I arrived in Germany at the beginning of August. I was part of an intensive German language course in a city in Hessen. During this time, I had very little responsibility since my research would not begin for another two months. I had about 2 large sitting in my US bank account from what I had been saving while I was bouncing and some extra I received for my graduation, birthday and as a "going away" present, all of which happened to land within two months. On top of this, I was to receive a modest stipend paid in two installment for the duration of the course. Given the competitiveness of the fellowship, and the fact that most of the recipients had only just completed their bachelors degrees, I was surrounded by a very different crowd that I am used to and from all different parts of the country. These were high achievers, straight-laced like something from a bad D.A.R.E. video. I had spent a few years living like this. It even cost me a girlfriend of 4 years. When we met, I was fun and exciting but by the end I was a reclusive workaholic. C'est la vie. However, by the time I arrived in Germany...this wasn't my crew.
Having been living in a large city and working in "the industry" I was used to a much different type of person. I had recently become accustomed to getting out of work a bit after 2 in the morning, just in time to pop over to the after-hours bar with other industry workers to mingle with the street-walkers, pimps, and drug dealers (no exaggeration). We'd have a few drinks and chase it with a quick line in the bathroom before heading back to a friends house for more drinks, more lines, and a few fat bowls. We'd call it quits around 6 or 7 and then spend the rest of the day detoxing before rinsing and repeating. Now obviously this wasn't a sustainable lifestyle while I was working on my MS thesis. While I was finishing school, my days and nights were usually more tame, with the exception of the glorious stretch from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon. I didn't have any classes scheduled in the morning (at least not that I attended) and I was already done with my research. All I had left was to take a few exams, do a homework assignment every once in a while, write my goddamned thesis, throw up a few plates in the gym, and check some ID's a few nights a week. Most of those days were spent in a haze of skunky smoke while I watched some stupid shit on Netflix and avoided my thesis like the plague. It was heavenly. I was able to maintain this right up until graduation, at which point I still had another 2 weeks to submit my, as of yet, barely-started thesis. This was the "oh shit" time and the story of those two weeks is very boring and centers around my laptop and a mountain of Chinese take-out containers. Needless to say, when I finally submitted my 85 page capstone, I was ready to go nuts and that's exactly what I did.
At this point, my responsibilities had further rarefied. For the following 2 months my days were focused around the bar I worked in and the bars my friends worked in. We had an "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" arrangement and we'd pop around so that no manager would get concerned that they would be losing too much money in hand-outs. Everyone in the industry knows that it goes on, but it needs to be internally regulated among the benefactors and beneficiaries. If a manager has to say something, you can almost guarantee that bar was gonna be scratched from the weekly rotation. I picked up a few more shifts at the bar to make some extra money and flirt with the hostesses, servers, and customers. I loved being at work. Any person that walked in the door had to talk to me. We got our fair share of assholes but it was well worth the freedom to flirt with any pretty little thing that crossed my path. The work was easy on most nights, consisting of checking ID's, watching tables we suspected might try to walk on their check, and keeping areas of high foot-traffic free for employees. Plus, the bouncer is the guy all the other frustrated employees go to. We acted as a confidant and gave a sense of security. We were also mostly just standing watch and so we were free to entertain the other employees when they got a bit bored. Naturally, it was a shit-ton (metric) of fun and it was pretty easy pickins on the female employees. I won't say the majority were great options. Some were in committed relationships, some were lesbians, and some you wouldn't want to stick with a ten foot Festivus pole, but there were a few and I pulled a couple away for fun when the rest of the party died including a server, a hostess, and even one of my manager's sisters. Anyway, I digress.
So at this point, I was free to fuck off as much as I pleased most hours of the day. I lived on the outskirts of campus and seldom woke before 2 or 3 in the afternoon, having not hit my bed until most people were starting their day. I never had so much fun before and I didn't want it to stop. I decided that I couldn't let it stop. I was about to be leaving for Europe and this was the perfect chance. I am still young and have not yet made the plunge to the "real" world. I am in limbo. I'm no longer a completely broke college student and I am not yet a corporate drone. If only the company they sent me here with wasn't such a damn drag...
At this point, my responsibilities had further rarefied. For the following 2 months my days were focused around the bar I worked in and the bars my friends worked in. We had an "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" arrangement and we'd pop around so that no manager would get concerned that they would be losing too much money in hand-outs. Everyone in the industry knows that it goes on, but it needs to be internally regulated among the benefactors and beneficiaries. If a manager has to say something, you can almost guarantee that bar was gonna be scratched from the weekly rotation. I picked up a few more shifts at the bar to make some extra money and flirt with the hostesses, servers, and customers. I loved being at work. Any person that walked in the door had to talk to me. We got our fair share of assholes but it was well worth the freedom to flirt with any pretty little thing that crossed my path. The work was easy on most nights, consisting of checking ID's, watching tables we suspected might try to walk on their check, and keeping areas of high foot-traffic free for employees. Plus, the bouncer is the guy all the other frustrated employees go to. We acted as a confidant and gave a sense of security. We were also mostly just standing watch and so we were free to entertain the other employees when they got a bit bored. Naturally, it was a shit-ton (metric) of fun and it was pretty easy pickins on the female employees. I won't say the majority were great options. Some were in committed relationships, some were lesbians, and some you wouldn't want to stick with a ten foot Festivus pole, but there were a few and I pulled a couple away for fun when the rest of the party died including a server, a hostess, and even one of my manager's sisters. Anyway, I digress.
So at this point, I was free to fuck off as much as I pleased most hours of the day. I lived on the outskirts of campus and seldom woke before 2 or 3 in the afternoon, having not hit my bed until most people were starting their day. I never had so much fun before and I didn't want it to stop. I decided that I couldn't let it stop. I was about to be leaving for Europe and this was the perfect chance. I am still young and have not yet made the plunge to the "real" world. I am in limbo. I'm no longer a completely broke college student and I am not yet a corporate drone. If only the company they sent me here with wasn't such a damn drag...
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