Day No. 102 - Don't play with the dirty kids...

"...don't sing their songs.

Why don't you go uptown? do as your brothers do!"

Advent, Advent, kein Lichtlein brennt ...

Today begins with a mixed start, at least as far as the weather is concerned. Nevertheless, I decide to visit the Atlantic Ocean first. On the way to the water, I first have a chat with Etienne, our neighbor. In the meantime I have made friends with his baby, a young puppy. A mixture of Shar Pei and Cão Fila de São Miguel. (Note from Torgit: The new German spelling overwhelms me again: How do you write Pläuschchen? Oh, that was already in the old ... ? Honey, please write kleiner Plausch. Thank you).

Looking at the paws it is obvious, what is still small and cuddly here, will surely become a real bear. - The water is incredibly refreshing. Also here at the water one has in the meantime certain routines. 

Nice that just like at home, sorry we are at home, our daily coffee ceremony belongs to it. Then set up the solar bag, play Tetris, that is, create order in the van ...

During coffee I look outside and at the camper of our new neighbors. She Austrian, he Swiss. Their caravan has a conspicuous feature that also seems to interest the dogs, a cat flap. Only at night, when the dogs are asleep, the pussycat tramps through the area.

Since it starts to rain, we use the time to read a little. - As soon as the weather clears up, Torgit goes to the beach. Just go for a walk, no, that's not possible. Man(n), woman must do something. Torgit first tries to live out her creative phase. Imagine how such a thoroughly rational, structured human child would like to be creative. Without plus and minus, without slide rules, without compasses, without parallels, right angles and so on. But with a lot of self-criticism in his luggage. The early phase, drawing on the beach in the sand, was photographed, but is not to be released to the public. Also the late phase, breaking a shell for the purpose of a declaration of love to the husband, was then discarded. (Note from Torgit: Did I ever tell you about my beginners painting and drawing course? How my drawing teacher looked when I unpacked the ruler? 😉 )

While Torgit is thinking about togetherness on the beach, I become a little unfaithful. No idea how it happened, but suddenly I had "baby" in bed. - Thank God Torgit didn't see that. Dogs do not belong in bed. - What a pity! - But I can save three of Torgit's artworks from destruction, at least digitally. (Note from Torgit: SHAAAHAAATZ, what is the dog doing in our bed???)

Again we are caught, or should I say Torgit, a shower. This arrives soaking wet at the Bulli. Just when it is wet, things need to be dried, it quickly becomes tight in the Bulli. Our defective back seat contributes its part to it. Therefore, I decide to visit Anja and Michael in the next dry phase.

With the two I came already a few days ago in the conversation. A couple since 1991, they have been traveling on and off for extended periods of time since 1992. Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey were on their list.

After that, the two were always alone on tour, but only in 2008 they finally made the decision to sell everything and live only on the road. In the meantime they have been on the road for nine years in an old savings bank. - Yes, you heard right, the two have converted an old cash vehicle for their purposes. And really including removal of the counter space, armor plating and so on. Who can even remember such vehicles? What has become of the project over the years seems a bit bizarre at first glance. I only say bicycle stand on the hood, or attachment for beer table at the rear, garden in the spare wheel...

Surely there is hardly a German who cannot finish the sentence "When it comes to money, ..." correctly. - Is there a better-known advertising slogan in the financial industry? - But this savings bank is not about money, gold or shares, but about true values, happiness and enjoyment! -If the savings bank association knew that?

With the two I have also heard the first time the term WAGENVOLK, respectively read. 

So the old Daimler was supplemented by an old Volkswagen sign. Only that VOLKsWAGEN has become WAGENVOLK. The S must have been lost. I find this expression incredibly sympathetic.

Anja and Michael have made themselves comfortable in their vehicle over the years. I especially like how personal their vehicle feels. For example, the Sparkasse now has a fully functional kitchen, a wood-burning stove, a library, and so on. Sure, this car polarizes.

"...Thus spoke the mother, thus spoke the father, thus taught the pastor.

However, he kept sneaking through the garden gate -. and into the rabbit hutches where they played Sixty-Six -. around tobacco and rat skins -

Girls under skirts squinted - where on old board boxes

Cats dozing in the sun - where one, when the rain rushed, 

Engelbert, the stupid one, listened, who bit on a comb of hair, Pied Piper Songs Blown..."

"...They drove him to a school in the upper town,

combed his hair and frizzy speech smooth..."

Anja reports that they are viewed skeptically by the yogurt cup faction. They're just grubby kids. I have to laugh at this expression and spontaneously begin to sing the chorus of the song of the same name. Immediately it is clear, the two know and like the song. I realize that I had almost forgotten it, as well as Sparkassen vehicles. I loved it once. Must remember on occasion to get me a rat skin. 

"...Out of revenge he has become rich. In the upper town

he built himself a house. Took a bath every day..."

But we don't just share a fondness for smut, we also read the same books. Here, for example, I discover the book "even more Fish". This is the second volume of a three-part book series. The first volume, I got many years ago, from my good friend Susanne, to the hand. Volume number one "Fish, an unusual motivational book", is exactly what the title describes. Motivation is transported in an incredible way.

"Loved highly placed women,

fast cars and music,

blond and loud and honey thick."

This mirrors the philosophy of the Pike Place Fish Market. Simple rules for happy people in the workplace, or should I say playground? John Christensen, the author, created this philosophy to create a "team culture". The Pike Place fish market in Seattle has become world famous. Simple fish vendors have become stars.

Yet the "rules" are so simple and everyone, really everyone, can apply them in their daily work. What seems like a show at the fish sale in Seattle is part of the whole thing. There, fish fly through the air, jokes are made, customers get involved. A routine and bone-headed job turns into fun and games. - All you have to do is heed the following four principles:

1. choose your setting

We all have the free choice, we can decide, not always if, but with which attitude we do our work. Tobias Beck would say, like residents, complain and complain, or make the best of it. Even if we can't change the circumstances, we still have the freedom to change the attitude. - "Love it, leave it or change it." And just out here it shows how simple "Change it" can be.

2. fun and games!

A workplace can also be a playground. We should just awaken our inner child again. The little man who played for hours, who never needed to be motivated. Give yourself permission to have fun and play even at work. You only have a little room to create, so start small. Bring plants, hang pictures, start playing. That's ridiculous? - That's fine!

3. bring joy to others

If you give joy to others, you yourself will feel joy as the giver. Rich is not he who has much, but he who gives much.

Make your colleagues, employees, managers and customers happy. Be on the lookout for such opportunities. In the long run, you will improve the work atmosphere enormously and have positive feelings yourself throughout the day.

4. be present!

Live in the here and now, live in presence, (or present tense? Oh, never mind) be present. - Be fully present, no matter if you are on the phone, reading or doing whatever. Not doing everything at the same time is pure self-protection, because it prevents burn-out.

Also today I chat quickly with Anja and Michal. So I also bring home again a quote for us. Journey: The imagination goes, the experience comes.

But the occasion of my visit today was actually to ask Michael to devote himself to our back seat with me once. He has the nickname MacGyver. And he has a right to be called MacGyver. Together we manage to loosen the bolt in the hinge and raise the back seat. After that, I learn how to remove a panel professionally. More and more we approach the source of the fault together. In the end, it is a wire that has jumped out of a hinge. The rear seat is not only made passable, but works perfectly again.

In the meantime, a small crowd of spectators has formed, stunned by our luggage. Some of them don't seem to understand how all this fits into a small van. But we understand our Tetris.

The next step is to check the taillight again. We can't find a conclusive solution here, but we can narrow down the source of the problem. So I have at least a good basis to enter into the next discussion with the friend, meaning the VW specialist.

In between, I also briefly removed the driver's seat in order to lay our connection cable for the solar bag differently, learned how to check the fuse on the individual fuse boxes, that we have four fuse boxes and much more. - During this it has become dark. The last work is finished in the light of the flashlight.

"Thanks Michael, I'm sure it wouldn't have happened without you!"

Torgit has cooked a soup in between. Since we are frozen through and through, we close the bulkheads and fire up the auxiliary heating. The soup, it is a sweet potato soup, with carrots, and sweated onions, curry and bell pepper paste, coconut milk, ginger, vegetable broth, and a pinch of salt, turmeric, chili, and freshly ground pepper. - Tastes not only wonderfully sweet and spicy, it makes especially warm again.

Etienne has fired up the campfire again in the meantime. - So we have no candle for the third Advent, but such a fire has something. - He stands there with two Scots, which are newly arrived. All three are thickly decorated. I stand in shorts and T-shirt next to them. Here directly at the fire it is wonderfully warm, not to say hot. Laughing Etienne tells that I would bathe already in the morning madly, in the Atlantic. In the meantime, word has gotten around. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. - All? No, my mother certainly not. She was always the first and the last to jump into the reservoirs every year. Which makes it clear where that came from. - Even today, at over 80, she showers outside on the terrace until the frost line.

Later, as I lie in my bunk, I hum quietly to myself once more....

"...His body was found floating around in the rat pond.

Around it the muckrakers blew on the comb:

Don't play with the mucky-mucks ..."

Realization of the day: For the second time, the construction of the VW sofa bed has confirmed my decision for SpaceCamper. Thanks to VW!