i like this video a lot. new york feeling.

it’s april and it’s not really warm, but we are far from icy temperatures. nevertheless our boss michael planned an ice skating party down at the chelsea piers tonight. almost everyone from the office is here, even the colleagues from los angeles. i haven’t done this in years. i actually can’t even remember my last time on skates, but i don’t fall and i don’t hit the ice with my backside. after being brave sportsmen and sportswomen we get pasta, meatballs and salads, while we are watching the next group entering the skyrink: some fast and furious amateur ice hockey …

continuously thinking about how low the dollar is is dangerous, when a) you get paid in dollars and b) you love shopping… but this time it’s different. i work from at home, so i thought it would be good for my eyes and my neck to have an external screen. i find a cheap one at best buy. the shop clerks are helpful as always 😉 i am a bit paranoid about dead pixel, but they don’t let me open the package to check. so i carry the good piece home. and as it turns out, there is a dead …

i am looking forward to another evening with my austrian guest hansi. i try to get a table at peter luger, the very famous steak house in brooklyn, but no chance. so we are going for indian food in hell’s kitchen, which i love since my india trip in january. and then there are certain things you only do when you have guests… i have never been to the revolving restaurant on top of the marriott on times square. so let’s go… to go there is not as easy as you think. when you take the elevator in a high …

i have my first visitor from austria. hansi, a former classmate form boarding school in bad gleichenberg. i haven’t seen him in quite a long time. he picks me up from work, but he is too early, so i send him down to rudy’s, the legendary dive right across film center where i work. once i am at rudy’s we have a relaxed beer and it’s very nice to talk to someone in „österreichisch“. i don’t have to tell hansi about some weird american habits, because he lived long enough in florida to know how crazy it can be sometimes. …

oh, one thing i forgot to tell. before we meet dominika at the new museum, bettina and i strolled around soho and nolita. we came along a stand with fashion jewelery. bettina came to talk with the vendor. first thing she tells is always that she’s a teacher on a public high school. a common question when meeting someone new is always „what did you study?“. he studied food science and casino management. hä?? food science, yes, but casino management? very funny. that kept me smiling the next 15 minutes. i should have asked „at the university of las vegas?“

i haven’t heard that the pope will be in town since i arrived in new york. he has been to the city for a couple for days now, causing traffic jams and crowds of people strolling around the upper east side or fifth avenue to get a glimpse of „pope“. i am not very religious, but i believe in god and jesus. today is actually the big day. pope benedict is celebrating a holy mass in famous yankee stadium. so why seeing him in mariazell, when i can see him in yankee stadium? the thing is: actually i cannot. it’s …

ok. today i am going to see the first apartment i checked out from craigslist. i got an email from jason, who said that i can come over and see the room. it’s somewhere on 134th street and broadway. not really harlem anymore. but cheap. 770. and the posting sounds nice. after some grocery shopping i take my beloved camera and leave the apartment. i want to walk the way and enjoy the beautiful weather and take some pictures. stupid me. i forgot that there is still a morningside park and a city college campus. so after some detours i …

ok. the first week of work is over. it seems that it’s still like it was three years ago. i can spend my hours on being creative and not worrying about how the whole thing is being programmed. because therefor we have brilliant programmers. in the afternoon i get a new very cool project. very happy. there is a kind of new tradition. the whole office goes out on friday to have an international dinner. this time it’s belgium. picked by our belgium intern michael. it’s of course a place with a never ending list of beers. close to time …

thank god. the cleaning lady is here. her name is jenny and i meet here, when i come home from work. i have only five minutes, because i need to go to the t-mobile store to get a cellphone. she is standing in my bathroom which hopefully will afterwards be nice and clean. that sets me instantly in a good mood. my new phone is a t-mobile dash. i am generous to myself and take the internet unlimited package for 20 dollars into my plan. so i can get emails on my cellphone, use skype or surf the internet. hey, …