Day 58: Deep Reset

Cleaning

It was much easier to get up this morning compared to days past. I can’t say I felt fully refreshed, but I could at least get up and not feel like an 800-pound gorilla was sitting on me. Fixing myself a cup of tea, I got to work, and started to clean.

So many things in my apartment needed cleaning. I’m not a neat freak by any means, but I also need order in my living abode. Since I was a child, I’ve used cleaning sessions as a form of therapy. Throw on some good music and now you have a party. I took a break just after lunch.

Grooming the Steed

With a few hours before the store was closing, I raced over to the bike store to install my MTB clip pedals. It was a really warm day today. It was almost 24°C (75°F). Finally, a day to wear shorts outside. I’ve been looking forward to that for so long. The whole weekend is supposed to feel like this, which is amazing.

The guys swapped out the pedals in about 15 minutes. I chose to do it the proper way and not just use a crappy hex and kick the lever down. There’s always the risk of accidentally stripping the screw where the pedal attaches to the crank. If you have a pedal wrench, or have access to someone who does, it’s worth doing it right — it takes about 10 minutes. Of course, if you don’t care, then go for it. There is a non-zero chance I may sell the bike at the end of the trip.

Chai Break

After getting the pedals replaced, I stopped on the way home to grab a chai latte from Queer Kaffeehaus. This is Round 2. Their chai latte is quite delicious. It’s in a pretty busy part of downtown, there’s lots of foot traffic and good access to the sports cars that make their way through the Stuttgart city center.

I pulled out my notebook and outlined some experiments I’d like to try and things I’d like to build for fun with GenAI technologies that are taking the world by storm. I’ve been playing around with a few very exciting tools over the last weeks, and it makes me so excited to see what’s possible. It’s also interesting to see how different countries and cultures respond to GenAI technologies. But more on that in a follow-up post.

Groceries

I needed to replenish my stock ahead of the 3-day weekend, so I picked up some much needed groceries and things for the apartment. Like I mentioned a few days ago, there are bakeries literally everywhere in Germany. It’s very common that a bakery will sit right inside the same location as the grocery store.

I’m a big snacker, especially while shopping, so this is perfect for me. I grabbed a Butterbrezel (translation: buttered pretzel) and headed down the aisles. I thought I’d finally try out the oven in the apartment, so I picked up a few frozen pizzas.

I know, why on Earth would you buy a frozen pizza if you live in Germany and Italy is just a few hours away? Truthfully, I occasionally get late-night cravings, so it’s handy and convenient. Also, I thought it would be fun to try frozen foods here. I still need to write a post on American-style German fast-food, so I’ll add my thoughts on frozen foods there as well.

Increased Heart-rate

As I was walking home, I realized that my pocket felt a little lighter than normal (no, I didn’t spend that much money at the grocery store). My work phone was missing. My first thought was that it was probably at home. When I came back from the coffee house, I dropped off my backpack and I probably slipped in without thinking about it.

Unfortunately, my phone wasn’t in the bag. Actually, it wasn’t even in my apartment. I tried calling it to hear the vibration (I keep it on silent usually), but I didn’t hear anything. Now, I was starting to panic a little bit. I started flipping cushions, hoping that it slipped into the cracks of the couch. I checked the bathroom, the bedroom, kitchen cabinets in case I accidentally put it away with the cereal (which has happened once before). I couldn’t find it.

The call was going through, which meant that no one had turned it off. The last place I remember seeing it was at the coffee house. In my mind, there was a good chance I left it there and one of the waitresses picked it up.

I jumped on my bike and raced over. As I pulled up to the coffee house, the waitress who served me earlier in the day recognized me, and immediately asked, “Phone?”. I said yes. A few seconds later, she pulled my phone out of a drawer behind the counter. I was elated. I was so happy to have it back. I thanked her and made my way back home.

Re-cleaning & Dinner

I built up an appetite after my little adventure. I also built up a mess while I was searching my apartment frantically for my phone. I don’t like to lose things. So, I needed to have dinner and pretty much re-clean and organize all over again. I threw a pizza in the oven and put on a movie in the background to speed up the process. An important note: 250°C is not the same as 250°F, so things cooked a lot faster than I expected, hence the burned crust.

I was happy with today. It wasn’t the adventure I was looking for, but it definitely kept things spicy. I’m glad that I’m now feeling almost back to normal now. Tomorrow’s plan is to drive over to Heidelberg. Hopefully, this pans out 🤞🏾.

Frieden und Liebe ❤️ (translation: peace and love)