Back To Life, Back To Reality

Wow - I've missed to write even a single blog entry in May. It's not that it was boring - There was so much going on I've almost lost track. To get started again I just want to focus on the main topics:

Spring Festival
The festival is the main event of the year for me. I love music so much and with all the action going on here in little Graz it’s “almost” the best thing that can happen to me. This year we had great headliners at the opening concert on the first day. The location of the concert was on top of the “Schlossberg”. This exclusive location was the perfect place for an exclusive opening. My job, as in the former years, was to host our artists – mostly the headliners of the day. I had a great time with Roni Size and Represent and with a bunch of Brazilians from the Brazilian night. I hope next year I’ll be able to welcome much more of my dear friends ;-) I have already posted the pictures on Picasa – Have a look!

Job Change
I’ve decided to change my job at the end of April. After reviewing what I have archived and the opportunities to come I’ve accepted a job offer from a friend. I really was sad to quit the “old” job because of my gorgeous colleagues and the interesting and international business.

I work now at Zydacron – A start-up company that produces medical devices for tele health. There is a lot to do in this company because the whole development team has quit and the business has to get started again. I’m working now at the support department and it’s really a challenge for me – I hate this technical focussed jobs! As I love challenges I give it a try and hopefully I can “reorganise” myself quite quick and go for another challenge.

Upcoming
I have already some plans for the next weeks. Today I had my first shot in a commercial about my work at the new company. That will be part of a marketing video of the company.
Next week I’ll be in London at an exclusive hospital to shot a short feature about the tele health product for an Arabian TV station. Later next week I will travel to Norway to a special place where elderly people live in a community – also using the new product.
I also want to be in the near future in Paris for the “Fete de la musique” and in Belgium for caving. I really hope at least something will work out. Now as I have some time for blogging again you’ll can expect to be well informed again.

Late Night Shift

Finally I'm finished for today or better tonight. I've been busy editing the artists sections of the springfestival homepage. I'm checking every single link on the page and trying to give the page a unified format. That is not as easy as it sounds! The feedback of the artists regarding the info we’ve requested from them is as different as the many different individuals sending them back.

As every year also this year we have a unique design for the festival. The cooperate identity can be found and compared on the homepage with the versions from the previous years. This year we have a black and white cow. She appears not only on the website – she will also show herself on the flyers, booklets and merchandising articles. The theme last year was also very amusing for us – instead of the cow we used our senior security guys. The three of them appeared in their favourite leather jackets they are known for. For the audience it was very surprising to see the guys from the flyers in real life on the door.

Now it’s just one more month to go and there is a lot of preparation work to do – and of course also some promotion events. I’ll report a bit later how they have been – probably as successful as the events in London and Ljubljana earlier this month.

London gets us punked!!!!

Saturday started quiet and peacefully. After breakfast and saying good-bye to Elli we went sightseeing in London. Around Oxford Street Gerald bought some records and Marcus and I walked around and discovered hidden treasures of the city. At the evening we decided to have a nice, typical English dinner and then, after a good night drink, return to the hotel.

After eating an overpriced steak we walked home through Oxford Street. Suddenly we mentioned a long line of stylish people queuing to enter a posh club: Punk
A few seconds later we had drinks in our hand and shaking to the music with the party crowd. We spent hours there, had a couple of drinks and a very good time.

The disaster begins: After leaving the club we intended to walk home. Unfortunately no one of us was in the mood to pay attention to the direction we were going. The outcome was a nice little walk about over 1,5h until we took a cab to find home. At home we wanted again a snack from Mc Donald’s but it was already closed. So we decided to go to sleep for an hour and then leave the hotel for the airport. After oversleeping a bit and rushing to the reception we had to deal with the payment for almost 45 minutes. The credit card payment was a big problem for the inexperienced stuff. Beside of the payment issue we had to recognize that we forgot about the switch to summer time. Because of this switch we were one hour late! The next decision was to take the Stansted Express instead of the slow bus. We bought the tickets and the train station where we got the hint that we have to go to the Liverpool station to get the train. After a few stops in the tube we got informed by staff at the Liverpool station that the Stansted Express is suspended because of a burning train on the tracks. We got an advice to take a bus instead. The stop was just around the station. At the bus stop there where so many people waiting for the bus that we had to go to Victoria station for another bus company. Taking the tube again we wanted to change the line and learned that the Victoria line is suspended because of maintenance. Again leaving the station we got an advice to take the bus service for the suspended line. Of course again we got lost and didn’t catch the right bus so we took a cab instead. The taxi brought us to Victoria station and I asked the drive how much he would take to Stansted airport. He just laughed and told me that it would be over 100 Pounds and it would not be much faster as the bus. Of course we had again problems at the bus station. The first problem was that the scheduled bus didn’t arrive. The second was that the delayed bus was short of seats because the first bus didn’t appear. Luckily we got on the bus and arrived later at the airport. Too late for our flight! We checked the flight schedule and learned that there was an easy jet connection to Ljubljana. Lucky to get the flight we checked in. Again there were problems: I have been carefully searched at the security and later even crosschecked by a dog. I then learned that it’s not a good idea to say “fuck off” to an officer. Luckily I didn’t get any big problems and a few hours later we landed in Ljubljana. Our journey was of course not over yet. We couldn’t find anyone to pick us up from Slovenia so we had to take the train. For a value price we could organise a 4h ride with the train over Maribor to Graz where our trip finally has successfully ended.

After all, the weekender was a great experience for us. Not cheap but full of adventures and a great time

Springfestival Launch Party Review

I'm now back at work in Graz. The sun is shining and I'm lazy today after this excessive weekend. Because so much has happened I will split the report in two parts.

Friday after work I took a taxi to the airport. On the way Markus and Gerald joined me for the trip. Gerald is a DJ and Markus is event manager and graffiti artist. We arrived at the hotel in London at around 8PM. It is conveniently located between King’s Cross and St. Pancras. There we met the rest of the crew who have already been in London for a few days.

The meet and greet took place at the first floor in the AKA. We had a fantastic overview of the main floor. Different to Austria the main floor was full of party people at 9PM! Soon we had lots of artists and friends in the venue. It was great to meet all these nice people again. Later the evening the first floor was opened to the public and we also moved to another location. Rainer Trüby and DJ Marky played in the club “The End” in the basement of AKA. “The End” is a medium sized club with two floors. Of course smoke free and equipped with a loud sound system. The music at this evening was not the best but good enough for a nice party. Around 4 we left the venue and took a taxi to the hotel, or better – to Mc Donald’s beside the hotel. After a heavy good night meal we went to bed and expected the best for the next day.

DJ Marky & Friends Vs. Rootdown – springfestival Launch Party

London – we’re coming! Springfestival is near and some promotion work has to be done. On Friday I’ll travel after work directly to the airport. With Ryanair we travel to Stansted and from there to London. On Friday evening we have a great show at “The End”. This is one of Londons top clubs and with DJ Marky from Brasil on the turntables it will be a hot and sweaty evening.

Saturday will be reserved for a short nap in the morning and a hangover during the day. Beside of enjoying London we plan to spend our pounds on some nice music and typical British food. On Sunday we have to travel home again. The plane is leaving at the late morning and we’ll be back on the early afternoon. Time enough for a power chill-out and some nice memories of London.

Semana Santa

Semana Santa is a week in which everything dies all over the country. Schools are out and this time around Wednesday was a Catholic holiday too, making it even shorter in some sectors. Also the government and public services shut down. Venezuelans use this holly week to flock in masses to the beaches in huge crowds. Being unaware of this mass phenomenon I’ve noticed the rapid increase of party crowd at the beach. It was very interesting to observe the behavior of the people. Woman in tiny G-strings and massive booties are having fun and drinking booze on the beach with their super size friends. With some delay it came to my mind that all these people have to go home after the week. Unfortunately on the return flight from Caracas to Europe was also scheduled for Sunday.

Soon we realized that there would be no plane with available seats until Thursday, three days after the end of my vacation, to fly back. The next opinion was the ferry between Isla de Margarita and the mainland. The new master plan was to take the ferry on Saturday night and travel to the airport in Caracas with the airport express. This plan failed because I had to learn at 02:00 AM that the tickets have been sold out for the next few days. After a short and deep sleep back at the friend’s house the next idea was born. Because the ticket for Caracas was not any longer any carrier could be considered for flying home. At the end luck came back and Condor had available seats. So many other tiny nasty things had happen and it is impossible to list them all. I’m just happy to be back in time!

I think I have learned my lesson and the next time I will carefully check the vacation schedule before I consider booking a flight. After all it was a great short vacation and a big adventure. I’m now already thinking about the next travel…

Isla de Margarita

The first big travel this year brings me back to “Isla de Margarita” in Venezuela. I’ve already been here a few years ago on a travel through Venezuela. It was the last stop before returning back to Europe. Now I’m here to visit friends and have a good time. The trip was quite unexpected because my company has asked me to consume my outstanding vacation. Together with Karin, Edith, Amira and Rene I spend some really special moments on the island.

I’m writing now on the laptop of Rene and a big jar of rum helps me to find the right wording. Mentioning rum – there is a great selection of rum available in the stores. It’s a double pleasure to drink premium rum in an exotic environment. This will remind me in the coming months, when I drink a glass of rum at home, on sunshine, nice weather and hanging loose.

On Monday I have started with kite surfing lesions. Isla de Margarita is famous for steady wind, warm sea and a sandy shore. Every second day I go with my friends to a beach called “El Yake”. This beach is world famous for the wind conditions and attracts the wind surfing crowd and kite surfing enthusiasts around the world. It’s fascinating using the force of the wind to surf over the sea. I’m very curious how it will get on Friday when it’s the first time using the board. Until now I was busy learning how to control the kite and drag in the sea.

Unfortunately the first week is almost over. I’ll come back home on Easter Monday and return back to work on Tuesday. After returning back I’ll travel on Friday to London where a springfestival promotion party with DJ Marky (Brazil) will kick the ass of the audience. At the moment I have big problems writing this text. A little kitty insists to lick my hands and wants to sit on the keyboard. After removing the cat I have a minute time to write the next paragraph :)

I think that’s enough for today. I’ll try to update the blog more or less frequently till the end of my journey. Now another cat attack begins and I have to take care of the little kitty.