4.873 Miles

4. article: work, home and wet pants

My work place and why I drove around with wet pants for 2 hours

I finally arrived in Lodi, my home city for the next 6 months. Stefan, my host for the first weeks and also my boss, picked me up and showed me where I would live: an absolutely gorgeous cottage in his backyard. I had a huge room with a king size bed, Persian carpet, original paintings – Stefan’s wife owned her own gallery once and gathered artworks of artists she met -, a kitchen and a bathroom for my own. Between „my“ cottage and Stefan’s house is also an orange tree, so I could drink fresh orange juice whenever I wanted to. I LOVED IT!

After 5 weeks I moved to a co-worker. He and Stefan have something in common: you immediately recognize how proficient they are in what they are doing. They are calm and every move is controlled. You get the impression that, whatever happens, they know what to do and will guide you safely.

I have my own room and bathroom in Jim and his wife’s house. Even though it’s a pity to leave “my little cottage”, I really enjoy my time with them and it’s as comfortable and cozy as my accommodations so far. They take me to different activities like shooting with a compound bow (I hit a 10 inch circle from a 101 yard distance – 25cm from 92m distance), meeting their families or camping in their RV about an hour away.

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a picture made during the archery weekend

They apparently like me, thus they invited me to stay for a few more months instead of only four weeks. I am quite happy about it, since it’s quite elaborate to pack every month and it’s lots of fun here.

But I also made a few small trips to some close attractions on my own. I wanted to take some pictures of the Oroville Dam once, since the Government was completely over-challenged of so much water – it is the rainiest time in the last 5 years. Anyway, I passed a huge field of planted trees on my way there. The ground was completely flooded and created an interesting scene with the trees and their reflections in the water. I wanted to get a better view and decided to climb on top of a tree next to the water. I finally got on a big branch about 10 high, totally exhausted. I took my pictures and started my way back. I held myself on a brittle branch, only 3 feet off the ground. It suddenly broke and I fell down. The ground was steep, thus I landed awkwardly. I stumbled backwards and fell with my butt into the water. In the end I had to drive with my wet and dirty pants for over 2 hours.

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is this picture worth driving for 2 hours in wet pants?

I assume that I couldn’t find a better carpentry than where I’m working right now. They acquired an impressive reputation after 25 years and get orders from the richest people in California – and that means a lot! I have never thought before that I would see a house worth over 200 Mio. Dollars from the inside. But I did and it’s indescribably imposing.

Anyway, they would have never been that well-known if they worked less proficient and with lower quality. I learn new things and techniques every day and see the different way of building cabinets.

Stefan wants me to work in different areas of the workshop to get the whole experience of the American’s way of working. I am really happy about that and couldn’t believe how much luck I have with my working place.

I didn’t really see a lot of this area, since it was raining for the first six weeks here. By the way, I am utterly convinced that I brought the rain with me from Germany.

Nevertheless, the rain stopped about a week ago, a few days before I had to fly to Washington D.C. for a workshop. But I ordered everything – a cooker, a bike, an air mattress, etc. – I need for my prospective weekend trips and will start very soon.

I will narrate about my trip to Donner Lake the next time. About 10 feet high snow, sleeping in my car and finding my way back through the forest in the night.

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this mushroom is only 1/3 inch ( about 1cm) tall. I experimented with my macro lens.

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That’s actually not gras. It’s the moss you see on the picture of the mushroom.

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2 Kommentare

  1. Oma Monika März 23, 2017

    Lieber Jens, vielen Dank (auch wenn ich mich wiederhole) dafür, dass Du mich an Deinen wunderschönen, einmaligen, ereignisreichen aber auch harten Erlebnissen teilhaben lässt. Du packst in paar Monaten mehr rein als kaum ein anderer sein ganzes Leben. Es ist herrlich von Deinen Aktivitäten zu lesen (der Babelfish übersetzt mir!). Ich freue mich für Dich und mit Dir, dass Du so viele Erfahrungen sammeln kannst, die Dich Dein ganzes Leben begleiten werden, die Dir auch jede Türe für Dein weiteres Leben öffnen. Ich wünsche Dir weiterhin eine gute Zeit, gute Gesundheit und immer nette Leute, die es gut mit Dir meinen.
    Ganz liebe Grüße Deine Oma Monika

    • jens April 15, 2017 — Autor der Seiten

      Vielen Dank liebe Oma Monika,
      tut mir leid, dass ich alles in Englisch schreibe. Zum einen, damit auch meine amerikanischen Kollegen und Freunde die Einträge lesen können, zum anderen, um mein Englisch zu verbessern.
      Ich hoffe, dass Babelfish einigermaßen sinnvoll übersetzt?
      Ich werden auf jeden Fall nach Freiburg kommen, sobald ich zurück bin und mich melden. Dann kann ich alles nochmal ausführlich erzählen!
      Ganz viele Grüße und danke für deine lieben Worte! Es freut mich jedes Mal von dir zu hören!
      Dein Jens

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