The Power of Dirndls And Lederhosen: Part 1
Hans channels his grandfather’s German roots, to overcome his inadequacies with women.
Based on the post by cb summers, in 2 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.

September 22
October was almost here. Outside, a cold, gusty wind was blowing the freshly fallen leaves across the campus commons. But I was warm in my room, snuggled under the covers, devouring chapter seven of Advanced Organic Chemistry. I had a test scheduled for the next morning, but studying wasn’t a chore for a nerd like me. It was a joy. I was basking in the awesome power of carbon, and the stunning ways it had chemically combined with other compounds over the unimaginable eons of time to form the very basis of life itself.
I loved learning. I loved science. I loved textbooks. They allowed me to escape myself. In textbooks I wasn’t a loveless, lonely virgin. I wasn’t an awkward, babbling dork. I didn’t have a disappointing body with deep pockmarks from a high-school bout with acne, and crooked teeth from parents too poor to pay for braces.