New Years Eve...

For this New Years Eve it was just Daisy and I. I had been invited to a couple of parties, but with all the fireworks going off and Daisy being scared of them like crazy I couldn't do that.
In anticipation of the fireworks I took Daisy already out at 6 pm. At that time it was still fairly quiet. And we got a good walk around the block. Then I started to prepare dinner. I was making beef with several homemade sauces and Potato Salad and White Bread as sides. Turned out to be quite yummy and of course Daisy got a little of all that good stuff.
I had moved Daisy's doggie bed into the living room, placed it right in front of the TV and turned up that volume. That drowned out most of the sound of the small and medium velocity fireworks. But for the big ones it was pretty much no help at all. For Daisy that are always 2 terrible out as she is terrified of the loud fireworks and almost as jumpy as a virgin at at prison rodeo.
I was really glad when those 2 hours were over and only the medium velocity fireworks were still going off. I had opened right at midnight a bottle of champagne, but for some reason it hit not quite the spot. Daisy and I greeted the new year with a continuation of a Star Trek Enterprise marathon. But 3 am the sound of the fireworks had finally died down enough, that I could head out with Daisy for her walk before heading to bed.
All in all a fairly relaxing New Years Eve. And my usual concept of having Daisy hide between my legs while giving her lots of attention helped with all the crazy fireworks.

XMAS-Eve...

Well, this XMAS was going to be different. On the one hand it was going to be my first XMAS in my new place and on the other hand this year I was only going to celebrate XMAS with my family. A lot of people might be a little confused here, I'm not talking about my biological family. I'm talking about my family...and this family consists of 2 members: Daisy and I.
I had already done all my XMAS grocery shopping the previous weekend, but there still were a couple of things to be done. I started off with putting the TV-Bench together. Took me quite some time, but in the end I succeeded. Once I was done it occurred to me that I could have just gone with a basic table, but that bench just looked so cool.
Next up it was finally time to unpack my new Big-Screen TV and set the thing up. That was pretty much a piece of cake. I had it set up in no time and connecting it to my High-Speed Internet was a breeze. After that came some updating of the software. Up next was setting up the BluRay Player. With HDMI that was a piece of cake as well and connecting it via WiFi to my Internet was easy as it can be. Then I checked the USB-Ports and of course I can watch movies directly from a Flash-Drive. That's gonna come in very handy.

Next up was getting XMAS dinner ready. Warmed up the soup for my Fondue. While I was doing that I was preparing all the Sauces and Sides. I had chosen 4 Sauces: a Garlic Sauce, A BBQ-Style Sauce, a homemade Curry Sauce and and a homemade Mustard-Horseradish Sauce. As Sides I was going to have Potato Salad, Red Beet Salad and freshly baked Rolls. And as the main course 2 different kinds of meat: Beef and Turkey.
The only downside was, that my coffee table didn't arrive in time. So I chose to substitute it with my nightstand and a chair from the kitchen.
Of course Daisy got her own XMAS meal. She got a Knackwurst...and she so was into that. I was cooking my Fondue and the meat had been marinated very delicious I was watching Star Trek the Motion Picture. That's definitely the right way to see Movies...and a 50" Big-Screen TV. Absolutely loved it.
All in all it was a really great XMAS Eve. And I have to say that has been the most enjoyable and most peaceful XMAS I ever spent in Austria. Up till the time I met Kenny, I never knew that you can celebrate XMAS without screaming, yelling and fighting with each other. That's definitely an experience that I will always cherish!!

Assembling the Couch...

Well today I finally got around to assemble the couch. Unpacked everything and had for most part fun assembling my new living room couch. And since I bought it at Ikea there's some assembly required. Well it did take a couple of hours. Was taking breaks inbetween and spent as well some quality time with Daisy. But in the end I did finally succeed and finished the couch. And I have to say in the sandy painted living room it really looks great.
I know what everyone is going to say. An anthracite colored couch and a red Heeler just don't mix. Well, the only other choice would have been a dark brown with pretty much the same end result. And I was not going to go with a beige floral pattern. So if cleaning should get too much work I might just go ahead and invest a couple of bucks into a dark colored slip-cover that you can just throw into the washer.
But all in all I'm happy with it.

Last Minute XMAS Shopping...

Today I really wanted to get the rest of my XMAS shopping done. I just didn't want to have to do anything on the 24th, since that's usually a mad house. Well today wasn't much better. Luckily I had only a few items on my To-Do-List. I had pre-ordered the meat for XMAS and had only to pick it up at the butcher. Did some last minute grocery shopping for some items I had missed when I placed my online order as well. And it was truly a mad house. And it seems like that people are getting nastier and nastier every year. We all know there will be waiting lines on the cash register on the last Saturday before XMAS. So there is no point in getting furious about it. Luckily it took less than 20 minutes to get through the cash register and best part is it didn't even cost me a dime. I paid it all with coupons that I get as employee incentive from work. And that ended up saving me 50 bucks.
Up next was a trip to the hardware store, since I still needed a couple of things to assemble my TV-Bench. The shopping experience was so much nicer, as there were no lines at all. Guess the last Saturday before XMAS is really to time to go shopping for DIY stuff.
And finally my 3rd trip of the day was to Sparatcus. Had to pick up a couple of last minute presents for friends that I will be visiting over the holidays. It was busy, but way not that terrible than at the grocery store and people actually were patient.
So now that all the shopping for XMAS is done I can start assembling my couch and TV-Bench, but that will have to wait till tomorrow, since I really didn't feel like dealing with that after today's shopping trip.

Furniture Delivery...

Today was on the one hand the last day of work before the holidays, since I'll be having this year the 24th off. What makes for a nice mini-vacation, since I will be off till December 26th. It was also the day I had scheduled my furniture delivery. Could have already had it delivered on Tuesday, but with this being the last time before XMAS and all the work that has to do with end of the tax year, that was just not really an option. And on the other hand even if I had done that the furniture would have just put into the living room and I would have taken time on the weekend to assemble it.
I had planned on leaving work by noon. By the time I left I was already running about 20 minutes late. but I did manage to get to my apartment in time, since delivery was scheduled between 1 and 4 pm. Well, about 3.45 pm get a call form the delivery guys that they will be at my place in about 20 minutes. I was fine with that. They carried all the boxes up 4 flights of stairs. All in all almost 300 lbs...and I certainly didn't envy them that task. That was one of the reasons why I didn't mind paying the 100 bucks for the delivery. And yes I did give them a very nice tip.
After the delivery guys had left I went out to get my XMAS haircut done...and it was more than time. Didn't have to wait long there, about 10 minutes or so. After the haircut I went to the local pharmacy to pick up some meds that I had ordered. Got back home about 5.30 pm. Figured I might as well take Daisy for a quick walk since my grocery delivery for XMAS was scheduled between 6 an 9 pm. When I got back with Daisy I saw the delivery guy getting all the stuff out of the car. So I got back just in time. In fact the delivery guy was about 15 minutes early.
After I had put away all the groceries I realized that I had forgotten to order a couple of things, when I place my initial order. Well, that's not terrible, since I had to go to pick up the meat on Saturday anyways.
So, all in all quite a busy day actually.

TV Delivery & Running Errands....

Today the day had finally arrived that I would be getting my new Big Screen TV delivered. The delivery time was between 1 and 4 pm. So around 1 pm I settled down and waited while catching up on some TV on my iMac. Around 3 pm the TV finally arrived. Since my new Couch and TV-Table won't be arriving for another week, there was no point in unpacking the TV.
So I headed out. I figured I might as well head out and get some errands taken care off. My first stop was the local electronics store where I picked up an HDMI cable. But these things are still quite expensive. Next up was the local Hardware Store where I got some Power Tool, since there will be more remodeling in the near future.
For dinner I decided to check out a Burger delivery place and they really have nice & tasty American sized Burgers. All in all a quite successful Saturday.

XMAS Shopping...

Well, today it was finally time to get some of my XMAS Shopping done. This was a first for me as well, since I have never ever gone XMAS shopping on December 8th while working in retail. But this year I decided to break with that. Time was here the deciding factor.
Went to a local Electronics store since I had planned on buying a Big Screen TV for this XMAS. I did want one for quite some time now. Watching TV on my 20" iMac is OK, but I wouldn't quite call it a satisfactory solution. And on the other hand I didn't want to buy it until I was finished painting my living/media-room and ordering some of the furniture. I had already done my research and knew pretty much what I wanted. In the end I went with a 50" Samsung Big Scrren TV. Yes, and I did pretty much blow my entire XMAS Bonus on it. Spent about 1100 bucks, but it's so gonna be worth it...and that's exactly what a XMAS bonus is for. And I don't have to buy for anyone else, since for this XMAS it's just going to be Daisy and I.
I decided on having the TV delivered, since I really didn't feel like renting a car and then having to carry the 40 pound thing up 4 flights of stairs. So spending 29 bucks on the delivery is really quite a steal. And if everything works according to plan my Big Screen TV will be delivered on December 14th. Can't wait to set the TV up and start watching my regular TV stuff on an awesome Big Screen TV!!

Home Remodel...

Well, today the day had come that I finally started with the Home Remodel. Had been dragging that out for weeks. Just could not get to motivate myself. But I had taken 2 additional day off an d this was also going to be my first vacation since having started working. The longer ladder I had ordered arrived on Thursday. Turns out that I had taken the wrong measurements. Must have read the "foot" scale instead of the "meter" scale and so I ended up with a ladder that was too long and not much of a use. She I took a trip to the hardware store and got a ladder that fit my needs. I did manage to tape off all the borders but that was as far as my remodel went today.
On Friday I managed to put 1 paint of coat on all the walls. Since daylight at this stage of the year isn't available in abundance it wasn't bad at all. But finishing up early did give me the opportunity to prepare a tasty meal and later that evening I watched "Fellowship of the Ring" in preparation for the upcoming release of the "Hobbit".
Saturday was another successful day of painting. Finished up the Living/Media-Room with the second coat of paint and it turned out quite nice. In the beginning I wasn't to sure about the shade of the color and thought I should have gone one shade lighter. But now I really do like the darker shade. But by now it was pretty clear that I wouldn't be able to finish painting the bedroom. On the one hand it was a question of the daylight, on the other hand I really didn't feel like having to sleep in all the paint fumes. Since you can leave the windows open in winter that much. So I opted to finish up the paint job in the living room and wait until the pain fumes are gone and start with the bedroom at a late point in time. That way I can sleep for a couple of days in my living room. Later that evening I watched the "Two Towers" and as it was with Fellowship it was amazing TV fun. OK, it would have been way more fun on a big screen TV, but since I don't have that yet my 20" iMac had to do.
Sunday was a pretty low key day. Spent lunch time on a date with a guy I had recently met. He had joined Daisy and I for our walk in the park. And we were getting along actually quite well and Daisy seemed to be interested in him as well. Later in the afternoon I did some paint touch ups and then I settled down and enjoyed "Return of the King". Didn't feel like making dinner though, and so I ordered  Chinese Take Out Food. You can say what you want, but Chinese Take Out and a great movie makes for an awesome Sunday!!

Root Canal...

Well, today I went to the dentist to have root canal work done. Since that isn't my first time I didn't expect anything major. Boy, was that one heck of a root canal. All the previous once I had not much pain during the procedure, but this root canal was one of the most painful dentist appointments in a long time. Maybe it was because the infection wasn't gone 100%. I'm not sure about that. It took for ever for the local anesthesia to work. And than it was still painful at times. That's when I kept wishing that I had made the appointment in the late afternoon and not at 8 am in the morning.
Once the procedure was over that tooth still hurt. According to the dentist it was due to the fact that the nerve got aggravated and I should take a pain killer and during the day the pain should subside. So I took a pain killer and went to work. And it never got better. It went to a paint when I was taking one pain killer every 3 hours. OK, during the night I slept quite well. The next morning that tooth was still very tender and I so didn't want to chew on that thing. But it was better than the previous day. So I went to work and had planned to see the dentist later that day, if the pain should not subside. In the early afternoon the pain was finally gone.
So it took about 36 hours to get rid of the pain. Not exactly a fun thing to do as far as I'm concerned!

Dentist Appointment...

Well, this morning there was just no other way then to go to the dentist and I so wasn't looking forward to that. I have a tooth that I had done some work one a couple of month ago and it had been slightly bothering me here and there. But nothing to major. And so I kept putting it off. But after not being able to sleep the entire night, because of a tooth ache that was almost driving me up the walls, I had to have it taken care off. So I had to call in work, that I would be coming in late.
I was the first patient at the dentist and he pretty much confirmed what I already knew, that I would need to have root canal work done. So he opened up that tooth, put the needles in the canal and could have jumped to the ceiling. No amount of anesthesia would going to work here, since that tooth was infected. So he put some medication into the root canals, put a temporary cap in that tooth and I will have to come back on Monday to continue that saga.
After that I went right back to work. The first 2 hours were so no fun as that tooth kept "working" and bothering me. But as time went on it got better and I did have a actually quite productive day at work.
There is a bright side to that. Right now I'm pain free and if I had to have that done in the States, it would have cost me boatload of cash...but here it's paid by public healthcare.
And coming Monday the Saga will continue...

Control Appointment...

Today was the control appointment at my doctors. That was also the time when I was going to find out the results of my blood work. Considering the time I had been off the meds you would expect me to be nervous...but I really wasn't.
The blood pressure meds are working just fine and now I'm down to a BP of 130 / 85 and that's good. The rest of my blood work didn't show many surprises either. It's all pretty much where it should be. Except for the Cholesterol.
My total cholesterol is about 70 point to high. Not terrible but it has to come down. My HDL is about 5 points too low, and my LDL is about 50 points to high. And my Triglycerides are about 100 point too high. Not much of a surprise there. I now should try to get it in check without meds. And in 3 month we will be visiting that issue again.
My Blood Sugar has is continuing to do it's borderline Diabetes thing and as a precautionary measure my doctor but me on meds to get a handle on that.
My rash has been significantly improving. My CD-4 count is now down to 395, what isn't bad considering the time I have been off the meds. I would have thought that it would be way worse than that. My HIV-PCR count is up to 58.000. Not much of a surprise here either. Good thing is that I didn't develop any resistance against any of the meds currently on the market. And yes, since today I'm back on the meds again.
So all in all a very positive control appointment.

Doctor's Appointment...

Today it was finally time for my doctors appointment. It is so overdue. Had planned on doing that way earlier, but it just never happened. First I started my new job and that was quite a stressful time. Then was vacation time at work and there was just no time for the doctors appointment either. Then my co-worker quit and I had even more work than before. And then I had to deal with all the work that has to do with end of the accounting year. But over the past 2 weeks I had realized that it was more than time since I was having a terrible blood pressure.
My base BP was 150 / 100 and some of the BP spikes were 170 - 180 / 115...and that's absolutely terrible. There were times when I felt just like passing out, but somehow I always managed to get through those spikes without anything happening.
When I waited at the doctors office you so could tell the typical gay boys apart for the dog owning gay boys. The first ones are perfectly styled and the dog owners really don't spend much time on picking their wardrobe. I did have a nice chat with one of the guys who was at the doctors office with the dog and that's something I like about that particular physician.
When I had my appointment he measured the BP and it was up to 220 /120. He gave me right away a Nitro Spray and that brought the BP down 180 / 100 and he put me right away on blood pressure meds.  In about 2 weeks I will have to go back and see how things are working. Then we will have to decide if I need to have a Heart Ultra Sound to see how much damage the high BP has caused, since I did realize that I'm at times out of breath in situations where I shouldn't be. And it occurred to me as well that the blood pressure situation must have been going on at least for a couple of month.
But there was another reason as well for that appointment. I do have a rash that has been going on for quite some time. Have been dealing with that thing on and off for the past 15 years. But lately it has gotten worse and it got quite itchy as well....and being off the HIV meds for quite some time is probably not helping the situation either. So the doctor prescribed something new for the rash and of course I got my blood work done and in 2 weeks I'll know what the situation is like and the plan is to get back on the meds again.

Dating Deal Breakers...

After having been back into the dating game for some time, I've figured out that there are quite a number of deal breakers for me.

You don't love animals and you don't adore dogs...that's an absolute deal breaker.

You don't enjoy Star Trek, SciFi and Phantasy...well that's pretty much  a deal breaker as well.

You're talking about a exclusive relationship on the second or third date...well, that's definitely a deal breaker.

Talking constantly about politics is not only annoying, but pretty much a deal breaker.

Having to practice religion is deal breaker right from the get go on.

Not enjoying watching American TV-Shows in it's original language, well that would put a serious strain on a possible relationship.

Trying to convince me to make lots of compromises to make a possible relationship work is most definitely a deal breaker.
It pretty much follows the saying: "It's either my way or the highway". These days there are only very few compromises I'm willing to make.

Trying to tell me that you're the "One" guy who can satisfy all my needs is most likely going to be a deal breaker. That's just not the way my life works these days. An open relationship on the other hand is perfectly fine with me.

Talking about moving in with each other within the first 10 dates is an absolute deal breaker.

And last but not least...and I never ever thought I would say that...being a smoker is most likely a deal breaker.

First Snow of the Season...

Well, this was quite a surprise we woke up to this morning. Over night it had actually become winter. We got our first snow dusting off the season. And btw October is a little early for snow to fall in Vienna. It stayed mostly on the roofs and cars. On the ground it was pretty much just mush...and Daisy wasn't particularly exited about that, although she usually loves snow.
If that first dusting is a sign of things to come...well than it's gonna be a very snowy winter. Can't say that I'm a particular fan of that. Snow is fine outside city limits, but I don't necessarily need inside the city.

Bitch Slap...

Well this certainly was an interesting Saturday. Did my usual shopping routine for the weekend.
Later that day I went to visit with my friend Sandra. Up till 9 pm it was all fine and completely uneventful. Then Sandra's sis showed up and it was all downhill from there. That girl was already more than only loaded. But she kept on drinking and behaving way beyond what's tolerable. The more she drinks the worse it gets. And that girl is a heavy alcoholic and belongs into a clinic and not in public.

Well, I was listening to her talking trash for almost 3 hours. But then that fucking bitch thought it was a fun thing to get personal. And then I just had it and a slapped that fucking bitch. And that finally shut her up. Apparently that's the only language that moron understands. And if you have to ask I don't feel guilty about slapping that tramp! It was the right thing to do. Maybe all other people let her get away with that sort of behavior, but I certainly won't. Should the same situation occur again, I probably will be reacting the exact same way.
And having talked to friends about it and having the results from an online poll. 90% of people agree with me and 10% would have slapped that tramp way earlier than I did.

So I was so happy when it was time to leave and go back to my place. It will be quite some time until I go and visit friends out there again. But on the positive side it got me to re-examine certain things. I mean traveling out there with the dog requires some planning and considering that I spend about 50 bucks per trip on that...well it's not exactly what I would call cheap. But under normal circumstances I don't mind that.
Considering that I have to put up with that kind of crap it might be time to consider some changes, should that incident be repeated. Nothing is quite set in stone yet. Later that year I will be running a certain test. Im really interested to see if things what they are supposed to be or if they are in fact what I think they are. Certain relationships are supposed to be two-way-streets. But there are times when you could get the impression that they're one-way-streets. And that's not the way it is supposed to be. Should that impression prove to be accurate than changes are in order.
So the result of this test should prove to be most enlightening!!

High-Speed Internet...

Up until now I was using my cellphone as Wifi hotspot. For most part that was OK. But with the new TV season starting that was just no longer an option. I was almost burning through 6 GB of data allotment in under 1 month and I had to pick an choose what I wanted to watch. So it was really time to order my high-speed internet a couple of days ago. 

So I ordered my broadband Internet a couple of days ago. Since the thing is self installation anyways it really didn't matter where I got it delivered to. I chose to have it delivered to work, since I'm never at home when the thing would be delivered. So I got the package delivered to work today. It got delivered in the morning and I had to wait all day long until I could at least set the internet up.

Got back from work and immediately set up the internet. Worked without any trouble. Now I'm back online with 100 Mbit. Absolutely love the amazing speed. Now I'm downloading full length episodes of my favorite TV shows within 5 minutes. That's absolutely awesome!!
For 2 bucks more I had also ordered the full TV package. Not that I have any plans of watching German TV, but that just was a great deal. Now I've a DVR once again. Still isn't set up since my media/living room isn't set up and I'm still missing the TV. Currently I'm using my iMac as TV. It's a livable compromise, but it will be so awesome once I get my TV. Having high-speed internet makes my apartment much more a home.

A Trip to the Hardware Store...

Well today I was going to do some shopping at a local hardware store. I'm really starting to get serious about making my apartment more of a home than it is right now. Since I had gotten permission from the landlord to paint the place as I see fit. So I borrowed my Sis' car and went to the hardware store.
A couple of weeks earlier I had decided on the paint colors.
I got to the hardware store and had them prepare the paint. Planning on painting media/living room and bedroom in 2 different colors. Bought the paint and than shopped for painting supplies. About 2 hours later I was done. All in all I spent about 200 bucks.
After that came the fun part of having to carry all that stuff up 3 flights of stairs. And paint is actually quite heavy. Had to leave the stuff outside my apartment to get the rest. That did drive Daisy crazy. Although she's now good with staying by herself...with me being on the outside that's something that she barely can handle and she starts with her anxiety routine. So I left some stuff in the car and spent some time hanging with Daisy. Later that day we both went back to the car to pick up the rest of the stuff, before dropping the car back off at my sister's.
So there will be quite some painting in the near future. The only thing that I did forget is to buy a bigger ladder. Since the rooms in my apartment are about 12' high...a standard ladder really isn't of much use. So I guess I will have to go out and a bigger ladder at some point.

Computer Woes at Work...

Well, this can certainly be called the week of computer woes. On Monday our system was already incredibly slow. On Tuesday the server broke down entirely. Well, so the girls in the order department went back to writing each and every oder by hand.
The accounting department was off even worse. I couldn't tell anyone anything without the computer. But I still didn't get bored since there was a lot of stuff that I could do, that doesn't involve a computer. And usually I don't get around doing those things anyways. But some accounting work needed to be done and so I did it the old fashioned way...with the print out off all the accounts in use. Actually it is quite interesting and actually fun, since you have to use your head and think in which accounting class an expense or income actually belongs. Haven't done that since my accounting exam. With a computer you just type in a search term and get a list of possible accounts back. In the beginning going back to the "old way" is quite exhausting, but you get very quickly used to it.
On Wednesday the estimates about the possible date loss and therefor for the possible damage where somewhere between half a work day and up to 2 weeks. If the later part should turn out to be true...that would be an disaster! Each "computer expert" was telling a different story and trying to point out that his scenario would be the accurate on. Fact is that apparently all the experts didn't really know either.
On Thursday we got a replacement server. Well it was working...but things were quite slow. I spent most part of Thursday and Friday examining the accounting data and the data integrity. Apparently we got off with a blue eye. The data integrity turned out to be OK and we only lost about half a workday of accounting data. So we will have to re-enter that stuff. But that's certainly a very small price to pay. I'm quite happy that it turned out to be that way.

Daisy's first Day off the Meds...

Well today was Daisy's first day off the Meds and me being at work all day long. For me that was quite a hard day, since I wasn't entirely sure that she would be able to handle it without the meds. When I left Daisy did the same thing she had been doing while on the meds. No particular signs of anxiety. Just she watching me getting ready to leave. When I left I waited at the bottom of the stair case and listened for a couple of minutes...but nothing was to hear. So I went to work.
It was quite a difficult workday. On the one hand my head so wasn't at work...it was with Daisy and on the other hand we were starting to have trouble with our computer system.
When I got back home in the evening there was no sound of an anxious dog. She waited at door and was super excited. Took her out for a nice walk right away. As soon as I got back I reviewed the video tape and Daisy had been doing pretty much the same thing while being on the meds. She waited at the door after I had left. Stayed there for a couple of minutes. Then she checked every room to see if I had really left. After that she went into the bathroom to dig a little through the laundry. After that she went into the bedroom and slept in the bed. A couple of times she went towards the door to check on some noise that had startled her. But no signs of anxiety at all.
Apparently having been on the anxiety meds helped her to pick up the pattern of me going to work and coming back home again. On top of that I live in a very quiet building. Only 7 other renters and me living in a penthouse apartment is quite helpful with that as well.
So far I'm very happy that Daisy seems to be fine without the meds. She digging through the laundry and sleeping in my bed...well, that's something I can live with.

Taking Daisy off the Meds...

This weekend was the time, that I had decided to take her off the Anti-Anxiety Meds. During the last VET visit we had agreed, that after having been on the Meds for 2 month it was time to take Daisy off them and see if she can handle the separation from me without Meds. I was going to run out of Meds on Tuesday and I really didn't want to take her off the Meds while being all the long at work.
So I decided to take her off on Saturday and try a couple of different times leaving her all by herself, while recording the entire thing with my video camera. All the "Tests" on Saturday and Sunday worked perfectly fine. So it looks like she's gonna be fine. But only Monday will tell, since that's the first time when I'll be at work all day long and Daisy will be by herself and completely off the Meds. But considering how she was doing on Saturday and Sunday, I think she will be just fine.
I will definitely keep you guys posted on that.

Visiting Friends....

This weekend I finally got around to visit with friends and of course Daisy was going to join me. We left the apartment at about 4 pm and made our way to Vienna's Train Terminal West. Bought the tickets there. Boy, I just wish my train ticket would be as cheap as Daisy's. She pays 2.90 bucks and can ride all day long.
We got to the train on time and even got good seats. With me sitting the aisle seat that leaves Daisy the seat next to the window where she can relax and chill out. Unfortunately I can't remove the muzzle, since that has to be on when riding the train. And that's definitely something I don't like. But Daisy does actually fairly good with that.
We got to St. Poelten just in time to catch the last bus. We went to the Gastro-Pub at my parents. At first it was a little of a standoff between Daisy and Mandy, but very quickly the got along...meaning the pretty much ignored each other. That gave me time to chat a little with the waitress. Later Sandra joined us as well and it was quite a fun evening. Had there dinner as well. During there course of the evening there were up to 5 dogs there and they all got along quite nicely.
At 11.45 pm it was time to leave since I wanted to catch the train at 11.30 pm. Since there is no public transportation at this time I had to walk to the train station. Really didn't feel like paying 12 bucks for the cab...and it's only about a 30 minute walk to that station. This is the second to last train back to Vienna and it usually gets me back to the apartment by about 12.45 am.
All in all it was a fun evening visiting with friends and I'll probably be doing that once every 3 or 4 weeks. Always depending on my plans and of course on the weather.

Washer, Haircut & Hardware Store...

Well, today it was finally going to become reality, that my new washer/dryer combi-appliance was going to be delivered. I has delivery, since I wasn't going to drag that 200 lbs thing up 3 flights of stairs. So paying the 80 bucks for delivery was pretty much a no brainer. They had set the delivery time between 9 am and 1 pm. I was waiting from 9 am on. But spent time with a rather lengthy breakfast. Was more of a brunch style thing. After that I watched some TV on my iPad. Hour after hour passes by...but no washer. about 12.40 or so they ring the door bell and start unpacking the thing. I felt sorry for those guys. Especially one of the delivery guys was one tasty dish...and the red shorts did show his buns off perfectly. Yep they were almost to die for. Ups...guess I'm getting a little sidetracked here. It didn't take them much time to set up the washer and it worked perfectly. It better does, after all it's a 1000 buck appliance. I gave them each a 20 buck tip for there effort. For Austria that's considered more than generous.
After that I had to hurry to get to my appointment for a haircut. And I made it just in time. All with the haircut was fine, except for the price. Spending 28 bucks on a haircut is a lot of money...at least for Austria. Especially when that place used to be cheap about 10 years ago. But all the bitching didn't really help. I needed a haircut and that's what I had to pay for. On the positive side, I did find a cheaper place later during the day when I did my grocery shopping for the weekend. It's about half of it and that's the place I will be going to in the future.

After I was done grocery shopping I still had do do one more trip. This one to the hardware store. I had burned out the bulb of the lamp in my kitchen. And the light above the stove really isn't that much help. Who ever said that dimmed lights are romantic apparently never tried to do dishes or to prepare dinner with very little light. It's not much fun. So I get to the hardware store and turns out that light bulbs have become ridiculously expensive. Paying almost 20 bucks for a bulb is excessive as far as I'm concerned. Of course all the LED lights are fairly reasonable priced...but that doesn't help me if my kitchen lamp requires a bulb. So I had to deal with the price.
When I was at the hardware store I also picked up some paint chips. Well, I know that I said about 2 years ago that I won't be doing any painting for the rest of my life ever again...after having finished painting the entire house back in the States. Well, but here we are again. The paint job in my apartment is in need of a redo and landlords are no longer required by law to paint the apartments before renting them out. So this task will fall to me. And especially the paint job in my bedroom is driving me slowly nuts. I really dislike the peach color. On the positive side I will have an apartment painted in the colors I choose myself.
I had planned on visiting a few friends later in the evening, but after all that errands I really didn't feel like it and having a headache didn't help much either. So I decided to spend a quite Saturday evening with Daisy at home.

Dentist Appointment...

Well today I had an appointment at the dentist. On the weekend one of my crowns had fallen out and the rest of the weekend wasn't that much fun. The edges of that crown post are sharp and you're constantly with your tongue at it. So getting that taken care off today was quite nice.
I left work 1 1/2 hours early. Got to the dentist office, which happens to be just around the corner from my apartment, just in time. Just filled out some paperwork and then we got started. Putting that crown in was done very quickly and the entire appointment lasted about 15 minutes. I was told as well that I have a couple of teeth that are in need of some dental work. That doesn't really come as a surprise and I've know that for about 1 year. And eventually I will have that taken care of.
One great thing about being back in Austria again is that I don't have to pay for dental appointments like these by myself...it's all paid for by public healthcare and that is a big cost saver.

VET Appointment...

Well today was Daisy's 1st control appointment after having been on the anti anxiety meds for 1 month. Since the VET is about 40 miles away and I no longer have a car it was time for another railroad trip. Got up at 6 am took the dog out and had breakfast. After that we headed over to train station. Got the tickets and boarded the train. Boy, I wish I only paid as little as my dog does. 3 bucks for the entire day. We had a great trip, met a couple of fun students and of course the dog was immediate conversation starter. Got off the train and took the bus to the VET.
At the Vet we had to wait about 30 minutes. And Daisy did something she's usually doesn't do at the Vet. She actually socialized with a couple of dogs. The we got called in and had a little chat with the Vet. He's very happy how well the treatment is progressing and that Daisy is doing as well as she does. She will have to stay 1 month longer on the anti-anxiety meds. After that she will have to get off the meds completely and hopefully she's adjusted good enough and it won't be any problem without the meds.
Another thing is Daisy's failing eyesight. I've been noticing that she definitely doesn't see certain things. For example an empty plastic bottle placed somewhere in the room and she's gonna to run into it. I thought the might be due to the cloudiness of her lens. But the Vet did a more detailed inspection of her eye and he thinks that her retina is getting weaker and weaker. Since that is a slow process she can get used to that. So I started to talk to her way more than I usually do. With a dogs failing eyesight the owner has to be partially the dogs eyes. It's just part of having a senior dog. But besides from that she is completely healthy!!
Coming back to her anti-anxiety treatment. This being her second week of being all by herself in the new place, it turns out that she must have gotten used to the schedule that I come home. Usually this is around 6 pm. When I open the door an very excited Daisy is waiting for me. Yesterday  got off work earlier and got home by 4.30 pm. When I opened the door there was no dog waiting for me. I had almost closed the door, when she finally walked out of the bedroom. Apparently she has figured out the schedule and that's very good news. As I think that she will be able to handle being all be herself, when she's being taken off the meds in 1 month.
After the Vet appointment it was time to visit my Mom. We got to catch up a little and I also got to use the washer since mine has not arrived yet. As long as my alleged DNA contributer wasn't there it was fine. He walks in the door and a wave of negative energy hits the place and right away the dog goes into hiding. The thing with the negative energy does remind me of  certain TNG episode. And that episode is so much more fun than dealing with the useless douche! Well after 30 minutes I just had it and went over the the local gastro pub to catach up with my friend Sandra. And by 2 pm it was time to leave again since I had to catch a train to be in time back in Vienna again to go shopping for the weekend since that was something I hadn't done.
Besides the 30 minutes with the douche it was a quite eventful and for most parts a fun day...and Daisy is really become an avid passenger in public transportation. And it seems that she is enjoying it.

Washer - Take 2...

Today was just another Monday. Crazy, then easy going and then crazy again. Just like every other Monday. But this I had to get off work at 5 pm to take care of some unfinished business. Usually I stay till about 6 pm. Well but today I managed to get off work at 5.08 pm just in time to catch the bus. First up was a stop at the grocery store, since I had forgotten to some stuff that I needed this week.
Then it was a train ride back to the appliance store. Everyone who regularly reads my blog know that they had to cancel the contract on Saturday. Well today we redid the contract and just in case the ATM card was going to have other issues I had gotten the money for the down payment in cash. The rest went off without a hitch. So if everything goes according to plan I should have a washer/dryer all-in-one appliance within the next 7 to 10 days. I will keep you guys posted on that.

Shopping Trip...

Today I went on a little shopping trip. First up was the usual stuff. Mostly grocery stuff for the weekend and the upcoming week. Even bought a 24 pack of beer. And yes I had to carry it about 1/4 mile back to my apartment and up 3 flights of stairs. In the future I might not be doing that. Instead it might be the better choice to borrow a car and by several packs of them. That way I only have to carry them up the stairs.
Next was a trip to the hardware store. I borrowed my Sis' car. Figured that might be easier than having to transport that in the subway. Well it would have worked but wouldn't have been the most practical thing to do. Bought a couple of things like an ironing board and some other items mostly for the bathroom including a clothes dryer. Spent about 100 bucks.
Next up was the appliance store. I wanted to look at washing machines. Found what I was looking for. It's appliance that puts washer and dryer into one single appliance. You might not get the same efficiency out than you get from 2 separate appliances. But for apartment living it's a good compromise. Signed the contract and went to pay. Well then when the trouble started. Didn't have enough cash on me for the down payment. Figured no problem I pay it with my ATM card. Wrong...doesn't quite work that way. Since I have a daily limit. Figured no problem. I go the the ATM machine and get some cash. Supposedly the cash limit doesn't count against the card limit. Wrong again. It does. So the only that I could do was to cancel the contract and will have to re-do it on Monday after work. Wasn't quite happy about that. In situations like these I miss having a credit card.
Later I was supposed to visit with friends, but since it was almost 7 pm and I still hadn't eaten dinner I figured I'll be seeing them some other Saturday since I didn't feel like paying 10 bucks for the train for one direction for just seeing them for 2 hours. So Daisy and I stayed in and had a quiet and very enjoyable Saturday evening.

A Little Surprise...

Today it was the same procedure with Daisy again. Well I didn't expect an different outcome than yesterday. It it was way easier on me at work. Well, but not all things turn out the way you expect them to.
When I got back from work Daisy was super excited to see me. But she had managed to get the rope muzzle off. So I reviewed the video footage and she had even done better than yesterday. That she is walking up to the door less and doing way less whimpering is definitely an improvement as far as I'm concerned. So from now on there really isn't any need for the rope muzzle. Very happy about that. And since I'm living in a penthouse apartment there are only a few people walking by each day and that seems to be helpful with the separation anxiety as well.
If I had known about the meds in 2005 when I got her I would have put her on them and made the first few month so much easier on her...

A hard Day...

Today was truly a hard day. Not quite sure who it was harder on...me or Daisy. At 11.30 pm last night my Mom calls me that she can't look after Daisy for the rest of the week. Apparently the 74-year old dumb fuck yelled so long at my mom that she gave in. Of course that was quite a problem for me. And it's not the first time he pulled a stunt like that. But this time it will have consequences as I'm gonna drag him into court and sue him and over the past year I got enough evidence against him to let him disappear in prison for the next 10 years.
But all of that didn't help me. I didn't get a hold of anyone who could have looked after Daisy. So this morning I had to rope muzzle her. That way she can't howl and bark. I so hated to do that, but it was the only way I could think of. It was tight enough so that she didn't get it off, but not so tight that it was hurting her. So I turned on the video cam and left for work. It was a terrible day. Barely could concentrate on my work and on top if that this work day just didn't want to end. I left after 8 hours and went straight home. But Daisy was completely fine and super excited to see me. When I reviewed the video footage it turned out that she went a couple of times to the door when she heard someone. Once nobody came she started whimpering a few times, and then went back to her doggie bed and that's definitely good news. Still hate that I had to do that. I really hope that she will have gotten to me leaving for work soon and apparently the meds do their job.

Mom and Daisy...

Since Daisy and I are now staying permanently in Vienna I asked my Mom if she could look after Daisy at my apartment for about 1 week. Although Daisy has been on her anti-anxiety meds for 2 weeks now I wasn't quite sure if she would be able to handle the separation for 9+ hours. So my Mom showed up before I had to leave to work. Daisy was quite excited to see her. And I left for work. When I came back Daisy barked at me first and once she realized who it was she was super excited. My Mom said that it wasn't any problem and that she slept most of the day anyways. The meds make her pretty docile and quite sleepy actually. For now that's not a bad thing as it makes it easier on her. There were only a few times when she heard someone walking up the stairs and of course she went to the door and when nobody came she started to whimper a little. But other than that it went well. I'm very happy about that.

Final Move and a Double Date...

After yesterday's blow up with my alleged "sperm donor" I really had to make some serious consequences. That douche has to be declared incompetent and he needs to be locked up in a psychiatric institution. Screaming and yelling at me is one thing, but he really doesn't have to do it with the dog around. The dog is hiding and every time he starts yelling exactly there where the dog is hiding. As if he were doing it on purpose. And I'm sure he's exactly doing that. Considering how many things he does just to piss other people of. So I told him if he should ever come closer that 50 feet to the dog I will kill him. That's not a figure of speech...I meant it exactly the way I said it.
So I got up at 5.30 am brought the last few pieces of stuff into my apartment. It just was too much to be able to transport that via train. Got back dropped of the car took my dog and went to the train station and headed to Vienna. It was also the same day a local music festival ended and it was fun seeing that all those kids with happy faces and not grump like some moronic douche. Nice thing about traveling by train is that you have only to pay 2.90 for the dog and she can travel as far as you want to for 1 entire day. I got about half the way to Vienna until I realized that I had forgotten something important. Yep I forgot my apartment keys. But at that time there was nothing I could do about it. Got off the train in Vienna and I had checked my Train App and new the next train was about to leave 10 minutes later. Called my friend Sandra and she was going to pick me up at the train station. Got my apartment keys, made a quick stop at Sandra's place and she gave me a quick tour, since I haven't seen her place since it has been remodeled. And then we headed back to the train station since I had a train to catch.
Got to Vienna and dropped the some stuff off at my apartment, grabbed the doggie backpack and headed out again. Since Daisy and I were having a double date. I was hanging with a guy and his dog. And it's one of those rare circumstances that Daisy and his dog hit it off right away. OK, the dog is a boy...just like her Daddy. It was fairly hot so we spent most time at the park and the 2 dogs had tons of fun. Later we went over to Vienna's 20th district where the guy lives to have some lunch. It's funny it was almost like coming home...since I used to live in the 20th district about 20 years ago. All in all the date went well. Not quite sure where it is going to go. He's maybe a little too serious for my taste. I don't take things seriously and especially I don't take myself seriously and I just love to be able to geek out about SciFi and Phantasy stuff. But that's just not his thing. As a doggie date and as friendship I can see that working, but I don't see it being more than that. But you never know.
Getting back home to my place Daisy and I just chilled and it was a great feeling. Nobody with negative energy around and nobody screaming and yelling. It's just peaceful. And that's exactly the way the future will be as with this day the moronic douche has been cut out of my life permanently. Well I won't get to see certain people that often as I would like to. But that's apparently a price I have to pay to keep my sanity. I will head out there every couple of weeks for 5 or 6 hours to hang and catch up with people and than go back to my apartment. Of course it would be much easier if Daisy and Sandra's German Shepherd would be getting along better.

Tax Work...

Well, today I thought would be just another regular day at work. There's just one thing wrong with that. As soon as you have a thought like that you're most likely getting screwed royally. That was exactly how today turned out.
My boss dropped today a little bomb on me. That I had to do all the tax prep-work all by myself. Not that it is that difficult to understand. But you're not supposed to have to take care of a task like that if you're only with a company for less than 3 month. Under normal circumstances you have at least your exam as accountant and usually you have about 2 or 3 years work experience after you exam, before you ever get to do a task like that.
Well, since bitching around didn't help I went straight to what had to be done. I know what had to printed out for the tax company and I knew as well what had to ad up in the end if everything had been done right. Most of the things worked out quite fine. But there were a couple of things to had to be examined further. Some differences were OK, but others had to be corrected first before they could be sent to the tax guys. One particular difference had nothing to do with accounting, but with the way the accounts had been transferred from the old to the new system. So I had to talk to the developer of the program to finally get things right.
As final task I had to deal with those customers where it is not quite certain if and how much they will be paying. And these customer accounts had to be corrected accordingly. Everyone who understands Austrian Accounting I'm talking about EWB!! At first it might have been a little intimidating but I got very quickly used to it. And actually it is quite a fun task. Not that the tax prep-work is particularly fun, but it is quite enjoyable to have to make decisions at that stage of my career.
All in all it turned out quite well. The rest is now up to the tax guys.

Big Changes at Work...

Well, today was certainly a day of big changes at work. I already knew that this day would eventually be coming, but didn't expect it today. My co-worker was supposed to have her last day on Tuesday, so it came quite as a surprise that she had her last day today. Somebody screwed here up and it wasn't me. So she had to show me 2 tasks that I've never done before. Well they're not really that complicated, but still I won't have anyone to ask if I should forget just 1 step. But I'm pretty confident that I should be able to handle those 2 tasks.
Up till now I handled the accounts receivable, the accounts payable and the management of late payments including several statistical tasks for the German Sub-Company. That certainly keeps you quite busy. On top of that I will have to do the controlling of the Cash Register including all the accounting related tasks of the Cash Register, Accounts Receivable, Management of Late Payments, additional Statistical Task, Prep-Work of all supplier invoices for the Austrian Sub-Company and for International clients. Furthermore I will be the  main "go to guy" for the tax company and I will also be responsible for the "main balancing work" throughout the year for both sub-companies.
Fun, fun FUN!!!
That's certainly a lot of work. But don't expect that you get that done in 40 hours per week. That work is usually done by 2 people. One with 40 hours and one with 25 hours per week. So I guess it's gonna be a lot of overtime. But I don't mind. It's a quite a challenge and a great work experience. I don't have to worry about my job and since I'm gonna paid the overtime, it's gonna be boatload of cash.
Supposedly they're looking for a replacement, but haven't found someone quite yet. Summer is not the best time to look for new employees and many people don't take that job, because they're either expecting a setting like in large companies or an ridiculous amount of money. Not everyone is right doing accounting for a family style business. There are a wide variety tasks you have to deal with. So you certainly won't be getting bored any time soon. You have to b able to make many decision on your own and you have to be very good with "self-organization". For me it's not a problem and I really do enjoy my job...at least for the most part.
Will keep you guys posted about how things are progressing.

VET appointment...

Today I had my VET appointment with Daisy regarding her separation anxiety. I had mad that appointment with the "big boss" himself. If someone's able to figure something out he is definitely the guy to do so.
So I described the entire situation to him and he told me right away that Daisy is very attached to me...over-attached you might even say and that's what causing her problems now. The thing with her previous moves was that I was at home for some time. The same applies when it comes to the transcontinental move. After Daisy arrived I was home for a couple of month and she slowly got used to the new place.
He also told me that with behavioral measures and positive reenforcement alone it just won't be working. He suggested a 2 tongue approach. Desensitizing her from me leaving by getting ready to leave on several occasions and then not leaving. Leaving for 1 or 2 minutes and coming back right away. And Daisy has to go on anti-anxiety drugs. She will be on those drugs now for 1 month, then we will see the Vet again and decide if the meds are working and if she is improving. If yes then she will have to take them for at least 2 month maybe even 3 month through. After that she will be taken off the meds and we will see if she can handle it.
Well having to put her on meds is not my first choice. I did look into alternatives. Getting her a pet sitter, who stays with her while I'm at work. Well, that is anything but a cheap endeavor...it would cost me for 1 month about 800 bucks...and that's just not an option. Additional there are some other non-prescription sprays that are supposed to calm dogs. I will give those a closer look and a try as well.
Of course it did occur to me that Daisy might never get used to the living in an apartment building. That this might just be too much for her to handle...Should this be the case then I will have to break the lease and move her into a house. There are houses out there in the price range of my current place. But it would increase my commute to work again. Daisy is family and in the end you do what you've gotta do. Every dog owner will understand!
Will keep you guys posted about Daisy's progress!!

It's a sad Day...

Well, today it became painfully clear that Daisy's separation anxiety is back with a vengeance. It's not as bad as in 2005, but it is still terrible. I  knew there was a possibility that this might be happening after the move. I had hoped that it wouldn't since it hadn't been an issue with any of the previous moves nor had it been a problem with moving her across the Atlantic. Even if she home alone all day at my parents separation anxiety is not an issue.
So I tried that today and it just didn't work. The separation anxiety just gets the best of Daisy right from the start on. As soon as a leave it starts with a little whining. Then she is searching each and every room  and then the entire thing starts to intensify. After about 10 minutes she is at the stage where she starts howling and then followed by barking. It's a full blown panic attack and it takes her fairly long to get down from that state. And that's something I really don't like, as she really hasn't have to be under that stress.
Another thing is that Daisy has never ever lived in an apartment building before. She has always lived in townhouses or houses and that might be adding to the stress.
So I made the decision to bring her back to my parents and travel again back and forth to work until I have figured out a workable solution.

Fun at the Park...

So today I decided to hang with Daisy at a local park. I chose Auer-Welsbach Park since it's only 4 stops by subway and I can be there in about 10 minutes. Daisy has absolutely no problem with riding escalators or the subway. The muzzle on the other hand is another story. She just isn't a fan of it. And to completely honest neither am I.
Auer-Welsbach Park is fairly large Park. Has quite a number of different trails and Daisy was having fun there. It even has its own off-leash area. If this dog knew better how to play on her own, that would be a great area. Since she sticks mostly to my side, the area is of less interest. Not sure if it was the heat or not but after a second round through the park Daisy had pretty much enough and laid down in the grass. So I found us a nice spot in the shade and we were both chilling there. So it might just be that Daisy's hiking days are over. Well with her being 15 I knew that this day was going to come eventually. But I still will try taking her on a light hike somewhen in fall, when temps are more moderate than in summer.
While Daisy and I were chilling in the shade I realized that within a timeframe of 40 minutes I was being checked out by 3 girls in their late 20's. Apparently a guy in his 40's chilling with his senior dog at the park is some sort of "chick magnet". Hope someone is gonna share that news with all the hetero boys, desperately trying to get a date!
So all in all it was quite a fun day!!

Final Moving Day...

Today was the final day of moving. Those who read my blog regularly know that I had done 2 trips during the week after work. With that what was left to move…well it didn’t look all that much. I thought I should be done packing the car in about ½ hour.

But before that was going to happen I did the evening walk with Daisy and then picked up dinner at the local McDonald’s. After that I started packing the car. And I did make good progress. And I probably could have pulled it off in 30 minutes. But the co-contributor of my DNA code had other plans. Maybe someone or something made him mad and he just had to take it out on me. If that had been a couple of days earlier I would have gotten mad and started an argument with him. But since Wednesday’s fight when he didn’t go out with the dog and Daisy hadn’t been out for 17 hours until I got home. The only reason he provided was “he didn’t feel like doing it”. But he did feel like getting completely drunk. All the cussing at me really didn’t accomplish much and when it got way below the waistline…I just flipped him off. For me that was the final straw and I had to pack more stuff…mostly paperwork related, that I would have otherwise done at a different time. But it did force me to make a final cut. You fight with people if there is a reason for that…but once everything has been said there is no reason for that an I have no intention of ever returning to that place again. I will see my Mom when she’s looking after her grandkids at my Sis. So Daisy will get to see my Mom occasionally as well.

When I left at about 09.45 pm the car was pretty much packed, since I got everything that had to be moved. Got to my place and was actually surprised that I got a parking spot right in front of the building. Then it occurred to me that it was Friday night and that might explain the parking spot. So I started carrying up all the stuff. I think it must have taken me about 10 trips or so. I was definitely a lot. By about 11.15 pm we were finally done and I was sweating like a pig. But I still couldn’t settle down since I had to return the car to my Sis. Drove over there, returned the car and walked with Daisy back to the subway. I figured today is as good as any day and we tried to ride an escalator to the subway…and Daisy really is a natural when it comes to that. She wasn’t too sure about riding the line U3…but after that riding the line U6 she was quite comfy with that. After that it was time for her night walk and we slowly walk back from the subway station to my place. Daisy took lots of time checking out all the scents and smells. When we got finally back to the apartment it was already 0.30 am.

Usually I celebrate the first night in a new place with beer and a movie. As it turns out I had put the power cord of my iMac at the bottom of the box and I was not going to unpack that box at that time. So I celebrated the first night in the new place with just a couple of beers, while Daisy just chilled at her “safe spot”.

All in all a very long, exhausting but very successful day…but of course now the hallway pretty much looks like a disaster area. 

Moving - Day 3...

Well, I did do some more moving stuff during the week. But with me being fairly long hours at work, that can be quite some challenge. Packed up the car on Tuesday evening and after work on Wednesday I drove the packed car over to my place. As luck would or rather lack of same would have it I didn't find a parking spot. So parked on the sidewalk. Didn't take long until some douche had nothing else to do than complain about it although it wasn't even bothering him. Threatening me with calling the cops on me not going to work either. Considering the time that takes these days...I'm probably quicker in Munich taking a plane, than the cops arriving. So I told the douche "to go and fuck himself". Turns out that English wasn't one of his strong suits.
Shortly after that entire incident another car left and I took the parking spot right away. Parking really sucks. So I'm actually glad that I won't have to worry about that in the future.
Roughly 1 hour later I was done carrying all the stuff into my new place and headed home.
Today I stopped by a local furniture store that's close to my work and picked up some stuff for the bed. While out there I found a couple of grocery stores and decided to do the shopping right away instead of Friday. That went off without a hitch. Drove then over to my new place and got a parking spot right in front of the building. Carried the groceries and a bunch of other stuff into my new place. Got the bed ready, that way I won't have to worry about that when I move the final few pieces on Friday evening. So there really is an end in sight with all that moving.

Moving - Day 2...

Originally I had planned on finished off this move today. With the dog getting a panic attack yesterday, that wasn't going to happen. I didn't think that doing more moving stuff was going to help her either. So I decided to drive with Daisy over to the new place and do some really needed cleaning and some setting up. That way Daisy gets to experience the place without me running back and forth and moving stuff.
This time she had a way better time with the entire apartment than the first time. Walking upstairs she was interested in the scents of the entire building. She didn't do any of that on Saturday. Left her off the leash in front of the apartment and she walked into the place all on her own. Yesterday she was a little unsure about that and even reluctant at times. In the apartment she really got this time into checking each and every corner out. So all of that are quite some encouraging signs.
I started off with cleaning both rooms, that will eventually become Living/TV-Room and Bedroom. After that I cleaned hallway and bathroom. Daisy did very well during that time. Really didn't run after me that much and just chilled out. That was quite encouraging as well.
Last I started with the kitchen. Cleaned it entirely...and it was in some need of serious cleaning. Gave the floor a good cleaning as well. Finally I started to set up the kitchen. Started off with the "starter kit". Meaning basic stuff you need in a kitchen like pots and pans, toaster, blender, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, utensils and most important Mr. CoffeeMaker. Also put away some basic grocery items, that no kitchen should be without. Once all that was done I unpacked the kitchen appliances that I had shipped from the States almost 1 year ago. Sadly enough they didn't smell like SoCal anymore.
While working in the kitchen Daisy found herself a new comfy spot right under the skylight. So there are lots of encouraging signs, that she will get used to the new place. Will keep you guys posted on that.

Moving - Day 1...

Today was finally the day I had planned on moving out. It all started off fine. Got up at 7.30 am, took the dog for a walk and had breakfast. Right after that I started going through the big shipping boxes to divide them into easier to handle packages and then I started moving stuff into my Sis's car. Daisy was right next to me while I divided the big shipping boxes. The entire commotion was driving her kind crazy. With all the stuff going on I decided to keep her inside...thought that might be easier on her. Looking at it from the retrospect it might have just had the opposite effect.
A little before noon I was done and Daisy and I headed out. Wanted to let her see and get used to the new place. Again, looking at it from the retrospect it might have easier been on her if I had brought her to the new once the whole carrying of things back and forth was already over.
When we got near my new place Daisy got quite nervous...lots of whimpering, whining and just being antsy. She hasn't done that to me while riding the car in a long time. So I should have known that something was not quite right. I knew it in my guts...but chose to ignore it.

I carried the first load of stuff up to my new place with Daisy being right next to me. So far so good. I let Daisy check out the new place for some time, but oddly enough she didn't seem to be that interested. That was kinda weird, because usually she checks places out in each and every detail. With Daisy being 15 years old, I thought it might be easier on her if she stays in the apartment instead of having to run back and forth with me all the time. It didn't even dawn on me that this could be a problem, since it isn't an issue while I'm at work. She knows I'm leaving for work and she knows I will come back. It never was a problem. For some reason I waited halfway down the first flight if stairs and I could hear her pacing restlessly back and forth, whimpering and whining...she hasn't done anything of that magnitude since 2005. That what she was having was a full blown panic attack.
So I took her with me for the next 2 trips. That certainly didn't make things easier, and it didn't help with the moving speed either. Thank god I found a regular parking spot very close to my new place. After the second trip I tried to leave her at the apartment again. but spent about 20 minutes reassuring her that it is OK that she is in the apartment while I'm being outside. Well as soon as I left the entire disaster started all over again, but with a little less of am magnitude. At that point I decided that it's easier on everyone if I let her walk back and forth with me. It was also clear, that I wouldn't be bringing  a second car load to my apartment as I had planned. With all that happening it was quite clear that this is going to become a 2 weekend move.
After every second trip I gave Daisy a 20 minute break, since all the walking up and down stairs was quite tiresome for her. On the positive side she felt comfy enough to sleep all stretched out with me around. Up till this time I wasn't sure if I was going to use the one other the other room as bedroom, but this decision was made for me. After 2/3's of the trips Daisy finally found her "safe spot" it's exactly between the closet and the bed.

By 5 pm we were finally done. Having Daisy have to go through such a bad panic attack is heartbreaking for me. I so hate to see her that way. But with her finding her "safe spot" and actually sleeping there during the breaks...it's a step into the right direction. I hope that a 3 day weekend period is going to help her settle into the new place.
When I thought it over later during the evening it occurred to me that trying to leave her at the new place might have been a great gesture in human terms, but for her it was terrible. It suddenly hit me that with all the moves - from Sherman Oaks to Reseda and from Reseda to Agua Dulce - she always was running back and forth with us. She never stayed by herself at the new place. She only stayed by herself at the new place after having been there for several hours and having slept there for at least 1 night. That might have been the reason why that wasn't a problem with previous moves or when I went on vacation last fall...and I really hated myself for not taking that into consideration.
Of course I thought about other alternatives as well. No, it never crossed my mind taking her to a rescue group. Basically there are 2 viable alternatives: Meds and a Dog Sitter. Meds, that's the easy fix...but I so hate having a Zombie dog. The second alternative would be paying a dog sitter to spend time with her at my place until she picks up the pattern I come and leave and until Daisy has been reassured that I will always be coming back. Alternative number 2 would be the better one but is of course way more expensive.
Right now I'm still hoping for the next weekend, when I will be staying with Daisy from Friday to Sunday at my apartment and hope she will settle in well enough, so that I can train with here the coming and leaving late Saturday or early Sunday. I will keep you guys posted on the progress of the entire Move.

Woes at Work...

This morning I was going to register in Vienna's 12th district. Could have done that online but for some reason the online App had some issues with the old registration file. So I decided to do it in person and if you get there right when they open at 8 am, you're pretty much done in no time. Got there and was out of there within 5 minutes. Got into work about 30 minutes later than usual. Since we have flexible work times this isn't a problem anyway.
The workday started out with nothing out of the ordinary. That was until my boss dropped a bomb on me. My boss called me into his office to tell me if I'm aware that I will be responsible for both sub-companies. This being vacation time and my co-worker going on vacation this was crystal clear. He tells me that my co-worker has quit, because she can't seem to balance the required work hours with her 2 kids. Now they start looking for another accountant. But the way things are than can take quite some time. People these days expect either corporate settings or additional compensation or their salary requirements are just kinda ridiculous.
So until a replacement can be found I will be responsible for both sub-companies. So I don't have to worry about my job. My boss kinda wanted to have some reassurance that I won't be the next one to quite...and I told him that there has to happen way more than long hours. Besides that I enjoy my job, it's fun most of the time and we have a great working climate and that's huge these days.

Getting the Keys...

Today I was going to sign the lease. The day started out with me getting up later than usual, since I was going by car and my appointment with the real estate agent wasn't till 9.30 am. I figured since I will be getting the keys as well I might pack up the car with some of the "starter" stuff I bought on Saturday. Well I got there a little early and then we made a last walk through of the place before signing off that everything is according to spec. Next we headed over to the real estate office to sign the lease. Got there early and went for a coffee.
At the appointment time we signed the papers and of course there was quite some money due right at signing. Provision, Fees, Charges for the Contract and first rent taken together added up to almost 5 Grand. My bank account certainly took one big hit today...but in the end it's all worth it.
After signing the contract I had to head into work...so not what I really wanted to do. But there just was no other choice. When I got off work I headed right over to my new place. I got to experience all the fun stuff of one way streets in Vienna's 12th district. Let me put it that way...if you wanna get there by car, you better bring your GPS with you. Parking in Vienna sucks and the 12th district is no exception. But I got a parking spot right in front of my building. It wasn't an "official" spot but I really didn't care and nobody seemed to have a problem with that either.
I carried up most of the stuff I bought on Saturday. 3 flights of stairs up and 3 flights of stairs down. The first few times were no problem at all. Although it was fairly cool - about 17 C (62 F) - I worked up quite a seat. But on the positive side with this apartment you certainly can save the money for the gym.
Here's my new place in a nutshell: Large Bathroom, decent size Kitchen with an eating place, 2 decent size rooms, about 12 sqm (130 sqf). One of the rooms has a bed in it and will probably become the bedroom. The other one will become a media room. Not quite sure which will become the media room, since the outlet for cable and internet is in the living room. But on the other hand rerouting the internet to the other room is a piece of cake.
Still planning on pulling the entire move off on the weekend of 21st and 22nd of July...and I'm hoping for cool weather!!

Goodies for the new Place...

Well today was a day of shopping for my new place. Since I'm looking to move next weekend there is pretty much no time to shop on the moving weekend and during the week I got home way too late to go shopping.
So I went to a local big box store. The things that were on top of the shopping list were pretty much all kitchen related. Dishes, kitchen knifes, pots and pans, toaster, blender trash bin, cleaning supplies and one of the most important appliances: the coffee maker. This being summer I got a big fan as well.
So far so good. Spent about 1 hour shopping. Went to the checkout and thought that's pretty much it. Well not so fast. The total turned out to be a little over 500 bucks. Never have used my current ATM card to pay for a bill like that...and of course it got declined. I knew there was way more money available on that account and I had checked that before I went shopping...so that couldn't have been the case. Tried it a coupe of times more but every time with the same result. I figured there might be a daily limit on that ATM card. So I went to a local ATM and it turns out the daily limit I can pay with the card  is 400 bucks. So I got the difference from the ATM went back to the store and split the entire thing in ATM and cash. In a situation like this I really would wish I had a credit card, that way I could have saved me the entire trouble.
But in the end it turned out well. That way I've taken another hurdle when it comes to the move that will be happening on July 21st and 22nd.

I got the Place!!!

A couple of days ago I submitted an application for one of the apartments that I had been looking at in Vienna's 12th district. It's the one I blogged on July 2nd about. I was super excited as soon as I got the word. There are even better news. I will be signing the lease on Monday July 16th. On top of that the total amount due at signing the lease reduced by a few hundred bucks as well.
Soon Daisy will become the sovereign queen of 60 qm (650 sqf) penthouse apartment. Looking really forward to furnishing the place and getting it the way I want it to be. Guess after having gone through the entire furnishing a house endeavor a couple of years ago and learning some important lessons...this time should be a little easier. Of course this place has other challenges this being a 3rd floor apartment with no elevator. Really heavy stuff I'm not even going to attempt doing that on my own...I'm gonna pay someone to carry it for me. Now it comes in quite handy that I got rid of a ton of stuff when I moved back from the States. That way I have way less stuff to move than I would have to otherwise and I have very little heavy stuff since that something that I have to go out and buy. But the next few month might turn out to be expensive ones. But in the end it will be worth all the effort.
Right now it looks like I will be moving on the weekend of July 21st and 22nd!!
As soon as I get the keys I will be posting some pix of my new place.

Even more House Hunting...

Today I checked out another apartment after work. This one was in Vienna's 11th district. Well it's an OK district. Maybe a little far out for my taste but with the apartment being close to the subway it seemed to possible. Apparently I didn't read the description of the place that carefully, otherwise I should have noticed that it was located at the end of the subway line. And that's really far, far out. But anyway I took a look at the place. I have to admit it's a very quite building and the apartment is set up very well.
Has a very small bedroom and a rather small living room with a kitchen in it. It was a penthouse apartment as well. Again, I was a little reminded of a larger version of my first apartment, with the main difference that this apartment was set up so much better.
I thought it over a couple of times. The place is only 45 square meter (480 sqf) large and that's rather way at the bottom of apartment sizes I was considering. And I wasn't quite sure where I would fit all my stuff in this apartment. Being in my 40's you've quite accumulated some stuff. On top of that my commute to work would be roughly 1 hour. Not exactly my favorite thing, since I was hoping to reduce the time I spend commuting to work. The price of this apartment wasn't cheap either...it was 640.- EUR  and that's quite hight for 45 square meter.
In the end I decided against this place. Not quite sure how this endeavor will turn out and where I might end up living...but will keep you guys posted!

More House Hunting...

Today I had another appointment to look at an apartment. This time it was in Vienna's 10th district. I'm certainly not a fan of the 10th district at all. But there are neighborhoods that are OK, and I kinda was hoping that this could be the case. Apparently I didn't check it on Google Maps before setting up the appointment, as it was in a neighborhood that I'm not really a fan of. The neighborhood is loud and the air quality certainly is bad as well. As it's located near 2 major roads. The benefit would have been that public transportation was actually close by.
By I still took a look at the apartment. The apartment with its barely 50 square meter (540 sqf) reminded me a little of a larger version of my first apartment. Yes it was on the 7th floor, but the bedroom was kinda small and so was the kitchen. The living room was an OK size, but considering that you would have to fit couch and dining table I would have been a tight fit.
In the end I decided against this place. I just didn't like the neighborhood and the apartment didn't give me the instant feeling that I wanted to live there either. So the search will continue...

House Hunting continues...

After work I had another appointment to check out an apartment in Vienna's 12th district. It's roughtly in the same area as the one I checked out on Saturday. I know it was an older buidling...and I really didn't expect much. I got there early and spent it checking out the neighborhood. It's actually a quite decent part of the 12th district. The street it's on is a dead end to a passengers only shopping street. That came quite as a surprise. All the shops you use on a daily basis are near by and that's definitely a plus in book. On top of that the subway station is only 3 minutes away.
When I met up with the realtor I noticed that the building had no elevator. That was quite a disappointment actually. But I still took a look at the apartment...as you never know. When walking up a couple flight of stairs I really didn't expect anything but when I entered that penthouse apartment I was actually quite surprised. Even with all the room you loose through the roof pitch it felt really quite airy. It had a spacious kitchen and a very spacious bathroom and 2 rooms of decent size. Both rooms are about 13 square meter (140 sqf)...for Vienna actually not that bad. The entire apartment is about 60 square meter (650 sqf) but feels so much bigger than that.
The kitchen is fully furnished...of course you have to be able to live with a compromise due to the pitch of the roof...but I didn't mind that at all. The table that comes with the apartment is not necessarily my style, but I could love with it. And it is a very quiet apartment with most of the windows to a quiet courtyard.
This apartment has definitely many benefits. On a scale of 1 to 10 it would probably be a 9. The major drawback being that it doesn't have an elevator. The minute I walked into that apartment I could see myself living there and it was the best place I've seen so far. When I left I picked up an application for the place, but I'm just not entirely sure if I want to walk 3 flights of stairs every day. On the other hand you don't walk up and down that often either. Yes, the move might be quite challenging, but the rest depends on the routine you lay down. At this point I'm just not sure how proceed from here. I will definitely keep you guys posted on that.

The "Trial" Period is over...

Well today marks the "first month anniversary" of me being with Nowotny KG. So far it has been interesting and at times quite a challenge. But on the other hand I've never been someone who's afraid of challenges. But this date also marks the end of the Trial Period. From now on it is a regular employment contract according to Austrian Labor Laws.
And yes I'm still excited every day I go into work, since ever day brings something new. Since there are many different parts to my job, I don't get bored and the work week goes by very quickly. I know that some of you guys probably think that being an accountant and being excited about it is kinda weird, but that's just the way it is.

House Hunting...

Today was another day of House Hunting. Well from the temperature it was a terrible idea since it was going to be around 99 F (37 C)....but you've gotta do what you have to do.
I was checking out an apartment in Vienna's 12th district. It's not exactly my favorite district, but it would reduce the traveling time to work to about 30 minutes. I got there a little early and that gave me the opportunity to get a feel of the neighborhood. It's your typical working class neighborhood. An average neighborhood and I could have seen myself living there. From the vibe it's very similar to the neighborhood, that I used to live when I was living in Vienna's 20th district. So the place passed the neighborhood check.
The apartment itself was in a building that probably had been built in the early 1970's. At least it was cut that way. Separate kitchen...what isn't exactly my style, but it would have worked for me. The kitchen itself was what I was expecting. Only downside was, that you couldn't have put a big fridge in it, since there was too little room to do so. I'm talking here about european fridge sizes...compared to an american fridge, even a large fridge would be small. But I could have lived with it.
The bathroom was small and there was no way of getting a washer in there and that was something that really was bothering me about the place.
The bedroom was fine. The living room was a nice size, but had built-in cabinets that are so not my style, and I would have had the right to take them down. The only problem with that would have been, that you have no idea what the wall looks behind the cabinet and that there is most likely no flooring underneath that cabinets either. Having to heat the apartment with gas convection units for each room, is not my favorite thing, but I could have lived with it.
Well, all in all it was a very quite apartment and it on scale of 1 to 10 it was definitely a 7. It had many things that I wanted to have, but not all of them. I spent a lot of time going over this place on Saturday afternoon. But I just couldn't get myself to put in an application. And since I was going to see 2 more places at the beginning of next week I will keep it on the short list.
Will definitely keep you guys posted.

VET Visit...

Today I had another visit with Daisy at the VET. Well, the appointment was scheduled for Thursday, but with me having introductory training at the new company I had to reschedule the appointment for today.
While waiting for the doctor at the Vet's office Daisy got time to play with a puppy, that will one day become a Border Collie. Right now you can't quite tell that. Both of them apparently had fun hanging out with each other.
This was pretty much a straight forward VET visit and I didn't expect any surprises. A quick check on Daisy's vitals and her temperature and everything turned out to be OK. This time she got the second round of her vaccinations for Distemper, Leptospirosis, Hepatitis and Parvovirus. With that being done Daisy is good till 2013. And it was one of cheapest VET visits I've ever had. I only paid 51 bucks.