Do I look professional?

I am on a mini vacation at the moment. For 5 days. Then I will start my new job at Haworth. My new position is "sales engineer" in the product performance department. I am pretty excited - Haworth's values seem to fit my values. According to their website: it's all about people - treating your employees well, allowing them flexible work hours, continous learning and sustainability. About 1000 people work at the Calgary facility - apart from my summer job at DOKA in Austria - my biggest employer so far. Oh yes, and it will be the first time that I am working for an American Corporation. Mmmm. Unfortunately their head office is not in sunny California, but somewhere in Michigan. Too bad.



As the German saying "Kleider machen Leute" (the English not-so-striking translation: Fine feathers make fine birds) suggests, I went on a little shopping spree yesterday. The goal: to appear professional. I was very lucky, that Laura accompanied me and helped me pick out some new outfits. Thank you Laura! I don't think I have ever spend that much money in one day (okay, Brit - apart from my bicycles), but I am now the proud owner of my first business suit!

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”

by Seneca.





My Built Green Era is over. Tuesday was my last day. 3 months and a little bit of volunteering before that. I very much enjoyed working there - it was at SAIT - which is the best location in town. If Calgary had a King and Queen - that's where they would live: it's on the hill just above Sunny Side - overlooking down town. I was also happy to see a plaque of Heritage Hall - stating that SAIT is "normal school" for normal people - thank god!

The top three things, I learned at Built Green:

1. there are no problems - only opportunities
2. a small group of people can have a big impact
   
3. there is always time for a coffee break (okay - I knew that already ;-)
   

Above 2 pictures of my colleagues at a dinner at the Tibetan restaurant on 10th and two pics of SAIT.

What I did last weekend...

Antonia und Vincent sind wahrscheinlich ein bisserl traurig, dass sie letztes Wochenende nicht bei der lieben Tante Anna in Canada waren. Wir haben naemlich einen Lord of the Rings Marathon veranstaltet. Begonnen hat es um 6 am Abend - der 3. Teil endete um 6 Uhr am naechsten Morgen. Ich muss zugeben dass ich waehrend dem 2. Teil mich fuer ein paar Stunden hingelegt habe. Trotzdem hatte ich am naechsten Tag einen Kater - nicht weil ich zuviel getrunken habe (na gut, ein paar Glaserl Wein waren schon dabei), doch einen audiovisuellen Kater.

Bin froh, dass ich alle drei Teile gesehen habe, endlich verstehe ich halbwegs, was Golum, Legolas, Frodo und Gandalf in Middle Earth so treiben.

Freckled Mint - Minze mit Sommersprossen

Vor ein paar Monaten saete ich Basilikum und Minze, und obwohl ich nicht immer die verlaesslichste Giesserin bin, haben die kleinen Pflaenzchen bis jetzt ueberlebt. So weit so gut. Allerdings hat die Minze komische weisse Puenktchen. Falls ein Pflanzenkundiger (ich denke grad an die vielen talentierten Gaertner in meiner Familie) weiss, was das Problem sein koennte, und ob ich die Minze trotzdem noch als Tee verwenden kann, waere ich fuer ein Kommentar sehr dankbar!

"Tante Anna is becoming peculiar..."

That's probably what my cool nephews and nieces think - when they see these pictures. "Why does Tante Anna look like a praying mantis?" Recumbent connoisseurs call the hand position I am in "praying mantis" Gottesanbeterin - in contrast to "superman" - needless to say, that's Vik's hand position!

Goethe says:

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."

Jasper to Calgary - September Long Weekend

On the September Long Weekend I rode from Jasper to Calgary. 450km. 4 days of Sunshine. I was worried that my knees might not like this trip - but my legs were fine - no problem. However, after day 3 my wrists and fingers hurt a little bit and when I came home, two fingers on my right hand were numb for a week! For more pictures, check Vik's blog.

Lights on 4th

How effective...

...is this stuff, if Mr. Muscleman eating IsoFlex, can't even squeeze the container to get it in the recycle bin?

Climate Neutral Flying

WESTJET, in a pioneering move, has agreed to cooperate with Offsetters to make your air travel climate neutral. Just book your travel online, using the link to WestJet at www.offsetters.ca and Westjet will invest in climate friendly projects to offset the GHG emissions from your flights at no extra cost to you.

Something to consider!

You must understand the whole of life,...

... not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Mei neie Hock'n

Seit Anfang August arbeite ich fuer Built Green. Die Leut sind supernett - eine sehr eklektische Mischung. Unsere Mission: Haeuser a bisserl umweltfreundlicher zu bauen.

now also available at...

www.anna-wechselberger.com

Wednesday Eve Corona Action with K&D

Why I work for Patagonia...

Check out this essay by Yvon Chouinard on corporate responsibility for Planet Earth.


I hope it's a peaceful planet.

look...

...at the fun things Mac-ie can do - he even takes pictures, and funks them up!

My Little Mac

Kananaskis cont'd

We hiked up to the base of Mt. Kidd - basically the green ridge to the north (left in the second picture on the bottom).

It was pretty steep, but we made it to the top - an the view into the valleys on to the other side was well worth every step.

While Robin had a nap after lunch, I performed a little dance on the rocks :))

But: today my quads are killing me - i had this little sample of warm-up oil that i put on my legs after my shower just now, and hell, it warmed up my legs! They turned red and my thighs are throbbing! I stretched a little bit and that seemed to help. Thank god! I checked the ingredients and the killer oil contains isopropyl miristate and stereate, dicaprylyl ether, methyle nicotinate, caffein, basil, oregano and rosemary oil. Mmmm...words with that many -yl's make me wonder... and stereates? Aren't those things that would get you disqualified at the Tour de France?

bei der Rezeption

Dan und Wilfried

Ursula

Ariane's Vater und Robin

Lex-Pert cont'd

Bild 1 Ein bisserl Spass muss sein...

Bild 2 Onkel Wilfried wird verhoert...

Bild 3 Robin's Freunde

Der Lex-Pert

Nein - leider nicht auf meinem Mist gewachsen, ich sah ein Magazin mit dem Titel Lexpert in Robin's Badezimmer.
Robin war so nett einen Absatz bezueglich seiner Rechtsanwaltsfeier zu schreiben:

Bar call....A bar call has nothing to do with alcohol or loud voices and it is not an ESLer's mistaken attempt to describe a pub crawl. Instead it is a ceremony marking the date upon which a student-at-law becomes a lawyer, that is he or she is "called to the bar". The "bar", physically, is the wooden bar in the court room beyond which only barristers and litigants may cross to address the court. So to be called "to the bar" is to join the legal profession as a fully qualified member entitled to address the court. This event should not be confused with graduating from law school. Law school graduation, although significant as it marks the end of one's academic legal training, is followed by a period of one year of "articling", which is essentially an apprenticeship, and both of these precede being called to the bar. For those mathematically inclined the foregoing could be translated into the following equation: law school graduation + one year of articling = being called to the bar = being a fully qualified lawyer.

Bild 1 Robin, sein Betreuer und der Richter
Bild 2 Tante Sandy ist froh, dass aus ihrem Sohn was geworden ist ;-)

Onkel Wilfried und Tante Sandy...

...sind zu Besuch in Calgary. Sie kamen fuer Robin's bar call, der am Donnerstag war. Er ist jetzt offiziell ein Mitglied der Law Society in Alberta. Ich hoffe zwar nicht dass ich nochmals zum Gericht muss, sprich dass ich mit dem Gesetz in Konflikt komme, doch falls es so sein sollte, weiss ich wenigstens wen ich vorher anrufen kann!

 

Enjoying...

...the view in Kananaskis

 

HAIL A HYBRID

I just came across the hail a hybrid website. Checker, Yellow Cab and Associated Cab supposedly offer hybrid taxis. Mmmm...interesting.

I guess I will have to check this out and request a hybrid next time I need a cab.

Living Room

We don't have typical living room furniture. Instead of couch & TV you will find one table, one meditation cushion, two boulsters and a shitload of pillows. Oh, and a kick ass stereo!! Bec, Cat, Shelley and Malynne didn't seem to be too confused and made themselves comfortable. Rebecca was certainly not a couch potato. More a bolster banana.

Godess Goodness

Digesting after our potluck...

My SUV

Last weekend I passed the 500 km threshold on my touring bike. Yeah!

It can be frustrating to be a cyclist though. Nobody seems to like me - neither pedestrians nor bus-, car- or truck drivers are fond of me. Today I got honked at from a bus driver. He was not into sharing the road with me.

But: my legs are getting stronger, I feel energized from riding and it makes my meals more enjoyable knowing that I burned an extra 1000 calories last weekend.

I guess, this is a first step towards preparing for the Great Change...

Hiking around Lake Minnewanka

These pictures courtesy of Lori - for more pics and words check out her blog (yeah i inserted my first hyperlink!!!) . Lori, her twin sister Lana and I were born the exact same day almost 33 years ago. It seems that Leos born on August 15 are into foreign countries: Lana lives in Thailand, Lori is married to Tommi from Guatemala and I, well, I am the Euro-Calgarian.

We did this hike some time in July and went for a refreshing dip into Johnson Lake afterwards. We ran into a big group of big horn sheep, who were almost too curious - they didn't get the memo that wild animals are supposed to be admired from the distance.