A Rhythm
Three weeks into the project, and I've finally found a rhythm where I feel like I'm here and part of things. Up at 7:30, coffee in the lobby by 8:15, and a short pair of trams to the office, picking up lunch and a snack on the way. A series of coffeebreaks with the AtosOrigin guys, interrupted by periodic fits of work. Sandwich time (I bring a diet coke, not milk like the dutch, somehow its just not the same), more work, and out the door at 5. In the gym at 6, cardio, weights, shower, and dinner. Tonight I'm eating at a restaurant, rather than a Albert Heijn salad-for-one in the room, which makes it rather a big night out. I'm not that adventurous though: its a little dive called Leopold, that has an excellent selection of Belgian trappist beers, and a ribeye which isn't quite like home, but has some flavor to it. The candlelight and dimmed incandescents give the wood and brass in the room a mellow golden glow, and the occasional scent of tobacco lingers lightly in the air in a way that lends intrigue and authenticity to the place. It makes me happy cause the place usually has a good crowd as well; its not as lonely as a hotel restaurant.
I'm beginning to have the feeling that Den Haag is kind of like Austin. There's very few people from there, and it sprawls all over the place. Most people on my project are living in Rotterdam. The girl and guy that run the coffee counter in the lobby of the hotel are from Amsterdam and commute in daily. Maybe next week I'll move hotels to Amsterdam for part of the week, so my last few days there I can get some gift shopping done, and have a bit more variety in evening entertainment. That and a few more Marriott points.
Friday will be a half-day at work, and then fly down to Munich for the weekend for Starkbierfest. My friend Keith that lives in Stuttgart is going to make it to Munich as well, so I'm really looking forward to it.
The upside to having been here 4 weeks in a row is that I'm mostly guaranteed 3 weeks at home to work, and those weeks should be plenty productive.
One thing that I notice about Den Haag is the random haphazard way the public transport infrastructure has been built. It cracks me up that trams cut underneath buildings and through the middle of some other buildings. The city sprawls and seems to be undergoing construction at every corner.
I'm beginning to have the feeling that Den Haag is kind of like Austin. There's very few people from there, and it sprawls all over the place. Most people on my project are living in Rotterdam. The girl and guy that run the coffee counter in the lobby of the hotel are from Amsterdam and commute in daily. Maybe next week I'll move hotels to Amsterdam for part of the week, so my last few days there I can get some gift shopping done, and have a bit more variety in evening entertainment. That and a few more Marriott points.
Friday will be a half-day at work, and then fly down to Munich for the weekend for Starkbierfest. My friend Keith that lives in Stuttgart is going to make it to Munich as well, so I'm really looking forward to it.
The upside to having been here 4 weeks in a row is that I'm mostly guaranteed 3 weeks at home to work, and those weeks should be plenty productive.
One thing that I notice about Den Haag is the random haphazard way the public transport infrastructure has been built. It cracks me up that trams cut underneath buildings and through the middle of some other buildings. The city sprawls and seems to be undergoing construction at every corner.
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