Mark, Ian and Aleks went up the Castle one Cold and Dark Winter's Night

This story is reposted because I found it so funny, all these years later. 11 to be exact.

I have cut and pasted the post and pictures, and since I am the author of this post, I do not need permission from myself to repost it !                               

The story was in 2008, just after the Weiss worldwide agent's meeting in Giessen and below is the actual post I put up in Dec 2008.

Please enjoy and do not make fun of people's names, as it might be a source of discomfort or embarrassment (like my own surname can be twisted to be "A Bush in the Garden" !)

         The Brothers - Me, Ian Firth (Australia Agent) and Tibor (Hungary Agent)

First Posted on 23 December 2008 

Last March, during my annual visits to Germany to visit our principal supplier, Weiss Technik, the Australian agent, Ian Firth,myself and the Slovenian agent, Alex (formerly part of Yugoslavia) got along pretty well. We had meetings and seminars during the day and merrymaking with loads of alcohol in the evenings.One Wednesday evening, it was snowing lightly and we had been drinking alot at the factory cafeteria and after dinner, we headed back to our hotel which is in Wettenberg, a small village,situated northeast about 120 km of Frankfurt. We were getting pretty rowdy in the bus leading us to the hotel with the usual swearing and mild intoxication typical of many German parties.

Anyway, things were getting a bit out of hand and upon reaching the hotel, some of our agent friends opted to go to bed, while the rest checked emails and pursued other recreational activities at the hotel bar. Ian, Alex and I  then decided to walk-run up to the nearby castle, in the dark of the night to wear off the effects of our drinks. We (guys) tend to do STUPID things when we have WAY too much alcohol and time on our hands. In this instance, it was 3km uphill all the way. So, we set of at a brisk walk in our trenchcoats and jackets.


                                  Lynne (Taiwan Agent), Me and Alex (Slovenia Agent)

THIS IS THE LATE WINTER NIGHT WITH SNOW AND WIND BLOWING INCESSANTLY AND AN 8 AM START TOMORROW OF NEW ROUND OF SEMINARS AND MEETINGS.

It was cold,damp and windy. Alex told us he knew the route well and decided to cut through some cabbage patch through some farm area. We made our way up hugging our jackets and trencoats and slipping a little through the soft ground. Alex had a sinister look on his face and he was very quiet, intent on reaching the objective. Ian and I followed him. I knew I had my GREAT chance to spook Ian.

I casually poked Ian in the ribs,and said, "Ian, our friend Alex.Do you know his surname ??"
Ian : " No"
Me : "Alex, whats your surname huh ??"
Alex : " Dracula(ris), !! My name is Alex Dracula !"

THE WIND WAS HOWLING AND THE CAPE FROM ALEX'S TRENCHCOAT FLEW.He kept walking up, silently, at a fast pace, and leaving the 2 of us in his wake. 

I half expected bats to fly out from his trenchcoat and the vines from the ground come up and grab our ankles ! Oh the imagination ran wild !!!

Ian's face turned white and he actually grabbed me. We both practically RAN up to the top of the hill where the castle was. Later, Alex and me went all the way to the top of the belfry (top of the tower) and had a magnificent view of the entire town.



                     At the Top of the Castle overlooking Wettenberg (I looked young then !)

We later went in to the Mexican bar at the castle to have a couple of schnapps to chill out. Oh yes and swopped our backgrounds and life stories.Turns out we are all about the same age then - 44 and 45. But more of that in a later blog.

True Stories to entertain our Grandchildren ! 

Raison D'ete : The Purpose of Life

I had earlier touched on Raison D'ete or the Purpose of Life. Well, in broad terms, each and every person needs to find his purpose in life. We are all put here (by God) for those who believe in Him, to serve a purpose. 

It can't be for purely selfish reasons such as pleasure, or to create evil. Having lived through over 50 years I believe I have found my Raison D'ete. However, it is very personal and private, hence I cannot elaborate further.

Beautiful Antibes (Cote d'Azur) in December 2018. 

The Cote Azur between Nice and Monaco 

However, the process of it, can be found in the game changing book called Ikigai by neuroscientist, Ken Moji who ascribes to the Japanese way of "being in the here and now"

The 5 steps are :

1. Start Small
2. Negate yourself out from your life's work (Ego is bad)
3. Maintain harmony and balance with Nature
4. Take Pride in Small Things
5. Be in the Here and Now.

Once you have started on this road, continue to encourage your family and those around you to do likewise and see the personal growth in yourself.

Then I believe along the way, you will discover your Ikigai or Raison D'ete. It is never too late.

Enjoying the cold weather in Burano. a small island off Venice 

  

Beautiful Canberra

Bessitkas 0 Wolves 1

Liang Bo - Hei Ye Zhong China Voice Finalist

Wolves back to winning ways ; after 7 games finally a win in the Premier League

Wolves have had the most cumbersome of starts, as they were first involved in the Asia Premier League trophy, which they won beating Man City on Penalties. They then played 6 (yes 6) games before the start of the Premier League proper for the Europa Cup qualifiers and started the Premier League beginning August. Its no wonder that their small squad of players are looking jaded.

I am thankful that finally they have gotten off the starting blocks with 4 draws and 2 losses before this one, they had better sharpen their game with the new guys being thrown into the mix. Leicester (A) Draw ; Man Utd (H) Draw ; Burnley (H) Draw ; Everton (A) Loss ; Chelsea (H) Loss ; Palace (A) Draw ; Watford (H) Win - Finally. 

Its going to be a long and tough season. And only the best, the most willing, the most talented and the strongest will survive. 

Neto, Jordao, Kilman, Cutrone are being given their baptisms and Gibbs White is a regular, we are going to stress test the team going forward. To rely on the ever dominant front 2 of Jiminez and Jota is frankly asking too much, so it was with much relief that Doherty scored the opener and the second was created by Gibbs White for Watford to concede and own goal.

Midweek there is the second game with Bestikas and the weekend will be super challenging with Man City in the oppostion. 

Game On ! Lets see what the Wolves are made of !!  

What a Chill Song - Sweet Home Chicago - Blues Brothers !