Day 3...Hump Day

Today is Wednesday...half way to the long weekend.

What a stud...

 Unintentionally took the long way to work today, listening to Penn Gillete's new podcast, Penn's Sunday School.  He had Gilbert Godfried on.  They weren't particularly funny, but something about the way they laugh, and sell the jokes, had me cracking up and getting lost.  Check them out.

Worked at the 123 office today and met with both of my new managers to firm up the projects I'll be working on.  I can't overstate how refreshing it is to do a totally different job, but within a framework and company you really understand, after 7 years.  I'm really loving working on the training side and getting insight into how decisions are made on the direction our direction takes. An unanticipated part of my role is people just pulling me aside, showing me a plan and asking me "what don't you like about this?"  What a great gig for an antagonist from Boston.

Few interesting things I learned today:

• Apparently the British and the Germans are very much "If we didn't invent it here, its not that good" people.  I was told as an American, I could have some trouble using my American experience to shape programs that will face the British (for the record, everyone has been amazing and I have not felt that at all).  I was further told, that being an American based in London will do me no favors in working with the Germans.  Apparently old grudges die hard.
• Even though Hamburg is one of the larger and more central offices in the region, its hard to get the satelite offices to commit to flying into Germany for training.  Apparently, they still bear ill will from when the Germans crossed their borders, and they're not thrilled to return the favor
• The Swedish do not want to go ANYWHERE.  They are a fabulously wealthy country with huge oil reserves.  They generate most of their power through water coming down from the mountains and the fjords (new favorite word), and bankroll their benevolent social policies by selling the petro.  The Swedes are best known for tall, blonde women and President Dolph Lundgren, former bodyguard and lover of Grace Jones, noted biochemist and smeller of crime.  Feel free to consider my forthcoming trip to Stockholm paid in full

Here's a brief pictorial of the 123 Office, and a few notes (note, the pics are sideways now, I'll fix them in an edit)

A look at the lift

Address

My nemesis..

front entrance on floor 3

Few notes on the office:

• Looot of smoking, at least more than I'm used to in salad eating Cambridge.  You see packs on a lot of desks, and a lot of people in the elevator with one already on their lip
• Fish...the cafeteria serves about 3 fish dishes a day.  But today they mixed it up with something called the "Veal Tornado" which I think they ripped off from a Spinal Tap song
• Superlatives:  A colleague yesterday was teasing me that Americans overuse the term "awesome."  She was telling me we really set the bar low, because if The Darkness is awesome, then what word do I save for the Beatles?  I disagreed on the analogy, but got her point on adjectival escalation.  Then I realized that these are the folks that brought us this ad campaign.  Now who's setting the bar low?

Speaking of brilliant, this ne'er before seen commercial I produced mid-decade

Today was also the day I started my one-man-pub tour of London.  I'm going to try to pop into one pub a day for a half pint, review the bar, and the beer.  You'll tire of this quickly, and it may get expensive.  Thankfully a half pint is about 3 pounds and that's like, 75 cents.  

The White Horse and Bower

I arrived at 830 and sat down at a table with a gentleman named Lemmy.  I went torder and was told the kitchen was closed.  I asked around what time the kitchen closes.

"Usually around 20 minutes from now."   When I asked why they closed the kitchen early on a Wednesday when the bar was full, the woman took my menu and said "try us tomorrow."  I think she thought I was German.

It was a very traditional looking pub, with lots of shiny wood and mirrors with their name on it.  The signage was pushing alot of Asahi, Japan's #1 Strong Lager.  Some kind of Swedish pear cider is also very popular. Around the time I was ready to order a Master Brew, Lemmy's food came.  The bartendress commented how the lamb burger was great, and that she'd had one earlier when the kitchen made one by mistake.  She snagged a fry from Lemmy's plate.  Rub it in, Delores...

I ordered a Master Brew from the Shepherd Neame brewery, and took a look around.  About 20 people in the bar scattered around 4 tables.  All the women at one table in the middle.  I wish Lemmy looked like a better wingman.  There was also a guy wearing stretch work out pants, possibly made by a British Lulu Lemon, which I can't abide. Brings some baggies for the pub, mate.

It was a decent brew.  Caramel in color and taste, but very wattery.  I think the ales tend to be a bit wattery, because a Wednesday beer isn't made to get drunk.  Its more social.  I can dig it.  As for temperature, I'd say on a scale of white to Coors blue, the mountains were robin's egg in tone

I started making small talk with John*, who works locally for an engineering outfit from Omaha, which is in the central United States, and was inspiration for a song recorded by Adam Duritz led emo-power group The Counting Crows.  He was a good enough guy and told me to come by again, because the lamb burger was good.  He directed me to a bar down the road where the kitchen would be open because the match was on.  It would be a little higher price point, because it was 'up market' mostly because there was more 'twat' in the pub.  I'm not kidding.

Side bar:  The bartendress brought John a half drunken bottle of wine which she claimed she had roofied.  It was apparently leftover from an other table.  John took a swig and then put the bottle in his bag.  The air was thick with sexual tension.

So I moved on to the t-packed up market Bareley Mow

The 13 year old bar maiden served me a room temparature Spriggan Ale, from Skinner's brewery.  Skinner is apparently a card playing hobit who brews a very watery ale that tastes of dandelion.  This is the mood of the bar

I also splurged on my first fish & chips, but asked them to hold the peas.  The bastards will add peas to anything.  I hate peas

Food was great.  I also watched a bit of the soccer match between Chelsea and BEN, which my upbringing in Portuguese-packed Milford lead me to believe is Benfica, a favorite of people who grew up within a mile of the Skate Palace.

Thought:  Soccer fans don't seem to much mind that the jerseys are covered with advertisements.  Since Amercian football teams don't really have the team name on the jersey, how far away are we from that?  How has this not happened yet?  How much would it cost to splay your name across the might Patriots jersey?  I'm going to come back to this and thing of the best matches.  Please feel free to comment.

The brits also love to bet on soccer.  Its like OTB.  These two shops are directly across the street from each other

Till Tomorrow...when I'll be spending time at both offices, meeting a few teams, meeting up with a few 'mates' from 'university' and hopefully betting on soccer drunkely

*John = Lemmy.  Until I get people's names, we're going with only names I would name a British son.  Next up:  Geoffrey, Clive, Ozzy and Clive.