Last day in November
Its the last day in November - and I am still walking around with my t-shirt. Strange world with strange weather phenomenons.
Besides the beautiful weather that we have right now there is no much update. The one exciting thing that is coming up is to open the first door of my adventcalendar tomorrow morning. I got a special one - you will get a picture soon.
Its been a busy but very productive week. Two of my team members are going to fly to Boston tomorrow. Stephan actually offered to give them a tour on sunday - hope to get some pictures.
The weekend is going to be busy. A ball tomorrow night - mistelschneiden on saturday - venison on saturday evening. Cheers

Sunday: Recovery Day!!
Oh what a saturday night. Peters birthday party was a blast - also - because of Sandros creative ideas. We (the whole group) had to play Klappspiel (basically a drinking game). The looser had to drink a Jaegermeister. We had 60 Jaegermeister with a letter on each of the bottles. The 60 letters made up a sentence - and it was our goal to complete this sentence. The problem was that - one of the presents that Peter got when we finished the game - was another box of Jaegermeister. So - overall - we had 120 Jaegermeister - that we finished by playing Klappspiel - I think there is no more to say :-)
That was also the reason why sunday was used to recover. Brunching in the morning - some sleep in the afternoon - XMAS Market in the evening (but - just non-alcoholic drinks).
Thats basically it - looking forward to an interesting week: salsa on monday, swiming on tuesday, will visit leo on wednesday, not sure about thursday, ball on friday, wildessen on saturday, ...
Cheers

Alex and Irene at the bar	Sandro and me in our first round of Klappspiel
Looks irish - but its just bowle	On our way to finish the sentence
People helping to get the game finished	We two also played very passionated
Sandro - the mastermind of this game	Finished!!!!!

Friday Night and Saturday
Just a quick report on yesterday night and todays happenings so far. Alois, Alex and I had a nice evening in my appartment. We started with some hefeweizen and ordered a pizza. 40 minutes after I placed the order we watched the pizza guy with his car - circling around the blocks. I called the company and figured out that I told them an address that doesnt exist :-) - fortunate for us - the pizza was still warm!!
After we got rid of the hefeweizen we switched to Caipirinha. We watched Star Mania and all our favorites mad it to the next round (hmm - did I just admit that I actually like Star Mania? - seems so).
The downside of this evening: I crashed a Prinzregent Luitpold Wheat Beer Glass - damn!! The lesson that I learned - never do the dishes when you are drunk :-)
Today in the morning - sitting in Linz with just lots of high fog around and no sun - I decided to take the bike up to the Gisela Warte. Its been tougher than I thought - but - taking into account that I havent done much sport for the past 2 months (because of my ankle) - I managed to get up there in 65 minutes. Met Martin (aka Mole) up there for lunch.
In the afternoon I finally managed to change my tires - did that at my parents place. And now I am just waiting for 7PM - its Peters birthday party tonight - cheers

Alex and Alois with Pizza and Beer	Fixing a Caipirinha - thats team work
The finished product	*TEARS* - the Prinzregent Luitpold glass - broken - and also the pop corn bowl
View down to Linz (that would be the city beneath the fog)	Another great view - seems like the alps are so close that you can even tough them
The Coke Bear at the GIS Restaurant	The kids at home

Thanks Giving
I am kind of lazy with my updates right now. The explaination for that is not easy - its not too stressful at work - and its not too stressful at home so that I wouldnt have time for an update. But - there is just nothing exciting going on.
Wednesday night we actually planned to go swimming - but - as Alex didnt feel for it we changed plans and checked out the X-MAS Markets in Linz. But - XMAS Market - without any XMAS Feeling is just not right. No snow - not even cold - punsch is not really good - ... - so - lots of points that will keep me away from the markets for the next weeks.
Thursday - that was yesterday: drove home to my parents - brought the Picture CD to my dad - with most of the pictures from our US Trip. After that - we had our JVP RoundTable meeting - and then a quick visit at pub Hoppala.
Today - soccer in the afternoon. I am still not really comfortable with my ankle - but its definitly getting better. So - I played goal keep most of the time - which was unfortunate for my team because I am not really a goal keeper. The result was that we didnt win any game!!
Now I am waiting for Alois to show up - and later - Alex will join us - just got some limes and cachacca - to prepare some Caipirinha.
Thanks Giving:
Yeah - before I forget. Had a conversation with Stephan the other day - we talked about the biggest family event in the US - Thanks Giving. He supports me - as half american - to also get at least one day off during Thanks Giving celebrations. Unfortunatelly this didnt happen this year - but maybe next. Anyway - Thanks Giving was fantastic a year ago. A new experience for me - turkey - oysters - lots of interesting people that we celebrated the festival with. so - if you are interested - just check the diary entries of November 2005.
cheers

Day to Day Business
Right now - nothing really exciting is going on - basically its day to day business. Monday night of course - salsa - just the best way to start the week.
Today I finally found the time to create a CD for my dad - containing the best-off pictures of our US trip. Hope he enjoys it watching it with his DVD.
Well - thats all there really is to say - except - maybe a quick word about the movie we watched on sunday: 7 Zwerge: There are better movies!!
cheers

Exhausting Weekend!!
After the long night on friday - and only 3 hours of sleep (we had to get after 3 hours because we agreed to have breakfast in the morning with doris, robert, ...). So - maybe I am really getting old - or I am just no longer used to those weekends with only a few hours of sleep - but the rest of saturday was just brutal. Our plan was to go out at night - either to the Christkindlmarket or to Juergen or to the Cuban Night at Orange Cube - but in the end we just went to bed because we were too tired for anything.
Today we had birthday celebrations. Alex's grandma turned 80 - definitly a good age to celebrate.
Now its time for a movie - 7 Zwerge Part 2. Cheers

3 of the grand kids of grand ma	Schweinsbratl!!!!
My schatzl flirting with the bar chief	I liked that poster on the toilet

Did a thing that I shouldnt have done!!
Hmm - what could that be. As you may remember - a couple of weeks ago a injured my ankle while playing soccer at the pleschinger see. I had a permanent cast for a week and then an air cast for 5 weeks. That was 8 weeks ago.
Today is friday - and on fridays a group of friends always plays soccer - and - I just couldnt resist. It turned out that it was an OK decision. I could not at all play in "my full strength" (even if I would have been able to you wouldnt have seen much difference :-) ).
But anyway - it was good but a bit too early. Now I am sitting at home - the ankle hurts again and I have two more hours before I have to go to a ball where I am supposed to dance a lot - but it was worth it!!! cheers
---- (update) ----
Oh what a great night it has been. As I wrote above - we went out to a ball in Gallneukirchen: "Ball der Begegnung" hosted by the Diakoniewerk. Those of you that know what the Diakoniewerk in Gallneukirchen can probably guess that this is a very special ball. Its all about integration! Integration of handicaped people. Its definitly an unusual scene but its just amazing to see how people with disabilities handle their destiny.
So - we had lots of fun - lots of dancing - till 2 AM. Then - on our way home (we stayed at my parents house) - we made a stop in Pub Hoppala - we stayed till they closed. Here are some pics

My Schatzl and me	Dance-Band Harlekins - they definitly rocked the place
Fortunatelly nobody was too drunken to jump in the pool	Doris, Gabi, Mario and Stefan - resting at the pool
Midnight Gulasch-Soup - yummie	Robert had to work at the Ball - as you can see - he was the cook (thanks for the gulasch soup)
Gabi - unfortunatelly without Klemens - he had to stay home because he was sick	Alex's aunt was also there

Cart Race
Yesterday night we - a group of 15 borland employees and two of my friends (didi and robert) - went out for a Cart Race. Its been a great event - which most of us can still feel today (hands and back hurts). But - it was fun - and thats what its all about. Here are some pics:

Thats probably doping :-)	Pre-Race Happiness
The Track	Roundtable after the race - heavy discussions about how certain curves should have been taken

Lets Dance Ball 06
Each year - the Lets Dance Ball in Linz is one of the major ball events in Linz - for me - a MUST DO!! Its also always an event to meet lots of friends who share the same passion. The great things about yesterdays event were:
a) a Latin Band (they played too much Samba - but they played a good tune)
b) Kate Ryan performed the midnight performance
Here are some pics.
---- (update) ----
Just got back from the cinema. Sandro and I watched BORAT. What a movie!! The movie breaks more than one taboo :-) - so - if you have the chance and if you can handle disgusting scenes - get a ticket!!

Alex (right), my cousin (left) and a friend of my cousin	Martin and Alois
My Schatzl and me	Kate Ryan - the belgium pop export

US Trip - Resume
Back in Austria!! We had a fairly good trip back home to Austria. The only thing that didnt worked out was
a) no sleep on the plane
b) because of wrongly sealed aircraft in frankfurt we had to wait an additional hour for our connection flight to linz

But in the end I have to say that the trip was better than expected. I was surprised about the good health status of my dad - we walked a lot and I feared that it might be too much for him - but no way. Just at the end - the last two days have been a bit to extensive for both of us.
So - after
a) about 2500 miles on the road
b) 8 flights
c) several miles walking
d) not sure how many liter of beer
e) not sure how many chicken wings (that was the prefered food of Dad)
f) several hundred pictures and videos
g) endless discussions about Arnold, Austria and Red Bull (those where the words that my Dad used to start talking to strangers)
I can say that the trip was PERFECT!!!

Thanks again to Stephan, Sarah and Kieran for their hospitality. You three made it an even better vacation trip for us. Cheers

US Trip - New York to Niagra Falls
Got up at 6 AM - took the taxi to the airport and took the 9:15 AM flight to Buffalo, NY. We got another rental car on the airport and drove the 15 or so miles north to the Niagra Falls. Unfortunatelly - and I think thats now the only thing that didnt work out as expected - the maid of the mist tour was closed for the season. The Maid of the Mist is a ship tour that brings you very close to the falls - unfortunatelly they stop this service on Oct. 24th - well - but anyway - the falls are a great sight.
Its been a great trip and I will give a little resume later - but right now we are both pretty tired. All the driving, flying, walking, drinking, ... - thats tough - therefore we checked into a hotel with a spa (sauna, steam bath, ...) - to refill our batteries before we leave the US tomorrow.
Cheers

The area near Buffalo is already covered in snow	Yeah - towards Niagara Falls
On the edge of the american side of the falls	Looking from the american to the canadian side
From the Canadian Side	Probably the last picture with us two in front of a sight

US Trip - New York
We arrived here shortly before 6 AM in the morning. It took us an hour to get to the hotel where we could not check in yet. So we just left the luggage and started our exploration tour: Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, ...
It rained most of the morning hours and we already feared that we have the same luck as with the helicopter tour at the Grand Canyon (that was postponed for a day) - but fortunatelly the sky cleared at around 10 and we had our helicopter tour at 11.
Then it was hiking time again: down with the subway to ground zero - from there to wall street and the battery park and back to the hotel for our check-in. Thats it so far - now its time to rest a bit before we check out the city at night. cheers

In front of the Rockefeller Plaza	In Grand Central Station
Dad was fascinated by their parking system	Our helicopter
From the atlantic side: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Manhattan	At the Ground Zero Memorial
Wall Street - NYSE	Finally americanized :-)

US Trip - San Francisco - Flight to New York
We finally made it to Alcatraz. The island is most probably known to everybody as a former high security prison - promoted by several hollywood movies. But - there is much more than that. The tour on alcatraz is of course focused on the prison (with a great audio-tour) but it also explains the original purpose (military fort in the gold rush times to protect the bay area) as well as why it has been remodeled to a prison and what happened after the prison was closed.
After the tour we returned our car - I ran some errands and then we made our way back to the hotel where a shuttle bus picked us up at 6 PM. Oh - I forgot - we had about 5 hours to go back - hmm - there are lots of bars in town :-)
The flight to NY was shorter than I had expected - 4.5 hours - and I think we slept through most of it.

Halloween Eve: This dressed guy is the bar owner of a bar next to the hotel	Alactraz - the former high security prison
The audio tour brought us through the cells and other parts of the building	Dont think that it was fun being an inmate
Great View from the head officers office towards SF	3 man actually escaped - thats how they got out of their cell
We - standing on the excercise platform	Being imprisoned :-)