A Baracoa me voy *sing*

F1000022
Cargado originalmente por Haemmboerger

Back from my moms yesterday. had paid a visit, since her friend got a pacemaker last week, and he ist not allowed to drive for about a month. but he's in good shape. fingers crossed...
Booked the flight to Holguin/Cuba a few mins ago - just 500 Euros return, not bad... I'll leave Wed, Feb. 03 and will be back Feb. 18. Do I have to say that I am totally excited???
I also am curious to see the faces from the people I know over there... will be a surprise to see "El Rubio" again ;)
Went through old papers, to find addresses and phone numbers from the hostels we stayed in - hmmm.... memories...

I already booked 3 nights in the fabulous hotel Villa Maguana near Baracoa (see picture). in case you get up yer lazy bum at 7 a.m., you can literally swim into the rising sun... well, that's what I'll be doing anyway :-D
Now I just hope the vacation will go as smooth as 2 years ago...

you all have a great time!


-----
A Baracoa me voy, me voy
Aunque no haya carretera
Aunque no haya carretera
A Baracoa me voy. (x2)

Calender Week 28

120720083307
Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Mo and Tuesday with the trainer from Inplace Development (the outplacement company which AOL pays), preparing my CV, and simulating an interview. Fun, I learned a lot, but also very exhausting...

Tue I also bought a new suit. deffo needed one, last time I bought one was like 1997...

Wed, one day MS Project training. Good trainer, medium effort. Now I know "all" about resource sheets and more too ;)

Thu, Mike S., (a former colleague) dropped by for a chat and a round of tabletennis.

Fri, working a bit with Ted and Ted (Mark and Dan), and then off to the photographer, getting pics for the CV. great session, can only recommend them ( http://www.terzka.de/ ).

well, and Sat/Sun off to visit my mom, which is hospitalized at the moment...she broke her upper arm/shoulder (a comminuted fracture), and the only way to get her arm working back is a prosthesis... surgery is tomorrow...fingers crossed mom! after that she'll be something like the 6 million Dollar woman ;)

Update in between travels

F1000025
Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Bueno.... last post has been a while...am back from Cuba now for a week. the first cultural shock has been digested (alemania is just soo different...)

the pic here shows me in the Yunque National Parque, near Baracoa. Baracoa was the city I picked for my last 2 weeks too, by the way. just great to spend yer time there... beaches, usually very nice and friendly people (not as pushy as i.e. Trinidad or Santiago), the 2 national parks, lots of rivers to swim and chill or have a party, barbecueing a lil cerdito (pig)....

so, what did we do? well, some of you might have received postcards, but all in all it was a great trip. I am glad we stayed for such a long period, cause certain things simply got better/easier over time...

Today now I will be hopping on my bycicle and start to cycle to Sylt. I'll be back in about 3 weeks time (mid June ish). after that it looks like a tour through Germany (my mom in Osnabrueck, Knut in Essen, my Bro, Andrea and Antje in Munich, and after that off to Thuringia, to visit my Sister and father...and last but not least, to buy some original "thueringer wuerste"

and who thinks I'd be through then, hehe... nope! :-P quizas (maybe) a visit in Dublin, but deffo in July/August a 3 or 4 weeks stint in Spain - another spanish course.

P.S.: I didn't loose any weight... food was way too good (and abundant for people with hard cash too...)

P.P.S.: here 3 more favourite pics from the Cuba journey:
1 - on my birthday, driving through Habana with a 57 ish Ford V8 convertible -
 

2 - A sign declaring that the people are more important than money (yeah right...)


3 - a nice shot on the morning of the first of may, when we were on our way to the "placa de la revolucion", for the demonstration.

Saludos de Trinidad

Hola! we made it to Trinidad, after three exciting days in Habana, we spent 5 kind of quiet days in Vinales (100 km ish west of Habana), then 3 days on the gorgeous carribean beach in Maria La Gorda (in the utmost southwest of Cuba), another day stopover in Vinales, and yesterday we made it to lively Trinidad. so far we we have come to the following conclusions:

1. if you come here, you better speak spanish


2. Cuanto Es (how much) and Hay... (do you have ...) are very important phrases. else, the chance of getting ripped off is rather big, hehe


3. we might not loose any weight here, the food is way too good (and abundant too, for the ones with hard cash...)


4. Cubans sometimes are very punctual...they say ""meet at 8" and they show up at 8...


5. bring an umbrella, helps for both the occasional rain shower as well as the sun.


6. people are similar to everywhere else in the world. there the greedy ones (almost using illegal methods), there the very friendly ones (giving you medicine for free or offering dinner for free i.e.), and the nerve racking blokes ("want cigars?")

mobile phones coverage is prett good here, we check our mobile usually once a day for text messages. please do not expect a quick reply though, too expensive...and the first postcards are one the way. we'll see if they make it to good ole yermany and Ireland...

right so, over and out for the time being. :)

and Knulli, keep it up ;)

Last post for a while

  111220072251 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

sittin here, a tad nervous...tomorrow night we'll (hopefully) be sleeping in the Parkview Hotel in Havanna.

Address is:
Hotel Parkview
Calle Colón esq. a Morro,
Ciudad de La Habana
Cuba

as we will be staying there at the end of April and in May too, you may as well send birthday cards to this address :) seriously, we'll be checking in there from time to time. worth a try anyway :-D

The pic here, by the way, I took in Seville last year. I just hope I will find spots as nice and cozy as this bar here a the Alameda de Hercules...

mobile will be switched off most of the time, and I will not be able to read my emails... please be patient with me. maybe I'll get a chance to post an update here though!

Hasta pronto!

Klaussi

P.S.: for Jesko

Yesterday on the Autobahn...

blue sky, driving form my mom near Osnabrueck to Thueringia.
number 1:

and the message is (a tad longer, but still just 90 secs)

and I want you to feel great! :-)))

last moments at work

  030320082995 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

TGIO (thank god it's over)...

Party on friday was a smash hit. roughly 200 peeps made it, where some I haven't seen in like 7 years... organizing it (with contribs from other people of course) was a pain though. much more effort was needed than I had anticipated. but well worth it :-D

want a link to the pics? mail me, don't want to post it here, too public. link can be seen though at www.bye-btc.de

will be off to see mom and dad, hitting the road in two hours, like 1000 miles within two days...oh well :-( also, a friends granny died last weekend... I hope she'll be ok...

ASP - Abschlussparty - first beverages

  250220082877 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Right so... just 4 more days to go, then last day at AOL...here a pic showing the first beverages we bought...48 liters of coca cola, 20 liters of vodka, 12 liters of bitter lemon, 27 liters energy drink---we'll buy the rest in three days time...

Strange, odd, weird feelings, mixed with hope, happiness...after almost 11 years, to leave the company one believed in so much... AOL... still, few good peeps will be left behind...but hey, Cuba awaits me... two months in the Caribbean... :-D

anyways, details for ze party: everybody, who worked for/with AOL in the past, is welcome to join us for the party on Friday, Feb. 29, 2008. We'll start off at around 4 p.m., and take it from there. Address is "Beim Strohhause 25" (you may also use "Stiftstrasse 74" for your navigation system) in 20097 Hamburg. If you can't find it, text or call me or the guys at the reception - +49 40 36 159-0.

As we'll be having a lil show at 6 p.m., you better be there, else you'll miss something important...

Be there or be square, Klaussi :-)

P.S.: guestlist at www.bye-btc.de

Edit: thanks to Chris and Oli for this great flyer :-D

asfhh - a song for hamburg (2)

  221120071989 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

firstoff - link to the Video: Es war ne geile Zeit   what people don't know... we had more than one running man... J. here also starred in some scenes...
the video itself seems to be great winner, almost 3 k hits after 2 weeks (now I even am a bit worried about Juli respectively their mgmt. asking for royalties...) oh well, we'll find a way if needs be...
I have to upload a few more pics ( flickr of course, and not AOL Pictures...), then I'll add a link here in this post.

even alley insider posted a lil article...

here a link to my first post a few weeks ago regarding the shooting of this video (incl. link to the french vid)

Edit: a youtube link to the video, maybe easier to embed in blogs :)

Fin de semana en el Sierra Norte

  141220072309 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

well, time surely flies by... right now just 4 more days really, then I'll be omw back to good ole Alemania...

Valle, buying the ticket at the Estacion de Autobus en Placa de Armas was almost trivial, apart from the "vuelta" (and return please). reading the ticket, I of course again needed my dictionary.... Asiento means seat and arden means platform... gosh, even the most simple things need to be taken care of. hey, I estudia on the fly, roish? ;)

the hotel was a nice surprise. given the fact, that in the house here in Seville the Ducha (shower) is not great really, I used the opportunity and showered for what seemed like ages... then off to the pub. The clerk from the hotel suggested "taverna el cruce" - well, that's what I went for then . do I need to say, that the ole trick (sitting at the bar, reading a book) worked here as well? well, Hemingways "islands in the stream" was halfway though (like 2 hours), but then Javier Gomez Rioja started talking to me. what a fun guy. he spoke enough english to have a pleasant conversation.

anyways, had 2 more manzanilla (after 2 cervezas and the wine) and went to bed, kind of wasted...

next day, saturday, up early - sort of, at least ;) breakfast, and then off to explore the Sierra Norte.

how fast the 6 hours (while hacer una excursion) went by, unbelievable. not to mention all the cerdas, the GPS trouble, and the sore feet...

eve, off to El Cruze again, to meet Javier. more beers, off to the pub "Pepes bar"... nuff said, right? ;o)

sunday, un poco hungover, another short trip to the sierra, a last cafe solo in el cruze, a last chat with Antonio

and then back to Seville. I think I gotta go back there sooner or later...

enuff :-P

Los Sevillanos

  081220072191 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

what a weekend... long walks around Seville, dancing till like 6 in the morning, meeting interesting people...
por ejemplo the batista (e.g the drummer here) here: Raymond, and his 8 year old son. funnily enough, he is german (although he looks like a latino really). very friendly. and he has the privilege to practicar the drums/conga down at the guadalquivir. first met him on Saturday (sabado), and tambien (again) on sunday, when I walked back from the Parque de Amarillo.
ejemplo numero dos: skateboarder. ejemplo numero tres: grafitero. ejemplo numero cuatro: pescador.
changed school today by the way, started at "click.es". can only recommend them, much better than Mester imho...

want to see the spanish version of spiderpig? ever heard of the schnitzelschwein? no? click here ;)

Amanacer at the Guadalquivir

  051220072122 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Lovely manana (morning) today... first time I was able to go to school via the river, although I was a bit hungover and would have preferred to sleep just one or two or three or four more hours...;)
went out last night with a few guys and girls from school, and of course "el ultimo vino tinto estuvado mal" (the last red wine was bad). in just a few mins i'll be going to that great plaza again (alameda de Hercules), as there are few cafes where you can enjoy the sun (still 25-28 centigrade in the sun, 20 in the shade). pic taken there ayer (yesterday). so, you enjoy "Nikolaus" today, I hope you've been good ;-)

Hola, que tal?

  011220072095 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

For you that do speak spanish as well as I do, this means "hello, how are you?".
Anways, frikkin hungover I got on the plane to Seville on Sat morning. hungover, since Willi's birthday lead to having more schnaps than I had asked for... back to the topic. here my first vino tinto, in a fabulous Tapas bar in Seville, the "el Rinconcillo" - supposedly the oldest one in town, founded like in the sevententh century. after the vino, tres servezas and a great "pescado  fritas variado" off to the irish pub, which I knew from last time we were here for the Semana Santa (the week before easter). meet a very nice german chap, who is here for his thesis. topic? fansongs of soccer fans... well, interesting, to say the least ;)
after the pub I went home, like 11 or so. I already said to myself: "dude, you really are grownup. early to bed, so you have a fresh start on sunday then." sure enough it didn't end then... one of the american guys here - who also stays with this almost "pet and smokefree" family - had a few friends over. offering me Jack D. and coke and taking me with them to a nightclub was just a matter of seconds really... not sure when I got back, as my mobiles battery was dead... was fun though ;)

got up at 1, showered, and then the first meal with the guestfamily. not too bad, meatballs, beans (judias verdes), rice (el arroz). we'll see how the cooking goes - oh yeah, and the sauce was pretty darn rich... and i guess it wasn't just Olive Oil ;)

and after that (sorry for showing off), walking to the Placa de Espana. sitting there for almost 2 hours in the Sun, with temperatures around 22-25 degrees centigrade... can you top that? ;)

on my way back to the house a lil walk via the Guadalquivir. bummer I missed the sunset. will do that tomorrow if possible though...

Now I am just curious, what Bogdan will experience on his Frisco trip :)

ASFHH - A Song for Hamburg 1

  151120071912 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

As the colleagues in the AOL Paris Office did this great video ( PW is "aol lover" ), we here in Hamburg wanted to make one too... easier said than done, trust me...
it took us almost 3 weeks and 6 ish meetings, just to agree on the song (yay for Juli, "es war ne geile zeit")... anyways, we're almost halfway through, will be shooting the remainder next week (fingers crossed...)
this shot here shows Oliver and Oliver, during one of the short lunch brainstoming sessions.

Edit: final DE video can be found here

apart from that, I passed the ITIL foundation exam yesterday. one step closer to improving my CV for next year :) in 2 weeks time it'll be the PRINCE2 training course (I just hope I'll pass that too), and after that 3 weeks in Spain, Seville - language course. Vino Tinto y un cafe solo, por favour...

Sunday trip to St. Peter Ording

  041120071833 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

The trip was more than overdue - according to my government that is ;) got up early (easy, since no "heavy" drinking took place on Sat night), left around half nine, got to St. Peter Ording not even 2 hours later, went for a walk... fantastic weather really, clear blue sky, light winds around 3 ish. I even was so hot I took my coat off... that enabled me to take 2 additional days vacation (or what do you call it again, when you can stay in bed and don't have to go to work again? - ahh, being sick at home, ok...)
anyways, feeling better today, but I will leave work early... throat still acting up here...
workwise still all fine... 114 days to go ;) and just 3,5 weeks until I start my 3 weeks language course in Seville :-D

London heathrow - Disk write error

240920071419
Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Great, again I got up at 5:30... some might like it, I don't... told my colleagues about http://www.alleyinsider.com/ and how accurate some of the posts about AOL financials situation seem...
Took the tube to Barons Court, easy peasy really. Gave Steph her pressies, and now to talk about one more project, which we are supposed to "handle efficiently, no PRINCE2, but to adapt a pragmatic approach instead". sure :)
P.S: helping Sven to move house last Sat was tiring indeed. jaisus, was i wrecked or what on Sat eve...

Lunch in Paris (1)

  200920071266 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

After we partied last night (started off in herzblut, sankt  ( st.) Pauli with food and three mai tai iirc; after we tipped

Funda - the cute waitress -
- onto ex-sparr - sambuca, mexicans and vodka lemon; home at midnight)I was pleased to get up at 5:15 a.m., to catch my plane...

flight went well (luckily). but the best (thanks to Martial) was the place we went for lunch. crowded, a bit sticky, but great food... plus, the usual rosé wine :-D

now back to work...

Wednesday action

22082007833
Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

got up early (well, ok, like 07:30 a.m. is early!). arrived at coffe+cakes at a quarter to 9, Carsten got there just a few mins after. Kamil of course was late (09:20), but hey, he's the lil one, so it's ok :-D
Lunch in http://www.literaturhaus-hamburg.de/ with Claudia T.. hadn't seen her in 2 years, caught up rather quickly though. After an Espresso in http://www.alsterperle.com/ back to work... now just one more conf_call at 5, then off for today. nice one, or?

Sailing in Heiligenhafen

  12082007782 
  Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Saturday, again time for me to leave my home *sniff*, as C. had friends staying at our flat...("come on, you wanted to leave us alone, so switch off the x-box and go now :-P " ) anyways, the drive to Heiligenhafen (Baltic Sea) was pretty short, but rainy...apparently about 1200 people were out and working, due to the heavy rain (flood prevention, firemen etc.).. Found the place no problem (last time I've been there was 2004 or so iirc...). Happy to see Stanze again :)

worked a bit - preparing a place where the litterboxes can stand. In the eve one of the guys made pasta - delicious :-D
Linne Liquor (45 volume %), shot glasses with inbuilt LED's, accordion tunes and singing...Decided to make the attempt and sleep in the car - went ok. not perfect, but doable.

Next morning - fine weather, went sailing with Stanze and Katze . now that was fun!
Bummer I had to leave early...but at least I had my fresh cod before I left.
P.:S: and as someone said: sailing is sometimes a peculiar sport...quite often it attracts people which, let's put it that way, have personalities deviating a good bit from that of the avg. person...

Smart and the Arc de Triomphe

09082007753
Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger.

Was trying to get a pic of the group (Kim, Bogdan and Maurice) AND the Arc AND a smart car... well, great shot, innit ;)

Went to this Vietnamese place, great food. night cap #1 in this bar, where I was able to snag one of those lovely Ricard bottles. nightcap # 2 with this american guy and Andrew, talking til 2 a.m. about WWII and stuff... a tad tired this morning.
meeting? "one shot migration", "thorough QA prevents errors", and of course all of a sudden the very "drafty slides" from the previous day come across as facts...;)