The Day

Here's a picture of what I see out my window.


I’ve had a substantial change in daily life and now that I’ve settled down a bit, I’ll explain how it goes. The way things have ended up is quite nice.

After a nice bowl of granola and a good look at the commute conditions, I layered up and packed dry clothes and shoes. I pulled my bike out of the basement, clipped in, and cycled carefully over the old ice until I got to the fresh snow, where I could resume semi-normal speeds. Two villages and ten kilometers later, I security-carded my way into the complex, gave a hearty “Gruβ Gott” to the guy salting the steps, and shouldered my bike up to the office, past two more security check points. I greeted the other guy who came in early and excused myself to “slip into something a little more comfortable”. Brown pants and an International Club t-shirt were my office clothes of the day (and adidas running shoes, of course).

The office had mannequins with the latest sport clothing and most flat surfaces were adorned with running shoes or shoe components. The work day was spent with further study and practice with a finite element analysis program, something I’m really enjoying. My colleagues and I went to the World of Sports, the larger adidas campus, and we visited a couple of other departments as part of my continuing tour of the facilities. The rest of the afternoon was relaxing reading, studying, and learning.

Ten kilometers through the rain and two villages later, I made it back to the flat, made some spaghetti and reflected on a great day.

adidas

"Please no competitor clothing"

After perhaps the most difficult decision of my life, I have settled down in phase three of my three phase year in Germany. My first week in the “Graduate Program” in the adidas innovation team (ait.) was fantastic. The department is responsible for all new technologies in shoes, equipment, and clothing that come from adidas so in my first few days walking around the office, I met the people that designed my running shoes and those who are on the patent for the FIFA 2006 ball. I’m really excited to be a part of all that. My other option was Airbus in Bremen and, although it was strange to pass it up, I think my time with adidas will be much more beneficial and enjoyable.

I’m living in Erlangen, a 10km bike ride from work, in a shared apartment with three Germans. It’s in a quiet area and the bike ride will be nice once the ice melts. It’s interesting to note, yet again, the differences between here and other places in Germany. After only 3.5 hours in a car (autobahn, so 4.5 hours US driving time :) ) the stores all close earlier, there are different public holidays, the accent in the local’s speech is a bit different, the typical greeting (“Gruβ Gott”) is different, and they call their basic bread Semmel and not Brotchen. Interesting to compare, I think. If I drove from Seattle to Eugene, I wouldn’t notice these differences.

Three Stripes!

Internship and Five

This is a picture of me juggling five balls during the juggling night/class at the Otto-von-Guericke-Universitaet Magdeburg. This is a relatively new development for me.

My four month search for the perfect internship has finally reached an end. On Monday, I will start working with the adidas innovation team in Herzogenaurach, a small city northwest of Nuremburg in Bavaria. It was a difficult decision because it ultimately involved declining an offer from Airbus in Bremen but I'm really looking forward to the work with adidas.

Romeo und Julia

Romeo and Juliet on the left, Mercutio is behind them. Benviolio is in front in black. The guy sitting down is Tybalt. The two on top are Juliet’s parents, and the guy with cowboy boots and sequined underpants was the one who wanted to marry Juliet. The wood square with the lights can move down to meet with the big box in the center and the large lower wood area can be lifted to the ceiling.

On a whim, I picked up a ticket for Romeo und Julia, a Shakespeare performance at the local theater. I was surprised to see that a majority of those waiting in the lobby were around my age. The lobby area was also a club with aluminum structures supporting disco balls and colorful lights (only the lights were on). Later, the club would host a rap and DJ concert.

The play definitely had a modern touch too it as well. The Montague family wore black and the Capulet family looked like royalty from the early eighties with ridiculous colors and over-the-top shoes. There was modern music that played from time to time and although the entire thing was in German, it was not a direct translation. The director took some liberties that kind of gave it a more present-day feel.

I liked it. It was entertaining. I’ve seen the movies and plays and script before but this one, it seemed, was presented to capture today’s audience. The ticket was not much more than a movie ticket and I got to enjoy some solid, real, local, entertaining, acting without product placement or pre-views.

Success.