted out a monthly student pass for 28Euros! (~£20) which works all over the city; shame it starts 1st of august though, so cost me 4.50 euros there and back today alone.
Once at Siemens i met the HR lady that had sorted things out for me, Cornilia. She was welcoming and really pleased to meet me, think I'll be really happy here. Got an ugly picture on my pass, but think i made a good impression by getting my tax form and trampass sorted myself.
When I got in I played WoW for a bit and pigged out on sweets, self-soothing i guess, can only hope it doesn't turn back into a habit.
1st August - first day
Woke up at 6.45, showered and ate, then me and Ryan headed in for 9. I was introduced to the .NET framework, having done no Object Orientated Programming before, they were very understanding and patient. A new Pc arrived for me, but the monitor setup wasn't working, took all morning to install Visio, Visual studio '05 and get a 2 port graphics card for the dual display. I read my paper and just talked while it installed, noone minded or cared; very relaxed environment.
That night I watched the transporter and killed Gruul on WoW for the first time. Also got an email from Heather, she seems to be coping and is happier, and has started drawing which had a good effect on me. A good day all round, things are looking up.
2nd day
Today i worked 8-6 without tiring myself atall. Got stuck in wih some VB.NET, building a list which has different properties and output options. Then at 3pm, when my boss left I got on with a task he'd set, making a calender that prints out the selected date in a lable, then you can enter a memo with that date and add it to a list, which you can soft-print in a message box and manipulate. the syntax seems easy and I'm sure i'll pick it up soon enough. Although this is all 'owned' by siemens so I'm not allowed to talk about it. :P
Spoke to Ryan on the tram home, his room is worse than mine, his boss doesn't talk much and the people he came out with arn't the most talkative. Think I've got it good, and I'm pretty happy, other than the fact Heather's a 2hour flight away.
The day before my contract starts; Tried cooking a pasta sauce, but fruit flies were all over the peppers, which put me straight of, along with the fact the hob is crap. Ended up having cerial.
And so living alone begins, but atleast I have things to do, left the house for 8.15. First off i went to the council offices to sort out my residency permit. Had to wait 25minutes to be seen but it was painless, signed twice and got my tax form too.
Next on the list was my bank problems, went into Duetsche Bank and tried the ATM, still didn't work. I opened a German acount for my salery, the staff were nice, only needed my passport; signed another 4 forms.
After the bank I went to get a tram to my offices at Siemens, sorted out a monthly student pass for 28Euros! (~£20) which works all over the city; shame it starts 1st of august though, so cost me 4.50 euros there and back today alone.
Once at Siemens i met the HR lady that had sorted things out for me, Cornilia. She was welcoming and really pleased to meet me, think I'll be really happy here. Got an ugly picture on my pass, but think i made a good impression by getting my tax form and trampass sorted myself.
When I got in I played WoW for a bit and pigged out on sweets, self-soothing i guess, can only hope it doesn't turn back into a habit.
1st August - first day
Woke up at 6.45, showered and ate, then me and Ryan headed in for 9. I was introduced to the .NET framework, having done no Object Orientated Programming before, they were very understanding and patient. A new Pc arrived for me, but the monitor setup wasn't working, took all morning to install Visio, Visual studio '05 and get a 2 port graphics card for the dual display. I read my paper and just talked while it installed, noone minded or cared; very relaxed environment.
That night I watched the transporter and killed Gruul on WoW for the first time. Also got an email from Heather, she seems to be coping and is happier, and has started drawing which had a good effect on me. A good day all round, things are looking up.
2nd day
Today i worked 8-6 without tiring myself atall. Got stuck in wih some VB.NET, building a list which has different properties and output options. Then at 3pm, when my boss left I got on with a task he'd set, making a calender that prints out the selected date in a lable, then you can enter a memo with that date and add it to a list, which you can soft-print in a message box and manipulate. the syntax seems easy and I'm sure i'll pick it up soon enough. Although this is all 'owned' by siemens so I'm not allowed to talk about it. :P
Spoke to Ryan on the tram home, his room is worse than mine, his boss doesn't talk much and the people he came out with arn't the most talkative. Think I've got it good, and I'm pretty happy, other than the fact Heather's a 2hour flight away.
A Week with Heather
25th-30th July
3pm on the Wednesday we set off from West Bank, car loaded with my clothes and possessions. The legroom in the back was adequate, after the A4 had given in the Friday before; we were in a A6 estate. All the boxes and bags still only just fit in, not sure how it'll be on the return next august. The Ferry was alright, tacky bingo and a small room; but i slept alright, until 5am GMT that is when the wake-up call sounded.
The 26th was a day of travelling, me and Heather slept(she'll kill me for that pic) through most of it. We drove through the Netherlands, arriving in Augsburg at 17.50CE, 10 minutes earlier than predicted. We moved the stuff into my room, and i met Sam, a student living downstairs. Later meeting up with my dad and stepmum for food, I had kässespätzle, a cheesy pasta mix, at a Hassen Brau pub.
Friday the 27th was my first day in Augsburg, we went shopping in town, and saw some of the city. Heather bought gifts for people back home and we bought some bags from a nice shop. Met up with my dad and Jane to eat again; This time I had Kaiserschmarrn, an Austrian dish which is baked pancakes, raisins and lots of caster sugar. That night i had some problems with my new macmini, got a bit annoyed, only a computer. Also met the guy opposite me, Sven a German Law student and 2 others that are at Siemens, Sam from the night before and Ryan, who I'd been talking to in emails for a couple of months.
The weekend comes round already and with it a trip I had been looking forward to for months. On a mountain near Füssen, Neuschwanstein, a castle built for Koinig Ludwig II. (my new favourite picture - of the 2 most beautiful things in the world, imo anyway) I also got to see Heather in a dress, which is a rare sight, and she really suited it.
We got up early and headed for the main train station to buy tickets for the train. It took about 2.5 hours to get to Füssen. the views from the train were very picturesque, they were also punctual, clean and cheap, making it a nice change from England.
The path up to the castle was also really nice, although Heather didn't share that opinion, in flipflops with her bad joints. However in my opinion the walk was well worth it. Outside we got a nice picture together, which was taken by a friendly tourist. Queues to get inside however were 150 minutes, so we decided against it.
Behind the castle there is a nice view from Marienbrücke; which is where the 1st picture from this section was taken. We spent about 10minutes there then headed down. Heather bought some more stuff, including a mouse mat which is sat on my desk at work now, a nice reminder.
We got in about 6, and Sven invited me and Heather to go to a coffee bar he liked. Music was weird, I had a local bear which was ok. Sven met an old friend, but I was annoyed at the fact my Abbey card had stopped working. I thought money would be the thing i was least likely to get annoyed at, but it's no good if you can't get at it. Tried 3 different banks, nothing.
Didn't sleep much that night.
Sunday 29th.
A lazy day, just how I like them, I got up at 10 and headed into town to find a ATM to try. tried a different 1, and the 1 i had used on Friday. Nothing.
Heather sent most of the day led in bed while i rang the bank and my dad trying to sort it out. Sven showed his true good nature, offering me a loan; which I refused as I hate borrowing. the twits in the abbey call centre said there's no problem yet when i then tried at the bank again nothing happened, I organise for my dad to come via my flat on his way home. He gave me 370Euros, the weight was lifted, I have never loved him more. We sit down to watch Meet the Fockers, and have a nice night in.
Monday morning we go back into Augsburg, as my week with Heather draws to a close. She gets some sweets from the gummy bear shop for some colleagues, before packing and getting ready. Just after 12 noon we set off again for the main train station; now being able to buy my return ticket. Just before the train to the airport arrives Heather's phone dies, meaning no way in getting in touch with her lift in Manchester.
The train journey was uneventful, played a couple of games of worms while Heather slept for most of it. Once we got in the airport and to the terminal we met a 30min check in queue. After getting her ticket we sat and ate, as Heather was lightheaded and we'd had no breakfast.
"Goodbye" never seemed harder to say, I was feeling lonely by the time she got to the handlugage scanner 15meters away. However I found a copy of the times in the newsagents, which was a nice comfort on the train home. I typed home without even realising there. Germany was only glorified more by the paper, problem after problem, like a man being refused planning permission for his eco house being non-eco because of scaring off mice; along with Brown brown-nosing. That night a single bed has never felt so big.
3pm on the Wednesday we set off from West Bank, car loaded with my clothes and possessions. The legroom in the back was adequate, after the A4 had given in the Friday before; we were in a A6 estate. All the boxes and bags still only just fit in, not sure how it'll be on the return next august. The Ferry was alright, tacky bingo and a small room; but i slept alright, until 5am GMT that is when the wake-up call sounded.
The 26th was a day of travelling, me and Heather slept(she'll kill me for that pic) through most of it. We drove through the Netherlands, arriving in Augsburg at 17.50CE, 10 minutes earlier than predicted. We moved the stuff into my room, and i met Sam, a student living downstairs. Later meeting up with my dad and stepmum for food, I had kässespätzle, a cheesy pasta mix, at a Hassen Brau pub.
Friday the 27th was my first day in Augsburg, we went shopping in town, and saw some of the city. Heather bought gifts for people back home and we bought some bags from a nice shop. Met up with my dad and Jane to eat again; This time I had Kaiserschmarrn, an Austrian dish which is baked pancakes, raisins and lots of caster sugar. That night i had some problems with my new macmini, got a bit annoyed, only a computer. Also met the guy opposite me, Sven a German Law student and 2 others that are at Siemens, Sam from the night before and Ryan, who I'd been talking to in emails for a couple of months.
The weekend comes round already and with it a trip I had been looking forward to for months. On a mountain near Füssen, Neuschwanstein, a castle built for Koinig Ludwig II. (my new favourite picture - of the 2 most beautiful things in the world, imo anyway) I also got to see Heather in a dress, which is a rare sight, and she really suited it.
We got up early and headed for the main train station to buy tickets for the train. It took about 2.5 hours to get to Füssen. the views from the train were very picturesque, they were also punctual, clean and cheap, making it a nice change from England.
The path up to the castle was also really nice, although Heather didn't share that opinion, in flipflops with her bad joints. However in my opinion the walk was well worth it. Outside we got a nice picture together, which was taken by a friendly tourist. Queues to get inside however were 150 minutes, so we decided against it.
Behind the castle there is a nice view from Marienbrücke; which is where the 1st picture from this section was taken. We spent about 10minutes there then headed down. Heather bought some more stuff, including a mouse mat which is sat on my desk at work now, a nice reminder.
We got in about 6, and Sven invited me and Heather to go to a coffee bar he liked. Music was weird, I had a local bear which was ok. Sven met an old friend, but I was annoyed at the fact my Abbey card had stopped working. I thought money would be the thing i was least likely to get annoyed at, but it's no good if you can't get at it. Tried 3 different banks, nothing.
Didn't sleep much that night.
Sunday 29th.
A lazy day, just how I like them, I got up at 10 and headed into town to find a ATM to try. tried a different 1, and the 1 i had used on Friday. Nothing.
Heather sent most of the day led in bed while i rang the bank and my dad trying to sort it out. Sven showed his true good nature, offering me a loan; which I refused as I hate borrowing. the twits in the abbey call centre said there's no problem yet when i then tried at the bank again nothing happened, I organise for my dad to come via my flat on his way home. He gave me 370Euros, the weight was lifted, I have never loved him more. We sit down to watch Meet the Fockers, and have a nice night in.
Monday morning we go back into Augsburg, as my week with Heather draws to a close. She gets some sweets from the gummy bear shop for some colleagues, before packing and getting ready. Just after 12 noon we set off again for the main train station; now being able to buy my return ticket. Just before the train to the airport arrives Heather's phone dies, meaning no way in getting in touch with her lift in Manchester.
The train journey was uneventful, played a couple of games of worms while Heather slept for most of it. Once we got in the airport and to the terminal we met a 30min check in queue. After getting her ticket we sat and ate, as Heather was lightheaded and we'd had no breakfast.
"Goodbye" never seemed harder to say, I was feeling lonely by the time she got to the handlugage scanner 15meters away. However I found a copy of the times in the newsagents, which was a nice comfort on the train home. I typed home without even realising there. Germany was only glorified more by the paper, problem after problem, like a man being refused planning permission for his eco house being non-eco because of scaring off mice; along with Brown brown-nosing. That night a single bed has never felt so big.
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