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Don't Call Me Fur Baby
Dec. 18th, 2023 01:37 amIt's been a very busy week of socialising and a very busy week professionally, which has resulted in me working past midnight on four of the five weekdays this week. Ultimately, balancing my full-time job with my business is proving increasingly difficult and it is taking time away from doing other things which are more important to me. I think something is going to have to give in the new year, but I am not sure which one yet. While my full-time job obviously pays me, I am finding it all very disheartening, but my business doesn't earn anywhere near enough to sustain me. I guess we'll see how things look in January once the holidays are over, but as usual, it's the quandary between money and time that is proving hard to answer. One positive thing about having money though is we could pay some of our mortgage off, although it wasn't as much as I would have liked. Still, any over-payment is still useful though and we may be able to pay a little more off by the end of the month. I have still been worrying a lot about the house though, with Wolfie's parents away for the next three months. At least Wolfie's friend Adam is overseeing it I suppose.
After lamenting about how difficult we have found our social life here, we have been awfully active of late. However, Wolfie did not join me over the weekend due to his back playing up once more. This was a little frustrating, particularly as it meant he missed the third Trax Christmas in a row, but he was happy for me to go down there and enjoy the party. This was on Saturday, but the prelude to this was not good. They do a secret Santa and I had only bought one present, deciding to gift some bead-based artwork project that I had bought last year but didn't use. We had said that we would work on it together but after 12 months just sitting on our living room table, I assumed that opportunity was lost. Upon wrapping it up on Friday morning, Wolfie mentioned this again, and this resulted in a 12-hour spiral of despair as I felt I had let him down. It was truly horrendous, not aided by my disengaging job and other issues that Wolfie is having to deal with right now. I spent most of the day crying, with much of the last few months pouring out of me. It was silly really as it was a trivial matter and one easily resolved - indeed I went to Edeka on Friday evening and picked up another present for the secret Santa - I guess my emotions are running on overdrive right now. In the end, too, it was pointless as Wolfie couldn't make it so we only ended up needing one present after all.
The soft start was at 12 noon, but I didn't arrive until nearer 3:30pm on account of my own laziness and a tram crash which detoured all the public transport. Dinner was to be served at 4pm, but was pushed later as many others had yet to arrive. The spread was definitely worth it as it was a full Swedish smorgasbord with meatballs, various meats, potato and cheese gratin and a load of crackers and cheeses that were tucked away and I didn't notice until way after my second helping. We got to decorate biscuits again, being asked to name a bone, while the pink paw biscuits were also a nice touch. There were also loads of snacks and drinks, with me bringing a full keg of Heineken and the Minions Tropical Fruit Party Drink which again went unopened. We just can't get rid of the stuff. The secret Santa took place around 8:30pm and involved us all gathering in a circle and rolling two dice, one of which determined which direction we passed the presents around the circle and the other determining how many times we passed the presents along. In the end, I got a nice wooden paw which lit up, which I traded with Trax for his kitchen weighing scales as he already had some and we would find them useful for our Hello Fresh boxes. The rest of the evening was spent chilling and playing Jackbox, with me being quite good at TKO and What The Dub, but poor at most of the others. It was a great day and I feel really comfortable with this group, so it was no surprise that I didn't leave until past 1:30am. Alas, I was delayed getting home as an ambulance had parked on the tram tracks at Alexanderplatz, meaning I missed my S-Bahn train. Instead of waiting in the cold for half an hour, I popped on the U2 and U7, getting back about ten minutes earlier than I would have done had I waited for the next S-Bahn train. Oh, and I also got a packet of Haribo and a Lucky Slots machine game too.
Sunday was the Fetish Flea Market down at Qualgeist, which happens twice yearly. There had been some murmurings in the Fureigners group of people wanting to go and as I couldn't make the Christmas Market meet-up on Thursday due to work, I really wanted to do this. I got up quite late though, meaning I was running about an hour later than planned, but this seemed to work out in the end as a few people arrived at the club before me and a few arrived later. After a quick drink in the bar where we discussed the club with a couple of people who hadn't been there before, as well as a hello from Skaugen, we headed into the back room to see what was being sold. There was quite a range of different things on sale and I picked up two rubber masks, including a maid's one, for €20 and a dress for €2 so I was quite happy. There was a beautiful rubber maid's bra there too but it was too small for me, while the Hazmat suit looked interesting but it seemed too big. I bumped into loads of people there I knew so it was quite rewarding, with us spending about two hours in total there. Then, we headed down to Brewdog DogTap to get some food. This went quite well although having had 11 corporate events on Friday night meant that they were very low on food, with no pizza or chicken being available. The gentleman serving was very apologetic and we did manage to get something, although my Patriot burger was ruined by the watery BBQ sauce on it. The sharing platters were pretty good though and Lambda and I even played giant Jenga, which was great fun. He wanted to do loads of games, such as bowling and motor car racing, but none of us were too keen and I felt a little bad. Still, we did do the Jenga, which sadly I lost. When we arrived at the bar, there were a load of kids running about and screaming, but the place soon became much less busy and by 9pm it was pretty dead. This was when they rang last orders and four of us ordered an Uber up to Zoologischer Garten as we were all heading up that way. I ended up paying the whole €190 bill, but I did get a load of cash back so it wasn't too bad. I have missed the Qualgeist + DogTap days so hopefully we can reinstate these in the new year.
Tuesday was another night out as we headed to BRLO to meet Snowi. My work was delaying me somewhat so our 7pm meeting time became nearer 7:30pm and she was already there by the time we arrived. Once ensconced on our table, she commented on how fancy the restaurant was, and soon we had ordered drinks. The food was a pick and mix affair - you could choose one main vegetable dish (Gemuse), one starchy dish (Drunter) and three additional dishes (Druber) with a sauce. I opted for cauliflower with Vadouvan rub and BRLO Pale Ale glaze. Meanwhile, the Grenaille potatoes was my starchy option, while my three Drubers were mixed pickles, roasted leak and classic sol egg. Creamy horseradish was my sauce. It all came in the same bowl and it was exquisite, although the sheer size of the cauliflower did eventually cause some toilet-related gaseous issues. Afterwards, we did spy a cheeseboard, so we decided to treat ourselves, sampling five truly wonderful cheeses. We had these with the same warm sourdough bread and whipped salted caramel butter with which we had started, with the creamy butter being an absolute revelation in particular. We also had a few guest beers and some from BRLO too, capping off a truly magical evening. It was also great catching up with Snowi again, while we were also able to hand her the can of Ale to the King we had gotten her from the UK during the King's Coronation earlier in the year. We resolved to do it again sometime in the future.
The only other thing we have done this week was last Sunday, when we went out into Berlin. This was just Wolfie and I, and we wanted to do something after another quiet lazy weekend. Having seen Fat Man rating places in Berlin - indeed he ended up going to and liking my suggestion of Goldie's which I put to him as a comment on his first Berlin video where he visited Smack Burger - we decided to go to Smack Burger to check it out. This is in Gesundbrunnen and on Sunday night it was reassuringly busy. We did manage to find a table though and soon we were enjoying their standard cheeseburger and loaded fries, which were covered in cheese and chicken. Both of these were exceptional and although not quite as good as Goldie's, this is definitely a place worth visiting again in future. After this, we had a choice of going down to Brewdog and The Castle or sticking in the Wedding area, with the latter being our plan as we hadn't been to the bars this way for a while. We ended up in the Vagabund Brauerei, who were just tearing down from their Christmas Market. This was due to finish at 8pm and we arrived at 7:45pm, but as business had been slower on the Sunday than it had been on the Saturday, it was pretty much done. The bar itself was quiet and smelled strongly of wet dog, but the barman was chatty and so we stayed for a swift one. He recommended we go to the nearby Vagabund bar, which was only about five minutes' walk away, and this we did afterwards. This was an unassuming bar underneath a residence, as so many are here, while the beer menu was limited to five beers. Sadly, they didn't have the cheeseboard on, but we did grab some olives and nuts and sat in the corner. There was a party of about 16 people in all having a good time, and thus adding to the atmosphere, while the bar seemed somewhat nautical and minimalist. Either way, it wasn't the greatest place, but wasn't bad either. Our final stop was Eschenbrau, which again was close by, but a place we hadn't been for a while. This is definitely one of our favourite bars and we enjoyed two beers here, including their seasonal, before heading off as they were closing. It was another great night and one much needed, although some of Wolfie's comments did set the tone for the poor week to follow, at least in my head. Still, it was a great evening nonetheless.
After lamenting about how difficult we have found our social life here, we have been awfully active of late. However, Wolfie did not join me over the weekend due to his back playing up once more. This was a little frustrating, particularly as it meant he missed the third Trax Christmas in a row, but he was happy for me to go down there and enjoy the party. This was on Saturday, but the prelude to this was not good. They do a secret Santa and I had only bought one present, deciding to gift some bead-based artwork project that I had bought last year but didn't use. We had said that we would work on it together but after 12 months just sitting on our living room table, I assumed that opportunity was lost. Upon wrapping it up on Friday morning, Wolfie mentioned this again, and this resulted in a 12-hour spiral of despair as I felt I had let him down. It was truly horrendous, not aided by my disengaging job and other issues that Wolfie is having to deal with right now. I spent most of the day crying, with much of the last few months pouring out of me. It was silly really as it was a trivial matter and one easily resolved - indeed I went to Edeka on Friday evening and picked up another present for the secret Santa - I guess my emotions are running on overdrive right now. In the end, too, it was pointless as Wolfie couldn't make it so we only ended up needing one present after all.
The soft start was at 12 noon, but I didn't arrive until nearer 3:30pm on account of my own laziness and a tram crash which detoured all the public transport. Dinner was to be served at 4pm, but was pushed later as many others had yet to arrive. The spread was definitely worth it as it was a full Swedish smorgasbord with meatballs, various meats, potato and cheese gratin and a load of crackers and cheeses that were tucked away and I didn't notice until way after my second helping. We got to decorate biscuits again, being asked to name a bone, while the pink paw biscuits were also a nice touch. There were also loads of snacks and drinks, with me bringing a full keg of Heineken and the Minions Tropical Fruit Party Drink which again went unopened. We just can't get rid of the stuff. The secret Santa took place around 8:30pm and involved us all gathering in a circle and rolling two dice, one of which determined which direction we passed the presents around the circle and the other determining how many times we passed the presents along. In the end, I got a nice wooden paw which lit up, which I traded with Trax for his kitchen weighing scales as he already had some and we would find them useful for our Hello Fresh boxes. The rest of the evening was spent chilling and playing Jackbox, with me being quite good at TKO and What The Dub, but poor at most of the others. It was a great day and I feel really comfortable with this group, so it was no surprise that I didn't leave until past 1:30am. Alas, I was delayed getting home as an ambulance had parked on the tram tracks at Alexanderplatz, meaning I missed my S-Bahn train. Instead of waiting in the cold for half an hour, I popped on the U2 and U7, getting back about ten minutes earlier than I would have done had I waited for the next S-Bahn train. Oh, and I also got a packet of Haribo and a Lucky Slots machine game too.
Sunday was the Fetish Flea Market down at Qualgeist, which happens twice yearly. There had been some murmurings in the Fureigners group of people wanting to go and as I couldn't make the Christmas Market meet-up on Thursday due to work, I really wanted to do this. I got up quite late though, meaning I was running about an hour later than planned, but this seemed to work out in the end as a few people arrived at the club before me and a few arrived later. After a quick drink in the bar where we discussed the club with a couple of people who hadn't been there before, as well as a hello from Skaugen, we headed into the back room to see what was being sold. There was quite a range of different things on sale and I picked up two rubber masks, including a maid's one, for €20 and a dress for €2 so I was quite happy. There was a beautiful rubber maid's bra there too but it was too small for me, while the Hazmat suit looked interesting but it seemed too big. I bumped into loads of people there I knew so it was quite rewarding, with us spending about two hours in total there. Then, we headed down to Brewdog DogTap to get some food. This went quite well although having had 11 corporate events on Friday night meant that they were very low on food, with no pizza or chicken being available. The gentleman serving was very apologetic and we did manage to get something, although my Patriot burger was ruined by the watery BBQ sauce on it. The sharing platters were pretty good though and Lambda and I even played giant Jenga, which was great fun. He wanted to do loads of games, such as bowling and motor car racing, but none of us were too keen and I felt a little bad. Still, we did do the Jenga, which sadly I lost. When we arrived at the bar, there were a load of kids running about and screaming, but the place soon became much less busy and by 9pm it was pretty dead. This was when they rang last orders and four of us ordered an Uber up to Zoologischer Garten as we were all heading up that way. I ended up paying the whole €190 bill, but I did get a load of cash back so it wasn't too bad. I have missed the Qualgeist + DogTap days so hopefully we can reinstate these in the new year.
Tuesday was another night out as we headed to BRLO to meet Snowi. My work was delaying me somewhat so our 7pm meeting time became nearer 7:30pm and she was already there by the time we arrived. Once ensconced on our table, she commented on how fancy the restaurant was, and soon we had ordered drinks. The food was a pick and mix affair - you could choose one main vegetable dish (Gemuse), one starchy dish (Drunter) and three additional dishes (Druber) with a sauce. I opted for cauliflower with Vadouvan rub and BRLO Pale Ale glaze. Meanwhile, the Grenaille potatoes was my starchy option, while my three Drubers were mixed pickles, roasted leak and classic sol egg. Creamy horseradish was my sauce. It all came in the same bowl and it was exquisite, although the sheer size of the cauliflower did eventually cause some toilet-related gaseous issues. Afterwards, we did spy a cheeseboard, so we decided to treat ourselves, sampling five truly wonderful cheeses. We had these with the same warm sourdough bread and whipped salted caramel butter with which we had started, with the creamy butter being an absolute revelation in particular. We also had a few guest beers and some from BRLO too, capping off a truly magical evening. It was also great catching up with Snowi again, while we were also able to hand her the can of Ale to the King we had gotten her from the UK during the King's Coronation earlier in the year. We resolved to do it again sometime in the future.
The only other thing we have done this week was last Sunday, when we went out into Berlin. This was just Wolfie and I, and we wanted to do something after another quiet lazy weekend. Having seen Fat Man rating places in Berlin - indeed he ended up going to and liking my suggestion of Goldie's which I put to him as a comment on his first Berlin video where he visited Smack Burger - we decided to go to Smack Burger to check it out. This is in Gesundbrunnen and on Sunday night it was reassuringly busy. We did manage to find a table though and soon we were enjoying their standard cheeseburger and loaded fries, which were covered in cheese and chicken. Both of these were exceptional and although not quite as good as Goldie's, this is definitely a place worth visiting again in future. After this, we had a choice of going down to Brewdog and The Castle or sticking in the Wedding area, with the latter being our plan as we hadn't been to the bars this way for a while. We ended up in the Vagabund Brauerei, who were just tearing down from their Christmas Market. This was due to finish at 8pm and we arrived at 7:45pm, but as business had been slower on the Sunday than it had been on the Saturday, it was pretty much done. The bar itself was quiet and smelled strongly of wet dog, but the barman was chatty and so we stayed for a swift one. He recommended we go to the nearby Vagabund bar, which was only about five minutes' walk away, and this we did afterwards. This was an unassuming bar underneath a residence, as so many are here, while the beer menu was limited to five beers. Sadly, they didn't have the cheeseboard on, but we did grab some olives and nuts and sat in the corner. There was a party of about 16 people in all having a good time, and thus adding to the atmosphere, while the bar seemed somewhat nautical and minimalist. Either way, it wasn't the greatest place, but wasn't bad either. Our final stop was Eschenbrau, which again was close by, but a place we hadn't been for a while. This is definitely one of our favourite bars and we enjoyed two beers here, including their seasonal, before heading off as they were closing. It was another great night and one much needed, although some of Wolfie's comments did set the tone for the poor week to follow, at least in my head. Still, it was a great evening nonetheless.
