Let there be rock

I notice I haven't been to a good concert in quite a while. So when one of my great colleagues asked me if I wanted to join them for a gig at a nice venue called "Slim's"  I was more than happy to come.

I hadn't heard of the two bands, but especially the opening act We are Augustines (similarity to my old band's new name purely coincidental) was worth listening to. The headliners Boxer Rebellion were a little to emo for my taste, but also had some gems in their set list.

My fun fact of the evening is the rather strict alcohol policy at the venue. Not only is everyone over legal drinking age marked with a decorative stamp, but whenever you want to buy a round of drinks, you have to bring everyone to the bar, as they want to see the corresponding number of stamps before they give out any alcohol. If I would have done that in the club I used to work as a barkeeper, people would have ambushed me on the way to my car after work.

All in all, a fun evening - also, the layout of the restrooms is worth a look.

G-Findit of the Day - Part 7

22. Twenty plus two. That is the number of cafés on the campus here.

And one of my goals for this quarter is to try them all out.

But there needs to be a distinction, a signature dish... Café Jia does Asian Fusion. And every Wednesday, they have something special: Hot Pot. For those of you new to the concept: it is like fondue or hot soup in which you cook meat and vegetables on sticks. And it's delicious.

See for yourself...

G-Findit of the Day - Part 6

Today's blog post will probably - better than anything - illustrate the difference between working in the "European headquarters" vs. working in the "World headquarters". It illustrates why this office is the centre of awesomeness and another recurring event we should probably try to implement in our home office if we can.

Today was the Microkitchen food fair. There is an abundance of stories out there about how my dear employer gives all employees free food, snacks and drinks, but the sheer scale of what was happening here today makes all these stories seem like an understatement.

The idea itself is glorious: We have many employees. We offer free snacks. Thus, we are a huge customer for many snack companies (especially because of our preference for alternative and healthy options). This means, we are a big fish for small snack and drink companies. And now the stroke of genius: Let us invite all those companies and pitch their products to those who will eat and drink them - namely all employees here. This means they have a big chance to land a substantial deal and employees have their Halloween trick-or-treat-and-try-as-much-as-you-can-eat-event in April. Everyone can vote on what to stock the Microkitchens with - thus constituting the true food democracy. And choice is the prerequisite of all democracies - example: There were four (!) different companies offering coconut water. But see for yourself.

I collected everything you can see in the first picture, but gave almost all of it to my team (especially a colleague with kids). Just from trying the stuff at the food stalls, I was so full I almost did not need any lunch.

I imagine this in Dublin with 60+ different nationalities, different childhood memories connected to national specialty sweets, different tastes and different regional snacks that can be sourced in Ireland. It would be the European Parliament of Food. Literally a sweet dream...

FYI...my Top 3: Sahale Nuts, Metromint Water, Ghirardelli Chocolate.

Inspiration - Wael Ghonim

Today is Earth Day and I actually wanted to blog about this (and my test drive in an electric car today), but then I got an e-mail yesterday, announcing that we would have a very special speaker at this weeks TGIF (our company-wide end-of-week event with celebration, speeches etc.) - Wael Ghonim was going to talk about the Egyptian revolution and how the Egyptian people were mobilized through the web 2.0. And I had the opportunity to see him live.

If you want to hear Wael speak, you can listen to him - you can find an interesting talk on TED.

Although this talk was not public and I can not share details, I have to say that I was deeply inspired by his can-do-attitude.

Although Wael is not the best speaker in the world, I can say that the message he has to share with all of us is absolutely worth listening to and taking action on.

And although he does not stop to point out that any other Egyptian could have filled his role, I think he still deserves standing on top of the Times list of the most influential people at the moment.

I am really proud to work at the same company as people that are so inspiring, yet humble, as Wael and I feel so energized on this Friday night that I will need to find ways to use this in an efficient way this weekend.

So I would encourage you all to watch Wael's speech on TED (to my colleagues - unfortunately there is no recording of this TGIF) and be inspired by what every single one of us can do to change the world!

شكرا لك يا وائل

(P.S.: I am aware that the picture is terrible...but: I am really happy I got one PLUS The guy with the red stripes on his shirt in the back is Sergey)

G-Findit of the Day - Part 5

Yesterday I got a haircut, I went to a Turkish barber in San Francisco. Today I regret it a little as I have seen below mobile haircut facility. And I heard the haircuts there are cheap and cheerful. Maybe I will try it our towards the end of my stay.

This is not the only mobile perk driving around the campus. In the second picture you can see a "Sneak Attack" - mobile café that shows up at random places on the campus and serves special food (e.g mini burgers and a great potato salad when I saw it).

I love surprises.

G-Findit of the Day - Part 4

Today not only did I get an hour extra to sleep, but also the nice panorama below as I am working from the San Francisco office. I wonder how anyone can get any work done with this view.

Also, as there are few hot desks, I am working from the café, which has constant background music. So I'll put my headphones on and listen to some classical music - helps to het stuff done.

Have productive day!

San Jose, Palo Alto and Stanford

My second full weekend in California started with a severe cold that had me spend Friday and most of Saturday in bed. Somehow the combination of a very moody weather and constant air conditioning was something my body is not particularly fond of. Fortunately Sunday morning I woke up feeling a lot better and spontaneously decided to go on a day trip with my housemate at 11.22 a.m. - the CalTrain would leave at 12 - so the decision was on short notice, but we made it to the train and to San Jose in time for a late lunch.

Apart from a nice burger, San Jose did not have that much to offer. Although being the tenth biggest city in the U.S. it does not have as many sights or must-see areas as San Francisco, so we decided to make use of our day-ticket and stop in Palo Alto on the way back, a place best known as being headquarters to facebook and HP and as home of the first Apple-store.

From the city centre it is a nice walk along the avenue towards Stanford University. After I have had a stroll around the campus, I wonder how anyone can study here in the summer. There is a beautiful lake and it has so many green spots that are too inviting not to simply be lying around in the sun all day. But shelling out a tuition of almost 40,000 dollars, I suppose you can't afford to be lazy. But see for yourself - the black-and-white picture of the lake was taken on Stanford Campus as well.

The first weekend

After some discoveries from the campus in Mountain View, here are some impressions from my first weekend in San Francisco. As Nico was here for a training for his new role in the Zurich office, we decided to discover the city together. Starting off at the Farmer's Market we walked up to Fisherman's Wharf and then took the cable car up to Union Square to go shopping. All in all a classic touristy Saturday.

In general, I have really enjoyed my first two weeks. The flat is very nice and I have a German flat mate. We even have a small pool for the apartment complex, which I am sure will be great as soon as it gets a little warmer.

For some first impressions, I will let my pictures speak and there will be more detailed updates soon.

G-Findit of the day - Part 3

And this one has some special guests. I know, Mountain View is where the magic happens. I know all the big shots come here and also some guys, whom you would recognize when you walk past them. Still, today at after lunch I was pleasantly surprised, when Vince and Owen walked past me.

Charlie's Café seems to have a reputation for good food, also among people who do not work here...

G-Findit of the day - Part 2

It might sound strange, but the benefits of a heated backside and automatic cleanliness by pushing a button only become apparent when you try it yourself.

Learning on the loo...

G-Findit of the Day Part 1

Here is my first discovery from the world of wonderful things from the Mountain View Playground.

If you play...play it safe.

The writing on the back says:

"Effective against pregnancy, aids and other STDs"

The first STD is the worst...symptoms include swelling of your belly that will last for nine months...

It's been a while...

November last year? Seriously? OK, I have indeed neglected this blog and probably I could have written something in the last five months. I promise, I'll be better. Seems as if Dublin has become so normal to me, that I haven't had anything I found interesting enough to write about. But now is California time - So without further ado, here is my first blog post from San Francisco.

I suppose I don't even have to mention that my never ending story with the U.S. border control followed me on this trip too. Yes, I have spend 45 minutes in a side room. I have walked a blue line with an officer behind my back. I have been interrogated about what I am doing in the USA, what I am doing with Google and most importantly, when I am going to leave again. It did not help that this time I was blessed with a ten-year multiple-entry visa. In fact, I felt like this made it worse as it only amplified the officer's fears that the caucasian male standing in front of him is either an immigrant planning to stay and seek permanent employment - or - like the last time, a one-man terror cell trained on countless trips to the Middle East to seamlessly blend into the American society and then, whenever no one is suspecting him, plan evil attacks against the nation that has granted him asylum from the unbearable circumstances under which one is supposed to live in the European Union.

So much for the negative part. Apart from the border control: I loved my first days! The weather is great with around 17 degrees (Celsius that is), I got a nice corporate apartment (there is a pool in the complex) and I already realized that on my last trip here I have only scratched the surface of all the awesome things that San Francisco has to offer and all the wondrous perks that my employer can come up with. So these are things that I will blog about in the next few months. As well as trips and maybe the odd "This is American - This is European"-blogpost. And of course I have brought my camera. So I will support my investigative journalism with corresponding pictures.

So stay tuned...