German porcelain thrones: your treats on display

Mr. Clean's German cousin

The toilet post was a bit backed up with me being clogged with work.  Anyway, the gist of this post is to comment on the fact that toilets in Germany aren't like those in the States or Japan or most other countries I've been to.  They operate like conventional toilets in that they serve as flushable receptacles for poops and other things--however, the key difference is that for whatever reason the Germans felt that their toilets needed to have a "ledge."  A simple bowl-shaped design was clearly insufficient apparently.  There are many reasons why the ledge is a terrible idea but the commonly stated explanation for this design trait is that the Germans, being a health-conscious peoples, seem to prefer being able to inspect their brown deposits before walking away and going about their usual activities.  While I'll admit that pooping out of the water will surely make obtaining a stool sample very easy--is this convenience really worth having to poop out of the water every time?

Photo from: http://dullumstogermany.blogspot.com

Due to the fact that a ledge exists and depending on one's stool consistency, things get a bit, let's say, "streaky."  The Germans realized this as well, but instead of foregoing the ledge and adopting the bowl-design, they've adapted to the problem by placing and requiring the use of a toilet brush next to each and every toilet so that you can clean up your own messes.  What this means is that you'll find a nasty toilet brush everywhere--even next to public toilets.  What makes things even more difficult to understand is that there are a variety of toilet ledge designs out there, with ledges in the front, back, etc.  Perhaps a forward ledge design was thought to provide a balance in giving individuals a choice of whether to make a wet or dry deposit depending on how far one scoots forward on the toilet seat.  With a rearward ledge as seen in the above and below photos, this wet-dry flex option is not really feasible.

Photo from: http://dullumstogermany.blogspot.com

Another thing I've noticed that's rough about doing toilet business is their paper.  It's tough (I've commonly seen 3-ply) but all the stuff I've encountered feels like sandpaper.  Feels bad man.  Maybe it's just a personal problem and just another thing that I need to get used to--I don't know.  SOS, need my plush Charmin ultra softs.

Future astronaut

My first week at work is complete and it's been an exhausting ride--waking up at 6am and getting home from work at 6-7pm.  Hopefully things will begin to settle down in the future but an interesting curve ball was thrown at me today in that me and my coworker were given company medical examinations to assess our "pre-work" health I assume.

It's the first time I've had to go through something like this and it was quite an interesting process in which I began to feel like a lab rat being examined to determine if it's space-worthy.  Everything began with the basics: a full-range of eye exams, height, weight, then a lung-volume measurement (?) test.  Following that, they hit me with the needle and drained me of my blood which was the first time I've done such a thing.  It's shocking to see how fast and forceful the blood pours out of the needle, filling up two large vials in a matter of seconds.  That experiment went fairly well and perhaps I'll finally be able to find out what my blood type is when the results are posted.  Later we had to pee in cups for a drug screening, followed by a slight disrobe on a medical bed whereupon I was spritzed with contact solution and what seemed like 100000 octopus suckers were attached all over my body to obtain an EKG.  What was left was a final one-on-one medical examination by a doctor in his office.  The whole experience was a bit distressing in that we were given a sheet of paper with a list of tests and locations in German--after going through each test, it would get a check and we would be directed to a new location with an unknown fate.  The entire time I was unsure how far the exams would go but thankfully they didn't go as far as to include rectal screenings. 

Evidently these exams are completed fairly often to ensure the health of the workforce.  I suppose it's a nice thing to constantly keep tabs on your own health--just another thing that will take some getting used to. 

That's all I want to mention for now--as a bonus, here's a picture of the thing that watches me while I sleep every night.  Yeah...

Work begins

It's been a couple interesting days recently.  The city I'm living in is not bad, initial impressions were tainted by the dark and rainy weather that was had when I arrived two nights ago.  Days with nice weather definitely help give the city a more positive feel.  There were some difficulties in trying to get a work permit the other day, but things were finally sorted out today and I was able to complete my first day at work.

I can't give away too many details but what I can say is that I'm the first of two members of a brand new lab and will have the opportunity to essentially lead my division of work as more workers begin to funnel in with the coming months.  The work space is pretty amazing and "state of the art" and the surrounding areas are mind-boggling with the degree of industry nearby (think New Jersey's industrial complex).  We essentially have our own private bathroom which is pretty nice as well.  The prospects are exciting and should hopefully be a great experience.

Outside of work I've been to a few grocery stores and will have to get used to the small store sizes and limited selection of items that go contrary to the lifestyle that exists in America.  There is an array of interesting and "unique" flavors and items that I've noticed including the frequent "American" or perhaps a box of "cat chocolates."

Another interesting facet of life in Germany is the water.  Germans seem to rarely drink normal straight water, let alone water in general.  However, when they do, it's nearly always mineral water--highly carbonated.  The Germans seem to love their carbonated beverages and it seems like everything is carbonated, fruit juices, waters, sodas, flavored waters, and more--with the exception of milk unless I just haven't found that variety yet.  If you go to a restaurant or in my case when I went to open a bank account, I was asked if I wanted something to drink and requested water.  A glass of room-temperature mineral water was provided--leading to another topic being that ice is seemingly non-existent here.  Most drinks are consumed at room temperature or sometimes chilled, but not with ice.  It will take some getting used to this change but it seems these are just cultural things that just need to be dealt with.

Germany, the beginning

I'm in Germany, it's late at night, and I'm writing this post from the temporary student housing sub-let that I signed for before I got here.  Sounds good?  Well, it's cheap, and... that's about it.  A German college student went off elsewhere (on holiday perhaps?) for two months so I've paid to inherit his quarters in the meantime.  As a result it doesn't quite feel like home and it somewhat adds to the anxiousness that's crept in within the last half-day that I've been here.  The gravity of my decision to move finally started to sink in after arriving in Frankfurt--that I'm really taking a blind-folded leap of faith as far as my future is concerned--having never been to Germany, let alone Europe. 

The days preceding this quest were spent saying sad farewells and goodbyes to friends in Seattle, followed by rigorous apartment cleaning, clearing, and packing.  Four years of accumulations were eventually funneled down to 3 luggage bags and a carry-on.  This process was a complete nightmare and I hope I never have to repeat it and will strive to keep the quantity of my possessions to a minimum until I know I'll be settling down for a while.  I managed to catch one of the first non-stop Seattle to Frankfurt flights which are offered by Condor airlines for a pretty good fare (~500USD each way).  Things I noticed about my flight to Frankfurt; most of the people I was flying with weren't actually going to Germany but were transferring to other locations, Condor's plane is small for an international jet (767), the flight time was shorter than advertised at around 9 hours (going through a North-Eastern diagonal of Canada, past Greenland and the arctic to hit Frankfurt from the North).  Flight positives: "cheap" fares, received a random free seating upgrade from economy to premium which provided more space, free alcohol if you so desire, and a faster exit as a result.  Flight negatives: no personal in-seat TV-screens or monitors, tiny overhead bins, Sarah Jessica Parker movies, and water condensation dripping from the "roof" or ceiling of the plane onto seated passengers below.

After lassoing all my baggage and meandering through the Frankfurt airport maze, I managed to rent a car with GPS to get down to Mannheim where my "apartment" is located.  Being able to drive a manual-transmission (standard) car in Germany on the autobahn was pretty exciting although it was a giant sensory overload trying to figure out where to go, how to operate an unfamiliar vehicle, and keep everything together on the road simultaneously.  The car I drove was a 150hp turbo diesel beast (lol) of a Nissan "Qashqai" (???) equipped fairly well with a 6-speed gearbox.  Driving on the autobahn was fairly relaxing and manageable (though I have a bit of experience driving at high-speeds on the track) and cruising speeds as high as 180kmh were achieved during the short journey.  I arrived in Mannheim and was taken to my housing and shown a few landmarks and key locations along the way.  The Mannheim that I've seen thus far seems perhaps only slightly ghetto with a slathering of distributed graffiti (tags).  However, these are just the initial impressions and observations.

There's more to come, including a discussion about German toilets in a later posting.

End of an Era

Last Saturday marked the "end of an era" with regard to the ownership of my car.  My "Miku" drift car is gone, sold to a fellow enthusiast who intends to use it exclusively as a track car.  I'm glad to hear that it will continue its life on the track, I just wish I could somehow track it's progress as such.  The car has been with me for over 10 years and I've learned a lot throughout my ownership experience--how to drive and master a manual (standard) transmission, how to perform maintenance including swapping out and upgrading the entire engine & drive-train, how to drift, and more.  But every good thing has an end and I must say farewell as I prepare to disembark and relocate myself to the birthplace of my beloved car--the land of Germany.  

I've been saying goodbye to nearly all my possessions and junk I've accumulated over the 4-5 year span that I've spent in Seattle--hoping to whittle everything down to fit within 3 pieces of baggage.  It's going to be a struggle and will require much donating and throwing away (and for now the suspension of the Spectre cosplay project). I also still need to find a place to live in Germany before I arrive.

Preliminary apartment searching has proven to reveal some interesting things about the German housing market.  First being the existence of "commission."  There isn't any craigslist activity in the area I'll be moving to so most of the apartment listings can only be viewed through agency web-sites.  These sites make it somewhat easy to view or browse many different units, however, if you find an apartment you like and want to reserve or rent, you must pay a commission fee to these agencies.  How much?  The standard commission value is 238% or 2.38x a single month's rent.  So the commission fee for a €500/month apartment will cost €1200, not cheap.  Other things of note: there are often cleaning fees of around €100 that are charged on move-out to "clean" or restore (?) the unit.  I've heard some places would require you to repaint the unit to avoid the cleaning charge, however, if the landlord doesn't deem your paint job fitting, then you will be charged anyway--what a hassle.

One final observation I noticed was the common lack of refrigerators in German apartments and flats.  This contrasts with American rental units as refrigerators are considered a standard amenity like toilets--meaning almost no renters actually own their own refrigerator.  In Germany, the inclusion of a fridge seems to be hit or miss with most apartments being a "miss"--necessitating the purchase of a mini-fridge.

These differences will require some minor adaptation though I hope I don't come across too many other huge surprises / culture shocks along the way.

Cosplay Featurette - Kara aka Electric Lady

Here's the featurette video highlighting some of the work done by Kara aka Electric Lady.  It was great working with her at the various locations we explored around Seattle and I'd be happy to do it again.  Will I be doing "featurettes" for other people?  Possibly, it primarily comes down to the cosplayer and whether they are willing to invest the time and effort required to fulfill something like this.  Our efforts are summarized and compiled into the following final video:



I believe releasing this video also marks the beginning of the end, with my intention to; take a break / retire / go on a hiatus / sabbatical / etc.  The length is as of yet unknown and is being done for a few different reasons.  If I manage to attend another convention, hopefully it will be one where my Spectre is debuting.   See you then!

Sakuracon 2012 - 02

2nd and final Sakuracon coverage (montage) video follows:



Will upload the cosplayer feature video tomorrow morning.

Sakuracon 2012

Yesterday concluded the year's Sakuracon event at the Washington state convention center in Seattle.  It was another great year with amazing weather--cool days with clear skies.  Since this year's Sakuracon was nearly a month earlier than last, the event actually coincided with the Sakura blooms around the city.  While there aren't many Sakura trees around the actual convention site (that I know of), the overlap allows for good opportunities to go off-site to take pictures or do video, etc.

I met up with a lot of cool people and had a great time at this year's event.  However, security was quite a bit more obnoxious. 

This year I wanted to be a little ambitious and try a few new things with regard to video.  While I made some attempts, the outcome wasn't very successful so I won't be able to provide immediate results.  Looking at my post from last year's Sakuracon I can say that I'm probably as well versed in the culture / scene as everyone else and it's interesting to see that I managed to pull 3 videos from 20 gbs of raw footage.  This year's tally hovered around  32gb of video and I'm aiming to release 2 videos and 1 short feature. 

I had the pleasure of getting to work with Electric lady who came out from Arizona and she likewise agreed to participating in my lofty / insane ideas which I greatly appreciated (most people are unwilling to invest their time and energy, though with possibly good reason). I took a few teaser photos from our adventures, here's one:

It took some time but I managed to crank out both my first video from Sakuracon and the feature video I did for Electric lady.  However, I'm saving the latter video for the final release.  In the meantime, take a look at release #1:

Spring update

The cherry blossoms are now in full bloom and Sakuracon looms around the corner in 3-4 days.  The weather outlook for the event is still questionable but likely to include rain and grey.  I've arranged some plans with people for the con but the majority of the event will be pretty spontaneous.  Lot of things to think about and remember right now, hopefully I don't forget anything.  It'll be an exciting time for sure.

The Drift Doctor has arrived!

The very first post of this blog nearly 3 years ago was titled, "Birth of a drift doctor."  The term seemed a bit vague but this post brings everything full circle as the Drift Doctor has finally arrived!

 Just waiting for people before starting my exam.













 Trying to show that my work left a lasting impact in my field.










 



A few days ago I passed my final defense after a grueling four and a half years and graduated with my PhD.  This blog isn't intended to be concerned with that.  However, it helps to clarify why the blog is titled the way it is.  So while I've legitimized the doctor part of driftdoctor.com, I've kinda fallen away from the drift aspect which stems from my love of cars, speed, and driving.  In the future I hope to correct this deviation and get back into the car scene.

There weren't any updates last week as my attention was diverted to passing my exam.  Now that I seem to have a bit more time on my hands, hopefully I can make some progress on the projects I've been working on.