Posts Tagged work
Sunday Column (152)
Posted by Volker in Sunday Column on January 29, 2012
I started writing this column whilst having a Saturday night off. Glass of wine, German music, kids in bed and the wife visiting a friend. These evenings are rare. Time to reflect, time to / for myself.
What am I thinking these days? I am thinking a lot to be honest. There are a few things that I anticipate this year. All and foremost our move to a better life. I am getting quite excited thinking that I finally settle down. A bigger house. A better quality of life. All other factors probably stay the same but that is how it is. You never completely change just because you move or change one bit of your life. There are the same illusions you have that every year at New Year’s Eve you give up smoking. Most people never last. Change is within us and not (necessarily) location dependent.
Then we get our new (used) car on Tuesday. A Seat Alhambra. As you know my wife and I insist on rear facing car seats. The Alhambra was the only choice for a comfortable drive and space in the car, whilst keeping the car seats’ third leg on a solid ground. Most other cars (Sharan, S-Max, Galaxy, 2011+ Alhambra) have under floor storage boxes that don’t support the weight of the leg. Anyway, my wife will write an extensive report as a guest post. So any comments should be waiting until the full review is published. However, I think once the kids are out of rear facing car seats we get an XC90 Volvo again. We just loved that car too much.
This week I have been to Milan. I only went for the day. Despite no sleep the night before (thanks kids!) I had a good day. I really look forward travelling more regularly to Spain, Italy and potentially more countries in the future. This will be my job moving forward. Besides Colin loves ham at the moment, so both of those cities offer me the best “take away” for him 
The perks.
Other than that work is busy. I have found some time to catch up with half the industry about the acquisition. January was a lot busier than anticipated and I look forward to March. Why March? February looks like it will be even busier than January already, so March can only be better, right? Then again there are a few longer trips planned too. Lots of progress to be seen. I like that.
We had a fantastic weekend. We didn’t do much, but given the fact we weren’t house hunting and didn’t have any viewings for our place, we were busy but relaxed. We took some pictures, shopped for some wine and just chilled. Good bonding with Colin and Rohan. Wine: not having a constant stack of wine at home, buying them cheap when on offer, allows me to go and shop different wines. I got some excellent bargains on some French Fitou and Shiraz. So what am I complaining about?!
Guess that is all for this week folks.
Have a good one,
Volker
Sunday Column (141)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on November 13, 2011
I love those weeks that pass very quickly. Too often have I managed to work a few hours more. And, I don’t mind it. But if you have days where you work the hours of two days in one, hardly sleep, and realise you have done weekly overtime despite you only worked 4 days, it is time to relax. I am not moaning, I love working, even feel like being a work-aholic but with family and all, it can be quite tiring.
Yes, I am a bit stressed at the moment, a bit pushed. Despite our Germany holiday, I haven’t really relaxed for a while. The sleepless nights, the ongoing man flu and the car take their toll. All that on top of work. Latter however is very enjoyable as otherwise I wouldn’t put that much effort in.
Anyway, to relax I got away this weekend. Since the car wasn’t an option the four of us went – with rucksack and pram – through the rush hour on Friday morning to catch a train to Cornwall to see Jen’s uncle Mike.
It was fantastic. Despite the hate for buses and my wife feeling travel sick, everything else was great about the trip. Colin just loved being on the train and when we got to Falmouth, we could easily walk around, e.g. to the hotel, the beach and town. Who needs a car anyway?
We met Jen’s family and it was great. We spend a lot of time with them, and chatted and caught up a lot. It has been 6 years since we were down there. And the beach! We had a room with a beach view and also sat in a little cafe at the beach in bright sun shine on Saturday morning. Nothing else to wish for. Happy times, and lots of time with the boys. And, no long hour drives.
So much more relaxed, but tired of course.
Then, I still have one unresolved issue. My wife and friends can’t stand me questioning them any more, but it is the tablet question. Sure, I don’t really need a £700 gadget, and surely the money is better spend in toys for the boys or the mortgage. However, I like gadgets and would like to get one.
I have been a great advocate of Android after handing in my Blackberry and getting an HTC Desire Z last Christmas. I like being a bit geeky and like to figure things out. So my logical choice would be an Android based tablet like the Sony tablet S. It is versatile, offers memory card slots and has 3G. But it only comes with 16 GB internal memory. Also, I found out that for both the Sony S or the iPad2 one has to convert the video files.
So, if I go through all that hassle and money, should I maybe stick with the original. If so 32 GB or 64 GB memory. Will it be too slick for me, and given that I never liked Apple for it being a closed system and that you cannot change anything? How much do I actually change when it comes to it?
I think the decision is clear. More or less at least. But what if I start liking Apple, will I eventually get an iPhone too? Reading the biography of Steve Jobs surely doesn’t help me moving away from it. Maybe I leave it to Santa Clause to decide.
As you can see: if you don’t have any problems, you find some.
Have a fantastic week, this one should be a lot quieter.
Best wishes,
Volker
Sunday Column (136)
Posted by Volker in Sunday Column on October 9, 2011
I believe last week was one of the busiest working weeks I had for a long time. I still notice it today and needed the weekend to really chill out. Not easy with the two wee ones, but I managed ok. It is a taster what life might be looking like for the upcoming month.
Also we had one more new starter this week (who is a keen reader of my blog 
) – it is fantastic to see how the office is growing. Exciting times ahead.
Finally our garage got us our car back. There is a new noise but they say it is ok. Guess we shall see over the next few days if they are right or wrong. After a 3 week ordeal I am certain to say that I won’t go back to Kwik Fit. I think I am going to try an independent garage around the corner for our MOT which is due at the end of the year.
I have been trying to work less at weekends. Saying that Rohan is just looking at me, playing with things on the carpet, whilst I write the blog. You sometimes wonder what 8 months old kiddies think. Do they remember anything or are they just “hanging about”?
Colin on the other hand loves the swing and the sea-saw. The slide of course still gets him excited too. Yesterday he started kicking a ball about and enjoyed playing on the basketball court. Maybe we get him to be more sportive than his parents after all?
I think I am still fighting some kind of virus. With the weather changing from 26 degrees to 12 degrees within four days I am not surprised. October and autumn are clearly here. Time to put the heating on, wrap up, gather the leaves and prepare for winter. I am looking a bit forward to winter, and some quality family time.
Guess this is all for the week. Nothing overly exciting. I went to a Hypnotherapy Event with Richard Bandler on Friday. It was good to see the founder of NLP to demonstrate hypnosis. However, looking at him just shows how old NLP is and that some people still think it is a “one size fits all” solution. It’s not.
Maybe a quick outlook to my decisions regarding tablet PCs. I think it is going to be the Sony S tablet: Android platform but I am waiting for the 3G version to be released at the end of the month….
Have a good one,
Volker
Sunday Column (135)
Posted by Volker in Sunday Column on October 2, 2011
It has been a long week. I couldn’t even tell you why but Monday started out with so much work that I didn’t come home till late. I didn’t see the boys all day. On Tuesday I briefly saw Colin for 10 minutes in the morning, and was heading to a great networking event in the evening.
Wednesday and Thursday I spent in Cologne at a management meeting. I flew back on Friday morning and worked the afternoon from home, so the kids could at least see me for a little bit.
Having family seems to be a balancing act. You are glad you have a job and a career. You are happy that things progress in your job and you enjoy your work. You put a lot of effort in to constantly get better and better.
On the downside you don’t want to clock up too many hours in the office or travel a lot. You prefer to be with the family. And that is where the clash is coming in. With me probably travelling more within the next few months, I need to make sure that the time I have with the kids is properly spend. No interruptions when I am home. So that is something I need to learn. To not check emails when I am with the kids, and to be home when being home. I guess it is a new process and a new life but another step up. For both the kids, myself and within my career.
I guess they call it work life balance. I have been studying that for a long time but find that the practical approach could be somewhat different. Switching your brain off when home is difficult. Whenever I ask older people with family and careers I get different advice. One is that you should see your kids in the morning before you go to work as you never know whether you make it home for bathing time. Then to be home when you are home, see above. Also, one should use the time with the kids to relax and de-stress. I am confident it is manageable as so many other people have done it. You of course need a supportive wife
Anyway, tomorrow is the 3rd of October. Looking at the weather and having had a look at September, the month just passed very quickly. I can’t understand we are already in Q4. That was very quick. Also it is a public holiday in Germany tomorrow, celebrating the reunification. I am going to put a special blog post on tomorrow to share another few thoughts on Germany and my relationship with it.
Oh, and we finally got our car back. No gear box or wheel bearings, just the handbrake and a v-joint. Latter is still to be replaces as they kept waiting for the part. So fingers crossed it is all in order again. They had to replace the hand brake but there are still some awkward noises to be heard. So the story continues…
That’s it. Some thoughts on family and work. Nothing new I suppose, just another blurb from my corner of the world. I spend the weekend with the kids, going for walks, visiting friends and playing trains. I loved it. Good to be home.
Have a great week, and a great October.
Volker
Sunday Column (114)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on May 8, 2011
May started out nicely. A few things happening really. We chilled on the bank holiday Monday, knowing that I had to go back to a full week on. Little idea did I have.
Also, Osama Bin Laden got killed, and the news broke on twitter, see here for a great visualisation of how the news spread on twitter. Social Media rules once again
I believe it was the first time in many years that I went out every night of the week. 4 nights in a row. Tuesday I had diner and a few beers with our German analyst who was over visiting, then on Wednesday a great diner with a good friend, and on Thursday one of our suppliers invited me to their “influencer diner”. So work was full on, despite the average 9 hours during the day, making a lot of decisions, analysing a lot and making plans for the future. It was a fantastic week at mexad, and very productive. Onwards and Upwards.
On Friday my night was solely social, e.g. after a few beers with one of my staff, I joined my wife at a birthday party in the Tate Modern. Drinking champagne, watching the boats go by on the Thames and looking at St. Pauls at night was a great wind down to the weekend. Another one of those “London is awesome” moments.
I could only do all that because my Mother in Law has been in Beckenham. She is staying to see the grand kids, and she is fully involved. As she is now retired, we can tire her out whilst babysitting, then she can rest for a few weeks at home before she comes back again Great to have her around, although I hardly saw her all week.
On Saturday my wife and MIL went to town for some high tea and shopping. Bending plastic I think they had a great time. I myself watched the boys having a fantastic time. It shows me how much work it is, and how little other things than having to look after the 2 you can do. Having had time to sit down for 10 minutes was good. I have a lot of respect for any home stay mum, and it just reassures me that I wouldn’t have kids if that was me A thank you to my wife! I think she does a great job.
However, once in a while it is fantastic me having all day with the boys, playing with trains, then going to the garden, or just being silly. I can do that too We now need them to grow up so we can play basketball together.
Saturday finished with a nice diner in local Beckenham, a few drinkies, and an early night e.g. before midnight: just. And Sunday was chilling in the garden, sleeping in, bacon sandwiches, Homebase….and just making sure life is nicely ticking over.
Have a good week!
Volker
Sunday Column (112)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on April 24, 2011
Another week has gone, and Easter is here. What a fantastic weather we have been enjoying in London over the last week. Summer, sunshine, degrees in their 20ties. Great! It lifts the mood but almost puts a damper on when sweating away in the office.
Btw office: we have now finalised most of the equipment we need in the office and moved in 99.9%. We still need to do some smaller things, but overall the office is ready to use with white boards, board room, video conferencing and all. Looking back to when I first launched the company in the UK last year, renting a desk in a basement office with a laptop, we came a long way. Onwards and upwards, our 2nd anniversary was this month.
So I am happy. Work is great, good lunches with great people, fantastic meetings with intelligent people and good strategic conversations with smart guys. On top of that I am developing some new ideas from books about energy households, innovation and business structures to work on some cb consulting ideas
On the other hand, I am annoyed at an SEO company that seems to rip of my friend, charging her money for not doing the job right, making use of her ignorance. It really pisses me off, as my understanding of running any business is of going the extra mile, delivering value for money and delivering results. And if companies don’t do that, don’t deliver on promises, and make use of people’s ignorance, then this is wrong and unsustainable. Rant over.
As you have seen in my earlier blog post about London this week I got the chance to be on top of Tower Bridge. A fantastic networking event organised by Improve Digital. Those are the moments when I absolutely love London, enjoy the company and fall in love with this city over again.
Of course, going back to work in overheated and over crowed train carriages the next day puts me back down to earth. It isn’t all as nice as it could be, and my wife and I have ongoing discussions what to do next, where to go and what might be best for our family. Don’t worry, nothing will change any time soon, but thoughts are brewing
In the meantime we enjoyed a socialable Easter weekend. We had our neighbours over for dinner on Thursday, friends on Saturday for a BBQ and went to Winchester today after we had to cancel that trip the other week. Only visited a good friend and his young family and didn’t stop to see everyone we know down there but will do so again this year.
We are content, happy, and we love seeing the kids changing and growing up each day. Colin loves the garden, the sand (sand box to arrive soon), and watering the flowers.
Life is good.
Happy Easter.
Love and happiness from Beckenham,
Volker & co
Sunday Column (111)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on April 17, 2011
Another week, and another week where I anticipated to write a few blog posts but never got around doing it. Monday I was in the office until late, and same on Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday I made it home for bathing time and spend a few hours afterwards catching up on things. To say the least, we are busy.
Latter is not a bad thing, and I am not moaning. I enjoy what I am doing, who I am doing it with and what our company and my work is all about. It is great. Really.
Just on Friday I went to the nma live event and saw how much buzz is in the industry. I try to summarise my thoughts on RTB and use of several DSP technologies at another blog post later this week. If I have time. But the buzz and interest is amazing. We are part of a new striving part of the online marketing industry. It is just fantastic and mind blowing at times.
Now enough about work. Colin finally got his 2nd set of molars through, so hopefully he’ll be less grumpy. Rohan slept a bit more this week, maybe because of his injections. After we couldn’t visit our friends due to Colin not being well, other friends of ours couldn’t visit us this weekend because their little one wasn’t well. The joys and pain of having kids, but you wouldn’t want to trade them for anything in the world.
I still strongly believe that if you don’t have kids, you are missing out: mainly on the pain and strain and the challenges life brings. Your food bills would still be the same in 10 years time, your house still the same size and your carpet would look like new. Seriously, whilst I never was fussed to have kids, I couldn’t imagine or wanting to imagine my life without them.
There hasn’t been much else happening. We are trying a new food routine to loose weight. Our take away bill got too high and I noticed the wine cellar emptying on a more regular basis. So we are all set to make it work this time to shed a few pounds. Not that custard crème cookies in the office help much
We are positive, happy and content. Our new sofa should arrive this week, Easter is upon us and hopefully a lot of reunions with friends. If the kids don’t get sick…
So onwards and upwards. Time is there to live and enjoy. And we do. Also I spoke to my long time friend Marc today, and that we had our 16th birthday party together at his house, smoked roll ups with Fisherman Friends and got someone to avoid alcohol poisining by giving him salty water to spew. Yes, we remember, only 8 years ago. Oups…18!
Are we getting old? In all fairness, I haven’t been sick of booze for a long time, not had a roll up for many many years and generally, yes I am getting more settled.
Time just moves on, that is for certain.
Have a great week,
Volker
Sunday Column (100)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on January 30, 2011
100 Sunday Columns. My wife was hoping the wee man number 2, or as the FT columnist would say, “cost centre number 2″, had arrived by now. But no sign yet.
However, this week I spend the day at work, the evenings in the hospital, and the nights working more….where to start? My wife has a high blood pressure resulting in her having to be under observation, so she was in hospital. My MIL is down and looks after the boy, so things overall were well planned and worked out very well. Thank Buddha for MILs and family
Now work was busy with meetings. Most of them with my boss who was over from Germany. We achieved a milestone this week for some meetings, and also in regards to recruitment. Things are going well. We also open more international offices, so things are overall on the up.
All week, particularly on Friday, I had some problems with my waterworks. That resulted in me calling in sick. After a handful of pain killers, a GP visit, I decided to drop my wife off for another check up. I ended up spending my afternoon in the car park, working via mobile internet and got quite a lot of work and calls done. What times we are living in? Working anywhere any time?
That was the week really. I guess my breakfast meetings with loads of black coffee didn’t help me. Anyway, I was in real pain on Friday night again, and slept most of Saturday afternoon, doped with ibuprofen. Now I abstaining from coffee and alcohol. No red wine at the weekend is weird 
Due to all of that, I didn’t spend enough time with Colin all week or at the weekend really. I enjoy going shopping to Waitrose, gas my car at independent gas stations, buy books from Play.com and wondering if Amazon or Tesco notice my change of habits? I am more content these days whilst being more stressed about things. I am living but just to get through the day.
What is happening? It is the “living in between your lives“. Still waiting for the baby. Being ready anytime to jump on the train to get home. Giving 100% at work, knowing there is so much to do. Waking up at night not sure whether we need to go to hospital. Managing the office and staff. It is all good, but I want to be the best at everything, not taking time off for me. But I know I should. I should just stop being online for a day. Someone just said he will be on holidays for 3 weeks this summer without internet access. My friend went to Africa a few years ago where there was no Blackberry reception – on purpose. I sometimes think it is sad to think we need to escape in such a way. But we are all very passionate about what we do. So it is difficult to just stop it.
We seem to be chasing daylight. We are passionate about what we do but smart enough to take a full break. But we need to do it. I just think about at the moment it but I will. I will extend on that in more details when I publish my ppt about the way we are working.
Yes, I will change my life. Once I get into a routine with the boys I plan to be back at the gym, eat a little different, and slim down a bit. I am not unhealthy but I could be so much fitter. That needs to be done. And, a proper week’s holiday this year maybe. With 100% time dedicated to the family. That is what I want to do.
And whilst I think about all my little problems, my theories about life, and what I want to do….there are so many other people to be considered.
I worked in Egypt for a while and see the pictures on TV. I feel for my Egyptian friends. They need my compassion more than anyone else at the moment. They are on the eve of a revolution – or already in the middle of it.
Let us be compassionate with all the people that have so many more problems than ourselves. And, let us hope that the baby finally comes. This way I can start planning my life again and get my life back….it is not all that bad but I keep telling clients I might have to cancel due to the baby being born. I said that 2 weeks ago…..
Love and Kindness from my corner of the world.
Volker
Sunday Column (91)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on November 28, 2010
This week passed very very quickly. But it was a good week looking back.
After 8 days of wait my replacement laptop arrived and it only took a few hours to have my life back, reinstalling everything. And, at night, I met a friend of mine I haven’t seen for a long time. She is German, used to live in London but seemed to have found her happiness back home again. It was good to exchange ideas, life thoughts and expectations. Sometimes people own things they aren’t aware of. And, if you read this, you know that you are actually much much happier than many other people. Embrace it!
Tuesday was my normal Tai Chi night. I am debating whether I should continue in the new year. I enjoy it very much, but it almost seems, with the upcoming second child, that I might not have time. And I think I could use the time more useful but would I? It is my night (me time) after all, and I should try to keep it that way. Really need to think that through.
Now Wednesday the team from mexad went for one drink. Maybe two. It is great to work with such nice colleagues and I am very excited about the opportunities and growth that lies ahead for 2011. Really enjoy working with you guys! Not that you’d read it
Thursday was a long awaited night in the whiskey bar of the Athenaeum Hotel. Whilst pricey I had a great night amongst other whiskey drinkers and friends. I tried my first Japanese Whiskey (although my wife said I tried one years ago….), some new Islay Whiskies and had a genuine great night. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer, but there is always next time. Thanks, Adam, for organising it.
Now, the highlight was really the weekend. Not only did I hit 1000 followers on Twitter, but my parents came to visit. I got the new Reinhard Mey CD “Mairegen”. Although, listening to it on Friday night over a glass of wine, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the older stuff he did.
However, we had a fantastic weekend. I really enjoyed family time. Three generation and two cultures together for a weekend. It really makes me think how far I would move away or how much I would miss my roots in Germany if I was further away. Does it matter? How far are my roots still in Germany, Scotland, England, Britain or Europe. I often wonder where life will take me.
My parents have helped a lot lately to look into our past, e.g. to research the family history. Bottom line is that we still don’t know where we are coming from. Most likely not from France which is nice to know but it now makes it more difficult to find out. “Balluer” seems to be a real variation of our last name. So we are curious if we ever find out. Funny or coincidently there is a dance called the “Braes of Balluder” in Scotland. So maybe my roots are further grown in Scotland than I had ever imagined. Who knows, definitely something to research. And most my family where farm workers, interesting.
Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend. Despite Colin’s and my cold, we managed to spend great quality time together. I have the feeling that the next 4 weeks to Christmas will be very busy and passing very quickly. So any time I can spend with my wee man, I really enjoy. He is growing so quickly, discovering and learning. Only when you realise how much children mean to you and how much joy they bring, you realise how little important so many other things are. It is all about the greater good. And children make you greater.
Love and Happiness to all of you.
Volker
Sunday Column (80)
Posted by Volker in personal, Sunday Column on September 5, 2010
Now, the week was short. Short in days but long in hours if that makes any sense. Or as a client of mine said “you fit all 5 working days into your 4 day week” – he is so right. So it is weekend now, still needing to catch up on a few bits but generally I am on top of things. That is not bad going. And, the sun is out too.
Actually, the weather has been good the past few days. I don’t think it is “Indian Summer” yet, but more of a last few days of sun before autumn hits us in a week or two. This summer passed very quickly.
Then I am struggling for good books at the moment. My boss recommended the Illuminatus Triology but I wasn’t too taken with it. I then read another Anthony Robbins book but didn’t find it much inspiring. Now what I need is to read something inspirational, spiritual, leadership oriented. So I am deciding between Tony Blair’s new book and maybe a Buddhist book. We shall see.
I was discussing Tony’s alcohol comments with my MIL. Maybe not the best person to discuss it with but it seems very normal for people with lots of responsibilities to drink away their stress. I know them, including myself, and no one would classify themselves as ”excessively excessive” drinkers either. But where do you draw the line. Whilst I am not worried about the ones I know, you never do know until it is too late, isn’t it? And, sadly admitting, he is right saying that “he could never work out whether alcohol was good for him because it helped him relax, or bad because he could have been working instead of relaxing.”
Actually this is true not only for alcohol but for many other things. Going to the gym relaxes you but cost you time, e.g. you can work less. How efficient you are and how much more efficient you are after working out, is a different matter. But if you have to plough through loads of stuff, then you rather do that than taking some time off and relax, don’t you? I do. However, I am trying to integrate Tai Chi and relaxation techniques in my daily routine, and make sure that I have enough time for the family. Although the latter sadly comes down to the weekend. Leaving work at 5.30 pm (and that would be leaving just in time) wouldn’t get me home in time to give my wife a hand. Is it all worth it?
I think so and believe that by going through this stressful period at work and at home will in the end turn out to be less stressful once we reached another level in both family life (2 kids) and work. But sometimes some things just need to be done.
If I recap the week it feels like I have been at work the whole time. But no, I haven’t. Colin, I noticed, really enjoys seeing me in the morning, hugging me and being close to me. On Friday I surprised him by being home just before his bed time and he had a hard time deciding between “cuddling daddy” and “In the Night Garden”. Unfortunately TV won Now on a more positive thing I asked him on Saturday morning if “Daddy can go shopping” and his sweet little face smiled a bit, he shook his head and said “Nein”. Now, if that doesn’t warm your heart, I don’t know. I was over the moon.
Looking at the date we should have been in Germany today for my cousin’s wedding. Unfortunately, due to the problems Jen had with the pregnancy we cancelled any travel, including the wedding. So this is a shame but we hope they have a fantastic day. Sometimes in life you have to be “selfish” and look after yourself, setting your own priorities. Whether they are right or wrong, or whether you might regret them in the future, that doesn’t matter. These are your decisions. And they are taken. You can rectify them again before any given event you made a decision about, and I was tempted to potentially going to the wedding myself. Guess it comes from some leadership books that you cannot and don’t need to justify to others everything you do. Or do you? Certainly not.
I guess this is enough read and thoughts for a Sunday. We had a great weekend, including that I could send my wife to a manicure, me getting some work done, and that my MIL actually babysat Colin, so that my lovely wife and I went out for a meal. Wow, it has been a long time.
Have a great week,
Volker
Volker Ballueder
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