24.02.2022

Today, one year ago, Russia started a war in Ukraine 🇺🇦

For Vita & her family, the Ukraine & the world 💙🇺🇦 💛

“Heal the World”, a song from Michael Jackson from 1991. At that time important and today still as important as ever.

(Think about um, the generations

And ah, say we want to make it a better place for our children

And our children’s children so that they, they

They, they know it’s a better world for them

And think if they can make it a better place)

There’s a place in your heart

And I know that it is love

And this place it was brighter than tomorrow

And if you really try

You’ll find there’s no need to cry

In this place you’ll feel there’s no hurt or sorrow

There are ways to get there

If you care enough for the living

Make a little space

Make a better place

Heal the world

Make it a better place

For you and for me, and the entire human race

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

If you want to know why

There’s love that cannot lie

Love is strong

It only cares of joyful giving

If we try we shall see

In this bliss we cannot feel

Fear of dread, we stop existing and start living

Then it feels that always

Love’s enough for us growing

Make a better world

So make a better world

Heal the world

Make it a better place

For you and for me, and the entire human race

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face

And the world we once believed in will shine again in grace

Then why do we keep strangling life

Wound this earth, crucify its soul?

Though it’s plain to see, this world is heavenly

Be god’s glow

We could fly so high

Let our spirits never die

In my heart I feel you are all my brothers

Create a world with no fear

Together we cry happy tears

See the nations turn their swords into plowshares

We could really get there

If you cared enough for the living

Make a little space

To make a better place

Heal the world

Make it a better place

For you and for me, and the entire human race

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

Heal the world

Make it a better place

For you and for me, and the entire human race

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

Heal the world (heal the world)

Make it a better place

For you and for me, and the entire human race

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place for you and for me

You and for me (for a better place)

You and for me (make a better place)

You and for me (make a better place)

You and for me (heal the world we live in)

You and for me (save it for our children)

You and for me (heal the world we live in)

You and for me (save it for our children)

You and for me (heal the world we live in)

You and for me (save it for our children)

You and for me (heal the world we live in)

You and for me (save it for our children)

-Michael Jackson

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cyCMuCFCkdk

February 2023 & temperatures above 0 C degrees…. And so the garden season begins.

It’s about time. I missed it. Working in the garden makes me happy. We started composting 2 years ago… and voila, filling up our garden with composted soil.

Looking forward to all the beautiful spring surprises… some of our bulbs are coming up…

Sweetening up the waiting time until spring and providing food to the first insects.

Changing from winter time to spring. I love seasons.

What is love?

[uncountable] a very strong feeling of liking and caring for somebody/something, especially a member of your family or a friend… according to the Oxford dictionary.

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin

Maybe, love is all the small little things in daily life which stick us like glue together and create long happy relationships…

No matter, where we sleep, I get to choose the side of the bed furthest away from the door. Why? If we get robbed I don’t want to be too close (they can have hubby first. Lol).

I’m an early bird, I walk the dog, while hubby, the owl, can stay longer in bed.

He brings me a cappuccino to my home office desk. Every day, since he started to walk again after the accident. (it’s my job on weekends).

My favorite hobby and what I’m really good at: planning. Planning meals, travels, weekends, appointments… hubby loves to cook and travel with me.

That’s enough sharing of our little things & secrets here ♥️ happy Valentine’s Day!

Give your loved ones a big hug!

Every day should be Valentine’s Day. Every day is like Valentine’s Day 💜

PS: eating chocolate hearts for breakfast on Valentine’s Day is totally ok!

It’s the Carnival season – not only in Brazil but also in Europe. Carnival is an annual Christian celebration that typically occurs before the onset of Lent and generally involves a public celebration of some kind, e.g. street parties, parades, balls or some other form of entertainment. Lent is a time of fasting and sacrifice, a farewell from all bodily pleasures for forty days before Easter.

Venice Carnival is one of the oldest carnivals in the world, back in 1094.

By the 18th century the Venice Carnival reached its maximum splendor. It was a celebration that knew no bounds. Carnival had also gained international recognition and attracted visitors from all over Europe. Venice was the pleasure playground of Europe including gambling, essentially the Las Vegas of its day.

Venetians unabashedly took part in lots of debauchery and revelry during carnival. They were able to get away with a lot of things, because their identity and sins were concealed behind their masks.

When Napoleon and his troops invaded Venice in 1797 carnival was banned. This ban lasted over 200 years. In 1979 Venice Carnival quickly returned to its glory days as it is now one of the most famous and popular carnivals in the world.

Well, we enjoyed the Venice vibes in Germany & admired the extravagant costumes and masks. Stunning!

Wow! Spectacular! What a great event with stunning costumes, beautiful scenery, blue sky & sunshine.

And the best part… anyone can participate. All you need is someone who can create an amazing costume… 1 year to go…

Another business trip to Romania. This time no major flight delay. Arriving on a Monday afternoon at day light.

The hotel receptionist greeting me like a good old friend (no idea what I did to be remembered from the last trip 3 months ago, lol). This time much colder -14C degrees, snow & ice but the hotel heat worked and we had hot water for the full 4 days (I was prepared with a hot water bottle – not needed).

Freezing outside, sweating inside (seems only the German heat is turned down).

Back with my favorite work colleagues in our plant and development center. Back with the crazy taxi drivers (we ended up with a „personal driver“ while skidding along the icey roads listening to 80s pop music – same music taste, is that why I like the country so much?!). Laughing about my German colleague who had a bit of a hard time being in Rumania.

Amazing dinners in great company. I’ve seen the most interesting colored hair (turquoise, purple, very blonde, very pink – everything) & matching outfits. Being surrounded by extremely young people, keeping our mind fresh and make us feel old (maybe I should dye my hair, too?).

Yes, a business trip is allowed to be fun. Long work days, short nights and a lot of topics for homework inclusive. I very much enjoyed that again. Sometimes, I love my job. Lol. Got my overdose of people (in a good sense).

Bye for now!

January 2023. Almost over. For some of us the first month of retirement is done (result: loves it). Others broke their foot (meh). Others had Covid. For others, me, the month with the most sick days is ending. January was all about hot toddies (fighting that bad flu). And tequila (the only medicine to stop diarrhea). Rest. Sleep. Netflix. Books. Cups of tea. Jars of honey. Hubbies home cooked meals (and now I passed it on to him. Sorry…).

And when I just look out of the window, it starts snowing again. Best to snuggle in and enjoy that fire.

The good thing about winter: it’s just me (you) and my (your) thoughts. No bad feelings for lying on the sofa & reading. Or watching another series. I have been reading 6 (!) books so far this year (have the feeling I may overachieve my resolution for this year (12 books)). It makes me very happy that I found the pleasure and the time for reading again.

The winter, my alibi! No regrets for not leaving the house (and still already looking forward to spring 🌷).

The new year is already a couple of days old. It’s never too late to make resolutions for 2023.

Hubby’s resolution for this year (& for the 5th year in a row): wearing more hats. In addition another, new one: more socializing.

And mine?

And some ideas for the classic resolution, losing weight:

To summarize: doing nothing is burning 74kcal and ironing 144 kcal… I may do nothing for 2 hours and burnt more!

Kissing for 60 minutes… how about some more realistic ideas? Like how many calories do we burn if we eat and chew for 60 min?

I may try the 60min piano… even I don’t know how to play it. The neighbors may burn calories, too!

60 minutes internet surfing for 90kcal? I should be super thin!!!

60 minutes cooking means also to have prepared a meal of 2.500kcal! You make the calculation yourself!

Puh…. I guess I’ll stick with the internet surfing 😂😂

Choose wisely!

Irish breakfast. Irish scones. Irish stew. Irish lamb. Irish husband. Lol. 2023 is starting off Irish!

Today is Sunday. A very rainy & stormy Sunday. Hubby says, just a normal Sunday in Ireland. Either you stay in bed or you invite friends for an afternoon tea!

The only remaining question: first whipped cream (there’s no clutted cream in Germany) followed by jam or the other way round?

Oh, of course first the cheese & ham sandwiches! The best comes last: the scones with cream & cheese.

Happy Sunday!

Wer kennt sie nicht, die Tickets im Joballtag. Arbeiten mit (oder nach) Tickets liegt voll im Trend und bestimmt inzwischen auch meinen Arbeitsalltag! Leider.

Die Idee, jedem Kundenanliegen ein Ticket zuzuteilen, ist superpraktisch. Auch im Büro. Aber die deutsche Bürokratie kriegt die besten Verwaltungsideen kaputt und killt das früher schnell Erledigte. Eine Kolumne (von Marcus Werner).

„Ganz ganz früher, da bedeutete „Ticket aufmachen“, dass man sicherheitshalber vor dem Aufbruch ins Theater den Brief mit den Logenkarten aufreißt, um mal zu gucken, ob die Buchungshotline am Telefon auch wirklich alles richtig verstanden hatte. Das war vor meiner Zeit.

Begegnet ist mir dieses „Ticket aufmachen“ vor Jahren zum ersten Mal im Gespräch mit Callcentern. Selbst Mittelständer machen heute natürlich längst Service-Tickets auf. Das Online-Business macht es möglich und nötig. Die Kunden kommen halt nicht mehr mit Zetteln rein.

Meistens hieß es nur: „Ah ja, ich sehe, was meine Kollegin da bei Ihrem letzten Anruf eingetragen hat. Alles klar.“ Nur selten fiel das Wort „Ticket“.

Wenn ich nicht irre, stammt das Ticket-System ja – wie so vieles Gute im Bereich Prozessmanagement – aus der IT. Wie können unterschiedliche Anforderungen von Seiten der Kunden innerhalb eines Projekts oder einer Aufgabe so gebündelt werden, dass alle daran arbeitenden Dienstleister den Überblick behalten, ohne einzeln mit dem betreffenden Kunden Rücksprache zu halten (was sehr ineffizient wäre. Betonung liegt auf wäre.)?

Antwort: Man eröffnet eine Miniakte mit dem betreffenden Vorgang, auf die alle Eingebundenen Zugriff haben. Das Ticket. Das sorgt für die nötige Transparenz. Herrlich. Wirklich!

Aber was haben wir mittlerweile aus dieser guten Idee gemacht? Ich kenne das Ticket mittlerweile auch als Prozessaufbläh- und Arbeitsvermeidungstool. Wenn die (firmeninternen) Kunden nämlich einfach kein Bock auf den Ticket-Aufwand haben.

Ja, ganz oft macht das Ticket-System wirklich Sinn. Selbst Urlaube einzelner sind dann kein Problem; alle relevanten Infos sind ja dann im Ticket hinterlegt. Aber wenn es etwas zu verwalten gibt, dann lieben wir Deutsche den Exzess. Dazu ein Beispiel:

Ticket: Realität überholt Ticket

Anruf bei der IT-Abteilung: „Mein Firmen-Passwort ist abgelaufen. Ich komm nicht mehr ins System. Können Sie mir helfen?“

Der Service-Kollege bittet um eine interne Nachricht per Fax (E-Mail geht ja mangels Passwort nicht) samt Unterschrift, um zu belegen, dass der echte Kollege um ein neues Passwort bittet. Danach wird umgehend ein neues Einmal-Passwort erteilt. Nach rund einer Stunde ist alles erledigt. Als der erlöste Kollege gut gelaunt seinen E-Mail-Account öffnet, erreichen ihn in den folgenden Minuten nacheinander zwei E-Mails:

Betreff 1: „Ticket eröffnet: Erteilung Einmal-Passwort“.

Betreff 2: „Ticket geschlossen: Erteilung Einmal-Passwort“.

Offenbar hat der IT-Kollege nachträglich das Ticket erst eröffnet und dann wieder geschlossen. Im Idealfall war wohl noch Arbeitszeit zu verblasen. Aber im Zweifel ist der hilfsbereite Kollege für dieses Verwaltungs-Brimborium zu bedauern. Welcome to my life!

Klären wir also einfach einmal gemeinsam im Team die eine allen Tickets vorgelagerte Frage: „In welchen Fällen liefe es erfolgreicher ohne?“

„Ticket geschlossen.“

Wir hatten heute im Büro eine 3-stündige Diskussion, wie wir denn nun mit dem Ticket Wahnsinn umgehen sollten (change management). Im worst case: alle Tickets löschen. Ist unheimlich befreiend. Dann sind sie erstmal weg. Kommen aber leider wieder. Minütlich. Arghhhhh.

Welcome to my daily crazy ticket work life.

And how I really spend my daily work life with (one picture tells more than a thousand words):

I love that picture. And if you get lost… just open another ticket – the solution for any problem: open a ticket!

I myself prefer a speed ticket. Or a cinema ticket. Or a train ticket. Or a winning lottery ticket. Life is all about tickets!

We had a visitor. A visitor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Quite on short notice. His name: Flat Stanley. He wanted to meet us & explore the area in which we live in.

We took Stanley to a castle. A castle in Christmas spirit. He enjoyed the ride in our car and was really excited to see the Christmas lights, nipping on a hot drink, sitting on the kings sofa, and finally, having dinner with us. He also met our other visitor, Rozenn from France.

We all had a really good time. Stanley is now on his way back home to Belfast. It was very nice meeting you! Bon voyage 👋

Have a safe trip back home! Say hi to Martha & her family.