June 2007

14 Hours

30 June 2007

Yesterday I thought it was funny that we’d have only one car for 24 hours (Frauke will borrow her mother’s car until her Touran arrives). Not anymore. This morning as Frauke wanted to drive to the bakery, the Lupo refused to start. The engine catches, but when we release the key it cuts out after [...]

Read the full article →

Before…

29 June 2007

Today is Frauke’s last official day as an employee, so she has to drop off her company Audi at the office.

Read the full article →

McBier

27 June 2007

I finally have some time to answer some questions from the audience. I’ll start with DaveP: Are you going to have McBier? The restaurant currently does sell beer (Bitburger in bottles), but we will be dropping it. Beer is a standard menu item in Germany, but it’s a very low seller. We’d only sell 3 [...]

Read the full article →

100 Hours

26 June 2007

We’re now less than 100 hours away from owning a restaurant. I worked 2 closing shifts over the weekend (until 5 and 3 am), then back at 11:30 on Monday (yes, DaveP, I have good shoes, from Ecco). Today I feel like I have transatlantic jet lag. But I know the layout of the store [...]

Read the full article →

Training Day

22 June 2007

T-minus 8 days. The outgoing manager at our soon-to-be restaurant was gracious enough to allow me to work a few shifts behind the counter before we take over (with no monetary compensation, of course). I’ve been concentrating on the kitchen, since that’s where the most changes have taken place since 1994, when I last ran [...]

Read the full article →

Johan! Johan! Johan!

21 June 2007

Ladies, gentlemen and children of all ages, reintroducing the reigning best pitcher in major league baseball, Mr. Johan Alexander Santana!

Read the full article →

Censr at Flickr

20 June 2007

I’ve had my head down in work the past few days, with the old job winding down and the new business starting up. So at first I missed the shitstorm stirred up when Flickr (now owned by Yahoo!) added a German interface, and at the same time forced German users (along with those in Singapore, [...]

Read the full article →

24/7

18 June 2007

The Shopblogger Björn Harste is taking advantage of the extended shopping hours in Bremen and is now opening his Spar supermarket 24 hours from Monday through Saturday. He blogged through the night his “first night out”. Of course for restaurants 24 hour opening is nothing new or special. We are already open until 3 am [...]

Read the full article →

Fun Fun Fun

17 June 2007

My wife’s family decided a few years ago to combine all their birthday celebrations into 3 combined gatherings. All birthdays are pretty much clustered in November, February and May/June. So November we go to her older brother, in February to her younger brother, and in June they all come to us. That day is today, [...]

Read the full article →

Caucasian

17 June 2007

In the “you’re never too old to learn something new” department, I hadn’t realized that the word caucasian to describe race come from an 18th century German scientist, and isn’t use anymore outside of the US. Thanks to USA Erklärt, now I know. I’ve grown weary of the whole American obsession with race, and I’ve [...]

Read the full article →

Paper Weight

15 June 2007

I know I said I wouldn’t blog numbers, I but think Frauke will forgive me for this one… her franchise contract arrived today by courier. With 4 copies of everything, with all appendices and conditions, the weight of the package was 2.6 kg. Since my name does not appear in the contract or in the [...]

Read the full article →

We Got The Money

14 June 2007

We got the money… and the papers, both yesterday. Our financing came through yesterday. The rate is pretty much the same as the first offer, but the small print is better (repayment begins later, less insurance required). Best of all, the extra funds for the Gym & Fun are included. We also got the notarized [...]

Read the full article →

links for 2007-06-13

13 June 2007

McDonald’s seeking moms’ approval | Chicago Tribune (tags: mcd blogging)

Read the full article →

Birthday Present

11 June 2007

MamaMaus has her birthday today, and Christopher wanted to make her something special, something for the new restaurant. He decided on an “M” logo for her office… sure, she can get plenty of logos, but how many of them are hand-painted? We made all the preparations on Saturday. We had to buy the cardboard, a [...]

Read the full article →

Burger King Ignites Spam War With Rival

11 June 2007

Burger King Ignites Spam War With Rival… it’s not what you might think, unless you are a fan of spiced ham in a can.

Read the full article →

Fashion for the Children of Heiligendamm

4 June 2007

Just in time for the G-8 protest season, Tchibo is offering basic designer black fashion perfect for demonstrators prone to violence. Also at Tchibo UK. Speaking of which, is anyone outside of Germany paying attention to the violent protests in Rostock. Security for the G-8 conference is the main headline in Germany, but I have [...]

Read the full article →