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At Schroeder’s one can usually find plenty of seats---the spacious beer hall is tricked out in 100-year-old paneling and murals and doesn’t appeal to younger sensibilities. However, I had forgotten that Oktoberfest brings out the urge in everyone to party, and Schroeder’s was standing-room only. The polka band had started, and we had to shout to make ourselves heard over the din.
I was on my second beer when the text message, urgently requesting more information, came from Australia. That guy sure was dedicated. I booted up the laptop and picked out some numbers, adding them three times because I didn’t trust myself (no, using a simple summation function wouldn’t have done the trick, thanks for asking).
I shouted the amount to my fellow imbiber, and he transcribed it into a short e-mail, after rounding to the nearest $ million. If you want precision, call during weekday hours.