Tuesday
Its tuesday - the day after monday night salsa. As always - a great evening with a bunch of people that share the same passion. I am still waiting for some of my colleagues to show up for salsa as well. A couple of weeks/months ago I did some advertising - but - except of one or two occassional visits - nobody really showed up regulary - but - I am not giving up on that.
Tonight I've been invited for dinner by Didi and Dorli - thanks for the Bratwuerstl and the Beer.
Well - not more to say right now - cheers
Generations!!
Today I had the chance to finally see most of my relatives again. In the past - when my grandparents where still alive - we at least had 2 times a year (easter, xmas) where most of our big big family came together.
Today's occasion was the golden wedding of my aunt and unkle. 50 years of marriage - great achievement - but as most of us know its not an easy achievement.
Before we had our "gathering" my sister invited me to lunch. After lunch we had some interesting action in the garden. The neighbours chicken escaped and we had to bring them back to where they belong. Cheers
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| My sister and verena working hard to get the chickens out | DONE!! Good Job |
Birthday Feast!!!
Juergens birthday is already a couple of weeks ago - but he decided to wait a bit for the actual party. But this friday it finally happened. And it was a great evening. Starting with a drink at his appartment. Then we walked to the Bratwurstgloeckerl where we had a fantastic meal.
After that we went back - juergen got some very interesting presents (see pictures below) - and then we of course started drinking. The last group left around 2 AM - leaving juergen and me behind. Topics like "commercial vs. open source software", "iterative vs. phase development processes", ... gave us enough stuff to discuss till 5 AM. I stayed over night (well - not over night - I wouldnt consider the timeframe 5AM-9AM as night :-)).
Anyway - the remaining morning was spent with a round of golf on juergens Wii. Here are some pictures. cheers
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| Knoedels, Knoedels, Knoedels | And the sweat version of it as desert |
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| Finally re-united after sonja's 5 months in australia | An interesting present: kangaroo balls manifactured as bottle opener |
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| a closer shot of the present | Did I mention that we had some drinks? |
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| Some of us got tired a bit earlier | Playing Golf in the morning |
Ash Wednesday Activities!!
Ash wednesday is supposed to be the 2nd strictest day of abstinence in the catholic time of lent. Therefore we - at least here in austria - start lent with a big fish feast :-). Its good that lent lasts for 40 days - so we can get rid of the extra kilos that we gained on ash wednesday.
Before all that food we (a group of colleagues) went go-karting. The last 2 times I was beating by Helmut. This time Helmut couldnt participate - so I thought it will be an easy task to finish first. But - it was not as easy as i thought and in the end I lost the competition regarding the overall fastest round. But lucky me - I won the Qualification run and the actual race.
Thats it - no pictures today but lots of things ahead where I hopefully take some, e.g: at juergens birthday party on friday.
Cheers
Carneval Tuesday!!
Just a quick update on yesterdays carneval activities!
Started with some BBQ on Udo's Balcony. Followed by several rounds of SingStar. Then we went on to Walker for some drinks. Here are some pictures.
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| Petra and Stefan enjoying the food | Udo - proud with his new Nespresso Machine |
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| Very strange drinks to exist | Irene dressed as - "Notkaepchen" |
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| Udo helping Hilli with his costume | Sing Star 1 |
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| Sing Star 2 | In Walker |
Changed the plan - back to normal monday night action!
The plan for tonight was to join Martin and Sonja (who just came back from a 6 months autrialia trip) at the Polizeiball. But Martin called in the afternoon telling me that he doesnt really feel right. That said made me sorry for him - but on the other side I was hoping for a great salsa night at Remembar.
Two very interesting things happened:
a) I had the chance to dance and talk with the owner of Schnuckeline
b) I got the weirdest job offer in my life. It was not the job itself - but it was the way I was offered it. But no worry folks at work - I am NOT going to leave :-)
Thats it - time to go to bed now. The plan for tomorrow is to do some BBQ on Udo's balcony before we go out for some carneval action. Cheers
Linz is NOT "Carneval Enabled"
Seems that Linz is not really carneval enabled - at least not on carneval saturday!!
We (Sylvia, Alois, Martin and I) went out - partly costumized. Hardly anybody in the linz pub scene seemed to realize that you are supposed to be costumized on carneval saturday (or was it just our wrong assumption? :-)).
We went to Walker - saw about 2 to 3 costumes. Then we went to Lennox - nobody there with a costume.
After that we checked the scene in Remembar - again - nobody.
We finished in Josef - again - just 2 or 3.
But we had fun. Here are some pictures.
Cheers
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| Sylvia and me in Walker!! | Alois preparing the Pool table - looks pretty professional with his white gloves |
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| Mrs. Mozart doing her best :-) | In Lenox |
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| My hat was worn by many different people - lady 1 | And Lady 2 |
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| Rock me Amadeus :-) | As always - finishing the night with a Kebap |
Surprises!!
A day full of surprises.
First: I had the positive surprise that my physical condition got much better from yesterday - not yet perfect - but much better.
Second: After a long meeting in the afternoon I came back to my workstation and found a box of different beers on my chair. Why that? It was a present from Udo and Hilli for driving them to salzburg this tuesday - THANKS A LOT!!! (But why did you include Clausthaler??)
Third: It pays off to have a web blog!! I am surprised about how many people regulary check my web-site - and thats good - so I dont have to describe in long terms why I am not able to do certain things because of my current physical condition!!
Fourth: Just came back from Gallneukirchen. On my way back to linz I picked up a hitchhiker. I always thought that I was good (in my early twenties) with having lots of girls around when I went out. But the guy I gave a lift seems to top me :-) (based on his stories)
Well - I think thats it - enough with my surprises. Cheers
Was it the Kebap?
Its thursday - 3PM. I am supposed to be at work but unfortunatelly my current physical condition doesnt allow it. Whats the problem? Lets describe it this way: "My stomach tells me that I better be close to a toilet".
Not sure if this small problem is a result of yesterday's kebap or not. I hope it was the kebap and not the strange virus thats currently around - making people puke all the time. Well - besides that I am fine. Waiting for the upcoming carneval weekend and the upcoming carneval monday and tuesday - still looking for a costume.
Oh yeah - before I forget. Yesterday, I again realized what a safe place we are all living in. Why is that? Because our police officers have time to stop pedestrian's at 1 AM for crossing a deserted street on red. Of course the pedestrian was me :-). They reminded me that I also have to stick to the rules of not crossing on red.
Thats it - cheers
Bulls Cup 2007!!
Yesterday was the first Red Bulls Soccer Cup in Salzburg. Didi, Udo, Hilli and I drove down to Salzburg - I offered to drive. It was cold but cool. We had some very interesting experiences - especially with german drivers :-) and with fans from bayern munich.
So - the cup was a quick tournament of 3 participating Teams: Red Bull Salzburg, Bayern Munich and Red Diamonds (from Japan). Bayern won the overal tournament in penalty shooting against Salzburg. Here are some pictures.
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| Thats how we started our journey - off course with beer from Salzburg | Seems that the guys where happy to finally find a tree when we arrived :-) |
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| And we were all happy about some food | The driver (me) had to drink radler (strange color though) |
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| Did I mentioned that it was a rather cold night? | Oh yeah - they also played soccer. Mr. MEHMET Scholl kicking the ball |
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| Udo's way to say: It was nice and I need more beer :-) | Red Bull Salzburg - thanks for the event |
Sports on Sunday!!
I had a sunday that was mainly spent with sports. But not that I did any active sports - I rather let the others do it and watch it. Starting at 10 AM with the mens downhill race followed by the womens downhill - the tennis davis cup match austria vs. argentina - concluded with the ski jumping event.
The only thing today that brought me outside was a movie - we went to the cinema and watched Kings of Rock (Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny).
Looking ahead to another great week starting with Salsa on monday and ending in the upcoming carneval weekend. Cheers
Saturday Night!
The night started at Juergens place. First we played with his Wii where I let the Wii check my health. The outcome of the health check was that my fitness is comparable to a 60 year old :-)
After a round of Phase 10 I drove into town. Met Udo in Walker and fortunatelly - there is a nice picture proof on WOO.AT.
Cheers
Beaten by Mum!!
Yesterday night we - the whole grabner family - met at my parents place for a post-mum-birthday night. Mum likes to play cards - so we came and satisfied her wish for it. My brother, sister, brother in law, sister in law and my dad resigned pretty quickly. In the end it was my mum and me - playing Schnapsen the half night long.
And in the end I have to admit: there is no way beating my mum in this game.
But that is not the only thing that hurts right now. I think I have a broken toe from yesterdays soccer match. Besides the toe its also my right knee and my left ankle that are impacted by yesterdays game - but I am confident that everything will be fine for the next time I need those valueable body parts - monday night - salsa :-)
Thats it - cheers
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| The grabner family enjoying the chinese take out food | Lisa - having fun in her buggy |
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| And - having fun in her carriage | The rest of the kids |
Still Alive!!
Just to let you know - I am still alive. But there is just not much to tell on my blog. Cheers
Super Bowl XLI
Every year - close to the first sunday in february - its super bowl time. For those of you that dont know what it is - basically its the american version of the champions league final that we know from european soccer - but - the sport is american football!!
For the past 4 years we - some friends - meet each other in the evening - starting with some food (most often pizza) - and then we play poker. At midnight - thats when the broadcast starts - we turn on the TV and watch the game while still playing poker.
This year we met at my appartment. Start time around 7 PM - end time around 5 AM. You can imagine how "motivated" I must have looked today after 2.5 hours of sleep :-)
The resumee: We played 5 rounds of poker - I havent won any - but it was fun. Here are some pictures
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| Maximilian and my mum - that was pre-pre super bowl | Lets start with some food |
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| Lets get ready | Lets play |
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| Looks like Didi had a good hand | And of course - watching the game |
Harry Potter Fans - LISTEN!!
I - self announced Harry Potter Fan - just ordered my english copy of the next and final harry potter book at Amazon. Unfortunatelly its still 5 months till the release date.
What else is going on? Had my test training at the Holmes Place fitness center with the following result: Nice - but not worth the money. As my main excercise is and will be running - there is no need to pay a monthly fee. They do have a nice spa area - but again - still not worth the money (from my perspective). So - after 2 hours of running and sitting in the sauna I had to tell
the manager that I wont sign in but thanked him for giving me the chance to look at their facility.
Thats it - the evening was spent party in Gallneukirchen - partly in Linz. Martin and Irene joined me for a drink in my appartment - then we went on to Remembar for another drink and then home - sleeping to refill the energie that I will need tonight because of the Super Bowl.
So folks - especially my colleagues - dont expect me to be in the office too early on monday morning. The Super Bowl will probably last till 4 AM :-)
cheers
Sweating!!!
The past three days were packed with lots of social events. On wednesday night we - a group of colleagues - played soccer in the soccerarena next to our office building. It was tough - but it was fun.
On thursday we - again a group of colleagues - went bowling. My team challenged our QA team. We did a good job - but - a good job against the two QA Didi's is just not enough - but again - it was fun.
Finally - friday - Gala Nacht des Sports - just amazing!!! They had this great cuban band (the will probably and hopefully also perform at the upcoming salsa ball in linz). Similar to salsa mondays in remembar it was
easy to find "victims" to dance with. The event ended at 4 am - although didi wanted to convice me to join them for a small private after ball party. But - as I do have my test training today I skiped this offer. Here are some pictures. cheers
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| SoccerFive Arena in Linz | Bowling at the "Tornado Bowling" arena |
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| Stylish: Stoni with a nice lunge/TD> | Didi2 with his best score: 200!!! |
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| The rest of the bowling group | At the Ball: Didi, Martin and me in good company :-) |
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| Didi and Sandra | My shirt after 8 hours of dancing - the white stuff is salt from sweating!! Isnt that disgusting? |