Last week was a short, but fun week in the office. We kicked
off the week with an amazing Monday staff retreat. Everyone had been so kind in
working out the schedule so that Matt and I could be a part of it, and I'm very
glad we were. I'm not sure how much I added to the retreat, but I feel like I
got quite a lot out of the experience. We went to the Narvil Hotel, which was
about a 45 minute cab ride from our office, and spent the day enjoying the
sunshine and talking about the future of the GMF Warsaw office. *Side note, we were almost the only people at the giant Narvil Hotel complex (which I don't understand, but it was kind of cool to have it all to ourselves). It's absolutely gorgeous, a very modern design, and sits on a beautiful lake. It has everything you could every possibly need for entertainment, and a great menu to boot. It was way better than meeting in the office or a conference room!* For much of my
time here we focus on the question of "What?". As in "what do we
have to do?" "what needs to be done?" "what is on the
agenda?", so, for me, it was really interesting to really focus on the "why"
behind all of that. I feel like the discussion gave me a better perspective on
GMF and what its mission really is. After a day of discussion and a beautiful
lunch, we ended our retreat with bowling (the resort we were at literally has
everything). It was quite a fun bonding experience. I started out strong with
several spares and even two strikes, but unfortunately my bowling game fell
apart before I could claim the victory--it was still a blast!
Tuesday we were back in the office and a bit slow after such
a fun Monday. It turns out it's a bit hard to recover after a Monday out of the
office! However, we managed, begrudgingly. Tuesday night I finally made it over
to a cute bar/music venue behind my apartment, Pardon, To Tu. I've passed it
regularly since I arrived, and I'd kept meaning to check it out. I thoroughly
enjoyed the experience. It's in serious need of some AC, but otherwise it's a
really great venue. Magda, Matt, and I went, and Julie and Jacob joined us
later in the evening. We watched a Polish guitarist, Raphael Rogiński, play
John Coltrane. I think the switch from sax to guitar made Coltrane's music
sound more blue-sy than usual, but it was interesting to hear this
interpretation. My favorite part of the venue may have been the wall behind the
main stage. It was the work of the bar's owner, and he spent the better part of
six months painting the names of his favorite bands. I was quite intrigued to
see some artists who I had just heard for the first time at SXSW this year
alongside big names and additionally a large number of groups who I'd never
heard of. I think I have an excellent start to begin finding some new artists.
Raphael Rogiński at Pardon, To Tu
Wednesday and Thursday seemed to drag on just a bit, despite
my exciting new research project. I was just too excited about a three day
weekend in Dublin to be of much use in the office! However, as a fun end to my four day week, we celebrate Jacob's birthday with cake in the office on Thursday evening. I had a piece of
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