It is simple: I believe that New Year’s resolutions do not make much sense. Surely, the new year is like a re-boot for most people (“All will be better in the New Year.”; as if someone pressed the reset button and everything begins from scratch. But why wait for a new year to begin, to develop resolutions?

Up until a few years ago, I always made some New Year’s resolutions. How many was I able to fulfill? Right, actually none. But once I wanted to succeed in something, say in May or September, I was more successful in it.

Why? Because the pressure, which lies on the New Year’s resolutions are just too big. The resolution is not something what one wants to succeed, but has to succeed. And for me personally, only fun and the own will leads to a successful resolution.

That is why my answer to the question during New Year’s festivities: “And, what New Year’s resolutions do you have?” will be: “I do not have any. Let’s see, which will develop throughout the year.”

I wish all my readers (who are hopefully still there after my long writing absence) a wonderful new year and a great evening! May the new year be filled with more blogging activity on my part.

(Note: Since it was pretty quite around here the last almost two months, I will also be writing about stories and happening, which lay further back in the past. But they are all still in my heart and deserve some kind of attention. So stay tuned…)

Some of you may know it by the title “Visual Diary” and have one yourself. The concept is pretty easy: take one photo each day, preferably with a smartphone and then upload it right away. My device is the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 – and I will try to take all the photos with it. But since I – currently – cannot afford a mobile contract with an internet flatrate, I will upload the photos from my laptop. In a combination with a smartphone, this actually sounds almost old-school. In the best case, I still manage to upload the photo every day.

“And why?”, you may ask. Much too frequently we forget the great small things in life, which happen every day – a date with a friend, a discovery or simply a good dinner. With a photo a day, it is easier to reflect and remember those things, which were very special in one, short moment. And: having it captured on a photo, the moment will last forever.

My Diary 2.0 can be found on top in the menu. Have fun with it and discover the world with me!

It is over. The end. Germany ranks third, after losing against the later world champion Spain in the semi-finals. The world cup 2010 ended with a rather moderate and brutal final, in which an English referee summed up the referees performances throughout the whole competition. Thomas Mueller was named Best Young Player, which he highly deserved; and at this point I feel kind of old, because he is younger than me. What is next? What will we, or rather me personally, remember from the world cup in South Africa? There were delights, but also absurdities.

Delights: the colorful and beautiful opening ceremony; a functioning and delightful to watch German team; Thomas Mueller and his character (“But I can only play soccer, so that is why my interviews are the way they are.”); South Africa’s hospitality and enthusiasm broadcasted into the world; Italy ranking last in their group – there is justice after all; Wembley is finally leveled; seeing Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger sitting together watching a game (they probably had many topics to talk about…); finally having a world cup in general and all the wonderful, exciting viewing parties!

Absurdities: Referees and their large amount of bad calls; together with that: bookings were too frequent; minimalistic playing Spain, who became world cup champions by winning 1-0 ever since the matches in the last 16; many bland matches; disappointing ”top stars”; that the German team were not awarded with the entry into the final because of their forward playing; the final itself and that I was beat by two others in our friends betting pool on the last match day of the world cup.

It is the famous morning after. The morning after the night, when the dream of the fourth star for Germany is over. Yesterday around 10:20 p.m. I had the feeling that everyone was in complete silence. Everyone simply stared at the television, while the Spanish celebrated, the Germans cried and walked over the field with their heads down. Everything seemed implausible and no one knew, what to say next.

Thereby, every person handles a loss differently: one begins to clean up, while others listen to the following, rather absurd, interviews. And another stands alone secludedly and looks up into the sky. It seems, as if an own dream stayed unfulfilled.

But why is that? How can one be so enthusiastic about a group of all together 24 players + manager and identify with them, so that one has the feeling that one personally just lost the chance of winning the world cup trophy? Well, it is actually quite simple: soccer unites. Soccer sparks. At every match, one sat together with friends and family, screaming, cheering, rejoiced and, lastly, suffered. A whole country stands behind the team and a big dream: becoming the best in the world. And now, just with one goal, it is over.

I too had believed in the team until the very last minute. But: yesterday, the better team won. Was it because of Mueller missing, the inexperience of the team or was it simply just not “our” day? In my opinion, one cannot actually define the reason. And does it really matter, why? What you can say is that it is much easier to cope with this, than with the idea that Spain was lucky and won undeserved.

Until yesterday, the German team gave their all and played a wonderful world cup. Now they have to end it positively in third place. And one thing is for sure: Germany will again be thrilled and stand behind the team. The next world cup is already waiting…

Germany made it into the semi-finals! Amazing! Which means that we will definitely see two more games. And so far, Germany has done well in the round of the last 16. Here a short overview…

Round of 16 – England vs Germany 1-4: The ball was not in the goal.

(via twitter.com)

___________

Quarter final – Argentina vs Germany 0:4: Taken apart in bits and pieces.

(via twitter.com)

___________

And a preview for tonight:

Semi final – Germany vs Spain (my prediction: 3:2): The Spanish will be squeezed out and squished!

(via)

By the way: Paul was also wrong for his prediction at the Euro Cup ’08 final (Germany vs Spain). My theory: He is simply nervous, when it comes to this specific match, because Spanish love Calamari. That confuses him and makes him predict wrong ;) Enjoy tonight’s match and: Go Germany!

2.) Apple Pie.

3.) Bagels.

4.) Football.

5.) Free refills.

(via)

6.) Stores open 24h.

(via)

7.) Will Smith.

(via)

8.) Turn on red.

(via)

9.) Oceans & Beaches.

10.) Starbucks.

Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! :)

(to see more reasons and things *click*)

After my internship good-bye, yesterday my second “professional” farewell this year took place: I had my last day at my side job.

I still remember how I nervously walked into the big building of this big press agency only a few days before my 21st birthday. My tension could not have been worse and I only thought: “You’re one out of many, who are applying for this job.” But then after a really loose job interview with one of my future co-workers, a test translation and three very long days of waiting, I received the phone call: “I have some great news for you…” One week later I was trained and had my first day as a translator for picture captions and press releases.

Shift duties, early or late; sometimes also on weekends. I translated everything, from Formula One to soccer, from royals to politicians from all over the world, from snails on railway tracks to the most beautiful rose of the year. I learned new vocabulary, how to deal with stress and also how to connect phone calls to other people.

It was my first side job, which kind of went into the field, where I can imagine to work later on. That is why this side job was something special to me. Indeed, sometimes I wanted to scream, because it was really just simply too much once in a while – but other, rather quite days leveled that out.

But now the agency is moving to Berlin and I, as many others too, will not be moving along. Yesterday, I again stood in front of this building, but this time more with a smile than with a confused look. It is too bad that the time is over, but I try to see all the positive things of it: I had six months of great work experience, which showed me many new things, where I learned a lot, I had quite some fun and met nice, new people.

Now it is time to work on my next step: Getting an internship in the USA around fall/winter…

In only a few hours, the time has finally come: World Cup, World Cup, World Cup! Personally, I have been excited ever since I passed my mid-studies oral exam. Me as a soccer freak, there is nothing better and more exciting than the World Cup. (Aside from the fact of my favorite German Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt becoming German Champions, but I think that will take a while.) The first World Cup party for the game Germany vs Australia on Sunday is planned and organized, the vuvuzelas and flags are ready to be used.

Yes, plural: flags. Because I am not only rooting for Germany, but also for USA, Portugal and South Africa. For USA, because I am an American. For Portugal, because I have been there several times and one of my good friends lives there. For South Africa, because I actually always (except if it is Brazil or Italy) sympathize with the hosting country. But this time, it is a little more than usual.

Because the World Cup in South Africa is something special. It is the first World Cup ever to be held on the African continent. And this fact alone is trend-setting in my opinion. South Africa has developed throughout the last year. Since the end of apartheid things are looking up. Especially Nelson Mandela had a big part in this development and also played a key role in the discussion of getting the World Cup to South Africa. (Supposedly, Mandela will be attending the opening ceremony today!) The country is ecstatic, excited and thrilled; the vuvuzelas are all over and people are dancing until they cannot anymore.

A World Cup supports South Africa in its development. Indeed, a lot of money was spent, which (in some opinions) may could have been used for townships or poorer areas rather than building soccer stadiums. But I disagree. Through the games, promotion and enthusiasm, which a World Cup implicates, South Africa will receive financial, social and economical support. Especially in the times of Social Media, where information and impressions are shared all over the world in a high frequency and in with just a few clicks. And in the long run, South Africa will have a huge benefit from all this. No country that hosted a World Cup was the same afterwards.

I am hoping for a wonderful, colorful and hopefully for Germany, USA, Portugal and especially South Africa, successful World Cup – Ke Nako: Celebrate Africa’s Humanity!

Next to the many positive sides of the Internet development, one should not forget the negative sides, too. In today’s social network and computer age, children and young adults experience many sites, pictures and topics, which are not appropriate for their age. Furthermore, they are not aware of who can read their private information they put online, or how it possibly is used from third parties.

With this background, this year’s topic was chosen: ”Think B4 U post”. In this way children and young adults are supposed to be given a fair warning that before they post something online, they think about possible consequences and handle their information with care. Thereby it is also referred to the possible security settings especially on social networks like Facebook. There for example, one can adjust in small detail, who can see what on your profile and what not. This can be found via the ‘Account’ tab on the top right and then via ‘Privacy Settings’ and ‘Profile Information’.

For further information, please check the official website of this campaign:  Insafe

“It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.
Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…
…means a little bit more.”

- The Grinch

****Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy the Holidays with your loved ones and relax!***

(Because of this, it will be a bit quite here during the Christmas Holidays. But I’ll be back – so stay tuned.)