ralph's blog

australia july 12

or shopping? everything is very close.

sitting at sydney airport. leaving the country... the uncredible city, these wonderful people.. hmm how to cope with that everything really was that nice like beeing told in advance... very strange in a very positive way... for example i just mentioned that i also could sing some songs from schubert at the party yesterday night... i mean, schubert in sydney. time to prepare it, one day!! and preparing means: getting the notes, a piano, somebody playing it and beeing able to do that. to cut it short, the peolpe here managed and i was singing "winterreise" songs next to technobeats in a club decorated like a very cool fotostudio... unbelieveable. also to prepare it next to techno. the dj of course did not stop music for us trying it out.. but it work very very well!! after that a very kind dentist with atv-show wearing ic! berlin took me out for the night with his supermodel-girlfriend! and of course it got to a shooting at his house, i was picted up by a bently limosine to one of the hottest club in town with a rooftop and an outside pool-area.. uuuh, very hot, even in australian winter... unbelivable.. yes, now i have to get me some -winter-ugg-boots for berlin summer. i saw some very beautiful ones in black.. so.. see you soon down under. maybe i should miss the flight... kisses to australia, love it, ralph

...sitting in the big jumbo-plane. now it's for sure, i am leaving australia - no way back. they gave me a beautiful window seat. just have to get through two other people to reach restrooms. supposed to be easy, because i have drunken app. 1.7 liters of water before security. in addition to that, it is a nice feeling, beeing surrounded by seats, walls and other guests. it is like in a cosy cave;. i had some chickpeas and melons and green salad for lunch. my eyes are kind of burning. at quantas they charge 80 as$ for emergency seats... it is because they are member the british flight group and in uk they charge for everything.

right now im looking forward to the flight from singapore to paris. my friends from air france for sure prepared a birthday cake in premiere class for me. It is gonna be the first time for me to fly first class. i ask myself, why not flying business? i`m an international very important businessman and my boss is always booking economy for me. why that? he should know how very important i am for this company. i might leave and work for a singing agency. on the other hand i like it to be with normal people. as such an important person like me, you totally loose the contact to earth. no more idea how much 500g of butter are at "aldi" in berlin marzahn.

by the way, they have original aldi here!!! isn't that great?! i almost made it to go shopping there, but it already was closed. shit.. no beautiful bags from downunder.

more and more people entering the plane. must be arround 400..

my eyes are still burning.. i got myself some ugg boots. it`s winter here and who knows, where the plane gonna have an emercency landing. the south pole is near and i wonna be prepared.

my eyes are burning... did not sleep that well tonight. to many things running around in my head.

very nice people, i met yesterday, brought me spontaniously to the airport. all bags fit into a relativly small car... even the big bike bag... but who is interested in... hmmm, did i mention, that my eyes are burning? did i mention, that some people (1-3) reading my blog? did i mention, that a journalist even knew, that i kind of love chaitea latte? did i mention, that my feet are relativly hot in my new boots?

hmm, so far so good. plane almost leaving earth and i prepare myself for an littel late afternoon nap..

the captain speaks german and tells us, that we are delayed. it is gonna be 7,5 hours.. long nap, or gap..

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australia july 11

sitting at darling-harbour... what a funny name for a habour. around me all these white sea birds and i'm awaiting the moment, they empty their stomach on me. yes the sun is shining a little through a thin fabric of clouds. behind me 2 chinese girls... what a language. i ask myself, if i have to go back to the show, selling glasses... but i stay, max, my collegue, is doing a great job, so i can do mine here with a green tea latte at the waterside. this morning i walked into the show - no cab ride. a very double walk. by car the distance seams to be so much longer. the car also cut off the relation to the city, you are driving through. really terrible. at least a very very double ride by bike...but without pedals...

tomorrow i 'll leave again. gonna be a very long day - for sure the longest july 12th i ever had. and tonight i have to sing some songs out of the "winterreise" (schubert). i just mentioned the possibilty of me singing - and they took it serious immediatly and suddenly arranged it. a few minutes before i talked to a pianoplayer and he checked out the songs. number 1, 15 and 20.. my first concert down under... next time i'd like to sing in the operahouse - of course. it is really a serious issue to start my sining career. if ugly british telecom-workers can do that, why not me? to make classic music more pop and popular! that is my mission besides the glasses.. glasses?! and writing a book in english! that also should be funny and open all doors to the international bookmarket... well even if i could not use so many words, like in german. but it is more economic, which always counts. again: don't i have to go back to the show?? don't i have to sell glasses or shake hands with customers. the sun is also getting weaker and weaker. a water cab is circling around.
singing tonight... how crazy is that.. where do they get a piano from? maybe just an electronic one. my cellphone is sleeping.. no calls or messages. going to the tradeshow? watching optical-world-people?

hmm, shall i?

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australia july 10

...tradeshows are like tradeshows. same everywhere in the world. but here we are exhibiting in a mueseum. the powerhouse-museum. it is almost the same concept like at the technische museum, at the paul-linke-ufer in berlin-kreuzberg. in our case we took a room in there, so basically we are not in a tradeshow in the known way. the official tradeshow is next door and it is really like everywhere in the world: a big faceless hall, with kind of the same booths. it is relativly empty, which makes it very comfortable, because you have to wait nowhere. the people walking around are 95% exhibitors themselves, so also a nice mix. i have the good luck, that i shoot pictures for the new catalogue here. because of that i'm not getting bored and of course our showroom is much more busy than the official tradeshow.

the bike i bought yesterday came without pedals, which makes it a bit difficult to ride. not even i can manage that. now i hope very much, that they gonna deliver pedals today to the powerhouse (...powerhouse, what a nice name... i live in the powerhouse... uuh, cool)..

my stomach is totally filled with water and tea. another cup and i will be an explosion...

clouds jump in between me and the sun... why are they doing it. without the sun it is getting cold immediatly, which reminds me, that it's winter here. july is winter...how strange and what does it mean for the horroscope? cancer becomes a wintersign! it must influence the whole thing, i guess..

tonight, there are no dinner plans! i like that, because then i'm gonna go to the sauna in the hotel. there is also a pool... after that i put myself into the bed, read a little, watch australien quality-tv and fall asleep. sounds like a plan, if no dinnerappointments or interviews pop in.. who knows..

(i don't like clouds in between me and the sun!)

i ask this distributer and co-owner of a competitor from hong kong, if i might picture him for our new catalogue. i send two textmessages, but i did not get an answer. hmm, maybee he is to shy? but it would be fun and i also would shoot him on his booth with his logo in the back. why not? we are a big family and in our business everybody loves everybody. so i am still hoping, that we come together!

in germany it is am 6.08h right now.. for many people time to leave the bed. i'm getting a bit tired right now and should get myself another chaitea at sturbucks... (they closed 60 shops in australia.. reasoned by my exhibition in munich. i'm so sorry for that...

(clouds clouds clouds all over.. what's going on?)

ralph anderl from sidney, july 10th 2009....!

...night is in right now. totally dark at 5.45 pm... i had tonnes of tea today again and now my heart-area hurts. maybee the heart itself or something around... who knows.. the energy-level of my mobile computer has gotten low.. hope, he'll make it until i'm back in the hotel (same for my heart). so many people buying frames here and now i might get late and i think about skipping dinner... but how to get to the hotel? i am little tired of taking a cab... would love to walk? or ride, or bus? the museum arround us is closed now, but we are still in it. i think it would be possible to run arround in the dark, staying in over night! like we all dreamed in our childhood..

breathe in, breathe out... is too much tea unhealthy? does it create heart attacks? anyway it is crazy, that i write in english.. (thinking: why not writing my next book in english.. would get international automatically.. of course, i have maybee not even half of the words, i have in german, but could it be a very thin one..?! english would help to became a famous international writer...

right now a security-guy is comming in.. for sure to garantee, that nobody in entering the museum..

anyway. customers are leaving and maybee me to?! stay tuned and don't change the canel!!

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australia july 9

a mild clear winter thursday morning in sydney. winter in summer, from a european perspective.. very cool, in a double perspective.. really kind of crazy. time is opposite and weather is opposite. i'm sitting in one of those untemporary international coffee-shops, having my teas.. yes i am drinking two venti teas, one chai, and one green. i'm without borders.. do you say it like that?
yesterday i had a great interview with an extraordinary informed superjournalist. she knew everything about me - plus a bit more. it was like tv with camera and shooting on a rooftop of a fancy designhotel. uuuuh, like i ever expected to be interviews... in australia dreams come true... shall i stay here? having a house in mansbay (shit, it was another name...) but that area close to the sea, where all houses are like in a big park.. i dont't watch the watch.. basically i'd have to be at the show already, but of course i also have to do this blog. no i haven't seen kangaroos.
no i haven't seen whalefishes from my window.
yes i have seen the opera house and the bridge from my window.
yes i bought a white bike here in sydney,
yes, with no breaks and they forgot to put pedals on it- shit, this is the reason, why i have to take a cab this morning and not dying in the left-running traffic... maybee better?!

finally i really very much can recogment australia. to be more precice: sydney. very nice people in a very beautiful city. next time i'll take the train through the dessert... 4 days nothing else than nothing. that should be beautiful and an extraordinary experience. shouldn't it be...

also kind of british here, but it's okay...

sitting in a cab to the show.. it is a bit nyc feeling, but nicer.. means more friendly... after about ten minutes the driver trys to start conversation by asking: how are you!? whow, isn't it funny, after such a long time.. but at least i like it.. there are messanger bikes around me. the air is so clear and fresh. i like it a lot. than asking myself about the use of this blog. isn't it very selfish? and is that a problem? isn't erverything in ic! berlin relativly ralph-selfish? and does that matter? might people hate that - or love that? i think as long as it is one of both, it works. the meter is on 10 australien dollars. i think i have 50 left.. stupid thinkings of a pour german... getting a bit hot in the car. window is open. wearing a suit and a coat so that i look like a serious busimessman, if there were not the very v-necked shirt... to go to the show by bike would have been wounderful..but without pedals, not possible, even for me. hopefully i'll get throgh the day without big hassles. reaching the powerhouse museum, where we show up... so good bye my bloggy friends,r

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munich 21th of january 2009

munich is very bavarian. or do you say: bavarianish? anyways, i do not know... but it is for sure, that we do not have "octoberfest" here right now. it is relatively smooth and quiet and most people are not drunken. there are no fights on the roads, which could be the case during "octoberfest". but to be honest, munich is very very safe. a friend told me, less than 8 murders a year.

maybe it is because tradition and catholicism, but i do not know. maybe because of the climate or culture of eating. but i can see, wherever i look, that this city is very rich. much richer than berlin. bigger cars, more expensive clothes, most buildings are beautiful and in very good shape.

mostly women love munich, because a lot of rich man are available for getting rich and unhappy as well. good thing is, that people are free to choose, and very few of them are rich, happy, beautiful, cool and successful - all in one. in munich that is possible, in berlin not, except maybe me. - just kidding, haha..

anyways, life is not to bad even here in the south. in case of good weather, you can see the alps and the air is so clean, that you can breath even when there is sommer-smog. unbelievable, but true. most of the people here drive mercedes, porsche, audi or bmw. 87% of locals wear rolex, which is also the reason, why so many people can afford beautiful ic! berlin glasses.

my latest idea today was the commercial slogan: "better take the original - ic! berlin" isn't it supercool?

strange, my ears are burning.. ao hot? why? am i getting ill? in the office almost everybody is ill. but i should not, because i have no talent getting ill. most of the year i'm not ill. maybe half a day, mostly on sundays. for sure it is because i have such a nice job and such a healthy life. so believe me, it is better, not to drink beer for breakfast, having huge burgers after midnight and whisky for teeth cleaning. but whom shall I be telling such stuff..

well i also have, i mean HAVE to confess, that i'm not sure about my english and if i always get to the point. in other words, i'm not sure, if i write, what i wonna express, or the opposite. so whenever something sounds strange, i do not mean it like that. always everything in a very nice way. nice like i am. is that understandable??

anyways, i'm again in this american fast coffee-restaurant, enjoying chineseteelatte, doing my homework, watching those rich and beautiful people and wish, to be a munich boy as well.. but, i'm just a poor berlinish guy.

anyways, life is beautiful and it is not raining and i like ic! berlin glasses more than others and i could drink maybe 5 cups of that kind of tea and i'll go back to hotel later and i wear very cool sunglasses even at night and basically i do not have to say any more..

so this is the end and of course: i love you all (just a few a bit more than others), ralph

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january 20th

back in europe. yes there is a difference between here and there and over there. munich is not berlin is not philadelphia. right now i am in munich building up the booth. from nyc i had a smooth flight back to berlin. i slept fine and because of the melantonin supersleepers, i had and have no jetlag. yesterday afternoon i went to hamburg and today to munich. but who cares about that, and why am i telling you such rubbish.. hmm, i don't know, but for sure there is a reason, i do not understand yet. â€¨so i have to mention the big difference in between the beds and those tools for sleeping, i do not know the word for... anyway, big differences and of course i like the european way better. it is much more flexibel. so right now i hang out on my bed, maybe gonna watch the obama-getting-president-thing. it is just ten o'clock, but here in munich everybody went to bed allready, because tomorrow is another hard working day. in berlin tomorrow for a few it is something like a working day as well, but not for many and for sure it's not suppose to get too hard. that's why there is nightlife at all days of the week. that how i say that and maybe it is so.

i'm not writing down more, because my sound is getting more and more like german... german-english.. i also want and have to start the tv because i do not have on at home..

kisses and regards to all sheetmetal glasses,

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new york, 26.07.2009

leaving america. leaving new york. very interesting days and impressions. for me amerika - more precise the places and states we have been - looks like a eastern europe socialistic country. everything is in a bad shape. houses, streets, people. it looks not like the leading country in the world. yes they have high houses and big cars, but at the end it is not substantial. just blown up everything and everything is paid by debts, loaned from the rest of the world, mostly with chinese money. for sure i´m wrong but i did not see a future spirit. it’s more like, let´s continue, go through a green and lean fashion period. but basically it is not serious, because, we are america and we are always leading the world. it is only, that it doesn´t look like it. more like poland, czech republic or hungary before the breakdown. but of course so much more ¨selbstvertrauen¨ and maybe ¨selbstüberschätzung¨. for sure my european eyes don´t see the reality, because for sure the power of this country will make a turnaround very soon and very easy. for sure there are serious reasons, for the president shouting: ¨yes we can!!!¨ - so at the end of the day, leaving this very advanced country, i strongly believe, that the leader in the world stays the leader in the world... yes, they must have the secret weapon, that will turn debts into real money! but we are leaving, wishing: all the best for that bride future!

tokyo, 27.07.2009

…switch, now i´m in tokyo. time runs fast, so me to. the flight felt so short for me. kind of strange, magic. i must have slept all the time, because suddenly we were there, which is here, which is narita, called tokyo airport.
i´m awaiting the friendly airport limousine right now in the american coffeehouse in the departure area. in front: two big paper cups with tea - i can´t get enough. outside it is 31° celsius.. i stay just for two days, so it should be manageable. hmm, did i give any interesting information already? why is the tea so hot. shall i wait outside in the heat? shall i buy japanese fashion magazines? how is life. new babies are being born. old people fade away. Every thing is in a balance, even the finance system, which i tried out by getting myself money and these two wonderful cups of tea. all the best, ralph

now in the bus. kind of traffic jam into tokyo. but the aircon is working very well. inside it is close to ¨to cold¨ so i enjoy it, considering sweating outside in a bit again.
and i ask myself, why is it so important to drink a lot against the jetlag? is it because the super dry air in the plane? that your body loosing humidity and getting exhausted? because whenever i fly (and basically also whenever i´m not flying) i´m drinking water like crazy. that makes me visiting the toilet minimum once an our, but keeps away the jetlag.
the bus is flying into tokyo high above the street level. the highway is measured in house levels on the 8th floor. i can see many rooftops of smaller houses. houses and houses without an end. slowly we make it to shibuya. this time i´ll stay in a small japanese hotel and not in these international-all-over-the-world-looking-the-same hotels. i never have been there and I am kind of exited.
in two days i´m flying back. not to berlin, but to bremen. also ¨b¨. it is because my parents celebrate their 40th year of staying together. they’ve gotten married august 1st 1969. puh, what a long time and what is the outcome of that relationship, besides to two extraordinary super wonderful kids? it feels, that my mouths smells terrible. should take some chewing gum..
and what do we think about a supermodel writing being to fat, even if not? what does it mean, if perfect looking people think, they would not? can somebody explain to me? does it mean: nobody is perfect or: be perfect and feel unperfect anyway?!
highways above highways above houses above streets above underground above... me

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philadelphia, 21st of july

first of all: read george steiner. you can get his books in english as well as in german... i read the book ¨logokraten¨ in the plane. not the whole but a big part of it. really very inspiring.
so after athens we flew to philly. through paris. athens by the way was very exiting. very much the holiday-summer-feeling. the customer i visited has his store on a beach, where you have to pay 25,- euro to enter. but for that, there is also a starbucks on the area. but of course, you have to pay your drinks as well - same high price thing like everywhere.
as you can imagine, a big fun thing. very many beautiful easy-living people. the hotel we stayed in was visited mostly by arabic princes and princesses, rich greeks and americans. no germans except us. we had dinner with our customers on a rooftop terrace of a restaurant. very extraordinary!!

but now it is philly. if you are visiting the air france lounge in paris and the ladies at the counter check and check your boarding cards again and again, it could mean something very positiv. in our case an upgrade into business!! we, that means me, felix and anna, the junior-children glasses managers in the company. finally the flight was big fun and very relaxing..

philly is grey, humid and hot.
anna has seen the heart of a pig. she says it`s eatable.
felix having an high-tech banana-strawberry drink with white power-powder reading a yogijo-comic in english.

this day is gonna be a relatively smooth day preparing the sales-rep-meeting tomorrow.

best regards to philipp, if you read this blog. do you? if so, let me know.
best regards also to australia.

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kuala lumpur, 28.05.2009

the heat of kuala lumpur and the humidity... it is like an opium dream, without opium. it takes speed and energy out of body and mind. as long as you stay outside, which you basically never do. but inside it is cold. cold like outside in berlin early february, that`s how you recognize and feel it... i`m sitting outside in one of these cafés, having a green tea. it is very noisy. traffic jam all over. the air condition of the cars pumping hot air out on the road as well as pollution. big ventilator creating little wind and noise as well. tonight i`ll leave to osaka and tokyo. i hope they prepared a better climate, but, stop! it doesn´t mean, that i do not like the k.l. climate. because i do.. it is like fasting without fasting. at least i enjoy the slowdown of life. i understand mentally of people living here - maybe a bit better?? on the other hand, if i`d live here, it would be different.
the reason, why I am here is a presentation of our wonderful distributors. they organized a little tradeshow in a hotel, with all the brands, they distribute. yesterday night there was a price giving and the 1st price was a mercedes benz b-class... a car for about 40t €. isn´t it crazy? for the show there were many model-hostesses around, so i had the idea, to become k-l-model. once i have been in a model agency in berlin, but were never booked. but as a foreigner you are automatically interesting so i´ll try. i also met a pop-singer. she also does classical music as a soprano. the plan is to start my singing carrier in malaysia too. maybe easier to enter the ¨deutsche oper¨ and ¨philharmonie¨ in berlin from kuala lumpur.
yes, that is basically all. i also shoot many pics on my mobil and because of good luck and the right cable, i´m able to transfer these artworks on my computer - and that menas, that we could put theses ¨visual windows to the world¨ here as well. isn´t it cool? - i mean, if it works...

sounds like a plan...

more sayings for the eye-examen inside the ic! berlin temples:

money in a real fiction
cars are to slower than bikes
come to berlin!
everybody is beautiful.
love is better than love.
get more, have less.
never eat more that me.
drinking water or mineralwasser.
more brain must not help.
cut your hair!
kuala lumpur, 29th may 2009
...sitting in a very comfortable sofa chair in an extraordinary luxery shopping-center on a friday afternoon - but, unfortunatly, it is completely empty. sales persons talking to sales persons. all the luxery brands are here - and all are empty. no consumer... and i wouldn´t say, that is because the financial crises, for me it smells more like a crisis of this system itself, the system of consumption. it became so boring... new season stuff everywhere but also ¨sales¨. everything is without blood.. kind of dead. just beautiful.. designed by designers not passioned people. and most of the designers not even exist. just ideas of marketing-idiots. these days the consumers seam to realized that and stop visiting these beautiful temples of consumption? or is it just because of... lunchtime? hot weather? a football game on tv? who knows? because all the goods are soo beautiful and would make all of us beautiful like all the beautiful models on the displays...hmm indeed kind of scary, because there is no other system, which could help. there would be another system, but this new system could not take over... you don´t know, what i´m talking about? asking, which system??? well, the answer is easy, it is - of course - the ic! berlin-system! you don`t know? well, in this case, come to berlin and have a look..

i have to leave this beautiful, cold shopping center right now, because there is non of these american coffee shops inside, but...

...now i´m in the ¨most successful shopping center¨ of the world. or maybe i mix up, and it is just the ¨best shopping center¨ of the world. better than harrods, kdw and aldi - ups, aldi is not...anyway…

the good news is, that is it not that empty like the one before just across the road. it is very very new and really big. or let´s say huge. you find all the hot international brands. and a supermarket with all you need for a life, which is so international, that it becomes spaceless.

i´m sitting again in this coffee shop. the smell of my tea is really different to the smell in berlin or even tokyo. i don´t know why... even the plastic-top of cups is different. more massive somehow.. strange.. i hope, this coffee shop is not a copy.

but shopping still is a problem. for example me: i tried two kinds of interesting adidas-trainer jackets. special designs in a way and in addition to that 50% off. both of them fit me perfect - but, i did not take them.

local time is 4pm. maybe right now the shopping mall i was before is more crowded as well. but is it older and customers just run hot for the latest stuff. but this interest doesn´t remains to long. these days the circles of new things run faster and faster. when i´m gonna be here next time, this shopping mall is old and empty as well.

I’m getting little tired right now. maybe because the coffee shop is top floor and the climate system doesn´t work that good here. even my tea doesn´t help.

shopping without shopping...
it is more like visiting a museum - a nice one, where it is not forbidden to touch the exhibited masterpieces...

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philadelphia, usa, july 21st

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tokyo, 21.02.2009

tokyo night without saturday-night-fever... Okay i´m a little ill and tired, but that is no reason for all the young people not to go shopping! most of the stores are totally empty and even on the streets in shibuya there is no walking-people-traffic-jam, like usual on an saturday shopping evening.
very surprising for me or not, because everybody is talking in that direction, but to see that, it is different. it is like there is a switch from consuming, STOP, to stay at home no shopping: START. I don´t know, if there is a big sports-event on tv, or free chai-tea-latte at starbucks, but basically there should be no reason for that. even trendy second hand store ¨raptap¨ was empty!!!!
so i followed that trend, as usual, and went shopping at hermes, louis vuitton, prada and gucci. i mean like ever, ic! berlin is one step ahead - so...?!!

anyway at least, i saw many people cewing up for ic! berlin glasses in leading optician stores and as long as the crises is good for ic! berlin, i do not care and say loud and clear: let´s start the new trend and start consuming again, when everybody else is sitting at home eating chips and drinking cold water!!! it is great to do, because people became really nice in all the stores and no busy sales-people anymore...!!!

at last: one very important rule is: whenever discount or sales is offered, don´t buy!!!!! that is out of trend!!!!!!

22.02.2009 narrita, airport
...sometimes it is positive to do things always in the same way. no changes.. for examples if flying somewhere by plane, it is extremely helpful always using the same airline. in my case that habit gives me again an upgrade to business-class on a 11 hours flight. what a great thing is that. and right now i´m sitting in a waiting room for special frequent flyers with drinks and dishes for free. also not too bad...
outside it is raining like crazy. did i mention, that i´m still in japan? not tokyo any longer but narrita, where the airport is. everything went very smooth. the ¨friendly airport limousinebus¨ delivered me in the comfortable japanese way.
yesterday at idetan trunkshow, i had to put my autograph into a customers louis vuitton jacket... very special experience, but he was serious. we sold many frames to young and not young people. the isetan department store is on of the nicest shopping temples in the world, i would say. all the high end brands are there and if you can, it is great to go shopping there.

another hour before i can board the plane... in germany it is am 2.30h right now. everybody is sleeping, nobody sending emails. i´m getting tired as well and very much hope to sleep in the plane…

so far. no more words...

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lille, 22. november

....blechbrillenverkaeufer ist kein sofajob. eher ein nicht-sofajob. heute hier, morgen da, so singe ich mir mein lied. im flugzeug von hong kong nach paris genoss ich keinerlei sonderprevilegien trotz meines superplatinplus status... ein enger fensterplatz in reihe 41... ehrlich gesagt total zum kotzen, da ich minimun 5 mal auf klo muss waehrendeines 12 h fluges. zufaellig entdeckte ich dann aber einen freien notsitz und zog adhoc dorthin um. beinfreiheit bis auf den tuerabsatz und ein oberflaechlicher schlaf, der den naechsten tag nicht zur totalkatastrophe werden laesst... nun, dann eben berlin und direkt weiter ueber bruessel nach lille. zwischenzeitlich hat mir der chinesische zoll noch mein sampleset abgenommen, die beamten muessen gedacht haben, ich plane einen illegalen strassenhandel mit nicht versteuerter ware, wie hier die vietnamesen mit der rauchware. anyway... jetzt lille bei superkunden. philippe ragons opticien... freunde der ersten stunde, und weil sie so nett und aufgeschlossen sind, darf ich ihrer kueche direkt ueber dem laden meinen schokoladenkuchen backen und deshalb muss ich jetzt abbrechen, weil ich checken muss, ob verbrannt....
soweit, ralph the runner

...2 schokoladentorten fertig.. schokolade fuer guss zu fluessig. die schokolade ist ueber die ufer getreten und hat die kuechenarbeitsplatte inschokoladiert. es hinterblieben zwei schokoladenkreise wie brillen... das passt, ich habe es so gelassen fuer die ewigkeit. in die mitte zwei zuckerwuerfel gelegt. die schoensten menschen der stadt scheinen sich hier verbredet zu haben. kinder, frauen, maenner der aesthetische spitzenklasse. ich kann es kaum glauben.. tja, wie das essen, so die menschen... nun, ich werde mich wieder der situation zuwenden und melde mich in 23 sekunden...

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hello germany hello europe, asia and of course HELLO USA!!!!  

 yes we can, yes i can... yes i can do it in english, or, yes i can try.. what a day today.. i´m in philadelphia on the day of the presidential election. barack obama is in town..  

 it is kind of ¨illegally¨ cold out here and on tv they recommend not to leave your home.. the worst is: i forgot my “do-not-freez” jacket from canada in berlin... so now i`m freezing like crazy..  I was riding my bike to the office yesterday without gloves and my mind... so I almost lost both. it is difficult for me to figure how cold it is in celsius, because of the different system. i think it is minus 25° C. 

 the good thing is, that there is a starbucks in the hotel. whow, that is kind of crazy, even if starbucks is not that 100% politically correct.. can you say it like that? anyways, this worldwide coffeshop is like my worldwide living- and lovingroom.. it is something you can kind of trust in: like mc donald, it is the same everywhere. but more important for somebody, who doesn’t drink coffee, the chai-tea-latte is great and better than everywhere else... bla bla, what a stupid issue, even if it is very interesting... 

 so i visited our american company and took the opportunity to speak with obama about his time in the white house under the perspective of ic! berlin sheetmetalglasses. we developed some very cool ideas together, about which i`m still not allowed to talk about.. sorry, some top-secret plans also for europe, asia and south africa... the only thing i can tell is, that we might put the new slogan ¨yes we can!!!¨ in every frame. barack liked that idea a lot and promised to laser himself bad eyes, to need ic! berlin glasses… 

 (by the way, how is my english? can anybody understand? - i never read things i wrote twice, so even i myself do not know...) 

 well i have to go to nyc today to take my flight back direct to berlin. so i will walk around a little in philly and than our wonderfull marc will deliver me and all my bags to jfk airport. Yes. There is no more i can write, my brain is too... let`s say jetlaged, which it basically isn`t. anyways. kisses and hugs to all, the yes-we-can-ralph

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...20th february, osaka, japan. if you walk very long distance from berlin east, you someday reach japan and maybe osaka. if using the plane, you might go west first to paris and than all the long way east - like i did. and like you might know, there are different possibilities in planes to sit: very narrow and small seats mostly in the back, and big comfortable seats in the front. the different in between is a few thousand euros. but... but in good cases and if you have a special card, you may sit in huge super-nice seats, even if paid small. in my case it happened. from seat 46c to 3k!! from that moment on, you can expect 11 hours of fun and luxury. very nice, even if i did not sleep that well at all. but also in compare to walking or driving, a big mystery to do that distance in time in 11 hours.

now i´m here in the rainy osaka, having my morning tea in the not-space of starbucks … i´m so sorry for that, but i like the all around the world same smell of tea.. again, it creates a kind of homey feeling..

in berlin I’ve heard, is it very snowy, like it should be at christmas, but everybody expects springtime. anyway... as we know, it is all because of the finance-crisis in america. also climate is mixed up and becomes more cold instead of more hot, like mr. gore said.

in a few minutes i have a serious meeting, so i have to go. i say good bye and see you soon,

ralph

kobe.. kobe is about beef and steal. steal is to heavy to bring to berlin and beef might be problem as well, because i´ll leave japan in 4 days. so maybe not healthy to keep that long without fridge? also kind of forbidden to import beef into germany? maybe, maybe not. i do not know. I just know, that 2 years ago i’ve smuggled some beef into berlin for christmas and it was more than great.

here in kobe many young girls running around in groups of 3-4 girls. laughing a lot and always playing with their cell-phones. i´m getting tired again, even in germany is sunrise-time right now. finally i have to confess, that matscha-tea is to sweet. i do not like as much as chai-tea. matscha-tea is a kind of green-tea. i drunk a lot but still tired.

and i´m thinking about fasting. do you say it like that? the not eating-thing? next week the fasting period before easter starts and why not doing it in the stong way? after first 3 days it should not hurt anymore. so why not.

here in kobe today it is raining and sunny. very mixed and kind of cold. no snow like in berlin. tonnes of snow there... but didn´t i mentioned already?

my eyes getting heavier and heavier. in a few minutes we are going back to osaka by train. not so expensive, 380 yen, which is about 3 euro... so...
in shinkansen in between osaka and tokyo. in japan all humans are being born in or with a louis vuitton bag. it is unbelievable, but everybody has minimum one. whereever you see somebody running around, you see this brand around his body. and you can be sure, that these bags are original and no fakes. and so they are not very cheap.

hmm, getting tired again. sitting in a train makes your eyes heavy. so very short report from my journey through foreign worlds...

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... ein ploetzliches zeitloch beschert mir 2 leere stunden. keine termine oder so... ich irre im stadtteil "central" herum mit meinen sampletaschen. millonen menschen rennen umher und es gibt fast so etwas wie pedestrian-traffic-jam. schrecklich, diese vollheit. dafuer habe ich heute schon viele brillen verkauft. insgesamt glaube ich sogar schon fast 200. jetzt sitze ich in der sonne (!) vor einem modernen bankgebaeude. in die shoppingcenter gehe ich eher ungern, weil es dort so kalt ist. das zweite problm ist, dass ich mir in meiner grenzenlosen einfalt einen starbucks wuensche mit kuschelsesseln ... aber den finde ich nicht. nach kurzer nacht brennen meine augen mal wieder. eine gewisse grundmuedigkeit kriecht in mir hoch... vielleicht in der metro schlafen? einmal endstation und zureuck fuer die siesta...bankmenschen um mich herum. z.t. britisch arrogantes aussehen, leicht gebrochen durch die geldkrise... europa schlaeft noch und ich haette auch lust darauf.

lunch im biologischen "mix" schnellimbiss. salat eine rolle mit pilzen. dazu ein aloe-wassergras getraenk, in dem geleeartige gubbel schwimmen. das scheint der natuerliche bioanteil zu sein. nebenbei zaehle ich ic! berlin brillen auf vorbeilaufenden bankern. drei habe ich schon gezaehlt. man erkennt die banker daran, dass sie ein telefonknopf im ohr und/oder eine zugangsberechtigungskarte um den hals haben, oder dass sie anzug tragen und die "international herald tribune" lesen, wie der mann, der sich soeben zu mir gesetzt hat. also alles sehr simplel und die autos, die an meinem fenster vorbeifahren sind sehr groß und teuer. pausen sind durchaus positiv, wenn auch langweilig. nee, langweilig nie, aber man muss dann nachdenken, was man machen soll...

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das jetlag verabschiedet sich langsam. ich habe bis weit in den spaeten vormittag hinein geschlafen. die sonne knallt schraeg in mein schlafzimmer. meine muedigkeit hat eine solch intensive dichte, dass mich das licht nicht beim schlafen stoert. langsam gewoehne ich mich an die stadt und das blechbrillenverkaufen in diesem moloch. ich bin wieder in dieser strasse, in der einen staendig maenner mit "hello my friend..." ansprechen und irgendwas verkaufen wollen. ich ignoriere sie so konsequent, dass ich nicht mitbekomme, ob es sich um drogen, hotelzimmer oder geschlechtsverkehr handelt.

jetzt sitzt ich wieder bein einem kunden und warte auf den chef, der noch einen kunden hat. sehr angenehmes ambiente. Ÿberall unsere brillen und die anmutung insgesamt ist europaisch. schoene menschen arbeiten hier. vielleicht besorge ich mir zwischenzeitlich noch ein 200%iges kakao-getraenk beim seven-eleven next door. es gibt eine breite auswahl an milchgetraenken. hmm soll ich?

dann wurde ich eben zeuge eines traenenerfuelltten streites auf einer parkbank. mutter oder gro§mutter mit tochter, bzw. enkeltochter. es wurde deutsch gestritten... die tochter heulte die ganze zeit: "immer sei sie an allem schuld..." die aeltere frau mit hartem gesicht. ich haette mich fast eingemischt und die junge frau zum blechbrillenverkaufen eingeladen... vielleicht haette ihr das geholfen, wenn sie nicht wirklich an allem schuld ist. das haette mir dann auch geschadet... anyway. beide sind schlie§lich streitend aufgebrochen, zurueck in ihr hotel. schicksale im fernen osten. wie schade, dass sie sich nicht vergnuegen koennen.

weiter warte ich und soll ich etwas trinken. unhoeflich sollte es nicht sein und energie ist auch wichtig... hmmm, sage ich da mal wieder und waere lieber am sonnenpool in meinem hotel auf dem dach... ja, den gibt es tatsaechlich im 76. stockwerk. that's the place to be... but... ich habe verschlafen und jetzt eben das blechbrilleverkaufending.

hier war mein mobiler computer ploetzlich abgestuerzt und wie durch ein wunder ist der text nicht weg... deshalf fuege ich jetzt auch nichts mehr hinzu...

tag 2, am abend

....es ist so wunderbar am abend nach getaner arbeit in diesem amerikanischen weltweit gleichen kaffeehaus abzuhaengen und einen heissen kakao zu trinken. nach ca. einer stunde andauernden feierabendduschens... hot water all over...was fuer ein genuss. der weitere ritus ist abendsport = seilspringen 17 minuten und ein japanisches heisses bad. dann zeitung lesen, ein buch, fernsehen und einschlafen. in fremder einsamkeit braucht man rituale, an denen man sich festhalten kann.

und sogar die verkauften brillen gezaehlt. we ein echter salesrep, der dann jetzt hong-kongdollar-zeichen in den augen haben muesste. ja, es ist gut gelaufen und ich habe fast das planziel erreicht. wahrscheinlich werde ich morgen noch einen kunden besuchen, der nicht besucht werden will, und ihm ganz viele brillen verkaufen, weil er einsehen muss, wie toll die sind.. das koennte passieren.

diese entspannung in dieses kaffeehaussesseln ist ungeheuerlich. das cafe scheint bis nach zehn aufzuhaben oder die servicekraefte sind sehr offen mit dem gaestekehraus.

und immer wieder, die aussendienslereinsamkeit. wie halten meine kollegen das aus. wobei gewoehnung einiges ausmacht und ich bin noch ein absoluter frischling. anfaenger. es koennte leichter werden - oder schwerer... wenn man die kunden laenger betreut, lernt man sie kennen und kann etwas mit ihnen unternehmen. das hilft, denke ich mir. wo man doch praktisch keine anderen menschen kennenlernt.

in der u-bahn bin ich auf einen echten ic! berlinbrillentraeger gesto§en. ein programmierer mit frau und kind. wir haben uns kurz unterhalten, ich habe mich bedankt, dem kind eine minibrille geschenkt und die visitenkarten getauscht. ...wenn sie mal nach berlin kommen...

das war der tag... so sagt der tagesthemensprecher am ende der sendung und ich mache das jetzt auch so, obwohl sonntag ist und es hier und in deutschland diese sendung nicht gibt.

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....es beginnt in hong kong... die berichte eines reisenden. genauer, der bericht des blechbrillenverkaeufers ralph anderls. das bin ich und das ist die gleiche person, die sie erreichen, wenn sie den spruch auf der brillendose ernst nehmen: "questions, call ralph: +49 177 240 9 150".

in genau diesem moment sitze ich bei einem optiker in der cameron strasse und warte darauf, dass er sich die brillen ansieht und dann kauft. die muedigkeit der langen reise, auch jetlag genannt, sitzt mir in den knochen. die augen brennen. ich koennte adhoc auf meinem wartestuhl einschlafen. wie soll ich bloss gleich die brillen praesentieren? wenigstens ist es schoen warm und die sonne scheint. november, der beste monat fuer diese stadt, sagte mir der servicemann im hotel...

diese stadt ist so voll wie tokyo, aber ohne deren gute manieren. so kann man es sagen. schoene menschen gibt es auch keine. zumindest sind mir keine ueber den weg gelaufen. alles ist riesig und vollgepackt. wie halten es die menschen hier aus? indem sie konsumieren und ihren zielen hinterherrennen. das heisst, das hauptziel ist ueberleben, bzw. reich werden. wer das schon ist, kaempft darum, es zu bleiben oder das geld auszugeben, also es zu zeigen. hong kong ist eine geldstadt. das ist der hauptinhalt. darueber hinaus kann ich nicht so viel erblicken, aber das liegt eher am jetlag, als an meiner objektiven wahrnehmungsfaehigkeit.

und damit es nicht langweilig wird, flimmert alles. z.b. im hotel: der boden des fahrstuhls ist ein bildschirm, auf dem wilde animationen laufen, genau wie auf einem monsterscreen hinter der anmeldung. ueberall ist musik und damit unruhe. des nachts rauscht die klimaanlage und natuerich lassen die fenster sich nicht oeffnen. mein zimmer hat keine praemienaussicht, liegt aber dennoch im 31. stockwerk. alles ist schoen und hochtechnisch. der ipod laesst sich ueberraschend einfach mit dem soundsystem verbinden... whow, technik, die begeistern kannÉ -sagt man das so?

und ich warte noch immer...ob dieses schreiben negativ, also verlaengernd auf die wartezeit wirkt? weil die freunde hier im laden denken, ich sei ja beschaeftigt? oder ich schlafe einfach auf dem stuhl ein und falle dann im tiefschlaf in die brillendekoration.

jetzt kommen neue kunden und ich befuerchte schlimmes. bin bereits eine halbe stunde ueber der zeit. fuer einen echten salesrep wahrscheinlich nichts besonderes... aber fuer mich?!

der optiker entschuldigt sich und klopft mir auf die schulter. ich werde immer mueder und mueder. erhoeht die wartezeit die abnahmemenge? warum kommt sie jetzt, wo in europa aufstehzeit ist. samstag... europa ruht, waehrend asien ackert. wochenenden gibt es hier nicht. der urlaub bezieht sich immer auf den gesamtumfang aller arbeitstage, incl. sams- und sonntage.

ich lehne mich jetzt an meine sampletasche und schlafe ein. oder ich kaufe mir ein getraenk. besonders bloed bzw. erschwerend kommt die christliche weihnachtsfastenzeit hinzu. da trinke ich keinen tee. kaffee ja eh nicht, also keine aufputschenden aufgussgetraenke. alles nicht = total muede. nach drei bis vier tagen ist das vorbei, davor aber die hoelle. die fastenzeit beginnt am 12.11. das war vor 3 tagen.

gute nacht!

---

ich warte immer noch... in preussischer manier natuerlich nicht eingeschlafen. meine augen drohen aus ihren hoehlen zu rollen. ich kann sie kaum noch offenhalten. die unentwegt hupenden autos halten wach. sobald ich die augen fuer mehr als 10 sekunden zumache, traeume ich weg in ferne traumwelten. ich glaube ich kaufe mir im nachbarladen noch ein getraenk...das koennte helfen...

...weiter im text: nein ich bin nicht eingeschlafen und die freundlichen kunden haben ordentlich geordert. trotz finanzkrise. was fuer ein job, blechbrillenverkaeufer!! immerauf achse in oder an den brennpunkten dieser welt... leute treffen, die etwas bewegen und sich auskennen. in der fremde mit einheimischen in kontakt zu kommen, zeigt dem reisenden das wahre gesicht einer stadt. kann man das so sagen? ich hatte heute meinen spass, trotz muedigkeit und finanzkrise. die metro ist uebersichtlich und sauber, das shoppingcenter, in dem mein hotel steht, ist das schoenste und aussergewoehnlichste auf der ganzen welt. ich habe sogar schon meinen individuellen stamm-starbucks gefunden. und wenn ich auch wegen der fastenzeit keinen tee trinken darf (verordnung des papstes), so geniesse ich den koestlichen heissen kakao.. dazu wie immer den kostenlosen becher heisses wasser.
morgen besuche ich wieder drei kunden. sonntage zaehlen in asien nicht - hier wird durchgearbeitet und ich gerne mit...

sommerlich sind die temperaturen und ich werde meine braunen sandalen anziehen. dazu die bunte hose und das hawai-shirt...

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Tokyo, airport, 10th of april 2009

...going back to europe... in this case not berlin, but milano. kind of easter holiday with the hole neighbourhood i live in. like in the late sixties. here in tokyo it is early morning and - surprise surpise - in europe deep night. in addition to that, today is ¨karfreitag¨ - i don´t know the english word. so today is one of the blackest days in the year of church. but here in tokyo nobody cares. just end of april gonna be an important period: the golden week. mostly about shopping and travelling. but these days maybe less shopping.

hmm, yes indeed, it has become more slow with consuming here. you can see it all over. bouticques are empty and people are not even walking around in the former desired streets. in the news I’ve heard, that stock markets going up again, so is it already and of crisis. crisis, crisis, crisis, what a stupid issue.

i drink my water and hope to get a late upgrate at the boarding gate. because still i´m row 32, so no business at all. but emergency-seat, which also might help. here in the lounge i fill in my bodytank with tonnes of water and other liquids. i like drinking and I’ve read somewhere, that drinking would help to have no jetlag. - in tokyo I’ve met an italien guy living here right now, who had problems with his heart and could walk around just one hour a day!! also not allowed to drink more than 800ml of water. isn´t it terrible. if i could´nt drink, i maybe also would die. in mean, i will die for sure, but maybe a bit earlier. so best regards to that guy and i really hope, that he is getting better soon...

i really feel very fit - after a period of 4 weeks fasting. just very uneffective soup, veggi-juice and water.. if that deal is being started, it is not so terrible, like expected. i even cooked and did some bakery. the mind becomes clear and you move your body in slow motion as less as possible, which is also not so bad. so i recommend it to everybody..

fasting, thinking and waiting - the three big things in life.

i´m waiting for my plane.. hmm, basically boardingtime..? one hour to early still. i always go to the airport extraordinary early to avoid all kinds and possibilities of stress. time is the key for comfortable journeys - old men say.

it is ten o´clock right now. blue sky. burning eyes. the plan is, to sleep all time in the plane...eating is cancelled, because i do here as well. i got some swiss muesli with french honeys in japanese airportlounge.

so far so good. right now i have to do some research in fashion magazines. did you know, that jil sander works for uniqlo right now? a japanese discount brand like h&m?

see you in berlin, ralph

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l.a – 12th of february

..it is getting cloudy and it doesn´t make sense any longer to have a bath in the sun on my 16th floor hotel-room this morning. i don´t know why, but they book me a very big room here for that trip. the weather is kind of mixed. sunny but cold and now not even sunny. in philly it should be warmer than here, which is for sure related to the international climate collapse or the californian state being bankrupt.

anyway, yesterday i could sell several glasses to several not to poor people. and indeed you can still see cars on the road in orange county, which are not a cheap renault-dacia logan. people still got money and spend it. at all, here is a smell of wealthiness in the air and if you go south to the next village at the ocean, you are getting smooth-wealthy feelings as well, even if you are a poor european sheetmetal-glasses-seller.

my view from my balcony in direction south i see 2 smaller skyscraper. or how do you say? also a golf-areal and many houses of not poor people.

this morning target is to get little brown or darker skin color, to make all berlins jealous. (and it is still unbelievable, that i´ll be home tomorrow in cold berlin, with snow and the darkness of the german winter...)

in about one hour i have my last business meeting here and at around 2 pm i have a shooting in venice beach. of course... that is how it works here in us. shootings, bbq, money, crisis, big cars and starbucks... i create also a new saying which is: take care, it is real… but i think i mentioned already (usa is not about historical recognition... so me too)

shit...because of finance crisis there are just clouds covering the sun right now. very terrible and i think, maybe not even obama could help.

anyway, i have to pack my stuff and leave into the future.
kisses,r

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feb. 11th

los angeles. basiclly is o.c. right now, which stands for orange country. the richest part of the whole us, i heard. and indeed, the sun is shining very bride and the cars are big and houses beautiful. even the people look good and not being to fat... no, to be really honest, everybody is beautiful and the headline of the whole is: ¨take care - it´s real¨ i found out yesterday, when a lady ask me to write something with a big marker on her arm. difficult question, but by that i found that maybe old saying and she was happy with it. ups, clouds coming up. what´s going on? is that reasoned by the crisis?

i do not see the crisis. maybe it is to early. shopping center did not open already. we start very early today. start at 6 am to make it here from l.a.

tonight i`m gonna cook again in the store for customers and hopefully it will work out well. so what to cook???

sun is back and i can get colour for the winter in berlin. snow storm in berlin. hmm, well that`s it. now i go to the beach and teach the people there about ic! Berlin.

yes. so see you in a bit in berlin. or o.c. or l.a. or nyc...

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10th february 2009

back in l.a. again. and of course sunny. it is kind of hot in the sun but just great, if coming from the winter in berlin. sitting in the back of the store, where i did an information-education to the employees of our customer. very nice, i think, i hope. i enjoyed, even if it’s very early today. 8 am. so hmm, what to tell about l.a. santa monica... the hotel i´m staying at... the hole situtation. my feeling right now is: fuck, how lucky i am. it is so great being here, doing this job, which is not work. spending time with those people.

tonight i have to cook in another place for customers as well and it seems to create problems, to get all the things for cooking. not the ingredients, but the pots and pans... so maybe i could not do it, but at the end americans solving all problems.

ups, the sun is so hot and i am wearing just black. perfect combination.

americans always talk with each other. What ever is going on, they tell each other, what they feel or thing or what ever. totally different to german people. Live to tell. I like it, because communication is a good thing and why creating borders in between people by not talking.

so hot in the sun. did i wrote that already? yesterday night i wish to have my very winter warm jacket. today i`m asking for swimming-shorts.

i´m running out of words. so i stop for a moment...

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tokyo, 05. april 2009

...eben noch ibaz messe berlin, jetzt slide show in tokyo. Ups, english please... springtime-tradeshow ¨ibaz¨ in berlin above the roofs of the city and after a sudden switch: tokyo narrita. how unbelievable is that. i flew klm through amsterdam... and already when bording in berlin i received the very good news about the connection to narrita: seat 2F - that means business! how cool is that! i went to the berlin airport-lounge and was just happy... yes, it makes a difference and it is much ¨sportier¨ flying economy with the hope of getting business.

in amsterdam all the connections worked out very smooth. just at bording a little moment of doubt, because it was a huge boing with business on second floor... so maybe just ¨very good¨ economy. But at least i was lucky... I slept well, had a very japanese manga-dream and arrived here very fresh!!! Left plane as first passanger, received luggage first - i mean, how crazy is that??!!!! Took some money, bought some drinks and magazines and even reached the first bus to shibuya, which i usually never reach (and have to take thew next 2 hours later...)

not to forget the weather, which is very fine as well! sunshine and 16° celsius!!!

So right now i just hope, that a hotelroom is being book and entering my room early. Because usually bording is at 2pm. At three i´ll have first appointment with wonderful salesrep aki. So let´s check it out.

aaaand, not to forget mentioning the best glasses-show in early april in the world, the IBAZ!!! this time i took part in the backfabrik in the middle of berlin. we took some space there, which is usually the ic! berlin office. but for ibaz ic! berlin left and gave all the beautyful space to the organization of IBAZ!! the best was not at least the weather and the extraordinary rooftop! the hole show felt like holiday and customers, stayed for hours. some even came back the next days... this time we where 5 exhibiters, which is a very organic number: lafont, sutro, andy wolf, zuerihorn and ic! berlin.

the next show we plan for july during the fashion show ¨bread and butter¨, which should fit very well and offer all exhibitors and visitors a view into the pure fashion world as well!!!

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in the airplane from amsterdam to amsterdam, 31.07.2009

..back in the plane.. being in a plane, i feel at home. above the clouds and all these earth related thinks, like problems and other hustle creating issues. in the air, there is nothing - except small space to seat, bad air and no reception.

hmmm, how does that sounds.. a bit strange indeed. my home is my castle, comes in my mind immediately. my home is my airplane - doesn´t make sense, except, you own your a plan, like michael schumacher, who starts working again in his old job, which is also a big reason for me, not to sell the company, because you might get a plane, but lose the fun of flying in narrow economy seats. at the end of the day, people come back into the life they like and risk everything again, they have gotten before by money - or the money itself. michael schumacher is a good example, how unimportant money is. because in the end he just follows his passion, which money never could buy - and takes the risk to die in a fast car.

but, he could effort for sure a economy flight to tokyo with klm?! michael schumacher in a narrow economy seat on his way to tokyo, or like me, back to bremen... yes, no mistake, destination is bremen, not berlin, because i come from wonderful village called ¨oldenburg¨ in the dessert of the north-west of germany. the reason to go there is the 40 years annual of my parents marriage. what a long time, and which great grapes they have gotten. they had and have a super wonderful life, with supertruperextraordinary kids. yes, i´m veeery lucky visiting oldenburg and also more that happy going to zürich on sunday, the day after tomorrow... the most beautiful is your hometown, if watching from far away...

the airplane starts the descent and i have to switch of the computer...

of course i love michael schumacher.
of course i would drive as good as him - but...
of course we are talking about 127 million euro.
of course the sun is always shining above the clouds.
of course today it is july 31th 2009.
of course german highways are superbusy because of holiday season.
of course i eat meat.
of course i don´t drink.

(i watched the movie about the 20th july 1944 with this american actor, with the wagner-inspired name (not the actor, but the movies name)… and: the bad man, who should be killed, also didn´t drink, didn´t drive and loved wagner. all like me... that makes me fear. shall i better order a whisky, start having driving lessons, switch to michael jackson???)

hmm lucky situation... the plane has an unusual vibration in the area i am seated and so the plane goes back to amsterdam, where we come from. great news like that i appreciate so much in my life as a frequent flyer. if i would sit in my comfortable chair in my villa somewhere in swiss, like michael before restarting his job, i would not get interesting experiences like that.

also funny to see, how my traveling collegues react on the situation. they complain like little kids in the way kids would complain. very interesting and somehow typical.

hmm, so back to amsterdam. hmm if we gonna make the touch down with those special vibrations in my seat-lane... otherwise i hope, the hard disk of this computer will not be destroyed..

that´s all for now...

..yes, we made it back to amsterdam. no problems. except my traveling colleagues almost collapsed. right now waiting in an airport bus to get boarded into a new plane, which is parked just few meters next to the not working one. so at least it is all not to bad. really crazy, that another same plane is available. the sun is shining, temperature is around 20° celsius. I am really fully relaxed. breathing in and out.

in about 1,5 hours i should be back in bremen. fly fast mr. captain!!

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...munich right after the extraordinary ¨optimale¨ opti-tradeshow... the city is still packed with opticians doing sightseeing and shopping... yes shopping, even if we have the biggest crises in the world ever. just kidding.
well, the sun is shining and everything is so okay. no weather-crisis for sure. yes we have been selling so many frames the last three days and yes, customers loved our new collections a lot. for all, who never have been at those events: all companies build up their own spaces, showing their products. at eyewear shows, just opticians are allowed to come, but because of crises, also end customers coming. just a few, but basically they are not allowed. anyway, we put a big truck on our space and cardboard-furniture, we build up on ourselves. so very high end and beautiful, like our glasses. we also offered eating and drinking to everybody... yes, that is the way how it works and because we are ic! berlin, it works very good. just kidding. no, but to be honest, it is so. do you say it like that. anyway..

another story from munich:
if you do not have hair on your head and visiting one of those traditional bavarian restaurants in munich, for example the great ¨andechser hof¨, or similar name, it could happen, that a local guy comes to your table, checks your naked head, taking a little box out of his traditional jacket, putting a kind of legal kokain on your head and taking it through his nose, directly from your skin. like that happend to me yesterday night and i very much believe, it is a very old local tradition. we took pictures maybe also for you to believe. after i washed my head a little, i also tried that obviously legal kokain and it was very good. but isn´t it crazy, that in a conservative city and state, like bavaria, it is not a problem to take drugs in public??? In other, much more open minded parts of the world, it is strictly forbidden and you go to jail because of that... so at least, munich and bavaria is a big miracle and we all can learn a lot about life, death and drugs here... (if you do not believe it, go to that place and ask one of those extraordinary service-people. It is right behind the ¨frauenkirche¨ the biggest and most famous church in town - everything is sooo tasty, good, traditional and open minded. but - even it is allowed to take that bavarian kokain in public, you have to go outside to smoke a cigarette, which is of course good...)

and: today we went to ¨vogue¨- building, visiting a young and, of course, extraordinary beautiful and fashioned journalist. we showed here or new très-chic-collection and she loved it. she was so thrilled, that she wanted to have all of them for herself and her gay boyfriend. she promised, to put just our glasses with me on first page of magazin!!! she also promised, to organize a shooting with me, naomi, claudia and other famous fashion girls in monte carlo or bonn. i also were so thrilled and happy and fallen in love with that, that i`m not sure, if the hole story is true… terrible, i really do not know. terrible, but we´ll see. so please all of you should buy the beautiful german ¨vogue¨ the next months or maybe years - i think, she did not promise, to do it soon... but i promise, that i loooooove fashion and fashion magazines. i totally believe, that just fashion-magazines will not be hidden by the crises and exist for ever. i have to say again: i loooooove fashion and i looooooooooove german voooooooooooogue.

and: tomorrow i have to leave the most beautiful city in... hmmm in munich? in bavaria? in germany? in the world? difficult question. i think for sure, munich is the most beautiful city in munich. about all the rest i´m not sure. but i would love to life here. i believe this city would make me more beautiful and serious. it also would make me more successful. i mean personally. you know? why not ic! munich?! we could do that maybe. berlin is done anyway and i read in one of the leading german newspaper, that chancellor angela merkel thinks to settle to munich. more power and closer to italy and the alps, she said. germany is so advanced! maybe it is also because of legal bavarian kokain?!

and: it is getting dark. today it is january 26th. I bought some music, some gifts for the new baby of our patent lawyer gert habermann (he received new baby few days before and his name is knut, it is a boy!!! congratulations) i also bought a very big, heavy and expensive book about the ¨vogue¨-magazine. it is because i so much love fashion and to underline, that i be very honest and telling the truth. if you want, i can send a copy of receipt.

and: of course i hang out and work at starbucks coffee right now. having chaitealatte and hot water. like always. everything is like always - that how life is. from a certain point of life it does not change anymore. you eat the same things, you drink same things, you buy same things, you work same things. all the same, which of course is very good, because it makes life easier and helps to save money.

and: now i do not continue. i`m ready or: i´m done. or, i have nothing more to say...

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