Pause machen.

Tegel is an international airport but for being that it feels tiny. Little brother described it as Bromma flyplats in Stockholm, this tiny airport for domestic flights. I think he's right about that.
As I work at this airport I've tried to find my place to have my break. There are two fancy restaurant,  a coffee place and some other places where I could sit, eat something and have my break. I don't though. There is not any vegan food to get at the airport. At all. I mean, if I could live on coffee I would, but I like food so I bring my own.
So my favorite place to have my snack/meal is on the second floor, right by the big departure/arrival sign, between the coffee place and one of the fancy restaurants I sit.
I eat and I watch the people below. Some stressed running to their gate, some are drinking a beer or relaxing. Airplane personal that come in looking all focused with their little carry on suitcases on wheels. Big groups with a guide or something that have way to much luggage, rushing to customs to get their tax free money back. Excited travelers with a big smile on their faces. Families. Backpackers.
Well dressed business men and women in the lounge across from where I'm sitting, with laptops/pads or with a phone to their ear. Confused newly arrived tourist. Walking slowly, looking around with what seems to be no goal, trying to find an exit.

I like sitting from my spot seeing them all. On the way somewhere. It calms me by seeing them all rush or whatever they do, which I always get while being around people.
Like I like to read when there is people around, at cafés for example because of the sounds of others.

I sold a non-fiction book to a guy in the bookstore that told me that he had way to much time to kill since he left the city to early and needed a book. On my break I saw him siting in the fancy restaurant below reading. One earphone in his ear and a beer on the table. Even though he was sitting down and reading, he looked stressed. His eyes lost focus from time to time. He took a sip from his beer, looked around almost nervously and I wondered what his story was. Maybe he felt watched. With all right, since I was watching him for a while.

So if you happened to be at Tegel when I'm having my break, you might as well be watched as you pass to see which gate you have to go to to catch your flight. If you see me - wave. 

1 million Euro.

I was walking to the movies with Fabien last Sunday. We talked about a lot of thing but this is what sticks with me.

Fabien: So you find a million euro bill in your pocket, right now, what would you do? GO!
Me: Eh... I don't know.
Fabien: You take a cab and pick up your good friend Fabe. Go!
Me: Yeah, I would do that. Pick you up.
Fabien: But it's right now, so I'm already here. What would you do?
Me: Eh... Probably buy something ridiculous.
Fabien: You can't. It's Sunday. ("Everything" is closed in Germany on Sundays)
Wouldn't you check in to a hotel or something?
Me: Would you go to the airport? I wouldn't. Yeah, I would probably check in to a nice hotel. A suite.
Fabien: I might go to the airport. A suite? I wouldn't do that. I just go and check in at hotels. I love checking in at hotels. I wouldn't stay there. Or maybe make a big night out and the see which hotel is closest.

This conversation lasted while we where walking from Friedrichstrasse to Potsdamer Platz (about 2km) so we said many thing that we would and wouldn't do.
I said I would buy an apartment to have some safety and not have to move around every now and then and that I would go to work the next day.
Fabien said a lot of things that he would do. Like start his own business and asked me if I would open my own bookshop.
I told him that I'm not ready to do that. I don't feel like I have enough experiences yet and I would like to learn before I start my own bookshop. He told me to that I could hire people to help me but I was still not ready to do it.
He told me that I was the most boring person for not knowing what to do with the money and that I was going to go to work the next day.

Fabien: I might buy a place in Paris and move there. Get you a job in a french bookshop where you could work once a month. So we have that settled.

In comparison to Fabien, I do sound boring.
He had grand plans. Also plans that include me.
I have nothing. Mostly because I'm so zufrieden at the moment. I like it here. I don't feel the need to move somewhere or to quite my job. I don't really want to do anything grand. I'm happy here, right now. I have plans on things to do next year and them I still want to do. I have no stress to change my life over night.
I think of this as a very good feeling; that I'm doing what I want to be doing. I'm happier then I've been before and my life here feels stable. Right now, here is so right even if I found a million euro bill in my pocket.

Happy dance.

Lately I've been coming home, running up the stairs with headphones in my ears and doing a bit of a dance when I come to my room. I have a lot of space to happy dance in.

There is need for happy dances at the moment. I had some great weeks.
When it comes to work I got a promotion after just a couple of weeks at the job. I got a raise, more responsibility and more hours. I now work five days a week and have a lot of things learn. I really love working in a book shop and my boss noticed that. I was flying on clouds when I got the promotion. There's is many things I have to learn and now that a colleague is quieting we're short staffed. Still reasons enough to happy dance.

On the baby sitting job the children and I get along better then ever. Baby sitting just once a week makes me look forward to it and we have fun. Oskar and Jonas are great and I care so much for these guys.
I did have to quite because the promotion but we still have hung out some before it's over. I have laughed so much with them and it's going to be a bit sad not to see them anymore.

Other things that are great are my friends. I have a social life that I love. My friends are awesome. All from dinner parties, b-day celebrations, brunch Fridays, art looking, cooking together and all the other things we have done recently puts a big smile on my lips.
There is so much great here in Berlin and people here just make me feel more at home then ever.
Coming home from a night out is good reason enough to do a happy dance when you hang out with the wonderfulness of my friends. They are really the best.

There has been and will be many happy dances in public and in the privacy of room. 

Fabien.

This post will be dedicated to that Aussie guy I'm hanging out all the time with. Also known as my new best friend, Fabien or Fabe the babe as Sinead genuisly nicknamed him.

About two months ago I went to a couchsurfing meeting, a späti crawl. Spätis are all night little shops that you can find everywhere in Berlin. Basically you go in there to get beer on the way somewhere.
I thought that a crawl of spätis was a good idea so I went. I didn't know a soul when I got there but since all where couchsurfers I easily mingled in the group with about 50-60 people that attended. Somewhere between a späti to another it started to rain and there in a späti in Kottbuser Tor U-bahn, I met Fabien.

The späti crawl was about to end so some surfers, me and Fabien ended up in a bar in the Kreuzberg area. Nanna joined at this point and Fabien was dead set on all of us going clubbing, so we did.
I didn't really club. I sat by a bonfire most of the night and chit chatted with people. Fabien came of as super ironic hipster guy that night but somehow I still put my number in his phone, as Jenny the Swede.

Two days later we drank wine together. He answers questions without a right answer just right. I really enjoyed hanging out with him.
After that day, Nanna's birthday week is up and Fabien was invited. This leads to an intensive week of hang out almost every day.

Since then we been hanging out a lot and I really like this guy. He can still be very hipster ironic at times but we can always have serious talks. He blabs out stuff that doesn't make sense all the time and he is probably the person I hit the most.
All is so easy with Fabien. He is smart, funny, pays attention when you speak, has a great memory and is himself all the time.
We spent four hours playing boardgames one night and all we did was laugh and Fabien calling me the worse boardgame player in the world. Which I of course hit him for.
We've drunken many beers together, been to a Jens Lekman concert, had dinners, talked about a lot and just hung out intensely. I feel like I know him quite well concerning I've just known him for such a short while.

He's also a quote machine at times.
Saying things like That's why I keep you around. You're my scarecrow. (I apparently scar the bad times away.) And If I got a cent for every time we meet we would be in some weird relationship where you pay me to be your friend.

On his birthday I showed up at his work, got into his office and sang happy birthday and had balloons with me, even though he said he didn't want to celebrate his birthday. I know that he liked what I did though. He laughed and send me a text saying that I was a good friend to have after I left.

All and all, he is a great friend and I'm sure I will write other posts about our adventures together.