More impressions from Austria

Recently found these photos on my blackberry taken during my business trip to Graz:

'lovelocks' on the main bridge in Graz

Not sure what this is, but it looked funky!

Opera house in Graz

lovely balconies and statues on just an 'ordinary' residence

painted houses

graffiti art

Museum of Art - not quite my taste

why is homeopathy much more widespread in continental Europe than over here?

Nuts!

Squirrels are everywhere in London. And aren't they just super cute? I took this snapshot a little while back in the estate where our offices are located:

to be honest, I'm not sure what it is eating but it's so adorable!

What's stopping you from making a new start?

I've used some of my nectar points on a subscription of Psychologies, a monthly magazine which otherwise sells for £3.40. That's relatively expensive, I guess, but I would totally recommend the magazine. Every month I have several 'aha' moments when reading the articles. I don't know whether this just means that I'm very much like the majority of humans, but in any case, I recognize myself in most of their articles.

In the January issue (published in early December) there is an article on 'What's stopping you from making a new start?' A question that I've asked myself a LOT of times. Having taken the little test, my result was as follows:

You feel hard done by
Your view: You've been badly hurt - physically or emotionally - by a friend, family member, colleague or lover, and they haven't made it up to you.

Your behaviour: Prone to bouts of explosive rage or brooding fury, you are hypersensitive with an inability to trust others and a destructive habit of turning events over and over in your mind. Your tendency to think of yourself as a victim who has been exploited, mistreated or neglected has the potential to dominate all your relationships, creating a negative view of the life and other people's motives.

Decoding the issue: No one expects you to be able to turn the page straight after a major disaster such as an accident, attack or illness; only therapy can help in these situations. If you're in pain - after a divorce, for example, or having been let down by a friend - this may be because you've reopened an old wound (prompting feelings of abandonment or betrayal). If you invest too much in a dream scenario or build up your hopes too high in a new relationship, the pain you feel when it goes wrong is way out of proportion. A series of minor setbacks can end up denting your confidence and focusing all your fears on a relationship or scenario that's going badly. This problematic relationship may then spiral into a full-blown sense of inadequacy or failure.

How to move on: Play the whole episode over in your mind as though you were watching a film about someone else's life ... . The goal is to take the sting out of the situation while identifying any benefits from it: most importantly, accept your responsibility for what happened and learn something useful from the event.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year

Does time go by faster, the older you get? If so, that's rather terrifying! I have no idea how the last 365 days went by so quickly. Thinking back to my resolutions for 2012, I have to say that I failed quite miserably on a number of them. I do however still blog! So, I guess that did work out.

I still need to think about resolutions for 2013. I know that I can make resolutions any time during the year, but it does seem like a good time to think about what I would like to do/achieve in the next 365 days.

But for now, I am wishing you all 

a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Three nights and not much sleep

I recently stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge for work. The hotel is located a short walk from Waterloo station and just across the (Westminster) bridge from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I stayed in one of their superior double bed rooms - and it was just a tad depressing that the room was probably the same size as my tiny flat...You enter into a living room with a sofa and a flat screen TV. There's another massive flat screen telly in the very spacious bedroom. The bathroom comes complete with a bathtub as well as shower. The whole hotel has a very modern and stylish feel to it with lots of artwork everywhere. Wifi is complimentary throughout the hotel and the rooms come with a number of light settings: mood lighting (how romantic!), full lighting and reading lights. I unfortunately seemed unable to control the different settings...

I always find it a pity that you really only just sleep in the room. And on this occasion - because of work - I only spent very few hours in the room. This is certainly one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in so far, and but there were a few issues:

• the shower cubicle stunk! I'm not sure what the problem was - it looked clean but the smell was disgusting - a bit like vomit and damp. I left the door ajar and the smell eventually went away. After the room service had cleaned the room, they closed the door again, and the horrible smell was back. Rather disappointing and quite a let down for such a nice place.
• Check-in was quite slow.
• Staff in the bar weren't particularly friendly and also slow. They also refused to put drinks on hotel rooms for a number of people, despite them having given their credit card details upon check in. And they didn't seem particularly bothered about sorting this out for the guests.

But overall, the hotel is very central, and the rooms (apart from the smelly shower) are really great. It's not cheap, but then there are no cheap hotels in London...

the living room

desk and TV in the living room

bathroom - I love the sink!

tea and coffee making facilities

the big and comfortable bed

Laundry and art in Antalya

Have you heard of crowd funding? A friend of mine has opened a laundrette in Antalya last April. The money she needed was raised by friends and family investing in her business idea. She is always looking to extend the business and has started by organizing art exhibitions in the laundrette as well as renting out guest rooms at her home. I totally love the idea and admire her courage and energy and persistence.

So, if you are thinking of traveling to Antalya and are looking for cheap accommodation and/or a launderette (which comes in handy during very hot summers), go and check it out!

The world hasn't gone under just yet

Selective hearing

9 people say 'well done'.
1 person complains.
And all I hear is the latter.

Lost in translation?

When I first moved to the UK in 1999, I subconsciously expected the British mentality to be very similar to the German one. After all, it's all Western Europe. During my studies, I primarily met other Europeans and - with hindsight- I think I was also quite naive in a lot of respects. Only in the last few years have I started noticing a number of differences.

Amongst those are most certainly the differences in communication. On more than one occasion have I been told that I can be rather 'abrupt' and uncomfortably direct. While I don't necessarily want to change my ways (I definitely prefer to come straight to the point than pussyfoot around), I am aware that it can cause issues. People might take offence and might also misunderstand what I am trying to say as it is said more bluntly than what people are often used to.

The other thing I have noticed is that I seem to take people way too literal. Personally, I believe you shouldn't say what you don't mean. Language is such a great tool - use it to express exactly what you want to say! This causes issues for me of course, as it is easily me who take offence for things people say maybe more lightheartedly than how I take it.

I wonder whether I will ever be able to communicate at a native speaker's level - not only in terms of vocabulary, and accent but more importantly with regard to all the other layers of communication which are packaged in the tone of voice and choice of words.
Most probably not. 

 

done

Sore feet, absolutely knackered, and relieved it is all over and went well. And the usual after-event anti-climax. Having worked for this for more than a year, and then in three days it's all over.

One more day in the office and then three luxurious weeks off.

Ah!

I nipped to the shop this afternoon and I was wondering why it was so busy outside - loads of nicely dressed people and masses of cars. Rather unusual on a Sunday around here.

Turns out that the Sports Personality of the Year is taking place at the ExCel down the road!
Damn it, I could have queued out there to catch a glimpse of Wiggins, Lineker, Murray & Co.
Nevermind...

Plaetzchen

One of the things I miss most about Germany is traditional Plaetzchen (aka German Christmas cookies). And unfortunately, I am not very good at backing myself. But I did have a go at it today. I found the recipe on Chefkoch. Not surprisingly, mine don't look anything like the ones on the website... I really did not expect them to grow this much!

before

... and after. Oops!

nerves

Tomorrow is set up day and from Tuesday until Thursday our annual main event is on.

And the nerves have kicked in. What I hate most about my job is the unpredictability - all sorts of things could go wrong. And you can simply not prepare for all of them, no matter how hard you try (it also wouldn't make much sense, as most of these things will not actually occur...). I just really, really hope that things will go smoothly like they did last year and that I will be able to enjoy the meeting at least a little bit.

And I will try to remind myself: what is the worst that could happen? Nothing much!
Let's hope I'll be able to sleep well tonight...

Trust me

I fall for it every time. Somebody questions me/my work - and I instinctively question myself, too. Back at school, in my math class, I was sitting next to P. Whenever he had a different result from me - I always doubted myself. In probably 99.9% of all cases, I was right. And he still had all the confidence in the world, and I was the one going through my work to see where I could have gone wrong.

And it's still the same.
And then I get angry with those people who instead of questioning themselves first, question me.
When really I should work on being more confident in what I do. Shouldn't I? Not least as I'll never be able to change the others.

workworkworkworkworkworkworkwork

There surely is more to life than work.

Why am I finding it so hard to channel my energy into things outside of work? It seems that only at work I know what I need to do. I find it easy to make decisions, I am well organized, structured and efficient. Outside of work I lack motivation, energy and focus. There seem to be too many options and I am worried to take a step in any direction, worried that it will be the 'wrong' one.

The year is coming to an end and as always the new year stretches in front of me like a blank canvas, like a promise of better and different times. And I know it's all down to myself.

counting down

Since opening registration for our annual event, a countdown on our website has been reminding me daily of the approaching event. It's down to five days now and a mix of different feelings is swirling around inside my head. Nervousness is joined by excitement, fear with pride. On the one hand, I can't wait for it all to be over, and on the other, I know that there will also be disappointment. I've been working on this for more than a year now - and the end of the event is the ultimate anti-climax.

For now, I am having my fingers crossed that the weather forecast is correct and that it will get warmer again over the weekend. I don't even want to think about the consequences of cancelled flights (as happened today at Heathrow as well as City Airport).

The Midland Hotel

As mentioned before, I got treated to a complimentary 1 night stay at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. It's just a 5 minute tram ride from Manchester's main train station. This 4* hotel is a Grade II listed building and is over 100 years old. The facade of the building is absolutely beautiful and the inside doesn't disappoint either. The lobby is huge and airy and was graced with a massive Christmas tree. Staff were friendly and helpful and I would absolutely recommend the hotel to anyone!

The pretty facade of this Grade II listed hotel

Entrance

big and comfy bed

I loved the desk!

Clean and spacious bathroom

the lovely xmas tree in the lobby

What we take for granted

Hot water. I definitely take that for granted. So, I got a bit of a panic when there was no hot water last night. And what a relief when I found out that the whole building was affected* and that the guy from the servicing company had already come out, on a Sunday night, within an hour of getting the call. And even more relieved when the hot water came back on within the next half hour.

Then this morning, the lift was out of order again. Walking down from the 6th floor is fortunately not as bad as having to walk up - and by the time I came back from work, it was all working again!



* I know, that's not very nice. But had it been just my flat, I would have had to ask my landlord to sort it out and I somehow don't think it would have gotten dealt with as quickly...

Manchester Central has the X-factor

For the first time, the X-factor final was filmed outside London. And as I had recently meet with the venue - Manchester Central - to discuss possible collaborations, I was lucky enough to be offered two complimentary tickets to Saturday's final show, including an overnight stay at the beautiful Midland hotel, just round the corner.

And it was really exciting! The evening kicked off with a reception for about 75 people at 17:00. Drinks were flowing, and canapes and bowl food were served. Service was brilliant and the whole team made us feel welcome and well looked after. Then at 19:15 we were led into the Central Hall which seated 10,000 people - past long queues of people, who had been patiently standing in the rain to get in. Our seats were to left of the stage; not quite as close as I had hoped but nevertheless with good views. Before the show Caroline Flack and Ollie Murs practised for the Xtra factor and the audience was given instructions not to take photos during the filming and to try to not walk around during filming either.

It became clear very quickly who the audience's favourite was: James Arthur received most cheers - while Christopher Maloney was initially booed. During the first break, the compere pointed out that it really wasn't very nice to boo anyone and surprisingly this actually had the desired effect!

During Jahmene Douglas' duet with Nicole Scherzinger, Nicole's microphone didn't work. So, they had to share one. She was visibly pissed off and I'm sure ITV's AV crew got a feisty telling off after the incidence. It was quite surprising, too, that nobody was near the stage to help out with another mic. Then during the final scenes one of the cameramen fell over on stage.

Overall, it was a great experience. We got to see Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson and Rita Ora perform and as it was a live show, there were only the ad breaks were nothing much was happening. The announcement of the decision at the end was nail-bitingly exciting - and I think everyone in the hall (or at least the vast majority) were relieved to see Christopher come third.

After the show we were treated to more drinks, cakes and a cheese board courtesy of Manchester Central.
Just a few more hours until the winner of the 2012 X-factor gets announced!

Manchester Central - before the crowds descend

It's Tulisa!

cameraman climbing into position

the very important autocue

The miracle of Bank

Why is it that there are always more people getting off the Northern line at Bank station than there are people getting on?

Any chance it has something to do with people being egoistic bastards who just do not move down the carriages?

One wonders...

Sightseeing deluxe

A friend from Germany came to spend last weekend with me in London. Not only was it great to see her, it's also always a good occasion to do some sight-seeing. Living in London - or really in any other city - I tend to postpone these kind of things.

Here's what we did:

• breakfast at the Victoria & Albert museum
• little tour of the museum - it's amazing! And so big!
• visit to the Science Museum
• Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park - my first time in 5 years and I was rather disappointed. There were just too many people. I don't know how you can enjoy being pushed around. Certainly no proper alternative to a traditional German Christmas Market
• Afternoon tea at Liberty (and a run in with a stupid and very rude woman in the lifts; why do they only stop on certain floors???)
•  a trip on the Emirates Air Line (aka the cable car)
• Sunday Roast in a traditional English Pub in Greenwich (I love Greenwich!)
• visit to the National Maritime Museum

View of Canary Wharf from Greenwich

Royal Victoria Dock

Cutty Sark

Cafe at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Christmas Goody Bag Alert

What a pleasant surprise! I had completely forgotten that the representative from one of the venue finding companies that we use from time to time, was coming by today to deliver a Christmas Goody Bag:
a bottle of spiced mulled cidre, a personalized desk calendar and a box of mince pies.

This cheered me up loads!

Lost in communication

I don't get it. Some people seem to be perfecting the skill of selective listening.
For weeks, I had been going on about a particular task. I don't even expect people to think for themselves. But continuously spelling things out, and things still not getting done is extremely frustrating. And causes a lot of problems, too, of course.

I am aware of the concept of sender and receiver - so where is it going wrong? And how can I encode my message in a way that it gets properly understood by the receiver? Or is the message actually being received correctly and just ignored?

1.5 weeks until holidays - I can't wait!

Glittery red

This Christmassy, glittery red nail polish was behind door number one of my Latest in Beauty Adventcalendar:

I like!

It's a reindeer!

My water decals ordered from ebay arrived last week and - just in time for our staff Christmas lunch - I tried the reindeer design:

I also used my Ciate bon bon polish for the first time. The above photo was taken after 4 days - and it was still looking good, and hardly chipped at all. I also like the colour - a bit different from my usual pinks!