Tuesday, 1 June 2010

urge to splurge

Having not written anything here for 6 months I now do feel the urge to splurge about my new internship. A lot has happened in the past half year but most of you know about it already so why should I repeat it? Ok, if you insist, I'll give you a short version:

- until April 11th I was in Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany. The time there included work, meeting great people, drinking delish beer, visiting Salzburg but also weekends at home in Basel for Fasnacht and my b-day.
- on April 16th I started my trip to the US but only got as far as London thanks to Ellijyfuckyouall volcano (scuse the language) so stayed in the UK for a week before going on to North Carolina, stayed there for about a week, went to California for 10 days, back in NC for a week and then back to Basilea.

I arrived in St. Gallen on Sunday evening with Esterli who kindly gave me and my stuff a lift and moved into my new place on Monday morning. Work started today. So why do I already have the urge to splurge? Weeeell I don't really know, I would guess because it is so completely different from anything I have done so far. Ok, admittedly, today I spent all day listening to people, trying to suck up information and reading stuff related to my work. I am working for a small consultancy affiliated with the university here in St. Gallen (full of slick haired rich kids) and specialising in a construct called "organisational energy". Anywhoooo, I am going to be involved in a project called "TOP JOB", which is basically like the times 100 best employers or "great place to work" just very empirical and using many different scales to measure 6 big constructs. My job is going to all to do with the data and processing the data. From the middle of June there will be another intern doing the same thing and for the first time ever they have decided to empower their interns so basically give us full responsibility over the data and producing the reports muahahah (actually I think it sounds terrifying). My next few days (other than a 4 hour weekly team meeting) will be filled with getting to know the reporting tool, which makes reports semi-automatically. "all" I have to do is put in the right standard text and then incorporate the correct data sets. Ha. The main data set has an n of up to about 25'000! (n being the number of cases) So, yes, I will have to make friends with SPSS again. For this I have been given their best intern laptop because I will need so much working memory (whatever the correct English expression is for that), wohooo. Amazingly I have also been given a personalised email address AND a key to the offices! This would have been unthinkable anywhere I have worked previously. So, as you can maybe also tell by now a very new time in my life is currently starting. Longer working hours (probably 8-18 or 19h), more responsibility, more serious, a smaller team, etc). Oh yes did I say that the interns get to go on their "Knowledge Days" - two days of internal training and meetings in a nice hotel in Rorschach (on lake constance) paid for by them! The only unfortunate thing is that they seem to spend more money on lunch than I would usually want to...

Ok, I think I am splurged out now. I might go to bed cause it is freeeeezing here. Max today was supposed to be 14°C and same tomorrow. Brrrr. Errr, summer?

Might send some more verbal diarrhea (if I could only remember how to spell that word) in this direction very soon so be warned.

xxxx

Tuesday, 29 December 2009

my year in facebook stati

26th December: Christmas in Notting Hill, Boxing Day in Westfield and watching Sherlock Holmes, Sunday with family near Windsor and Monday back Rosenheim
23rd December:
Eleanor Nevill has put aside her knitting, cranked up the volume, opened a beer and is ready to pack and tidy ... London!
15th December:
aktuelles Wetter in Rosenheim: leichter Schneefall, gezählte -4°, gefühlte -9° - winter is here and tbh I am loving it!
8th December: Eleanor Nevill
is almost on her way to Nottingham. In Mooch this evening, ceremony tomorrow at 11am and then back to Rosenheim.
7th December:
wooooohooooooo boingboingboing lalalala Notts here I come ♥
6th December:
Eleanor Nevill is happy that tomorrow is Monday! Why? After Monday comes Tuesday (pints in Notts), after Tuesday comes Wednesday (graduation), after Wednesday comes Thursday (MO'P xmas party) and after Thursday comes Friday (weekend).

30th November:
graduation is next week already! christmas is just over 3 weeks! 2010 not much further away! scary how soon the future will be the present.
29th November: Eleanor Nevill can't believe 57% of Swiss voters said yes to the ban on minarets.
28th November:
Glühwein am Rosenheimer Christkindlmarkt, Weisswurstfrühstück an der Prinzregentenstrasse und jetzt ab nach München.
17th November:
Eleanor Nevill is already excited about: Lena's visit, Glühwein, graduation, graduation gowns, Christmas, New Years and 2010. No particular reason why..
15th November:
homemade Zopf, homenade arm warmers ... there is an old woman hidden inside my young body!
13th November: Eleanor Nevill trägt Marc O'Polo. I am corporately identical.
5th November: Bayern München in Basel? Wurum nit umgekehrt, he?
an apple a day keeps windows away

4th November: MSc
3rd November:
"Ich weiss sehr genau dass ich von morgens bis abends angelogen werde. Wenn ich die Wahrheit wissen will frage ich den Pförtner." (solche Zitate kommen von Leuten die schon zu lange arbeiten)

31st October: Wayne's World vs Austin Powers
26th October:
Eleanor Nevill got the bus back from work and is now using the washing machine that apparently occasionally leaks - what an adventurous day!
20th October:
mountain view
15th October: Eleanor Nevill walked home across the fields from her first day at work with snow whirling round the outside of her head and information whirling round the inside. Great mountain view from the office though! There is now snow lying on the ground and it is oh so cold and my laptop only has 60% battery and I need to find an adapter before it runs out.
14th October: Eleanor Nevill is on a farm in Bavaria, in the snow, in the middle of nowhere - beautiful but inconvenient. First day of work tomorrow.
12th October:
last day in Basel - tired and busy
9th October:
Eleanor Nevill finally has her contract - now need to go book a train ticket and think about packing again..
5th October: so much to do, so little time
1st October:
krankenversicherung, heimatsschein, papierkram, eugh

30th September
: Eleanor Nevill is in Basel. Ächt. Ohni öppis z sage. Nämligg.
25th September:
Eleanor Nevill bought a slice of bakewell pie from a transvestite. there is a first time for everything.
21st September:
knitting, fish & chips, cup of tea, sea air
18th September:
Eleanor Nevill is preparing for some sea air in the luxurious south coast resort of bexhill-on-sea... going to hang out with a bunch of 90-year-olds more like.
15th September:
Eleanor Nevill climbed liverpool cathedral tower, took pictures of the cavern, and went into the vivienne westwood shop. on to london tomorrow.
12th September:
goodbye Nottingham, hello life ... or Liverpool for the moment!
11th September: the more I pack, the more stuff I seem to have! argh!
9th September:
Eleanor Nevill has handed in!
8th September:
4.5 days left and so much to do: finish dissertating, bind and hand in dissertation, go to one last pub quiz, do lots of washing, pack everything i have into one big backpack, get rid of books, bed clothes, kitchenware and other random items, say goodbye to many people, sort out bank account, ......
7th September:
index, abstract, formatting, references, appendices, summary, communication with organisation, supervision log, copies of letters, proposals, page numbering, powerpoint, portfolio, title sheet, CDs, .....
4th September: überraschenderweise in Winterthur
3rd September:
"Ich kann vieles und will nichts. Wozu soll ich vorwaertskommen? Wofuer und wogegen? Nehmen wir wirklich einmal an, ich sei der Traeger einer Funktion. Wo ist das System, in dem ich funktionieren kann? Es ist nicht da, und nichts hat Sinn." Fabian ♥
1st Steptember: summarising executives

31st August: Eleanor Nevill does not know how any subsequent interventions should be evaluated.
27th August: "When stuck in the river, it is best to dive and swim to the bank yourself before someone drops a large stone on your chest in an attempt to hoosh you there." (Eeyore)
"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." (Winnie the Pooh)

26th August:
"When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it." (Winnie the Pooh)
25th August:
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist)
19th August: Eleanor Nevill wants a large piece of carrot cake.
15th August: Eleanor Nevill LOVED her day out in Lincoln - good company, stunning cathedral, beautiful sunshine and delicious truffles, bread and ginger cheese!
12th August:
Eleanor Nevill was going to colour in her templates but then couldn't decide whether to use five colours for the main themes or 16 for the meso-themes and so wasted ages trying to find 16 sufficiently different colours without actually deciding what to do. Silly arts and crafts/dissertation. Might just go to the gym.
8th August:
Eleanor Nevill is artfully developing interplay between herself and her research and thinking that if I did actually psychoanalyse the relationship between us (especially having said that thing about interplay) the result would undoubtedly be sexual.
6th August:
Eleanor Nevill has had to take her knitting apart again cause her knit one, purl one looked horrible.
4th August:
Eleanor Nevill feels like she is doing arts and crafts not thematic analysis

30th July: Eleanor Nevill is excited about going to Anglesey!
27th July: j'ai rien à vous dire
24th July: Eleanor Nevill needs more tea, a lot more tea, or something else to get my brain working properly.
20th July:
three days in Suffolk
18th July:
Eleanor Nevill wonders why they guy in the Audi advert who says "Vorsprung durch Technik" says it as if it was an illness (with a strong English accent).
14th July:
Eleanor Nevill is exhausted after transcribing about 3 minutes of interviews and annoyed by her own voice. I will have grey hair and bags under my eyes after the next couple of weeks. Or possibly no hair if I have pulled it all out.
13th July:
Eleanor Nevill wants to become an academic so she can use made-up words like superadditivity in a journal like the academy of management journal without anyone questioning her.
8th July: Eleanor Nevill would also like to know where she will be in September but she doesn't, so there.
5th July:
Eleanor Nevill crossed the Rhine, had wine on a beach on top of a parking garage and danced under the stars.
3rd July:
sommer-balkon-fondue-plausch

27th June:
Albanifescht, Winterthuuuuuuur
24th June:
Eleanor Nevill is enjoying properly cold beer and sunshine by the Rhine ♥
19th June:
Eleanor Nevill is thinking she might be slightly mad - jumping out of a plane at 10'000ft for no particular reason other than thrills! But mad is good, so WOOHOOO & Eleanor Nevill is qualified as competent in level a & b occupational testing... woooweeee!
18th June:
Eleanor Nevill has apparently been awarded a Union Prize by the UoN Students Union! Not quite sure how that happened but thank you veryveryvery much to whoever nominated me!
17th June
:
Eleanor Nevill is happy with her results :)
14th June:
Eleanor Nevill ♥ Edinburgh
12th June:
Eleanor Nevill threw Paulina's car out of the window.
6th June: Eleanor Nevill 's wellies are waiting to be worn to the summer party!
3rd June:
Eleanor Nevill had her hair straightened for the first time ever and thought it was slightly pointless but quite likes the new haircut.

30th May:
Eleanor Nevill is knitting a hat.
28th May:
revision, gym, revision, exam, PUB!
25th May:
Eleanor Nevill had a zombie dream last night that was worse than most zombie films she had ever seen.
21st May:
"interview" is a film by Theo Van Gogh, a magazine by Andy Warhol and John Wilcock, a concept album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, a native C++ toolkit for the X Window System, a compilation album of Bob Marley & The Wailers songs, a 19
17th May:
schöööölölölölölölöööööö !!
12th May: Eleanor Nevill is fascinated by a guy who has obviously never used a hole punch before.
11th May:
preparing for another day of lectures, library, and gym. My life is on my bookshelf waiting to be picked up again.
9th May: Eleanor Nevill bathed Buddha!

19th April:
Eleanor Nevill just found an entry for Motörhead in the index of her statistics textbook :-D
8th April:
Eleanor Nevill would like a job in London from September! Please?

27th March: Eleanor Nevill says: "Would you sponsor me for a 10'000 feet skydive for charity?"
26th March: Eleanor Nevill loves her Lapsang Souchong, the zebra fish (Henry, George, Fred and Gertrud), and her magic mug of flat 6!
25th March:
Eleanor Nevill had a great Birthday! Thanks everyone for all the greetings, prezzies, and for coming out and dancing the night away! Bop-de-bop.
24th March:
s fluusi im tschackuusi mitem grosse buusi!
16th March:
Eleanor Nevill can't believe she is saying this but... ich vermiss d UB :(
10th March:
Eleanor Nevill saw two herons fly past the library window.
7th March: Eleanor Nevill can't decide where she belongs in the world.
4th March:
Eleanor Nevill thinks Jenny Joseph makes being old sound like fun - rock on!
3rd March:
Eleanor Nevill is thinking about going into late hibernation.

28th February:
Eleanor Nevill had a good day in Leeds (thanks to the only poet I know)
25th February:
fasnachtskiechli, tuubeschiss, mählsuppe, kääswäie, liiterwiis bier, faschteweie ... *schwelg*
22nd February:
Eleanor Nevill LOVED rock city but thinks English ice hockey is a bit, well, gay.
20th February:
Eleanor Nevill is exhausted and needs to start drinking again soon.
18th February: Eleanor Nevill is mystified by herself.
15th February:
Eleanor Nevill walked on a locked wall, had the greasiest fish n chips, and generally had a great day in York, but a slighlty disturbing drinking expierence at the JA.
11th February: the hobbling goblin wants some rum - now!
9th February:
Eleanor Nevill has butterflies inside and it has nothing to do with luurve.
5th February: Eleanor Nevill is feeling sophisticated because she is listening to Jazz...7pm snow fight again Cloisters?

31st January: Eleanor Nevill had a wonderful day at Sherwood Forest and the gardens of Newstead Abbey, and is also happily reunited with her black hat! Yay!
25th January
:
Eleanor Nevill quiere Mango... cortado pero sin sal, porfa! Nevill, E.R. (2009). Monday the 26th January will be one of the best days of my life. Journal of Exam and Essay frustration, 985(3), pp. 230-298.
22nd January: Eleanor Nevill thinks it would be typical if the fire alarm went off today.... el cielo esta llorando ...
21st January: Eleanor Nevill wants to bicycle from London to Paris.
19th January:
Eleanor Nevill busca el camino en mi alma pero no se puede encontrar suficiente claridad para verlo bien.
18th January: oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day *träller* (= Eleanor is not in the mood for writing essays).
15th January:
Eleanor Nevill has survived (3 exams down, 0 to go) and is going to hug a pony.
10th January:
Eleanor Nevill thinks sticking pictures of friends and family on her wall was much more important than revision even though it has made her a bit sad. I miss you all :(
8th January:
Eleanor Nevill is feeling cognitively dissonant... or maybe more like distant...?
5th January: Eleanor Nevill is wide awake and writing a telenovela.
4th January:
Eleanor Nevill survived jumping, eyebrow waxing, then had her nails done, her hair cut and now is ready to go back to Nottingham!
1st January:
Eleanor Nevill has made it to 2009. Phew.

31st December
:
Eleanor Nevill would like to know what 2009 is like from anyone who has already made it...

Sunday, 20 December 2009

two months later

I can't believe I haven't written even the shortest post in almost two months! Now I don't even know where to start!

Let's start with work: Work in general is good. I am responsible for application management in the international recruiting at MO'P. Sadly there aren't many open positions so there are also not many applications so I don't really have that much to do. I fill in much of my spare time working on small projects related to personnel marketing, developing assessment centres, etc. However frustrating it may be that sometimes I have nothing to do it has its positive sides as well as it has given me the opportunity to get to know other parts of HR that I would never even have considered doing previously namely payroll and contract management. The processes behind how we get contracts and how we pay out salaries are much more complex than I would ever have imagined and require detailed work with words or numbers, respectively. However from January I am moving from the international into the national HR team where I will still have the same responsibility but a lot more work. On the national level there are more open positions especially as there are 17 internship positions that applications come in for all the time. I am a bit nervous about this mainly because even though theoretically I have been doing the same work in the international team, some things I only had to do once or twice over the whole period I have been here rather than every week. The first week will probably be hard work but after that I am optimistic that it will all turn out well. Other than that I really like my team and am a bit sad that I am leaving them (although only two doors down the hallway but still) but in the new team there is another intern who I get on particularly well with already so that should be good fun. Last week it was the MO'P Xmas Party where many people got very drunk and boogied the night away in front of their coworkers. I danced and danced but the left when everything was stilly shiny and brilliant so no embarrassing stories to tell. This week was our team's xmas dinner, which was very nice too.

Just thought I would mention that the weather here is absolutely f-ing freezing. If it is already this cold now what will it be like in January!! The temperature has not been above 0° in the last week and currently it is about -13°! brrrrrrr. however I have to admit there is something beautiful about this kind of weather - the snow stays white and crystal-like, the air is incredibly clear and it is certainly christmassy. Getting dressed in the morning does take somewhat longer though as layers are a must-have.

Outside of work life is also good of course. During the week I am usually only home at about 6.30/7pm so by the time I have shopped, eaten, chatted to flatmates and checked my emails it is about time for bed. At work I spend all day in front of a computer so quite often I am not so keen on writing emails and stuff in the evening, which is possibly why I failed to update my blog. Anyhow I have also managed to go jogging a few times with Dimitrina (before it got this cold), and borrow a few films with the ladies (Dimitrina, Julia and Nici). Nici has sadly finished her internship and is now back home. At the weekend I usually either do not much or a lot. When I do a lot it is because I have a visitor. This has occurred four times already since I've been here! Incredible! My first visitor was Mike: our adventures included wandering aroudn Rosenheim for hours, going out in Rosenheim in the evening and dancing until the early hours and then heading off to Munich the next day (my first trip to Munich). My second visitor was Ester and the adventures were similar: Saturday in Munich sightseeing, eating and drinking - my first visit to a Rock Café! After a couple of beers and Glühwein we headed back to Rosenheim where we continued with a little pub crawl. Next day the weather was hothothot (yes, seriously, about 20°, tshirt weather) and we went for a long walk along the Inn. Third visitor was Lena. Lena arrived on the first day the Christkindlmarkt (xmas market) was open so we had some Glühwein and then a beer and a long chat at home. Saturday we headed to Munich where before exploring the city centre we headed to Schloss Nymphenburg, a previous summer residence of the royalty. Very impressive as instead of being built high it is built incredibly long. Of course it also includes massive gardens (including a botanical garden), a river, and a few curiosities like the witches cabin. After that we headed into town and did some more sightseeing and eating and drinking and by the time we got back to Rosenheim it was midnight and we were exhausted. The next day also took as for a walk along the Inn before our legs gave up from too much walking. My fourth visitor was Sämi for a Blitz-24h-visit, which obviously didn't allow for a trip to Munich but did allow a visit to the Christkindlmarkt, supper out in the Stockhammer and some wandering around Rosenheim. Oh yes, the only visitor that didn't get a Weisswurstfrühstück was Mike (sorry) so I am now quite expert and baking pre-baked Brezen and cooking Weisswürste (although the Weissbier is usally too much).

When I didn't have visitors I spent most of the time, like this weekend, knitting, walking, shopping, watching tv, sleeping and chatting. This Friday there were lots of people here so we had Brotzeit together, which is basically what we called bread and cheese at home. It somehow reminded me of Roman times as there were about 15 of us sitting at a long table and there was an incredibly consumption of bread, cheese, sausage, salad, etc.

Even if I spend a lot of time doing not much I am never really bored as long as I have my knitting. I am literally becoming addicted to this hobby. I am amazing myself with the fact that I have started something like this and not given it up again within a short time. Currently I am massproducing wrist-warmers. Thankfully there is a knitting shop almost across from my house! I go almost every weekend (it is already shut by the time I am home in the evening).

I think I have already written far too much but I just want to say what my plans are for the next couple of weeks: on Thursday I head to London for Christmas. I am staying with Vicky and Johanna until early on the 27th and then heading to Aunt Emma's where Granny and Grandpa will already be and Dan, Andy and Flora and the boys will also join us. On the 28th I fly out of Heathrow back to Munich. I'm working the 29th and 30th and then heading to Winterthur on the 31st to spend New Years in a Pfadi-hut with no electricity and no running water. Hm, yes, seriously. On the 1st January 2010 (I like saying that) I am going to Basel and then on the 3rd returning from Basel to good old Rosenheim.

That is it. xxx

Saturday, 24 October 2009

next new home

just a short post to say I have moved into town, town being Rosenheim, into a lovely old appartment shared with four others (only two of whom I have met so far). I love the flat and living in town is great (although shopping is a great temptation) and the flatmates I have met so far are really nice and there is a wool shop just across the road that sells reallyreally nice wool andandand. all good things so far! I am now rather tired from moving, buying stuff, and generally wandering around but still made it out to the cinema with Julia (who I lived at the farm with) and Nici (another MOP intern) to see 500 days of summer (in German, boo hiss). time to try out my new bed. had to buy myself a duvet and bedsheets and a towel in a funny shop called Mömax (Möbel Max), which has styled itself to look exactly like IKEA except that their colours are bright pink and green rather than blue and yellow. very amusing. it is funny to hear noises from outside again (other than the odd tractor passing and cow mooing) but also there is a guy in the flat underneath who has some kind of mental issue and shouts/screams/groans a lot during the night. thankfully I had been warned about this but it is still slightly eery. ooh, just remembered, one hour extra sleep tomorrow! my germanisms are worse when I am tired. better go to bed. buenos nachos! xx

Friday, 23 October 2009

moving into town tomorrow

my stuff is still spread around my room in a vaguely artistic way but sadly rather far away from being packed into my rucksack. as you can tell, instead of packing, i decided to update my blog. gotta love procrastination. anywhooooo, i have now been in Oberbayern for about 1.5 weeks and was starting to settle in - was because by moving again tomorrow lots changes. in the last 1.5 weeks I got used to walking to and from work whatever the weather was like: snow, rain, fog, frost, mud, sunshine. i got used to views of the mountains, walks down to the lake, complete darkness and almost complete silence in the evenings, a house heated by a wood oven, occasional fresh farm produce, etc. with my move into town I will try and get lifts to work with other people, be able to go out all the time, go shopping all the time, but hopefully also become involved in a more active social surroundings again. although maybe not so much for the first month as I don't really have any money, hehe. Rosenheim boasts shops (including at least two wool shops it seems - more knitting, yay), a cinema, a swimming pool, a library, a dinosaur exhibition, a couple of small museums and galleries, restaurants, and the Inn - the river that also runs through Innsbruck in Austria. more random knowledge: apparently the Austrian border is only about 17km away and it has been recommended that I visit Kufstein, one of the nearest towns in Austria, somewhat surrounded by mountains. talking about visiting, if I one day in the near future have some money again I not only want to see München but also Salzburg and, if Milan sticks around, Bratislava (only about 5-6 hours by train in the opposite direction to Basel). but yes first i need to move. then i need to settle into my new home, buy a duvet and bedclothes and a towel, and get to know my new flatmates. then hopefully it will be end of november at some point and the money situation will be looking up and life will pick up again. also of course at some point i need to think about what i am going to do after these six months. currently i have no idea. i am still playing with idea of doing a PhD, I actually rather like this idea, just no sure I have the time or energy to write a research proposal. otherwise I am thinking about staying in HR and maybe looking for a graduate/trainee scheme to join. sound good? maybe. what else? have met a couple of new people, work is picking up as I can do more and more without someone looking over my shoulder and spend less and less time looking over someone else's shoulder. although I have to remember I have only been working for just over a week so it is no wonder that I still have a million questions and am not capable to do everything and anything. Tuesday there was a "Musterverkauf" at work where they sold off some of the pieces, which were made but not put up for sale i.e. early versions of things that were later on changed before going to the shops. I bought new sunglasses and two armbands. a couple more sales coming up apparently so another reason to save a few pennies on other activities (although preferably not wool or swimming). ah yes, went to a delicious pizzeria on Monday with part of the international HR team, which I am also part of. yummyyummy. didn't honestly expect such delicious pizza in Oberbayern. usually I eat a proper meal in the canteen for lunch and then just have a bread and cheese and salad for supper but it seems I will eat the occasional meal out in the evening as well. not good for the budget. as you can tell I am currently somewhat obsessed by money or the lack thereof. i will survive, some would say. what other news? still not quite sure if I am going to graduation. sent off the form saying I would come but of course I only sent it off today (deadline was yesterday) so who knows. for Christmas I will be in the UK as well from the 24th to the 28th December, then back to work for a couple of days, and then possibly Switzerland (maybe even Basel) for new years. also looking forward to visitors coming here to see me, hopefully sooner rather than later - subtle hint everyone! ok, seems like I can't think of anything intelligent to write so maybe I should pack and then go to bed. xxxxxxx

p.s. pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154610&id=663901806&l=bad975c856

Thursday, 15 October 2009

climate change and other vaguely related topics

above all this is for Jenny but also as many of you know I have an opinion on everything so I will write a little comment on climate change.

I don't really want children anyway but if I did I would worry about what kind of world they would grow old in and what kind of world their children might be born into. I don't think it should be taken lightly that some of us have seen the Aletsch Gletscher in its current state (or its state many years ago in some cases), that we have dived stunning coral reefs and currently that it is snowing down to a few hundred meters above snow level in Bavaria in October. although I suppose people like most of us will somehow be able to afford a reasonable life. tbh I don't actually seem to have a strong opinion on climate change or at least I am not the eco-type as I know I love my laptop too much but there a few related things I believe in possibly slightly stronger than the average 23 year old: buying local products - importing exotic fruits from places like chile and south africa has a massive negative impact on the environment and unless they are fairtrade there is no reason to do so. fairtrade and organic do not rule the food world but buying locally should. ideally in the (veryveryvery) long run this would also encourage third world countries to learn to live off their own produce rather than importing unnecessary rarities (this I experienced first hand in Honduras). secondly, using public transports and bicycles more - quite often it is so much faster especially when travel is associated with larger cities. it also makes people move even if it is only walking to the bus. imagine how much money you could save by not owning a car. thirdly, not having electrical appliances that are hardly ever used plugged in and i promise I try and remember to unplug my chargers and suchlike when they are not charging anything.

this is as far as my opinion currently goes in these matters. as I said this post is for Jenny and for Blog Action Day www.blogactionday.org

snow in Bavaria

Thursday, 15.10.2009, 20:50, Baierbach, Stephanskirchen, Bavaria, Germany (almost Austria), snow is lying on the ground, the last fruits were rescued off the trees, the geese are being killed tomorrow, the mountains are hiding in the clouds but are beautiful when they appear and my room is very cold as I opened the window for a bit.

For everyone who still doesn't know: I am in Bavaria for six months interning with Marc O'Polo international in their HR department. Marc O'Polo make clothes, nice clothes, somewhat expensive if you are not employed by them, check out the homepage if you want to get an impression (www.marc-o-polo.com I think). Currently I am living on a beautiful old farm in the middle of nowhere, which for all its beauty is very inconvenient for which reason I am moving into town hopefully as soon as next weekend. Town being Rosenheim, largest town in Oberbayern (after Munich obviously) with 60'500+ inhabitants. Back to civilisation. Baierbach where I currently live probably doesn't even have 100 inhabitants and also doesn't even have a village shop and the bus only runs a couple of times a day. In the snow without a car life is not so interesting here but at least now the internet works so I can communicate with y'all.

Today was my first day of work and my brain is still trying to process the complete and utter information overload. I have a whole folder of stuff, info, processes, etc that I need to understand and be able to use and have been shown many things on the computer already too and even attended a meeting. I think it will take me about a week to get past this stage of just soaking up info and doing what I am told like a robot. At least everyone in the team seems really nice, I even got a little welcome plant for on my desk, hehe. The Swiss chocolate was also highly appreciated and hopefully increased their appreciation of me too.

I have so much I could write about I don't even know where to start. Having neglected the blog of the summer there is so much time missing where I wrote my dissertation, surpised Lena in Winti, went on holiday to Liverpool, spent one day here in Bayern to be interviewed for my position, went back to the South coast of the UK and soaked up some sun in Bexhill and Brighton before returning tp Switzerland for two weeks where I mainly spent time with friends, eating, drinking, and being merry. And now here there are so many things I could tell you about like how beautiful the Simssee is (one weekend destination: the Herreninsel on the Chiemsee but that might have to wait until the Spring) or about the other girl living here who talks so much but I am so appreciative of as being here alone would be incredibly lonely or many other things. As I don't have the energy to write about everything or even decide what few things to write about I am just going to leave it as it is.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo