Recently I was asked by a friend about our situation here in Germany…..

Is your economy really going down that much actually? We hear a lot of bad things about here … she said!

Now honestly …. I was surprised! Sure, our news here are full with bad news about banks and car industry are doing worse actually. But being asked about by some oversea friend was surprisingly new for me though.

It is a fact that global world economy is doing worse and we Germans are part of it. As a major export nation the actual dollar weakness is indeed a problem for us and our industry. Banks having money issues is at least for my generation a totally new experience. And finally an old, big and set company like Adam Opel being concerned about the big Mother General Motors behind the pond could be the issue for a possible final disaster is for sure special in itself.

Now with a lot of people complaining about self ruling forces of the markets have failed, now looking for governments to overtake a more dominant positions ruling managers and companies, I couldn’t say I’m really feeling happy about!

But being asked and even after thinking about, I would say we are concerned …. Doing worse is different!
Nevertheless, we all are connected within one big economically network and I deeply hope situation will improve soon for all again.

Must be now nearly 9 years since I was in the USA for longer. And now being over again I recognize that there is some mentality border for sure. People are different here for sure.

Sure they are friendly and exceptional helpful in any situation. Bit never the less I can feel it … they are different.

The last few years I’ve traveled Canada, New Zealand and Australia and wherever it was, I have felt closer to the people there.

I really can’t specify it better than, the people there are more European alike. Strange but true … perhaps the reason why I archive to make really close friends in those countries I mentioned last, but never archived to come closer with some US folks so far.

This morning my first way was going to the computer and checking it for a highly awaited feedback via email…..
Guess I wouldn’t have done in case it would have been for work issues though.

Curious as it is, I had left this stupid puter thingy just a few hours before, giving it anything else nut nice names.
Believe it or not, "Stupid Metal Nerd" was one of the more harmless terms I had used for it!

Knowing about me in such critical situations when I have to work highly concentrated for hours, I’m aware that things start to get some more personal touch for me. The system in front of you is no longer just a computer and at least I start to talk with it giving it all kind of bad or nice names depending on the situation I have to go through.

Ensuring you are not doing any mistake, by looking at things two or three times and being aware there is only one and just one chance to succeed, at least I need such a valve to get rid of the pressure.

Making it short now, it was again a critical database recovery I was sitting about. Getting the info about a damaged database right at the end of my working day yesterday, I worked more than double as much hours as usually. But at the end I could ring the customer and telling him about the database got fixed again.

Now finally coming back to that email I found this morning. It was some personal news I was keen to receive and world directly started to look better and more beautiful again after reading it. YEAH!! Thats Tops!

Originally I had planned to write about something positive today. Right when starting into this day I had the feeling about it would become some special day today. Not sure why, it was just the feeling I had ….

Later on a few things (work issues) happend, showing me that a few things I had start to influence weeks, not to say months, ago, now seems to work out in a way I wanted them to take. Not the usual stuff, really things being able to influence future positive.

Anyway, I wouldn’t be myself, in case I wouldn’t had started to feel curious about "too much" things working out well at the same time!  ….and then right at the moment when I nearly started to believe in (not being able to see any negative) …. I found out about I really had messed up something today …. finally and unrecoverable …. no chance to repair it …. just gone!

I’m so grumpy with myself, I can’t tell!

It isn’t long since I wrote about the need and the experience I made working together with Americans.
Even at that time I did intent to write about I would have made bad experience. It was some special situation spiced with some pressure about a lot of personal restrictions and fear within some global outsourcing deal and I did for sure understand why I was not welcomed with open arms.

Not I directly worked together again with some American and it was a totally different situation. I know him since years and we have talked a few times before without ever getting really closer.

Now I did some work for him and even it still was a bit curious about asking and sometimes not really getting the answer you had expected - which I guess is all about different backgrounds, culture and translation issues - I had lots of pleasure dealing with him in an absolutely relaxed style!

And now with the work finally done, I guess we both have learned a bit! Thats Tops!!