thursday/ruedee/serbia

This week Ruedee and I have been arranging our research findings and developing concept families.  We presented them to Christoph today and it went really well, and it is clear that the big reseach project really got us into some exciting ideas.  Unfortunately, ruedee left GP for the last time after our fair-well sushi lunch (which was the best sushi I have ever had).  She is flying back to Thailand for 3 weeks and then flying back to vienna and then on to Milan to join FrogDesign.  She is leaving a few bags in my room so she doesnt have to haul them all the way home and back...so I will get to see her one more time.  

I left work at 2:30 and rode home to prepare for the Serbia Trip!  Turns out Fabio doesnt have his passport and it didnt occur to him until tuesday that Serbia isnt in the EU, so he can't come with us.  But---I know Miljan and I will still have a blast and I am really excited to see everything.  Serbia is one of those countries that I have no mental picture of...so however it turns out will be exciting.  We will catch the bus at 5 (in 2 hours) and then arrive in Serbia at 3am tonight.  His dad will pick us up and take us to breakfast and then to Miljan's house for sleep and then who know what...

I will take plenty of pictures...

this week...

I didn't really feel like posting on the blog during the week.  I wasn't super busy but I just always had something else on my mind.  Ruedee and I presented our research on wednesday and monday and tuesday were a mad dash to finish.  The presentation went well and then we did a big brainstorming session with all of GP in the afternoon on friday.  Ruedee leaves this next friday but she is still unsure of where she will go.  

The week wasn't too stressful but I was glad to come home on friday night.  Fabio, Miljan, and I went on our first trip of many today...to Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia.  It is only about 60 kilometers away so it wasn't super different from Vienna but it was actually a really beautiful city.  We got there around 9:30 in the morning and had a full day of food and sightseeing and fun and then came back at 8:30.  It was some sort of special day in Bratislava and all of the museums and government buildings were open to the public...as well as a lot of live music and historical reenactment type stuff.  I must have taken at least 200 pictures today but I am almost certain I am going to buy myself a new camera in the next week or two.  I will post some pictures later in the week.  

We have May 1st off as an austrian holiday so we will leave thursday night for Serbia.  I am really excited to go there as I don't really know anything about eastern europe.  I will go on a bike ride/hike with Ruedee tomorrow and am looking forward to our weekly adventure and time on my lovely bicycle.  

photos from last weekend

happy up here

After work on Friday Ruedee, Klemens and I walked home the long way.  Klemens had to help a friend move, but Ruedee and I made Korean Pizza and watched a movie at her Flat (which was unbelievable).  Here room was atleast 20x20 and had 15 foot ceilings with 2 8 foot windows (she pays almost double what I pay in rent though).

Saturday was the first overcast/cold day we have had in a long time and Ruedee had to do some work so we didn't go out for an adventure.  Miljan, Fabio, and I met up with a large group of Erasmus students (Erasmus is super common european college exchange program) to go to a club.  There were like 5 guys that I have never met and 2 austrian girls that thought they were hot stuff.......but they weren't.  We analyzed the situation and then split from the group after about 20 minutes (about 18 minutes too long in my opinion).  We solidified plans to go to Slovakia this weekend and the weekend after, we are going to Serbia to stay in Miljan's house for the weekend.  We came back a little early because I had looked up a bus trip to the alps for early the next morning.

SO...this morning I woke up at 5:30 to get my ticket and get on the bus by 7.  Because it was so early none of the trams were running their normal route so I had to take 2 trams and the metro to get to the WienerLinein Station (to buy tickets).  I finally got there and approached the cashier about buying a ticket and she told me I had to buy it at the bus stop.  So, I got back on another tram and went exactly were the WienerLinein website told me to go.  I asked 3 different people if they knew where the station was and they all had never heard of it.  I didnt see ANY buses and the area did not at all look like somewhere that you would go to catch a bus.  I was really stressed to find the bus but by 6:45 I gave up and just started back for home.  I was really bummed cuz the whole reason I was going with the bus was because it seemed so damn easy.  Next time I will just go with the Train I am familiar with.

I got back home and went back to sleep until 11 and then got up and arranged to meet ruedee for a cycling trip.  We set off at 12 and ended up on a cycling path on an island north of the city.  There were small private beaches and really beautiful tiny weekend homes.  We were going to swim in the Danube but the water was right around 20 degrees and I couldn't keep my feet in the water for more than 5 seconds.  We rode until we reached a beautiful city 12 km north of Vienna.  It was called Klosterneuburg and again was REALLY BEAUTIFUL.  We kept saying how amazing and special it was and Im not sure how you could have made the city look any more perfect.  It really reminded my of Basel Switzerland but some areas also felt really mediterranean.  I took about 120 pictures today and will post a few tomorrow because my internet connection is really bad in the room today.  All in all it isn't what I was planning on doing today, but It was the best bike trip we have had and one of the best days outside I have had in austria yet.

Honey is cool

The week has really flown by after having Monday off.  There has been a lot of buzz between Ruedee, Klemens, and I this week and we are really having fun together.  We have been sharing music and artists for a while and it is really cool to see what stuff they are into.  Today Ruedee got an offer with Frog Design in Milano so after work Klemens treated us to an Ice-cream celebration!

Ruedee and I are working on a research presentation for a client and I can already tell it is going to be super pimp.  Ruedee is an amazing graphic designer and is really into Data Visualization, so I am just trying to keep up with her.  I have never done a research project like this before and I have learned so much.... I know it will be a great portfolio piece in the future.

Not too much else going on here.  I think we may go to Bratislava this weekend.

Also--If you like the band The Knife, then you should watch this video of a band called "Honey is cool".  Klemens showed me this and it has Karen from The knife as the lead singer.  This video is quite old--but it gave me chills the first time I watched/listened.

easter break

I would have posted this earlier but I just got internet in the room again since saturday night...Sunday started early and Ruedee and I met at 9:30 to go on a big adventure.  We rode our bikes along the danube for a while and then parked them at the bottom of the mountain on the north of Vienna.  It was sunny and about 70-75.  We hiked up a really beautiful trail for a while and thought we were like in the middle of now where but then came up to a small but really beautiful restaurant on top of the mountain.  I think it is required that every mountain top in austria have a beautiful little restaurant on top.  We had lunch--I ordered something that turned out to be steak and potatoes and it was DELICIOUS.  They were served with a sour-cream type thing--but more like yogurt.  It was the perfect austrian take on an easter lunch in the US.  We walked on for a while and ended up where we had hiked to a month before.  

We didn't get back until 2--so it was a really long trip--but it felt nice to still have a lot of sunlight left.  I was excited to plan my trip to the alps that I was thinking about all week----so I was bummed to not have the internet.  I figured it would be fixed later in the day--but it still wasn't when I woke up at 7 monday morning.  I hate to say it---but I just didn't feel good about going to the train station without an itinerary for travel.  I want proof that there will be a return train in the evening and I just didn't feel good about the circumstances.  I was bummed for a while but then just went back to sleep for a while.  I woke up and finished the UMEA application and then picked up a book I had sort of lost interest in a while ago.  I read close to 300 pages in the afternoon until fabio returned home from Italy.  He went out and met his friend Mike from Poland (originally from chicago) and his 3 friends who were hitchhiking from Poland to Budapest (hitchhiking is to europe as roadtrip is to america).  There was the American, a guy from India, a girl from Kazakstan, and a girl from China.  We went out to a Cafe after fabio made us dinner and chatted for a while.  They were all really nice and they slept on the floor of our small room.  They got up really early this morning and were on their way out of vienna before I got up for work.  I am going to finish the last 50 pages or so of the book tonight--and I managed to get my UMEA application sent out successfully with the help of my good friend Klemens.  

the photos are from the sunday trip to the mountain with Ruedee

Holiday rap

The rest of the week went well.  We finished the project/modeling on tuesday night and the 3dsmax renderings looked really good.  I modeled 3 of the concepts that we presented and it felt really good to be able to contribute work like that.  Ruedee and I did a lot of research during the rest of the week and we are beginning to prepare the presentation materials for the client.  

We played a lot of ping pong and ate lunch in the GP garden almost everyday.  The weather here is ridiculous now....sunny and warm (70's) EVERYDAY.  Today I got groceries in the morning and then met ruedee on Mariahilferstrasse, a famous shopping road in vienna, to do some more shopping.  I finally got a hair clipper and was able to trim my beard down a bit.  Luckily I dont have a beard tan-line like I thought.  After shopping we rode our bikes to the Danube island and relaxed by the river for the whole afternoon.  We made plans to go hiking tomorrow and then I think I will take a day trip out into the alps on Monday as we have the day off for easter.  I came home after the ride and ate 4 Kiwi's and now my tongue is raw like after you eat a whole bag of sour patch kids. 

I realized on wednesday night that I had a few more days to work on the UMEA application so I will get it done this weekend and in the mail by tuesday.

taste

Work was really good today--I felt like I got a whole lot done and I am excited about how quickly I can model in SW now.  I got three models finished today (not super detailed) but good enough for concept renderings to present to clients.  I woke up early this morning to go get my package of new bike tires at the post office.  I raced home after work to put them on and as dirty and hard as it was--I loved every minute of it!!!  I got 700x28's to replace my old (I didnt know how old until I took them off and they are paper thin) 700x23's.  I thought the 28's would barely fit but there is still some room for 30's.  I ate dinner and then headed out to get my laundry done; I never got the energy back up last night.  

I also had a package from my mom in the mail after work and I have already eaten about half of the pound of easter candy that was in it.  I am going to get to sleep soon and prepare for tomorrow.  I think I may plan a trip for the long easter weekend...

also--I forgot to mention but the 4p project was on yankodesign.com a few days ago-and I got an email from a UK tech magazine called T3 to publish the project in print

Summertime clothes

Last night we went to a few new clubs and had a great time.  The first was cool until we realized that we were pretty much the oldest people there--you can get into clubs at 16 in austria (scary).  We went to another called Club Q but spelled phonetically "kju".  It was super pimp and and felt really glamorous--but the dance area had crazy strobes that make me all confused.  

Ruedee and I met at 11 for our weekly adventure...and it really was an adventure today.  We started towards the Danube...and then just kept going.  We saw a mountain out in the distance and just decided that we should get to the top of it.  We ended up about 15-20 km away at the base of the mountain and were glad to see a bunch of other people parking at the bottom and hiking up.  We followed the other hikers and got to the top of the mountain (small mountain) in about 20 minutes.  It was really beautiful as the plants are starting to bloom and there were those magical Austrian meadows filled with grass and wild flowers.  We ate an apple strudel at a small restaurant with its own chickens and goats and it really felt like austria!  we walked along some hiking paths through the forest for a while and I freaked out with how beautiful it was.  The ground of the forest was so green it looked fake--and there were tons of purple and yellow wildflowers growing.  The trees were all long and straight but weren't in bloom yet so you could see through them really well.  We both agreed that there were probably mountain smurffs watching and waiting for us to leave so they could go about their tasks for the day.  It really felt like we were in a movie scene.

We didn't get back until 5:30; at which time I ate 4 pounds of food.  I have some serious sun tan action going on now--so I will have to keep the beard going through summer--or else shave and go directly outside in the sun to try and get an even color or my sickly under-beard cheeks.  I am laying in bed and watching tv until I get the energy to go do laundry.

9 beats

I had a great few days since the last post and the weather has been absolutely perfect for about 5 days straight now.  Klemens and I are working on a solidworks project together and I can tell I am getting better with every model I build.  Miljan, Fabio and I went out to a pub last night and had a fun time and because we didn't stay out too late I was able to get up by 11 and get all my errands done--including 50 euro of groceries and a front brake lever and cable for the Simplon.  The bike store I went to was by far the most beautiful store I have seen in a long time.  It is under a railway and is all old brick with vaulted ceilings.  It had the most beautiful bikes you could imagine and some were like 4,000 euro (6k US).  On top of that they had the nicest employees of any store I have ever been in.  

It was pretty warm today and shorts were necessary for the first time.  Fabio and I walked around for a long time and took a tram out to the Danube Island with the rest of Vienna.  It was super crowded but it was really fun being out in the sun.  I think we both got some sun and after a few hours outside we slowly made our way to the city center and went into a huge cathedral to get out of the sun and cool off.  We just got back and it is 6:30--we will have dinner and then head out to a club for the night.  

Fabio is going back to Italy for a few days and is going to bring back a tent so that we can do a hiking/camping trip to the austrian alps.  Miljan, Fabio and I are starting to plan a few trips--one to serbia with Miljan--one to the alps--and maybe a few more to prague or budapest.  

Dinner time....

Sunday-Wednesday

Sorry I haven't posted in a while--I would like to say I was too busy doing important things--but I was just sorta lazy.  A lot has happened since saturday evening though--so I will try and recap.

Da club didnt actually turn out to be a club but a college type pub--but it was fun nonetheless.  We made plans to go to Serbia with Miljan for a weekend in May and I think it will be a blast (his brother is a streetball player in serbia and won a competition so he gets to live and play in chicago for two years!).  Sunday was the complete opposite weather from saturday and it rained ALL DAY...  I started working on my portfolio to get it updated to sent into Umea.  I think I have decided to go through with the application--but only because I have nothing to lose by trying.  

Monday was good and everyone was in a great/funny mood.  Ruedee and I are finishing the research phase of our project and are beginning to do some fun brainstorming/concept stuff that she leaned from Umea.  I really enjoy the walks home with Klemens and I have learned so much about austrian culture through him.  Ruedee and I made plans to cycle to the Lobau (natural wetlands south of Vienna)  it is about 20km each way-so we are going to pack a picnic and make a day trip on next saturday or sunday.  

Tuesday was also good but a little less eventful.  I worked on the portfolio a bit more but it will not be done until thursday or friday and it is really draining to come home and work on it after a full day at GP.  Ruedee, Klemens, and I had a big discussion about the hell that is highschool and it was really interesting to hear about their experiences being from 3 completely different cultures.  The ping pong is really getting pro-level and it is amazing how exciting such a simple game can be.

Today got off to a good start--Tuvie.com posted my thesis in the morning and Clemens Auer (not the Klemens from GP---but his good friend that I have met a few times) has a project on the same page (super random coincidence).  My project is the 4P and his project is the Dentris.  On top of Yankodesign and tuvie publishing my work, I was written by a french magazine called "Newlook" and asked if they could publish the 4P in their magazine.  I did some research on the magazine before I sent off the images and I am glad I did because I think it is like the french version of Playboy!!!  I am not sure how to respond but have a feeling I will not be letting them use the project--what is the saying--bad publicity is still publicity?  Today I had the best "market made" lunch.  I bought a pre-made salad with tuna on top and put balsalmic dressing on it.  Then I made a sandwhich on fresh whole-wheat bread with 3 kinds of salami, gouda, and tomato.  All that was like 9 euro and I bought enough to last for 2 days.

I finally have some solid leads on the internship front and am excited to get a little more information in the next few weeks.