Live Life. Life is Short. Life is an Adventure.

Last year I started taking photographs of Vehicle Number Plates. No specific reason why, more something to pass the time. I was more interested in special number plates, and I’ve collected onces such as “LINUX”, “POSIX”, “POLICE”, “SOCCER”, “MOO”, “GOLFNUT”, “MYSQL1″, “BUG OFF” (On a VW Bug), “BMW NOT”, “GO SOX” (from 2 different states), “HOT AIR”, and “MMMMMUD” to name a few.

It took about 4 weeks to get 48 states in the US when I started. The 49th came several months later, and this was West Virginia. Today, many months later I got the 50th state - Wyoming (the least populist state). WOOT!

You can find a view of the 50 states here.

Diary: 12^th April 2008

It’s seems you blink, and another week is gone. My second week has been busy, busy at work.

I miss a Clothes Dryer, and Microwave and Dishwasher. I really wanted this week the ability to heat my heat pack for some neck pain, but no Microwave. Re-heating last nights left overs also a little more complex. No English on TV, and only one English Radio channel with mostly semi-classic oldies (non of the great classic 80s rock songs).

I was officially registered in Germany and I’ll be expecting my resident’s permit by the time I return. Speaking of that, about to head to the airport and off to San Francisco for 10 days soon.

I enjoyed a dinner with a major client that brought 6-8 senior people from the US this week, including the CIO a New Yorker, so we had plenty to talk about.

Fireworks again last night, I’ll need to check this out as I take photos of Fireworks.

Been another cool, and a little wet week, the nights are already long, like 8:30pm.

I’ve enjoyed being able to walk to work each day, actually not long enough, taking 15 mins without effort. The only effort the 6 floors of stairs I take for the exercise.

No chance for Tennis yet, however have found somebody to play tennis with. My new custom orthodics for my feet are improving, but I’ve got some problem with my knee, don’t know how that happened.

Anyway, need to get dressed, pack final items like said laptop and attempt to call a Taxi here in Hamburg, really hoping for somebody that handles English.

On a final note, while I tried a few photos of co-workers with my new phone, I’ve taken no photos of the location in the past two weeks, even thought I’ve had my camera. Seems a little strange.

Diary: 5^th April 2008

It’s Saturday, a chance to sleep in, but not really for me.

I have a very quite apartment, the complete opposite to my previous New York place. Except for the neighbors that decided to play loud Indian music last night after midnight. Why it started then one can not understand.

I have an evil shower. The water goes from luke cool, not really warm to boiling hot, there appears to be middle of the road. My shower on Friday was a difficult experience. Today I’ve managed a little better but not ideal buy running the hot water in the sink at the same time. Of course every day it will be a trial and error process.

I went to use the Toaster this morning to find out that the bread I bought didn’t fit length ways into it. So I had to discard 1/3 of each slide to get it to fit.

No further luck with my Vodafone UMTS Modem, I tried calling Vodafone Business Support again but the operator didn’t understand English at all. My only option to write all these blog posts, upload photos, catch up on emails with friends and read the news (in English) a visit to the office.

I try walking a different way to work, check out a different supermarket which is much better, I’m able to find several things I need like washing machine power, dishwashing powder, some real glasses (the ones in the apartment are a little weird).

During work, I get a phone call from Vodafone, somebody that can talk in English. I explain my problem, can get a connection, but can only connected to google sites or vodafone.de. She keeps telling me it’s a problem with my computer which I say it isn’t under any other network connection. Without any English documentation I’m wanting to confirm all the settings I’ve tried to configure for the modem. Even in English I have trouble understanding the operator, but I learn after asking several times to clarify, that the APN should be WEB.VODAFONE.DE not WAP.VODAFONE.DE. Even several times I didn’t get WEB. But lone behold this small change has everything working. Go Figure! Time to write detailed instructions so the next poor soul has a better chance here.

On another win from the frustrations of Friday, late Friday night with the blaring neighbors music I was wondering where my earplugs were (my custom made, greatest investment last year). I had a look in my carry on bag, could not find them. Thinking I didn’t use them at the hotel, I wondered if I’d put them out on the nightstand and now they are in the lost items.

In utter frustration I start to disassemble all luggage I have. I’ve already looked though the luggage multiple times, but I’m rather annoyed of how stupid I was to lose things.

To my joy and utter annoyance I find said missing items including ear plugs, in a side pocket of my tennis bag. What the. Why would I put them there I have no idea why, and I’m left to think back why I could not remember this. Even typing this now I still shake my head in disbelief of my inability to remember, but extremely happy my loss was only temporary.

It’s also likely now after my first five days I’ll cut back on writing each day, lots of other things to also do.

Diary: 4^th April 2008

It’s Friday and normally while some people would be happy it’s the end of the work week, it’s been far from a memorable day.

The day first started sleeping terribly, and then with the confirmation that yesterday between leaving my hotel and arriving at my new apartment I’d lost something. I’d only determined this late Thursday night. A small bag of personal items, those effectively on my nightstand at the hotel. Two personal visits to the hotel, double confirmation of the vehicle and checking office to no avail. This has caused great distress, not just for the inconvenience and replacement cost, but because some personal items are un-replaceable, and indeed include things given to me from somebody else. It also included my current medication, which I was then forced to visit a doctor, too new to have German health insurance so paying as a private patient, just to get a prescription and then get that filled.

At my new employer things have not gone to plan regarding the upcoming MySQL Conference with a key new relationship caught up in unnecessary red tape.

I get an email from a former MySQL colleague passing through Hamburg, which is great, so was looking forward for meeting, but a subsequent canceled flight ruined that, at least until a later date. A supportive phone call from another former MySQL employee and friend from elsewhere in Europe and another email from yet another good friend and former colleague, good news in a otherwise bleak day, and yes it’s raining again in Hamburg.

Navigating around my Macbook now is also becoming more frustrating the more I use it. Things I could do under Linux I simply can’t do now. Such as resizing a window from any side. In the Mac you have go to the bottom right corner. Alt-Tab between windows really annoys me, as the same program with multiple windows, say Firefox or Thunderbird, requiring Alt-Tab, then Alt-~. You also have to release the Alt key between these operations. Combined with my laptop keyboard having the ~ key at the top left, and the attached USB keyboard having at the bottom left just another annoyance. Not yet read to write a hate list for Mac, but it’s not in my good books, still I’ll never go to Windows so my options are limited given the investment I’ve made now.

The day ended with my supplied USB Modem card which seemed to work fine when configured at the office (how I now wonder why), now not working. Requiring to re configure the device on my Mac provided a fruitless exercise. Re-installation multiple times and reboot no luck. The backup plan was to call Vodafone for technical support, first nobody with English could help me, I had to leave my number for somebody to call me back. This proved unsuccessful as then with a Mac I was told this was too specialized and somebody would call me back on Monday. Realizing I’ve got emails I’d like to write, photos to upload, blog posts to write and being effectively stuck technologically annoying on a Friday night. Combined with a TV but only German speaking languages on every station, happy, happy, joy, joy. Finally a radio station that’s playing English songs, and German ads, so I guess that’s one way to solve the annoying ad problem. Thinking to myself, I really should start on my German lessons I paid good money for.

Why do you try the same thing multiple times seeking a different result. XKCD has a brilliant cartoon (to the right) on this called The difference. Because with computers and software you get a different result. You know after multiple times and different errors, with seemingly the same configuration each time, then a connection, long enough to automatically disconnect. Convinced now that something is right, a few more disconnects and reconnects and it’s stable (no software changes). Try a few websites (like Hamburg Weather at weather.yahoo.com and the Hamburg Train map at wikipedia.org failing, the most recent bookmarks. What the? Just as I’m about give up, I try gmail.com and it works. Also google.com works. My blog doesn’t work. yahoo.com doesn’t work. Skype doesn’t work, emails doesn’t work. So either Google is doing something right, or they have no taken control of the internet.

It’s 10:30pm and outside I can hear and just see fireworks. If only I’d known I would have investigated some more. Back to my lack of connectively. This USB HSUPA modem or the connected network is useless. Is this a sign. On that note it reminds me that yesterday I went to the vodafone store, checked out the 1 Euro phones (note I don’t have a Euro key on my US keyboard), make my request at work, and lone behold, that particular Sony Ericson model is not available under the business plan. Plenty of others, like 10 different Sony Ericson models alone. Why, oh Why.

Time to finish up this draft post in my email client for now, getting a little sick of the very general 70s and 80s music on this radio station. I remember last time I was here the radio station on the bus to/from Kiel was a classic rock station, I’d commented to others it was excellent. If only I knew then I would be back and working in Germany I’d paid more attention to the frequency.

Diary: 3^rd April 2008

My third day in the office started a little later today, Jet Lag seems to have really messed up my sleeping, I was awake at 1am and only got back to sleep around 6am before a phone call at 9:15am to see where I was.

The big news today is at 4pm I moved into my apartment here in Hamburg. Close to work (~15 mins walk), bus, train and fishmarket area at the Port of Hamburg all close.

An official photographer was in the office today, unfortunately I wasn’t prepared for a good photo in suit and tie, but did manage to have my photo taken.

Managed to do grocery shopping, visit the vodafone store to check out mobile phones, that will get ordered online, navigated the bus system home successfully without incident however I think I paid to much.

However, the day ended with me leaving some things behind, I suspect at the hotel. The included some important things so I’m anxious to find them. A call organized to check for me (as I need a translator) only raised the night porter, so I’ll have to follow up tomorrow.

Click for larger image or View Here

Diary: 2^nd April 2008

After my first night in Germany staying at Hotel Stephan I had just a few minutes walk to the office.

I had the chance to look at a few apartments today.

My local mobile phone (only America is screwed up having to call it a cell) works, have been texting the US and Australia without issue. Even got a wake up phone call from the US which was most enjoyable.

As I didn’t write this on Wednesday it’s hard to think back one day of what I actually did, rather lame isn’t it.

This is the totality of my personal belongings now, two suitcases, a carry on and my tennis bag. All other belongings strune across the globe.

Diary: 1^st April 2008

I’ve managed to make it thought the first day until about 8pm, that’s 2pm New York EDT. A good 32 hrs from the last time I slept. My first day of work for my new employer has shown me a number of new things, some good and some not so good in particular with the products and clients.

When the fog and haze cleared, it turned out to be a beautiful day with clear views in all directions from our top floor office building, until the rain settled in at the end of the day.

So what’s different? Many things, from annoying German keyboards (which I simply can’t use), to glass bottles for Coke.

Here is an interesting snap. New smart cars are so small, two can fit in a normal one spot.

Diary: 1^st April 2008 - Day 1

As I head into Hamburg, Germany heavy fog blankets the area.

What have I done.

I have left my friends, my home, my comfort zone. Is the pursuit of the ideal work environment, a satisfying and rewarding job so much I have to leave the country?

Travel I love, the chance for a new language, culture, food, people. But does relocating change perspective from a prolonged holiday. While I’m sure it will provide a change for an in depth change in lifestyle. I leave my home of New York with far greater feeling of missing home then I did and do with my true homeland of Brisbane, Australia. What does this mean? Have I found in NY what I’m seeking in life. Time will provide the answer.

Finding Christina is I feel all but lost with no luck on this Newark flight, the last for some time.

Diary: March 31^st 2008

November 3^rd 2006 I started my US Adventure. Today, I end it. It is unexpected, it is at a reasonable financial and personal cost, it’s certainly not a small endeavour but life is what you make of it, and I can’t reach my goals of lifestyle without moving on (change of country not generally necessary but that my best option now).

In Terri Urwin’s famous words that helped me get to this, “Life is like a book, and this is the next chapter.”. This chapter will end, a new one with start, the “German Experience”. My love of New York, the people and friends and the desire to live here remains, but it will be a journey elsewhere before I return. How long, I am unsure.

My impending chapter can be sub-titled “High Risk, High Reward”. I’ve received great support from personal friends, something I could no do without in life, today or tomorrow.

Stay tuned!