Birgit im Abenteuerland ...

"work" related ...

2007-11-25T02:34:00.000+11:00

JOB-HUNT ...
I’m working determined on my job-hunt ... so far I got 6 interviews most of which will take place in the next couple of weeks – and I hope I will get some more, especially now that I work with headhunters ... mid December I’m going to a career fair in Brussels (will combine that with sightseeing as I haven’t been to Brussels before) ... this is an invite-only event where the companies select people based on their CVs ... and I got 3! companies so far being interested in me ... that sounds promising ...

MBA-COURSE ...
Btw ... you might be interested ;) ... I’m nearly finished ... the last big report got handed in last week and now I have just one class (the most boring class ever though) running once a week, one group presentation and a small report due ... aka I’m finished ;) This 1.5 years went really fast ... feels like yesterday that I was struggeling with the term-1 workload ... but it was definitely worthwile ... really enjoyed it overall and am sad that it’s over soon ... hope I can make it for my graduation as this will be a unique chance to see (most of) my class mates from Melb again before we spread out all over the globe!

Salsa

2007-11-25T02:33:00.000+11:00

Last week my first salsa course finished ... and I have so much fun dancing, that I decided to go for another one which will end just before Christmas, so right in time before I fly home on 21 december ... tonight I will attend a salsa-show-party at salsability’s club Mi & Yu downtown Rotterdam … it was a bit of a clash with the Russian party but I decided for the salsa before I knew about the party … will be a great evening! :)

Visitors in Rotterdam

2007-11-25T02:32:00.000+11:00

time is flying – as usual – so, let me give you a quick update ...

my mum and my sister Dagmar came to see me in Rotterdam mid November. We did some awesome sightseeing – finally I checked that on my to-do list as well ;) – going to Amsterdam, Leiden, The Hague, and around Rotterdam. On Friday night, after the whole day running around in Amsterdam and visiting the Van-Gogh museum we went to one of RSM’s country parties – the Indian party. Lots of my colleagues werer there – all dressed up tradionally Indian – we had some delicious Indian food (especially less spicy as most other cultures have issues with the spiciness ;) All together a great evening ... and a great couple of days – I really enjoyed it very much to have them over and I look forward to have a „real“ apartment the next time they come to visit me – who knows where ;)

the German Party - des war a Mords-Gaudi :)

2007-11-05T07:32:00.000+11:00

Yesterday, the legendary German Party took place in Villa Kakelbont at Rotterdam's Oude Haven ... besides heaps of fun, German Bratwürstel with Sauerkraut or potato salad, heaps of fun, Jägermeister, heaps of fun and a tombola, a lot of German music & even more fun could be observed ...

... well, and today I'm back in my tiny little world of portfolio management ... investment management ... portfolios ... etc

... at least I was able to make it to the salsa lesson --- looking forward to Wednesday when I'll have the next salsa lesson! :)

cu
B.

October in fast-forward

2007-11-02T06:21:00.000+11:00

In Vienna ...

... I went to Vienna for the weekend to celebrate my mum’s birthday ... I really very much enjoyed the days however it was way to short ... just arrived on Thursday night and had to fly back to Rotterdam on Sunday night with the worst week ever ahead of me ..

In Rotterdam ...

... as mentioned I had the worst week ever just after returning back from an relaxing weekend in Vienna ... I had 7 class sessions within 6 days (4x International Investment Mgmt, 2x Advanced Marketing & 1x Supply Chain Mgmt), 1 assignment and presentation due on Thursday, 1 assignment and 1 take-home exam due on Friday, and a group report (our business plan write up for the Entrepreneurship class) due on Saturday ... *sigh* ... however, as there was suddenly that much to do at once I managed to work not right at the edge for each and every assignment but rather finished them a bit earlier ... the pressure helps ;) ... so, I even managed to go to the „Fiesta Latina“ aka The Latin Party on Thursday --- and I strongly believe I really earned that! :)

The Latin Party was just the start of a series of country-parties ... this is tradition at RSM ... taking advantage of 42 different nationalities there is a whole lot of parties ahead of us :) ... the circle continues with the German Party this Saturday and the Indian Party next week on Friday ...

Furthermore, I continue to take salsa lessons which I enjoy tremendously ... a lot of fun ... meeting new people (finally from outside the MBA program) ... I try to go twice a week – on Wednesdays and Sundays ... helps in memorizing the steps which I tend to forget from one week to the next ;)

Yesterday I was on the traditional Halloween party, organized by our American/Canadian friends ... was a really nice (and long) evening, especially – you guessed right – as I went to the Salsa before ... :) ... customes were amazing (also as usual) ... we had „men in black“, nerds, a cabana boy, some cats, a (black) dutch girl (that describes the multi-cultural standing of Holland), a hawaian dancer (without coconuts this time but still very traditional ;), an angel & some devils, Sir Elton John, ... you see, I'm spoilt by a wide variety

Why am I in Rotterdam ?!?!?

2007-11-02T06:18:00.000+11:00

I found that some of you, my dear friends, don’t know why I’m in Rotterdam, which is, I have to admit, a bit confusing ... and I have to admit I never mentioned it again in the last 6 months after the original announcement when I was admitted to the exchange program ...

so, well, what I’m doing there ?!?!?

the explanation ...
I do an exchange term at the Rotterdam School of Management ... major reason (besides meeting even more people :) is to find a job in Europe. And job hunt tends to get easier if you’re in the market (or at least close by) and not based on the other end of the world ... so, it also has strategic reasons to be here ... and last but not least – I wanted to see whether my decision for Melb about a year ago was the right one ... and, I have to admit – YES, it was :)

… but a great week in Munich :)

2007-10-06T06:02:00.001+10:00

The fun started at the plane … as soon as I settled in my (non)-window seat, someone asked whether I was at David’s wedding at Mauritius … well, it was George, a friend of David from Seattle who just jetted to Munich to meet David (whom I asked to come to the Oktoberfest this weekend) who I met at this wedding … that’s a coincidence … the world is sooo small :)

Arrived late at Christine’s but after a good dinner we made our way to a pub to meet Karin, a friend of mine, who was celebrating her birthday … met some more friends over the next couple of days and finally – as an alibi – made it also to the Wies’n on Wednesday morning just before I left … and we even got a seat in the “Schützenzelt”.

Thank you all for meeting up – was great seeing you again! For all those I didn’t see this time … I plan to come to Munich again probably around end November, beginning of December!

Cu then
B.

A not so smooth ride ...

2007-10-06T06:01:00.000+10:00

Was in Munich the last week …

Thursday last week I was supposed to fly to Munich on the last flight … right after my class I made my way towards the airport with the intention to write an assignment in the two hours I would have there … well, that didn’t happen … first, that never ever happened to me before, I missed the train stop at the airport … and there is no stop between Schipol and Amsterdam … well 20mins into Amsterdam, off the train just to find out that it is the same train going back to Schipol … 15mins waiting … 20mins back to the airport … arriving there 1h before my flight just to find out that it got cancelled due to a broken plane … got booked into the Dorint Sofitel at the airport, got a free dinner and breakfast and I got a new booking for a flight at 1.20pm on Friday …

Thought Friday morning, I’ll check out Amsterdam – if I’m stranded there already – and I’m sure in the evening I was told there is a shuttle bus downtown (and only one in the morning) at 10.30am … well, in the morning I was at reception at 10.20 just to find out that the bus is going at 9.30 only … well, made a couple of hours later my way to the airport directly … checked into a window seat – well it was the only window seat without a window *grrr*

On my way back I nearly missed my plane because the S-Bahn in Munich was playing crazy … first it was late, then they kicked us out of the train at Leuchtenbergring, just one stop out of town … explanation “we sighted playing kids on the tracks and this train is anyway already late, that’s why it’s not going any further, please get off and take the next train in 10 mins” … well, the next train was late, too, arrived 30mins later and by that time, I was really running late … I just got at the check-in 2mins before the close it (30mins before departure) … and, of course, this plane was on time – planes are never delayed when I’m running late …

Update ... on my way to Munich

2007-09-27T19:58:00.000+10:00

Nothing extra-ordinary is happening here ... have been with a couple of colleagues at a nice dim sum dinner downtown Rotterdam last Saturday…

Started Salsa classes last Sunday in a club downtown … signed up for the “Beginner 2” course together with some of my class mates… finally a “real” salsa teacher … it’s great – love it :)

Also, found a way to manage my group pretty well … we had a good “elevator pitch” last Saturday and a productive, time-efficient meeting … and the marathon weekend (4 classes from FR afternoon to SA afternoon including 3 presentations) is over …

Am flying to Munich today … after class I make my way to the airport and off I go for a week of fun!

That’s all for now …
B.

Rotterdam

2007-09-14T22:12:00.000+10:00

I can’t believe I’m here in Rotterdam already since nearly two weeks … time is flying …

I didn’t really have good luck upon arrival …

My room was disgustingly dirty when I arrived … at least, it was thoroughly cleaned (and repaired) the next day by the housing department from uni … now it’s acceptable
I was able to bring my bike from Austria on the plane to The Netherlands (free of charge) … I was just not able to find a taxi drive who was willing to take the bike, so I left it at Rotterdam Centraal (the train station) … I picked it up the next day (it was still there - in one piece with all pieces attached) … unfortunately, I was not able to fully screw the pedal in … thought I ride it to uni and find someone who is stronger than me who will fix that … well, about half the way and the pedal fell off (and actually needed the whole thingy replaced) … 25 Euro …
My camera is not working anymore … the lens can’t be moved anymore, hence, no pictures can be taken anymore either …

Thought after these 3 things it must be fine … well, today, fully geared up for a pleasure bike ride to Gauda, I found my bike with a flat … so, no pleasure ride but pushing the bike back to the shop to get the fixed …another 30 Euro gone because it needs not only a new tube but also a new tire! *grrrrrrrrrrr*

Besides these pieces of bad luck – and the weather (it rains every couple of mins, you never know how it’s going to be next) – Rotterdam is pretty nice. I live about 20mins walking distance from uni, in Kralingen, which is the better district of Rotterdam and has heaps of nice houses in a very green surrounding …

Classes started already last week … have a really good study group for the Sustainability class … and a really chatty, pretty unproductive group for Entrepreneurship … hope that’s getting better soon … otherwise classes are good, enjoy the Supply Chain one as well as the Entrepreneurship class.

My last month in Melbourne ...

2007-09-14T21:57:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

A quick update over the last weeks – neglected the blog a bit since I left Oz.

Well, after a couple of more good-byes and a final EOT-party in a really nice location in Melbourne’s CBD, I left Oz making my way to Europe.

I'll miss Melbourne and all my friends there!

I had a 2- day stop over in Bangkok. I visited a lot of sight’s such as the king’s palace, some temples, the floating markets (about 160km outside Bangkok), … and of course I got a massage every day!

Finally, on Wednesday 22 August early morning I arrived in Vienna … my parents (and doggy) picked me up from the airport ….

FINALLY – AT HOME AGAIN!

Met a lot of people which I – obviously – haven’t seen in more than a year … had a really cool party on the Saturday with lots of my friends … some even joined in from Germany!

So, that was the the last month in "fast forward" …

Werribee Mansion with Vixs

2007-08-13T15:03:00.000+10:00

As mentioned before, good-byes have started ... had my good-bye lunch with Vixs yesterday. She is flying out on holiday to see her husband who moved to Boston about a month ago.

She took me to the lovely Werribee Mansion, a restaurant, hotel, and spa right next the one of Melbourne’s zoos about a 40 mins drive from the city center. We had a fantastic lunch … we ate way too much but it was sooo good … :)

Vixs & Birgit @ Werribee Mansion Gardens

What a day ...

2007-08-11T22:07:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

what a day … well, let me tell you the Friday-story …

I was supposed to write my take-home exam for Negotiations. It is a case write-up which was due on Friday – well, as usual I left it to the last minute but I had already brained the case for several days … got up early and wanted to get started … heard this water-dripping … that distracts me … thought, someone left the door of the washing-machine room open … stormed out of my apartment to close it (already being annoyed) … looked left just to recognize: the door IS closed … then heard it dripping to the right and well, there was water coming down in the staircase like in a tropical rainforest waterfall … made my way up … up … up … finally, on the last floor (of course) I found the source … the washing machine leaked … banged on all three doors up there … someone must be washing … first got a Chinese couple who obviously didn’t speak English, their son who finally showed up was not the fastest either … then another door opened … it seemed I just threw that guy out of bed … it was him who washed – wonder who goes to bed when he’s washing?!?

Ok, that was around 9.30am … even though neither my fault nor my business … it ruined my concentration … I wrote just 2 sentences in the next 30 mins … well, somewhen I gained my concentration back and wrote at my standard rate of about 700 words per hour … and finished my assignment by 2.30pm to go shopping with Karen … I found a gorgeous dress – silk, blue/black background, light-colored flowers … just need the right shoes now ;)

And then, I’ve sent out an “invite” to meet at the pub … several people told me they would come … I waited for 1.5 hours – nobody showed up … so I left furiously … nearly home, Vixs called me … we went to a Pancake place and had some excellent, delicious rum-banana and strawberry pancakes :) So, the day had a good ending at last …

Qatari Dinner ...

2007-08-08T21:59:00.000+10:00

I mentioned it already once before and finally it happened: the Qatari dinner cooked by our friend Fahad. Originally was planned that Fahad will cook for Kath, Nadja, and I. Though Nadja was sick with the flue and Kath couldn’t make it, we ended up being only the two of us – we are not going to cancel the dinner! And Fahad has some more choices to cook again for Nadja next term, and it’s definitely recommended – Moroccan lamb and couscous – yummy!!!

Good Bye starts ...

2007-08-08T21:58:00.001+10:00

It’s really sad, but we started our good-byes … last Friday I met with Elissa for the last time for who-knows-how-long. It was her last day of work and we met in the evening for some shopping and a dinner. It was good to spend some time with her – unfortunately we haven’t seen each other very often since she did her internship. Elissa left on Sunday heading home to Vancouver for the break. She will return though for the next term whereas I won’t – at least not for the rest of the year. :(

Karen is already sad every time she has to say good-bye even if we see each other anyway on the next day. She is leaving on the same day I will (19 August) moving to Sydney.

And the next good-bye is just ahead … on Sunday I will meet Vixs for the last time. She is taking her exams early to visit her husband who moved to Boston one month ago. And then it’s not long until I leave the country, too…

Harry Potter ...

2007-08-08T21:56:00.000+10:00

… and the Order of the Phoenix
Finally, I’ve seen the new HP movie last week Tuesday. First I went with my friend Vixs to – as she said and I have to agree – best Sushi place in Victoria for some fantastic sashimi, uni-tempura (sea urchin), scallops, Japanese steak and a chocolate cake with liquid chocolate-sake filling to die for. We then met up with Karen at the movies. Liked it! What about you? I guess everyone has seen it anyway before I did but we were sooo busy the weeks before …

… and the Deathly Hollows
couldn’t do anything else than reading over the last weekend … but now that it’s finished I can concentrate on other stuff again … such as my take-home exam for negotiations which is due on Friday.

Winter Fun in Falls Creek

2007-08-08T21:53:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

that took a bit longer now to write up but I uploaded pictures already a while ago :)

Two weeks ago, I went with my friends Nadja and Fahad for a weekend in the snow! Yeah, you won’t believe it there is something called the Australian Alps and it’s enough snow there to ski/snowboard.

This weekend was particularly interesting not only for the idea of skiing in Juli and in Australia but also because Fahad, our desert boy, never had seen snow in his life so far! There is only to say so much: HE LOVES SNOW! Now.

Well, to start at the beginning, on Thursday night we picked up our car, which was a huge 4WD Nissan Patrol (I was not very happy with that car though Nadja and Fahad loved it, well therefore, Nadja did most of the driving …). We wanted to rent some snow chains (because we are going up the mountains and there WILL BE snow. Well, what Avis told us was that we don’t get any chains and actually we are not allowed to drive over snow anyway – why do you have 4WD if you are not allowed to drive on snow?!?!?

Then, Friday morning, I picked the two up and at 9am we were on our way out of town … the Victorian country-side is beautiful, even in winter. It’s definitely worth taking the drive to Falls Creek rather than taking the plane. On our way we passed through the King Valley were we stopped at two excellent vineries to have lunch, some tastings and buy heaps ;) we ended up buying 38 bottles of wine – the only reason it was not more is that I knew I can’t buy because of leaving Melbourne I three weeks.

After renting some chains in the valley (even though we didn’t use them, to use the road up the mountain you have to have them with you) we arrived later this afternoon in Falls Creek and got a shared apartment in the Country Club (the only thing being elite besides the name was the premium price). Nadja and I convinced Fahad that it is easier to learn snowboarding. So, the next day, we got our rental gear and headed up the mountain – Nadja and Fahad with their boards and me with skis. I was very nervous as I was not sure how my skiing skills would turn out to be after not skiing for more than 15 years! But, everything went really well, my skiing skills turned out to be far better than expected and I was even able to keep up with Nadja who snowboards really well. :)

We had two beautiful days of winter fun and on Monday morning we headed back to Melbourne, arriving just in time for our Negotiations class which we definitely didn’t wanna miss.

So, that’s it about skiing in July! Skiing in Australia! We’ll definitely do it again! :)))
B.

Christmas in July ...

2007-07-23T18:14:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

I announced it already ... the confused Germans, Austrians, Italians an others of this world had a Christmas Party just 2 days ago, aka “Christmas-in-July” event :)

We met at Kath’s and Nadja’s nicely decorated house, had some excellent (German) mulled wine (aka Glühwein), (American) egg-nogg, (Austrian) Christmas bickies (aka cornflakes confect and rum balls), and several other delicious snacks …

… and – the highlight of the evening, absolutely hilarious – the “Christkindl” game …

Everybody had to bring a small, wrapped present which was place on a table (under the imaginary tree ;) … then everybody drew a number … number 1 starts by choosing any present on the table an unwrapping it … then nr 2 … but nr 2 has a “second chance” … he/she can choose either the present recently unwrapped or that one from nr 1 if liked better … and so on …

Alvaro, Raf, Cristian, and Davide @ the game

You see: the higher the number, the better the chances to “trade (or steal)” your preferred present!

Alvaro & Nadja in Christmas fever

The whole game was hilarious!!! I finally went home with some cocktail mixing utensils but we had some other great presents such as a whole, fresh squid, salmon, $10, earrings, chocolate, a pumpkin, small booklets, champagne, frisbee, colorful striped "toe-socks", …

We had sooooooooooo much fun – you can’t imagine!

Came home around 3am in the morning and had to get up at 9am for a syndicate meeting on Sunday morning … you can guess how tired I was …

but IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH IT!!!!

So, that’s all for now … have a week of work on before heading to Falls Creek for Skiing on Friday!

Keep you updated!
B.

Lucky Pot @ Vixs

2007-07-21T15:57:00.000+10:00

Hey all,

my party weekend started yesterday with a „lucky pot“ event at Vixs awesome house in Toorak. Everyone brought a preferably homemade dish … something like a small international food festival … we ended up having “mainly a dessert buffet” …

List of foods/tastes available:

friands from Fahad (Qatar, or actually Australian – the friands I mean ;)
chocolate-coconut cake by Fay (Singapore)
rice pudding & creamy chicken from Nadia and Ameel (Pakistan)
mini-cakes, French liver patee & cheese from Vinnie (Belgium) & Verica (Australia, Serbia)
spicy Indian rice + sauce from TT (India)
Japanese pancakes with seadfood from Vixs (Australia)
couldn't resist to contribute my famous Topfenpalatschinken

You can see, a very good mixture … and it tasted really great, awesome, fantastic! Love it!

Tonight we will continue partying with a “Christmas in July” event and Nadja’s … looking forward to that … will be fun!

So, need to get going and get some work done before tonight.

Cu all soon!
B.

Busy, very busy, extremly busy times ...

2007-07-18T23:50:00.000+10:00

... times are busy right now ... this term was supposed to be a light one … don’t know how I got myself into such trouble regarding assignments … have 3! due tomorrow and yesterday I decided on extremely short notice – not that I didn’t have enough to do already – to write-up the case for today’s Negotiations class … well, it won’t get any easier if I leave the write up for the last case – and it would be due next Wednesday anyway… also, have some more assignments to be done before I leave for some winter-fun …

… we want to go skiing and snowboarding next week … well, still haven’t booked that and we are currently discussing whether to trade New Zealand’s “Treble Cone” for Victoria’s “Falls Creek” … would allow our friend Fahad to join as well … being from Bahrain/Qatar and traveling on an Indian passport, he needs a visa for New Zealand and that doesn’t work as fast as we would like … well, traveling on an EU passport Nadja and I don’t need to worry about things like a visa for NZ ;) … however, my snow gear arrived today, thanks homewards :) – so, I’m ready! whazz up, guys?

... socially busy weekend ahead ...
Friday: dinner party at Vixs (will hopefully be an extension of our private international food festival)
Saturday: "Christmas in July" party at Nadja & Kath's

will keep you updated!
off to make some x-mas bickies now ... ok, ok, you got me, going to bed now and bake cookies tomorrow ;)
B.

Beautiful Bendigo ...

2007-07-18T23:38:00.000+10:00

Robinette and Bob took me to Bendigo last Saturday. It was planned that my friend Nadja joins but unfortunately she got the flue … get better soon, Nadja!

Anyway, I had a great day … first a 1.5 hour drive through beautiful – and currently green – Victorian countryside, then the lovely, and for Australia historical, city of Bendigo.

Tram Museum, Bendigo

First I went with Robinette and her grandsons Thomas and Jack on the historical tram on an “overview” sightseeing ride, including a visit of the tram-museum. Then, after a quick lunch, we headed off to the Chinese Dragon Museum. Yeah, you won’t believe it but Bendigo, in the middle of Victoria has a Chinese history as a gold town. Every year at Easter, all the dragons from the museum (except the really, really, really big one participate in a parade). Then, after a stop at the air-castle (well, not for me, as much as I would have liked that ;) we did a quick shopping tour and both Robinette and me found a present – Robinette for the wedding of her nice and I for my friend Karen’s birthday …

Bendigo - historical building and tram

We headed back to Melbourne later that afternoon, to be back at a reasonable time to allow me to do part of my work …

Robinette and Bob:
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I had a great day and I’m happy to see a bit more of Victoria, finally!

Robinette with Thomas and Jack
in the Garden of the Chinese Dragon Museum

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that at our way back to Melb we saw the most beautiful rain bow(s) ever ... sometimes one going all the way through, sometimes two ... and all in the brightest colors you can imagine!

Dundenong and others ...

2007-07-09T18:48:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

had a good weekend ...

Friday, Z hat a party at her place in Fitzroy ... it was a combined housewarming, fare-well, 4-th-July, etc. party … had a great time and was laughing all evening :) Z is leaving to meet her family in India and won't return until most of us left the country.

Saturday was a work day. Yep, even I have to work sometimes and currently it’s pretty stressful as some assignments and presentations are due soon (and I want to go skiing in 3 weeks)

Sunday I met with Vixs, Elissa and a friend of Vixs from Hong Kong and we drove up to the Dundenongs, that’s part of Melbourne’s country side. There are some really nice art shops up there, those kinds of shops where you buy presents. Before heading home we had a lovely afternoon tea in one of the Devonshire Tea Houses up there (including some awesome scones). As usual Sunday ended with “beautiful Sunday”, yesterday at Nadja’s.

So, that’s all in short – I’m off to the gym now.
Cu
B.

Time is flying ...

2007-07-05T18:05:00.000+10:00

Not a lot is going on here at the moment (except of the time flying by) ... my courses are running fine, one is finished, 3 are still running. … have a queue of assignments to be handed in soon (including my take-home exam for Product Management) … finally finished all bidding rounds for my subjects in Rotterdam ... will do Supply Chain Management, International Financial Management, Entrepreneurship, Advanced Marketing, Sustainability, and Management Control Systems ... I know that sounds a lot but it should be a manageable workload and - best of all - in December I will have only one class a week ... that leaves me with time to travel all over Europe and dive into the "real" x-mas feeling which I was missing last Christmas (actually, I rather have it now, my friend Nadja from Munich even thinks about a "Christmas event in July" ;)

People started to leave, some of my colleagues are already done with their term through 1^st half intensive subjects and left to spend some time with their families and friends at home … will have Z’s fare-well party tomorrow night and a birthday party next Friday (unfortunately will have also class that night)

Plan to go skiing/snowboarding to New Zealand end of the month … looking forward to that … we’ll go to Wanaka on the South Island …Treble Cone or TC is known as one of NZ’s best slopes…

BTW … did I tell u about the Peruvian lunch I was invited to at Alejandro’s? It was great, never really had Peruvian food before … some raw fish “cooked” in lime juice, then creamy chicken with rice and eggs and finally strawberries :) very good, extremely yummy! :)

Ocean's 13

2007-06-27T16:46:00.000+10:00

Had a really good evening yesterday ... first, good sushi and cake with Fay and then Ocean's 13 with Nadja ... definitely recommendable - we had a good laugh!

What happened in the last few days?

2007-06-09T12:39:00.000+10:00

On Friday I met my sister Dagmar’s friend Sandra, her friend, and a couple of my friends at the pub James Squire on Russel (between Lt. Collins & Bourke). We had a really good evening.

On Saturday I first was in class for product management and then did some syndicate work on our presentation for Wednesday. Later that evening I went out for dinner and cocktails to Lygon St with a friend … very enjoyable evening.

On “beautiful Sunday” (all our favorite soaps in sequence – “Ugly Betty”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “What about Brian”) and Nadja and me made an Austrian/German dinner for the girls – Semmelknödel with Schwammerlgulasch and Donauwellen for desert. Yum!

On Monday, we kept partying ;) – after a work-some day (again prep for presentation) we had uni-sponsored drinks and then – with Nadja and Wally - a lovely dinner at my fav thai place – Lhana Thai @ Flemington.

On Tuesday – you won’t believe it – I finalized my travel plans and booked my ticket to go back to Austria. On 19 August I will fly to Bangkok, stay for a night and arrive in Vienna on 22 August. :)

Wednesday – finally, presentation in the evening for our product management class. Went really well – we had the best slides so far in the program and we also did an excellent job presenting. One of the comments we received was “I did already 18 courses in my MBA program and this was the best presentation I’ve seen so far” Well, thank you – whoever that was!!!

Thursday – nothing mentionable happened ;)

On Friday – yesterday – I helped Nadja to move to her new place. Lot’s of boxes to move up and down (we used the dual moving approach: Adrian moved from Nadja’s new place to her old and vice versa, so we had all the time a full car and boxes to be moved up and other boxes to be moved down again.)

Btw: we attended a really funny comedy show that day as well: when moving we had the car in the garage when these ladies in their BMW X5 (huge car) came along and wanted to park in one of the spots. Well, I don’t know what their problem was (neither Adrian nor Nadja or me would have had a problem to park that car in there) but well she somehow was not able to maneuver the car in that spot … the other women tried to advise her where to go (but I doubt she really knew what she did) … we watched for quite a while … by the time we left to finish our box-moving activities she was in a position we couldn’t believe she got herself in and it looked very difficult for her to get out of it again. Well, when we returned she was gone … *ggg*

Well, Saturday, tonight we’re invited at Davide’s for an original Italian risotto from our Italian friend. Heard he is an excellent cook … looking forward to that …

Last Weekend ...

2007-05-30T21:54:00.000+10:00

Friday
Went to see a play at the Union Theatre of The University of Melbourne: Max Frisch’s „Die Brandstifter” aka „The Fireraisers“. I had a great cultural evening with Nadja and Fahad and some awesome cocktails on Lygon afterwards.

Saturday
Going to be late and raising early to prepare for Saturday’s afternoon class “Product Management” doesn’t blend very well together … well, somehow I survived the afternoon and attended a very pleasurable dinner party at Risha’s. A great evening with fun people and excellent Pakistani food & Australian wine :)

Sunday
Got a good walk down to Vic market – got set up for winter (bought a very warm, very Australian pair of sheepskin shoes :) spend the afternoon with Robinette at Koko Black, Melbourne’s best place for chocolate. We indulged in a hot chocolate and a “Belgian spoil” (chocolate mousse & ice cream, chocolate cake and shortbread, & Belgian chocolates). Yumm! Finally, had a “beautiful Sunday” with a beautiful dinner at Nadja’s.

Was a really good weekend ...

WA

2007-05-21T19:12:00.000+10:00

The second week of my break I spend in Western Australia (WA) … I had my flight to Mauritius anyway via Perth, so I stopped over there … I spend a couple of days in Perth, power shopping and once more sightseeing (have been in Perth for the first time about 2 years ago)

Perth - London Court

On Thursday jumped on a car and made my way south to Margaret River where I stayed in a backpackers right on the beach (Surfside Lodge).

On Friday I made my way south to Augusta and visited Australia’s most south-westerly point which is marked by a lighthouse. Cape Leeuwin is were the Indian and the Southern Ocean meet. You can see what big power that waters there have, huge surf, swelling over rocks …

Cape Leeuwin Light House - where Indian & Southern Ocean meet

Margaret River region is not only known for its world-class surf but also for its wines … on Saturday I indulged in a day-long wine-tasting tour and couldn’t resist to buy several bottles of great wine … which nearly brought me into trouble when I tried to take them on as hand-luggage … however, everything worked out just fine finally …

Sunset @ Ellensbrook

On Sunday I made my way back to Perth, stopping once again in Busselton which has this nice jetty … had a breakfast there before I hurried back to Perth. Came home late on Sunday night … uni started today … anyway, will take it easy this term (think I mentioned that about last term also ;) …

The Jetty in Busselton

Mauritius

2007-05-21T18:55:00.000+10:00

I probably mentioned that my friend Karen invited me for her wedding in Mauritius. Of course, I thought a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and went on this adventure.

We were there for about a week and it was a week-long party. All their friends and relatives … we stayed in a apartment block in Flic-en-Flac. The wedding was on Friday at sunset on the beach. Several marquises were set up … Karen and David looked beautiful/handsome and it was a great and emotional ceremony. The reception was at a hotel close by where we celebrated and danced the whole evening! Thanks a lot!

The rest of the week flew by with scuba diving (nice but not as impressive as I expected it to be), shopping, visits to Port Luis, Mauritius’ capital city, and the Isle of stags which had fantastic beaches and a lot of adventurous activities such as parasailing or banana-boating. However, Karen and me enjoyed a long walk on the beach to the very “end” of the island. There is and “end” because one side of the island is a private golf course and can therefore not be walked on.

I had a great week! Loved it!!!!

Mauritius - Isle of Stags

A wedding picture of the happy couple will be uploaded soon ...

Exams, EOT-Party & MBS Ball

2007-05-21T18:24:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

sorry, I neglected my blog a bit over the last month. First I was a bit stressed out for exams prep and exams themselves and then I was 2 weeks on vacation and not on a computer at all :)

Will write a couple of postings to update you on major happenings since then …

Exams were exhausting but went well … however, I was once again brain-dead at Friday … had my last (out of 4) sit-in exams on Friday morning and in the afternoon I had to finish my Brand Management take-home exam. Take-home exam means it’s a report to write and hand-in. Well, was a lot of work but I was finally satisfied with the result …

Went for a quick drink down to the Corkman (the MBS standard pub down the road) and caught up with Karen for a drink before she left for Mauritius …

Later that evening the legendary EOT-Party (End Of Term) was going on in a location somewhere downtown … it was great and I had a lot of fun, BUT I was sooooo tremendously tired, I left around 10.30pm and went to bed straight away. After all, I had to be ready for the MBS ball the next evening.

Those of my class who attended the MBS Ball

The MBS ball was in the Westin Plaza, a function room of the Melbourne Westin Hotel, downtown. The location was so beautiful, we had a great 3-course dinner, and a live Salsa-band playing. A night dancing, having fun, eating delicious food, … and also saying good-bye to all those people who graduated this May … we had a great evening and will remember that forever (or at least till next year when we will be graduating and top this event ;)

Fay, Fahad & Birgit @ MBS Ball

Birgit & Davide @ MBS Ball

Miscellaneous evening activities ...

2007-04-23T14:40:00.000+10:00

Fiesta Latina ...
... Salsa dancing the whole evening ... Yep! That’s an evening that I really liked! :)

Learning "How to Juggle" …
… I started once a week to learn how to juggle ... the first evening, I played the diabolo for more than an hour and am now able to throw (and catch) it ... second time, I started on the "juggling thing" ... amazing how much you can learn within an hour ... and how hard work it is ... and how much fun it is ... :)

Cinema with Fay …

… “Je T’Aime Paris” … several short (love) stories in Paris … different kind of movie … BUT nonetheless, very enjoyable …

PJ O’Brien …
… on Saturday night meeting (nearly all) my class mates at the Irish Pub PJ O’Brien at Southbank (one of Melbourne’s nr-1-going-out areas) … had a great evening and left early enough to be ready for a tough 2-hour aerobic session the Sunday morning …

OpSimCom

2007-04-18T21:59:00.000+10:00

OpSimCom? What is that?

It is a online competition from the MIT in Boston, US. It actually is a online-simulation game to manage a factory over a simulated 250 days (24 hours a day for 3 days in real life). Well, we dominated the game about 95% of the time, we managed our debt, inventory, machines, reorder quantities and reorder point, etc. really well but in the end (because of unreal assumptions in how the game works) we plummeted at place 32 of more than 60 teams … well, it was a good experience anyway. I really got hooked on that game (one night my “shift” ended at 9pm, I stayed & played till 2am!, even though I'm usually not a "computer game player") and definitely learned a lot. It was heaps of fun!!!

Easter Break

2007-04-09T19:55:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

it’s Easter Monday, 8pm ... Easter break is therefore over but it was GREAT.

I hardly studied - not that this is not necessary this term but I needed a break (and I strongly believe I earned it!).

Thursday night
My friend Elissa had a party at her place to celebrate her birthday in particular and Easter in general. She booked a function room in her apartment complex as her apartment is too small for soooo many people. What no-one told her is, that after 11pm no-one can access that room anymore (some kind of security system with the elevators that allow you only to go to the floor you’re living on). So, we had a hard time to move around after 11pm and at about 12.30am security threw us really out … we moved 3 floors down into her apartment (by that time the number of people shrank to a manageable level). Anyway – a GREAT evening!

Friday night
Had Nadja and Fahad over for Nadja’s birthday present – Topfenpalatschinken. We had some great salmon with fruit salad as entrée and then the main, Topfenpalatschinken. Was also a very relaxing evening …

We learned some new cultural things from Qatar, e.g. that for weddings Qatari have stuffed camel which is grilled in the dessert. And that works as follows:
Eggs are boiled and stuffed into a chicken … the chicken is cooked and stuffed into a sheep … the sheep is cooked and stuffed into a camel … and finally, the camel gets on a huge barbie in the dessert (obviously no-one has a kitchen big enough to cook a camel ;)

Saturday night
Went with some of my friends here first to a Wine Bar (Jwow again ;) and then to a Jazz Club where an excellent group was playing … Really enjoyable as well!!!

Sunday night
After an afternoon hike in the Dundenong Ranges with Karen and Najda, we had an excellent, mouthwatering Mauritian chicken-curry at Karen’s place and a hilarious round of Monopoly. Karen won, then Nadja and Birgit … and David and Davide were bankrupt before the end of the game … Haven't played Monopoly in ages and definitely loved it!

Monday night
Meeting at uni for OpSimCom … boring … let you know more in the next days …

Cu
B.

… with a good ending

2007-04-01T22:45:00.000+10:00

Finally, at 4.30pm I went with Davide and Fay to Brunetti’s, a famous coffee & cake shop at Lygon Street, Melbourne’s ‘Little Italy’, very relaxing … met Thanuja, Sunand, Fahad and a couple of other colleagues for a Lebanese dinner … also, very good and very relaxing …

Yesterday, Saturday, I went with Fay, Alvaro, and Davide to see the musical ‘Miss Saigon’. I liked the show a lot. Afterwards we were invited to Fay’s flatemate’s barbie … good food, nice people, lot of fun (put my newly developed Salsa skills into place! :)

Today went for a walk, it was a fabulous day, excellent weather. In the afternoon I was invited to our second engagement party of my colleague Paul from England. It was down at St. Kilda Beach in a really nice restaurant. Debra’s, Paul’s fiancée, brother was playing with his band. It was a really great evening …

This weekend definitely made up for the troublesome week … :)

A horrible week ...

2007-03-31T23:32:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

Had a horrible week - with a really crazy Friday … was completely done by Friday evening …

on Thursday, I worked on our Business Strategy assignment first (due on Friday), then on our stock picking competition with Fahad (don’t ask me why I signed up for that?!?), then a bit studying for EPP(Economics & Public Policy, aka Macroeconomics), then again Strategy till they threw us out at uni at 10.30pm, went home and done some more studying till 1.30am. Got up early and done even more studying (& still felt not well prepared) – then EPP mid-term exam on Friday and after that (you guessed right) Strategy again … started a new document from scratch and pulled everything the team members kept sending me together … finished right in time 3.55 when the assignment was due at 4pm.

Even tough I usually stay calm even when under pressure … this was really though (finally not the best we/I ever done but at least something I could live with) … I was so busy, I not even recognized that I forgot to eat since breakfast!

Nadja's Birthday

2007-03-31T23:09:00.000+10:00

Last week Friday – I know long ago – I was invited at Nadja’s place to celebrate her birthday. A couple of friends were partying in a beautiful CBD apartment. We had a really great evening … as a birthday present I will invite her for Topfenpalatschinken next week at my place …

Update

2007-03-20T23:46:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone,

it's me ... again ... ;)

what happened in the last time?

my notebook's hard-drive crashed last week ... at least, it is still under warranty ... got my computer in service for the last couple of days ... and now it takes me forever as it seems to get back to the pre-crash status ... also, I had good luck and hardly lost any data! (or maybe nothing at all as my colleague Raj might be able to retrieve the rest of the data as well)
Without a computer I'm an absolute nothing here at the MBA ... :(
yesterday we were notified about our exchange program ... I'm going to Rotterdam! Yes! Looking forward to that a lot! :) Seems, my class is mainly going to be scattered around Europe and in the Big Apple ...
Regarding internship - no news ... except of having an interview next Thursday with seek.com, Australia's leading job searching portal
had my first mid-term exam yesterday - Managing Processes (or Operations Mgmt) ... went well I believe ... have a good feeling ...
started with my 5th subject today - Brand Management ... very interesting, good lecturer ... like it heaps! :)
had Karen and Davide over for dinner tonight ... made a good Austrian-Australian dinner, Topfennockerl and my favorite Australian desert, a pav. Yumm ...

Well, guess that's all for now ... will work a bit further on my computer ;)
cu
B.

Phillip Island

2007-03-10T09:44:00.000+11:00

As you all know my friend Nadia from Paris is/was here in Australia and after her brother wedding and a couple of days in Sydney she came back and stayed the last couple of days with me. On Thursday I finally shuffled a couple of appointments and joined her for a day trip to Phillip Island, a must-see in Melbourne. It was very good to flee from my odd day-to-day business of studying, studying, and – you guessed right – studying. Phillip Island is known for its large Little Penguin colonies. These are the worlds smallest penguins. And, something I didn’t know before that tour, Phillip Island is the second biggest tourist attraction in

Australia

after the Ayers Rock!

Tasmanian Devil

We visited a wildlife park first, saw some wombats, roos, tasmanian devils, and koalas. Then we went on a lovely beach, usually the best surf beach on Phillip Island but the surf was way too big, so we “just” enjoyed this lovely natural spectacle and a good walk on the beach … Then we went to Seal Rock on the west coast of the island. Seals are supposed to be scattered all over that rock, in the water, just everywhere … well, non of us saw a single seal – probably they were hiding ;)

Phillip Island

And finally, we arrived at Penguin Parade. They built a stadium there for all the tourists to easy watch the penguins coming back from their daily food hunt. They come in groups of 10-15 surfing on the beach on a wave … usually suddenly one panics and all are running back to the sea … this happens for about 3 times and then they make their way across the beach (that’s the most dangerous part of their day). We watched them for a while in the freezing cold stadium and then we made our way along the wooden board walk where you can see them really close and finding their partner at their burrow. They are really cute and way smaller than you’d expect.

We had a great day!

Little Penguin
(not my picture because no photography permitted on site)

Wine Appreciation @ Jwow

2007-03-10T09:40:00.000+11:00

Now we are finally coming to the real, important stuff to learn in a MBA program …

Last Tuesday we were in a nice, little wine bar (Jwow) downtown Melbourne to learn about “Entertaining for business or for pleasure. Which wines to choose?” Roz, the manager of JWow, was leading through an evening of enjoyable wine tasting but also passed on her knowledge about how to open a champagne or wine bottle in style and what to look for in different wines. How to find out which wine to order at a business dinner or which wine to chose to complement certain food.

All together, very interesting, had a lot of fun – an enjoyable evening!

Miscellaneous

2007-02-23T22:53:00.000+11:00

Hi there,

I know I haven’t been writing in a loooong time … but there is nothing special happening!

Ok, just the latest news:

Was on cool party last Friday. Colleagues from the last January 06 intake invited to join forces with us – the September 06 intake – as well as with the new people from the new January 07 intake. I really enjoyed it a lot! It was hilarious!
My friend Nadia from Paris is currently visiting Australia and is staying with me between her travels and the wedding of her brother. Enjoy having her here, she is my first visitor since I’m here and that’s now already 7 months!
Nearly crashed on the bike yesterday into a car’s door … seen myself already in there (the driver did not look and just swung the door open on to the bike path right in front of me). Thanks to braking hard, screaming, and the guy having a good reaction I just managed to pass … puh, that was close!
I finished the first 3 weeks of the new term … tried to take it easier this term and that worked – so far at least. But now, the pressure starts creeping in … need to do a lot of reading as well as working on upcoming assignments. This term I have mainly 4 different groups for my currently 4 subjects. The 5th subject – Brand Management - is coming in the second half of the term as an intense … means a full day every week! Btw. I founded my own scuba diving club ... it's called Scuba Diving Society @ MBS ... looking forward to some awesome diving!
Working currently on my applications for an internship (May to August) as well as on the application for the exchange program (September to December). Changed my mind about the ranking of my preferred schools lately. Currently, London Business School is my number 1. Nevertheless, there will be tough competition and I definitely will be also happy to go to RSM in Rotterdam or probably to Spain. Let’s see what’s happening next!
And – I know you were waiting for that ;) - the weather again: currently it’s sooo hot, hope that is over soon!

So, guess that’s all from the last view weeks ...

Cu
B.

Back in Melb and @ Uni

2007-02-11T16:28:00.000+11:00

Hi *,

Time is passing really quickly … have the feeling I just came back from Tassie and 2 weeks are already gone ...

The last week in January we had “Careers Week” at uni where different companies present and students are able to meet with company representatives for informal chats to find out more. As most of you know, I want to go for an internship from May to August and therefore I’m looking at interesting employer. Up to now, my application process didn’t go very far – I just filed one application for ANZ bank and received an answer last Friday – I’m invited for an interview next Tuesday!

Last week was the first week of uni. I will take the 3 remaining core subjects Managing Processes, Business Strategy, and EPP (Economics and Public Policy, some kind of macro economics course). In addition I’ll have 2 elective subjects which will be Corporate Finance and Brand Management (the latter will be intensive second half of the term, therefore I start with only 4 subjects). Try to take it a bit easier this term – should be able to prioritize my studies to get the most out of it in the shortest possible time, say “work smarter, not harder”. Let’s see how that goes …

Yesterday, Robinette invited me for lunch. I took my bike with me on the train and made my way back from Wheelers Hill to North Melbourne on the Scottsman Creek Trail. At the start in Glen Waverly it is a really nice, off-road (but still paved) track along the creek. More towards the city center of Melbourne it gets more and more along streets and also more crowded. Nevertheless, I had a good 35km ride (altogether I rode my bike yesterday for 42km) … will take a break today …

Talk to you soon again.
B.

Back to Hobart

2007-02-02T11:32:00.000+11:00

Friday, 26 January 2007

left Bridport and made my way towards Hobart …

First stop: Lavender Farm – went on a small tour and walk around the farm …
Next stops: Campbell Town, Ross, Oatlands, Jericho, Kempton, Bagdad and Brighton – all with more (or less) historical town centers as well as some old bridges (mainly built by convicts in the mid 19^th century)
Last stop: Allport Hostel in North Hobart (for a “big” city hostel not bad at all)

Ross - Historical Bridge

Saturday, 27 January 2007

Visit Salamanca Market downtown Hobart
Stroll through the city center
Flight back to Melb late afternoon
Meet Janet, Andy, and Wally for “Departed” at the “Moonlight Cinema” in Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens

Tasmania III - Scottsdale & Launceston

2007-01-30T17:49:00.000+11:00

Scottsdale Eco Forest Center

Next day (25 Jan) I had my first stop in Scottsdale where I visited the very impressing “Eco Forest Center”. It is build to use as low energy as possible (just about 20% of a usual office building) … it’s more or less a house within another house with a computer controlled ventilation system. Next stop was Launceston, the second largest city in Tassie … and then, to do a bit more walking, the Tasman Island Wetland Reserve. There you can see all different kinds of birds, including pelicans!

On my way back to Bridport I stopped to at a PYO (pick your own) blueberry farm … I was told the minimum is 1kg and I have 40 mins to go … ok, even though I just wanted a handful of blueberries for my breakfast next day, I picked a little bit more than a kilo in 20 mins … they were really yummy but I had to eat (or give away) them within the next 2 days because I’m not allowed to bring any fresh fruits or veggies over to mainland Australia.

Was not a problem to eat’em all :)

Ok, ok, just gave some away as well ;)

Tasmania II - Freycinet NP to Bridport

2007-01-30T17:44:00.000+11:00

Ok, I said I shouldn’t overdo it the next day … I was recommended to the off-shore walk in Bicheno (which I partly did but wasn’t as good to walk at all – a bit rocky most of the time) … then I went to the Bicheno Aquarium which is tiny (just about 3 tanks a 2 small aquariums) but has a lot to see (little sharks, seahorses, …) … and finally on a glass-bottom boat (I saw mainly kelp …) … at around 4.30pm I decided I had enough rest and my ankle felt good as well so I went on the Bluestone Bay walk. And it was really good – as it could be also driven by a 4WD (most of it even with a standard 2WD) it was a pretty easy walk of 60 mins return. Glad I did it!

The next day (24 Jan) I made my way up north. First stop was the Douglas-Ashley NP. I turned into the small road towards the NP and guess what crossed my way: an ECHIDNA (looks a bit like a hedgehog)!!! I visited the Ashley River Waterholes which are well known for their blue water.

Echidna

Next stop was the Bay of Fires just north of St. Helens. Then I turned west and visited St. Columba Falls, the highest falls in Tasmania … went on a dirt road for the next 20km and on to the next falls … Ralph Falls and made my way walking back via a gorge and another 20km on another dirt road …

I reached Bridport late afternoon and stayed there for 2 nights in a backpackers (Bridport Seaside Lodge) with the most comfortable beds ever!

Tasmania I - up to Freycinet NP

2007-01-23T12:13:00.001+11:00

Upon landing in Hobart I got my car (finally the small car as booked :) and made my way north towards Tasmania's east coast. Made a stop in Richmond, the village with the historical bridge and went further up to Triabunna where I stayed for the night. Then drove further up to Bicheno and the Freycinet National Park. I had a lovely hike first to the Wineglass Bay Lookout and then down to the beach at Wineglass Bay. Spend some time down there building a sand sculpture ;) and saw apotteroo (this is like a mixture of a cangoroo and a rat, say a very small cangoroo ). Then went to see a light house ... the views, scenery, landscapes are excellent here - will have a couple of new good pictures :)

Wineglass Bay

In the evening (after 9.30pm) I went just down the road to the coast to see the penguins ... I was told you might see 1 or 10 or maybe nothing ... was hoping to see something ... and I did ... upon arrival on the blow hole I turned left and walked over the stones a bit further (not much) and sat down and waited ... and then they came ... 4 passed me pretty close and once I laid down (to see all the stars and some kind of comet!) I came really close, just about 2 arm lengths away. When the shine of a torch of someone out there hit him he turned and ran away ... then I made my way back but - I couldn't find the entrance anymore ... everything looks the same ... first trial, I've seen some more penguins, obviously a small colony, I didn't want to walk through there and thought the entrance/exit must be anyway a bit further ... next possibility jumped up on a rock just to find myself in front of a wall of very closely grown trees - no exit here ... when I turned to go further, I tripped in the dark and twisted my ankle - Oh no, not on my second day! ... at least I was still able to walk, so made my way back to the colony and took that path there ... suddenly, there came three penguin chicks towards me, looked at me ... they are so cute! ... made my way past them. And my orientation was right, the exit would have been further down, just a bit more ...

At least hurting myself was worth it! :)

So, my plans for today are somehow cancelled. Wanted to walk to Blue Stones which is a 4WD-road which I would wanted to walk as well as towards Hazard Beach ... should not overdo it today otherwise I won't be able to walk for the rest of my holiday. However, it is really difficult to find something to do in Tasmania that doesn't involve walking ... Tasmania is not made for sitting still!

Short Break in Melb

2007-01-23T11:36:00.000+11:00

Dear all,

spend just 3 days in Melbourne. Arrived back from New Zealand on Thursday morning, thanks to a 6.30am flight, really early.

Met our new January intake for a party on Melbourne Business School's Mount Eliza campus (that's the management education campus where only short programs for executives are held) ... really nice. Our new mates had a sand castle competition (sand castle that has "something to do with Australia") on the beach while my intake just relaxed. The competition turned out to be really tough as several good ideas were around. Finally, a huge crocodile won against the Sydney Opera House, several Australian maps, and cangoroos. It was a good day, good to catch up with my friends as well as meet the new people ...

On Saturday I did absolutely nothing as it rained the whole day. Actually, that was really good as it was way to hot on Thursday and Friday anyway (I'm happy I missed the 40 degree Celsius on Tuesday!)

On Sunday noon I had my flight to Tasmania and landed there around 2pm ... let the adventure begin ...

Wellington - The Windy City

2007-01-17T18:38:00.000+11:00

Hey *,

3.5 weeks gone in no time ... for this trip it's my last day in New Zealand, I'll fly back to Melbourne tomorrow early morning.

I stayed here in Wellington once more in a really nice backpacker (World Wide Backpackers) - very amazing how good it was, especially as those backpackers in bigger cities are more often not as good as those around the countryside. Also here, nice rooms, good beds, free internet, free local calls, ...

Did a lot of walking

through the city
along the harbor side
through the botanical gardens (although I took the cable car up and down again)
through Te Papa (Maori for "My Place"), the National Museum of New Zealand (free entry!)
through the Beehive (the NZ parliament where I did a guided tour (also for free))

As you can imagine I loved my stay in New Zealand - the perfect holiday! Looking forward to coming back soon again (hope this time it won't take nearly 5 years to return ;) I definitely feel re-vitalized and come back with a lot of energy for term 2 starting in 2 weeks, beginning of February ... but before I"ll have another week of vacation in Tasmania ... :))

Keep you updated.
B.

Napier

2007-01-15T13:11:00.000+11:00

12-15 January 2007

Napier is a beautiful art deco town. It got rebuilt within just 2 years after it got destroyed in the big Hawke's Bay earthquake in 1931. I did the "art deco walk" as well as a visit to the NANZ (National Aquarium of New Zealand). I drove to Hastings and Havelock North (this tiny little village has the highest number of millionaires per capita but was otherwise a bit disappointing).

Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's second largest wine region (after Marlborough on the northern end of the south island). It has some of the oldest vineyards ... I discovered this vine region with a twilight wine tour. We started in a brewery to taste beer and then had our first dish, a gourmet platter with different wines to match the food at one of the well-known vineyards in the region. Then we went up on the peak of Te Mata which is according Maori legends a rock-eating giant which died on kind of contest and is since lying there. Even tough the weather was not that good (slight rain) we've seen a lovely sunset ... Next we had our main dish in the vineyard with the oldest vineyard-restaurant and ended the tour at New Zealand's oldest winery Mission Estate with the most beautiful desert! :)
All together, interesting and excellent tour!!! :))

I stayed in Napier right downtown at Wally's Backpackers, the Mercedes under the backpackers ;) Very comfy beds, big rooms with few people, excellent kitchen, free internet, ...

This morning I drove all the way down to Wellington (ca. 320km and 4.5 hours - very winding roads, lots of villages & awesome scenery) ... will stay here the last 3 days of this trip! Looking forward to explore the "windy city"...

Ciao
B.

Lake Taupo

2007-01-13T13:37:00.000+11:00

10-12 January 2007

Changed my travel route on very short notice once I heard that it will be about 7 hours driving time from Whakatane to Napier via Gisborne. Went through Rotorua to Lake Taupo instead. Taupo is considered to be the action capital of New Zealand's North Island.

Originally, while in Taupo wanted to do the Tongarino Crossing (7-8 hours hike in the Mount Tongarino National Park is said to be the best 1-day hike in NZ). When I arrived in my hostel (Sunset Lodge about 3km outside the city center, lovely small, friendly house) I was told that the next day would be the only day that week to do it due to weather conditions ... but I was not ready to do it the next day ... will have to come back to do it ;)

Nevertheless, I took it easy, went on some awesome thermal walks, to the "Hidden Valley" and the Hukka Falls. When the "big" rain started I went a bit downtown Taupo and then I hit the road to make my way to Napier...

BTW: some really excellent, adventurous hiking with awesome, breath-taking views and scenery here on the North Island - and the South Island is supposed to be even better ... want to do that next year same time. :)

Next year, South Island, 3-4 weeks, who wants to join in?!?
I'm sure you'll love New Zealand, too!!! :))

Bay of Plenty II

2007-01-09T16:31:00.000+11:00

8-10 January

Arrived Whakatane (say "Fo-ka-ta-nee") yesterday and checked into a brand new backpackers (not even open for a week - Merritt Whakatane Backpackers). Went scuba diving today to the White Island which is New Zealand's only active marine volcano. It was excellent, absolutely awesome, brilliant! Seen Murray eals, scorpion fish & nudi branch. :) To get up sooo early (especially in my break) was definitely worthwhile! :) Had a great time and just made it in time ... this was the last trip before the bad weather (which actually finally arrived - it's pooring down). Tomorrow will be a driving day again ... will make my way via a gorge towards Gisborne and then to Napier where I want to stay for a night before moving on to Lake Taupo (kind of a action sport capital of the north island)

Did I tell you that I almost did a very spontainious sky dive? But only almost ... and that's another story ...

Talk to you soon again.
B.

Rotorua

2007-01-09T16:09:00.000+11:00

5-8 January

Checked in Rotorua into the Spa Lodge - a tiny, but really nice backpackers directly in the town center. Rotorua is well known for the sulfur thermal hot springs which creates the typical "evil eggy smell" ...

Went to Waimangu, a volcanic valley, had a good 2 hour walk/hike alongside all of those bubbling and sizzeling hot water (mud) pools and geysers. Done the 45 mins boat tour and then didn't take the shuttle bus back but walked the whole track back ... that was really good :)

Met Dawn & Daniel from Toronto and spent the whole evening playing poker and the next day with them. We had a really "hell" day :) First we went to Hell's Gate, which is a geothermal park and a mud spa. Had a walk first and then some fun in the mud pools - a extremly cold shower afterwards to wash off all the mud and then we were allowed in the thermal pools :) On our way back to town we did pick up a pizza at Hell's pizza - yummy! The evening was rounded by a great kayaking trip to (again) hot water pools which can be reached only via boat. That was a lot of "spa-ing" for one day ... felt asleep in front of the TV at "Ocean's Eleven" ;)

Do you know what a ZORB is?!? No? It's best described as a human washing machine ... and I DID IT! :) - even though I said just 5 days ago "No way I'm doing a Zorb ..." - and it was hilarious or as my new Canadian friends say AWESOME! So much fun! :)) Check it out at www.zorb.com (I did twice the hydra zig-zag zorb)

And as the Polynesian Spa was unfortunately fully booked on Monday I made my way to Whakatane ...

Bay of Plenty I

2007-01-09T16:04:00.000+11:00

4-5 January

Found an excellent walking track right outside Tairua - again a pretty adventurous one (had to jump over several small streams and it was a pretty small track) ... walked it in slightly over an hour whereas it's supposed to take about 1.5 hours. :)

Stayed in Mount Maunganui at the most modern backpackers (Pacific Coast Lodge) I've seen so far. Climbed Mount Maunganui the next day for perfect vistas over the surrounding areas including several vulcanos. Then I made my way down to Rotorua ...

Coromandel Peninsula

2007-01-03T13:41:00.000+11:00

December 28, 2006 - January 4, 2007

Arrived in Coromandel Town (west coast) late afternoon and found myself a bed in a dorm in a small backpacker right in "town" (that's just a few houses, shops, and restaurants ;) Was in a room with Claudi & Markus (from Germany) and Astrid (from Graz!) ... we had a couple of excellent hiking together and it felt like a summer camp ;) We had a great time, also thanks to Markus stand-up comedian of Bully Herbig and "Der Schuh des Manitu". Great!!!

Finally, also spend New Years with them and after another great adventure walk at the Stoney Bay I made my way towards the west coast of Coromandel Peninsula on January 2. Checked with the tourist information center in Whitianga to find a backpackers (originally wanted to stay directly in Whitianga) and was booked into a backpackers about 40 mins drive from there (but it was on my way to Cathedral Cove for diving :) Checking into the "Seabreeze" backpackers which was converted from a milk shed - Guess, whom I met here (and even was staying in the same room with)?!? Markus and Claudi.

New Zealand is a small country!

Went for a dive at Cathedral Cove this morning and to Hotwater Beach in the afternoon. Within a 2-hour window arround low tide it's possible do dig your own pool at the beach and thanks to a hot water spring underneath it's really hot-water (sometimes even boiling) that comes out in these self-made pools :) Went along the beach for a good walk and will check out for a bush walk now ...

Talk to you later again ...

Christmas & Starting my Vacation ...

2006-12-30T10:45:00.000+11:00

Hey all,

What happened the last days …

24 December (our Christmas) Melbourne
Had a nice “Christmas Brunch” with Wally, Patton & Shannon (instead of the traditional Christmas Dinner ;)
Thought I need to do something I definitely couldn’t do at home at Christmas and went for an extended bike ride along the Yarra river.
Finished my Christmas with a good dinner in front of the TV & packing my stuff for my vacation in New Zealand.

25 December (their Christmas) Melbourne - Auckland
Had a flight to Auckland, New Zealand. One of the best flights I had so far, even tough it was heavily delayed due to a non-working baggage handling system on Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport. But – thanks to silver card – I was checked in quickly and got (I don’t know how) a seat in the “Pacific Premier Economy Class” which has a very extended leg space – who needs business class if economy offers that good leg room?
Arrived Auckland really late and then came in a random customs check …

26 –28 December Auckland
Went again up the Sky Tower to enjoy the excellent view over the city – spend the rainy day shopping in Auckland and booked a car to make my way in the next three weeks down to Wellington…
Wanted a tiny car (Toyota Echo) - was told they are all sold out and I will get a economy car (Toyota Corolla) – finally got a big car (Toyota Camry) – but it feels good to know that after not driving for five months I still can just sit in a car and go - even on the wrong side of the road ;)

I'll post some pictures as soon as I'm back in Melbourne (mid to end January)!

To be continued ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2006-12-23T20:39:00.000+11:00

Dear all,

this is my last entry before christmas & I wish you all a
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

All the best.
B.

Christmas Tree in front of Melbourne's City Hall

At the Beach

2006-12-21T18:53:00.000+11:00

Have been out last night. Went to the night market with Janet, Wally, Andy, Patton & Shannon. Night market is at Queen Victoria Market and it’s only on once a week, Wednesday night. They offer food from all over the world and also lot of small shops with everything you never knew exists and you never needed ;)

Today I went for a bike ride with Carol. We went down to St. Kilda – again. Met Julie and Roland, went for a swim and a cool juice in one of the bars with some other guys from MBS. Had a somewhat serious bike ride – though it was way too hot. The water was a more than welcome refreshment …

Will go for Christmas Dinner with Janet and her family and - Hurra - finally, made up my mind about my holidays and booked a ticket to New Zealand for Monday noon … will stay for about 3 weeks … keep you postet!

Melbourne is smoky …

2006-12-20T16:50:00.000+11:00

Up until yesterday everything was fine … but since last night Melbourne is covered in smoke again. Depending on the wind, the smoke of the bush fires is all over the city. The skyline of Melbourne looks like its hiding behind a wall of fog – but it’s all smoke!

Even my forecastfox says “Melbourne: smoky, 27°C”

Went with Janet, Wally, and Andy to the pub on Monday night and today with Janet for lunch in one of the cafes in an alley in downtown Melbourne. We waited for ages to be served, finally ordered and then waited again … finally the waiter came and asked whether we wanna something else or just the bill. We both asked him whether he was kidding – we haven’t eaten yet and would be happy to receive what we ordered – came out he lost our order – well, had cheap drinks then (were free ;)

Wanted to go sailing tonight but it seems due to not so much wind and the smoke this might not be the best idea – will probably go out downtown instead…

Melbourne is cool …

2006-12-20T16:42:00.000+11:00

So, finally, last weekend I got my results – everything went fine! Even Accounting which I was a bit worried about (you might remember everything between “badly failed” and “pretty good”) turned out to be on the upper end of the scale … Now I can really relax and enjoy my holidays.

The last months I thought about Melbourne as “yet another big city” but since I have time to explore it I changed my mind … Melbourne is really cool! :) Melbourne is a city that takes time to find all the small hidden alleys, cafes, nice bars, to explore the beaches and more remote “country side”.

Went last week for the first time to St. Kilda (that’s one of Melbourne’s beaches). A fantastic area with lots of little shops, cafes, and restaurants. It’s well known for its cake shops and the pistachio meringue I had was fantastic. Of course I went there on Thursday evening and it was raining – the first time since I don’t know when… have been there on Sunday again – this time walking along the beach. When I came back I went to the pictures downtown – I saw “The Holiday” … I liked it though one of my colleagues said it depresses her to see other people falling in love so easily ;)

Also on Sunday I was invited at Robinette and Bob’s for an early Christmas Lunch. This is the event where they catch up with family in Melbourne whereas for Christmas they are with their kids and grandkids in Bendigo. It was a traditional Australian Christmas Lunch with Turkey and Christmas Pudding … I loved it! ;)

And – not to forget – I decided it would be a good idea to bring some traditional Austrian Christmas cookies. Yeah, I was busy on Saturday finding all ingredients and making my cookies. However, everyone loved them and has to do a bit extra sports now … *g*

St. Kilda

BBQ @ Albert Park on Sunday

2006-12-11T16:46:00.000+11:00

I know I talk a lot about the weather here but it’s really weird.

As I posted earlier, Victoria was shivering through the coldest November days since 1953 this year. Nevertheless, last week it was the hottest December day since 1959! The weekend was – hard to believe – 40°C. And, the bush fire season started early this year and in the Northeast of Victoria thousands of hectares are on fire – the situation is currently very severe. Even in Melbourne you can see, feel, and smell the results of the fires even though they are hundreds of kilometres away. On the weekend the whole city was covered in smoke, elderly people, kids, and people with asthma were advised to stay inside and strenuous exercise should also not be done … anyway, it was so hot that every move was too much!

“Only the strongest will survive” – that’s what we (Fay, her flatmate, Kirk, Jong, and I) thought and went for a BBQ to Albert Park – Melbourne’s formula-1 race course. Actually, it is rather a park – even with a lake – but once a year formula-1 is having a race there.

We had a lovely BBQ even tough we thought the food is going off before Fay’s friends with the eski arrive. We spend a couple of hours there … still it was too hot to move … BUT in the afternoon – within just a few hours it cooled down to 20°C – perfect! :)

B-Day Soiree

2006-12-11T16:40:00.000+11:00

On Saturday – my first day of holiday – I woke up in the morning … ok, ok … it was around lunch time *ggg* - first day since a couple of weeks or months that I didn’t (have to) go to uni, the first day off since a long time, and – I didn’t really know what to do!?!? And – it also feels a bit strange that I won’t see my colleagues/friends for the next 2 months…

We had three birthdays within a week (of course exam week!) and decided to have a small party together after exams are finished. As we (Janet, Zeenat, and I) were - thanks to exams - a bit unorganized and sent the invitation out pretty late (Saturday afternoon) and it was the second party within a day we celebrated with a small group at the “Belgian Beer Garden”. It is a huge place on the way to St. Kilda beach, similar to Munich’s beer gardens, though way less organized – it takes ages to queue up and get a drink or food …

Nevertheless, we had a great time! :)

B-Day Girls
Zeenat - Birgit - Janet

“The-Day-Term-1-Ended” or “End-of-Term Party”

2006-12-11T16:23:00.000+11:00

Friday – the great relief-day! Exams were over by noon for us and my class met at the Corkman (our standard pub) right after exams finished. A bit later I moved to “Shark Fin House” to Chinatown for an excellent lunch with some of the guys. Fay, Alvaro, Abishek, and I extend our lunch and to a dessert a “Koko Black” – chocolate indulgence at its finest.

Went a bit shopping with Fay but then it was already time to get ready for the big “End-of-Term” party… The party was at the Clyde Hotel close to uni. Good thing it was an outside/inside location and it was a closed function for us only! Was a great party all together! Got a ride home from Chayan on Thanuja’s car … thanks and c’ya all soon or next year!

Birgit - Mathias
Dennis - Joe - Billy

1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 5 … DONE!

2006-12-11T15:16:00.000+11:00

Hey *,

What happened in the last week(s):
We had 4 syndicate assignments running parallel until November 23^rd, classes finished December 1^st, and exam week started Monday December 4^th (or for me on Tuesday December 5^th). Everyone was extremely under time pressure and seemed to be completely stressed out. The period of syndicate assignments was really tough – we had different groups to coordinate and all assignments were really important. Then we didn’t have any time off to prepare for the exams as classes finish & immediately the week after exams starts. Mainly my class had 1 exam a day for the whole week though as I swapped a subject, I started at Tuesday with two exams and then 1 each day for the rest of the week with the “killer” exam (accounting) at the end.

1 ... 2 ... Tuesday
2 exams - Managing People for High Performance and Marketing
I was pretty exhausted. Both of them are “writing” exams – at least we were allowed to type our essays. As usual I had troubles to write a lot but – never mind – faculty should love it as they have to read thousands of thousands of words …

... 3 ... Wednesday – my birthday
1 exam - Financial Management
Still consider Finance a birthday present even tough for my taste it could have had a bit more calculus in it and less questions where you have to write & explain. Went for one drink with Alejandro and Vincent (the hard guys who are going for a drink in the middle of exam week – THANKS). By the time Alvaro wanted to join us we were already back at uni to study a bit further. Nah, ended up talking about our group rather than studying for the next day …

... 4 ... Thursday
1 exam - Managerial Economics
Haven’t prepared a lot. John, our prof, already announced that this exam will not include calculus (what a pity) and I was sure I have a solid understanding of the economic theories so I decided to rely on that understanding and put my time into accounting. Econ was a lot to write but I believe it went well also.

... 5 ... Friday
1 exam - Accounting
This was the only closed book exam we had and it was supposed to be really difficult. However, we knew we will work on the financial statements of Kellogg’s. This exam is the only one which could be everything from “badly failed” to “pretty good”. Let’s see – results are to be announced next Monday!

... DONE!
Finally, I’m back to a “normal” life. Exams are over! This is a great relieve!

I did it ...

2006-11-24T17:03:00.000+11:00

After being dissatisfied with my long hair for some time and thinking of getting it cut for months, I finally made an appointment and went to the hairdresser … I feel so much better now – you won’t believe!

BEFORE

AFTER

All together it was a good day so far. Caught up on some sleep to get ready for the end-spurt of term 1 – studied a bit my favourite subject (Managing People L) and then went down to Port Melbourne to the hairdresser. It takes more than a year to grow but its cut within just 10 minutes …

Spend some time on the beach – as I was already there and the weather is great – went to Vic Market – finally found Quark there J - went to uni and got heaps of compliments for my new hairstyle – now study a bit more – then go to the gym – and have a great dinner (Topfennockerln!) Yummy!

Probably won’t write until the end of term … should study … BUT then I’ll have at least 2 parties at the end of term …

Ciao
B.

Invitations, Invitations

2006-11-17T19:19:00.000+11:00

Dear all,

I’m currently a bit in the end-of-term-assignments-and-soon-final-exams stress. That’s why you haven’t heard from me in a while…

Last weekend I had quite some invitations going. First, on Friday, Robinette & Bob invited me over for dinner to meet their second daughter Tara and cute grandsons Thomas and Jack. It was a wonderful evening with a lovely BBQ.

Then, on Saturday, I went to the Queen Victoria Market which is fantastic – I still regret that I didn’t get this apartment right outside the market. I bought all this fantastic, fresh food including a travelli filet (this is a truly Australian fish). I found that it was too big for one person and invited Fay to join me for dinner. Last Saturday was actually a really nice evening and we were able to set in my backyard. This has not happened since again because Victoria is shivering through its coldest November days since 1953! (We had only about 10°C during the last days.)

And, last but not least, on Sunday, Carol invited me to join in her 30^th birthday party at a cocktail bar called “Madam Brussels” right downtown, in Melbourne’s CBD. This is a very interesting place … hugh terrace with view over the city’s skyscrapers and inside with fake grass and cosy armchairs. Excellent cocktails, lots of fun! Thank you!

That’s all about my last weekend … the next – which I know starts tomorrow – will be a working one … we finished the marketing syndicate assignment today but we have another 3 syndicate assignments to work on until Wednesday. Nevertheless, I will go tonight for a Sri Lankan dinner tonight with some of my colleagues. I need a rest …

So long
B.

Another great day …

2006-11-06T16:51:00.000+11:00

I had another great day … even though it was Sunday!

It didn’t start too bad though. I slept in late and after a good breakfast I arrived at school at around 1pm. I was 8 weeks behind for my work, always finishing just in time – earliest the day before the assignments were due and suddenly – don’t know how that happened – I was ahead of time, finished my workload for next week already by Thursday! Therefore, I planned to spend the whole Sunday on syndicate work – which needs to be done within the next 2-3 weeks also. However, I couldn’t motivate myself to focus on that and didn’t get any work done this afternoon but had a fun afternoon with the guys and left school at 5pm when it closed. Planned to go down to Vincent’s place to pick my bike up and then go to & join the gym quickly and get some work done tonight … Yeah, as I said that was the PLAN.

I went to Vincent’s and he was just about to start a box-training with Fahad which I ended up watching … then I wanted to go to the gym but forgot my bag at uni … met Davide and picked up my bag … left my laptop bag with him and Shawn … went to the gym … gym was closed … went back to Shawn’s place and picked up my bag … agreed to come back at 8.30pm for dinner (Shawn wanted to cook for us) … recognized my watch stopped working … went home and to the supermarket … supermarket closed … went to the other (better though further away) one … came home … recognized I’m running late … moved my stuff into my shelves and fridge … picked my empty bag, my keys for the bike, my lights, and bike computer and left the house … looking for my keys to unlock the gate … can’t find my keys … locked myself out of my apartment … best time to do that on a Sunday at 8.30pm … didn’t have the number of my landlord … tried to find out from a colleague … he couldn’t help but he had the number of a locksmith … called locksmith … waited for 45 mins … got my door opened in 2 secs and paid 110 bugs … went to dinner … had fantastic dinner with Davide and Shawn! At least the day ended fine!

@ The Races

2006-11-06T16:45:00.000+11:00

On Saturday we had tickets for “The Races” on Derby Day. Melbourne Cup (horse races) is one of THE events in the city. And everyone (especially women) comes with hats. It’s on the one side a formal event, nice dresses, suits, … and on the other hand quite relaxed – people having picnic and sitting dressed up on the ground …

To meet the others turned out to be quite difficult but we finally (after about an hour searching) I found the others and we had a lovely picnic. TT seemed to know what he is doing when it comes towards betting – he won 3 times out 4 he bet. So, I thought that’s the point of going to the races, I trusted him some money as well … well, we lost, but never mind ;)

If anyone wonders, this event is all about the hats! Hats everywhere ... and even things I wouldn't consider being a hat ... but that's the latest fashion!

It was an event … but for me a once-in-a-lifetime one … way too many people for my taste. And when we finally wanted to leave (not yet the end of Derby Day!) we were stuck in a crowd waiting to pass the “horse way”. They have gates which are opened on a regular base to let people pass through the aisle where the horses are passing by. We waited at least 30 min for the gate to open, then the crowd moved soooo slowly pushing and squeezing people and finally we got stuck between the gates when a horse came … a night-mare!

Nevertheless, interesting event and quite productive evening – 6 hours reading for my marketing class on Monday.

(in)formal get-together @ the lawn

Halloween Party

2006-11-06T16:26:00.000+11:00

Janet & Birgit

Fahad & John

Another week passed by … and one of the highlights was definitely our Halloween Party (again at Vincent’s place). Actually, it was more of a costume party than that it had to be really scary costumes. I finally bought my second hat within a month ;) and went as a witch. This is definitely the nicest witches’ hat I’ve seen so far. :) The original plan was to rent a costume. I went with Vonny and Esther and we had a great time trying different costumes or rather mainly masks. Anyway, on the one hand I was terrified by the prices and on the other hand I fell in love with this hat … and renting did not make sense (20$ vs. 27$ if I buy it … I’m sure I can make AT LEAST 7$ at eBay or maybe I keep it ;)

At the party, really everybody came dressed up … I went down on my bike wearing already my “costume”, skirt rolled up, bike helmet, flashing lights (witches’ hat in my hands …) and met on my way Davide and Hamid. As Hamid who decided to join his family rather than the party asked my to show my dress, I put up my witches hat … the guys though a witch at night on the bike is just hilarious … and – to be honest – a modern witch is not using a broom stick anymore – way to uncomfortable! ;) We had everything at the party – from Miss Nascar, a fire fighter girl, pirates, ozzi surfer boys, Willy Wonka from the chocolate factory over to an LA rapper, a chinese & a peruian farmer. Definitely, John had the most hilarious costume – he was a Hula girl wearing a hula skirt, and a coconut-bra which was definitely not his side (only covered one side … )!

Vincent & Davide

We are the winner …

2006-10-31T14:44:00.000+11:00

We are the winner of the AGSM-MBS-Cup! :)

Actually, we lost the touch footy – as half of the team never played that before we had a trial run on Thursday night and somehow learned the rules … nevertheless, we suddenly played different rules on Friday which confused half of the team and on the other hands, the girls from the AGSM-team play in the AGSM-Rugby-Team … I guess that tells everything – it was a really rough game but our team stayed professionally on the level of TOUCH-rugby and did not tackle!

We also lost the beach volleyball but we won the golf and the (not counting) poker game on Friday. We also won the Tennis first thing Saturday morning so it was all about the soccer game.

Actually, I also played in the soccer game for the sake of the girls … even tough it was definitely not due to my performance (I just ran around to confuse the other team ;) we finally won 5-3 after being 0-2 behind! :) That was a fantastic game!!

So, overall the Cup went to MBS this year! However, we are also looking forward to the next one in Sydney in February next year.

The whole AGSM-MBS experience was ended by a great, exclusive dinner in the Fish Bowl of the Melbourne Aquarium! We had a great time! :)

The International Food Festival & ...

2006-10-27T12:08:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

This week was yet another extremely busy one.

But finally the mid-term exams are over. Econ (economics) went really well, I’m satisfied with 93% of marks and I have a very good feeling for the finance mid-term on Wednesday night. Now we are heading in big steps through a lot of more syndicate assignments towards the final exams in the first week of December. Of course we celebrated finishing mid-terms over at the pub…

Yesterday we had our “International Food Festival” in the MBS courtyard. Free food from all over the world … yummy! We had dishes from Peru, Chile, UK, Poland, India, Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea, Catalonia,…

And we definitely earned it… someone talked me into playing in the MBS-touch footy team in the AGSM-MBS Cup even tough I never ever held a football in my hands …

What is the AGSM-MBS Cup?

My business school (MBS) is competing in diverse disciplines against the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) from Sydney. We are playing golf, beach volleyball, soccer, touch footy, and poker.

What is touch footy?

This is a type of rugby without tackling, instead – to stop the other team – you have to touch the person with the ball (it’s one of these oval ones …) Probably half of the team (including myself) never played that before so we had an hour practice yesterday before the food festival. We tried to learn the rules (I just do what I’m told to ;). It will be a quite hard game today, I’m quite sore although I tried to do everything to avoid it. But I haven’t been running so much in a long time and also I didn’t play any team sports in years. It’s going to be a mixed game (i.e. at least 2 girls have to be at the ground at any time). Even tough we’re allowed to substitute it will be quite hard for the girls as we’re only 3 playing!

Let you know how it went! Keep fingers crossed! :)

My MBA Program

2006-10-13T16:25:00.000+10:00

Melbourne Business School - aka MBS (as seen in September 2006)

I always write only about my leisure time activities but you might wanna know what’s up in my academic life as well…

I don’t know whether I told you but I got an exemption for D&D (Data and Decisions is a statistics course which I was able to wave due to my “undergraduate degree”)

I’m currently taking five courses

Marketing (with the part time students on Monday evenings ... Mondays are very long)
Managerial Economics (visiting Professor from NYU Stern)
Managing People for High Performance (aka MPfHP)
Accounting for Managers
Financial Management

This term is really a quantitative one … especially if you go for the usual program which includes D&D instead of Marketing.

I so far enjoy my courses though it’s very, very hard work … currently I work only for the sake of getting things done rather than to “learn” something. I thought it will be a lot of work but this exceeds my expectations by far …

Usually, the courses are graded by a mixture of:

Class participation
Individual assignments (case write ups, marketing projects, …)
Syndicate (or group) assignments
Mid-term and final exams

For next week I have to work on a syndicate assignment for Accounting (nearly done), an individual assignment for Marketing (a positioning statement for a personal electronics product – due on Monday, not yet started, probably choose ASUS notebooks …), another syndicate assignment for Finance (not yet started), and of course the ongoing class prep (case write prep for Marketing, MPfHP & Accounting - non yet started) plus around 7 chapters in several books (not yet started), …

You see, I can’t complain about not enough work to do … =;)

At least ,my past work experience as a consultant made me quite resistent regarding tough deadlines and working as close as possible to the deadlines ;)

MBS Courtyard

The fridge story continuous ...

2006-10-13T16:21:00.000+10:00

You won’t believe it … I managed to have the fridge technician coming in today and he fixed my fridge.

After nearly 3 weeks without a working fridge I’m very happy to be able to live like a “normal” human now … I just mention very quick that I had some big fights with Whirlpool Customer Service (again) but finally I had the mobile number of the technician and was able to coordinate with him personally and that worked: he told me yesterday that it will be Friday around lunch time but he calls in 30mins before … When he called today (really around lunch time) I left my syndicate meeting - jumped on my bike and rode home – met him – got the fridge fixed – and rode back to uni … too easy! :)

Hope that's it about my fridge ... keep fingers crossed!

The Melbournian Weather

2006-10-13T16:19:00.000+10:00

To be honest, the Melbournian weather is weird. One day hot, the next cold, and always it’s very windy. I was told that you could have four seasons within a day in Melbourne and “if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes” (it’ll change) …

Yesterday it was the hottest day in October in Melbourne ever … 36°C! And just two days ago I still used the heater and it cooled down to just 7°C at night. Last night it didn’t cool down at all. I slept with windows opened – a bad mistake! But – anyway – the weekend is supposed to be cold again, forecasts promise just 8°C for the nights …

My new Bike

2006-10-13T16:15:00.000+10:00

It seems to be also the week of new things … on Sunday the hat, on Thursday a bike. Finally, after nearly three weeks in my apartment I got the bike … and I’m very happy with it and my new won mobility ...

On Sunday there is the famous “Around the Bay in a Day” race around Melbourne Bay – either 250km, 100km, or 42km. Part of the class is participating and I’d love too but I’m after two months definitely out of training ... but I’m sure there are coming more races up as we move towards summer with big steps …

Patton & Shannon's Wedding

2006-10-13T16:07:00.000+10:00

Patton and Shannon’s wedding was a special event. We were told to meet our colleague Ameel and his wife Nadia at Federation Square at 2pm (and don’t be late or you’ll miss the whole event). They will then have an envelope which holds instructions how to reach the secret location …

So far so good … we were sent by tram to the Docklands, to Pier C02. Patton and Shannon were already there cruising on a boat and the actual ceremony took place on the boat while we were waiting at the pier. A little while later the boat docked on at the pier and we boarded for the reception, also on the boat. The next two hours we were cruising around Melbourne Bay. Unfortunately, it was quite cold and also very windy, so all the great ladies’ hats (and the all the guests as well) stayed inside the captain’s room. Nevertheless, we had a great afternoon - thank you for the invitation!

My new Hat

2006-10-13T15:59:00.000+10:00

Hey mates,

A lot happened that week (also a reason for not posting within the last week) but I think I’ll break it up into several entries …

As I mentioned in an earlier post I was invited to a wedding on Sunday. We were told upfront that the bride likes events where women wear hats … so, of course I didn’t have anything else to do than to buy one – not only for the wedding but also for the Melbourne Cup (horse races) in early November. And – of course – I did buy the hat just in time, about half an hour before we met…

I was at one of the big department stores in Melbourne’s Bourke Street. They have hundreds of hats there and I tried at least half of them ;) I finally narrowed down my choice to two and ended up buying this one:

And – good choice – I didn’t know that my colleague Nadja bought that one that was the second one in my closer choice …

All the best
B.

What a great day!

2006-10-06T19:16:00.000+10:00

Today we got started with our organizational project for our MPfHP class … that’s actually the only interesting thing in that class. However, we are asked to visit an organization of our choice and do a small consulting project for them regarding their team structure, team effectiveness and/or solve an organizational issue they face.

As our team is truly international (Chile, Korea, Hong Kong, US/Indonesia, Austria) we don’t have any contacts into the Australian business world. Therefore, we asked our lecturer to provide us with a project from an MBS alumni. She made a contact for us with another lecturer who made contact with the Victorian Institute of Sports for whom he already conducted several project in different sports departments. We finally work now for Gymnastics Victoria and will solve an issue about the organizational structure there. We got a briefing from the executive director of GV and she also showed us round in their state-to-the-art training facility for Australian/Victorian high performance athletes in gymnastics. It’s pretty amazing to see all those kids doing things we never were, are, or will be able to do … GV shares this gymnasium with the NICA (National Institute for Circus Arts). There are people juggling, acrobats as well as aerialists (Trapezkünstler), … very amazing.

This meeting went very well but that was the only thing that worked well today …

First, I thought the Whirlpool technician is coming in to repair my fridge – I called already two days ago to make sure, they are not coming in the afternoon when I won’t be in because of our meeting. Even tough they usually give you anyway only morning (8-12) or afternoon (12-4) appointments and I agreed with the technician on a morning appointment on Tuesday already, Whirlpool customer services was not able to confirm that two days ago. However, I called this morning again and the chat went as follows:

I explained that I’m not at home in the afternoon between 12 & 4 and therefore want to make sure the technician is either coming before 12 or after 4.

Whirlpool: The technician will come in the afternoon

Me: But then after 4pm.

Whirlpool: No, I guess he will come earlier; he works only till 4.30pm

Me: But I’m not at home before 4 (and I knew already that this repair will take about 1 hour)

Whirlpool: I guess it will be before that …

Me: Do you understand me? I’m not at home at that time …

and so on ...

The technician was supposed to call me before he comes in – no, no one called today – I will write a letter of complaint to Whirlpool because currently I’m really furious because my fridge is not working since a week now …

And, as if that wasn’t enough, a bird (I guess a sea gull) ruined my favourite Australian jacket on our way to the initial meeting with our client …

What a great day!

Grand Final Party

2006-10-01T15:51:00.000+10:00

In Australia, everything circles around the footie (Football Ozzie Rules). At least at this time of the year… and yesterday was the Grand Final 2006 – the Sydney Swans vs. the West Coast Eagles! It was truly a grand Grand Final. An excellent game which was finally decided in the last quarter. The West Coast Eagles won with only one point difference (85:84). Some see it as the revenge from last year when the same two teams were playing in the Grand Final 2005 and the Swans won by 4 points against the Eagles.

As you all know I usually don’t follow sports on TV … but as mentioned above – you can’t avoid the footie here in Melb. ;) Originally it was the Victorian Football League but the change it to the Australian Football League (AFL) shortly. It was a big disappointment that – again – there was no Victorian team in the grand final.

I was yesterday invited to the great Grand Final Party at Robinette & Bob’s. So, I made a pavlova (again ;) on Friday night and made my way to Wheelers Hill after finishing the make-up class for MPfHP (Managing People: there was no lecture in week 1 and we had to come for a make-up class yesterday … and my group had also a case to present which actually went very well (and it’s done now :) – so, no chance to skip class)

Had a great afternoon and a really exciting Grand Final game! Thank you very much, Robinette and Bob! Looking forward to go to the MCG next season and see a footie game live! :)

The Devil Wears Prada

2006-10-01T15:46:00.000+10:00

Thursday – Ladies' night! :)

Unfortunately, Robinette who wanted to join in for the movie was ill and therefore not coming with us, but Nadja, Nadia, Elissa, and myself had a great evening going to the pictures and seeing “The Devil Wears Prada” on its starting day in Oz.

This movie is definitely worth watching! :)

Engagement-and-Relax-from-WOM-Party

2006-10-01T15:39:00.000+10:00

Had a cool party last week Saturday. Fede (Argentina) and his fiancé Virginia made lovely pizza for all of us at Vincent’s (Belgium) place. We celebrated our first engagement party. Patton and Shannon from California got engaged that Saturday – wedding to follow soon (next Sunday)!

World of Management aka WOM was the intensive overview we got in the first two weeks and we were all very happy to have finished our first exam in the program and tried at the party to relax from the hard studies ;)

My apartment

2006-09-25T10:45:00.000+10:00

Finally, last Wednesday, I moved into my own apartment. It’s really nice to be soooo close to uni now. Just 20 mins before class starts I have to leave and still will be in time … and will become even better as soon as I have a bike :) It is usually really quiet and also very bright. Good thing about being on the ground floor is that I’ll have sun only until noon, i.e. in summer it won’t be that warm in my apartment, especially as I don’t have air-condition … I'm sure I will enjoy the Melbournian summer in my own backyard! :)

Sushi & a hilarious evening ...

2006-09-17T09:03:00.000+10:00

Had a really great evening yesterday!

As you might remember I wanted to go to the Da Vinci exhibition in Melbourne's docklands. I ended up not going because Robinette has heard bad critics from friends that it’s not worth the entry fee. Never mind, that gave me a bit extra time to work on my new marketing case for tomorrow before I left to visit my friend Elissa for our evening event – sushi!

Originally, Elissa approached me last week: ”You, Nadia & Me, Sushi, Saturday Night, at my Place!” Cool - all set then - we are going to make a nice, small sushi event for the 3 of us! We ended up being 9 people and having heaps of fun.

It took for ages to prepare everything (slice avocado, cucumber, capsicum, onions, cook & cool down rice,…) and roll the sushi. However, at around 10 we were finished and started dinner and it was definitely worth waiting for!! :) Everyone loved the sushi (and the wine, champagne,…) and we had a lot of laughs this evening.

Unfortunately, I had to leave this great party around midnight to catch my last train. But as I’m moving next week this awareness for the train will fade soon …

1st term started

2006-09-16T12:26:00.000+10:00

Hi *,

It’s me again. Was already blamed for not writing often enough ;) I know, I know, I should write a bit more and definitely more often as well … I’ll try!

Last week was the second week of our intensive subject “World of Management”. This was all together very interesting, offered a good overview about how the different areas of management (business) are connected and it also gave us a fair share of personal management and personal development modules It finally also started a self-reflection process about where we are now and where we want to go.

We also had a presentation exercise. We were split into groups of 7 and asked to give a 10-min. presentation about a topic of our choice. We were not allowed to use PowerPoint and were supposed to involve the audience. Finally, everyone had to vote for a winner and a runner-up in each group (who, of course, get prices). I spoke about scuba diving – what else? I made some collages of pix from a magazine and brought my regulator to explain and for the others to see in reality. After the voting there was a tie in our group between our team lead Claudio from Switzerland and me. As a team lead he was supposed to make the final decision but he was also not allowed to vote for himself, so, finally, I won! :)

My first real term just started this week. I’m taking five subjects this term: Economics, Accounting, Finance, Managing People, and Marketing. Thanks to my background I don’t have to do the statistics subject Data and Decisions. :)
At the moment the workload looks scary … the first week finished and I’m already stuck with reading … I have to read a couple of chapters for each subject, prepare homework, work in syndicate meetings, and – in addition – have my first exam next week Saturday which I have not yet studied for neither do I have (a lot of) time to do that next week.

Nevertheless, today I will go with Robinette to the Da Vinci exhibition in the Melbourne Docklands and afterwards I’m invited to a friend’s house for making home-made sushi! Looking forward to a nice afternoon and evening.

However, I have to get some work done before …
All the best
B.

My syndicate group

2006-09-16T12:23:00.000+10:00

What is a syndicate group?

A lot of the experience and work in my MBA program is based on group learning. Therefore the school sets up groups of 5-7 students, as diverse as possible in regards of professional background, undergraduate degree, nationality, and gender. We have to work in these groups very closely in all subjects and for at least one term.

I was very pleased when I saw the selection when it got released by the beginning of this week.

I’ll work with

Billy – originally from Indonesia but lived 8 years in the US – IT
Dennis – from Hong Kong - accountant
Joe – from Canada – business
JongJoon – from South Korea – sales (manufacturing)
Mathias – from Chile – sales (forest industry)

We were supposed to be 7 in our syndicate group though unfortunately we lost Robbie from the

who quit in the first week day 1 because he feels that this is not the right thing for him …

Anyway, I’m sure we’ll work together well and have a great time that term!

My first home-made pavlova ...

2006-09-16T11:28:00.000+10:00

Do you know PAVLOVA? No, not Czech tennisplayer, also not a Russian football star. Pavlova is one of Australia’s most wanted deserts!
.
Of course I do like pavlova … it’s a meringue base with cream and fresh fruit on top. Yumm! I made one last Saturday to give a warm welcome back to Robinette and Bob who returned from their vacation in Echuca. It was really lovely with just the right amount of base, a bit cream and lots of strawberries and passion fruit.

One - ups two - weeks into the program ...

2006-09-04T10:23:00.000+10:00

Hi *,

I thought of writing an entry by the end of week one … now week 3 is starting and I still haven’t done it. Time is passing by so fast. I spent the whole day at uni the last weeks. First week was just about registration and orientation. They told us everything we might need to know (library, IT services …) further on. We also did a lot of teambuilding which I really enjoyed. :)

Last week we finally started “the real thing”. My course started with a intense subject called “World of Management” where we’re taught the big picture, how the different disciplines of management are connected and also about crucial soft skills like working in international teams, presenting, team working …

Currently everything is really exciting (because ;). I managed to join a truly international class: I need to do the final count, though we are 55 students from all over the world whereas the biggest groups come from the US and India.

This week is going to be a really sporty one: I’m house and dog sitter (2 mini schnauzer) for a week. :) Kaiser and Simpson are very well behaved though very demanding, say fast, walkers!

And - finally apartment hunt is over - I signed a lease and will move into a nice 1-bed room apartment close to uni on 19 September. Looking very much forward to that ...

Cu
B.

The Wattle

2006-08-22T12:06:00.000+10:00

Ever wondered why Australian sports teams always wear dresses in green and yellow?

These colors don’t show up on the Australian flag or anything alike and I learned today where they come from ...

Actually the dresses are green and gold and the colors come from the Australian national flower, the wattle. The wattle is a bright yellow flower that comes in about 70 different kinds, some are small yellow balls with long or short leafs, some are rather cylindrical in shape.

Getting started in Melbourne right away!

2006-08-22T12:02:00.000+10:00

Already at my first day in Melbourne I opened a bank account and the plan was also to buy a mobile phone. Nevertheless, I was piling up information on different mobile phone handhelds as well as different providers and plans, caps, prepaids, … The more information the more confusion - I finally ended up buying the cheapest handheld (Nokia :) available and adding a prepaid card.

The next point on my to-do list was to find an apartment … easier said than done!

Dealing with real estate agents here in Melbourne is one of the not-so-good experiences I got out of coming to Melb … They don’t seem to be interested in finally leasing a flat out, they never call back or answer any eMails, they even tell you wrong information about inspection times and apartment details … not so easy! However, keep fingers crossed it seems I’ve found an apartment – about 15 minutes on the bike or tram right opposite of a big part and – best of all – it has a small courtyard!

Keep you updated on what's going on with my to-be apartment ...
cu Birgit

... Hello Australia

2006-08-14T21:44:00.000+10:00

Friday 4 August 2006 3.30pm - Vienna - 17 °C, slight rain:
leaving Vienna on Emirates Airlines and paying a fortune for 3kg excess baggage, about 5h flight to Dubai on a nearly empty plane where I had a row to myself

Friday 4 August 2006 11.30pm - Dubai - 37°C
arrival in Dubai, even though it was a quite big plane, we disembarked not via a gang-way but just through stairs and a bus. I guess you can imagine how this heat in the middle of the night upon leaving the plane hit me like a hammer ...

Saturday 5 August 2006 1am - Dubai, K-Porte Inn Hotel - 15°C
first thing upon arrival was changing the temperature in a freezing cold hotel room ... 22°C seem to be more reasonable than 15°C ...

Saturday 5 August 2006 - Dubai - ca. 45-50°C, bright sunshine
running round Dubai in the worst heat ever. Distances in Dubai are very big, even in the city center - I definitely underestimated that and was soaked in sweat soon. Frequent visits to different shopping malls cooled me down. Whole Dubai seems to be a construction area ... Dubai is definitely not among my favorite cities world-wide

Sunday 6 August 2006 11am - Dubai - still very hot and again bright sunshine
leaving Dubai, again on Emirates, I managed to change packing for not paying excess baggage again. ca. 13h flight to Melbourne the plane was full to the last seat. :( I was sitting next to Mark, a kiwi doing marketing for the Alinghi-team for the next America's Cup in Valencia, Spain.

Monday 7 August 2006 5.30am - Melbourne - 2°C, sunrise
arrival in Melbourne, gone through immigration and customs in no time.

!!! Special thanks to Robinette and Bob, for picking me up at the airport and showing me the ropes :)
Thanks to Thomas, my brother-in-law to make that contact :)

My life in Melbourne started at high speed right away …

Good Bye Europe ...

2006-08-13T22:23:00.000+10:00

Dear all,

don't really know how to get started though I thought my farewell from Europe would be a good start ... it was really good to see all my friends and relatives once more before I headed off for Australia.

Beginning of July I spend about a week in Munich ... had a lot to do to meet everyone, had some good visits to the Biergarten, some coffees and lunches, and - of course - watched the soccer. Then I left to see my Granny in Metzingen and my aunt and uncle near Lake Constance.

Back in Vienna I had just about 2 weeks to clear my apartment and meet with all my friends there. To simplify that task I organized a farewell party on my last Saturday in town. Thanks to my family and lots of helping hands the party turned out to be a great success. We had a delicious BBQ and kept up the high spirits even when it started to rain ... it seems that's Murphy's law that it always starts to rain in dry periods on days where a summer party is going on ... never mind ... :) Thank all of you for coming and celebrating!:)

The Friday after this great party I had to say good bye to Vienna and headed off for Oz ...

Yet that's another story ...

cu
Birgit