Saturday, August 23, 2008

So much to do...

The next couple of weeks are going to be really busy...

First, I am going to the UK next week to spend some time with 2 sales rep.  I am really looking forward, this going to be really nice to see how we actually sell our insulin pumps !  So the trip will start in Liverpool, followed by Manchester prior to coming to London.  I will then spend the weekend there at stay with Vivek.  I am really looking forward to it.  This weekend will allow me to see some of my IESE friends, whom I miss so much.  So I will for sure see Vivek and Brian. Hopefully a few other ones as well !

Then I will get my new flat in Nyon as of the 1st of September.  Which means that I also need to prepare for my move since I have to leave my temp flat in Morges at the latest on Sept 8th.  This is going to be really challenging ! First, the only piece of furniture I own now is a bed... so, you might tell me that it is the most important, but that means that I need to buy everything else.  I have seen a super sofa at Interio, but it will take me 10 to 12 weeks to get it ! Well, I could get it in 2 weeks if I took the light brown color however, to prevent any wine or other substance incident, I want to have it dark grey... so that means that I have to wait for a really long time.

So anyway, I have a lot to do at work as well, on top of organizing my new flat... that will keep me quite busy in the coming weeks...

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thank you James, Lars, Kirk and Robert...


This last Sunday I went to Jonschwil, in the north of Switzerland, to see the concert of my favorite music band ! A 300km long drive from Lausanne... But it was really worth the pain !

When I was younger, not that I am really old now, I dreamt of seeing Guns n' Roses, Nirvana and Metallica perform live. This Sunday, I was able to see the only band still in activity in this list.

I am not an early day fan of Metallica, since I was too young when their first album was released (the band was formed in 1981 when I was 4) and also not yet interested in that kind of music. However, as the years went on, my interest in rock and heavy metal increased. To the point that when I started to learn how to play the guitar at the age of 18, I practiced on the "Black Album", the "And Justice for all" and "Master of Puppets" riffs. The aficionados from the band will realize that I have not mentioned "Kill 'em all" nor "Ride the Lightning". The reason is that I started to learn these more trashy songs only later on.

Being really impressed by Kirk, one of the last true guitar heroes still playing, I even today own a copy of the guitar that he is using (you can see it in one of my earlier post, it is the one with skulls on the net).

So when I saw back in May that Metallica was gonna come to Switzerland I immediately bought a ticket... Which is why I drove to that place next to Winterthur... Where Sam also joined me from Zurich.

What can I say from the concert... First of all the crowd was an interesting mix of early fans (mid 30s, early 40s), median age fans (like me) and young fans !! I saw some kids who were probably no more than 15 years old !

8PM.... the 4 guys come on the stage for a 2 hours show. These guys are really amazing. Every thing they play is perfect. You can really see that they are awesome music players. The songs are just great and everything rolls. The peak moment of the concert I would say are the fireworks on One and Enter Sandman, as well as their probably most renown song Nothing Else Matters. With this last song they really prove that the best balads are written by rock and heavy metal bands. Just think of the amazing balads writen by Led Zep, Scorpions, Guns etc...

In the end, I felt like a small kid who just saw Santa Claus ! Well, almost, since I know that Metallica does exist... And what a powerfull sound !

As a final note, they played one song from their new album, Death Magnetic, which will be released in Europe in September. First comment: excellent rythmic part and great sound. I just hope that the other tracks will be of the same quality.



Next concerts I would like to attend: Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Green Day, Jean-Louis Aubert, U2...

Oh, I could not finish this post without saying: Thanks to James, Lars, Kirk and Robert... And to make the list complete, thanks to Jason Newsted and finally the most amazing bass player of all time Cliff Burton. Yes, over the years you all have contributed to my passion of listening and playing music.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Leave China Alone !!!

Well, I just wanted to write a quick post...  I am so fed up with everything that is said right now on China in newspapers, on TV, radio etc...  I just cannot stand it anymore ! 

Everything that is said about that country is negative.  Yes maybe this is true that in terms of human rights the situation is not perfect, but our countries from the "western civilization" cannot just give lessons like this.  We still had our colonies 50 years ago (and I do not even want to talk about suspicious wars) !!  The development of our countries took time and is, even today, still not perfect. 

I understand that the Olympics are a great opportunity to talk about China but please stop all this bullshit all the time and give them time as well !  You cannot expect from them to be perfect from one day to the next...  Progress has to be achieved step by step... 

Sunday, August 10, 2008

I wish I could fix you...

A few weeks ago I bought the last album from Offspring... really good by the way ! Especially one song that I keep on listening, it is called "Fix You". I just love it...

She wakes up
Rage and grace
Pulling me closer, pushing away
And me
The sharpest thorn on your vine
Twisting and turning
We're all intertwined

Broken wing
Empty glass
Words that scream and bounce right back
She says "you know, we'd all like to rearrange"

I wish I could fix you
And make you how I want you
I wish I could fix you
And I wish you could fix me

I wish I could heal you
And mend where you are broken
I wish I could heal you
And I wish you could heal me

Ha la la la...

A beaming sunrise buries the night
The setting sun destroys the light
The she says "baby, I've gotta get going"
Cutting each other
Without even knowing

She sees a million stars
Like holes in the sky
All God's tears for her they cry
And I am in her rain

I wish I could fix you
And make you how I want you
I wish I could fix you
And I wish you could fix me

I wish I could heal you
And Mend where you are broken
I wish I could heal you
And I wish you could heal me

Broken wing
Empty glass
Words that scream and bounce right back
She says "you know, we'd all like to rearrange"

Sunday, August 3, 2008

I wanna be a part of it...

Right after the MBA I wanted to go to the US and discover this country. My trip took me first on the west coast in Seattle. For someone like me who is passionate about music, Seattle means a lot. Two amazing guys who originally came from Washington state have changed the music scene for ever. The first one is Jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitar hero ever. Just watch the images from Woodstock and you will understand what I mean. The second guy is certainly not a guitar hero, but he still has changed and shaped the rock scene. This guy is Kurt Cobain, the face of Nirvana... Seattle has also given amazing bands such as Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains etc... I think they should have all given a concert on top of the Space Needle !!


Seattle is not only the city of Microsoft, but also the city where the first Starbucks was created. And yes, I have been there !! It is on the Pike Market... where you can actually see flying fishes ! Unfortunately the day I was there I could not see them. There is also a very nice French restaurant there with an amazing wine card !


After one week in Seattle, I headed south to San Francisco. It was for me the occasion to check the Nappa Valley ! Well, you know that I do love wine and really like visiting vineyards... I even visited one that is called St Clement !

If you go to San Francisco, I advise you to go to the Legion of Honor Museum in the Lincoln Park... If you can avoid taking the bus from the east side of SF and drive there that is also advisable !! Otherwise, the bus ride will probably take you about 45 minutes, assuming it does not stop everywhere ! Anyways, one of the main and most remarkable piece of art there is the thinker from Rodin...

After a week in SF, I ended my trip in New York Fucking City, the capital of the world !!

The 3 cities I have been to were really great, however the most impressive was certainly New York... The city which never sleeps. All these big buildings every where are really impressive. If I had to live in the US one day, NY would certainly be an option for me.


Again there, you can see some French art ! Well, I am not talking about all the paintings that you can find at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is by the way the best museum I have been to so far, but I am talking about the Status de la Liberte !! This amazing sculpture was designed by Bartholdi et de Gustave Eiffel, yes the same guy who did our Eiffel tower in Paris ! It was offered to our American friends in 1886. Who said that the French do not like the Americans ??

This was the last step of my trip. I am overall really delighted that I could discover this country... I wish I could have stayed longer. I will probably go back one day since there are other places that I really would like to see (Canyon, Washington, Las Vegas etc.)

That is it for now... My next trip will be in the winter and I plan to go to Asia and see my 4th continent... Still deciding in which cities I should go...

Friday, August 1, 2008

Back in Switzerland after my trip to the US

I have been here for a month now... really hard to start working again after the MBA and especially after 3.5 weeks of holidays in the US. I will post a few pictures of this trip soon.



Being back in Switzerland is really special. I really wanted to come back close to Geneva. However, it is funny how life can change in a few months. I am now wondering whether I should not go for a couple of years in the US or in Asia. This is what I try to integrate right now in my thinking... in other words, I do not know !



Below is a picture from my temporary flat in Morges. It has view on the Lake and, if the weather is clear, view on the Mont Blanc (in the middle of the picture). You can also see Evian, yes where they have the water ! Well, I don´t drink it that much, but they also have one of the most beautiful golf in Europe, where they play the women master. I saw Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer playing there 2 years ago.




So living here is a bit quiet and sometimes boring, but I guess that it is hard to match Barcelona... At least I can train for my marathon. I run 3 times a week now !