Mateos Kasperle Theater Vorstellung

Clean after 4368 diapers

We just have to share this with you! Mateo finally said he did not want to wear any dipers anymore this morning. He ripped them off and said that he wanted underwear. Then he said that he had to go to the bathroom. Well, so this is the result...



After the thing was done, he got to flush the toilet all by himself!



So why is this good for human mankind? We just don't contaminate the planet with diapers anymore! The amount of diapers a baby consumes to finally become clean is just phenomenal. A quick calculations in Mateo's case, 4 per day on average x 7 days per week x 52 weeks a year x 3 years = 4368 diapers Mateo consumed

Todo Clara

Here are all Clara's pictures since she was born. She is a sweety! CLick on the picture to see all of them.

Mateo twister

Mateo danced the twist during Christmas Eve surronded by all the girls. See yourself.

Merry Christmas

We want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas with your love ones.

Bautismo Clara y Mateo

The Baptism of Mateo and Clara was on the 25th November 2006 in San Isidro, Argentina. Mateos godparents are Agustin, Marianas brother, and Jimena a very close frind of our family. Clara was baptized with the name of Clara Anna and her godparents are Sonja, Jürgens sister, and Carlo, her husband. As Sonja and Carlo could not be here, Jürgens parents represented them. It was a very important day for all of us.

Merry Christmas: from the Elfs!

Here is the little Christmas Elf wishing you all a Merry Christmas, click me...

Zugfahrten in Buenos Aires sind nie langweilig

Im Schnitte verbringe ich ca. 2 Stunde täglich auf den Weg ins Zentrum und zurück. Die Fahrt ist nie langweilig, im Zug (Tigre - Retiro) gibt es immer Entertainment-Angebote, hier eine Live-Performance:



Dann kommen natürlich noch zahlreiche Angebote von Verkäufern hinzu die den Zug als Jahrmarkt nutzen. So kommt man spielend zu neuen Gelbörsen, Taschenlampen, Pre-paid Karten, Lose, etc.

FON vs. Free WiFi in Argentina

First of all, I am a FONero by heart! A couple of weeks ago, before I arrived in Buenos Aires, I got myself some FONeras (that's how FON calls their Wireless Routers) and brought them to Argentina. I installed two of them, one in downtown (Microcentro, Paraguay street close to Florida), and the other one at home, close to a high frequented train station in a residential neighborhood. Having them up and running now for more than 4 weeks resulted in...yeah right: 0, zip, nada traffic. While I am reading Martin's blog, I am wondering why FON is not taking off in Argentina:



Pricing is an issue? While the FON movement may work well in Europe...it simply is perceived expensive here. A US$3 day pass transfers to a BigMac meal at McDonalds (yes, that is super expensive); alternatively, become FONero share your bandwidth for US$29 (router) plus the monthly DSL fee (Arnet $16 Pesos). Sure, it might be smart to target FON tourists.

WiFi is popular, FON unknown; while WiFi is widespread in the city of Buenos Aires, you hardly find any FON hotspots, the brand is unknown. Why go through the extra hoop of becoming a FONero if you find free WiFi signals? Almost every restaurant or coffee shops, like the Aroma chain, offers free WiFi access.



Seguro, security is an issue; while it is safe to schlepp around your Notebook or show off your WiFi enabled gadget in New York, it is quite unusual to see that in Buenos Aires, unless you like to donate your entire equipment.

For FON to succeed in Argentina it must find a local ISP: Telecom Argentina (Arnet, etc.), Telefonica, etc. The router offer by itself may also not be attractive enough. Since WiFi is everywhere, why not offer the Skype phone + FON router bundle.

Cumpleaños de Mateo

El jueves fue el cumple de Mateo. Vinieron amigos del el jardin de infantes, hijos de amigas de mama, y nietos de amigas de abuela. Jugaron toda la tarde con Nancy y Clara a los piratas, al mar, al caballito, a la busqueda del tesoro y mucho mas. Aca van algunas fotos.

Para ver mas fotos...
To see more pictures press here...
um mehr Bilder anzuschauen...

Personality of the Day at Mateo's Kindergarten

Today, at Mateo's Kindergarten it was his 'Personality of the Day' day, which is meant to show off some of the stuff they like. He brought pictures of when he was a baby, pictures of his Tante Sonja, Onkel Carlo and Niki and Sofia, his cousines. His abuelos and Großeltern. He kind of got confused when he saw a picture when he was age 4 months, because he would always refer to himself as Clara...that is his sister. Today he also showed some of his favorite games: fishing, ships, cars, masks, and so forth.

Mensaje de Mateo

Mateo esta enamorado de Claude, una amiga de la abuela. Este es un mensaje que le dejo en el contestador para que viniera a jugar.

Mama nuevamente

Being a mom again is an incredible present. Clara was born a week ago and I still don't get bored of looking at her for hours.
Life is still chaotic, but I guess everything will fall into place. Mateo has a love-hate relationship with Clara. He loves her, but also wants all the attention from us.
We are all so happy to have a new member in our family and being all finally united!

Name debate for Clara

Mariana and I are still debating about a second (or middlename) name for Clara. Our current ideas are Anna Clara, Clara Anna, Anna-Clara, etc.

Meanwhile, a brief video with daddy:

Looking for office space in Buenos Aires

I am looking for an office for myself in Buenos Airs. I just need a desk, chair and some inspiring people around me. As my Web 2.0 project is unfolding, I would like to be with some designer / Web developer folks around me. I would also require a stable WiFi connection and of course some power for my laptop. I can pay 400 Pesos/month. If you know of anyone in Buenos Aires who has something to offer, please let me or Mariana know.

Ya llegamos a casa

Lunes llegamos a casa de los abuelos. Al final, en el cuarto de mama estamos y yo puedo tomarla en mis brazos.

Wer zu spät kommt den bestraft das Leben

Leider war Clara zu schnell für mich. Ich habe es leider nicht mehr zur Geburt von unserer Tochter in Buenos Aires geschafft. Mein Abflug aus München war für Montag, den 13. November gekplant, doch dann kam Clara schon am 10. November im Hospital Aleman zur Welt. Hier ein Foto mit Mariana, Clara und mir bei meiner Ankunft am Montag:



Nach 20 Stunden in der Luft und über Umwege, München - Atlanta - Buenos Aires, hatte ich es endlich geschafft!

Heute ist Clara schon eine Woche alt geworden...also Alles Gute von deinen Eltern, Großeltern und Abuelos. Wir sind sehr glücklich mit Clara, sie ist sehr aufgeweckt und hat immer Hunger, vor allem Nachts ist sie sehr aktiv.

First Fotos of Clarita

As promised, I am posting the first pictures of Clara, Mateo and Mariana. Clara was born 2 weeks early but is holding up very well.

Clara, our daughter is born!

Our daughter, Clara (or Clarita), is here! She was born on November 10 at 2:28 pm in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She weighs about 2600g and is quite active already. She eats and cries. Mateo saw her the same evening and mentioned that she does not talk, but that she cries a lot. He loves his sister and said "Yo quiero Clara mucho!" (I love Clara a lot). We love her lots, long live Clara! I will arrive in Argentina on Monday, Nov. 13. Unfortunately, I was not able to be with my family. I will post pictures and videos soon here.

Invitacion de Laura y Santiago

Tonight Laura and Santiago invited us to join them and friends of Lauras, Sandra and Kai, to make empanadas together at her place in Gauting. Santiago grew a lot, he is about the same age as Mateo (Santiago arrived on the same date when Mateo was expected and vice versa). I shot these movies with Santiago showing off his bicycle and horses

Tarzan

Tonight was the first concert of Mateo with his kindergarten friends. It was so funny to see the kids dancing, jumping and singing. I hope you have also as much fun as me with it. They played Tarzan and here it goes....

Halloween Nightmare Before Christmas...

Halloween, I went out to Cinema Munich to see the movie Nightmare Before Christmas. The show was so so (not sold out) but the really cool thing about the movie is that it's in 3D, not only the visual, but also the audio is 3D. Things appear to fly at you while someone screems from the back of the cinema... Great, so they handed out those polarized glasses that you can see here:



A nice side effect is that if someone else has got those glasses on (any yes, all did during the movie) and looks at you at the same time, it appears that one of their eyes is covered while the other is visible. Imagine, pretty funky, right? Of course, that didn't come out on the picture, but worth to try for yourselve next time!

Borges: If I were able to live my life anew

This poem from Borge about shifting your perspective to thinking, what if you could live your life again, what would you do. I, for sure, tend to worry about too many things sometimes, so nice to listen to this poem, which Mariana posted previously...

If I were able to live my life anew,
In the next I would try to commit more errors.
I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more.
I would be more foolish than I've been,
In fact, I would take few things seriously.
I would be less hygienic.
I would run more risks,
take more vacations,
contemplate more sunsets,
climb more mountains, swim more rivers.
I would go to more places where I've never been,
I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans,
I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones.

I was one of those people that lived sensibly
and prolifically each minute of his life;
Of course I had moments of happiness.
If I could go back I would try
to have only good moments.

Because if you didn't know, of that is life made:
only of moments; Don't lose the now.

I was one of those that never
went anywhere without a thermometer,
a hot-water bottle,
an umbrella, and a parachute;
If I could live again, I would travel lighter.

If I could live again,
I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring
and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends.
I would take more cart rides,
contemplate more dawns,
and play with more children,
If I had another life ahead of me.

But already you see, I am 85,
and I know that I am dying.

Jorge Luis Borges

(Translated from Spanish by someone else)

Hola gente: Si pudiera vivir nueavamente!

Estas son las primeras lineas que estaremos escribiendo…Las primeras de muchas. Este primer dia queria dejar un poema adaptado por Borges que se llama instantes. Creo que nos haria muy bien leerlo mas seguido.

Si pudiera vivir nuevamente mi vida,
en la próxima trataría de cometer más errores.
No intentaría ser tan perfecto, me relajaría más.
Sería más tonto de lo que he sido,
de hecho tomaría muy pocas cosas con seriedad.
Sería menos higiénico.
Correría más riesgos,
haría más viajes,
contemplaría más atardeceres,
subiría más montañas, nadaría más ríos.
Iría a más lugares adonde nunca he ido,
comería más helados y menos habas,
tendría más problemas reales y menos imaginarios.
Yo fui una de esas personas que vivió sensata
y prolíficamente cada minuto de su vida;
claro que tuve momentos de alegría.
Pero si pudiera volver atrás trataría
de tener solamente buenos momentos.
Por si no lo saben, de eso está hecha la vida,
sólo de momentos; no te pierdas el ahora.
Yo era uno de esos que nunca
iban a ninguna parte sin un termómetro,
una bolsa de agua caliente,
un paraguas y un paracaídas;
si pudiera volver a vivir, viajaría más liviano.
Si pudiera volver a vivir
comenzaría a andar descalzo a principios
de la primavera
y seguiría descalzo hasta concluir el otoño.
Daría más vueltas en calesita,
contemplaría más amaneceres,
y jugaría con más niños,
si tuviera otra vez vida por delante.
Pero ya ven, tengo 85 años…
y sé que me estoy muriendo.

Old Couple in Love and the Library

This morning on my way to work, actually, into the library of Munich, I noticed an old couple in the tram, they were holding hands all the time and when they left off at Sendlinger Tor station, they said good bye. I was tempted to ask if I could take a photo for the blog, but then it was too much to ask. I just wish that Mariana and I will be holding hands when we are 80something.



So finally, when I arrived at the library, I could take this shot with my camera phone. I love the entrance hall of the library and whenever I step into this hall with awe I remember what my German teach once said to us in 5ht grade visiting Munich; "Only a few of you will ever make it into this University", he was right, but at that time it sounded so cruel. These days I consider it a privilege to set my foot into this awesome building!

My sister's birthday

As usual, my sister has to work very hard in the kitchen the day before her birthday. She invited more than 30 people to their house the next day, so I helped her to prepare Chicken Marsala with her. I was able to take some shots on my Nokia N80 and thanks to iMovie edit the footage in just an hour or so. Here is the result:



The actual birthday party was excellent, great people, great food!

Acasusso Beach: Bathing suit missing

Mateo enjoyed the skinny dipping in the garden in Acassuso. It tends to get warm at the end of October in Buenos Aires. That day they had 25°C. Mariana, even though she could not really walk around, could at least enjoy on her bed in the garden.

Mateo, el doctor!

Mateo is taking care of his mom and Clarita real well. He is applying patches and, finally, even gives Mariana an injection. That movies was shot in Buenos Aires a few weeks ago.

Museums in Munich: Lange Nacht der Museen

This short movie was shot on the night of October 21, 2006, when the museums of Munich opened their doors to visitors until 2am at night. It was a spectacle, I love museums and visited 10 of them that night: Völkerkundemuseum, BMW Museum, Glyptothek, Lehnbachhaus, Palänthologisches Museum, Ägyptisches Museum, Alte Pinakothek, Pinakothek der Moderne, Pinakothek Palais, Residenz. Check it out:

Super Mateo: or the power of bees

Next week our son Mateo, will appear as a bee in a play in kindergarten. He is really looking forward to it. His facial mask looks like the one from Robin in Batman. Mariana makes him say Super Mateo; first he says it softly, then he reall screams it. Look for itself.

Economist Article: Auf wiedersehen, Fatherland

Sunday morning. I am reading the Economist after breakfast. And what I read today is an Economist article about Germans emigrating and leaving their country. Net-net about 22,000 people in the first half of 2006 already. These are mostly people that are educated, those who see more opportunities for themselves abroad. The cosmopolites that can live anywhere; Munich, London, New York, etc. doesn't make a difference.

I was thinking for myself and for my family, why I came back to Germany after living for so long abroad in California, close to San Francisco. The weather, for sure, was a lot nicer, but back in 2001 many things fell together. September 11th, was a shock to everyone, and the Bush adminstration were reasons for not going to the US and rather live in the Motherland (instead of the Fatherland). My parents are also getting older and it was difficult to see them only once in year (with those 10 days of vacations that you get in the US).

Now living here in Germany, close to Munich, for almost 5 years in a row, I am inclined to leave again with my wife and now my 2 children (my youngest will be born in early December). The question is just: where are we going to live? There are options; US, Argentina, elsewhere in Europe? What is the best place to be and is that place going to be doing fine in 10, 20, 30 years from now? Where shall we settle?

One bad thing about reading the Economist is that it makes you be sceptical of just about anything. So in the end, it frustrates you mure than anything. A recommendation for a happier life is; read the tabloits is reading tabloits, like the BILD (compares well with THE SUN in UK).

If you have any answers out there, let me know...