Last week I finally met my neighbor who lives across the hall from me, the one who graces my dreams with violin playing every morning at 2:00am. He is a German professor in his early 30's named Baher....It was the most unpleasant 10 minute encounter I could have ever had with another human being.
First of all, the mysterious German holds a stare so intense I felt like he was looking through my body, past the walls, and into my empty apartment. I may not always be the world's greatest extravert but good god, small talk should never be that painful. Folks, just for the record, the appropriate answer for "How are you?" is to ...say ANYTHING! Words in general are good. I chalked it up to the awkwardness that surrounds philosophy scholars and maybe the difficulty of the English language and went on my way.
When I came back from some city exploring that day, Baher was at my door before it even could be shut behind me with two espresso's in his hand. While I do love a good espresso, I wasn't a fan of the forced entry. I was in shock, not only did the professor speak, but he didn't shut up! We started to have a nice conversation about the city and the history behind Ellis Island which I had been visiting. I actually was refreshed to be having intellectual conversations with someone that was challenging and thought provoking. I missed m But then, oh then, we turned and nose dived into the abyss. Our mutual conversation turned into Professor Baher's show. After taking my clipping off the of the fridge and skimming through it Baher had an interest in my writing. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not but he seemed to have an interest in reading and knowledge about the arts. When he left I was still puzzled by this mysterious neighbor but had no strong feelings either way.
Plot-twist: Baehr emerges from his yesterday later with notes on my writing. I have never had a tough audience or been pushed. That is what this move is for. But what a pretentious jerk. He took the red pen to my paper like a knight proudly carries his sword into battle. The main message was, these are nice for "fairy stories" but I want to see who Jo is. He suggests finding a focus with meaning. Excuse me, these fairy stories are countless hours of Jo poured onto a page. They are creativity and vibrance. My friendship with the German Philosopher was short lived. Auf Wiedersehen asshole.
First of all, the mysterious German holds a stare so intense I felt like he was looking through my body, past the walls, and into my empty apartment. I may not always be the world's greatest extravert but good god, small talk should never be that painful. Folks, just for the record, the appropriate answer for "How are you?" is to ...say ANYTHING! Words in general are good. I chalked it up to the awkwardness that surrounds philosophy scholars and maybe the difficulty of the English language and went on my way.
When I came back from some city exploring that day, Baher was at my door before it even could be shut behind me with two espresso's in his hand. While I do love a good espresso, I wasn't a fan of the forced entry. I was in shock, not only did the professor speak, but he didn't shut up! We started to have a nice conversation about the city and the history behind Ellis Island which I had been visiting. I actually was refreshed to be having intellectual conversations with someone that was challenging and thought provoking. I missed m But then, oh then, we turned and nose dived into the abyss. Our mutual conversation turned into Professor Baher's show. After taking my clipping off the of the fridge and skimming through it Baher had an interest in my writing. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not but he seemed to have an interest in reading and knowledge about the arts. When he left I was still puzzled by this mysterious neighbor but had no strong feelings either way.
Plot-twist: Baehr emerges from his yesterday later with notes on my writing. I have never had a tough audience or been pushed. That is what this move is for. But what a pretentious jerk. He took the red pen to my paper like a knight proudly carries his sword into battle. The main message was, these are nice for "fairy stories" but I want to see who Jo is. He suggests finding a focus with meaning. Excuse me, these fairy stories are countless hours of Jo poured onto a page. They are creativity and vibrance. My friendship with the German Philosopher was short lived. Auf Wiedersehen asshole.