Posts Tagged colin
Sunday Column (90)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on November 21, 2010
90 weeks of writing my Sunday Column. 90 weeks since this day in February last year….2009. Must have been 2009. It seems longer ago sometimes, but also thinking about it, we soon will be in 2011. Scary. Do you remember in school speaking about this unreal date of 2000 and that by 2020 or 2030 we will all be flying in little car like planes to work? Well, let’s see what the future holds.
Also, looking at the number 90, my grandmother Charlotte would have been 99 this week. She passed away a few years ago but I still remember her often. She loved yellow roses, and so do I. 
This week was dominated by two things. One was my laptop and I will write about that in a minute. The other one was a stomach bug. Colin was ill last Sunday, spewing and all, sleeping a lot. So I asked my wife if it is likely for us to get it and her answer was ‘of course not, don’t be such a hypochondriac‘. I was up all Monday night, missed a few meetings on Tuesday, dragged myself into work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. Friday afternoon I made it home in time to look after Colin as my wife had been up all night on Thursday… So sitting here at the weekend, chilling and relaxing, couldn’t be better. Thinking about food, what I could eat, cook and drink. Very nice. Life is back to normal.
Not quite really. DELL, a well known brand that claims to have made millions with Twitter, is really shit in regards to customer service. After my laptop didn’t get delivered this week, and I chased them daily to find out when it will be delivered, I went on Twitter. The promise was shipment within 24 hours, so 8 days seemed rather unreasonable. My personal account manager wasn’t able to help me, nor was he able to call me back, leave voicemails or email me. He did offer a discount on my next order though. This doesn’t make sense as if it was up to me, I wouldn’t order with DELL again. Anyway, the social media trick seemed to have worked and DELL will call me on Tuesday to offer me a discount on the current purchase which….fingers crossed….should arrive on Monday. Just a shame that as a customer you have to escalate things until someone listens. And, that you have to chase something you are paying for rather than the other way around. Anyway, don’t get me started.
10 days without a laptop are fine. I have a desktop to work from at work and a laptop at home. But it is not the same to having all your data in one place, aggregating things, looking things up, organising things etc. My whole life is in a laptop, in Outlook really. I was now contemplating whether to complete change to the clouds, e.g. moving all my emails online (which we already do via gmail for businesses), the calendar and tasks too. But Outlook is still much better, particularly because you can have a reminder on an email, a function I dearly miss.
Another highlight this week was the royal wedding announcement. The eldest son of Princess Diana and Charles is finally getting married. What a wonderful news for Britain, isn’t it? I wonder if her parents have to pay for the wedding or if Prince Charles will help out 
Seriously, David Cameron is contemplating of giving us an extra bank holiday to celebrate. On Twitter we already agreed on a #royalweddingtweetup….so watch the space! It is hilarious. Bookmakers took bets on date of announcement, venue, wedding date etc. – if there is something in Britain going on, you can bet you can bet on it.
The weekend was rather productive too. I managed to repair the kitchen door, clean the leaves off the front garden, go shopping, clean the oven, have great food again, watch movies and really chill out. Of course spending lots of time with my precious boy. That was desperately needed.
Colin is fantastic at the moment. He gets all upset when you tell him off but he is a great laugh when you chase him around the house. He looks so lovely sleeping in his cot, and I could stand there forever at night watching him. Peaceful and fearless – nothing can bother him in his little sleep.
I think something I realised this week more and more are two things. One is that work is not everything. I love my work (Hello Boss 
) and I love working but I need to be clearer about when to take time off, e.g. when being sick, and when to put more emphasis on the family, e.g. when being home. Sometimes work just needs to wait. And it can. Perception though is often different.
The other thing I learned is how important the health of your guts are. If they are f* you are f* – so watch what you eat, how much you eat, and what and how much you drink of course.
Have a fantastic week. Mine can only get better, but I keep saying that
Cheers
Volker
Dear Colin….
Dear Colin,
Guten Morgen, ich hoffe Du hast gut geschlafen. You look tired. Let’s be quiet, it is only just after 6, and mum still wants to have another hour or so before she has to get up.
Psst, come on, you have gotten out of your sleeping suit now for over 8 weeks. Please, don’t make it so complicated. I understand it is early, and you want your glass of milk but let’s be quiet.
Ok, careful down the stairs, watch your head. In a month or so, you will be too tall for me to carry you down the stairs. Colin, you are growing up so quickly. You get so much smarter and more engaging every day. I so enjoy watching you growing up.
Oups, sorry, forgot to tell you that I switched on the light. I know it is still too early for this bright hall light, let’s go into the Wohnzimmer to see what the cats are up to. Can you hear them meowing? Hansel and Gretel?
I sit you down on the sofa, and get you your milk from the fridge. Whilst you are sitting there, I put on your little shoes. I think they are already getting too small. And, you only got them a few weeks ago. I think we better order new ones at the weekend.
I then dress you in your cute little dressing gown you got from grandma. You look like a proper grown up, ready to relax all day. But if you knew what all lays ahead of you: playgroup, visiting your pals and going for a walk.
Now, next steps. Look at the Kuckucksuhr – the cuckoo. We let it out and it cuckoos now for 12 times and you get this shiny smile on your face. This smile saying “I was hoping you let the cuckoo out, it is so funny to see this one appear every morning”.
And whilst you are sitting on the sofa you can hear my toast popping out of the toaster. You get up to run into the kitchen. You see me putting this brown sweet stuff, Nutella, on the toast. You cannot wait to taste it. And you do. Just a mini Colin bite that makes you smile again.
You bring over your most favourite toy whilst I sit down on the sofa myself. The box where you have to put round and square pegs in. You never get bored of it. You let me empty it over and over again until you want another drink, you call it “bit”.
So I go back into the kitchen, make myself a coffee. You still cannot figure out the concept of this warm, good smelling drink I am having. You are so curious and I need to lift you up to see the espresso machine. The funny noise and all. You love it, you want to learn, soak it up and one day do it yourself. I am sure about that.
Now, I get you a bowl of rice crispies, or a slice of this cinnamon fruit loaf. You love to be fed. Not for long though. You want to do more and more yourself. Colin, you are growing up so fast.
I notice the time. Darn, these 90 minutes passed quickly. Time to wake up mum, and get her to look after you. Now, of course, just before I leave you need to do your morning poo. Whilst I change your diapers and you roll around, trying to whinge yourself out of my grip, mum comes to the rescue. Her iphone apps keep you busy until you are clean.
Bye bye Colin. Winke winke. I see you in the morning. I am off to earn money for some more diapers, rice crispies, and shoes. Of course I am going to miss you, and you are upset to see me go. But you soon will figure out what life is all about. That we have to make sacrifices, that work can be fun, that being away all day doesn’t mean I am gone, and that sometimes in life you have to make decisions.
When people see my laptop or my office, they see pictures of you. I proudly show them the latest picture I have of you on my phone. Darn proud I am of you, my eldest son, Colin Heinrich.
I often speak to people about what I wish for you, and that this might be completely different to what you might wish for for yourself. And, that I shouldn’t put too much pressure on you, whilst I should still try to get you on the right path. The path that your mum and I want to chose for you. However, you will soon develop your own thought, opinions and ideas. And, you soon won’t care if I am gone all day. You might even prefer it.
But until then, I hold on to those precious mornings. The time we have together. The time we can spend together, have breakfast and some play about.
Colin, have a good day.
I love you, and see you in the morning,
Your Dad.
Early Mornings – time to give
As most of you know I am a fan of Reinhard Mey, and recently bought some tickets for his concert in October 2011. However, he sings a lot about his children, the joys and the beautiful moments he has with them. Martin Luther, quoted by Reinhard, said “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” The hope that the world exists past us is one of the greatest gifts.
I find that ever since I have had a child, ever since Colin entered my life, I started seeing things different. Early mornings for instance are different, and they are there to live them. Before he arrived we used to sleep in at the weekends, and we used to get drunk at night. We used to leave for the train last minute and sleep as much as we could.
Things have changed. Every morning now between 6:30 and 7:00 my natural alarm Colin is crying to say hello. He is crying to get his milk, to see us and start the day with us. It often, during the week is me who gets up. I sit with him, enjoy a cup of coffee, having my toast and he has his. We sit, talk and eat. We see the sun rise, and the bin man come and go.
It might sound poetic, maybe that is what it is. We are sitting together, enjoying the untouched day. I cannot wait for the winter with some snow, when we can be the first two to enter the snow and leave our prints. Me, with size 13, and him, with his tiny little feed. His steps are getting bigger, but he still likes holding my hand, and will for a while.
I enjoy those moments. I enjoy being with him, guide him, and show him the way. To show him the beauty of each individual morning, each early start.
And he gives me back. Smiles, cuddles and confidence that I am a good dad. I am trying to be anyway. It is almost like a love affair of smiles and cuddles, acceptance and respect. Sometimes better, sometimes not at all.
It won’t be long now, and our new arrival will be with us. I had never thought that I was so looking forward to the 2nd boy to join us. Another character, another one that smiles and gives you something back. It gives you a purpose in life, something that outweighs any rational.
That is what I am thinking about at 6.30 in the morning. Small things whether the tap in the kitchen or the BBQ in the garden will last become less and less important. Important is that life is about the bigger picture, about what you can give, pass on, and what survives you – eventually.
Life is about opportunities. And I get given a new opportunity every morning to change someone’s day and life. Every morning, I see for myself, when the sun comes up, I can see for myself what difference I can make by loving my children.
I am fulfilled by utter happiness.
Thank you Colin, thank you my wife!
Volker
Sunday Column (83)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on October 3, 2010
Now, as every week, this week passed quickly. I don’t remember actually that a week didn’t pass quickly this year. I guess it is a good thing. Particularly, this week wasn’t too stressful. I found anyway. I was well prepared for month end at work, and it all went well. Happy days, we are striving, and we got a new starter for the 1st of November, whoop whoop!
We got a new window for Colin’s room on Monday. Finally the house is in the shape we like it to be, although there is something we are not happy with the kitchen floor. I will call the guy next week. So there are always things that seem to be unfinished, but we are making progress. That is a good thing.
I felt a bit poorly all week, meaning I have got some kind of cold. Thursday it was that bad that I left work early, e.g. at 6 pm 
I went to bed before 9 and slept very long – hopefully that sorted me. Still not sure, something is going around. I see a specialist for my knee problems next week too, so maybe I am just getting old
Today is the 3rd of October, the reunification. I wrote an article last year about my personal view of the reunification. I think I closed my history with Germany a bit, and when I speak to my German colleagues it is easier for me to explain things in English than in German. It is weird how you adopt a culture, language and way of life. However, I guess there are some things that I can never get rid of.
Colin. Yesterday I spend the whole day with him. I really enjoyed my time with him. My wife went to London to go shopping. A friend came over as well and we had a good catch up.
Colin is growing up more and more. I took him to the swings in the rain, and he seemed to love it. He fell a few times but that is what kids do, trying to walk in their wellies Shame, poor wee man got a few bruises from bumping into things, and running into things, falling off things. We try to tell him not to climb on things and take it easy, but he wouldn’t listen. He is so sweet though and so much joy to be around.
I closed the week with a great day with the family. And, on Saturday night I booked tickets for Reinhard Mey. He is a singer I have enjoyed listening to for more than 20 years. And, I finally going to go and see him live in 2011, on the 24th of October. I cannot wait, and hope it will fit into my busy schedule then. We shall see, I can always give them back
The Reinhard Mey concert is one of those things where I was told by Goetz Alsmann, that it is something a German should do before they die. Reinhard is a great part of German history. He is getting on though, e.g. his texts have changed over the years, but I am confident that I will love his concert. This concert, alongside the concert of Peter Maffay which I plan for 2012, are on the list of things that I want to do before I die.
You have a good week, enjoy what you have.
Love and Happiness,
Volker
Sunday Column (79)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on August 29, 2010
This week, once again, passed very quickly. It was a very rainy week, miserable but successful. My boss from Germany was up in London and we had some important meetings and made good headway with some of our endeavours. So work wise, I am very happy at the moment.
Now, there is private life, which this week once again was too short. I didn’t even get a chance to practise Tai Chi or study Mandarin/Chinese. I just didn’t have time for anything. All I managed is another book about a something I cannot reveal yet. Very interesting though
However, I really enjoyed the early mornings with Colin, building towers with some blocks that he smashes to pieces again. On Saturday we went to Godstone Farm, a place with animals and a big play area. I loved it And Colin did too. We spend at least an hour chasing each other, and daddy was very exhausted afterwards. But I wasn’t the only one.
Also my mother in law arrived on Thursday, helping out a bit as Jen needs to do less due to her pregnancy. It is great to have her, but of course it puts strain on her as well as us to live in one household. So far (I know it has only been a few days) things are working out. We make it work, for the children….
Of course I love to get pampered too, e.g. not having to do the ironing and dishes makes me very happy her being here
I also managed to get some shopping done this weekend, some treats of nicer wine, nice cheese and olives, a new jeans and granny bought a few bits and pieces for the wee man. Overall, a very successful weekend. The weather is a bit wet/damp but we were lucky going to Godstone on Saturday as it was lovely weather, sunny and all.
Luckily there is a bank holiday tomorrow which means we have a long weekend. Also some friends from Winchester are coming up to see us, so we are looking forward to that. They expecting a child at the same time we expecting our 2nd. How fabulous that is going to be?
I will try to write more non personal stuff, more about personal development and some coaching and other ideas shortly. Believe me, there is plenty I can write about, just don’t find the time and energy at the moment.
Keep well,
Volker
Sunday Column (78)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on August 22, 2010
Hello,
I shouldn’t complain about work, I love it actually but it is getting quite a lot lately. So I am sitting here at the weekend, thinking that I should write another two proposals that need to be finalised on Monday. We shall see how the rest of the weekend goes.
Overall I am very pleased how things are progressing, both work wise and privately.
So no need to complain about anything really. Jen had another scan this week and things are ok. Her mum is coming down to stay with us and looking after her, the household and Colin. It will be tough but good, so I can continue to work as normal and Jen will have someone who gives her a hand.
Not much else happened this week. I spent the weekend de-cluttering the house and putting things in the loft that we currently don’t use. Also, I put our Kuckucks clock up again which we had laying about for over a year since we last decorated.
In all honesty this might be it that I can talk about this weekend. I spend most of the week working and then helping out my wife at night. Often I am sitting until late trying to get through my CD collection, ripping it into MP3s. Quite a boring life at the moment, but a good life.
I fertilised the lawn this weekend, hoping that it recovers from the hot summer. The weather is more like autumn than summer, and I expect it getting colder soon. I couldn’t even say whether summer was here, but I guess it was. Short and very hot, but maybe the winter is a bit milder than the last 2 years, we shall see.
Colin and I went swimming again, and I (and hopefully he too) enjoy this great time together.
Have a fantastic week,
Volker
Loving your family
Now, I thought this is worth sharing.
Today, in the middle of a very busy day, I got “tagged” in a picture on Facebook. Hence I looked and found the one below.
I personally find this a treat. Like getting a surprise present. Like someone sending you a handwritten love letter.
Sunday Column (76)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on August 8, 2010
This weeks flew past with many many meetings. All good though and we are making progress. I now have to be careful what I write here, as my boss has discovered the blog and seems to have added it to his RSS feed Just teasing I like my boss!
Luckily this week was less eventful than last week. However, we made preparations of handling Colin easier, without my wife lifting him. Quite a few adjustments, including a very cute duvet and duvet cover of the hungry caterpillar. Colin has had his ups and downs this week, and I managed to spend about an hour in the morning with him. His teeth still seem to bother him, but overall he is jolly good.
Another few things I wanted to mention. I tried out another Tai Chi class which I believe goes beyond what I am willing and ready to invest in regards to time and practise. But never say never. I will have to give up my Tai Chi class in Beckenham due to time restraints from my work. It is just not feasible to make it home by 7:30 pm, particularly on a Thursday. Currently, I think I go back to the practical class, e.g. pushing hands, on Tuesdays across the road from my work.
Then I was impressed with some customer service this week. One was with Blackberry Help via Twitter. After I installed the latest software update which had some problems, they talked me through todos on twitter to restore the old settings. Very helpful. The other one was BT Business. Our broadband seemed to drop every now and then in the office, so they first investigated via Twitter, called and seemed to have sorted the problem.
I remember a few years ago when I was at university, e.g. almost 10 years ago, and the first blogs came up. I mentioned to a few people that “companies should have a customer service real time response on their website” – here we go. Twitter makes it possible and if I had thought through my idea, I could sit on a full bank account now. What will the future hold….????
To be honest these are the key developments at the moment. I am recovering from a (mild) man-flu, and have a very busy week ahead. The weekend therefore was quite relaxing. We want to do some improvements on the house, and my wife finally agreed to a TV in the bedroom. More out of necessity as she needs to rest more. Ach well, should be a problem for me having a telly in the bedroom
Have a good week.
Volker
Sunday Column (72)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on July 11, 2010
Nothing like….a week where you get lots of things done. This week clearly was one of them.
After we finally moved into our new office, we managed to sort out all or most of the admin staff that needed sorted. Insurance, server, registrations…. Now being settled, we can work “just as normal” and continue to grow the business. And, we have done the latter this week also.
It was also very hot last week. Up to 40 degrees if you ask me, if not hotter. Sitting in a 4th floor office doesn’t make it more bearable, however we luckily have an air conditioning.
Of course it wasn’t all work. My mother in law was down and gave my wife a hand with things. That was very helpful, and they enjoyed a great time together. So did I. But foremost, Colin enjoys seeing his grand parents too. He is shy at the beginning but then quickly warms up to them, enjoying them spoiling him
Colin: he is so cute. Whilst I keep saying that every parent would say that, I think it is true. Of course I would He has very cute brown eyes from his mother, and very cheeky looks from his dad. He successfully gets attention from young and old when we are taking him to any place, e.g. shopping or restaurants.
At the weekend, we were up North with a good friend of mine. It had to be then that Colin took his first proper steps. I’d say about 15 steps. It won’t be long until our wee man is grown up and walking. It fills me with so much joy to see how is interacting, doing things and exploring. He doesn’t like the sharp “NEIN” but it works fine. He particularly enjoys the mornings after he and I get up to play together and talk. I just manage to write this blog post whilst he is trying to press all kinds of buttons on my keyboard.
This weekend, we enjoyed company in Skye where we went to see the famous Talisker Whisky distillery. A good drum or two and catching up with some good friends. Family & friends time, unbeatable weekend.
Have a good week. I will try to find some time this week to write a piece about social media marketing. Shall see.
Volker
Sunday Column (71)
Posted by Volker in Sunday Column on July 4, 2010
I don’t believe it’s Sunday. Whilst this phrase sounds so familiar, and yes I did have a stressful week, I also made it through probably one of the hottest weeks I had in the UK since I arrived here not short of 9 years ago.
What a heat! This week I travelled to Ipswich for a meeting, I moved offices and sweated the last drop of fluid out of my body carrying boxes, furniture and myself up and down our new office, 4th floor in Windmill Street. You can find the new location by just putting “mexad UK” into Google maps:
Now that this is done, we can grow our team even further. I am very excited about the opportunities.
On the family side of things there was some movement. I write that before having the final discussion with my wife, but I allowed Colin to climb the chest in our living room last week. I admit I even encouraged him a bit, but really, I think that is fine. I didn’t know my wife tried to tell him off for that, and I think Colin used “climbing the chest” to play my wife against me. Glad we noticed it and sorted it. Now we are a united front to bring up our son….which is very important from a educational point of view. And that is meant very seriously, as you don’t want to have one parent allowing something that the other forbids.
Today is the 4th of July. America will be having BBQs all over the place, celebrating Independence Day. How nice, just hope they have the same nice weather we had all week. Happy Independence Day!
Then there was another Germany game in the world cup. I believe, after beating Argentina, we can now go all the way. Remember, you heard it here first. From what I have seen, the Spaniards (sorry O) won’t stop us, so it seems we might be playing our other arch rival, the Netherlands, in the final. Fingers crossed.
Maybe one more word. Last night we sat down. Nice food: baguette, olives, cheese, a very good wine etc. I really enjoyed that, and we haven’t done that for a long time. We also went swimming with Colin which he truly enjoyed. It is great to see him grow up and noticing how he develops. He often looks to me for approval and his little character is changing daily. My wife just said that she noticed him putting things away, e.g. sorting things. I guess it is typical for his age, but still a very much fascinating fact for us.
Last but not least I made history this weekend – or I destroyed it. I burned my diaries from when I was 10-13, which after reading them again, didn’t have too much content in there. It shows, from a pure personal development point of view, certain behaviours that I have struggled with, and it is interesting where some of them began. So a part of my own life, another chapter I closed to better live in the now.
Let next week be a bit less stressful, and having a good time with the boy.
Yours,
Volker
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