Thu, Feb 10, 2011 – 22:04
A number of Germans have been asking me what stereotypes Americans have of this country, and after trying to design a simple letterhead for TEAMGOLD, I have to say that DIN and their absolutely absurd quantity of standards (see the Wikipedia list of standards which include things like “hexagon weld nuts” and “scaling ladder; made [...]
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 – 21:42
Things have been quite busy lately, between preparing the annual report design project at work – which has been occupying whole days for me – and searching for a new flat before my current lease runs out. Due to this search I missed the end of the Midgard game on Tuesday, so I will have [...]
I took the train up to Berlin on the 25th to stay with Janine’s family. My train was cancelled, which made things exciting, and I finally got in around 11pm, and between the cold and the long day, I was pretty happy to hear Janine’s mom had some delicious duck leftovers ready for me. Nom [...]
Sat, Dec 25, 2010 – 11:03
Since Germans primarily do their celebrating on the 24th, I can now cross “Christmas in Germany” from my list of things to do in my life. Although I had some doubts at the start of the month, I would say that I’ve done pretty well in celebrating the holiday. We had vast quantities of thick fluffy [...]
Sat, Nov 13, 2010 – 23:00
Thursday was the opening of Karneval season, and Cologne is the epicenter of this “fifth season” of partying! Karneval season will run until Ash Wednesday, and the culmination is five days of Mardi Gras German-style in March. Everyone in the office was encouraged (technically it’s in our contracts) to dress up in costume. Unfortunately I [...]
While America was rallying to restore sanity and prepping for the dramatic midterm election this past week, I went down to spend a long weekend in Munich with Janine and Micha, as they are no longer living in Dessau. I spent pretty much all day Friday in a carpool driving down, and although I had [...]
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 – 21:05
I took my camera with me to work last week so you can see sort of how my day goes. First I arrive at the main train station, where I walk by the Cologne Cathedral. Sometimes I buy breakfast at the bakery in the station or at the corner by the Hilton. Our building is [...]
My four-month apartment in the Nippes neighborhood (north side of Cologne) is a pretty sweet deal. I pay 320€/mo, which is about $440, and get my own room in a clean, new, three-person flat, complete with fancy appliances and —a rarity in Germany— a dryer. I’m waiting for the touch-sensitive stove to start talking to [...]
Tue, Aug 17, 2010 – 17:05
A German design studio assigned me a test project last week to see how my design skills are before they agreed to take me. The assignment was to redesign the homepage for audimark.de, a young, forward-looking internet radio advertising company. They sent along a brief with some general info about the client, some adjectives, etc., [...]
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 – 19:05
I know that pretty much everybody (including myself) is confused about what will be going on in Ellenland in the upcoming year. Having finished my education for the moment, I’m at a crossroads of deciding where to go next, and I’ve been feeling pretty paralyzed with the decision. In hindsight I expect it will be [...]
