Deutsche Boerse
I had a great day at the German Stock Exchange today. Very interesting as each part of today was not as expected! The stock exchange broking floor was very calm...I was expecting a made frenzy in the pit...rather there were people chatting, watching the news, eating and one broker had even brought in her daughter! We then went to the headquarters of the Deutsche Boerse. They operate the stock exchange, the clearing house and also Eurex and Xstra the trading platforms. Basically it is just a big software company. The headquarters is pretty plush! Very interesting firm.
FOMO
I heard the saying tonight:
FOMO
"Fear Of Missing Out"
I've just recently written a friend a note talking about this issue but until now I have not heard it so well put!
Addie suggested the NO card to try to help my obsession of trying to do everything offered to me. It helped to some degree but I still spread myself too thinly at Uni and back in Adelaide! I now know i'm not alone and other suffer the symptoms of FOMO!
FOMO is probably similar to greediness...we want everything possible. It also comes back to the world we live in where we have access to so much information so we always live in the knowledge that somewhere, someone is doing something that we too would want to do. We have so many opportunities before us. Sadly it can seem as though whatever we have now is not good enough. I can only resolve to be aware of this from now on...and try to take up as many quality (not quantity) opportunities that arise.
FOMO
"Fear Of Missing Out"
I've just recently written a friend a note talking about this issue but until now I have not heard it so well put!
Addie suggested the NO card to try to help my obsession of trying to do everything offered to me. It helped to some degree but I still spread myself too thinly at Uni and back in Adelaide! I now know i'm not alone and other suffer the symptoms of FOMO!
FOMO is probably similar to greediness...we want everything possible. It also comes back to the world we live in where we have access to so much information so we always live in the knowledge that somewhere, someone is doing something that we too would want to do. We have so many opportunities before us. Sadly it can seem as though whatever we have now is not good enough. I can only resolve to be aware of this from now on...and try to take up as many quality (not quantity) opportunities that arise.
Berlin
Berlin:
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ajoest/Berlin#
After our first set of exams a group of eager adventurers decided it was worth visiting Berlin on our first free weekend. Not only was it a free weekend for us but also the Mauerfall Celebration - the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall.
Brent, Jorsia, Hamsa, Petronela and I hired a car to be our method of transport. I hogged all the driving and enjoyed every second of pushing the hire car to its limits. I soon learnt that a) Hire cars don't like going over 170kph and b) the speed limit is not always unlimited limit (eg I might have got a speeding fine - which if I do I will hang up as a trophy to say I got a speeding fine on the Autobahn...high novelty factor!)
We stopped via Nurnberg on the way. It is a very beautiful city particularly around the Alt-Stadt. We walked up to the castle and also around the Marktplatz. We had lunch before hitting the road again.
It was good thinking time on the open road. Brent kept me company as we chewed up the bitumen while the girls slept three across the backseat for most of the way...
I had heard that U2 were playing at the Brandenburg Gates as part of an MTV event on the Thursday evening we were to arrive in Berlin. Unfortunately we were unable to get tickets. As we rolled into Berlin we heard on the radio that U2 had been delayed and as such we headed as close as we could to the gates to see what we could see. We parked the car just as the first song started and while listening to the following three songs tried to get as close as possible to the stage. The concert ended just as we arrived at a vantage point of the backstage area. Our closest brush with fame was to peer over the fence to Bono and the boys get into their black combi vans and speed off into the night.
I stayed with Chrissi at her apartment while the others stayed at a very cheap and good hostel in Moabit.
What is immediately striking about Berlin is the open space. There is no feeling of being in a big city at all. When standing at the Reichstag (the parliament) you can see buildings in the distance that don't at all look big. In fact the buildings are huge but the open space dissipates any claustrophobic feelings.
We spend most of Friday walking around the city and seeing all the touristy sights. We were lucky to have spectacular weather (allbeit cold when out of the sun). The official figure was that 200,000 extra tourists were in Berlin for the weekend.
Touristy things we saw
- Berlin Dom
- DDR Museum
- Alexanderplatz - outdoor exhibition
- Rotes Rathouse (Town hall)
- Breakfast east side
- Oranienburger Str
- Hackische Markt
- Flea Markt (girls singing, lots of english speakers)
- Checkpoint Charlie
- Standing sections of the wall
We didn't get super touristy but got aimed to get a feel of the city and the people. Most impressionable is Berlin's recent history. It's hard to comprehend what has happened in the city even over my lifetime. When the wall stood, there was huge division in Germany and Europe. This had all sorts of effects on the people. Leading up to the opening of the wall people were restless and in the end it was this people pressure that allowed for the wall to be opened. Some still argue that it should never have happened. It's pretty mind blowing.
Still it is noticeable which sections of the city are east and which west. We spent some time trying to get out of the city centre and experience the suburbs. This was quite rewarding, not in a touristy way, but just to see the rough, grubby, in-you-face side of Berlin; the features that make it such an amazing city. We stumbled across an artist colony who's back yard was full of metal sculptures. It was dark and industrial but yet somehow very creative and inspiring. Only 50m was a modern office building. This contrast is Berlin.
On Friday evening we hit the town and had a night out in the Hackische Markt area. It was a fun night that ended rather late but that is what Berlin is all about!
Saturday included many of the same activities - seeing different areas. Breakfast was deep in the eastern suburbs, while lunch back in the west!
Gabor (Chrissi's boyfriend) was also in Berlin for the weekend and it was great to catch up with them both. Moabit has a really nice feel about it. Nice tree lined streets with small shops and cafe's. Really comfortable.
After a long touristy day on Saturday we planned to head to a restaurant / wine-bar called Weinerei. I had heard about it via the New York Times - 36 hours in Berlin article. What attracted me is the theme of the bar. It operates on an honesty system whereby you pay however much you feel the drinks and food is worth. They have been running since 2003, before you ask if it is a viable business model! In fact they worked out that people on average pay more than their share. There were 6 reds to try and drink as well as 4 white wines from all over Europe. They simply put food out on a side-board with a help yourself type system. The food was wholesome and well made. Not over the top but simple appropriate food. The night was going along really well until Hamsa had her bag stolen. This obviously changed the dynamics of the evening sadly. (Luckily the story ended reasonably well in that she got her bag and most of the belongings back the next day.)
Sunday, after some time with Chrissi and Gabor it was time to head back to Mannheim for class. We dropped into the big flea markets but didn't find anything exciting purchases. Although it was a great visit. One notable part was two girls singing and playing guitar to attract people to their mini-garage-sale and also homemade cake and tea. A great way to spend your Sunday morning!
We dropped into Leipzig for dinner but really spent most of the day in the car trying to get home. It was a long drive but well worth while. I really hope I can get to Berlin for an extended period of time sometime soon!
http://picasaweb.google.com/ajoest/Berlin#
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ajoest/Berlin#
After our first set of exams a group of eager adventurers decided it was worth visiting Berlin on our first free weekend. Not only was it a free weekend for us but also the Mauerfall Celebration - the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall.
Brent, Jorsia, Hamsa, Petronela and I hired a car to be our method of transport. I hogged all the driving and enjoyed every second of pushing the hire car to its limits. I soon learnt that a) Hire cars don't like going over 170kph and b) the speed limit is not always unlimited limit (eg I might have got a speeding fine - which if I do I will hang up as a trophy to say I got a speeding fine on the Autobahn...high novelty factor!)
We stopped via Nurnberg on the way. It is a very beautiful city particularly around the Alt-Stadt. We walked up to the castle and also around the Marktplatz. We had lunch before hitting the road again.
It was good thinking time on the open road. Brent kept me company as we chewed up the bitumen while the girls slept three across the backseat for most of the way...
I had heard that U2 were playing at the Brandenburg Gates as part of an MTV event on the Thursday evening we were to arrive in Berlin. Unfortunately we were unable to get tickets. As we rolled into Berlin we heard on the radio that U2 had been delayed and as such we headed as close as we could to the gates to see what we could see. We parked the car just as the first song started and while listening to the following three songs tried to get as close as possible to the stage. The concert ended just as we arrived at a vantage point of the backstage area. Our closest brush with fame was to peer over the fence to Bono and the boys get into their black combi vans and speed off into the night.
I stayed with Chrissi at her apartment while the others stayed at a very cheap and good hostel in Moabit.
What is immediately striking about Berlin is the open space. There is no feeling of being in a big city at all. When standing at the Reichstag (the parliament) you can see buildings in the distance that don't at all look big. In fact the buildings are huge but the open space dissipates any claustrophobic feelings.
We spend most of Friday walking around the city and seeing all the touristy sights. We were lucky to have spectacular weather (allbeit cold when out of the sun). The official figure was that 200,000 extra tourists were in Berlin for the weekend.
Touristy things we saw
- Berlin Dom
- DDR Museum
- Alexanderplatz - outdoor exhibition
- Rotes Rathouse (Town hall)
- Breakfast east side
- Oranienburger Str
- Hackische Markt
- Flea Markt (girls singing, lots of english speakers)
- Checkpoint Charlie
- Standing sections of the wall
We didn't get super touristy but got aimed to get a feel of the city and the people. Most impressionable is Berlin's recent history. It's hard to comprehend what has happened in the city even over my lifetime. When the wall stood, there was huge division in Germany and Europe. This had all sorts of effects on the people. Leading up to the opening of the wall people were restless and in the end it was this people pressure that allowed for the wall to be opened. Some still argue that it should never have happened. It's pretty mind blowing.
Still it is noticeable which sections of the city are east and which west. We spent some time trying to get out of the city centre and experience the suburbs. This was quite rewarding, not in a touristy way, but just to see the rough, grubby, in-you-face side of Berlin; the features that make it such an amazing city. We stumbled across an artist colony who's back yard was full of metal sculptures. It was dark and industrial but yet somehow very creative and inspiring. Only 50m was a modern office building. This contrast is Berlin.
On Friday evening we hit the town and had a night out in the Hackische Markt area. It was a fun night that ended rather late but that is what Berlin is all about!
Saturday included many of the same activities - seeing different areas. Breakfast was deep in the eastern suburbs, while lunch back in the west!
Gabor (Chrissi's boyfriend) was also in Berlin for the weekend and it was great to catch up with them both. Moabit has a really nice feel about it. Nice tree lined streets with small shops and cafe's. Really comfortable.
After a long touristy day on Saturday we planned to head to a restaurant / wine-bar called Weinerei. I had heard about it via the New York Times - 36 hours in Berlin article. What attracted me is the theme of the bar. It operates on an honesty system whereby you pay however much you feel the drinks and food is worth. They have been running since 2003, before you ask if it is a viable business model! In fact they worked out that people on average pay more than their share. There were 6 reds to try and drink as well as 4 white wines from all over Europe. They simply put food out on a side-board with a help yourself type system. The food was wholesome and well made. Not over the top but simple appropriate food. The night was going along really well until Hamsa had her bag stolen. This obviously changed the dynamics of the evening sadly. (Luckily the story ended reasonably well in that she got her bag and most of the belongings back the next day.)
Sunday, after some time with Chrissi and Gabor it was time to head back to Mannheim for class. We dropped into the big flea markets but didn't find anything exciting purchases. Although it was a great visit. One notable part was two girls singing and playing guitar to attract people to their mini-garage-sale and also homemade cake and tea. A great way to spend your Sunday morning!
We dropped into Leipzig for dinner but really spent most of the day in the car trying to get home. It was a long drive but well worth while. I really hope I can get to Berlin for an extended period of time sometime soon!
http://picasaweb.google.com/ajoest/Berlin#
LOL
LOL, standing for "Laugh Out Loud" is a terrible blight on the English language used often in sms, twittering and Facebook.
I'm still trying to understand Germans and Germany and in particular why there are not openly loud at celebrating or being proud of their wonderful country. On the whole, Germans are very good as being openly negative but not as good at being openly positive. This is a generalisation and not reflective of perhaps the intense following of sport (eg soccer!) but an observation nonetheless. I've seen it at the supermarkets, i've seen it with MBA related instances and i've seen it on the faces of people walking the streets of Germany.
LOL came into my head the other day because I was somewhat taken aback hearing roaringly loud laughter in the street from a group of German's having a beer at a cafe in town. It was just so unusual to hear open hearty laughter! I have no idea what they were talking about and their level of intoxication not that it mattered anyway.
Germany is a great country and is a role-model to the rest of the world. Although they have had a relatively volatile history over the past century (not that I pretend at all to understand it or neigh-say it) as time heels wounds of past/recent events Germany probably feels more able to express itself and I hope this infiltrates exponentially through the population as soon as possible!
Again, this is a generalisation and an observation. I hope i'm wrong and I keep hearing more laughter in the street!
I'm still trying to understand Germans and Germany and in particular why there are not openly loud at celebrating or being proud of their wonderful country. On the whole, Germans are very good as being openly negative but not as good at being openly positive. This is a generalisation and not reflective of perhaps the intense following of sport (eg soccer!) but an observation nonetheless. I've seen it at the supermarkets, i've seen it with MBA related instances and i've seen it on the faces of people walking the streets of Germany.
LOL came into my head the other day because I was somewhat taken aback hearing roaringly loud laughter in the street from a group of German's having a beer at a cafe in town. It was just so unusual to hear open hearty laughter! I have no idea what they were talking about and their level of intoxication not that it mattered anyway.
Germany is a great country and is a role-model to the rest of the world. Although they have had a relatively volatile history over the past century (not that I pretend at all to understand it or neigh-say it) as time heels wounds of past/recent events Germany probably feels more able to express itself and I hope this infiltrates exponentially through the population as soon as possible!
Again, this is a generalisation and an observation. I hope i'm wrong and I keep hearing more laughter in the street!
Term 1, Part 1 = Tick
So it's been a while since I've written something and I apologise to all those who I have promised to write to and haven't yet. All in good time! I guess it's because i've been a good-boy and put studies before play (or so I keep telling myself!).
Last week was the end of the first part of term one. The week before everyone submitted their Decision Analysis assignments and last week we sat two exams; Financial Accounting and Macro Economics for open economies. It was a huge relief and reminded me of the day when I completed my Engineering only a couple of years ago. The exams went well having prepared well for what we were asked on. I am actually looking forward to the next exams in December for some strange reason! Maybe i'll review that excitement when I get the marks back for these first two exams!
Being eight weeks into the program it was great to get some time to reflect over the weekend on our time so far. After exams a group of five of us hired a car and drove to Berlin for the weekend. Another blog will follow...Upon 1400kms of driving time I had time to contemplate the last couple of weeks. It will be a fast ride to September next year when we hand in our last assignments and graduate!
I have had so many thoughts about:
Subjects
Lecturers
Personal future goals and ambitions
People in the class and the amazing cultures
Social events and Mannheim/Germans
But you'll have to ask me about them directly! Not because I don't want to publish it but more because I need to get on with some other things tonight! The to-do list is always huge after a holiday - but i'm not complaining!!
Last week was the end of the first part of term one. The week before everyone submitted their Decision Analysis assignments and last week we sat two exams; Financial Accounting and Macro Economics for open economies. It was a huge relief and reminded me of the day when I completed my Engineering only a couple of years ago. The exams went well having prepared well for what we were asked on. I am actually looking forward to the next exams in December for some strange reason! Maybe i'll review that excitement when I get the marks back for these first two exams!
Being eight weeks into the program it was great to get some time to reflect over the weekend on our time so far. After exams a group of five of us hired a car and drove to Berlin for the weekend. Another blog will follow...Upon 1400kms of driving time I had time to contemplate the last couple of weeks. It will be a fast ride to September next year when we hand in our last assignments and graduate!
I have had so many thoughts about:
Subjects
Lecturers
Personal future goals and ambitions
People in the class and the amazing cultures
Social events and Mannheim/Germans
But you'll have to ask me about them directly! Not because I don't want to publish it but more because I need to get on with some other things tonight! The to-do list is always huge after a holiday - but i'm not complaining!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)