...but I am busy living my life right now.
It is not as if nothing worth blogging happened in my life.
a) I got a new phone for Christmas (yep, the Nexus One) which I could write a review about.
b) I was home for Christmas and New Year's. Have met loads of friends - special tribute to Nicky, Mirjam, Ben, Claudi, Fred and all the guys I have celebrated the new year with here.
c) I had some great nights out, good talks and bad endings.
d) I made some resolutions for 2010. The usual ones. And not all of them made for the public probably. Those I can share and that you are allowed to nag me about are: to learn how to play the guitar, to get in shape again and to live life to the fullest. Good progress on two out of three here.
e) My new flatmate Richard moved in. We get along even better than anyone would have expected. He is a cool guy and I now really enjoy having to share a flat.
I could have blogged about all these things but at the moment, I don't feel like it. And I fear that none of those topics is entertaining enough for you guys, so I will get back to you soon with some creative writing and linking. :)
I wish you all a great 2010 if I haven't done so in person already.
Remember: Life is a beta - so let's try out some crazy new things this year. Am open to ideas and already planned a few short trips in the next month - keep them coming.
Dienstag, 19. Januar 2010
Dienstag, 8. Dezember 2009
WrocLOVE - or beautiful Breslau
As last year was full of travel, this year I had spent all my time in Ireland or Germany so far. Only two countries in one year? I could not stand it – so when my good friend from university, and now colleague, Joachim offered me to visit him and my team lead told me I could work from the Wroclaw (or in German: Breslau) office for a few days, I did not hesitate to book a flight (thank you Ryanair).
I did not know what to expect. My only association with Wroclaw is my grandma, who was born there and spent her childhood in the city. I had always imagined it to be a fairytale small, sleepy town with old houses and good, savoury food. Well the houses were there, the food as well, but it was not as small and sleepy as I had expected.
I learned that the first night on the taxi drive. Ok, the airport is small and not really state of the art, but as soon as you arrive in town, you see the history in every building and as I was welcomed with a bottle of vodka by Joachim and some other colleagues, I already had a good understanding of the savoir-vivre in this vibrant place.
If going to work the first day was hard and I was surprised how productive I was, the second day should hold even more in store for me. After work we headed downtown to the Thursday night karaoke with my dear Wroclaw-colleagues (internally: Wrooglers). At midnight we were already thinking about going home, but then somebody had the idea to head to Wroclaw’s well-known party-place “Manana”. Being used to going out in Dublin, where basically the “clubs” and “bars” are mostly pubs with a dancefloors – sorry to say this, I still like it – I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere in this student bar of choice. The dancefloor is small, the drinks are cheap, the girls are stunningly beautiful. In short: night one was awesome (stay with me on the “How I met your mother”-references).
Surprisingly, work on Friday was pretty productive as well, and soon, the next night had arrived. Actually, Joachim and I wanted to spend the evening with a DVD and some beers at home. That was until we were there, had had some food and did not feel like staying in on a Friday night. So we headed to the Rynek (central place in Wroclaw) and to a club named Tabasco – yet another nice nightclub with a fun atmosphere and a built-in guarantee for a long night. In one word…we were on the way, where Saturday night should top it off: Legen… wait for it…dary!
After this, I had to catch up on the sightseeing part. My grandma’s good old times-stories had painted a picture of Breslau that was yet to be filled with reality. So on a stroll around the old town and a view from the cathedral, I gained my own impression – which was topped off by the picturesque view of the nice Christmas market (reminiscent of the “Nürnberger Christkindlsmarkt”, but much smaller) in front of the Ratusz. A mulled wine to warm us up and traditional grilled goat cheese from the Tatra mountains (Oszypek) made the winter feeling complete. Joachim and I had already sung “Last Christmas” at karaoke – mind you , I hate this song – so now Christmas can come. But first things first: What to do on a Saturday night in a hip Polish city? Yes, we went to another club. And as we had our dear Polish colleague Magda and Dominik, one of my Dublin coworkers and a good Polish-speaker, with us, it should get even more intense.
When we arrived at Joachim’s place, the birds already started to sing – and I am not only talking about his pets. I fell in my bed and had to gain strengths for the last chapter on Sunday: A relaxed stroll around town, good food at a traditional restaurant and an adrenaline rush to top my Wroclaw-experience off: A night at the casino. I am not a huge gambler, so I usually invest some money that I am willing to lose (and think about the free drink you usually get in those temples of amusement) and start playing roulette without too much hope. This night, it should be a little different. I had a lucky day, and after I had doubled my 100 Sloty (around 25 Euro), I took my investment out and started playing like a mad man with the rest. I usually stick with betting on red or black or some combinations, but this time I went the full risk – in the end, I had guessed the right number eight times (what are the odds?) and quadrupled my money. Right time to go and call it a night – so I could even get some nice presents for my grandma “for free” the next day.
In summary this was the best weekend I have had this year and I can not wait to see this great city again – yes, I fell in love with WrocLOVE!
The town house and the Christmas market
View over Wroclaw 1
View over Wroclaw 2
The cathedral
Google in Wroclaw
My host and the old twon
Freitag, 27. November 2009
Booze - OR - This week in overview
Sundays are great, Sundays are relaxing, Sundays are cleansing. Especially after parties on Friday (Pub Golf - don't ask) and Saturday (Turkish birthday and Neon Party). So this Sunday I took a long walk to Dun Laoghaire, even if it was raining, just to get some fresh air and a freed-up mind.
Thursday was our team event. We went to a cocktail mixing school and had a little competition. It was great fun and my team turned out to be very creative when it comes to new cocktail creations and especially names. The "Apple Whoosh" won the tasting, but the "Tropical Gaelic Exterminator" wins my personal price for the most creative name. Once again, I realized how creative and fun my team is. I really like working with those guys and also going out with them.
After drinking in working hours (this is getting worse and worse :) Dominik and I went to another concert at the O2 - Arctic Monkeys. Judging by the fact that I had just traded those tickets as a favor for a friend and I am not a huge fan, they played a solid indie rock setlist and exceeded my expectations.
And to top the working week of - there is another alcohol-related topic - mostly for my dad. We had a really interesting guest speaker at work - Fergal Murray - master brewer of Guiness. After we have all experienced Arthur's Day this year, it was really intersting to have a brand ambassador speak and we also had the opportunity to pour our own pint. And for my dad: A picture of his son - looking a little surprised - with the master brewer himself. :)
Have a great weekend, guys!
Thursday was our team event. We went to a cocktail mixing school and had a little competition. It was great fun and my team turned out to be very creative when it comes to new cocktail creations and especially names. The "Apple Whoosh" won the tasting, but the "Tropical Gaelic Exterminator" wins my personal price for the most creative name. Once again, I realized how creative and fun my team is. I really like working with those guys and also going out with them.
After drinking in working hours (this is getting worse and worse :) Dominik and I went to another concert at the O2 - Arctic Monkeys. Judging by the fact that I had just traded those tickets as a favor for a friend and I am not a huge fan, they played a solid indie rock setlist and exceeded my expectations.
And to top the working week of - there is another alcohol-related topic - mostly for my dad. We had a really interesting guest speaker at work - Fergal Murray - master brewer of Guiness. After we have all experienced Arthur's Day this year, it was really intersting to have a brand ambassador speak and we also had the opportunity to pour our own pint. And for my dad: A picture of his son - looking a little surprised - with the master brewer himself. :)
Have a great weekend, guys!
Donnerstag, 19. November 2009
I can't wait for Chrome OS
No promotion on my blog so far? Well, I just can't hide my excitement at the moment. I am really, really looking forward to Chrome OS. Booting my PC in 10 seconds. LEGEN...wait for it...now it might already have booted...DARY!!! Everything in the cloud? Why not, and if I still don't want to store certain information online, I can use a SD-Card or external hard drives. My eeePC isn't running at the moment - problems with Windows - again! So as soon as I can get a beta of Chrome OS, it is going to be on there.
But see for yourself what it's all about in the video below.
Or read about the press conference given at Google's Headquarters in Mountain View, CA today at Tech Crunch.
And a live demo:
But see for yourself what it's all about in the video below.
Or read about the press conference given at Google's Headquarters in Mountain View, CA today at Tech Crunch.
And a live demo:
Sonntag, 15. November 2009
Rejection? Deal with it
I realize I am blogging like a maniac lately, still, I just HAVE to share this short video with you. It is about rejection and dealing with being rejected. I admit - not one of my particular strengths ;). Maybe that's why I found this video quite amusing. How do you deal with rejection? Any hints for the poor surfer dude in the video or the whole world? Happy to hear them...
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Samstag, 14. November 2009
About immigration and integration
THIS BLOGPOST IS A REACTION TO MY COLLEAGUE CHRISTOPH'S POST. Sorry for writing in German, but this is about integration in German speaking countries. Feel free to use Google Translate in case you are interested.
Sehr guter Blogpost, Christoph!
Ich gebe dir mit nahezu allem Recht. In einem Punkt muss ich dir allerdings widersprechen und würde hierzu meine eigene Erfahrung beisteuern.
Die Integration der türkischen Minderheit in Deutschland und Österreich (und in noch extremeren Maße in der Schweiz) ist leider schon vor Jahrzehnten aus dem Ruder gelaufen. Ich spreche nahezu fließend Türkisch und habe einige Zeit in Istanbul gelebt. Deine These der Integration durch Sprache und gemeinsame Aktivitäten ist richtig und nobel - sie hat aber einen Haken: Sie trifft nur dann, wenn dein Gegenüber nicht die Hoffnung und sogar den Wunsch nach Integration längst aufgegeben hat.
Diejenigen Türken, die Akademiker wie du und ich meistens kennen, sind ohnehin die besser integrierten. Dazu gehören selbstverständlich Kollegen aus Studium und Praktikum, aber auch in vielen Fällen der Dönermann aus der Fußgängerzone mit dem passablen Deutsch. (Noch extremer würde das Diktum ausfallen, wenn du "richtige" Türken, wie einen gemeinsamen Freund von uns mit den Minderheiten in unseren Heimatländern vergleichen würdest).
Das Problem - vor allem in deutschen Großstädten, wie Berlin - aber auch in Österreich - und das darf selbst ich als Piefke sagen - ist, dass eine ganze Subkultur entstanden ist, die Integration aus Sicht der Türken zwar weiterhin möglich, nicht aber nötig erscheinen lässt. Gehe ich durch Berlin Kreuzberg (und in abgeschwächter Form sicherlich auch durch das ein oder andere Wiener Viertel), so fühle ich mich, als Türkei-Liebhaber "zuhause". Die Reklamen sind dieselben wie in Istanbul und auch die Läden sind ähnlich. Was anders ist? Geht man nicht gerade durch die konservativen Viertel Istanbuls, wie etwa Fatih, so sind Frauen im Kopftuch eher eine Minderheit. Die europäische Mode überwiegt. In Kreuzberg hingegen zählen Tradition und islamische Werte (die übrigens ebensoviel "christliche" Nächstenliebe enthalten, wie andere Religionen auch) - viele der Einwanderer der ersten und zweiten Generation kamen aus armen, sehr religiösen Gegenden der Türkei. Für Sie war Istanbul genauso weit weg wie Europa und sie sahen die Chance in den großen Städten. Die Welt um Sie herum veränderte sich in den letzten 30-40 Jahren drastisch. Sie selbst waren weniger willkommen, der Islam wurde unbeliebter, die Chancen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt kleiner. Und die Crux dieser türkischstämmigen Gesellschaft war, dass sie in der Türkei schnell als die unbeliebten, mit ausländischem Geldum sich werfenden, Angeber verschrien waren. Heimatlos also auch in der Heimat.
Was blieb als Rückzug? Die Gemeinschaft, die Subkultur, die Klein-Istanbuls dieser Welt und die Moschee. Die Integrationsversuche 2009 hätten 1979 vielleicht fruchtbaren Boden gefunden, ob sie es heute tun ist fraglich.
Daher stimme ich allen deinen Punkten zu. Vor allem glaube auch ich, dass der Integrationsgrad (also inwiefern jemand die Sprache beherrscht, einen Job und Freundeskreis hat) ausschlaggebend sein sollte. Meine Großeltern haben einen Gasthof, in dem für Jahre ein vietnamesischer Küchenhelfer arbeitete. Er kam bereits als Jugendlicher und gehörte fast schon zur Familie. Nach einigen Jahren wurde er binnen drei Wochen abgeschoben und musste in den Vietnam zurück. Er war von dort als Kind geflohen, hatte keine Familie und Freunde und sprach Deutsch besser als seine "Muttersprche". Alle Einsprüche auch die meiner Großeltern, die sich für ihn verbürgt hätten, halfen nichts. Er musste gehen und durfte nicht wieder nach Deutschland einreisen.
Solche Fälle sind es, die vermieden werden müssen. Ich danke dir, von Wirtschaftsflüchtling zu Wirtschaftsflüchtling, für diesen Denkanstoß. Ich hoffe selbst, dass - vielleicht auch mit der Hilfe türkischstämmiger Politiker und auch Sportler (Ümit Korkmaz für Österreich, Eren Derdiyok für die Schweiz, Mesut Özil und Serdar Tasci für Deutschland) - in Zukunft eine tiefere Integration der "älteren" Immigranten erreicht werden kann. Persönlich glaube ich aber, dass die IMMIGRATIONSpolitik selbst ein wichtiger Punkt ist, die INTEGRATIONSpolitik jedoch noch wichtiger.
Sehr guter Blogpost, Christoph!
Ich gebe dir mit nahezu allem Recht. In einem Punkt muss ich dir allerdings widersprechen und würde hierzu meine eigene Erfahrung beisteuern.
Die Integration der türkischen Minderheit in Deutschland und Österreich (und in noch extremeren Maße in der Schweiz) ist leider schon vor Jahrzehnten aus dem Ruder gelaufen. Ich spreche nahezu fließend Türkisch und habe einige Zeit in Istanbul gelebt. Deine These der Integration durch Sprache und gemeinsame Aktivitäten ist richtig und nobel - sie hat aber einen Haken: Sie trifft nur dann, wenn dein Gegenüber nicht die Hoffnung und sogar den Wunsch nach Integration längst aufgegeben hat.
Diejenigen Türken, die Akademiker wie du und ich meistens kennen, sind ohnehin die besser integrierten. Dazu gehören selbstverständlich Kollegen aus Studium und Praktikum, aber auch in vielen Fällen der Dönermann aus der Fußgängerzone mit dem passablen Deutsch. (Noch extremer würde das Diktum ausfallen, wenn du "richtige" Türken, wie einen gemeinsamen Freund von uns mit den Minderheiten in unseren Heimatländern vergleichen würdest).
Das Problem - vor allem in deutschen Großstädten, wie Berlin - aber auch in Österreich - und das darf selbst ich als Piefke sagen - ist, dass eine ganze Subkultur entstanden ist, die Integration aus Sicht der Türken zwar weiterhin möglich, nicht aber nötig erscheinen lässt. Gehe ich durch Berlin Kreuzberg (und in abgeschwächter Form sicherlich auch durch das ein oder andere Wiener Viertel), so fühle ich mich, als Türkei-Liebhaber "zuhause". Die Reklamen sind dieselben wie in Istanbul und auch die Läden sind ähnlich. Was anders ist? Geht man nicht gerade durch die konservativen Viertel Istanbuls, wie etwa Fatih, so sind Frauen im Kopftuch eher eine Minderheit. Die europäische Mode überwiegt. In Kreuzberg hingegen zählen Tradition und islamische Werte (die übrigens ebensoviel "christliche" Nächstenliebe enthalten, wie andere Religionen auch) - viele der Einwanderer der ersten und zweiten Generation kamen aus armen, sehr religiösen Gegenden der Türkei. Für Sie war Istanbul genauso weit weg wie Europa und sie sahen die Chance in den großen Städten. Die Welt um Sie herum veränderte sich in den letzten 30-40 Jahren drastisch. Sie selbst waren weniger willkommen, der Islam wurde unbeliebter, die Chancen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt kleiner. Und die Crux dieser türkischstämmigen Gesellschaft war, dass sie in der Türkei schnell als die unbeliebten, mit ausländischem Geldum sich werfenden, Angeber verschrien waren. Heimatlos also auch in der Heimat.
Was blieb als Rückzug? Die Gemeinschaft, die Subkultur, die Klein-Istanbuls dieser Welt und die Moschee. Die Integrationsversuche 2009 hätten 1979 vielleicht fruchtbaren Boden gefunden, ob sie es heute tun ist fraglich.
Daher stimme ich allen deinen Punkten zu. Vor allem glaube auch ich, dass der Integrationsgrad (also inwiefern jemand die Sprache beherrscht, einen Job und Freundeskreis hat) ausschlaggebend sein sollte. Meine Großeltern haben einen Gasthof, in dem für Jahre ein vietnamesischer Küchenhelfer arbeitete. Er kam bereits als Jugendlicher und gehörte fast schon zur Familie. Nach einigen Jahren wurde er binnen drei Wochen abgeschoben und musste in den Vietnam zurück. Er war von dort als Kind geflohen, hatte keine Familie und Freunde und sprach Deutsch besser als seine "Muttersprche". Alle Einsprüche auch die meiner Großeltern, die sich für ihn verbürgt hätten, halfen nichts. Er musste gehen und durfte nicht wieder nach Deutschland einreisen.
Solche Fälle sind es, die vermieden werden müssen. Ich danke dir, von Wirtschaftsflüchtling zu Wirtschaftsflüchtling, für diesen Denkanstoß. Ich hoffe selbst, dass - vielleicht auch mit der Hilfe türkischstämmiger Politiker und auch Sportler (Ümit Korkmaz für Österreich, Eren Derdiyok für die Schweiz, Mesut Özil und Serdar Tasci für Deutschland) - in Zukunft eine tiefere Integration der "älteren" Immigranten erreicht werden kann. Persönlich glaube ich aber, dass die IMMIGRATIONSpolitik selbst ein wichtiger Punkt ist, die INTEGRATIONSpolitik jedoch noch wichtiger.
Mittwoch, 11. November 2009
... and Weezer gone lame
So one of my beloved bands did not let me down. Another one definitely did. What happened to you, Weezer? There were some songs on the "Red Album" which made me think: "Ok, maybe that is just filling material" - I still don't understand why you don't let Rivers Cuomo sing all the songs. But at least that album had killer songs like "The greatest man that ever lived", even if it did not come anywhere close my all-time-number one "Blue Album"...but WTF (and sorry for being so explicit) did you think when you recorded "Raditude"? I mean, fine - take some drugs to be creative but please, please, please listen to the songs you have recorded once you are clean before you let them loose on mankind. I used to be one of your biggest fans, but there are three reasons why I just have to hate this album (and stop just buying every new release without listening):
a)You rap in those songs - again. Maybe I only speak for myself, but the majority of people, who enjoy your style, DISGUST Hip Hop. I thought it was a one-off last time, but why do you keep doing it. Yeah, crossover was cool for a short while, but when have you heard of Linkin' Park or Crazy Town in the last few years???
b) Your lyrics are so lame, I can't believe you did not produce them by using random rhymes from a machine you found online. What went through you, when you wrote these lines?
"I thought tonight would suck like every other night
I'd party with my friends
But when I saw you grooving on the dance floor
Normal came to an end
We started talking and man, it was so clear to me
There's no one else like you
You got the brains, the body, and the beauty
To top it off, you're cool"
(From: "I'm your daddy")
Well, I suppose even the Blue Album was not without it's flaws, but this is just the mindless babbling teeny bands or hip hoppers call their lyrics.
c) Do not bring out an album every year. I have waited for ages for some of your records. I bought them all. The Red Album was not great, but I still liked it. But if you don't have better ideas than those you show on "Raditude" leave it be until 2011...
I know Weezer won't care about what I think, but maybe I can prevent you from buying their worst album so far. So enjoy some quality music and buy the Blue Album instead. :)
a)You rap in those songs - again. Maybe I only speak for myself, but the majority of people, who enjoy your style, DISGUST Hip Hop. I thought it was a one-off last time, but why do you keep doing it. Yeah, crossover was cool for a short while, but when have you heard of Linkin' Park or Crazy Town in the last few years???
b) Your lyrics are so lame, I can't believe you did not produce them by using random rhymes from a machine you found online. What went through you, when you wrote these lines?
"I thought tonight would suck like every other night
I'd party with my friends
But when I saw you grooving on the dance floor
Normal came to an end
We started talking and man, it was so clear to me
There's no one else like you
You got the brains, the body, and the beauty
To top it off, you're cool"
(From: "I'm your daddy")
Well, I suppose even the Blue Album was not without it's flaws, but this is just the mindless babbling teeny bands or hip hoppers call their lyrics.
c) Do not bring out an album every year. I have waited for ages for some of your records. I bought them all. The Red Album was not great, but I still liked it. But if you don't have better ideas than those you show on "Raditude" leave it be until 2011...
I know Weezer won't care about what I think, but maybe I can prevent you from buying their worst album so far. So enjoy some quality music and buy the Blue Album instead. :)
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)