Optimism… the way
things are and the way we dream things will be
So our CE in Graz is still here.. and still without its
licence. The last time we went to check on the progress, the man in charge of
our paperwork had lost some of our important documents. Instead of calling us
and letting us know he had misplaced them, he simply took his time. They love
to do that don’t they, take their time and in the process take yours as well.
The fact that CE in Graz feels a bit stuck in the mud in some moments can be disappointing
for us. We only had the one business experience under our belt, the one in
Serbia that is. When we opened CE in Serbia it was peaking in its first 3
months, packed with people, talked about in the media and getting well known in
the city. The situation here in Graz has been very different, we did have some
really strong days with concerts and events here, however after the fines and
the confiscation of our licence it went very far down, now its climbing slowly
up. I feel like the people in Graz and Serbia are very different, the crowd has
a very different need. Serbia always needs entertainment and excitement, it
needs to always be the ‘IT’ place of the city, where everyone is going. If
people get bored of you there, they stop going to your spot and go to the next
hot-spot of the city. Here in Graz I feel that people take much longer to get
used to something, they really need to feel comfortable, try it out, take their
time and go slow. Most of the popular places in the city have been here for decades.
Its like a tricky puzzle that takes a long time to complete but once its done..
its done. Once you are in, you are in to stay. The battle of CE in Graz seems
to be a battle of patience.
Every day when I come into CE to work and I see those
moments where it is still totally empty, I envision this place full. I look
into the future and imagine what could be, when it is full of people and
brimming with positive energy and exchanges, I really believe it can happen.
Even if this story does not become a success in the way we like to interpret it
at the moment, I am glad that we are doing this and that we decided to try. The
fact that CE has few customers at the moment is really just a part of the
story.
Today I also did my first day as a bike messenger. It was a
very tiring day, long and exhausting, but good as well. I have a lot of respect for the guys and girls
that are working this job, its really tough on your body and on your mind. You
often have a short time to get packages from one place to the next, you need to
orientate yourself, not get lost, be careful in traffic, avoid the people who
are walking around and not looking, and
then also push to ride as hard as you can. I did my training with Lukas, who is
such an excellent cyclist and really explained things as best as he could, even
though I was pretty slow, he took time, slowed down at some parts and also
pushed me pretty hard. The fact is that I still feel very overwhelmed if I think
about going on my own and finding all these places, I am not the most oriented
person, I often get lost in really stupid ways so its pretty challenging for me
to think of doing this job.
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