My Blog

Bad Times - Really Bad Times

2008-11-14T15:12:00.002+01:00

I'm currently more active on another blog project...

http://reallybadtimes.blogspot.com

Check it out...;)

Intervention

2008-08-27T11:57:00.000+01:00

See, what drugs can do to you!

God Bless Paris...

2008-08-11T22:02:00.005+01:00

Piece of Evidence #1

Piece of Evidence #2

Movie Sounds

2008-06-23T19:09:00.002+01:00

The (Oval) Office

2008-05-29T20:30:00.003+01:00

For any fan of the American Version of "The Office" with Steve Carrell & Co. Thanks to that post for the inspiration...

"The Office Theme"

Classe Politique: Supporting Eveline

2008-05-07T21:21:00.003+01:00

The Looooooooooong Post

2008-04-30T21:07:00.006+01:00

I decided to blog again, remember? Well, that was one month ago. Now it's time to stick to that and actually start writing... As my thoughts aren't very structured, this is just going to be a very looooooong post....! You'll see!

*******

A lot has happened since I wrote the last post. AIESEC-wise, I discovered more and more TM "stuff" (Jeroen would be happy about this expression...). I went to the mentoring training conducted by IBM, which was a very enlightening experience to me.
Just after that, I attended "my" TtT (as all AIESECers sooner or later are supposed to attend "their" TtT...). We were supposed to facilitate two sessions in pairs, of which one would be prepared right during the conference. My teammate was Jenni, my VPX-colleague from Zurich. We knew it right when we heard about the team allocation, but boy, were we a dream team. It seemed like we worked so complementarily together, that our sessions came out pretty well.

Then, in mid-april, I attended Kick-Off for the second time. I was inscribed in the GOldie track (together with a handful of others, the low amount of GOldie delegates actually led to a quite stressful conference experience for poor Abey, the GOldie responsible). On the first night of the conference, me Nadja and Christoph from Zurich and Abey our faci came together and talked about the upcoming track. We redesigned the agenda according to our needs and ended the session with a massage circle. I was actually really looking forward to attending the track, little did I know that this would have been my last GOldie session at Kick-Off.

Before the conference, I was asked by Simone to help out at one or two sessions at the XPS track together with Ravaka. On Friday night of the conference, we actually found out that we would each be responsible for a home group for the following two days. After the faci meeting with all the XPS facis, the two of us ended up preparing our sessions together, one more nervous than the other.

The next morning, I literally couldn't eat breakfast as I was so nervous to be a home group faci for the first time, I just drank lots and lots of tea. After a short introduction in plenary, we started our home group sessions right away. I have to admit, after just a few minutes, my nervousness completely went away and I was able to enjoy myself. Ravaka's homegroup and mine shared the same room, which gave us two the possibility to exchange ideas and be the ecstatic "this is so cool saying and at the same time jumping up and down" faci-newbies...

This night was party night. After awards night, when Jenni came up to me and just said the right thing at the right time (if she remembers...), I decided to party to the fullest, not thinking too much about the following day and my faci duties. Rational thoughts led me to still have two hours of sleep in the end.

The next day was strange. There were some very productive and some less productive sessions that day. Highlights of the day:

facilitating together with Jenni, just as we did at the TtT... (once again: boy, were we a dream team!!! Thanks, Sweetie!)
getting a faci t-shirt at the closing plenary and doing the faci roll call on stage...;)

All in all, this faci experience was very valuable for me. My home group newies were just great and I was really integrated in the faci team, although not having been at the premeetings. I went to the conference with the expectation of being a delegate and facilitating just a few sessions and ended up being a full-time faci for two nights and two days. Just the day after the conference, I fell sick (fever and this "stuff")... It was worth it!

Bottom line (mentoring training / TtT / facilitating at Kick-Off): I gained a lot of self-confidence and self-awareness out of this, realising that the way I see myself might not be the way others perceive me. Soomething you should never forget.

*******

I discovered again in the last few weeks, how connected I feel to Bern. It's not like I have a vast social network in this city, still I feel very confortable here. My personal like and dislike list for the city (to be continued):

+ the architecture
+ the coziness and the easy-going flow of the city
+ all those details I noticed since I've been here, details which make this place so "vivid"
+ the big construction site at the train station square (I looooove watching construction sites, if they include public transportation: heavenly...;)
+ the "Rosengarten", one of the nicest places in the city... (not at night!)
+ the "officialness" of the city, having a federal office at every corner and of course the federal palace, this monument of "colossal modesty" (very fitting for this country)

- when the coziness turns into slowliness and a "can't work my ass off, sorry!" attitude (sometimes protrayed by the indigenous)
- the provincial attitude
- that I get confused with Germans because of my dialect...

All in all, Bern is not as vibrant as other world capitals, but it's the place to be...;) (bear in mind that the IC Global Village took place here once)

*******

On a more personal and "strangely fitting to this blog note", I discovered again, that my music collection on my iPod isn't actually that bad. There is one artist, of which I have only 6 tracks, but this is the music I can always listen to. The artist is called Joe Purdy. No matter in which situation I am, his music is able to put me in the right mood: sentimental, melancholic, optimistic,... choose what you like. I can only recommend to listen to his music once in a while, it's really worth it...

This would be the place for a very wise and inspiring ending sentence. What about this: "As my uncle always said: Those are my values! If you don't like them, I have others..."

"My 6 Songs by Joe Purdy"

My Blog

2008-03-29T14:53:00.005+01:00

Hello, blogo-sphere!

After some time of not-really-blogging-anymore-ness, I decided thanks to her and her and her and definitely some other people to start blogging again. I don't know about what, but we'll see. Thanks to her, for the inspirational change of your blog design. I'll blog from blogspot now, too in order to have complete (and easier) creative freedom.

This is my blog. Yep...

"UFO" - Plüsch (kitsch, I know. but it's My Kitsch.)

Elections and Impressions

2007-12-15T17:21:00.000+01:00

This week was a very interesting one for me... First of all, a new Executive Board for AIESEC Bern was elected on Monday (see AIESEC Bern's Blog). A very emotional night in all possible ways. But this is another story...

Apart from that experience (that of course will change my daily life drastically) another election took place in Bern: the "Gesamterneuerungswahl des Bundesrates", the Elections of the Federal Council. Any yes: the ominous Christoph Blocher was not reelected, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf was elected instead. This happened on Wednesday, but as media told, she would only declare her acceptance (or not) on Thursday.
After I've heard, that there would be a rally on the Federal Square next morning, Kathrin and I spontaneously decided to join it. At 7 in the morning. Of course, we arrived there only at 7.40. Still, we were able to witness the magical moment of her acceptance on the Federal Square while listening to the radio. Ten seconds later we had a microphone of the TSR (Francophonic Television) in our face and babbled something in French. We laughed about it at Starbuck's afterwards...;)

On Friday, i joined the MC open day. You can read my official statement here. Anyway, it was really a good experience and did leave an impact on me... (I'll come back to this later...)

After the Open Day, a small group of us took the train to Geneva, for the Pakistani Dinner hosted by the Genevan EB at Bilal's Place. Not that many people came unfortunately, but maybe this was even a good thing. The atmosphere was very relaxed, friendly and it was just so cool and refreshing to have such a night. We ate a wonderful dinner, talked, played games (sounds lame, but actually very cool discussions were intitiated by them...) and just had a great time.
The next morning, Kathrin and I took the train back to Bern, half sleeping half discussing once again very hot topics. Since the train was heading for Lucerne, we spontaneously decided to just stay in the train and visit the Museum of Transport. Arriving in Bern, we decided (just as spontaneously) not to do so and stay in Bern to study....;)

Federal Square in the early morning

Federal Palace

Kathrin & me

;-)

Oli & Kathrin

Delicious Pakistani Food

Jelena & me

The small big gang. Ravaka, Rene, Oli, Bilal, Kathrin, Me, Jelena, Nadja, Sara.

While having these various discussions with all those people, my mindset shifted a little bit. The questions whether to apply for the MC or not became once again very present and although I still have the same preference, I'm not that sure anymore.

Time will tell, now it's time to focus on my exams again and to enjoy the Christmas time. I think I felt some of the real Christmas spirit for the first time today, when shopping in Migros for groceries and passing by the small assortment of Christmas goods. Now I have about 2 weeks to enjoy it...;)

"It's all been done" - Bare Naked Ladies

What the Hell

2007-11-24T18:14:00.000+01:00

This week was weird. Not only this week, acutally the last few weeks in general. The one thing I'm constantly thinking about is the big change that is going to come soon. EB elections are coming up in about two weeks... (!!!) At that time I will know, who my successor's going to be. To whom I will pass on what I've done, what I've processed and learnt during this amazing year. Our team experience is going to be finished. We'll be able to pass our LC on to the next generation.

It feels strange that something that had this huge affect on you for one year is soon going to be over. Or is it?

Ten days after my last blog entry, things have cleared up about the near future. I've made some decisions during that time, yes. But the further future is still very blurry. Too many options again. Isn't this weird... (no interrogation mark here!)

People are trying to persuade me, are telling me to do things, to apply for positions. What the hell? What if I don't want to apply for certain positions. What if I don't feel ready for certain positions? What if my head tells me something else than my... heart, stomach, scar on my back...? (whatever part of the body you might want to choose...)

Decisions aren't about what you're supposed to do, what you want to do or what other people want you to do. They are about what feels right. And right now, it feels right to make decisions at a later time. To move certain experiences further ahead. To concentrate on me, myself and my personal development.

In a year from now, looking back on this time, I might regret that I didn't do enough notes taking, diary filling and blogging. But I will remember this time as being very stressful, very reflective... a time of great change. Change that might have been hard to take at certain points. But one, that was well thought through. One that doesn't need to evoke regrets. One that felt and still feels right.

"Camille et Franck" - Ensemble C'est Tout Soundtrack

Options

2007-11-14T14:18:00.000+01:00

Options... When we don't have them, we'd like to. When we do, we hate it because decision making is up to us and not to the external world anymore.

I'm just listing a few options here, not in any order of preference or so, ok? Just listing them...

- random Goldie
- LCP
- NST
- eXchange
- CEED
- MCVP
- AI (just kidding...;)

I sorted them in an order of preference for myself, especially during and now after DO-IT I've been thinking about this a lot. But I'm not telling. Not yet. Still, decisions have to be taken soon. Not that I would have time to think. I can't elaborate on it yet. Oh boy...

I'm open for any kind of remarks, though...

"Juicy" - Better than Ezra

...still: Procrastination

2007-10-17T16:38:00.001+01:00

Hell, I'm even procrastinating my blogging activities...

Let me sum it up for you:
- big busy month
- exams
- new semester
- recruitment
- trying to reconnect with Basel
- my first general national elections
- today: last warm fall day of the year... trying to absorb the sun for the last time...

I just have no time. Starting to be so busy, dass ich meine Sätze nicht zu Ende.

Any questions? I'm glad to give... (if I can find time for...) Anyway, I hope you're not. Or. That would be. Really.

no song title this time - i have no time to post a

Procrastination

2007-09-04T13:25:00.000+01:00

"… I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any more time, I have less time. But let’s just say we could save up a whole chunk of time and set it aside. You know what we’d do with it? Nothing. Nothing at all, isn’t that the point to be able to do nothing at all? But we’re not guaranteed that later on chunk of time, all we have is Here & Now.

And that’s why procrastination feels so right.

Procrastination is not the problem, it is the solution.
It is the universe’s way of saying:
“Stop! Slow down! You move too fast!
Listen to the music, whow whow, listen to the music!
Because music makes the people come together,
It makes the bourgeois and the rebel. So,
Come on people now, smile on your brother
And everybody try to love one another.
Because what the world needs now is love, sweet love
And I know that love is a battlefield,
But boogie on, reggae woman,
Because you’re gonna make it after all.
So, celebrate good times, come on.

I’ve gotta stop, I’ve gotta come to my senses,
I’ve been out riding fences for so long…

Oops, I did it again...

What I’m trying to say is: If you leave here tonight and you don’t remember anything else that I said, leave here and remember this: Procrastinate now! Don’t put it off…"

from Ellen Degeneres' "Here & Now"

---

"Something's Always Wrong" - Toad The Wet Sprocket

Seeing the sun in Finland...

2007-08-08T19:54:00.000+01:00

As promised in my facebook status, I'm going to write here about my ScaLDS moment. As you might know, I attended the Scandinavian Leadership Development Seminar 2007, together with 16 fellow Swiss @ers. Usually in AIESEC, there are certain things or events that leave such a remarkable impression, that they just stick in our head. It can be a discussion with another member, a session delivered in an extraordinary way, gossip spread on at the conference or a moment of personal reflection.

Surely, there were many highlights at this conference, one important one being the time I spent with the other Swiss delegates and the special Swiss Scandinavian conference spirit we created. The one moment, I'll probably never forget in my life was, however, one I experienced on my own.
The last night, for AIESEC conferences this means: Official Dinner. Dress up nicely, have a nice dinner and then a nice party. Just everything in a nice way. Usually, these nights take a long, long time. So I thought, I have to be ready to leave at 7 in the morning anyway, so why go to sleep and potentially oversleep and miss my bus...? So I thought, I'd just have a night without sleep and get my rest on the bus to Helsinki and on the flight back to Switzerland.

So what to do? The party was kind of over and after-parties were either fading away or I wasn't invited to them. So, since it was getting morning I decided to take a walk in the Finnish forests. I walked across a path that after a few minutes, led me to two big constructions: two ski-jump bases, a really big one and a smaller one. In the blink of an eye, it just hit me: I had to climb up that jump base. So I did, walked up the hill to the nearer base (which was the smaller one as well) and took the stairs. The whole construction was made out of wood and looked really old. Should I trust a Finnish construction from the ... I don't know, the 60's or 50's? Strangely enough, even though I'm afraid of heights, I did.

So there I was, on top of a ski-jump base in the middle of the Finnish forest. I could see a factory or power plant in the distance, the town of Harjavalta and the Hotel Hittenharju, where the conference took place, but otherwise: trees! Lots and lots of pine trees, all over the place. No hills, no mountains, no lakes... just trees. The vue: It was just breathtaking! I sat down, took my iPod and listened to my favourite tunes from this week. "Dear Mr. President" and "Trouble Sleeping".

Just enjoying the moment, I realized that I would be able to see the sunrise from that place. And really, some minutes later the sun emerged right in front of me. I concentrated on that red light bulb that came out of nowhere back there and enjoyed the fact I didn't have a camera on me, but my iPod.
Soon after it was completely risen, it hid beneath some clouds and I thougth it would be time, to try to get down this wooden thing I had climbed. Slowly and always holding on to the rail with both hands I managed to get down. Alive. When I was up there, looking down through the manufactured branches that held the construction together, I thought all this would fall down any minute. It didn't and I had the possibility to see the sunrise as probably no one else at this conference ever had. This moment was one of the strangest of my whole life. The whole arrangement of pine trees that seemed kind of "cold" assembled with the warm shine of the sun rising back there on the horizon. And all this mixed with some great music. What a way to start the day...

---

The aftermath: I went back to my room and finally fell asleep anyway, luckily Paul woke me up in time to get to the Bus...;)

"Dear Mr. President" - P!nk

Lost XP

2007-07-02T15:26:00.001+01:00

During the last few weeks, many things happened in my life. Although this is supposed to be a blog about "the choices I make in life", I haven't really been updating it a lot lately. I'm so engaged in my studies, my AIESEC duties and private projects, that I rarely find time anymore to just sit down and reflect about anything, nor has my dream diary been updated regularly in the past weeks. Now, that the exam period is almost over and I'll be more flexible again, it feels like so much knowledge about my experiences in the past weeks is just gone, or hardly retractable. What am I going to do about that? Should I sit down and try to relive and note down my past experiences? I'm a person that believes in learning from past mistakes and experiences, so in that sense: Yes, I should! On the other hand, there's still a lot left to do and it's going to be hard to find time to..... No, that's just a lame excuse.

Just wait, Moleskine notbook, I'll be back soon!
(don't even try to understand how my brain works...)

"Build me up Buttercup" - The Foundations

bern, uni, @,...: year 1

2007-06-18T23:14:00.001+01:00

here i am and the first year of my studies is almost over. the first real year of this challenge called growing up, the first year of living far, far away from home.

as i was taking one of my usual nightly walks through holligen, it suddenly occurred to me that i will have moved to another flat in one month from now. i will leave the old home behind (once again) and move on.

i got thinking... this year was probably the busiest of my life. but it was definitely amongst the most entertaining ones. i got to experience so many different things. many of them, thanks to aiesec. there were so many ups and downs, good and bad moments, quiet and busy ones. it's weird how much can happen in just one year. but would i have to name the most important one, i would be clueless...

i came to bern, because i wanted to challenge myself, live in my own flat, find my way around in a new environment, socialize with other people. i'm not entirely happy with what i've achieved until now. but isn't happiness maybe the first step of "settling down"? and isn't settling down.... well, boring? man, i'm young. i still have the time and the energy to try things out, make mistakes and learn from them afterwards.

a couple of posts earlier, i described my life as a construction site. i would like to add another metaphor to this.
right now, life's a playground. a pretty messy one, and one where you easily can fall down, get hurt and damage yourself badly. still. you should take moments to play around.

(me on a playground in newport, rhode island during my america trip last summer)

i'm gonna miss this year. i'm gonna miss the old flat, even though i'm looking forward to living in the new one. i'll miss my nightly walks through the forest and the allotments ("schrebergärten"). i'll miss the ping-pong table where i've lain many nights, looking in the sky and enjoying the stars shining through the branches. i'll miss my back yard, where foxes would turn up now and then. (actually, just once) i'm gonna miss this year.

i would do many things differently. however, i think i should focus on my future, the next year at least. formulate concrete action steps. once again. and stick to them. good luck with exams.

"gracias a la vida" - mercedes sosa

Breitsch, here I come!

2007-06-06T16:22:00.000+01:00

Got a phone call yesterday night.
A girl calling.
With a Liechtensteinish accent.
She told me, that I got the room.
I can move in in July.
It's in the Breitsch.
I'll be having a roof over my head.
Can concentrate on exams now.
Good.

"Läuft alles perfekt" - Annett Louisan

Under construction

2007-05-29T23:45:00.000+01:00

These days, there's a huge construction site in Berne, that pisses everybody off: the one at the Train Station Square, literally in the heart of the town. When I passed there by today, I was looking at these huge escalators lying around and it got me thinking.

It sounds very silly, I know, but isn't life some sort of construction site, as well? I mean, problems arise constantly, and you try to fix them only to be confronted by new ones. You work a lot, you get challenged everyday and sometimes you need to dig very deep in order to fix things or get things right.

Anyway, my life right now resembles a huge construction site. There's a lot of things to be fixed, changed and built. The thing is, I barely know how to approach those things. I guess time will tell. Luckily, my life doesn't need to be ready for next year's European championship. I guess, I'm lucky enough to be able to start with fixing small things first, instead of tearing everything apart. As I said: Time will tell!

Impressions from the Train Station Square in Berne, taken today:

"Hasheket Shenishar" - Shiri Maimon

nothing lasts forever

2007-05-27T11:15:00.000+01:00

life is so precious it's as fragile as a dream
and in a moment we all grow our wings
I wish to sing as if no ones listening
I wish to dance as if no one is watching
I wish to dance as if no one is watching
and I, give thanks for my dreams

you can rob me of my sight
and you can poison my blood stream
but as long as I can dream then life is worth living

"nothing lasts forever" - brett dennen

today was a good day

2007-05-25T22:24:00.001+01:00

Today was a good day.
Had a good night's sleep for the first time this week.
Told my POTSNs that they passed the SRBs.
Met with friends from Basel and Mexico who had come for a visit.
Showed them my appartment.
Got introduced to Metronomy's Toxic.
Had nice dinner.
Got a late birthday present.
Watched the season finale of LOST.
Reflected on the day.
Went to bed.

"Elaine" - ABBA

Revelations

2007-05-20T23:03:00.000+01:00

Some people are more revealing than others, meaning that they are more open towards you than others. This is just a natural fact. But sometimes, opinions, emotions, even secrets are revealed unintentionally. How do you deal with that (being on either side)? Nothing might be like before. Your whole perception might have changed. A whole relationship might be at stake because of it. What do you do, when it's just too late to go back? On the other hand, was this relationship (no matter on which level) even worth it when the other person can't even accept a previously unknown fact?

I hate this! Peace and Love for everybody!

"This Boy" - James Morrison

Kiff-Ock is over

2007-05-20T18:03:00.000+01:00

Yes, Kick-Off'07, the first big national AIESEC conference of the year is over. And it was a blast!

The first day was a bit disillusioning. It was so weird to be in Fiesch again, the same sourrounding as last time, only this time as a Leader. All the surprises you face at a conference as Newie were gone, yet many new things had to be discovered. How to lead a whole bunch of Bernese people, and we were a lot this time. How to be a role model for them and once again, how to enjoy every second of these four days up in the alps (and immediately go on stage once the AIESEC music had started..;).

It turned out to be one of the best AIESEC experiences I've ever had. I'm so f****** proud of my Bernese people, they rocked the place! No wonder, we won the LC Development Award with such an incredible LC behind us! (Even though, before the very moment they announced the winner, I kind of didn't believe we would win the award anymore...) Can't wait for Do-It!!

Right after the conference, we had an LCM on Monday night where we gathered our LC once again. After that, we went to "the Greek" to sit together and eat and drink something. I shared a meal with Laura, our wonderful Goldie. We talked and talked and talked until we were the last AIESECers in the place. It's amazing how you can get to know a person in a whole new way, by just talking with them.

After a very strange good-bye, I spontaneously decided to seize the moment, take action and ask Laura for an arrangement to which she agreed. (and no, I didn't ask her to marry me...)

Thanks Laura for that special evening!

***

Thanks Kathrin for sharing another AIESEC experience with me!

Thanks EBs for putting all your efforts in this LC!

Thanks LC Bern for making this conference such an unforgettable experience!

"Gimme!Gimme!Gimme!" - A*Teens

Let's gingg-off!

2007-05-08T11:07:00.000+01:00

This is actually just a random update blog entry post thingy...

---

Winter is definitely gone:
1. Thanks to the trees in front of my window having leaves again, I don't need to close the shutters on my window every night. (On the other side of the strees, in one appartment there is living somebody who's awake all night. Every time I wake up at night, the lights are on and this mysterious someone is watching TV. No matter what time it is. Strange! Anyway, won't be bothered by the light again.)

2. I used to take walks in the forest at night, to calm down, enjoy the nature and get a free mind again after having spent most of the evening studying or so. It was always so nice to look up and see the stars through the branches, very cool atmosphere that was. Not going to do that again. Was in the forest on Sunday. At night. Scary. Branches with leaves. You can't see anything. At all. Very scary. What if there's a rapist? Or a wendigo? Not gonna do that again. At least not in Summer.

---

My roommate kicked me out. Well sorta. He's gonna move out and left me with the choice of either taking over the appartment and look for a new roommate myself or move out, too. I think I'm gonna move out. I need something new. Maybe in the Breitsch... Who knows.

---

My second national AIESEC conference is coming up, KICK-OFF '07. I'm sooooo excited, it's going to be great. Just great. Really great. Awesome, really...

By the way: eXchange rocks!

"Imitation Of Life" - R.E.M.

have you ever...

2007-05-01T21:52:00.000+01:00

have you ever stopped by a tree and just looked at a single leaf, just imagining how long it took for that one leaf to grow and develop?

have you ever sat on the balcony, while it was raining in summer, just listening to the sound and enjoying a summer rain's typical atmosphere and smell?

have you ever just interrupted your schedule, to lie down in the grass and look in the sky, just enjoying the moment?

***

if not, take the time to do one of these things once in a while. take a step back and let your natural environment come to you, forget about all your little problems for a moment. always try to have a certain sense for the little joys in life...

"comptine d'un autre été: la démarche" -yann tiersen

always by my side

2007-04-24T21:42:00.000+01:00

Do you know that? Suddenly, you have a great idea! Or all of a sudden, you know how to solve a problem! Or you just had a deeply philosophical and personal train of thoughts, and you know exactly that you will forget about all of this soon, because you don't have anything to note these things down!

You know what I'm talking about? You don't?

Anyway, these things happen to me all the time, that's why I took action last Friday and made on of the best purchases of my life:

A Moleskine Notebook, combined with a customized pen holder an a small Stabilo pen...

Now, I have the perfect tool to note things down, that are too personal or too random for a blog like this. Like i said, I bought it on Friday and I already filled out quite a few pages. Everytime I feel like writing down something, I have the chance to do it, because it's so tiny and therefore always in my pocket/bag...

This is more than a diary for me. It's a steady companion and a "Erinnerungsstück voller Erinnerungen" (doesn't work in English), meaning that once in time, I will be able to read this and remember all the great and not so great moments of this period of time in my life.

I can't really describe how I fell about this. Sometimes, just little things can mean so much to you.

"Isn't Love" - Joe Purdy

Hurz

2007-04-08T21:35:00.000+01:00

Instead of writing down how I feel, what I've been through these days and so on, I'm just gonna post a video that I found on YouTube. It's a real classic of (intelligent!) German comedy. Enjoy!

"Hurz" - Hape Kerkeling

Romero El Madero

2007-03-28T16:02:00.000+01:00

Here's a video of a very cool dance, the Greeks brought to WENA LDS, the conference I attended this month. You can see me as well, tying my shoes while everybody else is dancing...;)

"Romero El Madero" - Ska-P

Not Just Lables

2007-03-27T21:23:00.000+01:00

Whoever said that names are just labels and that they don't mean anything is wrong!

It occurred to me today, that names have an incredible power. Of course, names are labels, too, but when we hear a name, being from a person, an animal, or any kind of object..., we almost always connect this name to a certain feeling (except when we don't know what is meant). Happiness, interest, fear, love, hate, disgust, ... just to name a few. We rarely are indifferent in this kind of situation.

Today I heard a certain name for the first time. A name, I didn't ...expect. I've been waiting for this quite some time, but I turned out to be different than I anticipated. The emotions I feel now, are quite undescribable. In the truest sense of the word, really.

---

Okay, I don't think anybody of you can make sense out of this post, not even I can, so I'm gonna stop. Just don't be surprised, when you see me bumping into people because I'm daydreaming...

***

And on a completely unrelated note: I googled myself today (to be honest not for the first time), and I'm kind of pissed. There's this other François Rossé, a french composer for flutes, recorders and those kinds of instruments. Apparently he's quite famous in the musician's world. Maybe I should get a "stage name". Or I could use my middle name, like François D. Rossé... FDR? I don't know.

"Overkill" - Colin Hay

Busiest Time Ever!

2007-03-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

So here we are, yet another blog entry about my stressful life. Quite some time has passed by since my last one, again.... So once again, a short list of what has happened these last weeks:

Skiing: Went to Savognin GR for a few days of skiing and enjoying the fresh air in the mountains. Was cool. Not too much snow, but really good one high above. Went home on Thursday. Over 60 e-mails waiting for me. Great!

WENA LDS: The whole EB elect went to WENA LDS (Western Europe and North America Growth Network Leadership Development Seminar), a AIESEC conference in Goytre, Wales, UK. I had a really good time there. We traveled with the EB elect of Lausanne together. My first international conference. 5 days without cell phone, internet. 5 days on that old farm on the Welsh countryside. 5 days of intensive self-discovery and team working. G-Stars, cru cru cru cru!

"Everybody of you is a role model."

"It has only been my second conference and my second home group, but the fact, that we can share so much, our fears..., even our tears, says a LOT about this group. Topping that in another home group is going to be very, very hard."

"I love you, guys."

First week of university: Besides some (surprisingly) really interesting lectures, I've been to the office at least once a day this week. The recruitment work is taking so much time, and the classroom presentations, info tables and info events haven't even started yet.
We had our first LCM on Monday, highlight: "Ice cream and cake". Had my first "studi-party" on thursday, quite strange. Selling training in Zurich on Friday, as well as 40 Years of AIESEC Fribourg - party in the evening. Today: sleeping in, going to the office, eating, updating my blog and now... taking a bath! Take care!

"I love the rain most when it stops" - Joe Purdy

...just a weird time...

2007-03-02T23:59:00.000+01:00

I haven't updated this blog for quite a while now, I've been busy with exams and after that with a little bit of work, studying and several private (and emotional) things. It's difficult to write down one or two main events from these last weeks, I'll just try to do my best.

- Exams: Some went rather well, others went... well, not that well. The results aren't all in yet. The funny thing is, also in University, you write exams and you just can't always trust your feeling on whether it went well or not. The final results can be quite surprising.

- Birthday: I had a quiet birthday this year. Family members were on vacation, so were friends. In the end, I was at home with a friend, watching MusicStar, some DVDs, the Oscars (Ellen DeGeneres is a genius) and after that I went to the Morgestreich in Basel.

- Fasnacht I: For the first time in like 2 or 3 years, I attended die drey scheenschte Dääg in my hometown and for the first time in my life, I went to the Morgestreich, the big opening of the carnival. It was a very strange experience. Even though I'm glad, that I'm not studying in Basel and that I challenged myself by living in another city, it was... just amazingly cool to be home. Living old traditions, hearing my lovely dialect all over the place, seeing all these people having a good time at this celebration. It made me realize that even though, right now, I don't see myself moving back to Basel after my studies and living there for the rest of my life, Basel is always going to be my home. Those are my roots. My mentality, my view on the world, hell...: my dialect! Basel shaped me! And I’m more than ready to let Berne having a similar impact on me.

- Music I: I have been downloading music like crazy, lately. I’ve discovered some great artists over these last weeks. I get very often inspired by TV series like Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, and One Tree Hill which have all an amazing Soundtrack. Whenever I hear a beautiful song playing in the background of a scene, I’ll get it after the episode. Also, I searched through my iPod and found some pretty amazing music I completely forgot about. Happens, when you have 20GB of sound on such a little thing.

- Diary: Unlike my blog, I’ve updated my diary quite often lately. Additionally to my normal diary, I’ve been writing down almost every dream I had in the last 2 months. I can’t even go to bed now, without putting a sheet of paper and a pen next to my bed, so that I'm always ready to take notes. When I look at my dream entries from last December, I can see, hear, even feel what I dreamt that night and how I felt then. Even though this was more than 2 months ago. I can only recommend this to anyone. You will learn more about yourself, when you take a deeper look at your dreams.

- Music II: On Thursday evening, I was in Berne. I had to clean up my room and put everything on one sid of the room, so that the people bringing the piano in had enough space. Yes, that's right: I have my very own piano in Berne now. Finally! When you’ve played an instrument pretty much everyday for several years and then suddenly, you just get to play it when, or if you go home on weekends, it’s incredibly hard. Especially when you’re in a new city, not knowing that many people and spending a lot of time studying at home. Now, I’ll be able to play more often and hopefully improve a little.

- Fasnacht II: As you might have heard, a little boy got killed at the end of carnival by one of the Waggiswagä, one of the traditional carnival wagons. A whole city is in shock, but I guess nobody can imagine, how it is to lose a child, especially on an event, that is supposed to be a celebration. I was at the place, where the accident happened today, on Barfüsserplatz in Basel. There were so many candles, flowers, and carnival items, so many people there paying their respect. It was such an intense moment. One man was crying, maybe a relative. Another woman just unwrapped a rose and put it on the ground. A mother tried to explain to her child what happened. Me, I was standing there, not really knowing what to do. I hope the boy’s family and friends have a good supporting environment right now. Nobody’s supposed to be alone in such a time.

So, what now?

Tomorrow, I’ll be going to Savognin GR for a week, hopefully there’s going to be enough snow to go skiing. After that, I’ll be busy with transition, I’ll have to do the flyer of our National Learning Event and on March 14^th, the new EB will go to Wales to the WENA LDS Conference. And on March 19^th, University’ll start again.

I’m still very excited about my election to the EB. In general, I think this year is going to be good for me. Not only because of AIESEC, I feel like 2007 holds some changes for me. I can’t really tell what they are, when and how they will arrive. But they will come. Sooner or later. I’ll keep you updated…

"You Belong to Me" - Jason Wade

Women's Voting Rights in CH

2007-02-03T19:59:00.000+01:00

Just a random post, since I'm quite busy right now.
Watch this video and let me know what you think... (It's in Swiss German!)

Good luck to everybody with their exams!!

*if the link doesn't work, try this: open this in another tab/window and then go on the link above... if THAT doesn't work, try this again and click on the video of february 7th 1971...

Busy Times

2007-01-23T23:45:00.000+01:00

There are so many things that I have to do right now. Tomorrow, I have my first university exam ever, and I'm not as well prepared as I wanted to be.

I have to pay all kinds of bills and the only bank account, where I'm not in the red is the one at the "Basel-Landschaftliche Kantonalbank" (Cantonal Bank of Basel-Country), but I'll be in Bern for at least the next three weeks, so God only knows how I'm gonna survive.

And of course all the studying... my advice: At daytime, go to one of the numerous libraries at university. Just pack your books and a bottle of water, no other distractions. At night, alway have a can of syrup and some candy next to you.
--> Today's special at Scheurerstrasse: Orange-Lemon syrup (be creative & mix different flavours together) and Stalder Chocolait Crème with banana slices.

It's delicious, very sweet and therefore keeps you going...;)

Good luck at your exams and have a nice winter break! Let's hope that there's gonna be a lot of snow!!!

Those Three Magical Letters

2007-01-17T21:37:00.000+01:00

As some of you may know, the EB elections for LC Bern took place this monday night. I ran for VPPD and VPX.

The election was chaired by our MCVPER Cileia and the whole process was quite an experience. It was a long night for all of us. Every candidate had to deliver a speech and go through a QandA (Questions and Answers) session afterwards (or two of them, in my case). Finally, after about 3 hours of speeches, "witty" and challenging questions (thanks Laura), I was elected as VPX and we were baptized by our lovely predecessors. (I got the picture here!)

Thanks to everybody for their trust and for believing in us. This is going to be a challenging year for me and I thank you for giving me this opportunity.

My sincerest thanks as well to everybody for their feedback. Iulia, Laura, Marie, Dänu and Yavor, the current EB; Kathrin and Paul, my fellow Newie EB members; Oli and Simon, my new team mates; my future double coach Cileia (la Bâloise) and Aïda (diä Wälschi) and everybody I forgot...

I am very excited to work with these guys, I'm sure this is going to be a unique experience.

I have a good feeling for this term. A very good one. Aaand: I'm getting these fancy business cards!

(By the way: I was in Slovakia for the New Year's Eve Party organized by AIESEC in Slovakia... For pictures and a report go to Simon's Blog.)

I think I did-it 2006!

2006-12-15T20:33:00.000+01:00

Okay, so I’m home now… already for quite some time, but I still feel the “IMPACT” of the conference jetlag… I barely can sleep, my mind’s still full of all those impressions I got at the conference and my motivation (except for the studying part) is still on a …. well… very high level! I really feel like those 4 days (and I’m really glad I was there the whole time) have provided me with so many things!

Then of course, people now come to me, see my eyes all sparkling and I would go like: “Oh, it was totally great, I learned so much at this conference!” and they would ask me: “Well, okay, but what did you EXACTLY learn, now?”

And this is where I would have to pause…

What DID I learn? Okay, let’s see: I had two issue based workshops, one on CSR, the other one on entrepreneurship, then the learning cycle on the UN, the AIESEC identity morning, I had the PboX-simulation where I got elected as VPPD (LC Roger forever), the practical workshops on Sunday…….

But now I realize that this is not where I have learned the most: I’ve learned the most through interaction with the other delegates and Facis… (and yes, this includes the crazy dancing on the table ;)… I had so many interesting discussions with people I met, I made new friends and I received so very cute sugar cubes!

I just want to thank everybody I met at this conference! Thank you for talking to me, for making my brain drudge and for challenging my worldview! This is not just me quoting one of the AIESEC principles; this is what really happened to me! And I’m so curious and I cannot wait to see what AIESEC is going to do to me in the future! One thing’s for sure: I will not resist!

And Sophie: Yes, I will keep my promise!

(Friday, 08 December 2006: 00:38 in the morning)